Search results for: local development.
1936 SOA and BPM Partnership: A Paradigm for Dynamic and Flexible Process and I.T. Management
Authors: Imran Sarwar Bajwa, Rafaqut Kazmi, Shahzad Mumtaz, M. Abbas Choudhary, M. Shahid Naweed
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Business Process Management (BPM) helps in optimizing the business processes inside an enterprise. But BPM architecture does not provide any help for extending the enterprise. Modern business environments and rapidly changing technologies are asking for brisk changes in the business processes. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) can help in enabling the success of enterprise-wide BPM. SOA supports agility in software development that is directly related to achieve loose coupling of interacting software agents. Agility is a premium concern of the current software designing architectures. Together, BPM and SOA provide a perfect combination for enterprise computing. SOA provides the capabilities for services to be combined together and to support and create an agile, flexible enterprise. But there are still many questions to answer; BPM is better or SOA? and what is the future track of BPM and SOA? This paper tries to answer some of these important questions.
Keywords: Information Systems, BPM, SOA, Process management, IT management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26671935 The Relationship between Land Use Change and Runoff
Authors: Thanutch Sukwimolseree, Preeyaphorn Kosa
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Many problems are occurred in watershed due to human activity and economic development. The purpose is to determine the effects of the land use change on surface runoff using land use map on 1980, 2001 and 2008 and daily weather data during January 1, 1979 to September 30, 2010 applied to SWAT. The results can be presented that the polynomial equation is suitable to display that relationship. These equations for land use in 1980, 2001 and 2008 are consisted of y = -0.0076x5 + 0.1914x4–1.6386x3 + 6.6324x2–8.736x + 7.8023(R2 = 0.9255), y = -0.0298x5 + 0.8794x4 - 9.8056x3 + 51.99x2 - 117.04x + 96.797; (R2 = 0.9186) and y = -0.0277x5 + 0.8132x4 - 8.9598x3 + 46.498x2–101.83x +81.108 (R2 = 0.9006), respectively. Moreover, if the agricultural area is the largest area, it is a sensitive parameter to concern surface runoff.
Keywords: Land use, Runoff, SWAT, Upper Mun River Basin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23671934 A Practical Construction Technique to Enhance the Performance of Rock Bolts in Tunnels
Authors: O. Chaudhari, A. N. Ghafar, G. Zirgulis, M. Mousavi, T. Ellison, S. Pousette, P. Fontana
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In Swedish tunnel construction, a critical issue that has been repeatedly acknowledged is corrosion and, consequently, failure of the rock bolts in rock support systems. The defective installation of rock bolts results in the formation of cavities in the cement mortar that is regularly used to fill the area under the dome plates. These voids allow for water-ingress to the rock bolt assembly, which results in corrosion of rock bolt components and eventually failure. In addition, the current installation technique consists of several manual steps with intense labor works that are usually done in uncomfortable and exhausting conditions, e.g., under the roof of the tunnels. Such intense tasks also lead to a considerable waste of materials and execution errors. Moreover, adequate quality control of the execution is hardly possible with the current technique. To overcome these issues, a non-shrinking/expansive cement-based mortar filled in the paper packaging has been developed in this study which properly fills the area under the dome plates without or with the least remaining cavities, ultimately that diminishes the potential of corrosion. This article summarizes the development process and the experimental evaluation of this technique for the installation of rock bolts. In the development process, the cementitious mortar was first developed using specific cement and shrinkage reducing/expansive additives. The mechanical and flow properties of the mortar were then evaluated using compressive strength, density, and slump flow measurement methods. In addition, isothermal calorimetry and shrinkage/expansion measurements were used to elucidate the hydration and durability attributes of the mortar. After obtaining the desired properties in both fresh and hardened conditions, the developed dry mortar was filled in specific permeable paper packaging and then submerged in water bath for specific intervals before the installation. The tests were enhanced progressively by optimizing different parameters such as shape and size of the packaging, characteristics of the paper used, immersion time in water and even some minor characteristics of the mortar. Finally, the developed prototype was tested in a lab-scale rock bolt assembly with various angles to analyze the efficiency of the method in real life scenario. The results showed that the new technique improves the performance of the rock bolts by reducing the material wastage, improving environmental performance, facilitating and accelerating the labor works, and finally enhancing the durability of the whole system. Accordingly, this approach provides an efficient alternative for the traditional way of tunnel bolt installation with considerable advantages for the Swedish tunneling industry.
Keywords: corrosion, durability, mortar, rock bolt
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4201933 Development of Interaction Factors Charts for Piled Raft Foundation
Authors: Abdelazim Makki Ibrahim, Esamaldeen Ali
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This study aims at analysing the load settlement behavior and predict the bearing capacity of piled raft foundation a series of finite element models with different foundation configurations and stiffness were established. Numerical modeling is used to study the behavior of the piled raft foundation due to the complexity of piles, raft, and soil interaction and also due to the lack of reliable analytical method that can predict the behavior of the piled raft foundation system. Simple analytical models are developed to predict the average settlement and the load sharing between the piles and the raft in piled raft foundation system. A simple example to demonstrate the applications of these charts is included.Keywords: Finite element, pile-raft foundation, method, PLAXIS software, settlement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17321932 A Detailed Review on Pin Fin Heat Sink
Authors: Vedulla Manoj Kumar, B. Nageswara Rao, Sk. Farooq
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Heat sinks are being considered in many advanced heat transfer applications including automotive and stationary fuel cells as well as cooling of electronic devices. However, there are innumerable fundamental issues in the fields of heat transfer and fluid mechanics perspectives which remains unresolved. The present review emphasizes on the progress of research in the field of pin fin heat sinks, while understanding the fluid dynamics and heat transfer characteristics with a detailed and sophisticated prediction of the temperature distribution, high heat flux removal and by minimizing thermal resistance. Lot of research work carried out across the globe to address this challenge and trying to come up with an economically viable and user friendly solution. The high activities for future pin fin heat sinks research and development to meet the current issue is recorded in this article.
Keywords: Heat sinks, heat transfer, heat flux, thermal resistance, electronic devices.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26571931 An Approach for the Integration of the Existing Wireless Networks
Authors: Rajkumar Samanta, Abhishek Pal
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The demand of high quality services has fueled dimensional research and development in wireless communications and networking. As a result, different wireless technologies like Wireless LAN, CDMA, GSM, UMTS, MANET, Bluetooth and satellite networks etc. have emerged in the last two decades. Future networks capable of carrying multimedia traffic need IP convergence, portability, seamless roaming and scalability among the existing networking technologies without changing the core part of the existing communications networks. To fulfill these goals, the present networking systems are required to work in cooperation to ensure technological independence, seamless roaming, high security and authentication, guaranteed Quality of Services (QoS). In this paper, a conceptual framework for a cooperative network (CN) is proposed for integration of heterogeneous existing networks to meet out the requirements of the next generation wireless networks.
Keywords: Cooperative Network, Wireless Network, Integration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23651930 Work-Related Shoulder Lesions and Labor Lawsuits in Brazil: Cross-Sectional Study on Worker Health Actions Developed by Employers
Authors: Reinaldo Biscaro, Luciano R. Ferreira, Leonardo C. Biscaro, Raphael C. Biscaro, Isabela S. Vasconcelos, Laura C. R. Ferreira, Cristiano M. Galhardi, Erica P. Baciuk
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Introduction: The present study had the objective to present the profile of workers with shoulder disorders related to labor lawsuits in Brazil. The study analyzed the association between the worker’s health and the actions performed by the companies related to injured professional. The research method performed a retrospective, cross-sectional and quantitative database analysis. The documents of labor lawsuits with shoulder injury registered at the Regional Labor Court in the 15th region (Campinas - São Paulo) were submitted to the medical examination and evaluated during the period from 2012 until 2015. The data collected were age, gender, onset of symptoms, length of service, current occupation, type of shoulder injury, referred complaints, type of acromion, associated or related diseases, company actions as CAT (workplace accident communication), compliance of NR7 by the organization (Environmental Risk Prevention Program - PPRA and Medical Coordination Program in Occupational Health - PCMSO). Results: From the 93 workers evaluated, there was a prevalence of men (58.1%), with a mean age of 42.6 y-o, and 54.8% were included in the age group 35-49 years. Regarding the length of work time in the company, 66.7% have worked for more than 5 years. There was an association between gender and current occupational status (p < 0.005), with predominance of women in household occupation (13 vs. 2) and predominance of unemployed men in job search situation (24 vs. 10) and reintegrated to work by judicial decision (8 vs. 2). There was also a correlation between pain and functional limitation (p < 0.01). There was a positive association of PPRA with the complaint of functional limitation and negative association with pain (p < 0.04). There was also a correlation between the sedentary lifestyle and the presence of PCMSO and PPRA (p < 0.04), and the absence of CAT in the companies (p < 0.001). It was concluded that the appearance or aggravation of osseous and articular shoulder pathologies in workers who have undertaken labor law suits seem to be associated with individual habits or inadequate labor practices. These data can help preventing the occurrence of these lesions by implementing local health promotion policies at work.Keywords: Work-related accidents, cross-sectional study, shoulder lesions, labor lawsuits.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9001929 Application of Boost Converter for Ride-through Capability of Adjustable Speed Drives during Sag and Swell Conditions
Authors: S. S. Deswal, Ratna Dahiya, D. K. Jain
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Process control and energy conservation are the two primary reasons for using an adjustable speed drive. However, voltage sags are the most important power quality problems facing many commercial and industrial customers. The development of boost converters has raised much excitement and speculation throughout the electric industry. Now utilities are looking to these devices for performance improvement and reliability in a variety of areas. Examples of these include sags, spikes, or transients in supply voltage as well as unbalanced voltages, poor electrical system grounding, and harmonics. In this paper, simulations results are presented for the verification of the proposed boost converter topology. Boost converter provides ride through capability during sag and swell. Further, input currents are near sinusoidal. This eliminates the need of braking resistor also.Keywords: Adjustable speed drive, power quality, boost converter, ride through capabilities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16961928 Some Pertinent Issues and Considerations on CBSE
Authors: Anil Kumar Tripathi, Ratneshwer
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All the software engineering researches and best industry practices aim at providing software products with high degree of quality and functionality at low cost and less time. These requirements are addressed by the Component Based Software Engineering (CBSE) as well. CBSE, which deals with the software construction by components’ assembly, is a revolutionary extension of Software Engineering. CBSE must define and describe processes to assure timely completion of high quality software systems that are composed of a variety of pre built software components. Though these features provide distinct and visible benefits in software design and programming, they also raise some challenging problems. The aim of this work is to summarize the pertinent issues and considerations in CBSE to make an understanding in forms of concepts and observations that may lead to development of newer ways of dealing with the problems and challenges in CBSE.
Keywords: Software Component, Component Based Software Engineering, Software Process, Testing, Maintenance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18301927 Textile Technology: Application in Sport and Medicine
Authors: R. Taiar
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Sport is one of the sectors in which the largest technical projections regarding the functions of textiles can be found. He is a large consumer of high performance composite materials and new fibers. It is one of the sectors where the innovation is the most important when the greatest numbers of spectacular developments are aimed at increasing performance. In medicine, textile innovation is used and contributes in the amelioration of different materials such as dressing, orthosis, bandages, etc. The hygienic textiles in non-woven materials record a strong growth. The objective of this study is to show the different advances of development we obtained in the both ways (sport and medicine). Polyamide fibers where developed tacking into account the specification of the high level athlete’s performance like swimming and triathlon (Olympic Games, Brazil 2016). The first textile utilization was for skiing (Olympic Games, Sotchi 2014). The different textiles technologies where adapted for medicine.
Keywords: Medical textile, Smart textile, Sport textile, Textile innovation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33081926 Simultaneous Determination of Reference Free-Stream Temperature and Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient
Authors: Giho Jeong, Sooin Jeong, Kuisoon Kim
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It is very important to determine reference temperature when convective temperature because it should be used to calculate the temperature potential. This paper deals with the development of a new method that can determine heat transfer coefficient and reference free stream temperature simultaneously, based on transient heat transfer experiments with using two narrow band thermo-tropic liquid crystals (TLC's). The method is validated through error analysis in terms of the random uncertainties in the measured temperatures. It is shown how the uncertainties in heat transfer coefficient and free stream temperature can be reduced. The general method described in this paper is applicable to many heat transfer models with unknown free stream temperature.Keywords: Heat transfer coefficient, Thermo-tropic LiquidCrystal (TLC), Free stream temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16131925 Development of Thermal Model by Performance Verification of Heat Pipe Subsystem for Electronic Cooling under Space Environment
Authors: MK Lee, JS Hong, SM Sin, HU Oh
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Heat pipes are used to control the thermal problem for electronic cooling. It is especially difficult to dissipate heat to a heat sink in an environment in space compared to earth. For solving this problem, in this study, the Poiseuille (Po) number, which is the main measure of the performance of a heat pipe, is studied by CFD; then, the heat pipe performance is verified with experimental results. A heat pipe is then fabricated for a spatial environment, and an in-house code is developed. Further, a heat pipe subsystem, which consists of a heat pipe, MLI (Multi Layer Insulator), SSM (Second Surface Mirror), and radiator, is tested and correlated with the TMM (Thermal Mathematical Model) through a commercial code. The correlation results satisfy the 3K requirement, and the generated thermal model is verified for application to a spatial environment.Keywords: CFD, Heat pipe, Radiator, Space.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16421924 Exploring the Role of Hydrogen to Achieve the Italian Decarbonization Targets Using an Open-Source Energy System Optimization Model
Authors: A. Balbo, G. Colucci, M. Nicoli, L. Savoldi
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Hydrogen is expected to become an undisputed player in the ecological transition throughout the next decades. The decarbonization potential offered by this energy vector provides various opportunities for the so-called “hard-to-abate” sectors, including industrial production of iron and steel, glass, refineries and the heavy-duty transport. In this regard, Italy, in the framework of decarbonization plans for the whole European Union, has been considering a wider use of hydrogen to provide an alternative to fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors. This work aims to assess and compare different options concerning the pathway to be followed in the development of the future Italian energy system in order to meet decarbonization targets as established by the Paris Agreement and by the European Green Deal, and to infer a techno-economic analysis of the required asset alternatives to be used in that perspective. To accomplish this objective, the Energy System Optimization Model TEMOA-Italy is used, based on the open-source platform TEMOA and developed at PoliTo as a tool to be used for technology assessment and energy scenario analysis. The adopted assessment strategy includes two different scenarios to be compared with a business-as-usual one, which considers the application of current policies in a time horizon up to 2050. The studied scenarios are based on the up-to-date hydrogen-related targets and planned investments included in the National Hydrogen Strategy and in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with the purpose of providing a critical assessment of what they propose. One scenario imposes decarbonization objectives for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050, without any other specific target. The second one (inspired to the national objectives on the development of the sector) promotes the deployment of the hydrogen value-chain. These scenarios provide feedback about the applications hydrogen could have in the Italian energy system, including transport, industry and synfuels production. Furthermore, the decarbonization scenario where hydrogen production is not imposed, will make use of this energy vector as well, showing the necessity of its exploitation in order to meet pledged targets by 2050. The distance of the planned policies from the optimal conditions for the achievement of Italian objectives is clarified, revealing possible improvements of various steps of the decarbonization pathway, which seems to have as a fundamental element Carbon Capture and Utilization technologies for its accomplishment. In line with the European Commission open science guidelines, the transparency and the robustness of the presented results are ensured by the adoption of the open-source open-data model such as the TEMOA-Italy.
Keywords: Decarbonization, energy system optimization models, hydrogen, open-source modeling, TEMOA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6961923 Students’ Perception of Using Dental e-Models in an Inquiry-Based Curriculum
Authors: Yanqi Yang, Chongshan Liao, Cheuk Hin Ho, Susan Bridges
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Aim: To investigate students’ perceptions of using e-models in an inquiry-based curriculum. Approach: 52 second-year dental students completed a pre- and post-test questionnaire relating to their perceptions of e-models and their use in inquiry-based learning. The pre-test occurred prior to any learning with e-models. The follow-up survey was conducted after one year's experience of using e-models. Results: There was no significant difference between the two sets of questionnaires regarding students’ perceptions of the usefulness of e-models and their willingness to use e-models in future inquiry-based learning. Most students preferred using both plaster models and e-models in tandem. Conclusion: Students did not change their attitude towards e-models and most of them agreed or were neutral that e-models are useful in inquiry-based learning. Whilst recognizing the utility of 3D models for learning, students' preference for combining these with solid models has implications for the development of haptic sensibility in an operative discipline.
Keywords: E-models, inquiry-based curriculum, education.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18181922 Development of Multimodal e-Slide Presentation to Support Self-Learning for the Visually Impaired
Authors: Rustam Asnawi, Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad
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Currently electronic slide (e-slide) is one of the most common styles in educational presentation. Unfortunately, the utilization of e-slide for the visually impaired is uncommon since they are unable to see the content of such e-slides which are usually composed of text, images and animation. This paper proposes a model for presenting e-slide in multimodal presentation i.e. using conventional slide concurrent with voicing, in both languages Malay and English. At the design level, live multimedia presentation concept is used, while at the implementation level several components are used. The text content of each slide is extracted using COM component, Microsoft Speech API for voicing the text in English language and the text in Malay language is voiced using dictionary approach. To support the accessibility, an auditory user interface is provided as an additional feature. A prototype of such model named as VSlide has been developed and introduced.
Keywords: presentation, self-learning, slide, visually impaired
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15691921 Development of Monitoring and Simulation System of Human Tracking System Based On Mobile Agent Technologies
Authors: Kozo Tanigawa, Toshihiko Sasama, Kenichi Takahashi, Takao Kawamura, Kazunori Sugahara
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In recent years, the number of the cases of information leaks is increasing. Companies and Research Institutions make various actions against information thefts and security accidents. One of the actions is adoption of the crime prevention system, including the monitoring system by surveillance cameras. In order to solve difficulties of multiple cameras monitoring, we develop the automatic human tracking system using mobile agents through multiple surveillance cameras to track target persons. In this paper, we develop the monitor which confirms mobile agents tracing target persons, and the simulator of video picture analysis to construct the tracking algorithm.
Keywords: Human tracking, mobile agent, monitoring, simulate.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17151920 Environmental Competency Framework: Development of a Modified 2-Tuple Delphi Approach
Authors: M. Bouri, L. Chraïbi, N. Sefiani
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Currently, industries endeavor to align their environmental management system with the ISO 14001:2015 international standard, while preserving competitiveness and sustainability. Then, a key driver for these industries is to develop a skilled workforce that is able to implement, continuously improve and audit the environmental management system. The purpose of this paper is to provide an environmental competency framework that aims to identify, rank and categorize the competencies required by both the environmental managers and auditors. This competency framework is expected to be useful during competency assessment, recruitment, and training processes. To achieve this end, a modified 2-tuple Delphi approach is here proposed based on a combination of the modified Delphi approach and the 2-tuple linguistic representation model. The adopted approach is presented as numerous questionnaires that are spread over multiple rounds in order to obtain a consensus among the different Moroccan experts participating to this study.
Keywords: Competency framework, Delphi, environmental competency, 2-tuple.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4011919 Digital Hypertexts vs. Traditional Books: An Inquiry into Non-Linearity
Authors: Federica Fornaciari
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The current study begins with an awareness that today-s media environment is characterized by technological development and a new way of reading caused by the introduction of the Internet. The researcher conducted a meta analysis framed within Technological Determinism to investigate the process of hypertext reading, its differences from linear reading and the effects such differences can have on people-s ways of mentally structuring their world. The relationship between literacy and the comprehension achieved by reading hypertexts is also investigated. The results show hypertexts are not always user friendly. People experience hyperlinks as interruptions that distract their attention generating comprehension and disorientation. On one hand hypertextual jumping reading generates interruptions that finally make people lose their concentration. On the other hand hypertexts fascinate people who would rather read a document in such a format even though the outcome is often frustrating and affects their ability to elaborate and retain information.Keywords: Hypertext reading, Internet, non-linearity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14921918 Embedded Electrochemistry with a Miniaturized, Drone-Based, Potentiostat System for Remote Detection Chemical Warfare Agents
Authors: Amer Dawoud, Rashid Mia, Arati Biswakarma, Jesy Motchaalangaram, Wujan Miao, Karl Wallace
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The development of an embedded miniaturized drone-based system for remote detection of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs) is proposed. The paper focuses on the software/hardware system design of the electrochemical Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) signal processing for future deployment on drones. The paper summarizes the progress made towards hardware and electrochemical signal processing for signature detection of CWA. Also, the miniature potentiostat signal is validated by comparing it with the high-end lab potentiostat signal.
Keywords: Drone-based, remote detection chemical warfare agents, miniaturized, potentiostat.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5271917 Thermal Assessment of Outer Rotor Direct Drive Gearless Small-Scale Wind Turbines
Authors: Yusuf Yasa, Erkan Mese
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This paper investigates the thermal issue of permanent magnet synchronous generator which is frequently used in direct drive gearless small-scale wind turbine applications. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) is designed with 2.5 kW continuous and 6 kW peak power. Then considering generator geometry, mechanical design of wind turbine is performed. Thermal analysis and optimization is carried out considering all wind turbine components to reach realistic results. This issue is extremely important in research and development (R&D) process for wind turbine applications.Keywords: Direct drive, gearless wind turbine, permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), small-scale wind turbine, thermal management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23651916 Project Portfolio Management Phases: A Technique for Strategy Alignment
Authors: Amaral, António, Araújo, Madalena
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This paper seeks to give a general idea of the universe of project portfolio management, from its multidisciplinary nature, to the many challenges it raises, passing through the different techniques, models and tools used to solve the multiple problems known. It is intended to contribute to the clarification, with great depth, of the impacts and relationships involved in managing the projects- portfolio. It aims at proposing a technique for the project alignment with the organisational strategy, in order to select projects that later on will be considered in the analysis and selection of the portfolio. We consider the development of a methodology for assessing the project alignment index very relevant in the global market scenario. It can help organisations to gain a greater awareness of market dynamics, speed up the decision process and increase its consistency, thus enabling the strategic alignment and the improvement of the organisational performance.
Keywords: Project Portfolio Management Cycle, Project Portfolio Selection, Resource Assignment, Strategy Alignment technique
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34561915 A Study on the Importance of Motivation among the Managers in Construction Companies in Medan
Authors: A.Marisa, Nor'Aini Yusof
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Managers as the key employees have a very important role in maintaining the workforce performance which is critical to the construction companies- success in the future. If motivated employees start with motivated managers probably it would seem plausible if the de-motivated ones start with de-motivated managers. This study aims to analyze the importance of motivated managers to their successes and construction companies- successes. In this study, a quantitative method was used and the study area was in Medan, North Sumatera. Questionnaire survey was distributed directly to construction companies in Medan which are listed in the Construction Services Development Board. A total of 60 managers responded and the completed questionnaires were analyzed using the descriptive analysis. The results indicated that the respondents acknowledge the importance of motivation among themselves to the projects and construction companies- success, implying that it is vital o maintain the motivation and good performance of the workforce.Keywords: construction companies, managers, motivation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17091914 Evaluation Factors of Clinical Decision Support System in u_Healthcare Service
Authors: Sun K. Yoo, Ki-Chang Nam, Hyun-Young Shin, Ho-Seong Moon, Hee Cheol Kang
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Automated intelligent, clinical decision support systems generally promote to help or to assist physicians and patients regarding to prevention of diseases or treatment of illnesses using computer represented knowledge and information. In this paper, assessment factors affecting the proper design of clinical decision support system were investigated. The required procedure steps for gathering the data from clinical trial and extracting the information from large volume of healthcare repositories were listed, which are necessary for validation and verification of evidence-based implementation of clinical decision support system. The goal of this paper is to extract useful evaluation factors affecting the quality of the clinical decision support system in the design, development, and implementation of a computer-based decision support system.
Keywords: Evaluation, Clinical Decision Support System.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22371913 Sulfur Removal of Hydrocarbon Fuels Using Oxidative Desulfurization Enhanced by Fenton Process
Authors: Mahsa Ja’fari, Mohammad R. Khosravi-Nikou, Mohsen Motavassel
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A comprehensive development towards the production of ultra-clean fuels as a feed stoke is getting to raise due to the increasing use of diesel fuels and global air pollution. Production of environmental-friendly fuels can be achievable by some limited single methods and most integrated ones. Oxidative desulfurization (ODS) presents vast ranges of technologies possessing suitable characteristics with regard to the Fenton process. Using toluene as a model fuel feed with dibenzothiophene (DBT) as a sulfur compound under various operating conditions is the attempt of this study. The results showed that this oxidative process followed a pseudo-first order kinetics. Removal efficiency of 77.43% is attained under reaction time of 40 minutes with (Fe+2/H2O2) molar ratio of 0.05 in acidic pH environment. In this research, temperature of 50 °C represented the most influential role in proceeding the reaction.
Keywords: Design of experiment, dibenzothiophene, optimization, oxidative desulfurization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19761912 Effect of Incentives on Knowledge Sharing and Learning – Evidence from the Indian IT Sector
Authors: Asish O. Mathew, Lewlyn L. R. Rodrigues
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The organizations in the knowledge economy era have recognized the importance of building knowledge assets for sustainable growth and development. In comparison to other industries, Information Technology (IT) enterprises, holds an edge in developing an effective Knowledge Management (KM) programmethanks to their in-house technological abilities. This paper tries to study the various knowledge based incentive programmes and its effect on Knowledge Sharing and Learning in the context of the Indian IT sector. A conceptual model is developed linking KM Incentives, Knowledge Sharing and Learning. A questionnaire study is conducted to collect primary data from the knowledge workers of the IT organizations located in India. The data was analysed using Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Square method. The results show a strong influence of knowledge management incentives on knowledge sharing and an indirect influence on learning.
Keywords: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Incentives, Knowledge Sharing, Learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36901911 Effects of Coupling Agent and Flame Retardant on the Performances of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites
Authors: R. Ridzuan, M. D. H. Beg, M. Y. Rosli, M. H. Rohaya, A. A. Astimar S. Samahani, I. Zawawi
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Alkali treated oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres (TEFBF) and untreated EFBF fibers (UEFBF) were incorporated in polypropylene (PP) with and without malic anhydride grafted PP (MAPP) and magnesium hydroxide as flame retardant (FR) to produce TEFBF-PP and UEFBF-PP composites by the melt casting method. The composites were characterized by mechanical and burning tests along with a scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The significant improvement in flexural modulus (133%) and flame retardant property (60%) of TEFBF-PP composite with MAPP and FR is observed. The improved mechanical property is discussed by the development of encapsulated textures.Keywords: Empty fruit bunch fibers, polypropylene, mechanical property, flame retardant.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25321910 Preparation and Characterization of Nylon 6-Clay Hybrid/Neat Nylon 6 Bicomponent Nanocomposite Fibers
Authors: Shahin Kazemi, Mohammad Reza Mohaddes Mojtahedi, Ruhollah Semnani Rahbar, Wataru Takarada, Takeshi Kikutani
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Nylon 6-clay hybrid/neat nylon 6, sheath/core bicomponent nanocomposite fibers containing 4 wt% of clay in sheath section were melt spun at different take-up speeds. Their orientation and crystalline structure were compared to those of neat nylon 6 fibers. Birefringence measurements showed that the orientation development in sheath and core parts of bicomponent fibers was different. Crystallinity results showed that clay did not act as a nucleating agent for bicomponent fibers. The neat nylon 6 fiber had a smooth surface while striped pattern was appeared on the surface of bicomponent fiber containing clay due to thermal shrinkage of the core part.Keywords: Bicomponent fiber, High speed melt spinning, Nylon 6-clay hybrid, Nylon 6.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23791909 Active Vibration Control of Flexible Beam using Differential Evolution Optimisation
Authors: Mohd Sazli Saad, Hishamuddin Jamaluddin, Intan Zaurah Mat Darus
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This paper presents the development of an active vibration control using direct adaptive controller to suppress the vibration of a flexible beam system. The controller is realized based on linear parametric form. Differential evolution optimisation algorithm is used to optimize the controller using single objective function by minimizing the mean square error of the observed vibration signal. Furthermore, an alternative approach is developed to systematically search for the best controller model structure together with it parameter values. The performance of the control scheme is presented and analysed in both time and frequency domain. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is able to suppress the unwanted vibration effectively.Keywords: flexible beam, finite difference method, active vibration control, differential evolution, direct adaptive controller
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25591908 Creating a Virtual Perception for Upper Limb Rehabilitation
Authors: Nina Robson, Kenneth John Faller II, Vishalkumar Ahir, Arthur Ricardo Deps Miguel Ferreira, John Buchanan, Amarnath Banerjee
Abstract:
This paper describes the development of a virtual-reality system ARWED, which will be used in physical rehabilitation of patients with reduced upper extremity mobility to increase limb Active Range of Motion (AROM). The ARWED system performs a symmetric reflection and real-time mapping of the patient’s healthy limb on to their most affected limb, tapping into the mirror neuron system and facilitating the initial learning phase. Using the ARWED, future experiments will test the extension of the action-observation priming effect linked to the mirror-neuron system on healthy subjects and then stroke patients.Keywords: Physical rehabilitation, mirror neuron, virtual reality, stroke therapy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19501907 Analytical Study on Threats to Wetland Ecosystems and their Solutions in the Framework of the Ramsar Convention
Authors: Ehsan Daryadel, Farhad Talaei
Abstract:
Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. Nevertheless, various challenges threaten these ecosystems and disrupt their ecological character. Among these, the effects of human-based threats are more devastating. Following mass degradation of wetlands during 1970s, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) was concluded to conserve wetlands of international importance and prevent destruction and degradation of such ecosystems through wise use of wetlands as a mean to achieve sustainable development in all over the world. Therefore, in this paper, efforts have been made to analyze threats to wetlands and then investigate solutions in the framework of the Ramsar Convention. Finally, in order to operate these mechanisms, this study concludes that all states should in turn make their best effort to improve and restore global wetlands through preservation of environmental standards and close contribution and also through taking joint measures with other states effectively.
Keywords: Ramsar Convention, Threats, Wetland Ecosystems, Wise Use.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4674