Search results for: Mona F. Ahmed
129 Role of Social Capital on Consumer Attitudes, Peer Influence and Behavioral Intentions: A Social Media Perspective
Authors: Qazi Mohammed Ahmed, Osman Sadiq Paracha, Iftikhar Hussain
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The study aims to explore the unaddressed relationship between social capital and consumers’ underlying behavioral intentions. The study postulates that this association is mediated by the role of attitudes and peer influence. The research attains evidence from a usable sample of 673 responses. The majority consists of the young and energetic social media users of Pakistan that utilize virtual communities as a way of life. A variance based structural equation modeling has been applied through SmartPLS 3. The results reveal that social capital exerts a statistically supportive association with both attitudes and peer influence. Contrastingly, this predictor variable shows an insignificant linkage with behavioral intentions but this relationship is fully mediated by consumer attitudes and peer influence. The paper enhances marketing literature with respect to an unexplored society of Pakistan. It also provides a lens for the contemporary advertisers, in terms of supporting their social media campaigns with affiliative and cohesive elements. The study also identifies a series of predictor variables that could further be tested with attitudes, subjective norms and behavioral responses.Keywords: Behavioral intentions, consumer attitudes, peer influence, social capital.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 564128 Effect of Temperature on the Water Retention Capacity of Liner Materials
Authors: Ahmed M. Al-Mahbashi, Mosleh A. Al-Shamrani, Muawia Dafalla
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Mixtures of sand and clay are frequently used to serve for specific purposes in several engineering practices. In environmental engineering, liner layers and cover layers are common for controlling waste disposal facilities. These layers are exposed to moisture and temperature fluctuation specially when existing in unsaturated condition. The relationship between soil suction and water content for these materials is essential for understanding their unsaturated behavior and properties such as retention capacity and unsaturated follow (hydraulic conductivity). This study is aimed at investigating retention capacity for two sand-natural expansive clay mixtures (15% (C15) and 30% (C30) expansive clay) at two ambient temperatures within the range of 5 -50 °C. Soil water retention curves (SWRC) for these materials were determined at these two ambient temperatures using different salt solutions for a wide range of suction (up to 200MPa). The results indicate that retention capacity of C15 mixture underwent significant changes due to temperature variations. This effect tends to be less visible when the clay fraction is doubled (C30). In addition, the overall volume change is marginally affected by high temperature within the range considered in this study.
Keywords: Soil water retention curve, sand-expansive clay mixture, suction, temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 624127 Isolation and Identification of Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase Type- 2 (GAT2) Genes from Three Egyptian Olive Cultivars
Authors: Yahia I. Mohamed, Ahmed I. Marzouk, Mohamed A. Yacout
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Aim of this work was to study the genetic basis for oil accumulation in olive fruit via tracking DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) gene in three Egyptian Origen Olive cultivars namely Toffahi, Hamed and Maraki using molecular marker techniques and bioinformatics tools. Results illustrate that, firstly: specific genomic band of Maraki cultivars was identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) and identical for this gene in Olea europaea with 100% of similarity. Secondly, differential genomic band of Maraki cultivars which produced from RAPD fingerprinting technique reflected predicted distinguished sequence which identified as DGAT2 (Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type-2) in Fragaria vesca subsp. Vesca with 76% of sequential similarity. Third and finally, specific genomic specific band of Hamed cultivars was identified as two fragments, 1- Olea europaea cultivar Koroneiki diacylglycerol acyltransferase type 2 mRNA, complete cds with two matches regions with 99% or 2- Predicted: Fragaria vesca subsp. vesca diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2-like (LOC101313050), mRNA with 86 % of similarity.
Keywords: Olea europaea, fingerprinting, Diacylglycerol acyltransferase type- 2 (DGAT2).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2401126 Design and Control Strategy of Diffused Air Aeration System
Authors: Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. Ahmed, Hassen T. Dorrah
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During the past decade, pond aeration systems have been developed which will sustain large quantities of fish and invertebrate biomass. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is considered to be among the most important water quality parameters in fish culture. Fishponds in aquaculture farms are usually located in remote areas where grid lines are at far distance. Aeration of ponds is required to prevent mortality and to intensify production, especially when feeding is practical, and in warm regions. To increase pond production it is necessary to control dissolved oxygen. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are becoming useful as alternate approaches to conventional techniques or as components of integrated systems. They have been used to solve complicated practical problems in various areas and are becoming more and more popular nowadays. This paper presents a new design of diffused aeration system using fuel cell as a power source. Also fuzzy logic control Technique (FLC) is used for controlling the speed of air flow rate from the blower to air piping connected to the pond by adjusting blower speed. MATLAB SIMULINK results show high performance of fuzzy logic control (FLC).Keywords: aeration system, Fuel cell, Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, fuzzy logic control
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3502125 Electric Vehicle Market Penetration Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Policy-Making: A Case Study of United Arab Emirates
Authors: Ahmed Kiani
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The United Arab Emirates is clearly facing a multitude of challenges in curbing its greenhouse gas emissions to meet its pre-allotted framework of Kyoto protocol and COP21 targets due to its hunger for modernization, industrialization, infrastructure growth, soaring population and oil and gas activity. In this work, we focus on the bonafide zero emission electric vehicles market penetration in the country’s transport industry for emission reduction. We study the global electric vehicle market trends, the complementary battery technologies and the trends by manufacturers, emission standards across borders and prioritized advancements which will ultimately dictate the terms of future conditions for the United Arab Emirate transport industry. Based on our findings and analysis at every stage of current viability and state-of-transport-affairs, we postulate policy recommendations to local governmental entities from a supply and demand perspective covering aspects of technology, infrastructure requirements, change in power dynamics, end user incentives program, market regulators behavior and communications amongst key stakeholders.
Keywords: Electric vehicles, greenhouse gas emission reductions, market analysis, policy recommendations.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1531124 Importance of Standards in Engineering and Technology Education
Authors: Ahmed S. Khan, Amin Karim
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During the past several decades, the economy of each nation has been significantly affected by globalization and technology. Government regulations and private sector standards affect a majority of world trade. Countries have been working together to establish international standards in almost every field. As a result, workers in all sectors need to have an understanding of standards. Engineering and technology students must not only possess an understanding of engineering standards and applicable government codes, but also learn to apply them in designing, developing, testing and servicing products, processes and systems. Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) criteria for engineering and technology education require students to learn and apply standards in their class projects. This paper is a follow-up of a 2006-2009 NSF initiative awarded to IEEE to help develop tutorials and case study modules for students and encourage standards education at college campuses. It presents the findings of a faculty/institution survey conducted through various U.S.-based listservs representing the major engineering and technology disciplines. The intent of the survey was to the gauge the status of use of standards and regulations in engineering and technology coursework and to identify benchmark practices. In light of survey findings, recommendations are made to standards development organizations, industry, and academia to help enhance the use of standards in engineering and technology curricula.Keywords: Standards, regulations, ABET, IEEE, engineering and technology curricula.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2848123 Condition Monitoring in the Management of Maintenance in a Large Scale Precision CNC Machining Manufacturing Facility
Authors: N. Ahmed, A.J. Day, J.L. Victory L. Zeall, B. Young
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The manufacture of large-scale precision aerospace components using CNC requires a highly effective maintenance strategy to ensure that the required accuracy can be achieved over many hours of production. This paper reviews a strategy for a maintenance management system based on Failure Mode Avoidance, which uses advanced techniques and technologies to underpin a predictive maintenance strategy. It is shown how condition monitoring (CM) is important to predict potential failures in high precision machining facilities and achieve intelligent and integrated maintenance management. There are two distinct ways in which CM can be applied. One is to monitor key process parameters and observe trends which may indicate a gradual deterioration of accuracy in the product. The other is the use of CM techniques to monitor high status machine parameters enables trends to be observed which can be corrected before machine failure and downtime occurs. It is concluded that the key to developing a flexible and intelligent maintenance framework in any precision manufacturing operation is the ability to evaluate reliably and routinely machine tool condition using condition monitoring techniques within a framework of Failure Mode Avoidance.Keywords: Maintenance, Condition Monitoring, CNC, Machining, Accuracy, Capability, Key Process Parameters, Critical Parameters
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2215122 Comparative Study of Complexity in Streetscape Composition
Authors: Ahmed Mansouri, Naoji Matsumoto
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This research is a comparative study of complexity, as a multidimensional concept, in the context of streetscape composition in Algeria and Japan. 80 streetscapes visual arrays have been collected and then presented to 20 participants, with different cultural backgrounds, in order to be categorized and classified according to their degrees of complexity. Three analysis methods have been used in this research: cluster analysis, ranking method and Hayashi Quantification method (Method III). The results showed that complexity, disorder, irregularity and disorganization are often conflicting concepts in the urban context. Algerian daytime streetscapes seem to be balanced, ordered and regular, and Japanese daytime streetscapes seem to be unbalanced, regular and vivid. Variety, richness and irregularity with some aspects of order and organization seem to characterize Algerian night streetscapes. Japanese night streetscapes seem to be more related to balance, regularity, order and organization with some aspects of confusion and ambiguity. Complexity characterized mainly Algerian avenues with green infrastructure. Therefore, for Japanese participants, Japanese traditional night streetscapes were complex. And for foreigners, Algerian and Japanese avenues nightscapes were the most complex visual arrays.
Keywords: Streetscape, Nightscape, Complexity, Visual Array, Affordance, Cluster Analysis, Hayashi Quantification Method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2321121 Effect of Curing Conditions on Strength of Fly ash-based Self-Compacting Geopolymer Concrete
Authors: Fareed Ahmed Memon, Muhd Fadhil Nuruddin, Samuel Demie, Nasir Shafiq
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This paper reports the results of an experimental work conducted to investigate the effect of curing conditions on the compressive strength of self-compacting geopolymer concrete prepared by using fly ash as base material and combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate as alkaline activator. The experiments were conducted by varying the curing time and curing temperature in the range of 24-96 hours and 60-90°C respectively. The essential workability properties of freshly prepared Self-compacting Geopolymer concrete such as filling ability, passing ability and segregation resistance were evaluated by using Slump flow, V-funnel, L-box and J-ring test methods. The fundamental requirements of high flowability and resistance to segregation as specified by guidelines on Self-compacting Concrete by EFNARC were satisfied. Test results indicate that longer curing time and curing the concrete specimens at higher temperatures result in higher compressive strength. There was increase in compressive strength with the increase in curing time; however increase in compressive strength after 48 hours was not significant. Concrete specimens cured at 70°C produced the highest compressive strength as compared to specimens cured at 60°C, 80°C and 90°C.Keywords: Geopolymer Concrete, Self-compacting Geopolymerconcrete, Compressive strength, Curing time, Curing temperature
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5725120 The Effect of Mist Cooling on Sexual Behavior and Semen Quality of Sahiwal Bulls
Authors: Khalid Ahmed Elrabie Abdelrasoul
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The present study was carried out on Sahiwal cattle bulls maintained at the Artificial Breeding Complex, NDRI, Karnal, Hayana, India, to assess the effect of cooling using mist cooling and fanning on Sahiwal bulls in the dry hot summer season. Fourteen Sahiwal bulls were divided into two groups of seven each. Sexual behavior and semen quality traits considered were: Reaction time (RT), Dismounting time (DMT), Total time taken in mounts (TTTM), Flehmen response (FR), Erection Score (ES), Protrusion Score (PS), Intensity of thrust (ITS), Temperament Score (TS), Libido Score (LS), Semen volume, Physical appearance, Mass activity, Initial progressive motility, Non-eosinophilic spermatozoa count (NESC) and post thaw motility percent. Data were analyzed by least squares technique. Group-1 was the control, whereas group-2 (treatment group) bulls were exposed to mist cooling and fanning (thrice a day 15 min each) in the dry hot summer season. Group-2 showed significantly (p < 0.01) higher value in DMT (sec), ES, PS, ITS, LS, semen volume (ml), semen color density, mass activity, initial motility, progressive motility and live sperm.Keywords: Mist cooling, Sahiwal bulls, semen quality, sexual behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1036119 Effect of Superplasticizer and NaOH Molarity on Workability, Compressive Strength and Microstructure Properties of Self-Compacting Geopolymer Concrete
Authors: M. Fadhil Nuruddin, Samuel Demie, M. Fareed Ahmed, Nasir Shafiq
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The research investigates the effects of super plasticizer and molarity of sodium hydroxide alkaline solution on the workability, microstructure and compressive strength of self compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC). SCGC is an improved way of concreting execution that does not require compaction and is made by complete elimination of ordinary Portland cement content. The parameters studied were superplasticizer (SP) dosage and molarity of NaOH solution. SCGC were synthesized from low calcium fly ash, activated by combinations of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions, and by incorporation of superplasticizer for self compactability. The workability properties such as filling ability, passing ability and resistance to segregation were assessed using slump flow, T-50, V-funnel, L-Box and J-ring test methods. It was found that the essential workability requirements for self compactability according to EFNARC were satisfied. Results showed that the workability and compressive strength improved with the increase in superplasticizer dosage. An increase in strength and a decrease in workability of these concrete samples were observed with the increase in molarity of NaOH solution from 8M to 14M. Improvement of interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and micro structure with the increase of SP and increase of concentration from 8M to 12M were also identified.
Keywords: Compressive strength, Fly ash, Geopolymer concrete, Workability
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4701118 Evaluation of Medication Administration Process in a Paediatric Ward
Authors: Zayed N. Alsulami, Asma F. Aldosseri, Ahmed S. Ezziden, Abdulrahman K. Alonazi
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Children are more susceptible to medication errors than adults. Medication administration process is the last stage in the medication treatment process and most of the errors detected in this stage. Little research has been undertaken about medication errors in children in the Middle East countries. This study was aimed to evaluate how the paediatric nurses adhere to the medication administration policy and also to identify any medication preparation and administration errors or any risk factors. An observational, prospective study of medication administration process from when the nurses preparing patient medication until administration stage (May to August 2014) was conducted in Saudi Arabia. Twelve paediatric nurses serving 90 paediatric patients were observed. 456 drug administered doses were evaluated. Adherence rate was variable in 7 steps out of 16 steps. Patient allergy information, dose calculation, drug expiry date were the steps in medication administration with lowest adherence rates. 63 medication preparation and administration errors were identified with error rate 13.8% of medication administrations. No potentially life-threating errors were witnessed. Few logistic and administrative factors were reported. The results showed that the medication administration policy and procedure need an urgent revision to be more sensible for nurses in practice. Nurses’ knowledge and skills regarding to the medication administration process should be improved.
Keywords: Double checking, Medication administration errors, Medication safety, Nurses.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2806117 Experimental and Semi-Analytical Investigation of Wave Interaction with Double Vertical Slotted Walls
Authors: H. Ahmed, A. Schlenkhoff, R. Rousta, R. Abdelaziz
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Vertical slotted walls can be used as permeable breakwaters to provide economical and environmental protection from undesirable waves and currents inside the port. The permeable breakwaters are partially protection and have been suggested to overcome the environmental disadvantages of fully protection breakwaters. For regular waves a semi-analytical model is based on an eigenfunction expansion method and utilizes a boundary condition at the surface of each wall are developed to detect the energy dissipation through the slots. Extensive laboratory tests are carried out to validate the semi-analytic models. The structure of the physical model contains two walls and it consists of impermeable upper and lower part, where the draft is based a decimal multiple of the total depth. The middle part is permeable with a porosity of 50%. The second barrier is located at a distant of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 times of the water depth from the first one. A comparison of the theoretical results with previous studies and experimental measurements of the present study show a good agreement and that, the semi-analytical model is able to adequately reproduce most the important features of the experiment.
Keywords: Permeable breakwater, double vertical slotted walls, semi-analytical model, transmission coefficient, reflection coefficient, energy dissipation coefficient.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2049116 Ab initio Study of Co2ZrGe and Co2NbB Full Heusler Compounds
Authors: Abada Ahmed, Hiadsi Said, Ouahrani Tarik, Amrani Bouhalouane, Amara Kadda
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Using the first-principles full-potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital (FP-LAPW+lo) method based on density functional theory (DFT), we have investigated the electronic structure and magnetism of full Heusler alloys Co2ZrGe and Co2NbB. These compounds are predicted to be half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) with a total magnetic moment of 2.000 B per formula unit, well consistent with the Slater-Pauling rule. Calculations show that both the alloys have an indirect band gaps, in the minority-spin channel of density of states (DOS), with values of 0.58 eV and 0.47 eV for Co2ZrGe and Co2NbB, respectively. Analysis of the DOS and magnetic moments indicates that their magnetism is mainly related to the d-d hybridization between the Co and Zr (or Nb) atoms. The half-metallicity is found to be relatively robust against volume changes. In addition, an atom inside molecule AIM formalism and an electron localization function ELF were also adopted to study the bonding properties of these compounds, building a bridge between their electronic and bonding behavior. As they have a good crystallographic compatibility with the lattice of semiconductors used industrially and negative calculated cohesive energies with considerable absolute values these two alloys could be promising magnetic materials in the spintronic field.
Keywords: Electronic properties, full Heusler alloys, halfmetallic ferromagnets, magnetic properties.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2494115 Modeling and Control of Direct Driven PMSG for Ultra Large Wind Turbines
Authors: Ahmed M. Hemeida, Wael A. Farag, Osama A. Mahgoub
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This paper focuses on developing an integrated reliable and sophisticated model for ultra large wind turbines And to study the performance and analysis of vector control on large wind turbines. With the advance of power electronics technology, direct driven multi-pole radial flux PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) has proven to be a good choice for wind turbines manufacturers. To study the wind energy conversion systems, it is important to develop a wind turbine simulator that is able to produce realistic and validated conditions that occur in real ultra MW wind turbines. Three different packages are used to simulate this model, namely, Turbsim, FAST and Simulink. Turbsim is a Full field wind simulator developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The wind turbine mechanical parts are modeled by FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures and Turbulence) code which is also developed by NREL. Simulink is used to model the PMSG, full scale back to back IGBT converters, and the grid.Keywords: FAST, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator(PMSG), TurbSim, Vector Control and Pitch Control
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5582114 Sexual Behaviors and Condom Attitude among Injecting Drug Users in Hai Phong, Vietnam: Qualitative Findings
Authors: Tanvir Ahmed, Thanh N. Long, Phan T. Huong, Donald E. Stewart
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This paper presents views on condom use and the contexts of safe and unsafe sexual practices with different sexual partners and their relationships among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Fifteen IDUs participated and two local interviewers conducted qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews in September-October, 2012 in Vietnamese language. Data were analyzed thematically. Non-protective condom attitudes include negotiate or convince Female Sex Workers (FSW); not realizing risk, importance or necessity; partner doesn’t like, and having extra money/drug from clients. On the other hand, self-awareness, family-consciousness, suspicion of STI presence, fear of getting HIV, and client negotiation sometimes resulted in a safe-sex practice. A thematic diagram was developed to present the relationship (strong/weak) between condom attitude and sexual practice (safe/unsafe) by partner types. The experiences and views reflected in the qualitative information emphasize the heightened need for safe-sex education especially among young IDUs (male/female) highlighting sexual transmission risk.
Keywords: AIDS, HIV, injecting drug user, risk behaviors, Vietnam.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1852113 SIFT Accordion: A Space-Time Descriptor Applied to Human Action Recognition
Authors: Olfa.Ben Ahmed, Mahmoud. Mejdoub, Chokri. Ben Amar
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Recognizing human action from videos is an active field of research in computer vision and pattern recognition. Human activity recognition has many potential applications such as video surveillance, human machine interaction, sport videos retrieval and robot navigation. Actually, local descriptors and bag of visuals words models achieve state-of-the-art performance for human action recognition. The main challenge in features description is how to represent efficiently the local motion information. Most of the previous works focus on the extension of 2D local descriptors on 3D ones to describe local information around every interest point. In this paper, we propose a new spatio-temporal descriptor based on a spacetime description of moving points. Our description is focused on an Accordion representation of video which is well-suited to recognize human action from 2D local descriptors without the need to 3D extensions. We use the bag of words approach to represent videos. We quantify 2D local descriptor describing both temporal and spatial features with a good compromise between computational complexity and action recognition rates. We have reached impressive results on publicly available action data setKeywords: Accordion, Bag of Features, Human action, Motion, Moving point, Space-Time Descriptor, SIFT, Video.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2096112 Automatic Visualization Pipeline Formation for Medical Datasets on Grid Computing Environment
Authors: Aboamama Atahar Ahmed, Muhammad Shafie Abd Latiff, Kamalrulnizam Abu Bakar, Zainul AhmadRajion
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Distance visualization of large datasets often takes the direction of remote viewing and zooming techniques of stored static images. However, the continuous increase in the size of datasets and visualization operation causes insufficient performance with traditional desktop computers. Additionally, the visualization techniques such as Isosurface depend on the available resources of the running machine and the size of datasets. Moreover, the continuous demand for powerful computing powers and continuous increase in the size of datasets results an urgent need for a grid computing infrastructure. However, some issues arise in current grid such as resources availability at the client machines which are not sufficient enough to process large datasets. On top of that, different output devices and different network bandwidth between the visualization pipeline components often result output suitable for one machine and not suitable for another. In this paper we investigate how the grid services could be used to support remote visualization of large datasets and to break the constraint of physical co-location of the resources by applying the grid computing technologies. We show our grid enabled architecture to visualize large medical datasets (circa 5 million polygons) for remote interactive visualization on modest resources clients.
Keywords: Visualization, Grid computing, Medical datasets, visualization techniques, thin clients, Globus toolkit, VTK.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1742111 Effect of Silica Fume on the Properties of Steel-Fiber Reinforced Self-compacting Concrete
Authors: Ahmed Fathi Mohamed, Nasir Shafiq, M. F. Nuruddin, Ali Elheber
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Implementing significant advantages in the supply of self-compacting concrete (SCC) is necessary because of the, negative features of SCC. Examples of these features are the ductility problem along with the very high cost of its constituted materials. Silica fume with steel fiber can fix this matter by improving the ductility and decreasing the total cost of SCC by varying the cement ingredients. Many different researchers have found that there have not been enough research carried out on the steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) produced with silica fume. This paper inspects both the fresh and the mechanical properties of SFRSCC with silica fume, the fresh qualities where slump flow, slump T50 and V- funnel. While, the mechanical characteristics were the compressive strength, ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) and elastic modulus of the concrete samples. The experimental results have proven that steel fiber can enhance the mechanical features. In addition, the silica fume within the entire hybrid mix may possibly adapt the fiber dispersion and strengthen deficits due to the fibers. It could also improve the strength plus the bond between the fiber and the matrix with a dense calcium silicate-hydrate gel in SFRSCC. The concluded result was predicted using linear mathematical models and was found to be in great agreement with the experimental results.
Keywords: Self-compacting concrete, silica fume, steel fiber, fresh and mechanical properties.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3258110 Design of a Cost Effective Off-Grid Wind-Diesel Hybrid Power System in an Island of Bangladesh
Authors: Nahid-Al-Masood, Rifat Mirza, Jubaer Ahmed, Amina Hasan Abedin, S.R. Deeba, Faeza Hafiz, Mahmuda Begum, A. Hasib Chowdhury
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Bangladesh is a developing country with large population. Demand of electrical energy is increasing day by day because of increasing population and industrialization. But due to limited resources, people here are suffering from power crisis problem which is considered as a major obstacle to the economic development. In most of the cases, it is extremely difficult to extend high tension transmission lines to some of the places that are separated from the mainland. Renewable energy is considered to be the right choice for providing clean energy to these remote settlements. This paper proposes a cost effective design of off-grid wind-diesel hybrid power system using combined heat and power (CHP) technology in a grid isolated island, Sandwip, Bangladesh. Design and simulation of the wind-diesel hybrid power system is performed considering different factors for the island Sandwip. Detailed economic analysis and comparison with solar PV system clearly reveals that wind-diesel hybrid power system can be a cost effective solution for the isolated island like Sandwip.Keywords: renewable energy, off-grid, wind-diesel hybrid system, CHP technology, economic analysis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2944109 Enhanced Method of Conceptual Sizing of Aircraft Electro-Thermal De-icing System
Authors: Ahmed Shinkafi, Craig Lawson
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There is a great advancement towards the All-Electric Aircraft (AEA) technology. The AEA concept assumes that all aircraft systems will be integrated into one electrical power source in the future. The principle of the electro-thermal system is to transfer the energy required for anti/de-icing to the protected areas in electrical form. However, powering a large aircraft anti-icing system electrically could be quite excessive in cost and system weight. Hence, maximising the anti/de-icing efficiency of the electro-thermal system in order to minimise its power demand has become crucial to electro-thermal de-icing system sizing. In this work, an enhanced methodology has been developed for conceptual sizing of aircraft electro-thermal de-icing System. The work factored those critical terms overlooked in previous studies which were critical to de-icing energy consumption. A case study of a typical large aircraft wing de-icing was used to test and validate the model. The model was used to optimise the system performance by a trade-off between the de-icing peak power and system energy consumption. The optimum melting surface temperatures and energy flux predicted enabled the reduction in the power required for de-icing. The weight penalty associated with electro-thermal anti-icing/de-icing method could be eliminated using this method without under estimating the de-icing power requirement.
Keywords: Aircraft de-icing system, electro-thermal, in-flight icing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4596108 A Fuzzy Logic Based Model to Predict Surface Roughness of A Machined Surface in Glass Milling Operation Using CBN Grinding Tool
Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, M. Sayuti, M. Hamdi
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Nowadays, the demand for high product quality focuses extensive attention to the quality of machined surface. The (CNC) milling machine facilities provides a wide variety of parameters set-up, making the machining process on the glass excellent in manufacturing complicated special products compared to other machining processes. However, the application of grinding process on the CNC milling machine could be an ideal solution to improve the product quality, but adopting the right machining parameters is required. In glass milling operation, several machining parameters are considered to be significant in affecting surface roughness. These parameters include the lubrication pressure, spindle speed, feed rate and depth of cut. In this research work, a fuzzy logic model is offered to predict the surface roughness of a machined surface in glass milling operation using CBN grinding tool. Four membership functions are allocated to be connected with each input of the model. The predicted results achieved via fuzzy logic model are compared to the experimental result. The result demonstrated settlement between the fuzzy model and experimental results with the 93.103% accuracy.Keywords: CNC-machine, Glass milling, Grinding, Surface roughness, Cutting force, Fuzzy logic model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2641107 An Improved Algorithm for Channel Estimations of OFDM System based Pilot Signal
Authors: Ahmed N. H. Alnuaimy, Mahamod Ismail, Mohd. A. M. Ali, Kasmiran Jumari, Ayman A. El-Saleh
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This paper presents a new algorithm for the channel estimation of the OFDM system based on a pilot signal for the new generation of high data rate communication systems. In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems over fast-varying fading channels, channel estimation and tracking is generally carried out by transmitting known pilot symbols in given positions of the frequency-time grid. In this paper, we propose to derive an improved algorithm based on the calculation of the mean and the variance of the adjacent pilot signals for a specific distribution of the pilot signals in the OFDM frequency-time grid then calculating of the entire unknown channel coefficients from the equation of the mean and the variance. Simulation results shows that the performance of the OFDM system increase as the length of the channel increase where the accuracy of the estimated channel will be increased using this low complexity algorithm, also the number of the pilot signal needed to be inserted in the OFDM signal will be reduced which lead to increase in the throughput of the signal over the OFDM system in compared with other type of the distribution such as Comb type and Block type channel estimation.
Keywords: Channel estimation, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM), comb type channel estimation, block typechannel estimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1401106 Integration of Seismic and Seismological Data Interpretation for Subsurface Structure Identification
Authors: Iftikhar Ahmed Satti, Wan Ismail Wan Yusoff
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The structural interpretation of a part of eastern Potwar (Missa Keswal) has been carried out with available seismological, seismic and well data. Seismological data contains both the source parameters and fault plane solution (FPS) parameters and seismic data contains ten seismic lines that were re-interpreted by using well data. Structural interpretation depicts two broad types of fault sets namely, thrust and back thrust faults. These faults together give rise to pop up structures in the study area and also responsible for many structural traps and seismicity. Seismic interpretation includes time and depth contour maps of Chorgali Formation while seismological interpretation includes focal mechanism solution (FMS), depth, frequency, magnitude bar graphs and renewal of Seismotectonic map. The Focal Mechanism Solutions (FMS) that surrounds the study area are correlated with the different geological and structural maps of the area for the determination of the nature of subsurface faults. Results of structural interpretation from both seismic and seismological data show good correlation. It is hoped that the present work will help in better understanding of the variations in the subsurface structure and can be a useful tool for earthquake prediction, planning of oil field and reservoir monitoring.Keywords: Focal mechanism solution (FMS), Fault plane solution (FPS), Reservoir monitoring, earthquake prediction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2464105 Optimization and Feasibility Analysis of PV/Wind/ Battery Hybrid Energy Conversion
Authors: Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. Ahmed, Hassen T. Dorrah
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In this paper, the optimum design for renewable energy system powered an aquaculture pond was determined. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software program, which is developed by U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is used for analyzing the feasibility of the stand alone and hybrid system in this study. HOMER program determines whether renewable energy resources satisfy hourly electric demand or not. The program calculates energy balance for every 8760 hours in a year to simulate operation of the system. This optimization compares the demand for the electrical energy for each hour of the year with the energy supplied by the system for that hour and calculates the relevant energy flow for each component in the model. The essential principle is to minimize the total system cost while HOMER ensures control of the system. Moreover the feasibility analysis of the energy system is also studied. Wind speed, solar irradiance, interest rate and capacity shortage are the parameters which are taken into consideration. The simulation results indicate that the hybrid system is the best choice in this study, yielding lower net present cost. Thus, it provides higher system performance than PV or wind stand alone systems.
Keywords: Wind stand-alone system, Photovoltaic stand-alone system, Hybrid system, Optimum system sizing, feasibility, Cost analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2103104 Large Eddy Simulation of Compartment Fire with Gas Combustible
Authors: Mliki Bouchmel, Abbassi Mohamed Ammar, Kamel Geudri, Chrigui Mouldi, Omri Ahmed
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The objective of this work is to use the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to investigate the behavior of a kerosene small-scale fire. FDS is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool developed specifically for fire applications. Throughout its development, FDS is used for the resolution of practical problems in fire protection engineering. At the same time FDS is used to study fundamental fire dynamics and combustion. Predictions are based on Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with a Smagorinsky turbulence model. LES directly computes the large-scale eddies and the sub-grid scale dissipative processes are modeled. This technique is the default turbulence model which was used in this study. The validation of the numerical prediction is done using a direct comparison of combustion output variables to experimental measurements. Effect of the mesh size on the temperature evolutions is investigated and optimum grid size is suggested. Effect of width openings is investigated. Temperature distribution and species flow are presented for different operating conditions. The effect of the composition of the used fuel on atmospheric pollution is also a focus point within this work. Good predictions are obtained where the size of the computational cells within the fire compartment is less than 1/10th of the characteristic fire diameter.
Keywords: Large eddy simulation, Radiation, Turbulence, combustion, pollution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2168103 Selective Harmonic Elimination of PWM AC/AC Voltage Controller Using Hybrid RGA-PS Approach
Authors: A. K. Al-Othman, Nabil A. Ahmed, A. M. Al-Kandari, H. K. Ebraheem
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Selective harmonic elimination-pulse width modulation techniques offer a tight control of the harmonic spectrum of a given voltage waveform generated by a power electronic converter along with a low number of switching transitions. Traditional optimization methods suffer from various drawbacks, such as prolonged and tedious computational steps and convergence to local optima; thus, the more the number of harmonics to be eliminated, the larger the computational complexity and time. This paper presents a novel method for output voltage harmonic elimination and voltage control of PWM AC/AC voltage converters using the principle of hybrid Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm-Pattern Search (RGA-PS) method. RGA is the primary optimizer exploiting its global search capabilities, PS is then employed to fine tune the best solution provided by RGA in each evolution. The proposed method enables linear control of the fundamental component of the output voltage and complete elimination of its harmonic contents up to a specified order. Theoretical studies have been carried out to show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method of selective harmonic elimination. Theoretical results are validated through simulation studies using PSIM software package.Keywords: PWM, AC/AC voltage converters, selectiveharmonic elimination, direct search method, pattern search method, Real-coded Genetic algorithms, evolutionary algorithms andoptimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3307102 Physicochemistry of Pozzolanic Stabilization of a Class A-2-7 Lateritic Soil
Authors: Ahmed O. Apampa, Yinusa A. Jimoh
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The paper examines the mechanism of pozzolan-soil reactions, using a recent study on the chemical stabilization of a Class A-2-7 (3) lateritic soil, with corn cob ash (CCA) as case study. The objectives are to establish a nexus between cation exchange capacity of the soil, the alkaline forming compounds in CCA and percentage CCA addition to soil beyond which no more improvement in strength properties can be achieved; and to propose feasible chemical reactions to explain the chemical stabilization of the lateritic soil with CCA alone. The lateritic soil, as well as CCA of pozzolanic quality Class C were separately analysed for their metallic oxide composition using the X-Ray Fluorescence technique. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil and the CCA were computed theoretically using the percentage composition of the base cations Ca2+, Mg2+ K+ and Na2+ as 1.48 meq/100 g and 61.67 meq/100 g respectively, thus indicating a ratio of 0.024 or 2.4%. This figure, taken as the theoretical amount required to just fill up the exchangeable sites of the clay molecules, compares well with the laboratory observation of 1.5% for the optimum level of CCA addition to lateritic soil. The paper went on to present chemical reaction equations between the alkaline earth metals in the CCA and the silica in the lateritic soil to form silicates, thereby proposing an extension of the theory of mechanism of soil stabilization to cover chemical stabilization with pozzolanic ash only. The paper concluded by recommending further research on the molecular structure of soils stabilized with pozzolanic waste ash alone, with a view to confirming the chemical equations advanced in the study.Keywords: Cation exchange capacity, corn cob ash, lateritic soil, soil stabilization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1327101 Comparison of Automated Zone Design Census Output Areas with Existing Output Areas in South Africa
Authors: T. Mokhele, O. Mutanga, F. Ahmed
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South Africa is one of the few countries that have stopped using the same Enumeration Areas (EAs) for census enumeration and dissemination. The advantage of this change is that confidentiality issue could be addressed for census dissemination as the design of geographic unit for collection is mainly to ensure that this unit is covered by one enumerator. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the performance of automated zone design output areas against non-zone design developed geographies using the 2001 census data, and 2011 census to some extent, as the main input. The comparison of the Automated Zone-design Tool (AZTool) census output areas with the Small Area Layers (SALs) and SubPlaces based on confidentiality limit, population distribution, and degree of homogeneity, as well as shape compactness, was undertaken. Further, SPSS was employed for validation of the AZTool output results. The results showed that AZTool developed output areas out-perform the existing official SAL and SubPlaces with regard to minimum population threshold, population distribution and to some extent to homogeneity. Therefore, it was concluded that AZTool program provides a new alternative to the creation of optimised census output areas for dissemination of population census data in South Africa.Keywords: AZTool, enumeration areas, small areal layers, South Africa.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 739100 Modular Harmonic Cancellation in a Multiplier High Voltage Direct Current Generator
Authors: Ahmad Zahran, Ahmed Herzallah, Ahmad Ahmad, Mahran Quraan
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Generation of high DC voltages is necessary for testing the insulation material of high voltage AC transmission lines with long lengths. The harmonic and ripple contents of the output DC voltage supplied by high voltage DC circuits require the use of costly capacitors to smooth the output voltage after rectification. This paper proposes a new modular multiplier high voltage DC generator with embedded Cockcroft-Walton circuits that achieve a negligible harmonic and ripple contents of the output DC voltage without the need for costly filters to produce a nearly constant output voltage. In this new topology, Cockcroft-Walton modules are connected in series to produce a high DC output voltage. The modules are supplied by low input AC voltage sources that have the same magnitude and frequency and shifted from each other by a certain angle to eliminate the harmonics from the output voltage. The small ripple factor is provided by the smoothing column capacitors and the phase shifted input voltages of the cascaded modules. The constituent harmonics within each module are determined using Fourier analysis. The viability of the proposed DC generator for testing purposes and the effectiveness of the cascaded connection are confirmed by numerical simulations using MATLAB/Simulink.
Keywords: Cockcroft-Walton circuit, Harmonics, Ripple factor, HVDC generator.
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