Search results for: Natural Language Inference
1818 An HCI Template for Distributed Applications
Authors: Xizhi Li
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Both software applications and their development environment are becoming more and more distributed. This trend impacts not only the way software computes, but also how it looks. This article proposes a Human Computer Interface (HCI) template from three representative applications we have developed. These applications include a Multi-Agent System based software, a 3D Internet computer game with distributed game world logic, and a programming language environment used in constructing distributed neural network and its visualizations. HCI concepts that are common to these applications are described in abstract terms in the template. These include off-line presentation of global entities, entities inside a hierarchical namespace, communication and languages, reconfiguration of entity references in a graph, impersonation and access right, etc. We believe the metaphor that underlies an HCI concept as well as the relationships between a bunch of HCI concepts are crucial to the design of software systems and vice versa.
Keywords: HCI, MAS, computer game, programming language
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15331817 A Review on Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture in Southeast Nigeria
Authors: Jane O. Munonye
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Climate change has both negative and positive effects in agricultural production. For agriculture to be sustainable in adverse climate change condition, some natural measures are needed. The issue is to produce more food with available natural resources and reduce the contribution of agriculture to climate change. The study reviewed climate change and sustainable agriculture in southeast Nigeria. Data from the study were from secondary sources. Ten scientific papers were consulted and data for the review were collected from three. The objectives of the paper were as follows: to review the effect of climate change on one major arable crop in southeast Nigeria (yam; Dioscorea rotundata); evident of climate change impact and methods for sustainable agricultural production in adverse weather condition. Some climatic parameter as sunshine, relative humidity and rainfall have negative relationship with yam production and significant at 10% probability. Crop production was predicted to decline by 25% per hectare by 2060 while livestock production has increased the incidence of diseases and pathogens as the major effect to agriculture. Methods for sustainable agriculture and damage of natural resources by climate change were highlighted. Agriculture needs to be transformed as climate changes to enable the sector to be sustainable. There should be a policy in place to facilitate the integration of sustainability in Nigeria agriculture.
Keywords: Agriculture, climate change, sustainability, yam.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16781816 Bamboo Fibre Extraction and Its Reinforced Polymer Composite Material
Authors: P. Zakikhani, R. Zahari, M. T. H. Sultan, D. L. Majid
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Natural plant fibres reinforced polymeric composite materials have been used in many fields of our lives to save the environment. Especially, bamboo fibres due to its environmental sustainability, mechanical properties, and recyclability have been utilized as reinforced polymer matrix composite in construction industries. In this review study bamboo structure and three different methods such as mechanical, chemical and combination of mechanical and chemical to extract fibres from bamboo are summarized. Each extraction method has been done base on the application of bamboo. In addition Bamboo fibre is compared with glass fibre from various aspects and in some parts it has advantages over the glass fibre.
Keywords: Bamboo fibres, natural fibres, mechanical extraction, glass fibres.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 103341815 A Comprehensive and Integrated Framework for Formal Specification of Concurrent Systems
Authors: Sara Sharifi Rad, Hassan Haghighi
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Due to important issues, such as deadlock, starvation, communication, non-deterministic behavior and synchronization, concurrent systems are very complex, sensitive, and error-prone. Thus ensuring reliability and accuracy of these systems is very essential. Therefore, there has been a big interest in the formal specification of concurrent programs in recent years. Nevertheless, some features of concurrent systems, such as dynamic process creation, scheduling and starvation have not been specified formally yet. Also, some other features have been specified partially and/or have been described using a combination of several different formalisms and methods whose integration needs too much effort. In other words, a comprehensive and integrated specification that could cover all aspects of concurrent systems has not been provided yet. Thus, this paper makes two major contributions: firstly, it provides a comprehensive formal framework to specify all well-known features of concurrent systems. Secondly, it provides an integrated specification of these features by using just a single formal notation, i.e., the Z language.Keywords: Concurrent systems, Formal methods, Formal specification, Z language
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13411814 Modeling and Simulation of Axial Fan Using CFD
Authors: Hemant Kumawat
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Axial flow fans, while incapable of developing high pressures, they are well suitable for handling large volumes of air at relatively low pressures. In general, they are low in cost and possess good efficiency, and can have blades of airfoil shape. Axial flow fans show good efficiencies, and can operate at high static pressures if such operation is necessary. Our objective is to model and analyze the flow through AXIAL FANS using CFD Software and draw inference from the obtained results, so as to get maximum efficiency. The performance of an axial fan was simulated using CFD and the effect of variation of different parameters such as the blade number, noise level, velocity, temperature and pressure distribution on the blade surface was studied. This paper aims to present a final 3D CAD model of axial flow fan. Adapting this model to the available components in the market, the first optimization was done. After this step, CFX flow solver is used to do the necessary numerical analyses on the aerodynamic performance of this model. This analysis results in a final optimization of the proposed 3D model which is presented in this article.
Keywords: ANSYS CFX, Axial Fan, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 112011813 Service-Oriented Architecture for Object- Centric Information Fusion
Authors: Jeffrey A. Dunne, Kevin Ligozio
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In many applications there is a broad variety of information relevant to a focal “object" of interest, and the fusion of such heterogeneous data types is desirable for classification and categorization. While these various data types can sometimes be treated as orthogonal (such as the hull number, superstructure color, and speed of an oil tanker), there are instances where the inference and the correlation between quantities can provide improved fusion capabilities (such as the height, weight, and gender of a person). A service-oriented architecture has been designed and prototyped to support the fusion of information for such “object-centric" situations. It is modular, scalable, and flexible, and designed to support new data sources, fusion algorithms, and computational resources without affecting existing services. The architecture is designed to simplify the incorporation of legacy systems, support exact and probabilistic entity disambiguation, recognize and utilize multiple types of uncertainties, and minimize network bandwidth requirements.Keywords: Data fusion, distributed computing, service-oriented architecture, SOA
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14691812 New Approach for Load Modeling
Authors: S. Chokri
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Load modeling is one of the central functions in power systems operations. Electricity cannot be stored, which means that for electric utility, the estimate of the future demand is necessary in managing the production and purchasing in an economically reasonable way. A majority of the recently reported approaches are based on neural network. The attraction of the methods lies in the assumption that neural networks are able to learn properties of the load. However, the development of the methods is not finished, and the lack of comparative results on different model variations is a problem. This paper presents a new approach in order to predict the Tunisia daily peak load. The proposed method employs a computational intelligence scheme based on the Fuzzy neural network (FNN) and support vector regression (SVR). Experimental results obtained indicate that our proposed FNN-SVR technique gives significantly good prediction accuracy compared to some classical techniques.
Keywords: Neural network, Load Forecasting, Fuzzy inference, Machine learning, Fuzzy modeling and rule extraction, Support Vector Regression.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21981811 A Program for Solving problems in Inorganic Chemistry based on Knowledge Base
Authors: Nhon Van Do, Nam Hoai Le, Vien Chan Luong
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The Model for Knowledge Base of Computational Objects (KBCO model) has been successfully applied to represent the knowledge of human like Plane Geometry, Physical, Calculus. However, the original model cannot easyly apply in inorganic chemistry field because of the knowledge specific problems. So, the aim of this article is to introduce how we extend the Computional Object (Com-Object) in KBCO model, kinds of fact, problems model, and inference algorithms to develop a program for solving problems in inorganic chemistry. Our purpose is to develop the application that can help students in their study inorganic chemistry at schools. This application was built successful by using Maple, C# and WPF technology. It can solve automatically problems and give human readable solution agree with those writting by students and teachers.Keywords: artificial intelligence, automated problem solving, knowledge base system, knowledge representation, reasoning strategy, education software/educational applications.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24771810 An Investigation on the Variation of Software Development Productivity
Authors: Zhizhong Jiang, Peter Naudé, Craig Comstock
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The productivity of software development is one of the major concerns for project managers. Given the increasing complexity of the software being developed and the concomitant rise in the typical project size, the productivity has not consistently improved. By analyzing the latest release of ISBSG data repository with 4106 projects ever developed, we report on the factors found to significantly influence productivity, and present an original model for the estimation of productivity during project design. We further illustrate that software development productivity has experienced irregular variations between the years 1995 and 2005. Considering the factors significant to productivity, we found its variations are primarily caused by the variations of average team size for the development and the unbalanced use of the less productive development language 3GL.
Keywords: Development Platform, Function Point, Language, Productivity, Software Engineering, Team Size.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16761809 Surface Water Flow of Urban Areas and Sustainable Urban Planning
Authors: Sheetal Sharma
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Urban planning is associated with land transformation from natural areas to modified and developed ones which leads to modification of natural environment. The basic knowledge of relationship between both should be ascertained before proceeding for the development of natural areas. Changes on land surface due to build up pavements, roads and similar land cover, affect surface water flow. There is a gap between urban planning and basic knowledge of hydrological processes which should be known to the planners. The paper aims to identify these variations in surface flow due to urbanization for a temporal scale of 40 years using Storm Water Management Mode (SWMM) and again correlating these findings with the urban planning guidelines in study area along with geological background to find out the suitable combinations of land cover, soil and guidelines. For the purpose of identifying the changes in surface flows, 19 catchments were identified with different geology and growth in 40 years facing different ground water levels fluctuations. The increasing built up, varying surface runoff are studied using Arc GIS and SWMM modeling, regression analysis for runoff. Resulting runoff for various land covers and soil groups with varying built up conditions were observed. The modeling procedures also included observations for varying precipitation and constant built up in all catchments. All these observations were combined for individual catchment and single regression curve was obtained for runoff. Thus, it was observed that alluvial with suitable land cover was better for infiltration and least generation of runoff but excess built up could not be sustained on alluvial soil. Similarly, basalt had least recharge and most runoff demanding maximum vegetation over it. Sandstone resulted in good recharging if planned with more open spaces and natural soils with intermittent vegetation. Hence, these observations made a keystone base for planners while planning various land uses on different soils. This paper contributes and provides a solution to basic knowledge gap, which urban planners face during development of natural surfaces.
Keywords: Runoff, built up, roughness, recharge, temporal changes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14591808 Intelligent Heart Disease Prediction System Using CANFIS and Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Latha Parthiban, R. Subramanian
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Heart disease (HD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the modern society. Medical diagnosis is an important but complicated task that should be performed accurately and efficiently and its automation would be very useful. All doctors are unfortunately not equally skilled in every sub specialty and they are in many places a scarce resource. A system for automated medical diagnosis would enhance medical care and reduce costs. In this paper, a new approach based on coactive neuro-fuzzy inference system (CANFIS) was presented for prediction of heart disease. The proposed CANFIS model combined the neural network adaptive capabilities and the fuzzy logic qualitative approach which is then integrated with genetic algorithm to diagnose the presence of the disease. The performances of the CANFIS model were evaluated in terms of training performances and classification accuracies and the results showed that the proposed CANFIS model has great potential in predicting the heart disease.
Keywords: CANFIS, genetic algorithms, heart disease, membership function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 39921807 3D Rendering of American Sign Language Finger-Spelling: A Comparative Study of Two Animation Techniques
Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani
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In this paper we report a study aimed at determining the most effective animation technique for representing ASL (American Sign Language) finger-spelling. Specifically, in the study we compare two commonly used 3D computer animation methods (keyframe animation and motion capture) in order to ascertain which technique produces the most 'accurate', 'readable', and 'close to actual signing' (i.e. realistic) rendering of ASL finger-spelling. To accomplish this goal we have developed 20 animated clips of fingerspelled words and we have designed an experiment consisting of a web survey with rating questions. 71 subjects ages 19-45 participated in the study. Results showed that recognition of the words was correlated with the method used to animate the signs. In particular, keyframe technique produced the most accurate representation of the signs (i.e., participants were more likely to identify the words correctly in keyframed sequences rather than in motion captured ones). Further, findings showed that the animation method had an effect on the reported scores for readability and closeness to actual signing; the estimated marginal mean readability and closeness was greater for keyframed signs than for motion captured signs. To our knowledge, this is the first study aimed at measuring and comparing accuracy, readability and realism of ASL animations produced with different techniques.Keywords: 3D Animation, American Sign Language, DeafEducation, Motion Capture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19981806 Assamese Numeral Corpus for Speech Recognition using Cooperative ANN Architecture
Authors: Mousmita Sarma, Krishna Dutta, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma
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Speech corpus is one of the major components in a Speech Processing System where one of the primary requirements is to recognize an input sample. The quality and details captured in speech corpus directly affects the precision of recognition. The current work proposes a platform for speech corpus generation using an adaptive LMS filter and LPC cepstrum, as a part of an ANN based Speech Recognition System which is exclusively designed to recognize isolated numerals of Assamese language- a major language in the North Eastern part of India. The work focuses on designing an optimal feature extraction block and a few ANN based cooperative architectures so that the performance of the Speech Recognition System can be improved.Keywords: Filter, Feature, LMS, LPC, Cepstrum, ANN.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23851805 Collaborative Reflexive/Reflective Teaching and Action Research in TESL
Authors: O. F. Elkommos
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Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) has become a very rich area of research. Practitioners or teachers of English as a foreign or a second language are now promoting both collaborative learning and collaborative teaching. Students learning a language collaboratively and cooperatively are learning in a better environment of team work where they learn from each other. Further, teaching English collaboratively also creates an enriching environment that is also very enriching to students’ and teachers’ experiences of learning and teaching. Moreover, action research stems from actual teacher concerns and students’ needs. Reflection in turn, on the experience of the material taught and the delivery of material is becoming an integral part of the teaching and learning experience self- evaluation and self-development. In this case, the concern of the research field in the area of TESL will be the development of teaching delivery, material and quality of learning. In the present research, the TESL module taught to year two students in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, British University in Egypt (BUE) will be evaluated reflexively by the students and teachers. The module was taught to students in two different specialisms. It was taught and delivered through collaborative teaching and was evaluated by both teachers and students as very successful and enjoyable. The reflections of both teachers and students as well as student results confirm that it was a success.
Keywords: Action research, addressing differentiation, collaborative teaching, reflective teaching and learning, reflexive learning, reflexive teaching, self-development, self-evaluation, TESL.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11571804 Possibilities of Utilization Zeolite in Concrete
Authors: M. Sedlmajer, J. Zach, J. Hroudová, P. Rovnaníková
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There are several possibilities of reducing the required amount of cement in concrete production. Natural zeolite is one of the raw materials which can partly substitute Portland cement. The effort to reduce the amount of Portland cement used in concrete production is brings both economical as well as ecological benefits. The paper presents the properties of concrete containing natural zeolite as an active admixture in the concrete which partly substitutes Portland cement. The properties discussed here bring information about the basic mechanical properties and frost resistance of concrete containing zeolite. The properties of concretes with the admixture of zeolite are compared with a reference concrete with no content of zeolite. The properties of the individual concretes are observed for 360 days.
Keywords: Concrete, zeolite, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, durability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29271803 Fourth Order Accurate Free Convective Heat Transfer Solutions from a Circular Cylinder
Authors: T. V. S. Sekhar, B. Hema Sundar Raju
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Laminar natural-convective heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder is studied by solving the Navier-Stokes and energy equations using higher order compact scheme in cylindrical polar coordinates. Results are obtained for Rayleigh numbers of 1, 10, 100 and 1000 for a Prandtl number of 0.7. The local Nusselt number and mean Nusselt number are calculated and compared with available experimental and theoretical results. Streamlines, vorticity - lines and isotherms are plotted.Keywords: Higher order compact scheme, Navier-Stokes equations, Energy equation, Natural convection, Boussinesq's approximation and Mean Nusselt number.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16621802 Optimal use of Climate in the Construction of Traditional Housing as a Greenhouse in Iran
Authors: Emad Hezbkhah, Ebrahim Akhlaghi
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From a long time age, human beings have chosen their place of residence and comfort so that those places would have relatively ideal natural and climatic conditions. For this reason, from the beginning, the civilizations have been formed in the susceptible natural regions such as Mesopotamia in Iran and Nile coasts in Egypt. Also, the core of human density has been made in the form of an oasis in the deserts. Regarding the formation and combination of the native architecture in different regions of Iran, we find that different properties of these climates have affected frequently the formation of cities and the architectural combinations of these regions. Thus, the precise determinations of climatic areas and attaining the climatic properties of different regions have a great deal of importance in presenting appropriate and compatible-with-climate designs.Keywords: climate and architecture, energy Optimizing, Greenhouse
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18571801 Kernel Matching versus Inverse Probability Weighting: A Comparative Study
Authors: Andy Handouyahia, Tony Haddad, Frank Eaton
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Recent quasi-experimental evaluation of the Canadian Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP) by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has provided an opportunity to examine alternative methods to estimating the incremental effects of Employment Benefits and Support Measures (EBSMs) on program participants. The focus of this paper is to assess the efficiency and robustness of inverse probability weighting (IPW) relative to kernel matching (KM) in the estimation of program effects. To accomplish this objective, the authors compare pairs of 1,080 estimates, along with their associated standard errors, to assess which type of estimate is generally more efficient and robust. In the interest of practicality, the authorsalso document the computationaltime it took to produce the IPW and KM estimates, respectively.
Keywords: Treatment effect, causal inference, observational studies, Propensity score based matching, Kernel Matching, Inverse Probability Weighting, Estimation methods for incremental effect.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 69251800 Communicative Competence in Technical Oral Presentation: That “Magic“ Perceived by ESL Educators versus Content Experts
Authors: Ena Bhattacharyya, Zullina H. Shaari
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Till date, English as a Second Language (ESL) educators involved in teaching language and communication to engineering students face an uphill task in developing graduate communicative competency. This challenge is accentuated by the apparent lack of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials for engineering students in the engineering curriculum. As such, most ESL educators are forced to play multiple roles. They don tasks such as curriculum designers, material writers and teachers with limited knowledge of the disciplinary content. Previous research indicates that prospective professional engineers should possess some sub-sets of competency: technical, linguistic oral immediacy, meta-cognitive and rhetorical explanatory competence. Another study revealed that engineering students need to be equipped with technical and linguistic oral immediacy competence. However, little is known whether these competency needs are in line with the educators- perceptions of communicative competence. This paper examines the best mix of communicative competence subsets that create the magic for engineering students in technical oral presentations. For the purpose of this study, two groups of educators were interviewed. These educators were language and communication lecturers involved in teaching a speaking course and content experts who assess students- technical oral presentations at tertiary level. The findings indicate that these two groups differ in their perceptions
Keywords: Communicative competence, Content experts, Educators, Technical Oral Presentations
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20501799 Hand Gesture Interpretation Using Sensing Glove Integrated with Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Aqsa Ali, Aleem Mushtaq, Attaullah Memon, Monna
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In this paper, we present a low cost design for a smart glove that can perform sign language recognition to assist the speech impaired people. Specifically, we have designed and developed an Assistive Hand Gesture Interpreter that recognizes hand movements relevant to the American Sign Language (ASL) and translates them into text for display on a Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT LCD) screen as well as synthetic speech. Linear Bayes Classifiers and Multilayer Neural Networks have been used to classify 11 feature vectors obtained from the sensors on the glove into one of the 27 ASL alphabets and a predefined gesture for space. Three types of features are used; bending using six bend sensors, orientation in three dimensions using accelerometers and contacts at vital points using contact sensors. To gauge the performance of the presented design, the training database was prepared using five volunteers. The accuracy of the current version on the prepared dataset was found to be up to 99.3% for target user. The solution combines electronics, e-textile technology, sensor technology, embedded system and machine learning techniques to build a low cost wearable glove that is scrupulous, elegant and portable.Keywords: American sign language, assistive hand gesture interpreter, human-machine interface, machine learning, sensing glove.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27311798 An Adaptive Dynamic Fracture for 3D Fatigue Crack Growth Using X-FEM
Authors: S. Lecheb, A. Nour, A. Chellil, A. Basta, D. Belmiloud, H. Kebi
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In recent years, a new numerical method has been developed, the extended finite element method (X-FEM). The objective of this work is to exploit the (X-FEM) for the treatment of the fracture mechanics problems on 3D geometries, where we showed the ability of this method to simulate the fatigue crack growth into two cases: edge and central crack. In the results we compared the six first natural frequencies of mode shapes uncracking with the cracking initiation in the structure, and showed the stress intensity factor (SIF) evolution function as crack size propagation into structure, the analytical validation of (SIF) is presented. For to evidence the aspects of this method, all result is compared between FEA and X-FEM.Keywords: 3D fatigue crack growth, FEA, natural frequencies, stress intensity factor (SIF), X-FEM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20241797 Visualisation Techniques Connecting VRML and GENESIS Environments
Authors: Eduard Kuriščák, Jiří Chludil
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We created the tool, which combines the powerful GENESIS (GEneral NEural SImulation System) simulation language with the up-to-date visualisation and internet techniques. Our solution resides in the connection between the simulation output from GENESIS, which is converted to the data-structure suitable for WWW browsers and VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) viewers. The selected GENESIS simulations are once exported into the VRML code, and stored in our neurovisualisation portal (webserver). There, the loaded models, demonstrating mainly the spread of electrical signal (action potentials, postsynaptic potentials) along the neuronal membrane (axon, dendritic tree, neuron) could be displayed in the client-s VRML viewer, without interacting with original GENESIS environment. This enables the visualisation of basic neurophysiological phenomena designed for GENESIS simulator on the independent OS (operation system).Keywords: GENESIS, neurosimulation, VRML, Java3D.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17901796 Teaching English to Engineers: Between English Language Teaching and Psychology
Authors: Irina-Ana Drobot
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Teaching English to Engineers is part of English for Specific Purposes, a domain which is under the attention of English students especially under the current conditions of finding jobs and establishing partnerships outside Romania. The paper will analyse the existing textbooks together with the teaching strategies they adopt. Teaching English to Engineering students can intersect with domains such as psychology and cultural studies in order to teach them efficiently. Textbooks for students of ESP, ranging from those at the Faculty of Economics to those at the Faculty of Engineers, have shifted away from using specialized vocabulary, drills for grammar and reading comprehension questions and toward communicative methods and the practical use of language. At present, in Romania, grammar is neglected in favour of communicative methods. The current interest in translation studies may indicate a return to this type of method, since only translation specialists can distinguish among specialized terms and determine which are most suitable in a translation. Engineers are currently encouraged to learn English in order to do their own translations in their own field. This paper will analyse the issue of the extent to which it is useful to teach Engineering students to do translations in their field using cognitive psychology applied to language teaching, including issues such as motivation and social psychology. Teaching general English to engineering students can result in lack of interest, but they can be motivated by practical aspects which will help them in their field. This is why this paper needs to take into account an interdisciplinary approach to teaching English to Engineers.
Keywords: Cognition, ESP, motivation, psychology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31241795 Ads on Social Issues: A Tool for Improving Critical Thinking Skills in a Foreign Language Classroom
Authors: Fonseca Jully, Chia Maribel, Rodríguez Ilba
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This paper is a qualitative research report. A group of students form a public university in a small town in Colombia participated in this study which aimed at describing to what extend the use of social ads, published on the internet, helped to develop their critical thinking skills. Students’ productions, field notes, video recordings and direct observation were the instruments and techniques used by the researches in order to gather the data which was analyzed under the principles of grounded theory and triangulation. The implementation of social ads into the classroom evidenced a noticeable improvement in students’ ability to interpret and argue social issues, as well as, their self-improvement in oral and written production in English, as a foreign language.Keywords: Ads, critical argumentation, critical thinking, social issues.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18191794 Steady State Simulation and Experimental Study of an Ethane Recovery Unit in an Iranian Natural Gas Refinery
Authors: Arash Esmaeili, Omid Ghabouli
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The production and consumption of natural gas is on the rise throughout the world as a result of its wide availability, ease of transportation, use and clean-burning characteristics. The chief use of ethane is in the chemical industry in the production of Ethene (ethylene) by steam cracking. In this simulation, obtained ethane recovery percent based on Gas sub-cooled process (GSP) is 99.9 by mole that is included 32.1% by using de-methanizer column and 67.8% by de-ethanizer tower. The outstanding feature of this process is the novel split-vapor concept that employs to generate reflux for de-methanizer column. Remain amount of ethane in export gas cause rise in gross heating value up to 36.66 MJ/Nm3 in order to use in industrial and household consumptions.Keywords: Ethane recovery, Hydrocarbon dew point, Simulation, Water dew point
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30531793 An Experimental Study on Evacuated Tube Solar Collector for Steam Generation in India
Authors: Avadhesh Yadav, Anunaya Saraswat
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An evacuated tube solar collector is experimentally studied for steam generation. When the solar radiation falls on evacuated tubes, this energy is absorbed by the tubes and transferred to water with natural conduction and convection. A natural circulation of water occurs due to the inclination in tubes and header. In this experimental study, the efficiency of collector has been calculated. The result shows that the collector attains the maximum efficiency of 46.26% during 14:00 to 15:00h. Steam has been generated for two hours from 13:30 to 15:30 h on a winter day. Maximum solar intensity and maximum ambient temperatures are 795W/m2 and 19oC respectively on this day.
Keywords: Evacuated tube, solar collector, hot water, steam generation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27121792 Settlement Prediction for Tehran Subway Line-3 via FLAC3D and ANFIS
Authors: S. A. Naeini, A. Khalili
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Nowadays, tunnels with different applications are developed, and most of them are related to subway tunnels. The excavation of shallow tunnels that pass under municipal utilities is very important, and the surface settlement control is an important factor in the design. The study sought to analyze the settlement and also to find an appropriate model in order to predict the behavior of the tunnel in Tehran subway line-3. The displacement in these sections is also determined by using numerical analyses and numerical modeling. In addition, the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) method is utilized by Hybrid training algorithm. The database pertinent to the optimum network was obtained from 46 subway tunnels in Iran and Turkey which have been constructed by the new Austrian tunneling method (NATM) with similar parameters based on type of their soil. The surface settlement was measured, and the acquired results were compared to the predicted values. The results disclosed that computing intelligence is a good substitute for numerical modeling.
Keywords: Settlement, subway line, FLAC3D, ANFIS method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10961791 The Project of Three Photovoltaic Systems in an Italian Natural Park
Authors: M.Paroncini, F.Corvaro, G.Nardini, S.Pistolesi
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The development of renewable energies - particularly energy from wind, water, solar power and biomass - is a central aim of the European Commission's energy policy. There are several reasons for this choice: renewable energies are sustainable, nonpolluting, widely available and clean. Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy balance enhances sustainability. It also helps to improve the security of energy supply by reducing the Community's growing dependence on imported energy sources.In this paper it was studied the possibility to realize three photovoltaic systems in the Italian Natural Park “Gola della Rossa e di Frasassi". The first photovoltaic system is a grid-connected system for Services and Documentation Center of Castelletta with a nominal power of about 6 kWp. The second photovoltaic system is a grid-connected integrated system on the ticket office-s roof with a nominal power of about 4 kWp. The third project is set up by five grid-connected systems integrated on the roofs of the bungalows in Natural Park-s tourist camping with a nominal power of about 10 kWp. The electricity which is generated by all these plants is purchased according to the Italian program called “Conto Energia". Economical analysis and the amount of the avoided CO2 emissions are elaborated for these photovoltaic systems.
Keywords: CO2 emissions, conto energia, photovoltaic systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16151790 Investigating Transformative Practices in the Bangladeshi Classroom
Authors: Rubaiyat Jahan, Nasreen Sultana Mitu
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This paper examines the theoretical construct of transformative practices, and reports some evidence of transformative practices from a couple of Bangladeshi English teachers. The idea of transformative practices calls for teachers’ capabilities to invest their intellectual labor in teaching with an assumption that along with the academic advancement of the learners, it aims for the personal transformation for both the learners as well for themselves. Following an ethnographic research approach, data for this study were collected through in-depth interviews, informal talks and classroom observations for a period of one year. In relevance to the English classroom of the Bangladeshi context, from this study, references of transformative practices have been underlined from the participant teachers’ views on English language teaching as well as from their actual practices. According to data of this research, some evidence of transformative practices in the form of critical language awareness and personal theories of practices emerge from the participants’ articulation of the beliefs on teaching; and from the participant teachers’ classroom practices evidence of self-directed acts of teaching, self-directed acts of professional development, and liberatory autonomy have been highlighted as the reflections of transformative practices. The implication of this paper refers to the significance of practicing teachers’ articulation of beliefs and views on teaching along with their orientation to critical pedagogical relations.
Keywords: Critical language awareness, personal theories of practices, teacher autonomy, transformative practices.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8351789 Intelligent Automatic Generation Control of Two Area Interconnected Power System using Hybrid Neuro Fuzzy Controller
Abstract:
This paper presents the development and application of an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based intelligent hybrid neuro fuzzy controller for automatic generation control (AGC) of two-area interconnected thermal power system with reheat non linearity. The dynamic response of the system has been studied for 1% step load perturbation in area-1. The performance of the proposed neuro fuzzy controller is compared against conventional proportional-integral (PI) controller, state feedback linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller and fuzzy gain scheduled proportionalintegral (FGSPI) controller. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the proposed intelligent neuro fuzzy controller is the most effective of all in improving the transients of frequency and tie-line power deviations against small step load disturbances. Simulations have been performed using Matlab®.
Keywords: Automatic generation control, ANFIS, LQR, Hybrid neuro fuzzy controller
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2683