Search results for: simulated enterprises

Authors: Olakunle Felix Adekunle

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In the recent years several non-tariff provisions have been regarded as means holding back transboundary environmental damages. Affected countries have then increasingly come up with trade policies to compensate for or to In recent years, several non‐tariff trade provisions have been regarded as means of holding back transboundary environmental damages. Affected countries have then increasingly come up with trade policies to compensate for or to enforce the adoption of environmental policies elsewhere. These non‐tariff trade constraints are claimed to threaten the freedom of trading across nations, as well as the harmonization sought towards the distribution of income and policy measures. Therefore the ‘greening’ of world trade issues essentially ranges over whether there ought or ought not to be a trade‐off between trade and environmental policies. The impacts of free trade and environmental policies on major economic variables (such as trade flows, balances of trade, resource allocation, output, consumption and welfare) are thus studied here, and so is the EKC hypothesis, when such variables are played against the resulting emission levels. The policy response is seen as a political game, played here by two representative parties named North and South. Whether their policy choices, simulated by four scenarios, are right or wrong depends on their policy goals, split into economic and environmental ones.

Keywords: environmental, policies, strategies, constraint

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Kunal Mankodi, Sudhir Pandey

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This study aims to assess the factors that play a role in setting up and running a social enterprise driven towards sustainability at the intersection of energy, environment, and poverty alleviation. According to the theory of sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI), conventional organisations adapt their processes to focus on sustainability-oriented innovations. On the other hand, social enterprises that are purpose-driven are also influenced by the context of innovation, which need due attention. This paper presents an account of innovation at Oorja - an Indian social enterprise operating with a farming-as-a-service business model. It aims to illustrate the contexts in which the innovative solutions were developed to work at an intersection between agriculture and clean energy, thereby allowing small farmers access to efficient solutions in the agriculture cycle. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews, and secondary data was collected from company sources. The study finds that in the case of a social enterprise, the definition of innovation assumes a wider scope by going beyond the introduction of a new product/service. The context of innovation for social enterprise is affected by organisational factors such as organisation’s philosophical mindset, behaviour towards innovation, organisation’s capabilities, regulatory environment, and customer receptiveness. Additionally, the study also finds that the context of innovation for a social enterprise is affected by its organizational structure. A majority of these organizational factors are, in turn, affected by individual (Founder’s) factors such as the founder’s formative years, education, direct exposure to relevant issues, complementary skills of co-founders, and a common calling.

Keywords: context of innovation, social enterprise, sustainability oriented innovations, emerging markets, agriculture

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Young-Doo Kwon, Seong-Hwa Jun, Dong-Jin Lee, Hyung-Seok Lee

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Ball joints support and guide certain automotive parts that move relative to the frame of the vehicle. Such ball joints are covered and protected from dust, mud, and other interfering materials by ball-joint boots made of rubber—a flexible and near-incompressible material. The boots may experience twisting and bending deformations because of the motion of the joint arm. Thus, environmental and endurance tests of ball-joint boots apply both bending and twisting deformations. In this study, environmental and endurance testing was simulated via the finite element method performed by using a commercial software package. The ranges of principal stress and principal strain values that are known to directly affect the fatigue lives of the parts were sought. By defining these ranges, the number of iterative tests and modifications of the materials and dimensions of the boot can be decreased. Therefore, instead of performing actual part tests, manufacturers can perform standard fatigue tests in trials of different materials by applying only the defined range of stress or strain values.

Keywords: boot, endurance tests, rubber, FEA

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Paul Saah, Charles Mbohwa, Nelson Sizwe Madonsela

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The capacity to deliver projects on schedule, within budget, and to the pleasure of the client depends on effective communication, which is the lifeblood of project-based businesses. In order to pinpoint areas for development and shed light on the crucial role that communication plays in project success, the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of communication practises and processes inside project-based organisations. In order to analyse concepts and get a greater grasp of their theoretical basis, this study's methodology combines a careful review of the relevant literature with a conceptual analysis of the subject. Data from a varied sample of project-based businesses spanning all industries and sizes were collected via document analysis. The relationship between communication practises, and processes were investigated in connection to key performance measures such as project outcomes, client satisfaction, and team dynamics. According to the study's findings, project-based businesses that adopt effective communication practises, and procedures experience a reduction in unfavourable experiences, stronger integration, and coordination, clarity of purpose, and practises that can hasten problem resolution. However, failing to adopt effective communication practises and procedures in project-based company result in counter issues, including project derailment from the schedule, failure to meet goals, inefficient use of existing resources, and failure to meet organisational goals. Therefore, optimising their communication practises, and procedures are crucial for sustainable growth and competitive advantage as project-based enterprises continue to play a crucial part in today's dynamic business scene.

Keywords: effective communication, project-based firms, communication practices, project success, communication strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: S. J. Arif

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In the presented technique, a simple method is given for accurate measurement and control of power frequency deviation. The sinusoidal signal for which the frequency deviation measurement is required is transformed to a low voltage level and passed through a zero crossing detector to convert it into a pulse train. Another stable square wave signal of 10 KHz is obtained using a crystal oscillator and decade dividing assemblies (DDA). These signals are combined digitally and then passed through decade counters to give a unique combination of pulses or levels, which are further encoded to make them equally suitable for both control applications and display units. The developed circuit using discrete components has a resolution of 0.5 Hz and completes measurement within 20 ms. The realized circuit is simulated and synthesized using Verilog HDL and subsequently implemented on FPGA. The results of measurement on FPGA are observed on a very high resolution logic analyzer. These results accurately match the simulation results as well as the results of same circuit implemented with discrete components. The proposed system is suitable for accurate measurement and control of power frequency deviation.

Keywords: digital encoder for frequency measurement, frequency deviation measurement, measurement and control systems, power systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Dewi Hardiningtyas Sugiono

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Concerning towards the quality of air comfort and safety to pedestrians in the University area should be increased as Indonesia economics booming. Hence, the University management needs guidelines of thermal comfort to innovate a new layout building. The objectives of this study is to investigate and then to evaluate the distribution of thermal comfort which is indicated by predicted mean vote (PMV) index at the University of Brawijaya (UB), Malang. The PMV figures are used to evaluate and to redesign the UB layout. The research is started with study literature and early survey to collect all information of building layout and building shape at the University of Brawijaya. The information is used to create a 3D model in CAD software. The model is simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software to measure the PMV factors of air temperature, relative humidity and air speed in some locations. Validation is done by comparing between PMV value from observation and PMV value from simulation. The resuls of the research shows the most sensitive of microclimatic factors is air temperature surrounding the UB building. Finally, the research is successfully figure out the UB layout and provides further actions to increase the thermal comfort.

Keywords: thermal comfort, heat index (HI), CFD, layout

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Fulya Ozbey, Ecehan Ozmehmet

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Health and living in a healthy environment are important for all the living creatures. Healthy buildings are the part of the healthy environment and the ones that people and sometimes the animals spend most of their times in it. Therefore, healthy buildings are important subject for everybody. There are many elements of the healthy buildings from material choice to the thermal comfort including indoor air quality. The aim of this study is, to simulate two natural ventilation strategies which are used as a cooling method in Mediterranean climate, by applying to a residential building and compare the results for Asian climate. Fulltime natural and night-time ventilation strategies are simulated for three days during the summertime in Mediterranean climate. The results show that one of the chosen passive cooling strategies worked on both climates good enough without using additional shading element and cooling device, however, the other ventilation strategy did not provide comfortable indoor temperature enough. Finally, both of the ventilation strategies worked better on the Asian climate than the Mediterranean in terms of the total overheating hours during the chosen period of year.

Keywords: Asian climate, indoor air quality, Mediterranean climate, natural ventilation simulation, thermal comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Mohammad Mojtahedpoor

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In this paper, it has been studied the method of optimal design of the supersonic nozzle. It could make viscous axisymmetric nozzles that the quality of their outlet flow is quite desired. In this method, it is optimized the divergent nozzle, at first. The initial divergent nozzle contour is designed through the method of characteristics and adding a suitable boundary layer to the inviscid contour. After that, it is made a proper grid and then simulated flow by the numerical solution and AUSM+ method by using the operation boundary condition. At the end, solution outputs are investigated and optimized. The numerical method has been validated with experimental results. Also, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the present method, the nozzles compared with the previous studies. The comparisons show that the nozzles obtained through this method are sufficiently better in some conditions, such as the flow uniformity, size of the boundary layer, and obtained an axial length of the nozzle. Designing the convergent nozzle part affects by flow uniformity through changing its axial length and input diameter. The results show that increasing the length of the convergent part improves the output flow uniformity.

Keywords: nozzle, supersonic, optimization, characteristic method, CFD

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Salman Mohamadi, Seyed Mohammad Ali Tayaranian Hosseini, Hamidreza Amindavar

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In this paper, we provide a procedure to analyze and model EEG (electroencephalogram) signal as a time series using ARIMA-GARCH to predict an epileptic attack. The heteroskedasticity of EEG signal is examined through the ARCH or GARCH, (Autore- gressive conditional heteroskedasticity, Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity) test. The best ARIMA-GARCH model in AIC sense is utilized to measure the volatility of the EEG from epileptic canine subjects, to forecast the future values of EEG. ARIMA-only model can perform prediction, but the ARCH or GARCH model acting on the residuals of ARIMA attains a con- siderable improved forecast horizon. First, we estimate the best ARIMA model, then different orders of ARCH and GARCH modelings are surveyed to determine the best heteroskedastic model of the residuals of the mentioned ARIMA. Using the simulated conditional variance of selected ARCH or GARCH model, we suggest the procedure to predict the oncoming seizures. The results indicate that GARCH modeling determines the dynamic changes of variance well before the onset of seizure. It can be inferred that the prediction capability comes from the ability of the combined ARIMA-GARCH modeling to cover the heteroskedastic nature of EEG signal changes.

Keywords: epileptic seizure prediction , ARIMA, ARCH and GARCH modeling, heteroskedasticity, EEG

Procedia PDF Downloads 390

Authors: Niharika Kaushal, Minni Singh

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Citrus fruits fall into the category of those commercially grown fruits that constitute an excellent repository of phytochemicals with health-promoting properties. Fruits belonging to the citrus family, when processed by industries, produce tons of agriculture by-products in the form of peels, pulp, and seeds, which normally have no further usage and are commonly discarded. In spite of this, such residues are of paramount importance due to their richness in valuable compounds; therefore, agro-waste is considered a valuable bioresource for various purposes in the food sector. A range of biological properties, including anti-oxidative, anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenicity, and anti-aging activity, have been reported for these bioactive compounds. Taking advantage of these inexpensive residual sources requires special attention to extract bioactive compounds. Mandarin (Citrus nobilis X Citrus deliciosa) is a potential source of bioflavonoids with antioxidant properties, and it is increasingly regarded as a functional food. Despite these benefits, flavonoids suffer from a barrier of pre-systemic metabolism in gastric fluid, which impedes their effectiveness. Therefore, colloidal delivery systems can completely overcome the barrier in question. This study involved the extraction and identification of key flavonoids from mandarin biomass. Using a green chemistry approach, supercritical fluid extraction at 330 bar, temperature 40C, and co-solvent 10% ethanol was employed for extraction, and the identification of flavonoids was made by mass spectrometry. As flavonoids are concerned with a limitation, the obtained extract was encapsulated in polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) matrix using a solvent evaporation method. Additionally, the antioxidant potential was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. A release pattern of flavonoids was observed over time using simulated gastrointestinal fluids. From the results, it was observed that the total flavonoids extracted from the mandarin biomass were estimated to be 47.3 ±1.06 mg/ml rutin equivalents as total flavonoids. In the extract, significantly, polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), tangeretin and nobiletin were identified, followed by hesperetin and naringin. The designed flavonoid-PLGA nanoparticles exhibited a particle size between 200-250nm. In addition, the bioengineered nanoparticles had a high entrapment efficiency of nearly 80.0% and maintained stability for more than a year. Flavonoid nanoparticles showed excellent antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 0.55μg/ml. Morphological studies revealed the smooth and spherical shape of nanoparticles as visualized by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Simulated gastrointestinal studies of free extract and nanoencapsulation revealed the degradation of nearly half of the flavonoids under harsh acidic conditions in the case of free extract. After encapsulation, flavonoids exhibited sustained release properties, suggesting that polymeric encapsulates are efficient carriers of flavonoids. Thus, such technology-driven and biomass-derived products form the basis for their use in the development of functional foods with improved therapeutic potential and antioxidant properties. As a result, citrus processing waste can be considered a new resource that has high value and can be used for promoting its utilization.

Keywords: citrus, agrowaste, flavonoids, nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: M. Wigwe, M. Y Soloman, E. Pirayesh, R. Eghorieta, N. Stegent

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The moving reference point (MRP) technique has been used in the analyses of the first three stages of two fracturing jobs. The results obtained verify the proposition that a hydraulic fracture in shale grows in spurts rather than in a continuous pattern as originally interpreted by Nolte-Smith technique. Rather than a continuous Mode I fracture that is followed by Mode II, III or IV fractures, these fracture modes could alternate throughout the pumping period. It is also shown that the Nolte-Smith time parameter plot can be very helpful in identifying the presence of natural fractures that have been intersected by the hydraulic fracture. In addition, with the aid of a fracture length-time plot generated from any fracture simulation that matches the data, the distance from the wellbore to the natural fractures, which also translates to the actual fracture length for the stage, can be determined. An algorithm for this technique is developed. This procedure was used for the first 9 minutes of the simulated frac job data. It was observed that after 7mins, the actual fracture length is about 150ft, instead of 250ft predicted by the simulator output. This difference gets larger as the analysis proceeds.

Keywords: shale, fracturing, reservoir, simulation, frac-length, moving-reference-point

Procedia PDF Downloads 727

Authors: Mariam Dammak, Yosra Makni Fourati, Rania Mnejja

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This paper aims to highlight the conditions and the context of the birth and the implementation of the Chartered Certified Accountants in Tunisian universities. For this purpose, we present an historical overview of the establishment of institutions that started the courses of Chartered accounting, including the Institute of Higher Commercial Studies (IHEC) of Carthage, the Higher Institute of Management (ISG) of Tunis, the Faculty of Economics and Management (FSEG) of Sfax and later the Higher Institute of Accounting and Administration of Enterprises (ISCAE) of Tunis. Then, it would be relevant to examine the changes, carried out by the Tunisian government, of the regulations in force relating to this academic path, from its birth during the 1970s until nowadays. We conducted a documentary study (archival documents, official documents, etc.) accompanied by semi-structured interviews with key actors (accountants, academics, officials of the Ministry of Higher Education) who marked the history of the studies of Tunisian charted accounting. Addressing this research question in Tunisia may contribute to the literature in three ways. First, previous researches dealing with the history of charted accounting-education are scared. Second, this paper allows us to understand the circumstances and context of the birth and teaching of accounting in Tunisia. Eventually, it helps to position the accounting curriculum in relation to international requirements. In fact, the training of accountants is closely related to the practice of the profession, regulated by the Order of Chartered Accountants in Tunisia (OECT). This Order is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), since its creation in the 80s, has obligations to align with international requirements, particularly those relating to higher education, set up in 2005 and updated in 2015 (International Standard Education: IES).

Keywords: accounting history, chartered certified accountants, higher accounting education, Tunisian context

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Autcha Araveeporn

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This paper is to compare the parameter estimation of the mean in normal distribution by Maximum Likelihood (ML), Bayes, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The ML estimator is estimated by the average of data, the Bayes method is considered from the prior distribution to estimate Bayes estimator, and MCMC estimator is approximated by Gibbs sampling from posterior distribution. These methods are also to estimate a parameter then the hypothesis testing is used to check a robustness of the estimators. Data are simulated from normal distribution with the true parameter of mean 2, and variance 4, 9, and 16 when the sample sizes is set as 10, 20, 30, and 50. From the results, it can be seen that the estimation of MLE, and MCMC are perceivably different from the true parameter when the sample size is 10 and 20 with variance 16. Furthermore, the Bayes estimator is estimated from the prior distribution when mean is 1, and variance is 12 which showed the significant difference in mean with variance 9 at the sample size 10 and 20.

Keywords: Bayes method, Markov chain Monte Carlo method, maximum likelihood method, normal distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Kyoko Tominaga

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Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), Social Enterprises and other actors play an important role in political decisions in governments at the international levels. Especially, such organizations’ and activists’ network in civil society is quite important to effect to the global politics. To solve the complex social problems in global era, diverse actors should corporate each other. Moreover, network of protesters is also contributes to diffuse tactics, information and other resources of social movements. Based on the findings from the study of International Trade Fairs (ITFs), the author analyzes the network of activists in anti-globalism movement. This research focuses the transition of 54 activists’ whole network in the “protest event” against 2008 G8 summit in Japan. Their network is examined at the three periods: Before protest event phase, during protest event phase and after event phase. A mixed method is used in this study: the author shows the hypothesis from social network analysis and evaluates that with interview data analysis. This analysis gives the two results. Firstly, the more protesters participate to the various events during the protest event, the more they build the network. After that, active protesters keep their network as well. From interview data, we can understand that the active protesters can build their network and diffuse the information because they communicate with other participants and understand that diverse issues are related. This paper comes to same conclusion with previous researches: protest events activate the network among the political activists. However, some participants succeed to build their network, others do not. “Networked” activists are participated in the various events for short period of time and encourage the diffusion of information and tactics of social movements.

Keywords: social movement, global justice movement, tactics, diffusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Antonios Katsianis

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I present the evolution of the galaxy Star Formation Rate Function (SFRF), star formation rate-stellar mass relation (SFR-M*) and Cosmic Star Formation Rate Density (CSFRD) of z = 0-8 galaxies employing both the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments (EAGLE) simulations and a compilation of UV, Ha, radio and IR data. While I present comparisons between the above, I evaluate the effect and importance of supernovae/active galactic nuclei feedback. The relation between the star formation rate and stellar mass of galaxies represents a fundamental constraint on galaxy formation, and has been studied extensively both in observations and cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. However, a tension between the above is reported in the literature. I present the evolution of the SFR-M* relation and demonstrate the inconsistencies between observations that are retrieved using different methods. I employ cosmological hydrodynamic simulations combined with radiative transfer methods and compare these with a range of observed data in order to investigate further the root of this tension. Last, I present insights about the scatter of the SFR-M* relation and investigate which mechanisms (e.g. feedback) drive its shape and evolution.

Keywords: cosmological simulations, galaxy formation and evolution, star formation rate, stellar masses

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: José Davi Oliveira De Moura, Chou Sin Chan

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In this study, the effect of convective momentum transport (CMT) on the life of cyclone systems and their organization is analyzed. A case of strong precipitation, in the southeast of Brazil, was simulated using Eta model with two kinds of convective parameterization: Kain-Fritsch without CMT and Kain-fritsch with CMT. Reanalysis data from CFSR were used to compare Eta model simulations. The Wind, mean sea level pressure, rain and temperature are included in analysis. The rain was evaluated by Equitable Threat Score (ETS) and Bias Index; the simulations were compared among themselves to detect the influence of CMT displacement on the systems. The result shows that CMT process decreases the intensity of meso cyclones (higher pressure values on nuclei) and change the positions and production of rain. The decrease of intensity in meso cyclones should be caused by the dissolution of momentum from lower levels from up levels. The rain production and rain distribution were altered because the displacement of the larger systems scales was changed. In addition, the inclusion of CMT process is very important to improve the simulation of life time of meteorological systems.

Keywords: convection, Kain-Fritsch, momentum, parameterization

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Guru Prakash, Revanth Dugalam

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A road’s condition often deteriorates due to harsh loading such as overload due to trucks, and severe environmental conditions such as heavy rain, snow load, and cyclic loading. In absence of proper maintenance planning, this results in potholes, wide cracks, bumps, and increased roughness of roads. In this paper, a data-driven model will be developed to detect these damages using vibration and image signals. The key idea of the proposed methodology is that the road anomaly manifests in these signals, which can be detected by training a machine learning algorithm. The use of various machine learning techniques such as the support vector machine and Radom Forest method will be investigated. The proposed model will first be trained and tested with artificially simulated data, and the model architecture will be finalized by comparing the accuracies of various models. Once a model is fixed, the field study will be performed, and data will be collected. The field data will be used to validate the proposed model and to predict the future road’s health condition. The proposed will help to automate the road condition monitoring process, repair cost estimation, and maintenance planning process.

Keywords: SVM, data-driven, road health monitoring, pot-hole

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Zine Souhila Rached, Mazari Benyounes Bouzid, Mohamed Amine, Allaoui Tayeb

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Wind energy has many advantages, it does not pollute and it is an inexhaustible source. However, its high cost is a major constraint, especially on the less windy sites. The purpose of wind energy systems is to maximize energy efficiency, and extract maximum power from the wind speed. In other words, having a power coefficient is maximum and therefore the maximum power point tracking. In this case, the MPPT control becomes important.To realize this control, strategy conventional proportional and integral (PI) controller is usually used. However, this strategy cannot achieve better performance. This paper proposes a robust control of a turbine which optimizes its production, that is improve the quality and energy efficiency, namely, a strategy of sliding mode control. The proposed sliding mode control strategy presents attractive features such as robustness to parametric uncertainties of the turbine; the proposed sliding mode control approach has been simulated on three-blade wind turbine. The simulation result under Matlab\Simulink has validated the performance of the proposed MPPT strategy.

Keywords: wind turbine, maximum power point tracking, sliding mode, energy conversion systems

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Authors: C. P. Providakis, G. M. Angeli, M. J. Favvata, N. A. Papadopoulos, C. E. Chalioris, C. G. Karayannis

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An effort for the detection of damages in the reinforcement bars of reinforced concrete members using PZTs is presented. The damage can be the result of excessive elongation of the steel bar due to steel yielding or due to local steel corrosion. In both cases the damage is simulated by considering reduced diameter of the rebar along the damaged part of its length. An integration approach based on both electromechanical admittance methodology and guided wave propagation technique is used to evaluate the artificial damage on the examined longitudinal steel bar. Two actuator PZTs and a sensor PZT are considered to be bonded on the examined steel bar. The admittance of the Sensor PZT is calculated using COMSOL 3.4a. Fast Furrier Transformation for a better evaluation of the results is employed. An effort for the quantification of the damage detection using the root mean square deviation (RMSD) between the healthy condition and damage state of the sensor PZT is attempted. The numerical value of the RSMD yields a level for the difference between the healthy and the damaged admittance computation indicating this way the presence of damage in the structure. Experimental measurements are also presented.

Keywords: concrete reinforcement, damage detection, electromechanical admittance, experimental measurements, finite element method, guided waves, PZT

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: Hamid Goharnejad, Amir Hossein Eghbali

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Recent investigations have demonstrated the global sea level rise due to climate change impacts. In this study climate changes study the effects of increasing water level in the strait of Hormuz. The probable changes of sea level rise should be investigated to employ the adaption strategies. The climatic output data of a GCM (General Circulation Model) named CGCM3 under climate change scenario of A1b and A2 were used. Among different variables simulated by this model, those of maximum correlation with sea level changes in the study region and least redundancy among themselves were selected for sea level rise prediction by using stepwise regression. One models of Discrete Wavelet artificial Neural Network (DWNN) was developed to explore the relationship between climatic variables and sea level changes. In these models, wavelet was used to disaggregate the time series of input and output data into different components and then ANN was used to relate the disaggregated components of predictors and predictands to each other. The results showed in the Shahid Rajae Station for scenario A1B sea level rise is among 64 to 75 cm and for the A2 Scenario sea level rise is among 90 to 105 cm. Furthermore the result showed a significant increase of sea level at the study region under climate change impacts, which should be incorporated in coastal areas management.

Keywords: climate change scenarios, sea-level rise, strait of Hormuz, forecasting

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Ganga K. V. Prakhya, V. Karthigeyan

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The paper describes the influences of the fluid and structure interaction in concrete structures that support large oil platforms in the North Sea. The dynamic interaction of the fluid both in 2D and 3D are demonstrated through a Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis in the event of explosion following a gas leak inside of the concrete column. The structural response characteristics of the column in water under dynamic conditions are quite complex involving axial, radial and circumferential modes. Fluid structure interaction (FSI) modelling showed that there are some frequencies of the column in water which are not found for a column in air. For example, it was demonstrated that one of the axial breathing modes can never be simulated without the use of FSI models. The occurrence of a shift in magnitude and time of pressure from explosion following gas leak along the height of the shaft not only excited the modes of vibration involving breathing (axial), bending and squashing (radial) modes but also magnified the forces in the column. FSI models revealed that dynamic effects resulted in dynamic amplification of loads. The results are summarized from a detailed study that was carried out by the first author for the Offshore Safety Division of Health & Safety Executive United Kingdom.

Keywords: concrete, explosion, fluid structure interaction, offshore structures

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: C. P. Providakis, G. M. Angeli, M. J. Favvata, N. A. Papadopoulos, C. E. Chalioris, C. G. Karayannis

Abstract:

An effort for the detection of damages in the reinforcement bars of reinforced concrete members using PZTs is presented. The damage can be the result of excessive elongation of the steel bar due to steel yielding or due to local steel corrosion. In both cases the damage is simulated by considering reduced diameter of the rebar along the damaged part of its length. An integration approach based on both electro-mechanical admittance methodology and guided wave propagation technique is used to evaluate the artificial damage on the examined longitudinal steel bar. Two actuator PZTs and a sensor PZT are considered to be bonded on the examined steel bar. The admittance of the Sensor PZT is calculated using COMSOL 3.4a. Fast Furrier Transformation for a better evaluation of the results is employed. An effort for the quantification of the damage detection using the root mean square deviation (RMSD) between the healthy condition and damage state of the sensor PZT is attempted. The numerical value of the RSMD yields a level for the difference between the healthy and the damaged admittance computation indicating this way the presence of damage in the structure. Experimental measurements are also presented.

Keywords: concrete reinforcement, damage detection, electromechanical admittance, experimental measurements, finite element method, guided waves, PZT

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Farideh Azimi, Sam Vahedi Tafreshi

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This research tries to study the residential buildings in Ahvaz, the common materials used, and the impact of passive methods of energy storage (as one of the most effective ways to reduce energy consumption in residential complexes) in order to achieve patterns for construction of residential buildings in Ahvaz conditions to reduce energy consumption. In this research, after studying Ahvaz conditions, the components of an existing building were simulated in Energy Plus software, and the climatic data of Ahvaz station was introduced to software. Then to achieve the most optimal conditions of energy consumption in Ahvaz conditions, each of the residential building elements was optimized. The results of simulation showed that using inactive materials and design including double glass, outside wall insulation, inverted roof, etc. in the buildings can reduce energy consumption in the hot and dry climate of Ahvaz. Among the parameters investigated, the inverted roof was the most effective energy saving pattern. According to the results of simulation of the entire building with the most optimal parameters, energy consumption can be saved by a mean of 12.51% in buildings of Ahvaz, and the obtained pattern can also be used in similar climates.

Keywords: residential buildings, thermal comfort, energy storage, Energy Plus software, Ahvaz

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Syed Javed Arif, Mohd Ayyub Khan, Saleem Anwar Khan

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In this paper, a simple method is presented for measurement of power frequency deviations. A phase locked loop (PLL) is used to multiply the signal under test by a factor of 100. The number of pulses in this pulse train signal is counted over a stable known period, using decade driving assemblies (DDAs) and flip-flops. These signals are combined using logic gates and then passed through decade counters to give a unique combination of pulses or levels, which are further encoded. These pulses are equally suitable for both control applications and display units. The experimental circuit developed gives a resolution of 1 Hz within the measurement period of 20 ms. The proposed circuit is also simulated in Verilog Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and implemented using Field Programing Gate Arrays (FPGAs). A Mixed signal Oscilloscope (MSO) is used to observe the results of FPGA implementation. These results are compared with the results of the proposed circuit of discrete components. The proposed system is useful for frequency deviation measurement and control in power systems.

Keywords: frequency measurement, digital control, phase locked loop, encoder, Verilog HDL

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Trapond Hiransalee

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The technology of mobile devices has changed our daily lives. Since smartphone have become a multi-functional device, many people spend unnecessary time on them, and could be interrupted by inappropriate notifications such as unimportant messages from social media. Notifications from smartphone could draw people’s attention and distract them from their priorities and current tasks. This research investigated that if the users were notified by their surroundings instead of smartphone, would it create less distraction and keep their focus on the present task. The experiment was a simulation of a lamp and door notification. Notifications related to work will be embedded in the lamp such as an email from a colleague. A notification that is useful when going outside such as weather information, traffic information, and schedule reminder will be embedded in the door. The experiment was conducted by sending notifications to the participant while he or she was working on a primary task and the working performance was measured. The results show that the lamp notification had fewer interruption effects than the smartphone. For the door notification, it was simulated in order to gain opinions and insights on ambient notifications from participants. Many participants agreed that the ambient notifications are useful and being informed by them could lessen the usage of their smartphone. The results and insights from this research could be used to guide the design process of ambient notifications.

Keywords: HCI, interaction, interaction design, usability testing

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Authors: M. Rahimnejad, B. Vahidi, B. Ebrahimi Hoseinzadeh, F. Yazdian, P. Motamed Fath, R. Jamjah

Abstract:

In this study, we developed and simulated nano-drug delivery systems efficacy in compare to free drug prescription. Computational models can be utilized to accelerate experimental steps and control the experiments high cost. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS), in particular NAMD was utilized to better understand the anti-cancer drug interaction with cell membrane model. Paclitaxel (PTX) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were selected for the drug molecule and as a natural phospholipid nanocarrier, respectively. This work focused on two important interaction parameters between molecules in terms of center of mass (COM) and van der Waals interaction energy. Furthermore, we compared the simulation results of the PTX interaction with the cell membrane and the interaction of DPPC as a nanocarrier loaded by the drug with the cell membrane. The molecular dynamic analysis resulted in low energy between the nanocarrier and the cell membrane as well as significant decrease of COM amount in the nanocarrier and the cell membrane system during the interaction. Thus, the drug vehicle showed notably better interaction with the cell membrane in compared to free drug interaction with the cell membrane.

Keywords: anti-cancer drug, center of mass, interaction energy, molecular dynamics simulation, nanocarrier

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Somayeh Azizi, Mohammad Hossein Ehsani, Amir Zareidoost

Abstract:

In this research, a technique has been developed to reduce the corrosion rate of magnesium (Mg) metal by creating Zr-Nb thin film coatings. In this regard, thin-film coatings of niobium (Nb) zirconium (Zr) double alloy are applied on pure Mg specimens under different processes conditions, such as the change of the substrate temperature, substrate bias, and coating thickness using the magnetron sputtering method. Then, deposited coatings are analyzed in terms of surface features via field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), thin-layer X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and corrosion tests. Also, nano-scratch tests were carried out to investigate the adhesion of the thin film. The results showed that the (Zr-Nb) thin films could control the degradation rate of Mg in the simulated body fluid (SBF). The nano-scratch studies depicted that the (Zr-Nb) thin films have a proper adhesion with the Mg substrate. Therefore, this technique could be used to enhance the corrosion resistance of bare Mg and could result in improving the performance of the biodegradable Mg implant for orthopedic applications.

Keywords: (Zr-Nb) thin film, magnetron sputtering, biodegradable Mg, degradation rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Rusnardi Rahmat Putra, Junji Kiyono, Aiko Furukawa

Abstract:

Several powerful earthquakes have struck Padang during recent years, one of the largest of which was an M 7.6 event that occurred on September 30, 2009 and caused more than 1000 casualties. Following the event, we conducted a 12-site microtremor array investigation to gain a representative determination of the soil condition of subsurface structures in Padang. From the dispersion curve of array observations, the central business district of Padang corresponds to relatively soft soil condition with Vs30 less than 400 m/s. because only one accelerometer existed, we simulated the 2009 Padang earthquake to obtain peak ground acceleration for all sites in Padang city. By considering the damage data of the 2009 Padang earthquake, we produced seismic risk vulnerability estimation of non-engineered houses for rock, medium and soft soil condition. We estimated the loss ratio based on the ground response, seismic hazard of Padang and the existing damaged to non-engineered structure houses due to Padang earthquake in 2009 data for several return periods of earthquake events.

Keywords: profile, Padang earthquake, microtremor array, seismic vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: K. Ghosh, S. N. Tripathi, Manish Joshi, Y. S. Mayya, Arshad Khan, B. K. Sapra

Abstract:

We have developed a CFD coupled aerosol microphysics model in the context of aerosol generation from a glowing wire. The governing equations can be solved implicitly for mass, momentum, energy transfer along with aerosol dynamics. The computationally efficient framework can simulate temporal behavior of total number concentration and number size distribution. This formulation uniquely couples standard K-Epsilon scheme with boundary layer model with detailed aerosol dynamics through residence time. This model uses measured temperatures (wire surface and axial/radial surroundings) and wire compositional data apart from other usual inputs for simulations. The model predictions show that bulk fluid motion and local heat distribution can significantly affect the aerosol behavior when the buoyancy effect in momentum transfer is considered. Buoyancy generated turbulence was found to be affecting parameters related to aerosol dynamics and transport as well. The model was validated by comparing simulated predictions with results obtained from six controlled experiments performed with a laboratory-made hot wire nanoparticle generator. Condensation particle counter (CPC) and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) were used for measurement of total number concentration and number size distribution at the outlet of reactor cell during these experiments. Our model-predicted results were found to be in reasonable agreement with observed values. The developed model is fast (fully implicit) and numerically stable. It can be used specifically for applications in the context of the behavior of aerosol particles generated from glowing wire technique and in general for other similar large scale domains. Incorporation of CFD in aerosol microphysics framework provides a realistic platform to study natural convection driven systems/ applications. Aerosol dynamics sub-modules (nucleation, coagulation, wall deposition) have been coupled with Navier Stokes equations modified to include buoyancy coupled K-Epsilon turbulence model. Coupled flow-aerosol dynamics equation was solved numerically and in the implicit scheme. Wire composition and temperature (wire surface and cell domain) were obtained/measured, to be used as input for the model simulations. Model simulations showed a significant effect of fluid properties on the dynamics of aerosol particles. The role of buoyancy was highlighted by observation and interpretation of nucleation zones in the planes above the wire axis. The model was validated against measured temporal evolution, total number concentration and size distribution at the outlet of hot wire generator cell. Experimentally averaged and simulated total number concentrations were found to match closely, barring values at initial times. Steady-state number size distribution matched very well for sub 10 nm particle diameters while reasonable differences were noticed for higher size ranges. Although tuned specifically for the present context (i.e., aerosol generation from hotwire generator), the model can also be used for diverse applications, e.g., emission of particles from hot zones (chimneys, exhaust), fires and atmospheric cloud dynamics.

Keywords: nanoparticles, k-epsilon model, buoyancy, CFD, hot wire generator, aerosol dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Tayab D. Memon, Shahji Farooque, Marvi Deshi, Imtiaz Hussain Kalwar, B. S. Chowdhry

Abstract:

Recently single-bit ternary FIR-like filter (SBTFF) hardware synthesize in FPGA is reported and compared with multi-bit FIR filter on similar spectral characteristics. Results shows that SBTFF dominates upon multi-bit filter overall. In this paper, an optimized adder module for ternary quantized sigma-delta modulated signal is presented. The adder is simulated using ModelSim for functional verification the area-performance of the proposed adder were obtained through synthesis in Xilinx and compared to conventional adder trees. The synthesis results show that the proposed adder tree achieves higher clock rates and lower chip area at higher inputs to the adder block; whereas conventional adder tree achieves better performance and lower chip area at lower number of inputs to the same adder block. These results enhance the usefulness of existing short word length DSP algorithms for fast and efficient mobile communication.

Keywords: short word length (SWL), DSP algorithms, FPGA, SBTFF, VHDL

Procedia PDF Downloads 324