Search results for: Adaptive Discharge Time Control.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 9948

Search results for: Adaptive Discharge Time Control.

6108 An Experimental Study on Autoignition of Wood

Authors: Tri Poespowati

Abstract:

Experiments were conducted to characterize fire properties of wood exposed to the certain external heat flux and under variety of wood moisture content. Six kinds of Indonesian wood: keruing, sono, cemara, kamper, pinus, and mahoni were exposed to radiant heat from a conical heater, result in appearance of a stable flame on the wood surface caused by spontaneous ignition. A thermocouple K-type was used to measure the wood surface temperature. Temperature histories were recorded throughout each experiment at 1 s intervals using a TC-08. Data of first ignition time and temperature, end ignition time and temperature, and charring rate have been successfully collected. It was found that the ignition temperature and charring rate depend on moisture content of wood.

Keywords: Fire properties, moisture content, wood, charring rate.

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6107 Optimal Tuning of Linear Quadratic Regulator Controller Using a Particle Swarm Optimization for Two-Rotor Aerodynamical System

Authors: Ayad Al-Mahturi, Herman Wahid

Abstract:

This paper presents an optimal state feedback controller based on Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) for a two-rotor aero-dynamical system (TRAS). TRAS is a highly nonlinear multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system with two degrees of freedom and cross coupling. There are two parameters that define the behavior of LQR controller: state weighting matrix and control weighting matrix. The two parameters influence the performance of LQR. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed to optimally tune weighting matrices of LQR. The major concern of using LQR controller is to stabilize the TRAS by making the beam move quickly and accurately for tracking a trajectory or to reach a desired altitude. The simulation results were carried out in MATLAB/Simulink. The system is decoupled into two single-input single-output (SISO) systems. Comparing the performance of the optimized proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller provided by INTECO, results depict that LQR controller gives a better performance in terms of both transient and steady state responses when PSO is performed.

Keywords: Linear quadratic regulator, LQR controller, optimal control, particle swarm optimization, PSO, two-rotor aero-dynamical system, TRAS.

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6106 Biodiesel Production from Palm Oil using Heterogeneous Base Catalyst

Authors: Sirichai Chantara-arpornchai, Apanee Luengnaruemitchai, Samai Jai-In

Abstract:

In this study, the transesterification of palm oil with methanol for biodiesel production was studied by using CaO–ZnO as a heterogeneous base catalyst prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation (IWI) and co-precipitation (CP) methods. The reaction parameters considered were molar ratio of methanol to oil, amount of catalyst, reaction temperature, and reaction time. The optimum conditions–15:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, a catalyst amount of 6 wt%, reaction temperature of 60 °C, and reaction time of 8 h–were observed. The effects of Ca loading, calcination temperature, and catalyst preparation on the catalytic performance were studied. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized by several techniques, including XRD, TPR, and XRF.

Keywords: CaO, ZnO, biodiesel, heterogeneous catalyst, trans-esterification.

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6105 Search for New Design Elements in Time-Honoured Shops in Tainan—On Curriculum Practice about Culture Creative Industry

Authors: Ya-Ling Huang, Ming-Chun Tsai, Fan Hsu, Kai-Ru Hsieh

Abstract:

This paper mainly discusses the research and practice process of a laboratory curriculum by leading students to perform field investigation into time-honoured shops that have existed for more than 50 years in the downtown area of Tainan, Taiwan, and then search again for design elements and completing the design. The participants are juniors from the Department of Visual Communication Design, Kun Shan University. The duration of research and practice is two months. Operators of these shops are invited to jointly appraise the final achievements. 9 works out of 27 are chosen for final exhibition and commercialization.

Keywords: Culture creative industry, visual communication design, curriculum experimental.

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6104 Production of Biodiesel from Roasted Chicken Fat and Methanol: Free Catalyst

Authors: Jorge Ramírez-Ortiz, Merced Martínez Rosales, Horacio Flores Zúñiga

Abstract:

Transesterification reactions free of catalyst between roasted chicken fat with methanol were carried out in a batch reactor in order to produce biodiesel to temperatures from 120°C to 140°C. Parameters related to the transesterification reactions, including temperature, time and the molar ratio of chicken fat to methanol also investigated. The maximum yield of the reaction was of 98% under conditions of 140°C, 4 h of reaction time and a molar ratio of chicken fat to methanol of 1:31. The biodiesel thus obtained exhibited a viscosity of 6.3 mm2/s and a density of 895.9 kg/m3. The results showed this process can be right choice to produce biodiesel since this process does not use any catalyst. Therefore, the steps of neutralization and washing are avoided, indispensables in the case of the alkaline catalysis.

Keywords: Biodiesel, non-catalyst, roasted chicken fat, transesterification.

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6103 Toxicological and Histopathological Studies on the Effect of Tartrazine in Male Albino Rats

Authors: F. Alaa Ali, S. A. Sherein Abdelgayed, S. Osama. EL-Tawil, M. Adel Bakeer

Abstract:

Tartrazine is an organic azo dyes food additive widely used in foods, drugs, and cosmetics. The present study aimed to investigate the toxic effects of tartrazine on kidneys and liver biomarkers in addition to the investigation of oxidative stress and change of histopathological structure of liver and kidneys in 30 male rats. Tartrazine was orally administrated daily at dose 200 mg/ kg bw (1/ 10 LD50) for sixty days. Serum and tissue samples were collected at the end of the experiment to investigate the underlying mechanism of tartrazine through assessment oxidative stress (Glutathione (GSH), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and biochemical markers (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Total protein and Urea). Liver and kidneys tissue were collected and preserved in 10% formalin for histopathological examination. The obtained values were statistically analyzed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by multiple comparison test. Biochemical analysis revealed that tartrazine induced significant increase in serum ALT, AST, total protein, urea level compared to control group. Tartrazine showed significant decrease in liver GSH and SOD where their values when compared to control group. Tartrazine induced increase in liver MDA compared to control group. Histopathology of the liver showed diffuse vacuolar degeneration in hepatic parenchyma, the portal area showed sever changes sever in hepatoportal blood vessels and in the bile ducts. The kidneys showed degenerated tubules at the cortex together with mononuclear leucocytes inflammatory cells infiltration. There is perivascular edema with inflammatory cell infiltration surrounding the congested and hyalinized vascular wall of blood vessel. The present study indicates that the subchronic effects of tartrazine have a toxic effect on the liver and kidneys together with induction of oxidative stress by formation of free radicals. Therefore, people should avoid the hazards of consuming tartrazine.

Keywords: Albino rats, tartrazine, toxicity, pathology

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6102 Proposal of Commutation Protocol in Hybrid Sensors and Vehicular Networks for Intelligent Transport Systems

Authors: Taha Bensiradj, Samira Moussaoui

Abstract:

Hybrid Sensors and Vehicular Networks (HSVN), represent a hybrid network, which uses several generations of Ad-Hoc networks. It is used especially in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). The HSVN allows making collaboration between the Wireless Sensors Network (WSN) deployed on the border of the road and the Vehicular Network (VANET). This collaboration is defined by messages exchanged between the two networks for the purpose to inform the drivers about the state of the road, provide road safety information and more information about traffic on the road. Moreover, this collaboration created by HSVN, also allows the use of a network and the advantage of improving another network. For example, the dissemination of information between the sensors quickly decreases its energy, and therefore, we can use vehicles that do not have energy constraint to disseminate the information between sensors. On the other hand, to solve the disconnection problem in VANET, the sensors can be used as gateways that allow sending the messages received by one vehicle to another. However, because of the short communication range of the sensor and its low capacity of storage and processing of data, it is difficult to ensure the exchange of road messages between it and the vehicle, which can be moving at high speed at the time of exchange. This represents the time where the vehicle is in communication range with the sensor. This work is the proposition of a communication protocol between the sensors and the vehicle used in HSVN. The latter has as the purpose to ensure the exchange of road messages in the available time of exchange.

Keywords: HSVN, ITS, VANET, WSN.

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6101 Towards an Enhanced Stochastic Simulation Model for Risk Analysis in Highway Construction

Authors: Anshu Manik, William G. Buttlar, Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan

Abstract:

Over the years, there is a growing trend towards quality-based specifications in highway construction. In many Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) specifications, the contractor is primarily responsible for quality control of the process, whereas the highway agency is responsible for testing the acceptance of the product. A cooperative investigation was conducted in Illinois over several years to develop a prototype End-Result Specification (ERS) for asphalt pavement construction. The final characteristics of the product are stipulated in the ERS and the contractor is given considerable freedom in achieving those characteristics. The risk for the contractor or agency depends on how the acceptance limits and processes are specified. Stochastic simulation models are very useful in estimating and analyzing payment risk in ERS systems and these form an integral part of the Illinois-s prototype ERS system. This paper describes the development of an innovative methodology to estimate the variability components in in-situ density, air voids and asphalt content data from ERS projects. The information gained from this would be crucial in simulating these ERS projects for estimation and analysis of payment risks associated with asphalt pavement construction. However, these methods require at least two parties to conduct tests on all the split samples obtained according to the sampling scheme prescribed in present ERS implemented in Illinois.

Keywords: Asphalt Pavement, Risk Analysis, StochasticSimulation, QC/QA.

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6100 Jigger Flea (Tunga penetrans) Infestations and Use of Soil-Cow Dung-Ash Mixture as a Flea Control Method in Eastern Uganda

Authors: Gerald Amatre, Julius Bunny Lejju, Morgan Andama

Abstract:

Despite several interventions, jigger flea infestations continue to be reported in the Busoga sub-region in Eastern Uganda. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that expose the indigenous people to jigger flea infestations and evaluate the effectiveness of any indigenous materials used in flea control by the affected communities. Flea compositions in residences were described, factors associated with flea infestation and indigenous materials used in flea control were evaluated. Field surveys were conducted in the affected communities after obtaining preliminary information on jigger infestation from the offices of the District Health Inspectors to identify the affected villages and households. Informed consent was then sought from the local authorities and household heads to conduct the study. Focus group discussions were conducted with key district informants, namely, the District Health Inspectors, District Entomologists and representatives from the District Health Office. A GPS coordinate was taken at central point at every household enrolled. Fleas were trapped inside residences using Kilonzo traps. A Kilonzo Trap comprised a shallow pan, about three centimetres deep, filled to the brim with water. The edges of the pan were smeared with Vaseline to prevent fleas from crawling out. Traps were placed in the evening and checked every morning the following day. The trapped fleas were collected in labelled vials filled with 70% aqueous ethanol and taken to the laboratory for identification. Socio-economic and environmental data were collected. The results indicate that the commonest flea trapped in the residences was the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) (50%), followed by Jigger flea (Tunga penetrans) (46%) and rat flea (Xenopsylla Cheopis) (4%), respectively. The average size of residences was seven squire metres with a mean of six occupants. The residences were generally untidy; with loose dusty floors and the brick walls were not plastered. The majority of the jigger affected households were headed by peasants (86.7%) and artisans (13.3%). The household heads mainly stopped at primary school level (80%) and few at secondary school level (20%). The jigger affected households were mainly headed by peasants of low socioeconomic status. The affected community members use soil-cow dung-ash mixture to smear floors of residences as the only measure to control fleas. This method was found to be ineffective in controlling the insects. The study recommends that home improvement campaigns be continued in the affected communities to improve sanitation and hygiene in residences as one of the interventions to combat flea infestations. Other cheap, available and effective means should be identified to curb jigger flea infestations.

Keywords: Cow dung-soil-ash mixture, infestations, Jigger flea, Tunga penetrans.

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6099 Optimal Manufacturing Scheduling for Dependent Details Processing

Authors: Ivan C. Mustakerov, Daniela I. Borissova

Abstract:

The increasing competitiveness in manufacturing industry is forcing manufacturers to seek effective processing schedules. The paper presents an optimization manufacture scheduling approach for dependent details processing with given processing sequences and times on multiple machines. By defining decision variables as start and end moments of details processing it is possible to use straightforward variables restrictions to satisfy different technological requirements and to formulate easy to understand and solve optimization tasks for multiple numbers of details and machines. A case study example is solved for seven base moldings for CNC metalworking machines processed on five different machines with given processing order among details and machines and known processing time-s duration. As a result of linear optimization task solution the optimal manufacturing schedule minimizing the overall processing time is obtained. The manufacturing schedule defines the moments of moldings delivery thus minimizing storage costs and provides mounting due-time satisfaction. The proposed optimization approach is based on real manufacturing plant problem. Different processing schedules variants for different technological restrictions were defined and implemented in the practice of Bulgarian company RAIS Ltd. The proposed approach could be generalized for other job shop scheduling problems for different applications.

Keywords: Optimal manufacturing scheduling, linear programming, metalworking machines production, dependant details processing.

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6098 Fuzzy Logic System for Tractive Performance Prediction of an Intelligent Air-Cushion Track Vehicle

Authors: Altab Hossain, Ataur Rahman, A. K. M. Mohiuddin, Yulfian Aminanda

Abstract:

Fuzzy logic system (FLS) is used in this study to predict the tractive performance in terms of traction force, and motion resistance for an intelligent air cushion track vehicle while it operates in the swamp peat. The system is effective to control the intelligent air –cushion system with measuring the vehicle traction force (TF), motion resistance (MR), cushion clearance height (CH) and cushion pressure (CP). Ultrasonic displacement sensor, pull-in solenoid electromagnetic switch, pressure control sensor, micro controller, and battery pH sensor are incorporated with the Fuzzy logic system to investigate experimentally the TF, MR, CH, and CP. In this study, a comparison for tractive performance of an intelligent air cushion track vehicle has been performed with the results obtained from the predicted values of FLS and experimental actual values. The mean relative error of actual and predicted values from the FLS model on traction force, and total motion resistance are found as 5.58 %, and 6.78 % respectively. For all parameters, the relative error of predicted values are found to be less than the acceptable limits. The goodness of fit of the prediction values from the FLS model on TF, and MR are found as 0.90, and 0.98 respectively.

Keywords: Cushion pressure, Fuzzy logic, Motion resistance, Traction force.

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6097 3D Star Skeleton for Fast Human Posture Representation

Authors: Sungkuk Chun, Kwangjin Hong, Keechul Jung

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose an improved 3D star skeleton technique, which is a suitable skeletonization for human posture representation and reflects the 3D information of human posture. Moreover, the proposed technique is simple and then can be performed in real-time. The existing skeleton construction techniques, such as distance transformation, Voronoi diagram, and thinning, focus on the precision of skeleton information. Therefore, those techniques are not applicable to real-time posture recognition since they are computationally expensive and highly susceptible to noise of boundary. Although a 2D star skeleton was proposed to complement these problems, it also has some limitations to describe the 3D information of the posture. To represent human posture effectively, the constructed skeleton should consider the 3D information of posture. The proposed 3D star skeleton contains 3D data of human, and focuses on human action and posture recognition. Our 3D star skeleton uses the 8 projection maps which have 2D silhouette information and depth data of human surface. And the extremal points can be extracted as the features of 3D star skeleton, without searching whole boundary of object. Therefore, on execution time, our 3D star skeleton is faster than the “greedy" 3D star skeleton using the whole boundary points on the surface. Moreover, our method can offer more accurate skeleton of posture than the existing star skeleton since the 3D data for the object is concerned. Additionally, we make a codebook, a collection of representative 3D star skeletons about 7 postures, to recognize what posture of constructed skeleton is.

Keywords: computer vision, gesture recognition, skeletonization, human posture representation.

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6096 Biospeckle Techniques in Quality Evaluation of Indian Fruits

Authors: MD Zaheer Ansari, A.K. Nirala

Abstract:

In this study spatial-temporal speckle correlation techniques have been applied for the quality evaluation of three different Indian fruits namely apple, pear and tomato for the first time. The method is based on the analysis of variations of laser light scattered from biological samples. The results showed that crosscorrelation coefficients of biospeckle patterns change subject to their freshness and the storage conditions. The biospeckle activity was determined by means of the cross-correlation functions of the intensity fluctuations. Significant changes in biospeckle activity were observed during their shelf lives. From the study, it is found that the biospeckle activity decreases with the shelf-life storage time. Further it has been shown that biospeckle activity changes according to their respiration rates.

Keywords: Biospeckle, cross-correlation, respiration, shelf-life.

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6095 Performance Evaluation of Neural Network Prediction for Data Prefetching in Embedded Applications

Authors: Sofien Chtourou, Mohamed Chtourou, Omar Hammami

Abstract:

Embedded systems need to respect stringent real time constraints. Various hardware components included in such systems such as cache memories exhibit variability and therefore affect execution time. Indeed, a cache memory access from an embedded microprocessor might result in a cache hit where the data is available or a cache miss and the data need to be fetched with an additional delay from an external memory. It is therefore highly desirable to predict future memory accesses during execution in order to appropriately prefetch data without incurring delays. In this paper, we evaluate the potential of several artificial neural networks for the prediction of instruction memory addresses. Neural network have the potential to tackle the nonlinear behavior observed in memory accesses during program execution and their demonstrated numerous hardware implementation emphasize this choice over traditional forecasting techniques for their inclusion in embedded systems. However, embedded applications execute millions of instructions and therefore millions of addresses to be predicted. This very challenging problem of neural network based prediction of large time series is approached in this paper by evaluating various neural network architectures based on the recurrent neural network paradigm with pre-processing based on the Self Organizing Map (SOM) classification technique.

Keywords: Address, data set, memory, prediction, recurrentneural network.

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6094 A New Approach for Image Segmentation using Pillar-Kmeans Algorithm

Authors: Ali Ridho Barakbah, Yasushi Kiyoki

Abstract:

This paper presents a new approach for image segmentation by applying Pillar-Kmeans algorithm. This segmentation process includes a new mechanism for clustering the elements of high-resolution images in order to improve precision and reduce computation time. The system applies K-means clustering to the image segmentation after optimized by Pillar Algorithm. The Pillar algorithm considers the pillars- placement which should be located as far as possible from each other to withstand against the pressure distribution of a roof, as identical to the number of centroids amongst the data distribution. This algorithm is able to optimize the K-means clustering for image segmentation in aspects of precision and computation time. It designates the initial centroids- positions by calculating the accumulated distance metric between each data point and all previous centroids, and then selects data points which have the maximum distance as new initial centroids. This algorithm distributes all initial centroids according to the maximum accumulated distance metric. This paper evaluates the proposed approach for image segmentation by comparing with K-means and Gaussian Mixture Model algorithm and involving RGB, HSV, HSL and CIELAB color spaces. The experimental results clarify the effectiveness of our approach to improve the segmentation quality in aspects of precision and computational time.

Keywords: Image segmentation, K-means clustering, Pillaralgorithm, color spaces.

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6093 Comparison between Separable and Irreducible Goppa Code in McEliece Cryptosystem

Authors: Thuraya M. Qaradaghi, Newroz N. Abdulrazaq

Abstract:

The McEliece cryptosystem is an asymmetric type of cryptography based on error correction code. The classical McEliece used irreducible binary Goppa code which considered unbreakable until now especially with parameter [1024, 524, and 101], but it is suffering from large public key matrix which leads to be difficult to be used practically. In this work Irreducible and Separable Goppa codes have been introduced. The Irreducible and Separable Goppa codes used are with flexible parameters and dynamic error vectors. A Comparison between Separable and Irreducible Goppa code in McEliece Cryptosystem has been done. For encryption stage, to get better result for comparison, two types of testing have been chosen; in the first one the random message is constant while the parameters of Goppa code have been changed. But for the second test, the parameters of Goppa code are constant (m=8 and t=10) while the random message have been changed. The results show that the time needed to calculate parity check matrix in separable are higher than the one for irreducible McEliece cryptosystem, which is considered expected results due to calculate extra parity check matrix in decryption process for g2(z) in separable type, and the time needed to execute error locator in decryption stage in separable type is better than the time needed to calculate it in irreducible type. The proposed implementation has been done by Visual studio C#.

Keywords: McEliece cryptosystem, Goppa code, separable, irreducible.

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6092 DWM-CDD: Dynamic Weighted Majority Concept Drift Detection for Spam Mail Filtering

Authors: Leili Nosrati, Alireza Nemaney Pour

Abstract:

Although e-mail is the most efficient and popular communication method, unwanted and mass unsolicited e-mails, also called spam mail, endanger the existence of the mail system. This paper proposes a new algorithm called Dynamic Weighted Majority Concept Drift Detection (DWM-CDD) for content-based filtering. The design purposes of DWM-CDD are first to accurate the performance of the previously proposed algorithms, and second to speed up the time to construct the model. The results show that DWM-CDD can detect both sudden and gradual changes quickly and accurately. Moreover, the time needed for model construction is less than previously proposed algorithms.

Keywords: Concept drift, Content-based filtering, E-mail, Spammail.

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6091 String Matching using Inverted Lists

Authors: Chouvalit Khancome, Veera Boonjing

Abstract:

This paper proposes a new solution to string matching problem. This solution constructs an inverted list representing a  string pattern to be searched for. It then uses a new algorithm to process an input string in a single pass. The preprocessing phase  takes 1) time complexity O(m) 2) space complexity O(1) where m is  the length of pattern. The searching phase time complexity takes 1)  O(m+α ) in average case 2) O(n/m) in the best case and 3) O(n) in  the worst case, where α is the number of comparing leading to  mismatch and n is the length of input text.

Keywords: String matching, inverted list, inverted index, pattern, algorithm.

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6090 Geochemistry of Natural Radionuclides Associated with Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in a Coal Mining Area in Southern Brazil

Authors: Juliana A. Galhardi, Daniel M. Bonotto

Abstract:

Coal is an important non-renewable energy source of and can be associated with radioactive elements. In Figueira city, Paraná state, Brazil, it was recorded high uranium activity near the coal mine that supplies a local thermoelectric power plant. In this context, the radon activity (Rn-222, produced by the Ra-226 decay in the U-238 natural series) was evaluated in groundwater, river water and effluents produced from the acid mine drainage in the coal reject dumps. The samples were collected in August 2013 and in February 2014 and analyzed at LABIDRO (Laboratory of Isotope and Hydrochemistry), UNESP, Rio Claro city, Brazil, using an alpha spectrometer (AlphaGuard) adjusted to evaluate the mean radon activity concentration in five cycles of 10 minutes. No radon activity concentration above 100 Bq.L-1, which was a previous critic value established by the World Health Organization. The average radon activity concentration in groundwater was higher than in surface water and in effluent samples, possibly due to the accumulation of uranium and radium in the aquifer layers that favors the radon trapping. The lower value in the river waters can indicate dilution and the intermediate value in the effluents may indicate radon absorption in the coal particles of the reject dumps. The results also indicate that the radon activities in the effluents increase with the sample acidification, possibly due to the higher radium leaching and the subsequent radon transport to the drainage flow. The water samples of Laranjinha River and Ribeirão das Pedras stream, which, respectively, supply Figueira city and receive the mining effluent, exhibited higher pH values upstream the mine, reflecting the acid mine drainage discharge. The radionuclides transport indicates the importance of monitoring their activity concentration in natural waters due to the risks that the radioactivity can represent to human health.

Keywords: Radon, radium, acid mine drainage, coal

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6089 Experimental Study for the Development of a Wireless Communication System in a Solar Central Tower Facility

Authors: Victor H. Benitez, Ramon V. Armas-Flores, Jesus H. Pacheco-Ramirez

Abstract:

Systems transforming solar energy into electrical power have emerged as a viable source of clean, renewable energy. Solar power tower technology is a good example of this type of system, which consists of several mobile mirrors, called heliostats, which reflect the sun's radiation to the same point, located on top of a tower at the center of heliostat field, for collection or transformation into another type of energy. The so-called Hermosillo’s Solar Platform (Plataforma Solar de Hermosillo, PSH, in Spanish) is a facility constituted with several heliostats, its aim and scope is for research purposes. In this paper, the implementation of a wireless communication system based on intelligent nodes is proposed in order to allow the communication and control of the heliostats in PSH. Intelligent nodes transmit information from one point to another, and can perform other actions that allow them to adapt to the conditions and limitations of a field of heliostats, thus achieving effective communication system. After deployment of the nodes in the heliostats, tests were conducted to measure the effectiveness of the communication, and determine the feasibility of using the proposed technologies. The test results were always positive, exceeding expectations held for its operation in the field of heliostats. Therefore, it was possible to validate the efficiency of the wireless communication system to be implemented in PSH, allowing communication and control of the heliostats.

Keywords: Solar energy, heliostat, wireless communication, intelligent node.

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6088 Possibilities of Mathematical Modelling of Explosive Substance Aerosol and Vapour Dispersion in the Atmosphere

Authors: A. Bumbová, J. Kellner, J. Navrátil, D. Pluskal, M. Kozubková, E. Kozubek

Abstract:

The paper deals with the possibilities of modelling vapour propagation of explosive substances in the FLUENT software. With regard to very low tensions of explosive substance vapours the experiment has been verified as exemplified by mononitrotoluene. Either constant or time variable meteorological conditions have been used for calculation. Further, it has been verified that the eluent source may be time-dependent and may reflect a real situation or the liberation rate may be constant. The execution of the experiment as well as evaluation were clear and it could also be used for modelling vapour and aerosol propagation of selected explosive substances in the atmospheric boundary layer.

Keywords: atmospheric boundary layer, explosive substances, FLUENT software, modelling of propagation

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6087 Tractive Performance Prediction for Intelligent Air-Cushion Track Vehicle: Fuzzy Logic Approach

Authors: Altab Hossain, Ataur Rahman, A. K. M. Mohiuddin, Yulfian Aminanda

Abstract:

Fuzzy logic approach is used in this study to predict the tractive performance in terms of traction force, and motion resistance for an intelligent air cushion track vehicle while it operates in the swamp peat. The system is effective to control the intelligent air –cushion system with measuring the vehicle traction force (TF), motion resistance (MR), cushion clearance height (CH) and cushion pressure (CP). Sinkage measuring sensor, magnetic switch, pressure sensor, micro controller, control valves and battery are incorporated with the Fuzzy logic system (FLS) to investigate experimentally the TF, MR, CH, and CP. In this study, a comparison for tractive performance of an intelligent air cushion track vehicle has been performed with the results obtained from the predicted values of FLS and experimental actual values. The mean relative error of actual and predicted values from the FLS model on traction force, and total motion resistance are found as 5.58 %, and 6.78 % respectively. For all parameters, the relative error of predicted values are found to be less than the acceptable limits. The goodness of fit of the prediction values from the FLS model on TF, and MR are found as 0.90, and 0.98 respectively.

Keywords: Cushion pressure, Fuzzy logic, Motion resistance, Traction force.

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6086 Virtual E-Medic: A Cloud Based Medical Aid

Authors: Madiajagan Muthaiyan, Neha Goel, Deepti Sunder Prakash

Abstract:

This paper discusses about an intelligent system to be installed in ambulances providing professional support to the paramedics on board. A video conferencing device over mobile 4G services enables specialists virtually attending the patient being transferred to the hospital. The data centre holds detailed databases on the patients past medical history and hospitals with the specialists. It also hosts various software modules that compute the shortest traffic –less path to the closest hospital with the required facilities, on inputting the symptoms of the patient, on a real time basis.

Keywords: 4G mobile services, cloud computing, data centre, intelligent system, optimization, real time traffic reporting, SaaS, video conferencing.

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6085 Comparison between Pushover Analysis Techniques and Validation of the Simplified Modal Pushover Analysis

Authors: N. F. Hanna, A. M. Haridy

Abstract:

One of the main drawbacks of the Modal Pushover Analysis (MPA) is the need to perform nonlinear time-history analysis, which complicates the analysis method and time. A simplified version of the MPA has been proposed based on the concept of the inelastic deformation ratio. Furthermore, the effect of the higher modes of vibration is considered by assuming linearly-elastic responses, which enables the use of standard elastic response spectrum analysis. In this thesis, the simplified MPA (SMPA) method is applied to determine the target global drift and the inter-story drifts of steel frame building. The effect of the higher vibration modes is considered within the framework of the SMPA. A comprehensive survey about the inelastic deformation ratio is presented. After that, a suitable expression from literature is selected for the inelastic deformation ratio and then implemented in the SMPA. The estimated seismic demands using the SMPA, such as target drift, base shear, and the inter-story drifts, are compared with the seismic responses determined by applying the standard MPA. The accuracy of the estimated seismic demands is validated by comparing with the results obtained by the nonlinear time-history analysis using real earthquake records.

Keywords: Modal analysis, pushover analysis, seismic performance, target displacement.

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6084 CRYPTO COPYCAT: A Fashion Centric Blockchain Framework for Eliminating Fashion Infringement

Authors: Magdi Elmessiry, Adel Elmessiry

Abstract:

The fashion industry represents a significant portion of the global gross domestic product, however, it is plagued by cheap imitators that infringe on the trademarks which destroys the fashion industry's hard work and investment. While eventually the copycats would be found and stopped, the damage has already been done, sales are missed and direct and indirect jobs are lost. The infringer thrives on two main facts: the time it takes to discover them and the lack of tracking technologies that can help the consumer distinguish them. Blockchain technology is a new emerging technology that provides a distributed encrypted immutable and fault resistant ledger. Blockchain presents a ripe technology to resolve the infringement epidemic facing the fashion industry. The significance of the study is that a new approach leveraging the state of the art blockchain technology coupled with artificial intelligence is used to create a framework addressing the fashion infringement problem. It transforms the current focus on legal enforcement, which is difficult at best, to consumer awareness that is far more effective. The framework, Crypto CopyCat, creates an immutable digital asset representing the actual product to empower the customer with a near real time query system. This combination emphasizes the consumer's awareness and appreciation of the product's authenticity, while provides real time feedback to the producer regarding the fake replicas. The main findings of this study are that implementing this approach can delay the fake product penetration of the original product market, thus allowing the original product the time to take advantage of the market. The shift in the fake adoption results in reduced returns, which impedes the copycat market and moves the emphasis to the original product innovation.

Keywords: Fashion, infringement, Blockchain, artificial intelligence, textiles supply.

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6083 Biogas Potentiality of Agro-wastes Jatropha Fruit Coat

Authors: M.S. Dhanya, N. Gupta, H.C. Joshi, Lata

Abstract:

The present investigation was undertaken to explore the biogas potentiality of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, Euphorbiaceae) Fruit Coat (JFC) alone and in combination with cattle dung (CD) in various proportions at 15 per cent total solids by batch phase anaerobic digestion for a period of ten weeks HRT (Hydraulic Retention Time) under a temperature of 35°C+1°C. The maximum biogas production was noticed in Cattle dung and Jatropha Fruit Coat in 2:1 ratio with 403.84 L/kg dry matter followed by 3:1,1:2, 1:1 and 1:3 having 329.66, 219.77, 217.79, 203.64 L /kg dm respectively as compared to 178.49 L/kg dm in CD alone. The JFC alone found to produce 91 per cent of total biogas that obtained from Cattle dung. The per cent methane content of the biogas in all the treatments was found on par with Cattle dung.

Keywords: Jatropha Fruit Coat, Cattle dung, Hydraulic Retention Time, Dry matter

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6082 Co-Administration Effects of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and L-Carnitine on Weight Gain and Biochemical Profile in Diet Induced Obese Rats

Authors: Maryam Nazari, Majid Karandish, Alihossein Saberi

Abstract:

Obesity as a global health challenge motivates pharmaceutical industries to produce anti-obesity drugs. However, effectiveness of these agents is remained unclear. Because of popularity of dietary supplements, the aim of this study was tp investigate the effects of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) and L-carnitine (LC) on serum glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol and weight changes in diet induced obese rats. 48 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: Normal fat diet (n=8), and High fat diet (HFD) (n=32). After eight weeks, the second group which was maintained on HFD until the end of study, was subdivided into four categories: a) 500 mg Corn Oil (as control group), b) 500 mg CLA, c) 200 mg LC, d) 500 mg CLA+ 200 mg LC.All doses are planned per kg body weights, which were administered by oral gavage for four weeks. Body weights were measured and recorded weekly by means of a digital scale. At the end of the study, blood samples were collected for biochemical markers measurement. SPSS Version 16 was used for statistical analysis. At the end of 8th week, a significant difference in weight was observed between HFD and NFD group. After 12 weeks, LC significantly reduced weight gain by 4.2%. Trend of weight gain in CLA and CLA+LC groups was insignificantly decelerated. CLA+LC reduced triglyceride level significantly, but just CLA had significant influence on total cholesterol and insignificant decreasing effect on FBS. Our results showed that an obesogenic diet in a relative short time led to obesity and dyslipidemia which can be modified by LC and CLA to some extent.

Keywords: Conjugated linoleic acid, high fat diet, L-carnitine, obesity.

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6081 An Efficient Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for Multiobjective Flow Shop Scheduling Problem

Authors: Ahmad Rabanimotlagh

Abstract:

In this paper an ant colony optimization algorithm is developed to solve the permutation flow shop scheduling problem. In the permutation flow shop scheduling problem which has been vastly studied in the literature, there are a set of m machines and a set of n jobs. All the jobs are processed on all the machines and the sequence of jobs being processed is the same on all the machines. Here this problem is optimized considering two criteria, makespan and total flow time. Then the results are compared with the ones obtained by previously developed algorithms. Finally it is visible that our proposed approach performs best among all other algorithms in the literature.

Keywords: Scheduling, Flow shop, Ant colony optimization, Makespan, Flow time

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6080 An Efficient Algorithm for Reliability Lower Bound of Distributed Systems

Authors: Mohamed H. S. Mohamed, Yang Xiao-zong, Liu Hong-wei, Wu Zhi-bo

Abstract:

The reliability of distributed systems and computer networks have been modeled by a probabilistic network or a graph G. Computing the residual connectedness reliability (RCR), denoted by R(G), under the node fault model is very useful, but is an NP-hard problem. Since it may need exponential time of the network size to compute the exact value of R(G), it is important to calculate its tight approximate value, especially its lower bound, at a moderate calculation time. In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm for reliability lower bound of distributed systems with unreliable nodes. We also applied our algorithm to several typical classes of networks to evaluate the lower bounds and show the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Keywords: Distributed systems, probabilistic network, residual connectedness reliability, lower bound.

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6079 Model Order Reduction of Linear Time Variant High Speed VLSI Interconnects using Frequency Shift Technique

Authors: J.V.R.Ravindra, M.B.Srinivas,

Abstract:

Accurate modeling of high speed RLC interconnects has become a necessity to address signal integrity issues in current VLSI design. To accurately model a dispersive system of interconnects at higher frequencies; a full-wave analysis is required. However, conventional circuit simulation of interconnects with full wave models is extremely CPU expensive. We present an algorithm for reducing large VLSI circuits to much smaller ones with similar input-output behavior. A key feature of our method, called Frequency Shift Technique, is that it is capable of reducing linear time-varying systems. This enables it to capture frequency-translation and sampling behavior, important in communication subsystems such as mixers, RF components and switched-capacitor filters. Reduction is obtained by projecting the original system described by linear differential equations into a lower dimension. Experiments have been carried out using Cadence Design Simulator cwhich indicates that the proposed technique achieves more % reduction with less CPU time than the other model order reduction techniques existing in literature. We also present applications to RF circuit subsystems, obtaining size reductions and evaluation speedups of orders of magnitude with insignificant loss of accuracy.

Keywords: Model order Reduction, RLC, crosstalk

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