Search results for: Conservative level set method
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10708

Search results for: Conservative level set method

2968 A Model Predictive Control and Time Series Forecasting Framework for Supply Chain Management

Authors: Philip Doganis, Eleni Aggelogiannaki, Haralambos Sarimveis

Abstract:

Model Predictive Control has been previously applied to supply chain problems with promising results; however hitherto proposed systems possessed no information on future demand. A forecasting methodology will surely promote the efficiency of control actions by providing insight on the future. A complete supply chain management framework that is based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Time Series Forecasting will be presented in this paper. The proposed framework will be tested on industrial data in order to assess the efficiency of the method and the impact of forecast accuracy on overall control performance of the supply chain. To this end, forecasting methodologies with different characteristics will be implemented on test data to generate forecasts that will serve as input to the Model Predictive Control module.

Keywords: Forecasting, Model predictive control, production planning.

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2967 Microbial Oil Production by Monoculture and Mixed Cultures of Microalgae and Oleaginous Yeasts using Sugarcane Juice as Substrate

Authors: Thidarat Papone, Supaporn Kookkhunthod, Ratanaporn Leesing

Abstract:

Monoculture and mixed cultures of microalgae and the oleaginous yeast for microbial oil productions were investigated using sugarcane juice as carbon substrate. The monoculture of yeast Torulaspora maleeae Y30, Torulaspora globosa YU5/2 grew faster than that of microalgae Chlorella sp. KKU-S2. In monoculture of T. maleeae Y30, a biomass of 8.267g/L with lipid yield of 0.920g/L were obtained, while 8.333g/L of biomass with lipid yield of 1.141g/L were obtained for monoculture of T. globosa YU5/2. A biomass of 1.933g/L with lipid yield of 0.052g/L was found for monoculture of Chlorella sp. KKU-S2. The biomass concentration in the mixed culture of the oleaginous yeast with microalgae increased faster and was higher compared with that in the monocultures. A biomass of 8.733g/L with lipid yield of 1.564g/L was obtained for a mixed culture of T. maleeae Y30 with Chlorella sp. KKU-S2, while 8.010g/L of biomass with lipid yield of 2.424g/L was found for mixed culture of T. globosa YU5/2 with Chlorella sp. KKU-S2. Maximum cell yield coefficient (YX/S, g/L) was found of 0.323 in monoculture of Chlorella sp. KKU-S2 but low level of both specific yield of lipid (YP/X, g lipid/g cells) of 0.027 and volumetric lipid production rate (QP, g/L/d) of 0.003 were observed. While, maximum YP/X (0.303), QP (0.105) and maximum process product yield (YP/S, 0.061) were obtained in mixed culture of T. globosa YU5/2 with Chlorella sp. KKU-S2. The results obtained from the study shows that mixed culture of yeast with microalgae is a desirable cultivation process for microbial oil production.

Keywords: Microbial oil, Chlorella sp. KKU-S2, Torulaspora maleeae Y30, Torulaspora globosa YU5/2, mixed culture, biodiesel.

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2966 Traffic Density Estimation for Multiple Segment Freeways

Authors: Karandeep Singh, Baibing Li

Abstract:

Traffic density, an indicator of traffic conditions, is one of the most critical characteristics to Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). This paper investigates recursive traffic density estimation using the information provided from inductive loop detectors. On the basis of the phenomenological relationship between speed and density, the existing studies incorporate a state space model and update the density estimate using vehicular speed observations via the extended Kalman filter, where an approximation is made because of the linearization of the nonlinear observation equation. In practice, this may lead to substantial estimation errors. This paper incorporates a suitable transformation to deal with the nonlinear observation equation so that the approximation is avoided when using Kalman filter to estimate the traffic density. A numerical study is conducted. It is shown that the developed method outperforms the existing methods for traffic density estimation.

Keywords: Density estimation, Kalman filter, speed-densityrelationship, Traffic surveillance.

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2965 Perception of Secondary Schools’ Students on Computer Education in Federal Capital Territory (FCT-Abuja), Nigeria

Authors: Salako Emmanuel Adekunle

Abstract:

Computer education is referred to as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from basic use to advance. Computer continues to make an ever-increasing impact on all aspect of human endeavours such as education. With numerous benefits of computer education, what are the insights of students on computer education? This study investigated the perception of senior secondary school students on computer education in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. A sample of 7500 senior secondary schools students was involved in the study, one hundred (100) private and fifty (50) public schools within FCT. They were selected by using simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire [PSSSCEQ] was developed and validated through expert judgement and reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained. It was used to gather relevant data on computer education. Findings confirmed that the students in the FCT had positive perception on computer education. Some factors were identified that affect students’ perception on computer education. The null hypotheses were tested using t-test and ANOVA statistical analyses at 0.05 level of significance. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made which include competent teachers should be employed into all secondary schools. This will help students to acquire relevant knowledge in computer education, technological supports should be provided to all secondary schools; this will help the users (students) to solve specific problems in computer education and financial supports should be provided to procure computer facilities that will enhance the teaching and the learning of computer education.

Keywords: Computer education, perception, secondary school, students.

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2964 An Approach for Integration of Industrial Robot with Vision System and Simulation Software

Authors: Ahmed Sh. Khusheef, Ganesh Kothapalli, Majid Tolouei-Rad

Abstract:

Utilization of various sensors has made it possible to extend capabilities of industrial robots. Among these are vision sensors that are used for providing visual information to assist robot controllers. This paper presents a method of integrating a vision system and a simulation program with an industrial robot. The vision system is employed to detect a target object and compute its location in the robot environment. Then, the target object-s information is sent to the robot controller via parallel communication port. The robot controller uses the extracted object information and the simulation program to control the robot arm for approaching, grasping and relocating the object. This paper presents technical details of system components and describes the methodology used for this integration. It also provides a case study to prove the validity of the methodology developed.

Keywords: industrial robot, integration, simulation, vision system

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2963 A Virtual Learning Environment for Deaf Children: Design and Evaluation

Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani

Abstract:

The object of this research is the design and evaluation of an immersive Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for deaf children. Recently we have developed a prototype immersive VR game to teach sign language mathematics to deaf students age K- 4 [1] [2]. In this paper we describe a significant extension of the prototype application. The extension includes: (1) user-centered design and implementation of two additional interactive environments (a clock store and a bakery), and (2) user-centered evaluation including development of user tasks, expert panel-based evaluation, and formative evaluation. This paper is one of the few to focus on the importance of user-centered, iterative design in VR application development, and to describe a structured evaluation method.

Keywords: 3D Animation, Virtual Reality, Virtual Learning Environments, User-Centered Design, User-centered Evaluation.

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2962 Synthesis of Dispersion-Compensating Triangular Lattice Index-Guiding Photonic Crystal Fibers Using the Directed Tabu Search Method

Authors: F. Karim

Abstract:

In this paper, triangular lattice index-guiding photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are synthesized to compensate the chromatic dispersion of a single mode fiber (SMF-28) for an 80 km optical link operating at 1.55 µm, by using the directed tabu search algorithm. Hole-to-hole distance, circular air-hole diameter, solid-core diameter, ring number and PCF length parameters are optimized for this purpose. Three Synthesized PCFs with different physical parameters are compared in terms of their objective functions values, residual dispersions and compensation ratios.

Keywords: Triangular lattice index-guiding photonic crystal fiber, dispersion compensation, directed tabu search, synthesis.

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2961 Gimbal Structure for the Design of 3D Flywheel System

Authors: Cheng-En Tsai, Chung-Chun Hsiao, Fu-Yuan Chang, Liang-Lun Lan, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

New design of three dimensional (3D) flywheel system based on gimbal and gyro mechanics is proposed. The 3D flywheel device utilizes the rotational motion of three spherical shells and the conservation of angular momentum to achieve planar locomotion. Actuators mounted to the ring-shape frames are installed within the system to drive the spherical shells to rotate, for the purpose of steering and stabilization. Similar to the design of 2D flywheel system, it is expected that the spherical shells may function like a “flyball” to store and supply mechanical energy; additionally, in comparison with typical single-wheel and spherical robots, the 3D flywheel can be used for developing omnidirectional robotic systems with better mobility. The Lagrangian method is applied to derive the equation of motion of the 3D flywheel system, and simulation studies are presented to verify the proposed design.

Keywords: Gimbal, spherical robot, gyroscope, Lagrangian formulation, flyball.

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2960 Gimbal Structure for the Design of 3D Flywheel System

Authors: Cheng-En Tsai, Chung-Chun Hsiao, Fu-Yuan Chang, Liang-Lun Lan, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

New design of three dimensional (3D) flywheel system based on gimbal and gyro mechanics is proposed. The 3D flywheel device utilizes the rotational motion of three spherical shells and the conservation of angular momentum to achieve planar locomotion. Actuators mounted to the ring-shape frames are installed within the system to drive the spherical shells to rotate, for the purpose of steering and stabilization. Similar to the design of 2D flywheel system, it is expected that the spherical shells may function like a “flyball” to store and supply mechanical energy; additionally, in comparison with typical single-wheel and spherical robots, the 3D flywheel can be used for developing omnidirectional robotic systems with better mobility. The Lagrangian method is applied to derive the equation of motion of the 3D flywheel system, and simulation studies are presented to verify the proposed design.

Keywords: Gimbal, spherical robot, gyroscope, Lagrangian formulation, flyball.

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2959 UD Covariance Factorization for Unscented Kalman Filter using Sequential Measurements Update

Authors: H. Ghanbarpour Asl, S. H. Pourtakdoust

Abstract:

Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is probably the most widely used estimation algorithm for nonlinear systems. However, not only it has difficulties arising from linearization but also many times it becomes numerically unstable because of computer round off errors that occur in the process of its implementation. To overcome linearization limitations, the unscented transformation (UT) was developed as a method to propagate mean and covariance information through nonlinear transformations. Kalman filter that uses UT for calculation of the first two statistical moments is called Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). Square-root form of UKF (SRUKF) developed by Rudolph van der Merwe and Eric Wan to achieve numerical stability and guarantee positive semi-definiteness of the Kalman filter covariances. This paper develops another implementation of SR-UKF for sequential update measurement equation, and also derives a new UD covariance factorization filter for the implementation of UKF. This filter is equivalent to UKF but is computationally more efficient.

Keywords: Unscented Kalman filter, Square-root unscentedKalman filter, UD covariance factorization, Target tracking.

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2958 Prediction of Oxygen Transfer and Gas Hold-Up in Pneumatic Bioreactors Containing Viscous Newtonian Fluids

Authors: Caroline E. Mendes, Alberto C. Badino

Abstract:

Pneumatic reactors have been widely employed in various sectors of the chemical industry, especially where are required high heat and mass transfer rates. This study aimed to obtain correlations that allow the prediction of gas hold-up (Ԑ) and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa), and compare these values, for three models of pneumatic reactors on two scales utilizing Newtonian fluids. Values of kLa ​​were obtained using the dynamic pressure-step method, while e was used for a new proposed measure. Comparing the three models of reactors studied, it was observed that the mass transfer was superior to draft-tube airlift, reaching e of 0.173 and kLa of 0.00904s-1. All correlations showed good fit to the experimental data (R2≥94%), and comparisons with correlations from the literature demonstrate the need for further similar studies due to shortage of data available, mainly for airlift reactors and high viscosity fluids.

Keywords: Bubble column, internal loop airlift, gas hold-up, kLa.

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2957 An Intelligent Optimization Model for Multi-objective Order Allocation Planning

Authors: W. K. Wong, Z. X. Guo, P.Y. Mok

Abstract:

This paper presents a multi-objective order allocation planning problem with the consideration of various real-world production features. A novel hybrid intelligent optimization model, integrating a multi-objective memetic optimization process, a Monte Carlo simulation technique and a heuristic pruning technique, is proposed to handle this problem. Experiments based on industrial data are conducted to validate the proposed model. Results show that (1) the proposed model can effectively solve the investigated problem by providing effective production decision-making solutions, which outperformsan NSGA-II-based optimization process and an industrial method.

Keywords: Multi-objective order allocation planning, Pareto optimization, Memetic algorithm, Mento Carlo simulation

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2956 Tailoring the Sharpness of Tungsten Nanotips via Laser Irradiation Enhanced Etching in KOH

Authors: D. D. Wang, J.C. Lam, Z. H. Mai

Abstract:

Controlled modification of appropriate sharpness for nanotips is of paramount importance to develop novel materials and functional devices at a nanometer resolution. Herein, we present a reliable and unique strategy of laser irradiation enhanced physicochemical etching to manufacture super sharp tungsten tips with reproducible shape and dimension as well as high yields (~80%). The corresponding morphology structure evolution of tungsten tips and laser-tip interaction mechanisms were systematically investigated and discussed using field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) and physical optics statistics method with different fluences under 532 nm laser irradiation. This work paves the way for exploring more accessible metallic tips applications with tunable apex diameter and aspect ratio, and, furthermore, facilitates the potential sharpening enhancement technique for other materials used in a variety of nanoscale devices.

Keywords: Tungsten tip sharpening, Laser irradiation, Physicochemical etching, Light-matter interaction.

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2955 Municipal Solid Waste Management in KhoramAbad City and Experiences

Authors: Ali Jafari, Hatam Godini, Saed Hamed Mirhousaini

Abstract:

This paper presents an overview of current municipal solid waste management in Khoram Abad city. According to data collected by the local authorities, the waste generation rate is estimated to be 800 g/cap.d with density of 243 kg/m3. Solid waste is stored in different types of containers at the source of generation in different areas of the city. Local Authority is responsible for waste collection, transportation. Municipality is responsible for waste collection, using private sector contracts. At present, both mechanical and manual methods are used to collect residential waste. Manual methods of collection are the most commonly used for waste collection in most parts of the city. Land filling is the main disposal method in this city. But it has some obvious problem and deficiencies The current state of solid waste management has been improved slightly in the last decade. By more actions can reduce the human and environmental risks.

Keywords: Disposal, Landfill, management, solid waste.

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2954 Controllability of Efficiency of Antiviral Therapy in Hepatitis B Virus Infections

Authors: Shyam S.N. Perera

Abstract:

An optimal control problem for a mathematical model of efficiency of antiviral therapy in hepatitis B virus infections is considered. The aim of the study is to control the new viral production, block the new infection cells and maintain the number of uninfected cells in the given range. The optimal controls represent the efficiency of antiviral therapy in inhibiting viral production and preventing new infections. Defining the cost functional, the optimal control problem is converted into the constrained optimization problem and the first order optimality system is derived. For the numerical simulation, we propose the steepest descent algorithm based on the adjoint variable method. A computer program in MATLAB is developed for the numerical simulations.

Keywords: Virus infection model, Optimal control, Adjoint system, Steepest descent

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2953 Using Focus Group Method to Identify Citizen Requirements to Saudi Mobile Government Services

Authors: S. Alotaibi, D. Roussinov

Abstract:

Mobile government services implementation faces several challenges in developing countries. This paper studies some of those challenges in the context of Saudi Arabia. The study aims to investigate factors affecting m-government acceptance in Saudi Arabia, including ease of use, usefulness, service quality, trust, intention to use and users’ satisfaction. Our investigation will help in integrating the m-government services in citizens’ everyday life. We collected and analyzed our data from focus groups. These focus groups are from King Saud University and Imam Muhammed Bin Saud University, so the samples size are five and seven participants, respectively. We found that there are some factors to identifying citizen requirements to Saudi mobile government services. These services should be easy to use and not require too much effort. Also, these services must be fully trusted.

Keywords: E-government, M-government, focus group, Saudi mobile government services.

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2952 A Low Complexity Frequency Offset Estimation for MB-OFDM based UWB Systems

Authors: Wang Xue, Liu Dan, Liu Ying, Wang Molin, Qian Zhihong

Abstract:

A low-complexity, high-accurate frequency offset estimation for multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) based ultra-wide band systems is presented regarding different carrier frequency offsets, different channel frequency responses, different preamble patterns in different bands. Utilizing a half-cycle Constant Amplitude Zero Auto Correlation (CAZAC) sequence as the preamble sequence, the estimator with a semi-cross contrast scheme between two successive OFDM symbols is proposed. The CRLB and complexity of the proposed algorithm are derived. Compared to the reference estimators, the proposed method achieves significantly less complexity (about 50%) for all preamble patterns of the MB-OFDM systems. The CRLBs turn out to be of well performance.

Keywords: CAZAC, Frequency Offset, Semi-cross Contrast, MB-OFDM, UWB

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2951 Periodontal Disease or Cement Disease? New Frontier in the Treatment of Periodontal Disease in Dogs

Authors: C. Gallottini, W. Di Mari, A. Amaddeo, K. Barbaro, A. Dolci, G. Dolci, L. Gallottini, G. Barraco, S. Eramo

Abstract:

A group of 10 dogs (group A) with Periodontal Disease in the third stage, were subjected to regenerative therapy of periodontal tissues, by use of nano hydroxy apatite (NHA). These animals induced by general anesthesia, where treated by ultrasonic scaling, root planning, and at the end by a mucogingival flap in which it was applied NHA. The flap was closed and sutured with simple steps. Another group of 10 dogs (group B), control group, was treated only by scaling and root planning. No patient was subjected to antibiotic therapy. After three months, a check was made by inspection of the oral cavity, radiography and bone biopsy at the alveolar level. Group A showed a total restitutio ad integrum of the periodontal structures, and in group B still mild gingivitis in 70% of cases and 30% of the state remains unchanged. Numerous experimental studies both in animals and humans have documented that the grafts of porous hydroxyapatite are rapidly invaded by fibrovascular tissue which is subsequently converted into mature lamellar bone tissue by activating osteoblast. Since we acted on the removal of necrotic cementum and rehabilitating the root tissue by polishing without intervention in the ligament but only on anatomical functional interface of cement-blasts, we can connect the positive evolution of the clinical-only component of the cement that could represent this perspective, the only reason that Periodontal Disease become a Cement Disease, while all other clinical elements as nothing more than a clinical pathological accompanying.

Keywords: Nanoidroxiaphatite, Parodontal Disease, Rigenerative Therapy.

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2950 Quality Control of Automotive Gearbox Based On Vibration Signal Analysis

Authors: Nilson Barbieri, Bruno Matos Martins, Gabriel de Sant'Anna Vitor Barbieri

Abstract:

In more complex systems, such as automotive gearbox, a rigorous treatment of the data is necessary because there are several moving parts (gears, bearings, shafts, etc.), and in this way, there are several possible sources of errors and also noise. The basic objective of this work is the detection of damage in automotive gearbox. The detection methods used are the wavelet method, the bispectrum; advanced filtering techniques (selective filtering) of vibrational signals and mathematical morphology. Gearbox vibration tests were performed (gearboxes in good condition and with defects) of a production line of a large vehicle assembler. The vibration signals are obtained using five accelerometers in different positions of the sample. The results obtained using the kurtosis, bispectrum, wavelet and mathematical morphology showed that it is possible to identify the existence of defects in automotive gearboxes.

Keywords: Automotive gearbox, mathematical morphology, wavelet, bispectrum.

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2949 Photograph Based Pair-matching Recognition of Human Faces

Authors: Min Yao, Kota Aoki, Hiroshi Nagahashi

Abstract:

In this paper, a novel system recognition of human faces without using face different color photographs is proposed. It mainly in face detection, normalization and recognition. Foot method of combination of Haar-like face determined segmentation and region-based histogram stretchi (RHST) is proposed to achieve more accurate perf using Haar. Apart from an effective angle norm side-face (pose) normalization, which is almost a might be important and beneficial for the prepr introduced. Then histogram-based and photom normalization methods are investigated and ada retinex (ASR) is selected for its satisfactory illumin Finally, weighted multi-block local binary pattern with 3 distance measures is applied for pair-mat Experimental results show its advantageous perfo with PCA and multi-block LBP, based on a principle.

Keywords: Face detection, pair-matching rec normalization, skin color segmentation.

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2948 Numerical Study of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor: Longitudinal and Transverse Detection of Temperature and Strain

Authors: K. Khelil, H. Ammar, K. Saouchi

Abstract:

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) structure is an periodically modulated optical fiber. It acts as a selective filter of wavelength whose reflected peak is called Bragg wavelength and it depends on the period of the fiber and the refractive index. The simulation of FBG is based on solving the Coupled Mode Theory equation by using the Transfer Matrix Method which is carried out using MATLAB. It is found that spectral reflectivity is shifted when the change of temperature and strain is uniform. Under non-uniform temperature or strain perturbation, the spectrum is both shifted and destroyed. In case of transverse loading, reflectivity spectrum is split into two peaks, the first is specific to X axis, and the second belongs to Y axis. FBGs are used in civil engineering to detect perturbations applied to buildings.

Keywords: Bragg wavelength, coupled mode theory, optical fiber, temperature measurement.

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2947 Is the Sense of Community towards Participation in Tourism Development among the Minorities in Multiracial Countries the Same?

Authors: Nur Shahirah Mior Sharifuddin, Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari, Muaz Aizuddin, Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah

Abstract:

This paper investigates and compares the community support for tourism development between two groups of minority ethnic descendants in Malacca, Malaysia, namely the Baba-Nyonya and Portuguese. A descriptive research design using a quantitative method with self-reported and self-administered questionnaires through across-sectional approach was applied. Through the descriptive and inferential statistics, some significantly useful insights pertaining to the issue investigated were obtained. The research outcomes indicate that the sense of community is somewhat more effective in small communities in terms of togetherness, closeness and a sense of belonging compared to the slightly bigger minority group. In addition, the sense of community attributes through membership, influence, integration and shared emotional connections contributes to community participation in tourism development regardless of which ethnic group one belongs to.

Keywords: Participation, minority, tourism, development.

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2946 Development of Autonomous Cable Inspection Robot for Nuclear Power Plant

Authors: Jae-Kyung LEE, Byung-Hak CHO, Kyung-Nam Jang, Sun-Chul Jung, Ki-Yong OH, Joon-Young PARK, Jong-Seog Kim

Abstract:

The cables in a nuclear power plant are designed to be used for about 40 years in safe operation environment. However, the heat and radiation in the nuclear power plant causes the rapid performance deterioration of cables in nuclear vessels and heat exchangers, which requires cable lifetime estimation. The most accurate method of estimating the cable lifetime is to evaluate the cables in a laboratory. However, removing cables while the plant is operating is not allowed because of its safety and cost. In this paper, a robot system to estimate the cable lifetime in nuclear power plants is developed and tested. The developed robot system can calculate a modulus value to estimate the cable lifetime even when the nuclear power plant is in operation.

Keywords: Autonomous robot, Cable Inspection, Indenter, Nuclear Power Plant

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2945 Micromechanical Modeling of Fiber-Matrix Debonding in Unidirectional Composites

Authors: M. Palizvan, M. T. Abadi, M. H. Sadr

Abstract:

Due to variations in damage mechanisms in the microscale, the behavior of fiber-reinforced composites is nonlinear and difficult to model. To make use of computational advantages, homogenization method is applied to the micro-scale model in order to minimize the cost at the expense of detail of local microscale phenomena. In this paper, the effective stiffness is calculated using the homogenization of nonlinear behavior of a composite representative volume element (RVE) containing fiber-matrix debonding. The damage modes for the RVE are considered by using cohesive elements and contacts for the cohesive behavior of the interface between fiber and matrix. To predict more realistic responses of composite materials, different random distributions of fibers are proposed besides square and hexagonal arrays. It was shown that in some cases, there is quite different damage behavior in different fiber distributions. A comprehensive comparison has been made between different graphs.

Keywords: Homogenization, cohesive zone model, fiber-matrix debonding, RVE.

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2944 Optimal Risk Reduction in the Railway Industry by Using Dynamic Programming

Authors: Michael Todinov, Eberechi Weli

Abstract:

The paper suggests for the first time the use of dynamic programming techniques for optimal risk reduction in the railway industry. It is shown that by using the concept ‘amount of removed risk by a risk reduction option’, the problem related to optimal allocation of a fixed budget to achieve a maximum risk reduction in the railway industry can be reduced to an optimisation problem from dynamic programming. For n risk reduction options and size of the available risk reduction budget B (expressed as integer number), the worst-case running time of the proposed algorithm is O (n x (B+1)), which makes the proposed method a very efficient tool for solving the optimal risk reduction problem in the railway industry. 

Keywords: Optimisation, railway risk reduction, budget constraints, dynamic programming.

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2943 On the Representation of Actuator Faults Diagnosis and Systems Invertibility

Authors: Sallem F., Dahhou B., Kamoun A.

Abstract:

In this work, the main problem considered is the  detection and the isolation of the actuator fault. A new formulation of  the linear system is generated to obtain the conditions of the actuator  fault diagnosis. The proposed method is based on the representation  of the actuator as a subsystem connected with the process system in  cascade manner. The designed formulation is generated to obtain the  conditions of the actuator fault detection and isolation. Detectability  conditions are expressed in terms of the invertibility notions. An  example and a comparative analysis with the classic formulation  illustrate the performances of such approach for simple actuator fault  diagnosis by using the linear model of nuclear reactor.

 

Keywords: Actuator fault, Fault detection, left invertibility, nuclear reactor, observability, parameter intervals, system inversion.

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2942 A New Method for Contour Approximation Using Basic Ramer Idea

Authors: Ali Abdrhman Ukasha

Abstract:

This paper presented two new efficient algorithms for contour approximation. The proposed algorithm is compared with Ramer (good quality), Triangle (faster) and Trapezoid (fastest) in this work; which are briefly described. Cartesian co-ordinates of an input contour are processed in such a manner that finally contours is presented by a set of selected vertices of the edge of the contour. In the paper the main idea of the analyzed procedures for contour compression is performed. For comparison, the mean square error and signal-to-noise ratio criterions are used. Computational time of analyzed methods is estimated depending on a number of numerical operations. Experimental results are obtained both in terms of image quality, compression ratios, and speed. The main advantages of the analyzed algorithm is small numbers of the arithmetic operations compared to the existing algorithms.

Keywords: Polygonal approximation, Ramer, Triangle and Trapezoid methods.

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2941 The Survey and the Comparison of Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobis Distance and Minimum Distance Methods in Preparing Landuse Map in the Western Part of Isfahan Province

Authors: Ali Gholami, M.Esfadiari, M.H.Masihabadi

Abstract:

In this research three methods of Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobis Distance and Minimum Distance were analyzed in the Western part of Isfahan province in the Iran country. For this purpose, the IRS satellite images and various land preparation uses in region including rangelands, irrigation farming, dry farming, gardens and urban areas were separated and identified. In these methods, matrix error and Kappa index were calculated and accuracy of each method, based on percentages: 53.13, 56.64 and 48.44, were obtained respectively. Considering the low accuracy of these methods to separate land uses due to spread of the land uses, it-s suggested the visual interpretation of the map, to preparing the land use map in this region. The map prepared by visual interpretation is in high accuracy if it will be accompany with the visit of the region.

Keywords: Aghche Region, land use map, MaximumLikelihood, Mahalanobis Distance and Minimum Distance.

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2940 Detection and Analysis of Deficiencies in Groundnut Plant using Geometric Moments

Authors: Sumeet S. Nisale, Chandan J. Bharambe, Vidya N.More

Abstract:

We propose our genuine research of geometric moments which detects the mineral inadequacy in the frail groundnut plant. This plant is prone to many deficiencies as a result of the variance in the soil nutrients. By analyzing the leaves of the plant, we detect the visual symptoms that are not recognizable to the naked eyes. We have collected about 160 samples of leaves from the nearby fields. The images have been taken by keeping every leaf into a black box to avoid the external interference. For the first time, it has been possible to provide the farmer with the stages of deficiencies. This paper has applied the algorithms successfully to many other plants like Lady-s finger, Green Bean, Lablab Bean, Chilli and Tomato. But we submit the results of the groundnut predominantly. The accuracy of our algorithm and method is almost 93%. This will again pioneer a kind of green revolution in the field of agriculture and will be a boon to that field.

Keywords: Component image, geometric moments, average intensity, average affected area, black box

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2939 Improving Utilization of Sugarcane by Replacing Ordinary Propagation Material with Small Chips of Sugarcane Planted in Paper Pots

Authors: C. Garcia, C. Andreasen

Abstract:

Sugarcane is an important resource for bioenergy. Fields are usually established by using 15-20 cm pieces of sugarcane stalks as propagation material. An alternative method is to use small chips with nodes from sugarcane stalks. Plants from nodes are often established in plastic pots, but plastic pots could be replaced with biodegradable paper pots. This would be a more sustainable solution, reducing labor costs and avoiding pollution with plastic. We compared the establishment of plants from nodes taken from three different part of the sugarcane plant. The nodes were planted in plastic and paper pots. There was no significant difference between plants established in the two pot types. Nodes from different part of the stalk had different sprouting capacity. Nodes from the top parts sprouted significantly better than nodes taken from the middle or nodes taken closed to the ground in two experiments. Nodes with a length of 3 cm performed better than nodes with a length of 2 cm.

Keywords: Nodes, paper pots, propagation, sugarcane.

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