Search results for: pre-construction planning phase

Authors: Shane D. Inder, Mehrdad Khamooshi

Abstract:

Efficient energy storage is a crucial factor in facilitating the uptake of renewable energy resources. Among the many options available for energy storage systems required to balance imbalanced supply and demand cycles, compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a proven technology in grid-scale applications. This paper reviews the current state of micro scale CAES technology and describes a micro-scale advanced adiabatic CAES (A-CAES) system, where heat generated during compression is stored for use in the discharge phase. It will also describe a thermodynamic model, developed in EES (Engineering Equation Solver) to evaluate the performance and critical parameters of the discharge phase of the proposed system. Three configurations are explained including: single turbine without preheater, two turbines with preheaters, and three turbines with preheaters. It is shown that the micro-scale A-CAES is highly dependent upon key parameters including; regulator pressure, air pressure and volume, thermal energy storage temperature and flow rate and the number of turbines. It was found that a micro-scale AA-CAES, when optimized with an appropriate configuration, could deliver energy input to output efficiency of up to 70%.

Keywords: CAES, adiabatic compressed air energy storage, expansion phase, micro generation, thermodynamic.

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Authors: M. Ramezani, Gh. Amin, E. Jalili

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In present study the effects of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive of vitex hydro-alcoholic extract were evaluated on male mice. In inflammatory test mice were divided into 7 groups: first group was control. The second group, positive control group, received dexamethasone (15 mg/kg) and the other five groups received different doses of hydroalcohol extract of Vitex fruit (265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). The inflammation was caused by xylene-induced ear edema. Formalin test was used for evaluation of antinociceptive effect of extract. In this test, mice were divided into 7 groups: control, morphine (10mg/kg) as positive control group, and Vitex extract groups ((265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). All drugs were administered intrapritoneally, 30 min before each test. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-kramer multiple comparison test. Results have shown significant antiinflammatory effects of extract at all dosed as compared with control (P<0.05). In the first phase of formalin test (0-5 min) none doses of extract could inhibit acute pain, but in the second phase (15-30 min) chronic pain decreased at 265, 365, 465, and 565 mg/kg doses (P<0.05). The results of this research indicated that Vitex extract remarkably inhibited inflammation and second phase of nociception (inflammatory pain) and can be used for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Antinociceptive, Mice, Vitexagnus castus.

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Authors: A. Taqaddas

Abstract:

Purpose: This E-survey was carried out to facilitate the implementation and Education of VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) in Radiotherapy-RT departments and reasons for not using IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy). VMAT Skills in demand were also identified. Method: E-Survey was distributed to NHS hospitals across UK by email. Thirty NHS and related centres in England, 21 in Scotland, 3 in Ireland and 1 in Wales were contacted. This Survey was intended for those working in RT and Medical Physics and who were responsible for Treatment Planning and training. Results: This E-survey have indicated pathways adopted by staff to acquire VMAT skills, strategies to efficiently implement VMAT in RT departments and for obtaining VMAT Education. Conclusion: Despite poor survey response this survey has managed to highlight requirements for education and implementation of VMAT that are also applicable to IMRT. Other RT centres in world can also find these results useful.

Keywords: IMRT, Radiotherapy, Treatment Planning, VMAT.

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Authors: Alvaro J. P. Ramos, Wellington S. Mota, Yendys S. Dantas

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This paper analyses the torsional efforts in gas turbine-generator shafts caused by high speed automatic reclosing of transmission lines. This issue is especially important for cases of three phase short circuit and unsuccessful reclosure of lines in the vicinity of the thermal plant. The analysis was carried out for the thermal plant TERMOPERNAMBUCO located on Northeast region of Brazil. It is shown that stress level caused by lines unsuccessful reclosing can be several times higher than terminal three-phase short circuit. Simulations were carried out with detailed shaft torsional model provided by machine manufacturer and with the “Alternative Transient Program – ATP" program [1]. Unsuccessful three phase reclosing for selected lines in the area closed to the plant indicated most critical cases. Also, reclosing first the terminal next to the gas turbine gererator will lead also to the most critical condition. Considering that the values of transient torques are very sensible to the instant of reclosing, simulation of unsuccessful reclosing with statistics ATP switch were carried out for determination of most critical transient torques for each section of the generator turbine shaft.

Keywords: Torsional Efforts, Thermal Machine, GasTurbine, Automatic Reclosing.

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Authors: Kotbi Lakhdar, Hachi Mostefa

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We show that a simple transformation between the regular lattices (the square, the triangular, and the honeycomb) belonging to the same dimensionality can explain in a natural way the universality of the critical exponents found in phase transitions and critical phenomena. It suffices that the Hamiltonian and the lattice present similar writing forms. In addition, it appears that if a property can be calculated for a given lattice then it can be extrapolated simply to any other lattice belonging to the same dimensionality. In this study, we have restricted ourselves on the spectral power amplification (SPA), we note that the SPA does not have an effect on the critical exponents but does have an effect by the criticality temperature of the lattice; the generalisation to other lattice could be shown according to the containment principle.

Keywords: Ising model, phase transitions, critical temperature, critical exponent, spectral power amplification.

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Authors: Fatma El-zahraa El-taher, Ayman Taha, Jane Courtney, Susan Mckeever

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Understanding road networks plays an important role in navigation applications such as self-driving vehicles and route planning for individual journeys. Intersections of roads are essential components of road networks. Understanding the features of an intersection, from a simple T-junction to larger multi-road junctions is critical to decisions such as crossing roads or selecting safest routes. The identification and profiling of intersections from satellite images is a challenging task. While deep learning approaches offer state-of-the-art in image classification and detection, the availability of training datasets is a bottleneck in this approach. In this paper, a labelled satellite image dataset for the intersection recognition  problem is presented. It consists of 14,692 satellite images of Washington DC, USA. To support other users of the dataset, an automated download and labelling script is provided for dataset replication. The challenges of construction and fine-grained feature labelling of a satellite image dataset are examined, including the issue of how to address features that are spread across multiple images. Finally, the accuracy of detection of intersections in satellite images is evaluated.

Keywords: Satellite images, remote sensing images, data acquisition, autonomous vehicles, robot navigation, route planning, road intersections.

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Authors: Ali M. Eltamaly, A. I. Alolah, R. Hamouda, M. Y. Abdulghany

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In this paper a novel, simple and reliable digital firing scheme has been implemented for speed control of three-phase induction motor using ac voltage controller. The system consists of three-phase supply connected to the three-phase induction motor via three triacs and its control circuit. The ac voltage controller has three modes of operation depending on the shape of supply current. The performance of the induction motor differs in each mode where the speed is directly proportional with firing angle in two modes and inversely in the third one. So, the control system has to detect the current mode of operation to choose the correct firing angle of triacs. Three sensors are used to feed the line currents to control system to detect the mode of operation. The control strategy is implemented using a low cost Xilinx Spartan-3E field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. Three PI-controllers are designed on FPGA to control the system in the three-modes. Simulation of the system is carried out using PSIM computer program. The simulation results show stable operation for different loading conditions especially in mode 2/3. The simulation results have been compared with the experimental results from laboratory prototype.

Keywords: FPGA, Induction motor, PSIM, triac, Voltage controller.

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Authors: R. Dariani, S. Schmidt, R. Kasper

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Based on a non-linear single track model which describes the dynamics of vehicle, an optimal path planning strategy is developed. Real time optimization is used to generate reference control values to allow leading the vehicle alongside a calculated lane which is optimal for different objectives such as energy consumption, run time, safety or comfort characteristics. Strict mathematic formulation of the autonomous driving allows taking decision on undefined situation such as lane change or obstacle avoidance. Based on position of the vehicle, lane situation and obstacle position, the optimization problem is reformulated in real-time to avoid the obstacle and any car crash.

Keywords: Autonomous driving, Obstacle avoidance, Optimal control, Path planning.

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Authors: Prathap S. Raghavendra, Mohamed S. Z. Shamshuddin, Thimmaraju N., Venkatesh

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The transesterification of dimethyl malonate (DMM) with phenol has been studied in vapour phase over cordierite honeycomb coated with solid acid catalysts such as ZrO2, Mo(VI)/ZrO2 and SO42-/ZrO2. The catalytic materials were prepared honeycomb coated, powder forms, and characterized for their total surface acidity by NH3-TPD and crystalinity by powder XRD methods. Phenyl methyl malonate (PMM) and diphenyl malonate (DPM) were obtained as the reaction products. A good conversion of DMM (up to 82%) of MPM with 95% selectivity was observed when the reactions were carried out at a catalyst bed temperature of 200 °C and flow-rate of 10 mL/h in presence of Mo(VI)/ZrO2 as catalyst. However, over SO4^2-/ZrO2 catalyst, the yield of DPM was found to be higher. The results have been interpreted based on the variation of acidic properties and powder XRD phases of zirconia on incorporation of Mo(VI) or SO42– ions. Transesterification reactions were also carried out over powder forms of the catalytic materials and the yield of the desired phenyl ester products were compared with that of the HC coated catalytic materials. The solid acids were found to be reusable when used for at least 5 reaction cycles.

Keywords: Cordierite honeycomb, methyl phenyl malonate, vapour phase transesterification, zirconia.

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Authors: Khattab Ibrahim Al Qaisi, Nicholas Bowring

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This paper presents the simulation results of the effects of sampling frequency on the total harmonic distortion (THD) of three-phase inverters using the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) and space vector control (SVC) algorithms. The relationship between the variables was studied using curve fitting techniques, and it has been shown that, for 50 Hz inverters, there is an exponential relation between the sampling frequency and THD up to around 8500 Hz, beyond which the performance of the model becomes irregular, and there is an negative exponential relation between the sampling frequency and the marginal improvement to the THD. It has also been found that the performance of SVPWM is better than that of SVC with the same sampling frequency in most frequency range, including the range where the performance of the former is irregular.

Keywords: SVPWM, THD, DC-AC Inverter, Sampling Frequency.

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Authors: Marianna I. Triantou, Petroula A. Tarantili

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In this research work, poly (acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene)/ polypropylene (ABS/PP) blends were processed by melt compounding in a twin-screw extruder. Upgrading of the thermal characteristics of the obtained materials was attempted by the incorporation of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT), as well as, by the addition of two types of compatibilizers; polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) and ABS grafted with maleic anhydride (ABS-g-MAH). The effect of the above treatments was investigated separately and in combination. Increasing the PP content in ABS matrix seems to increase the thermal stability of their blend and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of SAN phase of ABS. From the other part, the addition of ABS to PP promotes the formation of its β-phase, which is maximum at 30 wt% ABS concentration, and increases the crystallization temperature (Tc) of PP. In addition, it increases the crystallization rate of PP.The β-phase of PP in ABS/PP blends is reduced by the addition of compatibilizers or/and organoclay reinforcement. The incorporation of compatibilizers increases the thermal stability of PP and reduces its melting (ΔΗm) and crystallization (ΔΗc) enthalpies. Furthermore it decreases slightly the Tgs of PP and SAN phases of ABS/PP blends. Regarding the storage modulus of the ABS/PP blends, it presents a change in their behavior at about 10°C and return to their initial behavior at ~110°C. The incorporation of OMMT to no compatibilized and compatibilized ABS/PP blends enhances their storage modulus.

Keywords: Acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene terpolymer, compatibilizer, organoclay, polypropylene.

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Authors: Aitana Alonso-Nogueira, Helia Estévez-Fernández, Isaías García

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This paper presents an approach to reduce some of its current flaws in the requirements phase inside the software development process. It takes the software requirements of an application, makes a conceptual modeling about it and formalizes it within JSON documents. This formal model is lodged in a NoSQL database which is document-oriented, that is, MongoDB, because of its advantages in flexibility and efficiency. In addition, this paper underlines the contributions of the detailed approach and shows some applications and benefits for the future work in the field of automatic code generation using model-driven engineering tools.

Keywords: Conceptual modeling, JSON, NoSQL databases, requirements engineering, software development.

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Authors: R. Talebi, A. Abdel-Dayem, J. Johnson

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Three-dimensional reconstruction of small objects has been one of the most challenging problems over the last decade. Computer graphics researchers and photography professionals have been working on improving 3D reconstruction algorithms to fit the high demands of various real life applications. Medical sciences, animation industry, virtual reality, pattern recognition, tourism industry, and reverse engineering are common fields where 3D reconstruction of objects plays a vital role. Both lack of accuracy and high computational cost are the major challenges facing successful 3D reconstruction. Fringe projection has emerged as a promising 3D reconstruction direction that combines low computational cost to both high precision and high resolution. It employs digital projection, structured light systems and phase analysis on fringed pictures. Research studies have shown that the system has acceptable performance, and moreover it is insensitive to ambient light. This paper presents an overview of fringe projection approaches. It also presents an experimental study and implementation of a simple fringe projection system. We tested our system using two objects with different materials and levels of details. Experimental results have shown that, while our system is simple, it produces acceptable results.

Keywords: Digital fringe projection, 3D reconstruction, phase unwrapping, phase shifting.

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Authors: Aicha Rima Cheniti, Hatem Besbes, Joseph Haggege, Christophe Sintes

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In this paper, we consider a drift flux mixture model of the blood flow. The mixture consists of gas phase which is carbon dioxide and liquid phase which is an aqueous carbon dioxide solution. This model was used to determine the distributions of the mixture velocity, the mixture pressure, and the carbon dioxide pressure. These theoretical data are used to determine a measurement method of mean gas pressure through the determination of radial velocity distribution. This method can be applicable in experimental domain.

Keywords: Mean carbon dioxide pressure, mean mixture pressure, mixture velocity, radial velocity.

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Authors: J. Zagorskas, I. Veteikyte

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Physical urban form is recognized to be the media for human transactions. It directly influences the travel demand of people in a specific urban area and the amount of energy used for transportation. Distorted, sprawling form often creates sustainability problems in urban areas. It is declared in EU strategic planning documents that compact urban form and mixed land use pattern must be given the main focus to achieve better sustainability in urban areas, but the methods to measure and compare these characteristics are still not clear. This paper presents the simple methods to measure the spatial characteristics of urban form by analyzing the location and distribution of objects in an urban environment. The extended CA (cellular automata) model is used to simulate urban development scenarios.

Keywords: Cellular automata (CA), Mixed used planning, Spatial analysis, Urban compactness, Geographic information systems (GIS).

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Authors: A. Yönetken, A. Erol, A. Yakar, G. Peşmen

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The microstructure, mechanical properties and metalgraphic characteristics of Ni plated AlN-Astaloy Cr-M powders were investigated using specimens produced by tube furnace sintering at 1000-1400 °C temperature. A uniform nickel layer on AlN powders was deposited prior to sintering using electroless plating technique. A composite consisting of ternary additions, metallic phase, Ni and ceramic phase AlN within a matrix of Astaloy Cr-M had been prepared under Ar shroud and then tube furnace sintered. The experimental results carried out by using XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) for composition (10% AlN-Astaloy Cr-M) 10% Ni at 1400 °C suggest that the best properties as 132.45HB and permittivity were obtained at 1400 °C.

Keywords: Composite, Electroless, Nickel plating, Powder metallurgy, Sintering.

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Authors: M. Amberg, M. Gepp, S. Horn

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In today-s economy plant engineering faces many challenges. For instance the intensifying competition in this business is leading to cost competition and needs for a shorter time-to-market. To remain competitive companies need to make their businesses more profitable by implementing improvement programs such as standardization projects. But they have difficulties to tap their full economic potential for various reasons. One of them is non-holistic planning and implementation of standardization projects. This paper describes a new conceptual framework - the layer-model. The model combines and expands existing proven approaches in order to improve design, implementation and management of standardization projects. Based on a holistic approach it helps to systematically analyze the effects of standardization projects on different business layers and enables companies to better seize the opportunities offered by standardization.

Keywords: layer model, plant engineering, standardization.

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Authors: Romain Bosquet, Pierre-Olivier Vandanjon, Alex Coiret, Tristan Lorino

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In the hardening energy context, the transport sector which constitutes a large worldwide energy demand has to be improving for decrease energy demand and global warming impacts. In a controversial situation where subsists an increasing demand for long-distance and high-speed travels, high-speed trains offer many advantages, as consuming significantly less energy than road or air transports. At the project phase of new rail infrastructures, it is nowadays important to characterize accurately the energy that will be induced by its operation phase, in addition to other more classical criteria as construction costs and travel time. Current literature consumption models used to estimate railways operation phase are obsolete or not enough accurate for taking into account the newest train or railways technologies. In this paper, an updated model of consumption for high-speed is proposed, based on experimental data obtained from full-scale tests performed on a new high-speed line. The assessment of the model is achieved by identifying train parameters and measured power consumptions for more than one hundred train routes. Perspectives are then discussed to use this updated model for accurately assess the energy impact of future railway infrastructures.

Keywords: High-speed train, energy, model, track profile, infrastructure

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Authors: Weiwei Shan, Wenjing Ding, Juan Ning, Chao He, Zijuan Wang

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Gravity circulation loop for the cryopumps of the space simulator is introduced, and two phase mathematic model of flow heat transfer is analyzed as well. Based on this model, the liquid nitrogen (LN₂) gravity circulation loop including its equipment and layout is designed and has served as LN₂ feeding system for cryopumps in one large space simulator. With the help of control software and human machine interface, this system can be operated flexibly, simply, and automatically under four conditions. When running this system, the results show that the cryopumps can be cooled down and maintained under the required temperature, 120 K.

Keywords: Cryopumps, gravity circulation loop, liquid nitrogen, two-phase.

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Authors: Il-Do Jeong, Hang-Geun Jeong

Abstract:

This paper describes the design and fabrication of a clock and data recovery circuit (CDR). We propose a new clock and data recovery which is based on a 1/4-rate frequency detector (QRFD). The proposed frequency detector helps reduce the VCO frequency and is thus advantageous for high speed application. The proposed frequency detector can achieve low jitter operation and extend the pull-in range without using the reference clock. The proposed CDR was implemented using a 1/4-rate bang-bang type phase detector (PD) and a ring voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The CDR circuit has been fabricated in a standard 0.18 CMOS technology. It occupies an active area of 1 x 1 and consumes 90 mW from a single 1.8V supply.

Keywords: Clock and data recovery, 1/4-rate frequency detector, 1/4-rate phase detector.

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Authors: Jaehyug Lee, Tae-Ho Song

Abstract:

Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) can achieve very low thermal conductivity by evacuating its inner space. Heat transfer in the core materials of highly-evacuated VIP occurs by conduction through the solid structure and radiation through the pore. The effect of various scattering modes in combined conduction-radiation in VIP is investigated through numerical analysis. The discrete ordinates interpolation method (DOIM) incorporated with the commercial code FLUENT® is employed. It is found that backward scattering is more effective in reducing the total heat transfer while isotropic scattering is almost identical with pure absorbing/emitting case of the same optical thickness. For a purely scattering medium, the results agrees well with additive solution with diffusion approximation, while a modified term is added in the effect of optical thickness to backward scattering is employed. For other scattering phase functions, it is also confirmed that backwardly scattering phase function gives a lower effective thermal conductivity. Thus the materials with backward scattering properties, with radiation shields are desirable to lower the thermal conductivity of VIPs.

Keywords: Combined conduction and radiation, discrete ordinates interpolation method, scattering phase function, vacuum insulation panel.

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Authors: S. Thirumurugan, D. R. Prince Williams

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Software Reliability is one of the key factors in the software development process. Software Reliability is estimated using reliability models based on Non Homogenous Poisson Process. In most of the literature the Software Reliability is predicted only in testing phase. So it leads to wrong decision-making concept. In this paper, two Software Reliability concepts, testing and operational phase are studied in detail. Using S-Shaped Software Reliability Growth Model (SRGM) and Exponential SRGM, the testing and operational reliability values are obtained. Finally two reliability values are compared and optimal release time is investigated.

Keywords: Error Detection Rate, Estimation of Parameters, Instantaneous Failure Rate, Mean Value Function, Non Homogenous Poisson Process (NHPP), Software Reliability.

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Authors: G. Gurguze, I. Turkoglu

Abstract:

Today, the developing features of technological tools with limited energy resources have made it necessary to use energy efficiently. Energy management techniques have emerged for this purpose. As with every field, energy management is vital for robots that are being used in many areas from industry to daily life and that are thought to take up more spaces in the future. Particularly, effective power management in autonomous and multi robots, which are getting more complicated and increasing day by day, will improve the performance and success. In this study, robot management algorithms, usage of renewable and hybrid energy sources, robot motion patterns, robot designs, sharing strategies of workloads in multiple robots, road and mission planning algorithms are discussed for efficient use of energy resources by mobile robots. These techniques have been evaluated in terms of efficient use of existing energy resources and energy management in robots.

Keywords: Energy management, mobile robot, robot administration, robot management, robot planning.

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Authors: Ararat Khachatryan, Davit Mirzoyan

Abstract:

In sub micrometer technology, the aging phenomenon starts to have a significant impact on the reliability of integrated circuits by bringing performance degradation. For that reason, it is important to have a capability to evaluate the aging effects accurately. This paper presents an accurate aging measurement approach based on phase-locked loop (PLL) and voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit. The architecture is rejecting the circuit self-aging effect from the characteristics of PLL, which is generating the frequency without any aging phenomena affects. The aging monitor is implemented in low power 32 nm CMOS technology, and occupies a pretty small area. Aging simulation results show that the proposed aging measurement circuit improves accuracy by about 2.8% at high temperature and 19.6% at high voltage.

Keywords: Nanoscale, aging, effect, NBTI, HCI.

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Authors: Ashraf Khalil, Salam Abdallah, Khalil Al-hilo, Ebere Iroadu

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Financial literacy is one of the key factors needed in making informed financial decisions. As businesses continue to be more profit driven, more financial and economic intrigues arise that continue to put individuals at the risk of spending more and more without considering the short term and long term effects. We conducted a study to assess financial literacy and financial decision making among Emiratis. Our results show that financial literacy is lacking among Emiratis. Also, almost half of respondents owe loans to other peoples and 1/5 of them have bank loans. We expect that the outcome of this research will be useful for designing educational programs and policies to promote financial planning and security among Emiratis. We also posit that deeper and more informed understanding of this problem is a precursor for developing effective financial education programs with the aim of improving financial decision- making among Emiratis.

Keywords: Financial literacy, loans, financial planning, Emiratis.

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Authors: Gianluca Cornetta, David J. Santos

Abstract:

This paper describes a 2.4 GHz passive switch mixer and a 5/2.5 GHz voltage-controlled negative Gm oscillator (VCO) with an inversion-mode MOS varactor. Both circuits are implemented using a 1P8M 0.13 μm process. The switch mixer has an input referred 1 dB compression point of -3.89 dBm and a conversion gain of -0.96 dB when the local oscillator power is +2.5 dBm. The VCO consumes only 1.75 mW, while drawing 1.45 mA from a 1.2 V supply voltage. In order to reduce the passives size, the VCO natural oscillation frequency is 5 GHz. A clocked CMOS divideby- two circuit is used for frequency division and quadrature phase generation. The VCO has a -109 dBc/Hz phase noise at 1 MHz frequency offset and a 2.35-2.5 GHz tuning range (after the frequency division), thus complying with ZigBee requirements.

Keywords: Switch Mixers, Varactors, IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee), Direct Conversion Receiver, Wireless Sensor Networks.

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Authors: H. Zarei, M. H. Fazel Zarandi, M. Karbasian

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A Decision Support System/Expert System for stock portfolio selection presented where at first step, both technical and fundamental data used to estimate technical and fundamental return and risk (1st phase); Then, the estimated values are aggregated with the investor preferences (2nd phase) to produce convenient stock portfolio. In the 1st phase, there are two expert systems, each of which is responsible for technical or fundamental estimation. In the technical expert system, for each stock, twenty seven candidates are identified and with using rough sets-based clustering method (RC) the effective variables have been selected. Next, for each stock two fuzzy rulebases are developed with fuzzy C-Mean method and Takai-Sugeno- Kang (TSK) approach; one for return estimation and the other for risk. Thereafter, the parameters of the rule-bases are tuned with backpropagation method. In parallel, for fundamental expert systems, fuzzy rule-bases have been identified in the form of “IF-THEN" rules through brainstorming with the stock market experts and the input data have been derived from financial statements; as a result two fuzzy rule-bases have been generated for all the stocks, one for return and the other for risk. In the 2nd phase, user preferences represented by four criteria and are obtained by questionnaire. Using an expert system, four estimated values of return and risk have been aggregated with the respective values of user preference. At last, a fuzzy rule base having four rules, treats these values and produce a ranking score for each stock which will lead to a satisfactory portfolio for the user. The stocks of six manufacturing companies and the period of 2003-2006 selected for data gathering.

Keywords: Stock Portfolio Selection, Fuzzy Rule-Base ExpertSystems, Financial Decision Support Systems, Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis.

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Authors: Joshi Manohar. V., Sujatha. P., Anjaneyulu K. S. R

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The range of the output power is a very important and evident limitation of two-level inverters. In order to overcome this disadvantage, multilevel inverters are introduced. Recently, Cascade H-Bridge inverters have emerged as one of the popular converter topologies used in numerous industrial applications. The modulation switching strategies such as phase shifted carrier based Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technique and Stair case modulation with Selective Harmonic Elimination (SHE) PWM technique are generally used. NR method is used to solve highly non linear transcendental equations which are formed by SHEPWM method. Generally NR method has a drawback of requiring good initial guess but in this paper a new approach is implemented for NR method with any random initial guess. A three phase CHB 11-level inverter is chosen for analysis. MATLAB/SIMULINK programming environment and harmonic profiles are compared. Finally this paper presents a method at fundamental switching frequency with least % THDV.

Keywords: Cascade H-bridge 11- level Inverter, NR method, Phase shifted carrier based pulse width modulation (PSCPWM), Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation (SHEPWM), Total Harmonic Distortion (%THDv).

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Authors: Salma I. Dwidar, Amal A. Abdelsattar

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Alexandria city is one of the greatest cities in the world. It confronted different civilizations throughout the ages due to its special geographical location and climate which left many archaeological areas of great heritage (Ptolemaic, Greek, Romanian, especially sunken monuments, Coptic, Islamic, and finally, the Modern). Also, Alexandria city contains areas with different patterns of urban planning, both Hellenistic and compacted planning which merited the diversity in planning. Despite the magnitude of this city, which contains all the elements of tourism, the city was not included in the tourism map of Egypt properly comparing with similar cities in Egypt. This paper discusses the importance of heritage areas in Alexandria and the relationship between heritage areas and modern buildings. It highlights the absence of a methodology to deal with heritage areas as touristic areas. Also, the paper aims to develop multiple touristic routes to visit archaeological areas and other sights of significance in Alexandria. The research methodology is divided into two main frameworks. The first framework is a historical study of the urban development of Alexandria and the most important remaining monuments throughout the ages, as well as an analytical study of sunken monuments and their importance in increasing the rate of tourism. Moreover, it covers a study of the importance of the Library of Alexandria and its effect on the international focus of the city. The second framework focuses on the proposal of some tourism routes to visit the heritage areas, archaeological monuments, sunken monuments and the sights of Alexandria. The study concludes with the proposal of three tourism routes. The first route, which is the longest one, passes by all the famous monuments of the city as well as its modern sights. The second route passes through the heritage areas, sunken monuments, and Library of Alexandria. The third route includes the sunken monuments and Library of Alexandria. These three tourism routes will ensures the touristic development of the city which leads to the economic growth of the city and the country.

Keywords: Archeological buildings, heritage buildings, heritage tourism, planning of Islamic cities.

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Authors: T. Wuttipornpun, U. Wangrakdiskul, W. Songserm

Abstract:

This paper aims to develop an algorithm of finite capacity material requirement planning (FCMRP) system for a multistage assembly flow shop. The developed FCMRP system has two main stages. The first stage is to allocate operations to the first and second priority work centers and also determine the sequence of the operations on each work center. The second stage is to determine the optimal start time of each operation by using a linear programming model. Real data from a factory is used to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed FCMRP system and also to guarantee a practical solution to the user. There are five performance measures, namely, the total tardiness, the number of tardy orders, the total earliness, the number of early orders, and the average flow-time. The proposed FCMRP system offers an adjustable solution which is a compromised solution among the conflicting performance measures. The user can adjust the weight of each performance measure to obtain the desired performance. The result shows that the combination of FCMRP NP3 and EDD outperforms other combinations in term of overall performance index. The calculation time for the proposed FCMRP system is about 10 minutes which is practical for the planners of the factory.

Keywords: Material requirement planning, Finite capacity, Linear programming, Permutation, Application in industry.

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