Search results for: building energy simulation

Authors: Pieter A. Cornelissen, Joris J. Van Hoof

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The interest in improving occupational safety started almost simultaneously with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, it was not until the late 1970’s before the role of communication was considered in scientific research regarding occupational safety. In recent years the importance of communication as a means to improve occupational safety has increased. Not only as communication might have a direct effect on safety performance and safety outcomes, but also as it can be viewed as a major component of other important safety-related elements (e.g., training, safety meetings, leadership). And while safety communication is an increasingly important topic in research, its operationalization is often vague and differs among studies. This is not only problematic when comparing results, but also in applying these results to practice and the work floor. By means of an in-depth analysis—building on an existing dataset—this review aims to overcome these problems. The initial database search yielded 25.527 articles, which was reduced to a research corpus of 176 articles. Focusing on the 37 articles of this corpus that addressed communication (related to safety outcomes and safety performance), the current study will provide a comprehensive overview of the role and effects of safety communication and outlines the conditions under which communication contributes to a safer work environment. The study shows that in literature a distinction is commonly made between safety communication (i.e., the exchange or dissemination of safety-related information) and feedback (i.e. a reactive form of communication). And although there is a consensus among researchers that both communication and feedback positively affect safety performance, there is a debate about the directness of this relationship. Whereas some researchers assume a direct relationship between safety communication and safety performance, others state that this relationship is mediated by safety climate. One of the key findings is that despite the strongly present view that safety communication is a formal and top-down safety management tool, researchers stress the importance of open communication that encourages and allows employees to express their worries, experiences, views, and share information. This raises questions with regard to other directions (e.g., bottom-up, horizontal) and forms of communication (e.g., informal). The current review proposes a framework to overcome the often vague and different operationalizations of safety communication. The proposed framework can be used to characterize safety communication in terms of stakeholders, direction, and characteristics of communication (e.g., medium usage).

Keywords: communication, feedback, occupational safety, review

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Authors: Magdy Roman, Mostafa Shoeib, Mostafa Rostom

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Global vision, whether provided by overhead fixed cameras, on-board aerial vehicle cameras, or satellite images can always provide detailed information on the environment around mobile robots. In this paper, an intelligent vision-based method of path planning and obstacle avoidance for mobile robots is presented. The method integrates visual perception with a new proposed field-based path-planning method to overcome common path-planning problems such as local minima, unreachable destination and unnecessary lengthy paths around obstacles. The method proposes an exponential angle deviation field around each obstacle that affects the orientation of a close robot. As the robot directs toward, the goal point obstacles are classified into right and left groups, and a deviation angle is exponentially added or subtracted to the orientation of the robot. Exponential field parameters are chosen based on Lyapunov stability criterion to guarantee robot convergence to the destination. The proposed method uses obstacles' shape and location, extracted from global vision system, through a collision prediction mechanism to decide whether to activate or deactivate obstacles field. In addition, a search mechanism is developed in case of robot or goal point is trapped among obstacles to find suitable exit or entrance. The proposed algorithm is validated both in simulation and through experiments. The algorithm shows effectiveness in obstacles' avoidance and destination convergence, overcoming common path planning problems found in classical methods.

Keywords: path planning, collision avoidance, convergence, computer vision, mobile robots

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Authors: Robert Höttger, Lukas Krawczyk, Burkhard Igel

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This paper introduces novel approaches to partitioning and mapping in terms of model-based embedded multicore system engineering and further discusses benefits, industrial relevance and features in common with existing approaches. In order to assess and evaluate results, both approaches have been applied to a real industrial application as well as to various prototypical demonstrative applications, that have been developed and implemented for different purposes. Evaluations show, that such applications improve significantly according to performance, energy efficiency, meeting timing constraints and covering maintaining issues by using the AMALTHEA platform and the implemented approaches. Further- more, the model-based design provides an open, expandable, platform independent and scalable exchange format between OEMs, suppliers and developers on different levels. Our proposed mechanisms provide meaningful multicore system utilization since load balancing by means of partitioning and mapping is effectively performed with regard to the modeled systems including hardware, software, operating system, scheduling, constraints, configuration and more data.

Keywords: partitioning, mapping, distributed systems, scheduling, embedded multicore systems, model-based, system analysis

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Authors: Anamika Sahu

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The Himalayas, like many mountainous regions, is susceptible to multiple hazards. In recent times, the frequency of such disasters is continuously increasing due to extreme weather phenomena. These natural hazards are responsible for irreparable human and economic loss. The Indian Himalayas has repeatedly been ruptured by great earthquakes in the past and has the potential for a future large seismic event as it falls under the seismic gap. Damages caused by earthquakes are different in different localities. It is well known that, during earthquakes, damage to the structure is associated with the subsurface conditions and the quality of construction materials. So, for sustainable mountain development, prior estimation of site characterization will be valuable for designing and constructing the space area and for efficient mitigation of the seismic risk. Both geotechnical and geophysical investigation of the subsurface is required to describe the subsurface complexity. In mountainous regions, geophysical methods are gaining popularity as areas can be studied without disturbing the ground surface, and also these methods are time and cost-effective. The MASW method is used to calculate the Vs30. Vs30 is the average shear wave velocity for the top 30m of soil. Shear wave velocity is considered the best stiffness indicator, and the average of shear wave velocity up to 30 m is used in National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) provisions (BSSC,1994) and Uniform Building Code (UBC), 1997 classification. Parameters obtained through geotechnical investigation have been integrated with findings obtained through the subsurface geophysical survey. Joint interpretation has been used to establish inter-relationships among mineral constituents, various textural parameters, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) with shear wave velocity. It is found that results obtained through the MASW method fitted well with the laboratory test. In both conditions, mineral constituents and textural parameters (grain size, grain shape, grain orientation, and degree of interlocking) control the petrophysical and mechanical properties of rocks and the behavior of shear wave velocity.

Keywords: MASW, mechanical, petrophysical, site characterization

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Authors: Nikolett Deutsch, Éva Pintér, Péter Bagó, Miklós Hetényi

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Strategic technology management has emerged and evolved parallelly with strategic management paradigms. It focuses on the opportunity for organizations operating mainly in technology-intensive industries to explore and exploit technological capabilities upon which competitive advantage can be obtained. As strategic technology management involves multifunction within an organization, requires broad and diversified knowledge, and must be developed and implemented with business objectives to enable a firm’s profitability and growth, excellence in strategic technology management provides unique opportunities for organizations in terms of building a successful future. Accordingly, a framework supporting the evaluation of the technological readiness level of management can significantly contribute to developing organizational competitiveness through a better understanding of strategic-level capabilities and deficiencies in operations. In the last decade, several innovation maturity assessment models have appeared and become designated management tools that can serve as references for future practical approaches expected to be used by corporate leaders, strategists, and technology managers to understand and manage technological capabilities and capacities. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art innovation maturity frameworks, to investigate the critical lessons learned from their application, to identify the similarities and differences among the models, and identify the main aspects and elements valid for the field and critical functions of technology management. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out considering the relevant papers and articles published in highly ranked international journals around the 27 most widely known innovation maturity models from four relevant digital sources. Key findings suggest that despite the diversity of the given models, there is still room for improvement regarding the common understanding of innovation typologies, the full coverage of innovation capabilities, and the generalist approach to the validation and practical applicability of the structure and content of the models. Furthermore, the paper proposes an initial structure by considering the maturity assessment of the technological capacities and capabilities - i.e., technology identification, technology selection, technology acquisition, technology exploitation, and technology protection - covered by strategic technology management.

Keywords: innovation capabilities, innovation maturity models, technology audit, technology management, technology management maturity models

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Authors: Karthik K. R, Viswanath V, Asraff A. K

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The first stage of a new-generation launch vehicle of ISRO makes use of large pressure vessels made of Aluminium alloy AA2219 to store fuel and oxidizer. These vessels have many weld joints that may contain cracks or crack-like defects during their fabrication. These defects may propagate across the vessel during pressure testing or while in service under the influence of tensile stresses leading to catastrophe. Though ductile materials exhibit significant stable crack growth prior to failure, it is not generally acceptable for an aerospace component. There is a need to predict the initiation of stable crack growth. The structural integrity of the vessel from fracture considerations can be studied by constructing the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) that accounts for both brittle fracture and plastic collapse. Critical crack sizes of the pressure vessel may be highly conservative if it is predicted from FAD alone. If the J-R curve for material under consideration is available apriori, the critical crack sizes can be predicted to a certain degree of accuracy. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to predict the integrity of a weld in a pressure vessel made of AA2219 material. Fracture parameter ‘J-integral’ at the crack front, evaluated through finite element analyses, is used in the new procedure. Based on the simulation of tension tests carried out on SCT specimens by NASA, a cut-off value of J-integral value (J?ᵤₜ_ₒ??) is finalised. For the pressure vessel, J-integral at the crack front is evaluated through FE simulations incorporating different surface cracks at long seam weld in a cylinder and in dome petal welds. The obtained J-integral, at vessel level, is compared with a value of J?ᵤₜ_ₒ??, and the integrity of vessel weld in the presence of the surface crack is firmed up. The advantage of this methodology is that if SCT test data of any metal is available, the critical crack size in hardware fabricated using that material can be predicted to a better level of accuracy.

Keywords: FAD, j-integral, fracture, surface crack

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Authors: Gerardo Sanjuan Sanjuan, Ángel Enrique Chavéz Castellanos

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The knowledge of the rheological behavior of partially solidified metal alloy is an important issue when modeling and simulation of die filling in semisolid processes. Many experiments for like steady state, the step change in shear rate tests, shear stress ramps have been carried out leading that semi-solid alloys exhibit shear thinning, thixotropic behavior and yield stress. More advanced investigation gives evidence some viscoelastic features can be observed. The viscoelastic properties of materials are determinate by transient or dynamic methods; unfortunately, sparse information exists about oscillation experiments. The aim of this present work is to use small amplitude oscillatory tests for knowledge properties such as G´ and G´´. These properties allow providing information about materials structure. For this purpose, we investigated tin-lead alloy (Sn-15%Pb) which exhibits a similar microstructure to aluminum alloys and is the classic alloy for semisolid thixotropic studies. The experiments were performed with parallel plates rheometer AR-G2. Initially, the liquid alloy is cooled down to the semisolid range, a specific temperature to guarantee a constant fraction solid. Oscillation was performed within the linear viscoelastic regime with a strain sweep. So, the loss modulus G´´, the storage modulus G´ and the loss angle (δ) was monitored. In addition a frequency sweep at a strain below the critical strain for characterized its structure. This provides more information about the interactions among solid particles on a liquid matrix. After testing, the sample was removed then cooled, sectioned and examined metallographically. These experiments demonstrate that the viscoelasticity is sensitive to the solid fraction, and is strongly influenced by the shape and size of particles solid.

Keywords: rheology, semisolid alloys, thixotropic, viscoelasticity

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Authors: Muhammad Yasir Wadood, Fatemeh Babaeian

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By developing ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, there is a high demand for UWB filters with low insertion loss, wide bandwidth, and having a planar structure which is compatible with other components of the UWB system. A microstrip interdigital filter is a great option for designing UWB filters. However, the presence of via holes in this structure creates difficulties in the fabrication procedure of the filter. Especially in the higher frequency band, any misalignment of the drilled via hole with the Microstrip stubs causes large errors in the measurement results compared to the desired results. Moreover, in this case (high-frequency designs), the line width of the stubs are very narrow, so highly precise small via holes are required to be implemented, which increases the cost of fabrication significantly. Also, in this case, there is a risk of having fabrication errors. To combat this issue, in this paper, a via-less UWB microstrip filter is proposed which is designed based on a modification of a conventional inter-digital bandpass filter. The novel approaches in this filter design are 1) replacement of each via hole with a quarter-wavelength open circuit stub to avoid the complexity of manufacturing, 2) using a bend structure to reduce the unwanted coupling effects and 3) minimising the size. Using the proposed structure, a UWB filter operating in the frequency band of 3.9-6.6 GHz (1-dB bandwidth) is designed and fabricated. The promising results of the simulation and measurement are presented in this paper. The selected substrate for these designs was Rogers RO4003 with a thickness of 20 mils. This is a common substrate in most of the industrial projects. The compact size of the proposed filter is highly beneficial for applications which require a very miniature size of hardware.

Keywords: band-pass filters, inter-digital filter, microstrip, via-less

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Authors: Veena N. Hegde, S. R. Desai

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Motivating a heterogeneous group of students towards engagement in research related activities is a challenging task in engineering education. An effort is being made at the Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, where two courses are taken up on a pilot basis to kindle research interests in students at the undergraduate level. The courses, namely algorithm and system design (ASD) and automation in process control (APC), are selected for experimentation purposes. The task is being accomplished by providing scope for implementation of research papers and proposing solutions for the current industrial problems by the student teams. The course instructors have proposed an alternative assessment tool to evaluate the undergraduate students that involve activities beyond the curriculum. The method was tested for the aforementioned two courses in a particular academic year, and as per the observations, there is a considerable improvement in the number of student engagement towards research in the subsequent years of their undergraduate course. The student groups from the third-year engineering were made to read, implement the research papers, and they were also instructed to develop simulation modules for certain processes aiming towards automation. The target audience being students, were common for both the courses and the students' strength was 30. Around 50% of successful students were given the continued tasks in the subsequent two semesters, and out of 15 students who continued from sixth semesters were able to follow the research methodology well in the seventh and eighth semesters. Further, around 30% of the students out of 15 ended up carrying out project work with a research component involved and were successful in producing four conference papers. The methodology adopted is justified using a sample data set, and the outcomes are highlighted. The quantitative and qualitative results obtained through this study prove that such practices will enhance learning experiences substantially at the undergraduate level.

Keywords: industrial problems, learning experiences, research related activities, student engagement

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Authors: Jacky Liu

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This paper develops a team sports outcome prediction system with potential for wide-ranging applications across various disciplines. Despite significant advancements in predictive analytics, existing studies in sports outcome predictions possess considerable limitations, including insufficient feature engineering and underutilization of advanced machine learning techniques, among others. To address these issues, we extend the Sports Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (SRP-CRISP-DM) framework and propose a unique, comprehensive predictive system, using National Basketball Association (NBA) data as an example to test this extended framework. Our approach follows a holistic methodology in feature engineering, employing both Time Series and Non-Time Series Data, as well as conducting Explanatory Data Analysis and Feature Selection. Furthermore, we contribute to the discourse on target variable choice in team sports outcome prediction, asserting that point spread prediction yields higher profits as opposed to game-winner predictions. Using machine learning algorithms, particularly XGBoost, results in a significant improvement in predictive accuracy of team sports outcomes. Applied to point spread betting strategies, it offers an astounding annual return of approximately 900% on an initial investment of $100. Our findings not only contribute to academic literature, but have critical practical implications for sports betting. Our study advances the understanding of team sports outcome prediction a burgeoning are in complex system predictions and pave the way for potential profitability and more informed decision making in sports betting markets.

Keywords: machine learning, team sports, game outcome prediction, sports betting, profits simulation

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Authors: Calvince Okome Odeny

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There is a current action to increase radiotherapy services in Kenya. The National government of Kenya, in collaboration with the county governments, has embarked on building radiotherapy centers in all 47 regions of the country. As these new centers are established in Kenya, it has to be ensured that minimum radiation safety standards are in place prior to operation. For full implementation of this, it is imperative that more Research and training for regulators are done on radiation protection, and safety and national regulatory infrastructure is geared towards ensuring radiation protection and safety in all aspects of the use of external radiotherapy practices. The present work aims at reviewing the level of protection and safety for patients and staff during external beam radiotherapy using Linac in Kenya and provides relevant guidance to improve protection and safety. A retrospective evaluation was done to verify whether those occupationally exposed workers and patients are adequately protected from the harmful effect of radiation exposure during the treatment procedures using Linac. The project was experimental Research, also including an analysis of resource documents obtained from the literature and international organizations. The critical findings of the work revealed that the key elements of protection of occupationally exposed workers and patients include a comprehensive quality Management system governing all planned activities from siting, safety, and design of the Facility, construction, acceptance testing, commissioning, operation, and decommissioning of the Facility; Government empowering the Regulatory Authority to license Medical Linear facilities and to enforce the applicable regulations to ensure adequate protection; A comprehensive Radiation Protection and Safety program must be established to ensure adequate safety and protection of workers and patients during treatment planning and treatment delivery of patients and categories of staff associated with the Facility must be well educated and trained to perform professionally with a commitment to sound safety culture. Relevant recommendations from the findings are shared with the Medical Linear Accelerator facilities and the regulatory authority to provide guidance and continuous improvement of protection and safety to improve regulatory oversight.

Keywords: oncology, radiotherapy, protection, staff

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Authors: H. Krarcha

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The structural, elastic, vibrational and thermal properties of AHfO3 compounds with the cubic perovskites structure have been investigated, by employing a first principles method, using the plane wave pseudo potential calculations (PP-PW), based on the density functional theory (DFT), within the local density approximation (LDA). The optimized lattice parameters, independent elastic constants (C11, C12 and C44), bulk modulus (B), compressibility (b), shear modulus (G), Young’s modulus (Y ), Poisson’s ratio (n), Lame´’s coefficients (m, l), as well as band structure, density of states and electron density distributions are obtained and analyzed in comparison with the available theoretical and experimental data. For the first time the numerical estimates of elastic parameters of the polycrystalline AHfO3 ceramics (in framework of the VoigteReusseHill approximation) are performed. The quasi-harmonic Debye model, by means of total energy versus volume calculations obtained with the FP-LAPW method, is applied to study the thermal and vibrational effects. Predicted temperature and pressure effects on the structural parameters, thermal expansions, heat capacities, and Debye temperatures are determined from the non-equilibrium Gibbs functions.

Keywords: Hafnium, elastic propreties, first principles calculation, perovskite

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Authors: Maryam Shirmohammadi, Prasad K. D. V. Yarlagadda, YuanTong Gu

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The mechanical damage on the agricultural crop during and after harvesting can create high volume of damage on tissue. Uniaxial compression and tensile loading were performed on flesh and peel samples of pumpkin. To investigate the structural changes on the tissue, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to capture the cellular structure change before and after loading on tissue for tensile, compression and indentation tests. To obtain required mechanical properties of tissue for the finite element analysis (FEA) model, laser measurement sensors were used to record the lateral displacement of tissue under the compression loading. Uniaxial force versus deformation data were recorded using Universal Testing Machine for both tensile and compression tests. The experimental Results were employed to develop a material model with failure criteria. The results obtained by the simulation were compared with those obtained by experiments. Note that although modelling food materials’ behaviour is not a new concept however, majority of previous studies focused on elastic behaviour and damages under linear limit, this study, however, has developed FEA models for tensile and compressive loading of pumpkin flesh and peel samples using, as the first study, both elastic and elasto-plastic material types. In addition, pumpkin peel and flesh tissues were considered as two different materials with different properties under mechanical loadings. The tensile and compression loadings were used to develop the material model for a composite structure for FEA model of mechanical peeling of pumpkin as a tough skinned vegetable.

Keywords: compressive and tensile response, finite element analysis, poisson’s ratio, elastic modulus, elastic and plastic response, rupture and bio-yielding

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Authors: Salma Aboussalam, Karima Khalil, Khalid Elkalay

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In order to understand the structure, functioning, and current state of the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea ecosystem, an Ecopath mass balance model was applied. The model was based on 31 functional groups, which included 21 fish species, 7 invertebrates, 2 primary producers, and one detritus group. The trophic interactions between these groups were analyzed, and the system's average trophic transfer efficiency was found to be 23%. The total primary production and total respiration were calculated to be greater than 1, indicating that the system produces more energy than it respires. The ecosystem was found to have a high level of respiration and consumption flows, and indicators of stability and development showed low values for the Finn cycle index (13.97), system omnivory index (0.18), and average Finn path length (3.09), indicating that the ecosystem is disturbed and has a linear rather than web-like trophic structure. Keystone species were identified using the keystone index and mixed trophic impact analysis, with other demersal invertebrates, zooplankton, and cephalopods found to have a significant impact on other groups.

Keywords: ecopath, food web, trophic flux, moroccan mediterranean sea

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Authors: Lukas Munster, Pavel Bazant, Ivo Kuritka

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Zinc oxide sub-micro particles and metallic silver nano particles (Ag/ZnO) were deposited on micro crystalline cellulose surface by a fast, simple and environmentally friendly one-pot microwave assisted solvo thermal synthesis in an open vessel system equipped with an external reflux cooler. In order to increase the interaction between the surface of cellulose and the precipitated Ag/ZnO particles, oxidized form of cellulose (cellulose dialdehyde, DAC) prepared by periodate oxidation of micro crystalline cellulose was added to the reaction mixture of Ag/ZnO particle precursors and untreated micro crystalline cellulose. The structure and morphology of prepared hybrid powder materials were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen absorption method (BET). Microscopic analysis of the prepared materials treated by ultra-sonication showed that Ag/ZnO particles deposited on the cellulose/DAC sample exhibit increased adhesion to the surface of the cellulose substrate which can be explained by the DAC adhesive effect in comparison with the material prepared without DAC addition.

Keywords: microcrystalline cellulose, microwave synthesis, silver nanoparticles, zinc oxide sub-microparticles, cellulose dialdehyde

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Authors: Julien Baillet

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In light of 30 years of scientific research, InCorporer Method was created in 2019 as a new approach to heal traumatic, developmental, and dissociative injuries. Following natural nervous system functions, InCorporer aims to heal, develop, and update the different defensive mammalian subsystems: fight, flight, freeze, feign death, cry for help, & energy regulator. The dimensions taken into account are: (i) Heal the traumatic injuries who are still bleeding, (ii) Develop the systems that never received the security, attention, and affection they needed. (iii) Update the parts that stayed stuck in the past, ignoring for too long that they are out of danger now. Through the Present Part and its caregiving skills, InCorporer method enables a balanced, soothed, and collaborative personality system. To be as integrative as possible, InCorporer method has been designed according to several fields of research, such as structural dissociation theory, attachment theory, and information processing theory. In this paper, the author presents how the internal caregiver is developed and trained to heal all the different parts/subsystems of our clients through mindful attention and reflex movement integration.

Keywords: PTSD, attachment, dissociation, part work

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Authors: Magdy Torab

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Ancient Egyptians built their temples purposefully close to the River Nile to use it for transporting construction stones from far away quarries to building sites in river-boats. Most temples, therefore, have river-harbors associated with their geometric designs. The paleoriver channel remapped by using this idea, besides other geomorphological and geoarchaeological indicators/evidence located between Aswan and Luxor cities. In this sense, this paper defines the characteristics of this ancient course and its associated landforms using paleochannel morphology, paleomeandering, and ancient river dynamics during historic and prehistoric times. Both geomorphological and geoarchaeological approaches used to reconstruct the paleomorphology of the river course. It helps to investigate the ancient river morphology by using the following techniques: comparison and interpretation of multi dates satellite images and historical maps between 1943 and 2004. The results illustrated on maps using GIS (ARC GIS V.10 software) and the field data collected from the western bank of The Nile River at Luxor area and Karnak, Edfu, Esna and Kom Ombo temples. Created both current and paleogeomorphological maps depending upon the results of geoarchaeological surveying and soil analysis and dating, for surface and subsurface soil sampling by handle auger, laser diffraction analysis for 7 soil samples collected from some mounds and Malkata channel in the western bank of The Nile River near Luxor. Paleo-current directions were determined by using standard Brunton compass to use it as an indicator is evidence for the direction of flow of The Nile River during deposition of some accumulated mounds on the western part of the floodplain near Luxor city. C-14 dating was used for two samples collected from these mounds as well as geographical information system (GIS) technique for mapping. The geomorphological and geoarchaeological evidence shows that the Nile River course in Luxor area was around 4.5 km wide and contained many islands and sandbars which separated inside the river channel, now appearing as scattered mounds inside the floodplain. Upper Egypt has migrated during the historic times to the east up to five kilometers and become far away from the ancient temples, quarries, and harbors. It has also become as well as become more meandering and narrower than before.

Keywords: Nile River, ancient harbours, Luxor, paleogeomorphology, geoarchaeology

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Authors: Masahiro Suzuki, Nobuyuki Okura

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The crosswind effect on ground transportations has been extensively investigated for decades. The effect of tornado, however, has been hardly studied in spite of the fact that even heavy ground vehicles, namely, trains were overturned by tornadoes with casualties in the past. Therefore, aerodynamic effects of the tornado on the train were studied by several approaches in this study. First, an experimental facility was developed to clarify aerodynamic forces acting on a vehicle running through a tornado. Our experimental set-up consists of two apparatus. One is a tornado simulator, and the other is a moving model rig. PIV measurements showed that the tornado simulator can generate a swirling-flow field similar to those of the natural tornadoes. The flow field has the maximum tangential velocity of 7.4 m/s and the vortex core radius of 96 mm. The moving model rig makes a 1/40 scale model train of single-car/three-car unit run thorough the swirling flow with the maximum speed of 4.3 m/s. The model car has 72 pressure ports on its surface to estimate the aerodynamic forces. The experimental results show that the aerodynamic forces vary its magnitude and direction depends on the location of the vehicle in the flow field. Second, the aerodynamic forces on the train were estimated by using Rankin vortex model. The Rankin vortex model is a simple tornado model which widely used in the field of civil engineering. The estimated aerodynamic forces on the middle car were fairly good agreement with the experimental results. Effects of the vortex core radius and the path of the train on the aerodynamic forces were investigated using the Rankin vortex model. The results shows that the side and lift forces increases as the vortex core radius increases, while the yawing moment is maximum when the core radius is 0.3875 times of the car length. Third, a computational simulation was conducted to clarify the flow field around the train. The simulated results qualitatively agreed with the experimental ones.

Keywords: aerodynamic force, experimental method, tornado, train

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Authors: Uzma Ahmad

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hyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is the most turbulent province of Pakistan, sharing a longborder with Afghanistan. For about four decades, KPK is facing a series of international events. The peak was reached after 9/11when region was labelled as posing a major theatre of militancy and terrorism which was intensified when Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) began attempts to seize the authority of state. One of the main focus of TTP was to damage and uprooting of female education system and infrastructure in KPK which later became the site of a massacre of school children of Army Public School Peshawar on 16 December 2014.It resulted to the launching of Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP insurgency,casualty and crime rates in the KPKas a whole dropped by 40.0% as compared to 2011–13. All this has badly hampered the female education both in terms of quantity and quality. Malala Yousafzai who is now an advocate of female education has been a victim of Talibans brutality in that area. And thelanguage in which she managed to express herself to the International community is English.Keeping in view the situation, the present project was designed with a sole aim to focus on female students of the area which are few in numbers and to investigate some specific area, where they have been confronting problems in the use of grammar, vocabulary,tenses and organization of ideas in writings. The reasons might be the careless attitude, insufficient reading habits, lack of interest and poor knowledge of English language. The methodology was a descriptive one as it shows the effects of the internal efficiency(independent variables) on an intermediate college’s progress(dependent variables). It was a case study since data was collected from a focused group of 60 female students of arts and humanities at Swabi college at Intermediate level. The ultimate focus was to explore the possibilities of creating a Gender friendly environment for female students. This research has proved how the correct use of English language has given them confidence to move ahead side by side with men and to acknowledge their right of self-determination.

Keywords: capacity building, female education, gender friendly, internal efficiency

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Authors: Xiaobo Xi, Ruihong Zhang

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At present, the orchard ditching and fertilizing technology has a series of problems, such as easy tree roots damage, high energy consumption and uneven fertilizing. In this paper, a gas explosion subsoiling and fertilizer injection machine was designed, which used high pressure gas to shock soil body and then injected fertilizer. The drill pipe mechanism with pneumatic chipping hammer excitation and hydraulic assistance was designed to drill the soil. The operation of gas and liquid fertilizer supply was controlled by PLC system. The 3D model of the whole machine was established by using SolidWorks software. The machine prototype was produced, and field experiments were carried out. The results showed that soil fractures were created and diffused by gas explosion, and the subsoiling effect radius reached 40 cm under the condition of 0.8 MPa gas pressure and 30 cm drilling depth. What’s more, the work efficiency is 0.048 hm²/h at least. This machine could meet the agronomic requirements of orchard, garden and city greening fertilization, and the tree roots were not easily damaged and the fertilizer evenly distributed, which was conducive to nutrient absorption of root growth.

Keywords: gas explosion subsoiling, fertigation, pneumatic chipping hammer exciting, soil compaction

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Authors: Ravi Chaithanya Mysa, Abouzar Kaboudian, Boo Cheong Khoo, Rajeev Kumar Jaiman

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The phenomenon of vortex-induced vibration has applications in off-shore industry, power transmission, energy extraction, etc. Two cylinders in crossflow whose centers are displaced in transverse direction are considered in the present work. The effects of the gap distance between the cylinders on the vortex shedding are presented. The inline distance between the cylinder centers is kept at zero. Two setups are considered for the study: first, we assume the two cylinders vibrate as a single rigid body mounted on a spring, and in the other case, each cylinder is mounted on a separate spring with no rigid connection to the other cylinder. The study focuses on the effect of transverse gap on the fluid-structure coupled response of two setups mentioned and corresponding flow contours. Incompressible flow is assumed in the Eulerian framework. The cylinder movement is modeled by a single degree of freedom rigid body motion (translational motion) in the Lagrangian framework. The governing equations were numerically solved by standard Petrov-Galerkin second order finite element schemes.

Keywords: cross-flow, vortex-induced vibrations, cylinder, close proximity

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Authors: K. Caban-Piaskowska

Abstract:

The aim of the article is to show how the role of a designer has changed, from the point of view of human resources management and thanks to the increased importance of design management, and is to present how a rehabilitation product, through technology approach to designing, becomes a universal product. Designing for the disabled is a very undiscovered area on the pattern-designing market, most often because it is associated with devices which support rehabilitation. In consequence, it means that the realizations have a limited group of receivers and are not that attractive for designers. The relation between using modern design in building rehabilitation devices and increasing the efficiency of treatment and physiotherapy. Using modern technology can have marketing significance. Rehabilitation products designed and produced in a modern way makes an impression that experts and professionals are involved in the lives of the user – patient. In order to illustrate the problem presented above i.e. Creating a rehabilitation product as an example of design management, the case study method was used in the research. The analysis of the case was created on the basis of an interview conducted by the author with a designer who took part in meetings with people who use rehabilitation and their physiotherapists, and created universal products in Poland in the years of 2012 to 2017. Usually, engineers and constructors deal with creating products which remind us of old torture devices, however, they are indestructible in construction. Such image of those products for the disabled clearly indicates that it is a wonderful niche for designers and emphasizes the need to make those products more attractive and innovative. Products for the disabled cannot be limited to rehabilitation equipment only e.g. wheelchairs or standing frames. Introducing the idea of universal designing can significantly broaden the circle of pattern-designing receivers – everyday-use items – with the disabled people. Fulfilling these criteria will decide about the advantage on the competitive market. It is possible due to the usage of the design management concept in the functioning of an organization. Using modern technology and materials in the production of equipment, and changing the role of a designer broadening the circle of receivers by designing a wide use process which makes it possible to use the product by people with various needs. What is more, introducing rehabilitation functions in everyday-use items can also become an innovative accent in designing. In the reality of the market, each group of users can and should be treated as a problem and a realization task.

Keywords: design management, innovation, rehabilitation product, universal product

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Authors: Ceyhun Aksoylu, Rifat Sezer

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In this study, a strengthening method applicable without any evacuation process was investigated. In this analytical study, the pushover analysis results carry out by using the software of SAP2000. For this purpose, 1/3 scaled, 1-bay and 2-story R/C seven frames having usual deficiencies faults produced, one of which were not strengthened, but having brick-infill wall and the other 3 frames with infill walls strengthened with various shaped of high strength-precast diagonal concrete panels. The prepared analytical models investigated under reversed-cyclic loading that resembles the seismic effect. As a result of the analytical study, the properties of the reinforced concrete frames, such as strength, rigidity, energy dissipation capacity, etc. were determined and the strengthened models were compared with the unstrengthened one having the same properties. As a result of this study, the contributions of precast diagonal concrete applied on the infill walls of the existing frame systems against seismic effects were introduced with its advantages and disadvantages.

Keywords: RC frame, seismic effect, infill wall, strengthening, precast diagonal concrete panel, pushover analysis

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Authors: Stephen Orimoloye, Jose Horrillo-Caraballo, Harshinie Karunarathna, Dominic E. Reeve

Abstract:

Prediction of wave overtopping is an essential component of coastal seawall designing and management. Not only that excessive overtopping is reported for impermeable seawalls under bimodal waves, but overtopping is also showing a high sensitivity to the peakedness of the random wave propagation patterns. In the present study, we present a comprehensive analysis of the effects of peakedness of bimodal wave patterns of the overtopping of sloping seawalls. An energy-conserved bimodal spectrum with four different spectra peak periods and swell percentages was applied to estimate wave overtopping in both numerical and experimental flumes. Results of incident surface elevations and bimodal spectra were accurately captured across the flume domain using sets of well-positioned resistant-type wave gauges. Peakedness characteristics of the wave patterns were extracted to derive a relationship between the non-dimensional overtopping and the peakedness across the wave groups in the wave series. The full paper will briefly describe the development of the spectrum and present a comprehensive results analysis leading to the derivation of the relationship between dimensionless overtopping and peakedness of bimodal waves.

Keywords: wave overtopping, peakedness, bimodal waves, swell percentages

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Maram Shahad Dana Anfal

Abstract:

This research paper presents the design of a surveillance drone with computer-aided durability and model analyses that provides a cost-effective and efficient solution for various applications. The quadcopter's design is based on a lightweight and strong structure made of materials such as aluminum and titanium, which provide a durable structure for the quadcopter. The structure of this product and the computer-aided durability system are both designed to ensure frequent repairs or replacements, which will save time and money in the long run. Moreover, the study discusses the drone's ability to track, investigate, and deliver objects more quickly than traditional methods, makes it a highly efficient and cost-effective technology. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the quadcopter's operation dynamics and limitations is presented. In both simulation and experimental data, the computer-aided durability system and the drone's design demonstrate their effectiveness, highlighting the potential for a variety of applications, such as search and rescue missions, infrastructure monitoring, and agricultural operations. Also, the findings provide insights into possible areas for improvement in the design and operation of the drone. Ultimately, this paper presents a reliable and cost-effective solution for surveillance applications by designing a drone with computer-aided durability and modeling. With its potential to save time and money, increase reliability, and enhance safety, it is a promising technology for the future of surveillance drones. operation dynamic equations have been evaluated successfully for different flight conditions of a quadcopter. Also, CAE modeling techniques have been applied for the modal risk assessment at operating conditions.Stress analysis have been performed under the loadings of the worst-case combined motion flight conditions.

Keywords: drone, material, solidwork, hypermesh

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Amel Asselah, Nadia Chabli, Imane Haddad

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The adsorption of methylene blue and congo red dyes in an aqueous solution, on a food waste adsorbent: potato peel, and on a commercial adsorbent: activated carbon powder, was investigated using batch experiments. The objective of this study is the valorization of potato peel by its application in the elimination of these dyes. A comparison of the adsorption efficiency with a commercial adsorbent was carried out. Characterization of the potato peel adsorbent was performed by scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence. Various parameters were analyzed, in particular: the adsorbent mass, the initial dye concentration, the contact time, the pH, and the temperature. The results reveal that it is about 98% for methylene blue-potato peel, 84% for congo red-potato peel, 84% for methylene blue-activated carbon, and 66% for congo red-activated carbon. The kinetic data were modeled by different equations and revealed that the adsorption of textile dyes on adsorbents follows the model pseudo-second-order, and the particular extra diffusion governs the adsorption mechanism. It has been found that the adsorption process could be described by the Langmuir isotherm.

Keywords: bioadsorbent, waste valorization, adsorptio, textile dyes

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Jerry D. Johnson, Jason A. LaFrance, Matthew A. Ohlson, Shane C. Shope

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The public school system is the largest employer and most impactful factor in the local economy for many rural communities in the United States. The relationship between the school system and the community is symbiotic—they thrive together or decline together. Understanding the perceptions of rural school superintendents (the titular head of the local school district) with regard to rural development is foundational to understanding how the school and community interact and collaborate in key areas like economic development, community development, and workforce development. To investigate those perceptions as they manifest among superintendents in thriving rural communities, a collective case study was designed and conducted to disclose and characterize superintendent perceptions about rural development in three diverse rural settings in the U.S.: Florida, Kansas, and Ohio. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) served as the conceptual framework and supported a focus on identifying and describing assets and strategies/activities that helped explain the positive results in the communities of interest. Implementation of a criterion-based purposive sampling process (using extant data and a nomination process to identify rural superintendents in communities with vibrant economies and recognized the contribution by the schools in rural development) resulted in two superintendents from each of these state settings who participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts and relevant extant documents were coded and analyzed to produce individual cases with representative themes, after which a cross-case analysis was conducted to generate overarching themes. The overarching themes were then scrutinized and tested through the application of appropriate credibility techniques to promote the trustworthiness of the results. Findings include the importance of building and maintaining relationships that extend beyond the immediate collaboration activity, the importance of collaboration skills, intentionality of practice, and organizational systems/structures as facilitators/affordances. The results offer potential guidance for leveraging the potential for public schools to contribute to their rural development in the communities they serve.

Keywords: collaboration, leadership, rural development, rural schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Manoj Kumar

Abstract:

Ionization cross sections of molecules due to electron impact play an important role in chemical processes in various branches of applied physics, such as radiation chemistry, gas discharges, plasmas etching in semiconductors, planetary upper atmospheric physics, mass spectrometry, etc. In the present work, we have calculated the total ionization cross sections for Adenine (C₅H₅N₅), a biologically important molecule, by electron impact in the incident electron energy range from ionization threshold to 2 keV employing a well-known Jain-Khare semiempirical formulation based on Bethe and Möllor cross sections. In the non-availability of the experimental results, the present results are in good agreement qualitatively as well as quantitatively with available theoretical results. The present results drive our confidence for further investigation of complex bio-molecule with better accuracy. Notwithstanding, the present method can deduce reliable cross-sectional data for complex targets with adequate accuracy and may facilitate the acclimatization of calculated cross-sections into atomic molecular cross-section data sets for modeling codes and other applications.

Keywords: electron impact ionization cross-sections, oscillator strength, jain-khare semiempirical approach

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Authors: Ella C. Linganiso, Bonex W. Mwakikunga, Trilock Singh, Sanjay Mathur, Odireleng M. Ntwaeaborwa

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The use of nanostructured semiconducting material to catalyze degradation of environmental pollutants still receives much attention to date. One of the desired characteristics for pollutant degradation under ultra-violet visible light is the materials with extended carrier charge separation that allows for electronic transfer between the catalyst and the pollutants. In this work, zinc oxide n-type semiconductor vertically aligned structures were fabricated on silicon (100) substrates using the chemical bath deposition method. The as-synthesized structures were treated with nickel and sulphur. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to characterize the phase purity, structural dimensions and elemental composition of the obtained structures respectively. Photoluminescence emission measurements showed a decrease in both the near band edge emission as well as the defect band emission upon addition of nickel and sulphur with different concentrations. This was attributed to increased charger-carrier-separation due to the presence of Ni-S material on ZnO surface, which is linked to improved charge transfer during photocatalytic reactions.

Keywords: Carrier-charge-separation, nickel, photoluminescence, sulphur, zinc oxide

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Authors: L. Grinis, N. Lubashevsky, Y. Ostrovski

Abstract:

In waste water treatment processes, aeration introduces air into a liquid. In these systems, air is introduced by different devices submerged in the waste water. Smaller bubbles result in more bubble surface area per unit of volume and higher oxygen transfer efficiency. Jet pumps are devices that use air bubbles and are widely used in waste water treatment processes. The principle of jet pumps is their ability to transfer energy of one fluid, called primary or motive, into a secondary fluid or gas. These pumps have no moving parts and are able to work in remote areas under extreme conditions. The objective of this work is to study experimentally the characteristics of the jet pump and the size of air bubbles in the laboratory water tank. The effect of flow rate ratio on pump performance is investigated in order to have a better understanding about pump behavior under various conditions, in order to determine the efficiency of receiving air bubbles different sizes. The experiments show that we should take care when increasing the flow rate ratio while seeking to decrease bubble size in the outlet flow. This study will help improve and extend the use of the jet pump in many practical applications.

Keywords: jet pump, air bubbles size, retention time, waste water

Procedia PDF Downloads 307