Suchergebnisse

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is one of the main joining technologies of thin sheets in the automotive industry. Key factors affecting the strength of the RSW joint are the nugget diameter, asymmetry, expulsions, intended surfaces, and the presence of cracks. Despite its broad use, the RSW joint quality verification is limited only to destructive testing and a limited number of non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. Most of the testing is done destructively by sampling, which assesses only systematic defects. Ultrasonic Testing (UT) is the most used NDT method to detect non-systematic defects in the RSW joints, however the probability of the defect detection of conventional testing techniques is not fully satisfactory. Other approaches were invented to deal with this situation. The article uses the currently most used NDT approach of the UT testing as a benchmark to evaluate the ability of thermographic testing to detect defective welds of the resistance spot welding in an on-line mode. The article demonstrates that the infrared thermography may find systematic process errors that are not detectable by other NDT methods by an analysis of different temperature drops measured after a constant delay time caused by different cooling dynamics of satisfactory and non-satisfactory weld joints.

The interest in re-implementing agroforestry (AF) in European agriculture due to its environmental benefits has been growing exponentially. We reviewed the historical background and the current state (extent, farmers' perception, legislative support, and barriers) to evaluate the future perspectives of AF in Czechia by identifying the key factors hampering further extension. Our results confirmed that AF almost disappeared after the middle of the 19th century due to agricultural intensification and collectivization. Currently, AF is not defined in the Czech legislation and no modern AF has been encountered by this study. Areas falling into AF definition recently comprise only traditional AF (less than 1% of agricultural area remaining) represented only by silvopastoral AF. The results of a farmers' survey indicated that despite relatively high interest in AF, excessive bureaucratization, high costs of establishment and uncertain profitability are severe concerns among farmers. We therefore conclude that there is a lack of legal recognition and marginalization of AF as the key obstacles of low adoption rates. We suggest that systematic support beyond subsidies should include raising awareness, research, policy, legislation changes, training, and advisory service, as a cornerstone for progressive development of AF and thus conservation and creation of economically and environmentally sound landscapes throughout Czechia.