Search results for: electric vehicles (PEVs)

Authors: Siliang Luan, Zhongtai Jiang

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The risk of highway incidents is commonly recognized as a major concern for transportation authorities due to the hazardous consequences and negative influence. It is crucial to respond to these unpredictable events as soon as possible faced by emergency management decision makers. In this paper, we focus on path planning for emergency vehicles, one of the most significant processes to avoid congestion and reduce rescue time. A Mixed-Integer Linear Programming with Semi-Soft Time Windows Model (MIPSSTWM) is conducted to plan an optimal routing respectively considering the time consumption of arcs and nodes of the urban road network and the highway network, especially in developing countries with an enormous population. Here, the arcs indicate the road segments and the nodes include the intersections of the urban road network and the on-ramp and off-ramp of the highway networks. An attempt in this research has been made to develop a comprehensive and executive strategy for emergency vehicle routing in heavy traffic conditions. The proposed Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm is designed by imitating obligate brood parasitic behaviors of cuckoos and Lévy Flights (LF) to solve this hard and combinatorial problem. Using a Chinese city as our case study, the numerical results demonstrate the approach we applied in this paper outperforms the previous method without considering the nodes of the road network for a real-world situation. Meanwhile, the accuracy and validity of the CS algorithm also show better performances than the traditional algorithm.

Keywords: emergency vehicle, path planning, cs algorithm, urban traffic management and urban planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Umesh Kumar Sinha, Y. K. Nayak, N. Kumar, Swapnil Saurav, Monika Kashyap

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The authors investigate the effect of system and operating parameters on the performance of high temperature solar concentrator for power generation. The effects of system and operating parameters were investigated using the developed mathematical expressions for collector efficiency, heat removal factor, fluid outlet temperature and power, etc. The results were simulated using C++program. The simulated results were plotted for investigation like effect of thermal loss parameter and radiative loss parameters on the collector efficiency, heat removal factor, fluid outlet temperature, rise of temperature and effect of mass flow rate of the fluid outlet temperature. In connection with the power generation, plots were drawn for the effect of (TM–TAMB) on the variation of concentration efficiency, concentrator irradiance on PM/PMN, evaporation temperature on thermal to electric power efficiency (Conversion efficiency) of the plant and overall efficiency of solar power plant.

Keywords: parabolic trough solar collector, radiative and thermal loss parameters, collector efficiency, heat removal factor, fluid outlet and inlet temperatures, rise of temperature, mass flow rate, conversion efficiency, concentrator irradiance

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Authors: Yildiray Korkmaz, Mehmet Aksoy

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In today's operations, countries want to reach their aims in the shortest way due to economical, political and humanitarian aspects. The most effective way of achieving this goal is to be able to penetrate strategic targets. Strategic targets are generally located deep inside of the countries and are defended by modern and efficient surface to air missiles (SAM) platforms which are operated as integrated with Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems. On the other hand, these high valued targets are buried deep underground and hardened with strong materials against attacks. Therefore, to penetrate these targets requires very detailed intelligence. This intelligence process should include a wide range that is from weaponry to threat assessment. Accordingly, the framework of the attack package will be determined. This mission package has to execute missions in a high threat environment. The way to minimize the risk which depends on loss of life is to use packages which are formed by UAVs. However, some limitations arising from the characteristics of UAVs restricts the performance of the mission package consisted of UAVs. So, the mission package should be formed with UAVs under the leadership of a fifth generation manned aircraft. Thus, we can minimize the limitations, easily penetrate in the deep inside of the enemy territory with minimum risk, make a decision according to ever-changing conditions and finally destroy the strategic targets. In this article, the strengthens and weakness aspects of UAVs are examined by SWOT analysis. And also, it revealed features of a mission package and presented as an example what kind of a mission package we should form in order to get marginal benefit and penetrate into strategic targets with the development of autonomous mission execution capability in the near future.

Keywords: UAV, autonomy, mission package, strategic attack, mission planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 546

Authors: Emil Ghiocel Ioanid, Viorica Frunză, Dorina Rusu, Ana Maria Vlad, Catalin Tanase, Simona Dunca

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The application of cold radio-frequency (RF) plasma in the conservation of cultural heritage became important in the last decades due to the positive results obtained in decontamination treatments. This paper presents an equipment especially designed for RF cold plasma application on paper documents, developed within a research project. The equipment allows the application of decontamination and cleaning treatments on any type of paper support, as well as the coating with a protective polymer. The equipment consists in a Pyrex vessel, inside which are placed two plane-parallel electrodes, capacitively coupled to a radio-frequency generator. The operating parameters of the equipment are: 1.2 MHz frequency, 50V/cm electric field intensity, current intensity in the discharge 100 mA, 40 W power in the discharge, the pressure varying from 5∙10-1 mbar to 5.5∙10-1 mbar, depending on the fragility of the material, operating in gaseous nitrogen. In order to optimize the equipment treatments in nitrogen plasma have been performed on samples infested with microorganisms, then the decontamination and the changes in surface properties (color, pH) were assessed. The analyses results presented in the table revealed only minor modifications of surface pH the colorimetric analysis showing a slight change to yellow. The equipment offers the possibility of performing decontamination, cleaning and protective coating of paper-based documents in successive stages, thus avoiding the recontamination with harmful biological agents.

Keywords: nitrogen plasma, cultural heritage, paper support, radio-frequency

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Authors: Ankit Sharma, Mudit Sachan, Anurag Prakash

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Rapid growth in data acquisition technologies through drones, have led to advances and interests in collecting high-resolution images of geological fields. Being advantageous in capturing high volume of data in short flights, a number of challenges have to overcome for efficient analysis of this data, especially while data acquisition, image interpretation and processing. We introduce a method that allows effective mapping of geological fields using photogrammetric data of surfaces, drainage area, water bodies etc, which will be captured by airborne vehicles like UAVs, we are not taking satellite images because of problems in adequate resolution, time when it is captured may be 1 yr back, availability problem, difficult to capture exact image, then night vision etc. This method includes advanced automated image interpretation technology and human data interaction to model structures and. First Geological structures will be detected from the primary photographic dataset and the equivalent three dimensional structures would then be identified by digital elevation model. We can calculate dip and its direction by using the above information. The structural map will be generated by adopting a specified methodology starting from choosing the appropriate camera, camera’s mounting system, UAVs design ( based on the area and application), Challenge in air borne systems like Errors in image orientation, payload problem, mosaicing and geo referencing and registering of different images to applying DEM. The paper shows the potential of using our method for accurate and efficient modeling of geological structures, capture particularly from remote, of inaccessible and hazardous sites.

Keywords: digital elevation model, mapping, photogrammetric data analysis, geological structures

Procedia PDF Downloads 683

Authors: Fatemeh Yazdanmehr, Iulian Nistor

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The scope of the current study is the evaluation of the electric field effect on electrostatic desalting mathematical modeling with laboratory data. This research study was focused on developing a model for an existing operation desalting unit of one of the Iranian heavy oil field with a 75 MBPD production capacity. The high temperature of inlet oil to dehydration unit reduces the oil recovery, so the mathematical modeling of desalter operation parameters is very significant. The existing production unit operating data has been used for the accuracy of the mathematical desalting plant model. The inlet oil temperature to desalter was decreased from 110 to 80°C, and the desalted electrical field was increased from 0.75 to 2.5 Kv/cm. The model result shows that the desalter parameter changes meet the water-oil specification and also the oil production and consequently annual income is increased. In addition to that, changing desalter operation conditions reduces environmental footprint because of flare gas reduction. Following to specify the accuracy of selected electrostatic desalter electrical field, laboratory data has been used. Experimental data are used to ensure the effect of electrical field change on desalter. Therefore, the lab test is done on a crude oil sample. The results include the dehydration efficiency in the presence of a demulsifier and under electrical field (0.75 Kv) conditions at various temperatures. Comparing lab experimental and electrostatic desalter mathematical model results shows 1-3 percent acceptable error which confirms the validity of desalter specification and operation conditions changes.

Keywords: desalter, electrical field, demulsification, mathematical modeling, water-oil separation

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Pedro F. D. Oliveira, Rangel S. Maia, Aline S. Paula

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As the electric energy consumption grows, the necessity of energy transmission lines increases. One of the problems caused by an oscillatory response to dynamical loads (such as wind effects) in transmission lines is the cable fatigue. Thus, the dynamical behavior of transmission cables understanding and its control is extremely important. The socioeconomic damage caused by a failure in these cables can be quite significant, from large economic losses to energy supply interruption in large regions. Dynamic Vibration Absorbers (DVA) are oscillatory elements used to mitigate the vibration of a primary system subjected to harmonic excitation. The positioning of Stockbridge (DVA for overhead transmission lines) plays an important role in mitigating oscillations of transmission lines caused by airflows. Nowadays, the positioning is defined by technical standards or commercial software. The aim of this paper is to conduct an analysis of multiple DVAs performances in cable conductors of overhead transmission lines. The cable is analyzed by a finite element method and the model is calibrated by experimental results. DVAs performance is analyzed by evaluating total cable energy, and a study of multiple DVAs positioning is conducted. The results are compared to the existing regulations showing situations where proper positioning, different from the standard, can lead to better performance of the DVA. Results also show situations where the use of multiple DVAs is appropriate.

Keywords: dynamical vibration absorber, finite element method, overhead transmission lines, structural dynamics

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Authors: K. H. Teng, A. Shaw, M. Ateeq, A. Al-Shamma'a, S. Wylie, S. N. Kazi, B. T. Chew

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Numerical and experimental of using novel electromagnetic wave technique to detect water hardness concentration has been presented in this paper. Simulation is powerful and efficient engineering methods which allow for a quick and accurate prediction of various engineering problems. The RF module is used in this research to predict and design electromagnetic wave propagation and resonance effect of a guided wave to detect water hardness concentration in term of frequency domain, eigenfrequency, and mode analysis. A cylindrical cavity resonator is simulated and designed in the electric field of fundamental mode (TM010). With the finite volume method, the three-dimensional governing equations were discretized. Boundary conditions for the simulation were the cavity materials like aluminum, two ports which include transmitting and receiving port, and assumption of vacuum inside the cavity. The design model was success to simulate a fundamental mode and extract S21 transmission signal within 2.1 – 2.8 GHz regions. The signal spectrum under effect of port selection technique and dielectric properties of different water concentration were studied. It is observed that the linear increment of magnitude in frequency domain when concentration increase. The numerical results were validated closely by the experimentally available data. Hence, conclusion for the available COMSOL simulation package is capable of providing acceptable data for microwave research.

Keywords: electromagnetic wave technique, frequency domain, signal spectrum, water hardness concentration

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Authors: Maulik L. Sisodia, Tirth K. Raval, Aarsh S. Mistry

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This paper summarizes the ongoing researches about the defects in both flexible and rigid pavement and the maintenance in both flexible and rigid pavements. Various defects in pavements have been identified since the existence of both flexible and rigid pavement. Flexible Pavement failure is defined in terms of decreasing serviceability caused by the development of cracks, ruts, potholes etc. Flexible Pavement structure can be destroyed in a single season due to water penetration. Defects in flexible pavements is a problem of multiple dimensions, phenomenal growth of vehicular traffic (in terms of no. of axle loading of commercial vehicles), the rapid expansion in the road network, non-availability of suitable technology, material, equipment, skilled labor and poor funds allocation have all added complexities to the problem of flexible pavements. In rigid pavements due to different type of destress the failure like joint spalling, faulting, shrinkage cracking, punch out, corner break etc. Application of correction in the existing surface will enhance the life of maintenance works as well as that of strengthening layer. Maintenance of a road network involves a variety of operations, i.e., identification of deficiencies and planning, programming and scheduling for actual implementation in the field and monitoring. The essential objective should be to keep the road surface and appurtenances in good condition and to extend the life of the road assets to its design life. The paper describes lessons learnt from pavement failures and problems experienced during the last few years on a number of projects in India. Broadly, the activities include identification of defects and the possible cause there off, determination of appropriate remedial measures; implement these in the field and monitoring of the results.

Keywords: Flexible Pavements, Rigid Pavements, Defects, Maintenance

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Authors: Bartlomiej Przybyszewski, Rafal Kozera, Katarzyna Zolynska, Anna Boczkowska, Daria Pakula

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The build-up and accumulation of dirt, ice, and snow on structural elements and vehicles is an unfavorable phenomenon, leading to economic losses and often also posing a threat to people. This problem occurs wherever the use of polymer coatings has become a standard, among others in photovoltaic farms, aviation, wind energy, and civil engineering. The accumulated pollution on the photovoltaic modules can reduce their efficiency by several percent, and snow stops power production. Accumulated ice on the blades of wind turbines or the wings of airplanes and drones disrupts the airflow by changing their shape, leading to increased drag and reduced efficiency. This results in costly maintenance and repairs. The goal of the work is to reduce or completely eliminate the accumulation of dirt, snow, and ice build-up on polymer coatings by achieving self-cleaning and icephobic properties. It is done by the use of a multi-step surface modification of the polymer nanocoatings. For this purpose, two methods of surface structuring and the preceding volumetric modification of the chemical composition with proprietary organosilicon compounds and/or mineral additives were used. To characterize the surface topography of the modified coatings, light profilometry was utilized. Measurements of the wettability parameters (static contact angle and contact angle hysteresis) on the investigated surfaces allowed to identify their wetting behavior and determine relation between hydrophobic and anti-icing properties. Ice adhesion strength was measured to assess coatings' anti-icing behavior.

Keywords: anti-icing properties, self-cleaning, polymer coatings, icephobic coatings

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Authors: Catherine Thompson, Maryam Jalali, Peter Hills

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The allocation of visual attention is critical when driving and anything that limits attention will have a detrimental impact on safety. Engaging in a secondary task reduces the amount of attention directed to the road because drivers allocate resources towards this task, leaving fewer resources to process driving-relevant information. Yet the dangers associated with a secondary task do not end when the driver returns their attention to the road. Instead, the attentional settings adopted to complete a secondary task may persist to the road, affecting attention, and therefore affecting driver performance. This 'attentional inertia' effect was investigated in the current work. Forty drivers searched for hazards in driving video clips while their eye-movements were recorded. At varying intervals they were instructed to attend to a secondary task displayed on a tablet situated to their left-hand side. The secondary task consisted of three separate computer games that induced horizontal, vertical, and random eye movements. Visual search and hazard detection in the driving clips were compared across the three conditions of the secondary task. Results showed that the layout of information in the secondary task, and therefore the allocation of attention in this task, had an impact on subsequent search in the driving clips. Vertically presented information reduced the wide horizontal spread of search usually associated with accurate driving and had a negative influence on the detection of hazards. The findings show the additional dangers of engaging in a secondary task while driving. The attentional inertia effect has significant implications for semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles in which drivers have greater opportunity to direct their attention away from the driving task.

Keywords: attention, eye-movements, hazard perception, visual search

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Abdul Azarrudin M. A., Pothiraj K., Kandasamy Satish

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In the current automobile scenario, there comes a demand on more sophistication and comfort drive feel on passenger segments. The clutch pedal effort is one such customer touch feels in manual transmission vehicles, where the driver continuous to operate the clutch pedal in his entire the driving maneuvers. Hence optimum pedal efforts at green condition and over mileage to be ensured for fatigue free the driving. As friction is one the predominant factor and its tendency to challenge the technicality by causing the function degradation. One such semi-hydraulic systems shows load efficiency of about 70-75% over lifetime only due to the increase in friction which leads to the increase in pedal effort and cause fatigue to the vehicle driver. This work deals with the study of friction with different interfaces and its influence in the fulcrum points over mileage, with the objective of understanding the trend over mileage and determining the alternative ways of resolving it. In that one way of methodology is the reduction of friction by experimental investigation of various friction reduction interfaces like metal-to-metal interface and it has been tried out and is detailed further. Also, the specific attention has been put up considering the fulcrum load and its contact interfaces to move on with this study. The main results of the experimental data with the influence of three different contact interfaces are being presented with an ultimate intention of ending up into less fatigue with longer consistent pedal effort, thus smoothens the operation of the end user. The Experimental validation also has been done through rig-level test setup to depict the performance at static condition and in-parallel vehicle level test has also been performed to record the additional influences if any.

Keywords: automobile, clutch, friction, fork

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Lovesh Goyal, Pushkar Dave, Prajyot Jadhav, GonnaYaswanth, Sakshi Giri, Sahil Dharme, Rushika Joshi, Rishabh Verma, Shital Chiddarwar

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With the rising need for human-robot interaction, researchers have proposed and tested multiple models with varying degrees of success. A few of these models performed on aerial platforms are commonly known as Tethered Aerial Systems. These aerial vehicles may be powered continuously by a tether cable, which addresses the predicament of the short battery life of quadcopters. This system finds applications to minimize humanitarian efforts for industrial, medical, agricultural, and service uses. However, a significant challenge in employing such systems is that it necessities attaining smooth and secure robot-human interaction while ensuring that the forces from the tether remain within the standard comfortable range for the humans. To tackle this problem, a hybrid control method that could switch between two control techniques: constant control input and the steady-state solution, is implemented. The constant control approach is implemented when a person is far from the target location, and error is thought to be eventually constant. The controller switches to the steady-state approach when the person reaches within a specific range of the goal position. Both strategies take into account human velocity feedback. This hybrid technique enhances the outcomes by assisting the person to reach the desired location while decreasing the human's unwanted disturbance throughout the process, thereby keeping the interaction between the robot and the subject smooth.

Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle, tethered system, physical human-robot interaction, hybrid control

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Authors: Kudu Dangana, Pai H. Halilu, Osesienemo R. Asiribo-Sallau, Garba Inuwa Kuta

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The study examined the determinants of household water accessibility in Southern part of Niger State, Nigeria. Data for the study was obtained from primary and secondary sources using questionnaire, interview, personal observation and documents. 1,192 questionnaires were administered; sampling techniques adopted are combination of purposive, stratified and simple random. Purposive sampling technique was used to determine sample frame; sample unit was determined using stratified sampling method and simple random technique was used in administering questionnaires. The result was analyzed within the scope of “WHO” water accessibility indicators using descriptive statistics. Major sources of water in the area are well; hand and electric pump borehole and streams. These sources account for over 90% of household’s water. Average per capita water consumption in the area is 22 liters per day, while location efficiency of facilities revealed an average of 80 people per borehole. Household water accessibility is affected mainly by the factors of distances, time spent to obtain water, low income status of the majority of respondents to access modern water infrastructure, and to a lesser extent household size. Recommendations includes, all tiers of government to intensify efforts in providing water infrastructures and existing ones through budgetary provisions, and communities should organize fund raising bazaar, so as to raise fund to improve water infrastructures in the area.

Keywords: accessibility, determined, stratified, scope

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Kamel A. Elshorbagy, Mohamed A. Hussein, Rola S. Afify

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Natural gas pressure reduction is typically achieved using pressure reducing valves, where isenthalpic expansion takes place with considerable amount of wasted energy in an irreversible throttling process of the gas. Replacing gas-throttling process by an expansion process in a turbo expander (TE) converts the pressure of natural gas into mechanical energy transmitted to a loading device (i.e. an electric generator). This paper investigates the performance of a turboexpander system for power recovery at natural gas pressure reduction stations. There is a considerable temperature drop associated with the turboexpander process. Essential preheating is required, using gas fired boilers, to avoid undesirable effects of a low outlet temperature. Various system configurations were simulated by the general flow sheet simulator HYSYS and factors affecting the overall performance of the systems were investigated. Power outputs and fuel requirements were found using typical gas flow variation data. The simulation was performed for two case studies in which real input data are used. These case studies involve a domestic (commercial) and an industrial natural gas pressure reduction stations in Egypt. Economic studies of using the turboexpander system in both of the two natural gas pressure reduction stations are conducted using precise data obtained through communication with several companies working in this field. The results of economic analysis, for the two case studies, prove that using turboexpander systems in Egyptian natural gas reduction stations can be a successful project for energy conservation.

Keywords: natural gas, power recovery, reduction stations, turboexpander systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Ruvaitha Banu, Amaladhithyan Krishnamoorthy

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IoT networks today solve various consumer problems, from home automation systems to aiding in driving autonomous vehicles with the exploration of multiple devices. For example, in an autonomous vehicle environment, multiple sensors are available on roads to monitor weather and road conditions and interact with each other to aid the vehicle in reaching its destination safely and timely. IoT systems are predominantly dependent on the cloud environment for data storage, and computing needs that result in latency problems. With the advent of Fog networks, some of this storage and computing is pushed to the edge/fog nodes, saving the network bandwidth and reducing the latency proportionally. Managing the data stored in these fog nodes becomes crucial as it might also store sensitive information required for a certain application. Data management in fog nodes is strenuous because Fog networks are dynamic in terms of their availability and hardware capability. It becomes more challenging when the nodes in the network also live a short span, detaching and joining frequently. When an end-user or Fog Node wants to access, read, or write data stored in another Fog Node, then a new protocol becomes necessary to access/manage the data stored in the fog devices as a conventional static way of managing the data doesn’t work in Fog Networks. The proposed solution discusses a protocol that acts by defining sensitivity levels for the data being written and read. Additionally, a distinct data distribution and replication model among the Fog nodes is established to decentralize the access mechanism. In this paper, the proposed model implements stewardship towards the data stored in the Fog node using the application of Reinforcement Learning so that access to the data is determined dynamically based on the requests.

Keywords: IoT, fog networks, data stewardship, dynamic access policy

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Authors: Sanchita Abrol, Kunal Rana, Ankit Dhir, S. K. Gupta

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According to N.R.E.L.’s findings, 700 crore gallons of petrol is used annually to run the air conditioners of passenger vehicles (nearly 6% of total fuel consumption in the USA). Beyond fuel use, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that refrigerant leaks from auto air conditioning units add an additional 5 crore metric tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere each year. The objective of our project is to deal with this vital issue by carefully modifying the interiors of a car thereby increasing its mileage and the efficiency of its engine. This would consequently result in a decrease in tail emission and generated pollution along with improved car performance. An automatic mechanism, deployed between the front and the rear seats, consisting of transparent thermal insulating sheet/curtain, would roll down as per the requirement of the driver in order to optimize the volume for effective air conditioning, when travelling alone or with a person. The reduction in effective volume will yield favourable results. Even on a mild sunny day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels. For a stationary parked car, insulation would be provided beneath its metal body so as to reduce the rate of heat transfer and increase the transmissivity. As a result, the car would not require a large amount of air conditioning for maintaining lower temperature, which would provide us similar benefits. Authors established the feasibility studies, system engineering and primarily theoretical and experimental results confirming the idea and motivation to fabricate and test the actual product.

Keywords: automation, car, cooling insulating curtains, heat optimization, insulation, reduction in tail emission, mileage

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Authors: Johannes Van Der Sandt

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This paper explores and reflects on the power of music, and more specific singing as an instrument for integration, inclusion, group cohesion, collective cooperation, repairing social relationships and facilitating dialogue between groups in conflict. The General Assembly of the United Nations has declared the 21st of September as International Day of Peace. This day is dedicated to advocate and strengthen among all people, an annual day to strive for no violence and cease-fire. What role does music play in strengthening ideals of peace? The findings of this paper is a result of field and online research as well as a literature survey to identify the most important examples of institutions, instruments or initiatives where music serves as a vehicle for the transmission and promoting of peace ideals and acting to assist movements for social change. Important examples where singing and music were used as tools for peace activism are the 1987 Estonian Singing Revolution and the more recent peace engagement in the Afghan Conflict, both very good examples of the cultural capital of the local population used as catalyst for promoting peace. The author offers a concise and relevant overview of such initiatives with the aim to validate the power of music and song as tools to support the United Nation’s Declaration on the Promotion Among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding Between Peoples: Young people should be educated and made aware of the ideals of peace. They should be educated in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect for one another in order to develop an attitude of striving for equal rights for all human beings, believing in economic and social growth for all, together with a belief in disarmament and working towards the maintenance of peace and security worldwide.

Keywords: conflict, music, peace, singing

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Roien Qiam, Shoshi Mizokami

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Parking demand in the Central Business District (CBD) has enlarged with the increase of the number of private vehicles due to rapid economic growth, lack of an efficient public transport and traffic management system. This has resulted in low mobility, poor accessibility, serious congestion, high rates of traffic accident fatalities and injuries and air pollution, mainly because people have to drive slowly around to find a vacant spot. With parking pricing and enforcement policy, considerable advancement could be found, and on-street parking spaces could be managed efficiently and effectively. To evaluate parking demand and making parking policy, it is required to understand the current parking condition and driver’s behavior, understand how drivers choose their parking type and location as well as their behavior toward finding a vacant parking spot under parking charges and search times. This study illustrates the result from an observational, revealed and stated preference surveys and experiment. Attained data shows that there is a gap between supply and demand in parking and it has maximized. For the modeling of the parking decision, a choice model was constructed based on discrete choice modeling theory and multinomial logit model estimated by using SP survey data; the model represents the choice of an alternative among different alternatives which are priced on-street, off-street, and illegal parking. Individuals choose a parking type based on their preference concerning parking charges, searching times, access times and waiting times. The parking assignment model was obtained directly from behavioral model and is used in parking simulation. The study concludes with an evaluation of parking policy.

Keywords: CBD, parking demand forecast, parking policy, parking choice model

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Meenakshi Verma, Mandeep Singh Bakshi, Kultar Singh

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Magnetic nanoparticles have received incredible importance in view of their diverse applications, which arise primarily due to their response to the external magnetic field. The magnetic behaviour of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) helps them in numerous different ways. The most important amongst them is the ease with which they can be purified and also can be separated from the media in which they are present merely by applying an external magnetic field. This exceptional ease of separation of the magnetic NPs from an aqueous media enables them to use for extracting/removing metal pollutants from complex aqueous medium. Functionalized magnetic NPs can be subjected for the metallic impurities extraction if are favourably adsorbed on the NPs surfaces. We have successfully used the magnetic NPs as vehicles for gold and silver NPs removal from the complex fluids. The NPs loaded with gold and silver NPs pollutant fractions has been easily removed from the aqueous media by using external magnetic field. Similarly, we have used the magnetic NPs for extraction of protein from complex media and then constantly washed with pure water to eliminate the unwanted surface adsorbed components for quantitative estimation. The purified and protein loaded magnetic NPs are best analyzed with SDS Page to not only for characterization but also for separating the protein fractions. A collective review of the results indicates that we have synthesized surfactant coated iron oxide NPs and then functionalized these with selected materials. These surface active magnetic NPs work very well for the extraction of metallic NPs from the aqueous bulk and make the whole process environmentally sustainable. Also, magnetic NPs-Au/Ag/Pd hybrids have excellent protein extracting properties. They are much easier to use in order to extract the magnetic impurities as well as protein fractions under the effect of external magnetic field without any complex conventional purification methods.

Keywords: magnetic nanoparticles, protein, functionalized, extraction

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Authors: Makhlouf Sandy, Adem Ziad, Taher Fadia, Magnier Sylvie

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The electronic structure of 90ZrS has been investigated using Ab-initio methods based on Complete Active Space Self Consistent Field and Multi-reference Configuration Interaction (CASSCF/MRCI). The number of predicted states has been extended to 14 singlet and 12 triplet lowest-lying states situated below 36000cm-1. The equilibrium energies of these 26 lowest-lying electronic states have been calculated in the 2S+1Λ(±) representation. The potential energy curves have been plotted in function of the inter-nuclear distances in a range of 1.5 to 4.5Å. Spectroscopic constants, permanent electric dipole moments and transition dipole moments between the different electronic states have also been determined. A discrepancy error of utmost 5% for the majority of values shows a good agreement with available experimental data. The ground state is found to be of symmetry X1Σ+ with an equilibrium inter-nuclear distance Re= 2.16Å. However, the (1)3Δ is the closest state to X1Σ+ and is situated at 514 cm-1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the spin-orbit coupling has been investigated for all the predicted states of ZrS. 52 electronic components in the Ω(±) representation have been predicted. The energies of these components, the spectroscopic constants ωe, ωeχe, βe and the equilibrium inter-nuclear distances have been also obtained. The percentage composition of the Ω state wave-functions in terms of S-Λ states was calculated to identify their corresponding main parents. These (SOC) calculations have determined the shift between (1)3Δ1 and X1Σ+ states and confirmed the ground state type being 1Σ+.

Keywords: CASSCF/MRCI, electronic structure, spin-orbit effect, zirconium monosulfide

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Badr Alharbi

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There is significant debate on the evolution of retail marketing as an economy matures. In penetrating new markets, global brands are efficient in establishing a presence and replacing less effective competitors by engaging in superior advertising, pricing and sometimes quality. However, national brands adapt over time and may either partner with global brands in distribution and services or directly compete more efficiently in the new, open market. This explorative study investigates brand preferences in Saudi Arabia. As a conservative society, which is nevertheless highly commercialised, Saudi Arabia markets could be fragmenting with consumer preferences and rejections based on country of origin, globalisation, or perhaps regionalisation. To investigate this, an online survey was distributed to Saudis in Jeddah to gather data on their preferences for travel, technology, clothes and accessories, eating out, vehicles, and influential brands. The results from 710 valid responses were that there are distinct regional and national brand preferences among the young Saudi men who contributed to the survey. Apart from a preference for Saudi food providers, airline preferences were the United Emirates, holiday preferences were Europe, study and work preferences were the United States, hotel preferences were United States-based, car preferences were Japanese, and clothing preferences were United States-based. The results were broadly in line with international research findings; however, the study participants varied from Arab research findings by describing themselves as innovative in their purchase selections, rarely loyal (exception of Apple products) and continually seeking new brand experiences. This survey contributes to an understanding of evolving Saudi consumer preferences.

Keywords: Saudi marketing, globalisation, country of origin, brand preferences

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Authors: M. Karimpour, L. Hitihamillage, N. Elkhoury, S. Moridpour, R. Hesami

Abstract:

Rail transport authorities around the world have been facing a significant challenge when predicting rail infrastructure maintenance work for a long period of time. Generally, maintenance monitoring and prediction is conducted manually. With the restrictions in economy, the rail transport authorities are in pursuit of improved modern methods, which can provide precise prediction of rail maintenance time and location. The expectation from such a method is to develop models to minimize the human error that is strongly related to manual prediction. Such models will help them in understanding how the track degradation occurs overtime under the change in different conditions (e.g. rail load, rail type, rail profile). They need a well-structured technique to identify the precise time that rail tracks fail in order to minimize the maintenance cost/time and secure the vehicles. The rail track characteristics that have been collected over the years will be used in developing rail track degradation prediction models. Since these data have been collected in large volumes and the data collection is done both electronically and manually, it is possible to have some errors. Sometimes these errors make it impossible to use them in prediction model development. This is one of the major drawbacks in rail track degradation prediction. An accurate model can play a key role in the estimation of the long-term behavior of rail tracks. Accurate models increase the track safety and decrease the cost of maintenance in long term. In this research, a short review of rail track degradation prediction models has been discussed before estimating rail track degradation for the curve sections of Melbourne tram track system using Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model.

Keywords: ANFIS, MGT, prediction modeling, rail track degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: Yongqin Zhang, John Lett

Abstract:

Geospatial technologies have been increasingly used in agriculture for various applications and purposes in recent years. Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) fit the needs of farmers in farming operations, from field spraying to grow cycles and crop health. In this research, we conducted a practical research project that used drone technology to design and map optimal locations and layouts of irrigation systems for agriculture farms. We flew a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to acquire aerial remote sensing images over two agriculture fields in Forest, Mississippi, in 2022. Flight plans were first designed to capture multiple high-resolution images via a 20-megapixel RGB camera mounted on the drone over the agriculture fields. The Drone Deploy web application was then utilized to develop flight plans and subsequent image processing and measurements. The images were orthorectified and processed to estimate the area of the area and measure the locations of the water line and sprinkle heads. Field measurements were conducted to measure the ground targets and validate the aerial measurements. Geospatial analysis and photogrammetric measurements were performed for the study area to determine optimal layout and quantitative estimates for irrigation systems. We created maps and tabular estimates to demonstrate the locations, spacing, amount, and layout of sprinkler heads and water lines to cover the agricultural fields. This research project provides scientific guidance to Mississippi farmers for a precision agricultural irrigation practice.

Keywords: drone images, agriculture, irrigation, geospatial analysis, photogrammetric measurements

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Rudy Bahouth, Farouk Benmeddour, Emmanuel Moulin, Jamal Assaad

Abstract:

Guided ultrasonic waves are used in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) for inspection and damage detection. Recently, wireless data transmission using ultrasonic waves in solid metallic channels has gained popularity in some industrial applications such as nuclear, aerospace and smart vehicles. The idea is to find a good substitute for electromagnetic waves since they are highly attenuated near metallic components due to Faraday shielding. The proposed solution is to use ultrasonic guided waves such as Lamb waves as an information carrier due to their capability of propagation for long distances. In addition to this, valuable information about the health of the structure could be extracted simultaneously. In this work, the reliable frequency bandwidth for communication is extracted experimentally from dispersion curves at first. Then, an experimental platform for wireless communication using Lamb waves is described and built. After this, coherent demodulation algorithm used in telecommunications is tested for Amplitude Shift Keying, On-Off Keying and Binary Phase Shift Keying modulation techniques. Signal processing parameters such as threshold choice, number of cycles per bit and Bit Rate are optimized. Experimental results are compared based on the average Bit Error Rate. Results have shown high sensitivity to threshold selection for Amplitude Shift Keying and On-Off Keying techniques resulting a Bit Rate decrease. Binary Phase Shift Keying technique shows the highest stability and data rate between all tested modulation techniques.

Keywords: lamb waves communication, wireless communication, coherent demodulation, bit error rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Yoftahe Nigussie Worku

Abstract:

This paper explores the utilization of vapor absorption refrigeration systems (VARS) as an alternative to the conventional vapor compression refrigerant systems (VCRS) in vehicle air conditioning (AC) systems. Currently, most vehicles employ VCRS, which relies on engine power to drive the compressor, leading to additional fuel consumption. In contrast, VARS harnesses low-grade heat, specifically from the exhaust of high-power internal combustion engines, reducing the burden on the vehicle's engine. The historical development of vapor absorption technology is outlined, dating back to Michael Faraday's discovery in 1824 and the subsequent creation of the first vapor absorption refrigeration machine by Ferdinand Carre in 1860. The paper delves into the fundamental principles of VARS, emphasizing the replacement of mechanical processes with physicochemical interactions, utilizing heat rather than mechanical work. The study compares the basic concepts of the current vapor compression systems with the proposed vapor absorption systems, highlighting the efficiency gains achieved by eliminating the need for engine-driven compressors. The vapor absorption refrigeration cycle (VARC) is detailed, focusing on the generator's role in separating and vaporizing ammonia, chosen for its low-temperature evaporation characteristics. The project's statement underscores the need for increased efficiency in vehicle AC systems beyond the limitations of VCRS. By introducing VARS, driven by low-grade heat, the paper advocates for a reduction in engine power consumption and, consequently, a decrease in fuel usage. This research contributes to the ongoing efforts to enhance sustainability and efficiency in automotive climate control systems.

Keywords: VCRS, VARS, efficiency, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Adel. M. Sharaf, Foad H. Gandoman

Abstract:

Nowadays, Photovoltaic-PV Farms/ Parks and large PV-Smart Grid Interface Schemes are emerging and commonly utilized in Renewable Energy distributed generation. However, PV-hybrid-Dc-Ac Schemes using interface power electronic converters usually has negative impact on power quality and stabilization of modern electrical network under load excursions and network fault conditions in smart grid. Consequently, robust FACTS based interface schemes are required to ensure efficient energy utilization and stabilization of bus voltages as well as limiting switching/fault onrush current condition. FACTS devices are also used in smart grid-Battery Interface and Storage Schemes with PV-Battery Storage hybrid systems as an elegant alternative to renewable energy utilization with backup battery storage for electric utility energy and demand side management to provide needed energy and power capacity under heavy load conditions. The paper presents a robust interface PV-Li-Ion Battery Storage Interface Scheme for Distribution/Utilization Low Voltage Interface using FACTS stabilization enhancement and dynamic maximum PV power tracking controllers. Digital simulation and validation of the proposed scheme is done using MATLAB/Simulink software environment for Low Voltage- Distribution/Utilization system feeding a hybrid Linear-Motorized inrush and nonlinear type loads from a DC-AC Interface VSC-6-pulse Inverter Fed from the PV Park/Farm with a back-up Li-Ion Storage Battery.

Keywords: AC FACTS, smart grid, stabilization, PV-battery storage, Switched Filter-Compensation (SFC)

Procedia PDF Downloads 407

Authors: Abeer K. Jameel, Harry Evdorides

Abstract:

The Assessment of the road safety performance is a challengeable issue. This is not only because of the ineffective and unreliability of road and traffic crash data system but also because of its systematic character. Recent strategic plans and interventions implemented in some of the developed countries where a significant decline in the rate of traffic and road crashes considers that the road safety is a system. This system consists of four main elements which are: road user, road infrastructure, vehicles and speed in addition to other supporting elements such as the institutional framework and post-crash care system. To assess the performance of a system, it is required to assess all its elements. To present an understandable results of the assessment, it is required to present a unique term representing the performance of the overall system. This paper aims to develop an overall performance indicator which may be used to assess the road safety system. The variables of this indicators are the main elements of the road safety system. The data regarding these variables will be collected from the World Health Organization report. Multi-criteria analysis method is used to aggregate the four sub-indicators for the four variables. Two weighting methods will be assumed, equal weights and different weights. For the different weights method, the factor analysis method is used. The weights then will be converting to scores. The total score will be the overall indicator for the road safety performance in a national scale. This indicator will be used to compare and rank countries according to their road safety performance indicator. The country with the higher score is the country which provides most sustainable and effective interventions for successful road safety system. These indicator will be tested by comparing them with the aggregate real crash rate for each country.

Keywords: factor analysis, Multi-criteria analysis, road safety assessment, safe system indicator

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Dylber Qema

Abstract:

Driven by recent developments in technology and the growing concern about the sustainability and environmental impact of conventional fuel use, the possibility of producing clean and sustainable energy in significant quantities from renewable energy sources has sparked interest all over the world. Solar energy is one of the sources for the generation of electricity, with no emissions or environmental pollution. The electricity produced by photovoltaics can supply a home or business and can even be sold or exchanged with the grid operator. A very positive effect of using photovoltaic modules is that they do not produce greenhouse gases and do not produce chemical waste, unlike all other forms of energy production. Photovoltaics are becoming one of the largest investments in the field of renewable generating units. Improving the reliability of the electric power system is one of the most important impacts of the installation of photovoltaics (PV). Renewable energy sources are so large that they can meet the energy demands of the whole world, thus enabling sustainable supply as well as reducing local and global atmospheric emissions. Albania is rated by experts as one of the most favorable countries in Europe for the production of electricity from solar panels. But the country currently produces about 1% of its energy from the sun, while the rest of the needs are met by hydropower plants and imports. Albania has very good characteristics in terms of solar radiation (about 1300–1400 kW/m2). Solar energy has great potential and is a permanent source of energy with greater economic efficiency. Photovoltaic energy is also seen as an alternative, as long periods of drought in Albania have produced crises and high costs for securing energy in the foreign market.

Keywords: capacity, ministry of tourism and environment, obstacles, photovoltaic energy, sustainable

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Hongbo Zhang, Xinlu Tang, Jiangwei Li, Chi Yan

Abstract:

Home zone parking pilot (HPP) is a fast-growing segment in low-speed autonomous driving applications. It requires the car automatically cruise around a parking lot and park itself in a range of up to 100 meters inside a recurrent home/office parking lot, which requires precise parking lot mapping and localization solution. Although Lidar is ideal for SLAM, the car OEMs favor a low-cost fish-eye camera based visual SLAM approach. Recent approaches have employed segmentation models to extract semantic features and improve mapping accuracy, but these AI models are memory unfriendly and computationally expensive, making deploying on embedded ADAS systems difficult. To address this issue, we proposed a new method that utilizes object detection models to extract robust and accurate parking lot features. The proposed method could reduce computational costs while maintaining high accuracy. Once combined with vehicles’ wheel-pulse information, the system could construct maps and locate the vehicle in real-time. This article will discuss in detail (1) the fish-eye based Around View Monitoring (AVM) with transparent chassis images as the inputs, (2) an Object Detection (OD) based feature point extraction algorithm to generate point cloud, (3) a low computational parking lot mapping algorithm and (4) the real-time localization algorithm. At last, we will demonstrate the experiment results with an embedded ADAS system installed on a real car in the underground parking lot.

Keywords: ADAS, home zone parking pilot, object detection, visual SLAM

Procedia PDF Downloads 64