Search results for: operation planning

Authors: Simeon Adebayo Oladipo

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Institutional administrators are currently facing pressure and challenges in their daily operations. Reasons for this may include the increasing multiplicity, uncertainty and tension that permeate institutional leadership. Authentic engagement for institutional leadership is premised on the ethical foundation that the leaders in the schools are engaged. The institutional effectiveness is dependent on the relationship that exists between the leaders and employees in the workplace. Leader’s self-awareness, relational transparency, emotional control, strong moral code and accountability have a positive influence on authentic engagement which variably determines leadership effectiveness. This study therefore examined the role of authentic engagement in effective school leadership; explored the interrelationship of authentic engagement indices in school leadership. The study adopted the descriptive research of the survey type using a quantitative method to gather data through a questionnaire among school leaders in Lagos State Tertiary Institutions. The population for the study consisted of all Heads of Departments, Deans and Principal Officers in Lagos State Tertiary Institutions. A sample size of 255 Heads of Departments, Deans and Principal Officers participated in the study. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The findings indicated that authentic engagement plays a crucial role in increasing leadership effectiveness amongst Heads of Departments, Deans and Principal Officers. The study recommended among others that there is a need for effective measures to enhance authentic engagement of institutional leadership practices through relevant educational support systems and effective quality control.

Keywords: authentic engagement, self-awareness, relational transparency, emotional control

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Vanessa G. P. Severino, JOÃO Gabriel M. Junqueira, Michelle N. G. do Nascimento, Francisco W. B. Aquino, João B. Fernandes, Ana P. Terezan

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The scientific interest in analyzing VOCs represents a significant modern research field as a result of importance in most branches of the present life and industry. Therefore it is extremely important to investigate, identify and isolate volatile substances, since they can be used in different areas, such as food, medicine, cosmetics, perfumery, aromatherapy, pesticides, repellents and other household products through methods for extracting volatile constituents, such as solid phase microextraction (SPME), hydrodistillation (HD), solvent extraction (SE), Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), stream distillation (SD) and vacuum distillation (VD). The Chemometrics is an area of chemistry that uses statistical and mathematical tools for the planning and optimization of the experimental conditions, and to extract relevant chemical information multivariate chemical data. In this context, the focus of this work was the study of the chemical VOCs by SPME of the specie X. aromatica, in search of constituents that can be used in the industrial sector as well as in food, cosmetics and perfumery, since these areas industrial has a considerable role. In addition, by chemometric analysis, we sought to maximize the answers of this research, in order to search for the largest number of compounds. The investigation of flowers from X. aromatica in vitro and in alive mode proved consistent, but certain factors supposed influence the composition of metabolites, and the chemometric analysis strengthened the analysis. Thus, the study of the chemical composition of X. aromatica contributed to the VOCs knowledge of the species and a possible application.

Keywords: chemometrics, flowers, HS-SPME, Xylopia aromatica

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: L. Shafiq, A. Rigby

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All polyethylene processes are highly exothermic, and the safe removal of the heat of reaction is a fundamental issue in the process design. In slurry and gas processes, the velocity of the polymer particles in the reactor and external coolers can be very high, and under certain conditions, this can lead to static charging of these particles. Such static charged polymer particles may start building up on the reactor wall, limiting heat transfer, and ultimately leading to severe reactor fouling and forced reactor shut down. Statsafe™ is an FDA approved anti-fouling additive currently used around the world for polyolefin production as an anti-fouling additive. The unique polymer chemistry aids static discharge, which prevents the build-up of charged polyolefin particles, which could lead to fouling. Statsafe™ is being used and trailed in gas, slurry, and a combination of these technologies around the world. We will share data to demonstrate how the use of Statsafe™ allows more stable operation at higher solids level by eliminating static, which would otherwise prevent closer packing of particles in the hydrocarbon slurry. Because static charge generation depends also on the concentration of polymer particles in the slurry, the maximum slurry concentration can be higher when using Statsafe™, leading to higher production rates. The elimination of fouling also leads to less downtime. Special focus will be made on the impact anti-static additives have on catalyst performance within the polymerization process and how this has been measured. Lab-scale studies have investigated the effect on the activity of Ziegler Natta catalysts when anti-static additives are used at various concentrations in gas and slurry, polyethylene and polypropylene processes. An in-depth gas phase study investigated the effect of additives on the final polyethylene properties such as particle size, morphology, fines, bulk density, melt flow index, gradient density, and melting point.

Keywords: anti-static additives, catalyst performance, FDA approved anti-fouling additive, polymerisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Kumara Jayapathma J. H. M. S. S., Dampegama S. D. P. J.

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Lands are valuable & limited resource which constantly changes with the growth of the population. An efficient and good land management system is essential to avoid conflicts associated with lands. This paper aims to design the prototype model of a Mobile GIS Land use and Land Information System in real-time. Homagama Divisional Secretariat Division situated in the western province of Sri Lanka was selected as the study area. The prototype model was developed after reviewing related literature. The methodology was consisted of designing and modeling the prototype model into an application running on a mobile platform. The system architecture mainly consists of a Google mapping app for real-time updates with firebase support tools. Thereby, the method of implementation consists of front-end and back-end components. Software tools used in designing applications are Android Studio with JAVA based on GeoJSON File structure. Android Studio with JAVA in GeoJSON File Synchronize to Firebase was found to be the perfect mobile solution for continuously updating Land use and Land Information System (LIS) in real-time in the present scenario. The mobile-based land use and LIS developed in this study are multiple user applications catering to different hierarchy levels such as basic users, supervisory managers, and database administrators. The benefits of this mobile mapping application will help public sector field officers with non-GIS expertise to overcome the land use planning challenges with land use updated in real-time.

Keywords: Android, Firebase, GeoJSON, GIS, JAVA, JSON, LIS, Mobile GIS, real-time, REST API

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Josip Karuc, Marjeta Mišigoj-Duraković, Goran Marković, Vedran Hadžić, Michael J. Duncan, Hrvoje Podnar, Maroje Sorić

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As a part of the CRO-PALS longitudinal study, this investigation aimed to examine the association between different levels of physical activity (PA) and movement quality in 16-years old school children. The total number of participants in this research was 725. Movement quality was assessed via the Functional Movement Screen (FMSTM), and the PA level was estimated using the School Health Action, Planning, and Evaluation System (SHAPES) questionnaire. In addition, body fat and socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed. In order to investigate the association between total FMS score and different levels of PA, multilevel modeling was employed for boys (n=359) and girls (n=366) separately. All models were adjusted for age, body fat, and SES. Among boys, MVPA, MPA, and VPA were not significant predictors of the total FMS score (β=0.000, p=0.78; β=-0.002, p=0.455; β=0.004, p=0.158, respectively). On the contrary, among girls, VPA and MVPA showed significant effects on the total FMS score (β=0.011, p=0.001, β=0.005, p=0.006, respectively). The findings of this research provide evidence that the intensity of PA is a minor but relevant factor in describing the association between PA and movement quality in adolescent girls but not in boys. This means that the PA level does not guarantee optimal functional movement patterns. Therefore, practicing functional movement patterns in an isolated manner and at moderate to vigorous intensity could be beneficial in order to reduce the risk of injury incidence and potential orthopedic abnormalities in later life. This work was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, grant no: IP-2016-06-9926 and grant no: DOK-2018-01-2328.

Keywords: functional movement screen, fundamental movement patterns, movement quality, pediatric

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Authors: Lucero Luciano, Cesar Celis, Jose Ramos

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Polygeneration improves energy efficiency and reduce both energy consumption and pollutant emissions compared to conventional generation technologies. A polygeneration system is a variation of a cogeneration one, in which more than two outputs, i.e., heat, power, cooling, water, energy or fuels, are accounted for. In particular, polygeneration systems integrating solar energy and water desalination represent promising technologies for energy production and water supply. They are therefore interesting options for coastal regions with a high solar potential, such as those located in southern Peru and northern Chile. Notice that most of the Peruvian and Chilean mining industry operations intensive in electricity and water consumption are located in these particular regions. Accordingly, this work focus on the design and integration of a polygeneration system producing industrial heating, cooling, electrical power and water for an industrial plant. The design procedure followed in this work involves integer linear programming modeling (MILP), operational planning and dynamic operating conditions. The technical and economic feasibility of integrating renewable energy technologies (photovoltaic and solar thermal, PV+CPS), thermal energy store, power and thermal exchange, absorption chillers, cogeneration heat engines and desalination technologies is particularly assessed. The polygeneration system integration carried out seek to minimize the system total annual cost subject to CO2 emissions restrictions. Particular economic aspects accounted for include investment, maintenance and operating costs.

Keywords: desalination, design and integration, polygeneration systems, renewable energy

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Authors: Subbarao Pichuka, Amar Balakrishna Tej, Vikas Vemula

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In recent years, the frequency and intensity of urban floods have increased due to climate change all over the world provoking a significant loss in terms of human lives and property. This study investigates the effect of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes and population growth on the urban environmental conditions in the Indian metropolitan city namely Hyderabad. The centennial built-up area data have been downloaded from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) web portal for various periods (1975 to 2014). The ArcGIS version 10.8 software is employed to convert the GHSL data into shape files and also to calculate the amount of built-up area in the study locations. The decadal population data are obtained from the Census from 1971 to 2011 and forecasted for the required years (1975 and 2014) utilizing the Geometric Increase Method. Next, the analysis has been carried out with respect to the increase in population and the corresponding rise in the built-up area. Further the effects of extreme rainfall events, which exacerbate urban flooding have also been reviewed. Results demonstrate that the population growth was the primary cause of the increase in impervious surfaces in the urban regions. It in turn leads to the intensification of surface runoff and thereby leads to Urban flooding. The built-up area has been doubled from 1975 to 2014 and the population growth has been observed between 109.24% to 400% for the past four decades (1971 to 2014) in the study area (Hyderabad). Overall, this study provides the hindsight on the current urban flooding scenarios, and the findings of this study can be used in the future planning of cities.

Keywords: urban LULC change, urban flooding, GHSL built-up data, climate change, ArcGIS

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Authors: Laxuman Thakuri

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Community-based forest management is often glorified as one of the best forest management alternatives in the developing countries like Nepal. It is also believed that the transfer of forest management authorities to local communities is decisive to take efficient decisions, maximize the forest benefits and improve the people’s livelihood. The community forestry of Nepal also aims to maximize the forest benefits; share them among the user households and improve their livelihood. However, how the local communities fix the price of forest products and local pricing made by the forest user groups affects to equitable forest benefits-sharing among the user households and their livelihood improvement objectives, the answer is largely silent among the researchers and policy-makers alike. This study examines local pricing system of forest products in the lowland community forestry and its effects on equitable benefit-sharing and livelihood improvement objectives. The study discovered that forest user groups fixed the price of forest products based on three criteria: i) costs incur in harvesting, ii) office operation costs, and iii) livelihood improvement costs through community development and income generating activities. Since user households have heterogeneous socio-economic conditions, the forest user groups have been applied low pricing strategy even for high-value forest products that the access of socio-economically worse-off households can be increased. However, the results of forest products distribution showed that as a result of low pricing strategy the access of socio-economically better-off households has been increasing at higher rate than worse-off and an inequality situation has been created. Similarly, the low pricing strategy is also found defective to livelihood improvement objectives. The study suggests for revising the forest products pricing system in community forest management and reforming the community forestry policy as well.

Keywords: community forestry, forest products pricing, equitable benefit-sharing, livelihood improvement, Nepal

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Authors: Majda El Moufarej

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Higher education plays a central role in socio-economic development. However, with the wave of change mainly due to the extensive use of technology in the workplace, the rate of unemployment among graduates rises because they lack the appropriate competencies and skills currently required in professional life. This situation has led higher education institutions worldwide to reconsider their missions, strategic planning, and curricula, among other elements to redress the image of the university as expected. When it comes to practice, there are many obstacles that hinder the achievement of the expected objectives, especially in public universities with free access, as in the case of Morocco. Nevertheless, huge efforts have been made by educational managers to improve the quality of education by focusing on the issue of pedagogical approaches, where university teachers assume more responsibility to save the situation. In this paper, the focus will be placed on the issue of pedagogical approaches to be adopted, depending on the nature of the subject, the size of the class, the available equipment, the students’ level and degree of motivation. Before elaborating on this idea, it may be more insightful to begin by addressing another variable, which concerns the new role of university teachers and their qualification in pedagogical competence. Then, the discussion will revolve around five pedagogical approaches currently adopted in western universities and the focus will be exclusively placed on the one which is called “the Systematic Approach to course Design”, due to its crucial relevance in the teaching of subjects in the schools of humanities, as it can guide the teacher in the development of an explicit program for purposeful teaching and learning. The study is based on a qualitative method, and the findings will be analyzed and followed by some recommendations about how to overcome difficulties in teaching large groups, while transmitting the relevant knowledge and skills on demand in the workplace.

Keywords: higher education, public universities, pedagogical approaches, pedagogical competence

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Authors: Leandros A. Maglaras, Jianmin Jiang

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The protection of the national infrastructures from cyberattacks is one of the main issues for national and international security. The funded European Framework-7 (FP7) research project CockpitCI introduces intelligent intrusion detection, analysis and protection techniques for Critical Infrastructures (CI). The paradox is that CIs massively rely on the newest interconnected and vulnerable Information and Communication Technology (ICT), whilst the control equipment, legacy software/hardware, is typically old. Such a combination of factors may lead to very dangerous situations, exposing systems to a wide variety of attacks. To overcome such threats, the CockpitCI project combines machine learning techniques with ICT technologies to produce advanced intrusion detection, analysis and reaction tools to provide intelligence to field equipment. This will allow the field equipment to perform local decisions in order to self-identify and self-react to abnormal situations introduced by cyberattacks. In this paper, an intrusion detection module capable of detecting malicious network traffic in a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is presented. Malicious data in a SCADA system disrupt its correct functioning and tamper with its normal operation. OCSVM is an intrusion detection mechanism that does not need any labeled data for training or any information about the kind of anomaly is expecting for the detection process. This feature makes it ideal for processing SCADA environment data and automates SCADA performance monitoring. The OCSVM module developed is trained by network traces off line and detects anomalies in the system real time. The module is part of an IDS (intrusion detection system) developed under CockpitCI project and communicates with the other parts of the system by the exchange of IDMEF messages that carry information about the source of the incident, the time and a classification of the alarm.

Keywords: cyber-security, SCADA systems, OCSVM, intrusion detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 542

Authors: Azadeh Rouhandeh, Chris Joslin, Zhen Qu, Yuu Ono

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The centre of rotation of the hip joint is needed for an accurate simulation of the joint performance in many applications such as pre-operative planning simulation, human gait analysis, and hip joint disorders. In human movement analysis, the hip joint center can be estimated using a functional method based on the relative motion of the femur to pelvis measured using reflective markers attached to the skin surface. The principal source of errors in estimation of hip joint centre location using functional methods is soft tissue artefacts due to the relative motion between the markers and bone. One of the main objectives in human movement analysis is the assessment of soft tissue artefact as the accuracy of functional methods depends upon it. Various studies have described the movement of soft tissue artefact invasively, such as intra-cortical pins, external fixators, percutaneous skeletal trackers, and Roentgen photogrammetry. The goal of this study is to present a non-invasive method to assess the displacements of the markers relative to the underlying bone using optical motion capture data and tissue thickness from ultrasound measurements during flexion, extension, and abduction (all with knee extended) of the hip joint. Results show that the artefact skin marker displacements are non-linear and larger in areas closer to the hip joint. Also marker displacements are dependent on the movement type and relatively larger in abduction movement. The quantification of soft tissue artefacts can be used as a basis for a correction procedure for hip joint kinematics.

Keywords: hip joint center, motion capture, soft tissue artefact, ultrasound depth measurement

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Sakapas Saengchai

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A Study on Strengthening the Security of the Thai-Myanmar Border Trade Area of the people in the Mae Sot customs checkpoint area, Tak province, was designed as a qualitative research study. Its objectives were to study the principles of strengthening border trade security and enhancing people's participation. To develop a border trade model that enhances the spatial economy and improves people's quality of life by collecting data using a participant observation method. In-depth interview group chats border checkpoint administrators, Mae Sot customs checkpoint, Tak province, private entrepreneurs, community leaders, and the opening of a community forum to exchange opinions with people in the area. The results of the study found that 1. Security development is to promote crime reduction. Reduce drug trafficking problems Smuggling and human trafficking have been reduced. Including planning and preparation to protect people from terrorism, epidemics, and communicable diseases, including cooperation with Burma on border rules for people and workers, 2. Wealth development is to promote investment. Transport links value chain logistics Cross-border goods and services on the Thai-Myanmar border Both amending regulations and laws to promote fair trade. Emphasis on convenient and fast service as well as promoting the Thai border area to be a tourist attraction that can create prosperity and income for the community in the area By using balanced natural resources, with production and consumption that are environmentally friendly, and emphasizes the participation of the public sector, the private sector, and people from all sectors in the sustainable development of the Thai border.

Keywords: security, border trade, customs, participation, people

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Emery Jr. Coppola

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Water resources are being depleted and degraded at an alarming and non-sustainable rate worldwide. In some areas, it is progressing more slowly. In other areas, irreversible damage has already occurred, rendering regions largely unsuitable for human existence with destruction of the environment and the economy. Today, 2.5 billion people or 36 percent of the world population live in water-stressed areas. The convergence of factors that created this global water crisis includes local, regional, and global failures. In this paper, a survey of some of these factors is presented. They include abuse of political power and regulatory acquiescence, improper planning and design, ignoring good science and models, systemic failures, and division between the powerful and the powerless. Increasing water demand imposed by exploding human populations and growing economies with short-falls exacerbated by climate change and continuing water quality degradation will accelerate this growing water crisis in many areas. Without regional measures to improve water efficiencies and protect dwindling and vulnerable water resources, environmental and economic displacement of populations and conflict over water resources will only grow. Perhaps more challenging, a global commitment is necessary to curtail if not reverse the devastating effects of climate change. Factors will be illustrated by real-world examples, followed by some partial solutions offered by water experts for helping to mitigate the growing water crisis. These solutions include more water efficient technologies, education and incentivization for water conservation, wastewater treatment for reuse, and improved data collection and utilization.

Keywords: climate change, water conservation, water crisis, water technologies

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Mohamed Ahmed Madkour, Haitham Magdy Hamad

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This research aims to study the means of securing graves in the Egyptian kingdom era, and revolves around many basic ideas used by the ancient Egyptian to protect his graves from thieves, which included architectural characteristics, which gave it importance only others. The most important of which was the choice of the place of the grave, which chose a kohl place in the desert to protect the graves, which is the valley of kings, and whether the choice of that place had an impact in protecting the grave or not, in addition to other elements followed in the architectural planning, which was in the valley of kings. The multiplicity of the tomb, the construction of the well chamber to deceive the thieves by the end of the graves suddenly, the construction of the wells of the tombs, which contained the burial chamber at the bottom of the main well and the effect of all these factors on the graves, and this shows the importance of the graves to the ancient Egyptian and his belief in resurrection and immortality. The Egyptian resorted to the elements of protection and was a religious worker by The protector gods and special texts to protect the deceased from any danger to protect the tomb. As for the human factor of securing the tomb through human guards (police) and security teams based on the guard and the words indicating the protection and the guard teams and the teams of the majai. The most important developments that arose on the cemetery from Tamit entrance, corridors, chambers, burial chamber and coffin, and the use of sand to close the well after from one cemetery to another and from time to time where it was built in the late period inside the temple campus to be under the attention of the priests and their protection, as the study dealt with an analytical study For the means of securing graves in the Egyptian kingdom period.

Keywords: archaeology, Egyptian kingdom era, graves, tombs, ancient Egyptian

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Yasin Tadayonrad

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Most of the supply chain networks have many nodes starting from the suppliers’ side up to the customers’ side that each node sends/receives the raw materials/products from/to the other nodes. One of the major concerns in this kind of supply chain network is finding the best schedule for loading /unloading the shipments through the whole network by which all the constraints in the source and destination nodes are met and all the shipments are delivered on time. One of the main constraints in this problem is loading/unloading capacity in each source/ destination node at each time slot (e.g., per week/day/hour). Because of the different characteristics of different products/groups of products, the capacity of each node might differ based on each group of products. In most supply chain networks (especially in the Fast-moving consumer goods industry), there are different planners/planning teams working separately in different nodes to determine the loading/unloading timeslots in source/destination nodes to send/receive the shipments. In this paper, a mathematical problem has been proposed to find the best timeslots for loading/unloading the shipments minimizing the overall delays subject to respecting the capacity of loading/unloading of each node, the required delivery date of each shipment (considering the lead-times), and working-days of each node. This model was implemented on python and solved using Python-MIP on a sample data set. Finally, the idea of a heuristic algorithm has been proposed as a way of improving the solution method that helps to implement the model on larger data sets in real business cases, including more nodes and shipments.

Keywords: supply chain management, transportation, multiple-multiple network, timeslots management, mathematical modeling, mixed integer programming

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Zarabizan Zakaria, Syuhaida Ismail, Aminah Md. Yusof

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Project management process starts from the planning stage up to the stage of completion (handover of buildings, preparation of the final accounts and the closing balance). This process is not easy to implement efficiently and effectively. The issue of delays in construction is a major problem for construction projects. These delays have been blamed mainly on inefficient traditional construction practices that continue to dominate the current industry. This is due to several factors, such as environments of construction technology, sophisticated design and customer demands that are constantly changing and influencing, either directly or indirectly, the practice of management. Among the identified influences are physical environment, social environment, information environment, political and moral atmosphere. Therefore, this paper is emerged to determine the problem and issues in the final account closing in construction projects, and it establishes the need to embrace Supply Chain Management (SCM) and then elucidates the need and strategies for the development of a delay reduction framework. At the same time, this paper provides effective measures to avoid or at least reduce the delay to the optimum level. Allowing problems in the closure declaration to occur without proper monitoring and control can leave negative impact on the cost and time of delivery to the end user. Besides, it can also affect the reputation or image of the agency/department that manages the implementation of a contract and consequently may reduce customer's trust towards the agencies/departments. It is anticipated that the findings reported in this paper could address root delay contributors and apply SCM tools for their mitigation for the better development of construction project.

Keywords: final account closing, construction project, construction delay, supply chain management

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Authors: M. Macchiaroli, L. Dolores, V. Pellecchia

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With the recent Resolution n. 580/2019/R/idr, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment (ARERA) for the Urban Water Management has introduced, for water managements characterized by persistent critical issues regarding the planning and organization of the service and the implementation of the necessary interventions for the improvement of infrastructures and management quality, a new mechanism for determining tariffs: the regulatory scheme of Convergence. The aim of this regulatory scheme is the overcoming of the Water Service Divided in order to improve the stability of the local institutional structures, technical quality, contractual quality, as well as in order to guarantee transparency elements for Users of the Service. Convergence scheme presupposes the identification of the cost items to be considered in the tariff in parametric terms, distinguishing three possible cases according to the type of historical data available to the Manager. The study, in particular, focuses on operations that have neither data on tariff revenues nor data on operating costs. In this case, the Manager's Constraint on Revenues (VRG) is estimated on the basis of a reference benchmark and becomes the starting point for defining the structure of the tariff classes, in compliance with the TICSI provisions (Integrated Text for tariff classes, ARERA's Resolution n. 665/2017/R/idr). The proposed model implements the recent studies on optimization models for the definition of tariff classes in compliance with the constraints dictated by TICSI in the application of the Convergence mechanism, proposing itself as a support tool for the Managers and the local water regulatory Authority in the decision-making process.

Keywords: decision-making process, economic evaluation of projects, optimizing tools, urban water management, water tariff

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Juan A. G. Carrio, Prasad Talluri, Sergio G. Echeverrigaray, Antonio H. Castro Neto

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Hydrogen as a fuel and environmentally pleasant energy carrier is part of this transition towards low-carbon systems. The extensive deployment of hydrogen production, purification and transport infrastructures still represents significant challenges. Independent of the production process, the hydrogen generally is mixed with light hydrocarbons and other undesirable gases that need to be removed to obtain H₂ with the required purity for end applications. In this context, membranes are one of the simplest, most attractive, sustainable, and performant technologies enabling hydrogen separation and purification. They demonstrate high separation efficiencies and low energy consumption levels in operation, which is a significant leap compared to current energy-intensive options technologies. The unique characteristics of 2D laminates have given rise to a diversity of research on their potential applications in separation systems. Specifically, it is already known in the scientific literature that graphene oxide-based membranes present the highest reported selectivity of H₂ over other gases. This work explores the potential of a new type of 2D materials-based membranes in separating H₂ from CO₂ and CH₄. We have developed nanostructured composites based on 2D materials that have been applied in the fabrication of membranes to maximise H₂ selectivity and permeability, for different gas mixtures, by adjusting the membranes' characteristics. Our proprietary technology does not depend on specific porous substrates, which allows its integration in diverse separation modules with different geometries and configurations, looking to address the technical performance required for industrial applications and economic viability. The tuning and precise control of the processing parameters allowed us to control the thicknesses of the membranes below 100 nanometres to provide high permeabilities. Our results for the selectivity of new nanostructured 2D materials-based membranes are in the range of the performance reported in the available literature around 2D materials (such as graphene oxide) applied to hydrogen purification, which validates their use as one of the most promising next-generation hydrogen separation and purification solutions.

Keywords: membranes, 2D materials, hydrogen purification, nanocomposites

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Yuri A. Gruber, Matheus Rosendo, Ulisses G. A. Casemiro, Klaus de Geus, Rafael T. Bee

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Lightning strikes can cause severe negative impacts to the electrical sector causing direct damage to equipment as well as shutdowns, especially when occurring in power substations. In order to mitigate this problem, a meticulous planning of the power substation protection system is of vital importance. A critical part of this is the distribution of shielding wires through the substation, which creates a 3D imaginary protection mesh similar to a circus tarpaulin. Equipment enclosed in the volume defined by that 3D mesh is considered protected against lightning strikes. The use of traditional methods of longitudinal cutting analysis based on 2D CAD tools makes the process laborious and the results obtained may not guarantee satisfactory protection of electrical equipment. This work describes the application of a Game Engine to the problem of lightning protection of power substations providing the visualization of the 3D protection mesh, the amount of protected components and the highlight of equipment which remain unprotected. In addition, aspects regarding the implementation and the advantages of approaching the problem using Unreal® Engine 4 are described. In order to validate results, a comparison with traditional 2D methods is applied to the same case study to which the proposed technique has been applied. Finally, a comparative study involving different levels of protection using the technique developed in this work is presented, showing that modern game engines can be a powerful accessory for simulations in several areas of engineering.

Keywords: game engine, rolling spheres method, substation protection, UE4, Unreal Engine 4

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Authors: Emir Alaca, Hasbi Apaydin, Rohullah Rahmatullah, Necibe Fusun Oyman Serteller

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In recent years, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) have found extensive applications in various industrial sectors, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, and robotics, due to their high performance and low losses. Accurate mathematical modeling of PMSMs is crucial for advanced studies in electric machines. To enhance the effectiveness of graduate-level education, incorporating virtual or real experiments becomes essential to reinforce acquired knowledge. Virtual laboratories have gained popularity as cost-effective alternatives to physical testing, mitigating the risks associated with electrical machine experiments. This study presents a MATLAB-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) for PMSMs. The GUI offers a visual interface that allows users to observe variations in motor outputs corresponding to different input parameters. It enables users to explore healthy motor conditions and the effects of short-circuit faults in the one-phase winding. Additionally, the interface includes menus through which users can access equivalent circuits related to the motor and gain hands-on experience with the mathematical equations used in synchronous motor calculations. The primary objective of this paper is to enhance the learning experience of graduate and doctoral students by providing a GUI-based approach in laboratory studies. This interactive platform empowers students to examine and analyze motor outputs by manipulating input parameters, facilitating a deeper understanding of PMSM operation and control.

Keywords: magnet synchronous motor, mathematical modelling, education tools, winding inter-turn fault

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Authors: Saritdikhun Somasa

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3D printing fabrication has empowered many artists in many fields. Artists who work in stop motion, 3D modeling, toy design, product design, sculpture, and fine arts become one-stop shop operations–where they can design, prototype, and distribute their designs for commercial or fine art purposes. The author has developed a digital sculpting course that fosters digital software, peripheral hardware, and 3D printing with traditional sculpting concept techniques to address the complexities of this multifaceted process, allowing the students to produce complex 3d-printed work. The author will detail the preparation and planning for pre- to post-process 3D printing elements, including software, materials, space, equipment, tools, and schedule consideration for small to medium figurine design statues in a semester-long class. In addition, the author provides insight into teaching challenges in the non-studio space that requires students to work intensively on post-printed models to assemble parts, finish, and refine the 3D printed surface. Even though this paper focuses on the 3D printing processes and techniques for small to medium design statue projects for the Digital Media program, the author hopes the paper will benefit other fields of study such as craft practices, product design, and fine-arts programs. Other schools that might implement 3D printing and fabrication in their programs will find helpful information in this paper, such as a teaching plan, choices of equipment and materials, adaptation for non-studio spaces, and putting together a complete and well-resolved project for students.

Keywords: 3D digital modeling, 3D digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, 3D digital fabrication

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Authors: Hamidreza Hoshyarmanesh, Sanju Lama, Garnette R. Sutherland

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In tele-operative robotic surgery, an ideal haptic device should be equipped with an intuitive and smooth end-effector to cover the surgeon’s hand/wrist degrees of freedom (DOF) and translate the hand joint motions to the end-effector of the remote manipulator with low effort and high level of comfort. This research introduces the design and development of a microsurgery-specific end-effector, a gimbal mechanism possessing 4 passive and 1 active DOFs, equipped with a bipolar forceps and haptic feedback. The robust gimbal structure is comprised of three light-weight links/joint, pitch, yaw, and roll, each consisting of low-friction support and a 2-channel accurate optical position sensor. The third link, which provides the tool roll, was specifically designed to grip the tool prongs and accommodate a low mass geared actuator together with a miniaturized capstan-rope mechanism. The actuator is able to generate delicate torques, using a threaded cylindrical capstan, to emulate the sense of pinch/coagulation during conventional microsurgery. While the tool left prong is fixed to the rolling link, the right prong bears a miniaturized drum sector with a large diameter to expand the force scale and resolution. The drum transmits the actuator output torque to the right prong and generates haptic force feedback at the tool level. The tool is also equipped with a hall-effect sensor and magnet bar installed vis-à-vis on the inner side of the two prongs to measure the tooltip distance and provide an analogue signal to the control system. We believe that such a haptic end-effector could significantly increase the accuracy of telerobotic surgery and help avoid high forces that are known to cause bleeding/injury.

Keywords: end-effector, force generation, haptic interface, robotic surgery, surgical tool, tele-operation

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Authors: Azize Serap Tuncer

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Turkey is one of the most outstanding figures among the Mediterranean countries from the natural and historical point at view. It is relatively rich country as regards the flora and vegetation. But at the same time as a result of improper and unplanned usage of the land for centuries, its forests and fertile soils have been exposed to great damages. While rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has important effects on the environment, urban development legislations, have become very unsufficient for the protection of these areas. Some of them have been completely eradicated, and some others have lost their fertility. Besides Turkey has a high main land with a rough surface and its soils areas exposed to heavy erosion. On the other hand as a developing country, it is not willing to endanger the goals of industrialization and avoid foreign direct investment by implementing strict environmental policies. Although this kind of pressure on forestland resources threatens the stability of forest land and land use management, in recent years, there has been an obvious increase in public concern about environmental problems like over global warming, environmental pollution, deforestation and their potential effects on natural resources. To protect the ecological balance and prevention of naturel resources from the unplanned intervention of human-beıng is only possible establishing conservation areas wıth co-operation at the national and the internatıonal levels. This study was carried out to evaluate the relation between urbanization and forestry policies in Turkey. While it elaborates the normative arrangements resulting in power conflicts, it also addresses which shortages and discrepancies are responsible for the said conflicts. The present urban reconstruction and transformation practices and their aesthetic and functional aspects were studied with some examples in a country level and evaluated within the assistance of literature researches, analyses, and observations. Atatürk Forest Farm and ODTU Forest examples were negotiated as two famous cases. Obtained findings were supported by charts and photos.

Keywords: deforestration, environmental policies, metropolitan, pollution, urbanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Mirco Tarozzi, Giacomo Pignagnoli, Andrea Benedetti

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Structural systems are often subjected to degradation processes due to different kind of phenomena like unexpected loadings, ageing of the materials and fatigue cycles. This is true especially for bridges, in which their safety evaluation is crucial for the purpose of a design of planning maintenance. This paper discusses the experimental evaluation of the stiffness reduction from frequency changes due to uniform damage scenario. For this purpose, a 1:4 scaled bridge has been built in the laboratory of the University of Bologna. It is made of concrete and its cross section is composed by a slab linked to four beams. This concrete deck is 6 m long and 3 m wide, and its natural frequencies have been identified dynamically by exciting it with an impact hammer, a dropping weight, or by walking on it randomly. After that, a set of loading cycles has been applied to this bridge in order to produce a uniformly distributed crack pattern. During the loading phase, either cracking moment and yielding moment has been reached. In order to define the relationship between frequency variation and loss in stiffness, the identification of the natural frequencies of the bridge has been performed, before and after the occurrence of the damage, corresponding to each load step. The behavior of breathing cracks and its effect on the natural frequencies has been taken into account in the analytical calculations. By using a sort of exponential function given from the study of lot of experimental tests in the literature, it has been possible to predict the stiffness reduction through the frequency variation measurements. During the load test also crack opening and middle span vertical displacement has been monitored.

Keywords: concrete bridge, damage detection, dynamic test, frequency shifts, operational modal analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Iruka C. Anugwo, Winston M. Shakantu

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The objective of this study is to uncover the basic business-forces that necessitated the survival and sustainable performance of the medium scale contractors in the South African construction market. This study is essential as it set to contribute towards long-term strategic solutions for combating the incessant failure of start-ups construction organizations within South African. The study used a qualitative research methodology; as the most appropriate approach to elicit and understand, and uncover the phenomena that are basic business-forces for the active contractors in the market. The study also adopted a phenomenological study approach; and in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 medium scale contractors in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, between months of August to October 2015. This allowed for an in-depth understanding of the critical and basic business-forces that influenced their survival and performance beyond the first five years of business operation. Findings of the study showed that for potential contractors (startups), to survival in the competitive business environment such as construction industry, they must possess the basic business-forces. These forces are educational knowledge in construction and business management related disciplines, adequate industrial experiences, competencies and capabilities to delivery excellent services and products as well as embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship. Convincingly, it can be concluded that the strategic approach to minimize the endless failure of startups construction businesses; the potential construction contractors must endeavoring to access and acquire the basic educationally knowledge, training and qualification; need to acquire industrial experiences in collaboration with required competencies, capabilities and entrepreneurship acumen. Without these basic business-forces as been discovered in this study, the majority of the contractors gaining entrance in the market will find it difficult to develop and grow a competitive and sustainable construction organization in South Africa.

Keywords: basic business-forces, medium scale contractors, South Africa, sustainable organisations

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Usman Ahmed Khan

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Urbanization directly affects the existing infrastructure, landscape modification, environmental contamination, and traffic pollution, especially if there is a lack of urban planning. Recently, the rapid urban sprawl has resulted in less developed green areas and has devastating environmental consequences. This study was aimed to study the past urban expansion rates and measure LST from satellite data. The land use land cover (LULC) maps of years 1996, 2010, 2013, and 2017 were generated using landsat satellite images. Four main classes, i.e., water, urban, bare land, and vegetation, were identified using unsupervised classification with iterative self-organizing data analysis (isodata) technique. The LST from satellite thermal data can be derived from different procedures: atmospheric, radiometric calibrations and surface emissivity corrections, classification of spatial changeability in land-cover. Different methods and formulas were used in the algorithm that successfully retrieves the land surface temperature to help us study the thermal environment of the ground surface. To verify the algorithm, the land surface temperature and the near-air temperature were compared. The results showed that, From 1996-2017, urban areas increased to about a considerable increase of about 48%. Few areas of the city also shown in a reduction in LST from the year 1996-2017 that actually began their transitional phase from rural to urban LULC. The mean temperature of the city increased averagely about 1ºC each year in the month of October. The green and vegetative areas witnessed a decrease in the area while a higher number of pixels increased in urban class.

Keywords: LST, LULC, isodata, urbanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Viktor R. Stoynov, Zlatka V. Valkova-Jarvis

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The intelligent management and optimisation of radio resource technologies will lead to a considerable improvement in the overall performance in Next Generation Networks (NGNs). Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology, also known as Spectrum Aggregation, enables more efficient use of the available spectrum by combining multiple Component Carriers (CCs) in a virtual wideband channel. LTE-A (Long Term Evolution–Advanced) CA technology can combine multiple adjacent or separate CCs in the same band or in different bands. In this way, increased data rates and dynamic load balancing can be achieved, resulting in a more reliable and efficient operation of mobile networks and the enabling of high bandwidth mobile services. In this paper, several distinct CA deployment strategies for the utilisation of spectrum bands are compared in indoor-outdoor scenarios, simulated via the recently-developed Realistic Indoor Environment Generator (RIEG). We analyse the performance of the User Equipment (UE) by integrating the average throughput, the level of fairness of radio resource allocation, and other parameters, into one summative assessment termed a Comparative Factor (CF). In addition, comparison of non-CA and CA indoor mobile networks is carried out under different load conditions: varying numbers and positions of UEs. The experimental results demonstrate that the CA technology can improve network performance, especially in the case of indoor scenarios. Additionally, we show that an increase of carrier frequency does not necessarily lead to improved CF values, due to high wall-penetration losses. The performance of users under bad-channel conditions, often located in the periphery of the cells, can be improved by intelligent CA location. Furthermore, a combination of such a deployment and effective radio resource allocation management with respect to user-fairness plays a crucial role in improving the performance of LTE-A networks.

Keywords: comparative factor, carrier aggregation, indoor mobile network, resource allocation

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: B. Manyonga

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Across the world, higher education (HE) is expanding rapidly and issues of curriculum change have become more contentious and political than ever before. Although research informing curricula review in social sciences and particularly sociology has been conducted, much analysis has been devoted to teaching and transmitting disciplinary knowledge, student identity and epistemology, with little focus on curriculum conceptualisation and capability formation. This paper builds on and contributes to accumulating knowledge in the field of sociology curriculum design in the South African HE context. Drawing from the principles of Capabilities Approach (CA) of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, the paper argues that sociology curriculum conceptualisation may be enriched by capabilities identification for students. Thus, the sociological canon ought to be the vehicle through which student capabilities could be developed. The CA throws a fresh light on how curriculum ought to be designed to offer students real opportunities, expanding choices for individuals to be what they want to be and do. The paper uses a case of two South African universities to present analysis of qualitative data collected from undergraduate sociology lecturers. The major findings of the paper indicate that there is no clear philosophy guiding the conceptualisation of curriculum. The conceptualisation is based on lecturer expertise, carrying out research, response to topical and societal issues. Sociology lecturers highlighted that they do not consult students on what they want to do and to be as a result of studying for a sociology degree. Although lecturers recognise some human development capabilities such as critical thinking, multiple perspectives and problem solving as important for sociology students, there is little evidence to illustrate how these are being cultivated in students. Taken together, the results suggest that sociological canon is being regarded as the starting point for curriculum planning and construction.

Keywords: capabilities approach, graduate attributes, higher education, sociology curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Ting Hsiang Chang

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Nowadays in Taiwan, higher education, which was previously more emphasized on teaching-oriented approaches, has gradually shifted to an approach more focusing on students learning outcomes. With student employment rate as an important indicator for University Program Evaluation periodically held by the Ministry of Education, it becomes extremely critical for a university to build up a teaching and learning quality assurance system to bridge the gap between learning and practice. Teaching and Learning Quality Assurance System has been built and implemented at Chaoyang University of Technology for years and has received substantial results. By employing various forms of evaluation and performance appraisals, the effectiveness of teaching and learning can consistently be tracked as a means of ensuring teaching and learning quality. This study aims to explore the evaluation system of teaching and learning quality assurance system at the Chaoyang University of Technology by means of content analysis. The study contents the evaluation reports on the teaching and learning quality assurance at the Chaoyang University of Technology in the Academic Year 2013-2015. The quantitative results of the assessment were analyzed using the five-point Likert Scale. Quality assurance Committee meetings were further held for examining and discussions on the results. To the end, the annual evaluation report is to be produced as references used to improve approaches in both teaching and learning. The findings indicate that there is a respective relationship between the overall teaching evaluation items and the teaching goals and core competencies. In addition, graduates’ feedbacks were also collected for further analysis to examine if the current educational planning is able to achieve the university’s teaching goal and cultivation of core competencies.

Keywords: core competencies, teaching and learning quality assurance system, teaching goals, university program evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Umair Ahmed, Muhammad Bin Irfan

Abstract:

This study focuses on designing and optimization of an alkaline water electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen. The aim is to enhance the durability and efficiency of this technology while simultaneously reducing the cost associated with the production of green hydrogen. The experimental results obtained from the alkaline water electrolyser are compared with simulated results using Aspen Plus software, allowing a comprehensive analysis and evaluation. To achieve the aforementioned goals, several design and operational parameters are investigated. The electrode material, electrolyte concentration, and operating conditions are carefully selected to maximize the efficiency and durability of the electrolyser. Additionally, cost-effective materials and manufacturing techniques are explored to decrease the overall production cost of green hydrogen. The experimental setup includes a carefully designed alkaline water electrolyser, where various performance parameters (such as hydrogen production rate, current density, and voltage) are measured. These experimental results are then compared with simulated data obtained using Aspen Plus software. The simulation model is developed based on fundamental principles and validated against the experimental data. The comparison between experimental and simulated results provides valuable insight into the performance of an alkaline water electrolyser. It helps to identify the areas where improvements can be made, both in terms of design and operation, to enhance the durability and efficiency of the system. Furthermore, the simulation results allow cost analysis providing an estimate of the overall production cost of green hydrogen. This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of alkaline water electrolysis technology. The findings of this research can contribute to the development of more efficient and durable electrolyser technology while reducing the cost associated with this technology. Ultimately, these advancements can pave the way for a more sustainable and economically viable hydrogen economy.

Keywords: sustainable development, green energy, green hydrogen, electrolysis technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 76