Search results for: angle of internal friction of the soil

Authors: Dor Oppenheim, Yael Edan, Guy Shani

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This paper presents an image analysis algorithm to detect and count yellow tomato flowers in a greenhouse with uneven illumination conditions, complex growth conditions and different flower sizes. The algorithm is designed to be employed on a drone that flies in greenhouses to accomplish several tasks such as pollination and yield estimation. Detecting the flowers can provide useful information for the farmer, such as the number of flowers in a row, and the number of flowers that were pollinated since the last visit to the row. The developed algorithm is designed to handle the real world difficulties in a greenhouse which include varying lighting conditions, shadowing, and occlusion, while considering the computational limitations of the simple processor in the drone. The algorithm identifies flowers using an adaptive global threshold, segmentation over the HSV color space, and morphological cues. The adaptive threshold divides the images into darker and lighter images. Then, segmentation on the hue, saturation and volume is performed accordingly, and classification is done according to size and location of the flowers. 1069 images of greenhouse tomato flowers were acquired in a commercial greenhouse in Israel, using two different RGB Cameras – an LG G4 smartphone and a Canon PowerShot A590. The images were acquired from multiple angles and distances and were sampled manually at various periods along the day to obtain varying lighting conditions. Ground truth was created by manually tagging approximately 25,000 individual flowers in the images. Sensitivity analyses on the acquisition angle of the images, periods throughout the day, different cameras and thresholding types were performed. Precision, recall and their derived F1 score were calculated. Results indicate better performance for the view angle facing the flowers than any other angle. Acquiring images in the afternoon resulted with the best precision and recall results. Applying a global adaptive threshold improved the median F1 score by 3%. Results showed no difference between the two cameras used. Using hue values of 0.12-0.18 in the segmentation process provided the best results in precision and recall, and the best F1 score. The precision and recall average for all the images when using these values was 74% and 75% respectively with an F1 score of 0.73. Further analysis showed a 5% increase in precision and recall when analyzing images acquired in the afternoon and from the front viewpoint.

Keywords: agricultural engineering, image processing, computer vision, flower detection

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Authors: Ahmed Fawzy, Khaled Ayad, Gh. M. Koura, W. Reda

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The excessive frontal plane motion of the lower extremity during sports activities is thought to be a contributing factor to many traumatic and overuse injuries of the knee joint, little is known about the biomechanical factors that contribute to this loading pattern. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a relationship between hip external rotators isometric strength and the value of frontal plane projection angle (FPPA) during single leg landing tasks in normal male subjects. Methods: One hundred (male) subjects free from lower extremity injuries for at least six months ago participated in this study. Their mean age was (23.25 ± 2.88) years, mean weight was (74.76 ± 13.54) (Kg), mean height was (174.23 ± 6.56) (Cm). The knee frontal plane projection angle was measured by digital video camera using single leg landing task. Hip external rotators isometric strength were assessed by portable hand held dynamometer. Muscle strength had been normalized to the body weight to obtain more accurate measurements. Results: The results demonstrated that there was no significant relationship between hip external rotators isometric strength and the value of FPPA during single leg landing tasks in normal male subjects. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is no relationship between hip external rotators isometric strength and the value of FPPA during functional activities in normal male subjects.

Keywords: 2-dimensional motion analysis, hip strength, kinematics, knee injuries

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Authors: Yasemin Kaya, Ahmet N. Eraslan

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In this study, the thermoelastic behavior of a long tube is studied by taking into account the temperature dependency of all mechanical and thermal properties. As the tube is heated slowly, an uncoupled solution procedure is adopted under free and radially constrained boundary conditions. The nonlinear heat conduction equation is solved by a finite element collocation procedure and the corresponding distributions of stress and strain are computed by shooting iterations. The computational model is verified in comparison to the analytical solution by shutting down the temperature dependency of physical properties. In the analysis, experimental data available in the literature is used to describe the coefficient of thermal expansion $\alpha$, the thermal conductivity $k$, the modulus of rigidity $G$, the yield strength $\sigma_{0}$, and the Poisson's ratio $\nu$ of Nickel. Results of the analysis are presented in comparison to those having constant physical properties. As a result of the calculations, the temperature dependency of the material properties should be taken into account at higher temperature ranges.

Keywords: thermoelasticity, long tube, temperature-dependent properties, internal heating

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Authors: Sukanta K. Shill, Md. M. Hoque, Md. Shaifullah

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An experiment on the punching of RC column footing, comparison of test result to established different codes for punching shear calculation of column footings is presented in the paper. The principal aim of this study is to investigate the punching shear behavior of an isolated column footing using brick aggregate as coarse aggregate. Consequence, a RC model footing was constructed on a stabilized soil and tested the footing under field condition. The test result yields that the experimental punching shear capacity is greater than all the theoretical punching shear capacities obtained by using different codes of practices. It can be stated that BNBC 1993, as well as ACI 318, 2002 code formulae are very conservative in predicting the punching shear resistance of RC footing, whereas the CEB-FIP MC, 1990 formula and Eurocode2 formula are less conservative in predicting the punching shear resistance of footing.

Keywords: footing, punching shear, field condition, stabilized soil, brick aggregate

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Authors: Jasini Waida, Usman Rilwan, S. I. Ikpughul, E. I. Ugwu

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Carcinogenic substances are those that induce tumours (benign or malignant), increase their incidence or malignancy, or shorten the time of tumour occurrence when they get into the body through inhalation, injection, dermal application, or ingestion. Using X-Ray Fluorescence, this study reveals the accumulation of heavy metals in Jos East. The results of this study showed that the Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo) of water for different heavy metals decreased in the order of Cd (0.15) > Cr and As (0.03) > Pb (-0.13) > Ni (-0.6). The soil content for different heavy metals decreased in the order of As and Cd (0.4) > Ni, Cr and Pb (0.2). The edible plants for different heavy metals decreased in the order of Cd (0.512) > As (0.25) > Pb (0.23) > Ni (0.01) > Ni (-0.06). 21% of these points are uncontaminated, except for a few points that are found within the uncontaminated to moderately contaminated level. It is possible to conclude that the area is uncontaminated to moderately contaminated, necessitating regulation. Hence, this study can be used as reference data for regulatory bodies like the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) and the rest.

Keywords: heavy metals, soil, plants, water, contamination factor

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Authors: Yasemin Kavdir, Ugur Gozel

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This study was conducted to determine the nematicidal activity of green walnut husk (GWH) and olive pomace (OP) extracts against root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita). Aqueous extracts of GWH and OP were mixed with sandy loam soil at the rates of 0, 6,12,18,24, 60 and 120 ml kg-1. All pots were arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated four times under controlled atmosphere conditions. Tomato seedlings were grown in sterilized soil then they were transplanted to pots. Inoculation was done by pouring the 20 ml suspension including 1000 M. incognita juvenile pot-1 into 3 cm deep hole made around the base of the plant root. Tomato root and shoot growth and nematode populations have been determined. In general, both GWH and OP extracts resulted in better growth parameters compared to the control plants. However, GWH extract was the most effective in improving growth parameters. Applications of 24 ml kg-1 OP extract enhanced plant growth compared to other OP treatments while 60 ml kg-1 application rate had the lowest nematode number and root galling. In this study, applications of GWH and OP extracts reduced the number of Meloidogyne incognita and root galling compared to control soils. Additionally GWH and OP extracts can be used safely for tomato growth. It could be concluded that OP and GWH extracts used as organic amendments showed promising nematicidal activity in the control of M. incognita. This research was supported by TUBİTAK Grant Number 214O422.

Keywords: olive pomace, green walnut husk, Meloidogyne incognita, tomato, soil, extract

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Authors: Zainal Abu Zatim, Hafizah Omar Zaki

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Substantial research had been done on refining employee’s customer service performance. Thus, there were very limited empirical studies that are engage in an inter-organizational climate study in assessing employee’s customer service performance. With the current economic situation as well as emerging needs and requirements, all businesses either from public or private sector serving customers put greater attention on fulfilling those needs and requirements. In this state of affairs, the act of polishing its employees’ skills, knowledge, teamwork and passion is very important in ensuring better performance deliverance. A study conducted in one of the telecommunication service provider company in Malaysia had been done to test its inter-organizational climate study. The Internal Climate Study was done to benchmark opinions and perceptions of its employees. The study had provided baseline information about perceptions that exist in the internal environment and ways forward to improve customer service performance. The approach used is through the use of focus group and qualitative interview.

Keywords: employees, Customer Service Performance, inter-organizational climate study, public and private sector

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Authors: Youssouf Benmeriem

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Shear strength of sandy soils has been considered as the important parameter to study the stability of different civil engineering structures when subjected to monotonic, cyclic and earthquake loading conditions. The proposed research investigated the effect of grading characteristics on the shear strength and mechanical behavior of granular classes of sands mixed with silt in loose and dense states (Dr = 15% and 90%). The laboratory investigation aimed at understanding the extent or degree at which shear strength of sand-silt mixture soil is affected by its gradation under static loading conditions. For the purpose of clarifying and evaluating the shear strength characteristics of sandy soils, a series of Casagrande shear box tests were carried out on different reconstituted samples of sand-silt mixtures with various gradations. The soil samples were tested under different normal stresses (100, 200 and 300 kPa). The results from this laboratory investigation were used to develop insight into the shear strength response of sand and sand-silt mixtures under monotonic loading conditions. The analysis of the obtained data revealed that the grading characteristics (D10, D50, Cu, ESR, and MGSR) have significant influence on the shear strength response. It was found that shear strength can be correlated to the grading characteristics for the sand-silt mixture. The effective size ratio (ESR) and mean grain size ratio (MGSR) appear as pertinent parameters to predict the shear strength response of the sand-silt mixtures for soil gradation under study.

Keywords: grading characteristics, granular classes of sands, mechanical behavior, sand-silt, shear strength

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Authors: Jerry John T. M., Sylas V. P., Shijo Joy

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Hydrogen is the most essential gas that can be used for many purposes. During the production of hydrogen using raw materials like Soil and leftover cooked rice water (kanjivellam), the major by-product formed is water. Soil is collected from three different places in kottayam district: Kallara, Meenachilar, and Athirampuzha. Collected samples are mixed with rice water and tested for traces of hydrogen using a biohydrogen sensor after 72 hours. The result was the presence of hydrogen in all the 3 samples. After streaking, PCR and gel electrophoresis detected the bacteria which produced the hydrogen. RGCB Thiruvananthapuram conducted the sequencing of the PCR resultant. And identified the bacterial strains. Five variants of Bacillus bacteria ( (1) Bacillus cereus strain JTM GenBank: OP278839.1 (2) Bacillus toyonensis strain JTM2 GenBank: OP278841.1 (3) Bacillus anthracis strain JTM_SR2989-3-R_H08 GenBank: OP278960.1 (4) Bacillus thuringiensis strain JRY1 GenBank: OP278976.1 (5) Bacillus anthracis strain JTM_SR2989-3-F_H07 GenBank: OP278959.1 ) are identified and successfully registered in NCBI Gen bank. These Bacillus bacteria are major types of Rhizobacteria that can form spores and can survive in the soil for a long time period under harsh environmental conditions. Also, plant growth is enhanced by PGPR (Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) through the induction of systemic resistance, antibiosis, and competitive omission. The molecular sequencing was submitted to the NCBI Gen Bank, and the accession numbers were allotted for the bacterial cultures.

Keywords: bio hydrogen production, bacterial bio hydrogen production, plant related to bacillus bacteria., bacillus bacteria study

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Authors: Asad Islam, Khalid Parvez

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Compressor fans in modern aircraft engines are of considerate importance, as they provide majority of thrust required by the aircraft. Their challenging environment is frequently subjected to non-uniform inflow conditions. These conditions could be either due to the flight operating requirements such as take-off and landing, wake interference from aircraft fuselage or cross-flow wind conditions. So, in highly maneuverable flights regimes of fighter aircrafts affects the overall performance of an engine. Since the flow in compressor of an aircraft application is highly sensitive because of adverse pressure gradient due to different flow orientations of the aircraft. Therefore, it is prone to unstable operations. This paper presents the study that focuses on axial compressor response to inlet flow orientations for the range of angles as 0 to 15 degrees. For this purpose, NASA Rotor-37 was taken and CFD mesh was developed. The compressor characteristics map was generated for the design conditions of pressure ratio of 2.106 with the rotor operating at rotational velocity of 17188.7 rpm using CFD simulating environment of ANSYS-CFX®. The grid study was done to see the effects of mesh upon computational solution. Then, the mesh giving the best results, (when validated with the available experimental NASA’s results); was used for further distortion analysis. The flow in the inlet nozzle was given angle orientations ranging from 0 to 15 degrees. The CFD results are analyzed and discussed with respect to stall margin and flow separations due to induced distortions.

Keywords: axial compressor, distortions, angle, CFD, ANSYS-CFX®, bladegen®

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Authors: Renato Santos Paulinelli Raposo, Vinicius Resende Domingues, Manoel Porfirio Cordao Neto

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Rapid drawdown is one of the cases referred to ground stability study in dam projects. Due to the complexity generated by the combination of loads and the difficulty in determining the parameters, analyses of rapid drawdown are usually performed considering the immediate reduction of water level upstream. The proposal of a simulation, considering the gradual reduction in water level upstream, requires knowledge of parameters about consolidation and those related to unsaturated soil. In this context, the purpose of this study is to understand the methodology of collection and analysis of parameters to simulate a rapid drawdown in dams. Using a numerical tool, the study is complemented with a hypothetical case study that can assist the practical use of data compiled. The referenced dam presents homogeneous section composed of clay soil, a height of 70 meters, a width of 12 meters, and upstream slope with inclination 1V:3H.

Keywords: dam, GeoStudio, rapid drawdown, stability analysis

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Authors: Shu-Chuan Liao, Chia-Ti Chang, Ko-Shao Chen

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Titanium and its alloy are widely used in many fields such as dentistry or orthopaedics. Due to their high strength low elastic modulus that chemical inertness and bio inert. The micro-arc oxidation used to formation a micro porous ceramic oxide layer film on Titanium surface and also to improve the resistance corrosion. For improving the biocompatibility, micro-arc oxidation surfaces bio-inert need to introduce reactive group. We introduced boundary layer by used plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) and organic active layer by UV light graft reactive monomer acrylic acid (AAc) therefore we can immobilize Chondroitin sulphate on surface easily by crosslinking EDC/NHS. The surface properties and composition of the modified layer were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and water contact angle. Water contact angle of the plasma-treated Ti surface decreases from 60° to 38°, which is an indication of hydrophilicity. The results of electrochemical polarization analysis showed that the sample plasma treated at micro-arc oxidation after plasma treatment has the best corrosion resistance. The result showed that we can immobilize chondroitin sulfate successful by a series of modification and MTT assay indicated the biocompatibility has been improved in this study.

Keywords: MAO, plasma, graft polymerization, biomedical application

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Authors: Daniela Ailincai, Bogdan C. Simionescu, Luminita Marin

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Polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) represent an interesting class of materials which combine the ability of polymers to form films and their mechanical strength with the opto-electronic properties of liquid crystals. The proper choice of the two components - the liquid crystal and the polymeric matrix - leads to materials suitable for a large area of applications, from electronics to biomedical devices. The objective of our work was to obtain PDLC films with potential applications in the biomedical field, using poly vinyl alcohol boric acid (PVAB) as a polymeric matrix for the first time. Presenting all the tremendous properties of poly vinyl alcohol (such as: biocompatibility, biodegradability, water solubility, good chemical stability and film forming ability), PVAB brings the advantage of containing the electron deficient boron atom, and due to this, it should promote the liquid crystal anchoring and a narrow liquid crystal droplets polydispersity. Two different PDLC systems have been obtained, by the use of two liquid crystals, a nematic commercial one: 4-cyano-4’-penthylbiphenyl (5CB) and a new smectic liquid crystal, synthesized by us: buthyl-p-[p’-n-octyloxy benzoyloxy] benzoate (BBO). The PDLC composites have been obtained by the encapsulation method, working with four different ratios between the polymeric matrix and the liquid crystal, from 60:40 to 90:10. In all cases, the composites were able to form free standing, flexible films. Polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, RAMAN- spectroscopy and the contact angle measurements have been performed, in order to characterize the new composites. The new smectic liquid crystal has been characterized using 1H-NMR and single crystal X-ray diffraction and its thermotropic behavior has been established using differential scanning calorimetry and polarized light microscopy. The polarized light microscopy evidenced the formation of round birefringent droplets, anchored homeotropic in the first case and planar in the second, with a narrow dimensional polydispersity, especially for the PDLC containing the largest amount of liquid crystal, fact evidenced by SEM, also. The obtained values for the water to air contact angle showed that the composites have a proper hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance, making them potential candidates for bioapplications. More than this, our studies demonstrated that the water to air contact angle varies as a function of PVAB matrix crystalinity degree, which can be controled as a function of time. This fact allowed us to conclude that the use of PVAB as matrix for PDLCs obtaining offers the possibility to modulate their properties for specific applications.

Keywords: 4-cyano-4’-penthylbiphenyl, buthyl-p-[p’-n-octyloxy benzoyloxy] benzoate, contact angle, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, poly vinyl alcohol boric acid

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Authors: Miroslav Gutten, Jozef Jurcik, Daniel Korenciak, Milan Sebok, Matej Kuceraa

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This paper deals with the phenomenon of the undesirable detonation combustion in internal combustion engines. A control unit of the engine monitors these detonations using piezoelectric knock sensors. With the control of these sensors the detonations can be objectively measured just outside the car. If this component provides small amplitude of the output voltage it could happen that there would have been in the areas of the engine ignition combustion. The paper deals with the design of a simple device for the detection of this disorder. A construction of the testing device for the knock sensor suitable for diagnostics of knock combustion in internal combustion engines will be presented. The output signal of presented sensor will be described by Bessel functions. Using the first voltage extremes on the characteristics it is possible to create a reference for the evaluation of the polynomial residue. It should be taken into account that the velocity of sound in air is 330 m/s. This sound impinges on the walls of the combustion chamber and is detected by the sensor. The resonant frequency of the clicking of the motor is usually in the range from 5 kHz to 15 kHz. The sensor worked in the field to 37 kHz, which shall be taken into account on an own sensor resonance.

Keywords: diagnostics, knock sensor, measurement, testing device

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Authors: Ali Kadir, S. R. Mishra, M. Shamshuddin, O. Anwar Beg

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Motivation- Rotating disk bio-reactors are fundamental to numerous medical/biochemical engineering processes including oxygen transfer, chromatography, purification and swirl-assisted pumping. The modern upsurge in biologically-enhanced engineering devices has embraced new phenomena including bioconvection of micro-organisms (photo-tactic, oxy-tactic, gyrotactic etc). The proven thermal performance superiority of nanofluids i.e. base fluids doped with engineered nanoparticles has also stimulated immense implementation in biomedical designs. Motivated by these emerging applications, we present a numerical thermofluid dynamic simulation of the transport phenomena in bioconvection nanofluid rotating disk bioreactor flow. Methodology- We study analytically and computationally the time-dependent three-dimensional viscous gyrotactic bioconvection in swirling nanofluid flow from a rotating disk configuration. The disk is also deformable i.e. able to extend (stretch) in the radial direction. Stefan blowing is included. The Buongiorno dilute nanofluid model is adopted wherein Brownian motion and thermophoresis are the dominant nanoscale effects. The primitive conservation equations for mass, radial, tangential and axial momentum, heat (energy), nanoparticle concentration and micro-organism density function are formulated in a cylindrical polar coordinate system with appropriate wall and free stream boundary conditions. A mass convective condition is also incorporated at the disk surface. Forced convection is considered i.e. buoyancy forces are neglected. This highly nonlinear, strongly coupled system of unsteady partial differential equations is normalized with the classical Von Karman and other transformations to render the boundary value problem (BVP) into an ordinary differential system which is solved with the efficient Adomian decomposition method (ADM). Validation with earlier Runge-Kutta shooting computations in the literature is also conducted. Extensive computations are presented (with the aid of MATLAB symbolic software) for radial and circumferential velocity components, temperature, nanoparticle concentration, micro-organism density number and gradients of these functions at the disk surface (radial local skin friction, local circumferential skin friction, Local Nusselt number, Local Sherwood number, motile microorganism mass transfer rate). Main Findings- Increasing radial stretching parameter decreases radial velocity and radial skin friction, reduces azimuthal velocity and skin friction, decreases local Nusselt number and motile micro-organism mass wall flux whereas it increases nano-particle local Sherwood number. Disk deceleration accelerates the radial flow, damps the azimuthal flow, decreases temperatures and thermal boundary layer thickness, depletes the nano-particle concentration magnitudes (and associated nano-particle species boundary layer thickness) and furthermore decreases the micro-organism density number and gyrotactic micro-organism species boundary layer thickness. Increasing Stefan blowing accelerates the radial flow and azimuthal (circumferential flow), elevates temperatures of the nanofluid, boosts nano-particle concentration (volume fraction) and gyrotactic micro-organism density number magnitudes whereas suction generates the reverse effects. Increasing suction effect reduces radial skin friction and azimuthal skin friction, local Nusselt number, and motile micro-organism wall mass flux whereas it enhances the nano-particle species local Sherwood number. Conclusions - Important transport characteristics are identified of relevance to real bioreactor nanotechnological systems not discussed in previous works. ADM is shown to achieve very rapid convergence and highly accurate solutions and shows excellent promise in simulating swirling multi-physical nano-bioconvection fluid dynamics problems. Furthermore, it provides an excellent complement to more general commercial computational fluid dynamics simulations.

Keywords: bio-nanofluids, rotating disk bioreactors, Von Karman swirling flow, numerical solutions

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Authors: Prasanta Saini, Junaid Jibran Jawed, Subrata Majumdar

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Infections caused by soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are the major problem in all the nations of the world. The major focus of STH research is to study the prevalence of three major helminths, such as Ascaris, Trituris and hookworm. Here we are reporting the prevalence and intensity of the STH in the school children of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence and risk factors of STH infection among the school children, aged between 5-10 years in 27 districts randomly selected districts with covering nine agro-climatic zones of Uttar Pradesh, India. For this cross-sectional survey, we have selected the populations of government primary school going children in Uttar Pradesh. The sampling was performed in the nine different agro-climatic zones. Every individual of the study populations filled their daily information in the questioner's form and then the sample was collected and processed by kato-katz methods by following the guidelines of WHO. In this method, the sampling was performed in total of 6421 populations. A total of 6,421 children from 130 schools were surveyed. Infection with any soil-transmitted helminths was detected among 4,578 children with an overall prevalence of 75.6% (95% CI: 65.3-83.6). Among the 6421 population, the prevalence of Ascaris is 69.6% (95% CL 57.97-79.11), hookworm is 22.7% (95%CL 19.3-26.3) and Trichuris sp is 4.6% (95% CL 0.8-21.6), so the predicted prevalence map indicates that the STH infection was hyperendemic in this state. The findings of our survey in 130 schools covering 9 agro-climatic with one or more soil transmitted helminths. Majority of STH infections were of light intensity. STH infection was hyper-endemic in entire state, except three zones in western Uttar Pradesh. High prevalence ( > 75%) in all age groups also indicate little impact of existing deworming initiatives, including those among pre-school aged children. WHO recommends annual treatment in areas where STH prevalence is between 20% and 50%, and, a bi-annual treatment in areas with prevalence rates of over 50%. In view of high prevalence of STH infection in Uttar Pradesh, it is strongly recommended to initiate a deworming programme for school children in the state. Although our survey was among primary school children, high prevalence among children aged 4-6 years also indicates the need to strengthen the existing deworming programs for pre-school children. Extending the benefits of deworming to pre-school children through deworming in Anganwadi schools would further reduce to decrease the load of infection in community. As a long-term solution for control STH infection, it is also necessary to improve the sanitation levels in the area, as majority of the houses did not have latrines and most of the children were defecating in open fields, a factor that was found to be significantly associated with STH infection.

Keywords: prevalence, school going children, soil transmitted helminthes, Uttar Pradesh-India

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Authors: Frantisek Odvarka

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Based on the data from the Moravian Karst, the influence of the calcite speleothem growth by selected meteorological factors was evaluated. External temperature was determined as one of the main factors influencing speleothem growth in Moravian Karst. This factor significantly influences the CO₂ concentration in soil/epikarst, and cave atmosphere in the Moravian Karst and significantly contributes to the changes in the CO₂ partial pressure differences between soil/epikarst and cave atmosphere in Moravian Karst, which determines the drip water supersaturation with respect to the calcite and quantity of precipitated calcite in the Moravian Karst cave environment. External air temperatures and cave air temperatures were measured using a COMET S3120 data logger, which can measure temperatures in the range from -30 to +80 °C with an accuracy of ± 0.4 °C. CO₂ concentrations in the cave and soils were measured with a FT A600 CO₂H Ahlborn probe (value range 0 ppmv to 10,000 ppmv, accuracy 1 ppmv), which was connected to the data logger ALMEMO 2290-4, V5 Ahlborn. The soil temperature was measured with a FHA646E1 Ahlborn probe (temperature range -20 to 70 °C, accuracy ± 0.4 °C) connected to an ALMEMO 2290-4 V5 Ahlborn data logger. The airflow velocities into and out of the cave were monitored by a FVA395 TH4 Thermo anemometer (speed range from 0.05 to 2 m s⁻¹, accuracy ± 0.04 m s⁻¹), which was connected to the ALMEMO 2590-4 V5 Ahlborn data logger for recording. The flow was measured in the lower and upper entrance of the Imperial Cave. The data were analyzed in MS Office Excel 2019 and PHREEQC.

Keywords: speleothem growth, carbon dioxide partial pressure, Moravian Karst, external temperature

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Authors: Parya Salimitari, Farhad Tabatabai Ghomsheh, Siyamak Khorramymehr, Hossein Taghadosi, Mohammad Hossein Dashti

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of heel height on the knee joint direction in Genu recurvatum patients compared to normal state. The test was performed on a patient with Genu recurvatum and a healthy person with similar and match biomechanical conditions. Subjects were tested under six different positions of shoes with heels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cm after marking during the gate. The results of the spatial temporal geometry obtained from Vicon Motion System (six-camera T10 model, Oxford Metrics Ltd., Oxford, UK), and were used to compute and analyze the kinematic results. In this study, we tried to determine the effect of shoe heel intervention on knee joint direction correction. The results indicate that the 1 cm heel has been optimized and significantly improved in knee joint flexion and flexion-extension angle so that the difference in knee flexion-extension angle between the patient and the healthy person at some stages of walking has reached zero (good posture). The 3 cm heel compared with the 0 cm heel has reduced the knee recurvatum index (KRI) by up to 21.74% in the patient (from 219.233 mm to 47.6714 mm). According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that heel increase is effective in correcting knee joints in Genu recurvatum and the optimum heel height is 1 cm.

Keywords: joint alignment of knee, gait analysis, genu recurvatum, heel lift, kinematics, motion-analysis

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Authors: P. Makendran, M. Pragadeesh, N. Narash, N. Manikandan, A. Rajasri, V. Sanal Kumar

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The growing severity of government-obligatory emissions legislation has required continuous improvement in catalysts performance and the associated reactor systems. IC engines emit a lot of harmful gases into the atmosphere. These gases are toxic in nature and a catalytic converter is used to convert these toxic gases into less harmful gases. The catalytic converter converts these gases by Oxidation and reduction reaction. Stoichiometric engines usually use the three-way catalyst (TWC) for simultaneously destroying all of the emissions. CO and NO react to form CO2 and N2 over one catalyst, and the remaining CO and HC are oxidized in a subsequent one. Literature review reveals that typically precious metals are used as a catalyst. The actual reactor is composed of a washcoated honeycomb-style substrate, with the catalyst being contained in the washcoat. The main disadvantage of a catalytic converter is that it exerts a back pressure to the exhaust gases while entering into them. The objective of this paper is to optimize the back pressure developed by the catalytic converter through geometric optimization of catalystic converter. This can be achieved by designing a catalyst with a optimum cone angle and a more surface area of the catalyst substrate. Additionally, the arrangement of the pores in the catalyst substrate can be changed. The numerical studies have been carried out using k-omega turbulence model with varying inlet angle of the catalytic converter and the length of the catalyst substrate. We observed that the geometry optimization is a meaningful objective for the lucrative design optimization of a catalytic converter for industrial applications.

Keywords: catalytic converter, emission control, reactor systems, substrate for emission control

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Authors: Ikah Ning Prasetiowati Permanasari, Gunawan Handayani, Lilik Hendrajaya

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Landslide occurence at Mukapayung, Cililin West Java with material movement downward slope as far as 500m and hit residential areas of the village Nagrog cause eighteen people died and ten homes were destroyed and twenty-three heads of families evacuated. In order to test the hypothesis that soil at the landslides area is prone to landslides, we do drilling and the following tests were taken: particle size distribution, atterberg limits, shear strength, density, shringkage limits and triaxial unconsolidated and consolidated undrained test. Factor of safety was calculated to find out the possibility of subsequent landslides. The value of FOS of three layers is 1,05 which means that the soil in a critical condition and would be imminent to slide if there is disruption from the outside.

Keywords: atterberg limits, particle size distribution, shear strength parameters, slope geometry, factor of safety

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Authors: Adriana Duarte, Sandra Sampaio, Catia Ferreira, Jaime I. N. R. Gomes

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With the fashion of faded worn garments the textile industry has moved from indigo and pigments to dyes that are fixed by cationization, with products that can be toxic, and that can show this effect after washing down the dye with friction and/or treating with enzymes in a subsequent operation. Increasingly they are treated with bleaches, such as hypochlorite and permanganate, both toxic substances. An alternative process is presented in this work for both garment and jet dyeing processes, without the use of pre-cationization and the alternative use of “particle-dyes”. These are hybrid products, made up by an inorganic particle and an organic dye. With standard soluble dyes, it is not possible to avoid diffusion into the inside of the fiber unless using previous cationization. Only in this way can diffusion be avoided keeping the centre of the fibres undyed so as to produce the faded effect by removing the surface dye and showing the white fiber beneath. With “particle-dyes”, previous cationization is avoided. By applying low temperatures, the dye does not diffuse completely into the inside of the fiber, since it is a particle and not a soluble dye, being then able to give the faded effect. Even though bleaching can be used it can also be avoided, by the use of friction and enzymes they can be used just as for other dyes. This fashion brought about new ways of applying reactive dyes by the use of previous cationization of cotton, lowering the salt, and temperatures that reactive dyes usually need for reacting and as a side effect the application of a more environmental process. However, cationization is a process that can be problematic in applying it outside garment dyeing, such as jet dyeing, being difficult to obtain level dyeings. It also should be applied by a pad-fix or Pad-batch process due to the low affinity of the pre-cationization products making it a more expensive process, and the risk of unlevelness in processes such as jet dyeing. Wit particle-dyes, since no pre-cationizartion is necessary, they can be applied in jet dyeing. The excess dye is fixed by a fixing agent, fixing the insoluble dye onto the surface of the fibers. By applying the fixing agent only one to 1-3 rinses in water at room temperature are necessary, saving water and improving the washfastness.

Keywords: denim, garment dyeing, worn look, eco-fashion

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Authors: M. Ibrahim Ali, M. El Dawi, M. A. Mohamed Ali

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In this study, the use of magnetic gradient survey, and the geoelectrical ground methods used together to explore archaeological features in Nuri’s pyramids area. Research methods used and the procedures and methodologies have taken full right during the study. The magnetic survey method was used to search for archaeological features using (Geoscan Fluxgate Gradiometer (FM36)). The study area was divided into a number of squares (networks) exactly equal (20 * 20 meters). These squares were collected at the end of the study to give a major network for each region. Networks also divided to take the sample using nets typically equal to (0.25 * 0.50 meter), in order to give a more specific archaeological features with some small bipolar anomalies that caused by buildings built from fired bricks. This definition is important to monitor many of the archaeological features such as rooms and others. This main network gives us an integrated map displayed for easy presentation, and it also allows for all the operations required using (Geoscan Geoplot software). The parallel traverse is the main way to take readings of the magnetic survey, to get out the high-quality data. The study area is very rich in old buildings that vary from small to very large. According to the proportion of the sand dunes and the loose soil, most of these buildings are not visible from the surface. Because of the proportion of the sandy dry soil, there is no connection between the ground surface and the electrodes. We tried to get electrical readings by adding salty water to the soil, but, unfortunately, we failed to confirm the magnetic readings with electrical readings as previously planned.

Keywords: archaeological features, independent grids, magnetic gradient, Nuri pyramid

Procedia PDF Downloads 469

Authors: Tamilmani Thiruvengadam, Ramasthanan Arulampalam

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This project comprises laying approximately 1.8km of 400mm, 1200mm and 2400mm diameter sewer pipes using pipe jacking machines along Mugliston Park, Buangkok Drive, and Buangkok Link. The works include an estimated 14 circular shafts with depth ranging from 10.0 meters to 29.0 meters. Cast in-situ circular shaft will be used for the temporary shaft excavation. The geology is predominantly Backfill and old alluvium with weak material encountered in between. Where there is a very soft clay, F1 material or weak soil is expected, ground improvement will be carried out outside of the shaft followed by cast in-situ concrete ring wall within the improved soil zone. This paper presents the design methodology, analysis and results of temporary shafts for micro TBM launching and constructing permanent manholes. There is also a comparison of instrumentation readings with the analysis predicted values.

Keywords: circular shaft, ground improvement, old alluvium, temporary shaft

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Authors: Guenther Schuh, Michael Riesener, Frederic Diels

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Nowadays, manufacturing companies are faced with the challenge of meeting heterogeneous customer requirements in short product life cycles with a variety of product functions. So far, some of the functional requirements remain unknown until late stages of the product development. A way to handle these uncertainties is the highly iterative product development (HIP) approach. By structuring the development project as a highly iterative process, this method provides customer oriented and marketable products. There are first approaches for combined, hybrid models comprising deterministic-normative methods like the Stage-Gate process and empirical-adaptive development methods like SCRUM on a project management level. However, almost unconsidered is the question, which development scopes can preferably be realized with either empirical-adaptive or deterministic-normative approaches. In this context, a development scope constitutes a self-contained section of the overall development objective. Therefore, this paper focuses on a methodology that deals with the uncertainty of requirements within the early development stages and the corresponding selection of the most appropriate development approach. For this purpose, internal influencing factors like a company’s technology ability, the prototype manufacturability and the potential solution space as well as external factors like the market accuracy, relevance and volatility will be analyzed and combined into an Agile-Indicator. The Agile-Indicator is derived in three steps. First of all, it is necessary to rate each internal and external factor in terms of the importance for the overall development task. Secondly, each requirement has to be evaluated for every single internal and external factor appropriate to their suitability for empirical-adaptive development. Finally, the total sums of internal and external side are composed in the Agile-Indicator. Thus, the Agile-Indicator constitutes a company-specific and application-related criterion, on which the allocation of empirical-adaptive and deterministic-normative development scopes can be made. In a last step, this indicator will be used for a specific clustering of development scopes by application of the fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm. The FCM-method determines sub-clusters within functional clusters based on the empirical-adaptive environmental impact of the Agile-Indicator. By means of the methodology presented in this paper, it is possible to classify requirements, which are uncertainly carried out by the market, into empirical-adaptive or deterministic-normative development scopes.

Keywords: agile, highly iterative development, agile-indicator, product development

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Authors: D. Jayalakshmi, S. S. Bhosale

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This paper, in its first part, presents the state-of-the-art literature of design approaches for geosynthetic reinforced unpaved roads. The literature starting since 1970 and the critical appraisal of flexible pavement design by Giroud and Han (2004) and Jonathan Fannin (2006) is presented. The design example is illustrated for Indian conditions. The example emphasizes the results computed by Giroud and Han's (2004) design method with the Indian road congress guidelines by IRC SP 72 -2015. The input data considered are related to the subgrade soil condition of Maharashtra State in India. The unified soil classification of the subgrade soil is inorganic clay with high plasticity (CH), which is expansive with a California bearing ratio (CBR) of 2% to 3%. The example exhibits the unreinforced case and geotextile as reinforcement by varying the rut depth from 25 mm to 100 mm. The present result reveals the base thickness for the unreinforced case from the IRC design catalogs is in good agreement with Giroud and Han (2004) approach for a range of 75 mm to 100 mm rut depth. Since Giroud and Han (2004) method is applicable for both reinforced and unreinforced cases, for the same data with appropriate Nc factor, for the same rut depth, the base thickness for the reinforced case has arrived for the Indian condition. From this trial, for the CBR of 2%, the base thickness reduction due to geotextile inclusion is 35%. For the CBR range of 2% to 5% with different stiffness in geosynthetics, the reduction in base course thickness will be evaluated, and the validation will be executed by the full-scale accelerated pavement testing set up at the College of Engineering Pune (COE), India.

Keywords: base thickness, design approach, equation, full scale accelerated pavement set up, Indian condition

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Authors: Sajid Shah, Yoshimitsu Uemura, Katsuki Kusakabe

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Sol-gel derived hydrophobic silica membranes with pore sizes less than 1 nm are quite attractive for gas separation in a wide range of temperatures. A nano-structured hydrophobic membrane was prepared by sol-gel technique on a porous α–Al₂O₃ tubular support with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as an intermediate layer. Bistriethoxysilylethane (BTESE) derived sol was modified by adding phenyltriethoxysilylethane (PhTES) as an organic template. Six times dip coated modified silica membrane having a thickness of about 782 nm was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis, together along contact angle and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, showed that hydrophobic properties were improved by increasing the PhTES content. The contact angle of water droplet increased from 37° for pure to 111.5° for the modified membrane. The permeance of single gas H₂ was higher than H₂:CO₂ ratio of 75:25 binary feed mixtures. However, the permeance of H₂ for 60:40 H₂:CO₂ was found lower than single and binary mixture 75:25 H₂:CO₂. The binary selectivity values for 75:25 H₂:CO₂ were 24.75, 44, and 57, respectively. Selectivity had an inverse relation with PhTES content. Hydrophobicity properties were improved by increasing PhTES content in the silica matrix. The system exhibits proper three layers adhesion or integration, and smoothness. Membrane system suitable in steam environment and high-temperature separation. It was concluded that the hydrophobic silica membrane is highly promising for the separation of H₂/CO₂ mixture from various H₂-containing process streams.

Keywords: gas separation, hydrophobic properties, silica membrane, sol–gel method

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Authors: Jalal M. Abdallah

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This paper presents experimental studies carried out on a three phase transformer to investigate and develop the transformer models, which help in testing procedures, describing and evaluating the transformer dielectric conditions process and methods such as: the partial discharge (PD) localization in windings. The measurements are based on the transfer function methods in transformer windings by frequency response analysis (FRA). Numbers of tests conditions were applied to obtain the sensitivity frequency responses of a transformer for different type of faults simulated in a particular phase. The frequency responses were analyzed for the sensitivity of different test conditions to detect and identify the starting of small faults, which are sources of PD. In more detail, the aim is to explain applicability and sensitivity of advanced PD measurements for small short circuits and its localization. The experimental results presented in the paper will help in understanding the sensitivity of FRA measurements in detecting various types of internal winding short circuits in the transformer.

Keywords: frequency response analysis (FRA), measurements, transfer function, transformer

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: D. A. S. Gamage, B. F. A Basnayake, W. A. J. M. de Costa

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Rice is one of the world’s most important cereals. Increasing food production both to meet in-country requirements and to help overcome food crises is one of the major issues facing Sri Lanka today. However, productive land is limited and has mostly been utilized either for food crop production or other uses. Agriculture plays an important and strategic role in the performance of Sri Lankan national economy. A variety of modern agricultural inputs have been introduced, namely ploughs and harvesters, pesticides, fertilizers and lime. Besides, there are several agricultural institutions developing and updating the management of agricultural sector. Modern agricultural inputs cooperate as a catalyst in raising the productivity. However, in the eagerness of gaining profits from the efficient and productive techniques, this modern agricultural input has affected the environment and living things especially those which have been blended from various chemical substance. The increased pressure to maintain a high level of rice output for consumption has resulted in increased use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizer on rice fields in Sri Lanka. The application of inorganic fertilizer has become a burdened to the country in many ways. The excessive reuse of the ground water resources with a considerable application of organic and chemical fertilizers will lead to a deterioration of the quality and quantity of water. Biochar is a form of charcoal produced through the heating of natural organic materials. It has received significant attention recently for its potential as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer and as a means of storing carbon in a sustainable manner. It is the best solution for managing the agricultural wastes while providing a useful product for increasing agricultural productivity and protecting the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate rice husk charcoal coated urea as a slow releasing fertilizer and compare the total N, P, K, organic matter in soil and yield of rice production.

Keywords: biochar, paddy husk, soil conditioner, rice straw compost

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: L. Bouqbis, H.W. Koyro, M. C. Harrouni, S. Daoud, L. F. Z. Ainlhout, C. I. Kammann

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The application of biochar to soils is becoming more and more common. Its application which is generally reported to improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils, has an indirect effect on soil health and increased crop yields. However, many of the previous results are highly variable and dependent mainly on the initial soil properties, biochar characteristics, and production conditions. In this study, two biochars which are biochar II (BC II) derived from a blend of paper sludge and wheat husks and biochar 005 (BC 005) derived from sewage sludge with a KCl additive, are used, and the physical and chemical properties of BC II are characterized. To determine the potential impact of salt stress and toxic and volatile substances, the second part of this study focused on the effect biochars have on germination of salad (Lactuca sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and cress (Lepidium sativum) respectively. Our results indicate that Biochar II showed some unique properties compared to the soil, such as high EC, high content of K, Na, Mg, and low content of heavy metals. Concerning salad and barley germination test, no negative effect of BC II and BC 005 was observed. However, a negative effect of BC 005 at 8% level was revealed. The test of the effect of volatile substances on germination of cress revealed a positive effect of BC II, while a negative effect was observed for BC 005. Moreover, the water holding capacities of biochar-sand mixtures increased with increasing biochar application. Collectively, BC II could be safely used for agriculture and could provide the potential for a better plant growth.

Keywords: biochar, phytotoxic tests, seedlings growth, water holding capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Ritika Jain, Rajnish Kumar

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The Department of Public Enterprises had made submissions of Self Evaluation Reports, for the purpose of corporate governance, mandatory for all central government owned enterprises. Despite this, an alarming 40% of the enterprises did not do so. This study examines the impact of external policy tools and internal firm-specific factors on corporate governance of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). We use a dataset of all manufacturing and non-financial services owned by the central government of India for the year 2010-11. Using probit, ordered logit and Heckman’s sample selection models, the study finds that the probability and quality of corporate governance is positively influenced by the CPSE getting into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the central government of India, and hence, enjoying more autonomy in terms of day to day operations. Besides these, internal factors, including bigger size and lower debt size contribute significantly to better corporate governance.

Keywords: corporate governance, central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), sample selection, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ordered logit, disinvestment

Procedia PDF Downloads 241