Search results for: Noise level effects.
3036 Assessment of Climate Policy and Sustainability in Hungary
Authors: M. Csete, G. Szendrö
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The last Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stating that the greatest risk in climate change affects sustainability is now widely known and accepted. However, it has not provoked substantial reaction and attention in Hungary, while international and national efforts have also not achieved expected results so far. Still, there are numerous examples on different levels (national, regional, local, household) making considerable progress in limiting their own emissions and making steps toward mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. The local level is exceptionally important in sustainability adaptation, as local communities are often able to adapt more flexibly to changes in the natural environment.The aim of this paper is to attempt a review of the national climate policy and the local climate change strategies in Hungary considering sustainable development.Keywords: adaptation, climate policy, mitigation, localsustainability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14373035 From Victim to Ethical Agent: Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol as Post-Traumatic Writing
Authors: Mona Salah El-Din Hassanein
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Faced with a sudden, unexpected, and overwhelming event, the individual's normal cognitive processing may cease to function, trapping the psyche in "speechless terror", while images, feelings and sensations are experienced with emotional intensity. Unable to master such situation, the individual becomes a trauma victim who will be susceptible to traumatic recollections like intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and repetitive re-living of the primal event in a way that blurs the distinction between past and present, and forecloses the future. Trauma is timeless, repetitious, and contagious; a trauma observer could fall prey to "secondary victimhood". Central to the process of healing the psychic wounds in the aftermath of trauma is verbalizing the traumatic experience (i.e., putting it into words) – an act which provides a chance for assimilation, testimony, and reevaluation. In light of this paradigm, this paper proposes a reading of Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol, written shortly after his release from prison, as a post-traumatic text which traces the disruptive effects of the traumatic experience of Wilde's imprisonment for homosexual offences and the ensuing reversal of fortune he endured. Post-traumatic writing demonstrates the process of "working through" a trauma which may lead to the possibility of ethical agency in the form of a "survivor mission". This paper draws on fundamental concepts and key insights in literary trauma theory which is characterized by interdisciplinarity, combining the perspectives of different fields like critical theory, psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, history, and social studies. Of particular relevance to this paper are the concepts of "vicarious traumatization" and "survivor mission", as The Ballad of Reading Gaol was written in response to Wilde's own prison trauma and the indirect traumatization he experienced as a result of witnessing the execution of a fellow prisoner whose story forms the narrative base of the poem. The Ballad displays Wilde's sense of mission which leads him to recognize the social as well as ethical implications of personal tragedy. Through a close textual analysis of The Ballad of Reading Gaol within the framework of literary trauma theory, the paper aims to: (a) demonstrate how the poem's thematic concerns, structure and rhetorical figures reflect the structure of trauma; (b) highlight Wilde's attempts to come to terms with the effects of the cataclysmic experience which transformed him into a social outcast; and (c) show how Wilde manages to transcend the victim status and assumes the role of ethical agent to voice a critique of the Victorian penal system and the standards of morality underlying the cruelties practiced against wrong doers and to solicit social action.
Keywords: Ballad of Reading Gaol, post-traumatic writing, trauma theory, Wilde.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14303034 Reducing the Short Circuit Levels in Kuwait Transmission Network (A Case Study)
Authors: Mahmoud Gilany, Wael Al-Hasawi
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Preliminary studies on Kuwait high voltage transmission system show significant increase in the short circuit level at some of the grid substations and some generating stations. This increase results from the growth in the power transmission systems in size and complexity. New generating stations are expected to be added to the system within the next few years. This paper describes the study analysis performed to evaluate the available and potential solutions to control SC levels in Kuwait power system. It also presents a modified planning of the transmission network in order to fulfill this task.Keywords: Short circuit current, network splitting, fault current limiter, power transmission planning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34183033 Experimental Investigation on Tsunami Acting on Bridges
Authors: Iman Mazinani, Zubaidah Ismail, Ahmad Mustafa Hashim, Amirreza Saba
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Two tragic tsunamis that devastated the west coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia in 2004 and North East Japan in 2011 had damaged bridges to various extents. Tsunamis have resulted in the catastrophic deterioration of infrastructures i.e. coastal structures, utilities and transportation facilities. A bridge structure performs vital roles to enable people to perform activities related to their daily needs and for development. A damaged bridge needs to be repaired expeditiously. In order to understand the effects of tsunami forces on bridges, experimental tests are carried out to measure the characteristics of hydrodynamic force at various wave heights. Coastal bridge models designed at a 1:40 scale are used in a 24.0 m long hydraulic flume with a cross section of 1.5 m by 2.0 m. The horizontal forces and uplift forces in all cases show that forces increase nonlinearly with increasing wave amplitude.
Keywords: Tsunami, bridge, horizontal force, uplift force.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22703032 Ecological Networks: From Structural Analysis to Synchronization
Authors: N. F. F. Ebecken, G. C. Pereira
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Ecological systems are exposed and are influenced by various natural and anthropogenic disturbances. They produce various effects and states seeking response symmetry to a state of global phase coherence or stability and balance of their food webs. This research project addresses the development of a computational methodology for modeling plankton food webs. The use of algorithms to establish connections, the generation of representative fuzzy multigraphs and application of technical analysis of complex networks provide a set of tools for defining, analyzing and evaluating community structure of coastal aquatic ecosystems, beyond the estimate of possible external impacts to the networks. Thus, this study aims to develop computational systems and data models to assess how these ecological networks are structurally and functionally organized, to analyze the types and degree of compartmentalization and synchronization between oscillatory and interconnected elements network and the influence of disturbances on the overall pattern of rhythmicity of the system.Keywords: Ecological networks, plankton food webs, fuzzy multigraphs, dynamic of networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19953031 Compression of Semistructured Documents
Authors: Leo Galambos, Jan Lansky, Katsiaryna Chernik
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EGOTHOR is a search engine that indexes the Web and allows us to search the Web documents. Its hit list contains URL and title of the hits, and also some snippet which tries to shortly show a match. The snippet can be almost always assembled by an algorithm that has a full knowledge of the original document (mostly HTML page). It implies that the search engine is required to store the full text of the documents as a part of the index. Such a requirement leads us to pick up an appropriate compression algorithm which would reduce the space demand. One of the solutions could be to use common compression methods, for instance gzip or bzip2, but it might be preferable if we develop a new method which would take advantage of the document structure, or rather, the textual character of the documents. There already exist a special compression text algorithms and methods for a compression of XML documents. The aim of this paper is an integration of the two approaches to achieve an optimal level of the compression ratioKeywords: Compression, search engine, HTML, XML.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15773030 Simulation Games in Business Process Management Education
Authors: Vesna Bosilj Vuksic, Mirjana Pejic Bach
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Business process management (BPM) has become widely accepted within business community as a means for improving business performance. However, it is of the highest importance to incorporate BPM as part of the curriculum at the university level education in order to achieve the appropriate acceptance of the method. Goal of the paper is to determine the current state of education in business process management (BPM) at the Croatian universities and abroad. It investigates the applied forms of instruction and teaching methods and gives several proposals for BPM courses improvement. Since majority of undergraduate and postgraduate students have limited understanding of business processes and lack of any practical experience, there is a need for introducing new teaching approaches. Therefore, we offer some suggestions for further improvement, among which the introduction of simulation games environment in BPM education is strongly recommended.Keywords: business process management, simulation games, education
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 40463029 Synthesis of Magnesium Borates from the Slurries of Magnesium Wastes by Microwave Energy
Authors: N. Tugrul, F. T. Senberber, A. S. Kipcak E. Moroydor Derun, S. Piskin
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In this research, it is aimed not only microwave synthesis of magnesium borates but also evaluation of magnesium wastes. Synthesis process can be described with the reaction of Mg wastes and boric acid using microwave energy. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) were applied to synthesized minerals. According to XRD results, magnesium borate hydrate mixtures were obtained as mcallisterite (pdf# = 01-070-1902, Mg2(B6O7(OH)6)2.9(H2O)) at higher crystallinity properties was achieved at the mole ratio raw material 1:1. Also, other kinds of magnesium borate hydrates were obtained at lower crystallinity such as admontite (pdf # = 01-076-0540, MgO(B2O3)3.7(H2O)), inderite (pdf # = 01-072-2308, 2MgO.3B2O3.15(H2O)) and magnesium borate hydrates (pdf # = 01-076-0539, MgO(B2O3)3.6(H2O)). FT-IR spectrums indicated that minor changes were seen at the band values of characteristic stretching in each experiment. At the end of experiments it is seen that using microwave energy may contribute positive effects to design of synthesis process such as reducing reaction time and products at higher crystallinity.
Keywords: Magnesium wastes, boric acid, magnesium borate, microwave energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21473028 A New Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Systems
Authors: Mohamed Azab
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In this paper a new maximum power point tracking algorithm for photovoltaic arrays is proposed. The algorithm detects the maximum power point of the PV. The computed maximum power is used as a reference value (set point) of the control system. ON/OFF power controller with hysteresis band is used to control the operation of a Buck chopper such that the PV module always operates at its maximum power computed from the MPPT algorithm. The major difference between the proposed algorithm and other techniques is that the proposed algorithm is used to control directly the power drawn from the PV. The proposed MPPT has several advantages: simplicity, high convergence speed, and independent on PV array characteristics. The algorithm is tested under various operating conditions. The obtained results have proven that the MPP is tracked even under sudden change of irradiation level.Keywords: Photovoltaic, maximum power point tracking, MPPT.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31553027 Sampling of Variables in Discrete-Event Simulation using the Example of Inventory Evolutions in Job-Shop-Systems Based on Deterministic and Non-Deterministic Data
Authors: Bernd Scholz-Reiter, Christian Toonen, Jan Topi Tervo, Dennis Lappe
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Time series analysis often requires data that represents the evolution of an observed variable in equidistant time steps. In order to collect this data sampling is applied. While continuous signals may be sampled, analyzed and reconstructed applying Shannon-s sampling theorem, time-discrete signals have to be dealt with differently. In this article we consider the discrete-event simulation (DES) of job-shop-systems and study the effects of different sampling rates on data quality regarding completeness and accuracy of reconstructed inventory evolutions. At this we discuss deterministic as well as non-deterministic behavior of system variables. Error curves are deployed to illustrate and discuss the sampling rate-s impact and to derive recommendations for its wellfounded choice.Keywords: discrete-event simulation, job-shop-system, sampling rate.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18273026 One-Pot Facile Synthesis of N-Doped Graphene Synthesized from Paraphenylenediamine as Metal-Free Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Used for Alkaline Fuel Cells
Authors: Leila Samiee, Amir Yadegari, Saeedeh Tasharrofi
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In the work presented here, nitrogen-doped graphene materials were synthesized and used as metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under alkaline conditions. Paraphenylenediamine was used as N precursor. The N-doped graphene was synthesized under hydrothermal treatment at 200°C. All the materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, for electrochemical evaluation of samples, Rotating Disk electrode (RDE) and Cyclic Voltammetry techniques (CV) were employed. The resulting material exhibits an outstanding catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as well as excellent resistance towards methanol crossover effects, indicating their promising potential as ORR electrocatalysts for alkaline fuel cells.
Keywords: Alkaline fuel cell, graphene, metal-free catalyst, paraphenylenediamine.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17423025 Motion Detection Techniques Using Optical Flow
Authors: A. A. Shafie, Fadhlan Hafiz, M. H. Ali
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Motion detection is very important in image processing. One way of detecting motion is using optical flow. Optical flow cannot be computed locally, since only one independent measurement is available from the image sequence at a point, while the flow velocity has two components. A second constraint is needed. The method used for finding the optical flow in this project is assuming that the apparent velocity of the brightness pattern varies smoothly almost everywhere in the image. This technique is later used in developing software for motion detection which has the capability to carry out four types of motion detection. The motion detection software presented in this project also can highlight motion region, count motion level as well as counting object numbers. Many objects such as vehicles and human from video streams can be recognized by applying optical flow technique.Keywords: Background modeling, Motion detection, Optical flow, Velocity smoothness constant, motion trajectories.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 53843024 Effects of Tillage and Oil Palm Bunch Ash Plus Poultry Manure on Soil Chemical Properties, Growth and Ginger Yield
Authors: T. M. Agbede
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Field experiments were carried out at Owo, southwest Nigeria to evaluate the effect of different tillage practices (zero tillage with mulch (ZTM), row tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT), and with or without oil palm bunch ash plus poultry manure (OBA+PM) on soil chemical properties, growth and yield of ginger. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete plot design with three replications. Soil chemical properties, growth and fresh rhizome yield reduced with frequency/intensity of tillage imposed while application of OBA+PM increased them. Among the tillage practices, the highest fresh rhizome yield (15.0t ha-1) was produced by ZTM which was significantly different from other tillage practices. Among the tillage – OBA+PM combinations, the most satisfactorily yield (20.1t ha-1) was produced by ZTM+OBA+PM while the lowest yield (15.7t ha-1) was in CT+OBA+PM.
Keywords: Oil palm bunch ash, poultry manure, rhizome yield, tillage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31193023 Neural Networks for Short Term Wind Speed Prediction
Authors: K. Sreelakshmi, P. Ramakanthkumar
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Predicting short term wind speed is essential in order to prevent systems in-action from the effects of strong winds. It also helps in using wind energy as an alternative source of energy, mainly for Electrical power generation. Wind speed prediction has applications in Military and civilian fields for air traffic control, rocket launch, ship navigation etc. The wind speed in near future depends on the values of other meteorological variables, such as atmospheric pressure, moisture content, humidity, rainfall etc. The values of these parameters are obtained from a nearest weather station and are used to train various forms of neural networks. The trained model of neural networks is validated using a similar set of data. The model is then used to predict the wind speed, using the same meteorological information. This paper reports an Artificial Neural Network model for short term wind speed prediction, which uses back propagation algorithm.Keywords: Short term wind speed prediction, Neural networks, Back propagation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30653022 Modeling Nanomechanical Behavior of ZnO Nanowires as a Function of Nano-Diameter
Authors: L. Achou, A. Doghmane
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Elastic performances, as an essential property of nanowires (NWs), play a significant role in the design and fabrication of modern nanodevices. In this paper, our interest is focused on ZnO NWs to investigate wire diameter (Dwire ≤ 400 nm) effects on elastic properties. The plotted data reveal that a strong size dependence of the elastic constants exists when the wire diameter is smaller than ~ 100 nm. For larger diameters (Dwire > 100 nm), these ones approach their corresponding bulk values. To enrich this study, we make use of the scanning acoustic microscopy simulation technique. The calculation methodology consists of several steps: determination of longitudinal and transverse wave velocities, calculation of refection coefficients, calculation of acoustic signatures and Rayleigh velocity determination. Quantitatively, it was found that changes in ZnO diameters over the ranges 1 nm ≤ Dwire ≤ 100 nm lead to similar exponential variations, for all elastic parameters, of the from: A = a + b exp(-Dwire/c) where a, b, and c are characteristic constants of a given parameter. The developed relation can be used to predict elastic properties of such NW by just knowing its diameter and vice versa.Keywords: Elastic properties, nanowires, semiconductors, ZnO.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9763021 Heat Transfer in a Parallel-Plate Enclosure with Graded-Index Coatings on its Walls
Authors: Jiun-Wei Chen, Chih-Yang Wu, Ming-Feng Hou
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A numerical study on the heat transfer in the thermal barrier coatings and the substrates of a parallel-plate enclosure is carried out. Some of the thermal barrier coatings, such as ceramics, are semitransparent and are of interest for high-temperature applications where radiation effects are significant. The radiative transfer equations and the energy equations are solved by using the discrete ordinates method and the finite difference method. Illustrative results are presented for temperature distributions in the coatings and the opaque walls under various heating conditions. The results show that the temperature distribution is more uniform in the interior portion of each coating away from its boundary for the case with a larger average of varying refractive index and a positive gradient of refractive index enhances radiative transfer to the substrates.Keywords: Radiative transfer, parallel-plate enclosure, coatings, varying refractive index
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14573020 Sliding Mode Position Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Based On Passivity Approach
Authors: Jenn-Yih Chen, Bean-Yin Lee, Yuan-Chuan Hsu, Jui-Cheng Lin, Kuang-Chyi Lee
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In this paper, a sliding mode control method based on the passivity approach is proposed to control the position of surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). Firstly, the dynamics of a PMSM was proved to be strictly passive. The position controller with an adaptive law was used to estimate the load torque to eliminate the chattering effects associated with the conventional sliding mode controller. The stability analysis of the overall position control system was carried out by adopting the passivity theorem instead of Lyapunov-type arguments. Finally, experimental results were provided to show that the good position tracking can be obtained, and exhibit robustness in the variations of the motor parameters and load torque disturbances.
Keywords: Adaptive law, passivity theorem, permanent magnet synchronous motor, sliding mode control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21303019 Physical Properties of Uranium Dinitride UN2 by Using Density Functional Theory (DFT and DFT+U)
Authors: T. Zergoug, S.H. Abaidia, A. Nedjar, M. Y. Mokeddem
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Physical properties of uranium dinitride (UN2) were investigated in detail using first principle calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). To study the strong correlation effects due to 5f uranium valence electrons, the on-site coulomb interaction correction U via the Hubbard-like term (DFT+U) was employed. The UN2 structural, mechanical and thermodynamic properties were calculated within DFT and Various U of DFT+U approach. The Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE.5.2) version of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) is used to describe the exchange-correlation with the projector-augmented wave (PAW) pseudo potentials. A comparative study shows that results are improved by using the Hubbard formalism for a certain U value correction like the structural parameter. For some physical properties the variation versus Hubbard-U is strong like Young modulus but for others it is weakly noticeable such as bulk modulus. We noticed also that from U=7.5 eV, elastic results don’t agree with the cubic cell because of the C44 values which turn out to be negative.
Keywords: Ab initio, bulk modulus, DFT, DFT + U.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25583018 The Influence of Surface Potential on the Kinetics of Bovine Serum Albumin Adsorption on a Biomedical Grade 316LVM Stainless Steel Surface
Authors: Khawtar Hasan Ahmed, Sasha Omanovic
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Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) in combination with electrochemistry, was employed to study the influence of surface charge (potential) on the kinetics of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on a biomedical-grade 316LVM stainless steel surface is discussed. The BSA adsorption kinetics was found to greatly depend on the surface potential. With an increase in surface potential towards more negative values, both the BSA initial adsorption rate and the equilibrium (saturated) surface concentration also increased. Both effects were explained on the basis of replacement of well-ordered water molecules at the 316LVM / solution interface, i.e. by the increase in entropy of the system.Keywords: adsorption, biomedical grade stainless steel, bovine serum albumin (BSA), electrode surface potential / charge, kinetics, PM-IRRAS, protein/surface interactions
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19683017 Modeling and Control Design of a Centralized Adaptive Cruise Control System
Authors: Markus Mazzola, Gunther Schaaf
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A vehicle driving with an Adaptive Cruise Control System (ACC) is usually controlled decentrally, based on the information of radar systems and in some publications based on C2X-Communication (CACC) to guarantee stable platoons. In this paper we present a Model Predictive Control (MPC) design of a centralized, server-based ACC-System, whereby the vehicular platoon is modeled and controlled as a whole. It is then proven that the proposed MPC design guarantees asymptotic stability and hence string stability of the platoon. The Networked MPC design is chosen to be able to integrate system constraints optimally as well as to reduce the effects of communication delay and packet loss. The performance of the proposed controller is then simulated and analyzed in an LTE communication scenario using the LTE/EPC Network Simulator LENA, which is based on the ns-3 network simulator.
Keywords: Adaptive Cruise Control, Centralized Server, Networked Model Predictive Control, String Stability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28343016 Calcium Silicate Bricks – Ultrasonic Pulse Method: Effects of Natural Frequency of Transducers on Measurement Results
Authors: Jiri Brozovsky
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Modulus of elasticity is one of the important parameters of construction materials, which considerably influence their deformation properties and which can also be determined by means of non-destructive test methods like ultrasonic pulse method. However, measurement results of ultrasonic pulse methods are influenced by various factors, one of which is the natural frequency of the transducers. The paper states knowledge about influence of natural frequency of the transducers (54; 82 and 150kHz) on ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity (Young's Dynamic modulus of elasticity). Differences between ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity were found with the same smallest dimension of test specimen in the direction of sounding and density their value decreases as the natural frequency of transducers grew.
Keywords: Calcium silicate brick, ultrasonic pulse method, ultrasonic pulse velocity, dynamic modulus of elasticity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22443015 Appraisal of Humanitarian Supply Chain Risks Using Best-Worst Method
Authors: Ali Mohaghar, Iman Ghasemian Sahebi, Alireza Arab
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In the last decades, increasing in human and natural disaster occurrence had very irreparable effects on human life. Hence, one of the important issues in humanitarian supply chain management is identifying and prioritizing the different risks and finding suitable solutions for encountering them at the time of disaster occurrence. This study is an attempt to provide a comprehensive review of humanitarian supply chain risks in a case study of Tehran Red Crescent Societies. For this purpose, Best-Worst method (BWM) has been used for analyzing the risks of the humanitarian supply chain. 22 risks of the humanitarian supply chain were identified based on the literature and interviews with four experts. According to BWM method, the importance of each risk was calculated. The findings showed that culture contexts, little awareness of people, and poor education system are the most important humanitarian supply chain risks. This research provides a useful guideline for managers so that they can benefit from the results to prioritize their solutions.Keywords: Best worst method, humanitarian logistics, humanitarian supply chain, risk management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23403014 A Study of the Cyclic Variations of the Enzyme and the Electrolyte Activity in Uterine and Oviducal Secretions during an Estrous Cycle of the Ewe
Authors: Yahia M., Laanani I., Benbia S., Hachemi M., Massinissa Y.
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Uterine and oviducal fluids are necessary for capacitation of the spermatozoa and early embryonic development. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of estrous cycle phases (follicular and luteal) on some biological parameters (enzymes, electrolytes and total proteins) in uterine and oviducal secretions of ewes. Oviducal and uterine fluids were collected, diluted and centrifuged. According to our results, concentrations of GPT, G6PDH, total proteins, K and Na were significantly (P <0.05) higher at the luteal phase, however, the levels of aldolase, Mg, Ca and P were significantly (P <0.05) higher at the follicular phase in uterine secretions. While, only oviducal K and Ca were significantly (P<0.05) higher at the follicular phase. Our study revealed the existence of significant cyclic variations for some uterine and oviducal parameters which indicates the effect of ovarian hormones on the components of genital secretions.Keywords: Biochemical parameters, estrous cycle, ewe, genital secretion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19923013 Effects of Synthetic Jet in Suppressing Cavity Oscillations
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The three-dimensional incompressible flow past a rectangular open cavity is investigated, where the aspect ratio of the cavity is considered as 4. The principle objective is to use large-eddy simulation to resolve and control the large-scale structures, which are largely responsible for flow oscillations in a cavity. The flow past an open cavity is very common in aerospace applications and can be a cause of acoustic source due to hydrodynamic instability of the shear layer and its interactions with the downstream edge. The unsteady Navier-stokes equations have been solved on a staggered mesh using a symmetry-preserving central difference scheme. Synthetic jet has been used as an active control to suppress the cavity oscillations in wake mode for a Reynolds number of ReD = 3360. The effect of synthetic jet has been studied by varying the jet amplitude and frequency, which is placed at the upstream wall of the cavity. The study indicates that there exits a frequency band, which is larger than a critical value, is effective in attenuating cavity oscillations when blowing ratio is more than 1.0.Keywords: Cavity oscillation, Large Eddy Simulation, Synthetic Jet, Flow Control, Turbulence
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18153012 Impact Analysis Based on Change Requirement Traceability in Object Oriented Software Systems
Authors: Sunil Tumkur Dakshinamurthy, Mamootil Zachariah Kurian
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Change requirement traceability in object oriented software systems is one of the challenging areas in research. We know that the traces between links of different artifacts are to be automated or semi-automated in the software development life cycle (SDLC). The aim of this paper is discussing and implementing aspects of dynamically linking the artifacts such as requirements, high level design, code and test cases through the Extensible Markup Language (XML) or by dynamically generating Object Oriented (OO) metrics. Also, non-functional requirements (NFR) aspects such as stability, completeness, clarity, validity, feasibility and precision are discussed. We discuss this as a Fifth Taxonomy, which is a system vulnerability concern.
Keywords: Artifacts, NFRs, OO metrics, SDLC, XML.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11573011 A Global Perspective on Urban Environmental Problems in Developing Countries: The Case of Turkey
Authors: Nükhet Konuk, N. Gamze Turan, Yüksel Ardalı
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Cities play a vital role in the social fabric of countries and in national and regional economic growth worldwide; however, the environmental effects of such growth need to be assessed and managed better. The critical and most immediate problems faced by cities of developing countries are the health impacts of urban pollution that derive from inadequate water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste services, poor urban and industrial waste management, and air pollution. As globalization continues, earth's natural processes transform local problems into international issues. The aim of this study is to provide a broad overview of the pollution from urban wastes and emissions in Turkey which is a developing country. It is aimed to underline the significance of reorganizing the institutional tools in a worldwide perspective in order to generate coherent solutions to urban problems, and to enhance urban quality.Keywords: Environmental pollution, developing countries, environmental degradation, urban environmental problems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22183010 Payment Problems, Cash Flow and Profitability of Construction Project: A System Dynamics Model
Authors: Wenhua Hou, Xing Liu, Deqiang Chen
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The ubiquitous payment problems within construction industry of China are notoriously hard to be resolved, thus lead to a series of impacts to the industry chain. Among of them, the most direct result is affecting the normal operation of contractors negatively. A wealth of research has already discussed reasons of the payment problems by introducing a number of possible improvement strategies. But the causalities of these problems are still far from harsh reality. In this paper, the authors propose a model for cash flow system of construction projects by introducing System Dynamics techniques to explore causal facets of the payment problem. The effects of payment arrears on both cash flow and profitability of project are simulated into four scenarios by using data from real projects. Simulating results show visible clues to help contractors quantitatively determining the consequences for the construction project that arise from payment delay.Keywords: payment problems, cash flow, profitability, system dynamics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27413009 Providing Energy Management of a Fuel Cell-Battery Hybrid Electric Vehicle
Authors: Fatma Keskin Arabul, Ibrahim Senol, Ahmet Yigit Arabul, Ali Rifat Boynuegri
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On account of the concern of the fossil fuel is depleting and its negative effects on the environment, interest in alternative energy sources is increasing day by day. However, considering the importance of transportation in human life, instead of oil and its derivatives fueled vehicles with internal combustion engines, electric vehicles which are sensitive to the environment and working with electrical energy has begun to develop. In this study, simulation was carried out for providing energy management and recovering regenerative braking in fuel cell-battery hybrid electric vehicle. The main power supply of the vehicle is fuel cell on the other hand not only instantaneous power is supplied by the battery but also the energy generated due to regenerative breaking is stored in the battery. Obtained results of the simulation is analyzed and discussed.
Keywords: Electric vehicles, fuel cell, battery, regenerative braking, energy management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22453008 E-Procurement, the Golden Key to Optimizing the Supply Chains System
Authors: Somayeh Farzin, Hossein Teimoori Nezhad
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Procurement is an important component in the field of operating resource management and e-procurement is the golden key to optimizing the supply chains system. Global firms are optimistic on the level of savings that can be achieved through full implementation of e-procurement strategies. E-procurement is an Internet-based business process for obtaining materials and services and managing their inflow into the organization. In this paper, the subjects of supply chains and e-procurement and its benefits to organizations have been studied. Also, e-procurement in construction and its drivers and barriers have been discussed and a framework of supplier selection in an e-procurement environment has been demonstrated. This paper also has addressed critical success factors in adopting e-procurement in supply chains.Keywords: E-Procurement, Supply Chain, Benefits, Construction, Drivers, Barriers, Supplier Selection, CFSs.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 32333007 Development of Industry Sector Specific Factory Standards
Authors: Peter Burggräf, Moritz Krunke, Hanno Voet
Abstract:
Due to shortening product and technology lifecycles, many companies use standardization approaches in product development and factory planning to reduce costs and time to market. Unlike large companies, where modular systems are already widely used, small and medium-sized companies often show a much lower degree of standardization due to lower scale effects and missing capacities for the development of these standards. To overcome these challenges, the development of industry sector specific standards in cooperations or by third parties is an interesting approach. This paper analyzes which branches that are mainly dominated by small or medium-sized companies might be especially interesting for the development of factory standards using the example of the German industry. For this, a key performance indicator based approach was developed that will be presented in detail with its specific results for the German industry structure.
Keywords: Factory planning, factory standards, industry sector specific standardization, production planning.
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