Search results for: Optimum condition
1831 A Review on Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites
Authors: C. W. Nguong, S. N. B. Lee, D. Sujan
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Renewable natural fibres such as oil palm, flax, and pineapple leaf can be utilized to obtain new high performance polymer materials. The reuse of waste natural fibres as reinforcement for polymer is a sustainable option to the environment. However, due to its high hydroxyl content of cellulose, natural fibres are susceptible to absorb water that affects the composite mechanical properties adversely. Research found that Nano materials such as Nano Silica Carbide (n-SiC) and Nano Clay can be added into the polymer composite to overcome this problem by enhancing its mechanical properties in wet condition. The addition of Nano material improves the tensile and wear properties, flexural stressstrain behaviour, fracture toughness, and fracture strength of polymer natural composites in wet and dry conditions.Keywords: Natural fibres, Nano Silica Carbide, Nano Clay, Wet Condition, Polymer Composites.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 85691830 Design Optimization of Doubly Fed Induction Generator Performance by Differential Evolution
Authors: Mamidi Ramakrishna Rao
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Doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG) due to their advantages like speed variation and four-quadrant operation, find its application in wind turbines. DFIG besides supplying power to the grid has to support reactive power (kvar) under grid voltage variations, should contribute minimum fault current during faults, have high efficiency, minimum weight, adequate rotor protection during crow-bar-operation from +20% to -20% of rated speed. To achieve the optimum performance, a good electromagnetic design of DFIG is required. In this paper, a simple and heuristic global optimization – Differential Evolution has been used. Variables considered are lamination details such as slot dimensions, stack diameters, air gap length, and generator stator and rotor stack length. Two operating conditions have been considered - voltage and speed variations. Constraints included were reactive power supplied to the grid and limiting fault current and torque. The optimization has been executed separately for three objective functions - maximum efficiency, weight reduction, and grid fault stator currents. Subsequent calculations led to the conclusion that designs determined through differential evolution help in determining an optimum electrical design for each objective function.
Keywords: Design optimization, performance, doubly fed induction generators, DFIG, differential evolution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9791829 The Effects of Asymmetric Bracing on Steel Structures under Seismic Loads
Authors: Mahmoud Miri, Soleiman Maramaee
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Because of architectural condition and structure application, sometimes mass source and stiffness source are not coincidence, and the structure is irregular. The structure is also might be asymmetric as an asymmetric bracing in plan which leads to unbalance distribution of stiffness or because of unbalance distribution of the mass. Both condition lead to eccentricity and torsion in the structure. The deficiency of ordinary code to evaluate the performance of steel structures against earthquake has been caused designing based on performance level or capacity spectrum be used. By using the mentioned methods it is possible to design a structure that its behavior against different earthquakes be predictive. In this article 5- story buildings with different percentage of asymmetric which is because of stiffness changes have been designed. The static and dynamic nonlinear analysis under three acceleration recording has been done. Finally performance level of the structure has been evaluated.
Keywords: Seismic analysis, torsion, asymmetric, irregular building, stiffness source.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21751828 Basic Tendency Model in Complete Factor Synergetics of Complex Systems
Authors: Li Zong-Cheng
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The deviation between the target state variable and the practical state variable should be used to form the state tending factor of complex systems, which can reflect the process for the complex system to tend rationalization. Relating to the system of basic equations of complete factor synergetics consisting of twenty nonlinear stochastic differential equations, the two new models are considered to set, which should be called respectively the rationalizing tendency model and the non- rationalizing tendency model. Therefore we can extend the theory of programming with the objective function & constraint condition suitable only for the realm of man-s activities into the new analysis with the tendency function & constraint condition suitable for all the field of complex system.Keywords: complex system, complete factor synergetics, basicequation, rationalizing tendency model, non-rationalizing tendencymodel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13361827 Experimental Investigation on Shear Behaviour of Fibre Reinforced Concrete Beams Using Steel Fibres
Authors: G. Beulah Gnana Ananthi, A. Jaffer Sathick, M. Abirami
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Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) has been widely used in industrial pavements and non-structural elements such as pipes, culverts, tunnels, and precast elements. The strengthening effect of fibres in the concrete matrix is achieved primarily due to the bridging effect of fibres at the crack interfaces. The workability of the concrete was reduced on addition of high percentages of steel fibres. The optimum percentage of addition of steel fibres varies with its aspect ratio. For this study, 1% addition of steel has resulted to be the optimum percentage for both Hooked and Crimped Steel Fibres and was added to the beam specimens. The fibres restrain efficiently the cracks and take up residual stresses beyond the cracking. In this sense, diagonal cracks are effectively stitched up by fibres crossing it. The failure of beams within the shear failure range changed from shear to flexure in the presence of sufficient steel fibre quantity. The shear strength is increased with the addition of steel fibres and had exceeded the enhancement obtained with the transverse reinforcement. However, such increase is not directly in proportion with the quantity of fibres used. Considering all the clarification made in the present experimental investigation, it is concluded that 1% of crimped steel fibres with an aspect ratio of 50 is the best type of steel fibres for replacement of transverse stirrups in high strength concrete beams when compared to the steel fibres with hooked ends.
Keywords: Fibre reinforced concrete, steel fibre, shear strength, crack pattern.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8021826 Surviving Abiotic Stress: The Relationship between High Light and High Salt Tolerance
Authors: Rutanachai Thaipratum
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The mechanism of abiotic stress tolerance is crucial for plants to survive in harsh condition and the knowledge of this mechanism can be use to solve the problem of declining productivity of plants or crops around the world. However in-depth description is still unclear and it is argued, in particular that there is a relationship between high salinity tolerance and the ability to tolerate high light condition. In this study, Dunaliella salina, which can withstand high salt was used as a model. Chlorophyll fluorometer for nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) measurement and high-performance liquid chromatography for pigment determination was used. The results show that NPQ value and the amount of pigment were increased along with the levels of salinity. However, it establish a clear relationship between high salt and high light but the further study to optimized the solutions mentioned above is still required.Keywords: Abiotic stress tolerance, Dunaliella salina, Nonphotochemical quenching, Zeaxanthin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16361825 Artificial Neural Network Modeling and Genetic Algorithm Based Optimization of Hydraulic Design Related to Seepage under Concrete Gravity Dams on Permeable Soils
Authors: Muqdad Al-Juboori, Bithin Datta
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Hydraulic structures such as gravity dams are classified as essential structures, and have the vital role in providing strong and safe water resource management. Three major aspects must be considered to achieve an effective design of such a structure: 1) The building cost, 2) safety, and 3) accurate analysis of seepage characteristics. Due to the complexity and non-linearity relationships of the seepage process, many approximation theories have been developed; however, the application of these theories results in noticeable errors. The analytical solution, which includes the difficult conformal mapping procedure, could be applied for a simple and symmetrical problem only. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to: 1) develop a surrogate model based on numerical simulated data using SEEPW software to approximately simulate seepage process related to a hydraulic structure, 2) develop and solve a linked simulation-optimization model based on the developed surrogate model to describe the seepage occurring under a concrete gravity dam, in order to obtain optimum and safe design at minimum cost. The result shows that the linked simulation-optimization model provides an efficient and optimum design of concrete gravity dams.Keywords: Artificial neural network, concrete gravity dam, genetic algorithm, seepage analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13771824 An Experimental Investigation of Thermoelectric Air-Cooling Module
Authors: Yu-Wei Chang, Chiao-Hung Cheng, Wen-Fang Wu, Sih-Li Chen
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This article experimentally investigates the thermal performance of thermoelectric air-cooling module which comprises a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and an air-cooling heat sink. The influences of input current and heat load are determined. And performances under each situation are quantified by thermal resistance analysis. Since TEC generates Joule heat, this nature makes construction of thermal resistance network difficult. To simplify the analysis, this article emphasizes on the resistance heat load might meet when passing through the device. Therefore, the thermal resistances in this paper are to divide temperature differences by heat load. According to the result, there exists an optimum input current under every heating power. In this case, the optimum input current is around 6A or 7A. The performance of the heat sink would be improved with TEC under certain heating power and input current, especially at a low heat load. According to the result, the device can even make the heat source cooler than the ambient. However, TEC is not always effective at every heat load and input current. In some situation, the device works worse than the heat sink without TEC. To determine the availability of TEC, this study figures out the effective operating region in which the TEC air-cooling module works better than the heat sink without TEC. The result shows that TEC is more effective at a lower heat load. If heat load is too high, heat sink with TEC will perform worse than without TEC. The limit of this device is 57W. Besides, TEC is not helpful if input current is too high or too low. There is an effective range of input current, and the range becomes narrower when the heat load grows.Keywords: Thermoelectric cooler, TEC, electronic cooling, heat sink.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37121823 Seismic Analysis of Structurally Hybrid Wind Mill Tower
Authors: Atul K. Desai, Hemal J. Shah
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The tall windmill towers are designed as monopole tower or lattice tower. In the present research, a 125-meter high hybrid tower which is a combination of lattice and monopole type is proposed. The response of hybrid tower is compared with conventional monopole tower. The towers were analyzed in finite element method software considering nonlinear seismic time history load. The synthetic seismic time history for different soil is derived using the SeismoARTIF software. From the present research, it is concluded that, in the hybrid tower, we are not getting resonance condition. The base shear is less in hybrid tower compared to monopole tower for different soil conditions.
Keywords: Dynamic analysis, hybrid wind mill tower, resonance condition, synthetic time history.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7601822 Power Transformers Insulation Material Investigations: Partial Discharge
Authors: Jalal M. Abdallah
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There is a great problem in testing and investigations the reliability of different type of transformers insulation materials. It summarized in how to create and simulate the real conditions of working transformer and testing its insulation materials for Partial Discharge PD, typically as in the working mode. A lot of tests may give untrue results as the physical behavior of the insulation material differs under tests from its working condition. In this work, the real working conditions were simulated, and a large number of specimens have been tested. The investigations first stage, begin with choosing samples of different types of insulation materials (papers, pressboards, etc.). The second stage, the samples were dried in ovens at 105 C0and 0.01bar for 48 hours, and then impregnated with dried and gasless oil (the water content less than 6 ppm.) at 105 C0and 0.01bar for 48 hours, after so specimen cooling at room pressure and temperature for 24 hours. The third stage is investigating PD for the samples using ICM PD measuring device. After that, a continuous test on oil-impregnated insulation materials (paper, pressboards) was developed, and the phase resolved partial discharge pattern of PD signals was measured. The important of this work in providing the industrial sector with trusted high accurate measuring results based on real simulated working conditions. All the PD patterns (results) associated with a discharge produced in well-controlled laboratory condition. They compared with other previous and other laboratory results. In addition, the influence of different temperatures condition on the partial discharge activities was studied.
Keywords: Transformers, insulation materials, voids, partial discharge (PD).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14341821 Effects of School Facilities’ Mechanical and Plumbing Characteristics and Conditions on Student Attendance, Academic Performance and Health
Authors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Shalini Priyadarshini, Berangere Lartigue, Sadhana Anath-Pisipati
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School districts throughout the United States are constantly seeking measures to improve test scores, reduce school absenteeism and improve indoor environmental quality. It is imperative to identify key building investments which will provide the largest benefits to schools in terms of improving the aforementioned factors. This study uses Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests to statistically evaluate the impact of a school building’s mechanical and plumbing characteristics on a child’s educational performance. The educational performance is measured via three indicators, i.e. test scores, suspensions, and absenteeism. The study investigated 125 New York City school facilities to determine the potential correlations between 50 mechanical and plumbing variables and the performance indicators. Key findings from the tests revealed that elementary schools with pneumatic systems in “good” condition have 48.8% lower percentages of students scoring at the minimum English Language Arts (ELA) competency level compared with those with no pneumatic system. Additionally, elementary schools with “unit heaters/cabinet heaters” in “good to fair” conditions have 1.1% higher attendance rates compared to schools with no “unit heaters/cabinet heaters” or those in inferior condition. Furthermore, elementary schools with air conditioning have 0.6% higher attendance rates compared to schools with no air conditioning, and those with interior floor drains in “good” condition have 1.8% higher attendance rates compared to schools with interior drains in inferior condition.
Keywords: Academic attendance and performance, mechanical and plumbing systems, schools, student health.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6531820 Asymmetric and Kind of Bracing Effects on Steel Frames Under Earthquake Loads
Authors: Mahmoud Miri, Soliman Maramaee
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Because of architectural condition and structure application, sometimes mass source and stiffness source are not coincidence, and the structure is irregular. The structure is also might be asymmetric as an asymmetric bracing in plan which leads to unbalance distribution of stiffness or because of unbalance distribution of the mass. Both condition lead to eccentricity and torsion in the structure. The deficiency of ordinary code to evaluate the performance of steel structures against earthquake has been caused designing based on performance level or capacity spectrum be used. By using the mentioned methods it is possible to design a structure that its behavior against different earthquakes be predictive. In this article 5- story buildings with different percentage of asymmetric which is because of stiffness changes and kind of bracing (x and chevron bracing) have been designed. The static and dynamic nonlinear analysis under three acceleration recording has been done. Finally performance level of the structure has been evaluated.
Keywords: Asymmetric, irregular, seismic analysis, torsion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16381819 Optimal Design of Flat – Gain Wide-Band Discrete Raman Amplifiers
Authors: Banaz Omer Rasheed, Parexan M. Aljaff
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In this paper, a wide band gain–flattened discrete Raman amplifiers utilizing four optimum pump wavelengths is demonstrated.Keywords: Fiber Raman Amplifiers, Optimization, WaveLength Division Multiplexing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14631818 Computational Simulations on Stability of Model Predictive Control for Linear Discrete-time Stochastic Systems
Authors: Tomoaki Hashimoto
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Model predictive control is a kind of optimal feedback control in which control performance over a finite future is optimized with a performance index that has a moving initial time and a moving terminal time. This paper examines the stability of model predictive control for linear discrete-time systems with additive stochastic disturbances. A sufficient condition for the stability of the closed-loop system with model predictive control is derived by means of a linear matrix inequality. The objective of this paper is to show the results of computational simulations in order to verify the effectiveness of the obtained stability condition.Keywords: Computational simulations, optimal control, predictive control, stochastic systems, discrete-time systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18471817 A Study on Optimal Determination of Partial Transmission Ratios of Helical Gearboxes with Second-Step Double Gear-Sets
Authors: Vu Ngoc Pi
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In this paper, a study on the applications of the optimization and regression techniques for optimal calculation of partial ratios of helical gearboxes with second-step double gear-sets for minimal cross section dimension is introduced. From the condition of the moment equilibrium of a mechanic system including three gear units and their regular resistance condition, models for calculation of the partial ratios of helical gearboxes with second-step double gear-sets were given. Especially, by regression analysis, explicit models for calculation of the partial ratios are introduced. These models allow determining the partial ratios accurately and simply.Keywords: Gearbox design, optimal design, helical gearbox, transmission ratio.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16431816 Neural Network Models for Actual Cost and Actual Duration Estimation in Construction Projects: Findings from Greece
Authors: Panagiotis Karadimos, Leonidas Anthopoulos
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Predicting the actual cost and duration in construction projects concern a continuous and existing problem for the construction sector. This paper addresses this problem with modern methods and data available from past public construction projects. 39 bridge projects, constructed in Greece, with a similar type of available data were examined. Considering each project’s attributes with the actual cost and the actual duration, correlation analysis is performed and the most appropriate predictive project variables are defined. Additionally, the most efficient subgroup of variables is selected with the use of the WEKA application, through its attribute selection function. The selected variables are used as input neurons for neural network models through correlation analysis. For constructing neural network models, the application FANN Tool is used. The optimum neural network model, for predicting the actual cost, produced a mean squared error with a value of 3.84886e-05 and it was based on the budgeted cost and the quantity of deck concrete. The optimum neural network model, for predicting the actual duration, produced a mean squared error with a value of 5.89463e-05 and it also was based on the budgeted cost and the amount of deck concrete.
Keywords: Actual cost and duration, attribute selection, bridge projects, neural networks, predicting models, FANN TOOL, WEKA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12401815 Indoor Moisture Control of Auckland Houses with Different Ventilation Systems
Authors: Bin Su
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Auckland has a temperate climate with comfortable warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Auckland house design not only focus on winter thermal performance and indoor thermal condition, but also indoor moisture control, which is closely related to indirect health effects such as dust mites, fungi, etc. Most Auckland houses are designed to use temporary heating for winter indoor thermal comfort. Based on field study data of indoor microclimate conditions of two Auckland townhouses with a whole home mechanical ventilation system or a passive wind directional skylight vent, this study is to evaluate and compare indoor moisture conditions of two insulated townhouses only using temporary heating with different ventilation systems.
Keywords: House ventilation, house thermal design, indoor health condition, indoor moisture control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22621814 Heavy Metals (Pb, Cu, Fe, and Zn) Level in Shellfish (Etheria elliptica), Water and Sediments of River Ogbese, Ondo State, Nigeria
Authors: O. O. Olawusi-Peters, O. E. Aguda, F. O. Okoye
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Investigations on the accumulation of heavy metals in water and sediments of river Ogbese were carried out between December 2010 and February 2011 using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Etheria elliptica a sessile organism was also used to determine the concentration of heavy metal in the aquatic environmental. In water, Cu had the highest concentration (0.55 – 0.13 mg/l ±0.1) while in sediments, the highest value obtained was in Fe (1.46-3.89mg/l±0.27). The minimum concentrations recorded were in Pb; which was below detectable level. The result also revealed that the shell accumulate more heavy metals than the flesh of the mussel with Cu in the shell exhibiting a negative correlation with all the metals in the flesh. However, the condition factor (K) value is 6.44, an indication of good health. The length-weight relationship is expressed as W = -0.48 x L 1.94 (r2 = 0.29) showing the growth pattern to be negatively allometric.Keywords: Condition factor, Etheria elliptica, heavy metals, River Ogbese.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21271813 The Performance of PVD Coated Grade in Milling of ADI 800
Authors: M. Ibrahim Sadik, Toril Myrtveit
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The aim of this investigation is to study the performance of the new generation of the PVD coated grade and to map the influence of cutting conditions on the tool life in milling of ADI (Austempered Ductile Iron). The results show that chipping is the main wear mechanism which determines the tool life in dry condition and notch wear in wet condition for this application. This due to the different stress mechanisms and preexisting cracks in the coating. The wear development shows clearly that the new PVD coating (C20) has the best ability to delay the chipping growth. It was also found that a high content of Al in the new coating (C20) was especially favorable compared to a TiAlN multilayer with lower Al content (C30) or CVD coating. This is due to fine grains and low compressive stress level in the coating which increase the coating ability to withstand the mechanical and thermal impact. It was also found that the use of coolant decreases the tool life with 70-80% compare to dry milling.Keywords: Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI), coating, chipping, milling, tool performance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19341812 High-Voltage Resonant Converter with Extreme Load Variation: Design Criteria and Applications
Authors: Jose A. Pomilio, Olavo Bet, Mateus P. Vieira
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The power converter that feeds high-frequency, highvoltage transformers must be carefully designed due to parasitic components, mainly the secondary winding capacitance and the leakage inductance, that introduces resonances in relatively lowfrequency range, next to the switching frequency. This paper considers applications in which the load (resistive) has an unpredictable behavior, changing from open to short-circuit condition faster than the output voltage control loop could react. In this context, to avoid overvoltage and over current situations, that could damage the converter, the transformer or the load, it is necessary to find an operation point that assure the desired output voltage in spite of the load condition. This can done adjusting the frequency response of the transformer adding an external inductance, together with selecting the switching frequency to get stable output voltage independently of the load.
Keywords: High-voltage transformer, Resonant converter, Softcommutation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30681811 Conditions for Model Matching of Switched Asynchronous Sequential Machines with Output Feedback
Authors: Jung–Min Yang
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Solvability of the model matching problem for input/output switched asynchronous sequential machines is discussed in this paper. The control objective is to determine the existence condition and design algorithm for a corrective controller that can match the stable-state behavior of the closed-loop system to that of a reference model. Switching operations and correction procedures are incorporated using output feedback so that the controlled switched machine can show the desired input/output behavior. A matrix expression is presented to address reachability of switched asynchronous sequential machines with output equivalence with respect to a model. The presented reachability condition for the controller design is validated in a simple example.Keywords: Asynchronous sequential machines, corrective control, model matching, input/output control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14801810 A Flute Tracking System for Monitoring the Wear of Cutting Tools in Milling Operations
Authors: Hatim Laalej, Salvador Sumohano-Verdeja, Thomas McLeay
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Monitoring of tool wear in milling operations is essential for achieving the desired dimensional accuracy and surface finish of a machined workpiece. Although there are numerous statistical models and artificial intelligence techniques available for monitoring the wear of cutting tools, these techniques cannot pin point which cutting edge of the tool, or which insert in the case of indexable tooling, is worn or broken. Currently, the task of monitoring the wear on the tool cutting edges is carried out by the operator who performs a manual inspection, causing undesirable stoppages of machine tools and consequently resulting in costs incurred from lost productivity. The present study is concerned with the development of a flute tracking system to segment signals related to each physical flute of a cutter with three flutes used in an end milling operation. The purpose of the system is to monitor the cutting condition for individual flutes separately in order to determine their progressive wear rates and to predict imminent tool failure. The results of this study clearly show that signals associated with each flute can be effectively segmented using the proposed flute tracking system. Furthermore, the results illustrate that by segmenting the sensor signal by flutes it is possible to investigate the wear in each physical cutting edge of the cutting tool. These findings are significant in that they facilitate the online condition monitoring of a cutting tool for each specific flute without the need for operators/engineers to perform manual inspections of the tool.
Keywords: Tool condition monitoring, tool wear prediction, milling operation, flute tracking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16611809 A Multi-Agent Intelligent System for Monitoring Health Conditions of Elderly People
Authors: Ayman M. Mansour
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In this paper, we propose a multi-agent intelligent system that is used for monitoring the health conditions of elderly people. Monitoring the health condition of elderly people is a complex problem that involves different medical units and requires continuous monitoring. Such expert system is highly needed in rural areas because of inadequate number of available specialized physicians or nurses. Such monitoring must have autonomous interactions between these medical units in order to be effective. A multi-agent system is formed by a community of agents that exchange information and proactively help one another to achieve the goal of elderly monitoring. The agents in the developed system are equipped with intelligent decision maker that arms them with the rule-based reasoning capability that can assist the physicians in making decisions regarding the medical condition of elderly people.
Keywords: Fuzzy Logic, Inference system, Monitoring system, Multi-agent system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22821808 The Effect of Alkaline Treatment on Tensile Strength and Morphological Properties of Kenaf Fibres for Yarn Production
Authors: A. Khalina, K. Shaharuddin, M. S. Wahab, M. P. Saiman, H. A. Aisyah
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This paper investigates the effect of alkali treatment and mechanical properties of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) fibre for the development of yarn. Two different fibre sources are used for the yarn production. Kenaf fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the concentration of 3, 6, 9, and 12% prior to fibre opening process and tested for their tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Then, the selected fibres were introduced to fibre opener at three different opening processing parameters; namely, speed of roller feeder, small drum, and big drum. The diameter size, surface morphology, and fibre durability towards machine of the fibres were characterized. The results show that concentrations of NaOH used have greater effects on fibre mechanical properties. From this study, the tensile and modulus properties of the treated fibres for both types have improved significantly as compared to untreated fibres, especially at the optimum level of 6% NaOH. It is also interesting to highlight that 6% NaOH is the optimum concentration for the alkaline treatment. The untreated and treated fibres at 6% NaOH were then introduced to fibre opener, and it was found that the treated fibre produced higher fibre diameter with better surface morphology compared to the untreated fibre. Higher speed parameter during opening was found to produce higher yield of opened-kenaf fibres.Keywords: Alkaline treatment, Kenaf fibre, Tensile strength, Yarn production.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12151807 Performance Evaluation of an ANC-based Hybrid Algorithm for Multi-target Wideband Active Sonar Echolocation System
Authors: Jason Chien-Hsun Tseng
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This paper evaluates performances of an adaptive noise cancelling (ANC) based target detection algorithm on a set of real test data supported by the Defense Evaluation Research Agency (DERA UK) for multi-target wideband active sonar echolocation system. The hybrid algorithm proposed is a combination of an adaptive ANC neuro-fuzzy scheme in the first instance and followed by an iterative optimum target motion estimation (TME) scheme. The neuro-fuzzy scheme is based on the adaptive noise cancelling concept with the core processor of ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) to provide an effective fine tuned signal. The resultant output is then sent as an input to the optimum TME scheme composed of twogauge trimmed-mean (TM) levelization, discrete wavelet denoising (WDeN), and optimal continuous wavelet transform (CWT) for further denosing and targets identification. Its aim is to recover the contact signals in an effective and efficient manner and then determine the Doppler motion (radial range, velocity and acceleration) at very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Quantitative results have shown that the hybrid algorithm have excellent performance in predicting targets- Doppler motion within various target strength with the maximum false detection of 1.5%.Keywords: Wideband Active Sonar Echolocation, ANC Neuro-Fuzzy, Wavelet Denoise, CWT, Hybrid Algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20591806 Investigation on the Physical Conditions of Façade Systems of Campus Buildings by Infrared Thermography Tests
Authors: N. Türkmenoğlu Bayraktar, E. Kishalı
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Campus buildings are educational facilities where various amount of energy consumption for lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation occurs. Some of the new universities in Turkey, where this investigation takes place, still continue their educational activities in existing buildings primarily designed for different architectural programs and converted to campus buildings via changes of function, space organizations and structural interventions but most of the time without consideration of appropriate micro climatic conditions. Reducing energy consumption in these structures not only contributes to the national economy but also mitigates the negative effects on environment. Furthermore, optimum thermal comfort conditions should be provided during the refurbishment of existing campus structures and their building envelope. Considering this issue, the first step is to investigate the climatic performance of building elements regarding refurbishment process. In the context of the study Kocaeli University, Faculty of Design and Architecture building constructed in 1980s in Anıtpark campus located in the central part of Kocaeli, Turkey was investigated. Climatic factors influencing thermal conditions; the deteriorations on building envelope; temperature distribution; heat losses from façade elements observed by thermography were presented in order to improve strategies for retrofit process for the building envelope. Within the scope of the survey, refurbishment strategies towards providing optimum climatic comfort conditions, increasing energy efficiency of building envelope were proposed.
Keywords: Building envelope, IRT, refurbishment, non-destructive test.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8871805 Mechanical Properties of Powder Metallurgy Processed Biodegradable Zn-Based Alloy for Biomedical Application
Authors: Maruf Yinka Kolawole, Jacob Olayiwola Aweda, Farasat Iqbal, Asif Ali, Sulaiman Abdulkareem
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Zinc is a non-ferrous metal with potential application in orthopaedic implant materials. However, its poor mechanical properties were major challenge to its application. Therefore, this paper studies the mechanical properties of biodegradable Zn-based alloy for biomedical application. Pure zinc powder with varying (0, 1, 2, 3 & 6) wt% of magnesium powders were ball milled using ball-to-powder ratio (B:P) of 10:1 at 350 rpm for 4 hours. The resulting milled powders were compacted and sintered at 300 MPa and 350 °C respectively. Microstructural, phase and mechanical properties analyses were performed following American standard of testing and measurement. The results show that magnesium has influence on the mechanical properties of zinc. The compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus of 210 ± 8.878 MPa, 76 ± 5.707 HV and 45 ± 11.616 GPa respectively as obtained in Zn-2Mg alloy were optimum and meet the minimum requirement of biodegradable metal for orthopaedics application. These results indicate an increase of 111, 93 and 93% in compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus respectively as compared to pure zinc. The increase in mechanical properties was adduced to effectiveness of compaction pressure and intermetallic phase formation within the matrix resulting in high dislocation density for improving strength. The study concluded that, Zn-2Mg alloy with optimum mechanical properties can therefore be considered a potential candidate for orthopaedic application.
Keywords: Biodegradable metal, biomedical application mechanical properties, powder metallurgy, zinc.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9951804 Development of Greenhouse Analysis Tools for Home Agriculture Project
Authors: M. Amir Abas, M. Dahlui
Abstract:
This paper presents the development of analysis tools for Home Agriculture project. The tools are required for monitoring the condition of greenhouse which involves two components: measurement hardware and data analysis engine. Measurement hardware is functioned to measure environment parameters such as temperature, humidity, air quality, dust and etc while analysis tool is used to analyse and interpret the integrated data against the condition of weather, quality of health, irradiance, quality of soil and etc. The current development of the tools is completed for off-line data recorded technique. The data is saved in MMC and transferred via ZigBee to Environment Data Manager (EDM) for data analysis. EDM converts the raw data and plot three combination graphs. It has been applied in monitoring three months data measurement for irradiance, temperature and humidity of the greenhouse..Keywords: Monitoring, Environment, Greenhouse, Analysis tools
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20191803 Determination of Optimum Length of Framesand Number of Vectors to Compress ECG Signals
Authors: Rafet Akdeniz, Pınar Tüfekçi, B.Sıddık Yarman
Abstract:
In this study, to compress ECG signals, KLT (Karhunen- Loeve Transform) method has been used. The purpose of this method is to perform effective ECG coding by a correlation between the length of frames and the number of vectors of ECG signals.Keywords: ECG Compression, EKG Compression.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14851802 Evaluation of Transfer Capability Considering Uncertainties of System Operating Condition and System Cascading Collapse
Authors: N. A. Salim, M. M. Othman, I. Musirin, M. S. Serwan
Abstract:
Over the past few decades, power system industry in many developing and developed countries has gone through a restructuring process of the industry where they are moving towards deregulated power industry. This situation will lead to competition among the generation and distribution companies to provide quality and efficient production of electric energy, which will reduce the price of electricity. Therefore it is important to obtain an accurate value of the available transfer capability (ATC) and transmission reliability margin (TRM) in order to ensure the effective power transfer between areas during the occurrence of uncertainties in the system. In this paper, the TRM and ATC is determined by taking into consideration the uncertainties of the system operating condition and system cascading collapse by applying the bootstrap technique. A case study of the IEEE RTS-79 is employed to verify the robustness of the technique proposed in the determination of TRM and ATC.
Keywords: Available transfer capability, bootstrap technique, cascading collapse, transmission reliability margin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1558