Search results for: Abrasive flow rate
764 Evaluation of Groundwater Unit Hydrograph of Kavar-Maharloo Aquifer
Authors: Mohammad Hosein Hojati, Fardin Boustani
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Groundwater is one of the most important water resources in Fars province. Based on this study, 95 percent of the total annual water consumption in Fars is used for agriculture, whereas the percentages for domestic and industrial uses are 4 and 1 percent, respectively. Population growth, urban and industrial growth, and agricultural development in Fars have created a condition of water stress. In this province, farmers and other users are pumping groundwater faster than its natural replenishment rate, causing a continuous drop in groundwater tables and depletion of this resource. In this research variation of groundwater level, their effects and ways to help control groundwater levels in aquifer of the Kavar- Maharloo plains in Fars plain were evaluated .Excessive exploitation of groundwater in this aquifer caused the groundwater levels fall too fast or to unacceptable levels. The average drawdown of the groundwater level in this plain were 17 meters during 1995 to 2006. The purpose of this study is to evaluate water level changes in the Kavar-Maharloo Aquifer in the Fars province in order to determine the areas of greatest depletion, the cause of depletion, and predict the remaining life of the aquifer.Keywords: Aquifer , ground water depletion, water table
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1665763 Software Reliability Prediction Model Analysis
Authors: L. Mirtskhulava, M. Khunjgurua, N. Lomineishvili, K. Bakuria
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Software reliability prediction gives a great opportunity to measure the software failure rate at any point throughout system test. A software reliability prediction model provides with the technique for improving reliability. Software reliability is very important factor for estimating overall system reliability, which depends on the individual component reliabilities. It differs from hardware reliability in that it reflects the design perfection. Main reason of software reliability problems is high complexity of software. Various approaches can be used to improve the reliability of software. We focus on software reliability model in this article, assuming that there is a time redundancy, the value of which (the number of repeated transmission of basic blocks) can be an optimization parameter. We consider given mathematical model in the assumption that in the system may occur not only irreversible failures, but also a failure that can be taken as self-repairing failures that significantly affect the reliability and accuracy of information transfer. Main task of the given paper is to find a time distribution function (DF) of instructions sequence transmission, which consists of random number of basic blocks. We consider the system software unreliable; the time between adjacent failures has exponential distribution.
Keywords: Exponential distribution, conditional mean time to failure, distribution function, mathematical model, software reliability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1667762 Portable Virtual Piano Design
Authors: Yu-Xiang Zhao, Chien-Hsing Chou, Mu-Chun Su, Yi-Zeng Hsieh
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The purpose of this study is to design a portable virtual piano. By utilizing optical fiber gloves and the virtual piano software designed by this study, the user can play the piano anywhere at any time. This virtual piano consists of three major parts: finger tapping identification, hand movement and positioning identification, and MIDI software sound effect simulation. To play the virtual piano, the user wears optical fiber gloves and simulates piano key tapping motions. The finger bending information detected by the optical fiber gloves can tell when piano key tapping motions are made. Images captured by a video camera are analyzed, hand locations and moving directions are positioned, and the corresponding scales are found. The system integrates finger tapping identification with information about hand placement in relation to corresponding piano key positions, and generates MIDI piano sound effects based on this data. This experiment shows that the proposed method achieves an accuracy rate of 95% for determining when a piano key is tapped.Keywords: virtual piano, portable, identification, optical fibergloves.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1731761 Mode III Interlaminar Fracture in Woven Glass/Epoxy Composite Laminates
Authors: Farhad Asgari Mehrabadi, Mohammad Reza Khoshravan
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In the present study, fracture behavior of woven fabric-reinforced glass/epoxy composite laminates under mode III crack growth was experimentally investigated and numerically modeled. Two methods were used for the calculation of the strain energy release rate: the experimental compliance calibration (CC) method and the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT). To achieve this aim ECT (Edge Crack Torsion) was used to evaluate fracture toughness in mode III loading (out of plane-shear) at different crack lengths. Load–displacement and associated energy release rates were obtained for various case of interest. To calculate fracture toughness JIII, two criteria were considered including non-linearity and maximum points in load-displacement curve and it is observed that JIII increases with the crack length increase. Both the experimental compliance method and the virtual crack closure technique proved applicable for the interpretation of the fracture mechanics data of woven glass/epoxy laminates in mode III.Keywords: Mode III, Fracture, Composite, Crack growth Finite Element.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2517760 Application of Neural Networks for 24-Hour-Ahead Load Forecasting
Authors: Fatemeh Mosalman Yazdi
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One of the most important requirements for the operation and planning activities of an electrical utility is the prediction of load for the next hour to several days out, known as short term load forecasting. This paper presents the development of an artificial neural network based short-term load forecasting model. The model can forecast daily load profiles with a load time of one day for next 24 hours. In this method can divide days of year with using average temperature. Groups make according linearity rate of curve. Ultimate forecast for each group obtain with considering weekday and weekend. This paper investigates effects of temperature and humidity on consuming curve. For forecasting load curve of holidays at first forecast pick and valley and then the neural network forecast is re-shaped with the new data. The ANN-based load models are trained using hourly historical. Load data and daily historical max/min temperature and humidity data. The results of testing the system on data from Yazd utility are reported.Keywords: Artificial neural network, Holiday forecasting, pickand valley load forecasting, Short-term load-forecasting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2178759 Net Fee and Commission Income Determinants of European Cooperative Banks
Authors: Karolína Vozková, Matěj Kuc
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Net fee and commission income is one of the key elements of a bank’s core income. In the current low-interest rate environment, this type of income is gaining importance relative to net interest income. This paper analyses the effects of bank and country specific determinants of net fee and commission income on a set of cooperative banks from European countries in the 2007-2014 period. In order to do that, dynamic panel data methods (system Generalized Methods of Moments) were employed. Subsequently, alternative panel data methods were run as robustness checks of the analysis. Strong positive impact of bank concentration on the share of net fee and commission income was found, which proves that cooperative banks tend to display a higher share of fee income in less competitive markets. This is probably connected with the fact that they stick with their traditional deposit-taking and loan-providing model and fees on these services are driven down by the competitors. Moreover, compared to commercial banks, cooperatives do not expand heavily into non-traditional fee bearing services under competition and their overall fee income share is therefore decreasing with the increased competitiveness of the sector.
Keywords: Cooperative banking, dynamic panel data models, net fee, commission income, system GMM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2915758 The Links between Cardiovascular Risk and Psychological Wellbeing in Elderly
Authors: Laura Sapranaviciute-Zabazlajeva, Abdonas Tamosiunas, Dalia Luksiene, Dalia Virviciute
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The cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the EU, especially in the middle aged and elderly population. Psychological wellbeing (PWB) has been linked with better cardiovascular health and survival in the elderly. The aim of the study is to evaluate associations between CVD risk and PWB in middle-aged and elderly population. 10,940 middle aged and older Lithuanians of age 45-74 years, were invited to participate in the study. A study sample was a random and stratified by gender and age. In 2006-2008 7,087 responders participated in the survey, so the response rate was 64.8%. A follow-up study was conducted from 2006 till 2015. New CVD cases and deaths from CVD were evaluated using the Kaunas population-based CVD register and death register of Kaunas. Study results revealed that good PWB predicts longer life in female participants (Log Rank = 13.7, p < 0.001). In the fully adjusted model for socio-demographic, social and CVD risk factors, hazard ratio for CVD mortality risk was lower amongst women with good PWB (HR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.72), but not significantly for men. Our study concludes, that lower CVD mortality rates is being associated with better PWB in female aged 45-74 years.Keywords: Psychological wellbeing, cardiovascular disease, elderly.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1522757 Internet Bandwidth Network Quality Management: The Case Study of Telecom Organization of Thailand
Authors: Sriaroonnirun Sittha, Rotchanakitumnuai Siriluck
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This paper addresses a current problem that occurs among Thai internet service providers with regard to bandwidth network quality management. The IPSTAR department of Telecom Organization of Thailand public company (TOT); the largest internet service provider in Thailand, is the case study to analyze the problem that exists. The Internet bandwidth network quality management (iBWQM) framework is mainly applied to the problem that has been found. Bandwidth management policy (BMP) and quality of service (QoS) are two antecedents of iBWQM. This paper investigates internet user behavior, marketing demand and network operation views in order to determine bandwidth management policy (e.g. quota management, scheduling and malicious management). The congestion of bandwidth is also analyzed to enhance quality of service (QoS). Moreover, the iBWQM framework is able to improve the quality of service and increase bandwidth utilization, minimize complaint rate concerns to slow speed, and provide network planning guidelines through Thai Internet services providers.
Keywords: Internet bandwidth management, Internet serviceprovider, Internet usage behavior, Quality of Service.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2634756 Hydrological Modelling of Geological Behaviours in Environmental Planning for Urban Areas
Authors: Sheetal Sharma
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Runoff,decreasing water levels and recharge in urban areas have been a complex issue now a days pointing defective urban design and increasing demography as cause. Very less has been discussed or analysed for water sensitive Urban Master Plans or local area plans. Land use planning deals with land transformation from natural areas into developed ones, which lead to changes in natural environment. Elaborated knowledge of relationship between the existing patterns of land use-land cover and recharge with respect to prevailing soil below is less as compared to speed of development. The parameters of incompatibility between urban functions and the functions of the natural environment are becoming various. Changes in land patterns due to built up, pavements, roads and similar land cover affects surface water flow seriously. It also changes permeability and absorption characteristics of the soil. Urban planners need to know natural processes along with modern means and best technologies available,as there is a huge gap between basic knowledge of natural processes and its requirement for balanced development planning leading to minimum impact on water recharge. The present paper analyzes the variations in land use land cover and their impacts on surface flows and sub-surface recharge in study area. The methodology adopted was to analyse the changes in land use and land cover using GIS and Civil 3d auto cad. The variations were used in computer modeling using Storm-water Management Model to find out the runoff for various soil groups and resulting recharge observing water levels in POW data for last 40 years of the study area. Results were anlayzed again to find best correlations for sustainable recharge in urban areas.
Keywords: Geology, runoff, urban planning, land use-land cover.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1288755 An Effective Method of Head Lamp and Tail Lamp Recognition for Night Time Vehicle Detection
Authors: Hyun-Koo Kim, Sagong Kuk, MinKwan Kim, Ho-Youl Jung
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This paper presents an effective method for detecting vehicles in front of the camera-assisted car during nighttime driving. The proposed method detects vehicles based on detecting vehicle headlights and taillights using techniques of image segmentation and clustering. First, to effectively extract spotlight of interest, a segmentation process based on automatic multi-level threshold method is applied on the road-scene images. Second, to spatial clustering vehicle of detecting lamps, a grouping process based on light tracking and locating vehicle lighting patterns. For simulation, we are implemented through Da-vinci 7437 DSP board with near infrared mono-camera and tested it in the urban and rural roads. Through the test, classification performances are above 97% of true positive rate evaluated on real-time environment. Our method also has good performance in the case of clear, fog and rain weather.
Keywords: Assistance Driving System, Multi-level Threshold Method, Near Infrared Mono Camera, Nighttime Vehicle Detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2923754 Effects of Microwave Heating on Biogas Production, Chemical Oxygen Demand and Volatile Solids Solubilization of Food Residues
Authors: Ackmez Mudhoo, Pravish Rye Moorateeah, Romeela Mohee
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This paper presents the results of the preliminary investigation of microwave (MW) irradiation pretreatments on the anaerobic digestion of food residues using biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays. Low solids systems with a total solids (TS) content ranging from 5.0-10.0% were analyzed. The inoculum to bulk mass of substrates to water ratio was 1:2:2 (mass basis). The experimental conditions for pretreatments were as follows: a control (no MW irradiation), two runs with MW irradiation for 15 and 30 minutes at 320 W, and another two runs with MW irradiation at 528 W for 30 and 60 minutes. The cumulative biogas production were 6.3 L and 8.7 L for 15min/320 W and 30min/320 W MW irradiation conditions, respectively, and 10.5 L and 11.4 L biogas for 30min/528 W and 60min/528 W, respectively, as compared to the control giving 5.8 L biogas. Both an increase in exposure time of irradiation and power of MW had increased the rate and yield of biogas. Singlefactor ANOVA tests (p<0.05) indicated that the variations in VS, TS, COD and cumulative biogas generation were significantly different for the pretreatment conditions. Results from this study indicated that MW irradiation had enhanced the biogas production and degradation of total solids with a significant improvement in VS and COD solubilization.
Keywords: microwave irradiation, pretreatment, anaerobic digestion, food residues.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2420753 Chemical Degradation of Dieldrin using Ferric Sulfide and Iron Powder
Authors: Junko Hara, Yoshishige Kawabe, Takeshi Komai, Chihiro Inoue
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The chemical degradation of dieldrin in ferric sulfide and iron powder aqueous suspension was investigated in laboratory batch type experiments. To identify the reaction mechanism, reduced copper was used as reductant. More than 90% of dieldrin was degraded using both reaction systems after 29 days. Initial degradation rate of the pesticide using ferric sulfide was superior to that using iron powder. The reaction schemes were completely dissimilar even though the ferric ion plays an important role in both reaction systems. In the case of metallic iron powder, dieldrin undergoes partial dechlorination. This reaction proceeded by reductive hydrodechlorination with the generation of H+, which arise by oxidation of ferric iron. This reductive reaction was accelerated by reductant but mono-dechlorination intermediates were accumulated. On the other hand, oxidative degradation was observed in the reaction with ferric sulfide, and the stable chemical structure of dieldrin was decomposed into water-soluble intermediates. These reaction intermediates have no chemical structure of drin class. This dehalogenation reaction assumes to occur via the adsorbed hydroxyl radial generated on the surface of ferric sulfide.Keywords: Dieldrin, kinetics, pesticide residue, soil remediation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2477752 Static Priority Approach to Under-Frequency Based Load Shedding Scheme in Islanded Industrial Networks: Using the Case Study of Fatima Fertilizer Company Ltd - FFL
Authors: S. H. Kazmi, T. Ahmed, K. Javed, A. Ghani
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In this paper static scheme of under-frequency based load shedding is considered for chemical and petrochemical industries with islanded distribution networks relying heavily on the primary commodity to ensure minimum production loss, plant downtime or critical equipment shutdown. A simplistic methodology is proposed for in-house implementation of this scheme using underfrequency relays and a step by step guide is provided including the techniques to calculate maximum percentage overloads, frequency decay rates, time based frequency response and frequency based time response of the system. Case study of FFL electrical system is utilized, presenting the actual system parameters and employed load shedding settings following the similar series of steps. The arbitrary settings are then verified for worst overload conditions (loss of a generation source in this case) and comprehensive system response is then investigated.Keywords: Islanding, under-frequency load shedding, frequency rate of change, static UFLS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2203751 Predication Model for Leukemia Diseases Based on Data Mining Classification Algorithms with Best Accuracy
Authors: Fahd Sabry Esmail, M. Badr Senousy, Mohamed Ragaie
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In recent years, there has been an explosion in the rate of using technology that help discovering the diseases. For example, DNA microarrays allow us for the first time to obtain a "global" view of the cell. It has great potential to provide accurate medical diagnosis, to help in finding the right treatment and cure for many diseases. Various classification algorithms can be applied on such micro-array datasets to devise methods that can predict the occurrence of Leukemia disease. In this study, we compared the classification accuracy and response time among eleven decision tree methods and six rule classifier methods using five performance criteria. The experiment results show that the performance of Random Tree is producing better result. Also it takes lowest time to build model in tree classifier. The classification rules algorithms such as nearest- neighbor-like algorithm (NNge) is the best algorithm due to the high accuracy and it takes lowest time to build model in classification.
Keywords: Data mining, classification techniques, decision tree, classification rule, leukemia diseases, microarray data.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2535750 Experimental Study on Using the Aluminum Sacrificial Anode as a Cathodic Protection for Marine Structures
Authors: A. Radwan, A. Elbatran, A. Mehanna, M. Shehadeh
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The corrosion is natural chemical phenomenon that is applied in many engineering structures. Hence, it is one of the important topics to study in the engineering research. Ship and offshore structures are most exposed to corrosion due to the presence of corrosive medium of air and the seawater. Consequently, investigation of the corrosion behavior and properties over ship and offshore hulls is one of the important topics to study in the marine engineering research. Using sacrificial anode is the most popular solution for protecting marine structures from corrosion. Hence, this research investigates the extent of corrosion between the composite ship model and relative velocity of water, along with the sacrificial aluminum anode consumption and its degree of protection in seawater. In this study, the consumption rate of sacrificial aluminum anode with respect to relative velocity at different Reynold’s numbers was studied experimentally, and it was found that, the degree of cathodic protection represented by the cathode potential at a given distance from the aluminum anode was decreased slightly with increment of the relative velocity.Keywords: Corrosion, Reynold’s numbers, sacrificial anode, velocity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1979749 Morphological Characteristics and Development of the Estuary Area of Lam River, Vietnam
Authors: Hai Nguyen Tien
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On the basis of the structure of alluvial sediments explained by echo sounding data and remote sensing images, the following results can be given: The estuary of Lam river from Ben Thuy Bridge (original word: Bến Thủy) to Cua Hoi (original word: Cửa Hội) is divided into three channels (location is calculated according to the river bank on the Nghe An Province, original word: Nghệ An): i) channel I (from Ben Thuy Bridge to Hung Hoa, original word: Hưng Hòa) is the branching river; ii) channel II (from Hung Hoa to Nghi Thai, original word: Nghi Thái)is a channel develops in a meandering direction with a concave side toward Ha Tinh Province (Hà Tĩnh); iii) channel III (from Nghi Thai to Cua Hoi)is a channel develops in a meandering direction with a concave side toward Nghe An province.This estuary area is formed in the period from after the sea level dropped below 0m (current water level) to the present: i) Channel II developed moving towards Ha Tinh Province; ii) Channel III developed moving towards Nghe An Province; iii) In channel I, a second river branch is formed because the flow of river cuts through the Hong Lam- Hong Nhat mudflat (original word: Hồng Lam -Hồng Nhất),at the same time creating an island.Morphological characteristics of the estuary area of Lam River are the main result of erosion and deposition activities corresponding to two water levels: the water level is about 2 m lower than the current water level and the current water level.Characteristics of the sediment layers on the riverbed in the estuary can be used to determine the sea levels in Late Holocene to the present.
Keywords: Lam River, development, Cua Hoi, river morphology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 406748 Forecast Based on an Empirical Probability Function with an Adjusted Error Using Propagation of Error
Authors: Oscar Javier Herrera, Manuel Ángel Camacho
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This paper addresses a cutting edge method of business demand forecasting, based on an empirical probability function when the historical behavior of the data is random. Additionally, it presents error determination based on the numerical method technique ‘propagation of errors.’ The methodology was conducted characterization and process diagnostics demand planning as part of the production management, then new ways to predict its value through techniques of probability and to calculate their mistake investigated, it was tools used numerical methods. All this based on the behavior of the data. This analysis was determined considering the specific business circumstances of a company in the sector of communications, located in the city of Bogota, Colombia. In conclusion, using this application it was possible to obtain the adequate stock of the products required by the company to provide its services, helping the company reduce its service time, increase the client satisfaction rate, reduce stock which has not been in rotation for a long time, code its inventory, and plan reorder points for the replenishment of stock.Keywords: Demand Forecasting, Empirical Distribution, Propagation of Error.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1831747 An Approach to Correlate the Statistical-Based Lorenz Method, as a Way of Measuring Heterogeneity, with Kozeny-Carman Equation
Authors: H. Khanfari, M. Johari Fard
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Dealing with carbonate reservoirs can be mind-boggling for the reservoir engineers due to various digenetic processes that cause a variety of properties through the reservoir. A good estimation of the reservoir heterogeneity which is defined as the quality of variation in rock properties with location in a reservoir or formation, can better help modeling the reservoir and thus can offer better understanding of the behavior of that reservoir. Most of reservoirs are heterogeneous formations whose mineralogy, organic content, natural fractures, and other properties vary from place to place. Over years, reservoir engineers have tried to establish methods to describe the heterogeneity, because heterogeneity is important in modeling the reservoir flow and in well testing. Geological methods are used to describe the variations in the rock properties because of the similarities of environments in which different beds have deposited in. To illustrate the heterogeneity of a reservoir vertically, two methods are generally used in petroleum work: Dykstra-Parsons permeability variations (V) and Lorenz coefficient (L) that are reviewed briefly in this paper. The concept of Lorenz is based on statistics and has been used in petroleum from that point of view. In this paper, we correlated the statistical-based Lorenz method to a petroleum concept, i.e. Kozeny-Carman equation and derived the straight line plot of Lorenz graph for a homogeneous system. Finally, we applied the two methods on a heterogeneous field in South Iran and discussed each, separately, with numbers and figures. As expected, these methods show great departure from homogeneity. Therefore, for future investment, the reservoir needs to be treated carefully.
Keywords: Carbonate reservoirs, heterogeneity, homogeneous system, Dykstra-Parsons permeability variations (V), Lorenz coefficient (L).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1770746 FPGA Hardware Implementation and Evaluation of a Micro-Network Architecture for Multi-Core Systems
Authors: Yahia Salah, Med Lassaad Kaddachi, Rached Tourki
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This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a micro-network, or Network-on-Chip (NoC), based on a generic pipeline router architecture. The router is designed to efficiently support traffic generated by multimedia applications on embedded multi-core systems. It employs a simplest routing mechanism and implements the round-robin scheduling strategy to resolve output port contentions and minimize latency. A virtual channel flow control is applied to avoid the head-of-line blocking problem and enhance performance in the NoC. The hardware design of the router architecture has been implemented at the register transfer level; its functionality is evaluated in the case of the two dimensional Mesh/Torus topology, and performance results are derived from ModelSim simulator and Xilinx ISE 9.2i synthesis tool. An example of a multi-core image processing system utilizing the NoC structure has been implemented and validated to demonstrate the capability of the proposed micro-network architecture. To reduce complexity of the image compression and decompression architecture, the system use image processing algorithm based on classical discrete cosine transform with an efficient zonal processing approach. The experimental results have confirmed that both the proposed image compression scheme and NoC architecture can achieve a reasonable image quality with lower processing time.
Keywords: Generic Pipeline Network-on-Chip Router Architecture, JPEG Image Compression, FPGA Hardware Implementation, Performance Evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3084745 Physiological Effects during Aerobatic Flights on Science Astronaut Candidates
Authors: Pedro Llanos, Diego García
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Spaceflight is considered the last frontier in terms of science, technology, and engineering. But it is also the next frontier in terms of human physiology and performance. After more than 200,000 years humans have evolved under earth’s gravity and atmospheric conditions, spaceflight poses environmental stresses for which human physiology is not adapted. Hypoxia, accelerations, and radiation are among such stressors, our research involves suborbital flights aiming to develop effective countermeasures in order to assure sustainable human space presence. The physiologic baseline of spaceflight participants is subject to great variability driven by age, gender, fitness, and metabolic reserve. The objective of the present study is to characterize different physiologic variables in a population of STEM practitioners during an aerobatic flight. Cardiovascular and pulmonary responses were determined in Science Astronaut Candidates (SACs) during unusual attitude aerobatic flight indoctrination. Physiologic data recordings from 20 subjects participating in high-G flight training were analyzed. These recordings were registered by wearable sensor-vest that monitored electrocardiographic tracings (ECGs), signs of dysrhythmias or other electric disturbances during all the flight. The same cardiovascular parameters were also collected approximately 10 min pre-flight, during each high-G/unusual attitude maneuver and 10 min after the flights. The ratio (pre-flight/in-flight/post-flight) of the cardiovascular responses was calculated for comparison of inter-individual differences. The resulting tracings depicting the cardiovascular responses of the subjects were compared against the G-loads (Gs) during the aerobatic flights to analyze cardiovascular variability aspects and fluid/pressure shifts due to the high Gs. In-flight ECG revealed cardiac variability patterns associated with rapid Gs onset in terms of reduced heart rate (HR) and some scattered dysrhythmic patterns (15% premature ventricular contractions-type) that were considered as triggered physiological responses to high-G/unusual attitude training and some were considered as instrument artifact. Variation events were observed in subjects during the +Gz and –Gz maneuvers and these may be due to preload and afterload, sudden shift. Our data reveal that aerobatic flight influenced the breathing rate of the subject, due in part by the various levels of energy expenditure due to the increased use of muscle work during these aerobatic maneuvers. Noteworthy was the high heterogeneity in the different physiological responses among a relatively small group of SACs exposed to similar aerobatic flights with similar Gs exposures. The cardiovascular responses clearly demonstrated that SACs were subjected to significant flight stress. Routine ECG monitoring during high-G/unusual attitude flight training is recommended to capture pathology underlying dangerous dysrhythmias in suborbital flight safety. More research is currently being conducted to further facilitate the development of robust medical screening, medical risk assessment approaches, and suborbital flight training in the context of the evolving commercial human suborbital spaceflight industry. A more mature and integrative medical assessment method is required to understand the physiology state and response variability among highly diverse populations of prospective suborbital flight participants.
Keywords: Aerobatic maneuvers, G force, hypoxia, suborbital flight, commercial astronauts.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 534744 Microneedles-Mediated Transdermal Delivery
Authors: M. Petchsangsai, N. Wonglertnirant, T. Rojanarata, P. Opanasopit, T. Ngawhirunpat
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The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential of hollow microneedles for enhancing the transdermal delivery of Bovine Serum Albumin (MW~66,000 Da)-Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (BSA-FITC) conjugate, a hydrophilic large molecular compound. Moreover, the effect of different formulations was evaluated. The series of binary mixtures composed of propylene glycol (PG) and pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution (PBS) was prepared and used as a medium for BSA-FITC. The results showed that there was no permeation of BSA-FITC solution across the neonatal porcine skin without using hollow microneedles, whereas the cumulative amount of BSA-FITC released at 8 h through the neonatal porcine skin was about 60-70% when using hollow microneedles. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the higher volume of PG in binary mixtures injected, the lower cumulative amount of BSA-FITC released and release rate of BSA-FITC from skin. These release profiles of BSA-FITC in binary mixtures were expressed by Fick-s law of diffusion. These results suggest the utilization of hollow microneedle to enhance transdermal delivery of protein and provide useful information for designing an effective hollow microneedle system.Keywords: Hydrophilic macromolecules, Microneedles, Propylene glycol, Transdermal drug delivery
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2248743 Optimization of Agricultural Water Demand Using a Hybrid Model of Dynamic Programming and Neural Networks: A Case Study of Algeria
Authors: M. Boudjerda, B. Touaibia, M. K. Mihoubi
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In Algeria agricultural irrigation is the primary water consuming sector followed by the domestic and industrial sectors. Economic development in the last decade has weighed heavily on water resources which are relatively limited and gradually decreasing to the detriment of agriculture. The research presented in this paper focuses on the optimization of irrigation water demand. Dynamic Programming-Neural Network (DPNN) method is applied to investigate reservoir optimization. The optimal operation rule is formulated to minimize the gap between water release and water irrigation demand. As a case study, Foum El-Gherza dam’s reservoir system in south of Algeria has been selected to examine our proposed optimization model. The application of DPNN method allowed increasing the satisfaction rate (SR) from 12.32% to 55%. In addition, the operation rule generated showed more reliable and resilience operation for the examined case study.Keywords: ater management, agricultural demand, dam and reservoir operation, Foum el-Gherza dam, dynamic programming, artificial neural network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 704742 Optimization of Surface Roughness and Vibration in Turning of Aluminum Alloy AA2024 Using Taguchi Technique
Authors: Vladimir Aleksandrovich Rogov, Ghorbani Siamak
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Determination of optimal conditions of machining parameters is important to reduce the production cost and achieve the desired surface quality. This paper investigates the influence of cutting parameters on surface roughness and natural frequency in turning of aluminum alloy AA2024. The experiments were performed at the lathe machine using two different cutting tools made of AISI 5140 and carbide cutting insert coated with TiC. Turning experiments were planned by Taguchi method L9 orthogonal array.Three levels for spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut and tool overhang were chosen as cutting variables. The obtained experimental data has been analyzed using signal to noise ratio and analysis of variance. The main effects have been discussed and percentage contributions of various parameters affecting surface roughness and natural frequency, and optimal cutting conditions have been determined. Finally, optimization of the cutting parameters using Taguchi method was verified by confirmation experiments.
Keywords: Turning, Cutting conditions, Surface roughness, Natural frequency, Taguchi method, ANOVA, S/N ratio.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4595741 Elastic and Plastic Collision Comparison Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Gustavo Rodrigues, Hans Weber, Larissa Driemeier
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The prevision of post-impact conditions and the behavior of the bodies during the impact have been object of several collision models. The formulation from Hertz’s theory is generally used dated from the 19th century. These models consider the repulsive force as proportional to the deformation of the bodies under contact and may consider it proportional to the rate of deformation. The objective of the present work is to analyze the behavior of the bodies during impact using the Finite Element Method (FEM) with elastic and plastic material models. The main parameters to evaluate are, the contact force, the time of contact and the deformation of the bodies. An advantage of using the FEM approach is the possibility to apply a plastic deformation to the model according to the material definition: there will be used Johnson–Cook plasticity model whose parameters are obtained through empirical tests of real materials. This model allows analyzing the permanent deformation caused by impact, phenomenon observed in real world depending on the forces applied to the body. These results are compared between them and with the model-based Hertz theory.
Keywords: Collision, finite element method, Hertz’s Theory, impact models.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 756740 PeliGRIFF: A Parallel DEM-DLM/FD Method for DNS of Particulate Flows with Collisions
Authors: Anthony Wachs, Guillaume Vinay, Gilles Ferrer, Jacques Kouakou, Calin Dan, Laurence Girolami
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An original Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) method to tackle the problem of particulate flows at moderate to high concentration and finite Reynolds number is presented. Our method is built on the framework established by Glowinski and his coworkers [1] in the sense that we use their Distributed Lagrange Multiplier/Fictitious Domain (DLM/FD) formulation and their operator-splitting idea but differs in the treatment of particle collisions. The novelty of our contribution relies on replacing the simple artificial repulsive force based collision model usually employed in the literature by an efficient Discrete Element Method (DEM) granular solver. The use of our DEM solver enables us to consider particles of arbitrary shape (at least convex) and to account for actual contacts, in the sense that particles actually touch each other, in contrast with the simple repulsive force based collision model. We recently upgraded our serial code, GRIFF 1 [2], to full MPI capabilities. Our new code, PeliGRIFF 2, is developed under the framework of the full MPI open source platform PELICANS [3]. The new MPI capabilities of PeliGRIFF open new perspectives in the study of particulate flows and significantly increase the number of particles that can be considered in a full DNS approach: O(100000) in 2D and O(10000) in 3D. Results on the 2D/3D sedimentation/fluidization of isometric polygonal/polyedral particles with collisions are presented.
Keywords: Particulate flow, distributed lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain method, discrete element method, polygonal shape, sedimentation, distributed computing, MPI
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2104739 Integrated Design in Additive Manufacturing Based on Design for Manufacturing
Authors: E. Asadollahi-Yazdi, J. Gardan, P. Lafon
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Nowadays, manufactures are encountered with production of different version of products due to quality, cost and time constraints. On the other hand, Additive Manufacturing (AM) as a production method based on CAD model disrupts the design and manufacturing cycle with new parameters. To consider these issues, the researchers utilized Design For Manufacturing (DFM) approach for AM but until now there is no integrated approach for design and manufacturing of product through the AM. So, this paper aims to provide a general methodology for managing the different production issues, as well as, support the interoperability with AM process and different Product Life Cycle Management tools. The problem is that the models of System Engineering which is used for managing complex systems cannot support the product evolution and its impact on the product life cycle. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide a general methodology for managing the product’s diversities which is created by using AM. This methodology must consider manufacture and assembly during product design as early as possible in the design stage. The latest approach of DFM, as a methodology to analyze the system comprehensively, integrates manufacturing constraints in the numerical model in upstream. So, DFM for AM is used to import the characteristics of AM into the design and manufacturing process of a hybrid product to manage the criteria coming from AM. Also, the research presents an integrated design method in order to take into account the knowledge of layers manufacturing technologies. For this purpose, the interface model based on the skin and skeleton concepts is provided, the usage and manufacturing skins are used to show the functional surface of the product. Also, the material flow and link between the skins are demonstrated by usage and manufacturing skeletons. Therefore, this integrated approach is a helpful methodology for designer and manufacturer in different decisions like material and process selection as well as, evaluation of product manufacturability.
Keywords: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, design for manufacturing, integrated design, interoperability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2238738 Ethics in the Technology Driven Enterprise
Authors: Bobbie Green, James A. Nelson
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Innovations in technology have created new ethical challenges. Essential use of electronic communication in the workplace has escalated at an astronomical rate over the past decade. As such, legal and ethical dilemmas confronted by both the employer and the employee concerning managerial control and ownership of einformation have increased dramatically in the USA. From the employer-s perspective, ownership and control of all information created for the workplace is an undeniable source of economic advantage and must be monitored zealously. From the perspective of the employee, individual rights, such as privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, continue to be stalwart legal guarantees that employers are not legally or ethically entitled to abridge in the workplace. These issues have been the source of great debate and the catalyst for legal reform. The fine line between ethical and legal has been complicated by emerging technologies. This manuscript will identify and discuss a number of specific legal and ethical issues raised by the dynamic electronic workplace and conclude with suggestions that employers should follow to respect the delicate balance between employees- legal rights to privacy and the employer's right to protect its knowledge systems and infrastructure.Keywords: Information, ethics, legal, privacy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2046737 An Extension of the Kratzel Function and Associated Inverse Gaussian Probability Distribution Occurring in Reliability Theory
Authors: R. K. Saxena, Ravi Saxena
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In view of their importance and usefulness in reliability theory and probability distributions, several generalizations of the inverse Gaussian distribution and the Krtzel function are investigated in recent years. This has motivated the authors to introduce and study a new generalization of the inverse Gaussian distribution and the Krtzel function associated with a product of a Bessel function of the third kind )(zKQ and a Z - Fox-Wright generalized hyper geometric function introduced in this paper. The introduced function turns out to be a unified gamma-type function. Its incomplete forms are also discussed. Several properties of this gamma-type function are obtained. By means of this generalized function, we introduce a generalization of inverse Gaussian distribution, which is useful in reliability analysis, diffusion processes, and radio techniques etc. The inverse Gaussian distribution thus introduced also provides a generalization of the Krtzel function. Some basic statistical functions associated with this probability density function, such as moments, the Mellin transform, the moment generating function, the hazard rate function, and the mean residue life function are also obtained.KeywordsFox-Wright function, Inverse Gaussian distribution, Krtzel function & Bessel function of the third kind.
Keywords: Fox-Wright function, Inverse Gaussian distribution, Krtzel function & Bessel function of the third kind.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1707736 Soil-Structure Interaction Models for the Reinforced Foundation System: A State-of-the-Art Review
Authors: Ashwini V. Chavan, Sukhanand S. Bhosale
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Challenges of weak soil subgrade are often resolved either by stabilization or reinforcing it. However, it is also practiced to reinforce the granular fill to improve the load-settlement behavior of it over weak soil strata. The inclusion of reinforcement in the engineered granular fill provided a new impetus for the development of enhanced Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) models, also known as mechanical foundation models or lumped parameter models. Several researchers have been working in this direction to understand the mechanism of granular fill-reinforcement interaction and the response of weak soil under the application of load. These models have been developed by extending available SSI models such as the Winkler Model, Pasternak Model, Hetenyi Model, Kerr Model etc., and are helpful to visualize the load-settlement behavior of a physical system through 1-D and 2-D analysis considering beam and plate resting on the foundation, respectively. Based on the literature survey, these models are categorized as ‘Reinforced Pasternak Model,’ ‘Double Beam Model,’ ‘Reinforced Timoshenko Beam Model,’ and ‘Reinforced Kerr Model’. The present work reviews the past 30+ years of research in the field of SSI models for reinforced foundation systems, presenting the conceptual development of these models systematically and discussing their limitations. A flow-chart showing procedure for compution of deformation and mobilized tension is also incorporated in the paper. Special efforts are taken to tabulate the parameters and their significance in the load-settlement analysis, which may be helpful in future studies for the comparison and enhancement of results and findings of physical models.
Keywords: geosynthetics, mathematical modeling, reinforced foundation, soil-structure interaction, ground improvement, soft soil
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 625735 Performance Analysis of Software Reliability Models using Matrix Method
Authors: RajPal Garg, Kapil Sharma, Rajive Kumar, R. K. Garg
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This paper presents a computational methodology based on matrix operations for a computer based solution to the problem of performance analysis of software reliability models (SRMs). A set of seven comparison criteria have been formulated to rank various non-homogenous Poisson process software reliability models proposed during the past 30 years to estimate software reliability measures such as the number of remaining faults, software failure rate, and software reliability. Selection of optimal SRM for use in a particular case has been an area of interest for researchers in the field of software reliability. Tools and techniques for software reliability model selection found in the literature cannot be used with high level of confidence as they use a limited number of model selection criteria. A real data set of middle size software project from published papers has been used for demonstration of matrix method. The result of this study will be a ranking of SRMs based on the Permanent value of the criteria matrix formed for each model based on the comparison criteria. The software reliability model with highest value of the Permanent is ranked at number – 1 and so on.Keywords: Matrix method, Model ranking, Model selection, Model selection criteria, Software reliability models.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2302