Search results for: smoke production rate

Authors: Janeth Chepkemoi, Richard Onwonga, Noel Templer, Elkana Kipkoech, Angela Gitau

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Conventional agriculture is one of the leading causes of land degradation, threatening the sustainability of food production. Organic farming promotes practices that have the potential of feeding the world while also promoting ecological health. A study was therefore carried out with the aim of conceptualizing how such farming systems are contributing to ecological health in Trans Nzoia County. 71 farmers were interviewed and data was collected on parameters such as land preparation, agroforestry, soil fertility management, soil and water conservation, and pests and diseases. A soil sample was also collected from each farm for laboratory analysis. Data collected were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 21. Results showed that 66% of the respondents practiced organic farming whereas 34% practiced conventional farming. Intercropping and crop rotations were the most common cropping systems and the most preferred land preparation tools among both organic and conventional farmers were tractors and hand hoes. Organic farms fared better in agroforestry, organic soil amendments, land and water conservation, and soil chemical properties. Pests and disease, however, affected organic farms more than conventional. The average nitrogen (%), K (Cmol/ kg and P (ppm) of organic soils were 0.26, 0.7 and 26.18 respectively, conventional soils were 0.21, 0.66 and 22.85. Soil organic carbon content of organic farms averaged a higher percentage of 2.07% as compared to 1.91 for the conventional. In conclusion, most farmers in Trans Nzoia County had transitioned into ecologically friendly farming practices that improved the quality and health of the soil and therefore promoted its sustainability.

Keywords: organic farming, conventional farming, ecological health, soil health

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Authors: Niranjan Devkota , Ram Kumar Phuya, Durga Lal Shreshta

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This paper estimates cost and benefit of adoption of climate change adaptation options available to the rural rice farmers of Nepal. Adoption of adaptation strategies, intensity of use of adaptation options, identification of labor and non-labor cost and finally per unit cost and benefit analysis of climate change adaptation were made. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to source respondents for the study and used structured questionnaire techniques to collect data from 773 households from seven districts; 3 from Terai and 4 from Hilly region of Nepal. The result revealed that there are 13 major adaptation options rice farmers practice in order to protect themselves from climatic risk. Among the given adaptation options, the first three popular adaptation options practiced by rice farmers are (i) increasing use of chemical fertilizer (60.93%) (ii) use of climate smart verities (49.29%) and (iii) change in nursery date (32.08%). Adaptation cost is obvious, based on that, the first three costly adaptation options are the alternative irrigation practice which incurred average cost of US $69.95 (US$ 1 = 102.84 Nepalese Rupees) followed by a denser plantation of local seeds ($ 20.69) and using climate smart varieties ($ 18.06). 88% farmers practiced more than one adaptation strategies on the same farm with the aim of reducing the effect of extreme climatic conditions. Total cost and revenue revealed that per unit total cost ranges from $28.34 to $32.79 whereas per unit total revenue ranges $33.4 to $49.02. Surprisingly, it is observed that farmers who do not adopt any adaptation options are able to receive highest income from per unit production. As Net Present Value (NPV) is positive and Benefit Cost Ration (BCR) is greater than one for every adaptation options that indicates the available adaptation options are profitable to the rice farmers.

Keywords: climate change, adaptation options, cost benefit analysis, rural rice farmers, Nepal

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Authors: Syed Amer Mahmood, Rao Mansor Ali Khan

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This study deals with the remote sensing analysis of tectonic deformation and its implications to understand the regional uplift conditions in the lower Jhelum and eastern Potwar. Identification and mapping of active structures is an important issue in order to assess seismic hazards and to understand the Quaternary deformation of the region. Digital elevation models (DEMs) provide an opportunity to quantify land surface geometry in terms of elevation and its derivatives. Tectonic movement along the faults is often reflected by characteristic geomorphological features such as elevation, stream offsets, slope breaks and the contributing drainage area. The river profile analysis in this region using SRTM digital elevation model gives information about the tectonic influence on the local drainage network. The steepness and concavity indices have been calculated by power law of scaling relations under steady state conditions. An uplift rate map is prepared after carefully analysing the local drainage network showing uplift rates in mm/year. The active faults in the region control local drainages and the deflection of stream channels is a further evidence of the recent fault activity. The results show variable relative uplift conditions along MBT and Riasi and represent a wonderful example of the recency of uplift, as well as the influence of active tectonics on the evolution of young orogens.

Keywords: quaternary deformation, SRTM DEM, geomorphometric indices, active tectonics and MBT

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Authors: Chun-Wei Yeh, Santhanamoorthi Nachimuthu, Jyh-Chiang Jiang

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Reducing greenhouse gases or converting them into fuels and chemicals with added value is vital for the environment. Given the enhanced techniques for hydrocarbon extraction in this context, the catalytic conversion of methane to methanol is particularly intriguing for future applications as vehicle fuels and/or bulk chemicals. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received much attention recently for the oxidation of methane to methanol. In addition, biomimetic material, particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO), has been reported to convert methane using copper oxide clusters as active sites. Inspired by these, in this study, we considered the well-known MIL-53(Al) MOF as support for copper oxide clusters (Cu2Ox, Cu3Ox) to investigate their reactivity towards methane oxidation using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The copper oxide clusters (Cu2O2, Cu3O2) are modeled by oxidizing copper clusters (Cu2, Cu3) with two oxidizers, O2 and N2O. The initial C-H bond activation barriers on Cu2O2/MIL-53(Al) and Cu3O2/MIL-53(Al) catalysts are 0.70 eV and 0.64 eV, respectively, and are the rate-determining steps in the overall methane conversion to methanol reactions. The desorption energy of the methanol over the Cu2O/MIL-53(Al) and Cu3O/MIL-53(Al) is 0.71eV and 0.75 eV, respectively. Furthermore, to explore the prospect of catalyst reusability, we considered the different oxidants and proposed the different reaction pathways for completing the reaction cycle and regenerating the active copper oxide clusters. To know the reason for the difference between bi-copper and tri-cooper systems, we also did an electronic analysis. Finally, we calculate the Microkinetic Simulation. The result shows that the reaction can happen at room temperature.

Keywords: DFT study, copper oxide cluster, MOFs, methane conversion

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Authors: Mario Isaza-Ruget, Claudia C. Colmenares-Mejia, Nancy Yomayusa, Camilo A. González, Andres Cely, Jossie Murcia

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Quantification of risks associated with complications development from chronic kidney disease (CKD) through accurate survival models can help with patient management. A retrospective cohort that included patients diagnosed with CKD from a primary care program and followed up between 2013 and 2018 was carried out. Time-dependent and static covariates associated with demographic, clinical, and laboratory factors were included. Deep Learning (DL) survival analyzes were developed for three CKD outcomes: CKD stage progression, >25% decrease in Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), and Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT). Models were evaluated and compared with Random Survival Forest (RSF) based on concordance index (C-index) metric. 2.143 patients were included. Two models were developed for each outcome, Deep Neural Network (DNN) model reported C-index=0.9867 for CKD stage progression; C-index=0.9905 for reduction in eGFR; C-index=0.9867 for RRT. Regarding the RSF model, C-index=0.6650 was reached for CKD stage progression; decreased eGFR C-index=0.6759; RRT C-index=0.8926. DNN models applied in survival analysis context with considerations of longitudinal covariates at the start of follow-up can predict renal stage progression, a significant decrease in eGFR and RRT. The success of these survival models lies in the appropriate definition of survival times and the analysis of covariates, especially those that vary over time.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, chronic kidney disease, deep neural networks, survival analysis

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Authors: Samuel Estifanos, Asmelash Abay, Miruts Hagos, Gebreslassie Mebrahtu

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The research was conducted to verify two vesicular basalt deposits identified for pozzolanic sources. The Wejerat site, in southern Tigray, has been the major source of vesicular basalt for cement production, and the other is Adisherafo site found near Hagerselam, central Tigray. Rock samples were collected from both sites to undergo major oxides analysis, a possolanacity test and compressive strength measurement of 2 & 28 days as well as polished surface observations. A field survey in the Wejerat site revealed the presence of varieties of basalts vesicular, scoriaceous, doleritic, porphyritic and Aphanitic in decreasing order of vesicularity. The Adisherafo site has dominantly vesicular basalt intermingled with intravolcanic diatomite units. The Wejerat vesicular basalts are best fit for pozzolan source with mean 2- and 28-days compressive strength of 14.9 and 34.0MPa, exceeding the minimum limits of 10.0 and 32.5MPa respectively. Their mean [OH-] and [CaO] values in the pozzolanicity test are 43.0 and 11.4mmol/l, respectively falling on the pozzolanic area of the Frattini curve. Dolerite samples turned out to be promising sources in all tests. The scoriaceous, as well as Adisherafo's vesicular basalt and diatomite units show marginal pozzolanic characteristics. The total sum of oxides (SiO₂+Al₂O₃+Fe₂O₃) minimum, 70%, is met with samples from all but weathered basalt units. The research has indicated the effect of vesicularity on the pozzolanic nature of volcanic rocks as well as the importance of relying on more methods than conventional ones to characterize pozzolanic materials.

Keywords: Pozzolan, Vesicular basalt, compressive strength, cement additives

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Authors: Mounia El Jaouhari, Mira Goral, Samir Diouny

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Introduction: Previous research has indicated that language impairments are recognized as a feature of many neurodegenerative disorders, including non-language-led dementia subtypes such as Alzheimer´s disease (AD). In this preliminary study, the focal aim is to quantify the semantic content of naming and connected speech samples of Moroccan patients diagnosed with AD using two tasks taken from the culturally adapted and validated Moroccan version of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. Methods: Five individuals with AD and five neurologically healthy individuals matched for age, gender, and education will participate in the study. Participants with AD will be diagnosed on the basis of the Moroccan version of the Diagnostic and Statistial Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-4) screening test, the Moroccan version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test scores, and neuroimaging analyses. The participants will engage in two tasks taken from the MDAE-SF: 1) Picture description and 2) Naming. Expected findings: Consistent with previous studies conducted on English speaking AD patients, we expect to find significant word production and retrieval impairments in AD patients in all measures. Moreover, we expect to find category fluency impairments that further endorse semantic breakdown accounts. In sum, not only will the findings of the current study shed more light on the locus of word retrieval impairments noted in AD, but also reflect the nature of Arabic morphology. In addition, the error patterns are expected to be similar to those found in previous AD studies in other languages.

Keywords: alzheimer's disease, anomia, connected speech, semantic impairments, moroccan arabic

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Authors: Yang Yu, Jian Wang, Jiqiang Liu, Lei Han, Xudong He, Shaohua Lv

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As the increasing network attacks become more and more complex, network situation assessment based on log analysis cannot meet the requirements to ensure network security because of the low quality of logs and alerts. This paper addresses the lack of consideration of security attributes of hosts and attacks in the network. Identity and effectiveness of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) are hard to be proved in risk assessment based on alerts and flow matching. This paper proposes a multi-dimension threat situation assessment method based on network security attributes. First, the paper offers an improved Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) calculation, which includes confident risk, integrity risk, availability risk and a weighted risk. Second, the paper introduces deterioration rate of properties collected by sensors in hosts and network, which aimed at assessing the time and level of DDoS attacks. Third, the paper introduces distribution of asset value in security attributes considering features of attacks and network, which aimed at assessing and show the whole situation. Experiments demonstrate that the approach reflects effectiveness and level of DDoS attacks, and the result can show the primary threat in network and security requirement of network. Through comparison and analysis, the method reflects more in security requirement and security risk situation than traditional methods based on alert and flow analyzing.

Keywords: DDoS evaluation, improved CVSS, network security attribute, threat situation assessment

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Authors: Ru-Yin Yang, Chi Wu, Cheng-Yu Tsai, Yin-Tzu Lin, Wen-Te Liu

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Background: Sleep breathing disorder (SDB) is a condition demonstrated by recurrent episodes of the airway obstruction leading to intermittent hypoxia and quality fragmentation during sleep time. However, the procedures for SDB severity examination remain complicated and costly. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish a simplified examination method for SDB by the respiratory impendence pattern sensor combining the signal processing and machine learning model. Methodologies: We records heart rate variability by the electrocardiogram and respiratory pattern by impendence. After the polysomnography (PSG) been done with the diagnosis of SDB by the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI), we calculate the episodes with the absence of flow and arousal index (AI) from device record. Subjects were divided into training and testing groups. Neuron network was used to establish a prediction model to classify the severity of the SDB by the AI, episodes, and body profiles. The performance was evaluated by classification in the testing group compared with PSG. Results: In this study, we enrolled 66 subjects (Male/Female: 37/29; Age:49.9±13.2) with the diagnosis of SDB in a sleep center in Taipei city, Taiwan, from 2015 to 2016. The accuracy from the confusion matrix on the test group by NN is 71.94 %. Conclusion: Based on the models, we established a prediction model for SDB by means of the wearable sensor. With more cases incoming and training, this system may be used to rapidly and automatically screen the risk of SDB in the future.

Keywords: sleep breathing disorder, apnea and hypopnea index, body parameters, neuron network

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Authors: Mahdi Babaee, Arnaud Castel

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One of the main hurdles for commercial adaptation of geopolymer concrete (GPC) as a low-embodied-carbon alternative for Portland cement concrete (PCC) is the durability aspects and its long-term performance in aggressive/corrosive environments. GPC is comparatively a new engineering material and in the absence of a track record of successful durability performance, proper experimental studies to investigate different durability-related characteristics of GPC seem inevitable. In this context, this paper aims to study the bulk electrical resistivity of geopolymer mortars fabricated of blends of low-calcium fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). Bulk electrical resistivity is recognized as one of the most important parameters influencing the rate of corrosion of reinforcing bars during the propagation phase of corrosion. To investigate the effect of alkali concentration on the resistivity of the samples, 100x200 mm mortar cylinders were cast at different alkali concentration levels, whereas the modulus ratio (the molar ratio of SiO2/Na2O) was fixed for the mixes, and the bulk electrical resistivity was then measured. Also, the effect of the binder composition was assessed with respect to the ratio of FA to GGBS used. Results show a superior performance of samples with higher GGBS content. Lower concentration of the solution has increased the resistivity by reducing the amount of mobile alkali ions in the pore solution. Moreover, GGBS-based samples showed a much sharper increase in the electrical resistivity with decreasing the moisture content.

Keywords: bulk resistivity, corrosion, durability, geopolymer concrete

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Authors: Nasiru Medugu Idris

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This research is aimed at assessing the vulnerability of climate change to rural communities (farmers, herdsmen and fishermen) in Nigeria with the view to study the underlying causes and degree of vulnerability to climate change and examine the conflict between farmers and herdsmen as a result of climate change. This research employed the use of quantitative and qualitative means of data gathering techniques as well as physical observations. Six states (Kebbi, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Osun, Ebonyi, and Akwa Ibom) have been selected on the ground that they are key food production areas in the country and are therefore essential to continual food security in the country. So also, they also double as fishing communities in order to aid the comprehensive study of all the effects on climate on farmers and fishermen alike. Community focus group discussions were carried out in the various states for an interactive session and also to have firsthand information on their level of awareness on climate change. Climate data from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency over the past decade were collected for the purpose of analyzing trends in climate. The study observed that the level of vulnerability of rural dwellers most especially farmers, herdsmen and fishermen to climate change is very high due to their socioeconomic, ethnic and historical perspective of their trend. The study, therefore, recommends that urgent step needs to be put in place to help control natural hazards and man-made disasters and serious measures are also needed in order to minimize severe societal, economic and political crises; some of which may either escalate to violent conflicts or could be avoided by efforts of conflict resolution and prevention by the initiation of a process of de-escalation. So this study has recommended the best-fit adaptive and mitigation measures to climate change vulnerability in rural communities of Nigeria.

Keywords: adaptation, farmers, fishermen, herdsmen

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Authors: Filip Buruiana, Alexander Hall, Reimar Hofmann, Thomas Hofmann, Silviu Ganceanu, Alexandru Tudorica

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In-memory column-stores make interactive analysis feasible for many big data scenarios. PowerDrill is a system used internally at Google for exploration in logs data. Even though it is a highly parallelized column-store and uses in memory caching, interactive response times cannot be achieved for all datasets (note that it is common to analyze data with 50 billion records in PowerDrill). In this paper, we investigate two orthogonal approaches to optimize performance at the expense of an acceptable loss of accuracy. Both approaches can be implemented as outer wrappers around existing database engines and so they should be easily applicable to other systems. For the first optimization we show that memory is the limiting factor in executing queries at speed and therefore explore possibilities to improve memory efficiency. We adapt some of the theory behind data sketches to reduce the size of particularly expensive fields in our largest tables by a factor of 4.5 when compared to a standard compression algorithm. This saves 37% of the overall memory in PowerDrill and introduces a 0.4% relative error in the 90th percentile for results of queries with the expensive fields. We additionally evaluate the effects of using sampling on accuracy and propose a simple heuristic for annotating individual result-values as accurate (or not). Based on measurements of user behavior in our real production system, we show that these estimates are essential for interpreting intermediate results before final results are available. For a large set of queries this effectively brings down the 95th latency percentile from 30 to 4 seconds.

Keywords: big data, in-memory column-store, high-performance SQL queries, approximate SQL queries

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Authors: Rabeab Khunpukdee, Aranya Sukchoui, Nonluk Somgit, Chitima Bunnaul

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Endotracheal displacement is a major risk of life threatening among critically ill patients. Standard nursing protocol is needed to minimize this risk and to improve clinical outcomes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the endothacheal care nursing guideline. The incidence rates of endochacheal displacement, oxygen deficiency after extubation, re-intubation, and nurse’s satisfaction on the utilization of the endotracheal care nursing guideline. An evidence-based nursing practice framework was used to develop the endotracheal care nursing guideline. The guideline valid content was review by a 3 panel of experts. The index of item objective (IOC) of the guideline was 0.93. The guideline was implemented in 130 patients (guideline group) and 19 registered nurses at a medicine ward, Had Yai hospital, Thailand. Patient’s outcomes were evaluated by comparison with those 155 patients who received the routine nursing care (routine care group). Descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Mann Whitney U-test was analyzed using the computer program. All significantly and better outcomes were found in the guideline group compared to the routine care group. The guideline group has less incidence rates of endotracheal displacement (1.54 % vs 9.03 %, p < 0.05), and none of the guideline group had oxygen deficiency after extubation (0 % vs 83.33%) compared to the routine care group. All of the 2 patients in the guideline group, compared to 6 of 14 patients in the routine care group were re-intubation. The overall rate of re-intubation in the total group (n = 130 vs 155) was seen less in the guideline group than the routine care group (1.54 % vs 3.87). Overall, nurses satisfaction was at high-level (89.50%) on the utilization of the guideline.

Keywords: endotracheal care, nursing guideline, re-intubation, satisfaction

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Authors: Sahar Essa, Hussain A. Safar, Raj Raghupathy

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Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) continues to be a source of severe complications in immunologically immature and immunocompromised hosts. Effective CMV vaccines that help diminish CMV disease in transplant patients and avoid congenital infection are of great importance. Though the exact roles of defense mechanisms are unidentified, viral-specific antibodies and cytokine responses are known to be involved in controlling CMV infections. CMV envelope glycoprotein B (UL55/gB), matrix proteins (UL83/pp65, UL99/pp28, UL32/pp150), and assembly protein UL80a/pp38 are known to be targets of antiviral immune responses. We immunized mice intraperitoneally with these five CMV-related proteins (commercial) for their ability to induce specific antibody responses (in-house immunoassay) and cytokine production (commercial assay) in a mouse model. We observed a significant CMV-antigen-specific antibody response to pp38 and pp65 (E/C ˃2.0, p˂0.001). Mice immunized with pp38 had significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-α, IL-2 IL-4, IL-5, and IL-17A (p˂0.05). Mice immunized with pp65 showed significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-2 IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, and TNF-α. Th1 to Th2 cytokines ratios revealed a Th1 cytokine bias in mice immunized with pp38, pp65, pp150, and gB. We suggest that stimulation with multiple CMV-related proteins, which include pp38, pp65, and gB antigens, will allow both humoral and cellular immune responses to be efficiently activated, thus serving as appropriate CMV antigens for future vaccines.

Keywords: cytomegalovirus, UL99/pp28, UL80a/pp38, UL83/pp65, UL32/pp150, UL55/gB, CMV-antigen-specific antibody, CMV antigen-specific cytokine responses

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Authors: Keyvan Kashkouli Nejad, Motoaki Sugiura, Atsushi Sato, Takayuki Nozawa, Hyeonjeong Jeong, Sugiko Hanawa , Yuka Kotozaki, Ryuta Kawashima

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The perception of agency/control is altered with presence of discrepancies in the environment or mismatch of predictions (of possible results) and actual results the sense of agency might become altered. Synofzik et al. proposed a two layer model of agency: In the first layer, the Feeling of Agency (FoA) is not directly available to awareness; a slight mismatch in the environment/outcome might cause alterations in FoA, while the agent still feels in control. If the discrepancy passes a threshold, it becomes available to consciousness and alters Judgment of Agency (JoA), which is directly available in the person’s awareness. Most experiments so far only investigate subjects rather conscious JoA, while FoA has been neglected. In this experiment we target FoA by using subliminal discrepancies that can not be consciously detectable by the subjects. Here, we explore whether we can detect this two level model in the subjects behavior and then try to map this in their brain activity. To do this, in a fMRI study, we incorporated both consciously detectable mismatching between action and result and also subliminal discrepancies in the environment. Also, unlike previous experiments where subjective questions from the participants mainly trigger the rather conscious JoA, we also tried to measure the rather implicit FoA by asking participants to rate their performance. We compared behavioral results and also brain activation when there were conscious discrepancies and when there were subliminal discrepancies against trials with no discrepancies and against each other. In line with our expectations, conditions with consciously detectable incongruencies triggered lower JoA ratings than conditions without. Also, conditions with any type of discrepancies had lower FoA ratings compared to conditions without. Additionally, we found out that TPJ and angular gyrus in particular to have a role in coding of JoA and also FoA.

Keywords: agency, fMRI, TPJ, two layer model

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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

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Authors: Abdul Rahman Mohd. Sam, Olukotun Nathaniel, Dunu Williams

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Concrete is one of the most popular materials used in construction industry. However, one of the setbacks is that concrete can degrade with time upon exposure to an aggressive environment that leads to decrease in strength. Thus, research works and innovative ways are needed to enhance the strength and durability of concrete. This work tries to look into the potential use of rice husk ash (RHA) and wood waste ash (WWA) as cement replacement material. These are waste materials that may not only enhance the properties of concrete but also can serves as a viable method of disposal of waste for sustainability. In addition, a substantial replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with these pozzolans will mean reduction in CO₂ emissions and high energy requirement associated with the production of OPC. This study is aimed at assessing the properties of triadic concrete produced using RHA and WWA as a partial replacement of cement. The effects of partial replacement of OPC with 10% RHA and 5% WWA on compressive and tensile strength of concrete among other properties were investigated. Concrete was produced with nominal mix of 1:2:4 and 0.55 water-cement ratio, prepared, cured and subjected to compressive and tensile strength test at 3, 7, 14, 28 and 90days. The experimental data demonstrate that concrete containing RHA and WWA produced lighter weight in comparison with OPC sample. Results also show that combination of RHA and WWA help to prolong the initial and final setting time by about 10-30% compared to the control sample. Furthermore, compressive strength was increased by 15-30% with 10% RHA and 5% WWA replacement, respectively above the control, RHA and WWA samples. Tensile strength test at the ages of 3, 7, 14, 28 and 90 days reveals that a replacement of 15% RHA and 5% WWA produced samples with the highest tensile capacity compared to the control samples. Thus, it can be concluded that RHA and WWA can be used as partial cement replacement materials in concrete.

Keywords: concrete, rice husk ash, wood waste ash, ordinary Portland cement, compressive strength, tensile strength

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Authors: Nachawit Tikul

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This study aimed to determine low-income housing adaptations for flooding, which causes living problems and housing damage, and the results from improvement. Three low-income settlements in Chiang Mai which experienced different flood types, i.e. flash floods in Samukeepattana, drainage floods in Bansanku, and river floods in Kampangam, were chosen for the study. Almost all of the residents improved their houses to protect the property from flood damage by changing building materials to flood damage resistant materials for walls, floors, and other parts of the structure that were below the base of annual flood elevation. They could only build some parts of their own homes, so hiring skilled workers or contractors was still important. Building materials which have no need for any special tools and are easy to access and use for construction, as well as low cost, are selected for construction. The residents in the three slums faced living problems for only a short time and were able to cope with them. This may be due to the location of the three slums near the city where assistance is readily available. But the housing and the existence in the slums can endure only the regular floods and residence still have problems in unusual floods, which have been experienced 1-2 times during the past 10 years. The residents accept the need for evacuations and prepare for them. When faced with extreme floods, residence have evacuated to the nearest safe place such as schools and public building, and come back to repair the houses after the flood. These are the distinguishing characteristics of low-income living which can withstand serious situations due to the simple lifestyle. Therefore, preparation of living areas for use during severe floods and encouraging production of affordable flood resistant materials should be areas of concern when formulating disaster assistance policies for low income people.

Keywords: flooding, low-income settlement, housing, adaptation

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Authors: Tharwat N. Hijjawi

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Learning oral skills in an Arabic speaking environment is challenging. A blended course (material, activities, and individual/ group work tasks …) was implemented in a module of level B1 for undergraduate students of French as a foreign language in order to increase their opportunities to practice listening and speaking skills. This research investigates the influence of this modality on enhancing active learning and examines the effectiveness of provided strategies. Moreover, it aims at discovering how it allows teacher to flip the traditional classroom and create a learner-centered framework. Which approaches were integrated to motivate students and urge them to search, analyze, criticize, create and accomplish projects? What was the perception of students? This paper is based on the qualitative findings of a questionnaire and a focus group interview with learners. Despite the doubled time and effort both “teacher” and “student” needed, results revealed that the NTIC allowed a shift into a learning paradigm where learners were the “chiefs” of the process. Tasks and collaborative projects required higher intellectual capacities from them. Learners appreciated this experience and developed new life-long learning competencies at many levels: social, affective, ethical and cognitive. To conclude, they defined themselves as motivated young researchers, motivators and critical thinkers.

Keywords: active learning, critical thinking, inverted classroom, learning paradigm, problem-based

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Authors: Amina Aquil, Abdeljalil El Got

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Background: Sleep quality is one of the most important indicators related to the quality of life of patients suffering from cancer. Many factors could affect this quality of sleep and then be considered as associated predictors. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sleep disorders and the associated factors with impaired sleep quality in Moroccan women with gynecological cancer. A cross-sectional study was carried out within the oncology department of the Ibn Rochd University Hospital, Casablanca, on Moroccan women who had undergone radical surgery for gynecological cancer (n=100). Translated and validated Arabic versions of the following international scales were used: Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg's self-esteem scale (RSES), and Body image scale (BIS). Results: 78% of participants were considered poor sleepers. Most of the patients exhibited very poor subjective quality, low sleep latency, a short period of sleep, and a low rate of usual sleep efficiency. The vast majority of these patients were in poor shape during the day and did not use sleep medication. Waking up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and getting up to use the bathroom were the main reasons for poor sleep quality. PSQI scores were positively correlated with anxiety, depression, body image dissatisfaction, and lower self-esteem (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Sleep quality and its predictors require a systematic evaluation and adequate management to prevent sleep disturbances and mental distress as well as to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Keywords: body image, gynecological cancer, self esteem, sleep quality

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Authors: Sujith Gunawardhana

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The circular economy is a system in which resources and energy are derived from renewable sources, utilized efficiently, recycled, and reused to reduce waste, reduce nonrenewable resource consumption, and mitigate negative environmental impacts. However, it poses moral questions about sustainability, the environment, and societal issues. Many societies face challenges when implementing the circular economy, as the concept is still young. The equitable distribution of the advantages and costs of circularity should be ensured during implementation, as some communities, particularly disadvantaged or marginalized ones, may suffer unfairly disproportionately from the harmful effects of production and recycling facilities. Prioritizing the health and safety of workers, communities, and the environment is essential, and strict rules must be implemented to guard against harm. However, most underdeveloped countries need a legal safeguard for this situation. The ultimate objective of the circular economy is to improve social, environmental, and economic performance, but its implementation also requires consideration of the ethics of care and non-epistemic values. Those are often hindered in underdeveloped countries, as the availability of infrastructure and technology, affordability, and legislative framework are poor. To achieve long-term success in the circular economy, evaluating implementation steps and considering health, safety, environmental, and social risks is crucial. To implement the circular economy, respect ethics of care and non-epistemic values. Adopt Kantian Ethics and control technology design to ensure equal benefits for all involved. Ethical gaps may lead underdeveloped countries to generate social pressure against the circular economy.

Keywords: circular economy, ethics, values, sustainability

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Authors: Rolando B. Llave Jr.

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In many countries, wheat flour is used an essential component in production/preparation of bread and other baked products considered to have a significant role in man’s diet. Partial replacement of wheat flour with other flours (composite flour) in preparation of the said products is seen as a solution to the scarcity of wheat flour (in non-wheat producing countries), and improved nourishment. In composite flour, other flours may come from cereals, legumes, root crops, and those that are rich in starch. Many countries utilize whatever is locally available. “Adlai” or Job’s tears is a tall cereal plant that belongs to the same family of grass as wheat, rice, and corn. In some countries, it is used as an ingredient in producing many dishes and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. As part of the Food Staple Self-Sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Philippines, “adlai” is being promoted as alternative food source for the Filipinos. In this study, the grits coming from the seeds of “adlai” were turned into flour. The resulting flour was then used as partial replacement for wheat flour in selected baked products namely “pan de sal” (salt bread), cupcakes and cookies. The supplementation of “adlai” flour ranged 20%-45% with 20%-35% for “pan de sal”; 30%-45% for cupcakes; and 25% - 40% for cookies. The study was composed of four (4) phases. Phase I was product formulation studies. Phase II included the acceptability test/sensory evaluation of the baked products where the statistical analysis of the data gathered followed. Phase III was the computation of the theoretical protein content of the most acceptable “pan de sal”, cupcake and cookie, and lastly, in Phase IV, cost benefit was analyzed, specifically in terms of the direct material cost.

Keywords: “adlai”, composite flour, supplementation, sensory evaluation

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Authors: Mohammad Zainie Bin Hassan

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Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a complication commonly seen among men with diabetes which can be assessed based upon International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire. Creatinine level is a blood test that indicates kidney functionality. Object: To evaluate the association between ED, determined by the IIEF-5scores and Creatinine level in diabetic men attending Temerloh Health Clinic, Pahang, Malaysia.Hence, to identify raising Creatinine level related with ED or not. Methods: All married diabetic patients will be investigated face to face after consented for answering the IIEF-5 questionnaire. Creatinine level will be taken by using standard method.Patients with no sexual partner, refuse to answer the questionnaire, cancer, stroke, heart disease and language barrier will be excluded.Data obtained from IIEF-5 score and Creatinine level will be analyzed by using Pearson correlation. All statistical value determined by p=0.05. ED will be categorized accordingly to IIEF-5 scores: no ED (22-25), mild (17-21), moderate (12-16), severe (8-11) and very severe (1-7). Results: A total of 450 patients were investigated with 385 patients were included (85.6% respondant rate) and 65 patients were excluded in this study with age range from 29 to 85 years old. 7% had no ED, 28% mild ED, 34% moderate ED, 16% severe ED and 15% had very severe ED. There was a significant negative correlation between Creatinine level and IIEF-5 scores (r=-0.218, p <0.001). This result implicated that poor kidney function which indicated by high Creatinine level associated significantly with erectile dysfunction. 93% had ED with a different range of severity which triggers for appropriate aggressive ED management among diabetics. Conclusion: The high level of Creatinine is associated with erectile dysfunction among diabetics in Temerloh Health Clinic.

Keywords: correlation, creatinine level, erectile dysfunction, ED, diabetes

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Authors: Bo-wen Zhu, Bin Wu, Feng Chen

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It has become a common measure among governments to support green development of enterprises through Green Credit policies. In China, the Central Bank of China and other authorities even put forward corresponding assessment requirements for proportion of green credit in commercial banks. Policy changes might raise concerns about commercial banks turning a blind eye to greenwashing behavior by enterprises. The lack of effective regulation may lead to a diffusion of such behavior, and eventually result in the phenomenon of “bad money driving out good money”, which could dampen the incentive effect of Green Credit policies. This paper employs a complex network model based on an evolutionary game analysis framework involving enterprises, banks, and regulatory authorities to investigate inhibitory effect of the Green Credit regulation on enterprises’ greenwashing behavior, banks’ opportunistic and collusive behaviors. The findings are as follows: (1) Banking opportunism rises with Green Credit evaluation criteria and requirements for the proportion of credit balance. Restrictive regulation against violating banks is necessary as there is an increasing trend of banks adopting opportunistic strategy. (2) Raising penalties and probability of regulatory inspections can effectively suppress banks’ opportunistic behavior, however, it cannot entirely eradicate the opportunistic behavior on the bank side. (3) Although maintaining a certain inspection probability can inhibit enterprises from adopting greenwashing behavior, enterprises choose a catering production strategy instead. (4) One-time rewards from local government have limited effects on the equilibrium state and diffusion trend of bank regulatory decision-making.

Keywords: green credit, greenwashing behavior, regulation, diffusion effect

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Authors: Abobaker Mohammed Qasem Farhan, Shangming Yang, Mohammed Al-Nehari

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Pneumonia is a kind of lung disease that creates congestion in the chest. Such pneumonic conditions lead to loss of life of the severity of high congestion. Pneumonic lung disease is caused by viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, or Covidi-19 induced pneumonia. The early prediction and classification of such lung diseases help to reduce the mortality rate. We propose the automatic Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system in this paper using the deep learning approach. The proposed CAD system takes input from raw computerized tomography (CT) scans of the patient's chest and automatically predicts disease classification. We designed the Hybrid Deep Learning Algorithm (HDLA) to improve accuracy and reduce processing requirements. The raw CT scans have pre-processed first to enhance their quality for further analysis. We then applied a hybrid model that consists of automatic feature extraction and classification. We propose the robust 2D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to extract the automatic features from the pre-processed CT image. This CNN model assures feature learning with extremely effective 1D feature extraction for each input CT image. The outcome of the 2D CNN model is then normalized using the Min-Max technique. The second step of the proposed hybrid model is related to training and classification using different classifiers. The simulation outcomes using the publically available dataset prove the robustness and efficiency of the proposed model compared to state-of-art algorithms.

Keywords: CT scan, Covid-19, deep learning, image processing, lung disease classification

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Authors: B. Sudhakara Reddy

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The transition to a clean and green energy system is an economic and social transformation that is exciting as well as challenging. The world today faces a formidable challenge in transforming its economy from being driven primarily by fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and a major source of global pollution, to becoming an economy that can function effectively using renewable energy sources and by achieving high energy efficiency levels. In the present study, a green economy scenario is developed for India using a bottom-up approach. The results show that the penetration rate of renewable energy resources will reduce the total primary energy demand by 23% under GE. Improvements in energy efficiency (e.g. households, industrial and commercial sectors) will result in reduced demand to the tune of 318 MTOE. The volume of energy-related CO2 emissions decline to 2,218 Mt in 2030 from 3,440 under the BAU scenario and the per capita emissions will reduce by about 35% (from 2.22 to 1.45) under the GE scenario. The reduction in fossil fuel demand and focus on clean energy will reduce the energy intensity to 0.21 (TOE/US$ of GDP) and carbon intensity to 0.42 (ton/US$ of GDP) under the GE scenario. total import bill (coal and oil) will amount to US$ 334 billion by 2030 (at 2010/11 prices), but as per the GE scenario, it would be US$ 194.2 billion, a saving of about US$ 140 billion. The building of a green energy economy can also serve another purpose: to develop new ‘pathways out of poverty’ by creating more than 10 million jobs and thus raise the standard of living of low-income people. The differences between the baseline and green energy scenarios are not so much the consequence of the diffusion of various technologies. It is the result of the active roles of different actors and the drivers that become dominant.

Keywords: emissions, green energy, fossil fuels, green jobs, renewables, scenario

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Authors: Praveen Kumar, Nitin Kumar, Hemant Kumar

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The modernization of computer technology and commercial computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation has given better detailed results as compared to experimental investigation techniques. CFD techniques are widely used in different field due to its flexibility and performance. Evaluation of pipeline erosion is complex phenomenon to solve by numerical arithmetic technique, whereas CFD simulation is an easy tool to resolve that type of problem. Erosion wear behaviour due to solid–liquid mixture in the slurry pipeline has been investigated using commercial CFD code in FLUENT. Multi-phase Euler-Lagrange model was adopted to predict the solid particle erosion wear in 22.5° pipe bend for the flow of bottom ash-water suspension. The present study addresses erosion prediction in three dimensional 22.5° pipe bend for two-phase (solid and liquid) flow using finite volume method with standard k-ε turbulence, discrete phase model and evaluation of erosion wear rate with varying velocity 2-4 m/s. The result shows that velocity of solid-liquid mixture found to be highly dominating parameter as compared to solid concentration, density, and particle size. At low velocity, settling takes place in the pipe bend due to low inertia and gravitational effect on solid particulate which leads to high erosion at bottom side of pipeline.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics (CFD), erosion, slurry transportation, k-ε Model

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Sheilla Atieno Odhiambo, Simona Vasile, Alexandra De Raeve, Ann Schwarz

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Strain sensing seams have been developed by integrating conductive sewing threads in different types of seams design on a fabric typical for sports clothing using sewing technology. The aim is to have a simple integrated textile strain sensor that can be applied to sports clothing to monitor the movements of the upper body parts of the user during sports. Different types of commercially available sewing threads were used as the bobbin thread in the production of different architectural seam sensors. These conductive sewing threads have been integrated into seams in particular designs using specific seam types. Some of the threads are delicate and needed to be laid into the seam with as little friction as possible and less tension; thus, they could only be sewn in as the bobbin thread and not the needle thread. Stitch type 304; 406; 506; 601;602; 605. were produced. The seams were made on a fabric of 80% polyamide 6.6 and 20% elastane. The seams were cycled(stretch-release-stretch) for five cycles and up to 44 cycles following EN ISO 14704-1: 2005 (modified), using a tensile instrument and the changes in the resistance of the seams with time were recorded using Agilent meter U1273A. Both experiments were conducted simultaneously on the same seam sample. Sensing functionality, among which is sensor gauge and reliability, were evaluated on the promising sensor seams. The results show that the sensor seams made from HC Madeira 40 conductive yarns performed better inseam stitch 304 and 602 compared to the other combination of stitch type and conductive sewing threads. These sensing seams 304, 406 and 602 will further be interconnected to our developed processing and communicating unit and further integrated into a sports clothing prototype that can track body posture. This research is done within the framework of the project SmartSeam.

Keywords: conductive sewing thread, sensing seams, smart seam, sewing technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: A. Bendarma, T. Jankowiak, A. Rusinek, T. Lodygowski, M. Klósak, S. Bouslikhane

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The analysis of the mechanical characteristics and dynamic behavior of aluminum alloy sheet due to perforation tests based on the experimental tests coupled with the numerical simulation is presented. The impact problems (penetration and perforation) of the metallic plates have been of interest for a long time. Experimental, analytical as well as numerical studies have been carried out to analyze in details the perforation process. Based on these approaches, the ballistic properties of the material have been studied. The initial and residual velocities laser sensor is used during experiments to obtain the ballistic curve and the ballistic limit. The energy balance is also reported together with the energy absorbed by the aluminum including the ballistic curve and ballistic limit. The high speed camera helps to estimate the failure time and to calculate the impact force. A wide range of initial impact velocities from 40 up to 180 m/s has been covered during the tests. The mass of the conical nose shaped projectile is 28 g, its diameter is 12 mm, and the thickness of the aluminum sheet is equal to 1.0 mm. The ABAQUS/Explicit finite element code has been used to simulate the perforation processes. The comparison of the ballistic curve was obtained numerically and was verified experimentally, and the failure patterns are presented using the optimal mesh densities which provide the stability of the results. A good agreement of the numerical and experimental results is observed.

Keywords: aluminum alloy, ballistic behavior, failure criterion, numerical simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Zhu Weimin, Allegorico Carmine, Ruggiero Gionata

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During decades of Baker Hughes (BH) iCenter experience, it is demonstrated that in addition to conventional insights on equipment steady operation conditions, insights on transient conditions can add significant and exclusive value for anomaly detection, downtime saving, and predictive maintenance. Our work shows examples from the BH iCenter experience to introduce the advantages and features of using transient condition analytics: (i) Operation under critical engine conditions: e.g., high level or high change rate of temperature, pressure, flow, vibration, etc., that would not be reachable in normal operation, (ii) Management of dedicated sub-systems or components, many of which are often bottlenecks for reliability and maintenance, (iii) Indirect detection of anomalies in the absence of instrumentation, (iv) Repetitive sequences: if data is properly processed, the engineering features of transients provide not only anomaly detection but also problem characterization and prognostic indicators for predictive maintenance, (v) Engine variables accounting for fatigue analysis. iCenter has been developing and deploying a series of analytics based on transient conditions. They are contributing to exclusive value adding in the following areas: (i) Reliability improvement, (ii) Startup reliability improvement, (iii) Predictive maintenance, (iv) Repair/overhaul cost down. Illustrative examples for each of the above areas are presented in our study, focusing on challenges and adopted techniques ranging from purely statistical approaches to the implementation of machine learning algorithms. The obtained results demonstrate how the value is obtained using transient condition analytics in the BH iCenter experience.

Keywords: analytics, diagnostics, monitoring, turbomachinery

Procedia PDF Downloads 78