Search results for: enhancement of electric field
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10255

Search results for: enhancement of electric field

7735 Exploring 21st Century Ecolinguistics: Navigating Hybrid Identities in a Changing World

Authors: Dace Aleksandraviča

Abstract:

The paper presents a theoretical exploration of the emerging field of 21st-century ecolinguistics, which examines the multi-faceted relationship between language, ecology, and identity in our rapidly changing global landscape. In an era characterized by unprecedented linguistic and cultural hybridity, understanding the interplay between language and environment is paramount. This paper delves into the concept of hybrid identities, examining how individuals negotiate their linguistic and cultural affiliations within diverse ecological contexts based on relevant prior contributions in the field. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives from linguistics, environmental studies, and cultural studies, the research investigates the ways in which language shapes and is shaped by environmental realities. The abstract underscores the importance of ecolinguistic approaches in fostering environmental stewardship and promoting sustainable practices. By acknowledging the intrinsic link between language, culture, and ecology, it becomes possible to cultivate a deeper appreciation for linguistic diversity and empower individuals to navigate their hybrid identities in a rapidly changing world. In line with that, the paper hopes to contribute to the growing body of literature on ecolinguistics and offer insights into how language can serve as a tool for both environmental conservation and cultural revitalization.

Keywords: ecolinguistics, hybrid identities, language, globalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 31
7734 Comparative Evaluation of Root Uptake Models for Developing Moisture Uptake Based Irrigation Schedules for Crops

Authors: Vijay Shankar

Abstract:

In the era of water scarcity, effective use of water via irrigation requires good methods for determining crop water needs. Implementation of irrigation scheduling programs requires an accurate estimate of water use by the crop. Moisture depletion from the root zone represents the consequent crop evapotranspiration (ET). A numerical model for simulating soil water depletion in the root zone has been developed by taking into consideration soil physical properties, crop and climatic parameters. The governing differential equation for unsaturated flow of water in the soil is solved numerically using the fully implicit finite difference technique. The water uptake by plants is simulated by using three different sink functions. The non-linear model predictions are in good agreement with field data and thus it is possible to schedule irrigations more effectively. The present paper describes irrigation scheduling based on moisture depletion from the different layers of the root zone, obtained using different sink functions for three cash, oil and forage crops: cotton, safflower and barley, respectively. The soil is considered at a moisture level equal to field capacity prior to planting. Two soil moisture regimes are then imposed for irrigated treatment, one wherein irrigation is applied whenever soil moisture content is reduced to 50% of available soil water; and other wherein irrigation is applied whenever soil moisture content is reduced to 75% of available soil water. For both the soil moisture regimes it has been found that the model incorporating a non-linear sink function which provides best agreement of computed root zone moisture depletion with field data, is most effective in scheduling irrigations. Simulation runs with this moisture uptake function result in saving 27.3 to 45.5% & 18.7 to 37.5%, 12.5 to 25% % &16.7 to 33.3% and 16.7 to 33.3% & 20 to 40% irrigation water for cotton, safflower and barley respectively, under 50 & 75% moisture depletion regimes over other moisture uptake functions considered in the study. Simulation developed can be used for an optimized irrigation planning for different crops, choosing a suitable soil moisture regime depending upon the irrigation water availability and crop requirements.

Keywords: irrigation water, evapotranspiration, root uptake models, water scarcity

Procedia PDF Downloads 314
7733 Enhancement of Cement Mortar Mechanical Properties with Replacement of Seashell Powder

Authors: Abdoullah Namdar, Fadzil Mat Yahaya

Abstract:

Many synthetic additives have been using for improve cement mortar and concrete characteristics, but natural additive is a friendly environment option. The quantity of (2% and 4%) seashell powder has been replaced in cement mortar, and compared with plain cement mortar in early age of 7 days. The strain gauges have been installed on beams and cube, for monitoring fluctuation of flexural and compressive strength. Main objective of this paper is to study effect of linear static force on flexural and compressive strength of modified cement mortar. The results have been indicated that the replacement of appropriate proportion of seashell powder enhances cement mortar mechanical properties. The replacement of 2% seashell causes improvement of deflection, time to failure and maximum load to failure on concrete beam and cube, the same occurs for compressive modulus elasticity. Increase replacement of seashell to 4% reduces all flexural strength, compressive strength and strain of cement mortar.

Keywords: compressive strength, flexural strength, compressive modulus elasticity, time to failure, deflection

Procedia PDF Downloads 438
7732 Development of Multi-Leaf Collimator-Based Isocenter Verification Tool Using Electrical Portal Imaging Device for Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Authors: Panatda Intanin, Sangutid Thongsawad, Chirapha Tannanonta, Todsaporn Fuangrod

Abstract:

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a highly precision delivery technique that requires comprehensive quality assurance (QA) tests prior to treatment delivery. An isocenter of delivery beam plays a critical role that affect the treatment accuracy. The uncertainty of isocenter is traditionally accessed using circular cone equipment, Winston-Lutz (WL) phantom and film. This technique is considered time consuming and highly dependent on the observer. In this work, the development of multileaf collimator (MLC)-based isocenter verification tool using electronic portal imaging device (EPID) was proposed and evaluated. A mechanical isocenter alignment with ball bearing diameter 5 mm and circular cone diameter 10 mm fixed to gantry head defines the radiation field was set as the conventional WL test method. The conventional setup was to compare to the proposed setup; using MLC (10 x 10 mm) to define the radiation filed instead of cone. This represents more realistic delivery field than using circular cone equipment. The acquisition from electronic portal imaging device (EPID) and radiographic film were performed in both experiments. The gantry angles were set as following: 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°. A software tool was in-house developed using MATLAB/SIMULINK programming to determine the centroid of radiation field and shadow of WL phantom automatically. This presents higher accuracy than manual measurement. The deviation between centroid of both cone-based and MLC-based WL tests were quantified. To compare between film and EPID image, the deviation for all gantry angle was 0.26±0.19mm and 0.43±0.30 for cone-based and MLC-based WL tests. For the absolute deviation calculation on EPID images between cone and MLC-based WL test was 0.59±0.28 mm and the absolute deviation on film images was 0.14±0.13 mm. Therefore, the MLC-based isocenter verification using EPID present high sensitivity tool for SRS QA.

Keywords: isocenter verification, quality assurance, EPID, SRS

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7731 Classification of Myoelectric Signals Using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network with Back-Propagation Algorithm in a Wireless Surface Myoelectric Prosthesis of the Upper-Limb

Authors: Kevin D. Manalo, Jumelyn L. Torres, Noel B. Linsangan

Abstract:

This paper focuses on a wireless myoelectric prosthesis of the upper-limb that uses a Multilayer Perceptron Neural network with back propagation. The algorithm is widely used in pattern recognition. The network can be used to train signals and be able to use it in performing a function on their own based on sample inputs. The paper makes use of the Neural Network in classifying the electromyography signal that is produced by the muscle in the amputee’s skin surface. The gathered data will be passed on through the Classification Stage wirelessly through Zigbee Technology. The signal will be classified and trained to be used in performing the arm positions in the prosthesis. Through programming using Verilog and using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with Zigbee, the EMG signals will be acquired and will be used for classification. The classified signal is used to produce the corresponding Hand Movements (Open, Pick, Hold, and Grip) through the Zigbee controller. The data will then be processed through the MLP Neural Network using MATLAB which then be used for the surface myoelectric prosthesis. Z-test will be used to display the output acquired from using the neural network.

Keywords: field programmable gate array, multilayer perceptron neural network, verilog, zigbee

Procedia PDF Downloads 375
7730 Land Use Change Detection Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Authors: Naser Ahmadi Sani, Karim Solaimani, Lida Razaghnia, Jalal Zandi

Abstract:

In recent decades, rapid and incorrect changes in land-use have been associated with consequences such as natural resources degradation and environmental pollution. Detecting changes in land-use is one of the tools for natural resource management and assessment of changes in ecosystems. The target of this research is studying the land-use changes in Haraz basin with an area of 677000 hectares in a 15 years period (1996 to 2011) using LANDSAT data. Therefore, the quality of the images was first evaluated. Various enhancement methods for creating synthetic bonds were used in the analysis. Separate training sites were selected for each image. Then the images of each period were classified in 9 classes using supervised classification method and the maximum likelihood algorithm. Finally, the changes were extracted in GIS environment. The results showed that these changes are an alarm for the HARAZ basin status in future. The reason is that 27% of the area has been changed, which is related to changing the range lands to bare land and dry farming and also changing the dense forest to sparse forest, horticulture, farming land and residential area.

Keywords: Haraz basin, change detection, land-use, satellite data

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7729 Detailed Depositional Resolutions in Upper Miocene Sands of HT-3X Well, Nam Con Son Basin, Vietnam

Authors: Vo Thi Hai Quan

Abstract:

Nam Con Son sedimentary basin is one of the very important oil and gas basins in offshore Vietnam. Hai Thach field of block 05-2 contains mostly gas accumulations in fine-grained, sand/mud-rich turbidite system, which was deposited in a turbidite channel and fan environment. Major Upper Miocene reservoir of HT-3X lies above a well-developed unconformity. The main objectives of this study are to reconstruct depositional environment and to assess the reservoir quality using data from 14 meters of core samples and digital wireline data of the well HT-3X. The wireline log and core data showed that the vertical sequences of representative facies of the well mainly range from Tb to Te divisions of Bouma sequences with predominance of Tb and Tc compared to Td and Te divisions. Sediments in this well were deposited in a submarine fan association with very fine to fine-grained, homogeneous sandstones that have high porosity and permeability, high- density turbidity currents with longer transport route from the sediment source to the basin, indicating good quality of reservoir. Sediments are comprised mainly of the following sedimentary structures: massive, laminated sandstones, convoluted bedding, laminated ripples, cross-laminated ripples, deformed sandstones, contorted bedding.

Keywords: Hai Thach field, Miocene sand, turbidite, wireline data

Procedia PDF Downloads 283
7728 The Effect of Perceived Organizational Support and Leader Member Exchange on Turnover Intention: A Field Study in the Healthcare Industry

Authors: Mehtap Öztürk, Adem Öğüt, Emine Öğüt

Abstract:

Leader member exchange is considered as relationship-based approach to leadership. The focal point of this theory is that effective leadership processes occur when leaders and followers are able to develop mature leadership relationships and thus gain access to a variety of benefits these relationships bring. In this context, it can be claimed that the quality of leader member exchange appears to have a strong affect on perceived organizational support and reduce turnover intention. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the levels of leader member exchange, perceived organizational support and turnover intention on the employees of a health institution operating in the province of Konya. A field study based on survey method on 134 physicians who are employees of a health institution operating in the mentioned sample. In accordance with this purpose, it has been observed that there is a negative and statistically significant relationship between leader member exchange and turnover intention. Furthermore, it has been also realized that there is a negative and statistically significant relationship between perceived organizational support and turnover intention.

Keywords: leader member exchange, perceived organizational support, social exchange theory, turnover intention

Procedia PDF Downloads 341
7727 Sliding Mode Control and Its Application in Custom Power Device: A Comprehensive Overview

Authors: Pankaj Negi

Abstract:

Nowadays the demand for receiving the high quality electrical energy is being increasing as consumer wants not only reliable but also quality power. Custom power instruments are of the most well-known compensators of power quality in distributed network. This paper present a comprehensive review of compensating custom power devices mainly DSTATCOM (distribution static compensator),DVR (dynamic voltage restorer), and UPQC (unified power quality compensator) and also deals with sliding mode control and its applications to custom power devices. The sliding mode control strategy provides robustness to custom power device and enhances the dynamic response for compensating voltage sag, swell, voltage flicker, and voltage harmonics. The aim of this paper is to provide a broad perspective on the status of compensating devices in electric power distribution system and sliding mode control strategies to researchers and application engineers who are dealing with power quality and stability issues.

Keywords: active power filters(APF), custom power device(CPD), DSTATCOM, DVR, UPQC, sliding mode control (SMC), power quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 424
7726 Clutter Suppression Based on Singular Value Decomposition and Fast Wavelet Algorithm

Authors: Ruomeng Xiao, Zhulin Zong, Longfa Yang

Abstract:

Aiming at the problem that the target signal is difficult to detect under the strong ground clutter environment, this paper proposes a clutter suppression algorithm based on the combination of singular value decomposition and the Mallat fast wavelet algorithm. The method first carries out singular value decomposition on the radar echo data matrix, realizes the initial separation of target and clutter through the threshold processing of singular value, and then carries out wavelet decomposition on the echo data to find out the target location, and adopts the discard method to select the appropriate decomposition layer to reconstruct the target signal, which ensures the minimum loss of target information while suppressing the clutter. After the verification of the measured data, the method has a significant effect on the target extraction under low SCR, and the target reconstruction can be realized without the prior position information of the target and the method also has a certain enhancement on the output SCR compared with the traditional single wavelet processing method.

Keywords: clutter suppression, singular value decomposition, wavelet transform, Mallat algorithm, low SCR

Procedia PDF Downloads 101
7725 Polymer Mediated Interaction between Grafted Nanosheets

Authors: Supriya Gupta, Paresh Chokshi

Abstract:

Polymer-particle interactions can be effectively utilized to produce composites that possess physicochemical properties superior to that of neat polymer. The incorporation of fillers with dimensions comparable to polymer chain size produces composites with extra-ordinary properties owing to very high surface to volume ratio. The dispersion of nanoparticles is achieved by inducing steric repulsion realized by grafting particles with polymeric chains. A comprehensive understanding of the interparticle interaction between these functionalized nanoparticles plays an important role in the synthesis of a stable polymer nanocomposite. With the focus on incorporation of clay sheets in a polymer matrix, we theoretically construct the polymer mediated interparticle potential for two nanosheets grafted with polymeric chains. The self-consistent field theory (SCFT) is employed to obtain the inhomogeneous composition field under equilibrium. Unlike the continuum models, SCFT is built from the microscopic description taking in to account the molecular interactions contributed by both intra- and inter-chain potentials. We present the results of SCFT calculations of the interaction potential curve for two grafted nanosheets immersed in the matrix of polymeric chains of dissimilar chemistry to that of the grafted chains. The interaction potential is repulsive at short separation and shows depletion attraction for moderate separations induced by high grafting density. It is found that the strength of attraction well can be tuned by altering the compatibility between the grafted and the mobile chains. Further, we construct the interaction potential between two nanosheets grafted with diblock copolymers with one of the blocks being chemically identical to the free polymeric chains. The interplay between the enthalpic interaction between the dissimilar species and the entropy of the free chains gives rise to a rich behavior in interaction potential curve obtained for two separate cases of free chains being chemically similar to either the grafted block or the free block of the grafted diblock chains.

Keywords: clay nanosheets, polymer brush, polymer nanocomposites, self-consistent field theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 242
7724 A Comparative Analysis about the Effects of a Courtyard in Indoor Thermal Environment of a Room with and without Transitional Space Adjacent to Courtyard of a House in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh

Authors: Fatema Tasmia, Brishti Majumder, Atiqur Rahman

Abstract:

Attaining appropriate comfort conditions in a place where the climate is hot and humid can be perplexing. Especially, when it is resided at a congested place like old Dhaka Bangladesh, the provision of giving cross ventilation and building with proper orientation is quite difficult. Courtyards are the part of buildings which are used as space for outdoor household activities, social gathering and it is also proved to have indoor thermal comfort as an effect of courtyard. This paper aims to investigate the effect of courtyard in indoor thermal environment of a room adjacent to the courtyard and a room next to transitional space after a courtyard through field measurements of a case study house. The field measurement was conducted in a two-storey house. Among different aspects of thermal environment, the study of this paper is based on the analysis of temperature in both situations. Ventilation or air movement was considered to have no impact because of the rooms’ layout and location. Other aspects and their variables were considered as constant (especially material) for accuracy and avoidance of confusion. This study focuses on the outcome that can ultimately contribute to the configuration of courtyards and in its relation to indoor space while achieving thermal comfort.

Keywords: courtyard, old Dhaka, temperature, thermal comfort, transitional space

Procedia PDF Downloads 204
7723 Neural Networks Models for Measuring Hotel Users Satisfaction

Authors: Asma Ameur, Dhafer Malouche

Abstract:

Nowadays, user comments on the Internet have an important impact on hotel bookings. This confirms that the e-reputation issue can influence the likelihood of customer loyalty to a hotel. In this way, e-reputation has become a real differentiator between hotels. For this reason, we have a unique opportunity in the opinion mining field to analyze the comments. In fact, this field provides the possibility of extracting information related to the polarity of user reviews. This sentimental study (Opinion Mining) represents a new line of research for analyzing the unstructured textual data. Knowing the score of e-reputation helps the hotelier to better manage his marketing strategy. The score we then obtain is translated into the image of hotels to differentiate between them. Therefore, this present research highlights the importance of hotel satisfaction ‘scoring. To calculate the satisfaction score, the sentimental analysis can be manipulated by several techniques of machine learning. In fact, this study treats the extracted textual data by using the Artificial Neural Networks Approach (ANNs). In this context, we adopt the aforementioned technique to extract information from the comments available in the ‘Trip Advisor’ website. This actual paper details the description and the modeling of the ANNs approach for the scoring of online hotel reviews. In summary, the validation of this used method provides a significant model for hotel sentiment analysis. So, it provides the possibility to determine precisely the polarity of the hotel users reviews. The empirical results show that the ANNs are an accurate approach for sentiment analysis. The obtained results show also that this proposed approach serves to the dimensionality reduction for textual data’ clustering. Thus, this study provides researchers with a useful exploration of this technique. Finally, we outline guidelines for future research in the hotel e-reputation field as comparing the ANNs with other technique.

Keywords: clustering, consumer behavior, data mining, e-reputation, machine learning, neural network, online hotel ‘reviews, opinion mining, scoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 116
7722 Mesoporous Carbon Ceramic SiO2/C Prepared by Sol-Gel Method and Modified with Cobalt Phthalocyanine and Used as an Electrochemical Sensor for Nitrite

Authors: Abdur Rahim, Lauro Tatsuo Kubota, Yoshitaka Gushikem

Abstract:

Carbon ceramic mesoporous SiO2/50wt%C (SBET= 170 m2g-1), where C is graphite, was prepared by the sol gel method. Scanning electron microscopy images and the respective element mapping showed that, within the magnification used, no phase segregation was detectable. It presented the electric conductivities of 0.49 S cm-1. This material was used to support cobalt phthalocyanine, prepared in situ, to assure a homogeneous dispersion of the electro active complex in the pores of the matrix. The surface density of cobalt phthalocyanine, on the matrix surfaces was 0.015 mol cm-2. Pressed disk, made with SiO2/50wt%C/CoPc, was used to fabricate an electrode and tested as sensors for nitrite determination by electro chemical technique. A linear response range between 0.039 and 0.42 mmol l−1,and correlation coefficient r=0.9996 was obtained. The electrode was chemically very stable and presented very high sensitivity for this analyte, with a limit of detection, LOD = 1.087 x 10-6 mol L-1.

Keywords: SiO2/C/CoPc, sol-gel method, electrochemical sensor, nitrite oxidation, carbon ceramic material, cobalt phthalocyanine

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7721 An Algorithm for Preventing the Irregular Operation Modes of the Drive Synchronous Motor Providing the Ore Grinding

Authors: Baghdasaryan Marinka

Abstract:

The current scientific and engineering interest concerning the problems of preventing the emergency manifestations of drive synchronous motors, ensuring the ore grinding technological process has been justified. The analysis of the known works devoted to the abnormal operation modes of synchronous motors and possibilities of protection against them, has shown that their application is inexpedient for preventing the impermissible displays arising in the electrical drive synchronous motors ensuring the ore-grinding process. The main energy and technological factors affecting the technical condition of synchronous motors are evaluated. An algorithm for preventing the irregular operation modes of the electrical drive synchronous motor applied in the ore-grinding technological process has been developed and proposed for further application which gives an opportunity to provide smart solutions, ensuring the safe operation of the drive synchronous motor by a comprehensive consideration of the energy and technological factors.

Keywords: synchronous motor, abnormal operating mode, electric drive, algorithm, energy factor, technological factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 122
7720 Enhancement Dynamic Cars Detection Based on Optimized HOG Descriptor

Authors: Mansouri Nabila, Ben Jemaa Yousra, Motamed Cina, Watelain Eric

Abstract:

Research and development efforts in intelligent Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) seek to save lives and reduce the number of on-road fatalities. For traffic and emergency monitoring, the essential but challenging task is vehicle detection and tracking in reasonably short time. This purpose needs first of all a powerful dynamic car detector model. In fact, this paper presents an optimized HOG process based on shape and motion parameters fusion. Our proposed approach mains to compute HOG by bloc feature from foreground blobs using configurable research window and pathway in order to overcome the shortcoming in term of computing time of HOG descriptor and improve their dynamic application performance. Indeed we prove in this paper that HOG by bloc descriptor combined with motion parameters is a very suitable car detector which reaches in record time a satisfactory recognition rate in dynamic outside area and bypasses several popular works without using sophisticated and expensive architectures such as GPU and FPGA.

Keywords: car-detector, HOG, motion, computing time

Procedia PDF Downloads 309
7719 Characterization of Stabilized Earth in the Construction Field

Authors: Sihem Chaibeddra, Fatoum Kharchi

Abstract:

This study deals with the characterization of stabilized earth in the field of construction from the behavior under changes in conservation conditions that may occur during the lifetime of the material, namely, the exposure to high humidity and temperature variations. These two parameters are involved increasingly, because of climate changes that are confronting earth-based constructions to conditions for which they were not originally designed. These exposure conditions may affect the long-term behavior of the material and the entire structure. A cement treatment was adopted for stabilizing the earth with dosages ranging from 4, 6, 8 to 10%. The influence of addition percentage was analyzed in this context based on laboratory tests measuring the evolution of compressive strength, rate of absorption and shrinkage, and finally thermal conductivity. It was shown that the behaviour was dependent on the ambient conditions which influence the action of the binder. Temperate cure has proved beneficial for the material as the cement content increased. Moisture has less affected the compressive strength with increasing the cement content. The absorption was reduced with the increase of cement dosage. Regarding the variation of shrinkage, cement assays have presented an optimum value beyond which the addition of further quantities was less advantageous. The thermal conductivity on the other hand, increased with increasing cement content, which decreased the insulating properties of the material.

Keywords: behavior, characterization, construction, earth, stabilization

Procedia PDF Downloads 227
7718 Nuclear Safety and Security in France in the 1970s: A Turning Point for the Media

Authors: Jandot Aurélia

Abstract:

In France, in the main media, the concern about nuclear safety and security has not really appeared before the beginning of the 1970s. The gradual changes in its perception are studied here through the arguments given in the main French news magazines, linked with several parameters. As this represents a considerable amount of copies and thus of information, are selected here the main articles as well as the main “mental images” aiming to persuade the readers and which have led the public awareness to evolve. Indeed, in the 1970s, in France, these evolutions were not made in one day. Indeed, over the period, many articles were still in favor of nuclear power plants and promoted the technological advances that were made in this field. They had to be taken into account. But, gradually, grew up arguments and mental images discrediting the perception of nuclear technology. Among these were the environmental impacts of this industry, as the question of pollution progressively appeared. So, between 1970 and 1979, the language has changed, as the perceptible objectives of the communication, allowing to discern the deepest intentions of the editorial staffs of the French news magazines. This is all these changes that are emphasized here, over a period when the safety and security concern linked to the nuclear technology, to there a field for specialists, has become progressively a social issue seemingly open to all.

Keywords: environmental impacts, media discourse, nuclear security, public awareness

Procedia PDF Downloads 263
7717 Aerodynamic Devices Development for Model Aircraft Control and Wind-Driven Bicycle

Authors: Yuta Moriyama, Tsuyoshi Yamazaki, Etsuo Morishita

Abstract:

Several aerodynamic devices currently attract engineers and research students. The plasma actuator is one of them, and it is very effective to control the flow. The actuator recovers a separated flow to an attached one. The actuator is also inversely applied to a spoiler. The model aircraft might be controlled by this actuator. We develop a model aircraft with the plasma actuator. Another interesting device is the Wells turbine which rotates in one direction. The present authors propose a bicycle with the Wells turbine in the wheels. Power reduction is measured when the turbine is driven by an electric motor at the exit of a wind tunnel. Several Watts power reduction might be possible. This means that the torque of the bike can be augmented by the turbine in the cross wind. These devices are tested in the wind tunnel with a three-component balance and the aerodynamic forces and moment are obtained. In this paper, we introduce these devices and their aerodynamic characteristics. The control force and moment of the plasma actuator are clarified and the power reduction of the bicycle is quantified.

Keywords: aerodynamics, model aircraft, plasma actuator, Wells turbine

Procedia PDF Downloads 224
7716 Impact of Masonry Joints on Detection of Humidity Distribution in Aerated Concrete Masonry Constructions by Electric Impedance Spectrometry Measurements

Authors: Sanita Rubene, Martins Vilnitis, Juris Noviks

Abstract:

Aerated concrete is a load bearing construction material, which has high heat insulation parameters. Walls can be erected from aerated concrete masonry constructions and in perfect circumstances additional heat insulation is not required. The most common problem in aerated concrete heat insulation properties is the humidity distribution throughout the cross section of the masonry elements as well as proper and conducted drying process of the aerated concrete construction because only dry aerated concrete masonry constructions can reach high heat insulation parameters. In order to monitor drying process of the masonry and detect humidity distribution throughout the cross section of aerated concrete masonry construction application of electrical impedance spectrometry is applied. Further test results and methodology of this non-destructive testing method is described in this paper.

Keywords: aerated concrete, electrical impedance spectrometry, humidity distribution, non-destructive testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 314
7715 Best Practical Technique to Drain Recoverable Oil from Unconventional Deep Libyan Oil Reservoir

Authors: Tarek Duzan, Walid Esayed

Abstract:

Fluid flow in porous media is attributed fundamentally to parameters that are controlled by depositional and post-depositional environments. After deposition, digenetic events can act negatively on the reservoir and reduce the effective porosity, thereby making the rock less permeable. Therefore, exploiting hydrocarbons from such resources requires partially altering the rock properties to improve the long-term production rate and enhance the recovery efficiency. In this study, we try to address, firstly, the phenomena of permeability reduction in tight sandstone reservoirs and illustrate the implemented procedures to investigate the problem roots; finally, benchmark the candidate solutions at the field scale and recommend the mitigation strategy for the field development plan. During the study, two investigations have been considered: subsurface analysis using ( PLT ) and Laboratory tests for four candidate wells of the interested reservoir. Based on the above investigations, it was obvious that the Production logging tool (PLT) has shown areas of contribution in the reservoir, which is considered very limited, considering the total reservoir thickness. Also, Alcohol treatment was the first choice to go with for the AA9 well. The well productivity has been relatively restored but not to its initial productivity. Furthermore, Alcohol treatment in the lab was effective and restored permeability in some plugs by 98%, but operationally, the challenge would be the ability to distribute enough alcohol in a wellbore to attain the sweep Efficiency obtained within a laboratory core plug. However, the Second solution, which is based on fracking wells, has shown excellent results, especially for those wells that suffered a high drop in oil production. It is suggested to frac and pack the wells that are already damaged in the Waha field to mitigate the damage and restore productivity back as much as possible. In addition, Critical fluid velocity and its effect on fine sand migration in the reservoir have to be well studied on core samples, and therefore, suitable pressure drawdown will be applied in the reservoir to limit fine sand migration.

Keywords: alcohol treatment, post-depositional environments, permeability, tight sandstone

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7714 Female Entrepreneurship and Cultural Influence in Emerging Economy: The Case of Bangladesh

Authors: Nawreen Sobhan, Abeer Hassan, Dina Nziku

Abstract:

There has been a dramatic rise in the percentage of female entrepreneurship in both developed and developing countries as it is now considering as an important source of economic growth. Therefore, there has been a growing research interest in female entrepreneurship as they represent an unrecognized engine for economic growth especially in transition economy. This study will determine the role of cultural influence on female entrepreneurship in the growth of economic development which will add new dimensions to the field of female entrepreneurial studies in informal sector of Bangladesh. A systematic literature review has been conducted on female entrepreneurship and cultural studies in both developed and developing country in this research study. There is lack of research on this field as most of the cultural studies on female entrepreneurship have been conducted globally and most of them are either comparative or based on single developed country. This study addresses this gap by using North’s institutional theory to investigate the influence of socio cultural factors on the development of businesses run by female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. The study, therefore, has practical implications for policy makers and enhancing micro business performance by female entrepreneurs and contributes to the on-going theoretical understanding of cultural influence in female entrepreneurship in an Asian context.

Keywords: culture, socio cultural factors, female entrepreneurship, informal sectors, formal and informal institution and sustainable economic development

Procedia PDF Downloads 178
7713 Discipline-Specific Culture: A Purpose-Based Investigation

Authors: Sihem Benaouda

Abstract:

English is gaining an international identity as it affects every academic and professional field in the world. Without increasing their cultural understanding, it would obviously be difficult to completely educate learners for communication in a globalised environment. The concept of culture is intricate and needs to be elucidated, especially in an English language teaching (ELT) context. The study focuses on the investigation of the cultural studies integrated into the different types of English for specific purposes (ESP) materials, as opposed to English for general purposes (EGP) textbooks. A qualitative methodology based on a triangulation of techniques was conducted through materials analysis of five textbooks in both advanced EGP and three types of ESP. In addition to a semi-structured interview conducted with Algerian ESP practitioners, data analysis results revealed that culture in ESP textbooks is not overtly isolated into chapters and that cultural studies are predominantly present in business and economics materials, namely English for hotel and catering staff, tourism, and flight attendants. However, implicit cultural instruction is signalled in the social sciences and is negligible in science and technology sources. In terms of content, cultural studies in EGP are more related to generic topics, whereas, in some ESP materials, the topics are rather oriented to the specific field they belong to. Furthermore, the respondents’ answers showed an unawareness of the importance of culture in ESP teaching, besides some disregard for culture teaching per se in ESP contexts.

Keywords: ESP, EGP, cultural studies, textbooks, teaching, materials

Procedia PDF Downloads 87
7712 Solar Radiation Time Series Prediction

Authors: Cameron Hamilton, Walter Potter, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Ronald McClendon, Will Hobbs

Abstract:

A model was constructed to predict the amount of solar radiation that will make contact with the surface of the earth in a given location an hour into the future. This project was supported by the Southern Company to determine at what specific times during a given day of the year solar panels could be relied upon to produce energy in sufficient quantities. Due to their ability as universal function approximators, an artificial neural network was used to estimate the nonlinear pattern of solar radiation, which utilized measurements of weather conditions collected at the Griffin, Georgia weather station as inputs. A number of network configurations and training strategies were utilized, though a multilayer perceptron with a variety of hidden nodes trained with the resilient propagation algorithm consistently yielded the most accurate predictions. In addition, a modeled DNI field and adjacent weather station data were used to bolster prediction accuracy. In later trials, the solar radiation field was preprocessed with a discrete wavelet transform with the aim of removing noise from the measurements. The current model provides predictions of solar radiation with a mean square error of 0.0042, though ongoing efforts are being made to further improve the model’s accuracy.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, resilient propagation, solar radiation, time series forecasting

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7711 The Use of Boosted Multivariate Trees in Medical Decision-Making for Repeated Measurements

Authors: Ebru Turgal, Beyza Doganay Erdogan

Abstract:

Machine learning aims to model the relationship between the response and features. Medical decision-making researchers would like to make decisions about patients’ course and treatment, by examining the repeated measurements over time. Boosting approach is now being used in machine learning area for these aims as an influential tool. The aim of this study is to show the usage of multivariate tree boosting in this field. The main reason for utilizing this approach in the field of decision-making is the ease solutions of complex relationships. To show how multivariate tree boosting method can be used to identify important features and feature-time interaction, we used the data, which was collected retrospectively from Ankara University Chest Diseases Department records. Dataset includes repeated PF ratio measurements. The follow-up time is planned for 120 hours. A set of different models is tested. In conclusion, main idea of classification with weighed combination of classifiers is a reliable method which was shown with simulations several times. Furthermore, time varying variables will be taken into consideration within this concept and it could be possible to make accurate decisions about regression and survival problems.

Keywords: boosted multivariate trees, longitudinal data, multivariate regression tree, panel data

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7710 Optimal Design and Simulation of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic (PV) Power System for an Electrical Department in University of Tripoli, Libya

Authors: Mustafa Al-Refai

Abstract:

This paper presents the optimal design and simulation of a grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) system to supply electric power to meet the energy demand by Electrical Department in University of Tripoli Libya. Solar radiation is the key factor determining electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper is designed to develop a novel method to calculate the solar photovoltaic generation capacity on the basis of Mean Global Solar Radiation data available for Tripoli Libya and finally develop a system design of possible plant capacity for the available roof area. MatLab/Simulink Programming tools and monthly average solar radiation data are used for this design and simulation. The specifications of equipments are provided based on the availability of the components in the market. Simulation results and analyses are presented to validate the proposed system configuration.

Keywords: photovoltaic (PV), grid, Simulink, solar energy, power plant, solar irradiation

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7709 Small Text Extraction from Documents and Chart Images

Authors: Rominkumar Busa, Shahira K. C., Lijiya A.

Abstract:

Text recognition is an important area in computer vision which deals with detecting and recognising text from an image. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a saturated area these days and with very good text recognition accuracy. However the same OCR methods when applied on text with small font sizes like the text data of chart images, the recognition rate is less than 30%. In this work, aims to extract small text in images using the deep learning model, CRNN with CTC loss. The text recognition accuracy is found to improve by applying image enhancement by super resolution prior to CRNN model. We also observe the text recognition rate further increases by 18% by applying the proposed method, which involves super resolution and character segmentation followed by CRNN with CTC loss. The efficiency of the proposed method shows that further pre-processing on chart image text and other small text images will improve the accuracy further, thereby helping text extraction from chart images.

Keywords: small text extraction, OCR, scene text recognition, CRNN

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7708 Beyond Learning Classrooms: An Undergraduate Experience at Instituto Politecnico Nacional Mexico

Authors: Jorge Sandoval Lezama, Arturo Ivan Sandoval Rodriguez, Jose Arturo Correa Arredondo

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This work aims to share innovative educational experiences at IPN Mexico, that involve collaborative learning at institutional and global level through course competition and global collaboration projects. Students from universities in China, USA, South Korea, Canada and Mexico collaborate to design electric vehicles to solve global urban mobility problems. The participation of IPN students in the 2015-2016 global competition (São Paolo, Brazil and Cincinnati, USA) Reconfigurable Shared-Use Mobility Systems allowed to apply pedagogical strategies of groups of collaboration and of learning based on projects where they shared activities, commitments and goals, demonstrating that students were motivated to develop / self-generate their knowledge with greater meaning and understanding. One of the most evident achievements is that the students are self-managed, so the most advanced students train the students who join the project with CAD, CAE, CAM tools. Likewise, the motivation achieved is evident since in 2014 there were 12 students involved in the project, and there are currently more than 70 students.

Keywords: collaboration projects, global competency, course competition, active learning

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7707 Imaging Spectrum of Central Nervous System Tuberculosis on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Correlation with Clinical and Microbiological Results

Authors: Vasundhara Arora, Anupam Jhobta, Suresh Thakur, Sanjiv Sharma

Abstract:

Aims and Objectives: Intracranial tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most devastating manifestations of TB and a challenging public health issue of considerable importance and magnitude world over. This study elaborates on the imaging spectrum of neurotuberculosis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 29 clinically suspected cases from a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: The prospective hospital based evaluation of MR imaging features of neuro-tuberculosis in 29 clinically suspected cases was carried out in Department of Radio-diagnosis, Indira Gandhi Medical Hospital from July 2017 to August 2018. MR Images were obtained on a 1.5 T Magnetom Avanto machine and were analyzed to identify any abnormal meningeal enhancement or parenchymal lesions. Microbiological and Biochemical CSF analysis was performed in radio-logically suspected cases and the results were compared with the imaging data. Clinical follow up of the patients started on anti-tuberculous treatment was done to evaluate the response to treatment and clinical outcome. Results: Age range of patients in the study was between 1 year to 73 years. The mean age of presentation was 11.5 years. No significant difference in the distribution of cerebral tuberculosis was noted among the two genders. Imaging findings of neuro-tuberculosis obtained were varied and non specific ranging from lepto-meningeal enhancement, cerebritis to space occupying lesions such as tuberculomas and tubercular abscesses. Complications presenting as hydrocephalus (n= 7) and infarcts (n=9) was noted in few of these patients. 29 patients showed radiological suspicion of CNS tuberculosis with meningitis alone observed in 11 cases, tuberculomas alone were observed in 4 cases, meningitis with parenchymal tuberculomas in 11 cases. Tubercular abscess and cerebritis were observed in one case each. Tuberculous arachnoiditis was noted in one patient. Gene expert positivity was obtained in 11 out of 29 radiologically suspected patients; none of the patients showed culture positivity. Meningeal form of the disease alone showed higher positivity rate of gene Xpert (n=5) followed by combination of meningeal and parenchymal forms of disease (n=4). The parenchymal manifestation of disease alone showed least positivity rates (n= 3) with gene xpert testing. All 29 patients were started on anti tubercular treatment based on radiological suspicion of the disease with clinical improvement observed in 27 treated patients. Conclusions: In our study, higher incidence of neuro- tuberculosis was noted in paediatric population with predominance of the meningeal form of the disease. Gene Xpert positivity obtained was low due to paucibacillary nature of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with even lower positivity of CSF samples in parenchymal form of the manifestation. MRI showed high accuracy in detecting CNS lesions in neuro-tuberculosis. Hence, it can be concluded that MRI plays a crucial role in the diagnosis because of its inherent sensitivity and specificity and is an indispensible imaging modality. It caters to the need of early diagnosis owing to poor sensitivity of microbiological tests more so in the parenchymal manifestation of the disease.

Keywords: neurotuberculosis, tubercular abscess, tuberculoma, tuberculous meningitis

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7706 Quality and Yield of Potato Seed Tubers as Influenced by Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Authors: Muhammad Raqib Rasul, Tavga Sulaiman Rashid

Abstract:

Fertilization increases efficiency and obtains better quality of product recovery in agricultural activities. However, fertilizer consumption increased exponentially throughout the world, causing severe environmental problems. Biofertilizers can be a practical approach to minimize chemical fertilizer sources and ultimately develop soil fertility. This study was carried out to isolate, identify and characterize bacteria from medicinal plant (Rumex tuberosus L. and Verbascum sp.) rhizosphere for in vivo screening. 25 bacterial isolates were isolated and several biochemical tests were performed. Two isolates that were positive for most biochemical tests were chosen for the field experiment. The isolates were identified as Go1 Alcaligenes faecalis (Accession No. OP001725) and T11 (Bacillus sp.) based on the 16S rRNA sequence analysis that was compared with related bacteria in GenBank database using MEGA 6.1. For the field trial isolate GO1 and T11 (separately and mixed), NPK as a positive control was used. Both isolates increased plant height, chlorophyll content, number of tubers, and tuber’s weight. The results demonstrated that these two isolates of bacteria can potentially replace with chemical fertilizers for potato production.

Keywords: biofertilizer, Bacillus subtilis, Alcaligenes faecalis, potato tubers, in vivo screening

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