Search results for: economical designs

Authors: Maged Assem Soliman Mossallam

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The conversion of solar thruster model to an upper stage hydrogen rocket is considered. Solar thruster categorization limits its capabilities to low and moderate thrust system with high specific impulse. The current study proposes a different concept for such systems by increasing the thrust which enables using as an upper stage rocket and for future launching purposes. A computational model for the thruster is discussed for solar thruster subsystems. The first module depends on ray tracing technique to determine the intercepted solar power by the hydrogen combustion chamber. The cavity receiver is modeled using finite volume technique. The final module imports the heated hydrogen properties to the nozzle using quasi one dimensional simulation. The probability of shock waves formulation inside the nozzle is almost diminished as the outlet pressure in space environment tends to zero. The computational model relates the high thrust hydrogen rocket conversion to the design parameters and operating conditions of the thruster. Three different designs for solar thruster systems are discussed. The first design is a low thrust high specific impulse design that produces about 10 Newton of thrust .The second one output thrust is about 250 Newton and the third design produces about 1000 Newton.

Keywords: space propulsion, hydrogen rocket, thrust, specific impulse

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Parham Bakhtiari

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Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a prevalent concern among musicians, manifesting through cognitive, physiological, and behavioral symptoms that can severely impact performance quality and overall well-being. This systematic review synthesizes research on coping strategies employed by musicians to manage MPA from 2016 to 2023, identifying a range of psychological and physical interventions, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and yoga. Findings reveal that these interventions significantly reduce anxiety and enhance psychological resilience, with ACT showing notable improvements in psychological flexibility. Physical approaches also proved effective in mitigating physiological symptoms associated with MPA. However, challenges such as small sample sizes and methodological limitations hinder the generalizability of results. The review underscores the necessity for multi-faceted intervention strategies tailored to the unique needs of different musicians and emphasizes the importance of future research employing larger, randomized controlled designs to further validate these findings. Overall, this review serves as a comprehensive resource for musicians seeking effective coping strategies for managing performance anxiety, highlighting the critical interplay between mental and physical approaches in promoting optimal performance outcomes.

Keywords: anxiety, performance, coping, music, strategy

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Authors: Yiwei Li, Boyu Tian, Mingyu Gao

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Hybrid main memory systems combine both performance and capacity advantages from heterogeneous memory technologies. With larger capacities, higher associativities, and finer granularities, hybrid memory systems currently exhibit significant metadata storage and lookup overheads for flexibly remapping data blocks between the two memory tiers. To alleviate the inefficiencies of existing designs, we propose Trimma, the combination of a multi-level metadata structure and an efficient metadata cache design. Trimma uses a multilevel metadata table to only track truly necessary address remap entries. The saved memory space is effectively utilized as extra DRAM cache capacity to improve performance. Trimma also uses separate formats to store the entries with non-identity and identity mappings. This improves the overall remap cache hit rate, further boosting the performance. Trimma is transparent to software and compatible with various types of hybrid memory systems. When evaluated on a representative DDR4 + NVM hybrid memory system, Trimma achieves up to 2.4× and on average 58.1% speedup benefits, compared with a state-of-the-art design that only leverages the unallocated fast memory space for caching. Trimma addresses metadata management overheads and targets future scalable large-scale hybrid memory architectures.

Keywords: memory system, data cache, hybrid memory, non-volatile memory

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Morteza Karami, Soheila Dayani

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Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) is a soil improvement technique that involves mechanically mixing the soil with a binder material to improve its strength, stiffness, and durability. This technique is typically used in geotechnical engineering applications where weak or unstable soil conditions exist, such as in building foundations, embankment support, or ground improvement projects. In this study, the settlement of the foundation on the improved soil using the wet DSM technique has been analyzed for a case study. Before DSM production, the initial soil mixture has been determined based on the laboratory tests and then, the proper mix designs have been optimized based on the pilot scale tests. The results show that the spacing and depth of the DSM columns depend on the soil properties, the intended loading conditions, and other factors such as the available space and equipment limitations. Moreover, monitoring instruments installed in the pilot area verify that the settlement of the foundation has been placed in an acceptable range to ensure that the soil mixture is providing the required strength and stiffness to support the structure or load. As an important result, if the DSM columns touch or penetrate into the stiff soil layer, the settlement of the foundation can be significantly decreased. Furthermore, the DSM columns should be allowed to cure sufficiently before placing any significant loads on the structure to prevent excessive deformation or settlement.

Keywords: deep soil mixing, soil mixture, settlement, instrumentation, curing age

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Authors: Feten Chihi, Gabriella Varga

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The world's most prevalent waste management strategy is landfills. However, it grew more difficult due to a lack of acceptable waste sites. In order to develop larger landfills and extend their lifespan, the purpose of this article is to expand the capacity of the construction by varying the slope's inclination and to examine its effect on the safety factor. The capacity change with tilt is mathematically determined. Using a new probabilistic calculation method that takes into account the heterogeneity of waste layers, the safety factor for various slope angles is examined. To assess the effect of slope variation on the overall safety of landfills, over a hundred computations were performed for each angle. It has been shown that capacity increases significantly with increasing inclination. Passing from 1:3 to 2:3 slope angles and from 1:3 to 1:2 slope angles, the volume of garbage that can be deposited increases by 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively, of the initial volume. The results of the safety factor indicate that slopes of 1:3 and 1:2 are safe when the standard method (homogenous waste) is used for computation. Using the new approaches, a slope with an inclination of 2:3 can be deemed safe, despite the fact that the calculation does not account for the safety-enhancing effect of daily cover layers. Based on the study reported in this paper, the malty layered nonhomogeneous calculating technique better characterizes the safety factor. As it more closely resembles the actual state of landfills, the employed technique allows for more flexibility in design parameters. This work represents a substantial advance in limiting both safe and economical landfills.

Keywords: landfill, municipal solid waste, slope inclination, capacity, safety factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Nickson Kipng’etich Lang’at, Thomas Thoruwa, John Abraham, John Wanyoko

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Green tea is made from the top two leaves and buds of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, of the family Theaceae and the order Theales. The green tea leaves are picked and immediately sent to be dried or steamed to prevent fermentation. Fluid bed drying technique is a common drying method used in drying green tea because of its ease in design and construction and fluidization of fine tea particles. Major problems in this method are significant loss of chemical content of the leaf and green appearance of tea, retention of high moisture content in the leaves and bed channeling and defluidization. The energy associated with the drying technology has been shown to be a vital factor in determining the quality of green tea. As part of the implementation, prototype dryer was built that facilitated sequence of operations involving steaming, cooling, pre-drying and final drying. The major findings of the project were in terms of quality characteristics of tea leaves and energy consumption during processing. The optimal design achieved a moisture content of 4.2 ± 0.84%. With the optimum drying temperature of 100 ºC, the specific energy consumption was 1697.8 kj.Kg^-1 and evaporation rate of 4.272 x 10^-4 Kg.m^-2.s^-1. The energy consumption in a fluidized system can be further reduced by focusing on energy saving designs.

Keywords: evaporation rate, fluid bed dryer, maceration, specific energy consumption

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Authors: Ozlem Senyigit, Nur Yilmaz

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Throughout the architectural education, it is aimed to provide students with the ability to find original solutions to current problems. In this sense, workshops that provide creative thinking within the action, experiencing the environment, and finding instant solutions to problems have an important place in the education process. Parasitic architecture, which is a contemporary design approach in the architectural agenda, includes small scale designs integrated into the carrier system of existing structures in spaces of the existing urban fabric which resembles the host-parasite relationship in the biology field. The scope of this study consists of a 12-weeks long experimental workshop of the 'parasitic architecture', which was designed within the scope of Basic Design 2 course of the Department of Architecture of Çukurova University in the 2017-2018 academic year. In this study, parasitic architecture was discussed as a space design method. Students analyzed the campus of the Çukurova University and drew sketches to identify gaps in it. During the workshop, the function-form-context relationship was discussed. The output products were evaluated within the context of urban spaces/gaps, functional requirements, and students gained awareness not just about the urban occupancy but also gaps.

Keywords: design approach, parasitic architecture, experimental workshop, architectural education

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Abeer Tariq, Mohammed S. Aljawad, Khaldoun S. Alfarisi

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This paper aimed to estimate the petrophysical properties (porosity, permeability, and fluid saturation) of the Ajeel well (Aj-1) Shale reservoir. Petrophysical properties of the Naokelekan Formation at Ajeel field are determined from the interpretation of open hole log data of one well which penetrated the source rock reservoir. However, depending on these properties, it is possible to divide the Formation which has a thickness of approximately 28-34 m, into three lithological units: A is the upper unit (thickness about 9 to 13 m) consisting of dolomitized limestones; B is a middle unit (thickness about 13 to 20 m) which is composed of dolomitic limestone, and C is a lower unit (>22 m thick) which consists of shale-rich and dolomitic limestones. The results showed that the average formation water resistivity for the formation (Rw = 0.024), the average resistivity of the mud filtration (Rmf = 0.46), and the Archie parameters were determined by the picket plot method, where (m) value equal to 1.86, (n) value equal to 2 and (a) value equal to 1. Also, this reservoir proved to be economical for future developments to increase the production rate of the field by dealing with challenging reservoirs. In addition, Porosity values and water saturation Sw were calculated along with the depth of the composition using Interactive Petrophysics (IP) V4.5 software. The interpretation of the computer process (CPI) showed that the better porous zone holds the highest amount of hydrocarbons in the second and third zone. From the flow zone indicator FZI method, there are two rock types in the studied reservoir.

Keywords: petrophysical properties, porosity, permeability, ajeel field, Naokelekan formation, Jurassic sequences, carbonate reservoir, source rock

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Authors: Naveen Kumar, Shyambihari Prajapati

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Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution that focuses on interconnectivity of machine to machine, human to machine and human to human via Internet of Things (IoT). Technologies of industry 4.0 facilitate communication between human and machine through IoT and forms Cyber-Physical Production System (CPPS). In CPPS, multiple shop floors sensor data are connected through IoT and displayed through sensor dashboard to the operator. These sensor dashboards have enormous amount of information to be presented which becomes complex for operators to perform monitoring, controlling and interpretation tasks. Designing handheld sensor dashboards for supervision task will become a challenge for the interface designers. This paper reports emerging technologies of industry 4.0, changing context of increasing information complexity in consecutive industrial revolutions and upcoming design challenges for interface designers in context of Industry 4.0. Authors conclude that information complexity of sensor dashboards design has increased with consecutive industrial revolutions and designs of sensor dashboard causes cognitive load on users. Designing such complex dashboards interfaces in Industry 4.0 context will become main challenges for the interface designers.

Keywords: Industry4.0, sensor dashboard design, cyber-physical production system, Interface designer

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad

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The research studies the behaviors based on sufficiency economy philosophy at individual and community levels as well as the satisfaction of the urban community leaders by collecting data with purposive sampling technique. For in-depth interviews with 26 urban community leaders, the result shows that the urban community leaders have good knowledge and understanding about sufficiency economy philosophy. Especially in terms of money spending, they must consider the need for living and be economical. The activities in the community or society should not take advantage of the others as well as colleagues. At present, most of the urban community leaders live in a sufficient way. They often spend time with public service, but many families are dealing with debt. Many communities have some political conflict and high family allowances because of living in the urban communities with rapid social and economic changes. However, there are many communities that leaders have applied their wisdom in development for their people by gathering and grouping the professionals to form activities such as making chili sauce, textile organization, making artificial flowers worshipping the sanctity. The most prominent group is the foot massage business in Wat Pracha Rabue Tham. This professional group is supported continuously by the government. One of the factors in terms of satisfaction used for evaluating community leaders is the customary administration in brotherly, interdependent way rather than using the absolute power or controlling power, but using the roles of leader to perform the activities with their people intently, determinedly and having a public mind for people.

Keywords: performance and activities, sufficiency economy, urban communities leader, Dusit district

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Christian Angerer, Markus Lienkamp

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Electric vehicles offer a high variety of possible drivetrain topologies with up to 4 motors. Multi-motor-designs can have several advantages regarding traction, vehicle dynamics, safety and even efficiency. With a rising number of motors, the whole drivetrain becomes more complex. All permutations of gearings, drivetrain-layouts, motor-types and –sizes lead up in a very large solution space. Single elements of this solution space can be analyzed by simulation methods. In addition to longitudinal vehicle behavior, which most optimization-approaches are restricted to, also lateral dynamics are important for vehicle dynamics, stability and efficiency. In order to compete large solution spaces and to find an optimal result, genetic algorithm based optimization is state-of-the-art. As lateral dynamics simulation is way more CPU-intensive, optimization takes much more time than in case of longitudinal-only simulation. Therefore, this paper shows an approach how to create meta-models from a 14-degree of freedom vehicle model in order to enable a numerically efficient drivetrain-layout optimization process under consideration of lateral dynamics. Different meta-modelling approaches such as neural networks or DoE are implemented and comparatively discussed.

Keywords: driving dynamics, drivetrain layout, genetic optimization, meta-modeling, lateral dynamicx

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Authors: Abinet Tilahun Aweke

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In Europe, there is a growing interest in food produced ethically and with a broader benefit for society. Consumers could consider numerous extrinsic and intrinsic quality attributes, including organically produced, when selecting meat to purchase. Many studies recorded various reasons why consumers may choose to pay the premium price for organic foods, although willingness to pay (WTP) for organic meat and motives behind the WTPs differ depending on the meat type/cut and place. Employing state of the art stated preference (SP) method, this study seeks to find out how environmental attitudes and health concerns shape the demand for organic agriculture in Norway. More specifically, this paper contributes to the existing knowledge on consumer preferences by exploring if consumer's attitude towards carnivore-sheep conflict affects the willingness to pay (WTP) for organic meat. This study will also have a methodological contribution by investigating whether having environmental attitude and carnivore-livestock conflict questions prior to the organic meat WTP question will significantly affect the will to pay and the amount paid. Understanding the effect of the content of the auxiliary questions posed before WTP questions will help to improve future CV survey designs and hence the validity of the results obtained.

Keywords: attitude, consumer reference, contingent valuation, meat, organic, stated preference, survey design

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Authors: P. Vinayagam, A. Madhanagopal

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This experimental investigation focuses on the study of the strength of concrete with ceramic waste as coarse aggregate. It is not a new concept of using alternate materials for aggregates. Pottery and ceramics have been an important part of human culture for thousands of years. The ceramic waste from ceramic and construction industries is a major contribution to construction demolition waste (CDW), representing a serious environmental, technical, and economical problem of today’s society. The major sources of ceramic waste are ceramic industry, building construction and building demolition. In ceramic industries, a significant part of the losses in the manufacturing of ceramic elements is not returned to the production process. In building construction, ceramic waste is produced during transportation to the building site, on the execution of several construction elements and on subsequent works. This waste is regionally deposited in dumping grounds, without any separation or reuse. In this study an attempt has been made to find the suitability of the ceramic industrial wastes as a possible replacement for conventional crushed stone coarse aggregate in high performance concrete. In this study, glazed stoneware pipe waste was used as coarse aggregates. In this investigation, physical properties of ceramic waste coarse aggregates were studied. Experiments were carried out to determine the strength of high performance concrete with silica fume and ceramic stoneware pipe waste coarse aggregate of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% different replacement ratios in comparison with those of corresponding conventional concrete mixes.

Keywords: ceramic waste, coarse aggregate replacement, glazed stoneware pipe waste, silica fume

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Giovanni Masala, Stefania Marica

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Forecasting electricity load plays a crucial role regards decision making and planning for economical purposes. Besides, in the light of the recent privatization and deregulation of the power industry, the forecasting of future electricity load turned out to be a very challenging problem. Empirical data about electricity load highlights a clear seasonal behavior (higher load during the winter season), which is partly due to climatic effects. We also emphasize the presence of load periodicity at a weekly basis (electricity load is usually lower on weekends or holidays) and at daily basis (electricity load is clearly influenced by the hour). Finally, a long-term trend may depend on the general economic situation (for example, industrial production affects electricity load). All these features must be captured by the model. The purpose of this paper is then to build an hourly electricity load model. The deterministic component of the model requires non-linear regression and Fourier series while we will investigate the stochastic component through econometrical tools. The calibration of the parameters’ model will be performed by using data coming from the Italian market in a 6 year period (2007- 2012). Then, we will perform a Monte Carlo simulation in order to compare the simulated data respect to the real data (both in-sample and out-of-sample inspection). The reliability of the model will be deduced thanks to standard tests which highlight a good fitting of the simulated values.

Keywords: ARMA-GARCH process, electricity load, fitting tests, Fourier series, Monte Carlo simulation, non-linear regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Khalid Abdelghany

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the manufacturing technology that is used to fabricate fast products direct from CAD models in very short time and with minimum operation steps. Jointly with the advancement in medical computer modeling, AM proved to be a very efficient tool to help physicians, orthopedic surgeons and dentists design and fabricate patient-tailored surgical guides, templates and customized implants from the patient’s CT / MRI images. AM jointly with computer-assisted designing/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology have enabled medical practitioners to tailor physical models in a patient-and purpose-specific fashion and helped to design and manufacture of templates, appliances and devices with a high range of accuracy using biocompatible materials. In developing countries, there are some technical and financial limitations of implementing such advanced tools as an essential portion of medical applications. CMRDI institute in Egypt has been working in the field of Medical Additive Manufacturing since 2003 and has assisted in the recovery of hundreds of poor patients using these advanced tools. This paper focuses on the surgical and dental use of 3D printing technology in Egypt as a developing country. The presented case studies have been designed and processed using the software tools and additive manufacturing machines in CMRDI through cooperative engineering and medical works. Results showed that the implementation of the additive manufacturing tools in developed countries is successful and could be economical comparing to long treatment plans.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, dental and orthopeadic stents, patient specific surgical tools, titanium implants

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Martin Hewing, Katharina Hölzle

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Organizations increasingly use environmental stimuli and ideas from users within participatory innovation processes in order to tap new sources of knowledge. The research presented in this article focuses on users who shape the distant edges of markets and currently are not using products and services from a domain– so called potential users. Those users at the peripheries are perceived to contribute more novel information, by which they better reflect shifts in needs and behavior than current users in the core market. Their contributions in collaborative and creative problem-solving processes and how they generate ideas for discontinuous innovations are of particular interest. With an experimental design, we compare ideas from potential and current users and analyze the effects of cognitive distance in collaboration and the utilization of explicit and tacit knowledge. We find potential users to generate more original ideas, particularly when they collaborate with someone experienced within the domain. Their ideas are most obviously characterized by an increased level of surprise and unusualness compared to dominant designs, which is rooted in contexts and does not require technological leaps. Collaboration with potential users can therefore result in new ways to leverage technological competences. Furthermore, the cross-fertilization arising from cognitive distance between a potential and a current user is asymmetric due to differences in the nature of their utilized knowledge and personal objectives. This paper discusses implications for innovation research and the management of early innovation processes.

Keywords: user collaboration, co-creation, discontinuous innovation, innovation research

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Authors: Ghulam Murshid

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Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG) contributors. It is an obligation of the industry to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emission to the acceptable limits. Tremendous research and studies are reported in the past and still the quest to find the suitable and economical solution of this problem needed to be explored in order to develop the most plausible absorber for carbon dioxide removal. Amino acids are reported by the researchers as a potential solvent for absorption of carbon dioxide to replace alkanolamines due to its ability to resist oxidative degradation, low volatility due to its ionic structure and higher surface tension. In addition, the introduction of promoter-like piperazine to amino acid helps to further enhance the solubility. In this work, the effect of piperazine on thermophysical properties and solubility of β-Alanine aqueous solutions were studied for various concentrations. The measured physicochemical properties data was correlated as a function of temperature using least-squares method and the correlation parameters are reported together with it respective standard deviations. The effect of activator piperazine on the CO2 loading performance of selected amino acid under high-pressure conditions (1bar to 10bar) at temperature range of (30 to 60)oC was also studied. Solubility of CO2 decreases with increasing temperature and increases with increasing pressure. Quadratic representation of solubility using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) shows that the most important parameter to optimize solubility is system pressure. The addition of promoter increases the solubility effect of the solvent.

Keywords: amino acids, co2, global warming, solubility

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Authors: Abdullah Almatouq

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Understanding the impact of key operational variables on concurrent energy generation and phosphorus recovery in microbial fuel cell is required to improve the process and reduce the operational cost. In this study, full factorial design (FFD) and central composite designs (CCD) were employed to identify the effect of influent COD concentration and cathode aeration flow rate on energy generation and phosphorus (P) recovery and to optimise MFC power density and P recovery. Results showed that influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and cathode aeration flow rate had a significant effect on power density, coulombic efficiency, phosphorus precipitation efficiency and phosphorus precipitation rate at the cathode. P precipitation was negatively affected by the generated current during the batch duration. The generated energy was reduced due to struvite being precipitated on the cathode surface, which might obstruct the mass transfer of ions and oxygen. Response surface mathematical model was used to predict the optimum operating conditions that resulted in a maximum power density and phosphorus precipitation efficiency of 184 mW/m² and 84%, and this corresponds to COD= 1700 mg/L and aeration flow rate=210 mL/min. The findings highlight the importance of the operational conditions of energy generation and phosphorus recovery.

Keywords: energy, microbial fuel cell, phosphorus, struvite

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Muhammad SAFDAR, Mehmet Ozaslan, Musarrat Abbas Khan

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Babesiosis is a haemoparasitic disease due to the multiplication of protozoan’s parasite, Babesia ovis in the red blood cells of the host, and contributes numerous economical losses, including sheep and goat ruminants. The early identification and successful treatment of Babesia Ovis spp. belong to the key steps of control and health management of livestock resources. The objective of this study was to construct a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based method for the detection of Babesia spp. in small ruminants and to determine the risk factors involved in the spreading of babesiosis infections. A total of 100 blood samples were collected from 50 sheep and 50 goats along with different areas of Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, from randomly selected herds. Data on the characteristics of sheep and goats were collected through questionnaires. Of 100 blood samples examined, 18 were positive for Babesia ovis upon microscopic studies, whereas 11 were positive for the presence of Babesia spp. by PCR assay. For the recognition of parasitic DNA, a set of 500bp oligonucleotide was designed by PCR amplification with sequence 18S rRNA gene for B. ovis. The prevalence of babesiosis in small ruminant’s sheep and goat detected by PCR was significantly higher in female animals (28%) than male herds (08%). PCR analysis of the reference samples showed that the detection limit of the PCR assay was 0.01%. Taken together, all data indicated that this PCR assay was a simple, fast, specific detection method for Babesia ovis species in small ruminants compared to other available methods.

Keywords: Babesia ovis, PCR amplification, 18S rRNA, sheep and goat

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Suraj Sharma

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Green infrastructure (GI) offers a contemporary approach for reducing the risk of flooding, improve water quality, and harvesting stormwater for sustainable use. GI promotes landscape planning to enhance sustainable development and urban resilience. However, the existing literature is lacking in ensuring the comprehensive assessment of GI performance in terms of ecosystem function and services for social, ecological, and economical system resilience. We propose a robust indicator set and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) for quantitative and qualitative analysis for sustainable water management to assess the capacity of urban resilience. Green infrastructure in urban resilience water management system (GIUR-WMS) supports decision-making for GI planning through scenario comparisons with urban resilience capacity index. To demonstrate the GIUR-WMS, we develop five scenarios for five sectors of Chandigarh (12, 26, 14, 17, and 34) to test common type of GI (rain barrel, rain gardens, detention basins, porous pavements, and open spaces). The result shows the open spaces achieve the highest green infrastructure urban resilience index of 4.22/5. To implement the open space scenario in urban sites, suitable vacant can be converted to green spaces (example: forest, low impact recreation areas, and detention basins) GIUR-WMS is easy to replicate, customize and apply to cities of different sizes to assess environmental, social and ecological dimensions.

Keywords: green infrastructure, assessment, urban resilience, water management system, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Fatemeh Behbahani, Rubiyah Yusof

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To avoid collision between following vehicles and vehicles in front, it is vital to keep appropriate, safe spacing between both vehicles over all speeds. Therefore, the following vehicle needs to have exact information regarding the speed and spacing between vehicles. This project is conducted to simulate the tuning of controller gain for a vehicle-following system through the selected control strategy, spacing control policy and fixed-time headway policy. In addition, the paper simulates and designs an adaptive gain controller for a road-vehicle-following system which uses information on the spacing, velocity and also acceleration of a preceding vehicle in the proposed one-vehicle look-ahead strategy. The mathematical model is implemented using Kirchhoff and Newton’s Laws, and stability simulated. The trial-error method was used to obtain a suitable value of controller gain. However, the adaptive-based controller system was able to optimize the gain value automatically. Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) is designed and utilized and based on firstly the Gradient and secondly the Lyapunov approach. The Lyapunov approach considers stability. The Gradient approach was found to improve the best value of gain in the controller system with fixed-time headway.

Keywords: one-vehicle look-ahead, model reference adaptive, stability, tuning gain controller, MRAC

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Authors: Abdullah Almowanes

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The speed of adoption of new information and communication technologies is often seen as an indicator of the growth of knowledge- and technological innovation-based regional economies. Indeed, technological progress and scientific inquiry in any society have undergone a particularly profound transformation with the introduction of computer networks. In the spring of 1981, the Bitnet network was launched to link thousands of nodes all over the world. In 1985 and as one of the first adopters of Bitnet, Saudi Arabia launched a Bitnet-based network named Gulfnet that linked computer centers, universities, and libraries of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries through high speed communication lines. In this paper, the origins and the deployment of Gulfnet are discussed as well as social, economical, political, and cultural ramifications of the new information reality created by the network. Despite its significance, the social and cultural aspects of Gulfnet have not been investigated in history of science and technology literature to a satisfactory degree before. The presented research is based on an extensive archival research aimed at seeking out and analyzing of primary evidence from archival sources and records. During its decade and a half-long existence, Gulfnet demonstrated that the scope and functionality of public computer networks in Saudi Arabia have to be fine-tuned for compliance with Islamic culture and political system of the country. It also helped lay the groundwork for the subsequent introduction of the Internet. Since 1980s, in just few decades, the proliferation of computer networks has transformed communications world-wide.

Keywords: Bitnet, computer networks, computing and culture, Gulfnet, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Syed Muhammad Awais Tahir, Syed Hossein Raza Hamdani

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In the last two years, there has been a substantial increase in the rate of satellite launches. To keep up with the technology, it is imperative that the launch cost must be made affordable, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries. Launch cost is directly affected by the launch vehicle’s aerodynamic performance. Pegasus-XL SLV (Satellite Launch Vehicle) has been serving as a commercial SLV for the last 26 years, commencing its commercial flight operation from the six operational sites all around the US and Europe, and the Marshal Islands. Aerodynamic heating and drag contribute largely to Pegasus’s flight performance. The objective of this study is to reduce the aerodynamic heating and drag on Pegasus’s body significantly for supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes. Aerodynamic data for Pegasus’s first flight has been validated through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), and then drag and aerodynamic heating is reduced by using a combination of a forward-facing cylindrical spike and a conical aero-disk at the actual operational flight conditions. CFD analysis using ANSYS fluent will be carried out for Mach no. ranges from 0.83 to 7.8, and AoA (Angle of Attack) ranges from -4 to +24 degrees for both simple and spiked-configuration, and then the comparison will be drawn using a variety of graphs and contours. Expected drag reduction for supersonic flight is to be around 15% to 25%, and for hypersonic flight is to be around 30% to 50%, especially for AoA < 15⁰. A 5% to 10% reduction in aerodynamic heating is expected to be achieved for hypersonic regions. In conclusion, the aerodynamic performance of air-launched Pegasus-XL SLV can be further enhanced, leading to its optimal fuel usage to achieve a more economical orbital flight.

Keywords: aerodynamics, pegasus-XL, drag reduction, aerodynamic heating, satellite launch vehicle, SLV, spike, aero-disk

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Ace Mari S. Simbajon, Rhaella J. Ybañez, Mae G. Nadela, Cherry E. Sagun, Nera Mae A. Puyo

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This study determined the usability of the Philippine banknotes. An experimental design was used in the study involving twenty (n=20) randomly selected blind participants. The three aspects of usability were measured: effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. It was found out that the effectiveness rate of the current Philippine Banknotes ranges from 20 percent to 35 percent which means it is not effective basing from Cauro’s threshold of average effectiveness rate which is 78 percent. Its efficiency rate is ranging from 18.06 to 26.22 seconds per denomination. The average satisfaction rate is 1.45 which means the blind are very dissatisfied. These results were used as a guide in making the proposed tactile codification using embossed dots or embossed lines. A round of simulation was conducted with the blind to assess the usability of the two proposals. Results were then statistically treated using t-test. Results show statistically significant difference between the usability of the current banknotes versus the proposed designs. Moreover, it was found out that the use of embossed dots is more effective, more efficient, and more satisfying than the embossed lines with an effectiveness rate ranging from 90 percent to 100 percent, efficiency rate ranging from 6.73 seconds to 12.99 seconds, and satisfaction rate of 3.4 which means the blind are very satisfied.

Keywords: blind, Philippine banknotes, tactile codification, usability

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Shraddha Gopal, Jayam Lazarus

Abstract:

Aims: To study the referral practice and impact of DAT-scan in the diagnosis or exclusion of Parkinson’s disease. Settings and Designs: A retrospective study Materials and methods: A retrospective study of the results of 60 patients who were referred for a DAT scan over a period of 2 years from the Department of Neurology at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS trust. The reason for DAT scan referral was noted under 5 categories against Parkinson’s disease; drug-induced Parkinson’s, essential tremors, diagnostic dilemma, not responding to Parkinson’s treatment, and others. We assessed the number of patients who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease against the number of patients in whom Parkinson’s disease was excluded or an alternative diagnosis was made. Statistical methods: Microsoft Excel was used for data collection and statistical analysis, Results: 30 of the 60 scans were performed to confirm the diagnosis of early Parkinson’s disease, 13 were done to differentiate essential tremors from Parkinsonism, 6 were performed to exclude drug-induced Parkinsonism, 5 were done to look for alternative diagnosis as the patients were not responding to anti-Parkinson medication and 6 indications were outside the recommended guidelines. 55% of cases were confirmed with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. 43.33% had Parkinson’s disease excluded. 33 of the 60 scans showed bilateral abnormalities and confirmed the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Conclusion: DAT scan provides valuable information in confirming Parkinson’s disease in 55% of patients along with excluding the diagnosis in 43.33% of patients aiding an alternative diagnosis.

Keywords: DATSCAN, Parkinson's disease, diagnosis, essential tremors

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Authors: E. Feulefack Songong, A. Zingoni

Abstract:

A vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Although vibrations can be linear or nonlinear depending on the basic components of the system, the interest is mostly pointed towards nonlinear vibrations. This is because most structures around us are to some extent nonlinear and also because we need more accurate values in an analysis. The goal of this research is the integration of nonlinearities in the development and validation of structural models and to ameliorate the resistance of structures when subjected to loads. Although there exist many types of nonlinearities, this thesis will mostly focus on the vibration of free and undamped systems incorporating nonlinearity due to stiffness. Nonlinear stiffness has been a concern to many engineers in general and Civil engineers in particular because it is an important factor that can bring a good modification and amelioration to the response of structures when subjected to loads. The analysis of systems will be done analytically and then numerically to validate the analytical results. We will first show the benefit and importance of stiffness nonlinearity when it is implemented in the structure. Secondly, We will show how its integration in the structure can improve not only the structure’s performance but also its response when subjected to loads. The results of this study will be valuable to practicing engineers as well as industry practitioners in developing better designs and tools for their structures and mechanical devices. They will also serve to engineers to design lighter and stronger structures and to give good predictions as for the behavior of structures when subjected to external loads.

Keywords: elastic foundation, nonlinear, plates, stiffness, structures, vibration

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Authors: Mina Beheshti, Vida Shams, Mojtaba Esfandiari, Farzaneh Abdollahi, Abdolreza Ohadi

Abstract:

Most of the people who survive a stroke need rehabilitation tools to regain their mobility. The core function of these devices is a brake actuator. The goal of this study is to design and control a magnetorheological brake which can be used as a rehabilitation tool. In fact, the fluid used in this brake is called magnetorheological fluid or MR that properties can change by variation of the magnetic field. The braking properties can be set as control by using this feature of the fluid. In this research, different MR brake designs are first introduced in each design, and the dimensions of the brake have been determined based on the required torque for foot movement. To calculate the brake dimensions, it is assumed that the shear stress distribution in the fluid is uniform and the fluid is in its saturated state. After designing the rehabilitation brake, the mathematical model of the healthy movement of a healthy person is extracted. Due to the nonlinear nature of the system and its variability, various adaptive controllers, neural networks, and robust have been implemented to estimate the parameters and control the system. After calculating torque and control current, the best type of controller in terms of error and control current has been selected. Finally, this controller is implemented on the experimental data of the patient's movements, and the control current is calculated to achieve the desired torque and motion.

Keywords: rehabilitation, magnetorheological fluid, knee, brake, adaptive control, robust control, neural network control, torque control

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Authors: Abrar Hussain, Kuen-Song Lin, Sayed Maeen Badshah, Jamshid Hussain

Abstract:

The conversion of CO₂ into versatile, useful compounds such as fuels and other chemicals remains a challenging frontier in research, demanding the innovation of increasingly effective catalysts. In the present work, a catalyst-incorporating zirconium (Zr) modification within CuO–ZnO–Al₂O₃ (CZA) was synthesized via a co-precipitation method to convert CO₂ into methanol. Furthermore, bio-HZSM-5 was used to promote methanol dehydration to produce dimethyl ether (DME). We prepared the porous hierarchy bio-HZSM-5 with remarkable pore connectivity by utilizing an economical loofah sponge and rice husks as biotemplates. The synthesized catalysts were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), X–ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption (BET), temperature-programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Zr addition improved the performance of the CZZA catalyst as a structural promoter, leading to increased DME selectivity and total carbon conversion by enhancing active sites, surface area, and the synergistic interfaces between CuO and ZnO. The presence of silicon in the biomass, notably from the loofah sponge (0.016 wt %) and rice husks (8.3 wt %), also performed a pivotal role in the preparation of bio-HZSM-5. Furthermore, contrasted to the CZZA/com-ZSM-5 catalyst, the integration of CZZA with bio-HZSM-5-L bifunctional catalyst achieved the highest DME yield (12.1 %), DME selectivity (58.6%), CO₂ conversion (22.5%) at 280 °C and 30 bar. The payback time for 5 and 10-tons per day (5 and10-TPD) DME formation using the catalytic process of CO₂ from petrochemical refinery plant waste gas emissions was 2.98 and 2.44 years, respectively.

Keywords: Cost assessment, Dimethyl ether, low-cost bio-HZSM-5, CZZA catalyst, CO₂ hydrogenation

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Authors: O. A. Anjola, M. A. Adejobi, A. Ogunbameru, F. P. Agbaye, R. O. Odunukan

Abstract:

This experiment was conducted for 8 weeks to evaluate the growth performance and economics of pullets fed on different dietary energy sources. A total of 300 Harco black was used for this experiment. The birds were completely randomized and divided into four diet treatment groups. Each treatment group had three replicates of twenty-five birds per replicate. Four diets containing maize, spaghetti, noodles, and biscuit was formulated to represent diet 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Diet 1 containing maize is the control, while diet 2, 3, and 4 contains spaghetti, noodles, and biscuit waste meal at 100% replacement for maize on weight for weight basis. Performance indices on Feed intake, body weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and economy of production were measured. Blood samples were also collected for heamatology and serum biochemistry assessment. The result of the experiment indicated that different dietary energy source fed to birds significantly (P < 0.05) affect feed intake, body weight, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The best cost of feed per kilogram of body weight gain was obtained in Spaghetti based diet (₦559.30). However, the best performance were obtained from diet 1(maize), it can be concluded that spaghetti as a replacement for maize in diet of pullet is most economical and profitable for production without any deleterious effects attached. Blood parameters of birds were not significantly (p > 0.05) influenced by the use of the dietary energy sources used in this experiment.

Keywords: growth performance, spaghetti, noodles, biscuit, profit, hematology, serum biochemistry

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Authors: Majid AghaAlikhani, Mostafa Hojati, Saeid Satari-Yuzbashkandi

Abstract:

This paper studies energy use patterns and relationship between energy input and yield for soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) in Mazandaran province of Iran. In this study, data were collected by administering a questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. Results revealed that the highest share of energy consumption belongs to chemical fertilizers (29.29%) followed by diesel (23.42%) and electricity (22.80%). Our investigations showed that a total energy input of 23404.1 MJ.ha-1 was consumed for soybean production. The energy productivity, specific energy, and net energy values were estimated as 0.12 kg MJ-1, 8.03 MJ kg-1, and 49412.71 MJ.ha-1, respectively. The ratio of energy outputs to energy inputs was 3.11. Obtained results indicated that direct, indirect, renewable and non-renewable energies were (56.83%), (43.17%), (15.78%) and (84.22%), respectively. Three econometric models were also developed to estimate the impact of energy inputs on yield. The results of econometric models revealed that impact of chemical, fertilizer, and water on yield were significant at 1% probability level. Also, direct and non-renewable energies were found to be rather high. Cost analysis revealed that total cost of soybean production per ha was around 518.43$. Accordingly, the benefit-cost ratio was estimated as 2.58. The energy use efficiency in soybean production was found as 3.11. This reveals that the inputs used in soybean production are used efficiently. However, due to higher rate of nitrogen fertilizer consumption, sustainable agriculture should be extended and extension staff could be proposed substitution of chemical fertilizer by biological fertilizer or green manure.

Keywords: Cobbe Douglas function, economical analysis, energy efficiency, energy use patterns, soybean

Procedia PDF Downloads 335