Search results for: rail transport infrastructure

Authors: Moser Stephan, Lukasser Gerald, Weitlaner Robert

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Urban structures will be used more intensively in the future through redensification or new planned districts with high building densities. Especially, to achieve positive energy balances like requested for Positive Energy Districts (PED) the single use of roofs is not sufficient for dense urban areas. However, the increasing share of window significantly reduces the facade area available for use in PV generation. Through the use of PV technology at other building components, such as external venetian blinds, onsite generation can be maximized and standard functionalities of this product can be positively extended. While offering advantages in terms of infrastructure, sustainability in the use of resources and efficiency, these systems require an increased optimization in planning and control strategies of buildings. External venetian blinds with PV technology require an intelligent control concept to meet the required demands such as maximum power generation, glare prevention, high daylight autonomy, avoidance of summer overheating but also use of passive solar gains in wintertime. Today, geometric representation of outdoor spaces and at the building level, three-dimensional geometric information is available for planning with Building Information Modeling (BIM). In a research project, a web application which is called HELLA DECART was developed to provide this data structure to extract the data required for the simulation from the BIM models and to make it usable for the calculations and coupled simulations. The investigated object is uploaded as an IFC file to this web application and includes the object as well as the neighboring buildings and possible remote shading. This tool uses a ray tracing method to determine possible glare from solar reflections of a neighboring building as well as near and far shadows per window on the object. Subsequently, an annual estimate of the sunlight per window is calculated by taking weather data into account. This optimized daylight assessment per window provides the ability to calculate an estimation of the potential power generation at the integrated PV on the venetian blind but also for the daylight and solar entry. As a next step, these results of the calculations as well as all necessary parameters for the thermal simulation can be provided. The overall aim of this workflow is to advance the coordination between the BIM model and coupled building simulation with the resulting shading and daylighting system with the artificial lighting system and maximum power generation in a control system. In the research project Powershade, an AI based control concept for PV integrated façade elements with coupled simulation results is investigated. The developed automated workflow concept in this paper is tested by using an office living lab at the HELLA company.

Keywords: BIPV, building simulation, optimized control strategy, planning tool

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: D. Tedesco, G. Feletti, P. Trucco

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The present study aims to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to support the operational decision of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) regarding the assignment of medical emergency requests to Emergency Departments (ED). In the literature, this problem is also known as “hospital selection” and concerns the definition of policies for the selection of the ED to which patients who require further treatment are transported by ambulance. The employed research methodology consists of the first phase of revision of the technical-scientific literature concerning DSSs to support the EMS management and, in particular, the hospital selection decision. From the literature analysis, it emerged that current studies are mainly focused on the EMS phases related to the ambulance service and consider a process that ends when the ambulance is available after completing a request. Therefore, all the ED-related issues are excluded and considered as part of a separate process. Indeed, the most studied hospital selection policy turned out to be proximity, thus allowing to minimize the transport time and release the ambulance in the shortest possible time. The purpose of the present study consists in developing an optimization model for assigning medical emergency requests to the EDs, considering information relating to the subsequent phases of the process, such as the case-mix, the expected service throughput times, and the operational capacity of different EDs in hospitals. To this end, a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model was created to evaluate different hospital selection policies. Therefore, the next steps of the research consisted of the development of a general simulation architecture, its implementation in the AnyLogic software and its validation on a realistic dataset. The hospital selection policy that produced the best results was the minimization of the Time To Provider (TTP), considered as the time from the beginning of the ambulance journey to the ED at the beginning of the clinical evaluation by the doctor. Finally, two approaches were further compared: a static approach, which is based on a retrospective estimate of the TTP, and a dynamic approach, which is based on a predictive estimate of the TTP determined with a constantly updated Winters model. Findings reveal that considering the minimization of TTP as a hospital selection policy raises several benefits. It allows to significantly reduce service throughput times in the ED with a minimum increase in travel time. Furthermore, an immediate view of the saturation state of the ED is produced and the case-mix present in the ED structures (i.e., the different triage codes) is considered, as different severity codes correspond to different service throughput times. Besides, the use of a predictive approach is certainly more reliable in terms of TTP estimation than a retrospective approach but entails a more difficult application. These considerations can support decision-makers in introducing different hospital selection policies to enhance EMSs performance.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, emergency medical services, forecast model, hospital selection

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Ming-Chan Chung, Wen-Ming Huang, Yi-Chu Liu, Li-Hui Yang, Ming-Jyh Chen

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introduction: Hospital buildings require considerable energy, including air conditioning, lighting, elevators, heating, and medical equipment. Energy consumption in hospitals is expected to increase significantly due to innovative equipment and continuous development plans. Consequently, the environment and climate will be adversely affected. Hospitals should therefore consider transforming from their traditional role of saving lives to being at the forefront of global efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As healthcare providers, it is our responsibility to provide a high-quality environment while using as little energy as possible. Purpose / Methods: Compare the energy-saving benefits of solar photovoltaic systems and solar hot water systems. The proportion of electricity consumption effectively reduced after the installation of solar photovoltaic systems. To comprehensively assess the potential benefits of utilizing solar energy for both photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal applications in hospitals, a solar PV system was installed covering a total area of 28.95 square meters in 2021. Approval was obtained from the Taiwan Power Company to integrate the system into the hospital's electrical infrastructure for self-use. To measure the performance of the system, a dedicated meter was installed to track monthly power generation, which was then converted into area output using an electric energy conversion factor. This research aims to compare the energy efficiency of solar PV systems and solar thermal systems. Results: Using the conversion formula between electrical and thermal energy, we can compare the energy output of solar heating systems and solar photovoltaic systems. The comparative study draws upon data from February 2021 to February 2023, wherein the solar heating system generated an average of 2.54 kWh of energy per panel per day, while the solar photovoltaic system produced 1.17 kWh of energy per panel per day, resulting in a difference of approximately 2.17 times between the two systems. Conclusions: After conducting statistical analysis and comparisons, it was found that solar thermal heating systems offer higher energy and greater benefits than solar photovoltaic systems. Furthermore, an examination of literature data and simulations of the energy and economic benefits of solar thermal water systems and solar-assisted heat pump systems revealed that solar thermal water systems have higher energy density values, shorter recovery periods, and lower power consumption than solar-assisted heat pump systems. Through monitoring and empirical research in this study, it has been concluded that a heat pump-assisted solar thermal water system represents a relatively superior energy-saving and carbon-reducing solution for medical institutions. Not only can this system help reduce overall electricity consumption and the use of fossil fuels, but it can also provide more effective heating solutions.

Keywords: sustainable development, energy conservation, carbon reduction, renewable energy, heat pump system

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Rabindranath Jana, Biswajit Maity, Keka Rana

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The most promising clean energy source is the fuel cell, since it does not generate toxic gases and other hazardous compounds. Again the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is more user-friendly as it is easy to be miniaturized and suited as energy source for automobiles as well as domestic applications and portable devices. And unlike the hydrogen used for some fuel cells, methanol is a liquid that is easy to store and transport in conventional tanks. The most important part of a fuel cell is its membrane. Till now, an overall efficiency for a methanol fuel cell is reported to be about 20 ~ 25%. The lower efficiency of the cell may be due to the critical factors, e.g. slow reaction kinetics at the anode and methanol crossover. The oxidation of methanol is composed of a series of successive reactions creating formaldehyde and formic acid as intermediates that contribute to slow reaction rates and decreased cell voltage. Currently, the investigation of new anode catalysts to improve oxidation reaction rates is an active area of research as it applies to the methanol fuel cell. Surprisingly, there are very limited reports on nanostructured membranes, which are rather simple to manufacture with different tuneable compositions and are expected to allow only the proton permeation but not the methanol due to their molecular sizing effects and affinity to the membrane surface. We have developed a nanostructured fuel cell membrane from polydimethyl siloxane rubber (PDMS), ethylene methyl co-acrylate (EMA) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The effect of incorporating different proportions of f-MWNTs in polymer membrane has been studied. The introduction of f-MWNTs in polymer matrix modified the polymer structure, and therefore the properties of the device. The proton conductivity, measured by an AC impedance technique using open-frame and two-electrode cell and methanol permeability of the membranes was found to be dependent on the f-MWNTs loading. The proton conductivity of the membranes increases with increase in concentration of f-MWNTs concentration due to increased content of conductive materials. Measured methanol permeabilities at 60oC were found to be dependant on loading of f-MWNTs. The methanol permeability decreased from 1.5 x 10-6 cm²/s for pure film to 0.8 x 10-7 cm²/s for a membrane containing 0.5wt % f-MWNTs. This is due to increasing proportion of f-MWNTs, the matrix becomes more compact. From DSC melting curves it is clear that the polymer matrix with f-MWNTs is thermally stable. FT-IR studies show good interaction between EMA and f-MWNTs. XRD analysis shows good crystalline behavior of the prepared membranes. Significant cost savings can be achieved when using the blended films which contain less expensive polymers.

Keywords: fuel cell membrane, polydimethyl siloxane rubber, carbon nanotubes, proton conductivity, methanol permeability

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Tapan Kumar Dhar

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How well are our city forms designed to adapt to climate change and its resulting uncertainty? What urban design tools can be used to measure and improve resilience to climate change, and how would they do so? In addressing these questions, this paper considers indeterminacy, a concept originated in the resilience literature, to measure the resilience of built environments. In the realm of urban design, ‘indeterminacy’ can be referred to as built-in design capabilities of an urban system to serve different purposes which are not necessarily predetermined. An urban system, particularly that with a higher degree of indeterminacy, can enable the system to be reorganized and changed to accommodate new or unknown functions while coping with uncertainty over time. Underlying principles of this concept have long been discussed in the urban design and planning literature, including open architecture, landscape urbanism, and flexible housing. This paper argues that the concept indeterminacy holds the potential to reduce the impacts of climate change incrementally and proactively. With regard to sustainable development, both planning and climate change literature highly recommend proactive adaptation as it involves less cost, efforts, and energy than last-minute emergency or reactive actions. Nevertheless, the concept still remains isolated from resilience and climate change adaptation discourses even though the discourses advocate the incremental transformation of a system to cope with climatic uncertainty. This paper considers indeterminacy, as an urban design tool, to measure and increase resilience (and adaptive capacity) of Long Bay’s coastal settlements in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is one of the popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and its associated impacts. This paper employs empirical information obtained from direct observation and informal interviews with local people. While testing the tool, this paper deploys an urban morphology study, which includes land use patterns and the physical characteristics of urban form, including street networks, block patterns, and building footprints. The results reveal that most resorts in Long Bay are designed for pre-determined purposes and offer a little potential to use differently if needed. Additionally, Negril’s street networks are found to be rigid and have limited accessibility to different points of interest. This rigidity can expose the entire infrastructure further to extreme climatic events and also impedes recovery actions after a disaster. However, Long Bay still has room for future resilient developments in other relatively less vulnerable areas. In adapting to climate change, indeterminacy can be reached through design that achieves a balance between the degree of vulnerability and the degree of indeterminacy: the more vulnerable a place is, the more indeterminacy is useful. This paper concludes with a set of urban design typologies to increase the resilience of coastal settlements.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, resilience, sea-level rise, urban form

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Zafar Iqbal, Eugene Chan, Fareed Ahmed, Mohamed Jama, Avez Rizvi

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Advancements in Ultrasound Technology have enabled machines to capture 3D and 4D images with intricate features of the growing fetus. Sonographers can now capture clear 3D images and 4D videos of the fetus, especially of the face. Fetal faces are often seen on the ultrasound scan of the third trimester where anatomical features become more defined. Parents often want 3D/4D images and videos of their ultrasounds, and particularly image that capture the child’s face. Sidra Medicine developed a patient education mobile app called 10 Moons to improve care and provide useful information during the length of their pregnancy. In addition to general information, we built the ability to send ultrasound images directly from the modality to the mobile application, allowing expectant mothers to easily store and share images of their baby. 10 Moons represent the length of the pregnancy on a lunar calendar, which has both cultural and religious significance in the Middle East. During the third trimester scan, sonographers can capture 3D pictures of the fetus. Ultrasound machines are connected with a local 10 Moons Server with a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) application running on it. Sonographers are able to send images directly to the DICOM server by a preprogrammed button on the ultrasound modality. Mothers can also request which pictures they would like to be available on the app. An internally built DICOM application receives the image and saves the patient information from DICOM header (for verification purpose). The application also anonymizes the image by removing all the DICOM header information and subsequently converts it into a lossless JPEG. Finally, and the application passes the image to the mobile application server. On the 10 Moons mobile app – patients enter their Medical Record Number (MRN) and Date of Birth (DOB) to receive a One Time Password (OTP) for security reasons to view the images. Patients can also share the images anonymized images with friends and family. Furthermore, patients can also request 3D printed mementos of their child through 10 Moons. 10 Moons is unique patient education and information application where expected mothers can also see 3D ultrasound images of their children. Sidra Medicine staff has the added benefit of a full content management administrative backend where updates to content can be made. The app is available on secure infrastructure with both local and public interfaces. The application is also available in both English and Arabic languages to facilitate most of the patients in the region. Innovation is at the heart of modern healthcare management. With Innovation being one of Sidra Medicine’s core values, our 10 Moons application provides expectant mothers with unique educational content as well as the ability to store and share images of their child and purchase 3D printed mementos.

Keywords: patient educational mobile application, ultrasound images, digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM), imaging informatics

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Sergey N. Ermoliev, Margarita A. Belousova, Aida D. Goncharenko

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Application of the diagnostic complex of highly informative functional methods (electromyography, reodentography, laser Doppler flowmetry, reoperiodontography, vital computer capillaroscopy, optical tissue oximetry, laser fluorescence diagnosis) allows to perform a multifactorial analysis of the dental status and to prescribe complex etiopathogenetic treatment. Introduction. It is necessary to create a complex of innovative highly informative and safe functional diagnostic methods for improvement of the quality of patient treatment by the early detection of stomatologic diseases. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the etiology and pathogenesis of functional disorders identified in the pathology of hard tissue, dental pulp, periodontal, oral mucosa and chewing function, and the creation of new approaches to the diagnosis of dental diseases. Material and methods. 172 patients were examined. Density of hard tissues of the teeth and jaw bone was studied by intraoral ultrasonic densitometry (USD). Electromyographic activity of masticatory muscles was assessed by electromyography (EMG). Functional state of dental pulp vessels assessed by reodentography (RDG) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Reoperiodontography method (RPG) studied regional blood flow in the periodontal tissues. Microcirculatory vascular periodontal studied by vital computer capillaroscopy (VCC) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). The metabolic level of the mucous membrane was determined by optical tissue oximetry (OTO) and laser fluorescence diagnosis (LFD). Results and discussion. The results obtained revealed changes in mineral density of hard tissues of the teeth and jaw bone, the bioelectric activity of masticatory muscles, regional blood flow and microcirculation in the dental pulp and periodontal tissues. LDF and OTO methods estimated fluctuations of saturation level and oxygen transport in microvasculature of periodontal tissues. With LFD identified changes in the concentration of enzymes (nicotinamide, flavins, lipofuscin, porphyrins) involved in metabolic processes Conclusion. Our preliminary results confirmed feasibility and safety the of intraoral ultrasound densitometry technique in the density of bone tissue of periodontium. Conclusion. Application of the diagnostic complex of above mentioned highly informative functional methods allows to perform a multifactorial analysis of the dental status and to prescribe complex etiopathogenetic treatment.

Keywords: electromyography (EMG), reodentography (RDG), laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), reoperiodontography method (RPG), vital computer capillaroscopy (VCC), optical tissue oximetry (OTO), laser fluorescence diagnosis (LFD)

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Johan Buermans, Kristel Crombé, Niek Desmet, Laura Dittrich, Andrei Goriaev, Yurii Kovtun, Daniel López-Rodriguez, Sören Möller, Per Petersson, Maja Verstraeten

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The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will rely on three sources of external heating to produce and sustain a plasma; Neutral Beam Injection (NBI), Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH), and Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH). ECRH is a way to heat the electrons in a plasma by resonant absorption of electromagnetic waves. The energy of the electrons is transferred indirectly to the ions by collisions. The electron cyclotron heating system can be directed to deposit heat in particular regions in the plasma (https://www.iter.org/mach/Heating). Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) at the fundamental resonance in X-mode is limited by a low cut-off density. Electromagnetic waves cannot propagate in the region between this cut-off and the Upper Hybrid Resonance (UHR) and cannot reach the Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) position. Higher harmonic heating is hence preferred in heating scenarios nowadays to overcome this problem. Additional power deposition mechanisms can occur above this threshold to increase the plasma density. This includes collisional losses in the evanescent region, resonant power coupling at the UHR, tunneling of the X-wave with resonant coupling at the ECR, and conversion to the Electron Bernstein Wave (EBW) with resonant coupling at the ECR. A more profound knowledge of these deposition mechanisms can help determine the optimal plasma production scenarios. Several ECRH experiments are performed on the TOroidally MAgnetized System (TOMAS) to identify the conditions for Electron Bernstein Wave (EBW) heating. Density and temperature profiles are measured with movable Triple Langmuir Probes in the horizontal and vertical directions. Measurements of the forwarded and reflected power allow evaluation of the coupling efficiency. Optical emission spectroscopy and camera images also contribute to plasma characterization. The influence of the injected power, magnetic field, gas pressure, and wave polarization on the different deposition mechanisms is studied, and the contribution of the Electron Bernstein Wave is evaluated. The TOMATOR 1D hydrogen-helium plasma simulator numerically describes the evolution of current less magnetized Radio Frequency plasmas in a tokamak based on Braginskii’s legal continuity and heat balance equations. This code was initially benchmarked with experimental data from TCV to determine the transport coefficients. The code is used to model the plasma parameters and the power deposition profiles. The modeling is compared with the data from the experiments.

Keywords: electron Bernstein wave, Langmuir probe, plasma characterization, TOMAS

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Heikki Ruohomaa, Vesa Salminen

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Regions are facing huge competition to attract companies, businesses, inhabitants, students, etc. This way to improve living and business environment, which is rapidly changing due to digitalization. On the other hand, from the industry's point of view, the availability of a skilled labor force and an innovative environment are crucial factors. In this context, qualified staff has been seen to utilize the opportunities of digitalization and respond to the needs of future skills. World Manufacturing Forum has stated in the year 2019- report that in next five years, 40% of workers have to change their core competencies. Through digital transformation, new technologies like cloud, mobile, big data, 5G- infrastructure, platform- technology, data- analysis, and social networks with increasing intelligence and automation, enterprises can capitalize on new opportunities and optimize existing operations to achieve significant business improvement. Digitalization will be an important part of the everyday life of citizens and present in the working day of the average citizen and employee in the future. For that reason, the education system and education programs on all levels of education from diaper age to doctorate have been directed to fulfill this ecosystem strategy. Goal: The Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring unprecedented change to societies, education organizations and business environments. This article aims to identify how education, education content, the way education has proceeded, and overall whole the education business is changing. Most important is how we should respond to this inevitable co- evolution. Methodology: The study aims to verify how the learning process is boosted by new digital content, new learning software and tools, and customer-oriented learning environments. The change of education programs and individual education modules can be supported by applied research projects. You can use them in making proof- of- the concept of new technology, new ways to teach and train, and through the experiences gathered change education content, way to educate and finally education business as a whole. Major findings: Applied research projects can prove the concept- phases on real environment field labs to test technology opportunities and new tools for training purposes. Customer-oriented applied research projects are also excellent for students to make assignments and use new knowledge and content and teachers to test new tools and create new ways to educate. New content and problem-based learning are used in future education modules. This article introduces some case study experiences on customer-oriented digital transformation projects and how gathered knowledge on new digital content and a new way to educate has influenced education. The case study is related to experiences of research projects, customer-oriented field labs/learning environments and education programs of Häme University of Applied Sciences.

Keywords: education process, digitalization content, digital tools for education, learning environments, transdisciplinary co-operation

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Nor Azian Binti Aziz, Muhammad Afiq Bin Tambichik, Zamri Bin Hashim

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The rapid development of the construction industry has contributed to increased construction waste, with concrete waste being among the most abundant. This waste is generated from ready-mix batching plants after the concrete cube testing process is completed and disposed of in landfills, leading to increased solid waste management costs. This study aims to evaluate the engineering characteristics of foamed concrete with waste mixtures construction and agricultural waste to determine the usability of recycled materials in the construction of non-load-bearing walls. This study involves the collection of construction wastes, such as recycled aggregates (RCA) obtained from the remains of finished concrete cubes, which are then tested in the laboratory. Additionally, agricultural waste, such as rice husk ash, is mixed into foamed concrete interlock blocks to enhance their strength. The optimal density of foamed concrete for this study was determined by mixing mortar and foam-backed agents to achieve the minimum targeted compressive strength required for non-load-bearing walls. The tests conducted in this study involved two phases. In Phase 1, elemental analysis using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) was conducted on the materials used in the production of interlock blocks such as sand, recycled aggregate/recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), and husk ash paddy/rice husk ash (RHA), Phase 2 involved physical and thermal tests, such as compressive strength test, heat conductivity test, and fire resistance test, on foamed concrete mixtures. The results showed that foamed concrete can produce lightweight interlock blocks. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry plays a crucial role in the characterization, quality control, and optimization of foamed concrete mixes containing construction and agriculture waste. The unique composition mixer of foamed concrete and the resulting chemical and physical properties, as well as the nature of replacement (either as cement or fine aggregate replacement), the waste contributes differently to the performance of foamed concrete. Interlocking blocks made from foamed concrete can be advantageous due to their reduced weight, which makes them easier to handle and transport compared to traditional concrete blocks. Additionally, foamed concrete typically offers good thermal and acoustic insulation properties, making it suitable for a variety of building projects. Using foamed concrete to produce lightweight interlock blocks could contribute to more efficient and sustainable construction practices. Additionally, RCA derived from concrete cube waste can serve as a substitute for sand in producing lightweight interlock blocks.

Keywords: construction waste, recycled aggregates (RCA), sustainable concrete, structure material

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Authors: Katarina Revocati Mteule

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The background of this research arises from global demands for fair business opportunities. As one of responses to these demands, nations embarked on reforms in commercial laws. In 1990s Tanzania resorted to economic transformation through liberalization to attract more investments included reform in commercial laws enforcement. This research scrutinizes the effectiveness of reforms in Tanzania in comparison with Canada and Singapore and the role of technology. The methodology to be used is doctrinal legal research mixed with international comparative legal research. It involves comparative analysis of library, online, and internet resources as well as Case Laws and Statutory Laws. Tanzania, Canada and Singapore are sampled comparators basing on their distinct level of economic development. The criteria of analysis includes the nature of reforms, type of technology, technological infrastructure and human resource technical competence in each country. As the world progresses towards reforms in commercial laws, improvements in law, policy, and regulatory frameworks are paramount. Specifically, commercial laws are essential in contract enforcement and dispute resolution and how it copes with modern technologies is a concern. Harnessing the best technology is necessary to cope with the modernity in world businesses. In line with this, Tanzania is improving its business environment, including law enforcement mechanisms that are supportive to investments. Reforms such as specialized commercial law enforcement coupled with alternative dispute resolutions such as arbitration, mediation, and reconciliation are emphasized. Court technology as one of the reform tools given high priority. This research evaluates the progress and the effectiveness of the reforms in Commercial Laws towards friendly business environment in Tanzania in comparison with Canada and Singapore. The experience of Tanzania is compared with Canada and Singapore to see what to improve for each country to enhance quick and fair enforcement of commercial law. The research proposes necessary global standards of procedures and in national laws to offer a business-friendly environment and the use of appropriate technology. Solutions are proposed in tackling the challenges of delays in enforcing Commercial Laws such as case management, funding, legal and procedural hindrances, laxity among staff, and abuse of Court process among litigants, all in line with modern technology. It is the finding of the research that proper use of technology has managed to reduce case backlogs and time taken to resolve a commercial dispute, to increase court integrity by minimizing human contacts in commercial law enforcement which may lead to solicitation of favors and saving of parties’ time due to online service. Among the three countries, each one is facing a distinct challenge due to the level of poverty and remoteness from online service. How solutions are found in one country is a lesson to another. To conclude, this paper is suggesting solutions for improving the commercial law enforcement mechanisms in line with modern technology. The call for technological transformation is essential for the enforcement of commercial laws.

Keywords: commercial law, enforcement, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 33

Authors: Ion Robu, Claudiu Mazilu, Radu Deju

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Natural aggregates (gravel and crushed) are essential non-renewable resources which are used for infrastructure works and civil engineering. In European Union member states from Southeast Europe, it is estimated that the construction industry will grow by 4.2% thereafter complicating aggregate supply management. In addition, a significant additional problem that can be associated to the aggregates industry is wasting potential resources through waste dumping of inert waste, especially waste from construction and demolition activities. In 2012, in Romania, less than 10% of construction and demolition waste (including concrete) are valorized, while the European Union requires that by 2020 this proportion should be at least 70% (Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, transposed into Romanian legislation by Law 211/2011). Depending on the efficiency of waste processing and the quality of recycled aggregate concrete (RCA) obtained, poor quality aggregate can be used as foundation material for roads and at the high quality for new concrete on construction. To obtain good quality concrete using recycled aggregate is necessary to meet the minimum requirements defined by the rules for the manufacture of concrete with natural aggregate. Properties of recycled aggregate (density, granulosity, granule shape, water absorption, weight loss to Los Angeles test, attached mortar content etc.) are the basis for concrete quality; also establishing appropriate proportions between components and the concrete production methods are extremely important for its quality. This paper presents a study on the use of recycled aggregates, from a concrete of specified class, to acquire new cement concrete with different percentages of recycled aggregates. To achieve recycled aggregates several batches of concrete class C16/20, C25/30 and C35/45 were made, the compositions calculation being made according NE012/2007 CP012/2007. Tests for producing recycled aggregate was carried out using concrete samples of the established three classes after 28 days of storage under the above conditions. Cubes with 150mm side were crushed in a first stage with a jaw crusher Liebherr type set at 50 mm nominally. The resulting material was separated by sieving on granulometric sorts and 10-50 sort was used for preliminary tests of crushing in the second stage with a jaw crusher BB 200 Retsch model, respectively a hammer crusher Buffalo Shuttle WA-12-H model. It was highlighted the influence of the type of crusher used to obtain recycled aggregates on granulometry and granule shape and the influence of the attached mortar on the density, water absorption, behavior to the Los Angeles test etc. The proportion of attached mortar was determined and correlated with provenance concrete class of the recycled aggregates and their granulometric sort. The aim to characterize the recycled aggregates is their valorification in new concrete used in construction. In this regard have been made a series of concrete in which the recycled aggregate content was varied from 0 to 100%. The new concrete were characterized by point of view of the change in the density and compressive strength with the proportion of recycled aggregates. It has been shown that an increase in recycled aggregate content not necessarily mean a reduction in compressive strength, quality of the aggregate having a decisive role.

Keywords: recycled concrete aggregate, characteristics, recycled aggregate concrete, properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Sankha Chakrabortty, Biswajit Ruj, Parimal Pal

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Methanol is one of the most important chemical products and intermediates. It can be used as a solvent, intermediate or raw material for a number of higher valued products, fuels or additives. From the last one decay, the total global demand of methanol has increased drastically which forces the scientists to produce a large amount of methanol from a renewable source to meet the global demand with a sustainable way. Different types of non-renewable based raw materials have been used for the synthesis of methanol on a large scale which makes the process unsustainable. In this circumstances, photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into methanol under solar/UV excitation becomes a viable approach to give a sustainable production approach which not only meets the environmental crisis by recycling CO₂ to fuels but also reduces CO₂ amount from the atmosphere. Development of such sustainable production approach for CO₂ conversion into methanol still remains a major challenge in the current research comparing with conventional energy expensive processes. In this backdrop, the development of environmentally friendly materials, like photocatalyst has taken a great perspective for methanol synthesis. Scientists in this field are always concerned about finding an improved photocatalyst to enhance the photocatalytic performance. Graphene-based hybrid and composite materials with improved properties could be a better nanomaterial for the selective conversion of CO₂ to methanol under visible light (solar energy) or UV light. The present invention relates to synthesis an improved heterogeneous graphene-based photocatalyst with improved catalytic activity and surface area. Graphene with enhanced surface area is used as coupled material of copper-loaded titanium oxide to improve the electron capture and transport properties which substantially increase the photoinduced charge transfer and extend the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers. A fast reduction method through H₂ purging has been adopted to synthesis improved graphene whereas ultrasonication based sol-gel method has been applied for the preparation of graphene coupled copper loaded titanium oxide with some enhanced properties. Prepared photocatalysts were exhaustively characterized using different characterization techniques. Effects of catalyst dose, CO₂ flow rate, reaction temperature and stirring time on the efficacy of the system in terms of methanol yield and productivity have been studied in the present study. The study shown that the newly synthesized photocatalyst with an enhanced surface resulting in a sustained productivity and yield of methanol 0.14 g/Lh, and 0.04 g/gcat respectively, after 3 h of illumination under UV (250W) at an optimum catalyst dosage of 10 g/L having 1:2:3 (Graphene: TiO₂: Cu) weight ratio.

Keywords: renewable energy, CO₂ capture, photocatalytic conversion, methanol

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Min Han, Di Wu, Lin Yuan, Fei Liu

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Mechanical sensors have undergone a continuous evolution and have become an important part of many industries, ranging from manufacturing to process, chemicals, machinery, health-care, environmental monitoring, automotive, avionics, and household appliances. Concurrently, the microelectronics and microfabrication technology have provided us with the means of producing mechanical microsensors characterized by high sensitivity, small size, integrated electronics, on board calibration, and low cost. Here we report a new kind of mechanical sensors based on the quantum transport process of electrons in the closely spaced nanoparticle films covering a flexible polymer sheet. The nanoparticle films were fabricated by gas phase depositing of preformed metal nanoparticles with a controlled coverage on the electrodes. To amplify the conductance of the nanoparticle array, we fabricated silver interdigital electrodes on polyethylene terephthalate(PET) by mask evaporation deposition. The gaps of the electrodes ranged from 3 to 30μm. Metal nanoparticles were generated from a magnetron plasma gas aggregation cluster source and deposited on the interdigital electrodes. Closely spaced nanoparticle arrays with different coverage could be gained through real-time monitoring the conductance. In the film coulomb blockade and quantum, tunneling/hopping dominate the electronic conduction mechanism. The basic principle of the mechanical sensors relies on the mechanical deformation of the fabricated devices which are translated into electrical signals. Several kinds of sensing devices have been explored. As a strain sensor, the device showed a high sensitivity as well as a very wide dynamic range. A gauge factor as large as 100 or more was demonstrated, which can be at least one order of magnitude higher than that of the conventional metal foil gauges or even better than that of the semiconductor-based gauges with a workable maximum applied strain beyond 3%. And the strain sensors have a workable maximum applied strain larger than 3%. They provide the potential to be a new generation of strain sensors with performance superior to that of the currently existing strain sensors including metallic strain gauges and semiconductor strain gauges. When integrated into a pressure gauge, the devices demonstrated the ability to measure tiny pressure change as small as 20Pa near the atmospheric pressure. Quantitative vibration measurements were realized on a free-standing cantilever structure fabricated with closely-spaced nanoparticle array sensing element. What is more, the mechanical sensor elements can be easily scaled down, which is feasible for MEMS and NEMS applications.

Keywords: gas phase deposition, mechanical sensors, metallic nanoparticle arrays, quantum conductance

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Authors: S. Fantin

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This study is the result of the legal research on cybersecurity and data protection within the EUNITY (Cybersecurity and Privacy Dialogue between Europe and Japan) project, aimed at fostering the dialogue between the European Union and Japan. Based on the research undertaken therein, the author offers an outline of the main asymmetries in the laws governing such fields in the two regions. The research is a comparative analysis of the two legal frameworks, taking into account specific provisions, ratio legis and policy initiatives. Recent doctrine was taken into account, too, as well as empirical interviews with EU and Japanese stakeholders and project partners. With respect to the protection of personal data, the European Union has recently reformed its legal framework with a package which includes a regulation (General Data Protection Regulation), and a directive (Directive 680 on personal data processing in the law enforcement domain). In turn, the Japanese law under scrutiny for this study has been the Act on Protection of Personal Information. Based on a comparative analysis, some asymmetries arise. The main ones refer to the definition of personal information and the scope of the two frameworks. Furthermore, the rights of the data subjects are differently articulated in the two regions, while the nature of sanctions take two opposite approaches. Regarding the cybersecurity framework, the situation looks similarly misaligned. Japan’s main text of reference is the Basic Cybersecurity Act, while the European Union has a more fragmented legal structure (to name a few, Network and Information Security Directive, Critical Infrastructure Directive and Directive on the Attacks at Information Systems). On an relevant note, unlike a more industry-oriented European approach, the concept of cyber hygiene seems to be neatly embedded in the Japanese legal framework, with a number of provisions that alleviate operators’ liability by turning such a burden into a set of recommendations to be primarily observed by citizens. With respect to the reasons to fill such normative gaps, these are mostly grounded on three basis. Firstly, the cross-border nature of cybercrime brings to consider both magnitude of the issue and its regulatory stance globally. Secondly, empirical findings from the EUNITY project showed how recent data breaches and cyber-attacks had shared implications between Europe and Japan. Thirdly, the geopolitical context is currently going through the direction of bringing the two regions to significant agreements from a trade standpoint, but also from a data protection perspective (with an imminent signature by both parts of a so-called ‘Adequacy Decision’). The research conducted in this study reveals two asymmetric legal frameworks on cyber security and data protection. With a view to the future challenges presented by the strengthening of the collaboration between the two regions and the trans-national fashion of cybercrime, it is urged that solutions are found to fill in such gaps, in order to allow European Union and Japan to wisely increment their partnership.

Keywords: cybersecurity, data protection, European Union, Japan

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Authors: Ingrid Snustad, Asmund Ervik, Anders Austegard, Amy Brunsvold, Jianying He, Zhiliang Zhang

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CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCS) is essential to mitigate global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. To make CCS a widely implemented technology in, e.g. the power sector, the reduction of costs is crucial. For a large cost reduction, every part of the CCS chain must contribute. By increasing the heat transfer efficiency during liquefaction of CO₂, which is a necessary step, e.g. ship transportation, the costs associated with the process are reduced. Heat transfer rates during dropwise condensation are up to one order of magnitude higher than during filmwise condensation. Dropwise condensation usually occurs on a non-wetting surface (Superlyophobic surface). The vapour condenses in discrete droplets, and the non-wetting nature of the surface reduces the adhesion forces and results in shedding of condensed droplets. This, again, results in fresh nucleation sites for further droplet condensation, effectively increasing the liquefaction efficiency. In addition, the droplets in themselves have a smaller heat transfer resistance than a liquid film, resulting in increased heat transfer rates from vapour to solid. Surface tension is a crucial parameter for dropwise condensation, due to its impact on the solid-liquid contact angle. A low surface tension usually results in a low contact angle, and again to spreading of the condensed liquid on the surface. CO₂ has very low surface tension compared to water. However, at relevant temperatures and pressures for CO₂ condensation, the surface tension is comparable to organic compounds such as pentane, a dropwise condensation of CO₂ is a completely new field of research. Therefore, knowledge of several important parameters such as contact angle and drop size distribution must be gained in order to understand the nature of the condensation. A new setup has been built to measure these relevant parameters. The main parts of the experimental setup is a pressure chamber in which the condensation occurs, and a high- speed camera. The process of CO₂ condensation is visually monitored, and one can determine the contact angle, contact angle hysteresis and hence, the surface adhesion of the liquid. CO₂ condensation on different surfaces can be analysed, e.g. copper, aluminium and stainless steel. The experimental setup is built for accurate measurements of the temperature difference between the surface and the condensing vapour and accurate pressure measurements in the vapour. The temperature will be measured directly underneath the condensing surface. The next step of the project will be to fabricate nanostructured surfaces for inducing superlyophobicity. Roughness is a key feature to achieve contact angles above 150° (limit for superlyophobicity) and controlled, and periodical roughness on the nanoscale is beneficial. Surfaces that are non- wetting towards organic non-polar liquids are candidates surface structures for dropwise condensation of CO₂.

Keywords: CCS, dropwise condensation, low surface tension liquid, superlyophobic surfaces

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Authors: Karishma Kashyap, Subha D. Parida

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Rapid population growth and urbanization is creating pressure throughout the world. This has a dramatic effect on a lot of elements which include water, food, transportation, energy, infrastructure etc. as few of the key services. Built environment sector is growing concurrently to meet the needs of urbanization. Due to such large scale development of buildings, there is a need for them to be monitored and managed efficiently. Along with appropriate management, climate adaptation is highly crucial as well because buildings are one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission in their operation phase. Buildings to be adaptive need to provide a triple bottom approach to sustainability i.e., being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Hence, in order to deliver these sustainability outcomes, there is a growing understanding and thrive towards switching to green buildings or renovating new ones as per green standards wherever possible. Academic institutions in particular have been following this trend globally. This is highly significant as universities usually have high occupancy rates because they manage a large building portfolio. Also, as universities accommodate the future generation of architects, policy makers etc., they have the potential of setting themselves as a best industry practice model for research and innovation for the rest to follow. Hence their climate adaptation, sustainable growth and performance management becomes highly crucial in order to provide the best services to users. With the objective of evaluating appropriate management mechanisms within academic institutions, a feasibility study was carried out in a recent 5-Star Green Star rated university building (housing the School of Construction) in Victoria (south-eastern state of Australia). The key aim was to understand the behavioral and social aspect of the building users, management and the impact of their relationship on overall building sustainability. A survey was used to understand the building occupant’s response and reactions in terms of their work environment and management. A report was generated based on the survey results complemented with utility and performance data which were then used to evaluate the management structure of the university. Followed by the report, interviews were scheduled with the facility and asset managers in order to understand the approach they use to manage the different buildings in their university campuses (old, new, refurbished), respective building and parameters incorporated in maintaining the Green Star performance. The results aimed at closing the communication and feedback loop within the respective institutions and assist the facility managers to deliver appropriate stakeholder engagement. For the wider design community, analysis of the data highlights the applicability and significance of prioritizing key stakeholders, integrating desired engagement policies within an institution’s management structures and frameworks and their effect on building performance

Keywords: building optimization, green building, post occupancy evaluation, stakeholder engagement

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Authors: Sonia Bautista Carrascosa, Carlos Renedo Sanchez

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The effect of a rapid drawdown is a classical scenario to be considered in slope stability under submerged conditions. This situation arises when totally or partially submerged slopes experience a descent of the external water level and is a typical verification to be done in a dam engineering discipline, as reservoir water levels commonly fluctuate noticeably during seasons and due to operational reasons. Although the scenario is well known and predictable in general, site conditions can increase the complexity of its assessment and external factors are not always expected, can cause a reduction in the stability or even a failure in a slope under a rapid drawdown situation. The present paper describes and discusses the interaction between two different infrastructures, a dam and a highway, and the impact on the stability of a natural rock slope overlaid by the north abutment of a viaduct of the A-44 Highway due to the rapid drawdown of the Rules Dam, in the province of Granada (south of Spain). In the year 2011, with both infrastructures, the A-44 Highway and the Rules Dam already constructed, delivered and under operation, some movements start to be recorded in the approximation embankment and north abutment of the Guadalfeo Viaduct, included in the highway and developed to solve the crossing above the tail of the reservoir. The embankment and abutment were founded in a low-angle natural rock slope formed by grey graphic phyllites, distinctly weathered and intensely fractured, with pre-existing fault and weak planes. After the first filling of the reservoir, to a relative level of 243m, three consecutive drawdowns were recorded in the autumns 2010, 2011 and 2012, to relative levels of 234m, 232m and 225m. To understand the effect of these drawdowns in the weak rock mass strength and in its stability, a new geological model was developed, after reviewing all the available ground investigations, updating the geological mapping of the area and supplemented with an additional geotechnical and geophysical investigations survey. Together with all this information, rainfall and reservoir level evolution data have been reviewed in detail to incorporate into the monitoring interpretation. The analysis of the monitoring data and the new geological and geotechnical interpretation, supported by the use of limit equilibrium software Slide2, concludes that the movement follows the same direction as the schistosity of the phyllitic rock mass, coincident as well with the direction of the natural slope, indicating a deep-seated movement of the whole slope towards the reservoir. As part of these conclusions, the solutions considered to reinstate the highway infrastructure to the required FoS will be described, and the geomechanical characterization of these weak rocks discussed, together with the influence of water level variations, not only in the water pressure regime but in its geotechnical behavior, by the modification of the strength parameters and deformability.

Keywords: monitoring, rock slope stability, water drawdown, weak rock

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Authors: Ralph Nyadu-Addo, Francis Matambalya, Utz Dornberger

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The global music industry is a multi-billion dollar sector. The potential of Africa’s music industry is widely recognised in the socio-economic development milieu. It has impacted positively on several sectors including most especially the tourism, media and information, communication technology (ICT) among others. It is becoming increasingly clear that even in Africa (as demonstrated in Nigeria) that in addition to its intrinsic value, the sector has significant economic returns. UNCTAD observed, the creative industries offer some of the best prospects for high growth in least developed countries. The statistics from Africa may be far lower than similar sectors in developed countries but it goes to give further credence to several UNCTAD publications which say the creative industry is under researched and its potential under-estimated but holds the key to its rapid development The emerging creative economy (music in particular) has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation, and social cohesion in many countries. In line with these developments, the Ghana government recognizes the potential that the Creative Industries have to shape and reinforce Ghana’s economic growth. Creative sectors, particularly music, tend to rely less on sophisticated infrastructure or capital-intensive investment. Potential is particularly abundant in Africa, where musical creativity is rich, diverse, well-loved, and constantly evolving while drawing on strong traditions. The development of a popular music industry thus represents low-hanging fruit for most African economies says the World Bank. As we shift towards economic diversification using the creative industry, value is increasingly created at the intersection of arts, business and technology. Cultural and creative entrepreneurs are leading this trend. It is one of the areas where value is captured within the country as emerging trends have shown in Nigeria and Ghana among others. Yet, evidence shows that the potential of the cultural and creative sectors remains largely untapped. Furthermore, its socio-economic impact remains under-researched in many developing countries and its dynamics unknown. Despite its huge influence on music repertoire across the globe, most countries in Africa have not historically been significant markets for the international music industry. Today, that is beginning to change. Generally, reliable and adequate literature about music in the sub-region is difficult to obtain. The growing interests in academia and business cycles about a reliable data on the growing music industry in developing countries have called for an urgent need to undertake this research. Research questions: i. Who are the major stakeholders in the music value chain in Ghana? ii. How much of value is captured domestically iii. What is the economic impact of the Ghanaian music industry iv. How has the advent of ICT (internet) impacted on the music landscape? Research sources will be mainly through interviews of major stakeholders, baseline study of the industry by KPMG and content analysis of related newspapers and magazines.

Keywords: economic impact, information communications technology (ICT), music-industry, value chain

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Authors: Martin Arguelles Perez, Woosoon Yim, Alexander Barzilov

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High-fidelity radiation monitoring is an essential component in the enhancement of the situational awareness capabilities of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) personnel. In this paper, multiple units of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) each equipped with a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) gamma-ray sensor are used for radiation source localization, which can provide vital real-time data for the EM tasks. To achieve this goal, a fully autonomous system of multicopter-based UAV swarm in 3D tetrahedron formation is used for surveying the area of interest and performing radiation source localization. The CZT sensor used in this study is suitable for small-size multicopter UAVs due to its small size and ease of interfacing with the UAV’s onboard electronics for high-resolution gamma spectroscopy enabling the characterization of radiation hazards. The multicopter platform with a fully autonomous flight feature is suitable for low-altitude applications such as radiation contamination sites. The conventional approach uses a single UAV mapping in a predefined waypoint path to predict the relative location and strength of the source, which can be time-consuming for radiation localization tasks. The proposed UAV swarm-based approach can significantly improve its ability to search for and track radiation sources. In this paper, two approaches are developed using (a) 2D planar circular (3 UAVs) and (b) 3D tetrahedron formation (4 UAVs). In both approaches, accurate estimation of the gradient vector is crucial for heading angle calculation. Each UAV carries the CZT sensor; the real-time radiation data are used for the calculation of a bulk heading vector for the swarm to achieve a UAV swarm’s source-seeking behavior. Also, a spinning formation is studied for both cases to improve gradient estimation near a radiation source. In the 3D tetrahedron formation, a UAV located closest to the source is designated as a lead unit to maintain the tetrahedron formation in space. Such a formation demonstrated a collective and coordinated movement for estimating a gradient vector for the radiation source and determining an optimal heading direction of the swarm. The proposed radiation localization technique is studied by computer simulation and validated experimentally in the indoor flight testbed using gamma sources. The technology presented in this paper provides the capability to readily add/replace radiation sensors to the UAV platforms in the field conditions enabling extensive condition measurement and greatly improving situational awareness and event management. Furthermore, the proposed radiation localization approach allows long-term measurements to be efficiently performed at wide areas of interest to prevent disasters and reduce dose risks to people and infrastructure.

Keywords: radiation, unmanned aerial system(UAV), source localization, UAV swarm, tetrahedron formation

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Authors: Basiru Amuneni

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Astronomy is one domain with a rise in data. Traditional tools for data management have been employed in the quest for knowledge discovery. However, these traditional tools become limited in the face of big. One means of maximizing knowledge discovery for big data is the use of scientific visualisation. The aim of the work is to explore the possibilities offered by emerging creative technologies of Virtual Reality (VR) systems and game engines to visualize multiwavelength datasets. Game Engines are primarily used for developing video games, however their advanced graphics could be exploited for scientific visualization which provides a means to graphically illustrate scientific data to ease human comprehension. Modern astronomy is now in the era of multiwavelength data where a single galaxy for example, is captured by the telescope several times and at different electromagnetic wavelength to have a more comprehensive picture of the physical characteristics of the galaxy. Visualising this in an immersive environment would be more intuitive and natural for an observer. This work presents a standalone VR application that accesses galaxy FITS files. The application was built using the Unity Game Engine for the graphics underpinning and the OpenXR API for the VR infrastructure. The work used a methodology known as Design Science Research (DSR) which entails the act of ‘using design as a research method or technique’. The key stages of the galaxy modelling pipeline are FITS data preparation, Galaxy Modelling, Unity 3D Visualisation and VR Display. The FITS data format cannot be read by the Unity Game Engine directly. A DLL (CSHARPFITS) which provides a native support for reading and writing FITS files was used. The Galaxy modeller uses an approach that integrates cleaned FITS image pixels into the graphics pipeline of the Unity3d game Engine. The cleaned FITS images are then input to the galaxy modeller pipeline phase, which has a pre-processing script that extracts, pixel, galaxy world position, and colour maps the FITS image pixels. The user can visualise image galaxies in different light bands, control the blend of the image with similar images from different sources or fuse images for a holistic view. The framework will allow users to build tools to realise complex workflows for public outreach and possibly scientific work with increased scalability, near real time interactivity with ease of access. The application is presented in an immersive environment and can use all commercially available headset built on the OpenXR API. The user can select galaxies in the scene, teleport to the galaxy, pan, zoom in/out, and change colour gradients of the galaxy. The findings and design lessons learnt in the implementation of different use cases will contribute to the development and design of game-based visualisation tools in immersive environment by enabling informed decisions to be made.

Keywords: astronomy, visualisation, multiwavelenght dataset, virtual reality

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Authors: Nipa Debnath, Harinarayan Das, Takahiko Kawaguchi, Naonori Sakamoto, Kazuo Shinozaki, Hisao Suzuki, Naoki Wakiya

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Nowadays spinel ferrite magnetic thin films have drawn considerable attention due to their interesting magnetic and electrical properties with enhanced chemical and thermal stability. Spinel ferrite magnetic films can be implemented in magnetic data storage, sensors, and spin filters or microwave devices. It is well established that the structural, magnetic and transport properties of the magnetic thin films are dependent on microstructure. Spinodal decomposition (SD) is a phase separation process, whereby a material system is spontaneously separated into two phases with distinct compositions. The periodic microstructure is the characteristic feature of SD. Thus, SD can be exploited to control the microstructure at the nanoscale level. In bulk spinel ferrites having general formula, MₓFe₃₋ₓ O₄ (M= Co, Mn, Ni, Zn), phase separation via SD has been reported only for cobalt ferrite (CFO); however, long time post-annealing is required to occur the spinodal decomposition. We have found that SD occurs in CoF thin film without using any post-deposition annealing process if we apply magnetic field during thin film growth. Dynamic Aurora pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a specially designed PLD system through which in-situ magnetic field (up to 2000 G) can be applied during thin film growth. The in-situ magnetic field suppresses the recombination of ions in the plume. In addition, the peak’s intensity of the ions in the spectra of the plume also increases when magnetic field is applied to the plume. As a result, ions with high kinetic energy strike into the substrate. Thus, ion-impingement occurred under magnetic field during thin film growth. The driving force of SD is the ion-impingement towards the substrates that is induced by in-situ magnetic field. In this study, we report about the occurrence of phase separation through SD and evolution of microstructure after phase separation in spinel ferrite thin films. The surface morphology of the phase separated films show checkerboard like domain structure. The cross-sectional microstructure of the phase separated films reveal columnar type phase separation. Herein, the decomposition wave propagates in lateral direction which has been confirmed from the lateral composition modulations in spinodally decomposed films. Large magnetic anisotropy has been found in spinodally decomposed nickel ferrite (NFO) thin films. This approach approves that magnetic field is also an important thermodynamic parameter to induce phase separation by the enhancement of up-hill diffusion in thin films. This thin film deposition technique could be a more efficient alternative for the fabrication of self-organized phase separated thin films and employed in controlling of the microstructure at nanoscale level.

Keywords: Dynamic Aurora PLD, magnetic anisotropy, spinodal decomposition, spinel ferrite thin film

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Authors: Vipin Kumar, Girish S. Setlur

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Graphene has been recognized as a promising 2D material with many new properties. However, pristine graphene is gapless which hinders its direct application towards graphene-based semiconducting devices. Graphene is a zero-gapp and linearly dispersing semiconductor. Massless charge carriers (quasi-particles) in graphene obey the relativistic Dirac equation. These Dirac fermions show very unusual physical properties such as electronic, optical and transport. Graphene is analogous to two-level atomic systems and conventional semiconductors. We may expect that graphene-based systems will also exhibit phenomena that are well-known in two-level atomic systems and in conventional semiconductors. Rabi oscillation is a nonlinear optical phenomenon well-known in the context of two-level atomic systems and also in conventional semiconductors. It is the periodic exchange of energy between the system of interest and the electromagnetic field. The present work describes the phenomenon of Rabi oscillations in graphene based systems. Rabi oscillations have already been described theoretically and experimentally in the extensive literature available on this topic. To describe Rabi oscillations they use an approximation known as rotating wave approximation (RWA) well-known in studies of two-level systems. RWA is valid only near conventional resonance (small detuning)- when the frequency of the external field is nearly equal to the particle-hole excitation frequency. The Rabi frequency goes through a minimum close to conventional resonance as a function of detuning. Far from conventional resonance, the RWA becomes rather less useful and we need some other technique to describe the phenomenon of Rabi oscillation. In conventional systems, there is no second minimum - the only minimum is at conventional resonance. But in graphene we find anomalous Rabi oscillations far from conventional resonance where the Rabi frequency goes through a minimum that is much smaller than the conventional Rabi frequency. This is known as anomalous Rabi frequency and is unique to graphene systems. We have shown that this is attributable to the pseudo-spin degree of freedom in graphene systems. A new technique, which is an alternative to RWA called asymptotic RWA (ARWA), has been invoked by our group to discuss the phenomenon of Rabi oscillation. Experimentally accessible current density shows different types of threshold behaviour in frequency domain close to the anomalous Rabi frequency depending on the system chosen. For single layer graphene, the exponent at threshold is equal to 1/2 while in case of bilayer graphene, it is computed to be equal to 1. Bilayer graphene shows harmonic (anomalous) resonances absent in single layer graphene. The effect of asymmetry and trigonal warping (a weak direct inter-layer hopping in bilayer graphene) on these oscillations is also studied in graphene systems. Asymmetry has a remarkable effect only on anomalous Rabi oscillations whereas the Rabi frequency near conventional resonance is not significantly affected by the asymmetry parameter. In presence of asymmetry, these graphene systems show Rabi-like oscillations (offset oscillations) even for vanishingly small applied field strengths (less than the gap parameter). The frequency of offset oscillations may be identified with the asymmetry parameter.

Keywords: graphene, Bilayer graphene, Rabi oscillations, Dirac fermion systems

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Authors: Ahmad Zamzam

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With the development of the economy in recent years, Saudi Arabia has been maintaining high economic growth. Therefore, its energy consumption has increased dramatically. This economic growth reflected on the expansion of high-rise tower's construction. Jeddah coastal strip (cornice) has many high-rise buildings planned to start next few years. These projects required a massive amount of electricity that was not planned to be supplied by the old infrastructure. This research studies the effect of the building envelope on its thermal performance. It follows a parametric simulation methodology using Ecotect software to analyze the effect of the building envelope design on its cooling energy load for an office high-rise building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which includes building geometrical form, massing treatments, orientation and glazing type effect. The research describes an integrated passive design approach to reduce the cooling requirement for high-rise building through an improved building envelope design. The research used Ecotect to make four simulation studies; the first simulation compares the thermal performance of five high-rise buildings, presenting the basic shape of the plan. All the buildings have the same plan area and same floor height. The goal of this simulation is to find out the best shape for the thermal performance. The second simulation studies the effect of orientation on the thermal performance by rotating the same building model to find out the best and the worst angle for the building thermal performance. The third simulation studies the effect of the massing treatment on the total cooling load. It compared five models with different massing treatment, but with the same total built up area. The last simulation studied the effect of the glazing type by comparing the total cooling load of the same building using five different glass type and also studies the feasibility of using these glass types by studying the glass cost effect. The results indicate that using the circle shape as building plan could reduce the thermal cooling load by 40%. Also, using shading devices could reduce the cooling loads by 5%. The study states that using any of the massing grooving, recess or any treatment that could increase the outer exposed surface is not preferred and will decrease the building thermal performance. Also, the result shows that the best direction for glazing and openings from thermal performance viewpoint in Jeddah is the North direction while the worst direction is the East one. The best direction angle for openings - regarding the thermal performance in Jeddah- is 15 deg West and the worst is 250 deg West (110 deg East). Regarding the glass type effect, comparing to the double glass with air fill type as a reference case, the double glass with Air-Low-E will save 14% from the required amount of the thermal cooling load annually. Argon fill and triple glass will save 16% and 17% from the total thermal cooling load respectively, but for the glass cost purpose, using the Argon fill and triple glass is not feasible.

Keywords: passive cooling, reduce thermal load, Jeddah, building shape, energy

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Authors: Bernard Morais Joosa

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Kerala, the southern state of India, is known for its accomplishments in universal education and enrollments. Through this mission, the Government proposes comprehensive educational reforms including 1000 Government schools into international standards during the first phase. The idea is not only to improve the infrastructural facilities but also to reform the teaching and learning process to the present day needs by introducing ICT enabled learning and providing smart classrooms. There will be focus on creating educational programmes which are useful for differently abled students. It is also meant to reinforce the teaching–learning process by providing ample opportunities to each student to construct their own knowledge using modern technology tools. The mission will redefine the existing classroom learning process, coordinate resource mobilization efforts and develop ‘Janakeeya Vidyabhyasa Mathruka.' Special packages to support schools which are in existence for over 100 years will also be attempted. The implementation will enlist full involvement and partnership of the Parent Teacher Association. Kerala was the first state in the country to attain 100 percent literacy more than two and a half decades ago. Since then the State has not rested on its laurels. It has moved forward in leaps and bounds conquering targets that no other State could achieve. Now the government of Kerala is taking off towards new goal of comprehensive educational reforms. And it focuses on Betterment of educational surroundings, use of technology in education, renewal of learning method and 1000 schools will be uplifted as Smart Schools. Need to upgrade 1000 schools into international standards and turning classrooms from standard 9 to 12 in high schools and higher secondary into high-tech classrooms and a special unique package for the renovation of schools, which have completed 50 and 100 years. The government intends to focus on developing standards first to eighth standards in tune with the times by engaging the teachers, parents, and alumni to recapture the relevance of public schools. English learning will be encouraged in schools. The idea is not only to improve the infrastructure facilities but also reform the curriculum to the present day needs. Keeping in view the differently-abled friendly approach of the government, there will be focus on creating educational program which is useful for differently abled students. The idea is to address the infrastructural deficiencies being faced by such schools. There will be special emphasis on ensuring internet connectivity to promote IT-friendly existence. A task-force and a full-time chief executive will be in charge of managing the day to day affairs of the mission. Secretary of the Public Education Department will serve as the Mission Secretary and the Chairperson of Task Force. As the Task Force will stress on teacher training and the use of information technology, experts in the field, as well as Directors of SCERT, IT School, SSA, and RMSA, will also be a part of it.

Keywords: educational standards, methodology, pedagogy, technology

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Authors: Delphine Mukaneza, Lin Qiao, Wang Pengxin, Li Yan, Chen Yingyi

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Human activities on land use make the land-cover gradually change or transit. In this study, we examined the use of Landsat TM data to detect the land use change of Kigali between 1987 and 2009 using remote sensing techniques and analysis of data using ENVI and ArcGIS, a GIS software. Six different categories of land use were distinguished: bare soil, built up land, wetland, water, vegetation, and others. With remote sensing techniques, we analyzed land use data in 1987, 1999 and 2009, changed areas were found and a dynamic situation of land use in Kigali city was found during the 22 years studied. According to relevant Landsat data, the research focused on land use change in accordance with the role of remote sensing in the process of urbanization. The result of the work has shown the rapid increase of built up land between 1987 and 1999 and a big decrease of vegetation caused by the rebuild of the city after the 1994 genocide, while in the period of 1999 to 2009 there was a reduction in built up land and vegetation, after the authority of Kigali city established, a Master Plan where all constructions which were not in the range of the master Plan were destroyed. Rwanda's capital, Kigali City, through the expansion of the urban area, it is increasing the internal employment rate and attracts business investors and the service sector to improve their economy, which will increase the population growth and provide a better life. The overall planning of the city of Kigali considers the environment, land use, infrastructure, cultural and socio-economic factors, the economic development and population forecast, urban development, and constraints specification. To achieve the above purpose, the Government has set for the overall planning of city Kigali, different stages of the detailed description of the design, strategy and action plan that would guide Kigali planners and members of the public in the future to have more detailed regional plans and practical measures. Thus, land use change is significantly the performance of Kigali active human area, which plays an important role for the country to take certain decisions. Another area to take into account is the natural situation of Kigali city. Agriculture in the region does not occupy a dominant position, and with the population growth and socio-economic development, the construction area will gradually rise and speed up the process of urbanization. Thus, as a developing country, Rwanda's population continues to grow and there is low rate of utilization of land, where urbanization remains low. As mentioned earlier, the 1994 genocide massacres, population growth and urbanization processes, have been the factors driving the dramatic changes in land use. The focus on further research would be on analysis of Rwanda’s natural resources, social and economic factors that could be, the driving force of land use change.

Keywords: land use change, urbanization, Kigali City, Landsat

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Authors: Ghada Al-Kafaji, Mohamed Sabry

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Mitochondria are the site of cellular respiration and produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation. They are the major source of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and are also direct target to ROS attack. Oxidative stress and ROS-mediated disruptions of mitochondrial function are major components involved in the pathogenicity of diabetic complications. In this work, the changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number, biogenesis, gene expression of mtDNA-encoded subunits of electron transport chain (ETC) complexes, and mitochondrial function in response to hyperglycemia-induced ROS and the effect of direct inhibition of ROS on mitochondria were investigated in an in vitro model of diabetic nephropathy using human renal mesangial cells. The cells were exposed to normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions in the presence and absence of Mn(III)tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) porphyrin chloride (MnTBAP) or catalase for 1, 4 and 7 days. ROS production was assessed by the confocal microscope and flow cytometry. mtDNA copy number and PGC-1a, NRF-1, and TFAM, as well as ND2, CYTB, COI, and ATPase 6 transcripts, were all analyzed by real-time PCR. PGC-1a, NRF-1, and TFAM, as well as ND2, CYTB, COI, and ATPase 6 proteins, were analyzed by Western blotting. Mitochondrial function was determined by assessing mitochondrial membrane potential and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. Hyperglycemia-induced a significant increase in the production of mitochondrial superoxide and hydrogen peroxide at day 1 (P < 0.05), and this increase remained significantly elevated at days 4 and 7 (P < 0.05). The copy number of mtDNA and expression of PGC-1a, NRF-1, and TFAM as well as ND2, CYTB, CO1 and ATPase 6 increased after one day of hyperglycemia (P < 0.05), with a significant reduction in all those parameters at 4 and 7 days (P < 0.05). The mitochondrial membrane potential decreased progressively at 1 to 7 days of hyperglycemia with the parallel progressive reduction in ATP levels over time (P < 0.05). MnTBAP and catalase treatment of cells cultured under hyperglycemic conditions attenuated ROS production reversed renal mitochondrial oxidative stress and improved mtDNA, mitochondrial biogenesis, and function. These results show that hyperglycemia-induced ROS caused an early increase in mtDNA copy number, mitochondrial biogenesis and mtDNA-encoded gene expression of the ETC subunits in human mesangial cells as a compensatory response to the decline in mitochondrial function, which precede the mtDNA defect and mitochondrial dysfunction with a progressive oxidative response. Protection from ROS-mediated damage to renal mitochondria induced by hyperglycemia may be a novel therapeutic approach for the prevention/treatment of DN.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, hyperglycemia, reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress, mtDNA, mitochondrial dysfunction, manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase

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Authors: Steven Sam, Ximena Schmidt, Hugh Dickinson, Jens Jensen

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The goal of this study is to explore the potential of data science and citizen science approaches to develop an interactive, digital, open infrastructure that pulls together African indigenous agriculture and food systems data from multiple sources, making it accessible and reusable for policy, research and practice in modern food production efforts. The World Bank has recognised that African Indigenous Knowledge (AIK) is innovative and unique among local and subsistent smallholder farmers, and it is central to sustainable food production and enhancing biodiversity and natural resources in many poor, rural societies. AIK refers to tacit knowledge held in different languages, cultures and skills passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. AIK is a key driver of food production, preservation, and consumption for more than 80% of citizens in Africa, and can therefore assist modern efforts of reducing food insecurity and hunger. However, the documentation and dissemination of AIK remain a big challenge confronting librarians and other information professionals in Africa, and there is a risk of losing AIK owing to urban migration, modernisation, land grabbing, and the emergence of relatively small-scale commercial farming businesses. There is also a clear disconnect between the AIK and scientific knowledge and modern efforts for sustainable food production. The study combines data science and citizen science approaches through active community participation to generate and share AIK for facilitating learning and promoting knowledge that is relevant for policy intervention and sustainable food production through a curated digital platform based on FAIR principles. The study adopts key informant interviews along with participatory photo and video elicitation approach, where farmers are given digital devices (mobile phones) to record and document their every practice involving agriculture, food production, processing, and consumption by traditional means. Data collected are analysed using the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s proven methodology of citizen science (Zooniverse) and data science. Outcomes are presented in participatory stakeholder workshops, where the researchers outline plans for creating the platform and developing the knowledge sharing standard framework and copyrights agreement. Overall, the study shows that learning from AIK, by investigating what local communities know and have, can improve understanding of food production and consumption, in particular in times of stress or shocks affecting the food systems and communities. Thus, the platform can be useful for local populations, research, and policy-makers, and it could lead to transformative innovation in the food system, creating a fundamental shift in the way the North supports sustainable, modern food production efforts in Africa.

Keywords: Africa indigenous agriculture knowledge, citizen science, data science, sustainable food production, traditional food system

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Authors: Ahmad Almajid

Abstract:

The idea of unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity is still a dream for many researchers, as physics has only two paths, no more. Einstein's path, which is mainly based on particle mechanics, and the path of Paul Dirac and others, which is based on wave mechanics, the incompatibility of the two approaches is due to the radical difference in the initial assumptions and the mathematical nature of each approach. Logical thinking in modern physics leads us to two problems: - In quantum mechanics, despite its success, the problem of measurement and the problem of wave function interpretation is still obscure. - In special relativity, despite the success of the equivalence of rest-mass and energy, but at the speed of light, the fact that the energy becomes infinite is contrary to logic because the speed of light is not infinite, and the mass of the particle is not infinite too. These contradictions arise from the overlap of relativistic and quantum mechanics in the neighborhood of the speed of light, and in order to solve these problems, one must understand well how to move from relativistic mechanics to quantum mechanics, or rather, to unify them in a way different from Dirac's method, in order to go along with God or Nature, since, as Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice." From De Broglie's hypothesis about wave-particle duality, Léon Brillouin's definition of the new proper time was deduced, and thus the quantum Lorentz factor was obtained. Finally, using the Euler-Lagrange equation, we come up with new equations in quantum mechanics. In this paper, the two problems in modern physics mentioned above are solved; it can be said that this new approach to quantum mechanics will enable us to unify it with general relativity quite simply. If the experiments prove the validity of the results of this research, we will be able in the future to transport the matter at speed close to the speed of light. Finally, this research yielded three important results: 1- Lorentz quantum factor. 2- Planck energy is a limited case of Einstein energy. 3- Real quantum mechanics, in which new equations for quantum mechanics match and exceed Dirac's equations, these equations have been reached in a completely different way from Dirac's method. These equations show that quantum mechanics is a limited case of relativistic mechanics. At the Solvay Conference in 1927, the debate about quantum mechanics between Bohr, Einstein, and others reached its climax, while Bohr suggested that if particles are not observed, they are in a probabilistic state, then Einstein said his famous claim ("God does not play dice"). Thus, Einstein was right, especially when he didn't accept the principle of indeterminacy in quantum theory, although experiments support quantum mechanics. However, the results of our research indicate that God really does not play dice; when the electron disappears, it turns into amicable particles or an elastic medium, according to the above obvious equations. Likewise, Bohr was right also, when he indicated that there must be a science like quantum mechanics to monitor and study the motion of subatomic particles, but the picture in front of him was blurry and not clear, so he resorted to the probabilistic interpretation.

Keywords: lorentz quantum factor, new, planck’s energy as a limiting case of einstein’s energy, real quantum mechanics, new equations for quantum mechanics

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Hilal Köse, Şeyma Dombaycıoğlu, Ali Osman Aydın, Hatem Akbulut

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Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become promising power sources for a wide range of applications, such as mobile communication devices, portable electronic devices and electrical/hybrid vehicles due to their long cycle life, high voltage and high energy density. Graphite, as anode material, has been widely used owing to its extraordinary electronic transport properties, large surface area, and high electrocatalytic activities although its limited specific capacity (372 mAh g-1) cannot fulfil the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries with higher energy density. To settle this problem, many studies have been taken into consideration to investigate new electrode materials and metal oxide/graphene composites are selected as a kind of promising material for lithium ion batteries as their specific capacities are much higher than graphene. Among them, SnO₂, an n-type and wide band gap semiconductor, has attracted much attention as an anode material for the new-generation lithium-ion batteries with its high theoretical capacity (790 mAh g-1). However, it suffers from large volume changes and agglomeration associated with the Li-ion insertion and extraction processes, which brings about failure and loss of electrical contact of the anode. In addition, there is also a huge irreversible capacity during the first cycle due to the formation of amorphous Li₂O matrix. To obtain high capacity anode materials, we studied on the synthesis and characterization of SnO₂-Graphene nanocomposites and investigated the capacity of this free-standing anode material in this work. For this aim, firstly, graphite oxide was obtained from graphite powder using the method described by Hummers method. To prepare the nanocomposites as free-standing anode, graphite oxide particles were ultrasonicated in distilled water with SnO2 nanoparticles (1:1, w/w). After vacuum filtration, the GO-SnO₂ paper was peeled off from the PVDF membrane to obtain a flexible, free-standing GO paper. Then, GO structure was reduced in hydrazine solution. Produced SnO2- graphene nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. CR2016 cells were assembled in a glove box (MBraun-Labstar). The cells were charged and discharged at 25°C between fixed voltage limits (2.5 V to 0.2 V) at a constant current density on a BST8-MA MTI model battery tester with 0.2C charge-discharge rate. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was performed at the scan rate of 0.1 mVs-1 and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were carried out using Gamry Instrument applying a sine wave of 10 mV amplitude over a frequency range of 1000 kHz-0.01 Hz.

Keywords: SnO₂-graphene, nanocomposite, anode, Li-ion battery

Procedia PDF Downloads 202