Search results for: high performance.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10265

Search results for: high performance.

2405 Heat Transfer in a Parallel-Plate Enclosure with Graded-Index Coatings on its Walls

Authors: Jiun-Wei Chen, Chih-Yang Wu, Ming-Feng Hou

Abstract:

A numerical study on the heat transfer in the thermal barrier coatings and the substrates of a parallel-plate enclosure is carried out. Some of the thermal barrier coatings, such as ceramics, are semitransparent and are of interest for high-temperature applications where radiation effects are significant. The radiative transfer equations and the energy equations are solved by using the discrete ordinates method and the finite difference method. Illustrative results are presented for temperature distributions in the coatings and the opaque walls under various heating conditions. The results show that the temperature distribution is more uniform in the interior portion of each coating away from its boundary for the case with a larger average of varying refractive index and a positive gradient of refractive index enhances radiative transfer to the substrates.

Keywords: Radiative transfer, parallel-plate enclosure, coatings, varying refractive index

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2404 Use of Benin Laterites for the Mix Design of Structural Concrete

Authors: Yémalin D. Agossou, André Lecomte, Rémi Boissiere, Edmond C. Adjovi, Abdelouahab Khelil

Abstract:

This paper presents a mixed design trial of structural concretes with laterites from Benin. These materials are often the only granular resources readily available in many tropical regions. In the first step concretes were designed with raw laterites, but the performances obtained were rather disappointing in spite of high cement dosages. A detailed physical characterization of these materials then showed that they contained a significant proportion of fine clays, and that the coarsest fraction (gravel) contained a variety of facies, some of which were not very dense or indurated. Washing these laterites, and even the elimination of the most friable grains of the gravel fraction, made it possible to obtain concretes with satisfactory properties in terms of workability, density and mechanical strength. However, they were found to be slightly less stiff than concretes made with more traditional aggregates. It is therefore possible to obtain structural concretes with only laterites and cement but at the cost of eliminating some of their granular constituents.

Keywords: Laterites, aggregates, concretes, mix design, mechanical properties.

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2403 A Reduced-Bit Multiplication Algorithm for Digital Arithmetic

Authors: Harpreet Singh Dhillon, Abhijit Mitra

Abstract:

A reduced-bit multiplication algorithm based on the ancient Vedic multiplication formulae is proposed in this paper. Both the Vedic multiplication formulae, Urdhva tiryakbhyam and Nikhilam, are first discussed in detail. Urdhva tiryakbhyam, being a general multiplication formula, is equally applicable to all cases of multiplication. It is applied to the digital arithmetic and is shown to yield a multiplier architecture which is very similar to the popular array multiplier. Due to its structure, it leads to a high carry propagation delay in case of multiplication of large numbers. Nikhilam Sutra, on the other hand, is more efficient in the multiplication of large numbers as it reduces the multiplication of two large numbers to that of two smaller numbers. The framework of the proposed algorithm is taken from this Sutra and is further optimized by use of some general arithmetic operations such as expansion and bit-shifting to take advantage of bit-reduction in multiplication. We illustrate the proposed algorithm by reducing a general 4x4-bit multiplication to a single 2 x 2-bit multiplication operation.

Keywords: Multiplication, algorithm, Vedic mathematics, digital arithmetic, reduced-bit.

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2402 Investigation of Oil inside the Wells in REY Area in Tehran Oil Refining Company in Iran

Authors: Mohammad Ali Hosseinpour, Hossein Ghoreishi, Saeid Gitipour, Mona Jafarnejad

Abstract:

REY area has been located in Tehran Province and several archaeological ruins of this area indicate that the settlement in this area has been started since several thousand years ago. In this paper, the main investigation items consist of analysis of oil components and groundwater quality inside the wells. By finding the contents of oil in the well, it is possible to find out the pollution source by comparing the oil contents of well with other oil products that are used inside and outside of the oil farm. Investigation items consist of analysis of BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl-benzene, Xylene), Gas chromatographic distillation characteristics, Water content, Density, Sulfur content, Lead content, Atmospheric distillation, MTBE(Methyl tertiary butyl ether). Analysis of polluting oil components showed that except MW(Monitoring Well)10 and MW 15 that oil with slightly heavy components was detected in them; with a high possibility the polluting oil is light oil.

Keywords: BTEX, Oil Component, REY Area, Tehran Oil Refining Company (T.O.R.C) .

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2401 Construction 4.0: The Future of the Construction Industry in South Africa

Authors: Temidayo. O. Osunsanmi, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

Abstract:

The construction industry is a renowned latecomer to the efficiency offered by the adoption of information technology. Whereas, the banking, manufacturing, retailing industries have keyed into the future by using digitization and information technology as a new approach for ensuring competitive gain and efficiency. The construction industry has yet to fully realize similar benefits because the adoption of ICT is still at the infancy stage with a major concentration on the use of software. Thus, this study evaluates the awareness and readiness of construction professionals towards embracing a full digitalization of the construction industry using construction 4.0. The term ‘construction 4.0’ was coined from the industry 4.0 concept which is regarded as the fourth industrial revolution that originated from Germany. A questionnaire was utilized for sourcing data distributed to practicing construction professionals through a convenience sampling method. Using SPSS v24, the hypotheses posed were tested with the Mann Whitney test. The result revealed that there are no differences between the consulting and contracting organizations on the readiness for adopting construction 4.0 concepts in the construction industry. Using factor analysis, the study discovers that adopting construction 4.0 will improve the performance of the construction industry regarding cost and time savings and also create sustainable buildings. In conclusion, the study determined that construction professionals have a low awareness towards construction 4.0 concepts. The study recommends an increase in awareness of construction 4.0 concepts through seminars, workshops and training, while construction professionals should take hold of the benefits of adopting construction 4.0 concepts. The study contributes to the roadmap for the implementation of construction industry 4.0 concepts in the South African construction industry.

Keywords: Building information technology, Construction 4.0, Industry 4.0, Smart Site.

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2400 Decode and Forward Cooperative Protocol Enhancement Using Interference Cancellation

Authors: Siddeeq Y. Ameen, Mohammed K. Yousif

Abstract:

Cooperative communication systems are considered to be a promising technology to improve the system capacity, reliability and performances over fading wireless channels. Cooperative relaying system with a single antenna will be able to reach the advantages of multiple antenna communication systems. It is ideally suitable for the distributed communication systems; the relays can cooperate and form virtual MIMO systems. Thus the paper will aim to investigate the possible enhancement of cooperated system using decode and forward protocol. On the decode and forward an attempt to cancel or at least reduce the interference instead of increasing the SNR values is achieved. The latter can be achieved via the use group of relays depending on the channel status from source to relay and relay to destination respectively.

In the proposed system, the transmission time has been divided into two phases to be used by the decode and forward protocol. The first phase has been allocated for the source to transmit its data whereas the relays and destination nodes are in receiving mode. On the other hand, the second phase is allocated for the first and second groups of relay nodes to relay the data to the destination node. Simulations results have shown an improvement in performance is achieved compared to the conventional decode and forward in terms of BER and transmission rate.

Keywords: Cooperative systems, decode and forward, interference cancellation, virtual MIMO.

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2399 Performance Characteristics of Some Small Scale Wind Turbines Fabricated in Tanzania

Authors: Talam K. E, Kainkwa R. M.

Abstract:

In this study, a field testing has been carried out to assess the power characteristics of some small scale wind turbines fabricated by one native technician from Tanzania. Two Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs), one with five and other with sixteen blades were installed at a height of 2.4m above the ground. The rotation speed of the rotor blade and wind speed approaching the turbines were measured simultaneously. The data obtained were used to determine how the power coefficient varies as a function of tip speed ratio and also the way in which the output power compares with available power in the wind for each turbine. For the sixteen-bladed wind turbine the maximum value of power coefficient of about 0.14 was found to occur at a tip speed ratio of around 0.65 while for the five bladed, these extreme values were respectively attained at approximately 0.2 and 1.7. The five bladed-wind turbine was found to have a higher power efficiency of about 37.5% which is higher compared to the sixteen bladed wind turbine whose corresponding value was 14.37%. This is what would be expected, as the smaller the number of blades of a wind turbine, the higher the electric power efficiency and vice versa. Some of the main reasons for the low efficiency of these machines may be due to the low aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine or low efficiency of the transmission mechanisms such as gearbox and generator which were not examined in this study. It is recommended that some other researches be done to investigate the power efficiency of such machines from different manufacturers in the country. The manufacturers should also be encouraged to use fewer blades in their designs so as to improve the efficiency and at the same time reduce materials used to fabricate the blades. The power efficiency of the electric generators used in the locally fabricated wind turbines should also be examined.

Keywords: Tip speed ratio, Power coefficients and power efficiency.

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2398 A Novel VLSI Architecture for Image Compression Model Using Low power Discrete Cosine Transform

Authors: Vijaya Prakash.A.M, K.S.Gurumurthy

Abstract:

In Image processing the Image compression can improve the performance of the digital systems by reducing the cost and time in image storage and transmission without significant reduction of the Image quality. This paper describes hardware architecture of low complexity Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) architecture for image compression[6]. In this DCT architecture, common computations are identified and shared to remove redundant computations in DCT matrix operation. Vector processing is a method used for implementation of DCT. This reduction in computational complexity of 2D DCT reduces power consumption. The 2D DCT is performed on 8x8 matrix using two 1-Dimensional Discrete cosine transform blocks and a transposition memory [7]. Inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) is performed to obtain the image matrix and reconstruct the original image. The proposed image compression algorithm is comprehended using MATLAB code. The VLSI design of the architecture is implemented Using Verilog HDL. The proposed hardware architecture for image compression employing DCT was synthesized using RTL complier and it was mapped using 180nm standard cells. . The Simulation is done using Modelsim. The simulation results from MATLAB and Verilog HDL are compared. Detailed analysis for power and area was done using RTL compiler from CADENCE. Power consumption of DCT core is reduced to 1.027mW with minimum area[1].

Keywords: Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Inverse DiscreteCosine Transform (IDCT), Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG), Low Power Design, Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) .

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2397 Medical Advances in Diagnosing Neurological and Genetic Disorders

Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

Abstract:

Retinoblastoma is a rare type of childhood genetic cancer that affects children worldwide. The diagnosis is often missed due to lack of education and difficulty in presentation of the tumor. Frequently, the tumor on the retina is noticed by photography when the red-eye flash, commonly seen in normal eyes, is not produced. Instead, a yellow or white colored patch is seen or the child has a noticeable strabismus. Early detection can be life-saving though often results in removal of the affected eye. Remaining functioning in the healthy eye when the child is young has resulted in super-vision and high or above-average intelligence. Technological advancement of cameras has helped in early detection. Brain imaging has also made possible early detection of neurological diseases and, together with the monitoring of cortisol levels and yawning frequency, promises to be the next new early diagnostic tool for the detection of neurological diseases where cortisol insufficiency is particularly salient, such as multiple sclerosis and Cushing’s disease.

Keywords: Cortisol, Neurological Disease, Retinoblastoma, Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis, Yawning.

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2396 Analysis of Cascade Control Structure in Train Dynamic Braking System

Authors: B. Moaveni, S. Morovati

Abstract:

In recent years, increasing the usage of railway transportations especially in developing countries caused more attention to control systems railway vehicles. Consequently, designing and implementing the modern control systems to improve the operating performance of trains and locomotives become one of the main concerns of researches. Dynamic braking systems is an important safety system which controls the amount of braking torque generated by traction motors, to keep the adhesion coefficient between the wheel-sets and rail road in optimum bound. Adhesion force has an important role to control the braking distance and prevent the wheels from slipping during the braking process. Cascade control structure is one of the best control methods for the wide range of industrial plants in the presence of disturbances and errors. This paper presents cascade control structure based on two forward simple controllers with two feedback loops to control the slip ratio and braking torque. In this structure, the inner loop controls the angular velocity and the outer loop control the longitudinal velocity of the locomotive that its dynamic is slower than the dynamic of angular velocity. This control structure by controlling the torque of DC traction motors, tries to track the desired velocity profile to access the predefined braking distance and to control the slip ratio. Simulation results are employed to show the effectiveness of the introduced methodology in dynamic braking system.

Keywords: Cascade control, dynamic braking system, DC traction motors, slip control.

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2395 A New Composition Method of Admissible Support Vector Kernel Based on Reproducing Kernel

Authors: Wei Zhang, Xin Zhao, Yi-Fan Zhu, Xin-Jian Zhang

Abstract:

Kernel function, which allows the formulation of nonlinear variants of any algorithm that can be cast in terms of dot products, makes the Support Vector Machines (SVM) have been successfully applied in many fields, e.g. classification and regression. The importance of kernel has motivated many studies on its composition. It-s well-known that reproducing kernel (R.K) is a useful kernel function which possesses many properties, e.g. positive definiteness, reproducing property and composing complex R.K by simple operation. There are two popular ways to compute the R.K with explicit form. One is to construct and solve a specific differential equation with boundary value whose handicap is incapable of obtaining a unified form of R.K. The other is using a piecewise integral of the Green function associated with a differential operator L. The latter benefits the computation of a R.K with a unified explicit form and theoretical analysis, whereas there are relatively later studies and fewer practical computations. In this paper, a new algorithm for computing a R.K is presented. It can obtain the unified explicit form of R.K in general reproducing kernel Hilbert space. It avoids constructing and solving the complex differential equations manually and benefits an automatic, flexible and rigorous computation for more general RKHS. In order to validate that the R.K computed by the algorithm can be used in SVM well, some illustrative examples and a comparison between R.K and Gaussian kernel (RBF) in support vector regression are presented. The result shows that the performance of R.K is close or slightly superior to that of RBF.

Keywords: admissible support vector kernel, reproducing kernel, reproducing kernel Hilbert space, Green function, support vectorregression

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2394 Strength of Fine Concrete Used in Textile Reinforced Concrete by Changing Water-Binder Ratio

Authors: Taekyun Kim, Jongho Park, Jinwoong Choi, Sun-Kyu Park

Abstract:

Recently, the abnormal climate phenomenon has enlarged due to the global warming. As a result, temperature variation is increasing and the term is being prolonged, frequency of high and low temperature is increasing by heat wave and severe cold. Especially for reinforced concrete structure, the corrosion of reinforcement has occurred by concrete crack due to temperature change and the durability of the structure that has decreased by concrete crack. Accordingly, the textile reinforced concrete (TRC) which does not corrode due to using textile is getting the interest and the investigation of TRC is proceeding. The study of TRC structure behavior has proceeded, but the characteristic study of the concrete used in TRC is insufficient. Therefore, characteristic of the concrete by changing mixing ratio is studied in this paper. As a result, mixing ratio with different water-binder ratio has influenced to the strength of concrete. Also, as the water-binder ratio has decreased, strength of concrete has increased.

Keywords: Concrete, mixing ratio, textile, TRC.

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2393 Critical Thinking Perspectives on Work Integrated Learning in Information Systems Education

Authors: A. Harmse, R. Goede

Abstract:

Students with high level skills are in demand, especially in scare skill environments. If universities wish to be successful and competitive, its students need to be adequately equipped with the necessary tools. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is an essential component of the education of a student. The relevance of higher education should be assessed in terms of how it meets the needs of society and the world of work in a global economy. This paper demonstrates how to use Habermas's theory of communicative action to reflect on students- perceptions on their integration in the work environment to achieve social integration and financial justification. Interpretive questionnaires are used to determine the students- view of how they are integrated into society, and contributing to the economy. This paper explores the use of Habermas-s theory of communicative action to give theoretical and methodological guidance for the practice of social findings obtained in this inquiry.

Keywords: Discourse, Habermas, Information Systems Education, Theory of Communicative Action, Work Integrated Learning.

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2392 The Autoregresive Analysis for Wind Turbine Signal Postprocessing

Authors: Daniel Pereiro, Felix Martinez, Iker Urresti, Ana Gomez Gonzalez

Abstract:

Today modern simulations solutions in the wind turbine industry have achieved a high degree of complexity and detail in result. Limitations exist when it is time to validate model results against measurements. Regarding Model validation it is of special interest to identify mode frequencies and to differentiate them from the different excitations. A wind turbine is a complex device and measurements regarding any part of the assembly show a lot of noise. Input excitations are difficult or even impossible to measure due to the stochastic nature of the environment. Traditional techniques for frequency analysis or features extraction are widely used to analyze wind turbine sensor signals, but have several limitations specially attending to non stationary signals (Events). A new technique based on autoregresive analysis techniques is introduced here for a specific application, a comparison and examples related to different events in the wind turbine operations are presented.

Keywords: Wind turbine, signal processing, mode extraction.

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2391 Algorithm for Reconstructing 3D-Binary Matrix with Periodicity Constraints from Two Projections

Authors: V. Masilamani, Kamala Krithivasan

Abstract:

We study the problem of reconstructing a three dimensional binary matrices whose interiors are only accessible through few projections. Such question is prominently motivated by the demand in material science for developing tool for reconstruction of crystalline structures from their images obtained by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Various approaches have been suggested to reconstruct 3D-object (crystalline structure) by reconstructing slice of the 3D-object. To handle the ill-posedness of the problem, a priori information such as convexity, connectivity and periodicity are used to limit the number of possible solutions. Formally, 3Dobject (crystalline structure) having a priory information is modeled by a class of 3D-binary matrices satisfying a priori information. We consider 3D-binary matrices with periodicity constraints, and we propose a polynomial time algorithm to reconstruct 3D-binary matrices with periodicity constraints from two orthogonal projections.

Keywords: 3D-Binary Matrix Reconstruction, Computed Tomography, Discrete Tomography, Integral Max Flow Problem.

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2390 Vetiver Oil Production from Root Culture of Vetiveria zizanioides

Authors: Rizkita R. Esyanti, Iriawati, Olga Mardisadora

Abstract:

Vetiver oil is secondary metabolite that accumulates in Vetiveria zizanioides roots.  The aim of this study was to obtain best type of root culture which produce high amount of vetiver oil, and was similar to metabolites produce from its mother plant.  Protein analysis was also conducted to detect protein, related to putative enzymes, which have a role in terpenoids synthesis in the root culture. The results showed that root culture derived from crown explant produced the best root growth.   The root culture produced primary and lateral roots, ca. 40 branches.  The vetiver oil produced from root culture was analyzed by using GC-MS., and the highest content of terpenoids from roots of crown explant attained 19.024%.  The result of SDS PAGE showed proteins which were ±61 kD and ± 68 kD, each might be related to putative monoterpene synthase and sesquiterpenes complex, respectively. 

Keywords: Protein, Root culture, Terpenoids, Vetiver oil.

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2389 Parameters Influencing the Output Precision of a Lens-Lens Beam Generator Solar Concentrator

Authors: M. Tawfik, X. Tonnellier, C. Sansom

Abstract:

The Lens-Lens Beam Generator (LLBG) is a Fresnel-based optical concentrating technique which provides flexibility in selecting the solar receiver location compared to conventional techniques through generating a powerful concentrated collimated solar beam. In order to achieve that, two successive lenses are used and followed by a flat mirror. Hence the generated beam emerging from the LLBG has a high power flux which impinges on the target receiver, it is important to determine the precision of the system output. In this present work, mathematical investigation of different parameters affecting the precision of the output beam is carried out. These parameters include: Deflection in sun-facing lens and its holding arm, delay in updating the solar tracking system, and the flat mirror surface flatness. Moreover, relationships that describe the power lost due to the effect of each parameter are derived in this study.

Keywords: Fresnel lens, LLBG, solar concentrator, solar tracking.

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2388 Physico-chemical State of the Air at the Stagnation Point during the Atmospheric Reentry of a Spacecraft

Authors: Rabah Haoui

Abstract:

Hypersonic flows around spatial vehicles during their reentry phase in planetary atmospheres are characterized by intense aerothermal phenomena. The aim of this work is to analyze high temperature flows around an axisymmetric blunt body taking into account chemical and vibrational non-equilibrium for air mixture species. For this purpose, a finite volume methodology is employed to determine the supersonic flow parameters around the axisymmetric blunt body, especially at the stagnation point and along the wall of spacecraft for several altitudes. This allows the capture shock wave before a blunt body placed in supersonic free stream. The numerical technique uses the Flux Vector Splitting method of Van Leer. Here, adequate time stepping parameter, along with CFL coefficient and mesh size level are selected to ensure numerical convergence, sought with an order of 10-8

Keywords: Chemical kinetic, dissociation, finite volumes, frozen, hypersonic flow, non-equilibrium, Reactive flow, supersonicflow , vibration.

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2387 Development of a Comprehensive Electricity Generation Simulation Model Using a Mixed Integer Programming Approach

Authors: Erik Delarue, David Bekaert, Ronnie Belmans, William D'haeseleer

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of an electricity simulation model taking into account electrical network constraints, applied on the Belgian power system. The base of the model is optimizing an extensive Unit Commitment (UC) problem through the use of Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). Electrical constraints are incorporated through the implementation of a DC load flow. The model encloses the Belgian power system in a 220 – 380 kV high voltage network (i.e., 93 power plants and 106 nodes). The model features the use of pumping storage facilities as well as the inclusion of spinning reserves in a single optimization process. Solution times of the model stay below reasonable values.

Keywords: Electricity generation modeling, Unit Commitment(UC), Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP), DC load flow.

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2386 Oleate Induces Apoptosis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Authors: A. Rohana, A. M., Fadzilah Adibah, M. S. Muhammad Roji

Abstract:

Oleic acid (C18:1) play an important role in proliferation of fat cells. In this study, the effect of oleate on cells viability in 3T3-L1 cells (fat cells) was investigated. The 3T3-L1 cells were treated with various concentrations of oleate in the presence of 23 mM glucose. Oleate was added to adipogenic media (day 0) to investigate the influence of oleate on proliferation of postconfluent preadipocytes after 24 h induction. 0.1 mM oleate promoted cell division by increasing 33.9% number of cells from basal control in postconfluent preadipocytes. However, there were no significantly different in cells viability with control cells when oleate concentrations were increased up to 0.5 mM. When added to differentiated adipocytes (day 12) for 48 h, the number of cells decreased as oleate concentrations increased. 92.7% of cells lost demonstrated apoptosis and necrosis after 48 h with 0.5 mM oleate. The fluorochrome staining was examined under fluorescence microscopy using acridine orange and ethidium bromide double staining. Furthermore, the presence of high lactate (60.6% increased from basal control) released into plasma has shown the direct cytotoxicity of 0.5 mM oleate on adipocytes.

Keywords: adipocytes, apoptosis, oleate, postconfluentpreadipocytes

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2385 A Neural Network Approach for an Automatic Detection and Localization of an Open Phase Circuit of a Five-Phase Induction Machine Used in a Drivetrain of an Electric Vehicle

Authors: S. Chahba, R. Sehab, A. Akrad, C. Morel

Abstract:

Nowadays, the electric machines used in urban electric vehicles are, in most cases, three-phase electric machines with or without a magnet in the rotor. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM) and Induction Machine (IM) are the main components of drive trains of electric and hybrid vehicles. These machines have very good performance in healthy operation mode, but they are not redundant to ensure safety in faulty operation mode. Faced with the continued growth in the demand for electric vehicles in the automotive market, improving the reliability of electric vehicles is necessary over the lifecycle of the electric vehicle. Multiphase electric machines respond well to this constraint because, on the one hand, they have better robustness in the event of a breakdown (opening of a phase, opening of an arm of the power stage, intern-turn short circuit) and, on the other hand, better power density. In this work, a diagnosis approach using a neural network for an open circuit fault or more of a five-phase induction machine is developed. Validation on the simulator of the vehicle drivetrain, at reduced power, is carried out, creating one and more open circuit stator phases showing the efficiency and the reliability of the new approach to detect and to locate on-line one or more open phases of a five-induction machine.

Keywords: Electric vehicle drivetrain, multiphase drives, induction machine, control, open circuit fault diagnosis, artificial neural network.

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2384 Bioleaching of Spent Catalyst using Moderate Thermophiles with Different Pulp Densities and Varying Size Fractions without Fe Supplemented Growth Medium

Authors: Haragobinda Srichandan, Chandra Sekhar Gahan, Dong-Jin Kim, Seoung-Won Lee

Abstract:

Bioleaching of spent catalyst using moderate thermophilic chemolithotrophic acidophiles in growth medium without Fe source was investigated with two different pulp densities and three different size fractions. All the experiments were conducted on shake flasks at a temperature of 65 °C. The leaching yield of Ni and Al was found to be promising with very high leaching yield of 92-96% followed by Al as 41-76%, which means both Ni and Al leaching were favored by the moderate thermophilic bioleaching compared to the mesophilic bioleaching. The acid consumption was comparatively higher for the 10% pulp density experiments. Comparatively minimal difference in the leaching yield with different size fractions and different pulp densities show no requirement of grinding and using low pulp density less than 10%. This process would rather be economical as well as eco-friendly process for future optimization of the recovery of metal values from spent catalyst.

Keywords: Bioleaching, spent catalyst, leaching yield, thermophile.

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2383 Spark Plasma Sintering of Aluminum-Based Composites Reinforced by Nanocrystalline Carbon-Coated Intermetallic Particles

Authors: B. Z. Manuel, H. D. Esmeralda, H. S. Felipe, D. R. Héctor, D. de la Torre Sebastián, R. L. Diego

Abstract:

Aluminum Matrix Composites reinforced with nanocrystalline Ni3Al carbon-coated intermetallic particles, were synthesized by powder metallurgy. Powder mixture of aluminum with 0.5-volume fraction of reinforcement particles was compacted by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique and the compared with conventional sintering process. The better results for SPS technique were obtained in 520ºC-5kN-3min.The hardness (70.5±8 HV) and the elastic modulus (95 GPa) were evaluated in function of sintering conditions for SPS technique; it was found that the incorporation of these kind of reinforcement particles in aluminum matrix improve its mechanical properties. The densities were about 94% and 97% of the theoretical density. The carbon coating avoided the interfacial reaction between matrix-particle at high temperature (520°C) without show composition change either intermetallic dissolution.

Keywords: Aluminum matrix composites, Intermetallics Spark plasma sintering.

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2382 Land Use/Land Cover Mapping Using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 in a Mediterranean Landscape

Authors: M. Vogiatzis, K. Perakis

Abstract:

Spatial-explicit and up-to-date land use/land cover information is fundamental for spatial planning, land management, sustainable development, and sound decision-making. In the last decade, many satellite-derived land cover products at different spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions have been developed, such as the European Copernicus Land Cover product. However, more efficient and detailed information for land use/land cover is required at the regional or local scale. A typical Mediterranean basin with a complex landscape comprised of various forest types, crops, artificial surfaces, and wetlands was selected to test and develop our approach. In this study, we investigate the improvement of Copernicus Land Cover product (CLC2018) using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 pixel-based classification based on all available existing geospatial data (Forest Maps, LPIS, Natura2000 habitats, cadastral parcels, etc.). We examined and compared the performance of the Random Forest classifier for land use/land cover mapping. In total, 10 land use/land cover categories were recognized in Landsat 8 and 11 in Sentinel-2A. A comparison of the overall classification accuracies for 2018 shows that Landsat 8 classification accuracy was slightly higher than Sentinel-2A (82,99% vs. 80,30%). We concluded that the main land use/land cover types of CLC2018, even within a heterogeneous area, can be successfully mapped and updated according to CLC nomenclature. Future research should be oriented toward integrating spatiotemporal information from seasonal bands and spectral indexes in the classification process.

Keywords: land use/land cover, random forest, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2A MSI, Corine land cover

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2381 A Control Model for Improving Safety and Efficiency of Navigation System Based on Reinforcement Learning

Authors: Almutasim Billa A. Alanazi, Hal S. Tharp

Abstract:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Reinforcement Learning (RL), has proven helpful in many control path planning technologies by maximizing and enhancing their performance, such as navigation systems. Since it learns from experience by interacting with the environment to determine the optimal policy, the optimal policy takes the best action in a particular state, accounting for the long-term rewards. Most navigation systems focus primarily on "arriving faster," overlooking safety and efficiency while estimating the optimum path, as safety and efficiency are essential factors when planning for a long-distance journey. This paper represents an RL control model that proposes a control mechanism for improving navigation systems. Also, the model could be applied to other control path planning applications because it is adjustable and can accept different properties and parameters. However, the navigation system application has been taken as a case and evaluation study for the proposed model. The model utilized a Q-learning algorithm for training and updating the policy. It allows the agent to analyze the quality of an action made in the environment to maximize rewards. The model gives the ability to update rewards regularly based on safety and efficiency assessments, allowing the policy to consider the desired safety and efficiency benefits while making decisions, which improves the quality of the decisions taken for path planning compared to the conventional RL approaches.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, control system, navigation systems, reinforcement learning.

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2380 Enhanced Approaches to Rectify the Noise, Illumination and Shadow Artifacts

Authors: M. Sankari, C. Meena

Abstract:

Enhancing the quality of two dimensional signals is one of the most important factors in the fields of video surveillance and computer vision. Usually in real-life video surveillance, false detection occurs due to the presence of random noise, illumination and shadow artifacts. The detection methods based on background subtraction faces several problems in accurately detecting objects in realistic environments: In this paper, we propose a noise removal algorithm using neighborhood comparison method with thresholding. The illumination variations correction is done in the detected foreground objects by using an amalgamation of techniques like homomorphic decomposition, curvelet transformation and gamma adjustment operator. Shadow is removed using chromaticity estimator with local relation estimator. Results are compared with the existing methods and prove as high robustness in the video surveillance.

Keywords: Chromaticity Estimator, Curvelet Transformation, Denoising, Gamma correction, Homomorphic, Neighborhood Assessment.

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2379 Deposit Guarantee Fund: One Perspective

Authors: Rute Abreu, Fátima David, Liliane Cristina Segura

Abstract:

The Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) and its communication with the Society, in general, and with the deposit client of Financial Institutions, in particular, is discussed through the challenges of the accounting and financial report. The Bank of Portugal promotes the Portuguese Deposit Guarantee Fund (PDGF) as a financial institution that enhanced the market confidence and stability on the deposit-insurance system. Due to the nature of their functions, it must be subject to regulation and supervision that provides a first line of defense against adversely affect confidence on the Portuguese financial market. First, this research provides evidence of the effectiveness of the protection mechanisms on the deposit insurance system, which provides high and equal protection to all stakeholders. Second, it emphasizes the need of requirements of rigorous accounting process and effective financial report to reduce the moral hazard implications. Third, this research focuses on the need of total disclosure of the financial information which gives higher transparency and protection to deposit client of financial institutions.

Keywords: Deposit Guarantee Fund, Portugal, Accounting, Financial Report.

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2378 Techno-Economic Analysis of Motor-Generator Pair System and Virtual Synchronous Generator for Providing Inertia of Power System

Authors: Zhou Yingkun, Xu Guorui, Wei Siming, Huang Yongzhang

Abstract:

With the increasing of the penetration of renewable energy in power system, the whole inertia of the power system is declining, which will endanger the frequency stability of the power system. In order to enhance the inertia, virtual synchronous generator (VSG) has been proposed. In addition, the motor-generator pair (MGP) system is proposed to enhance grid inertia. Both of them need additional equipment to provide instantaneous energy, so the economic problem should be considered. In this paper, the basic working principle of MGP system and VSG are introduced firstly. Then, the technical characteristics and economic investment of MGP/VSG are compared by calculation and simulation. The results show that the MGP system can provide same inertia with less cost than VSG.

Keywords: High renewable energy penetration, inertia of power system, virtual synchronous generator, motor-generator pair system, techno-economic analysis.

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2377 Prioritizing Influential Factors on the Promotion of Virtual Training System

Authors: Nader Gharibnavaz, Mostafa Mosadeghi, Naser Gharibnavaz

Abstract:

In today's world where everything is rapidly changing and information technology is high in development, many features of culture, society, politic and economy has changed. The advent of information technology and electronic data transmission lead to easy communication and fields like e-learning and e-commerce, are accessible for everyone easily. One of these technologies is virtual training. The "quality" of such kind of education systems is critical. 131 questionnaires were prepared and distributed among university student in Toba University. So the research has followed factors that affect the quality of learning from the perspective of staff, students, professors and this type of university. It is concluded that the important factors in virtual training are the quality of professors, the quality of staff, and the quality of the university. These mentioned factors were the most prior factors in this education system and necessary for improving virtual training.

Keywords: Training , Virtual Training, Strategic Positioning, Positioning Mapping, Unique Selling Proposition, Strong Brands, Indoors industry

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2376 Deposition of Transparent IGZO Conducting Thin Films by Co-Sputtering of Zn2Ga2O3 and In2O3 Targets at Room Temperature

Authors: Yu-Hsin Chen, Yuan-Tai Hsieh, Cheng-Shong Hong, Chia-Ching Wu, Cheng-Fu Yang, Yu-Jhen Liou

Abstract:

In this study, we investigated (In,Ga,Zn)Ox (IGZO) thin films and examined their characteristics of using Ga2O3-2 ZnO (GZO) co-sputtered In2O3 prepared by dual target radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature in a pure Ar atmosphere. RF powers of 80 W and 70 W were used for GZO and pure In2O3, room temperature (RT) was used as deposition temperature, and the deposition time was changed from 15 min to 60 min. Structural, surface, electrical, and optical properties of IGZO thin films were investigated as a function of deposition time. Furthermore, the GZO co-sputtered In2O3 thin films showed a very smooth and featureless surface and an amorphous structure regardless of the deposition time due to the room temperature sputtering process. We would show that the co-sputtered IGZO thin films exhibited transparent electrode properties with high transmittance ratio and low resistivity.

Keywords: IGZO, co-sputter, Ga2O3-2 ZnO, In2O3.

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