Search results for: Farah Amir
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 386

Search results for: Farah Amir

266 Multi-Period Supply Chain Design under Uncertainty

Authors: Amir Azaron

Abstract:

In this research, a stochastic programming approach is developed for designing supply chains with uncertain parameters. Demands and selling prices of products at markets are considered as the uncertain parameters. The proposed mathematical model will be multi-period two-stage stochastic programming, which takes into account the selection of retailer sites, suppliers, production levels, inventory levels, transportation modes to be used for shipping goods, and shipping quantities among the entities of the supply chain network. The objective function is to maximize the chain’s net present value. In order to maximize the chain’s NPV, the sum of first-stage investment costs on retailers, and the expected second-stage processing, inventory-holding and transportation costs should be kept as low as possible over multiple periods. The effects of supply uncertainty where suppliers are unreliable will also be investigated on the efficiency of the supply chain.

Keywords: supply chain management, stochastic programming, multiobjective programming, inventory control

Procedia PDF Downloads 269
265 Effect of Channel Cross Section Shape on Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient of Nanofluid Flow

Authors: Mohammad Reza Salimpour, Amir Dehshiri

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In the present article, we investigate experimental laminar forced convective heat transfer specifications of TiO2/water nanofluids through conduits with different cross sections. We check the effects of different parameters such as cross sectional shape, Reynolds number and concentration of nanoparticles in stable suspension on increasing convective heat transfer by designing and assembling of an experimental apparatus. The results demonstrate adding a little amount of nanoparticles to the base fluid improves heat transfer behavior in conduits. Moreover, conduit with circular cross-section has better performance compared to the square and triangular cross sections. However, conduits with square and triangular cross sections have more relative heat transfer enhancement than conduit with circular cross section.

Keywords: nanofluid, cross-sectional shape, TiO2, convection

Procedia PDF Downloads 423
264 Two-Stage Anaerobic Digester for Biogas Production from Sewage Sludge: A Case Study in One of Kuwait’s Wastewater Treatment Plant

Authors: Abdullah Almatouq, Abdulla Abusam, Hussain Hussain, Mishari Khajah, Hussain Abdullah, Rashed Al-Yaseen, Mariam Al-Jumaa, Farah Al-Ajeel, Mohammad Aljassam

Abstract:

Due to the high demand for energy from unsustainable resources in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti government has focused recently on using sustainable resources for energy, such as solar and wind energy. In addition, sludge which is generated as a by-product of physical, chemical, and biological processes during wastewater treatment, can be used as a substrate to generate energy through anaerobic digestion. Kuwait’s wastewater treatment plants produce more than 1.7 million m3 of sludge per year, and this volume is accumulated in the treatment plants without any treatment. Therefore, a pilot-scale (3 m3) two-stage anaerobic digester was constructed in one of the largest treatment plants in Kuwait. The reactor was operated in batch mode, and the hydraulic retention time varied between 14 – 27 days. The main of this study is to evaluate the technical feasibility of a two-stage anaerobic digester for sludge treatability and energy generation in Kuwait. The anaerobic digester achieved a total biogas production of 37 m3, and the highest value of daily biogas production was 0.4 m3/day. The methane content ranged between 50 % and 66 %, and the other gases were as follows: CO2 20 %, H2S 13 %, and 1 % O2. The generated biogas was used on-site for cooking and lighting. In some batches, low C/N was noticed, and that lead to maintaining the concentration of CH4 between 50%-55%. In conclusion, an anaerobic digester is an environmentally friendly technology that can be applied in Kuwait, and the obtained results support the scale-up of the process in all the treatment plants.

Keywords: wastewater, metahne, biogas production potential, anaerobic digestion

Procedia PDF Downloads 63
263 A Hybrid Approach for Thread Recommendation in MOOC Forums

Authors: Ahmad. A. Kardan, Amir Narimani, Foozhan Ataiefard

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Recommender Systems have been developed to provide contents and services compatible to users based on their behaviors and interests. Due to information overload in online discussion forums and users diverse interests, recommending relative topics and threads is considered to be helpful for improving the ease of forum usage. In order to lead learners to find relevant information in educational forums, recommendations are even more needed. We present a hybrid thread recommender system for MOOC forums by applying social network analysis and association rule mining techniques. Initial results indicate that the proposed recommender system performs comparatively well with regard to limited available data from users' previous posts in the forum.

Keywords: association rule mining, hybrid recommender system, massive open online courses, MOOCs, social network analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 256
262 Preparation and Physical Assessment of Portland Cement Base Composites Containing Nano Particles

Authors: Amir Mahmoudi

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In this research the effects of adding silica and alumina nanoparticles on flow ability and compressive strength of cementitious composites based on Portland cement were investigated. In the first stage, the rheological behavior of different samples containing nanosilica, nanoalumina and polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene fibers were evaluated. With increasing of nanoparticles in fresh samples, the slump flow diameter reduced. Fibers reduced the flow ability of the samples and viscosity increased. With increasing of the micro silica particles to cement ratio from 2/1 to 2/2, the slump flow diameter increased. By adding silica and alumina nanoparticles up to 3% and 2% respectively, the compressive strength increased and after decreased. Samples containing silica nanoparticles and fibers had the highest compressive strength.

Keywords: Portland cement, composite, nanoparticles, compressive strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 399
261 Machine Learning Application in Shovel Maintenance

Authors: Amir Taghizadeh Vahed, Adithya Thaduri

Abstract:

Shovels are the main components in the mining transportation system. The productivity of the mines depends on the availability of shovels due to its high capital and operating costs. The unplanned failure/shutdowns of a shovel results in higher repair costs, increase in downtime, as well as increasing indirect cost (i.e. loss of production and company’s reputation). In order to mitigate these failures, predictive maintenance can be useful approach using failure prediction. The modern mining machinery or shovels collect huge datasets automatically; it consists of reliability and maintenance data. However, the gathered datasets are useless until the information and knowledge of data are extracted. Machine learning as well as data mining, which has a major role in recent studies, has been used for the knowledge discovery process. In this study, data mining and machine learning approaches are implemented to detect not only anomalies but also patterns from a dataset and further detection of failures.

Keywords: maintenance, machine learning, shovel, conditional based monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 170
260 Sleep Tracking AI Application in Smart-Watches

Authors: Sumaiya Amir Khan, Shayma Al-Sharif, Samiha Mazher, Neha Intikhab Khan

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This research paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of sleep-tracking AI applications in smart-watches. It focuses on comparing the sleep analyses of two different smartwatch brands, Samsung and Fitbit, and measuring sleep at three different stages – REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement), NREM (Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement), and deep sleep. The methodology involves the participation of different users and analyzing their sleep data. The results reveal that although light sleep is the longest stage, deep sleep is higher than average in the participants. The study also suggests that light sleep is not uniform, and getting higher levels of deep sleep can prevent debilitating health conditions. Based on the findings, it is recommended that individuals should aim to achieve higher levels of deep sleep to maintain good health. Overall, this research contributes to the growing literature on the effectiveness of sleep-tracking AI applications and their potential to improve sleep quality.

Keywords: sleep tracking, lifestyle, accuracy, health, AI, AI features, ML

Procedia PDF Downloads 36
259 One-Pot Facile Synthesis of N-Doped Graphene Synthesized from Paraphenylenediamine as Metal-Free Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Used for Alkaline Fuel Cells

Authors: Leila Samiee, Amir Yadegari, Saeedeh Tasharrofi

Abstract:

In the work presented here, nitrogen-doped graphene materials were synthesized and used as metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under alkaline conditions. Paraphenylenediamine was used as N precursor. The N-doped graphene was synthesized under hydrothermal treatment at 200°C. All the materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, for electrochemical evaluation of samples, Rotating Disk electrode (RDE) and Cyclic Voltammetry techniques (CV) were employed. The resulting material exhibits an outstanding catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as well as excellent resistance towards methanol crossover effects, indicating their promising potential as ORR electrocatalysts for alkaline fuel cells.

Keywords: alkaline fuel cell, graphene, metal-free catalyst, paraphenylen diamine

Procedia PDF Downloads 431
258 Experimental Investigation on Tsunami Acting on Bridges

Authors: Iman Mazinani, Zubaidah Ismail, Ahmad Mustafa Hashim, Amir Reza Saba

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Two tragic tsunamis that devastated the west coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia in 2004 and North East Japan in 2011 had damaged bridges to various extents. Tsunamis have resulted in the catastrophic deterioration of infrastructures i.e. coastal structures, utilities and transportation facilities. A bridge structure performs vital roles to enable people to perform activities related to their daily needs and for development. A damaged bridge needs to be repaired expeditiously. In order to understand the effects of tsunami forces on bridges, experimental tests are carried out to measure the characteristics of hydrodynamic force at various wave heights. Coastal bridge models designed at a 1:40 scale are used in a 24.0 m long hydraulic flume with a cross section of 1.5 m by 2.0 m. The horizontal forces and uplift forces in all cases show that forces increase nonlinearly with increasing wave amplitude.

Keywords: tsunami, bridge, horizontal force, uplift force

Procedia PDF Downloads 265
257 Growing Sorghum Varieties with Potential of Fodder and Biofuel Crops, with Potential of Two Harvest in One Year

Authors: Farah Jafarpisheh, John Hutson, Howard Fallowfield

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Growing Sorghum varieties, with the potential of the animal food source, by using the treated wastewater from High Rate Algae Ponds (HRAPs) is an attractive subject. For the first time, in South Australia, Sorghum Earthnote variety one (SE1) has been grown using the wastewater from HRAPs. In this study, after the first harvest, the roots left in the soil. After a short period of time, sorghum started to regrow again, which can increase the value of planting sorghum by using the wastewater. This study demonstrates the higher amount of green biomass with the potential of animal food source after the second harvest. Different parameters, including height(mm), number of leaves and tiller, Brix percentage, fresh and dry leaf weight(g), total top fresh weight(g), stem and seed dry and fresh weight(g) have been measured in the field after first and second harvest. The results demonstrated the higher height, number of tiller, and diameter after the second harvest. Number of leaves and leaves fresh weight and total top weight increased by 6 and 10 times, respectively. Brix percentage increased by 2 times. In the first harvest, no seeds harvested, while in the second harvest, 134 g seeds harvested. This sorghum variety (SE1) showed the acceptable green biomass, especially after the second harvest. This property will add to the value of sorghum in this condition, as it will not need extra fertilizer and labor work for seed planting.

Keywords: energy, high rate algae ponds, HRAPs, Sorghum, waste water

Procedia PDF Downloads 76
256 Evaluating the Impact of Replacement Policies on the Cache Performance and Energy Consumption in Different Multicore Embedded Systems

Authors: Sajjad Rostami-Sani, Mojtaba Valinataj, Amir-Hossein Khojir-Angasi

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The cache has an important role in the reduction of access delay between a processor and memory in high-performance embedded systems. In these systems, the energy consumption is one of the most important concerns, and it will become more important with smaller processor feature sizes and higher frequencies. Meanwhile, the cache system dissipates a significant portion of energy compared to the other components of a processor. There are some elements that can affect the energy consumption of the cache such as replacement policy and degree of associativity. Due to these points, it can be inferred that selecting an appropriate configuration for the cache is a crucial part of designing a system. In this paper, we investigate the effect of different cache replacement policies on both cache’s performance and energy consumption. Furthermore, the impact of different Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs) on cache’s performance and energy consumption has been investigated.

Keywords: energy consumption, replacement policy, instruction set architecture, multicore processor

Procedia PDF Downloads 106
255 Analysis and Prediction of Netflix Viewing History Using Netflixlatte as an Enriched Real Data Pool

Authors: Amir Mabhout, Toktam Ghafarian, Amirhossein Farzin, Zahra Makki, Sajjad Alizadeh, Amirhossein Ghavi

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The high number of Netflix subscribers makes it attractive for data scientists to extract valuable knowledge from the viewers' behavioural analyses. This paper presents a set of statistical insights into viewers' viewing history. After that, a deep learning model is used to predict the future watching behaviour of the users based on previous watching history within the Netflixlatte data pool. Netflixlatte in an aggregated and anonymized data pool of 320 Netflix viewers with a length 250 000 data points recorded between 2008-2022. We observe insightful correlations between the distribution of viewing time and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The presented deep learning model predicts future movie and TV series viewing habits with an average loss of 0.175.

Keywords: data analysis, deep learning, LSTM neural network, netflix

Procedia PDF Downloads 181
254 An Investigation on the Perception and Adoption of Terminology Management Applications by the Iranian English Language Translators

Authors: Abdul Amir Hazbavi

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In recent years, there have been increasing requests in the field of translation studies to develop software facilitating the analysis of corpora. One of the specialized tools in that regard are Terminology Management Tools. Briefly explaining, Terminology Management Tools are applications developed to help create and store terminological data in the form which allows for a controlled use of the data. While it has a long history and an established ground in translation market in most parts of the globe, the Iranian translators and translation market still seem to be unaware or unfamiliar with Terminology Management Tools. In order to provide a preview on the perception and adoption of Terminology Management Tools by the Iranian translators, the present survey was carried out among 224 last-year undergraduate Iranian students of English translation at 10 different universities across the country. The study revealed a very low level of adoption and a very high level of willingness to get familiar with and learn about Terminology Management Tools by the Iranian translators.

Keywords: translation, translation technology, terminology management tools, terminology management survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 337
253 Some Aspects of Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions, Case Study of Western Iran

Authors: Amir Hamzeh Haghiabi

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Water resource management is of global significance as it plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of all nations. On account of the fact that Iran is situated in a highly pressurized belt in the world, precipitation is limited, so that the average annual precipitation in the country is about 250 mm, only about one third to one quarter of the world average for rainfall. Karkheh basin is located in the semiarid and arid regions of Western Iran, an area with severe water scarcity. 70 % of rainfall is directly evaporated. The potential annual evaporation of the southern and northern regions is 3,600 mm 1,800 mm, respectively. In this paper, Some aspects of water resources management for this region, the specifications of the Karkheh reservoir dam & hydroelectric power plant as the biggest dam in history of Iran with total volume of reservoir 7.3 Bm3 are illustrated. Also the situation of water availability in the basin, surface and groundwater potential are considered.

Keywords: Iran, water availability, water resources, Zagros

Procedia PDF Downloads 614
252 Increase the Ductility of Tall Buildings Using Green Material Bamboo for Earthquake Zone

Authors: Shef Amir Arasy

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In 2023, the world's population will be 7.8 billion, which has increased significantly in the last 20 years. Every country in the world is experiencing the impacts of climate change directly and indirectly. However, the community still needs to build massive infrastructure and buildings. The massive CO2 emissions which lead to climate change come from cement usage in construction activity. Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials for reducing carbon emissions and releasing more than 30% oxygen compared to the mass of trees. Besides, bamboo harvest time is faster than other sustainable materials, around 3-4 years. Furthermore, Bamboo has a high tensile strength, which can provide ductility effectively to prevent damage to buildings during an earthquake. By the finite element method, this research analyzes bamboo configuration and connection for tall building structures under different earthquake frequencies and fire. The aim of this research is to provide proper design and connection of bamboo buildings that can be more reliable than concrete structures.

Keywords: bamboo, concrete, ductility, earthquake.

Procedia PDF Downloads 34
251 Temporal Myopia in Sustainable Behavior under Uncertainty

Authors: Arianne Van Der Wal, Femke Van Horen, Amir Grinstein

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Consumers in today’s world are confronted with the alarming consequences of unsustainable behavior such as pollution and resource degradation. In addition, they are facing an increase in uncertainty due to, for instance, economic instability and terror attacks. Although these two problems are central to consumers’ lives, occur on a global scale, and have significant impact on the world’s political, economic, environmental, and social landscapes, they have not been systematically studied in tandem before. Contributing to research on persuasion and pro-social behavior, this paper shows in five studies (three experimental studies and one field study) that the two problems are intertwined. We demonstrate that uncertainty leads to lower sustainable behavior in comparison to certainty (Studies 1 and 2) and that this is due to consumers displaying higher levels of temporal discounting (i.e., adopting a more immediate orientation; Study 2). Finally, providing valuable implications for policy makers and responsible marketers, we show that emphasizing the immediate benefits of sustainable behavior during uncertainty buffers the negative effect (Studies 3 and 4).

Keywords: sustainable behavior, uncertainty, temporal discounting, framing

Procedia PDF Downloads 285
250 Contribution to the Study of Reproduction of Water Birds (Case of Marsh Bouessdra, North East Algeria)

Authors: Wahiba Boudraa, Khalil Draidi, Badis Bakhouch, Farah Chettibi, Meriem Aberkane, Zihad Bouslama, Moussa Houhamdi

Abstract:

The Gulf of Annaba, located at the extreme north eastern Algerian; our site of study is a marsh administratively it is part of the wilaya of Annaba, municipality of El-Bouni; extends on a surface from 55 hectare, the maximum depth is of less 2m. A scheme of work was adopted for an evaluation and characterization of the reproduction of the water nicheurs birds in the marsh of Boussedra. Some important parameters described by the scientific literature; According to standardized methods, variables were the object of a regular follow-up during the period of reproduction. These parameters were taken into account: the installation date of the nests, the vegetable support; blossoming of eggs, causes of the failure of the blossomings (predation or abandonment), characteristics of the nests (composition, internal diameter, external diameter, depth and heightening), measurements of the distances nest-nest nearest, Depth of water, the measurement of eggs, size of laying, size of laying. The follow-up in the marsh was carried out between March 2013 until the month of July 2014 at a rate of two outputs per weeks, one located and noted the nests to control them each week. The study on the reproduction of the water birds enables us to note that this site plays a very important part in the wintering and the reproduction of certain species important. This study opens broad prospects for study of several phenomena related to the ecology of the water birds, and the conservation of the wetlands.

Keywords: Algeria, Boussedra, nests, reproduction, water birds

Procedia PDF Downloads 221
249 A Spatial Hypergraph Based Semi-Supervised Band Selection Method for Hyperspectral Imagery Semantic Interpretation

Authors: Akrem Sellami, Imed Riadh Farah

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Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) typically provides a wealth of information captured in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum for each pixel in the image. Hence, a pixel in HSI is a high-dimensional vector of intensities with a large spectral range and a high spectral resolution. Therefore, the semantic interpretation is a challenging task of HSI analysis. We focused in this paper on object classification as HSI semantic interpretation. However, HSI classification still faces some issues, among which are the following: The spatial variability of spectral signatures, the high number of spectral bands, and the high cost of true sample labeling. Therefore, the high number of spectral bands and the low number of training samples pose the problem of the curse of dimensionality. In order to resolve this problem, we propose to introduce the process of dimensionality reduction trying to improve the classification of HSI. The presented approach is a semi-supervised band selection method based on spatial hypergraph embedding model to represent higher order relationships with different weights of the spatial neighbors corresponding to the centroid of pixel. This semi-supervised band selection has been developed to select useful bands for object classification. The presented approach is evaluated on AVIRIS and ROSIS HSIs and compared to other dimensionality reduction methods. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our approach compared to many existing dimensionality reduction methods for HSI classification.

Keywords: dimensionality reduction, hyperspectral image, semantic interpretation, spatial hypergraph

Procedia PDF Downloads 279
248 Modeling Palm Oil Quality During the Ripening Process of Fresh Fruits

Authors: Afshin Keshvadi, Johari Endan, Haniff Harun, Desa Ahmad, Farah Saleena

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Experiments were conducted to develop a model for analyzing the ripening process of oil palm fresh fruits in relation to oil yield and oil quality of palm oil produced. This research was carried out on 8-year-old Tenera (Dura × Pisifera) palms planted in 2003 at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board Research Station. Fresh fruit bunches were harvested from designated palms during January till May of 2010. The bunches were divided into three regions (top, middle and bottom), and fruits from the outer and inner layers were randomly sampled for analysis at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after anthesis to establish relationships between maturity and oil development in the mesocarp and kernel. Computations on data related to ripening time, oil content and oil quality were performed using several computer software programs (MSTAT-C, SAS and Microsoft Excel). Nine nonlinear mathematical models were utilized using MATLAB software to fit the data collected. The results showed mean mesocarp oil percent increased from 1.24 % at 8 weeks after anthesis to 29.6 % at 20 weeks after anthesis. Fruits from the top part of the bunch had the highest mesocarp oil content of 10.09 %. The lowest kernel oil percent of 0.03 % was recorded at 12 weeks after anthesis. Palmitic acid and oleic acid comprised of more than 73 % of total mesocarp fatty acids at 8 weeks after anthesis, and increased to more than 80 % at fruit maturity at 20 weeks. The Logistic model with the highest R2 and the lowest root mean square error was found to be the best fit model.

Keywords: oil palm, oil yield, ripening process, anthesis, fatty acids, modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 271
247 Vibration Control of Two Adjacent Structures Using a Non-Linear Damping System

Authors: Soltani Amir, Wang Xuan

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The advantage of using non-linear passive damping system in vibration control of two adjacent structures is investigated under their base excitation. The base excitation is El Centro earthquake record acceleration. The damping system is considered as an optimum and effective non-linear viscous damper that is connected between two adjacent structures. A Matlab program is developed to produce the stiffness and damping matrices and to determine a time history analysis of the dynamic motion of the system. One structure is assumed to be flexible while the other has a rule as laterally supporting structure with rigid frames. The response of the structure has been calculated and the non-linear damping coefficient is determined using optimum LQR algorithm in an optimum vibration control system. The non-linear parameter of damping system is estimated and it has shown a significant advantage of application of this system device for vibration control of two adjacent tall building.

Keywords: active control, passive control, viscous dampers, structural control, vibration control, tall building

Procedia PDF Downloads 475
246 Temperature Effect on Corrosion and Erosion in Transfer Line Exchange by CFD

Authors: S. Hehni Meidani Behzad, Mokhtari Karchegani Amir, Mabodi Samad

Abstract:

There are some TLE (Transfer Line Exchanger) that their lifetime reduced to 4 years instead of 30 years and after 4 years, we saw corroded area on one part of those T.L.E. that named Oval header and this happened in condition that other parts of those TLE were safe and perfect. By using of thickness measurement devices, we find that thickness reduces unusually on that part and after research and doing computer analysis with fluent software, it was recognized that on that part, we have high temperature and when this out of range temperature adds to bad quality of water, corrosion increased with high rate on that part and after more research it became obviously that it case by more excess air in furnace that located before this T.L.E. that this more air case to consuming more fuel to reach same furnace temperature so it concluded that inner coil fluid temperature increased and after received to T.L.E, this case happened and deflector condition, creep in coil and material analysis confirmed that condition.

Keywords: Transfer Line Exchanger (TLE), CFD, corrosion, erosion, tube, oval header

Procedia PDF Downloads 378
245 Estimation of Seismic Deformation Demands of Tall Buildings with Symmetric Setbacks

Authors: Amir Alirezaei, Shahram Vahdani

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This study estimates the seismic demands of tall buildings with central symmetric setbacks by using nonlinear time history analysis. Three setback structures, all 60-story high with setback in three levels, are used for evaluation. The effects of irregularities occurred by setback, are evaluated by determination of global-drift, story-displacement and story drift. Story-displacement is modified by roof displacement and first story displacement and story drift is modified by global drift. All results are calculated at the center of mass and in x and y direction. Also the absolute values of these quantities are determined. The results show that increasing of vertical irregularities increases the global drift of the structure and enlarges the deformations in the height of the structure. It is also observed that the effects of geometry irregularity in the seismic deformations of setback structures are higher than those of mass irregularity.

Keywords: deformation demand, drift, setback, tall building

Procedia PDF Downloads 392
244 Investigating the Rate of Migration of Plasticizers from PET Bottles into Salad Oil during Storage

Authors: Simin Asadollahi, Amir H. Soruri, Ali Moghimi

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Nowadays, salad oils are used in many countries around the world. Therefore, it is of great importance to ensure the safety of these food products which are usually packaged in Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and come on the market. This study investigated the effects of storage time and temperature on the migration rate of phthalate compounds from PET bottle to salad oil. In more detail, migration rate of bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from bottles to salad oil samples was measured in 1st, the 30th, and the 60th days of storage at a temperature of either 20 or 40 °C. At both storage temperatures, an increase in the storage time led to a statistically significant increase in the migration rate of phthalate compounds (p<.01). Regarding this, the highest migration rate occurred after 60 days of storage in to the samples. Furthermore, it was revealed bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate had a higher migration rate at 40 °C than at 20 °C which showed that an increase in the storage temperature would lead to an increase in the migration rate. The highest migration rate occurred in relation to salad oil stored at 40 °C and after 60 days of storage.

Keywords: salad oil, migration rate, polyethylene terephthalate, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

Procedia PDF Downloads 320
243 Optimum Parameter of a Viscous Damper for Seismic and Wind Vibration

Authors: Soltani Amir, Hu Jiaxin

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Determination of optimal parameters of a passive control system device is the primary objective of this study. Expanding upon the use of control devices in wind and earthquake hazard reduction has led to development of various control systems. The advantage of non-linearity characteristics in a passive control device and the optimal control method using LQR algorithm are explained in this study. Finally, this paper introduces a simple approach to determine optimum parameters of a nonlinear viscous damper for vibration control of structures. A MATLAB program is used to produce the dynamic motion of the structure considering the stiffness matrix of the SDOF frame and the non-linear damping effect. This study concluded that the proposed system (variable damping system) has better performance in system response control than a linear damping system. Also, according to the energy dissipation graph, the total energy loss is greater in non-linear damping system than other systems.

Keywords: passive control system, damping devices, viscous dampers, control algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 438
242 Investigating the Effect of Handicrafts Recreation on the Interior Design of Traditional Arts Gallery

Authors: Amir Masoud Dabagh, Mahsa Khaleghi

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The world has entered a new phase of cultural, social, economic, and so on in the last two centuries. Apart from its positive benefits and achievements to the world, it has also incurred many costs, most of which can be mentioned as destroying or at least diminishing the role of the costumes, traditions and authentic culture of the past communities. Understanding what lasts in traditional arts is vital and worthy of study because receiving it and embracing art and forms of art using that last the artistic creation removes the age-old color and smell of its face, making it immortal and persistent in all ages. This paper attempts to present traditional art concepts and solutions for interior design with the approach of handicrafts recreation as a symbol and manifestation of national identity and proof of ancient civilizations, which is at the center of tourists' attention today. The research method is a descriptive-analytical one that first explores the theoretical foundations of research, which are the concepts of recreation and traditional arts, and analyzes the process of recreation that conceals the recollection of past experiences as well as the dynamics and creativity.

Keywords: recreation, handicrafts, interior design, concept, traditional arts

Procedia PDF Downloads 71
241 Composite Distributed Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Security

Authors: Amir Lotfi, Seyed Hamid Hosseini

Abstract:

During the recent past, due to the increase of electrical energy demand and governmental resources constraints in creating additional capacity in the generation, transmission, and distribution, privatization, and restructuring in electrical industry have been considered. So, in most of the countries, different parts of electrical industry like generation, transmission, and distribution have been separated in order to create competition. Considering these changes, environmental issues, energy growth, investment of private equity in energy generation units and difficulties of transmission lines expansion, distributed generation (DG) units have been used in power systems. Moreover, reduction in the need for transmission and distribution, the increase of reliability, improvement of power quality, and reduction of power loss have caused DG to be placed in power systems. On the other hand, considering low liquidity need, private investors tend to spend their money for DGs. In this project, the main goal is to offer an algorithm for planning and placing DGs in order to reduce the need for transmission and distribution network.

Keywords: planning, transmission, distributed generation, power security, power systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 447
240 Baseline Data from Specialist Obesity Clinic in a Large Tertiary Care Facility, Karachi, Pakistan

Authors: Asma Ahmed, Farah Khalid, Sahlah Sohail, Saira Banusokwalla, Sabiha Banu, Inaara Akbar, Safia Awan, Syed Iqbal Azam

Abstract:

Background and Objectives: The level of knowledge regarding obesity as a disease condition and health-seeking behavior regarding its management is grossly lacking. We present data from our multidisciplinary obesity clinic at the large tertiary care facility in Karachi, Pakistan, to provide baseline profiles and outcomes of patients attending these clinics. Methods: 260 who attended the obesity clinic between June 2018 to March 2020 were enrolled in this study. The analysis included descriptive and ROC analysis to identify the best cut-offs of theanthropometric measurements to diagnose obesity-related comorbid conditions. Results: The majority of the studied population were women (72.3%) and employed(43.7%) with a mean age of 35.5 years. Mean BMIwas 37.4, waist circumference was 112.4 cm, visceral fat was 11.7%, and HbA1C was 6.9%. The most common comorbidities were HTN & D.M (33 &31%, respectively). The prevalence of MetS was 16.3% in patients and was slightly higher in males. Visceral fat was the main factor in predicting D.M (0.750; 95% CI: 0.665, 0.836) and MetS (0.709; 95% CI: 0.590, 0.838) compared to total body fat, waist circumference, and BMI. The risk of predicting DM &MetS for the visceral fat above 9.5% in women had the highest sensitivity (80% for D.M & 79% for MetS) and an NPV (92.75% for D.M & 95% for MetS). Conclusions: This study describes and establishes characteristics of these obese individuals, which can help inform clinical practices. These practices may involve using visceral fat for earlier identification and counseling-based interventions to prevent more severe surgical interventions down the line.

Keywords: obesity, metabolic syndrome, tertiary care facility, BMI, waist circumference, visceral fat

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
239 Preparation of Melt Electrospun Polylactic Acid Nanofibers with Optimum Conditions

Authors: Amir Doustgani

Abstract:

Melt electrospinning is a safe and simple technique for the production of micro and nanofibers which can be an alternative to conventional solvent electrospinning. The effects of various melt-electrospinning parameters, including molecular weight, electric field strength, flow rate and temperature on the morphology and fiber diameter of polylactic acid were studied. It was shown that molecular weight was the predominant factor in determining the obtainable fiber diameter of the collected fibers. An orthogonal design was used to examine process parameters. Results showed that molecular weight is the most effective parameter on the average fiber diameter of melt electrospun PLA nanofibers and the flow rate has the less important impact. Mean fiber diameter increased by increasing MW and flow rate, but decreased by increasing electric field strength and temperature. MFD of optimized fibers was below 100 nm and the result of software was in good agreement with the experimental condition.

Keywords: fiber formation, processing, spinning, melt blowing

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238 Subclinical Renal Damage Induced by High-Fat Diet in Young Rats

Authors: Larissa M. Vargas, Julia M. Sacchi, Renata O. Pereira, Lucas S. Asano, Iara C. Araújo, Patricia Fiorino, Vera Farah

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of subclinical organ injuries induced by high-fat diet. Male wistar rats (n=5/group) were divided in control diet group (CD), commercial rat chow, and hyperlipidic diet (30% lipids) group (HD) administrated during 8 weeks, starting after weaning. All the procedures followed the rules of the Committee of Research and Ethics of the Mackenzie University (CEUA Nº 077/03/2011). At the end of protocol the animals were euthanized by anesthesia overload and the left kidney was removed. Intrarenal lipid deposition was evaluated by histological analyses with oilred. Kidney slices were stained with picrosirius red to evaluate the area of the Bowman's capsule (AB) and space (SB), and glomerular tuft area (GT). The renal expression of sterol regulatory element–binding protein (SREBP-2) was performed by Western Blotting. Creatinine concentration (serum and urine) and lipid profile were determined by colorimetric kit (Labtest). At the end of the protocol there was no differences in body weight between the groups, however the HD showed a marked increase in lipid deposits, glomeruli and tubules, and biochemical analysis for cholesterol and triglycerides. Moreover, in the kidney, the high-fat diet induced a reduction in the AB (13%), GT (18%) and SB (17%) associated with a reduction in glomerular filtration rate (creatinine clearance). The renal SRBP2 expression was increased in HD group. These data suggests that consumption of high-fat diet starting in childhood is associated with subclinical renal damage and function.

Keywords: high-fat diet, kidney, intrarenal lipid deposition, SRBP2

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237 Association of Overweight and Obesity with Breast Cancer

Authors: Amir Ghasemlouei, Alireza Khalaj

Abstract:

In women, cancer of the breast is one of the most common incident cancer and cause of death from cancer .we reviewed the prevalence of obesity and its association with breast cancer. In this study, a total of 25 articles regarding the subject matter of the article have been presented in which 640 patients were examined that 320 patients with breast cancer and 320 were controls. The distribution of breast cancer patients and controls with respect to their anthropometric indices in patients with higher weight, which was statistically significant (60.2 ± 10.2 kg) compared with control group (56.1 ± 11.3 kg). The body mass index of patients was (26.06+/-3.42) and significantly higher than the control group (24.1+/-1.7). Obesity leads to increased levels of adipose tissue in the body that can be stored toxins and carcinogens to produce a continuous supply. Due to the high level of fat and the role of estrogen in a woman is endogenous estrogen of the tumor and regulate the activities of growth steroids, obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer is confirmed. Our study and other studies show that obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer. And with a weight loss intervention for breast cancer can be prevented in the future.

Keywords: breast cancer, review study, obesity, overweight

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