Search results for: uniform gravity

Authors: Amin Ardali, Mohammadreza Khalili, Mohammadreza Rezai

Abstract:

In this paper, dynamic response of thin smart composite panel subjected to low-velocity transverse impact is investigated. Shape memory wires are used to reinforced curved composite panel in a smart way. One-dimensional thermodynamic constitutive model by Liang and Rogers is used for estimating the structural recovery stress. The two degrees-of-freedom mass-spring model is used for evaluation of the contact force between the curved composite panel and the impactor. This work is benefited from the Hertzian linear contact model which is linearized for the impact analysis of curved composite panel. The governing equations of curved panel are provided by first-order shear theory and solved by Fourier series related to simply supported boundary condition. For this purpose, the equation of doubly curved panel motion included the uniform in-plane forces is obtained. By the present analysis, the curved panel behavior under low-velocity impact, and also the effect of the impact parameters, the shape memory wire and the curved panel dimensions are studied.

Keywords: doubly curved shell, SMA wire, impact response, smart material, shape memory alloy

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Nosakhare Enoma, Alphose Zingoni

Abstract:

The requirements for various toroidal shell forms are increasing due to new applications, available storage space and the consideration of appearance. Because of the complexity of some of these structural forms, the finite element method is nowadays mainly used for their analysis, even for simple static studies. This paper presents an easy-to-use analytical algorithm for pressurized multi-segmented toroidal shells of revolution. The membrane solution, which acts as a particular solution of the bending-theory equations, is developed based on membrane theory of shells, and a general approach is formulated for quantifying discontinuity effects at the shell junctions using the well-known Geckeler’s approximation. On superimposing these effects, and applying the ensuing solution to the problem of the pressurized toroid with four segments, closed-form stress results are obtained for the entire toroid. A numerical example is carried out using the developed method. The analytical results obtained show excellent agreement with those from the finite element method, indicating that the proposed method can be also used for complementing and verifying FEM results, and providing insights on other related problems.

Keywords: bending theory of shells, membrane hypothesis, pressurized toroid, segmented toroidal vessel, shell analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Bachir Chemani, Rachid Halfaoui

Abstract:

The aim of study was to evaluate pressure distribution characteristics of the elastic textile bandages using two instrumental techniques: a prototype Instrument and a load Transference. The prototype instrument which simulates shape of real leg has pressure sensors which measure bandage pressure. Using this instrument, the results show that elastic textile bandages presents different pressure distribution characteristics and none produces a uniform distribution around lower limb. The load transference test procedure is used to determine whether a relationship exists between elastic textile bandage structure and pressure distribution characteristics. The test procedure assesses degree of load, directly transferred through a textile when loads series are applied to bandaging surface. A range of weave fabrics was produced using needle weaving machine and a sewing technique. A textile bandage was developed with optimal characteristics far superior pressure distribution than other bandages. From results, we find that theoretical pressure is not consistent exactly with practical pressure. It is important in this study to make a practical application for specialized nurses in order to verify the results and draw useful conclusions for predicting the use of this type of elastic band.

Keywords: textile, cotton, pressure, venous ulcers, elastic

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Jianhua Zhou, Yuwen Zhang

Abstract:

A two-step multigrid approach is proposed to solve the inverse heat conduction problem in a 3-D object under laser irradiation. In the first step, the location of the laser center is estimated using a coarse and uniform grid system. In the second step, the front-surface temperature is recovered in good accuracy using a multiple grid system in which fine mesh is used at laser spot center to capture the drastic temperature rise in this region but coarse mesh is employed in the peripheral region to reduce the total number of sensors required. The effectiveness of the two-step approach and the multiple grid system are demonstrated by the illustrative inverse solutions. If the measurement data for the temperature and heat flux on the back surface do not contain random error, the proposed multigrid approach can yield more accurate inverse solutions. When the back-surface measurement data contain random noise, accurate inverse solutions cannot be obtained if both temperature and heat flux are measured on the back surface.

Keywords: conduction, inverse problems, conjugated gradient method, laser

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Abdelhadi Adel, Kadri Ouahab

Abstract:

This paper proposes a hybrid algorithm for the integration of systematic preventive maintenance policies in hybrid flow shop scheduling to minimize makespan. We have implemented a problem-solving approach for optimizing the processing time, methods based on metaheuristics. The proposed approach is inspired by the behavior of the human body. This hybridization is between a multi-agent system and inspirations of the human body, especially genetics. The effectiveness of our approach has been demonstrated repeatedly in this paper. To solve such a complex problem, we proposed an approach which we have used advanced operators such as uniform crossover set and single point mutation. The proposed approach is applied to three preventive maintenance policies. These policies are intended to maximize the availability or to maintain a minimum level of reliability during the production chain. The results show that our algorithm outperforms existing algorithms. We assumed that the machines might be unavailable periodically during the production scheduling.

Keywords: multi-agent systems, emergence, genetic algorithm, makespan, systematic maintenance, scheduling, hybrid flow shop scheduling

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Alhulw H. Alshammari, Ahmed Iraqi, S. A. Saad, T. A. Taha

Abstract:

In this work, we present for the first time the study of Raman spectra and dielectric relaxation of polyester polymer-CoFe₂O₄ (5.0, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 wt%) nanocomposites. Raman spectroscopy was applied as a sensitive structural identification technique to characterize the polyester-CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposites. The images of AFM confirmed the uniform distribution of CoFe₂O₄ inside the polymer matrix. Dielectric relaxation was employed as an important analytical technique to obtain information about the ability of the polymer nanocomposites to store and filter electrical signals. The dielectric relaxation analyses were carried out on the polyester-CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposites at different temperatures. An increase in dielectric constant ε₁ was observed for all samples with increasing temperatures due to the alignment of the electric dipoles with the applied electric field. In contrast, ε₁ decreased with increasing frequency. This is attributed to the difficulty for the electric dipoles to follow the electric field. The α relaxation peak that appeared at a high frequency shifted to higher frequencies when increasing the temperature. The activation energies for Maxwell-Wagner Sillar (MWS) changed from 0.84 to 1.01 eV, while the activation energies for α relaxations were 0.54 – 0.94 eV. The conduction mechanism for the polyester- CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposites followed the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model.

Keywords: AC conductivity, activation energy, dielectric permittivity, polyester nanocomposites

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Ramy H. Mohammed

Abstract:

In heat sinks, the flow within the core exhibits separation and hence does not lend itself to simple analytical boundary layer or duct flow analysis of the wall friction. In this paper, I present some findings from an experimental and numerical study aimed to obtain physical insight into the influence of the presence of the shield and its position on the hydraulic and thermal performance of square pin fin heat sink without top by-pass. The variations of the Nusselt number and friction factor are obtained under varied parameters, such as the Reynolds number and the shield position. The numerical code is validated by comparing the numerical results with the available experimental data. It is shown that, there is a good agreement between the temperature predictions based on the model and the experimental data. Results show that, as the presence of the shield, the heat transfer of fin array is enhanced and the flow resistance increased. The surface temperature distribution of the heat sink base is more uniform when the dimensionless shield position equals to 1/3 or 2/3. The comprehensive performance evaluation approach based on identical pumping power criteria is adopted and shows that the optimum shield position is at x/l=0.43 where energy is saved.

Keywords: shield, fin array, performance evaluation, heat transfer, energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: Utkarsh A. Mishra, Ankit Bansal

Abstract:

At high temperature, radiative heat transfer is the dominant mode of heat transfer. It is governed by various phenomena such as photon emission, absorption, and scattering. The solution of the governing integrodifferential equation of radiative transfer is a complex process, more when the effect of participating medium and wavelength properties are taken into consideration. Although a generic formulation of such radiative transport problem can be modeled for a wide variety of problems with non-gray, non-diffusive surfaces, there is always a trade-off between simplicity and accuracy of the problem. Recently, solutions of complicated mathematical problems with statistical methods based on randomization of naturally occurring phenomena have gained significant importance. Photon bundles with discrete energy can be replicated with random numbers describing the emission, absorption, and scattering processes. Photon Monte Carlo (PMC) is a simple, yet powerful technique, to solve radiative transfer problems in complicated geometries with arbitrary participating medium. The method, on the one hand, increases the accuracy of estimation, and on the other hand, increases the computational cost. The participating media -generally a gas, such as CO₂, CO, and H₂O- present complex emission and absorption spectra. To model the emission/absorption accurately with random numbers requires a weighted sampling as different sections of the spectrum carries different importance. Importance sampling (IS) was implemented to sample random photon of arbitrary wavelength, and the sampled data provided unbiased training of MC estimators for better results. A better replacement to uniform random numbers is using deterministic, quasi-random sequences. Halton, Sobol, and Faure Low-Discrepancy Sequences are used in this study. They possess better space-filling performance than the uniform random number generator and gives rise to a low variance, stable Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) estimators with faster convergence. An optimal supervised learning scheme was further considered to reduce the computation costs of the PMC simulation. A one-dimensional plane-parallel slab problem with participating media was formulated. The history of some randomly sampled photon bundles is recorded to train an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), back-propagation model. The flux was calculated using the standard quasi PMC and was considered to be the training target. Results obtained with the proposed model for the one-dimensional problem are compared with the exact analytical and PMC model with the Line by Line (LBL) spectral model. The approximate variance obtained was around 3.14%. Results were analyzed with respect to time and the total flux in both cases. A significant reduction in variance as well a faster rate of convergence was observed in the case of the QMC method over the standard PMC method. However, the results obtained with the ANN method resulted in greater variance (around 25-28%) as compared to the other cases. There is a great scope of machine learning models to help in further reduction of computation cost once trained successfully. Multiple ways of selecting the input data as well as various architectures will be tried such that the concerned environment can be fully addressed to the ANN model. Better results can be achieved in this unexplored domain.

Keywords: radiative heat transfer, Monte Carlo Method, pseudo-random numbers, low discrepancy sequences, artificial neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Banafsheh Aghamohammadi, Masoud Honarvar, Babak Ghiassi Tarzi

Abstract:

Usage of different components has been considered to improve the quality and nutritional properties of cakes in recent years. The effects of applying some sweeteners, instead of sugar, have been evaluated in cakes and many bread formulas up to now; but there has not been any research about the usage of by-products of sugar factories such as Wash and Green-A Syrups in cake formulas. In this research, the effects of substituting 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of sugar with Wash and Green-A Syrups on some dough and cake properties, such as pH, viscosity, density, volume, weight loss, moisture, water activity, texture, staling, color and sensory evaluations, are studied. The results of these experiments showed that the pH values were not significantly different among any of the all cake batters and also most of the cake samples. Although differences among viscosity and specific gravity of all treatments were both significant and insignificant, these two parameters resulted in higher volume in all samples than the blank one. The differences in weight loss, moisture content and water activity of samples were insignificant. Evaluating of texture showed that the softness of most of samples is increased and the staling is decreased. Crumb color and sensory evaluations of samples were also affected by the replacement of sucrose with Wash and Green-A Syrups. According to the results, we can increase the shelf life and improve the quality and nutritional values of cake by using these kinds of syrups in the formulation.

Keywords: cake, green-A syrup, quality tests, sensory evaluation, wash syrup

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Eman A. Gani, Loay E. George, Faisel G. Mohammed, Kamal H. Sager

Abstract:

Digital retinal images are more appropriate for automatic screening of diabetic retinopathy systems. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of these images are poor quality that hinders further analysis due to many factors (such as patient movement, inadequate or non-uniform illumination, acquisition angle and retinal pigmentation). The retinal images of poor quality need to be enhanced before the extraction of features and abnormalities. So, the segmentation of retinal image is essential for this purpose, the segmentation is employed to smooth and strengthen image by separating the background and damaged areas from the overall image thus resulting in retinal image enhancement and less processing time. In this paper, methods for segmenting colored retinal image are proposed to improve the quality of retinal image diagnosis. The methods generate two segmentation masks; i.e., background segmentation mask for extracting the background area and poor quality mask for removing the noisy areas from the retinal image. The standard retinal image databases DIARETDB0, DIARETDB1, STARE, DRIVE and some images obtained from ophthalmologists have been used to test the validation of the proposed segmentation technique. Experimental results indicate the introduced methods are effective and can lead to high segmentation accuracy.

Keywords: retinal images, fundus images, diabetic retinopathy, background segmentation, damaged areas segmentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 384

Authors: Bo Wang

Abstract:

As the first high-resolution civil optical satellite, ZY-3 satellite is able to obtain high-resolution multi-view images with three linear array sensors. The images can be used to generate Digital Elevation Models (DEM) through dense matching of stereo images. However, due to the clouds, forest, water and buildings covered on the images, there are some problems in the dense matching results such as outliers and areas failed to be matched (matching holes). This paper introduced an algorithm to verify the accuracy of DEM that generated by ZY-3 satellite with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Since the accuracy of SRTM (Internal accuracy: 5 m; External accuracy: 15 m) is relatively uniform in the worldwide, it may be used to improve the accuracy of ZY-3 DEM. Based on the analysis of mass DEM and SRTM data, the processing can be divided into two aspects. The registration of ZY-3 DEM and SRTM can be firstly performed using the conjugate line features and area features matched between these two datasets. Then the ZY-3 DEM can be refined by eliminating the matching outliers and filling the matching holes. The matching outliers can be eliminated based on the statistics on Local Vector Binning (LVB). The matching holes can be filled by the elevation interpolated from SRTM. Some works are also conducted for the accuracy statistics of the ZY-3 DEM.

Keywords: ZY-3 satellite imagery, DEM, SRTM, refinement

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Amir B. Khoshnevis, Morteza Mirhosseini

Abstract:

The paper deals with a sub-part of an extensive research program on the wake survey method in various Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. This research experimentally investigates the wake flow characteristics behind S823 and S822 airfoils in which designed for small wind turbines. Velocity measurements determined by using hot-wire anemometer. Data acquired in the wake of the airfoil at locations(c is the chord length): 0.01c - 3c. Reynolds number increased due to increase of free stream velocity. Results showed that mean velocity profiles depend on the angle of attack and location of data collections. Data acquired at the low Reynolds numbers (smaller than 10^5). Effects of Reynolds numbers on the mean velocity profiles are more significant in near locations the trailing edge and these effects decrease by taking distance from trailing edge toward downstream. Mean velocity profiles region increased by increasing the angle of attack, except for 7°, and also the maximum velocity deficit (velocity defect) increased. The difference of mean velocity in and out of the wake decreased by taking distance from trailing edge, and mean velocity profile become wider and more uniform.

Keywords: angle of attack, Reynolds number, velocity deficit, separation

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Imdat Taymaz, Erman Aslan, Kemal Cakir

Abstract:

The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is performed to computationally investigate the laminar flow and heat transfer of an incompressible fluid with constant material properties in a 2D channel with a built-in triangular prism. Both momentum and energy transport is modelled by the LBM. A uniform lattice structure with a single time relaxation rule is used. Interpolation methods are applied for obtaining a higher flexibility on the computational grid, where the information is transferred from the lattice structure to the computational grid by Lagrange interpolation. The flow is researched on for different Reynolds number, while Prandtl number is keeping constant as a 0.7. The results show how the presence of a triangular prism effects the flow and heat transfer patterns for the steady-state and unsteady-periodic flow regimes. As an evaluation of the accuracy of the developed LBM code, the results are compared with those obtained by a commercial CFD code. It is observed that the present LBM code produces results that have similar accuracy with the well-established CFD code, as an additionally, LBM needs much smaller CPU time for the prediction of the unsteady phonema.

Keywords: laminar forced convection, lbm, triangular prism

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Arseniy M. Kondratyev, Sergey V. Onufriev, Alexander I. Savvatimskiy

Abstract:

The microsecond electrical pulse heating technique which provides uniform energy input into an investigated specimen is considered. In the present study we investigated ZrC+C carbide specimens in a form of a thin layer (about 5 microns thick) that were produced using a method of magnetron sputtering on insulating substrates. Specimens contained (at. %): Zr–17.88; C–67.69; N–8.13; O–5.98. Current through the specimen, voltage drop across it and radiation at the wavelength of 856 nm were recorded in the experiments. It enabled us to calculate the input energy, specific heat (from 2300 to 4500 K) and resistivity (referred to the initial dimensions of a specimen). To obtain the true temperature a black body specimen was used. Temperature of the beginning and completion of a phase transition (solid–liquid) was measured.Temperature of the onset of melting was 3150 K at the input energy 2.65 kJ/g; temperature of the completion of melting was 3450 K at the input energy 5.2 kJ/g. The specific heat of the solid phase of investigated carbide calculated using our data on temperature and imparted energy, is close to 0.75 J/gК for temperature range 2100–2800 K. Our results are considered together with the equilibrium Zr-C phase diagram.

Keywords: pulse heating, zirconium carbide, high temperatures, melting

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Radhika Ranjan Roy

Abstract:

Deployment of machine learning (ML)/deep learning (DL) algorithms for cyberattack detection in operational communications networks (wireless and/or wire-line) is being delayed because of low-performance parameters (e.g., recall, precision, and f₁-score). If datasets become imbalanced, which is the usual case for communications networks, the performance tends to become worse. Complexities in handling reducing dimensions of the feature sets for increasing performance are also a huge problem. Mahalanobis algorithms have been widely applied in scientific research because Mahalanobis distance metric learning is a successful framework. In this paper, we have investigated the Mahalanobis binary classifier algorithm for increasing cyberattack detection performance over communications networks as a proof of concept. We have also found that high-dimensional information in intermediate features that are not utilized as much for classification tasks in ML/DL algorithms are the main contributor to the state-of-the-art of improved performance of the Mahalanobis method, even for imbalanced and sparse datasets. With no feature reduction, MD offers uniform results for precision, recall, and f₁-score for unbalanced and sparse NSL-KDD datasets.

Keywords: Mahalanobis distance, machine learning, deep learning, NS-KDD, local intrinsic dimensionality, chi-square, positive semi-definite, area under the curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Zhi Zhang, Liling Cao, Seyedbabak Momenzadeh, Lisa Davey

Abstract:

Reinforced concrete (RC) flat slab-column systems are commonly used in residential or office buildings, as the flat slab provides efficient clearance resulting in more stories at a given height than regular reinforced concrete beam-slab system. Punching shear of slab-column joints is a critical component of two-way reinforced concrete flat slab design. The unbalanced moment at the joint is transferred via slab moment and shear forces. ACI 318 provides an equation to evaluate the punching shear under the design load. It is important to note that the design code considers gravity and environmental load when considering the design load combinations, while it does not consider the effect from differential foundation settlement, which may be a governing load condition for the slab design. This paper describes how prestressed reinforced concrete slab punching shear is evaluated based on ACI 318 provisions and finite element analysis. A prestressed reinforced concrete slab under differential settlements is studied using the finite element modeling methodology. The punching shear check equation is explained. The methodology to extract data for punching shear check from the finite element model is described and correlated with the corresponding code provisions. The study indicates that the finite element analysis results should be carefully reviewed and processed in order to perform accurate punching shear evaluation. Conclusions are made based on the case studies to help engineers understand the punching shear behavior in prestressed and non-prestressed reinforced concrete slabs.

Keywords: differential settlement, finite element model, prestressed reinforced concrete slab, punching shear

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Amit S. Chauhan, S. Mandal

Abstract:

The structural response of shear walls subjected to various types of loads is difficult to predict precisely. They are incorporated in buildings to resist lateral forces and support the gravity loads. The steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are used as lateral load resisting systems for buildings and acts as an alternative to reinforced concrete shear walls (RCSWs). This paper compares the behavior of SPSW with the RCSW incorporated in a building frame having G+6 storey, located in Zone III, using the technique of Equivalent Static Method (ESM) as per Indian Standard Criteria For Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures IS 1893:2002. This paper intends to evaluate several parameters such as lateral displacement at tip, inter-storey drift, weight of steel and volume of concrete with the alteration of the shear wall with respect to different types viz., SPSW and RCSW. The strip model employed in this study is a widely accepted analytical tool for SPSW analysis. SPSW can be modelled as truss members by using a series of diagonal tension strips positioned at 45-degree angles. In this paper, by replacing the SPSWs with the tension strips, the G+6 building has been analyzed using STAAD.Pro V8i. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that structure with SPSWs is much better then structure with RCSWs.

Keywords: equivalent static method, inter-storey drift, lateral displacement, Steel plate shear wall, strip model

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Dhiaadin Bahaadin Noory

Abstract:

This research involves the effect of both sizes of reinforced zone and the amount of polypropylene fiber reinforcement on the structural behavior of model-reinforced sand loaded by square footing. The ratio of the side of the square reinforced zone to the footing width (W/B) and the ratio of the square reinforced zone depth to footing width (H/B) has been varied from one to six and from one to three, respectively. The tests were carried out on a small-scale laboratory model in which uniform-graded sand was used as a fill material. It was placed in a highly dense state by hitting a thin wooden board placed on the sand surface with a hammer. The sand was reinforced with randomly oriented discrete fibrillated polypropylene fibers. The test results indicated a significant increase in the bearing capacity and stiffness of the subgrade and a modification of load–the settlement behavior of sand with the size of the reinforced zone and amount of fiber reinforcement. On the basis of the present test results, the optimal side width and depth of the reinforced zone were 4B and 2B, respectively, while the optimal percentage of fibers was 0.4%.

Keywords: square footing, polypropylene fibers, bearing capacity, stiffness, load settlement behavior, relative density

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Redha Yeghnem, Laid Boulefrakh, Sid Ahmed Meftah, Abdelouahed Tounsi, El Abbas Adda Bedia

Abstract:

In this study, the time-dependent behavior of damaged reinforced concrete shear wall structures strengthened with composite plates having variable fibers spacing was investigated to analyze their seismic response. In the analytical formulation, the adherent and the adhesive layers are all modeled as shear walls, using the mixed finite element method (FEM). The anisotropic damage model is adopted to describe the damage extent of the RC shear walls. The phenomenon of creep and shrinkage of concrete has been determined by Eurocode 2. Large earthquakes recorded in Algeria (El-Asnam and Boumerdes) have been tested to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method. Numerical results are obtained for non uniform distributions of carbon fibers in epoxy matrices. The effects of damage extent and the delay mechanism creep and shrinkage of concrete are highlighted. Prospects are being studied.

Keywords: RC shear wall structures, composite plates, creep and shrinkage, damaged reinforced concrete structures, finite element method

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: I. Miličević, M. Hadzima Nyarko, R. Bušić, J. Simonović Radosavljević, M. Prokopijević, K. Vojisavljević

Abstract:

This paper investigates the effects of different treatment methods of rubber aggregates for self-compacting concrete (SCC) on compressive strength and modulus of elasticity. SCC mixtures with 10% replacement of fine aggregate with crumb rubber by total aggregate volume and with different aggregate treatment methods were investigated. The rubber aggregate was treated in three different methods: dry process, water-soaking, and NaOH treatment plus water soaking. Properties of SCC in a fresh and hardened state were tested and evaluated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of three different SCC patches were made and discussed. It was observed that applying the proposed NaOH plus water soaking method resulted in the improvement of fresh and hardened concrete properties. It resulted in a more uniform distribution of rubber particles in the cement matrix, a better bond between rubber particles and the cement matrix, and higher compressive strength of SCC rubberized concrete.

Keywords: compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, NaOH treatment, rubber aggregate, self-compacting rubberized concrete, scanning electron microscope analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Katie Strong, Brian P. O'Connor, Jacqueline M. Kanippayoor

Abstract:

To date, self-report measures of psychopathy have largely been conceptualized with a male-focused understanding of the disorder, with the presumption that psychopathy expression is uniform across genders. However, generalizing this understanding to the female population may be misleading. The objective of this research was to explore gender differences in the expression of psychopathy and to assess current self-report psychopathy measures for gender bias. It was hypothesized that some items in commonly used measures of psychopathy may show gender bias and that existing measures may not contain enough items that are relevant to the manifestation of psychopathy in women. An exploratory investigation was conducted on statistical bias in common measures of psychopathy, and novel, relevant, but previously neglected items and measures were included in a new data collection. The participant pool included a sample of 403 university students and 354 participants recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Item Response Theory methods - including Differential Item Functioning - were used to assess for the item- and test- level bias across several common self-report measures of psychopathy. Analyses indicated occasional and modest levels of item-level bias, and that some additional female-relevant items merit consideration for inclusion in measures of psychopathy. These findings suggest that current self-report measures of psychopathy may be demonstrating gender-bias and warrant further examination.

Keywords: gender, measurement bias, personality, psychopathy

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Arjun, Gautam, Sanjeev Naval

Abstract:

Concrete technology has been changing rapidly and constantly since its discovery. Concrete is the most widely used man-made construction material, versatility of making concrete is the 2nd largest consumed material on earth. In this paper an effort has been made to use metal aggregates in concrete has been discussed, the metal aggregates has been named as “BAUT” which had outstandingly qualities to resist shear, tension and compression forces. In this paper, COARSE BAUT AGGREGATES (C.B.A.) 10mm & 20mm and FINE BAUT AGGREGATES (F.B.A.) 3mm were divided and used for making high performance concrete (H.P.C). This “BAUT” had cutting edge technology through draft and design by the use of Auto CAD, ANSYS software can be used effectively In this research paper we study high performance concrete (H.P.C) with “BAUT” and consider the grade of M65 and finally we achieved the result of 90-95 Mpa (high compressive strength) for mega structures and irregular structures where center of gravity (CG) is not balanced. High Performance BAUT Concrete is the extraordinary qualities like long-term performance, no sorptivity by BAUT AGGREGATES, better rheological, mechanical and durability proportion that conventional concrete. This high strength BAUT concrete using “BAUT” is applied in the construction of mega structure like skyscrapers, dam, marine/offshore structures, nuclear power plants, bridges, blats and impact resistance structures. High Performance BAUT Concrete which is a controlled concrete possesses invariable high strength, reasonable workability and negligibly permeability as compare to conventional concrete by the mix of Super Plasticizers (SMF), silica fume and fly ash.

Keywords: BAUT, High Strength Concrete, High Performance Concrete, Fine BAUT Aggregate, Coarse BAUT Aggregate, metal aggregates, cutting edge technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 485

Authors: Falek Kamel

Abstract:

Various approaches are usually used in the dynamic analysis of beams vibrating transversally. For this, numerical methods allowing the solving of the general eigenvalue problem are utilized. The equilibrium equations describe the movement resulting from the solution of a fourth-order differential equation. Our investigation is based on the finite element method. The findings of these investigations are the vibration frequencies obtained by the Jacobi method. Two types of the elementary mass matrix are considered, representing a uniform distribution of the mass along with the element and concentrated ones located at fixed points whose number is increased progressively separated by equal distances at each evaluation stage. The studied beams have different boundary constraints representing several classical situations. Comparisons are made for beams where the distributed mass is replaced by n concentrated masses. As expected, the first calculus stage is to obtain the lowest number of beam parts that gives a frequency comparable to that issued from the Rayleigh formula. The obtained values are then compared to theoretical results based on the assumptions of the Bernoulli-Euler theory. These steps are used for the second type of mass representation in the same manner.

Keywords: structural elements, beams vibrating, dynamic analysis, finite element method, Jacobi method

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Jennifer A. Barrowclough, Caroline A. Crowther, Bridget Kool

Abstract:

Fetal malposition in labour is associated with adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. Evidence for effective interventions for fetal malposition is inconclusive. The feasibility and design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of maternal posture to improve maternal and infant outcomes of malposition should be considered, based on the hypothesis that gravity corrects malposition. The aim was to assess pregnant women’s views on the acceptability of a future trial of maternal posture for fetal malposition in labour, and the enablers and barriers of participation. Method: An online anonymous survey of pregnant women was conducted in Auckland during 2020. Descriptive summaries of quantitative data used chi-square to assess differences in proportions. The influence of maternal characteristics on women’s responses was assessed using cross-tabulation. Free text responses were analysed thematically. Results: Respondents (n=206) were mostly aged26-35 years (75%), of 29-38 weeks gestation (71%), of European (40%) or Asian (36%) ethnicity, were evenly nulliparous or multiparous. Most women (76%) had heard of fetal malposition in labour however only 28% were aware of the use of maternal posture to correct this. Most women (86%) were interested in labour research. Although 37% indicated they would participate in a future RCT of posture for fetal malposition, nearly half (47%) were unsure and a further quarter (15%) indicated they would not participate. Comfort was the predominant concern (22%). Almost half of the respondents (49%) indicated they would consult their partner before deciding on participation in an RCT. Conclusions: Participation in a trial of maternal posture in labour can be enabled through measures to enhance maternal comfort, increased awareness of malposition and the role of posture, and the involvement of partners during trial counselling and recruitment.

Keywords: pregnant women, labour, presentation, posture, randomized controlled trial, survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Mohammad Parsaeimaram, Fang Congqi

Abstract:

In this paper, one of the significant seismic design parameter as response modification factor in reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with base isolation system was evaluated. The seismic isolation system is a capable approach to absorbing seismic energy at the base and transfer to the substructure with lower response modification factor as compared to non-isolated structures. A response spectrum method and static nonlinear pushover analysis in according to Uniform Building Code (UBC-97), have been performed on building models involve 5, 8, 12 and 15 stories building with fixed and isolated bases consist of identical moment resisting configurations. The isolation system is composed of lead rubber bearing (LRB) was designed with help UBC-97 parameters. The force-deformation behavior of isolators was modeled as bi-linear hysteretic behavior which can be effectively used to create the isolation systems. The obtained analytical results highlight the response modification factor of considered base isolation system with higher values than recommended in the codes. The response modification factor is used in modern seismic codes to scale down the elastic response of structures.

Keywords: response modification factor, base isolation system, pushover analysis, lead rubber bearing, bi-linear hysteretic

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Mahdi Almaky, Reda Hassanin, Benjamin Horrocks, Andrew Houlton

Abstract:

DNA-templated poly(N-substituted pyrrole)bipyridinium nanowires were synthesised at room temperature using the chemical oxidation method. The resulting CPs/DNA hybrids have been characterised using electronic and vibrational spectroscopic methods especially Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscpy. The nanowires morphology was characterised using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The electrical properties of the prepared nanowires were characterised using Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM), and measured using conductive AFM (c-AFM) and two terminal I/V technique, where the temperature dependence of the conductivity was probed. The conductivities of the prepared CPs/DNA nanowires are generally lower than PPy/DNA nanowires showingthe large effect on N-alkylation in decreasing the conductivity of the polymer, butthese are higher than the conductivity of their corresponding bulk films.This enhancement in conductivity could be attributed to the ordering of the polymer chains on DNA during the templating process. The prepared CPs/DNA nanowires were used as templates for the growth of copper nanowires at room temperature using aqueous solution of Cu(NO3)2as a source of Cu2+ and ascorbic acid as reducing agent. AFM images showed that these nanowires were uniform and continuous compared to copper nanowires prepared using the templating method directly onto DNA. Electrical characterization of the nanowires by c AFM revealed slight improvement in conductivity of these nanowires (Cu-CPs/DNA) compared to CPs/DNA nanowires before metallisation.

Keywords: templating, copper nanowires, polymer/DNA hybrid, chemical oxidation method

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Ramji Kalidoss, Snekhalatha Umapathy, V. Dhinakaran, J. M. Mathana

Abstract:

Chemi-resistive sensors used in breathalyzers have become a hotspot between the international breath research communities. These sensors exhibit a significant change in its resistance depending on the temperature it gets heated thus demanding high power leading to non-portable instrumentation. In this work, numerical simulation to identify the suitable combination of substrate and heater profile using COMSOL multiphysics was studied. Ni-Cr and Pt-100 joule resistive heater with various profiles were studied beneath the square and circular alumina substrates. The temperature distribution was uniform throughout the square substrate with the meander shaped pt100 heater with 48 mW power consumption for 200 oC. Moreover, this heater profile induced minimal stress on the substrate with 0.5 mm thick. A novel Graphene based ternary metal oxide nanocomposite (GO/SnO2/TiO2) was coated on the optimized substrate and heater to elucidate the response of diabetes biomarker (acetone). The sensor exhibited superior gas sensing performance towards acetone in the exhaled breath concentration range for diabetes (0.25 – 3 ppm). These results indicated the importance of substrate and heater properties along with sensing material for low power portable breathalyzers.

Keywords: Breath Analysis, Chemical Sensors, Diabetes Mellitus, Graphene Nanocomposites, Heater, Substrate

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Pragya Pandey

Abstract:

A major discussion in the 21st -century international affairs has been around the shifting economic and political center of gravity to Asia. In the maritime realm, it translates into a shift in focus from the Atlantic to the Pacific-Indian Ocean region or what is now popularly called the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific is rapidly eclipsing once dominant Asia-Pacific as center of trade, investment, competition and cooperation. The growing inter-connectivity between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean is bringing forth the ‘confluence of the two seas’. Therefore, the Indo-Pacific strategic arc is acquiring greater salience in consonance with the changing realities of the time. The region is undergoing unprecedented transformation in its security outlook. At present, the region is at an interesting historic epoch- witnessing the simultaneous rise India and China, their economic growth, naval modernization and power projection capabilities, alongside the continued presence of the United States, particularly with its rebalancing strategy. Besides the interplay among the three major stakeholders, other regional players like Japan, Australia, and Indonesia, would play a crucial role in the geopolitical re-arrangement of the Indo-Pacific region. The region will be the future theater of activities to determine the shifts and distribution of sea power, by the virtue of its strategic location, intrinsic value of the energy resources and significant maritime trade routes of the region. Therefore, the central theme of the paper would be to scrutinize the maritime security environment of the region against the backdrop of the tricky geopolitical landscape, contributing to the change in the regional and global balance of power.

Keywords: China, geopolitics, India, United States

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Queen Modestus

Abstract:

China’s diplomatic discourse is a complicated system underpinned by divergent translations. As such, the concept of “Zhengque Yi Li Guan” (or zhèngquè Yì Lì Guān in Pinyin), like numerous other Chinese concepts, is not well appreciated due, mainly, to the dearth of a uniform official translation and poor interpretation. So, the paper seeks to draw awareness to this vital issue that has been neglected in the China-Africa diplomatic discourse. As a way of filling this gap in the literature, the author argues that literal translation is not enough in diplomatic discourse. To identify the English equivalent of “Zhenque,” “Yi,” “Li,” and “Guan,” searches of Chinese classical works were carried out. Based on the scope of this paper, emphasis will be placed on “Yi” because it plays a critical role in the “zhèngquèyìlìguān” concept and has been the term with the most controversial interpretation. From a diplomatic-linguistic standpoint coupled with the help of the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) developed by Norman Fairclough and Teun A. van Dijk as this paper’s theoretical framework, this paper seeks to address the above issue by exploring the philosophical translations and interpretations of ZqYLG in China-Africa diplomatic discourse, with emphasis place on the discourse reconstruction of “Yi.” As a way of reconstructing “Yi” to fit the present reality of China-Africa diplomatic discourse, the author argues that “justice” (meaning impartiality) is a better translation for “Yi.”

Keywords: Africa, diplomatic discourse, reconstruction, translation, 正确义利观, interests

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Felix U. Asoiro, Daniel I. Eleazar, Peter O. Offor

Abstract:

As a result of increasing energy demands, research in bioethanol has increased in recent years all through the world, in abide to partially or totally replace renewable energy supplies. The first and third generation feedstocks used for biofuel production have fundamental drawbacks. Waste rice straw and cake from second generation feedstock like Jatropha curcas l. kernel (JC) is seen as non-food feedstock and promising candidates for the industrial production of bioethanol. In this study, JC and rice husk (RH) wastes were characterized for proximate composition. Bioethanol was produced from the residual polysaccharides present in rice husk (RH) and Jatropha seed cake by sequential hydrolytic and fermentative processes at varying mixing proportions (50 g JC/50 g RH, 100 g JC/10 g RH, 100 g JC/20 g RH, 100 g JC/50 g RH, 100 g JC/100 g RH, 100 g JC/200 g RH and 200 g JC/100 g RH) and particle sizes (0.25, 0.5 and 1.00 mm). Mixing proportions and particle size significantly affected both bioethanol yield and some bioethanol properties. Bioethanol yield (%) increased with an increase in particle size. The highest bioethanol (8.67%) was produced at a mixing proportion of 100 g JC/50g RH at 0.25 mm particle size. The bioethanol had the lowest values of specific gravity and density of 1.25 and 0.92 g cm-3 and the highest values of 1.57 and 0.97 g cm-3 respectively. The highest values of viscosity (4.64 cSt) were obtained with 200 g JC/100 g RH, at 1.00 mm particle size. The maximum flash point and cloud point values were 139.9 oC and 23.7oC (100 g JC/200 g RH) at 1 mm and 0.5 mm particle sizes respectively. The maximum pour point value recorded was 3.85oC (100 g JC/50 g RH) at 1 mm particle size. The paper concludes that bioethanol can be recovered from JC and RH wastes. JC and RH blending proportions as well as particle sizes are important factors in bioethanol production.

Keywords: bioethanol, hydrolysis, Jatropha curcas l. kernel, rice husk, fermentation, proximate composition

Procedia PDF Downloads 80