Search results for: chain stability

Authors: Weldeabrha Kiros Kidanemaryam

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The investigation is to examine intra-organizational supply chain relationships of firms, which will help to look at and give an emphasis on internal processes and operations strength and achievements to make an influence even for external relationship management and outstanding performances of organizations. The purpose of the study is to scrutinize the internal supply chain relationships within manufacturing companies located in Tigray. The qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were employed during the study by applying the primary data sources (questionnaires & interviews) and secondary data sources (organizational reports and documents) with the purposive sampling method. Thus, a descriptive research design was also applied in the research project in line with the cross-sectional research design which portrays simply the magnitude of the issues and problems by collecting the required and necessary data once from the sample respondents. This is because the study variables don’t have any cause-and-effect relationship in the research project that requires other types of research design than a descriptive research design; it already needs to be assessed and analyzed with a detailed description of the results after quantifying the outcomes and degree of the issues and problems based on the data gathered from respondents. The collected data was also analyzed by using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS Version 20). The intra-organizational relationships of the companies are moderately accomplished, which requires an improvement for enhancing the performances of each unit or department within the firms so as to upgrade and ensure the progress of the companies’ effectiveness and efficiency. Moreover, the manufacturing companies have low industrial discipline and working culture, weak supervision of manpower, delayed delivery in the process within the companies, unsatisfactory quality of products, underutilization of capacity, and low productivity and profitability, which in turn results in minimizing the performance of intra-organizational supply chain relationships and to reduce the companies’ organizational efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Hence, the companies should have to give emphasize building and managing the intra-organizational supply chain relationships effectively because nothing can be done without creating successful and progressive relationships with internal units or functional areas and individuals for the production and provision of the required and qualified products that permits to meet the intended customers’ desires. The study contributes to improving the practical applications and gives an emphasis on the policy measurements and implications of the manufacturing companies with regard to intra-organizational supply chain relationships.

Keywords: supply chain, supply chain relationships, intra-organizational relationships, manufacturing companies

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Authors: B. D. Nkosi, T. F. Mutavhatsindi, J. J. Baloyi, R. Meeske, T. M. Langa, I. M. M. Malebana, M. D. Motiang

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Potato hash (PH), a by-product from food production industry, contains 188.4 g dry matter (DM)/kg and 3.4 g water soluble carbohydrate (WSC)/kg DM, and was mixed with wheat bran (70:30 as is basis) to provide 352 g DM/kg and 315 g WSC/kg DM. The materials were ensiled with or without silage additives in 1.5L anaerobic jars (3 jars/treatment) that were kept at 25-280 C for 3 months. Four types of silages were produced which were: control (no additive, denoted as T1), celluclast enzyme (denoted as T2), emsilage bacterial inoculant (denoted as T3) and silosolve bacterial inoculant (denoted as T4). Three jars per treatment were opened after 3 months of ensiling for the determination of nutritive values, fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability. Aerobic stability was done by exposing silage samples to air for 5 days. The addition of enzyme (T2) was reduced (P<0.05) silage pH, fiber fractions (NDF and ADF) while increasing (P < 0.05) residual WSC and lactic acid (LA) production, compared to other treatments. Silage produced had pH of < 4.0, indications of well-preserved silage. Bacterial inoculation (T3 and T4) improved (P < 0.05) aerobic stability of the silage, as indicated by increased number of hours and lower CO2 production, compared to other treatments. However, the aerobic stability of silage was worsen (P < 0.05) with the addition of an enzyme (T2). Further work to elucidate these effects on nutrient digestion and growth performance on ruminants fed the silage is needed.

Keywords: by-products, digestibility, feeds, inoculation, ruminants, silage

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Authors: Abdelhakam A. Noreldien, Sakhr B. Abudarag, Muslim S. Eltoum, Salih O. Osman

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This paper presents an analytical study of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) dynamic stability derivatives. Simulating SUAV dynamics and analyzing its behavior at the earliest design stages is too important and more efficient design aspect. The approach suggested in this paper is using the wind tunnel experiment to collect the aerodynamic data and get the dynamic stability derivatives. AutoCAD Software was used to draw the case study (wildlife surveillance SUAV). The SUAV is scaled down to be 0.25% of the real SUAV dimensions and converted to a wind tunnel model. The model was tested in three different speeds for three different attitudes which are; pitch, roll and yaw. The wind tunnel results were then used to determine the case study stability derivative values, and hence it used to calculate the roots of the characteristic equation for both longitudinal and lateral motions. Finally, the characteristic equation roots were found and discussed in all possible cases.

Keywords: model, simulating, SUAV, wind tunnel

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Authors: Dimpy Shah

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The global economy has substantially changed in last three decades. Now almost all markets are transparent and visible for global customers. The corporates are now no more reliant on local markets for trade. The information technology revolution has changed business dynamics and marketing practices of corporate. The markets are divided into two different formats: traditional and virtual. In very short span of time, many e-commerce portals have captured global market. This strategy is well supported by global delivery system of multinational logistic companies. Now the markets are dealing with global supply chain networks, which are more demand driven and customer oriented. The corporate have realized importance of supply chain integration and marketing in this competitive environment. The Indian markets are also significantly affected with all these changes. In terms of population, India is in second place after China. In terms of demography, almost half of the population is of youth. It has been observed that the Indian youth are more inclined towards e-commerce and prefer to buy goods from web portal. Initially, this trend was observed in Indian service sector, textile and electronic goods and now further extended in other product categories. The FMCG companies have also recognized this change and started integration of their supply chain with e-commerce platform. This paper attempts to understand contemporary marketing practices of corporate in e-commerce business in Indian food and beverages segment and also tries to identify innovative marketing practices for proper execution of their strategies. The findings are mainly focused on supply chain re-integration and brand building strategies with proper utilization of social media.

Keywords: FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), ISCM (Integrated supply chain management), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), traditional and virtual formats

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Authors: Anuar Ishak

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The mixed convection stagnation point flow toward a vertical plate is investigated. The external flow impinges normal to the heated plate and the surface temperature is assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation point. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations, which are then solved numerically using MATLAB routine boundary value problem solver bvp4c. Numerical results show that dual solutions are possible for a certain range of the mixed convection parameter. A stability analysis is performed to determine which solution is linearly stable and physically realizable.

Keywords: dual solutions, heat transfer, mixed convection, stability analysis

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Authors: Kwang Chun, John Kemeny

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Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has been a prevalent remote-sensing technology applied in the geological fields due to its high precision and ease of use. One of the major applications is to use the detailed geometrical information of underground structures as a basis for the generation of a three-dimensional numerical model that can be used in a geotechnical stability analysis such as FEM or DEM. To date, however, straightforward techniques in reconstructing the numerical model from the scanned data of the underground structures have not been well established or tested. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive approach integrating all the various processes, from LiDAR scanning to finite element numerical analysis. The study focuses on converting LiDAR 3D point clouds of geologic structures containing complex surface geometries into a finite element model. This methodology has been applied to Kartchner Caverns in Arizona, where detailed underground and surface point clouds can be used for the analysis of underground stability. Numerical simulations were performed using the finite element code Abaqus and presented by 3D computing visualization solution, ParaView. The results are useful in studying the stability of all types of underground excavations including underground mining and tunneling.

Keywords: finite element analysis, LiDAR, remote-sensing, scientific visualization, underground stability

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Authors: Sunita Makchuchit, Arunporn Itharat

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Prasaprohyai, a Thai traditional medicine preparation listed in the Thai National List of Essential Medicines, is commonly used for treatment of fever and colds. Prasaprohyai preparation consists of 21 different plants, with Kaempferia galanga (50% w/w) as the main ingredient. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-allergic activity of the crude extract from Prasaprohyai after accelerated stability test procedure. The method of extract used maceration in 95% ethanol and the crude extract was kept under accelerated condition at 40 ± 2 oC and 75 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) for six months. After six months of storage at 40 oC, the crude sample in various storage times (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days) were investigated for anti-allergic activity using IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cell lines. The results showed that the stability of crude ethanolic extract from Prasaprohyai under accelerated testing had no significant effect of anti-allergic activity when compared with day 0. The results showed that the ethanolic extract could be stored for two years at room temperature without loss of activity.

Keywords: accelerated stability, anti-allergy, prasaprohyai, RBL-2H3 cell lines

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Authors: Amin Ebrahimi Ghadi, Morteza Moalagh

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This research is carried out to find how a perfect combination of IoT architecture (Internet of Things) and ERP system can strengthen environmental accounting to incorporate both economic and environmental information. IoT (e.g., sensors, software, and other technologies) can be used in the company’s value chain from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacturing products, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and disposal or recycling products (Cradle to Grave model). The desired ERP software then will have the capability to track both midpoint and endpoint environmental impacts on a green supply chain system for the whole life cycle of a product. All these enable environmental accounting to calculate, and real-time analyze the operation environmental impacts, control costs, prepare for environmental legislation and enhance the decision-making process. In this study, we have developed a model on how to use IoT devices in life cycle assessment (LCA) to gather emissions, energy consumption, hazards, and wastes information to be processed in different modules of ERP systems in an integrated way for using in environmental accounting to achieve sustainability.

Keywords: ERP, environmental accounting, green supply chain, IOT, life cycle assessment, sustainability

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Authors: Pemika Ketsuwan, Pitt Supaphol, Manit Nithitanakul

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A typical used of ethylene methyl acrylate (EMA) gasket is in the manufacture of optical lens, and often, they are deteriorated rapidly due to high temperature during the process. The objective of this project is to improve the thermal stability of the EMA copolymer gasket by preparing EMA with cellulose and silica composites. Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and Carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) were used in preparing of EMA/cellulose composites and fumed silica (SiO2) was used in preparing EMA/silica composites with different amounts of filler (3, 5, 7, 10, 15 wt.%), using a twin screw extruder at 160 °C and the test specimens were prepared by the injection molding machine. The morphology and dispersion of fillers in the EMA matrix were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The thermal stability of the composite was determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile testing. The developed composites were found to enhance thermal and mechanical properties when compared to that of the EMA copolymer alone.

Keywords: ethylene methyl acrylate, HPMC, Silica, Thermal stability

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Authors: Chongya Song, Kang Yen, Alexander Pons, Jin Liu

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In the field of machine learning, the ensemble has been employed as a common methodology to improve the performance upon multiple base classifiers. However, the true predictions are often canceled out by the false ones during consensus due to a phenomenon called “curse of correlation” which is represented as the strong interferences among the predictions produced by the base classifiers. In addition, the existing practices are still not able to effectively mitigate the problem of imbalanced classification. Based on the analysis on our experiment results, we conclude that the two problems are caused by some inherent deficiencies in the approach of consensus. Therefore, we create an enhanced ensemble algorithm which adopts a designed rank-based chain-mode consensus to overcome the two problems. In order to evaluate the proposed ensemble algorithm, we employ a well-known benchmark data set NSL-KDD (the improved version of dataset KDDCup99 produced by University of New Brunswick) to make comparisons between the proposed and 8 common ensemble algorithms. Particularly, each compared ensemble classifier uses the same 22 base classifiers, so that the differences in terms of the improvements toward the accuracy and reliability upon the base classifiers can be truly revealed. As a result, the proposed rank-based chain-mode consensus is proved to be a more effective ensemble solution than the traditional consensus approach, which outperforms the 8 ensemble algorithms by 20% on almost all compared metrices which include accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score and area under receiver operating characteristic curve.

Keywords: consensus, curse of correlation, imbalance classification, rank-based chain-mode ensemble

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Authors: Sarah El-Gamal, Passent Hossam, Ahmed Abd El Aziz, Rojina Mahmoud, Ahmed Hassan, Dalia Hilal, Eman Ayman, Hana Haytham, Omar Khamis

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Several concerns fall upon the supply chain, especially the cold supply chain. According to the literature, the main challenges in the cold supply chain are the distribution and storage phases. In this research, researchers focused on the storage area, which contains several activities such as the picking activity that faces a lot of obstacles and challenges The implementation of IoT solutions enables businesses to monitor the temperature of food items, which is perhaps the most critical parameter in cold chains. Therefore, researchers proposed a practical solution that would help in eliminating the problems related to ineffective picking for products, especially fish and seafood products, by using IoT technology, most notably LiFi technology. Thus, guaranteeing sufficient picking, reducing waste, and consequently lowering costs. A prototype was specially designed and examined. This research is a single case study research. Two methods of data collection were used; observation and semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and decision maker at Carrefour Alexandria to validate the problem and the proposed practical solution using IoTandLiFi technology. A total of three interviews were conducted. As a result, a SWOT analysis was achieved in order to highlight all the strengths and weaknesses of using the recommended Lifi solution in the picking process. According to the investigations, it was found that the use of IoT and LiFi technology is cost effective, efficient, and reduces human errors, minimize the percentage of product waste and thus save money and cost. Thus, increasing customer satisfaction and profits gained.

Keywords: cold supply chain, picking process, temperature control, IOT, warehousing, LIFI

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Authors: R. Khoza, K. K. Govender

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The aim of the study was to review and critically evaluate the supply chain management (SCM) strategies and challenges in the private residential construction sector in South Africa. The study was grounded in three theories, namely, theory of constraints, principal-agency theory, and stakeholder theory. A quantitative approach was used to survey 320 private residential construction companies which registered with the National Homebuilders Registration Council (NHBRC) within the Gauteng province. The data from 250 questionnaires returned were analysed using SPSS (Versions 23) and Smart PLS. It became evident that the SCM challenges included lack of trust between the supplier and the organization; lack of adoption of SCM system; lack of a sufficiently skilled SCM workforce; and poor implementation of contract management. The findings also indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between the performance of the private residential construction sector in South Africa and SCM challenges, SCM strategies and SCM processes. A framework is proposed comprising SCM practices and strategies of private residential construction sector in South Africa, which will enable them to enhance performance.

Keywords: management challenges, residential housing, South Africa, supply chain management

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Authors: Saeed Poormoaied

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Perishability and developing an intelligent control policy for perishable items are the major concerns of marketing managers in a supply chain. In this study, we address a two-echelon supply chain problem for perishable items with a single vendor and a single buyer. The buyer adopts an aged-based continuous review policy which works by taking both the stock level and the aging process of items into account. The vendor works under the warehouse framework, where its lot size is determined with respect to the batch size of the buyer. The model holds for a positive and fixed lead time for the buyer, and zero lead time for the vendor. The demand follows a Poisson process and any unmet demand is lost. We provide exact analytic expressions for the operational characteristics of the system by using the renewal reward theorem. Items have a fixed lifetime after which they become unusable and are disposed of from the buyer's system. The age of items starts when they are unpacked and ready for the consumption at the buyer. When items are held by the vendor, there is no aging process which results in no perishing at the vendor's site. The model is developed under the centralized framework, which takes the expected profit of both vendor and buyer into consideration. The goal is to determine the optimal policy parameters under the service level constraint at the retailer's site. A sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the effect of the key input parameters on the expected profit and order quantity in the supply chain. The efficiency of the proposed age-based policy is also evaluated through a numerical study. Our results show that when the unit perishing cost is negligible, a significant cost saving is achieved.

Keywords: two-echelon supply chain, perishable items, age-based policy, renewal reward theorem

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Authors: Kongrat Nokkaew

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This article assessed the surface erosion and stability of cut and fill slope in the excavation of the detention basin, Kalasin Province, Thailand. The large excavation project was built to enlarge detention basin for relieving repeated flooding and drought which usually happen in this area. However, at the end of the 1st rainstorm season, severely erosions slope failures were widespread observed. After investigation, the severity of erosions and slope failure were classified into five level from sheet erosion (Level 1), rill erosion (Level 2, 3), gully erosion (Level 4), and slope failure (Level 5) for proposing slope remediation. The preliminary investigation showed that lack of runoff control were the major factors of the surface erosions while insufficient compacted of the fill slope leaded to slopes failures. The slope stability of four selected slope failure was back calculated by using Simplified Bishop with Seep-W. The result show that factor of safety of slope located on non-plasticity sand was less than one, representing instability of the embankment slope. Such analysis agreed well with the failures observed in the field.

Keywords: surface erosion, slope stability, detention basin, cut and fill

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Authors: Priyal Motwani

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The current market for bamboo products in India is about Rs. 21000 crores and is highly unorganised and fragmented. In this study, we have closely analysed the structure and functions of a major bamboo craft based organisation in Kerela, India and elaborated about its value chain, product mix, pricing strategy and supply chain, collaborations and competitive landscape. We have identified six major bottlenecks that are prevalent in such organisations, based on the Indian context, in relation to their product mix, asset management, and supply chain- corresponding waste management and retail network. The study has identified that the target customers for the bamboo based products and alternative revenue streams (eco-tourism, microenterprises, training), by carrying out secondary and primary research (5000 sample space), that can boost the existing revenue by 150%. We have then recommended an optimum product mix-covering premium, medium and low valued processing, for medium sized bamboo based organisations, in accordance with their capacity to maximize their revenue potential. After studying such organisations and their counter parts, the study has established an optimum retail network, considering B2B, B2C physical and online retail, to maximize their sales to their target groups. On the basis of the results obtained from the analysis of the future and present trends, our study gives recommendations to improve the revenue potential of bamboo based organisation in India and promote sustainability.

Keywords: bamboo, bottlenecks, optimization, product mix, retail network, value chain

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Authors: Eugene Y. C. Wong, Henry Y. K. Lau, Mardjuki Raman

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CO2 emissions from maritime transport operations represent a substantial part of the total greenhouse gas emission. Vessels are designed with better energy efficiency. Minimizing CO2 emission in maritime operations plays an important role in supply chain decarbonisation. This paper reviews the initiatives on slow steaming operations towards the reduction of carbon emission. It investigates the relationship and impact among slow steaming cost reduction, carbon emission reduction, and shipment delay. A scenario-based cost-driven decision support model is developed to facilitate the selection of the optimal slow steaming options, considering the cost on bunker fuel consumption, available speed, carbon emission, and shipment delay. The incorporation of the social cost of cargo is reviewed and suggested. Additional measures on the effect of vessels sizes, routing, and type of fuels towards decarbonisation are discussed.

Keywords: slow steaming, carbon emission, maritime logistics, sustainability, green supply chain

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Authors: F. Deng, R. Sanchez, A. Beltran, S. Maestre

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The high nutritional value associated with seafood is related to the presence of essential trace elements. Moreover, seafood is considered an important source of energy, proteins, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Generally, seafood is consumed cooked. Consequently, the nutritional value could be degraded. Seafood, such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed, could be considered as one of the main iodine sources. The deficient or excessive consumption of iodine could cause dysfunction and pathologies related to the thyroid gland. The main objective of this work is to evaluated iodine stability in hake (Merluccius) undergone different culinary techniques. The culinary process considered were: boiling, steaming, microwave cooking, baking, cooking en papillote (twisted cover with the shape of a sweet wrapper) and coating with a batter of flour and deep-frying. The determination of iodine was carried by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Regarding sample handling strategies, liquid-liquid extraction has demonstrated to be a powerful pre-concentration and clean-up approach for trace metal analysis by ICP techniques. Extraction with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH reagent) was used as a sample preparation method in this work. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the stability of iodine was degraded with the cooking processes. The major degradation was observed for the boiling and microwave cooking processes. The content of iodine in hake decreased up to 60% and 52%, respectively. However, if the boiling cooking liquid is preserved, this loss that has been generated during cooking is reduced. Only when the fish was cooked by following the cooking en papillote process the iodine content was preserved.

Keywords: cooking process, ICP-MS, iodine, hake

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Authors: Ahmed Tarek, Ahmed Alveed

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Vehicle routing problem is a well-known re-search avenue in computing. Modern vehicle routing is more focused with the GPS-based coordinate system, as the state-of-the-art vehicle, and trucking systems are equipped with digital navigation. In this paper, a new two dimensional coordinate-based algorithm for addressing the vehicle routing problem for a supply chain network is proposed and explored, and the algorithm is compared with other available, and recently devised heuristics. For the algorithms discussed, which includes the pro-posed coordinate-based search heuristic as well, the advantages and the disadvantages associated with the heuristics are explored. The proposed algorithm is studied from the stand point of a small supermarket chain delivery network that supplies to its stores in four different states around the East Coast area, and is trying to optimize its trucking delivery cost. Minimizing the delivery cost for the supply network of a supermarket chain is important to ensure its business success.

Keywords: coordinate-based optimal routing, Hamiltonian Circuit, heuristic algorithm, traveling salesman problem, vehicle routing problem

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Authors: Yuan-Jye Tseng, Jia-Shu Li

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To design a product with the given product requirement and design objective, there can be alternative ways to propose the detailed design specifications of the product. In the design modeling stage, alternative design cases with detailed specifications can be modeled to fulfill the product requirement and design objective. Therefore, in the design evaluation stage, it is required to perform an evaluation of the alternative design cases for deciding the final design. The purpose of this research is to develop a product evaluation model for evaluating the alternative design cases by integrated evaluating the criteria of functional design, Kansei design, and design for supply chain. The criteria in the functional design group include primary function, expansion function, improved function, and new function. The criteria in the Kansei group include geometric shape, dimension, surface finish, and layout. The criteria in the design for supply chain group include material, manufacturing process, assembly, and supply chain operation. From the point of view of value and cost, the criteria in the functional design group and Kansei design group represent the design value of the product. The criteria in the design for supply chain group represent the supply chain and manufacturing cost of the product. It is required to evaluate the design value and the supply chain cost to determine the final design. For the purpose of evaluating the criteria in the three criteria groups, a fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) method is presented to evaluate a weighted index by calculating the total relational values among the three groups. A method using the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is used to compare and rank the design alternative cases according to the weighted index using the total relational values of the criteria. The final decision of a design case can be determined by using the ordered ranking. For example, the design case with the top ranking can be selected as the final design case. Based on the criteria in the evaluation, the design objective can be achieved with a combined and weighted effect of the design value and manufacturing cost. An example product is demonstrated and illustrated in the presentation. It shows that the design evaluation model is useful for integrated evaluation of functional design, Kansei design, and design for supply chain to determine the best design case and achieve the design objective.

Keywords: design for supply chain, design evaluation, functional design, Kansei design, fuzzy analytic network process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution

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Authors: Qaiser Akram, Ahsan Naeem, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Waqas Ahmad, Rubeena Yasmeen

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Aspergillus has good secretory potential for phytases. Morphologically and microscopically identified Aspergillus terreus (A. terreus) (n=20) were screened for phytase production and non-toxicity. Phytases produced by non-toxigenic A. terreus under optimum conditions were quantified. Phytases of highest producer A. terreus were evaluated for stability after exposure to temperature (35, 55, 75 and 95ºC) and pH (2, 4, 6 and 8). Effect of metal ions (Fe⁺³, Ba⁺², Ca⁺², Cu⁺², Mg⁺², Mn⁺², K⁺¹ and Na⁺¹) was assessed on phytase activity. Log reduction in phytase activity was calculated. The highest activity units of phytase produced by A. terreus were 271.49 ± 8.14 phytase unit / mL (FTU/ mL). The lowest reduction in phytase activity was 50.20 ± 7.36 (18.5%) and 68.22 ± 10.3 FTU/mL (25.13%) at 35ºC and pH 6, respectively for 15 minutes. The highest reduction 259 ± 0.84 (95.5%) and 211.99 ± 4.39 FTU/mL (78.1%) was recorded at 95ºC for 60 minutes and pH 2.0 for 45 minutes exposure, respectively. All metal ions negatively affected phytase activity. Phytase activity was inhibited minimum (45.32 ± 28.54 FTU/mL, 16.69%) by K⁺¹(1 mM) and maximum (231.48 ± 3.68 FTU/mL, 80.8%) by Cu⁺² (10 mM). It was concluded that A. terreus phytase stability and activity was dependent on physio-chemical factors.

Keywords: stability, phytase, aspergillus terreus, physio-chemical factors and metal ions

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Authors: Akbar Khodavirdizadeh

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Gougerd village landslide with area about 150 hectares is located in southwest of Khoy city in northwest of the Iran. This Landslide was commenced more than 21 years and caused some damages in houses like some fissures on walls and some cracks on ground and foundations. The main mechanism of landslide is rotational with the high different of top and foot is about 230 m. The thickness of slide mass based on geoelectrical investigation is about 16m obtained. The upper layer of slope is silty sand and the lower layer of clayey gravel. In this paper, the stability of landslide are analyzed based in static analysis under different groundwater surface conditions and at slope angle changes with limit eqlibrium method and the simplified Bishop method. The results of the 72 stability analysis showed that the slope stability of Gougerd landslide increased with increasing of the groundwater surface depth of slope crown. And especially when decreased of slope angle, the safety facter more than in previous state is increased. The required of safety factor for stability in groundwater surface depth from slope crown equal 14 m and with decreased of slope angle to 3 degree at decrease of groundwater surface depth from slope crown equal 6.5 m obtained. The safety factor in critical conditions under groundwater surface depth from slope crown equal 3.5 m and at decreased of slope angle to 3 degree equal 0.5 m obtained. At groudwater surface depth from slope crown of 3 m, 7 m and 10 m respectively equal to 0.97, 1.19 and 1.33 obtained. At groudwater surface depth from slope crown of 3 m, 7 m and 10 m with decreased of slope angle to 3 degree, respectively equal to 1.27, 1.54 and 1.72 obtained. According to the results of this study, for 1 m of groundwater level decrease, the safety factor increased by 5%, and for 1 degree of reduction of the slope angle, safety factor increased by 15%. And the effect of slope angle on Gougerd landslide stability was felt more than groundwater effect.

Keywords: Gougerd landslide, stability analysis, slope angle, groundwater, Khoy

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Authors: Faisal Bin Alam

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Most of the manufacturing entities cause negative footprint to nature that demand due attention. Textile industries have one of the longest supply chains and bear the liability of significant environmental impact to our planet. Issues of environmental safety, scarcity of energy and resources, and demand for eco-friendly products have driven research to search for safe and suitable alternatives in apparel processing. Consumer awareness, increased pressure from fashion brands and actions from local legislative authorities have somewhat been able to improve the practices. Objective of this paper is to reveal the best selection of raw materials and methods of production, taking environmental sustainability into account. Methodology used in this study is exploratory in nature based on personal experience, field visits in the factories of Bangladesh and secondary sources. Findings are limited to exploring better alternatives to conventional operations of a Readymade Garment manufacturing, from fibre selection to final product delivery, therefore showing some ways of achieving greener environment in the supply chain of a clothing industry.

Keywords: textile and apparel, environmental sustainability, supply chain, production, clothing

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Authors: Li Feng, Cheng Zhang, Chuanzhou Yuang

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Understanding the macromolecular structure of low-rank coal is very important for its gasification and liquefaction. The pyrolysis is one of the methods of analyzing the macromolecular structure of coal. The gaseous products decomposed directly by the raw lignite at 500 °C and indirectly by tar products from raw lignite pyrolysis at 500 °C were investigated and compared by thermogravimetry, gas chromatography and mass spectrum coupled instrument system (TG/GC/MS) in this paper. The results show that 52 kinds of products were found from the raw lignite and 70 kinds of products from the tar. The pyrolysis products directly from the lignite appear more monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and less substituent groups or branch chain, compared with the products from the tar. There is less linear chain and double bonds structure in the tar, which can be speculated that linear chain and double bonds structure took part in the generation of condensed rings and other reactions. There are more kinds of phenol and furan in the tar, which indicate that these products may be generated from the secondary reaction. The formation process of phenol, phenol naphthalene, naphthene and furan are discussed.

Keywords: composition and structure, lignite, pyrolysis of coal, tar, TG/GC/MS

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Authors: Nizar Bouguerra, Ahmed Khabou, Sébastien Poncet, Saïd Elkoun

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The present work focuses on the preparation and the stabilization of Al₂O₃-water based nanofluids. Though they have been widely considered in the past, to the best of our knowledge, there is no clear consensus about a proper way to prepare and stabilize them by the appropriate surfactant. In this paper, a careful experimental investigation is performed to quantify the combined influence of pH and the surfactant on the stability of Al₂O₃-water based nanofluids. Two volume concentrations of nanoparticles and three nanoparticle sizes have been considered. The good preparation and stability of these nanofluids are evaluated through thermal conductivity measurements. The results show that the optimum value for the thermal conductivity is obtained mainly by controlling the pH of the mixture and surfactants are not necessary to stabilize the solution.

Keywords: nanofluid, thermal conductivity, pH, transient hot wire, surfactant, Al2O3, stability, dispersion, preparation

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Authors: Dimitrios J. Dimitriou

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Considering a worldwide tendency, air transports are growing very fast and many changes have taken place in planning, management and decision making process. Given the complexity of airport operation, the best use of existing capacity is the key driver of efficiency and productivity. This paper deals with the evaluation framework for the ground access at airports, by using a set of mode choice indicators providing key messages towards airport’s ground access performance. The application presents results for a sample of 12 European airports, illustrating recommendations to define policy and improve service for the air transport access chain.

Keywords: airport ground access, air transport chain, airport access performance, airport policy

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Authors: Attila Kiss, Erzsébet Némedi, Zoltán Naár

Abstract:

As natural prebiotic (non-digestible) carbohydrates stimulate the growth of colon microflora and contribute to maintain the health of the host, analytical studies aiming at revealing the chemical behavior of these beneficial food components came to the forefront of interest. Food processing (especially baking) may lead to a significant conversion of the parent compounds, hence it is of utmost importance to characterize the transformation patterns and the plausible decomposition products formed by thermal degradation. The relevance of this work is confirmed by the wide-spread use of these carbohydrates (fructo-oligosaccharides, cyclodextrins, raffinose and resistant starch) in the food industry. More and more functional foodstuffs are being developed based on prebiotics as bioactive components. 12 different types of oligosaccharides have been investigated in order to reveal their thermal degradation characteristics. Different carbohydrate derivatives (D-fructose and D-glucose oligomers and polymers) have been exposed to elevated temperatures (150 °C 170 °C, 190 °C, 210 °C, and 220 °C) for 10 min. An advanced HPLC method was developed and used to identify the decomposition products of carbohydrates formed as a consequence of thermal treatment. Gradient elution was applied with binary solvent elution (acetonitrile, water) through amine based carbohydrate column. Evaporative light scattering (ELS) proved to be suitable for the reliable detection of the UV/VIS inactive carbohydrate degradation products. These experimental conditions and applied advanced techniques made it possible to survey all the formed intermediers. Change in oligomer distribution was established in cases of all studied prebiotics throughout the thermal treatments. The obtained results indicate increased extent of chain degradation of the carbohydrate moiety at elevated temperatures. Prevalence of oligomers with shorter chain length and even the formation of monomer sugars (D-glucose and D-fructose) might be observed at higher temperatures. Unique oligomer distributions, which have not been described previously are revealed in the case of each studied, specific carbohydrate, which might result in various prebiotic activities. Resistant starches exhibited high stability when being thermal treated. The degradation process has been modeled by a plausible reaction mechanism, in which proton catalyzed degradation and chain cleavage take place.

Keywords: prebiotics, thermal degradation, fructo-oligosaccharide, HPLC, ELS detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Agung Budi Muljono, I Made Ginarsa, I Made Ari Nrartha

Abstract:

A large-scale power system (LSPS) consists of two or more sub-systems connected by inter-connecting transmission. Loading pattern on an LSPS always changes from time to time and varies depend on consumer need. The serious instability problem is appeared in an LSPS due to load fluctuation in all of the bus. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)-based power system stabilizer (PSS) is presented to cover the stability problem and to enhance the stability of an LSPS. The ANFIS control is presented because the ANFIS control is more effective than Mamdani fuzzy control in the computation aspect. Simulation results show that the presented PSS is able to maintain the stability by decreasing peak overshoot to the value of −2.56 × 10−5 pu for rotor speed deviation Δω2−3. The presented PSS also makes the settling time to achieve at 3.78 s on local mode oscillation. Furthermore, the presented PSS is able to improve the peak overshoot and settling time of Δω3−9 to the value of −0.868 × 10−5 pu and at the time of 3.50 s for inter-area oscillation.

Keywords: ANFIS, large-scale, power system, PSS, stability enhancement

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Mozaffari, Mehdi Ajalli, Delaram Jafargholi

Abstract:

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the system of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) on the competitive advantage and performance of Mamot Company. The methods for collecting information in this study are library studies and field research. A questionnaire was used to collect the data needed to determine the relationship between the variables of the research. This questionnaire contains 38 questions. The direction of the current research is applied. The statistical population of this study consists of managers and experts who are familiar with the SCM system and ERP. Number of statistical society is 210. The sampling method is simple in this research. The sample size is 136 people. Also, among the distributed questionnaires, Reliability of the Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Questionnaire is evaluated and its value is more than 70%. Therefore, it confirms reliability. And formal validity has been used to determine the validity of the questionnaire, and the validity of the questionnaire is confirmed by the fact that the score of the impact is greater than 1.5. In the present study, one variable analysis was used for central indicators, dispersion and deviation from symmetry, and a general picture of the society was obtained. Also, two variables were analyzed to test the hypotheses; measure the correlation coefficient between variables using structural equations, SPSS software was used. Finally, multivariate analysis was used with statistical techniques related to the SPLS structural equations to determine the effects of independent variables on the dependent variables of the research to determine the structural relationships between the variables. The results of the test of research hypotheses indicate that: 1. Supply chain management practices have a positive impact on the competitive advantage of the Mammoth industrial complex. 2. Supply chain management practices have a positive impact on the performance of the Mammoth industrial complex. 3. Planning system Organizational resources have a positive impact on the performance of the Mammoth industrial complex. 4. The system of enterprise resource planning has a positive impact on Mamot's competitive advantage. 5.The competitive advantage has a positive impact on the performance of the Mammoth industrial complex 6.The system of enterprise resource planning Mamot Industrial Complex Supply Chain Management has a positive impact. The above results indicate that the system of enterprise resource planning and supply chain management has an impact on the competitive advantage and corporate performance of Mamot Company.

Keywords: enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, competitive advantage, Mamot company performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Yunusa Aliyu Hadejia

Abstract:

Cholera is a gastrointestinal disease caused by a bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae which spread as a result of eating food or drinking water contaminated with feaces from an infected person. In this work we proposed and analyzed the impact of isolating infected people and give them therapeutic treatment, the specific objectives of the research was to formulate a mathematical model of cholera transmission incorporating treatment class, to make analysis on stability of equilibrium points of the model, positivity and boundedness was shown to ensure that the model has a biological meaning, the basic reproduction number was derived by next generation matrix approach. The result of stability analysis show that the Disease free equilibrium was both locally and globally asymptotically stable when R_0< 1 while endemic equilibrium has locally asymptotically stable when R_0> 1. Sensitivity analysis was perform to determine the contribution of each parameter to the basic reproduction number. Numerical simulation was carried out to show the impact of the model parameters using MAT Lab Software.

Keywords: mathematical model, treatment, stability, sensitivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Paydar, Armin Cheraghalipour, Mostafa Hajiaghaei-Keshteli

Abstract:

Nowadays, in advanced countries, agriculture as one of the most significant sectors of the economy, plays an important role in its political and economic independence. Due to farmers' lack of information about products' demand and lack of proper planning for harvest time, annually the considerable amount of products is corrupted. Besides, in this paper, we attempt to improve these unfavorable conditions via designing an effective supply chain network that tries to minimize total costs of agricultural products along with minimizing shortage in demand points. To validate the proposed model, a stochastic optimization approach by using a branch and bound solver of the LINGO software is utilized. Furthermore, to accumulate the data of parameters, a case study in Mazandaran province placed in the north of Iran has been applied. Finally, using ɛ-constraint approach, a Pareto front is obtained and one of its Pareto solutions as best solution is selected. Then, related results of this solution are explained. Finally, conclusions and suggestions for the future research are presented.

Keywords: perishable products, stochastic optimization, agricultural supply chain, ɛ-constraint

Procedia PDF Downloads 352