Search results for: higher order thinking skills

Authors: S. Raissi

Abstract:

Response surface methodology (RSM) is a very efficient tool to provide a good practical insight into developing new process and optimizing them. This methodology could help engineers to raise a mathematical model to represent the behavior of system as a convincing function of process parameters. Through this paper the sequential nature of the RSM surveyed for process engineers and its relationship to design of experiments (DOE), regression analysis and robust design reviewed. The proposed four-step procedure in two different phases could help system analyst to resolve the parameter design problem involving responses. In order to check accuracy of the designed model, residual analysis and prediction error sum of squares (PRESS) described. It is believed that the proposed procedure in this study can resolve a complex parameter design problem with one or more responses. It can be applied to those areas where there are large data sets and a number of responses are to be optimized simultaneously. In addition, the proposed procedure is relatively simple and can be implemented easily by using ready-made standard statistical packages.

Keywords: Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Design of Experiments (DOE), Process modeling, Process setting, Process optimization.

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Authors: Mohammad Javad Shariatzadeh, Dana Grecov

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The tribological tests were performed on a new tribometer, in order to measure the coefficient of friction of a gland seal packing material on stainless steel shafts in presence of Cellulose Nanocrystal (CNC) suspension as a sustainable, environmentally friendly, water-based lubricant. To simulate the real situation from the slurry pumps, silica sands were used as slurry particles. The surface profiles after tests were measured by interferometer microscope to characterize the surface wear. Moreover, the coefficient of friction and surface wear were measured between stainless steel shaft and chrome steel ball to investigate the tribological effects of CNC in boundary lubrication region. Alignment of nanoparticles in the CNC suspensions are the main reason for friction and wear reduction. The homogeneous concentrated suspensions showed fingerprint patterns of a chiral nematic liquid crystal. These properties made CNC a very good lubricant additive in water.

Keywords: Gland seal, lubricant additives, nanocrystalline cellulose, water-based lubricants.

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Authors: Fardin Boustani, Mohammad Hosein Hojati

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Groundwater is one of the most important water resources in Fars province. Based on this study, 95 percent of the total annual water consumption in Fars is used for agriculture, whereas the percentages for domestic and industrial uses are 4 and 1 percent, respectively. Population growth, urban and industrial growth, and agricultural development in Fars have created a condition of water stress. In this province, farmers and other users are pumping groundwater faster than its natural replenishment rate, causing a continuous drop in groundwater tables and depletion of this resource. In this research variation of groundwater level, their effects and ways to help control groundwater levels in aquifer of the Niriz plains in Fars plain were evaluated .Excessive exploitation of groundwater in this aquifer caused the groundwater levels fall too fast or to unacceptable levels. The average drawdown of the groundwater level in this plain were 9.1 meters during 1997 to 2004. The purpose of this study is to evaluate water level changes in the Niriz Aquifer in the Fars province in order to determine the areas of greatest depletion, the cause of depletion, and predict the remaining life of the aquifer.

Keywords: Aquifer, ground water depletion, water table

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Authors: Luis Arias, Jorge E. Pezoa, Daniel Sbárbaro

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In this paper, an automated algorithm to estimate and remove the continuous baseline from measured spectra containing both continuous and discontinuous bands is proposed. The algorithm uses previous information contained in a Continuous Database Spectra (CDBS) to obtain a linear basis, with minimum number of sampled vectors, capable of representing a continuous baseline. The proposed algorithm was tested by using a CDBS of flame spectra where Principal Components Analysis and Non-negative Matrix Factorization were used to obtain linear bases. Thus, the radical emissions of natural gas, oil and bio-oil flames spectra at different combustion conditions were obtained. In order to validate the performance in the baseline estimation process, the Goodness-of-fit Coefficient and the Root Mean-squared Error quality metrics were evaluated between the estimated and the real spectra in absence of discontinuous emission. The achieved results make the proposed method a key element in the development of automatic monitoring processes strategies involving discontinuous spectral bands.

Keywords: Flame spectra, removing baseline, recovering spectrum.

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Authors: R. Hocine, K. Belkacemi, A. Boukortt, A. Boudjemai

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When designing satellites, one of the major issues aside for designing its primary subsystems is to devise its thermal. The thermal management of satellites requires solving different sets of issues with regards to modelling. If the satellite is well conditioned all other parts of the satellite will have higher temperature no matter what. The main issue of thermal modelling for satellite design is really making sure that all the other points of the satellite will be within the temperature limits they are designed. The insertion of power electronics in aerospace technologies is becoming widespread and the modern electronic systems used in space must be reliable and efficient with thermal management unaffected by outer space constraints. Many advanced thermal management techniques have been developed in recent years that have application in high power electronic systems. This paper presents a Three-Dimensional Modal Transmission Line Matrix (3D-TLM) implementation of transient heat flow in space power electronics. In such kind of components heat dissipation and good thermal management are essential. Simulation provides the cheapest tool to investigate all aspects of power handling. The 3DTLM has been successful in modeling heat diffusion problems and has proven to be efficient in terms of stability and complex geometry. The results show a three-dimensional visualisation of self-heating phenomena in the device affected by outer space constraints, and will presents possible approaches for increasing the heat dissipation capability of the power modules.

Keywords: Thermal management, conduction, heat dissipation, CTE, ceramic, heat spreader, nodes, 3D-TLM.

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Authors: Won-Hee Cho, GeunHyung Lee, Deok-Hwan Kim

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The flash memory has many advantages such as low power consumption, strong shock resistance, fast I/O and non-volatility. And it is increasingly used in the mobile storage device. The YAFFS, one of the NAND flash file system, is widely used in the embedded device. However, the existing YAFFS takes long time to mount the file system because it scans whole spare areas in all pages of NAND flash memory. In order to solve this problem, we propose a new content-based flash file system using a mounting time reduction technique. The proposed method only scans partial spare areas of some special pages by using content-based block management. The experimental results show that the proposed method reduces the average mounting time by 87.2% comparing with JFFS2 and 69.9% comparing with YAFFS.

Keywords: NAND Flash Memory, Mounting Time, YAFFS, JFFS2, Content-based Block management

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Authors: Ubaidillah Zuhdi, Shunsuke Mori, Kazuhisa Kamegai

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The purpose of this study is to forecast the influences of information and communication technology (ICT) on the structural changes of Japanese economies. In this study, input-output (IO) and statistical approaches are used as analysis instruments. More specifically, this study employs Leontief IO coefficients and constrained multivariate regression (CMR) model in order to achieve the purpose. The periods of initial and forecast in this study are 2005 and 2015, respectively. In this study, ICT is represented by ICT capital stocks. This study conducts two levels of analysis, namely macro and micro. The results of macro level analysis show that the dynamics of Japanese economies on the forecast period, relative to the initial period, are not so high. We focus on (1) commerce, (2) business services and office supplies, and (3) personal services sectors when conducting the analysis of the micro level. Further, we analyze its specific IO coefficients when doing this analysis. The results of the analysis explain that ICT gives a strong influence on the changes of these coefficients from initial to forecast periods.

Keywords: Forecast, ICT, Structural changes, Japanese economies.

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Authors: Ľudmila Ballová, Slavomír Kurhajec, Eva Petrovová, Jarmila Eftimová

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Angiogenesis, a formation of new blood vessels from a pre-existing vasculature, plays an important role in pathologic processes such as the growth and metastasis of tumours. Tumours cannot grow beyond a few millimetres without blood supply from the newly formed blood vessels from the host tissue, a process called tumour-induced angiogenesis. The successful research of antiangiogenic treatment of cancer has focused on nutraceuticals with angiogenesis-modulating properties. Berberine, as a major active component of the bark of Phellodendron amurense Rupr., has shown antitumour activity by intervening into different steps of carcinogenesis. The influence of ethanolic extract of Phellodendron amurese bark on the angiogenesis was tested in vivo on chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). The irritancy of the CAM after the application of the crude bark extract dissolved in normal saline (10 mg/mL) was investigated on embryonic day 7. No significant signs of the irritancy, such as vasoconstriction, hyperaemia, haemorrhage or coagulation were observed which indicates the harmless character of the extract. A significant reduction in vessel sprouting and higher percentage of avascular zone was observed in the case of CAM treated with the extract in comparison with non-treated CAM (control), which is a proof of the antiangiogenic potential of the extract. These results could contribute to the development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer or other diseases, in which angiogenesis plays a significant role.

Keywords: Angiogenesis, berberine, chorioallantoic membrane, Phellodendron amurense.

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Authors: Nisha Harry

Abstract:

The study discussed in this article sought to assess whether a sense of professional efficacy mediates the relationship between personal factors and career adaptability. A quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was followed. A non–probability sample of (N = 409) of which predominantly early career and permanently employed black females in call centres in Africa participated in this study. In order to assess personal factors, the participants completed sense of meaningfulness and emotional intelligence measures. Measures of professional efficacy and career adaptability were also completed. The results of the mediational analysis revealed that professional efficacy significantly mediates the meaningfulness (sense of coherence) and career adaptability relationship, but not the emotional intelligence–career adaptability relationship. Call centre agents with professional efficacy are likely to be more work engaged as a result of their sense of meaningfulness and emotional intelligence.

Keywords: Call centre, professional efficacy, career adaptability, emotional intelligence.

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Authors: S. W. Liu, J. H. Lv, W. Z. Wang

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In recent years, the failure accidents in petrochemical industry have been frequent, and have posed great security problems in personnel and property. The improvement of petrochemical safety is highly requested in order to prevent re-occurrence of severe accident. This study focuses on surveying the failure cases occurred in petrochemical field, which were extracted from journals of engineering failure, including engineering failure analysis and case studies in engineering failure analysis. The relation of failure mode, failure mechanism, type of components, and type of materials was analyzed in this study. And the analytical results showed that failures occurred more frequently in vessels and piping among the petrochemical equipment. Moreover, equipment made of carbon steel and stainless steel accounts for the majority of failures compared to other materials. This may be related to the application of the equipment and the performance of the material. In addition, corrosion failures were the largest in number of occurrence in the failure of petrochemical equipment, in which stress corrosion cracking accounts for a large proportion. This may have a lot to do with the service environment of the petrochemical equipment. Therefore, it can be concluded that the corrosion prevention of petrochemical equipment is particularly important.

Keywords: Cases analysis, corrosion, failure, petrochemical industry.

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Authors: Meiyuan Zheng, Jingwu He, Yuexi Xiong

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A universal multi-function leaf spring main landing gear was designed for light aircraft. The main landing gear combined with the leaf spring, skidding, and wheels enables it to have a good takeoff and landing performance on various grounds such as the hard, snow, grass and sand grounds. Firstly, the characteristics of different landing sites were studied in this paper in order to analyze the load of the main landing gear on different types of grounds. Based on this analysis, the structural design optimization along with the strength and stiffness characteristics of the main landing gear has been done, which enables it to have good takeoff and landing performance on different types of grounds given the relevant regulations and standards. Additionally, the impact of the skidding on the aircraft during the flight was also taken into consideration. Finally, a universal multi-function leaf spring type of the main landing gear suitable for light aircraft has been developed.

Keywords: Landing gear, multi-function, leaf spring, skidding.

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Authors: Ibrahim Cil, Onur Kurtcu, H. Ibrahim Demir, Furkan Yener, Yusuf. S. Turkan, Muharrem Unver, Ramazan Evren

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Fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method is decision-making way at the end of integrating the current AHP method with fuzzy structure. In this study, the processes of production planning, inventory management and purchasing department of a system were analysed and were requested to decide the performance criteria of each area. At this point, the current work processes were analysed by various decision-makers and comparing each criteria by giving points according to 1-9 scale were completed. The criteria were listed in order to their weights by using Fuzzy AHP approach and top three performance criteria of each department were determined. After that, the performance criteria of supply chain consisting of three departments were asked to determine. The processes of each department were compared by decision-makers at the point of building the supply chain performance system and getting the performance criteria. According to the results, the criteria of performance system of supply chain by using Fuzzy AHP were determined for which will be used in the supply chain performance system in the future.

Keywords: AHP, fuzzy, performance evaluation, supply chain.

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Authors: Babak Darvish Rouhani, Mohd Naz’ri Mahrin, Fatemeh Nikpay, Pourya Nikfard, Maryam Khanian Najafabadi

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Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a strategy that is employed by enterprises in order to align their business and Information Technology (IT). EA is managed, developed, and maintained through Enterprise Architecture Implementation Methodology (EAIM). Effectiveness of EA implementation is the degree in which EA helps to achieve the collective goals of the organization. This paper analyzes the results of a survey that aims to explore the factors that affect the effectiveness of EAIM and specifically the relationship between factors and effectiveness of the output and functionality of EA project. The exploratory factor analysis highlights a specific set of five factors: alignment, adaptiveness, support, binding, and innovation. The regression analysis shows that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between each of the five factors and the effectiveness of EAIM. Consistent with theory and practice, the most prominent factor for developing an effective EAIM is innovation. The findings contribute to the measuring the effectiveness of EA implementation project by providing an indication of the measurement implementation approaches which is used by the Enterprise Architects, and developing an effective EAIM.

Keywords: Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Architecture Implementation Methodology, EA, Effectiveness, Factors, Implementation Methodology.

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Authors: T. Patrice Nna Nna, S. Ndjakomo Essiane, S. Pérabi Ngoffé, F. Amigue Fissou

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This paper deals with the harmonic decontamination of current in an electrical grid by an active shunt filter in order to improve power quality. The contribution of this paper is mainly based on the proposal of a control strategy for an active filter based on Duty Cycle Modulation (DCM). First, three-monophase method is applied for the identification of disturbing currents. A Simulink model of this method is given for one phase of the grid. Secondly, two orders were designed: the first one is the Hysteresis Control and the second one is the DCM Control. Finally, a comparative study of the two controls was performed. The results obtained show a significant improvement in the rate of harmonic distortion for both controls. The harmonic distortion for the Hysteresis control is limited by the non-controllability of the switching frequencies of the inverter's switches and reduces the harmonic distortion rate (THD) to 3.12% as opposed to the DCM control which limits the THD to 2.82% which makes it better.

Keywords: Harmonic pollution, shunt active filter, hysteresis, Duty Cycle Modulation.

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Authors: Zofija Tupikovskaja-Omovie, David Tyler, Sam Dhanapala, Steve Hayes

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The UK is leading in online retail and mobile adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer browsing and purchase behaviour in m-retail channel would provide apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined shopping behaviour on fashion mobile apps and websites. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion consumers prefer websites on smartphones, when diverse mobile apps are also available. The following research methods were employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel. The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore, participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in further studies.

Keywords: Consumer behaviour, eye-tracking technology, fashion retail, mobile app, m-retail, smart phones, Topshop, user experience, website.

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Authors: S. Totong, K. Faungnawakij, N. Laosiripojana

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The development of alternative energy is interesting in the present especially, hydrogen production because it is an important energy resource in the future. This paper studied the hydrogen production from catalytic dehydrogenation of ethanol through via low temperature (<500°C) reaction. Copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) supported on fumed silica (SiO2) were selected in the present work; in addition, bimetallic material; Ag-Cu supported on SiO2 was also investigated. The catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR)and nitrogen adsorption measurements. The catalytic dehydrogenation of ethanol was carried out in a fixed bed continuous flow reactor at atmospheric pressure. The effect of reaction temperature between 300-375°C was studied in order to maximize the hydrogen yield. It was found that Ag-Cu/SiO2 exhibited the highest hydrogen yield compared to Ag/SiO2 and Cu/SiO2 at low reaction temperature (300°C) with full ethanol conversion. The highest hydrogen yield observed was 40% and will be further used as a reactant in fuel cells to generate electricity or feedstock of chemical production. 

Keywords: Catalyst, dehydrogenation, ethanol, hydrogen production.

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Authors: V. K. Banga

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Robots are now playing a very promising role in industries. Robots are commonly used in applications in repeated operations or where operation by human is either risky or not feasible. In most of the industrial applications, robotic arm manipulators are widely used. Robotic arm manipulator with two link or three link structures is commonly used due to their low degrees-of-freedom (DOF) movement. As the DOF of robotic arm increased, complexity increases. Instrumentation involved with robotics plays very important role in order to interact with outer environment. In this work, optimal control for movement of various DOFs of robotic arm using various soft computing techniques has been presented. We have discussed about different robotic structures having various DOF robotics arm movement. Further stress is on kinematics of the arm structures i.e. forward kinematics and inverse kinematics. Trajectory planning of robotic arms using soft computing techniques is demonstrating the flexibility of this technique. The performance is optimized for all possible input values and results in optimized movement as resultant output. In conclusion, soft computing has been playing very important role for achieving optimized movement of robotic arm. It also requires very limited knowledge of the system to implement soft computing techniques.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, kinematics, robotic arm, neural networks, fuzzy logic.

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Authors: Michael Grigutsch, Peter Nyhuis

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Due to the volatile global economy, enterprises are increasingly focusing on logistics. By investing in suitable measures a company can increase their logistic performance and assert themselves over the competition. However, enterprises are also faced with the challenge of investing available capital for maximum profits. In order to be able to create an informed and quantifiably comprehensible basis for a decision, enterprises need a suitable model for logistically and monetarily evaluating measures in production. Previously, within the frame of Collaborate Research Centre 489 (SFB 489) at the Institute for Production Systems and Logistics, (IFA) a Logistic Information System was developed specifically for providing enterprises in the forging industry with support when making decisions. Based on this research, a new initiative referred to as ‘Transfer Project T7’, aims to develop a universal approach for logistically and monetarily evaluating production measures. This paper focuses on the structural measure echelon storage and their impact on the entire production system.

Keywords: Logistic Operating Curves, Transfer Functions, Production Logistics, Storages Echelon.

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Authors: Gabriela R. Fernandes, Renato F. Denadai, Guido J. Denipotti

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In this work, are discussed two formulations of the boundary element method - BEM to perform linear bending analysis of plates reinforced by beams. Both formulations are based on the Kirchhoff's hypothesis and they are obtained from the reciprocity theorem applied to zoned plates, where each sub-region defines a beam or a slab. In the first model the problem values are defined along the interfaces and the external boundary. Then, in order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom kinematics hypothesis are assumed along the beam cross section, leading to a second formulation where the collocation points are defined along the beam skeleton, instead of being placed on interfaces. On these formulations no approximation of the generalized forces along the interface is required. Moreover, compatibility and equilibrium conditions along the interface are automatically imposed by the integral equation. Thus, these formulations require less approximation and the total number of the degree s of freedom is reduced. In the numerical examples are discussed the differences between these two BEM formulations, comparing as well the results to a well-known finite element code.

Keywords: Boundary elements, Building floor structures, Platebending.

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Authors: P. Mbecke

Abstract:

Developmental social welfare implemented through developmental social work is being applauded internationally as an approach that facilitates social development theory and practice. However, twenty-two years into democracy, there are no tangible evidences that the much-desired developmental social welfare approach has assisted the post-apartheid macroeconomic policy frameworks in addressing poverty and inequality, thus, the derailment of the post-apartheid development approach in South Africa. Based on the implementation research theory, and the literature review technique, this paper recognizes social work as a principal role-player in social development. It recommends the redesign and implementation of an effective developmental social welfare approach with specific strategies, programs, activities and sufficient resources aligned to and appropriate in delivering on the promises of the government’s macroeconomic policy frameworks. Such approach should be implemented by skilled and dedicated developmental social workers in order to achieve transformation in South Africa.

Keywords: Apartheid, developmental social welfare, developmental social work, inequality, poverty alleviation, social development, South Africa.

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Authors: Zhao Jing, Bai Yongqing, Shi Qiaofang, Zang Yang, Zhang Huaihao

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Advances in software technology enable the computational chemistry to be commonly applied in various research fields, especially in pedagogy. Thus, in order to expand and improve experimental instructions of computational chemistry for undergraduates, we designed an introductory experiment—research on acrylamide molecular structure and physicochemical properties. Initially, students construct molecular models of acrylamide and polyacrylamide in Gaussian and Materials Studio software respectively. Then, the infrared spectral data, atomic charge and molecular orbitals of acrylamide as well as solvation effect of polyacrylamide are calculated to predict their physicochemical performance. At last, rheological experiments are used to validate these predictions. Through the combination of molecular simulation (performed on Gaussian, Materials Studio) with experimental verification (rheology experiment), learners have deeply comprehended the chemical nature of acrylamide and polyacrylamide, achieving good learning outcomes.

Keywords: Upper-division undergraduate, computer-based learning, laboratory instruction, amides, molecular modeling, spectroscopy.

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Authors: M. Peña Aguilar Juan, E. Nava Galván Claudia, Pastrana Palma Alberto

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In this work was developed and implemented a thermal fogging disinfection system to counteract pathogens from poultry feces in agribusiness farms, to reduce mortality rates and increase biosafety in them. The control system consists of two phases for the conditioning of the farm during the sanitary break. In the first phase, viral and bacterial inactivation was performed by treating the stool dry cleaning, along with the development of a specialized product that foster the generation of temperatures above 55 °C in less than 24 hr, for virus inactivation. In the second phase, a process for disinfection by fogging was implemented, along with the development of a specialized disinfectant that guarantee no risk for the operators’ health or birds. As a result of this process, it was possible to minimize the level of mortality of chickens on farms from 12% to 5.49%, representing a reduction of 6.51% in the death rate, through the formula applied to the treatment of poultry litter based on oxidising agents used as antiseptics, hydrogen peroxide solutions, glacial acetic acid and EDTA in order to act on bacteria, viruses, micro bacteria and spores.

Keywords: Innovation, triple-helix, innovation, poultry farms.

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Authors: Kubra Sayin, Derya Arslan

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Red pepper (Capsicum annum L.) has long been recognized as a good source of antioxidants, being rich in ascorbic acid and other phytochemicals. In Turkish cuisine red pepper is sometimes consumed raw in salads and baked as a garnish, but its most wide consumption type is red pepper paste. The processing of red pepper into pepper paste includes various thermal treatment steps such as heating and pasteurizing. There are reports demonstrating an enhancement or reduction in antioxidant activity of vegetables after thermal treatment. So this study was conducted to investigate the total phenolic, ascorbic acid and total carotenoids as well as free radical scavenging activity of raw red pepper and various red pepper pastes obtainable on the market. The samples were analyzed for radical-scavenging activity (RSA) and total polyphenol (TP) content using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Folin-Ciocalteu methods, respectively. Total carotenoids and ascorbic acid contents were determined spectrophotometrically. Results suggest that hot pepper paste contained significantly (P<0.05) higher concentrations of TP than sweet pepper paste. However there is no significant (P>0.05) difference in RSA, ascorbic acid and total carotenoids content between sweet and hot red pepper paste products. It is concluded that the red pepper paste, that has a wide range of consumption in Turkish cuisine, presents a good dose of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity and it should be regarded as a functional food.

Keywords: Antioxidant properties, Red pepper paste, Total carotenoids, Total phenolic content.

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Authors: Ahmed Mateen, Zhu Qingsheng, Faisal Shahzad

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Requirement Engineering (RE) is a part being created for programming structure during the software development lifecycle. Software product line development is a new topic area within the domain of software engineering. It also plays important role in decision making and it is ultimately helpful in rising business environment for productive programming headway. Decisions are central to engineering processes and they hold them together. It is argued that better decisions will lead to better engineering. To achieve better decisions requires that they are understood in detail. In order to address the issues, companies are moving towards Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) which helps in providing large varieties of products with minimum development effort and cost. This paper proposed a new framework for software product line and compared with other models. The results can help to understand the needs in SPL testing, by identifying points that still require additional investigation. In our future scenario, we will combine this model in a controlled environment with industrial SPL projects which will be the new horizon for SPL process management testing strategies.

Keywords: Requirements engineering, software product lines, scoping, process structure, domain specific language.

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Authors: Design of 3-Step Skew BLAC Motor for Better Performance in Electric Power Steering System

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In Electric Power Steering (EPS), spoke type Brushless AC (BLAC) motors offer distinct advantages over other electric motor types in terms torque smoothness, reliability and efficiency. This paper deals with the shape optimization of spoke type BLAC motor, in order to reduce cogging torque. This paper examines 3 steps skewing rotor angle, optimizing rotor core edge and rotor overlap length for reducing cogging torque in spoke type BLAC motor. The methods were applied to existing machine designs and their performance was calculated using finite- element analysis (FEA). Prototypes of the machine designs were constructed and experimental results obtained. It is shown that the FEA predicted the cogging torque to be nearly reduce using those methods.

Keywords: EPS, 3-Step skewing, spoke type BLAC, cogging torque, FEA, optimization.

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Authors: S. Imbin, S. Dullah, H. Asrah, P. S. Kumar, M. E. Rahman, M. A. Mannan

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Service life of existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures in coastal towns of Sabah has been affected very much. Concrete crack, spalling of concrete cover and reinforcement rusting of RC buildings are seen even within 5 years of construction in Sabah. Hence, in this study a new mix design of concrete grout was developed using locally available materials and investigated under two curing conditions and workability, compressive strength, Accelerated Mortar Bar Test (AMBT), water absorption, volume of permeable voids (VPV), Sorptivity and 90-days salt ponding test were conducted. The compressive strength of concrete grout at the age 90 days was found to be 44.49 N/mm2 under water curing. It was observed that the percentage of mortar bar length change was below 1% for developed concrete grout. The water absorption of the concrete grout was in between the range of 0.88 % to 3.60 % under two different curing up to the age 90 days. It was also observed that the VPV of concrete was in the range of 0 % to 9.75 and 2.44% to 13.05% under water curing and site curing respectively. It was found that the Sorptivity of the concrete grout under water curing at the age of 28 days is 0.211mm/√min and at the age 90 day are 0.067 mm/√min. The chloride content decreased greatly, 90% after a depth of 15 mm. It was noticed that the site cured samples showed higher chloride contents near surface compared to water cured samples. This investigation suggested that the developed mix design of concrete grout using locally available construction materials can be used for crack repairing of existing RC structures in Sabah.

Keywords: Concrete grout, Salt ponding, Sorptivity, Water absorption.

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Authors: Nuawi M. Z., Lamin F., Ismail A. R., Abdullah S., Wahid Z.

Abstract:

A filter is used to remove undesirable frequency information from a dynamic signal. This paper shows that the Znotch filter filtering technique can be applied to remove the noise nuisance from a machining signal. In machining, the noise components were identified from the sound produced by the operation of machine components itself such as hydraulic system, motor, machine environment and etc. By correlating the noise components with the measured machining signal, the interested components of the measured machining signal which was less interfered by the noise, can be extracted. Thus, the filtered signal is more reliable to be analysed in terms of noise content compared to the unfiltered signal. Significantly, the I-kaz method i.e. comprises of three dimensional graphical representation and I-kaz coefficient, Z∞ could differentiate between the filtered and the unfiltered signal. The bigger space of scattering and the higher value of Z∞ demonstrated that the signal was highly interrupted by noise. This method can be utilised as a proactive tool in evaluating the noise content in a signal. The evaluation of noise content is very important as well as the elimination especially for machining operation fault diagnosis purpose. The Z-notch filtering technique was reliable in extracting noise component from the measured machining signal with high efficiency. Even though the measured signal was exposed to high noise disruption, the signal generated from the interaction between cutting tool and work piece still can be acquired. Therefore, the interruption of noise that could change the original signal feature and consequently can deteriorate the useful sensory information can be eliminated.

Keywords: Digital signal filtering, I-kaz method, Machiningmonitoring, Noise Cancelling, Sound

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Authors: Nwobu Obiamaka, Owolabi Akintola

Abstract:

This study examined the extent of statistical significant difference between the economic, environmental, governance and social aspects of sustainability reporting as a result of board committee on sustainability and time (year) of reporting for business organizations in the Nigerian banking sector. The years of reporting under consideration were 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Content analysis methodology was employed through a reporting index used to score the amount of economic, environmental, governance and social indicators of sustainability reporting. The results of this study indicated that business organizations with board committee on sustainability had more indicators of sustainability reporting than those without board committees on sustainability issues. Also, sustainability reporting in 2013 was higher than that of prior years (2012, 2011 and 2010) for the economic, environmental and social indicators. The governance indicators of 2012 was highest compared to the other years (2013, 2011 and 2010) under consideration in this study. The implication of this finding is that business organizations that have board committees on sustainability are monitored by such boards to report more to their stakeholders. On the other hand, business organizations are appreciating the need to engage in sustainability reporting with each passing year. This could be due to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sustainability Reporting framework that business organizations in the banking sector have to adhere to. When sustainability issues are monitored from the board of directors, business organizations are likely to increase and improve on their sustainability reporting.

Keywords: Governance, organizations, reporting, sustainability.

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Authors: Marco T. C. Faria

Abstract:

Fixed-geometry hydrodynamic journal bearings are one of the best supporting systems for several applications of rotating machinery. Cylindrical journal bearings present excellent loadcarrying capacity and low manufacturing costs, but they are subjected to the oil-film instability at high speeds. An attempt of overcoming this instability problem has been the development of non-circular journal bearings. This work deals with an analysis of oil-lubricated elliptical journal bearings using the finite element method. Steadystate and dynamic performance characteristics of elliptical bearings are rendered by zeroth- and first-order lubrication equations obtained through a linearized perturbation method applied on the classical Reynolds equation. Four-node isoparametric rectangular finite elements are employed to model the bearing thin film flow. Curves of elliptical bearing load capacity and dynamic force coefficients are rendered at several operating conditions. The results presented in this work demonstrate the influence of the bearing ellipticity on its performance at different loading conditions.

Keywords: Elliptical journal bearings, non-circular journal bearings, hydrodynamic bearings, finite element method.

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Authors: J. P. Dubois, Omar M. Abdul-Latif

Abstract:

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a statistical learning tool developed to a more complex concept of structural risk minimization (SRM). In this paper, SVM is applied to signal detection in communication systems in the presence of channel noise in various environments in the form of Rayleigh fading, additive white Gaussian background noise (AWGN), and interference noise generalized as additive color Gaussian noise (ACGN). The structure and performance of SVM in terms of the bit error rate (BER) metric is derived and simulated for these advanced stochastic noise models and the computational complexity of the implementation, in terms of average computational time per bit, is also presented. The performance of SVM is then compared to conventional binary signaling optimal model-based detector driven by binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. We show that the SVM performance is superior to that of conventional matched filter-, innovation filter-, and Wiener filter-driven detectors, even in the presence of random Doppler carrier deviation, especially for low SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) ranges. For large SNR, the performance of the SVM was similar to that of the classical detectors. However, the convergence between SVM and maximum likelihood detection occurred at a higher SNR as the noise environment became more hostile.

Keywords: Colour noise, Doppler shift, innovation filter, least square-support vector machine, matched filter, Rayleigh fading, Wiener filter.

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