Search results for: Accelerated deterioration test

Authors: Lakshmi Keshav, V. G. Srisanthi

Abstract:

In this experimental investigation shake table tests were conducted on two reduced models that represent normal single room building constructed by Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) from locally available soil. One model was constructed with earthquake resisting features (EQRF) having sill band, lintel band and vertical bands to control the building vibration and another one was without Earthquake Resisting Features. To examine the seismic capacity of the models particularly when it is subjected to long-period ground motion by large amplitude by many cycles of repeated loading, the test specimen was shaken repeatedly until the failure. The test results from Hi-end Data Acquisition system show that model with EQRF behave better than without EQRF. This modified masonry model with new material combined with new bands is used to improve the behavior of masonry building.

Keywords: Earth Quake Resisting Features, Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks, Masonry structures, Shake table testing, Horizontal and vertical bands.

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Authors: Cenk Akbiyik, Gonul Altin Akbiyik

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The main purpose of the study was to determine whether students- interpretation achievement differed with the use of various multimedia presentation types. Four groups of students, text only (T), audio only (A), text and audio (TA), text and image (TI), were arranged and they were presented the same story via different types of multimedia presentations. Inference achievement was measured by a critical thinking inference test. Higher mean scores for the TA group compared to the other three groups were found. Also when compared pairwise, interpretation achievement of the TA group differed significantly from scores of the T and TI groups. These differences were interpreted with the increased cognitive load. Increased cognitive load for the TA group may have invited students to put more effort into comprehending the text, thus resulting in better test scores. Findings of the study can be seen as a sign of the importance of learning situations and learning outcomes in multimedia-supported learning environments and may have practical benefits for instructional designers.

Keywords: Multimedia, cognitive multimedia, dual coding, cognitive load, critical thinking.

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Authors: Sheela Tiwari, R. Naresh, R. Jha

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The paper presents an investigation in to the effect of neural network predictive control of UPFC on the transient stability performance of a multimachine power system. The proposed controller consists of a neural network model of the test system. This model is used to predict the future control inputs using the damped Gauss-Newton method which employs ‘backtracking’ as the line search method for step selection. The benchmark 2 area, 4 machine system that mimics the behavior of large power systems is taken as the test system for the study and is subjected to three phase short circuit faults at different locations over a wide range of operating conditions. The simulation results clearly establish the robustness of the proposed controller to the fault location, an increase in the critical clearing time for the circuit breakers, and an improved damping of the power oscillations as compared to the conventional PI controller.

Keywords: Identification, Neural networks, Predictive control, Transient stability, UPFC.

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Authors: Ahmed F. Azmy , Amal E. Saafan, Tamer M. Essam, Magdy A. Amin, Shaban H. Ahmed

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Bacterial strains capable of degradation of malathion from the domestic sewage were isolated by an enrichment culture technique. Three bacterial strains were screened and identified as Acinetobacter baumannii (AFA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PS1), and Pseudomonas mendocina (PS2) based on morphological, biochemical identification and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Acinetobacter baumannii AFA was the most efficient malathion degrading bacterium, so used for further biodegradation study. AFA was able to grow in mineral salt medium (MSM) supplemented with malathion (100 mg/l) as a sole carbon source, and within 14 days, 84% of the initial dose was degraded by the isolate measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Strain AFA could also degrade other organophosphorus compounds including diazinon, chlorpyrifos and fenitrothion. The effect of different culture conditions on the degradation of malathion like inoculum density, other carbon or nitrogen sources, temperature and shaking were examined. Degradation of malathion and bacterial cell growth were accelerated when culture media were supplemented with yeast extract, glucose and citrate. The optimum conditions for malathion degradation by strain AFA were; an inoculum density of 1.5x 10^12CFU/ml at 30°C with shaking. A specific polymerase chain reaction primers were designed manually using multiple sequence alignment of the corresponding carboxylesterase enzymes of Acinetobacter species. Sequencing result of amplified PCR product and phylogenetic analysis showed low degree of homology with the other carboxylesterase enzymes of Acinetobacter strains, so we suggested that this enzyme is a novel esterase enzyme. Isolated bacterial strains may have potential role for use in bioremediation of malathion contaminated.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii, biodegradation, Malathion, organophosphate pesticides.

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Authors: Ziad. Sh. Al Sarraf

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Ultrasonic metal welding has been the subject of ongoing research and development, most recently concentrating on metal joining in miniature devices, for example to allow solder-free wire bonding. As well as at the small scale, there are also opportunities to research the joining of thicker sheet metals and to widen the range of similar and dissimilar materials that can be successfully joined using this technology. This study presents the design, characterisation and test of a lateral-drive ultrasonic metal spot welding device. The ultrasonic metal spot welding horn is modelled using finite element analysis (FEA) and its vibration behaviour is characterised experimentally to ensure ultrasonic energy is delivered effectively to the weld coupon. The welding stack and fixtures are then designed and mounted on a test machine to allow a series of experiments to be conducted for various welding and ultrasonic parameters. Weld strength is subsequently analysed using tensile-shear tests. The results show how the weld strength is particularly sensitive to the combination of clamping force and ultrasonic vibration amplitude of the welding tip, but there are optimal combinations of these and also limits that must be clearly identified.

Keywords: Ultrasonic welding, vibration amplitude, welding force, weld strength.

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Authors: A. Nicknam, N. Eftekhari, A. Mazarei, M. Ganjvar

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This article presents an alternative collapse capacity intensity measure in the three elements form which is influenced by the spectral ordinates at periods longer than that of the first mode period at near and far source sites. A parameter, denoted by β, is defined by which the spectral ordinate effects, up to the effective period (2T1), on the intensity measure are taken into account. The methodology permits to meet the hazard-levelled target extreme event in the probabilistic and deterministic forms. A MATLAB code is developed involving OpenSees to calculate the collapse capacities of the 8 archetype RC structures having 2 to 20 stories for regression process. The incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method is used to calculate the structure’s collapse values accounting for the element stiffness and strength deterioration. The general near field set presented by FEMA is used in a series of performing nonlinear analyses. 8 linear relationships are developed for the 8structutres leading to the correlation coefficient up to 0.93. A collapse capacity near field prediction equation is developed taking into account the results of regression processes obtained from the 8 structures. The proposed prediction equation is validated against a set of actual near field records leading to a good agreement. Implementation of the proposed equation to the four archetype RC structures demonstrated different collapse capacities at near field site compared to those of FEMA. The reasons of differences are believed to be due to accounting for the spectral shape effects.

Keywords: Collapse capacity, fragility analysis, spectral shape effects, IDA method.

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Authors: Olesya Bolkhovskaya, Alexander Maltsev

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Antenna arrays are widely used in modern radio systems in sonar and communications. The solving of the detection problems of a useful signal on the background of noise is based on the GLRT method. There is a large number of problem which depends on the known a priori information. In this work, in contrast to the majority of already solved problems, it is used only difference  spatial properties of the signal and noise for detection. We are analyzing the influence of the degree of non-coherence of signal and noise unhomogeneity on the performance characteristics of different GLRT statistics. The description of the signal and noise is carried out by means of the spatial covariance matrices C in the cases of different number of known information. The partially coherent signalis is simulated as a plane wave with a random angle of incidence of the wave concerning a normal. Background noise is simulated as random process with uniform distribution function in each element. The results of investigation of degradation of performance characteristics for different cases are represented in this work.

Keywords: GLRT, Neumann-Pearson’s criterion, test-statistics, degradation, spatial processing, multielement antenna array

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Authors: Udomsak Thongkrajay, Padej Pao-La-Or, Thanatchai Kulworawanichpong

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Installation of power compensation equipment in some cases places additional buses into the system. Therefore, a total number of power flow equations and voltage unknowns increase due to additional locations of installed devices. In this circumstance, power flow calculation is more complicated. It may result in a computational convergence problem. This paper presents a power flow calculation by using Newton-Raphson iterative method together with the proposed load transfer technique. This concept is to eliminate additional buses by transferring installed loads at the new buses to existing two adjacent buses. Thus, the total number of power flow equations is not changed. The overall computational speed is expectedly shorter than that of solving the problem without applying the load transfer technique. A 15-bus test system is employed for test to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed load transfer technique. As a result, the total number of iteration required and execution time is significantly reduced.

Keywords: Load transfer technique, Newton-Raphson power flow, ill-condition

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Authors: M. Hammerton, J. Trevathan, T. Myers, W. Read

Abstract:

The transfer rate of messages in distributed sensor network applications is a critical factor in a system's performance. The Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) is one such system. SAL is a middleware integration platform for abstracting sensor specific technology in order to integrate heterogeneous types of sensors in a network. SAL uses Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) as its connection method, which has unsatisfying transfer rates, especially for streaming data. This paper analyses different connection methods to optimize data transmission in SAL by replacing RMI. Our results show that the most promising Java-based connections were frameworks for Java New Input/Output (NIO) including Apache MINA, JBoss Netty, and xSocket. A test environment was implemented to evaluate each respective framework based on transfer rate, resource usage, and scalability. Test results showed the most suitable connection method to improve data transmission in SAL JBoss Netty as it provides a performance enhancement of 68%.

Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, remote method invocation, transmission time.

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Authors: Edith Esparza-Young, Ángel M. Matos, Yaritza Gonzalez, Kirthana Sugunathevan

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Introduction: This research describes the existing medical school program which supports a multicultural setting and bilingualism. The rise of Spanish speakers in the United States has led to the recruitment of bilingual medical students who can serve the evolving demographics. This paper includes anecdotal evidence, narratives and the latest research on the outcomes of supporting a multilingual academic experience in medical school and beyond. People in the United States will continue to need health care from physicians who have experience with multicultural competence. Physicians who are bilingual and possess effective communication skills will be in high demand. Methodologies: This research is descriptive. Through this descriptive research, the researcher will describe the qualities and characteristics of the existing medical school programs, curriculum, and student services. Additionally, the researcher will shed light on the existing curriculum in the medical school and also describe specific programs which help to serve as safety nets to support diverse populations. The method included observations of the existing program and the implementation of the medical school program, specifically the Accelerated Review Program, the Language Education and Professional Communication Program, student organizations and the Global Health Institute. Concluding Statement: This research identified and described characteristics of the medical school’s program. The research explained and described the current and present phenomenon of this medical program, which has focused on increasing the graduation of bilingual and minority physicians. The findings are based on observations of the curriculum, programs and student organizations which evolves and remains innovative to stay current with student enrollment.

Keywords: Bilingual, English, medicine, doctor.

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Authors: S. A. Naeini, M. Hamidzadeh

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Today, with the daily advancement of geotechnical engineering on soil improvement and modification of the physical properties and shear strength of soil, it is now possible to construct structures with high-volume and high service load on loose sandy soils. One of such methods is using micropiles, which are mostly used to control asymmetrical subsidence, increase bearing capacity, and prevent soil liquefaction. This study examined the improvement of Anzali's saturated loose silty sand using 192 micropiles with a length of 8 meters and diameter of 75 mm. Bandar-e Anzali is one of Iran's coastal populated cities which are located in a high-seismicity region. The effects of the insertion of micropiles on prevention of liquefaction and improvement of subsidence were examined through comparison of the results of Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Plate Load Test (PLT) before and after implementation of the micropiles. The results show that the SPT values and the ultimate bearing capacity of silty sand increased after the implementation of the micropiles. Therefore, the installation of micropiles increases the strength of silty sand improving the resistance of soil against liquefaction.

Keywords: Soil improvement, silty sand, micropiles, SPT, PLT, strength.

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Authors: Mona Elsalamawy, Ashraf Ragab Mohamed, Abdellatif Elsayed Abosen

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This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of different crystalline coating materials concerning of chloride ions penetration. The concrete ages at the coating installation and its moisture conditions were addressed; where, these two factors may play a dominant role for the effectiveness of the used materials. Rapid chloride ions penetration test (RCPT) was conducted at different ages and moisture conditions according to the relevant standard. In addition, the contaminated area and the penetration depth of the chloride ions were investigated immediately after the RCPT test using chemical identifier, 0.1 M silver nitrate AgNO₃ solution. Results have shown that, the very low chloride ions penetrability, for the studied crystallization materials, were investigated only with the old age concrete (G1). The significant reduction in chloride ions’ penetrability was illustrated after 7 days of installing the crystalline coating layers. Using imageJ is more reliable to describe the contaminated area of chloride ions, where the distribution of aggregate and heterogeneous of cement mortar was considered in the images analysis.

Keywords: Chloride permeability, contaminated area, crystalline waterproofing materials, RCPT, XRD.

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Authors: Prasanta Kundu, N.K. Kishore, A.K. Sinha

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Insulation used in transformer is mostly oil pressboard insulation. Insulation failure is one of the major causes of catastrophic failure of transformers. It is established that partial discharges (PD) cause insulation degradation and premature failure of insulation. Online monitoring of PDs can reduce the risk of catastrophic failure of transformers. There are different techniques of partial discharge measurement like, electrical, optical, acoustic, opto-acoustic and ultra high frequency (UHF). Being non invasive and non interference prone, acoustic emission technique is advantageous for online PD measurement. Acoustic detection of p.d. is based on the retrieval and analysis of mechanical or pressure signals produced by partial discharges. Partial discharges are classified according to the origin of discharges. Their effects on insulation deterioration are different for different types. This paper reports experimental results and analysis for classification of partial discharges using acoustic emission signal of laboratory simulated partial discharges in oil pressboard insulation system using three different electrode systems. Acoustic emission signal produced by PD are detected by sensors mounted on the experimental tank surface, stored on an oscilloscope and fed to computer for further analysis. The measured AE signals are analyzed using discrete wavelet transform analysis and wavelet packet analysis. Energy distribution in different frequency bands of discrete wavelet decomposed signal and wavelet packet decomposed signal is calculated. These analyses show a distinct feature useful for PD classification. Wavelet packet analysis can sort out any misclassification arising out of DWT in most cases.

Keywords: Acoustic emission, discrete wavelet transform, partial discharge, wavelet packet analysis.

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Authors: M. Hashemi, R. Madani, N. Razmi

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M. paratuberculosis is a slow growing mycobactin dependent mycobacterial species known to be the causative agent of Johne’s disease in all species of domestic ruminants worldwide. JD is characterized by gradual weight loss; decreased milk production. Excretion of the organism may occur for prolonged periods (1 to 2.5 years) before the onset of clinical disease. In recent years researchers focus on identification a specific antigen of MAP to use in diagnosis test and preparation of effective vaccine. In this paper, for production of polyclonal antibody against proteins of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis cell well a rabbit immunization at a certain time period with antigen. After immunization of the animal, rabbit was bleeded for producing enriched serum. Antibodies were purification with ion exchange chromatography. For exact measurement of interaction, western blotting test was used that this study demonstrated sharp bands appears in nitrocellulose paper and specific bands were 50 and 150 KD molecular weight. These were indicating immunodominant proteins.

Keywords: Paratuberculosis, Immunodominant, Western blotting, Ion exchange choromatography.

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Authors: Duangkamol Thitivesa

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This paper focuses on the use of project work as a pretext for applying the conventions of writing, or the correctness of mechanics, usage, and sentence formation, in a content-based class in a Rajabhat University. Its aim was to explore to what extent the student teachers’ academic achievement of the basic writing features against the 70% attainment target after the use of project is. The organization of work around an agreed theme in which the students reproduce language provided by texts and instructors is expected to enhance students’ correct writing conventions. The sample of the study comprised of 38 fourth-year English major students. The data was collected by means of achievement test and student writing works. The scores in the summative achievement test were analyzed by mean score, standard deviation, and percentage. It was found that the student teachers do more achieve of practicing mechanics and usage, and less in sentence formation. The students benefited from the exposure to texts during conducting the project; however, their automaticity of how and when to form phrases and clauses into simple/complex sentences had room for improvement.

Keywords: Project-Based Learning, Project Work, Writing Conventions.

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Authors: Adebisi. Elizabeth, Banjo

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Language and culture are interwoven that they cannot be separated, for the knowledge of a language cannot be complete without having the culture of the language. Indigenous food is a cultural aspect of any language that is expected to be acquired by all the speakers of the language. Indigenous food is known to be vital right from early years, which is also attributed to the healthy living of the ancient people. However it is discovered that the indigenous food is almost being replaced by fast food products such as Indomie noodles, Spaghetti and Macaroni to the extent that majority of the young folks prefer the eating of the fast foods and cannot prepare the indigenous foods which are good for growth and healthy living of people. Therefore, there is need to revitalize and re-educate people on the indigenous food which is an aspect of inter-cultural education of any language to prevent it from being forgotten or neglected.

African foods are many, but this study focused on Nigerian food using some Yoruba dishes as a case study. Examples of Yoruba dishes are pounded yam and melon with vegetable and dried fish soup, beans pudding (moin moin) and pap (eko), water yam pudding with fish and meat (ikokore) and many more. The ingredients needed for the preparation of these indigenous foods contain some basic food nutrients which will be analyzed and their nutritional importance to human bodies will also be discussed.

The process of re- awakening the education of indigenous food to the present and up-coming generation should be via print and electronic media in form of advertisements on posters, billboards, calendars and in rhymes on television programs, radio presentations, video tapes and CD–ROM apart from classroom teaching and learning. Indigenous food is a panacea to healthy living and longevity, a prevention of diseases and a means of accelerated healing of the body through natural foods.

Keywords: Indigenous food, print and electronic media, nutritional values, re-awakening education.

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Authors: A. Abdel-Moniem, H. Madkour, K. Farah, A. Abdullah

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The reduction in dapped end beams depth nearby the supports tends to produce stress concentration and hence results in shear cracks, if it does not have an adequate reinforcement detailing. This study investigates numerically the efficiency of applying different external strengthening techniques to the dapped end of such beams. A two-dimensional finite element model was built to predict the structural behavior of dapped ends strengthened with different techniques. The techniques included external bonding of the steel angle at the re-entrant corner, un-bounded bolt anchoring, external steel plate jacketing, exterior carbon fiber wrapping and/or stripping and external inclined steel plates. The FE analysis results are then presented in terms of the ultimate load capacities, load-deflection and crack pattern at failure. The results showed that the FE model, at various stages, was found to be comparable to the available test data. Moreover, it enabled the capture of the failure progress, with acceptable accuracy, which is very difficult in a laboratory test.

Keywords: Dapped-end beams, finite element, shear failure, strengthening techniques, reinforced concrete, numerical investigation.

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Authors: Ibrahim Aly , Rabab Zalat, Bahaa EL Deen W. El Aswad, Ismail M. Moharm , Basam M. Masoud, Tarek Diab

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The objective of the present study was to evaluate the novel nanomagnetic beads based–latex agglutination assay (NMB-LAT) as a simple test for diagnosis of S. haematobium as well as standardize the novel nanomagnetic beads based –ELISA (NMB-ELISA). According to urine examination this study included 85 S. haematobium infected patients, 30 other parasites infected patients and 25 negative control samples. The sensitivity of novel NMB-LAT was 82.4% versus 96.5% and 88.2% for NMB-ELISA and currently used sandwich ELISA respectively. The specificity of NMB-LAT was 83.6% versus 96.3% and 87.3% for NMB-ELISA and currently used sandwich ELISA respectively. In conclusion, the novel NMB-ELISA is a valuable applicable diagnostic technique for diagnosis of human schistosomiasis haematobium. The novel NMB-ELISA assay is a suitable applicable diagnostic method in field survey especially when followed by ELISA as a confirmatory test in query false negative results. Trials are required to increase the sensitivity and specificity of NMB-ELISA assay.

Keywords: Diagnosis, Latex agglutination, Nanomagnetic beads, Sandwich ELISA.

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Authors: S.Rajanna, H.K.Shivanand, Akash Deep B.N

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Thermite welding is mainly used in world. The reasons why the thermite welding method is widely used are that the equipment has good mobility and total working time of that is shorter than that of the enclosed arc welding method on site. Moreover, the operating skill, which required for thermite welding, is less than that of for enclosed arc welding. In the present research work, heat treatment and combined 'expulsion and heat treatment' techniques were used improve the mechanical properties and weldment structure. The specimens were cut in the transverse direction from expulsion with Heat treated and heat treated Thermite Welded rails. Specimens were prepared according to AWS standard and subjected to tensile test, Impact test and hardness and their results were tabulated. Microstructural analysis was carried out with the help of SEM. Then analyze to effect of heat treated and 'expulsion with heat treated' with the properties of their thermite welded rails. Compare the mechanical and microstructural properties of thermite welded rails between heat expulsion with heat treated and heat treated. Mechanical and microstructural response expulsion with heat treated thermite welded rail is higher value as compared to heat treatment.

Keywords: Expulsion, Heat treatment, Mechanical, Weldment.

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Authors: S. Ghanaraja, Subrata Ray, S. K. Nath

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Particle reinforced Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) succeeds in synergizing the metallic matrix with ceramic particle reinforcements to result in improved strength, particularly at elevated temperatures, but adversely it affects the ductility of the matrix because of agglomeration and porosity. The present study investigates the outcome of tensile properties in a cast and hot forged composite reinforced simultaneously with coarse and fine particles. Nano-sized alumina particles have been generated by milling mixture of aluminum and manganese dioxide powders. Milled particles after drying are added to molten metal and the resulting slurry is cast. The microstructure of the composites shows good distribution of both the size categories of particles without significant clustering. The presence of nanoparticles along with coarser particles in a composite improves both strength and ductility considerably. Delay in debonding of coarser particles to higher stress is due to reduced mismatch in extension caused by increased strain hardening in presence of the nanoparticles. However, higher addition of powder mix beyond a limit results in deterioration of mechanical properties, possibly due to clustering of nanoparticles. The porosity in cast composite generally increases with the increasing addition of powder mix as observed during process and on forging it has got reduced. The base alloy and nanocomposites show improvement in flow stress which could be attributed to lowering of porosity and grain refinement as a consequence of forging.

Keywords: Aluminum, alumina, nanoparticle reinforced composites, porosity.

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Authors: Adil K. Tamimi, Tarig Ali, Rawan Anoohi, Ahmed Rajput, Kaltham Alkamali

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3D concrete printing is one of the most innovative and modern techniques in the field of construction that achieved several milestones in that field for the following advantages: saving project’s time, ability to execute complicated shapes, reduce waste and low cost. However, the concept of 3D printing in UAE is relatively new where construction teams, including clients, consultants, and contractors, do not have the required knowledge and experience in the field. This is the most significant obstacle for the construction parties, which make them refrained from using 3D concrete printing compared to conventional concreting methods. This study shows the historical development of the 3D concrete printing, its advantages, and the challenges facing this innovation. Concrete mixes and materials have been proposed and evaluated to select the best combination for successful 3D concrete printing. The main characteristics of the 3D concrete printing in the fresh and hardened states are considered, such as slump test, flow table, compressive strength, tensile, and flexural strengths. There is need to assess the structural stability of the 3D concrete by testing the bond between interlayers of the concrete.  

Keywords: 3D printing, concrete mixes, workability, compressive strength, slump test, tensile strength, flexural strength.

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Authors: Razan Salem

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Men and women have different approaches towards investing, both in terms of strategies and risk attitudes. This study aims to focus mainly on investigating the financial risk behaviors of Arab women investors and to examine the financial risk tolerance levels of Arab women relative to Arab men investors. Using survey data on 547 Arab men and women investors, the results of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank (One-Sample) test Mann-Whitney U test reveal that Arab women are risk-averse investors and have lower financial risk tolerance levels relative to Arab men. Such findings can be explained by the fact of women's nature and lower investment literacy levels. Further, the current political uncertainty in the Arab region may be considered as another explanation of Arab women’s risk aversion behavior. The study's findings support the existing literature by validating the stereotype of “women are more risk-averse than men” in the Arab region. Overall, when it comes to investment and financial behaviors, women around the world behave similarly.

Keywords: Arab region, financial risk behavior, gender differences, women investors.

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Authors: Frank C. Pan

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The Taiwan Health Literacy Scale (THLS) was developed to cope with the need of measuring heath literacy of Chinese-speaking adults in Taiwan. Although the scale was proven having good reliability and validity, it was not popularly adopted by the practitioners due to the length, and the time required completing. Based on the THLS, this research further invited healthcare professionals to review the original scale for a possible shorten work. Under the logic of THLS, the research adopted an analytic hierarchy process technique to consolidate the healthcare experts- assessments to shorten the original scale. There are fifteen items out of the original 66 items were identified having higher loadings. Confirmed by the experts and passed a pilot test with 40 undergraduate students, a short form of THLS is then introduced. This research then used 839 samples from the major cities of the Hua-lien county in the eastern part of Taiwan to test the reliability and validity of this new scale. The reliability of the scale is high and acceptable. The current scale is also highly correlated with the original, of which provide evidence for the validity of the scale.

Keywords: Health literacy, THLS, health education, STHLS.

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Authors: S. Visetpotjanakit, N. Nakkaew

Abstract:

Determination of low level ⁹⁰Sr in seawater has been widely developed for the purpose of environmental monitoring and radiological research because ⁹⁰Sr is one of the most hazardous radionuclides released from atmospheric during the testing of nuclear weapons, waste discharge from the generation nuclear energy and nuclear accident occurring at power plants. A liquid extraction technique using bis-2-etylhexyl-phosphoric acid to separate and purify yttrium followed by Cherenkov counting using a liquid scintillation counter to determine ⁹⁰Y in secular equilibrium to ⁹⁰Sr was developed to monitor ⁹⁰Sr in the Asia Pacific Ocean. The analytical performance was validated for the accuracy, precision, and trueness criteria. Sr-90 determination in seawater using various low concentrations in a range of 0.01 – 1 Bq/L of 30 liters spiked seawater samples and 0.5 liters of IAEA-RML-2015-01 proficiency test sample was performed for statistical evaluation. The results had a relative bias in the range from 3.41% to 12.28%, which is below accepted relative bias of ± 25% and passed the criteria confirming that our analytical approach for determination of low levels of ⁹⁰Sr in seawater was acceptable. Moreover, the approach is economical, non-laborious and fast.

Keywords: Proficiency test, radiation monitoring, seawater, strontium determination.

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Authors: M. Hammerton, J. Trevathan, T. Myers, W. Read

Abstract:

The transfer rate of messages in distributed sensor network applications is a critical factor in a system's performance. The Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) is one such system. SAL is a middleware integration platform for abstracting sensor specific technology in order to integrate heterogeneous types of sensors in a network. SAL uses Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) as its connection method, which has unsatisfying transfer rates, especially for streaming data.  This paper analyses different connection methods to optimize data transmission in SAL by replacing RMI.  Our results show that the most promising Java-based connections were frameworks for Java New Input/Output (NIO) including Apache MINA, JBoss Netty, and xSocket. A test environment was implemented to evaluate each respective framework based on transfer rate, resource usage, and scalability. Test results showed the most suitable connection method to improve data transmission in SAL JBoss Netty as it provides a performance enhancement of 68%.

Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, remote method invocation, transmission time.

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Authors: Bassam Istanbouli

Abstract:

With the technology evolving every day and with the increase in global competition, industries are always under the pressure to be the best. They need to provide good quality products at competitive prices, when and how the customer wants them.  In order to achieve this level of service, products and their respective supply chain processes need to be flexible and evolvable; otherwise changes will be extremely expensive, slow and with many combinatorial effects. Those combinatorial effects impact the whole organizational structure, from a management, financial, documentation, logistics and specially the information system Enterprise Requirement Planning (ERP) perspective. By applying the normalized system concept/theory to segments of the supply chain, we believe minimal effects, especially at the time of launching an organization global software project. The purpose of this paper is to point out that if an organization wants to develop a software from scratch or implement an existing ERP software for their business needs and if their business processes are normalized and modular then most probably this will yield to a normalized and modular software system that can be easily modified when the business evolves. Another important goal of this paper is to increase the awareness regarding the design of the business processes in a software implementation project. If the blueprints created are normalized then the software developers and configurators will use those modular blueprints to map them into modular software. This paper only prepares the ground for further studies;  the above concept will be supported by going through the steps of developing, configuring and/or implementing a software system for an organization by using two methods: The Software Development Lifecycle method (SDLC) and the Accelerated SAP implementation method (ASAP). Both methods start with the customer requirements, then blue printing of its business processes and finally mapping those processes into a software system.  Since those requirements and processes are the starting point of the implementation process, then normalizing those processes will end up in a normalizing software.

Keywords: Blueprint, ERP, SDLC, Modular.

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Authors: S.G. Srivani, Chandrasekhar Reddy Atla, K.P.Vittal

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of adaptive distance relay for protection of parallel transmission line with mutual coupling. The proposed adaptive relay, automatically adjusts its operation based on the acquisition of the data from distance relay of adjacent line and status of adjacent line from line circuit breaker IED (Intelligent Electronic Device). The zero sequence current of the adjacent parallel transmission line is used to compute zero sequence current ratio and the mutual coupling effect is fully compensated. The relay adapts to changing circumstances, like failure in communication from other relays and non - availability of adjacent transmission line. The performance of the proposed adaptive relay is tested using steady state and dynamic test procedures. The fault transients are obtained by simulating a realistic parallel transmission line system with mutual coupling effect in PSCAD. The evaluation test results show the efficacy of adaptive distance relay over the conventional distance relay.

Keywords: Adaptive relaying, distance measurement, mutualcoupling, quadrilateral trip characteristic, zones of protection.

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Authors: T. O. Olwal, K. Djouani, B. J. van Wyk, Y. Hamam, P. Siarry

Abstract:

Multi-Radio Multi-Channel Wireless Mesh Networks (MRMC-WMNs) operate at the backbone to access and route high volumes of traffic simultaneously. Such roles demand high network capacity, and long “online" time at the expense of accelerated transmission energy depletion and poor connectivity. This is the problem of transmission power control. Numerous power control methods for wireless networks are in literature. However, contributions towards MRMC configurations still face many challenges worth considering. In this paper, an energy-efficient power selection protocol called PMMUP is suggested at the Link-Layer. This protocol first divides the MRMC-WMN into a set of unified channel graphs (UCGs). A UCG consists of multiple radios interconnected to each other via a common wireless channel. In each UCG, a stochastic linear quadratic cost function is formulated. Each user minimizes this cost function consisting of trade-off between the size of unification states and the control action. Unification state variables come from independent UCGs and higher layers of the protocol stack. The PMMUP coordinates power optimizations at the network interface cards (NICs) of wireless mesh routers. The proposed PMMUP based algorithm converges fast analytically with a linear rate. Performance evaluations through simulations confirm the efficacy of the proposed dynamic power control.

Keywords: Effective band inference based power control algorithm (EBIA), Power Selection MRMC Unification Protocol (PMMUP), MRMC State unification Variable Prediction (MRSUP), Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs).

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Authors: Jianzheng Wei, Duo Zhen, Zhihan Yang, Huifeng Tan

Abstract:

The deployable descent technology is a lightweight entry method using an inflatable heat shield. The heatshield consists of a pressurized core which is covered by different layers of thermal insulation and flexible ablative materials in order to protect against the thermal loads. In this paper, both aluminum and silicon-aluminum aerogels were prepared by freeze-drying method. The latter material has bigger specific surface area and nano-scale pores. Mullite fibers are used as the reinforcing fibers to prepare the aerogel matrix to improve composite flexibility. The flexible composite materials were performed as an insulation layer to an underlying aramid fabric by a thermal shock test at a heat flux density of 120 kW/m² and uniaxial tensile test. These results show that the aramid fabric with untreated mullite fibers as the thermal protective layer is completely carbonized at the heat of about 60 s. The aramid fabric as a thermal resistance layer of the composite material still has good mechanical properties at the same heat condition.

Keywords: Aerogel, aramid fabric, flexibility, thermal resistance.

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Authors: M. Bagci, H. Imrek, Omari M. Khalfan

Abstract:

Materials added to the matrix help improving operating properties of a composite. This experimental study has targeted to investigate this aim where Silicon Oxide particles were added to glass fibre and epoxy resin at an amount of 15% to the main material to obtain a sort of new composite material. Erosive wear behavior of epoxy-resin dipped composite materials reinforced with glass fibre and Silicon Oxide under three different impingement angles (30°, 60° and 90°), three different impact velocities (23, 34 and 53 m/s), two different angular Aluminum abrasive particle sizes (approximately 200 and 400 μm) and the fibre orientation of 45° (45/-45) were investigated. In the test results, erosion rates were obtained as functions of impingement angles, impact velocities, particle sizes and fibre orientation. Moreover, materials with addition of Silicon Oxide filler material exhibited lower wear as compared to neat materials with no added filler material. In addition, SEM views showing worn out surfaces of the test specimens were scrutinized.

Keywords: Erosive wear, fibre orientation, GF/EP, silicon oxide.

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