Search results for: structural modeling

Authors: T. Srinivasa Krishna, K. Narendra, K. Thomas, S. S. Raju, B. Munibhadrayya

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The densities, speeds of sound and refractive index of the binary mixture of ionic liquid (IL) 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([BMIM][Imide]) and Pyrrolidin-2-one(PY) was measured at atmospheric pressure, and over the range of temperatures T= (298.15 -323.15)K. The excess molar volume, excess isentropic compressibility, excess speed of sound, partial molar volumes, and isentropic partial molar compressibility were calculated from the values of the experimental density and speed of sound. From the experimental data excess thermal expansion coefficients and isothermal pressure coefficient of excess molar enthalpy at 298.15K were calculated. The results were analyzed and were discussed from the point of view of structural changes. Excess properties were calculated and correlated by the Redlich–Kister and the Legendre polynomial equation and binary coefficients were obtained. Values of excess partial volumes at infinite dilution for the binary system at different temperatures were calculated from the adjustable parameters obtained from Legendre polynomial and Redlich–Kister smoothing equation. Deviation in refractive indices ΔnD and deviation in molar refraction, ΔRm were calculated from the measured refractive index values. Equations of state and several mixing rules were used to predict refractive indices of the binary mixtures and compared with the experimental values by means of the standard deviation and found to be in excellent agreement. By using Prigogine–Flory–Patterson (PFP) theory, the above thermodynamic mixing functions have been calculated and the results obtained from this theory were compared with experimental results.

Keywords: density, refractive index, speeds of sound, Prigogine-Flory-Patterson theory

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Authors: Hozaifa Zaki, Ghada Soliman

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In this paper, we introduced an approach for Automated Dotted Arabic Expiration Date Extraction using Optimized Convolutional Autoencoder (ARABEX) with bidirectional LSTM. This approach is used for translating the Arabic dot-matrix expiration dates into their corresponding filled-in dates. A custom lightweight Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network (CRNN) model is then employed to extract the expiration dates. Due to the lack of available dataset images for the Arabic dot-matrix expiration date, we generated synthetic images by creating an Arabic dot-matrix True Type Font (TTF) matrix to address this limitation. Our model was trained on a realistic synthetic dataset of 3287 images, covering the period from 2019 to 2027, represented in the format of yyyy/mm/dd. We then trained our custom CRNN model using the generated synthetic images to assess the performance of our model (ARABEX) by extracting expiration dates from the translated images. Our proposed approach achieved an accuracy of 99.4% on the test dataset of 658 images, while also achieving a Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) of 0.46 for image translation on our dataset. The ARABEX approach demonstrates its ability to be applied to various downstream learning tasks, including image translation and reconstruction. Moreover, this pipeline (ARABEX+CRNN) can be seamlessly integrated into automated sorting systems to extract expiry dates and sort products accordingly during the manufacturing stage. By eliminating the need for manual entry of expiration dates, which can be time-consuming and inefficient for merchants, our approach offers significant results in terms of efficiency and accuracy for Arabic dot-matrix expiration date recognition.

Keywords: computer vision, deep learning, image processing, character recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Said Moqeem Sadat, Saito Takahiro, Inuzuka Norikazu, Sugiyama Ikuo

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Kabul city is the capital of Afghanistan with a population of about 4.0 million in 2009 and 6.5 million in 2025. It is geographically located in a narrow plain valley along the Kabul River and is surrounded by high mountains. Due to its sharp geological condition, the city has been suffering from floods caused by storm water and snow melting water in the rainy season. Meanwhile, potable water resources are becoming a critical issue as the underground water table is decreasing falling rapidly due to domestic usage, industrial and agricultural activities usage especially in the dry season. This paper focuses on flood water management in Kabul including suburban agricultural area considering not only for flood protection but also: 1. To reserve the quality underground water for the future population growth. 2. To irrigate farming area in dry season using storm water ponds in rainy season. 3. To discharge city contaminated flood water to the downstream safely using existing channels/new pipes. Cost and benefit is considered in this study to find out a suitable flood protection method both in rural area and city center from a view point of 1 to 3 mentioned above. In this analysis, cost mainly consists of lost opportunity to develop lands due to flood ponds in addition to construction and maintenance one including connecting channels for water collecting/discharging. Benefit mainly consists of damage reduction of flood loss due to counter measures (this is corresponding cost) in addition to the contribution to agricultural crops. As far as reservation of the ground water for the future city growth is concerned, future demand and supply are compared in case that the pumping amount is limited by this irrigation system.

Keywords: cost-benefit, hydrological modeling, water management, water quality

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Authors: Eric York, James Tadio, Silas Owusu Antwi

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Laundry wastewater contains a diverse range of chemical pollutants that can have detrimental effects on human health and the environment. In this study, simulation studies by Spyder Python software v 3.2 to assess the efficacy of biochar in removing PO₄³⁻ from wastewater were conducted. Through modeling and simulation, the mechanisms involved in the adsorption process of phosphate by biochar were studied by altering variables which is specific to the phosphate from common laundry phosphate detergents, such as the aqueous solubility, initial concentration, and temperature using the Dudinin Approach (DA). Results showed that the concentration equilibrate at near the highest concentrations for Sugar beet-120 mgL⁻¹, Tailing-85 mgL⁻¹, CaO- rich-50 mgL⁻¹, Eggshell and rice straw-48 mgL⁻¹, Undaria Pinnatifida Roots-190 mgL⁻¹, Ca-Alginate Granular Beads -240 mgL⁻¹, Laminaria Japonica Powder -900 mgL⁻¹, Pinesaw dust-57 mgL⁻¹, Ricehull-190 mgL⁻¹, sesame straw- 470 mgL⁻¹, Sugar Bagasse-380 mgL⁻¹, Miscanthus Giganteus-240 mgL⁻¹, Wood Bc-130 mgL⁻¹, Pine-25 mgL⁻¹, Sawdust-6.8 mgL⁻¹, Sewage Sludge-, Rice husk-12 mgL⁻¹, Corncob-117 mgL⁻¹, Maize straw- 1800 mgL⁻¹ while Peanut -Eucalyptus polybractea-, Crawfish equilibrated at near concentration. CO₂ activated Thalia, sewage sludge biochar, Broussonetia Papyrifera Leaves equilibrated just at the lower concentration. Only Soyer bean Stover exhibited a sharp rise and fall peak in mid-concentration at 2 mgL⁻¹ volume. The modelling results were consistent with experimental findings from the literature, ensuring the accuracy, repeatability, and reliability of the simulation study. The simulation study provided insights into adsorption for PO₄³⁻ from wastewater by biochar using concentration per volume that can be adsorbed ideally under the given conditions. Studies showed that applying the principle experimentally in real wastewater with all its complexity is warranted and not far-fetched.

Keywords: simulation studies, phosphate removal, biochar, adsorption, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Nadia Allouache

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Solar radiation is by far the largest and the most world’s abundant, clean and permanent energy source. The amount of solar radiation intercepted by the Earth is much higher than annual global energy use. The energy available from the sun is greater than about 5200 times the global world’s need in 2006. In recent years, many promising technologies have been developed to harness the sun's energy. These technologies help in environmental protection, economizing energy, and sustainable development, which are the major issues of the world in the 21st century. One of these important technologies is the solar cooling systems that make use of either absorption or adsorption technologies. The solar adsorption cooling systems are good alternative since they operate with environmentally benign refrigerants that are natural, free from CFCs, and therefore they have a zero ozone depleting potential (ODP). A numerical analysis of thermal and solar performances of an adsorption solar refrigerating system using different adsorbent/adsorbate pairs such as activated carbon AC35 and activated carbon BPL/Ammoniac; is undertaken in this study. The modeling of the adsorption cooling machine requires the resolution of the equation describing the energy and mass transfer in the tubular adsorber that is the most important component of the machine. The Wilson and Dubinin- Astakhov models of the solid-adsorbat equilibrium are used to calculate the adsorbed quantity. The porous medium is contained in the annular space and the adsorber is heated by solar energy. Effect of key parameters on the adsorbed quantity and on the thermal and solar performances are analysed and discussed. The performances of the system that depends on the incident global irradiance during a whole day depends on the weather conditions: the condenser temperature and the evaporator temperature. The AC35/methanol pair is the best pair comparing to the BPL/Ammoniac in terms of system performances.

Keywords: activated carbon-methanol pair, activated carbon-ammoniac pair, adsorption, performance coefficients, numerical analysis, solar cooling system

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Authors: Jae-Ho Jang, Jung-Soo Kim, Byung-Jun Kim, Dae-Geun Nam, Uoo-Chang Jung, Yoon-Suk Choi

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Low alloy steels are widely used for pressure vessels, spent fuel storage, and steam generators required to withstand the internal pressure and prevent unexpected failure in nuclear power plants, which these may suffer embrittlement by high levels of radiation and heat for a long period. Therefore, it is important to improve mechanical properties of low alloy steels for the integrity of structure materials at an early stage of fabrication. Recently, it showed that a double austenitizing and tempering (DTA) process resulted in a significant improvement of strength and toughness by refinement of prior austenite grains. In this study, it was investigated that the mechanism of improving mechanical properties according to the change of microstructure by the second fully austenitizing temperature of the DAT process for low alloy steel required the structural integrity. Compared to conventional single austenitizing and tempering (SAT) process, the tensile elongation properties have improved about 5%, DBTTs have obtained result in reduction of about -65℃, and grain size has decreased by about 50% in the DAT process conditions. Grain refinement has crack propagation interference effect due to an increase of the grain boundaries and amount of energy absorption at low temperatures. The higher first austenitizing temperature in the DAT process, the more increase the spheroidized carbides and strengthening the effect of fine precipitates in the ferrite grain. The area ratio of the dimple in the transition area has increased by proportion to the effect of spheroidized carbides. This may the primary mechanisms that can improve low-temperature toughness and elongation while maintaining a similar hardness and strength.

Keywords: double austenitizing, Ductile Brittle transition temperature, grain refinement, heat treatment, low alloy steel, low-temperature toughness

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Authors: Yaxin Bi, Peter Nicholl

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The rapid advancement of Information and communication technologies (ICT) is extremely influencing every aspect of Higher Education. It has transformed traditional teaching, learning, assessment and feedback into a new era of Digital Education. This also introduces many challenges in capturing and understanding student engagement with their studies in Higher Education. The School of Computing at Ulster University has developed a Feedback And Notification (FAN) Online tool that has been used to send students links to personalized feedback on their submitted assessments and record students’ frequency of review of the shared feedback as well as the speed of collection. The feedback that the students initially receive is via a personal email directing them through to the feedback via a URL link that maps to the feedback created by the academic marker. This feedback is typically a Word or PDF report including comments and the final mark for the work submitted approximately three weeks before. When the student clicks on the link, the student’s personal feedback is viewable in the browser and they can view the contents. The FAN tool provides the academic marker with a report that includes when and how often a student viewed the feedback via the link. This paper presents an investigation into student engagement through analyzing the interaction timestamps and frequency of review by the student. We have proposed an approach to modeling interaction timestamps and use sentiment classification techniques to analyze the data collected over the last five years for a set of modules. The data studied is across a number of final years and second-year modules in the School of Computing. The paper presents the details of quantitative analysis methods and describes further their interactions with the feedback overtime on each module studied. We have projected the students into different groups of engagement based on sentiment analysis results and then provide a suggestion of early targeted intervention for the set of students seen to be under-performing via our proposed model.

Keywords: feedback, engagement, interaction modelling, sentiment analysis

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Authors: Zahra Dehghani, Hoda Dehghani, Elham Zarenezhad

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1,2,3-Triazole derivatives are important compounds in medicinal chemistry owing to their wide applications in drug discovery. They can readily associate with biologically targets through the hydrogen bonding and dipole interactions. The 1,2,3-triazole core is a key structural motif in many bioactive compounds, exhibiting a broad spectrum of biological activities, such as antiviral, anticancer, anti-HIV, antibiotic, antibacterial, and antimicrobial. Additionally, they have found significant industrial applications as dyes, agrochemicals, corrosion inhibitors, photo stabilizers, and photographic materials. we disclose the synthesis and characterization of 1-azido-3-(aryl-2-yloxy)propan-2-ol drivatives. The chemistry works well with various ß-azido alcohols involving aryloxy, alkoxy and alkyl residues, and also tolerates a wide spectrum of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing functional groups in both alkyne and azide molecules. Most of ß-azidoalcohols used in these experiments were pre-synthesized by the regioselective ring opening reaction of corresponded epoxides with sodium azide, whereas the majority of terminal alkynes were prepared via SN2-type reaction of propargyl bromide and corresponded nucleophiles. To evaluate the bioactivity of title compounds, the in vitro antifungal activity of all compound was investigated against several pathogenic fungi including Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Aspergillus niger, and Trichophyton rubrum , clotrimazole and fluconazole was used as standard antifungal drugs, also To understand the antibacterial activity of synthesized compounds, they were in vitro screened against E. coli and S. aureus as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. The in vitro tests have shown the promising antifungal but marginal antibacterial activity against tested fungi and bacteria.

Keywords: biological activities, antibacterial, antifungal, 1, 2, 3-Triazole

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Authors: Daphne Fietz

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This paper builds on a reflection on an autobiographical experience of uncanniness during fieldwork in the white Afrikaner settlement Orania in South Africa. Drawing on Kristeva’s theory of abjection to establish a theory of Whiteness which is based on boundary threats, it is argued that the uncanny experience as the emergence of the abject points to a moment of crisis of the author’s Whiteness. The emanating abject directs the author to her closeness or convergence with Orania's inhabitants, that is a reciprocity based on mutual Whiteness. The experienced confluence appeals to the author’s White complicity to racism. With recourse to Butler’s theory of subjectivation, the abject, White complicity, inhabits both the outside of a discourse on racism, and of the 'self', as 'I' establish myself in relation to discourse. In this view, the qualities of the experienced abject are linked to the abject of discourse on racism, or, in other words, its frames of intelligibility. It then becomes clear, that discourse on (overt) racism functions as a necessary counter-image through which White morality is established instead of questioned, because here, by White reasoning, the abject of complicity to racism is successfully repressed, curbed, as completely impossible in the binary construction. Hence, such discourse endangers a preservation of racism in its pre-discursive and structural forms as long as its critique does not encompass its own location and performance in discourse. Discourse on overt racism is indispensable to White ignorance as it covers underlying racism and pre-empts further critique. This understanding directs us towards a form of critique which does necessitate self-reflection, uncertainty, and vigilance, which will be referred to as a discourse of relationality. Such a discourse diverges from the presumption of a detached author as a point of reference, and instead departs from attachment, dependence, mutuality and embraces the visceral as a resource of knowledge of relationality. A discourse of relationality points to another possibility of White engagement with Whiteness and racism and further promotes a conception of responsibility, which allows for and highlights dispossession and relationality in contrast to single agency and guilt.

Keywords: abjection, discourse, relationality, the visceral, whiteness

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Authors: S. Koul, Joshua Adedamola

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Currently, the global concerning fact about electromagnetic pollution (EMP) is that it not only adversely affects human health but rather projects the malfunctioning of sensitive equipment both locally and at a global level. The market offers many incumbent technologies to solve the issues, but still, a processable sustainable material solution with acceptable limits for GHG emission is still at an exploratory stage. The present work offers a sustainable material solution with a wide range of processability in terms of a polymeric resin matrix and shielding operational efficiency across the electromagnetic spectrum, covering both ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiations. The present work offers an in-situ synthesized conducting polyaniline (PANI) in the presence of the hybrid dual dopant system with tuned conductivity and high shielding efficiency between 89 to 92 decibels, depending upon the EMI frequency range. The conductive polymer synthesized in the presence of a hybrid dual dopant system via the in-situ emulsion polymerization method offers a higher surface resistance of 1.0 ohms/cm with thermal stability up to 2450C in their powder form. This conductive polymer with a hybrid dual dopant system was used as a filler material with different polymeric thermoplastic resin systems for the preparation of conductive composites. Intrinsically Conductive polymeric (ICP) composites based on hybrid dual dopant systems were prepared using melt blending, extrusion, and finally by, compression molding processing techniques. ICP composites with hybrid dual dopant systems offered good mechanical, thermal, structural, weathering, and stable surface resistivity properties over a period of time. The preliminary shielding behavior for ICP composites between frequency levels of 10 GHz to 24GHZ offered a shielding efficiency of more than 90 dB.

Keywords: ICP, dopant, EMI, shielding

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Authors: Martin Botz, Michael Kraus, Geralt Siebert

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The use of laminated glass gains increasing importance in structural engineering. For safety reasons, at least two glass panes are laminated together with a polymeric interlayer. In case of breakage of one or all of the glass panes, the glass fragments are still connected to the interlayer due to adhesion forces and a certain residual load-bearing capacity is left in the system. Polymer interlayers used in the laminated glass show a viscoelastic material behavior, e.g. stresses and strains in the interlayer are dependent on load duration and temperature. In the intact stage only small strains appear in the interlayer, thus the material can be described in a linear way. In the broken stage, large strains can appear and a non-linear viscoelasticity material theory is necessary. Relaxation tests on two different types of polymeric interlayers are performed at different temperatures and strain amplitudes to determine the border to the non-linear material regime. Based on the small-scale specimen results further tests on broken laminated glass panes are conducted. So-called ‘through-crack-bending’ (TCB) tests are performed, in which the laminated glass has a defined crack pattern. The test set-up is realized in a way that one glass layer is still able to transfer compressive stresses but tensile stresses have to be transferred by the interlayer solely. The TCB-tests are also conducted under different temperatures but constant force (creep test). Aims of these experiments are to elaborate if the results of small-scale tests on the interlayer are transferable to a laminated glass system in the broken stage. In this study, limits of the applicability of linear-viscoelasticity are established in the context of two commercially available polymer-interlayers. Furthermore, it is shown that the results of small-scale tests agree to a certain degree to the results of the TCB large-scale experiments. In a future step, the results can be used to develop material models for the post breakage performance of laminated glass.

Keywords: glass breakage, laminated glass, relaxation test, viscoelasticity

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Authors: Aayush Anant, Roshni Thendiyath

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Aridity impacts on agriculture, as well as ecological, human health, and economic activities. In the present study, the effect of climate change on aridity index has been analysed in South Bihar for the past 30 year period by five types of aridity indices as Lang AI, De-Martonne AI, Erinc AI, Pinna combinative AI and UNEP AI. For the study of aridity index, the analysis of rainfall and temperature is significant. Rainfall was analysed for 30 year period from data of 23 gridded stations in for the period 1991-2020. The results show that rainfall pattern was decreasing with respect to previous decades for majority of stations. Trend of maximum, minimum and mean annual temperature has been observed, which shows increasing trend. Structural breakpoint was observed for mean annual temperature data series in year 2004. In period 1991-2004 mean annual temperature was 25.25 ºC, and in period 2005-2020, mean annual temperature was 25.7 ºC. Average aridity index has been calculated by all the above mentioned methods for whole 30 period. Lang AI shows that eastern part of study area is Humid type, and rest all is semi arid. De-Martonne AI also reveals that east part is humid, but rest of the study area is moist sub humid. According to Erinc AI and Pinna, combinative AI shows that whole south Bihar is dry sub humid and semi dry, respectively. UNEP AI shows most of the part as sub humid, and very small part in west is semi arid, while small part of east is humid. Temporal distribution of all the aridity indices shows a decreasing trend. This indicates a decrease in the humid areas in south Bihar for the selected time period.

Keywords: drought, aridity index, climate change, rainfall, temperature

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Authors: Justin Nwabanne, Sam Omenyi, Jeremiah Chukwuneke

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This work presents structural nonlinear static analysis of a horizontal taut cable using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method. The FEA was performed analytically to determine the tensions at each nodal point and subsequently, performed based on finite element displacement method computationally using the FEA software, ANSYS 14.0 to determine their behaviour under the influence of aerodynamic forces imposed on the cable. The convergence procedure is adapted into the method to prevent excessive displacements through the computations. The work compared the two FEA cases by examining the effectiveness of the analytical model in describing the response with few degrees of freedom and the ability of the nonlinear finite element procedure adopted to capture the complex features of cable dynamics with reference to the aerodynamic external influence. Results obtained from this work explain that the analytic FEM results without aerodynamic influence show a parabolic response with an optimum deflection at nodal points 12 and 13 with the cable weight at nodes 12 and 13 having the value -1.002936N while for the cable tension shows an optimum deflection value for nodes 12 and 13 at -189396.97kg/km. The maximum displacement for the cable system was obtained from ANSYS 14.0 as 4483.83 mm for X, Y and Z components of displacements at node number 2 while the maximum displacement obtained is 4218.75mm for all the directional components. The dynamic behaviour of a taut cable investigated has application in a typical power transmission line. Aerodynamic influences on the cables were considered using FEA approach by employing ANSYS 14.0 showed a complex modal behaviour as expected.

Keywords: aerodynamics, cable tension and weight, finite element analysis, nodal, non-linear model, optimum deflection, suspended cable, transmission line

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Authors: K. S. Sivakumaran, T. Thanga, B. Halabieh

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The end panels of a large rectangular industrial duct, which experience significant internal pressures, also experience considerable transverse shear due to transfer of gravity loads to the supports. The current design practice of such thin plate panels for shear load is based on methods used for the design of plate girder webs. The structural arrangements, the loadings and the resulting behavior associated with the industrial duct end panels are, however, significantly different than those of the web of a plate girder. The large aspect ratio of the end panels gives rise to multiple bands of tension fields, whereas the plate girder web design is based on one tension field. In addition to shear, the industrial end panels are subjected to internal pressure which in turn produces significant membrane action. This paper reports a study which was undertaken to review the current industrial analysis and design methods and to propose a comprehensive method of designing industrial duct end panels for shear resistance. In this investigation, a nonlinear finite element model was developed to simulate the behavior of industrial duct end panel subjected to transverse shear and internal pressures. The model considered the geometric imperfections and constitutive relations for steels. Six scale independent dimensionless parameters that govern the behavior of such end panel were identified and were then used in an extensive parametric study. It was concluded that the plate slenderness dominates the shear strength of stockier end panels, and whereas, the aspect ratio and plate slenderness influence the shear strength of slender end panels. Based on these studies, this paper proposes design aids for estimating the shear strength of rectangular duct end panels.

Keywords: thin plate, transverse shear, tension field, finite element analysis, parametric study, design

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Authors: Koustav Pal, Indranil Das

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In recent times, perovskite and double perovskite (DP) systems attracts lot of interest as they provide a rich material platform for studying emergent functionalities like near-room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) insulators, exchange bias (EB), magnetocaloric effects, colossal magnetoresistance, anisotropy, etc. These interesting phenomena emerge because of complex couplings between spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom in these systems. Various magnetic phenomena such as exchange bias, spin glass, memory effect, colossal magneto-resistance, etc. can be modified and controlled through antisite (B-site) disorder or controlling oxygen concentration of the material. By controlling oxygen concentration in SrFe0.5Co0.5O3 – δ (SFCO) (δ ∼ 0.3), we achieve intrinsic exchange bias effect with a large exchange bias field (∼1.482 Tesla) and giant coercive field (∼1.454 Tesla). Now we modified the B-site by introducing 10% iridium in the system. This modification give rise to the exchange bias field as high as 1.865 tesla and coercive field 1.863 tesla. Our work aims to investigate the effect of oxygen deficiency and B-site effect on exchange bias in oxide materials for potential technological applications. Structural characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to determine crystal structure and particle size. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to identify valence states of the ions. Magnetic analysis revealed that oxygen deficiency resulted in a large exchange bias due to a significant number of ionic mixtures. Iridium doping was found to break interaction paths, resulting in various antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic surfaces that enhance exchange bias.

Keywords: coercive field, disorder, exchange bias, spin glass

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Authors: Abdul Ghani Khan

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This paper focuses on the Buddhist rock carvings in the Diamer-Basha reservoir area, Gilgit-Baltistan, which is perhaps the largest rock art province of the world. The study region has thousands of rock carvings, particularly of the stupa carvings, engraved by artists, devotees or pilgrims, merchants have left their marks in the landscape or for the propagation of Buddhism. The Pak-German Archaeological Mission prepared, documented, and published the extensive catalogues of these carvings. Though, to date, very little systematic or statistically driven analysis was undertaken for in-depth understandings of the Buddhist rock carving tradition of the study region. This paper had made an attempt to examine stupa carvings and their constituent parts from the five selected sites, namely Oshibat, Shing Nala, Gichi Nala, Dadam Das, and Chilas Bridge. The statistical analyses and classification of the stupa carvings and their chronological contexts were carried out with the help of modern scientific tools such as STATA, FileMaker Pro, and MapSource softwares. The study had found that the tradition of stupa carvings on the surfaces of the rocks at the five selected sites continued for around 900 years, from the 1st century BCE to 8th century CE. There is a variation within the chronological settings of each of selected sites, possibly impacted by their utilization within particular landscapes, such as political (for example, change in political administrations or warfare) landscapes and geographical (for example, shifting of routes). The longer existence of the stupa carvings' tradition at these specific locations also indicates their central position on the trade and communication routes, and these were possibly also linked with religious ideologies within their particular times. The analyses of the different architectural elements of stupa carvings in the study area show that this tradition had structural similarities and differences in temporal and spatial contexts.

Keywords: rock carvings, stupa, stupa carvings, Buddhism, Pak-German archaeological mission

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Authors: Nonde Lushinga, Jiang Xin, Danstan Chiponde, Lawrence P. Mutale

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In this paper, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) was used to determine the bonding condition of a newly constructed semi-rigid base pavement. Using Evercal back-calculation computer programme, it was possible to quickly and accurately determine the structural condition of the pavement system of FWD test data. The bonding condition of the pavement layers was determined from calculated shear stresses and strains (relative horizontal displacements) on the interface of pavement layers from BISAR 3.0 pavement computer programmes. Thus, by using non-linear layered elastic theory, a pavement structure is analysed in the same way as other civil engineering structures. From non-destructive FWD testing, the required bonding condition of pavement layers was quantified from soundly based principles of Goodman’s constitutive models shown in equation 2, thereby producing the shear reaction modulus (Ks) which gives an indication of bonding state of pavement layers. Furthermore, a Tack coat failure Ratio (TFR) which has long being used in the USA in pavement evaluation was also used in the study in order to give validity to the study. According to research [39], the interface between two asphalt layers is determined by use of Tack Coat failure Ratio (TFR) which is the ratio of the stiffness of top layer asphalt layers over the stiffness of the second asphalt layer (E1/E2) in a slipped pavement. TFR gives an indication of the strength of the tack coat which is the main determinants of interlayer slipping. The criteria is that if the interface was in the state full bond, TFR would be greater or equals to 1 and that if the TFR was 0, meant full slip. Results of the calculations showed that TFR value was 1.81 which re-affirmed the position that the pavement under study was in the state of full bond because the value was greater than 1. It was concluded that FWD can be used to determine bonding condition of existing and newly constructed pavements.

Keywords: falling weight deflectometer (FWD), backcaluclation, semi-rigid base pavement, shear reaction modulus

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Authors: Jacob Seddlemeyer, Tahar Messadi, Hongmei Gu, Mahboobeh Hemmati

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The main purpose of this first tier of the study is to quantify and compare the embodied environmental impacts associated with alternative materials applied to Adohi Hall, a residence building at the University of Arkansas campus, Fayetteville, AR. This 200,000square foot building has5 stories builtwith mass timber and is compared to another scenario where the same edifice is built with a steel frame. Based on the defined goal and scope of the project, the materials respectivetothe respective to the two building options are compared in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP), starting from cradle to the construction site, which includes the material manufacturing stage (raw material extract, process, supply, transport, and manufacture) plus transportation to the site (module A1-A4, based on standard EN 15804 definition). The consumedfossil fuels and emitted CO2 associated with the buildings are the major reason for the environmental impacts of climate change. In this study, GWP is primarily assessed to the exclusion of other environmental factors. The second tier of this work is to evaluate Tally’s performance in the decision-making process through the design phases, as well as determine its strengths and weaknesses. Tally is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool capable of conducting a cradle-to-grave analysis. As opposed to other software applications, Tally is specifically targeted at buildings LCA. As a peripheral application, this software tool is directly run within the core modeling application platform called Revit. This unique functionality causes Tally to stand out from other similar tools in the building sector LCA analysis. The results of this study also provide insights for making more environmentally efficient decisions in the building environment and help in the move forward to reduce Green House Gases (GHGs) emissions and GWP mitigation.

Keywords: comparison, GWP, LCA, materials, tally

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Authors: L. Bammou, M. Belkhaouda R. Salghi, L. Bazzi, B. Hammouti

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Steel and steel-based alloys of different grades steel are extensively used in numerous applications where acid solutions are widely applied such as industrial acid pickling, industrial acid cleaning and oil-well acidizing. The use of chemical inhibitors is one of the most practical methods for the protection against corrosion in acidic media. Most of the excellent acid inhibitors are organic compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulphur. The use of non-toxic inhibitors called green or eco-friendly environmental inhibitors is one of the solutions possible to prevent the corrosion of the material. These advantages have incited us to draw a large part of program of our laboratory to examine natural substances as corrosion inhibitors such as: prickly pear seed oil, Argan oil, Argan extract, Fennel oil, Rosemary oil, Thymus oil, Lavender oil, Jojoba oil, Pennyroyal Mint oil, and Artemisia. In the present work, we investigate the corrosion inhibition of steel in 1 M HCl by junipers extract using weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The result obtained of junipers extract (JE) shows excellent inhibition properties for the corrosion of C38 steel in 1M HCl at 298K, and the inhibition efficiency increases with increasing of the JE concentration. The inhibitor efficiencies determined by weight loss, Tafel polarisation and EIS methods are in reasonable agreement. Based on the polarisation results, the investigated junipers extract can be classified as mixed inhibitor. The calculated structural parameters show increase of the obtained Rct values and decrease of the capacitance, Cdl, with JE concentration increase. It is suggested to attribute this to the increase of the thickness of the adsorption layer at steel surface. The adsorption model obeys to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The adsorption process is a spontaneous and exothermic process.

Keywords: corrosion inhibition, steel, friendly inhibitors, Tafel polarisation

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Authors: Naamane Remita, Mohammed laïd Mechri, Nouredine Zekri, Smaïl Chihi

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The goal of this study is the estimation of real and imaginary components of both electrical impedance and permittivity z', z'' and ε', ε'' respectively, in Ouargla dunes sand at different temperatures and different frequencies, with alternating current (AC) equal to 1 volt, using the impedance spectroscopy (IS). This method is based totally on the modeling results by way of equal electrical circuits that have the same frequency reaction as the sample. The experimental results revealed that the real part of the impedance is higher at higher temperatures in the lower frequency region and gradually decreases with increasing frequency. As for the high frequencies, all the values of the real part of the impedance were positive. But at low frequencies, the values of the imaginary part were positive at all temperatures except for 1200 degrees, which were negative. As for the medium frequencies, the reactance values were negative at temperatures 25, 400, 200 and 600 degrees and then became positive at the rest of the temperatures. At high frequencies of the order of MHz, the values of the imaginary part of the electrical impedance were in contrast to what we recorded for the middle frequencies. The results showed that the electrical permittivity decreases with increasing frequency; at low frequencies, we recorded permittivity values of 10+¹¹, and at medium frequencies, it was 10+ 07, while at high frequencies, it was 10+2. The values of the real part of the electrical permittivity were taken at large values at temperatures of 200 and 600 degrees Celsius and at the lowest frequency, while the smallest value for the permittivity was recorded at the temperature of 400 degrees Celsius at the highest frequency. The results showed that there are large values of the imaginary part of the electrical permittivity at the lowest frequency, and then it starts decreasing as the latter increases (the higher the frequency, the lower the values of the imaginary part of the electrical permittivity). The character of electrical impedance variation indicated an opportunity to realize the polarization of Ouargla dunes sand and acquaintance if this compound consumes or produces energy. It’s also possible to know the satisfaction of an equivalent electric circuit, whether it’s miles induction or capacitance.

Keywords: electrical impedance, electrical permittivity, temperature, impedance spectroscopy, dunes sand Ouargla

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Authors: Mateusz Frydrych

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The construction of diaphragm walls as excavation shoring as well as part of deep foundations is widely used in geotechnical engineering. Today's design challenges lie in the optimal dimensioning of the cross-section, which is demanded by technological considerations. Also in force is the issue of optimization and sustainable use of construction materials, including reduction of carbon footprint, which is currently a relevant challenge for the construction industry. The author presents the concept of an approach to achieving increased efficiency of diaphragm wall excavation shoring by using structural compression technology. The author proposes to implement prestressed tendons in a non-linear manner in the reinforcement cage. As a result bending moment is reduced, which translates into a reduction in the amount of steel needed in the section, a reduction in displacements, and a reduction in the scratching of the casing, including the achievement of better tightness. This task is rarely seen and has not yet been described in a scientific way in the literature. The author has developed a dynamic numerical model that allows the dimensioning of the cross-section of a prestressed shear wall, as well as the study of casing displacements and cross-sectional forces in any defined computational situation. Numerical software from the Sofistik - open source development environment - was used for the study, and models were validated in Plaxis software . This is an interesting idea that allows for optimizing the execution of construction works and reducing the required resources by using fewer materials and saving time. The author presents the possibilities of a prestressed diaphragm wall, among others, using. The example of a diaphragm wall working as a cantilever at the height of two underground floors without additional strutting or stability protection by using ground anchors. This makes the execution of the work more criminal for the contractor and, as a result, cheaper for the investor.

Keywords: prestressed diaphragm wall, Plaxis, Sofistik, innovation, FEM, optimisation

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Authors: András Fülöp, Lejla Heilmann, Zsolt Szabó, Ákos Koós

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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) present a sustainable biotechnological solution to future energy demands. The aim of this study was to construct soil based, single cell, membrane-less MFC systems, operated without treatment to continuously power on-site monitoring and control systems during the soil bioremediation processes. Our Pseudomonas aeruginosa 541 isolate is an ideal choice for MFCs, because it is able to produce pyocyanin which behaves as electron-shuttle molecule, furthermore, it also has a significant antimicrobial effect. We tested several materials and structural configurations to obtain long term high power output. Comparing different configurations, a proton exchange membrane-less, 0.6 m long with 0.05 m diameter MFC tubes offered the best long-term performances. The long-term electricity production were tested from starch, yeast extract (YE), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with humic acid (HA) as a mediator. In all cases, 3 kΩ external load have been used. The two best-operated systems were the Pseudomonas aeruginosa 541 containing MFCs with 1 % carboxymethyl cellulose and the MFCs with 1% yeast extract in the anode area and 35% hydrogel in the cathode chamber. The first had 3.3 ± 0.033 mW/m2 and the second had 4.1 ± 0.065 mW/m2 power density values. These systems have operated for 230 days without any treatment. The addition of 0.2 % HA and 1 % YE referred to the volume of the anode area resulted in 1.4 ± 0.035 mW/m2 power densities. The mixture of 1% starch with 0.2 % HA gave 1.82 ± 0.031 mW/m2. Using CMC as retard carbon source takes effect in the long-term bacterial survivor, thus enable the expression of the long term power output. The application of hydrogels in the cathode chamber significantly increased the performance of the MFC units due to their good water retention capacity.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell, bioremediation, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, biotechnological solution

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Authors: Ali Etemadi, Claudia Fernanda Yasar

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Elevated water storage tank structures (EWSTs) are high elevated-ponderous structural systems and very vulnerable to seismic vibrations. In past earthquake events, many of these structures exhibit poor performance and experienced severe damage. The dynamic analysis of the EWSTs under earthquake loads is, therefore, of significant importance for the design of the structure and a key issue for the development of modern methods, such as active control design. In this study, a reduced model of the EWSTs is explained, which is based on a tuned mass damper model (TMD). Vibration analysis of a structure under seismic excitation is presented and then used to propose an active vibration controller. MATLAB/Simulink is employed for dynamic analysis of the system and control of the seismic response. A single degree of freedom (SDOF) and two degree of freedom (2DOF) models of ELSTs are going to be used to study the concept of active vibration control. Lab-scale experimental models similar to pendulum are applied to suppress vibrations in ELST under seismic excitation. One of the most important phenomena in liquid storage tanks is the oscillation of fluid due to the movements of the tank body because of its base motions during an earthquake. Simulation results illustrate that the EWSTs vibration can be reduced by means of an input shaping technique that takes into account the dominant mode shape of the structure. Simulations with which to guide many of our designs are presented in detail. A simple and effective real-time control for seismic vibration damping can be, therefore, design and built-in practice.

Keywords: elevated water storage tank, tuned mass damper model, real time control, shaping control, seismic vibration control, the laplace transform

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Authors: Mustapha Babatunde, Bassam Tawabini, Ole John Nielson

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Air dispersion (AD) models such as AERMOD are important tools for estimating the environmental impacts of air pollutant emissions into the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources. The outcome of these models is significantly linked to the climate condition like air temperature, which is expected to differ in the future due to the global warming phenomenon. With projections from scientific sources of impending changes to the future climate of Saudi Arabia, especially anticipated temperature rise, there is a potential direct impact on the dispersion patterns of air pollutants results from AD models. To our knowledge, no similar studies were carried out in Saudi Arabia to investigate such impact. Therefore, this research investigates the effects of climate temperature change on air quality in the Dammam Metropolitan area, Saudi Arabia, using AERMOD coupled with Station data using Sulphur dioxide (SO₂) – as a model air pollutant. The research uses AERMOD model to predict the SO₂ dispersion trends in the surrounding area. Emissions from five (5) industrial stacks on twenty-eight (28) receptors in the study area were considered for the climate period (2010-2019) and future period of mid-century (2040-2060) under different scenarios of elevated temperature profiles (+1ᵒC, + 3ᵒC and + 5ᵒC) across averaging time periods of 1hr, 4hr and 8hr. Results showed that levels of SO₂ at the receiving sites under current and simulated future climactic condition fall within the allowable limit of WHO and KSA air quality standards. Results also revealed that the projected rise in temperature would only have mild increment on the SO₂ concentration levels. The average increase of SO₂ levels was 0.04%, 0.14%, and 0.23% due to the temperature increase of 1, 3, and 5 degrees, respectively. In conclusion, the outcome of this work elucidates the degree of the effects of global warming and climate changes phenomena on air quality and can help the policymakers in their decision-making, given the significant health challenges associated with ambient air pollution in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: air quality, sulfur dioxide, dispersion models, global warming, KSA

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Authors: Abdulkarim Yusuf

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Motivation: The Nigerian economy has seen significant macroeconomic instability, fuelled mostly by an overreliance on fluctuating oil revenues. The rising disparity between tax receipts and government spending in Nigeria necessitates government borrowing to fund the anticipated pace of economic growth. Rising public debt and fiscal sustainability are limiting the government's ability to invest in key infrastructure that promotes private investment and growth in Nigeria. Objective: This paper fills an empirical research vacuum by examining the impact of public debt on fiscal sustainability in Nigeria, given the significance of fiscal stability in decreasing poverty and the constraints that an unsustainable debt burden imposes on it. Data and method: Annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2022 exposed to conventional and structural breaks stationarity tests and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag estimation approach were adopted for this study. Results: The results reveal that domestic debt stock, debt service payment, foreign reserve stock, exchange rate, and private investment all had a major adverse effect on fiscal stability in the long and short run, corroborating the debt overhang and crowding-out hypothesis. External debt stock, prime lending rate, and degree of trade openness, which boosted fiscal stability in the long run, had a major detrimental effect on fiscal stability in the short run, whereas foreign direct investment inflows had an important beneficial impact on fiscal stability in both the long and short run. Implications: The results indicate that fiscal measures that inspire domestic resource mobilization, sustainable debt management techniques, and dependence on external debt to boost deficit financing will improve fiscal stability and drive growth.

Keywords: ARDL co-integration, debt overhang, debt servicing, fiscal stability, public debt

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Authors: Susan Amirsalari, Azime Khosrinejad, Elham Rahimian

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Objective: Epilepsy is a common brain disorder characterized by a persistent tendency to develop in neurological, cognitive, and psychological contents. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a neuroimaging test facilitating the detection of structural epileptogenic lesions. This study aimed to compare the MRI findings between patients with intractable and drug-responsive epilepsy. Material & methods: This case-control study was conducted from 2007 to 2019. The research population encompassed all 1-16- year-old patients with intractable epilepsy referred to the Shafa Neuroscience Center (n=72) (a case group) and drug-responsive patients referred to the pediatric neurology clinic of Baqiyatallah Hospital (a control group). Results: There were 72 (23.5%) patients in the intractable epilepsy group and 200 (76.5%) patients in the drug-responsive group. The participants' mean age was 6.70 ±4.13 years, and there were 126 males and 106 females in this study Normal brain MRI was noticed in 21 (29.16%) patients in the case group and 184 (92.46%) patients in the control group. Neuronal migration disorder (NMD)was also exhibited in 7 (9.72%) patients in the case group and no patient in the control group. There were hippocampal abnormalities and focal lesions (mass, dysplasia, etc.) in 10 (13.88%) patients in the case group and only 1 (0.05%) patient in the control group. Gliosis and porencephalic cysts were presented in 3 (4.16%) patients in the case group and no patient in the control group. Cerebral and cerebellar atrophy was revealed in 8 (11.11%) patients in the case group and 4 (2.01%) patients in the control group. Corpus callosum agenesis, hydrocephalus, brain malacia, and developmental cyst were more frequent in the case group; however, the difference between the groups was not significant. Conclusion: The MRI findings such as hippocampal abnormalities, focal lesions (mass, dysplasia), NMD, porencephalic cysts, gliosis, and atrophy are significantly more frequent in children with intractable epilepsy than in those with drug-responsive epilepsy.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, intractable epilepsy, drug responsive epilepsy, neuronal migrational disorder

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Authors: Elia Efraim, Boris Blostotsky

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Testing of columns in sway mode is performed in order to determine the maximal allowable load limited by plastic deformations or their end connections and a critical load limited by columns stability. Motivation to determine accurate value of critical force is caused by its using as follow: - critical load is maximal allowable load for given column configuration and can be used as criterion of perfection; - it is used in calculation prescribed by standards for design of structural elements under combined action of compression and bending; - it is used for verification of theoretical analysis of stability at various end conditions of columns. In the present work a new non-destructive method for determination of columns critical buckling load in sway mode is proposed. The method allows performing measurements during the tests under loads that exceeds the columns critical load without losing its stability. The possibility of such loading is achieved by structure of the loading system. The system is performed as frame with rigid girder, one of the columns is the tested column and the other is additional two-hinged strut. Loading of the frame is carried out by the flexible traction element attached to the girder. The load applied on the tested column can achieve values that exceed the critical load by choice of parameters of the traction element and the additional strut. The system lateral stiffness and the column critical load are obtained by the dynamic method. The experiment planning and the comparison between the experimental and theoretical values were performed based on the developed dependency of lateral stiffness of the system on vertical load, taking into account semi-rigid connections of the column's ends. The agreement between the obtained results was established. The method can be used for testing of real full-size columns in industrial conditions.

Keywords: buckling, columns, dynamic method, end-fixity factor, sway mode

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Authors: Mihaja Razafimbelo, Guillaume Herve-Secourgeon, Fabrice Gatuingt, Marina Bottoni, Tulio Honorio-De-Faria

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The challenge of the research is to provide engineering with a robust, semi-automatic method for calculating optimal reinforcement for massive structural elements. In the absence of such a digital post-processing tool, design office engineers make intensive use of plate modelling, for which automatic post-processing is available. Plate models in massive areas, on the other hand, produce conservative results. In addition, the theoretical foundations of automatic post-processing tools for reinforcement are those of reinforced concrete beam sections. As long as there is no suitable alternative for automatic post-processing of plates, optimal modelling and a significant improvement of the constructability of massive areas cannot be expected. A method called strut-and-tie is commonly used in civil engineering, but the result itself remains very subjective to the calculation engineer. The tool developed will facilitate the work of supporting the engineers in their choice of structure. The method implemented consists of defining a ground-structure built on the basis of the main constraints resulting from an elastic analysis of the structure and then to start an optimization of this structure according to the fully stressed design method. The first results allow to obtain a coherent return in the first network of connecting struts and ties, compared to the cases encountered in the literature. The evolution of the tool will then make it possible to adapt the obtained latticework in relation to the cracking states resulting from the loads applied during the life of the structure, cyclic or dynamic loads. In addition, with the constructability constraint, a final result of reinforcement with an orthogonal arrangement with a regulated spacing will be implemented in the tool.

Keywords: strut and tie, optimization, reinforcement, massive structure

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Authors: Karun K. Karki

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Globalization has intensified the transnational movement of people, mainly from the Global South to the Global North. In this context of transnationalism, migration is framed within the national interests required for economic prosperity. More specifically, the competition for the ‘best and the brightest of highly educated immigrants from around the world can be perceived as evidence that countries in the North are competing in the knowledge-based global economy. Canada is not an exception. Since the early 1970s, Canada has successfully admitted, on average, 200,000 to 280,000 immigrants annually for permanent residency, primarily for economic development, family reunification and humanitarian affairs. Among these three components, economic class immigrants are the highest priority in its immigration policy. Although Canada admits highly qualified immigrant professionals with the expectation of easily integrating them, many highly skilled immigrants are marginalized in the labour market due to a myriad of layered structural and institutional barriers that prevent them from working in the professions for which they were trained in their country of origin. More than 67% of highly skilled immigrants are more likely to be in jobs for which they are formally overqualified. The deteriorating employment situation of highly educated immigrants, particularly the immigrants of racialized groups, needs analytical scrutiny of the immigration policy of Canada. In this paper, author examine how the historical legacy of colonialism still continues in Canada’s immigration policymaking and how this legacy has impacted developing countries in the global South. Author argue that the Canadian immigration policy is based on the notion of exploiting/dominating smaller countries and immigrants from these countries. Such colonial policies have systematically ‘Othered’ immigrants based on their race, ethnicity, gender, culture, and linguistic characteristics. Recommendations are made to revisit contemporary immigration and settlement policies to effectively integrate immigrants into Canadian society.

Keywords: colonialism, Canadian immigration policy, racialized immigrants, skilled immigrants

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Authors: Ana Carolina Lima, Carlos Sérgio Agostinho, Amadeu M. V. M. Soares, Kieran A. Monaghan

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Neotropical freshwaters host some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world and are among the most threatened by habitat alterations. The high number of species and lack of basic ecological knowledge provides a major obstacle to understanding the effects of environmental change. We assessed the impact of dam closure on the fish communities of a neotropical river by applying simple descriptions of community organizations: Species Abundance Distribution (SAD) and Abundance Biomass Comparison (ABC) curves. Fish data were collected during three distinct time periods (one year before, one year after and five years after closure), at eight sites located downstream of the dam, in the reservoir and reservoir transition zone and upstream of the regulated flow. Dam closure was associated with changes in the structural and functional organization of fish communities at all sites. Species richness tended to increase immediately after dam closure while evenness decreased. Changes in taxonomic structure were accompanied by a change in the distribution of biomass with the proportionate contribution by smaller individuals significantly increased relative to larger individuals. Five years on, richness had fallen to below pre-closure levels at all sites, while the comparative stability of the transformed habitats was reflected by biomass-abundance distribution patterns that approximated pre-disturbance ratios. Despite initial generality, respective sites demonstrated distinct ecological responses that were related to the environmental characteristics of their transformed habitats. This simplistic analysis provides a sensitive and informative assessment of ecological conditions that highlights the impact to ecosystem process and ecological networks and has particular value in regions where detailed ecological knowledge precludes the application of traditional bioassessment methods.

Keywords: ABC curves, SADs, biodiversity, damming, tropical fish

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