Search results for: commercial buildings

Authors: Norhayati Mat Wajid, Abdul Murad Zainal Abidin, Hasila Jarimi, Kamaruzaman Sopian, Adnan Ibrahim, Ahmad Fazlizan, Afif Safwan

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Solar-adsorption air-conditioning system (SADCS) is an alternative to the conventional vapor compression system (VCS). SADCS have advantages over VCS system, such as 1) a green cooling technology which utilizes solar energy to drive the adsorption/desorption cycle, 2) can be operated using green refrigerant HFC free pure water, 3) mechanically simpler, and 4) lower operating noise level since it has no moving parts other than the magnetic valves. Several advancements have been achieved in these fields in the last decade, but further research is still needed to escalate this technology to a practical level. Hence, this paper presents a literature survey and a review that add insights into the current state-of-the-art of SADCS technologies with emphasis on the practical researches that were conducted at the laboratory scale and commercial level. In this paper, the performance evaluation of vermiculite as adsorbent material for SADCS in tropical climate discussed in comparison to other adsorbent material such as silica gel.

Keywords: adsorption cooling, solar-assisted cooling, HVAC, tropical climate, solar thermal

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Aslihan Coban

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As a result of the rapid development of information communication technology, especially the internet, consumers have become an active party in commerce and in law. Consequently, the protection of consumers in cross-border contracts has become increasingly important. This paper is confined to the international jurisdiction of courts over disputes arising from electronic consumer contracts according to the ‘5718 Turkish Act on Private International Law and Civil Procedure’ and the ‘1215/2012 Council Regulation On Jurisdiction and The Recognition and Enforcement Of Judgments In Civil and Commercial Matters’ (Hereafter ‘Brussels I Regulation’). The international jurisdiction of courts for consumer contracts is recognized under both acts above-mentioned; however, there exist some differences between the said legal regulations. Firstly, while there is a specific provision for electronic consumer contracts in Brussels I Regulation, there is no specific provision in the Turkish Act. Secondly, under the Turkish Act, habitual residence, domicile, and workplace of the other party who is not a consumer are all accepted as jurisdiction elements; while domicile is the only jurisdiction element in Brussels I Regulation. Thirdly, the ability to make jurisdiction agreements in disputes arising from electronic consumer contracts is a controversial issue under the Turkish Act while it is explicitly regulated under Brussels I Regulation that such jurisdiction agreements can be concluded by complying with certain conditions.

Keywords: Brussels I Regulation, electronic consumer contracts, jurisdiction, jurisdiction agreement

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Shan Li, Qiuwen Ma

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Integrated project delivery (IPD) is a project delivery method distinguished by a shared risk/rewards mechanism and multiparty agreement. IPD has drawn increasing attention from construction industry due to its reliability to deliver high-performing buildings. However, unavailable IPD specific insurance concerns the industry participants who are interested in IPD implementation. Even though the risk management capability can be enhanced using shared risk mechanism, some risks may occur when the partners do not commit themselves into the integrated practices in a desired manner. This is because the intense collaboration and close integration can not only create added value but bring new opportunistic behaviors and disputes. The study is aimed to investigate the risks of implementing IPD using Bayesian theory. IPD risk taxonomy is presented to identify all potential risks of implementing IPD and a risk network map is developed to capture the interdependencies between IPD risks. The conditional relations between risk occurrences and the impacts of IPD risks on project performances are evaluated and simulated based on Bayesian theory. The probability of project outcomes is predicted by simulation. In addition, it is found that some risks caused by integration are most possible occurred risks. This study can help the IPD project participants identify critical risks of adopting IPD to improve project performances. In addition, it is helpful to develop IPD specific insurance when the pertinent risks can be identified.

Keywords: Bayesian theory, integrated project delivery, project risks, project performances

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Francis Ojo Ologunagba, Monday Olatunbosun Ale, Lewis A. Olutayo

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The economic successes of commercial development of agricultural product processing depend upon the adaptability of each processing stage to mechanization. In maize processing, one of its post-harvest operations that is still facing a major challenge is dehusking. Therefore, a maize dehusking machine that could replace the prevalent traditional method of dehusking maize in developing countries, especially Nigeria was designed, constructed and tested at the Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. The basic features of the machine are feeding unit (hopper), housing frame, dehusking unit, drive mechanism and discharge outlets. The machine was tested with maize of 50mm average diameter at 13% moisture content and 2.5mm machine roller clearance. Test results showed appreciable performance with the dehusking efficiency of 92% and throughput capacity of 200 Kg/hr at a machine speed of 400rpm. The estimated production cost of the machine at the time of construction is forty-five thousand, one hundred and eighty nairas (₦45,180) excluding the cost of the electric motor. It is therefore recommended for small and medium-scale maize farmers and processors in Nigeria.

Keywords: construction, dehusking, design, efficiency, maize

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Shahroz Khan, Osman Taha Şen

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In automotive brake systems, brake noise has been a major problem, and brake squeal is one of the critical ones which is an instability issue. The brake squeal produces an audible sound at high frequency that is irritating to the human ear. To study this critical problem, first a nonlinear mathematical model with three degree of freedom is developed. This model consists of a point mass that simulates the brake pad and a sliding surface that simulates the brake rotor. The model exposes kinematic and clearance nonlinearities, but no friction nonlinearity. In the formulation, the friction coefficient is assumed to be constant and the friction force does not change direction. The nonlinear governing equations of the model are first obtained, and numerical solutions are sought for different cases. Second, a computational model for the squeal problem is developed with a commercial software, and computational solutions are obtained with two different types of contact cases (solid-to-solid and sphere-to-plane). This model consists of three rigid bodies and several elastic elements that simulate the key characteristics of a brake system. The response obtained from this model is compared with numerical solutions in time and frequency domain.

Keywords: contact force, nonlinearities, brake squeal, vehicle brake

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Yessengeldy Kuanyshpayev

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Now in some countries of the world the cellular market is on the point of saturation, in others - positive dynamics of development kept on. The reasons for it are also different, but there are united by their general susceptibility to innovation changes, if they are really innovative. If to take as an example the cellular market of Kazakhstan it is defined by the low percent of smart phones at consumers, the low population density, undercapacity of the 3G channel, and absence of universal access to the LTE technology that limits dynamical growth of this branch. These moments are aggravated by failures of starting commercial projects by private companies which prevent to be implemented and widely adopted to a new product among consumers. The object of the research is possible integration of wireless and program technologies at which introduction the idea can regenerate in an innovation. The analysis of existing projects in the market and the possible union of the technologies through a prism of theoretical bases of innovative activity shows that efficiency of the company by development and introduction of innovations is possible only thanks to strict observance of all terms and conditions of the innovative process which main term is profit. Despite that fact that on a global scale the innovativeness issue of companies is very popular, there are no research about possibility of innovative breaks in the field of wireless access to the Internet in the cellular market of Kazakhstan.

Keywords: innovation, the effectiveness of company, commercialization, cellular market

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Amaechi O. Azi, Uche D. Aluge, Lim H. San, Godwin A. Agbo

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This paper is centered on the investigation of mineral deposits in selected locations in Oshiri province in Ebonyi State. Mineral deposits contribute immensely to the economic growth of a society. In researching lead and zinc oxide-bearing sites at Oshiri, geological and geophysical research technique was employed. Petrozenith, Earth Resistivity Meter, and Schlumberger setup were selected to examine the electrical characteristics of the subsurface. To determine the apparent resistivity of the subsurface, five soundings were taken, and the field data were processed using WinResist software. The mudstone, lead-shale, shale-granite, and lateritic topsoil were the four geoelectric strata that were found. The third layer, which corresponds to the shale-lead lithology, has a resistivity value between 211.9 m to 807.7 m at a depth of 25 m. Due to its resistivity levels and geological trend, this layer makes an excellent signature for lead-zinc occurrence. This zone is expected to house deposits of lead and zinc oxide in commercial quantity.

Keywords: Schlumberger, current, resistivity, lithology

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Kaddari Faiza, Mazari Benyounes, Mihoub Youcef, Safa Ahmed

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Active filtering of electric power has now become a mature technology for reactive power and harmonic compensation caused by the proliferation of power electronics devices used for industrial, commercial and residential purposes. The aim of this study is to enhance the power quality by improving the performances of shunt active power filter in harmonic mitigation to obtain sinusoidal source currents with very weak ripples. A power circuit configuration and control scheme for shunt active power filter are described with an improved method for harmonics compensation using self-tuning-filter for harmonics identification and fuzzy logic control to generate reference current. Simulation results (using MATLAB/SIMULINK) illustrates the compensation characteristics of the proposed control strategy. Analysis of these results proves the feasibility and effectiveness of this method to improve the power quality and also show the performances of fuzzy logic control which provides flexibility, high precision and fast response. The total harmonic distortion (THD %) for the simulations found to be within the recommended imposed IEEE 519-1992 harmonic standard.

Keywords: Active Powers Filter (APF), Self-Tuning-Filter (STF), fuzzy logic control, hysteresis-band control

Procedia PDF Downloads 739

Authors: Nizar Caraka Trihanasia, Suparwoko

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the design model of city gates on arterial roads as Yogyakarta’s “Istimewa” (special) identity. City marketing has become a trend among cities in the past few years. It began to compete with each other in promoting their identity to the world. One of the easiest ways to recognize the identity is by knowing the image of the city which can be seen through architectural buildings or urban elements. The idea is to recognize how the image of the city can represent Yogyakarta’s identity, which is limited to the contribution of the city gates distinctiveness on Yogyakarta urban area. This study has concentrated on the aspect of city gates as built environment that provides a diversity, configuration and scale of development that promotes a sense of place and community. The visual analysis will be conducted to interpreted the existing Yogyakarta city gates (as built environment) focussing on some variables of 1) character and pattern, 2) circulation system establishment, and 3) open space utilisation. Literature review and site survey are also conducted to understand the relationship between the built environment and the sense of place in the community. This study suggests that visually the Yogyakarta city gate model has strong visual characters and pattern by using the concept of a sense of place of Yogyakarta community value.

Keywords: visual analysis, model, Yogyakarta “Istimewa”, citygates

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Authors: Mohsen Abotalebi Esfahani, Amin Rahimi

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Maintenance and management of route and roads infrastructure is one of the most important and the most fundamental principles of the countries. Several methods have been under investigation as preventive proceedings for the maintenance of asphalt pavements for many years. Using a mixture of salt, sand and gravel is the most common method of deicing, which could have numerous harmful consequences. Icy or snow-covered road is one of the major reasons of accidents in rainy seasons, which causes substantial damages such as loss of time and energy, environmental pollution, destruction of buildings, traffic congestion and rising possibility of accidents. Regarding this, every year the government incurred enormous costs to secure traverses. In this study, asphalt pavements have been cured, in terms of compressive strength, tensile strength and resilient modulus of asphalt samples, under the influence of Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Urea and pure water; and showed that de-icing with the calcium chloride solution and urea have the minimum negative effect and de-icing with pure water has most negative effect on laboratory specimens. Hence some simple techniques and new equipment and less use of sand and salt, can reduce significantly the risks and harmful effects of excessive use of salt, sand and gravel and at the same time use the safer roads.

Keywords: maintenance, sodium chloride, icyroad, calcium chloride

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Quang M. Dinh

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Stigmatogobius pleurostigma is a commercial fish being caught increasingly in the Mekong Delta. Although it plays an important role for food supply, little is known about this species including morphology, distribution and growth pattern. Meanwhile, its population and age structure is unknown. The present study was conducted in the Mekong Delta to provide new data on population parameters of this goby species. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞= 8.6 cm, K = 0.83 yr⁻¹, and t0 = -0.07 yr⁻¹ basing on length frequency data analysis of 601 individuals. The fish total length at first capture was 3.8 cm; and fishing, natural and total mortalities of the fish population were 2.31 yr⁻¹, 1.17 yr⁻¹, and 3.48 yr⁻¹ respectively. The maximum fish yield (Eₘₐₓ), economic yield (E₀.₁) and yield of 50% reduction of exploitation (E₅₀) rates were 0.704, 0.555 and 0.335 based on the relative yield-per-recruit and biomass-per-recruit analyses. The fish longevity was 3.61 yr, and growth performance was 1.79. Three fish age groups were recorded in this study (0+, 1+ and 2+). The species is a potential aquaculture candidate because of its high growth parameter. This goby stock was overexploited in the Mekong Delta as its exploitation rate (E=0.34) was higher than E₅₀ (0.335). The mesh size of gillnets should be increased and avoid catching fish in June, recruitment time, for future sustainable fishery management.

Keywords: Stigmatogobius pleurostigma, age, population structure, Vietnam

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: A.Cifarelli, L. Boggioni, F. Bertini, L. Magon, M. Pitalieri, S. Losio

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Nowadays, the growing environmental awareness and the dwindling of fossil resources stimulate the polyurethane (PU) industry towards renewable polymers with low carbon footprint to replace the feed stocks from petroleum sources. The main challenge in this field consists in replacing high-performance products from fossil-fuel with novel synthetic polymers derived from 'green monomers'. The bio-polyols from plant oils have attracted significant industrial interest and major attention in scientific research due to their availability and biodegradability. Triglycerides rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as soybean oil (SBO) and linseed oil (ELO), are particularly interesting because their structures and functionalities are tunable by chemical modification in order to obtain polymeric materials with expected final properties. Unfortunately, their use is still limited for processing or performance problems because a high functionality, as well as OH number of the polyols will result in an increase in cross-linking densities of the resulting PUs. The main aim of this study is to evaluate soy and linseed-based polyols as precursors to prepare prepolymers for the production of polyurethane foams (PUFs) or waterborne-polyurethanes (WPU) used as coatings. An effective reaction route is employed for its simplicity and economic impact. Indeed, bio-polyols were synthesized by a two-step method: epoxidation of the double bonds in vegetable oils and solvent-free ring-opening reaction of the oxirane with organic acids. No organic solvents have been used. Acids with different moieties (aliphatic or aromatics) and different length of hydrocarbon backbones can be used to customize polyols with different functionalities. The ring-opening reaction requires a fine tuning of the experimental conditions (time, temperature, molar ratio of carboxylic acid and epoxy group) to control the acidity value of end-product as well as the amount of residual starting materials. Besides, a Lewis base catalyst is used to favor the ring opening reaction of internal epoxy groups of the epoxidized oil and minimize the formation of cross-linked structures in order to achieve less viscous and more processable polyols with narrower polydispersity indices (molecular weight lower than 2000 g/mol⁻¹). The functionality of optimized polyols is tuned from 2 to 4 per molecule. The obtained polyols are characterized by means of GPC, NMR (¹H, ¹³C) and FT-IR spectroscopy to evaluate molecular masses, molecular mass distributions, microstructures and linkage pathways. Several polyurethane foams have been prepared by prepolymer method blending conventional synthetic polyols with new bio-polyols from soybean and linseed oils without using organic solvents. The compatibility of such bio-polyols with commercial polyols and diisocyanates is demonstrated. The influence of the bio-polyols on the foam morphology (cellular structure, interconnectivity), density, mechanical and thermal properties has been studied. Moreover, bio-based WPUs have been synthesized by well-established processing technology. In this synthesis, a portion of commercial polyols is substituted by the new bio-polyols and the properties of the coatings on leather substrates have been evaluated to determine coating hardness, abrasion resistance, impact resistance, gloss, chemical resistance, flammability, durability, and adhesive strength.

Keywords: bio-polyols, polyurethane foams, solvent free synthesis, waterborne-polyurethanes

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Federico Hahn Schlam, Fermín Martínez Solís

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Leaf-cutting ants (Atta cephalotes) forage from mango tree leaves and flowers to feed their colony. Farmers find it difficult to control ants due to the great quantity of trees grown in commercial orchards. In this article, IoT can support farmers for ant detection in real time, as production losses can be considered of 324 US per tree.A wireless sensor network, WSN, was developed to warn the farmer from ant presence in trees during a night. Mango trees were gathered into groups of 9 trees, where the central tree holds the master microcontroller, and the other eight trees presented slave microcontrollers (nodes). At each node, anemitter diode-photodiode unitdetects ants climbing up. A capacitor is chargedand discharged after being sampled every ten minutes. The system usesBLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to communicate between the master microcontroller by BLE.When ants were detected the number of the tree was transmitted via LoRa from the masterto the producer smartphone to warn him. In this paper, BLE, LoRa, and energy consumption were studied under variable vegetation in the orchard. During 2018, 19 trees were attacked by ants, and ants fed 26.3% of flowers and 73.7% of leaves.

Keywords: BLE, atta cephalotes, LoRa, WSN-smartphone, energy consumption

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: S. Al-Enezi, J. Samuel, A. Al-Banna

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Polymer based membranes are one of the low-cost technologies available for the gas separation. Three major elements required for a commercial gas separating membrane are high permeability, high selectivity, and good mechanical strength. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a commercially available fluoropolymer and a widely used membrane material in gas separation devices since it possesses remarkable thermal, chemical stability, and excellent mechanical strength. The PVDF membrane was chemically modified by soaking in different ionic liquids and dried. The thermal behavior of modified membranes was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry (TGA), and the results clearly show the best affinity between the ionic liquid and the polymer support. The porous structure of the PVDF membranes was clearly seen in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The CO₂ permeability of blended membranes was explored in comparison with the unmodified matrix. The ionic liquid immobilized in the hydrophobic PVDF support exhibited good performance for separations of CO₂/N₂. The improved permeability of modified membrane (PVDF-IL) is attributed to the high concentration of nitrogen rich imidazolium moieties.

Keywords: PVDF, polymer membrane, gas permeability, CO₂ separation, nanotubes

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Emin Avcı, Çiydem Çatak

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The recent economic crisis have shown that procyclicality, which could threaten the stability and growth of the economy, is a major problem of financial and real sector. The term procyclicality refers here the cyclical behavior of banks that lead them to follow the same patterns as the real economy. In this study, leverage which demonstrate how a bank manage its debt, is chosen as bank specific variable to see the effect of changes in it over the economic cycle. The procyclical behavior of Turkish banking sector (commercial, participation, development-investment banks) is tried to explain with analyzing the relationship between leverage and asset growth. On the basis of theoretical explanations, eight different leverage ratios are utilized in eight different panel data models to demonstrate the procyclicality effect of Turkish banks leverage using monthly data covering the 2005-2014 period. It is tested whether there is an increasing (decreasing) trend in the leverage ratio of Turkish banks when there is an enlargement (contraction) in their balance sheet. The major finding of the study indicates that asset growth has a significant effect on all eight leverage ratios. In other words, the leverage of Turkish banks follow a cyclical pattern, which is in line with those of earlier literature.

Keywords: banking, economic cycles, leverage, procyclicality

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: I. Behroyan, P. Ganesan, S. He, S. Sivasankaran

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This study compares the predictions of five types of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, including two single-phase models (i.e. Newtonian and non-Newtonian) and three two-phase models (Eulerian-Eulerian, mixture and Eulerian-Lagrangian), to investigate turbulent forced convection of Cu-water nanofluid in a tube with a constant heat flux on the tube wall. The Reynolds (Re) number of the flow is between 10,000 and 25,000, while the volume fraction of Cu particles used is in the range of 0 to 2%. The commercial CFD package of ANSYS-Fluent is used. The results from the CFD models are compared with results from experimental investigations from literature. According to the results of this study, non-Newtonian single-phase model, in general, does not show a good agreement with Xuan and Li correlation in prediction of Nu number. Eulerian-Eulerian model gives inaccurate results expect for φ=0.5%. Mixture model gives a maximum error of 15%. Newtonian single-phase model and Eulerian-Lagrangian model, in overall, are the recommended models. This work can be used as a reference for selecting an appreciate model for future investigation. The study also gives a proper insight about the important factors such as Brownian motion, fluid behavior parameters and effective nanoparticle conductivity which should be considered or changed by the each model.

Keywords: heat transfer, nanofluid, single-phase models, two-phase models

Procedia PDF Downloads 484

Authors: Xinyi Huang

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As a former British colony and one of the most famous world financial centers today, Hong Kong attracts countless businessmen and tourists to visit or settle down every year. Hong Kong is a land that leads western culture to blossom in Asia, and in the meantime, it inherits the unique charm of Chinese traditional culture. The Chinese-English bilingual phenomenon can be seen everywhere in Hong Kong. The public presentation, code choice, and practical use of these two languages can also reflect the economic and social status, population distribution, and individual identity construction of a specific area. This paper mainly compares the linguistic landscape of two areas with different social functions in Hong Kong: Tsim Sha Tsui, a large commercial center in Kowloon, and Tai Wai, a residential area in New Territories. By adopting the methodology of the Walking Tour, the bilingual data of 75 photos are collected unintentionally during the field trip in the two areas. Through the methods of quantitative analysis and linguistic landscape studies, this paper deeply analyzes the similarities and differences in language distribution and the respective social functions of two languages in the two places.

Keywords: bilingualism, linguistic landscape, identity construction, commodification

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Gopi Kandaswamy, P. Balamuralidhar

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Fully autonomous small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in many commercial applications. Although a lot of research has been done to develop safe, reliable and durable UAVs, accidents due to electronic and structural failures are not uncommon and pose a huge safety risk to the UAV operators and the public. Hence there is a strong need for an automated health monitoring system for UAVs with a view to minimizing mission failures thereby increasing safety. This paper describes our approach to monitoring the electronic and structural components in a small UAV without the need for additional sensors to do the monitoring. Our system monitors data from four sources; sensors, navigation algorithms, control inputs from the operator and flight controller outputs. It then does statistical analysis on the data and applies a rule based engine to detect failures. This information can then be fed back into the UAV and a decision to continue or abort the mission can be taken automatically by the UAV and independent of the operator. Our system has been verified using data obtained from real flights over the past year from UAVs of various sizes that have been designed and deployed by us for various applications.

Keywords: fault detection, health monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicles, vibration analysis

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Authors: S. M. Al-Salem, G.A. Leeke, H. J. Karam, R. Al-Enzi, A. T. Al-Dhafeeri, J. Wang

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Thermogravimetry has been popularized as a thermal characterization technique since the 1950s. It aims at investigating the weight loss against both reaction time and temperature, whilst being able to characterize the evolved gases from the volatile components of the organic material being tested using an appropriate hyphenated analytical technique. In an effort to characterize and identify the reclaimed waste from an unsanitary landfill site, this approach was initiated. Solid waste (SW) reclaimed from an active landfill site in the State of Kuwait was collected and prepared for characterization in accordance with international protocols. The SW was segregated and its major components were identified after washing and air drying. Shredding and cryomilling was conducted on the plastic solid waste (PSW) component to yield a material that is representative for further testing and characterization. The material was subjected to five heating rates (b) with minimal repeatable weight for high accuracy thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) following the recommendation of the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (ICTAC). The TGA yielded thermograms that showed an off-set from typical behavior of commercial grade resin which was attributed to contact of material with soil and thermal/photo-degradation.

Keywords: polymer, TGA, pollution, landfill, waste, plastic

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Chul H. Jo, Do Y. Kim, Bong K. Cho, Myeong J. Kim

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The exhaustion of oil and the environmental pollution from the use of fossil fuel are increasing. Tidal current power (TCP) has been proposed as an alternative energy source because of its predictability and reliability. By applying a duct and single point mooring (SPM) system, a TCP device can amplify the generating power and keep its position properly. Because the generating power is proportional to cube of the current stream velocity, amplifying the current speed by applying a duct to a TCP system is an effective way to improve the efficiency of the power device. An SPM system can be applied at any water depth and is highly cost effective. Simple installation and maintenance procedures are also merits of an SPM system. In this study, we designed an SPM system for a duct-type TCP device for use in shallow water. Motions of the duct are investigated to obtain the response amplitude operator (RAO) as the magnitude of the transfer function. Parameters affecting the stability of the SPM system such as the fairlead departure angle, current velocity, and the number of clamp weights are analyzed and/or optimized. Wadam and OrcaFlex commercial software is used to design the mooring line.

Keywords: mooring design, parametric analysis, RAO (Response Amplitude Operator), SPM (Single Point Mooring)

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Authors: Desmond Adair, Kairat Ismailov, Martin Jaeger

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Modelling of Timoshenko beams on elastic foundations has been widely used in the analysis of buildings, geotechnical problems, and, railway and aerospace structures. For the elastic foundation, the most widely used models are one-parameter mechanical models or two-parameter models to include continuity and cohesion of typical foundations, with the two-parameter usually considered the better of the two. Knowledge of free vibration characteristics of beams on an elastic foundation is considered necessary for optimal design solutions in many engineering applications, and in this work, the efficient and accurate variational iteration method is developed and used to calculate natural frequencies of a Timoshenko beam on a two-parameter foundation. The variational iteration method is a technique capable of dealing with some linear and non-linear problems in an easy and efficient way. The calculations are compared with those using a finite-element method and other analytical solutions, and it is shown that the results are accurate and are obtained efficiently. It is found that the effect of the presence of the two-parameter foundation is to increase the beam’s natural frequencies and this is thought to be because of the shear-layer stiffness, which has an effect on the elastic stiffness. By setting the two-parameter model’s stiffness parameter to zero, it is possible to obtain a one-parameter foundation model, and so, comparison between the two foundation models is also made.

Keywords: Timoshenko beam, variational iteration method, two-parameter elastic foundation model

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Authors: Okezie A. Ihugba

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The bounds testing ARDL (2, 2, 2, 2, 0) technique to cointegration was used in this study to investigate the effect of energy consumption and energy loss on Nigeria's manufacturing sector from 1981 to 2020. The model was created to determine the relationship between these three variables while also accounting for interactions with control variables such as inflation and commercial bank loans to the manufacturing sector. When the dependent variables are energy consumption and energy loss, the bounds tests show that the variables of interest are bound together in the long run. Because electricity consumption is a critical factor in determining manufacturing value-added in Nigeria, some intriguing observations were made. According to the findings, the relationship between LELC and LMVA is statistically significant. According to the findings, electricity consumption reduces manufacturing value-added. The target variable (energy loss) is statistically significant and has a positive sign. In Nigeria, a 1% reduction in energy loss increases manufacturing value-added by 36% in the first lag and 35% in the second. According to the study, the government should speed up the ongoing renovation of existing power plants across the country, as well as the construction of new gas-fired power plants. This will address a number of issues, including overpricing of electricity as a result of grid failure.

Keywords: L60, Q43, H81, C52, E31, ARDL, cointegration, Nigeria's manufacturing

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Djemaa Megdoud, Messaoud Boudaa, Fatima Ouamrane, Salem Benamara

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In recent years, the compression of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit powders (DP) to obtain date tablets (DT) has been suggested as a promising form of valorization of non commercial valuable date fruit (DF) varieties. To further improve and characterize DT, the present study aims to investigate the influence of the DP particle size and compression force on some physical properties of DT. The results show that independently of particle size, the hardness (y) of tablets increases with the increase of the compression force (x) following a logarithmic law (y = a ln (bx) where a and b are the constants of model). Further, a full factorial design (FFD) at two levels, applied to investigate the erosion %, reveals that the effects of time and particle size are the same in absolute value and they are beyond the effect of the compression. Regarding the disintegration time, the obtained results also by means of a FFD show that the effect of the compression force exceeds 4 times that of the DP particle size. As final stage, the color parameters in the CIELab system of DT immediately after their obtaining are differently influenced by the size of the initial powder.

Keywords: powder, tablets, date (Phoenix dactylifera L.), hardness, erosion, disintegration time, color

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Authors: E. Pretorius, A. M. Viljoen, M. van der Bank

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Introduction: The phytochemistry of Agathosma crenulata and A. betulina has been studied extensively, while their molecular analysis through DNA barcoding remains virtually unexplored. This technique can confirm the identity of plant species included in a herbal product, thereby ensuring the efficacy of the herbal product and the accuracy of its label. Materials and methods: Authentic Agathosma reference material of A. betulina (n=16) and A. crenulata (n=10) were obtained. Thirteen commercial products were purchased from various health shops around Johannesburg, South Africa, using the search term “Agathosma” or “Buchu.” The plastid regions matK and ycf1 were used to barcode the Buchu products, and BRONX analysis confirmed the taxonomic identity of the samples. UPLC-MS analyses were also performed. Results: Only (30/60) 60% of the traded samples tested from 13 suppliers contained A. betulina in their herbal products. Similar results were also obtained for the UPLC-MS analysis. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrate the application of DNA barcoding in combination with phytochemical analysis to authenticate herbal products claiming to contain Agathosma plants as an ingredient in their products. This supports manufacturing efforts to ensure that herbal products that are safe for the consumer.

Keywords: Buchu, substitution, barcoding, BRONX algorithm, matK, ycf1, UPLC-MS

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Authors: Mohammad I. Hossain, Omar F. Hamim

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This paper presents a case study on a pile integrity test for assessing the integrity of piles as well as a physical dimension (e.g., cross-sectional area, length), continuity, and consistency of the pile materials. The recent boom in the socio-economic condition of Bangladesh has given rise to the building of high-rise commercial and residential infrastructures. The advantage of the pile integrity test lies in the fact that it is possible to get an approximate indication regarding the quality of the sub-structure before commencing the construction of the super-structure. This paper aims at providing a classification of cast-in-situ piles based on characteristic reflectograms obtained using the Sonic Integrity Testing program for the sub-soil condition of Narayanganj, Bangladesh. The piles have been classified as 'Pile Type-1', 'Pile Type-2', 'Pile Type-3', 'Pile type-4', 'Pile Type-5' or 'Pile Type-6' from the visual observations of reflections from the generated stress waves by striking the pile head with a handheld hammer. With respect to construction quality and integrity, piles have been further classified into three distinct categories, i.e., satisfactory, may be satisfactory, and unsatisfactory.

Keywords: cast-in-situ piles, characteristic reflectograms, pile integrity test, sonic integrity testing program

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Authors: Christian Klettner, Ian Eames, Tristan Robinson

Abstract:

Tsunami is characterised by their very long time periods and can have devastating consequences when these inundate through built-up coastal regions as in the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. This work aims to investigate the effect of these long waves on the flow through and around a group of buildings, which are abstracted to circular cylinders. The research approach used in this study was using experiments and numerical simulations. Large-scale experiments were carried out at HR Wallingford. The novelty of these experiments is (I) the number of bodies present (up to 64), (II) the long wavelength of the input waves (80 seconds) and (III) the width of the tank (4m) which gives the unique opportunity to investigate three length scales, namely the diameter of the building, the diameter of the array and the width of the tank. To complement the experiments, dam break flow past the same arrays is investigated using three-dimensional numerical simulations in OpenFOAM. Dam break flow was chosen as it is often used as a surrogate for the tsunami in previous research and is used here as there are well defined initial conditions and high quality previous experimental data for the case of a single cylinder is available. The focus of this work is to better understand the effect of the solid void fraction on the force and flow through and around the array. New qualitative and quantitative diagnostics are developed and tested to analyse the complex coupled interaction between the cylinders.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, tsunami, forces, complex geometry

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Authors: Laaziz El Hassan

Abstract:

The Service Network Design Problem (SNDP) is a tactical issue in freight transportation firms. The existing formulations of the problem for intermodal rail-road transportation were not always adapted to the intermodality in terms of full asset utilization and modal shift reinforcement. The objective of the article is to propose a model having a more compliant formulation with intermodality, including constraints highlighting the imperatives of asset management, reinforcing modal shift from road to rail and reducing, by the way, road mode CO2 emissions. The model is a fixed charged, path based integer nonlinear program. Its objective is to minimize services total cost while ensuring full assets utilization to satisfy freight demand forecast. The model's main feature is that it gives as output both the train sizes and the services frequencies for a planning period. We solved the program using a commercial solver and discussed the numerical results.

Keywords: intermodal transport network, service network design, model, nonlinear integer program, path-based, service frequencies, modal shift

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Authors: Hong-Jin Joo, Hee-Yoel Kwak

Abstract:

Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) uses pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. The feed seawater is capable of producing more vapor at the same temperature than Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD), Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) or Sweep Gas Membrane Distillation (SGMD). It is advantageous because it is operable at a lower temperature than other membrane distillations. However, no commercial product is available that uses the VMD method, as it is still in the study stage. In this study, therefore, thermal performance test according to the feed water conditions was performed prior to both construction of the demonstration plant, which uses VMD module of the capacity of 400m³/d in South Korea, and commercialization of VMD module with hollow fiber membrane. Such study was performed by designing and constructing the VMD module of the capacity of 2 m³/day which utilizes the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane. The results obtained from the VMD module manufactured by ECONITY Co., Ltd in South Korea, showed that the maximum performance ratio (PR) value of 0.904, feed water temperature of 75 ℃, and the flow rate of 8 m3/h. As the temperature of and flow rate of the feed water increased, the PR value of the VMD module also increased.

Keywords: membrane distillation, vacuum membrane distillation, hollow fiber membrane, desalination

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Authors: Anchana Sooksomchitra

Abstract:

This study aims to explore and compare the current condition of community radio stations in Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand, as well as the challenges they are facing. Qualitative research tools including in-depth interviews; documentary analysis; focus group interviews; and observation, are used to examine the content, programming, and management structure of three community radio stations currently in operation within the district. Research findings indicate that the management and operational approaches adopted by the two non-profit stations included in the study, Salaya Pattana and Voice of Dhamma, are more structured and effective than that of the for-profit Tune Radio. Salaya Pattana – backed by the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, and the charity-funded Voice of Dhamma, are comparatively free from political and commercial influence, and able to provide more relevant and consistent community-oriented content to meet the real demand of the audience. Tune Radio, on the other hand, has to rely solely on financial support from political factions and business groups, which heavily influence its content.

Keywords: radio broadcasting, programming, management, community radio, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 400

Authors: Ojo Oo, Akinde S. B., Kiilani A. O., Jayeola Jo, Jogbodo T. M., Ajani Ka, Olaniyan So, Adeagbo Oy, Bolarinwa Ra, Durosomo Ha, Sule W. F.

Abstract:

Lockdown imposed to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission hampered malaria control services in Nigeria. Considering COVID-19 vaccination, we assessed Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) antigen and SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin-G (IgG) positivity among adults in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Consenting attendees of four Healthcare Centres were consecutively enrolled for blood sampling; relevant socio-demographic/behavioral/clinical/environmental data were collected with a questionnaire. Samples were tested, using commercial rapid test kits, for Pf antigen and SARS-CoV-2 IgG and results were analyzed using logistic regression. Participants' mean age was 40.99 years (n=200), and they were predominantly females (84.5%), traders/businessmen/women (86.0%), with self-reported receipt of COVID-19 vaccine from 123 (61.5%). Pf antigen positivity was 17.5% (95% CI: 12.23–22.77%) with age (p=0.004), marital status (p=0.004), report of stagnant water around the workplace (p=0.041) and bush around homes (p=0.008) being associated. SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity was 56.5% (95% CI: 49.63–63.37%) with age (p=0.012) and receipt of COVID-19 vaccination (p=0.001) being associated. Although the vaccinated had a 22.8 times higher likelihood of IgG positivity, no factor was predictive of COVID-19 vaccine receipt. We report 17.5% Pf antigen positivity with four predictors, and 56.5% SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity with two predictors.

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine, IgG, Plasmodium falciparum, SARS-CoV-2

Procedia PDF Downloads 141