Search results for: slab undergoing plastic deformation

Authors: Umut Yıldız, Berkin Kurtuluş, Yunus Emre Muslubaş

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Thrust vectoring, especially in military aviation, is a concept that sees much use to improve maneuverability in already agile aircraft. As this concept is fairly new and cost intensive to design and test, computational methods are useful in easing the preliminary design process. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be utilized in many forms to simulate nozzle flow, and there exist various CFD studies in both 2D mechanical and 3D injection based thrust vectoring, and yet, 3D mechanical thrust vectoring analyses, at this point in time, are lacking variety. Additionally, the freely available test data is constrained to limited pitch angles and geometries. In this study, based on a test case provided by NASA, both steady and unsteady 3D CFD simulations are conducted to examine the aerodynamic performance of a mechanical thrust vectoring nozzle model and to validate the utilized numerical model. Steady analyses are performed to verify the flow characteristics of the nozzle at pitch angles of 0, 10 and 20 degrees, and the results are compared with experimental data. It is observed that the pressure data obtained on the inner surface of the nozzle at each specified pitch angle and under different flow conditions with pressure ratios of 1.5, 2 and 4, as well as at azimuthal angle of 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 degrees exhibited a high level of agreement with the corresponding experimental results. To validate the CFD model, the insights from the steady analyses are utilized, followed by unsteady analyses covering a wide range of pitch angles from 0 to 20 degrees. Throughout the simulations, a mesh morphing method using a carefully calculated mathematical shape deformation model that simulates the vectored nozzle shape exactly at each point of its travel is employed to dynamically alter the divergent part of the nozzle over time within this pitch angle range. The mesh morphing based vectored nozzle shapes were compared with the drawings provided by NASA, ensuring a complete match was achieved. This computational approach allowed for the creation of a comprehensive database of results without the need to generate separate solution domains. The database contains results at every 0.01° increment of nozzle pitch angle. The unsteady analyses, generated using the morphing method, are found to be in excellent agreement with experimental data, further confirming the accuracy of the CFD model.

Keywords: thrust vectoring, computational fluid dynamics, 3d mesh morphing, mathematical shape deformation model

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Authors: Sugiono, Wuwus Ardiatna, Himma Firdaus, Nanang Kusnandar, Bayu Utomo, Jimmy Abdel Kadar

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This study was aimed to explore the best design of single-used hot food packaging through various package designs. It examined how designed packages keep some local hot food reasonably longer than standard packages. The food packages were realized to consist of the outer and the inner layers of food-grade materials. The packages were evaluated to keep the hot food decreased to the minimum temperature of safe food. This study revealed a significant finding that the transparent plastic box with thin film aluminum foil is the best package.

Keywords: hot food, local food, one used, packaging, aluminum foil

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Authors: Raya Hamed Hilal Al Maamari

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The Gulf societies have been undergoing radical changes due to the technology transfer. It altered the humanities attitudes, especially, youth habits as they have become an addicted to using social media. This study aimed to find out the ratio of social media in guiding youth to participate with government’s institutions in decision-making and developing their societies. The study considered a descriptive study, social survey method was used on a sample of 100 young from different gulf countries, using an electronic questionnaire, as well as, some interviews with famous leaders of youth groups. Finally, the researcher suggested some effective ways activate youth efforts using social media in an effective manner to plan for the development policy in the community. The findings illustrated that social media plays a vital role in encouraging youth to participate enthusiastically in providing services. Noticeably, social media contains large numbers of youth. Therefore, the influences will be widely and feasible. Moreover, the study indicated the fact that most of the youth teamwork started in social media. Then, it has been growing in the real society.

Keywords: community, participation, social media, youth

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Authors: F. Sabri, J. Jamali

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In this article, the wrinkling failure of orthotropic composite membranes due to in-plane shear deformation is investigated using nonlinear finite element analyses. A nonlinear post-buckling analysis is performed to show the evolution of shear-induced wrinkles. The method of investigation is based on the post-buckling finite element analysis adopted from commercial FEM code; ANSYS. The resulting wrinkling patterns, their amplitude and their wavelengths under the prescribed loads and boundary conditions were confirmed by experimental results. Our study reveals that wrinkles develop when both the magnitudes and coverage of the minimum principal stresses in the laminated composite laminates are sufficiently large to trigger wrinkling.

Keywords: composite, FEM, membrane, wrinkling

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Imran Ghani, Haiyan Ding, Zhihui Cheng, Muhammad Iqbal

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Background and Aims: In recent years, protected cultivation trend, especially in the northern parts of China, spread dynamically where production area, structure, and crops diversity have expanded gradually under plastic greenhouse vegetable cropping (PGVC) system. Under this growing system, continuous monoculture with excessive synthetic fertilizers inputs are common cultivation practices frequently adopted by commercial producers. Such long-term cumulative wild exercise year after year sponsor the continuous cropping obstacles in PGVC soil, which have greatly threatened the regional soil eco-sustainability and further impose the continuous assault on soil ecological diversity leading to the exhaustion of agriculture productivity. The aim of this study was to develop new allelopathic insights by exploiting available biological resources in the favor of sustainable PGVC to illuminate the continuous obstacle factors in plastic greenhouse. Method: A greenhouse study was executed under plastic tunnel located at the Horticulture Experimental Station of the College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, one of the prominent regions for intensive commercial PGVC in China. Post-harvest garlic residues (stalk, leaves) mechanically smashed, homogenized into powder size and incorporated at the ratio of 1:100; 3:100; 5:100 as a soil amendment in a replanted soil that have been used for continuous cucumber monoculture for 7 years (annually double cropping system in a greenhouse). Results: Incorporated C-rich garlic stalk significantly influenced the soil condition through various ways; organic matter decomposition and mineralization, moderately adjusted the soil pH, enhanced the soil nutrient availability, increased enzymatic activities, and promoted 20% more cucumber yield in short-time. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal 18S rDNA genes, the current study revealed that addition of garlic stalk/residue could also improve the microbial abundance and community composition in extensively exploited soil, and contributed in soil functionality, caused prosper changes in soil characteristics, reinforced to good crop yield. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that addition of garlic stalk as soil fertility amendment is a feasible, cost-effective and efficient resource utilization way for renovation of degraded soil health, ameliorate soil quality components and improve ecological environment in short duration. Our study may provide a better scientific understanding for efficient crop residue management typically from allelopathic source.

Keywords: garlic stalk, microbial community dynamics, plant growth, soil amendment, soil-plant system

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Authors: Qiong Hu, Ming Yue

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Language variation signals the newest usage of language community, which might become the developmental trend of that language. The personal pronoun we is prescribed as a plural pronoun in grammar, but its number value is more flexible in actual use. Based on the homemade Friends corpus, the present research explores the number value of the first person pronoun we in nowadays American spoken English. With consideration of the subjectivity of we, this paper used ‘we+ PCU (Perception-cognation-utterance) verbs’ collocations and ‘we+ plural categories’ as the parameters. Results from corpus data and manual annotation show that: 1) the overall frequency of we has been increasing; 2) we has been increasingly used with other plural categories, indicating a weakening of its plural reference; and 3) we has been increasingly used with PCU (perception-cognition-utterance) verbs of strong subjectivity, indicating a strengthening of its singular reference. All these seem to support our hypothesis that we is undergoing the process of further grammaticalization towards a singular reference, though future evidence is needed to attest the bold prediction.

Keywords: number, PCU verbs, personal pronoun we,

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Authors: I. Hossain, Huda H. Kassim, Fadhil I. Sharrad, Said A. Mansour

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In this conference, we apply the interacting boson model-1 (IBM-1) formula for U(5) symmetry in order to calculate the energy levels and reduced transition probabilities for a few yrast transitions in Ru with neutron N=60, 62. The neutron rich even-even isotopes of Ru are very interesting to investigate using IBM-1, because even 104,106Ru isotopes are great consequence due to excited near the magic number 50. The calculation of ground state band and B(E2) values using IBM-1 for Z=44 are not calculated to describe the valuable information of nuclear structure by U(5) limit. The parameters in the formula are deduced based on the experimental energy level and value of B(E2, 2+->0+). The yrast states and transition strength B(E2) from 1st 4+ to 1st 2+, 1st 6+ to 1st 4+ and 1st 8+ to 1st 6+ states of Ru for even N= 60, 62 were calculated. The quadrupole moments, deformation parameters and U(5) limit were discussed for those nuclei.

Keywords: B(E2), energy level, ¹⁰⁴Ru, ¹⁰⁶Ru

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Authors: Farnia Nayar Parshi, Mohammad Shariful Islam

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Though earth construction is an ancient technology, researchers are working on increasing its strength by adding different types of stabilizers. Ordinary Portland cement for sandy soil and lime for clayey soil is very popular practice as well as recommended by various authorities for making stabilized blocks for satisfactory performance. The addition of these additives improves compressive strength but fails to improve ductility. The addition of both synthetic and natural fibers increases both compressive strength and ductility. Studies are conducted to make earth blocks more cost-effective, energy-efficient and sustainable. In this experiment, an agricultural waste banana fiber and biochar is used to study the compressive stress-strain behavior of earth blocks made with four types of soil low plastic clay, sandy low plastic clay, very fine sand and medium to fine sand. Biochar is a charcoal-like carbon usually produced from organic or agricultural waste in high temperatures through a controlled condition called pyrolysis. In this experimental study, biochar was collected from BBI (Bangladesh Biochar Initiative) produced from wood flakes around 400 deg. Celsius. Locally available PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement) is used. 5 cm × 5 cm × 5 cm earth blocks were made with eight different combinations such as bare soil, soil with 6% cement, soil with 6% cement and 5% biochar, soil with 6% cement, 5% biochar and 1% fiber, soil with 1% fiber, soil with 5% biochar and 1% fiber and soil with 6% cement and 1% fiber. All samples were prepared with 10-12% water content. Uniaxial compressive strength tests were conducted on 21 days old earth blocks. Stress-strain diagram shows that the addition of banana fiber improved compressive strength drastically, but the combined effect of fiber and biochar is different based on different soil types. For clayey soil, 6% cement and 1% fiber give maximum compressive strength of 991 kPa, and for very fine sand, a combination of 5% biochar, 6% cement and 1% fiber gives maximum compressive strength of 522 kPa as well as ductility. For medium-to-find sand, 6% cement and 1% fiber give the best result, 1530 kPa, among other combinations. The addition of fiber increases not only ductility but also compressive strength as well. The effect of biochar with fiber varies with the soil type.

Keywords: banana fiber, biochar, cement, compressed stabilized earth blocks, compressive strength

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Authors: Satoko Fujiwara, Kiyotaka Obunai, Kazuya Okubo

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A skew is one of important problems for designing the conveyor and transmission with frictional flat belt, in which running belt is deviated in width direction due to the transverse force applied to the belt. The skew often not only degrades the stability of the path of belt but also causes some damages of the belt and auxiliary machines. However, the transverse behavior such as the skew has not been discussed quantitatively in detail for frictional belts. The objective of this study is to clarify the transverse behavior of frictional flat belt driven by tapered pulley. Commercially available rubber flat belt reinforced by polyamide film was prepared as the test belt where the thickness and length were 1.25 mm and 630 mm, respectively. Test belt was driven between two pulleys made of aluminum alloy, where diameter and inter-axial length were 50 mm and 150 mm, respectively. Some tapered pulleys were applied where tapered angles were 0 deg (for comparison), 2 deg, 4 deg, and 6 deg. In order to alternatively investigate the transverse behavior, the transverse force applied to the belt was measured when the skew was constrained at the string under driving state. The transverse force was measured by a load cell having free rollers contacting on the side surface of the belt when the displacement in the belt width direction was constrained. The conditions of observed bending stiffness in-plane of the belt were changed by preparing three types of belts (the width of the belt was 20, 30, and 40 mm) where their observed stiffnesses were changed. The contributions of the bending stiffness in-plane of belt and initial inter-axial force to the transverse were discussed in experiments. The inter-axial force was also changed by setting a distance (about 240 mm) between the two pulleys. Influence of observed bending stiffness in-plane of the belt and initial inter-axial force on the transverse force were investigated. The experimental results showed that the transverse force was increased with an increase of observed bending stiffness in-plane of the belt and initial inter-axial force. The transverse force acting on the belt running on the tapered pulley was classified into multiple components. Those were components of forces applied with the deflection of the inter-axial force according to the change of taper angle, the resultant force by the bending moment applied on the belt winding around the tapered pulley, and the reaction force applied due to the shearing deformation. The calculation result of the transverse force was almost agreed with experimental data when those components were formulated. It was also shown that the most contribution was specified to be the shearing deformation, regardless of the test conditions. This study found that transverse behavior of frictional flat belt driven by tapered pulley was explained by the summation of those components of forces.

Keywords: skew, frictional flat belt, transverse force, tapered pulley

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Authors: Fatma Ahmed, Heba Mostafa, Bassem Ramdan, Azza El-Soussi

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Background: World Health Organization stated that by 2020 cardiac disease will be the number one cause of death worldwide and estimates that 25 million people per year will suffer from heart disease. Cardiac surgery is considered an effective treatment for severe forms of cardiovascular diseases that cannot be treated by medical treatment or cardiac interventions. In spite of the benefits of cardiac surgery, it is considered a major stressful experience for patients who are candidate for surgery. Prehabilitation can decrease incidences of postoperative complications as it prepares patients for surgical stress through enhancing their defenses to meet the demands of surgery. When patients anticipate the postoperative sequence of events, they will prepare themselves to act certain behaviors, identify their roles and actively participate in their own recovery, therefore, anxiety levels are decreased and functional capacity is enhanced. Prehabilitation programs can comprise interventions that include physical exercise, psychological prehabilitation, nutritional optimization and risk factor modification. Physical exercises are associated with improvements in the functioning of the various physiological systems, reflected in increased functional capacity, improved cardiac and respiratory functions and make patients fit for surgical intervention. Prehabilitation programs should also prepare patients psychologically in order to cope with stress, anxiety and depression associated with postoperative pain, fatigue, limited ability to perform the usual activities of daily living through acting in a healthy manner. Notwithstanding the benefits of psychological preparations, there are limited studies which investigated the effect of psychological prehabilitation to confirm its effect on psychological, quality of life and physiological outcomes of patients who had undergone cardiac surgery. Aim of the study: The study aims to determine the effect of prehabilitation interventions on outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgeries. Methods: Quasi experimental study design was used to conduct this study. Sixty eligible and consenting patients were recruited and divided into two groups: control and intervention group (30 participants in each). One tool namely emotional, physiological, clinical, cognitive and functional capacity outcomes of prehabilitation intervention assessment tool was utilized to collect the data of this study. Results: Data analysis showed significant improvement in patients' emotional state, physiological and clinical outcomes (P < 0.000) with the use of prehabilitation interventions. Conclusions: Cardiac prehabilitation in the form of providing information about surgery, circulation exercise, deep breathing exercise, incentive spirometer training and nutritional education implemented daily by patients scheduled for elective open heart surgery one week before surgery have been shown to improve patients' emotional state, physiological and clinical outcomes.

Keywords: emotional recovery, clinical recovery, coronary artery bypass grafting patients, prehabilitation

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Authors: Muchiri Josephine, Qdero Agnes

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The current study was conducted during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) period, soon after the lifting of the lockdown measures and schools had just re-opened. It investigated the sociodemographic correlates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among adolescents (13-18 years) who had undergone domestic violence (DV) in Kajiado County, Kenya. The adolescents were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire to ascertain the forms of domestic violence experienced, and those who met the criteria were assessed for the presence of PTSD using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Overall, 93(90.3%) had experienced domestic violence, and 57(61.3%) had PTSD; where the severity and prevalence of PTSD increased with increased age, and it also increased significantly among those in higher academic levels, indicating that PTSD prevalence was chronic and additionally influenced by increased academic pressure. Social connections seemed to mitigate PTSD prevalence, whereas, regarding the family background, those living with guardians seemed to have more severe PTSD.

Keywords: age, education level, gender, post-traumatic stress disorder

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Authors: Sunjay

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Plate tectonics is of very great significance as it represents the spatial relationships of volcanic rock suites at plate margins, the distribution in space and time of the conditions of different metamorphic facies, the scheme of deformation in mountain belts, or orogens, and the association of different types of economic deposit. Orogenic belts are characterized by extensive thrust faulting, movements along large strike-slip fault zones, and extensional deformation that occur deep within continental interiors. Within oceanic areas there also are regions of crustal extension and accretion in the backarc basins that are located on the landward sides of many destructive plate margins.Collisional orogens develop where a continent or island arc collides with a continental margin as a result of subduction. collisional and noncollisional orogens can be explained by differences in the strength and rheology of the continental lithosphere and by processes that influence these properties during orogenesis.Seismic Imaging Difficulties-In triangle zones, several factors reduce the effectiveness of seismic methods. The topography in the central part of the triangle zone is usually rugged and is associated with near-surface velocity inversions which degrade the quality of the seismic image. These characteristics lead to low signal-to-noise ratio, inadequate penetration of energy through overburden, poor geophone coupling with the surface and wave scattering. Depth Seismic Imaging Techniques-Seismic processing relates to the process of altering the seismic data to suppress noise, enhancing the desired signal (higher signal-to-noise ratio) and migrating seismic events to their appropriate location in space and depth. Processing steps generally include analysis of velocities, static corrections, moveout corrections, stacking and migration. Exploration seismology Bow-tie effect -Shadow Zones-areas with no reflections (dead areas). These are called shadow zones and are common in the vicinity of faults and other discontinuous areas in the subsurface. Shadow zones result when energy from a reflector is focused on receivers that produce other traces. As a result, reflectors are not shown in their true positions. Subsurface Discontinuities-Diffractions occur at discontinuities in the subsurface such as faults and velocity discontinuities (as at “bright spot” terminations). Bow-tie effect caused by the two deep-seated synclines. Seismic imaging of thrust faults and structural damage-deepwater thrust belts, Imaging deformation in submarine thrust belts using seismic attributes,Imaging thrust and fault zones using 3D seismic image processing techniques, Balanced structural cross sections seismic interpretation pitfalls checking, The seismic pitfalls can originate due to any or all of the limitations of data acquisition, processing, interpretation of the subsurface geology,Pitfalls and limitations in seismic attribute interpretation of tectonic features, Seismic attributes are routinely used to accelerate and quantify the interpretation of tectonic features in 3D seismic data. Coherence (or variance) cubes delineate the edges of megablocks and faulted strata, curvature delineates folds and flexures, while spectral components delineate lateral changes in thickness and lithology. Carbon capture and geological storage leakage surveillance because fault behave as a seal or a conduit for hydrocarbon transportation to a trap,etc.

Keywords: tectonics, seismic imaging, fold and thrust belts, seismic interpretation

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Authors: F. L. Bernardo, R. A. S. Zacarias

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The ways to translate are manifold since textual genres undergoing translations are diverse. In this essay, our goal is to give special attention to the literary genre and to the online translation tool Google Translate (GT), widely used either by nonprofessionals or by scholars, in order to show evidence of the indispensability of human wit in a good translation. Our study has its basis on a literary review of prominent authors, with emphasis on translation categories. Also highlighting the issue of polysemous literary translation, we aim to shed light on the translator’s craft and the fallible nature of online translation. To better illustrate these principles, the methodology consisted on performing a comparative analysis involving the original text Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe in English to its online translation given by GT and to a translation into Brazilian Portuguese performed by a human. We proceeded to identifying and analyzing the degrees of textual equivalence according to the following categories: volume, levels and order. The results have attested the unsuitability in a translation done by a computer connected to the World Wide Web.

Keywords: Google Translator, human translation, literary translation, Moll Flanders

Procedia PDF Downloads 628

Authors: Izabela L. Ciesielska-Wrόbel

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This paper presents finite element models of the fingertip skin which have been created to simulate the contact of textile objects with the skin to gain a better understanding of the perception of textiles through the skin, so-called Hand of Textiles (HoT). Many objective and subjective techniques have been developed to analyze HoT, however none of them provide exact overall information concerning the sensation of textiles through the skin. As the human skin is a complex heterogeneous hyperelastic body composed of many particles, some simplifications had to be made at the stage of building the models. The same concerns models of woven structures, however their utilitarian value was maintained. The models reflect only friction between skin and woven textiles, deformation of the skin and fabrics when “touching” textiles and heat transfer from the surface of the skin into direction of textiles.

Keywords: fingertip skin models, finite element models, modelling of textiles, sensation of textiles through the skin

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Authors: Entfellner Manuel, Wannenmacher Helmut, Reisenbauer Josef, Schubert Wulf

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When tunnelling in overstressed weak rocks ("squeezing ground"), two basic design approaches are available: the resistance principle, and the yielding principle. The resistance principle relies on rigid support systems to withstand the ground pressure. Alternatively, the yielding principle prioritizes controlled deformation, allowing the ground to deform without compromising tunnel integrity. This paper highlights the beneficial factors of the yielding principle for conventionally excavated tunnels in overstressed weak rocks. Especially the application of a ductile shotcrete lining with yielding elements is analysed in detail. Construction costs, safety, short- and long-term stabilities are discussed.

Keywords: squeezing ground, yielding principle, yielding element, conventional tunneling

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Authors: A. Atli, K. Candelier, J. Alteyrac

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Environmental and sustainability concerns push the industries to manufacture alternative materials having less environmental impact. The Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) produced by blending the biopolymers and natural fillers permit not only to tailor the desired properties of materials but also are the solution to meet the environmental and sustainability requirements. This work presents the elaboration and characterization of the fully green WPCs prepared by blending a biopolymer, BIOPLAST® GS 2189 and spruce sawdust used as filler with different amounts. Since both components are bio-based, the resulting material is entirely environmentally friendly. The mechanical, thermal, structural properties of these WPCs were characterized by different analytical methods like tensile, flexural and impact tests, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Their water absorption properties and resistance to the termite and fungal attacks were determined in relation with different wood filler content. The tensile and flexural moduli of WPCs increased with increasing amount of wood fillers into the biopolymer, but WPCs became more brittle compared to the neat polymer. Incorporation of spruce sawdust modified the thermal properties of polymer: The degradation, cold crystallization, and melting temperatures shifted to higher temperatures when spruce sawdust was added into polymer. The termite, fungal and water absorption resistance of WPCs decreased with increasing wood amount in WPCs, but remained in durability class 1 (durable) concerning fungal resistance and quoted 1 (attempted attack) in visual rating regarding to the termites resistance except that the WPC with the highest wood content (30 wt%) rated 2 (slight attack) indicating a long term durability. All the results showed the possibility to elaborate the easy injectable composite materials with adjustable properties by incorporation of BIOPLAST® GS 2189 and spruce sawdust. Therefore, lightweight WPCs allow both to recycle wood industry byproducts and to produce a full ecologic material.

Keywords: biodegradability, color measurements, durability, mechanical properties, melt flow index, MFI, structural properties, thermal properties, wood-plastic composites, WPCs

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Authors: T. Nishido, S. Fukumoto

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The functions of movable bearings decline due to corrosion and sediments. As the result, they cannot move or rotate according to the behaviors of girders. Because of the constraints, the bending moments are generated by the horizontal reaction forces and the heights of girders. Under these conditions, the authors obtained the following results by analysis and experiment. Tensile stresses due to the moments occurred at temperature fluctuations. The large tensile stresses on concrete slabs around the bearings caused cracks. Even if concrete slabs are newly replaced, cracks will come out again with function declined bearings. The functional declines of bearings are generally found by using displacement gauges. However the method is not suitable for long-term measurements. We focused on the change in the strains at the bearings and the lower flanges near them at temperature fluctuations. It was found that their strains were particularly large when the movements of the bearings were constrained. Therefore, we developed a long-term health monitoring wireless system with FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) sensors which were attached to bearings and lower flanges. The FBG sensors have the characteristics such as non-electrical influence, resistance to weather, and high strain sensitivity. Such characteristics are suitable for long-term measurements. The monitoring system was inexpensive because it was limited to the purpose of measuring strains and temperature. Engineers can monitor the behaviors of bearings in real time with the wireless system. If an office is away from bridge sites, the system will save traveling time and cost.

Keywords: bridge bearing, concrete slab, 　FBG sensor, health monitoring

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Authors: M. S. Ahmed, F. A. Mohammad

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This paper focuses on the dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs. Therefore, the theoretical modal analysis was performed using two different types of boundary conditions. Modal analysis method is the most important dynamic analyses. The analysis would be modal case when there is no external force on the structure. By using this method in this paper, the effects of freely and simply supported boundary conditions on the frequencies and mode shapes of RC square slabs are studied. ANSYS software was employed to derive the finite element model to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the slabs. Then, the obtained results through numerical analysis (finite element analysis) would be compared with an exact solution. The main goal of the research study is to predict how the boundary conditions change the behavior of the slab structures prior to performing experimental modal analysis. Based on the results, it is concluded that simply support boundary condition has obvious influence to increase the natural frequencies and change the shape of mode when it is compared with freely supported boundary condition of slabs. This means that such support conditions have direct influence on the dynamic behavior of the slabs. Thus, it is suggested to use free-free boundary condition in experimental modal analysis to precisely reflect the properties of the structure. By using free-free boundary conditions, the influence of poorly defined supports is interrupted.

Keywords: natural frequencies, mode shapes, modal analysis, ANSYS software, RC slabs

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Authors: Tang Jiacheng, Fang Tianyu, Liu Yicen, Xiang Xingzhou

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The proportion of healthcare services is increasing throughout the globe. The convergence of mobile technology is driving new business opportunities, innovations in healthcare service delivery and the promise of a better life tomorrow for different populations with various healthcare needs. One of the most important phases for the combination of health care and mobile applications is to elicit requirements correctly. In this paper, four articles from different research directions with four topics on healthcare were detailed analyzed and summarized. We identified the underlying problems in guidance to develop mobile applications to provide healthcare service for Older adults, Women in menopause, Patients undergoing covid. These case studies cover several elicitation methods: survey, prototyping, focus group interview and questionnaire. And the effectiveness of these methods was analyzed along with the advantages and limitations of these methods, which is beneficial to adapt the elicitation methods for future software development process.

Keywords: healthcare, software requirement elicitation, mobile applications, prototyping, focus group interview

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Authors: Gomti Devi

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Photoisomerization has been attracting to researchers due to its wide range of applications in optical switches, polymeric chains, liquid-crystalline systems and bilayer membranes etc. Azobenzene is a photochromic molecule which exhibits a reversible isomerisation process between its trans and cis isomers of different stability. An investigation has been conducted of the effects of temperature on intensity and position of Raman band of N=N, C-N stretching modes of Azobenzene (AZBN). It was found that the N=N stretching mode of Raman band shape shifts to lower frequency region with the increase in temperature. The Raman intensity was also decreased with the increase of temperature. The change in bandwidth with the increase in temperature has been studied. The FTIR spectrum of the molecule is recorded so as to complement the Raman spectra. In order to investigate the possibility of undergoing dimerization and trimerization as well as the stability of this molecule, ab initio calculation for geometry optimization and vibrational wavenumber calculation have been performed. Theoretically calculated values are found in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: azobenzene, temperature, ab-initio, frequency

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Authors: Eman Simbawa, Budur Alasmri, Hanan Munahir, Hanin Munahir

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Solar energy has become currently the subject of attention around the world and is undergoing many researches and studies. Using solar energy, which is a renewable energy, is aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030. People are more aware of it and are starting to use it more for environmental and economical reasons. A questionnaire was conducted in this paper to measure the awareness of people in Saudi Arabia regarding solar energy and their attitude towards it. Then, two kinds of air conditioners (one powered by electricity only and one powered by solar panels and electricity) are compared in terms of their cost over a period of 20 years. This will help the users to decide which kind of device to use depending on its cost. The result shows that as the electricity tariffs in Saudi Arabia increases, depending on the sector, the solar air conditioner is cheaper. In fact, if the tariff in the future increases to reach 50 Halalah/kWh, the solar air conditioner is more economical. This will influence users to buy more solar powered devices, and it will decrease the consumption of electricity. Therefore, the dependence on oil will decrease.

Keywords: Airconditioner, solar energy, photovoltaic cells, present value

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Michail Milas, Aikaterini Dafni Tegiou, Nickolas Rigopoulos, Eustathios Giaouris, Zaharias Loannou

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Nanotechnology, a relatively new scientific field, addresses the manipulation of nanoscale materials and devices, which are governed by unique properties, and is applied in a wide range of industries, including food packaging. The incorporation of nanoparticles into polymer matrices used for food packaging is a field that is highly researched today. One such combination is silver nanoparticles with polypropylene. In the present study, the synthesis of the silver nanoparticles was carried out by a natural method. In particular, a ripe banana peel extract was used. This method is superior to others as it stands out for its environmental friendliness, high efficiency and low-cost requirement. In particular, a 1.75 mM AgNO₃ silver nitrate solution was used, as well as a BPE concentration of 1.7% v/v, an incubation period of 48 hours at 70°C and a pH of 4.3 and after its preparation, the polypropylene films were soaked in it. For the PP films, random PP spheres were melted at 170-190°C into molds with 0.8cm diameter. This polymer was chosen as it is suitable for plastic parts and reusable plastic containers of various types that are intended to come into contact with food without compromising its quality and safety. The antimicrobial test against Escherichia coli DFSNB1 and Staphylococcus epidermidis DFSNB4 was performed on the films. It appeared that the films with silver nanoparticles had a reduction, at least 100 times, compared to those without silver nanoparticles, in both strains. The limit of detection is the lower limit of the vertical error lines in the presence of nanoparticles, which is 3.11. The main reasons that led to the adsorption of nanoparticles are the porous nature of polypropylene and the adsorption capacity of nanoparticles on the surface of the films due to hydrophobic-hydrophilic forces. The most significant parameters that contributed to the results of the experiment include the following: the stage of ripening of the banana during the preparation of the plant extract, the temperature and residence time of the nanoparticle solution in the oven, the residence time of the polypropylene films in the nanoparticle solution, the number of nanoparticles inoculated on the films and, finally, the time these stayed in the refrigerator so that they could dry and be ready for antimicrobial treatment.

Keywords: antimicrobial control, banana peel extract, E. coli, natural synthesis, microbe, plant extract, polypropylene films, S.epidermidis, silver nano, random pp

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Authors: Dan Akesson, Gauthaman Kuzhanthaivelu, Martin Bohlen, Sunil K. Ramamoorthy

Abstract:

Bioplastics can be defined as polymers derived partly or completely from biomass. Bioplastics can be biodegradable such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkonoates (PHA); or non-biodegradable (biobased polyethylene (bio-PE), polypropylene (bio-PP), polyethylene terephthalate (bio-PET)). The usage of such bioplastics is expected to increase in the future due to new found interest in sustainable materials. At the same time, these plastics become a new type of waste in the recycling stream. Most countries do not have separate bioplastics collection for it to be recycled or composted. After a brief introduction of bioplastics such as PLA in the UK, these plastics are once again replaced by conventional plastics by many establishments due to lack of commercial composting. Recycling companies fear the contamination of conventional plastic in the recycling stream and they said they would have to invest in expensive new equipment to separate bioplastics and recycle it separately. This project studies what happens when bioplastics contaminate conventional plastics. Three commonly used conventional plastics were selected for this study: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In order to simulate contamination, two biopolymers, either polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) or thermoplastic starch (TPS) were blended with the conventional polymers. The amount of bioplastics in conventional plastics was either 1% or 5%. The blended plastics were processed again to see the effect of degradation. The results from contamination showed that the tensile strength and the modulus of PE was almost unaffected whereas the elongation is clearly reduced indicating the increase in brittleness of the plastic. Generally, it can be said that PP is slightly more sensitive to the contamination than PE. This can be explained by the fact that the melting point of PP is higher than for PE and as a consequence, the biopolymer will degrade more quickly. However, the reduction of the tensile properties for PP is relatively modest. Impact strength is generally a more sensitive test method towards contamination. Again, PE is relatively unaffected by the contamination but for PP there is a relatively large reduction of the impact properties already at 1% contamination. PET is polyester, and it is, by its very nature, more sensitive to degradation than PE and PP. PET also has a much higher melting point than PE and PP, and as a consequence, the biopolymer will quickly degrade at the processing temperature of PET. As for the tensile strength, PET can tolerate 1% contamination without any reduction of the tensile strength. However, when the impact strength is examined, it is clear that already at 1% contamination, there is a strong reduction of the properties. The thermal properties show the change in the crystallinity. The blends were also characterized by SEM. Biphasic morphology can be seen as the two polymers are not truly blendable which also contributes to reduced mechanical properties. The study shows that PE is relatively robust against contamination, while polypropylene (PP) is sensitive and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be quite sensitive towards contamination.

Keywords: bioplastics, contamination, recycling, waste management

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Authors: Brian E. Usibe

Abstract:

This paper addresses the problem of a linear crack located in the middle of a homogeneous elastic media under normal tension-compression harmonic loading. The problem of deformation of the fractured media is solved using the direct finite element numerical procedure, including the analysis of the dynamic field variables of the problem. A finite element algorithm that satisfies the unilateral Signorini contact constraint is also presented for the solution of the contact interaction of the crack faces and how this accounts for the qualitative and quantitative changes in the solution when determining the dynamic fracture parameter.

Keywords: harmonic loading, linear crack, fracture parameter, wave number, FEA, contact interaction

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Authors: Özgür Bahadir, Meltem Kurtuncu

Abstract:

The study was designed as quasi-experimental and conducted to determine the effect of music therapy on anxiety, fear and pain management in 6-12-year-old children undergoing surgery. The present study was carried out between 01.01.2016 and 19.08.2016 in BEU. Application and Research Center. The children aged 6 -12 who applied for surgery between the mentioned dates constituted the universe of the study. In the quasi-experimental study that was conducted in the clinics where children received operational treatment, two groups were formed: experimental group (the children who received musical therapy before the surgery) and control group (the children who were administered surveys and the surgery service routines only). Each group consisted of 30 children, and the participants of the study were 60 children in total. Necessary permissions were obtained from the parents of the children hospitalized before the beginning of the implementation. The data was collected through Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), “Fear In Medical Treatment Scale”, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Participant Information Form. In the analysis of the data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution scale was used to examine the normality of the distribution along with descriptive statistics methods (Frequency, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation). Data was presented in the tables in numbers and percentages. Means were demonstrated along with the standard deviations. The research compared children received; case and control groups include socio-demographic perspective, non-significant difference statistically among similar groups are intertwined. The general level of fear regarding the medical processes before returning to service after the operation and 30 minutes before getting discharged was found to be significantly low in the experimental group compared to control group (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between experimental and control groups in terms of general level of fear regarding the medical processes before the operation, during the operation day and in the recovery room after the operation (p>0.05). Total CASI AD (anxiety sensitivity) levels before the operation, day of the operation and 30 minutes before the discharge for patients in experimental group was found to be significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the total CASI AD levels for the post-operative recovery room and for returning to the service room after the operation (p>0.05). VAS levels for patients in the experimental group in the post-operative recovery room was significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of VAS findings in returning to service room after the operation and in 30 minutes before the discharge (p>0.05). As a result of the research; applied children music therapy in the experimental group anxiety, fear, and pain of the scales, their scores average, is lower than the control group children in this situation an increase in the satisfaction of children and parents was observed. In line with this, music therapy preoperative anxiety, fear, and can be used as an effective method of decreasing postoperative pain clinics is suggested.

Keywords: anxiety, children, fear, music therapy, pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Janusz Bobulski, Kamila Pasternak

Abstract:

Despite many years of effort and research, the problem of waste management is still current. So far, no fully effective waste management system has been developed. Many programs and projects improve statistics on the percentage of waste recycled every year. In these efforts, it is worth using modern Computer Vision techniques supported by artificial intelligence. In the article, we present a method of identifying plastic waste based on the asymmetry analysis of the histogram of the image containing the waste. The method is simple but effective (94%), which allows it to be implemented on devices with low computing power, in particular on microcomputers. Such de-vices will be used both at home and in waste sorting plants.

Keywords: waste management, environmental protection, image processing, computer vision

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Chi Zhang, Jun Jiang

Abstract:

Constitutive equations are very important in finite element (FE) modeling, and the accuracy of the material constants in the equations have significant effects on the accuracy of the FE models. A wide range of constitutive equations are available; however, fitting the material constants in the constitutive equations could be complex and time-consuming due to the strong non-linearity and relationship between the constants. This work will focus on the development of a set of unified MATLAB programs for fitting the material constants in the constitutive equations efficiently. Users will only need to supply experimental data in the required format and run the program without modifying functions or precisely guessing the initial values, or finding the parameters in previous works and will be able to fit the material constants efficiently.

Keywords: constitutive equations, FE modelling, MATLAB program, non-linear curve fitting

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: U. N. Bhatty, A. Bhatia, A. George, F. Fiaz

Abstract:

Post-operatively, patients with the neck of femur fractures are the high-risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTE). NICE have issued guidelines in this regard. We investigated whether these guidelines were being followed. 124 patients undergoing neck of femur fracture surgery were retrospectively analysed at a major orthopaedic centre in England. 9% of patients received adequate anticoagulation (16.5% mortality). An education campaign subsequently took place, circular emails were sent to junior doctors and posters advertised. A reaudit 4 months later showed only 12% of the 68 patients received adequate anticoagulation (11.8% mortality). The education campaign failed to improve prescribing behaviours. Furthermore, as morbidity was not measured, the consequence of poor prescription is underestimated. Perhaps, poor prescribing is because of the silent nature of effective thromboprophylaxis; reducing its perceived effectiveness. Simple interventions are insufficient to change these habits and more intense work is needed; such as compulsory proformas for all high-risk patients.

Keywords: fracture, hip, orthopaedics, thromboembolism

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Authors: Roman Kalvin, Anam Nadeem, Saba Arif

Abstract:

Turbocharger is a device that is driven by the turbine and increases efficiency and power output of the engine by forcing external air into the combustion chamber. This study focused on the distribution of stress on the turbine blades and total deformation that may occur during its working along with turbocharger to carry out its static structural analysis of turbine blades. Structural steel was selected as the material for turbocharger. Assembly of turbocharger and turbine blades was designed on PRO ENGINEER. Furthermore, the structural analysis is performed by using ANSYS. This research concluded that by using structural steel, the efficiency of engine is improved and by increasing number of turbine blades, more waste heat from combustion chamber is emitted.

Keywords: turbocharger, turbine blades, structural steel, ANSYS

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: M. G. R. S. Perera, B. S. Weerakoon, L. P. G. Sherminie, M. L. Jayatilake, R. D. Jayasinghe, W. Huang

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to measure and evaluate the Longitudinal Relaxation Times (T1) in bone marrow of an Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) patient in order to explore the potential for a prognostic biomarker using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which will be a non-invasive prognostic approach to AML. MR image data were collected in the DICOM format and MATLAB Simulink software was used in the image processing and data analysis. For quantitative MRI data analysis, Region of Interests (ROI) on multiple image slices were drawn encompassing vertebral bodies of L3, L4, and L5. T1 was evaluated using the T1 maps obtained. The estimated bone marrow mean value of T1 was 790.1 (ms) at 3T. However, the reported T1 value of healthy subjects is significantly (946.0 ms) higher than the present finding. This suggests that the T1 for bone marrow can be considered as a potential prognostic biomarker for AML patients.

Keywords: acute myeloid leukaemia, longitudinal relaxation time, magnetic resonance imaging, prognostic biomarker.

Procedia PDF Downloads 508