Search results for: Local Binary Patterns (LBP)
1721 Studies on Determination of the Optimum Distance Between the Tmotes for Optimum Data Transfer in a Network with WLL Capability
Authors: N C Santhosh Kumar, N K Kishore
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Using mini modules of Tmotes, it is possible to automate a small personal area network. This idea can be extended to large networks too by implementing multi-hop routing. Linking the various Tmotes using Programming languages like Nesc, Java and having transmitter and receiver sections, a network can be monitored. It is foreseen that, depending on the application, a long range at a low data transfer rate or average throughput may be an acceptable trade-off. To reduce the overall costs involved, an optimum number of Tmotes to be used under various conditions (Indoor/Outdoor) is to be deduced. By analyzing the data rates or throughputs at various locations of Tmotes, it is possible to deduce an optimal number of Tmotes for a specific network. This paper deals with the determination of optimum distances to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of the entire sensor network with Wireless Local Loop (WLL) capability.
Keywords: Average throughput, data rate, multi-hop routing, optimum data transfer, throughput, Tmotes, wireless local loop.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13761720 Experimental Characterization of Anisotropic Mechanical Properties of Textile Woven Fabric
Authors: Rym Zouari, Sami Ben Amar, Abdelwaheb Dogui
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This paper presents an experimental characterization of the anisotropic mechanical behavior of 4 textile woven fabrics with different weaves (Twill 3, Plain, Twill4 and Satin 4) by off-axis tensile testing. These tests are applied according seven directions oriented by 15° increment with respect to the warp direction. Fixed and articulated jaws are used. Analysis of experimental results is done through global (Effort/Elongation curves) and local scales. Global anisotropy was studied from the Effort/Elongation curves: shape, breaking load (Frup), tensile elongation (EMT), tensile energy (WT) and linearity index (LT). Local anisotropy was studied from the measurement of strain tensor components in the central area of the specimen as a function of testing orientation and effort: longitudinal strain ɛL, transverse strain ɛT and shearing ɛLT. The effect of used jaws is also analyzed.
Keywords: Anisotropy, Off-axis tensile test, strain fields, Textile woven fabric.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18921719 Using Genetic Algorithms in Closed Loop Identification of the Systems with Variable Structure Controller
Authors: O.M. Mohamed vall, M. Radhi
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This work presents a recursive identification algorithm. This algorithm relates to the identification of closed loop system with Variable Structure Controller. The approach suggested includes two stages. In the first stage a genetic algorithm is used to obtain the parameters of switching function which gives a control signal rich in commutations (i.e. a control signal whose spectral characteristics are closest possible to those of a white noise signal). The second stage consists in the identification of the system parameters by the instrumental variable method and using the optimal switching function parameters obtained with the genetic algorithm. In order to test the validity of this algorithm a simulation example is presented.
Keywords: Closed loop identification, variable structure controller, pseud-random binary sequence, genetic algorithms.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14471718 Frequency-Dependent and Full Range Tunable Phase Shifter
Authors: Yufu Yin, Tao Lin, Shanghong Zhao, Zihang Zhu, Xuan Li, Wei Jiang, Qiurong Zheng, Hui Wang
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In this paper, a frequency-dependent and tunable phase shifter is proposed and numerically analyzed. The key devices are the dual-polarization binary phase shift keying modulator (DP-BPSK) and the fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The phase-frequency response of the FBG is employed to determine the frequency-dependent phase shift. The simulation results show that a linear phase shift of the recovered output microwave signal which depends on the frequency of the input RF signal is achieved. In addition, by adjusting the power of the RF signal, the full range phase shift from 0° to 360° can be realized. This structure shows the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of 70.90 dB·Hz2/3 and 72.11 dB·Hz2/3 under different RF powers.
Keywords: Microwave photonics, phase shifter, spurious free dynamic range, frequency-dependent.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10851717 Engineering Topology of Ecological Model for Orientation Impact of Sustainability Urban Environments: The Spatial-Economic Modeling
Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed
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The spatial-economic modeling database is crucial in understanding economic network structures for social development. Sustainability within spatial-economic model focuses on encouraging green businesses to align with Earth’s systems. The natural exchange patterns of ecosystems exhibit consistent and periodic cycles to maintain energy and material flows in systems ecology. When network topology influences formal and informal communication to function in systems ecology, ecosystems are hypothesized to influence the basic level of spatial sustainable outcomes (i.e., project compatibility success). These referred instrumentalities impact with various aspects of the second level of spatial sustainable outcomes (i.e., participant social security satisfaction). The sustainability outcomes are modeled using composite structure based on a network analysis model to calculate the prosperity of panel databases for efficiency value from 2005 to 2025. The spatial database structure represents the state-of-the-art of value-orientation impact and corresponding complexity of sustainability issues for collecting a consistent database in approach structure of spatial-economic-ecological model, developing a set of sustainability indicators, enabling quantification impact using value-orientation policy and demonstrating spatial structure reliability. The structure of the spatial-ecological model is established for management schemes from the perspective of pollutants of multiple sources through the input–output criteria. These criteria evaluate the spillover effect to conduct Monte Carlo simulations and sensitivity analysis in a unique spatial structure. The balance within “equilibrium patterns,” such as collective biosphere features, is measured using a composite index of many distributed feedback flows. This index has a dynamic structure related to physical and chemical properties for gradual prolongation to incremental patterns. While these spatial structures argue from ecological modeling of resource savings, static loads are not decisive model from an artistic/architectural perspective. The model attempts to unify analytic and analogical spatial structure for the development of urban environments in a relational database, using optimization software to integrate spatial structure where the process is based on the engineering topology of systems ecology.
Keywords: Ecological modeling, spatial structure, orientation impact, composite index, industrial ecology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 391716 Complex Dynamics of Bertrand Duopoly Games with Bounded Rationality
Authors: Jixiang Zhang, Guocheng Wang
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A dynamic of Bertrand duopoly game is analyzed, where players use different production methods and choose their prices with bounded rationality. The equilibriums of the corresponding discrete dynamical systems are investigated. The stability conditions of Nash equilibrium under a local adjustment process are studied. The stability conditions of Nash equilibrium under a local adjustment process are studied. The stability of Nash equilibrium, as some parameters of the model are varied, gives rise to complex dynamics such as cycles of higher order and chaos. On this basis, we discover that an increase of adjustment speed of bounded rational player can make Bertrand market sink into the chaotic state. Finally, the complex dynamics, bifurcations and chaos are displayed by numerical simulation.
Keywords: Bertrand duopoly model, Discrete dynamical system, Heterogeneous expectations, Nash equilibrium.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26101715 Improving the Performance of Back-Propagation Training Algorithm by Using ANN
Authors: Vishnu Pratap Singh Kirar
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Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can be trained using back propagation (BP). It is the most widely used algorithm for supervised learning with multi-layered feed-forward networks. Efficient learning by the BP algorithm is required for many practical applications. The BP algorithm calculates the weight changes of artificial neural networks, and a common approach is to use a twoterm algorithm consisting of a learning rate (LR) and a momentum factor (MF). The major drawbacks of the two-term BP learning algorithm are the problems of local minima and slow convergence speeds, which limit the scope for real-time applications. Recently the addition of an extra term, called a proportional factor (PF), to the two-term BP algorithm was proposed. The third increases the speed of the BP algorithm. However, the PF term also reduces the convergence of the BP algorithm, and criteria for evaluating convergence are required to facilitate the application of the three terms BP algorithm. Although these two seem to be closely related, as described later, we summarize various improvements to overcome the drawbacks. Here we compare the different methods of convergence of the new three-term BP algorithm.
Keywords: Neural Network, Backpropagation, Local Minima, Fast Convergence Rate.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35671714 A New Floating Point Implementation of Base 2 Logarithm
Authors: Ahmed M. Mansour, Ali M. El-Sawy, Ahmed T Sayed
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Logarithms reduce products to sums and powers to products; they play an important role in signal processing, communication and information theory. They are primarily used for hardware calculations, handling multiplications, divisions, powers, and roots effectively. There are three commonly used bases for logarithms; the logarithm with base-10 is called the common logarithm, the natural logarithm with base-e and the binary logarithm with base-2. This paper demonstrates different methods of calculation for log2 showing the complexity of each and finds out the most accurate and efficient besides giving insights to their hardware design. We present a new method called Floor Shift for fast calculation of log2, and then we combine this algorithm with Taylor series to improve the accuracy of the output, we illustrate that by using two examples. We finally compare the algorithms and conclude with our remarks.
Keywords: Logarithms, log2, floor, iterative, CORDIC, Taylor series.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 38361713 Photocatalytic Cleaning Performance of Air Filters for a Binary Mixture
Authors: Lexuan Zhong, Chang-Seo Lee, Fariborz Haghighat, Stuart Batterman, John C. Little
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Ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation (UV-PCO) technology has been recommended as a green approach to health indoor environment when it is integrated into mechanical ventilation systems for inorganic and organic compounds removal as well as energy saving due to less outdoor air intakes. Although much research has been devoted to UV-PCO, limited information is available on the UV-PCO behavior tested by the mixtures in literature. This project investigated UV-PCO performance and by-product generation using a single and a mixture of acetone and MEK at 100 ppb each in a single-pass duct system in an effort to obtain knowledge associated with competitive photochemical reactions involved in. The experiments were performed at 20 % RH, 22 °C, and a gas flow rate of 128 m3/h (75 cfm). Results show that acetone and MEK mutually reduced each other’s PCO removal efficiency, particularly negative removal efficiency for acetone. These findings were different from previous observation of facilitatory effects on the adsorption of acetone and MEK on photocatalyst surfaces.Keywords: By-products, inhibitory effect, mixture, photocatalytic oxidation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20621712 On-line Identification of Continuous-time Hammerstein Systems via RBF Networks and Immune Algorithm
Authors: Tomohiro Hachino, Kengo Nagatomo, Hitoshi Takata
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This paper deals with an on-line identification method of continuous-time Hammerstein systems by using the radial basis function (RBF) networks and immune algorithm (IA). An unknown nonlinear static part to be estimated is approximately represented by the RBF network. The IA is efficiently combined with the recursive least-squares (RLS) method. The objective function for the identification is regarded as the antigen. The candidates of the RBF parameters such as the centers and widths are coded into binary bit strings as the antibodies and searched by the IA. On the other hand, the candidates of both the weighting parameters of the RBF network and the system parameters of the linear dynamic part are updated by the RLS method. Simulation results are shown to illustrate the proposed method.Keywords: Continuous-time System, Hammerstein System, OnlineIdentification, Immune Algorithm, RBF network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13701711 Efficient Hardware Implementation of an Elliptic Curve Cryptographic Processor Over GF (2 163)
Authors: Massoud Masoumi, Hosseyn Mahdizadeh
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A new and highly efficient architecture for elliptic curve scalar point multiplication which is optimized for a binary field recommended by NIST and is well-suited for elliptic curve cryptographic (ECC) applications is presented. To achieve the maximum architectural and timing improvements we have reorganized and reordered the critical path of the Lopez-Dahab scalar point multiplication architecture such that logic structures are implemented in parallel and operations in the critical path are diverted to noncritical paths. With G=41, the proposed design is capable of performing a field multiplication over the extension field with degree 163 in 11.92 s with the maximum achievable frequency of 251 MHz on Xilinx Virtex-4 (XC4VLX200) while 22% of the chip area is occupied, where G is the digit size of the underlying digit-serial finite field multiplier.
Keywords: Elliptic curve cryptography, FPGA implementation, scalar point multiplication.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25631710 Modeling Hybrid Systems with MLD Approach and Analysis of the Model Size and Complexity
Authors: H. Mahboubi, B. Moshiri, A. Khaki Seddigh
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Recently, a great amount of interest has been shown in the field of modeling and controlling hybrid systems. One of the efficient and common methods in this area utilizes the mixed logicaldynamical (MLD) systems in the modeling. In this method, the system constraints are transformed into mixed-integer inequalities by defining some logic statements. In this paper, a system containing three tanks is modeled as a nonlinear switched system by using the MLD framework. Comparing the model size of the three-tank system with that of a two-tank system, it is deduced that the number of binary variables, the size of the system and its complexity tremendously increases with the number of tanks, which makes the control of the system more difficult. Therefore, methods should be found which result in fewer mixed-integer inequalities.Keywords: Hybrid systems, mixed-integer inequalities, mixed logical dynamical systems, multi-tank system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17681709 Extended Constraint Mask Based One-Bit Transform for Low-Complexity Fast Motion Estimation
Authors: Oğuzhan Urhan
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In this paper, an improved motion estimation (ME) approach based on weighted constrained one-bit transform is proposed for block-based ME employed in video encoders. Binary ME approaches utilize low bit-depth representation of the original image frames with a Boolean exclusive-OR based hardware efficient matching criterion to decrease computational burden of the ME stage. Weighted constrained one-bit transform (WC‑1BT) based approach improves the performance of conventional C-1BT based ME employing 2-bit depth constraint mask instead of a 1-bit depth mask. In this work, the range of constraint mask is further extended to increase ME performance of WC-1BT approach. Experiments reveal that the proposed method provides better ME accuracy compared existing similar ME methods in the literature.
Keywords: Fast motion estimation, low-complexity motion estimation, video coding.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8621708 A Retrievable Genetic Algorithm for Efficient Solving of Sudoku Puzzles
Authors: Seyed Mehran Kazemi, Bahare Fatemi
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Sudoku is a logic-based combinatorial puzzle game which is popular among people of different ages. Due to this popularity, computer softwares are being developed to generate and solve Sudoku puzzles with different levels of difficulty. Several methods and algorithms have been proposed and used in different softwares to efficiently solve Sudoku puzzles. Various search methods such as stochastic local search have been applied to this problem. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is one of the algorithms which have been applied to this problem in different forms and in several works in the literature. In these works, chromosomes with little or no information were considered and obtained results were not promising. In this paper, we propose a new way of applying GA to this problem which uses more-informed chromosomes than other works in the literature. We optimize the parameters of our GA using puzzles with different levels of difficulty. Then we use the optimized values of the parameters to solve various puzzles and compare our results to another GA-based method for solving Sudoku puzzles.
Keywords: Genetic algorithm, optimization, solving Sudoku puzzles, stochastic local search.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37831707 Developing Efficient Testing and Unloading Procedures for a Local Sewage Holding Pit
Authors: Esra E. Aleisa
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A local municipality has decided to build a sewage pit to receive residential sewage waste arriving by tank trucks. Daily accumulated waste are to be pumped to a nearby waste water treatment facility to be re-consumed for agricultural and construction projects. A discrete-event simulation model using Arena Software was constructed to assist in defining the capacity of the system in cubic meters, number of tank trucks to use the system, number of unload docks required, number of standby areas needed and manpower required for data collection at entrance checkpoint and truck tank load toxicity testing. The results of the model are statistically validated. Simulation turned out to be an excellent tool in the facility planning effort for the pit project, as it insured smooth flow lines of tank trucks load discharge and best utilization of facilities on site.Keywords: Discrete-event simulation, Facilities Planning, Layout, Pit, Sewage management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16931706 Entropy Generation Analysis of Heat Recovery Vapor Generator for Ammonia-Water Mixture
Authors: Chul Ho Han, Kyoung Hoon Kim
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This paper carries out a performance analysis based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics for heat recovery vapor generator (HRVG) of ammonia-water mixture when the heat source is low-temperature energy in the form of sensible heat. In the analysis, effects of the ammonia mass concentration and mass flow ratio of the binary mixture are investigated on the system performance including the effectiveness of heat transfer, entropy generation, and exergy efficiency. The results show that the ammonia concentration and the mass flow ratio of the mixture have significant effects on the system performance of HRVG.
Keywords: Entropy, exergy, ammonia-water mixture, heat exchanger.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20891705 A Novel Model for Simultaneously Minimising Costs and Risks in Just-in-Time Systems Using Multi-Backup Suppliers: Part 1- Modelling
Authors: Faraj El Dabee, Romeo Marian, Yousef Amer
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Just-In-Time (JIT) is a lean manufacturing tool, which provides the benefits of efficiency, and of minimizing unnecessary costs for many organisations. However, the risks arising from these benefits have been disregarded. These risks impact on system processes disrupting the whole supply chain. This paper proposes an inventory model that can simultaneously reduce costs and risks in JIT systems. This model is developed to ascertain an optimal ordering strategy for procuring raw materials by using regular multi-external and local backup suppliers to reduce the total cost of the products, and at the same time to reduce the risks arising from this cost reduction within production systems. Some results that will be illustrated in the second part of this paper are presented.
Keywords: Lean manufacturing, Just-in-Time (JIT), production system, cost-risk reduction, inventory model, eternal supplier, local backup supplier.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16601704 Ranking and Unranking Algorithms for k-ary Trees in Gray Code Order
Authors: Fateme Ashari-Ghomi, Najme Khorasani, Abbas Nowzari-Dalini
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In this paper, we present two new ranking and unranking algorithms for k-ary trees represented by x-sequences in Gray code order. These algorithms are based on a gray code generation algorithm developed by Ahrabian et al.. In mentioned paper, a recursive backtracking generation algorithm for x-sequences corresponding to k-ary trees in Gray code was presented. This generation algorithm is based on Vajnovszki-s algorithm for generating binary trees in Gray code ordering. Up to our knowledge no ranking and unranking algorithms were given for x-sequences in this ordering. we present ranking and unranking algorithms with O(kn2) time complexity for x-sequences in this Gray code orderingKeywords: k-ary Tree Generation, Ranking, Unranking, Gray Code.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21151703 Wetting Characterization of High Aspect Ratio Nanostructures by Gigahertz Acoustic Reflectometry
Authors: C. Virgilio, J. Carlier, P. Campistron, M. Toubal, P. Garnier, L. Broussous, V. Thomy, B. Nongaillard
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Wetting efficiency of microstructures or nanostructures patterned on Si wafers is a real challenge in integrated circuits manufacturing. In fact, bad or non-uniform wetting during wet processes limits chemical reactions and can lead to non-complete etching or cleaning inside the patterns and device defectivity. This issue is more and more important with the transistors size shrinkage and concerns mainly high aspect ratio structures. Deep Trench Isolation (DTI) structures enabling pixels’ isolation in imaging devices are subject to this phenomenon. While low-frequency acoustic reflectometry principle is a well-known method for Non Destructive Test applications, we have recently shown that it is also well suited for nanostructures wetting characterization in a higher frequency range. In this paper, we present a high-frequency acoustic reflectometry characterization of DTI wetting through a confrontation of both experimental and modeling results. The acoustic method proposed is based on the evaluation of the reflection of a longitudinal acoustic wave generated by a 100 µm diameter ZnO piezoelectric transducer sputtered on the silicon wafer backside using MEMS technologies. The transducers have been fabricated to work at 5 GHz corresponding to a wavelength of 1.7 µm in silicon. The DTI studied structures, manufactured on the wafer frontside, are crossing trenches of 200 nm wide and 4 µm deep (aspect ratio of 20) etched into a Si wafer frontside. In that case, the acoustic signal reflection occurs at the bottom and at the top of the DTI enabling its characterization by monitoring the electrical reflection coefficient of the transducer. A Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) model has been developed to predict the behavior of the emitted wave. The model shows that the separation of the reflected echoes (top and bottom of the DTI) from different acoustic modes is possible at 5 Ghz. A good correspondence between experimental and theoretical signals is observed. The model enables the identification of the different acoustic modes. The evaluation of DTI wetting is then performed by focusing on the first reflected echo obtained through the reflection at Si bottom interface, where wetting efficiency is crucial. The reflection coefficient is measured with different water / ethanol mixtures (tunable surface tension) deposited on the wafer frontside. Two cases are studied: with and without PFTS hydrophobic treatment. In the untreated surface case, acoustic reflection coefficient values with water show that liquid imbibition is partial. In the treated surface case, the acoustic reflection is total with water (no liquid in DTI). The impalement of the liquid occurs for a specific surface tension but it is still partial for pure ethanol. DTI bottom shape and local pattern collapse of the trenches can explain these incomplete wetting phenomena. This high-frequency acoustic method sensitivity coupled with a FDTD propagative model thus enables the local determination of the wetting state of a liquid on real structures. Partial wetting states for non-hydrophobic surfaces or low surface tension liquids are then detectable with this method.
Keywords: Wetting, acoustic reflectometry, gigahertz, semiconductor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13071702 CART Method for Modeling the Output Power of Copper Bromide Laser
Authors: Iliycho P. Iliev, Desislava S. Voynikova, Snezhana G. Gocheva-Ilieva
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This paper examines the available experiment data for a copper bromide vapor laser (CuBr laser), emitting at two wavelengths - 510.6 and 578.2nm. Laser output power is estimated based on 10 independent input physical parameters. A classification and regression tree (CART) model is obtained which describes 97% of data. The resulting binary CART tree specifies which input parameters influence considerably each of the classification groups. This allows for a technical assessment that indicates which of these are the most significant for the manufacture and operation of the type of laser under consideration. The predicted values of the laser output power are also obtained depending on classification. This aids the design and development processes considerably.
Keywords: Classification and regression trees (CART), Copper Bromide laser (CuBr laser), laser generation, nonparametric statistical model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18321701 Comparative study of the Genetic Algorithms and Hessians Method for Minimization of the Electric Power Production Cost
Authors: L. Abdelmalek, M. Zerikat, M. Rahli
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In this paper, we present a comparative study of the genetic algorithms and Hessian-s methods for optimal research of the active powers in an electric network of power. The objective function which is the performance index of production of electrical energy is minimized by satisfying the constraints of the equality type and inequality type initially by the Hessian-s methods and in the second time by the genetic Algorithms. The results found by the application of AG for the minimization of the electric production costs of power are very encouraging. The algorithms seem to be an effective technique to solve a great number of problems and which are in constant evolution. Nevertheless it should be specified that the traditional binary representation used for the genetic algorithms creates problems of optimization of management of the large-sized networks with high numerical precision.Keywords: Genetic algorithm, Flow of optimum loadimpedances, Hessians method, Optimal distribution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13001700 Estimating European Tourism Demand for Malaysia
Authors: Zainudin Arsad, Norul Baine Mat Johor
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Tourism industry is an important sector in Malaysia economy and this motivates the examination of long-run relationships between tourist arrivals from three selected European countries in Malaysia and four possible determinants; relative prices, exchange rates, transportation cost and relative prices of substitute destination. The study utilizes data from January 1999 to September 2008 and employs standard econometric techniques that include unit root test and cointegration test. The estimated demand model indicates that depreciation of local currency and increases in prices at substitute destination have positive impact on tourist arrivals while increase in transportation cost has negative impact on tourist arrivals. In addition, the model suggests that higher rate of increase in local prices relative to prices at tourist country of origin may not deter tourists from coming to Malaysia
Keywords: origin country, unit root test, cointegration test
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23901699 Simulation of Heat Transfer in the Multi-Layer Door of the Furnace
Authors: U. Prasopchingchana
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The temperature distribution and the heat transfer rates through a multi-layer door of a furnace were investigated. The inside of the door was in contact with hot air and the other side of the door was in contact with room air. Radiation heat transfer from the walls of the furnace to the door and the door to the surrounding area was included in the problem. This work is a two dimensional steady state problem. The Churchill and Chu correlation was used to find local convection heat transfer coefficients at the surfaces of the furnace door. The thermophysical properties of air were the functions of the temperatures. Polynomial curve fitting for the fluid properties were carried out. Finite difference method was used to discretize for conduction heat transfer within the furnace door. The Gauss-Seidel Iteration was employed to compute the temperature distribution in the door. The temperature distribution in the horizontal mid plane of the furnace door in a two dimensional problem agrees with the one dimensional problem. The local convection heat transfer coefficients at the inside and outside surfaces of the furnace door are exhibited.Keywords: Conduction, heat transfer, multi-layer door, natural convection
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21021698 Elephant Herding Optimization for Service Selection in QoS-Aware Web Service Composition
Authors: Samia Sadouki Chibani, Abdelkamel Tari
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Web service composition combines available services to provide new functionality. Given the number of available services with similar functionalities and different non functional aspects (QoS), the problem of finding a QoS-optimal web service composition is considered as an optimization problem belonging to NP-hard class. Thus, an optimal solution cannot be found by exact algorithms within a reasonable time. In this paper, a meta-heuristic bio-inspired is presented to address the QoS aware web service composition; it is based on Elephant Herding Optimization (EHO) algorithm, which is inspired by the herding behavior of elephant group. EHO is characterized by a process of dividing and combining the population to sub populations (clan); this process allows the exchange of information between local searches to move toward a global optimum. However, with Applying others evolutionary algorithms the problem of early stagnancy in a local optimum cannot be avoided. Compared with PSO, the results of experimental evaluation show that our proposition significantly outperforms the existing algorithm with better performance of the fitness value and a fast convergence.Keywords: Elephant herding optimization, web service composition, bio-inspired algorithms, QoS optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10381697 The Scale of Farms and Development Perspectives in Georgia
Authors: M. Chavleishvili, E. Kharaishvili, G. Erkomaishvili
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The article presents the development trends of farms, estimates on the optimal scope of farming, as well as the experience of local and foreign countries in this area. As well, the advantages of small and large farms are discussed; herewith, the scales of farms are compared to the local reality. The study analyzes the results of farm operations and the possibilities of diversification of farms. The indicators of an effective use of land resources and land fragmentation are measured; also, a comparative analysis with other countries is presented, in particular, the measurements of agricultural lands for farming, as well as the indicators of population ensuring. The conducted research shows that most of the farms in Georgia are small and their development is at the initial stage, which outlines that the country has a high resource potential to increase the scale of the farming industry and its full integration into market relations. On the basis of the obtained results, according to the research on the scale of farming in Georgia and the identification of hampering factors of farming development, the conclusions are presented and the relevant recommendations are suggested.
Keywords: Farm cooperatives, farms, farm scale, land fragmentation, small and large farms.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8371696 Evaluation of Sustainable Business Model Innovation in Increasing the Penetration of Renewable Energy in the Ghana Power Sector
Authors: Victor Birikorang Danquah
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Ghana's primary energy supply is heavily reliant on petroleum, biomass, and hydropower. Currently, Ghana gets its energy from hydropower (Akosombo and Bui), thermal power plants powered by crude oil, natural gas, and diesel, solar power, and imports from La Cote d'Ivoire. Until the early 2000s, large hydroelectric dams dominated Ghana's electricity generation. Due to the unreliable weather patterns, Ghana increased its reliance on thermal power. Thermal power contributes the highest percentage in terms of electricity generation in Ghana and is predominantly supplied by Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Ghana's electricity industry operates the corporate utility model as its business model. This model is typically 'vertically integrated', with a single corporation selling the majority of power generated by its generation assets to its retail business, which then sells the electricity to retail market consumers. The corporate utility model has a straightforward value proposition that is based on increasing the number of energy units sold. The unit volume business model drives the entire energy value chain to increase throughput, locking system users into unsustainable practices. This report uses the qualitative research approach to explore the electricity industry in Ghana. There is the need for increasing renewable energy such as wind and solar in the electricity generation. The research recommends two critical business models for the penetration of renewable energy in Ghana's power sector. The first model is the peer-to-peer electricity trading model which relies on a software platform to connect consumers and generators in order for them to trade energy directly with one another. The second model is about encouraging local energy generation, incentivizing optimal time-of-use behaviour, and allow any financial gains to be shared among the community members.
Keywords: business model innovation, electricity generation, renewable energy, solar energy, sustainability, wind energy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8991695 The Syllabic Scrutiny of Word Stress in Najdi Saudi Arabic
Authors: Mohammad AL Amro
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This study will provide a brief description of the stress in Najdi Arabic dialect as well as Modern Standard Arabic. Beyond the analysis of stress patterns, this paper will also attempt to deal with two important phenomena that affect stress, namely epenthesis/insertion, vowel shortening, and consonant (the glottal stop) deletion.
Keywords: Epenthesis, Najd, stress, vowel shortening.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19991694 Influence of Textured Clusters on the Goss Grains Growth in Silicon Steels Consideration of Energy and Mobility
Authors: H. Afer, N. Rouag, R. Penelle
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In the Fe-3%Si sheets, grade Hi-B, with AlN and MnS as inhibitors, the Goss grains which abnormally grow do not have a size greater than the average size of the primary matrix. In this heterogeneous microstructure, the size factor is not a required condition for the secondary recrystallization. The onset of the small Goss grain abnormal growth appears to be related to a particular behavior of their grain boundaries, to the local texture and to the distribution of the inhibitors. The presence and the evolution of oriented clusters ensure to the small Goss grains a favorable neighborhood to grow. The modified Monte-Carlo approach, which is applied, considers the local environment of each grain. The grain growth is dependent of its real spatial position; the matrix heterogeneity is then taken into account. The grain growth conditions are considered in the global matrix and in different matrixes corresponding to A component clusters. The grain growth behaviour is considered with introduction of energy only, energy and mobility, energy and mobility and precipitates.Keywords: Abnormal grain growth, grain boundary energy andmobility, neighbourhood, oriented clusters.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13811693 A Family of Distributions on Learnable Problems without Uniform Convergence
Authors: César Garza
Abstract:
In supervised binary classification and regression problems, it is well-known that learnability is equivalent to uniform convergence of the hypothesis class, and if a problem is learnable, it is learnable by empirical risk minimization. For the general learning setting of unsupervised learning tasks, there are non-trivial learning problems where uniform convergence does not hold. We present here the task of learning centers of mass with an extra feature that “activates” some of the coordinates over the unit ball in a Hilbert space. We show that the learning problem is learnable under a stable RLM rule. We introduce a family of distributions over the domain space with some mild restrictions for which the sample complexity of uniform convergence for these problems must grow logarithmically with the dimension of the Hilbert space. If we take this dimension to infinity, we obtain a learnable problem for which the uniform convergence property fails for a vast family of distributions.
Keywords: Statistical learning theory, learnability, uniform convergence, stability, regularized loss minimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3781692 Effect of Acids with Different Chain Lengths Modified by Methane Sulfonic Acid and Temperature on the Properties of Thermoplastic Starch/Glycerin Blends
Authors: Chi-Yuan Huang, Mei-Chuan Kuo, Ching-Yi Hsiao
Abstract:
In this study, acids with various chain lengths (C6, C8, C10 and C12) modified by methane sulfonic acid (MSA) and temperature were used to modify tapioca starch (TPS), then the glycerol (GA) were added into modified starch, to prepare new blends. The mechanical properties, thermal properties and physical properties of blends were studied. This investigation was divided into two parts. First, the biodegradable materials were used such as starch and glycerol with hexanedioic acid (HA), suberic acid (SBA), sebacic acid (SA), decanedicarboxylic acid (DA) manufacturing with different temperatures (90, 110 and 130 °C). And then, the solution was added into modified starch to prepare the blends by using single-screw extruder. The FT-IR patterns indicated that the characteristic peak of C=O in ester was observed at 1730 cm-1. It is proved that different chain length acids (C6, C8, C10 and C12) reacted with glycerol by esterification and these are used to plasticize blends during extrusion. In addition, the blends would improve the hydrolysis and thermal stability. The water contact angle increased from 43.0° to 64.0°. Second, the HA (110 °C), SBA (110 °C), SA (110 °C), and DA blends (130 °C) were used in study, because they possessed good mechanical properties, water resistances and thermal stability. On the other hand, the various contents (0, 0.005, 0.010, 0.020 g) of MSA were also used to modify the mechanical properties of blends. We observed that the blends were added to MSA, and then the FT-IR patterns indicated that the C=O ester appeared at 1730 cm-1. For this reason, the hydrophobic blends were produced. The water contact angle of the MSA blends increased from 55.0° to 71.0°. Although break elongation of the MSA blends reduced from the original 220% to 128%, the stress increased from 2.5 MPa to 5.1 MPa. Therefore, the optimal composition of blends was the DA blend (130 °C) with adding of MSA (0.005 g).
Keywords: Chain length acids, methane sulfonic acid, tapioca starch, tensile stress.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 917