Search results for: earth's ocean

Authors: Yu-Che Cheng, Min-Lih Chang, Ke-Hao Cheng, Chuan-Cheng Wang

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Taiwan is an island located along the southeastern coast of the Asian continent, located between Japan and the Philippines. It is surrounded by the sea on all sides. However, due to the presence of the Central Mountain Range, the rivers on the east and west coasts of Taiwan are relatively short. This geographical feature results in a phenomenon where, despite having rainfall that is 2.6 times the world average, 58.5% of the rainwater flows into the ocean. Moreover, approximately 80% of the annual rainfall occurs between May and October, leading to distinct wet and dry periods. To address these challenges, Taiwan relies on large reservoirs, storage ponds, and groundwater extraction for water resource allocation. It is necessary to construct water treatment facilities at suitable locations to provide the population with a stable and reliable water supply. In general, the construction of a new water treatment plant requires careful planning and evaluation. The process involves acquiring land and issuing contracts for construction in a sequential manner. With the increasing severity of global warming and climate change, there is a heightened risk of extreme hydrological events and severe water situations in the future. In cases of urgent water supply needs in a region, relying on traditional lengthy processes for constructing water treatment plants might not be sufficient to meet the urgent demand. Therefore, this study aims to explore the use of simplified water treatment procedures and the construction of rapid "temporary water treatment plants" to tackle the challenges posed by extreme climate conditions (such as a century-long drought) and situations where water treatment plant construction cannot keep up with the pace of water source development.

Keywords: temporary water treatment plant, emergency water supply, construction site groundwater, drought

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Authors: Dieudonne Mevono Mvogo

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The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) co-sponsored workshop report suggests that climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing issues of the Anthropocene. Research establishes the interconnection between climate change and biodiversity. On the one hand, the impact of climate change on biodiversity loss – 14 % over the past century – is projected to surpass other threats – land and sea use 34 % and direct exploitation of species 23 % – during the 21st century. Response measures to climate change also affect biodiversity negatively or positively. On the other hand, actions to halt or reverse biodiversity loss can enhance land and ocean capacity for carbon sequestration. These actions can also promote adaptation by ensuring adaptive capacity. This systemic interaction between climate change and biodiversity affects the human quality of life. The United Nations Secretariat's report entitled 'Gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments: towards a global pact for the environment,' released in 2018, states that cooperation and mutual support among agreements dealing with climate change, the protection of the marine environment, freshwater resources and hazardous waste are indispensable for the effective implementation of the Convention on the Biological Diversity (CBD). Since biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, this study aims to evaluate the cooperative framework for the coherence and coordination between climate change and biodiversity regimes to provide co-benefits for climate and biodiversity crises. It questions the potential improvement regarding integrating ecosystem-based approaches and nature-based solutions – promoted by the CBD – into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Keywords: rio conventions, climate change, biodiversity, cooperative framework, ecosystem-based approaches, nature-based solutions

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Authors: O. J. G. Somsen, G. P. M. Wagemakers

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Magnetic signature detection provides sensitive detection of metal objects, especially in the natural environment. Our group is developing a tabletop setup for magnetic signatures of various small and model objects. A particular issue is the separation of permanent and induced magnetization. While the latter depends only on the composition and shape of the object, the former also depends on the magnetization history. With common deperming techniques, a significant permanent signature may still remain, which confuses measurements of the induced component. We investigate a basic technique of separating the two. Measurements were done by moving the object along an aluminum rail while the three field components are recorded by a detector attached near the center. This is done first with the rail parallel to the Earth magnetic field and then with anti-parallel orientation. The reversal changes the sign of the induced- but not the permanent magnetization so that the two can be separated. Our preliminary results on a small iron block show excellent reproducibility. A considerable permanent magnetization was indeed present, resulting in a complex asymmetric signature. After separation, a much more symmetric induced signature was obtained that can be studied in detail and compared with theoretical calculations.

Keywords: magnetic signature, data analysis, magnetization, deperming techniques

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Authors: Hicham Maklache, Rajae Delhi, Fatiha Benzha, Mohamed Tahiri

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In Morocco, where semi-arid climate is dominant, the supply of industrial and drink water is provided primarily by surface water. Morocco has currently 118 multi-purpose dams. If the construction of these works was a necessity to ensure in all seasons, the water essential to our country, it is impartial to control and protect the quality of running water. -Most dam reservoir used are threatened by eutrophication due to increased terrigenous and anthropogenic pollutants, coming from an over-fertilization of water by phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients and accelerated by uncontrolled development of microalgae aging. It should also be noted that the daily practices of citizens with respect to the resource, an essential component involved in almost all human activities (agriculture, agro-industries, hydropower, ...), has contributed significantly to the deterioration of water quality despite its treatment in several plants. Therefore, the treated water, provides a legacy of bad tastes and odors unacceptable to the consumer. -The present work exhibits results of water quality watershed Oum Erbia used to supply drinking water to the whole terraced area connecting the city of Khenifra to the city of Azemmour. The area south west of Great Casablanca (metropolis of the kingdom with about 4 million inhabitants) supplied 50% of its water needs by sourcing Dam Sidi Said Maachou located, last anchor point of the watershed before the spill in the Atlantic Ocean. The results were performed in a spatio-temporal scale and helped to establish a history of monitoring water quality during the 2009-2011 cycles, the study also presents the development of quality according to the seasonal rhythmicity and rainfall. It gives also an overview on the concept of watershed stewardship.

Keywords: crude surface water quality, Oum Er Rbia hydraulic basin, spatio-temporal monitoring, Great Casablanca drink water quality, Morocco

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Authors: Vladimir Simovic, Matija Varga, Robert Svetlacic

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Scientific work analytically explores and demonstrates techniques that can animate objects and geometric characters using CSS3 language by applying proper formatting and positioning of elements. This paper presents examples of optimum application of the CSS3 descriptive language when generating general web animations (e.g., billiards and movement of geometric characters, etc.). The paper presents analytically, the optimal development and animation design with the frames within which the animated objects are. The originally developed content is based on the upgrading of existing CSS3 descriptive language animations with more complex syntax and project-oriented work. The purpose of the developed animations is to provide an overview of the interactive features of CSS3 descriptive language design for computer games and the animation of important analytical data based on the web view. It has been analytically demonstrated that CSS3 as a descriptive language allows inserting of various multimedia elements into websites for public and internal sites.

Keywords: web animation recording, KML GML HTML5 forms, Cascading Style Sheets 3, Google Earth Professional

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Authors: Hyelim Park, Juan Martin Zorrilla

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Climate change influences very widely and in various ways ocean ecosystem functioning. The consequences of climate change on marine ecosystems are an increase in temperature and irregular behavior of some solute concentrations. These changes would affect fisheries catches in several ways. Our aim is to assess the quantitative contribution change of fishery catches along the time and express them through four environment variables: Sea Surface Temperature (SST4) and the concentrations of Chlorophyll (CHL), Particulate Inorganic Carbon (PIC) and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) at two spatial scales: Global and the nineteen FAO Major Fishing Areas divisions. Data collection was based on the FAO FishStatJ 2014 database as well as MODIS Aqua satellite observations from 2002 to 2012. Some data had to be corrected and interpolated using some existing methods. As the results, a multivariable regression model for average Global fisheries captures contained temporal mean of SST4, standard deviation of SST4, standard deviation of CHL and standard deviation of PIC. Global vector auto-regressive (VAR) model showed that SST4 was a statistical cause of global fishery capture. To accommodate varying conditions in fishery condition and influence of climate change variables, a model was constructed for each FAO major fishing area. From the management perspective it should be recognized some limitations of the FAO marine areas division that opens to possibility to the discussion of the subdivision of the areas into smaller units. Furthermore, it should be treated that the contribution changes of fishery species and the possible environment factor for specific species at various scale levels.

Keywords: fisheries-catch, FAO FishStatJ, MODIS Aqua, sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll, particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), particulate organic carbon (POC), VAR, granger causality

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Authors: B. Engel, Sara Salman Hassan Al-Maeeni

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Human consumption of the Earth's resources increases the need for a sustainable development as an important ecological, social, and economic theme. Re-engineering of machine tools, in terms of design and failure analysis, is defined as steps performed on an obsolete machine to return it to a new machine with the warranty that matches the customer requirement. To understand the future fatigue behavior of the used machine components, it is important to investigate the possible causes of machine parts failure through design, surface, and material inspections. In this study, the failure modes of the shaft of the rotary draw bending machine are inspected. Furthermore, stress and deflection analysis of the shaft subjected to combined torsion and bending loads are carried out by an analytical method and compared with a finite element analysis method. The theoretical fatigue strength, correction factors, and fatigue life sustained by the shaft before damaged are estimated by creating a stress-cycle (S-N) diagram. In conclusion, it is seen that the shaft can work in the second life, but it needs some surface treatments to increase the reliability and fatigue life.

Keywords: failure analysis, fatigue life, FEM analysis, shaft, stress analysis

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Authors: Hao Min Chuah, Tatsuya Yamazaki, Ryosui Iwasawa, Tatsumi Suto

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In recent years, with the advancement of digital technology, the movement to introduce so-called ICT (Information and Communication Technology), such as computer technology and network technology, to civil engineering construction sites and construction sites is accelerating. As part of this movement, attempts are being made in various situations to reproduce actual sites inside computers and use them for designing and construction planning, as well as for training inexperienced engineers. The installation of wave-dissipating blocks on coasts, etc., is a type of work that has been carried out by skilled workers based on their years of experience and is one of the tasks that is difficult for inexperienced workers to carry out on site. Wave-dissipating blocks are structures that are designed to protect coasts, beaches, and so on from erosion by reducing the energy of ocean waves. Wave-dissipating blocks usually weigh more than 1 t and are installed by being suspended by a crane, so it would be time-consuming and costly for inexperienced workers to train on-site. In this paper, therefore, a block installation simulator is developed based on Unity 3D, a game development engine. The simulator computes porosity. Porosity is defined as the ratio of the total volume of the wave breaker blocks inside the structure to the final shape of the ideal structure. Using the evaluation of porosity, the simulator can determine how well the user is able to install the blocks. The voxelization technique is used to calculate the porosity of the structure, simplifying the calculations. Other techniques, such as raycasting and box overlapping, are employed for accurate simulation. In the near future, the simulator will install an automatic block installation algorithm based on combinatorial optimization solutions and compare the user-demonstrated block installation and the appropriate installation solved by the algorithm.

Keywords: 3D simulator, porosity, user interface, voxelization, wave-dissipating blocks

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Authors: L. Piñeiro, N. Cobas, L. Gómez-Limia, S. Martínez, I. Franco

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The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is a large oceanic fish of high commercial value, which is widely distributed in waters of the world’s oceans. They are considered to be an important source of high quality proteins, vitamins and essential fatty acids, although only half of the population follows the recommendation of nutritionists to consume fish at least twice a week. Swordfish is consumed worldwide because of its low fat content and high protein content. It is generally sold as fresh, frozen, and as pieces or slices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of salting and frying on the composition of the water-soluble vitamins (B₂, B₃, B₉ and B₁₂) and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E) of swordfish. Three loins of swordfish from Pacific Ocean were analyzed. All the fishes had a weight between 50 and 70 kg and were transported to the laboratory frozen (-18 ºC). Before the processing, they were defrosted at 4 ºC. Each loin was sliced and salted in brine. After cleaning the slices, they were divided into portions (10×2 cm) and fried in olive oil. The identification and quantification of vitamins were carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), using methanol and 0.010% trifluoroacetic acid as mobile phases at a flow-rate of 0.7 mL min^-1. The UV-Vis detector was used for the detection of the water- and fat-soluble vitamins (A and D), as well as the fluorescence detector for the detection of the vitamin E. During salting, water and fat-soluble vitamin contents remained constant, observing an evident decrease in the values of vitamin B₂. The diffusion of salt into the interior of the pieces and the loss of constitution water that occur during this stage would be related to this significant decrease. In general, after frying water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins showed a great thermolability with high percentages of retention with values among 50–100%. Vitamin B₃ is the one that exhibited higher percentages of retention with values close to 100%. However, vitamin B₉ presented the highest losses with a percentage of retention of less than 20%.

Keywords: frying, HPLC, salting, swordfish, vitamins

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Authors: Gou-Moon Choi, Woo-Young Jung, Chan-Young Yune

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Recently, the natural disaster has increased worldwide. In Korea, the damage to life and property caused by a typhoon, heavy rain, heavy snow, and an extreme wind also increases every year. Among natural disasters, the frequency and the strength of wind have increased because sea surface temperature has risen due to the increase of the average temperature of the Earth. In the case of extreme wind disaster, it is impossible to control or reduce the occurrence, and the recovery cost always exceeds the damage cost. Therefore, quantitative estimation of the damage cost for extreme wind needs to be established beforehand to install proactive countermeasures. In this study, the damage cost for private properties was analyzed based on the data for the past 10 years in Korea. The damage cost curve was also suggested for the metropolitan cities and provinces. The result shows the possibility for the regional application of the damage cost curve because the damage cost of the regional area is estimated based on the cost of cities and provinces.

Keywords: damage cost, extreme wind, natural disaster, private property

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Authors: Akshaya P., Priyanjali Prabhkaran

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The paper examines the formulation of strategies to develop a comprehensive model of city level water utility management to addressing urban sanitation issues. The water is prime life sustaining natural resources and nature’s gifts to all living beings on the earth multiple urban sanitation issues are addressed in the supply of water in a city. Many of these urban sanitation issues are linked to population expansion and economic inequity. Increased usage of water and the development caused water scarcity. The lack of water supply results increases the chance of unhygienic situations in the cities. In this study, the urban sanitation issues are identified with respect to water supply and utility management. The study compared based on their best practices and initiatives. From this, best practices and initiatives identify suitable sustainable measures to address water supply issues in the city level. The paper concludes with the listed provision that should be considered suitable measures for water supply and utility management in city level to address the urban sanitation issues.

Keywords: water, benchmarking water supply, water supply networks, water supply management

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Authors: N. Drir, L. Barazane, M. Loudini

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It is well known that photovoltaic (PV) cells are an attractive source of energy. Abundant and ubiquitous, this source is one of the important renewable energy sources that have been increasing worldwide year by year. However, in the V-P characteristic curve of GPV, there is a maximum point called the maximum power point (MPP) which depends closely on the variation of atmospheric conditions and the rotation of the earth. In fact, such characteristics outputs are nonlinear and change with variations of temperature and irradiation, so we need a controller named maximum power point tracker MPPT to extract the maximum power at the terminals of photovoltaic generator. In this context, the authors propose here to study the modeling of a photovoltaic system and to find an appropriate method for optimizing the operation of the PV generator using two intelligent controllers respectively to track this point. The first one is based on artificial neural networks and the second on fuzzy logic. After the conception and the integration of each controller in the global process, the performances are examined and compared through a series of simulation. These two controller have prove by their results good tracking of the MPPT compare with the other method which are proposed up to now.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking, neural networks, photovoltaic, P&O

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Authors: Najat El-Kurdi, Sherif Hammad, Mohamed Ghazi, Sahar El-Shatoury, Khaled Zakaria

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The increasing number of plastic production and its importance to humanity in daily life made it a headache to the planet earth. The persistence of plastic wastes in the environment formed a serious problem. They are prominent with their capability to resist microbial degradation for decades. Thus, it was crucial to find ways to eliminate the plastics without depending on conventional recycling methods, which causes the formation of more hazardous compounds and doubles the problem. In this paper, mealworms were fed with a mixture of plastic wastes such as plastic bags, Styrofoam, PE foam, and plastic tarpaulins film as the sole food source for a month. Frass was collected at the end of the test and examined using FTIR analysis. Also, the gut bacteria were isolated and identified using 16S rRNA. The results show the mineralization of plastic in the frass of plastic-fed worms when compared to control. The 16S rRNA and the BLAST analysis showed that the obtained isolate belongs to the genus Bacillus Sp especially Bacillus subtilis. Phylogenetic analysis showed their relatedness to the other Bacillus species in the NCBI database.

Keywords: mealworm, waste management, plastic-degrading bacteria, gut microbiome, Bacillus sp

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Authors: Paramvir Singh

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The locomotion of aquatic organisms has long fascinated biologists and engineers alike, with fish fins serving as a prime example of nature's remarkable adaptations for efficient underwater propulsion. This paper presents a comprehensive study focused on the hydrodynamic analysis of fish fin kinematics, employing an innovative approach that combines machine learning and image processing techniques. Through high-speed videography and advanced computational tools, we gain insights into the complex and dynamic motion of the fins of a Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) fish. This study was initially done by experimentally capturing videos of the various motions of a Tilapia in a custom-made setup. Using deep learning and image processing on the videos, the motion of the Caudal and Pectoral fin was extracted. This motion included the fin configuration (i.e., the angle of deviation from the mean position) with respect to time. Numerical investigations for the flapping fins are then performed using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver. 3D models of the fins were created, mimicking the real-life geometry of the fins. Thrust Characteristics of separate fins (i.e., Caudal and Pectoral separately) and when the fins are together were studied. The relationship and the phase between caudal and pectoral fin motion were also discussed. The key objectives include mathematical modeling of the motion of a flapping fin at different naturally occurring frequencies and amplitudes. The interactions between both fins (caudal and pectoral) were also an area of keen interest. This work aims to improve on research that has been done in the past on similar topics. Also, these results can help in the better and more efficient design of the propulsion systems for biomimetic underwater vehicles that are used to study aquatic ecosystems, explore uncharted or challenging underwater regions, do ocean bed modeling, etc.

Keywords: biomimetics, fish fin kinematics, image processing, fish tracking, underwater vehicles

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Authors: Abolghasem Akbari

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service Curve Number (NRCS-CN) method is widely used for predicting direct runoff from rainfall. It employs the hydrologic soil groups and land use information along with period soil moisture conditions to derive NRCS-CN. This method has been well documented and available in popular rainfall-runoff models such as HEC-HMS, SWAT, SWMM and much more. Despite all benefits and advantages of this well documented and easy-to-use method, it does not take into account the effect of terrain slope and drainage area. This study aimed to first investigate the effect of slope on CN and then slope-adjusted runoff potential map is generated for Kuantan River Basin, Malaysia. The Hanng method was used to adjust CN values provided in National Handbook of Engineering and The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) version 2 is used to derive slope map with the spatial resolution of 30 m for Kuantan River Basin (KRB). The study significantly enhanced the application of GIS tools and recent advances in earth observation technology to analyze the hydrological process.

Keywords: Kuantan, ASTER-GDEM, SCS-CN, runoff

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Authors: Amit K. Mishra, Jaswant Singh

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The menace of plastic, which significantly pollutes the aquatic environment, has emerged as a global problem. There is an emerging concern about microplastics (MPs) accumulation in aquatic ecosystems. It is familiar to everyone that the ultimate end for most of the plastic debris is the ocean. Rivers are the efficient carriers for transferring MPs from terrestrial to aquatic, further from upstream to downstream areas, and ultimately to oceans. The root cause study can provide an effective solution to a problem; hence, tracing of MPs in the riverine system can illustrate the long-term microplastic pollution. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and distribution of microplastic contamination in surface water and sediment of the two major river systems of Uttar Pradesh, India. One is the Gomti River, Lucknow, a tributary of the Ganga, and the second is the Saryu River, the lower part of the Ghagra River, which flows through the city of Ayodhya. In this study, the distribution and abundance of MPs in surface water and sediments of two rivers were compared. Samples of water and sediment were collected from different (four from each river) sampling stations in the river catchment of two rivers. Plastic particles were classified according to type, shape, and color. In this study, 1523 (average abundance 254) and 143 (average abundance 26) microplastics were identified in all studied sites in the Gomati River and Saryu River, respectively. Observations on samples of water showed that the average MPs concentration was 392 (±69.6) and 63 ((±18.9) particles per 50l of water, whereas the sediment sample showed that the average MPs concentration was 116 (±42.9) and 46 (±12.5) particles per 250gm of dry sediment in the Gomati River and Saryu River, respectively. The high concentration of microplastics in the Lucknow area can be attributed to human activities, population density, and the entry of various effluents into the river. Microplastics with fibrous shapes were dominated, followed by fragment shapes in all the samples. The present study is a pioneering effort to count MPs in the Gomati and Saryu River systems.

Keywords: freshwater, Gomati, microplastics, Saryu, sediment

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Authors: Pooja Seth, Shruti Aggarwal

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The Europium (Eu) doped (0.02-0.1 wt %) lithium fluoride (LiF) crystal in the form of multicrystalline sheet was gown by the edge defined film fed growth (EFG) technique. Crystals were grown in argon gas atmosphere using graphite crucible and stainless steel die. The systematic incorporation of Eu inside the host LiF lattice was confirmed by X-ray diffractometry. Thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve was recorded on annealed (AN) crystals after irradiation with a gamma dose of 15 Gy. The effect of different concentration of Eu in enhancing the thermoluminescence (TL) intensity of LiF was studied. The normalized peak height of the Eu-doped LiF crystal was nearly 12 times that of the LiF crystals. The optimized concentration of Eu in LiF was found to be 0.05wt% at which maximum TL intensity was observed with main TL peak positioned at 185 °C. At higher concentration TL intensity decreases due to the formation of precipitates in the form of clusters or aggregates. The nature of the energy traps in Eu doped LiF was analysed through glow curve deconvolution. The trap depth was found to be in the range of 0.2 – 0.5 eV. These results showed that doping with Eu enhances the TL intensity by creating more defect sites for capturing of electron and holes during irradiation which might be useful for dosimetry application.

Keywords: thermoluminescence, defects, gamma radiation, crystals

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Authors: Ahmed S. Attia

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This paper includes a study of modern sustainable architectural techniques and elements that are originally found in vernacular and traditional architecture, particularly in the Arab region. Courtyards, Wind Catchers, and Mashrabiya, for example, are elements that have been developed in contemporary architecture using modern technology to create sustainable architecture designs. An analytical study of the topic will deal with some examples of the Islamic House in Fatimid Cairo city in Egypt, analyzing its elements and their relationship to the environment, in addition to the examples in southern Egypt (Nubba) of sustainable architecture systems, and traditional houses in Sana'a city, Yemen, using earth resources of mud bricks and other construction materials. In conclusion, a comparative study between traditional and contemporary techniques will be conducted to confirm that it is possible to achieve sustainable architecture through the use of low-technology in buildings in Arab regions.

Keywords: Islamic context, cultural environment, natural environment, Islamic house, low-technology, mud brick, vernacular and traditional architecture

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Authors: Suman Dutta, Manish Agrawal, C. S. Jog

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Accurate computation of hydrodynamic forces on floating structures and their deformation finds application in the ocean and naval engineering and wave energy harvesting. This manuscript presents a monolithic, finite element strategy for fluid-structure interaction involving hyper-elastic solids partly submerged in an incompressible fluid. A velocity-based Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation has been used for the fluid and a displacement-based Lagrangian approach has been used for the solid. The flexibility of the ALE technique permits us to treat the free surface of the fluid as a Lagrangian entity. At the interface, the continuity of displacement, velocity and traction are enforced using the mortar method. In the mortar method, the constraints are enforced in a weak sense using the Lagrange multiplier method. In the literature, the mortar method has been shown to be robust in solving various contact mechanics problems. The time-stepping strategy used in this work reduces to the generalized trapezoidal rule in the Eulerian setting. In the Lagrangian limit, in the absence of external load, the algorithm conserves the linear and angular momentum and the total energy of the system. The use of monolithic coupling with an energy-conserving time-stepping strategy gives an unconditionally stable algorithm and allows the user to take large time steps. All the governing equations and boundary conditions have been mapped to the reference configuration. The use of the exact tangent stiffness matrix ensures that the algorithm converges quadratically within each time step. The robustness and good performance of the proposed method are demonstrated by solving benchmark problems from the literature.

Keywords: ALE, floating body, fluid-structure interaction, monolithic, mortar method

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Authors: Sanja Peter

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Transformation of urban environments can be compared to evolutionary processes. Systematic digital mapping of historical data can enable capturing some of these processes and their outcomes. For example, it may help reveal the structure of a city’s historical DNA. Gathering historical data for automatic processing may be giving a basis for cultural algorithms. Gothenburg City museum is trying to make city’s heritage information accessible through GIS-platforms and is now partnering with academic institutions to find appropriate methods to make accessible the knowledge on the city’s historical fabric. Hopefully, this will be carried out through a project called Digital Twin Cities. One part of this large project, concerning matters of Cultural Heritage, will be in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology. The aim is to create a layered map showing historical developments of the city and extracting quantitative data about its built heritage, above and below the earth. It will allow interpreting the information from historic maps through, for example, names of the streets/places, geography, structural changes in urban fabric and information gathered by archaeologists’ excavations. Through the study of these geographical, historical and local metamorphoses, urban environment will reveal its metaphorical DNA or its MEM (Dawkins).

Keywords: Gothenburg, mapping, cultural heritage, city history

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Authors: Sugandha Gupta, Arun Kumar Jha

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A large number of ferroelectric materials have been intensely investigated for applications in non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs), piezoelectric transducers, actuators, pyroelectric sensors, high dielectric constant capacitors, etc. Bismuth layered ferroelectric materials such as Strontium Bismuth Tantalate (SBT) has attracted a lot of attention due to low leakage current, high remnant polarization and high fatigue endurance up to 1012 switching cycles. However, pure SBT suffers from various major limitations such as high dielectric loss, low remnant polarization values, high processing temperature, bismuth volatilization, etc. Significant efforts have been made to improve the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of this compound. Firstly, it has been reported that electrical properties vary with the Sr/ Bi content ratio in the SrBi2Ta2O9 compsition i.e. non-stoichiometric compositions with Sr-deficient / Bi excess content have higher remnant polarization values than stoichiometic SBT compositions. With the objective to improve structural, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of SBT compound, rare earth holmium (Ho3+) was chosen as a donor cation for substitution onto the Bi2O2 layer. Moreover, hardly any report on holmium substitution in stoichiometric SrBi2Ta2O9 and non-stoichiometric Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 compositions were available in the literature. The holmium substituted SrBi2-xHoxTa2O9 (x= 0.00-2.0) and Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 (x=0.0 and 0.01) compositions were synthesized by the solid state reaction method. The synthesized specimens were characterized for their structural and electrical properties. X-ray diffractograms reveal single phase layered perovskite structure formation for holmium content in stoichiometric SBT samples up to x ≤ 0.1. The granular morphology of the samples was investigated using scanning electron microscope (Hitachi, S-3700 N). The dielectric measurements were carried out using a precision LCR meter (Agilent 4284A) operating at oscillation amplitude of 1V. The variation of dielectric constant with temperature shows that the Curie temperature (Tc) decreases on increasing the holmium content. The specimen with x=2.0 i.e. the bismuth free specimen, has very low dielectric constant and does not show any appreciable variation with temperature. The dielectric loss reduces significantly with holmium substitution. The polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops were recorded using a P–E loop tracer based on Sawyer–Tower circuit. It is observed that the ferroelectric property improve with Ho substitution. Holmium substituted specimen exhibits enhanced value of remnant polarization (Pr= 9.22 μC/cm²) as compared to holmium free specimen (Pr= 2.55 μC/cm²). Piezoelectric co-efficient (d33 values) was measured using a piezo meter system (Piezo Test PM300). It is observed that holmium substitution enhances piezoelectric coefficient. Further, the optimized holmium content (x=0.01) in stoichiometric SrBi2-xHoxTa2O9 composition has been substituted in non-stoichiometric Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 composition to obtain further enhanced structural and electrical characteristics. It is expected that a new class of ferroelectric materials i.e. Rare Earth Layered Structured Ferroelectrics (RLSF) derived from Bismuth Layered Structured Ferroelectrics (BLSF) will generate which can be used to replace static (SRAM) and dynamic (DRAM) random access memories with ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMS).

Keywords: dielectrics, ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics, strontium bismuth tantalate

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Authors: A. Ramkumar, Anvesh Sagar, Preetham P. Karkera

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Globalization in the modern era is dependent on the International logistics, the economic and reliable means is provided by the ocean going merchant vessel. The propulsion system which drives this massive vessels has gone through leaps and bounds of evolution. Most reliable system of propulsion adopted by the majority of vessels is by marine diesel engine. Since the first oil crisis of 1973, there is demand in increment of efficiency of main engine. Due to increase in the oil prices ship-operators explores for reduction in the operational cost of ship. And newly adopted IMO’s EEDI & SEEMP rules calls for the effective measures taken in this regard. The main engine of a ship suffers a lot of thermal losses, they mainly occur due to exhaust gas waste heat, radiation and cooling. So to increase the overall efficiency of system, we have to look into the solution to harnessing this waste energy of main engine to increase the fuel economy. During the course of research, engine manufacturers have developed many waste heat recovery systems. In our paper we see about additional options to harness this waste heat. The exhaust gas of engine coming out from the turbocharger still holds enough heat to go to the exhaust gas economiser to produce steam. This heat of exhaust gas can be used to heat a liquid of less boiling point after coming out from the turbocharger. The vapour of this secondary liquid can be superheated by a bypass exhaust or exhaust of turbocharger. This vapour can be utilized to rotate the turbine which is coupled to a generator. And the electric power for ship service can be produced with proper configuration of system. This can be included in PMS of ship. In this paper we seek to concentrate on power generation with use of exhaust gas. Thereby taking out the load on the main generator and increasing the efficiency of the system. This will help us to comply with the new rules of IMO. Our method helps to develop clean energy.

Keywords: EEDI–energy efficiency design index, IMO–international maritime organization PMS-power management system, SEEMP–ship energy efficiency management plan

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Authors: Antigoni Panagiotopoulou, Lemonia Ragia

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High-resolution satellite images can provide detailed information about change detection on the earth. In the present work, QuickBird images of spatial resolution 60 cm/pixel and WorldView images of resolution 30 cm/pixel are utilized to perform automatic change detection in urban and suburban areas of Crete, Greece. There is a relative time difference of 13 years among the satellite images. Multiindex scene representation is applied on the images to classify the scene into buildings, vegetation, water and ground. Then, automatic change detection is made possible by pixel-per-pixel comparison of the classified multi-temporal images. The vegetation index and the water index which have been developed in this study prove effective. Furthermore, the proposed change detection approach not only indicates whether changes have taken place or not but also provides specific information relative to the types of changes. Experimentations with other different scenes in the future could help optimize the proposed spectral indices as well as the entire change detection methodology.

Keywords: change detection, multiindex scene representation, spectral index, QuickBird, WorldView

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Authors: Simon Ayorinde Okanlawon

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This study examines residents’ assessment of with infrastructural facilities in the urban fringe of Ibadan, Nigeria. Random sampling technique was used in selecting four Local Government Areas out of the six suburban LGAs of the city. Google earth and ground trotting were used in capturing and selecting seven hundred and forty-two new houses. The questionnaires administered on house owners were harvested on the spot. The information collected includes socio-economic and demographic characteristics of residents as well as characteristics of infrastructural facilities. The study utilised both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses; Facility Availability Index (FAI) Facility Functionality Index (FFI) and Residents’ Satisfactions Index (RSI) were used to compare respectively residents’ perceived levels of availability of, the functionality of, and satisfaction with facilities across Local Government Areas. The study shows that levels of both availability of, and satisfaction with infrastructural facilities are low with respective overall FAI (0.8) and RSI (0.05), while the functionality of the facilities is generally very poor IFFI = - 0.58). Strategies were proposed to enhance the good, livable, and healthy environment.

Keywords: infrastructural facilities, infrastructural perception index, residents’ satisfaction, urban fringe of Ibadan

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Authors: Reshu Chaudhary, R. S. Sengar

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To increase the agricultural production Indian farmer needs to aware of the latest technology i.e. precision farming to maximize the crop yield and minimize the input (fertilizer, pesticide etc.) through monitoring the environmental factors. Biotechnology and information technology have provided lots of opportunities for the development of agriculture. But, still we have to do much more for increasing our agricultural production in order to achieve the target growth of agriculture to secure food, to eliminate poverty and improve living style, to enhance agricultural exports and national income and to improve quality of agricultural products. Nanotechnology can be a great element to satisfy these requirements and to boost the multi-dimensional development of agriculture in order to fulfill the dream of Indian farmers. Nanotechnology is the most rapidly growing area of science and technology with its application in physical science, chemical science, life science, material science and earth science. Nanotechnology is a part of any nation’s future. Research in nanotechnology has extremely high potential to benefit society through application in agricultural sciences. Nanotechnology has greater potential to bring revolution in the agricultural sector.

Keywords: agriculture, biotechnology, crop yield, nanotechnology

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Authors: Miguel Ramirez, Ivan Lizarazo

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The emergence of various interpretations of sustainability, including weak and strong paradigms, can be traced back to the definition of sustainable development provided in the 1987 Brundtland report and the subsequent evolution of the sustainability concept. However, there has been limited scholarly attention given to clarifying the concept of sustainability within the theoretical and conceptual framework of geography. The discipline has predominantly been focused on understanding the diverse conceptions of sustainability within its epistemological boundaries, resulting in tensions between sustainability paradigms and their associated dimensions, including the incorporation of political perspectives, with particular emphasis on environmental geography's epistemology. In response to this gap, a conceptual framework for sustainability is proposed, effectively integrating spatial and territorial concepts. This framework aims to enhance geography's role in contributing to sustainability by utilizing the land system theory, which is based on the dynamics of land use change. Such an integrated conceptual framework enables incorporating methodological tools such as remote sensing, encompassing various earth observations and fusion methods, and supervised classification techniques. Additionally, it looks for better integration of socioecological information, thereby capturing essential population-related features.

Keywords: geography, sustainability, land change science, territorial sustainability

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Authors: Redrisse Djoumessi Fobasso, Baidyanath Sahu, Andre M. Strydom

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The R₂TX₃ (R = rare-earth, T = transition, and X = s and p block element) series of compounds are interesting owing to their fascinating structural and magnetic properties. In this present work, we have studied the magnetic and physical properties of the new Gd₂AgSi₃ polycrystalline compound. The sample was synthesized by the arc-melting method and confirmed to crystallize in the tetragonal α-ThSi₂-type crystal structure with space group I4/amd. Dc– and ac–magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance measurements were performed on the new compound. The structure provides a unique position in the unit cell for the magnetic trivalent Gd ion. Two magnetic phase transitions were consistently found in dc- and ac-magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity at temperatures Tₙ₁ = 11 K and Tₙ₂ = 20 K, which is an indication of the complex magnetic behavior in this compound. The compound is found to be metamagnetic over a range of temperatures below and above Tₙ₁. From field-dependent electrical resistivity, it is confirmed that the compound shows unusual negative magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetically ordered region. These results contribute to a better understanding of this class of materials.

Keywords: complex magnetic behavior, metamagnetic, negative magnetoresistance, two magnetic phase transitions

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Authors: David Shengelia, Tamara Tsutsunava, Manana Togonidze, Giorgi Chichinadze, Giorgi Beridze

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Orthoclase gabbro intrusive exposes in the Eastern part of the Dzirula crystalline massif of the Central Transcaucasian microcontinent. It is intruded in the Baikal quartz-diorite gneisses as a stock-like body. The intrusive is characterized by heterogeneity of rock composition: variability of mineral content and irregular distribution of rock-forming minerals. The rocks are represented by pyroxenites, gabbro-pyroxenites and gabbros of different composition – K-feldspar, pyroxene-hornblende and biotite bearing varieties. Scientific views on the genesis and age of the orthoclase gabbro intrusive are considerably different. Based on the long-term pertogeochemical and geochronological investigations of the intrusive with such an extraordinary composition the authors came to the following conclusions. According to geological and geophysical data, it is stated that in the Saurian orogeny horizontal tectonic layering of the Earth’s crust of the Central Transcaucasian microcontinent took place. That is precisely this fact that explains the formation of the orthoclase gabbro intrusive. During the tectonic doubling of the Earth’s crust of the mentioned microcontinent thick tectonic nappes of mafic and sialic layers overlap the sialic basement (‘inversion’ layer). The initial magma of the intrusive was of high-temperature basite-ultrabasite composition, crystallization products of which are pyroxenites and gabbro-pyroxenites. Petrochemical data of the magma attest to its formation in the Upper mantle and partially in the ‘crustal astenolayer’. Then, a newly formed overheated dry magma with phenocrysts of clinopyrocxene and basic plagioclase intruded into the ‘inversion’ layer. From the new medium it was enriched by the volatile components causing the selective melting and as a result the formation of leucocratic quartz-feldspar material. At the same time in the basic magma intensive transformation of pyroxene to hornblende was going on. The basic magma partially mixed with the newly formed acid magma. These different magmas intruded first into the allochthonous basite layer without its significant transformation and then into the upper sialic layer and crystallized here at a depth of 7-10 km. By petrochemical data the newly formed leucocratic granite magma belongs to the S type granites, but the above mentioned mixed magma – to H (hybrid) type. During the final stage of magmatic processes the gabbroic rocks impregnated with high-temperature feldspar-bearing material forming anorthoclase or orthoclase. Thus, so called ‘orthoclase gabbro’ includes the rocks of various genetic groups: 1. protolith of gabbroic intrusive; 2. hybrid rock – K-feldspar gabbro and 3. leucocratic quartz-feldspar bearing rock. Petrochemical and geochemical data obtained from the hybrid gabbro and from the inrusive protolith differ from each other. For the identification of petrogenetic model of the orthoclase gabbro intrusive formation LA-ICP-MS- U-Pb zircon dating has been conducted in all three genetic types of gabbro. The zircon age of the protolith – mean 221.4±1.9 Ma and of hybrid K-feldspar gabbro – mean 221.9±2.2 Ma, records crystallization time of the intrusive, but the zircon age of quartz-feldspar bearing rocks – mean 323±2.9 Ma, as well as the inherited age (323±9, 329±8.3, 332±10 and 335±11 Ma) of hybrid K-feldspar gabbro corresponds to the formation age of Late Variscan granitoids widespread in the Dzirula crystalline massif.

Keywords: The Caucasus, isotope dating, orthoclase-bearing gabbro, petrogenetic model

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Authors: Hannah Kolano, Paul Nadan, Jeremy Ryan, Sophia Nielsen

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The hooves of goats and other ruminants, or the family Ruminantia, are uniquely structured to adapt to rough terrain. Their hooves possess a hard outer shell and a soft interior that allow them to both conform to uneven surfaces and hook onto prominent features. In an effort to apply this unique mechanism to a robotics context, artificial feet for a hexapedal robot have been designed based on the hooves of ruminants to improve the robot’s ability to traverse unstructured environments such as those found on a rocky planet or asteroid, as well as in earth-based environments such as rubble, caves, and mountainous regions. The feet were manufactured using a combination of 3D printing and polyurethane casting techniques and attached to a commercially available hexapedal robot. The robot was programmed with a terrain-adaptive gait and proved capable of traversing a variety of uneven surfaces and inclines. This development of more adaptable robotic feet allows legged robots to operate in a wider range of environments and expands their possible applications.

Keywords: biomimicry, legged locomotion, robotic foot design, ruminant feet, unstructured terrain navigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Abdulrahman M. Hamid

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Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT) is widely used for field quality assessment of soils. Its application to predict the engineering properties of soil is globally promoted by the fact that it is difficult to obtain undisturbed soil samples, especially when loose or submerged sandy soil is encountered. Detailed discussion will be presented on the current development of DCPT correlations with resilient modulus, relative density, California Bearing Ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength and shear strength that have been developed for different materials in both the laboratory and field, as well as on the usage of DCPT in quality control of compaction of earth fills and performance evaluation of pavement layers. In addition, the relationship of the DCPT with other instruments such as falling weight deflectometer, nuclear gauge, soil stiffens gauge, and plate load test will be reported. Lastely, the application of DCPT in Saudi Arabia in recent years will be addressed in this manuscript.

Keywords: dynamic cone penetration test, falling weight deflectometer, nuclear gauge, soil stiffens gauge, plate load test, automated dynamic cone penetration

Procedia PDF Downloads 420