Search results for: building applications
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10151

Search results for: building applications

5201 Computable Difference Matrix for Synonyms in the Holy Quran

Authors: Mohamed Ali Al Shaari, Khalid M. El Fitori

Abstract:

In the field of Quran Studies known as Ghareeb A Quran (the study of the meanings of strange words and structures in Holy Quran), it is difficult to distinguish some pragmatic meanings from conceptual meanings. One who wants to study this subject may need to look for a common usage between any two words or more; to understand general meaning, and sometimes may need to look for common differences between them, even if there are synonyms (word sisters). Some of the distinguished scholars of Arabic linguistics believe that there are no synonym words, they believe in varieties of meaning and multi-context usage. Based on this viewpoint, our method was designed to look for synonyms of a word, then the differences that distinct the word and their synonyms. There are many available books that use such a method e.g. synonyms books, dictionaries, glossaries, and some books on the interpretations of strange vocabulary of the Holy Quran, but it is difficult to look up words in these written works. For that reason, we proposed a logical entity, which we called Differences Matrix (DM). DM groups the synonyms words to extract the relations between them and to know the general meaning, which defines the skeleton of all word synonyms; this meaning is expressed by a word of its sisters. In Differences Matrix, we used the sisters(words) as titles for rows and columns, and in the obtained cells we tried to define the row title (word) by using column title (her sister), so the relations between sisters appear, the expected result is well defined groups of sisters for each word. We represented the obtained results formally, and used the defined groups as a base for building the ontology of the Holy Quran synonyms.

Keywords: Quran, synonyms, differences matrix, ontology

Procedia PDF Downloads 419
5200 PDDA: Priority-Based, Dynamic Data Aggregation Approach for Sensor-Based Big Data Framework

Authors: Lutful Karim, Mohammed S. Al-kahtani

Abstract:

Sensors are being used in various applications such as agriculture, health monitoring, air and water pollution monitoring, traffic monitoring and control and hence, play the vital role in the growth of big data. However, sensors collect redundant data. Thus, aggregating and filtering sensors data are significantly important to design an efficient big data framework. Current researches do not focus on aggregating and filtering data at multiple layers of sensor-based big data framework. Thus, this paper introduces (i) three layers data aggregation and framework for big data and (ii) a priority-based, dynamic data aggregation scheme (PDDA) for the lowest layer at sensors. Simulation results show that the PDDA outperforms existing tree and cluster-based data aggregation scheme in terms of overall network energy consumptions and end-to-end data transmission delay.

Keywords: big data, clustering, tree topology, data aggregation, sensor networks

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5199 Rheological Properties of Polysulfone-Sepiolite Nanocomposites

Authors: Nilay Tanrıver, Birgül Benli, Nilgün Kızılcan

Abstract:

Polysulfone (PSU) is a specialty engineering polymer having various industrial applications. PSU is especially used in waste water treatment membranes due to its good mechanical properties, structural and chemical stability. But it is a hydrophobic material and therefore its surface aim to pollute easily. In order to resolve this problem and extend the properties of membrane, PSU surface is rendered hydrophilic by addition of the sepiolite nanofibers. Sepiolite is one of the natural clays, which is a hydrate magnesium silicate fiber, also one of the well known layered clays of the montmorillonites where has several unique channels and pores within. It has also moisture durability, strength and low price. Sepiolite channels give great capacity of absorption and good surface properties. In this study, nanocomposites of commercial PSU and Sepiolite were prepared by solvent mixing method. Different organic solvents and their mixtures were used. Rheological characteristics of PSU-Sepiolite solvent mixtures were analyzed, the solubility of nanocomposite content in those mixtures were studied.

Keywords: nanocomposite, polysulfone, rheology, sepiolite, solution mixing

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5198 Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) for Mobile Applications: Economic Feasibility in Different Transportation Sectors

Authors: Roberto Pili, Alessandro Romagnoli, Hartmut Spliethoff, Christoph Wieland

Abstract:

Internal combustion engines (ICE) are today the most common energy system to drive vehicles and transportation systems. Numerous studies state that 50-60% of the fuel energy content is lost to the ambient as sensible heat. ORC offers a valuable alternative to recover such waste heat from ICE, leading to fuel energy savings and reduced emissions. In contrast, the additional weight of the ORC affects the net energy balance of the overall system and the ORC occupies additional volume that competes with vehicle transportation capacity. Consequently, a lower income from delivered freight or passenger tickets can be achieved. The economic feasibility of integrating an ORC into an ICE and the resulting economic impact of weight and volume have not been analyzed in open literature yet. This work intends to define such a benchmark for ORC applications in the transportation sector and investigates the current situation on the market. The applied methodology refers to the freight market, but it can be extended to passenger transportation as well. The economic parameter X is defined as the ratio between the variation of the freight revenues and the variation of fuel costs when an ORC is installed as a bottoming cycle for an ICE with respect to a reference case without ORC. A good economic situation is obtained when the reduction in fuel costs is higher than the reduction of revenues for the delivered freight, i.e. X<1. Through this constraint, a maximum allowable change of transport capacity for a given relative reduction in fuel consumption is determined. The specific fuel consumption is influenced by the ORC in two ways. Firstly because the transportable freight is reduced and secondly because the total weight of the vehicle is increased. Note, that the generated electricity of the ORC influences the size of the ICE and the fuel consumption as well. Taking the above dependencies into account, the limiting condition X = 1 results in a second order equation for the relative change in transported cargo. The described procedure is carried out for a typical city bus, a truck of 24-40 t of payload capacity, a middle-size freight train (1000 t), an inland water vessel (Va RoRo, 2500 t) and handysize-like vessel (25000 t). The maximum allowable mass and volume of the ORC are calculated in dependence of its efficiency in order to satisfy X < 1. Subsequently, these values are compared with weight and volume of commercial ORC products. For ships of any size, the situation appears already highly favorable. A different result is obtained for road and rail vehicles. For trains, the mass and the volume of common ORC products have to be reduced at least by 50%. For trucks and buses, the situation looks even worse. The findings of the present study show a theoretical and practical approach for the economic application of ORC in the transportation sector. In future works, the potential for volume and mass reduction of the ORC will be addressed, together with the integration of an economic assessment for the ORC.

Keywords: ORC, transportation, volume, weight

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5197 Using Audio-Visual Aids and Computer-Assisted Language Instruction to Overcome Learning Difficulties of Vocabulary in Students of Special Needs

Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Ayman Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaar

Abstract:

Objectives: To assess the effect of using audio-visual aids and computer-assisted/ aided language instruction (CALI) in the performance of students of special needs studying vocabulary course. Methods: The performance of forty students of special needs (males and females) who used audiovisual aids and CALI in their vocabulary course at al-Malādh school for students of special needs was compared to that of another group (control group) of the same number and age (8-18). Again, subjects in the experimental group were given lessons using audio-visual aids and CALI, while those in the control group were given lessons using ordinary educational aids only, although both groups almost shared the same features (class environment, speech language therapist (SLT), etc.). Pre-andposttest was given at the beginning and end of the semester and a qualitative and quantitative analysis followed. Results & conclusions: Results of the present experimental study's pre-and-posttests indicated that the performance of the students in the first group was higher than that of those of the second group (34.27%, 73.82% vs. 33.57%, 34.92%, respectively). Compared with females, males’ performance was higher (1515 scores vs. 1438 scores). Such findings suggest that the presence of these audiovisual aids and CALI in the classes of students of special needs, especially if they are studying vocabulary building course is very important due to their usefulness in the improvement of performance of the students of special needs.

Keywords: language components, vocabulary, audio-visual aids, CALI, special needs, students, SLTs

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5196 Assessment of Biosecurity Strategies of Selected Fishponds in Bataan

Authors: Rudy C. Flores, Felicisima E. Tungol, Armando A. Villafuerte, Abraham S. Antonio, Roy N. Oroyo, Henry A. Cruz

Abstract:

An assessment of the biosecurity strategies of selected fishponds in Bataan was conducted by the researchers from Bataan Peninsula State University Orani Campus to determine the present status of Biosecurity strategies being practice by selected freshwater and brackish water fishpond operators in the province to have an initial data of their system of safeguarding cultured fishes against possible diseases. Likewise, it aims to evaluate the extent of implementation of the following areas of Biosecurity namely; fishpond location, perimeter, entrance, building/ pond structure, shipping, new stocks, feeds, dead stocks, soil and water treatment, disinfection and vaccination program. The results of the assessment revealed that the present average status of the surveyed fish ponds in Bataan based on the data gathered from selected fishpond operators is poor for 44.64% and fair for 12.61%, which means that more than one- half of the surveyed fishpond do not have the first and second line of defense against diseases and there is always a higher risk of infection, contamination and possibility of disease outbreak. This indicates that fishpond operators in Bataan need technological interventions to improve their harvest and prevent heavy losses from fish diseases, although biosecurity is satisfactory for 12.92% and very good for 9.16%, which indicate that 22.08% of the surveyed fishponds have their own strategies to keep their stocks from diseases.

Keywords: biosecurity, fishpond operators, soil and water treatment, filtration system, bird scaring devices

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5195 Development of Single Layer of WO3 on Large Spatial Resolution by Atomic Layer Deposition Technique

Authors: S. Zhuiykov, Zh. Hai, H. Xu, C. Xue

Abstract:

Unique and distinctive properties could be obtained on such two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor as tungsten trioxide (WO3) when the reduction from multi-layer to one fundamental layer thickness takes place. This transition without damaging single-layer on a large spatial resolution remained elusive until the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique was utilized. Here we report the ALD-enabled atomic-layer-precision development of a single layer WO3 with thickness of 0.77±0.07 nm on a large spatial resolution by using (tBuN)2W(NMe2)2 as tungsten precursor and H2O as oxygen precursor, without affecting the underlying SiO2/Si substrate. Versatility of ALD is in tuning recipe in order to achieve the complete WO3 with desired number of WO3 layers including monolayer. Governed by self-limiting surface reactions, the ALD-enabled approach is versatile, scalable and applicable for a broader range of 2D semiconductors and various device applications.

Keywords: Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), tungsten oxide, WO₃, two-dimensional semiconductors, single fundamental layer

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5194 Energy Efficient Construction and the Seismic Resistance of Passive Houses

Authors: Vojko Kilar, Boris Azinović, David Koren

Abstract:

Recently, an increasing trend of passive and low-energy buildings transferring form non earthquake-prone to earthquake-prone regions has thrown out the question about the seismic safety of such buildings. The paper describes the most commonly used thermal insulating materials and the special details, which could be critical from the point of view of earthquake resistance. The most critical appeared to be the cases of buildings founded on the RC foundation slab lying on a thermal insulation (TI) layer made of extruded polystyrene (XPS). It was pointed out that in such cases the seismic response of such buildings might differ to response of their fixed based counterparts. The main parameters that need special designers’ attention are: the building’s lateral top displacement, the ductility demand of the superstructure, the foundation friction coefficient demand, the maximum compressive stress in the TI layer and the percentage of the uplifted foundation. The analyses have shown that the potentially negative influences of inserting the TI under the foundation slab could be expected only for slender high-rise buildings subjected to severe earthquakes. Oppositely it was demonstrated for the foundation friction coefficient demand which could exceed the capacity value yet in the case of low-rise buildings subjected to moderate earthquakes. Some suggestions to prevent the horizontal shifts are also given.

Keywords: earthquake response, extruded polystyrene (XPS), low-energy buildings, foundations on thermal insulation layer

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5193 Authentication of Physical Objects with Dot-Based 2D Code

Authors: Michał Glet, Kamil Kaczyński

Abstract:

Counterfeit goods and documents are a global problem, which needs more and more sophisticated methods of resolving it. Existing techniques using watermarking or embedding symbols on objects are not suitable for all use cases. To address those special needs, we created complete system allowing authentication of paper documents and physical objects with flat surface. Objects are marked using orientation independent and resistant to camera noise 2D graphic codes, named DotAuth. Based on the identifier stored in 2D code, the system is able to perform basic authentication and allows to conduct more sophisticated analysis methods, e.g., relying on augmented reality and physical properties of the object. In this paper, we present the complete architecture, algorithms and applications of the proposed system. Results of the features comparison of the proposed solution and other products are presented as well, pointing to the existence of many advantages that increase usability and efficiency in the means of protecting physical objects.

Keywords: anti-forgery, authentication, paper documents, security

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5192 Parametrization of Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesters for Low Power Embedded Systems

Authors: Yannick Verbelen, Tim Dekegel, Ann Peeters, Klara Stinders, Niek Blondeel, Sam De Winne, An Braeken, Abdellah Touhafi

Abstract:

Matching an embedded electronic application with a cantilever vibration energy harvester remains a difficult endeavour due to the large number of factors influencing the output power. In the presented work, complementary balanced energy harvester parametrization is used as a methodology for simplification of harvester integration in electronic applications. This is achieved by a dual approach consisting of an adaptation of the general parametrization methodology in conjunction with a straight forward harvester benchmarking strategy. For this purpose, the design and implementation of a suitable user friendly cantilever energy harvester benchmarking platform is discussed. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by applying the methodology to a commercially available Mide V21BL vibration energy harvester, with excitation amplitude and frequency as variables.

Keywords: vibration energy harvesting, piezoelectrics, harvester parametrization, complementary balanced energy harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 357
5191 The Whale Optimization Algorithm and Its Implementation in MATLAB

Authors: S. Adhirai, R. P. Mahapatra, Paramjit Singh

Abstract:

Optimization is an important tool in making decisions and in analysing physical systems. In mathematical terms, an optimization problem is the problem of finding the best solution from among the set of all feasible solutions. The paper discusses the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), and its applications in different fields. The algorithm is tested using MATLAB because of its unique and powerful features. The benchmark functions used in WOA algorithm are grouped as: unimodal (F1-F7), multimodal (F8-F13), and fixed-dimension multimodal (F14-F23). Out of these benchmark functions, we show the experimental results for F7, F11, and F19 for different number of iterations. The search space and objective space for the selected function are drawn, and finally, the best solution as well as the best optimal value of the objective function found by WOA is presented. The algorithmic results demonstrate that the WOA performs better than the state-of-the-art meta-heuristic and conventional algorithms.

Keywords: optimization, optimal value, objective function, optimization problems, meta-heuristic optimization algorithms, Whale Optimization Algorithm, implementation, MATLAB

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5190 Enabling Integrated Production of Electric Vehicles in Automotive Final Assembly: Realization of an Expert Study

Authors: Achim Kampker, Heiner Hans Heimes, Mathias Ordung, Jan-Philip Ganser

Abstract:

In the past years, the automotive industry has changed significantly. Innovative mobility concepts have become more important, and electric vehicles see a chance of replacing vehicles with combustion engines in the long term. However, the coming years will be characterized by coexistence. In this context, there are two possible production scenarios: One the one hand, electric vehicles could be manufactured in bespoke assembly lines. Concerning the uncertainty regarding sales figures development, this alternative boasts a high investment risk. Therefore, an integrated assembly building upon existing structures also seems a feasible solution. This empirical study aims at validating hypotheses concerning theoretical and practical challenges of the integrated production in the final assembly. In order to take a test of approaches of the research by analyzing censored feedback of professionals, these hypotheses are validated in the framework of an expert study. For this purpose, hypotheses have been generated on the basis of a requirements analysis and a concept specification. Thereupon, a list of question has been implemented and deduced from the hypotheses to execute an online- and written-survey and interviews with professionals. The interpretation and evaluation of the findings includes an inter-component comparison for the electric drivetrain. Furthermore, key drivers for a sufficient integrated product and process design are presented.

Keywords: automotive industry, final assembly, integrated manufacturing, product and process development

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5189 Formation of Clipped Forms in Hausa Language

Authors: Maryam Maimota Shehu

Abstract:

Words are the basic building blocks of a language. In everyday usage of a language, words are used, and new words are formed and reformed in order to contain and accommodate all entities, phenomena, qualities and every aspect of the entire life. Despite the fact that many studies have been conducted on morphological processes in Hausa language. Most of the works concentrated on borrowing, affixation, reduplication and derivation, but clipping has been neglected to the extent that only a few scholars sited some examples in the language. Therefore, the current study investigates and examines clipping as one of the word formation processes fully found in the language. The study focuses its main attention on clipping as a word-formation process and how this process is used adequately in the formation of words and their occurrence in Hausa sentences. In order to achieve the aims, the research answered these questions: 1) is clipping used as process of word formation in Hausa? 2) What are the words formed using this process? This study utilizes the Natural Morphology Theory proposed by Dressler, (1985) which was adopted by belly (2007). The data of this study have been collected from newspaper articles, novels, and written literature of Hausa language. Based on the findings, this study found out that, there exist many kinds of words formed in Hausa language using clipping in sentence and discuss, which previous findings did not either reveals, or explain in detail. Other part of the finding shows that clipping in Hausa language occurs on nouns, verbs, adjectives, reduplicated words and compounds while retains their meanings and grammatical classes.

Keywords: clipping, Hausa language, morphology, word formation processes

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5188 Highly Linear and Low Noise AMR Sensor Using Closed Loop and Signal-Chopped Architecture

Authors: N. Hadjigeorgiou, A. C. Tsalikidou, E. Hristoforou, P. P. Sotiriadis

Abstract:

During the last few decades, the continuously increasing demand for accurate and reliable magnetic measurements has paved the way for the development of different types of magnetic sensing systems as well as different measurement techniques. Sensor sensitivity and linearity, signal-to-noise ratio, measurement range, cross-talk between sensors in multi-sensor applications are only some of the aspects that have been examined in the past. In this paper, a fully analog closed loop system in order to optimize the performance of AMR sensors has been developed. The operation of the proposed system has been tested using a Helmholtz coil calibration setup in order to control both the amplitude and direction of magnetic field in the vicinity of the AMR sensor. Experimental testing indicated that improved linearity of sensor response, as well as low noise levels can be achieved, when the system is employed.

Keywords: AMR sensor, closed loop, memory effects, chopper, linearity improvement, sensitivity improvement, magnetic noise, electronic noise

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5187 Properties of Concrete with Wood Ashes in Construction Engineering

Authors: Piotr-Robert Lazik, Lena Teichmann, Harald Garrecht

Abstract:

Many concrete technologists are looking for a solution to replace fly ashes as a component that occurs as a major component of many types of concrete. The importance of such a component is clear -it saves cement and reduces the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere that occurs during cement production. For example, the amount of cement in ultrahigh strength concrete (UHPC) is approximately 700-800 kg/m³ in normal concrete up to 350 kg/m³. For this reason, it is easy to follow that the use of components like fly ashes or wood ashes protect the environment. The newest investigations carried out at the University of Stuttgart have clearly shown that the use of wood ashes with appropriate pre-treatment in concrete has a positive effect. German-wide, there are hundreds of tons of wood ashes, which can be used in a wide range of construction materials. The strengths of the concrete with different types of cement and with wood ashes have given the same or, in some cases, better results than those with the use of fly ashes. There are many areas in building construction, where the clays of wood ashes can be used as a by-product. This does not only require a strength test but also, for example, an examination of structural-physical parameters. Especially the heat and moisture characteristics have an important role in times of energy-efficient construction. These are therefore determined and then compared with the characteristics of the concretes with fly ashes. The University of Stuttgart has decided to investigate the buildings' physical properties of different types of concrete with wood ashes to find their application in construction. After the examination of the buildings' physical properties in combination with strength tests, it is possible to determine in which field of civil engineering, this type of concrete can be used.

Keywords: fly ashes, wood ashes, structural-physical parameters, UHPC

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5186 A Similarity Measure for Classification and Clustering in Image Based Medical and Text Based Banking Applications

Authors: K. P. Sandesh, M. H. Suman

Abstract:

Text processing plays an important role in information retrieval, data-mining, and web search. Measuring the similarity between the documents is an important operation in the text processing field. In this project, a new similarity measure is proposed. To compute the similarity between two documents with respect to a feature the proposed measure takes the following three cases into account: (1) The feature appears in both documents; (2) The feature appears in only one document and; (3) The feature appears in none of the documents. The proposed measure is extended to gauge the similarity between two sets of documents. The effectiveness of our measure is evaluated on several real-world data sets for text classification and clustering problems, especially in banking and health sectors. The results show that the performance obtained by the proposed measure is better than that achieved by the other measures.

Keywords: document classification, document clustering, entropy, accuracy, classifiers, clustering algorithms

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5185 Multiple-Channel Coulter Counter for Cell Sizing and Enumeration

Authors: Yu Chen, Seong-Jin Kim, Jaehoon Chung

Abstract:

High throughput cells counting and sizing are often required for biomedical applications. Here we report design, fabrication and validating of a micro-machined Coulter counter device with multiple-channel to realize such application for low cost. Multiple vertical through-holes were fabricated on a silicon chip, combined with the PDMS micro-fluidics channel that serves as the sensing channel. In order to avoid the crosstalk introduced by the electrical connection, instead of measuring the current passing through, the potential of each channel is monitored, thus the high throughput is possible. A peak of the output potential can be captured when the cell/particle is passing through the microhole. The device was validated by counting and sizing the polystyrene beads with diameter of 6 μm, 10 μm and 15 μm. With the sampling frequency to be set at 100 kHz, up to 5000 counts/sec for each channel can be realized. The counting and enumeration of MCF7 cancer cells are also demonstrated.

Keywords: Coulter counter, cell enumeration, high through-put, cell sizing

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5184 Carbon Aerogels with Tailored Porosity as Cathode in Li-Ion Capacitors

Authors: María Canal-Rodríguez, María Arnaiz, Natalia Rey-Raap, Ana Arenillas, Jon Ajuria

Abstract:

The constant demand of electrical energy, as well as the increase in environmental concern, lead to the necessity of investing in clean and eco-friendly energy sources that implies the development of enhanced energy storage devices. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are the most widespread energy systems. Batteries are able to storage high energy densities contrary to capacitors, which main strength is the high-power density supply and the long cycle life. The combination of both technologies gave rise to Li-ion capacitors (LICs), which offers all these advantages in a single device. This is achieved combining a capacitive, supercapacitor-like positive electrode with a faradaic, battery-like negative electrode. Due to the abundance and affordability, dual carbon-based LICs are nowadays the common technology. Normally, an Active Carbon (AC) is used as the EDLC like electrode, while graphite is the material commonly employed as anode. LICs are potential systems to be used in applications in which high energy and power densities are required, such us kinetic energy recovery systems. Although these devices are already in the market, some drawbacks like the limited power delivered by graphite or the energy limiting nature of AC must be solved to trigger their used. Focusing on the anode, one possibility could be to replace graphite with Hard Carbon (HC). The better rate capability of the latter increases the power performance of the device. Moreover, the disordered carbonaceous structure of HCs enables storage twice the theoretical capacity of graphite. With respect to the cathode, the ACs are characterized for their high volume of micropores, in which the charge is storage. Nevertheless, they normally do not show mesoporous, which are really important mainly at high C-rates as they act as transport channels for the ions to reach the micropores. Usually, the porosity of ACs cannot be tailored, as it strongly depends on the precursor employed to get the final carbon. Moreover, they are not characterized for having a high electrical conductivity, which is an important characteristic to get a good performance in energy storage applications. A possible candidate to substitute ACs are carbon aerogels (CAs). CAs are materials that combine a high porosity with great electrical conductivity, opposite characteristics in carbon materials. Furthermore, its porous properties can be tailored quite accurately according to with the requirements of the application. In the present study, CAs with controlled porosity were obtained from polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde by microwave heating. Varying the synthesis conditions, mainly the amount of precursors and pH of the precursor solution, carbons with different textural properties were obtained. The way the porous characteristics affect the performance of the cathode was studied by means of a half-cell configuration. The material with the best performance was evaluated as cathode in a LIC versus a hard carbon as anode. An analogous full LIC made by a high microporous commercial cathode was also assembled for comparison purposes.

Keywords: li-ion capacitors, energy storage, tailored porosity, carbon aerogels

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5183 Fabrication and Characterization of Gelatin Nanofibers Dissolved in Concentrated Acetic Acid

Authors: Kooshina Koosha, Sima Habibi, Azam Talebian

Abstract:

Electrospinning is a simple, versatile and widely accepted technique to produce ultra-fine fibers ranging from nanometer to micron. Recently there has been great interest in developing this technique to produce nanofibers with novel properties and functionalities. The electrospinning field is extremely broad, and consequently there have been many useful reviews discussing various aspects from detailed fiber formation mechanism to the formation of nanofibers and to discussion on a wide range of applications. On the other hand, the focus of this study is quite narrow, highlighting electrospinning parameters. This work will briefly cover the solution and processing parameters (for instance; concentration, solvent type, voltage, flow rate, distance between the collector and the tip of the needle) impacting the morphological characteristics of nanofibers, such as diameter. In this paper, a comprehensive work would be presented on the research of producing nanofibers from natural polymer entitled Gelatin.

Keywords: electrospinning, solution parameters, process parameters, natural fiber

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5182 New Approach to Encapsulated Clay/Wax Nanocomposites Inside Polystyrene Particles via Minemulstion Polymerization

Authors: Nagi Greesh

Abstract:

This study highlights a new method to obtain multiphase composites particles containing hydrophobic (wax) and inorganic (clay) compounds. Multiphase polystyrene-clay-wax nanocomposites were successfully synthesized. Styrene monomer were polymerized in the presence of different wax-clay nanocomposites concentrations in miniemulsion. Wax-clay nanocomposites were firstly obtained through ultrasonic mixing at a temperature above the melting point of the wax at different clay loadings. The obtained wax-clay nanocomposites were then used as filler in the preparation of polystyrene-wax-clay nanocomposites via miniemulsion polymerization. The particles morphology of PS/wax-clay nanocomposites latexes was mainly determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy ( TEM) , core/shell morphology was clearly observed, with the encapsulation of most wax-clay nanocomposites inside the PS particles. On the other hand, the morphology of the PS/wax-clay nanocomposites (after film formation) ranged from exfoliated to intercalated structures, depending on the percentage of wax-clay nanocomposites loading. This strategy will allow the preparation materials with tailored properties for specific applications such as paint coatings and adhesives.

Keywords: polymer-wax, paraffin wax, miniemulsion, core/shell, nanocomposites

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5181 Speed Control of Brushless DC Motor Using PI Controller in MATLAB Simulink

Authors: Do Chi Thanh, Dang Ngoc Huy

Abstract:

Nowadays, there are more and more variable speed drive systems in small-scale and large-scale applications such as the electric vehicle industry, household appliances, medical equipment, and other industrial fields led to the development of BLDC (Brushless DC) motors. BLDC drive has many advantages, such as higher efficiency, better speed torque characteristics, high power density, and low maintenance cost compared to other conventional motors. Most BLDC motors use a proportional-integral (PI) controller and a pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme for speed control. This article describes the simulation model of BLDC motor drive control with the help of MATLAB - SIMULINK simulation software. The built simulation model includes a BLDC motor dynamic block, Hall sensor signal generation block, inverter converter block, and PI controller.

Keywords: brushless DC motor, BLDC, six-step inverter, PI speed

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5180 Recovery of the Demolition and Construction Waste, Casablanca (Morocco)

Authors: Morsli Mourad, Tahiri Mohamed, Samdi Azzeddine

Abstract:

Casablanca is the biggest city in Morocco. It concentrates more than 60% of the economic and industrial activity of the kingdom. Its building and public works (BTP) sector is the leading source of inert waste scattered in open areas. This inert waste is a major challenge for the city of Casablanca, as it is not properly managed, thus causing a significant nuisance for the environment and the health of the population. Hence the vision of our project is to recycle and valorize concrete waste. In this work, we present concrete results in the exploitation of this abundant and permanent deposit. Typical wastes are concrete, clay and concrete bricks, ceramic tiles, marble panels, gypsum, scrap metal, wood . The work performed included: geolocation with a combination of artificial intelligence and Google Earth, estimation of the amount of waste per site, sorting, crushing, grinding, and physicochemical characterization of the samples. Then, we proceeded to the exploitation of the types of substrates to be developed: light cement, coating, and glue for ceramics... The said products were tested and characterized by X-ray fluorescence, specific surface, resistance to bending and crushing, etc. We will present in detail the main results of our research work and also describe the specific properties of each material developed.

Keywords: déchets de démolition et des chantiers de construction, logiciels de combinaison SIG, valorisation de déchets inertes, enduits, ciment leger, casablanca

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5179 Mixtures of Length-Biased Weibull Distributions for Loss Severity Modelling

Authors: Taehan Bae

Abstract:

In this paper, a class of length-biased Weibull mixtures is presented to model loss severity data. The proposed model generalizes the Erlang mixtures with the common scale parameter, and it shares many important modelling features, such as flexibility to fit various data distribution shapes and weak-denseness in the class of positive continuous distributions, with the Erlang mixtures. We show that the asymptotic tail estimate of the length-biased Weibull mixture is Weibull-type, which makes the model effective to fit loss severity data with heavy-tailed observations. A method of statistical estimation is discussed with applications on real catastrophic loss data sets.

Keywords: Erlang mixture, length-biased distribution, transformed gamma distribution, asymptotic tail estimate, EM algorithm, expectation-maximization algorithm

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5178 Its about Cortana, Microsoft’s Virtual Assistant

Authors: Aya Idriss, Esraa Othman, Lujain Malak

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence is the emulation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer systems that act logically. Some of the specific applications of AI include natural language processing, speech recognition, and machine vision. Cortana is a virtual assistant and she’s an example of an AI Application. Microsoft made it possible for this app to be accessed not only on laptops and PCs but can be downloaded on mobile phones and used as a virtual assistant which was a huge success. Cortana can offer a lot apart from the basic orders such as setting alarms and marking the calendar. Its capabilities spread past that, for example, it provides us with listening to music and podcasts on the go, managing my to-do list and emails, connecting with my contacts hands-free by simply just telling the virtual assistant to call somebody, gives me instant answers and so on. A questionnaire was sent online to numerous friends and family members to perform the study, which is critical in evaluating Cortana's recognition capacity and the majority of the answers were in favor of Cortana’s capabilities. The results of the questionnaire assisted us in determining the level of Cortana's skills.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, Cortana, AI, abstract

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5177 Visualization and Performance Measure to Determine Number of Topics in Twitter Data Clustering Using Hybrid Topic Modeling

Authors: Moulana Mohammed

Abstract:

Topic models are widely used in building clusters of documents for more than a decade, yet problems occurring in choosing optimal number of topics. The main problem is the lack of a stable metric of the quality of topics obtained during the construction of topic models. The authors analyzed from previous works, most of the models used in determining the number of topics are non-parametric and quality of topics determined by using perplexity and coherence measures and concluded that they are not applicable in solving this problem. In this paper, we used the parametric method, which is an extension of the traditional topic model with visual access tendency for visualization of the number of topics (clusters) to complement clustering and to choose optimal number of topics based on results of cluster validity indices. Developed hybrid topic models are demonstrated with different Twitter datasets on various topics in obtaining the optimal number of topics and in measuring the quality of clusters. The experimental results showed that the Visual Non-negative Matrix Factorization (VNMF) topic model performs well in determining the optimal number of topics with interactive visualization and in performance measure of the quality of clusters with validity indices.

Keywords: interactive visualization, visual mon-negative matrix factorization model, optimal number of topics, cluster validity indices, Twitter data clustering

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5176 Application of Carbon Nanotube and Nanowire FET Devices in Future VLSI

Authors: Saurabh Chaudhury, Sanjeet Kumar Sinha

Abstract:

The MOSFET has been the main building block in high performance and low power VLSI chips for the last several decades. Device scaling is fundamental to technological advancements, which allows more devices to be integrated on a single die providing greater functionality per chip. Ultimately, the goal of scaling is to build an individual transistor that is smaller, faster, cheaper, and consumes less power. Scaling continued following Moore's law initially and now we see an exponential growth in today's nano scaled chip. However, device scaling to deep nano meter regime leads to exponential increase in leakage currents and excessive heat generation. Moreover, fabrication process variability causing a limitation to further scaling. Researchers believe that with a mix of chemistry, physics, and engineering, nano electronics may provide a solution to increasing fabrication costs and may allow integrated circuits to be scaled beyond the limits of the modern transistor. Carbon nano tube (CNT) and nano wires (NW) based FETs have been analyzed and characterized in laboratory and also been demonstrated as prototypes. This work presents an extensive simulation based study and analysis of CNTFET and NW-FET devices and comparison of the results with conventional MOSFET. From this study, we can conclude that these devices have got some excellent properties and favorable characteristics which will definitely lead the future semiconductor devices in post silicon era.

Keywords: carbon nanotube, nanowire FET, low power, nanoscaled devices, VLSI

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5175 Resilient Analysis as an Alternative to Conventional Seismic Analysis Methods for the Maintenance of a Socioeconomical Functionality of Structures

Authors: Sara Muhammad Elqudah, Vigh László Gergely

Abstract:

Catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, are sudden, short, and devastating, threatening lives, demolishing futures, and causing huge economic losses. Current seismic analyses and design standards are based on life safety levels where only some residual strength and stiffness are left in the structure leaving it beyond economical repair. Consequently, it has become necessary to introduce and implement the concept of resilient design. Resilient design is about designing for ductility over time by resisting, absorbing, and recovering from the effects of a hazard in an appropriate and efficient time manner while maintaining the functionality of the structure in the aftermath of the incident. Resilient analysis is mainly based on the fragility, vulnerability, and functionality curves where eventually a resilience index is generated from these curves, and the higher this index is, the better is the performance of the structure. In this paper, seismic performances of a simple two story reinforced concrete building, located in a moderate seismic region, has been evaluated using the conventional seismic analyses methods, which are the linear static analysis, the response spectrum analysis, and the pushover analysis, and the generated results of these analyses methods are compared to those of the resilient analysis. Results highlight that the resilience analysis was the most convenient method in generating a more ductile and functional structure from a socio-economic perspective, in comparison to the standard seismic analysis methods.

Keywords: conventional analysis methods, functionality, resilient analysis, seismic performance

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5174 Isolation of Biosurfactant Producing Spore-Forming Bacteria from Oman: Potential Applications in Bioremediation

Authors: Saif N. Al-Bahry, Yahya M. Al-Wahaibi, Abdulkadir E. Elshafie, Ali S. Al-Bemani, Sanket J. Joshi

Abstract:

Environmental pollution is a global problem and best possible solution is identifying and utilizing native microorganisms. One possible application of microbial product -biosurfactant is in bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated sites. We have screened forty two different petroleum contaminated sites from Oman, for biosurfactant producing spore-forming bacterial isolates. Initial screening showed that out of 42 soil samples, three showed reduction in surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT) within 24h of incubation at 40°C. Out of those 3 soil samples, one was further selected for isolation of bacteria and 14 different bacteria were isolated in pure form. Of those 14 spore-forming, rod shaped bacteria, two showed highest reduction in ST and IFT in the range of 70mN/m to < 35mN/m and 26.69mN/m to < 9mN/m, respectively within 24h. These bacterial biosurfactants may be utilized for bioremediation of oil-spills.

Keywords: bioremediation, hydrocarbon pollution, spore-forming bacteria, bio-surfactant

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5173 Scheduling Nodes Activity and Data Communication for Target Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: AmirHossein Mohajerzadeh, Mohammad Alishahi, Saeed Aslishahi, Mohsen Zabihi

Abstract:

In this paper, we consider sensor nodes with the capability of measuring the bearings (relative angle to the target). We use geometric methods to select a set of observer nodes which are responsible for collecting data from the target. Considering the characteristics of target tracking applications, it is clear that significant numbers of sensor nodes are usually inactive. Therefore, in order to minimize the total network energy consumption, a set of sensor nodes, called sentinel, is periodically selected for monitoring, controlling the environment and transmitting data through the network. The other nodes are inactive. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm provides a joint scheduling and routing algorithm to transmit data between network nodes and the fusion center (FC) in which not only provides an efficient way to estimate the target position but also provides an efficient target tracking. Performance evaluation confirms the superiority of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: coverage, routing, scheduling, target tracking, wireless sensor networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 378
5172 Seismic Hazard Study and Strong Ground Motion in Southwest Alborz, Iran

Authors: Fereshteh Pourmohammad, Mehdi Zare

Abstract:

The city of Karaj, having a population of 2.2 millions (est. 2022) is located in the South West of Alborz Mountain Belt in Northern Iran. The region is known to be a highly active seismic zone. This study is focused on the geological and seismological analyses within a radius of 200 km from the center of Karaj. There are identified five seismic zones and seven linear seismic sources. The maximum magnitude was calculated for the seismic zones. Scine tghe seismicity catalog is incomplete, we have used a parametric-historic algorithm and the Kijko and Sellevoll (1992) method was used to calculate seismicity parameters, and the return periods and the probability frequency of recurrence of the earthquake magnitude in each zone obtained for 475-years return period. According to the calculations, the highest and lowest earthquake magnitudes of 7.6 and 6.2 were respectively obtained in Zones 1 and 4. This result is a new and extremely important in view point of earthquake risk in a densely population city. The maximum strong horizontal ground motion for the 475-years return period 0.42g and for 2475-year return period 0.70g also the maximum strong vertical ground motion for 475-years return period 0.25g and 2475-years return period 0.44g was calculated using attenuation relationships. These acceleration levels are new, and are obtained to be about 25% higher than presented values in the Iranian building code.

Keywords: seismic zones, ground motion, return period, hazard analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 97