Search results for: technological process
15826 Adopting the Transition Management Model as a Tool for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Nigeria
Authors: Ali Bakari Mohammed
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Transitioning is a continuous process of radical change in a society which involves co-evolution of institutional, technological, socio-cultural, and ecological developments at different scales and levels. Transition management model is a methodology that influences structural change of complex systems over a period (0-30 years) by experimenting and implementing new techniques. A transition management in the context of groundwater is a radical change from the current operate and control system to a next generation integrated and sustainable system that takes into account quality protection and sustained supply into the future. This study evaluates the transition management model in adopting it as a viable tool for the attainment of sustainable groundwater management. The outcome of the evaluation shows that there are three levels (strategic, tactical and operational) of operating the transition management model. At the strategic level, long-term goals for sustainable groundwater management are formulated, at the tactical level activities such as inter institutional networking, negotiation, planning and financing are carried out, and at the operational level, transition experiments and strategic niche management are carried out at the societal level. Overall, different actors and set of activities are required to partake at each management level. The outcome of this paper will provide basis for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 in Nigeria.Keywords: transition management, groundwater, sustainable management, tool, Nigeria
Procedia PDF Downloads 27115825 Business Process Management Maturity in Croatian Companies
Authors: V. Bosilj Vuksic
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This paper aims to investigate business process management (BPM) maturity in Croatian companies. First, a brief literature review of the research field is given. Next, the results of empirical research are presented, analyzed and discussed. The results reveal that Croatian companies achieved the intermediate level of BPM maturity. The empirical evidence supports the proposed theoretical background. Furthermore, a case study approach was used to illustrate BPM adoption in a Croatian company at the upmost stage of BPM maturity. In practical terms, this case study identifies BPM maturity success factors that need to exist in order for a company to effectively adopt BPM.Keywords: business process management, case study, Croatian companies, maturity, process performance index, questionnaire
Procedia PDF Downloads 23015824 Wrist Pain, Technological Device Used, and Perceived Academic Performance Among the College of Computer Studies Students
Authors: Maquiling Jhuvie Jane R., Ojastro Regine B., Peroja Loreille Marie B., Pinili Joy Angela., Salve Genial Gail M., Villavicencio Marielle Irene B., Yap Alther Francis Garth B.
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Introduction: This study investigated the impact of prolonged device usage on wrist pain and perceived academic performance among college students in Computer Studies. The research aims to explore the correlation between the frequency of technological device use and the incidence of wrist pain, as well as how this pain affects students' academic performance. The study seeks to provide insights that could inform interventions to promote better musculoskeletal health among students engaged in intensive technology use to further improve their academic performance. Method: The study utilized descriptive-correlational and comparative design, focusing on bona fide students from Silliman University’s College of Computer Studies during the second semester of 2023-2024. Participants were recruited through a survey sent via school email, with responses collected until March 30, 2024. Data was gathered using a password-protected device and Google Forms, ensuring restricted access to raw data. The demographic profile was summarized, and the prevalence of wrist pain and device usage were analyzed using percentages and weighted means. Statistical analyses included Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to assess the relationship between wrist pain and device usage and an Independent T-test to evaluate differences in academic performance based on wrist pain presence. Alpha was set at 0.05. Results: The study revealed that 40% of College of Computer Studies students experience wrist pain, with 2 out of every 5 students affected. Laptops and desktops were the most frequently used devices for academic work, achieving a weighted mean of 4.511, while mobile phones and tablets received lower means of 4.183 and 1.911, respectively. The average academic performance score among students was 29.7, classified as ‘Good Performance.’ Notably, there was no significant relationship between the frequency of device usage and wrist pain, as indicated by p-values exceeding 0.05. However, a significant difference in perceived academic performance was observed, with students without wrist pain scoring an average of 30.39 compared to 28.72 for those with wrist pain and a p-value of 0.0134 confirming this distinction. Conclusion: The study revealed that about 40% of students in the College of Computer Studies experience wrist pain, but there is no significant link between device usage and pain occurrence. However, students without wrist pain demonstrated better academic performance than those with pain, suggesting that wrist health may impact academic success. These findings imply that physical therapy practices in the Philippines should focus on preventive strategies and ergonomic education to improve student health and performance.Keywords: wrist pain, frequency of use of technological devices, perceived academic performance, physical therapy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1215823 Process Monitoring Based on Parameterless Self-Organizing Map
Authors: Young Jae Choung, Seoung Bum Kim
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Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a popular technique for process monitoring. A widely used tool in SPC is a control chart, which is used to detect the abnormal status of a process and maintain the controlled status of the process. Traditional control charts, such as Hotelling’s T2 control chart, are effective techniques to detect abnormal observations and monitor processes. However, many complicated manufacturing systems exhibit nonlinearity because of the different demands of the market. In this case, the unregulated use of a traditional linear modeling approach may not be effective. In reality, many industrial processes contain the nonlinear and time-varying properties because of the fluctuation of process raw materials, slowing shift of the set points, aging of the main process components, seasoning effects, and catalyst deactivation. The use of traditional SPC techniques with time-varying data will degrade the performance of the monitoring scheme. To address these issues, in the present study, we propose a parameterless self-organizing map (PLSOM)-based control chart. The PLSOM-based control chart not only can manage a situation where the distribution or parameter of the target observations changes, but also address the nonlinearity of modern manufacturing systems. The control limits of the proposed PLSOM chart are established by estimating the empirical level of significance on the percentile using a bootstrap method. Experimental results with simulated data and actual process data from a thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display process demonstrated the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed chart.Keywords: control chart, parameter-less self-organizing map, self-organizing map, time-varying property
Procedia PDF Downloads 27515822 Elderly in Sub Saharan Africa
Authors: Obinna Benedict Duru
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This study focuses on the elderly and the challenges that confront them. The elderly are that particular segment of our population who by virtue of the aging process have attained the stage in most cases where they are confronted with the challenges of economic dependency and social marginality. These challenges are as a result of the physical and biological decline occasioned by social myths and realities which portray the elderly as a dependent population whose members could not and should not work and who need social assistance that the younger population is obliged to provide. From the moment of birth to the moment of death, our bodies are constantly changing. We are all enmeshed in the process of growing old, a transition from youthfulness to elderliness. In youth-oriented modern societies like ours, we tend to attach positive importance and significance to the biological changes that occur early in life and define later physical changes in negative terms. Children growing up and young adults receive more attention, greater responsibilities and more legal rights to reward them on their way. But few people are congratulated on getting old. We commiserate with people who are getting old and make jokes about their supposedly physical, mental and biological decline. Wrinkles, loss of weight and vitality are all parts of the aging process. In almost all parts of the world, earlier researches have shown that about fifty percent of the elderly who suffer from stroke, arthritis, senility and other age related diseases are the disengaged and neglected elderly. Rapid technological changes render the knowledge and skills of the elderly obsolete; education is geared toward the young and the generational competition for jobs leads to pressures on the elderly to retire. Control of initial resources are shifted to the middle-aged and older workers are pushed into positions of economic dependency. This study therefore, among other things tend to discover how some government policies have affected the elderly particularly in Africa. To discover the prospects and possibilities of the elderly for a better living. To make a comparison of the advances in healthcare giving made in the advanced western societies to the practice in Sub Saharan Africa etc. The hypotheses of this study include: that the elderly in Sub Saharan Africa are more vulnerable than their counterparts in Europe and America. The elderly are more prone to social isolation, and that the elderly are mostly affected by age-related sickness etc. With a survey method as the research design, and sample size of about 500 respondents,probability sampling technique was used. Data which were analyzed using chi-square and tables were collected through primary and secondary sources. The findings made include: that the elderly suffer pains of old age especially when disengaged from work or social activity. That loss of income condemn the elderly to a life of vegetable existence, and that those who do not have other means of re-integration usually see old age with regret and despair. It is therefore, recommended among other things that social welfare scheme and the process of re-integration at old age be introduced for the non pensionable elderly in Africa.Keywords: elderly, social isolation, dependency, re-integration
Procedia PDF Downloads 33415821 Overcoming Obstacles in UHTHigh-protein Whey Beverages by Microparticulation Process: Scientific and Technological Aspects
Authors: Shahram Naghizadeh Raeisi, Ali Alghooneh, Seyed Jalal Razavi Zahedkolaei
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Herein, a shelf stable (no refrigeration required) UHT processed, aseptically packaged whey protein drink was formulated by using a new strategy in microparticulate process. Applying thermal and two-dimensional mechanical treatments simultaneously, a modified protein (MWPC-80) was produced. Then the physical, thermal and thermodynamic properties of MWPC-80 were assessed using particle size analysis, dynamic temperature sweep (DTS), and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) tests. Finally, using MWPC-80, a new RTD beverage was formulated, and shelf stability was assessed for three months at ambient temperature (25 °C). Non-isothermal dynamic temperature sweep was performed, and the results were analyzed by a combination of classic rate equation, Arrhenius equation, and time-temperature relationship. Generally, results showed that temperature dependency of the modified sample was significantly (Pvalue<0.05) less than the control one contained WPC-80. The changes in elastic modulus of the MWPC did not show any critical point at all the processed stages, whereas, the control sample showed two critical points during heating (82.5 °C) and cooling (71.10 °C) stages. Thermal properties of samples (WPC-80 & MWPC-80) were assessed using DSC with 4 °C /min heating speed at 20-90 °C heating range. Results did not show any thermal peak in MWPC DSC curve, which suggested high thermal resistance. On the other hands, WPC-80 sample showed a significant thermal peak with thermodynamic properties of ∆G:942.52 Kj/mol ∆H:857.04 Kj/mole and ∆S:-1.22Kj/mole°K. Dynamic light scattering was performed and results showed 0.7 µm and 15 nm average particle size for MWPC-80 and WPC-80 samples, respectively. Moreover, particle size distribution of MWPC-80 and WPC-80 were Gaussian-Lutresian and normal, respectively. After verification of microparticulation process by DTS, PSD and DSC analyses, a 10% why protein beverage (10% w/w/ MWPC-80, 0.6% w/w vanilla flavoring agent, 0.1% masking flavor, 0.05% stevia natural sweetener and 0.25% citrate buffer) was formulated and UHT treatment was performed at 137 °C and 4 s. Shelf life study did not show any jellification or precipitation of MWPC-80 contained beverage during three months storage at ambient temperature, whereas, WPC-80 contained beverage showed significant precipitation and jellification after thermal processing, even at 3% w/w concentration. Consumer knowledge on nutritional advantages of whey protein increased the request for using this protein in different food systems especially RTD beverages. These results could make a huge difference in this industry.Keywords: high protein whey beverage, micropartiqulation, two-dimentional mechanical treatments, thermodynamic properties
Procedia PDF Downloads 7315820 Applications for Additive Manufacturing Technology for Reducing the Weight of Body Parts of Gas Turbine Engines
Authors: Liubov Magerramova, Mikhail Petrov, Vladimir Isakov, Liana Shcherbinina, Suren Gukasyan, Daniil Povalyukhin, Olga Klimova-Korsmik, Darya Volosevich
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Aircraft engines are developing along the path of increasing resource, strength, reliability, and safety. The building of gas turbine engine body parts is a complex design and technological task. Particularly complex in the design and manufacturing are the casings of the input stages of helicopter gearboxes and central drives of aircraft engines. Traditional technologies, such as precision casting or isothermal forging, are characterized by significant limitations in parts production. For parts like housing, additive technologies guarantee spatial freedom and limitless or flexible design. This article presents the results of computational and experimental studies. These investigations justify the applicability of additive technologies (AT) to reduce the weight of aircraft housing gearbox parts by up to 32%. This is possible due to geometrical optimization compared to the classical, less flexible manufacturing methods and as-casted aircraft parts with over-insured values of safety factors. Using an example of the body of the input stage of an aircraft gearbox, visualization of the layer-by-layer manufacturing of a part based on thermal deformation was demonstrated.Keywords: additive technologies, gas turbine engines, topological optimization, synthesis process
Procedia PDF Downloads 11515819 Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Biodiesel Production via Transesterification
Authors: Juliette Harper, Yu Yang
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Biofuels have gained significant attention recently due to the new regulations and agreements regarding fossil fuels and greenhouse gases being made by countries around the globe. One of the most common types of biofuels is biodiesel, primarily made via the transesterification reaction. We model this nonlinear process in MATLAB using the standard kinetic equations. Then, a nonlinear Model predictive control (NMPC) was developed to regulate this process due to its capability to handle process constraints. The feeding flow uncertainty and kinetic disturbances are further incorporated in the model to capture the real-world operating conditions. The simulation results will show that the proposed NMPC can guarantee the final composition of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) above the target threshold with a high chance by adjusting the process temperature and flowrate. This research will allow further understanding of NMPC under uncertainties and how to design the computational strategy for larger process with more variables.Keywords: NMPC, biodiesel, uncertainties, nonlinear, MATLAB
Procedia PDF Downloads 9715818 Assessing the Adaptive Re-Use Potential of Buildings as Part of the Disaster Management Process
Authors: A. Esra İdemen, Sinan M. Şener, Emrah Acar
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The technological paradigm of the disaster management field, especially in the case of governmental intervention strategies, is generally based on rapid and flexible accommodation solutions. From various technical solution patterns used to address the immediate housing needs of disaster victims, the adaptive re-use of existing buildings can be considered to be both low-cost and practical. However, there is a scarcity of analytical methods to screen, select and adapt buildings to help decision makers in cases of emergency. Following an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight key points and problem areas associated with the adaptive re-use of buildings within the disaster management context. In other disciplines such as real estate management, the adaptive re-use potential (ARP) of existing buildings is typically based on the prioritization of a set of technical and non-technical criteria which are then weighted to arrive at an economically viable investment decision. After a disaster, however, the assessment of the ARP of buildings requires consideration of different/additional layers of analysis which stem from general disaster management principles and the peculiarities of different types of disasters, as well as of their victims. In this paper, a discussion of the development of an adaptive re-use potential (ARP) assessment model is presented. It is thought that governmental and non-governmental decision makers who are required to take quick decisions to accommodate displaced masses following disasters are likely to benefit from the implementation of such a model.Keywords: adaptive re-use of buildings, disaster management, temporary housing, assessment model
Procedia PDF Downloads 33215817 Sustainable Milling Process for Tensile Specimens
Authors: Shilpa Kumari, Ramakumar Jayachandran
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Machining of aluminium extrusion profiles in the automotive industry has gained much interest in the last decade, particularly due to the higher utilization of aluminum profiles and the weight reduction benefits it brings. Milling is the most common material removal process, where the rotary milling cutter is moved against a workpiece. The physical contact of the milling cutter to the workpiece increases the friction between them, thereby affecting the longevity of the milling tool and also the surface finish of the workpiece. To minimise this issue, the milling process uses cutting fluids or emulsions; however, the use of emulsion in the process has a negative impact on the environment ( such as consumption of water, oils and the used emulsion needs to be treated before disposal) and also on the personal ( may cause respiratory problems, exposure to microbial toxins generated by bacteria in the emulsions on prolonged use) working close to the process. Furthermore, the workpiece also needs to be cleaned after the milling process, which is not adding value to the process, and the cleaning also disperses mist of emulsion in the working environment. Hydro Extrusion is committed to improving the performance of sustainability from its operations, and with the negative impact of using emulsion in the milling process, a new innovative process- Dry Milling was developed to minimise the impact the cutting fluid brings. In this paper, the authors present one application of dry milling in the machining of tensile specimens in the laboratory. Dry milling is an innovative milling process without the use of any cooling/lubrication and has several advantages. Several million tensile tests are carried out in extrusion laboratories worldwide with the wet milling process. The machining of tensile specimens has a significant impact on the reliability of test results. The paper presents the results for different 6xxx alloys with different wall thicknesses of the specimens, which were machined by both dry and wet milling processes. For both different 6xxx alloys and different wall thicknesses, mechanical properties were similar for samples milled using dry and wet milling. Several tensile specimens were prepared using both dry and wet milling to compare the results, and the outcome showed the dry milling process does not affect the reliability of tensile test results.Keywords: dry milling, tensile testing, wet milling, 6xxx alloy
Procedia PDF Downloads 19815816 Software Quality Promotion and Improvement through Usage of a PSP Oriented Information System
Authors: Gaoussou Doukoure Abdel Kader, Mnkandla Ernest
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This research aims to investigate the usage of a personal software process oriented information system in order to facilitate the promotion of software quality and its improvement in organizations. In this light, at the term of a literature review on software quality and related concepts, the personal software process is discussed, more particularly in terms of software quality. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a team of software engineers on the first hand to establish a baseline on their understanding of what quality entails for them. The PSP methodology will then be presented to the engineers in its most basic aspects. The research will then proceed to practical case study where a PSP oriented information system is submitted to engineers for usage throughout their development process. Reports from the PSP information system as well as feedback from the engineers will be used in conjunction with the theoretical foundation to establish a PSP inspired framework for software quality promotion and improvement.Keywords: information communication technology, personal software process, software quality, process quality, software engineering
Procedia PDF Downloads 49415815 Corrosion Monitoring of Weathering Steel in a Simulated Coastal-Industrial Environment
Authors: Thee Chowwanonthapunya, Junhua Dong, Wei Ke
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The atmospheres in many cities along the coastal lines in the world have been rapidly changed to coastal-industrial atmosphere. Hence, it is vital to investigate the corrosion behavior of steel exposed to this kind of environment. In this present study, Electrochemical Impedance Spectrography (EIS) and film thickness measurements were applied to monitor the corrosion behavior of weathering steel covered with a thin layer of the electrolyte in a wet-dry cyclic condition, simulating a coastal-industrial environment at 25 oC and 60 % RH. The results indicate that in all cycles, the corrosion rate increases during the drying process due to an increase in anion concentration and an acceleration of oxygen diffusion enhanced by the effect of the thinning out of the electrolyte. During the wet-dry cyclic corrosion test, the long-term corrosion behavior of this steel depends on the periods of exposure. Corrosion process is first accelerated and then decelerated. The decelerating corrosion process is contributed to the formation of the protective rust, favored by the wet-dry cycle and the acid regeneration process during the rusting process.Keywords: atmospheric corrosion, EIS, low alloy, rust
Procedia PDF Downloads 44915814 Investigation of a Hybrid Process: Multipoint Incremental Forming
Authors: Safa Boudhaouia, Mohamed Amen Gahbiche, Eliane Giraud, Wacef Ben Salem, Philippe Dal Santo
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Multi-point forming (MPF) and asymmetric incremental forming (ISF) are two flexible processes for sheet metal manufacturing. To take advantages of these two techniques, a hybrid process has been developed: The Multipoint Incremental Forming (MPIF). This process accumulates at once the advantages of each of these last mentioned forming techniques, which makes it a very interesting and particularly an efficient process for single, small, and medium series production. In this paper, an experimental and a numerical investigation of this technique are presented. To highlight the flexibility of this process and its capacity to manufacture standard and complex shapes, several pieces were produced by using MPIF. The forming experiments are performed on a 3-axis CNC machine. Moreover, a numerical model of the MPIF process has been implemented in ABAQUS and the analysis showed a good agreement with experimental results in terms of deformed shape. Furthermore, the use of an elastomeric interpolator allows avoiding classical local defaults like dimples, which are generally caused by the asymmetric contact and also improves the distribution of residual strain. Future works will apply this approach to other alloys used in aeronautic or automotive applications.Keywords: incremental forming, numerical simulation, MPIF, multipoint forming
Procedia PDF Downloads 35615813 Phenomenological Ductile Fracture Criteria Applied to the Cutting Process
Authors: František Šebek, Petr Kubík, Jindřich Petruška, Jiří Hůlka
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Present study is aimed on the cutting process of circular cross-section rods where the fracture is used to separate one rod into two pieces. Incorporating the phenomenological ductile fracture model into the explicit formulation of finite element method, the process can be analyzed without the necessity of realizing too many real experiments which could be expensive in case of repetitive testing in different conditions. In the present paper, the steel AISI 1045 was examined and the tensile tests of smooth and notched cylindrical bars were conducted together with biaxial testing of the notched tube specimens to calibrate material constants of selected phenomenological ductile fracture models. These were implemented into the Abaqus/Explicit through user subroutine VUMAT and used for cutting process simulation. As the calibration process is based on variables which cannot be obtained directly from experiments, numerical simulations of fracture tests are inevitable part of the calibration. Finally, experiments regarding the cutting process were carried out and predictive capability of selected fracture models is discussed. Concluding remarks then make the summary of gained experience both with the calibration and application of particular ductile fracture criteria.Keywords: ductile fracture, phenomenological criteria, cutting process, explicit formulation, AISI 1045 steel
Procedia PDF Downloads 45715812 Technology in Commercial Law Enforcement: Tanzania, Canada, and Singapore Comparatively
Authors: Katarina Revocati Mteule
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The background of this research arises from global demands for fair business opportunities. As one of responses to these demands, nations embarked on reforms in commercial laws. In 1990s Tanzania resorted to economic transformation through liberalization to attract more investments included reform in commercial laws enforcement. This research scrutinizes the effectiveness of reforms in Tanzania in comparison with Canada and Singapore and the role of technology. The methodology to be used is doctrinal legal research mixed with international comparative legal research. It involves comparative analysis of library, online, and internet resources as well as Case Laws and Statutory Laws. Tanzania, Canada and Singapore are sampled comparators basing on their distinct level of economic development. The criteria of analysis includes the nature of reforms, type of technology, technological infrastructure and human resource technical competence in each country. As the world progresses towards reforms in commercial laws, improvements in law, policy, and regulatory frameworks are paramount. Specifically, commercial laws are essential in contract enforcement and dispute resolution and how it copes with modern technologies is a concern. Harnessing the best technology is necessary to cope with the modernity in world businesses. In line with this, Tanzania is improving its business environment, including law enforcement mechanisms that are supportive to investments. Reforms such as specialized commercial law enforcement coupled with alternative dispute resolutions such as arbitration, mediation, and reconciliation are emphasized. Court technology as one of the reform tools given high priority. This research evaluates the progress and the effectiveness of the reforms in Commercial Laws towards friendly business environment in Tanzania in comparison with Canada and Singapore. The experience of Tanzania is compared with Canada and Singapore to see what to improve for each country to enhance quick and fair enforcement of commercial law. The research proposes necessary global standards of procedures and in national laws to offer a business-friendly environment and the use of appropriate technology. Solutions are proposed in tackling the challenges of delays in enforcing Commercial Laws such as case management, funding, legal and procedural hindrances, laxity among staff, and abuse of Court process among litigants, all in line with modern technology. It is the finding of the research that proper use of technology has managed to reduce case backlogs and time taken to resolve a commercial dispute, to increase court integrity by minimizing human contacts in commercial law enforcement which may lead to solicitation of favors and saving of parties’ time due to online service. Among the three countries, each one is facing a distinct challenge due to the level of poverty and remoteness from online service. How solutions are found in one country is a lesson to another. To conclude, this paper is suggesting solutions for improving the commercial law enforcement mechanisms in line with modern technology. The call for technological transformation is essential for the enforcement of commercial laws.Keywords: commercial law, enforcement, technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 5815811 Recovery of Acetonitrile from Aqueous Solutions by Extractive Distillation: The Effect of Entrainer
Authors: Aleksandra Y. Sazonova, Valentina M. Raeva
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The aim of this work was to apply extractive distillation for acetonitrile removal from water solutions, to validate thermodynamic criterion based on excess Gibbs energy to entrainer selection process for acetonitrile – water mixture separation and show its potential efficiency at isothermal conditions as well as at isobaric (conditions of real distillation process), to simulate and analyze an extractive distillation process with chosen entrainers: optimize amount of trays and feeds, entrainer/original mixture and reflux ratios. Equimolar composition of the feed stream was chosen for the process, comparison of the energy consumptions was carried out. Glycerol was suggested as the most energetically and ecologically suitable entrainer.Keywords: acetonitrile, entrainer, extractive distillation, water
Procedia PDF Downloads 26715810 Various Models of Quality Management Systems
Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh
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People, process and IT are the most important assets of any organization. Optimal utilization of these resources has been the question of research in business for many decades. The business world have responded by inventing various methodologies that can be used for addressing problems of quality improvement, efficiency of processes, continuous improvement, reduction of waste, automation, strategy alignments etc. Some of these methodologies can be commonly called as Business Process Quality Management methodologies (BPQM). In essence, the first references to the process management can be traced back to Frederick Taylor and scientific management. Time and motion study was addressed to improvement of manufacturing process efficiency. The ideas of scientific management were in use for quite a long period until more advanced quality management techniques were developed in Japan and USA. One of the first prominent methods had been Total Quality Management (TQM) which evolved during 1980’s. About the same time, Six Sigma (SS) originated at Motorola as a separate method. SS spread and evolved; and later joined with ideas of Lean manufacturing to form Lean Six Sigma. In 1990’s due to emerging IT technologies, beginning of globalization, and strengthening of competition, companies recognized the need for better process and quality management. Business Process Management (BPM) emerged as a novel methodology that has taken all this into account and helped to align IT technologies with business processes and quality management. In this article we will study various aspects of above mentioned methods and identified their relations.Keywords: e-process, quality, TQM, BPM, lean, six sigma, CPI, information technology, management
Procedia PDF Downloads 44015809 Linguistic Summarization of Structured Patent Data
Authors: E. Y. Igde, S. Aydogan, F. E. Boran, D. Akay
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Patent data have an increasingly important role in economic growth, innovation, technical advantages and business strategies and even in countries competitions. Analyzing of patent data is crucial since patents cover large part of all technological information of the world. In this paper, we have used the linguistic summarization technique to prove the validity of the hypotheses related to patent data stated in the literature.Keywords: data mining, fuzzy sets, linguistic summarization, patent data
Procedia PDF Downloads 27215808 Evaluation of the Efficacy of Surface Hydrophobisation and Properties of Composite Based on Lime Binder with Flax Fillers
Authors: Stanisław Fic, Danuta Barnat-Hunek, Przemysław Brzyski
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The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of applying modified lime binder together with natural flax fibers and straw to the production of wall blocks to the usage in energy-efficient construction industry and the development of proposals for technological solutions. The following laboratory tests were performed: the analysis of the physical characteristics of the tested materials (bulk density, total porosity, and thermal conductivity), compressive strength, a water droplet absorption test, water absorption of samples, diffusion of water vapor, and analysis of the structure by using SEM. In addition, the process of surface hydrophobisation was analyzed. In the paper, there was examined the effectiveness of two formulations differing in the degree of hydrolytic polycondensation, viscosity and concentration, as these are the factors that determine the final impregnation effect. Four composites, differing in composition, were executed. Composites, as a result of the presence of flax straw and fibers showed low bulk density in the range from 0.44 to 1.29 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity between 0.13 W/mK and 0.22 W/mK. Compressive strength changed in the range from 0,45 MPa to 0,65 MPa. The analysis of results allowed observing the relationship between the formulas and the physical properties of the composites. The results of the effectiveness of hydrophobisation of composites after 2 days showed a decrease in water absorption. Depending on the formulation, after 2 days, the water absorption ratio WH of composites was from 15 to 92% (effectiveness of hydrophobization was suitably from 8 to 85%). In practice, preparations based on organic solvents often cause sealing of surface, hindering the diffusion of water vapor from materials but studies have shown good water vapor permeability by the hydrophobic silicone coating. The conducted pilot study demonstrated the possibility of applying flax composites. The article shows that the reduction of CO2 which is produced in the building process can be affected by using natural materials for the building components whose quality is not inferior as compared to the materials which are commonly used.Keywords: ecological construction, flax fibers, hydrophobisation, lime
Procedia PDF Downloads 33415807 Methodology for Temporary Analysis of Production and Logistic Systems on the Basis of Distance Data
Authors: M. Mueller, M. Kuehn, M. Voelker
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In small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the challenge is to create a well-grounded and reliable basis for process analysis, optimization and planning due to a lack of data. SMEs have limited access to methods with which they can effectively and efficiently analyse processes and identify cause-and-effect relationships in order to generate the necessary database and derive optimization potential from it. The implementation of digitalization within the framework of Industry 4.0 thus becomes a particular necessity for SMEs. For these reasons, the abstract presents an analysis methodology that is subject to the objective of developing an SME-appropriate methodology for efficient, temporarily feasible data collection and evaluation in flexible production and logistics systems as a basis for process analysis and optimization. The overall methodology focuses on retrospective, event-based tracing and analysis of material flow objects. The technological basis consists of Bluetooth low energy (BLE)-based transmitters, so-called beacons, and smart mobile devices (SMD), e.g. smartphones as receivers, between which distance data can be measured and derived motion profiles. The distance is determined using the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), which is a measure of signal field strength between transmitter and receiver. The focus is the development of a software-based methodology for interpretation of relative movements of transmitters and receivers based on distance data. The main research is on selection and implementation of pattern recognition methods for automatic process recognition as well as methods for the visualization of relative distance data. Due to an existing categorization of the database regarding process types, classification methods (e.g. Support Vector Machine) from the field of supervised learning are used. The necessary data quality requires selection of suitable methods as well as filters for smoothing occurring signal variations of the RSSI, the integration of methods for determination of correction factors depending on possible signal interference sources (columns, pallets) as well as the configuration of the used technology. The parameter settings on which respective algorithms are based have a further significant influence on result quality of the classification methods, correction models and methods for visualizing the position profiles used. The accuracy of classification algorithms can be improved up to 30% by selected parameter variation; this has already been proven in studies. Similar potentials can be observed with parameter variation of methods and filters for signal smoothing. Thus, there is increased interest in obtaining detailed results on the influence of parameter and factor combinations on data quality in this area. The overall methodology is realized with a modular software architecture consisting of independently modules for data acquisition, data preparation and data storage. The demonstrator for initialization and data acquisition is available as mobile Java-based application. The data preparation, including methods for signal smoothing, are Python-based with the possibility to vary parameter settings and to store them in the database (SQLite). The evaluation is divided into two separate software modules with database connection: the achievement of an automated assignment of defined process classes to distance data using selected classification algorithms and the visualization as well as reporting in terms of a graphical user interface (GUI).Keywords: event-based tracing, machine learning, process classification, parameter settings, RSSI, signal smoothing
Procedia PDF Downloads 13115806 A Study on Optimum Shape in According to Equivalent Stress Distributions at the Die and Plug in the Multi-Pass Drawing Process
Authors: Yeon-Jong Jeong, Mok-Tan Ahn, Seok-Hyeon Park, Seong-Hun Ha, Joon-Hong Park, Jong-Bae Park
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Multi-stage drawing process is an important technique for forming a shape that cannot be molded in a single process. multi-stage drawing process in number of passes and the shape of the die are an important factors influencing the productivity and formability of the product. The number and shape of the multi-path in the mold of the drawing process is very influencing the productivity and formability of the product. Half angle of the die and mandrel affects the drawing force and it also affects the completion of the final shape. Thus reducing the number of pass and the die shape optimization are necessary to improve the formability of the billet. Analyzing the load on the die through the FEM analysis and in consideration of the formability of the material presents a die model.Keywords: multi-pass shape drawing, equivalent stress, FEM, finite element method, optimum shape
Procedia PDF Downloads 47915805 Detergent Removal from Rinsing Water by Peroxi Electrocoagulation Process
Authors: A. Benhadji, M. Taleb Ahmed
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Among the various methods of treatment, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are the most promising ones. In this study, Peroxi Electrocoagulation Process (PEP) was investigated for the treatment of detergent wastewater. The process was compared with electrooxidation treatment. The results showed that chemical oxygen demand (COD) was high 7584 mgO2.L-1, while the biochemical oxygen demand was low (250 mgO2.L-1). This wastewater was hardly biodegradable. Electrochemical process was carried out for the removal of detergent using a glass reactor with a volume of 1 L and fitted with three electrodes. A direct current (DC) supply was used. Samples were taken at various current density (0.0227 A/cm2 to 0.0378 A/cm2) and reaction time (1-2-3-4 and 5 hour). Finally, the COD was determined. The results indicated that COD removal efficiency of PEP was observed to increase with current intensity and reached to 77% after 5 h. The highest removal efficiency was observed after 5 h of treatment.Keywords: AOP, COD, detergent, PEP, wastewater
Procedia PDF Downloads 11915804 Selecting a Foreign Country to Build a Naval Base Using a Fuzzy Hybrid Decision Support System
Authors: Latif Yanar, Muammer Kaçan
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Decision support systems are getting more important in many fields of science and technology and used effectively especially when the problems to be solved are complicated with many criteria. In this kind of problems one of the main challenges for the decision makers are that sometimes they cannot produce a countable data for evaluating the criteria but the knowledge and sense of experts. In recent years, fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic based decision models gaining more place in literature. In this study, a decision support model to determine a country to build naval base is proposed and the application of the model is performed, considering Turkish Navy by the evaluations of Turkish Navy officers and academicians of international relations departments of various Universities located in Istanbul. The results achieved from the evaluations made by the experts in our model are calculated by a decision support tool named DESTEC 1.0, which is developed by the authors using C Sharp programming language. The tool gives advices to the decision maker using Analytic Hierarchy Process, Analytic Network Process, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Analytic Network Process all at once. The calculated results for five foreign countries are shown in the conclusion.Keywords: decision support system, analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, analytic network process, fuzzy analytic network process, naval base, country selection, international relations
Procedia PDF Downloads 59115803 Exploring the Role of Media Activity Theory as a Conceptual Basis for Advancing Journalism Education: A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on News Production and Consumption in the Digital Age
Authors: Shohnaza Uzokova Beknazarovna
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This research study provides a comprehensive exploration of the Theory of Media Activity and its relevance as a conceptual framework for journalism education. The author offers a thorough review of existing literature on media activity theory, emphasizing its potential to enhance the understanding of the evolving media landscape and its implications for journalism practice. Through a combination of theoretical analysis and practical examples, the paper elucidates the ways in which the Theory of Media Activity can inform and enrich journalism education, particularly in relation to the interactive and participatory nature of contemporary media. The author presents a compelling argument for the integration of media activity theory into journalism curricula, emphasizing its capacity to equip students with a nuanced understanding of the reciprocal relationship between media producers and consumers. Furthermore, the paper discusses the implications of technological advancements on media production and consumption, highlighting the need for journalism educators to prepare students to navigate and contribute to the future of journalism in a rapidly changing media environment. Overall, this research paper offers valuable insights into the potential benefits of embracing the Theory of Media Activity as a foundational framework for journalism education. Its thorough analysis and practical implications make it a valuable resource for educators, researchers, and practitioners seeking to enhance journalism pedagogy in response to the dynamic nature of contemporary media.Keywords: theory of media activity, journalism education, media landscape, media production, media consumption, interactive media, participatory media, technological advancements, media producers, media consumers, journalism practice, contemporary media environment, journalism pedagogy, media theory, media studies
Procedia PDF Downloads 4715802 Towards a Distributed Computation Platform Tailored for Educational Process Discovery and Analysis
Authors: Awatef Hicheur Cairns, Billel Gueni, Hind Hafdi, Christian Joubert, Nasser Khelifa
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Given the ever changing needs of the job markets, education and training centers are increasingly held accountable for student success. Therefore, education and training centers have to focus on ways to streamline their offers and educational processes in order to achieve the highest level of quality in curriculum contents and managerial decisions. Educational process mining is an emerging field in the educational data mining (EDM) discipline, concerned with developing methods to discover, analyze and provide a visual representation of complete educational processes. In this paper, we present our distributed computation platform which allows different education centers and institutions to load their data and access to advanced data mining and process mining services. To achieve this, we present also a comparative study of the different clustering techniques developed in the context of process mining to partition efficiently educational traces. Our goal is to find the best strategy for distributing heavy analysis computations on many processing nodes of our platform.Keywords: educational process mining, distributed process mining, clustering, distributed platform, educational data mining, ProM
Procedia PDF Downloads 45415801 Multi-Pass Shape Drawing Process Design for Manufacturing of Automotive Reinforcing Agent with Closed Cross-Section Shape using Finite Element Method Analysis
Authors: Mok-Tan Ahn, Hyeok Choi, Joon-Hong Park
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Multi-stage drawing process is an important technique for forming a shape that cannot be molded in a single process. multi-stage drawing process in number of passes and the shape of the die are an important factor influencing the productivity and moldability of the product. The number and shape of the multi-path in the mold of the drawing process is very influencing the productivity and moldability of the product. Half angle of the die and mandrel affects the drawing force and it also affects the completion of the final shape. Thus reducing the number of pass and the die shape optimization are necessary to improve the formability of the billet. The purpose of this study, Analyzing the load on the die through the FEM analysis and in consideration of the formability of the material presents a die model.Keywords: automotive reinforcing agent, multi-pass shape drawing, automotive parts, FEM analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 45415800 Process Modeling and Problem Solving: Connecting Two Worlds by BPMN
Authors: Gionata Carmignani, Mario G. C. A. Cimino, Franco Failli
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Business Processes (BPs) are the key instrument to understand how companies operate at an organizational level, taking an as-is view of the workflow, and how to address their issues by identifying a to-be model. In last year’s, the BP Model and Notation (BPMN) has become a de-facto standard for modeling processes. However, this standard does not incorporate explicitly the Problem-Solving (PS) knowledge in the Process Modeling (PM) results. Thus, such knowledge cannot be shared or reused. To narrow this gap is today a challenging research area. In this paper we present a framework able to capture the PS knowledge and to improve a workflow. This framework extends the BPMN specification by incorporating new general-purpose elements. A pilot scenario is also presented and discussed.Keywords: business process management, BPMN, problem solving, process mapping
Procedia PDF Downloads 41315799 An Application of a Feedback Control System to Minimize Unforeseen Disruption in a Paper Manufacturing Industry in South Africa
Authors: Martha E. Ndeley
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Operation management is the key element within the manufacturing process. However, during this process, there are a number of unforeseen disruptions that causes the process to a standstill which are, machine breakdown, employees absenteeism, improper scheduling. When this happens, it forces the shop flow to a rescheduling process and these strategy reschedules only a limited part of the initial schedule to match up with the pre-schedule at some point with the objective to create a new schedule that is reliable which in the long run gets disrupted. In this work, we have developed feedback control system that minimizes any form of disruption before the impact becomes severe, the model was tested in a paper manufacturing industries and the results revealed that, if the disruption is minimized at the initial state, the impact becomes unnoticeable.Keywords: disruption, machine, absenteeism, scheduling
Procedia PDF Downloads 30615798 Thermal Reduction of Perfect Well Identified Hexagonal Graphene Oxide Nano-Sheets for Super-Capacitor Applications
Authors: A. N. Fouda
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A novel well identified hexagonal graphene oxide (GO) nano-sheets were synthesized using modified Hummer method. Low temperature thermal reduction at 350°C in air ambient was performed. After thermal reduction, typical few layers of thermal reduced GO (TRGO) with dimension of few hundreds nanometers were observed using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). GO has a lot of structure models due to variation of the preparation process. Determining the atomic structure of GO is essential for a better understanding of its fundamental properties and for realization of the future technological applications. Structural characterization was identified by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. A comparison between exper- imental and theoretical IR spectrum were done to confirm the match between experimentally and theoretically proposed GO structure. Partial overlap of the experimental IR spectrum with the theoretical IR was confirmed. The electrochemical properties of TRGO nano-sheets as electrode materials for supercapacitors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. An enhancement in supercapacitance after reduction was confirmed and the area of the CV curve for the TRGO electrode is larger than those for the GO electrode indicating higher specific capacitance which is promising in super-capacitor applicationsKeywords: hexagonal graphene oxide, thermal reduction, cyclic voltammetry
Procedia PDF Downloads 49315797 Knowledge Audit Model for Requirement Elicitation Process
Authors: Laleh Taheri, Noraini C. Pa, Rusli Abdullah, Salfarina Abdullah
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Knowledge plays an important role to the success of any organization. Software development organizations are highly knowledge-intensive organizations especially in their Requirement Elicitation Process (REP). There are several problems regarding communicating and using the knowledge in REP such as misunderstanding, being out of scope, conflicting information and changes of requirements. All of these problems occurred in transmitting the requirements knowledge during REP. Several researches have been done in REP in order to solve the problem towards requirements. Knowledge Audit (KA) approaches were proposed in order to solve managing knowledge in human resources, financial, and manufacturing. There is lack of study applying the KA in requirements elicitation process. Therefore, this paper proposes a KA model for REP in supporting to acquire good requirements.Keywords: knowledge audit, requirement elicitation process, KA model, knowledge in requirement elicitation
Procedia PDF Downloads 345