Search results for: order allocation

Authors: Stefanie M. Vanneste, Stijn Goeminne

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This paper studies the effect of political characteristics of 308 Flemish municipalities on their budget balance in the period 1995-2011. All local governments experience the same economic and financial setting, however some governments have high budget balances, while others have low budget balances. The aim of this paper is to explain the differences in municipal budget balances by a number of economic, socio-demographic and political variables. The economic and socio-demographic variables will be used as control variables, while the focus of this paper will be on the political variables. We test four hypotheses resulting from the literature, namely (i) the partisan hypothesis tests if left wing governments have lower budget balances, (ii) the fragmentation hypothesis stating that more fragmented governments have lower budget balances, (iii) the hypothesis regarding the power of the government, higher powered governments would resolve in higher budget balances, and (iv) the opportunistic budget cycle to test whether politicians manipulate the economic situation before elections in order to maximize their reelection possibilities and therefore have lower budget balances before elections. The contributions of our paper to the existing literature are multiple. First, we use the whole array of political variables and not just a selection of them. Second, we are dealing with a homogeneous database with the same budget and election rules, making it easier to focus on the political factors without having to control for the impact of differences in the political systems. Third, our research extends the existing literature on Flemish municipalities as this is the first dynamic research on local budget balances. We use a dynamic panel data model. Because of the two lagged dependent variables as explanatory variables, we employ the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimator. This is the best possible estimator as we are dealing with political panel data that is rather persistent. Our empirical results show that the effect of the ideological position and the power of the coalition are of less importance to explain the budget balance. The political fragmentation of the government on the other hand has a negative and significant effect on the budget balance. The more parties in a coalition the worse the budget balance is ceteris paribus. Our results also provide evidence of an opportunistic budget cycle, the budget balances are lower in pre-election years relative to the other years to try and increase the incumbents reelection possibilities. An additional finding is that the incremental effect of the budget balance is very important and should not be ignored like is being done in a lot of empirical research. The coefficients of the lagged dependent variables are always positive and very significant. This proves that the budget balance is subject to incrementalism. It is not possible to change the entire policy from one year to another so the actions taken in recent past years still have an impact on the current budget balance. Only a relatively small amount of research concerning the budget balance takes this considerable incremental effect into account. Our findings survive several robustness checks.

Keywords: budget balance, fragmentation, ideology, incrementalism, municipalities, opportunistic budget cycle, panel data, political characteristics, power, system GMM

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Authors: Mark Kennedy, E. Bantugon, Noruane A. Daileg

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Leaks arising from aircraft fuel tanks is a protracted problem for the aircraft manufacturers, operators, and maintenance crews. It principally arises from stress, structural defects, or degraded sealants as the aircraft age. It can be ignited by different sources, which can result in catastrophic flight and consequences, exhibiting a major drain both on time and budget. In order to mitigate and eliminate this kind of problem, the researcher produced an experimental sealant having a base material of natural tree resin, the Pili Tree Resin. Aside from producing an experimental sealant, the main objective of this research is to analyze its physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties, which is beneficial and effective for specific aircraft parts, particularly the integral fuel tank. The experimental method of research was utilized in this study since it is a product invention. This study comprises two parts, specifically the Optimization Process and the Characterization Process. In the Optimization Process, the experimental sealant was subjected to the Flammability Test, an important test and consideration according to 14 Code of Federal Regulation Appendix N, Part 25 - Fuel Tank Flammability Exposure and Reliability Analysis, to get the most suitable formulation. Followed by the Characterization Process, where the formulated experimental sealant has undergone thirty-eight (38) different standard testing including Organoleptic, Instrumental Color Measurement Test, Smoothness of Appearance Test, Miscibility Test, Boiling Point Test, Flash Point Test, Curing Time, Adhesive Test, Toxicity Test, Shore A Hardness Test, Compressive Strength, Shear Strength, Static Bending Strength, Tensile Strength, Peel Strength Test, Knife Test, Adhesion by Tape Test, Leakage Test), Drip Test, Thermogravimetry-Differential Thermal Analysis (TG-DTA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Calorific Value, Viscosity Test, Creep Test, and Anti-Sag Resistance Test to determine and analyze the five (5) material properties of the sealant. The numerical values of the mentioned tests are determined using product application, testing, and calculation. These values are then used to calculate the efficiency of the experimental sealant. Accordingly, this efficiency is the means of comparison between the experimental and commercial sealant. Based on the results of the different standard testing conducted, the experimental sealant exceeded all the data results of the commercial sealant. This result shows that the physicochemical-mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the experimental sealant are far more effective as an aircraft integral fuel tank sealant alternative in comparison to the commercial sealant. Therefore, Pili Tree possesses a new role and function: a source of ingredients in sealant production.

Keywords: Aircraft Integral Fuel Tank, Physicochemi-mechanical, Pili Tree Resin, Properties, Rheological, Sealant, Thermal

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Authors: Ekin Esen, Mohammad Alipour, Riza Kizilel

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Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have been replacing lead-acid batteries for the last decade due to their outstanding properties such as high energy density, long shelf life, and almost no memory effect. Besides these, being very light compared to lead acid batteries has gained them their dominant place in the portable electronics market, and they are now the leading candidate for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). However, their performance strongly depends on temperature, and this causes some inconveniences for their utilization in extreme temperatures. Since weather conditions vary across the globe, this situation limits their utilization for EVs and HEVs and makes a thermal management system obligatory for the battery units. The objective of this study is to understand thermal characteristics of Li-ion battery modules for various operation conditions and design a thermal management system to enhance battery performance in EVs and HEVs. In the first part of our study, we investigated thermal behavior of commercially available pouch type 20Ah LiFePO₄ (LFP) cells under various conditions. Main parameters were chosen as ambient temperature and discharge current rate. Each cell was charged and discharged at temperatures of 0°C, 10°C, 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C. The current rate of charging process was 1C while it was 1C, 2C, 3C, 4C, and 5C for discharge process. Temperatures of 7 different points on the cells were measured throughout charging and discharging with N-type thermocouples, and a detailed temperature profile was obtained. In the second part of our study, we connected 4 cells in series by clinching and prepared 4S1P battery modules similar to ones in EVs and HEVs. Three reference points were determined according to the findings of the first part of the study, and a thermocouple is placed on each reference point on the cells composing the 4S1P battery modules. In the end, temperatures of 6 points in the module and 3 points on the top surface were measured and changes in the surface temperatures were recorded for different discharge rates (0.2C, 0.5C, 0.7C, and 1C) at various ambient temperatures (0°C – 50°C). Afterwards, aluminum plates with channels were placed between the cells in the 4S1P battery modules, and temperatures were controlled with airflow. Airflow was provided with a regular compressor, and the effect of flow rate on cell temperature was analyzed. Diameters of the channels were in mm range, and shapes of the channels were determined in order to make the cell temperatures uniform. Results showed that the designed thermal management system could help keeping the cell temperatures in the modules uniform throughout charge and discharge processes. Other than temperature uniformity, the system was also beneficial to keep cell temperature close to the optimum working temperature of Li-ion batteries. It is known that keeping the temperature at an optimum degree and maintaining uniform temperature throughout utilization can help obtaining maximum power from the cells in battery modules for a longer time. Furthermore, it will increase safety by decreasing the risk of thermal runaways. Therefore, the current study is believed to be beneficial for wider use of Li batteries for battery modules of EVs and HEVs globally.

Keywords: lithium ion batteries, thermal management system, electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles

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Authors: Aboulkacem El Mehdi

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We develop a theoretical model at the crossroads of labour and urban economics, used for explaining the mechanism through which the duration of home-workplace trips and their monetary costs impact the labour demand and supply in a spatially scattered labour market and how they are impacted by a change in passenger transport infrastructures and services. The spatial disconnection between home and job opportunities is referred to as the spatial mismatch hypothesis (SMH). Its harmful impact on employment has been subject to numerous theoretical propositions. However, all the theoretical models proposed so far are patterned around the American context, which is particular as it is marked by racial discrimination against blacks in the housing and the labour markets. Therefore, it is only natural that most of these models are developed in order to reproduce a steady state characterized by agents carrying out their economic activities in a mono-centric city in which most unskilled jobs being created in the suburbs, far from the Blacks who dwell in the city-centre, generating a high unemployment rates for blacks, while the White population resides in the suburbs and has a low unemployment rate. Our model doesn't rely on any racial discrimination and doesn't aim at reproducing a steady state in which these stylized facts are replicated; it takes the main principle of the SMH -the spatial disconnection between homes and workplaces- as a starting point. One of the innovative aspects of the model consists in dealing with a SMH related issue at an aggregate level. We link the parameters of the passengers transport system to employment in the whole area of a city. We consider here a city that consists of four areas: two of them are residential areas with unemployed workers, the other two host firms looking for labour force. The workers compare the indirect utility of working in each area with the utility of unemployment and choose between submitting an application for the job that generate the highest indirect utility or not submitting. This arbitration takes account of the monetary and the time expenditures generated by the trips between the residency areas and the working areas. Each of these expenditures is clearly and explicitly formulated so that the impact of each of them can be studied separately than the impact of the other. The first findings show that the unemployed workers living in an area benefiting from good transport infrastructures and services have a better chance to prefer activity to unemployment and are more likely to supply a higher 'quantity' of labour than those who live in an area where the transport infrastructures and services are poorer. We also show that the firms located in the most accessible area receive much more applications and are more likely to hire the workers who provide the highest quantity of labour than the firms located in the less accessible area. Currently, we are working on the matching process between firms and job seekers and on how the equilibrium between the labour demand and supply occurs.

Keywords: labour market, passenger transport infrastructure, spatial mismatch hypothesis, urban economics

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Authors: Konstantine Eristavi

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The paper will contribute to the discussion on the pitfalls, limits, and possibilities of legal and rights discourse in opposing large infrastructural projects in the context of neoliberal globalisation. To this end, the paper will analyse the struggle against the Namakhvani HPP project in Georgia. The latter has been hailed by the government as one of the largest energy projects in the history of the country, with an enormous potential impact on energy security, energy independence, economic growth, and development. This takes place against the backdrop of decades of market-led -or neoliberal- model of development in Georgia, characterised by structural adjustments, deregulation, privatisation, and Laissez-Fair approach to foreign investment. In this context, the Georgian state vies with other low and middle-income countries for foreign capital by offering to potential investors, on the one hand, exemptions from social and environmental regulations and, on the other hand, huge legal concessions and safeguards, thereby participating in what is often called a “race to the bottom.” The Namakhvani project is a good example of this. At every stage, the project has been marred with violations of laws and regulations concerning transparency, participation, social and environmental regulations, and so on. Moreover, the leaked contract between the state and the developer reveals the contractual safeguards which effectively insulate the investment throughout the duration of the contract from the changes in the national law that might adversely affect investors’ rights and returns. These clauses, aimed at preserving investors' economic position, place the contract above national law in many respects and even conflict with fundamental constitutional rights. In response to the perceived deficiencies of the project, one of the largest and most diverse social movements in the history of post-soviet Georgia has been assembled, consisting of the local population, conservative and leftist groups, human rights and environmental NGOs, etc. Crucially, the resistance movement is actively using legal tools. In order to analyse both the limitations and possibilities of legal discourse, the paper will distinguish between internal and immanent critiques. Law as internal critique, in the context of the struggles around the Namakhvani project, while potentially fruitful in hindering the project, risks neglecting and reproducing those factors -e.g., the particular model of development- that made such contractual concessions and safeguards and concomitant rights violations possible in the first place. On the other hand, the use of rights and law as part of immanent critique articulates a certain incapacity on the part of the addressee government to uphold existing laws and rights due to structural factors, hence, pointing to a need for a fundamental change. This 'ruptural' form of legal discourse that the movement employs makes it possible to go beyond the discussion around the breaches of law and enables a critical deliberation on the development model within which these violations and extraordinary contractual safeguards become necessary. It will be argued that it is this form of immanent critique that expresses the emancipatory potential of legal discourse.

Keywords: law, resistance, development, rights

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Authors: Adriana Anselmo Oliveira

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The present project showcases a tile work from the Franco-Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992). It is a set of 8 panels composed of figurative and geometric tiles, with extra tiles framing nearby doors and windows in a study room in the (UFRRJ, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro). The aforementioned work was created between 1942 and 1943, during the artist's 6 year exile in the Brazilian city. This one-of-a-kind tileset was designed and made by Vieira da Silva between 1942 and 1943. Over the years, several units were lost, which led to their replacement in the nineties. However, these replacements don't do justice to the original work of art. In 2007, a project was initiated to fully repair and maintain the set. Three panels are removed and restored, but the project is halted. To this day, the three fully restored panels remain in boxes. In 2016 a new restoration project is submitted by the (Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa) in collaboration with de (Fundacão Árpád Szenes-Vieira da Silva). There are many varied opinions on restoring and conserving older pieces of art, however, we have the moral duty to safeguard the original materials used by the artist along with the artists original vision and also to care for the future generations of students who will use the space in which the tile-work was inserted. Many tiles have been replaced by white tiles, tiles with a divergent colour pallet and technique, and in a few cases, the incorrect place or way around. These many factors make it increasingly difficult to maintain the artists original vision and destroy and chance of coherence within the artwork itself. The conservative technician cannot make new images to fill the empty spaces or mark the remaining images with their own creative input. with reliable photographic documentation that can provide us with the necessary vision to allow us to proceed with an accurate reconstruction, we have the obligation to proceed and return the piece of art to its true form, as in its current state, it is impossible to maintain its original glory. Using the information we have, we must find a way to differentiate the original tiles from the reconstructions in order to recreate and reclaim the original message from the artist. The objective of this project is to understand the significance of tiles in Vieira da Silva's art as well as the influence they had on the artist's pictorial language since the colour definition on tile work is vastly different from the painting process as the materials change during their merger. Another primary goal is to understand what the previous interventions achieved besides increasing the artworks durability. The main objective is to submit a proposal that can salvage the artist's visual intention and supports it for posteriority. In summary, this proposal goes further than the usual conservative interventions as it intends to recreate the original artistic worth, prioritising the aesthetics and keeping its soul alive.

Keywords: Vieira da Silva, tiles, conservation, restoration

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Authors: Quentin C.P. Bourgogne, Vanessa Bouchart, Pierre Chevrier, Emmanuel Dattoli

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This study presents an experimental and theoretical work conducted on a PolyPhenylene Sulfide reinforced with 40%wt of short glass fibers (PPS GF40) and its matrix. Thermoplastics are widely used in the automotive industry to lightweight automotive parts. The replacement of metallic parts by thermoplastics is reaching under-the-hood parts, near the engine. In this area, the parts are subjected to high temperatures and are immersed in cooling liquid. This liquid is composed of water and glycol and can affect the mechanical properties of the composite. The aim of this work was thus to quantify the evolution of mechanical properties of the thermoplastic composite, as a function of temperature and liquid aging effects, in order to develop a reliable design of parts. An experimental campaign in the tensile mode was carried out at different temperatures and for various glycol proportions in the cooling liquid, for monotonic and cyclic loadings on a neat and a reinforced PPS. The results of these tests allowed to highlight some of the main physical phenomena occurring during these solicitations under tough hydro-thermal conditions. Indeed, the performed tests showed that temperature and liquid cooling aging can affect the mechanical behavior of the material in several ways. The more the cooling liquid contains water, the more the mechanical behavior is affected. It was observed that PPS showed a higher sensitivity to absorption than to chemical aggressiveness of the cooling liquid, explaining this dominant sensitivity. Two kinds of behaviors were noted: an elasto-plastic type under the glass transition temperature and a visco-pseudo-plastic one above it. It was also shown that viscosity is the leading phenomenon above the glass transition temperature for the PPS and could also be important under this temperature, mostly under cyclic conditions and when the stress rate is low. Finally, it was observed that soliciting this composite at high temperatures is decreasing the advantages of the presence of fibers. A new phenomenological model was then built to take into account these experimental observations. This new model allowed the prediction of the evolution of mechanical properties as a function of the loading environment, with a reduced number of parameters compared to precedent studies. It was also shown that the presented approach enables the description and the prediction of the mechanical response with very good accuracy (2% of average error at worst), over a wide range of hydrothermal conditions. A temperature-humidity equivalence principle was underlined for the PPS, allowing the consideration of aging effects within the proposed model. Then, a limit of improvement of the reachable accuracy was determinate for all models using this set of data by the application of an artificial intelligence-based model allowing a comparison between artificial intelligence-based models and phenomenological based ones.

Keywords: aging, analytical modeling, mechanical testing, polymer matrix composites, sequential model, thermomechanical

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Authors: Laura M. F. Bertens

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The houses we inhabit are important containers of memory. As homes, they take on meaning for those who live inside, and memories of family life become intimately tied up with rooms, windows, and gardens. Each new family creates a new layer of meaning, resulting in a palimpsest of family memory. These houses function quite literally as memory palaces, as a walk through a childhood home will show; each room conjures up images of past events. Over time, these personal memories become woven together with the cultural memory of countries and generations. The importance of the home is a central theme in art, and several contemporary artists have a special interest in the relationship between memory and the home. This paper analyses three case studies in order to get a deeper understanding of the ways in which the home functions and feels like a memory palace, both on an individual and on a collective, cultural level. Close reading of the artworks is performed on the theoretical intersection between Art History and Cultural Memory Studies. The first case study concerns works from the exhibition Mnemosyne by the artist duo Anne and Patrick Poirier. These works combine interests in architecture, archaeology, and psychology. Models of cities and fantastical architectural designs resemble physical structures (such as the brain), architectural metaphors used in representing the concept of memory (such as the memory palace), and archaeological remains, essential to our shared cultural memories. Secondly, works by Do Ho Suh will help us understand the relationship between the home and memory on a far more personal level; outlines of rooms from his former homes, made of colourful, transparent fabric and combined into new structures, provide an insight into the way these spaces retain individual memories. The spaces have been emptied out, and only the husks remain. Although the remnants of walls, light switches, doors, electricity outlets, etc. are standard, mass-produced elements found in many homes and devoid of inherent meaning, together they remind us of the emotional significance attached to the muscle memory of spaces we once inhabited. The third case study concerns an exhibition in a house put up for sale on the Dutch real estate website Funda. The house was built in 1933 by a Jewish family fleeing from Germany, and the father and son were later deported and killed. The artists Anne van As and CA Wertheim have used the history and memories of the house as a starting point for an exhibition called (T)huis, a combination of the Dutch words for home and house. This case study illustrates the way houses become containers of memories; each new family ‘resets’ the meaning of a house, but traces of earlier memories remain. The exhibition allows us to explore the transition of individual memories into shared cultural memory, in this case of WWII. Taken together, the analyses provide a deeper understanding of different facets of the relationship between the home and memory, both individual and collective, and the ways in which art can represent these.

Keywords: Anne and Patrick Poirier, cultural memory, Do Ho Suh, home, memory palace

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Authors: Murari Prasad

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This paper is motivated by the implications of indentured migration depicted in Amitav Ghosh’s critically acclaimed novel, Sea of Poppies (2008). Ghosh’s perspective on the experiences of North Indian indentured labourers moving from their homeland to a distant and unknown location across the seas suggests a radical attitudinal change among the migrants on board the Ibis, a schooner chartered to carry the recruits from Calcutta to Mauritius in the late 1830s. The novel unfolds the life-altering trauma of the bonded servants, including their efforts to maintain a sense of self while negotiating significant social and cultural transformations during the voyage which leads to the breakdown of familiar life-worlds. Equally, the migrants are introduced to an alternative network of relationships to ensure their survival away from land. They relinquish their entrenched beliefs and prejudices and commit themselves to a new brotherhood formed by ‘ship siblings.’ With the official abolition of direct slavery in 1833, the supply of cheap labour to the sugar plantation in British colonies as far-flung as Mauritius and Fiji to East Africa and the Caribbean sharply declined. Around the same time, China’s attempt to prohibit the illegal importation of opium from British India into China threatened the lucrative opium trade. To run the ever-profitable plantation colonies with cheap labour, Indian peasants, wrenched from their village economies, were indentured to plantations as girmitiyas (vernacularized from ‘agreement’) by the colonial government using the ploy of an optional form of recruitment. After the British conquest of the Isle of France in 1810, Mauritius became Britain’s premier sugar colony bringing waves of Indian immigrants to the island. In the articulations of their subjectivities one notices how the recruits cope with the alienating drudgery of indenture, mitigate the hardships of the voyage and forge new ties with pragmatic acts of cultural syncretism in a forward-looking autonomous community of ‘ship-siblings’ following the fracture of traditional identities. This paper tests the hypothesis that Ghosh envisions a kind of futuristic/utopian political collectivity in a hierarchically rigid, racially segregated and identity-obsessed world. In order to ground the claim and frame the complex representations of alliance and love across the boundaries of caste, religion, gender and nation, the essential methodology here is a close textual analysis of the novel. This methodology will be geared to explicate the utopian futurity that the novel gestures towards by underlining new regulations of life during voyage and dissolution of multiple differences among the indentured migrants on board the Ibis.

Keywords: indenture, colonial, opium, sugar plantation

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Authors: Lynn Brunet

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In 2019 the author published a book-length study examining Jung’s Red Book. This study consisted of a close reading of each of the chapters in Liber Novus, focussing on the fantasies themselves and Jung’s accompanying paintings. It found that the plots, settings, characters and symbolism in each of these fantasies are not entirely original but remarkably similar to those found in some of the higher degrees of Continental Freemasonry. Jung was the grandson of his namesake, C.G. Jung (1794–1864), who was a Freemason and one-time Grand Master of the Swiss Masonic Lodge. The study found that the majority of Jung’s fantasies are very similar to those of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, practiced in Switzerland during the time of Jung’s childhood. It argues that the fantasies appear to be memories of a series of terrifying initiatory ordeals conducted using spurious versions of the Masonic rites. Spurious Freemasonry is a term that Masons use for the ‘irregular’ or illegitimate use of the rituals and are not sanctioned by the Order. Since the 1980s there have been multiple reports of ritual trauma amongst a wide variety of organizations, cults and religious groups that psychologists, counsellors, social workers, and forensic scientists have confirmed. The abusive use of Masonic rites features frequently in these reports. This initial study allows a reading of The Red Book that makes sense of the obscure references, bizarre scenarios and intense emotional trauma described by Jung throughout Liber Novus. It suggests that Jung appears to have undergone a cruel initiatory process as a child. The author is currently examining the extra material found in Jung’s Black Books and the results are confirming the original discoveries and demonstrating a number of aspects not covered in the first publication. These include the complex layering of ancient gods and belief systems in answer to Jung’s question, ‘In which underworld am I?’ It demonstrates that the majority of these ancient systems and their gods are discussed in a handbook for the Scottish Rite, Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike, but that the way they are presented by Philemon and his soul is intended to confuse him rather than clarify their purpose. This new study also examines Jung’s soul’s question ‘I am not a human being. What am I then?’ While further themes that emerge from the Black Books include his struggle with vanity and whether he should continue creating his ‘holy book’; and a comparison between Jung’s ‘mystery plays’ and examples from the Theatre of the Absurd. Overall, it demonstrates that Jung’s experience, while inexplicable in his own time, is now known to be the secret and abusive practice of initiation of the young found in a range of cults and religious groups in many first world countries. This paper will present a brief outline of the original study and then examine the themes that have emerged from the extra material found in the Black Books.

Keywords: C. G. Jung, the red book, the black books, masonic themes, trauma and dissociation, initiation rites, secret societies

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Authors: Reem Alajmi, Hind Al Harbi, Tahany Ayaad, Zainab Al Musawi

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Hard ticks Hyalomma spp. (family: Ixodidae) are obligate ectoparasite in their all life stages on some domestic animals mainly camels and cattle. Ticks may lead to many economic and public health problems because of their blood feeding behavior. Also, they act as vectors for many bacterial, viral and protozoan agents which may cause serious diseases such as tick-born encephalitis, Rocky-mountain spotted fever, Q-fever and Lyme disease which can affect human and/or animals. In the present study, molecular identification of ticks that attack camels in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia based on the partial sequence of mitochondrial 16s rRNA gene was applied. Also, the present study aims to detect natural infections of collected camel ticks with Rickessia spp. and Borelia spp. using PCR/hybridization of Citrate synthase encoding gene present in bacterial cells. Hard ticks infesting camels were collected from different camels located in a farm in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. Results of the present study showed that the collected specimens belong to two species: Hyalomma dromedari represent 99% of the identified specimens and Hyalomma marginatum which account for 1 % of identified ticks. The molecular identification was made through blasting the obtained sequence of this study with sequences already present and identified in GeneBank. All obtained sequences of H. dromedarii specimens showed 97-100% identity with the same gene sequence of the same species (Accession # L34306.1) which was used as a reference. Meanwhile, no intraspecific variations of H. marginatum mesured because only one specimen was collected. Results also had shown that the intraspecific variability between individuals of H. dromedarii obtained in 92 % of samples ranging from 0.2- 6.6%, while the remaining 7 % of the total samples of H. dromedarii showed about 10.3 % individual differences. However, the interspecific variability between H. dromedarii and H. marginatum was approximately 18.3 %. On the other hand, by using the technique of PCR/hybridization, we could detect natural infection of camel ticks with Rickettsia spp. and Borrelia spp. Results revealed the natural presence of both bacteria in collected ticks. Rickettsial spp. infection present in 29% of collected ticks, while 35% of collected specimen were infected with Borrelia spp. The valuable results obtained from the present study are a new record for the molecular identification of camel ticks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and their natural infection with both Rickettsia spp. and Borrelia spp. These results may help scientists to provide a good and direct control strategy of ticks in order to protect one of the most important economic animals which are camels. Also results of this project spotlight on the disease that might be transmitted by ticks to put out a direct protective plan to prevent spreading of these dangerous agents. Further molecular studies are needed to confirm the results of the present study by using other mitochondrial and nuclear genes for tick identification.

Keywords: Camel ticks, Rickessia spp. , Borelia spp. , mitochondrial 16s rRNA gene

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Authors: Nadine Maier, Martin Mensinger, Enea Tallushi

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In general, today, two types of launching bearings are used in the construction of large steel and steel concrete composite bridges. These are sliding rockers and systems with hydraulic bearings. The advantages and disadvantages of the respective systems are under discussion. During incremental launching, the center of the webs of the superstructure is not perfectly in line with the center of the launching bearings due to unavoidable tolerances, which may have an influence on the buckling behavior of the web plates. These imperfections are not considered in the current design against plate buckling, according to DIN EN 1993-1-5. It is therefore investigated whether the design rules have to take into account any eccentricities which occur during incremental launching and also if this depends on the respective launching bearing. Therefore, at the Technical University Munich, large-scale buckling tests were carried out on longitudinally stiffened plates under biaxial stresses with the two different types of launching bearings and eccentric load introduction. Based on the experimental results, a numerical model was validated. Currently, we are evaluating different parameters for both types of launching bearings, such as load introduction length, load eccentricity, the distance between longitudinal stiffeners, the position of the rotation point of the spherical bearing, which are used within the hydraulic bearings, web, and flange thickness and imperfections. The imperfection depends on the geometry of the buckling field and whether local or global buckling occurs. This and also the size of the meshing is taken into account in the numerical calculations of the parametric study. As a geometric imperfection, the scaled first buckling mode is applied. A bilinear material curve is used so that a GMNIA analysis is performed to determine the load capacity. Stresses and displacements are evaluated in different directions, and specific stress ratios are determined at the critical points of the plate at the time of the converging load step. To evaluate the load introduction of the transverse load, the transverse stress concentration is plotted on a defined longitudinal section on the web. In the same way, the rotation of the flange is evaluated in order to show the influence of the different degrees of freedom of the launching bearings under eccentric load introduction and to be able to make an assessment for the case, which is relevant in practice. The input and the output are automatized and depend on the given parameters. Thus we are able to adapt our model to different geometric dimensions and load conditions. The programming is done with the help of APDL and a Python code. This allows us to evaluate and compare more parameters faster. Input and output errors are also avoided. It is, therefore, possible to evaluate a large spectrum of parameters in a short time, which allows a practical evaluation of different parameters for buckling behavior. This paper presents the results of the tests as well as the validation and parameterization of the numerical model and shows the first influences on the buckling behavior under eccentric and multi-axial load introduction.

Keywords: buckling behavior, eccentric load introduction, incremental launching, large scale buckling tests, multi axial stress states, parametric numerical modelling

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Authors: Panagiotis Lemonakis, Nikolaos Moisiadis, Andromachi Gkoutzini, George Kaliabetsos, Nikos Eliou

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The proper surface water drainage not only affects vehicle movement dynamics but also increases the likelihood of an accident due to the fact that inadequate drainage is associated with potential hydroplaning and splash and spray driving conditions. Nine solutions have been proposed to address hydroplaning in sections with inadequate drainage, e.g., augmented superelevation and longitudinal rates, reduction of runoff length, and skew superelevation. The latter has been extensively implemented in highways recently, enhancing the safety level in the applied road segments in regards to the effective drainage of the rainwater. However, the concept of the skew superelevation has raised concerns regarding the driver’s comfort when traveling over skew superelevation sections, particularly at high speeds. These concerns alleviated through the concept of the round-up skew superelevation, which reduces both the lateral and the vertical acceleration imposed to the drivers and hence, improves comfort and traffic safety. Various research studies aimed at investigating driving comfort by evaluating the lateral and vertical accelerations sustained by the road users and vehicles. These studies focused on the influence of the skew superelevation to passenger cars, buses and trucks, and the drivers themselves, traveling at a certain range of speeds either below or above the design speed. The outcome of these investigations which based on the use of simulations, revealed that the imposed accelerations did not exceed the statutory thresholds even when the travelling speed was significantly greater than the design speed. Nevertheless, the effect of the skew superelevation to other vehicle types for instance, motorcycles, has not been investigated so far. The present research study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the impact of skew superelevation on the motorcycle rider’s comfort. Power two-wheeler riders are susceptible to any changes on the pavement surface and therefore a comparison between the traditional superelevation practice and the skew superelevation concept is of paramount importance. The methodology based on the utilization of sophisticated software in order to design the model of the road for several values of the longitudinal slope. Based on the values of the slopes and the use of a mathematical equation, the accelerations imposed on the wheel of the motorcycle were calculated. Due to the fact that the final aim of the study is the influence of the skew superelevation to the rider, it was deemed necessary to convey the calculated accelerations from the wheel to the rider. That was accomplished by implementing the quarter car suspension model adjusted to the features of two-wheeler vehicles. Finally, the accelerations derived from this process evaluated according to specific thresholds originated from the International Organization for Standardization, which correspond to certain levels of comfort. The most important conclusion drawn is that the comfort of the riders is not dependent on the form of road gradient to a great extent due to the fact that the vertical acceleration imposed to the riders took similar values regardless of the value of the longitudinal slope.

Keywords: acceleration, comfort, motorcycle, safety, skew superelevation

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: S. Fantin

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This study is the result of the legal research on cybersecurity and data protection within the EUNITY (Cybersecurity and Privacy Dialogue between Europe and Japan) project, aimed at fostering the dialogue between the European Union and Japan. Based on the research undertaken therein, the author offers an outline of the main asymmetries in the laws governing such fields in the two regions. The research is a comparative analysis of the two legal frameworks, taking into account specific provisions, ratio legis and policy initiatives. Recent doctrine was taken into account, too, as well as empirical interviews with EU and Japanese stakeholders and project partners. With respect to the protection of personal data, the European Union has recently reformed its legal framework with a package which includes a regulation (General Data Protection Regulation), and a directive (Directive 680 on personal data processing in the law enforcement domain). In turn, the Japanese law under scrutiny for this study has been the Act on Protection of Personal Information. Based on a comparative analysis, some asymmetries arise. The main ones refer to the definition of personal information and the scope of the two frameworks. Furthermore, the rights of the data subjects are differently articulated in the two regions, while the nature of sanctions take two opposite approaches. Regarding the cybersecurity framework, the situation looks similarly misaligned. Japan’s main text of reference is the Basic Cybersecurity Act, while the European Union has a more fragmented legal structure (to name a few, Network and Information Security Directive, Critical Infrastructure Directive and Directive on the Attacks at Information Systems). On an relevant note, unlike a more industry-oriented European approach, the concept of cyber hygiene seems to be neatly embedded in the Japanese legal framework, with a number of provisions that alleviate operators’ liability by turning such a burden into a set of recommendations to be primarily observed by citizens. With respect to the reasons to fill such normative gaps, these are mostly grounded on three basis. Firstly, the cross-border nature of cybercrime brings to consider both magnitude of the issue and its regulatory stance globally. Secondly, empirical findings from the EUNITY project showed how recent data breaches and cyber-attacks had shared implications between Europe and Japan. Thirdly, the geopolitical context is currently going through the direction of bringing the two regions to significant agreements from a trade standpoint, but also from a data protection perspective (with an imminent signature by both parts of a so-called ‘Adequacy Decision’). The research conducted in this study reveals two asymmetric legal frameworks on cyber security and data protection. With a view to the future challenges presented by the strengthening of the collaboration between the two regions and the trans-national fashion of cybercrime, it is urged that solutions are found to fill in such gaps, in order to allow European Union and Japan to wisely increment their partnership.

Keywords: cybersecurity, data protection, European Union, Japan

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: S. K. M. Basha

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Nallamalas one of the centres of Plant Diversity (CPD) (WWF&IUCN,1995) is located in the central eastern Ghats between latitudes 15.20’-16.30’N and Longitude 78.30-80.10E in Andhra Pradesh, extended to an area of 7640 Sq.Km. No Comprehensive work available for RET Plants in the study area, therefore the objective of the present paper is to document the RET Medicinal Plants of Nallamalias and their uses by the local people of the area. In India, one of the major resources to know about the number of plant species and their medicinal values is the groups who are habituated in near and deep forests. The most common groups in south Indian forests are Yanadis and Yerukulas. These two groups of people are residing in the forest, which is located very far from the modern society, towns and cities. They are following traditional methods obtained from their forefathers in all respects, including medication. They are the only source to know many medicinal plants in the areas where they reside and are also important to record the medicinal properties of various plant species which are not reported. The new reports may help in drug industry in order to develop pharmaceutical herbal medicine for human health. In the present study, nearly 150 rare species have been found to be used for various ailments. Out of these 23 species are critically endangered, over 25 are vulnerable and around 22 comes under the category of near threatened. Some important species like Christella dentate, Careya arborea are used for curing cough and cold. Piper attnuatum, piper nigrum are used for curing skin disease. Ipomoea mauritiana is used against male impotency.Glycosmis cochinensis, Entada perseatha are used as contraceptives. The roots of Andrographis nallamalayana and Acrocephalus indicus are used for leucorrhoea. While the stem barks of Gyrocarpus americanus is given orally for spider bite. Piper hymenophyllum leaves mixed with turmeric and gingerly oil is used externally for mouth ulcers in cattle. Piper nigrum fruits are used for skin diseases. Vernonia anthelmentica seeds are used for indigestion. It was widely distributed in this hills. Due to over exploitation this species was in declined condition. Sterculia urens which is a sorce of gum for tribal, due to over exploitation this species declaimed in these hills. Hence, there is an urgent need to conserve the medicinal plants and prevent their exploitation and extinction with the help of tribals. There is a need to adopt sustainable utilization, cultivation and micro propagation techniques. Medicinal plants are as potent and effective today as they were thousands of years ago. They are natures wonderful gift to mankind and are involved in India as a very rich ancient heritage of traditional systems medicine i.e., ayurveda, siddha and unani. Unfortunately, these traditions have been largely eroded because of lack of support and recognition as well as rapid destruction of natural habitats which has led to shrinkage of medicinal plants therefore the conservation of medicinal plants and the revitalization of local health traditions has been taken up on priority basis.

Keywords: RET plants CPD, IUCN, nallamalas, yanadis, yerukulas

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Barbara Urasinska-Wojcik, Neil Chilton, Peter Todd, Christopher Elsworthy, Gregory J. Gibbons

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The recent increase in the application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) of products has resulted in new demands on capability. The ability to integrate both form and function within printed objects is the next frontier in the 3D printing area. To move beyond prototyping into low volume production, we demonstrate a UK-designed and built AM hybrid system that combines polymer based structural deposition with digital deposition of electrically conductive elements. This hybrid manufacturing system is based on a multi-planar build approach to improve on many of the limitations associated with AM, such as poor surface finish, low geometric tolerance, and poor robustness. Specifically, the approach involves a multi-planar Material Extrusion (ME) process in which separated build stations with up to 5 axes of motion replace traditional horizontally-sliced layer modeling. The construction of multi-material architectures also involved using multiple print systems in order to combine both ME and digital deposition of conductive material. To demonstrate multi-material 3D printing, three thermoplastics, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide 6,6/6 copolymers (CoPA) and polyamide 12 (PA) were used to print specimens, on top of which our high viscosity Ag-particulate ink was printed in a non-contact process, during which drop characteristics such as shape, velocity, and volume were assessed using a drop watching system. Spectroscopic analysis of these 3D printed materials in the IR region helped to determine the optimum in-situ curing system for implementation into the AM system to achieve improved adhesion and surface refinement. Thermal Analyses were performed to determine the printed materials glass transition temperature (Tg), stability and degradation behavior to find the optimum annealing conditions post printing. Electrical analysis of printed conductive tracks on polymer surfaces during mechanical testing (static tensile and 3-point bending and dynamic fatigue) was performed to assess the robustness of the electrical circuits. The tracks on CoPA, ABS, and PA exhibited low electrical resistance, and in case of PA resistance values of tracks remained unchanged across hundreds of repeated tensile cycles up to 0.5% strain amplitude. Our developed AM printer has the ability to fabricate fully functional objects in one build, including complex electronics. It enables product designers and manufacturers to produce functional saleable electronic products from a small format modular platform. It will make 3D printing better, faster and stronger.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, conductive tracks, hybrid 3D printer, integrated manufacture

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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This paper introduces Luhmann’s autopoietic social systems starting with the original concept of autopoiesis by biologists and scientists, including the modification of general systems based on socialized medicine. A specific type of autopoietic system is explained in the three existing groups of the ecological phenomena: interaction, social and medical sciences. This hypothesis model, nevertheless, has a nonlinear interaction with its natural environment ‘interactional cycle’ for the exchange of photon energy with molecular without any changes in topology. The external forces in the systems environment might be concomitant with the natural fluctuations’ influence (e.g. radioactive radiation, electromagnetic waves). The cantilever sensor deploys insights to the future chip processor for prevention of social metabolic systems. Thus, the circuits with resonant electric and optical properties are prototyped on board as an intra–chip inter–chip transmission for producing electromagnetic energy approximately ranges from 1.7 mA at 3.3 V to service the detection in locomotion with the least significant power losses. Nowadays, therapeutic systems are assimilated materials from embryonic stem cells to aggregate multiple functions of the vessels nature de-cellular structure for replenishment. While, the interior actuators deploy base-pair complementarity of nucleotides for the symmetric arrangement in particular bacterial nanonetworks of the sequence cycle creating double-stranded DNA strings. The DNA strands must be sequenced, assembled, and decoded in order to reconstruct the original source reliably. The design of exterior actuators have the ability in sensing different variations in the corresponding patterns regarding beat-to-beat heart rate variability (HRV) for spatial autocorrelation of molecular communication, which consists of human electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electrostatic and electrothermal energy to monitor and transfer the dynamic changes of all the cantilevers simultaneously in real-time workspace with high precision. A prototype-enabled dynamic energy sensor has been investigated in the laboratory for inclusion of nanoscale devices in the architecture with a fuzzy logic control for detection of thermal and electrostatic changes with optoelectronic devices to interpret uncertainty associated with signal interference. Ultimately, the controversial aspect of molecular frictional properties is adjusted to each other and forms its unique spatial structure modules for providing the environment mutual contribution in the investigation of mass temperature changes due to pathogenic archival architecture of clusters.

Keywords: autopoiesis, nanoparticles, quantum photonics, portable energy, photonic structure, photodynamic therapeutic system

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Authors: Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Andreas Kapardis

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The paper discusses regulatory and legislative measures implemented by various nations in an effort to avert another financial crisis. More specifically, to address the financial crisis, the European Commission followed the practice of other developed countries and implemented a European Economic Recovery Plan in an attempt to overhaul the regulatory and supervisory framework of the financial sector. In 2010 the Commission introduced the European Systemic Risk Board and in 2011 the European System of Financial Supervision. Some experts advocated that the type and extent of financial regulation introduced in the European crisis in the wake of the 2008 crisis has been excessive and counterproductive. In considering how different countries responded to the financial crisis, global regulators have shown a more focused commitment to combat industry misconduct and to pre-empt abusive behavior. Regulators have also increased funding and resources at their disposal; have increased regulatory fines, with an increasing trend towards action against individuals; and, finally, have focused on market abuse and market conduct issues. Financial regulation can be effected, first of all, through legislation. However, neither ex ante or ex post regulation is by itself effective in reducing systemic risk. Consequently, to avert a financial crisis, in their endeavor to achieve both economic efficiency and financial stability, governments need to balance the two approaches to financial regulation. Fiduciary duty is another means by which the behavior of actors in the financial world is constrained and, thus, regulated. Furthermore, fiduciary duties extend over and above other existing requirements set out by statute and/or common law and cover allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence or fraud. Careful analysis of the etiology of the 2008 financial crisis demonstrates the great importance of corporate governance as a way of regulating boardroom behavior. In addition, the regulation of professions including accountants and auditors plays a crucial role as far as the financial management of companies is concerned. In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in order to protect investors from financial accounting fraud. In most countries around the world, however, accounting regulation consists of a legal framework, international standards, education, and licensure. Accounting regulation is necessary because of the information asymmetry and the conflict of interest that exists between managers and users of financial information. If a holistic approach is to be taken then one cannot ignore the regulation of legislators themselves which can take the form of hard or soft legislation. The science of averting a financial crisis is yet to be perfected and this, as shown by the preceding discussion, is unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future as ‘disaster myopia’ may be reduced but will not be eliminated. It is easier, of course, to be wise in hindsight and regulating unreasonably risky decisions and unethical or outright criminal behavior in the financial world remains major challenges for governments, corporations, and professions alike.

Keywords: financial crisis, legislation, regulation, financial regulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Taner Izzet Acarer, Ece Ceylan Baba

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This paper examines green building certification systems and their current processes in comparison with anticipatory systems. Rapid growth of human population and depletion of natural resources are causing irreparable damage to urban and natural environment. In this context, the concept of ‘sustainable architecture’ has emerged in the 20th century so as to establish and maintain standards for livable urban spaces, to improve quality of urban life, and to preserve natural resources for future generations. The construction industry is responsible for a large part of the resource consumption and it is believed that the ‘green building’ designs that emerge in construction industry can reduce environmental problems and contribute to sustainable development around the world. A building must meet a specific set of criteria, set forth through various certification systems, in order to be eligible for designation as a green building. It is disputable whether methods used by green building certification systems today truly serve the purposes of creating a sustainable world. Accordingly, this study will investigate the sets of rating systems used by the most popular green building certification programs, including LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Methods), DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen System), in terms of ‘Anticipatory Systems’ in accordance with the certification processes and their goals, while discussing their contribution to architecture. The basic methodology of the study is as follows. Firstly analyzes of brief historical and literature review of green buildings and certificate systems will be stated. Secondly, processes of green building certificate systems will be disputed by the help of anticipatory systems. Anticipatory Systems is a set of systems designed to generate action-oriented projections and to forecast potential side effects using the most current data. Anticipatory Systems pull the future into the present and take action based on future predictions. Although they do not have a claim to see into the future, they can provide foresight data. When shaping the foresight data, Anticipatory Systems use feedforward instead of feedback, enabling them to forecast the system’s behavior and potential side effects by establishing a correlation between the system’s present/past behavior and projected results. This study indicates the goals and current status of LEED, BREEAM and DGNB rating systems that created by using the feedback technique will be examined and presented in a chart. In addition, by examining these rating systems with the anticipatory system that using the feedforward method, the negative influences of the potential side effects on the purpose and current status of the rating systems will be shown in another chart. By comparing the two obtained data, the findings will be shown that rating systems are used for different goals than the purposes they are aiming for. In conclusion, the side effects of green building certification systems will be stated by using anticipatory system models.

Keywords: anticipatory systems, BREEAM, certificate systems, DGNB, green buildings, LEED

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: O. Bilbao, I. Loizaga, F. A. Girot, A. Torregaray

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The current energetical situation and the high competitiveness in industrial sectors as the automotive one have become the development of new manufacturing processes with less energy and raw material consumption a real necessity. As consequence, new forming processes related with high temperature hot forging in closed dies have emerged in the last years as new solutions to expand the possibilities of hot forging and iron casting in the automotive industry. These technologies are mid-way between hot forging and semi-solid metal processes, working at temperatures higher than the hot forging but below the solidus temperature or the semi solid range, where no liquid phase is expected. This represents an advantage comparing with semi-solid forming processes as thixoforging, by the reason that no so high temperatures need to be reached in the case of high melting point alloys as steels, reducing the manufacturing costs and the difficulties associated to semi-solid processing of them. Comparing with hot forging, this kind of technologies allow the production of parts with as forged properties and more complex and near-net shapes (thinner sidewalls), enhancing the possibility of designing lightweight components. From the process viewpoint, the forging forces are significantly decreased, and a significant reduction of the raw material, energy consumption, and the forging steps have been demonstrated. Despite the mentioned advantages, from the material behavior point of view, the expansion of these technologies has shown the necessity of developing new material flow behavior models in the process working temperature range to make the simulation or the prediction of these new forming processes feasible. Moreover, the knowledge of the material flow behavior at the working temperature range also allows the design of the new closed dies concept required. In this work, the flow behavior characterization in the mentioned temperature range of the widely used in automotive commercial components 42CrMo4 steel has been studied. For that, hot compression tests have been carried out in a thermomechanical tester in a temperature range that covers the material behavior from the hot forging until the NDT (Nil Ductility Temperature) temperature (1250 ºC, 1275 ºC, 1300 ºC, 1325 ºC, 1350ºC, and 1375 ºC). As for the strain rates, three different orders of magnitudes have been considered (0,1 s-1, 1s-1, and 10s-1). Then, results obtained from the hot compression tests have been treated in order to adapt or re-write the Spittel model, widely used in automotive commercial softwares as FORGE® that restrict the current existing models up to 1250ºC. Finally, the obtained new flow behavior model has been validated by the process simulation in a commercial automotive component and the comparison of the results of the simulation with the already made experimental tests in a laboratory cellule of the new technology. So as a conclusion of the study, a new flow behavior model for the 42CrMo4 steel in the new working temperature range and the new process simulation in its application in automotive commercial components has been achieved and will be shown.

Keywords: 42CrMo4 high temperature flow behavior, high temperature hot forging in closed dies, simulation of automotive commercial components, spittel flow behavior model

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Violetta Cataldo, Renata Savy, Simona Sbranna

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Background: Foreign Language Learning (FLL) is characterised by prosodic transfer phenomena regarding pitch accents placement, intonation patterns, and pitch range excursion from the learners’ mother tongue to their Foreign Language (FL) which suggests that the gradual development of general linguistic competence in FL does not imply an equally correspondent improvement of the prosodic competence. Topic: The present study aims to monitor the development of prosodic competence of learners of Italian and German throughout the FLL process. The primary object of this study is to investigate the intonational features and the f₀ range excursion of Italian and German from a cross-linguistic perspective; analyses of native speakers’ productions point out the differences between this pair of languages and provide models for the Target Language (TL). A following crosscheck compares the L2 productions in Italian and German by non-native speakers to the Target Language models, in order to verify the occurrence of prosodic interference phenomena, i.e., type, degree, and modalities. Methodology: The subjects of the research are university students belonging to two groups: Italian native speakers learning German as FL and German native speakers learning Italian as FL. Both of them have been divided into three subgroups according to the FL proficiency level (beginners, intermediate, advanced). The dataset consists of wh-questions placed in situational contexts uttered in both speakers’ L1 and FL. Using a phonetic approach, analyses have considered three domains of intonational contours (Initial Profile, Nuclear Accent, and Terminal Contour) and two dimensions of the f₀ range parameter (span and level), which provide a basis for comparison between L1 and L2 productions. Findings: Results highlight a strong presence of prosodic transfer phenomena affecting L2 productions in the majority of both Italian and German learners, irrespective of their FL proficiency level; the transfer concerns all the three domains of the contour taken into account, although with different modalities and characteristics. Currently, L2 productions of German learners show a pitch span compression on the domain of the Terminal Contour compared to their L1 towards the TL; furthermore, German learners tend to use lower pitch range values in deviation from their L1 when improving their general linguistic competence in Italian FL proficiency level. Results regarding pitch range span and level in L2 productions by Italian learners are still in progress. At present, they show a similar tendency to expand the pitch span and to raise the pitch level, which also reveals a deviation from the L1 possibly in the direction of German TL. Conclusion: Intonational features seem to be 'resistant' parameters to which learners appear not to be particularly sensitive. By contrast, they show a certain sensitiveness to FL pitch range dimensions. Making clear which the most resistant and the most sensitive parameters are when learning FL prosody could lay groundwork for the development of prosodic trainings thanks to which learners could finally acquire a clear and natural pronunciation and intonation.

Keywords: foreign language learning, German, Italian, L2 prosody, pitch range, transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Mauro Callejas-Cuervo, Andrea C. Alarcon-Aldana, Andres F. Ruiz-Olaya, Juan C. Alvarez

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Motion capture (MC) is the construction of a precise and accurate digital representation of a real motion. Systems have been used in the last years in a wide range of applications, from films special effects and animation, interactive entertainment, medicine, to high competitive sport where a maximum performance and low injury risk during training and competition is seeking. This paper presents an inertial and magnetic sensor based technological platform, intended for particular amplitude monitoring and telerehabilitation processes considering an efficient cost/technical considerations compromise. Our platform particularities offer high social impact possibilities by making telerehabilitation accessible to large population sectors in marginal socio-economic sector, especially in underdeveloped countries that in opposition to developed countries specialist are scarce, and high technology is not available or inexistent. This platform integrates high-resolution low-cost inertial and magnetic sensors with adequate user interfaces and communication protocols to perform a web or other communication networks available diagnosis service. The amplitude information is generated by sensors then transferred to a computing device with adequate interfaces to make it accessible to inexperienced personnel, providing a high social value. Amplitude measurements of the platform virtual system presented a good fit to its respective reference system. Analyzing the robotic arm results (estimation error RMSE 1=2.12° and estimation error RMSE 2=2.28°), it can be observed that during arm motion in any sense, the estimation error is negligible; in fact, error appears only during sense inversion what can easily be explained by the nature of inertial sensors and its relation to acceleration. Inertial sensors present a time constant delay which acts as a first order filter attenuating signals at large acceleration values as is the case for a change of sense in motion. It can be seen a damped response of platform virtual in other images where error analysis show that at maximum amplitude an underestimation of amplitude is present whereas at minimum amplitude estimations an overestimation of amplitude is observed. This work presents and describes the platform virtual as a motion capture system suitable for telerehabilitation with the cost - quality and precision - accessibility relations optimized. These particular characteristics achieved by efficiently using the state of the art of accessible generic technology in sensors and hardware, and adequate software for capture, transmission analysis and visualization, provides the capacity to offer good telerehabilitation services, reaching large more or less marginal populations where technologies and specialists are not available but accessible with basic communication networks.

Keywords: inertial sensors, joint amplitude measurement, MEMS, telerehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Men An Pan, Hong Ren Chen, Chih Heng Shih, Hsing Yuan Yen

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Pingtung County is located in the southernmost region of Taiwan. During the winter season, pollutants due to insufficient dispersion caused by the downwash of the northeast monsoon lead to the poor air quality of the County. Through the implementation of various control methods, including the application of permits of air pollution, fee collection of air pollution, control oil fume of catering sectors, smoke detection of diesel vehicles, regular inspection of locomotives, and subsidies for low-polluting vehicles. Moreover, to further mitigate the air pollution, additional alternative controlling strategies are also carried out, such as construction site control, prohibition of open-air agricultural waste burning, improvement of river dust, and strengthening of road cleaning operations. The combined efforts have significantly reduced air pollutants in the County. However, in order to effectively and promptly monitor the ambient air quality, the County has subsequently deployed micro-sensors, with a total of 400 IoTs (Internet of Things) micro-sensors for PM2.5 and VOC detection and 3 air quality monitoring stations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), covering 33 townships of the County. The covered area has more than 1,300 listed factories and 5 major industrial parks; thus forming an Internet of Things (IoTs) based multi-level air quality monitoring system. The results demonstrate that the IoTs multi-level air quality sensors combined with other strategies such as “sand and gravel dredging area technology monitoring”, “banning open burning”, “intelligent management of construction sites”, “real-time notification of activation response”, “nighthawk early bird plan with micro-sensors”, “unmanned aircraft (UAV) combined with land and air to monitor abnormal emissions”, and “animal husbandry odour detection service” etc. The satisfaction improvement rate of air control, through a 2021 public survey, reached a high percentage of 81%, an increase of 46% as compared to 2018. For the air pollution complaints for the whole year of 2021, the total number was 4213 in contrast to 7088 in 2020, a reduction rate reached almost 41%. Because of the spatial-temporal features of the air quality monitoring IoTs system by the application of microsensors, the system does assist and strengthen the effectiveness of the existing air quality monitoring network of the EPA and can provide real-time control of the air quality. Therefore, the hot spots and potential pollution locations can be timely determined for law enforcement. Hence, remarkable results were obtained for the two years. That is, both reduction of public complaints and better air quality are successfully achieved through the implementation of the present IoTs system for real-time air quality monitoring throughout Pingtung County.

Keywords: IoT, PM, air quality sensor, air pollution, environmental monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Andrea Pietrelli, Vincenzo Ferrara, Bruno Allard, Francois Buret, Irene Bavasso, Nicola Lovecchio, Francesca Costantini, Firas Khaled

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This paper aims to show some applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), an energy harvesting technique, as clean power source to supply low power device for application like wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring. Furthermore, MFC can be used directly as biosensor to analyse parameters like pH and temperature or arranged in form of cluster devices in order to use as small power plant. An MFC is a bioreactor that converts energy stored in chemical bonds of organic matter into electrical energy, through a series of reactions catalysed by microorganisms. We have developed a lab-scale terrestrial microbial fuel cell (TMFC), based on soil that acts as source of bacteria and flow of nutrient and a lab-scale waste water microbial fuel cell (WWMFC), where waste water acts as flow of nutrient and bacteria. We performed large series of tests to exploit the capability as biosensor. The pH value has strong influence on the open circuit voltage (OCV) delivered from TMFCs. We analyzed three condition: test A and B were filled with same soil but changing pH from 6 to 6.63, test C was prepared using a different soil with a pH value of 6.3. Experimental results clearly show how with higher pH value a higher OCV was produced; indeed reactors are influenced by different values of pH which increases the voltage in case of a higher pH value until the best pH value of 7 is achieved. The influence of pH on OCV of lab-scales WWMFC was analyzed at pH value of 6.5, 7, 7.2, 7.5 and 8. WWMFCs are influenced from temperature more than TMFCs. We tested the power performance of WWMFCs considering four imposed values of ambient temperature. Results show how power performance increase proportionally with higher temperature values, doubling the output power from 20° to 40°. The best value of power produced from our lab-scale TMFC was equal to 310 μW using peaty soil, at 1KΩ, corresponding to a current of 0.5 mA. A TMFC can supply proper energy to low power devices of a WSN by means of the design of three stages scheme of an energy management system, which adapts voltage level of TMFC to those required by a WSN node, as 3.3V. Using a commercial DC/DC boost converter, that needs an input voltage of 700 mV, the current source of 0.5 mA, charges a capacitor of 6.8 mF until it will have accumulated an amount of charge equal to 700 mV in a time of 10 s. The output stage includes an output switch that close the circuit after a time of 10s + 1.5ms because the converter can boost the voltage from 0.7V to 3.3V in 1.5 ms. Furthermore, we tested in form of clusters connected in series up to 20 WWMFCs, we have obtained a high voltage value as output, around 10V, but low current value. MFC can be considered a suitable clean energy source to be used to supply low power devices as a WSN node or to be used directly as biosensor.

Keywords: energy harvesting, low power electronics, microbial fuel cell, terrestrial microbial fuel cell, waste-water microbial fuel cell, wireless sensor network

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Ines Raies, Eric Kohler, Marc Fleury, Béatrice Ledésert

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In this work, the impact of clay minerals on the formation damage of sandstone reservoirs is studied to provide a better understanding of the problem of deep geothermal reservoir permeability reduction due to fine particle dispersion and migration. In some situations, despite the presence of filters in the geothermal loop at the surface, particles smaller than the filter size (<1 µm) may surprisingly generate significant permeability reduction affecting in the long term the overall performance of the geothermal system. Our study is carried out on cores from a Triassic reservoir in the Paris Basin (Feigneux, 60 km Northeast of Paris). Our goal is to first identify the clays responsible for clogging, a mineralogical characterization of these natural samples was carried out by coupling X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the studied stratigraphic interval contains mostly illite and chlorite particles. Moreover, the spatial arrangement of the clays in the rocks as well as the morphology and size of the particles, suggest that illite is more easily mobilized than chlorite by the flow in the pore network. Thus, based on these results, illite particles were prepared and used in core flooding in order to better understand the factors leading to the aggregation and deposition of this type of clay particles in geothermal reservoirs under various physicochemical and hydrodynamic conditions. First, the stability of illite suspensions under geothermal conditions has been investigated using different characterization techniques, including Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). Various parameters such as the hydrodynamic radius (around 100 nm), the morphology and surface area of aggregates were measured. Then, core-flooding experiments were carried out using sand columns to mimic the permeability decline due to the injection of illite-containing fluids in sandstone reservoirs. In particular, the effects of ionic strength, temperature, particle concentration and flow rate of the injected fluid were investigated. When the ionic strength increases, a permeability decline of more than a factor of 2 could be observed for pore velocities representative of in-situ conditions. Further details of the retention of particles in the columns were obtained from Magnetic Resonance Imaging and X-ray Tomography techniques, showing that the particle deposition is nonuniform along the column. It is clearly shown that very fine particles as small as 100 nm can generate significant permeability reduction under specific conditions in high permeability porous media representative of the Triassic reservoirs of the Paris basin. These retention mechanisms are explained in the general framework of the DLVO theory

Keywords: geothermal energy, reinjection, clays, colloids, retention, porosity, permeability decline, clogging, characterization, XRD, SEM-EDS, STEM, DLS, NMR, core flooding experiments

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: H. M. Wilhelm, P. O. Fernandes, L. P. Dill, C. Steffens, K. G. Moscon, S. M. Peres, V. Bender, T. Marchesan, J. B. Ferreira Neto

Abstract:

Deterioration of insulating oil is a natural process that occurs during transformers operation. However, this process can be accelerated by some factors, such as oxygen, high temperatures, metals and, moisture, which rapidly reduce oil insulating capacity and favor transformer faults. Parts of building materials of a transformer can be degraded and yield soluble compounds and insoluble particles that shorten the equipment life. Physicochemical tests, dissolved gas analysis (including propane, propylene and, butane), volatile and furanic compounds determination, besides quantitative and morphological analyses of particulate are proposed in this study in order to correlate transformers building materials degradation with insulating oil characteristics. The present investigation involves tests of medium temperature overheating simulation by means of an electric resistance wrapped with the following materials immersed in mineral insulating oil: test I) copper, tin, lead and, paper (heated at 350-400 °C for 8 h); test II) only copper (at 250 °C for 11 h); and test III) only paper (at 250 °C for 8 h and at 350 °C for 8 h). A different experiment is the simulation of electric arc involving copper, using an electric welding machine at two distinct energy sets (low and high). Analysis results showed that dielectric loss was higher in the sample of test I, higher neutralization index and higher values of hydrogen and hydrocarbons, including propane and butane, were also observed. Test III oil presented higher particle count, in addition, ferrographic analysis revealed contamination with fibers and carbonized paper. However, these particles had little influence on the oil physicochemical parameters (dielectric loss and neutralization index) and on the gas production, which was very low. Test II oil showed high levels of methane, ethane, and propylene, indicating the effect of metal on oil degradation. CO₂ and CO gases were formed in the highest concentration in test III, as expected. Regarding volatile compounds, in test I acetone, benzene and toluene were detected, which are oil oxidation products. Regarding test III, methanol was identified due to cellulose degradation, as expected. Electric arc simulation test showed the highest oil oxidation in presence of copper and at high temperature, since these samples had huge concentration of hydrogen, ethylene, and acetylene. Particle count was also very high, showing the highest release of copper in such conditions. When comparing high and low energy, the first presented more hydrogen, ethylene, and acetylene. This sample had more similar results to test I, pointing out that the generation of different particles can be the cause for faults such as electric arc. Ferrography showed more evident copper and exfoliation particles than in other samples. Therefore, in this study, by using different combined analytical techniques, it was possible to correlate insulating oil characteristics with possible contaminants, which can lead to transformers failure.

Keywords: Ferrography, gas analysis, insulating mineral oil, particle contamination, transformer failures

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Authors: Pule P. Mpopetsi, Warren M. Potts, Nicola James, Amber Childs

Abstract:

Increased CO₂ production and the consequent ocean acidification (OA) have been identified as one of the greatest threats to both calcifying and non-calcifying marine organisms. Traditionally, marine fishes, as non-calcifying organisms, were considered to have a higher tolerance to near-future OA conditions owing to their well-developed ion regulatory mechanisms. However, recent studies provide evidence to suggest that they may not be as resilient to near-future OA conditions as previously thought. In addition, earlier life stages of marine fishes are thought to be less tolerant than juveniles and adults of the same species as they lack well-developed ion regulatory mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis. This study focused on the effects of near-future OA on larval Argyrosomus japonicus, an estuarine-dependent marine fish species, in order to identify the tipping point of tolerance for the larvae of this species. Larval A. japonicus in the present study were reared from the egg up to 22 days after hatching (DAH) under three treatments. The three treatments, (pCO₂ 353 µatm; pH 8.03), (pCO₂ 451 µatm; pH 7.93) and (pCO₂ 602 µatm; pH 7.83) corresponded to levels predicted to occur in year 2050, 2068 and 2090 respectively under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Representative Concentration Pathways (IPCC RCP) 8.5 model. Size-at-hatch, growth, development, and metabolic responses (standard and active metabolic rates and metabolic scope) were assessed and compared between the three treatments throughout the rearing period. Five earlier larval life stages (hatchling – flexion/post-flexion) were identified by the end of the experiment. There were no significant differences in size-at-hatch (p > 0.05), development or the active metabolic (p > 0.05) or metabolic scope (p > 0.05) of fish in the three treatments throughout the study. However, the standard metabolic rate was significantly higher in the year 2068 treatment but only at the flexion/post-flexion stage which could be attributed to differences in developmental rates (including the development of the gills) between the 2068 and the other two treatments. Overall, the metabolic scope was narrowest in the 2090 treatment but varied according to life stage. Although not significantly different, metabolic scope in the 2090 treatment was noticeably lower at the flexion stage compared to the other two treatments, and the development appeared slower, suggesting that this could be the stage most prone to OA. The study concluded that, in isolation, OA levels predicted to occur between 2050 and 2090 will not negatively affect size-at-hatch, growth, development, and metabolic responses of larval A. japonicus up to 22 DAH (flexion/post-flexion stage). The present study also identified the tipping point of tolerance (where negative impacts will begin) in larvae of the species to be between the years 2090 and 2100.

Keywords: climate change, ecology, marine, ocean acidification

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Authors: Hafid Smaili, Wilfred Rouwhorst, Paul Frost

Abstract:

The trend of recent accident and incident cases worldwide show that the state-of-the-art automation and operations, for current and future demanding operational environments, does not provide the desired level of operational safety under crew peak workload conditions, specifically in complex situations such as loss-of-control in-flight (LOC-I). Today, the short term focus is on preparing crews to recognise and handle LOC-I situations through upset recovery training. This paper describes the cockpit integration aspects and piloted assessment of both a manually assisted and automatic upset detection and recovery system that has been developed and demonstrated within the European Advanced Cockpit for Reduction Of StreSs and workload (ACROSS) programme. The proposed system is a function that continuously monitors and intervenes when the aircraft enters an upset and provides either manually pilot-assisted guidance or takes over full control of the aircraft to recover from an upset. In order to mitigate the highly physical and psychological impact during aircraft upset events, the system provides new cockpit functionalities to support the pilot in recovering from any upset both manually assisted and automatically. A piloted simulator assessment was made in Oct-Nov 2015 using ten pilots in a representative civil large transport fly-by-wire aircraft in terms of the preference of the tested upset detection and recovery system configurations to reduce pilot workload, increase situational awareness and safe interaction with the manually assisted or automated modes. The piloted simulator evaluation of the upset detection and recovery system showed that the functionalities of the system are able to support pilots during an upset. The experiment showed that pilots are willing to rely on the guidance provided by the system during an upset. Thereby, it is important for pilots to see and understand what the aircraft is doing and trying to do especially in automatic modes. Comparing the manually assisted and the automatic recovery modes, the pilot’s opinion was that an automatic recovery reduces the workload so that they could perform a proper screening of the primary flight display. The results further show that the manually assisted recoveries, with recovery guidance cues on the cockpit primary flight display, reduced workload for severe upsets compared to today’s situation. The level of situation awareness was improved for automatic upset recoveries where the pilot could monitor what the system was trying to accomplish compared to automatic recovery modes without any guidance. An improvement in situation awareness was also noticeable with the manually assisted upset recovery functionalities as compared to the current non-assisted recovery procedures. This study shows that automatic upset detection and recovery functionalities are likely to positively impact the operational safety by means of reduced workload, improved situation awareness and crew stress reduction. It is thus believed that future developments for upset recovery guidance and loss-of-control prevention should focus on automatic recovery solutions.

Keywords: aircraft accidents, automatic flight control, loss-of-control, upset recovery

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Authors: Christina Y. P. Ting

Abstract:

Migration is a global phenomenon with movements of migrants from developed and developing countries to the host societies. Migrants have changed the host countries’ demography – its population structure and also its ethnic cultural diversity. Acculturation of migrants in terms of their adoption of the host culture is seen as important to ensure that they ‘fit into’ their adopted country so as to participate in everyday public life. However, this research found that the increase of the China-born migrants’ post-migration consumption level had impact on Australia’s environment reflected not only because of their adoption of elements of the host culture, but also retention of aspects of Chinese culture – indicating that the influence of bi-culturalism was in operation. This research, which was based on the face-to-face interview with 61 China-born migrants in the suburb of Box Hill, Melbourne, investigated the pattern of change in the migrants’ consumption upon their settlement in Australia. Using an ecological footprint calculator, their post-migration footprints were found to be larger than pre-migration footprint. The uniquely-derived CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) Index was used to measure individuals’ strength of connectedness to ethnic culture. Multi-variant analysis was carried out to understand which independent factors that influence consumption best explain the change in footprint (which is the difference between pre-and post-migration footprints, as a dependent factor). These independent factors ranged from socio-economic and demographics to the cultural context, that is, the CALD Index and indicators of acculturation. The major findings from the analysis were: Chinese culture (as measured by the CALD Index) and indicators of acculturation such as length of residency and using English in communications besides the traditional factors such as age, income and education level made significant contributions to the large increase in the China-born group’s post-migration consumption level. This paper as part of a larger study found that younger migrants’ large change in their footprint were related to high income and low level of education. This group of migrants also practiced bi-cultural consumption in retaining ethnic culture and adopting the host culture. These findings have importantly highlighted that for a host society to tackle environmental crisis, governments need not only to understand the relationship between age and consumption behaviour, but also to understand and embrace the migrants’ ethnic cultures, which may act as bridges and/or fences in relationships. In conclusion, for governments to deal with national issues such as environmental crisis within a cultural diverse population, it necessitates an understanding of age and aspects of ethnic culture that may act as bridges and fences. This understanding can aid in putting in place policies that enable the co-existence of a hybrid of the ethnic and host cultures in order to create and maintain a harmonious and secured living environment for population groups.

Keywords: bicultural consumer, CALD index, consumption, ethnic culture, migrants

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Authors: Agata Chelminska, Joanna Goscianska

Abstract:

The rapid growth of the world’s population and the resulting economic development have had an enormous influence on the environment. Multiple industrial processes generate huge amounts of wastewater containing dangerous substances, most of which are discharged into water bodies. These contaminants include pharmaceuticals and synthetic dyes. Regardless of the presence of wastewater treatment plants, a lot of pollutants cannot be easily eliminated by well-known technologies. Hence, more effective methods of removing resistant chemicals are being developed. Due to cost-effectiveness as well as the availability of a wide range of adsorbents, a large interest in the adsorption process as an alternative way of water purification has been observed. Clay minerals, e.g., halloysite, are one of the most researched natural adsorbents because of their availability, non-toxicity, high specific surface area, porosity, layered structure, and low cost. The negatively charged surface makes them ideal for binding cations and organic compounds. Halloysite can be subjected to modifications which enhance its adsorptive properties. The aim of the presented research was to apply pure and modified halloysite in removing particular pollutants (tetracycline, tartrazine, and phosphates) from aqueous solutions. Halloysite was modified with alcoholic and aqueous solutions of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and urea in different concentrations and subsequently impregnated with lanthanum(III) chloride. Acidic and basic oxygen groups located on the surface of all materials were determined. Moreover, the adsorbents obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The effectiveness of samples in tetracycline, tartrazine, and phosphates adsorption from the liquid phase was then studied in order to determine their potential application in eliminating contaminants from water reservoirs. Modifiers’ employment enabled obtaining materials that possess better adsorption properties, which makes them useful for removing various pollutants from water. Modifying the pure halloysite with CTAB and urea solutions and impregnating LaCl₃ led to the formation of acidic and basic oxygen functional groups on the surface. Their amount increases with an increasing percentage of lanthanum content. The acid-base properties of materials, as well as the type of functional groups that appear on their surface, have a significant influence on their sorption capacities towards antibiotics, dyes, and phosphate(V) anions. The selected contaminants adsorb onto the halloysite studied following the Langmuir type isotherm. The thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The adsorption equilibrium was rapidly attained after 120 min of contact time. Research showed that synthesized materials based on halloysite may be applied as adsorbents for antibiotics, organic dyes, and PO₄³- ions which are difficult to eliminate.

Keywords: adsorption processes, halloysite, minerals, water reservoirs pollutants

Procedia PDF Downloads 180