Search results for: water and sewerage charge rate.

Authors: Masoud Afrand, Saeid Farahat, Mehdi Alamkar

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In this research, effect of combustion reaction mechanism on direct initiation of detonation has been studied numerically. For this purpose, reaction mechanism has been simulated by using a three-step chemical kinetics model. The reaction scheme consists sequentially of a chain-initiation and chainbranching step, followed by a temperature -independent chaintermination. In a previous research, the effect of chain-branching on the direct initiation of detonation is studied. In this research effect of chain-initiation on direct initiation of detonation is investigated. For the investigation, first a characteristic time (τ) for each step of mechanism, which includes effect of different kinetics parameters, is defined. Then the effect of characteristic time of chain-initiation (τI) on critical initiation energy is studied. It is seen that increasing τI, causes critical initiation energy to be increased. Drawing detonation's shock pressure diagrams for different cases, shows that in small value of τI , kinetics has more important effect on the behavior of the wave.

Keywords: Detonation initiation, Initiation energy, Reaction rate, Characteristic time.

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Authors: Nilay Tanrıver, Birgül Benli, Nilgün Kızılcan

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Polysulfone (PSU) is a specialty engineering polymer having various industrial applications. PSU is especially used in waste water treatment membranes due to its good mechanical properties, structural and chemical stability. But it is a hydrophobic material and therefore its surface aim to pollute easily. In order to resolve this problem and extend the properties of membrane, PSU surface is rendered hydrophilic by addition of the sepiolite nanofibers. Sepiolite is one of the natural clays, which is a hydrate magnesium silicate fiber, also one of the well known layered clays of the montmorillonites where has several unique channels and pores within. It has also moisture durability, strength and low price. Sepiolite channels give great capacity of absorption and good surface properties. In this study, nanocomposites of commercial PSU and Sepiolite were prepared by solvent mixing method. Different organic solvents and their mixtures were used. Rheological characteristics of PSU-Sepiolite solvent mixtures were analyzed, the solubility of nanocomposite content in those mixtures were studied.

Keywords: Nanocomposite, polysulfone, rheology, sepiolite, solution mixing.

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Authors: Srinath Shetty K., Shivashankar R., Rashmi P. Shetty

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Earth reinforcing techniques have become useful and economical to solve problems related to difficult grounds and provide satisfactory foundation performance. In this context, this paper uses radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for predicting the bearing pressure of strip footing on reinforced granular bed overlying weak soil. The inputs for the neural network models included plate width, thickness of granular bed and number of layers of reinforcements, settlement ratio, water content, dry density, cohesion and angle of friction. The results indicated that RBFNN model exhibited more than 84 % prediction accuracy, thereby demonstrating its application in a geotechnical problem.

Keywords: Bearing pressure, granular bed, radial basis function neural network, strip footing.

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Authors: N. Karunakaran, V. Balasubramanian

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This paper presents the results of a study aimed at establishing the temperature distribution during the welding of aluminum alloy plates by Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (PCGTAW) and Constant Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (CCGTAW) processes. Pulsing of the GTA welding current influences the dimensions and solidification rate of the fused zone, it also reduces the weld pool volume hence a narrower bead. In this investigation, the base material considered was aluminum alloy AA 6351 T6, which is finding use in aircraft, automobile and high-speed train components. A finite element analysis was carried out using ANSYS, and the results of the FEA were compared with the experimental results. It is evident from the study that the finite element analysis using ANSYS can be effectively used to model PCGTAW process for finding temperature distribution.

Keywords: Gas tungsten arc welding, pulsed current, finite element analysis, thermal analysis, aluminum alloy.

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Authors: N. Lokeshwari, G Srinikethan, S. G. Joshi, I. Shasikala, B. Srikanth, Bashirahmed, L. Sushma

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Water pollution is a major concern for the pulp and paper industry due to the large quantities of effluents generated. Biodegradation of industrial Lignin and AOX by a fungal isolate identified as Aspergillus flavus, white rot fungi which was isolated from Pulp and Paper effluent was studied in batch flask system with industrial effluent and synthetic solution. The flasks were operated at temperature 32°C at 200rpm for eight days in continuous mode. The average overall pH, Temperature, DO, C.O.D, T.D.S, T.S.S, Lignin, AOX were up to 4.56, 32oC, 4.2mg/l, 104mg/l, 6000 mg/l, 4000mg/l, 575.5mg/l, 2195 mg/l respectively after treatment. The Aspergillus flavus sp was the most effective in the biodegradation of Lignin of pulp industry for 94% at 480nm, AOX for 62% at 510nm and of chemical oxygen demand levels for 45% after 8 days of incubation. The optimal conditions found were 4 pH and 32oC temperature for lignin and AOX degradation.

Keywords: Aspergillus flavus, Lignin, Optimal conditions, Quantification studies.

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Authors: Raisa Kh. Bolotnova, Marat N. Galimzianov, Andrey S. Topolnikov, Uliana O. Agisheva, Valeria A. Buzina

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The paper presents the results of theoretical and numerical modeling of propagation of shock waves in bubbly liquids related to nonlinear effects (realistic equation of state, chemical reactions, two-dimensional effects). On the basis on the Rankine- Hugoniot equations the problem of determination of parameters of passing and reflected shock waves in gas-liquid medium for isothermal, adiabatic and shock compression of the gas component is solved by using the wide-range equation of state of water in the analitic form. The phenomenon of shock wave intensification is investigated in the channel of variable cross section for the propagation of a shock wave in the liquid filled with bubbles containing chemically active gases. The results of modeling of the wave impulse impact on the solid wall covered with bubble layer are presented.

Keywords: bubbly liquid, cavitation, equation of state, shock wave

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Authors: Koo-Yeon Kim, Eun-Hye Kim, Tae-Il Son

Abstract:

Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF, Mw=6,045) has been reported to have high efficiency of wound repair and anti-wrinkle effect. However, the half-life of EGF in the body is too short to exert the biological activity effectively when applied in free form. Growth Factors can be stabilized by immobilization with carbohydrates from thermal and proteolytic degradation. Low molecular weight chitosan (LMCS) and its derivate prepared by hydrogen peroxide has high solubility. LM6A6DC was successfully prepared as a reactive carbohydrate for the stabilization of EGF by the reactions of LMCS with alkalization, tosylation, azidation and reduction. The structure of LM6A6DC was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR and elementary analysis. For enhancing the stability of free EGF, EGF was attached with LM6A6DC by using water-soluble carbodiimide. EGF-LM6A6DC conjugates did not show any cytotoxicity on the Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (NHDF) 3T3 proliferation at least under 100 μg/ml. In the result, it was considered that LM6A6DC is suitable to immobilize of growth factor.

Keywords: Epidermal growth factor (EGF), low-molecular-weight chitosan, immobilization.

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Authors: A. Mohajer, A. Noroozi, S. Norouzi

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The bypass exhaust system of a 160 MW combined cycle has been modeled and analyzed using numerical simulation in 2D prospective. Analysis was carried out using the commercial numerical simulation software, FLUENT 6.2. All inputs were based on the technical data gathered from working conditions of a Siemens V94.2 gas turbine, installed in the Yazd power plant. This paper deals with reduction of pressure drop in bypass exhaust system using turning vanes mounted in diverter box in order to alleviate turbulent energy dissipation rate above diverter box. The geometry of such turning vanes has been optimized based on the flow pattern at diverter box inlet. The results show that the use of optimized turning vanes in diverter box can improve the flow pattern and eliminate vortices around sharp edges just before the silencer. Furthermore, this optimization could decrease the pressure drop in bypass exhaust system and leads to higher plant efficiency.

Keywords: Numerical simulation, Diverter box, Turning vanes, Exhaust system

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Authors: Ahmed A. Hassan, Al-Ramadan Baqer

Abstract:

Kenya Amboseli National Park hosts the largest elephant’s population in the country, protected and managed by the government under the Kenya Wildlife Service. The park has been experiencing highly organized poaching, in terms of both total elephant deaths and the level of sophistication employed by the poachers. The main objective of this study is to use GIS to map the entire park properly. GIS map of the park was produced including all leading roads, neighboring land use, main gates and water points with geographic co-ordinates well documented. The result obtained indicates the three main gates and the airport as the hotspot points that the tusks can be ferried out of the park. Therefore, this study recommends the government to put strong security measures on these areas. These procedures can lower the poaching threat and assist the game warders properly manage the endangered species.

Keywords: Elephants, GIS, poaching, Amboseli National Park.

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Authors: Qiu Chen, Koji Kotani, Feifei Lee, Tadahiro Ohmi

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In this paper, we propose an improved face recognition algorithm using histogram-based features in spatial and frequency domains. For adding spatial information of the face to improve recognition performance, a region-division (RD) method is utilized. The facial area is firstly divided into several regions, then feature vectors of each facial part are generated by Binary Vector Quantization (BVQ) histogram using DCT coefficients in low frequency domains, as well as Local Binary Pattern (LBP) histogram in spatial domain. Recognition results with different regions are first obtained separately and then fused by weighted averaging. Publicly available ORL database is used for the evaluation of our proposed algorithm, which is consisted of 40 subjects with 10 images per subject containing variations in lighting, posing, and expressions. It is demonstrated that face recognition using RD method can achieve much higher recognition rate.

Keywords: Face recognition, Binary vector quantization (BVQ), Local Binary Patterns (LBP), DCT coefficients.

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Authors: R. Rama Kishore, Sunesh

Abstract:

Nowadays, robust and secure watermarking algorithm and its optimization have been need of the hour. A watermarking algorithm is presented to achieve the copy right protection of the owner based on visual cryptography, histogram shape property and entropy. In this, both host image and watermark are preprocessed. Host image is preprocessed by using Butterworth filter, and watermark is with visual cryptography. Applying visual cryptography on water mark generates two shares. One share is used for embedding the watermark, and the other one is used for solving any dispute with the aid of trusted authority. Usage of histogram shape makes the process more robust against geometric and signal processing attacks. The combination of visual cryptography, Butterworth filter, histogram, and entropy can make the algorithm more robust, imperceptible, and copy right protection of the owner.

Keywords: Butterworth filter, digital watermarking, histogram, visual cryptography.

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Authors: Hélder Spínola

Abstract:

Sustainable development is highly dependent on the implementation of environmental education programs, which has as its ultimate goal to produce environmentally literate citizens that undertake environmentally friendly actions. Efforts on environmental education along past years are now perceived on the increase of citizens awareness on European countries and, particularly, in Portugal. However, we still have a lack of information on the prevalence of specific behaviors that contributes to sustainability, influenced by a new attitude toward the environment. The determination of pro-environmental behaviors prevalence in higher education students is an important approach to understand to which extend the next leading generation is, in practice, committed with the goals of sustainable development. Therefore, present study evaluates the prevalence of a specific set of behaviors (water savings, energy savings, environmental criteria on shopping, and mobility) on the University of Madeira students and discusses their commitment with sustainable development.

Keywords: Pro-environmental behaviors, sustainable development, environmental education, higher education students

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Authors: Hyojin Lim, Cuong Nguyen Khac, Ho-Youl Jung

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In this paper, we propose moving object detection method which is helpful for driver to safely take his/her car out of parking lot. When moving objects such as motorbikes, pedestrians, the other cars and some obstacles are detected at the rear-side of host vehicle, the proposed algorithm can provide to driver warning. We assume that the host vehicle is just before departure. Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) based background subtraction is basically applied. Pre-processing such as smoothing and post-processing as morphological filtering are added. We examine “which color space has better performance for detection of moving objects?” Three color spaces including RGB, YCbCr, and Y are applied and compared, in terms of detection rate. Through simulation, we prove that RGB space is more suitable for moving object detection based on background subtraction.

Keywords: Gaussian mixture model, background subtraction, Moving object detection, color space, morphological filtering.

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Authors: T. J. Jemi Jeya, V. Sriram

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Pile Supported Caisson breakwater is an ecofriendly breakwater very useful in coastal zone protection. The model is developed by considering the advantages of both caisson breakwater and pile supported breakwater, where the top portion is a vertical or quarter circle caisson and the bottom portion consists of a pile supported breakwater defined as Vertical Pile Supported Breakwater (VPSCB) and Quarter-circle Pile Supported Breakwater (QPSCB). The study mainly focuses on comparison of run up over VPSCB and QPSCB under oblique waves. The experiments are carried out in a shallow wave basin under different water depths (d = 0.5 m & 0.55 m) and under different oblique regular waves (0⁰, 15⁰, 30⁰). The run up over the surface is measured by placing two run up probes over the surface at 0.3 m on both sides from the centre of the model. The results show that the non-dimensional shoreward run up shows slight decrease with respect to increase in angle of wave attack.

Keywords: Caisson breakwater, pile supported breakwater, quarter circle breakwater, vertical breakwater.

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Authors: Linjun Wu, Shihua Zhu, Xingle Feng

Abstract:

In Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems, the peak to average power ratio (PAR) is much high. The clipping signal scheme is a useful method to reduce PAR. Clipping the OFDM signal, however, increases the overall noise level by introducing clipping noise. It is necessary to recover the figure of the original signal at receiver in order to reduce the clipping noise. Considering the continuity of the signal and the figure of the peak, we obtain a certain conic function curve to replace the clipped signal module within the clipping time. The results of simulation show that the proposed scheme can reduce the systems? BER (bit-error rate) 10 times when signal-to-interference-and noise-ratio (SINR) equals to 12dB. And the BER performance of the proposed scheme is superior to that of kim's scheme, too.

Keywords: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, Peak-to-Average Power Ratio, clipping time, conic function.

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Authors: Nafisur Rahman, Habibur Rahman, Syed Najmul Hejaz Azmi

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This paper presents a simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of ramipril in commercial dosage forms. The method is based on the reaction of the drug with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at 100 ± 1ºC. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of the absorbance at 420 nm. Fixed-time (ΔA) and equilibrium methods are adopted for constructing the calibration curves. Both the calibration curves were found to be linear over the concentration ranges 20 - 220 μg/ml. The regression analysis of calibration data yielded the linear equations: Δ A = 6.30 × 10-4 + 1.54 × 10-3 C and A = 3.62 × 10-4 + 6.35 × 10-3 C for fixed time (Δ A) and equilibrium methods, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) for fixed time and equilibrium methods are 1.47 and 1.05 μg/ml, respectively. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of ramipril in commercial dosage forms. Statistical comparison of the results shows that there is no significant difference between the proposed methods and Abdellatef-s spectrophotometric method.

Keywords: Equilibrium method, Fixed-time (ΔA) method, Ramipril, Spectrophotometry.

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Authors: Guillermo Vilalta, Félix Nieto, Carlos Vaquero, José A. Vilalta

Abstract:

Abdominal aortic aneurysms rupture (AAAs) is one of the main causes of death in the world. This is a very complex phenomenon that usually occurs “without previous warning". Currently, criteria to assess the aneurysm rupture risk (peak diameter and growth rate) can not be considered as reliable indicators. In a first approach, the main geometric parameters of aneurysms have been linked into five biomechanical factors. These are combined to obtain a dimensionless rupture risk index, RI(t), which has been validated preliminarily with a clinical case and others from literature. This quantitative indicator is easy to understand, it allows estimating the aneurysms rupture risks and it is expected to be able to identify the one in aneurysm whose peak diameter is less than the threshold value. Based on initial results, a broader study has begun with twelve patients from the Clinic Hospital of Valladolid-Spain, which are submitted to periodic follow-up examinations.

Keywords: AAA, rupture risk prediction, biomechanical factors, AAA geometric characterization.

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Authors: M. Cheraghi, B. Lorestani, N. Yousefi

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Contamination of heavy metals represents one of the most pressing threats to water and soil resources as well as human health. Phytoremediation can be potentially used to remediate metalcontaminated sites. A major step towards the development of phytoremediation of heavy metal impacted soils is the discovery of the heavy metal hyperaccumulation in plants. In this study, the several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied. The case study was represented by a mining area in Hamedan province in the central west part of Iran. Obtained results showed that the most of sampled species were able to grow on heavily metal-contaminated soils and also were able to accumulate extraordinarily high concentrations of some metals such as Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb and Fe. Using the most common criteria, Euphorbia macroclada and Centaurea virgata can be classified as hyperaccumulators of some measured heavy metals and, therefore, they have suitable potential for phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

Keywords: Enrichment factor, Heavy metals, Hyperaccumulator, Phytoremediation, Translocation factor

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Authors: Rohani Salleh, Mishaliny Sivadahasan Nair, Haryanni Harun

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High employee turnover rate in Malaysia-s retail industry has become a major issue that needs to be addressed. This study determines the levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention of employees in a retail company in Malaysia. The relationships between job satisfaction and organizational commitment on turnover intention are also investigated. A questionnaire was developed using Job Descriptive Index, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, and Lee and Mowday-s turnover intention items and data were collected from 62 respondents. The findings suggested that the respondents were moderately satisfied with job satisfaction facets such as promotion, work itself, co-workers, and supervisors but were unsatisfied with salary. They also had moderate commitment level with considerably high intention to leave the organization. All satisfaction facets (except for co-workers) and organizational commitment were significantly and negatively related to turnover intention. Based on the findings, retention strategies of retail employees were proposed.

Keywords: Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, retail employees, turnover intention.

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Authors: Hadi Farhadian, Homayoon Katibeh

Abstract:

In this paper, groundwater seepage into Amirkabir tunnel has been estimated using analytical and numerical methods for 14 different sections of the tunnel. Site Groundwater Rating (SGR) method also has been performed for qualitative and quantitative classification of the tunnel sections. The obtained results of above mentioned methods were compared together. The study shows reasonable accordance with results of the all methods unless for two sections of tunnel. In these two sections there are some significant discrepancies between numerical and analytical results mainly originated from model geometry and high overburden. SGR and the analytical and numerical calculations, confirm high concentration of seepage inflow in fault zones. Maximum seepage flow into tunnel has been estimated 0.425 lit/sec/m using analytical method and 0.628 lit/sec/m using numerical method occured in crashed zone. Based on SGR method, six sections of 14 sections in Amirkabir tunnel axis are found to be in "No Risk" class that is supported by the analytical and numerical seepage value of less than 0.04 lit/sec/m.

Keywords: Water Seepage, Amirkabir Tunnel, Analytical Method, DEM, SGR.

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Authors: Marius Gheju, Laura Cocheci

Abstract:

In this study, the reduction of Cr(VI) by use of scrap iron, a cheap and locally available industrial waste, was investigated in continuous system. The greater scrap iron efficiency observed for the first two sections of the column filling indicate that most of the reduction process was carried out in the bottom half of the column filling. This was ascribed to a constant decrease of Cr(VI) concentration inside the filling, as the water front passes from the bottom to the top end of the column. While the bottom section of the column filling was heavily passivated with secondary mineral phases, the top section was less affected by the passivation process; therefore the column filling would likely ensure the reduction of Cr(VI) for time periods longer than 216 hours. The experimental results indicate that fixed beds columns packed with scrap iron could be successfully used for the first step of Cr(VI) polluted wastewater treatment. However, the mass of scrap iron filling should be carefully estimated since it significantly affects the Cr(VI) reduction efficiency.

Keywords: hexavalent chromium, heavy metals, scrap iron, reduction capacity, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Emrah Ersoy, Yusuf Özçatalbas

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate formability of Al based closed cell metallic foams at high temperature. The foam specimens with rectangular section were produced from AlMg1Si0.6TiH20.8 alloy preform material. Bending and free bending tests based on gravity effect were applied to foam specimens at high temperatures. During the tests, the time-angular deformation relationships with various temperatures were determined. Deformation types formed in cell walls were investigated by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. Bending deformation about 90° was achieved without any defect at high temperatures. The importance of a critical temperature and deformation rate was emphasized in maintaining the deformation. Significant slip lines on surface of cell walls at tensile zones of bending specimen were observed. At high strain rates, the microcrack formation in boundaries of elongated grains was determined.

Keywords: Al alloy, Closed cell, hot deformation, metallic foam.

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Authors: Y. Parish, F. Najaei Abadi

Abstract:

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the seismic behaviour of earth dams. Analysis is conducted for the solid phase. It may correspond to the response of the dam before water filling. Analysis is conducted for a simple case which concerns the elastic response of the dam. Numerical analyses are conducted using the FLAC3D program. The behaviour of the Shell and core of the dam and the foundation behaviour is assumed to be elastic. Result shows the influence of the variation of the shear modulus of the core and shell on the seismic amplification of the dam. It can be observed that the variation of the shearing modulus of the core leads to a moderate increase in the dynamic amplification and the increase in the shell shearing modulus leads to a significant increase in the dynamic amplification.

Keywords: Numerical, earth dam, seismic, dynamic, core, FLAC3D.

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Authors: H. Mat Kiah, Rafiziana M. Kasmani, Norazana Ibrahim, Roshafima R. Ali, Aziatul N.Sadikin

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An experimental study has been done to investigate the flame acceleration in a closed pipe. A horizontal steel pipe, 2m long and 0.1m in diameter (L/D of 20), was used in this work. For tests with 90 degree bends, the bend had a radius of 0.1m and thus, the pipe was lengthened 1m (based on the centreline length of the segment). Ignition was affected at one end of the vessel while the other end was closed. Only stoichiometric concentration (Ф, = 1.0) of natural gas/air mixtures will be reported in this paper. It was demonstrated that bend pipe configuration gave three times higher in maximum overpressure (5.5 bars) compared to straight pipe (2.0 bars). From the results, the highest flame speed, of 63ms^-1, was observed in a gas explosion with bent pipe; greater by a factor of ~3 as compared with straight pipe (23ms^-1). This occurs because bending acts similar to an obstacle, in which this mechanism can induce more turbulence, initiating combustion in an unburned pocket at the corner region and causing a high mass burning rate, which increases the flame speed.

Keywords: Bending, gas explosion, bending, flame acceleration, overpressure.

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Authors: Zahra Mohammadnazari, Fateme Rostambeygi, Fatemeh Dehrouyeh, Hwang Ki-Soon, Amir Aghsami

Abstract:

Corporations have always prioritized efforts to examine and improve processes. Various metrics, such as the cost and time required to implement the process and can be specified in this regard. Process improvement can be defined as an improvement of these indicators. This is accomplished by looking at prospective adjustments to the current executive process model or the resources allotted to it. Research has been conducted in this paper to the improve the procurement process and aims to explore assessment prospects in the project using a combination of process mining and simulation (benefiting from Play-In and Play-Out methodologies). To run the simulation, we will need to complete the control flow diagram, institution settings, resource settings, and activity settings. The process of mining event logs yields the process control flow. However, both the entry of institutions and the distribution of resources must be modeled. The rate of admission of institutions and the distribution of time for the implementation of activities will be determined in the next step.

Keywords: Business reengineering, Petri net, process-based simulation, process mining.

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Authors: Aiyeloja A.A, Ogunjinmi A.A

Abstract:

The recurring decimal of rural and urban poverty in Nigeria, resulting from lack of sustainable livelihood activities by the people due to non-diversification of the economy, necessitated this study. One hundred snail farmers were randomly selected in Akure North and Akure South Local Government areas of Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria where snail farming is widely practised. Data collection was through questionnaires administration and onsite observation of farms. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Student-s t-test and regression analysis. Cost benefit ratio (CBR) and rate of return on investment (RORI) were calculated in order to determine the poverty alleviation potentials of snail farming in the study areas. Although snail farming was profitable and viable, it was below poverty line. With time and more knowledge in its farming activities, and with more people taking to snail production, its poverty alleviation and reduction potentials will increase.

Keywords: Alleviation, farming, Nigeria, potential, poverty, snail.

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Authors: In Hoi Lee, Seong Baeg Kim, Je Eung Jeon, Gwang Yong Choi, Joo Sub Lee, Ik Sang Kim

Abstract:

Recently, the interest of globalization in the field of  teacher education has increased. In the U.S., the government is trying  to enhance the quality of education through a global approach in  education. To do so, the schools in the U.S. are recruiting teachers with  global capability from countries like Korea where competent teachers  are being trained. Meanwhile, in the case of Korea, although excellent  teachers have been cultivated every year, due to a low birth rate it is  not easy to become a domestic teacher. To solve the trouble that the  two countries are facing, the study first examines the demand and  necessity of globalization in the field of teacher education between  Korea and the U.S. Second, we propose a new project, called the  ‘Global Teachers University (GTU)’ program to satisfy the demands  of both countries. Finally, we provide its implications to build the  future educational cooperation for teacher training in a global context.

Keywords: Educational cooperation, globalization, teachers education program, teacher training institutions.

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Authors: Kalayanee Koonmee

Abstract:

An incentive for performance, as one subsystem of a new performance management system, has been implemented in the Thai public sector since 2004. This research investigates the development of organizational justice in the incentive allocation by comparing the roles of distributive and procedural justice on national personnel-s attitudinal outcomes (incentive satisfaction and job performance) between 2 periods, i.e. 2006 and 2008. The data were collected via self-administered questionnaires completed by national government officers and employees. They were stratified using multistage sampling with 2,600 usable samples or 72.0% response rate in 2006, and 1,969 usable samples or 59.3% in 2008. The findings are: (1) There is no difference in means between the two periods relating to distributive justice, procedural justice, incentive satisfaction and job performance. (2) Distributive justice and procedural justice played more important roles in predicting incentive satisfaction and job performance in 2008 than in 2006.

Keywords: Distributive justice, incentive allocation, proceduraljustice, Thai public sector.

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Authors: C. Vrekos, C. Evagelides, N. Samarinas, G. Arampatzis

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As known, the water energy is a renewable and clean source of energy. Energy production from hydropower has been the first, and still is today a renewable source used to generate electricity. The optimal location and sizing of a small hydropower plant is a very important issue in engineering design which encourages investigation. The aim of this paper is to present a formula that can be utilized for locating the position of a small hydropower plant although there is a high dependence on economic, environmental, and social parameters. In this paper, the economic and technical side of the problem is considered. More specifically, there is a critical terrain slope that determines if the plant should be located at the end of the slope or not. Of course, this formula can be used for a first estimate and does not include detailed economic analysis. At the end, a case study is presented for the location of a small hydropower plant in order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed formula.

Keywords: Critical terrain slope, economic analysis, hydropower plant locating, renewable energy.

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Authors: Sadia Rahman, Shatirah Akib, M. T. R. Khan, R. Triatmadja

Abstract:

Tsunami disaster poses a great threat to coastal infrastructures. Bridges without adequate provisions for earthquake and tsunami loading is generally vulnerable to tsunami attack. During the last two disastrous tsunami event (i.e. Indian Ocean and Japan Tsunami) a number of bridges were observed subsequent damages by tsunami waves. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effects of perforations in bridge girder in force reduction. Results showed that significant amount of forces were reduced using perforations in girder. Approximately 10% to 18% force reductions were achieved by using about 16% perforations in bridge girder. Subsequent amount of force reductions revealed that perforations in girder are effective in reducing tsunami forces as perforations in girder let water to be passed through. Thus, less bridge damages are expected with the presence of perforations in girder during tsunami period.

Keywords: Bridge, force, girder, perforation, tsunami, wave.

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