Search results for: industrial heritage

Authors: Imed Feki, Faouzi Msahli

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Selection of relevant parameters from a high dimensional process operation setting space is a problem frequently encountered in industrial process modelling. This paper presents a method for selecting the most relevant fabric physical parameters for each sensory quality feature. The proposed relevancy criterion has been developed using two approaches. The first utilizes a fuzzy sensitivity criterion by exploiting from experimental data the relationship between physical parameters and all the sensory quality features for each evaluator. Next an OWA aggregation procedure is applied to aggregate the ranking lists provided by different evaluators. In the second approach, another panel of experts provides their ranking lists of physical features according to their professional knowledge. Also by applying OWA and a fuzzy aggregation model, the data sensitivity-based ranking list and the knowledge-based ranking list are combined using our proposed percolation technique, to determine the final ranking list. The key issue of the proposed percolation technique is to filter automatically and objectively the relevant features by creating a gap between scores of relevant and irrelevant parameters. It permits to automatically generate threshold that can effectively reduce human subjectivity and arbitrariness when manually choosing thresholds. For a specific sensory descriptor, the threshold is defined systematically by iteratively aggregating (n times) the ranking lists generated by OWA and fuzzy models, according to a specific algorithm. Having applied the percolation technique on a real example, of a well known finished textile product especially the stonewashed denims, usually considered as the most important quality criteria in jeans’ evaluation, we separate the relevant physical features from irrelevant ones for each sensory descriptor. The originality and performance of the proposed relevant feature selection method can be shown by the variability in the number of physical features in the set of selected relevant parameters. Instead of selecting identical numbers of features with a predefined threshold, the proposed method can be adapted to the specific natures of the complex relations between sensory descriptors and physical features, in order to propose lists of relevant features of different sizes for different descriptors. In order to obtain more reliable results for selection of relevant physical features, the percolation technique has been applied for combining the fuzzy global relevancy and OWA global relevancy criteria in order to clearly distinguish scores of the relevant physical features from those of irrelevant ones.

Keywords: data sensitivity, feature selection, fuzzy logic, OWA operators, percolation technique

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Authors: Abulbasit G. Abdulsayid, Zinab F. Abdulla, Asma A. Omer

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On the ground that the orifice plate is relatively inexpensive, requires very little maintenance and only calibrated during the occasion of plant turnaround, the orifice plate has turned to be in a real prevalent use in gas industry. Inaccuracy of measurement in the fiscal metering stations may highly be accounted to be the most vital factor for mischarges in the natural gas industry in Libya. A very trivial error in measurement can add up a fast escalating financial burden to the custodian transactions. The unaccounted gas quantity transferred annually via orifice plates in Libya, could be estimated in an extent of multi-million dollars. As the oil and gas wealth is the solely source of income to Libya, every effort is now being exerted to improve the accuracy of existing orifice metering facilities. Discharge coefficient has become pivotal in current researches undertaken in this regard. Hence, increasing the knowledge of the flow field in a typical orifice meter is indispensable. Recently and in a drastic pace, the CFD has become the most time and cost efficient versatile tool for in-depth analysis of fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer of various industrial applications. Getting deeper into the physical phenomena lied beneath and predicting all relevant parameters and variables with high spatial and temporal resolution have been the greatest weighing pros counting for CFD. In this paper, flow phenomena for air passing through an orifice meter were numerically analyzed with CFD code based modeling, giving important information about the effect of orifice plate specifications on the discharge coefficient for three different tappings locations, i.e., flange tappings, D and D/2 tappings compared with vena contracta tappings. Discharge coefficients were paralleled with discharge coefficients estimated by ISO 5167. The influences of orifice plate bore thickness, orifice plate thickness, beveled angle, perpendicularity and buckling of the orifice plate, were all duly investigated. A case of an orifice meter whose pipe diameter of 2 in, beta ratio of 0.5 and Reynolds number of 91100, was taken as a model. The results highlighted that the discharge coefficients were highly responsive to the variation of plate specifications and under all cases, the discharge coefficients for D and D/2 tappings were very close to that of vena contracta tappings which were believed as an ideal arrangement. Also, in general sense, it was appreciated that the standard equation in ISO 5167, by which the discharge coefficient was calculated, cannot capture the variation of the plate specifications and thus further thorough considerations would be still needed.

Keywords: CFD, discharge coefficients, orifice meter, orifice plate specifications

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Authors: Eugene Y. J. Aw, J. W. Koh, S. H. Chew, K. E. Chua, Lionel L. J. Ang, Algernon C. S. Hong, Danette S. E. Tan, Grace H. B. Foo, K. Q. Hong, L. M. Cheng, M. L. Leong

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This paper presents a novel rapid soil classification technique that combines computer vision with four-probe soil electrical resistivity method and cone penetration test (CPT), to improve the accuracy and productivity of on-site classification of excavated soil. In Singapore, excavated soils from local construction projects are transported to Staging Grounds (SGs) to be reused as fill material for land reclamation. Excavated soils are mainly categorized into two groups (“Good Earth” and “Soft Clay”) based on particle size distribution (PSD) and water content (w) from soil investigation reports and on-site visual survey, such that proper treatment and usage can be exercised. However, this process is time-consuming and labour-intensive. Thus, a rapid classification method is needed at the SGs. Computer vision, four-probe soil electrical resistivity and CPT were combined into an innovative non-destructive and instantaneous classification method for this purpose. The computer vision technique comprises soil image acquisition using industrial grade camera; image processing and analysis via calculation of Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) textural parameters; and decision-making using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Complementing the computer vision technique, the apparent electrical resistivity of soil (ρ) is measured using a set of four probes arranged in Wenner’s array. It was found from the previous study that the ANN model coupled with ρ can classify soils into “Good Earth” and “Soft Clay” in less than a minute, with an accuracy of 85% based on selected representative soil images. To further improve the technique, the soil strength is measured using a modified mini cone penetrometer, and w is measured using a set of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. Laboratory proof-of-concept was conducted through a series of seven tests with three types of soils – “Good Earth”, “Soft Clay” and an even mix of the two. Validation was performed against the PSD and w of each soil type obtained from conventional laboratory tests. The results show that ρ, w and CPT measurements can be collectively analyzed to classify soils into “Good Earth” or “Soft Clay”. It is also found that these parameters can be integrated with the computer vision technique on-site to complete the rapid soil classification in less than three minutes.

Keywords: Computer vision technique, cone penetration test, electrical resistivity, rapid and non-destructive, soil classification

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Authors: Axel Thallemer, Aleksandar Kostadinov, Abel Fam, Alex Teo

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For centuries, the forming processes in nature served as a source of inspiration for both architects and designers. It seems as most human artifacts are based on ideas which stem from the observation of the biological world and its principles of growth. As a fact, in the cultural history of Homo faber, materials have been mostly used in their solid state: From hand axe to computer mouse, the principle of employing matter has not changed ever since the first creation. In the scope of history only recently and by the help of additive-generative fabrication processes through Computer Aided Design (CAD), designers were enabled to deconstruct solid artifacts into an outer skin and an internal lattice structure. The intention behind this approach is to create a new topology which reduces resources and integrates functions into an additively manufactured component. However, looking at the currently employed lattice structures, it is very clear that those lattice structure geometries have not been thoroughly designed, but rather taken out of basic-geometry libraries which are usually provided by the CAD. In the here presented study, a group of 20 industrial design students created new and unique lattice structures using natural paragons as their models. The selected natural models comprise both the animate and inanimate world, with examples ranging from the spiraling of narwhal tusks, off-shooting of mangrove roots, minimal surfaces of soap bubbles, up to the rhythmical arrangement of molecular geometry, like in the case of SiOC (Carbon-Rich Silicon Oxicarbide). This ideation process leads to a design of a geometric cell, which served as a basic module for the lattice structure, whereby the cell was created in visual analogy to its respective natural model. The spatial lattices were fabricated additively in mostly [X]3 by [Y]3 by [Z]3 units’ volumes using selective powder bed melting in polyamide with (z-axis) 50 mm and 100 µm resolution and subdued to mechanical testing of their elastic zone in a biomedical laboratory. The results demonstrate that additively manufactured lattice structures can acquire different properties when they are designed in analogy to natural models. Several of the lattices displayed the ability to store and return kinetic energy, while others revealed a structural failure which can be exploited for purposes where a controlled collapse of a structure is required. This discovery allows for various new applications of functional lattice structures within industrially created objects.

Keywords: bio-inspired, biomimetic, lattice structures, additive manufacturing

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Authors: Silvia Gastaldello, Maria Grillo, Luca Tassoni, Claudio Maran, Stefano Balbo

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Antioxidants are nowadays attractive not only for the countless benefits to the human and animal health, but also for the perspective of use as food preservative instead of synthetic chemical molecules. In this study, the radical scavenging activity of six protein extracts from pulse and oleaginous seeds was evaluated. The selected matrices are Pisum sativum (yellow pea from two different origins), Carthamus tinctorius (safflower), Helianthus annuus (sunflower), Lupinus luteus cv Mister (lupin) and Glycine max (soybean), since they are economically interesting for both human and animal nutrition. The seeds were grinded and proteins extracted from 20mg powder with a specific vegetal-extraction kit. Proteins have been quantified through Bradford protocol and scavenging activity was revealed using DPPH assay, based on radical DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) absorbance decrease in the presence of antioxidants molecules. Different concentrations of the protein extract (1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 µg/ml) were mixed with DPPH solution (DPPH 0,004% in ethanol 70% v/v). Ascorbic acid was used as a scavenging activity standard reference, at the same six concentrations of protein extracts, while DPPH solution was used as control. Samples and standard were prepared in triplicate and incubated for 30 minutes in dark at room temperature, the absorbance was read at 517nm (ABS30). Average and standard deviation of absorbance values were calculated for each concentration of samples and standard. Statistical analysis using t-students and p-value were performed to assess the statistical significance of the scavenging activity difference between the samples (or standard) and control (ABSctrl). The percentage of antioxidant activity has been calculated using the formula [(ABSctrl-ABS30)/ABSctrl]*100. The obtained results demonstrate that all matrices showed antioxidant activity. Ascorbic acid, used as standard, exhibits a 96% scavenging activity at the concentration of 500 µg/ml. At the same conditions, sunflower, safflower and yellow peas revealed the highest antioxidant performance among the matrices analyzed, with an activity of 74%, 68% and 70% respectively (p < 0.005). Although lupin and soybean exhibit a lower antioxidant activity compared to the other matrices, they showed a percentage of 46 and 36 respectively. All these data suggest the possibility to use undervalued edible matrices as antioxidants source. However, further studies are necessary to investigate a possible synergic effect of several matrices as well as the impact of industrial processes for a large-scale approach.

Keywords: antioxidants, DPPH assay, natural matrices, vegetal proteins

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Authors: Ahlem Dhahri, Waleed Omri, Audrey Becuwe, Abdelwahed Omri

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In industrial processes, decision-making ranges across different scales, from process control to supply chain management. The purchasing decision-making process in the supply chain is presently gaining more attention as a critical contributor to the company's strategic success. Given the scarcity of thorough summaries in the prior studies, this bibliometric analysis aims to adopt a meticulous approach to achieve quantitative knowledge on the constantly evolving subject of purchasing decision-making in supply chain management. Through bibliometric analysis, we examine a sample of 358 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database. VOSviewer and Gephi software were employed to analyze, combine, and visualize the data. Data analytic techniques, including citation network, page-rank analysis, co-citation, and publication trends, have been used to identify influential works and outline the discipline's intellectual structure. The outcomes of this descriptive analysis highlight the most prominent articles, authors, journals, and countries based on their citations and publications. The findings from the research illustrate an increase in the number of publications, exhibiting a slightly growing trend in this field. Co-citation analysis coupled with content analysis of the most cited articles identified five research themes mentioned as follows integrating sustainability into the supplier selection process, supplier selection under disruption risks assessment and mitigation strategies, Fuzzy MCDM approaches for supplier evaluation and selection, purchasing decision in vendor problems, decision-making techniques in supplier selection and order lot sizing problems. With the help of a graphic timeline, this exhaustive map of the field illustrates a visual representation of the evolution of publications that demonstrate a gradual shift from research interest in vendor selection problems to integrating sustainability in the supplier selection process. These clusters offer insights into a wide variety of purchasing methods and conceptual frameworks that have emerged; however, they have not been validated empirically. The findings suggest that future research would emerge with a greater depth of practical and empirical analysis to enrich the theories. These outcomes provide a powerful road map for further study in this area.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, citation analysis, co-citation, Gephi, network analysis, purchasing, SCM, VOSviewer

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Authors: Tolulope Aremu

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This paper is based on the idea of using deep learning methodology for optimizing production yield by tuning a few key process parameters in a manufacturing environment. The study was explicitly on how to maximize production yield and minimize operational costs by utilizing advanced neural network models, specifically Long Short-Term Memory and Convolutional Neural Networks. These models were implemented using Python-based frameworks—TensorFlow and Keras. The targets of the research are the precision molding processes in which temperature ranges between 150°C and 220°C, the pressure ranges between 5 and 15 bar, and the material flow rate ranges between 10 and 50 kg/h, which are critical parameters that have a great effect on yield. A dataset of 1 million production cycles has been considered for five continuous years, where detailed logs are present showing the exact setting of parameters and yield output. The LSTM model would model time-dependent trends in production data, while CNN analyzed the spatial correlations between parameters. Models are designed in a supervised learning manner. For the model's loss, an MSE loss function is used, optimized through the Adam optimizer. After running a total of 100 training epochs, 95% accuracy was achieved by the models recommending optimal parameter configurations. Results indicated that with the use of RSM and DOE traditional methods, there was an increase in production yield of 12%. Besides, the error margin was reduced by 8%, hence consistent quality products from the deep learning models. The monetary value was annually around $2.5 million, the cost saved from material waste, energy consumption, and equipment wear resulting from the implementation of optimized process parameters. This system was deployed in an industrial production environment with the help of a hybrid cloud system: Microsoft Azure, for data storage, and the training and deployment of their models were performed on Google Cloud AI. The functionality of real-time monitoring of the process and automatic tuning of parameters depends on cloud infrastructure. To put it into perspective, deep learning models, especially those employing LSTM and CNN, optimize the production yield by fine-tuning process parameters. Future research will consider reinforcement learning with a view to achieving further enhancement of system autonomy and scalability across various manufacturing sectors.

Keywords: production yield optimization, deep learning, tuning of process parameters, LSTM, CNN, precision manufacturing, TensorFlow, Keras, cloud infrastructure, cost saving

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Authors: Narendra Akhadkar, Silvestre Cano, Christophe Gourru

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Injection-molded parts are widely used in power system protection products. One of the biggest challenges in an injection molding process is shrinkage and warpage of the molded parts. All these geometrical variations may have an adverse effect on the quality of the product, functionality, cost, and time-to-market. The situation becomes more challenging in the case of intricate shapes and in mass production using multi-cavity tools. To control the effects of shrinkage and warpage, it is very important to correctly find out the input parameters that could affect the product performance. With the advances in the computer-aided engineering (CAE), different tools are available to simulate the injection molding process. For our case study, we used the MoldFlow insight tool. Our aim is to predict the spread of the functional dimensions and geometrical variations on the part due to variations in the input parameters such as material viscosity, packing pressure, mold temperature, melt temperature, and injection speed. The input parameters may vary during batch production or due to variations in the machine process settings. To perform the accurate product assembly variation simulation, the first step is to perform an individual part variation simulation to render realistic tolerance ranges. In this article, we present a method to simulate part variations coming from the input parameters variation during batch production. The method is based on computer simulations and experimental validation using the full factorial design of experiments (DoE). The robustness of the simulation model is verified through input parameter wise sensitivity analysis study performed using simulations and experiments; all the results show a very good correlation in the material flow direction. There exists a non-linear interaction between material and the input process variables. It is observed that the parameters such as packing pressure, material, and mold temperature play an important role in spread on functional dimensions and geometrical variations. This method will allow us in the future to develop accurate/realistic virtual prototypes based on trusted simulated process variation and, therefore, increase the product quality and potentially decrease the time to market.

Keywords: correlation, molding process, tolerance, sensitivity analysis, variation simulation

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Authors: Chenxiao Yang, Li Li

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In this decade, the sportswear market rapidly expanded while numerous sports brands are conducting fierce competitions to hold their market shares and trying to act as a leader in professional competition sports areas to set the trends. Thus, various advancing sports equipment is being deeply explored to improving athletes’ performance in fierce competitions. Although there is plenty protective equipment such as cuff, running legging, etc., on the market, there is still blank in the field of sportswear during prerace warm-up this important time gap, especially for those competitions host in cold environment. Because there is always time gaps between warm-up and race due to event logistics or unexpected weather factors. Athletes will be exposed to chilly condition for an unpredictable long period of time. As a consequence, the effects of warm-up will be negated, and the competition performance will be degraded. However, reviewing the current market, there is none effective sports equipment provided to help athletes against this harsh environment or the rare existing products are so blocky or heavy to restrict the actions. An ideal thermal-protective sportswear should be light, flexible, comfort and aesthetic at the same time. Therefore, this design research adopted the textile circular knitting methodology to integrate soft silver-coated conductive yarns (ab. SCCYs), elastic nylon yarn and polyester yarn to develop the proposed electrical, thermal sportswear, with the strengths aforementioned. Meanwhile, the relationship between heating performance, stretch load, and energy consumption were investigated. Further, a simulation model was established to ensure providing sufficient warm and flexibility at lower energy cost and with an optimized production, parameter determined. The proposed circular knitting technology and simulation model can be directly applied to instruct prototype developments to cater different target consumers’ needs and ensure prototypes’’ safety. On the other hand, high R&D investment and time consumption can be saved. Further, two prototypes: a kneecap and an elbow guard, were developed to facilitate the transformation of research technology into an industrial application and to give a hint on the blur future blueprint.

Keywords: cold environment, silver-coated conductive yarn, electrical thermal textile, stretchable

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Authors: Safar Ghaedrahmati, Leila Soltani

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Population centralization in urban area and metropolitans, especially in developing countries such as Iran increase metropolitan's problems. For few decades, the population of cities in developing countries, including Iran had a higher growth rate than the total growth rate of countries’ population. While in developed countries, the development of the big cities began decades ago and generally allowed for controlled and planned urban expansion, the opposite is the case in developing countries, where rapid urbanization process is characterized by an unplanned existing urban expansion. The developing metropolitan cities have enormous difficulties in coping both with the natural population growth and the urban physical expansion. Iranian cities are usually the heart of economic and cultural changes that have occurred after the Islamic revolution in 1979. These cities are increasingly having impacts via political–economical arrangement and chiefly by urban management structures. Structural features have led to the population growth of cities and urbanization (in number, population and physical frame) and the main problems in them. On the other hand, the lack of birth control policies and the deceptive attractions of cities, particularly big cities, and the birth rate has shot up, something which has occurred mainly in rural regions and small cities. The population of Iran has increased rapidly since 1956. The 1956 and 1966 decennial censuses counted the population of Iran at 18.9 million and 25.7 million, respectively, with a 3.1% annual growth rate during the 1956–1966 period. The 1976 and 1986 decennial censuses counted Iran’s population at 33.7 and 49.4 million, respectively, a 2.7% and 3.9% annual growth rate during the 1966–1976 and 1976–1986 periods. The 1996 count put Iran’s population at 60 million, a 1.96% annual growth rate from 1986–1996 and the 2006 count put Iran population at 72 million. A recent major policy of urban economic and industrial decentralization is a persistent program of the government. The policy has been identified as a result of the massive growth of Tehran in the recent years, up to 9 million by 2010. Part of the growth of the capitally resulted from the lack of economic opportunities elsewhere and in order to redress the developing primacy of Tehran and the domestic pressures which it is undergoing, the policy of decentralization is to be implemented as quickly as possible. Type of research is applied and method of data collection is documentary and methods of analysis are; population analysis with urban system analysis and urban distribution system

Keywords: population centralization, cities of Iran, urban centralization, urban system

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Authors: Jaime E. Salazar Lagos

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Chongqing is located in southwest China and is becoming one of the most significant cities in the world. Its urban territories and metropolitan-related areas have one of the largest urban populations in China and are partitioned and shaped by two of the biggest and longest rivers on Earth, the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, making Chongqing a megalopolis intersected by rivers. Historically, Chongqing City enjoyed fundamental connections with its rivers; however, current urban development of Chongqing City has lost effective integration of the riverbanks within the urban space and structural dynamics of the city. Therefore, there exists a critical lack of physical and urban space conjoined with the rivers, which diminishes the economic, tourist, and environmental development of Chongqing. Using multi-scale satellite-map site verification the study confirmed the hypothesis and urban-waterside disconnect. Collected data demonstrated that the Chongqing urban zone, an area of 5292 square-kilometers and a water front of 203.4 kilometers, has only 23.49 kilometers of extension (just 11.5%) with high-quality physical and spatial urban-waterside connection. Compared with other metropolises around the world, this figure represents a significant lack of spatial development along the rivers, an issue that has not been successfully addressed in the last 10 years of urban development. On a macro scale, the study categorized the different kinds of relationships between the city and its riverbanks. This data was then utilized in the creation of an urban-waterfront relationship map that can be a tool for future city planning decisions and real estate development. On a micro scale, we discovered there are three primary elements that are causing the urban-waterside disconnect: extensive highways along the most dense areas and city center, large private real estate developments that do not provide adequate riverside access, and large industrial complexes that almost completely lack riverside utilization. Finally, as part of the suggested strategies, the study concludes that the most efficient and practical way to improve this situation is to follow the historic master-planning of Chongqing and create connective nodes in critical urban locations along the river, a strategy that has been used for centuries to handle the same urban-waterside relationship. Reviewing and implementing this strategy will allow the city to better connect with the rivers, reducing the various impacts of disconnect and urban transformation.

Keywords: Chongqing City, megalopolis, nodes, riverbanks disconnection, urban

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Authors: Suci Lestari Yuana, Shofi Fatihatun Sholihah, Derarika Ensta Jesse

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Textile is one of buyer-driven industry which rely on label trust from the consumers. Most of textile manufacturers produce textile and textile products based on consumer demands. The company’s policy is highly depend on the dynamic evolution of consumers behavior. Recently, ecofriendly has become one of the most important factor of western consumers to purchase the textile and textile product (TPT) from the company. In that sense, companies from developing countries are encouraged to follow western consumers values. Some examples of ecolabel certificate are ISO (International Standard Organisation), Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (Indonesian Ecolabel Instution) and Global Ecolabel Network (GEN). The submission of national company to international standard raised a critical question whether this is a reflection towards the legitimation of global norms into national policy or it is actually a practical strategy of the company to gain global consumer. By observing one of the prominent textile company in Indonesia, this research is aimed to discuss what kind of impetus factors that cause a company to use ecolabel and what is the meaning behind it. Whether it comes from normative power or the strategy of the company. This is a qualitative research that choose a company in Sukoharjo, Central Java, Indonesia as a case study in explaining the pratice of ecolabelling by textitle company. Some deep interview is conducted with the company in order to get to know the ecolabelling process. In addition, this research also collected some document which related to company’s ecolabelling process and its impact to company’s value. The finding of the project reflected issues that concerned several issues: (1) role of media as consumer information (2) role of government and non-government actors as normative agency (3) role of company in social responsibility (4) the ecofriendly consciousness as a value of the company. As we know that environmental norms that has been admitted internationally has changed the global industrial process. This environmental norms also pushed the companies around the world, especially the company in Sukoharjo, Central Java, Indonesia to follow the norm. The neglection toward the global norms will remained the company in isolated and unsustained market that will harm the continuity of the company. So, in buyer-driven industry, the characteristic of company-consumer relations has brought a fast dynamic evolution of norms and values. The creation of global norms and values is circulated by passing national territories or identities.

Keywords: ecolabeling, waste management, CSR, normative power

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Authors: Jerzy Bański

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Central and Eastern European agriculture is characterized by large spatial variations in the structure of agricultural land and the structure of crops on arable land. In general, field crops predominate among the land used for agriculture. In the southern part of the study area, permanent crops have a relatively large share, which is due to favorable climatic conditions. Clear differences between the north and south of the region concern the structure of crop cultivation. In the north, the cultivation of cereals, mainly wheat, definitely prevails. In the south of the region, on the other hand, the structure of crops is more diverse, as more industrial crops are grown in addition to cereals. The primary cognitive objective of the study is to diagnose and identify the directions of changes in the structure of agricultural land use in the CEE region. Particular attention was paid to the spatial differentiation of this structure and its importance in its formation of various conditions. The analysis included the basic elements of the structure of agricultural land use and the structure of crops on arable land. The decrease in the area of arable land is characteristic of the entire region and is the result of the territorial growth of cities, the development of communications infrastructure (rail and road), and the increase in the rationality of crop production involving, among other things, the exclusion from the cultivation of land with the lowest agro-ecological values and their afforestation. It can be summarized that the directions of changes in the basic categories of agricultural land are related to agro-ecological conditions, which indicates an increase in the rationality of crop production. In countries with lower-quality of agricultural production space, the share of grassland generally increased, while in countries with favorable conditions -mainly soil- the share of arable land increased. As for the structure of field crops, the direction of its changes seems to be mainly due to economic and social reasons. Ownership changes shaping an unfavorable agrarian structure (fragmentation and fragmentation of arable fields) and the process of aging of the rural population resulted in the abandonment of resource- and labor-intensive crops. As a result, the importance of growing fruits and vegetables, and potatoes has declined. The structure of vegetable crops has been greatly influenced by the accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union. This is primarily the increase in the importance of oil crops (rapeseed and sunflower) related to biofuel production. In the case of cereal crops, the main direction of change was the increase in the share of wheat at the expense of other cereal species.

Keywords: agriculture, land use, Central and Eastern Europe, crops, arable land

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Authors: Mustafa Alhamdi

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Industrial application to classify gamma rays and neutron events is investigated in this study using deep machine learning. The identification using a convolutional neural network and recursive neural network showed a significant improvement in predication accuracy in a variety of applications. The ability to identify the isotope type and activity from spectral information depends on feature extraction methods, followed by classification. The features extracted from the spectrum profiles try to find patterns and relationships to present the actual spectrum energy in low dimensional space. Increasing the level of separation between classes in feature space improves the possibility to enhance classification accuracy. The nonlinear nature to extract features by neural network contains a variety of transformation and mathematical optimization, while principal component analysis depends on linear transformations to extract features and subsequently improve the classification accuracy. In this paper, the isotope spectrum information has been preprocessed by finding the frequencies components relative to time and using them as a training dataset. Fourier transform implementation to extract frequencies component has been optimized by a suitable windowing function. Training and validation samples of different isotope profiles interacted with CdTe crystal have been simulated using Geant4. The readout electronic noise has been simulated by optimizing the mean and variance of normal distribution. Ensemble learning by combing voting of many models managed to improve the classification accuracy of neural networks. The ability to discriminate gamma and neutron events in a single predication approach using deep machine learning has shown high accuracy using deep learning. The paper findings show the ability to improve the classification accuracy by applying the spectrogram preprocessing stage to the gamma and neutron spectrums of different isotopes. Tuning deep machine learning models by hyperparameter optimization of neural network models enhanced the separation in the latent space and provided the ability to extend the number of detected isotopes in the training database. Ensemble learning contributed significantly to improve the final prediction.

Keywords: machine learning, nuclear physics, Monte Carlo simulation, noise estimation, feature extraction, classification

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Authors: Mukhammad Fatkhullah, Ayla Karina Budita, Cut Rizka Al Usrah, Kanita Khoirun Nisa, Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib, Siti Muslihatul Mukaromah

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Batik industry has become one of the leading industries in the economy of Indonesia. Since the recognition of batik as one of cultural wealth and national identity of Indonesia by UNESCO, batik production keeps increasing as a result of increasing demands for batik, whether from domestically or abroad. One of the rapid development batik industries in Indonesia is batik industry in Lawean Village, Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. This batik industry generally uses putting-out system where batik workers work in their own houses. With the implementation of this system, therefore employers don’t have to prepare Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), social security for workers, overtime payment, space for working, and equipment for working. The implementation of putting-out system causes many problems, starting from environmental pollution, the loss of social rights of workers, and even exploitation of workers by batik entrepreneurs. The data used to describe this reality is the primary data from qualitative research with in-depth interview data collection technique. Informants were determined purposively. The theory used to perform data interpretation is the phenomenology of Alfred Schutz. Both qualitative and phenomenology are used in this study to describe batik workers exploitation in terms of the implementation of putting-out system on home batik industry in Lawean. The research result showed that workers in batik industry sector in Lawean were exploited with the implementation of putting-out system. The workers were strictly employed by the entrepreneurs, so that their job cannot be called 'part-time' job anymore. In terms of labor and time, the workers often work more than 12 hours per day and they often work overtime without receiving any overtime payment. In terms of work safety, the workers often have contact with chemical substances contained in batik making materials without using any protection, such as clothes work, which is worsened by the lack of standard or procedure in work that can cause physical damage, such as burnt and peeled off skin. Moreover, exposure and contamination of chemical materials make the workers and their families vulnerable to various diseases. Meanwhile, batik entrepreneurs did not give any social security (including health cost aid). Besides that, the researchers found that batik industry in home industry sector is not environmentally friendly, even damaging ecosystem because industrial waste disposed without EIA.

Keywords: exploitation, home batik industry, occupational health and safety, putting-out system

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Authors: R. M. Shabbir Ahmed, Mohamed Haneef, A. R. Anwar Khan

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Analysis of stresses plays important role in the optimization of structures. Prior stress estimation helps in better design of the products. Composites find wide usage in the industrial and home applications due to its strength to weight ratio. Especially in the air craft industry, the usage of composites is more due to its advantages over the conventional materials. Composites are mainly made of orthotropic materials having unequal strength in the different directions. Composite materials have the drawback of delamination and debonding due to the weaker bond materials compared to the parent materials. So proper analysis should be done to the composite joints before using it in the practical conditions. In the present work, a composite plate with elastic pin is considered for analysis using finite element software Ansys. Basically the geometry is built using Ansys software using top down approach with different Boolean operations. The modelled object is meshed with three dimensional layered element solid46 for composite plate and solid element (Solid45) for pin material. Various combinations are considered to find the strength of the composite joint under uniaxial loading conditions. Due to symmetry of the problem, only quarter geometry is built and results are presented for full model using Ansys expansion options. The results show effect of pin diameter on the joint strength. Here the deflection and load sharing of the pin are increasing and other parameters like overall stress, pin stress and contact pressure are reducing due to lesser load on the plate material. Further material effect shows, higher young modulus material has little deflection, but other parameters are increasing. Interference analysis shows increasing of overall stress, pin stress, contact stress along with pin bearing load. This increase should be understood properly for increasing the load carrying capacity of the joint. Generally every structure is preloaded to increase the compressive stress in the joint to increase the load carrying capacity. But the stress increase should be properly analysed for composite due to its delamination and debonding effects due to failure of the bond materials. When results for an isotropic combination is compared with composite joint, isotropic joint shows uniformity of the results with lesser values for all parameters. This is mainly due to applied layer angle combinations. All the results are represented with necessasary pictorial plots.

Keywords: bearing force, frictional force, finite element analysis, ANSYS

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Selen Unaldi, Emmanuel Richaud, Matthieu Gervais, Laurent Berthe

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Aircrafts are painted with several layers to guarantee their protection from external attacks. For aluminum AA 2024-T3 (metallic structural part of the plane), a protective primer is applied to ensure its corrosion protection. On top of this layer, the top coat is applied for aesthetic aspects. During the lifetime of an aircraft, top coat stripping has an essential role which should be operated as an average of every four years. However, since conventional stripping processes create hazardous disposals and need long hours of labor work, alternative methods have been investigated. Amongst them, laser stripping appears as one of the most promising techniques not only because of the reasons mentioned above but also its controllable and monitorable aspects. The application of a laser beam from the coated side provides stripping, but the depth of the process should be well controlled in order to prevent damage to a substrate and the anticorrosion primer. Apart from that, thermal effects should be taken into account on the painted layers. As an alternative, we worked on developing a process that includes the usage of shock wave propagation to create the stripping via mechanical effects with the application of the beam from the substrate side (back face) of the samples. Laser stripping was applied on thickness-specified samples with a thickness deviation of 10-20%. First, the stripping threshold is determined as a function of power density which is the first flight off of the top coats. After obtaining threshold values, the same power densities were applied to specimens to create large stripping zones with a spot overlap of 10-40%. Layer characteristics were determined on specimens in terms of physicochemical properties and thickness range both before and after laser stripping in order to validate the substrate material health and coating properties. The substrate health is monitored by measuring the roughness of the laser-impacted zones and free surface energy tests (both before and after laser stripping). Also, Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) is determined from VISAR diagnostic on AA 2024-T3 substrates (for the back face surface deformations). In addition, the coating properties are investigated as a function of adhesion levels and anticorrosion properties (neutral salt spray test). The influence of polyurethane top-coat thickness is studied in order to verify the laser stripping process window for industrial aircraft applications.

Keywords: aircraft coatings, laser stripping, laser adhesion tests, epoxy, polyurethane

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Changdong Oh

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With the arrival of post-industrial society, social scientists have been giving attention to issues of which factors shape cleavage of political parties. Especially, there is a heated controversy over whether and how social and cultural values influence the identities of parties and voting behavior. Drawing from Moral Foundations Theory (MFT), which approached similar issues by considering the effect of five moral foundations on political decision-making of people, this study investigates the role of moral rhetoric in the evolution of Korean political parties. Researcher collected official announcements released by the major two parties (Democratic Party of Korea, Saenuri Party) from 2007 to 2016, and analyzed the data by using Word2Vec algorithm and Moral Foundations Dictionary. Five moral decision modules of MFT, composed of care, fairness (individualistic morality), loyalty, authority and sanctity (group-based, Durkheimian morality), can be represented in vector spaces consisted of party announcements data. By comparing the party vector and the five morality vectors, researcher can see how the political parties have actively used each of the five moral foundations to express themselves and the opposition. Results report that the conservative party tends to actively draw on collective morality such as loyalty, authority, purity to differentiate itself. Notably, such moral differentiation strategy is prevalent when they criticize an opposition party. In contrast, the liberal party tends to concern with individualistic morality such as fairness. This result indicates that moral cleavage does exist between parties in South Korea. Furthermore, individualistic moral gaps of the two political parties are eased over time, which seems to be due to the discussion of economic democratization of conservative party that emerged after 2012, but the community-related moral gaps widened. These results imply that past political cleavages related to economic interests are diminishing and replaced by cultural and social values associated with communitarian morality. However, since the conservative party’s differentiation strategy is largely related to negative campaigns, it is doubtful whether such moral differentiation among political parties can contribute to the long-term party identification of the voters, thus further research is needed to determine it is sustainable. Despite the limitations, this study makes it possible to track and identify the moral changes of party system through automated text analysis. More generally, this study could contribute to the analysis of various texts associated with the moral foundation and finding a distributed representation of moral, ethical values.

Keywords: moral foundations theory, moral politics, party system, Word2Vec

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: A. Talaei, M. Ahiduzzaman, A. Kumar

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In Canada, an increase in the production of iron and steel is anticipated for satisfying the increasing demand of iron and steel in the oil sands and automobile industries. It is predicted that GHG emissions from iron and steel sector will show a continuous increase till 2030 and, with emissions of 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the sector will account for more than 2% of total national GHG emissions, or 12% of industrial emissions (i.e. 25% increase from 2010 levels). Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the energy intensity and to implement energy efficiency measures in the industry to reduce the GHG footprint. This paper analyzes the current energy consumption in the Canadian iron and steel industries and identifies energy efficiency opportunities to improve the energy intensity and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from this industry. In order to do this, a demand tree is developed representing different iron and steel production routs and the technologies within each rout. The main energy consumer within the industry is found to be flared heaters accounting for 81% of overall energy consumption followed by motor system and steam generation each accounting for 7% of total energy consumption. Eighteen different energy efficiency measures are identified which will help the efficiency improvement in various subsector of the industry. In the sintering process, heat recovery from coolers provides a high potential for energy saving and can be integrated in both new and existing plants. Coke dry quenching (CDQ) has the same advantages. Within the blast furnace iron-making process, injection of large amounts of coal in the furnace appears to be more effective than any other option in this category. In addition, because coal-powered electricity is being phased out in Ontario (where the majority of iron and steel plants are located) there will be surplus coal that could be used in iron and steel plants. In the steel-making processes, the recovery of Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) gas and scrap preheating provides considerable potential for energy savings in BOF and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel-making processes, respectively. However, despite the energy savings potential, the BOF gas recovery is not applicable in existing plants using steam recovery processes. Given that the share of EAF in steel production is expected to increase the application potential of the technology will be limited. On the other hand, the long lifetime of the technology and the expected capacity increase of EAF makes scrap preheating a justified energy saving option. This paper would present the results of the assessment of the above mentioned options in terms of the costs and GHG mitigation potential.

Keywords: Iron and Steel Sectors, Energy Efficiency Improvement, Blast Furnace Iron-making Process, GHG Mitigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Sawsan Domi

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Khartoum is considering as one of the hottest cities all over the world, the mean monthly outdoor temperature remains above 30 ºC. Solar Radiation on Building Surfaces considered within the world highest values. Buildings in Khartoum is receiving huge amounts of watts/m2. Northern, eastern and western facades always receive a greater amount than the south ones. Therefore, these facades of the building must be better protected than the others. One of the most important design limits affecting indoor thermal comfort and energy conservation are building envelope design, self-efficiency in building materials and optical and thermo-physical properties of the building envelope. A small sun-facing glazing area is very important to provide thermal comfort in hot dry climates because of the intensive sunshine. This study aims to propose a work plan to help minimize the negative environmental effect of the climate on buildings taking the intensive use of glazing. In the last 15 years, there was a rapid growth in building sector in Khartoum followed by many of wrong strategies getting away of being environmental friendly. The intensive use of glazing on facades increased to commercial, industrial and design aspects, while the glass envelope led to quick increase in temperature by the reflection affects the sun on faces, cars and bodies. Logically, being transparent by using glass give a sense of open spaces, allowing natural lighting and sometimes natural ventilation keeping dust and insects away. In the other hand, it costs more and give more overheated. And this is unsuitable for a hot dry climate city like Khartoum. Many huge projects permitted every year from the Ministry of Planning in Khartoum state, with a design based on the intensive use of glazing on facades. There are no Laws or Regulations to control using materials in construction, the last building code -building code 2008- Khartoum state- only focused in using sustainable materials with no consider to any environmental aspects. Results of the study will help increase the awareness for architects, engineers and public about this environmentally problem. Objectives vary between Improve energy performance in buildings and Provide high levels of thermal comfort in the inner environment. As a future project, what are the changes that can happen in building permits codes and regulations. There could be recommendations for the governmental sector such as Obliging the responsible authorities to version environmental friendly laws in building construction fields and Support Renewable energy sector in buildings.

Keywords: building envelope, building regulations, glazed facades, solar radiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 219

Authors: Somnath Mukhuti, Prem Kumar Ghosh

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Background and significance of the study Indian stock market has undergone sudden changes after the current China crisis in terms of turnover, market capitalization, share prices, etc. The average returns on equity investment in both markets have more than three and half times after global financial crisis owing to the development of industrial activity, corporate sectors development, enhancement in global consumption, change of global financial association and fewer imports from developed countries. But the economic policies of both the economies are far different, that is to say, where Indian economy maintaining a conservative policy, Chinese economy maintaining an aggressive policy. Besides this, Chinese economy recently lowering its currency for increasing mysterious growth but Indian does not. But on August 24, 2015 Indian stock market and world stock markets were fall down due to the reason of Chinese stock market. Keeping in view of the above, this study seeks to examine the influence of Chinese stock on Indian stock market. Methodology This research work is based on daily time series data obtained from yahoo finance database between 2009 (April 1) to 2015 (September 28). This study is based on two important stock markets, that is, Indian stock market (Bombay Stock Exchange) and Chinese stock market (Shanghai Stock Exchange). In the course of analysis, the daily raw data were converted into natural logarithm for minimizing the problem of heteroskedasticity. While tackling the issue, correlation statistics, ADF and PP unit root test, bivariate cointegration test and causality test were used. Major findings Correlation statistics show that both stock markets are associated positively. Both ADF and PP unit root test results demonstrate that the time series data were not normal and were not stationary at level however stationary at 1st difference. The bivariate cointegration test results indicate that the Indian stock market was associated with Chinese stock market in the long-run. The Granger causality test illustrates there was a unidirectional causality between Indian stock market and Chinese stock market. Concluding statement The empirical results recommend that India’s stock market was not very much dependent on Chinese stock market because of Indian economic conservative policies. Nevertheless, Indian stock market might be sturdy if Indian economic policies are changed slightly and if increases the portfolio investment with Chinese economy. Indian economy might be a third largest economy in 2030 if India increases its portfolio investment and trade relations with both Chinese economy and US economy.

Keywords: Indian stock market, China stock market, bivariate cointegration, causality test

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Temitayo Abayomi Ewemoje, Oluwamayowa Oluwafemi Oluwaniyi

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Agriculture and food processing, industry are among the largest industrial sectors that uses large amount of energy. Thus, a larger amount of gases from their fuel combustion technologies is being released into the environment. The choice of input energy supply not only directly having affects the environment, but also poses a threat to human health. The study was therefore designed to assess each unit production processes in order to identify hotspots using life cycle assessments (LCA) approach in South-western Nigeria. Data such as machine power rating, operation duration, inputs and outputs of shea butter materials for unit processes obtained at site were used to modelled Life Cycle Impact Analysis on GaBi6 (Holistic Balancing) software. Four scenarios were drawn for the impact assessments. Material sourcing from Kaiama, Scenarios 1, 3 and Minna Scenarios 2, 4 but different heat supply sources (Liquefied Petroleum Gas ‘LPG’ Scenarios 1, 2 and 10.8 kW Diesel Heater, scenarios 3, 4). Modelling of shea butter production on GaBi6 was for 1kg functional unit of shea butter produced and the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) midpoint assessment was tool used to was analyse the life cycle inventories of the four scenarios. Eight categories in all four Scenarios were observed out of which three impact categories; Global Warming Potential (GWP) (0.613, 0.751, 0.661, 0.799) kg CO2¬-Equiv., Acidification Potential (AP) (0.112, 0.132, 0.129, 0.149) kg H+ moles-Equiv., and Smog (0.044, 0.059, 0.049, 0.063) kg O3-Equiv., categories had the greater impacts on the environment in Scenarios 1-4 respectively. Impacts from transportation activities was also seen to contribute more to these environmental impact categories due to large volume of petrol combusted leading to releases of gases such as CO2, CH4, N2O, SO2, and NOx into the environment during the transportation of raw shea kernel purchased. The ratio of transportation distance from Minna and Kaiama to production site was approximately 3.5. Shea butter unit processes with greater impacts in all categories was the packaging, milling and with the churning processes in ascending order of magnitude was identified as hotspots that may require attention. From the 1kg shea butter functional unit, it was inferred that locating production site at the shortest travelling distance to raw material sourcing and combustion of LPG for heating would reduce all the impact categories assessed on the environment.

Keywords: GaBi6, Life cycle assessment, shea butter production, TRACI

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Martin Cai, Khadijah B. Hashim, Leng Leo, Edmund F. Tian

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Analysis of traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) supplements has always been a laborious task, particularly in the case of multi‐ingredient formulations. Traditionally, herbal extracts are analysed using one or few markers compounds. In the recent years, however, pharmaceutical companies are introducing health supplements of TCM active ingredients to cater to the needs of consumers in the fast-paced society in this age. As such, new problems arise in the aspects of composition identification as well as quality analysis. In most cases of products or supplements formulated with multiple TCM herbs, the chemical composition, and nature of each raw material differs greatly from the others in the formulation. This results in a requirement for individual analytical processes in order to identify the marker compounds in the various botanicals. Thin-layer Chromatography (TLC) is a simple, cost effective, yet well-regarded method for the analysis of natural products, both as a Pharmacopeia-approved method for identification and authentication of herbs, and a great analytical tool for the discovery of chemical compositions in herbal extracts. Recent technical advances introduced High-Performance TLC (HPTLC) where, with the help of automated equipment and improvements on the chromatographic materials, both the quality and reproducibility are greatly improved, allowing for highly standardised analysis with greater details. Here we report an industrial consultancy project with ONI Global Pte Ltd for the analysis of LAC Liver Protector, a TCM formulation aimed at improving liver health. The aim of this study was to identify 4 key components of the supplement using HPTLC, following protocols derived from Chinese Pharmacopeia standards. By comparing the TLC profiles of the supplement to the extracts of the herbs reported in the label, this project proposes a simple and cost-effective analysis of the presence of the 4 marker compounds in the multi‐ingredient formulation by using 4 different HPTLC methods. With the increasing trend of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) bringing natural products and health supplements into the market, it is crucial that the qualities of both raw materials and end products be well-assured for the protection of consumers. With the technology of HPTLC, science can be incorporated to help SMEs with their quality control, thereby ensuring product quality.

Keywords: traditional Chinese medicine supplement, high performance thin layer chromatography, active ingredients, product quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Eugene Y. J. Aw, J. W. Koh, S. H. Chew, K. E. Chua, P. L. Goh, Grace H. B. Foo, M. L. Leong

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This paper presents the evaluation of various soil testing methods such as the four-probe soil electrical resistivity method and cone penetration test (CPT) that can complement a newly developed novel rapid soil classification scheme using computer vision, to improve the accuracy and productivity of on-site classification of excavated soil. In Singapore, excavated soils from the local construction industry are transported to Staging Grounds (SGs) to be reused as fill material for land reclamation. Excavated soils are mainly categorized into two groups (“Good Earth” and “Soft Clay”) based on particle size distribution (PSD) and water content (w) from soil investigation reports and on-site visual survey, such that proper treatment and usage can be exercised. However, this process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Thus, a rapid classification method is needed at the SGs. Four-probe soil electrical resistivity and CPT were evaluated for their feasibility as suitable additions to the computer vision system to further develop this innovative non-destructive and instantaneous classification method. The computer vision technique comprises soil image acquisition using an industrial-grade camera; image processing and analysis via calculation of Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) textural parameters; and decision-making using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). It was found from the previous study that the ANN model coupled with ρ can classify soils into “Good Earth” and “Soft Clay” in less than a minute, with an accuracy of 85% based on selected representative soil images. To further improve the technique, the following three items were targeted to be added onto the computer vision scheme: the apparent electrical resistivity of soil (ρ) measured using a set of four probes arranged in Wenner’s array, the soil strength measured using a modified mini cone penetrometer, and w measured using a set of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. Laboratory proof-of-concept was conducted through a series of seven tests with three types of soils – “Good Earth”, “Soft Clay,” and a mix of the two. Validation was performed against the PSD and w of each soil type obtained from conventional laboratory tests. The results show that ρ, w and CPT measurements can be collectively analyzed to classify soils into “Good Earth” or “Soft Clay” and are feasible as complementing methods to the computer vision system.

Keywords: computer vision technique, cone penetration test, electrical resistivity, rapid and non-destructive, soil classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Sara Khamseh, Elahe Sharifi

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321 alloy steel is austenitic stainless steel with high oxidation resistance and is commonly used to fabricate heat exchangers and steam generators. However, the low hardness and weak tribological performance can cause dangerous failures during industrial operations. The well-designed protective coatings on 321 alloy steel surfaces with high hardness and good tribological performance can guarantee their safe applications. The surface protection of metal substrates using protective coatings showed high efficiency in prevailing these problems. Carbon-based multicomponent coatings, such as metal-added amorphous carbon coatings, are crucially necessary because of their remarkable mechanical and tribological performances. In the current study, (Nb: Si: a-C) multicomponent coatings (a-C: amorphous carbon) were coated on 321 alloys using a balanced magnetron (BM) sputtering system at room temperature. The effects of the Si/Nb ratio on microstructure, mechanical and tribological characteristics of (Nb: Si: a-C) composite coatings were investigated. The XRD and Raman analysis results showed that the coatings formed a composite structure of cubic diamond (C-D), NbC, and graphite-like carbon (GLC). The NbC phase's abundance decreased when the C-D phase's affluence increased with an increasing Si/Nb ratio. The coatings' indentation hardness and plasticity index (H³/E² ratio) increased with an increasing Si/Nb ratio. The better mechanical properties of the coatings with higher Si content can be attributed to the higher cubic diamond (C-D) content. The cubic diamond (C-D) is a challenging phase and can positively affect the mechanical performance of the coatings. It is well documented that in hard protective coatings, Si encourages amorphization. In addition, THE studies showed that Nb and Mo can act as a catalyst for nucleation and growth of hard cubic (C-D) and hexagonal (H-D) diamond phases in a-C coatings. In the current study, it seems that fully arranged nanocomposite coatings contain hard C-D and NbC phases that embedded in the amorphous carbon (GLC) phase is formed. This unique structure decreased grain boundary density and defects and resulted in high hardness and H³/E² ratio. Moreover, the COF and wear rate of the coatings decreased with increasing Si/Nb ratio. This can be attributed to the good mechanical properties of the coatings and the formation of graphite-like carbon (GLC) structure with lamellae arrangement in the coatings. The complex and self-lubricant coatings are successfully formed on the surface of 321 alloys. The results of the present study clarified that Si addition to (Nb: a-C) coatings improve the mechanical and tribological performance of the coatings on 321 alloy.

Keywords: COF, mechanical properties, microstructure, (Nb: Si: a-C) coatings, Wear rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: M. Beheshti, S. Saegrov, T. M. Muthanna

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Separated sewer systems are designed to transfer the wastewater from houses and industrial sections to wastewater treatment plants. Unwanted water in the sewer systems is a well-known problem, i.e. storm-water inflow is around 50% of the foul sewer, and groundwater infiltration to the sewer system can exceed 50% of total wastewater volume in deteriorated networks. Infiltration and inflow of non-sewer water (I/I) into sewer systems is unfavorable in separated sewer systems and can trigger overloading the system and reducing the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, I/I has negative economic, environmental, and social impacts on urban areas. Therefore, for having sustainable management of urban sewer systems, I/I of unwanted water into the urban sewer systems should be considered carefully and maintenance and rehabilitation plan should be implemented on these water infrastructural assets. This study presents a methodology to identify and quantify the level of I/I into the sewer system. Amount of I/I is evaluated by accurate flow measurement in separated sewer systems for specified isolated catchments in Trondheim city (Norway). Advanced information about the characteristics of I/I is gained by CCTV inspection of sewer pipelines with high I/I contribution. Achieving enhanced knowledge about the detection and localization of non-sewer water in foul sewer system during the wet and dry weather conditions will enable the possibility for finding the problem of sewer system and prioritizing them and taking decisions for rehabilitation and renewal planning in the long-term. Furthermore, preventive measures and optimization of sewer systems functionality and efficiency can be executed by maintenance of sewer system. In this way, the exploitation of sewer system can be improved by maintenance and rehabilitation of existing pipelines in a sustainable way by more practical cost-effective and environmental friendly way. This study is conducted on specified catchments with different properties in Trondheim city. Risvollan catchment is one of these catchments with a measuring station to investigate hydrological parameters through the year, which also has a good database. For assessing the infiltration in a separated sewer system, applying the flow rate measurement method can be utilized in obtaining a general view of the network condition from infiltration point of view. This study discusses commonly used and advanced methods of localizing and quantifying I/I in sewer systems. A combination of these methods give sewer operators the possibility to compare different techniques and obtain reliable and accurate I/I data which is vital for long-term rehabilitation plans.

Keywords: flow rate measurement, infiltration and inflow (I/I), non-sewer water, separated sewer systems, sustainable management

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb, Farrukh Jamil, Sandeep K. Saxena

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The fast growth rate of energy consumption along with world population expected to demand 50% more energy by 2030 than nowadays. At present, the energy demand is mostly provided by limited fossil fuel sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal that are resulting in dramatic increase in CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. The growth of the biodiesel industry over the last decade has resulted in a price drop because glycerol is obtained as a by-product during transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fats, which accounts for one tenth of every gallon of biodiesel produced. The production of oxygenates from glycerol gains much importance due to the excellent diesel-blending property of the oxygenates that not only improve the quality of the fuel but also increases the overall yield of the biodiesel in helping to meet the target for energy production from renewable sources for transport in the energy utilization directives. The reaction of bio-glycerol with bio-acetone was carried out in a magnetically stirred two necked round bottom flaskS. Condensation of bio-glycerol with acetone in the presence of various modified forms of beta zeolite has been done for synthesizing solketal (AB-2 modified with nitric acid, AB-3 modified with oxalic acid). Among all modified forms of beta zeolite, AB-2 showed the best performance for maximum glycerol conversion 94.26 % with 94.21 % solketal selectivity and minimum acetal formation 0.05 %. The physiochemical properties of parent beta zeolite and all its modified forms were analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, FTIR and TPD. It has been revealed that AB-2 catalysts with high pore volume and surface area gave high glycerol conversion with maximum solketal selectivity. Despite this, the crystallinity of AB-3 was lower than AB-2 which helps to provide the shorter path length for reactants and product but due high pore volume AB-2 was preferred which gave maximum bio-glycerol conversion. Temperature does matter the glycerol conversion and selectivity of solketal, as it increases from 40 ºC to 60 ºC the conversion of glycerol rises from 80.04 % to 94.26 % and selectivity of solketal from 80.0 % to 94.21 % but further increase in temperature to 100 ºC glycerol conversion reduced to 93.06 % and solketal selectivity to 92.08 %. AB-2 was found to be highly stable as up to 4 repeated experimental runs there was less than 10% decrease in its activity. This process offers an attractive route for converting bio-glycerol, the main by-product of biodiesel to solketal with bio-acetone; a value-added green product with potential industrial applications as a valuable green fuel additive or combustion promoter for gasoline/diesel engines.

Keywords: beta-zeolite, bio-glycerol, catalyst, solketal

Procedia PDF Downloads 214

Authors: Yitian Ren, Liyin Shen, Tao Zhou, Xiao Li

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The past urbanization process in China has brought out series of problems, the Chinese government has then positioned small towns in essential roles for implementing the strategy 'The National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014-2020)'. As the connector and transfer station of cities and countryside, small towns are important force to narrow the gap between urban and rural area, and to achieve the mission of new-type urbanization in China. The sustainable development of small towns plays crucial role because cities are not capable enough to absorb the surplus rural population. Nevertheless, there are various types of barriers hindering the sustainable development of small towns, which led to the limited development of small towns and has presented a bottleneck in Chinese urbanization process. Therefore, this paper makes deep understanding of these barriers, thus effective actions can be taken to address them. And this paper chooses the perspective of Southwest China (refers to Sichuan province, Yunnan province, Guizhou province, Chongqing Municipality City and Tibet Autonomous Region), cause the urbanization rate in Southwest China is far behind the average urbanization level of the nation and the number of small towns accounts for a great proportion in mainland China, also the characteristics of small towns in Southwest China are distinct. This paper investigates the barriers of sustainable development of small towns which located in Southwest China by using the content analysis method, combing with the field work and interviews in sample small towns, then identified and concludes 18 barriers into four dimensions, namely, institutional barriers, economic barriers, social barriers and ecological barriers. Based on the research above, questionnaire survey and data analysis are implemented, thus the key barriers hinder the sustainable development of small towns in Southwest China are identified by using fuzzy set theory, those barriers are, lack of independent financial power, lack of construction land index, financial channels limitation, single industrial structure, topography variety and complexity, which mainly belongs to institutional barriers and economic barriers. In conclusion part, policy suggestions are come up with to improve the politic and institutional environment of small town development, also the market mechanism are supposed to be introduced to the development process of small towns, which can effectively overcome the economic barriers, promote the sustainable development of small towns, accelerate the in-situ urbanization by absorbing peasants in nearby villages, and achieve the mission of new-type urbanization in China from the perspective of people-oriented.

Keywords: barrier analysis, sustainable development, small town, Southwest China

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Avent Grange, Frederic Bertrand, Jean-Baptiste Droin, Amandine Marrel, Jean-Henry Ferrasse, Olivier Boutin

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CEA and its industrial partners are designing a gas Power Conversion System (PCS) based on a Brayton cycle for the ASTRID Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor. Investigations of control and regulation requirements to operate this PCS during operating, incidental and accidental transients are necessary to adapt core heat removal. To this aim, we developed a methodology to optimize the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the reactor during normal operations, incidents and accidents. This methodology consists of a multi-objective optimization for a specific sequence, whose aim is to increase component lifetime by reducing simultaneously several thermal stresses and to bring the reactor into a stable state. Furthermore, the multi-objective optimization complies with safety and operating constraints. Operating, incidental and accidental sequences use specific regulations to control the thermal-hydraulic reactor behavior, each of them is defined by a setpoint, a controller and an actuator. In the multi-objective problem, the parameters used to solve the optimization are the setpoints and the settings of the controllers associated with the regulations included in the sequence. In this way, the methodology allows designers to define an optimized and specific control strategy of the plant for the studied sequence and hence to adapt PCS piloting at its best. The multi-objective optimization is performed by evolutionary algorithms coupled to surrogate models built on variables computed by the thermal-hydraulic system code, CATHARE2. The methodology is applied to a loss of off-site power sequence. Three variables are controlled: the sodium outlet temperature of the sodium-gas heat exchanger, turbomachine rotational speed and water flow through the heat sink. These regulations are chosen in order to minimize thermal stresses on the gas-gas heat exchanger, on the sodium-gas heat exchanger and on the vessel. The main results of this work are optimal setpoints for the three regulations. Moreover, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control setting is considered and efficient actuators used in controls are chosen through sensitivity analysis results. Finally, the optimized regulation system and the reactor control procedure, provided by the optimization process, are verified through a direct CATHARE2 calculation.

Keywords: gas power conversion system, loss of off-site power, multi-objective optimization, regulation, sodium fast reactor, surrogate model

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Zarina Chokparova, Ighor Uzhinsky

Abstract:

Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from burning of the fossil fuels on large scales, such as oil industry or power plants, leads to a plenty of severe implications including global temperature raise, air pollution and other adverse impacts on the environment. Besides some precarious and costly ways for the alleviation of CO₂ emissions detriment in industrial scales (such as liquefaction of CO₂ and its deep-water treatment, application of adsorbents and membranes, which require careful consideration of drawback effects and their mitigation), one physically and commercially available technology for its capture and disposal is supersonic system for inertial extraction of CO₂ in after-combustion streams. Due to the flue gas with a carbon dioxide concentration of 10-15 volume percent being emitted from the combustion system, the waste stream represents a rather diluted condition at low pressure. The supersonic system induces a flue gas mixture stream to expand using a converge-and-diverge operating nozzle; the flow velocity increases to the supersonic ranges resulting in rapid drop of temperature and pressure. Thus, conversion of potential energy into the kinetic power causes a desublimation of CO₂. Solidified carbon dioxide can be sent to the separate vessel for further disposal. The major advantages of the current solution are its economic efficiency, physical stability, and compactness of the system, as well as needlessness of addition any chemical media. However, there are several challenges yet to be regarded to optimize the system: the way for increasing the size of separated CO₂ particles (as they are represented on a micrometers scale of effective diameter), reduction of the concomitant gas separated together with carbon dioxide and provision of CO₂ downstream flow purity. Moreover, determination of thermodynamic conditions of the vapor-solid mixture including specification of the valid and accurate equation of state remains to be an essential goal. Due to high speeds and temperatures reached during the process, the influence of the emitted heat should be considered, and the applicable solution model for the compressible flow need to be determined. In this report, a brief overview of the current technology status will be presented and a program for further evaluation of this approach is going to be proposed.

Keywords: CO₂ sequestration, converging diverging nozzle, fossil fuel power plant emissions, inertial CO₂ extraction, supersonic post-combustion carbon dioxide capture

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