Search results for: vegetation type

Authors: Dongkyu Lee, Doan-Quoc Hoan, Soomi Shin

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The purpose of this study is to suggest the Value Innovation type Breakthrough Innovation which is a Big Thinking Process that realizes a creative idea for the next generation innovation Master Plan of a company. The BI based on the PVI methodology is believed to contribute to the launching of a new business, the acquisition of new markets, and the development of an innovative management process.

Keywords: value, innovation, breakthrough innovation, Korean firm

Procedia PDF Downloads 592

Authors: Faraidoon Rahmanzai, Mizuki Takigawa, Yu Bomura, Shigeyuki Date

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To obtain the high quality and essential workability of mortar, different types of superplasticizers are used. The superplasticizers are the chemical admixture used in the mix to improve the fluidity of mortar. Many factors influenced the superplasticizer to disperse the cement particle in the mortar. Nature and amount of replaced cement by slag, mixing procedure, delayed addition time, and heat stimulation technique of superplasticizer cause the varied effect on the fluidity of the cementitious material. In this experiment, the superplasticizers were heated for 1 hour under 60 °C in a thermostatic chamber. Furthermore, the effect of delayed addition time of heat stimulated superplasticizers (SP) was also analyzed. This method was applied to two types of polycarboxylic acid based ether SP (precast type superplasticizer (SP2) and ready-mix type superplasticizer (SP1)) in combination with a partial replacement of normal Portland cement with blast furnace slag (BFS) with 30% w/c ratio. On the other hands, the fluidity, air content, fresh density, and compressive strength for 7 and 28 days were studied. The results indicate that the addition time and heat stimulation technique improved the flow and air content, decreased the density, and slightly decreased the compressive strength of mortar. Moreover, the slag improved the flow of mortar by increasing the amount of slag, and the effect of external temperature of SP on the flow of mortar was decreased. In comparison, the flow of mortar was improved on 5-minute delay for both kinds of SP, but SP1 has improved the flow in all conditions. Most importantly, the transition points in both types of SP appear to be the same, at about 5±1 min.  In addition, the optimum addition time of SP to mortar should be in this period.

Keywords: combined effect, delay addition, heat stimulation, flow of mortar

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Moses Obenade, Henry U. Okeke, Francis I. Okpiliya, Eugene J. Aniah

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Population growth in Eleme has been rapid over the past 75 years with its attendant pressure on the natural resources of the area. Between 1937 and 2006 the population of Eleme grew from 2,528 to 190,194 and is projected to be above 265,707 in 2016 based on an annual growth rate of 3.4%. Using the combined technologies of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS) and Demography techniques as its methodology, this paper examines the environmental implications of rapid population growth on land use dynamics in Eleme between 1986 and 2015. The study reveals that between 1986 and 2006, Built-up area and Farmland increased by 72.67 and 12.77% respectively, while light and thick vegetation recorded a decrease of -6.92 and -61.64% respectively. Water body remains fairly constant with minimal changes. Also, between 2006 and 2015 covering a period of 9 years, Built-up area further increased by 53% with an annual growth rate of 2.32 km2 gaining more land area on the detriment of other land uses. Built-up area has an annual growth rate of 2.32km2 and is expected to increase from 18.67km2 in 2006 to 41.87km2 in 2016.The observed Land used/Land cover dynamics is derived by the demographic characteristics of the Study area. Eleme has a total area of 138km2 out of which the Federal Government of Nigeria compulsorily acquired an estimated area of 59.34km2 for industrial purposes excluding acquisitions by the Rivers State Government. It is evident from the findings of this study that the carrying capacity of Eleme ecosystem is under threat due to the current population growth and land consumption rates. Therefore, measures such as use of appropriate technologies in farming techniques, waste management; investment in family planning and female empowerment, maternal health and education, afforestation programs; and amendment of Land Use Act of 1978 are recommended.

Keywords: population growth, Eleme, land use, GIS and remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Néstor Iván Rojas, Wilson Medina Sierra

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Managing spatial information is described through a Geographic Information System (GIS), for some neighborhoods in the city of Tunja, in relation to the structural typology of the buildings. The use of GIS provides tools that facilitate the capture, processing, analysis and dissemination of cartographic information, product quality evaluation of the classification of buildings. Allows the development of a method that unifies and standardizes processes information. The project aims to generate a geographic database that is useful to the entities responsible for planning and disaster prevention and care for vulnerable populations, also seeks to be a basis for seismic vulnerability studies that can contribute in a study of urban seismic microzonation. The methodology consists in capturing the plat including road naming, neighborhoods, blocks and buildings, to which were added as attributes, the product of the evaluation of each of the housing data such as the number of inhabitants and classification, year of construction, the predominant structural systems, the type of mezzanine board and state of favorability, the presence of geo-technical problems, the type of cover, the use of each building, damage to structural and non-structural elements . The above data are tabulated in a spreadsheet that includes cadastral number, through which are systematically included in the respective building that also has that attribute. Geo-referenced data base is obtained, from which graphical outputs are generated, producing thematic maps for each evaluated data, which clearly show the spatial distribution of the information obtained. Using GIS offers important advantages for spatial information management and facilitates consultation and update. Usefulness of the project is recognized as a basis for studies on issues of planning and prevention.

Keywords: microzonation, buildings, geo-processing, cadastral number

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Wilman Septina, Rajiv R. Prabhakar, Thomas Moehl, David Tilley

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Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising absorber material for the fabrication of scalable, low cost solar energy conversion devices, due to the high abundance and low toxicity of copper. It is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of around 1.5 eV, absorbing a significant portion of the solar spectrum. One of the main challenges in using CuO as solar absorber in an aqueous system is its tendency towards photocorrosion, generating Cu2O and metallic Cu. Although there have been several reports of CuO as a photocathode for hydrogen production, it is unclear how much of the observed current actually corresponds to H2 evolution, as the inevitability of photocorrosion is usually not addressed. In this research, we investigated the effect of the deposition of overlayers onto CuO thin films for the purpose of enhancing its photostability as well as performance for water splitting applications. CuO thin film was fabricated by galvanic electrodeposition of metallic copper onto gold-coated FTO substrates, followed by annealing in air at 600 °C. Photoelectrochemical measurement of the bare CuO film using 1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.9) under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight showed a current density of ca. 1.5 mA cm-2 (at 0.4 VRHE), which photocorroded to Cu metal upon prolonged illumination. This photocorrosion could be suppressed by deposition of 50 nm-thick TiO2, deposited by atomic layer deposition. In addition, we found that insertion of an n-type CdS layer, deposited by chemical bath deposition, between the CuO and TiO2 layers was able to enhance significantly the photocurrent compared to without the CdS layer. A photocurrent of over 2 mA cm-2 (at 0 VRHE) was observed using the photocathode stack FTO/Au/CuO/CdS/TiO2/Pt. Structural, electrochemical, and photostability characterizations of the photocathode as well as results on various overlayers will be presented.

Keywords: CuO, hydrogen, photoelectrochemical, photostability, water splitting

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Shivangi Somvanshi

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Poor crop productivity in salt-affected environment in the country is due to insufficient and untimely canal supply to agricultural land and inefficient field water management practices. This could further degrade due to inadequate maintenance of canal network, ongoing secondary soil salinization and waterlogging, worsening of groundwater quality. Large patches of low productivity in irrigation commands are occurring due to waterlogging and salt-affected soil, particularly in the scarcity rainfall year. Satellite remote sensing has been used for mapping of areas of low crop productivity, waterlogging and salt in irrigation commands. The spatial results obtained for these problems so far are less reliable for further use due to rapid change in soil quality parameters over the years. The existing spatial databases of canal network and flow data, groundwater quality and salt-affected soil were obtained from the central and state line departments/agencies and were integrated with GIS. Therefore, an integrated methodology based on remote sensing and GIS has been developed in ArcGIS environment on the basis of canal supply status, groundwater quality, salt-affected soils, and satellite-derived vegetation index (NDVI), salinity index (NDSI) and waterlogging index (NSWI). This methodology was tested for identification and delineation of area of low productivity in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district (Uttar Pradesh). It was found that the area affected by this problem lies mainly in Dankaur and Jewar blocks of the district. The problem area was verified with ground data and was found to be approximately 78% accurate. The methodology has potential to be used in other irrigation commands in the country to obtain reliable spatial data on low crop productivity.

Keywords: remote sensing, GIS, salt affected soil, crop productivity, Gautam Buddha Nagar

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Redhouane Ghernaout, Amira Fredj, Boualem Remini

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Suspended sediment transport is a serious problem worldwide, but it is much more worrying in certain regions of the world, as is the case in the Maghreb and more particularly in Algeria. It continues to take disturbing proportions in Northern Algeria due to the variability of rains in time and in space and constant deterioration of vegetation. Its prediction is essential in order to identify its intensity and define the necessary actions for its reduction. The purpose of this study is to analyze the concentration data of suspended sediment measured at Wadi El-Abtal Hydrometric Station. It also aims to find and highlight regressive power relationships, which can explain the suspended solid flow by the measured liquid flow. The study strives to find models of artificial neural networks linking the flow, month and precipitation parameters with solid flow. The obtained results show that the power function of the solid transport rating curve and the models of artificial neural networks are appropriate methods for analysing and estimating suspended sediment transport in Wadi Mina at Wadi El-Abtal Hydrometric Station. They made it possible to identify in a fairly conclusive manner the model of neural networks with four input parameters: the liquid flow Q, the month and the daily precipitation measured at the representative stations (Frenda 013002 and Ain El-Hadid 013004 ) of the watershed. The model thus obtained makes it possible to estimate the daily solid flows (interpolate and extrapolate) even beyond the period of observation of solid flows (1985/86 to 1999/00), given the availability of the average daily liquid flows and daily precipitation since 1953/1954.

Keywords: suspended sediment, concentration, regression, liquid flow, solid flow, artificial neural network, modeling, mina, algeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Clara Shenderey, Helena Vitoshkin, Mordechai Barak, Avraham Arbel

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Greenhouse cultivation is an energy-intensive process due to the high demands on cooling or heating according to external climatic conditions, which could be extreme in the summer or winter seasons. The thermal radiation rate inside a greenhouse depends mainly on the type of covering material and greenhouse construction. Using additional thermal screens under a greenhouse covering combined with a dehumidification system improves the insulation and could be cost-effective. Greenhouse covering material usually contains protective ultraviolet (UV) radiation additives to prevent the film wear, insect harm, and crop diseases. This paper investigates the overall heat transfer coefficient, or U-value, for greenhouse polyethylene covering contains UV-additives and glass covering with or without a thermal screen supplement. The hot-box method was employed to evaluate overall heat transfer coefficients experimentally as a function of the type and number of the thermal screens. The results show that the overall heat transfer coefficient decreases with increasing the number of thermal screens as a hyperbolic function. The overall heat transfer coefficient highly depends on the ability of the material to reflect thermal radiation. Using a greenhouse covering, i.e., polyethylene films or glass, in combination with high reflective thermal screens, i.e., containing about 98% of aluminum stripes or aluminum foil, the U-value reduces by 61%-89% in the first case, whereas by 70%-92% in the second case, depending on the number of the thermal screen. Using thermal screens made from low reflective materials may reduce the U-value by 30%-57%. The heat transfer coefficient is an indicator of the thermal insulation properties of the materials, which allows farmers to make decisions on the use of appropriate thermal screens depending on the external and internal climate conditions in a greenhouse.

Keywords: energy-saving thermal screen, greenhouse cover material, heat transfer coefficient, hot box

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Etienne Gaborit, Dorothy Durnford, Daniel Deacu, Marco Carrera, Nathalie Gauthier, Camille Garnaud, Vincent Fortin

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A new experimental streamflow forecasting system was recently implemented at the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction (CCMEP). It relies on CaLDAS (Canadian Land Data Assimilation System) for the assimilation of surface variables, and on a surface prediction system that feeds a routing component. The surface energy and water budgets are simulated with the SVS (Soil, Vegetation, and Snow) Land-Surface Scheme (LSS) at 2.5-km grid spacing over Canada. The routing component is based on the Watroute routing scheme at 1-km grid spacing for the Great Lakes and Nelson River watersheds. The system is run in two distinct phases: an analysis part and a forecast part. During the analysis part, CaLDAS outputs are used to force the routing system, which performs streamflow assimilation. In forecast mode, the surface component is forced with the Canadian GEM atmospheric forecasts and is initialized with a CaLDAS analysis. Streamflow performances of this new system are presented over 2019. Performances are compared to the current ECCC’s operational streamflow forecasting system, which is different from the new experimental system in many aspects. These new streamflow forecasts are also compared to persistence. Overall, the new streamflow forecasting system presents promising results, highlighting the need for an elaborated assimilation phase before performing the forecasts. However, the system is still experimental and is continuously being improved. Some major recent improvements are presented here and include, for example, the assimilation of snow cover data from remote sensing, a backward propagation of assimilated flow observations, a new numerical scheme for the routing component, and a new reservoir model.

Keywords: assimilation system, distributed physical model, offline hydro-meteorological chain, short-term streamflow forecasts

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Belen Montero, Carmen Ramirez, Maite Rico, Rebeca Bouza, Irene Derungs

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Starch is a promising polymer for producing biocomposite materials because it is renewable, completely biodegradable and easily available at a low cost. Thermoplastic starches (TPS) can be obtained after the disruption and plasticization of native starch with a plasticizer. In this work, the solvent casting method was used to obtain TPS films from wheat starch plasticized with glycerol and reinforced with nanocellulose (CNC). X-ray diffraction analysis was used to follow the evolution of the crystallinity. The native wheat starch granules have shown a profile corresponding to A-type crystal structures typical for cereal starches. When TPS films are analyzed a high amorphous halo centered on 19º is obtained, indicating the plasticization process is completed. SEM imaging was made in order to analyse the morphology. The image from the raw wheat starch granules shows a bimodal granule size distribution with some granules in large round disk-shape forms (A-type) and the others as smaller spherical particles (B-type). The image from the neat TPS surface shows a continuous surface. No starch aggregates or swollen granules can be seen so, the plasticization process is complete. In the surfaces of reinforced TPS films aggregates are seen as the CNC concentration in the matrix increases. The CNC influence on the mechanical properties of TPS films has been studied by dynamic mechanical analysis. A direct relation exists between the storage modulus values, E’, and the CNC content in reinforced TPS films: higher is the content of nanocellulose in the composite, higher is the value of E’. This reinforcement effect can be explained by the appearance of a strong and crystalline nanoparticle-TPS interphase. Thermal stability of films was analysed by TGA. It has not observed any influence on the behaviour related to the thermal degradation of films with the incorporation of the CNC. Finally, the resistance to the water absorption films was analysed following the standard UNE-EN ISO 1998:483. The percentage of water absorbed by the samples at each time was calculated. The addition of 5 wt % of CNC to the TPS matrix leads to a significant improvement in the moisture resistance of the starch based material decreasing their diffusivity. It has been associated to the formation of a nanocrystal network that prevents swelling of the starch and therefore water absorption and to the high crystallinity of cellulose compared to starch. As a conclusion, the wheat film reinforced with 5 wt % of cellulose nanocrystals seems to be a good alternative for short-life applications into the packaging industry, because of its greatest rigidity, thermal stability and moisture sorption resistance.

Keywords: biocomposites, nanocellulose, starch, wheat

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: Shadia Al-Bahlani, Khadija Al-Bulushi, Zuweina Al-Hadidi, Buthaina Al-Dhahl, Nadia Al-Abri

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer, which is defined by the absence of Estrogen (ER), Progesterone (PR) and human epidermal growth factor (Her-2) receptors. The calpain system plays an important role in many cellular processes including apoptosis, necrosis, cell signaling and proliferation. However, the role of calpain in cisplatin (CDDP)-induced apoptosis in TNBC cells is not fully understood. Here, TNBC (MDA-MB231) cells were treated with different concentration of CDDP (0, 20 & 40 µM) and calpain activation and apoptosis were measured by western blot and Hoechst Stain respectively. In addition, calpain modulation by either activation and/or inhibition and its effect on CDDP-induced apoptosis were assessed by the same above approaches. Our findings showed that CDDP induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and thus Calcium release and subsequently activate calpain α-fodrin cleavage indicated by the increase in GRP78 and Calmodulin protein expression and respectively in MDA-MB231 cells. It also induced apoptosis as measured by Hoechst stain and caspase-12 cleavage. Calpain activation by both Cyclopiazonic acid and Thapsigargin showed similar effect and enhanced the sensitivity of these cells to CDDP treatment. On the other hand, calpain inhibition by either specific siRNA and/or exogenous inhibitor (Calpeptin) had an adverse effect where it attenuated calpain activation and thus CDDP- induced apoptosis in these cells. Altogether, these findings suggested that calpain activation play an essential role in sensitizing the TNBC cells to CDDP-induced apoptosis. This might lead to the discovery of novel treatment to over this aggressive type of breast cancer.

Keywords: calpain, cisplatin, apoptosis, breast cancer

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Carlos H. Cuadra, Nobuhiro Shimoi

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Application of piezoelectric sensors to detect structural damage due to seismic action on building structures is investigated. Plate-type piezoelectric sensor was developed and proposed for this task. A film-type piezoelectric sheet was attached on a steel plate and covered by a layer of glass. A special glue is used to fix the glass. This glue is a silicone that requires the application of ultraviolet rays for its hardening. Then, the steel plate was set up at a steel column-beam joint of a test specimen that was subjected to bending moment when test specimen is subjected to monotonic load and cyclic load. The structural behavior of test specimen during cyclic loading was verified using a finite element model, and it was found good agreement between both results on load-displacement characteristics. The cross section of steel elements (beam and column) is a box section of 100 mm×100 mm with a thin of 6 mm. This steel section is specified by the Japanese Industrial Standards as carbon steel square tube for general structure (STKR400). The column and beam elements are jointed perpendicularly using a fillet welding. The resulting test specimen has a T shape. When large deformation occurs the glass plate of the sensor device cracks and at that instant, the piezoelectric material emits a voltage signal which would be the indicator of a certain level of deformation or damage. Applicability of this piezoelectric sensor to detect structural damages was verified; however, additional analysis and experimental tests are required to establish standard parameters of the sensor system.

Keywords: piezoelectric sensor, static cyclic test, steel structure, seismic damages

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Sadia Imran, Zenab Naseem

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Dengue fever is one of the most alarming mosquito-borne viral diseases. Dengue virus has been distributed over the years exponentially throughout the world be it tropical or sub-tropical regions of the world, particularly in the last ten years. Changing topography, climate change in terms of erratic seasonal trends, rainfall, untimely monsoon early or late and longer or shorter incidences of either summer or winter. Globalization, frequent travel throughout the world and viral evolution has lead to more severe forms of Dengue. Global incidence of dengue infections per year have ranged between 50 million and 200 million; however, recent estimates using cartographic approaches suggest this number is closer to almost 400 million. In recent years, Pakistan experienced a deadly outbreak of the disease. The reason could be that they have the maximum exposure outdoors. Public organizations have observed that changing climate, especially lower average summer temperature, and increased vegetation have created tropical-like conditions in the city, which are suitable for Dengue virus growth. We will conduct a time-series analysis to study the interrelationship between dengue incidence and diurnal ranges of temperature and humidity in Pakistan, Lahore being the main focus of our study. We have used annual data from 2005 to 2015. We have investigated the relationship between climatic variables and dengue incidence. We used time series analysis to describe temporal trends. The result shows rising trends of Dengue over the past 10 years along with the rise in temperature & rainfall in Lahore. Hence this seconds the popular statement that the world is suffering due to Climate change and Global warming at different levels. Disease outbreak is one of the most alarming indications of mankind heading towards destruction and we need to think of mitigating measures to control epidemic from spreading and enveloping the cities, countries and regions.

Keywords: Dengue, epidemic, globalization, climate change

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Rahul Jarariya

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The textile industry uses various types of dyes and discharges a lot of highly coloured wastewater. It impacts the environment like allergic reaction, respiratory, skin problems, irritation to a mucous membrane, the upper respiratory tract has to the fore, Intoxicated dye discharges 40 to 50,000 tons with great concern. Spinel ferrites gained a lot of attention due to their wide application area from biomedical to wastewater treatment. Generally, spinel ferrite is known as M-Fe2O4. Spinel type nanoparticles possess high suspension stability. The synthesis method of Microwave solution combustion (MC) method is effective for nanoscale materials, including oxides, metals, alloys, and sulfides, works as fast and energy-efficient during the process. The review focuses on controlling, nanostructure and doping. The influence of the fuel concentration and the post-treatment temperature on the structural and magnetic properties. The effects of amounts of fuel and phase changes, particle size and shape, and magnetic properties can be characterized by various techniques. Urea is the most commonly used fuel. Ethanol or n-butanol is apt for removing impurities. As a result of the materials gives fine purity. Photocatalysis phenomena act with catalyst dosage to degrade dye from wastewater. Visible light responsive produces a large amount of hydroxyl (•OH) radical made the degradation efficiency of Rh21 type dye. It develops a narrow bandgap to make it suitable for enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: microwave solution combustion method, normal spinel, doped spinels, magnetic property, Rb21

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Recep Duzsoz, Ozlem Gormez, Umit Memis, Selma Demer, Hikmet Orhan

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Stylohyoid ligament is a connective tissue extending from apex of the styloid process to small horn of the hyoid bone. The normal length of styloid process ranges from 20 to 30 mm and measurements more than 30 mm is named stylohyoid ligament calcification (SLC). Fluorosis is a health problem that arises in individuals who intake large amounts of fluor long periods of time. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of fluorosis on SLC. This study has been conducted on 100 patients who had SLC detected on panoramic radiograph. The study group was consisted of 50 patients with dental fluorosis and control group was consisted of 50 patients without dental fluorosis. Length and thickness of SLC were measured and the type of SLC was determined on panoramic radiographs. There was no statistically significant differences between the study and control group for SLC length, thickness and type. The thickness of left and right SLC of severe dental fluorosis group was statistically significant higher than moderate dental fluorosis group (p < 0,05). Cervicopharyngeal trauma, tonsillectomy, endocrine disease in menopause, persistent mesenchymal tissue, mechanical stress have reported as etiology of SLC in the literature and studies are still ongoing. It was reported that fluorosis as a factor on calcification of some ligaments in body (posterior longitudunal ligament, ligamentum flavum and transverse atlantal ligament) previously but relationship between fluorosis with SLC was not investigated. Our study is unique because it is the first study on SLC thickness measurements on panoramic radiographs and the relationship between fluorosis and SLC to our knowledge. According to the obtained results, it is thought that fluorosis may have an effect on SLC in thickness due to the relationship between dental fluorosis severity with SLC thickness and this study will contribute to the progress of the future studies.

Keywords: calcification, fluorosis, ligament, stylohyoid

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Yogi Sirodz Gaos, Irvan Wiradinata

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In the 500 kW Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant in Indonesia, an AFT (according to the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association – TEMA) type shell and tube heat exchanger device is used as a pre-heating system for the ORC’s hot water circulation system. The pre-heating source is a waste heat recovery of the brine water, which is tapped from a geothermal power plant. The brine water itself has 5 MWₜₕ capacities, with average temperature of 170ᵒC, and 7 barg working pressure. The aim of this research is to examine the performance of the heat exchanger in the ORC system in a 500 kW ORC power plant. The data for this research were collected during the commissioning on the middle of December 2016. During the commissioning, the inlet temperature and working pressure of the brine water to the shell and tube type heat exchanger was 149ᵒC, and 4.4 barg respectively. Furthermore, the ΔT for the hot water circulation of the ORC system to the heat exchanger was 27ᵒC, with the inlet temperature of 140ᵒC. The pressure in the hot circulation system was dropped slightly from 7.4ᵒC to 7.1ᵒC. The flow rate of the hot water circulation was 80.5 m³/h. The presentation and discussion of a case study on the performance of the heat exchanger on the 500 kW ORC system is presented as follows: (1) the heat exchange duty is 2,572 kW; (2) log mean temperature of the heat exchanger is 13.2ᵒC; (3) the actual overall thermal conductivity is 1,020.6 W/m².K (4) the required overall thermal conductivity is 316.76 W/m².K; and (5) the over design for this heat exchange performance is 222.2%. An analysis of the heat exchanger detailed engineering design (DED) is briefly discussed. To sum up, this research concludes that the shell and tube heat exchangers technology demonstrated a good performance as pre-heating system for the ORC’s hot water circulation system. Further research need to be conducted to examine the performance of heat exchanger system on the ORC’s hot water circulation system.

Keywords: shell and tube, heat exchanger, organic Rankine cycle, performance, commissioning

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Luojie Tang

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Riverside space is an important public space and ecological corridor in urban areas, but mountainous urban rivers are often overlooked due to their deep valleys and poor accessibility. This article takes the Qing Shui Xi River in Chongqing as an example, and through long-term field inspections, measurements, interviews, and online surveys, summarizes the problems of poor accessibility, limited space for renovation, lack of waterfront facilities, excessive artificial intervention, low average runoff, severe river water pollution, and difficulty in integrated watershed management in riverside space. Based on the current situation and drawing on relevant experiences, this article summarizes the design methods for riverside space in deep valley rivers in mountainous urban areas. Regarding spatial design techniques, the article emphasizes the importance of integrating waterfront spaces into the urban public space system and vertical linkages. Furthermore, the article suggests different design methods and improvement strategies for the already developed areas and new development areas. Specifically, the article proposes a planning and design strategy of "protection" and "empowerment" for new development areas and an updating and transformation strategy of "improvement" and "revitalization" for already developed areas. In terms of ecological restoration methods, the article suggests three focus points: increasing the runoff of urban rivers, raising the landscape water level during dry seasons, and restoring vegetation and wetlands in the riverbank buffer zone while protecting the overall pattern of the watershed. Additionally, the article presents specific design details of the Qingshuixi River to illustrate the proposed design and restoration techniques.

Keywords: deep-cut river, design method, mountainous city, Qingshuixi river in Chongqing, waterfront space design

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Rafiqul Tarefder, Mohiuddin Ahmad, Mohammad Hossain

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While milling materials from old pavement surface can be an important component of cost effective maintenance operation, their use in maintenance projects are not uniform and well documented. This study documents the different maintenance practices followed by four transportation districts of New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in an attempt to find whether millings are being used in maintenance projects by those districts. Based on existing literature, a questionnaire was developed related to six common maintenance practices. NMDOT district personal were interviewed face to face to discuss and get answers to that questionnaire. It revealed that NMDOT districts mainly use chip seal and patching. Other maintenance procedures such as sand seal, scrub seal, slurry seal, and thin overlay have limited use. Two out of four participating districts do not have any documents on chip sealing; rather they employ the experiences of the chip seal crew. All districts use polymer modified high float emulsion (HFE100P) for chip seal with an application rate ranging from 0.4 to 0.56 gallons per square yard. Chip application rate varies from 15 to 40 lb/ square yard. State wide, the thickness of chip seal varies from 3/8" to 1" and life varies from 3 to 10 years. NMDOT districts mainly use three type of patching: pothole, dig-out and blade patch. Pothole patches are used for small potholes and during emergency, dig-out patches are used for all type of potholes sometimes after pothole patching, and blade patch is used when a significant portion of the pavement is damaged. Pothole patches last as low as three days whereas, blade patch lasts as long as 3 years. It was observed that all participating districts use millings in maintenance projects.

Keywords: chip seal, sand seal, scrub seal, slurry seal, overlay, patching, millings

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: Mohammed A. Elhaj, Jamal S. Yassin

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Owing to the lack of synchronization between the solar energy availability and the heat demands in a specific application, the energy storing sub-system is necessary to maintain the continuity of thermal process. The present work is dealing with an active solar heating storing system in which an air solar collector is connected to storing unit where this energy is distributed and provided to the heated space in a controlled manner. The solar collector is a box type absorber where the air flows between a number of vanes attached between the collector absorber and the bottom plate. This design can improve the efficiency due to increasing the heat transfer area exposed to the flowing air, as well as the heat conduction through the metal vanes from the top absorbing surface. The storing unit is a packed bed type where the air is coming from the air collector and circulated through the bed in order to add/remove the energy through the charging / discharging processes, respectively. The major advantage of the packed bed storage is its high degree of thermal stratification. Numerical solution of the packed bed energy storage is considered through dividing the bed into a number of equal segments for the bed particles and solved the energy equation for each segment depending on the neighbor ones. The studied design and performance parameters in the developed simulation model including, particle size, void fraction, etc. The final results showed that the collector efficiency was fluctuated between 55%-61% in winter season (January) under the climatic conditions of Misurata in Libya. Maximum temperature of 52ºC is attained at the top of the bed while the lower one is 25ºC at the end of the charging process of hot air into the bed. This distribution can satisfy the required load for the most house heating in Libya.

Keywords: solar energy, thermal process, performance, collector, packed bed, numerical analysis, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Ginpreet Kaur, Mohammad Yasir Usmani, Mohammed Kamil Khan

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Diabetes mellitus is a disease with a high global burden and results in significant morbidity and mortality. In India, the number of people suffering with diabetes is expected to rise from 19 to 57 million in 2025. At present, interest in herbal remedies is growing to reduce the side effects associated with conventional dosage form like oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Our aim was to investigate the antidiabetic activities of combinatorial extract of N. sativa & C. cassia in Streptozotocin induced type-I Diabetic Rats. Thus, the present study was undertaken to screen postprandial glucose excursion potential through α- glucosidase inhibitory activity (In Vitro) and effect of combinatorial extract of N. sativa & C. cassia in Streptozotocin induced type-I Diabetic Rats (In Vivo). In addition changes in body weight, plasma glucose, lipid profile and kidney profile were also determined. The IC50 values for both extract and Acarbose was calculated by extrapolation method. Combinatorial extract of N. sativa & C. cassia at different dosages (100 and 200 mg/kg orally) and Metformin (50 mg/kg orally) as the standard drug was administered for 28 days and then biochemical estimation, body weights and OGTT (Oral glucose tolerance test) were determined. Histopathological studies were also performed on kidney and pancreatic tissue. In In-Vitro the combinatorial extract shows much more inhibiting effect than the individual extracts. The results reveals that combinatorial extract of N. sativa & C. cassia has shown significant decrease in plasma glucose (p<0.0001), total cholesterol and LDL levels when compared with the STZ group The decreasing level of BUN and creatinine revealed the protection of N. sativa & C. cassia extracts against nephropathy associated with diabetes. Combination of N. sativa & C. cassia significantly improved glucose tolerance to exogenously administered glucose (2 g/kg) after 60, 90 and 120 min interval on OGTT in high dose streptozotocin induced diabetic rats compared with the untreated control group. Histopathological studies shown that treatment with N. sativa & C. cassia extract alone and in combination restored pancreatic tissue integrity and was able to regenerate the STZ damaged pancreatic β cells. Thus, the present study reveals that combination of N. sativa & C. cassia extract has significant α- glucosidase inhibitory activity and thus has great potential as a new source for diabetes treatment.

Keywords: lipid levels, OGTT, diabetes, herbs, glucosidase

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Authors: Mohammed Sghir Taleb

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Introduction The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) represents an essential element of the oasis ecosystem for Saharan and pre-Saharan regions of Morocco. It plays an important role, not only due to its economic importance, but also its ecological adaptation to, firstly, to ensure necessary protection for crops against underlying warm and dry sales, and secondly to contribute to the fight against desertification. This is one of the oldest cultivated plant species best adapted to difficult climatic conditions of the Saharan and pre-Saharan regions, because of its ecological requirements and economically most suitable for investing in oasis agriculture. Methodology The methodology is mainly based on a literature review of principal theses and projects for the conservation of flora and vegetation. Results The date palm has multiple uses. Indeed, it produces fruits rich in nutrients, provides a multitude of secondary products and generates needed revenue for the survival of oasis populations. In Morocco, the development and modernization of the date palm sector face, both upstream and downstream of the industry, several major constraints. In addition to climate constraints (prolonged drought), in its environment (lack of water resources), to the incessant invasion of disease Bayoud, Moroccan palm ecosystem suffers from a low level of technical and traditional practices prevail and traditional, from the choice of variety and site preparation up to harvesting and recycling of products. Conclusion The date palm plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of local and national level. However, this ecosystem however, is subject to numerous degradation factors caused by anthropogenic action and climate change. to reverse the trends, several programs have been developed by Morocco for the restoration of degraded areas and the development of the Phoenix dactylifera ecosystem to meet the needs of local populations and the development of the national economy.

Keywords: efforts, flora, ecosystem, forest, conservation, Morocco

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Authors: Mohammad Talha, Abdullah Sallehhuddin Abdullah Salim, Abdul Aziz Abdul Jalil, Norzarina Md Yatim

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The significant contribution of institutional investors across the globe in socially responsible investment (SRI) is well-documented in the literature. Nevertheless, how the SRI behavior of pressure-resistant, pressure-sensitive and pressure-indeterminate institutional investors remain unexplored extensively. This study examines the moderating effect of institutional investors towards socially responsible investment behavior in the context of emerging economies. This study involved 229 institutional investors in Malaysia. A total of 1,145 questionnaires were distributed. Out of these, 308 (130 pressure sensitive institutional investors and 178 pressure resistant institutional investors), representing a usable rate of 26.9 per cent, were found fit for data analysis. Utilizing multi-group analysis via AMOS, this study found evidence for the presence of moderating effect by a type of institutional investor topology in socially responsible investment behavior. At intentional level, it established that type of institutional investor was a significant moderator in the relationship between subjective norms, and caring ethical climate with intention among pressure-resistant institutional investors, as well as between perceived behavioral controls with intention among pressure-sensitive institutional investors. At the behavioral level, the results evidenced that there was only a significant moderating effect between intention and socially responsible investment behavior among pressure-resistant institutional investors. The outcomes are expected to benefit policy makers, regulators, and market participants in order to leap forward SRI growth in developing economies. Nevertheless, the outcomes are limited to a few factors, and it is believed that future studies shall address those limitations.

Keywords: socially responsible investment, behavior, pressure sensitive investors, pressure insensitive investors, Institutional Investment Malaysia

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Authors: Osman Adiguzel

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Shape memory effect is a peculiar property exhibited by certain alloy systems and based on martensitic transformation, and shape memory properties are closely related to the microstructures of the material. Shape memory effect is linked with martensitic transformation, which is a solid state phase transformation and occurs with the cooperative movement of atoms by means of lattice invariant shears on cooling from high-temperature parent phase. Lattice twinning and detwinning can be considered as elementary processes activated during the transformation. Thermally induced martensite occurs as martensite variants, in self-accommodating manner and consists of lattice twins. Also, this martensite is called the twinned martensite or multivariant martensite. Deformation of shape memory alloys in martensitic state proceeds through a martensite variant reorientation. The martensite variants turn into the reoriented single variants with deformation, and the reorientation process has great importance for the shape memory behavior. Copper based alloys exhibit this property in metastable β- phase region, which has DO3 –type ordered lattice in ternary case at high temperature, and these structures martensiticaly turn into the layered complex structures with lattice twinning mechanism, on cooling from high temperature parent phase region. The twinning occurs as martensite variants with lattice invariant shears in two opposite directions, <110 > -type directions on the {110}- type plane of austenite matrix. Lattice invariant shear is not uniform in copper based ternary alloys and gives rise to the formation of unusual layered structures, like 3R, 9R, or 18R depending on the stacking sequences on the close-packed planes of the ordered lattice. The unit cell and periodicity are completed through 18 atomic layers in case of 18R-structure. On the other hand, the deformed material recovers the original shape on heating above the austenite finish temperature. Meanwhile, the material returns to the twinned martensite structures (thermally induced martensite structure) in one way (irreversible) shape memory effect on cooling below the martensite finish temperature, whereas the material returns to the detwinned martensite structure (deformed martensite) in two-way (reversible) shape memory effect. Shortly one can say that the microstructural mechanisms, responsible for the shape memory effect are the twinning and detwinning processes as well as martensitic transformation. In the present contribution, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were carried out on two copper-based ternary alloys, CuZnAl, and CuAlMn.

Keywords: shape memory effect, martensitic transformation, twinning and detwinning, layered structures

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Authors: Tauhidur Rahman, Kasturi Bhuyan

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In the present paper, Ground Response Analysis at the Rukni irrigation project has been thoroughly investigated. Surface level seismic hazard is mainly used by the practical Engineers for designing the important structures. Surface level seismic hazard can be obtained accounting the soil factor. Structures on soft soil will show more ground shaking than the structure located on a hard soil. The Surface level ground motion depends on the type of soil. Density and shear wave velocity is different for different types of soil. The intensity of the soil amplification depends on the density and shear wave velocity of the soil. Rukni irrigation project is located in the North Eastern region of India, near the Dauki fault (550 Km length) which has already produced earthquakes of magnitude (Mw= 8.5) in the past. There is a probability of a similar type of earthquake occuring in the future. There are several faults also located around the project site. There are 765 recorded strong ground motion time histories available for the region. These data are used to determine the soil amplification factor by incorporation of the engineering properties of soil. With this in view, three of soil bore holes have been studied at the project site up to a depth of 30 m. It has been observed that in Soil bore hole 1, the shear wave velocity vary from 99.44 m/s to 239.28 m/s. For Soil Bore Hole No 2 and 3, shear wave velocity vary from 93.24 m/s to 241.39 m/s and 93.24m/s to 243.01 m/s. In the present work, surface level seismic hazard at the project site has been calculated based on the Probabilistic seismic hazard approach accounting the soil factor.

Keywords: Ground Response Analysis, shear wave velocity, soil amplification, surface level seismic hazard

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Authors: Azize Serap Tuncer

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Turkey is one of the most outstanding figures among the Mediterranean countries from the natural and historical point at view. It is relatively rich country as regards the flora and vegetation. But at the same time as a result of improper and unplanned usage of the land for centuries, its forests and fertile soils have been exposed to great damages. While rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has important effects on the environment, urban development legislations, have become very unsufficient for the protection of these areas. Some of them have been completely eradicated, and some others have lost their fertility. Besides Turkey has a high main land with a rough surface and its soils areas exposed to heavy erosion. On the other hand as a developing country, it is not willing to endanger the goals of industrialization and avoid foreign direct investment by implementing strict environmental policies. Although this kind of pressure on forestland resources threatens the stability of forest land and land use management, in recent years, there has been an obvious increase in public concern about environmental problems like over global warming, environmental pollution, deforestation and their potential effects on natural resources. To protect the ecological balance and prevention of naturel resources from the unplanned intervention of human-beıng is only possible establishing conservation areas wıth co-operation at the national and the internatıonal levels. This study was carried out to evaluate the relation between urbanization and forestry policies in Turkey. While it elaborates the normative arrangements resulting in power conflicts, it also addresses which shortages and discrepancies are responsible for the said conflicts. The present urban reconstruction and transformation practices and their aesthetic and functional aspects were studied with some examples in a country level and evaluated within the assistance of literature researches, analyses, and observations. Atatürk Forest Farm and ODTU Forest examples were negotiated as two famous cases. Obtained findings were supported by charts and photos.

Keywords: deforestration, environmental policies, metropolitan, pollution, urbanization

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Authors: Hannah Rachel Vasanthi, Paomipem Phazang, Veereshkumar, Sali, Ramesh Parjapath, Sangeetha Marimuthu Kannan

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Garcinia indica (G. indica) fruit rind extract commonly used in South Indian culinary and Indian System of medicines is reported to exhibit various biological activities. The present study envisages the influence of the phytoconstituents in G. indica extract (Vrikshamla capsules- a herbal supplement) on diabetic condition. The condition of type 2 diabetes was triggered in experimental animals by feeding high fat diet for 8 weeks followed by a sub-diabetogenic dose of 35mg/kg bw of streptozotocin intraperitoneally. Oral supplementation of the extract at two doses (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days reduced hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia (p< 0.001). Pathophysiological changes of obesity and diabetes associated complications majorly mediated by oxidative stress were analyzed by measuring the markers of oxidative stress such as lipid peroxidation, enzymatic (SOD, Catalase, GPx) and non-enzymatic markers (GSH). Conspicuous changes markers were noticed in diabetic condition which was reverted by the G. indica extract. Screening the extract by AccuTOF-DART (MS) revealed the presence of hydroxycitric acid and garcinol in abundant quantity which probably has influenced the biological activity. This was also corroborated through docking studies of hydroxycitric acid and garcinol both individually and synergistically with the antioxidant proteins. Altogether, hydroxycitric acid and garcinol present in G. indica fruit extract alleviates the pathophysiological conditions such as hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and oxidative stress mediated by diabesity.

Keywords: antioxidants , diabesity, hydroxycitric acid, garcinol, Garcinia indica, sreptozotocin

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Authors: Meilisha Putri Pertiwi, Mufti Petala Patria

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Mangrove forest often categorized as a productive ecosystem in trophic water and the highest carbon storage among all the forest types. Mangrove-derived organic matter determines the food web of fish and invertebrates. In Indonesia trophic water ecosystem, 80% commersial fish caught in coastal area are high related to food web in mangrove forest ecosystem. Based on the previous research in Panjang Island, Bojonegara, Banten, Indonesia, removed mangrove litterfall to the sea water were 9,023 g/m³/s for two stations (west station–5,169 g/m³/s and north station-3,854 g/m³/s). The vegetation were dominated from Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizopora stylosa. C element is the highest content (27,303% and 30,373%) than N element (0,427% and 0,35%) and P element (0,19% and 0,143%). The aim of research also to know the diversity of fish inhabit in mangrove forest. Fish sampling is by push net. Fish caught are collected into plastics, total length measured, weigh measured, and individual and total counted. Meanwhile, the 3 modified pipes (1 m long, 5 inches diameter, and a closed one hole part facing the river by using a nylon cloth) set in the water channel connecting mangrove forest and sea water for each stasiun. They placed for 1 hour at low tide. Then calculate the speed of water flow and volume of modified pipes. The fish and mangrove litter will be weigh for wet weight, dry weight, and analyze the C, N, and P element content. The sampling data will be conduct 3 times of month in full moon. The salinity, temperature, turbidity, pH, DO, and the sediment of mangrove forest will be measure too. This research will give information about the fish diversity in mangrove forest, the removed mangrove litterfall to the sea water, the composition of sediment, the total element content (C, N, P) of fish and mangrove litter, and the correlation of element content absorption between fish and mangrove litter. The data will be use for the fish and mangrove ecosystem conservation.

Keywords: fish diversity, mangrove forest, mangrove litter, carbon element, nitrogen element, P element, conservation

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Authors: Gulelat Gatew

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Bamboo Woven Strand Board (WSB) products are manufactured from Ethiopia highland bamboo (Yushania alpina) as a multiple layer mat structure for enhanced mechanical performance. Hence, it shows similar mechanical properties as tropical hardwood products. WSB, therefore, constitutes a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood products. The resin and wax ratio had a great influence on the determinants properties of the product quality such as internal bonding, water absorption, thickness swelling, bending and stiffness properties. Among these properties, because of the hygroscopic nature of the bamboo, thickness swelling and water absorption are important performances of WSB for using in construction and outdoor facilities. When WSB is exposed to water or moist environment, they tend to swell and absorb water in all directions. The degree of swelling and water absorption depends on the type of resin used, resin formulation, resin ratio, wax type and ratio. The objective of this research is investigating effects of phenol formaldehyde and wax on thickness swelling and water absorption behavior on bamboo WSB for construction and outdoor facilities. The experiments were conducted to measure the effects of wax and phenol-formaldehyde resin content on WSB thickness swelling and water absorption which leads to investigate its effect on dimension stability and mechanical properties. Both experiments were performed with 2–hour and 24-hour water immersion test and a significant set of data regarding the influence of such method parameters is also presented. The addition of up to 2% wax with 10% of phenol formaldehyde significantly reduced thickness swelling and water absorption of WSB which resulted in making it more hydrophobic and less susceptible to the influences of moisture in high humidity conditions compared to the panels without wax.

Keywords: woven strand board (WSB), water absorption, thickness swelling, phenol formaldehyde resin

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Ihab Al-Mokrani

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The Arabic heritage has two types of spoken rhetoric: the first type which al-Jaahiz calls “the rhetoric of the sign,” which means body language, and the rhetoric of silence which is of no less importance than the rhetoric of the sign, the speaker’s appearance and movements, etc. The second type is the spoken performance of utterances which bears written rhetoric arts like metaphor, simile, metonymy, etc. Rationale of the study: First: in spite of the factual existence of rhetorical phenomena in the Arabic heritage, there has been no contemporary study handling the spoken rhetoric in the Arabic heritage. Second: Arabic Civilization is originally a spoken one. Comparing the Arabic culture and civilization, from one side, to the Greek, roman or Pharaonic cultures and civilizations, from the other side, shows that the latter cultures and civilizations started and flourished written while the former started among illiterate people who had no interest in writing until recently. That sort of difference on the part of the Arabic culture and civilization created a rhetoric different from rhetoric in the other cultures and civilizations. Third: the spoken nature of the Arabic civilization influenced the Arabic rhetoric in the sense that specific rhetorical arts have been introduced matching that spoken nature. One of these arts is the art of concision which compensates for the absence of writing’s means of preserving the text. In addition, this interprets why many of the definitions of the Arabic rhetoric were defining rhetoric as the art of concision. Also, this interprets the fact that the literary genres known in the Arabic culture were limited by the available narrow space like poetry, anecdotes, and stories, while the literary genres in the Greek culture were of wide space as epics and drama. This is not of any contrast to the fact that some Arabic poetry would exceed 100 lines of poetry as Arabic poetry was based on the line organic unity, which means that every line could stand alone with a full meaning that is not dependent on the rest of the poem; and that last aspect has never happened in any culture other than the Arabic culture.

Keywords: Arabic rhetoric, spoken rhetoric, Arabic heritage, culture

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Authors: Abhinav Mane, Kedar Karvande, Shubham Patel, Abhayraj Lodha

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Gravity filters are one of the most commonly used, economically viable and moderately efficient water purification systems. Their efficiency is mainly based on the type of filter media installed and its location within the filter mass. Several researchers provide valuable input in decision of the type of filter media. However, the choice is mainly restricted to the chemical combinations of different substances. This makes it very much dependent on the factory made filter media, and no cheap alternatives could be found and used. This paper presents the use of disinfectants and filter medias either available naturally or could be prepared using natural resources in conventional mechanism of gravity filter. A small scale laboratory investigation was made with variation in filter media thickness and its location from the top surface of the filter. A rigid steel frame based custom fabricated test setup was used to facilitate placement of filter media at different height within the filter mass. Finely grinded sun dried Neem (Azadirachta indica) extracts and porous burnt clay pads were used as two distinct filter media and placed in isolation as well as in combination with each other. Ground water available in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India which mainly consists of harmful materials like Arsenic, Chlorides, Iron, Magnesium and Manganese, etc. was treated in the filters fabricated in the present study. The evaluation was made mainly in terms of the input/output water quality assessment through laboratory tests. The present paper should give a cheap and eco-friendly solution to prepare gravity filter at the merit of household skills and availability.

Keywords: fliter media, gravity filters, natural disinfectants, porous clay pads

Procedia PDF Downloads 250