Search results for: MIKE 21 Flow Model FM
1594 An Investigation of the Determinants of Knowledge Management Systems Success in Banking Industry
Authors: Nantapanuwat Nattapol, Ractham Peter, Kaewkittipong Laddawan
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The efficient knowledge management system (KMS) is one of the important strategies to help firms to achieve sustainable competitive advantages, but little research has been conducted to understand what contributes to the KMS success. This study thus set to investigate the determinants of KMS success in the context of Thai banking industry. A questionnaire survey was conducted in four major Thai Banks to test the proposed KMS Success model. The result of this study shows that KMS use and user satisfaction relate significantly to the success of KMS, and knowledge quality, service quality and trust lead to system use, and knowledge quality, system quality and trust lead to user satisfaction. However, this research focuses only on system and user-related factors. Future research thus can extend to study factors such as management support and organization readiness.Keywords: Knowledge, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management system, Knowledge Management System Success, Banking Industry, Thailand
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22231593 Dissolved Oxygen Prediction Using Support Vector Machine
Authors: Sorayya Malek, Mogeeb Mosleh, Sharifah M. Syed
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In this study, Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique was applied to predict the dichotomized value of Dissolved oxygen (DO) from two freshwater lakes namely Chini and Bera Lake (Malaysia). Data sample contained 11 parameters for water quality features from year 2005 until 2009. All data parameters were used to predicate the dissolved oxygen concentration which was dichotomized into 3 different levels (High, Medium, and Low). The input parameters were ranked, and forward selection method was applied to determine the optimum parameters that yield the lowest errors, and highest accuracy. Initial results showed that pH, Water Temperature, and Conductivity are the most important parameters that significantly affect the predication of DO. Then, SVM model was applied using the Anova kernel with those parameters yielded 74% accuracy rate. We concluded that using SVM models to predicate the DO is feasible, and using dichotomized value of DO yields higher prediction accuracy than using precise DO value.
Keywords: Dissolved oxygen, Water quality, predication DO, Support Vector Machine.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22161592 Solving Single Machine Total Weighted Tardiness Problem Using Gaussian Process Regression
Authors: Wanatchapong Kongkaew
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This paper proposes an application of probabilistic technique, namely Gaussian process regression, for estimating an optimal sequence of the single machine with total weighted tardiness (SMTWT) scheduling problem. In this work, the Gaussian process regression (GPR) model is utilized to predict an optimal sequence of the SMTWT problem, and its solution is improved by using an iterated local search based on simulated annealing scheme, called GPRISA algorithm. The results show that the proposed GPRISA method achieves a very good performance and a reasonable trade-off between solution quality and time consumption. Moreover, in the comparison of deviation from the best-known solution, the proposed mechanism noticeably outperforms the recently existing approaches.
Keywords: Gaussian process regression, iterated local search, simulated annealing, single machine total weighted tardiness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22331591 Effects of Market Share and Diversification on Nonlife Insurers- Performance
Authors: M. Pervan, T. Pavic Kramaric
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The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of market share and diversification on the nonlife insurers- performance. The underlying relationships have been investigated in different industries and different disciplines (economics, management...), still, no consistency exists either in the magnitude or statistical significance of the relationship between market share (and diversification as well) on one side and companies- performance on the other side. Moreover, the direction of the relationship is also somewhat questionable. While some authors find this relationship to be positive, the others reveal its negative association. In order to test the influence of market share and diversification on companies- performance in Croatian nonlife insurance industry for the period from 1999 to 2009, we designed an empirical model in which we included the following independent variables: firms- profitability from previous years, market share, diversification and control variables (i.e. ownership, industrial concentration, GDP per capita, inflation). Using the two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator we found evidence of a positive and statistically significant influence of both, market share and diversification, on insurers- profitability.Keywords: Diversification, market share, nonlife insurance
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16861590 Piezoelectric Transducer Modeling: with System Identification (SI) Method
Authors: Nora Taghavi, Ali Sadr
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System identification is the process of creating models of dynamic process from input- output signals. The aim of system identification can be identified as “ to find a model with adjustable parameters and then to adjust them so that the predicted output matches the measured output". This paper presents a method of modeling and simulating with system identification to achieve the maximum fitness for transformation function. First by using optimized KLM equivalent circuit for PVDF piezoelectric transducer and assuming different inputs including: sinuside, step and sum of sinusides, get the outputs, then by using system identification toolbox in MATLAB, we estimate the transformation function from inputs and outputs resulted in last program. Then compare the fitness of transformation function resulted from using ARX,OE(Output- Error) and BJ(Box-Jenkins) models in system identification toolbox and primary transformation function form KLM equivalent circuit.Keywords: PVDF modeling, ARX, BJ(Box-Jenkins), OE(Output-Error), System Identification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27421589 Pressure-Detecting Method for Estimating Levitation Gap Height of Swirl Gripper
Authors: Kaige Shi, Chao Jiang, Xin Li
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The swirl gripper is an electrically activated noncontact handling device that uses swirling airflow to generate a lifting force. This force can be used to pick up a workpiece placed underneath the swirl gripper without any contact. It is applicable, for example, in the semiconductor wafer production line, where contact must be avoided during the handling and moving of a workpiece to minimize damage. When a workpiece levitates underneath a swirl gripper, the gap height between them is crucial for safe handling. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method to estimate the levitation gap height by detecting pressure at two points. The method is based on theoretical model of the swirl gripper, and has been experimentally verified. Furthermore, the force between the gripper and the workpiece can also be estimated using the detected pressure. As a result, the nonlinear relationship between the force and gap height can be linearized by adjusting the rotating speed of the fan in the swirl gripper according to the estimated force and gap height. The linearized relationship is expected to enhance handling stability of the workpiece.
Keywords: Swirl gripper, noncontact handling, levitation, gap height estimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5291588 Accrual Based Scheduling for Cloud in Single and Multi Resource System: Study of Three Techniques
Authors: R. Santhosh, T. Ravichandran
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This paper evaluates the accrual based scheduling for cloud in single and multi-resource system. Numerous organizations benefit from Cloud computing by hosting their applications. The cloud model provides needed access to computing with potentially unlimited resources. Scheduling is tasks and resources mapping to a certain optimal goal principle. Scheduling, schedules tasks to virtual machines in accordance with adaptable time, in sequence under transaction logic constraints. A good scheduling algorithm improves CPU use, turnaround time, and throughput. In this paper, three realtime cloud services scheduling algorithm for single resources and multiple resources are investigated. Experimental results show Resource matching algorithm performance to be superior for both single and multi-resource scheduling when compared to benefit first scheduling, Migration, Checkpoint algorithms.Keywords: Cloud computing, Scheduling, Migration, Checkpoint, Resource Matching.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19171587 Numerical Simulation of the Air Pollutants Dispersion Emitted by CHP Using ANSYS CFX
Authors: Oliver Mărunţălu, Gheorghe Lăzăroiu, Elena Elisabeta Manea, Dana Andreya Bondrea, Lăcrămioara Diana Robescu
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This paper presents the results obtained by numerical simulation using the software ANSYS CFX-CFD for the air pollutants dispersion in the atmosphere coming from the evacuation of combustion gases resulting from the fuel combustion in an electric thermal power plant. The model uses the Navier-Stokes equation to simulate the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. It is considered as important factors in elaboration of simulation the atmospheric conditions (pressure, temperature, wind speed, wind direction), the exhaust velocity of the combustion gases, chimney height and the obstacles (buildings). Using the air quality monitoring stations it is measured the concentrations of main pollutants (SO2, NOx and PM). The pollutants were monitored over a period of 3 months, after that the average concentration are calculated, which is used by the software. The concentrations are: 8.915 μg/m3 (NOx), 9.587 μg/m3 (SO2) and 42 μg/m3 (PM). A comparison of test data with simulation results demonstrated that CFX was able to describe the dispersion of the pollutant as well the concentration of this pollutants in the atmosphere.Keywords: Air pollutants, computational fluid dynamics, dispersion, simulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 44711586 Development of a Three-Dimensional-Flywheel Robotic System
Authors: Chung-Chun Hsiao, Yu-Kai, Ting, Kai-Yuan Liu, Pang-Wei Yen, Jia-Ying Tu
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In this paper, a new design of spherical robotic system based on the concepts of gimbal structure and gyro dynamics is presented. Robots equipped with multiple wheels and complex steering mechanics may increase the weight and degrade the energy transmission efficiency. In addition, the wheeled and legged robots are relatively vulnerable to lateral impact and lack of lateral mobility. Therefore, the proposed robotic design uses a spherical shell as the main body for ground locomotion, instead of using wheel devices. Three spherical shells are structured in a similar way to a gimbal device and rotate like a gyro system. The design and mechanism of the proposed robotic system is introduced. In addition, preliminary results of the dynamic model based on the principles of planar rigid body kinematics and Lagrangian equation are included. Simulation results and rig construction are presented to verify the concepts.
Keywords: Gyro, gimbal, Lagrange equation, spherical robots.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20591585 Optimization of New 25A-size Metal Gasket Design Based on Contact Width Considering Forming and Contact Stress Effect
Authors: Didik Nurhadiyanto , Moch Agus Choiron , Ken Kaminishi , Shigeyuki Haruyama
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At the previous study of new metal gasket, contact width and contact stress were important design parameter for optimizing metal gasket performance. However, the range of contact stress had not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, we conducted a gasket design optimization based on an elastic and plastic contact stress analysis considering forming effect using FEM. The gasket model was simulated by using two simulation stages which is forming and tightening simulation. The optimum design based on an elastic and plastic contact stress was founded. Final evaluation was determined by helium leak quantity to check leakage performance of both type of gaskets. The helium leak test shows that a gasket based on the plastic contact stress design better than based on elastic stress design.Keywords: Contact stress, metal gasket, plastic, elastic
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17571584 A Study of Lurking Behavior: The Desire Perspective
Authors: Hsiu-Hua Cheng, Chi-Wei Chen
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Lurking behavior is common in information-seeking oriented communities. Transferring users with lurking behavior to be contributors can assist virtual communities to obtain competitive advantages. Based on the ecological cognition framework, this study proposes a model to examine the antecedents of lurking behavior in information-seeking oriented virtual communities. This study argues desire for emotional support, desire for information support, desire for performance-approach, desire for performance -avoidance, desire for mastery-approach, desire for mastery-avoidance, desire for ability trust, desire for benevolence trust, and desire for integrity trust effect on lurking behavior. This study offers an approach to understanding the determinants of lurking behavior in online contexts.
Keywords: Lurking behavior, the ecological cognition framework, Information-seeking oriented virtual communities, Desire.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20271583 Assessment of the Influence of External Earth Terrain at Construction of the Physicmathematical Models or Finding the Dynamics of Pollutants' Distribution in Urban Atmosphere
Authors: Stanislav Aryeh V. Fradkin, Sharif E.Guseynov
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There is a complex situation on the transport environment in the cities of the world. For the analysis and prevention of environmental problems an accurate calculation hazardous substances concentrations at each point of the investigated area is required. In the turbulent atmosphere of the city the wellknown methods of mathematical statistics for these tasks cannot be applied with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Therefore, to solve this class of problems apparatus of mathematical physics is more appropriate. In such models, because of the difficulty as a rule the influence of uneven land surface on streams of air masses in the turbulent atmosphere of the city are not taken into account. In this paper the influence of the surface roughness, which can be quite large, is mathematically shown. The analysis of this problem under certain conditions identified the possibility of areas appearing in the atmosphere with pressure tending to infinity, i.e. so-called "wall effect".
Keywords: Air pollution, concentration of harmful substances, physical-mathematical model, urban area.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13421582 Analytical, Numerical, and Experimental Research Approaches to Influence of Vibrations on Hydroelastic Processes in Centrifugal Pumps
Authors: Dinara F. Gaynutdinova, Vladimir Ya Modorsky, Nikolay A. Shevelev
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The problem under research is that of unpredictable modes occurring in two-stage centrifugal hydraulic pump as a result of hydraulic processes caused by vibrations of structural components. Numerical, analytical and experimental approaches are considered. A hypothesis was developed that the problem of unpredictable pressure decrease at the second stage of centrifugal pumps is caused by cavitation effects occurring upon vibration. The problem has been studied experimentally and theoretically as of today. The theoretical study was conducted numerically and analytically. Hydroelastic processes in dynamic “liquid – deformed structure” system were numerically modelled and analysed. Using ANSYS CFX program engineering analysis complex and computing capacity of a supercomputer the cavitation parameters were established to depend on vibration parameters. An influence domain of amplitudes and vibration frequencies on concentration of cavitation bubbles was formulated. The obtained numerical solution was verified using CFM program package developed in PNRPU. The package is based on a differential equation system in hyperbolic and elliptic partial derivatives. The system is solved by using one of finite-difference method options – the particle-in-cell method. The method defines the problem solution algorithm. The obtained numerical solution was verified analytically by model problem calculations with the use of known analytical solutions of in-pipe piston movement and cantilever rod end face impact. An infrastructure consisting of an experimental fast hydro-dynamic processes research installation and a supercomputer connected by a high-speed network, was created to verify the obtained numerical solutions. Physical experiments included measurement, record, processing and analysis of data for fast processes research by using National Instrument signals measurement system and Lab View software. The model chamber end face oscillated during physical experiments and, thus, loaded the hydraulic volume. The loading frequency varied from 0 to 5 kHz. The length of the operating chamber varied from 0.4 to 1.0 m. Additional loads weighed from 2 to 10 kg. The liquid column varied from 0.4 to 1 m high. Liquid pressure history was registered. The experiment showed dependence of forced system oscillation amplitude on loading frequency at various values: operating chamber geometrical dimensions, liquid column height and structure weight. Maximum pressure oscillation (in the basic variant) amplitudes were discovered at loading frequencies of approximately 1,5 kHz. These results match the analytical and numerical solutions in ANSYS and CFM.
Keywords: Computing experiment, hydroelasticity, physical experiment, vibration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15581581 Coupled Electromagnetic and Thermal Field Modeling of a Laboratory Busbar System
Authors: Tatyana R. Radeva, Ivan S. Yatchev, Dimitar N. Karastoyanov, Nikolay I. Stoimenov, Stanislav D. Gyoshev
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The paper presents coupled electromagnetic and thermal field analysis of busbar system (of rectangular cross-section geometry) submitted to short circuit conditions. The laboratory model was validated against both analytical solution and experimental observations. The considered problem required the computation of the detailed distribution of the power losses and the heat transfer modes. In this electromagnetic and thermal analysis, different definitions of electric busbar heating were considered and compared. The busbar system is a three phase one and consists of aluminum, painted aluminum and copper busbar. The solution to the coupled field problem is obtained using the finite element method and the QuickField™ program. Experiments have been carried out using two different approaches and compared with computed results.
Keywords: Busbar system, coupled problems, finite element method, short-circuit currents.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29751580 Relationships among Tourists’ Needs for Uniqueness, Perceived Authenticity and Behavioral Intentions
Authors: Deniz Karagöz Yüncü
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This study tested a structural model which investigates the relationships among tourists’ need for uniqueness, perceived authenticity (object-based authenticity and existential authenticity) and behavioral intentions to consume cultural and heritage destinations. The sample of the study comprised of 281 participants in a cultural heritage site, in Cappadocia, Turkey. The data were provided via face to face interviews in two months (September and October) which considered the high season. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the causal relationships among the hypotheses. Findings revealed tourists’ creative choice had an influence on object-based authenticity and existential authenticity. Tourists’ avoidance had an influence on object-based authenticity. The study concluded that two dimensions, namely, the object based authenticity and existential authenticity had significant impact on behavioral intentions.
Keywords: Needs for uniqueness, object-based authenticity, existential authenticity, behavioral intentions.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16491579 Graphical Password Security Evaluation by Fuzzy AHP
Authors: Arash Habibi Lashkari, Azizah Abdul Manaf, Maslin Masrom
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In today's day and age, one of the important topics in information security is authentication. There are several alternatives to text-based authentication of which includes Graphical Password (GP) or Graphical User Authentication (GUA). These methods stems from the fact that humans recognized and remembers images better than alphanumerical text characters. This paper will focus on the security aspect of GP algorithms and what most researchers have been working on trying to define these security features and attributes. The goal of this study is to develop a fuzzy decision model that allows automatic selection of available GP algorithms by taking into considerations the subjective judgments of the decision makers who are more than 50 postgraduate students of computer science. The approach that is being proposed is based on the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) which determines the criteria weight as a linear formula.Keywords: Graphical Password, Authentication Security, Attack Patterns, Brute force attack, Dictionary attack, Guessing Attack, Spyware attack, Shoulder surfing attack, Social engineering Attack, Password Entropy, Password Space.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19351578 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
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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 8351577 Precision Assessment of the Orthometric Heights Determination in the Northern Part of Libya
Authors: Jamal A. Gledan, Akrm H. Algnin
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The Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite-based technology, has been utilized extensively in the last few years in a wide range of Geometrics and Geographic Information Systems’ (GIS) applications. One of the main challenges dealing with GPS-based heights consists of converting them into Mean Sea Level (MSL) heights, which is used in surveys and mapping.
In this research’s work, differences in heights of 50 points, in northern part of Libya has been carried out by using both ordinary leveling (in which Geoid is the reference datum) and GPS techniques (in which Ellipsoid is the reference datum). In addition, this study utilized the EGM2008 model to obtain the undulation values between the ellipsoidal and orthometric heights. From these values of ellipsoidal heights can be obtained from GPS observations to compute the orthomteric heights. This research presents a suitable alternative, from an economical point of view, to substitute the expensive traditional leveling technique, particularly, for topographic mapping.
Keywords: Geoid undulation, GPS, ordinary and geodetic leveling, orthometric height.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20181576 Performance Analysis of Proprietary and Non-Proprietary Tools for Regression Testing Using Genetic Algorithm
Authors: K. Hema Shankari, R. Thirumalaiselvi, N. V. Balasubramanian
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The present paper addresses to the research in the area of regression testing with emphasis on automated tools as well as prioritization of test cases. The uniqueness of regression testing and its cyclic nature is pointed out. The difference in approach between industry, with business model as basis, and academia, with focus on data mining, is highlighted. Test Metrics are discussed as a prelude to our formula for prioritization; a case study is further discussed to illustrate this methodology. An industrial case study is also described in the paper, where the number of test cases is so large that they have to be grouped as Test Suites. In such situations, a genetic algorithm proposed by us can be used to reconfigure these Test Suites in each cycle of regression testing. The comparison is made between a proprietary tool and an open source tool using the above-mentioned metrics. Our approach is clarified through several tables.Keywords: APFD metric, genetic algorithm, regression testing, RFT tool, test case prioritization, selenium tool.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9161575 A Study of Replacement Policies for Warranty Products with Different Failure Rate
Authors: Wen Liang Chang
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This paper provides a replacement policy for warranty products with different failure rate from the consumer-s viewpoint. Assume that the product is replaced once within a finite planning horizon, and the failure rate of the second product is lower than the failure rate of the first product. Within warranty period (WP), the failed product is corrected by minimal repair without any cost to the consumers. After WP, the failed product is repaired with a fixed repair cost to the consumers. However, each failure incurs a fixed downtime cost to the consumers over a finite planning horizon. In this paper, we derive the model of the expected total disbursement cost within a finite planning horizon and some properties of the optimal replacement policy under some reasonable conditions are obtained. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the features of the optimal replacement policy under various maintenance costs.
Keywords: Planning horizon, Free-repair warranty, Minimal repair, Replacement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14501574 Determinants of Profitability in Indian Pharmaceutical Firms in the New Intellectual Property Rights Regime
Authors: Shilpi Tyagi, D. K. Nauriyal
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This study investigates the firm level determinants of profitability of Indian drug and pharmaceutical industry. The study uses inflation adjusted panel data for a period 2000-2013 and applies OLS regression model with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. It has been found that export intensity, A&M intensity, firm’s market power and stronger patent regime dummy have exercised positive influence on profitability. The negative and statistically significant influence of R&D intensity and raw material import intensity points to the need for firms to adopt suitable investment strategies. The study suggests that firms are required to pay far more attention to optimize their operating expenditures, advertisement and marketing expenditures and improve their export orientation, as part of the long term strategy.Keywords: Indian drug and pharmaceutical industry, trade related intellectual property rights, research and development, food and drug administration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24851573 Effective Cooling of Photovoltaic Solar Cells by Inserting Triangular Ribs: A Numerical Study
Authors: S. Saadi, S. Benissaad, S. Poncet, Y. Kabar
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In photovoltaic (PV) cells, most of the absorbed solar radiation cannot be converted into electricity. A large amount of solar radiation is converted to heat, which should be dissipated by any cooling techniques. In the present study, the cooling is achieved by inserting triangular ribs in the duct. A comprehensive two-dimensional thermo-fluid model for the effective cooling of PV cells has been developed. It has been first carefully validated against experimental and numerical results available in the literature. A parametric analysis was then carried out about the influence of the number and size of the ribs, wind speed, solar irradiance and inlet fluid velocity on the average solar cell and outlet air temperatures as well as the thermal and electrical efficiencies of the module. Results indicated that the use of triangular ribbed channels is a very effective cooling technique, which significantly reduces the average temperature of the PV cell, especially when increasing the number of ribs.
Keywords: Effective cooling, numerical modeling, photovoltaic cell, triangular ribs.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11021572 Lattice Boltzmann Method for Turbulent Heat Transfer in Wavy Channel Flows
Authors: H.Y. Lai, S. C. Chang, W. L. Chen
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The hydrodynamic and thermal lattice Boltzmann methods are applied to investigate the turbulent convective heat transfer in the wavy channel flows. In this study, the turbulent phenomena are modeling by large-eddy simulations with the Smagorinsky model. As a benchmark, the laminar and turbulent backward-facing step flows are simulated first. The results give good agreement with other numerical and experimental data. For wavy channel flows, the distribution of Nusselt number and the skin-friction coefficients are calculated to evaluate the heat transfer effect and the drag force. It indicates that the vortices at the trough would affect the magnitude of drag and weaken the heat convection effects on the wavy surface. In turbulent cases, if the amplitude of the wavy boundary is large enough, the secondary vortices would be generated at troughs and contribute to the heat convection. Finally, the effects of different Re on the turbulent transport phenomena are discussed.
Keywords: Heat transfer, lattice Boltzmann method, turbulence, wavy channel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25001571 Message Framework for Disaster Management: An Application Model for Mines
Authors: A. Baloğlu, A. Çınar
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Different tools and technologies were implemented for Crisis Response and Management (CRM) which is generally using available network infrastructure for information exchange. Depending on type of disaster or crisis, network infrastructure could be affected and it could not be able to provide reliable connectivity. Thus any tool or technology that depends on the connectivity could not be able to fulfill its functionalities. As a solution, a new message exchange framework has been developed. Framework provides offline/online information exchange platform for CRM Information Systems (CRMIS) and it uses XML compression and packet prioritization algorithms and is based on open source web technologies. By introducing offline capabilities to the web technologies, framework will be able to perform message exchange on unreliable networks. The experiments done on the simulation environment provide promising results on low bandwidth networks (56kbps and 28.8 kbps) with up to 50% packet loss and the solution is to successfully transfer all the information on these low quality networks where the traditional 2 and 3 tier applications failed.
Keywords: Crisis Response and Management, XML Messaging, Web Services, XML compression, Mining.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19011570 The Fiscal and Macroeconomic Impacts of Reforming Energy Subsidy Policy in Malaysia
Authors: Nora Yusma Bte Mohamed Yusoff, Hussain Ali Bekhet
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The rationalization of a gradual subsidies reforms plan has been set out by the Malaysian government to achieve the high-income nation target. This paper attempts to analyze the impacts of energy subsidy reform policy on fiscal deficit and macroeconomics variables in Malaysia. The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model is employed. Three simulations based on different groups of scenarios have been developed. Importantly, the overall results indicate that removal of fuel subsidy has significantly improved the real GDP and reduced the government fiscal deficit. On the other hand, the removal of the fuel subsidy has increased most of the local commodity prices, especially energy commodities. The findings of the study could provide some imperative inputs for policy makers, especially to identify the right policy mechanism. This is especially ensures the subsidy savings from subsidy removal could be transferred back into the domestic economy in the form of infrastructure development, compensation and increases in others sector output contributions towards a sustainable economic growth.Keywords: CGE, deficit, energy, reform, subsidy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10551569 The Competitive Newsvendor Game with Overestimated Demand
Authors: Chengli Liu, C. K. M. Lee
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The tradition competitive newsvendor game assumes decision makers are rational. However, there are behavioral biases when people make decisions, such as loss aversion, mental accounting and overconfidence. Overestimation of a subject’s own performance is one type of overconfidence. The objective of this research is to analyze the impact of the overestimated demand in the newsvendor competitive game with two players. This study builds a competitive newsvendor game model where newsvendors have private information of their demands, which is overestimated. At the same time, demands of each newsvendor forecasted by a third party institution are available. This research shows that the overestimation leads to demand steal effect, which reduces the competitor’s order quantity. However, the overall supply of the product increases due to overestimation. This study illustrates the boundary condition for the overestimated newsvendor to have the equilibrium order drop due to the demand steal effect from the other newsvendor. A newsvendor who has higher critical fractile will see its equilibrium order decrease with the drop of estimation level from the other newsvendor.
Keywords: Bias, competitive newsvendor, Nash equilibrium, overestimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14741568 A Robust Method for Hand Tracking Using Mean-shift Algorithm and Kalman Filter in Stereo Color Image Sequences
Authors: Mahmoud Elmezain, Ayoub Al-Hamadi, Robert Niese, Bernd Michaelis
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Real-time hand tracking is a challenging task in many computer vision applications such as gesture recognition. This paper proposes a robust method for hand tracking in a complex environment using Mean-shift analysis and Kalman filter in conjunction with 3D depth map. The depth information solve the overlapping problem between hands and face, which is obtained by passive stereo measuring based on cross correlation and the known calibration data of the cameras. Mean-shift analysis uses the gradient of Bhattacharyya coefficient as a similarity function to derive the candidate of the hand that is most similar to a given hand target model. And then, Kalman filter is used to estimate the position of the hand target. The results of hand tracking, tested on various video sequences, are robust to changes in shape as well as partial occlusion.Keywords: Computer Vision and Image Analysis, Object Tracking, Gesture Recognition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29171567 Prediction of Load Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Corbels Strengthened with CFRP Sheets
Authors: Azad A. Mohammed, Gulan B. Hassan
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Analytical procedure was carried out in this paper to calculate the ultimate load capacity of reinforced concrete corbels strengthened or repaired externally with CFRP sheets. Strut and tie method and shear friction method proposed earlier for analyzing reinforced concrete corbels were modified to incorporate the effect of external CFRP sheets bonded to the corbel. The points of weakness of any method that lead to an inaccuracy, especially when overestimating test results were checked and discussed. Comparison of prediction with the test data indicates that the ratio of test / calculated ultimate load is 0.82 and 1.17 using strut and tie method and shear friction method, respectively. If the limits of maximum shear stress is followed, the calculated ultimate load capacity using shear friction method was found to underestimates test data considerably.Keywords: Corbel, Strengthening, Strut and Tie Model, Shear Friction
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27511566 P-ACO Approach to Assignment Problem in FMSs
Authors: I. Mahdavi, A. Jazayeri, M. Jahromi, R. Jafari, H. Iranmanesh
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One of the most important problems in production planning of flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is machine tool selection and operation allocation problem that directly influences the production costs and times .In this paper minimizing machining cost, set-up cost and material handling cost as a multi-objective problem in flexible manufacturing systems environment are considered. We present a 0-1 integer linear programming model for the multiobjective machine tool selection and operation allocation problem and due to the large scale nature of the problem, solving the problem to obtain optimal solution in a reasonable time is infeasible, Paretoant colony optimization (P-ACO) approach for solving the multiobjective problem in reasonable time is developed. Experimental results indicate effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for solving the problem.
Keywords: Flexible manufacturing system, Production planning, Machine tool selection, Operation allocation, Multiobjective optimization, Metaheuristic.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19061565 Immobilization of Lipase Enzyme by Low Cost Material: A Statistical Approach
Authors: Md. Z. Alam, Devi R. Asih, Md. N. Salleh
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Immobilization of lipase enzyme produced from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by the activated carbon (AC) among the low cost support materials was optimized. The results indicated that immobilization of 94% was achieved by AC as the most suitable support material. A sequential optimization strategy based on a statistical experimental design, including one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method was used to determine the equilibrium time. Three components influencing lipase immobilization were optimized by the response surface methodology (RSM) based on the face-centered central composite design (FCCCD). On the statistical analysis of the results, the optimum enzyme concentration loading, agitation rate and carbon active dosage were found to be 30 U/ml, 300 rpm and 8 g/L respectively, with a maximum immobilization activity of 3732.9 U/g-AC after 2 hrs of immobilization. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high regression coefficient (R2) of 0.999, which indicated a satisfactory fit of the model with the experimental data. The parameters were statistically significant at p<0.05.
Keywords: Activated carbon, adsorption, immobilization, POME based lipase.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2573