Search results for: sustainable design

Authors: Pankhuri Bansal, Sanjeev Kumar

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We examined the exotic role of electrical poling of layered BCZT-NZFO bulk composite for sustainable advancement of magnetoelectric (ME) technology. Practically, it seems quite difficult to access the full potential of ME composites due to their weak ME coupling performances. Using a standard poling protocol, we successfully deployed the coupling performance of laminated ME composite, comprised of a ferroelectric (FE) layer of BCZT and a ferrite layer of NZFO. However, the ME coupling constant of laminated composite is optimized by lowering the volume fraction of the FE component to strengthen the mechanical strain in the piezoelectric layer while fixing the thickness of the magnetostrictive ferrite layer. Here, we employed systematic zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) electrical poling protocol on morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) based BCZT composition, well-appreciated for it’s remarkable electromechanical activity. We report a record augmentation in magnetoelectric coupling as a consequence of a prudent field-cooled poling mechanism. On the basis of our findings, we emphasize that the degree of magnetoelectricity may be significantly improved for the miniaturization of efficient devices via proper execution of the poling technique.

Keywords: magnetoelectric, lead-free, ferroelctric, ferromagnetic, energy harvesting

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Authors: Saban Inam, Necdet Sahiner, Tayfun Cay

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Environmental factors such as rapid population growth, changing economic conditions, desertification and climate change increase demand for the acquisition and use of land. Demands on the land are increasing due to the lack of production of soils and scarcity. This causes disagreements on the land. Reducing the pressure on the land and protecting the natural resources, public investments should be directed economically and rationally. This will make it possible to achieve equivalent living conditions between the rural area and the urban area. Initiating the development from the rural area and the cadastre needs to be redefined to allow the management of the land. The planned, regular, effective agriculture and rural development policies that Turkey will implement in the process of European Union membership will also significantly shape Turkey's position in the European Union. For this reason, Turkey enjoys the most appropriate use of natural resources, which is one of the main objectives of the European Union's recent rural development policy. This study deals with the urgent need to provide cadastral data infrastructure that will form the basis for land management which is supposed to support economic and societal sustainable development in rural and urban areas.

Keywords: rural development, cadastre, land management, agricultural reform implementation project, land parcel identification system

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Authors: Azadeh Jafari, Farzin Ghanadi, Matthew J. Emes, Maziar Arjomandi, Benjamin S. Cazzolato

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The turbulence within the atmospheric boundary layer induces highly unsteady aerodynamic loads on structures. These loads, if not accounted for in the design process, will lead to structural failure and are therefore important for the design of the structures. For an accurate prediction of wind loads, understanding the correlation between atmospheric turbulence and the aerodynamic loads is necessary. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of turbulence within the atmospheric boundary layer on the surface pressure on a flat plate over a wide range of turbulence intensities and integral length scales. The flat plate is chosen as a fundamental geometry which represents structures such as solar panels and billboards. Experiments were conducted at the University of Adelaide large-scale wind tunnel. Two wind tunnel boundary layers with different intensities and length scales of turbulence were generated using two sets of spires with different dimensions and a fetch of roughness elements. Average longitudinal turbulence intensities of 13% and 26% were achieved in each boundary layer, and the longitudinal integral length scale within the three boundary layers was between 0.4 m and 1.22 m. The pressure distributions on a square flat plate at different elevation angles between 30° and 90° were measured within the two boundary layers with different turbulence intensities and integral length scales. It was found that the peak pressure coefficient on the flat plate increased with increasing turbulence intensity and integral length scale. For example, the peak pressure coefficient on a flat plate elevated at 90° increased from 1.2 to 3 with increasing turbulence intensity from 13% to 26%. Furthermore, both the mean and the peak pressure distribution on the flat plates varied with turbulence intensity and length scale. The results of this study can be used to provide a more accurate estimation of the unsteady wind loads on structures such as buildings and solar panels.

Keywords: atmospheric boundary layer, flat plate, pressure coefficient, turbulence

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Authors: Hailu Kebede Bekele

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Construction delays are suitable where project events occur at a certain time expected due to causes related to the client, consultant, and contractor. Delay is the major cause of the cost overrun that leads to the poor efficiency of the project. The cost difference between completion and the originally estimated is known as cost overrun. The common ways of cost overruns are not simple issues that can be neglected, but more attention should be given to prevent the organization from being devastated to be failed, and financial expenses to be extended. The reasons that may raised in different studies show that the problem may arise in construction projects due to errors in budgeting, lack of favorable weather conditions, inefficient machinery, and the availability of extravagance. The study is focused on the pace of mega projects that can have a significant change in the cost overrun calculation.15 mega projects are identified to study the problem of the cost overrun in the site. The contractor, consultant, and client are the principal stakeholders in the mega projects. 20 people from each sector were selected to participate in the investigation of the current mega construction project. The main objective of the study on the construction cost overrun is to prioritize the major causes of the cost overrun problem. The methodology that was employed in the construction cost overrun is the qualitative methodology that mostly rates the causes of construction project cost overrun. Interviews, open-ended and closed-ended questions group discussions, and rating qualitative methods are the best methodologies to study construction projects overrun. The result shows that design mistakes, lack of labor, payment delay, old equipment and scheduling, weather conditions, lack of skilled labor, payment delays, transportation, inflation, and order variations, market price fluctuation, and people's thoughts and philosophies, the prior cause of the cost overrun that fail the project performance. The institute shall follow the scheduled activities to bring a positive forward in the project life.

Keywords: cost overrun, delay, mega projects, design

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Authors: Siti Indati Mustapa, Hussain Ali Bekhet

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Global CO2 emission and increasing fuel consumption to meet energy demand requirement has become a threat in recent decades. Effort to reduce the CO2 emission is now a matter of priority in most countries of the world including Malaysia. Transportation has been identified as the most intensive sector of carbon-based fuels and achievement of the voluntary target to meet 40% carbon intensity reduction set at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) means that the emission from the transport sector must be reduced accordingly. This posed a great challenge to Malaysia and effort has to be made to embrace suitable and appropriate energy policy for sustainable energy and emission reduction of this sector. The focus of this paper is to analyse the trends of Malaysia’s energy consumption and emission of four different transport sub-sectors (road, rail, aviation and maritime). Underlying factors influencing the growth of energy consumption and emission trends are discussed. Besides, technology status towards energy efficiency in transportation sub-sectors is presented. By reviewing the existing policies and trends of energy used, the paper highlights prospective policy options towards achieving emission reduction in the transportation sector.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, transportation sector, fuel consumption, energy policy, Malaysia

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Authors: Muhammad Rizwan Tabassum, Ao Xia, Jerry D. Murphy

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The purpose of this work is to provide a comprehensive overview of seaweed as the alternative feedstock for biofuel production and key conversion technologies. Resource depletion and climate change are the driving forces to hunt for renewable sources of energy. Macroalgae can be preferred over land based crops for biofuel production because they are not in competition with food crops for arable land, high growth rates and low lignin contents which require less energy-intensive pre-treatments. However, some disadvantages, such as high moisture content, seasonal variation in chemical composition and process inhibition limit its economic feasibility. Seaweed can be converted into gaseous and liquid fuel by different conversion technologies, but biogas via anaerobic digestion from seaweed is attracting increased attention due to its dual benefit of an economic source of bio-fuel and environment-friendly technology. Biodiesel and bioethanol conversion technologies from seaweed are still under development. A selection of high yielding seaweed species, optimal harvesting season and process optimization make them economically feasible for the alternative source of renewable and sustainable feedstock for biofuel in future.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biofuel, bio-methane, conversion technologies, seaweed

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Authors: Elisha Kyirem

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Undoubtedly, climate change is a major global challenge that could threaten the very foundation upon which life on earth is anchored, with its impacts on human mobility attracting the attention of policy makers and researchers. There is an increasing body of literature and case studies suggesting that migration could be a way through which the vulnerable move away from areas exposed to climate extreme events to improve their lives and that of their families. This presents migration as a way through which people voluntarily move to seek opportunities that could help reduce their exposure and avoid danger from climate events. Thus, migration is seen as a proactive adaptation strategy aimed at building resilience and improving livelihoods to enable people to adapt to future changing events. However, there has not been any mathematical equation linking migration and climate change adaptation. Drawing from literature in development studies, this paper develops an equation that seeks to link the relationship between migration and climate change adaptation. The mathematical equation establishes the linkages between migration, resilience, poverty reduction and vulnerability, and these the paper maintains, are the key variables for conceptualizing the migration-climate change adaptation nexus. The paper then tests the validity of the equation using the sustainable livelihood framework and publicly available data on migration and tourism in Ghana.

Keywords: migration, adaptation, climate change, adaptation, poverty reduction

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Authors: Kulkarni Rohini D.

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While emerging as plausible sources of energy generation, new technologies, including photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, home battery energy storage systems, and electric vehicles (EVs), are exacerbating the operations of power distribution networks for distribution network operators (DNOs). Renewable energy production fluctuates, stemming in over- and under-generation energy, further complicating the issue of storing excess power and using it when necessary. Though renewable sources are non-exhausting and reoccurring, power storage of generated energy is almost as paramount as to its production process. Hence, to ensure smooth and efficient power storage at different levels, Grid balancing technologies are consequently the next theme to address in the sustainable space and growth sector. But, since hydrogen batteries were used in the earlier days to achieve this balance in power grids, new, recent advancements are more efficient and capable per unit of storage space while also being distinctive in terms of their underlying operating principles. The underlying technologies of "Flow batteries," "Gravity Solutions," and "Graphene Batteries" already have entered the market and are leading the race for efficient storage device solutions that will improve and stabilize Grid networks, followed by Grid balancing technologies.

Keywords: flow batteries, grid balancing, hydrogen batteries, power storage, solar

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Authors: Harsha Nagar, Vineet Aniya, Alka Kumari, Satyavathi B.

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In the present study, engineered bio-coal was produced from pressed seed cake, which otherwise is non-edible in origin. The production process involves a slow pyrolysis wherein, based on the optimization of process parameters; a substantial reduction in H/C and O/C of 77% was achieved with respect to the original ratio of 1.67 and 0.8, respectively. The bio-coal, so the product was found to have a higher heating value of 29899 kJ/kg with surface area 17 m²/g and pore volume of 0.002 cc/g. The functional characterization of bio-coal and its subsequent modification was carried out to enhance its active sites, which were further used as an adsorbent material for removal of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) herbicide from the aqueous stream. The point of zero charge for the bio-coal was found to be pH < 3 where its surface is positively charged and attracts anions resulting in the maximum 2, 4, 6-TCP adsorption at pH 2.0. The parametric optimization of the adsorption process was studied based on the Box-Behken design with the desirability approach. The results showed optimum values of adsorption efficiency of 74.04% and uptake capacity of 118.336 mg/g for an initial metal concentration of 250 mg/l and particle size of 0.12 mm at pH 2.0 and 1 g/L of bio-coal loading. Negative Gibbs free energy change values indicated the feasibility of 2,4,6-TCP adsorption on biochar. Decreasing the ΔG values with the rise in temperature indicated high favourability at low temperatures. The equilibrium modeling results showed that both isotherms (Langmuir and Freundlich) accurately predicted the equilibrium data, which may be attributed to the different affinity of the functional groups of bio-coal for 2,4,6-TCP removal. The possible mechanism for 2,4,6-TCP adsorption is found to be physisorption (pore diffusion, p*_p electron donor-acceptor interaction, H-bonding, and van der Waals dispersion forces) and chemisorption (phenolic and amine groups chemical bonding) based on the kinetics data modeling.

Keywords: engineered biocoal, 2, 4, 6-trichlorophenol, box behnken design, biosorption

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Authors: Mabrook Saleh Amera, Prabhakarn Arunachalama, Maged N. Shaddadb, Abdulhadi Al-Qadia

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Global energy crises and water pollution have negatively impacted sustainable development in recent years. It is most promising to use Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) as an electrode for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation of water and pollution degradation. However, BiVO4 anodes suffer from poor charge separation and slow water oxidation. In this paper, a Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH heterojunction was successfully prepared by electrodeposition and photoelectrochemical transformation process. The method resulted in a notable 5-fold improvement in photocurrent features (1.27 mAcm−2 at 1.23 VRHE) and a lower onset potential of 0.6 VRHE. Photoanodes with high photocatalytic features and high photocorrosion resistance may be attributed their high conformity and amorphous nature of the coating. In this study, PEC was compared to electrocatalysis (EC), and the effect of bias potential on PEC degradation was discussed for tetracycline (TCH), riboflavin, and streptomycin. In PEC, TCH was degraded in the most efficient way (96 %) by Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH, three times larger than Zr:BiVO4 and EC (55 %). Thus, this study offers a potential solution for oxidizing PEC water and treating water pollution.

Keywords: photoelectrochemical, water splitting, pharmaceutical pollutants degradation, photoanodes, cocatalyst

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Authors: Aliasghar Mehdizadeh Dastjerdi, Francisco Camara Pereira

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The increasing complexity and demand of transport services strains transportation systems especially in urban areas with limited possibilities for building new infrastructure. The solution to this challenge requires changes of travel behavior. One of the proposed means to induce such change is multimodal travel apps. This paper describes a study of the intention to use a real-time multi-modal travel app aimed at motivating travel behavior change in the Greater Copenhagen Region (Denmark) toward promoting sustainable transport options. The proposed app is a multi-faceted smartphone app including both travel information and persuasive strategies such as health and environmental feedback, tailoring travel options, self-monitoring, tunneling users toward green behavior, social networking, nudging and gamification elements. The prospective for mobility management travel apps to stimulate sustainable mobility rests not only on the original and proper employment of the behavior change strategies, but also on explicitly anchoring it on established theoretical constructs from behavioral theories. The theoretical foundation is important because it positively and significantly influences the effectiveness of the system. However, there is a gap in current knowledge regarding the study of mobility-management travel app with support in behavioral theories, which should be explored further. This study addresses this gap by a social cognitive theory‐based examination. However, compare to conventional method in technology adoption research, this study adopts a reverse approach in which the associations between theoretical constructs are explored by Max-Min Hill-Climbing (MMHC) algorithm as a hybrid causal discovery method. A technology-use preference survey was designed to collect data. The survey elicited different groups of variables including (1) three groups of user’s motives for using the app including gain motives (e.g., saving travel time and cost), hedonic motives (e.g., enjoyment) and normative motives (e.g., less travel-related CO2 production), (2) technology-related self-concepts (i.e. technophile attitude) and (3) use Intention of the travel app. The questionnaire items led to the formulation of causal relationships discovery to learn the causal structure of the data. Causal relationships discovery from observational data is a critical challenge and it has applications in different research fields. The estimated causal structure shows that the two constructs of gain motives and technophilia have a causal effect on adoption intention. Likewise, there is a causal relationship from technophilia to both gain and hedonic motives. In line with the findings of the prior studies, it highlights the importance of functional value of the travel app as well as technology self-concept as two important variables for adoption intention. Furthermore, the results indicate the effect of technophile attitude on developing gain and hedonic motives. The causal structure shows hierarchical associations between the three groups of user’s motive. They can be explained by “frustration-regression” principle according to Alderfer's ERG (Existence, Relatedness and Growth) theory of needs meaning that a higher level need remains unfulfilled, a person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. To conclude, this study shows the capability of causal discovery methods to learn the causal structure of theoretical model, and accordingly interpret established associations.

Keywords: travel app, behavior change, persuasive technology, travel information, causality

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Authors: Graham Hancox, Saydia Razak, Sue Hignett, Jo Barnes, Jyri Silmari, Florian Kading

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In the event of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) incident rapidly gaining, situational awareness is of paramount importance and advanced technologies have an important role to play in improving detection, identification, monitoring (DIM) and patient tracking. Understanding how these advanced technologies can fit into current response systems is essential to ensure they are optimally designed, usable and meet end-users’ needs. For this reason, Human Factors (Ergonomics) methods have been used within an EU Horizon 2020 project (TOXI-Triage) to firstly describe (map) the hierarchical structure in a CBRN response with adapted Accident Map (AcciMap) methodology. Secondly, Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) has been used to describe and review the sequence of steps (sub-tasks) in a CBRN scenario response as a task system. HTA methodology was then used to map one advanced technology, ‘Tag and Trace’, which tags an element (people, sample and equipment) with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip in the Hot Zone to allow tracing of (monitoring), for example casualty progress through the response. This HTA mapping of the Tag and Trace system showed how the provider envisaged the technology being used, allowing for review and fit with the current CBRN response systems. These methodologies have been found to be very effective in promoting and supporting a dialogue between end-users and technology providers. The Human Factors methods have given clear diagrammatic (visual) representations of how providers see their technology being used and how end users would actually use it in the field; allowing for a more user centered approach to the design process. For CBRN events usability is critical as sub-optimum design of technology could add to a responders’ workload in what is already a chaotic, ambiguous and safety critical environment.

Keywords: AcciMap, CBRN, ergonomics, hierarchical task analysis, human factors

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Authors: A. Sohouli, A. Suleman

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This study focuses on reliability analysis of variable stiffness composite laminate structures to investigate the potential structural improvement compared to conventional (straight fibers) composite laminate structures. A computational framework was developed which it consists of a deterministic design step and reliability analysis. The optimization part is Discrete Material Optimization (DMO) and the reliability of the structure is computed by Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) after using Stochastic Response Surface Method (SRSM). The design driver in deterministic optimization is the maximum stiffness, while optimization method concerns certain manufacturing constraints to attain industrial relevance. These manufacturing constraints are the change of orientation between adjacent patches cannot be too large and the maximum number of successive plies of a particular fiber orientation should not be too high. Variable stiffness composites may be manufactured by Automated Fiber Machines (AFP) which provides consistent quality with good production rates. However, laps and gaps are the most important challenges to steer fibers that effect on the performance of the structures. In this study, the optimal curved fiber paths at each layer of composites are designed in the first step by DMO, and then the reliability analysis is applied to investigate the sensitivity of the structure with different standard deviations compared to the straight fiber angle composites. The random variables are material properties and loads on the structures. The results show that the variable stiffness composite laminate structures are much more reliable, even for high standard deviation of material properties, than the conventional composite laminate structures. The reason is that the variable stiffness composite laminates allow tailoring stiffness and provide the possibility of adjusting stress and strain distribution favorably in the structures.

Keywords: material optimization, Monte Carlo simulation, reliability analysis, response surface method, variable stiffness composite structures

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Authors: Abhipsa Mohanty, Harit Jha

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The world's energy demands are continuing to rise, resulting in a worldwide energy crisis and environmental pollution. Because of finite, declining supply and environmental damage, reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. As a result, experts are concentrating on alternative, renewable, and carbon-free energy sources. Energy sources that are both environmentally and economically sustainable are required. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have recently received a lot of attention due to their low operating temperatures and ability to use a variety of biodegradable substrates as fuel. There are single-chamber MFCs as well as traditional MFCs with anode and cathode compartments. Bioelectricity is produced when microorganisms actively catabolize substrate. MFCs can be used as a power source in small devices like biosensors. Understanding of its components, microbiological processes, limiting variables, and construction designs in MFC systems must be simplified, and large-scale systems must be developed for them to be cost-effective as well as increase electricity production. The purpose of this research was to review current microbiology knowledge in the field of electricity. The manufacturing process, the materials, and procedures utilized to construct the technology, as well as the applications of MFC technology, are all covered.

Keywords: bio-electricity, exoelectrogenic bacteria, microbial fuel cells, soil microorganisms

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Authors: Hermalina Sinay, Estri L. Arumingtyas

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The research objective was to determine the expression level of dehydration responsive element binding/DREB gene of local corn cultivars from Kisar Island Maluku. The study design was a randomized block design with single factor consist of six local corn cultivars obtained from farmers in Kisar Island and one reference varieties wich has been released by the government as a drought-tolerant varieties and obtained from Cereal Crops Research Institute (ICERI) Maros South Sulawesi. Leaf samples were taken is the second leaf after the flag leaf at the 65 days after planting. Isolation of total RNA from leaf samples was carried out according to the protocols of the R & A-BlueTM Total RNA Extraction Kit and was used as a template for cDNA synthesis. The making of cDNA from total RNA was carried out according to the protocol of One-Step Reverse Transcriptase PCR Premix Kit. Real Time-PCR was performed on cDNA from reverse transcription followed the procedures of Real MODTM Green Real-Time PCR Master Mix Kit. Data obtained from the real time-PCR results were analyzed using relative quantification method based on the critical point / Cycle Threshold (CP / CT). The results of gene expression analysis of DREB gene showed that the expression level of the gene was highest obtained at Deep Yellow local corn cultivar, and the lowest one was obtained at the Rubby Brown Cob cultivar. It can be concluded that the expression level of DREB gene of Deep Yellow local corn cultivar was highest than other local corn cultivars and Srikandi variety as a reference variety.

Keywords: expression, level, DREB gene, local corn cultivars, Kisar Island, Maluku

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Authors: Karmela Palma Samson

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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks in private organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing global environmental concerns have further highlighted the importance of ESG practices in businesses. To be effective, the development and sustainability of ESG implementation require specific organizational functions. One such function is Organization Development (OD). This study aims to identify the roles of OD in the development, monitoring, and evaluation of ESG in private organizations. The role of OD in sustaining ESG implementation in private organizations was analyzed in this study. Qualitative research was conducted, which included interviews with OD practitioners to understand their role and challenges in maintaining ESG programs and initiatives. The study found that OD practitioners have low participation in managing ESG programs, initiatives, and indicators. However, the study also revealed that the OD function is crucial for the development, monitoring, and evaluation of ESG implementation in private organizations. In essence, the study highlights the importance of the OD function in ensuring the success of ESG implementation in private organizations. With their expertise in organizational development, OD practitioners can contribute significantly to the development, implementation, and evaluation of ESG initiatives. Therefore, private organizations should involve their OD departments in ESG implementation to ensure that they are sustainable, effective, and aligned with their organizational goals.

Keywords: ESG, organization development, private sector, sustainability

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Authors: Jimoh Yusuf Amuda

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Human security is a great panacea for sustainable development of world societies. Today the whole globe cum human species is living in nightmares of insecurity. This is due to acts of terrorism by various terrorists’ organization worldwide. The situation is on the increase daily. The number of lives and properties lost to religious insurgency cannot be quantifiably analyzed. It is on this note that this paper examine the book haram menace in northern Nigerian vis-à-vis it’s threat to the existence of human lives. The methodology applied for this research is the multi-disciplinary approach, the use journal articles, news papers, magazines, oral interview. Field trips to areas of terrorist attack and the use of text books. The following recommendations were made base on the findings. First of all the Nigerian government should declare total war on the book haram terrorist, then secondly the source of armament coming to this terrorist should be blocked, thirdly the European world should also place an arms embargo on terrorist source arms demands, also security agencies-police, the military, immigration, customs, state security service should work hand-in-hand, in a security tight measures to reduce the penetration of insurgent into the society.

Keywords: human, insecurity, security, terrorism

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Authors: Nur Farizah Binte Mohd Sedek

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Divine love is ubiquitous in many religions and philosophies. In the Islamic Sufi tradition, it is recognized as an “intense yearning for unification” with God. Previous literature demonstrates that divine love plays a role in forming meaning and purpose in one’s life. However, previous research has not explored the effects of the Islamic practice of divine love contemplation on meaning and purpose in life. The current study used an experimental design to investigate whether a divine love contemplation intervention has an impact on meaning and purpose in life in Muslims through the framework of Islamic Psychology. The sample consisted of 34 participants (7 males and 27 females) who were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Intervention (n = 20) and Control (n = 14). Participants in the intervention group did a general litany and a divine love supplication and contemplation exercise, while participants in the control group did only a general litany exercise. Three hypotheses were tested using a mixed-design two-way (split-plot) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine whether participants in the intervention group will report a significant increase in 1) divine love, 2) meaning in life, and 3) purpose in life from before to after the intervention, whereas participants in the control group will not report a significant change in the mentioned constructs. The results supported Hypothesis 1, in that a significant interaction between group and time emerged for divine love. Specifically, the intervention group reported a significant increase in divine love from before to after the intervention, whereas the control group did not report a significant change in divine love. Furthermore, the effect size was large, even though the mean difference was negligible, indicating that this change was substantial enough to have a considerable effect on the sample. However, the tests of the second and third hypotheses were not significant, suggesting that the divine love contemplation intervention did not have a significant impact on meaning or purpose in life. Suggestions for future research include qualitative phenomenological studies that could be conducted to glean experiential insight into the constructs from the participants’ individual accounts.

Keywords: divine love, meaning in life, purpose in life, contemplation, islamic psychology

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Authors: Joanne Moyer

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El Paso, Texas is a southwest border city that has experienced continuous growth within the last 15-years. Understanding the urban growth trends and patterns using data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and landscape metrics, provides a quantitative description of growth. Past urban growth provided a basis to predict 2031 future land-use for El Paso using the CA-Markov model. As a consequence of growth, an increase in demand of resources follows. Using panel data analysis, an understanding of the relation between landscape metrics and electricity consumption is further analyzed. The studies’ findings indicate that past growth focused within three districts within the City of El Paso. The landscape metrics suggest as the city has grown, fragmentation has decreased. Alternatively, the landscape metrics for the projected 2031 land-use indicates possible fragmentation within one of these districts. Panel data suggests electricity consumption and mean patch area landscape metric are positively correlated. The study provides local decision makers to make informed decisions for policies and urban planning to ensure a future sustainable community.

Keywords: landscape metrics, CA-Markov, El Paso, Texas, panel data

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Authors: Alok Madan, Arshad K. Hashmi

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The paper presents a plastic analysis procedure based on the energy balance concept for performance based seismic retrofit of multi-story multi-bay masonry infilled reinforced concrete (R/C) frames with a ‘soft’ ground story using passive energy dissipation (PED) devices with the objective of achieving a target performance level of the retrofitted R/C frame for a given seismic hazard level at the building site. The proposed energy based plastic analysis procedure was employed for developing performance based design (PBD) formulations for PED devices for a simulated application in seismic retrofit of existing frame structures designed in compliance with the prevalent standard codes of practice. The PBD formulations developed for PED devices were implemented for simulated seismic retrofit of a representative code-compliant masonry infilled R/C frame with a ‘soft’ ground story using friction dampers as the PED device. Non-linear dynamic analyses of the retrofitted masonry infilled R/C frames is performed to investigate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed energy based plastic analysis procedure in achieving the target performance level under design level earthquakes. Results of non-linear dynamic analyses demonstrate that the maximum inter-story drifts in the masonry infilled R/C frames with a ‘soft’ ground story that is retrofitted with the friction dampers designed using the proposed PBD formulations are controlled within the target drifts under near-field as well far-field earthquakes.

Keywords: energy methods, masonry infilled frame, near-field earthquakes, seismic protection, supplemental damping devices

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Authors: Dheyaa Hussein, Peter Armstrong

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The phenomenon of visual disorder is prominent in contemporary townscapes. This paper provides a theoretical framework for the assessment of visual consistency in townscape in order to achieve more favourable outcomes for users. In this paper, visual consistency refers to the amount of similarity between adjacent components of townscape. The paper investigates parameters which relate to visual consistency in townscape, explores the relationships between them and highlights their significance. The paper uses arithmetic methods from outside the domain of urban design to enable the establishment of an objective approach of assessment which considers subjective indicators including users’ preferences. These methods involve the standard of deviation, colour distance and the distance between points. The paper identifies urban space as a key representative of the visual parameters of townscape. It focuses on its two components, geometry and colour in the evaluation of the visual consistency of townscape. Accordingly, this article proposes four measurements. The first quantifies the number of vertices, which are points in the three-dimensional space that are connected, by lines, to represent the appearance of elements. The second evaluates the visual surroundings of urban space through assessing the location of their vertices. The last two measurements calculate the visual similarity in both vertices and colour in townscape by the calculation of their variation using methods including standard of deviation and colour difference. The proposed quantitative assessment is based on users’ preferences towards these measurements. The paper offers a theoretical basis for a practical tool which can alter the current understanding of architectural form and its application in urban space. This tool is currently under development. The proposed method underpins expert subjective assessment and permits the establishment of a unified framework which adds to creativity by the achievement of a higher level of consistency and satisfaction among the citizens of evolving townscapes.

Keywords: townscape, urban design, visual assessment, visual consistency

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Authors: Saou Mohamed Amine

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The construction industry has been identified as a user of substantial amount of materials and energy resources that has an enormous impact on environment. The energy efficient in refurbishment project is being considered as one of the approaches to achieve sustainability in construction industry. The increasing concern for environment has made building owners and designers to incorporate the energy efficiency features into their building projects.

Keywords: construction industry, design team attributes, energy efficient performance, refurbishment projects characteristics

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Authors: Somayeh Lotfi, Manuel Eggimann, Eckhard Wagner, Radosław Mróz, Jan Deja

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One of the main environmental challenges in the construction industry is a strong social force to decrease the bulk transport of the building materials in urban environments. Considering this fact, applying more in-situ recycling technologies for Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is an urgent need. The European C2CA project develops a novel concrete recycling technology that can be performed purely mechanically and in situ. The technology consists of a combination of smart demolition, gentle grinding of the crushed concrete in an autogenous mill, and a novel dry classification technology called ADR to remove the fines. The feasibility of this recycling process was examined in demonstration projects involving in total 20,000 tons of End of Life (EOL) concrete from two office towers in Groningen, The Netherlands. This paper concentrates on the second demonstration project of C2CA, where EOL concrete was recycled on an industrial site. After recycling, the properties of the produced Recycled Aggregate (RA) were investigated, and results are presented. An experimental study was carried out on mechanical and durability properties of produced Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) compared to those of the Natural Aggregate Concrete (NAC). The aim was to understand the importance of RA substitution, w/c ratio and type of cement to the properties of RAC. In this regard, two series of reference concrete with strength classes of C25/30 and C45/55 were produced using natural coarse aggregates (rounded and crushed) and natural sand. The RAC series were created by replacing parts of the natural aggregate, resulting in series of concrete with 0%, 20%, 50% and 100% of RA. Results show that the concrete mix design and type of cement have a decisive effect on the properties of RAC. On the other hand, the substitution of RA even at a high percentage replacement level has a minor and manageable impact on the performance of RAC. This result is a good indication towards the feasibility of using RA in structural concrete by modifying the mix design and using a proper type of cement.

Keywords: C2CA, ADR, concrete recycling, recycled aggregate, durability

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Authors: Jeyaseelan Gnanaseelan

Abstract:

In the post-war reconciliation context, the Sri Lankans need to develop constructive discourse on political harmony, cohesion, and co-habitation to make a positive impact on legislative changes towards post-conflict reconciliation, sustainable peace, and justice. Ideological discourse constitutes power in constructing ideational, textual and interpersonal constructs for legitimizing power in society. This paper qualitatively analyses the exemplified discourse extracts of some prominent contemporary Sinhalese, which represent majoritarianism and ethno-nationalism regarding the origins of the Sinhala and Tamil communities and the consequent status availed to their existence in Sri Lanka. The study focuses, with the historiographical evidence, on whether such discourse has been a part of the problem or a part of the solution to the protracted, historically constructed Sri Lankan conflict. It finds out the continuation of such persistent and reiterated linguistically embedded ethno-centric ideological and attitudinal positions even now, which need to be addressed. This paper recommends awareness creation among the public about the true, scientifically derived historical information on the origins, evolution and inter-community co-existence and conflict of the two communities so that a durable solution can be reached in the long run.

Keywords: conflict, discourse, ethno-nationalism, ideology, legitimization, Sinhalese, Tamil

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Authors: Siti Hasnah Kamarudin, Luqman Chuah Abdullah, Min Min Aung, Chantara Thevy Ratnam

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The primary objective of this work was to develop fully nanocomposite material based on poly(lactic acid), epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) and nanocrystalline cellulose. EJO was investigated as a sustainable alternative to petrochemical-based plasticizers to reinforce the ductility and toughness of plastics, in this case, nanocellulose/poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The EJO was melt blended into nanocellulose/PLA at concentrations from 1 wt% to 5 wt%. The blends were then hot-pressed into sheets to characterize their mechanical and physical properties. Microcrystalline cellulose had been converted to nanocrystalline cellulose by acid mercerisation technique and the effects thereof on the composites’ tensile, flexural, and impact properties, as well as their water absorption and density, were studied. The impact strengths of the nanocomposites were improved with the addition of NCC up to 0.5 wt%, with a maximum over 10 times that of the neat PLA. The flexural strength and modulus increased 4% and 50%, respectively, for NCC/PLA plasticized with EJO. This increase demonstrated the nanocrystalline cellulose addition gave notable improvements to the composites’ properties. Furthermore, analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the nanocomposites’ tensile fracture surfaces indicated better interaction adhesion of the NCC/PLA plasticized with EJO compared with the PLA/EJO composites.

Keywords: nanocrystalline cellulose, nanocomposite, poly (lactic acid), epoxidised jatropha oil

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Authors: Chetan Gupta, Ramesh Gupta

Abstract:

Unmanned aerial vehicles, of all sizes, are prime targets of the wing morphing concept as their lightweight structures demand high aerodynamic stability while traversing unsteady atmospheric conditions. In this research study, a hybrid morphing technology is developed to aid the trailing edge of the aircraft wing to alter its camber as a monolithic element rather than functioning as conventional appendages like flaps. Kinematic tailoring, actuation techniques involving shape memory alloys (SMA), piezoelectrics – individually fall short of providing a simplistic solution to the conundrum of morphing aircraft wings. On the other hand, the feature of negligible hysteresis while actuating using compliant mechanisms has shown higher levels of applicability and deliverability in morphing wings of even large aircrafts. This research paper delves into designing a wing section model with a periodic, multi-stable compliant structure requiring lower orders of topological optimization. The design is sub-divided into three smaller domains with external hyperelastic connections to achieve deflections ranging from -15° to +15° at the trailing edge of the wing. To facilitate this functioning, a hybrid actuation system by combining the larger bandwidth feature of piezoelectric macro-fibre composites and relatively higher work densities of shape memory alloy wires are used. Finite element analysis is applied to optimize piezoelectric actuation of the internal compliant structure. A coupled fluid-surface interaction analysis is conducted on the wing section during morphing to study the development of the velocity boundary layer at low Reynold’s numbers of airflow.

Keywords: compliant mechanism, hybrid morphing, piezoelectrics, shape memory alloys

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Authors: Mohammed Aliyu, Kazunori Iwabuchi, Ibrahim Shaba Mohammed, Abubakar Sadeeq Mohammed, Solomon Musa Dauda, Zinash Delebo Osunde

Abstract:

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is recognised as a low temperature and effective technique for the conversion of biomass to solid biofuel. In this study, the effect of process temperature and biomass-to-water ratio (B/W) on the fuel properties of hydrochar produced from wood shavings was investigated. HTC was conducted in an autoclave using reaction temperature of 230 °C and 260 °C for 20 minutes with B/W ratio of 0.11 to 0.43. The produced hydrochars were characterised by the mass yield (MY), higher heating value (HHV), proximate and ultimate properties. The results showed that the properties of the hydrochars improved with increasing process temperature and B/W ratio. The higher heating value (HHV) increased to 26.74 MJ/kg as the severity of the reaction was increased to the process temperature of 260 °C. Also, the atomic H/C and O/C ratios of hydrochars produced at 230 °C and 260 °C were closed to the regions of a peat and lignite on the plotted van Krevelen diagram. Hence, the produced hydrochar has a promising potential as a sustainable solid biofuel for energy application.

Keywords: wood shavings, biomass/water ratio, thermochemical conversion, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrochar

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Authors: David B. Tsuanyo, Didier Aussel, Yao Azoumah, Pierre Neveu

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An innovative concept called “Flexy-Energy”is developing at 2iE. This concept aims to produce electricity at lower cost by smartly mix different available energies sources in accordance to the load profile of the region. With a higher solar irradiation and due to the fact that Diesel generator are massively used in sub-Saharan rural areas, PV/Diesel hybrid systems could be a good application of this concept and a good solution to electrify this region, provided they are reliable, cost effective and economically attractive to investors. Presentation of the developed approach is the aims of this paper. The PV/Diesel hybrid system designed consists to produce electricity and/or heat from a coupling between Diesel gensets and PV panels without batteries storage, while ensuring the substitution of gasoil by bio-fuels available in the area where the system will be installed. The optimal design of this system is based on his technical performances; the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Levelized Cost of Energy are developed and use as economic criteria. The Net Present Value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR) and the discounted payback (DPB) are also evaluated according to dual electricity pricing (in sunny and unsunny hours). The PV/Diesel hybrid system obtained is compared to the standalone Diesel gensets. The approach carried out in this paper has been applied to Siby village in Mali (Latitude 12 ° 23'N 8 ° 20'W) with 295 kWh as daily demand. This approach provides optimal physical characteristics (size of the components, number of component) and dynamical characteristics in real time (number of Diesel generator on, their load rate, fuel specific consumptions, and PV penetration rate) of the system. The system obtained is slightly cost effective; but could be improved with optimized tariffing strategies.

Keywords: investments criteria, optimization, PV hybrid, sizing, rural electrification

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Authors: Elijah Acquah-Andoh

Abstract:

The UK has had its fair share of the shale gas revolutionary waves blowing across the global oil and gas industry at present. Although, its exploitation is widely agreed to have been delayed, shale gas was looked upon favorably by the UK Parliament when they recognized it as genuine energy source and granted licenses to industry to search and extract the resource. This, although a significant progress by industry, there yet remains another test the UK fracking resource must pass in order to render shale gas extraction feasible – it must be economically extractible and sustainably so. Developing unconventional resources is much more expensive and risky, and for shale gas wells, producing in commercial volumes is conditional upon drilling horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing, techniques which increase CAPEX. Meanwhile, investment in shale gas development projects is sensitive to gas price and technical and geological risks. Using a Two-Factor Model, the economics of the Bowland shale wells were analyzed and the operational conditions under which fracking is profitable in the UK was characterized. We find that there is a great degree of flexibility about Opex spending; hence Opex does not pose much threat to the fracking industry in the UK. However, we discover Bowland shale gas wells fail to add value at gas price of $8/ Mmbtu. A minimum gas price of $12/Mmbtu at Opex of no more than $2/ Mcf and no more than $14.95M Capex are required to create value within the present petroleum tax regime, in the UK fracking industry.

Keywords: capex, economical, investment, profitability, shale gas development, sustainable

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Authors: Valentin Père, Mathieu Milhé, Fabien Baillon, Jean-Louis Dirion

Abstract:

Microgrids offer potential solutions to meet the need for local grid stability and increase isolated networks autonomy with the integration of intermittent renewable energy production and storage facilities. In such a context, sizing production and storage for a given network is a complex task, highly depending on input data such as power load profile and renewable resource availability. This work aims at developing an operating cost computation methodology for different microgrid designs based on the use of deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms to tackle the optimal operation problem in stochastic environments. RL is a data-based sequential decision control method based on Markov decision processes that enable the consideration of random variables for control at a chosen time scale. Agents trained via RL constitute a promising class of Energy Management Systems (EMS) for the operation of microgrids with energy storage. Microgrid sizing (or design) is generally performed by minimizing investment costs and operational costs arising from the EMS behavior. The latter might include economic aspects (power purchase, facilities aging), social aspects (load curtailment), and ecological aspects (carbon emissions). Sizing variables are related to major constraints on the optimal operation of the network by the EMS. In this work, an islanded mode microgrid is considered. Renewable generation is done with photovoltaic panels; an electrochemical battery ensures short-term electricity storage. The controllable unit is a hydrogen tank that is used as a long-term storage unit. The proposed approach focus on the transfer of agent learning for the near-optimal operating cost approximation with deep RL for each microgrid size. Like most data-based algorithms, the training step in RL leads to important computer time. The objective of this work is thus to study the potential of Batch-Constrained Q-learning (BCQ) for the optimal sizing of microgrids and especially to reduce the computation time of operating cost estimation in several microgrid configurations. BCQ is an off-line RL algorithm that is known to be data efficient and can learn better policies than on-line RL algorithms on the same buffer. The general idea is to use the learned policy of agents trained in similar environments to constitute a buffer. The latter is used to train BCQ, and thus the agent learning can be performed without update during interaction sampling. A comparison between online RL and the presented method is performed based on the score by environment and on the computation time.

Keywords: batch-constrained reinforcement learning, control, design, optimal

Procedia PDF Downloads 127