Search results for: ecosystem components

Authors: Barbara Gawda

Abstract:

The study attempts to show the relationship between the structure of love by Sternberg and personality disorder traits. People with personality disorders experience dysfunctional emotionality. They manifest difficulties in experiencing love and closeness. Their relationships are marked by ambivalence and conflicts, e.g., as in borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. Considering love as a crucial human feeling, the study was planned to describe the associations between intimacy, passion, commitment, and personality disorder traits in a community sample. A sample of 194 participants was investigated (men and women in similar age and education levels). The following techniques were used: the SCID-II to assess personality disorders’ traits and the Triangular Love Scale by Sternberg to assess the components of love. Results show there are significant negative correlations between intimacy, commitment and personality disorders traits. Many personality disorders are associated with decreasing of intimacy and commitment, whereas passion was not associated with personality disorders’ traits. Results confirm that emotional impairments in personality disorders elicit conflicts and problems in relationships based on love and closeness.

Keywords: Intimacy, commitment, love, passion, personality disorders.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1098

Authors: Teerawach Khamkorn, Laongtip Mathurasa, Savittree Rochanasmita Arnold, Witthaya Mekhum

Abstract:

The objective of this research intends to create a suitable model of distance training for community leaders in the upper northeastern region of Thailand. The implementation of the research process is divided into four steps: The first step is to analyze relevant documents. The second step deals with an interview in depth with experts. The third step is concerned with constructing a model. And the fourth step takes aim at model validation by expert assessments. The findings reveal the two important components for constructing an appropriate model of distance training for community leaders in the upper northeastern region. The first component consists of the context of technology management, e.g., principle, policy and goals. The second component can be viewed in two ways. Firstly, there are elements comprising input, process, output and feedback. Secondly, the sub-components include steps and process in training. The result of expert assessments informs that the researcher-s constructed model is consistent and suitable and overall the most appropriate.

Keywords: Constructing, Distance Training, Management, Technology.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1345

Authors: R. Usubamatov

Abstract:

The velocity of a moving point in a general path is the vector quantity, which has both magnitude and direction. The magnitude or the direction of the velocity vector can change over time as a result of acceleration that the time rate of velocity changes. Acceleration analysis is important because inertial forces and inertial torques are proportional to rectilinear and angular accelerations accordingly. The loads must be determined in advance to ensure that a machine is adequately designed to handle these dynamic loads. For planar motion, the vector direction of acceleration is commonly separated into two elements: tangential and centripetal or radial components of a point on a rotating body. All textbooks in physics, kinematics and dynamics of machinery consider the magnitude of a radial acceleration at condition when a point rotates with a constant angular velocity and it means without acceleration. The magnitude of the tangential acceleration considered on a basis of acceleration for a rotating point. Such condition of presentation of magnitudes for two components of acceleration logically and mathematically is not correct and may cause further confusion in calculation. This paper presents new analytical expressions of the radial and absolute accelerations of a rotating point with acceleration and covers the gap in theoretical study of acceleration analysis.

Keywords: acceleration analysis, kinematics of mechanisms.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2695

Authors: Emanuele Stomeo, Tatiana Kalganova, Cyrille Lambert

Abstract:

Evolvable hardware (EHW) refers to a selfreconfiguration hardware design, where the configuration is under the control of an evolutionary algorithm (EA). A lot of research has been done in this area several different EA have been introduced. Every time a specific EA is chosen for solving a particular problem, all its components, such as population size, initialization, selection mechanism, mutation rate, and genetic operators, should be selected in order to achieve the best results. In the last three decade a lot of research has been carried out in order to identify the best parameters for the EA-s components for different “test-problems". However different researchers propose different solutions. In this paper the behaviour of mutation rate on (1+λ) evolution strategy (ES) for designing logic circuits, which has not been done before, has been deeply analyzed. The mutation rate for an EHW system modifies values of the logic cell inputs, the cell type (for example from AND to NOR) and the circuit output. The behaviour of the mutation has been analyzed based on the number of generations, genotype redundancy and number of logic gates used for the evolved circuits. The experimental results found provide the behaviour of the mutation rate to be used during evolution for the design and optimization of logic circuits. The researches on the best mutation rate during the last 40 years are also summarized.

Keywords: Evolvable hardware, mutation rate, evolutionarycomputation, design of logic circuit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1501

Authors: Z. Mortezaie, H. Hassanpour, S. Asadi Amiri

Abstract:

Captured images may suffer from Gaussian blur due to poor lens focus or camera motion. Unsharp masking is a simple and effective technique to boost the image contrast and to improve digital images suffering from Gaussian blur. The technique is based on sharpening object edges by appending the scaled high-frequency components of the image to the original. The quality of the enhanced image is highly dependent on the characteristics of both the high-frequency components and the scaling/gain factor. Since the quality of an image may not be the same throughout, we propose an adaptive unsharp masking method in this paper. In this method, the gain factor is computed, considering the gradient variations, for individual pixels of the image. Subjective and objective image quality assessments are used to compare the performance of the proposed method both with the classic and the recently developed unsharp masking methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a better performance in comparison to the other existing methods.

Keywords: Unsharp masking, blur image, sub-region gradient, image enhancement.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1410

Authors: Umut Gunduz, Mehtap Hisarciklilar, Tolga Kaya

Abstract:

Studies revealing the positive relationship between trade and income are often criticized with the argument that “development should mean more than rising incomes". Taking this argument as a base and utilizing panel data, Davies and Quinlivan [1] have demonstrated that increases in trade are positively associated with future increases in social welfare as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, utilizing an income based country classification; it is aimed to investigate whether the positive association between foreign trade and HDI is valid within all country groups. Secondly, keeping the same categorization as a base; it is aimed to reveal whether the positive link between trade and HDI still exists when the income components of the index are excluded. Employing a panel data framework of 106 countries, this study reveals that the positive link between trade and human development is valid only for high and medium income countries. Moreover, the positive link between trade and human development diminishes in lower-medium income countries when only non-income components of the index are taken into consideration.

Keywords: HDI, foreign trade, development, panel data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2714

Authors: Noureddine Seddari, Mohamed Belaoued, Salah Bougueroua

Abstract:

The modeling of complex systems is generally based on the decomposition of their components into sub-systems easier to handle. This division has to be made in a methodical way. In this paper, we introduce an industrial control system modeling and simulation based on the Multi-Agent System (MAS) methodology AALAADIN and more particularly the underlying conceptual model Agent/Group/Role (AGR). Indeed, in this division using AGR model, the overall system is decomposed into sub-systems in order to improve the understanding of regulation and control systems, and to simplify the implementation of the obtained agents and their groups, which are implemented using the Multi-Agents Development KIT (MAD-KIT) platform. This approach appears to us to be the most appropriate for modeling of this type of systems because, due to the use of MAS, it is possible to model real systems in which very complex behaviors emerge from relatively simple and local interactions between many different individuals, therefore a MAS is well adapted to describe a system from the standpoint of the activity of its components, that is to say when the behavior of the individuals is complex (difficult to describe with equations). The main aim of this approach is the take advantage of the performance, the scalability and the robustness that are intuitively provided by MAS.

Keywords: Complex systems, modeling and simulation, industrial control system, MAS, AALAADIN, AGR, MAD-KIT.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1189

Authors: Zerrin Erginkaya, Gözde Konuray

Abstract:

Microbial degradation of foods is defined as a decrease of food safety due to microorganism activity. Organic acids, sulfur dioxide, sulfide, nitrate, nitrite, dimethyl dicarbonate and several preservative gases have been used as chemical preservatives in foods as well as natural preservatives which are indigenous in foods. It is determined that usage of herbal preservatives such as blueberry, dried grape, prune, garlic, mustard, spices inhibited several microorganisms. Moreover, it is determined that animal origin preservatives such as whey, honey, lysosomes of duck egg and chicken egg, chitosan have antimicrobial effect. Other than indigenous antimicrobials in foods, antimicrobial agents produced by microorganisms could be used as natural preservatives. The antimicrobial feature of preservatives depends on the antimicrobial spectrum, chemical and physical features of material, concentration, mode of action, components of food, process conditions, and pH and storage temperature. In this review, studies about antimicrobial components which are indigenous in food (such as herbal and animal origin antimicrobial agents), antimicrobial materials synthesized by microorganisms, and their usage as an antimicrobial agent to preserve foods are discussed.

Keywords: Animal origin preservatives, antimicrobial, chemical preservatives, herbal preservatives.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2610

Authors: Batin Latif Aylak, Bernd Noche

Abstract:

Nowadays there are lots of applications of power and free conveyors in logistics. They are the most frequently used conveyor systems worldwide. Overhead conveyor technologies like power and free systems are used in the most intra-logistics applications in trade and industry. The automotive, food, beverage and textile industry as well as aeronautic catering or engineering are among the applications. Power and free systems employ different manufacturing intervals in manufacturing as well as in production as temporary store and buffer. Depending on the application area, power and free conveyors are equipped with target controls enabling complex distribution-and sorting tasks. This article introduces a new power and free conveyor design in intra-logistics and explains its components. According to the explanation of the components, a model is created by means of their technical characteristics. Through the CAD software, the model is visualized. After that, the static analysis is evaluated. This analysis helps the calculation of the mandatory state of structures under force action. This powerful model helps companies achieve lower development costs as well as quicker market maturity.

Keywords: Intra-logistics, material flow, power and free conveyor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2006

Authors: Saad M. Howladar, Mike Dennett

Abstract:

The effect of exogenous application; seed priming or foliar spraying of salicylic acid (SA) on Yecora Rojo and Paragon wheat cv. under NaCl-salinity. Gas exchange parameters, growth parameters, yield and yield components were reduced in both cultivars under salinity stress with foliar spray and soaking seeds. Exogenous application of SA through foliar spraying or seed soaking showed a slight increases or decreases with the application method or between cultivars. SA foliar spraying exhibited a slight improvement over SA seed soaking in most parameters, particularly in Paragon. Although, seed soaking was less effective than foliar spraying, it was a slightly better with Yecora Rojo in some parameters. However, the low SA concentration; 0.5mM tended to improve most parameters in both cultivars. From data of the experiment, it has been concluded that the effect of SA depends on cultivar genotype and SA concentration.

Keywords: Salinity, Salicylic acid, Growth parameters, yield components, Wheat cultivars.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3020

Authors: Abdelaziz Zaidi, Belkacem Ould Bouamama, Moncef Tagina

Abstract:

Bond Graph as a unified multidisciplinary tool is widely used not only for dynamic modelling but also for Fault Detection and Isolation because of its structural and causal proprieties. A binary Fault Signature Matrix is systematically generated but to make the final binary decision is not always feasible because of the problems revealed by such method. The purpose of this paper is introducing a methodology for the improvement of the classical binary method of decision-making, so that the unknown and identical failure signatures can be treated to improve the robustness. This approach consists of associating the evaluated residuals and the components reliability data to build a Hybrid Bayesian Network. This network is used in two distinct inference procedures: one for the continuous part and the other for the discrete part. The continuous nodes of the network are the prior probabilities of the components failures, which are used by the inference procedure on the discrete part to compute the posterior probabilities of the failures. The developed methodology is applied to a real steam generator pilot process.

Keywords: Redundancy relations, decision-making, Bond Graph, reliability, Bayesian Networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2525

Authors: Y. Okude, S. Sakaki, S. Yoshihara, B. J. MacDonald

Abstract:

In recent years asymmetric cross section aluminum alloy stock has been finding increasing use in various industrial manufacturing areas such as general structures and automotive components. In these areas, components are generally required to have complex curved configuration and, as such, a bending process is required during manufacture. Undesirable deformation in bending processes such as flattening or wrinkling can easily occur when thin-walled sections are bent. Hence, a thorough understanding of the bending behavior of such sections is needed to prevent these undesirable deformations. In this study, the bending behavior of asymmetric channel section was examined using finite element analysis (FEA). Typical methods of preventing undesirable deformation, such as asymmetric laminated elastic mandrels were included in FEA model of draw bending. Additionally, axial tension was applied to prevent wrinkling. By utilizing the FE simulations effect of restriction dies and axial tension on undesirable deformation during the process was clarified.

Keywords: bending, draw bending, asymmetric channel section, restriction dies, axial tension, FEA

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1719

Authors: B. S. Raghavendra, D. Narayana Dutt

Abstract:

Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings are often contaminated with ocular and muscle artifacts. In this paper, the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is used as blind source separation (BSS) technique (BSS-CCA) to decompose the artifact contaminated EEG into component signals. We combine the BSSCCA technique with wavelet filtering approach for minimizing both ocular and muscle artifacts simultaneously, and refer the proposed method as wavelet enhanced BSS-CCA. In this approach, after careful visual inspection, the muscle artifact components are discarded and ocular artifact components are subjected to wavelet filtering to retain high frequency cerebral information, and then clean EEG is reconstructed. The performance of the proposed wavelet enhanced BSS-CCA method is tested on real EEG recordings contaminated with ocular and muscle artifacts, for which power spectral density is used as a quantitative measure. Our results suggest that the proposed hybrid approach minimizes ocular and muscle artifacts effectively, minimally affecting underlying cerebral activity in EEG recordings.

Keywords: Blind source separation, Canonical correlationanalysis, Electroencephalogram, Muscle artifact, Ocular artifact, Power spectrum, Wavelet threshold.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2334

Authors: Yin Yin Phyo, Tun Lin Naing

Abstract:

This paper investigated the simulation of two-phase interleaved boost converter (IBC) with free and open-source software Scilab/Xcos. By using interleaved method, it can reduce current stress on components, components size, input current ripple and output voltage ripple. The required mathematical model is obtained from the equivalent circuit of its different four modes of operation for simulation. The equivalent circuits are considered in continuous conduction mode (CCM). The average values of the system variables are derived from the state-space equation to find the equilibrium point. Scilab is now becoming more and more popular among students, engineers and scientists because it is open-source software and free of charge. It gives a great convenience because it has powerful computation and simulation function. The waveforms of output voltage, input current and inductors current are obtained by using Scilab/Xcos.

Keywords: Two-phase boost converter, continuous conduction mode, free and open-source, interleaved method, dynamic simulation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 944

Authors: Henrik L. Funke, Lars Ulke-Winter, Sandra Gelbrich, Lothar Kroll

Abstract:

This work reports about an approach for an automatic adaptation of concrete formulations based on genetic algorithms (GA) to optimize a wide range of different fit-functions. In order to achieve the goal, a method was developed which provides a numerical description of a fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) mixture regarding the production technology and the property spectrum of the concrete. In a first step, the FRC mixture with seven fixed components was characterized by varying amounts of the components. For that purpose, ten concrete mixtures were prepared and tested. The testing procedure comprised flow spread, compressive and bending tensile strength. The analysis and approximation of the determined data was carried out by GAs. The aim was to obtain a closed mathematical expression which best describes the given seven-point cloud of FRC by applying a Gene Expression Programming with Free Coefficients (GEP-FC) strategy. The seven-parametric FRC-mixtures model which is generated according to this method correlated well with the measured data. The developed procedure can be used for concrete mixtures finding closed mathematical expressions, which are based on the measured data.

Keywords: Concrete design, fibre reinforced concrete, genetic algorithms, GEP-FC.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 990

Authors: Dilip Nath

Abstract:

A study has been conducted on the available aquatic invertebrates in the river Dhansiri at Dimapur site. The study confirmed that the river body composed of aquatic macroinvertebrate community in two phyla viz., Arthropods and Molluscs. Total ten species have been identified from there as the source of alternative protein food for the common people. Not only the protein source they are also the component of aquatic food chain and indicators of aquatic ecosystem. Proper management and strategies to promote the edible invertebrates can be considered as the alternative protein and alternative income source for the common people for sustainable livelihood improvement.

Keywords: Dhansiri, Dimapur, invertebrates, livelihood improvement, protein

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 627

Authors: Nabil El Kadhi, Minerva M. Bunagan

Abstract:

The dynamism in education, particularly in the area of teaching, learning and assessment has caused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide to seek for ways to continuously improve their educational processes. HEIs use outcomes of institutional audits, assessments and accreditations, for improvement. In this study, the published institutional audit reports of HEIs in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed to produce features of good practice; identify challenges along Teaching, Learning Assessment (TLA); and propose a framework that puts major emphasis in having a quality-assured TLA, including a set of principles that can be used as basis in succeeding an institutional visit. The TLA framework, which shows the TLA components, characteristics of the components, related expectation, including implementation tool/ strategy and pitfalls can be used by HEIs to have an adequate understanding of the scope of audit and be able to satisfy institutional audit requirements. The scope of this study can be widened by exploring the other requirements of the Institutional Audits in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly the area on Governance and Management and Student Support Services.

Keywords: Accreditation, audit, quality assurance, teaching, learning and assessment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1477

Authors: Sepideh Jabbari Behnam, Zahrasadat Saide Zarabadi

Abstract:

A city is an intertwined texture from the relationship of different components in a whole which is united in a one, so designing the whole complex and its planning is not an easy matter. By considering that a city is a complex system with infinite components and communications, providing flexible layouts that can respond to the unpredictable character of the city, which is a result of its complexity, is inevitable. Parametric design approach as a new approach can produce flexible and transformative layouts in any stage of design. This study aimed to introduce parametric design as a modern approach to respond to complex urban issues by using descriptive and analytical methods. This paper firstly introduces complex systems and then giving a brief characteristic of complex systems. The flexible design and layout flexibility is another matter in response and simulation of complex urban systems that should be considered in design, which is discussed in this study. In this regard, after describing the nature of the parametric approach as a flexible approach, as well as a tool and appropriate way to respond to features such as limited predictability, reciprocating nature, complex communications, and being sensitive to initial conditions and hierarchy, this paper introduces parametric design.

Keywords: Complexity theory, complex system, flexibility, parametric design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1318

Authors: Nor Hayati Ibrahim, Yaakob B. Che Man, Chin Ping Tan, Nor Aini Idris

Abstract:

Interaction effects of xanthan gum (XG), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and locust bean gum (LBG) on the flow properties of oil-in-water emulsions were investigated by a mixture design experiment. Blends of XG, CMC and LBG were prepared according to an augmented simplex-centroid mixture design (10 points) and used at 0.5% (wt/wt) in the emulsion formulations. An appropriate mathematical model was fitted to express each response as a function of the proportions of the blend components that are able to empirically predict the response to any blend of combination of the components. The synergistic interaction effect of the ternary XG:CMC:LBG blends at approximately 33-67% XG levels was shown to be much stronger than that of the binary XG:LBG blend at 50% XG level (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, an antagonistic interaction effect became significant as CMC level in blends was more than 33% (p < 0.05). Yield stress and apparent viscosity (at 10 s-1) responses were successfully fitted with a special quartic model while flow behaviour index and consistency coefficient were fitted with a full quartic model (R2 adjusted ≥ 0.90). This study found that a mixture design approach could serve as a valuable tool in better elucidating and predicting the interaction effects beyond the conventional twocomponent blends.

Keywords: O/W emulsions, flow behavior, polysaccharideinteraction, mixture design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2220

Authors: Kateřina Jurdová

Abstract:

Hanging to the trapezoidal sheet by decking hanger is a very widespread solution used in civil engineering to lead the distribution of energy, sanitary, air distribution system etc. under the roof or floor structure. The trapezoidal decking hanger is usually a part of the whole installation system for specific distribution medium. The leading companies offer installation systems for each specific distribution e.g. pipe rings, sprinkler systems, installation channels etc. Every specific part is connected to the base connector which is decking hanger. The own connection has three main components: decking hanger, threaded bar with nuts and web of trapezoidal sheet. The aim of this contribution is determinate the failure mechanism of each component in connection. Load bearing capacity of most components in connection could be calculated by formulas in European codes. This contribution is focused on problematic of bearing resistance of threaded bar in web of trapezoidal sheet. This issue is studied by experimental research and numerical modelling. This contribution presented the initial results of experiment which is compared with numerical model of specimen.

Keywords: Decking hanger, concentrated load, connection, load bearing capacity, trapezoidal metal sheet.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2649

Authors: Nelson F.F. Ebecken, Gilberto C. Pereira

Abstract:

The objective of this work is to explicit knowledge on the interactions between the chlorophyll-a and nine meroplankton larvae of epibenthonic fauna. The studied case is the Arraial do Cabo upwelling system, Southeastern of Brazil, which provides different environmental conditions. To assess this information a network approach based in probability estimative was used. Comparisons among the generated graphs are made in the light of different water masses, application of Shannon biodiversity index, and the closeness and betweenness centralities measurements. Our results show the main pattern among different water masses and how the core organisms belonging to the network skeleton are correlated to the main environmental variable. We conclude that the approach of complex networks is a promising tool for environmental diagnostic.

Keywords: Coastal upwelling, Ecological networks, Plankton - interactions, Environmental analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1636

Authors: Aakash Subramanian, Vansh Pal Singh Makh, Abhijit Mitra

Abstract:

A new digital transceiver circuit for asynchronous frame detection is proposed where both the transmitter and receiver contain all digital components, thereby avoiding possible use of conventional devices like monostable multivibrators with unstable external components such as resistances and capacitances. The proposed receiver circuit, in particular, uses a combinational logic block yielding an output which changes its state as soon as the start bit of a new frame is detected. This, in turn, helps in generating an efficient receiver sampling clock. A data latching circuit is also used in the receiver to latch the recovered data bits in any new frame. The proposed receiver structure is also extended from 4- bit information to any general n data bits within a frame with a common expression for the output of the combinational logic block. Performance of the proposed hardware design is evaluated in terms of time delay, reliability and robustness in comparison with the standard schemes using monostable multivibrators. It is observed from hardware implementation that the proposed circuit achieves almost 33 percent speed up over any conventional circuit.

Keywords: Asynchronous Communication, Digital Detector, Combinational logic output, Sampling clock generator, Hardwareimplementation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2213

Authors: Fuyang Peng, Donghong Li

Abstract:

The aim of information systems integration is to make all the data sources, applications and business flows integrated into the new environment so that unwanted redundancies are reduced and bottlenecks and mismatches are eliminated. Two issues have to be dealt with to meet such requirements: the software architecture that supports resource integration, and the adaptor development tool that help integration and migration of legacy applications. In this paper, a service-enabled dependable integration environment (SDIE), is presented, which has two key components, i.e., a dependable service integration platform and a legacy application integration tool. For the dependable platform for service integration, the service integration bus, the service management framework, the dependable engine for service composition, and the service registry and discovery components are described. For the legacy application integration tool, its basic organization, functionalities and dependable measures taken are presented. Due to its service-oriented integration model, the light-weight extensible container, the service component combination-oriented p-lattice structure, and other features, SDIE has advantages in openness, flexibility, performance-price ratio and feature support over commercial products, is better than most of the open source integration software in functionality, performance and dependability support.

Keywords: Application integration, dependability, legacy, SOA.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1179

Authors: Suvradip Mullick, Yuvraj K. Madhukar, Subhranshu Roy, Ashish K. Nath

Abstract:

We present the development of a new underwater laser cutting process in which a water-jet has been used along with the laser beam to remove the molten material through kerf. The conventional underwater laser cutting usually utilizes a high pressure gas jet along with laser beam to create a dry condition in the cutting zone and also to eject out the molten material. This causes a lot of gas bubbles and turbulence in water, and produces aerosols and waste gas. This may cause contamination in the surrounding atmosphere while cutting radioactive components like burnt nuclear fuel. The water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting process produces much less turbulence and aerosols in the atmosphere. Some amount of water vapor bubbles is formed at the laser-metal-water interface; however, they tend to condense as they rise up through the surrounding water. We present the design and development of a water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting head and the parametric study of the cutting of AISI 304 stainless steel sheets with a 2 kW CW fiber laser. The cutting performance is similar to that of the gas assist laser cutting; however, the process efficiency is reduced due to heat convection by water-jet and laser beam scattering by vapor. This process may be attractive for underwater cutting of nuclear reactor components.

Keywords: Laser, underwater cutting, water-jet.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4660

Authors: S. J. Arif

Abstract:

In the presented technique, a simple method is given for accurate measurement and control of power frequency deviation. The sinusoidal signal for which the frequency deviation measurement is required is transformed to a low voltage level and passed through a zero crossing detector to convert it into a pulse train. Another stable square wave signal of 10 KHz is obtained using a crystal oscillator and decade dividing assemblies (DDA). These signals are combined digitally and then passed through decade counters to give a unique combination of pulses or levels, which are further encoded to make them equally suitable for both control applications and display units. The developed circuit using discrete components has a resolution of 0.5 Hz and completes measurement within 20 ms. The realized circuit is simulated and synthesized using Verilog HDL and subsequently implemented on FPGA. The results of measurement on FPGA are observed on a very high resolution logic analyzer. These results accurately match the simulation results as well as the results of same circuit implemented with discrete components. The proposed system is suitable for accurate measurement and control of power frequency deviation.

Keywords: Digital encoder for frequency measurement, frequency deviation measurement, measurement and control systems, power systems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1430

Authors: A.A.Rohani, B.Hatami, L.Jokar, F.khorasheh, A.A.Safekordi

Abstract:

In industrial scale of Gas to Liquid (GTL) process in Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, a part of reactor outlet gases such as CO2 and CH4 as side reaction products, is usually recycled. In this study, the influence of CO2 and CH4 on the performance and selectivity of Co-Ru/Al2O3 catalyst is investigated by injection of these gases (0-20 vol. % of feed) to the feed stream. The effect of temperature and feed flow rate, are also inspected. The results show that low amounts of CO2 in the feed stream, doesn`t change the catalyst activity significantly but increasing the amount of CO2 (more than 10 vol. %) cause the CO conversion to decrease and the selectivity of heavy components to increase. Methane acts as an inert gas and doesn`t affect the catalyst performance. Increasing feed flow rate has negative effect on both CO conversion and heavy component selectivity. By raising the temperature, CO conversion will increase but there are more volatile components in the product. The effect of CO2 on the catalyst deactivation is also investigated carefully and a mechanism is suggested to explain the negative influence of CO2 on catalyst deactivation.

Keywords: Alumina, Carbon dioxide, Cobalt catalyst, Conversion, Fischer Tropsch, Selectivity

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1976

Authors: D. Dinis, M. Liz Martins, A. Rocha

Abstract:

Quality of school meals is one of the major concerns of governments and international organizations worldwide. This study aims to evaluate nutritional compliance of meals served at a Portuguese primary school considering the portions stated by Portuguese Education Ministry. To evaluate adequacy of portions served, weighing of all meal components offered to students and leftovers was performed during ten consecutive days at two different moments. Plate waste (%) was calculated by the ratio of food discarded and food served to the children. Nutritional evaluation of menus was made using the Portuguese Food Composition Table. Meals evaluated showed a percent contribution to energetic daily intake higher than recommendations. Meals served to children were considered high energy and protein dense. No significant waste of soup was accounted and the main meal components wasted were fish and vegetables. It will be necessary to adjust portions indicated by Ministry of Education in order to comply with recommendations and reduce food waste. 

Keywords: Portions, waste, nutritional adequacy, school meals.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2829

Authors: D. S. Fardhyanti, A. Damayanti

Abstract:

The utilization of biomass as a source of new and renewable energy is being carried out. One of the technologies to convert biomass as an energy source is pyrolysis which is converting biomass into more valuable products, such as bio-oil. Bio-oil is a liquid which is produced by steam condensation process from the pyrolysis of coconut shells. The composition of a coconut shell e.g. hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin will be oxidized to phenolic compounds as the main component of the bio-oil. The phenolic compounds in bio-oil are corrosive; they cause various difficulties in the combustion system because of a high viscosity, low calorific value, corrosiveness, and instability. Phenolic compounds are very valuable components which phenol has used as the main component for the manufacture of antiseptic, disinfectant (known as Lysol) and deodorizer. The experiments typically occurred at the atmospheric pressure in a pyrolysis reactor at temperatures ranging from 300 ^oC to 350 ^oC with a heating rate of 10 ^oC/min and a holding time of 1 hour at the pyrolysis temperature. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) was used to analyze the bio-oil components. The obtained bio-oil has the viscosity of 1.46 cP, the density of 1.50 g/cm³, the calorific value of 16.9 MJ/kg, and the molecular weight of 1996.64. By GC-MS, the analysis of bio-oil showed that it contained phenol (40.01%), ethyl ester (37.60%), 2-methoxy-phenol (7.02%), furfural (5.45%), formic acid (4.02%), 1-hydroxy-2-butanone (3.89%), and 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione (2.01%).

Keywords: Bio-oil, pyrolysis, coconut shell, phenol, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1772

Authors: E. Izsó, M. Bartalné-Berceli, Sz. Gergely, A. Salgó

Abstract:

The aim of this investigation is to elaborate nearinfrared methods for testing and recognition of chemical components and quality in “Pannon wheat” allied (i.e. true to variety or variety identified) milling fractions as well as to develop spectroscopic methods following the milling processes and evaluate the stability of the milling technology by different types of milling products and according to sampling times, respectively. These wheat categories produced under industrial conditions where samples were collected versus sampling time and maximum or minimum yields. The changes of the main chemical components (such as starch, protein, lipid) and physical properties of fractions (particle size) were analysed by dispersive spectrophotometers using visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) regions of the electromagnetic radiation. Close correlation were obtained between the data of spectroscopic measurement techniques processed by various chemometric methods (e.g. principal component analysis [PCA], cluster analysis [CA]) and operation condition of milling technology. It is obvious that NIR methods are able to detect the deviation of the yield parameters and differences of the sampling times by a wide variety of fractions, respectively. NIR technology can be used in the sensitive monitoring of milling technology.

Keywords: Allied wheat fractions, CA, milling process, nearinfrared spectroscopy, PCA.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1690

Authors: T. H. Young, Y. S. Ciou

Abstract:

The free and forced in-plane vibrations of axially moving plates are investigated in this work. The plate possesses an internal damping of which the constitutive relation obeys the Kelvin-Voigt model, and the excitations are arbitrarily distributed on two opposite edges. First, the equations of motion and the boundary conditions of the axially moving plate are derived. Then, the extended Ritz method is used to obtain discretized system equations. Finally, numerical results for the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the in-plane vibration and the in-plane response of the moving plate subjected to arbitrary edge excitations are presented. It is observed that the symmetry class of the mode shapes of the in-plane vibration disperses gradually as the moving speed gets higher, and the u- and v-components of the mode shapes belong to different symmetry class. In addition, large response amplitudes having shapes similar to the mode shapes of the plate can be excited by the edge excitations at the resonant frequencies and with the same symmetry class of distribution as the u-components.

Keywords: Arbitrary edge excitations, axially moving plates, in-plane vibration, extended Ritz method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1784