Search results for: site organizations

Authors: Austin P. Hopkins, R. Daren Harmel, Jim A Ippolito, P. J. A. Kleinman, D. Sahoo

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Field-scale runoff and water quality data are critical to understanding the fate and transport of nutrients applied to agricultural lands and minimizing their off-site transport because it is at that scale that agricultural management decisions are typically made based on hydrologic, soil, and land use factors. However, regional influences such as precipitation, temperature, and prevailing cropping systems and land use patterns also impact nutrient runoff. In the present study, the recently-updated MANAGE (Measured Annual Nutrient loads from Agricultural Environments) database was used to conduct an ecoregion-level analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from agricultural lands in the North America. Specifically, annual N and P runoff loads for cropland and grasslands in North American Level II EPA ecoregions were presented, and the impact of factors such as land use, tillage, and fertilizer timing and placement on N and P runoff were analyzed. Specifically we compiled annual N and P runoff load data (i.e., dissolved, particulate, and total N and P, kg/ha/yr) for each Level 2 EPA ecoregion and for various agricultural management practices (i.e., land use, tillage, fertilizer timing, fertilizer placement) within each ecoregion to showcase the analyses possible with the data in MANAGE. Potential differences in N and P runoff loads were evaluated between and within ecoregions with statistical and graphical approaches. Non-parametric analyses, mainly Mann-Whitney tests were conducted on median values weighted by the site years of data utilizing R because the data were not normally distributed, and we used Dunn tests and box and whisker plots to visually and statistically evaluate significant differences. Out of the 50 total North American Ecoregions, 11 were found that had significant data and site years to be utilized in the analysis. When examining ecoregions alone, it was observed that ER 9.2 temperate prairies had a significantly higher total N at 11.7 kg/ha/yr than ER 9.4 South Central Semi Arid Prairies with a total N of 2.4. When examining total P it was observed that ER 8.5 Mississippi Alluvial and Southeast USA Coastal Plains had a higher load at 3.0 kg/ha/yr than ER 8.2 Southeastern USA Plains with a load of 0.25 kg/ha/yr. Tillage and Land Use had severe impacts on nutrient loads. In ER 9.2 Temperate Prairies, conventional tillage had a total N load of 36.0 kg/ha/yr while conservation tillage had a total N load of 4.8 kg/ha/yr. In all relevant ecoregions, when corn was the predominant land use, total N levels significantly increased compared to grassland or other grains. In ER 8.4 Ozark-Ouachita, Corn had a total N of 22.1 kg/ha/yr while grazed grassland had a total N of 2.9 kg/ha/yr. There are further intricacies of the interactions that agricultural management practices have on one another combined with ecological conditions and their impacts on the continental aquatic nutrient loads that still need to be explored. This research provides a stepping stone to further understanding of land and resource stewardship and best management practices.

Keywords: water quality, ecoregions, nitrogen, phosphorus, agriculture, best management practices, land use

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Authors: Luksanaporn Krungkraipetch

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Currently, surgery is the only known effective treatment for pterygium. In certain groups, the probability of recurrence after basic sclera excision is very significant. Tissue grafting is substantially more time-consuming and challenging than keeping the sclera uncovered, but it reduces the chance of recurrence. Conjunctival autograft surgery is older than amniotic membrane graft surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare pterygium surgery with conjunctival autograft against an amniotic membrane transplant. In the study, a randomized controlled trial was used. Four cases were ruled out (two for failing to meet inclusion criteria and the other for refusing to participate). Group I (n = 40) received the intervention, whereas Group II (n = 40) served as the control. Both descriptive and inferential statistical approaches were used, including data analysis and data analysis statistics. The descriptive statistics analysis covered basic pterygium surgery information as well as the risk of recurrent pterygium. As an inferential statistic, the chi-square was used. A p-value of 0.05 is statistically significant. The findings of this investigation were the majority of patients in Group I were female (70.0%), aged 41–60 years, had no underlying disease (95.0%), and had nasal pterygium (97.5%). The majority of Group II patients were female (60.0%), aged 41–60 years, had no underlying disease (97.5%) and had nasal pterygium (97.5%). Group I had no recurrence of pterygium after surgery, but Group II had a 7.5% recurrence rate. Typically, the recurrence time is twelve months. The majority of pterygium recurrences occur in females (83.3%), between the ages of 41 and 60 (66.7%), with no underlying disease. The recurrence period is typically six months (60%) and a nasal pterygium site (83.3%). Pterygium recurrence after surgery is associated with nasal location (p =.002). 16.7% of pterygium surgeries result in complications; one woman with nasal pterygium underwent autograft surgery six months later. The presence of granulation tissue at the surgical site is a mild complication. A pterygium surgery recurrence rate comparison of conjunctival autograft and amniotic membrane transplantation revealed that conjunctival autograft had a higher recurrence rate than amniotic membrane transplantation (p =.013).

Keywords: pterygium, pterygium surgery, conjunctival autograft, amniotic membrane transplantation

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Janiel David Melamed Visbal

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The Islamic State has become one of the most remarkable threats for international security through their religious extremism and their establishment of a new caliphate by force. The main objective of this organization is to obtain territorial expansions beyond the Middle East and eventually to consolidate an Islamic global order based on their extremist ideology. This paper will conduct an analysis regarding how, over the past year, many jihadist organizations worldwide have pledged their alliagance to the Islamic State, transforming it into the most important jihadist franchise globally.

Keywords: Islamic state, franchise, jihad, Islamic fundamentalism, caliphate

Procedia PDF Downloads 341

Authors: Waqas Ali, Nadeem Majeed

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Requirement engineering is an essence of software development life cycle. The more time we spend on requirement engineering, higher the probability of success. Effective requirement engineering ensures and predicts successful software product. This paper presents the adaptation of requirement engineering practices in small and medium size companies of Pakistan. The study is conducted by questionnaires to show how much of requirement engineering models and practices are followed in Pakistan.

Keywords: requirement engineering, Pakistan, models, practices, organizations

Procedia PDF Downloads 708

Authors: Helene Eller

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The aim of non-profit organizations (NPO) is to provide services and goods for its clientele, with profit being a minor objective. By having this definition as the basic purpose of doing business, it is obvious that the goal of an organisation is to serve several bottom lines and not only the financial one. This approach is underpinned by the non-distribution constraint which means that NPO are allowed to make profits to a certain extent, but not to distribute them. The advantage is that there are no single shareholders who might have an interest in the prosperity of the organisation: there is no pie to divide. The gained profits remain within the organisation and will be reinvested in purposeful projects. Good governance is mandatory to support the aim of NPOs. Looking for a measure of good governance the principals of corporate governance (CG) will come in mind. The purpose of CG is direction and control, and in the field of NPO, CG is enlarged to consider the relationship to all important stakeholders who have an impact on the organisation. The recognition of more relevant parties than the shareholder is the link to corporate social responsibility (CSR). It supports a broader view of the bottom line: It is no longer enough to know how profits are used but rather how they are made. Besides, CSR addresses the responsibility of organisations for their impact on society. When transferring the concept of CSR to the non-profit area it will become obvious that CSR with its distinctive features will match the aims of NPOs. As a consequence, NPOs who apply CG apply also CSR to a certain extent. The research is designed as a comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis. First, the investigation focuses on the theoretical basis of both concepts. Second, the similarities and differences are outlined and as a result the interconnection of both concepts will show up. The contribution of this research is manifold: The interconnection of both concepts when applied to NPOs has not got any attention in science yet. CSR and governance as integrated concept provides a lot of advantages for NPOs compared to for-profit organisations which are in a steady justification to show the impact they might have on the society. NPOs, however, integrate economic and social aspects as starting point. For NPOs CG is not a mere concept of compliance but rather an enhanced concept integrating a lot of aspects of CSR. There is no “either-nor” between the concepts for NPOs.

Keywords: business ethics, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, non-profit organisations

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Nada Al-Qallaf, Aisha Al-Barood, Djamel Lekmine, Srinivasan Vedhapuri

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Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) under the supervision of Kuwait National Focal Point (KNFP) is planning to remediate 26 million (M) m3 of oil-contaminated soil in oil fields of Kuwait as a direct and indirect fallout of the Gulf War during 1990-1991. This project is funded by the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) under the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP). Oil-contamination of the soil occurred due to the destruction of the oil wells and spilled crude oil across the land surface and created ‘oil lakes’ in low lying land. Aerial fall-out from oil spray and combustion products from oil fires combined with the sand and gravel on the ground surface to form a layer of hardened ‘Tarcrete’. The unique fresh groundwater lenses present in the Raudhatain and Sabriya subsurface areas had been impacted by the discharge and/or spills of dissolved petroleum constituents. These fresh groundwater aquifers were used for drinking water purposes until 1990, prior to invasion. This has significantly damages altered the landscape, ecology and habitat of the flora and fauna and in Kuwait Desert. Under KERP, KOC is fully responsible for the planning and execution of the remediation and restoration projects in KOC oil fields. After the initial recommendation of UNCC to construct engineered landfills for containment and disposal of heavily contaminated soils, two landfills were constructed, one in North Kuwait and another in South East Kuwait of capacity 1.7 million m3 and 0.5 million m3 respectively. KOC further developed the Total Remediation Strategy in conjunction with KNFP and has obtained UNCC approval. The TRS comprises of elements such as Risk Based Approach (RBA), Bioremediation of low Contaminated Soil levels, Remediation Treatment Technologies, Sludge Disposal via Beneficial Recycling or Re-use and Engineered landfills for Containment of untreatable materials. Risk Based Assessment as a key component to avoid any unnecessary remedial works, where it can be demonstrated that human health and the environment are sufficiently protected in the absence of active remediation. This study demonstrates on the risks of tarcrete materials spread over areas 20 Km2 on the fresh Ground water lenses/catchment located beneath the Sabriyah and Raudhatain oil fields in North Kuwait. KOC’s primary objective is to provide justification of using RBA, to support a case with the Kuwait regulators to leave the tarcrete material in place, rather than seek to undertake large-scale removal and remediation. The large-scale coverage of the tarcrete in the oil fields and perception that the residual contamination associated with this source is present in an environmentally sensitive area essentially in ground water resource. As part of this assessment, conceptual site model (CSM) and complete risk-based and fate and transport modelling was carried out which includes derivation of site-specific assessment criteria (SSAC) and quantification of risk to identified waters resource receptors posed by tarcrete impacted areas. The outcome of this assessment was determined that the residual tarcrete deposits across the site area shall not create risks to fresh groundwater resources and the remedial action to remove and remediate the surficial tarcrete deposits is not warranted.

Keywords: conceptual site model, fresh groundwater, oil-contaminated soil, tarcrete, risk based assessment

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Authors: Sergey V. Vinogradov

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Coastal communities are presently facing increased vulnerabilities due to rising sea levels and shifts in global climate patterns, a trend expected to escalate in the long run. To address the needs of government entities, the public sector, and private enterprises, there is an urgent need to thoroughly investigate, assess, and manage the present and projected risks associated with coastal flooding, including storm surges, sea level rise, and nuisance flooding. In response to these challenges, a practical approach to evaluating storm surge inundation risks has been developed. This methodology offers an integrated assessment of potential flood risk in targeted coastal areas. The physical modeling framework involves simulating synthetic storms and utilizing hydrodynamic models that align with projected future climate and ocean conditions. Both publicly available and site-specific data form the basis for a risk assessment methodology designed to translate inundation model outputs into statistically significant projections of expected financial and operational consequences. This integrated approach produces measurable indicators of impacts stemming from floods, encompassing economic and other dimensions. By establishing connections between the frequency of modeled flood events and their consequences across a spectrum of potential future climate conditions, our methodology generates probabilistic risk assessments. These assessments not only account for future uncertainty but also yield comparable metrics, such as expected annual losses for each inundation event. These metrics furnish stakeholders with a dependable dataset to guide strategic planning and inform investments in mitigation. Importantly, the model's adaptability ensures its relevance across diverse coastal environments, even in instances where site-specific data for analysis may be limited.

Keywords: climate, coastal, surge, risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Su Yin Chiam, Qing Xin Zhang, Jaehoon Chung

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Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits (ICs) have obtained increased attention in the biosensor community because CMOS technology provides cost-effective and high-performance signal processing at a mass-production level. In order to supply biological samples and reagents effectively to the sensing elements, there are increasing demands for seamless integration of microfluidic components on the fabricated CMOS wafers by post-processing. Although the PDMS microfluidic channels replicated from separately prepared silicon mold can be typically aligned and bonded onto the CMOS wafers, it remains challenging owing the inherently limited aligning accuracy ( > ± 10 μm) between the two layers. Here we present a new post-processing method to create three-dimensional microfluidic components using two different polarities of photoresists, an epoxy-based negative SU-8 photoresist and positive SPR220-7 photoresist. The positive photoresist serves as a sacrificial layer and the negative photoresist was utilized as a structural material to generate three-dimensional structures. Because both photoresists are patterned using a standard photolithography technology, the dimensions of the structures can be effectively controlled as well as the alignment accuracy, moreover, is dramatically improved (< ± 2 μm) and appropriately can be adopted as an alternative post-processing method. To validate the proposed processing method, we applied this technique to build cell-trapping structures. The SU8 photoresist was mainly used to generate structures and the SPR photoresist was used as a sacrificial layer to generate sub-channel in the SU8, allowing fluid to pass through. The sub-channel generated by etching the sacrificial layer works as a cell-capturing site. The well-controlled dimensions enabled single-cell capturing on each site and high-accuracy alignment made cells trapped exactly on the sensing units of CMOS biosensors.

Keywords: SU-8, microfluidic, MEMS, microfabrication

Procedia PDF Downloads 507

Authors: Alexandre D. Ferraz, Dario H. Alliprandini, Mauro Sampaio

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Companies and other institutions are constantly seeking better organizational performance and greater competitiveness. In order to fulfill this purpose, there are many tools, methodologies and models for increasing performance. However, the Lean Management approach seems to be the most effective in terms of achieving a significant improvement in productivity relatively quickly. Although Lean tools are relatively easy to understand and implement in different contexts, many organizations are not able to transform themselves into 'Lean companies'. Most of the efforts in its implementation have shown single benefits, failing to achieve the desired impact on the performance of the overall enterprise system. There is also a growing perception of the importance of management in Lean transformation, but few studies have empirically investigated and described the 'Lean Management'. In order to understand more clearly the ideas that guide Lean Management and its influence on the maturity level of the production system, the objective of this research is analyze the relationship between the Lean Management principles and the Lean maturity level in the organizations. The research also analyzes the principles of Lean Management and its relationship with the 'Lean culture' and the results obtained. The research was developed using the case study methodology. Three manufacturing units of a German multinational company from industrial automation segment, located in different countries were studied, in order to have a better comparison between the practices and the level of maturity in the implementation. The primary source of information was the application of a research questionnaire based on the theoretical review. The research showed that higher the level of Lean Management principles, higher are the Lean maturity level, the Lean culture level, and the level of Lean results obtained in the organization. The research also showed that factors such as time for application of Lean concepts and company size were not determinant for the level of Lean Management principles and, consequently, for the level of Lean maturity in the organization. The characteristics of the production system showed much more influence in different evaluated aspects. The present research also left recommendations for the managers of the plants analyzed and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: lean management, lean principles, lean maturity level, lean manufacturing

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Authors: Khawaja A. Wahaj Wani, Aykut Erkal

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Pakistan's construction industry, a key player in economic development, has experienced remarkable growth. However, the surge in activities has been accompanied by dangerous working conditions, attributed to legislative gaps and flaws. Unhealthy construction practices, uncertain site conditions, and hazardous environments contribute to a concerning rate of injuries and fatalities. The principal aim of this research study is to undertake a thorough evaluation based on the assessment of the current situation of Health & Safety policies and the surveys performed by stakeholders of Pakistan with the aim of providing solution-centric methodologies for the enforcement of health and safety regulations within construction companies operating on project sites. Recognizing the pivotal role that the construction industry plays in bolstering a nation's economy, it is imperative to address the pressing need for heightened awareness among site engineers and laborers. The study adopts a robust approach, utilizing questionnaire surveys and interviews. As an exclusive investigative study, it encompasses all stakeholders: clients, consultants, contractors, and subcontractors. Targeting PEC-registered companies. Safety performance was assessed through the examination of sixty safety procedures using SPSS-18. A high Cronbach's alpha value of 0.958 ensures data reliability, and non-parametric tests were employed due to the non-normal distribution of data. The safety performance evaluation revealed significant insights. "Using Hoists and Cranes" and "Precautionary Measures (Shoring and Excavation)" exhibited commendable safety levels. Conversely, "Trainings on Safety" displayed a lower safety performance, alongside areas such as "Safety in Contract Documentation," "Meetings for Safety," and "Worker Participation," indicating room for improvement. These findings provide stakeholders with a detailed understanding of current safety measures within Pakistan's construction industry.

Keywords: construction industry, health and safety regulations, Pakistan, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Kadri-Ann Kertsmik, Martin Talvik, Kimmo Lylykangas, Simo Ilomets, Targo Kalamees

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This study compares the building carbon footprint (CF) values for a case study of a private house located in a cold climate, using the Level(s) methodology. It provides a framework for measuring the environmental performance of buildings throughout their life cycle, taking into account various factors. The study presents the results of the three scenarios, comparing their carbon emissions and highlighting the benefits of circular material usage. The construction process was thoroughly documented, and all materials and components (including minuscule mechanical fasteners, each meter of cable, a kilogram of mortar, and the component of HVAC systems, among other things) delivered to the construction site were noted. Transportation distances of each delivery, the fuel consumption of construction machines, and electricity consumption for temporary heating and electrical tools were also monitored. Using the detailed data on material and energy resources, the CF was calculated for two scenarios: one where circular material usage was applied and another where virgin materials were used instead of reused ones. The results were compared with the CF calculated based on the building permit design model using the Level(s) methodology. To study the range of possible results in the early stage of CF assessment, the same building permit design was given to several experts. Results showed that embodied carbon values for a built scenario were significantly lower than the values predicted by the building permit stage as a result of more precise material quantities, as the calculation methodology is designed to overestimate the CF. Moreover, designers made an effort to reduce the building's CF by reusing certain materials such as ceramic tiles, lightweight concrete blocks, and timber during the construction process. However, in a cold climate context where operational energy (B6) continues to dominate, the total building CF value changes between the three scenarios were less significant. The calculation for the building permit project was performed by several experts, and CF results were in the same range. It alludes that, for the first estimation of preliminary building CF, using average values proves to be an appropriate method for the Estonian national carbon footprint estimation phase during building permit application. The study also identified several opportunities for reducing the carbon footprint of the building, such as reusing materials from other construction sites, preferring local material producers, and reducing wastage on site. The findings suggest that using circular materials can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of buildings. Overall, the study highlights the importance of using a comprehensive approach to measure the environmental performance of buildings, taking into account both the project and the actually built house. It also emphasises the need for ongoing monitoring for designing the building and construction site waste. The study also gives some examples of how to enable future circularity of building components and materials, e.g., building in layers, using wood as untreated, etc.

Keywords: carbon footprint, circular economy, sustainable construction, level(s) methodology

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Authors: Iruka C. Anugwo, Winston M. Shakantu

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The objective of this study is to uncover the basic business-forces that necessitated the survival and sustainable performance of the medium scale contractors in the South African construction market. This study is essential as it set to contribute towards long-term strategic solutions for combating the incessant failure of start-ups construction organizations within South African. The study used a qualitative research methodology; as the most appropriate approach to elicit and understand, and uncover the phenomena that are basic business-forces for the active contractors in the market. The study also adopted a phenomenological study approach; and in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 medium scale contractors in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, between months of August to October 2015. This allowed for an in-depth understanding of the critical and basic business-forces that influenced their survival and performance beyond the first five years of business operation. Findings of the study showed that for potential contractors (startups), to survival in the competitive business environment such as construction industry, they must possess the basic business-forces. These forces are educational knowledge in construction and business management related disciplines, adequate industrial experiences, competencies and capabilities to delivery excellent services and products as well as embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship. Convincingly, it can be concluded that the strategic approach to minimize the endless failure of startups construction businesses; the potential construction contractors must endeavoring to access and acquire the basic educationally knowledge, training and qualification; need to acquire industrial experiences in collaboration with required competencies, capabilities and entrepreneurship acumen. Without these basic business-forces as been discovered in this study, the majority of the contractors gaining entrance in the market will find it difficult to develop and grow a competitive and sustainable construction organization in South Africa.

Keywords: basic business-forces, medium scale contractors, South Africa, sustainable organisations

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Gampel Alexander, Mazzuchi Thomas, Sarkani Shahram

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The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, and organizations must adapt to the changing threat environment to protect their assets. The implementation of the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) has become critical in ensuring the security and safety of industrial control and automation systems. However, cybersecurity professionals are facing challenges in implementing RMF, leading to systems operating without authorization and being non-compliant with regulations. The current approach to RMF implementation based on business practices is limited and insufficient, leaving organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks resulting in the loss of personal consumer data and critical infrastructure details. To address these challenges, this research proposes a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to implementing cybersecurity controls and assessing risk through the RMF process. The study emphasizes the need to shift to a modeling approach, which can streamline the RMF process and eliminate bloated structures that make it difficult to receive an Authorization-To-Operate (ATO). The study focuses on the practical application of MBSE in industrial control and automation systems to improve the security and safety of operations. It is concluded that MBSE can be used to solve the implementation challenges of the NIST RMF process and improve the security of industrial control and automation systems. The research suggests that MBSE provides a more effective and efficient method for implementing cybersecurity controls and assessing risk through the RMF process. The future work for this research involves exploring the broader applicability of MBSE in different industries and domains. The study suggests that the MBSE approach can be applied to other domains beyond industrial control and automation systems.

Keywords: authorization-to-operate (ATO), industrial control systems (ICS), model-based system’s engineering (MBSE), risk management framework (RMF)

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Authors: Kerry Mackereth

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Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality has become immensely influential in the fields of women’s and gender studies. However, intersectionality’s widespread use among feminist scholars and activists has been accompanied by critiques of its reliance upon subject categorization. These critiques are of particular import when connected to Wendy Brown’s characterization of identity politics as static 'wounded attachments'. Together, these critiques show how the gridlock model proposed by intersectionality’s primary metaphor, the traffic accident at the intersection, is useful for identifying discrimination but not for remembering historical injustices or imagining feminist and anti-racist resistance. Through the lens of New Zealand Maori film, focusing upon Once Were Warriors (1994) and Whale Rider (2002), this article examines how wounded histories need not be passively reproduced by contemporaneously oppressed groups. Instead, the metaphor of the traffic intersection should be complemented by the metaphor of the wound. Against Brown’s characterization of wounded attachments as negative, static identities, Gloria Anzaldua’s account of the borderland between the United States and Mexico as “una herida abierta”, an open wound, offers an alternative reading of the wound. Through Anzaldua’s and Hortense Spillers’ political thought, the wound is reconceptualized as not only a site of suffering but also as a regenerative space. The coexistence of deterioration and regeneration at the site of the wound underpins the narrative arc of both Once Were Warriors and Whale Rider. In both films, the respective child protagonists attempt to reconcile the pain of wounded histories with the imagination of cultural regeneration. The metaphor of the wound thus serves as an alternative theoretical resource for mapping experiences of oppression, one that enriches feminist theory by balancing the remembrance of historical grievance with the forging of hopeful political projects.

Keywords: gender theory, historical grievance, intersectionality, New Zealand film, postcolonialism

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Authors: Aydın Kavak, Özkan Coruk, Adnan Aydıner

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Long-term performance of pavement structures is significantly impacted by the stability of the underlying soils. In situ subgrades often do not provide enough support required to achieve acceptable performance under traffic loading and environmental demands. NovoCrete® is a powder binder-mineral for cement stabilized road pavements soils. NovoCrete® combined with Portland cement at optimum water content increases the crystallize formations during the hydration process, resulting in higher strengths, neutralizes pH levels, and provides water impermeability. These changes in soil properties may lead to transforming existing unsuitable in-situ materials into suitable fill materials. The main features of NovoCrete® are: They are applicable to all types of soil, reduce premature cracking and improve soil properties, creating base and subbase course layers with high bearing capacity by reducing hazardous materials. It can be used also for stabilization of recyclable aggregates and old asphalt pavement aggregate, etc. There are many applications in Germany, Turkey, India etc. In this paper, a few field application in Turkey will be discussed. In the road construction works, this binder material is used for cement stabilization works. In the applications 120-180 kg cement is used for 1 m3 of soil with a 2 % of binder NovoCrete® material for the stabilization. The results of a plate loading test in a road construction site show 1 mm deformation which is very small under 7 kg/cm2 loading. The modulus of subgrade reaction increase from 611 MN/m3 to 3673 MN/m3.The soaked CBR values for stabilized soils increase from 10-20 % to 150-200 %. According to these data weak subgrade soil can be used as a base or sub base after the modification. The potential reduction in the need for quarried materials will help conserve natural resources. The use of on-site or nearby materials in fills, will significantly reduce transportation costs and provide both economic and environmental benefits.

Keywords: soil, stabilization, cement, binder, Novocrete, additive

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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Introduction. One of the most important issues of state economic policy in the 21st century is the problem of environmental protection. The Georgian government considers the green economy as one of the most important means of sustainable economic development and takes the initiative to implement voluntary measures to promote sustainable development. In this context, it is important to promote the development of ecosystem services, clean production, environmental education and green jobs.The development of the green economy significantly reduces the inefficient use of natural resources, waste generation, emissions into the atmosphere and the discharge of untreated water into bodies of water.It is, therefore, an important instrument in the environmental orientation of sustainable development. Objectives.The aim of the paper is to analyze the current status of the green economy in Georgia and identify effective ways to improve the environmental, economic policy of sustainable development. Methodologies: This paper uses general and specific methods, in particular, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, scientific abstraction, comparative and statistical methods, as well as experts’ evaluation. bibliographic research of scientific works and reports of organizations was conducted; Publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia are used to determine the regularity between analytical and statistical estimations. Also, theoretical and applied research of international organizations and scientist-economists are used. Contributions: The country should implement such an economic policy that ensures the transition to a green economy, in particular, revising water, air and waste laws, strengthening existing environmental management tools and introcing new tools (including economic tools). Perfecting the regulatory legal framework of the environmental impact assessment system, which includes the harmonization of Georgian legislation with the requirements of the European Union. To ensure the protection and rational use of Georgia's forests, emphasis should be placed on sustainable forestry, protection and restoration of forests.

Keywords: green economy, environmental protection, environmental protection economic policy, environmental protection policy challanges

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Authors: Pravin Kumar, Rajendra K. Singh, Prabhakar Singh

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A widespread research work on Mo-based double perovskite systems has been reported as a potential application for electrode materials of solid oxide fuel cells. Mo-based double perovskites studied in form of B-site ordered double perovskite materials, with general formula A₂B′B″O₆ structured by alkaline earth element (A = Sr, Ca, Ba) and heterovalent transition metals (B′ = Fe, Co, Ni, Cr, etc. and B″ = Mo, W, etc.), are raising a significant interest as potential mixed ionic-electronic conductors in the temperature range of 500-800 °C. Such systems reveal higher electrical conductivity, particularly those assigned in form of Sr₂CoMoO₆₋δ (M = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn etc.) which were studied in different environments (air/H₂/H₂-Ar/CH₄) at an intermediate temperature. Among them, the Sr₂CoMoO₆₋δ system is a potential candidate as an anode material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) due to its better electrical conductivity. Therefore, Sr₂CoMoO₆₋δ (SCM) system with La-doped on Sr site has been studied to discover the structural and electrical properties. The double perovskite system Sr₂CoMoO₆₋δ (SCM) and doped system Sr₂-ₓLaₓCoMoO₆₋δ (SLCM, x=0.04) were synthesized by the citrate-nitrate combustion synthesis route. Thermal studies were carried out by thermo-gravimetric analysis. Phase justification was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) as a tetragonal structure with space group I4/m. A minor phase of SrMoO₄ (s.g. I41/a) was identified as a secondary phase using JCPDS card no. 85-0586. Micro-structural investigations revealed the formation of uniform grains. The average grain size of undoped (SCM) and doped (SLCM) compositions was calculated by a linear intercept method and found to be ⁓3.8 μm and 2.7 μm, respectively. The electrical conductivity of SLCM is found higher than SCM in the air within the temperature range of 200-600 °C. SLCM system was also measured in reducing atmosphere (pure H₂) in the temperature range 300-600 °C. SLCM has been showed the higher conductivity in the reducing atmosphere (H₂) than in air and therefore it could be a promising anode material for SOFCs.

Keywords: double perovskite, electrical conductivity, SEM, XRD

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Authors: Andrea Vega-Tinoco, Ana I. Gil-Lacruz, Marta Gil-Lacruz

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The main objective of this research is to acknowledge whether civic participation affects the well-being of the elderly, thus being a key activity of active aging. It is also of interest to recognize any differences among genders, generational cohorts or country of residence. If a positive relationship is found between civic participation and well-being, the actions that promote this participation will benefit the quality of life of senior citizens. Otherwise, independent action must be taken in the improvement of social and human capital. The sample consists of approximately 50.000 individuals from the European Social Survey (2002-2016). Only individuals born before 1965 in 15 European countries were considered. The sample was distributed according to gender, year of birth, country, level of studies and ESS wave to form pseudo-panel data cohorts, leaving a total of 1.318 observations. The data were analyzed through a Cross-Lagged Model using Fixed-Effects. A bidirectional association is observed between the civic participation and well-being variables. However, participating in the past seems to have a higher impact on today’s health, happiness and life satisfaction than the other way around. Furthermore, 26% of the respondents expressed to be satisfied with their life, 27% to be happy and 57% to have good health. On the other hand, 49% have participated civically in the last year, being the most common activities: signing petitions, boycotting products and volunteer work in non-political organizations. A slight trend of BabyBoomers and men towards greater participation can be observed, as well as a higher impact of this participation on their well-being. In addition, international differences exhibit a stronger relation for Nordic, East European and Mediterranean countries. The given results support the hypothesis that civic participation is a promoter of well-being for the elderly. This paper positively highlights the activity of involving in political and non-political organizations, as well as wearing badges. At any rate, almost all forms of civic participation show a positive relationship with well-being and should therefore be promoted, although differences between countries must be taken into consideration.

Keywords: active aging, civic participation, Europe, well-being

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Authors: Anshika Kankane, Dongshik Kang

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Marine debris has a significant influence on coastal environments, damaging biodiversity, and causing loss and damage to marine and ocean sector. A functional cost-effective and automatic approach has been used to look up at this problem. Computer vision combined with a deep learning-based model is being proposed to identify and categorize marine debris of seven kinds on different beach locations of Japan. This research compares state-of-the-art deep learning models with a suggested model architecture that is utilized as a feature extractor for debris categorization. The model is being proposed to detect seven categories of litter using a manually constructed debris dataset, with the help of Mask R-CNN for instance segmentation and a shape matching network called HOGShape, which can then be cleaned on time by clean-up organizations using warning notifications of the system. The manually constructed dataset for this system is created by annotating the images taken by fixed KaKaXi camera using CVAT annotation tool with seven kinds of category labels. A pre-trained HOG feature extractor on LIBSVM is being used along with multiple templates matching on HOG maps of images and HOG maps of templates to improve the predicted masked images obtained via Mask R-CNN training. This system intends to timely alert the cleanup organizations with the warning notifications using live recorded beach debris data. The suggested network results in the improvement of misclassified debris masks of debris objects with different illuminations, shapes, viewpoints and litter with occlusions which have vague visibility.

Keywords: computer vision, debris, deep learning, fixed live camera images, histogram of gradients feature extractor, instance segmentation, manually annotated dataset, multiple template matching

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Authors: Sheikh Omar Sillah

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Introduction: Monitoring is an important means of ensuring the smooth implementation and quality of clinical trials. For many years, traditional site monitoring approaches have been critical in detecting data errors but not optimal in identifying fabricated and implanted data as well as non-random data distributions that may significantly invalidate study results. The objective of this paper was to provide recommendations based on best statistical monitoring practices for detecting data-integrity issues suggestive of fabrication and implantation early in the study conduct to allow implementation of meaningful corrective and preventive actions. Methodology: Electronic bibliographic databases (Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were used for the literature search, and both qualitative and quantitative studies were sought. Search results were uploaded into Eppi-Reviewer Software, and only publications written in the English language from 2012 were included in the review. Gray literature not considered to present reproducible methods was excluded. Results: A total of 18 peer-reviewed publications were included in the review. The publications demonstrated that traditional site monitoring techniques are not efficient in detecting data anomalies. By specifying project-specific parameters such as laboratory reference range values, visit schedules, etc., with appropriate interactive data monitoring, statistical monitoring can offer early signals of data anomalies to study teams. The review further revealed that statistical monitoring is useful to identify unusual data patterns that might be revealing issues that could impact data integrity or may potentially impact study participants' safety. However, subjective measures may not be good candidates for statistical monitoring. Conclusion: The statistical monitoring approach requires a combination of education, training, and experience sufficient to implement its principles in detecting data anomalies for the statistical aspects of a clinical trial.

Keywords: statistical monitoring, data anomalies, clinical trials, traditional monitoring

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Authors: S. Cafiso, B. Capace, A. Di Graziano, C. D’Agostino

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Systematic monitoring of the trackbed is necessary to assure safety and quality of service in the railway system. Moreover, to produce effective management of the maintenance treatments, the assessment of bearing capacity of the railway trackbed must include ballast, sub-ballast and subgrade layers at different depths. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in obtaining a consistent measure of ballast bearing capacity with no destructive tests (NDTs) able to work in the physical and time restrictions of railway tracks in operation. Moreover, in the case of the local railway with reduced gauge, the use of the traditional high-speed track monitoring systems is not feasible. In that framework, this paper presents results from in site investigation carried out on ballast and sleepers with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Light Falling Weight Deflectometer (LWD). These equipment are currently used in road pavement maintenance where they have shown their reliability and effectiveness. Application of such Non-Destructive Tests in railway maintenance is promising but in the early stage of the investigation. More specifically, LWD was used to estimate the stiffness of ballast and sleeper support, as well. LWD, despite the limited load (6 kN in the trial test) applied directly on the sleeper, was able to detect defects in the bearing capacity at the Sleeper/Ballast interface. A dual frequency GPR was applied to detect the presence of layers’ discontinuities at different depths due to fouling phenomena that are the main causes of changing in the layer dielectric proprieties within the ballast thickness. The frequency of 2000Mhz provided high-resolution data to approximately 0.4m depth, while frequency of 600Mhz showed greater depth penetration up to 1.5 m. In the paper literature review and trial in site experience are used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) of the application of GPR and LWD for the assessment of bearing capacity of railway track-bed.

Keywords: bearing capacity, GPR, LWD, no destructive test, railway track

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Authors: Behzad Hezarkhani, Greys Sosic

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Collaborative purchasing and replenishment have proven to be beneficial in supply chain management. This talk addresses the situation where buyers, potentially in possession of private procurement channels, carry out cooperative purchasing by submitting their bids to a coordinator. The collaborative organization is faced with two basic decisions: (1) who will be allocated with the products, and (2) how much each party should pay. We discuss mechanisms that could achieve desirable outcomes in this settings with special attention to the strategic behavior of the buyers.

Keywords: supply chain management, group purchasing organizations, game theory, mechanism design

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Authors: Michael Mertel, Lars Friedrich, Kai-Ingo Voigt

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Based on principle-agent theory, an information asymmetry exists in the traditional donation process. Consumers cannot comprehend whether nonprofit organizations (NPOs) use raised funds according to the designated cause after the transaction took place (hidden action). Therefore, charity organizations have tried to appear transparent and gain trust by using the same marketing instruments for decades (e.g., releasing project success reports). However, none of these measures can guarantee consumers that charities will use their donations for the purpose. With awareness of misuse of donations rising due to the Ukraine conflict (e.g., funding crime), consumers are increasingly concerned about the destination of their charitable purposes. Therefore, innovative charities like the Human Rights Foundation have started to offer donations via blockchain. Blockchain technology has the potential to establish profound trust and transparency in the donation process: Consumers can publicly track the progress of their donation at any time after deciding to donate. This ensures that the charity is not using donations against its original intent. Hence, the aim is to investigate the effect of blockchain-enabled transactions on the willingness to donate. Sample and Design: To investigate consumers' behavior, we use a scenario-based experiment. After removing participants (e.g., due to failed attention checks), 3192 potential donors participated (47.9% female, 62.4% bachelor or above). Procedure: We randomly assigned the participants to one of two scenarios. In all conditions, the participants read a scenario about a fictive charity organization called "Helper NPO." Afterward, the participants answered questions regarding their perception of the charity. Manipulation: The first scenario (n = 1405) represents a typical donation process, where consumers donate money without any option to track and trace. The second scenario (n = 1787) represents a donation process via blockchain, where consumers can track and trace their donations respectively. Using t-statistics, the findings demonstrate a positive effect of donating via blockchain on participants’ willingness to donate (mean difference = 0.667, p < .001, Cohen’s d effect size = 0.482). A mediation analysis shows significant effects for the mediation of transparency (Estimate = 0.199, p < .001), trust (Estimate = 0.144, p < .001), and transparency and trust (Estimate = 0.158, p < .001). The total effect of blockchain usage on participants’ willingness to donate (Estimate = 0.690, p < .001) consists of the direct effect (Estimate = 0.189, p < .001) and the indirect effects of transparency and trust (Estimate = 0.501, p < .001). Furthermore, consumers' affinity for technology moderates the direct effect of blockchain usage on participants' willingness to donate (Estimate = 0.150, p < .001). Donating via blockchain is a promising way for charities to engage consumers for several reasons: (1) Charities can emphasize trust and transparency in their advertising campaigns. (2) Established charities can target new customer segments by specifically engaging technology-affine consumers in the future. (3) Charities can raise international funds without previous barriers (e.g., setting up bank accounts). Nevertheless, increased transparency can also backfire (e.g., disclosure of costs). Such cases require further research.

Keywords: blockchain, social sector, transparency, trust

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Authors: Yung-Chung Chuang

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The cultural layers of archaeological sites are mainly affected by surface land use, land cover, and root system of surface vegetation. For this reason, continuous monitoring of land use and land cover change is important for archaeological sites protection and management. However, in actual operation, on-site investigation and orthogonal photograph interpretation require a lot of time and manpower. For this reason, it is necessary to perform a good alternative for surface vegetation survey in an automated or semi-automated manner. In this study, we applied semi-automatic digital aerial survey technology and canopy characters classification with very high-resolution aerial photographs for surface vegetation interpretation of archaeological sites. The main idea is based on different landscape or forest type can easily be distinguished with canopy characters (e.g., specific texture distribution, shadow effects and gap characters) extracted by semi-automatic image classification. A novel methodology to classify the shape of canopy characters using landscape indices and multivariate statistics was also proposed. Non-hierarchical cluster analysis was used to assess the optimal number of canopy character clusters and canonical discriminant analysis was used to generate the discriminant functions for canopy character classification (seven categories). Therefore, people could easily predict the forest type and vegetation land cover by corresponding to the specific canopy character category. The results showed that the semi-automatic classification could effectively extract the canopy characters of forest and vegetation land cover. As for forest type and vegetation type prediction, the average prediction accuracy reached 80.3%~91.7% with different sizes of test frame. It represented this technology is useful for archaeological site survey, and can improve the classification efficiency and data update rate.

Keywords: digital aerial survey, canopy characters classification, archaeological sites, multivariate statistics

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Authors: Hui-Chen Tsai, Chien-Jen Ho, Bo-Wei Power Liang, Ying Shen, Yi-Hsin Lai

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Former Taiwan Metal Mining Corporation and its associated 3 wasted flue gas tunnels, hereinafter referred to as 'TMMC', was contaminated with heavy metals, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) in soil. Since the contamination had been exposed and unmanaged in the environment for more than 40 years, the extent of the contamination area is estimated to be more than 25 acres. Additionally, TMMC is located in a remote, mountainous area where almost no residents are residing in the 1-km radius area. Thus, it was deemed necessary to conduct an ecological risk assessment in order to evaluate the details of future contaminated site management plan. According to the winter and summer, ecological investigation results, one type of endangered, multiple vulnerable and near threaten plant was discovered, as well as numerous other protected species, such as Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Black Kite, Brown Shrike, Taiwan Blue Magpie were observed. Ecological soil screening level (Eco-SSLs) developed by USEPA was adopted as a reference to conduct screening assessment. Since all the protected species observed surrounding TMMC site were birds, screening ecological risk assessment was conducted on birds only. The assessment was assessed mainly based on the chemical evaluation, which the contamination in different environmental media was compared directly with the ecological impact levels (EIL) of each evaluation endpoints and the respective hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) could be obtained. The preliminary ecological risk assessment results indicated HI is greater than 1. In other words, the biological stressors (birds) were exposed to the contamination, which was already exceeded the dosage that could cause unacceptable impacts to the ecological system. This result was mainly due to the high concentration of arsenic, metal and lead; thus it was suggested the above mention contaminants should be remediated as soon as possible or proper risk management measures should be taken.

Keywords: screening, ecological risk assessment, ecological impact levels, risk management

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Authors: Yasser R. Shaban

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A practical multipurpose device for medical isotopes production is most wanted for clinical centers and researches. Unfortunately, the major supply of these radioisotopes currently comes from aging sources, and there is a great deal of uneasiness in the domestic market. There are also many cases where the cost of certain radioisotopes is too high for their introduction on a commercial scale even though the isotopes might have great benefits for society. The medical isotopes such as radiotracers PET (Positron Emission Tomography), Technetium-99 m, and Iodine-131, Lutetium-177 by is feasible to be generated by a single unit named IEMC (Inertial Electrostatic Magnetic Confinement). The IEMC fusion vessel is the upgrading unit of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement IEC fusion vessel. Comprehensive experimental works on IEC were carried earlier with promising results. The principle of inertial electrostatic magnetic confinement IEMC fusion is based on forcing the binary fuel ions to interact in the opposite directions in ions cyclotrons orbits with different kinetic energies in order to have equal compression (forces) and with different ion cyclotron frequency ω in order to increase the rate of intersection. The IEMC features greater fusion volume than IEC by several orders of magnitude. The particles rate from the IEMC approach are projected to be 8.5 x 10¹¹ (p/s), ~ 0.2 microampere proton, for D/He-3 fusion reaction and 4.2 x 10¹² (n/s) for D/T fusion reaction. The projected values of particles yield (neutrons and protons) are suitable for medical isotope productions on-site by a single unit without any change in the fusion vessel but only the fuel gas. The PET radiotracers are usually produced on-site by medical ion accelerator whereas Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is usually produced off-site from the irradiation facilities of nuclear power plants. Typically, hospitals receive molybdenum-99 isotope container; the isotope decays to Tc-99mwith half-life time 2.75 days. Even though the projected current from IEMC is lesser than the proton current from the medical ion accelerator but still the IEMC vessel is simpler, and reduced in components and power consumption which add a new value of populating the PET radiotracers in most clinical centers. On the other hand, the projected neutrons flux from the IEMC is lesser than the thermal neutron flux at the irradiation facilities of nuclear power plants, but in the IEMC case the productions of Technetium-99m is suggested to be at the resonance region of which the resonance integral cross section is two orders of magnitude higher than the thermal flux. Thus it can be said the net activity from both is evened. Besides, the particle accelerator cannot be considered a multipurpose particles production unless a significant change is made to the accelerator to change from neutrons mode to protons mode or vice versa. In conclusion, the projected fusion yield from IEMC is a straightforward since slightly change in the primer IEC and ion source is required.

Keywords: electrostatic versus magnetic confinement fusion vessel, ion source, medical isotopes productions, neutron activation

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Authors: Rajashree Naik, Laxmi Kant Sharma

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Sambhar lake is the largest inland Salt Lake of India, declared as a Ramsar site on 23 March 1990. Due to high salinity and alkalinity condition its biodiversity richness is contributed by haloalkaliphilic flora and fauna along with the diverse land cover including waterbody, wetland, salt crust, saline soil, vegetation, scrub land and barren land which welcome large number of flamingos and other migratory birds for winter harboring. But with the gradual increase in the irrational salt extraction activities, the ecological diversity is at stake. There is an urgent need to assess the ecosystem. Advanced technology like remote sensing and GIS has enabled to look into the past, compare with the present for the future planning and management of the natural resources in a judicious way. This paper is a research work intended to present a vegetation in typical inland lake environment of Sambhar wetland using satellite data of NASA’s EO-1 Hyperion sensor launched in November 2000. With the spectral range of 0.4 to 2.5 micrometer at approximately 10nm spectral resolution with 242 bands 30m spatial resolution and 705km orbit was used to produce a vegetation map for a portion of the wetland. The vegetation map was tested for classification accuracy with a pre-existing detailed GIS wetland vegetation database. Though the accuracy varied greatly for different classes the algal communities were successfully identified which are the major sources of food for flamingo. The results from this study have practical implications for uses of spaceborne hyperspectral image data that are now becoming available. Practical limitations of using these satellite data for wetland vegetation mapping include inadequate spatial resolution, complexity of image processing procedures, and lack of stereo viewing.

Keywords: Algal community, NASA’s EO-1 Hyperion, salt-tolerant species, wetland vegetation mapping

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Authors: Erkingul Soltanaeva, Omyrkhan Abdimanuly, Alua Temirbolat

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In this article, the public and social functions of literature and art in the Republic of Kazakhstan were analyzed on the basis of formal and informal literary organizations. The external and internal, subjective and objective factors which influenced the modern literary process were determined. The literary forces, their consolidation, types of organization in the art of word were examined. The periods of the literary process as planning, organization, promotion, and evaluation and their leading forces and approaches were analyzed. The right point of view to the language and mentality of the society force will influence to the literary process. The Ministry of Culture, the Writers' Union of RK and various non-governmental organizations are having different events for the promotion of literary process and to glorify literary personalities in the entire territory of Kazakhstan. According to the cultural plan of different state administration, there was a big program in order to publish their literary encyclopedia, to glorify and distribute books of own poets and writers of their region to the country. All of these official measures will increase the reader's interest in the book and will also bring up people to the patriotic education and improve the status of the native language. The professional literary publications such as the newspaper ‘Kazakh literature’, magazine ‘Zhuldyz’, and journal ‘Zhalyn’ materials which were published in the periods 2013-2015 on the basis of statistical analysis of the Kazakh literature topical to the issues and the field of themes are identified and their level of connection with the public situations are defined. The creative freedom, relations between society and the individual, the state of the literature, the problems of advantages and disadvantages were taken into consideration in the same articles. The level of functions was determined through the public role of literature, social feature, personal peculiarities. Now the stages as the literature management planning, organization, motivation, as well as the evaluation are forming and developing in Kazakhstan. But we still need the development of literature management to satisfy the actual requirements of the today’s agenda.

Keywords: literature management, material, literary process, social functions

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Authors: Diana Larisa Vladoiu, Vasile Ostafe, Adriana Isvoran

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Molecular docking calculations reveal that pesticides provide favorable interactions with the bacterial chitinases. Pesticides interact with both hydrophilic and aromatic residues involved in the active site of the enzymes, their positions partially overlapping the substrate and the inhibitors locations. Molecular docking outcomes, in correlation with experimental literature data, suggest that the pesticides may be degraded or having an inhibitor effect on the activity of these enzymes, depending of the application dose and rate.

Keywords: chitinases, inhibition, molecular docking, pesticides

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Authors: Amèdédjihundé H. J. Hounnou, Frédéric Dubas, François-Xavier Fifatin, Didier Chamagne, Antoine Vianou

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This paper presents the techno-economic evaluation of run-of-river small-hydropower plants. In this regard, a multi-objective optimization procedure is proposed for the optimal sizing of the hydropower plants, and NSGAII is employed as the optimization algorithm. Annual generated energy and investment cost are considered as the objective functions, and number of generator units (n) and nominal turbine flow rate (Q_T) constitute the decision variables. Site of Yeripao in Benin is considered as the case study. We have categorized the river of this site using its environmental characteristics: gross head, and first quartile, median, third quartile and mean of flow. Effects of each decision variable on the objective functions are analysed. The results gave Pareto Front which represents the trade-offs between annual energy generation and the investment cost of hydropower plants, as well as the recommended optimal solutions. We noted that with the increase of the annual energy generation, the investment cost rises. Thus, maximizing energy generation is contradictory with minimizing the investment cost. Moreover, we have noted that the solutions of Pareto Front are grouped according to the number of generator units (n). The results also illustrate that the costs per kWh are grouped according to the n and rise with the increase of the nominal turbine flow rate. The lowest investment costs per kWh are obtained for n equal to one and are between 0.065 and 0.180 €/kWh. Following the values of n (equal to 1, 2, 3 or 4), the investment cost and investment cost per kWh increase almost linearly with increasing the nominal turbine flowrate while annual generated. Energy increases logarithmically with increasing of the nominal turbine flowrate. This study made for the Yeripao river can be applied to other rivers with their own characteristics.

Keywords: hydropower plant, investment cost, multi-objective optimization, number of generator units

Procedia PDF Downloads 148