Search results for: electron back scattered diffraction.

Authors: Mustafa Kavraz

Abstract:

This study investigated the differences in the objective parameters of sound depending on the changes in the lengths of the lateral surfaces of a space and on the replacement of the sound absorbers that are placed on these surfaces. To this end, three models of room were chosen. The widths and heights of these rooms were the same but the lengths of the rooms were changed. The smallest room was 8 m. wide and 10 m. long. The lengths of the other two rooms were 15 m. and 20 m. For each model, the differences in the objective parameters of sound were determined by keeping all the material in the space intact and by changing only the positions of the sound absorbers that were placed on the walls. The sound absorbers that were used on the walls were of two different sizes. The sound absorbers that were placed on the walls were 4 m and 8 m. long and story-height (3 m.). In all model room types, the sound absorbers were placed on the long walls in three different ways: at the end of the long walls where the long walls meet the front wall; at the end of the long walls where the long walls meet the back wall; and in the middle part of the long walls. Except for the specially placed sound absorbers, the ground, wall and ceiling surfaces were covered with three different materials. There were no constructional elements such as doors and windows on the walls. On the surfaces, the materials specified in the Odeon 10 material library were used as coating material. Linoleum was used as flooring material, painted plaster as wall coating material and gypsum boards as ceiling covering (2 layers with a total of 32 mm. thickness). These were preferred due to the fact that they are the commonly used materials for these purposes. This study investigated the differences in the objective parameters of sound depending on the changes in the lengths of the lateral surfaces of a space and on the replacement of the sound absorbers that are placed on these surfaces. To this end, three models of room were chosen. The widths and heights of these rooms were the same but the lengths of the rooms were changed. The smallest room was 8 m. wide and 10 m. long. The lengths of the other two rooms were 15 m. and 20 m. For each model, the differences in the objective parameters of sound were determined by keeping all the material in the space intact and by changing only the positions of the sound absorbers that were placed on the walls. The sound absorbers that were used on the walls were of two different sizes. The sound absorbers that were placed on the walls were 4 m and 8 m. long and story-height (3 m.). In all model room types, the sound absorbers were placed on the long walls in three different ways: at the end of the long walls where the long walls meet the front wall; at the end of the long walls where the long walls meet the back wall; and in the middle part of the long walls. Except for the specially placed sound absorbers, the ground, wall and ceiling surfaces were covered with three different materials. There were no constructional elements such as doors and windows on the walls. On the surfaces, the materials specified in the Odeon 10 material library were used as coating material. Linoleum was used as flooring material, painted plaster as wall coating material and gypsum boards as ceiling covering (2 layers with a total of 32 mm. thickness). These were preferred due to the fact that they are the commonly used materials for these purposes.

Keywords: Jnd, objective parameters of sound, room model, sound absorber.

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Authors: Salim Ouchtati, Jean Sequeira, Mouldi Bedda

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In the context of the handwriting recognition, we propose an off line system for the recognition of the Arabic handwritten words of the Algerian departments. The study is based mainly on the evaluation of neural network performances, trained with the gradient back propagation algorithm. The used parameters to form the input vector of the neural network are extracted on the binary images of the handwritten word by several methods. The Distribution parameters, the centered moments of the different projections of the different segments, the centered moments of the word image coding according to the directions of Freeman, and the Barr features applied binary image of the word and on its different segments. The classification is achieved by a multi layers perceptron. A detailed experiment is carried and satisfactory recognition results are reported.

Keywords: Handwritten word recognition, neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, features extraction.

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Authors: Olesia Mikhailova, Pavel Rovnaník

Abstract:

In the present work, metakaolin-based geopolymer including different polymer admixtures was studied. Different types of commercial polymer admixtures VINNAPAS^® and polyethylene glycol of different relative molecular weight were used as polymer admixtures. The main objective of this work is to investigate the influence of different types of admixtures on the properties of metakaolin-based geopolymer mortars considering their different dosage. Mechanical properties, such as flexural and compressive strength were experimentally determined. Also, study of the microstructure of selected specimens by using a scanning electron microscope was performed. The results showed that the specimen with addition of 1.5% of VINNAPAS^® 7016 F and 10% of polyethylene glycol 400 achieved maximum mechanical properties.

Keywords: Metakaolin, geopolymer, polymer admixtures, mechanical properties, microstructure.

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Authors: A. K. Singh, Chhotu Ram

Abstract:

The present work relates to the corrosivity of distillery effluent and corrosion performance of mild steel and stainless steels SS304L, SS316L, and 2205. The report presents the results and conclusions drawn on the basis of (i) electrochemical polarization tests performed in distillery effluent and laboratory prepared solutions having composition similar to that of the effluent (ii) the surface examination by scanning electron microscope (SEM) of the corroded steel samples. It is observed that pH and presence of chloride, phosphate, calcium, nitrite and nitrate in distillery effluent enhance corrosion, whereas presence of sulphate and potassium inhibits corrosion. Among the materials tested, mild steel is observed to experience maximum corrosion followed by stainless steels SS304L, SS316L, and 2205.

Keywords: Steel, distillery effluent, electrochemical polarization, corrosion.

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Authors: A. Mirzaaghazadeh, H. Motameni, M. Karshenas, H. Nematzadeh

Abstract:

Learning the gradient of neuron's activity function like the weight of links causes a new specification which is flexibility. In flexible neural networks because of supervising and controlling the operation of neurons, all the burden of the learning is not dedicated to the weight of links, therefore in each period of learning of each neuron, in fact the gradient of their activity function, cooperate in order to achieve the goal of learning thus the number of learning will be decreased considerably. Furthermore, learning neurons parameters immunes them against changing in their inputs and factors which cause such changing. Likewise initial selecting of weights, type of activity function, selecting the initial gradient of activity function and selecting a fixed amount which is multiplied by gradient of error to calculate the weight changes and gradient of activity function, has a direct affect in convergence of network for learning.

Keywords: Back propagation, Flexible, Gradient, Learning, Neural network, Pattern recognition.

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Authors: Saman M. Abdulla, Najla B. Al-Dabagh, Omar Zakaria

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The aim of this article is to explain how features of attacks could be extracted from the packets. It also explains how vectors could be built and then applied to the input of any analysis stage. For analyzing, the work deploys the Feedforward-Back propagation neural network to act as misuse intrusion detection system. It uses ten types if attacks as example for training and testing the neural network. It explains how the packets are analyzed to extract features. The work shows how selecting the right features, building correct vectors and how correct identification of the training methods with nodes- number in hidden layer of any neural network affecting the accuracy of system. In addition, the work shows how to get values of optimal weights and use them to initialize the Artificial Neural Network.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Attack Features, MisuseIntrusion Detection System, Training Parameters.

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Authors: Nor Azuana Ramli, Mohd Tahir Ismail, Hooy Chee Wooi

Abstract:

Developing a stable early warning system (EWS) model that is capable to give an accurate prediction is a challenging task. This paper introduces k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) method which never been applied in predicting currency crisis before with the aim of increasing the prediction accuracy. The proposed k-NN performance depends on the choice of a distance that is used where in our analysis; we take the Euclidean distance and the Manhattan as a consideration. For the comparison, we employ three other methods which are logistic regression analysis (logit), back-propagation neural network (NN) and sequential minimal optimization (SMO). The analysis using datasets from 8 countries and 13 macro-economic indicators for each country shows that the proposed k-NN method with k = 4 and Manhattan distance performs better than the other methods.

Keywords: Currency crisis, k-nearest neighbour method, logit, neural network.

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Authors: Sandeep Chandana, Rene V. Mayorga

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The paper presents a new hybridization methodology involving Neural, Fuzzy and Rough Computing. A Rough Sets based approximation technique has been proposed based on a certain Neuro – Fuzzy architecture. A New Rough Neuron composition consisting of a combination of a Lower Bound neuron and a Boundary neuron has also been described. The conventional convergence of error in back propagation has been given away for a new framework based on 'Output Excitation Factor' and an inverse input transfer function. The paper also presents a brief comparison of performances, of the existing Rough Neural Networks and ANFIS architecture against the proposed methodology. It can be observed that the rough approximation based neuro-fuzzy architecture is superior to its counterparts.

Keywords: Boundary neuron, neuro-fuzzy, output excitation factor, RANFIS, rough approximation, rough neural computing.

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Authors: S.Fardindoost, A. Iraji Zad, S.M.Mahdavi

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Tungsten trioxide has been prepared by using P-PTA as a precursor on alumina substrates by spin coating method. Palladium introduced on WO3 film via electrolysis deposition by using palladium chloride as catalytic precursor. The catalytic precursor was introduced on the series of films with different morphologies. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XPS were applied to analyze structure and morphology of the fabricated thin films. Then we measured variation of samples- electrical conductivity of pure and Pd added films in air and diluted hydrogen. Addition of Pd resulted in a remarkable improvement of the hydrogen sensing properties of WO3 by detection of Hydrogen below 1% at room temperature. Also variation of the electrical conductivity in the presence of diluted hydrogen revealed that response of samples depends rather strongly on the palladium configuration on the surface.

Keywords: Electrolysis, Hydrogen sensing, Palladium, WO3

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Authors: Su-Ling Li, Qun-Yu Gao

Abstract:

Mung bean starches were subjected to heat-moisture treatment (HMT) by different moisture contents (15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%) at 120Ôäâ for 12h. The impact on the yields of resistant starch (RS), microstructure, physicochemical and functional properties was investigated. Compared to native starch, the RS content of heat-moisture treated starches increased significantly. The RS level of HMT-20 was the highest of all the starches. Birefringence was displayed clear at the center of native starch. For HMT starches, pronounced birefringence was exhibited on the periphery of starch granules; however, birefringence disappeared at the centre of some starch granules. The shape of HMT starches hadn-t been changed and the integrity of starch granules was preserved for all the conditions. Concavity could be observed on HMT starches under scanning electronic microscopy. After HMT, apparent amylose contents were increased and starch macromolecule was degraded in comparison with those of native starch. There was a reduction in swelling power on HMT starches, but the solubility of HMT starches was higher than that of native starch. Both of native and HMT starches showed A-type X-ray diffraction pattern. Furthermore, there is a higher intensity at the peak of 15.0 and 22.9 Å than those of native starch.

Keywords: Resistant starch, mung bean (Phaseolus radiatus) starch, heat-moisture treatment, physicochemical properties.

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Authors: Eng. Alaa K. Satti Salih

Abstract:

Revolutions Applications such as telecommunications, hands-free communications, recording, etc. which need at least one microphone, the signal is usually infected by noise and echo. The important application is the speech enhancement, which is done to remove suppressed noises and echoes taken by a microphone, beside preferred speech. Accordingly, the microphone signal has to be cleaned using digital signal processing DSP tools before it is played out, transmitted, or stored. Engineers have so far tried different approaches to improving the speech by get back the desired speech signal from the noisy observations. Especially Mobile communication, so in this paper will do reconstruction of the speech signal, observed in additive background noise, using the Kalman filter technique to estimate the parameters of the Autoregressive Process (AR) in the state space model and the output speech signal obtained by the MATLAB. The accurate estimation by Kalman filter on speech would enhance and reduce the noise then compare and discuss the results between actual values and estimated values which produce the reconstructed signals.

Keywords: Autoregressive Process, Kalman filter, Matlab and Noise speech.

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Authors: A. Yönetken, A. Erol, M. Cakmakkaya

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Intermetallic materials are among advanced technology materials that have outstanding mechanical and physical properties for high temperature applications. Especially creep resistance, low density and high hardness properties stand out in such intermetallics. The microstructure, mechanical properties of %88Ni- %10Cr and %2Mn powders were investigated using specimens produced by tube furnace sintering at 900-1300°C temperature. A composite consisting of ternary additions, a metallic phase, Fe, Cr and Mn have been prepared under Ar shroud and then tube furnace sintered. XRD, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), were investigated to characterize the properties of the specimens. Experimental results carried out for composition %88Ni-%10Cr and %2Mn at 1300°C suggest that the best properties as 138,80HV and 6,269/cm3 density were obtained at 1300°C.

Keywords: Composite, Intermetallic, High temperature, Sintering.

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Authors: K. Karami, S. Hassan, S. Taking, A. Ofiare, A. Dhongde, A. Al-Khalidi, E. Wasige

Abstract:

We have made a comparative study on the influence of Al2O3 and HfO2 grown using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technique as dielectric in the AlGaN/GaN metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT) structure. Five samples consisting of 20 nm and 10 nm each of A2lO3 and HfO2 respectively and a Schottky gate HEMT, were fabricated and measured. The threshold voltage shifts towards negative by 0.1 V and 1.8 V for 10 nm thick HfO2 and 10 nm thick Al2O3 gate dielectric layers, respectively. The negative shift for the 20 nm HfO2 and 20 nm Al2O3 were 1.2 V and 4.9 V, respectively. Higher gm/IDS (transconductance to drain current) ratio was also obtained in HfO2 than Al2O3. With both materials as dielectric, a significant reduction in the gate leakage current in the order of 104 was obtained compared to the sample without the dielectric material.

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, Al2O3, HfO2, MOSHEMTs.

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Authors: M. Ali, K. Masood

Abstract:

In this paper methodology to exploit creeping wave for body area network BAN communication reliability are described. Creeping wave propagation effects are visualized & analyzed. During this work Dipole, IA antennas various antennas were redesigned using existing designs and their propagation characteristics were verified for optimum performance when used on BANs. These antennas were then applied on body shapes-including rectangular, spherical and cylindrical so that all the effects of actual human body can be taken nearly into account. Parametric simulation scheme was devised so that on Body channel characterization can be visualized at front, curved and back region. In the next phase multiple inputs multiple output MIMO scheme was introduced where virtual antennas were used in order to diminish the effects of antennas on the propagation of waves. Results were, extracted and analyzed at different heights. Finally based on comparative measurement and analysis it was concluded that on body propagation can be exploited to gain spatial diversity.

Keywords: BAN, Creeping Wave, MIMO, WIAs.

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Authors: J. Suwanprateeb, F. Thammarakcharoen

Abstract:

Calcium phosphate coating (CaP) has been employed for protein delivery, but the typical direct protein adsorption on the coating led to low incorporation content and fast release of the protein from the coating. By using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein, rapid biomimetic co-precipitation between calcium phosphate and BSA was employed to control the distribution of BSA within calcium phosphate coating during biomimetic formation on titanium surface for only 6 h at 50oC in an accelerated calcium phosphate solution. As a result, the amount of BSA incorporation and release duration could be increased by using a rapid biomimetic coprecipitation technique. Up to 43 fold increases in the BSA incorporation content and the increase from 6 h to more than 360 h in release duration compared to typical direct adsorption technique were observed depending on the initial BSA concentration used during coprecipitation (1, 10 and 100 μg.ml-1). From x-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies, the coating composition was not altered with the incorporation of BSA by this rapid biomimetic co-precipitation and mainly comprised octacalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite. However, the microstructure of calcium phosphate crystals changed from straight, plate-like units to curved, plate-like units with increasing BSA content.

Keywords: Biomimetic, Calcium Phosphate Coating, Protein, Titanium.

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Authors: P. Pongsumpun

Abstract:

Malaria is transmitted to the human by biting of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. This disease is a serious, acute and chronic relapsing infection to humans. Fever, nausea, vomiting, back pain, increased sweating anemia and splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen) are the symptoms of the patients who infected with this disease. It is caused by the multiplication of protozoa parasite of the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale are the four types of Plasmodium malaria. A mathematical model for the transmission of Plasmodium Malaria is developed in which the human and vector population are divided into two classes, the susceptible and the infectious classes. In this paper, we formulate the dynamical model of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria. The standard dynamical analysis is used for analyzing the behavior for the transmission of this disease. The Threshold condition is found and numerical results are shown to confirm the analytical results.

Keywords: Dynamical analysis, Malaria, mathematical model, threshold condition.

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Authors: C.W. Kan

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This paper investigates the use of atmospheric pressure plasma for improving the surface hydrophobicity of polyurethane synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane (TMS). The atmospheric pressure plasma treatment with TMS is a single-step process to enhance the hydrophobicity of polyurethane synthetic leather. The hydrophobicity of the treated surface was examined by contact angle measurement. The physical and chemical surface changes were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The purpose of this paper is to provide learning materials for understanding how to use atmospheric pressure plasma in the textile finishing process to transform a hydrophilic surface to hydrophobic.

Keywords: Learning materials, atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, surface.

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Authors: A.A.Andaleeb, Rozhan.M.Idrus, Issham Ismail

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This survey highlights a number of important issues which relate to the needs to counseling for distance learners studying at the School of Distance Education in University science Malaysia (DEUSM) according to their gender. Data were obtained by selfreport questionnaire that had been developed by the researchers in counseling and educational psychology and interviews were take place. 116 voluntary respondents complete the Questionnaire and returned it back during new student-s registration week.64% of the respondents were female and 52% were males that means 55%ofthem were females and 45% were males. The data was analyzed to find out the frequencies of respondents agreements of the items. The average of the female was 18 and the average of the male was 19.6 by using t- test there is no significant values between the genders. The findings show that respondents have needs for counseling. (22) Significant needs for mails (DEUSM) the highest was their families complain about the amount of time they spend at work. (11) Significant needs for females the highest was they convinced themselves that they only need 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night.

Keywords: Counseling, Needs, Distance Education, Malaysia.

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Authors: Jhalique Jane R. Fojas, Rizalinda L. De Leon, Lucille V. Abad

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The characterization of κ-carrageenan could provide a better understanding of its functions in biological, medical and industrial applications. Chemical and physical analyses of carrageenan from seaweeds, Euchema cottonii L., were done to offer information on its properties and the effects of Co-60 γ-irradiation on its thermochemical characteristics. The structural and morphological characteristics of κ-carrageenan were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the composition, molecular weight and thermal properties were determined using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Further chemical analysis was done using hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and functional characteristics in terms of biocompatibility were evaluated using cytotoxicity test.

Keywords: Biocompatibility, carrageenan, DSC, FTIR, GPC, irradiation, NMR, physicochemical, SEM, TGA.

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Authors: Eman I. Raslan, Haitham S. Hamza, Reda A. El-Khoribi

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Fiber-Wireless (FiWi) networks are a promising candidate for future broadband access networks. These networks combine the optical network as the back end where different passive optical network (PON) technologies are realized and the wireless network as the front end where different wireless technologies are adopted, e.g. LTE, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs). The convergence of both optical and wireless technologies requires designing architectures with robust efficient and effective bandwidth allocation schemes. Different bandwidth allocation algorithms have been proposed in FiWi networks aiming to enhance the different segments of FiWi networks including wireless and optical subnetworks. In this survey, we focus on the differentiating between the different bandwidth allocation algorithms according to their enhancement segment of FiWi networks. We classify these techniques into wireless, optical and Hybrid bandwidth allocation techniques.

Keywords: Fiber-Wireless (FiWi), dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA), passive optical networks (PON), media access control (MAC).

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Authors: Michael P. Herring, Lavrent Khachatryan, Barry Dellinger

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Low Temperature Matrix Isolation - Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (LTMI-EPR) Spectroscopy was utilized to identify the species of iron oxide nanoparticles generated during the oxidative pyrolysis of 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MN). The otherwise gas-phase reactions of 1--MN were impacted by a polypropylenimine tetra-hexacontaamine dendrimer complexed with iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate diluted in air under atmospheric conditions. The EPR fine structure of Fe (III)2O3 nanoparticles clusters, characterized by gfactors of 2.00, 2.28, 3.76 and 4.37 were detected on a cold finger maintained at 77 K after accumulation over a multitude of experiments. Additionally, a high valence Fe (IV) paramagnetic intermediate and superoxide anion-radicals, O2•- adsorbed on nanoparticle surfaces in the form of Fe (IV) --- O2•- were detected from the quenching area of Zone 1 in the gas-phase.

Keywords: Cryogenic trapping, EPFRs, dendrimer, Fe2O3 doped silica, soot.

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Authors: Nidal H. Abu-Zahra, Parisa Khoshnoud, Murtatha Jamel, Subhashini Gunashekar

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PVC foam-fly ash composites (PVC-FA) are characterized for their structural, morphological, mechanical and thermal properties. The tensile strength of the composites increased modestly with higher fly ash loading, while there was a significant increase in the elastic modulus for the same composites. On the other hand, a decrease in elongation at UTS was observed upon increasing fly ash content due to increased rigidity of the composites. Similarly, the flexural modulus increased as the fly ash loading increased, where the composites containing 25 phr fly ash showed the highest flexural strength. Thermal properties of PVC-fly ash composites were determined by Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The microstructural properties were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM results confirm that fly ash particles were mechanically interlocked in PVC matrix with good interfacial interaction with the matrix. Particle agglomeration and debonding was observed in samples containing higher amounts of fly ash.

Keywords: PVC Foam, Polyvinyl Chloride, Rigid PVC, Fly Ash Composites.

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Authors: Hamdi. A. Awad, Mohamed A. Al-Zorkany

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Developing techniques for mobile robot navigation constitutes one of the major trends in the current research on mobile robotics. This paper develops a local model network (LMN) for mobile robot navigation. The LMN represents the mobile robot by a set of locally valid submodels that are Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs). Training these submodels employs Back Propagation (BP) algorithm. The paper proposes the fuzzy C-means (FCM) in this scheme to divide the input space to sub regions, and then a submodel (MLP) is identified to represent a particular region. The submodels then are combined in a unified structure. In run time phase, Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) are employed as windows for the activated submodels. This proposed structure overcomes the problem of changing operating regions of mobile robots. Read data are used in all experiments. Results for mobile robot navigation using the proposed LMN reflect the soundness of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: Mobile Robot Navigation, Neural Networks, Local Model Networks

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Authors: Sucharat Limsitthichaikoon, Kedsarin Saodaeng, Aroonsri Priprem, Teerasak Damrongrungruang

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Complexation of anthocyanins to mimic natural copigmentation process was investigated. Cyanidin-rich extracts from Zea mays L. ceritina Kulesh. and delphinidin-rich extracts from Clitoria ternatea L. were used to form 4 anthocyanin complexes, AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC4, in the presence of several polyphenols and a trace metal. Characterizations of the ACs were conducted by UV, FTIR, DSC/TGA and morphological observations. Bathochromic shifts of the UV spectra of 4 formulas of ACs were observed at peak wavelengths of about 510-620 nm by 10 nm suggesting complex formation. FTIR spectra of the ACs indicate shifts of peaks from 1,733 cm-1 to 1,696 cm-1 indicating interactions and a decrease in the peak areas within the wavenumber of 3,400-3,500 cm-1 indicating changes in hydrogen bonding. Thermal analysis of all of the ACs suggests increases in melting temperature after complexation. AC with the highest melting temperature was morphologically observed by SEM and TEM to be crystal-like particles within a range of 50 to 200 nm. Particle size analysis of the AC by laser diffraction gave a range of 50-600 nm, indicating aggregation. This AC was shown to have no cytotoxic effect on cultured HGEPp0.5 and HGF (all p> 0.05) by MTT. Therefore, complexation of anthocyanins was simple and self-assembly process, potentially resulting in nanosized particles of anthocyanin complex.

Keywords: Anthocyanins, complexation, purple corn cops, butterfly pea, physicochemical characteristics, cytotoxicity.

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Authors: Maryam Kiani, Abdul Basit Kiani

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To develop construction and infrastructure industry, sensors are highly desired to control building ventilation. Zinc doped magnesium ferrite nanoparticles (Z@MFO) (Zn = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) were prepared in this paper. Structural analyses confirmed the formation of spinel cubic nanostructures. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) data represent high reactive surface area due to small average particle size about 15 nm, which efficiently influences the gas sensing mechanism. The gas sensing property of Z@MFO for several gases was obtained by measuring the resistance as a function of different factors, such as composition and response time in air and in presence of gas. The sensitivity of spinel ferrite to CO2 at room temperature has been compared. The Z@MFO nano-structure exhibited high sensitivity represented good response time of (~1 min) to CO2, demonstrated that the material can be used in the field of gas sensors with high sensitivity and good selectivity at room temperature to control building ventilation. CO2 gas sensors play a vital role in ensuring the safety, comfort, and sustainability of modern building environments.

Keywords: MgFe2O4 nanoparticles, synthesis, gas sensing properties, X ray differentiation.

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Authors: Li Li, Li-Ru Xia, He-Ye Wang, Xiao-Dong Bi

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In this paper, we presented a highly sensitive immune-affinity monolithic array for detection of α-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Firstly, the epoxy functionalized monolith arrays were fabricated using UV initiated copolymerization method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image showed that the poly(BABEA-co-GMA) monolith exhibited a well-controlled skeletal and well-distributed porous structure. Then, AFP and CEA immune-affinity monolithic arrays were prepared by immobilization of AFP and CEA antibodies on epoxy functionalized monolith arrays. With a non-competitive immune response format, the presented AFP and CEA immune-affinity arrays were demonstrated as an inexpensive, flexible, homogeneous and stable array for detection of AFP and CEA.

Keywords: Chemiluminescent detection, immune-affinity, monolithic copolymer array, UV-initiated copolymerization.

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Authors: Richard E. Miller

Abstract:

12.7-mm thick plates of 6061-T6511 aluminum alloy and high hardness steel (528 HV) were successfully joined by a friction stir bonding process using a tungsten-rhenium stir tool. Process parameter variation experiments, which included tool design geometry, plunge and traverse rates, tool offset, spindle tilt, and rotation speed, were conducted to develop a parameter set which yielded a defect free joint. Laboratory tensile tests exhibited yield stresses which exceed the strengths of comparable AA6061-to-AA6061 fusion and friction stir weld joints. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis also show atomic diffusion at the material interface region.

Keywords: Dissimilar materials, friction stir, welding.

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Authors: J. H. Boonzaaier, A. C. Brent

Abstract:

South Africa, a water scarce country, experiences the phenomenon that its life supporting natural water resources is seriously threatened by the users that are totally dependent on it. South Africa is globally applauded to have of the best and most progressive water laws and policies. There are however growing concerns regarding natural water resource quality deterioration and a critical void in the management of natural resources and compliance to policies due to increasing institutional uncertainties and failures. These are in accordance with concerns of many South African researchers and practitioners that call for a change in paradigm from talk to practice and a more constructive, practical approach to governance challenges in the management of water resources. A qualitative theory-building case study through longitudinal action research was conducted from 2014 to 2017. The research assessed whether a strategic positioned institutional agent can be parlayed to facilitate and execute WRM on catchment level by engaging multiple stakeholders in a polycentric setting. Through a critical realist approach a distinction was made between ex ante self-deterministic human behaviour in the realist realm, and ex post governance-management in the constructivist realm. A congruence analysis, including Toulmin’s method of argumentation analysis, was utilised. The study evaluated the unique case of a self-steering local water management institution, the Impala Water Users Association (WUA) in the Pongola River catchment in the northern part of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Exploiting prevailing water resource threats, it expanded its ancillary functions from 20,000 to 300,000 ha. Embarking on WRM activities, it addressed natural water system quality assessments, social awareness, knowledge support, and threats, such as: soil erosion, waste and effluent into water systems, coal mining, and water security dimensions; through structured engagement with 21 different catchment stakeholders. By implementing a proposed polycentric governance-management model on a catchment scale, the WUA achieved to fill the void. It developed a foundation and capacity to protect the resilience of the natural environment that is critical for freshwater resources to ensure long-term water security of the Pongola River basin. Further work is recommended on appropriate statutory delegations, mechanisms of sustainable funding, sufficient penetration of knowledge to local levels to catalyse behaviour change, incentivised support from professionals, back-to-back expansion of WUAs to alleviate scale and cost burdens, and the creation of catchment data monitoring and compilation centres.

Keywords: Institutional agent, water governance, polycentric water resource management, water resource management.

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Authors: Gugyong Kim, Sugnsu Kang, Yongjun Lee, Sooncheol Park, Wonwook Jung

Abstract:

When cars are released from the factory, strut noises are very small and therefore it is difficult to perceive them. As the use time and travel distance increase, however, strut noises get larger so as to cause users much uneasiness. The noises generated at the field include engine noises and flow noises and therefore it is difficult to clearly discern the noises generated from struts. This study developed a test method which can reproduce field strut noises in the lab. Using the newly developed noise evaluation test, this study analyzed the effects that insulator performance degradation and failure can have on car noises. The study also confirmed that the insulator durability test by the simple back-and-forth motion cannot completely reflect the state of the parts failure in the field. Based on this, the study also confirmed that field noises can be reproduced through a durability test that considers heat aging.

Keywords: Insulator, noise, performance degradation, strut

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Authors: Ahmed Kayad Abdourazak, Abderafi Souad, Zejli Driss, Idriss Abdoulkader Ibrahim

Abstract:

In this paper Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used to predict the solar irradiation in Djibouti for the first Time that is useful to the integration of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and sites selections for new or future solar plants as part of solar energy development. An ANN algorithm was developed to establish a forward/reverse correspondence between the latitude, longitude, altitude and monthly solar irradiation. For this purpose the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) data of eight Djibouti sites were used as training and testing in a standard three layers network with the back propagation algorithm of Lavenber-Marquardt. Results have shown a very good agreement for the solar irradiation prediction in Djibouti and proves that the proposed approach can be well used as an efficient tool for prediction of solar irradiation by providing so helpful information concerning sites selection, design and planning of solar plants.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, solar irradiation, concentrated solar power, Lavenberg-Marquardt.

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