Search results for: minimal change

Authors: Husam Kaid, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmari, Zhiwu Li

Abstract:

This paper develops a robust deadlock control technique for shared and unreliable resources in automated manufacturing systems (AMSs) based on structural analysis and colored Petri nets, which consists of three steps. The first step involves using strict minimal siphon control to create a live (deadlock-free) system that does not consider resource failure. The second step uses an approach based on colored Petri net, in which all monitors designed in the first step are merged into a single monitor. The third step addresses the deadlock control problems caused by resource failures. For all resource failures in the Petri net model a common recovery subnet based on colored petri net is proposed. The common recovery subnet is added to the obtained system at the second step to make the system reliable. The proposed approach is evaluated using an AMS from the literature. The results show that the proposed approach can be applied to an unreliable complex Petri net model, has a simpler structure and less computational complexity, and can obtain one common recovery subnet to model all resource failures.

Keywords: Automated manufacturing system, colored Petri net, deadlock, siphon.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 448

Authors: Fabian Horn, Reinhard Guthke

Abstract:

In molecular biology, microarray technology is widely and successfully utilized to efficiently measure gene activity. If working with less studied organisms, methods to design custom-made microarray probes are available. One design criterion is to select probes with minimal melting temperature variances thus ensuring similar hybridization properties. If the microarray application focuses on the investigation of metabolic pathways, it is not necessary to cover the whole genome. It is more efficient to cover each metabolic pathway with a limited number of genes. Firstly, an approach is presented which minimizes the overall melting temperature variance of selected probes for all genes of interest. Secondly, the approach is extended to include the additional constraints of covering all pathways with a limited number of genes while minimizing the overall variance. The new optimization problem is solved by a bottom-up programming approach which reduces the complexity to make it computationally feasible. The new method is exemplary applied for the selection of microarray probes in order to cover all fungal secondary metabolite gene clusters for Aspergillus terreus.

Keywords: bottom-up approach, gene clusters, melting temperature, metabolic pathway, microarray probe design, probe selection

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1542

Authors: Kerstin Grunden, Ann Svensson, Berit Forsman, Christina Karlsson, Ayman Obeid

Abstract:

The research question of the article is to explore whether the dialogue meetings method could be relevant for reflective learning among researchers and practitioners when welfare technology should be implemented in municipalities, or not. A testbed was planned to be implemented in a retirement home in a Swedish municipality, and the practitioners worked with a pre-study of that testbed. In the article, the dialogue between the researchers and the practitioners in the dialogue meetings is described and analyzed. The potential of dialogue meetings as an arena for learning and reflection among researchers and practitioners is discussed. The research methodology approach is participatory action research with mixed methods (dialogue meetings, focus groups, participant observations). The main findings from the dialogue meetings were that the researchers learned more about the use of traditional research methods, and the practitioners learned more about how they could improve their use of the methods to facilitate change processes in their organization. These findings have the potential both for the researchers and the practitioners to result in more relevant use of research methods in change processes in organizations. It is concluded that dialogue meetings could be relevant for reflective learning among researchers and practitioners when welfare technology should be implemented in a health care organization.

Keywords: Dialogue meetings, implementation, reflection, test bed, welfare technology, participatory action research.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 440

Authors: K. M. Mohamed Muneer, Raghu V. Prakash, Krishnan Balasubramaniam

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of thermo-mechanical characterization of Glass/Epoxy composite specimens using Infrared Thermography technique. The specimens used for the study were fabricated in-house with three different lay-up sequences and tested on a servo hydraulic machine under uni-axial loading. Infrared Camera was used for on-line monitoring surface temperature changes of composite specimens during tensile deformation. Experimental results showed that thermomechanical characteristics of each type of specimens were distinct. Temperature was found to be decreasing linearly with increasing tensile stress in the elastic region due to thermo-elastic effect. Yield point could be observed by monitoring the change in temperature profile during tensile testing and this value could be correlated with the results obtained from stress-strain response. The extent of prior plastic deformation in the post-yield region influenced the slopes of temperature response during tensile loading. Partial unloading and reloading of specimens post-yield results in change in slope in elastic and plastic regions of composite specimens.

Keywords: Glass/Epoxy composites, Thermomechanical behavior, Infrared Thermography, Thermoelastic slope, Thermoplastic slope.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2044

Authors: Julia Terlet, Thomas H. Beach, Yacine Rezgui

Abstract:

Urbanization, population growth, climate change and the current increase in water demand have made the adoption of innovative demand management strategies crucial to the water industry. Water conservation in urban areas has to be improved by encouraging consumers to adopt more sustainable habits and behaviours. This includes informing and educating them about their households’ water consumption and advising them about ways to achieve significant savings on a daily basis. This paper presents a study conducted in the context of the European FP7 WISDOM Project. By integrating innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks, this project aims at achieving a change in water savings. More specifically, behavioural change will be attempted by implementing smart meters and in-home displays in a trial group of selected households within Cardiff (UK). Using this device, consumers will be able to receive feedback and information about their consumption but will also have the opportunity to compare their consumption to the consumption of other consumers and similar households. Following an initial survey, it appeared necessary to implement these in-home displays in a way that matches consumer's motivations to save water. The results demonstrated the importance of various factors influencing people’s daily water consumption. Both the relevant literature on the subject and the results of our survey therefore led us to include within the in-home device a variety of elements. It first appeared crucial to make consumers aware of the economic aspect of water conservation and especially of the significant financial savings that can be achieved by reducing their household’s water consumption on the long term. Likewise, reminding participants of the impact of their consumption on the environment by making them more aware of water scarcity issues around the world will help increasing their motivation to save water. Additionally, peer pressure and social comparisons with neighbours and other consumers, accentuated by the use of online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, will likely encourage consumers to reduce their consumption. Participants will also be able to compare their current consumption to their past consumption and to observe the consequences of their efforts to save water through diverse graphs and charts. Finally, including a virtual water game within the display will help the whole household, children and adults, to achieve significant reductions by providing them with simple tips and advice to save water on a daily basis. Moreover, by setting daily and weekly goals for them to reach, the game will expectantly generate cooperation between family members. Members of each household will indeed be encouraged to work together to reduce their water consumption within different rooms of the house, such as the bathroom, the kitchen, or the toilets. Overall, this study will allow us to understand the elements that attract consumers the most and the features that are most commonly used by the participants. In this way, we intend to determine the main factors influencing water consumption in order to identify the measures that will most encourage water conservation in both the long and short term.

Keywords: Behavioural change, ICT technologies, water consumption, water conservation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1563

Authors: Markus Kaiser, Johannes Buchmann

Abstract:

In this article, a formal specification and verification of the Rabin public-key scheme in a formal proof system is presented. The idea is to use the two views of cryptographic verification: the computational approach relying on the vocabulary of probability theory and complexity theory and the formal approach based on ideas and techniques from logic and programming languages. A major objective of this article is the presentation of the first computer-proved implementation of the Rabin public-key scheme in Isabelle/HOL. Moreover, we explicate a (computer-proven) formalization of correctness as well as a computer verification of security properties using a straight-forward computation model in Isabelle/HOL. The analysis uses a given database to prove formal properties of our implemented functions with computer support. The main task in designing a practical formalization of correctness as well as efficient computer proofs of security properties is to cope with the complexity of cryptographic proving. We reduce this complexity by exploring a light-weight formalization that enables both appropriate formal definitions as well as efficient formal proofs. Consequently, we get reliable proofs with a minimal error rate augmenting the used database, what provides a formal basis for more computer proof constructions in this area.

Keywords: public-key encryption, Rabin public-key scheme, formalproof system, higher-order logic, formal verification.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1522

Authors: Izaz Ahmad, Farhatullah, Shahbaz Ali, Farhad Ali, Faiza, Hazrat Junaid, Farhan Zaid

Abstract:

Current trends in remote health monitoring to monetize on the Internet of Things applications have been raised in efficient and interference free communications in Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) scenario. Co-existence interference in WBANs have aggravates the over-congested radio bands, thereby requiring efficient Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) strategies and improve interference management. Existing solutions utilize simplistic heuristics to approach interference problems. The scope of this research article is to investigate reinforcement learning for efficient interference management under co-existing scenarios with an emphasis on homogenous interferences. The aim of this paper is to suggest a smart CSMA/CA mechanism based on reinforcement learning called QIM-MAC that effectively uses sense slots with minimal interference. Simulation results are analyzed based on scenarios which show that the proposed approach maximized Average Network Throughput and Packet Delivery Ratio and minimized Packet Loss Ratio, Energy Consumption and Average Delay.

Keywords: WBAN, IEEE 802.15.4 Standard, CAP Super-frame, Q-Learning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 614

Authors: Miloš Marjanović, Jaroslav Burian, Ja kub Miřijovský, Jan Harbula

Abstract:

This paper regards the phenomena of intensive suburbanization and urbanization in Olomouc city and in Olomouc region in general for the period of 1986–2009. A Remote Sensing approach that involves tracking of changes in Land Cover units is proposed to quantify the urbanization state and trends in temporal and spatial aspects. It actually consisted of two approaches, Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 which implied two different image classification solutions in order to provide Land Cover maps for each 1986–2009 time split available in the Landsat image set. Experiment 1 dealt with the unsupervised classification, while Experiment 2 involved semi- supervised classification, using a combination of object-based and pixel-based classifiers. The resulting Land Cover maps were subsequently quantified for the proportion of urban area unit and its trend through time, and also for the urban area unit stability, yielding the relation of spatial and temporal development of the urban area unit. Some outcomes seem promising but there is indisputably room for improvements of source data and also processing and filtering.

Keywords: Change detection, image classification, land cover, Landsat images, Olomouc city, urbanization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1808

Authors: Jonmichael A. Weaver, David A. Miller

Abstract:

Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) presents several distinct advantages as a material with a high strength to weight ratio, durability, and neutron stability. Understanding the change in the mechanical performance of UHMWPE due to environmental exposure is key to safety for future applications. Dyneema® HB-210, a 15 µm diameter UHMWPE multi-filament fiber laid up in a polyurethane matrix in [0/ 90]2, with a thickness of 0.17 mm is compared to the same fiber and orientation system, HB-212, with a rubber-based matrix under UV aging conditions. UV aging tests according to ASTM-G154 were performed on both HB-210 and HB-212 to interrogate the change in mechanical properties, as measured through dynamic mechanical analysis and imaged using a scanning electron microscope. These results showed a decrease in both the storage modulus and loss modulus of the aged material compared to the unaged, even though the tan δ slightly increased. Material degradation occurred at a higher rate in Dyneema® HB-212 compared to HB-210. The HB-210 was characterized for the effects of 100 hours of UV aging via dynamic mechanical analysis. Scanning electron microscope images were taken of the HB-210 and HB-212 to identify the primary damage mechanisms in the matrix. Embrittlement and matrix spall were the products of prolonged UV exposure and erosion, resulting in decreased mechanical properties.

Keywords: Composite materials, material characterization, UV aging, UHMWPE.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 596

Authors: E. B. Quarcoo, I. Yakubu, K. J. Appau

Abstract:

Current land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics in Ghana have revealed considerable changes in settlement spaces. As a result, this study is intended to merge the cellular automata and Markov chain models using remotely sensed data and Geographical Information System (GIS) approaches to monitor, map, and detect the spatio-temporal LULC change in state lands within Cape Coast Metropolis. Multi-temporal satellite images from 1986-2020 were pre-processed, geo-referenced, and then mapped using supervised maximum likelihood classification to investigate the state’s land cover history (1986-2020) with an overall mapping accuracy of approximately 85%. The study further observed the rate of change for the area to have favored the built-up area 9.8 (12.58 km2) to the detriment of vegetation 5.14 (12.68 km2), but on average, 0.37 km2 (91.43 acres, or 37.00 ha.) of the landscape was transformed yearly. Subsequently, the CA-Markov model was used to anticipate the potential LULC for the study area for 2030. According to the anticipated 2030 LULC map, the patterns of vegetation transitioning into built-up regions will continue over the following ten years as a result of urban growth.

Keywords: LULC, cellular automata, Markov Chain, state lands, urbanisation, public lands, cape coast metropolis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Wang Shuen-Tai, Lin Yu-Ching, Chang Hsi-Ya

Abstract:

Cloud computing is the innovative and leading information technology model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort. In this paper, we aim at the development of workflow management system for cloud computing platforms based on our previous research on the dynamic allocation of the cloud computing resources and its workflow process. We took advantage of the HTML5 technology and developed web-based workflow interface. In order to enable the combination of many tasks running on the cloud platform in sequence, we designed a mechanism and developed an execution engine for workflow management on clouds. We also established a prediction model which was integrated with job queuing system to estimate the waiting time and cost of the individual tasks on different computing nodes, therefore helping users achieve maximum performance at lowest payment. This proposed effort has the potential to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment for cloud computing platform. This development also helps boost user productivity by promoting a flexible workflow interface that lets users design and control their tasks' flow from anywhere.

Keywords: Web-based, workflow, HTML5, Cloud Computing, Queuing System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2894

Authors: B. Suárez, G. Forman

Abstract:

Kombucha (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) produces material capable of acquiring multiple shapes and textures that change significantly under different environment or temperature variations (e.g., when it is exposed to wet conditions), properties that may be explored in the scenic industry. This paper presents an analysis of its specific characteristics, exploring them as a non-conventional material for arts and performance. Costume Design uses surfaces as a powerful way of expression to represent concepts and stories; it may apply the unique features of nano bacterial cellulose (NBC) as assets in this artistic context. A mix of qualitative and quantitative (interventionist) methodology approaches were used such as review of relevant literature to deepen knowledge on the research topic (crossing bibliography from different fields of studies: biology, art, costume design, etc.); as well as descriptive methods: laboratorial experiments, document quantities, observation to identify material properties and possibilities used to express a multiple narrative ideas, concepts and feelings. The results confirmed that NBC is an interactive and versatile material viable to be used in an alternative scenic context; its unique aesthetic and performative qualities, which change in contact to moisture, are resources that can be used to show a visual and poetic impact on stage.

Keywords: Biotechnological materials, contemporary dance, costume design, nano bacterial cellulose, performing arts.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 474

Authors: I. Asanuma, T. Yamaguchi, J. Park, K. J. Mackin

Abstract:

Fishery lights on the surface could be detected by the Day and Night Band (DNB) of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP). The DNB covers the spectral range of 500 to 900 nm and realized a higher sensitivity. The DNB has a difficulty of identification of fishing lights from lunar lights reflected by clouds, which affects observations for the half of the month. Fishery lights and lights of the surface are identified from lunar lights reflected by clouds by a method using the DNB and the infrared band, where the detection limits are defined as a function of the brightness temperature with a difference from the maximum temperature for each level of DNB radiance and with the contrast of DNB radiance against the background radiance. Fishery boats or structures on islands could be detected by the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on the polar orbit satellites using the reflected microwave by the surface reflecting targets. The SAR has a difficulty of tradeoff between spatial resolution and coverage while detecting the small targets like fishery boats. A distribution of fishery boats and island activities were detected by the scan-SAR narrow mode of Radarsat-2, which covers 300 km by 300 km with various combinations of polarizations. The fishing boats were detected as a single pixel of highly scattering targets with the scan-SAR narrow mode of which spatial resolution is 30 m. As the look angle dependent scattering signals exhibits the significant differences, the standard deviations of scattered signals for each look angles were taken into account as a threshold to identify the signal from fishing boats and structures on the island from background noise. It was difficult to validate the detected targets by DNB with SAR data because of time lag of observations for 6 hours between midnight by DNB and morning or evening by SAR. The temporal changes of island activities were detected as a change of mean intensity of DNB for circular area for a certain scale of activities. The increase of DNB mean intensity was corresponding to the beginning of dredging and the change of intensity indicated the ending of reclamation and following constructions of facilities.

Keywords: Day night band, fishery, SAR, South China Sea.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1075

Authors: Jalaluddin Abdul Malek, Mohd Asruladlyi Ibrahim, Zurinah Tahir

Abstract:

This paper is to reveal developments in the areas of urban technology in Malaysia. Developments occur intend to add value intelligent city development to the ubiquitous city (U-city) or smart city. The phenomenon of change is called the development of post intelligent cities. U-City development discourse is seen from the perspective of the philosophy of the virtuous city organized by al-Farabi. The prosperity and perfection of a city is mainly caused by human personality factors, as well as its relationship with material and technological aspects of the city. The question is, to what extent to which human factors are taken into account in the concept of U-City as an added value to the intelligent city concept to realize the prosperity and perfection of the city? Previously, the intelligent city concept was developed based on global change and ICT movement, while the U-city added value to the development of intelligent cities and focused more on the development of information and communications technology (ICT). Value added is defined as the use of fiber optic technology that is wired to the use of wireless technology, such as wireless broadband. In this discourse, the debate on the concept of U-City is to the symbiosis between the U-City and the importance of local human e-participation (U-Society) for prosperity. In the context of virtuous city philosophy, it supports the thought of symbiosis so the concept of U-City can achieve sustainability, prosperity and perfection of the city.

Keywords: Smart city, ubiquitous city, U-Society, e-participation, prosperity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1156

Authors: Ma. Eliza Jijeth V. dela Cruz

Abstract:

Technology is a recent prodigy in people’s everyday life that has taken off. It infiltrated almost every aspect of one’s lives, changing how people work, how people learn and how people perceive things. Academic Institutions, just like other organizations, have deeply modified its strategies to integrate technology into the institutional vision and corporate strategy that has never been greater. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) continues to be recognized as a major factor in organizations realizing its aims and objectives. Consequently, ICT has an important role in the mobilization of an academic institution’s strategy to support the delivery of operational, strategic or transformational objectives. This ICT strategy should align the institution with the radical changes of the ICT world through the use of Enterprise Architecture (EA). Hence, EA’s objective is to optimize the islands of legacy processes to be integrated that is receptive to change and supportive of the delivery of the strategy. In this paper, the focus is to explore the motivational antecedents during the adoption of EA in a Higher Education Institution in the Philippines for its ICT strategic plan. The seven antecedents (viewpoint, stakeholders, human traits, vision, revolutionary innovation, techniques and change components) provide understanding into EA adoption and the antecedents that influences the process of EA adoption.

Keywords: Enterprise architecture, adoption, antecedents, higher education institution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 834

Authors: S. P. Sharma, Monica Rani

Abstract:

In conventional reliability assessment, the reliability data of system components are treated as crisp values. The collected data have some uncertainties due to errors by human beings/machines or any other sources. These uncertainty factors will limit the understanding of system component failure due to the reason of incomplete data. In these situations, we need to generalize classical methods to fuzzy environment for studying and analyzing the systems of interest. Fuzzy set theory has been proposed to handle such vagueness by generalizing the notion of membership in a set. Essentially, in a Fuzzy Set (FS) each element is associated with a point-value selected from the unit interval [0, 1], which is termed as the grade of membership in the set. A Vague Set (VS), as well as an Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set (IFS), is a further generalization of an FS. Instead of using point-based membership as in FS, interval-based membership is used in VS. The interval-based membership in VS is more expressive in capturing vagueness of data. In the present paper, vague set theory coupled with conventional Lambda-Tau method is presented for reliability analysis of repairable systems. The methodology uses Petri nets (PN) to model the system instead of fault tree because it allows efficient simultaneous generation of minimal cuts and path sets. The presented method is illustrated with the press unit of the paper mill.

Keywords: Lambda -Tau methodology, Petri nets, repairable system, vague fuzzy set.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1513

Authors: A. Abdullah, A. Bakshwain, A. Aslam

Abstract:

Livestock is one of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture. If carefully managed, have potential opportunities for economic growth, food sovereignty and food security. In this study we mainly analyse and compare long-term i.e. for year 2030 climate variability impact on predicted productivity of meat i.e. beef, mutton and poultry for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia w.r.t three factors i.e. i) climatic-change vulnerability ii) CO2 fertilization and iii) water scarcity and compare the results with two countries of the region i.e. Iraq and Yemen. We do the analysis using data from diverse sources, which was extracted, transformed and integrated before usage. The collective impact of the three factors had an overall negative effect on the production of meat for all the three countries, with adverse impact on Iraq. High similarity was found between CO2 fertilization (effecting animal fodder) and water scarcity i.e. higher than that between production of beef and mutton for the three countries considered. Overall, the three factors do not seem to be favorable for the three Middle-East countries considered. This points to possibility of a vegetarian year 2030 based on dependency on indigenous livestock population.

Keywords: Prediction, animal-source foods, pastures, CO2 fertilization, climatic-change vulnerability, water scarcity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2309

Authors: Chalakorn Chitsaart, Suchada Rianmora, Mann Rattana-Areeyagon, Wutichai Namjaiprasert

Abstract:

G-code is the main factor in computer numerical control (CNC) machine for controlling the toolpaths and generating the profile of the object’s features. For obtaining high surface accuracy of the surface finish, non-stop operation is required for CNC machine. Recently, to design a new product, the strategy that concerns about a change that has low impact on business and does not consume lot of resources has been introduced. Cost and time for designing minor changes can be reduced since the traditional geometric details of the existing models are applied. In order to support this strategy as the alternative channel for machining operation, this research proposes the automatic generating codes for CNC milling operation. Using this technique can assist the manufacturer to easily change the size and the geometric shape of the product during the operation where the time spent for setting up or processing the machine are reduced. The algorithm implemented on MATLAB platform is developed by analyzing and evaluating the geometric information of the part. Codes are created rapidly to control the operations of the machine. Comparing to the codes obtained from CAM, this developed algorithm can shortly generate and simulate the cutting profile of the part.

Keywords: Geometric shapes, Milling operation, Minor changes, CNC Machine, G-code, and Cutting parameters.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7351

Authors: Aktan Ozsoy, Ali Fırat Cabalar, Eyyub Karakan

Abstract:

Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing communities. Increasing population, growing economies, rapid industrialization are the main factors triggering it. On the other hand, the millions of tons of waste have generated by the period of rapid global growth not only harm to the environment but also lead to the use of valuable lands around the world as landfill sites. Moreover, it is rapidly consuming our resources and this forces the human population and wildlife to share increasingly shrinking space. In this direction, it is vital to reuse waste materials with a sustainability philosophy. This study was carried out to contribute to the combat against climate change, conserve our natural resources and the environment. An oedometer (consolidation) test was performed on two waste materials combined in certain proportions to evaluate their sustainable usage. Crushed brick dust (BD) was mixed with rock powder (RP) in 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% (dry weight of soil). The results obtained revealed the importance of the gradation of the material used in the consolidation test. It was found that there was a negligible difference between the initial and final void ratio of mixtures with BD added.

Keywords: Waste material, oedometer test, environmental geotechnics, sustainability, crushed brick dust, rock powder.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 228

Authors: C. Sathiyakumar, K. Duraiswamy

Abstract:

In MANET, mobile nodes communicate with each other using the wireless channel where transmission takes place with significant interference. The wireless medium used in MANET is a shared resource used by all the nodes available in MANET. Packet reserving is one important resource management scheme which controls the allocation of bandwidth among multiple flows through node cooperation in MANET. This paper proposes packet reserving and clogging control via Routing Aware Packet Reserving (RAPR) framework in MANET. It mainly focuses the end-to-end routing condition with maximal throughput. RAPR is complimentary system where the packet reserving utilizes local routing information available in each node. Path setup in RAPR estimates the security level of the system, and symbolizes the end-to-end routing by controlling the clogging. RAPR reaches the packet to the destination with high probability ratio and minimal delay count. The standard performance measures such as network security level, communication overhead, end-to-end throughput, resource utilization efficiency and delay measure are considered in this work. The results reveals that the proposed packet reservation and clogging control via Routing Aware Packet Reserving (RAPR) framework performs well for the above said performance measures compare to the existing methods.

Keywords: Packet reserving, Clogging control, Packet reservation in MANET, RAPR.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1795

Authors: Jude A. Mbanasor, Chigozirim N. Onwusiribe

Abstract:

The enigma climate change is no longer an illusion but a reality. In the recent years, the Nigeria climate has changed and the changes are shown by the changing patterns of rainfall, the sunshine, increasing level carbon and nitrous emission as well as deforestation. This study analyzed the behavioural response of bee keepers to variations in the climate and the adaptation techniques developed in response to the climate variation. Beekeeping is a viable economic activity for the alleviation of poverty as the products include honey, wax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, venom, queens, bees and their larvae and are all marketable. The study adopted the multistage sampling technique to select 120 beekeepers from the five states of Southeast Nigeria. Well-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions were adopted to collect the required data. Statistical tools like the Principal component analysis, data envelopment models, graphs, and charts were used for the data analysis. Changing patterns of rainfall and sunshine with the increasing rate of deforestation had a negative effect on the habitat of the bees. The bee keepers have adopted the Kenya Top bar and Langstroth hives and they establish the bee hives on fallow farmland close to the cultivated communal farms with more flowering crops.

Keywords: Climate, smart, smallholder, farmer, socioeconomic, response.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 583

Authors: Christopher C. Ihueze, Charles C. Okpala, Christian E. Okafor, Peter O. Ogbobe

Abstract:

This paper focuses on robust design and optimization of industrial production wastes. Past literatures were reviewed to case study Clamason Industries Limited (CIL) - a leading ladder-tops manufacturer. A painstaking study of the firm-s practices at the shop floor revealed that Over-production, Waiting time, Excess inventory, and Defects are the major wastes that are impeding their progress and profitability. Design expert8 software was used to apply Taguchi robust design and response surface methodology in order to model, analyse and optimise the wastes cost in CIL. Waiting time and overproduction rank first and second in contributing to the costs of wastes in CIL. For minimal wastes cost the control factors of overproduction, waiting-time, defects and excess-inventory must be set at 0.30, 390.70, 4 and 55.70 respectively for CIL. The optimal value of cost of wastes for the months studied was 22.3679. Finally, a recommendation was made that for the company to enhance their profitability and customer satisfaction, they must adopt the Shingeo Shingo-s Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), which will immediately tackle the waste of waiting by drastically reducing their setup time.

Keywords: Excess-inventory, setup time, single minute exchange of dies, optimal value, over-production, robust design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1697

Authors: N. Poomsa-ad, K. Deejing, L. Wiset

Abstract:

This research is to study the performance of heat pump dryer for drying of kaffir lime leaves under different media and to compare the color values and essential oil content of final products after drying. In the experiments, kaffir lime leaves were dried in the closed-loop system at drying temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 oC. The drying media used in this study were hot air, CO2 and N2 gases. The velocity of drying media in the drying chamber was 0.4 m/s with bypass ratio of 30%. The initial moisture content of kaffir lime leaves was approximately 180-190 % d.b. It was dried until down to a final moisture content of 10% d.b. From the experiments, the results showed that drying rate, the coefficient of performance (COP) and specific energy consumption (SEC) depended on drying temperature. While drying media did not affect on drying rate. The time for kaffir lime leaves drying at 40, 50 and 60 oC was 10, 5 and 3 hours, respectively. The performance of the heat pump system decreased with drying temperature in the range of 2.20-3.51. In the aspect of final product color, the greenness and overall color had a great change under drying temperature at 60 oC rather than drying at 40 and 50 oC. When compared among drying media, the greenness and overall color of product dried with hot air at 60 oC had a great change rather than dried with CO2 and N2.

Keywords: airless drying, drying rate, essential oil content

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2223

Authors: Michael K. Adu, Boniface K. Alese, Olumide S. Ogunnusi

Abstract:

This paper brings to fore the inherent advantages in application of mobile agents to procure software products rather than downloading software content on the Internet. It proposes a system whereby the products come on compact disk with mobile agent as deliverable. The client/user purchases a software product, but must connect to the remote server of the software developer before installation. The user provides an activation code that activates mobile agent which is part of the software product on compact disk. The validity of the activation code is checked on connection at the developer’s end to ascertain authenticity and prevent piracy. The system is implemented by downloading two different software products as compare with installing same products on compact disk with mobile agent’s application. Downloading software contents from developer’s database as in the traditional method requires a continuously open connection between the client and the developer’s end, a fixed network is not economically or technically feasible. Mobile agent after being dispatched into the network becomes independent of the creating process and can operate asynchronously and autonomously. It can reconnect later after completing its task and return for result delivery. Response Time and Network Load are very minimal with application of Mobile agent.

Keywords: Activation code, internet, mobile agent, software developer, software products.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 610

Authors: Rehab F. Abdel-Kader, Rabab M. Ramadan, Rawya Y. Rizk

Abstract:

The recognition of human faces, especially those with different orientations is a challenging and important problem in image analysis and classification. This paper proposes an effective scheme for rotation invariant face recognition using Log-Polar Transform and Discrete Cosine Transform combined features. The rotation invariant feature extraction for a given face image involves applying the logpolar transform to eliminate the rotation effect and to produce a row shifted log-polar image. The discrete cosine transform is then applied to eliminate the row shift effect and to generate the low-dimensional feature vector. A PSO-based feature selection algorithm is utilized to search the feature vector space for the optimal feature subset. Evolution is driven by a fitness function defined in terms of maximizing the between-class separation (scatter index). Experimental results, based on the ORL face database using testing data sets for images with different orientations; show that the proposed system outperforms other face recognition methods. The overall recognition rate for the rotated test images being 97%, demonstrating that the extracted feature vector is an effective rotation invariant feature set with minimal set of selected features.

Keywords: Discrete Cosine Transform, Face Recognition, Feature Extraction, Log Polar Transform, Particle SwarmOptimization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1856

Authors: José Julio de C. Pituba

Abstract:

This work deals with the initial applications and formulation of an anisotropic plastic-damage constitutive model proposed for non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete structures submitted to a loading with change of the sign. The original constitutive model is based on the fundamental hypothesis of energy equivalence between real and continuous medium following the concepts of the Continuum Damage Mechanics. The concrete is assumed as an initial elastic isotropic medium presenting anisotropy, permanent strains and bimodularity (distinct elastic responses whether traction or compression stress states prevail) induced by damage evolution. In order to take into account the bimodularity, two damage tensors governing the rigidity in tension or compression regimes are introduced. Then, some conditions are introduced in the original version of the model in order to simulate the damage unilateral effect. The three-dimensional version of the proposed model is analyzed in order to validate its formulation when compared to micromechanical theory. The one-dimensional version of the model is applied in the analyses of a reinforced concrete beam submitted to a loading with change of the sign. Despite the parametric identification problems, the initial applications show the good performance of the model.

Keywords: Damage model, plastic strain, unilateral effect.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1811

Authors: A. Bagheri Garmarudi, M. Khanmohammadi, N. Khoddami, K. Shabani

Abstract:

Determination of nano particle size is substantial since the nano particle size exerts a significant effect on various properties of nano materials. Accordingly, proposing non-destructive, accurate and rapid techniques for this aim is of high interest. There are some conventional techniques to investigate the morphology and grain size of nano particles such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Vibrational spectroscopy is utilized to characterize different compounds and applied for evaluation of the average particle size based on relationship between particle size and near infrared spectra [1,4] , but it has never been applied in quantitative morphological analysis of nano materials. So far, the potential application of nearinfrared (NIR) spectroscopy with its ability in rapid analysis of powdered materials with minimal sample preparation, has been suggested for particle size determination of powdered pharmaceuticals. The relationship between particle size and diffuse reflectance (DR) spectra in near infrared region has been applied to introduce a method for estimation of particle size. Back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) as a nonlinear model was applied to estimate average particle size based on near infrared diffuse reflectance spectra. Thirty five different nano TiO2 samples with different particle size were analyzed by DR-FTNIR spectrometry and the obtained data were processed by BP- ANN.

Keywords: near infrared, particle size, chemometrics, neuralnetwork, nano structure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1822

Authors: Valeri A. Makarov, Nazareth P. Castellanos, Manuel G. Velarde

Abstract:

In order to answer the general question: “What does a simple agent with a limited life-time require for constructing a useful representation of the environment?" we propose a robot platform including the simplest probabilistic sensory and motor layers. Then we use the platform as a test-bed for evaluation of the navigational capabilities of the robot with different “brains". We claim that a protocognitive behavior is not a consequence of highly sophisticated sensory–motor organs but instead emerges through an increment of the internal complexity and reutilization of the minimal sensory information. We show that the most fundamental robot element, the short-time memory, is essential in obstacle avoidance. However, in the simplest conditions of no obstacles the straightforward memoryless robot is usually superior. We also demonstrate how a low level action planning, involving essentially nonlinear dynamics, provides a considerable gain to the robot performance dynamically changing the robot strategy. Still, however, for very short life time the brainless robot is superior. Accordingly we suggest that small organisms (or agents) with short life-time does not require complex brains and even can benefit from simple brain-like (reflex) structures. To some extend this may mean that controlling blocks of modern robots are too complicated comparative to their life-time and mechanical abilities.

Keywords: Neural network, probabilistic control, robot navigation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1419

Authors: Hui-Chuan Lu

Abstract:

A perfect secret-sharing scheme is a method to distribute a secret among a set of participants in such a way that only qualified subsets of participants can recover the secret and the joint share of participants in any unqualified subset is statistically independent of the secret. The collection of all qualified subsets is called the access structure of the perfect secret-sharing scheme. In a graph-based access structure, each vertex of a graph G represents a participant and each edge of G represents a minimal qualified subset. The average information ratio of a perfect secret-sharing scheme  realizing the access structure based on G is defined as AR = (Pv2V (G) H(v))/(|V (G)|H(s)), where s is the secret and v is the share of v, both are random variables from  and H is the Shannon entropy. The infimum of the average information ratio of all possible perfect secret-sharing schemes realizing a given access structure is called the optimal average information ratio of that access structure. Most known results about the optimal average information ratio give upper bounds or lower bounds on it. In this present structures based on bipartite graphs and determine the exact values of the optimal average information ratio of some infinite classes of them.

Keywords: secret-sharing scheme, average information ratio, star covering, core sequence.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1564

Authors: Nazrina Aziz, Dong Q. Wang

Abstract:

There have been various methods created based on the regression ideas to resolve the problem of data set containing censored observations, i.e. the Buckley-James method, Miller-s method, Cox method, and Koul-Susarla-Van Ryzin estimators. Even though comparison studies show the Buckley-James method performs better than some other methods, it is still rarely used by researchers mainly because of the limited diagnostics analysis developed for the Buckley-James method thus far. Therefore, a diagnostic tool for the Buckley-James method is proposed in this paper. It is called the renovated Cook-s Distance, (RD* i ) and has been developed based on the Cook-s idea. The renovated Cook-s Distance (RD* i ) has advantages (depending on the analyst demand) over (i) the change in the fitted value for a single case, DFIT* i as it measures the influence of case i on all n fitted values Yˆ∗ (not just the fitted value for case i as DFIT* i) (ii) the change in the estimate of the coefficient when the ith case is deleted, DBETA* i since DBETA* i corresponds to the number of variables p so it is usually easier to look at a diagnostic measure such as RD* i since information from p variables can be considered simultaneously. Finally, an example using Stanford Heart Transplant data is provided to illustrate the proposed diagnostic tool.

Keywords: Buckley-James estimators, censored regression, censored data, diagnostic analysis, product-limit estimator, renovated Cook's Distance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1421