Search results for: nature- based design

Authors: Houari Boumediene University of Science, Technology.

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"Various methods are typically used in the dynamic analysis of transversely vibrating beams. To achieve this, numerical methods are used to solve the general eigenvalue problem. The equations of equilibrium, which describe the motion, are derived from a fourth-order differential equation. Our study is based on the finite element method, and the results of the investigation are the vibration frequencies obtained using the Jacobi method. Two types of elementary mass matrices are considered: one representing a uniform distribution of mass along the element and the other consisting of concentrated masses located at fixed points whose number increases progressively with equal distances at each evaluation stage. The beams studied have different boundary constraints, representing several classical situations. Comparisons are made for beams where the distributed mass is replaced by n concentrated masses. As expected, the first calculation stage involves determining the lowest number of beam parts that gives a frequency comparable to that obtained from the Rayleigh formula. The obtained values are then compared to theoretical results based on the assumptions of the Bernoulli-Euler theory. These steps are repeated for the second type of mass representation in the same manner."

Keywords: finite element method, bernouilli eulertheory, structural analysis, vibration analysis, rayleigh quotient

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Authors: Kholil, Laksanto Utomo

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The food needs of the Indonesian people will continue increase year to year due to the increase of population growth. For ensuring food securityand and resilience, the government has developed a program food self-resilience village since 2006. Food resilience is a complex system, consisting of subsystem availability, distribution and consumption of the sufficiency of food consumed both in quantity and quality. Low access, and limited assets to food sources is the dominant factor vulnerable of food. Women have a major role in supporting the productive activities of the family to meet food sufficiency and resilience. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the model of food self-resilience village wich gender responsive by using a dynamic system model. Model will be developed into 3 level: family, vilage, and regency in accordance with the concept of village food resilience model wich has been developed by ministry of agriculture. Model development based on the results of experts discussion and field study. By some scenarios and simulation models we will able to develop appropriate policy strategies for family food resilience. The result of study show that food resilience was influenced by many factors: goverment policies, technology, human resource, and in the same time it will be a feed back for goverment policies and number of poor family.

Keywords: food availability, food sufficiency, gender, model dynamic, law enfrocement

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Authors: Yanjie Zhu, André Jesus, Irwanda Laory

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Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), involving data acquisition, data interpretation and decision-making system aim to continuously monitor the structural performance of civil infrastructures under various in-service circumstances. The main value and purpose of SHM is identifying damages through data interpretation system. Research on SHM has been expanded in the last decades and a large volume of data is recorded every day owing to the dramatic development in sensor techniques and certain progress in signal processing techniques. However, efficient and reliable data interpretation for damage detection under environmental variations is still a big challenge. Structural damages might be masked because variations in measured data can be the result of environmental variations. This research reports a novel method based on single-channel Blind Signal Separation (BSS), which extracts environmental effects from measured data directly without any prior knowledge of the structure loading and environmental conditions. Despite the successful application in audio processing and bio-medical research fields, BSS has never been used to detect damage under varying environmental conditions. This proposed method optimizes and combines Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) together to separate structural responses due to different loading conditions respectively from a single channel input signal. The ICA is applying on dimension-reduced output of EEMD. Numerical simulation of a truss bridge, inspired from New Joban Line Arakawa Railway Bridge, is used to validate this method. All results demonstrate that the single-channel BSS-based method can recover temperature effects from mixed structural response recorded by a single sensor with a convincing accuracy. This will be the foundation of further research on direct damage detection under varying environment.

Keywords: damage detection, ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), environmental variations, independent component analysis (ICA), principal component analysis (PCA), structural health monitoring (SHM)

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Authors: B. Wang, W. H. Or, S.C. Lee, Y.C. Leung, B. Organ

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This study presents an investigation of diesel vehicle particulate-phase emissions with neat ultralow sulphur diesel (B0, ULSD) and 5% waste cooking oil-based biodiesel blend (B5) in Hong Kong. A Euro VI light duty diesel vehicle was tested under transient (New European Driving Cycle (NEDC)), steady-state and idling on a chassis dynamometer. Chemical analyses including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), as well as 30 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 10 oxygenated PAHs (oxy-PAHs) were conducted. The OC fuel-based emission factors (EFs) for B0 ranged from 2.86 ± 0.33 to 7.19 ± 1.51 mg/kg, and those for B5 ranged from 4.31 ± 0.64 to 15.36 ± 3.77 mg/kg, respectively. The EFs of EC were low for both fuel blends (0.25 mg/kg or below). With B5, the EFs of total PAHs were decreased as compared to B0. Specifically, B5 reduced total PAH emissions by 50.2%, 30.7%, and 15.2% over NEDC, steady-state and idling, respectively. It was found that when B5 was used, PAHs and oxy-PAHs with lower molecular weight (2 to 3 rings) were reduced whereas PAHs/oxy-PAHs with medium or high molecular weight (4 to 7 rings) were increased. Our study suggests the necessity of taking atmospheric and health factors into account for biodiesel application as an alternative motor fuel.

Keywords: biodiesel, OC/EC, PAHs, vehicular emission

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Authors: Recep Kesli, Huseyin Bilgin, Yasar Unlu, Gokhan Gungor

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Aim: The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic values of two different molecular-based tests (GenoType® HelicoDR ve Seeplex® H. pylori-ClaR- ACE Detection) in detection presence of the H. pylori from gastric biopsy specimens. In addition to this also was aimed to determine resistance ratios of H. pylori strains against to clarytromycine and quinolone isolated from gastric biopsy material cultures by using both the genotypic (GenoType® HelicoDR, Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection) and phenotypic (gradient strip, E-test) methods. Material and methods: A total of 266 patients who admitted to Konya Education and Research Hospital Department of Gastroenterology with dyspeptic complaints, between January 2011-June 2013, were included in the study. Microbiological and histopathological examinations of biopsy specimens taken from antrum and corpus regions were performed. The presence of H. pylori in all the biopsy samples was investigated by five differnt dignostic methods together: culture (C) (Portagerm pylori-PORT PYL, Pylori agar-PYL, GENbox microaer, bioMerieux, France), histology (H) (Giemsa, Hematoxylin and Eosin staining), rapid urease test (RUT) (CLOtest, Cimberly-Clark, USA), and two different molecular tests; GenoType® HelicoDR, Hain, Germany, based on DNA strip assay, and Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection, Seegene, South Korea, based on multiplex PCR. Antimicrobial resistance of H. pylori isolates against clarithromycin and levofloxacin was determined by GenoType® HelicoDR, Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection, and gradient strip (E-test, bioMerieux, France) methods. Culture positivity alone or positivities of both histology and RUT together was accepted as the gold standard for H. pylori positivity. Sensitivity and specificity rates of two molecular methods used in the study were calculated by taking the two gold standards previously mentioned. Results: A total of 266 patients between 16-83 years old who 144 (54.1 %) were female, 122 (45.9 %) were male were included in the study. 144 patients were found as culture positive, and 157 were H and RUT were positive together. 179 patients were found as positive with GenoType® HelicoDR and Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection together. Sensitivity and specificity rates of studied five different methods were found as follows: C were 80.9 % and 84.4 %, H + RUT were 88.2 % and 75.4 %, GenoType® HelicoDR were 100 % and 71.3 %, and Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection were, 100 % and 71.3 %. A strong correlation was found between C and H+RUT, C and GenoType® HelicoDR, and C and Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection (r:0.644 and p:0.000, r:0.757 and p:0.000, r:0.757 and p:0.000, respectively). Of all the isolated 144 H. pylori strains 24 (16.6 %) were detected as resistant to claritromycine, and 18 (12.5 %) were levofloxacin. Genotypic claritromycine resistance was detected only in 15 cases with GenoType® HelicoDR, and 6 cases with Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection. Conclusion: In our study, it was concluded that; GenoType® HelicoDR and Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection was found as the most sensitive diagnostic methods when comparing all the investigated other ones (C, H, and RUT).

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, GenoType® HelicoDR, Seeplex ® H. pylori -ClaR- ACE Detection, antimicrobial resistance

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Authors: Saeb Ahmadi, Mohsen Vafaie Sefti, Mohammad Mahdi Shadman, Ebrahim Tangestani

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Carbon nanotube has shown great potential for the removal of various inorganic and organic components due to properties such as large surface area and high adsorption capacity. Central composite design is widely used method for determining optimal conditions. Also due to the economic reasons and wide application, the rare earth elements are important components. The analyses of cerium (Ce(III)) adsorption as one of the Rare Earth Elements (REEs) adsorption on Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been studied. The optimization process was performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimum amount conditions were pH of 4.5, initial Ce (III) concentration of 90 mg/l and MWCNTs dosage of 80 mg. Under this condition, the optimum adsorption percentage of Ce (III) was obtained about 96%. Next, at the obtained optimum conditions the kinetic and isotherm studied and result showed the pseudo-second order and Langmuir isotherm are more fitted with experimental data than other models.

Keywords: cerium, rare earth element, MWCNTs, adsorption, optimization

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Authors: Mizam Doğan

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Adapazarı railway car factory, the only railway car factory of Turkey, was constructed in 1950. It was a steel design and it had filled beam sections and truss beam systems. Columns were steel profiles and box sections. The factory was damaged heavily on Izmit Earthquake and closed. In this earthquake 90% of damaged structures are reinforced concrete, the others are %7 prefabricated and 3% steel construction. As can be seen in statistical data, damaged industrial buildings in this earthquake were generally reinforced concrete and prefabricated structures. Adapazari railway car factory is the greatest steel structure damaged in the earthquake. This factory has 95% of the total damaged steel structure area. In this paper; earthquake damages on beams and columns of the factory are studied by considering TS648 'Turkish Standard Building Code for Steel Structures' and also damaged connection elements as welds, rivets and bolts are examined. A model similar to the damaged system is made and high-stress zones are searched. These examinations, conclusions, suggestions are explained by damage photos and details.

Keywords: column-beam connection, seismic analysis, seismic load, steel structure

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Authors: Muhammad Umar

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Safety and Assets management is considering a backbone of every department. GIS in the Railway become very important to Manage Assets and Security through Digital Maps and Web based GIS Maps. It provides a complete frame of work to the organization for the management of assets. Pakistan Railway is the most common and safest mode of traveling in Pakistan. Due to ever-increasing demand of transporting huge amount of information generated from various sources and this information must be accurate. This creates problems for Passengers and Administration that causes finical and time loss. GIS Solve this problem by Digital Maps & Database. It provides you a real time Spatial and Statistical analysis that helps you to communicate and exchange the information in a sophisticated way to the users. GIS Based Web system provides a facility to different end user to make query at a time as per requirements. This GIS System provides an advancement in an organization for a complete Monitoring, Safety and Decision System for tracks, Stations and Junctions that further use for the Analysis of different areas i.e. analysis of tracks, junctions and Stations in case of reconstruction, Rescue for rail accidents and Natural disasters .This Research work helps to reduce the financial loss and reduce human mistakes helps you provide a complete security and Management system of assets.

Keywords: Geographical Information System (GIS) for assets management, geo spatial database, railway assets management, Pakistan

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Authors: Sungwon Jung

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The percentage of 20 years or older apartment houses in South Korea is approximately 20% (1.55 million houses), and the explosive increase of aged houses is expected around the first planned new towns. Accordingly, we should prepare for social issues such as difficulty of housing lease and degradation of housing performance. The improvement of performance of aged houses is essential for achieving the national energy and carbon reduction goals, and we should develop techniques to respond to the changing construction environment. Furthermore, we should develop a performance evaluation system that is appropriate for the demands of residents such as the improvement of remodeling floor plan by performance improvement in line with the residence type of the housing vulnerable groups such as low-income group and elderly people living alone. For this purpose, remodeling techniques and business models optimized for the target complexes must be spread through the development of various business models. In addition, it is necessary to improve the remodeling business by improving the laws and systems related to the improvement of the residential performance and to prepare techniques to respond to the increasing business demands. In other words, performance improvement and evaluation and knowledge systems need to be researched as new issues related to remodeling that has not been addressed in the existing research.

Keywords: remodelling, performance evaluation, web-based system, big data

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Authors: Albert Mufundirwa, Satoru Yoshioka, K. Ogi, Takeharu Sugiyama, George F. Harrington, Bretislav Smid, Benjamin Cunning, Kazunari Sasaki, Akari Hayashi, Stephen M. Lyth

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Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are electrochemical energy conversion devices used for portable, residential and vehicular applications due to their low emissions, high efficiency, and quick start-up characteristics. However, PEMFCs generally use expensive, Pt-based electrocatalysts as electrode catalysts. Due to the high cost and limited availability of platinum, research and development to either drastically reduce platinum loading, or replace platinum with alternative catalysts is of paramount importance. A combination of high surface area supports and nano-structured active sites is essential for effective operation of catalysts. We synthesize carbon foam supports by thermal decomposition of sodium ethoxide, using a template-free, gram scale, cheap, and scalable pyrolysis method. This carbon foam has a high surface area, highly porous, three-dimensional framework which is ideal for electrochemical applications. These carbon foams can have surface area larger than 2500 m²/g, and electron microscopy reveals that they have micron-scale cells, separated by few-layer graphene-like carbon walls. We applied this carbon foam as a platinum catalyst support, resulting in the improved electrochemical surface area and mass activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), compared to carbon black. Similarly, silver-decorated carbon foams showed higher activity and efficiency for electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion than silver-decorated carbon black. A promising alternative to Pt-catalysts for the ORR is iron-impregnated nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts (Fe-N-C). Doping carbon with nitrogen alters the chemical structure and modulates the electronic properties, allowing a degree of control over the catalytic properties. We have adapted our synthesis method to produce nitrogen-doped carbon foams with large surface area, using triethanolamine as a nitrogen feedstock, in a novel bottom-up protocol. These foams are then infiltrated with iron acetate (FeAc) and pyrolysed to form Fe-N-C foams. The resulting Fe-N-C foam catalysts have high initial activity (half-wave potential of 0.68 VRHE), comparable to that of commercially available Pt-free catalysts (e.g., NPC-2000, Pajarito Powder) in acid solution. In alkaline solution, the Fe-N-C carbon foam catalysts have a half-wave potential of 0.89 VRHE, which is higher than that of NPC-2000 by almost 10 mVRHE, and far out-performing platinum. However, the durability is still a problem at present. The lessons learned from X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical measurements will be used to carefully design Fe-N-C catalysts for higher performance PEMFCs.

Keywords: carbon-foam, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, platinum, Pt-free, Fe-N-C, ORR

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Authors: Petronella Jonck, Martin Chanza, Anna-Marie Pelser

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Ascribed to the global pandemic most higher education institutions responded by relocating content presented by means of contact sessions to an online platform giving rise to digital pedagogy. The purpose of the research reported on was to explore emerging challenges linked to digital pedagogy from a practitioner stance. Digital pedagogy has emerged as a powerful tool to compliment traditional methods. However, stumbling blocks should be identified and addressed for future utilization. A qualitative research design was implemented by means of a semi-structured interview schedule distributed to practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that institutional type influenced the implementation of digital pedagogy. Other challenges relate to the increased cost of education, decreased access, limited knowledge about digital pedagogy, behavioral intent to adopt a multi-modal approach, lack of ICT infrastructure to mention a few. Higher education institutions should address challenges towards the optimal use of digital pedagogy in future.

Keywords: COVID-19, digital pedagogy, higher education institutions, information communication technology

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Authors: Anjana R. Menon, Anjana Bhasi

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This paper deals with the numerical analysis of Prefabricated Horizontal Drain (PHD) induced consolidation of clayey deposits, using ABAQUS. PHDs are much like Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVDs) installed in horizontal layers, used mainly for enhancing the consolidation of clayey fill embankments, and dredged mud deposits. The efficiency of the system depends mainly on the spacing and layout of the drain. Hence, two spacing related parameters are defined, namely WH (width to horizontal spacing ratio) and VH (vertical to horizontal spacing ratio), and the finite element models are developed based on plane strain unit cell conditions under various combinations of these parameters. The analysis results, in terms of degree of consolidation (U), are compared with the established theories. Based on the analysis, a set of equations are proposed to analyse the PHD induced consolidation. The proposed method is found to be reasonably accurate. Further, the effect of PHDs at different spacing ratios, in accelerating consolidation of a clayey embankment fill is analysed in terms of pore pressure dissipation rate, and settlement. The PHD is found to accelerate the rate of pore pressure dissipation by more than 50%, thus reducing the time for final settlement significantly.

Keywords: ABAQUS, consolidation, plane strain, prefabricated horizontal drain

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Authors: Mark Darius Juszczak

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While epistemology, as a sub-field of philosophy, is generally concerned with theoretical questions about the nature of knowledge, the explosion in digital media technologies has resulted in an exponential increase in the storage and transmission of human information. That increase has resulted in a particular non-linear dynamic – digital epistemological functions are radically altering how and what we know. Neither the rate of that change nor the consequences of it have been well studied or taken into account in developing state-level strategies for epistemological functions. At the current time, US Federal policy, like that of virtually all other countries, maintains, at the national state level, clearly defined boundaries between various epistemological agencies - agencies that, in one way or another, mediate the functional use of knowledge. These agencies can take the form of patent and trademark offices, national library and archive systems, departments of education, departments such as the FTC, university systems and regulations, military research systems such as DARPA, federal scientific research agencies, medical and pharmaceutical accreditation agencies, federal funding for scientific research and legislative committees and subcommittees that attempt to alter the laws that govern epistemological functions. All of these agencies are in the constant process of creating, analyzing, and regulating knowledge. Those processes are, at the most general level, epistemological functions – they act upon and define what knowledge is. At the same time, however, there are no high-level strategic epistemological directives or frameworks that define those functions. The only time in US history where a proxy state-level epistemological strategy existed was between 1961 and 1969 when the Kennedy Administration committed the United States to the Apollo program. While that program had a singular technical objective as its outcome, that objective was so technologically advanced for its day and so complex so that it required a massive redirection of state-level epistemological functions – in essence, a broad and diverse set of state-level agencies suddenly found themselves working together towards a common epistemological goal. This paper does not call for a repeat of the Apollo program. Rather, its purpose is to investigate the minimum structural requirements for a national state-level epistemological strategy in the United States. In addition, this paper also seeks to analyze how the epistemological work of the multitude of national agencies within the United States would be affected by such a high-level framework. This paper is an exploratory study of this type of framework. The primary hypothesis of the author is that such a function is possible but would require extensive re-framing and reclassification of traditional epistemological functions at the respective agency level. In much the same way that, for example, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) evolved to respond to a new type of security threat in the world for the United States, it is theorized that a lack of coordination and alignment in epistemological functions will equally result in a strategic threat to the United States.

Keywords: strategic security, epistemological functions, epistemological agencies, Apollo program

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Authors: D. Szinay, O. Perski, A. Jones, T. Chadborn, J. Brown, F. Naughton

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Background: The uptake of health and wellbeing smartphone apps is largely influenced by popularity indicators (e.g., rankings), rather than evidence-based content. Rapid disengagement is common. This study aims to explore how and why potential users 1) select and 2) engage with such apps, and 3) how increased engagement could be promoted. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and a think-aloud approach were used to allow participants to verbalise their thoughts whilst searching for a health or wellbeing app online, followed by a guided search in the UK National Health Service (NHS) 'Apps Library' and Public Health England’s (PHE) 'One You' website. Recruitment took place between June and August 2019. Adults interested in using an app for behaviour change were recruited through social media. Data were analysed using the framework approach. The analysis is both inductive and deductive, with the coding framework being informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. The results are further mapped onto the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behaviour) model. The study protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/jrkd3/). Results: The following targets were identified as playing a key role in increasing the uptake of and engagement with health and wellbeing apps: 1) psychological capability (e.g., reduced cognitive load); 2) physical opportunity (e.g., low financial cost); 3) social opportunity (e.g., embedded social media); 4) automatic motivation (e.g., positive feedback). Participants believed that the promotion of evidence-based apps on NHS-related websites could be enhanced through active promotion on social media, adverts on the internet, and in general practitioner practices. Future Implications: These results can inform the development of interventions aiming to promote the uptake of and engagement with evidence-based health and wellbeing apps, a priority within the UK NHS Long Term Plan ('digital first'). The targets identified across the COM-B domains could help organisations that provide platforms for such apps to increase impact through better selection of apps.

Keywords: behaviour change, COM-B model, digital health, mhealth

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Authors: Chul Park, Youngseok Kim, Sangsik Choi

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This study developed an electric jig for underwater structure inspection in order to solve the problem of the application of side scan sonar to underwater inspection, and analyzed correlations of empirical data in order to enhance sonar data resolution. For the application of tow-typed sonar to underwater structure inspection, an electric jig was developed. In fact, it was difficult to inspect a cross-section at the time of inspection with tow-typed equipment. With the development of the electric jig for underwater structure inspection, it was possible to shorten an inspection time over 20%, compared to conventional tow-typed side scan sonar, and to inspect a proper cross-section through accurate angle control. The indoor test conducted to enhance sonar data resolution proved that a water depth, the distance from an underwater structure, and a filming angle influenced a resolution and data quality. Based on the data accumulated through field experience, multiple regression analysis was conducted on correlations between three variables. As a result, the relational equation of sonar operation according to a water depth was drawn.

Keywords: underwater structure, SONAR, safety inspection, resolution

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Authors: Mohammad Borhani, Afshin Danehkar

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With the increase in population and the upward trend of energy demand, mankind has thought of using suppliers that guarantee a stable supply of energy, unlike fossil fuels, which, in addition to the widespread emission of greenhouse gases that one of the main factors in the destruction of the ozone layer and it will be finished in a short time in the not-so-distant future. In this regard, one of the sustainable ways of energy supply is the use of wind converters. That convert wind energy into electricity. For this reason, this research focused on wind turbines and their installation conditions. The main classification of wind turbines is based on the axis of rotation, which is divided into two groups: horizontal axis and vertical axis; each of these two types, with the advancement of technology in man-made environments such as cities, villages, airports, and other human environments can be installed and operated. The main difference between offshore and onshore wind turbines is their installation and foundation. Which are usually divided into five types; including of Monopile Wind Turbines, Jacket Wind Turbines, Tripile Wind Turbines, Gravity-Based Wind Turbines, and Floating Offshore Wind Turbines. For installation in a wind power plant requires an arrangement that produces electric power, the distance between the turbines is usually between 5 or 7 times the diameter of the rotor and if perpendicular to the wind direction be If they are 3 to 5 times the diameter of the rotor, they will be more efficient.

Keywords: wind farms, Savonius, Darrieus, offshore wind turbine, renewable energy

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Authors: Shengbiao Wu, Weihua Cao, Min Wu, Can Liu

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This paper presents an intelligent tuning method of microwave filter based on complex neural network and improved space mapping. The tuning process consists of two stages: the initial tuning and the fine tuning. At the beginning of the tuning, the return loss of the filter is transferred to the passband via the error of phase. During the fine tuning, the phase shift caused by the transmission line and the higher order mode is removed by the curve fitting. Then, an Cauchy method based on the admittance parameter (Y-parameter) is used to extract the coupling matrix. The influence of the resonant cavity loss is eliminated during the parameter extraction process. By using processed data pairs (the amount of screw variation and the variation of the coupling matrix), a tuning model is established by the complex neural network. In view of the improved space mapping algorithm, the mapping relationship between the actual model and the ideal model is established, and the amplitude and direction of the tuning is constantly updated. Finally, the tuning experiment of the eight order coaxial cavity filter shows that the proposed method has a good effect in tuning time and tuning precision.

Keywords: microwave filter, scattering parameter, coupling matrix, intelligent tuning

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Authors: Ayoola Femi J., Kayode Balogun

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In some African Countries, increase in Gross Domestic Products (GDP) has not translated to real development as expected by common-man in his household. For decades, a lot of contests on economic growth and development has been a nagging issues. The focus of this study is to analysing the effects of economic determinants/factors on economic advances in some African Countries by employing panel data analysis. The yearly (1990-2013) data were obtained from the world economic outlook database of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for probing the effects of these variables on growth rate in some selected African countries which include: Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape-Verde, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic Of Congo, Cote di’ Voire, Egypt, Equatorial-Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, and Uganda. The effects of 6 macroeconomic variables on GDP were critically examined. We used 37 Countries GDP as our dependent variable and 6 independent variables used in this study include: Total Investment (totinv), Inflation (inf), Population (popl), current account balance (cab), volume of imports of goods and services (vimgs), and volume of exports of goods and services (vexgs). The results of our analysis shows that total investment, population and volume of exports of goods and services strongly affect the economic growth. We noticed that population of these selected countries positively affect the GDP while total investment and volume of exports negatively affect GDP. On the contrary, inflation, current account balance and volume of imports of goods and services’ contribution to the GDP are insignificant. The results of our analysis shows that total investment, population and volume of exports of goods and services strongly affect the economic growth. We noticed that population of these selected countries positively affect the GDP while total investment and volume of exports negatively affect GDP. On the contrary, inflation, current account balance and volume of imports of goods and services’ contribution to the GDP are insignificant. The results of this study would be useful for individual African governments for developing a suitable and appropriate economic policies and strategies. It will also help investors to understand the economic nature and viability of Africa as a continent as well as its individual countries.

Keywords: African countries, economic growth and development, gross domestic products, static panel data models

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Authors: Ronald Orth, Johanna Haunschild, Sara Tsog

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The bioeconomy is an inter- and cross-disciplinary field covering a large number and wide scope of existing and emerging technologies. It has a great potential to contribute to the transformation process of industry landscape and ultimately drive the economy towards sustainability. However, bioeconomy per se is not necessarily sustainable and technology should be seen as an enabler rather than panacea to all our ecological, social and economic issues. Therefore, to draw and maximize benefits from bioeconomy in terms of sustainability, we propose that innovative activities should encompass not only novel technologies and bio-based new materials but also multifocal innovations. For multifocal innovation endeavors, innovation management plays a substantial role, as any innovation emerges in a complex iterative process where communication and knowledge exchange among relevant stake holders has a pivotal role. The knowledge generation and innovation are although at the core of transition towards a more sustainable bio-based economy, to date, there is a significant lack of concepts and models that approach bioeconomy from the innovation management approach. The aim of this paper is therefore two-fold. First, it inspects the role of transformative approach in the adaptation of bioeconomy that contributes to the environmental, ecological, social and economic sustainability. Second, it elaborates the importance of technology and innovation management as a tool for smooth, prompt and effective transition of firms to the bioeconomy. We conduct a qualitative literature study on the sustainability challenges that bioeconomy entails thus far using Science Citation Index and based on grey literature, as major economies e.g. EU, USA, China and Brazil have pledged to adopt bioeconomy and have released extensive publications on the topic. We will draw an example on the forest based business sector that is transforming towards the new green economy more rapidly as expected, although this sector has a long-established conventional business culture with consolidated and fully fledged industry. Based on our analysis we found that a successful transition to sustainable bioeconomy is conditioned on heterogenous and contested factors in terms of stakeholders , activities and modes of innovation. In addition, multifocal innovations occur when actors from interdisciplinary fields engage in intensive and continuous interaction where the focus of innovation is allocated to a field of mutually evolving socio-technical practices that correspond to the aims of the novel paradigm of transformative innovation policy. By adopting an integrated and systems approach as well as tapping into various innovation networks and joining global innovation clusters, firms have better chance of creating an entire new chain of value added products and services. This requires professionals that have certain capabilities and skills such as: foresight for future markets, ability to deal with complex issues, ability to guide responsible R&D, ability of strategic decision making, manage in-depth innovation systems analysis including value chain analysis. Policy makers, on the other hand, need to acknowledge the essential role of firms in the transformative innovation policy paradigm.

Keywords: bioeconomy, innovation and technology management, multifocal innovation, sustainability, transformative innovation policy

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Authors: Kevin Potoczny, Katsuichiro Goda

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The St. Lawrence lowlands extend from Ottawa to Quebec City and are known for large deposits of sensitive Leda clay. Leda clay deposits are responsible for many large landslides, such as the 1993 Lemieux and 2010 St. Jude (4 fatalities) landslides. Due to the large extent and sensitivity of Leda clay, regional hazard analysis for landslides is an important tool in risk management. A 2018 regional study by Farzam et al. on the susceptibility of Leda clay slopes to landslide hazard uses 1 arc second topographical data. A qualitative method known as Hazus is used to estimate susceptibility by checking for various criteria in a location and determine a susceptibility rating on a scale of 0 (no susceptibility) to 10 (very high susceptibility). These criteria are slope angle, geological group, soil wetness, and distance from waterbodies. Given the flat nature of St. Lawrence lowlands, the current assessment fails to capture local slopes, such as the St. Jude site. Additionally, the data did not allow one to analyze failure planes accurately. This study majorly improves the analysis performed by Farzam et al. in two aspects. First, regional assessment with high resolution data allows for identification of local locations that may have been previously identified as low susceptibility. This then provides the opportunity to conduct a more refined analysis on the failure plane of the slope. Slopes derived from 1 arc second data are relatively gentle (0-10 degrees) across the region; however, the 1- and 2-meter resolution 2022 HRDEM provided by NRCAN shows that short, steep slopes are present. At a regional level, 1 arc second data can underestimate the susceptibility of short, steep slopes, which can be dangerous as Leda clay landslides behave retrogressively and travel upwards into flatter terrain. At the location of the St. Jude landslide, slope differences are significant. 1 arc second data shows a maximum slope of 12.80 degrees and a mean slope of 4.72 degrees, while the HRDEM data shows a maximum slope of 56.67 degrees and a mean slope of 10.72 degrees. This equates to a difference of three susceptibility levels when the soil is dry and one susceptibility level when wet. The use of GIS software is used to create a regional susceptibility map across the St. Lawrence lowlands at 1- and 2-meter resolutions. Failure planes are necessary to differentiate between small and large landslides, which have so far been ignored in regional analysis. Leda clay failures can only retrogress as far as their failure planes, so the regional analysis must be able to transition smoothly into a more robust local analysis. It is expected that slopes within the region, once previously assessed at low susceptibility scores, contain local areas of high susceptibility. The goal is to create opportunities for local failure plane analysis to be undertaken, which has not been possible before. Due to the low resolution of previous regional analyses, any slope near a waterbody could be considered hazardous. However, high-resolution regional analysis would allow for more precise determination of hazard sites.

Keywords: hazus, high-resolution DEM, leda clay, regional analysis, susceptibility

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

Abstract:

In an ever changeable and globalized world with new economic and global competitors competing for the same customers and resources, is increasing the pressure on organizations' competitiveness. In addition, organizations faces additional challenges due to an ever-growing amount of data and the ever-bigger challenge of analyzing that data and keeping the data secure. Successful companies are characterized by exploiting their intellectual capital in an efficient manner. Thus, the most valuable asset an organization has today has become its employees' knowledge. To enable this, there is a tool that supports easier handling and optimizes the use of knowledge, which is knowledge management. Based on the theoretical framework and careful review as well as analysis of interviews and observations resulted in six essential areas: structure, management, compensation, communication, trust and motivation. The analysis showed that the scientific articles and literature have different perspectives, different definitions and are based on different theories but the essence is that they all finally seems to arrive at the same result and conclusion, although with different viewpoints and perspectives. This is regardless of whether the focus is on management style, rewards or communication they all focus on the individual. The conclusion is that organizational culture affects knowledge management and dissemination of information, because of its direct impact on the individual. The largest and most important underlying factor why we choose to participate in improvement work or share knowledge is our motivation. Motivation is the reason for and the reason behind our actions.

Keywords: lean, lean production, knowledge management, information management, motivation

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Authors: Khosro Mohammadi

Abstract:

The grain quality of chickpea in Iran is low and instable, which may be attributed to the evolution of cultivars with a narrow genetic base making them vulnerable to biotic stresses. Four chickpea varieties from diverse geographic origins were chosen and arranged in a randomized complete block design. Mesorhizobium Sp. cicer strain SW7 was added to all the chickpea seeds. Chickpea seeds were planted on October 9, 2013. Each genotype was sown 5 m in length, with 35 cm inter-row spacing, in 3 rows. Weeds were removed manually in all plots. Results showed that analysis of variance on the studied traits showed significant differences among genotypes for N, P, K and Fe contents of chickpea, but there is not a significant difference among Ca, Zn and Mg continents of chickpea. The experimental coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 7.3 to 15.8. In general, the CV value lower than 20% is considered to be good, indicating the accuracy of conducted experiments. The highest grain N was observed in Hashem and Jam cultivars. The highest grain P was observed in Jam cultivar. Phosphorus content (mg/100g) ranged from 142.3 to 302.3 with a mean value of 221.3. The negative correlation (-0.126) was observed between the N and P of chickpea cultivars. The highest K and Fe contents were observed in Jam cultivar.

Keywords: cultivar, genotype, nitrogen, nutrient, yield

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Authors: Karla Peitl Miller, Leomar Bravin Porto, Kaitto Correa Fraga, Nataniele Eler Mendes

Abstract:

This paper presents the evaluation and study of a real reinforced concrete structure of a fertilizer storage building, constructed on a Vale’s Port at Brazil, which has been recently under refurbishment. Data that will be shared and commented aim to show how wrong choices in project concepts allied to a very high aggressive environment lead to a fast track degradation, incurring on a hazardous condition associated with huge and expensive treatment for repair and guarantee of minimum performance conditions and service life. It will be also shown and discussed all the covered steps since pathological manifestations first signs were observed until the complete revitalization and reparation planning would be drawn. The conclusions of the work easily explicit the importance of professional technical qualification, the importance of minimum requirements for design and structural reforms, and mainly, the importance of good inspection and diagnostic engineering continuous work.

Keywords: durability, reinforced concrete repair, structural inspection, diagnostic engineering

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Authors: Alyaa M. Younes, Nermine Harraz, Mohammad H. Elwany

Abstract:

Lithium ion batteries are currently used for many applications including satellites, electric vehicles and mobile electronics. Their ability to store relatively large amount of energy in a limited space make them most appropriate for critical applications. Evaluation of the life of these batteries and their reliability becomes crucial to the systems they support. Reliability of Li-Ion batteries has been mainly considered based on its lifetime. However, another important factor that can be considered critical in many applications such as in electric vehicles is the cycle duration. The present work presents the results of an experimental investigation on the degradation behavior of a Laptop Li-ion battery (type TKV2V) and the effect of applied load on the battery cycle time. The reliability was evaluated using an accelerated life test. Least squares linear regression with median rank estimation was used to estimate the Weibull distribution parameters needed for the reliability functions estimation. The probability density function, failure rate and reliability function under each of the applied loads were evaluated and compared. An inverse power model is introduced that can predict cycle time at any stress level given.

Keywords: accelerated life test, inverse power law, lithium-ion battery, reliability evaluation, Weibull distribution

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Authors: Shohreh Azizi, Memory Tekere, Wag Nel

Abstract:

An evaluation of the characteristics of wastewater generated from small communities was carried out in relation to decentralized approach for domestic sewage treatment plant and design of biological nutrient removal system. The study included the survey of the waste from various individual communities such as a hotel, a residential complex, an office premise, and an educational institute. The results indicate that the concentration of organic pollutant in wastewater from the residential complex is higher than the waste from all the other communities with COD 664 mg/l, BOD 370.2 mg/l and TSS 248.8 mg/l. And the waste water from office premise indicates low organic load with COD428 mg/l, BOD 232mg/l and TSS 157mg/l. The wastewater from residential complex was studied under activated sludge process to evaluate this technology for decentralized wastewater treatment. The Activated sludge process was operated at different 12to 4 hrs hydraulic retention times and the optimum 6 hrs HRT was selected, therefore the average reduction of COD (85.92%) and BOD (91.28 %) was achieved. The issue of sludge recycling, maintenance of biomass concentration and high HRT reactor (10 L) volume are making the system non-practical for smaller communities.

Keywords: wastewater, small communities, activated sludge process, decentralized system

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Authors: Chandra Shekhar Maurya, Chiranjit Sarkar

Abstract:

The transient response of rheological properties of a carbonyl iron (CI)-water-based magnetorheological fluid (MRF) was studied under shear rate, shear stress, and shear strain working mode subjected to step-change in an applied magnetic field. MR fluid is a kind of smart material whose rheological properties change under an applied magnetic field. We prepared an MR fluid comprising of CI 65 weight %, water 35 weight %, and OPTIGEL WX used as an additive by changing the weight %. It was found that the MR effect of the CI/water suspension was enhanced by using an additive. A transient shear stress response was observed by switched on and switched off of the magnetic field to see the stability, relaxation behavior, and resulting change in rheological properties. When the magnetic field is on, a sudden increase in the shear stress was observed due to the fast motion of magnetic structures that describe the transition from the liquidlike state to the solid-like state due to an increase in dipole-dipole interaction of magnetic particles. Simultaneously, the complete reverse transition occurs due to instantaneous breakage of the chain structure once the magnetic field is switched off.

Keywords: magnetorheological fluid, rheological properties, shears stress, shears strain, viscosity

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Authors: Mehrnaz Alibeikloo, Hadi Khabbaz, Behzad Fatahi

Abstract:

Probabilistic analysis has become one of the most popular methods to quantify and manage geotechnical risks due to the spatial variability of soil input parameters. The correlation length is one of the key factors of quantifying spatial variability of soil parameters which is defined as a distance within which the random variables are correlated strongly. This paper aims to assess the impact of correlation length on the long-term settlement of soft soils improved with preloading. The concept of 'worst-case' spatial correlation length was evaluated by determining the probability of failure of a real case study of Vasby test fill. For this purpose, a finite difference code was developed based on axisymmetric consolidation equations incorporating the non-linear elastic visco-plastic model and the Karhunen-Loeve expansion method. The results show that correlation length has a significant impact on the post-construction settlement of soft soils in a way that by increasing correlation length, probability of failure increases and the approach to asymptote.

Keywords: Karhunen-Loeve expansion, probability of failure, soft soil settlement, 'worst case' spatial correlation length

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Authors: Eid Alharbi, Yaser Miaji

Abstract:

The importance of fruit quality and freshness is potential in today’s life. Most recent studies show and automatic online sorting system according to the internal disorder for fresh apple fruit has developed by using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic technology. The automatic conveyer belts system along with sorting mechanism was constructed. To check the internal quality of the apple fruit, apple was exposed to the NIR radiations in the range 650-1300nm and the data were collected in form of absorption spectra. The collected data were compared to the reference (data of known sample) analyzed and an electronic signal was pass to the sorting system. The sorting system was separate the apple fruit samples according to electronic signal passed to the system. It is found that absorption of NIR radiation in the range 930-950nm was higher in the internally defected samples as compared to healthy samples. On the base of this high absorption of NIR radiation in 930-950nm region the online sorting system was constructed.

Keywords: mechatronics design, NIR, fruit quality, spectroscopic technology

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Authors: Eid Alharbi, Yaser Miaji

Abstract:

The importance of fruit quality and freshness is potential in today’s life. Most recent studies show and automatic online sorting system according to the internal disorder for fresh apple fruit has developed by using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic technology. The automatic conveyer belts system along with sorting mechanism was constructed. To check the internal quality of the apple fruit, apple was exposed to the NIR radiations in the range 650-1300nm and the data were collected in form of absorption spectra. The collected data were compared to the reference (data of known sample) analyzed and an electronic signal was pass to the sorting system. The sorting system was separate the apple fruit samples according to electronic signal passed to the system. It is found that absorption of NIR radiation in the range 930-950nm was higher in the internally defected samples as compared to healthy samples. On the base of this high absorption of NIR radiation in 930-950nm region the online sorting system was constructed.

Keywords: mechatronics design, NIR, fruit quality, spectroscopic technology

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Authors: Tapan Upadhyay, Aqib Siddiqui, Sameer Khan

Abstract:

Railway crossing system in India is a manually operated level crossing system, either manned or unmanned. The main aim is to protect pedestrians and vehicles from colliding with trains, which pass at regular intervals, as India has the largest and busiest railway network. But because of human error and negligence, every year thousands of lives are lost due to accidents at railway crossings. To avoid this, we suggest a solution, by using Programmable Logical Controller (PLC) based automatic system, which will automatically control the barrier as well as roadblocks to stop people from crossing while security warning is given. Often people avoid security warning, and pass two-wheelers from beneath the barrier, while the train is at a distance away. This paper aims at reducing the fatality and accident rate by controlling barrier and roadblocks using sensors which sense the incoming train and vehicles and sends a signal to PLC. The PLC in return sends a signal to barrier and roadblocks. Once the train passes, the barrier and roadblocks retrieve back, and the passage is clear for vehicles and pedestrians to cross. PLC’s are used because they are very flexible, cost effective, space efficient, reduces complexity and minimises errors. Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) is used to monitor the functioning.

Keywords: level crossing, PLC, sensors, SCADA

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