Search results for: nonlinear model predictive control
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10731

Search results for: nonlinear model predictive control

6381 Optimization of Three-dimensional Electrical Performance in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack by a Neural Network

Authors: Shih-Bin Wang, Ping Yuan, Syu-Fang Liu, Ming-Jun Kuo

Abstract:

By the application of an improved back-propagation neural network (BPNN), a model of current densities for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with 10 layers is established in this study. To build the learning data of BPNN, Taguchi orthogonal array is applied to arrange the conditions of operating parameters, which totally 7 factors act as the inputs of BPNN. Also, the average current densities achieved by numerical method acts as the outputs of BPNN. Comparing with the direct solution, the learning errors for all learning data are smaller than 0.117%, and the predicting errors for 27 forecasting cases are less than 0.231%. The results show that the presented model effectively builds a mathematical algorithm to predict performance of a SOFC stack immediately in real time. Also, the calculating algorithms are applied to proceed with the optimization of the average current density for a SOFC stack. The operating performance window of a SOFC stack is found to be between 41137.11 and 53907.89. Furthermore, an inverse predicting model of operating parameters of a SOFC stack is developed here by the calculating algorithms of the improved BPNN, which is proved to effectively predict operating parameters to achieve a desired performance output of a SOFC stack.

Keywords: a SOFC stack, BPNN, inverse predicting model of operating parameters, optimization of the average current density

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6380 Modeling Strategy and Numerical Validation of the Turbulent Flow over a two-Dimensional Flat Roof

Authors: Marco Raciti Castelli, Alberto Castelli, Ernesto Benini

Abstract:

The construction of a civil structure inside a urban area inevitably modifies the outdoor microclimate at the building site. Wind speed, wind direction, air pollution, driving rain, radiation and daylight are some of the main physical aspects that are subjected to the major changes. The quantitative amount of these modifications depends on the shape, size and orientation of the building and on its interaction with the surrounding environment.The flow field over a flat roof model building has been numerically investigated in order to determine two-dimensional CFD guidelines for the calculation of the turbulent flow over a structure immersed in an atmospheric boundary layer. To this purpose, a complete validation campaign has been performed through a systematic comparison of numerical simulations with wind tunnel experimental data.Several turbulence models and spatial node distributions have been tested for five different vertical positions, respectively from the upstream leading edge to the downstream bottom edge of the analyzed model. Flow field characteristics in the neighborhood of the building model have been numerically investigated, allowing a quantification of the capabilities of the CFD code to predict the flow separation and the extension of the recirculation regions.The proposed calculations have allowed the development of a preliminary procedure to be used as a guidance in selecting the appropriate grid configuration and corresponding turbulence model for the prediction of the flow field over a twodimensional roof architecture dominated by flow separation.

Keywords: CFD, roof, building, wind.

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6379 Experimental and Numerical Simulation of Fire in a Scaled Underground Station

Authors: Nuri Yucel, Muhammed Ilter Berberoglu, Salih Karaaslan, Nureddin Dinler

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate fire behaviors, experimentally and numerically, in a scaled version of an underground station. The effect of ventilation velocity on the fire is examined. Fire experiments are simulated by burning 10 ml isopropyl alcohol fuel in a fire pool with dimensions 5cm x 10cm x 4 mm at the center of 1/100 scaled underground station model. A commercial CFD program FLUENT was used in numerical simulations. For air flow simulations, k-ω SST turbulence model and for combustion simulation, non-premixed combustion model are used. This study showed that, the ventilation velocity is increased from 1 m/s to 3 m/s the maximum temperature in the station is found to be less for ventilation velocity of 1 m/s. The reason for these experimental result lies on the relative dominance of oxygen supply effect on cooling effect. Without piston effect, maximum temperature occurs above the fuel pool. However, when the ventilation velocity increased the flame was tilted in the direction of ventilation and the location of maximum temperature moves along the flow direction. The velocities measured experimentally in the station at different locations are well matched by the CFD simulation results. The prediction of general flow pattern is satisfactory with the smoke visualization tests. The backlayering in velocity is well predicted by CFD simulation. However, all over the station, the CFD simulations predicted higher temperatures compared to experimental measurements.

Keywords: Fire, underground station, flame propagation, CFDsimulation, k-ω SST turbulence model, non-premixed combustionmodel.

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6378 An Integrated Logistics Model of Spare Parts Maintenance Planning within the Aviation Industry

Authors: Roy Fritzsche, Rainer Lasch

Abstract:

Avoidable unscheduled maintenance events and unnecessary spare parts deliveries are mostly caused by an incorrect choice of the underlying maintenance strategy. For a faster and more efficient supply of spare parts for aircrafts of an airline we examine options for improving the underlying logistics network integrated in an existing aviation industry network. This paper presents a dynamic prediction model as decision support for maintenance method selection considering requirements of an entire flight network. The objective is to guarantee a high supply of spare parts by an optimal interaction of various network levels and thus to reduce unscheduled maintenance events and minimize total costs. By using a prognostics-based preventive maintenance strategy unscheduled component failures are avoided for an increase in availability and reliability of the entire system. The model is intended for use in an aviation company that utilizes a structured planning process based on collected failures data of components.

Keywords: Aviation industry, Prognosis, Reliability, Preventive maintenance.

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6377 Quadratic Pulse Inversion Ultrasonic Imaging(QPI): A Two-Step Procedure for Optimization of Contrast Sensitivity and Specificity

Authors: Mamoun F. Al-Mistarihi

Abstract:

We have previously introduced an ultrasonic imaging approach that combines harmonic-sensitive pulse sequences with a post-beamforming quadratic kernel derived from a second-order Volterra filter (SOVF). This approach is designed to produce images with high sensitivity to nonlinear oscillations from microbubble ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) while maintaining high levels of noise rejection. In this paper, a two-step algorithm for computing the coefficients of the quadratic kernel leading to reduction of tissue component introduced by motion, maximizing the noise rejection and increases the specificity while optimizing the sensitivity to the UCA is presented. In the first step, quadratic kernels from individual singular modes of the PI data matrix are compared in terms of their ability of maximize the contrast to tissue ratio (CTR). In the second step, quadratic kernels resulting in the highest CTR values are convolved. The imaging results indicate that a signal processing approach to this clinical challenge is feasible.

Keywords: Volterra Filter, Pulse Inversion, Ultrasonic Imaging, Contrast Agent.

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6376 Analysis of Combined Use of NN and MFCC for Speech Recognition

Authors: Safdar Tanweer, Abdul Mobin, Afshar Alam

Abstract:

The performance and analysis of speech recognition system is illustrated in this paper. An approach to recognize the English word corresponding to digit (0-9) spoken by 2 different speakers is captured in noise free environment. For feature extraction, speech Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) has been used which gives a set of feature vectors from recorded speech samples. Neural network model is used to enhance the recognition performance. Feed forward neural network with back propagation algorithm model is used. However other speech recognition techniques such as HMM, DTW exist. All experiments are carried out on Matlab.

Keywords: Speech Recognition, MFCC, Neural Network, classifier.

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6375 A Universal Approach for the Intuitive Control of Mobile Robots using an AR/VR-based Interface

Authors: Juergen Rossmann, Andre Kupetz, Roland Wischnewski

Abstract:

Mobile robots are used in a large field of scenarios, like exploring contaminated areas, repairing oil rigs under water, finding survivors in collapsed buildings, etc. Currently, there is no unified intuitive user interface (UI) to control such complex mobile robots. As a consequence, some scenarios are done without the exploitation of experience and intuition of human teleoperators. A novel framework has been developed to embed a flexible and modular UI into a complete 3-D virtual reality simulation system. This new approach wants to access maximum benefits of human operators. Sensor information received from the robot is prepared for an intuitive visualization. Virtual reality metaphors support the operator in his decisions. These metaphors are integrated into a real time stereo video stream. This approach is not restricted to any specific type of mobile robot and allows for the operation of different robot types with a consistent concept and user interface.

Keywords: 3-D simulation system, augmented reality, teleoperation of mobile robots, user interface.

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6374 Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation and Comparison of Flow through Mechanical Heart Valve Using Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluid

Authors: D. Šedivý, S. Fialová

Abstract:

The main purpose of this study is to show differences between the numerical solution of the flow through the artificial heart valve using Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid. The simulation was carried out by a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package based on finite-volume method. An aortic bileaflet heart valve (Sorin Bicarbon) was used as a pattern for model of real heart valve replacement. Computed tomography (CT) was used to gain the accurate parameters of the valve. Data from CT were transferred in the commercial 3D designer, where the model for CFD was made. Carreau rheology model was applied as non-Newtonian fluid. Physiological data of cardiac cycle were used as boundary conditions. Outputs were taken the leaflets excursion from opening to closure and the fluid dynamics through the valve. This study also includes experimental measurement of pressure fields in ambience of valve for verification numerical outputs. Results put in evidence a favorable comparison between the computational solutions of flow through the mechanical heart valve using Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid.

Keywords: Computational modeling, dynamic mesh, mechanical heart valve, non-Newtonian fluid, SDOF.

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6373 Efficient System for Speech Recognition using General Regression Neural Network

Authors: Abderrahmane Amrouche, Jean Michel Rouvaen

Abstract:

In this paper we present an efficient system for independent speaker speech recognition based on neural network approach. The proposed architecture comprises two phases: a preprocessing phase which consists in segmental normalization and features extraction and a classification phase which uses neural networks based on nonparametric density estimation namely the general regression neural network (GRNN). The relative performances of the proposed model are compared to the similar recognition systems based on the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and the well known Discrete Hidden Markov Model (HMM-VQ) that we have achieved also. Experimental results obtained with Arabic digits have shown that the use of nonparametric density estimation with an appropriate smoothing factor (spread) improves the generalization power of the neural network. The word error rate (WER) is reduced significantly over the baseline HMM method. GRNN computation is a successful alternative to the other neural network and DHMM.

Keywords: Speech Recognition, General Regression NeuralNetwork, Hidden Markov Model, Recurrent Neural Network, ArabicDigits.

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6372 Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Gas-Liquid Phase Stirred Tank

Authors: Thiyam Tamphasana Devi, Bimlesh Kumar

Abstract:

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique has been applied to simulate the gas-liquid phase in double stirred tank of Rushton impeller. Eulerian-Eulerian model was adopted to simulate the multiphase with standard correlation of Schiller and Naumann for drag co-efficient. The turbulence was modeled by using standard k-ε turbulence model. The present CFD model predicts flow pattern, local gas hold-up, and local specific area. It also predicts local kLa (mass transfer rate) for single impeller. The predicted results were compared with experimental and CFD results of published literature. The predicted results are slightly over predicted with the experimental results; however, it is in reasonable agreement with other simulated results of published literature.

Keywords: Eulerian-Eulerian, gas-hold up, gas-liquid phase, local mass transfer rate, local specific area, Rushton Impeller.

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6371 Multiclass Support Vector Machines with Simultaneous Multi-Factors Optimization for Corporate Credit Ratings

Authors: Hyunchul Ahn, William X. S. Wong

Abstract:

Corporate credit rating prediction is one of the most important topics, which has been studied by researchers in the last decade. Over the last decade, researchers are pushing the limit to enhance the exactness of the corporate credit rating prediction model by applying several data-driven tools including statistical and artificial intelligence methods. Among them, multiclass support vector machine (MSVM) has been widely applied due to its good predictability. However, heuristics, for example, parameters of a kernel function, appropriate feature and instance subset, has become the main reason for the critics on MSVM, as they have dictate the MSVM architectural variables. This study presents a hybrid MSVM model that is intended to optimize all the parameter such as feature selection, instance selection, and kernel parameter. Our model adopts genetic algorithm (GA) to simultaneously optimize multiple heterogeneous design factors of MSVM.

Keywords: Corporate credit rating prediction, feature selection, genetic algorithms, instance selection, multiclass support vector machines.

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6370 Holistic Approach to Teaching Mathematics in Secondary School as a Means of Improving Students’ Comprehension of Study Material

Authors: Natalia Podkhodova, Olga Sheremeteva, Mariia Soldaeva

Abstract:

Creating favourable conditions for students’ comprehension of mathematical content is one of the primary problems in teaching mathematics in secondary school. The fact of comprehension includes the ability to build a working situational model and thus becomes an important means of solving mathematical problems. This paper describes a holistic approach to teaching mathematics designed to address the primary challenges of such teaching; specifically, the challenge of students’ comprehension. Essentially, this approach consists of (1) establishing links between the attributes of the notion: the sense, the meaning, and the term; (2) taking into account the components of student’s subjective experience—value-based emotions, contextual, procedural and communicative—during the educational process; (3) linking together different ways to present mathematical information; (4) identifying and leveraging the relationships between real, perceptual and conceptual (scientific) mathematical spaces by applying real-life situational modelling. The article describes approaches to the practical use of these foundational concepts. Identifying how proposed methods and techniques influence understanding of material used in teaching mathematics was the primary goal. The study included an experiment in which 256 secondary school students took part: 142 in the study group and 114 in the control group. All students in these groups had similar levels of achievement in math and studied math under the same curriculum. In the course of the experiment, comprehension of two topics — “Derivative” and “Trigonometric functions”—was evaluated. Control group participants were taught using traditional methods. Students in the study group were taught using the holistic method: under teacher’s guidance, they carried out assignments designed to establish linkages between notion’s characteristics, to convert information from one mode of presentation to another, as well as assignments that required the ability to operate with all modes of presentation. Identification, accounting for and transformation of subjective experience were associated with methods of stimulating the emotional value component of the studied mathematical content (discussions of lesson titles, assignments aimed to create study dominants, performing theme-related physical exercise ...) The use of techniques that forms inter-subject notions based on linkages between, perceptual real and mathematical conceptual spaces proved to be of special interest to the students. Results of the experiment were analysed by presenting students in each of the groups with a final test in each of the studied topics. The test included assignments that required building real situational models. Statistical analysis was used to aggregate test results. Pierson criterion x2 was used to reveal statistics significance of results (pass-fail the modelling test). Significant difference of results was revealed (p < 0.001), which allowed to conclude that students in the study group showed better comprehension of mathematical information than those in the control group. The total number of completed assignments of each student was analysed as well, with average results calculated for each group. Statistical significance of result differences against the quantitative criterion (number of completed assignments) was determined using Student’s t-test, which showed that students in the study group completed significantly more assignments than those in the control group (p = 0.0001). Authors thus come to the conclusion that suggested increase in the level of comprehension of study material took place as a result of applying implemented methods and techniques.

Keywords: Comprehension of mathematical content, holistic approach to teaching mathematics in secondary school, subjective experience, technology of the formation of inter-subject notions.

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6369 Hierarchical PSO-Adaboost Based Classifiers for Fast and Robust Face Detection

Authors: Hong Pan, Yaping Zhu, Liang Zheng Xia

Abstract:

We propose a fast and robust hierarchical face detection system which finds and localizes face images with a cascade of classifiers. Three modules contribute to the efficiency of our detector. First, heterogeneous feature descriptors are exploited to enrich feature types and feature numbers for face representation. Second, a PSO-Adaboost algorithm is proposed to efficiently select discriminative features from a large pool of available features and reinforce them into the final ensemble classifier. Compared with the standard exhaustive Adaboost for feature selection, the new PSOAdaboost algorithm reduces the training time up to 20 times. Finally, a three-stage hierarchical classifier framework is developed for rapid background removal. In particular, candidate face regions are detected more quickly by using a large size window in the first stage. Nonlinear SVM classifiers are used instead of decision stump functions in the last stage to remove those remaining complex nonface patterns that can not be rejected in the previous two stages. Experimental results show our detector achieves superior performance on the CMU+MIT frontal face dataset.

Keywords: Adaboost, Face detection, Feature selection, PSO

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6368 Investigation of the Aerodynamic Characters of Ducted Fan System

Authors: Wang Bo , Guo Zheng , Wang Peng , Shan Shangqiu , Hou Zhongxi

Abstract:

This paper investigates the aerodynamic characters of a model ducted fan system, analyses the basic principle of the effect of thrust promotion and torque reduction, discovers the relationship between the revolutions per minute(RPM) of the fan and the characters of thrust, as well as system torque. Firstly a model ducted fan has been designed and manufactured according to the specific structure of flow field, then CFD simulation has been carried out to analyze such aerodynamics, finally bench tests have been used to validate the simulation results and system configuration.

Keywords: ducted fan, free vortex flow, stator blade, screw torque, thrust increase

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6367 Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Airflow inside a Car Cabin

Authors: Mokhtar Djeddou, Amine Mehel, Georges Fokoua, Anne Tanière, Patrick Chevrier

Abstract:

Commuters’ exposure to air pollution, particularly to particle matter inside vehicles, is a significant health issue. Assessing particle concentrations and characterizing their distribution is an important first step in understanding and proposing solutions to improve car cabin air quality. It is known that particle dynamics is intimately driven by particle-turbulence interactions. In order to analyze and model pollutants distribution inside car cabins, it is crucial to examine first the single-phase flow topology and its associated turbulence characteristics. Within this context, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted to model airflow inside a full-scale car cabin using Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach combined with the first order Realizable k-ε model to close the RANS equations. To assess the numerical model, a campaign of velocity field measurements at different locations in the front and back of the car cabin has been carried out using hot-wire anemometry technique. Comparison between numerical and experimental results shows a good agreement of velocity profiles. Additionally, visualization of streamlines shows the formation of jet flow developing out of the dashboard air vents and the formation of large vortex structures, particularly between the front and back-seat compartments. These vortical structures could play a key role in the accumulation and clustering of particles in a turbulent flow.

Keywords: Car cabin, CFD, hot-wire anemometry, vortical flow.

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6366 The Effect of a Three-Month Training Program on the Back Kyphosis of Former Male Addicts

Authors: M. J. Pourvaghar, Sh. Khoshemehry

Abstract:

Adopting inappropriate body posture during addiction can cause muscular and skeletal deformities. This study is aimed at investigating the effects of a program of the selected corrective exercises on the kyphosis of addicted male patients. Materials and methods: This was a quasi-experimental study. This study has been carried out using the semi-experimental method. The subjects of the present study included 104 addicted men between 25 to 45 years of age. In 2014, these men were referred to one of the NA (Narcotic Anonymous) centres in Kashan in 2015. A total of 24 people suffering from drug withdrawal, who had abnormal kyphosis, were purposefully selected as a sample. The sample was randomly divided into two groups, experimental and control; each group consisted of 12 people. The experimental group participated in a training program for 12 weeks consisting of three 60 minute sessions per week. That includes strengthening, stretching and PNF exercises (deep stretching of the muscle). The control group did no exercise or corrective activity. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assess normal distribution of data; and a paired t-test and covariance analysis test were used to assess the effectiveness of the exercises, with a significance level of P≤0.05 by using SPSS18. The results showed that three months of the selected corrective exercises had a significant effect (P≤ 0.005) on the correction of the kyphosis of the addicted male patients after three months of rehabilitation (drug withdrawal) in the experimental group, while there was no significant difference recorded in the control group (P≥0.05). The results show that exercise and corrective activities can be used as non-invasive and non-pharmacological methods to rehabilitate kyphosis abnormalities after drug withdrawal and treatment for addiction.

Keywords: Kyphosis, corrective exercises, addict, drug withdrawal.

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6365 A Medical Resource Forecasting Model for Emergency Room Patients with Acute Hepatitis

Authors: R. J. Kuo, W. C. Cheng, W. C. Lien, T. J. Yang

Abstract:

Taiwan is a hyper endemic area for the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). The estimated total number of HBsAg carriers in the general population who are more than 20 years old is more than 3 million. Therefore, a case record review is conducted from January 2003 to June 2007 for all patients with a diagnosis of acute hepatitis who were admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of a well-known teaching hospital. The cost for the use of medical resources is defined as the total medical fee. In this study, principal component analysis (PCA) is firstly employed to reduce the number of dimensions. Support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural network (ANN) are then used to develop the forecasting model. A total of 117 patients meet the inclusion criteria. 61% patients involved in this study are hepatitis B related. The computational result shows that the proposed PCA-SVR model has superior performance than other compared algorithms. In conclusion, the Child-Pugh score and echogram can both be used to predict the cost of medical resources for patients with acute hepatitis in the ED.

Keywords: Acute hepatitis, Medical resource cost, Artificial neural network, Support vector regression.

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6364 New Fuzzy Preference Relations and its Application in Group Decision Making

Authors: Nur Syibrah Muhamad Naim, Mohd Lazim Abdullah, Che Mohd Imran Che Taib, Abu OsmanMd. Tap

Abstract:

Decision making preferences to certain criteria usually focus on positive degrees without considering the negative degrees. However, in real life situation, evaluation becomes more comprehensive if negative degrees are considered concurrently. Preference is expected to be more effective when considering both positive and negative degrees of preference to evaluate the best selection. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose the conflicting bifuzzy preference relations in group decision making by utilization of a novel score function. The conflicting bifuzzy preference relation is obtained by introducing some modifications on intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations. Releasing the intuitionistic condition by taking into account positive and negative degrees simultaneously and utilizing the novel score function are the main modifications to establish the proposed preference model. The proposed model is tested with a numerical example and proved to be simple and practical. The four-step decision model shows the efficiency of obtaining preference in group decision making.

Keywords: Fuzzy preference relations, score function, conflicting bifuzzy, decision making.

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6363 Ranking DMUs by Ideal PPS in Data Envelopment Analysis

Authors: V.Rezaie, M.Khanmohammady

Abstract:

An original DEA model is to evaluate each DMU optimistically, but the interval DEA Model proposed in this paper has been formulated to obtain an efficiency interval consisting of Evaluations from both the optimistic and the pessimistic view points. DMUs are improved so that their lower bounds become so large as to attain the maximum Value one. The points obtained by this method are called ideal points. Ideal PPS is calculated by ideal of efficiency DMUs. The purpose of this paper is to rank DMUs by this ideal PPS. Finally we extend the efficiency interval of a DMU under variable RTS technology.

Keywords: Data envelopment analysis (DEA), Decision makingunit (DMU), Interval DEA, Ideal points, Ideal PPS, Return to scale(RTS).

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6362 Mechanism of Damping in Welded Structures using Finite Element Approach

Authors: B. Singh, B. K. Nanda

Abstract:

The characterization and modeling of the dynamic behavior of many built-up structures under vibration conditions is still a subject of current research. The present study emphasizes the theoretical investigation of slip damping in layered and jointed welded cantilever structures using finite element approach. Application of finite element method in damping analysis is relatively recent, as such, some problems particularly slip damping analysis has not received enough attention. To validate the finite element model developed, experiments have been conducted on a number of mild steel specimens under different initial conditions of vibration. Finite element model developed affirms that the damping capacity of such structures is influenced by a number of vital parameters such as; pressure distribution, kinematic coefficient of friction and micro-slip at the interfaces, amplitude, frequency of vibration, length and thickness of the specimen. Finite element model developed can be utilized effectively in the design of machine tools, automobiles, aerodynamic and space structures, frames and machine members for enhancing their damping capacity.

Keywords: Amplitude, finite element method, slip damping, tack welding.

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6361 Microscopic Analysis of Welded Dental Alloys

Authors: S. Porojan, L. Sandu, F. Topalâ

Abstract:

Microplasma welding is a less expensive alternative to laser welding in dental technology. The aim of the study was to highlight discontinuities present in the microplasma welded joints of dental base metal alloys by visual analysis. Five base metal alloys designated for fixed prostheses manufacture were selected for the experiments. Using these plates, preliminary tests were conducted by microplasma welding in butt joint configuration, without filler material, bilaterally and with filler material, proper for each base metal. Macroscopic visual inspection was performed to assess carefully the irregularities in the welds. Electron microscopy allowed detection of discontinuities that are not visible to the eye and revealing details regarding location, trajectory, morphology and size of discontinuities. Supplementing visual control with microscopic analysis allows to detect small discontinuities, which escapes the macroscopic control and to make a detailed study of the weld.

Keywords: base metal alloys, fixed prosthodontics, microplasmawelding, visual inspection

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6360 Finite Element Method for Calculating Temperature Field of Main Cable of Suspension Bridge

Authors: Heng Han, Zhilei Liang, Xiangong Zhou

Abstract:

In this paper, the finite element method is used to study the temperature field of the main cable of the suspension bridge, and the calculation method of the average temperature of the cross-section of the main cable suitable for the construction control of the cable system is proposed. By comparing and analyzing the temperature field of the main cable with five diameters, a reasonable diameter limit for calculating the average temperature of the cross section of the main cable by finite element method is proposed. The results show that the maximum error of this method is less than 1 ℃, which meets the requirements of construction control accuracy. For the main cable with a diameter greater than 400 mm, the surface temperature measuring points combined with the finite element method shall be used to calculate the average cross-section temperature.

Keywords: Suspension bridge, main cable, temperature field, finite element.

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6359 A Stochastic Approach of Mitochondrial Dynamics

Authors: Athanasios T. Alexiou, Maria M. Psiha, John A. Rekkas, Panayiotis M. Vlamos

Abstract:

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles, capable to interact with each other. While the number of mitochondria in a cell varies, their quality and functionality depends on the operation of fusion, fission, motility and mitophagy. Nowadays, several researches declare as an important factor in neurogenerative diseases the disruptions in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. In this paper a stochastic model in BioAmbients calculus is presented, concerning mitochondrial fusion and its distribution in the renewal of mitochondrial population in a cell. This model describes the successive and dependent stages of protein synthesis, protein-s activation and merging of two independent mitochondria.

Keywords: Mitochondrial Dynamics, P-Calculus, StochasticModeling.

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6358 Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics in the Analysis of Natural Ventilation in Buildings

Authors: A. W. J. Wong, I. H. Ibrahim

Abstract:

Increasing urbanisation has driven building designers to incorporate natural ventilation in the designs of sustainable buildings. This project utilises Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the natural ventilation of an academic building, SIT@SP, using an assessment criterion based on daily mean temperature and mean velocity. The areas of interest are the pedestrian level of first and fourth levels of the building. A reference case recommended by the Architectural Institute of Japan was used to validate the simulation model. The validated simulation model was then used for coupled simulations on SIT@SP and neighbouring geometries, under two wind speeds. Both steady and transient simulations were used to identify differences in results. Steady and transient results are agreeable with the transient simulation identifying peak velocities during flow development. Under a lower wind speed, the first level was sufficiently ventilated while the fourth level was not. The first level has excessive wind velocities in the higher wind speed and the fourth level was adequately ventilated. Fourth level flow velocity was consistently lower than those of the first level. This is attributed to either simulation model error or poor building design. SIT@SP is concluded to have a sufficiently ventilated first level and insufficiently ventilated fourth level. Future works for this project extend to modifying the urban geometry, simulation model improvements, evaluation using other assessment metrics and extending the area of interest to the entire building.

Keywords: Buildings, CFD simulation, natural ventilation, urban airflow.

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6357 Object-Oriented Cognitive-Spatial Complexity Measures

Authors: Varun Gupta, Jitender Kumar Chhabra

Abstract:

Software maintenance and mainly software comprehension pose the largest costs in the software lifecycle. In order to assess the cost of software comprehension, various complexity measures have been proposed in the literature. This paper proposes new cognitive-spatial complexity measures, which combine the impact of spatial as well as architectural aspect of the software to compute the software complexity. The spatial aspect of the software complexity is taken into account using the lexical distances (in number of lines of code) between different program elements and the architectural aspect of the software complexity is taken into consideration using the cognitive weights of control structures present in control flow of the program. The proposed measures are evaluated using standard axiomatic frameworks and then, the proposed measures are compared with the corresponding existing cognitive complexity measures as well as the spatial complexity measures for object-oriented software. This study establishes that the proposed measures are better indicators of the cognitive effort required for software comprehension than the other existing complexity measures for object-oriented software.

Keywords: cognitive complexity, software comprehension, software metrics, spatial complexity, Object-oriented software

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6356 Mass Transfer Modeling in a Packed Bed of Palm Kernels under Supercritical Conditions

Authors: I. Norhuda, A. K. Mohd Omar

Abstract:

Studies on gas solid mass transfer using Supercritical fluid CO2 (SC-CO2) in a packed bed of palm kernels was investigated at operating conditions of temperature 50 °C and 70 °C and pressures ranges from 27.6 MPa, 34.5 MPa, 41.4 MPa and 48.3 MPa. The development of mass transfer models requires knowledge of three properties: the diffusion coefficient of the solute, the viscosity and density of the Supercritical fluids (SCF). Matematical model with respect to the dimensionless number of Sherwood (Sh), Schmidt (Sc) and Reynolds (Re) was developed. It was found that the model developed was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data within the system studied.

Keywords: Mass Transfer, Palm Kernel, Supercritical fluid.

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6355 Modeling of Blood Flow Velocity into the Main Artery via Left Ventricle of Heart during Steady Condition

Authors: Mohd Azrul Hisham Mohd Adib, Nur Hazreen Mohd Hasni

Abstract:

A three-dimensional and pulsatile blood flow in the left ventricle of heart model has been studied numerically. The geometry was derived from a simple approximation of the left ventricle model and the numerical simulations were obtained using a formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. In this study, simulation was used to investigate the pattern of flow velocity in 3D model of heart with consider the left ventricle based on critical parameter of blood under steady condition. Our results demonstrate that flow velocity focused from mitral valve channel and continuous linearly to left ventricle wall but this skewness progresses into outside wall in atrium through aortic valve with random distribution that is irregular due to force subtract from ventricle wall during cardiac cycle. The findings are the prediction of the behavior of the blood flow velocity pattern in steady flow condition which can assist the medical practitioners in their decision on the patients- treatments.

Keywords: Mitral Valve, Aortic Valve, Cardiac Cycle, Leaflet, Biomechanics, Left Ventricle

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6354 Proposal for a Model of Economic Integration for the Development of Industry in Cabinda, Angola

Authors: T. H. Bitebe, T. M. Lima, F. Charrua-Santos, C. J. Matias Oliveira

Abstract:

This study aims to present a proposal for an economic integration model for the development of the manufacturing industry in Cabinda, Angola. It seeks to analyze the degree of economic integration of Cabinda and the dynamics of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, in the same way, to gather information to support the decision-making for public financing programs that will aim at the disengagement of the manufacturing industry in Angola and Cabinda in particular. The Cabinda Province is the 18th of Angola, the enclave is located in a privileged area of the African and arable land.

Keywords: Economic integration, industrial development, Cabinda industry, Angola.

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6353 Robust Steam Temperature Regulation for Distillation of Essential Oil Extraction Process using Hybrid Fuzzy-PD plus PID Controller

Authors: Nurhani Kasuan, Zakariah Yusuf, Mohd Nasir Taib, Mohd Hezri Fazalul Rahiman, Nazurah Tajuddin, Mohd Azri Abdul Aziz

Abstract:

This paper presents a hybrid fuzzy-PD plus PID (HFPP) controller and its application to steam distillation process for essential oil extraction system. Steam temperature is one of the most significant parameters that can influence the composition of essential oil yield. Due to parameter variations and changes in operation conditions during distillation, a robust steam temperature controller becomes nontrivial to avoid the degradation of essential oil quality. Initially, the PRBS input is triggered to the system and output of steam temperature is modeled using ARX model structure. The parameter estimation and tuning method is adopted by simulation using HFPP controller scheme. The effectiveness and robustness of proposed controller technique is validated by real time implementation to the system. The performance of HFPP using 25 and 49 fuzzy rules is compared. The experimental result demonstrates the proposed HFPP using 49 fuzzy rules achieves a better, consistent and robust controller compared to PID when considering the test on tracking the set point and the effects due to disturbance.

Keywords: Fuzzy Logic controller, steam temperature, steam distillation, real time control.

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6352 A Computational Stochastic Modeling Formalism for Biological Networks

Authors: Werner Sandmann, Verena Wolf

Abstract:

Stochastic models of biological networks are well established in systems biology, where the computational treatment of such models is often focused on the solution of the so-called chemical master equation via stochastic simulation algorithms. In contrast to this, the development of storage-efficient model representations that are directly suitable for computer implementation has received significantly less attention. Instead, a model is usually described in terms of a stochastic process or a "higher-level paradigm" with graphical representation such as e.g. a stochastic Petri net. A serious problem then arises due to the exponential growth of the model-s state space which is in fact a main reason for the popularity of stochastic simulation since simulation suffers less from the state space explosion than non-simulative numerical solution techniques. In this paper we present transition class models for the representation of biological network models, a compact mathematical formalism that circumvents state space explosion. Transition class models can also serve as an interface between different higher level modeling paradigms, stochastic processes and the implementation coded in a programming language. Besides, the compact model representation provides the opportunity to apply non-simulative solution techniques thereby preserving the possible use of stochastic simulation. Illustrative examples of transition class representations are given for an enzyme-catalyzed substrate conversion and a part of the bacteriophage λ lysis/lysogeny pathway.

Keywords: Computational Modeling, Biological Networks, Stochastic Models, Markov Chains, Transition Class Models.

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