Search results for: pump scheduling

Authors: B. Kriheli, E. Levner, T. C. E. Cheng, C. T. Ng

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During the last decades, research interest in planning, scheduling, and control of emergency response operations, especially people rescue and evacuation from the dangerous zone of marine accidents, has increased dramatically. Until the survivors (called ‘targets’) are found and saved, it may cause loss or damage whose extent depends on the location of the targets and the search duration. The problem is to efficiently search for and detect/rescue the targets as soon as possible with the help of intelligent mobile robots so as to maximize the number of saved people and/or minimize the search cost under restrictions on the amount of saved people within the allowable response time. We consider a special situation when the autonomous mobile robots (AMR), e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles and remote-controlled robo-ships have no operator on board as they are guided and completely controlled by on-board sensors and computer programs. We construct a mathematical model for the search process in an uncertain environment and provide a new fast algorithm for scheduling the activities of the autonomous robots during the search-and rescue missions after an accident at sea. We presume that in the unknown environments, the AMR’s search-and-rescue activity is subject to two types of error: (i) a 'false-negative' detection error where a target object is not discovered (‘overlooked') by the AMR’s sensors in spite that the AMR is in a close neighborhood of the latter and (ii) a 'false-positive' detection error, also known as ‘a false alarm’, in which a clean place or area is wrongly classified by the AMR’s sensors as a correct target. As the general resource-constrained discrete search problem is NP-hard, we restrict our study to finding local-optimal strategies. A specificity of the considered operational research problem in comparison with the traditional Kadane-De Groot-Stone search models is that in our model the probability of the successful search outcome depends not only on cost/time/probability parameters assigned to each individual location but, as well, on parameters characterizing the entire history of (unsuccessful) search before selecting any next location. We provide a fast approximation algorithm for finding the AMR route adopting a greedy search strategy in which, in each step, the on-board computer computes a current search effectiveness value for each location in the zone and sequentially searches for a location with the highest search effectiveness value. Extensive experiments with random and real-life data provide strong evidence in favor of the suggested operations research model and corresponding algorithm.

Keywords: disaster management, intelligent robots, scheduling algorithm, search-and-rescue at sea

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Authors: Migael van Zyl, Stefanie Visser, Awelani Phaswana

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The electricity landscape in South Africa is characterized by frequent occurrences of loadshedding, a measure implemented by Eskom to manage electricity generation shortages by curtailing demand. Loadshedding, classified into stages ranging from 1 to 8 based on severity, involves the systematic rotation of power cuts across municipalities according to predefined schedules. However, this practice introduces distortions in recorded electricity demand, posing challenges to accurate forecasting essential for budgeting, network planning, and generation scheduling. Addressing this challenge requires the development of a methodology to quantify the impact of loadshedding and integrate it back into metered electricity demand data. Fortunately, comprehensive records of loadshedding impacts are maintained in a database, enabling the alignment of Loadshedding effects with hourly demand data. This adjustment ensures that forecasts accurately reflect true demand patterns, independent of loadshedding's influence, thereby enhancing the reliability of electricity supply management in South Africa. This paper presents a methodology for determining the hourly impact of load scheduling and subsequently adjusting historical demand data to account for it. Furthermore, two forecasting models are developed: one utilizing the original dataset and the other using the adjusted data. A comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate forecast accuracy improvements resulting from the adjustment process. By implementing this methodology, stakeholders can make more informed decisions regarding electricity infrastructure investments, resource allocation, and operational planning, contributing to the overall stability and efficiency of South Africa's electricity supply system.

Keywords: electricity demand forecasting, load shedding, demand side management, data science

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Authors: Mohammad Moridzadeh, Mohammad Djavid, Barry Doyle

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An assessment of the long-term stability of a cavern in Chagrin shale excavated by the sequential excavation method was performed during and after construction. During the excavation of the cavern, deformations of rock mass were measured at the surface of excavation and within the rock mass by surface and deep measurement instruments. Rock deformations were measured during construction which appeared to result from the as-built excavation sequence that had potentially disturbed the rock and its behavior. Also some additional time dependent rock deformations were observed during and post excavation. Several opinions have been expressed to explain this time dependent deformation including stress changes induced by excavation, strain softening (or creep) in the beddings with and without clay and creep of the shaley rock under compressive stresses. In order to analyze and replicate rock behavior observed during excavation, including current and post excavation elastic, plastic, and time dependent deformation, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed. The analysis was also intended to estimate long term deformation of the rock mass around the excavation. Rock mass behavior including time dependent deformation was measured by means of rock surface convergence points, MPBXs, extended creep testing on the long anchors, and load history data from load cells attached to several long anchors. Direct creep testing of Chagrin Shale was performed on core samples from the wall of the Pump Room. Results of these measurements were used to calibrate the FEA of the excavation. These analyses incorporate time dependent constitutive modeling for the rock to evaluate the potential long term movement in the roof, walls, and invert of the cavern. The modeling was performed due to the concerns regarding the unanticipated behavior of the rock mass as well as the forecast of long term deformation and stability of rock around the excavation.

Keywords: Cavern, Chagrin shale, creep, finite element.

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Authors: G. K. Viswanadh, B. Rajasekhar, G. Venkata Ramana

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Water distribution networks play a vital role in ensuring a reliable supply of clean water to urban areas. However, they face several challenges, including pressure control, pump speed optimization, and burst event detection. This paper combines insights from two studies to address these critical issues in Water distribution networks, focusing on the specific context of Kapra Municipality, India. The first part of this research concentrates on optimizing pressure control and pump speed in complex Water distribution networks. It utilizes the EPANET- MATLAB Toolkit to integrate EPANET functionalities into the MATLAB environment, offering a comprehensive approach to network analysis. By optimizing Pressure Reduce Valves (PRVs) and variable speed pumps (VSPs), this study achieves remarkable results. In the Benchmark Water Distribution System (WDS), the proposed PRV optimization algorithm reduces average leakage by 20.64%, surpassing the previous achievement of 16.07%. When applied to the South-Central and East zone WDS of Kapra Municipality, it identifies PRV locations that were previously missed by existing algorithms, resulting in average leakage reductions of 22.04% and 10.47%. These reductions translate to significant daily Water savings, enhancing Water supply reliability and reducing energy consumption. The second part of this research addresses the pressing issue of burst event detection and localization within the Water Distribution System. Burst events are a major contributor to Water losses and repair expenses. The study employs wireless sensor technology to monitor pressure and flow rate in real time, enabling the detection of pipeline abnormalities, particularly burst events. The methodology relies on transient analysis of pressure signals, utilizing Cumulative Sum and Wavelet analysis techniques to robustly identify burst occurrences. To enhance precision, burst event localization is achieved through meticulous analysis of time differentials in the arrival of negative pressure waveforms across distinct pressure sensing points, aided by nodal matrix analysis. To evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology, a PVC Water pipeline test bed is employed, demonstrating the algorithm's success in detecting pipeline burst events at flow rates of 2-3 l/s. Remarkably, the algorithm achieves a localization error of merely 3 meters, outperforming previously established algorithms. This research presents a significant advancement in efficient burst event detection and localization within Water pipelines, holding the potential to markedly curtail Water losses and the concomitant financial implications. In conclusion, this combined research addresses critical challenges in Water distribution networks, offering solutions for optimizing pressure control, pump speed, burst event detection, and localization. These findings contribute to the enhancement of Water Distribution System, resulting in improved Water supply reliability, reduced Water losses, and substantial cost savings. The integrated approach presented in this paper holds promise for municipalities and utilities seeking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their Water distribution networks.

Keywords: pressure reduce valve, complex networks, variable speed pump, wavelet transform, burst detection, CUSUM (Cumulative Sum), water pipeline monitoring

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Authors: Naod Mekonnen Anega

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The very objective of this paper was to empirically identify technology tailored determinants to the adoption and adoption intensity (extent of use) of agricultural water management technologies in Meda Welabu Woreda, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. Meda Welabu Woreda which is one of the administrative Woredas of the Oromia regional state was selected purposively as this Woreda is one of the Woredas in the region where small scale irrigation practices and the use of agricultural water management technologies can be found among smallholders. Using the existence water management practices (use of water management technologies) and land use pattern as a criterion Genale Mekchira Kebele is selected to undergo the study. A total of 200 smallholders were selected from the Kebele using the technique developed by Krejeie and Morgan. The study employed the Logit and Tobit models to estimate and identify the economic, social, geographical, household, institutional, psychological, technological factors that determine adoption and adoption intensity of water management technologies. The study revealed that while 55 of the sampled households are adopters of agricultural water management technology the rest 140 were non adopters of the technologies. Among the adopters included in the sample 97% are using river diversion technology (traditional) with traditional canal while the rest 7% percent are using pond with treadle pump technology. The Logit estimation reveled that while adoption of river diversion is positively and significantly affected by membership to local institutions, active labor force, income, access to credit and land ownership, adoption of treadle pump technology is positively and significantly affected by family size, education level, access to credit, extension contact, income, access to market, and slope. The Logit estimation also revealed that whereas, group action requirement, distance to farm, and size of active labor force negative and significantly influenced adoption of river diversion, age and perception has negatively and significantly influenced adoption decision of treadle pump technology. On the other hand, the Tobit estimation reveled that while adoption intensity (extent of use) of agricultural water management is positively and significantly affected by education, credit, and extension contact, access to credit, access to market and income. This study revealed that technology tailored study on adoption of Agricultural water management technologies (AWMTs) should be considered to indentify and scale up best agricultural water management practices. In fact, in countries like Ethiopia, where there is difference in social, economic, cultural, environmental and agro ecological conditions even within the same Kebele technology tailored study that fit the condition of each Kebele would help to identify and scale up best practices in agricultural water management.

Keywords: water management technology, adoption, adoption intensity, smallholders, technology tailored approach

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Authors: Zhenyu Zhang, Hsi-Hsien Wei

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Highway networks play a vital role in post-disaster recovery for disaster-damaged areas. Damaged bridges in such networks can disrupt the recovery activities by impeding the transportation of people, cargo, and reconstruction resources. Therefore, rapid restoration of damaged bridges is of paramount importance to long-term disaster recovery. In the post-disaster recovery phase, the key to restoration scheduling for a highway network is prioritization of bridge-repair tasks. Resilience is widely used as a measure of the ability to recover with which a network can return to its pre-disaster level of functionality. In practice, highways will be temporarily blocked during the downtime of bridge restoration, leading to the decrease of highway-network functionality. The failure to take downtime effects into account can lead to overestimation of network resilience. Additionally, post-disaster recovery of highway networks is generally divided into emergency bridge repair (EBR) in the response phase and long-term bridge repair (LBR) in the recovery phase, and both of EBR and LBR are different in terms of restoration objectives, restoration duration, budget, etc. Distinguish these two phases are important to precisely quantify highway network resilience and generate suitable restoration schedules for highway networks in the recovery phase. To address the above issues, this study proposes a novel resilience quantification method for the optimization of long-term bridge repair schedules (LBRS) taking into account the impact of EBR activities and restoration downtime on a highway network’s functionality. A time-dependent integer program with recursive functions is formulated for optimally scheduling LBR activities. Moreover, since uncertainty always exists in the LBRS problem, this paper extends the optimization model from the deterministic case to the stochastic case. A hybrid genetic algorithm that integrates a heuristic approach into a traditional genetic algorithm to accelerate the evolution process is developed. The proposed methods are tested using data from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, based on a regional highway network in Sichuan, China, consisting of 168 highway bridges on 36 highways connecting 25 cities/towns. The results show that, in this case, neglecting the bridge restoration downtime can lead to approximately 15% overestimation of highway network resilience. Moreover, accounting for the impact of EBR on network functionality can help to generate a more specific and reasonable LBRS. The theoretical and practical values are as follows. First, the proposed network recovery curve contributes to comprehensive quantification of highway network resilience by accounting for the impact of both restoration downtime and EBR activities on the recovery curves. Moreover, this study can improve the highway network resilience from the organizational dimension by providing bridge managers with optimal LBR strategies.

Keywords: disaster management, highway network, long-term bridge repair schedule, resilience, restoration downtime

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Authors: Ramanish Ravishankar, Azar Hussain, Mahmoud Loubani, Mubarak Chaudhry

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Background and Aims: Currently, there are no strict guidelines in cardiopulmonary bypass temperature management in cardiac surgery not involving the aortic arch. This study aims to compare patient outcomes undergoing mild hypothermia and normothermia. The aim of this study was to compare patient outcomes between mild hypothermia and normothermia undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery not involving the aortic arch. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from January 2015 until May 2023. Patients who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass temperatures ≥32oC were included and stratified into mild hypothermia (32oC – 35oC) and normothermia (>35oC) cohorts. Propensity matching was applied through the nearest neighbour method (1:1) using the risk factors detailed in the EuroScore using RStudio. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included post-op stay, intensive care unit readmission, re-admission, stroke, and renal complications. Patients who had major aortic surgery and off-pump operations were excluded. Results: Each cohort had 1675 patients. There was a significant increase in overall mortality with the mild hypothermia cohort (3.59% vs. 2.32%; p=0.04912). There was also a greater stroke incidence (2.09% vs. 1.13%; p=0.0396) and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) risk (3.1% vs. 1.49%; p=0.0027). There was no significant difference in renal complications (9.13% vs. 7.88%; p=0.2155). Conclusions: Patient’s who underwent mild hypothermia during cardiopulmonary bypass have a significantly greater mortality, stroke, and transient ischaemic attack incidence. Mild hypothermia does not appear to provide any benefit over normothermia and does not appear to provide any neuroprotective benefits. This shows different results to that of other major studies; further trials and studies need to be conducted to reach a consensus.

Keywords: cardiac surgery, therapeutic hypothermia, neuroprotection, cardiopulmonary bypass

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Authors: Laura Florez

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The construction industry is labour intensive, and the behaviour and management of workers have a direct impact on the performance of construction projects. One of the issues it currently faces is how to recruit and maintain its workers. Construction is known as an industry where workers face the problem of short employment durations, frequent layoffs, and periods of unemployment between jobs. These challenges not only creates pressures on the workers but also project managers have to constantly train new workers, face skills shortage, and uncertainty on the quality of the workers it will attract. To consider worker’s needs and project managers expectations, one practice that can be implemented is to schedule construction projects to maintain a stable workforce. This paper proposes a mixed integer programming (MIP) model to schedule projects with the objective of maximising social sustainability of construction projects, that is, maximise labour stability. Aside from the social objective, the model accounts for equipment and financial resources required by the projects during the construction phase. To illustrate how the solution strategy works, a construction programme comprised of ten projects is considered. The projects are scheduled to maximise labour stability while simultaneously minimising time and minimising cost. The tradeoff between the values in terms of time, cost, and labour stability allows project managers to consider their preferences and identify which solution best suits their needs. Additionally, the model determines the optimal starting times for each of the projects, working patterns for the workers, and labour costs. This model shows that construction projects can be scheduled to not only benefit the project manager, but also benefit current workers and help attract new workers to the industry. Due to its practicality, it can be a valuable tool to support decision making and assist construction stakeholders when developing schedules that include social sustainability factors.

Keywords: labour stability, mixed-integer programming (MIP), scheduling, workforce management

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Authors: Pornpote Nusen, Manop Kaewmoracharoen

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In recent years, there was an observable shift in fully developed countries from constructing new buildings to modifying existing buildings. The issue was that although an effective instrument like BIM (Building Information Modeling) was well developed for constructing new buildings, it was not widely used to renovate old buildings. BIM was accepted as an effective means to overcome common managerial problems such as project delay, cost overrun, and poor quality of the project life cycle. It was recently introduced in Thailand and rarely used in a renovation project. Today, in Thailand, BIM is mostly used for creating aesthetic 3D models and quantity takeoff purposes, though it can be an effective tool to use as a project management tool in planning and scheduling. Now the governmental sector in Thailand begins to recognize the uses of using BIM to manage a construction project, but the knowledge about the BIM implementation to governmental construction projects is underdeveloped. Further studies need to be conducted to maximize its advantages for the governmental sector. An educational extra large governmental building of 17,000 square-meters was used in this research. It is currently under construction for a two-year renovation project. BIM models of the building for the exterior and interior areas were created for the whole five floors. Then 4D BIM with combination of 3D BIM plus time was created for planning and scheduling. Three focus groups had been done with executive committee, contractors, and officers of the building to discuss the possibility of usage and usefulness of BIM approach over the traditional process. Several aspects were discussed in the positive sides, especially several foreseen problems, such as the inadequate accessibility of ways, the altered ceiling levels, the impractical construction plan created through a traditional approach, and the lack of constructability information. However, for some parties, the cost of BIM implementation was a concern, though, this study believes, its uses outweigh the cost.

Keywords: building information modeling, extra large building, governmental building renovation, project management, renovation, 4D BIM

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Authors: Kamelia Hamza

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Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most prescribed drug classes for pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).Many patients are treated with these drugs for atypical manifestations attributed to gastroesophageal reflux (GER), even in the absence of proved causal relationship. There is an impression of increase use of PPI's treatment for reflux in "clalit health services," the largest health organization in Israel. In the recent years, the medicine is given without restriction, it's not limited to pediatric gastroenterologists only, but pediatricians and family doctors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that exposure to PPIs during the first year of life is associated with an increased risk of developing late adverse diseases: pneumonia, asthma, AGE, IBD, celiac disease, allergic disorders, obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: The study is a retrospective case-control cohort study based on a computerized database of Clalit Health Services (CHS). It includes 9844 children born between 2002-2018 and reported to complain of at least one of the symptoms (reflux/ spitting up, irritability, feeding difficulties, colics). The study population included the study group (n=4922) of children exposed to PPIs at any time prior to the first year of life and a control group (n=4922) child not exposed to PPIs who were matched to each case of the study group on age, race, socioeconomic status, and year of birth. The prevalence of late complications/diseases in the study group was compared with the prevalence of late complications/diseases diagnosis between 2002-2020 in the control group. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using logistic regression models. Results: We found that compared to the control group, children exposed to PPIs in the first year of life had an increased risk of developing several late complications/ disorders: pneumonia, asthma, various allergies (urticaria, allergic rhinitis, or allergic conjunctivitis) OR, inhalant allergies, and food allergies. In addition, they showed an increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD or ASD, but children exposed to PPIs in the first year of life had decrease the risk of obesity by 17% (OR 0.825, 95%CI 0.697-0.976). Conclusions: We found significant associations between the use of PPIs during the first year of life and subsequent development of late complications/diseases such as respiratory diseases, allergy diseases, ADHD, and ASD. More studies are needed to prove causality and determine the mechanism behind the effect of PPIs and the development of late complications.

Keywords: acid suppressing medications, proton pump inhibitors, histamine 2 blocker, late complications, gastroesophageal reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease, acute gastroenteritis, community acquired pneumonia, asthma, allergic diseases, obesity, inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis, crohn disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, autism spectrum disorders

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Authors: Yenesew Mengiste Yihun, Abraham Mehari Haile, Teklu Erkossa, Bart Schultz

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Teff (Eragrostic tef) is a staple food in Ethiopia. The local and international demand for the crop is ever increasing pushing the current price five times compared with that in 2006. To meet this escalating demand increasing production including using irrigation is imperative. Optimum application of irrigation water, especially in semi-arid areas is profoundly important. AquaCrop model application in irrigation water scheduling and simulation of water productivity helps both irrigation planners and agricultural water managers. This paper presents simulation and evaluation of AquaCrop model in optimizing the yield and biomass response to variation in timing and rate of irrigation water application. Canopy expansion, canopy senescence and harvest index are the key physiological processes sensitive to water stress. For full irrigation water application treatment there was a strong relationship between the measured and simulated canopy and biomass with r2 and d values of 0.87 and 0.96 for canopy and 0.97 and 0.74 for biomass, respectively. However, the model under estimated the simulated yield and biomass for higher water stress level. For treatment receiving full irrigation the harvest index value obtained were 29%. The harvest index value shows generally a decreasing trend under water stress condition. AquaCrop model calibration and validation using the dry season field experiments of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 shows that AquaCrop adequately simulated the yield response to different irrigation water scenarios. We conclude that the AquaCrop model can be used in irrigation water scheduling and optimizing water productivity of Teff grown under water scarce semi-arid conditions.

Keywords: AquaCrop, climate smart agriculture, simulation, teff, water security, water stress regions

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Authors: Ming Liu, Zhihui Sun, Xiaoning Zhang

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This paper studies a deterministic container transportation problem, jointly optimizing the berth allocation, quay crane assignment and yard storage allocation at container ports. The problem is formulated as an integer program to coordinate the decisions. Because of the large scale, it is then transformed into a set partitioning formulation, and a framework of branchand- price algorithm is provided to solve it.

Keywords: branch-and-price, container terminal, joint scheduling, maritime logistics

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Authors: Md. Moniruzzaman

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The energy of ocean waves across a large part of the earth is inexhaustible. The whole world will benefit if this endless energy can be used in an easy way. The coastal countries will easily be able to meet their own energy needs. The purpose of this article is to use the infinite energy of the ocean wave in a simple way. i.e. a method of efficient use of wave energy. The paper starts by discussing various forces acting on a floating object and, afterward, about the method. And then a calculation for a 73.39MW hydropower from the tidal wave. Used some sketches/pictures. Finally, the conclusion states the possibilities and advantages.

Keywords: anchor, electricity, floating object, pump, ship city, wave energy

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Authors: Ahmed E. Hodaib, Muhammed A. Hashem

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High-speed transportation has become a growing concern. To increase high-speed efficiencies and minimize power consumption of a vehicle, we need to eliminate the friction with the ground and minimize the aerodynamic drag acting on the vehicle. Due to the complexity and high power requirements of electromagnetic levitation, we make use of the air in front of the capsule, that produces the majority of the drag, to compress it in two phases and inject a proportion of it through small nozzles to make a high-pressure air cushion to levitate the capsule. The tube is partially-evacuated so that the air pressure is optimized for maximum compressor effectiveness, optimum tube size, and minimum vacuum pump power consumption. The total relative mass flow rate of the tube air is divided into two fractions. One is by-passed to flow over the capsule body, ensuring that no chocked flow takes place. The other fraction is sucked by the compressor where it is diffused to decrease the Mach number (around 0.8) to be suitable for the compressor inlet. The air is then compressed and intercooled, then split. One fraction is expanded through a tail nozzle to contribute to generating thrust. The other is compressed again. Bleed from the two compressors is used to maintain a constant air pressure in an air tank. The air tank is used to supply air for levitation. Dividing the total mass flow rate increases the achievable speed (Kantrowitz limit), and compressing it decreases the blockage of the capsule. As a result, the aerodynamic drag on the capsule decreases. As the tube pressure decreases, the drag decreases and the capsule power requirements decrease, however, the vacuum pump consumes more power. That’s why Design optimization techniques are to be used to get the optimum values for all the design variables given specific design inputs. Aerodynamic shape optimization, Capsule and tube sizing, compressor design, diffuser and nozzle expander design and the effect of the air bearing on the aerodynamics of the capsule are to be considered. The variations of the variables are to be studied for the change of the capsule velocity and air pressure.

Keywords: tube-capsule, hyperloop, aerodynamic design optimization, air compressor, air bearing

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Authors: Amirhossein Eisapour, Mohammad Emamjome Kashan, Alan S. Fung

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This research addresses the pressing global challenges of clean energy and water supplies, emphasizing the need for sustainable solutions for the building sector. The research centers on integrating Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems with building energy systems, incorporating Solar Thermal Collectors (STC)/Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT), water-to-water heat pumps, and an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) based building foundation wall thermal energy storage. The study explores an innovative configuration’s effectiveness in addressing water and heating demands through clean energy sources while addressing ICF-based thermal storage challenges, which could overheat in the cooling season. Analyzing four configurations—STC-ICF, STC-ICF-RO, PVT-ICF, and PVT-ICF-RO, the study conducts a sensitivity analysis on collector area (25% and 50% increase) and weather data (evaluating five Canadian cities, Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver). Key outcomes highlight the benefits of integrated RO scenarios, showcasing reduced ICF wall temperature, diminished unwanted heat in the cooling season, reduced RO pump consumption and enhanced solar energy production. The STC-ICF-RO and PVT-ICF-RO systems achieved energy savings of 653 kWh and 131 kWh, respectively, in comparison to their non-integrated RO counterparts. Additionally, both systems successfully contributed to lowering the CO2 production level of the energy system. The calculated payback period of STC-ICF-RO (2 years) affirms the proposed systems’ economic viability. Compared to the base system, which does not benefit from the ICF and RO integration with the building energy system, the STC-ICF-RO and PVT-ICF-RO demonstrate a dramatic energy consumption reduction of 20% and 32%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis suggests potential system improvements under specific conditions, especially when implementing the introduced energy system in communities of buildings.

Keywords: insulated concrete form, thermal energy storage, reverse osmosis, building energy systems, solar thermal collector, photovoltaic thermal, heat pump

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Authors: Yuzhen Hu, Sirui Wang

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As a training base for intellectual talents, universities have a large number of students. Teaching is a primary activity in universities, and during the teaching process, a large number of people gather both inside and outside the teaching buildings, posing a strong risk of close contact. The class schedule is the fundamental basis for teaching activities in universities and plays a crucial role in the management of teaching order. Different class schedules can lead to varying degrees of indoor gatherings and trajectories of class attendees. In recent years, highly contagious diseases have frequently occurred worldwide, and how to reduce the risk of infection has always been a hot issue related to public safety. "Reducing gatherings" is one of the core measures in epidemic prevention and control, and it can be controlled through scientific scheduling in specific environments. Therefore, the scientific prevention and control goal can be achieved by considering the reduction of the risk of excessive gathering of people during the course schedule arrangement. Firstly, we address the issue of personnel gathering in various pathways on campus, with the goal of minimizing congestion and maximizing teaching effectiveness, establishing a nonlinear mathematical model. Next, we design an improved genetic algorithm, incorporating real-time evacuation operations based on tracking search and multidimensional positive gradient cross-mutation operations, considering the characteristics of outdoor crowd evacuation. Finally, we apply undergraduate course data from a university in Harbin to conduct a case study. It compares and analyzes the effects of algorithm improvement and optimization of gathering situations and explores the impact of path blocking on the degree of gathering of individuals on other pathways.

Keywords: the university timetabling problem, risk prevention, genetic algorithm, risk control

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Authors: Elham Koohikerade, Silvio Jose Gumiere

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In this research, irrigation is highlighted as crucial for improving both the yield and quality of ‎potatoes due to their high sensitivity to soil moisture changes. The study presents a hybrid Long ‎Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model aimed at optimizing irrigation scheduling in potato fields in ‎Quebec City, Canada. This model integrates model-based and satellite-derived datasets to simulate ‎soil moisture content, addressing the limitations of field data. Developed under the guidance of the ‎Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the simulation approach compensates for the lack of direct ‎soil sensor data, enhancing the LSTM model's predictions. The model was calibrated using indices ‎like Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI), Enhanced ‎Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI) to effectively forecast ‎soil moisture reductions. Understanding soil moisture and plant development is crucial for assessing ‎drought conditions and determining irrigation needs. This study validated the spectral characteristics ‎of vegetation and soil using ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and Moderate Resolution Imaging ‎Spectrometer (MODIS) data from 2019 to 2023, collected from agricultural areas in Dolbeau and ‎Peribonka, Quebec. Parameters such as surface volumetric soil moisture (0-7 cm), NDVI, EVI, and ‎NMDI were extracted from these images. A regional four-year dataset of soil and vegetation moisture ‎was developed using a machine learning approach combining model-based and satellite-based ‎datasets. The LSTM model predicts soil moisture dynamics hourly across different locations and ‎times, with its accuracy verified through cross-validation and comparison with existing soil moisture ‎datasets. The model effectively captures temporal dynamics, making it valuable for applications ‎requiring soil moisture monitoring over time, such as anomaly detection and memory analysis. By ‎identifying typical peak soil moisture values and observing distribution shapes, irrigation can be ‎scheduled to maintain soil moisture within Volumetric Soil Moisture (VSM) values of 0.25 to 0.30 ‎m²/m², avoiding under and over-watering. The strong correlations between parcels suggest that a ‎uniform irrigation strategy might be effective across multiple parcels, with adjustments based on ‎specific parcel characteristics and historical data trends. The application of the LSTM model to ‎predict soil moisture and vegetation indices yielded mixed results. While the model effectively ‎captures the central tendency and temporal dynamics of soil moisture, it struggles with accurately ‎predicting EVI, NDVI, and NMDI.‎

Keywords: irrigation scheduling, LSTM neural network, remotely sensed indices, soil and vegetation ‎monitoring

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Authors: C. Rekha, G. N. Krishnamurthy

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This paper attempts to develop a different approach for key scheduling algorithm which uses both Blowfish and AES algorithms. The main drawback of Blowfish algorithm is, it takes more time to create the S-box entries. To overcome this, we are replacing process of S-box creation in blowfish, by using key dependent S-box creation from AES without affecting the basic operation of blowfish. The method proposed in this paper uses good features of blowfish as well as AES and also this paper demonstrates the performance of blowfish and new algorithm by considering different aspects of security namely Encryption Quality, Key Sensitivity, and Correlation of horizontally adjacent pixels in an encrypted image.

Keywords: AES, blowfish, correlation coefficient, encryption quality, key sensitivity, s-box

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Authors: Maroua Sbiti, Karim Beddiar, Djaoued Beladjine, Romuald Perrault

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Productivity is decreasing in construction compared to the manufacturing industry. It seems that the sector is suffering from organizational problems and have low maturity regarding technological advances. High international competition due to the growing context of globalization, complex projects, and shorter deadlines increases these challenges. Field employees are more exposed to coordination problems than design officers. Execution collaboration is then a major issue that can threaten the cost, time, and quality completion of a project. Initially, this paper will try to identify field professional requirements as to address building management process weaknesses such as the unreliability of scheduling, the fickleness of monitoring and inspection processes, the inaccuracy of project’s indicators, inconsistency of building documents and the random logistic management. Subsequently, we will focus our attention on providing solutions to improve scheduling, inspection, and hours tracking processes using emerging lean tools and field mobility applications that bring new perspectives in terms of cooperation. They have shown a great ability to connect various field teams and make informations visual and accessible to planify accurately and eliminate at the source the potential defects. In addition to software as a service use, the adoption of the human resource module of the Enterprise Resource Planning system can allow a meticulous time accounting and thus make the faster decision making. The next step is to integrate external data sources received from or destined to design engineers, logisticians, and suppliers in a holistic system. Creating a monolithic system that consolidates planning, quality, procurement, and resources management modules should be our ultimate target to build the construction industry supply chain.

Keywords: lean, last planner system, field mobility applications, construction productivity

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Authors: S. Abdourraziq, M. A. Abdourraziq

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One of the most famous and important applications of solar energy systems is water pumping. It is often used for irrigation or to supply water in countryside or private firm. However, the cost and the efficiency are still a concern, especially with a continued variation of solar radiation and temperature throughout the day. Then, the improvement of the efficiency of the system components is one of the different solutions to reducing the cost. In this paper, we will present a detailed definition of each element of a PV pumping system, and we will present the different MPPT algorithm used in the literature. Our system consists of a PV panel, a boost converter, a motor-pump set, and a storage tank.

Keywords: PV cell, converter, MPPT, MPP, PV pumping system

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Authors: Max Moleke

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Manufacturing industries are faced with different types of problems. One of the most important role of controlling and monitoring a production process is to actually determine how to deal with unforeseen disruption when they arise. A majority of manufacturing tern to spend huge amount of money in order to meet up with their customers requirements and demand but due to instabilities within the manufacturing process, this objectives and goals are difficult to be achieved. In this research, we have developed a feedback control system that can minimize instability within the manufacturing system in order to boost the system output and productivity.

Keywords: disruption, scheduling, manufacturing, instability

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Authors: Abdullah Alnutayfat, Alexander Sutin, Dong Liu

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Wind turbine has become one of the most popular energy productions. However, failure of blades and maintenance costs evolve into significant issues in the wind power industry, so it is essential to detect the initial blade defects to avoid the collapse of the blades and structure. This paper aims to apply modulation of high-frequency blade vibrations by low-frequency blade rotation, which is close to the known Vibro-Acoustic Modulation (VAM) method. The high-frequency wideband blade vibration is produced by the interaction of the surface blades with the environment air turbulence, and the low-frequency modulation is produced by alternating bending stress due to gravity. The low-frequency load of rotational wind turbine blades ranges between 0.2-0.4 Hz and can reach up to 2 Hz for strong wind. The main difference between this study and previous ones on VAM methods is the use of a wideband vibration signal from the blade's natural vibrations. Different features of the vibroacoustic modulation are considered using a simple model of breathing crack. This model considers the simple mechanical oscillator, where the parameters of the oscillator are varied due to low-frequency blade rotation. During the blade's operation, the internal stress caused by the weight of the blade modifies the crack's elasticity and damping. The laboratory experiment using steel samples demonstrates the possibility of VAM using a probe wideband noise signal. A cycle load with a small amplitude was used as a pump wave to damage the tested sample, and a small transducer generated a wideband probe wave. The received signal demodulation was conducted using the Detecting of Envelope Modulation on Noise (DEMON) approach. In addition, the experimental results were compared with the modulation index (MI) technique regarding the harmonic pump wave. The wideband and traditional VAM methods demonstrated similar sensitivity for earlier detection of invisible cracks. Importantly, employing a wideband probe signal with the DEMON approach speeds up and simplifies testing since it eliminates the need to conduct tests repeatedly for various harmonic probe frequencies and to adjust the probe frequency.

Keywords: vibro-acoustic modulation, detecting of envelope modulation on noise, damage, turbine blades

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Authors: Satwik Majumder, Dongyun Jung, Jennifer Ronholm, Saji George

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Bovine mastitis is the most common infectious disease in dairy cattle, with major economic implications for the dairy industry worldwide. Continuous monitoring for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacterial isolates from dairy farms is vital not only for animal husbandry but also for public health. In this study, the prevalence of AMR in 113 Escherichia coli isolates from cases of bovine clinical mastitis in Canada was investigated. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test with 18 antibiotics and microdilution method with three heavy metals (copper, zinc, and silver) was performed to determine the antibiotic and heavy-metal susceptibility. Resistant strains were assessed for efflux and ß-lactamase activities besides assessing biofilm formation and hemolysis. Whole-genome sequences for each of the isolates were examined to detect the presence of genes corresponding to the observed AMR and virulence factors. Phenotypic analysis revealed that 32 isolates were resistant to one or more antibiotics, and 107 showed resistance against at least one heavy metal. Quinolones and silver were the most efficient against the tested isolates. Among the AMR isolates, AcrAB-TolC efflux activity and ß-lactamase enzyme activities were detected in 13 and 14 isolates, respectively. All isolates produced biofilm but with different capacities, and 33 isolates showed α-hemolysin activity. A positive correlation (Pearson r = +0.89) between efflux pump activity and quantity of biofilm was observed. Genes associated with aggregation, adhesion, cyclic di-GMP, quorum sensing were detected in the AMR isolates, corroborating phenotype observations. This investigation showed the prevalence of AMR in E. coli isolates from bovine clinical mastitis. The results also suggest the inadequacy of antimicrobials with a single mode of action to curtail AMR bacteria with multiple mechanisms of resistance and virulence factors. Therefore, it calls for combinatorial therapy for the effective management of AMR infections in dairy farms and combats its potential transmission to the food supply chain through milk and dairy products.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, E. coli, bovine mastitis, antibiotics, heavy-metals, efflux pump, ß-lactamase enzyme, biofilm, whole-genome sequencing

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Authors: Rekioua D., Mohammedi A., Rekioua T., Mehleb Z.

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Photovoltaic water pumping systems is considered as one of the most promising areas in photovoltaic applications, the economy and reliability of solar electric power made it an excellent choice for remote water pumping. Two conventional techniques are currently in use; the first is the directly coupled technique and the second is the battery buffered photovoltaic pumping system. In this paper, we present different performances of a three operation modes of photovoltaic pumping system. The aim of this work is to determine the effect of different parameters influencing the photovoltaic pumping system performances, such as pumping head, System configuration and climatic conditions. The obtained results are presented and discussed.

Keywords: batteries charge mode, photovoltaic pumping system, pumping head, submersible pump

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Authors: Eze R. Onukwugha

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The presence of cyanide in wastewater is known to inhibit the normal functioning of bio-reactors since it has the tendency to poison reactor micro-organisms. Bench scale models of activated sludge reactors with varying aspect ratios were operated for the treatment of cassava wastewater at several values of hydraulic retention time (HRT). The different values of HRT were achieved by the use of a peristaltic pump to vary the rate of introduction of the wastewater into the reactor. The main parameters monitored are the cyanide concentration and respective COD values of the influent and effluent. These observed values were then transformed into a mathematical model for the prediction of treatment efficiency.

Keywords: wastewater, aspect ratio, cyanide-inhibited wastewater, modeling

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Authors: Roselyn Alejandro-Ymana

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The study was an attempt to assess the MTAP Saturday Class Program along its eight components namely, modules, instructional materials, scheduling, trainer-teachers, supervisory support, administrative support, financial support and educational facilities, the results of which served as bases in developing policy guidelines to enhance the MTAP Saturday Class Program. Using a descriptive development method of research, this study involved the participation of twenty-eight (28) schools with MTAP Saturday Class Program in the Division of Dasmarinas City where twenty-eight school heads, one hundred twenty-five (125) teacher-trainer, one hundred twenty-five (125) pupil program participants, and their corresponding one hundred twenty-five (125) parents were purposively drawn to constitute the study’s respondent. A self-made validated survey questionnaire together with Pre and Post-Test Assessment Test in Mathematics for pupils participating in the program, and an unstructured interview guide was used to gather the data needed in the study. Data obtained from the instruments administered was organized and analyzed through the use of statistical tools that included the Mean, Weighted Mean, Relative Frequency, Standard Deviation, F-Test or One-Way ANOVA and the T-Test. Results of the study revealed that all the eight domains involved in the MTAP Saturday Class Program were practiced with the areas of 'trainer-teachers', 'educational facilities', and 'supervisory support' identified as the program’s strongest components while the areas of 'financial support', 'modules' and 'scheduling' as being the weakest program’s components. Moreover, the study revealed based on F-Test, that there was a significant difference in the assessment made by the respondents in each of the eight (8) domains. It was found out that the parents deviated significantly from the assessment of either the school heads or the teachers on the indicators of the program. There is much to be desired when it comes to the quality of the implementation of the MTAP Saturday Class Program. With most of the indicators of each component of the program, having received overall average ratings that were at least 0.5 point away from the ideal rating 5 for total quality, school heads, teachers, and supervisors need to work harder for total quality of the implementation of the MTAP Saturday Class Program in the division.

Keywords: mathematics achievement, MTAP program, policy guidelines, program assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 212

Authors: Mohanad Al-Behadili, Xiang Song, Djamila Ouelhadj, Alex Fraess-Ehrfeld

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In off-shore wind farms, turbine blade inspection accessibility under various sea states is very challenging and greatly affects the downtime of wind turbines. Maintenance of any offshore system is not an easy task due to the restricted logistics and accessibility. The multirotor unmanned helicopter is of increasing interest in inspection applications due to its manoeuvrability and payload capacity. These advantages increase when many of them are deployed simultaneously in a swarm. Hence this paper proposes a drone swarm framework for inspecting offshore wind turbine blades and nacelles so as to reduce downtime. One of the big challenges of this task is that when operating a drone swarm, an individual drone may not have enough power to fly and communicate during missions and it has no capability of refueling due to its small size. Once the drone power is drained, there are no signals transmitted and the links become intermittent. Vessels equipped with 5G masts and small power units are utilised as platforms for drones to recharge/swap batteries. The research work aims at designing a smart energy management system, which provides automated vessel and drone routing and recharging plans. To achieve this goal, a novel mathematical optimisation model is developed with the main objective of minimising the number of drones and vessels, which carry the charging stations, and the downtime of the wind turbines. There are a number of constraints to be considered, such as each wind turbine must be inspected once and only once by one drone; each drone can inspect at most one wind turbine after recharging, then fly back to the charging station; collision should be avoided during the drone flying; all wind turbines in the wind farm should be inspected within the given time window. We have developed a real-time Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO) algorithm to generate real-time and near-optimal solutions to the drone swarm routing problem. The schedule will generate efficient and real-time solutions to indicate the inspection tasks, time windows, and the optimal routes of the drones to access the turbines. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the quality of the solutions generated by ACO.

Keywords: drone swarm, routing, scheduling, optimisation model, ant colony optimisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Doron Markel

Abstract:

Water availability in most of the Middle East (especially in Jordan) is among the lowest in the world and has been even further exacerbated by the regional climatic change and the reduced rainfall. The Araba Valley in Israel is disconnected from the national water system. On the other hand, the Araba Valley, both in Israel and Jordan, is an excellent area for solar energy gaining. The Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan) is a hypersaline lake which its level declines at a rate of more than 1 m/y. The decline stems from the increasing use of all available freshwater resources that discharge into the Dead Sea and decreasing natural precipitation due to climate change in the Middle East. As an adaptation tool for this humanmade and Climate Change results, a comprehensive water-energy and environmental project were suggested: The Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance. It is planned to desalinate the Red Sea water, supply the desalinated water to both Israel and Jordan, and convey the desalination brine to the Dead Sea to stabilize its water level. Therefore, the World Bank had led a multi-discipline feasibility study between 2008 and 2013, that had mainly dealt with the mixing of seawater and Dead Sea Water. The possible consequences of such mixing were precipitation and possible suspension of secondary Gypsum, as well as blooming of Dunaliella red algae. Using a comprehensive hydrodynamic-geochemical model for the Dead Sea, it was predicted that while conveying up to 400 Million Cubic Meters per year of seawater or desalination brine to the Dead Sea, the latter would not be stratified as it was until 1979; hence Gypsum precipitation and algal blooms would be neglecting. Using another hydrodynamic-biological model for the Red Sea, it was predicted the Seawater pump from the Gulf of Eilat would not harm the ecological system of the gulf (including the sensitive coral reef), giving a pump depth of 120-160 m. Based on these studies, a pipeline conveyance was recommended to convey desalination brine to the Dead Sea with the use of a hydropower plant, utilizing the elevation difference of 400 m between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. The complementary energy would come from solar panels coupled with innovative storage technology, needed to produce a continuous energy production for an appropriate function of the desalination plant. The paper will describe the proposed project as well as the feasibility study results. The possibility to utilize this water-energy-environmental project as a climate change adaptation strategy for both Israel and Jordan will also be discussed.

Keywords: Red Sea, Dead Sea, water supply, hydro-power, Gypsum, algae

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Authors: Arya Pirooz

Abstract:

Air and fuel must be mixed correctly so that there is perfect combustion, which calls for fuel atomization by injection. In this study, the effects of different parameters such as number of orifices, length and diameter of orifices, diameter of nozzle sac and the angle of needle seat in injectors were investigated with the use of rate of injection and sac pressure. The unit pump of the OM-457 diesel engine was modelled on Avl-Hydsim. The results illustrate that the sac pressure decreased by 46% when the number of holes were doubled, although the rate of injection had an immense change. Also, the sac pressure increased up to 60% when the diameter of orifices decreased by 40% in spite of the semi-constant injection rate.

Keywords: injection, OM-457 engine, nozzle geometry, atomization

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Authors: Mehran Barani Shikhrobat, Roger Flanagan

Abstract:

The construction planning and scheduling based on using the current tools and techniques is resulted deterministic in nature (Gantt chart, CPM) or applying a very little probability of completion (PERT) for each task. However, every project embodies assumptions and influences and should start with a complete set of clearly defined goals and constraints that remain constant throughout the duration of the project. Construction planners continue to apply the traditional methods and tools of “hard” project management that were developed for “ideal projects,” neglecting the potential influence of complexity on the design and construction process. The aim of this research is to investigate the emergence and growth of complexity in project planning and to provide a model to consider the influence of complexity on the total project duration at the post-contract award pre-construction stage of a project. The literature review showed that complexity originates from different sources of environment, technical, and workflow interactions. They can be divided into two categories of complexity factors, first, project tasks, and second, project organisation management. Project tasks may originate from performance, lack of resources, or environmental changes for a specific task. Complexity factors that relate to organisation and management refer to workflow and interdependence of different parts. The literature review highlighted the ineffectiveness of traditional tools and techniques in planning for complexity. However, this research focus on understanding the fundamental causes of the complexity of construction projects were investigated through a questionnaire with industry experts. The results were used to develop a model that considers the core complexity factors and their interactions. System dynamics were used to investigate the model to consider the influence of complexity on project planning. Feedback from experts revealed 20 major complexity factors that impact project planning. The factors are divided into five categories known as core complexity factors. To understand the weight of each factor in comparison, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis method is used. The comparison showed that externalities are ranked as the biggest influence across the complexity factors. The research underlines that there are many internal and external factors that impact project activities and the project overall. This research shows the importance of considering the influence of complexity on the project master plan undertaken at the post-contract award pre-construction phase of a project.

Keywords: project planning, project complexity measurement, planning uncertainty management, project risk management, strategic project scheduling

Procedia PDF Downloads 138