Search results for: Adaptive re-use of buildings
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1422

Search results for: Adaptive re-use of buildings

1032 Column Size for R.C. Frames with High Drift

Authors: Sunil S. Mayengbam, S. Choudhury

Abstract:

A method to predict the column size for displacement based design of reinforced concrete frame buildings with higher target inter storey drift is reported here. The column depth derived from empirical relation as a function of given beam section, target inter-story drift, building plan features and common displacement based design parameters is used. Regarding the high drift requirement, a minimum column-beam moment capacity ratio is maintained during capacity design. The method is used in designing four, eight and twelve story frame buildings with displacement based design for three percent target inter storey drift. Non linear time history analysis of the designed buildings are performed under five artificial ground motions to show that the columns are found elastic enough to avoid column sway mechanism assuring that for the design the column size can be used with or without minor changes.

Keywords: Column size, point of contra flexure, displacement based design, capacity design.

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1031 Development of a Speed Sensorless IM Drives

Authors: Dj. Cherifi, Y. Miloud, A. Tahri

Abstract:

The primary objective of this paper is to elimination of the problem of sensitivity to parameter variation of induction motor drive. The proposed sensorless strategy is based on an algorithm permitting a better simultaneous estimation of the rotor speed and the stator resistance including an adaptive mechanism based on the lyaponov theory. To study the reliability and the robustness of the sensorless technique to abnormal operations, some simulation tests have been performed under several cases.

The proposed sensorless vector control scheme showed a good performance behavior in the transient and steady states, with an excellent disturbance rejection of the load torque.

Keywords: Induction Motor Drive, field-oriented control, adaptive speed observer, stator resistance estimation.

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1030 A WIP Control Based On an Intelligent Controller

Authors: Chih-Hui Chiu, Chun-Hsien Lin

Abstract:

In this study, a robust intelligent backstepping tracking control (RIBTC) system combined with adaptive output recurrent cerebellar model articulation control (AORCMAC) and H∞ control technique is proposed for wheeled inverted pendulums (WIPs) real-time control with exact system dynamics unknown. Moreover, a robust H∞ controller is designed to attenuate the effect of the residual approximation errors and external disturbances with desired attenuation level. The experimental results indicate that the WIPs can stand upright stably when using the proposed RIBTC.

Keywords: Wheeled inverted pendulum, backsteppingtracking control, H∞ control, adaptive output recurrentcerebellar model articulation control.

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1029 Cognitive SATP for Airborne Radar Based on Slow-Time Coding

Authors: Fanqiang Kong, Jindong Zhang, Daiyin Zhu

Abstract:

Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) techniques have been motivated as a key enabling technology for advanced airborne radar applications. In this paper, the notion of cognitive radar is extended to STAP technique, and cognitive STAP is discussed. The principle for improving signal-to-clutter ratio (SCNR) based on slow-time coding is given, and the corresponding optimization algorithm based on cyclic and power-like algorithms is presented. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Space-time adaptive processing (STAP), signal-to-clutter ratio, slow-time coding.

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1028 Quantifying Uncertainties in an Archetype-Based Building Stock Energy Model by Use of Individual Building Models

Authors: Morten Brøgger, Kim Wittchen

Abstract:

Focus on reducing energy consumption in existing buildings at large scale, e.g. in cities or countries, has been increasing in recent years. In order to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings, political incentive schemes are put in place and large scale investments are made by utility companies. Prioritising these investments requires a comprehensive overview of the energy consumption in the existing building stock, as well as potential energy-savings. However, a building stock comprises thousands of buildings with different characteristics making it difficult to model energy consumption accurately. Moreover, the complexity of the building stock makes it difficult to convey model results to policymakers and other stakeholders. In order to manage the complexity of the building stock, building archetypes are often employed in building stock energy models (BSEMs). Building archetypes are formed by segmenting the building stock according to specific characteristics. Segmenting the building stock according to building type and building age is common, among other things because this information is often easily available. This segmentation makes it easy to convey results to non-experts. However, using a single archetypical building to represent all buildings in a segment of the building stock is associated with loss of detail. Thermal characteristics are aggregated while other characteristics, which could affect the energy efficiency of a building, are disregarded. Thus, using a simplified representation of the building stock could come at the expense of the accuracy of the model. The present study evaluates the accuracy of a conventional archetype-based BSEM that segments the building stock according to building type- and age. The accuracy is evaluated in terms of the archetypes’ ability to accurately emulate the average energy demands of the corresponding buildings they were meant to represent. This is done for the buildings’ energy demands as a whole as well as for relevant sub-demands. Both are evaluated in relation to the type- and the age of the building. This should provide researchers, who use archetypes in BSEMs, with an indication of the expected accuracy of the conventional archetype model, as well as the accuracy lost in specific parts of the calculation, due to use of the archetype method.

Keywords: Building stock energy modelling, energy-savings, archetype.

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1027 Fast Algorithm of Infrared Point Target Detection in Fluctuant Background

Authors: Yang Weiping, Zhang Zhilong, Li Jicheng, Chen Zengping, He Jun

Abstract:

The background estimation approach using a small window median filter is presented on the bases of analyzing IR point target, noise and clutter model. After simplifying the two-dimensional filter, a simple method of adopting one-dimensional median filter is illustrated to make estimations of background according to the characteristics of IR scanning system. The adaptive threshold is used to segment canceled image in the background. Experimental results show that the algorithm achieved good performance and satisfy the requirement of big size image-s real-time processing.

Keywords: Point target, background estimation, median filter, adaptive threshold, target detection.

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1026 An Application-Based Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Calculator for Residential Buildings

Authors: Kwok W. Mui, Ling T. Wong, Chin T. Cheung, Ho C. Yu

Abstract:

Based on an indoor environmental quality (IEQ) index established by previous work that indicates the overall IEQ acceptance from the prospect of an occupant in residential buildings in terms of four IEQ factors - thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual and aural comforts, this study develops a user-friendly IEQ calculator for iOS and Android users to calculate the occupant acceptance and compare the relative performance of IEQ in apartments. “IEQ calculator” is easy to use and it preliminarily illustrates the overall indoor environmental quality on the spot. Users simply input indoor parameters such as temperature, number of people and windows are opened or closed for the mobile application to calculate the scores in four areas: the comforts of temperature, brightness, noise and indoor air quality. The calculator allows the prediction of the best IEQ scenario on a quantitative scale. Any indoor environments under the specific IEQ conditions can be benchmarked against the predicted IEQ acceptance range. This calculator can also suggest how to achieve the best IEQ acceptance among a group of residents. 

Keywords: Calculator, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), residential buildings, 5-star benchmarks.

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1025 Analysis of Building Response from Vertical Ground Motions

Authors: George C. Yao, Chao-Yu Tu, Wei-Chung Chen, Fung-Wen Kuo, Yu-Shan Chang

Abstract:

Building structures are subjected to both horizontal and vertical ground motions during earthquakes, but only the horizontal ground motion has been extensively studied and considered in design. Most of the prevailing seismic codes assume the vertical component to be 1/2 to 2/3 of the horizontal one. In order to understand the building responses from vertical ground motions, many earthquakes records are studied in this paper. System identification methods (ARX Model) are used to analyze the strong motions and to find out the characteristics of the vertical amplification factors and the natural frequencies of buildings. Analysis results show that the vertical amplification factors for high-rise buildings and low-rise building are 1.78 and 2.52 respectively, and the average vertical amplification factor of all buildings is about 2. The relationship between the vertical natural frequency and building height was regressed to a suggested formula in this study. The result points out an important message; the taller the building is, the greater chance of resonance of vertical vibration on the building will be.

Keywords: Vertical ground motion, vertical amplification factor, natural frequency, component.

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1024 Matching-Based Cercospora Leaf Spot Detection in Sugar Beet

Authors: Rong Zhou, Shun’ich Kaneko, Fumio Tanaka, Miyuki Kayamori, Motoshige Shimizu

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a robust disease detection method, called adaptive orientation code matching (Adaptive OCM), which is developed from a robust image registration algorithm: orientation code matching (OCM), to achieve continuous and site-specific detection of changes in plant disease. We use two-stage framework for realizing our research purpose; in the first stage, adaptive OCM was employed which could not only realize the continuous and site-specific observation of disease development, but also shows its excellent robustness for non-rigid plant object searching in scene illumination, translation, small rotation and occlusion changes and then in the second stage, a machine learning method of support vector machine (SVM) based on a feature of two dimensional (2D) xy-color histogram is further utilized for pixel-wise disease classification and quantification. The indoor experiment results demonstrate the feasibility and potential of our proposed algorithm, which could be implemented in real field situation for better observation of plant disease development.

Keywords: Cercospora Leaf Spot (CLS), Disease detection, Image processing, Orientation Code Matching (OCM), Support Vector Machine (SVM).

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1023 Comparison of Seismic Retrofitting Methods for Existing Foundations in Seismological Active Regions

Authors: Peyman Amini Motlagh, Ali Pak

Abstract:

Seismic retrofitting of important structures is essential in seismological active zones. The importance is doubled when it comes to some buildings like schools, hospitals, bridges etc. because they are required to continue their serviceability even after a major earthquake. Generally, seismic retrofitting codes have paid little attention to retrofitting of foundations due to its construction complexity. In this paper different methods for seismic retrofitting of tall buildings’ foundations will be discussed and evaluated. Foundations are considered in three different categories. First, foundations those are in danger of liquefaction of their underlying soil. Second, foundations located on slopes in seismological active regions. Third, foundations designed according to former design codes and may show structural defects under earthquake loads. After describing different methods used in different countries for retrofitting of the existing foundations in seismological active regions, comprehensive comparison between these methods with regard to the above mentioned categories is carried out. This paper gives some guidelines to choose the best method for seismic retrofitting of tall buildings’ foundations in retrofitting projects.

Keywords: Existing foundation, landslide, liquefaction, seismic retrofitting.

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1022 Valuation of Green Commercial Office Building: A Preliminary Study of Malaysian Valuers’ Insight

Authors: Tuti Haryati Jasimin, Hishamuddin Mohd Ali

Abstract:

Malaysia’s green building development is gaining momentum and green buildings have become a key focus area, especially within the commercial sector with the encouragement of government legislation and policy. Due to the emerging awareness among the market players’ views of the benefits associated with the ownership of green buildings in Malaysia, there is a need for valuers to incorporate consideration of sustainability into their assessments of property market value to ensure the green buildings continue to increase in the market. This paper analyses the valuers’ current perception on the valuation practices with regard to the green issues in Malaysia. The study was based on a survey of registered real estate valuers and the experts whose work related to valuation in the Klang Valley area to rate their view regarding the perception on valuation of green building. The findings present evidence that even though Malaysian valuers have limited knowledge of green buildings, they recognise the importance of incorporating the green features in the valuation process. The inclusion of incorporating the green features in valuations in practice was hindered by the inadequacy of sufficient transaction data in the market. Furthermore, valuers experienced difficulty in identifying what are the various input parameters of green building and how to adjust it in order to reflect the benefit of sustainability features correctly in the valuation process. This paper focuses on the present challenges confronted by Malaysian valuers with regards to incorporating the green features in their valuation.

Keywords: Green commercial office building, Malaysia, valuers’ perception, valuation.

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1021 An Improved Method on Static Binary Analysis to Enhance the Context-Sensitive CFI

Authors: Qintao Shen, Lei Luo, Jun Ma, Jie Yu, Qingbo Wu, Yongqi Ma, Zhengji Liu

Abstract:

Control Flow Integrity (CFI) is one of the most promising technique to defend Code-Reuse Attacks (CRAs). Traditional CFI Systems and recent Context-Sensitive CFI use coarse control flow graphs (CFGs) to analyze whether the control flow hijack occurs, left vast space for attackers at indirect call-sites. Coarse CFGs make it difficult to decide which target to execute at indirect control-flow transfers, and weaken the existing CFI systems actually. It is an unsolved problem to extract CFGs precisely and perfectly from binaries now. In this paper, we present an algorithm to get a more precise CFG from binaries. Parameters are analyzed at indirect call-sites and functions firstly. By comparing counts of parameters prepared before call-sites and consumed by functions, targets of indirect calls are reduced. Then the control flow would be more constrained at indirect call-sites in runtime. Combined with CCFI, we implement our policy. Experimental results on some popular programs show that our approach is efficient. Further analysis show that it can mitigate COOP and other advanced attacks.

Keywords: Contex-sensitive, CFI, binary analysis, code reuse attack.

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1020 Analytical Model for Predicting Whole Building Heat Transfer

Authors: Xiaoshu Lu, Martti Viljanen

Abstract:

A new analytical model is developed which provides close-formed solutions for both transient indoor and envelope temperature changes in buildings. Time-dependent boundary temperature is presented as Fourier series which can approximate real weather conditions. The final close-formed solutions are simple, concise, and comprehensive. The model was compared with numerical results and good accuracy was obtained. The model can be used as design and control guidelines in engineering applications for analysing mechanical heat transfer properties for buildings.

Keywords: Analytical model, heat transfer, whole building.

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1019 Landslide Susceptibility Mapping: A Comparison between Logistic Regression and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline Models in the Municipality of Oudka, Northern of Morocco

Authors: S. Benchelha, H. C. Aoudjehane, M. Hakdaoui, R. El Hamdouni, H. Mansouri, T. Benchelha, M. Layelmam, M. Alaoui

Abstract:

The logistic regression (LR) and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MarSpline) are applied and verified for analysis of landslide susceptibility map in Oudka, Morocco, using geographical information system. From spatial database containing data such as landslide mapping, topography, soil, hydrology and lithology, the eight factors related to landslides such as elevation, slope, aspect, distance to streams, distance to road, distance to faults, lithology map and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated or extracted. Using these factors, landslide susceptibility indexes were calculated by the two mentioned methods. Before the calculation, this database was divided into two parts, the first for the formation of the model and the second for the validation. The results of the landslide susceptibility analysis were verified using success and prediction rates to evaluate the quality of these probabilistic models. The result of this verification was that the MarSpline model is the best model with a success rate (AUC = 0.963) and a prediction rate (AUC = 0.951) higher than the LR model (success rate AUC = 0.918, rate prediction AUC = 0.901).

Keywords: Landslide susceptibility mapping, regression logistic, multivariate adaptive regression spline, Oudka, Taounate, Morocco.

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1018 Automated Segmentation of ECG Signals using Piecewise Derivative Dynamic Time Warping

Authors: Ali Zifan, Mohammad Hassan Moradi, Sohrab Saberi, Farzad Towhidkhah

Abstract:

Electrocardiogram (ECG) segmentation is necessary to help reduce the time consuming task of manually annotating ECG-s. Several algorithms have been developed to segment the ECG automatically. We first review several of such methods, and then present a new single lead segmentation method based on Adaptive piecewise constant approximation (APCA) and Piecewise derivative dynamic time warping (PDDTW). The results are tested on the QT database. We compared our results to Laguna-s two lead method. Our proposed approach has a comparable mean error, but yields a slightly higher standard deviation than Laguna-s method.

Keywords: Adaptive Piecewise Constant Approximation, Dynamic programming, ECG segmentation, Piecewise DerivativeDynamic Time Warping.

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1017 Amelioration of Cardiac Arrythmias Classification Performance Using Artificial Neural Network, Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy and Fuzzy Inference Systems Classifiers

Authors: Alexandre Boum, Salomon Madinatou

Abstract:

This paper aims at bringing a scientific contribution to the cardiac arrhythmia biomedical diagnosis systems; more precisely to the study of the amelioration of cardiac arrhythmia classification performance using artificial neural network, adaptive neuro-fuzzy and fuzzy inference systems classifiers. The purpose of this amelioration is to enable cardiologists to make reliable diagnosis through automatic cardiac arrhythmia analyzes and classifications based on high confidence classifiers. In this study, six classes of the most commonly encountered arrhythmias are considered: the Right Bundle Branch Block, the Left Bundle Branch Block, the Ventricular Extrasystole, the Auricular Extrasystole, the Atrial Fibrillation and the Normal Cardiac rate beat. From the electrocardiogram (ECG) extracted parameters, we constructed a matrix (360x360) serving as an input data sample for the classifiers based on neural networks and a matrix (1x6) for the classifier based on fuzzy logic. By varying three parameters (the quality of the neural network learning, the data size and the quality of the input parameters) the automatic classification permitted us to obtain the following performances: in terms of correct classification rate, 83.6% was obtained using the fuzzy logic based classifier, 99.7% using the neural network based classifier and 99.8% for the adaptive neuro-fuzzy based classifier. These results are based on signals containing at least 360 cardiac cycles. Based on the comparative analysis of the aforementioned three arrhythmia classifiers, the classifiers based on neural networks exhibit a better performance.

Keywords: Adaptive neuro-fuzzy, artificial neural network, cardiac arrythmias, fuzzy inference systems.

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1016 Using Manipulating Urban Layouts to Enhance Ventilation and Thermal Comfort in Street Canyons

Authors: Su Ying-Ming

Abstract:

High density of high rise buildings in urban areas lead to a deteriorative Urban Heat Island Effect, gradually. This study focuses on discussing the relationship between urban layout and ventilation comfort in street canyons. This study takes Songjiang Nanjing Rd. area of Taipei, Taiwan as an example to evaluate the wind environment comfort index by field measurement and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to improve both the quality and quantity of the environment. In this study, different factors including street blocks size, the width of buildings, street width ratio and the direction of the wind were used to discuss the potential of ventilation. The environmental wind field was measured by the environmental testing equipment, Testo 480. Evaluation of blocks sizes, the width of buildings, street width ratio and the direction of the wind was made under the condition of constant floor area with the help of Stimulation CFD to adjust research methods for optimizing regional wind environment. The results of this study showed the width of buildings influences the efficiency of outdoor ventilation; improvement of the efficiency of ventilation with large street width was also shown. The study found that Block width and H/D value and PR value has a close relationship. Furthermore, this study showed a significant relationship between the alteration of street block geometry and outdoor comfortableness.

Keywords: Urban ventilation path, ventilation efficiency indices, CFD, building layout.

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1015 Applying Participatory Design for the Reuse of Deserted Community Spaces

Authors: Wei-Chieh Yeh, Yung-Tang Shen

Abstract:

The concept of community building started in 1994 in Taiwan. After years of development, it fostered the notion of active local resident participation in community issues as co-operators, instead of minions. Participatory design gives participants more control in the decision-making process, helps to reduce the friction caused by arguments and assists in bringing different parties to consensus. This results in an increase in the efficiency of projects run in the community. Therefore, the participation of local residents is key to the success of community building. This study applied participatory design to develop plans for the reuse of deserted spaces in the community from the first stage of brainstorming for design ideas, making creative models to be employed later, through to the final stage of construction. After conducting a series of participatory designed activities, it aimed to integrate the different opinions of residents, develop a sense of belonging and reach a consensus. Besides this, it also aimed at building the residents’ awareness of their responsibilities for the environment and related issues of sustainable development. By reviewing relevant literature and understanding the history of related studies, the study formulated a theory. It took the “2012-2014 Changhua County Community Planner Counseling Program” as a case study to investigate the implementation process of participatory design. Research data are collected by document analysis, participants’ observation and in-depth interviews. After examining the three elements of “Design Participation”, “Construction Participation”, and” Follow–up Maintenance Participation” in the case, the study emerged with a promising conclusion: Maintenance works were carried out better compared to common public works. Besides this, maintenance costs were lower. Moreover, the works that residents were involved in were more creative. Most importantly, the community characteristics could be easy be recognized.

Keywords: Participatory design, Deserted spaces, Community building, Reuse.

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1014 The Optimum Operating Conditions for the Synthesis of Zeolite from Waste Incineration Fly Ash by Alkali Fusion and Hydrothermal Methods

Authors: Yi-Jie Lin, Jyh-Cherng Chen

Abstract:

The fly ash of waste incineration processes is usually hazardous and the disposal or reuse of waste incineration fly ash is difficult. In this study, the waste incineration fly ash was converted to useful zeolites by the alkali fusion and hydrothermal synthesis method. The influence of different operating conditions (the ratio of Si/Al, the ratio of hydrolysis liquid to solid, and hydrothermal time) was investigated to seek the optimum operating conditions for the synthesis of zeolite from waste incineration fly ash. The results showed that concentrations of heavy metals in the leachate of Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) were all lower than the regulatory limits except lead. The optimum operating conditions for the synthesis of zeolite from waste incineration fly ash by the alkali fusion and hydrothermal synthesis method were Si/Al=40, NaOH/ash=1.5, alkali fusion at 400 oC for 40 min, hydrolysis with Liquid to Solid ratio (L/S)= 200 at 105 oC for 24 h, and hydrothermal synthesis at 105 oC for 24 h. The specific surface area of fly ash could be significantly increased from 8.59 m2/g to 651.51 m2/g (synthesized zeolite). The influence of different operating conditions on the synthesis of zeolite from waste incineration fly ash followed the sequence of Si/Al ratio > hydrothermal time > hydrolysis L/S ratio. The synthesized zeolites can be reused as good adsorbents to control the air or wastewater pollutants. The purpose of fly ash detoxification, reduction and waste recycling/reuse is achieved successfully.

Keywords: Alkali fusion, hydrothermal, fly ash, zeolite.

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1013 Automated ECG Segmentation Using Piecewise Derivative Dynamic Time Warping

Authors: Ali Zifan, Sohrab Saberi, Mohammad Hassan Moradi, Farzad Towhidkhah

Abstract:

Electrocardiogram (ECG) segmentation is necessary to help reduce the time consuming task of manually annotating ECG's. Several algorithms have been developed to segment the ECG automatically. We first review several of such methods, and then present a new single lead segmentation method based on Adaptive piecewise constant approximation (APCA) and Piecewise derivative dynamic time warping (PDDTW). The results are tested on the QT database. We compared our results to Laguna's two lead method. Our proposed approach has a comparable mean error, but yields a slightly higher standard deviation than Laguna's method.

Keywords: Adaptive Piecewise Constant Approximation, Dynamic programming, ECG segmentation, Piecewise Derivative Dynamic Time Warping.

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1012 Knowledge Management and e-Learning –An Agent-Based Approach

Authors: Teodora Bakardjieva, Galya Gercheva

Abstract:

In this paper an open agent-based modular framework for personalized and adaptive curriculum generation in e-learning environment is proposed. Agent-based approaches offer several potential advantages over alternative approaches. Agent-based systems exhibit high levels of flexibility and robustness in dynamic or unpredictable environments by virtue of their intrinsic autonomy. The presented framework enables integration of different types of expert agents, various kinds of learning objects and user modeling techniques. It creates possibilities for adaptive e-learning process. The KM e-learning system is in a process of implementation in Varna Free University and will be used for supporting the educational process at the University.

Keywords: agents, e-Learning, knowledge management, knowledge sharing, artificial intelligence

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1011 Energy Efficient Plant Design Approaches: Case Study of the Sample Building of the Energy Efficiency Training Facilities

Authors: Idil Kanter Otcu

Abstract:

Nowadays, due to the growing problems of energy supply and the drastic reduction of natural non-renewable resources, the development of new applications in the energy sector and steps towards greater efficiency in energy consumption are required. Since buildings account for a large share of energy consumption, increasing the structural density of buildings causes an increase in energy consumption. This increase in energy consumption means that energy efficiency approaches to building design and the integration of new systems using emerging technologies become necessary in order to curb this consumption. As new systems for productive usage of generated energy are developed, buildings that require less energy to operate, with rational use of resources, need to be developed. One solution for reducing the energy requirements of buildings is through landscape planning, design and application. Requirements such as heating, cooling and lighting can be met with lower energy consumption through planting design, which can help to achieve more efficient and rational use of resources. Within this context, rather than a planting design which considers only the ecological and aesthetic features of plants, these considerations should also extend to spatial organization whereby the relationship between the site and open spaces in the context of climatic elements and planting designs are taken into account. In this way, the planting design can serve an additional purpose. In this study, a landscape design which takes into consideration location, local climate morphology and solar angle will be illustrated on a sample building project.

Keywords: Energy efficiency, landscape design, plant design, xeriscape landscape.

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1010 Scene Adaptive Shadow Detection Algorithm

Authors: Mohammed Ibrahim M, Anupama R.

Abstract:

Robustness is one of the primary performance criteria for an Intelligent Video Surveillance (IVS) system. One of the key factors in enhancing the robustness of dynamic video analysis is,providing accurate and reliable means for shadow detection. If left undetected, shadow pixels may result in incorrect object tracking and classification, as it tends to distort localization and measurement information. Most of the algorithms proposed in literature are computationally expensive; some to the extent of equalling computational requirement of motion detection. In this paper, the homogeneity property of shadows is explored in a novel way for shadow detection. An adaptive division image (which highlights homogeneity property of shadows) analysis followed by a relatively simpler projection histogram analysis for penumbra suppression is the key novelty in our approach.

Keywords: homogeneity, penumbra, projection histogram, shadow correction

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1009 Effect of Network Communication Overhead on the Performance of Adaptive Speculative Locking Protocol

Authors: Waqar Haque, Pai Qi

Abstract:

The speculative locking (SL) protocol extends the twophase locking (2PL) protocol to allow for parallelism among conflicting transactions. The adaptive speculative locking (ASL) protocol provided further enhancements and outperformed SL protocols under most conditions. Neither of these protocols consider the impact of network latency on the performance of the distributed database systems. We have studied the performance of ASL protocol taking into account the communication overhead. The results indicate that though system load can counter network latency, it can still become a bottleneck in many situations. The impact of latency on performance depends on many factors including the system resources. A flexible discrete event simulator was used as the testbed for this study.

Keywords: concurrency control, distributed database systems, speculative locking

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1008 Comparative Study of Seismic Isolation as Retrofit Method for Historical Constructions

Authors: Carlos H. Cuadra

Abstract:

Seismic isolation can be used as a retrofit method for historical buildings with the advantage that minimum intervention on super-structure is required. However, selection of isolation devices depends on weight and stiffness of upper structure. In this study, two buildings are considered for analyses to evaluate the applicability of this retrofitting methodology. Both buildings are located at Akita prefecture in the north part of Japan. One building is a wooden structure that corresponds to the old council meeting hall of Noshiro city. The second building is a brick masonry structure that was used as house of a foreign mining engineer and it is located at Ani town. Ambient vibration measurements were performed on both buildings to estimate their dynamic characteristics. Then, target period of vibration of isolated systems is selected as 3 seconds is selected to estimate required stiffness of isolation devices. For wooden structure, which is a light construction, it was found that natural rubber isolators in combination with friction bearings are suitable for seismic isolation. In case of masonry building elastomeric isolator can be used for its seismic isolation. Lumped mass systems are used for seismic response analysis and it is verified in both cases that seismic isolation can be used as retrofitting method of historical construction. However, in the case of the light building, most of the weight corresponds to the reinforced concrete slab that is required to install isolation devices.

Keywords: Historical building, finite element method, masonry structure, seismic isolation, wooden structure.

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1007 Application of Adaptive Network-Based Fuzzy Inference System in Macroeconomic Variables Forecasting

Authors: Ε. Giovanis

Abstract:

In this paper we apply an Adaptive Network-Based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) with one input, the dependent variable with one lag, for the forecasting of four macroeconomic variables of US economy, the Gross Domestic Product, the inflation rate, six monthly treasury bills interest rates and unemployment rate. We compare the forecasting performance of ANFIS with those of the widely used linear autoregressive and nonlinear smoothing transition autoregressive (STAR) models. The results are greatly in favour of ANFIS indicating that is an effective tool for macroeconomic forecasting used in academic research and in research and application by the governmental and other institutions

Keywords: Linear models, Macroeconomics, Neuro-Fuzzy, Non-Linear models

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1006 Simulation of Thermal Storage Phase Change Material in Buildings

Authors: Samira Haghshenaskashani, Hadi Pasdarshahri

Abstract:

One of the potential and effective ways of storing thermal energy in buildings is the integration of brick with phase change materials (PCMs). This paper presents a two-dimensional model for simulating and analyzing of PCM in order to minimize energy consumption in the buildings. The numerical approach has been used with the real weather data of a selected city of Iran (Tehran). Two kinds of brick integrated PCM are investigated and compared base on outdoor weather conditions and the amount of energy consumption. The results show a significant reduction in maximum entering heat flux to building about 32.8% depending on PCM quantity. The results are analyzed by various temperature contour plots. The contour plots illustrated the time dependent mechanism of entering heat flux for a brick integrated with PCM. Further analysis is developed to investigate the effect of PCM location on the inlet heat flux. The results demonstrated that to achieve maximum performance of PCM it is better to locate PCM near the outdoor.

Keywords: Building, Energy Storage, PCM, Phase Change Material

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1005 Toward Sustainable Building Design in Hot and Arid Climate with Reference to Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

Authors: M. Alwetaishi

Abstract:

One of the most common and traditional strategies in architecture is to design buildings passively. This is a way to ensure low building energy reliance with respect to specific micro-building locations. There are so many ways where buildings can be designed passively, some of which are applying thermal insulation, thermal mass, courtyard and glazing to wall ratio. This research investigates the impact of each of these aspects with respect to the hot and dry climate of the capital of Riyadh. Thermal Analysis Simulation (TAS) will be utilized which is powered by Environmental Design Simulation Limited company (EDSL). It is considered as one of the most powerful tools to predict energy performance in buildings. There are three primary building designs and methods which are using courtyard, thermal mass and thermal insulation. The same building size and fabrication properties have been applied to all designs. Riyadh city which is the capital of the country was taken as a case study of the research. The research has taken into account various zone directions within the building as it has a large contribution to indoor energy and thermal performance. It is revealed that it is possible to achieve nearly zero carbon building in the hot and dry region in winter with minimum reliance on energy loads for building zones facing south, west and east. Moreover, using courtyard is more beneficial than applying construction materials into building envelope. Glazing to wall ratio is recommended to be 10% and not exceeding 30% in all directions in hot and arid regions.

Keywords: Sustainable buildings, hot and arid climates, passive building design, Saudi Arabia.

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1004 Strategic Development for a Diverse Population in the Urban Core

Authors: Andreas L. Savvides

Abstract:

These This paper looks into frameworks which aim at furthering the discussion of the role of regenerative design practices in a city-s historic core and the tool of urban design to achieve urban revitalization on the island of Cyprus. It also examines the region-s demographic mix, the effectiveness of its governmental coordination and the strategies of adaptive reuse and strategic investments in older areas with existing infrastructure. The two main prongs of investigation will consider the effect of the existing and proposed changes in the physical infrastructure and fabric of the city, as well as the catalytic effect of sustainable urban design practices. Through this process, the work hopes to integrate the contained potential within the existing historic core and the contributions and participation of the migrant and immigrant populations to the local economy. It also examines ways in which this coupling of factors can bring to the front the positive effects of this combined effort on an otherwise sluggish local redevelopment effort. The data for this study is being collected and organized as part of ongoing urban design and development student workshop efforts in urban planning and design education. The work is presented in graphic form and includes data collected from interviews with study area organizations and the community at large. Planning work is also based on best practices initiated by the staff of the Nicosia Master Plan task force, which coordinates holistic planning efforts for the historic center of the city of Nicosia.

Keywords: Urban Design, Urban Development, Urban Regeneration, Historic Core, Cultural Planning.

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1003 Image Thresholding for Weld Defect Extraction in Industrial Radiographic Testing

Authors: Nafaâ Nacereddine, Latifa Hamami, Djemel Ziou

Abstract:

In non destructive testing by radiography, a perfect knowledge of the weld defect shape is an essential step to appreciate the quality of the weld and make decision on its acceptability or rejection. Because of the complex nature of the considered images, and in order that the detected defect region represents the most accurately possible the real defect, the choice of thresholding methods must be done judiciously. In this paper, performance criteria are used to conduct a comparative study of thresholding methods based on gray level histogram, 2-D histogram and locally adaptive approach for weld defect extraction in radiographic images.

Keywords: 1D and 2D histogram, locally adaptive approach, performance criteria, radiographic image, thresholding, weld defect.

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