Search results for: robustness analysis
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 27499

Search results for: robustness analysis

26809 Nonlinear Analysis of a Building Surmounted by a RC Water Tank under Hydrodynamic Load

Authors: Hocine Hammoum, Karima Bouzelha, Lounis Ziani, Lounis Hamitouche

Abstract:

In this paper, we study a complex structure which is an apartment building surmounted by a reinforced concrete water tank. The tank located on the top floor of the building is a container with capacity of 1000 m3. The building is complex in its design, its calculation and by its behavior under earthquake effect. This structure located in Algiers and aged of 53 years has been subjected to several earthquakes, but the earthquake of May 21st, 2003 with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale that struck Boumerdes region at 40 Kms East of Algiers was fatal for it. It was downgraded after an investigation study because the central core sustained serious damage. In this paper, to estimate the degree of its damages, the seismic performance of the structure will be evaluated taking into account the hydrodynamic effect, using a static equivalent nonlinear analysis called pushover.

Keywords: performance analysis, building, reinforced concrete tank, seismic analysis, nonlinear analysis, hydrodynamic, pushover

Procedia PDF Downloads 407
26808 Brazilian Environmental Public Policies Analysis

Authors: Estela Macedo Alves

Abstract:

This paper is an overview on public policy analysis focused on the study of Brazilian public policy making process. The methodology is based on the review of some theories on the subject, linking them to Brazilian reality. The study presents basic policy analysis concepts, such as policy, polity and politics. It is emphasized John Kingdon's Multiple Stream Model, because of its clarifying aspects concerning public policies formulation process in democratic countries. In this path it was possible to establish interpretations on environmental public policies in Brazil and understand its methods, instead of presenting only a case study. At the end, it is possible to connect theory with Brazilian reality, identifying negative and positive points of its political processes and structure.

Keywords: Brazilian policies, environmental public policy, multiple stream model, public policy analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 385
26807 Saving Energy at a Wastewater Treatment Plant through Electrical and Production Data Analysis

Authors: Adriano Araujo Carvalho, Arturo Alatrista Corrales

Abstract:

This paper intends to show how electrical energy consumption and production data analysis were used to find opportunities to save energy at Taboada wastewater treatment plant in Callao, Peru. In order to access the data, it was used independent data networks for both electrical and process instruments, which were taken to analyze under an ISO 50001 energy audit, which considered, thus, Energy Performance Indexes for each process and a step-by-step guide presented in this text. Due to the use of aforementioned methodology and data mining techniques applied on information gathered through electronic multimeters (conveniently placed on substation switchboards connected to a cloud network), it was possible to identify thoroughly the performance of each process and thus, evidence saving opportunities which were previously hidden before. The data analysis brought both costs and energy reduction, allowing the plant to save significant resources and to be certified under ISO 50001.

Keywords: energy and production data analysis, energy management, ISO 50001, wastewater treatment plant energy analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 179
26806 Developing an Automated Protocol for the Wristband Extraction Process Using Opentrons

Authors: Tei Kim, Brooklynn McNeil, Kathryn Dunn, Douglas I. Walker

Abstract:

To better characterize the relationship between complex chemical exposures and disease, our laboratory uses an approach that combines low-cost, polydimethylsiloxane (silicone) wristband samplers that absorb many of the chemicals we are exposed to with untargeted high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to characterize 1000’s of chemicals at a time. In studies with human populations, these wristbands can provide an important measure of our environment: however, there is a need to use this approach in large cohorts to study exposures associated with the disease. To facilitate the use of silicone samplers in large scale population studies, the goal of this research project was to establish automated sample preparation methods that improve throughput, robustness, and scalability of analytical methods for silicone wristbands. Using the Opentron OT2 automated liquid platform, which provides a low-cost and opensource framework for automated pipetting, we created two separate workflows that translate the manual wristband preparation method to a fully automated protocol that requires minor intervention by the operator. These protocols include a sequence generation step, which defines the location of all plates and labware according to user-specified settings, and a transfer protocol that includes all necessary instrument parameters and instructions for automated solvent extraction of wristband samplers. These protocols were written in Python and uploaded to GitHub for use by others in the research community. Results from this project show it is possible to establish automated and open source methods for the preparation of silicone wristband samplers to support profiling of many environmental exposures. Ongoing studies include deployment in longitudinal cohort studies to investigate the relationship between personal chemical exposure and disease.

Keywords: bioinformatics, automation, opentrons, research

Procedia PDF Downloads 94
26805 Energy and Economic Analysis of Heat Recovery from Boiler Exhaust Flue Gas

Authors: Kemal Comakli, Meryem Terhan

Abstract:

In this study, the potential of heat recovery from waste flue gas was examined in 60 MW district heating system of a university, and fuel saving was aimed by using the recovered heat in the system as a source again. Various scenarios are intended to make use of waste heat. For this purpose, actual operation data of the system were taken. Besides, the heat recovery units that consist of heat exchangers such as flue gas condensers, economizers or air pre-heaters were designed theoretically for each scenario. Energy analysis of natural gas-fired boiler’s exhaust flue gas in the system, and economic analysis of heat recovery units to predict payback periods were done. According to calculation results, the waste heat loss ratio from boiler flue gas in the system was obtained as average 16%. Thanks to the heat recovery units, thermal efficiency of the system can be increased, and fuel saving can be provided. At the same time, a huge amount of green gas emission can be decreased by installing the heat recovery units.

Keywords: heat recovery from flue gas, energy analysis of flue gas, economical analysis, payback period

Procedia PDF Downloads 269
26804 A Fault Analysis Cracked-Rotor-to-Stator Rub and Unbalance by Vibration Analysis Technique

Authors: B. X. Tchomeni, A. A. Alugongo, L. M. Masu

Abstract:

An analytical 4-DOF nonlinear model of a de Laval rotor-stator system based on Energy Principles has been used theoretically and experimentally to investigate fault symptoms in a rotating system. The faults, namely rotor-stator-rub, crack and unbalance are modelled as excitations on the rotor shaft. Mayes steering function is used to simulate the breathing behaviour of the crack. The fault analysis technique is based on waveform signal, orbits and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) derived from simulated and real measured signals. Simulated and experimental results manifest considerable mutual resemblance of elliptic-shaped orbits and FFT for a same range of test data.

Keywords: a breathing crack, fault, FFT, nonlinear, orbit, rotor-stator rub, vibration analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 298
26803 Requirements Definitions of Real-Time System Using the Behavioral Patterns Analysis (BPA) Approach: The Healthcare Multi-Agent System

Authors: Assem El-Ansary

Abstract:

This paper illustrates the event-oriented Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling approach using the Healthcare Multi-Agent System. The Event defined in BPA is a real-life conceptual entity that is unrelated to any implementation. The major contributions of this research are: The Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling methodology. The development of an interactive software tool (DECISION), which is based on a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the ELECTRE Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods.

Keywords: analysis, modeling methodology, software modeling, event-oriented, behavioral pattern, use cases, Healthcare Multi-Agent System

Procedia PDF Downloads 537
26802 Pd(II) Complex with 4-Bromo-2,6-Bis-Hydroxymethyl-Phenol and Nikotinamid: Synthesis and Spectral Analysis

Authors: Özlen Altun, Zeliha Yoruç

Abstract:

In the present study, the reactions involving 4-Bromo-2,6-bis-hydroxymethyl-phenol (BBHMP) and nikotinamide (NA) in the presence Pd (II) ion were investigated. Optimum conditions for the reactions were established as pH 7 and λ = 450 nm. According to absorbance measurements, the mole ratio of BBHMP : NA : Pd2+ was found as 1 : 2 : 2. As a result of physico-chemical, spectrophotometric and thermal analysis results, the reactions of BBHMP and NA with Pd (II) is complexation reactions and one molecule BBHMP and two molecules of NA react with two molecules of metal (II) ion.

Keywords: 4-Bromo-2, 6-bis-hydroxymethyl-phenol, nicotinamide, Pd(II), spectral analysis, synthesis

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
26801 A Network-Theorical Perspective on Music Analysis

Authors: Alberto Alcalá-Alvarez, Pablo Padilla-Longoria

Abstract:

The present paper describes a framework for constructing mathematical networks encoding relevant musical information from a music score for structural analysis. These graphs englobe statistical information about music elements such as notes, chords, rhythms, intervals, etc., and the relations among them, and so become helpful in visualizing and understanding important stylistic features of a music fragment. In order to build such networks, musical data is parsed out of a digital symbolic music file. This data undergoes different analytical procedures from Graph Theory, such as measuring the centrality of nodes, community detection, and entropy calculation. The resulting networks reflect important structural characteristics of the fragment in question: predominant elements, connectivity between them, and complexity of the information contained in it. Music pieces in different styles are analyzed, and the results are contrasted with the traditional analysis outcome in order to show the consistency and potential utility of this method for music analysis.

Keywords: computational musicology, mathematical music modelling, music analysis, style classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 80
26800 Layer-by-Layer Modified Ceramic Membranes for Micropollutant Removal

Authors: Jenny Radeva, Anke-Gundula Roth, Christian Goebbert, Robert Niestroj-Pahl, Lars Daehne, Axel Wolfram, Juergen Wiese

Abstract:

Ceramic membranes for water purification combine excellent stability with long-life characteristics and high chemical resistance. Layer-by-Layer coating is a well-known technique for customization and optimization of filtration properties of membranes but is mostly used on polymeric membranes. Ceramic membranes comprising a metal oxide filtration layer of Al2O3 or TiO2 are charged and therefore highly suitable for polyelectrolyte adsorption. The high stability of the membrane support allows efficient backwash and chemical cleaning of the membrane. The presented study reports metal oxide/organic composite membrane with an increased rejection of bivalent salts like MgSO4 and the organic micropollutant Diclofenac. A self-build apparatus was used for applying the polyelectrolyte multilayers on the ceramic membrane. The device controls the flow and timing of the polyelectrolytes and washing solutions. As support for the Layer-by-Layer coat, ceramic mono-channel membranes were used with an inner capillary of 8 mm diameter, which is connected to the coating device. The inner wall of the capillary is coated subsequently with polycat- and anions. The filtration experiments were performed with a feed solution of MgSO4 and Diclofenac. The salt content of the permeate was detected conductometrically and Diclofenac was measured with UV-Adsorption. The concluded results show retention values of magnesium sulfate of 70% and diclofenac retention of 60%. Further experimental research studied various parameters of the composite membrane-like Molecular Weight Cut Off and pore size, Zeta potential and its mechanical and chemical robustness.

Keywords: water purification, polyelectrolytes, membrane modification, layer-by-layer coating, ceramic membranes

Procedia PDF Downloads 230
26799 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) in the Yemeni Environment

Authors: Mohammed Al-Khadher

Abstract:

Currently, we are witnessing rapid advancements in the field of information and communications technology, forcing us, as psychologists, to combat the psychological and social effects of such developments. It also drives us to continually look for the development and preparation of measurement tools compatible with the changes brought about by the digital revolution. In this context, the current study aimed to identify the factor analysis of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) in the Republic of Yemen. The sample consisted of (1920) university students (1136 males and 784 females) who answered the inventory, and the data was analyzed using the statistical software (AMOS V25). The factor analysis results showed a goodness-of-fit of the data five-factor model with excellent indicators, as RMSEA-(.052), CFI-(.910), GFI-(.931), AGFI-(.915), TLI-(.897), NFI-(.895), RFI-(.880), and RMR-(.032). All within the ideal range to prove the model's fit of the scale’s factor analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis results showed factor loading in (4) items on (Time Spent), (4) items on (Compulsivity), (8) items on (Daily Life Interference), (5) items on (Craving), and (3) items on (Sleep interference); and all standard values of factor loading were statistically significant at the significance level (>.001).

Keywords: smartphone addiction inventory (SPAI), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), yemeni students, people at risk of smartphone addiction

Procedia PDF Downloads 69
26798 Life Cycle-Based Analysis of Meat Production: Ecosystem Impacts

Authors: Michelle Zeyuan Ma, Hermann Heilmeier

Abstract:

Recently, meat production ecosystem impacts initiated many hot discussions and researchers, and it is a difficult implementation to reduce such impacts due to the demand of meat products. It calls for better management and control of ecosystem impacts from every aspects of meat production. This article analyzes the ecosystem impacts of meat production based on meat products life cycle. The analysis shows that considerable ecosystem impacts are caused by different meat production steps: initial establishment phase, animal raising, slaughterhouse processing, meat consumption, and wastes management. Based on this analysis, the impacts are summarized as: leading factor for biodiversity loss; water waste, land use waste and land degradation; greenhouse gases emissions; pollution to air, water, and soil; related major diseases. The article also provides a discussion on a solution-sustainable food system, which could help in reducing ecosystem impacts. The analysis method is based on the life cycle level, it provides a concept of the whole meat industry ecosystem impacts, and the analysis result could be useful to manage or control meat production ecosystem impacts from investor, producer and consumer sides.

Keywords: eutrophication, life cycle based analysis, sustainable food, waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 200
26797 Customer Data Analysis Model Using Business Intelligence Tools in Telecommunication Companies

Authors: Monica Lia

Abstract:

This article presents a customer data analysis model using business intelligence tools for data modelling, transforming, data visualization and dynamic reports building. Economic organizational customer’s analysis is made based on the information from the transactional systems of the organization. The paper presents how to develop the data model starting for the data that companies have inside their own operational systems. The owned data can be transformed into useful information about customers using business intelligence tool. For a mature market, knowing the information inside the data and making forecast for strategic decision become more important. Business Intelligence tools are used in business organization as support for decision-making.

Keywords: customer analysis, business intelligence, data warehouse, data mining, decisions, self-service reports, interactive visual analysis, and dynamic dashboards, use cases diagram, process modelling, logical data model, data mart, ETL, star schema, OLAP, data universes

Procedia PDF Downloads 413
26796 Intelligent Agent Travel Reservation System Requirements Definitions Using the Behavioral Patterns Analysis (BPA) Approach

Authors: Assem El-Ansary

Abstract:

This paper illustrates the event-oriented Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling approach in developing an Intelligent Agent Reservation System (IARS). The Event defined in BPA is a real-life conceptual entity that is unrelated to any implementation. The major contributions of this research are developing the Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling methodology, and developing an interactive software tool (DECISION) which is based on a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the ELECTRE Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods.

Keywords: analysis, intelligent agent, reservation system, modeling methodology, software modeling, event-oriented, behavioral pattern, use cases

Procedia PDF Downloads 468
26795 Heat Forging Analysis Method on Blank Consist of Two Metals

Authors: Takashi Ueda, Shinichi Enoki

Abstract:

Forging parts is used to automobiles. Because they have high strength and it is possible to press them into complicated shape. When it is possible to manufacture hollow forging parts, it leads to reduce weight of the automobiles. But, hollow forging parts are confined to axisymmetrical shape. Hollow forging parts that were pressed to complicated shape are expected. Therefore, we forge a blank that aluminum alloy was inserted in stainless steel. After that, we can provide complex forging parts that are reduced weight, if it is possible to be melted the aluminum alloy away by using different of melting points. It is necessary to establish heat forging analysis method on blank consist of stainless steel and aluminum alloy. Because, this forging is different from conventional forging and this technology is not confirmed. In this study, we compared forging experiment with numerical analysis on the view point of forming load and shape after forming and establish how to set the material temperatures of two metals and material property of stainless steel on the analysis method. Consequently, temperature difference of stainless steel and aluminum alloy was obtained by experiment. We got material property of stainless steel on forging experimental by compression tests. We had compared numerical analysis that was used the temperature difference of two metals and the material property of stainless steel on forging experimental with forging experiment. Forging analysis method on blank consist of two metals was established by result of numerical analysis having agreed with result of forging experiment.

Keywords: forging, lightweight, analysis, hollow

Procedia PDF Downloads 399
26794 Quantitative Ranking Evaluation of Wine Quality

Authors: A. Brunel, A. Kernevez, F. Leclere, J. Trenteseaux

Abstract:

Today, wine quality is only evaluated by wine experts with their own different personal tastes, even if they may agree on some common features. So producers do not have any unbiased way to independently assess the quality of their products. A tool is here proposed to evaluate wine quality by an objective ranking based upon the variables entering wine elaboration, and analysed through principal component analysis (PCA) method. Actual climatic data are compared by measuring the relative distance between each considered wine, out of which the general ranking is performed.

Keywords: wine, grape, weather conditions, rating, climate, principal component analysis, metric analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 306
26793 A Policy Strategy for Building Energy Data Management in India

Authors: Shravani Itkelwar, Deepak Tewari, Bhaskar Natarajan

Abstract:

The energy consumption data plays a vital role in energy efficiency policy design, implementation, and impact assessment. Any demand-side energy management intervention's success relies on the availability of accurate, comprehensive, granular, and up-to-date data on energy consumption. The Building sector, including residential and commercial, is one of the largest consumers of energy in India after the Industrial sector. With economic growth and increasing urbanization, the building sector is projected to grow at an unprecedented rate, resulting in a 5.6 times escalation in energy consumption till 2047 compared to 2017. Therefore, energy efficiency interventions will play a vital role in decoupling the floor area growth and associated energy demand, thereby increasing the need for robust data. In India, multiple institutions are involved in the collection and dissemination of data. This paper focuses on energy consumption data management in the building sector in India for both residential and commercial segments. It evaluates the robustness of data available through administrative and survey routes to estimate the key performance indicators and identify critical data gaps for making informed decisions. The paper explores several issues in the data, such as lack of comprehensiveness, non-availability of disaggregated data, the discrepancy in different data sources, inconsistent building categorization, and others. The identified data gaps are justified with appropriate examples. Moreover, the paper prioritizes required data in order of relevance to policymaking and groups it into "available," "easy to get," and "hard to get" categories. The paper concludes with recommendations to address the data gaps by leveraging digital initiatives, strengthening institutional capacity, institutionalizing exclusive building energy surveys, and standardization of building categorization, among others, to strengthen the management of building sector energy consumption data.

Keywords: energy data, energy policy, energy efficiency, buildings

Procedia PDF Downloads 173
26792 Characterization of Banana (Musa spp.) Pseudo-Stem and Fruit-Bunch-Stem as a Potential Renewable Energy Resource

Authors: Nurhayati Abdullah, Fauziah Sulaiman, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Rahmad Mohd Taib

Abstract:

Banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are agricultural residues that can be used for conversion to bio-char, bio-oil, and gases by using thermochemical process. The aim of this work is to characterize banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem through proximate analysis, elemental analysis, chemical analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and heating calorific value. The ash contents of the banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 11.0 mf wt.% and 20.6 mf wt.%; while the carbon content of banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are 37.9 mf wt.% and 35.58 mf wt.% respectively. The molecular formulas for banana stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are C24H33NO26 and C19H29NO33 respectively. The measured higher heating values of banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 15.5MJ/kg and 12.7 MJ/kg respectively. By chemical analysis, the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in the samples will also be presented. The feasibility of the banana wastes to be a feedstock for thermochemical process in comparison with other biomass will be discussed in this paper.

Keywords: banana waste, biomass, renewable energy, thermo-chemical characteristics

Procedia PDF Downloads 499
26791 Probabilistic and Stochastic Analysis of a Retaining Wall for C-Φ Soil Backfill

Authors: André Luís Brasil Cavalcante, Juan Felix Rodriguez Rebolledo, Lucas Parreira de Faria Borges

Abstract:

A methodology for the probabilistic analysis of active earth pressure on retaining wall for c-Φ soil backfill is described in this paper. The Rosenblueth point estimate method is used to measure the failure probability of a gravity retaining wall. The basic principle of this methodology is to use two point estimates, i.e., the standard deviation and the mean value, to examine a variable in the safety analysis. The simplicity of this framework assures to its wide application. For the calculation is required 2ⁿ repetitions during the analysis, since the system is governed by n variables. In this study, a probabilistic model based on the Rosenblueth approach for the computation of the overturning probability of failure of a retaining wall is presented. The obtained results have shown the advantages of this kind of models in comparison with the deterministic solution. In a relatively easy way, the uncertainty on the wall and fill parameters are taken into account, and some practical results can be obtained for the retaining structure design.

Keywords: retaining wall, active earth pressure, backfill, probabilistic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 400
26790 Optimization of a Cone Loudspeaker Parameter of Design Parameters by Analysis of a Narrow Acoustic Sound Pathway

Authors: Yue Hu, Xilu Zhao, Takao Yamaguchi, Manabu Sasajima, Yoshio Koike, Akira Hara

Abstract:

This study tried optimization of design parameter of a cone loudspeaker unit as an example of the high flexibility of the products design. We developed an acoustic analysis software program that considers the impact of damping caused by air viscosity. In sound reproduction, it is difficult to each design the parameter of the loudspeaker. To overcome the limitation of the design problem in practice, this paper proposes a new an acoustic analysis algorithm to optimize design the parameter of the loudspeaker. The material character of cone paper and the loudspeaker edge was the design parameter, and the vibration displacement of the cone paper was the objective function. The results of the analysis were compared with the predicted value. They had high accuracy to the predicted value. These results suggest that, though the parameter design is difficult by experience and intuition, it can be performed comparatively easily using the optimization design by the developed acoustic analysis software.

Keywords: air viscosity, loudspeaker, cone paper, edge, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 385
26789 Dynamic Response Analysis of Structure with Random Parameters

Authors: Ahmed Guerine, Ali El Hafidi, Bruno Martin, Philippe Leclaire

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a method for the dynamic response of multi-storey structures with uncertain-but-bounded parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by a numerical example of three-storey structures. This equation is integrated numerically using Newmark’s method. The numerical results are obtained by the proposed method. The simulation accounting the interval analysis method results are compared with a probabilistic approach results. The interval analysis method provides a mean curve that is between an upper and lower bound obtained from the probabilistic approach.

Keywords: multi-storey structure, dynamic response, interval analysis method, random parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 175
26788 Sfard’s Commognitive Framework as a Method of Discourse Analysis in Mathematics

Authors: Dong-Joong Kim, Sangho Choi, Woong Lim

Abstract:

This paper discusses Sfard’s commognitive approach and provides an empirical study as an example to illustrate the theory as method. Traditionally, research in mathematics education focused on the acquisition of mathematical knowledge and the didactic process of knowledge transfer. Through attending to a distinctive form of language in mathematics, as well as mathematics as a discursive subject, alternative views of making meaning in mathematics have emerged; these views are therefore “critical,” as in critical discourse analysis. The commognitive discourse analysis method has the potential to bring more clarity to our understanding of students’ mathematical thinking and the process through which students are socialized into school mathematics.

Keywords: commognitive framework, discourse analysis, mathematical discourse, mathematics education

Procedia PDF Downloads 309
26787 Analysis of the Impacts of Capital Goods' Import and Human Capital on the Economic Growth of the Sub Sahahra Africa: A Panel-ARDL Approach

Authors: Adeleke Omolade

Abstract:

The study investigated the impacts of capital goods' import and human capital on the economic growth of the Sub Sahahra Africa (SSA). 30 countries were used in the Panel- ARDL analysis where economic growth is the dependent variables and capital goods' import, human capital, primary export, investment exchange rate, among others were used as the independent variables. The result from the panel analysis indicates that capital goods' import will significantly and positively influence economic growth but human capital fails to have significant positive impact on economic growth of the SSA. Earlier the trend analysis and the correlation results have shown that there is a weak association between capital goods' import and human capital in the SSA. The results offer an expository analysis that reveals that the quality of the human capital is very germane to the effective utilization of capital goods' import for the purpose of growth in a primary goods' export dominated region like the SSA.

Keywords: capital goods import, economic growth, human capital, Sub-Sahara Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 216
26786 Gathering Space after Disaster: Understanding the Communicative and Collective Dimensions of Resilience through Field Research across Time in Hurricane Impacted Regions of the United States

Authors: Jack L. Harris, Marya L. Doerfel, Hyunsook Youn, Minkyung Kim, Kautuki Sunil Jariwala

Abstract:

Organizational resilience refers to the ability to sustain business or general work functioning despite wide-scale interruptions. We focus on organization and businesses as a pillar of their communities and how they attempt to sustain work when a natural disaster impacts their surrounding regions and economies. While it may be more common to think of resilience as a trait possessed by an organization, an emerging area of research recognizes that for organizations and businesses, resilience is a set of processes that are constituted through communication, social networks, and organizing. Indeed, five processes, robustness, rapidity, resourcefulness, redundancy, and external availability through social media have been identified as critical to organizational resilience. These organizing mechanisms involve multi-level coordination, where individuals intersect with groups, organizations, and communities. Because the nature of such interactions are often networks of people and organizations coordinating material resources, information, and support, they necessarily require some way to coordinate despite being displaced. Little is known, however, if physical and digital spaces can substitute one for the other. We thus are guided by the question, is digital space sufficient when disaster creates a scarcity of physical space? This study presents a cross-case comparison based on field research from four different regions of the United States that were impacted by Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Sandy (2012), Maria (2017), and Harvey (2017). These four cases are used to extend the science of resilience by examining multi-level processes enacted by individuals, communities, and organizations that together, contribute to the resilience of disaster-struck organizations, businesses, and their communities. Using field research about organizations and businesses impacted by the four hurricanes, we code data from interviews, participant observations, field notes, and document analysis drawn from New Orleans (post-Katrina), coastal New Jersey (post-Sandy), Houston Texas (post-Harvey), and the lower keys of Florida (post-Maria). This paper identifies an additional organizing mechanism, networked gathering spaces, where citizens and organizations, alike, coordinate and facilitate information sharing, material resource distribution, and social support. Findings show that digital space, alone, is not a sufficient substitute to effectively sustain organizational resilience during a disaster. Because the data are qualitative, we expand on this finding with specific ways in which organizations and the people who lead them worked around the problem of scarce space. We propose that gatherings after disaster are a sixth mechanism that contributes to organizational resilience.

Keywords: communication, coordination, disaster management, information and communication technologies, interorganizational relationships, resilience, work

Procedia PDF Downloads 155
26785 Study of the Economic Development of Border Areas Malinau District

Authors: Indri Nilam Sari, Aris Subagiyo, Nindya Sari

Abstract:

Malinau Regency border area is an area which is based on the RTRWN and the development priority. But, in real border area Malinau Regency placed as backyard from Indonesian area and caused development lag that is fairly large compared by town area in Malinau Regency. This research aimed to know the condition of the gap in the Malinau Regency border and its influence on the development of the border region as well as knowing the problems related to the economy development of society in the area of the border district of Malinau. Methods of analysis are used in namely descriptive analysis that represent analysis of land use and analysis of movement activities of the population, level analysis facility and infrastructure, economy analysis that represent top commodity determination analysis (LQ and Growth Share) and accessibility. The results of the study showed that the condition of the Malinau Regency border come within the gap as seen from the contributions of infrastructure repair facilities and accessibility advocates, communities, scattered seed commodities come within the borders and human resources with the condition of the most Upstream Bahau town in the backwaters of the town more. There are a few problems that cause the condition area of the border experiencing inequality, lack of human resources, poor infrastructure, lack of accessibility and low levels of security so that it brings development recommendations was the development of the flagship commodities and infrastructure as well as supporting community economic infrastructure, as well as human resources.

Keywords: border, economy, development, Malinau

Procedia PDF Downloads 437
26784 Multi-Particle Finite Element Modelling Simulation Based on Cohesive Zone Method of Cold Compaction Behavior of Laminar Al and NaCl Composite Powders

Authors: Yanbing Feng, Deqing Mei, Yancheng Wang, Zichen Chen

Abstract:

With the advantage of low volume density, high specific surface area, light weight and good permeability, porous aluminum material has the potential to be used in automotive, railway, chemistry and construction industries, etc. A layered powder sintering and dissolution method were developed to fabricate the porous surface Al structure with high efficiency. However, the densification mechanism during the cold compaction of laminar composite powders is still unclear. In this study, multi particle finite element modelling (MPFEM) based on the cohesive zone method (CZM) is used to simulate the cold compaction behavior of laminar Al and NaCl composite powders. To obtain its densification mechanism, the macro and micro properties of final compacts are characterized and analyzed. The robustness and accuracy of the numerical model is firstly verified by experimental results and data fitting. The results indicate that the CZM-based multi particle FEM is an effective way to simulate the compaction of the laminar powders and the fracture process of the NaCl powders. In the compaction of the laminar powders, the void is mainly filled by the particle rearrangement, plastic deformation of Al powders and brittle fracture of NaCl powders. Large stress is mainly concentrated within the NaCl powers and the contact force network is formed. The Al powder near the NaCl powder or the mold has larger stress distribution on its contact surface. Therefore, the densification process of cold compaction of laminar Al and NaCl composite powders is successfully analyzed by the CZM-based multi particle FEM.

Keywords: cold compaction, cohesive zone, multi-particle FEM, numerical modeling, powder forming

Procedia PDF Downloads 137
26783 Classification of EEG Signals Based on Dynamic Connectivity Analysis

Authors: Zoran Šverko, Saša Vlahinić, Nino Stojković, Ivan Markovinović

Abstract:

In this article, the classification of target letters is performed using data from the EEG P300 Speller paradigm. Neural networks trained with the results of dynamic connectivity analysis between different brain regions are used for classification. Dynamic connectivity analysis is based on the adaptive window size and the imaginary part of the complex Pearson correlation coefficient. Brain dynamics are analysed using the relative intersection of confidence intervals for the imaginary component of the complex Pearson correlation coefficient method (RICI-imCPCC). The RICI-imCPCC method overcomes the shortcomings of currently used dynamical connectivity analysis methods, such as the low reliability and low temporal precision for short connectivity intervals encountered in constant sliding window analysis with wide window size and the high susceptibility to noise encountered in constant sliding window analysis with narrow window size. This method overcomes these shortcomings by dynamically adjusting the window size using the RICI rule. This method extracts information about brain connections for each time sample. Seventy percent of the extracted brain connectivity information is used for training and thirty percent for validation. Classification of the target word is also done and based on the same analysis method. As far as we know, through this research, we have shown for the first time that dynamic connectivity can be used as a parameter for classifying EEG signals.

Keywords: dynamic connectivity analysis, EEG, neural networks, Pearson correlation coefficients

Procedia PDF Downloads 190
26782 Karachi Electric Power Technical and Financial Performance Evaluation after Privatization

Authors: Fawad Azeem

Abstract:

This paper deals with the comparative analysis of Karachi Electric before and after privatization. Technical as well as financial analysis has been done based on the available KE’s stats for last decade. Karachi Electric has evolved as a better entity in terms of its financial and technical achievements. On the other hand, human resources have been seriously affected due to mass firing of employees from the organizations. Study and analysis show that transparent and unbiased privatization practices on institutions like KE that were in serious trouble can upsurge the standards of the institution. Further, for the betterment of the social circle privatization must not affect the employment opportunities.

Keywords: Karachi Electric, power, energy, privatization

Procedia PDF Downloads 339
26781 Multi-Response Optimization of CNC Milling Parameters Using Taguchi Based Grey Relational Analysis for AA6061 T6 Aluminium Alloy

Authors: Varsha Singh, Kishan Fuse

Abstract:

This paper presents a study of the grey-Taguchi method to optimize CNC milling parameters of AA6061 T6 aluminium alloy. Grey-Taguchi method combines Taguchi method based design of experiments (DOE) with grey relational analysis (GRA). Multi-response optimization of different quality characteristics as surface roughness, material removal rate, cutting forces is done using grey relational analysis (GRA). The milling parameters considered for experiments include cutting speed, feed per tooth, and depth of cut. Each parameter with three levels is selected. A grey relational grade is used to estimate overall quality characteristics performance. The Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array is used for design of experiments. MINITAB 17 software is used for optimization. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to identify most influencing parameter. The experimental results show that grey relational analysis is effective method for optimizing multi-response characteristics. Optimum results are finally validated by performing confirmation test.

Keywords: ANOVA, CNC milling, grey relational analysis, multi-response optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 296
26780 Microstructure and SEM Analysis of Joints Fabricated by FSW of Aluminum Alloys 5083 and 6063

Authors: Jaskirat Singh, Roshan Lal Virdi, Khushdeep Goyal

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to perform a microstructural analysis of Friction Stir Welded joints of aluminum alloys 6063 and 5083, also to check the properties of the weld zone by SEM analysis. FSW experiments were carried on CNC Vertical milling machine. The tools used for welding were the round cylindrical pin shape and square pin shape. It is found that Microstructure shows the uniformly distributed material with minimum heat affected zone and dense welded zone without any defect. Microstructures indicate that the weld material is defect free. The SEM shows the diffusion of material with base metal with proper bonding without any defect.

Keywords: friction stir welding, aluminum alloy, microstructure, SEM analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 295