Search results for: software reuse

Authors: Michal Lach, Maria Hebdowska-Krupa, Justyna Stefanek, Artur Stanek, Anna Stefanska, Janusz Mikula, Marek Hebda

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Limited resources of raw materials determine the necessity of obtaining materials from other sources. In this area, the most known and widespread are recycling processes, which are mainly focused on the reuse of material. Another possible solution used in various companies to achieve improvement in sustainable development is waste-free production. It involves the production exclusively from such materials, whose waste is included in the group of renewable raw materials. This means that they can: (i) be recycled directly during the manufacturing process of further products or (ii) be raw material obtained by other companies for the production of alternative products. The article presents the possibility of using post-production clay from the Jurassic limestone deposit "Raciszyn II" as a raw material for the production of alkali activated materials (AAM). Such products are currently increasingly used, mostly in various building applications. However, their final properties depend significantly on many factors; the most important of them are: chemical composition of the raw material, particle size, specific surface area, type and concentration of the activator and the temperature range of the heat treatment. Conducted mineralogical and chemical analyzes of clay from the “Raciszyn II” deposit confirmed that this material, due to its high content of aluminosilicates, can be used as raw material for the production of AAM. In order to obtain the product with the best properties, the optimization of the clay calcining process was also carried out. Based on the obtained results, it was found that this process should occur in the range between 750 oC and 800 oC. The use of a lower temperature causes getting a raw material with low metakaolin content which is the main component of materials suitable for alkaline activation processes. On the other hand, higher heat treatment temperatures cause thermal dissociation of large amounts of calcite, which is associated with the release of large amounts of CO2 and the formation of calcium oxide. This compound significantly accelerates the binding process, which consequently often prevents the correct formation of geopolymer mass. The effect of the use of various activators: (i) NaOH, (ii) KOH and (iii) a mixture of KOH to NaOH in a ratio of 10%, 25% and 50% by volume on the compressive strength of the AAM was also analyzed. Obtained results depending on the activator used were in the range from 25 MPa to 40 MPa. These values are comparable with the results obtained for materials produced on the basis of Portland cement, which is one of the most popular building materials.

Keywords: alkaline activation, aluminosilicates, calcination, compressive strength

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Authors: Raoudane Bouziyan, Kawser Mohammad Tawhid

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Microstrip antennas are low in profile, light in weight, conformable in structure and are now developed for many applications. The main difficulty of the microstrip antenna is its narrow bandwidth. Several modern applications like satellite communications, remote sensing, and multi-function radar systems will find it useful if there is dual-band antenna operating from a single aperture. Some applications require covering both transmitting and receiving frequency bands which are spaced apart. Providing multiple antennas to handle multiple frequencies and polarizations becomes especially difficult if the available space is limited as with airborne platforms and submarine periscopes. Dual band operation can be realized from a single feed using slot loaded or stacked microstrip antenna or two separately fed antennas sharing a common aperture. The former design, when used in arrays, has certain limitations like complicated beam forming or diplexing network and difficulty to realize good radiation patterns at both the bands. The second technique provides more flexibility with separate feed system as beams in each frequency band can be controlled independently. Another desirable feature of a dual band antenna is easy adjustability of upper and lower frequency bands. This thesis presents investigation of a new dual-band antenna, which is a hybrid of microstrip and waveguide radiating elements. The low band radiator is a Shorted Annular Ring (SAR) microstrip antenna and the high band radiator is an aperture antenna. The hybrid antenna is realized by forming a waveguide radiator in the shorted region of the SAR microstrip antenna. It is shown that the upper to lower frequency ratio can be controlled by the proper choice of various dimensions and dielectric material. Operation in both linear and circular polarization is possible in either band. Moreover, both broadside and conical beams can be generated in either band from this antenna element. Finite Element Method based software, HFSS and Method of Moments based software, FEKO were employed to perform parametric studies of the proposed dual-band antenna. The antenna was not tested physically. Therefore, in most cases, both HFSS and FEKO were employed to corroborate the simulation results.

Keywords: FEKO, HFSS, dual band, shorted annular ring patch

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Authors: V. Agostini, S. Gino, S. Inturri, A. Piccinini

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In cases of corpse identification or parental testing performed on exhumed alleged dead father, usually, we seek and acquire organic samples as bones and/or bone fragments, teeth, nails and muscle’s fragments. The DNA analysis of these cadaveric matrices usually leads to identifying success, but it often happens that the results of the typing are not satisfactory with highly degraded, partial or even non-interpretable genetic profiles. To aggravate the interpretative panorama deriving from the analysis of such 'classical' organic matrices, we must add a long and laborious treatment of the sample that starts from the mechanical fragmentation up to the protracted decalcification phase. These steps greatly increase the chance of sample contamination. In the present work, instead, we want to report the use of 'unusual' cadaveric matrices, demonstrating that their forensic genetics analysis can lead to better results in less time and with lower costs of reagents. We report six case reports, result of on-field experience, in which eyeswabs and cartilage were sampled and analyzed, allowing to obtain clear single genetic profiles, useful for identification purposes. In all cases we used the standard DNA tissue extraction protocols (as reported on the user manuals of the manufacturers such as QIAGEN or Invitrogen- Thermo Fisher Scientific), thus bypassing the long and difficult phases of mechanical fragmentation and decalcification of bones' samples. PCR was carried out using PowerPlex® Fusion System kit (Promega), and capillary electrophoresis was carried out on an ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems®), with GeneMapper ID v3.2.1 (Applied Biosystems®) software. The software Familias (version 3.1.3) was employed for kinship analysis. The genetic results achieved have proved to be much better than the analysis of bones or nails, both from the qualitative and quantitative point of view and from the point of view of costs and timing. This way, by using the standard procedure of DNA extraction from tissue, it is possible to obtain, in a shorter time and with maximum efficiency, an excellent genetic profile, which proves to be useful and can be easily decoded for later paternity tests and/or identification of human remains.

Keywords: DNA, eye swabs and cartilage, identification human remains, paternity testing

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Authors: Nazlı Çetindağ, Pelin Yılmaz Çetiner, Metin Mert İlgün, Emine Birci, Gizemnur Yıldız Uysal, Özcan Hatipoğlu, Ehsan Tuzcuoğlu, Gökhan Sır

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Water scarcity is an unavoidable issue impacting an increasing number of individuals daily, representing a global crisis stemming from swift population growth, urbanization, and excessive resource exploitation. Consequently, solutions that involve the reclamation of wastewater are considered essential. In this context, household wastewater, categorized as greywater, plays a significant role in freshwater used for residential purposes and is attributed to washing. This type of wastewater comprises diverse elements, including organic substances, soaps, detergents, solvents, biological components, and inorganic elements such as certain metal ions and particles. The physical characteristics of wastewater vary depending on its source, whether commercial, domestic, or from a hospital setting. Consequently, the treatment strategy for this wastewater type necessitates comprehensive investigation and appropriate handling. The advanced oxidation process (AOP) emerges as a promising technique associated with the generation of reactive hydroxyl radicals highly effective in oxidizing organic pollutants. This method takes precedence over others like coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration due to its avoidance of undesirable by-products. In the current study, the focus was on exploring the feasibility of the AOP for treating actual household wastewater. To achieve this, a laboratory-scale device was designed to effectively target the formed radicals toward organic pollutants, resulting in lower organic compounds in wastewater. Then, the number of microorganisms present in treated wastewater, in addition to the chemical content of the water, was analyzed to determine whether the lab-scale device eliminates microbial accumulation with AOP. This was also an important parameter since microbes can indirectly affect human health and machine hygiene. To do this, water samples were taken from treated and untreated conditions and then inoculated on general purpose agar to track down the total plate count. Analysis showed that AOP might be an option to treat household wastewater and lower microorganism growth.

Keywords: usage of household water, advanced oxidation process, water reuse, modelling

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Authors: Mehmet Sener, Emre Kishali

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The establishment of republic brought radical changes related to the modernization of life in early republican Turkey considering the revolutions in socio-economical, cultural and political aspects. These changes also had many influences on the formation of city planning and architectural medium that the arrangements related with health facility production had an important place amongst them. While the health services were witnessing great transformations with all its sides, socio-cultural and architectural framework of these facilities necessitated the adaption of new conceptual approaches which led to the construction new hospital buildings by the republican state with a name ‘Sample Hospital’. In this period, the state constructed sample hospitals in some cities (Adana, Ankara, Erzurum, İstanbul, Konya, Sivas and Trabzon) for the aim of being a good example for further hospitals sheltering all the characteristics of a contemporary health complex for that day. In this study, these six hospitals will firstly be elucidated considering their historical evaluations and current situations. Then, being one of the most significant modern heritages of republican history, the ways to provide the interrelationship of these complexes with the rapidly evolving current world will be discussed by proposing solutions or approaches coming from the fields of city planning, architectural preservation, engineering and architectural history together with an awareness of the socio-economic conditions, health services and architectural medium of Turkey. These hospitals are complexes composed of building ensembles which have functional relationships with each other. So, some strategies will be proposed for the preservation, renovation, and refurbishment of these complexes with an awareness of the possibility of the conflict between conservation practices and today’s health facility standards. Accordingly, the addition or removal of some elements in the complex or the suggestion of some architectural changes for the modernization of these health facilities will be investigated considering the requirements of the contemporary architectural design of health facilities. Since these hospitals are highly complex structures and have vastly changing design and construction standards, they cannot be used without adopting necessary architectural and technological interventions. So, the adaptive re-use of these buildings instead of demolition or the preservation of their overall characteristics becomes inevitable for the sustaining of these health facility heritages in Turkey. In this context, a multidisciplinary analysis will be made in this study on ‘Sample Hospital’ concept and buildings existing in Turkish modern architectural history within the framework of the adaptive reuse of these health complexes.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, conservation, early republican Turkey, sample hospital

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Authors: S. Shujan, A. T. Rupasinghe, N. L. Gunawardena

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Numerous studies have determined that there is a direct correlation between the successful interviewee and the nonverbal behavioral patterns of that person during the interview. In this study, we focus on formations of interview questions in such a way that, it gets an opportunity for assessing interviewee through the answers using the nonverbal behavioral cues. From all the nonverbal behavioral factors we have identified, in this study priority is given to the ‘facial expression variations’ with the assistance of facial expression analytics tool; this research proposes a novel approach in question formation for the assessment of interviewees in ‘Software Industry’.

Keywords: assessments, hirability, interviews, non-verbal behaviour patterns, question formation

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Authors: Samaniego Campoverde José Enrique, Rosero Muñoz Jorge Enrique, Luzcando Narea Lorena Elizabeth

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This paper presents a practical and theoretical model for the operation of the Tesla coil using digital signal processing. The research is based on the analysis of ten scientific papers exploring the development and operation of the Tesla coil. Starting from the Testa coil, several modifications were carried out on the Tesla coil, with the aim of amplifying the digital signal by making use of digital signal processing. To achieve this, an amplifier with a transistor and digital filters provided by MATLAB software were used, which were chosen according to the characteristics of the signals in question.

Keywords: tesla coil, digital signal process, equalizer, graphical environment

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Authors: Quan Gu, Daniel Dimitrov

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BingleSeq was developed as a shiny-based, intuitive, and comprehensive application that enables the analysis of single-Cell RNA-Sequencing count data. This was achieved via incorporating three state-of-the-art software packages for each type of RNA sequencing analysis, alongside functional annotation analysis and a way to assess the overlap of differential expression method results. At its current state, the functionality implemented within BingleSeq is comparable to that of other applications, also developed with the purpose of lowering the entry requirements to RNA Sequencing analyses. BingleSeq is available on GitHub and will be submitted to R/Bioconductor.

Keywords: bioinformatics, functional annotation analysis, single-cell RNA-sequencing, transcriptomics

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Authors: F. Tang, S. Boskovich, A. Raheja, Z. Aliyazicioglu, S. Bhandari, N. Tsuchiya

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Calpoly Autonomous Transportation Experience (CATE) is a driverless vehicle that we are developing to provide safe, accessible, and efficient transportation of passengers throughout the Cal Poly Pomona campus for events such as orientation tours. Unlike the other self-driving vehicles that are usually developed to operate with other vehicles and reside only on the road networks, CATE will operate exclusively on walk-paths of the campus (potentially narrow passages) with pedestrians traveling from multiple locations. Safety becomes paramount as CATE operates within the same environment as pedestrians. As driverless vehicles assume greater roles in today’s transportation, this project will contribute to autonomous driving with pedestrian traffic in a highly dynamic environment. The CATE project requires significant interdisciplinary work. Researchers from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science are working together to attack the problem from different perspectives (hardware, software and system). In this abstract, we describe the software aspects of the project, with a focus on the requirements and the major components. CATE shall provide a GUI interface for the average user to interact with the car and access its available functionalities, such as selecting a destination from any origin on campus. We have developed an interface that provides an aerial view of the campus map, the current car location, routes, and the goal location. Users can interact with CATE through audio or manual inputs. CATE shall plan routes from the origin to the selected destination for the vehicle to travel. We will use an existing aerial map for the campus and convert it to a spatial graph configuration where the vertices represent the landmarks and edges represent paths that the car should follow with some designated behaviors (such as stay on the right side of the lane or follow an edge). Graph search algorithms such as A* will be implemented as the default path planning algorithm. D* Lite will be explored to efficiently recompute the path when there are any changes to the map. CATE shall avoid any static obstacles and walking pedestrians within some safe distance. Unlike traveling along traditional roadways, CATE’s route directly coexists with pedestrians. To ensure the safety of the pedestrians, we will use sensor fusion techniques that combine data from both lidar and stereo vision for obstacle avoidance while also allowing CATE to operate along its intended route. We will also build prediction models for pedestrian traffic patterns. CATE shall improve its location and work under a GPS-denied situation. CATE relies on its GPS to give its current location, which has a precision of a few meters. We have implemented an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) that allows the fusion of data from multiple sensors (such as GPS, IMU, odometry) in order to increase the confidence of localization. We also noticed that GPS signals can easily get degraded or blocked on campus due to high-rise buildings or trees. UKF can also help here to generate a better state estimate. In summary, CATE will provide on-campus transportation experience that coexists with dynamic pedestrian traffic. In future work, we will extend it to multi-vehicle scenarios.

Keywords: driverless vehicle, path planning, sensor fusion, state estimate

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Authors: Abdulqader Alkhouzaam, Hazim Qiblawey, Majeda Khraisheh

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Membrane treatment for desalination and wastewater treatment is one of the promising solutions to affordable clean water. It is a developing technology throughout the world and considered as the most effective and economical method available. However, the limitations of membranes’ mechanical and chemical properties restrict their industrial applications. Hence, developing novel membranes was the focus of most studies in the water treatment and desalination sector to find new materials that can improve the separation efficiency while reducing membrane fouling, which is the most important challenge in this field. Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the materials that have been recently investigated in the membrane water treatment sector. In this work, ultrafiltration polysulfone (PSF) membranes with high antifouling properties were synthesized by incorporating different loadings of GO. High-oxidation degree GO had been synthesized using a modified Hummers' method. The synthesized GO was characterized using different analytical techniques including elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy - universal attenuated total reflectance sensor (FTIR-UATR), Raman spectroscopy, and CHNSO elemental analysis. CHNSO analysis showed a high oxidation degree of GO represented by its oxygen content (50 wt.%). Then, ultrafiltration PSF membranes incorporating GO were fabricated using the phase inversion technique. The prepared membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and showed a clear effect of GO on PSF physical structure and morphology. The water contact angle of the membranes was measured and showed better hydrophilicity of GO membranes compared to pure PSF caused by the hydrophilic nature of GO. Separation properties of the prepared membranes were investigated using a cross-flow membrane system. Antifouling properties were studied using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and humic acid (HA) as model foulants. It has been found that GO-based membranes exhibit higher antifouling properties compared to pure PSF. When using BSA, the flux recovery ratio (FRR %) increased from 65.4 ± 0.9 % for pure PSF to 84.0 ± 1.0 % with a loading of 0.05 wt.% GO in PSF. When using HA as model foulant, FRR increased from 87.8 ± 0.6 % to 93.1 ± 1.1 % with 0.02 wt.% of GO in PSF. The pure water permeability (PWP) decreased with loadings of GO from 181.7 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹ of pure PSF to 181.1, and 157.6 L.m⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹ with 0.02 and 0.05 wt.% GO respectively. It can be concluded from the obtained results that incorporating low loading of GO could enhance the antifouling properties of PSF hence improving its lifetime and reuse.

Keywords: antifouling properties, GO based membranes, hydrophilicity, polysulfone, ultrafiltration

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Authors: Japhet N. Mwambusi

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High tropical forests deforestation for solid wood furniture industry is among of climate change contributing agents. This pressure indirectly is caused by furniture joints failure due to poor gluing technology based on improper use of different glues to different wood species which lead to low quality and weak wood-glue joints. This study was carried in order to run performance tests of wood glues on different wood species used in wood workshops: Morogoro Tanzania whereby three popular wood species of C. lusitanica, T. glandis and E. maidenii were tested against five glues of Woodfix, Bullbond, Ponal, Fevicol and Coral found in the market. The findings were necessary on developing a guideline for proper glue selection for a particular wood species joining. Random sampling was employed to interview carpenters while conducting a survey on the background of carpenters like their education level and to determine factors that influence their glues choice. Monsanto Tensiometer was used to determine bonding strength of identified wood glues to different wood species in use under British Standard of testing wood shear strength (BS EN 205) procedures. Data obtained from interviewing carpenters were analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Science software (SPSS) to allow the comparison of different data while laboratory data were compiled, related and compared by the use of MS Excel worksheet software as well as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results revealed that among all five wood glues tested in the laboratory to three different wood species, Coral performed much better with the average shear strength 4.18 N/mm², 3.23 N/mm² and 5.42 N/mm² for Cypress, Teak and Eucalyptus respectively. This displays that for a strong joint to be formed to all tree wood species for soft wood and hard wood, Coral has a first priority in use. The developed table of guideline from this research can be useful to carpenters on proper glue selection to a particular wood species so as to meet glue-bond strength. This will secure furniture market as well as reduce pressure to the forests for furniture production because of the strong existing furniture due to their strong joints. Indeed, this can be a good strategy on reducing climate change speed in tropics which result from high deforestation of trees for furniture production.

Keywords: climate change, deforestation, gluing technology, joint failure, wood-glue, wood species

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Authors: Dagmar Monett, Sven-Erik Kujat, Marvin Hartmann

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This paper discusses the use of a template-based approach for documenting high-quality requirements as part of course projects in an undergraduate Software Engineering course. In order to ease some of the Requirements Engineering activities that are performed when defining requirements by using the template, a new CASE tool, RED:WIRE, was first developed and later tested by students attending the course. Two questionnaires were conceived around a study that aims to analyze the new tool’s learnability as well as other obtained results concerning its usability in particular and the Requirements Engineering skills developed by the students in general.

Keywords: CASE tool, requirements engineering, SOPHIST template, undergraduate course

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Authors: Ferdi Sönmez, Başak Buluz

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Agility in Knowledge Management (AKM) tries to capture agility requirements and their respective answers within the framework of knowledge and learning for organizations. Since it is rather a new construct, it is difficult to claim that it has been sufficiently discussed and analyzed in practical and theoretical realms. Like the term ‘agile learning’, it is also commonly addressed in the software development and information technology fields and across the related areas where those technologies can be applied. The organizational perspective towards AKM, seems to need some more time to become scholarly mature. Nevertheless, in the literature one can come across some implicit usages of this term occasionally. This research is aimed to explore the conceptual background of agility in KM, re-conceptualize it and extend it to business applications with a special focus on e-business.

Keywords: knowledge management, agility requirements, agility, knowledge

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Authors: A. Sardi, J. Zbitou, A. Errkik, L. El Abdellaoui, A. Tajmouati, M. Latrach

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This paper presents analysis and design of a wideband Wilkinson power divider for wireless applications. The design is accomplished by transforming the lengths and impedances of the quarter wavelength sections of the conventional Wilkinson power divider into U-shaped sections. The designed power divider is simulated by using ADS Agilent technologies and CST microwave studio software. It is shown that the proposed power divider has simple topology and good performances in terms of insertion loss, port matching and isolation at all operating frequencies (1.8 GHz, 2.45 GHz and 3.55 GHz).

Keywords: ADS agilent technologies, CST microwave studio, microstrip, wideband, wilkinson power divider

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Authors: Felipe Haleyson Ribeiro dos Santos, Edson Ronaldo Guarido Filho

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This article aims to review the literature on performance in police organizations. For that, the inOrdinatio method was adopted, which defines the form of selection and classification of articles. The search was carried out in databases, which resulted in a total of 619 documents that were cataloged and classified with the support of the Mendeley software. The theoretical scope intended here is to identify how performance in police organizations has been studied. After deepening the analysis and focusing on management, it was possible to classify the articles into three levels: individual, organizational, and institutional. However, to our best knowledge, no studies were found that addressed the performance relationship between the levels, which can be seen as a suggestion for further research.

Keywords: police management, performance, management, multi-level

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Authors: Ässia Boukhatmi, Roger Nyffenegger

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The expansion of solar energy as a means to address the climate crisis is undisputed, but the increasing number of new photovoltaic (PV) modules being put on the market is simultaneously leading to increased challenges in terms of managing the growing waste stream. Many of the discarded modules are still fully functional but are often damaged by improper handling after disassembly or not properly tested to be considered for a second life. In addition, the collection rate for dismantled PV modules in several European countries is only a fraction of previous projections, partly due to the increased number of illegal exports. The underlying problem for those market imperfections is an insufficient data exchange between the different actors along the PV value chain, as well as the limited traceability of PV panels during their lifetime. As part of the Horizon 2020 project CIRCUSOL, an asset database prototype was developed to tackle the described problems. In an iterative process applying the design science research methodology, different business models, as well as the technical implementation of the database, were established and evaluated. To explore the requirements of different stakeholders for the development of the database, surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with various representatives of the solar industry. The proposed database prototype maps the entire value chain of PV modules, beginning with the digital product passport, which provides information about materials and components contained in every module. Product-related information can then be expanded with performance data of existing installations. This information forms the basis for the application of data analysis methods to forecast the appropriate end-of-life strategy, as well as the circular economy potential of PV modules, already before they arrive at the recycling facility. The database prototype could already be enriched with data from different data sources along the value chain. From a business model perspective, the database offers opportunities both in the area of reuse as well as with regard to the certification of sustainable modules. Here, participating actors have the opportunity to differentiate their business and exploit new revenue streams. Future research can apply this approach to further industry and product sectors, validate the database prototype in a practical context, and can serve as a basis for standardization efforts to strengthen the circular economy.

Keywords: business model, circular economy, database, design science research, solar industry

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Authors: Samir Lecheb, Ahmed Chellil, Hamza Mechakra, Brahim Safi, Houcine Kebir

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In this paper we studied fracture and dynamic behavior of vertical axis wind turbine blade, the VAWT is a historical machine, it has many properties, structure, advantage, component to be able to produce the electricity. We modeled the blade design then imported to Abaqus software for analysis the modes shapes, frequencies, stress, strain, displacement and stress intensity factor SIF, after comparison we chose the idol material. Finally, the CTS test of glass epoxy reinforced polymer plates to obtain the material fracture toughness Kc.

Keywords: blade, crack, frequency, material, SIF

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Authors: V. Sadeghi Balkanlou, M. Reza Bagerzadeh Karimi, A. Hasanbakloo, B. Bagheri Azar

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In this paper, the behavior of different types of DST columns has been studied under bending load. Briefly, composite columns consist of an internal carbon steel tube and an external stainless steel wall that the between the walls are filled with concrete. Composite columns are expected to combine the advantages of all three materials and have the advantage of high flexural stiffness of CFDST columns. In this research, ABAQUS software is used for finite element analysis then the results of ultimate strength of the composite sections are illustrated.

Keywords: DST, stainless steel, carbon steel, ABAQUS, straigh columns, tapered columns

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Authors: Dinesh Gundavaram

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This paper presents an investigation on bridge damage detection based on the dynamic responses estimated from a passing vehicle. A numerical simulation of steel truss bridge for railway was used in this investigation. The bridge response at different locations is measured using CSI-Bridge software. Several damage scenarios are considered including different locations and severities. The possibilities of dynamic properties of global modes in the identification of structural changes in truss bridges were discussed based on the results of measurement.

Keywords: bridge, damage, dynamic responses, detection

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Authors: Opeyemi Fadipe, Masud Salimian

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The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a new normal into the world; online teaching is now the most used method of teaching over the face to face meeting. With the emergency of these teaching, online-teaching has been improved over time and with more technological advancement tools introduced. Practical courses are more demanding to teach because it requires the physical presence of the student as well as a demonstration of the equipment. In this study, a case of Lagos State University thermofluid practical was the understudy. A survey was done and give to a sample of students to fill. The result showed that the blend-approach is better for practical course teaching. Software simulation of the equipment used to conduct practical should be encouraged in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19, online teaching, t-distribution, thermofluid

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Authors: Xin Jiao, Xin Zhang, Jian Fan, Zhenwei Cai, Yiming Xu

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Tower cranes play a crucial role in the construction industry, facilitating the vertical and horizontal movement of materials and aiding in building construction, especially for high-rise structures. However, tower crane accidents can lead to severe consequences, highlighting the importance of effective safety management and inspection. This paper presents an innovative approach to tower crane inspection utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and an Intelligent Inspection APP System. The system leverages UAVs equipped with high-definition cameras to conduct efficient and comprehensive inspections, reducing manual labor, inspection time, and risk. By integrating advanced technologies such as Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning and digital image processing, the system enables precise route planning and collection of safety hazards images. A case study conducted on a construction site demonstrates the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed method, showcasing its potential to enhance tower crane safety. On-site testing of UAV intelligent inspections reveals key findings: efficient tower crane hazard inspection within 30 minutes, with a full-identification capability coverage rates of 76.3%, 64.8%, and 76.2% for major, significant, and general hazards respectively and a preliminary-identification capability coverage rates of 18.5%, 27.2%, and 19%, respectively. Notably, UAVs effectively identify various tower crane hazards, except for those requiring auditory detection. The limitations of this study primarily involve two aspects: Firstly, during the initial inspection, manual drone piloting is required for marking tower crane points, followed by automated flight inspections and reuse based on the marked route. Secondly, images captured by the drone necessitate manual identification and review, which can be time-consuming for equipment management personnel, particularly when dealing with a large volume of images. Subsequent research efforts will focus on AI training and recognition of safety hazard images, as well as the automatic generation of inspection reports and corrective management based on recognition results. The ongoing development in this area is currently in progress, and outcomes will be released at an appropriate time.

Keywords: tower crane, inspection, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), intelligent inspection app system, safety management

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Authors: Marzouk Benali, Jawad Jeaidi, Behrang Mansoornejad, Olumoye Ajao, Banafsheh Gilani, Nima Ghavidel Mehr

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Canadian forest industry is seeking to identify and implement transformational strategies for enhanced financial performance through the emerging bioeconomy or more specifically through the concept of the biorefinery. For example, processing forest residues or surplus of biomass available on the mill sites for the production of biofuels, biochemicals and/or biomaterials is one of the attractive strategies along with traditional wood and paper products and cogenerated energy. There are many possible process-product biorefinery pathways, each associated with specific product portfolios with different levels of risk. Thus, it is not obvious which unique strategy forest industry should select and implement. Therefore, there is a need for analytical and design tools that enable evaluating biorefinery strategies based on a set of criteria considering a perspective of sustainability over the short and long terms, while selecting the existing core products as well as selecting the new product portfolio. In addition, it is critical to assess the manufacturing flexibility to internalize the risk from market price volatility of each targeted bio-based product in the product portfolio, prior to invest heavily in any biorefinery strategy. The proposed paper will focus on introducing a systematic methodology for designing integrated biorefineries using process systems engineering tools as well as a multi-criteria decision making framework to put forward the most effective biorefinery strategies that fulfill the needs of the forest industry. Topics to be covered will include market analysis, techno-economic assessment, cost accounting, energy integration analysis, life cycle assessment and supply chain analysis. This will be followed by describing the vision as well as the key features and functionalities of the I-BIOREF software platform, developed by CanmetENERGY of Natural Resources Canada. Two industrial case studies will be presented to support the robustness and flexibility of I-BIOREF software platform: i) An integrated Canadian Kraft pulp mill with lignin recovery process (namely, LignoBoost™); ii) A standalone biorefinery based on ethanol-organosolv process.

Keywords: biorefinery strategies, bioproducts, co-production, multi-criteria decision making, tool

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Authors: S. Lecheb, A. Chellil, H. Mechakra, S. Attou, H. Kebir

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Although leaf springs are one of the oldest suspension components they are still frequently used, especially in commercial vehicles. Being able to capture the leaf spring characteristics is of significant importance for vehicle handling dynamics studies. The main function of leaf spring is not only to support vertical load but also to isolate road induced vibrations. It is subjected to millions of load cycles leading to fatigue failure. It needs to have excellent fatigue life. The objective of this work is its use of Abaqus software to locate the most stressed areas and predict the areas in which it occurs in fatigue and crack of leaf spring and calculate the stress and frequencies of this model.

Keywords: leaf spring, crack, stress, natural frequencies

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Authors: Fatima Zahra Moussa, Yamina Belhadef, Souheyla Ferouani

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In this work, we present a new form of miniature circular patch antenna based on CSRR metamaterials with an extended bandwidth proposed for 5 GHz Wi-Fiapplications. A reflection coefficient of -35 dB and a radiation pattern of 7.47 dB are obtained when simulating the initial proposed antenna with the CST microwave studio simulation software. The notch insertion technique in the radiating element was used for matching the antenna to the desired frequency in the frequency band [5150-5875] MHz.An extension of the bandwidth from 332 MHz to 1423 MHz was done by the DGS (defected ground structure) technique to meet the user's requirement in the 5 GHz Wi-Fi frequency band.

Keywords: patch antenna, miniaturisation, CSRR, notches, wifi, DGS

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Authors: Obiamaka Nwobu, Samuel Faboyede, O. Oluseyi

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This study investigated the influence of gender on expectations and actual experiences from Industrial Work Experience, which is an aspect of the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students in selected Nigerian Universities. A survey research design was employed. Copies of a research questionnaire were made and administered to eighty (80) accounting students in selected Nigerian Universities who embarked on Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES). Their expectations were juxtaposed with their actual experiences gleaned from the Industrial Work Experience. The data for the purpose of this study was analyzed using independent sample t-test. A total of fifteen (15) male and forty four (44) female students responded to the survey. This resulted in a response rate of 73.8 per cent. The results of this study indicated that there was no significant difference in the expectation of male and female undergraduate accounting students that the internship experience will be able to prepare them for an accounting career in the future, impart relevant knowledge, relate theories to work environment, enhance knowledge in financial accounting, cost accounting, accounting software, and general practice of accounting; prepare financial statements, interpret financial statements, develop problem solving skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills; improve personal confidence and self-esteem, increase exposure to latest technology in the workplace, build rapport and networks, provide earnings, job experience, provide information and experience to choose career path. Furthermore, findings from the survey showed that there were differences in the expectations of students and their actual experiences with respect to their ability to relate theories to work environment, enhance knowledge in financial accounting, cost accounting, accounting software and exposure to latest technology in the workplace. The study only examined the perceptions of students from two Universities in South-West Nigeria. The research instrument used in this study can be administered to undergraduate accounting students in other universities in Nigeria. The Industrial Work Experience Scheme for undergraduate accounting students should be highly encouraged by tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This will ultimately make the students well prepared for a career in accounting.

Keywords: gender, expectations, actual experiences, industrial work experience

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Authors: Zexiao Zheng, Irene M. C. Lo

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Organic pollutants, ammonia, and bacteria are major contaminants in sewage, which may adversely impact ecosystems without proper treatment. Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are operated to remove these contaminants from sewage but suffer from high carbon emissions and are powerless to remove emerging organic pollutants (EOPs). Herein, we have developed a low operational carbon emissions multifunctional photoelectrochemical (PEC) system for saline sewage treatment to simultaneously remove organic compounds, ammonia, and bacteria, coupled with H2 evolution. A reduced BiVO4 (r-BiVO4) with improved PEC properties due to the construction of oxygen vacancies and V4+ species was developed for the multifunctional PEC system. The PEC/r-BiVO4 process could treat saline sewage to meet local WWTPs’ discharge standard in 40 minutes at 2.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl and completely degrade carbamazepine (one of the EOPs), coupled with significant evolution of H2. A remarkable reduction in operational carbon emissions was achieved by the PEC/r-BiVO4 process compared with large-scale WWTPs, attributed to the restrained direct carbon emissions from the generation of greenhouse gases. Mechanistic investigation revealed that the PEC system could activate chloride ions in sewage to generate reactive chlorine species and facilitate •OH production, promoting contaminants removal. The PEC system exhibited operational feasibility at different pH and total suspended solids concentrations and has outstanding reusability and stability, confirming its promising practical potential. The study combined the simultaneous removal of three major contaminants from saline sewage and H2 evolution in a single PEC process, demonstrating a viable approach to supplementing and extending the existing wastewater treatment technologies. The study generated profound insights into the in-situ activation of existing chloride ions in sewage for contaminants removal and offered fundamental theories for applying the PEC system in sewage remediation with low operational carbon emissions. The developed PEC system can fit well with the future needs of wastewater treatment because of the following features: (i) low operational carbon emissions, benefiting the carbon neutrality process; (ii) higher quality of the effluent due to the elimination of EOPs; (iii) chemical-free in the operation of sewage treatment; (iv) easy reuse and recycling without secondary pollution.

Keywords: contaminants removal, H2 evolution, multifunctional PEC system, operational carbon emissions, saline sewage treatment, r-BiVO4 photoanodes

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Authors: Lucero Gonzalez, Salvador Alfaro

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are considered as the compounds with higher abundance among the greenhouse gases (CO2, NOx, SOx, CxHx, etc.), due to its higher concentration, this two gases have a greater impact in the environment pollution and provokes global warming. So, recovery, disposal and subsequent reuse, are of great interest, especially from the ecological and health perspective. By one hand, porous inorganic materials are good candidates to capture gases, because these type of materials are higher stability from the point view of thermal, chemical and mechanical under adsorption gas processes. By another hand, during the design and the synthetic preparation of the porous materials is possible add other intrinsic properties (physicochemical and structural) by adding chemical compounds as dopants or using structured directed agents or surfactants to improve the porous structure, the above features allow to have alternative materials for separation, capture and storage of greenhouse gases. In this work, ordered mesoporous materials base silica were prepared using Surfynol as surfactant. The surfactant micelles are commonly used as self-assembly templates for the development of new structure porous silica’s, adding a variety of textures and structures. By another hand, the Surfynol is a commercial surfactant, is non-ionic, for that is necessary determine its critical micelles concentration (cmc) by the pyrene I1/I3 ratio method, before to prepare silica particles. One time known the CMC, a precursor gel was prepared via sol-gel process at room temperature using TEOS as silica precursor, NH4OH as catalyst, Surfynol as template and H2O as solvent. Then, the gel precursor was treatment hydrothermally in a Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave with a volume of 100 mL and kept at 100 ºC for 24 h under static conditions in a convection oven. After that, the porous silica particles obtained were impregnated with lithium to improve the CO2 adsorption capacity. Then the silica particles were characterized physicochemical, morphology and structurally, by XRD, FTIR, BET and SEM techniques. The thermal stability and the CO2 adsorption capacity was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). According the results, we found that the Surfynol is a good candidate to prepare silica particles with an ordered structure. Also the TGA analysis shown that the particles has a good thermal stability in the range of 250 °C and 800 °C. The best materials had, the capacity to adsorbing 70 and 90 mg per gram of silica particles and its CO2 adsorption capacity depends on the way to thermal pretreatment of the porous silica before of the adsorption experiments and of the concentration of surfactant used during the synthesis of silica particles. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by SIP-IPN through project SIP-20161862.

Keywords: CO2 adsorption, lithium as dopant, porous silica, surfynol as surfactant, thermogravimetric analysis

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Authors: Vrinda Hari Ankolekar, Anne D. Souza, Mamatha Hosapatna

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Introduction: Precise anatomical assessment of femoral neck anteversion (FNA) and the neck shaft angles (NSA) would be essential in diagnosing the pathological conditions involving hip joint and its ligaments. FNA of greater than 20 degrees is considered excessive femoral anteversion, whereas a torsion angle of fewer than 10 degrees is considered femoral retroversion. Excessive femoral torsion is not uncommon and has been associated with certain neurologic and orthopedic conditions. The enlargement and maturation of the hip joint increases at the 20th week of gestation and the NSA ranges from 135- 140◦ at birth. Material and methods: 48 femurs were tagged according to the GA and two photographs for each femur were taken using Nikon digital camera. Each femur was kept on a horizontal hard desk and end on an image of the upper end was taken for the estimation of FNA and a photograph in a perpendicular plane was taken to calculate the NSA. The images were transferred to the computer and were stored in TIFF format. Microsoft Paint software was used to mark the points and Image J software was used to calculate the angles digitally. 1. Calculation of FNA: The midpoint of the femoral head and the neck were marked and a line was drawn joining these two points. The angle made by this line with the horizontal plane was measured as FNA. 2. Calculation of NSA: The midpoint of the femoral head and the neck were marked and a line was drawn joining these two points. A vertical line was drawn passing through the tip of the greater trochanter to the inter-condylar notch. The angle formed by these lines was calculated as NSA. Results: The paired t-test for the inter-observer variability showed no significant difference between the values of two observers. (FNA: t=-1.06 and p=0.31; NSA: t=-0.09 and p=0.9). The FNA ranged from 17.08º to 33.97 º on right and 17.32 º to 45.08 º on left. The NSA ranged from 139.33 º to 124.91 º on right and 143.98 º to 123.8 º on left. Unpaired t-test was applied to compare the mean angles between the second and third trimesters which did not show any statistical significance. This shows that the FNA and NSA of femur did not vary significantly during the third trimester. The FNA and NSA were correlated with the GA using Pearson’s correlation. FNA appeared to increase with the GA (r=0.5) but the increase was not statistically significant. A decrease in the NSA was also noted with the GA (r=-0.3) which was also statistically not significant. Conclusion: The present study evaluates the FNA and NSA of the femur in fetuses and correlates their development with the GA during second and third trimesters. The FNA and NSA did not vary significantly during the third trimester.

Keywords: anteversion, coxa antetorsa, femoral torsion, femur neck shaft angle

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Authors: Jan Barak, Karel Frana, Joerg Stiller

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This work presents results of moist air condensation in heat exchanger. It describes theoretical knowledge and definition of moist air. Model with geometry of square canal was created for better understanding and post processing of condensation phenomena. Different approaches were examined on this model to find suitable software and model. Obtained knowledge was applied to geometry of real heat exchanger and results from experiment were compared with numerical results. One of the goals is to solve this issue without creating any user defined function in the applied code. It also contains summary of knowledge and outlook for future work.

Keywords: condensation, exchanger, experiment, validation

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Mariamawit T. Belete

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Cereal production and marketing are the means of livelihood for millions of households in Ethiopia. However, cereal production is constrained by technical and socio-economic factors. Among the technical factors, cereal crop diseases are the major contributing factors to the low yield. The aim of this research is to develop an integration of data mining and knowledge based system for sorghum anthracnose disease diagnosis that assists agriculture experts and development agents to make timely decisions. Anthracnose diagnosing systems gather information from Melkassa agricultural research center and attempt to score anthracnose severity scale. Empirical research is designed for data exploration, modeling, and confirmatory procedures for testing hypothesis and prediction to draw a sound conclusion. WEKA (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis) was employed for the modeling. Knowledge based system has come across a variety of approaches based on the knowledge representation method; case-based reasoning (CBR) is one of the popular approaches used in knowledge-based system. CBR is a problem solving strategy that uses previous cases to solve new problems. The system utilizes hidden knowledge extracted by employing clustering algorithms, specifically K-means clustering from sampled anthracnose dataset. Clustered cases with centroid value are mapped to jCOLIBRI, and then the integrator application is created using NetBeans with JDK 8.0.2. The important part of a case based reasoning model includes case retrieval; the similarity measuring stage, reuse; which allows domain expert to transfer retrieval case solution to suit for the current case, revise; to test the solution, and retain to store the confirmed solution to the case base for future use. Evaluation of the system was done for both system performance and user acceptance. For testing the prototype, seven test cases were used. Experimental result shows that the system achieves an average precision and recall values of 70% and 83%, respectively. User acceptance testing also performed by involving five domain experts, and an average of 83% acceptance is achieved. Although the result of this study is promising, however, further study should be done an investigation on hybrid approach such as rule based reasoning, and pictorial retrieval process are recommended.

Keywords: sorghum anthracnose, data mining, case based reasoning, integration

Procedia PDF Downloads 74