Search results for: statistical process control

Authors: W. S. Hsu, S. W. Chen, Y. T. Ku, Y. Chiang, J. R. Wang , J. H. Yang, C. Shih

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ALOHA code was used to calculate the concentration under the CO₂ storage burst condition for Maanshan nuclear power plant (NPP) in this study. Five main data are input into ALOHA code including location, building, chemical, atmospheric, and source data. The data from Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) and some reports were used in this study. The ALOHA results are compared with the failure criteria of R.G. 1.78 to confirm the habitability of control room. The result of comparison presents that the ALOHA result is below the R.G. 1.78 criteria. This implies that the habitability of control room can be maintained in this case. The sensitivity study for atmospheric parameters was performed in this study. The results show that the wind speed has the larger effect in the concentration calculation.

Keywords: PWR, ALOHA, habitability, Maanshan

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Mohsen Mazidi, Ali Abbaspour, Mahmud Fotuhi-Firuzabad, Mohamamd Rastegar

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To tackle the air pollution issues, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are proposed as an appropriate solution. Charging a large amount of PHEV batteries, if not controlled, would have negative impacts on the distribution system. The control process of charging of these vehicles can be centralized in parking lots that may provide a chance for better coordination than the individual charging in houses. In this paper, an optimization-based approach is proposed to determine the optimum PHEV parking capacities in candidate nodes of the distribution system. In so doing, a profile for charging and discharging of PHEVs is developed in order to flatten the network load profile. Then, this profile is used in solving an optimization problem to minimize the distribution system losses. The outputs of the proposed method are the proper place for PHEV parking lots and optimum capacity for each parking. The application of the proposed method on the IEEE-34 node test feeder verifies the effectiveness of the method.

Keywords: loss, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), PHEV parking lot, V2G

Procedia PDF Downloads 525

Authors: Justine Cyril E. Nunag, Nestor B. Sabado Jr., Jienne Chester M. Tolosa

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Concrete has high compressive strength but a low-tension strength. The small tensile strength of concrete is regarded as its primary weakness, which is why it is typically reinforced with steel, a material that is resistant to tension. Even with steel, however, cracking can occur. In strengthening concrete, only a few researchers have modified the water to be used in a concrete mix. This study aims to compare the split tensile strength of normal structural concrete to concrete prepared with magnetic water and a quick setting admixture. In this context, magnetic water is defined as tap water that has undergone a magnetic process to become magnetized water. To test the hypothesis that magnetized concrete leads to higher split tensile strength, twenty concrete specimens were made. There were five groups, each with five samples, that were differentiated by the number of cycles (0, 50, 100, and 150). The data from the Universal Testing Machine's split tensile strength were then analyzed using various statistical models and tests to determine the significant effect of magnetized water. The result showed a moderate (+0.579) but still significant degree of correlation. The researchers also discovered that using magnetic water for 50 cycles did not result in a significant increase in the concrete's split tensile strength, which influenced the analysis of variance. These results suggest that a concrete mix containing magnetic water and a quick-setting admixture alters the typical split tensile strength of normal concrete. Magnetic water has a significant impact on concrete tensile strength. The hardness property of magnetic water influenced the split tensile strength of concrete. In addition, a higher number of cycles results in a strong water magnetism. The laboratory test results show that a higher cycle translates to a higher tensile strength.

Keywords: hardness property, magnetic water, quick-setting admixture, split tensile strength, universal testing machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Mohammed T. Hayajneh

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Machining of Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) is very significant process and has been a main problem that draws many researchers to investigate the characteristics of MMCs during different machining process. The poor machining properties of hard particles reinforced MMCs make drilling process a rather interesting task. Unlike drilling of conventional materials, many problems can be seriously encountered during drilling of MMCs, such as tool wear and cutting forces. Cutting tool wear is a very significant concern in industries. Cutting tool wear not only influences the quality of the drilled hole, but also affects the cutting tool life. Prediction the cutting tool life during drilling is essential for optimizing the cutting conditions. However, the relationship between tool life and cutting conditions, tool geometrical factors and workpiece material properties has not yet been established by any machining theory. In this research work, fuzzy subtractive clustering system has been used to model the cutting tool life in drilling of Al₂O₃ particle reinforced aluminum alloy composite to investigate of the effect of cutting conditions on cutting tool life. This investigation can help in controlling and optimizing of cutting conditions when the process parameters are adjusted. The built model for prediction the tool life is identified by using drill diameter, cutting speed, and cutting feed rate as input data. The validity of the model was confirmed by the examinations under various cutting conditions. Experimental results have shown the efficiency of the model to predict cutting tool life.

Keywords: composite, fuzzy, tool life, wear

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Jorge Rodriguez-Guerra, Carlos Calleja, Aron Pujana, Ana Maria Macarulla

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Hydraulic-press commissioning consumes a great amount of man-hours, due to the fact that it takes place several miles away from where it has been designed. This factor became exacerbated due to control designers’ lack of knowledge about which will be the final controller gains before they start working with it. Virtual commissioning has been postulated as an optimal solution to deal with this lack of knowledge. Here, a case study is presented in which a controller is set up against a real-time model based on a hydraulic-press. The press model is designed following manufacturer specifications and it is embedded in a real-time simulator. This methodology ensures that the model achieves similar responses as the real machine that would be placed on the industry. A deterministic communication protocol is in charge of the bidirectional information transmission between the real-time model and the controller. This platform allows the engineer to test and verify the final control responses with exactly the same hardware that is going to be installed in the hydraulic-press, in other words, realize a virtual commissioning of the electro-hydraulic actuator. The Hardware in the Loop (HiL) platform validates in laboratory conditions and harmless for the machine the control algorithms designed, which allows embedding them afterwards in the industrial environment without further modifications.

Keywords: deterministic communication protocol, electro-hydraulic actuator, hardware in the loop, real-time, virtual commissioning

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Tak-Chung Fu, Ying-Kit Hung, Fu-Lai Chung

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In the field of time series data mining, the concept of the Perceptually Important Point (PIP) identification process is first introduced in 2001. This process originally works for financial time series pattern matching and it is then found suitable for time series dimensionality reduction and representation. Its strength is on preserving the overall shape of the time series by identifying the salient points in it. With the rise of Big Data, time series data contributes a major proportion, especially on the data which generates by sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. According to the nature of PIP identification and the successful cases, it is worth to further explore the opportunity to apply PIP in time series ‘Big Data’. However, the performance of PIP identification is always considered as the limitation when dealing with ‘Big’ time series data. In this paper, two distributed versions of PIP identification based on the Specialized Binary (SB) Tree are proposed. The proposed approaches solve the bottleneck when running the PIP identification process in a standalone computer. Improvement in term of speed is obtained by the distributed versions.

Keywords: distributed computing, performance analysis, Perceptually Important Point identification, time series data mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 415

Authors: Remus Pravalie, Georgeta Bandoc

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Forests are crucial for humanity and biodiversity, through the various ecosystem services and functions they provide all over the world. Forest ecosystems are vital in Romania as well, through their various benefits, known as provisioning (food, wood, or fresh water), regulating (water purification, soil protection, carbon sequestration or control of climate change, floods, and other hazards), cultural (aesthetic, spiritual, inspirational, recreational or educational benefits) and supporting (primary production, nutrient cycling, and soil formation processes, with direct or indirect importance for human well-being) ecosystem services. These ecological benefits are of great importance in Romania, especially given the fact that forests cover extensive areas countrywide, i.e. ~6.5 million ha or ~27.5% of the national territory. However, the diversity and functionality of these ecosystem services fundamentally depend on certain key attributes of forests, such as biomass, which has so far not been studied nationally in terms of potential changes due to climate change and other driving forces. This study investigates, for the first time, changes in forest biomass in Romania in recent decades, based on a high volume of satellite data (Landsat images at high spatial resolutions), downloaded from the Google Earth Engine platform and processed (using specialized software and methods) across Romanian forestland boundaries from 1987 to 2018. A complex climate database was also investigated across Romanian forests over the same 32-year period, in order to detect potential similarities and statistical relationships between the dynamics of biomass and climate data. The results obtained indicated considerable changes in forest biomass in Romania in recent decades, largely triggered by the climate change that affected the country after 1987. Findings on the complex pattern of recent forest changes in Romania, which will be presented in detail in this study, can be useful to national policymakers in the fields of forestry, climate, and sustainable development.

Keywords: forests, biomass, climate change, trends, romania

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: M. T. Alodat

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In this paper, we propose a mechanism for skewing any symmetric distribution. The new distribution is called the deflation-inflation distribution (DID). We discuss some statistical properties of the DID such moments, stochastic representation, log-concavity. Also we fit the distribution to real data and we compare it to normal distribution and Azzlaini's skew normal distribution. Numerical results show that the DID fits the the tree ring data better than the other two distributions.

Keywords: normal distribution, moments, Fisher information, symmetric distributions

Procedia PDF Downloads 645

Authors: Abdulaziz Alakeel, Roaa Alamri, Abdulrahman Alomair, Mohammed Fouda

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Introduction: Ibrutinib is a selective, potent, and irreversible small-molecule inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). It forms a covalent bond with a cysteine residue (CYS-481) at the active site of Btk, leading to inhibition of Btk enzymatic activity. The drug is indicated to treat certain type of cancers such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia (WM). Cardiac failure is a condition referred to inability of heart muscle to pump adequate blood to human body organs. There are multiple types of cardiac failure including left and right-sided heart failure, systolic and diastolic heart failures. The aim of this review is to evaluate the risk of cardiac failure associated with the use of ibrutinib and to suggest regulatory recommendations if required. Methodology: Signal Detection team at the National Pharmacovigilance Center (NPC) of Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) performed a comprehensive signal review using its national database as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) database (VigiBase), to retrieve related information for assessing the causality between cardiac failure and ibrutinib. We used the WHO- Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) criteria as standard for assessing the causality of the reported cases. Results: Case Review: The number of resulted cases for the combined drug/adverse drug reaction are 212 global ICSRs as of July 2020. The reviewers have selected and assessed the causality for the well-documented ICSRs with completeness scores of 0.9 and above (35 ICSRs); the value 1.0 presents the highest score for best-written ICSRs. Among the reviewed cases, more than half of them provides supportive association (four probable and 15 possible cases). Data Mining: The disproportionality of the observed and the expected reporting rate for drug/adverse drug reaction pair is estimated using information component (IC), a tool developed by WHO-UMC to measure the reporting ratio. Positive IC reflects higher statistical association while negative values indicates less statistical association, considering the null value equal to zero. The results of (IC=1.5) revealed a positive statistical association for the drug/ADR combination, which means “Ibrutinib” with “Cardiac Failure” have been observed more than expected when compared to other medications available in WHO database. Conclusion: Health regulators and health care professionals must be aware for the potential risk of cardiac failure associated with ibrutinib and the monitoring of any signs or symptoms in treated patients is essential. The weighted cumulative evidences identified from causality assessment of the reported cases and data mining are sufficient to support a causal association between ibrutinib and cardiac failure.

Keywords: cardiac failure, drug safety, ibrutinib, pharmacovigilance, signal detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Basman Elhadidi, Islam Elqatary, Osama Saaid, Hesham Othman

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An active slat is developed to increase the lift and delay the separation for a DU96-W180 airfoil. The active slat is a fixed slat that can be closed, fully opened or intermittently opened by a rotating vane depending on the need. Experimental results show that the active slat has reduced the mean pressure and increased the mean velocity on the suction side of the airfoil for all positive angles of attack, indicating an increase of lift. The experimental data and numerical simulations also show that the direction of actuator vane rotation can influence the mixing of the flow streams on the suction side and hence influence the aerodynamic performance.

Keywords: active slat, flow control, experimental investigation, aerodynamic performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 417

Authors: Anek Apipatkul, Paphakorn Pitayachaval

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Preventive maintenance is a standardized procedure to control and prevent risky problems affecting production in order to increase work efficiency. Machine monitoring also routinely works to collect data for a scheduling maintenance period. This paper is to present the application of machine monitoring by using the internet of things (IOTs) and a lean technique in order to manage with complex maintenance tasks of an automated plastic granule packing machine. To organize the preventive maintenance, there are several processes that the machine monitoring was applied, starting with defining a clear scope of the machine, establishing standards in maintenance work, applying a just-in-time (JIT) technique for timely delivery in the maintenance work, solving problems on the floor, and also improving the inspection process. The result has shown that wasted time was reduced, and machines have been operated as scheduled. Furthermore, the efficiency of the scheduled maintenance period was increased by 95%.

Keywords: internet of things, preventive maintenance, machine monitoring, lean technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: I. Kade Wiratama

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As a result of the significant growth of wind turbines in size, blade load control has become the main challenge for large wind turbines. Many advanced techniques have been investigated aiming at developing control devices to ease blade loading. Amongst them, trailing edge flaps have been proven as effective devices for load alleviation. The present study aims at investigating the potential benefits of flaps in enhancing the energy capture capabilities rather than blade load alleviation. A software tool is especially developed for the aerodynamic simulation of wind turbines utilising blades equipped with flaps. As part of the aerodynamic simulation of these wind turbines, the control system must be also simulated. The simulation of the control system is carried out via solving an optimisation problem which gives the best value for the controlling parameter at each wind turbine run condition. Developing a genetic algorithm optimisation tool which is especially designed for wind turbine blades and integrating it with the aerodynamic performance evaluator, a design optimisation tool for blades equipped with flaps is constructed. The design optimisation tool is employed to carry out design case studies. The results of design case studies on wind turbine AWT 27 reveal that, as expected, the location of flap is a key parameter influencing the amount of improvement in the power extraction. The best location for placing a flap is at about 70% of the blade span from the root of the blade. The size of the flap has also significant effect on the amount of enhancement in the average power. This effect, however, reduces dramatically as the size increases. For constant speed rotors, adding flaps without re-designing the topology of the blade can improve the power extraction capability as high as of about 5%. However, with re-designing the blade pretwist the overall improvement can be reached as high as 12%.

Keywords: flaps, design blade, optimisation, simulation, genetic algorithm, WTAero

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Dae-Hee Son, Sang-Hee Kang, Soon-Ryul Nam

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In this paper, we develop a dynamic modeling of wind farms in the Jeju power system. The dynamic model of wind farms is developed to study their dynamic effects on the Jeju power system. PSS/E is used to develop the dynamic model of a wind farm composed of 1.5-MW doubly fed induction generators. The output of a wind farm is regulated based on pitch angle control, in which the two controllable parameters are speed and power references. The simulation results confirm that the pitch angle is successfully controlled, regardless of the variation in wind speed and output regulation.

Keywords: dynamic model, Jeju power system, online limitation, pitch angle control, wind farm

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Rasha F. Sharaf

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Administration of local anesthesia for a child is considered a painful procedure, which affects his vital signs, physiological parameters, and his further attitude in the dental clinic. During the extraction of mandibular molars, the nerve block technique is the most commonly used for the administration of local anesthesia; however, this technique requires deep penetration of the needle, which causes pain and discomfort for the child. Therefore, the inferior alveolar nerve block technique can be substituted with an infiltration technique which is not painful if a potent anesthetic solutions will be used. In the current study, the effect of Articaine 4% will be compared to Mepivacaine 2%, and their influence on the vital signs of the child, as well as their ability to control pain during extraction, will be assessed.

Keywords: anesthesia, articaine, pain control, extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Evridiki Papachristou, Nikolaos Bilalis

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Imagine an apparel industry where fashion design does not begin with a paper-and-pen drawing which is then translated into pattern and later to a 3D model where the designer tries out different fabrics, colours and contrasts. Instead, imagine a fashion designer in the future who produces that initial fashion drawing in a three-dimensional space and won’t leave that environment until the product is done, communicating his/her ideas with the entire development team in true to life 3D. Three-dimensional (3D) technology - while well established in many other industrial sectors like automotive, aerospace, architecture and industrial design, has only just started to open up a whole range of new opportunities for apparel designers. The paper will discuss the process of 3D simulation technology enhanced by high quality visualization of data and its capability to ensure a massive competitiveness in the market. Secondly, it will underline the most frequent problems & challenges that occur in the process chain when various partners in the production of textiles and apparel are working together. Finally, it will offer a perspective of how the Virtual Prototyping Technology will make the global textile and apparel industry change to a level where designs will be visualized on a computer and various scenarios modeled without even having to produce a physical prototype. This state-of-the-art 3D technology has been described as transformative and“disruptive”comparing to the process of the way apparel companies develop their fashion products today. It provides the benefit of virtual sampling not only for quick testing of design ideas, but also reducing process steps and having more visibility.A so called“digital asset” that can be used for other purposes such as merchandising or marketing.

Keywords: 3D visualization, apparel, virtual prototyping, prototyping technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 566

Authors: Pujari Muruga, T. K. Radhakrishnan, N. Samsudeen

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Hydrogen is considered as the most important energy carrier and fuel of the future because of its high energy density and zero emission properties. Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) is a new and promising approach for hydrogen production from organic matter, including wastewater and other renewable resources. By utilizing anode microorganism activity, MEC can produce hydrogen gas with smaller voltages (as low as 0.2 V) than those required for electrolytic hydrogen production ( ≥ 1.23 V). The hydrogen production processes of the MEC reactor are very nonlinear and highly complex because of the presence of microbial interactions and highly complex phenomena in the system. Increasing the hydrogen production rate and lowering the energy input are two important challenges of MEC technology. The mathematical model of the MEC is based on material balance with the integration of bioelectrochemical reactions. The main objective of the research is to produce biohydrogen by selecting the optimum current and controlling applied voltage to the MEC. Precise control is required for the MEC reactor, so that the amount of current required to produce hydrogen gas can be controlled according to the composition of the substrate in the reactor. Various simulation tests involving multiple set-point changes disturbance and noise rejection were performed to evaluate the performance using PID controller tuned with Ziegler Nichols settings. Simulation results shows that other good controller can provide better control effect on the MEC system, so that higher hydrogen production can be obtained.

Keywords: microbial electrolysis cell, hydrogen production, applied voltage, PID controller

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: А. А. Yessekeyeva, А. S. Moldagaliyeva, G. K. Shulanbekova

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The purpose of this article is to describe challenges associated with enhancement of government control over agro industrial sector in order to maintain food security. The need for government control over agricultural industry stems from the fact that the State is accountable to its citizens for establishing their standard living conditions, food and other agricultural product supplies. Agro industrial sector is in a special position within the market place preventing its full and equal participation in an interdisciplinary competition. Low-profit agricultural industry that is dependent on the natural and strongly marked seasonal and cyclical production factors is more underdeveloped in terms of technology and relatively static industry as compared to the manufacturing industry. Therefore, agricultural industry development directly affects food security of the country.

Keywords: food security, agro-industry, Kazakhstan, food security

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Rushi Tan, Yilun Xu, Xiaohui Wang

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The restrained construction zoning, an important part in the urban master plan, is a necessary planning tool to control the city sprawl, to guarantee the reservation implementation of the various types of protective elements, and to realize the storage of the essential urban spatial resources. Simultaneously, owing to the diverse constitutes of restrained construction area and the various stakeholders involved in, its planning requires an overall consideration of all elements from the perspective of coordination, balance and practicability to deal with the problems and conflicts in this process. Taking Yangzijin Ecological Restrained Construction Area in Yangzhou as an example, this study analyzes all the potential actors, agencies and stakeholders in this restrained construction area, as well as the relevant conflicts between each other. Besides, this study tries to build up a planning procedure based on the framework of governance theory, and proposes a possible planning method that combines "rigidity" and "flexibility" to protect the ecological limitation boundary, to take every interest into account, and to promote economic development in a harmonious society.

Keywords: restrained construction area, governance, stakeholder, flexible stratagem, China

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: D. Kuvshinov, A. Siswanto, W. Zimmerman

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A phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (TPA) is a synthetic analogue of phorbol ester (PE), a natural toxic compound of Euphorbiaceae plant. The oil extracted from plants of this family is useful source for primarily biofuel. However this oil can also be used as a food stock due to its significant nutrition content. The limitations for utilizing the oil as a food stock are mainly due to a toxicity of PE. Nowadays a majority of PE detoxification processes are expensive as include multi steps alcohol extraction sequence. Ozone is considered as a strong oxidative agent. It reaction with PE it attacks the carbon double bond of PE. This modification of PE molecular structure results into nontoxic ester with high lipid content. This report presents data on development of simple and cheap PE detoxification process with water application as a buffer and ozone as reactive component. The core of this new technique is a simultaneous application of new microscale plasma unit for ozone production and patented gas oscillation technology. In combination with a reactor design the technology permits ozone injection to the water-TPA mixture in form of microbubbles. The efficacy of a heterogeneous process depends on diffusion coefficient which can be controlled by contact time and interface area. The low velocity of rising microbubbles and high surface to volume ratio allow fast mass transfer to be achieved during the process. Direct injection of ozone is the most efficient process for a highly reactive and short lived chemical. Data on the plasma unit behavior are presented and influence of the gas oscillation technology to the microbubbles production mechanism has been discussed. Data on overall process efficacy for TPA degradation is shown.

Keywords: microbubble, ozonolysis, synthetic phorbol ester, chemical engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Ehsan Javanmardemamgheisi, Javad Mehr, Jason Ali-Lavroff, Damien Holloway, Michael Davis

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During the last decades, a growing interest in faster and more efficient waterborne transportation has led to the development of high-speed vessels for both commercial and military applications. To satisfy this global demand, a wide variety of arrangements of high-speed crafts have been proposed by designers. Among them, high-speed catamarans have proven themselves to be a suitable Roll-on/Roll-off configuration for carrying passengers and cargo due to widely spaced demi hulls, a wide deck zone, and a high ratio of deadweight to displacement. To improve passenger comfort and crew workability and enhance the operability and performance of high-speed catamarans, mitigating the severity of motions and structural loads using Ride Control Systems (RCS) is essential.In this paper, a set of towing tank tests was conducted on a 2.5 m scaled model of a 112 m Incat Tasmania high-speed catamaran in irregular head seas to investigate the effect of different ride control algorithms including linear and nonlinear versions of the heave control, pitch control, and local control on motion responses and passenger comfort of the full-scale ship. The RCS included a centre bow-fitted T-Foil and two transom-mounted stern tabs. All the experiments were conducted at the Australian Maritime College (AMC) towing tank at a model speed of 2.89 m/s (37 knots full scale), a modal period of 1.5 sec (10 sec full scale) and two significant wave heights of 60 mm and 90 mm, representing full-scale wave heights of 2.7 m and 4 m, respectively. Spectral analyses were performed using Welch’s power spectral density method on the vertical motion time records of the catamaran model to calculate heave and pitch Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs). Then, noting that passenger discomfort arises from vertical accelerations and that the vertical accelerations vary at different longitudinal locations within the passenger cabin due to the variations in amplitude and relative phase of the pitch and heave motions, the vertical accelerations were calculated at three longitudinal locations (LCG, T-Foil, and stern tabs). Finally, frequency-weighted Root Mean Square (RMS) vertical accelerations were calculated to estimate Motion Sickness Dose Value (MSDV) of the ship based on ISO 2631-recommendations. It was demonstrated that in small seas, implementing a nonlinear pitch control algorithm reduces the peak pitch motions by 41%, the vertical accelerations at the forward location by 46%, and motion sickness at the forward position by around 20% which provides great potential for further improvement in passenger comfort, crew workability, and operability of high-speed catamarans.

Keywords: high-speed catamarans, ride control system, response amplitude operators, vertical accelerations, motion sickness, irregular waves, towing tank tests.

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Abdalrahman D. Alsulaili, Sheikha Y. Aljeraiwi, Athba N. Almanaie, Raghad Y. Alhajeri, Mariam Z. Almijren

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The water accompanying oil in the oil production process is increasing and due to its increasing rates a problem with handling it occurred. Current solutions like discharging into the environment, dumping water in evaporation pits, usage in the industry and reinjection in oil reservoirs to enhance oil production are used worldwide. The water injection method has been introduced to the oil industry with a process that either immediately injects water to the reservoir or goes to the filtration process before injection all depending on the porosity of the soil. Reinjection of unfiltered effluent water with high Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and Oil in Water (O/W) into soils with low porosity cause a blockage of pores, whereas soils with high porosity do not need high water quality. Our study mainly talks about the filtration and adsorption of the water using organic media as the adsorbent. An adsorbent is a substance that has the ability to physically hold another substance in its surface. Studies were done on nutshell and date pits with different surface areas and flow rates by using a 10inch filter connected with three tanks to perform as one system for the filtration process. Our approach in the filtration process using different types of medias went as follow: starting first with crushed nutshell, second with ground nutshell, and third using carbonized date pits with medium flow rate then high flow rate to compare different results. The result came out nearly as expected from our study where both O/W and TSS were reduced from our oily water sample by using this organic material. The effect of specific area was noticed when using nutshell as the filter media, where the crushed nutshell gave us better results than ground nutshell. The effect of flow rate was noticed when using carbonized date pits as the filter media whereas the treated water became more acceptable when the flow rate was on the medium level.

Keywords: date pits, nutshell, oil water, TSS

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Özgür Bahadir, Meltem Kurtuncu

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The study was designed as quasi-experimental and conducted to determine the effect of music therapy on anxiety, fear and pain management in 6-12-year-old children undergoing surgery. The present study was carried out between 01.01.2016 and 19.08.2016 in BEU. Application and Research Center. The children aged 6 -12 who applied for surgery between the mentioned dates constituted the universe of the study. In the quasi-experimental study that was conducted in the clinics where children received operational treatment, two groups were formed: experimental group (the children who received musical therapy before the surgery) and control group (the children who were administered surveys and the surgery service routines only). Each group consisted of 30 children, and the participants of the study were 60 children in total. Necessary permissions were obtained from the parents of the children hospitalized before the beginning of the implementation. The data was collected through Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), “Fear In Medical Treatment Scale”, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Participant Information Form. In the analysis of the data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution scale was used to examine the normality of the distribution along with descriptive statistics methods (Frequency, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation). Data was presented in the tables in numbers and percentages. Means were demonstrated along with the standard deviations. The research compared children received; case and control groups include socio-demographic perspective, non-significant difference statistically among similar groups are intertwined. The general level of fear regarding the medical processes before returning to service after the operation and 30 minutes before getting discharged was found to be significantly low in the experimental group compared to control group (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between experimental and control groups in terms of general level of fear regarding the medical processes before the operation, during the operation day and in the recovery room after the operation (p>0.05). Total CASI AD (anxiety sensitivity) levels before the operation, day of the operation and 30 minutes before the discharge for patients in experimental group was found to be significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the total CASI AD levels for the post-operative recovery room and for returning to the service room after the operation (p>0.05). VAS levels for patients in the experimental group in the post-operative recovery room was significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of VAS findings in returning to service room after the operation and in 30 minutes before the discharge (p>0.05). As a result of the research; applied children music therapy in the experimental group anxiety, fear, and pain of the scales, their scores average, is lower than the control group children in this situation an increase in the satisfaction of children and parents was observed. In line with this, music therapy preoperative anxiety, fear, and can be used as an effective method of decreasing postoperative pain clinics is suggested.

Keywords: anxiety, children, fear, music therapy, pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 212

Authors: Djeffal Asma, Zemmouri Noureddine

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In order for building designer to be able to balance environmental concerns with other performance requirements, they need clear and concise information. For certain decisions during the design process, qualitative guidance, such as design checklists or guidelines information may not be sufficient for evaluating the environmental benefits between different building materials, products and designs. In this case, quantitative information, such as that generated through a life cycle assessment, provides the most value. LCA provides a systematic approach to evaluating the environmental impacts of a product or system over its entire life. In the case of buildings life cycle includes the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transporting and installing building components or products, operating and maintaining the building. By integrating LCA into building design process, designers can evaluate the life cycle impacts of building design, materials, components and systems and choose the combinations that reduce the building life cycle environmental impact. This article attempts to give an overview of the integration of LCA methodology in the context of building design, and focuses on the use of this methodology for environmental considerations concerning process design and optimization. A multiple case study was conducted in order to assess the benefits of the LCA as a decision making aid tool during the first stages of the building design under specific climate conditions of the North East region of Algeria. It is clear that the LCA methodology can help to assess and reduce the impact of a building design and components on the environment even if the process implementation is rather long and complicated and lacks of global approach including human factors. It is also demonstrated that using LCA as a multi objective optimization of building process will certainly facilitates the improvement in design and decision making for both new design and retrofit projects.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, buildings, sustainability, elementary schools, environmental impacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 531

Authors: Pei-Hsing Huang, Wei-Ju Huang

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Investment casting is commonly used in the production of metallic components with complex shapes, due to its high dimensional precision, good surface finish, and low cost. However, the process is cumbersome, and the period between trial casting and final production can be very long, thereby limiting business opportunities and competitiveness. In this study, we replaced conventional wax injection with stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing to speed up the trial process and reduce costs. We also used silicone molds to further reduce costs to avoid the high costs imposed by photosensitive resin.

Keywords: investment casting, stereolithography, wax molding, 3D printing

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Joonas Pääkkönen

Abstract:

In sports, individuals and teams are typically interested in final rankings. Final results, such as times or distances, dictate these rankings, also known as places. Places can be further associated with ordered random variables, commonly referred to as order statistics. In this work, we introduce a simple, yet accurate order statistical ordinal regression function that predicts relay race places with changeover-times. We call this function the Fenton-Wilkinson Order Statistics model. This model is built on the following educated assumption: individual leg-times follow log-normal distributions. Moreover, our key idea is to utilize Fenton-Wilkinson approximations of changeover-times alongside an estimator for the total number of teams as in the notorious German tank problem. This original place regression function is sigmoidal and thus correctly predicts the existence of a small number of elite teams that significantly outperform the rest of the teams. Our model also describes how place increases linearly with changeover-time at the inflection point of the log-normal distribution function. With real-world data from Jukola 2019, a massive orienteering relay race, the model is shown to be highly accurate even when the size of the training set is only 5% of the whole data set. Numerical results also show that our model exhibits smaller place prediction root-mean-square-errors than linear regression, mord regression and Gaussian process regression.

Keywords: Fenton-Wilkinson approximation, German tank problem, log-normal distribution, order statistics, ordinal regression, orienteering, sports analytics, sports modeling

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Authors: Jiří Vágner, Dana Fialová

Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic and its effects have triggered significant changes in travel behavior. On the contrary to a deep decline in international tourism, domestic tourism has recovered. It has not fully replaced the total volume of national tourism so far. However, from a regional point of view, and especially according to the type of destinations, regional targeting has changed significantly compared to the previous period. Urban destinations, which used to be the domain of foreign tourists, have been relatively orphaned, in contrast to destinations tied to natural attractions, which have seen seasonal increases. Even here, at a lower hierarchical geographic level, we can observe the differentiation resulting from the existing localization and infrastructure. The case study is focused on the three largest water reservoirs of the Vltava Cascade in Czechia– Lipno, Orlík, and Slapy. Based on a detailed field survey, in the periods before and during the pandemic, as well as available statistical data (Tourdata; Czech Statistical Office, Czech Cadaster and Ordnance Survey), different trends in the exploitation of these destinations with regard to existing or planned infrastructure are documented, analyzed and explained. This gives us the opportunity to discuss on concrete examples of generally known phenomena that are usually neglected in tourism: slum, brownfield, greenfield. Changes in travel behavior – especially the focus on spending leisure time individually in naturally attractive destinations – can affect the use of sites, which can be defined as a tourist or recreational slum, brownfield, but also as a tourist greenfield development. Sociocultural changes and perception of destinations by tourists and other actors represent, besides environmental changes, major trends in current tourism.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, czechia, sociocultural and environmental impacts, tourist infrastructure, travel behavior, the Vltava Cascade water reservoirs

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: S. Koppikar, P. Kulkarni, D. Ingale , N. Wagh, S. Deshpande, A. Mahajan, A. Harsulkar

Abstract:

Crucial role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the progression Osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis has been endorsed several times though its exact mechanism remains unclear. Oxidative stress is known to instigate classical stress factors such as cytokines, chemokines and ROS, which hampers cartilage remodelling process and ultimately results in worsening the disease. Synovial fluid (SF) is a biological communicator between cartilage and synovium that accumulates redox and biochemical signalling mediators. The present work attempts to measure several oxidative stress markers in the synovial fluid obtained from knee OA patients with varying degree of disease severity. Thirty OA and five Meniscal-tear (MT) patients were graded using Kellgren-Lawrence scale and assessed for Nitric oxide (NO), Nitrate-Nitrite (NN), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP), Catalase (CAT), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels for comparison. Out of various oxidative markers studied, NO and SOD showed significant difference between moderate and severe OA (p= 0.007 and p= 0.08, respectively), whereas CAT demonstrated significant difference between MT and mild group (p= 0.07). Interestingly, NN revealed statistically positive correlation with OA severity (p= 0.001 and p= 0.003). MDA, a lipid peroxidation by-product was estimated maximum in early OA when compared to MT (p= 0.06). However, FRAP did not show any correlation with OA severity or MT control. NO is an essential bio-regulatory molecule essential for several physiological processes, and inflammatory conditions. However, due to its short life, exact estimation of NO becomes difficult. NO and its measurable stable products are still it is considered as one of the important biomarker of oxidative damage. Levels of NO and nitrite-nitrate in SF of patients with OA indicated its involvement in the disease progression. When SF groups were compared, a significant correlation among moderate, mild and MT groups was established. To summarize, present data illustrated higher levels of NO, SOD, CAT, DPPH and MDA in early OA in comparison with MT, as a control group. NN had emerged as a prognostic bio marker in knee OA patients, which may act as futuristic targets in OA treatment.

Keywords: antioxidant, knee osteoarthritis, oxidative stress, synovial fluid

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Authors: A. L. I. Prasanna, E. Liyanage, S. A. Rajaratne, K. P. A. P. Kariyawasam, A. A. J. Rajaratne

Abstract:

Maintaining or improving the muscle strength of the injured body part is essential to optimize performance among disabled athletes. General conditioning and strengthening exercises might be ineffective if not sufficiently intense enough or targeted for each participant’s specific impairment. Specific strengthening programme, targeted to the affected body part, are essential to improve the strength of impaired muscles and increase in strength will help reducing the impact of disability. Methods: The muscle strength of hip, knee and ankle joints was assessed in a group of randomly selected disabled athletes, using the Medical Research Council (MRC) grading. Those having muscle strength of grade 4 or less were selected for this study (24 in number) and were given and a custom made exercise program designed to strengthen their hip, knee or ankle joint musculature, according to the muscle or group of muscles affected. Effectiveness of the strengthening program was assessed after a period of 3 months. Results: Statistical analysis was done using the Minitab 16 statistical software. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the strength of muscle group before and after exercise programme. A significant difference was observed after the three month strengthening program for knee flexors (Left and Right) (P =0.0889, 0.0312) hip flexors (left and right) (P=0.0312, 0.0466), hip extensors (Left and Right) (P=0.0478, 0.0513), ankle plantar flexors (Left and Right) (P=0.0466, 0.0423) and right ankle dorsiflexors (P= 0.0337). No significant difference of strength was observed after the strengthening program in the knee extensors (left and right), hip abductors (left and right) and left ankle dorsiflexors. Conclusion: Impairment specific exercise programme appear to be beneficial for disabled athletes to significantly improve the muscle strength of the affected joints.

Keywords: muscle strengthening programme, disabled athletes, physiotherapy, rehabilitation sciences

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Authors: Usama Mohamed, Sam Booth, Aliysn J. Nedoma

Abstract:

As part of the transition to electric vehicles, there has been a recent increase in demand for battery manufacturing. Cathodes typically account for approximately 50% of the total lithium-ion battery cell cost and are a pivotal factor in determining the viability of new industrial infrastructure. Cathodes which offer lower costs whilst maintaining or increasing performance, such as nickel-rich layered cathodes, have a significant competitive advantage when scaling up the manufacturing process. This project evaluates the techno-economic value proposition of an integrated industrial scale cathode active material (CAM) production process, closing the mass and energy balances, and optimizing the operation conditions using a sensitivity analysis. This is done by developing a process model of a co-precipitation synthesis route using Aspen Plus software and validated based on experimental data. The mechanism chemistry and equilibrium conditions were established based on previous literature and HSC-Chemistry software. This is then followed by integrating the energy streams, adding waste recovery and treatment processes, as well as testing the effect of key parameters (temperature, pH, reaction time, etc.) on CAM production yield and emissions. Finally, an economic analysis estimating the fixed and variable costs (including capital expenditure, labor costs, raw materials, etc.) to calculate the cost of CAM ($/kg and $/kWh), total plant cost ($) and net present value (NPV). This work sets the foundational blueprint for future research into sustainable industrial scale processes for CAM manufacturing.

Keywords: cathodes, industrial production, nickel-rich layered cathodes, process modelling, techno-economic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Anshu Bahl, Saroj Kaler, Shivani Gupta, S B Ray

Abstract:

Background: Somatostatin is an endogenous regulatory neuropeptide. Somatostatin and its analogues play an important role in neuropathic and inflammatory pain. Neuropeptide Y is extensively distributed in the mammalian nervous system. NPY has an important role in blood pressure, circadian rhythm, obesity, appetite and memory. The purpose was to investigate somatostatin and NPY expression in dorsal root ganglia during pain. The plantar incision model in rats is similar to postoperative pain in humans. Methods: 24 adult male Sprague dawley rats were distributed randomly into two groups – Control (n=6) and incision (n=18) groups. Using Hargreaves apparatus, thermal hyperalgesia behavioural test for nociception was done under basal condition and after surgical incision in right hind paw at different time periods (day 1, 3 and 5). The plantar incision was performed as per standard protocol. Perfusion was done using 4% paraformaldehyde followed by extraction of dorsal root ganglia at L4 level. The tissue was processed for immunohistochemical localisation for somatostatin and neuropeptide Y. Results: Post incisional groups (day 1, 3 and 5) exhibited significant decrease of paw withdrawal latency as compared to control groups. Somatostatin expression was noted under basal conditions. It decreased on day 1, but again gradually increased on day 3 and further on day five post incision. The expression of Neuropeptide Y was noted in the cytoplasm of dorsal root ganglia under basal conditions. Compared to control group, expression of neuropeptide Y decreased on day one after incision, but again gradually increased on day 3. Maximum expression was noted on day five post incision. Conclusion: Decrease in paw withdrawal latency indicated nociception, particularly on day 1. In comparison to control, somatostatin and NPY expression was decreased on day one post incision. This could be correlated with increased axoplasmic flow towards the spinal cord. Somatostatin and NPY expression was maximum on day five post incision. This could be due to decreased migration from the site of synthesis towards the spinal cord.

Keywords: dorsal root ganglia, neuropeptide y, postoperative pain, somatostatin

Procedia PDF Downloads 159