Search results for: Procurement Process and Operations Efficiency

Authors: İ. Kıyak, G. Gökmen

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Using of natural lighting has come into prominence in constructed buildings, especially in last ten years, under scope of energy efficiency. Natural lighting methods are one of the methods that aim to take advantage of day light in maximum level and decrease using of artificial lighting. Increasing of day light amount in buildings by using suitable methods will give optimum result in terms of comfort and energy saving when the daylight-artificial light integration is ensured with a suitable control system. Using of natural light in places that require lighting will ensure energy saving in great extent. With this study, it is aimed to save energy used for purpose of lighting. Under this scope, lighting of a scanning laboratory of a hospital was realized by using a lighting automation containing natural and artificial lighting. In natural lighting, light pipes were used and in artificial lighting, dimmable power LED modules were used. Necessity of lighting was followed with motion sensors. The lighting automation containing natural and artificial light was ensured with fuzzy logic control. At the scanning laboratory where this application was realized, energy saving in lighting was obtained.

Keywords: Daylight transfer, fuzzy logic controller, light pipe, Power LED.

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Authors: Israt Jahan Eshita

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Flows developed between two parallel disks have many engineering applications. Two types of non-swirling flows can be generated in such a domain. One is purely source flow in disc type domain (outward flow). Other is purely sink flow in disc type domain (inward flow). This situation often appears in some turbo machinery components such as air bearings, heat exchanger, radial diffuser, vortex gyroscope, disc valves, and viscosity meters. The main goal of this paper is to show the mesh convergence, because mesh convergence saves time, and economical to run and increase the efficiency of modeling for both sink and source flow. Then flow field is resolved using a very fine mesh near-wall, using enhanced wall treatment. After that we are going to compare this flow using standard k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon turbulence models. Lastly compare some experimental data with numerical solution for sink flow. The good agreement of numerical solution with the experimental works validates the current modeling.

Keywords: Hydraulic diameter, k-epsilon model, meshes convergence, Reynolds number, RNG model, sink flow, source flow and wall y+.

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Authors: Phillip Garrad, Saritha Unnikrishnan

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The increase in connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) creates more opportunities for cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks can be performed with malicious intent or for research and testing purposes. As connected vehicles approach full autonomy, the possible impact of these cyber-attacks also grows. This review analyses the challenges faced in CAV cybersecurity testing. This includes access and cost of the representative test setup and lack of experts in the field A review of potential solutions to overcome these challenges is presented. Studies have demonstrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a promising technique to reduce runtime, enhance effectiveness and comprehensively cover all the standard test aspects in penetration testing in other industries. However, this review has identified a significant gap in the systematic implementation of AI for penetration testing in the CAV cybersecurity domain. The expectation from this review is to investigate potential AI algorithms, which can demonstrate similar improvements in runtime and efficiency for a CAV model. If proven to be an effective means of penetration test for CAV, this methodology may be used on a full CAV test network.

Keywords: Cybersecurity, connected vehicles, software simulation, artificial intelligence, penetration testing.

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Authors: Houda Najeh, Stéphane Ploix, Mahendra Pratap Singh, Karim Chabir, Mohamed Naceur Abdelkrim

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Building systems are highly vulnerable to different kinds of faults and failures. In fact, various faults, failures and human behaviors could affect the building performance. This paper tackles the detection of unreliable sensors in buildings. Different literature surveys on diagnosis techniques for sensor grids in buildings have been published but all of them treat only bias and outliers. Occurences of data gaps have also not been given an adequate span of attention in the academia. The proposed methodology comprises the automatic thresholding for data gap detection for a set of heterogeneous sensors in instrumented buildings. Sensor measurements are considered to be regular time series. However, in reality, sensor values are not uniformly sampled. So, the issue to solve is from which delay each sensor become faulty? The use of time series is required for detection of abnormalities on the delays. The efficiency of the method is evaluated on measurements obtained from a real power plant: an office at Grenoble Institute of technology equipped by 30 sensors.

Keywords: Building system, time series, diagnosis, outliers, delay, data gap.

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Authors: P. R. Prabhu, S. M. Kulkarni, S. S. Sharma, K. Jagannath, Achutha Kini U.

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In the present study, response surface methodology has been used to optimize turn-assisted deep cold rolling process of AISI 4140 steel. A regression model is developed to predict surface hardness and surface roughness using response surface methodology and central composite design. In the development of predictive model, deep cold rolling force, ball diameter, initial roughness of the workpiece, and number of tool passes are considered as model variables. The rolling force and the ball diameter are the significant factors on the surface hardness and ball diameter and numbers of tool passes are found to be significant for surface roughness. The predicted surface hardness and surface roughness values and the subsequent verification experiments under the optimal operating conditions confirmed the validity of the predicted model. The absolute average error between the experimental and predicted values at the optimal combination of parameter settings for surface hardness and surface roughness is calculated as 0.16% and 1.58% respectively. Using the optimal processing parameters, the surface hardness is improved from 225 to 306 HV, which resulted in an increase in the near surface hardness by about 36% and the surface roughness is improved from 4.84µm to 0.252 µm, which resulted in decrease in the surface roughness by about 95%. The depth of compression is found to be more than 300µm from the microstructure analysis and this is in correlation with the results obtained from the microhardness measurements. Taylor hobson talysurf tester, micro vickers hardness tester, optical microscopy and X-ray diffractometer are used to characterize the modified surface layer. 

Keywords: Surface hardness, response surface methodology, microstructure, central composite design, deep cold rolling, surface roughness.

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Authors: Frida C. Jaime Franco, C. Paulina Navarro Núñez, R. Jacob Sánchez Nájera

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The importance of developing multi-language abilities in our global society is noteworthy. However, the necessity, interest, and consciousness of the significance that the development of another language represents, apart from the mother tongue, is not always the same in all contexts as it is in multicultural communities, especially in rural higher education institutions immersed in small communities. Leading opportunities for digital interaction among learners from Mexico and abroad partners represents scaffolding towards, not only language skills development but also intercultural communicative competences (ICC). This study leads us to consider what should be the best approach to work while applying a program of ICC integrated into the practice of EFL. While analyzing the roots of the language, it is possible to obtain the main objective of learning another language, to communicate with a functional purpose, as well as attaching social practices to the learning process, giving a result of functionality and significance to the target language. Hence, the collateral impact that collaborative learning leads to, aims to contribute to a better global understanding as well as a means of self and other cultural awareness through intercultural communication. While communicating through the target language by online collaboration among students in platforms of long-distance communication, language is used as a tool of interaction to broaden students’ perspectives reaching a substantial improvement with the help of their differences. This process should consider the application of the target language in the inquiry of sociocultural information, expecting the learners to integrate communicative skills to handle cultural differentiation at the same time they apply the knowledge of their target language in a real scenario of communication, despite being through virtual resources.

Keywords: Collaborative learning, English as a Foreign language, intercultural communication, intercultural communicative competences, virtual partnership.

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Authors: J. Lin, T. C. Kuo, C. -Y. Gau, K. C. Liu, Y. J. Huang, J. D. Yu, Y. W. Lin

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A multi-agent type robot for disaster response in calamity scene is proposed in this paper. The proposed grouped rescue robots can perform cooperative reconnaissance and surveillance to achieve a given rescue mission. The multi-agent rescue of dual set robot consists of one master set and three slave units. The research for this rescue robot system is going to detect at harmful environment where human is unreachable, such as the building is infected with virus or the factory has hazardous liquid in effluent. As a dual set robot, with Bluetooth and communication network, the master set can connect with slave units and send information back to computer by wireless and monitor. Therefore, rescuer can be informed the real-time information in a calamity area. Furthermore, each slave robot is able to obstacle avoidance by ultrasonic sensors, and encodes distance and location by compass. The master robot can integrate every devices information to increase the efficiency of prospected and research unknown area.

Keywords: Designing of multi-agent rescue robot, development and basic experiments of master-slave type rescue robots.

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Authors: Chun-Yao Lee, Siang-Ren Wang

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The purpose of this paper is to improve electromagnetic characteristics on grounding grid by applying the conductive concrete. The conductive concrete in this study is under an extra high voltage (EHV, 345kV) system located in a high-tech industrial park or science park. Instead of surrounding soil of grounding grid, the application of conductive concrete can reduce equipment damage and body damage caused by switching surges. The focus of the two cases on the EHV distribution system in a high-tech industrial park is presented to analyze four soil material styles. By comparing several soil material styles, the study results have shown that the conductive concrete can effectively reduce the negative damages caused by electromagnetic transient. The adoption of the style of grounding grid located 1.0 (m) underground and conductive concrete located from the ground surface to 1.25 (m) underground can obviously improve the electromagnetic characteristics so as to advance protective efficiency.

Keywords: Switching surges, grounding gird, electromagnetic transient, conductive concrete.

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Authors: Hamed Rajabi, Naser Nematbakhsh, Naser Movahediniya

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IP multicasting is a key technology for many existing and emerging applications on the Internet. Furthermore, with increasing popularity of wireless devices and mobile equipment, it is necessary to determine the best way to provide this service in a wireless environment. IETF Mobile IP, that provides mobility for hosts in IP networks, proposes two approaches for mobile multicasting, namely, remote subscription (MIP-RS) and bi-directional tunneling (MIP-BT). In MIP-RS, a mobile host re-subscribes to the multicast groups each time it moves to a new foreign network. MIP-RS suffers from serious packet losses while mobile host handoff occurs. In MIP-BT, mobile hosts send and receive multicast packets by way of their home agents (HAs), using Mobile IP tunnels. Therefore, it suffers from inefficient routing and wastage of system resources. In this paper, we propose a protocol called Mobile Multicast support using Old Foreign Agent (MMOFA) for Mobile Hosts. MMOFA is derived from MIP-RS and with the assistance of Mobile host's Old foreign agent, routes the missing datagrams due to handoff in adjacent network via tunneling. Also, we studied the performance of the proposed protocol by simulation under ns-2.27. The results demonstrate that MMOFA has optimal routing efficiency and low delivery cost, as compared to other approaches.

Keywords: Mobile Multicast, Mobile IP, MMOFA, NS-2. 27.

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Authors: Anilkumar Kothalil Gopalakrishnan

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A subjectively influenced router for vehicles in a fourjunction traffic system is presented. The router is based on a 3-layer Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) and a greedy routing procedure. The BPNN detects priorities of vehicles based on the subjective criteria. The subjective criteria and the routing procedure depend on the routing plan towards vehicles depending on the user. The routing procedure selects vehicles from their junctions based on their priorities and route them concurrently to the traffic system. That is, when the router is provided with a desired vehicles selection criteria and routing procedure, it routes vehicles with a reasonable junction clearing time. The cost evaluation of the router determines its efficiency. In the case of a routing conflict, the router will route the vehicles in a consecutive order and quarantine faulty vehicles. The simulations presented indicate that the presented approach is an effective strategy of structuring a subjective vehicle router.

Keywords: Backpropagation Neural Network, Backpropagationalgorithm, Greedy routing procedure, Subjective criteria, Vehiclepriority, Cost evaluation, Route generation

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Authors: Wilailuk Meepracha

Abstract:

The results of the study on the project evaluation to  develop the competencies, capabilities, and skills in repairing  computers of people in Jompluak Local Municipality, Bang Khonthi  District, Samut Songkram Province showed that the overall result  was good (4.33). When considering on each aspect, it was found that  the highest one was on process evaluation (4.60) followed by product  evaluation (4.50) and the least one was on feeding factor (3.97).  When considering in details, it was found that: 1) the context aspect  was high (4.23) with the highest item on the arrangement of the  training situation (4.67) followed by the appropriateness of the target  (4.30) and the least aspect was on the project cooperation (3.73). 2)  The evaluation of average overall primary factor or feeding factor  showed high value (4.23) while the highest aspect was on the  capability of the trainers (4.47) followed by the suitable venue (4.33)  while the least aspect was on the insufficient budget (3.47). 3) The  average result of process evaluation was very high (4.60). The  highest aspect was on the follow-op supervision (4.70) followed by  responsibility of each project staffs (4.50) while the least aspect was  on the present situation and the problems of the community (4.40). 4)  The overall result of the product evaluation was very high (4.50). The  highest aspect was on the diversity of the activities and the  community integration (4.67) followed by project target achievement  (4.63) while the least aspect was on continuation and regularity of the  activities (4.33). The trainees reported high satisfaction on the project  management at very high level (43.33%) while 40% reported high  level and 16.67% reported moderate level. Suggestions for the project  were on the additional number of the computer sets (37.78%)  followed by longer training period especially on computer skills  (43.48%).

 

Keywords: Project evaluation, competency development, the capability on computer repairing and computer skills.

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Authors: S. Karthika, K. Velayutham, P. Rathika, D. Devaraj

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The electric power supplied by a photovoltaic power generation systems depends on the solar irradiation and temperature. The PV system can supply the maximum power to the load at a particular operating point which is generally called as maximum power point (MPP), at which the entire PV system operates with maximum efficiency and produces its maximum power. Hence, a Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods are used to maximize the PV array output power by tracking continuously the maximum power point. The proposed MPPT controller is designed for 10kW solar PV system installed at Cape Institute of Technology. This paper presents the fuzzy logic based MPPT algorithm. However, instead of one type of membership function, different structures of fuzzy membership functions are used in the FLC design. The proposed controller is combined with the system and the results are obtained for each membership functions in Matlab/Simulink environment. Simulation results are decided that which membership function is more suitable for this system.

Keywords: MPPT, DC-DC Converter, Fuzzy logic controller, Photovoltaic (PV) system.

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Authors: Dutescu Adriana, Amariei Corneliu, Sahlian Daniela, Stanila Aurelian, Stanila Oana

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20 years of dentistry was a period of transition from communist to market economy but Romanian doctors have insufficient management knowledge. Recently, the need for modern management has increased due to technologies and superior materials appearance, as patient-s demands. Research goal is to increase efficiency by evaluating dental medical office cost categories in real pricing procedures. Empirical research is based on guided study that includes information about the association between categories of cost perception and therapeutic procedures commonly used in dental offices. Due to the obtained results to identify all the labours that make up a settled procedure costs were determined for each procedure. Financial evaluation software was created with the main functions: introducing and maintaining patient records, treatment and appointments made, procedures cost and monitoring office productivity. We believe that the study results can significantly improve the financial management of dental offices, increasing the effectiveness and quality of services.

Keywords: costs, financial methods, management.

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Authors: Nagore Guerra Bilbao, Clemente Lobato Fraile

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This paper outlines the design and development of the MENDEPRO questionnaire, designed to analyze mentoring performance within a professional development process carried out with professors at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. The study took into account the international research carried out over the past two decades into teachers' professional development, and was also based on a thorough review of the most common instruments used to identify and analyze mentoring styles, many of which fail to provide sufficient psychometric guarantees. The present study aimed to gather empirical data in order to verify the metric quality of the questionnaire developed. To this end, the process followed to validate the theoretical construct was as follows: The formulation of the items and indicators in accordance with the study variables; the analysis of the validity and reliability of the initial questionnaire; the review of the second version of the questionnaire and the definitive measurement instrument. Content was validated through the formal agreement and consensus of 12 university professor training experts. A reduced sample of professors who had participated in a lifelong learning program was then selected for a trial evaluation of the instrument developed. After the trial, 18 items were removed from the initial questionnaire. The final version of the instrument, comprising 33 items, was then administered to a sample group of 99 participants. The results revealed a five-dimensional structure matching theoretical expectations. Also, the reliability data for both the instrument as a whole (.98) and its various dimensions (between .91 and .97) were very high. The questionnaire was thus found to have satisfactory psychometric properties and can therefore be considered apt for studying the performance of mentoring in both induction programs for young professors and lifelong learning programs for senior faculty members.

Keywords: Higher education, mentoring, professional development, university teachers.

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Authors: Azmi Ibrahim, Nor Azan Mat Zin, Noraidah Sahari Ashaari

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Dengue fever is prevalent in Malaysia with numerous cases including mortality recorded over the years. Public education on the prevention of the desease through various means has been carried out besides the enforcement of legal means to eradicate Aedes mosquitoes, the dengue vector breeding ground. Hence, other means need to be explored, such as predicting the seasonal peak period of the dengue outbreak and identifying related climate factors contributing to the increase in the number of mosquitoes. Simulation model can be employed for this purpose. In this study, we created a simulation of system dynamic to predict the spread of dengue outbreak in Hulu Langat, Selangor Malaysia. The prototype was developed using STELLA 9.1.2 software. The main data input are rainfall, temperature and denggue cases. Data analysis from the graph showed that denggue cases can be predicted accurately using these two main variables- rainfall and temperature. However, the model will be further tested over a longer time period to ensure its accuracy, reliability and efficiency as a prediction tool for dengue outbreak.

Keywords: dengue fever, prediction, system dynamic, simulation

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Authors: R. Bernaoui, P. Ohly

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Our research shows the use of the mobile phone that consolidates the relationship between veterinarians, and that between breeders and veterinarians. On the other hand it asserts that the tool in question is a means of economic development. The results of our survey reveal a positive return to the veterinary community, which shows that the mobile phone has become an effective means of sustainable development through the transfer of a rapid and punctual information inheritance via social networks; including many Internet applications. Our results show that almost all veterinarians use the mobile phone for interprofessional communication. We therefore believe that the use of the mobile phone by livestock operators has greatly improved the working conditions, just as the use of this tool contributes to a better management of the exploitation as long as it allows limit travel but also save time. These results show that we are witnessing a growth in the use of mobile telephony technologies that impact is as much in terms of sustainable development. Allowing access to information, especially technical information, the mobile phone, and Information and Communication of Technology (ICT) in general, give livestock sector players not only security, by limiting losses, but also an efficiency that allows them a better production and productivity.

Keywords: Algeria, Breeder-veterinarian, Digital Heritage, Networking, Mobile phone.

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Authors: A. Sivakumar, K. Srinivasan

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The main objective of the study is focused in producing slag based geopolymer concrete obtained with the addition of alkali activator. Test results indicated that the reaction of silicates in slag is based on the reaction potential of sodium hydroxide and the formation of alumino-silicates. The study also comprises on the evaluation of the efficiency of polymer reaction in terms of the strength gain properties for different geopolymer mixtures. Geopolymer mixture proportions were designed for different binder to total aggregate ratio (0.3 & 0.45) and fine to coarse aggregate ratio (0.4 & 0.8). Geopolymer concrete specimens casted with normal curing conditions reported a maximum 28 days compressive strength of 54.75 MPa. The addition of glued steel fibres at 1.0% Vf in geopolymer concrete showed reasonable improvements on the compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural properties of different geopolymer mixtures. Further, comparative assessment was made for different geopolymer mixtures and the reinforcing effects of steel fibres were investigated in different concrete matrix.

Keywords: Accelerators, Alkali activators, Geopolymer, Hot air oven curing, Polypropylene fibres, Slag, Steam curing, Steel fibres.

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Authors: Mohamed Saad Ahmed Hussien

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This paper discusses the risk management in Islamic banks and aims to determine the difference in the practices and methods of risk management in those banks compared to the conventional banks, and to make a case study of the biggest Islamic bank in Egypt (Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt) to identify the most important financial risks faced and how to manage those risks. It was found that Islamic banks face two types of risks. The first type is similar to the risks in conventional banks; the second type is the additional risks which facing the Islamic banks only as a result of some Islamic modes of financing. With regard to the risk management, Islamic banks such as conventional banks applied the regulatory rules issued by the Central Banks and the Basel Committee; Islamic banks also applied the instructions and procedures issued by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). Also, Islamic banks are similar to the conventional banks in the practices and methods which they use to manage the risks. And there are some factors that may affect the risk management in Islamic banks, such as the size of the bank and the efficiency of the administration and the staff of the bank.

Keywords: Conventional banks, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Islamic banks, risk management.

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Authors: S. Forughi, A. De Zoysa, S. Bhati

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The present study focuses on the environmental performance of the companies in the electricity-producing sector and its relationship with their financial performance. We will review the major studies that examined the relationship between the environmental and financial performance of firms in various industries. While the classical economic debates consider the environmental friendly activities costly and harmful to a firm’s profitability, it is claimed that firms will be rewarded with higher profitability in long run through the investments in environmental friendly activities. In this context, prior studies have examined the relationship between the environmental and financial performance of firms operating in different industry sectors. Our study will employ an environmental indicator to increase the accuracy of the results and be employed as an independent variable in our developed econometric model to evaluate the impact of the financial performance of the firms on their environmental friendly activities in the context of companies operating in the Australian electricity-producing sector. As a result, we expect our methodology to contribute to the literature and the findings of the study will help us to provide recommendations and policy implications to the electricity producers.

Keywords: Australian electricity sector, efficiency measurement, environmental-financial performance interaction, environmental index.

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Authors: Veeresham Mokali

Abstract:

The refractory alloys are crucial for high-temperature applications to improve performance and reduce cost. They are used in several applications such as aerospace, outer space, military and defense, nuclear powerplants, automobiles, and industry. The conventional refractory alloys show greater stability at high temperatures and in contrast they have operational limitations due to their low melting temperatures. However, there is a huge requirement to improve the refractory alloys’ operational temperatures and replace the conventional alloys. The newly emerging refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) could be alternative materials for conventional refractory alloys and fulfill the demands and requirements of various practical applications in the future. The RHEA TaHfNbZrTi was prepared through an arc melting process. The annealing behavior of severely deformed equiatomic RHEATaHfNbZrTi has been investigated. To obtain deformed condition, the alloy is cold-rolled to 90% thickness reduction and then subjected to an annealing process to observe recrystallization and microstructural evolution in the range of 800 °C to 1400 °C temperatures. The cold-rolled – 90% condition shows the presence of microstructural heterogeneity. The annealing microstructure of 800 °C temperature reveals that partial recrystallization and further annealing treatment carried out annealing treatment in the range of 850 °C to 1400 °C temperatures exhibits completely recrystallized microstructures, followed by coarsening with a degree of annealing temperature. The deformed and annealed conditions featured the development of body-centered cubic (BCC) fiber textures. The experimental investigation of heavy deformation and followed by high-temperature annealing up to 1400 °C temperature will contribute to the understanding of microstructure and texture evolution of emerging RHEAs.

Keywords: Refractory high entropy alloys, cold-rolling, annealing, microstructure, texture.

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Authors: Honorata Howaniec

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Brand loyalty is a strategic asset of the company. In the era of competition to have loyal customers decides on the market superiority of enterprises. Creating the loyalty of buyers, however, is a lengthy process and requires the appropriate business strategy, preceded by the proper market research. The purpose of the paper is to present the concept of brand loyalty, the creation of loyalty of customers, the benefits and determinants of loyalty on the example of brewery market in Poland.

Keywords: brand, brand loyalty, brewery market

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Authors: Flur R. Ismagilov, Irek Kh. Khayrullin, Vyacheslav E. Vavilov, Ruslan D. Karimov, Anton S. Gorbunov, Danis R. Farrakhov

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The paper presents another structural scheme of high-temperature starter-generator with external rotor to be installed on High Pressure Shaft (HPS) of aircraft engines (AE) to implement More Electrical Engine concept. The basic materials to make this starter-generator (SG) were selected and justified. Multi-criteria optimization of the developed structural scheme was performed using a genetic algorithm and Pareto method. The optimum (in Pareto terms) active length and thickness of permanent magnets of SG were selected as a result of the optimization. Using the dimensions obtained, allowed to reduce the weight of the designed SG by 10 kg relative to a base option at constant thermal loads. Multidisciplinary computer simulation was performed on the basis of the optimum geometric dimensions, which proved performance efficiency of the design. We further plan to make a full-scale sample of SG of HPS and publish the results of its experimental research.

Keywords: High-temperature starter-generator, More electrical engine, multi-criteria optimization, permanent magnet.

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Authors: Kehinde Damilola Ilesanmi, Dev Datt Tewari

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South Africa is in its post-industrial era moving from the primary and secondary sector to the tertiary sector. The study investigated the impact of the disaggregated energy consumption (coal, oil, and electricity) on the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy between 1980 and 2012 in South Africa. Using vector error correction model, it was established that South Africa is an energy dependent economy, and that energy (especially electricity and oil) is a limiting factor of growth. This implies that implementation of energy conservation policies may hamper economic growth. Output growth is significantly outpacing energy supply, which has necessitated load shedding. To meet up the excess energy demand, there is a need to increase the generating capacity which will necessitate increased investment in the electricity sector as well as strategic steps to increase oil production. There is also need to explore more renewable energy sources, in order to meet the growing energy demand without compromising growth and environmental sustainability. Policy makers should also pursue energy efficiency policies especially at sectoral level of the economy.

Keywords: Causality, economic growth, energy consumption, hypothesis, sectoral output.

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Authors: Angela Ralli, Eleni Galiotou

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In this paper we describe the recognition process of Greek compound words using the PC-KIMMO software. We try to show certain limitations of the system with respect to the principles of compound formation in Greek. Moreover, we discuss the computational processing of phenomena such as stress and syllabification which are indispensable for the analysis of such constructions and we try to propose linguistically-acceptable solutions within the particular system.

Keywords: Morpho-phonological parsing, compound words, two-level morphology, natural language processing.

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Authors: Parisa Shooshtari, Gelareh Mohamadi, Behnam Molaee Ardekani, Mohammad Bagher Shamsollahi

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EEG signal is one of the oldest measures of brain activity that has been used vastly for clinical diagnoses and biomedical researches. However, EEG signals are highly contaminated with various artifacts, both from the subject and from equipment interferences. Among these various kinds of artifacts, ocular noise is the most important one. Since many applications such as BCI require online and real-time processing of EEG signal, it is ideal if the removal of artifacts is performed in an online fashion. Recently, some methods for online ocular artifact removing have been proposed. One of these methods is ARMAX modeling of EEG signal. This method assumes that the recorded EEG signal is a combination of EOG artifacts and the background EEG. Then the background EEG is estimated via estimation of ARMAX parameters. The other recently proposed method is based on adaptive filtering. This method uses EOG signal as the reference input and subtracts EOG artifacts from recorded EEG signals. In this paper we investigate the efficiency of each method for removing of EOG artifacts. A comparison is made between these two methods. Our undertaken conclusion from this comparison is that adaptive filtering method has better results compared with the results achieved by ARMAX modeling.

Keywords: Ocular Artifacts, EEG, Adaptive Filtering, ARMAX

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Authors: Vijay Kumar Bajpai, Sudhir Kumar Singh

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In this study, the performance analyses of the twenty five Coal-Fired Power Plants (CFPPs) used for electricity generation are carried out through various Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models. Three efficiency indices are defined and pursued. During the calculation of the operational performance, energy and non-energy variables are used as input, and net electricity produced is used as desired output (Model-1). CO2 emitted to the environment is used as the undesired output (Model-2) in the computation of the pure environmental performance while in Model-3 CO2 emissions is considered as detrimental input in the calculation of operational and environmental performance. Empirical results show that most of the plants are operating in increasing returns to scale region and Mettur plant is efficient one with regards to energy use and environment. The result also indicates that the undesirable output effect is insignificant in the research sample. The present study will provide clues to plant operators towards raising the operational and environmental performance of CFPPs.

Keywords: Coal fired power plants, environmental performance, data envelopment analysis, operational performance.

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Authors: Naoto Suzuki

Abstract:

Japanese are affected by the most common causes of eyesight loss such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, pigmentary retinal degeneration, and age-related macular degeneration. We developed an ophthalmological examination apparatus with a fundus camera, precisely fundus-related perimetry (microperimetry), and electroretinogram (ERG) functions to diagnose a variety of diseases that cause eyesight loss. The experimental apparatus was constructed with the same optical system as a fundus camera. The microperimetry optical system was calculated and added to the experimental apparatus using the German company Optenso's optical engineering software (OpTaliX-LT 10.8). We also added an Edmund infrared camera (EO-0413), a lens with a 25 mm focal length, a 45° cold mirror, a 12 V/50 W halogen lamp, and an 8-inch monitor. We made the artificial eye of a plane-convex lens, a black spacer, and a hemispherical cup. The hemispherical cup had a small section of the paper at the bottom. The artificial eye was photographed five times using the experimental apparatus. The software was created to display the examination target on the monitor and save examination data using C++Builder 10.2. The retinal fundus was displayed on the monitor at a length and width of 1 mm and a resolution of 70.4 ± 4.1 and 74.7 ± 6.8 pixels, respectively. The microperimetry and ERG functions were successfully added to the experimental ophthalmological apparatus. A moving machine was developed to measure the artificial eye's movement. The artificial eye's rear part was painted black and white in the central area. It was rotated 10 degrees from one side to the other. The movement was captured five times as motion videos. Three static images were extracted from one of the motion videos captured. The images display the artificial eye facing the center, right, and left directions. The three images were processed using Scilab 6.1.0 and Image Processing and Computer Vision Toolbox 4.1.2, including trimming, binarization, making a window, deleting peripheral area, and morphological operations. To calculate the artificial eye's fundus center, we added a gravity method to the program to calculate the gravity position of connected components. From the three images, the image processing could calculate the center position.

Keywords: Ophthalmological examination apparatus, microperimetry, electroretinogram, eye movement.

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Authors: Dominic Wentworth-Linton, Shian Gao

Abstract:

This project was aimed at investigating the effect of velocity stacks on the intakes of internal combustion engines for motorsport applications. The intake systems in motorsport are predominantly fuel injection with a plate mounted for the stacks. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics software, the relationship between the stack length and power and torque delivery across the engine’s rev range was investigated and the results were used to choose the best option for its intended motorsport discipline. The test results are expected to vary with engine geometry and its natural manufacturer characteristics. The test was also relevant in bridging between computational data and real simulation as the results show flow, pressure and velocity readings but the behaviour of the engine is inferred from the nature of each test. The results of the data analysis were tested in a real-life simulation on a dynamometer to prove the theory of stack length on power and torque delivery, which helps determine the most suitable stack for the Vauxhall engine for rallying in the Caribbean.

Keywords: CFD simulation, internal combustion engine, intake system, dynamometer test.

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Authors: Ahmed M. Farag, Wael F. Mohamed, Atef A. Ata, Burhamy M. Burhamy

Abstract:

The main objective of the present paper is to derive an easy numerical technique for the analysis of the free vibration through the stepped regions of plates. Based on the utilities of the step by step integration initial values IV and Finite differences FD methods, the present improved Initial Value Finite Differences (IVFD) technique is achieved. The first initial conditions are formulated in convenient forms for the step by step integrations while the upper and lower edge conditions are expressed in finite difference modes. Also compatibility conditions are created due to the sudden variation of plate thickness. The present method (IVFD) is applied to solve the fourth order partial differential equation of motion for stepped plate across two different panels under the sudden step compatibility in addition to different types of end conditions. The obtained results are examined and the validity of the present method is proved showing excellent efficiency and rapid convergence.

Keywords: Vibrations, Step by Step Integration, Stepped plate, Boundary.

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Authors: Hsu-Yung Cheng, Victor Gau, Chih-Wei Huang, Jenq-Neng Hwang, Chih-Chang Yu

Abstract:

In order to achieve better road utilization and traffic efficiency, there is an urgent need for a travel information delivery mechanism to assist the drivers in making better decisions in the emerging intelligent transportation system applications. In this paper, we propose a relayed multicast scheme under heterogeneous networks for this purpose. In the proposed system, travel information consisting of summarized traffic conditions, important events, real-time traffic videos, and local information service contents is formed into layers and multicasted through an integration of WiMAX infrastructure and Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET). By the support of adaptive modulation and coding in WiMAX, the radio resources can be optimally allocated when performing multicast so as to dynamically adjust the number of data layers received by the users. In addition to multicast supported by WiMAX, a knowledge propagation and information relay scheme by VANET is designed. The experimental results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: Intelligent Transportation Systems, RelayedMulticast, WiMAX, Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET).

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