Search results for: quantum secure direct communcation efficiency
2980 Self-evolving Artificial Immune System via Developing T and B Cell for Permutation Flow-shop Scheduling Problems
Authors: Pei-Chann Chang, Wei-Hsiu Huang, Ching-Jung Ting, Hwei-Wen Luo, Yu-Peng Yu
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Artificial Immune System is applied as a Heuristic Algorithm for decades. Nevertheless, many of these applications took advantage of the benefit of this algorithm but seldom proposed approaches for enhancing the efficiency. In this paper, a Self-evolving Artificial Immune System is proposed via developing the T and B cell in Immune System and built a self-evolving mechanism for the complexities of different problems. In this research, it focuses on enhancing the efficiency of Clonal selection which is responsible for producing Affinities to resist the invading of Antigens. T and B cell are the main mechanisms for Clonal Selection to produce different combinations of Antibodies. Therefore, the development of T and B cell will influence the efficiency of Clonal Selection for searching better solution. Furthermore, for better cooperation of the two cells, a co-evolutional strategy is applied to coordinate for more effective productions of Antibodies. This work finally adopts Flow-shop scheduling instances in OR-library to validate the proposed algorithm.Keywords: Artificial Immune System, Clonal Selection, Flow-shop Scheduling Problems, Co-evolutional strategy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17532979 Sustainable Urban Transport Management and Its Strategies
Authors: Touba Amirazodi
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Rapid process of urbanism development has increased the demand for some infrastructures such as supplying potable water, electricity network and transportation facilities and etc. Nonefficiency of the existing system with parallel managements of urban traffic management has increased the gap between supply and demand of traffic facilities. A sustainable transport system requires some activities more important than air pollution control, traffic or fuel consumption reduction and the studies show that there is no unique solution for solving complicated transportation problems and solving such a problem needs a comprehensive, dynamic and reliable mechanism. Sustainable transport management considers the effects of transportation development on economic efficiency, environmental issues, resources consumption, land use and social justice and helps reduction of environmental effects, increase of transportation system efficiency as well as improvement of social life and aims to enhance efficiency, goods transportation, provide services with minimum access problems that cannot be realized without reorganization of strategies, policies and plans.Keywords: Sustainable Urban Transport, Environment, Social Justice, Air Pollution
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25372978 Investigation of Green Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Natural Dyes
Authors: M. Hosseinnezhad, K. Gharanjig
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Natural dyes, extracted from black carrot and bramble, were utilized as photosensitizers to prepare dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Spectrophotometric studies of the natural dyes in solution and on a titanium dioxide substrate were carried out in order to assess changes in the status of the dyes. The results show that the bathochromic shift is seen on the photo-electrode substrate. The chemical binding of the natural dyes at the surface photo-electrode were increased by the chelating effect of the Ti(IV) ions. The cyclic voltammetry results showed that all extracts are suitable to be performed in DSSCs. Finally, photochemical performance and stability of DSSCs based on natural dyes were studied. The DSSCs sensitized by black carrot extract have been reported to achieve up to Jsc=1.17 mAcm-2, Voc= 0.55 V, FF= 0.52, η=0.34%, whereas Bramble extract can obtain up to Jsc=2.24 mAcm-2, Voc= 0.54 V, FF= 0.57, η=0.71%. The power conversion efficiency was obtained from the mixed dyes in DSSCs. The power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells using mixed Black carrot and Bramble dye is the average of the their efficiency in single DSSCs.
Keywords: Anthocyanin, dye-sensitized solar cells, green energy, optical materials.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10912977 Electronic Government in the GCC Countries
Authors: A.M. Al-Khouri, J. Bal
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The study investigated the practices of organisations in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with regards to G2C egovernment maturity. It reveals that e-government G2C initiatives in the surveyed countries in particular, and arguably around the world in general, are progressing slowly because of the lack of a trusted and secure medium to authenticate the identities of online users. The authors conclude that national ID schemes will play a major role in helping governments reap the benefits of e-government if the three advanced technologies of smart card, biometrics and public key infrastructure (PKI) are utilised to provide a reliable and trusted authentication medium for e-government services.
Keywords: e-Government, G2C, national ID, online authentication, biometrics, PKI, smart card.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20452976 Enhancing Efficiency for Reducing Sugar from Cassava Bagasse by Pretreatment
Authors: S. Gaewchingduang, P. Pengthemkeerati
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Cassava bagasse is one of major biomass wastes in Thailand from starch processing industry, which contains high starch content of about 60%. The object of this study was to investigate the optimal condition for hydrothermally pretreating cassava baggasses with or without acid addition. The pretreated samples were measured reducing sugar yield directly or after enzymatic hydrolysis (alpha-amylase). In enzymatic hydrolysis, the highest reducing sugar content was obtained under hydrothermal conditions for at 125oC for 30 min. The result shows that pretreating cassava baggasses increased the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis. For acid hydrolysis, pretreating cassava baggasses with sulfuric acid at 120oC for 60 min gave a maximum reducing sugar yield. In this study, sulfuric acid had a greater capacity for hydrolyzing cassava baggasses than phosphoric acid. In comparison, dilute acid hydrolysis to provide a higher yield of reducing sugar than the enzymatic hydrolysis combined hydrothermal pretreatment. However, enzymatic hydrolysis in a combination with hydrothermal pretreatment was an alternative to enhance efficiency reducing sugar production from cassava bagasse.
Keywords: Acid hydrolysis, cassava bagasse, enzymatic hydrolysis, hydrothermal pretreatment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29932975 Overview of Energy Savings and Efficiency Strategies at the Hospitals
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Hospitals represent approximately 6% of total energy consumption in the utility buildings sector. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are the major part of electrical energy consumption at the hospitals. The air-conditioning system is responsible for around 70% of total electricity consumption. Electric motors and lighting systems in a hospital represent approximately 19% and 21% of the total energy consumption, respectively. In this paper, profiles of hospital energy end-use consumption and an overview of energy saving areas at the hospitals are presented.
Keywords: Energy efficiency, energy saving, healthcare energy consumption, hospital.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 50212974 Stator-Flux-Oriented Based Encoderless Direct Torque Control for Synchronous Reluctance Machines Using Sliding Mode Approach
Authors: J. Soltani, H. Abootorabi Zarchi, Gh. R. Arab Markadeh
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In this paper a sliding-mode torque and flux control is designed for encoderless synchronous reluctance motor drive. The sliding-mode plus PI controllers are designed in the stator-flux field oriented reference frame which is able to track the mentioned reference signals with a minimum pulsations in the state condition. In addition, with these controllers a fast dynamic response is also achieved for the drive system. The proposed control scheme is robust subject to parameters variation except to stator resistance. To solve this problem a simple estimator is used for on-line detecting of this parameter. Moreover, the rotor position and speed are estimated by on-line obtaining of the stator-flux-space vector. The effectiveness and capability of the proposed control approach is verified by both the simulation and experimental results.Keywords: Synchronous Reluctance Motor, Direct Torque and Flux Control, Sliding Mode, Field-Oriented Frame, Encoderless.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25862973 Design and Analysis of Highly Efficient and Reliable Single-Phase Transformerless Inverter for PV Systems
Authors: L. Ashok Kumar, N. Sujith Kumar
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Most of the PV systems are designed with transformer for safety purpose with galvanic isolation. However, the transformer is big, heavy and expensive. Also, it reduces the overall frequency of the conversion stage. Generally PV inverter with transformer is having efficiency around 92%–94% only. To overcome these problems, transformerless PV system is introduced. It is smaller, lighter, cheaper and higher in efficiency. However, dangerous leakage current will flow between PV array and the grid due to the stray capacitance. There are different types of configurations available for transformerless inverters like H5, H6, HERIC, oH5, and Dual paralleled buck inverter. But each configuration is suffering from its own disadvantages like high conduction losses, shoot-through issues of switches, dead-time requirements at zero crossing instants of grid voltage to avoid grid shoot-through faults and MOSFET reverse recovery issues. The main objective of the proposed transformerless inverter is to address two key issues: One key issue for a transformerless inverter is that it is necessary to achieve high efficiency compared to other existing inverter topologies. Another key issue is that the inverter configuration should not have any shoot-through issues for higher reliability.
Keywords: Leakage current, common mode (CM), photovoltaic (PV) systems, pulse width modulation (PWM).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35692972 Mathematical Simulation of Bubble Column Slurry Reactor for Direct Dimethyl Ether Synthesis Process from Syngas
Authors: Zhen Chen, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying, Dingye Fang
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Based on a global kinetics of direct dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis process from syngas, a steady-state one-dimensional mathematical model for the bubble column slurry reactor (BCSR) has been established. It was built on the assumption of plug flow of gas phase, sedimentation-dispersion model of catalyst grains and isothermal chamber regardless of reaction heats and rates for the design of an industrial scale bubble column slurry reactor. The simulation results indicate that higher pressure and lower temperature were favorable to the increase of CO conversion, DME selectivity, products yield and the height of slurry bed, which has a coincidence with the characteristic of DME synthesis reaction system, and that the height of slurry bed is lessen with the increasing of operation temperature in the range of 220-260℃. CO conversion, the optimal operation conditions in BCSR were proposed.
Keywords: Alcohol/ether fuel, bubble column slurry reactor, global kinetics, mathematical model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26332971 Key Exchange Protocol over Insecure Channel
Authors: Alaa Fahmy
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Key management represents a major and the most sensitive part of cryptographic systems. It includes key generation, key distribution, key storage, and key deletion. It is also considered the hardest part of cryptography. Designing secure cryptographic algorithms is hard, and keeping the keys secret is much harder. Cryptanalysts usually attack both symmetric and public key cryptosystems through their key management. We introduce a protocol to exchange cipher keys over insecure communication channel. This protocol is based on public key cryptosystem, especially elliptic curve cryptosystem. Meanwhile, it tests the cipher keys and selects only the good keys and rejects the weak one.Keywords: Key management and key distribution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14952970 Modified Montgomery for RSA Cryptosystem
Authors: Rupali Verma, Maitreyee Dutta, Renu Vig
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Encryption and decryption in RSA are done by modular exponentiation which is achieved by repeated modular multiplication. Hence efficiency of modular multiplication directly determines the efficiency of RSA cryptosystem. This paper designs a Modified Montgomery Modular Multiplication in which addition of operands is computed by 4:2 compressor. The basic logic operations in addition are partitioned over two iterations such that parallel computations are performed. This reduces the critical path delay of proposed Montgomery design. The proposed design and RSA are implemented on Virtex 2 and Virtex 5 FPGAs. The two factors partitioning and parallelism have improved the frequency and throughput of proposed design.
Keywords: RSA, Montgomery modular multiplication, 4:2 compressor, FPGA.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26182969 Exploring Unexplored Horizons: Advanced Fluid Mechanics Solutions for Sustainable Energy Technologies
Authors: Elvira S. Castillo, Surupa Shaw
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This paper explores advanced applications of fluid mechanics in the context of sustainable energy. By examining the integration of fluid dynamics with renewable energy technologies, the research uncovers previously underutilized strategies for improving efficiency. Through theoretical analyses, the study demonstrates how fluid mechanics can be harnessed to optimize renewable energy systems. The findings contribute to expanding knowledge in sustainable energy by offering practical insights and methodologies for future research and technological advancements to address global energy challenges.
Keywords: Fluid mechanics, sustainable energy, energy efficiency, green energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 842968 Exergy Based Performance Analysis of Double Flow Solar Air Heater with Corrugated Absorber
Authors: S. P. Sharma, Som Nath Saha
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This paper presents the performance, based on exergy analysis of double flow solar air heaters with corrugated and flat plate absorber. A mathematical model of double flow solar air heater based on energy balance equations has been presented and the results obtained have been compared with that of a conventional flat-plate solar air heater. The double flow corrugated absorber solar air heater performs thermally better than the flat plate double flow and conventional flat-plate solar air heater under same operating conditions. However, the corrugated absorber leads to higher pressure drop thereby increasing pumping power. The results revealed that the energy and exergy efficiencies of double flow corrugated absorber solar air heater is much higher than conventional solar air heater with the concept involving of increase in heat transfer surface area and turbulence in air flow. The results indicate that the energy efficiency increases, however, exergy efficiency decreases with increase in mass flow rate.
Keywords: Corrugated absorber, double flow, exergy efficiency, solar air heater.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9462967 Framework Study on Single Assembly Line to Improve Productivity with Six Sigma and Line Balancing Approach
Authors: Inaki Maulida Hakim, T. Yuri M. Zagloel, Astari Wulandari
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Six sigma is a framework that is used to identify inefficiency so that the cause of inefficiency will be known and right improvement to overcome cause of inefficiency can be conducted. This paper presents result of implementing six sigma to improve piston assembly line in Manufacturing Laboratory, Universitas Indonesia. Six sigma framework will be used to analyze the significant factor of inefficiency that needs to be improved which causes bottleneck in assembly line. After analysis based on six sigma framework conducted, line balancing method was chosen for improvement to overcome causative factor of inefficiency which is differences time between workstation that causes bottleneck in assembly line. Then after line balancing conducted in piston assembly line, the result is increase in efficiency. Efficiency is shown in the decreasing of Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO) from 900,000 to 700,000, the increasing of level of labor productivity from 0.0041 to 0.00742, the decreasing of idle time from 121.3 seconds to 12.1 seconds, and the increasing of output, which is from 1 piston in 5 minutes become 3 pistons in 5 minutes.
Keywords: Assembly line, efficiency, improvement, line balancing, productivity, six sigma, workstation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18282966 Finite Element Assessment on Bond Behavior of FRP-to-Concrete Joints under Cyclic Loading
Authors: F. Atheer, Al-Saoudi, Robin Kalfat, Riadh Al-Mahaidi
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Over the last two decades, externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites bonded to concrete substrates has become a popular method for strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) highway and railway bridges. Such structures are exposed to severe cyclic loading throughout their lifetime often resulting in fatigue damage to structural components and a reduction in the service life of the structure. Since experimental and numerical results on the fatigue performance of FRP-to-concrete joints are still limited, the current research focuses on assessing the fatigue performance of externally bonded FRP-to-concrete joints using a direct shear test. Some early results indicate that the stress ratio and the applied cyclic stress level have a direct influence on the fatigue life of the externally bonded FRP. In addition, a calibrated finite element model is developed to provide further insight into the influence of certain parameters such as: concrete strength, FRP thickness, number of cycles, frequency, and stiffness on the fatigue life of the FRP-toconcrete joints.Keywords: FRP, concrete bond, control, fatigue, finite element model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19092965 TiO2 Nanowires as Efficient Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Waste-Water Treatment
Authors: Gul Afreen, Sreedevi Upadhyayula, Mahendra K. Sunkara
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One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures like nanowires, nanotubes, and nanorods find variety of practical application owing to their unique physico-chemical properties. In this work, TiO2 nanowires were synthesized by direct oxidation of titanium particles in a unique microwave plasma jet reactor. The prepared TiO2 nanowires manifested the flexible features, and were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer, UV-Visible and FTIR spectrophotometers, Scanning electron microscope, and Transmission electron microscope. Further, the photodegradation efficiency of these nanowires were tested against toxic organic dye like methylene blue (MB) and the results were compared with the commercial TiO2. It was found that TiO2 nanowires exhibited superior photocatalytic performance (89%) as compared to commercial TiO2 (75%) after 60 min of reaction. This is attributed to the lower recombination rate and increased interfacial charge transfer in TiO2 nanowire. Pseudo-first order kinetic modelling performed with the experimental results revealed that the rate constant of photodegradation in case of TiO2 nanowire was 1.3 times higher than that of commercial TiO2. Superoxide radical (O2˙−) was found to be the major contributor in the photodegradation mechanism. Based on the trapping experiments, a plausible mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction is discussed.
Keywords: Heterogeneous catalysis, photodegradation, reactive oxygen species, TiO2 nanowires.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9082964 Efficient Mean Shift Clustering Using Exponential Integral Kernels
Authors: S. Sutor, R. Röhr, G. Pujolle, R. Reda
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This paper presents a highly efficient algorithm for detecting and tracking humans and objects in video surveillance sequences. Mean shift clustering is applied on backgrounddifferenced image sequences. For efficiency, all calculations are performed on integral images. Novel corresponding exponential integral kernels are introduced to allow the application of nonuniform kernels for clustering, which dramatically increases robustness without giving up the efficiency of the integral data structures. Experimental results demonstrating the power of this approach are presented.
Keywords: Clustering, Integral Images, Kernels, Person Detection, Person Tracking, Intelligent Video Surveillance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15352963 Approximation Incremental Training Algorithm Based on a Changeable Training Set
Authors: Yi-Fan Zhu, Wei Zhang, Xuan Zhou, Qun Li, Yong-Lin Lei
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The quick training algorithms and accurate solution procedure for incremental learning aim at improving the efficiency of training of SVR, whereas there are some disadvantages for them, i.e. the nonconvergence of the formers for changeable training set and the inefficiency of the latter for a massive dataset. In order to handle the problems, a new training algorithm for a changeable training set, named Approximation Incremental Training Algorithm (AITA), was proposed. This paper explored the reason of nonconvergence theoretically and discussed the realization of AITA, and finally demonstrated the benefits of AITA both on precision and efficiency.Keywords: support vector regression, incremental learning, changeable training set, quick training algorithm, accurate solutionprocedure
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14932962 Evolved Bat Algorithm Based Adaptive Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control with LMI Criterion
Authors: P.-W. Tsai, C.-Y. Chen, C.-W. Chen
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In this paper, the stability analysis of a GA-Based adaptive fuzzy sliding model controller for a nonlinear system is discussed. First, a nonlinear plant is well-approximated and described with a reference model and a fuzzy model, both involving FLC rules. Then, FLC rules and the consequent parameter are decided on via an Evolved Bat Algorithm (EBA). After this, we guarantee a new tracking performance inequality for the control system. The tracking problem is characterized to solve an eigenvalue problem (EVP). Next, an adaptive fuzzy sliding model controller (AFSMC) is proposed to stabilize the system so as to achieve good control performance. Lyapunov’s direct method can be used to ensure the stability of the nonlinear system. It is shown that the stability analysis can reduce nonlinear systems into a linear matrix inequality (LMI) problem. Finally, a numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the control methodology.
Keywords: Adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control, Lyapunov direct method, swarm intelligence, evolved bat algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20772961 Measuring the Efficiency of Medical Equipment
Authors: Panagiotis H. Tsarouhas
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the reliability analysis of the medical equipments can help to increase the availability and the efficiency of the systems. In this manuscript we present a simple method of decomposition that could be easily applied on the complex medical systems. Using this method we can easily calculate the effect of the subsystems or components on the reliability of the overall system. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of subsystems or components on system performance, we perform a numerical study varying every time the worst reliability of subsystem or component with another which has higher reliability. It can also be useful to engineers and designers of medical equipment, who wishes to optimize the complex systems.Keywords: Reliability, Availability, Series-parallel System, medical equipment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24042960 A System Functions Set-Up through Near Field Communication of a Smartphone
Authors: Jaemyoung Lee
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We present a method to set up system functions through a near filed communication (NFC) of a smartphone. The short communication distance of the NFC which is usually less than 4 cm could prevent any interferences from other devices and establish a secure communication channel between a system and the smartphone. The proposed set-up method for system function values is demonstrated for a blacbox system in a car. In demonstration, system functions of a blackbox which is manipulated through NFC of a smartphone are controls of image quality, sound level, shock sensing level to store images, etc. The proposed set-up method for system function values can be used for any devices with NFC.Keywords: System set-up, near field communication, smartphone, Android.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17162959 Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization for Positioning of Residential Houses
Authors: Ayman El Ansary, Mohamed Shalaby
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The current study describes a multi-objective optimization technique for positioning of houses in a residential neighborhood. The main task is the placement of residential houses in a favorable configuration satisfying a number of objectives. Solving the house layout problem is a challenging task. It requires an iterative approach to satisfy design requirements (e.g. energy efficiency, skyview, daylight, roads network, visual privacy, and clear access to favorite views). These design requirements vary from one project to another based on location and client preferences. In the Gulf region, the most important socio-cultural factor is the visual privacy in indoor space. Hence, most of the residential houses in this region are surrounded by high fences to provide privacy, which has a direct impact on other requirements (e.g. daylight and direction to favorite views). This investigation introduces a novel technique to optimally locate and orient residential buildings to satisfy a set of design requirements. The developed technique explores the search space for possible solutions. This study considers two dimensional house planning problems. However, it can be extended to solve three dimensional cases.
Keywords: Evolutionary optimization, Houses planning, Urban modeling, Daylight, Visual Privacy, Residential compounds.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15552958 Analytic Network Process in Location Selection and Its Application to a Real Life Problem
Authors: Eylem Koç, Hasan Arda Burhan
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Location selection presents a crucial decision problem in today’s business world where strategic decision making processes have critical importance. Thus, location selection has strategic importance for companies in boosting their strength regarding competition, increasing corporate performances and efficiency in addition to lowering production and transportation costs. A right choice in location selection has a direct impact on companies’ commercial success. In this study, a store location selection problem of Carglass Turkey which operates in vehicle glass branch is handled. As this problem includes both tangible and intangible criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was accepted as the main methodology. The model consists of control hierarchy and BOCR subnetworks which include clusters of actors, alternatives and criteria. In accordance with the management’s choices, five different locations were selected. In addition to the literature review, a strict cooperation with the actor group was ensured and maintained while determining the criteria and during whole process. Obtained results were presented to the management as a report and its feasibility was confirmed accordingly.
Keywords: Analytic Network Process, BOCR, location selection, multi-actor decision making, multi-criteria decision making, real life problem.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20932957 Brand Equity and Factors Affecting Consumer-s Purchase Intention towards Luxury Brands in Bangkok Metropolitan Area
Authors: Sumalee Lekprayura
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The purposes of this research were 1) to study consumer-based equity of luxury brands, 2) to study consumers- purchase intention for luxury brands, 3) to study direct factors affecting purchase intention towards luxury brands, and 4) to study indirect factors affecting purchase intention towards luxury brands through brand consciousness and brand equity to analyze information by descriptive statistic and hierarchical stepwise regression analysis. The findings revealed that the eight variables of the framework which were: need for uniqueness, normative susceptibility, status consumption, brand consciousness, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association, and brand loyalty affected the purchase intention of the luxury brands (at the significance of 0.05). Brand Loyalty had the strongest direct effect while status consumption had the strongest indirect effect affecting the purchase intention towards luxury brands. Brand consciousness and brand equity had the mediators through the purchase intention of the luxury brands (at the significance of 0.05).Keywords: Brand Consciousness, Brand Equity, Luxury Brands, Purchase intention.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 51942956 Wasteless Solid-Phase Method for Conversion of Iron Ores Contaminated with Silicon and Phosphorus Compounds
Authors: А. V. Panko, Е. V. Ablets, I. G. Kovzun, М. А. Ilyashov
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Based upon generalized analysis of modern know-how in the sphere of processing, concentration and purification of iron-ore raw materials (IORM), in particular, the most widespread ferrioxide-silicate materials (FOSM), containing impurities of phosphorus and other elements compounds, noted special role of nanotechnological initiatives in improvement of such processes. Considered ideas of role of nanoparticles in processes of FOSM carbonization with subsequent direct reduction of ferric oxides contained in them to metal phase, as well as in processes of alkali treatment and separation of powered iron from phosphorus compounds. Using the obtained results the wasteless method of solid-phase processing, concentration and purification of IORM and FOSM from compounds of phosphorus, silicon and other impurities was developed and it excels known methods of direct iron reduction from iron ores and metallurgical slimes.
Keywords: Iron ores, solid-phase reduction, nanoparticles in reduction and purification of iron from silicon and phosphorus, wasteless method of ores processing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18042955 Predicting Foreign Direct Investment of IC Design Firms from Taiwan to East and South China Using Lotka-Volterra Model
Authors: Bi-Huei Tsai
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This work explores the inter-region investment behaviors of Integrated Circuit (IC) design industry from Taiwan to China using the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI). According to the mutual dependence among different IC design industrial locations, Lotka-Volterra model is utilized to explore the FDI interactions between South and East China. Effects of inter-regional collaborations on FDI flows into China are considered. The analysis results show that FDIs into South China for IC design industry significantly inspire the subsequent FDIs into East China, while FDIs into East China for Taiwan’s IC design industry significantly hinder the subsequent FDIs into South China. Because the supply chain along IC industry includes upstream IC design, midstream manufacturing, as well as downstream packing and testing enterprises, IC design industry has to cooperate with IC manufacturing, packaging and testing industries in the same area to form a strong IC industrial cluster. Taiwan’s IC design industry implement the largest FDI amount into East China and the second largest FDI amount into South China among the four regions: North, East, Mid-West and South China. If IC design houses undertake more FDIs in South China, those in East China are urged to incrementally implement more FDIs into East China to maintain the competitive advantages of the IC supply chain in East China. On the other hand, as the FDIs in East China rise, the FDIs in South China will successively decline since capitals have concentrated in East China. In addition, this investigation proves that the prediction of Lotka-Volterra model in FDI trends is accurate because the industrial interactions between the two regions are included. Finally, this work confirms that the FDI flows cannot reach a stable equilibrium point, so the FDI inflows into East and South China will expand in the future.Keywords: Lotka-Volterra model, Foreign direct investment, Competitive, Equilibrium analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14762954 Optimization of Lead Bioremediation by Marine Halomonas sp. ES015 Using Statistical Experimental Methods
Authors: Aliaa M. El-Borai, Ehab A. Beltagy, Eman E. Gadallah, Samy A. ElAssar
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Bioremediation technology is now used for treatment instead of traditional metal removal methods. A strain was isolated from Marsa Alam, Red sea, Egypt showed high resistance to high lead concentration and was identified by the 16S rRNA gene sequencing technique as Halomonas sp. ES015. Medium optimization was carried out using Plackett-Burman design, and the most significant factors were yeast extract, casamino acid and inoculums size. The optimized media obtained by the statistical design raised the removal efficiency from 84% to 99% from initial concentration 250 ppm of lead. Moreover, Box-Behnken experimental design was applied to study the relationship between yeast extract concentration, casamino acid concentration and inoculums size. The optimized medium increased removal efficiency to 97% from initial concentration 500 ppm of lead. Immobilized Halomonas sp. ES015 cells on sponge cubes, using optimized medium in loop bioremediation column, showed relatively constant lead removal efficiency when reused six successive cycles over the range of time interval. Also metal removal efficiency was not affected by flow rate changes. Finally, the results of this research refer to the possibility of lead bioremediation by free or immobilized cells of Halomonas sp. ES015. Also, bioremediation can be done in batch cultures and semicontinuous cultures using column technology.
Keywords: Bioremediation, lead, Box–Behnken, Halomonas sp. ES015, loop bioremediation, Plackett-Burman.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10232953 A ZVS Flyback DC-DC Converter using Multilayered Coreless Printed-Circuit Board(PCB) Step-down Power Transformer
Authors: Hari Babu Kotte, Radhika Ambatipudi, Dr. Kent Bertilsson
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The experimental and theoretical results of a ZVS (Zero Voltage Switching) isolated flyback DC-DC converter using multilayered coreless PCB step down 2:1 transformer are presented. The performance characteristics of the transformer are shown which are useful for the parameters extraction. The measured energy efficiency of the transformer is found to be more than 94% with the sinusoidal input voltage excitation. The designed flyback converter has been tested successfully upto the output power level of 10W, with a switching frequency in the range of 2.7MHz-4.3MHz. The input voltage of the converter is varied from 25V-40V DC. Frequency modulation technique is employed by maintaining constant off time to regulate the output voltage of the converter. The energy efficiency of the isolated flyback converter circuit under ZVS condition in the MHz frequency region is found to be approximately in the range of 72-84%. This paper gives the comparative results in terms of the energy efficiency of the hard switched and soft switched flyback converter in the MHz frequency region.Keywords: Coreless PCB step down transformer, DC-DCconverter, Flyback, Hard Switched Converter, MHz frequencyregion, Multilayered PCB transformer, Zero Voltage Switching
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42512952 ABURAS Index: A Statistically Developed Index for Dengue-Transmitting Vector Population Prediction
Authors: Hani M. Aburas
Abstract:
“Dengue" is an African word meaning “bone breaking" because it causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking. It is an infectious disease mainly transmitted by female mosquito, Aedes aegypti, and causes four serotypes of dengue viruses. In recent years, a dramatic increase in the dengue fever confirmed cases around the equator-s belt has been reported. Several conventional indices have been designed so far to monitor the transmitting vector populations known as House Index (HI), Container Index (CI), Breteau Index (BI). However, none of them describes the adult mosquito population size which is important to direct and guide comprehensive control strategy operations since number of infected people has a direct relationship with the vector density. Therefore, it is crucial to know the population size of the transmitting vector in order to design a suitable and effective control program. In this context, a study is carried out to report a new statistical index, ABURAS Index, using Poisson distribution based on the collection of vector population in Jeddah Governorate, Saudi Arabia.Keywords: Poisson distribution, statistical index, prediction, Aedes aegypti.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19232951 Comparison of Cyclone Design Methods for Removal of Fine Particles from Plasma Generated Syngas
Authors: Mareli Hattingh, I. Jaco Van der Walt, Frans B. Waanders
Abstract:
A waste-to-energy plasma system was designed by Necsa for commercial use to create electricity from unsorted municipal waste. Fly ash particles must be removed from the syngas stream at operating temperatures of 1000 °C and recycled back into the reactor for complete combustion. A 2D2D high efficiency cyclone separator was chosen for this purpose. During this study, two cyclone design methods were explored: The Classic Empirical Method (smaller cyclone) and the Flow Characteristics Method (larger cyclone). These designs were optimized with regard to efficiency, so as to remove at minimum 90% of the fly ash particles of average size 10 μm by 50 μm. Wood was used as feed source at a concentration of 20 g/m3 syngas. The two designs were then compared at room temperature, using Perspex test units and three feed gases of different densities, namely nitrogen, helium and air. System conditions were imitated by adapting the gas feed velocity and particle load for each gas respectively. Helium, the least dense of the three gases, would simulate higher temperatures, whereas air, the densest gas, simulates a lower temperature. The average cyclone efficiencies ranged between 94.96% and 98.37%, reaching up to 99.89% in individual runs. The lowest efficiency attained was 94.00%. Furthermore, the design of the smaller cyclone proved to be more robust, while the larger cyclone demonstrated a stronger correlation between its separation efficiency and the feed temperatures. The larger cyclone can be assumed to achieve slightly higher efficiencies at elevated temperatures. However, both design methods led to good designs. At room temperature, the difference in efficiency between the two cyclones was almost negligible. At higher temperatures, however, these general tendencies are expected to be amplified so that the difference between the two design methods will become more obvious. Though the design specifications were met for both designs, the smaller cyclone is recommended as default particle separator for the plasma system due to its robust nature.
Keywords: Cyclone, design, plasma, renewable energy, solid separation, waste processing.
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