Search results for: smart package

Authors: M. A. Badr, A. N. Mohib, M. M. Ibrahim

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to study the technical and economic performance of wind/diesel/battery (W/D/B) system supplying a remote small gathering of six families using HOMER software package. The electrical energy is to cater for the basic needs for which the daily load pattern is estimated. Net Present Cost (NPC) and Cost of Energy (COE) are used as economic criteria, while the measure of performance is % of power shortage. Technical and economic parameters are defined to estimate the feasibility of the system under study. Optimum system configurations are estimated for two sites. Using HOMER software, the simulation results showed that W/D/B systems are economical for the assumed community sites as the price of generated electricity is about 0.308 $/kWh, without taking external benefits into considerations. W/D/B systems are more economical than W/B or diesel alone systems, as the COE is 0.86 $/kWh for W/B and 0.357 $/kWh for diesel alone.

Keywords: optimum energy systems, remote electrification, renewable energy, wind turbine systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Z. D. Mansor, C. P. Mun, B. S. Nurul Farhana, Wan Aisyah Nasuha Wan Mohamed Tarmizi

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to determine the influence of transformation leadership style on employee engagement among Generation Y. The growing of Generation Y employees in Malaysia has raised concerns about how to engage and motivate this cohort. Transformation Leadership style is one of the key factors to increase employee engagement levels in the organization. This study has proven to be important for the researchers and the organization to properly understand the concept of employee engagement, transformation leadership style and their relationship. The samples in this study included 221 respondents of Generation Y who are currently working in Selangor and Klang Valley area in Malaysia. The data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results show that there is a significant relationship between the dimension of intellectual stimulation, inspiration motivation and individual consideration on employee engagement. In contrast, the results have revealed that there is no significant relationship between idealized influences of a leader on employee engagement among Generation Y.

Keywords: employee engagement, transformational leadership styles, gen Y, survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Fatemeh Jaferi, Moslem Parsa, Seyed Mehdi Sajadi

Abstract:

The project-oriented organizations are more appropriate for sustainable environments. Any effective project-oriented organization should institutionalize its project management processes in such a manner to yield the greatest possible profits. The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between the project management PMBOK guideline (Project Management Body of Knowledge) and simulation technology in project-oriented organizations. The methodology involves using five steps for applying these two tools aimed at enhancing project management processes in the Lorestan Gas Corporation, as one of the project-oriented organization. Results show the implementation of such management approach leads to a 5% performance improvement and using PMBOK can be instrumental in effective delay management. The implementation of the aforementioned improvement package was effective in improving the efficiency of organizational processes; in terms of optimizing the resource utilization that has manifested itself in resource losses and cost reductions.

Keywords: project-orientation, processes, PMBOK, optimization, organization, management

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Mutwakel Abdalla Ali Garalzain

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to develop university EFL students’ communicative competence. The descriptive, analytical method was used in this study. To collect the data, the researcher designed two questionnaires, one for university EFL students and the other for English language teachers. The respondents of the study were eighty-eight; 76 university EFL students, and 12 English language teachers. The data obtained were analyzed by using statistical package for social science (SPSS). The findings of the study have revealed that most of the university EFL students are unable to express their ideas properly, although they have an abundance of vocabulary. The findings of the study have also shown that most of the university EFL students have positive attitudes towards communicative competence. The results of the study also identified the best strategies that can be used to enhance university EFL students’ communicative competence in English language teaching. The study recommends that English language textbooks should be compatible with the requirements of the student-centered approach. It also recommends that English language teachers should adopt the communicative approach’s strategies in the EFL classroom.

Keywords: applied linguistics, communicative competence , English language teaching, university EFL students

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Muhammad Awais Shafique, Eiji Hato, Hideki Yaginuma

Abstract:

Recently GPS data is used in a lot of studies to automatically reconstruct travel patterns for trip survey. The aim is to minimize the use of questionnaire surveys and travel diaries so as to reduce their negative effects. In this paper data acquired from GPS and accelerometer embedded in smart phones is utilized to predict the mode of transportation used by the phone carrier. For prediction, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) are employed. Moreover a unique method to improve the prediction results from these algorithms is also proposed. Results suggest that the prediction accuracy of AdaBoost after improvement is relatively better than the rest.

Keywords: accelerometer, AdaBoost, GPS, mode prediction, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 353

Authors: Haode Huo, Jingjing He, Rui Kang, Xuefei Guan

Abstract:

This paper presents a study of Lamb wave damage diagnosis of composite delamination using instantaneous phase data. Numerical experiments are performed using the finite element method. Different sizes of delamination damages are modeled using finite element package ABAQUS. Lamb wave excitation and responses data are obtained using a pitch-catch configuration. Empirical mode decomposition is employed to extract the intrinsic mode functions (IMF). Hilbert–Huang Transform is applied to each of the resulting IMFs to obtain the instantaneous phase information. The baseline data for healthy plates are also generated using the same procedure. The size of delamination is correlated with the instantaneous phase change for damage diagnosis. It is observed that the unwrapped instantaneous phase of shows a consistent behavior with the increasing delamination size.

Keywords: delamination, lamb wave, finite element method, EMD, instantaneous phase

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Shamraiz Ahmad, Riaz Ahmad, Adnan Maqsood

Abstract:

This paper describes the application of 2k-design of experiment in order to screen the geometric parameters and experimental refinement of ceiling fan blades. The ratio of the air delivery to the power consumed is commonly known as service value (SV) in ceiling fan designer’s community. Service value was considered as the response for 56 inch ceiling fan and four geometric parameters (bend position at root, bend position at tip, bent angle at root and bent angle at tip) of blade were analyzed. With two levels, the 4-design parameters along with their eleven interactions were studied and design of experiment was employed for experimental arrangement. Blade manufacturing and testing were done in a medium scale enterprise. The objective was achieved and service value of ceiling fan was increased by 10.4 % without increasing the cost of production and manufacturing system. Experiments were designed and results were analyzed using Minitab® 16 software package.

Keywords: parametric screening, 2k-design of experiment, ceiling fan, service value, performance improvement

Procedia PDF Downloads 558

Authors: Kasra Ghaemi, Syeda Tasnim, Shohel Mahmud

Abstract:

One of the main issues affecting the quality and shelf life of food products is temperature fluctuation during transportation and storage. Packaging plays an important role in protecting food from environmental conditions, especially thermal variations. In this study, the performance of using microencapsulated Phase Change Material (PCM) as a promising thermal buffer layer in smart food packaging is investigated. The considered insulation layer is evaluated for different thicknesses and the absorbed heat from the environment. The results are presented in terms of the melting time of PCM or provided thermal protection period.

Keywords: food packaging, phase change material, thermal buffer, protection time

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Haowen Xu, Xiaobing Liu, Jin Dong, Jianming Lian

Abstract:

Emerging smart buildings often employ cyberinfrastructure, cyber-physical systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to increase the automation and responsiveness of building operations for better energy efficiency and lower carbon emission. These operations include the control of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems, which are often considered a major source of energy consumption in both commercial and residential buildings. Developing energy-saving control models for optimizing HVAC operations usually requires the collection of high-quality instrumental data from iterations of in-situ building experiments, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. This abstract describes a digital twin approach to automate building energy experiments for optimizing HVAC operations through the design and development of an adaptive web-based platform. The platform is created to enable (a) automated data acquisition from a variety of IoT-connected HVAC instruments, (b) real-time situational awareness through domain-based visualizations, (c) adaption of HVAC optimization algorithms based on experimental data, (d) sharing of experimental data and model predictive controls through web services, and (e) cyber-physical control of individual instruments in the HVAC system using outputs from different optimization algorithms. Through the digital twin approach, we aim to replicate a real-world building and its HVAC systems in an online computing environment to automate the development of building-specific model predictive controls and collaborative experiments in buildings located in different climate zones in the United States. We present two case studies to demonstrate our platform’s capability for real-time situational awareness and cyber-physical control of the HVAC in the flexible research platforms within the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) main campus. Our platform is developed using adaptive and flexible architecture design, rendering the platform generalizable and extendable to support HVAC optimization experiments in different types of buildings across the nation.

Keywords: energy-saving buildings, digital twins, HVAC, cyber-physical system, BIM

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Richard Mitchell, Robert Mitchell, Thai Duong, Kyungbin Bae, Daegon Kim, Youngsub Lee, Inho Kim, Inho Park, Hyungseok Lee

Abstract:

Although X-band radar is commonly used to measure the properties of ocean waves, the use of a higher frequency has several advantages, such as increased backscatter coefficient, better Doppler sensitivity, lower power, and a smaller package. A low-power Ku-band radar system was developed to demonstrate these advantages. It is fully coherent, and it interleaves short and long pulses to achieve a transmit duty ratio of 25%, which makes the best use of solid-state amplifiers. The range scales are 2 km, 4 km, and 8 km. The minimum range is 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m for the three range scales, and the range resolution is 4 m, 8 m, and 16 m for the three range scales. Measurements of the significant wave height, wavelength, wave period, and wave direction have been made using traditional 3D-FFT methods. Radar and ultrasonic sensor results collected over an extended period of time at a coastal site in South Korea are presented.

Keywords: measurement of ocean wave parameters, Ku-band radar, coherent radar, compact radar

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Ahmad Saleem

Abstract:

Ethereum is the second largest crypto currency in blockchain ecosystem. Along with standard transactions, it supports smart contracts and NFT’s. Current research trends are focused on analyzing the overall structure of the network its growth and behavior. Ethereum addresses are anonymous and can be created on fly. The nature of Ethereum network and addresses make it hard to predict their behavior. The activity period of an ethereum address is not much analyzed. Using machine learning we can make early prediction about the disposability of the address. In this paper we analyzed the lifetime of the addresses. We also identified and predicted the disposable addresses using machine learning models and compared the results.

Keywords: blockchain, Ethereum, cryptocurrency, prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: R. Hariti, M. Saighi, H. Saidani-Scott

Abstract:

A numerical simulation of natural convection double diffusion, coupled with thermal radiation in unsteady laminar regime in a storage tank is carried out. The storage tank contains a liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its gaseous phase. Fluent, a commercial CFD package, based on the numerical finite volume method, is used to simulate the flow. The radiative transfer equation is solved using the discrete coordinate method. This numerical simulation is used to determine the temperature profiles, stream function, velocity vectors and variation of the heat flux density for unsteady laminar natural convection. Furthermore, the influence of thermal radiation on the heat transfer has been investigated and the results obtained were compared to those found in the literature. Good agreement between the results obtained by the numerical method and those taken on site for the temperature values.

Keywords: tank, storage, liquefied natural gas, natural convection, thermal radiation, numerical simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 535

Authors: Kenza Benali

Abstract:

Over the past decade, a number of remarkable projects in urban brownfield reconversion emerged across Canada, including the reconversion of former military bases owned by the Canada Lands Company (CLC) into sustainable communities. However, unlike other developments, the regeneration project of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe in Ottawa – which was announced as one of the most ambitious Smart growth projects in Canada – faced serious obstacles in terms of social acceptance by the local community, particularly urban minorities composed of Francophones, Indigenous and vulnerable groups who live near or on the Base. This turn of events led to the project being postponed and even reconsidered. Through an analysis of its press coverage, this research aims to understand the causes of this urban conflict which lasted for nearly ten years. The findings reveal that the conflict is not limited to the “standard” issues common to most conflicts related to urban mega-projects in the world – e.g., proximity issues (threads to the quality of the surrounding neighbourhoods; noise, traffic, pollution, New-build gentrification) often associated with NIMBY phenomena. In this case, the local actors questioned the purpose of the project (for whom and for what types of uses is it conceived?), its local implementation (to what extent are the local history and existing environment taken into account?), and the degree of implication of the local population in the decision-making process (with whom is the project built?). Moreover, the interests of the local actors have “jumped scales” and transcend the micro-territorial level of their daily life to take on a national and even international dimension. They defined an alternative view of how this project, considered strategic by his location in the nation’s capital, should be a reference as well as an international showcase of Canadian ambition and achievement in terms of urban sustainability. This vision promoted, actually, a territorial and national identity approach - in which some cultural values are highly significant (respect of social justice, inclusivity, ethnical diversity, cultural heritage, etc.)- as a counterweight to planners’ vision which is criticized as a normative/ universalist logic that ignore the territorial peculiarities.

Keywords: smart growth, brownfield reconversion, sustainable neighborhoods, Canada Lands Company, Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, urban conflicts

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: M. Cynthya, V. Prabhawathi, D. Mukesh

Abstract:

Food contamination occurs during post process handling. This leads to spoilage and growth of pathogenic microorganisms in the food, thereby reducing its shelf life or spreading of food borne diseases. Several methods are tried and one of which is use of antimicrobial packaging. Here, papain, a protease enzyme, is covalently immobilized with the help of glutarldehyde on polyurethane and used as a food wrap to protect food from microbial contamination. Covalent immobilization of papain was achieved at a pH of 7.4; temperature of 4°C; glutaraldehyde concentration of 0.5%; incubation time of 24 h; and 50 mg of papain. The formation of -C=N- observed in the Fourier transform infrared spectrum confirmed the immobilization of the enzyme on the polymer. Immobilized enzyme retained higher activity than the native free enzyme. The efficacy of this was studied by wrapping it over S. aureus contaminated cottage cheese (paneer) and cheese and stored at a temperature of 4°C for 7 days. The modified film reduced the bacterial contamination by eight folds when compared to the bare film. FTIR also indicates reduction in lipids, sugars and proteins in the biofilm.

Keywords: cheese, papain, polyurethane, Staphylococcus aureus

Procedia PDF Downloads 471

Authors: Marcin Kowalski, Tomasz Wiktor, Piotr Ladonski, Krzysztof Bortnowski, Szymon Przybyl, Mateusz Grzesiak

Abstract:

This paper provides a detailed overview of the so-called smart grid or vehicle-to-grid idea, including a description of our way of implementation. The primary targets of this paper are technical students, young constructors, visionaries, however more experienced designers may find useful ideas for developing their vehicles. The publication will also be useful for home-grown builders who want to save on electricity. This article as well summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of V2G solution and might be helpful for students teams planning to participate in Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Keywords: solar powered vehicle, vehicle to grid, electric car, v2g, bridgestone world solar challenge

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: A. T. Siacara, A. T. Beck, M. M. Futai

Abstract:

This paper shows how accurately and efficiently reliability analyses of geotechnical installations can be performed by directly coupling geotechnical software with a reliability solver. An earth slope is used as the study object. The limit equilibrium method of Morgenstern-Price is used to calculate factors of safety and find the critical slip surface. The deterministic software package Seep/W and Slope/W is coupled with the StRAnD reliability software. Reliability indexes of critical probabilistic surfaces are evaluated by the first-order reliability methods (FORM). By means of sensitivity analysis, the effective cohesion (c') is found to be the most relevant uncertain geotechnical parameter for slope equilibrium. The slope was tested using different geometries, taking into account unsaturated soil properties. Finally, a critical slip surface, identified in terms of minimum factor of safety, is shown here not to be the critical surface in terms of reliability index.

Keywords: slope, unsaturated, reliability, safety, seepage

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Saul A. Torres Z., Eduardo Liceaga C., Alfredo Arias M.

Abstract:

Agriculture in the world falls within the main sources of economic and global needs, so care of crop is extremely important for owners and workers; one of the major causes of loss of product is the pest infection of different types of organisms. We seek to develop a UAV for agricultural spraying at a maximum altitude of 5000 meters above sea level, with a payload of 100 liters of fumigant. For the developing the aerodynamic design of the aircraft is using computational tools such as the "Vortex Lattice Athena" software, "MATLAB"," ANSYS FLUENT"," XFoil " package among others. Also methods are being used structured programming, exhaustive analysis of optimization methods and search. The results have a very low margin of error, and the multi- objective problems can be helpful for future developments. The program has 10 functions developed in MATLAB, these functions are related to each other to enable the development of design, and all these functions are controlled by the principal code "Master.m".

Keywords: aerodynamics design, optimization, algorithm genetic, multi-objective problem, stability, vortex

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Anupam Bhatia

Abstract:

Upon reviewing the literature and the pragmatic work done in the field of E- textiles, it is observed that the applications of wearable technologies have found a steady growth in the field of military, medical, industrial, sports; whereas fashion is at a loss to know how to treat this technology and bring it to market. The purpose of this paper is to understand the practical issues of integration of electronics in garments; cutting patterns for mass production, maintaining the basic properties of textiles and daily maintenance of garments that hinder the wide adoption of interactive fabric technology within Fashion and leisure wear. To understand the practical hindrances an experimental and laboratory approach is taken. “Techno Meets Fashion” has been an interactive fashion project where sensor technologies have been embedded with textiles that result in set of ensembles that are light emitting garments, sound sensing garments, proximity garments, shape memory garments etc. Smart textiles, especially in the form of textile interfaces, are drastically underused in fashion and other lifestyle product design. Clothing and some other textile products must be washable, which subjects to the interactive elements to water and chemical immersion, physical stress, and extreme temperature. The current state of the art tends to be too fragile for this treatment. The process for mass producing traditional textiles becomes difficult in interactive textiles. As cutting patterns from larger rolls of cloth and sewing them together to make garments breaks and reforms electronic connections in an uncontrolled manner. Because of this, interactive fabric elements are integrated by hand into textiles produced by standard methods. The Arduino has surely made embedding electronics into textiles much easier than before; even then electronics are not integral to the daily wear garments. Soft and flexible interfaces of MEMS (micro sensors and Micro actuators) can be an option to make this possible by blending electronics within E-textiles in a way that’s seamless and still retains functions of the circuits as well as the garment. Smart clothes, which offer simultaneously a challenging design and utility value, can be only mass produced if the demands of the body are taken care of i.e. protection, anthropometry, ergonomics of human movement, thermo- physiological regulation.

Keywords: ambient intelligence, proximity sensors, shape memory materials, sound sensing garments, wearable technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 390

Authors: Vikram Singh

Abstract:

The objective of the study was to study the effectiveness of common yoga protocol on reaction time (simple visual reaction time-SVRT measured in milliseconds/seconds) of male football players in the age group of 15 to 21 years. The 40 boys were randomly assigned into two groups i.e. control and experimental. SVRT for both the groups were measured on day-1 and post intervention (common yoga protocol here) was measured after 45 days of training to the experimental group only. One way ANOVA (Univariate analysis) and Independent t-test using SPSS 23 statistical package was applied to get and analyze the results. There was a significant difference after 45 days of yoga protocol in simple visual reaction time of experimental group (p = .032), t (33.05) = 3.881, p = .000 (two-tailed). Null hypothesis (that there would be no post measurement differences in reaction times of control and experimental groups) was rejected. Where p<.05. Therefore alternate hypothesis was accepted.

Keywords: footballers, t-test, yoga protocol, reaction time

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Manish Kumar Thakur, Chiranjit Sarkar

Abstract:

Sedimentation of magnetorheological (MR) fluid affects its working. MR fluid is a smart fluid that has unique qualities such as quick responsiveness and easy controllability. It is used in the MR damper, MR brake, and MR clutch. In this work effect of sedimentation on torque transmission in the shear mode operated MR clutch is investigated. A test rig is developed to test the impact of sedimentation on torque transmission in the MR clutch. Torque transmission capability of MR clutch has been measured under two conditions to confirm the result of sedimentation. The first experiment is done just after filling and the other after one week. It has been observed that transmission torque is decreased after sedimentation. Hence sedimentation affects the working of the MR clutch.

Keywords: clutch, magnetorheological fluid, sedimentation, torque

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Cristina-Maria Păcurar

Abstract:

The paper presents an original Python-based application that outlines the advantages of combining some elementary notions of mathematics with the study of a programming language. The application support refers to some of the first lessons of analytic geometry, meaning conics and quadrics and their reduction to a standard form, as well as some related notions. The chosen programming language is Python, not only for its closer to an everyday language syntax – and therefore, enhanced readability – but also for its highly reusable code, which is of utmost importance for a mathematician that is accustomed to exploit already known and used problems to solve new ones. The purpose of this paper is, on one hand, to support the idea that one of the most appropriate means to initiate one into programming is throughout mathematics, and reciprocal, one of the most facile and handy ways to assimilate some basic knowledge in the study of mathematics is to apply them in a personal project. On the other hand, besides being a mean of learning both programming and analytic geometry, the application subject to this paper is itself a useful tool for it can be seen as an independent original Python package for analytic geometry.

Keywords: analytic geometry, conics, python, quadrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Chung-Yu Wu, Chia-Chi Chang, Wei-Ming Chen, Pu-Wei Wu, Shih-Fan Chen, Po-Chun Chen

Abstract:

Electrostimulation medical devices for neural diseases require electroactive and biocompatible materials to transmit signals from electrodes to targeting tissues. Protection of surrounding tissues has become a great challenge for long-term implants. In this study, we designed back-end processes with compatible, efficient, and reliable advantages over the current state-of-the-art. We explored a hermetic packaging process with high quality of adhesion and uniformity as the biocompatible devices for long-term implantation. This approach is able to provide both excellent biocompatibility and protection to the biomedical electronic devices by performing conformal coating of biocompatible materials. We successfully developed a packaging process that is capable of exposing the stimulating electrode and cover all other faces of chip with high quality of protection to prevent leakage of devices and body fluid.

Keywords: biocompatible package, medical microelectronics, surface coating, long-term implantation

Procedia PDF Downloads 519

Authors: Gilbert Makanda, Roelf Sypkens

Abstract:

In this study we investigated the relevance of high school mathematics in university education. The paper particularly focused on whether the concepts taught in high school are enough for engineering courses at diploma level. The study identified particular concepts that are required in engineering courses whether they were adequately covered in high school. A questionnaire was used to investigate whether relevant topics were covered in high school. The respondents were 228 first year students at the Central University of Technology in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. The study indicates that there are some topics such as integration, complex numbers and matrices that are not done at high schools and are required in engineering courses at university. It is further observed that some students did not cover the topics that are in the current syllabus. Female students enter the university less prepared than their male counterparts. More than 30% of the respondents in this study felt that high school mathematics was not useful for them to be able to do engineering courses.

Keywords: high school mathematics, university education, SPSS package, students' perceptions

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Salami Akeem Olanrewaju

Abstract:

The transportation models or problems are primarily concerned with the optimal (best possible) way in which a product produced at different factories or plants (called supply origins) can be transported to a number of warehouses or customers (called demand destinations). The objective in a transportation problem is to fully satisfy the destination requirements within the operating production capacity constraints at the minimum possible cost. The objective of this study is to determine ways of minimizing transport cost in order to maximum profit. Data were gathered from the records of the Distribution Department of 7-Up Bottling Company Plc. Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) while applying the three methods of solving a transportation problem. The three methods produced the same results; therefore, any of the method can be adopted by the company in transporting its final products to the wholesale dealers in order to minimize total production cost.

Keywords: cost minimization, resources utilization, distribution system, allocation problem

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Ahmed F. Ghanem, Marwa I. Wahba, Asmaa N. El-Dein, Mohamed A. EL-Raey, Ghada E.A. Awad

Abstract:

Numerous attempts are being performed in order to formulate suitable packaging materials for meat products. However, to the best of our knowledge, the incorporation of free hibiscus extract or its microcapsules in the pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix as packaging materials for meats is seldom reported. Therefore, this study aims at protection of the aqueous crude extract of hibiscus flowers utilizing spry drying encapsulation technique. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and zetasizer results confirmed the successful formation of assembled capsules via strong interactions, spherical rough microparticles, and ~ 235 nm of particle size, respectively. Also, the obtained microcapsules enjoy high thermal stability, unlike the free extract. Then, the obtained spray-dried particles were incorporated into the casting solution of the pure PVA film with a concentration 10 wt. %. The segregated free-standing composite films were investigated, compared to the neat matrix, with several characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tester, contact angle, water vapor permeability, and oxygen transmission. The results demonstrated variations in the physicochemical properties of the PVA film after the inclusion of the free and the extract microcapsules. Moreover, biological studies emphasized the biocidal potential of the hybrid films against microorganisms contaminating the meat. Specifically, the microcapsules imparted not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant activities to PVA. Application of the prepared films on the real meat samples displayed low bacterial growth with a slight increase in the pH over the storage time up to 10 days at 4 oC which further proved the meat safety. Moreover, the colors of the films did not significantly changed except after 21 days indicating the spoilage of the meat samples. No doubt, the dual-functional of prepared composite films pave the way towards combined active/smart food packaging applications. This would play a vital role in the food hygiene, including also quality control and assurance.

Keywords: PVA, hibiscus, extraction, encapsulation, active packaging, smart and intelligent packaging, meat spoilage

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Ioannis P. Panapakidis, Marios N. Moschakis

Abstract:

With the continuous increment of smart meter installations across the globe, the need for processing of the load data is evident. Clustering-based load profiling is built upon the utilization of unsupervised machine learning tools for the purpose of formulating the typical load curves or load profiles. The most commonly used algorithm in the load profiling literature is the K-means. While the algorithm has been successfully tested in a variety of applications, its drawback is the strong dependence in the initialization phase. This paper proposes a novel modified form of the K-means that addresses the aforementioned problem. Simulation results indicate the superiority of the proposed algorithm compared to the K-means.

Keywords: clustering, load profiling, load modeling, machine learning, energy efficiency and quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Pakhil Singh, Rahul Singh, Mohammad Saad Alam, Yasser Rafat

Abstract:

The battery management system is an essential package/system which ensures optimum performance and safety of a battery by monitoring the key essential parameters of the battery like the voltage, current, temperature, state of charge, state of health during charging and discharging. This can be accomplished using outputs of various sensors employed to serve the purpose. The increasing demand for electricity generation from renewable energy sources requires proper storage and hence a proper monitoring system as well. A battery management system is required in wide applications ranging from renewable energy storage systems, off-grid solar PV applications to electric vehicles. The aim of this paper is to study the parameters used in monitoring various battery operating conditions and proposes the usage of the internet of things (IoT) to implement a reliable battery management system.

Keywords: electric vehicles, internet of things, sensors, state of charge, state of health

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Qingqing Feng, S. Thomas Ng, Frank J. Xu, Jiduo Xing

Abstract:

Faced with unprecedented challenges including aging assets, lack of maintenance budget, overtaxed and inefficient usage, and outcry for better service quality from the society, today’s infrastructure systems has become the main focus of many metropolises to pursue sustainable urban development and improve resilience. Digital twin, being one of the most innovative enabling technologies nowadays, may open up new ways for tackling various infrastructure asset management (IAM) problems. Digital twin application for IAM, as its name indicated, represents an evolving digital model of intended infrastructure that possesses functions including real-time monitoring; what-if events simulation; and scheduling, maintenance, and management optimization based on technologies like IoT, big data and AI. Up to now, there are already vast quantities of global initiatives of digital twin applications like 'Virtual Singapore' and 'Digital Built Britain'. With digital twin technology permeating the IAM field progressively, it is necessary to consider the maturity of the application and how those institutional or industrial digital twin application processes will evolve in future. In order to deal with the gap of lacking such kind of benchmark, a draft maturity model is developed for digital twin application in the IAM field. Firstly, an overview of current smart cities maturity models is given, based on which the draft Maturity Model of Digital Twin Application for Infrastructure Asset Management (MM-DTIAM) is developed for multi-stakeholders to evaluate and derive informed decision. The process of development follows a systematic approach with four major procedures, namely scoping, designing, populating and testing. Through in-depth literature review, interview and focus group meeting, the key domain areas are populated, defined and iteratively tuned. Finally, the case study of several digital twin projects is conducted for self-verification. The findings of the research reveal that: (i) the developed maturity model outlines five maturing levels leading to an optimised digital twin application from the aspects of strategic intent, data, technology, governance, and stakeholders’ engagement; (ii) based on the case study, levels 1 to 3 are already partially implemented in some initiatives while level 4 is on the way; and (iii) more practices are still needed to refine the draft to be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive in key domain areas.

Keywords: digital twin, infrastructure asset management, maturity model, smart city

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Roman J. Jedrzejczyk, Damian K. Chlebda, Anna Dziedzicka, Rafal Wazny, Agnieszka Domka, Maciej Sitarz, Przemyslaw J. Jodlowski

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to obtain antimicrobial material based on thin zirconium dioxide coatings on structured reactors doped with metal nanoparticles using the sonochemical sol-gel method. As a result, dense, uniform zirconium dioxide films were obtained on the kanthal sheets which can be used as support materials in antimicrobial converters with sophisticated shapes. The material was characterised by physicochemical methods, such as AFM, SEM, EDX, XRF, XRD, XPS and in situ Raman and DRIFT spectroscopy. In terms of antimicrobial activity, the material was tested by ATP/AMP method using model microbes isolated from the real systems. The results show that the material can be potentially used in the market as a good candidate for active package and as active bulkheads of climatic systems. The mechanical tests showed that the developed method is an efficient way to obtain durable converters with high antimicrobial activity against fungi and bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobial properties, kanthal steel, nanocomposite, zirconium oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Sasitorn Chetanont, Benjaporn Yamjameung

Abstract:

The objectives of this study are to increase tourism products and to develop family agro-tourism. The research methodology was to analyze internal and external situations according to MP-MF and the MC-STEPS principles. The results of this study highlight following necessary improvements; extend the cycling routes, increase the number of bicycle rental shops, offer a recreation place for the elders, organize a space for the floating market products and increase tourism activities throughout the year. In ‘places or distribution channel’ we discuss the improvement of facilities, specifically the routes to facilitate elder visitors and visitors on wheelchairs and furthermore the arrangement of educational trips to relevant centers in the community. In ‘promotions’, we discuss the implementation of an 'all inclusive package' were the agro-tourism program, health-conscious program and the elderly fun program converge.

Keywords: marketing planning strategy, agro-tourism, promotions, Bang Nam Phueng

Procedia PDF Downloads 305