Search results for: reflection noise
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1923

Search results for: reflection noise

1743 Hearing Threshold Levels among Steel Industry Workers in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand

Authors: Petcharat  Kerdonfag, Surasak Taneepanichskul, Winai Wadwongtham

Abstract:

Industrial noise is usually considered as the main impact of the environmental health and safety because its exposure can cause permanently serious hearing damage. Despite providing strictly hearing protection standards and campaigning extensively encouraging public health awareness among industrial workers in Thailand, hazard noise-induced hearing loss has dramatically been massive obstacles for workers’ health. The aims of the study were to explore and specify the hearing threshold levels among steel industrial workers responsible in which higher noise levels of work zone and to examine the relationships of hearing loss and workers’ age and the length of employment in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Cross-sectional study design was done. Ninety-three steel industrial workers in the designated zone of higher noise (> 85dBA) with more than 1 year of employment from two factories by simple random sampling and available to participate in were assessed by the audiometric screening at regional Samut Prakan hospital. Data of doing screening were collected from October to December, 2016 by the occupational medicine physician and a qualified occupational nurse. All participants were examined by the same examiners for the validity. An Audiometric testing was performed at least 14 hours after the last noise exposure from the workplace. Workers’ age and the length of employment were gathered by the developed occupational record form. Results: The range of workers’ age was from 23 to 59 years, (Mean = 41.67, SD = 9.69) and the length of employment was from 1 to 39 years, (Mean = 13.99, SD = 9.88). Fifty three (60.0%) out of all participants have been exposing to the hazard of noise in the workplace for more than 10 years. Twenty-three (24.7%) of them have been exposing to the hazard of noise less than or equal to 5 years. Seventeen (18.3%) of them have been exposing to the hazard of noise for 5 to 10 years. Using the cut point of less than or equal to 25 dBA of hearing thresholds, the average means of hearing thresholds for participants at 4, 6, and 8 kHz were 31.34, 29.62, and 25.64 dB, respectively for the right ear and 40.15, 32.20, and 25.48 dB for the left ear, respectively. The more developing age of workers in the work zone with hazard of noise, the more the hearing thresholds would be increasing at frequencies of 4, 6, and 8 kHz (p =.012, p =.026, p =.024) for the right ear, respectively and for the left ear only at the frequency 4 kHz (p =.009). Conclusion: The participants’ age in the hazard of noise work zone was significantly associated with the hearing loss in different levels while the length of participants’ employment was not significantly associated with the hearing loss. Thus hearing threshold levels among industrial workers would be regularly assessed and needed to be protected at the beginning of working.

Keywords: hearing threshold levels, hazard of noise, hearing loss, audiometric testing

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1742 Speech Intelligibility Improvement Using Variable Level Decomposition DWT

Authors: Samba Raju, Chiluveru, Manoj Tripathy

Abstract:

Intelligibility is an essential characteristic of a speech signal, which is used to help in the understanding of information in speech signal. Background noise in the environment can deteriorate the intelligibility of a recorded speech. In this paper, we presented a simple variance subtracted - variable level discrete wavelet transform, which improve the intelligibility of speech. The proposed algorithm does not require an explicit estimation of noise, i.e., prior knowledge of the noise; hence, it is easy to implement, and it reduces the computational burden. The proposed algorithm decides a separate decomposition level for each frame based on signal dominant and dominant noise criteria. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated with speech intelligibility measure (STOI), and results obtained are compared with Universal Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) thresholding and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) methods. The experimental results revealed that the proposed scheme outperformed competing methods

Keywords: discrete wavelet transform, speech intelligibility, STOI, standard deviation

Procedia PDF Downloads 145
1741 Construction Noise Control: Hong Kong Reviews International Best Practices

Authors: Morgan Cheng, Wilson Ho, Max Yiu, Dragon Tsui, Wylog Wong, Richard Kwan, K. C. Lam, Hannah Lo, C. L. Wong

Abstract:

Hong Kong has been known worldwide for its ability to thrive under trying circumstances. The 7.5 million residents of this mature and busy metropolis are living in a primarily high-rise city whereby development and renewal of the cityscape are taking place unceasingly. Hong Kong residents are therefore affected by the virtually continuous and numerous construction activities. In 2020, the Hong Kong environmental protection department (EPD) completed a feasibility study on managing construction noise, including those associated with the renovation of domestic premises. Part of the study was the review of management and control of construction noise in other metropolitan cities globally. As far as the authors are aware of, such worldwide and extensive review of best practices on construction noise control has not been conducted for over 20 years. In order to benefit from international best practices, the extensive review is to identify possible areas for improvement in Hong Kong. The consultant of the study first referred to the United Nations Report ‘The World’s Cities in 2016’ and examined the top 100 cities therein. The 20 most suitable cities were then chosen for further review. Upon screening of each of these 20 cities, 12 cities with the more relevant management practices were selected for further scrutiny. These 12 cities were: Asia – Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Guangzhou, Singapore; Europe – City of Westminster (London), Berlin; North America – Toronto, New York City, San Francisco; Oceania – Sydney, Melbourne. Afterwards, three cities, namely Sydney, City of Westminster, and New York City, were selected for in-depth review. These cities were chosen primarily because of the maturity, success, and effectiveness of their construction noise management and control measures, as well as their similarity to Hong Kong in key and selected aspects. One of the more important findings of the review is the usefulness of early focus, with the aim of designing the noise issues away wherever practicable. The consultant examined the similar yet different construction noise early focus mechanisms of the three cities. This paper describes this landmark worldwide and extensive review of international best practices on construction noise management and control. The methodology, approach, and key findings are presented to give readers a succinct yet comprehensive view. The authors shared the findings with the acoustics professionals worldwide with the hope of global advancement of more mature construction noise management while welcoming sustainable development and construction.

Keywords: construction noise, international best practices, noise control, noise management

Procedia PDF Downloads 135
1740 Speech Perception by Monolingual and Bilingual Dravidian Speakers under Adverse Listening Conditions

Authors: S. B. Rathna Kumar, Sale Kranthi, Sandya K. Varudhini

Abstract:

The precise perception of spoken language is influenced by several variables, including the listeners’ native language, distance between speaker and listener, reverberation and background noise. When noise is present in an acoustic environment, it masks the speech signal resulting in reduction in the redundancy of the acoustic and linguistic cues of speech. There is strong evidence that bilinguals face difficulty in speech perception for their second language compared with monolingual speakers under adverse listening conditions such as presence of background noise. This difficulty persists even for speakers who are highly proficient in their second language and is greater in those who have learned the second language later in life. The present study aimed to assess the performance of monolingual (Telugu speaking) and bilingual (Tamil as first language and Telugu as second language) speakers on Telugu speech perception task under quiet and noisy environments. The results indicated that both the groups performed similar in both quiet and noisy environments. The findings of the present study are not in accordance with the findings of previous studies which strongly report poorer speech perception in adverse listening conditions such as noise with bilingual speakers for their second language compared with monolinguals.

Keywords: monolingual, bilingual, second language, speech perception, quiet, noise

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1739 Dual-Channel Multi-Band Spectral Subtraction Algorithm Dedicated to a Bilateral Cochlear Implant

Authors: Fathi Kallel, Ahmed Ben Hamida, Christian Berger-Vachon

Abstract:

In this paper, a Speech Enhancement Algorithm based on Multi-Band Spectral Subtraction (MBSS) principle is evaluated for Bilateral Cochlear Implant (BCI) users. Specifically, dual-channel noise power spectral estimation algorithm using Power Spectral Densities (PSD) and Cross Power Spectral Densities (CPSD) of the observed signals is studied. The enhanced speech signal is obtained using Dual-Channel Multi-Band Spectral Subtraction ‘DC-MBSS’ algorithm. For performance evaluation, objective speech assessment test relying on Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) score is performed to fix the optimal number of frequency bands needed in DC-MBSS algorithm. In order to evaluate the speech intelligibility, subjective listening tests are assessed with 3 deafened BCI patients. Experimental results obtained using French Lafon database corrupted by an additive babble noise at different Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR) showed that DC-MBSS algorithm improves speech understanding for single and multiple interfering noise sources.

Keywords: speech enhancement, spectral substracion, noise estimation, cochlear impalnt

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1738 DWT-SATS Based Detection of Image Region Cloning

Authors: Michael Zimba

Abstract:

A duplicated image region may be subjected to a number of attacks such as noise addition, compression, reflection, rotation, and scaling with the intention of either merely mating it to its targeted neighborhood or preventing its detection. In this paper, we present an effective and robust method of detecting duplicated regions inclusive of those affected by the various attacks. In order to reduce the dimension of the image, the proposed algorithm firstly performs discrete wavelet transform, DWT, of a suspicious image. However, unlike most existing copy move image forgery (CMIF) detection algorithms operating in the DWT domain which extract only the low frequency sub-band of the DWT of the suspicious image thereby leaving valuable information in the other three sub-bands, the proposed algorithm simultaneously extracts features from all the four sub-bands. The extracted features are not only more accurate representation of image regions but also robust to additive noise, JPEG compression, and affine transformation. Furthermore, principal component analysis-eigenvalue decomposition, PCA-EVD, is applied to reduce the dimension of the features. The extracted features are then sorted using the more computationally efficient Radix Sort algorithm. Finally, same affine transformation selection, SATS, a duplication verification method, is applied to detect duplicated regions. The proposed algorithm is not only fast but also more robust to attacks compared to the related CMIF detection algorithms. The experimental results show high detection rates.

Keywords: affine transformation, discrete wavelet transform, radix sort, SATS

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1737 Filtering and Reconstruction System for Grey-Level Forensic Images

Authors: Ahd Aljarf, Saad Amin

Abstract:

Images are important source of information used as evidence during any investigation process. Their clarity and accuracy is essential and of the utmost importance for any investigation. Images are vulnerable to losing blocks and having noise added to them either after alteration or when the image was taken initially, therefore, having a high performance image processing system and it is implementation is very important in a forensic point of view. This paper focuses on improving the quality of the forensic images. For different reasons packets that store data can be affected, harmed or even lost because of noise. For example, sending the image through a wireless channel can cause loss of bits. These types of errors might give difficulties generally for the visual display quality of the forensic images. Two of the images problems: noise and losing blocks are covered. However, information which gets transmitted through any way of communication may suffer alteration from its original state or even lose important data due to the channel noise. Therefore, a developed system is introduced to improve the quality and clarity of the forensic images.

Keywords: image filtering, image reconstruction, image processing, forensic images

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1736 Prediction of Heavy-Weight Impact Noise and Vibration of Floating Floor Using Modified Impact Spectrum

Authors: Ju-Hyung Kim, Dae-Ho Mun, Hong-Gun Park

Abstract:

When an impact is applied to a floating floor, noise and vibration response of high-frequency range is reduced effectively, while amplifies the response at low-frequency range. This means floating floor can make worse noise condition when heavy-weight impact is applied. The amplified response is the result of interaction between finishing layer (mortar plate) and concrete slab. Because an impact force is not directly delivered to concrete slab, the impact force waveform or spectrum can be changed. In this paper, the changed impact spectrum was derived from several floating floor vibration tests. Based on the measured data, numerical modeling can describe the floating floor response, especially at low-frequency range. As a result, heavy-weight impact noise can be predicted using modified impact spectrum.

Keywords: floating floor, heavy-weight impact, prediction, vibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 369
1735 Quantification of Lustre in Textile Fibers by Image Analysis

Authors: Neelesh Bharti Shukla, Suvankar Dutta, Esha Sharma, Shrikant Ralebhat, Gurudatt Krishnamurthy

Abstract:

A key component of the physical attribute of textile fibers is lustre. It is a complex phenomenon arising from the interaction of light with fibers, yarn and fabrics. It is perceived as the contrast difference between the bright areas (specular reflection) and duller backgrounds (diffused reflection). Lustre of fibers is affected by their surface structure, morphology, cross-section profile as well as the presence of any additives/registrants. Due to complexities in measurements, objective measurements such as gloss meter do not give reproducible quantification of lustre. Other instruments such as SAMBA hair systems are expensive. In light of this, lustre quantification has largely remained subjective, judged visually by experts, but prone to errors. In this development, a physics-based approach was conceptualized and demonstrated. We have developed an image analysis based technique to quantify visually observed differences in lustre of fibers. Cellulosic fibers, produced with different approaches, with visually different levels of lustre were photographed under controlled optics. These images were subsequently analyzed using a configured software system. The ratio of Intensity of light from bright (specular reflection) and dull (diffused reflection) areas was used to numerically represent lustre. In the next step, the set of samples that were not visually distinguishable easily were also evaluated by the technique and it was established that quantification of lustre is feasible.

Keywords: lustre, fibre, image analysis, measurement

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1734 Analysis of Sound Absorption Coefficient

Authors: Zakiul Fuady, Ismail AB, Fauzi, Zulfian

Abstract:

This research was conducted to analyze the absorption coefficients of sound at several types of materials as well as its combinations. The aim of this research was to find the value of sound absorption coefficients on the materials and its combinations. The materials used in this research were gypsum panel, gypsum-fibre palm, fibre palm-gypsum, and foamed concrete-fibre palm. The test was conducted by using a method of reverberation chamber based on the ISO 354-1985 with the types of the sound source: white noise and pink noise at the frequency of 125 Hz - 8000 Hz. Based on the test results of white noise, it was found that the panel of gypsum-fibre palm has α = 0.93 at low frequency; the panel of fibre palm has α = 0.97 at a medium frequency; and the panel of foamed concrete-fibre palm has α = 0.89 at high frequency. Further, for the sound source of pink noise, it was found that the panel of gypsum-fibre palm has α = 0.99 at low level; the panel of fibre palm-gypsum has α = 0.86 at medium level; and the panel of fibre palm-gypsum has α = 0.64 at high level. The fibre palm panel could absorb the sounds well since this material has bigger airspace (pore) than the foamed concrete and gypsum. Consequently, when the sounds wave enters to this material it will be trapped in the space. The panel of fibre palm affected an increasing of sound absorption coefficient value at the combination materials when the panel of fibre palm was placed under another panel. However, the absorption coefficient values of both fibre palm and fibre palm-gypsum panels are about the same.

Keywords: coefficient of sound absorption, pink noise, white noise, palm

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1733 A Pole Radius Varying Notch Filter with Transient Suppression for Electrocardiogram

Authors: Ramesh Rajagopalan, Adam Dahlstrom

Abstract:

Noise removal techniques play a vital role in the performance of electrocardiographic (ECG) signal processing systems. ECG signals can be corrupted by various kinds of noise such as baseline wander noise, electromyographic interference, and power-line interference. One of the significant challenges in ECG signal processing is the degradation caused by additive 50 or 60 Hz power-line interference. This work investigates the removal of power line interference and suppression of transient response for filtering noise corrupted ECG signals. We demonstrate the effectiveness of Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) notch filter with time varying pole radius for improving the transient behavior. The temporary change in the pole radius of the filter diminishes the transient behavior. Simulation results show that the proposed IIR filter with time varying pole radius outperforms traditional IIR notch filters in terms of mean square error and transient suppression.

Keywords: notch filter, ECG, transient, pole radius

Procedia PDF Downloads 375
1732 Ghost Frequency Noise Reduction through Displacement Deviation Analysis

Authors: Paua Ketan, Bhagate Rajkumar, Adiga Ganesh, M. Kiran

Abstract:

Low gear noise is an important sound quality feature in modern passenger cars. Annoying gear noise from the gearbox is influenced by the gear design, gearbox shaft layout, manufacturing deviations in the components, assembly errors and the mounting arrangement of the complete gearbox. Geometrical deviations in the form of profile and lead errors are often present on the flanks of the inspected gears. Ghost frequencies of a gear are very challenging to identify in standard gear measurement and analysis process due to small wavelengths involved. In this paper, gear whine noise occurring at non-integral multiples of gear mesh frequency of passenger car gearbox is investigated and the root cause is identified using the displacement deviation analysis (DDA) method. DDA method is applied to identify ghost frequency excitations on the flanks of gears arising out of generation grinding. Frequency identified through DDA correlated with the frequency of vibration and noise on the end-of-line machine as well as vehicle level measurements. With the application of DDA method along with standard lead profile measurement, gears with ghost frequency geometry deviations were identified on the production line to eliminate defective parts and thereby eliminate ghost frequency noise from a vehicle. Further, displacement deviation analysis can be used in conjunction with the manufacturing process simulation to arrive at suitable countermeasures for arresting the ghost frequency.

Keywords: displacement deviation analysis, gear whine, ghost frequency, sound quality

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1731 Numerical Modeling on the Vehicle Interior Noise Produced by Rain-the-Roof Excitation

Authors: Zilong Peng, Jun Fan

Abstract:

With the improvement of the living standards, the requirement on the acoustic comfort of the vehicle interior environment is becoming higher. The rain-the-roof producing interior noise is a common phenomenon for the vehicle, which usually discourages the conversation, especially for the heavy rain. This paper presents some numerical results about the rain-the-roof noise. The impact of each water drop is modeled as a short pulse, and the excitation locations on the roof are generated randomly. The vehicle body is simplified to a box closed with some certain-thickness shells. According to the main frequency components of the rain excitation, the analyzing frequency range is divided as low, high and middle frequency domains, which makes the vehicle body are modeled using finite element method (FEM), statistical energy analysis (SEA) and hybrid FE-SEA method, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of spatial distribution density and size of the rain on the sound pressure level are also discussed. These results may provide a guide for designing a more silent vehicle in the special weather.

Keywords: rain-the-roof noise, vehicle, finite element method, statistical energy analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 199
1730 Development of Star Image Simulator for Star Tracker Algorithm Validation

Authors: Zoubida Mahi

Abstract:

A successful satellite mission in space requires a reliable attitude and orbit control system to command, control and position the satellite in appropriate orbits. Several sensors are used for attitude control, such as magnetic sensors, earth sensors, horizon sensors, gyroscopes, and solar sensors. The star tracker is the most accurate sensor compared to other sensors, and it is able to offer high-accuracy attitude control without the need for prior attitude information. There are mainly three approaches in star sensor research: digital simulation, hardware in the loop simulation, and field test of star observation. In the digital simulation approach, all of the processes are done in software, including star image simulation. Hence, it is necessary to develop star image simulation software that could simulate real space environments and various star sensor configurations. In this paper, we present a new stellar image simulation tool that is used to test and validate the stellar sensor algorithms; the developed tool allows to simulate of stellar images with several types of noise, such as background noise, gaussian noise, Poisson noise, multiplicative noise, and several scenarios that exist in space such as the presence of the moon, the presence of optical system problem, illumination and false objects. On the other hand, we present in this paper a new star extraction algorithm based on a new centroid calculation method. We compared our algorithm with other star extraction algorithms from the literature, and the results obtained show the star extraction capability of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: star tracker, star simulation, star detection, centroid, noise, scenario

Procedia PDF Downloads 93
1729 Signal Processing of Barkhausen Noise Signal for Assessment of Increasing Down Feed in Surface Ground Components with Poor Micro-Magnetic Response

Authors: Tanmaya Kumar Dash, Tarun Karamshetty, Soumitra Paul

Abstract:

The Barkhausen Noise Analysis (BNA) technique has been utilized to assess surface integrity of steels. But the BNA technique is not very successful in evaluating surface integrity of ground steels that exhibit poor micro-magnetic response. A new approach has been proposed for the processing of BN signal with Fast Fourier transforms while Wavelet transforms has been used to remove noise from the BN signal, with judicious choice of the ‘threshold’ value, when the micro-magnetic response of the work material is poor. In the present study, the effect of down feed induced upon conventional plunge surface grinding of hardened bearing steel has been investigated along with an ultrasonically cleaned, wet polished and a sample ground with spark out technique for benchmarking. Moreover, the FFT analysis has been established, at different sets of applied voltages and applied frequency and the pattern of the BN signal in the frequency domain is analyzed. The study also depicts the wavelet transforms technique with different levels of decomposition and different mother wavelets, which has been used to reduce the noise value in BN signal of materials with poor micro-magnetic response, in order to standardize the procedure for all BN signals depending on the frequency of the applied voltage.

Keywords: barkhausen noise analysis, grinding, magnetic properties, signal processing, micro-magnetic response

Procedia PDF Downloads 665
1728 Development of a Regression Based Model to Predict Subjective Perception of Squeak and Rattle Noise

Authors: Ramkumar R., Gaurav Shinde, Pratik Shroff, Sachin Kumar Jain, Nagesh Walke

Abstract:

Advancements in electric vehicles have significantly reduced the powertrain noise and moving components of vehicles. As a result, in-cab noises have become more noticeable to passengers inside the car. To ensure a comfortable ride for drivers and other passengers, it has become crucial to eliminate undesirable component noises during the development phase. Standard practices are followed to identify the severity of noises based on subjective ratings, but it can be a tedious process to identify the severity of each development sample and make changes to reduce it. Additionally, the severity rating can vary from jury to jury, making it challenging to arrive at a definitive conclusion. To address this, an automotive component was identified to evaluate squeak and rattle noise issue. Physical tests were carried out for random and sine excitation profiles. Aim was to subjectively assess the noise using jury rating method and objectively evaluate the same by measuring the noise. Suitable jury evaluation method was selected for the said activity, and recorded sounds were replayed for jury rating. Objective data sound quality metrics viz., loudness, sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength and overall Sound Pressure Level (SPL) were measured. Based on this, correlation co-efficients was established to identify the most relevant sound quality metrics that are contributing to particular identified noise issue. Regression analysis was then performed to establish the correlation between subjective and objective data. Mathematical model was prepared using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm. The developed model was able to predict the subjective rating with good accuracy.

Keywords: BSR, noise, correlation, regression

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1727 Non-Linear Causality Inference Using BAMLSS and Bi-CAM in Finance

Authors: Flora Babongo, Valerie Chavez

Abstract:

Inferring causality from observational data is one of the fundamental subjects, especially in quantitative finance. So far most of the papers analyze additive noise models with either linearity, nonlinearity or Gaussian noise. We fill in the gap by providing a nonlinear and non-gaussian causal multiplicative noise model that aims to distinguish the cause from the effect using a two steps method based on Bayesian additive models for location, scale and shape (BAMLSS) and on causal additive models (CAM). We have tested our method on simulated and real data and we reached an accuracy of 0.86 on average. As real data, we considered the causality between financial indices such as S&P 500, Nasdaq, CAC 40 and Nikkei, and companies' log-returns. Our results can be useful in inferring causality when the data is heteroskedastic or non-injective.

Keywords: causal inference, DAGs, BAMLSS, financial index

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1726 Noise Source Identification on Urban Construction Sites Using Signal Time Delay Analysis

Authors: Balgaisha G. Mukanova, Yelbek B. Utepov, Aida G. Nazarova, Alisher Z. Imanov

Abstract:

The problem of identifying local noise sources on a construction site using a sensor system is considered. Mathematical modeling of detected signals on sensors was carried out, considering signal decay and signal delay time between the source and detector. Recordings of noises produced by construction tools were used as a dependence of noise on time. Synthetic sensor data was constructed based on these data, and a model of the propagation of acoustic waves from a point source in the three-dimensional space was applied. All sensors and sources are assumed to be located in the same plane. A source localization method is checked based on the signal time delay between two adjacent detectors and plotting the direction of the source. Based on the two direct lines' crossline, the noise source's position is determined. Cases of one dominant source and the case of two sources in the presence of several other sources of lower intensity are considered. The number of detectors varies from three to eight detectors. The intensity of the noise field in the assessed area is plotted. The signal of a two-second duration is considered. The source is located for subsequent parts of the signal with a duration above 0.04 sec; the final result is obtained by computing the average value.

Keywords: acoustic model, direction of arrival, inverse source problem, sound localization, urban noises

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1725 Factors That Contribute to Noise Induced Hearing Loss Amongst Employees at the Platinum Mine in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Authors: Livhuwani Muthelo, R. N. Malema, T. M. Mothiba

Abstract:

Long term exposure to excessive noise in the mining industry increases the risk of noise induced hearing loss, with consequences for employee’s health, productivity and the overall quality of life. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to Noise Induced Hearing Loss amongst employees at the Platinum mine in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Study method: A qualitative, phenomenological, exploratory, descriptive, contextual design was applied in order to explore and describe the contributory factors. Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select 10 male employees who were diagnosed with NIHL in the year 2014 in four mine shafts, and 10 managers who were involved in a Hearing Conservation Programme. The data were collected using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. A qualitative data analysis of Tesch’s approach was followed. Results: The following themes emerged: Experiences and challenges faced by employees in the work environment, hearing protective device factors and management and leadership factors. Hearing loss was caused by partial application of guidelines, policies, and procedures from the Department of Minerals and Energy. Conclusion: The study results indicate that although there are guidelines, policies, and procedures available, failure in the implementation of one element will affect the development and maintenance of employees hearing mechanism. It is recommended that the mine management should apply the guidelines, policies, and procedures and promptly repair the broken hearing protective devices.

Keywords: employees, factors, noise induced hearing loss, noise exposure

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1724 Modelling Tyre Rubber Materials for High Frequency FE Analysis

Authors: Bharath Anantharamaiah, Tomas Bouda, Elke Deckers, Stijn Jonckheere, Wim Desmet, Juan J. Garcia

Abstract:

Automotive tyres are gaining importance recently in terms of their noise emission, not only with respect to reduction in noise, but also their perception and detection. Tyres exhibit a mechanical noise generation mechanism up to 1 kHz. However, owing to the fact that tyre is a composite of several materials, it has been difficult to model it using finite elements to predict noise at high frequencies. The currently available FE models have a reliability of about 500 Hz, the limit which, however, is not enough to perceive the roughness or sharpness of noise from tyre. These noise components are important in order to alert pedestrians on the street about passing by slow, especially electric vehicles. In order to model tyre noise behaviour up to 1 kHz, its dynamic behaviour must be accurately developed up to a 1 kHz limit using finite elements. Materials play a vital role in modelling the dynamic tyre behaviour precisely. Since tyre is a composition of several components, their precise definition in finite element simulations is necessary. However, during the tyre manufacturing process, these components are subjected to various pressures and temperatures, due to which these properties could change. Hence, material definitions are better described based on the tyre responses. In this work, the hyperelasticity of tyre component rubbers is calibrated, using the design of experiments technique from the tyre characteristic responses that are measured on a stiffness measurement machine. The viscoelasticity of rubbers are defined by the Prony series for rubbers, which are determined from the loss factor relationship between the loss and storage moduli, assuming that the rubbers are excited within the linear viscoelasticity ranges. These values of loss factor are measured and theoretically expressed as a function of rubber shore hardness or hyperelasticities. From the results of the work, there exists a good correlation between test and simulation vibrational transfer function up to 1 kHz. The model also allows flexibility, i.e., the frequency limit can also be extended, if required, by calibrating the Prony parameters of rubbers corresponding to the frequency of interest. As future work, these tyre models are used for noise generation at high frequencies and thus for tyre noise perception.

Keywords: tyre dynamics, rubber materials, prony series, hyperelasticity

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1723 PV Module as a Design Element of Barriers for Protection against Noise

Authors: Budimir S. Sudimac, Andjela N. Dubljevic

Abstract:

The aim of thisresearch paper is to consider possibilities for improving the street lighting on the E75 highway, which passes through Serbia, using renewable sources of energy. In this paper, we analyzed the possibilities for installing sound barriers along the highway and integrating photovoltaic (PV) modules, which would generate electrical energy to power the lighting on the section of the highway running through Belgrade. The main aim of this paper is to analyze, show and promote innovative, hybrid, multi-functional solar technology using PV modules as an element of sound barriers in urban areas. The paper seeks to show the hybridity of using sustainable technologies in solving environmental issues. This structure solves the problem of noise in populated areas and provides the electricity from renewable source.

Keywords: noise, PV modules, solar energy, sound barriers

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1722 55 dB High Gain L-Band EDFA Utilizing Single Pump Source

Authors: M. H. Al-Mansoori, W. S. Al-Ghaithi, F. N. Hasoon

Abstract:

In this paper, we experimentally investigate the performance of an efficient high gain triple-pass L-band Erbium-Doped Fiber (EDF) amplifier structure with a single pump source. The amplifier gain and noise figure variation with EDF pump power, input signal power and wavelengths have been investigated. The generated backward Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) noise of the first amplifier stage is suppressed by using a tunable band-pass filter. The amplifier achieves a signal gain of 55 dB with low noise figure of 3.8 dB at -50 dBm input signal power. The amplifier gain shows significant improvement of 12.8 dB compared to amplifier structure without ASE suppression.

Keywords: optical amplifiers, EDFA, L-band, optical networks

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1721 Reflections on Ten Years of Preparing Graduate Students for the Professoriate at an American Research University

Authors: Samuel Olugbenga King

Abstract:

Using a reflective analysis tool to provide both local and global perspectives, this study focuses on the longitudinal evaluation of the Graduate Student Development (GSD) initiative, the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program. The reflection process involves examining the past and present to identify challenges, and culminates in the creation of an action plan to address barriers to further growth and teaching development of graduate students, thus positively impacting student experience. The outcomes of the reflective critique of the PFF program indicate that lack of mentoring as well as inadequate feedback and funding are barriers that need to be addressed to positively impact the graduate student experience. Consequently, interventions, such as peer and student evaluations, and alumni surveys are highlighted as pragmatic modes of addressing the inadequate feedback and mentoring barriers. However, funding remains an ongoing challenge. This article is a contribution to the literature on the use of critical reflection approaches to investigate and evaluate specific programming that focuses on enhancing the graduate student experience and development.

Keywords: graduate student experience, longitudinal reflection, quality enhancement, teaching

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1720 Relative Intensity Noise of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers Subject to Variable Polarization-Optical Feedback

Authors: Salam Nazhan Ahmed

Abstract:

Influence of variable polarization angle (θp) of optical feedback on the Relative Intensity Noise (RIN) of a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) has been experimentally investigated. The RIN is a minimum at θp = 0° for the dominant polarization mode (XP), and at θp = 90° for the suppressed polarization mode (YP) of VCSEL. Furthermore, the RIN of the XP mode increases rapidly with increasing θp, while for the YP mode, it increases slightly to θp = 45° and decreases for angles greater than 45°.

Keywords: lasers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, optical switching, optical polarization feedback, relative intensity noise

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1719 Noise Detection Algorithm for Skin Disease Image Identification

Authors: Minakshi Mainaji Sonawane, Bharti W. Gawali, Sudhir Mendhekar, Ramesh R. Manza

Abstract:

People's lives and health are severely impacted by skin diseases. A new study proposes an effective method for identifying the different forms of skin diseases. Image denoising is a technique for improving image quality after it has been harmed by noise. The proposed technique is based on the usage of the wavelet transform. Wavelet transform is the best method for analyzing the image due to the ability to split the image into the sub-band, which has been used to estimate the noise ratio at the noisy image. According to experimental results, the proposed method presents the best values for MSE, PSNR, and Entropy for denoised images. we can found in Also, by using different types of wavelet transform filters is make the proposed approach can obtain the best results 23.13, 20.08, 50.7 for the image denoising process

Keywords: MSE, PSNR, entropy, Gaussian filter, DWT

Procedia PDF Downloads 213
1718 The Reflection on Pre-Service Teacher Training Program in Science Education

Authors: Sumalee Tientongdee

Abstract:

The pre-service teacher training program at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bankgok Thailand has been provided for undergraduate students for more than 80 years. It was established as the first teacher college in the country. The pre-service teacher program in science education is considered as one of the new training programs to prepare pre-service teacher to teach science in secondary school level. The need of program assessment is strongly important. Therefore, this study was conducted to gain the opinions and recommendations from the principals, in-service teachers, and mentoring teachers from the partnership schools of Bangkok. The invited 120 participants for the annual meeting was hold in May 2017. The focus group discussion and questionnaires were used to collect the data during the reflection session. The content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The results showed that the pre-service teacher training program in science education should improve students’ creative thinking skill, service mind, personality, and attitudes toward teaching science career. Also, the future science teachers must be able to teach in English to have more opportunities to teach science in Southeast Asian countries.

Keywords: pre-service teacher training program, reflection, science education, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat university

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1717 Motor Gear Fault Diagnosis by Measurement of Current, Noise and Vibration on AC Machine

Authors: Sun-Ki Hong, Ki-Seok Kim, Yong-Ho Jo

Abstract:

Lots of motors have been being used in industry. Therefore many researchers have studied about the failure diagnosis of motors. In this paper, the effect of measuring environment for diagnosis of gear fault connected to a motor shaft is studied. The fault diagnosis is executed through the comparison of normal gear and abnormal gear. The measured FFT data are compared with the normal data and analyzed for q-axis current, noise and vibration. For bad and good environment, the diagnosis results are compared. From these, it is shown that the bad measuring environment may not be able to detect exactly the motor gear fault. Therefore it is emphasized that the measuring environment should be carefully prepared.

Keywords: motor fault, diagnosis, FFT, vibration, noise, q-axis current, measuring environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 555
1716 The Evaluation of Shear Modulus (Go) Consistency State of Consolidation Cohesive Soils and Seismic Reflection Survey Using Degree of Soil Consolidation

Authors: Abdul Halim Abdul, Wan Ismail Wan Yusoff

Abstract:

The geological formation at Limau Manis Besar area, are consist of low grade metamorphic rock and undulating mountaineers, rugged terrain and the quite steeply 45 degree slope gradient. The objectives of this paper are present the methods and devices used in measurement of P-wave velocity to estimate the initial Shear Modulus (Go) in steady state and critical state soil consolidation. The relationship between SPT-N values and the Shear Modulus (Go) at very small strain is widely considered to be evaluated. Based on the seismic reflection survey, the constant (K) poroelastic theory, mean effectives stress and primer wave velocity (Vs) increase as the soil depth increase. The steady state and critical state, Degree of Soil Consolidation(U) concept is used to interpret the behavior of Shear Modulus (Go). The relationship between Consolidation Test and Seismic Reflection Survey is also discussed.

Keywords: geological setting, shear modulus, poroelastic theory, steady state and none steady state degree of soil consolidation, consolidation test

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1715 An Online Adaptive Thresholding Method to Classify Google Trends Data Anomalies for Investor Sentiment Analysis

Authors: Duygu Dere, Mert Ergeneci, Kaan Gokcesu

Abstract:

Google Trends data has gained increasing popularity in the applications of behavioral finance, decision science and risk management. Because of Google’s wide range of use, the Trends statistics provide significant information about the investor sentiment and intention, which can be used as decisive factors for corporate and risk management fields. However, an anomaly, a significant increase or decrease, in a certain query cannot be detected by the state of the art applications of computation due to the random baseline noise of the Trends data, which is modelled as an Additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Since through time, the baseline noise power shows a gradual change an adaptive thresholding method is required to track and learn the baseline noise for a correct classification. To this end, we introduce an online method to classify meaningful deviations in Google Trends data. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate that our method can successfully classify various anomalies for plenty of different data.

Keywords: adaptive data processing, behavioral finance , convex optimization, online learning, soft minimum thresholding

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1714 Analysis of Filtering in Stochastic Systems on Continuous- Time Memory Observations in the Presence of Anomalous Noises

Authors: S. Rozhkova, O. Rozhkova, A. Harlova, V. Lasukov

Abstract:

For optimal unbiased filter as mean-square and in the case of functioning anomalous noises in the observation memory channel, we have proved insensitivity of filter to inaccurate knowledge of the anomalous noise intensity matrix and its equivalence to truncated filter plotted only by non anomalous components of an observation vector.

Keywords: mathematical expectation, filtration, anomalous noise, memory

Procedia PDF Downloads 360