Search results for: MEMS capacitive pressure sensor

Authors: Madhumita Roy

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Kolkata, the city of joy, is an organic city with 45 lakhs of people till date. The increasing population stress is creating a constant pressure on the ground surface which in turn reducing the possible area for plantation. Humans, plants, and birds have a mutualistic relationship, and all are dependent on each other for their survival. Vegetation structure is very important for a bird life because it can be used as a residence, foraging, life cycle, and shelter from predators. On the other hand, in urban areas, buildings and structures also plays a major role for birds habitat w.r.t, nesting, resting, etc. City birds are constantly upgrading their adaptative mechanism with changing urban pattern with modern architectural designs. Urbanisation and unplanned development lead to environmental degradation and bird habitat fragmentation, which have impacts on the degradation of the quality and quantity of bird habitat. Declining green cover and habitat loss affects the diversity and population structure of birds. Their reducing number is an increasing threat not only to the bird community but also to the city as birds are considered as one of the most important environmental indicator. This study aims to check the present avian status like species richness, relative abundance, and diversity of bird species in the context of changing urban pattern in Kolkata city. Nesting strategy in the urban habitat of the avian community is another avenue of interest.

Keywords: urbanisation, avian species, kolkata metropolis, planning

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Authors: Adel A. Ghobbar, Varun Raman

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The Corrective maintenance of components and systems is a problem plaguing almost every industry in the world today. Train operators’ and the maintenance repair and overhaul subsidiary of the Dutch railway company is also facing this problem. A considerable portion of the maintenance activities carried out by the company are unscheduled. This, in turn, severely stresses and stretches the workforce and resources available. One possible solution is to have a robust preventive maintenance plan. The other possible solution is to plan maintenance based on real-time data obtained from sensor-based ‘Health and Usage Monitoring Systems.’ The former has been investigated in this paper. The preventive maintenance model developed for train operator will subsequently be extended, to tackle the unscheduled maintenance problem also affecting the aerospace industry. The extension of the model to the aerospace sector will be dealt with in the second part of the research, and it would, in turn, validate the soundness of the model developed. Thus, there are distinct areas that will be addressed in this paper, including the mathematical modelling of preventive maintenance and optimization based on cost and system availability. The results of this research will help an organization to choose the right maintenance strategy, allowing it to save considerable sums of money as opposed to overspending under the guise of maintaining high asset availability. The concept of delay time modelling was used to address the practical problem of unscheduled maintenance in this paper. The delay time modelling can be used to help with support planning for a given asset. The model was run using MATLAB, and the results are shown that the ideal inspection intervals computed using the extended from a minimal cost perspective were 29 days, and from a minimum downtime, perspective was 14 days. Risk matrix integration was constructed to represent the risk in terms of the probability of a fault leading to breakdown maintenance and its consequences in terms of maintenance cost. Thus, the choice of an optimal inspection interval of 29 days, resulted in a cost of approximately 50 Euros and the corresponding value of b(T) was 0.011. These values ensure that the risk associated with component X being maintained at an inspection interval of 29 days is more than acceptable. Thus, a switch in maintenance frequency from 90 days to 29 days would be optimal from the point of view of cost, downtime and risk.

Keywords: delay time modelling, unscheduled maintenance, reliability, maintainability, availability

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Authors: Zafar Iqbal

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This article aims at analyzing the U.S.-Taliban peace deal considering the cross- pressures that both parties (U.S. and Taliban) faced and eventually paved the way for a negotiated settlement to the two-decade-long war. The paper first discusses the peace process initiated by President Obama in 2009 and then explores the factors that compelled both the parties to sign this deal. The study is based on secondary data and interviews done with the leading experts on Afghanistan along with the Taliban Qatar office spokesperson’s interview. The theoretical framework is based on the interplay of diplomacy and domestic politics: two-level games logic proposed by Robert D. Putnam. The two-level games suggest that actors involved in negotiations face cross-pressures and are constrained both by the expectations of the domestic audience and their counterpart’s zone of possible agreement. This paper will take the cross pressures for both sides as the permissive factors for the entire process of negotiations. However, there will be a slight aberration in the application of Putnam’s two-level games. In this case, it is not inter-state negotiations but between an all-powerful state and the unyielding non-state actors. The study concludes that both the parties faced domestic as well as international pressure which compelled them to sign a deal that could lead to an end of the two-decade-long war. Furthermore, it looks at the potential prospects and challenges of the deal following the U.S. withdrawal.

Keywords: neo-Taliban insurgency, negotiations, two-level game, U.S.-Taliban peace deal, U.S. withdrawal

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Authors: James Sinclair, Katy Soapi, Brad Carte

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The marine environment has continuously demonstrated to be a rich source of secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds that can address the many pharmaceutical problems facing mankind. The emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens has caused scientists to explore contemporary ways of combating these super bugs. A red-pigmented bacterial strain isolated from a marine alga collected in Fiji was identified to be Pseudoalteromonas rubra from 16s rRNA sequencing. This bacterial strain was cultured using a yeast-peptone media and incubated for five days. The ethyl acetate extract of this bacterium was subjected to chromatographic separation techniques such as vacuum liquid chromatography, flash chromatography, size exclusion chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography to yield the pure compound and a number of semi-pure fractions. The crude extract and subsequent purified fractions were analyzed by ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy and was found to contain the compounds ivermectin, stenothricin, cyclo-L-pro-L-val, prodigiosin, mycophenolic acid, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, eplerenone, staurosporine and pseudoalteromone A. The structure of the pure compound, pseudoalteromone A, was elucidated using NMR 1H, 13C, 1H-1H COSY, HSQC and HMBC spectroscopic data.

Keywords: Pseudoalteromonas rubra, Pseudoalteromone A, secondary metabolites, structure elucidation

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Authors: Sally Shepherd, Jessica Wong, David Read

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Traumatic brachiocephalic artery aneurysm is a rare injury that typically occurs as a result of a blunt chest injury. A 19-year-old female sustained a head-on, high speed motor vehicle crash into a tree. Upon release after 45 minutes of entrapment, she was tachycardic but normotensive, with a significant seatbelt sign across her chest and open deformed right thigh with weak pulses in bilateral lower limbs. A chest XR showed mild upper mediastinal widening. A CT trauma series plus gated CT chest revealed a grade 3a aortic arch transection with brachiocephalic pseudoaneurysm. Endovascular repair of the brachiocephalic artery was attempted post-presentation but was unsuccessful as the first stent migrated to the infrarenal abdominal aorta and the second stent across the brachiocephalic artery origin had a persistent leak at the base. She was transferred to Intensive Care for strict blood pressure control. She returned to theatre 5 hours later for a median sternotomy, aortic arch repair with an 8mm graft extraction, and excision of the innominate artery pseudoaneurysm. She had an uncomplicated post-operative recovery. This case highlights that brachiocephalic artery injury is a rare but potentially lethal injury as a result of blunt chest trauma. Safe management requires a combined Vascular and Cardiothoracic team approach, as stenting alone may be insufficient.

Keywords: blunt chest injury, Brachiocephalic aneurysm, innominate artery, trauma

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Authors: Neelu Raina, Parvez Singh Slathia, Deepali Bhagat, Preeti Sharma

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Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for generating suitable substrates (starch/ sugars) for conversion to bioethanol is the most crucial step. In present study waste from furniture industry i.e sawdust from softwood Cedrus deodara (deodar) and hardwood Shorea robusta (sal) was used as lignocellulosic biomass. Thermochemical pretreatment was given by autoclaving at 121°C temperature and 15 psi pressure. Acids (H2SO4,HCl,HNO3,H3PO4), alkali (NaOH,NH4OH,KOH,Ca(OH)2) and organic acids (C6H8O7,C2H2O4,C4H4O4) were used at 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% concentration without giving any residence time. 1% HCl gave maximum sugar yield of 3.6587g/L in deodar and 6.1539 g/L in sal. For biological pretreatment a fungi isolated from decaying wood was used , sawdust from deodar tree species was used as a lignocellulosic substrate and before thermochemical pretreatment sawdust was treated with fungal culture at 37°C under submerged conditions with a residence time of one week followed by a thermochemical pretreatment methodology. Higher sugar yields were obtained with sal tree species followed by deodar tree species, i.e., 6.0334g/L in deodar and 8.3605g/L in sal was obtained by a combined biological and thermochemical pretreatment. Use of acids along with biological pretreatment is a favourable factor for breaking the lignin seal and thus increasing the sugar yield. Sugar estimation was done using Dinitrosalicyclic assay method. Result validation is being done by statistical analysis.

Keywords: lignocellulosic biomass, bioethanol, pretreatment, sawdust

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Authors: Jiang Zhenbo, Ishikura Ryohei, Yasufuku Noriyuki

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Improvement of soft clay deposits by the combination of surface stabilization and floating type cement-treated columns is one of the most popular techniques worldwide. On the basis of one dimensional consolidation model, a time-dependent skin friction model for the column-soil interaction is proposed. The nonlinear relationship between column shaft shear stresses and effective vertical pressure of the surrounding soil can be described in this model. The influence of column-soil surface roughness can be represented using a roughness coefficient R, which plays an important role in the design of column length. Based on the homogenization method, a part of floating type improved ground will be treated as an unimproved portion, which with a length of αH1 is defined as a time-dependent equivalent skin friction length. The compression settlement of this unimproved portion can be predicted only using the soft clay parameters. Apart from calculating the settlement of this composited ground, the load transfer mechanism is discussed utilizing model tests. The proposed model is validated by comparing with calculations and laboratory results of model and ring shear tests, which indicate the suitability and accuracy of the solutions in this paper.

Keywords: floating type improved foundation, time-dependent skin friction, roughness, consolidation

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Authors: Perminderjit Singh, Randeep Singh

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The performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder four stroke variable compression ratio multifuel engine when fueled with different blends of rice bran oil methyl ester and ethanol are investigated and compared with the results of standard diesel. Biodiesel produced from rice bran oil by transesterification process has been used in this study. The experiment has been conducted at a fixed engine speed of 1500 rpm, 50% load and at compression ratios of 16.5:1, 17:1, 17.5:1 and 18:1. The impact of compression ratio on fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency and exhaust gas emissions has been investigated and presented. Optimum compression ratio which gives the best performance has been identified. The results indicate longer ignition delay, the maximum rate of pressure rise, lower heat release rate and higher mass fraction burnt at higher compression ratio for waste cooking oil methyl ester when compared to that of diesel. The brake thermal efficiency at 50% load for rice bran oil methyl ester blends and diesel has been calculated and the blend B40 is found to give maximum thermal efficiency. The blends when used as fuel results in the reduction of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and increase in nitrogen oxides emissions.

Keywords: biodiesel, rice bran oil, transesterification, ethanol, compression ratio

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Authors: Ahmet Ozcan, Onder Alparslan, Anil Sezgin, Omer Cetin

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The use of unmanned systems for different purposes has become very popular over the past decade. Expectations from these systems have also shown an incredible increase in this parallel. But meeting the demands of the tasks are often not possible with the usage of a single unmanned vehicle in a mission, so it is necessary to use multiple autonomous vehicles with different abilities together in coordination. Therefore the usage of the same type of vehicles together as a swarm is helped especially to satisfy the time constraints of the missions effectively. In other words, it allows sharing the workload by the various numbers of homogenous platforms together. Besides, it is possible to say there are many kinds of problems that require the usage of the different capabilities of the heterogeneous platforms together cooperatively to achieve successful results. In this case, cooperative working brings additional problems beyond the homogeneous clusters. In the scenario presented as an example problem, it is expected that an autonomous ground vehicle, which is lack of its position information, manage to perform point-to-point navigation without losing its way in a previously unknown labyrinth. Furthermore, the ground vehicle is equipped with very limited sensors such as ultrasonic sensors that can detect obstacles. It is very hard to plan or complete the mission for the ground vehicle by self without lost its way in the unknown labyrinth. Thus, in order to assist the ground vehicle, the autonomous air drone is also used to solve the problem cooperatively. The autonomous drone also has limited sensors like downward looking camera and IMU, and it also lacks computing its global position. In this context, it is aimed to solve the problem effectively without taking additional support or input from the outside, just benefiting capabilities of two autonomous vehicles. To manage the point-to-point navigation in a previously unknown labyrinth, the platforms have to work together coordinated. In this paper, cooperative work of heterogeneous unmanned systems is handled in an applied sample scenario, and it is mentioned that how to work together with an autonomous ground vehicle and the autonomous flying platform together in a harmony to take advantage of different platform-specific capabilities. The difficulties of using heterogeneous multiple autonomous platforms in a mission are put forward, and the successful solutions are defined and implemented against the problems like spatially distributed tasks planning, simultaneous coordinated motion, effective communication, and sensor fusion.

Keywords: unmanned systems, heterogeneous autonomous vehicles, coordination, task planning

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Authors: R. Farhoud, G. Hermand, S. Delepine-lesoille

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Future underground facility of French radioactive waste disposal, named Cigeo, is designed to store intermediate and high level - long-lived French radioactive waste. Intermediate level waste cells are tunnel-like, about 400m length and 65 m² section, equipped with several concrete layers, which can be grouted in situ or composed of tunnel elements pre-grouted. The operating space into cells, to allow putting or removing waste containers, should be monitored for several decades without any maintenance. To provide the required information, design was performed and tested in situ in Andra’s underground laboratory (URL) at 500m under the surface. Based on distributed optic fiber sensors (OFS) and backscattered Brillouin for strain and Raman for temperature interrogation technics, the design consists of 2 loops of OFS, at 2 different radiuses, around the monitored section (Orthoradiale strains) and longitudinally. Strains measured by distributed OFS cables were compared to classical vibrating wire extensometers (VWE) and platinum probes (Pt). The OFS cables were composed of 2 cables sensitive to strains and temperatures and one only for temperatures. All cables were connected, between sensitive part and instruments, to hybrid cables to reduce cost. The connection has been made according to 2 technics: splicing fibers in situ after installation or preparing each fiber with a connector and only plugging them together in situ. Another challenge was installing OFS cables along a tunnel mad in several parts, without interruption along several parts. First success consists of the survival rate of sensors after installation and quality of measurements. Indeed, 100% of OFS cables, intended for long-term monitoring, survived installation. Few new configurations were tested with relative success. Measurements obtained were very promising. Indeed, after 3 years of data, no difference was observed between cables and connection methods of OFS and strains fit well with VWE and Pt placed at the same location. Data, from Brillouin instrument sensitive to strains and temperatures, were compensated with data provided by Raman instrument only sensitive to temperature and into a separated fiber. These results provide confidence in the next steps of the qualification processes which consists of testing several data treatment approach for direct analyses.

Keywords: monitoring, fiber optic, sensor, data treatment

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Authors: Anyeres N. Atehortua Jimenez, J. David Lambraño, Juan Carlos Muñoz

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Navier-Stokes equations (NSE), which describe the dynamics of a fluid, have an important application on modeling waves used for data inversion techniques as full waveform inversion (FWI). In this work a linearized version of NSE and its variables, neglecting deviatoric terms of stress tensor, is presented. In order to get a theoretical modeling of pressure p(x,t) and wave velocity profile c(x,t), a wave equation of visco-acoustic medium (VAE) is written. A change of variables p(x,t)=q(x,t)h(ρ), is made on the equation for the VAE leading to a well known Klein-Gordon equation (KGE) describing waves propagating in variable density medium (ρ) with dispersive term α^2(x). KGE is reduced to a Poisson equation and solved by proposing a specific function for α^2(x) accounting for the energy dissipation and dispersion. Finally, an integral form solution is derived for p(x,t), c(x,t) and kinematics variables like particle velocity v(x,t), displacement u(x,t) and bulk modulus function k_b(x,t). Further, it is compared this visco-acoustic formulation with another form broadly used in the geophysics; it is argued that this formalism is more general and, given its integral form, it may offer several advantages from the modern parallel computing point of view. Applications to minimize the errors in modeling for FWI applied to oils resources in geophysics are discussed.

Keywords: Navier-Stokes equations, modeling, visco-acoustic, inversion FWI

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Authors: Lifar M. S., Tereshchenko A. A., Bulgakov A. N., Guda S. A., Guda A. A., Soldatov A. V.

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Metal nanoparticles are widely used as heterogeneous catalysts to activate adsorbed molecules and reduce the energy barrier of the reaction. Reaction product yield depends on the interplay between elementary processes - adsorption, activation, reaction, and desorption. These processes, in turn, depend on the inlet feed concentrations, temperature, and pressure. At stationary conditions, the active surface sites may be poisoned by reaction byproducts or blocked by thermodynamically adsorbed gaseous reagents. Thus, the yield of reaction products can significantly drop. On the contrary, the dynamic control accounts for the changes in the surface properties and adjusts reaction parameters accordingly. Therefore dynamic control may be more efficient than stationary control. In this work, a reinforcement learning algorithm has been applied to control the simulation of CO oxidation on a catalyst. The policy gradient algorithm is learned to maximize the CO₂ production rate based on the CO and O₂ flows at a given time step. Nonstationary solutions were found for the regime with surface deactivation. The maximal product yield was achieved for periodic variations of the gas flows, ensuring a balance between available adsorption sites and the concentration of activated intermediates. This methodology opens a perspective for the optimization of catalytic reactions under nonstationary conditions.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, catalyst, co oxidation, reinforcement learning, dynamic control

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Authors: T. Maruyama, T. Saida, S. Naritsuka, S. Iijima

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Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are generally synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using Fe, Co, and Ni as catalysts. However, due to the Ostwald ripening of metal catalysts, the diameter distribution of the grown SWCNTs is considerably wide (>2 nm), which is not suitable for electronics applications. In addition, reduction in the growth temperature is desirable for fabricating SWCNT devices compatible with the LSI process. Herein, we performed SWCNT growth by alcohol catalytic CVD using platinum-group metal catalysts (Pt, Rh, and Pd) because these metals have high melting points, and the reduction in the Ostwald ripening of catalyst particles is expected. Our results revealed that web-like SWCNTs were obtained from Pt and Rh catalysts at growth temperature between 500 °C and 600 °C by optimizing the ethanol pressure. The SWCNT yield from Pd catalysts was considerably low. By decreasing the growth temperature, the diameter and chirality distribution of SWCNTs from Pt and Rh catalysts became small and narrow. In particular, the diameters of most SWCNTs grown using Pt catalysts were below 1 nm and their diameter distribution was considerably narrow. On the contrary, SWCNTs can grow from Rh catalysts even at 300 °C by optimizing the growth condition, which is the lowest temperature recorded for SWCNT growth. Our results demonstrated that platinum-group metals are useful for the growth of small-diameter SWCNTs and facilitate low-temperature growth.

Keywords: carbon nanotube, chemical vapor deposition, catalyst, platinum, rhodium, palladium

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Murray L. Ireland, Kevin J. Worrall, Rebecca Mackenzie, Thaleia Flessa, Euan McGookin, Douglas Thomson

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Robotic rovers which are designed to work in extra-terrestrial environments present a unique challenge in terms of the reliability and availability of systems throughout the mission. Should some fault occur, with the nearest human potentially millions of kilometres away, detection and identification of the fault must be performed solely by the robot and its subsystems. Faults in the system sensors are relatively straightforward to detect, through the residuals produced by comparison of the system output with that of a simple model. However, faults in the input, that is, the actuators of the system, are harder to detect. A step change in the input signal, caused potentially by the loss of an actuator, can propagate through the system, resulting in complex residuals in multiple outputs. These residuals can be difficult to isolate or distinguish from residuals caused by environmental disturbances. While a more complex fault detection method or additional sensors could be used to solve these issues, an alternative is presented here. Using inverse simulation (InvSim), the inputs and outputs of the mathematical model of the rover system are reversed. Thus, for a desired trajectory, the corresponding actuator inputs are obtained. A step fault near the input then manifests itself as a step change in the residual between the system inputs and the input trajectory obtained through inverse simulation. This approach avoids the need for additional hardware on a mass- and power-critical system such as the rover. The InvSim fault detection method is applied to a simple four-wheeled rover in simulation. Additive system faults and an external disturbance force and are applied to the vehicle in turn, such that the dynamic response and sensor output of the rover are impacted. Basic model-based fault detection is then employed to provide output residuals which may be analysed to provide information on the fault/disturbance. InvSim-based fault detection is then employed, similarly providing input residuals which provide further information on the fault/disturbance. The input residuals are shown to provide clearer information on the location and magnitude of an input fault than the output residuals. Additionally, they can allow faults to be more clearly discriminated from environmental disturbances.

Keywords: fault detection, ground robot, inverse simulation, rover

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Authors: Rinku Varghese, S. Chandrakaran, K. Rangaswamy

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The standard one-dimensional consolidation test is used to find the consolidation behaviour of artificially consolidated organic soils. Incremental loading tests were conducted on the clay without and with organic matter. The study was conducted with soil having different organic content keeping all other parameters constant. The tests were conducted on clay and artificially prepared organic soil sample at different vertical pressure. The load increment ratio considered for the test is equal to one. Artificial organic soils are used for the test by adding starch to the clay. The percentage of organic content in starch is determined by adding 5% by weight starch into the clay (inorganic soil) sample and corresponding change in organic content of soil was determined. This was expressed as percentage by weight of starch, and it was found that about 95% organic content in the soil sample. Accordingly percentage of organic content fixed and added to the sample for testing to understand the consolidation behaviour clayey soils with organic content. A detailed study of the results obtained from IL test was investigated. The main items investigated were (i) coefficient of consolidation (cv), (ii) coefficient of volume compression (mv), (iii) coefficient of permeability (k). The consolidation parameter obtained from IL test was used for determining the creep strain and creep parameter and also predicting their variation with vertical stress and organic content.

Keywords: consolidation, secondary compression, creep, starch

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: H. Selcuk Halkacı, Mevlüt Türköz, Ekrem Öztürk, Murat Dilmec

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Various attempts concerning the low formability issue for lightweight materials like aluminium and magnesium alloys are being investigated in many studies. Advanced forming processes such as hydroforming is one of these attempts. In last decades sheet hydroforming process has an increasing interest, particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries. This process has many advantages such as enhanced formability, the capability to form complex parts, higher dimensional accuracy and surface quality, reduction of tool costs and reduced die wear compared to the conventional sheet metal forming processes. There are two types of sheet hydroforming. One of them is hydromechanical deep drawing (HDD) that is a special drawing process in which pressurized fluid medium is used instead of one of the die half compared to the conventional deep drawing (CDD) process. Another one is sheet hydroforming with die (SHF-D) in which blank is formed with the act of fluid pressure and it takes the shape of die half. In this study, transition of cup height according to cup diameter between the processes was determined by performing simulation of the processes in Finite Element Analysis. Firstly SHF-D process was simulated for 40 mm cup diameter at different cup heights chancing from 10 mm to 30 mm and the cup height to diameter ratio value in which it is not possible to obtain a successful forming was determined. Then the same ratio was checked for a different cup diameter of 60 mm. Then thickness distributions of the cups formed by SHF-D and HDD processes were compared for the cup heights. Consequently, it was found that the thickness distribution in HDD process in the analyses was more uniform.

Keywords: finite element analysis, HDD, hydroforming sheet metal forming, SHF-D

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Authors: Massimiliano Condotta, Paolo Ruggeri, Chiara Scanagatta, Giovanni Borga

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Architects and urban planners, when designing and renewing cities, have to face a complex set of problems, including the issues of noise and air pollution which are considered as hot topics (i.e., the Clean Air Act of London and the Soundscape definition). It is usually taken for granted that these problems go by together because the noise pollution present in cities is often linked to traffic and industries, and these produce air pollutants as well. Traffic congestion can create both noise pollution and air pollution, because NO₂ is mostly created from the oxidation of NO, and these two are notoriously produced by processes of combustion at high temperatures (i.e., car engines or thermal power stations). We can see the same process for industrial plants as well. What have to be investigated – and is the topic of this paper – is whether or not there really is a correlation between noise pollution and air pollution (taking into account NO₂) in urban areas. To evaluate if there is a correlation, some low-cost methodologies will be used. For noise measurements, the OpeNoise App will be installed on an Android phone. The smartphone will be positioned inside a waterproof box, to stay outdoor, with an external battery to allow it to collect data continuously. The box will have a small hole to install an external microphone, connected to the smartphone, which will be calibrated to collect the most accurate data. For air, pollution measurements will be used the AirMonitor device, an Arduino board to which the sensors, and all the other components, are plugged. After assembling the sensors, they will be coupled (one noise and one air sensor) and placed in different critical locations in the area of Mestre (Venice) to map the existing situation. The sensors will collect data for a fixed period of time to have an input for both week and weekend days, in this way it will be possible to see the changes of the situation during the week. The novelty is that data will be compared to check if there is a correlation between the two pollutants using graphs that should show the percentage of pollution instead of the values obtained with the sensors. To do so, the data will be converted to fit on a scale that goes up to 100% and will be shown thru a mapping of the measurement using GIS methods. Another relevant aspect is that this comparison can help to choose which are the right mitigation solutions to be applied in the area of the analysis because it will make it possible to solve both the noise and the air pollution problem making only one intervention. The mitigation solutions must consider not only the health aspect but also how to create a more livable space for citizens. The paper will describe in detail the methodology and the technical solution adopted for the realization of the sensors, the data collection, noise and pollution mapping and analysis.

Keywords: air quality, data analysis, data collection, NO₂, noise mapping, noise pollution, particulate matter

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Authors: Carlos A. Acosta, Amar Bhalla, Ruyan Guo

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Scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHE) use a rotor shaft assembly with scraping blades to homogenize viscous fluids during the heat transfer process. Obtaining in-situ measurements is difficult because the rotor and scraping blades spin continuously inside the mixing chamber, obstructing the instrumentation pathway. Computational fluid dynamics simulations provide useful insight into the flow behavior around the scraper blades for a variety of fluids and blade geometries. However, numerical solutions often focus on the fluid dynamics and heat transfer phenomena of rotating flow, ignoring the glass-transition temperature and freezing point depression. This research studies the multi-phase fluid dynamics and freezing point depression inside the SSHE with non-isothermal conditions in a time dependent process using an aqueous solution that contains 13.5 wt.% high fructose corn syrup and CO₂. The computational results were validated with in-situ pressure, temperature, and optical spectroscopy measurements. Results from the numerical model show good quantitatively agreement with experimental values.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, freezing point depression, phase-transition temperature, multi-phase flow

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Authors: A. Aravind, M. Vetrivel, P. Abhimanyu, C. A. Akaash Emmanuel Raj, K. Sundararaj, V. R. S. Kumar

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The choice of high-speed, low budget hatchback car with diversified options is increasing for meeting the new generation buyers trend. This paper is aimed to augment the current speed of the hatchback cars through the aerodynamic drag reduction technique. The inverted airfoils are facilitated at the bottom of the car for generating the downward force for negating the lift while increasing the current speed range for achieving a better road performance. The numerical simulations have been carried out using a 2D steady pressure-based    k-ɛ realizable model with enhanced wall treatment. In our numerical studies, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model and its code of solution are used. The code is calibrated and validated using the exact solution of the 2D boundary layer displacement thickness at the Sanal flow choking condition for adiabatic flows. We observed through the parametric analytical studies that the inverted airfoil integrated with the bottom surface at various predesigned locations of Hatchback cars can improve its overall aerodynamic efficiency through drag reduction, which obviously decreases the fuel consumption significantly and ensure an optimum road performance lucratively with maximum permissible speed within the framework of the manufactures constraints.

Keywords: aerodynamics of commercial cars, downward force, hatchback car, inverted airfoil

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Authors: Jannika Dombrowski, Sabine Ambros, Ulrich Kulozik

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Due to the increasing popularity of healthy products, probiotics are still of rising importance in food manufacturing. With the aim to amplify the field of probiotic application to non-chilled products, the cultures have to be preserved by drying. Microwave drying has proved to be a suitable technique to achieve relatively high survival rates, resulting from drying at gentle temperatures, among others. However, diffusion limitation due to compaction of cell suspension during drying can prolong drying times as well as deteriorate product properties (grindability, rehydration performance). Therefore, we aimed to embed probiotics in an aerated matrix of whey proteins (surfactants) and di-/polysaccharides (foam stabilization, probiotic protection) during drying. As a result of the manifold increased inner surface of the cell suspension, drying performance was enhanced significantly as compared to non-foamed suspensions. This work comprises investigations on suitable foam matrices, being stable under vacuum (variation of protein concentration, type and concentration of di-/polysaccharide) as well as development of an applicable microwave drying process in terms of microwave power, chamber pressure and maximum product temperatures. Performed analyses included foam characteristics (overrun, drainage, firmness, bubble sizes), and properties of the dried cultures (survival, activity). In addition, efficiency of the drying process was evaluated.

Keywords: foam structure, microwave drying, polysaccharides, probiotics

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Authors: Daniel Ter Goon, Aanuoluwa O. Adedokun, Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi, Oladele Vincent Adeniyi, Anthony Idowu Ajayi

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Background: The unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyle of commercial drivers predisposes them to obesity and obesity related diseases. Yet, no attention has been paid to obesity burden among this high risk group in South Africa. This study examines the prevalence of obesity and its risk factors among commercial drivers in East London, South Africa. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the WHO STEP wise approach to screen for obesity among 403 drivers in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), South Africa. Anthropometric, blood pressure and blood glucose measurements were taken following a standard procedure. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 kgm⁻²–29.9 kg/m² and≥ 30 kg/ m², respectively. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine the prevalence and determinants of obesity. Result: The mean age of the participants was 43.3 (SD12.5) years, mean height (cm) and weight (kg) were 170.1(6.2cm) and 83(SD18.7), respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 34.0% and 38.0%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, only age (OR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.7), hypertension (OR 3.6, CI 2.3-5.7) and non-smoking (OR 2.0, CI 1.3-3.1) were independent predictors of obesity. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among commercial drivers. Age, hypertension, and non-smoking were independent predictors of obesity among the sample. Measures aimed at promoting health and reducing obesity should be prioritized among this group.

Keywords: obesity and overweight, commercial taxi drivers, risk factors, South Africa

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Authors: Mahmood Al Ramahi, G. Keszthelyi-Szabo, S. Beszedes

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Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a thermochemical reaction that utilizes saturated water and vapor pressure to convert waste biomass to C-rich products This work evaluated the effect of HTC as a pre- and post-treatment technique to anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge, as information in this field is still in its infancy, with many research and methodological gaps. HTC effect was evaluated based on energy recovery, nutrients transformation, and sludge biodegradability. The first treatment approach was executed by applying hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) under a range of temperatures, prior to mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge. Results suggested an optimal pretreatment temperature at 210 °C for 30 min. HTC pretreatment increased methane yield and chemical oxygen demand removal. The theoretical model based on Boyle’s equation had a very close match with the experimental results. On the other hand, applying HTC subsequent to AD increased total energy production, as additional energy yield was obtained by the solid fuel (hydrochar) beside the produced biogas. Furthermore, hydrothermal carbonization of AD digestate generated liquid products (HTC digestate) with improved chemical characteristics suggesting their use as liquid fertilizers.

Keywords: hydrothermal carbonization, anaerobic digestion, energy balance, sludge biodegradability, biogas

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Authors: Abeer Ahmed Abdelhameed

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercises on LV parameters, lipid profile, and anthropometric measurements in hypertensive middle aged male subjects. Thirty obese patients were recruited for the study from the outpatient clinic of National Heart Institute, Egypt. Their ages ranges from 40 to 60 years. All participants underwent an aerobic training program including regular aerobic sub-maximal exercises in the form of treadmill walking and abdominal exercises 3/week for four months, the exercise were individually tailored for each participant depending on the result of cardiopulmonary exercise test. The result showed no significant difference observed in both LVPWT and LVSWT data from pre-test values to post-test values in all subjects after 4 months, with a significant reduction in WHR, systolic blood pressure, TAG and LDL records. Result also revealed a significant increase in HDL, Eƒ, LVEDD and FS records for all participants. The significant improvement in ventricular functions in form of ejection fraction of electrical group more than exercise group after 4 months at the end of the study may be due to the beneficial effect of faradic stimulation in lipolysis of storage adipose tissues, stimulation of lean body mass and muscles and/or thermal effect that improves vascularization.

Keywords: left ventricular parameters, aerobic training, electrical stimulation, lipid profile

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Authors: J. Milton, C. Uzoigwe, O. Ayeko, B. Offorha, K. Anderson, R. G. Middleton

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Background: We used the UK National Hip Fracture database to determine the effect of institution hip fracture case volume on hip fracture healthcare outcomes in 2019. Using logistic regression for each healthcare outcome, we compared the best performing 50 units with the poorest performing 50 units in order to determine if the unit volume was associated with performance for each particular outcome. Method: We analysed 175 institutions treating a total of 67,673 patients over the course of a year. Results: The number of hip fractures seen per unit ranged between 86 and 952. Larger units tendered to perform health assessments more consistently and mobilise patients more expeditiously post-operatively. Patients treated at large institutions had shorter lengths of stay. With regard to most other outcomes, there was no association between unit case volume and performance, notably compliance with the Best Practice Tariff, time to surgery, proportion of eligible patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, length of stay, delirium risk, and pressure sore risk assessments. Conclusion: There is no relationship between unit volume and the majority of health care outcomes. It would seem that larger institutions tend to perform better at parameters that are dependent upon personnel numbers. However, where the outcome is contingent, even partially, on physical infrastructure capacity, there was no difference between larger and smaller units.

Keywords: institution volume, mortality, neck of femur fractures, osteoporosis

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Authors: Luai Z. Hasoun, Steven W. Bailey, Kitti K. Outlaw, June E. Ayling

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Human skin color is thought to have evolved to balance sufficient photochemical synthesis of vitamin D versus the need to protect not only DNA but also folate from degradation by ultraviolet light (UV). Although the risk of DNA damage and subsequent skin cancer is related to light skin color, the effect of UV on skin folate of any species is unknown. Here we show that UVA irradiation at 13 mW/cm2 for a total exposure of 187 J/cm2 (similar to a maximal daily equatorial dose) induced a significant loss of total folate in epidermis of ex vivo white skin. No loss was observed in black skin samples, or in the dermis of either color. Interestingly, while the concentration of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) fell in white epidermis, a concomitant increase of tetrahydrofolic acid was found, though not enough to maintain the total pool. These results demonstrate that UVA indeed not only decreases folate in skin, but also rearranges the pool components. This could be due in part to the reported increase of NADPH oxidase activity upon UV irradiation, which in turn depletes the NADPH needed for 5-MTHF biosynthesis by 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. The increased tetrahydrofolic acid might further support production of the nucleotide bases needed for DNA repair. However, total folate was lost at a rate that could, with strong or continuous enough exposure to ultraviolet radiation, substantially deplete light colored skin locally, and also put pressure on total body stores for individuals with low intake of folate.

Keywords: depletion, folate, human skin, ultraviolet

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Authors: Yu-Chieh Chen, Kuei-Feng Shen, Chia-Ling Chao

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The purpose of this report was to present the nursing experience and case of an unexpected cerebellar hemorrhagic stroke with acute hydrocephalus patient after lumbar spine surgery. The patient had been suffering from an emergent external ventricular drainage and stayed in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit from July 8, 2016, to July 22, 2016. During the period of the case, the data were collected for attendance, evaluation, observation, interview, searching medical record, etc. An integral evaluation of the patient's physiological 'psychological' social and spiritual states was also noted. The author noticed the following major nursing problems including ineffective cerebral perfusion 'physical activity dysfunction' family resource preparation for disability. The author provided nursing care to maintain normal intracranial pressure, along with a well-therapeutic relationship and applied interdisciplinary medical/nursing team to draft an individualized and appropriate nursing plan for them to face the psychosocial impact of the patient disabilities. We also actively participated in the rehabilitation treatments to improve daily activity and confidence. This was deemed necessary to empower them to a more positive attitude in the future.

Keywords: family resourace preparation inability, hemorrhagic sroke, ineffective tissue cerebral perfusion, lumbar spine surgery

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Authors: Nazanin Naderi, Milton Smith

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Since worldwide demand for renewable energy is increasing rapidly because of the climate problem and the limitation of fossil fuels, technologies of alternative energy sources have been developed and the electric power network now includes renewable energy resources such as wind energy. Because of the huge advantages that wind energy has, like reduction in natural gas use, price pressure, emissions of greenhouse gases and other atmospheric pollutants, electric sector water consumption and many other contributions to the nation’s economy like job creation it has got too much attention these days from different parts of the world especially in the United States which is trying to provide 20% of the nation’s energy from wind by 2030. This study is trying to evaluate the effect of splitting wind farms on power output. We are trying to find if we can get more output by installing wind turbines in different sites rather than installing all wind turbines in one site. Five potential sites in Texas have been selected as a case study and two years wind data has been gathered for these sites. Wind data are analyzed and effect of correlation between sites on power output has been evaluated. Standard deviation and autocorrelation effect has also been considered for this study. The paper has been organized as follows: After the introduction the second section gives a brief overview of wind analysis. The third section addresses the case study and evaluates correlation between sites, auto correlation of sites and standard deviation of power output. In section four we describe the results.

Keywords: auto correlation, correlation between sites, splitting wind farms, power output, standard deviation

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Authors: May Fadheel Estephan, Richard Perks

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Context: Cancer is a serious health concern that affects millions of people worldwide. Early detection and treatment are essential for improving patient outcomes. However, current methods for cancer detection have limitations, such as low sensitivity and specificity. Research Aim: The aim of this study was to develop an optical sensor for cancer detection using elastic light scattering spectroscopy (ELSS). ELSS is a noninvasive optical technique that can be used to characterize the size and concentration of particles in a solution. Methodology: An optical probe was fabricated with a 100-μm-diameter core and a 132-μm centre-to-centre separation. The probe was used to measure the ELSS spectra of polystyrene spheres with diameters of 2, 0.8, and 0.413 μm. The spectra were then analysed to determine the size and concentration of the spheres. Findings: The results showed that the optical probe was able to differentiate between the three different sizes of polystyrene spheres. The probe was also able to detect the presence of polystyrene spheres in suspension concentrations as low as 0.01%. Theoretical Importance: The results of this study demonstrate the potential of ELSS for cancer detection. ELSS is a noninvasive technique that can be used to characterize the size and concentration of cells in a tissue sample. This information can be used to identify cancer cells and assess the stage of the disease. Data Collection: The data for this study were collected by measuring the ELSS spectra of polystyrene spheres with different diameters. The spectra were collected using a spectrometer and a computer. Analysis Procedures: The ELSS spectra were analysed using a software program to determine the size and concentration of the spheres. The software program used a mathematical algorithm to fit the spectra to a theoretical model. Question Addressed: The question addressed by this study was whether ELSS could be used to detect cancer cells. The results of the study showed that ELSS could be used to differentiate between different sizes of cells, suggesting that it could be used to detect cancer cells. Conclusion: The findings of this research show the utility of ELSS in the early identification of cancer. ELSS is a noninvasive method for characterizing the number and size of cells in a tissue sample. To determine cancer cells and determine the disease's stage, this information can be employed. Further research is needed to evaluate the clinical performance of ELSS for cancer detection.

Keywords: elastic light scattering spectroscopy, polystyrene spheres in suspension, optical probe, fibre optics

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Authors: Majid Samiee Zonoozian

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For such important constructions as jacket type platforms, scrupulous attention in analysis, design and calculation processes is needed. The reliability assessment method has been established into an extensively used method to behavior safety calculation of jacket platforms. In the present study, a methodology for the reliability calculation of an offshore jacket platform in contradiction of the extreme wave loading state is available. Therefore, sensitivity analyses are applied to acquire the nonlinear response of jacket-type platforms against extreme waves. The jacket structure is modeled by applying a nonlinear finite-element model with regards to the tubular members' behave. The probability of a member’s failure under extreme wave loading is figured by a finite-element reliability code. The FORM and SORM approaches are applied for the calculation of safety directories and reliability indexes have been detected. A case study for a fixed jacket-type structure positioned in the Persian Gulf is studied by means of the planned method. Furthermore, to define the failure standards, equations suggested by the 21st version of the API RP 2A-WSD for The jacket-type structures’ tubular members designing by applying the mixed axial bending and axial pressure. Consequently, the effect of wave Loades in the reliability index was considered.

Keywords: Jacket-Type structure, reliability, failure probability, tubular members

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Authors: Clement Leroy, Guillaume Boitel

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This paper presents a comparative benchmarking review of a steady and transient three-dimensional (3D) flow computations in centrifugal pump using commercial (AnsysCFX) and open source (OpenFOAM) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. In centrifugal rotor-dynamic pump, the fluid enters in the impeller along to the rotating axis to be accelerated in order to increase the pressure, flowing radially outward into another stage, vaned diffuser or volute casing, from where it finally exits into a downstream pipe. Simulations are carried out at the best efficiency point (BEP) and part load, for single-phase flow with several turbulence models. The results are compared with overall performance report from experimental data. The use of CFD technology in industry is still limited by the high computational costs, and even more by the high cost of commercial CFD software and high-performance computing (HPC) licenses. The main objectives of the present study are to define OpenFOAM methodology for high-quality 3D steady and transient turbomachinery CFD simulation to conduct a thorough time-accurate performance analysis. On the other hand a detailed comparisons between computational methods, features on latest Ansys release 18 and OpenFOAM is investigated to assess the accuracy and industrial applications of those solvers. Finally an automated connected workflow (IoT) for turbine blade applications is presented.

Keywords: benchmarking, CFX, internet of things, openFOAM, time-accurate, turbomachinery

Procedia PDF Downloads 206