Search results for: Optimum Performance

Authors: Guoliang Fan, Aiping Li, Xuemei Liu, Liyun Xu

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The performance of the tightening equipment will decline with the working process in manufacturing system. The main manifestations are the randomness and discretization degree increasing of the tightening performance. To evaluate the degradation tendency of the tightening performance accurately, a complexity measurement approach based on Kolmogorov entropy is presented. At first, the states of performance index are divided for calibrating the discrete degree. Then the complexity measurement model based on Kolmogorov entropy is built. The model describes the performance degradation tendency of tightening equipment quantitatively. At last, a study case is applied for verifying the efficiency and validity of the approach. The research achievement shows that the presented complexity measurement can effectively evaluate the degradation tendency of the tightening equipment. It can provide theoretical basis for preventive maintenance and life prediction of equipment.

Keywords: complexity measurement, Kolmogorov entropy, manufacturing system, performance evaluation, tightening equipment

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Authors: Reihaneh Ahmadzadeh Ghavidel

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Free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) have detrimental effects on human health through several mechanisms. On the other hand, antioxidant molecules reduce free radical generation in biologic systems. Synthetic antioxidants, which are used in food industry, have also negative impact on human health. Therefore recognition of natural antioxidants such as anthocyanins can solve these problems simultaneously. Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) with red leaves is a rich source of anthocyanins compounds. In this study we evaluated the effect of time (10, 20 and 30 min) and temperature (40, 50 and 60° C) on optimization of anthocyanin extraction using surface response method. In addition, the study was aimed to determine maximum extraction for anthocyanin from coleus plant using ultrasound method. The results indicated that the optimum conditions for extraction were 39.84 min at 69.25° C. At this point, total compounds were achieved 3.7451 mg 100 ml⁻¹. Furthermore, under optimum conditions, anthocyanin concentration, extraction efficiency, ferric reducing ability, total phenolic compounds and EC50 were registered 3.221931, 6.692765, 223.062, 3355.605 and 2.614045, respectively.

Keywords: anthocyanin, antioxidant, coleus, extraction, sonication

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Authors: Mariem Kchaou, Wiem Khlif, Faiez Gargouri

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Modeling business processes is an essential task when evaluating, improving, or documenting existing business processes. To be efficient in such tasks, a business process model (BPM) must have high structural quality and high performance. Evidently, evaluating the performance of a business process model is a necessary step to reduce time, cost, while assessing the structural quality aims to improve the understandability and the modifiability of the BPMN model. To achieve these objectives, a set of structural and performance measures have been proposed. Since the diversity of measures, we propose a framework that integrates both structural and performance aspects for classifying them. Our measure classification is based on business process model perspectives (e.g., informational, functional, organizational, behavioral, and temporal), and the elements (activity, event, actor, etc.) involved in computing the measures. Then, we implement this framework in a tool assisting the structural quality and the performance of a business process. The tool helps the designers to select an appropriate subset of measures associated with the corresponding perspective and to calculate and interpret their values in order to improve the structural quality and the performance of the model.

Keywords: performance, structural quality, perspectives, tool, classification framework, measures

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Authors: Marwen Ghouil, Jamel Eddine Mkadmi

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Banking performance is the pillar and goal of all banking activity and its impact on economic policy. First, researchers defined the principles for assessing and modeling bank performance, and then theories and models explaining bank performance were developed. The importance of credit as a means of financing businesses in most developing countries has led to questions about the effects of financial liberalisation on increased banking competition. In Tunisia, as in many other countries, the liberalization of financial services in general and of banks' activities has not ceased to evolve. The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants of banking performance for 8 Tunisian banks and their impact on economic policy during the Arab Spring. We used cointegration analysis and the ARDL Panel model, explaining using total assets, bank credits, guarantees, and bank size as performance drivers. The correlation analysis shows that there is a positive correlation relationship between total assets, bank credits, guarantees, and bank size and bank performance. Long-term empirical results show that bank loans, guarantees, bank size, and total assets have a positive and significant impact on bank performance. This means that bank credits, guarantees, bank size, and total assets are very important determinants of bank performance in Tunisia.

Keywords: bank performance, economic policy, finance, economic

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Authors: Vibha Sinha, Sumedha Chakma

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Arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water is a serious concern worldwide resulting in severe health maladies. To tackle this problem, several hydrogel based matrix which selectively uptake toxic metals from contaminated water has increasingly been examined as a potential practical method for metal removal. The major concern in hydrogels is low stability of matrix, resulting in poor performance. In this study, the potential of hybrid hydrogel-biochar matrix synthesized from natural plant polymers, specific for As removal was explored. Various compositional and functional group changes of the elements contained in the matrix due to the adsorption of As were identified. Moreover, to resolve the stability issue in hydrogel matrix, optimum and effective mixing of hydrogel with biochar was studied. Mixing varied proportions of matrix components at the time of digestion process was tested. Preliminary results suggest that partial premixing methods may increase the stability and reduce cost. Addition of nanoparticles and specific catalysts with different concentrations of As(III) and As(V) under batch conditions was performed to study their role in performance enhancement of the hydrogel matrix. Further, effect of process parameters, optimal uptake conditions and detailed mechanism derived from experimental studies were suitably conducted. This study provides an efficient, specific and a low-cost As removal method that offers excellent regeneration abilities which can be reused for value.

Keywords: arsenic, catalysts, hybrid hydrogel-biochar, water purification

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Authors: Mohamed E. Hassan

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Through numerous chemical linkages, historical textiles in burial contexts or in museums are exposed to many different forms of stains and filth. The cleaning procedure must be carried out carefully without causing any irreparable harm, and sediments must be removed without damaging the surface's original material. Science and technology continue to develop novel methods for cleaning historical textiles and artistic surfaces biologically (using enzymes). Lipase and α-amylase were immobilized on nanoparticles of alginate/tea waste nanoparticle complex and used in historical textile cleaning. The preparation of nanoparticles, activation, and enzyme immobilization were characterized. Optimization of loading times and units of the two enzymes was done. It was found that the optimum time and units of amylase were 3 hours and 30 U, respectively. While the optimum time and units of lipase were 2.5 hours and 20 U, respectively, FT-IR and TGA instruments were used in proving the preparation of nanoparticles and the immobilization process. SEM was used to examine the fibres before and after treatment. In conclusion, a new carrier was prepared from alginate/Tea waste and optimized to be used in the restoration and conservation of historical textiles using immobilized lipase and α-amylase.

Keywords: alginate/tea waste, nanoparticles, immobilized enzymes, historical textiles

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Authors: Zeinab Syed Abdel Rehim

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Water shortage is considered as one of the huge problems the world encounter now. Water desalination is considered as one of the more suitable methods governments can use to substitute the increased need for potable water. The humidification-dehumidification process for water desalination is viewed as a promising technique for small capacity production plants. The process has several attraction features which include the use of sustainable energy sources, low technology, and low-temperature dehumidification. A pilot experimental set-up plant was constructed with the conventional HVAC components such as air blower that supplies air to an air duct inside which air preheater, steam injector and cooling coil of a small refrigeration unit are placed. The present work evaluates the characteristics of humidification-dehumidification process for water desalination as a function of air flow rate, total power input and air inlet temperature in order to study the optimum conditions required to produce distilled water.

Keywords: condensation, dehumidification, evaporation, humidification, water desalination

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

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The main purpose of this study was to figure out employees’ attitudes toward the new performance appraisal program and to examine whether three different types of appraisal processes differentially affected job satisfaction and employee engagement. The second purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between performance appraisal reform, job satisfaction, and employee engagement. A large polyester and textile corporation had 2046 non-operational employees in February 2014. The valid participants were 1474 (72.04%) in this study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA, Pearson correlation, Content Validity Index, the exploratory factor analysis, and reliability analysis. The general results showed that employees who received the new performance appraisal program viewed the program more positively and showed more job satisfaction than those who did not. In particular, the implementation effects of this new performance appraisal program were most highly rated by employees who used the KPI to evaluate their job performance. Moreover, employees’ attitudes toward the new performance appraisal program were positively related to their job satisfaction and work engagement. On the other hand, most employees regarded themselves as engaged workers. To sum up, the HR department of this company has made an effective contribution to performance appraisal reforms.

Keywords: change management, employee engagement, job satisfaction, performance appraisal reform

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Authors: Hossein Kh. Bisheh, Nan Wu

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Advanced composite materials have a great importance in engineering structures due to their high specific modulus and strength and low weight. These materials can be used in design and fabrication of automotive drive shafts to reduce the weight of the structure. Hence, an optimum design of a composite drive shaft satisfying the design criteria, can be an appropriate substitution of metallic drive shafts. The aim of this study is to design and analyze a composite automotive drive shaft with high specific strength and low weight satisfying the design criteria. Tsai-Wu criterion is chosen as the failure criterion. Various designs with different lay-ups and materials are investigated based on the design requirements and finally, an optimum design satisfying the design criteria is chosen based on the weight and cost considerations. The results of this study indicate that if the weight is the main concern, a shaft made of Carbon/Epoxy can be a good option, and if the cost is a more important parameter, a hybrid shaft made of aluminum and Carbon/Epoxy can be considered.

Keywords: Bending natural frequency, Composite drive shaft, Peak torque, Torsional buckling

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Authors: Tohid Eskandarzadeh, Nader Bahlouli, Turaj Behnam, Azra Jafarzadeh

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The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to propose an optimal pattern to evaluate the staff management performance of the water and sewage organization. The performance prism-model was used to evaluate the following significant dimensions of performance: organizational strategies, organizational processes, organization capabilities, stakeholders’ partnership and satisfaction. In the present study, a standard, valid and reliable questionnaire was used to obtain data about the five dimensions of the performance prism model. 169 sample respondents were used for responding the questionnaire who were selected from the staff of water and waste-water organization in western Azerbaijan, Iran. Also, Alpha coefficient was used to check the reliability of the data-collection instrument which was measured to be beyond 0.7. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by means of SPSS version 18. The results obtained from the data analysis indicated that the performance of the staff management of the water and waste-water organization in western Azerbaijan was acceptable in terms of organizational strategies, organizational process, stakeholders’ partnership and satisfaction. Nevertheless, it was found that the performance of the staff management with respect to organizational abilities was average. Indeed, the researchers drew the conclusion that the current performance of the staff management in this organization in western Azerbaijan was less than ideal performance.

Keywords: performance evaluation, performance prism model, water, waste-water organization

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Authors: Jongchul Park, Chan Byon

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In this study, the thermal performance of radial heat sinks for LED applications is investigated numerically and experimentally. The effect of geometrical parameters such as inner radius, fin height, fin length, and fin spacing, as well as the Elenbaas number, is considered. In addition, the effects of augmentation of concentric ring, perforation, and duct are extensively explored in order to enhance the thermal performance of conventional radial heat sink. The results indicate that the Elenbaas number and the fin radius have a significant effect on the thermal performance of the heat sink. The concentric ring affects the performance much, but the degree of affection is highly dependent on the orientation. The perforation always brings about higher thermal performance. The duct can effectively prevent the bypass of the natural convection flow, which in turn reduces the thermal resistance of the radial heat sink significantly.

Keywords: heat transfer, radial heat sink, LED, Elenbaas

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Authors: Mehdi Rezai, Asghar Zamani

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Virtual teams are a reality in today’s fast-paced world. With the possibility of commonly using common resources, an increase of inter-organizational projects, cooperation, outsourcing, and the increase in the number of people who work remotely or flexitime, an extensive and active presence of high-performance teams is a must. Virtual teams are a challenge by themselves. Their members remove the barriers of cultures, time regions and organizations, and they often communicate through electronic devices over considerable distances. Firstly, we examine the management of virtual teams by considering different issues such as cultural and personal diversities, communications and arrangement issues. Then we will examine individuals, processes and the existing tools in a team. The main challenge is managing high-performance virtual teams. First of all, we must examine the concept of performance. Then, we must focus on teams and the best methods of managing them. Constant improvement of performance, together with precisely regulating every individual’s method of working, increases the levels of performance in the course of time. High-performance teams exploit every issue as an opportunity for achieving high performance. And we know that doing projects with high performance is among every organization or team’s objectives. Performance could be measured using many criteria, among which carrying out projects in time, the satisfaction of stakeholders, and not exceeding budgets could be named. Elements such as clear objectives, clearly-defined roles and responsibilities, effective communications, and commitment to collaboration are essential to a team’s effectiveness. Finally, we will examine roles, systems, processes and will carry out a cause-and-effect analysis of different criteria in improving a team’s performance.

Keywords: virtual teams, performance, management, process, improvement, effectiveness

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Authors: Hatice Özbek, Caner Çil, Ahmet Rodoplu

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Automotive lighting is the leading function in the configuration of vehicle architecture. Especially headlights and taillights from external lighting functions are among the structures that determine the stylistic character of the vehicle. At the same time, the fact that lighting functions are related to many other functions brings along difficulties in design. Customers expect maximum quality from the vehicle. In these circumstances, it is necessary to make designs that aim to keep the performance of bulbs with limited working lives at the highest level. With this study, the factors that influence the working lives of filament lamps were examined and bulb explosions that can occur sooner than anticipated in the future were prevented while the vehicle was still in the design phase by determining the relations with electrical, dynamical and static variables. Especially the filaments of the bulbs used in the front lighting of the vehicle are deformed in a shorter time due to the high voltage requirement. In addition to this, rear lighting lamps vibrate as a result of the tailgate opening and closing and cause the filaments to be exposed to high stress. With this study, the findings that cause bulb explosions were evaluated. Among the most important findings: 1. The structure of the cables to the lighting functions of the vehicle and the effect of the voltage values are drawn; 2. The effect of the vibration to bulb throughout the life of the vehicle; 3 The effect of the loads carried to bulb while the vehicle doors are opened and closed. At the end of the study, the maximum performance was established in the bulb lifetimes with the optimum changes made in the vehicle architecture based on the findings obtained.

Keywords: vehicle architecture, automotive lighting functions, filament lamps, bulb lifetime

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Authors: Dinesh Munjurulimana, Anil Tiwari, Tingwen Li, Carlos Pereira, Sreekanth Pannala, John Waters

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With the rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) across the globe, car manufacturers are in need of integrated and lightweight solutions for the battery packs of these vehicles. An integral part of a battery pack is the battery tray, which constitutes a significant portion of the pack’s overall weight. Based on the functional requirements, cost targets, and packaging space available, a range of materials –from metals, composites, and plastics– are often used to develop these battery trays. This paper considers the design and development of integrated thermoplastic-intensive battery trays, using the available packaging space from a representative EV battery pack. Presented as a proposed alternative are multiple concepts to integrate several connected systems such as cooling plates and underbody impact protection parts of a multi-piece incumbent battery pack. The resulting digital prototype was evaluated for several mechanical performance measures such as mechanical shock, drop, crush resistance, modal analysis, and torsional stiffness. The performance of this alternative design is then compared with the incumbent solution. In addition, insights are gleaned into how these novel approaches can be optimized to meet or exceed the performance of incumbent designs. Preliminary manufacturing feasibility of the optimal solution using injection molding and other commonly used manufacturing methods for thermoplastics is briefly explained. Then numerical and analytical evaluations are performed to show a representative Pareto front of cost vs. volume of the production parts. The proposed solution is observed to offer weight savings of up to 40% on a component level and part elimination of up to two systems in the battery pack of a typical battery EV while offering the potential to meet the required performance measures highlighted above. These conceptual solutions are also observed to potentially offer secondary benefits such as improved thermal and electrical isolations and be able to achieve complex geometrical features, thus demonstrating the ability to use the complete packaging space available in the vehicle platform considered. The detailed study presented in this paper serves as a valuable reference for researches across the globe working on the development of EV battery packs – especially those with an interest in the potential of employing alternate solutions as part of a mixed-material system to help capture untapped opportunities to optimize performance and meet critical application requirements.

Keywords: thermoplastics, lightweighting, part integration, electric vehicle battery packs

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Authors: Aliyu Aminu Baba, Yahaya Danjuma, Ahmad Sule Liman-Katagum

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This paper examines the effects of the board of directors’ diversity on firm performance. We investigate the relationship between the number of women directors on the board and important board committees and financial performance measured as return on assets. Our statistical analysis supports the theoretical position of the effect diversity on financial performance. These studies enhanced the previous studies on the board of director’s gender diversity, board committees, and its impacts on firm financial performance. The study uses data from eighteen (18) Nigerian commercial banks. The study finds that banks with a higher number of females directors on board and board committees have higher Earning per share(EPS)) and Return on Assets (ROA). It also finds that some banks did not even have a single female on its corporate board. Evidence imply that decisions concerning the appointment of women to corporate boards should be on criteria and financial performance. It is recommended that banks can enhance their financial performance by having more female directors on their corporate board.

Keywords: board of directors, gender diversity, board committees, financial performance

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Authors: Kyoung Hoon Kim

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This paper presents a comparative exergy analysis of ammonia-water Rankine cycles with and without regeneration and Kalina cycle for recovery of low-temperature heat source. Special attention is paid to the effect of system parameters such as ammonia mass fraction and turbine inlet pressure on the exergetical performance of the systems. Results show that maximum exergy efficiency can be obtained in the regenerative Rankine cycle for high turbine inlet pressures. However, Kalina cycle shows better exergy efficiency for low turbine inlet pressures, and the optimum ammonia mass fractions of Kalina cycle are lower than Rankine cycles.

Keywords: ammonia-water, Rankine cycle, Kalina cycle, exergy, exergy destruction, low-temperature heat source

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Authors: Justin Nwabanne, Sam Omenyi, Jeremiah Chukwuneke

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This work presents structural nonlinear static analysis of a horizontal taut cable using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method. The FEA was performed analytically to determine the tensions at each nodal point and subsequently, performed based on finite element displacement method computationally using the FEA software, ANSYS 14.0 to determine their behaviour under the influence of aerodynamic forces imposed on the cable. The convergence procedure is adapted into the method to prevent excessive displacements through the computations. The work compared the two FEA cases by examining the effectiveness of the analytical model in describing the response with few degrees of freedom and the ability of the nonlinear finite element procedure adopted to capture the complex features of cable dynamics with reference to the aerodynamic external influence. Results obtained from this work explain that the analytic FEM results without aerodynamic influence show a parabolic response with an optimum deflection at nodal points 12 and 13 with the cable weight at nodes 12 and 13 having the value -1.002936N while for the cable tension shows an optimum deflection value for nodes 12 and 13 at -189396.97kg/km. The maximum displacement for the cable system was obtained from ANSYS 14.0 as 4483.83 mm for X, Y and Z components of displacements at node number 2 while the maximum displacement obtained is 4218.75mm for all the directional components. The dynamic behaviour of a taut cable investigated has application in a typical power transmission line. Aerodynamic influences on the cables were considered using FEA approach by employing ANSYS 14.0 showed a complex modal behaviour as expected.

Keywords: aerodynamics, cable tension and weight, finite element analysis, nodal, non-linear model, optimum deflection, suspended cable, transmission line

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Authors: Shama Urooj

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The present work investigates the relationship among financial inclusion, modernization, and energy performance in SCO member countries during the years 2011–2021. PCA is used to create composite indexes of financial inclusion, modernization, and energy performance. We used panel regression models that are both reliable and heteroscedasticity-consistent to look at the relationship among variables. The findings indicate that financial inclusion (FI) and modernization, along with the increased FDI, all appear to contribute to the energy performance in the SCO member countries. However, per capita GDP has a negative impact on energy performance. These results are unbiased and consistent with the robust results obtained by applying different econometric models. Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) estimation is also used for checking the uniformity of the main model results. This research work concludes that there has been no policy coherence in SCO member countries regarding the coordination of growing financial inclusion and modernization for energy sustainability in recent years. In order to improve energy performance with modern development, policies regarding financial inclusion and modernization need be integrated both at national as well as international levels.

Keywords: financial inclusion, energy performance, modernization, technological development, SCO.

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Authors: Pranjali Sharma, Swati Neogi

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Composite pressure vessels are low weight structures mainly used in a variety of applications such as automobiles, aeronautics and chemical engineering. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials offer the simplicity of design and use, high fuel storage capacity, rapid refueling capability, excellent shelf life, minimal infrastructure impact, high safety due to the inherent strength of the pressure vessel, and little to no development risk. Apart from these preliminary merits, the subsidized weight of composite vessels over metallic cylinders act as the biggest asset to the automotive industry, increasing the fuel efficiency. The result is a lightweight, flexible, non-explosive, and non-fragmenting pressure vessel that can be tailor-made to attune with specific applications. The winding pattern of the composite over-wrap is a primary focus while designing a pressure vessel. The critical stresses in the system depend on the thickness, angle and sequence of the composite layers. The composite over-wrap is wound over a plastic liner, whose geometry can be varied for the ease of winding. In the present study, we aim to optimize the FRP vessel geometry that provides an ease in winding and also aids in weight reduction for enhancing the vessel performance. Finite element analysis is used to study the effect of dome geometry, yielding a design with maximum value of burst pressure and least value of vessel weight. The stress and strain analysis of different dome ends along with the cylindrical portion is carried out in ANSYS 19.2. The failure is predicted using different failure theories like Tsai-Wu theory, Tsai-Hill theory and Maximum stress theory. Corresponding to a given winding sequence, the optimum dome geometry is determined for a fixed internal pressure to identify the theoretical value of burst pressure. Finally, this geometry is used to decrease the number of layers to reach the set value of safety in accordance with the available safety standards. This results in decrease in the weight of the composite over-wrap and manufacturing cost of the pressure vessel. An improvement in the overall weight performance of the pressure vessel gives higher fuel efficiency for its use in automobile applications.

Keywords: Compressed Gas Storage, Dome geometry, Theoretical Analysis, Type-4 Composite Pressure Vessel, Improvement in Vessel Weight Performance

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Authors: Mark Watson, J.-F. Bousquet, Adam Forget

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A magnetic induction based underwater communication link is evaluated using an analytical model and a custom Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation tool. The analytical model is based on the Sommerfeld integral, and a full-wave simulation tool evaluates Maxwell’s equations using the FDTD method in cylindrical coordinates. The analytical model and FDTD simulation tool are then compared and used to predict the system performance for various transmitter depths and optimum frequencies of operation. To this end, the system bandwidth, signal to noise ratio, and the magnitude of the induced voltage are used to estimate the expected channel capacity. The models show that in seawater, a relatively low-power and small coils may be capable of obtaining a throughput of 40 to 300 kbps, for the case where a transmitter is at depths of 1 to 3 m and a receiver is at a height of 1 m.

Keywords: magnetic induction, FDTD, underwater communication, Sommerfeld

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Authors: Naritphol Boonyakiat

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This research attempts to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility and students’ job performance of the Silpakorn University’s internship program within various organizations. The goal of this study is to fill the literature gap by gaining an understanding of corporate social responsibility that fundamentally relate to students’ job performance within the organizations. Thus, this study will focus on the outcomes that derive from selected employers’ qualitative assessment and evaluation forms from various companies. The results represent the perceptions of students towards the corporate social responsibility aspects and their job performance evaluation from the employers in various organizations. The findings indicate that corporate social responsibility has significant effects on students’ job performance. This study may assist us in gaining a better understanding of the integrated aspects of university and workplace environments to discover how to allocate optimally university’s resources and management approaches to gain benefits from corporate social responsibility practices toward students’ job performance within an organizational setting. Therefore, there is good reason to believe that the findings can contribute to research in the area of CSR and students’ job performance as an essential aspect of long-term success sustainability.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, job performance, university students, internship program

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Authors: G. C. Surya Bahadur, Ranjana Kothari

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The paper attempts to analyze linkages between corporate governance and firm performance in India. The study employs a panel data of 50 Nifty companies from 2008 to 2012. Using LSDV panel data model and 2SLS model the study reveals that that good corporate governance practices adopted by companies is positively related with financial performance. Board independence, number of board committees and executive compensation are found to have positive relationship while ownership by promoters and financial leverage have negative relationship with performance. There is existence of bi-directional relationship between corporate governance and financial performance. Companies with sound financial performance are more likely to conform to corporate governance norms and standards and implement sound corporate governance system. The findings indicate that companies can enhance business performance and sustainability by embracing sound corporate governance practices.

Keywords: board structure, corporate governance, executive compensation, ownership structure

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Authors: Khalid Mahmoud Gaafar

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In human diets , ω-6 and ω-3 are important essential fatty acids for immunity and health. However, considerable alteration in dietary patterns and contents has resulted in change of the consumption of such fatty acids ,with subsequent increase in the consumption of ω-6 fatty acids and a marked decrease in the consumption of ω-3 fatty acids. This dietary alteration has led to an imbalance in the ratio for ω-6/ω-3, which at 20:1 now differs considerably from the original ratio (1:1). Therefore, dietary supplements such as eggs and meat enriched with omega 3 are necessary to increase the consumption of ω-3 to meet the recommended need for ω-3. Foods that supply ω-6 fatty acids include soybean, palm , sunflower, and rapeseed oils, whereas foods that supply ω-3 fatty acids such as linseed and fish oils. Lin seed oils contain Alpha – linolenic acid (ALA), which can be converted to DHA and EPA in the birds body, with linseed oil containing more than 50% ALA. On the other hand, high doses of omega 6 sources in the diet may have deleterious effects on humans. Maintaining an optimum ratio of ω-3 and ω-6fatty acids not only improves performance but also prevents these health risks. The ratio of n-6:ω-3 fatty acids also plays an important role in the immune response, production performance of broilers and designing meat enriched with ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Birds of three experimental groups fed on basal starter (0-2nd weeks), grower (3rd -4th weeks) and finisher (5th week) rations. The first is control group fed during the grower-finisher periods on basic diet with two replicate (one fed on basic diet contain vegetable oil and the other don’t) without any additives. The three experimental groups (T1 – T2 –T3) fed during the grower- finisher periods on diets free from vegetable oils and contain of 5% of extruded mixture of soybean and linseed (60%:40%). The second (T2) and third (T3) experimental groups supplemented with vitamin B12 and enzyme mixture. The first experimental groups don’t receive vitamins or enzymes. The obtained results showed a significant increased growth performance, immune response, highest antioxidant activity and serum HDL with lowest serum LDL and triglycerides levels in all experimental groups compared with control group, which was highly significant in group fed on vitamin B6.

Keywords: omega fatty acids, broiler, feeding, human health, growth performance, immunity

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Authors: David Ompong, Jai Singh

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A better understanding of the open-circuit voltage (Voc) related losses in organic solar cells (OSCs) is desirable in order to assess the photovoltaic performance of these devices. We have derived Voc as a function of charge carrier mobilities (μe and μh) for organic and hybrid solar cells by optimizing the drift-diffusion current density. The optimum Voc thus obtained depends on the energy difference between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level and the quasi-Fermi level of holes of the donor material. We have found that the Voc depends on the ratio of the electron (μe) and hole (μh) mobilities and when μh > μe the Voc increases. The most important loss term in the Voc arises from the energetics of the donor and acceptor materials, which will be discussed in detail in this paper.

Keywords: charge carrier mobility, open-circuit voltage, organic solar cells, quasi-fermi levels

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Authors: C. Slim

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This paper presents an integrated model, which hybridized data envelopment analysis (DEA) and support vector machine (SVM) together, to class countries according to their efficiency and performance. This model takes into account aspects of multi-dimensional indicators, decision-making hierarchy and relativity of measurement. Starting from a set of indicators of performance as exhaustive as possible, a process of successive aggregations has been developed to attain an overall evaluation of a country’s competitiveness.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support vector machine (SVM), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Aggregations, indicators of performance

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Authors: Pornpong Porpraphant

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This paper aimed to demonstrate how work performance quality development activity carried out for employees in an organization could lead to the organizational success and competency as a whole. The case studies selected for this research were the Thai huge corporate including Siam Cement Group or SCG, PTT Public Company Limited, and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand or EGAT. The in- depth interview was applied with the three main groups that included the facilitator group, the managerial group, and the operational officer group. The Plan- Do- Check- Act approach was also utilized as to build up a conceptual model in corporate management that fostered employees’ knowledge acquisition, resulting in an improved work performance.

Keywords: high performance organization, quality, work performance quality development

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Authors: Mustafa Sertçelik, Hacali Necefoğlu, Turan Çalban, Soner Kuşlu

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In this study, Chevreul’s salt was dissolved in ammonium chloride solutions. All experiments were performed in a batch reactor. The obtained results were optimized. Parameters used in the experiments were the reaction temperature, the ammonium chloride concentration, the reaction time and the solid-to-liquid ratio. The optimum conditions were determined by 2⁴ factorial experimental design method. The best values of four parameters were determined as based on the experiment results. After the evaluation of experiment results, all parameters were found as effective in experiment conditions selected. The optimum conditions on the maximum Chevreul’s salt dissolution were the ammonium chloride concentration 4.5 M, the reaction time 13.2 min., the reaction temperature 25 ^oC, and the solid-to-liquid ratio 9/80 g.mL^-1. The best dissolution yield in these conditions was 96.20%.

Keywords: Chevreul's salt, factorial experimental design method, ammonium chloride, dissolution, optimization

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Authors: Pavitra Sharma, A. K. Singh

Abstract:

The establishment of pest population in a habitat is greatly influenced by abiotic factors, such as temperature, photoperiod, and humidity. These factors influence the biology and behavior of insects and their pest status. Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), commonly known as southern green stink bug, is economically important pest of legumes. Both nymphs and adult suck the sap from different part of the plant and deteriorate the standing crop. Present study involves effects of temperature on incubation, hatching success and nymphal duration of N. viridula. The results indicated that the development of eggs requires optimal temperature range. Temperature conditions above and below the optimum range affect the incubation period as well as the percent hatchability of eggs. At 19°C, the egg incubation period was longest whereas it was shortest at 27°C. The change in temperature from the optimum condition also affected the hatchability of eggs in N. viridula. Decrease in the hatchability was observed with the decrease in temperature. However, the results were not statistically significant. Decrease in temperature from the optimum temperature to 19°C, also resulted in an increase in nymphal duration of N. viridula. However, no such effect of temperature within the studied range was observed on the morphology of nymphs or adults. Variation in temperature also had no adverse effects on the survival of laboratory bred population of Nezara nymphs. The feeding activity of the bug in relation to photoperiod was assessed by counting the number of punctures on the food surface. The results indicated that day-night regime did not affect the feeding activity of the bug significantly. The present study enhances our knowledge about the effect of environmental factors on the biology of insects and developing the strategy for ‘Integrated Pest Management’ of hemipteran insects by management of the physical factors.

Keywords: development, feeding, hatchability, Nezara viridula

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Tauhidur Rahman, Arnab Kumar Sinha

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparative study of Arch bridges based on their varying rise to span ratio. The comparison is done between different steel Arch bridges which have variable span length and rise to span ratio keeping the same support condition. The aim of our present study is to select the optimum value of rise to span ratio of Arch bridge as the cost of the Arch bridge increases with the increasing of the rise. In order to fulfill the objective, several rise to span ratio have been considered for same span of Arch bridge and various structural parameters such as Bending moment, shear force etc have been calculated for different model. A comparative study has been done for several Arch bridges finally to select the optimum rise to span ratio of the Arch bridges. In the present study, Finite Element model for medium to long span, with different rise to span ratio have been modeled and are analyzed with the help of a Computational Software named MIDAS Civil to evaluate the results such as Bending moments, Shear force, displacements, Stresses, influence line diagrams, critical loads. In the present study, 60 models of Arch bridges for 80 to 120 m span with different rise to span ratio has been thoroughly investigated.

Keywords: arch bridge, analysis, comparative study, rise to span ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 495

Authors: Vinh Duy Cao, Carlos Salas-Bringas, Anna M. Szczotok, Marianne Hiorth, Anna-Lena Kjøniksen

Abstract:

The increasing cost of energy supply for the purposes of heating and cooling creates a demand for more energy efficient buildings. Improved construction techniques and enhanced material technology can greatly reduce the energy consumption needed for the buildings. Microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) suspensions utilized as heat transfer fluids for energy storage and heat transfer applications provide promising potential solutions. A full understanding of the flow and thermal characteristics of microcapsule suspensions is needed to optimize the design of energy storage systems, in order to reduce the capital cost, system size, and energy consumption. The MPCM suspensions exhibited pseudoplastic and thixotropic behaviour, and significantly improved the thermal performance of the suspensions. Three different models were used to characterize the thixotropic behaviour of the MPCM suspensions: the second-order structural, kinetic model was found to give a better fit to the experimental data than the Weltman and Figoni-Shoemaker models. For all samples, the initial shear stress increased, and the breakdown rate accelerated significantly with increasing concentration. The thermal performance and rheological properties, especially the selection of rheological models, will be useful for developing the applications of microcapsules as heat transfer fluids in thermal energy storage system such as calculation of an optimum MPCM concentration, pumping power requirement, and specific power consumption. The effect of temperature on the shear thinning properties of the samples suggests that some of the phase change material is located outside the capsules, and contributes to agglomeration of the samples.

Keywords: latent heat, microencapsulated phase change materials, pseudoplastic, suspension, thixotropic behaviour

Procedia PDF Downloads 241