Search results for: mixed mode operation

Authors: Malinwo Estone Ayikpa

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With the rapid increase of grid-connected PV systems over the last decades, genuine challenges have arisen for engineers and professionals of energy field in the planning and operation of existing distribution networks with the integration of new generation sources. However, the conventional distribution network, in its design was not expected to receive other generation outside the main power supply. The tools generally used to analyze the networks become inefficient and cannot take into account all the constraints related to the operation of grid-connected PV systems. Some of these constraints are voltage control difficulty, reverse power flow, and especially voltage unbalance which could be due to the poor distribution of single-phase PV systems in the network. In order to analyze the impact of the connection of small and large number of PV systems to the distribution networks, this paper presents an efficient optimization tool that minimizes voltage unbalance in three-phase distribution networks with active and reactive power injections from the allocation of single-phase and three-phase PV plants. Reactive power can be generated or absorbed using the available capacity and the adjustable power factor of the inverter. Good reduction of voltage unbalance can be achieved by reactive power control of the PV systems. The presented tool is based on the three-phase current injection method and the PV systems are modeled via an equivalent circuit. The primal-dual interior point method is used to obtain the optimal operating points for the systems.

Keywords: Photovoltaic system, Primal-dual interior point method, Three-phase optimal power flow, Voltage unbalance

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Authors: Adel A. Ghobbar

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The airline industry is continuously challenging how to safely increase the service life of the aircraft with limited maintenance budgets. Operators are looking for the most qualified maintenance providers of aircraft components, offering the finest customer service. Component owner and maintenance provider is offering an Abacus agreement (Aircraft Component Leasing) to increase the efficiency and productivity of the customer service. To increase the customer service, the current focus on No Fault Found (NFF) units must change into the focus on Early Failure (EF) units. Since the effect of EF units has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, this needs to increase the reliability of EF units at minimal cost, which leads to the goal of this paper. By identifying the reliability of early failure (EF) units with regards to No Fault Found (NFF) units, in particular, the root cause analysis with an integrated cost analysis of EF units with the use of a failure mode analysis tool and a cost model, there will be a set of EF maintenance improvements. The data used for the investigation of the EF units will be obtained from the Pentagon system, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system used by Fokker Services. The Pentagon system monitors components, which needs to be repaired from Fokker aircraft owners, Abacus exchange pool, and commercial customers. The data will be selected on several criteria’s: time span, failure rate, and cost driver. When the selected data has been acquired, the failure mode and root cause analysis of EF units are initiated. The failure analysis approach tool was implemented, resulting in the proposed failure solution of EF. This will lead to specific EF maintenance improvements, which can be set-up to decrease the EF units and, as a result of this, increasing the reliability. The investigated EFs, between the time period over ten years, showed to have a significant reliability impact of 32% on the total of 23339 unscheduled failures. Since the EFs encloses almost one-third of the entire population.

Keywords: supportability, no fault found, FMEA, early failure, availability, operational reliability, predictive model

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Authors: Sotirios Longinos, Anna Loskutova, Assel Tolegenova, Assem Imanzhussip, Lei Wang

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Hot, dry rock (HDR) has substantial potential as a thermal energy source. It has been exploited by hydraulic fracturing to extract heat and generate electricity, which is a well-developed technique known for creating the enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). These days, LN2 is being tested as an environmental friendly fracturing fluid to generate densely interconnected crevices to augment heat exchange efficiency and production. This study examines experimentally the efficacy of LN2 cryogenic fracturing for granite samples in Kazakhstan with immersion method. A comparison of two different experimental models is carried out. The first mode is rock heating along with liquid nitrogen treatment (heating with freezing time), and the second mode is multiple times of heating along with liquid nitrogen treatment (heating with LN2 freezing-thawing cycles). The experimental results indicated that with multiple heating and LN2-treatment cycles, the permeability of granite first ameliorates with increasing number of cycles and later reaches a plateau after a certain number of cycles. On the other hand, density, P-wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and tensile strength indicate a downward trend with increasing heating and treatment cycles. The thermal treatment cycles do not seem to have an obvious effect on the Poisson’s ratio. The changing rate of granite rock properties decreases as the number of cycles increases. The deterioration of granite primarily happens within the early few cycles. The heating temperature during the cycles shows an important influence on the deterioration of granite. More specifically, mechanical deterioration and permeability amelioration become more remarkable as the heating temperature increases.LN2 fracturing generates many positives compared to conventional fracturing methods such as little water consumption, requirement of zero chemical additives, lessening of reservoir damage, and so forth. Based on the experimental observations, LN2 can work as a promising waterless fracturing fluid to stimulate hot, dry rock reservoirs.

Keywords: granite, hydraulic fracturing, liquid nitrogen, Kazakhstan

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Authors: Nimasha Malalasekera

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Working with the indigenous Adivasi (Vedda) community of Dambana in the district of Badulla in Sri Lanka, this research documents linguistic data to address language and cultural endangerment. The ancestral language of Adivasi has undergone sustained restructuration over a long historical period due to its contact with Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the majority Sinhalese. The Vedda language is highly endangered today. At present, all speakers of the Vedda language spoken in Dambana are Adivasi men in the parent generation, who are Sinhala-Vedda bilinguals. Adivasi women and children do not speak the Vedda language but Sinhala in everyday life. Women can understand the Vedda language and would respond to a Vedda language utterance in Sinhala. The use of the Vedda language is largely restricted to self-ascribing Adivasi men who employ it in the context of cultural tourism in Dambana to index ethnolinguistic otherness. Adivasi of Dambana often refers to this distinct linguistic code that they speak as baasapojja or language. This research employs a cooperative model of ethnographic documentation to explore the interrelations between discursive practices, linguistic structures, and linguistic (and broader sociocultural) ideologies in this community. The Vedda language has been previously identified as a dialect of Sinhala or a creole emerging in the contact between Sinhala and the ancestral Vedda language. This paper analyzes the current language endangerment context of bilingual Adivasi members that allows the birth of a mixed language. The aim of this research is to preserve ongoing linguistic innovation among this endangered language speech community. It contributes to the appreciation of creative cultural and linguistic production of a stigmatized minuscule indigenous community of South Asia that strives to assert a distinct linguistic and cultural identity from the dominant populations.

Keywords: Vedda language, language endangerment, mixed languages, indigenous identity

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Authors: Binbin Chen, Dennis Y. C. Leung

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Aluminium (Al) -air cell holds a high volumetric capacity density of 8.05 Ah cm-3, benefit from the trivalence of Al ions. Additional benefits of Al-air cell are low price and environmental friendliness. Furthermore, the Al energy conversion process is characterized of 100% recyclability in theory. Along with a large base of raw material reserve, Al attracts considerable attentions as a promising material to be integrated within the global energy system. However, despite the early successful applications in military services, several problems exist that prevent the Al-air cells from widely civilian use. The most serious issue is the parasitic corrosion of Al when contacts with electrolyte. To overcome this problem, super-pure Al alloyed with various traces of metal elements are used to increase the corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, high-purity Al alloys are costly and require high energy consumption during production process. An alternative approach is to add inexpensive inhibitors directly into the electrolyte. However, such additives would increase the internal ohmic resistance and hamper the cell performance. So far these methods have not provided satisfactory solutions for the problem within Al-air cells. For the operation of alkaline Al-air cell, there are still other minor problems. One of them is the formation of aluminium hydroxide in the electrolyte. This process decreases ionic conductivity of electrolyte. Another one is the carbonation process within the gas diffusion layer of cathode, blocking the porosity of gas diffusion. Both these would hinder the performance of cells. The present work optimizes the above problems by building an Al-air cell operation system, consisting of four components. A top electrolyte tank containing fresh electrolyte is located at a high level, so that it can drive the electrolyte flow by gravity force. A mechanical rechargeable Al-air cell is fabricated with low-cost materials including low grade Al, carbon paper, and PMMA plates. An electrolyte waste tank with elaborate channel is designed to separate the hydrogen generated from the corrosion, which would be collected by gas collection device. In the first section of the research work, we investigated the performance of the mechanical rechargeable Al-air cell with a constant flow rate of electrolyte, to ensure the repeatability experiments. Then the whole system was assembled together and the feasibility of operating was demonstrated. During experiment, pure hydrogen is collected by collection device, which holds potential for various applications. By collecting this by-product, high utilization efficiency of aluminum is achieved. Considering both electricity and hydrogen generated, an overall utilization efficiency of around 90 % or even higher under different working voltages are achieved. Fluidic electrolyte could remove aluminum hydroxide precipitate and solve the electrolyte deterioration problem. This operation system provides a low-cost strategy for harvesting energy from the abundant secondary Al. The system could also be applied into other metal-air cells and is suitable for emergency power supply, power plant and other applications. The low cost feature implies great potential for commercialization. Further optimization, such as scaling up and optimization of fabrication, will help to refine the technology into practical market offerings.

Keywords: aluminium-air cell, high efficiency, hydrogen, mechanical recharge

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Authors: T. Jayanthi, K. Velusamy, H. Seetha, S. A. V. Satya Murty

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Verification and Validation of Simulated Process Model is the most important phase of the simulator life cycle. Evaluation of simulated process models based on Verification and Validation techniques checks the closeness of each component model (in a simulated network) with the real system/process with respect to dynamic behaviour under steady state and transient conditions. The process of Verification and validation helps in qualifying the process simulator for the intended purpose whether it is for providing comprehensive training or design verification. In general, model verification is carried out by comparison of simulated component characteristics with the original requirement to ensure that each step in the model development process completely incorporates all the design requirements. Validation testing is performed by comparing the simulated process parameters to the actual plant process parameters either in standalone mode or integrated mode. A Full Scope Replica Operator Training Simulator for PFBR - Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor has been developed at IGCAR, Kalpakkam, INDIA named KALBR-SIM (Kalpakkam Breeder Reactor Simulator) wherein the main participants are engineers/experts belonging to Modeling Team, Process Design and Instrumentation and Control design team. This paper discusses the Verification and Validation process in general, the evaluation procedure adopted for PFBR operator training Simulator, the methodology followed for verifying the models, the reference documents and standards used etc. It details out the importance of internal validation by design experts, subsequent validation by external agency consisting of experts from various fields, model improvement by tuning based on expert’s comments, final qualification of the simulator for the intended purpose and the difficulties faced while co-coordinating various activities.

Keywords: Verification and Validation (V&V), Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), Kalpakkam Breeder Reactor Simulator (KALBR-SIM), steady state, transient state

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Authors: Sameer Masood, Lucas Chartier

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Head injuries are a commonly encountered presentation in emergency departments (ED) and the Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) campaign was released in June 2015 in an attempt to decrease imaging utilization for patients with minor head injuries. The impact of the CWC campaign on imaging utilization for head injuries has not been explored in the ED setting. In our study, we describe the characteristics of patients with head injuries presenting to a tertiary care academic ED and the impact of the CWC campaign on CT head utilization. This retrospective cohort study used linked databases from the province of Ontario, Canada to assess emergency department visits with a primary diagnosis of head injury made between June 1, 2014 and Aug 31, 2016 at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada. We examined the number of visits during the study period, the proportion of patients that had a CT head performed before and after the release of the CWC campaign, as well as mode of arrival, and disposition. There were 4,322 qualifying visits at our site during the study period. The median presenting age was 44.12 years (IQR 27.83,67.45), the median GCS was 15 (IQR 15,15) and the majority of patients presenting had intermediate acuity (CTAS 3). Overall, 43.17% of patients arrived via ambulance, 49.24 % of patients received a CT head and 10.46% of patients were admitted. Compared to patients presenting before the CWC campaign release, there was no significant difference in the rate of CT heads after the CWC (50.41% vs 47.68%, P = 0.07). There were also no significant differences between the two groups in mode of arrival (ambulance vs ambulatory) (42.94% vs 43.48%, P = 0.72) or admission rates (9.85% vs 11.26%, P = 0.15). However, more patients belonged to the high acuity groups (CTAS 1 or 2) in the post CWC campaign release group (12.98% vs 8.11% P <0.001). Visits for head injuries make up a significant proportion of total ED visits and approximately half of these patients receive CT imaging in the ED. The CWC campaign did not seem to impact imaging utilization for head injuries in the 14 months following its launch. Further efforts, including local quality improvement initiatives, are likely needed to increase adherence to its recommendation and reduce imaging utilization for head injuries.

Keywords: choosing wisely, emergency department, head injury, quality improvement

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Authors: Jitaree Tantiyasawatdikul, Bantita Jadnok, Sarunya Tijana

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Background: Nutritional status is an important factor before, during, and after an operation. It can help wound healing. If the patients have good nutritional status before and after an operation, wound healing can occur more easily. It can strengthen the immune system leading to decreased infection, reduced length of stay, and reducing the cost to patients and caregivers. Therefore, screening to evaluate the nutritional status of patients in 3B becomes the database for further developing the treatment and also will lead to excellent service from the interdisciplinary team. Objective: To study the nutritional status of patients in surgical ward 3B at Surgical and Orthopedics Nursing Division, Srinagarind Hospital. Method: A descriptive study, to evaluate the nutritional status of 86 patients admitted in 3B between October 2014 and March 2015.The instruments used in this study consisted of two parts: 1) personal data, 2) Screening nutritional status. The data were analyzed by percentage and mean. Results: A sample population of 86 patients aged 22-81 years old, mean age 52.59years, 90.69% are married, female were 55.81%, regular diet 70.93%, patients with no problem oral cavity was 87.21%.The sample population had high incidence of CA 47.67% and secondly cardiovascular disease 36.05 %. Patients with high-risk nutrition was 12.79 % including 45.45% cardiovascular disease and 36.36% CA. Screening of nutritional status of high-risk nutrition was 39.36% severe triceps skinfold (TSF), severe mid-arm muscle circumference(MAMC) 9.09% and severe total lymphocyte 39.36%. Conclusion: The result of nutritional status screening of surgical ward 3B found 12.79% patients with high-risk nutrition including 45.45% with cardiovascular disease .There was no problem with oral cavity and eating.

Keywords: nutritional status, screening, surgical patients, 3B ward, Srinagarind Hospital

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Authors: Chitsuphang Ungsvanonda

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Objective of this research is to study the government’s theater management system regarding planning and operation. Also studying how the management associate with the change of an environment. This is to gather an appropriate model to develop a theater management system especially regarding all show performance. The research will be done by a Qualitative Research with an interview of 35 person by specify and unexpectedly group.

Keywords: management, theatre, social, culture

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Authors: Piyush V. Surjagade, Jiamei Deng, Paul Doney, S. R. Shimjith, A. John Arul

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In sophisticated and complex systems such as nuclear power plants, maintaining the system's stability in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances and obtaining a fast dynamic response are the most challenging problems. Thus, to ensure the satisfactory and safe operation of nuclear power plants, this work proposes a new fast, robust optimal switching control strategy for pressurized water reactor-type nuclear power plants. The proposed control strategy guarantees a substantial degree of robustness, fast dynamic response over the entire operational envelope, and optimal performance during the nominal operation of the plant. To improve the robustness, obtain a fast dynamic response, and make the system optimal, a bank of controllers is designed. Various controllers, like a baseline proportional-integral-derivative controller, an optimal linear quadratic Gaussian controller, and a robust adaptive L1 controller, are designed to perform distinct tasks in a specific situation. At any instant of time, the most suitable controller from the bank of controllers is selected using the switching logic unit that designates the controller by monitoring the health of the nuclear power plant or transients. The proposed switching control strategy optimizes the overall performance and increases operational safety and efficiency. Simulation studies have been performed considering various uncertainties and disturbances that demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed switching control strategy over some conventional control techniques.

Keywords: switching control, robust control, optimal control, nuclear power control

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Authors: Bisemiire Anthony,

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PESH Poultry is a business project proposed specifically to solve unemployment and income-related problems affecting the youths in the Busia district. The project is intended to transform the life of the youth in terms of economic, social and behavioral, as well as the domestic well-being of the community at large. PESH Poultry is a start-up poultry farm that will be engaged in the keeping of poultry birds, broilers and layers for the production of quality and affordable poultry meat and eggs respectively and other poultry derivatives targeting consumers in eastern Uganda, for example, hotels, restaurants, households and bakeries. We intend to use a semi-intensive system of farming, where water and some food are provided in a separate nighttime shelter for the birds; our location will be in Lumino, Busia district. The poultry project will be established and owned by Bisemiire Anthony, Nandera Patience, Naula Justine, Bwire Benjamin and other investors. The farm will be managed and directed by Nandera Patience, who has five years of work experience and business administration knowledge. We will sell poultry products, including poultry eggs, chicken meat, feathers and poultry manure. We also offer consultancy services for poultry farming. Our eggs and chicken meat are hygienic, rich in protein and high quality. We produce processes and packages to meet the standard organization of Uganda and international standards. The business project shall comprise five (5) workers on the key management team who will share various roles and responsibilities in the identified business functions such as marketing, finance and other related poultry farming activities. PESH Poultry seeks 30 million Ugandan shillings in long-term financing to cover start-up costs, equipment, building expenses and working capital. Funding for the launch of the business will be provided primarily by equity from the investors. The business will reach positive cash flow in its first year of operation, allowing for the expected repayment of its loan obligations. Revenue will top UGX 11,750,000, and net income will reach about UGX115 950,000 in the 1st year of operation. The payback period for our project is 2 years and 3 months. The farm plans on starting with 1000 layer birds and 1000 broiler birds, 20 workers in the first year of operation.

Keywords: chicken, pullets, turkey, ducks

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Authors: S. Jalilzadeh, S. M. Mohseni Bonab

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Solar and battery energy storage systems are very useful for consumers who live in deprived areas and do not have access to electricity distribution networks. Nowadays one of the problems that photo voltaic systems (PV) have changing of output power in temperature and irradiance variations, which directly affects the load that is connected to photo voltaic systems. In this paper, with considering the fact that the solar array varies with change in temperature and solar power radiation, a voltage stabilizer system of a load connected to photo voltaic array is designed to stabilize the load voltage and to transfer surplus power of the battery. Also, in proposed hybrid system, the needed load power amount is supplemented considering the voltage stabilization in standalone operation for supplying unbalanced AC load. Electrical energy storage system for voltage control and improvement of the performance of PV by a DC/DC converter is connected to the DC bus. The load is also feed by an AC/DC converter. In this paper, when the voltage increases in its reference limit, the battery gets charged by the photo voltaic array and when it decreases in its defined limit, the power gets injected to the DC bus by this battery. The constant of DC bus Voltage is the cause for the reduced harmonics generated by the inverter. In addition, a series of filters are provided in the inverter output in to reduced harmonics. The inverter control circuit is designed that the voltage and frequency of the load remain almost constant at different load conditions. This paper has focused on controlling strategies of converters to improve their performance.

Keywords: photovoltaic array (PV), DC/DC Boost converter, battery converter, inverters control

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Authors: M. Mutemwa

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A Cybersecurity Operation Centre (SOC) is a centralized hub for network event monitoring and incident response. SOCs are critical when determining an organization’s cybersecurity posture because they can be used to detect, analyze and report on various malicious activities. For most organizations, a SOC is not part of the initial design and implementation of the Information Technology (IT) environment but rather an afterthought. As a result, it is not natively a plug and play component; therefore, there are integration challenges when a SOC is introduced into an organization. A SOC is an independent hub that needs to be integrated with existing procedures, policies and IT systems of an organization such as the service desk, ticket logging system, reporting, etc. This paper discussed the challenges of integrating a newly developed SOC to an organization’s existing IT environment. Firstly, the paper begins by looking at what data sources should be incorporated into the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) such as which host machines, servers, network end points, software, applications, web servers, etc. for security posture monitoring. That is which systems need to be monitored first and the order by which the rest of the systems follow. Secondly, the paper also describes how to integrate the organization’s ticket logging system with the SOC SIEM. That is how the cybersecurity related incidents should be logged by both analysts and non-technical employees of an organization. Also the priority matrix for incident types and notifications of incidents. Thirdly, the paper looks at how to communicate awareness campaigns from the SOC and also how to report on incidents that are found inside the SOC. Lastly, the paper looks at how to show value for the large investments that are poured into designing, building and running a SOC.

Keywords: cybersecurity operation centre, incident response, priority matrix, procedures and policies

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Authors: Maphuti Georgina Kwata

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Coal mining in Mpumalanga Province is known of contributing to the atmospheric pollution from various activities. Gold mining in North-West Province is known of also contributing to the atmospheric pollution especially with the production of radon gas. In this research directional dust deposition gauge was used to measure source of direction and meteorological data was used to determine the wind rose blowing and the influence of the seasonal changes. Fourteen months of dust collection was undertaken in Witbank Area and Carletonville Area. The results shows that the sources of direction for Ericson Dam its East in February 2010 and Tip Area shows that the source of direction its West in October 2010. In the East direction there were mining operations, power stations which contributed to the East to be the sources of direction. In the West direction there were smelters, power stations and agricultural activities which contributed for the source of direction to be the West direction for Driefontein Mine: East Recreational Village Club. The East of Leslie Williams hospital is the source of direction which also indicated that there dust generating activities such as mining operation, agricultural activities. The meteorological results for Emalahleni Area in summer and winter the wind rose blow with wind speed of 5-10 ms-1 from the East sector. Annual average for the wind rose blow its East South eastern sector with 20 ms-1 and day time the wind rose from northwestern sector with excess of 20 ms-1. The night time wind direction East-eastern direction with a maximum wind speed of 20 ms-1. The meteorogical results for Driefontein Mine show that North-western sector and north-eastern sector wind rose is blowing with 5-10 ms-1 win speed. Day time wind blows from the West sector and night time wind blows from the north sector. In summer the wind blows North-east sector with 5-10 ms-1 and winter wind blows from North-west and it’s also predominant. In spring wind blows from north-east. The conclusion is that not only mining operation where the directional dust deposit gauge were installed contributed to the source of direction also the power stations, smelters, and other activities nearby the mining operation contributed. The recommendations are the dust suppressant for unpaved roads should be used on a regular basis and there should be monitoring of the weather conditions (the wind speed and direction prior to blasting to ensure minimal emissions).

Keywords: directional dust deposition gauge, BS part 5 1747 dust deposit gauge, wind rose, wind blowing

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Authors: Eli Buchbinder

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Introduction. Language is the basis to our experience as human being. We use language in describing our experiences and construct meaning and narratives from experiences. Metaphors are a valuable linguistic tool commonly use. Metaphors link two domains that are ordinarily not related. Metaphors achieve simultaneously multi-level integration: abstract and concrete, rational and imaginative, familiar and the unfamiliar, conscious and preconscious/unconscious. As such, metaphors epistemological and ontological tool that are important in social work in every field and domain. Goals and Methods The presentation’s aim is to validate the value of metaphors through the first psychiatric breakdown is a traumatic for families. The presentation is based on two pooled qualitative studies. The first study focused on 12 spouses: 7 women and 5 men, between the ages of 22 and 57, regarding their experiences and meanings of the first psychiatric hospitalization of their partners diagnosed with affective disorders. The second study focused on 10 parents, between the ages of 47 and 62, regarding their experiences and meanings following their child's first psychotic breakdown during young adulthood. Results Two types of major metaphors evolved from the interviews in farming the trauma of the first mental breakdown. The first mode - orientation (spatial) metaphors, reflect symbolic expression of the loss of a secure base, represented in the physical environment, e.g., describing hospitalization as "falling into an abyss." The second mode- ontological metaphors, reflect how parents and spouses present their traumatic experiences of hospitalization in terms of discrete, powerful and coherent entities, e.g., describing the first hospitalization as "swimming against the tide." The two metaphors modes reflect the embodiment of the unpredictability, being mired in distress, shock, intense pain and the experience the collapse of continuity on the life course and cuts off the experience of control. Conclusions Metaphors are important and powerful guide in assessing individuals and families’ phenomenological reality. As such, metaphors are useful for understanding and orientated therapeutic intervening, in the studies above, with the first psychiatric hospitalization experienced, as well as in others social workers’ interventions.

Keywords: first mental breakdown, metaphors, family perspective, qualitative research

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Authors: Sirwe Ghaderpour, Nasrollah Ahmadifard, Naser Agh, Zakaria Vahabzadeh

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Rotifers are used in many hatcheries for feeding the earliest stages of fish larvae and crustaceans due to their small size, slow movements, fast reproduction, and easy cultivation. One of the disadvantages of using rotifers as live prey is their lower content of some nutrients compared to copepods, so it is necessary to increase the amounts of these nutrients by means of enrichment. Minerals are a group of micro-elements, essential to fish, that is lacking in the rotifers, for example, selenium (30 fold) and zinc (5 fold) are present in lower quantities than the minimum amounts found in copepods. In this study, the condensed Isochrysis aff. galbana (T-ISO) and Nannochloropsis oculata were suspended at concentration of 18 × 109 cell mL⁻¹ of water with 20 ppt of salinity. Four different levels (0, 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg L⁻¹) of each Na₂SeO₃ and ZnSO₄.7H₂O separately were prepared, and 1 mL of each stock was poured to the algae enrichment vessels for 1 h simultaneously. After that, the material was centrifuged (at 4000 rpm for 5 min), and the precipitated enriched algae was used for rotifer feeding. The contents of Se, Zn, Cu, and Mn were determined in enriched microalgae and rotifer by Atomic absorption. The highest content of both minerals was observed in 0.4 Zn + 0.4 Se treatment and also rotifer enriched with these enriched microalgae. The enrichment of microalgae with Zn and Se does not affect the content of Cu in the microalgae. Also, the content of Cu in rotifer fed with the enriched microalgae showed the highest Cu content in the treatments than the control. But, the enrichment with both minerals had a negative effect on the content Mn in enriched mixed microalgae except 0.4 Zn + 0.4 Se. The Mn content in enriched rotifer decreased in the treatments than the control except for 0.1 Zn + 0.1 Se. There was no significant effect on rotifer growth in combined enrichment with both minerals (p < 0.05). Overall, rotifers enrichment with Se and Zn mixed microalgae resulted in increasing Se, Zn, and Cu. This will allow Se and Zn microalgae enriched rotifers to be used as the minerals delivery method for fish larvae nutritional requirements.

Keywords: enrichment, larvae, microalgae, mineral, rotifer

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Authors: Indunil Jayatilake, Warna Karunasena

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Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites enjoy an array of applications ranging from aerospace, marine and military to automobile, recreational and civil industry due to their outstanding properties. A structural glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite sandwich panel made from E-glass fiber skin and a modified phenolic core has been manufactured in Australia for civil engineering applications. One of the major mechanisms of damage in FRP composites is skin-core debonding. The presence of debonding is of great concern not only because it severely affects the strength but also it modifies the dynamic characteristics of the structure, including natural frequency and vibration modes. This paper deals with the investigation of the dynamic characteristics of a GFRP beam with single and multiple debonding by finite element based numerical simulations and analyses using the STRAND7 finite element (FE) software package. Three-dimensional computer models have been developed and numerical simulations were done to assess the dynamic behavior. The FE model developed has been validated with published experimental, analytical and numerical results for fully bonded as well as debonded beams. A comparative analysis is carried out based on a comprehensive parametric investigation. It is observed that the reduction in natural frequency is more affected by single debonding than the equally sized multiple debonding regions located symmetrically to the single debonding position. Thus it is revealed that a large single debonding area leads to more damage in terms of natural frequency reduction than isolated small debonding zones of equivalent area, appearing in the GFRP beam. Furthermore, the extents of natural frequency shifts seem mode-dependent and do not seem to have a monotonous trend of increasing with the mode numbers.

Keywords: debonding, dynamic response, finite element modelling, novel FRP beams

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Authors: Han Song, Tingting Wei, Dong Chen

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The combination of capital and rural areas in China has shown its great significance in promoting urban-rural integration and new-style urbanization, enhancing regional capacity for sustainable rural development and optimizing human settlement environment. The purpose of this study is to find capital operation mechanism in rural area and rural planning guidance in China. Based on case studies in Chinese rural areas, two types of capital operation mechanism in rural areas are summed up: intervention in the field of agriculture promoting the upgrading and innovation of agricultural industry chain, intervention in rural life and leisure areas updating rural connotation and form. In the light of experiences in Japan and Taiwan, it is proposed that government's norms and guidance, rural investment intensity and rural self-organization are three important factors for capital to drive rural development. It is also found that the unique land tenure and rural governance tradition are two important factors effecting the combination of capital and rural regions in China, which requires full attention in rational policy-making and rural planning. It comes to a conclusion as four directions of the overall reform of the rural planning: targeting at enhancing the viability of rural and sustainable capacity, encouraging differences in investment incentives and planning policies, providing land usage in the rural areas with planning support and reforming the village system. Directional guidance is also made for different types of capital investments, suggesting that capital should be rooted in agriculture and rural land to benefit farmers and update human settlements.

Keywords: capital, rural areas, rural planning, rural governance

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Authors: Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez, Maria Paula Valdivieso Rueda, Gemma Reynolds

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In recent years, the mental health of Higher Education (HE) students has been a growing concern. This has been further exacerbated by the stresses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, placing students at even greater risk of developing mental health issues. Support available to students in HE tends to follow an established and traditional route. The demands for counseling services have grown, not only with the increase in student numbers but with the number of students seeking support for mental health issues, with 94% of HE institutions recently reporting an increase in the need for counseling services. One way of improving the well-being and mental health of HE students is through the use of brief interventions, such as expressive writing (EW). This intervention involves encouraging individuals to write continuously for at least 15-20 minutes for three to five sessions (often on consecutive days) about their deepest thoughts and feelings to explore significant personal experiences in a meaningful way. Given the brevity, simplicity and cost-effectiveness of EW, this intervention has considerable potential as an intervention for HE populations. The current study, therefore, employed a mixed-methods design to explore the effectiveness of EW in reducing anxiety, general stress, academic stress and depression in HE students while improving well-being. HE students at MDX were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) The UniExp-EW group was required to write about their emotions and thoughts about any stressors they have faced that are directly relevant to their university experience (2) The NonUniExp-EW group was required to write about their emotions and thoughts about any stressors that are NOT directly relevant to their university experience, and (3) The Control group were required to write about how they spent their weekend, with no reference to thoughts or emotions, and without thinking about university. Participants were required to carry out the EW intervention for 15 minutes per day for four consecutive days. Baseline mental health and well-being measures were taken before the intervention via a battery of standardized questionnaires. Following completion of the intervention on day four, participants were required to complete the questionnaires a second time and again one week later. Participants were also invited to attend focus groups to discuss their experience of the intervention. This will allow an in-depth investigation into students’ perceptions of EW as an effective intervention to determine whether they would choose to use this intervention in the future. Preliminary findings will be discussed at the conference as well as a discussion of the important implications of the findings. The study is fundamental because if EW is an effective intervention for improving mental health and well-being in HE students, its brevity and simplicity mean it can be easily implemented and can be freely available to students. Improving the mental health and well-being of HE students can have knock-on implications for improving academic skills and career development.

Keywords: expressive writing, higher education, psychology in education, mixed-methods, mental health, academic stress

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Authors: Yeidy Sorani Montenegro Camacho, Samir Bensaid, Nunzio Russo, Debora Fino

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LiFeO2 nano-powders were prepared via solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method and were used as carbon gasification catalyst in a reduced atmosphere. The gasification of soot with CO2 and H2O in the presence of CO and H2 (syngas atmosphere) were also investigated under atmospheric conditions using a fixed-bed micro-reactor placed in an electric, PID-regulated oven. The catalytic bed was composed of 150 mg of inert silica, 45 mg of carbon (Printex-U) and 5 mg of catalyst. The bed was prepared by ball milling the mixture at 240 rpm for 15 min to get an intimate contact between the catalyst and soot. A Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV) of 38.000 h-1 was used for the tests campaign. The furnace was heated up to the desired temperature, a flow of 120 mL/min was sent into the system and at the same time the concentrations of CO, CO2 and H2 were recorded at the reactor outlet using an EMERSON X-STREAM XEGP analyzer. Catalytic and non-catalytic soot gasification reactions were studied in a temperature range of 120°C – 850°C with a heating rate of 5 °C/min (non-isothermal case) and at 650°C for 40 minutes (isothermal case). Experimental results show that the gasification of soot with H2O and CO2 are inhibited by the H2 and CO, respectively. The soot conversion at 650°C decreases from 70.2% to 31.6% when the CO is present in the feed. Besides, the soot conversion was 73.1% and 48.6% for H2O-soot and H2O-H2-soot gasification reactions, respectively. Also, it was observed that the carbon gasification in mixed atmosphere, i.e., when simultaneous carbon gasification with CO2 and steam take place, with H2 and CO as co-reagents; the gasification reaction is strongly inhibited by CO and H2, as well has been observed in single atmospheres for the isothermal and non-isothermal reactions. Further, it has been observed that when CO2 and H2O react with carbon at the same time, there is a passive cooperation of steam and carbon dioxide in the gasification reaction, this means that the two gases operate on separate active sites without influencing each other. Finally, despite the extreme reduced operating conditions, it has been demonstrated that the 32.9% of the initial carbon was gasified using LiFeO2-catalyst, while in the non-catalytic case only 8% of the soot was gasified at 650°C.

Keywords: soot gasification, nanostructured catalyst, reducing environment, syngas

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Authors: Xiaogang Li, Jieqiong Miao

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As for the problem of the grey forecasting model prediction accuracy is low, an improved grey prediction model is put forward. Firstly, use trigonometric function transform the original data sequence in order to improve the smoothness of data , this model called SGM( smoothness of grey prediction model), then combine the improved grey model with support vector machine , and put forward the grey support vector machine model (SGM - SVM).Before the establishment of the model, we use trigonometric functions and accumulation generation operation preprocessing data in order to enhance the smoothness of the data and weaken the randomness of the data, then use support vector machine (SVM) to establish a prediction model for pre-processed data and select model parameters using genetic algorithms to obtain the optimum value of the global search. Finally, restore data through the "regressive generate" operation to get forecasting data. In order to prove that the SGM-SVM model is superior to other models, we select the battery life data from calce. The presented model is used to predict life of battery and the predicted result was compared with that of grey model and support vector machines．For a more intuitive comparison of the three models, this paper presents root mean square error of this three different models .The results show that the effect of grey support vector machine (SGM-SVM) to predict life is optimal, and the root mean square error is only 3.18%. Keywords: grey forecasting model, trigonometric function, support vector machine, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

Keywords: Grey prediction model, trigonometric functions, support vector machines, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

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Authors: E. Gil, A. Zepeda, J. Rivera, C. Ben-Youssef, S. Rincón

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Water pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems. Multiple methods have been proposed for the removal of Pb(II) from contaminated water. Among these, adsorption processes have shown to be more efficient, cheaper and easier to handle with respect to other treatment methods. However, research for adsorbents with high adsorption capacities is still necessary. For this purpose, we proposed in this work the study of metal-organic Framework [Co2(btec)(bipy)(DMF)2]n (MOF-Co) as adsorbent material of Pb (II) in aqueous media. MOF-Co was synthesized by a simple method. Firstly 4, 4’ dipyridyl, 1,2,4,5 benzenetetracarboxylic acid, cobalt (II) and nitrate hexahydrate were first mixed each one in N,N dimethylformamide (DMF) and then, mixed in a reactor altogether. The obtained solution was heated at 363 K in a muffle during 68 h to complete the synthesis. It was washed and dried, obtaining MOF-Co as the final product. MOF-Co was characterized before and after the adsorption process by Fourier transforms infrared spectra (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Pb(II) in aqueous media was detected by Absorption Atomic Spectroscopy (AA). In order to evaluate the adsorption process in the presence of Pb(II) in aqueous media, the experiments were realized in flask of 100 ml the work volume at 200 rpm, with different MOF-Co quantities (0.0125 and 0.025 g), pH (2-6), contact time (0.5-6 h) and temperature (298,308 and 318 K). The kinetic adsorption was represented by pseudo-second order model, which suggests that the adsorption took place through chemisorption or chemical adsorption. The best adsorption results were obtained at pH 5. Langmuir, Freundlich and BET equilibrium isotherms models were used to study the adsorption of Pb(II) with 0.0125 g of MOF-Co, in the presence of different concentration of Pb(II) (20-200 mg/L, 100 mL, pH 5) with 4 h of reaction. The correlation coefficients (R2) of the different models show that the Langmuir model is better than Freundlich and BET model with R2=0.97 and a maximum adsorption capacity of 833 mg/g. Therefore, the Langmuir model can be used to best describe the Pb(II) adsorption in monolayer behavior on the MOF-Co. This value is the highest when compared to other materials such as the graphene/activated carbon composite (217 mg/g), biomass fly ashes (96.8 mg/g), PVA/PAA gel (194.99 mg/g) and MOF with Ag12 nanoparticles (120 mg/g).

Keywords: adsorption, heavy metals, metal-organic frameworks, Pb(II)

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Authors: Eduzor Esther, Uhiara Ngozi, Ya’u Abubakar Umar, Anayo Jacob Gabriel, Umar Ahmed

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The study investigated the characteristic effect of treating okra seed and soybeans seed oil with crude enzymes extract from malted rice. The oils from okra seeds and soybeans were obtained by solvent extraction method using N-hexane solvent. Soybeans seeds had higher percentage oil yield than okra seed. 250ml of each oil was thoroughly mixed with 5ml of the malted rice extract at 400C for 5mins and then filtered and regarded as treated oil while another batch of 250ml of each oil was not mixed with the malted rice extract and regarded as untreated oil. All the oils were analyzed for specific gravity, refractive index, emulsification capacity, absortivity, TSS and viscosity. Treated okra seed and soybeans oil gave higher values for specific gravity, than the untreated oil for okra seed and soybeans oil respectively. The emulsification capacity values were also higher for treated oils, when compared to the untreated oil, for okra seed and soybeans oil respectively. Treated okra seed and soybeans oil also had higher range of values for absorptivity, than the untreated oil for okra seed and soybeans respectively. The ranges of T.S.S values of the treated oil were also higher, than those of the untreated oil for okra seed and soybeans respectively. The results of viscosity showed that the treated oil had higher values, than the untreated oil for okra seed and soybeans oil respectively. However, the results of refractive index showed that the untreated oils had higher values ranges of than the treated oils for okra seed and soybeans respectively. Treated oil show better quality in respect to the parameters analyst, except the refractive index which is slightly less but also is within the rangiest of standard, the oils are high in unsaturation especially okra oil when compared with soya beans oil. It is recommended that, treated oil of okra seeds and soya beans can serve better than many oils that presently in use such as ground nut oil, palm oil and cotton seeds oil.

Keywords: extract, malted, oil, okra, rice, seed, soybeans

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Authors: Swati Tomar, Sunil Kumar Gupta

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The start-up of anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process in hybrid reactor delineated four distinct phases i.e. cell lysis, lag phase, activity elevation and stationary phase. Cell lysis phase was marked by death and decay of heterotrophic denitrifiers resulting in breakdown of organic nitrogen into ammonium. Lag phase showed initiation of anammox activity with turnover of heterotrophic denitrifiers, which is evident from appearance of NO3-N in the effluent. In activity elevation phase, anammox became the dominant reaction, which can be attributed to consequent reduction of NH4-N into N2 with increased NO3-N in the effluent. Proper selection of mixed seed culture at influent NO2-/NH4+ ratio (1:1) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1 day led to early startup of anammox within 70 days. Pseudo steady state removal efficiencies of NH4+ and NO2- were found as 94.3% and 96.4% respectively, at nitrogen loading rate (NLR) of 0.35 kg N/m3d at an HRT of 1 day. Analysis of the data indicated that attached growth system contributes an additional 11% increase in the ammonium removal and results in an average of 29% reduction in sludge washout rate. Mass balance study of nitrogen indicated that 74.1% of total input nitrogen is converted into N2 gas followed by 11.2% being utilized in biomass development. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of the granular sludge clearly showed the presence of cocci and rod shaped microorganisms intermingled on the external surface of the granules. The average size of anammox granules (1.2-1.5 mm) with an average settling velocity of 45.6 m/h indicated a high degree of granulation resulting into formation of well compacted granules in the anammox process.

Keywords: anammox, hybrid reactor, startup, granulation, nitrogen removal, mixed seed culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Rajasekar Elangopandian, Anand Shanmugam

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In order to reduce the cost of launching satellite and payloads to the orbit this project envisages some immense combined technology. This new technology in space odyssey contains literally four concepts. The first mode in this innovation is flight mission characteristics which, says how the mission will induct. The conventional technique of magnetic levitation will help us to produce the initial thrust. The name states reusable launch vehicle shows its viability of reuseness. The flight consists miniature rocket which produces the required thrust and the two JATO (jet assisted takeoff) boosters which gives the initial boost for the vehicle. The vehicle ostensibly looks like an airplane design and will be located on the super conducting rail track. When the high power electric current given to the rail track, the vehicle starts floating as per the principle of magnetic levitation. If the flight reaches the particular takeoff distance the two boosters gets starts and will give the 48KN thrust each. Obviously it`ll follow the vertical path up to the atmosphere end/start to space. As soon as it gets its speed the two boosters will cutoff. Once it reaches the space the inbuilt spacecraft keep the satellite in the desired orbit. When the work finishes, the apogee motors gives the initial kick to the vehicle to come in to the earth’s atmosphere with 22N thrust and automatically comes to the ground by following the free fall, the help of gravitational force. After the flying region it makes the spiral flight mode then gets landing where the super conducting levitated rail track located. It will catch up the vehicle and keep it by changing the poles of magnets and varying the current. Initial cost for making this vehicle might be high but for the frequent usage this will reduce the launch cost exactly half than the now-a-days technology. The incorporation of such a mechanism gives `hybrid` and the reusability gives `reusable launch vehicle` and ultimately Hybrid reusable launch vehicle.

Keywords: the two JATO (jet assisted takeoff) boosters, magnetic levitation, 48KN thrust each, 22N thrust and automatically comes to the ground

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Authors: Mokhtar Arazpour

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Objectives: Recently a new kind of stance control knee joint has been developed called the 'sensor lock.' This study aimed to develop and evaluate 'sensor lock', which could potentially solve the problems of walking parameters and gait symmetry in subjects with quadriceps weakness. Methods: Nine subjects with quadriceps weakness were enrolled in this study. A custom-made knee ankle foot orthosis (KAFO) with the same set of components was constructed for each participant. Testing began after orthotic gait training was completed with each of the KAFOs and subjects demonstrated that they could safely walk with crutches. Subjects rested 30 minutes between each trial. The 10 meters walking test is used to assess walking speed in meters/second (m/s). The total time taken to ambulate 6 meters (m) is recorded to the nearest hundredth of a second. 6 m is then divided by the total time (in seconds) taken to ambulate and recorded in m/s. The 6 Minutes Walking Test was used to assess walking endurance in this study. Participants walked around the perimeter of a set circuit for a total of six minutes. To evaluate Physiological cost index (PCI), the subjects were asked to walk using each type of KAFOs along a pre-determined 40 m rectangular walkway at their comfortable self-selected speed. A stopwatch was used to calculate the speed of walking by measuring the time between starting and stopping time and the distance walked. Results: The use of a KAFO fitted with the “sensor lock” knee joint resulted in improvements to walking speed, distance walked and physiological cost index when compared with the knee joint in lock mode. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the use of a KAFO with the “sensor lock” knee joint could provide significant benefits for subjects with a quadriceps weakness when compared to a KAFO with the knee joint in lock mode.

Keywords: stance control knee joint, knee ankle foot orthosis, quadriceps weakness, walking, energy consumption

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Padmesh Tirunelveli Narayanapillai, Joel Sharwinkumar, Gaitri Saravanan

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The biosorption of Xylenol Orange (XO) and Eriochrome Black T (EBT) from aqueous solutions by chemically activated Cocos nucifera and mango seed as a low-cost, natural, and eco-friendly biosorbents was investigated. The study for biosorption of XO and EBT was optimized by different experimental parameters, initial pH 2–7, temperature 30–60 °C, biosorbent dosage 0.1 – 0.5 g, and XO: EBT dye proportions 0 – 100 by weight %. Physicochemical characteristic studies were conducted by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The equilibrium uptake was increased with an increase in the initial dye concentrations in the solution. Biosorption kinetic data were properly fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The experimental isotherms data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, and Toth isotherm equations. Thermodynamic parameters ∆Go, ∆Ho, and ∆So were calculated indicating that the biosorption of Xo and EBT dye is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The Langmuir model gave the best fit by higher correlation coefficient (R2 =0.9971) for both biosorbents at optimum circumstances as pH 3, temperature 30°C, dosage 0.5 g for chemically activated Cocos nucifera and 0.4 g for chemically activated mango seeds it assumes as monolayer adsorption. The maximum dye removal efficiency was determined as 79.75% with chemically activated mango seeds compared to chemically activated Cocos nucifera. In summary, this research work showed that chemically modified activated mango seed can be effectively used as a promising low-cost biosorbent for the removal of different XO and EBT mixed dye combinations from aqueous solutions.

Keywords: mixed dye proportions, xylenol orange and eriochrome black t, chemically activated cocos nucifera and mango seed, kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies, FTIR

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Authors: Md Imtiaz, Sanchita Dei, Shubham Damke

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In recent years, there has been a rapidly accelerating shift from traditional surface processing operations to subsea processing operation. This shift has been driven by a number of factors including the depletion of shallow fields around the world, technological advances in subsea processing equipment, the need for production from marginal fields, and lower initial upfront investment costs compared to traditional production facilities. Moving production facilities to the seafloor offers a number of advantage, including a reduction in field development costs, increased production rates from subsea wells, reduction in the need for chemical injection, minimization of risks to worker ,reduction in spills due to hurricane damage, and increased in oil production by enabling production from marginal fields. Subsea processing consists of a range of technologies for separation, pumping, compression that enables production from offshore well without the need for surface facilities. At present, there are two primary technologies being used for subsea processing: subsea multiphase pumping and subsea separation. Multiphase pumping is the most basic subsea processing technology. Multiphase pumping involves the use of boosting system to transport the multiphase mixture through pipelines to floating production vessels. The separation system is combined with single phase pumps or water would be removed and either pumped to the surface, re-injected, or discharged to the sea. Subsea processing can allow for an entire topside facility to be decommissioned and the processed fluids to be tied back to a new, more distant, host. This type of application reduces costs and increased both overall facility and integrity and recoverable reserve. In future, full subsea processing could be possible, thereby eliminating the need for surface facilities.

Keywords: FPSO, marginal field, Subsea processing, SWAG

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Authors: Benjamin Newman

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The picture of an adverse contest between two parties has often been used as an archetypal description of the Anglo-American adversarial criminal trial. However, in actuality, guilty pleas and plea-bargains have been dominating the procedure for over the last half-a-century. Characterised by two adverse parties, the court adjudicative system in the Anglo-American world adhere to the adversarial procedure, and while further features have been attributed and the values that are embedded within the procedure vary, it is a system that we have no adequate theory. Damaska had argued that the adversarial conflict-resolution mode of administration of justice stems from a liberal laissez-faire concept of a value neutral liberal state. Having said that, the court’s neutrality has been additionally rationalised in light of its liberal end as a safeguard from the state’s coercive force. Both conceptions of the court’s neutrality conflict in cases where the by-standing role disposes of its liberal duty in safeguarding the individual. Such is noticeable in plea bargains, where the defendant has the liberty to plead guilty, despite concerns over wrongful convictions and deprivation of liberty. It is an inner liberal tension within the notion of criminal adversarialism, between the laissez-faire mode which grants autonomy to the parties and the safeguarding liberal end of the trial. Langbein had asserted that the adversarial system is a criminal procedure for which we have no adequate theory, and it is by reference to political and moral theories that the research aims to articulate a normative account. The paper contemplates on the above liberal-tension, and by reference to Duff’s ‘calling-to-account’ theory, argues that autonomy is of inherent value to the criminal process, being considered a constitutive element in the process of being called to account. While the aspiration is that the defendant’s guilty plea should be genuine, the guilty-plea decision must be voluntary if it is to be considered a performative act of accountability. Thus, by valuing procedural autonomy as a necessary element within the criminal adjudicative process, it assimilates a liberal procedure, whilst maintaining the liberal end by holding the defendant to account.

Keywords: liberal theory, adversarial criminal procedure, criminal law theory, liberal perfectionism, political liberalism

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Authors: F. A. Saracoglu Varol, H. Agaccıoglu

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Experimental studies to investigate the depth of the scour conducted at a side-weir intersection located at the 1800 curved flume which located Hydraulic Laboratory of Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. Side weirs were located at the middle of the straight part of the main channel. Three different lengths (25, 40 and 50 cm) and three different weir crest height (7, 10 and 12 cm) of the side weir placed on the side weir station. There is no scour when the material is only kaolin. Therefore, the cohesive bed was prepared by properly mixing clay material (kaolin) with 31% sand in all experiments. Following 24h consolidation time, in order to observe the effect of flow intensity on the scour depth, experiments were carried out for five different upstream Froude numbers in the range of 0.33-0.81. As a result of this study the relation between scour depth and upstream flow intensity as a function of time have been established. The longitudinal velocities decreased along the side weir; towards the downstream due to overflow over the side-weirs. At the beginning, the scour depth increases rapidly with time and then asymptotically approached constant values in all experiments for all side weir dimensions as in non-cohesive sediment. Thus, the scour depth reached equilibrium conditions. Time to equilibrium depends on the approach flow intensity and the dimensions of side weirs. For different heights of the weir crest, dimensionless scour depths increased with increasing upstream Froude number. Equilibrium scour depths which formed 7 cm side-weir crest height were obtained higher than that of the 12 cm side-weir crest height. This means when side-weir crest height increased equilibrium scour depths decreased. Although the upstream side of the scour hole is almost vertical, the downstream side of the hole is inclined.

Keywords: clay-sand mixed sediments, scour, side weir, hydraulic structures

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