Search results for: discrete vortex particle method (DVM)
19616 Effect of Humidity on In-Process Crystallization of Lactose During Spray Drying
Authors: Amirali Ebrahimi, T. A. G. Langrish
Abstract:
The effect of various humidities on process yields and degrees of crystallinity for spray-dried powders from spray drying of lactose with humid air in a straight-through system have been studied. It has been suggested by Williams–Landel–Ferry kinetics (WLF) that a higher particle temperature and lower glass-transition temperature would increase the crystallization rate of the particles during the spray-drying process. Freshly humidified air produced by a Buchi-B290 spray dryer as a humidifier attached to the main spray dryer decreased the particle glass-transition temperature (Tg), while allowing the particle temperature (Tp) to reach higher values by using an insulated drying chamber. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and moisture sorption analysis were used to measure the degree of crystallinity for the spray-dried lactose powders. The results showed that higher Tp-Tg, as a result of applying humid air, improved the process yield from 21 ± 4 to 26 ± 2% and crystallinity of the particles by decreasing the latent heat of crystallization from 43 ± 1 to 30 ± 11 J/g and the sorption peak height from 7.3 ± 0.7% to 6 ± 0.7%.Keywords: lactose, crystallization, spray drying, humid air
Procedia PDF Downloads 42119615 Preparation and Size Control of Sub-100 Nm Pure Nanodrugs
Authors: Jinfeng Zhang, Chun-Sing Lee
Abstract:
Pure nanodrugs (PNDs) – nanoparticles consisting entirely of drug molecules, have been considered as promising candidates for the next-generation nanodrugs. However, the traditional preparation method via reprecipitation faces critical challenges including low production rates, relatively large particle sizes and batch-to-batch variations. Here, for the first time, we successfully developed a novel, versatile and controllable strategy for preparing PNDs via an anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) template-assisted method. With this approach, we prepared PNDs of an anti-cancer drug (VM-26) with precisely controlled sizes reaching the sub-20 nm range. This template-assisted approach has much higher feasibility for mass production comparing to the conventional reprecipitation method and is beneficial for future clinical translation. The present method is further demonstrated to be easily applicable for a wide range of hydrophobic biomolecules without the need of custom molecular modifications and can be extended for preparing all-in-one nanostructures with different functional agents.Keywords: drug delivery, pure nanodrugs, size control, template
Procedia PDF Downloads 30319614 Performance of an Optical Readout Gas Chamber for Charged Particle Track
Authors: Jing Hu, Xiaoping Ouyang
Abstract:
We develop an optical readout gas chamber based on avalanche-induced scintillation for energetic charged particles track. The gas chamber is equipped with a Single Anode Wires (SAW) structure to produce intensive electric field when the measured particles are of low yield or even single. In the presence of an intensive electric field around the single anode, primary electrons, resulting from the incident charged particles when depositing the energy along the track, accelerate to the anode effectively and rapidly. For scintillation gasses, this avalanche of electrons induces multiplying photons comparing with the primary scintillation excited directly from particle energy loss. The electric field distribution for different shape of the SAW structure is analyzed, and finally, an optimal one is used to study the optical readout performance. Using CF4 gas and its mixture with the noble gas, the results indicate that the optical readout characteristics of the chamber are attractive for imaging. Moreover, images of particles track including single particle track from 5.485MeV alpha particles are successfully acquired. The track resolution is quite well for the reason that the electrons undergo less diffusion in the intensive electric field. With the simple and ingenious design, the optical readout gas chamber has a high sensitivity. Since neutrons can be converted to charged particles when scattering, this optical readout gas chamber can be applied to neutron measurement for dark matter, fusion research, and others.Keywords: optical readout, gas chamber, charged particle track, avalanche-induced scintillation, neutron measurement
Procedia PDF Downloads 26319613 An Experimental Investigation of Microscopic and Macroscopic Displacement Behaviors of Branched-Preformed Particle Gel in High Temperature Reservoirs
Authors: Weiyao Zhu, Bingbing Li, Yajing Liu, Zhiyong Song
Abstract:
Branched-preformed particle gel (B-PPG) is a newly developed profile control and oil displacement agent for enhanced oil recovery in major oilfields. To provide a better understanding of the performance of B-PPG in high temperature reservoirs, a comprehensive experimental investigation was conducted by utilizing glass micromodel and synthetic core. The microscopic experimental results show that the B-PPG can selectively flow and plug in large pores. In terms of enhanced oil recovery, the decrease of residual oil in the margin regions (24.6%) was higher than that in the main stream (13.7%), which indicates it enlarged the sweep area. In addition, the effects of B-PPG injection concentration and injection rate on enhanced oil recovery were implemented by core flooding. The macroscopic experimental results indicate that the enhanced oil recovery increased with the increasing of injection concentration. However, the injection rate had a peak value. It is significant to get insight into the behaviors of B-PPG in reservoirs.Keywords: branched-preformed particle gel, enhanced oil recovery, micromodel, core flooding
Procedia PDF Downloads 19519612 New Concept for Real Time Selective Harmonics Elimination Based on Lagrange Interpolation Polynomials
Authors: B. Makhlouf, O. Bouchhida, M. Nibouche, K. Laidi
Abstract:
A variety of methods for selective harmonics elimination pulse width modulation have been developed, the most frequently used for real-time implementation based on look-up tables method. To address real-time requirements based in modified carrier signal is proposed in the presented work, with a general formulation to real-time harmonics control/elimination in switched inverters. Firstly, the proposed method has been demonstrated for a single value of the modulation index. However, in reality, this parameter is variable as a consequence of the voltage (amplitude) variability. In this context, a simple interpolation method for calculating the modified sine carrier signal is proposed. The method allows a continuous adjustment in both amplitude and frequency of the fundamental. To assess the performance of the proposed method, software simulations and hardware experiments have been carried out in the case of a single-phase inverter. Obtained results are very satisfactory.Keywords: harmonic elimination, Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), polynomial interpolation, pulse width modulation, real-time harmonics control, voltage inverter
Procedia PDF Downloads 49819611 Rock-Bed Thermocline Storage: A Numerical Analysis of Granular Bed Behavior and Interaction with Storage Tank
Authors: Nahia H. Sassine, Frédéric-Victor Donzé, Arnaud Bruch, Barthélemy Harthong
Abstract:
Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems are central elements of various types of power plants operated using renewable energy sources. Packed bed TES can be considered as a cost–effective solution in concentrated solar power plants (CSP). Such a device is made up of a tank filled with a granular bed through which heat-transfer fluid circulates. However, in such devices, the tank might be subjected to catastrophic failure induced by a mechanical phenomenon known as thermal ratcheting. Thermal stresses are accumulated during cycles of loading and unloading until the failure happens. For instance, when rocks are used as storage material, the tank wall expands more than the solid medium during charge process, a gap is created between the rocks and tank walls and the filler material settles down to fill it. During discharge, the tank contracts against the bed, resulting in thermal stresses that may exceed the wall tank yield stress and generate plastic deformation. This phenomenon is repeated over the cycles and the tank will be slowly ratcheted outward until it fails. This paper aims at studying the evolution of tank wall stresses over granular bed thermal cycles, taking into account both thermal and mechanical loads, with a numerical model based on the discrete element method (DEM). Simulations were performed to study two different thermal configurations: (i) the tank is heated homogeneously along its height or (ii) with a vertical gradient of temperature. Then, the resulting loading stresses applied on the tank are compared as well the response of the internal granular material. Besides the study of the influence of different thermal configurations on the storage tank response, other parameters are varied, such as the internal angle of friction of the granular material, the dispersion of particles diameters as well as the tank’s dimensions. Then, their influences on the kinematics of the granular bed submitted to thermal cycles are highlighted.Keywords: discrete element method (DEM), thermal cycles, thermal energy storage, thermocline
Procedia PDF Downloads 39819610 Control of Biofilm Formation and Inorganic Particle Accumulation on Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Hypochlorite Washing
Authors: Masaki Ohno, Cervinia Manalo, Tetsuji Okuda, Satoshi Nakai, Wataru Nishijima
Abstract:
Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have been widely used for desalination to purify water for drinking and other purposes. Although at present most RO membranes have no resistance to chlorine, chlorine-resistant membranes are being developed. Therefore, direct chlorine treatment or chlorine washing will be an option in preventing biofouling on chlorine-resistant membranes. Furthermore, if particle accumulation control is possible by using chlorine washing, expensive pretreatment for particle removal can be removed or simplified. The objective of this study was to determine the effective hypochlorite washing condition required for controlling biofilm formation and inorganic particle accumulation on RO membrane in a continuous flow channel with RO membrane and spacer. In this study, direct chlorine washing was done by soaking fouled RO membranes in hypochlorite solution and fluorescence intensity was used to quantify biofilm on the membrane surface. After 48 h of soaking the membranes in high fouling potential waters, the fluorescence intensity decreased to 0 from 470 using the following washing conditions: 10 mg/L chlorine concentration, 2 times/d washing interval, and 30 min washing time. The chlorine concentration required to control biofilm formation decreased as the chlorine concentration (0.5–10 mg/L), the washing interval (1–4 times/d), or the washing time (1–30 min) increased. For the sample solutions used in the study, 10 mg/L chlorine concentration with 2 times/d interval, and 5 min washing time was required for biofilm control. The optimum chlorine washing conditions obtained from soaking experiments proved to be applicable also in controlling biofilm formation in continuous flow experiments. Moreover, chlorine washing employed in controlling biofilm with suspended particles resulted in lower amounts of organic (0.03 mg/cm2) and inorganic (0.14 mg/cm2) deposits on the membrane than that for sample water without chlorine washing (0.14 mg/cm2 and 0.33 mg/cm2, respectively). The amount of biofilm formed was 79% controlled by continuous washing with 10 mg/L of free chlorine concentration, and the inorganic accumulation amount decreased by 58% to levels similar to that of pure water with kaolin (0.17 mg/cm2) as feed water. These results confirmed the acceleration of particle accumulation due to biofilm formation, and that the inhibition of biofilm growth can almost completely reduce further particle accumulation. In addition, effective hypochlorite washing condition which can control both biofilm formation and particle accumulation could be achieved.Keywords: reverse osmosis, washing condition optimization, hypochlorous acid, biofouling control
Procedia PDF Downloads 34319609 The Influence of Surface Roughness on the Flow Fields Generated by an Oscillating Cantilever
Authors: Ciaran Conway, Nick Jeffers, Jeff Punch
Abstract:
With the current trend of miniaturisation of electronic devices, piezoelectric fans have attracted increasing interest as an alternative means of forced convection over traditional rotary solutions. Whilst there exists an abundance of research on various piezo-actuated flapping fans in the literature, the geometries of these fans all consist of a smooth rectangular cross section with thicknesses typically of the order of 100 um. The focus of these studies is primarily on variables such as frequency, amplitude, and in some cases resonance mode. As a result, the induced flow dynamics are a direct consequence of the pressure differential at the fan tip as well as the pressure-driven ‘over the top’ vortices generated at the upper and lower edges of the fan. Rough surfaces such as golf ball dimples or vortex generators on an aircraft wing have proven to be beneficial by tripping the boundary layer and energising the adjacent air flow. This paper aims to examine the influence of surface roughness on the airflow generation of a flapping fan and determine whether the induced wake can be manipulated or enhanced by energising the airflow around the fan tip. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is carried out on mechanically oscillated rigid fans with various surfaces consisting of pillars, perforations and cell-like grids derived from the wing topology of natural fliers. The results of this paper may be used to inform the design of piezoelectric fans and possibly aid in understanding the complex aerodynamics inherent in flapping wing flight.Keywords: aerodynamics, oscillating cantilevers, PIV, vortices
Procedia PDF Downloads 21319608 Optimal Design of Multimachine Power System Stabilizers Using Improved Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Badr M. Alshammari, T. Guesmi
Abstract:
In this paper, the concept of a non-dominated sorting multi-objective particle swarm optimization with local search (NSPSO-LS) is presented for the optimal design of multimachine power system stabilizers (PSSs). The controller design is formulated as an optimization problem in order to shift the system electromechanical modes in a pre-specified region in the s-plan. A composite set of objective functions comprising the damping factor and the damping ratio of the undamped and lightly damped electromechanical modes is considered. The performance of the proposed optimization algorithm is verified for the 3-machine 9-bus system. Simulation results based on eigenvalue analysis and nonlinear time-domain simulation show the potential and superiority of the NSPSO-LS algorithm in tuning PSSs over a wide range of loading conditions and large disturbance compared to the classic PSO technique and genetic algorithms.Keywords: multi-objective optimization, particle swarm optimization, power system stabilizer, low frequency oscillations
Procedia PDF Downloads 42519607 Multi-Objective Random Drift Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm Based on RDPSO and Crowding Distance Sorting
Authors: Yiqiong Yuan, Jun Sun, Dongmei Zhou, Jianan Sun
Abstract:
In this paper, we presented a Multi-Objective Random Drift Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (MORDPSO-CD) based on RDPSO and crowding distance sorting to improve the convergence and distribution with less computation cost. MORDPSO-CD makes the most of RDPSO to approach the true Pareto optimal solutions fast. We adopt the crowding distance sorting technique to update and maintain the archived optimal solutions. Introducing the crowding distance technique into MORDPSO can make the leader particles find the true Pareto solution ultimately. The simulation results reveal that the proposed algorithm has better convergence and distributionKeywords: multi-objective optimization, random drift particle swarm optimization, crowding distance sorting, pareto optimal solution
Procedia PDF Downloads 25119606 Doxorubicin and Cyclosporine Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles to Combat Multidrug Resistance
Authors: Senthil Rajan Dharmalingam, Shamala Nadaraju, Srinivasan Ramamurthy
Abstract:
Doxorubicin is the most widely used anticancer drugs in chemotherapy treatment. However, problems related to the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) and acute cardiotoxicity have led researchers to investigate alternative forms of administering doxorubicin for cancer therapy. Several methods have been attempted to overcome MDR, including the co-administration of a chemosensitizer inhibiting the efflux caused by ATP binding cassette transporters with anticancer drugs, and the bypass of the efflux mechanism. Co encapsulation of doxorubicin (Dox) and cyclosporine A (CSA) into poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles was emulsification-solvent evaporation method using polyvinyl alcohol as emulsion stabilizers. The Dox-CSA loaded nanoparticles were evaluated for particle size, zeta potential and PDI by light scattering analysis and thermal characterizations by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Loading efficiency (LE %) and in-vitro dissolution samples were evaluated by developed and validated HPLC method. The optimum particle size obtained is 298.6.8±39.4 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) is 0.098±0.092. Zeta potential is found to be -29.9±4.23. Optimum pH to increase Dox LE% was found 7.1 which gave 42.5% and 58.9% increase of LE% for pH 6.6 and pH 8.6 compared respectively. LE% achieved for Dox is 0.07±0.01 % and CSA is 0.09±0.03%. Increased volume of PVA and weight of PLGA shows increase in size of nanoparticles. DSC thermograms showed shift in the melting peak for the nanoparticles compared to Dox and CSA indicating encapsulation of drugs. In conclusion, these preliminary studies showed the feasibility of PLGA nanoparticles to entrap Dox and CSA and require future in-vivo studies to be performed to establish its potential.Keywords: doxorubicin, cyclosporine, PLGA, nanoparticles
Procedia PDF Downloads 45619605 Velocity Distribution in Open Channels with Sand: An Experimental Study
Authors: E. Keramaris
Abstract:
In this study, laboratory experiments in open channel flows over a sand bed were conducted. A porous bed (sand bed) with porosity of ε=0.70 and porous thickness of s΄=3 cm was tested. Vertical distributions of velocity were evaluated by using a two-dimensional (2D) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Velocity profiles are measured above the impermeable bed and above the sand bed for the same different total water heights (h= 6, 8, 10 and 12 cm) and for the same slope S=1.5. Measurements of mean velocity indicate the effects of the bed material used (sand bed) on the flow characteristics (Velocity distribution and Reynolds number) in comparison with those above the impermeable bed.Keywords: particle image velocimetry, sand bed, velocity distribution, Reynolds number
Procedia PDF Downloads 36919604 Patient Service Improvement in Public Emergency Department Using Discrete Event Simulation
Authors: Dana Mohammed, Fatemah Abdullah, Hawraa Ali, Najat Al-Shaer, Rawan Al-Awadhi, , Magdy Helal
Abstract:
We study the patient service performance at the emergency department of a major Kuwaiti public hospital, using discrete simulation and lean concepts. In addition to the common problems in such health care systems (over crowdedness, facilities planning and usage, scheduling and staffing, capacity planning) the emergency department suffered from several cultural and patient behavioural issues. Those contributed significantly to the system problems and constituted major obstacles in maintaining the performance in control. This led to overly long waiting times and the potential of delaying providing help to critical cases. We utilized the visual management tools to mitigate the impact of the patients’ behaviours and attitudes and improve the logistics inside the system. In addition a proposal is made to automate the date collection and communication within the department using RFID-based barcoding system. Discrete event simulation models were developed as decision support systems; to study the operational problems and assess achieved improvements. The simulation analysis resulted in cutting the patient delays to about 35% of their current values by reallocating and rescheduling the medical staff. Combined with the application of the visual management concepts, this provided the basis to improving patient service without any major investments.Keywords: simulation, visual management, health care system, patient
Procedia PDF Downloads 46619603 Consumer Utility Analysis of Halal Certification on Beef Using Discrete Choice Experiment: A Case Study in the Netherlands
Authors: Rosa Amalia Safitri, Ine van der Fels-Klerx, Henk Hogeveen
Abstract:
Halal is a dietary law observed by people following Islamic faith. It is considered as a type of credence food quality which cannot be easily assured by consumers even upon and after consumption. Therefore, Halal certification takes place as a practical tool for the consumers to make an informed choice particularly in a non-Muslim majority country, including the Netherlands. Discrete choice experiment (DCE) was employed in this study for its ability to assess the importance of attributes attached to Halal beef in the Dutch market and to investigate consumer utilities. Furthermore, willingness to pay (WTP) for the desired Halal certification was estimated. Four most relevant attributes were selected, i.e., the slaughter method, traceability information, place of purchase, and Halal certification. Price was incorporated as an attribute to allow estimation of willingness to pay for Halal certification. There were 242 Muslim respondents who regularly consumed Halal beef completed the survey, from Dutch (53%) and non-Dutch consumers living in the Netherlands (47%). The vast majority of the respondents (95%) were within the age of 18-45 years old, with the largest group being student (43%) followed by employee (30%) and housewife (12%). Majority of the respondents (76%) had disposable monthly income less than € 2,500, while the rest earned more than € 2,500. The respondents assessed themselves of having good knowledge of the studied attributes, except for traceability information with 62% of the respondents considered themselves not knowledgeable. The findings indicated that slaughter method was valued as the most important attribute, followed by Halal certificate, place of purchase, price, and traceability information. This order of importance varied across sociodemographic variables, except for the slaughter method. Both Dutch and non-Dutch subgroups valued Halal certification as the third most important attributes. However, non-Dutch respondents valued it with higher importance (0,20) than their Dutch counterparts (0,16). For non-Dutch, the price was more important than Halal certification. The ideal product preferred by the consumers indicated the product serving the highest utilities for consumers, and characterized by beef obtained without pre-slaughtering stunning, with traceability info, available at Halal store, certified by an official certifier, and sold at 2.75 € per 500 gr. In general, an official Halal certifier was mostly preferred. However, consumers were not willing to pay for premium for any type of Halal certifiers, indicated by negative WTP of -0.73 €, -0.93 €, and -1,03€ for small, official, and international certifiers, respectively. This finding indicated that consumers tend to lose their utility when confronted with price. WTP estimates differ across socio-demographic variables with male and non-Dutch respondents had the lowest WTP. The unfamiliarity to traceability information might cause respondents to perceive it as the least important attribute. In the context of Halal certified meat, adding traceability information into meat packaging can serve two functions, first consumers can justify for themselves whether the processes comply with Halal requirements, for example, the use of pre-slaughtering stunning, and secondly to assure its safety. Therefore, integrating traceability info into meat packaging can help to make informed decision for both Halal status and food safety.Keywords: consumer utilities, discrete choice experiments, Halal certification, willingness to pay
Procedia PDF Downloads 12019602 Characterization of Nanoemulsion Incorporating Crude Cocoa Polyphenol
Authors: Suzannah Sharif, Aznie Aida Ahmad, Maznah Ismail
Abstract:
Cocoa bean is the raw material for products such as cocoa powder and chocolate. Cocoa bean contains polyphenol which has been shown in several clinical studies to confer beneficial health effects. However studies showed that cocoa polyphenol absorption in the human intestinal tracts are very low. Therefore nanoemulsion may be one way to increase the bioavailability of cocoa polyphenol. This study aim to characterize nanoemulsion incorporating crude cocoa polyphenol produced using high energy technique. Cocoa polyphenol was extracted from fresh freeze-dried cocoa beans from Malaysia. The particle distribution, particle size, and zeta potential were determined. The emulsion was also analysed using transmission electron microscope to visualize the particles. Solubilization study was conducted by titrating the nanoemulsion into distilled water or 1% surfactant solution. Result showed that the nanoemulsion contains particle which have narrow size distribution. The particles size average at 112nm with zeta potential of -45mV. The nanoemulsions behave differently in distilled water and surfactant solution.Keywords: cocoa, nanoemulsion, cocoa polyphenol, solubilisation study
Procedia PDF Downloads 46019601 Robust and Transparent Spread Spectrum Audio Watermarking
Authors: Ali Akbar Attari, Ali Asghar Beheshti Shirazi
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a blind and robust audio watermarking scheme based on spread spectrum in Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) domain. Watermarks are embedded in the low-frequency coefficients, which is less audible. The key idea is dividing the audio signal into small frames, and magnitude of the 6th level of DWT approximation coefficients is modifying based upon the Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) technique. Also, the psychoacoustic model for enhancing in imperceptibility, as well as Savitsky-Golay filter for increasing accuracy in extraction, is used. The experimental results illustrate high robustness against most common attacks, i.e. Gaussian noise addition, Low pass filter, Resampling, Requantizing, MP3 compression, without significant perceptual distortion (ODG is higher than -1). The proposed scheme has about 83 bps data payload.Keywords: audio watermarking, spread spectrum, discrete wavelet transform, psychoacoustic, Savitsky-Golay filter
Procedia PDF Downloads 19219600 An Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Technique for Combined Economic and Environmental Power Dispatch Including Valve Point Loading Effects
Authors: Badr M. Alshammari, T. Guesmi
Abstract:
In recent years, the combined economic and emission power dispatch is one of the main problems of electrical power system. It aims to schedule the power generation of generators in order to minimize cost production and emission of harmful gases caused by fossil-fueled thermal units such as CO, CO2, NOx, and SO2. To solve this complicated multi-objective problem, an improved version of the particle swarm optimization technique that includes non-dominated sorting concept has been proposed. Valve point loading effects and system losses have been considered. The three-unit and ten-unit benchmark systems have been used to show the effectiveness of the suggested optimization technique for solving this kind of nonconvex problem. The simulation results have been compared with those obtained using genetic algorithm based method. Comparison results show that the proposed approach can provide a higher quality solution with better performance.Keywords: power dispatch, valve point loading effects, multiobjective optimization, Pareto solutions
Procedia PDF Downloads 26819599 The Potential of On-Demand Shuttle Services to Reduce Private Car Use
Authors: B. Mack, K. Tampe-Mai, E. Diesch
Abstract:
Findings of an ongoing discrete choice study of future transport mode choice will be presented. Many urban centers face the triple challenge of having to cope with ever increasing traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and greenhouse gas emission brought about by private car use. In principle, private car use may be diminished by extending public transport systems like bus lines, trams, tubes, and trains. However, there are limits to increasing the (perceived) spatial and temporal flexibility and reducing peak-time crowding of classical public transport systems. An emerging new type of system, publicly or privately operated on-demand shuttle bus services, seem suitable to ameliorate the situation. A fleet of on-demand shuttle busses operates without fixed stops and schedules. It may be deployed efficiently in that each bus picks up passengers whose itineraries may be combined into an optimized route. Crowding may be minimized by limiting the number of seats and the inter-seat distance for each bus. The study is conducted as a discrete choice experiment. The choice between private car, public transport, and shuttle service is registered as a function of several push and pull factors (financial costs, travel time, walking distances, mobility tax/congestion charge, and waiting time/parking space search time). After the completion of the discrete choice items, the study participant is asked to rate the three modes of transport with regard to the pull factors of comfort, safety, privacy, and opportunity to engage in activities like reading or surfing the internet. These ratings are entered as additional predictors into the discrete choice experiment regression model. The study is conducted in the region of Stuttgart in southern Germany. N=1000 participants are being recruited. Participants are between 18 and 69 years of age, hold a driver’s license, and live in the city or the surrounding region of Stuttgart. In the discrete choice experiment, participants are asked to assume they lived within the Stuttgart region, but outside of the city, and were planning the journey from their apartment to their place of work, training, or education during the peak traffic time in the morning. Then, for each item of the discrete choice experiment, they are asked to choose between the transport modes of private car, public transport, and on-demand shuttle in the light of particular values of the push and pull factors studied. The study will provide valuable information on the potential of switching from private car use to the use of on-demand shuttles, but also on the less desirable potential of switching from public transport to on-demand shuttle services. Furthermore, information will be provided on the modulation of these switching potentials by pull and push factors.Keywords: determinants of travel mode choice, on-demand shuttle services, private car use, public transport
Procedia PDF Downloads 17619598 Solving Nonconvex Economic Load Dispatch Problem Using Particle Swarm Optimization with Time Varying Acceleration Coefficients
Authors: Alireza Alizadeh, Hossein Ghadimi, Oveis Abedinia, Noradin Ghadimi
Abstract:
A Particle Swarm Optimization with Time Varying Acceleration Coefficients (PSO-TVAC) is proposed to determine optimal economic load dispatch (ELD) problem in this paper. The proposed methodology easily takes care of solving non-convex economic load dispatch problems along with different constraints like transmission losses, dynamic operation constraints and prohibited operating zones. The proposed approach has been implemented on the 3-machines 6-bus, IEEE 5-machines 14-bus, IEEE 6-machines 30-bus systems and 13 thermal units power system. The proposed technique is compared to solve the ELD problem with hybrid approach by using the valve-point effect. The comparison results prove the capability of the proposed method giving significant improvements in the generation cost for the economic load dispatch problem.Keywords: PSO-TVAC, economic load dispatch, non-convex cost function, prohibited operating zone, transmission losses
Procedia PDF Downloads 38319597 Development of an Implicit Physical Influence Upwind Scheme for Cell-Centered Finite Volume Method
Authors: Shidvash Vakilipour, Masoud Mohammadi, Rouzbeh Riazi, Scott Ormiston, Kimia Amiri, Sahar Barati
Abstract:
An essential component of a finite volume method (FVM) is the advection scheme that estimates values on the cell faces based on the calculated values on the nodes or cell centers. The most widely used advection schemes are upwind schemes. These schemes have been developed in FVM on different kinds of structured and unstructured grids. In this research, the physical influence scheme (PIS) is developed for a cell-centered FVM that uses an implicit coupled solver. Results are compared with the exponential differencing scheme (EDS) and the skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS). Accuracy of these schemes is evaluated for a lid-driven cavity flow at Re = 1000, 3200, and 5000 and a backward-facing step flow at Re = 800. Simulations show considerable differences between the results of EDS scheme with benchmarks, especially for the lid-driven cavity flow at high Reynolds numbers. These differences occur due to false diffusion. Comparing SUDS and PIS schemes shows relatively close results for the backward-facing step flow and different results in lid-driven cavity flow. The poor results of SUDS in the lid-driven cavity flow can be related to its lack of sensitivity to the pressure difference between cell face and upwind points, which is critical for the prediction of such vortex dominant flows.Keywords: cell-centered finite volume method, coupled solver, exponential differencing scheme (EDS), physical influence scheme (PIS), pressure weighted interpolation method (PWIM), skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS)
Procedia PDF Downloads 27619596 Joint Discrete Hartley Transform-Clipping for Peak to Average Power Ratio Reduction in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing System
Authors: Selcuk Comlekci, Mohammed Aboajmaa
Abstract:
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is promising technique for the modern wireless communications systems due to its robustness against multipath environment. The high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signal is one of the major drawbacks of OFDM system, PAPR degrade the performance of bit error rate (BER) and effect on the linear characteristics of high power amplifier (HPA). In this paper, we proposed DHT-Clipping reduction technique to reduce the high PAPR by the combination between discrete Hartley transform (DHT) and Clipping techniques. From the simulation results, we notified that DHT-Clipping technique offers better PAPR reduction than DHT and Clipping, as well as DHT-Clipping introduce improved BER performance better than clipping.Keywords: ISI, cyclic prefix, BER, PAPR, HPA, DHT, subcarrier
Procedia PDF Downloads 43519595 Minimum Half Power Beam Width and Side Lobe Level Reduction of Linear Antenna Array Using Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Saeed Ur Rahman, Naveed Ullah, Muhammad Irshad Khan, Quensheng Cao, Niaz Muhammad Khan
Abstract:
In this paper the optimization performance of non-uniform linear antenna array is presented. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is presented to minimize Side Lobe Level (SLL) and Half Power Beamwidth (HPBW). The purpose of using the PSO algorithm is to get the optimum values for inter-element spacing and excitation amplitude of linear antenna array that provides a radiation pattern with minimum SLL and HPBW. Various design examples are considered and the obtain results using PSO are confirmed by comparing with results achieved using other nature inspired metaheuristic algorithms such as real coded genetic algorithm (RGA) and biogeography (BBO) algorithm. The comparative results show that optimization of linear antenna array using the PSO provides considerable enhancement in the SLL and HPBW.Keywords: linear antenna array, minimum side lobe level, narrow half power beamwidth, particle swarm optimization
Procedia PDF Downloads 54319594 Formulation and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Based Hydrogel for Intranasal Drug Delivery
Authors: Pramod Jagtap, Kisan Jadhav, Neha Dand
Abstract:
Risperidone (RISP) is an antipsychotic agent and has low water solubility and nontargeted delivery results in numerous side effects. Hence, an attempt was made to develop SLNs hydrogel for intranasal delivery of RISP to achieve maximum bioavailability and reduction of side effects. RISP loaded SLNs composed of 1.65% (w/v) lipid mass were produced by high shear homogenization (HSH) coupled ultrasound (US) method using glyceryl monostearate (GMS) or Imwitor 900K (solid lipid). The particles were loaded with 0.2% (w/v) of the RISP & surface-tailored with a 2.02% (w/v) non-ionic surfactant Tween® 80. Optimization was done using 32 factorial design using Design Expert® software. The prepared SLNs dispersion incorporated into Polycarbophil AA1 hydrogel (0.5% w/v). The final gel formulation was evaluated for entrapment efficiency, particle size, rheological properties, X ray diffraction, in vitro diffusion, ex vivo permeation using sheep nasal mucosa and histopathological studies for nasocilliary toxicity. The entrapment efficiency of optimized SLNs was found to be 76 ± 2 %, polydispersity index <0.3., particle size 278 ± 5 nm. This optimized batch was incorporated into hydrogel. The pH was found to be 6.4 ± 0.14. The rheological behaviour of hydrogel formulation revealed no thixotropic behaviour. In histopathology study, there was no nasocilliary toxicity observed in nasal mucosa after ex vivo permeation. X-ray diffraction data shows drug was in amorphous form. Ex vivo permeation study shows controlled release profile of drug.Keywords: ex vivo, particle size, risperidone, solid lipid nanoparticles
Procedia PDF Downloads 41519593 Rotary Entrainment in Two Phase Stratified Gas-Liquid Layers: An Experimental Study
Authors: Yagya Sharma, Basanta K. Rana, Arup K. Das
Abstract:
Rotary entrainment is a phenomenon in which the interfaces of two immiscible fluids are subjected to external flux in the form of rotation. Present work reports the experimental study on rotary motion of a horizontal cylinder between the interface of air and water to observe the penetration of gas inside the liquid. Experiments have been performed to establish entrainment of air mass in water alongside the cylindrical surface. The movement of tracer and seeded particles have been tracked to calculate the speed and path of the entrained air inside water. Simplified particle image velocimetry technique has been used to trace the movement of particles/tracers at the moment they are injected inside the entrainment zone and suspended beads have been used to replicate the particle movement with respect to time in order to determine the flow dynamics of the fluid along the cylinder. Present paper establishes a thorough experimental analysis of the rotary entrainment phenomenon between air and water keeping in interest the extent to which we can intermix the two and also to study its entrainment trajectories.Keywords: entrainment, gas-liquid flow, particle image velocimetry, stratified layer mixing
Procedia PDF Downloads 33119592 A One Dimensional Particle in Cell Model for Excimer Lamps
Authors: W. Benstaali, A. Belasri
Abstract:
In this work we study a planar lamp filled with neon-xenon gas. We use a one-dimensional particle in a cell with Monte Carlo simulation (PIC-MCC) to investigate the effect xenon concentration on the energy deposited on excitation, ionization and ions. A Xe-Ne discharge is studied for a gas pressure of 400 torr. The results show an efficient Xe20-Ne mixture with an applied voltage of 1.2KV; the xenon excitation energy represents 65% form total energy dissipated in the discharge. We have also studied electrical properties and the energy balance a discharge for Xe50-Ne which needs a voltage of 2kv; the xenon energy is than more important.Keywords: dielectric barrier discharge, efficiency, excitation, lamps
Procedia PDF Downloads 15919591 Development of Natural Zeolites Adsorbent: Preliminary Study on Water-Isopropyl Alcohol Adsorption in a Close-Loop Continuous Adsorber
Authors: Sang Kompiang Wirawan, Pandu Prabowo Jati, I Wayan Warmada
Abstract:
Klaten Indonesian natural zeolite can be used as powder or pellet adsorbent. Pellet adsorbent has been made from activated natural zeolite powder by a conventional pressing method. Starch and formaldehyde were added as binder to strengthen the construction of zeolite pellet. To increase the absorptivity and its capacity, natural zeolite was activated first chemically and thermally. This research examined adsorption process of water from Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)-water system using zeolite adsorbent pellet from natural zeolite powder which has been activated with H2SO4 0.1 M and 0.3 M. Adsorbent was pelleted by pressing apparatus at certain pressure to make specification in 1.96 cm diameter, 0.68 cm thickness which the natural zeolite powder (-80 mesh). The system of isopropyl-alcohol water contained 80% isopropyl-alcohol. Adsorption process was held in close-loop continuous apparatus which the zeolite pellet was put inside a column and the solution of IPA-water was circulated at certain flow. Concentration changing was examined thoroughly at a certain time. This adsorption process included mass transfer from bulk liquid into film layer and from film layer into the solid particle. Analysis of rate constant was using first order isotherm model that simulated with MATLAB. Besides using first order isotherm, intra-particle diffusion model was proposed by using pore diffusion model. The study shows that adsorbent activated by H2SO4 0.1 M has good absorptivity with mass transfer constant at 0.1286 min-1.Keywords: intra-particle diffusion, fractional attainment, first order isotherm, zeolite
Procedia PDF Downloads 30419590 Development and In vitro Characterization of Diclofenac-Loaded Microparticles
Authors: Prakriti Diwan, S. Saraf
Abstract:
The present study involves preparation and evaluation of microparticles of diclofenac sodium. The microparticles were prepared by the emulsion solvent evaporation techniques using ethylcellulose polymer. Four different batches of microspheres were prepared by varying the concentration of polymer from 50% to 80% w/w. The microspheres were characterized for drug content, percentage yield and encapsulation efficiency, particle size analysis and surface morphology. Microsphere prepared with high drug content produces higher percentage yield and encapsulation efficiency values. It was observed the increase in concentration of the polymer, increases the mean particle size of the microspheres. The effect of polymer concentration on the in vitro release of diclofenac from the microspheres was also studied. The production microparticles yield showed 98.74%, mean particle size 956.32µm and loading efficiency 97.15%. The results were found that microparticles prepared had slower release than microparticles (p>0.05). Therefore, it may be concluded that drug loaded microparticles are suitable delivery systems for diclofenac sodium.Keywords: diclofenac sodium, emulsion solvent evaporation, ethylcellulose, microparticles
Procedia PDF Downloads 28519589 Transformation of Periodic Fuzzy Membership Function to Discrete Polygon on Circular Polar Coordinates
Authors: Takashi Mitsuishi
Abstract:
Fuzzy logic has gained acceptance in the recent years in the fields of social sciences and humanities such as psychology and linguistics because it can manage the fuzziness of words and human subjectivity in a logical manner. However, the major field of application of the fuzzy logic is control engineering as it is a part of the set theory and mathematical logic. Mamdani method, which is the most popular technique for approximate reasoning in the field of fuzzy control, is one of the ways to numerically represent the control afforded by human language and sensitivity and has been applied in various practical control plants. Fuzzy logic has been gradually developing as an artificial intelligence in different applications such as neural networks, expert systems, and operations research. The objects of inference vary for different application fields. Some of these include time, angle, color, symptom and medical condition whose fuzzy membership function is a periodic function. In the defuzzification stage, the domain of the membership function should be unique to obtain uniqueness its defuzzified value. However, if the domain of the periodic membership function is determined as unique, an unintuitive defuzzified value may be obtained as the inference result using the center of gravity method. Therefore, the authors propose a method of circular-polar-coordinates transformation and defuzzification of the periodic membership functions in this study. The transformation to circular polar coordinates simplifies the domain of the periodic membership function. Defuzzified value in circular polar coordinates is an argument. Furthermore, it is required that the argument is calculated from a closed plane figure which is a periodic membership function on the circular polar coordinates. If the closed plane figure is continuous with the continuity of the membership function, a significant amount of computation is required. Therefore, to simplify the practice example and significantly reduce the computational complexity, we have discretized the continuous interval and the membership function in this study. In this study, the following three methods are proposed to decide the argument from the discrete polygon which the continuous plane figure is transformed into. The first method provides an argument of a straight line passing through the origin and through the coordinate of the arithmetic mean of each coordinate of the polygon (physical center of gravity). The second one provides an argument of a straight line passing through the origin and the coordinate of the geometric center of gravity of the polygon. The third one provides an argument of a straight line passing through the origin bisecting the perimeter of the polygon (or the closed continuous plane figure).Keywords: defuzzification, fuzzy membership function, periodic function, polar coordinates transformation
Procedia PDF Downloads 35719588 Effect of Particle Size on Sintering Characteristics of Injection Molded 316L Powder
Authors: H. Özkan Gülsoy, Antonyraj Arockiasamy
Abstract:
The application of powder injection molding technology for the fabrication of metallic and non-metallic components is of growing interest as the process considerably saves time and cost. Utilizing this fabrication method, full dense components are being prepared in various sizes. In this work, our effort is focused to study the densification behavior of the parts made using different size 316L stainless steel powders. The metal powders were admixed with an adequate amount of polymeric compounds and molded as standard tensile bars. Solvent and thermal debinding was carried out followed by sintering in ultra pure hydrogen atmosphere based on the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) cycle. Mechanical property evaluation and microstructural characterization of the sintered specimens was performed using universal Instron tensile testing machine, Vicker’s microhardness tester, optical (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction were used. The results are compared and analyzed to predict the strength and weakness of the test conditions.Keywords: powder injection molding, sintering, particle size, stainless steels
Procedia PDF Downloads 35719587 Statistical Wavelet Features, PCA, and SVM-Based Approach for EEG Signals Classification
Authors: R. K. Chaurasiya, N. D. Londhe, S. Ghosh
Abstract:
The study of the electrical signals produced by neural activities of human brain is called Electroencephalography. In this paper, we propose an automatic and efficient EEG signal classification approach. The proposed approach is used to classify the EEG signal into two classes: epileptic seizure or not. In the proposed approach, we start with extracting the features by applying Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) in order to decompose the EEG signals into sub-bands. These features, extracted from details and approximation coefficients of DWT sub-bands, are used as input to Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The classification is based on reducing the feature dimension using PCA and deriving the support-vectors using Support Vector Machine (SVM). The experimental are performed on real and standard dataset. A very high level of classification accuracy is obtained in the result of classification.Keywords: discrete wavelet transform, electroencephalogram, pattern recognition, principal component analysis, support vector machine
Procedia PDF Downloads 627