Search results for: optimum grounding grid design

Authors: K.Narasimhulu, Y. Pydi Setty

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The objective of this present study is the optimization of process parameters in biosorption of Ni(II) and Cd(II) ions by Pseudomonas putida using Response Surface Methodology in a Packed bed bioreactor. The experimental data were also tested with theoretical models to find the best fit model. The present paper elucidates RSM as an efficient approach for predictive model building and optimization of Ni(II) and Cd(II) ions using Pseudomonas putida. In packed bed biosorption studies, comparison of the breakthrough curves of Ni(II) and Cd(II) for Agar immobilized and PAA immobilized Pseudomonas putida at optimum conditions of flow rate of 300 mL/h, initial metal ion concentration of 100 mg/L and bed height of 20 cm with weight of biosorbent of 12 g, it was found that the Agar immobilized Pseudomonas putida showed maximum percent biosorption and bed saturation occurred at 20 minutes. Optimization results of Ni(II) and Cd(II) by Pseudomonas putida from the Design Expert software were obtained as bed height of 19.93 cm, initial metal ion concentration of 103.85 mg/L, and flow rate of 310.57 mL/h. The percent biosorption of Ni(II) and Cd(II) is 87.2% and 88.2% respectively. The predicted optimized parameters are in agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: packed bed bioreactor, response surface mthodology, pseudomonas putida, biosorption, waste water

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Authors: Nidal H. Abu-Zahra, Aruna P. Wanninayake

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Copper Oxide (CuO) is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap energy of 1.5 eV, this is close to the ideal energy gap of 1.4 eV required for solar cells to allow good solar spectral absorption. The inherent electrical characteristics of CuO nano particles make them attractive candidates for improving the performance of polymer solar cells when incorporated into the active polymer layer. The UV-visible absorption spectra and external quantum efficiency of P3HT/PC70BM solar cells containing different weight percentages of CuO nano particles showed a clear enhancement in the photo absorption of the active layer, this increased the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells by 24% in comparison to the reference cell. The short circuit current of the reference cell was found to be 5.234 mA/cm2 and it seemed to increase to 6.484 mA/cm2 in cells containing 0.6 mg of CuO NPs; in addition the fill factor increased from 61.15% to 68.0%, showing an enhancement of 11.2%. These observations suggest that the optimum concentration of CuO nano particles was 0.6 mg in the active layer. These significant findings can be applied to design high-efficiency polymer solar cells containing inorganic nano particles.

Keywords: copper oxide nanoparticle, UV-visible spectroscopy, polymer solar cells, P3HT/PCBM

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Authors: Federico Capra, Emanuele Martelli, Matteo Gazzani, Marco Mazzotti, Maurizio Notaro

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Natural gas is a major energy source in the current global economy, contributing to roughly 21% of the total primary energy consumption. Production of natural gas starting from renewable energy sources is key to limit the related CO2 emissions, especially for those sectors that heavily rely on natural gas use. In this context, biomethane produced via biogas upgrading represents a good candidate for partial substitution of fossil natural gas. The upgrading process of biogas to biomethane consists in (i) the removal of pollutants and impurities (e.g. H2S, siloxanes, ammonia, water), and (ii) the separation of carbon dioxide from methane. Focusing on the CO2 removal process, several technologies can be considered: chemical or physical absorption with solvents (e.g. water, amines), membranes, adsorption-based systems (PSA). However, none emerged as the leading technology, because of (i) the heterogeneity in plant size, ii) the heterogeneity in biogas composition, which is strongly related to the feedstock type (animal manure, sewage treatment, landfill products), (iii) the case-sensitive optimal tradeoff between purity and recovery of biomethane, and iv) the destination of the produced biomethane (grid injection, CHP applications, transportation sector). With this contribution, we explore the use of a technology for biogas upgrading and we compare the resulting performance with benchmark technologies. The proposed technology makes use of a chemical sorbent, which is engineered by RSE and consists of Di-Ethanol-Amine deposited on a solid support made of γ-Alumina, to chemically adsorb the CO2 contained in the gas. The material is packed into fixed beds that cyclically undergo adsorption and regeneration steps. CO2 is adsorbed at low temperature and ambient pressure (or slightly above) while the regeneration is carried out by pulling vacuum and increasing the temperature of the bed (vacuum-temperature swing adsorption - VTSA). Dynamic adsorption tests were performed by RSE and were used to tune the mathematical model of the process, including material and transport parameters (i.e. Langmuir isotherms data and heat and mass transport). Based on this set of data, an optimal VTSA cycle was designed. The results enabled a better understanding of the interplay between material and cycle tuning. As exemplary application, the upgrading of biogas for grid injection, produced by an anaerobic digester (60-70% CO2, 30-40% CH4), for an equivalent size of 1 MWel was selected. A plant configuration is proposed to maximize heat recovery and minimize the energy consumption of the process. The resulting performances are very promising compared to benchmark solutions, which make the VTSA configuration a valuable alternative for biomethane production starting from biogas.

Keywords: biogas upgrading, biogas upgrading energetic cost, CO2 adsorption, VTSA process modelling

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Authors: Dogan Cetin, Omar Hamdi Jasim

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Using some additives is very common method to improve the soil properties such as shear strength, bearing capacity; and to reduce the settlement and lateral deformation. Soil reinforcement with natural materials is an attractive method to improve the soil properties because of their low cost. However, the studies conducted by using natural additive are very limited. This paper presents the results of an investigation on the immediate and long-term effects of the sawdust on the shear strength behavior of a clayey silt soil obtained in Arnavutkoy in Istanbul with sawdust. Firstly, compaction tests were conducted to be able to optimum moisture content for every percentage of sawdust. The samples were obtained from compacted soil at optimum moisture content. UU Triaxial Tests were conducted to evaluate the response of randomly distributed sawdust on the strength of low plasticity clayey silt soil. The specimens were tested with 1%, 2% and 3% content of sawdust. It was found that the undrained shear strength of clay soil with 1%, 2% and 3% sawdust were increased respectively 4.65%, 27.9% and 39.5% higher than the soil without additive. At 5%, shear strength of clay soil decreased by 3.8%. After 90 days cure period, the shear strength of the soil with 1%, 2%, 3% and %5 increased respectively 251%, 302%, 260% and 153%. It can be said that the effect of the sawdust usage has a remarkable effect on the undrained shear strength of the soil. Besides the increasing undrained shear strength, it was also found that the sawdust decreases the liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity index by 5.5%, 2.9 and 10.9% respectively.

Keywords: compaction test, sawdust, shear strength, UU Triaxial Test

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Authors: Fatemeh Yazdandoust

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Sustainability is a growing concern in architecture and urban planning due to the environmental impact of the built environment. Ecological challenges persist despite the proliferation of sustainable design strategies, prompting a critical reevaluation of existing approaches. This study examines sustainable design practices, focusing on the origins and processes of production, environmental impact, and socioeconomic dimensions. It also discusses ‘cleantech’ initiatives, which often prioritize profitability over ecological stewardship. The study advocates for a paradigm shift in urban design towards greater adaptability, complexity, and inclusivity, embracing porosity, incompleteness, and seed planning. This holistic approach emphasizes citizen participation and bottom-up interventions, reimagining urban spaces as evolving ecosystems. The study calls for a reimagining of sustainability that transcends conventional green design concepts, promoting a more resilient and inclusive built environment through an open system approach grounded in adaptability, diversity, and equity principles.

Keywords: sustainability, clean-tech, open system design, sustainable design

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Authors: Armin Shirbazo, Mohammad Vahab, Hamed Lamei Ramandi, Jalal Fahimpour

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One of the most effective ways for increasing production in wells that are faced with problems such as pressure depletion and low rate is hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is creating a high permeable path through the reservoir and simulated area around the wellbore. This is very important for low permeability reservoirs, which their production is uneconomical. In this study, the influence of the fracturing pattern in multi-stage fractured horizontal wells is analyzed for a tight, heavy oil reservoir to explore the impact of fracturing patterns on improving oil recovery. The horizontal well has five transverse fractures with the same fracture length, width, height, and conductivity properties. The fracture patterns are divided into four distinct shapes: uniform shape, diamond shape, U shape, and W shape. The results show that different fracturing patterns produce various cumulative production after ten years, and the best pattern can be selected based on the most cumulative production. The result also illustrates that optimum design in fracturing can boost the production up to 3% through the permeability distribution around the wellbore and reservoir.

Keywords: multi-stage fracturing, horizontal well, fracture patterns, fracture length, number of stages

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Authors: Jessada Monthasuwan, Charinsak Saetiaw, Chanchai Thongsopa

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This paper presents the development and design of the curved rectangular patch arrays antenna for small missile application. This design uses a 0.1mm flexible copper sheet on the front layer and back layer, and a 1.8mm PVC substrate on a middle layer. The study used a small missile model with 122mm diameter size with speed 1.1 Mach and frequency range on ISM 2.4 GHz. The design of curved antenna can be installation on a cylindrical object like a missile. So, our proposed antenna design will have a small size, lightweight, low cost, and simple structure. The antenna was design and analysis by a simulation result from CST microwave studio and confirmed with a measurement result from a prototype antenna. The proposed antenna has a bandwidth covering the frequency range 2.35-2.48 GHz, the return loss below -10 dB and antenna gain 6.5 dB. The proposed antenna can be applied with a small guided missile effectively.

Keywords: rectangular patch arrays, small missile antenna, antenna design and simulation, cylinder PVC tube

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Authors: Idil Kanter Otcu

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Nowadays, due to the growing problems of energy supply and the drastic reduction of natural non-renewable resources, the development of new applications in the energy sector and steps towards greater efficiency in energy consumption are required. Since buildings account for a large share of energy consumption, increasing the structural density of buildings causes an increase in energy consumption. This increase in energy consumption means that energy efficiency approaches to building design and the integration of new systems using emerging technologies become necessary in order to curb this consumption. As new systems for productive usage of generated energy are developed, buildings that require less energy to operate, with rational use of resources, need to be developed. One solution for reducing the energy requirements of buildings is through landscape planning, design and application. Requirements such as heating, cooling and lighting can be met with lower energy consumption through planting design, which can help to achieve more efficient and rational use of resources. Within this context, rather than a planting design which considers only the ecological and aesthetic features of plants, these considerations should also extend to spatial organization whereby the relationship between the site and open spaces in the context of climatic elements and planting designs are taken into account. In this way, the planting design can serve an additional purpose. In this study, a landscape design which takes into consideration location, local climate morphology and solar angle will be illustrated on a sample building project.

Keywords: energy efficiency, landscape design, plant design, xeriscape landscape

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Authors: Kholod J. Alotaibi, Andrew M. Gravell

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Usability is an important software quality that is often neglected at the design stage. Although methods exist to incorporate elements of usability engineering, there is a need for more balanced usability focused methods that can enhance the experience of software usability for users. In this regard, the potential for Usage-Centered Design is explored with respect to requirements gathering and is shown to lead to high software usability besides other benefits. It achieves this through its focus on usage, defining essential use cases, by conducting task modeling, encouraging user collaboration, refining requirements, and so on. The requirements gathering process in UgCD is described in detail.

Keywords: requirements gathering, usability, usage-centred design, computer science

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Authors: E. Ielegems, J. Herssens, J. Vanrie

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Designers require knowledge and data about a diversity of users throughout the design process to create inclusive design solutions which are usable, understandable and desirable by everyone. Besides understanding users’ needs and expectations, the ways in which users perceive and experience the built environment contain valuable knowledge for architects. Since users’ perceptions and experiences are mainly tacit by nature, they are much more difficult to express in words and therefore more difficult to externalise. Nevertheless, literature confirms the importance of articulating embodied knowledge from users throughout the design process. Hence, more insight is needed into the ways architects can build knowledge on Universal Design through direct user contact. In a project called ‘light up for all’ architecture students are asked to design a light switch and socket, elegant, usable and understandable to the greatest extent possible by everyone. Two workshops with user/experts are organised in the first stages of the design process in which students could gain insight into users’ experiences through direct contact. Three data collection techniques are used to analyse the teams’ design processes. First, students were asked to keep a design diary, reporting design activities, personal experiences, and thoughts about users throughout the design process. Second, one of the authors observed workshops taking field notes. Finally, focus groups are conducted with the design teams after the design process was finished. By means of analysing collected qualitative data, we first identify different design aspects that make the teams’ proposals more inclusive than standard design solutions. For this paper, we specifically focus on aspects that externalise embodied user knowledge from users’ experiences. Subsequently, we look at designers’ approaches to learn about these specific aspects throughout the design process. Results show that in some situations, designers perceive contradicting knowledge between observations and verbal conversations, which shows the value of direct user contact. Additionally, findings give indications on values and limitations of working with selected prototypes as ‘boundary objects’ when externalising users’ experiences. These insights may help researchers to better understand designers’ process of eliciting embodied user knowledge. This way, research can offer more effective support to architects, which may result in better incorporating users’ experiences so that the built environment gradually can become more inclusive for all.

Keywords: universal design, architecture, design process, embodied user knowledge

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Authors: Cheng-Chi Yu, Yu-Shiue Wang, Kei-Lin Kuo

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Active Independent Front Steering system is a steering system which can according to vehicle driving situation adjusts the relation of steering angle between inner wheel and outer wheel. In low-speed cornering, AIFS sets the steering angles of inner and outer wheel into Ackerman steering geometry to make vehicle has less cornering radius. Besides, AIFS changes the steering geometry to parallel or even anti-Ackerman steering geometry to keep vehicle stability in high-speed cornering. Therefore, based on the analysis of the vehicle steering behavior from different steering geometries, this study develops a new screw type of active independent front steering system to make vehicles best cornering performance at any speeds. The screw type of active independent front steering system keeps the pinion and separates the rack into main rack and second rack. Two racks connect by a screw. Extra screw rotated motion powered by assistant motor through coupler makes second rack move relative to main rack, which can adjust both steering ratio and steering geometry. First of all, this study distinguishes the steering geometry by using Ackerman percentage and utilizes the software of ADAMS/Car to construct diverse steering geometry models. The different steering geometries are compared at low-speed and high-speed cornering, and then control strategies of the active independent front steering systems could be formulated. Secondly, this study applies closed loop equation to analyze tire steering angles and carries out optimization calculations to make the steering geometry from traditional rack and pinion steering system near to Ackerman steering geometry. Steering characteristics of the optimum steering mechanism and motion characteristics of vehicle installed the steering mechanism are verified by ADAMS/Car models of front suspension and full vehicle respectively. By adding dual auxiliary rack and dual motor to the optimum steering mechanism, the active independent front steering system could be developed to achieve the functions of variable steering ratio and variable steering geometry. At last, this study uses ADAMS/Car and Matlab/Simulink to co-simulate the cornering motion of vehicles confirms the vehicle installed the Active Independent Front Steering (AIFS) system has better handling performance than that with Active Independent Steering (AFS) system or with Electric Power Steering (EPS) system. At low-speed cornering, the vehicles with AIFS system and with AFS system have better maneuverability, less cornering radius, than the traditional vehicle with EPS system because that AIFS and AFS systems both provide function of variable steering ratio. However, there is a slight penalty in the motor(s) power consumption. In addition, because of the capability of variable steering geometry, the vehicle with AIFS system has better high-speed cornering stability, trajectory keeping, and even less motor(s) power consumption than that with EPS system and also with AFS system.

Keywords: active front steering system, active independent front steering system, steering geometry, steering ratio

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Authors: Panagiotis Karadimos, Leonidas Anthopoulos

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Predicting the actual cost and duration in construction projects concern a continuous and existing problem for the construction sector. This paper addresses this problem with modern methods and data available from past public construction projects. 39 bridge projects, constructed in Greece, with a similar type of available data were examined. Considering each project’s attributes with the actual cost and the actual duration, correlation analysis is performed and the most appropriate predictive project variables are defined. Additionally, the most efficient subgroup of variables is selected with the use of the WEKA application, through its attribute selection function. The selected variables are used as input neurons for neural network models through correlation analysis. For constructing neural network models, the application FANN Tool is used. The optimum neural network model, for predicting the actual cost, produced a mean squared error with a value of 3.84886e-05 and it was based on the budgeted cost and the quantity of deck concrete. The optimum neural network model, for predicting the actual duration, produced a mean squared error with a value of 5.89463e-05 and it also was based on the budgeted cost and the amount of deck concrete.

Keywords: actual cost and duration, attribute selection, bridge construction, neural networks, predicting models, FANN TOOL, WEKA

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Authors: Bangkit Adhi Nugraha, Bambang Suripto

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On September 2016 Bank Indonesia (BI) release regulation no.18/18/PBI/2016 that permit bank clients for using the FX option call spread USD/IDR. Basically, this product is a combination between clients buy FX call option (pay premium) and sell FX call option (receive premium) to protect against currency depreciation while also capping the potential upside with cheap premium cost. BI classifies this product as a structured product. The structured product is combination at least two financial instruments, either derivative or non-derivative instruments. The call spread is the first structured product against IDR permitted by BI since 2009 as response the demand increase from Indonesia firms on FX hedging through derivative for protecting market risk their foreign currency asset or liability. The composition of hedging products on Indonesian FX market increase from 35% on 2015 to 40% on 2016, the majority on swap product (FX forward, FX swap, cross currency swap). Swap is formulated by interest rate difference of the two currency pairs. The cost of swap product is 7% for USD/IDR with one year USD/IDR volatility 13%. That cost level makes swap products seem expensive for hedging buyers. Because call spread cost (around 1.5-3%) cheaper than swap, the most Indonesian firms are using NDF FX call spread USD/IDR on offshore with outstanding amount around 10 billion USD. The cheaper cost of call spread is the main advantage for hedging buyers. The problem arises because BI regulation requires the call spread buyer doing the dynamic hedging. That means, if call spread buyer choose strike price 1 and strike price 2 and volatility USD/IDR exchange rate surpass strike price 2, then the call spread buyer must buy another call spread with strike price 1’ (strike price 1’ = strike price 2) and strike price 2’ (strike price 2’ > strike price 1‘). It could make the premium cost of call spread doubled or even more and dismiss the purpose of hedging buyer to find the cheapest hedging cost. It is very crucial for the buyer to choose best optimum strike price before entering into the transaction. To help hedging buyer find the optimum strike price and avoid expensive multiple premium cost, we observe ten years 2005-2015 historical data of USD/IDR volatility to be compared with the price movement of the call spread USD/IDR using Garman–Kohlhagen Model (as a common formula on FX option pricing). We use statistical tools to analysis data correlation, understand nature of call spread price movement over ten years, and determine factors affecting price movement. We select some range of strike price and tenor and calculate the probability of dynamic hedging to occur and how much it’s cost. We found USD/IDR currency pairs is too uncertain and make dynamic hedging riskier and more expensive. We validated this result using one year data and shown small RMS. The study result could be used to understand nature of FX call spread and determine optimum strike price for hedging plan.

Keywords: FX call spread USD/IDR, USD/IDR volatility statistical analysis, Garman–Kohlhagen Model on FX Option USD/IDR, Bank Indonesia Regulation no.18/18/PBI/2016

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Authors: M. Karaman, H. Catalkaya

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Due to the complex nature of cyber attacks and their effects ranging from personal to governmental level, it becomes one of the priority tasks for operation planners to take into account the risks, influences and effects of cyber attacks. However it can also be embedded or integrated technically with electronic warfare planning, cyber operation planning is needed to have a sole and broadened perspective. This perspective embodies itself firstly in operational design and then military decision making process. In order to find out the ill-structured problems, understand or visualize the operational environment and frame the problem, operational design can help support cyber operation planners and commanders. After having a broadened and conceptual startup with cyber operational design, military decision making process will follow the principles of design into more concrete elements like reaching results after risk management and center of gravity analysis of our and the enemy. In this paper we tried to emphasize the importance of cyber operational design, cyber operation planning and its integration to military decision making problem. In this foggy, uncertain and unaccountable cyber security environment, it is inevitable to stay away from cyber attacks. Therefore, a cyber operational design should be formed with line of operations, decisive points and end states in cyber then a tactical military decision making process should be followed with cyber security focus in order to support the whole operation.

Keywords: cyber operational design, military decision making process (MDMP), operation planning, end state

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Authors: Siddhi Pedamkar, Reenu Singh

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This report is based on how a culture transforms from one era to another era in commercial space. This transformation is observed in commercial as well as residential spaces. The spaces have specific color concepts, surface detailing furniture, and function-specific layouts. But the cultural impact is very rarely seen in commercial spaces, mostly because the interior is divine by function to a large extent. Information was collected from books and research papers. A quantitative survey was conducted to understand people's perceptions about the impact of culture on design entities and how culture dictates the different types of space and their character. The survey also highlights the impact of types of interior lighting, colour schemes, and furniture types on the interior environment. The questionnaire survey helped in framing design parameters for contemporary interior design. The design parameters are used to propose design options for new-age furniture that can be used in co-working spaces. For the new and contemporary working spaces, new age design furniture, interior elements such as visual partition, semi-visual partition, lighting, and layout can be transformed by cultural changes in the working style of people and organization.

Keywords: commercial space, culture, environment, furniture, interior

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Authors: V. Manjunath, C. V. Chandrashekara

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Ecosystem authority calls for the use of lubricants with less effect on the nature in terms of exhaust emission, while engine user demands more mileage per liter of fuel without any compromise on engine durability. From this viewpoint, engine manufacturers require the optimum combination of materials and lubricant additive package to minimize friction and wear in the engine components like piston, crankshaft and valve train etc. The demands are placed for requirements to operate at higher speeds, loads, temperature and for extended replacement intervals of engine oil. Besides, it is necessary to accurately predict the lubricant life or the replacement interval to prevent lubrication and valve-train components failure. Experimental tribology evaluation of new engine oils requires large amount of time and energy. Hence low cost bench test is necessary for industries and original equipment manufacturing companies (OEM) to study the performance of lubricants. The present work outlines the procedure for the design and development of a valve train wear rig (MCR) to simulate the ASTMD-6891 and to develop new engine test for Indian automobile sector to evaluate lubricants for Indian automobile market. In order to improve the lubrication between cam and follower of internal combustion engine, the influence of materials or oils viscosity and additives on the friction and wear characteristics are examined with test rig by increasing the contact load at two different revolution speed. From the experimentation following results are made obvious. Temperature, Torque, speed and wear plots are used to validate the data obtained from the newly developed multi-cam cam rig (MCR) with follower against a cast iron camshaft. Camshaft lobe wear is measured at seven different locations on cam profile. Tribofilm formed using 5W-30 oil is evaluated and correlated with the standard test results.

Keywords: ASTMD-6891, multi-cam rig (MCR), 5W-30, cam-profile

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Authors: A. Khalina, K. Shaharuddin, M. S. Wahab, M. P. Saiman, H. A. Aisyah

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This paper investigates the effect of alkali treatment and mechanical properties of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) fibre for the development of yarn. Two different fibre sources are used for the yarn production. Kenaf fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the concentration of 3, 6, 9, and 12% prior to fibre opening process and tested for their tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Then, the selected fibres were introduced to fibre opener at three different opening processing parameters; namely, speed of roller feeder, small drum, and big drum. The diameter size, surface morphology, and fibre durability towards machine of the fibres were characterized. The results show that concentrations of NaOH used have greater effects on fibre mechanical properties. From this study, the tensile and modulus properties of the treated fibres for both types have improved significantly as compared to untreated fibres, especially at the optimum level of 6% NaOH. It is also interesting to highlight that 6% NaOH is the optimum concentration for the alkaline treatment. The untreated and treated fibres at 6% NaOH were then introduced to fibre opener, and it was found that the treated fibre produced higher fibre diameter with better surface morphology compared to the untreated fibre. Higher speed parameter during opening was found to produce higher yield of opened-kenaf fibres.

Keywords: alkaline treatment, kenaf fibre, tensile strength, yarn production

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Authors: Dawit Abay Tesfamariam

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Ethiopia’s Climate- Resilient Green Economy (ECRGE) strategy focuses mainly on generating and proper utilization of renewable energy (RE). Nonetheless, the current electricity generation of the country is dominated by hydropower. The data collected in 2016 by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) indicates that the intermittent RE sources from solar and wind energy were only 8 %. On the other hand, the EEP electricity generation plan in 2030 indicates that 36.1 % of the energy generation share will be covered by solar and wind sources. Thus, a case study was initiated to model and compute the balance and consumption of electricity in three different scenarios: 2016, 2025, and 2030 using the EnergyPLAN Model (EPM). Initially, the model was validated using the 2016 annual power-generated data to conduct the EnergyPLAN (EP) analysis for two predictive scenarios. The EP simulation analysis using EPM for 2016 showed that there was no significant excess power generated. Thus, the EPM was applied to analyze the role of energy storage in RE in Ethiopian grid systems. The results of the EP simulation analysis showed there will be excess production of 402 /7963 MW average and maximum, respectively, in 2025. The excess power was in the three rainy months of the year (June, July, and August). The outcome of the model also showed that in the dry seasons of the year, there would be excess power production in the country. Consequently, based on the validated outcomes of EP indicates, there is a good reason to think about other alternatives for the utilization of excess energy and storage of RE. Thus, from the scenarios and model results obtained, it is realistic to infer that if the excess power is utilized with a storage system, it can stabilize the grid system and be exported to support the economy. Therefore, researchers must continue to upgrade the current and upcoming storage system to synchronize with potentials that can be generated from renewable energy.

Keywords: renewable energy, power, storage, wind, energy plan

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Authors: Zainul Huda, Mohammed Hani Ajani

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The design, manufacture, and operation of thin-walled pressure vessels must be based on maximum safe operating pressure and an adequate factor of safety (FoS). This research paper first reports experimental evaluation of longitudinal and hoops stresses based on working pressure as well as maximum pressure; and then includes a critical study of factor of safety (FoS) in the design of a glass fiber pressure vessel. Experimental work involved the use of measuring instruments and the readings from pressure gauges. Design calculations involved the computations of design stress and FoS; the latter was based on breaking strength of 55 MPa for the glass fiber (pressure-vessel material). The experimentally determined FoS value has been critically compared with the general FoS allowed in the design of glass fiber pressure vessels.

Keywords: thin-walled pressure vessel, hoop stress, longitudinal stress, factor of safety (FoS), fiberglass

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Authors: Zainul Huda, Mohammad Hani Ajani

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The design, manufacture, and operation of thin-walled pressure vessels must be based on maximum safe operating pressure and an adequate factor of safety (FoS). This research paper first reports experimental evaluation of longitudinal and hoops stresses based on working pressure as well as maximum pressure; and then includes a critical study of factor of safety (FoS) in the design of a glass fiber pressure vessel. Experimental work involved the use of measuring instruments and the readings from pressure gauges. Design calculations involved the computations of design stress and FoS; the latter was based on breaking strength of 55 MPa for the glass fiber (pressure-vessel material). The experimentally determined FoS value has been critically compared with the general FoS allowed in the design of glass fiber pressure vessels.

Keywords: thin-walled pressure vessel, hoop stress, longitudinal stress, factor of safety (FoS), fiberglass

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Authors: Berger Aida

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Social entrepreneurship has emerged as an active area of practice and research within the last three decades and has called for a focus on Social Entrepreneurship innovation. Areas such as academics, practitioners , institutions or governments have placed Social Entrepreneurship on the priority list of reflexion and action. It has been accepted that Social entrepreneurship (SE) shares large similarities with its parent, Traditional Entrepreneurship (TE). SE has grown over the past ten years exploring entrepreneurial cognition and the analysis of the ways of thinking of entrepreneurs. The research community believes that value exists in grounding entrepreneurship in neuroscience and notes that SE, like Traditional Entrepreneurship, needs to undergo efforts in clarification, definition and differentiation. Moreover, gaps in SE research call for integrative multistage and multilevel framework for further research. The cognitive processes underpinning entrepreneurial action are similar for SE and TE even if Social Entrepreneurship orientation shows an increased empathy value. Theoretically, there is a need to develop sound models of how to process functions and how to work more effectively as entrepreneurs and research on efficiency improvement calls for the analysis of the most common practices in entrepreneurship. Multitasking has been recognized as a daily and unavoidable habit of entrepreneurs. Hence, we believe in the need of analyzing the multiple task phenomena as a methodology for skill acquisition. We will conduct our paper including Social Entrepreneurship within the wider spectrum of Traditional Entrepreneurship, for the purpose of simplifying the neuroscientific lecture of the entrepreneurial cognition. A question to be inquired is to know if there is a way of developing multitasking habits in order to improve entrepreneurial skills such as speed of information processing , creativity and adaptability . Nevertheless, the direct link between the neuroscientific approach to multitasking and entrepreneurship effectiveness is yet to be uncovered. That is why an extensive Literature Review on Multitasking is a propos.

Keywords: cognitive, entrepreneurial, empathy, multitasking

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Authors: Priyal Motwani

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The current market for bamboo products in India is about Rs. 21000 crores and is highly unorganised and fragmented. In this study, we have closely analysed the structure and functions of a major bamboo craft based organisation in Kerela, India and elaborated about its value chain, product mix, pricing strategy and supply chain, collaborations and competitive landscape. We have identified six major bottlenecks that are prevalent in such organisations, based on the Indian context, in relation to their product mix, asset management, and supply chain- corresponding waste management and retail network. The study has identified that the target customers for the bamboo based products and alternative revenue streams (eco-tourism, microenterprises, training), by carrying out secondary and primary research (5000 sample space), that can boost the existing revenue by 150%. We have then recommended an optimum product mix-covering premium, medium and low valued processing, for medium sized bamboo based organisations, in accordance with their capacity to maximize their revenue potential. After studying such organisations and their counter parts, the study has established an optimum retail network, considering B2B, B2C physical and online retail, to maximize their sales to their target groups. On the basis of the results obtained from the analysis of the future and present trends, our study gives recommendations to improve the revenue potential of bamboo based organisation in India and promote sustainability.

Keywords: bamboo, bottlenecks, optimization, product mix, retail network, value chain

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Authors: Maruf Yinka Kolawole, Jacob Olayiwola Aweda, Farasat Iqbal, Asif Ali, Sulaiman Abdulkareem

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Zinc is a non-ferrous metal with potential application in orthopaedic implant materials. However, its poor mechanical properties were major challenge to its application. Therefore, this paper studies the mechanical properties of biodegradable Zn-based alloy for biomedical application. Pure zinc powder with varying (0, 1, 2, 3 & 6) wt% of magnesium powders were ball milled using ball-to-powder ratio (B:P) of 10:1 at 350 rpm for 4 hours. The resulting milled powders were compacted and sintered at 300 MPa and 350 °C respectively. Microstructural, phase and mechanical properties analyses were performed following American standard of testing and measurement. The results show that magnesium has influence on the mechanical properties of zinc. The compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus of 210 ± 8.878 MPa, 76 ± 5.707 HV and 45 ± 11.616 GPa respectively as obtained in Zn-2Mg alloy were optimum and meet the minimum requirement of biodegradable metal for orthopaedics application. These results indicate an increase of 111, 93 and 93% in compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus respectively as compared to pure zinc. The increase in mechanical properties was adduced to effectiveness of compaction pressure and intermetallic phase formation within the matrix resulting in high dislocation density for improving strength. The study concluded that, Zn-2Mg alloy with optimum mechanical properties can therefore be considered a potential candidate for orthopaedic application.

Keywords: Biodegradable metal, Biomedical application, Mechanical properties, Powder Metallurgy, Zinc

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Tolulope A. Olukunle

Abstract:

Plastic waste management has emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing developing countries. This paper describes the design of various components of a plastic shredder. This machine is widely used in industries and recycling plants. The introduction of plastic shredder machine will promote reduction of post-consumer plastic waste accumulation and serves as a system for wealth creation and empowerment through conversion of waste into economically viable products. In this design research, a 10 kW electric motor with a rotational speed of 500 rpm was chosen to drive the shredder. A pulley size of 400 mm is mounted on the electric motor at a distance of 1000 mm away from the shredder pulley. The shredder rotational speed is 300 rpm.

Keywords: design, machine, plastic waste, recycling

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Himanshu Singh, Rishi Kant, Shantanu Bhattacharya

Abstract:

This paper adopts a top-down approach for mathematical modeling to predict the size reduction from micro to nano-scale through persistent etching. The process is simulated using a finite difference approach. Previously, various researchers have simulated the etching process for 1-D and 2-D substrates. It consists of two processes: 1) Convection-Diffusion in the etchant domain; 2) Chemical reaction at the surface of the particle. Since the process requires analysis along moving boundary, partial differential equations involved cannot be solved using conventional methods. In 1-D, this problem is very similar to Stefan's problem of moving ice-water boundary. A fixed grid method using finite volume method is very popular for modelling of etching on a one and two dimensional substrate. Other popular approaches include moving grid method and level set method. In this method, finite difference method was used to discretize the spherical diffusion equation. Due to symmetrical distribution of etchant, the angular terms in the equation can be neglected. Concentration is assumed to be constant at the outer boundary. At the particle boundary, the concentration of the etchant is assumed to be zero since the rate of reaction is much faster than rate of diffusion. The rate of reaction is proportional to the velocity of the moving boundary of the particle. Modelling of the above reaction was carried out using Matlab. The initial particle size was taken to be 50 microns. The density, molecular weight and diffusion coefficient of the substrate were taken as 2.1 gm/cm3, 60 and 10-5 cm2/s respectively. The etch-rate was found to decline initially and it gradually became constant at 0.02µ/s (1.2µ/min). The concentration profile was plotted along with space at different time intervals. Initially, a sudden drop is observed at the particle boundary due to high-etch rate. This change becomes more gradual with time due to declination of etch rate.

Keywords: particle size reduction, micromixer, FDM modelling, wet etching

Procedia PDF Downloads 431

Authors: D. Zahraddeen, N. M. Lemu, P. P. Barje, I. S. R. Butswat

Abstract:

This study was conducted to investigate some of the factors affecting the optimum reproductive capacity of the indigenous breeds of sheep in Nigeria. A total of 767 sheep of different breeds were investigated. The reproductive indices considered were birth/weaning weights, litter size, parity, mortality, reproductive problems/disorders, body condition score (BCS), as well as growth traits. The results showed that litter size, parity, and BCS had significant (p < 0.05) effects on birth/weaning weights, mortality rates and growth traits of the sheep breeds studied. Similarly, the rearing method/system significantly (p < 0.05) influenced other reproductive traits such as birth/weaning weights, mortality, growth performance of lambs. However, the major reproductive problems/disorders in the ewes were dystocia (30.94%), retained placenta (16.91%), mastitis (15.83), pregnancy toxaemia (11.51%), uterine prolapse (6.48%) and vaginal prolapse (3.24%). In the rams, the incidence of reproductive problems included cryptorchidism (1.08%), orchitis (2.87%) and scrotal dermatophilosis (1.79%), among others. This study concludes that the four breeds of sheep (Balami, Yankasa, Uda, and West African Dwarf sheep) and their crosses exhibited varied genetic make-up and potentials. However, the large number of sheep farmers practicing the extensive production system might be responsible for the low reproductive performance of this species in the country. It is, therefore, recommended that significant improvement could be achieved through enhanced management practices of these animals.

Keywords: sheep, breeds, reproduction, disorders

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Yashved Serhun, Kim A. Timm

Abstract:

Barclays Bank has identified the need for a head office building in Lusaka, Zambia, and construction of a 7200 m2 three-storey reinforced concrete office building with a structural steel roof is currently underway. A unique characteristic of the development is that the building footprint is positioned on dolomitic land. Dolomite rock has the tendency to react with and breakdown in the presence of slightly acidic water, including rainwater. This leads to a potential for subsidence and sinkhole formation. Subsidence and the formation of sinkholes beneath a building can be detrimental during both the construction and operational phases. This paper outlines engineering principles which were considered during the structural design of the raft foundation for the Barclays head office building. In addition, this paper includes multidisciplinary considerations and the impact of these on the structural engineering design of the raft foundation. By ensuring that the design of raft foundations on dolomitic land incorporates the requirements of all disciplines and relevant design codes during the design process, the risk associated with subsidence and sinkhole formation can be effectively mitigated during the operational phase of the building.

Keywords: dolomite, dolomitic land, raft foundation, structural engineering design

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: R. Sharma, J. K. Bhatnagar, Poonam, R. C. Sharma

Abstract:

Metal–air batteries have been designed and developed as an essential source of electric power to propel automobiles, make electronic equipment functional, and use them as the source of power in remote areas and space. High energy and power density, lightweight, easy recharge capabilities, and low cost are essential features of these batteries. Both primary and rechargeable magnesium air batteries are highly promising. Our focus will be on the basics of electrode reaction kinetics of Mg–air cell in this paper. Design and development of Mg or Mg alloys as anode materials, design and composition of air cathode, and promising electrolytes for Mg–air batteries have been reviewed. A brief note on the possible and proposed improvements in design and functionality is also incorporated. This article may serve as the primary and premier document in the critical research area of Mg-air battery systems.

Keywords: air cathode, battery design, magnesium air battery, magnesium anode, rechargeable magnesium air battery

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: P. Tej, P. Kněž, M. Blank

Abstract:

The paper presents design and production of thin-walled U-profile footbridge made of UHPFRC. The main structure of the bridge is one prefabricated shell structure made of UHPFRC with dispersed steel fibers without any conventional reinforcement. The span of the bridge structure is 10 m and the clear width of 1.5 m. The thickness of the UHPFRC shell structure oscillated in an interval of 30-45 mm. Several calculations were made during the bridge design and compared with the experiments. For the purpose of verifying the calculations, a segment of 1.5 m was first produced, followed by the whole footbridge for testing. After the load tests were done, the design was optimized to cast the final footbridge.

Keywords: footbridge, non-linear analysis, shell structure, UHPFRC, Ultra-High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Omar Pillaca-Pullo, Arturo Alejandro-Paredes, Carol Flores-Fernandez, Marijuly Sayuri Kina, Amparo Iris Zavaleta

Abstract:

Aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) is an interesting alternative for separating industrial enzymes due to it is easy to scale-up and low cost. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixed with potassium phosphate or magnesium sulfate is one of the most frequently polymer/salt ATPS used, but the consequences of its use is a high concentration of phosphates and sulfates in wastewater causing environmental issues. Citrate could replace these inorganic salts due to it is biodegradable and does not produce toxic compounds. On the other hand, statistical design of experiments is widely used for ATPS optimization and it allows to study the effects of the involved variables in the purification, and to estimate their significant effects on selected responses and interactions. The 24 factorial design with four central points (20 experiments) was employed to study the partition and purification of proteases produced by Pseudomonas sp. in PEG/citrate ATPS system. ATPS was prepared with different sodium citrate concentrations [14, 16 and 18% (w/w)], pH values (7, 8 and 9), PEG molecular weight (2,000; 4,000 and 6,000 g/mol) and PEG concentrations [18, 20 and 22 % (w/w)]. All system components were mixed with 15% (w/w) of the fermented broth and deionized water was added to a final weight of 12.5 g. Then, the systems were mixed and kept at room temperature until to reach two-phases separation. Volumes of the top and bottom phases were measured, and aliquots from both phases were collected for subsequent proteolytic activity and total protein determination. Influence of variables such as PEG molar mass (MPEG), PEG concentration (CPEG), citrate concentration (CSal) and pH were evaluated on the following responses: purification factor (PF), activity yield (Y), partition coefficient (K) and selectivity (S). STATISTICA program version 10 was used for the analysis. According to the obtained results, higher levels of CPEG and MPEG had a positive effect on extraction, while pH did not influence on the process. On the other hand, the CSal could be related with low values of Y because of the citrate ions have a negative effect on solubility and enzymatic structure. The optimum values of Y (66.4 %), PF (1.8), K (5.5) and S (4.3) were obtained at CSal (18%), MPEG (6,000 g/mol), CPEG (22%) and pH 9. These results indicated that the PEG/citrate system is accurate to purify these Pseudomonas sp. proteases from fermented broth as a first purification step.

Keywords: citrate, polyethylene glycol, protease, Pseudomonas sp

Procedia PDF Downloads 194