Search results for: small area variation

Authors: S. Y. Lin, C. H. Kuan, C. H. She, W. T. Wang

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In this study, ultrasonic assisted machining (UAM) technique is applied in side-surface milling experiment for glass-ceramic workpiece material. The tungsten carbide cutting-tool with diamond coating is used in conjunction with two kinds of cooling/lubrication mediums such as water-soluble (WS) cutting fluid and minimum quantity lubricant (MQL). Full factorial process parameter combinations on the milling experiments are planned to investigate the effect of process parameters on cutting performance. From the experimental results, it tries to search for the better process parameter combination which the edge-indentation and the surface roughness are acceptable. In the machining experiments, ultrasonic oscillator was used to excite a cutting-tool along the radial direction producing a very small amplitude of vibration frequency of 20KHz to assist the machining process. After processing, toolmaker microscope was used to detect the side-surface morphology, edge-indentation and cutting tool wear under different combination of cutting parameters, and analysis and discussion were also conducted for experimental results. The results show that the main leading parameters to edge-indentation of glass ceramic are cutting depth and feed rate. In order to reduce edge-indentation, it needs to use lower cutting depth and feed rate. Water-soluble cutting fluid provides a better cooling effect in the primary cutting area; it may effectively reduce the edge-indentation and improve the surface morphology of the glass ceramic. The use of ultrasonic assisted technique can effectively enhance the surface finish cleanness and reduce cutting tool wear and edge-indentation.

Keywords: glass-ceramic, ultrasonic assisted machining, cutting performance, edge-indentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Srećko Favro, Dora Mužinić

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The eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea has been a significant part of the most important traffic corridors since Antiquity due to its position as the deepest indented bay of the Mediterranean and numerous bays on the coast and is-lands. The central place throughout history was occupied by the central part - Split-Dalmatia County, with its center in Antica in Salona and later in Split. Nowadays, in addition to its traffic and economic importance, this area is also important for tourism, an area where Croatia develops its economy and realizing its economic growth. Nautical tourism is the most important form of the tourist economic sector that uses the geographical features of the Croatian Adriatic water area and achieves the greatest growth based on tour-ist trends in the world (coronavirus - separation from the masses, adventure tourism - own arrangements) and thus opens up the possibility of develop-ment for other parts of the tourist economy. This will be described in the ex-ample of the business of the Split-Dalmatia County shipping company from Krilo Jesenice, which operates as a mini-cruising service provider, the lead-ing form of cruising in Croatia. The advantages that this type of tourism provides to travelers in terms of customized itineraries, high-quality services, an intimate atmosphere, and a unique experience through familiarization with local culture and tradition will be considered. Through direct primary research and analysis of available secondary research data, an attempt will be made to show how traditional Croatian mini cruisers manage to stand out in a competitive tourist environment. Their impact on the local economy, sus-tainability, and environmental protection will be considered, as well as how they are integrated into the tourist offer of other destinations in Croatia. In addition, the challenges and opportunities that arise in the maintenance and development of traditional Croatian mini cruisers will be discussed, includ-ing issues such as infrastructure, staff training, and market trends.

Keywords: croatia, adriatic, cruising, nautical tourism, mini cruise

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Tanjil Sowgat, Shamim Kobir

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World is now experiencing the consequences of climate change such as increased heat stress due to high temperature rise. In the context of changing climate, this study intends to find out the planning interventions necessary to adapt to the current heat stress in the planned residential areas of Khulna city. To carry out the study Sonadanga residential area (phase I) of Khulna city has been taken as the study site. This residential neighbourhood covering an area of 30 acres has 206 residential plots. The study area comprises twelve access roads, one park, one playfield, one water body and two street furniture’s. This study conducts visual analysis covering green, open space, water body, footpath, drainage and street trees and furniture and questionnaire survey deals with socio-economic, housing tenancy, experience of heat stress and urban design interventions. It finds that the current state that accelerates the heat stress condition such as lack of street trees and inadequate shading, maximum uses are not within ten minutes walking distance, no footpath for the pedestrians and lack of well-maintained street furniture. It proposes that to adapt to the heat stress pedestrian facilities, buffer sidewalk with landscaping, street trees and open spaces, soft scape, natural and man-made water bodies, green roofing could be effective urban design interventions. There are evidences of limited number of heat stress adaptive planned residential area. Since current sub-division planning practice focuses on rigid land use allocation, it partly addresses the climatic concerns through creating open space and street trees. To better respond to adapt to the heat stress, urban design considerations in the context of sub-division practice would bring more benefits.

Keywords: climate change, urban design, adaptation, heat stress, water-logging

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Daria Karasalihovic Sedlar, Lucija Jukic, Ivan Smajla, Marija Macenic

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This paper analyses possible geothermal energy production from a mature oil reservoir based on exploitation of underlying aquifer thermal energy for the purpose of heating public buildings. Research was conducted based on the case study of the City of Ivanic-Grad public buildings energy demand and Ivanic oil filed that is situated in the same area. Since the City of Ivanic is one of the few cities in the EU where hydrocarbon exploitation has been taking place for decades almost entirely in urban area, decommissioning of oil wells is inevitable; therefore, the research goal was to investigate how to extend the life-time of the reservoir by exploiting geothermal brine beneath the oil reservoir in an environmental friendly manner. This kind of a project is extremely complex in all segments, from documentation preparation, implementation of technological solutions, and providing ecological measures for environmentally acceptable geothermal energy production and utilization. New mining activities that will be needed for the development of geothermal project at the observed Hydrocarbon Exploitation Field Ivanic will be carried out in order to prepare wells for increasing geothermal brine production. These operations involve the conversion of existing wells (well completion for conversion of the observation wells to production ones) along with workover activities, installation of new heat exchangers, and pipelines. Since the wells are in the urban area of the City of Ivanic-Grad in high density populated area, the inhabitants will be exposed to the different environmental impacts during preparation phase of the project. For the purpose of performing workovers, it will be necessary to secure access to wellheads of existing wells. This paper gives guidelines for describing potential impacts on environment components that could occur during geothermal production preparation on existing mature oil filed, recommends possible protection measures to mitigate these impacts, and gives recommendations for environmental monitoring.

Keywords: geothermal energy production, mature oil filed, environmental impact assessment, underlying aquifer thermal energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Seshi Reddy Kasu, Florian Misoc

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The use of hydroelectric pump-storage system at large scale, MW-size systems, is already widespread around the world. Designed for large scale applications, pump-storage station can be scaled-down for small, remote residential applications. Given the cost and complexity associated with installing a substation further than 100 miles from the main transmission lines, a remote, independent and self-sufficient system is by far the most feasible solution. This article is aiming at the design of wind and solar power generating system, by means of pumped-storage to replace the wind and/or solar power systems with a battery bank energy storage. Wind and solar pumped-storage power generating system can reduce the cost of power generation system, according to the user's electricity load and resource condition and also can ensure system reliability of power supply. Wind and solar pumped-storage power generation system is well suited for remote residential applications with intermittent wind and/or solar energy. This type of power systems, installed in these locations, could be a very good alternative, with economic benefits and positive social effects. The advantage of pumped storage power system, where wind power regulation is calculated, shows that a significant smoothing of the produced power is obtained, resulting in a power-on-demand system’s capability, concomitant to extra economic benefits.

Keywords: battery bank, photo-voltaic, pump-storage, wind energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 582

Authors: E. Ormeno, C. Gutigny, J. Ruffault, J. Madrigal, M. Guijarro, C. Lecareux, C. Ballini

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Mediterranean plant species feature numerous metabolic and morpho-physiological responses crucial to survive under both, typical Mediterranean drought conditions and future aggravated drought expected by climate change. Whether these adaptive responses will, in turn, increase the ecosystem perturbation in terms of fire hazard, is an issue that needs to be addressed. The aim of this study was to test whether recurrent and aggravated drought in the Mediterranean area favors the accumulation of waxes in leaf litter, with an eventual increase of litter flammability. The study was conducted in 2017 in a garrigue in Southern France dominated by Quercus coccifera, where two drought treatments were used: a treatment with recurrent aggravated drought consisting of ten rain exclusion structures which withdraw part of the annual precipitation since January 2012, and a natural drought treatment where Q. coccifera stands are free of such structures and thus grow under natural precipitation. Waxes were extracted with organic solvent and analyzed by GC-MS and litter flammability was assessed through measurements of the ignition delay, flame residence time and flame intensity (flame height) using an epiradiator as well as the heat of combustion using an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Results show that after 5 years of rain restriction, wax content in the cuticle of leaf litter increases significantly compared to shrubs growing under natural precipitation, in accordance with the theoretical knowledge which expects increases of cuticle waxes in green leaves in order to limit water evapotranspiration. Wax concentrations were also linearly and positively correlated to litter flammability, a correlation that lies on the high flammability own to the long-chain alkanes (C25-C31) found in leaf litter waxes. This innovative investigation shows that climate change is likely to favor ecosystem fire hazard through accumulation of highly flammable waxes in litter. It also adds valuable information about the types of metabolites that are associated with increasing litter flammability, since so far, within the leaf metabolic profile, only terpene-like compounds had been related to plant flammability.

Keywords: cuticular waxes, drought, flammability, litter

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: A. Ghanbari Mardasi, N. Wu, C. Wu

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In this study, a spatial wavelet-based crack localization technique for a thick beam is presented. Wavelet scale in spatial wavelet transformation is optimized to enhance crack detection sensitivity. A windowing function is also employed to erase the edge effect of the wavelet transformation, which enables the method to detect and localize cracks near the beam/measurement boundaries. Theoretical model and vibration analysis considering the crack effect are first proposed and performed in MATLAB based on the Timoshenko beam model. Gabor wavelet family is applied to the beam vibration mode shapes derived from the theoretical beam model to magnify the crack effect so as to locate the crack. Relative wavelet coefficient is obtained for sensitivity analysis by comparing the coefficient values at different positions of the beam with the lowest value in the intact area of the beam. Afterward, the optimal wavelet scale corresponding to the highest relative wavelet coefficient at the crack position is obtained for each vibration mode, through numerical simulations. The same procedure is performed for cracks with different sizes and positions in order to find the optimal scale range for the Gabor wavelet family. Finally, Hanning window is applied to different vibration mode shapes in order to overcome the edge effect problem of wavelet transformation and its effect on the localization of crack close to the measurement boundaries. Comparison of the wavelet coefficients distribution of windowed and initial mode shapes demonstrates that window function eases the identification of the cracks close to the boundaries.

Keywords: edge effect, scale optimization, small crack locating, spatial wavelet

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: K. K. Lee, H. W. Han, H. L. Kang, T. A. Kim, S. H. Han

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For the robust optimization of the manufacturing product design, there are design objectives that must be achieved, such as a minimization of the mean and standard deviation in objective functions within the required sensitivity constraints. The authors utilized the sensitivity of objective functions and constraints with respect to the effective design variables to reduce the computational burden associated with the evaluation of the probabilities. The individual mean and sensitivity values could be estimated easily by using the 9 level orthogonal array based response surface models optimized by the stepwise regression. The present study evaluates a proposed procedure from the robust optimization of rubber domes that are commonly used for keyboard switching, by using the 9 level orthogonal array and stepwise regression along with a desirability function. In addition, a new robust optimization process, i.e., the I2GEO (Identify, Integrate, Generate, Explore and Optimize), was proposed on the basis of the robust optimization in rubber domes. The optimized results from the response surface models and the estimated results by using the finite element analysis were consistent within a small margin of error. The standard deviation of objective function is decreasing 54.17% with suggested sensitivity based robust optimization. (Business for Cooperative R&D between Industry, Academy, and Research Institute funded Korea Small and Medium Business Administration in 2017, S2455569)

Keywords: objective function, orthogonal array, response surface model, robust optimization, stepwise regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Kopal Verma, Umesh C. Kulshrestha

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India is a rural major country and majority of rural population is dependent on burning of biomass as fuel for domestic cooking on traditional stoves (Chullahs) and heating purposes. This results into indoor air pollution and ultimately affects health of the residents. Still, a very small fraction of rural population has been benefitted by the facilities of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders. Different regions of country follow different methods and use different type of biomass for cooking. So in order to study the differences in cooking practices and resulting indoor air pollution, this study was carried out in two rural areas of India viz. Budhwada, Madhya Pradesh and Baggi, Himachal Pradesh. Both the regions have significant differences in terms of topography, culture and daily practices. Budhwada lies in plain area and Baggi belongs to hilly terrain. The study of carbonaceous aerosols was carried out in four different houses of each village. The residents were asked to bring slight change in their practices by cooking only with biomass (BB) then with a mix of biomass and LPG (BL) and then finally only with LPG (LP). It was found that in BB, average values of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were 28% and 44% lower in Budhwada than in Baggi whereas a reverse trend was found where OC and EC was respectively more by 56% and 26% with BL and by 54% and 29% with LP in Budhwada than in Baggi. Although, a significant reduction was found both in Budhwada (OC by 49% and EC by 34%) as well as in Baggi (OC by 84% and EC by 73%) when cooking was shifted from BB to LP. The OC/EC ratio was much higher for Budhwada (BB=9.9; BL=2.5; LP=6.1) than for Baggi (BB=1.7; BL=1.6; LP=1.3). The correlation in OC and EC was found to be excellent in Baggi (r²=0.93) and relatively poor in Budhwada (r²=0.65). A questionnaire filled by the residents suggested that they agree to the health benefits of using LPG over biomass burning but the challenges of supply of LPG and changing the prevailing tradition of cooking on Chullah are making it difficult for them to make this shift.

Keywords: biomass burning, elemental carbon, liquefied petroluem gas, organic carbon

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Camille Van Eupen, Dirk Maes, Marc Herremans, Kristijn R. R. Swinnen, Ben Somers, Stijn Luca

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In ecology, species distribution models are commonly implemented to study species-environment relationships. These models increasingly rely on opportunistic citizen science data when high-quality species records collected through standardized recording protocols are unavailable. While these opportunistic data are abundant, uncertainty is usually high, e.g., due to observer effects or a lack of metadata. Data quality filtering is often used to reduce these types of uncertainty in an attempt to increase the value of studies relying on opportunistic data. However, filtering should not be performed blindly. In this study, recommendations are built for data quality filtering of opportunistic species occurrence data that are used as input for species distribution models. Using an extensive database of 5.7 million citizen science records from 255 species in Flanders, the impact on model performance was quantified by applying three data quality filters, and these results were linked to species traits. More specifically, presence records were filtered based on record attributes that provide information on the observation process or post-entry data validation, and changes in the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were analyzed using the Maxent algorithm with and without filtering. Controlling for sample size enabled us to study the combined impact of data quality filtering, i.e., the simultaneous impact of an increase in data quality and a decrease in sample size. Further, the variation among species in their response to data quality filtering was explored by clustering species based on four traits often related to data quality: commonness, popularity, difficulty, and body size. Findings show that model performance is affected by i) the quality of the filtered data, ii) the proportional reduction in sample size caused by filtering and the remaining absolute sample size, and iii) a species ‘quality profile’, resulting from a species classification based on the four traits related to data quality. The findings resulted in recommendations on when and how to filter volunteer generated and opportunistically collected data. This study confirms that correctly processed citizen science data can make a valuable contribution to ecological research and species conservation.

Keywords: citizen science, data quality filtering, species distribution models, trait profiles

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Coriolano Salvini, Ambra Giovannelli

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The use of renewable energy sources for electric power production leads to reduced CO2 emissions and contributes to improving the domestic energy security. On the other hand, the intermittency and unpredictability of their availability poses relevant problems in fulfilling safely and in a cost efficient way the load demand along the time. Significant benefits in terms of “grid system applications”, “end-use applications” and “renewable applications” can be achieved by introducing energy storage systems. Among the currently available solutions, CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) shows favorable features. Small-medium size plants equipped with artificial air reservoirs can constitute an interesting option to get efficient and cost-effective distributed energy storage systems. The present paper is addressed to the design and off-design analysis of the compression system of small size CAES plants suited to absorb electric power in the range of hundreds of kilowatt. The system of interest is constituted by an intercooled (in case aftercooled) multi-stage reciprocating compressor and a man-made reservoir obtained by connecting large diameter steel pipe sections. A specific methodology for the system preliminary sizing and off-design modeling has been developed. Since during the charging phase the electric power absorbed along the time has to change according to the peculiar CAES requirements and the pressure ratio increases continuously during the filling of the reservoir, the compressor has to work at variable mass flow rate. In order to ensure an appropriately wide range of operations, particular attention has been paid to the selection of the most suitable compressor capacity control device. Given the capacity regulation margin of the compressor and the actual level of charge of the reservoir, the proposed approach allows the instant-by-instant evaluation of minimum and maximum electric power absorbable from the grid. The developed tool gives useful information to appropriately size the compression system and to manage it in the most effective way. Various cases characterized by different system requirements are analysed. Results are given and widely discussed.

Keywords: artificial air storage reservoir, compressed air energy storage (CAES), compressor design, compression system management.

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Abdalla Abdelnabi, Yousf Abushalah

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The G Formation is a major gas producing reservoir in the SM Field, eastern, Libya. It is called G limestone because it consists of shallow marine limestone. Well data and 3D-Seismic in conjunction with the results of a previous study were used to delineate the hydrocarbon reservoir of Middle Eocene G-Formation of SM Field area. The data include three-dimensional seismic data acquired in 2009. It covers approximately an area of 75 mi² and with more than 9 wells penetrating the reservoir. Seismic data are used to identify any stratigraphic and structural and features such as channels and faults and which may play a significant role in hydrocarbon traps. The well data are used to calculation petrophysical analysis of S field. The average porosity of the Middle Eocene G Formation is very good with porosity reaching 24% especially around well W 6. Average water saturation was calculated for each well from porosity and resistivity logs using Archie’s formula. The average water saturation for the whole well is 25%. Structural mapping of top and bottom of Middle Eocene G formation revealed the highest area in the SM field is at 4800 ft subsea around wells W4, W5, W6, and W7 and the deepest point is at 4950 ft subsea. Correlation between wells using well data and structural maps created from seismic data revealed that net thickness of G Formation range from 0 ft in the north part of the field to 235 ft in southwest and south part of the field. The gas water contact is found at 4860 ft using the resistivity log. The net isopach map using both the trapezoidal and pyramid rules are used to calculate the total bulk volume. The original gas in place and the recoverable gas were calculated volumetrically to be 890 Billion Standard Cubic Feet (BSCF) and 630 (BSCF) respectively.

Keywords: 3D seismic data, well logging, petrel, kingdom suite

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Reihaneh Rafiemanzelt

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The need to protect our cultural heritage was stressed on revitalization of historical city centers in communities. The main goals the proses was to attract finance and activities to the historical city centers through the citizens and municipalities participation while cities expanded their boundaries toward suburban areas. Todays the main problems which facing to the most historical city centers, is loss of their centrality through effect of urbanization on any point of the cities which is the most important issue on neglect and abandonment of the historical central area by decentralizing living, commerce and public areas. This article evaluate the ways in which city center revitalization can be effect on vitality and viability of the central area in case of Naghshe Jahan square which situated at the center of Isfahan city, Iran. Constructed between 1598 and 1629, it is now an important historical site, and one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Keywords: urban development, revitalization, city centers, vitality and viability

Procedia PDF Downloads 596

Authors: Adiyasa Muda Zannatan

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Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a plant originating from Brazil. Cassava plants categorized as sixth major food in the world after wheat, rice, corn and potatoes. It has been cultivated on hilly land for 97 years since 1918 at Cireundeu village, West Java Province, Indonesia. Cireundeu traditional village located in the mountain valleys and has a hilly slope up to 38%. Cassava is used as the primary food in that area. Uniquely, Cassava productivity is stable and continues until now. The assessment of soil quality is taking soil samples in the area and analysis the soil in laboratory. The result of analysis that soil in the area is not degraded because it has optimum nutrient, organic matter, and high value of cation exchange capacity in soil even though it has been cultivated in scarp with high slope. Commonly, soil on scarp with high slope has a high rate erosion and poor nutrient. It proved that cassava is able to be an alternative technique of soil conservation in the areas that have a high slope. Beside that, cassava can be utilized as a plant food, feed, fertilizer, and energy. With the utilization of Cassava, the target of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) will be achieved with consideration three important components include economy, social, and environment. In economy, Cassava can to be the commercial product like processed food, feed, and alternative energy. In social, it will increase social welfare and will be hereditary. And for environment, Cassava prevents soil from erosion and keeps soil quality.

Keywords: Cassava, local wisdom, conservation, soil quality, sustainable

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Bruno Baptista, Andreia S. R. Oliveira, Patricia V. Mendonca, Jorge F. J. Coelho, Fani Sousa

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Drug delivery systems are designed to allow adequate protection and controlled delivery of drugs to specific locations. These systems aim to reduce side effects and control the biodistribution profile of drugs, thus improving therapeutic efficacy. This study involved the synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles, based on amphiphilic diblock copolymers, comprising a biocompatible, poly (oligo (ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (POEOMA) as hydrophilic segment and a pH-sensitive block, the poly (2-diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDPA). The objective of this work was the development of polymeric pH-responsive nanoparticles to encapsulate and carry small RNAs as a model to further develop non-coding RNAs delivery systems with therapeutic value. The responsiveness of PDPA to pH allows the electrostatic interaction of these copolymers with nucleic acids at acidic pH, as a result of the protonation of the tertiary amine groups of this polymer at pH values below its pKa (around 6.2). Initially, the molecular weight parameters and chemical structure of the block copolymers were determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, respectively. Then, the complexation with small RNAs was verified, generating polyplexes with sizes ranging from 300 to 600 nm and with encapsulation efficiencies around 80%, depending on the molecular weight of the polymers, their composition, and concentration used. The effect of pH on the morphology of nanoparticles was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) being verified that at higher pH values, particles tend to lose their spherical shape. Since this work aims to develop systems for the delivery of non-coding RNAs, studies on RNA protection (contact with RNase, FBS, and Trypsin) and cell viability were also carried out. It was found that they induce some protection against constituents of the cellular environment and have no cellular toxicity. In summary, this research work contributes to the development of pH-sensitive polymers, capable of protecting and encapsulating RNA, in a relatively simple and efficient manner, to further be applied on drug delivery to specific sites where pH may have a critical role, as it can occur in several cancer environments.

Keywords: drug delivery systems, pH-responsive polymers, POEOMA-b-PDPA, small RNAs

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Divya Kanchibhotla, Shashank Kulkarni, Shweta Singh

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Chronic stress and sleep quality reduces mental health and increases the risk of developing depression and anxiety as well. There is increasing evidence for the utility of meditation as an adjunct clinical intervention for conditions like depression and anxiety. The present study is an attempt to explore the impact of Sahaj Samadhi Meditation (SSM), a category of Automatic Self Transcending Meditation (ASTM), on perceived stress and sleep quality in adults. The study design was a single group pre-post assessment. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used in this study. Fifty-two participants filled PSS, and 60 participants filled PSQI at the beginning of the program (day 0), after two weeks (day 16) and at two months (day 60). Significant pre-post differences for the perceived stress level on Day 0 - Day 16 (p < 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.46) and Day 0 - Day 60 (p < 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.76) clearly demonstrated that by practicing SSM, participants experienced reduction in the perceived stress. The effect size of the intervention observed on the 16th day of assessment was small to medium, but on the 60th day, a medium to large effect size of the intervention was observed. In addition to this, significant pre-post differences for the sleep quality on Day 0 - Day 16 and Day 0 - Day 60 (p < 0.05) clearly demonstrated that by practicing SSM, participants experienced improvement in the sleep quality. Compared with Day 0 assessment, participants demonstrated significant improvement in the quality of sleep on Day 16 and Day 60. The effect size of the intervention observed on the 16th day of assessment was small, but on the 60th day, a small to medium effect size of the intervention was observed. In the current study we found out that after practicing SSM for two months, participants reported a reduction in the perceived stress, they felt that they are more confident about their ability to handle personal problems, were able to cope with all the things that they had to do, felt that they were on top of the things, and felt less angered. Participants also reported that their overall sleep quality improved; they took less time to fall asleep; they had less disturbances in sleep and less daytime dysfunction due to sleep deprivation. The present study provides clear evidence of the efficacy and safety of non-pharmacological interventions such as SSM in reducing stress and improving sleep quality. Thus, ASTM may be considered a useful intervention to reduce psychological distress in healthy, non-clinical populations, and it can be an alternative remedy for treating poor sleep among individuals and decreasing the use of harmful sedatives.

Keywords: automatic self transcending meditation, Sahaj Samadhi meditation, sleep, stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: E. Salem

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Combustion has been used for a long time as a means of energy extraction. However, in recent years, there has been a further increase in air pollution, through pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, acid etc. In order to solve this problem, there is a need to reduce carbon and nitrogen oxides through learn burning modifying combustors and fuel dilution. A numerical investigation has been done to investigate the effectiveness of several reduced mechanisms in terms of computational time and accuracy, for the combustion of the hydrocarbons/air or diluted with hydrogen in a micro combustor. The simulations were carried out using the ANSYS Fluent 19.1. To validate the results “PREMIX and CHEMKIN” codes were used to calculate 1D premixed flame based on the temperature, composition of burned and unburned gas mixtures. Numerical calculations were carried for several hydrocarbons by changing the equivalence ratios and adding small amounts of hydrogen into the fuel blends then analyzing the flammable limit, the reduction in NOx and CO emissions, then comparing it to experimental data. By solving the conservations equations, several global reduced mechanisms (2-9-12) were obtained. These reduced mechanisms were simulated on a 2D cylindrical tube with dimensions of 40 cm in length and 2.5 cm diameter. The mesh of the model included a proper fine quad mesh, within the first 7 cm of the tube and around the walls. By developing a proper boundary layer, several simulations were performed on hydrocarbon/air blends to visualize the flame characteristics than were compared with experimental data. Once the results were within acceptable range, the geometry of the combustor was modified through changing the length, diameter, adding hydrogen by volume, and changing the equivalence ratios from lean to rich in the fuel blends, the results on flame temperature, shape, velocity and concentrations of radicals and emissions were observed. It was determined that the reduced mechanisms provided results within an acceptable range. The variation of the inlet velocity and geometry of the tube lead to an increase of the temperature and CO2 emissions, highest temperatures were obtained in lean conditions (0.5-0.9) equivalence ratio. Addition of hydrogen blends into combustor fuel blends resulted in; reduction in CO and NOx emissions, expansion of the flammable limit, under the condition of having same laminar flow, and varying equivalence ratio with hydrogen additions. The production of NO is reduced because the combustion happens in a leaner state and helps in solving environmental problems.

Keywords: combustor, equivalence-ratio, hydrogenation, premixed flames

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Sasirin Srisomkiew, Sireewan Ratsadornasai, Tanomkwan Tipvong, Isariya Meesing

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Cassava is an important food source in the tropics and has recently gained attention as a potential source of biofuel that can replace limited fossil fuel sources. As a result, the demand for cassava production to support industries both within the country and abroad has increased. In Thailand, most farmers prefer to grow cassava in sandy and sandy loam areas where the soil has low natural fertility. Cassava is a tuber plant that has large roots to store food, resulting in the absorption of large amounts of nutrients from the soil, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Therefore, planting cassava in the same area for a long period causes soil erosion and decreases soil fertility. The loss of soil fertility affects the economy, society, and food and energy security of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to know the level of soil fertility and the amount of nutrients in the soil. To address this problem, this study applies geo-informatics technology and mathematical equations to assess erosion and soil fertility and to analyze factors affecting the amount of cassava production in Maha Sarakham Province. The results show that the area for cassava cultivation has increased in every district of Maha Sarakham Province between 2015-2022, with the total area increasing to 180,922 rai or 5.47% of the province’s total area during this period. Furthermore, it was found that it is possible to assess areas with soil erosion problems that had a moderate level of erosion in areas with high erosion rates ranging from 5-15 T/rai/year. Soil fertility assessment and information obtained from the soil nutrient map for 2015–2023 reveal that farmers in the area have improved the soil by adding chemical fertilizers along with organic fertilizers, such as manure and green manure, to increase the amount of nutrients in the soil. This is because the soil resources of Maha Sarakham Province mostly have relatively low agricultural potential due to the soil texture being sand and sandy loam. In this scenario, the ability to absorb nutrients is low, and the soil holds little water, so it is naturally low in fertility. Moreover, agricultural soil problems were found, including the presence of saline soil, sandy soil, and acidic soil, which is a serious restriction on land use because it affects the release of nutrients into the soil. The results of this study may be used as a guideline for managing soil resources and improving soil quality to prevent soil degradation problems that may occur in the future.

Keywords: Cassava, geoinformatics, soil erosion, soil fertility, land use change

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Saira Iqbal

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Occupational Health and Safety issues nowadays have become an important esteem in the context of Industrial Production. This study is designed to measure the workplace hazards at Kohinoor Energy Limited. Mainly focused hazards were Heat Stress, Noise Level, Light Level and Ergonomics. Measurements for parameters like Wet, Dry, Globe, WBGTi and RH% were taken directly by visiting the Study Area. The temperature in Degrees was recoded at Control Room and Engine Hall. Highest Temperature was recoded in Engine Hall which was about 380C. Efforts were made to record emissions of Noise Levels from the main area of concern like Engines in Engine hall, parking area, and mechanical workshop. Permissible level for measuring Noise is 85 and its Unit of Measurement is dB (A). In Engine Hall Noise was very high which was about 109.6 dB (A) and that level was exceeding the limits. Illumination Level was also recorded at different areas of Power Plant. The light level was though under permissible limits but in some areas like Engine Hall and Boiler Room, level of light was very low especially in Engine Hall where the level was 29 lx. Practices were performed for measuring hazards in context of ergonomics like extended reaching, deviated body postures, mechanical stress, and vibration exposures of the worker at different units of plants by just observing workers during working hours. Since KEL is ISO 8000 and 14000 certified, the researcher found no serious problems in the parameter Ergonomics however it was a common scenario that workers were reluctant to apply PPEs.

Keywords: workplace hazards, heat hazard, noise hazard, illumination, ergonomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: M. N. Zelenin, V. S. Mikhailov, R. P. Zhivotovsky

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It is known that residual welding deformations give negative effect to processability and operational quality of welded structures, complicating their assembly and reducing strength. Therefore, selection of optimal technology, ensuring minimum welding deformations, is one of the main goals in developing a technology for manufacturing of welded structures. Through years, JSC SSTC has been developing a theory for estimation of welding deformations and practical activities for reducing and compensating such deformations during welding process. During long time a methodology was used, based on analytic dependence. This methodology allowed defining volumetric changes of metal due to welding heating and subsequent cooling. However, dependences for definition of structures deformations, arising as a result of volumetric changes of metal in the weld area, allowed performing calculations only for simple structures, such as units, flat sections and sections with small curvature. In case of complex 3D structures, estimations on the base of analytic dependences gave significant errors. To eliminate this shortage, it was suggested to use finite elements method for resolving of deformation problem. Here, one shall first calculate volumes of longitudinal and transversal shortenings of welding joints using method of analytic dependences and further, with obtained shortenings, calculate forces, which action is equivalent to the action of active welding stresses. Further, a finite-elements model of the structure is developed and equivalent forces are added to this model. Having results of calculations, an optimal sequence of assembly and welding is selected and special measures to reduce and compensate welding deformations are developed and taken.

Keywords: residual welding deformations, longitudinal and transverse shortenings of welding joints, method of analytic dependences, finite elements method

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Authors: Tugbanur Ozen Balaban, Gultekin Tarcan, Unsal Gemici, Mumtaz Colak, I. Hakki Karamanderesi

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Buyuk Menderes Graben is located in the Western Anatolia (Turkey). The graben has become the largest industrial and agricultural area with a total population exceeding 3.000.000. There are two big cities within the study areas from west to east as Aydın and Denizli. The study area is very rich with regard to cold ground waters and thermal waters. Electrical production using geothermal potential has become very popular in the last decades in this area. Buyuk Menderes Graben is a tectonically active extensional region and is undergoing a north–south extensional tectonic regime which commenced at the latest during Early Middle Miocene period. The basement of the study area consists of Menderes massif rocks that are made up of high-to low-grade metamorphics and they are aquifer for both cold ground waters and thermal waters depending on the location. Neogene terrestrial sediments, which are mainly composed by alluvium fan deposits unconformably cover the basement rocks in different facies have very low permeability and locally may act as cap rocks for the geothermal systems. The youngest unit is Quaternary alluvium which is the shallow regional aquifer consists of Holocene alluvial deposits in the study area. All the waters are of meteoric origin and reflect shallow or deep circulation according to the 8O, 2H and 3H contents. Meteoric waters move to deep zones by fractured system and rise to the surface along the faults. Water samples (drilling well, spring and surface waters) and local seawater were collected between 2010 and 2012 years. Geochemical modeling was calculated distribution of the aqueous species and exchange processes by using PHREEQCi speciation code. Geochemical analyses show that cold ground water types are evolving from Ca–Mg–HCO3 to Na–Cl–SO4 and geothermal aquifer waters reflect the water types of Na-Cl-HCO3 in Aydın. Water types of Denizli are Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4. Thermal water types reflect generally Na-HCO3-SO4. The B versus Cl rates increase from east to west with the proportion of seawater introduced into the fresh water aquifers and geothermal reservoirs. Concentrations of some elements (As, B, Fe and Ni) are higher than the tolerance limit of the drinking water standard of Turkey (TS 266) and international drinking water standards (WHO, FAO etc).

Keywords: Buyuk Menderes, isotope chemistry, geochemical modelling, water quality

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Authors: Dadasaheb R. Jawre, Maya G. Unde

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Prioritization of sub-watershed plays important role in watershed management. It shows the requirement of watershed to give a treatment for the green growth of the region and conservation of the sub-watersheds. There is a number of factors like topography of the region, climatic characteristics like rainfall and runoff, land-use land-cover, social factors which are related to the development of watershed for agricultural uses and domestic purposes in the region. The present research is throwing a focus on how morphometric parameters in association with GIS analysis will help in identifying the ranking of the sub-watersheds for further development which help of suggested watershed structures. Shevgaon and Pathardi tahsils are drought prone tahsils of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. These tahsils come under the semi-arid region. Sub-watershed prioritization is necessary for proper planning and management of natural resources for sustainable development of the study area. Less rainfall and increasing population pressure on the land as well as water resources lead to scarcity of the water in the region. Hence, researcher has selected Shevgaon and Pathardi tahsils for sub-watershed prioritization. There are seven sub-watersheds which selected for the present research paper. In the morphological analysis linear aspects, aerial aspects and relief aspects are considered for the prioritization. The largest sub-watershed is Erdha which is located at Karanji in Pathardi tahsil having an area of 145.06 km2 and smallest sub-watershed is Erandgaon which is located in Shevgaon tahsil having an area of 40.143 km2. For all seven sub-watersheds, seven morphometric parameters were considered for calculating the compound parameter values. Finally, compound parameter values are grouped into three groups such as, high priority (below 4.0), moderate priority (4.0 to 5.0) and low priority (above 5.0) according to the compound value Erandgaon, Chapadgaon and Tarak sub-watersheds comes under high priority group, Erdha and Domeshwar sub-watersheds come under moderate priority group and Chandani and Kasichi sub-watershed come under low priority group. Both the tahsils falls in drought prone area, after getting the watershed structure overall development of the region will take place.

Keywords: sub-watersheds, GIS and remote sensing, morphometric analysis, compound parameter value, prioritization

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Authors: Zuhal Eltayeb Awad

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Alryad neighborhood is located in Khartoum town– the administrative center of the Capital of Sudan. The neighborhood is one of the high-income residential areas with villa type development of low-density. It was planned and developed in 1972 with large plots (600-875m²), wide crossing roads and balanced environment. Recently the area transformed into more compact urban form of high density, mixed-use integrated development with more intensive use of land; multi-storied apartments. The most important socio-economic process in the neighborhood has been the commercialization and deinitialization of the area in connect with the displacement of the residential function. This transformation affected the quality of the neighborhood and the inter-related features of the built environment. A case study approach was chosen to gather the necessary qualitative and quantitative data. A detailed survey on existing development pattern was carried out over the whole area of Alryad. Data on the built and social environment of the neighborhoods were collected through observations, interviews and secondary data sources. The paper reflected a theoretical and empirical interest in the particular characteristics of compact neighborhood with high density, and mixed land uses and their effect on social wellbeing of the residents all in the context of the sustainable development. The research problem is focused on the challenges of transformation that associated with compact neighborhood that created multiple urban problems, e.g., stress of essential services (water supply, electricity, and drainage), congestion of streets and demand for parking. The main objective of the study is to analyze the transformation of this area from residential use to commercial and administrative use. The study analyzed the current situation of the neighborhood compared to the five principles of sustainable neighborhood prepared by UN Habitat. The study found that the neighborhood is experienced changes that occur to inner-city residential areas and the process of change of the neighborhood was originated by external forces due to the declining economic situation of the whole country. It is evident that non-residential uses have taken place uncontrolled, unregulated and haphazardly that led to damage the residential environment and deficiency in infrastructure. The quality of urban life and in particular on levels of privacy was reduced, the neighborhood changed gradually to be a central business district that provides services to the whole Khartoum town. The change of house type may be attributed to a demand-led housing market and absence of policy. The results showed that Alryad is not fully sustainable and self-contained, street network characteristics and mixed land-uses development are compatible with the principles of sustainability. The area of streets represents 27.4% of the total area of the neighborhood. Residential density is 4,620 people/ km², that is lower than the recommendations, and the limited block land-use specialization is higher than 10% of the blocks. Most inhabitants have a high income so that there is no social mix in the neighborhood. The study recommended revision of the current zoning regulations in order to control and regulate undesirable development in the neighborhood and provide new solutions which allow promoting the neighborhood sustainable development.

Keywords: compact neighborhood, land uses, mixed use, residential area, transformation

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Authors: David Calderon Villegas, Thomas Kaltizky

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Run-of-river (RoR) hydropower projects represent a viable, clean, and cost-effective alternative to dam-based plants and provide decentralized power production. However, RoR schemes cost-effectiveness depends on the proper selection of site and design flow, which is a challenging task because it requires multivariate analysis. In this respect, this study presents the development of an investment decision support tool for assessing the optimal size of an RoR scheme considering the technical, environmental, and cost constraints. The net present value (NPV) from a project perspective is used as an objective function for supporting the investment decision. The tool has been tested by applying it to an actual RoR project recently proposed in Colombia. The obtained results show that the optimum point in financial terms does not match the flow that maximizes energy generation from exploiting the river's available flow. For the case study, the flow that maximizes energy corresponds to a value of 5.1 m3/s. In comparison, an amount of 2.1 m3/s maximizes the investors NPV. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the NPV as a function of the debt rate changes and the electricity prices and the CapEx. Even for the worst-case scenario, the optimal size represents a positive business case with an NPV of 2.2 USD million and an IRR 1.5 times higher than the discount rate.

Keywords: small hydropower, renewable energy, RoR schemes, optimal sizing, objective function

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Imessaoudene Y., Mouhouche B., Sengouga A., Kadir M.

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The objective of this work is to determine the virtual water of main crops grown in the province of Djelfa and water use efficiency (W.U.E.), Which is essential to approach the application and better integration with the offer in the region. In the case of agricultural production, virtual water is the volume of water evapo-transpired by crops. It depends on particular on the expertise of its producers and its global production area, warm and dry climates induce higher consumption. At the scale of the province, the determination of the quantities of virtual water is done by calculating the unit water requirements related to water irrigated hectare and total rainfall over the crop using the Cropwat 8.0 F.A.O. software. Quantifying the volume of agricultural virtual water of crops practiced in the study area demonstrates the quantitative importance of these volumes of water in terms of available water resources in the province, so the advantages which can be the concept of virtual water as an analysis tool and decision support for the management and distribution of water in scarcity situation.

Keywords: virtual water, water use efficiency, water requirements, Djelfa

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Authors: Khosru M. Salim, Md. Jasim Uddin, Mohammad Rejwan Uddin

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Developing countries like Bangladesh has huge population lives in the rural areas out of electricity. They are using manually operated tube well for collecting underground water to meet their daily demand. A human labour is required to lift water from tube well. Sometimes, it is impossible for a elementary school going child to operate a tube well in the school. Solar powered water pump could be a sustainable water pumping solution in the rural area of Bangladesh. To minimize the cost, a 0.5 horse power solar water pump is designed considering the requirement of water for a typical house hold in this research. A prototype of the 0.5 hp capacity system is implemented and tested in the rooftop of the university lab to validate the performances. Based on the experimental data, the performance of the system is analyzed and presented in this paper.

Keywords: water pump, solar photovoltaic module, performance analysis, feasibility study

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Ghodsieh Isapour Toutizad, Aiyong Wang, Joonsoo Han, Derek Creaser, Louise Olsson, Magnus Skoglundh, Hanna HaRelind

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Nitrous oxide (N2O), which is generally formed as a byproduct of industrial chemical processes and fossil fuel combustion, has attracted considerable attention due to its destructive role in global warming and ozone layer depletion. From various developed technologies used for lean NOx reduction, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with ammonia is presently the most applied method. Therefore, the development of catalysts for efficient lean NOx reduction without forming N2O in the process, or only forming it to a very small extent from the exhaust gases is of crucial significance. One type of catalysts that nowadays are used for this aim are zeolite-based catalysts. It is owing to their remarkable catalytic performance under practical reaction conditions such as high thermal stability and high N2 selectivity. Among all zeolites, copper ion-exchanged zeolites, with CHA, MFI, and BEA framework structure (like SSZ-13, ZSM-5 and Beta, respectively), represent higher hydrothermal stability, high activity and N2 selectivity. This work aims at investigating the effect of the zeolite framework structure on the formation of N2O during NH3-SCR reaction conditions over three Cu-based zeolites ranging from small-pore to large-pore framework structure. In the zeolite framework, Cu exists in two cationic forms, that can catalyze the SCR reaction by activating NO to form NO+ and/or surface nitrate species. The nitrate species can thereafter react with NH3 to form another intermediate, ammonium nitrate, which seems to be one source for N2O formation at low temperatures. The results from in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) indicate that during the NO oxidation step, mainly NO+ and nitrate species are formed on the surface of the catalysts. The intensity of the absorption peak attributed to NO+ species is higher for the Cu-CHA sample compared to the other two samples, indicating a higher stability of this species in small cages. Furthermore, upon the addition of NH3, through the standard SCR reaction conditions, absorption peaks assigned to N-H stretching and bending vibrations are building up. At the same time, negative peaks are evolving in the O-H stretching region, indicating blocking/replacement of surface OH-groups by NH3 and NH4+. By removing NH3 and adding NO2 to the inlet gas composition, the peaks in the N-H stretching and bending vibration regions show a decreasing trend in intensity, with the decrease being more pronounced for increasing pore size. It can probably be owing to the higher accumulation of ammonia species in the small-pore size zeolite compared to the other two samples. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the ammonia surface species are strongly bonded to the CHA zeolite structure, which makes it more difficult to react with NO2. To conclude, the framework structure of the zeolite seems to play an important role in the formation and reactivity of surface species relevant for the SCR process. Here we intend to discuss the connection between the zeolite structure, the surface species, and the formation of N2O during ammonia-SCR.

Keywords: fast SCR, nitrous oxide, NOx, standard SCR, zeolites

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Authors: Shazia Shamim, Pallavi Gautam

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The present study describes the presence of rare or endangered plants from Poonch Dist., which spread over 1674 Km sq. located between latitude 330 25' N to 340 01' N and longitude 730 58' E to 740 35' E forming a part of the Northwest Himalaya in Jammu and Kashmir state of India, with the aim of suggesting the strategy for the conservation and promotion of cultivation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, as well as developing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. The main threats to biodiversity and ecosystem are overexploitation, global climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution, and invasion of alien species and disturbance of community structure. Surveys were carried out during 2015-2016 throughout the Poonch valley. During the field survey, various criteria of International Union for the conservation of nature for categorizing threatened plants, extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, probability of extinction, etc. were measured. The rarity of species was determined by field study, visual estimations, and literature. During the collection, it was observed that few rare and endangered species which were present in the study area, are also mentioned in the prescribed red data book of Indian plants, International Union for conservation of nature, list of threatened species and list of Botanical Survey of India presented by its Northern Regional Centre. The study was based on extensive surveys of the study area and then concluded by preparing a list of plant species occurring in different seasons, the photographs of all these plant species were collected. Actual threats to the population of a selected plant species in a given area were recorded by direct observation. The present paper provides information about 22 rare and endangered medicinal plant species belonging to 18 families that are used by the native of these areas. Information provided includes botanical name, family name, local name, habitat, part used, ethno medicinal uses and brief preparation of the reported plant species is presented in the present work.

Keywords: biodiversity, traditional knowledge, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Botanical Survery of India

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Authors: G. R. Kavitha, T. S. Indumathi

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With the constantly rising demands of the multimedia services, the requirements of long haul transport network are constantly changing in the area of optical network. Maximum data transmission using optimization of the communication channel poses the biggest challenge. Although there has been a constant focus on this area from the past decade, there was no evidence of a significant result that has been accomplished. Hence, after reviewing some potential design of optical network from literatures, it was understood that optical signal to noise ratio was one of the elementary attributes that can define the performance of the optical network. In this paper, we propose a framework termed as ECON (Enhanced Constraint-based Optical Network) that primarily optimize the optical signal to noise ratio using ROADM. The simulation is performed in Matlab and optical signal to noise ratio is extracted considering the system matrix. The outcome of the proposed study shows that optimized OSNR as compared to the existing studies.

Keywords: component, optical network, reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, optical signal-to-noise ratio

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Authors: Nicholas Freer

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Rhythmic complexity in progressive metal is a developing area of analysis, particularly the interpretation of hyper-metric time spans as hierarchically significant rhythmic units of compositional organisation (Pieslak 2007, Charupakorn 2012, Capuzzo 2018, Calder 2018, Lucas 2018, Hannan 2020). This paper adds to this developing area by considering the relationships between the concepts of tactus, metric imposition, polymeter and rhythmic parallax in the Meshuggah composition “Do Not Look Down”. By considering an architectonic rhythmic framework within “Do Not Look Down” as the controlling organisation mechanism, an exploration of the interaction between distinct rhythmic layers and the composition’s formal segmentation and harmony (as riffs), reveals a pervasive structural misalignment between these elements. By exhibiting how Meshuggah’s manipulations of rhythmic complexities deliberately blur structural boundaries, creating misalignments in a flat approach to temporal partitioning (Nieto 2014), rhythmic characteristics of Meshuggah and the genre of Djent are exposed.

Keywords: hypermeter, rhythmic parallax, meshuggah, temporal partitioning

Procedia PDF Downloads 64