Search results for: practical applications

Authors: L. Vivet, L. Benabou, O. Simon

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With highly demanding applications in the field of power electronics, there is an increasing need to have interconnection materials with properties that can ensure both good mechanical assembly and high thermal/electrical conductivities. So far, lead-free solders have been considered an attractive solution, but recently, sintered joints based on nano-silver paste have been used for die attach and have proved to be a promising solution offering increased performances in high-temperature applications. In this work, the main parameters of the bonding process using silver oxalates are studied, i.e., the heating rate and the bonding pressure mainly. Their effects on both the mechanical and thermal properties of the sintered layer are evaluated following an experimental design. Pairs of copper substrates with gold metallization are assembled through the sintering process to realize the samples that are tested using a micro-traction machine. In addition, the obtained joints are examined through microscopy to identify the important microstructural features in relation to the measured properties. The formation of an intermetallic compound at the junction between the sintered silver layer and the gold metallization deposited on copper is also analyzed. Microscopy analysis exhibits a nanoporous structure of the sintered material. It is found that higher temperature and bonding pressure result in higher densification of the sintered material, with higher thermal conductivity of the joint but less mechanical flexibility to accommodate the thermo-mechanical stresses arising during service. The experimental design allows hence the determination of the optimal process parameters to reach sufficient thermal/mechanical properties for a given application. It is also found that the interphase formed between silver and gold metallization is the location where the fracture occurred after the mechanical testing, suggesting that the inter-diffusion mechanism between the different elements of the assembly leads to the formation of a relatively brittle compound.

Keywords: nanoporous structure, silver oxalate, sintering, mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, microelectronic packaging

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Authors: Yoshio Kurosawa

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The applications of soundproof materials for reduction of high frequency automobile interior noise have been researched. This paper presents a sound pressure prediction technique including wind noise by Hybrid Statistical Energy Analysis (HSEA) in order to reduce weight of acoustic insulations. HSEA uses both analytical SEA and experimental SEA. As a result of chassis dynamo test and road test, the validity of SEA modeling was shown, and utility of the method was confirmed.

Keywords: vibration, noise, road noise, statistical energy analysis

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Authors: A. B. Amna, M. A. E. Samia, A. K. Hassan

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The clinical, pathological, hematological and biological changes in Newzealand rabbits groups given daily oral doses of 0.1,0.25 and 0.5 ml/kg body weight/day of Cpmbopogon proximus oil extract were investigated in an experiment durated for 21 days. Other than the dose co-related mortality rates, the clinical signs were observed daily after dosing to be low appetite and nervous signs including restlessness and increased consciousness. Pulmonary excretion of the oil extract led to bloody spots on the lungs, lymphocyte infiltration, congestion and edema. Renal glumeruli manifested lymphocyte infiltration in addition to shrinkages and easinophilic material in the medulla, if considered with the corticomedullary generalized necrosis and the significant changes in urea, they can explain the renal dysfunction. Hepatic malfunction was manifested by significant changes in serum alkaline phosphatase and aspartate transferases accompanied by the congested, fatty changed livers. The direct physical effect of the extracted oil was detected by the catarrhal inflammation of the intestines.There was no significant haematological change except for the slight changes in RBCs and MCVs in rabbits given the highest dose. Future work for Cpmbopogon proximus oil extract was forwarded and practical implications of the result were highlighted.

Keywords: toxicity, cymbopogon proximus (maharaib), oil extract, Newzealand rabbits

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Authors: Zarana Dave

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Cerium-doped lanthanum bromide, LaBr₃ (Ce), scintillator shows attracting properties for spectroscopy that makes it a suitable solution for security, medical, geophysics and high energy physics applications. Here, the performance parameters of a cylindrical LaBr₃ (Ce) scintillator was investigated. The first aspect is the determination of the efficiency for γ - ray detection, measured with GEANT4 simulation toolkit from 10keV to 10MeV energy range. The second is the detailed study of background radiation of LaBr₃ (Ce). It has relatively high intrinsic radiation background due to naturally occurring ¹³⁸La and ²²⁷Ac radioisotopes.

Keywords: LaBr₃(Ce), GEANT4, efficiency, background radiation

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Authors: Ethelbert Chinedu Nwokorie

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This empirical study analyzes the impact of communication and networking functions of Nigerian and Ghanaian public sector managers’ on public sector effectiveness. The focus is on which of these management functions public sector managers’ in these countries perform most, why, how and how does it affect effectiveness of public sector organizations in the two countries. This qualitative analysis was done by interviewing middle and top level managers in some selected public sector organizations in the two countries on their practical experiences. Findings reveal that ineffectiveness of public sector organizations in Ghana persists because public sector managers perform more of networking functions to promote their individual carrier success and progression in their various organizations, rather than achieving the organizations goals and objectives. In Nigeria, though majority of the interviewed public sector managers perform more communication functions than networking, they do this mostly by treating files and correspondences, instead of face-to-face communication and interaction with employees’. Hence, they hardly relate directly with their employees’ to find out how they are performing their jobs, their challenges, where they are having problems and why. The findings and recommendations of this study will help in improving effectiveness, quality and service delivery in Nigerian and Ghanaian public sector organizations and beyond.

Keywords: effectiveness, communication, employees, management, networking, organization, public sector

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Authors: Amanda Kenny, Virginia Dickson-Swift, Jane Farmer, Sarah Larkins, Karen Carlisle, Helen Hickson

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Rural ECOH (Engaging Communities in Oral Health) is a collaborative project that connects policy makers, service providers and community members. The aim of the project is to empower community members to determine what is important for their community and to design the services that they need. This three-year project is currently underway in six rural communities across Australia. This study is specifically focused on Remote Services Futures (RSF), an evidence-based method of community participation that was developed in Scotland. The findings highlight the complexities of community participation in health service planning. We assumed that people living in rural communities would welcome participation in oral health planning and engage with their community to discuss these issues. We found that to understand the relationships between community members and health service providers, it was essential to identify the formal and informal community leaders and to engage stakeholders from the various community governance structures. Our study highlights the sometimes ‘messiness’ of decision making in rural communities as well as ways to ensure that community members have the training and practical skills necessary to participate in community decision making.

Keywords: community participation, health planning, rural ECOH, Remote Services Futures

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Authors: Lateefat Amao, Misagh Faezipour

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Implementing electronic health records (EHR) in healthcare is a pivotal transition aimed at digitizing and optimizing patient health information management. The expectations associated with this transition are high, even towards other health information systems (HIS) and health technology. This multifaceted process involves careful planning and execution to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care, especially as healthcare technology is a sensitive niche. Key considerations include a thorough needs assessment, judicious vendor selection, robust infrastructure development, and training and adaptation of healthcare professionals. Comprehensive training programs, data migration from legacy systems and models, interoperability, as well as security and regulatory compliance are imperative for healthcare staff to navigate EHR systems adeptly. The purpose of this work is to offer a comprehensive review of the literature on EHR implementation. It explores the impact of this health technology on health practices, highlights challenges and barriers to its successful utility, and offers practical strategies that can impact its success in healthcare. This paper provides a thorough review of studies on the adoption of EHRs, emphasizing the wide range of experiences and results connected to EHR use in the medical field, especially across different types of healthcare organizations.

Keywords: healthcare, electronic health records, EHR implementation, patient care, interoperability

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Authors: Archana Gupta, Rajesh Kumar

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The chemistry of chalcones has generated intensive scientific studies throughout the world. Especially, interest has been focused on the synthesis and biodynamic activities of chalcones. The blue light transmittance, excellent crystallizability and the two planar rings connected through a conjugated double bond show that chalcone derivatives are superior nonlinear organic compounds. 3-(2-Chloro-6-fluoro¬phen¬yl)-1-(2-thien¬yl) prop-2-en-1-one, 3-(2, 4- Dichlorophenyl) – 1 - (4-methylphenyl) – prop -2-en-1-one, (2E)-3-[4-(methylsulfanyl) phenyl]-1-(4-nitrophenyl) prop-2-en-1-one are some chalcone derivatives exhibiting non linear optical (NLO) properties. NLO materials have been extensively investigated in recent years as they are the key elements for photonic technologies of optical communication, optical interconnect oscillator, amplifier, frequency converter etc. Due to their high molecular hyperpolarizabilities, organic materials display a number of significant NLO properties. Experimental measurements and theoretical calculations on molecular hyperpolarizability β have become one of the key factors in the design of second order NLO materials. Theoretical determination of hyperpolarizability is quite useful both in understanding the relationship between the molecular structure and NLO properties. It also provides a guideline to experimentalists for the design and synthesis of organic NLO materials. Quantum-chemical calculations have made an important contribution to the understanding of the electronic polarization underlying the molecular NLO processes and the establishment of structure–property relationships. In the present investigation, the detailed vibrational analysis of some chalcone derivatives is taken up to understand the correlation of the charge transfer interaction and the NLO activity of the molecules based on density functional theory calculations. The vibrational modes contributing toward the NLO activity have been identified and analyzed. Rather large hyperpolarizability derived by theoretical calculations suggests the possible future use of these compounds for non-linear optical applications. The study suggests the importance of π - conjugated systems for non-linear optical properties and the possibility of charge transfer interactions. We hope that the results of the present study of chalcone derivatives are of assistance in development of new efficient materials for technological applications.

Keywords: hyperpolarizability, molecular structure, NLO material, quantum chemical calculations

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Authors: Muhammad Tariq, Hammad Tahir, Fawwad Mahmood Butt

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Purpose: This study attempts to examine the best forecasting methodologies in the time series. The time series forecasting models such as VAR, ARCH and the ARMA are considered for the analysis. Methodology: The Bench Marks or the parameters such as Adjusted R square, F-stats, Durban Watson, and Direction of the roots have been critically and empirically analyzed. The empirical analysis consists of time series data of Consumer Price Index and Closing Stock Price. Findings: The results show that the VAR model performed better in comparison to other models. Both the reliability and significance of VAR model is highly appreciable. In contrary to it, the ARCH model showed very poor results for forecasting. However, the results of ARMA model appeared double standards i.e. the AR roots showed that model is stationary and that of MA roots showed that the model is invertible. Therefore, the forecasting would remain doubtful if it made on the bases of ARMA model. It has been concluded that VAR model provides best forecasting results. Practical Implications: This paper provides empirical evidences for the application of time series forecasting model. This paper therefore provides the base for the application of best time series forecasting model.

Keywords: forecasting, time series, auto regression, ARCH, ARMA

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Authors: Wen-Chen Hwang, Yu-Hsi Yuan

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According to the estimation made by researchers of safety and hygiene, 80% to 90% of workplace accidents in enterprises could be attributed to human factors. Nevertheless, human factors are not the only cause for accidents; instead, happening of accidents is also closely associated with the safety culture of the organization. Therefore, the most effective way of reducing accident rate would be to improve the social and the organizational factors that influence organization’s safety performance. Overview the present study is to understand the current level of safety culture in manufacturing enterprises. A tool for evaluating safety culture matching the needs and characteristics of manufacturing enterprises was developed by reviewing literature of safety culture, and taking the special backgrounds of the case enterprises into consideration. Expert validity was also implied for developing the questionnaire. Moreover, safety culture assessment was conducted through the practical investigation of the case enterprises. Total 505 samples were involved, 53 were executives and 452 were operators. The result of this study in comparison of the safety culture level between the executives and the operators was reached the significant level in 8 dimensions: Safety Commitment, Safety System, Safety Training, Safety Involvement, Reward and Motivation, Communication and Reporting, Leadership and Supervision, Learning and Changing. In general, the overall safety culture were executive level higher than operators level (M: 74.98 > 69.08; t=2.87; p < 0.01).

Keywords: questionnaire survey, safety culture, t-test, media studies

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Authors: Salman Naseer, Usman Zafar, Iqra Zafar

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This study explores the implication of Vehicular Adhoc Network (VANET) - in the rural and urban scenarios that is one domain of Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET). VANET provides wireless communication between vehicle to vehicle and also roadside units. The Federal Commission Committee of United States of American has been allocated 75 MHz of the spectrum band in the 5.9 GHz frequency range for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) that are specifically designed to enhance any road safety applications and entertainment/information applications. There are several vehicular related projects viz; California path, car 2 car communication consortium, the ETSI, and IEEE 1609 working group that have already been conducted to improve the overall road safety or traffic management. After the critical literature review, the selection of routing protocols is determined, and its performance was well thought-out in the urban and rural scenarios. Numerous routing protocols for VANET are applied to carry out current research. Its evaluation was conceded with the help of selected protocols through simulation via performance metric i.e. throughput and packet drop. Excel and Google graph API tools are used for plotting the graphs after the simulation results in order to compare the selected routing protocols which result with each other. In addition, the sum of the output from each scenario was computed to undoubtedly present the divergence in results. The findings of the current study present that DSR gives enhanced performance for low packet drop and high throughput as compared to AODV and DSDV in an urban congested area and in rural environments. On the other hand, in low-density area, VANET AODV gives better results as compared to DSR. The worth of the current study may be judged as the information exchanged between vehicles is useful for comfort, safety, and entertainment. Furthermore, the communication system performance depends on the way routing is done in the network and moreover, the routing of the data based on protocols implement in the network. The above-presented results lead to policy implication and develop our understanding of the broader spectrum of VANET.

Keywords: AODV, DSDV, DSR, Adhoc network

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Authors: Pradyumna R., Sridhar S., A. Satyanarayana, Alok S. Chauhan, Baig M. A. H.

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Modern turbine engines for aerospace applications need precision investment cast components such as integrally cast rotors and stators, for their hot end turbine stages. Traditionally, these turbines are used as starter engines. In recent times, such engines are also used for strategic missile applications. The rotor/stator castings consist of a central hub (shrouded in some designs) over which a number of aerofoil shaped blades are located. Since these components cannot be machined, investment casting is the only available route for manufacture and hence stringent dimensional aerospace quality has to be in-built in the casting process itself. In the process of investment casting, pattern generation by injection of wax into dedicated dies/moulds is the first critical step. Traditional approach deals in producing individual blades with hub/shroud features through wax injection and assembly of a set of such injected patterns onto a dedicated and precisely manufactured fixture to wax-weld and generate an integral wax pattern, a process known as the ‘segmental approach’. It is possible to design a single-injection die with retractable metallic inserts in the case of untwisted blades of stator patterns without the shroud. Such an approach is also possible for twisted blades of rotors with highly complex design of inter-blade inserts and retraction mechanisms. DMRL has for long established methods and procedures for the above to successfully supply precision castings for various defence related projects. In recent times, urea based soluble insert approach has also been successfully applied to overcome the need to design and manufacture a precision assembly fixture, leading to substantial reduction in component development times. Present paper deals in length various approaches tried and established at DMRL to generate precision wax patterns for aerospace quality turbine rotors and stators. In addition to this, the importance of simulation in solving issues related to wax injection is also touched upon.

Keywords: die/mold and fixtures, integral rotor/stator, investment casting, wax patterns, simulation

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Authors: Sean Goltz, Michael Mayo

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The purpose of this research is to use Global-Regulation.com database of the world laws, focusing on tax treaties between countries, in order to create an AI-driven tax simulator that will run an AI agent through potential tax scenarios across countries. The AI agent goal is to identify the scenario that will result in minimum tax liability based on tax treaties between countries. The results will be visualized by a three dimensional matrix. This will be an online web application. Multinational corporations are running their business through multiple countries. These countries, in turn, have a tax treaty with many other countries to regulate the payment of taxes on income that is transferred between these countries. As a result, planning the best tax scenario across multiple countries and numerous tax treaties is almost impossible. This research propose to use Global-Regulation.com database of word laws in English (machine translated by Google and Microsoft API’s) in order to create a simulator that will include the information in the tax treaties. Once ready, an AI agent will be sent through the simulator to identify the scenario that will result in minimum tax liability. Identifying the best tax scenario across countries may save multinational corporations, like Google, billions of dollars annually. Given the nature of the raw data and the domain of taxes (i.e., numbers), this is a promising ground to employ artificial intelligence towards a practical and beneficial purpose.

Keywords: taxation, law, multinational, corporation

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Authors: Mihaela Mocanu

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The Romanian multilingual dictionaries – also named polyglot, plurilingual or polylingual dictionaries, have known a slow yet constant development starting with the end of the 17th century, when the first such work is attested, to the present time, when we witness a considerable increase of the number of polyglot dictionaries, especially the terminological ones. This paper aims at analyzing the context in which the first Romanian multilingual dictionaries were issued, as well as and the organization and structure particularities of the first lexicographic works of this type. The irretrievable loss of some of these works as well as the partial conservation of others renders the attempt to retrace the beginnings of Romanian lexicography extremely difficult. The research methodology is part of a descriptive and analytical approach based on two types of sources, subject to contrastive analysis: the notes made by the initiators of lexicographic projects and the testimonies of their contemporaries, respectively, along with the specialized studies regarding the history of the old Romanian lexicography. The analysis of the contents has indicated that these dictionaries lacked a scientific apparatus in the true sense of the phrase, failed to obey unitary organizational criteria, being limited, most of the times, to mere inventories of words, where the Romanian term was assigned its correspondent in other languages. Motivated by practical reasons, the first multilingual dictionaries were aimed at the clerics their purpose being to ensure the translators’ fidelity towards the original religious texts, regarded as sacred.

Keywords: Romanian lexicography, multilingual dictionary, terminology, language

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Authors: Chi Man Luk, Ming Kiu Tsang, Chi Fan Chan, Shu Ping Lau

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Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were fabricated by microwave-assisted hydrothermal technique. The optical properties of the N-GQDs were studied. The luminescence of the N-GQDs can be tuned by varying the excitation wavelength. Furthermore, two-photon luminescence of the N-GQDs excited by near-infrared laser can be obtained. It is shown that N-doping play a key role on two-photon luminescence. The N-GQDs are expected to find application in biological applications including bioimaging and sensing.

Keywords: graphene quantum dots, nitrogen doping, photoluminescence, two-photon fluorescence

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Authors: Ketankumar Gandabhai Patel, Jalpit Balvantkumar Prajapati

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Plate type heat exchangers has many thin plates that are slightly apart and have very large surface areas and fluid flow passages that are good for heat transfer. This can be a more effective heat exchanger than the tube or shell heat exchanger due to advances in brazing and gasket technology that have made this plate exchanger more practical. Plate type heat exchangers are most widely used in food processing industries and dairy industries. Mostly fouling occurs in plate type heat exchanger due to deposits create an insulating layer over the surface of the heat exchanger, that decreases the heat transfer between fluids and increases the pressure drop. The pressure drop increases as a result of the narrowing of the flow area, which increases the gap velocity. Therefore, the thermal performance of the heat exchanger decreases with time, resulting in an undersized heat exchanger and causing the process efficiency to be reduced. Heat exchangers are often over sized by 70 to 80%, of which 30 % to 50% is assigned to fouling. The fouling can be reduced by varying some geometric parameters and flow parameters. Based on the study, a correlation will estimate for Nusselt number as a function of Reynolds number, Prandtl number and chevron angle.

Keywords: heat transfer coefficient, single phase flow, mass flow rate, pressure drop

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Authors: Jeyaseelan Gnanaseelan, Subajana Jeyaseelan

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The paper avails, in a systemic form, some of the results of the investigation into nature, functions, problems, and implications in the use of English as the medium of Instruction (EMI) in the Business Management courses at Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, located in the conflict-affected northern part of Sri Lanka. It is a case study of the responses of the students and the teachers from Tamil and Sinhala language communities of the Faculty of Business Studies. This paper analyzes the perceptions on the use of the medium, the EMI background, resources available and accessible, language abilities of the teachers and learners, learning style and pedagogy, the EMI methodology, the socio-economic and socio-political contexts typical of a non-native English learning context. The analysis is quantitative and qualitative. It finds out the functional perspective of the EMI in Sri Lanka and suggests practical strategies of contextualization and acculturation in the EMI organization and positions. The paper assesses the learner and teacher capacity in the use of English. The ethnic conflict and linguistic politics in Sri Lanka have contributed multiple factors to the current use of English as the medium. It has conflicted with its domestic realities and the globalization trends of the world at large which determines efficiency and effectiveness.

Keywords: medium of instruction, English, business management, teaching and learning

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Authors: Timine Suoware, Sylvester Edelugo, Charles Amgbari

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The susceptibility of natural fibre polymer composites to flame has necessitated research to improve and develop flame retardant (FR) to delay the escape of combustible volatiles. Previous approaches relied mostly on FR such as aluminium tri-hydroxide (ATH) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) to improve fire performances of wood sawdust polymer composites (WSPC) with emphasis on non-structural building applications. In this paper, APP was modified with gum Arabic powder (GAP) and then hybridized with ATH at 0, 12 and 18% loading ratio to form new FR species; WSPC12%APP-GAP and WSPC18%ATH/APP-GAP. The FR species were incorporated in wood sawdust waste reinforced in polyester resin to form panels for fireproof doors. The panels were produced using hand lay compression moulding technique and cured at room temperature. Specimen cut from panels were then tested for tensile strength (TS), flexural strength (FS) and impact strength (IS) using universal testing machine and impact tester; thermal stability using (TGA/DSC 1: Metler Toledo); time-to-ignition (Tig), heat release rates (HRR); peak HRR (HRRp), average HRR (HRRavg), total HRR (THR), peak mass loss rate (MLRp), average smoke production rate (SPRavg) and carbon monoxide production (COP ) were obtained using the cone calorimeter apparatus. From the mechanical properties obtained, improvements of IS for the panels were not noticeable whereas TS and FS for WSPC12%APP-GAP respectively stood at 12.44 MPa and 85.58 MPa more than those without FR (WSPC0%). For WSC18%ATH/APP-GAP TS and FS respectively stood at 16.45 MPa and 50.49 MPa more compared to (WSPC0%). From the thermal analysis, the panels did not exhibit any significant change as early degradation was observed. At 900 OC, the char residues improved by 15% for WSPC12%APP-GAP and 19% for WSPC18%ATH/APP-GAP more than (WSC0%) at 5%, confirming the APP-GAP to be a good FR. At 50 kW/m2 heat flux (HF), WSPC12%APP-GAP improved better the fire behaviour of the panels when compared to WSC0% as follows; Tig = 46 s, HRRp = 56.1 kW/2, HRRavg = 32.8 kW/m2, THR = 66.6 MJ/m2, MLRp = 0.103 g/s, TSR = 0.04 m2/s and COP = 0.051 kg/kg. These were respectively more than WSC0%. It can be concluded that the new concept of modifying FR with GAP in WSC could meet the requirement of a fireproof door for building applications.

Keywords: composite, flame retardant, wood sawdust, fireproof doors

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Authors: Prasad Pokkunuri

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Visco-elastic materials combine the stress response properties of both solids and fluids and have found use in a variety of damping applications – both vibrational and acoustic. Defense and automotive applications, in particular, are subject to high impact and shock loading – for example: aircraft landing gear, firearms, and shock absorbers. Field responsive fluids – a class of smart materials – are the preferred choice of energy absorbents because of their controllability. These fluids’ stress response can be controlled by the application of a magnetic or electric field, in a closed loop. Their rheological properties – elasticity, plasticity, and viscosity – can be varied all the way from that of a liquid such as water to a hard solid. This work presents a simplified model to study the impulse response behavior of such fluids for use in recoil damping systems. The well-known Burger’s equation, in conjunction with various visco-elastic constitutive models, is used to represent fluid behavior. The Kelvin-Voigt, Upper Convected Maxwell (UCM), and Oldroyd-B constitutive models are implemented in this study. Using these models in a one-dimensional framework eliminates additional complexities due to geometry, pressure, body forces, and other source terms. Using a finite difference formulation to numerically solve the governing equation(s), the response to an initial impulse is studied. The disturbance is confined within the problem domain with no-inflow, no-outflow boundary conditions, and its decay characteristics studied. Visco-elastic fluids typically involve a time-dependent stress relaxation which gives rise to interesting behavior when subjected to an impulsive load. For particular values of viscous damping and elastic modulus, the fluid settles into a stable oscillatory state, absorbing and releasing energy without much decay. The simplified formulation enables a comprehensive study of different modes of system response, by varying relevant parameters. Using the insights gained from this study, extension to a more detailed multi-dimensional model is considered.

Keywords: Burgers Equation, Impulse Response, Recoil Damping Systems, Visco-elastic Fluids

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Authors: Filip Rusak, Yulia Arzhaeva, Dadong Wang

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Machine learning based Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) is gaining much popularity in medical imaging and diagnostic radiology. However, it requires a large amount of high quality and labeled training image datasets. The training images may come from different sources and be acquired from different radiography machines produced by different manufacturers, digital or digitized copies of film radiographs, with various sizes as well as different pixel intensity distributions. In this paper, a content-aware image augmentation method is presented to deal with these variations. The results of the proposed method have been validated graphically by plotting the removed and added seams of pixels on original images. Two different chest X-ray (CXR) datasets are used in the experiments. The CXRs in the datasets defer in size, some are digital CXRs while the others are digitized from analog CXR films. With the proposed content-aware augmentation method, the Seam Carving algorithm is employed to resize CXRs and the corresponding labels in the form of image masks, followed by histogram matching used to normalize the pixel intensities of digital radiography, based on the pixel intensity values of digitized radiographs. We implemented the algorithms, resized the well-known Montgomery dataset, to the size of the most frequently used Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT) dataset and normalized our digital CXRs for testing. This work resulted in the unified off-the-shelf CXR dataset composed of radiographs included in both, Montgomery and JSRT datasets. The experimental results show that even though the amount of augmentation is large, our algorithm can preserve the important information in lung fields, local structures, and global visual effect adequately. The proposed method can be used to augment training and testing image data sets so that the trained machine learning model can be used to process CXRs from various sources, and it can be potentially used broadly in any medical imaging applications.

Keywords: computer-aided diagnosis, image augmentation, lung segmentation, medical imaging, seam carving

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Authors: Yin-Tsuo Huang

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Most leadership theories focus on leader's development. However, in reality, the led is also very important in the leadership process. Development relates to ensure the individual to grow in the skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform at leaders’ highest possible level now and for the future. The topic area of the relationships among leadership styles, subordinate maturity, and information distinction was identified because it is a practical problem and personal experiences occurring in multinational enterprises. Some questions to be answered through this critical analysis of the literature are: (1) What are the effective leadership styles in the leader-member and member-member relationships? (2) How do the subordinates react to leaders’ managerial style? (3) What are the relationships among leadership styles, subordinate maturity, and resulting information distinction? (4) What kinds of information distinction effects the relationships between leadership styles and subordinate maturity? (5) Where do leaders and subordinates can get information, and how? (6) In what areas are leaders’ or subordinates’ knowledge weakest, and how can they get others to prove the information they need? (7) How important is that information to the subordinates? (8) Do the leaders keep too much information for their subordinates because it is inconvenient? The main purpose of this review is to explore the theoretical and empirical literature about the relationships among leadership style, subordinates maturity, and information distinction implications in multinational Taiwanese organizations to identify areas of future scholarly inquiry.

Keywords: leadership style, subordinate maturity, information distinction, multinational organization

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Authors: Darius Danesh, Michael J. Ryan, Alireza Abbasi

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Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is an essential component of an organisation’s strategic procedures, which requires attention of several factors to envisage a range of long-term outcomes to support strategic project portfolio decisions. To evaluate overall efficiency at the portfolio level, it is essential to identify the functionality of specific projects as well as to aggregate those findings in a mathematically meaningful manner that indicates the strategic significance of the associated projects at a number of levels of abstraction. PPM success is directly associated with the quality of decisions made and poor judgment increases portfolio costs. Hence, various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques have been designed and employed to support the decision-making functions. This paper reviews possible option to improve the decision-making outcomes in the organisational portfolio management processes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) both from academic and practical perspectives and will examine the usability, certainty and quality of the technique. The results of the study will also provide insight into the technical risk associated with current decision-making model to underpin initiative tracking and strategic portfolio management.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision support systems, multi-criteria decision making, project portfolio management

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Authors: S. A. Naeini, H. R. Rahmani, M. Hossein Zade

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Many classical bearing capacity theories assume that the natural soil's layers are homogenous for determining the bearing capacity of the soil. But, in many practical projects, we encounter multi-layer soils. Geosynthetic as reinforcement materials have been extensively used in the construction of various structures. In this paper, numerical analysis of the Plate Load Test (PLT) using of ABAQUS software in double-layered soils with different thicknesses of sandy and gravelly layers reinforced with geogrid was considered. The PLT is one of the common filed methods to calculate parameters such as soil bearing capacity, the evaluation of the compressibility and the determination of the Subgrade Reaction module. In fact, the influence of the geogrid layers on the bearing capacity of the layered soils is investigated. Finally, the most appropriate mode for the distance and number of reinforcement layers is determined. Results show that using three layers of geogrid with a distance of 0.3 times the width of the loading plate has the highest efficiency in bearing capacity of double-layer (sand and gravel) soils. Also, the significant increase in bearing capacity between unreinforced and reinforced soil with three layers of geogrid is caused by the condition that the upper layer (gravel) thickness is equal to the loading plate width.

Keywords: bearing capacity, reinforcement, geogrid, plate load test, layered soils

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Authors: Liu Yao

Abstract:

With the acceleration of urbanization and the profound change in industrial structure, a large number of unused and abandoned industrial heritage has emerged in the city, and the industrial communities attached to them have also fallen into a state of decline. This decline is not only reflected in the aging and decay of physical space but also in the rupture and absence of historical and cultural veins. Therefore, in urban renewal, we should not only pay attention to the physical transformation and reconstruction but also think deeply about how to inherit the spiritual core of industrial heritage communities, how to awaken and reconstruct their place memory, and how to promote its organic integration with the process of urban redevelopment. This study takes the Jiangnan Cement Factory industrial heritage community as a typical case and analyzes the challenges and opportunities it faces in the process of renewal, protection and utilization. With the continuation of the spirit of place as the core, we are committed to realizing the sustainable development of the community's industry, space and culture. Based on this, we propose three types of regeneration strategies, including industrial activation, spatial restoration and spiritual continuity, in order to provide useful theoretical references and practical guidance for the future conservation of industrial heritage and the sustainable development of communities.

Keywords: spirit of place, industrial heritage communities, urban renewal, sustainable communities

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Authors: Akshay A. Pandya, B. R. Parekh

Abstract:

This paper presents how earth fault damage in the transformer can be detected by Sweep Frequency Response Analysis (SFRA). The test methods used by the authors for presenting the results are described. The power transformer of rating 10 KVA, 11000 V/440 V, 3-phase, 50 Hz, Dyn11 has been specially developed in-house for carrying out SFRA testing by practically simulated various transformer damages on it. Earth fault has been practically simulated on HV “U” phase winding and LV “W” phase winding separately. The result of these simulated faults are presented and discussed. The motivation of this presented work is to extend the guideline approach; there are ideas to organize database containing collected measurement results. Since the SFRA interpretation is based on experience, such databases are thought to be of great importance when interpreting SFRA response. The evaluation of the SFRA responses against guidelines and experience have to be performed and conclusions regarding usefulness of each simulation has been drawn and at last overall conclusion has also been drawn.

Keywords: earth fault damage, power transformer, practical simulation, SFRA traces, transformer damages

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Authors: Rylyne Mande Nchu, Robertson Tengeh, Chux Iwu

Abstract:

Blended learning is a global phenomenon and is essential to many institutes of learning as an additional method of teaching that complements more traditional methods of learning. In this paper, the lack of practice of a blended learning approach to entrepreneurship education and how it impacts learners' perception of being entrepreneurial. E-learning is in its infancy within the secondary and high school sectors in South Africa. The conceptual framework of the study is based on theoretical aspects of systemic-constructivist learning implemented in an interactive online learning environment in an entrepreneurship education subject. The formative evaluation research was conducted implementing mixed methods of research (quantitative and qualitative) and it comprised a survey of high school learners and informant interviewing with entrepreneurs. Theoretical analysis of literature provides features necessary for creating interactive blended learning environments to be used in entrepreneurship education subject. Findings of the study show that learners do not always objectively evaluate their capacities. Special attention has to be paid to the development of learners’ computer literacy as well as to the activities that would bring online learning to practical training. Needs analysis shows that incorporating blended learning in entrepreneurship education may have a positive perception of entrepreneurship.

Keywords: blended learning, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship intention, entrepreneurial skills

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Authors: Victor William Harris

Abstract:

This research is a validation study of the Social Emotional Ability Inventory (SEAI), a multi-dimensional self-report instrument informed by positive psychology, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and sociocultural learning theory. Designed for use in tandem with the Social Emotional Development (SEAD) theoretical model, the SEAI provides diagnostic-level guidance for professionals and individuals interested in investigating, identifying, and understanding social, emotional strengths, as well as remediating specific social competency deficiencies. The SEAI was shown to be psychometrically sound, exhibited strong internal reliability, and supported the a priori hypotheses of the SEAD. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of goodness of fit, convergent and divergent validity, and supported a theoretical model that reflected SEAD expectations. The SEAI and SEAD hold potentially far-reaching and important practical implications for theoretical guidance and diagnostic-level measurement of social, emotional competency across a wide range of domains. Strategies researchers, practitioners, educators, and individuals might use to deploy SEAI in order to improve quality of life outcomes are discussed.

Keywords: emotion, emotional ability, positive psychology-social emotional ability, social emotional ability, social emotional ability instrument

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Authors: Mohammed Nasir Kajama, Ngozi Claribelle Nwogu, Edward Gobina

Abstract:

Pt/γ-Al2O3 membrane catalysts were prepared via an evaporative-crystallization deposition method. The obtained Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst activity was tested after characterization (SEM-EDAX observation, BET measurement, permeability assessment) in the catalytic oxidation of selected volatile organic compound (VOC) i.e. propane, fed in mixture of oxygen. The VOC conversion (nearly 90%) obtained by varying the operating temperature showed that flow-through membrane reactor might do better in the abatement of VOCs.

Keywords: VOC combustion, flow-through membrane reactor, platinum supported alumina catalysts

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Authors: Givi Kupatadze

Abstract:

Backward economies are facing a challenge of achieving sustainable high economic growth rate. Dominant growth models represent a roadmap in framing economic development strategy. This paper examines a relevance of the dominant growth models for backward economies. Cobb-Douglas production function, the Harrod-Domar model of economic growth, the Solow growth model and general formula of gross domestic product are examined to undertake a comprehensive study of the dominant growth models. Deductive research method allows to uncover major weaknesses of the dominant growth models and to come up with practical implications for economic development strategy. The key finding of the paper shows, contrary to what used to be taught by textbooks of economics, that constant returns to scale property of the dominant growth models are a mere coincidence and its generalization over space and time can be regarded as one of the most unfortunate mistakes in the whole field of political economy. The major suggestion of the paper for backward economies is that understanding and considering taxonomy of economic activities based on increasing and diminishing returns to scale represent a cornerstone of successful economic development strategy.

Keywords: backward economies, constant returns to scale, dominant growth models, taxonomy of economic activities

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Authors: J. Bolobajev, M. Trapido, A. Goi

Abstract:

The practical application of the Fenton-based treatment method for organic compounds-contaminated water purification is limited mainly because of the large amount of ferric sludge formed during the treatment, where ferrous iron (Fe(II)) is used as the activator of the hydrogen peroxide oxidation processes. Reuse of ferric sludge collected from clarifiers to substitute Fe(II) salts allows reducing the total cost of Fenton-type treatment technologies and minimizing the accumulation of hazardous ferric waste. Dissolution of ferric iron (Fe(III)) from the sludge to liquid phase at acidic pH and autocatalytic transformation of Fe(III) to Fe(II) by phenolic compounds (tannic acid, lignin, phenol, catechol, pyrogallol and hydroquinone) added or present as water/wastewater constituents were found to be essentially involved in the Fenton-based oxidation mechanism. Observed enhanced formation of highly reactive species, hydroxyl radicals, resulted in a substantial organic contaminant degradation increase. Sludge reuse at acidic pH and in the presence of ferric iron reductants is a novel strategy in the Fenton-based treatment application for organic compounds-contaminated water purification.

Keywords: ferric sludge recycling, ferric iron reductant, water treatment, organic pollutant

Procedia PDF Downloads 277