Search results for: Fixed Bed Reactor
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 904

Search results for: Fixed Bed Reactor

274 Reliability Analysis of Tubular Joints of Offshore Platforms in Malaysia

Authors: Nelson J. Cossa, Narayanan S. Potty, Mohd Shahir Liew, Arazi B. Idrus

Abstract:

The oil and gas industry has moved towards Load and Resistance Factor Design through API RP2A - LRFD and the recently published international standard, ISO-19902, for design of fixed steel offshore structures. The ISO 19902 is intended to provide a harmonized design practice that offers a balanced structural fitness for the purpose, economy and safety. As part of an ongoing work, the reliability analysis of tubular joints of the jacket structure has been carried out to calibrate the load and resistance factors for the design of offshore platforms in Malaysia, as proposed in the ISO. Probabilistic models have been established for the load effects (wave, wind and current) and the tubular joints strengths. In this study the First Order Reliability Method (FORM), coded in MATLAB Software has been employed to evaluate the reliability index of the typical joints, designed using API RP2A - WSD and ISO 19902.

Keywords: FORM, Reliability Analysis, Tubular Joints

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273 Thermal Cracking Approach Investigation to Improve Biodiesel Properties

Authors: Roghaieh Parvizsedghy, Seyyed Mojtaba Sadrameli

Abstract:

Biodiesel as an alternative diesel fuel is steadily gaining more attention and significance. However, there are some drawbacks while using biodiesel regarding its properties that requires it to be blended with petrol based diesel and/or additives to improve the fuel characteristics. This study analyses thermal cracking as an alternative technology to improve biodiesel characteristics in which, FAME based biodiesel produced by transesterification of castor oil is fed into a continuous thermal cracking reactor at temperatures range of 450-500°C and flowrate range of 20-40 g/hr. Experiments designed by response surface methodology and subsequent statistical studies show that temperature and feed flowrate significantly affect the products yield. Response surfaces were used to study the impact of temperature and flowrate on the product properties. After each experiment, the produced crude bio-oil was distilled and diesel cut was separated. As shorter chain molecules are produced through thermal cracking, the distillation curve of the diesel cut fitted more with petrol based diesel curve in comparison to the biodiesel. Moreover, the produced diesel cut properties adequately pose within property ranges defined by the related standard of petrol based diesel. Cold flow properties, high heating value as the main drawbacks of the biodiesel are improved by this technology. Thermal cracking decreases kinematic viscosity, Flash point and cetane number. 

Keywords: Biodiesel, castor oil, fuel properties, thermal cracking.

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272 Bioethanol Production from Enzymatically Saccharified Sunflower Stalks Using Steam Explosion as Pretreatment

Authors: Pilanee Vaithanomsat, Sinsupha Chuichulcherm, Waraporn Apiwatanapiwat

Abstract:

Sunflower stalks were analysed for chemical compositions: pentosan 15.84%, holocellulose 70.69%, alphacellulose 45.74%, glucose 27.10% and xylose 7.69% based on dry weight of 100-g raw material. The most optimum condition for steam explosion pretreatment was as follows. Sunflower stalks were cut into small pieces and soaked in 0.02 M H2SO4 for overnight. After that, they were steam exploded at 207 C and 21 kg/cm2 for 3 minutes to fractionate cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The resulting hydrolysate, containing hemicellulose, and cellulose pulp contained xylose sugar at 2.53% and 7.00%, respectively.The pulp was further subjected to enzymatic saccharification at 50 C, pH 4.8 citrate buffer) with pulp/buffer 6% (w/w)and Celluclast 1.5L/pulp 2.67% (w/w) to obtain single glucose with maximum yield 11.97%. After fixed-bed fermentation under optimum condition using conventional yeast mixtures to produce bioethanol, it indicated maximum ethanol yield of 0.028 g/100 g sunflower stalk.

Keywords: Enzymatic, steam explosion, sunflower stalk, ethanol production.

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271 Computationally Efficient Adaptive Rate Sampling and Adaptive Resolution Analysis

Authors: Saeed Mian Qaisar, Laurent Fesquet, Marc Renaudin

Abstract:

Mostly the real life signals are time varying in nature. For proper characterization of such signals, time-frequency representation is required. The STFT (short-time Fourier transform) is a classical tool used for this purpose. The limitation of the STFT is its fixed time-frequency resolution. Thus, an enhanced version of the STFT, which is based on the cross-level sampling, is devised. It can adapt the sampling frequency and the window function length by following the input signal local variations. Therefore, it provides an adaptive resolution time-frequency representation of the input. The computational complexity of the proposed STFT is deduced and compared to the classical one. The results show a significant gain of the computational efficiency and hence of the processing power. The processing error of the proposed technique is also discussed.

Keywords: Level Crossing Sampling, Activity Selection, Adaptive Resolution Analysis, Computational Complexity

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270 Personalization and the Universal Communications Identifier Concept

Authors: Françoise Petersen, Mike Pluke, Tatiana Kovacikova, Giovanni Bartolomeo

Abstract:

As communications systems and technology become more advanced and complex, it will be increasingly important to focus on users- individual needs. Personalization and effective user profile management will be necessary to ensure the uptake and success of new services and devices and it is therefore important to focus on the users- requirements in this area and define solutions that meet these requirements. The work on personalization and user profiles emerged from earlier ETSI work on a Universal Communications Identifier (UCI) which is a unique identifier of the user rather than a range of identifiers of the many of communication devices or services (e.g. numbers of fixed phone at home/work, mobile phones, fax and email addresses). This paper describes work on personalization including standardized information and preferences and an architectural framework providing a description of how personalization can be integrated in Next Generation Networks, together with the UCI concept.

Keywords: Interoperability, Next Generation Network (NGN), Personalization, Universal Communications Identifier (UCI), User Profile Management (UPM)

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269 Impact of Node Density and Transmission Range on the Performance of OLSR and DSDV Routing Protocols in VANET City Scenarios

Authors: Yassine Meraihi, Dalila Acheli, Rabah Meraihi

Abstract:

Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) is a special case of Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) used to establish communications and exchange information among nearby vehicles and between vehicles and nearby fixed infrastructure. VANET is seen as a promising technology used to provide safety, efficiency, assistance and comfort to the road users. Routing is an important issue in Vehicular Ad Hoc Network to find and maintain communication between vehicles due to the highly dynamic topology, frequently disconnected network and mobility constraints.

This paper evaluates the performance of two most popular proactive routing protocols OLSR and DSDV in real city traffic scenario on the basis of three metrics namely Packet delivery ratio, throughput and average end to end delay by varying vehicles density and transmission range.

Keywords: DSDV, OLSR, Quality of service, Routing protocols, VANET.

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268 Treatment of Oily Wastewater by Fibrous Coalescer Process: Stage Coalescer and Model Prediction

Authors: Pisut Painmanakul, Kotchakorn Kongkangwarn, Nattawin Chawaloesphonsiya

Abstract:

The coalescer process is one of the methods for oily water treatment by increasing the oil droplet size in order to enhance the separating velocity and thus effective separation. However, the presence of surfactants in an oily emulsion can limit the obtained mechanisms due to the small oil size related with stabilized emulsion. In this regard, the purpose of this research is to improve the efficiency of the coalescer process for treating the stabilized emulsion. The effects of bed types, bed height, liquid flow rate and stage coalescer (step-bed) on the treatment efficiencies in term of COD values were studied. Note that the treatment efficiency obtained experimentally was estimated by using the COD values and oil droplet size distribution. The study has shown that the plastic media has more effective to attach with oil particles than the stainless one due to their hydrophobic properties. Furthermore, the suitable bed height (3.5 cm) and step bed (3.5 cm with 2 steps) were necessary in order to well obtain the coalescer performance. The application of step bed coalescer process in reactor has provided the higher treatment efficiencies in term of COD removal than those obtained with classical process. The proposed model for predicting the area under curve and thus treatment efficiency, based on the single collector efficiency (ηT) and the attachment efficiency (α), provides relatively a good coincidence between the experimental and predicted values of treatment efficiencies in this study.

Keywords: Stage coalescer, stabilized emulsions, treatment efficiency, model prediction.

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267 Optimization of Tilt Angle for Solar Collectors: A Case Study for Bursa, Turkey

Authors: N. Arslanoglu

Abstract:

This paper deals with the optimum tilt angle for the solar collector in order to collect the maximum solar radiation. The optimum angle for tilted surfaces varying from 0 to 90 in steps of 1was computed. In present study, a theoretical model is used to predict the global solar radiation on a tilted surface and to obtain the optimum tilt angle for a solar collector in Bursa, Turkey. Global solar energy radiation on the solar collector surface with an optimum tilt angle is calculated for specific periods. It is determined that the optimum slope angle varies between 0 (June) and 59 (December) throughout the year. In winter (December, January, and February) the tilt should be 55, in spring (March, April, and May) 19.6, in summer (June, July, and August) 5.6, and in autumn (September, October, and November) 44.3. The yearly average of this value was obtained to be 31.1 and this would be the optimum fixed slope throughout the year.

Keywords: Optimum tilt angle, global solar radiation, tilted surface.

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266 Use of Carica papaya as a Bio-Sorbent for Removal of Heavy Metals in Wastewater

Authors: W. E. Igwegbe, B. C. Okoro, J. C. Osuagwu

Abstract:

The study assessed the effectiveness of Pawpaw (Carica papaya) wood in reducing the concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater acting as a bio-sorbent. The following heavy metals were considered; Zinc, Cadmium, Lead, Copper, Iron, Selenium, Nickel and Manganese. The physiochemical properties of Carica papaya stem were studied. The experimental sample was sourced from the trunk of a felled matured pawpaw tree. Wastewater for experimental use was prepared by dissolving soil samples collected from a dump site at Owerri, Imo state of Nigeria in water. The concentration of each metal remaining in solution as residual metal after bio-sorption was determined using Atomic absorption Spectrometer. The effects of pH and initial heavy metal concentration were studied in a batch reactor. The results of Spectrometer test showed that there were different functional groups detected in the Carica papaya stem biomass. There was increase in metal removal as the pH increased for all the metals considered except for Nickel and Manganese. Optimum bio-sorption occurred at pH 5.9 with 5g/100ml solution of bio-sorbent. The results of the study showed that the treated wastewater is fit for irrigation purpose based on Canada wastewater quality guideline for the protection of Agricultural standard. This approach thus provides a cost effective and environmentally friendly option for treating wastewater.

Keywords: Biomass, bio-sorption, Carica papaya, heavy metal, wastewater.

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265 Prediction of Phenolic Compound Migration Process through Soil Media using Artificial Neural Network Approach

Authors: Supriya Pal, Kalyan Adhikari, Somnath Mukherjee, Sudipta Ghosh

Abstract:

This study presents the application of artificial neural network for modeling the phenolic compound migration through vertical soil column. A three layered feed forward neural network with back propagation training algorithm was developed using forty eight experimental data sets obtained from laboratory fixed bed vertical column tests. The input parameters used in the model were the influent concentration of phenol(mg/L) on the top end of the soil column, depth of the soil column (cm), elapsed time after phenol injection (hr), percentage of clay (%), percentage of silt (%) in soils. The output of the ANN was the effluent phenol concentration (mg/L) from the bottom end of the soil columns. The ANN predicted results were compared with the experimental results of the laboratory tests and the accuracy of the ANN model was evaluated.

Keywords: Modeling, Neural Networks, Phenol, Soil media

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264 Rational Structure of Cable Truss

Authors: V. Goremikins, K. Rocens, D. Serdjuks

Abstract:

One of the main problems of suspended cable structures is initial shape change under the action of non uniform load. The problem can be solved by increasing of weight of construction or by using of prestressing. But this methods cause increasing of materials consumption of suspended cable structure. The cable truss usage is another way how the problem of shape change under the action of non uniform load can be fixed. The cable trusses with the vertical and inclined suspensions, cross web and single cable were analyzed as the main load-bearing structures of suspension bridge. It was shown, that usage of cable truss allows to reduce the vertical displacements up to 32% in comparison with the single cable in case of non uniformly distributed load. In case of uniformly distributed load single cable is preferable.

Keywords: Cable trusses, Non uniform load, Suspension bridge, Vertical displacements.

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263 A New H.264-Based Rate Control Algorithm for Stereoscopic Video Coding

Authors: Yi Liao, Wencheng Yang, Gangyi Jiang

Abstract:

According to investigating impact of complexity of stereoscopic frame pairs on stereoscopic video coding and transmission, a new rate control algorithm is presented. The proposed rate control algorithm is performed on three levels: stereoscopic group of pictures (SGOP) level, stereoscopic frame (SFrame) level and frame level. A temporal-spatial frame complexity model is firstly established, in the bits allocation stage, the frame complexity, position significance and reference property between the left and right frames are taken into account. Meanwhile, the target buffer is set according to the frame complexity. Experimental results show that the proposed method can efficiently control the bitrates, and it outperforms the fixed quantization parameter method from the rate distortion perspective, and average PSNR gain between rate-distortion curves (BDPSNR) is 0.21dB.

Keywords: Stereoscopic video coding, rate control, stereoscopic group of pictures, complexity of stereoscopic frame pairs.

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262 Urban Environmental Challenges in Developing Cities: The Case of Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa

Authors: Dubbale Daniel A., Tsutsumi J., Michael J. Bendewald

Abstract:

Addis Ababa is a seat of African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and hundreds of embassies and consular representatives. Addis Ababa is one of the highest capitals in the world with an average 2400 meters above sea level. It is dichotomous city with a blend of modern high-rise and deteriorating slum quarters. Water supply and sanitation, waste management and housing are continuing to be serious problems. Forest wood based domestic energy use as well as uncontrolled emissions from mobile and fixed sources has endangered the state of the urban environment. Analysis based on satellite imagery has revealed the deteriorating urban environment within the last three decades. The recently restructured city administration has brought improvements in the condition of the urban environment. However, the overwhelming size of the challenges faced by the city dwarfed their fairly good results.

Keywords: Addis Ababa, Urban environment, Slum, Housing, Relocation

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261 On the Efficiency and Robustness of Commingle Wiener and Lévy Driven Processes for Vasciek Model

Authors: Rasaki O. Olanrewaju

Abstract:

The driven processes of Wiener and Lévy are known self-standing Gaussian-Markov processes for fitting non-linear dynamical Vasciek model. In this paper, a coincidental Gaussian density stationarity condition and autocorrelation function of the two driven processes were established. This led to the conflation of Wiener and Lévy processes so as to investigate the efficiency of estimates incorporated into the one-dimensional Vasciek model that was estimated via the Maximum Likelihood (ML) technique. The conditional laws of drift, diffusion and stationarity process was ascertained for the individual Wiener and Lévy processes as well as the commingle of the two processes for a fixed effect and Autoregressive like Vasciek model when subjected to financial series; exchange rate of Naira-CFA Franc. In addition, the model performance error of the sub-merged driven process was miniature compared to the self-standing driven process of Wiener and Lévy.

Keywords: Wiener process, Lévy process, Vasciek model, drift, diffusion, Gaussian density stationary.

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260 Optimal Design of Motorcycle Crash Bar Using CAD and Finite Element Analysis

Authors: Sharon S. Wu, Yong S. Park

Abstract:

This project aims to study and evaluate the motorcycle crash bar, which is used to reduce injuries caused by side impacts to the motorcycle, and then develop an improved design using the engineering design process theory based on the current benchmark crash bar in order to lower the severity of motorcycle crash injuries. For this purpose, simulations for the crash bar are set up so that it travels at an angle towards a fixed concrete wall and collides at certain velocities. 3D CAD models are first designed in SolidWorks and dynamic crash simulations are then carried out using ANSYS to determine the lowest maximum Von-Mises stress over time and deformations by adjusting the parameters used in manufacturing the crash bar, including the velocity of the crash, material used, geometries with various radius fillets, and different thicknesses for the bar. The results of the simulation are used to determine the optimum parameters for a safer crash bar to withstand higher stress and deformation. Specifically, the von-Mises stress was reduced by at least 75% compared with the benchmark design by choosing aluminum alloy and a true unibar design.

Keywords: Crash bar, crash simulation, engineering design, motorcycle safety.

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259 Analysis of Production Loss on a Linear Walking Worker Line

Authors: Qian Wang, Sylvain Lassalle, Antony R. Mileham, Geraint W. Owen

Abstract:

This paper mathematically analyses the varying magnitude of production loss, which may occur due to idle time (inprocess waiting time and traveling time) on a linear walking worker assembly line. Within this flexible and reconfigurable assembly system, each worker travels down the line carrying out each assembly task at each station; and each worker accomplishes the assembly of a unit from start to finish and then travels back to the first station to start the assembly of a new product. This strategy of system design attempts to combine the flexibility of the U-shaped moving worker assembly cell with the efficiency of the conventional fixed worker assembly line. The paper aims to evaluate the effect of idle time that may offset the labor efficiency of each walking worker providing an insight into the mechanism of such a flexible and reconfigurable assembly system.

Keywords: Production lines, manufacturing systems, assemblysystems, walking workers.

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258 Design of a Tube Vent to Enhance the Role of Roof Solar Collector

Authors: Eakkasak Susakunphaisan, Pichai Namprakai, Withaya Puangsombut

Abstract:

The objective of this paper was to designing a ventilation system to enhance the performance of roof solar collector (RSC) for reducing heat accumulation inside the house. The RSC has 1.8 m2 surface area made of CPAC monier roof tiles on the upper part and gypsum board on the lower part. The space between CPAC monier and gypsum board was fixed at 14 cm. Ventilation system of modified roof solar collector (modified RSC) consists of 9 tubes of 0.15m diameter and installed in the lower part of RSC. Experimental result showed that the temperature of the room, and attic temperature. The average temperature reduction of room of house used modified RSC is about 2oC. and the percentage of room temperature reduction varied between 0 to 10%. Therefore, modified RSC is an interesting option in the sense that it promotes solar energy and conserve energy.

Keywords: roof solar collector, heat accumulation

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257 The Rank-scaled Mutation Rate for Genetic Algorithms

Authors: Mike Sewell, Jagath Samarabandu, Ranga Rodrigo, Kenneth McIsaac

Abstract:

A novel method of individual level adaptive mutation rate control called the rank-scaled mutation rate for genetic algorithms is introduced. The rank-scaled mutation rate controlled genetic algorithm varies the mutation parameters based on the rank of each individual within the population. Thereby the distribution of the fitness of the papulation is taken into consideration in forming the new mutation rates. The best fit mutate at the lowest rate and the least fit mutate at the highest rate. The complexity of the algorithm is of the order of an individual adaptation scheme and is lower than that of a self-adaptation scheme. The proposed algorithm is tested on two common problems, namely, numerical optimization of a function and the traveling salesman problem. The results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms both the fixed and deterministic mutation rate schemes. It is best suited for problems with several local optimum solutions without a high demand for excessive mutation rates.

Keywords: Genetic algorithms, mutation rate control, adaptive mutation.

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256 ANP-based Intra and Inter-industry Analysis for Measuring Spillover Effect of ICT Industries

Authors: Yongyoon Suh, Yongtae Park

Abstract:

The interaction among information and communication technology (ICT) industries is a recently ubiquitous phenomenon through fixed-mobile integration. To monitor the impact of interaction, previous research has mainly focused on measuring spillover effect among ICT industries using various methods. Among others, inter-industry analysis is one of the useful methods for examining spillover effect between industries. However, more complex ICT industries become, more important the impact within an industry is. Inter-industry analysis is limited in mirroring intra-relationships within an industry. Thus, this study applies the analytic network process (ANP) to measure the spillover effect, capturing all of the intra and inter-relationships. Using ANP-based intra and inter-industry analysis, the spillover effect is effectively measured, mirroring the complex structure of ICT industries. A main ICT industry and its linkages are also explored to show the current structure of ICT industries. The proposed approach is expected to allow policy makers to understand interactions of ICT industries and their impact.

Keywords: ANP, intra and inter-industry analysis, spillover effect

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255 Effect of Biomass Feedstocks on the Production of Hydrogenated Biodiesel

Authors: Panatcha Bovornseripatai, Siriporn Jongpatiwut, Somchai Osuwan, Suchada Butnark

Abstract:

Hydrogenated biodiesel is one of the most promising renewable fuels. It has many advantages over conventional biodiesel, including higher cetane number, higher heating value, lower viscosity, and lower corrosiveness due to its absence of oxygen. From previous work, Pd/TiO2 gave high conversion and selectivity in hydrogenated biodiesel. In this work, the effect of biomass feedstocks (i.e. beef fat, chicken fat, pork fat, and jatropha oil) on the production of hydrogenated biodiesel over Pd/TiO2 has been studied. Biomass feedstocks were analyzed by ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) to identify the content of impurities (i.e. P, K, Ca, Na, and Mg). The deoxygenation catalyst, Pd/TiO2, was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) and tested in a continuous flow packed-bed reactor at 500 psig, 325°C, H2/feed molar ratio of 30, and LHSV of 4 h-1 for its catalytic activity and selectivity in hydrodeoxygenation. All feedstocks gave high selectivity in diesel specification range hydrocarbons and the main hydrocarbons were n-pentadecane (n-C15) and n-heptadecane (n- C17), resulting from the decarbonylation/decarboxylation reaction. Intermediates such as oleic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, and esters were also detected in minor amount. The conversion of triglycerides in jatropha oil is higher than those of chicken fat, pork fat, and beef fat, respectively. The higher concentration of metal impurities in feedstock, the lower conversion of feedstock.

Keywords: Hydrogenated biodiesel, hydrodeoxygenation, Pd/TiO2, biomass feedstock

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254 Performance and Emission Prediction in a Biodiesel Engine Fuelled with Honge Methyl Ester Using RBF Neural Networks

Authors: Shivakumar, G. S. Vijay, P. Srinivas Pai, B. R. Shrinivasa Rao

Abstract:

In the present study, RBF neural networks were used for predicting the performance and emission parameters of a biodiesel engine. Engine experiments were carried out in a 4 stroke diesel engine using blends of diesel and Honge methyl ester as the fuel. Performance parameters like BTE, BSEC, Tex and emissions from the engine were measured. These experimental results were used for ANN modeling. RBF center initialization was done by random selection and by using Clustered techniques. Network was trained by using fixed and varying widths for the RBF units. It was observed that RBF results were having a good agreement with the experimental results. Networks trained by using clustering technique gave better results than using random selection of centers in terms of reduced MRE and increased prediction accuracy. The average MRE for the performance parameters was 3.25% with the prediction accuracy of 98% and for emissions it was 10.4% with a prediction accuracy of 80%.

Keywords: Radial Basis Function networks, emissions, Performance parameters, Fuzzy c means.

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253 Effect of Oxygen on Biochar Yield and Properties

Authors: Ramlan Zailani, Halim Ghafar, Mohamad Sofian So'aib

Abstract:

Air infiltration in mass scale industrial applications of bio char production is inevitable. The presence of oxygen during the carbonization process is detrimental to the production of biochar yield and properties. The experiment was carried out on several wood species in a fixed-bed pyrolyser under various fractions of oxygen ranging from 0% to 11% by varying nitrogen and oxygen composition in the pyrolysing gas mixtures at desired compositions. The bed temperature and holding time were also varied. Process optimization was carried out by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) by employing Central Composite Design (CCD) using Design Expert 6.0 Software. The effect of oxygen ratio and holding time on biochar yield within the range studied were statistically significant. From the analysis result, optimum condition of 15.2% biochar yield of mangrove wood was predicted at pyrolysis temperature of 403 oC, oxygen percentage of 2.3% and holding time of two hours. This prediction agreed well with the experiment finding of 15.1% biochar yield.

Keywords: Mangrove wood, slow pyrolysis, oxygen infiltration.

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252 Productive Design and Calculation of Intermittent Mechanisms with Radial Parallel Cams

Authors: Pavel Dostrašil, Petr Jirásko

Abstract:

The paper deals with the kinematics and automated calculation of intermittent mechanisms with radial cams. Currently, electronic cams are increasingly applied in the drives of working link mechanisms. Despite a huge advantage of electronic cams in their reprogrammability or instantaneous change of displacement diagrams, conventional cam mechanisms have an irreplaceable role in production and handling machines. With high frequency of working cycle periods, the dynamic load of the proper servomotor rotor increases and efficiency of electronic cams strongly decreases. Though conventional intermittent mechanisms with radial cams are representatives of fixed automation, they have distinct advantages in their high speed (high dynamics), positional accuracy and relatively easy manufacture. We try to remove the disadvantage of firm displacement diagram by reducing costs for simple design and automated calculation that leads reliably to high-quality and inexpensive manufacture.

Keywords: Cam mechanism, displacement diagram, intermittentmechanism, radial parallel cam

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251 Optimal Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling Mission Planning with Complex Constraints

Authors: Jing Yu, Hongyang Liu, Dong Hao

Abstract:

On-Orbit Refueling is of great significance in extending space crafts' lifetime. The problem of minimum-fuel, time-fixed, Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling mission planning is addressed here with the particular aim of assigning fuel-insufficient satellites to the fuel-sufficient satellites and optimizing each rendezvous trajectory. Constraints including perturbation, communication link, sun illumination, hold points for different rendezvous phases, and sensor switching are considered. A planning model has established as well as a two-level solution method. The upper level deals with target assignment based on fuel equilibrium criterion, while the lower level solves constrained trajectory optimization using special maneuver strategies. Simulations show that the developed method could effectively resolve the Peer-to-Peer On-Orbit Refueling mission planning problem and deal with complex constraints.

Keywords: Mission planning, orbital rendezvous, on-orbit refueling, space mission.

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250 Investigation on Novel Based Naturally-Inspired Swarm Intelligence Algorithms for Optimization Problems in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Authors: C. Rajan, K. Geetha, C. Rasi Priya, S. Geetha

Abstract:

Nature is the immense gifted source for solving complex problems. It always helps to find the optimal solution to solve the problem. Mobile Ad Hoc NETwork (MANET) is a wide research area of networks which has set of independent nodes. The characteristics involved in MANET’s are Dynamic, does not depend on any fixed infrastructure or centralized networks, High mobility. The Bio-Inspired algorithms are mimics the nature for solving optimization problems opening a new era in MANET. The typical Swarm Intelligence (SI) algorithms are Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Modified Termite Algorithm, Bat Algorithm (BA), Wolf Search Algorithm (WSA) and so on. This work mainly concentrated on nature of MANET and behavior of nodes. Also it analyses various performance metrics such as throughput, QoS and End-to-End delay etc.

Keywords: Ant Colony Algorithm, Artificial Bee Colony algorithm, Bio-Inspired algorithm, Modified Termite Algorithm.

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249 Scaling Strategy of a New Experimental Rig for Wheel-Rail Contact

Authors: Meysam Naeimi, Zili Li, Rolf Dollevoet

Abstract:

A new small–scale test rig developed for rolling contact fatigue (RCF) investigations in wheel–rail material. This paper presents the scaling strategy of the rig based on dimensional analysis and mechanical modelling. The new experimental rig is indeed a spinning frame structure with multiple wheel components over a fixed rail-track ring, capable of simulating continuous wheelrail contact in a laboratory scale. This paper describes the dimensional design of the rig, to derive its overall scaling strategy and to determine the key elements’ specifications. Finite element (FE) modelling is used to simulate the mechanical behavior of the rig with two sample scale factors of 1/5 and 1/7. The results of FE models are compared with the actual railway system to observe the effectiveness of the chosen scales. The mechanical properties of the components and variables of the system are finally determined through the design process.

Keywords: New test rig, rolling contact fatigue, rail, small scale.

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248 Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer on Vertical Two-Phased Closed Thermosyphon

Authors: M. Hadi Kusuma, Nandy Putra, Anhar Riza Antariksawan, Ficky Augusta Imawan

Abstract:

Heat pipe is considered to be applied as a passive system to remove residual heat that generated from reactor core when incident occur or from spent fuel storage pool. The objectives are to characterized the heat transfer phenomena, performance of heat pipe, and as a model for large heat pipe will be applied as passive cooling system on nuclear spent fuel pool storage. In this experimental wickless heat pipe or two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) is used. Variation of heat flux are 611.24 Watt/m2 - 3291.29 Watt/m2. Variation of filling ratio are 45 - 70%. Variation of initial pressure are -62 to -74 cm Hg. Demineralized water is used as working fluid in the TPCT. The results showed that increasing of heat load leads to an increase of evaporation of the working fluid. The optimum filling ratio obtained for 60% of TPCT evaporator volume, and initial pressure variation gave different TPCT wall temperature characteristic. TPCT showed best performance with 60% filling ratio and can be consider to be applied as passive residual heat removal system or passive cooling system on spent fuel storage pool.

Keywords: Two-phase closed thermo syphon, heat pipe, passive cooling, spent fuel storage pool.

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247 A Modified Maximum Urgency First Scheduling Algorithm for Real-Time Tasks

Authors: Vahid Salmani, Saman Taghavi Zargar, Mahmoud Naghibzadeh

Abstract:

This paper presents a modified version of the maximum urgency first scheduling algorithm. The maximum urgency algorithm combines the advantages of fixed and dynamic scheduling to provide the dynamically changing systems with flexible scheduling. This algorithm, however, has a major shortcoming due to its scheduling mechanism which may cause a critical task to fail. The modified maximum urgency first scheduling algorithm resolves the mentioned problem. In this paper, we propose two possible implementations for this algorithm by using either earliest deadline first or modified least laxity first algorithms for calculating the dynamic priorities. These two approaches are compared together by simulating the two algorithms. The earliest deadline first algorithm as the preferred implementation is then recommended. Afterwards, we make a comparison between our proposed algorithm and maximum urgency first algorithm using simulation and results are presented. It is shown that modified maximum urgency first is superior to maximum urgency first, since it usually has less task preemption and hence, less related overhead. It also leads to less failed non-critical tasks in overloaded situations.

Keywords: Modified maximum urgency first, maximum urgency first, real-time systems, scheduling.

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246 Structural Integrity Management for Fixed Offshore Platforms in Malaysia

Authors: Narayanan Sambu Potty , Mohammad Kabir B. Mohd Akram

Abstract:

Structural Integrity Management (SIM) is important for the protection of offshore crew, environment, business assets and company and industry reputation. API RP 2A contained guidelines for assessment of existing platforms mostly for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). ISO 19902 SIM framework also does not specifically cater for Malaysia. There are about 200 platforms in Malaysia with 90 exceeding their design life. The Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) uses the Asset Integrity Management System and the very subjective Risk based Inspection Program for these platforms. Petronas currently doesn-t have a standalone Petronas Technical Standard PTS-SIM. This study proposes a recommended practice for the SIM process for offshore structures in Malaysia, including studies by API and ISO and local elements such as the number of platforms, types of facilities, age and risk ranking. Case study on SMG-A platform in Sabah shows missing or scattered platform data and a gap in inspection history. It is to undergo a level 3 underwater inspection in year 2015.

Keywords: platform, assessment, integrity, risk based inspection.

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245 Experimental Characterization of Anisotropic Mechanical Properties of Textile Woven Fabric

Authors: Rym Zouari, Sami Ben Amar, Abdelwaheb Dogui

Abstract:

This paper presents an experimental characterization of the anisotropic mechanical behavior of 4 textile woven fabrics with different weaves (Twill 3, Plain, Twill4 and Satin 4) by off-axis tensile testing. These tests are applied according seven directions oriented by 15° increment with respect to the warp direction. Fixed and articulated jaws are used. Analysis of experimental results is done through global (Effort/Elongation curves) and local scales. Global anisotropy was studied from the Effort/Elongation curves: shape, breaking load (Frup), tensile elongation (EMT), tensile energy (WT) and linearity index (LT). Local anisotropy was studied from the measurement of strain tensor components in the central area of the specimen as a function of testing orientation and effort: longitudinal strain ɛL, transverse strain ɛT and shearing ɛLT. The effect of used jaws is also analyzed.

Keywords: Anisotropy, Off-axis tensile test, strain fields, Textile woven fabric.

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