Search results for: output mode

Authors: Richard Adu Antwako

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Coastal wetland destruction and its consequences have recently taken the center stage of global discussions. This phenomenon is no gray area to humanity as coastal wetland-human interaction seems inevitably ingrained in the earliest civilizations, amidst the demanding use of its resources to meet their necessities. The severity of coastal wetland destruction parallels with growing civilizations, and it is against this backdrop that, this paper interrogated the causes of coastal wetland destruction in Harper City in Liberia, compared the degree of coastal wetland stressors to the non-equilibrium thermodynamic scale as well as suggested an integrated coastal zone management to address the problems. Literature complemented the primary data gleaned via global positioning system devices, field observation, questionnaire, and interviews. Multi-sampling techniques were used to generate data from the sand miners, institutional heads, fisherfolk, community-based groups, and other stakeholders. Non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory remains vibrant in discerning the ecological stability, and it would be employed to further understand the coastal wetland destruction in Harper City, Liberia and to measure the coastal wetland stresses-amplitude and elasticity. The non-equilibrium thermodynamics postulates that the coastal wetlands are capable of assimilating resources (inputs), as well as discharging products (outputs). However, the input-output relationship exceedingly stretches beyond the thresholds of the coastal wetlands, leading to coastal wetland disequilibrium. Findings revealed that the sand mining, mangrove removal, and crude dumping have transformed the coastal wetlands, resulting in water pollution, flooding, habitat loss and disfigured beaches in Harper City in Liberia. This paper demonstrates that the coastal wetlands are converted into developmental projects and agricultural fields, thus, endangering the future society against nature.

Keywords: amplitude, crude dumping, elasticity, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, wetland destruction

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Authors: Lemuel David

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The importance of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises sector is well recognized for its legitimate contribution to the Macroeconomic objectives of the Republic of Liberia, like generation of employment, input t, exports, and enhancing entrepreneurship. Right now, Medium and Small enterprises accounts for about 99 percent of the industrial units in the country, contributing 60 percent of the manufacturing sector output and approximately one-third of the nation’s exports. The role of various financial institutions like ECO bank and Non-financial Institutions like Bearch Limited support promoting the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises is unique. A small enterprise or entrepreneur gets many types of assistance from different institutions for varied purposes in the course of his entrepreneurial journey. This paper focuses on the factors related to financial institutional support and non-financial institutional support entrepreneurs to the growth of Medium and Small enterprises in the Republic of Liberia. The significance of this paper is to support Policy and Institutional Support for Medium and Small enterprises to know the views of entrepreneurs about financial and non-financial support systems in the Republic of Liberia. This study was carried out through a survey method, with the use of questionnaires. The population for this study consisted of all registered Medium and Small enterprises which have been registered during the years 2004-2014 in the republic of Liberia. The sampling method employed for this study was a simple random technique and determined a sample size of 400. Data for the study was collected using a standard questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part consisted of questions on the profile of the respondents. The second part covers (1) financial, promotional factors and (2) non-financial promotional factors. The results of the study are based on financial and non-financial supporting activities provided by institutions to Medium and Small enterprises. After investigation, it has been found that there is no difference in the support given by Financial Institutions and non-financial Institutions. Entrepreneurs perceived “collateral-free schemes and physical infrastructure support factors are highest contributing to entry and growth of Medium and Small enterprises.

Keywords: micro, small, and medium enterprises financial institutions, entrepreneurship

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Authors: Rosaria Tizzani, Tomas Morosinotto, Fabrizio Bezzo, Eleonora Sforza

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Red microalga Porphyridium marinum CCAP 13807/10 has the potential to produce a broad range of commercially valuable chemicals such as PhycoErytrin (PE) and sulphated ExoPolySaccharides (EPS). Multiple abiotic factors influence the growth of Porphyridium sp., e.g. the wavelength of the light source and different cultivation strategies (one or two steps, batch, semi-, and continuous regime). The microalga of interest is cultivated in a two-step system. First, the culture grows photoautotrophically in a controlled bioreactor with pH-dependent CO2 injection, temperature monitoring, light intensity, and LED wavelength remote control in a semicontinuous mode. In the second step, the harvested biomass is subjected to mixotrophic conditions to enhance further growth. Preliminary tests have been performed to define the suitable media, salinity, pH, and organic carbon substrate to obtain the highest biomass productivity. Dynamic light and operational conditions (e.g. HRT) are evaluated to achieve high biomass production, high PE accumulation in the biomass, and high EPS release in the medium. Porphyridium marinum is able to chromatically adapt the photosynthetic apparatus to efficiently exploit the full light spectra composition. The effect of specific narrow LED wavelengths (white W, red R, green G, blue B) and a combination of LEDs (WR, WB, WG, BR, BG, RG) are identified to understand the phenomenon of chromatic adaptation under photoautotrophic conditions. The effect of light intensity, residence time, and light quality are investigated to define optimal operational strategies for full scale commercial applications. Production of biomass, phycobiliproteins, PE, EPS, EPS sulfate content, EPS composition, Chlorophyll-a, and pigment content are monitored to determine the effect of LED wavelength on the cultivation Porphyridium marinum in order to optimize the production of these multiple, highly valuable bioproducts of commercial interest.

Keywords: red microalgae, LED, exopolysaccharide, phycoerythrin

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Authors: Damilola Mofikoya

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Developed countries account for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. In the last decade, countries including the United States and China have made a commitment to cut down carbon emissions by signing the Paris Climate Agreement. However, carbon neutrality is a challenging issue to tackle at the country level because of the scale of the problem. To overcome this challenge, cities are at the forefront of these efforts. Many cities in the United States are taking strategic actions and proposing programs and initiatives focused on renewable energy, green transportation, less use of fossil fuel vehicles, etc. There have been concerns about the implications of those strategies and a lack of community engagement. This paper is focused on community-based efforts that help actualize the reduction of carbon footprint through sustained and inclusive action. Existing zero-carbon assessment tools are examined to understand variables and indicators associated with the zero-carbon goals. Based on a broad, systematic review of literature on community strategies, and existing zero-carbon assessment tools, a dashboard was developed to help simplify and demystify carbon neutrality goals at a community level. The literature was able to shed light on the key contributing factors responsible for the success of community efforts in carbon neutrality. Stakeholder education is discussed as one of the strategies to help communities take action and generate momentum. The community-based efforts involving individuals and residents, such as reduction of food wastages, shopping preferences, transit mode choices, and healthy diets, play an important role in the context of zero-carbon initiatives. The proposed community-based dashboard will emphasize the importance of sustained, structured, and collective efforts at a communal scale. Finally, the present study discusses the relationship between life expectancy and quality of life and how it affects carbon neutrality in communities.

Keywords: carbon footprint, communities, life expectancy, quality of life

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Authors: Sanyka Banerjee, Saikat Nandi, P. K. Dan

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Synchronizers as an integral part of gearbox is a key element in the transmission system in automotive. The performance of synchronizer affects transmission efficiency and driving comfort. Synchronizing mechanism as a major component of transmission system must be capable of preventing vibration and noise in the gears. Gear shifting efficiency improvement with an aim to achieve smooth, quick and energy efficient power transmission remains a challenge for the automotive industry. Performance of the synchronizer is dependent on the features and characteristics of its sub-components and therefore analysis of the contribution of such characteristics is necessary. An important exercise involved is to identify all such characteristics or factors which are associated with the modeling and analysis and for this purpose the literature was reviewed, rather extensively, to study the mathematical models, formulated considering such. It has been observed that certain factors are rather common across models; however, there are few factors which have specifically been selected for individual models, as reported. In order to obtain a more realistic model, an attempt here has been made to identify and assimilate practically all possible factors which may be considered in formulating the model more comprehensively. A simulation study, formulated as a block model, for such analysis has been carried out in a reliable environment like MATLAB. Lower synchronization time is desirable and hence, it has been considered here as the output factors in the simulation modeling for evaluating transmission efficiency. An improved synchronizer model requires optimized values of sub-component design parameters. A parametric optimization utilizing Taguchi’s design of experiment based response data and their analysis has been carried out for this purpose. The effectiveness of the optimized parameters for the improved synchronizer performance has been validated by the simulation study of the synchronizer block model with improved parameter values as input parameters for better transmission efficiency and driver comfort.

Keywords: design of experiments, modeling, parametric optimization, simulation, synchronizer

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Authors: Arezou Rezazadeh, Nasrin Omidvar, Hassan Eini-Zinab, Mahmoud Ghazi-Tabatabaie, Reza Majdzadeh, Saeid Ghavamzadeh, Sakineh Nouri-Saeidlou

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Dietary pattern analysis method can reflect more information about the nutritional etiology of chronic diseases such as obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between major dietary patterns and anthropometric measures in men and women living in the city of Urmia. In this cross-sectional study, 723 participants (427 women and 296 men), aged 20–64 in Urmia city were selected from all four zones of Urmia city, in the north-west of Iran. Anthropometrics (weight, height, waist and hip circumference) were measured with standard methods. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by dividing weight (in kilograms) by the square of height (in meter). Dietary intake information was collected by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire in the last year. Dietary patterns were determined using principal component analysis. The relationship between dietary patterns and obesity was analyzed by logistic regression. Three major dietary patterns (DPs) were identified that were named ‘Traditional Higher SES (THS)’, ‘Traditional Low SES (TLS)’ and ‘Transitional’. THS DP was positively and Transitional DP was negatively associated with BMI and waist circumference (W.C), however, after adjusting for confounding variables (age, gender, ethnicity, energy intake, physical activity and SES), the associations were not significant. The TLS was not significantly associated with BMI, but after adjusting for confounders, a significant positive association was detected with W.C and Waist to hip ratio (WHR). Findings showed that both traditional patterns were positively and the western type transitional pattern was reversely associated with anthropometric indices. But this relationship was highly affected by demographic, socioeconomic and energy input and output determinants. The results indicate the inevitable effect of environmental factors on the relationship between dietary patterns and anthropometric indices.

Keywords: anthropometric indices, dietary pattern, Iran, North-west

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Authors: Atakan Aral Ormancı, Tuğçe Arslantaş, Murat Özcü

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This study presents the design and implementation of an experimental chassis-level system for various control applications. Specifically, the height level of the chassis is controlled using proportional integrated derivative, fuzzy logic, and deep learning control methods. Real-time data obtained from height and pressure sensors installed in a 6x2 truck chassis, in combination with pulse-width modulation signal values, are utilized during the tests. A prototype pneumatic system of a 6x2 truck is added to the setup, which enables the Smart Pneumatic Actuators to function as if they were in a real-world setting. To obtain real-time signal data from height sensors, an Arduino Nano is utilized, while a Raspberry Pi processes the data using Matlab/Simulink and provides the correct output signals to control the Smart Pneumatic Actuator in the truck chassis. The objective of this research is to optimize the time it takes for the chassis to level down and up under various loads. To achieve this, proportional integrated derivative control, fuzzy logic control, and deep learning techniques are applied to the system. The results show that the deep learning method is superior in optimizing time for a non-linear system. Fuzzy logic control with a triangular membership function as the rule base achieves better outcomes than proportional integrated derivative control. Traditional proportional integrated derivative control improves the time it takes to level the chassis down and up compared to an uncontrolled system. The findings highlight the superiority of deep learning techniques in optimizing the time for a non-linear system, and the potential of fuzzy logic control. The proposed approach and the experimental results provide a valuable contribution to the field of control, automation, and systems engineering.

Keywords: automotive, chassis level control, control systems, pneumatic system control

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Authors: Bahram Fathi, Karim Alizadeh, Azam Mohammadbagheri

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The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of oil price shocks in explaining business cycles in Iran using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium approach. This model incorporates both productivity and oil revenue shocks. The results indicate that productivity shocks are relatively more important to business cycles than oil shocks. The model with two shocks produces different values for volatility, but these values have the same ranking as that of the actual data for most variables. In addition, the actual data are close to the ratio of standard deviations to the output obtained from the model with two shocks. The results indicate that productivity shocks are relatively more important to business cycles than the oil shocks. The model with only a productivity shock produces the most similar figures in term of volatility magnitude to that of the actual data. Next, we use the Impulse Response Functions (IRF) to evaluate the capability of the model. The IRF shows no effect of an oil shock on the capital stocks and on labor hours, which is a feature of the model. When the log-linearized system of equations is solved numerically, investment and labor hours were not found to be functions of the oil shock. This research recommends using different techniques to compare the model’s robustness. One method by which to do this is to have all decision variables as a function of the oil shock by inducing the stationary to the model differently. Another method is to impose a bond adjustment cost. This study intends to fill that gap. To achieve this objective, we derive a DSGE model that allows for the world oil price and productivity shocks. Second, we calibrate the model to the Iran economy. Next, we compare the moments from the theoretical model with both single and multiple shocks with that obtained from the actual data to see the extent to which business cycles in Iran can be explained by total oil revenue shock. Then, we use an impulse response function to evaluate the role of world oil price shocks. Finally, I present implications of the findings and interpretations in accordance with economic theory.

Keywords: oil price, shocks, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium, Iran

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Authors: Maisa Sales Gama Tobias, Humberto de Paiva Junior, Luciano Silva Brito, Rui António Rodrigues Ramos

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Waterway transport in the Amazon was the first means of access and occupation in the region. For the economic and social matter of high importance, still nowadays one of the main transport modes to several places in the region. To some places, still the only transport mode. With the advent of the pandemic, transport companies that already faced management challenges began to experience unprecedented structural changes and trends in trade and global supply chains. Thus, companies need operational reorganization to maintain the sustainability of the service under the penalty of loss of demand. Allied to this fact, it was observed that the demand presented behavior changes to adapt to this new moment. However, the lack of information about these changes makes it difficult to find solutions to maintain the quality of service. This work aimed to characterize the changes in the demand of waterway passengers through an empirical study with field research involving interviews with users and crew, on-board journeys, and visits to the waterway service company. The case study is the route Belém-Camara, on Marajó Island, in the state of Pará. This line is traditionally the only means of transport for this route, besides air transport on a much smaller scale. The collected data had a descriptive and analytical statistical treatment presented in this work. As the main result, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes, mainly in trip time and motives and, in the perception itself on service quality by part of the demand, with the increase of trip time and the feeling of insecurity. In conclusion, the service operator must review cost management and business survival strategies and tactics. The viability of the service and the social guarantee of transport proved to be threatened, putting at risk the service to the riverside populations.

Keywords: demand of waterway transport passengers, data analysis, COVID-19, amazonia

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Authors: Andrew C. Eloka Eboka, Freddie L. Inambao

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Comparative investigation and assessment of microalgal technology as a biodiesel production option was studied alongside other second generation feedstocks. This was carried out by comparing the fuel properties of species of Chlorella vulgaris, Duneliella spp, Synechococus spp and Senedesmus spp with the feedstock of Jatropha (ex-basirika variety), Hura crepitans, rubber and Natal mahogany seed oils. The micro-algae were cultivated in an open pond using a photobioreactor (New Brunsink set-up model BF-115 Bioflo/CelliGen made in the US) with operating parameters: 14L capacity, working volume of 7.5L media, including 10% inoculum, at optical density of 3.144 @540nm and light intensity of 200 lux, for 23 and 16 days respectively. Various produced/accumulated biomasses were harvested by draining, flocculation, centrifugation, drying and then subjected to lipid extraction processes. The oils extracted from the algae and feedstocks were characterised and used to produce biodiesel fuels, by the transesterification method, using modified optimization protocol. Fuel properties of the final biodiesel products were evaluated for chemo-physical and fuel properties. Results revealed Chlorella vulgaris as the best strain for biomass cultivation, having the highest lipid productivity (5.2mgL-1h-1), the highest rate of CO2 absorption (17.85mgL-1min-1) and the average carbon sequestration in the form of CO2 was 76.6%. The highest biomass productivity was 35.1mgL-1h-1 (Chlorella), while Senedesmus had the least output (3.75mgL-1h-1, 11.73mgL-1min-1). All species had good pH value adaptation, ranging from 6.5 to 8.5. The fuel properties of the micro-algal biodiesel in comparison with Jatropha, rubber, Hura and Natal mahogany were within ASTM specification and AGO used as the control. Fuel cultivation from microalgae is feasible and will revolutionise the biodiesel industry.

Keywords: biodiesel, fuel properties, microalgae, second generation, seed oils, feedstock, photo-bioreactor, open pond

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Authors: Ferhat Mohamed Amine, Boukhatem Mohamed Nadjib, Chemat Farid

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The Lamiaceae family is widely spread in Algeria. Due to the application of Thymus species growing wild in Algeria as a culinary herb and in folk medicine, the purpose of the present work was to evaluate antimicrobial activities of their essential oils and relate them with their chemical composition, for further application in food and pharmaceutical industries as natural valuable products. The extraction of the Thymus vulgaris L. essential oil (TVEO) was obtained by steam distillation. Chemical composition of the TVEO was determined by Gas Chromatography. A total of thirteen compounds were identified. Carvacrol (83.8%) was the major component, followed by cymene (8.15%) and terpinene (4.96%). Antibacterial action of the TVEO against 23 clinically isolated bacterial strains was determined by using agar disc diffusion and vapour diffusion methods at different doses. By disc diffusion method, TVEO showed potent antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria more than gram-negative strains and antibiotic discs. The Diameter of Inhibition Zone (DIZ) varied from 25 to 60 mm for S. aureus, B. subtilisand E. coli. However, the results obtained by both agar diffusion and vapour diffusion methods were different. Significantly higher antibacterial effect was observed in the vapour phase at lower doses. S. aureus and B. subtilis were the most susceptible strains to the oil vapour. Therefore, smaller doses of EO in the vapour phase can be inhibitory to pathogenic bacteria. There is growing evidence that TVEO in vapour phase are effective antiseptic systems and appears worthy to be considered for practical uses in the treatment of human infections oras air decontaminants in hospital. TVEO has considerable antibacterial activity deserving further investigation for clinical applications. Also whilst the mode of action remains mainly undetermined, this experimental approach will need to continue.

Keywords: antimicrobial drugs, carvacrol, disc diffusion, Thymus vulgaris, vapour diffusion

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Authors: Godwin Ojochogu Adejo, Evelyn UnekwuOjo Adejo, Sunday UnenwOjo Adejo

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The mainstream contemporary approach to controlling the impact of diseases among poultry birds rely largely on curative measures through the administration of drugs to infected birds. Most times as observed in the deep liter poultry farming system, entire flocks including uninfected birds receive the treatment they do not need. As such, unguarded use of chemical drugs and antibiotics has led to wastage and accumulation of chemical residues in poultry products with associated health hazards to humans. However, wanton and frequent drug usage in poultry is avoidable if feeding and drinking equipment are designed to curb infection transmission among birds. Using toxicological assays as guide and with efficiency and simplicity in view, two newly field-tested and recently patented equipments called 'healthy liquid drinking trough (HDT)' and 'healthy feeding trough (HFT)' that systematically eliminate contamination of the feeding and drinking channels, thereby, curbing wide-spread infection and transmission of diseases in the (intensive) deep litter poultry farming system were designed. Upon combined usage, they automatically and drastically reduced both the amount and frequency of antibiotics use in poultry by over > 50%. Additionally, they conferred optimization of feed and water utilization/elimination of wastage by > 80%, reduced labour by > 70%, reduced production cost by about 15%, and reduced chemical residues in poultry meat or eggs by > 85%. These new and cheap technologies which require no energy input are likely to elevate safety of poultry products for consumers' health, increase marketability locally and for export, and increase output and profit especially among poultry farmers and poor people who keep poultry or inevitably utilize poultry products in developing countries.

Keywords: healthy, trough, toxicological, assay-guided, poultry

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Abdul Matin, Muazzama Akhtar, Shahid Nisar, Saddaf Mazzar, Umer Rashid

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Antibiotic resistance is an increasing concern worldwide now a day. Neisseria gonorrhea and Staphylococcus aureus are known to cause major human sexually transmitted and respiratory diseases respectively. Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline and its application in various fields especially in medical sciences is gigantic. In the present study, we synthesized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) using acid oxidation method and solubilized MWNTs were with length predominantly >500 nm and diameters ranging from 40 to 50 nm. The locally synthesized MWNTs were used against gram positive and negative bacteria to determine their impact on bacterial growth. Clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhea (isolate: 4C-11) and Staphylococcus aureus (isolate: 38541) were obtained from local hospital and normally cultured in LB broth at 37°C. Both clinical strains can be obtained on request from University of Gujarat. Spectophometric assay was performed to determine the impact of MWNTs on bacterial growth in vitro. To determine the effect of MWTNs on test organisms, various concentration of MWNTs were used and recorded observation on various time intervals to understand the growth inhibition pattern. Our results demonstrated that MWNTs exhibited toxic effects to Staphylococcus aureus while showed very limited growth inhibition to Neisseria gonorrhea, which suggests the resistant potential of Neisseria against nanoparticles. Our results clearly demonstrate the gradual decrease in bacterial numbers with passage of time when compared with control. Maximum bacterial inhibition was observed at maximum concentration (50 µg/ml). Our future work will include further characterization and mode of action of our locally synthesized MWNTs. In conclusion, we investigated and reported for the first time the inhibitory potential of locally synthesized MWNTs on local clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Neisseria gonorrhea.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, multi walled carbon nanotubes, Neisseria gonorrhea, spectrophotometer assay, Staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Bipul Krishna Saha, Basab Chakraborty, Ashish Alex Sam, Parthasarathi Ghosh

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The demand for energy is cumulatively increasing with time.  Since the availability of conventional energy resources is dying out gradually, significant interest is being laid on searching for alternate energy resources and minimizing the wastage of energy in various fields.  In such perspective, low-grade waste heat from several industrial sources can be reused to generate electricity. The present work is to further the adoption of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology in Indian industrial sector.  The present paper focuses on extending the previously reported idea to the next level through a comparative review with three different working fluids using practical data from an Indian industrial plant. For comprehensive study in the simulation platform of Aspen Hysys^®, v8.6, the waste heat data has been collected from a current coke oven gas plant in India.  A parametric analysis of non-regenerative ORC and regenerative ORC is executed using the working fluids R-123, R-11 and R-21 for subcritical ORC system.  The primary goal is to determine the optimal working fluid considering various system parameters like turbine work output, obtained system efficiency, irreversibility rate and second law efficiency under applied multiple heat source temperature (160 °C- 180 °C).  Selection of the turbo-expanders is one of the most crucial tasks for low-temperature applications in ORC system. The present work is an attempt to make suitable recommendation for the appropriate configuration of the turbine. In a nutshell, this study justifies the proficiency of integrating the ORC technology in Indian perspective and also finds the appropriate parameter of all components integrated in ORC system for building up an ORC prototype.

Keywords: organic Rankine cycle, regenerative organic Rankine cycle, waste heat recovery, Indian industry

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Authors: Xueyan Hu, Liwen Chen, Weilin He, Sujie Peng

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Writing is an important but challenging skill For English language learners. Due to the small amount of time allocated for writing classes at schools, students have relatively few opportunities to practice writing in the classroom. While the practice of integrating listening and speaking activates with writing instruction has been used for adult English language learners, its application for young English learners has seldom been examined due to the challenge of listening and speaking activities for young English language learners. The study attempted to integrating integrating listening and speaking activities with writing instruction for middle school English language learners so as to improving their writing achievements and writing abilities in terms of the word use, coherence, and complexity in their writings. Guided by Gagne's information processing learning theory and memetics, this study conducted a 8-week writing instruction with an experimental class (n=44) and a control class (n=48) . Students in the experimental class participated in a series of listening and retelling activities about a writing sample the teacher used for writing instruction during each period of writing class. Students in the control class were taught traditionally with teachers’ direction instruction using the writing sample. Using the ANCOVA analysis of the scores of students’ writing, word-use, Chinese-English translation and the text structure, this study showed that the experimental writing instruction can significantly improve students’ writing performance. Compared with the students in the control class, the students in experimental class had significant better performance in word use and complexity in their essays. This study provides useful enlightenment for the teaching of English writing for middle school English language learners. Teachers can skillfully use information technology to integrate listening, speaking, and writing teaching, considering students’ language input and output. Teachers need to select suitable and excellent composition templates for students to ensure their high-quality language input.

Keywords: wring instruction, retelling, English language learners, listening and speaking

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Authors: Zhang Cong, Cai Runlin, Jia Fengjiao

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The evolution of the urban agglomeration spatial structure requires strong support of the inter-city traffic system. And the inter-city traffic system can not only meet the demand of the urban agglomeration transportation but also guide the economic development. To correctly understand the relationship between inter-city traffic planning and urban agglomeration can help the urban agglomeration coordinated developing with the inter-city traffic system. The Yangtze River Delta is one of the most representative urban agglomerations in China with strong economic vitality, high city levels, diversified urban space form, and improved transport infrastructure. With the promotion of industrial division in the Yangtze River Delta and the regional travel facilitation brought by inter-city traffic, the urban agglomeration is characterized by highly increasing of inter-city transportation demand, the urbanization of regional traffic, adjacent regional transportation links breaking administrative boundaries, the networked channels and so on. Therefore, the development of inter-city traffic system presents new trends and challenges. This paper studies the interactions between inter-city traffic system and regional economic growth, regional factor flow, and regional spatial structure evolution in the Yangtze River Delta from two dimensions of time and space. On this basis, the adaptability of inter-city traffic development mode and urban agglomeration space structure is analyzed. First of all, the coordination between urban agglomeration planning and inter-city traffic planning is judged from the planning level. Secondly, the coordination between inter-city traffic elements and industries and population distributions is judged from the perspective of space. Finally, the coordination of the cross-regional planning and construction of inter-city traffic system is judged. The conclusions can provide an empirical reference for intercity traffic planning in Yangtze River Delta region and other urban agglomerations, and it is also of great significance to optimize the allocation of urban agglomerations and the overall operational efficiency.

Keywords: evolution, interaction, inter-city traffic system, spatial structure

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Authors: Wissal Ben Arfi, Lubica Hikkerova, Jean-Michel Sahut

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This study examines interfirm networks in the digital transformation era, and in particular, how tacit knowledge codification affects innovation success within digital platforms. Hence, one of the most important features of digital transformation and innovation process outcomes is the emergence of digital platforms, as an interfirm network, at the heart of open innovation. This research aims to illuminate how digital platforms influence inter-organizational innovation through virtual team interactions and knowledge sharing practices within an interfirm network. Consequently, it contributes to the respective strategic management literature on new product development (NPD), open innovation, industrial management, and its emerging interfirm networks’ management. The empirical findings show, on the one hand, that knowledge conversion may be enhanced, especially by the socialization which seems to be the most important phase as it has played a crucial role to hold the virtual team members together. On the other hand, in the process of socialization, the tacit knowledge codification is crucial because it provides the structure needed for the interfirm network actors to interact and act to reach common goals which favor the emergence of open innovation. Finally, our results offer several conditions necessary, but not always sufficient, for interfirm managers involved in NPD and innovation concerning strategies to increasingly shape interconnected and borderless markets and business collaborations. In the digital transformation era, the need for adaptive and innovative business models as well as new and flexible network forms is becoming more significant than ever. Supported by technological advancements and digital platforms, companies could benefit from increased market opportunities and creating new markets for their innovations through alliances and collaborative strategies, as a mode of reducing or eliminating uncertainty environments or entry barriers. Consequently, an efficient and well-structured interfirm network is essential to create network capabilities, to ensure tacit knowledge sharing, to enhance organizational learning and to foster open innovation success within digital platforms.

Keywords: interfirm networks, digital platform, virtual teams, open innovation, knowledge sharing

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Authors: Ralene Sim, Stefan Mueller, N. Gopalakrishna Iyer, Ngian Chye Tan, Khee Chee Soo, R. Shetty Mahalakshmi, Hiang Khoon Tan

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Background: Regional failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is managed by salvage treatment in the form of neck dissection. Radical neck dissection (RND) is preferred over modified radical neck dissection (MRND) since it is traditionally believed to offer better long-term disease control. However, with the advent of more advanced imaging modalities like high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography, and Positron Emission Tomography-CT scans, earlier detection is achieved. Additionally, concurrent chemotherapy also contributes to reduced tumour burden. Hence, there may be a lesser need for an RND and a greater role for MRND. With this retrospective study, the primary aim is to ascertain whether MRND, as opposed to RND, has similar outcomes and hence, whether there would be more grounds to offer a less aggressive procedure to achieve lower patient morbidity. Methods: This is a retrospective study of 66 NPC patients treated at Singapore General Hospital between 1994 to 2016 for histologically proven regional recurrence, of which 41 patients underwent RND and 25 who underwent MRND, based on surgeon preference. The type of ND performed, primary treatment mode, adjuvant treatment, and pattern of recurrence were reviewed. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimate and compared. Results: Overall, the disease parameters such as nodal involvement and extranodal extension were comparable between the two groups. Comparing MRND and RND, the median (IQR) OS is 1.76 (0.58 to 3.49) and 2.41 (0.78 to 4.11) respectively. However, the p-value found is 0.5301 and hence not statistically significant. Conclusion: RND is more aggressive and has been associated with greater morbidity. Hence, with similar outcomes, MRND could be an alternative salvage procedure for regional failure in selected NPC patients, allowing similar salvage rates with lesser mortality and morbidity.

Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, neck dissection, modified neck dissection, radical neck dissection

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Authors: Jikhil Joseph, Satish Kumar S R.

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Cold-formed steel frames are preferable for framed constructions due to its low seismic weights and results into low seismic forces, but on the contrary, significant lateral deflections are expected under seismic/wind loading. The various factors affecting the lateral stiffness of steel frames are the stiffness of connections, beams and columns. So, by increasing the stiffness of beam, column and making the connections rigid will enhance the lateral stiffness. The present study focused on Structural elements made of rectangular hollow sections and fastened with screwed in-plane moment connections for the building frames. The self-drilling screws can be easily drilled on either side of the connection area with the help of gusset plates. The strength of screwed connections can be made 1.2 times the connecting elements. However, achieving high stiffness in connections is also a challenging job. Hence in addition to beam and column stiffness’s the connection stiffness are also going to be a governing parameter in the lateral deflections of the frames. SAP 2000 Non-linear static analysis has been planned to study the seismic behavior of steel frames. The SAP model will be consisting of nonlinear spring model for the connection to account the semi-rigid connections and the nonlinear hinges will be assigned for beam and column sections according to FEMA 273 guidelines. The reliable spring and hinge parameters will be assigned based on an experimental and analytical database. The non-linear static analysis is mainly focused on the identification of various hinge formations and the estimation of lateral deflection and these will contribute as an inputs for the direct displacement-based Seismic design. The research output from this study are the modelling techniques and suitable design guidelines for the performance-based seismic design of cold-formed steel frames.

Keywords: buckling, cold formed steel, nonlinear static analysis, screwed connections

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Authors: Zhuo Feng, Ying Gao

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Public-private partnership (PPP), as an innovative way to provide infrastructures by the private sector, is being widely used throughout the world. Compared with the traditional mode, PPP emerges largely for merits of relieving public budget constraint and improving infrastructure supply efficiency by involving private funds. However, PPP projects are characterized by large scale, high investment, long payback period, and long concession period. These characteristics make PPP projects full of risks. One of the most important risks faced by the private sector is demand risk because many factors affect the real demand. If the real demand is far lower than the forecasting demand, the private sector will be got into big trouble because operating revenue is the main means for the private sector to recoup the investment and obtain profit. Therefore, it is important to study how the government compensates the private sector when the demand risk occurs in order to achieve Pareto-improvement. This research focuses on price compensation mechanism, an ex-post compensation mechanism, and analyzes, by mathematical modeling, the impact of price compensation mechanism on payoff of the private sector and consumer surplus for PPP toll road projects. This research first investigates whether or not price compensation mechanisms can obtain Pareto-improvement and, if so, then explores boundary conditions for this mechanism. The research results show that price compensation mechanism can realize Pareto-improvement under certain conditions. Especially, to make the price compensation mechanism accomplish Pareto-improvement, renegotiation costs of the government and the private sector should be lower than a certain threshold which is determined by marginal operating cost and distortionary cost of the tax. In addition, the compensation percentage should match with the price cut of the private investor when demand drops. This research aims to provide theoretical support for the government when determining compensation scope under the price compensation mechanism. Moreover, some policy implications can also be drawn from the analysis for better risk-sharing and sustainability of PPP projects.

Keywords: infrastructure, price compensation mechanism, public-private partnership, renegotiation

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Authors: C. Bolakis, I. S. Karanasiou, D. Grbovic, G. Karunasiri, N. Uzunoglu

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A new approach for efficient detection of THz radiation in biomedical imaging applications is proposed. A double-layered absorber consisting of a 32 nm thick aluminum (Al) metallic layer, located on a glass medium (SiO2) of 1 mm thickness, was fabricated and used to design a fine-tuned absorber through a theoretical and finite element modeling process. The results indicate that the proposed low-cost, double-layered absorber can be tuned based on the metal layer sheet resistance and the thickness of various glass media taking advantage of the diversity of the absorption of the metal films in the desired THz domain (6 to 10 THz). It was found that the composite absorber could absorb up to 86% (a percentage exceeding the 50%, previously shown to be the highest achievable when using single thin metal layer) and reflect less than 1% of the incident THz power. This approach will enable monitoring of the transmission coefficient (THz transmission ‘’fingerprint’’) of the biosample with high accuracy, while also making the proposed double-layered absorber a good candidate for a microbolometer pixel’s active element. Based on the aforementioned promising results, a more sophisticated and effective double-layered absorber is under development. The glass medium has been substituted by diluted poly-si and the results were twofold: An absorption factor of 96% was reached and high TCR properties acquired. In addition, a generalization of these results and properties over the active frequency spectrum was achieved. Specifically, through the development of a theoretical equation having as input any arbitrary frequency in the IR spectrum (0.3 to 405.4 THz) and as output the appropriate thickness of the poly-si medium, the double-layered absorber retains the ability to absorb the 96% and reflects less than 1% of the incident power. As a result, through that post-optimization process and the spread spectrum frequency adjustment, the microbolometer detector efficiency could be further improved.

Keywords: bio-imaging, fine-tuned absorber, fingerprint, microbolometer

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Authors: M. Ghosh, A. Miroux, L. A. I. Kestens

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At molecular or micrometre scale, practically all materials are neither homogeneous nor isotropic. The concept of texture is used to identify the structural features that cause the properties of a material to be anisotropic. For metallic materials, the anisotropy of the mechanical behaviour originates from the crystallographic nature of plastic deformation, and is therefore controlled by the crystallographic texture. Anisotropy in mechanical properties often constitutes a disadvantage in the application of materials, as it is often illustrated by the earing phenomena during drawing. However, advantages may also be attained when considering other properties (e.g. optimization of magnetic behaviour to a specific direction) by controlling texture through thermo-mechanical processing). Nevertheless, in order to have better control over the final properties it is essential to relate texture with materials processing route and subsequently optimise their performance. However, up to date, few studies have been reported about the evolution of texture in 6061 aluminium alloy during warm processing (from room temperature to 250ºC). In present investigation, recrystallized 6061 aluminium alloy samples were subjected to tensile and plane strain compression (PSC) at room and warm temperatures. The gradual change of texture following both deformation modes were measured and discussed. Tensile tests demonstrate the mechanism at low strain while PSC does the same at high strain and eventually simulate the condition of rolling. Cube dominated texture of the initial rolled and recrystallized AA6061 sheets were replaced by domination of S and R components after PSC at room temperature, warm temperature (250ºC) though did not reflect any noticeable deviation from room temperature observation. It was also noticed that temperature has no significant effect on the evolution of grain morphology during PSC. The band contrast map revealed that after 30% deformation the substructure inside the grain is mainly made of series of parallel bands. A tendency for decrease of Cube and increase of Goss was noticed after tensile deformation compared to as-received material. Like PSC, texture does not change after deformation at warm temperature though. n-fibre was noticed for all the three textures from Goss to Cube.

Keywords: AA 6061, deformation, temperature, tensile, PSC, texture

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Authors: Aylin Hasbay Büyükkaragöz, Zehra Büyüktuncer, Tuğçe Nur Balcı, Nevin Ergun

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Purpose: Nutritional supplement usage is widespread among athletes all over the world. However, the usage among disabled athletes is not well-known. This study aimed to evaluate dietary supplement use in disabled athletes, their motivation for consuming supplements, sources of information, and their side effect. Methods: A total of 75 Turkish National Team's disabled athletes (38 female, 37 male) from 5 sport branches (soccer, weight lifting, shooting, table tennis and basketball), aged 13- 55 years, were participated in the study. Nutritional supplement usage was inquired using a questionnaire by a dietitian at their preparation camps. Results: A total of 22.7% of the athletes (18.4% and 27% of, respectively females and males) used some type of dietary supplements. Protein (35.3%), amino acid (29.4%), carnitine (29.4%), creatine (23.5%) and glucosamine (23.5%) were mostly preferred nutritional supplements by all athletes. The most common supplements use was obtained among weightlifters (71.4%), followed by the athletes of soccer (23.5%), table tennis (15.4%), and basketball (6.7%). No nutritional supplement usage was observed among shooters. Total of 41.2% consumers declared more than one reason for taking nutritional supplements. The main motivation for supplement usage was improving athletic performance (63.5%). Other reasons were weight loss, weight gain, muscle development, health protection and nutritional support. Athletes were more likely to get recommendation about nutritional supplement usage from team coaches (48.9%). Of 35.6% athletes reported that they made their own decision about using supplements. Other information sources were health professional, family member, friend and sale manager of sport retail store. Only 3 of 17 athletes reported side effects which were increased urine output, weight gain, loss of appetite and intestinal gas. Conclusions: Nutritional supplement usage was not common among disabled athletes. However, getting information from incompetent sources is disquieting. Considering their health problems, accurate information from competent sources should be provided to disabled athletes. Moreover, long term effects of nutritional supplements among disabled athletes should be examined in further studies.

Keywords: disabled athletes, ergogenic aid, nutritional supplement, vitamin supplementation

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Authors: Salam M. H. Kareem

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Instructional or teaching procedures and their proper sequence are essential for high-quality learning outcomes. These actions are the path that the teacher takes during the learning process after setting the learning objectives. Teachers and specialists in the education field should include teaching procedures with putting in place an effective mechanism for the procedure’s implementation to achieve a logical sequence with the desired output of overall education process. Determining the sequence of these actions may be a strategic process outlined by a strategic educational plan or drawn by teachers with a high level of experience, enabling them to determine those logical procedures. While specific actions may be necessary for a specific form, many Physical Education (PE) teachers can work out on various sports disciplines. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of using the teaching sequence of the teaching pyramid in raising the level of enjoyment in swimming classes. Four months later of teaching swimming skills to the control and experimental groups of the study, we figured that using the tools shown in the teaching pyramid with the experimental group led to statistically significant differences in the positive tendencies of students to participate in the swimming classes by using the traditional procedures of teaching and using of successive procedures in the teaching pyramid, and in favor of the teaching pyramid, The students are influenced by enhancing their tendency to participate in swimming classes when the teaching procedures followed are sensitive to individual differences and are based on the element of pleasure in learning, and less positive levels of the tendency of students when using traditional teaching procedures, by getting the level of skills' requirements higher and more difficult to perform. The level of positive tendencies of students when using successive procedures in the teaching pyramid was increased, by getting the level of skills' requirements higher and more difficult to perform, because of the high level of motivation and the desire to challenge the self-provided by the teaching pyramid.

Keywords: physical education, swimming classes, teaching process, teaching pyramid

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Authors: Iuliana-Erika Köpeczi

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‘Language is no longer regarded as peripheral to our grasp of the world we live in, but as central to it. Words are not mere vocal labels or communicational adjuncts superimposed upon an already given order of things. They are collective products of social interaction, essential instruments through which human beings constitute and articulate their world’, said Roy Harris. If we were to accept the above-mentioned premise, then we surely must accept that discourse, generally, - and political discourse, specifically -, bears a crucial importance to one’s perception of reality. The way in which political rhetoric constructs reality changes the relationship between the voter and his/her view of the world, which, in turn, influences greatly the future trends of political participation. In this context, our inquiry focuses on the role of populist discourses in the post 9/11 political rhetoric, and how this led to the formation, construction and reconstruction of identity within the ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ dichotomy. It is our hypothesis that anti-intellectualistic elements played a significant role in the manner in which identity construction had been carried out on a discursive level. By adopting a comparative approach, we intend to identify the similarities and differences between the use of such anti-intellectualist elements in the United States of America on one hand – within the discourse of Rick Santorum, – and France on the other – with Marine le Pen’s discourse. Our methodological approach uses close textual analysis of primary source material (discourse analysis); historical contextualization of both primary documents and broader socio-political and cultural framework through archival research and secondary sources; as well as interpretation of primary texts through theoretical frameworks (qualitative research). We hope that the output of our endeavor will be useful in better understanding the different correlations that exist between anti-intellectualism and populism and how the interactions between these two elements aids in political identity construction through discourse.

Keywords: anti-intellectualism, discourse theory, France, identity construction, populism, United States of America

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Authors: Aldé Belgard Tchicaya Loemba, Baraka Kichonge, Thomas Kivevele, Juma Rajabu Selemani

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Plants used for medicinal purposes are extremely perishable, owing to moisture-enhanced enzymatic and microorganism activity, climate change, and improper handling and storage. Experiments have shown that drying the medicinal plant without affecting the active nutrients and controlling the moisture content as much as possible can extend its shelf life. Different traditional and modern drying techniques for preserving medicinal plants have been developed, with some still being improved in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, many of these methods fail to address the most common issues encountered when drying medicinal plants, such as nutrient loss, long drying times, and a limited capacity to dry during the evening or cloudy hours. Heat pump drying is an alternate drying method that results in no nutritional loss. Furthermore, combining a heat pump dryer with a solar energy storage system appears to be a viable option for all-weather drying without affecting the nutritional values of dried products. In this study, a solar-assisted heat pump dryer integrated with thermal energy storage is developed for drying moringa leaves. The study also discusses the performance analysis of the developed dryer as well as the proximate analysis of the dried moringa leaves. All experiments were conducted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assess the dryer's performance in “daytime mode”. Experiment results show that the drying time was significantly reduced, and the dryer demonstrated high performance in preserving all of the nutrients. In 5 hours of the drying process, the moisture content was reduced from 75.7 to 3.3%. The average COP value was 3.36, confirming the dryer's low energy consumption. The findings also revealed that after drying, the content of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, and ash greatly increased.

Keywords: heat pump dryer, efficiency, moringa leaves, proximate analysis

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Authors: Getinet Gezahegn Gebre

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The study examined the impact of gender differences on Crop productivity in Decha woreda of southwest Kafa zone, located 140 Km from Jimma Town and 460 km southwest of Addis Ababa, between Bonga town and Omo River. The specific objectives were to assess the extent to which the agricultural production system is gender oriented, to examine access and control over productive resources, and to estimate men’s and women’s productivity in agriculture. Cross-sectional data collected from a total of 140 respondents were used in this study, whereby 65 were female-headed and 75 were male-headed households. The data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, t-test and chi-square were used to summarize and compare the information between the two groups. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas(CD) production function was used to estimate the productivity difference in agriculture between male and female-headed households. Results of the study showed that male-headed households (MHH) own more productive resources such as land, livestock, labor and other agricultural inputs as compared to female-headed households (FHH). Moreover, the estimate of CD production function shows that livestock, herbicide use, land size and male labor were statistically significant for MHH, while livestock, land size, herbicides use and female labor were significant variables for FHH. The crop productivity difference between MHH and FHH was about 68.83% in the study area. However, if FHH had equal access to the inputs as MHH, the gross value of the output would be higher by 23.58% for FHH. This might suggest that FHH would be more productive than MHH if they had equal access to inputs as MHH. Based on the results obtained, the following policy implication can be drawn: accessing FHH to inputs that increase the productivity of agriculture, such as herbicides, livestock and male labor; increasing the productivity of land; and introducing technologies that reduce the time and energy of women, especially for enset processing.

Keywords: gender difference, crop productivity, GDP, efficiency

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Authors: M. R. Akbari , H. Yousefnia, E. Mirrezaei

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Range uncertainties of protons are currently a topic of interest in proton therapy. Two of the parameters that are often used to specify proton range are water equivalent thickness (WET) and water equivalent ratio (WER). Since WER values for a specific material is nearly constant at different proton energies, it is a more useful parameter to compare. In this study, WER values were calculated for different proton energies in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS) and aluminum (Al) using FLUKA and TRIM codes. The results were compared with analytical, experimental and simulated SEICS code data obtained from the literature. In FLUKA simulation, a cylindrical phantom, 1000 mm in height and 300 mm in diameter, filled with the studied materials was simulated. A typical mono-energetic proton pencil beam in a wide range of incident energies usually applied in proton therapy (50 MeV to 225 MeV) impinges normally on the phantom. In order to obtain the WER values for the considered materials, cylindrical detectors, 1 mm in height and 20 mm in diameter, were also simulated along the beam trajectory in the phantom. In TRIM calculations, type of projectile, energy and angle of incidence, type of target material and thickness should be defined. The mode of 'detailed calculation with full damage cascades' was selected for proton transport in the target material. The biggest difference in WER values between the codes was 3.19%, 1.9% and 0.67% for Al, PMMA and PS, respectively. In Al and PMMA, the biggest difference between each code and experimental data was 1.08%, 1.26%, 2.55%, 0.94%, 0.77% and 0.95% for SEICS, FLUKA and SRIM, respectively. FLUKA and SEICS had the greatest agreement (≤0.77% difference in PMMA and ≤1.08% difference in Al, respectively) with the available experimental data in this study. It is concluded that, FLUKA and TRIM codes have capability for Bragg curves simulation and WER values calculation in the studied materials. They can also predict Bragg peak location and range of proton beams with acceptable accuracy.

Keywords: water equivalent ratio, dosimetric materials, proton therapy, Monte Carlo simulations

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Authors: Smita Chaudhary

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Traffic in India are observed uncontrolled, and are characterized by chaotic (not follows the lane discipline) traffic situation. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged as a viable option to enhance transportation capacity and provide increased levels of mobility and accessibility. At present in Ahmadabad there are as many intersections which face the congestion and delay at signalized intersection due to transit (BRT) lanes. Most of the intersection in spite of being signalized is operated manually due to the conflict between BRT buses and heterogeneous traffic. Though BRTS in Ahmadabad has an exclusive lane of its own but with this comes certain limitations which Ahmadabad is facing right now. At many intersections in Ahmadabad due to these conflicts, interference, and congestion both heterogeneous traffic as well as transit buses suffer traffic delays of remarkable 3-4 minutes at each intersection which has a become an issue of great concern. There is no provision of BRT bus priority due to which existing signals have their least role to play in managing the traffic that ultimately call for manual operation. There is an immense decrement in the daily ridership of BRTS because people are finding this transit mode no more time saving in their routine, there is an immense fall in ridership ultimately leading to increased number of private vehicles, idling of vehicles at intersection cause air and noise pollution. In order to bring back these commuters’ transit facilities need to be improvised. Classified volume count survey, travel time delay survey was conducted and revised signal design was done for whole study stretch having three intersections and one roundabout, later one intersection was simulated in order to see the effect of giving priority to BRT on side street queue length and travel time for heterogeneous traffic. This paper aims at suggesting the recommendations in signal cycle, introduction of intermittent priority for transit buses, simulation of intersection in study stretch with proposed signal cycle using VISSIM in order to make this transit amenity feasible and attracting for commuters in Ahmadabad.

Keywords: BRT, priority, Ridership, Signal, VISSIM

Procedia PDF Downloads 441

Authors: Mabel Usunobun Olanipekun, Henry Ogbemudia Omoregbee

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Anomalies such as water pipeline and hydraulic or petrochemical pipeline network leakages and bursts have significant implications for economic conditions and the environment. In order to ensure pipeline systems are reliable, they must be efficiently controlled. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become a powerful network with critical infrastructure monitoring systems for water, oil and gas pipelines. The loss of water, oil and gas is inevitable and is strongly linked to financial costs and environmental problems, and its avoidance often leads to saving of economic resources. Substantial repair costs and the loss of precious natural resources are part of the financial impact of leaking pipes. Pipeline systems experts have implemented various methodologies in recent decades to identify and locate leakages in water, oil and gas supply networks. These methodologies include, among others, the use of acoustic sensors, measurements, abrupt statistical analysis etc. The issue of leak quantification is to estimate, given some observations about that network, the size and location of one or more leaks in a water pipeline network. In detecting background leakage, however, there is a greater uncertainty in using these methodologies since their output is not so reliable. In this work, we are presenting a scalable concept and simulation where a pressure-driven model (PDM) was used to determine water pipeline leakage in a system network. These pressure data were collected with the use of acoustic sensors located at various node points after a predetermined distance apart. We were able to determine with the use of correlation difference to determine the leakage point locally introduced at a predetermined point between two consecutive nodes, causing a substantial pressure difference between in a pipeline network. After de-noising the signal from the sensors at the nodes, we successfully obtained the exact point where we introduced the local leakage using the correlation difference model we developed.

Keywords: leakage detection, acoustic signals, pipeline network, correlation, wireless sensor networks (WSNs)

Procedia PDF Downloads 109