Search results for: trip distribution
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5129

Search results for: trip distribution

3359 Convective Brinkman-Forchiemer Extended Flow through Channel Filled with Porous Material: An Approximate Analytical Approach

Authors: Basant K. Jha, M. L. Kaurangini

Abstract:

An approximate analytical solution is presented for convective flow in a horizontal channel filled with porous material. The Brinkman-Forchheimer extension of Darcy equation is utilized to model the fluid flow while the energy equation is utilized to model temperature distribution in the channel. The solutions were obtained utilizing the newly suggested technique and compared with those obtained from an implicit finite-difference solution.

Keywords: approximate analytical, convective flow, porous material, Brinkman-Forchiemer

Procedia PDF Downloads 370
3358 Nonlinear Homogenized Continuum Approach for Determining Peak Horizontal Floor Acceleration of Old Masonry Buildings

Authors: Andreas Rudisch, Ralf Lampert, Andreas Kolbitsch

Abstract:

It is a well-known fact among the engineering community that earthquakes with comparatively low magnitudes can cause serious damage to nonstructural components (NSCs) of buildings, even when the supporting structure performs relatively well. Past research works focused mainly on NSCs of nuclear power plants and industrial plants. Particular attention should also be given to architectural façade elements of old masonry buildings (e.g. ornamental figures, balustrades, vases), which are very vulnerable under seismic excitation. Large numbers of these historical nonstructural components (HiNSCs) can be found in highly frequented historical city centers and in the event of failure, they pose a significant danger to persons. In order to estimate the vulnerability of acceleration sensitive HiNSCs, the peak horizontal floor acceleration (PHFA) is used. The PHFA depends on the dynamic characteristics of the building, the ground excitation, and induced nonlinearities. Consequently, the PHFA can not be generalized as a simple function of height. In the present research work, an extensive case study was conducted to investigate the influence of induced nonlinearity on the PHFA for old masonry buildings. Probabilistic nonlinear FE time-history analyses considering three different hazard levels were performed. A set of eighteen synthetically generated ground motions was used as input to the structure models. An elastoplastic macro-model (multiPlas) for nonlinear homogenized continuum FE-calculation was calibrated to multiple scales and applied, taking specific failure mechanisms of masonry into account. The macro-model was calibrated according to the results of specific laboratory and cyclic in situ shear tests. The nonlinear macro-model is based on the concept of multi-surface rate-independent plasticity. Material damage or crack formation are detected by reducing the initial strength after failure due to shear or tensile stress. As a result, shear forces can only be transmitted to a limited extent by friction when the cracking begins. The tensile strength is reduced to zero. The first goal of the calibration was the consistency of the load-displacement curves between experiment and simulation. The calibrated macro-model matches well with regard to the initial stiffness and the maximum horizontal load. Another goal was the correct reproduction of the observed crack image and the plastic strain activities. Again the macro-model proved to work well in this case and shows very good correlation. The results of the case study show that there is significant scatter in the absolute distribution of the PHFA between the applied ground excitations. An absolute distribution along the normalized building height was determined in the framework of probability theory. It can be observed that the extent of nonlinear behavior varies for the three hazard levels. Due to the detailed scope of the present research work, a robust comparison with code-recommendations and simplified PHFA distributions are possible. The chosen methodology offers a chance to determine the distribution of PHFA along the building height of old masonry structures. This permits a proper hazard assessment of HiNSCs under seismic loads.

Keywords: nonlinear macro-model, nonstructural components, time-history analysis, unreinforced masonry

Procedia PDF Downloads 150
3357 Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis for Radon Dispersion Study and Mitigation

Authors: A. K. Visnuprasad, P. J. Jojo, Reshma Bhaskaran

Abstract:

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the distribution of indoor radon concentration in a living room with elevated levels of radon concentration which varies from 22 Bqm-3 to 1533 Bqm-3 in 24 hours. Finite volume method (FVM) was used for the simulation. The simulation results were experimentally validated at 16 points in two horizontal planes (y=1.4m & y=2.0m) using pin-hole dosimeters and at 3 points using scintillation radon monitor (SRM). Passive measurement using pin-hole dosimeters were performed in all seasons. Another simulation was done to find a suitable position for a passive ventilation system for the effective mitigation of radon.

Keywords: indoor radon, computational fluid dynamics, radon flux, ventilation rate, pin-hole dosimeter

Procedia PDF Downloads 392
3356 Morphological and Syntactic Meaning: An Interactive Crossword Puzzle Approach

Authors: Ibrahim Garba

Abstract:

This research involved the use of word distributions and morphological knowledge by speakers of Arabic learning English connected different allomorphs in order to realize how the morphology and syntax of English gives meaning through using interactive crossword puzzles (ICP). Fifteen chapters covered with a class of nine learners over an academic year of an intensive English program were reviewed using the ICP. Learners were questioned about how the use of this gaming element enhanced and motivated their learning of English. The findings were positive indicating a successful implementation of ICP both at creational and user levels. This indicated a positive role technology had when learning and teaching English through adopting an interactive gaming element for learning English.

Keywords: distribution, gaming, interactive-crossword-puzzle, morphology

Procedia PDF Downloads 313
3355 Clusterization Probability in 14N Nuclei

Authors: N. Burtebayev, Sh. Hamada, Zh. Kerimkulov, D. K. Alimov, A. V. Yushkov, N. Amangeldi, A. N. Bakhtibaev

Abstract:

The main aim of the current work is to examine if 14N is candidate to be clusterized nuclei or not. In order to check this attendance, we have measured the angular distributions for 14N ion beam elastically scattered on 12C target nuclei at different low energies; 17.5, 21, and 24.5MeV which are close to the Coulomb barrier energy for 14N+12C nuclear system. Study of various transfer reactions could provide us with useful information about the attendance of nuclei to be in a composite form (core + valence). The experimental data were analyzed using two approaches; Phenomenological (Optical Potential) and semi-microscopic (Double Folding Potential). The agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions is fairly good in the whole angular range.

Keywords: deuteron transfer, elastic scattering, optical model, double folding, density distribution

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3354 The Impacts Of Hydraulic Conditions On The Fate, Transport And Accumulation Of Microplastics Pollution In The Aquatic Ecosystems

Authors: Majid Rasta, Xiaotao Shi, Mian Adnan Kakakhel, Yanqin Bai, Lao Liu, Jia Manke

Abstract:

Microplastics (MPs; particles <5 mm) pollution is considered as a globally pervasive threat to aquatic ecosystems, and many studies reported this pollution in rivers, wetlands, lakes, coastal waters and oceans. In the aquatic environments, settling and transport of MPs in water column and sediments are determined by different factors such as hydrologic characteristics, watershed pattern, rainfall events, hydraulic conditions, vegetation, hydrodynamics behavior of MPs, and physical features of particles (shape, size and density). In the meantime, hydraulic conditions (such as turbulence, high/low water speed flows or water stagnation) play a key role in the fate of MPs in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, this study presents a briefly review on the effects of different hydraulic conditions on the fate, transport and accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems. Generally, MPs are distributed horizontally and vertically in aquatic environments. The vertical distribution of MPs in the water column changes with different flow velocities. In the riverine, turbulent flow causing from the rapid water velocity and shallow depth may create a homogeneous mixture of MPs throughout the water column. While low velocity followed by low-turbulent waters can lead to the low level vertical mixing of MP particles in the water column. Consequently, the high numbers of MPs are expected to be found in the sediments of deep and wide channels as well as estuaries. In contrast, observing the lowest accumulation of MP particles in the sediments of straights of the rivers, places with the highest flow velocity is understandable. In the marine environment, hydrodynamic factors (e.g., turbulence, current velocity and residual circulation) can affect the sedimentation and transportation of MPs and thus change the distribution of MPs in the marine and coastal sediments. For instance, marine bays are known as the accumulation area of MPs due to poor hydrodynamic conditions. On the other hand, in the nearshore zone, the flow conditions are highly complex and dynamic. Experimental studies illustrated that maximum horizontal flow velocity in the sandy beach can predict the accumulation of MPs so that particles with high sinking velocities deposit in the lower water depths. As a whole, it can be concluded that the transport and accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems are highly affected by hydraulic conditions. This study provided information about the impacts of hydraulic on MPs pollution. Further research on hydraulics and its relationship to the accumulation of MPs in aquatic ecosystems is needed to increase insights into this pollution.

Keywords: microplastics pollution, hydraulic, transport, accumulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 46
3353 Examining the Links between Fish Behaviour and Physiology for Resilience in the Anthropocene

Authors: Lauren A. Bailey, Amber R. Childs, Nicola C. James, Murray I. Duncan, Alexander Winkler, Warren M. Potts

Abstract:

Changes in behaviour and physiology are the most important responses of marine life to anthropogenic impacts such as climate change and over-fishing. Behavioural changes (such as a shift in distribution or changes in phenology) can ensure that a species remains in an environment suited for its optimal physiological performance. However, if marine life is unable to shift their distribution, they are reliant on physiological adaptation (either by broadening their metabolic curves to tolerate a range of stressors or by shifting their metabolic curves to maximize their performance at extreme stressors). However, since there are links between fish physiology and behaviour, changes to either of these traits may have reciprocal interactions. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the links between the behaviour and physiology of fishes, discusses these in the context of exploitation and climate change, and makes recommendations for future research needs. The review revealed that our understanding of the links between fish behaviour and physiology is rudimentary. However, both are hypothesized to be linked to stress responses along the hypothalamic pituitary axis. The link between physiological capacity and behaviour is particularly important as both determine the response of an individual to a changing climate and are under selection by fisheries. While it appears that all types of capture fisheries are likely to reduce the adaptive potential of fished populations to climate stressors, angling, which is primarily associated with recreational fishing, may induce fission of natural populations by removing individuals with bold behavioural traits and potentially the physiological traits required to facilitate behavioural change. Future research should focus on assessing how the links between physiological capacity and behaviour influence catchability, the response to climate change drivers, and post-release recovery. The plasticity of phenotypic traits should be examined under a range of stressors of differing intensity in several species and life history stages. Future studies should also assess plasticity (fission or fusion) in the phenotypic structuring of social hierarchy and how this influences habitat selection. Ultimately, to fully understand how physiology is influenced by the selective processes driven by fisheries, long-term monitoring of the physiological and behavioural structure of fished populations, their fitness, and catch rates are required.

Keywords: climate change, metabolic shifts, over-fishing, phenotypic plasticity, stress response

Procedia PDF Downloads 99
3352 Nanofocusing of Surface Plasmon Polaritons by Partially Metal- Coated Dielectric Conical Probe: Optimal Asymmetric Distance

Authors: Ngo Thi Thu, Kazuo Tanaka, Masahiro Tanaka, Dao Ngoc Chien

Abstract:

Nanometric superfocusing of optical intensity near the tip of partially metal- coated dielectric conical probe of the convergent surface plasmon polariton wave is investigated by the volume integral equation method. It is possible to perform nanofocusing using this probe by using both linearly and radially polarized Gaussian beams as the incident waves. Strongly localized and enhanced optical near-fields can be created on the tip of this probe for the cases of both incident Gaussian beams. However the intensity distribution near the probe tip was found to be very sensitive to the shape of the probe tip.

Keywords: waveguide, surface plasmons, electromagnetic theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 459
3351 Municipal Solid Waste Management and Analysis of Waste Generation: A Case Study of Bangkok, Thailand

Authors: Pitchayanin Sukholthaman

Abstract:

Gradually accumulated, the enormous amount of waste has caused tremendous adverse impacts to the world. Bangkok, Thailand, is chosen as an urban city of a developing country having coped with serious MSW problems due to the vast amount of waste generated, ineffective and improper waste management problems. Waste generation is the most important factor for successful planning of MSW management system. Thus, the prediction of MSW is a very important role to understand MSW distribution and characteristic; to be used for strategic planning issues. This study aims to find influencing variables that affect the amount of Bangkok MSW generation quantity.

Keywords: MSW generation, MSW quantity prediction, MSW management, multiple regression, Bangkok

Procedia PDF Downloads 405
3350 Using a GIS-Based Method for Green Infrastructure Accessibility of Different Socio-Economic Groups in Auckland, New Zealand

Authors: Jing Ma, Xindong An

Abstract:

Green infrastructure, the most important aspect of improving the quality of life, has been a crucial element of the liveability measurement. With demanding of more liveable urban environment from increasing population in city area, access to green infrastructure in walking distance should be taken into consideration. This article exemplifies the study on accessibility measurement of green infrastructure in central Auckland (New Zealand), using network analysis tool on the basis of GIS, to verify the accessibility levels of green infrastructure. It analyses the overall situation of green infrastructure and draws some conclusions on the city’s different levels of accessibility according to the categories and facilities distribution, which provides valuable references and guidance for the future facility improvement in planning strategies.

Keywords: quality of life, green infrastructure, GIS, accessibility

Procedia PDF Downloads 259
3349 A Study of Traffic Assignment Algorithms

Authors: Abdelfetah Laouzai, Rachid Ouafi

Abstract:

In a traffic network, users usually choose their way so that it reduces their travel time between pairs origin-destination. This behavior might seem selfish as it produces congestions in different parts of the network. The traffic assignment problem (TAP) models the interactions between congestion and user travel decisions to obtain vehicles flows over each axis of the traffic network. The resolution methods of TAP serve as a tool allows predicting users’ distribution, identifying congesting points and affecting the travelers’ behavior in the choice of their route in the network following dynamic data. In this article, we will present a review about specific resolution approach of TAP. A comparative analysis is carried out on those approaches so that it highlights the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each.

Keywords: network traffic, travel decisions, approaches, traffic assignment, flows

Procedia PDF Downloads 455
3348 Analysis of Waterjet Propulsion System for an Amphibious Vehicle

Authors: Nafsi K. Ashraf, C. V. Vipin, V. Anantha Subramanian

Abstract:

This paper reports the design of a waterjet propulsion system for an amphibious vehicle based on circulation distribution over the camber line for the sections of the impeller and stator. In contrast with the conventional waterjet design, the inlet duct is straight for water entry parallel and in line with the nozzle exit. The extended nozzle after the stator bowl makes the flow more axial further improving thrust delivery. Waterjet works on the principle of volume flow rate through the system and unlike the propeller, it is an internal flow system. The major difference between the propeller and the waterjet occurs at the flow passing the actuator. Though a ducted propeller could constitute the equivalent of waterjet propulsion, in a realistic situation, the nozzle area for the Waterjet would be proportionately larger to the inlet area and propeller disc area. Moreover, the flow rate through impeller disk is controlled by nozzle area. For these reasons the waterjet design is based on pump systems rather than propellers and therefore it is important to bring out the characteristics of the flow from this point of view. The analysis is carried out using computational fluid dynamics. Design of waterjet propulsion is carried out adapting the axial flow pump design and performance analysis was done with three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. With the varying environmental conditions as well as with the necessity of high discharge and low head along with the space confinement for the given amphibious vehicle, an axial pump design is suitable. The major problem of inlet velocity distribution is the large variation of velocity in the circumferential direction which gives rise to heavy blade loading that varies with time. The cavitation criteria have also been taken into account as per the hydrodynamic pump design. Generally, waterjet propulsion system can be parted into the inlet, the pump, the nozzle and the steering device. The pump further comprises an impeller and a stator. Analytical and numerical approaches such as RANSE solver has been undertaken to understand the performance of designed waterjet propulsion system. Unlike in case of propellers the analysis was based on head flow curve with efficiency and power curves. The modeling of the impeller is performed using rigid body motion approach. The realizable k-ϵ model has been used for turbulence modeling. The appropriate boundary conditions are applied for the domain, domain size and grid dependence studies are carried out.

Keywords: amphibious vehicle, CFD, impeller design, waterjet propulsion

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3347 Assessment of Drinking Water Contamination from the Water Source to the Consumer in Palapye Region, Botswana

Authors: Tshegofatso Galekgathege

Abstract:

Poor water quality is of great concern to human health as it can cause disease outbreaks. A standard practice today, in developed countries, is that people should be provided with safe-reliable drinking water, as safe drinking water is recognized as a basic human right and a cost effective measure of reducing diseases. Over 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe water supply and as a result, the majority are forced to use polluted surface or groundwater. It is widely accepted that our water supply systems are susceptible to the intentional or accidental contamination .Water quality degradation may occur anywhere in the path that water takes from the water source to the consumer. Chlorine is believed to be an effective tool in disinfecting water, but its concentration may decrease with time due to consumption by chemical reactions. This shows that we are at the risk of being infected by waterborne diseases if chlorine in water falls below the required level of 0.2-1mg/liter which should be maintained in water and some contaminants enter into the water distribution system. It is believed that the lack of adequate sanitation also contributes to the contamination of water globally. This study therefore, assesses drinking water contamination from the source to the consumer by identifying the point vulnerable to contamination from the source to the consumer in the study area .To identify the point vulnerable to contamination, water was sampled monthly from boreholes, water treatment plant, water distribution system (WDS), service reservoirs and consumer taps from all the twenty (20) villages of Palapye region. Sampled water was then taken to the laboratory for testing and analysis of microbiological and chemical parameters. Water quality analysis were then compared with Botswana drinking water quality standards (BOS32:2009) to see if they comply. Major sources of water contamination identified during site visits were the livestock which were found drinking stagnant water from leaking pipes in 90 percent of the villages. Soils structure around the area was negatively affected because of livestock movement even vegetation in the area. In conclusion microbiological parameters of water in the study area do not comply with drinking water standards, some microbiological parameters in water indicated that livestock do not only affect land degradation but also the quality of water. Chlorine has been applied to water over some years but it is not effective enough thus preventative measures have to be developed, to prevent contaminants from reaching water. Remember: Prevention is better than cure.

Keywords: land degradation, leaking systems, livestock, water contamination

Procedia PDF Downloads 338
3346 Index t-SNE: Tracking Dynamics of High-Dimensional Datasets with Coherent Embeddings

Authors: Gaelle Candel, David Naccache

Abstract:

t-SNE is an embedding method that the data science community has widely used. It helps two main tasks: to display results by coloring items according to the item class or feature value; and for forensic, giving a first overview of the dataset distribution. Two interesting characteristics of t-SNE are the structure preservation property and the answer to the crowding problem, where all neighbors in high dimensional space cannot be represented correctly in low dimensional space. t-SNE preserves the local neighborhood, and similar items are nicely spaced by adjusting to the local density. These two characteristics produce a meaningful representation, where the cluster area is proportional to its size in number, and relationships between clusters are materialized by closeness on the embedding. This algorithm is non-parametric. The transformation from a high to low dimensional space is described but not learned. Two initializations of the algorithm would lead to two different embeddings. In a forensic approach, analysts would like to compare two or more datasets using their embedding. A naive approach would be to embed all datasets together. However, this process is costly as the complexity of t-SNE is quadratic and would be infeasible for too many datasets. Another approach would be to learn a parametric model over an embedding built with a subset of data. While this approach is highly scalable, points could be mapped at the same exact position, making them indistinguishable. This type of model would be unable to adapt to new outliers nor concept drift. This paper presents a methodology to reuse an embedding to create a new one, where cluster positions are preserved. The optimization process minimizes two costs, one relative to the embedding shape and the second relative to the support embedding’ match. The embedding with the support process can be repeated more than once, with the newly obtained embedding. The successive embedding can be used to study the impact of one variable over the dataset distribution or monitor changes over time. This method has the same complexity as t-SNE per embedding, and memory requirements are only doubled. For a dataset of n elements sorted and split into k subsets, the total embedding complexity would be reduced from O(n²) to O(n²=k), and the memory requirement from n² to 2(n=k)², which enables computation on recent laptops. The method showed promising results on a real-world dataset, allowing to observe the birth, evolution, and death of clusters. The proposed approach facilitates identifying significant trends and changes, which empowers the monitoring high dimensional datasets’ dynamics.

Keywords: concept drift, data visualization, dimension reduction, embedding, monitoring, reusability, t-SNE, unsupervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 129
3345 Secure Image Encryption via Enhanced Fractional Order Chaotic Map

Authors: Ismail Haddad, Djamel Herbadji, Aissa Belmeguenai, Selma Boumerdassi

Abstract:

in this paper, we provide a novel approach for image encryption that employs the Fibonacci matrix and an enhanced fractional order chaotic map. The enhanced map overcomes the drawbacks of the classical map, especially the limited chaotic range and non-uniform distribution of chaotic sequences, resulting in a larger encryption key space. As a result, this strategy improves the encryption system's security. Our experimental results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm effectively encrypts grayscale images with exceptional efficiency. Furthermore, our technique is resistant to a wide range of potential attacks, including statistical and entropy attacks.

Keywords: image encryption, logistic map, fibonacci matrix, grayscale images

Procedia PDF Downloads 294
3344 Concept, Modules and Objectives of the Syllabus Course: Small Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources

Authors: Rade M. Ciric, Nikola L. J. Rajakovic

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This paper presents a curriculum of the subject small power plants and renewable energy sources, dealing with the concept of distributed generation, renewable energy sources, hydropower, wind farms, geothermal power plants, cogeneration plants, biogas plants of agriculture and animal origin, solar power and fuel cells. The course is taught the manner of connecting small power plants to the grid, the impact of small generators on the distribution system, as well as economic, environmental and legal aspects of operation of distributed generators.

Keywords: distributed generation, renewable energy sources, energy policy, curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 339
3343 Poly (N-Isopropyl Acrylamide-Co-Acrylic Acid)-Graft-Polyaspartate Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Molecular Imaging and Therapy

Authors: Van Tran Thi Thuy, Dukjoon Kim

Abstract:

A series of pH- and thermosensitive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) were synthesized by radical polymerization and grafted on poly succinimide backbones. The poly succinimide derivatives synthesized were coated on iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles for potential applications in drug delivery systems with theranostic and molecular imaging. The structure of polymer shell was confirmed by FT-IR, H-NMR spectroscopies. Its thermal behavior was tested by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The particle size and its distribution are measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The mean diameter of the core-shell structure is from 20 to 80 nm.

Keywords: magnetic, nano, PNIPAM, polysuccinimide

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3342 The Study of the Determinants of Impulse Buying in Algeria

Authors: Amina Merabet, Ali Iznasni, Abderrezzak Benhabib

Abstract:

Impulse buying is of strategic importance to distributors. Currently, distribution companies rely heavily on contextual variables (music, smells, colors, sound, design ...) in order to push customers towards purchase and consumption. As such, a crucial way for commercial brands to increase sales is to stimulate impulse buying. For this reason, this study aims at identifying the factors that initiate and encourage impulse buying, as well as the levers that help distributors highlight effective marketing techniques in order to encourage consumers to make impulse purchase. Thus, we try to show, upon a field survey of 590 buyers, the impact of situational elements of both the store and the product on achieving impulse buying.

Keywords: Algerian shoppers, impulse buying, shopping environment, situational variables, product

Procedia PDF Downloads 333
3341 Briquetting of Metal Chips by Controlled Impact: Experimental Study

Authors: Todor Penchev, Dimitar Karastojanov, Ivan Altaparmakov

Abstract:

For briquetting of metal chips are used hydraulic and mechanical presses. The density of the briquettes in this case is about 60% - 70 % on the density of solid metal. In this work are presented the results of experimental studies for briquetting of metal chips, by using a new technology for impact briquetting. The used chips are by Armco iron, steel, cast iron, copper, aluminum and brass. It has been found that: (i) in a controlled impact the density of the briquettes can be increases up to 30%; (ii) at the same specific impact energy Es (J/sm3) the density of the briquettes increases with increasing of the impact velocity; (iii), realization of the repeated impact leads to decrease of chips density, which can be explained by distribution of elastic waves in the briquette.

Keywords: briquetting, chips briquetting, impact briquetting, controlled impact

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3340 Vibrational Spectra and Nonlinear Optical Investigations of a Chalcone Derivative (2e)-3-[4-(Methylsulfanyl) Phenyl]-1-(3-Bromophenyl) Prop-2-En-1-One

Authors: Amit Kumar, Archana Gupta, Poonam Tandon, E. D. D’Silva

Abstract:

Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are the key materials for the fast processing of information and optical data storage applications. In the last decade, materials showing nonlinear optical properties have been the object of increasing attention by both experimental and computational points of view. Chalcones are one of the most important classes of cross conjugated NLO chromophores that are reported to exhibit good SHG efficiency, ultra fast optical nonlinearities and are easily crystallizable. The basic structure of chalcones is based on the π-conjugated system in which two aromatic rings are connected by a three-carbon α, β-unsaturated carbonyl system. Due to the overlap of π orbitals, delocalization of electronic charge distribution leads to a high mobility of the electron density. On a molecular scale, the extent of charge transfer across the NLO chromophore determines the level of SHG output. Hence, the functionalization of both ends of the π-bond system with appropriate electron donor and acceptor groups can enhance the asymmetric electronic distribution in either or both ground and excited states, leading to an increased optical nonlinearity. In this research, the experimental and theoretical study on the structure and vibrations of (2E)-3-[4-(methylsulfanyl) phenyl]-1-(3-bromophenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (3Br4MSP) is presented. The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of the NLO material in the solid phase have been recorded. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at B3LYP with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set were carried out to study the equilibrium geometry, vibrational wavenumbers, infrared absorbance and Raman scattering activities. The interpretation of vibrational features (normal mode assignments, for instance) has an invaluable aid from DFT calculations that provide a quantum-mechanical description of the electronic energies and forces involved. Perturbation theory allows one to obtain the vibrational normal modes by estimating the derivatives of the Kohn−Sham energy with respect to atomic displacements. The molecular hyperpolarizability β plays a chief role in the NLO properties, and a systematical study on β has been carried out. Furthermore, the first order hyperpolarizability (β) and the related properties such as dipole moment (μ) and polarizability (α) of the title molecule are evaluated by Finite Field (FF) approach. The electronic α and β of the studied molecule are 41.907×10-24 and 79.035×10-24 e.s.u. respectively, indicating that 3Br4MSP can be used as a good nonlinear optical material.

Keywords: DFT, MEP, NLO, vibrational spectra

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3339 Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Torque in a Small Gap Taylor-Couette Flow with Smooth and Grooved Surface

Authors: L. Joseph, B. Farid, F. Ravelet

Abstract:

Fundamental studies were performed on bifurcation, instabilities and turbulence in Taylor-Couette flow and applied to many engineering applications like astrophysics models in the accretion disks, shrouded fans, and electric motors. Such rotating machinery performances need to have a better understanding of the fluid flow distribution to quantify the power losses and the heat transfer distribution. The present investigation is focused on high gap ratio of Taylor-Couette flow with high rotational speeds, for smooth and grooved surfaces. So far, few works has been done in a very narrow gap and with very high rotation rates and, to the best of our knowledge, not with this combination with grooved surface. We study numerically the turbulent flow between two coaxial cylinders where R1 and R2 are the inner and outer radii respectively, where only the inner is rotating. The gap between the rotor and the stator varies between 0.5 and 2 mm, which corresponds to a radius ratio η = R1/R2 between 0.96 and 0.99 and an aspect ratio Γ= L/d between 50 and 200, where L is the length of the rotor and d being the gap between the two cylinders. The scaling of the torque with the Reynolds number is determined at different gaps for different smooth and grooved surfaces (and also with different number of grooves). The fluid in the gap is air. Re varies between 8000 and 30000. Another dimensionless parameter that plays an important role in the distinction of the regime of the flow is the Taylor number that corresponds to the ratio between the centrifugal forces and the viscous forces (from 6.7 X 105 to 4.2 X 107). The torque will be first evaluated with RANS and U-RANS models, and compared to empirical models and experimental results. A mesh convergence study has been done for each rotor-stator combination. The results of the torque are compared to different meshes in 2D dimensions. For the smooth surfaces, the models used overestimate the torque compared to the empirical equations that exist in the bibliography. The closest models to the empirical models are those solving the equations near to the wall. The greatest torque achieved with grooved surface. The tangential velocity in the gap was always higher in between the rotor and the stator and not on the wall of rotor. Also the greater one was in the groove in the recirculation zones. In order to avoid endwall effects, long cylinders are used in our setup (100 mm), torque is measured by a co-rotating torquemeter. The rotor is driven by an air turbine of an automotive turbo-compressor for high angular velocities. The results of the experimental measurements are at rotational speed of up to 50 000 rpm. The first experimental results are in agreement with numerical ones. Currently, quantitative study is performed on grooved surface, to determine the effect of number of grooves on the torque, experimentally and numerically.

Keywords: Taylor-Couette flow, high gap ratio, grooved surface, high speed

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3338 Nursing Professionals’ Perception of the Work Environment, Safety Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Brazilian Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors: Ana Claudia de Souza Costa, Beatriz de Cássia Pinheiro Goulart, Karine de Cássia Cavalari, Henrique Ceretta Oliveira, Edineis de Brito Guirardello

Abstract:

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing represents the largest category of health professionals who were on the front line. Thus, investigating the practice environment and the job satisfaction of nursing professionals during the pandemic becomes fundamental since it reflects on the quality of care and the safety climate. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the nursing professionals' perception of the work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate of the different hospitals and work shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This is a cross-sectional survey with 130 nursing professionals from public, private and mixed hospitals in Brazil. For data collection, was used an electronic form containing the personal and occupational variables, work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests according to the data distribution. The distribution was evaluated by means of the Shapiro-Wilk test. The analysis was done in the SPSS 23 software, and it was considered a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35 years (±9.8), with a mean time of 6.4 years (±6.7) of working experience in the institution. Overall, the nursing professionals evaluated the work environment as favorable; they were dissatisfied with their job in terms of pay, promotion, benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures and satisfied with coworkers, nature of work, supervision, and communication, and had a negative perception of the safety climate. When comparing the hospitals, it was found that they did not differ in their perception of the work environment and safety climate. However, they differed with regard to job satisfaction, demonstrating that nursing professionals from public hospitals were more dissatisfied with their work with regard to promotion when compared to professionals from private (p=0.02) and mixed hospitals (p< 0.01) and nursing professionals from mixed hospitals were more satisfied than those from private hospitals (p= 0.04) with regard to supervision. Participants working in night shifts had the worst perception of the work environment related to nurse participation in hospital affairs (p= 0.02), nursing foundations for quality care (p= 0.01), nurse manager ability, leadership and support (p= 0.02), safety climate (p< 0.01), job satisfaction related to contingent rewards (p= 0.04), nature of work (p= 0.03) and supervision (p< 0.01). Conclusion: The nursing professionals had a favorable perception of the environment and safety climate but differed among hospitals regarding job satisfaction for the promotion and supervision domains. There was also a difference between the participants regarding the work shifts, being the night shifts, those with the lowest scores, except for satisfaction with operational conditions.

Keywords: health facility environment, job satisfaction, patient safety, nursing

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3337 Impact of Water Courses Lining on Water Quality and Distribution of Aquatic Vegetations in Two Egyptian Governorates

Authors: Nahed M. M. Ismail, Bayoumy B. Mostafa, Ahmed Abdel-Kader, Khalil M. El-Said, Asmaa Abdel-Motleb, Hoda M. Abu Taleb

Abstract:

This study was carried out in lined and unlined watercourses in Beheira and Giza governorates to investigate the effect of water canals lining on water quality and aquatic vegetations. Samples of water and aquatic plants were collected from the examining sites during four seasons in two successive years. The main ecological parameters were recorded and water quality was measured. Results showed that the mean value of water conductivity and total dissolved salts in lined sites was significantly lower than those of unlined ones (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). In Beheira, the dissolved oxygen concentrations during autumn and winter were higher in lined sites (3.93±1.3 and 9.6±1.1 ppm, respectively) than those of unlined ones (the same values of 1.2±0.6 ppm). However, it represented by lower values of 5.77±6.05 and 4.9±1.8 ppm in lined watercourses in spring and summer, respectively, comparing with those in unlined ones (14.05±5.59 and 5.83±0.8 ppm, respectively). Generally, Zn, Pb, Fe, Cd were higher in both lined and unlined sites during summer than the other seasons. However, Zn and Fe were higher in lined sites (0.78±0.37 and 17.4±4.3 ppb, respectively) during summer than that of unlined ones (0.4±0.1 and 10.95±1.93 ppb, respectively). Cu was absent during summer in lined and unlined sites and only in unlined ones during spring. Regarding to Giza sites, Cu and Pb were absent in both lined and unlined sites during summer and only in unlined ones during spring. Whereas, Fe recorded higher values in autumn in both lined (8.8±20.1 ppb) and unlined sites (15.16±3 ppb) than the other seasons. Present survey study revealed that 13 species of aquatic plants were collected from lined and unlined sites in Beheira and Giza governorates. Eichhornia crassipes, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Potamogeton sp. were the only plant species infested the examined sites during autumn and winter in Beheira. In autumn C. demersum was the only plant found in lined sites represented by highly lower significant percentage (12.5% of the all examined sites) compared to the unlined sites (50%). E. crassipes was completely absent in the lined sites during the two seasons. In spring, there is only 3 plant species in lined sites compared to 6 ones in unlined. Also, in summer, there is only 2 species in lined sites comparing with 5 in unlined. The percentage of occurrence and density of these plants was highly significant (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) higher in unlined sites compared to the lined ones during all seasons. A diversity of plant species, E. crassipes, C. demersum, Jussias repens, Lemma giba, and Polygonum serr were the most abundant in many examined sites during all seasons in Giza. In summer, the percentage of sites containing the two plants E. crassipes (83.3%) and C. demersum (50%) was highly significant (p < 0.001) higher in unlined sites compared to the lined ones (50% and 0.0%, respectively). It concluded from the results that watercourses lining may play a significant role in preserving water with a good quality and reduces the distribution of aquatic vegetation which rendered the current of water.

Keywords: aquatic plants, lining of watercourses, physicochemical parameters, water quality

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3336 Analysis of Creative City Indicators in Isfahan City, Iran

Authors: Reza Mokhtari Malek Abadi, Mohsen Saghaei, Fatemeh Iman

Abstract:

This paper investigates the indices of a creative city in Isfahan. Its main aim is to evaluate quantitative status of the creative city indices in Isfahan city, analyze the dispersion and distribution of these indices in Isfahan city. Concerning these, this study tries to analyze the creative city indices in fifteen area of Isfahan through secondary data, questionnaire, TOPSIS model, Shannon entropy and SPSS. Based on this, the fifteen areas of Isfahan city have been ranked with 12 factors of creative city indices. The results of studies show that fifteen areas of Isfahan city are not equally benefiting from creative indices and there is much difference between the areas of Isfahan city.

Keywords: grading, creative city, creative city evaluation indicators, regional planning model

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3335 Data Stream Association Rule Mining with Cloud Computing

Authors: B. Suraj Aravind, M. H. M. Krishna Prasad

Abstract:

There exist emerging applications of data streams that require association rule mining, such as network traffic monitoring, web click streams analysis, sensor data, data from satellites etc. Data streams typically arrive continuously in high speed with huge amount and changing data distribution. This raises new issues that need to be considered when developing association rule mining techniques for stream data. This paper proposes to introduce an improved data stream association rule mining algorithm by eliminating the limitation of resources. For this, the concept of cloud computing is used. Inclusion of this may lead to additional unknown problems which needs further research.

Keywords: data stream, association rule mining, cloud computing, frequent itemsets

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3334 Chitosan-Whey Protein Isolate Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Delivery Systems

Authors: Zahra Yadollahi, Marjan Motiei, Natalia Kazantseva, Petr Saha

Abstract:

Chitosan (CS)-whey protein isolate (WPI) core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized through self-assembly of whey protein isolated polyanions and chitosan polycations in the presence of tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a crosslinker. The formation of this type of nanostructures with narrow particle size distribution is crucial for developing delivery systems since the functional characteristics highly depend on their sizes. To achieve this goal, the nanostructure was optimized by varying the concentrations of WPI, CS, and TPP in the reaction mixture. The chemical characteristics, surface morphology, and particle size of the nanoparticles were evaluated.

Keywords: whey protein isolated, chitosan, nanoparticles, delivery system

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3333 Impact of Harmonic Resonance and V-THD in Sohar Industrial Port–C Substation

Authors: R. S. Al Abri, M. H. Albadi, M. H. Al Abri, U. K. Al Rasbi, M. H. Al Hasni, S. M. Al Shidi

Abstract:

This paper presents an analysis study on the impacts of the changes of the capacitor banks, the loss of a transformer, and the installation of distributed generation on the voltage total harmonic distortion and harmonic resonance. The study is applied in a real system in Oman, Sohar Industrial Port–C Substation Network. Frequency scan method and Fourier series analysis method are used with the help of EDSA software. Moreover, the results are compared with limits specified by national Oman distribution code.

Keywords: power quality, capacitor bank, voltage total harmonics distortion, harmonic resonance, frequency scan

Procedia PDF Downloads 600
3332 Reviewing Privacy Preserving Distributed Data Mining

Authors: Sajjad Baghernezhad, Saeideh Baghernezhad

Abstract:

Nowadays considering human involved in increasing data development some methods such as data mining to extract science are unavoidable. One of the discussions of data mining is inherent distribution of the data usually the bases creating or receiving such data belong to corporate or non-corporate persons and do not give their information freely to others. Yet there is no guarantee to enable someone to mine special data without entering in the owner’s privacy. Sending data and then gathering them by each vertical or horizontal software depends on the type of their preserving type and also executed to improve data privacy. In this study it was attempted to compare comprehensively preserving data methods; also general methods such as random data, coding and strong and weak points of each one are examined.

Keywords: data mining, distributed data mining, privacy protection, privacy preserving

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3331 Spatial Variability of Renieramycin-M Production in the Philippine Blue Sponge, Xestospongia Sp.

Authors: Geminne Manzano, Porfirio Aliño, Clairecynth Yu, Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes, Viviene Santiago

Abstract:

Many marine benthic organisms produce secondary metabolites that serve as ecological roles to different biological and environmental factors. The secondary metabolites found in these organisms like algae, sponges, tunicates and worms exhibit variation at different scales. Understanding the chemical variation can be essential in deriving the evolutionary and ecological function of the secondary metabolites that may explain their patterns. Ecological surveys were performed on two collection sites representing from two Philippine marine biogeographic regions – in Oriental Mindoro located on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and in Zamboanga del Sur located at Celebes Sea (CS), where a total of 39 Xestospongia sp. sponges were collected using SCUBA. The sponge samples were transported to the laboratory for taxonomic identification and chemical analysis. Biological and environmental factors were investigated to determine their relation to the abundance and distribution patterns and its spatial variability of their secondary metabolite production. Extracts were subjected to thin-layer chromatography and anti-proliferative assays to confirm the presence of Renieramycin-M and to test its cytotoxicity. The blue sponges were found to be more abundant on the WPS than in CS. Both the benthic community and the fish community in Oriental Mindoro, WPS and Zamboanga del Sur, CS sites are characterized by high species diversity and abundance and a very high biomass category. Environmental factors like depth and monsoonal exposure were also compared showing that wave exposure and depth are associated with the abundance and distribution of the sponges. Renieramycin-M presence using the TLC profiles between the sponge extracts from WPS and from CS showed differences in the Reniermycin-M presence and the presence of other functional groups were observed between the two sites. In terms of bioactivity, different responses were also exhibited by the sponge extracts coming from the different region. Different responses were also noted on its bioactivity depending on the cell lines tested. Exploring the influence of ecological parameters on the chemical variation can provide deeper chemical ecological insights in the knowledge and their potential varied applications at different scales. The results of this study provide further impetus in pursuing studies into patterns and processes of the chemical diversity of the Philippine blue sponge, Xestospongia sp. and the chemical ecological significance of the coral triangle.

Keywords: chemical ecology, porifera, renieramycin-m, spatial variability, Xestospongia sp.

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3330 Alteration of Bone Strength in Osteoporosis of Mouse Femora: Computational Study Based on Micro CT Images

Authors: Changsoo Chon, Sangkuy Han, Donghyun Seo, Jihyung Park, Bokku Kang, Hansung Kim, Keyoungjin Chun, Cheolwoong Ko

Abstract:

The purpose of the study is to develop a finite element model based on 3D bone structural images of Micro-CT and to analyze the stress distribution for the osteoporosis mouse femora. In this study, results of finite element analysis show that the early osteoporosis of mouse model decreased a bone density in trabecular region; however, the bone density in cortical region increased.

Keywords: micro-CT, finite element analysis, osteoporosis, bone strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 345