Search results for: ecological efficiency
2140 The Effects of Biomass Parameters on the Dissolved Organic Carbon Removal in a Sponge Submerged Membrane Bioreactor
Authors: M. F. R. Zuthi, H. H. Ngo, W. S. Guo, T. T. Nguyen
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A novel sponge submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) was developed to effectively remove organics and nutrients from wastewater. Sponge is introduced within the SSMBR as a medium for the attached growth of biomass. This paper evaluates the effects of new and acclimatized sponges for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal from wastewater at different mixed liquor suspended solids- (MLSS) concentration of the sludge. It was observed in a series of experimental studies that the acclimatized sponge performed better than the new sponge whilst the optimum DOC removal could be achieved at 10g/L of MLSS with the acclimatized sponge. Moreover, the paper analyses the relationships between the MLSSsponge/MLSSsludge and the DOC removal efficiency of SSMBR. The results showed a non-linear relationship between the biomass parameters of the sponge and the sludge, and the DOC removal efficiency of SSMBR. A second-order polynomial function could reasonably represent these relationships.Keywords: Acclimatization, Dissolved organic carbon, Mathematical model, Sponge submerged membrane bioreactor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19382139 Analysis of Green Wood Preservation Chemicals
Authors: Aitor Barbero-López, Soumaya Chibily, Gerhard Scheepers, Thomas Grahn, Martti Venäläinen, Antti Haapala
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Wood decay is addressed continuously within the wood industry through use and development of wood preservatives. The increasing awareness on the negative effects of many chemicals towards the environment is causing political restrictions in their use and creating more urgent need for research on green alternatives. This paper discusses some of the possible natural extracts for wood preserving applications and compares the analytical methods available for testing their behavior and efficiency against decay fungi. The results indicate that natural extracts have interesting chemical constituents that delay fungal growth but vary in efficiency depending on the chemical concentration and substrate used. Results also suggest that presence and redistribution of preservatives in wood during exposure trials can be assessed by spectral imaging methods although standardized methods are not available. This study concludes that, in addition to the many standard methods available, there is a need to develop new faster methods for screening potential preservative formulation while maintaining the comparability and relevance of results.
Keywords: Analytics, methods, preservatives, wood decay.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9772138 Improving Lubrication Efficiency at High Sliding Speeds by Plasma Surface Texturing
Authors: Wei Zha, Jingzeng Zhang, Chen Zhao, Ran Cai, Xueyuan Nie
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Cathodic plasma electrolysis (CPE) is used to create surface textures on cast iron samples for improving the tribological properties. Micro craters with confined size distribution were successfully formed by CPE process. These craters can generate extra hydrodynamic pressure that separates two sliding surfaces, increase the oil film thickness and accelerate the transition from boundary to mixed lubrication. It was found that the optimal crater size was 1.7 μm, at which the maximum lubrication efficiency was achieved. The Taguchi method was used to optimize the process parameters (voltage and roughness) for CPE surface texturing. The orthogonal array and the signal-to-noise ratio were employed to study the effect of each process parameter on the coefficient of friction. The results showed that with higher voltage and lower roughness, the lower friction coefficient can be obtained, and thus the lubrication can be more efficiently used for friction reduction.
Keywords: Cathodic plasma electrolysis, friction, lubrication, plasma surface texturing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6722137 Adopting Cloud-Based Techniques to Reduce Energy Consumption: Toward a Greener Cloud
Authors: Sandesh Achar
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The cloud computing industry has set new goals for better service delivery and deployment, so anyone can access services such as computation, application, and storage anytime. Cloud computing promises new possibilities for approaching sustainable solutions to deploy and advance their services in this distributed environment. This work explores energy-efficient approaches and how cloud-based architecture can reduce energy consumption levels amongst enterprises leveraging cloud computing services. Adopting cloud-based networking, database, and server machines provide a comprehensive means of achieving the potential gains in energy efficiency that cloud computing offers. In energy-efficient cloud computing, virtualization is one aspect that can integrate several technologies to achieve consolidation and better resource utilization. Moreover, the Green Cloud Architecture for cloud data centers is discussed in terms of cost, performance, and energy consumption, and appropriate solutions for various application areas are provided.
Keywords: Greener Cloud, cloud computing, energy efficiency, energy consumption, metadata tags, Green Cloud Advisor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9262136 High-rate Wastewater Treatment by a Shaft-type Activated Sludge Reactor
Authors: Subrata Hait, Debabrata Mazumder
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A shaft-type activated sludge reactor has been developed in order to study the feasibility of high-rate wastewater treatment. The reactor having volume of about 14.5 L was operated with the acclimated mixed activated sludge under batch and continuous mode using a synthetic wastewater as feed. The batch study was performed with varying chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations of 1000–3500 mg·L-1 for a batch period up to 9 h. The kinetic coefficients: Ks, k, Y and kd were obtained as 2040.2 mg·L-1 and 0.105 h-1, 0.878 and 0.0025 h-1 respectively from Monod-s approach. The continuous study showed a stable and steady state operation for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h and influent COD of about 1000 mg·L-1. A maximum COD removal efficiency of about 80% was attained at a COD loading rate and food-tomicroorganism (F/M) ratio (COD basis) of 3.42 kg·m-3d-1 and 1.0 kg·kg-1d-1 respectively under a HRT of 8 h. The reactor was also found to handle COD loading rate and F/M ratio of 10.8 kg·m-3d-1 and 2.20 kg·kg-1d-1 respectively showing a COD removal efficiency of about 46%.Keywords: Activated sludge process, shaft-type reactor, highrate treatment, carbonaceous wastewater.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36352135 The Linkage of Urban and Energy Planning for Sustainable Cities: The Case of Denmark and Germany
Authors: Jens-Phillip Petersen
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The reduction of GHG emissions in buildings is a focus area of national energy policies in Europe, because buildings are responsible for a major share of the final energy consumption. It is at local scale where policies to increase the share of renewable energies and energy efficiency measures get implemented. Municipalities, as local authorities and responsible entity for land-use planning, have a direct influence on urban patterns and energy use, which makes them key actors in the transition towards sustainable cities. Hence, synchronizing urban planning with energy planning offers great potential to increase society’s energy-efficiency; this has a high significance to reach GHG-reduction targets. In this paper, the actual linkage of urban planning and energy planning in Denmark and Germany was assessed; substantive barriers preventing their integration and driving factors that lead to successful transitions towards a holistic urban energy planning procedures were identified.Keywords: Energy planning, urban planning, renewable energies, sustainable cities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16812134 An Improved Conjugate Gradient Based Learning Algorithm for Back Propagation Neural Networks
Authors: N. M. Nawi, R. S. Ransing, M. R. Ransing
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The conjugate gradient optimization algorithm is combined with the modified back propagation algorithm to yield a computationally efficient algorithm for training multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks (CGFR/AG). The computational efficiency is enhanced by adaptively modifying initial search direction as described in the following steps: (1) Modification on standard back propagation algorithm by introducing a gain variation term in the activation function, (2) Calculation of the gradient descent of error with respect to the weights and gains values and (3) the determination of a new search direction by using information calculated in step (2). The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing accuracy and computation time with the conjugate gradient algorithm used in MATLAB neural network toolbox. The results show that the computational efficiency of the proposed method was better than the standard conjugate gradient algorithm.
Keywords: Adaptive gain variation, back-propagation, activation function, conjugate gradient, search direction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15072133 Improving the Performance of Gas Turbine Power Plant by Modified Axial Turbine
Authors: Hakim T. Kadhim, Faris A. Jabbar, Aldo Rona, Audrius Bagdanaviciu
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Computer-based optimization techniques can be employed to improve the efficiency of energy conversions processes, including reducing the aerodynamic loss in a thermal power plant turbomachine. In this paper, towards mitigating secondary flow losses, a design optimization workflow is implemented for the casing geometry of a 1.5 stage axial flow turbine that improves the turbine isentropic efficiency. The improved turbine is used in an open thermodynamic gas cycle with regeneration and cogeneration. Performance estimates are obtained by the commercial software Cycle – Tempo. Design and off design conditions are considered as well as variations in inlet air temperature. Reductions in both the natural gas specific fuel consumption and in CO2 emissions are predicted by using the gas turbine cycle fitted with the new casing design. These gains are attractive towards enhancing the competitiveness and reducing the environmental impact of thermal power plant.
Keywords: Axial flow turbine, computational fluid dynamics, gas turbine power plant, optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10502132 Comparison of Transparent Nickel Doped Cobalt Sulfide and Platinum Counter Electrodes Used in Quasi-Solid State Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Dimitra Sygkridou, Dimitrios Karageorgopoulos, Elias Stathatos, Evangelos Vitoratos
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Transparent nickel doped cobalt sulfide was fabricated on a SnO2:F electrode and tested as an efficient electrocatalyst and as an alternative to the expensive platinum counter electrode. In order to investigate how this electrode could affect the electrical characteristics of a dye-sensitized solar cell, we manufactured cells with the same TiO2 photoanode sensitized with dye (N719) and employing the same quasi-solid electrolyte, altering only the counter electrode used. The cells were electrically and electrochemically characterized and it was observed that the ones with the Ni doped CoS2 outperformed the efficiency of the cells with the Pt counter electrode (3.76% and 3.44% respectively). Particularly, the higher efficiency of the cells with the Ni doped CoS2 counter electrode (CE) is mainly because of the enhanced photocurrent density which is attributed to the enhanced electrocatalytic ability of the CE and the low charge transfer resistance at the CE/electrolyte interface.Keywords: Counter electrodes, dye-sensitized solar cells, quasisolid state electrolyte, transparency.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22552131 Source of Oseltamivir Resistance Due to R152K Mutation of Influenza B Virus Neuraminidase: Molecular Modeling
Authors: J. Tengrang, T. Rungrotmongkol, S. Hannongbua
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Every 2-3 years the influenza B virus serves epidemics. Neuraminidase (NA) is an important target for influenza drug design. Although, oseltamivir, an oral neuraminidase drug, has been shown good inhibitory efficiency against wild-type of influenza B virus, the lower susceptibility to the R152K mutation has been reported. Better understanding of oseltamivir efficiency and resistance toward the influenza B NA wild-type and R152K mutant, respectively, could be useful for rational drug design. Here, two complex systems of wild-type and R152K NAs with oseltamivir bound were studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based on 5-ns MD simulation, the loss of notable hydrogen bond and decrease in per-residue decomposition energy from the mutated residue K152 contributed to drug compared to those of R152 in wildtype were found to be a primary source of high-level of oseltamivir resistance due to the R152K mutation.Keywords: Influenza B neuraminidase, Molecular dynamics simulation, Oseltamivir resistance, R152K mutant
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18922130 A Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Solution to Ramping Rate Constrained Dynamic Economic Dispatch
Authors: Pichet Sriyanyong
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This paper presents the application of an enhanced Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) combined with Gaussian Mutation (GM) for solving the Dynamic Economic Dispatch (DED) problem considering the operating constraints of generators. The EPSO consists of the standard PSO and a modified heuristic search approaches. Namely, the ability of the traditional PSO is enhanced by applying the modified heuristic search approach to prevent the solutions from violating the constraints. In addition, Gaussian Mutation is aimed at increasing the diversity of global search, whilst it also prevents being trapped in suboptimal points during search. To illustrate its efficiency and effectiveness, the developed EPSO-GM approach is tested on the 3-unit and 10-unit 24-hour systems considering valve-point effect. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the proposed EPSO-GM provides, the accurate solution, the efficiency, and the feature of robust computation compared with other algorithms under consideration.Keywords: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), GaussianMutation (GM), Dynamic Economic Dispatch (DED).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17792129 High Efficiency Solar Thermal Collectors Utilization in Process Heat: A Case Study of Textile Finishing Industry
Authors: Gökçen A. Çiftçioğlu, M. A. Neşet Kadırgan, Figen Kadırgan
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Solar energy, since it is available every day, is seen as one of the most valuable renewable energy resources. Thus, the energy of sun should be efficiently used in various applications. The most known applications that use solar energy are heating water and spaces. High efficiency solar collectors need appropriate selective surfaces to absorb the heat. Selective surfaces (Selektif-Sera) used in this study are applied to flat collectors, which are produced by a roll to roll cost effective coating of nano nickel layers, developed in Selektif Teknoloji Co. Inc. Efficiency of flat collectors using Selektif-Sera absorbers are calculated in collaboration with Institute for Solar Technik Rapperswil, Switzerland. The main cause of high energy consumption in industry is mostly caused from low temperature level processes. There is considerable effort in research to minimize the energy use by renewable energy sources such as solar energy. A feasibility study will be presented to obtain the potential of solar thermal energy utilization in the textile industry using these solar collectors. For the feasibility calculations presented in this study, textile dyeing and finishing factory located at Kahramanmaras is selected since the geographic location was an important factor. Kahramanmaras is located in the south east part of Turkey thus has a great potential to have solar illumination much longer. It was observed that, the collector area is limited by the available area in the factory, thus a hybrid heating generating system (lignite/solar thermal) was preferred in the calculations of this study to be more realistic. During the feasibility work, the calculations took into account the preheating process, where well waters heated from 15 °C to 30-40 °C by using the hot waters in heat exchangers. Then the preheated water was heated again by high efficiency solar collectors. Economic comparison between the lignite use and solar thermal collector use was provided to determine the optimal system that can be used efficiently. The optimum design of solar thermal systems was studied depending on the optimum collector area. It was found that the solar thermal system is more economic and efficient than the merely lignite use. Return on investment time is calculated as 5.15 years.
Keywords: Solar energy, heating, solar heating.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12222128 Elitist Self-Adaptive Step-Size Search in Optimum Sizing of Steel Structures
Authors: Oğuzhan Hasançebi, Saeid Kazemzadeh Azad
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Keywords: Structural design optimization, optimal sizing, metaheuristics, self-adaptive step-size search, steel trusses, steel frames.}
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14132127 A Three-Dimensional TLM Simulation Method for Thermal Effect in PV-Solar Cells
Authors: R. Hocine, A. Boudjemai, A. Amrani, K. Belkacemi
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Temperature rising is a negative factor in almost all systems. It could cause by self heating or ambient temperature. In solar photovoltaic cells this temperature rising affects on the behavior of cells. The ability of a PV module to withstand the effects of periodic hot-spot heating that occurs when cells are operated under reverse biased conditions is closely related to the properties of the cell semi-conductor material.
In addition, the thermal effect also influences the estimation of the maximum power point (MPP) and electrical parameters for the PV modules, such as maximum output power, maximum conversion efficiency, internal efficiency, reliability, and lifetime. The cells junction temperature is a critical parameter that significantly affects the electrical characteristics of PV modules. For practical applications of PV modules, it is very important to accurately estimate the junction temperature of PV modules and analyze the thermal characteristics of the PV modules. Once the temperature variation is taken into account, we can then acquire a more accurate MPP for the PV modules, and the maximum utilization efficiency of the PV modules can also be further achieved.
In this paper, the three-Dimensional Transmission Line Matrix (3D-TLM) method was used to map the surface temperature distribution of solar cells while in the reverse bias mode. It was observed that some cells exhibited an inhomogeneity of the surface temperature resulting in localized heating (hot-spot). This hot-spot heating causes irreversible destruction of the solar cell structure. Hot spots can have a deleterious impact on the total solar modules if individual solar cells are heated. So, the results show clearly that the solar cells are capable of self-generating considerable amounts of heat that should be dissipated very quickly to increase PV module's lifetime.
Keywords: Thermal effect, Conduction, Heat dissipation, Thermal conductivity, Solar cell, PV module, Nodes, 3D-TLM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23342126 Induction Motor Speed Control Using Fuzzy Logic Controller
Authors: V. Chitra, R. S. Prabhakar
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Because of the low maintenance and robustness induction motors have many applications in the industries. The speed control of induction motor is more important to achieve maximum torque and efficiency. Various speed control techniques like, Direct Torque Control, Sensorless Vector Control and Field Oriented Control are discussed in this paper. Soft computing technique – Fuzzy logic is applied in this paper for the speed control of induction motor to achieve maximum torque with minimum loss. The fuzzy logic controller is implemented using the Field Oriented Control technique as it provides better control of motor torque with high dynamic performance. The motor model is designed and membership functions are chosen according to the parameters of the motor model. The simulated design is tested using various tool boxes in MATLAB. The result concludes that the efficiency and reliability of the proposed speed controller is good.
Keywords: Induction motor, Field Oriented Control, Fuzzy logic controller, Maximum torque, Membership function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31952125 High Performance in Parallel Data Integration: An Empirical Evaluation of the Ratio Between Processing Time and Number of Physical Nodes
Authors: Caspar von Seckendorff, Eldar Sultanow
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Many studies have shown that parallelization decreases efficiency [1], [2]. There are many reasons for these decrements. This paper investigates those which appear in the context of parallel data integration. Integration processes generally cannot be allocated to packages of identical size (i. e. tasks of identical complexity). The reason for this is unknown heterogeneous input data which result in variable task lengths. Process delay is defined by the slowest processing node. It leads to a detrimental effect on the total processing time. With a real world example, this study will show that while process delay does initially increase with the introduction of more nodes it ultimately decreases again after a certain point. The example will make use of the cloud computing platform Hadoop and be run inside Amazon-s EC2 compute cloud. A stochastic model will be set up which can explain this effect.
Keywords: Process delay, speedup, efficiency, parallel computing, data integration, E-Commerce, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Hadoop, Nutch.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16182124 Experimental Investigation on the Efficiency of Expanded Polystyrene Geofoam Post and Beam System in Protecting Lifelines
Authors: Masood Abdollahi, Seyed Naser Moghaddas Tafreshi
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Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam is a cellular geosynthetic material that can be used to protect lifelines (e.g. pipelines, electricity cables, etc.) below ground. Post and beam system is the most recent configuration of EPS blocks which can be implemented for this purpose. It provides a void space atop lifelines which allows settlement of the loading surface with imposing no pressure on the lifelines system. This paper investigates the efficiency of the configuration of post-beam system subjected to static loading. To evaluate the soil surface settlement, beam deformation and transferred pressure over the beam, laboratory tests using two different densities for EPS blocks are conducted. The effect of geogrid-reinforcing the cover soil on system response is also investigated. The experimental results show favorable performance of EPS post and beam configuration in protecting underground lifelines.Keywords: Beam deformation, EPS block, laboratory test, post-beam system, soil surface settlement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10782123 Scope of BOD, Nitrogen and Phosphorous Removal through Plant-Soil Interaction in the Wetland
Authors: Debabrata Mazumder
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Constructed and natural wetlands are being used extensively to treat different types of wastewater including the domestic one. Considerable removal efficiency has been achieved for a variety of pollutants like BOD, nitrogen and phosphorous in the wetlands. Wetland treatment appears to be the best choice for treatment or pre-treatment of wastewater because of the low maintenance cost and simplicity of operation. Wetlands are the natural exporters of organic carbon on account of decomposition of organic matter. The emergent plants like reeds, bulrushes and cattails are commonly used in constructed wetland for the treatment process providing surface for bacterial growth, filtration of solids, nutrient uptake and oxygenation to promote nitrification as well as denitrification. The present paper explored different scopes of organic matter (BOD), nitrogen and phosphorous removal from wastewater through wetlands. Emphasis is given to look into the soil chemistry for tracing the behavior of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the wetland. Due consideration is also made to see the viability for upgrading the BOD, nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency through different classical modifications of wetland.
Keywords: BOD removal, modification, nitrogen removal, phosphorous removal, wetland.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27162122 System Identification and Performance Improvement to a Micro Gas Turbine Applying Biogas
Authors: Chun Hsiang Yang, Cheng Chia Lee, Chiun Hsun Chen
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In this study, the effects of biogas fuels on the performance of an annular micro gas turbine (MGT) were assessed experimentally and numerically. In the experiments, the proposed MGT system was operated successfully under each test condition; minimum composition to the fuel with the biogas was roughly 50% CH4 with 50% CO2. The power output was around 170W at 85,000 RPM as 90% CH4 with 10% CO2 was used and 70W at 65,000 RPM as 70% CH4 with 30% CO2 was used. When a critical limit of 60% CH4 was reached, the power output was extremely low. Furthermore, the theoretical Brayton cycle efficiency and electric efficiency of the MGT were calculated as 23% and 10%, respectively. Following the experiments, the measured data helped us identify the parameters of dynamic model in numerical simulation. Additionally, a numerical analysis of re-designed combustion chamber showed that the performance of MGT could be improved by raising the temperature at turbine inlet. This study presents a novel distributed power supply system that can utilize renewable biogas. The completed micro biogas power supply system is small, low cost, easy to maintain and suited to household use.
Keywords: Micro Gas Turbine, Biogas; System Identification, Distributed power supply system
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25242121 Fabrication of Cesium Iodide Columns by Rapid Heating Method
Authors: Chien-Wan Hun, Shao-Fu Chang, Chien-Chon Chen, Ker-Jer Huang
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This study presents how to use a high-efficiency process for producing cesium iodide (CsI) crystal columns by rapid heating method. In the past, the heating rate of the resistance wire heating furnace was relatively slow and excessive iodine and CsI vapors were therefore generated during heating. Because much iodine and CsI vapors are produced during heating process, the composition of CsI crystal columns is not correct. In order to enhance the heating rate, making CsI material in the heating process can quickly reach the melting point temperature. This study replaced the traditional type of external resistance heating furnace with halogen-type quartz heater, and then, CsI material can quickly reach the melting point. Eventually, CsI melt can solidify in the anodic aluminum template forming CsI crystal columns.
Keywords: Cesium iodide, high efficiency, vapor, rapid heating, crystal column.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10712120 Parameters Optimization of the Laminated Composite Plate for Sound Transmission Problem
Authors: Yu T. Tsai, Jin H. Huang
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In this paper, the specific sound Transmission Loss (TL) of the Laminated Composite Plate (LCP) with different material properties in each layer is investigated. The numerical method to obtain the TL of the LCP is proposed by using elastic plate theory. The transfer matrix approach is novelty presented for computational efficiency in solving the numerous layers of dynamic stiffness matrix (D-matrix) of the LCP. Besides the numerical simulations for calculating the TL of the LCP, the material properties inverse method is presented for the design of a laminated composite plate analogous to a metallic plate with a specified TL. As a result, it demonstrates that the proposed computational algorithm exhibits high efficiency with a small number of iterations for achieving the goal. This method can be effectively employed to design and develop tailor-made materials for various applications.Keywords: Sound transmission loss, laminated composite plate, transfer matrix approach, inverse problem, elastic plate theory, material properties.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19642119 Impact of Proposed Modal Shift from Private Users to Bus Rapid Transit System: An Indian City Case Study
Authors: Rakesh Kumar, Fatima Electricwala
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One of the major thrusts of the Bus Rapid Transit System is to reduce the commuter’s dependency on private vehicles and increase the shares of public transport to make urban transportation system environmentally sustainable. In this study, commuter mode choice analysis is performed that examines behavioral responses to the proposed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Surat, with estimation of the probable shift from private mode to public mode. Further, evaluation of the BRTS scenarios, using Surat’s transportation ecological footprint was done. A multi-modal simulation model was developed in Biogeme environment to explicitly consider private users behaviors and non-linear environmental impact. The data of the different factors (variables) and its impact that might cause modal shift of private mode users to proposed BRTS were collected through home-interview survey using revealed and stated preference approach. A multi modal logit model of mode-choice was then calibrated using the collected data and validated using proposed sample. From this study, a set of perception factors, with reliable and predictable data base, to explain the variation in modal shift behaviour and their impact on Surat’s ecological environment has been identified. A case study of the proposed BRTS connecting the Surat Industrial Hub to the coastal area is provided to illustrate the approach.
Keywords: BRTS, Private Modes, Mode choice models, Ecological footprint.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33482118 Packaging the Alkaloids of Cinchona Bark in Combination with Etoposide in Polymeric Micelles Nanoparticles
Authors: Diky Mudhakir, Satrialdi, Sukmadjaja Asyarie, Yeyet C. Sumirtapura
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Today, cancer remains one of the major diseases that lead to death. The main obstacle in chemotherapy as a main cancer treatment is the toxicity to normal cells due to Multidrug Resistance (MDR) after the use of anticancer drugs. Proposed solution to overcome this problem is the use of MDR efflux inhibitor of cinchona alkaloids which is delivered together with anticancer drugs encapsulated in the form of polymeric nanoparticles. The particles were prepared by the hydration method. The characterization of nanoparticles was particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release. Combination nanoparticle size ranged 29-45 nm with a neutral surface charge. Entrapment efficiency was above 87% for the use quinine, quinidine or cinchonidine in combination with etoposide. The release test results exhibited that the cinchona alkaloids release released faster than that of etoposide. Collectively, cinchona alkaloids can be packaged along with etoposide in nanomicelles for better cancer therapy.Keywords: Cinchona alkaloids, etoposide, MDR efflux inhitor, polymeric nanomicelles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23482117 Assessing Habitat-Suitability Models with a Virtual Species at Khao Nan National Park, Thailand
Authors: W. Srisang, K. Jaroensutasinee, M. Jaroensutasinee
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This study examined a habitat-suitability assessment method namely the Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA). A virtual species was created and then dispatched in a geographic information system model of a real landscape in three historic scenarios: (1) spreading, (2) equilibrium, and (3) overabundance. In each scenario, the virtual species was sampled and these simulated data sets were used as inputs for the ENFA to reconstruct the habitat suitability model. The 'equilibrium' scenario gives the highest quantity and quality among three scenarios. ENFA was sensitive to the distribution scenarios but not sensitive to sample sizes. The use of a virtual species proved to be a very efficient method, allowing one to fully control the quality of the input data as well as to accurately evaluate the predictive power of the analyses.Keywords: Habitat-Suitability Models, Ecological niche factoranalysis, Climatic factors, Geographic information system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17972116 Hexavalent Chromium Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Adsorption onto Synthetic Nano Size ZeroValent Iron (nZVI)
Authors: A.R. Rahmani, M.T. Samadi, R. Noroozi
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The present work was conducted for the synthesis of nano size zerovalent iron (nZVI) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) removal as a highly toxic pollutant by using this nanoparticles. Batch experiments were performed to investigate the effects of Cr(VI), nZVI concentration, pH of solution and contact time variation on the removal efficiency of Cr(VI). nZVI was synthesized by reduction of ferric chloride using sodium borohydrid. SEM and XRD examinations applied for determination of particle size and characterization of produced nanoparticles. The results showed that the removal efficiency decreased with Cr(VI) concentration and pH of solution and increased with adsorbent dosage and contact time. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used for the adsorption equilibrium data and the Langmuir isotherm model was well fitted. Nanoparticle ZVI presented an outstanding ability to remove Cr(VI) due to high surface area, low particle size and high inherent activity.Keywords: Adsorption, aqueous solution, Chromium, nZVI, removal.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25462115 Programmable Logic Controller for Cassava Centrifugal Machine
Authors: R. Oonsivilai, M. Oonsivilai, J. Sanguemrum, N. Thumsirirat, A. Oonsivilai
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Chaiyaphum Starch Co. Ltd. is one of many starch manufacturers that has introduced machinery to aid in manufacturing. Even though machinery has replaced many elements and is now a significant part in manufacturing processes, problems that must be solved with respect to current process flow to increase efficiency still exist. The paper-s aim is to increase productivity while maintaining desired quality of starch, by redesigning the flipping machine-s mechanical control system which has grossly low functional lifetime. Such problems stem from the mechanical control system-s bearings, as fluids and humidity can access into said bearing directly, in tandem with vibrations from the machine-s function itself. The wheel which is used to sense starch thickness occasionally falls from its shaft, due to high speed rotation during operation, while the shaft may bend from impact when processing dried bread. Redesigning its mechanical control system has increased its efficiency, allowing quality thickness measurement while increasing functional lifetime an additional 62 days.Keywords: Control system, Machinery, Measurement, Potato starch
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20872114 Evaluation of Bearing Capacity of Vertically Loaded Strip Piled-Raft Embedded in Soft Clay
Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Mohammad Hosseinzade
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Settlement and bearing capacity of a piled raft are the two important issues for the foundations of structures built on coastal areas from the geotechnical engineering point of view. Strip piled raft as a load carrying system can reduce the possible extensive consolidation settlements and improve bearing capacity of structures in soft ground. The aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of strip piled raft embedded in soft clay. The efficiency of bearing capacity of strip piled raft foundation has been evaluated numerically in two cases; in the first case, the cap is placed directly on the ground surface and in the second, the cap is placed above the ground. Regarding to the fact that the geotechnical parameters of the soft clay are considered at low level, low bearing capacity is expected. The length, diameter and axe-to-axe distance of piles were the parameters which varied in this study to find out how they affected the bearing capacity. Results indicate that increasing the length and the diameter of the piles increase the bearing capacity.
Keywords: Soft clay, Strip piled raft, Bearing capacity, Settlement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30982113 Recovery of Post-Consumer PET Bottles in a Composite Material Preparation
Authors: Rafenomananjara Tsinjo Nirina, Tomoo Sekito, Andrianaivoravelona Jaconnet Oliva
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Manufacturing a composite material from post-consumer bottles is an interesting outlet since Madagascar is still facing the challenges of managing plastic waste on the one hand and appropriate waste treatment facilities are not yet developed on the other hand. New waste management options are needed to divert End-Of-Life (EOL) soft plastic wastes from landfills and incineration. Waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles might be considered as a valuable resource and recovered into polymer concrete. The methodology is easy to implement and appropriate to the local context in Madagascar. This approach will contribute to the production of ecological building materials that might be profitable for the environment and the construction sector. This work aims to study the feasibility of using the post-consumer PET bottles as an alternative binding agent instead of the conventional Portland cement and water. Then, the mechanical and physical properties of the materials were evaluated.
Keywords: PET recycling, polymer concrete, ecological building materials, pollution mitigation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9352112 Diagnostic Investigation of Aircraft Performance at Different Winglet Cant Angles
Authors: Dinesh M., Kenny Mark V., Dharni Vasudhevan Venkatesan, Santhosh Kumar B., Sree Radesh R., V. R. Sanal Kumar
Abstract:
Comprehensive numerical studies have been carried out to examine the best aerodynamic performance of subsonic aircraft at different winglet cant angles using a validated 3D k-ω SST model. In the parametric analytical studies NACA series of airfoils are selected. Basic design of the winglet is selected from the literature and flow features of the entire wing including the winglet tip effects have been examined with different cant angles varying from 150 to 600 at different angles of attack up to 140. We have observed, among the cases considered in this study that a case, with 150 cant angle the aerodynamics performance of the subsonic aircraft during takeoff was found better up to an angle of attack of 2.80 and further its performance got diminished at higher angles of attack. Analyses further revealed that increasing the winglet cant angle from 150 to 600 at higher angles of attack could negate the performance deterioration and additionally it could enhance the peak CL/CD on the order of 3.5%. The investigated concept of variable-cant-angle winglets appears to be a promising alternative for improving the aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft.
Keywords: Aerodynamic efficiency, Cant-angle, Drag reduction, Flexible Winglets.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36132111 Network Coding-based ARQ scheme with Overlapping Selection for Resource Limited Multicast/Broadcast Services
Authors: Jung-Hyun Kim, Jihyung Kim, Kwangjae Lim, Dong Seung Kwon
Abstract:
Network coding has recently attracted attention as an efficient technique in multicast/broadcast services. The problem of finding the optimal network coding mechanism maximizing the bandwidth efficiency is hard to solve and hard to approximate. Lots of network coding-based schemes have been suggested in the literature to improve the bandwidth efficiency, especially network coding-based automatic repeat request (NCARQ) schemes. However, existing schemes have several limitations which cause the performance degradation in resource limited systems. To improve the performance in resource limited systems, we propose NCARQ with overlapping selection (OS-NCARQ) scheme. The advantages of OS-NCARQ scheme over the traditional ARQ scheme and existing NCARQ schemes are shown through the analysis and simulations.
Keywords: ARQ, Network coding, Multicast/Broadcast services, Packet-based systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1500