Search results for: California bearing ratio.
1503 Persuasive Communication on Social Egg Freezing in California from a Framing Theory Perspective
Authors: Leila Mohammadi
Abstract:
This paper presents the impact of persuasive communication implemented by fertility clinics websites, and how this information influences women at their decision-making for undertaking this procedure. The influential factors for women decisions to do social egg freezing (SEF) are analyzed from a framing theory perspective, with a specific focus on the impact of persuasive information on women’s decision making. This study follows a quantitative approach. A two-phase survey has been conducted to examine the interest rate to undertake SEF. In the first phase, a questionnaire was available during a month (May 2015) to women to answer whether or not they knew enough information of this process, with a total of 230 answers. The second phase took place in the two last weeks of July 2015. All the respondents were invited to a seminars called ‘All about egg freezing’ and afretwards they were requested to answer the second questionnaire. After the seminar, in which they were given an extensive amount of information about egg freezing, a total of 115 women replied the questionnaire. The collected data during this process were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Most of the respondents changed their opinion in the second questionaire which was after receiving information. Although in the first questionnaire their self-evaluation of having knowledge about this process and the implemented technologies was very high, they realized that they still need to access more information from different sources in order to be able to make a decision. The study reached the conclusion that persuasive and framed information by clinics would affect the decisions of these women. Despite the reasons women have to do egg freezing and their motivations behind it, providing people necessary information and unprejudiced data about this process (such as its positive and negative aspects, requirements, suppositions, possibilities and consequences) would help them to make a more precise and reasonable decision about what they are buying.
Keywords: Decision making, fertility clinics, framing theory, persuasive information, social egg freezing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9701502 Vibration Analysis of the Gas Turbine Considering Dependency of Stiffness and Damping on Frequency
Authors: Hamed Jamshidi, Pooya Djamshidi
Abstract:
In this paper the complete rotor system including elastic shaft with distributed mass, allowing for the effects of oil film in bearings. Also, flexibility of foundation is modeled. As a whole this article is a relatively complete research in modeling and vibration analysis of rotor considering gyroscopic effect, damping, dependency of stiffness and damping coefficients on frequency and solving the vibration equations including these parameters. On the basis of finite element method and utilizing four element types including element of shaft, disk, bearing and foundation and using MATLAB, a computer program is written. So the responses in several cases and considering different effects are obtained. Then the results are compared with each other, with exact solutions and results of other papers.Keywords: Damping coefficients , Finite element method, Modeling , Rotor vibration
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24901501 Similitude for Thermal Scale-up of a Multiphase Thermolysis Reactor in the Cu-Cl Cycle of a Hydrogen Production
Authors: Mohammed W. Abdulrahman
Abstract:
The thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle is considered as a sustainable and efficient technology for a hydrogen production, when linked with clean-energy systems such as nuclear reactors or solar thermal plants. In the Cu-Cl cycle, water is decomposed thermally into hydrogen and oxygen through a series of intermediate reactions. This paper investigates the thermal scale up analysis of the three phase oxygen production reactor in the Cu-Cl cycle, where the reaction is endothermic and the temperature is about 530 oC. The paper focuses on examining the size and number of oxygen reactors required to provide enough heat input for different rates of hydrogen production. The type of the multiphase reactor used in this paper is the continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) that is heated by a half pipe jacket. The thermal resistance of each section in the jacketed reactor system is studied to examine its effect on the heat balance of the reactor. It is found that the dominant contribution to the system thermal resistance is from the reactor wall. In the analysis, the Cu-Cl cycle is assumed to be driven by a nuclear reactor where two types of nuclear reactors are examined as the heat source to the oxygen reactor. These types are the CANDU Super Critical Water Reactor (CANDU-SCWR) and High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR). It is concluded that a better heat transfer rate has to be provided for CANDU-SCWR by 3-4 times than HTGR. The effect of the reactor aspect ratio is also examined in this paper and is found that increasing the aspect ratio decreases the number of reactors and the rate of decrease in the number of reactors decreases by increasing the aspect ratio. Finally, a comparison between the results of heat balance and existing results of mass balance is performed and is found that the size of the oxygen reactor is dominated by the heat balance rather than the material balance.
Keywords: Clean energy, Cu-Cl cycle, heat transfer, sustainable energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16571500 The Study on the Stationarity of Housing Price-to-Rent and Housing Price-to-Income Ratios in China
Authors: Wen-Chi Liu
Abstract:
This paper aims to examine whether a bubble is present in the housing market of China. Thus, we use the housing price-to-income ratios and housing price-to-rent ratios of 35 cities from 1998 to 2010. The methods of the panel KSS unit root test with a Fourier function and the SPSM process are likewise used. The panel KSS unit root test with a Fourier function considers the problem of non-linearity and structural changes, and the SPSM process can avoid the stationary time series from dominating the result-generated bias. Through a rigorous empirical study, we determine that the housing price-to-income ratios are stationary in 34 of the 35 cities in China. Only Xining is non-stationary. The housing price-to-rent ratios are stationary in 32 of the 35 cities in China. Chengdu, Fuzhou, and Zhengzhou are non-stationary. Overall, the housing bubbles are not a serious problem in China at the time.
Keywords: Housing Price-to-Income Ratio, Housing Price-to-Rent Ratio, Housing Bubbles, Panel Unit-Root Test.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23821499 A Simulated Design and Analysis of a Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough Concentrator
Authors: Fauziah Sulaiman, Nurhayati Abdullah, Balbir Singh Mahinder Singh
Abstract:
In recent years Malaysia has included renewable energy as an alternative fuel to help in diversifying the country-s energy reliance on oil, natural gas, coal and hydropower with biomass and solar energy gaining priority. The scope of this paper is to look at the designing procedures and analysis of a solar thermal parabolic trough concentrator by simulation utilizing meteorological data in several parts of Malaysia. Parameters which include the aperture area, the diameter of the receiver and the working fluid may be varied to optimize the design. Aperture area is determined by considering the width and the length of the concentrator whereas the geometric concentration ratio (CR) is obtained by considering the width and diameter of the receiver. Three types of working fluid are investigated. Theoretically, concentration ratios can be very high in the range of 10 to 40 000 depending on the optical elements used and continuous tracking of the sun. However, a thorough analysis is essential as discussed in this paper where optical precision and thermal analysis must be carried out to evaluate the performance of the parabolic trough concentrator as the theoretical CR is not the only factor that should be considered.Keywords: Parabolic trough concentrator, Concentration ratio, Intercept factor, Efficiency.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 39811498 Development of Interaction Factors Charts for Piled Raft Foundation
Authors: Abdelazim Makki Ibrahim, Esamaldeen Ali
Abstract:
This study aims at analysing the load settlement behavior and predict the bearing capacity of piled raft foundation a series of finite element models with different foundation configurations and stiffness were established. Numerical modeling is used to study the behavior of the piled raft foundation due to the complexity of piles, raft, and soil interaction and also due to the lack of reliable analytical method that can predict the behavior of the piled raft foundation system. Simple analytical models are developed to predict the average settlement and the load sharing between the piles and the raft in piled raft foundation system. A simple example to demonstrate the applications of these charts is included.Keywords: Finite element, pile-raft foundation, method, PLAXIS software, settlement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17321497 Model Studies on Shear Behavior of Reinforced Reconstituted Clay
Abstract:
In this paper, shear behavior of reconstituted clay reinforced with varying diameter of sand compaction piles with area replacement-ratio (as) of 6.25, 10.24, 16, 20.25 and 64% in 100mm diameter and 200mm long clay specimens is modeled using consolidated drained and undrained triaxial tests under different confining pressures ranging from 50kPa to 575kPa. The test results show that the stress-strain behavior of the clay was highly influenced by the presence of SCP. The insertion of SCPs into soft clay has shown to have a positive effect on the load carrying capacity of the clay, resulting in a composite soil mass that has greater shear strength and improved stiffness compared to the unreinforced clay due to increased reinforcement area ratio. In addition, SCP also acts as vertical drain in the clay thus accelerating the dissipation of excess pore water pressures that are generated during loading by shortening the drainage path and activating radial drainage, thereby reducing post-construction settlement. Thus, sand compaction piles currently stand as one of the most viable and practical techniques for improving the mechanical properties of soft clays.Keywords: Reconstituted clay, SCP, shear strength, stress-strain response, triaxial tests.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14941496 Reliability Analysis of P-I Diagram Formula for RC Column Subjected to Blast Load
Authors: Masoud Abedini, Azrul A. Mutalib, Shahrizan Baharom, Hong Hao
Abstract:
This study was conducted published to investigate there liability of the equation pressure-impulse (PI) reinforced concrete column inprevious studies. Equation involves three different levels of damage criteria known as D =0. 2, D =0. 5 and D =0. 8.The damage criteria known as a minor when 0-0.2, 0.2-0.5is known as moderate damage, high damage known as 0.5-0.8, and 0.8-1 of the structure is considered a failure. In this study, two types of reliability analyzes conducted. First, using pressure-impulse equation with different parameters. The parameters involved are the concrete strength, depth, width, and height column, the ratio of longitudinal reinforcement and transverse reinforcement ratio. In the first analysis of the reliability of this new equation is derived to improve the previous equations. The second reliability analysis involves three types of columns used to derive the PI curve diagram using the derived equation to compare with the equation derived from other researchers and graph minimum standoff versus weapon yield Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The results showed that the derived equation is more accurate with FEMA standards than previous researchers.
Keywords: Blast load, RC column, P-I curve, Analytical formulae, Standard FEMA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29121495 A New Measurable Definition of Knowledge in New Growth Theory
Authors: Mohammad Ali Molaei
Abstract:
New Growth Theory helps us make sense of the ongoing shift from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. It underscores the point that the economic processes which create and diffuse new knowledge are critical to shaping the growth of nations, communities and individual firms. In all too many contributions to New (Endogenous) Growth Theory – though not in all – central reference is made to 'a stock of knowledge', a 'stock of ideas', etc., this variable featuring centre-stage in the analysis. Yet it is immediately apparent that this is far from being a crystal clear concept. The difficulty and uncertainty of being able to capture the value associated with knowledge is a real problem. The intent of this paper is introducing new thinking and theorizing about the knowledge and its measurability in new growth theory. Moreover the study aims to synthesize various strain of the literature with a practical bearing on knowledge concept. By contribution of institution framework which is found within NGT, we can indirectly measure the knowledge concept. Institutions matter because they shape the environment for production and employment of new knowledgeKeywords: Institution Framework, Knowledge, New GrowthTheory (NGT)
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15441494 Adhesion Problematic for Novel Non-Crimp Fabric and Surface Modification of Carbon-Fibres Using Oxy-Fluorination
Authors: Iris Käppler, Paul Matthäi, Chokri Cherif
Abstract:
In the scope of application of technical textiles, Non- Crimp Fabrics are increasingly used. In general, NCF exhibit excellent load bearing properties, but caused by the manufacturing process, there are some remaining disadvantages which have to be reduced. Regarding to this, a novel technique of processing NCF was developed substituting the binding-thread by an adhesive. This stitchfree method requires new manufacturing concept as well as new basic methods to prove adhesion of glue at fibres and textiles. To improve adhesion properties and the wettability of carbon-fibres by the adhesive, oxy-fluorination was used. The modification of carbonfibres by oxy-fluorination was investigated via scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and single fibre tensiometry. Special tensile tests were developed to determine the maximum force required for detachment.
Keywords: Non-Crimp Fabric, adhesive, stitch-free, high-performance fibre.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20361493 Double Diffusive Convection in a Partially Porous Cavity under Suction/Injection Effects
Authors: Y. Outaleb, K. Bouhadef, O. Rahli
Abstract:
Double-diffusive steady convection in a partially porous cavity with partially permeable walls and under the combined buoyancy effects of thermal and mass diffusion was analysed numerically using finite volume method. The top wall is well insulated and impermeable while the bottom surface is partially well insulated and impermeable and partially submitted to constant temperature T1 and concentration C1. Constant equal temperature T2 and concentration C2 are imposed along the vertical surfaces of the enclosure. Mass suction/injection and injection/suction are respectively considered at the bottom of the porous centred partition and at one of the vertical walls. Heat and mass transfer characteristics as streamlines and average Nusselt numbers and Sherwood numbers were discussed for different values of buoyancy ratio, Rayleigh number, and injection/suction coefficient. It is especially noted that increasing the injection factor disadvantages the exchanges in the case of the injection while the transfer is augmented in case of suction. On the other hand, a critical value of the buoyancy ratio was highlighted for which heat and mass transfers are minimized.Keywords: Double diffusive convection, Injection/Extraction, Partially porous cavity
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15621492 Result Validation Analysis of Steel Testing Machines
Authors: Wasiu O. Ajagbe, Habeeb O. Hamzat, Waris A. Adebisi
Abstract:
Structural failures occur due to a number of reasons. These may include under design, poor workmanship, substandard materials, misleading laboratory tests and lots more. Reinforcing steel bar is an important construction material, hence its properties must be accurately known before being utilized in construction. Understanding this property involves carrying out mechanical tests prior to design and during construction to ascertain correlation using steel testing machine which is usually not readily available due to the location of project. This study was conducted to determine the reliability of reinforcing steel testing machines. Reconnaissance survey was conducted to identify laboratories where yield and ultimate tensile strengths tests can be carried out. Six laboratories were identified within Ibadan and environs. However, only four were functional at the time of the study. Three steel samples were tested for yield and tensile strengths, using a steel testing machine, at each of the four laboratories (LM, LO, LP and LS). The yield and tensile strength results obtained from the laboratories were compared with the manufacturer’s specification using a reliability analysis programme. Structured questionnaire was administered to the operators in each laboratory to consider their impact on the test results. The average value of manufacturers’ tensile strength and yield strength are 673.7 N/mm2 and 559.7 N/mm2 respectively. The tensile strength obtained from the four laboratories LM, LO, LP and LS are given as 579.4, 652.7, 646.0 and 649.9 N/mm2 respectively while their yield strengths respectively are 453.3, 597.0, 550.7 and 564.7 N/mm2. Minimum tensile to yield strength ratio is 1.08 for BS 4449: 2005 and 1.15 for ASTM A615. Tensile to yield strength ratio from the four laboratories are 1.28, 1.09, 1.17 and 1.15 for LM, LO, LP and LS respectively. The tensile to yield strength ratio shows that the result obtained from all the laboratories meet the code requirements used for the test. The result of the reliability test shows varying level of reliability between the manufacturers’ specification and the result obtained from the laboratories. Three of the laboratories; LO, LS and LP have high value of reliability with the manufacturer i.e. 0.798, 0.866 and 0.712 respectively. The fourth laboratory, LM has a reliability value of 0.100. Steel test should be carried out in a laboratory using the same code in which the structural design was carried out. More emphasis should be laid on the importance of code provisions.
Keywords: Reinforcing steel bars, reliability analysis, tensile strength, universal testing machine, yield strength.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7491491 A Simulation for Estimation of the Blood Pressure using Arterial Pressure-volume Model
Authors: Gye-rok Jeon, Jae-hee Jung, In-cheol Kim, Ah-young Jeon, Sang-hwa Yoon, Jung-man Son, Jae-hyung Kim, Soo-young Ye, Jung-hoon Ro, Dong-hyun Kim, Chul-han Kim
Abstract:
A analysis on the conventional the blood pressure estimation method using an oscillometric sphygmomanometer was performed through a computer simulation using an arterial pressure-volume (APV) model. Traditionally, the maximum amplitude algorithm (MAP) was applied on the oscillation waveforms of the APV model to obtain the mean arterial pressure and the characteristic ratio. The estimation of mean arterial pressure and characteristic ratio was significantly affected with the shape of the blood pressure waveforms and the cutoff frequency of high-pass filter (HPL) circuitry. Experimental errors are due to these effects when estimating blood pressure. To find out an algorithm independent from the influence of waveform shapes and parameters of HPL, the volume oscillation of the APV model and the phase shift of the oscillation with fast fourier transform (FFT) were testified while increasing the cuff pressure from 1 mmHg to 200 mmHg (1 mmHg per second). The phase shift between the ranges of volume oscillation was then only observed between the systolic and the diastolic blood pressures. The same results were also obtained from the simulations performed on two different the arterial blood pressure waveforms and one hyperthermia waveform.Keywords: Arterial blood pressure, oscillometric method
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33361490 A Novel Computer Vision Method for Evaluating Deformations of Fibers Cross Section in False Twist Textured Yarns
Authors: Dariush Semnani, Mehdi Ahangareianabhari, Hossein Ghayoor
Abstract:
In recent five decades, textured yarns of polyester fiber produced by false twist method are the most important and mass-produced manmade fibers. There are many parameters of cross section which affect the physical and mechanical properties of textured yarns. These parameters are surface area, perimeter, equivalent diameter, large diameter, small diameter, convexity, stiffness, eccentricity, and hydraulic diameter. These parameters were evaluated by digital image processing techniques. To find trends between production criteria and evaluated parameters of cross section, three criteria of production line have been adjusted and different types of yarns were produced. These criteria are temperature, drafting ratio, and D/Y ratio. Finally the relations between production criteria and cross section parameters were considered. The results showed that the presented technique can recognize and measure the parameters of fiber cross section in acceptable accuracy. Also, the optimum condition of adjustments has been estimated from results of image analysis evaluation.Keywords: Computer Vision, Cross Section Analysis, Fibers Deformation, Textured Yarn
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16471489 Determination of Cu and Mo Potential Targets in the Khatunabad Based on Analytical Hierarchy Process, West of Mianeh, Iran
Authors: R. Noori, F. Feizi, M.R. Jafari
Abstract:
Khatunabad area is situated geologically in Urmieh- Dokhtar magmatic belt in NW of Iran. In this research, studied area has been investigated in order to recognize the potential copper and molybdenum-bearing target areas. The survey layers include the lithologic units, alteration, geochemical result, tectonics and copper and molybdenum occurrence. As an accurate decision can have a considerable effect on exploration plans, so in this efforts have been made to make use of new combination method. For this purpose, the analytical hierarchy process was used and revealed highly potential copper and molybdenum mineralization areas. Based on achieved results, geological perspective in north of studied area is appropriate for advance stage, especially for subsurface exploration in future.Keywords: Analytical hierarchy process, Potential targets, Khatunabad, Iran
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15131488 Extracting Single Trial Visual Evoked Potentials using Selective Eigen-Rate Principal Components
Authors: Samraj Andrews, Ramaswamy Palaniappan, Nidal Kamel
Abstract:
In single trial analysis, when using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to extract Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) signals, the selection of principal components (PCs) is an important issue. We propose a new method here that selects only the appropriate PCs. We denote the method as selective eigen-rate (SER). In the method, the VEP is reconstructed based on the rate of the eigen-values of the PCs. When this technique is applied on emulated VEP signals added with background electroencephalogram (EEG), with a focus on extracting the evoked P3 parameter, it is found to be feasible. The improvement in signal to noise ratio (SNR) is superior to two other existing methods of PC selection: Kaiser (KSR) and Residual Power (RP). Though another PC selection method, Spectral Power Ratio (SPR) gives a comparable SNR with high noise factors (i.e. EEGs), SER give more impressive results in such cases. Next, we applied SER method to real VEP signals to analyse the P3 responses for matched and non-matched stimuli. The P3 parameters extracted through our proposed SER method showed higher P3 response for matched stimulus, which confirms to the existing neuroscience knowledge. Single trial PCA using KSR and RP methods failed to indicate any difference for the stimuli.Keywords: Electroencephalogram, P3, Single trial VEP.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16411487 A Reliable Secure Multicast Key Distribution Scheme for Mobile Adhoc Networks
Authors: D. SuganyaDevi, G. Padmavathi
Abstract:
Reliable secure multicast communication in mobile adhoc networks is challenging due to its inherent characteristics of infrastructure-less architecture with lack of central authority, high packet loss rates and limited resources such as bandwidth, time and power. Many emerging commercial and military applications require secure multicast communication in adhoc environments. Hence key management is the fundamental challenge in achieving reliable secure communication using multicast key distribution for mobile adhoc networks. Thus in designing a reliable multicast key distribution scheme, reliability and congestion control over throughput are essential components. This paper proposes and evaluates the performance of an enhanced optimized multicast cluster tree algorithm with destination sequenced distance vector routing protocol to provide reliable multicast key distribution. Simulation results in NS2 accurately predict the performance of proposed scheme in terms of key delivery ratio and packet loss rate under varying network conditions. This proposed scheme achieves reliability, while exhibiting low packet loss rate with high key delivery ratio compared with the existing scheme.Keywords: Key Distribution, Mobile Adhoc Network, Multicast and Reliability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16371486 Advanced Micromanufacturing for Ultra Precision Part by Soft Lithography and Nano Powder Injection Molding
Authors: Andy Tirta, Yus Prasetyo, Eung-Ryul. Baek, Chul-Jin. Choi , Hye-Moon. Lee
Abstract:
Recently, the advanced technologies that offer high precision product, relative easy, economical process and also rapid production are needed to realize the high demand of ultra precision micro part. In our research, micromanufacturing based on soft lithography and nanopowder injection molding was investigated. The silicone metal pattern with ultra thick and high aspect ratio succeeds to fabricate Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro mold. The process followed by nanopowder injection molding (PIM) by a simple vacuum hot press. The 17-4ph nanopowder with diameter of 100 nm, succeed to be injected and it forms green sample microbearing with thickness, microchannel and aspect ratio is 700μm, 60μm and 12, respectively. Sintering process was done in 1200 C for 2 hours and heating rate 0.83oC/min. Since low powder load (45% PL) was applied to achieve green sample fabrication, ~15% shrinkage happen in the 86% relative density. Several improvements should be done to produce high accuracy and full density sintered part.Keywords: Micromanufacturing, Nano PIM, PDMS micro mould.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20621485 Effect of Waste Bottle Chips on Strength Parameters of Silty Soil
Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Hamidreza Rahmani
Abstract:
Laboratory consolidated undrained triaxial (CU) tests were carried out to study the strength behavior of silty soil reinforced with randomly plastic waste bottle chips. Specimens mixed with plastic waste chips in triaxial compression tests with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25% by dry weight of soil and tree different length including 4, 8, and 12 mm. In all of the samples, the width and thickness of plastic chips were kept constant. According to the results, the amount and size of plastic waste bottle chips played an important role in the increasing of the strength parameters of reinforced silt compared to the pure soil. Because of good results, the suggested method of soil improvement can be used in many engineering problems such as increasing the bearing capacity and settlement reduction in foundations.
Keywords: Soil improvement, waste bottle chips, reinforcement, silt, Triaxial test.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19681484 Preservation of Coconut Toddy Sediments as a Leavening Agent for Bakery Products
Authors: B. R. Madushan, S. B. Navaratne, I. Wickramasinghe
Abstract:
Toddy sediment (TS) was cultured in a PDA medium to determine initial yeast load, and also it was undergone sun, shade, solar, dehumidified cold air (DCA) and hot air oven (at 400, 500 and 60oC) drying with a view to preserve viability of yeast. Thereafter, this study was conducted according to two factor factorial design in order to determine best preservation method. Therein the dried TS from the best drying method was taken and divided into two portions. One portion was mixed with 3: 7 ratio of TS: rice flour and the mixture was divided in to two again. While one portion was kept under in house condition the other was in a refrigerator. Same procedure was followed to the rest portion of TS too but it was at the same ratio of corn flour. All treatments were vacuum packed in triple laminate pouches and the best preservation method was determined in terms of leavening index (LI). The TS obtained from the best preservation method was used to make foods (bread and hopper) and organoleptic properties of it were evaluated against same of ordinary foods using sensory panel with a five point hedonic scale. Results revealed that yeast load or fresh TS was 58×106 CFU/g. The best drying method in preserving viability of yeast was DCA because LI of this treatment (96%) is higher than that of other three treatments. Organoleptic properties of foods prepared from best preservation method are as same as ordinary foods according to Duo trio test.Keywords: Biological leavening agent, coconut toddy, fermentation, yeast.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22491483 Simultaneous Optimization of Machining Parameters and Tool Geometry Specifications in Turning Operation of AISI1045 Steel
Authors: Farhad Kolahan, Mohsen Manoochehri, Abbas Hosseini
Abstract:
Machining is an important manufacturing process used to produce a wide variety of metallic parts. Among various machining processes, turning is one of the most important one which is employed to shape cylindrical parts. In turning, the quality of finished product is measured in terms of surface roughness. In turn, surface quality is determined by machining parameters and tool geometry specifications. The main objective of this study is to simultaneously model and optimize machining parameters and tool geometry in order to improve the surface roughness for AISI1045 steel. Several levels of machining parameters and tool geometry specifications are considered as input parameters. The surface roughness is selected as process output measure of performance. A Taguchi approach is employed to gather experimental data. Then, based on signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, the best sets of cutting parameters and tool geometry specifications have been determined. Using these parameters values, the surface roughness of AISI1045 steel parts may be minimized. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Keywords: Taguchi method, turning parameters, tool geometry specifications, S/N ratio, statistical analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23251482 An Indispensable Parameter in Lipid Ratios to Discriminate between Morbid Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Children: High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma
Abstract:
Obesity is a low-grade inflammatory disease and may lead to health problems such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes. It is also associated with important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. This requires the detailed evaluation of obesity, particularly in children. The aim of this study is to enlighten the potential associations between lipid ratios and obesity indices and to introduce those with discriminating features among children with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). A total of 408 children (aged between six and eighteen years) participated in the scope of the study. Informed consent forms were taken from the participants and their parents. Ethical Committee approval was obtained. Anthropometric measurements such as weight, height as well as waist, hip, head, neck circumferences and body fat mass were taken. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were recorded. Body mass index (BMI), diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index-II (D2 index), waist-to-hip, head-to-neck ratios were calculated. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLChol), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLChol) analyses were performed in blood samples drawn from 110 children with normal body weight, 164 morbid obese (MO) children and 134 children with MetS. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentiles tabulated by World Health Organization were used to classify groups; normal body weight, MO and MetS. 15th-to-85th percentiles were used to define normal body weight children. Children, whose values were above the 99th percentile, were described as MO. MetS criteria were defined. Data were evaluated statistically by SPSS Version 20. The degree of statistical significance was accepted as p≤0.05. Mean±standard deviation values of BMI for normal body weight children, MO children and those with MetS were 15.7±1.1, 27.1±3.8 and 29.1±5.3 kg/m2, respectively. Corresponding values for the D2 index were calculated as 3.4±0.9, 14.3±4.9 and 16.4±6.7. Both BMI and D2 index were capable of discriminating the groups from one another (p≤0.01). As far as other obesity indices were considered, waist-to hip and head-to-neck ratios did not exhibit any statistically significant difference between MO and MetS groups (p≥0.05). Diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index-II was correlated with the triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio in normal body weight and MO (r=0.413, p≤0.01 and r=0.261, (p≤0.05, respectively). Total cholesterol-to-HDL-C and LDL-C-to-HDL-C showed statistically significant differences between normal body weight and MO as well as MO and MetS (p≤0.05). The only group in which these two ratios were significantly correlated with waist-to-hip ratio was MetS group (r=0.332 and r=0.334, p≤0.01, respectively). Lack of correlation between the D2 index and the triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio was another important finding in MetS group. In this study, parameters and ratios, whose associations were defined previously with increased cardiovascular risk or cardiac death have been evaluated along with obesity indices in children with morbid obesity and MetS. Their profiles during childhood have been investigated. Aside from the nature of the correlation between the D2 index and triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio, total cholesterol-to-HDL-C as well as LDL-C-to- HDL-C ratios along with their correlations with waist-to-hip ratio showed that the combination of obesity-related parameters predicts better than one parameter and appears to be helpful for discriminating MO children from MetS group.
Keywords: Children, lipid ratios, metabolic syndrome, obesity indices.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8371481 Heat Transfer Characteristics and Fluid Flow past Staggered Flat-Tube Bank Using CFD
Authors: Zeinab Sayed Abdel-Rehim
Abstract:
A computational fluid dynamic (CFD-Fluent 6.2) for two-dimensional fluid flow is applied to predict the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of laminar and turbulent flow past staggered flat-tube bank. Effect of aspect ratio ((H/D)/(L/D)) on pressure drop, temperature, and velocity contour for laminar and turbulent flow over staggered flat-tube bank is studied. The theoretical results of the present models are compared with previously published experimental data of different authors. Satisfactory agreement is demonstrated. Also, the comparison between the present study and others analytical methods for the Re number with Nu number is done. The results show as the Reynolds number increases the maximum velocity in the passage between the upper and lower tubes increases. The comparisons show a fair agreement especially in the turbulent flow region. The good agreement of the data of this work with these recommended analytical methods validates the current study.
Keywords: Aspect ratio ((H/D)/(L/D)), CFD, fluid flow, heat transfer, staggered arrangement, tube bank, and turbulent flow.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37521480 Numerical Investigation of Non-Newtonians Fluids Flows between Two Rotating Cylinders Using Lattice Boltzmann Method
Authors: S. Khali, R. Nebbali, K. Bouhadef
Abstract:
A numerical investigation is performed for non Newtonian fluids flow between two concentric cylinders. The D2Q9 lattice Boltzmann model developed from the Bhatangar-Gross-Krook (LBGK) approximation is used to obtain the flow field for fluids obeying to the power-law model. The inner and outer cylinders rotate in the same and the opposite direction while the end walls are maintained at rest. The combined effects of the Reynolds number (Re) of the inner and outer cylinders, the radius ratio (η) as well as the power-law index (n) on the flow characteristics are analyzed for an annular space of a finite aspect ratio (Γ). Two flow modes are obtained: a primary mode (laminar stable regime) and a secondary mode (laminar unstable regime). The so obtained flow structures are different from one mode to another. The transition critical Reynolds number Rec from the primary to the secondary mode is analyzed for the co-courant and counter-courant flows. This critical value increases as n increases. The prediction of the swirling flow of non Newtonians fluids in axisymmetric geometries is shown in the present work.
Keywords: Taylor-Couette flows, non Newtonian fluid, Lattice Boltzmann method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27301479 Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus L.) Fruit Using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Ivana T. Karabegović, Saša S. Stojičević, Dragan T. Veličković, Nada Č. Nikolić, Miodrag L. Lazić
Abstract:
Optimization of a microwave-assisted extraction of cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) fruit using methanol was studied. The influence of process parameters (microwave power, plant material-to-solvent ratio and the extraction time) on the extraction efficiency were optimized by using response surface methodology. The predicted maximum yield of extractive substances (41.85 g/100 g fresh plant material) was obtained at microwave power of 600 W and plant material to solvent ratio of 0.2 g/cm3 after 26 minutes of extraction, while a mean value of 40.80±0.41 g/100 g fresh plant material was obtained from laboratory experiments. This proves applicability of the model in predicting optimal extraction conditions with minimal laborious and time consuming. The results indicated that all process parameters were effective on the extraction efficiency, while the most important factor was extraction time. In order to rationalize production the optimal economical condition which gave a large total extract yield with minimal energy and solvent consumption was found.
Keywords: Cherry laurel, Extraction, Multiple regression modeling, Microwave.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22311478 Determination of Stress-Strain Characteristics of Railhead Steel using Image Analysis
Authors: Bandula-Heva, T., Dhanasekar, M.
Abstract:
True stress-strain curve of railhead steel is required to investigate the behaviour of railhead under wheel loading through elasto-plastic Finite Element (FE) analysis. To reduce the rate of wear, the railhead material is hardened through annealing and quenching. The Australian standard rail sections are not fully hardened and hence suffer from non-uniform distribution of the material property; usage of average properties in the FE modelling can potentially induce error in the predicted plastic strains. Coupons obtained at varying depths of the railhead were, therefore, tested under axial tension and the strains were measured using strain gauges as well as an image analysis technique, known as the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The head hardened steel exhibit existence of three distinct zones of yield strength; the yield strength as the ratio of the average yield strength provided in the standard (σyr=780MPa) and the corresponding depth as the ratio of the head hardened zone along the axis of symmetry are as follows: (1.17 σyr, 20%), (1.06 σyr, 20%-80%) and (0.71 σyr, > 80%). The stress-strain curves exhibit limited plastic zone with fracture occurring at strain less than 0.1.Keywords: Stress-Strain Curve, Tensile Test, Particle Image Velocimetry, Railhead Metal Properties
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34461477 Adaptive Square-Rooting Companding Technique for PAPR Reduction in OFDM Systems
Authors: Wisam F. Al-Azzo, Borhanuddin Mohd. Ali
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. It also introduces a new PAPR reduction technique based on adaptive square-rooting (SQRT) companding process. The SQRT process of the proposed technique changes the statistical characteristics of the OFDM output signals from Rayleigh distribution to Gaussian-like distribution. This change in statistical distribution results changes of both the peak and average power values of OFDM signals, and consequently reduces significantly the PAPR. For the 64QAM OFDM system using 512 subcarriers, up to 6 dB reduction in PAPR was achieved by square-rooting technique with fixed degradation in bit error rate (BER) equal to 3 dB. However, the PAPR is reduced at the expense of only -15 dB out-ofband spectral shoulder re-growth below the in-band signal level. The proposed adaptive SQRT technique is superior in terms of BER performance than the original, non-adaptive, square-rooting technique when the required reduction in PAPR is no more than 5 dB. Also, it provides fixed amount of PAPR reduction in which it is not available in the original SQRT technique.Keywords: complementary cumulative distribution function(CCDF), OFDM, peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), adaptivesquare-rooting PAPR reduction technique.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22031476 Seismic Behavior of Steel Structure with Buckling- Restrained Braces
Authors: M. Reza Bagerzadeh Karimi, M. Ali Lotfollahi Yaghin, R. Mehdi Nezhad, V. Sadeghi, M. Aghabalaie
Abstract:
One of the main purposes of designing bucklingrestrained braces is the fact that the entire lateral load is wasted by the braces, the entire gravitational load is moved to the foundation through the beams, and the columns can be moved to the foundation. In other words, braces are designed for bearing lateral load. In the implementation of the structure, it should be noted that the implementation of various parts of the structure must be conducted in such a way that the buckling-restrained braces would not bear the gravitational load. Moreover, this type of brace has been investigated under impact loading, and the design goals of designing method (direct motion) are controlled under impact loading. The results of dynamic analysis are shown as the relocation charts of the floors and switch between the floors. Finally, the results are compared with each other.Keywords: Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF), energydissipating, ABAQUS, SAP2000, impact load.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27861475 Multi-Objective Optimization Contingent on Subcarrier-Wise Beamforming for Multiuser MIMO-OFDM Interference Channels
Authors: R. Vedhapriya Vadhana, Ruba Soundar, K. G. Jothi Shalini
Abstract:
We address the problem of interference over all the channels in multiuser MIMO-OFDM systems. This paper contributes three beamforming strategies designed for multiuser multiple-input and multiple-output by way of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, in which the transmit and receive beamformers are acquired repetitious by secure-form stages. In the principal case, the transmit (TX) beamformers remain fixed then the receive (RX) beamformers are computed. This eradicates one interference span for every user by means of extruding the transmit beamformers into a null space of relevant channels. Formerly, by gratifying the orthogonality condition to exclude the residual interferences in RX beamformer for every user is done by maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The second case comprises mutually optimizing the TX and RX beamformers from controlled SNR maximization. The outcomes of first case is used here. The third case also includes combined optimization of TX-RX beamformers; however, uses the both controlled SNR and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio maximization (SINR). By the standardized channel model for IEEE 802.11n, the proposed simulation experiments offer rapid beamforming and enhanced error performance.Keywords: Beamforming, interference channels, MIMO-OFDM, multi-objective optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11261474 Machine Learning Techniques for COVID-19 Detection: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Abeer Aljohani
Abstract:
The COVID-19 virus spread has been one of the extreme pandemics across the globe. It is also referred as corona virus which is a contagious disease that continuously mutates into numerous variants. Currently, the B.1.1.529 variant labeled as Omicron is detected in South Africa. The huge spread of COVID-19 disease has affected several lives and has surged exceptional pressure on the healthcare systems worldwide. Also, everyday life and the global economy have been at stake. Numerous COVID-19 cases have produced a huge burden on hospitals as well as health workers. To reduce this burden, this paper predicts COVID-19 disease based on the symptoms and medical history of the patient. As machine learning is a widely accepted area and gives promising results for healthcare, this research presents an architecture for COVID-19 detection using ML techniques integrated with feature dimensionality reduction. This paper uses a standard University of California Irvine (UCI) dataset for predicting COVID-19 disease. This dataset comprises symptoms of 5434 patients. This paper also compares several supervised ML techniques on the presented architecture. The architecture has also utilized 10-fold cross validation process for generalization and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique for feature reduction. Standard parameters are used to evaluate the proposed architecture including F1-Score, precision, accuracy, recall, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and Area under Curve (AUC). The results depict that Decision tree, Random Forest and neural networks outperform all other state-of-the-art ML techniques. This result can be used to effectively identify COVID-19 infection cases.
Keywords: Supervised machine learning, COVID-19 prediction, healthcare analytics, Random Forest, Neural Network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 384