Adhesive Selection by the PAL Expert System

Abstract

“Shell” systems have been extensively developed to cope with material selection. However, none of those available during the development of PAL have been able to meet either the industry's requirements or to match PAL's expanding capacity. This paper deals therefore with the development of the latter's unique rejection-residue process and a form of “fuzzy” logic, both of which function without the use of an inference program. PAL's present status is reviewed together with a description of its functional mechanisms and how these could be developed in the future. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability of the program to offer unsolicited important advice and information which only a real expert might normally be aware of.

Key Words:

• Expert system
• adhesive selection
• engineering adhesives
• fuzzy logic
• data base
• unsolicited information