Search results for: Academic Loss
520 Biodiesel Fuel Production by Methanolysis of Fish Oil Derived from the Discarded Parts of Fish Catalyzed by Carica papaya Lipase
Authors: P. Pinyaphong, P. Sriburi, S. Phutrakul
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In this paper, naturally immobilized lipase, Carica papaya lipase, catalyzed biodiesel production from fish oil was studied. The refined fish oil, extracted from the discarded parts of fish, was used as a starting material for biodiesel production. The effects of molar ratio of oil: methanol, lipase dosage, initial water activity of lipase, temperature and solvent were investigated. It was found that Carica papaya lipase was suitable for methanolysis of fish oil to produce methyl ester. The maximum yield of methyl ester could reach up to 83% with the optimal reaction conditions: oil: methanol molar ratio of 1: 4, 20% (based on oil) of lipase, initial water activity of lipase at 0.23 and 20% (based on oil) of tert-butanol at 40oC after 18 h of reaction time. There was negligible loss in lipase activity even after repeated use for 30 cycles.Keywords: biodiesel fuel production, methanolysis, fish oil, Carica papaya lipase.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3308519 Corporate Governance Role of Audit Committees in the Banking Sector: Evidence from Libya
Authors: Abdulaziz Abdulsaleh
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This study aims at identifying the practices that should be taken into consideration by audit committees as a tool of corporate governance in Libyan commercial banks by investigating various perceptions on this topic. The study is based on a questionnaire submitted to audit committees ‘members at Libyan commercial banks, directors of internal audit departments as well as members of board of directors at these banks in addition to a number of external auditors and academic staff from Libyan universities. The study reveals that the role of audit committees has to be shifted from traditional areas of accounting to a broader role including functions related to financial reporting, audit planning, support the independence of internal and external auditors, acting as a channel of communication between external auditors and board of directors, reviewing external audit, and evaluating internal control systems. Although the study is a starting point in developing a framework of good audit committees’ practices in Libya, it is believed that the adoption of its results can result in enhancing the corporate governance practices not only in the banking sector but also in the entire corporate sector in Libya.
Keywords: Audit committees, Corporate Governance, Commercial Banks, Libya.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4602518 Induction Motor Speed Control Using Fuzzy Logic Controller
Authors: V. Chitra, R. S. Prabhakar
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Because of the low maintenance and robustness induction motors have many applications in the industries. The speed control of induction motor is more important to achieve maximum torque and efficiency. Various speed control techniques like, Direct Torque Control, Sensorless Vector Control and Field Oriented Control are discussed in this paper. Soft computing technique – Fuzzy logic is applied in this paper for the speed control of induction motor to achieve maximum torque with minimum loss. The fuzzy logic controller is implemented using the Field Oriented Control technique as it provides better control of motor torque with high dynamic performance. The motor model is designed and membership functions are chosen according to the parameters of the motor model. The simulated design is tested using various tool boxes in MATLAB. The result concludes that the efficiency and reliability of the proposed speed controller is good.
Keywords: Induction motor, Field Oriented Control, Fuzzy logic controller, Maximum torque, Membership function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3195517 Study of Energy Efficiency Opportunities in UTHM
Authors: Zamri Noranai, Mohammad Zainal Md Yusof
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Sustainable energy usage has been recognized as one of the important measure to increase the competitiveness of the nation globally. Many strong emphases were given in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK9) to improve energy efficient especially to government buildings. With this in view, a project to investigate the potential of energy saving in selected building in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) was carried out. In this project, a case study involving electric energy consumption of the academic staff office building was conducted. The scope of the study include to identify energy consumption in a selected building, to study energy saving opportunities, to analyse cost investment in term of economic and to identify users attitude with respect to energy usage. The MS1525:2001, Malaysian Standard -Code of practice on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy for non-residential buildings was used as reference. Several energy efficient measures were considered and their merits and priority were compared. Improving human behavior can reduce energy consumption by 6% while technical measure can reduce energy consumption by 44%. Two economic analysis evaluation methods were applied; they are the payback period method and net present value method.Keywords: office building, energy, efficiency, economic analyses
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2539516 Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Consumers- Welfare: Experience of Indian Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Pulak Mishra, P V Kiran Kumar
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In the context of introduction of deregulatory policy measures and subsequent wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Indian corporate sector since 1991, the present paper attempts to examine the welfare implications of this wave. It is found that M&A do not have any significant impact on consumers- welfare. Instead, consumers- welfare is significantly influenced by exports intensity, imports intensity, advertising intensity, technology related efforts, and past profitability of the firms. While the industries with higher exports orientation or greater product differentiation or better financial performance experience greater loss in consumers- welfare, it is less in the industries with greater competition from imports or better technology. Hence, the wave of M&A in Indian manufacturing sector in the post-liberalization era may not be a matter of serious concern from consumers- welfare point of view. Instead, in many cases, M&A can help the firms in consolidating their business and enhancing competitiveness, and this may benefit the consumers in the form of greater efficiency and lower prices.
Keywords: Mergers, acquisitions, concentration, welfare, IndiaJEL CodesÔÇöL1, L2, L4, L5
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3573515 Assessment of Hargreaves Equation for Estimating Monthly Reference Evapotranspiration in the South of Iran
Authors: Ali Dehgan Moroozeh, B. Farhadi Bansouleh
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Evapotranspiration is one of the most important components of the hydrological cycle. Evapotranspiration (ETo) is an important variable in water and energy balances on the earth’s surface, and knowledge of the distribution of ET is a key factor in hydrology, climatology, agronomy and ecology studies. Many researchers have a valid relationship, which is a function of climate factors, to estimate the potential evapotranspiration presented to the plant water stress or water loss, prevent. The FAO-Penman method (PM) had been recommended as a standard method. This method requires many data and these data are not available in every area of world. So, other methods should be evaluated for these conditions. When sufficient or reliable data to solve the PM equation are not available then Hargreaves equation can be used. The Hargreaves equation (HG) requires only daily mean, maximum and minimum air temperature extraterrestrial radiation .In this study, Hargreaves method (HG) were evaluated in 12 stations in the North West region of Iran. Results of HG and M.HG methods were compared with results of PM method. Statistical analysis of this comparison showed that calibration process has had significant effect on efficiency of Hargreaves method.Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Hargreaves equation, FAOPenman method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1895514 An Application of Extreme Value Theory as a Risk Measurement Approach in Frontier Markets
Authors: Dany Ng Cheong Vee, Preethee Nunkoo Gonpot, Noor-Ul-Hacq Sookia
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In this paper, we consider the application of Extreme Value Theory as a risk measurement tool. The Value at Risk, for a set of indices, from six Stock Exchanges of Frontier markets is calculated using the Peaks over Threshold method and the performance of the model index-wise is evaluated using coverage tests and loss functions. Our results show that “fattailedness” alone of the data is not enough to justify the use of EVT as a VaR approach. The structure of the returns dynamics is also a determining factor. This approach works fine in markets which have had extremes occurring in the past thus making the model capable of coping with extremes coming up (Colombo, Tunisia and Zagreb Stock Exchanges). On the other hand, we find that indices with lower past than present volatility fail to adequately deal with future extremes (Mauritius and Kazakhstan). We also conclude that using EVT alone produces quite static VaR figures not reflecting the actual dynamics of the data.
Keywords: Extreme Value theory, Financial Crisis 2008, Frontier Markets, Value at Risk.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2370513 Effect of Modified Layered Silicate Nanoclay on the Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of Thermoplastic Polymers Nanocomposites
Authors: Benalia Kouini, Aicha Serier
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This work aims to investigate the structure–property relationship in ternary nanocomposites consisting of polypropylene as the matrix, polyamide 66 as the minor phase and treated nanoclay DELLITE 67G as the reinforcement. All PP/PA66/Nanoclay systems with polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride PP-g-MAH as a compatibilizer were prepared via melt compounding and characterized in terms of nanoclay content. Morphological structure was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The rheological behavior of the nanocomposites was determined by various methods, viz melt flow index (MFI) and parallel plate rheological measurements. The PP/PP-g-MAH/PA66 nanocomposites showed a homogeneous morphology supporting the compatibility improvement between PP, PA66, and nanoclay. SEM results revealed the formation of nanocomposites as the nanoclay was intercalated and exfoliated. In the ternary nanocomposites, the rheological behavior showed that, the complex viscosity is increased with increasing the nanoclay. The results showed that the use of nanoclay affects the variations of storage modulus (G′), loss modulus (G″) and the melt elasticity.Keywords: Nanocomposites, polypropylene, polyamide66, modified nanoclay, rheology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1714512 Filtering and Reconstruction System for Gray Forensic Images
Authors: Ahd Aljarf, Saad Amin
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Images are important source of information used as evidence during any investigation process. Their clarity and accuracy is essential and of the utmost importance for any investigation. Images are vulnerable to losing blocks and having noise added to them either after alteration or when the image was taken initially, therefore, having a high performance image processing system and it is implementation is very important in a forensic point of view. This paper focuses on improving the quality of the forensic images. For different reasons packets that store data can be affected, harmed or even lost because of noise. For example, sending the image through a wireless channel can cause loss of bits. These types of errors might give difficulties generally for the visual display quality of the forensic images. Two of the images problems: noise and losing blocks are covered. However, information which gets transmitted through any way of communication may suffer alteration from its original state or even lose important data due to the channel noise. Therefore, a developed system is introduced to improve the quality and clarity of the forensic images.
Keywords: Image Filtering, Image Reconstruction, Image Processing, Forensic Images.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2204511 Application of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in Desulfurization of US Coal: 10 L Batch Stirred Reactor Study
Authors: Ashish Pathak, Dong-Jin Kim, S. Singh, H. Srichandan, Byoung-Gon Kim
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The desulfurization of coal using biological methods is an emerging technology. The biodesulfurization process uses the catalytic activity of chemolithotrophic acidpohiles in removing sulfur and pyrite from the coal. The present study was undertaken to examine the potential of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in removing the pyritic sulfur and iron from high iron and sulfur containing US coal. The experiment was undertaken in 10 L batch stirred tank reactor having 10% pulp density of coal. The reactor was operated under mesophilic conditions and aerobic conditions were maintained by sparging the air into the reactor. After 35 days of experiment, about 64% of pyrite and 21% of pyritic sulfur was removed from the coal. The findings of the present study indicate that the biodesulfurization process does have potential in treating the high pyrite and sulfur containing coal. A good mass balance was also obtained with net loss of about 5% showing its feasibility for large scale application.
Keywords: At.ferrroxidans, Batch reactor, Coal desulfurization, Pyrite.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1658510 The Effects of Multipath on OFDM Systems for Broadband Power-Line Communications a Case of Medium Voltage Channel
Authors: Justinian Anatory, N. Theethayi, R. Thottappillil, C. Mwase, N.H. Mvungi
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Power-line networks are widely used today for broadband data transmission. However, due to multipaths within the broadband power line communication (BPLC) systems owing to stochastic changes in the network load impedances, branches, etc., network or channel capacity performances are affected. This paper attempts to investigate the performance of typical medium voltage channels that uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) techniques with Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) sub carriers. It has been observed that when the load impedances are different from line characteristic impedance channel performance decreases. Also as the number of branches in the link between the transmitter and receiver increases a loss of 4dB/branch is found in the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The information presented in the paper could be useful for an appropriate design of the BPLC systems.
Keywords: Communication channel model, Power-line communication, Transfer function, Multipath, Branched network, OFDM, QAM, performance evaluation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1836509 Urban Sprawl and the Loss of Peri-Urban Land in Kumasi, Ghana
Authors: Patrick B. Cobbinah, Clifford Amoako
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Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest and fastest growing city with an annual population growth rate of 5.4 percent. A major result of this phenomenon is a growing sprawl at the fringes of the city. This paper assesses the nature, extent and impact of sprawl on Kumasi and examines urban planning efforts at addressing this phenomenon. Both secondary and empirical data were collected from decentralized government departments of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and residents of some sprawling communities. The study reveals that sprawl in the metropolis is rapidly consuming fringe rural communities. This situation has weakened effective management of the metropolis causing problems such as congestion and conversion of peri-urban land into residential use without ancillary infrastructure and social services. The paper recommends effective and timely planning and provision of services as well as an overall economic development and spatial integration through regional planning as a way of achieving a long term solution to sprawl.
Keywords: Kumasi, peri-urban, urban planning, urban sprawl.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4961508 Effective Image and Video Error Concealment using RST-Invariant Partial Patch Matching Model and Exemplar-based Inpainting
Authors: Shiraz Ahmad, Zhe-Ming Lu
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An effective visual error concealment method has been presented by employing a robust rotation, scale, and translation (RST) invariant partial patch matching model (RSTI-PPMM) and exemplar-based inpainting. While the proposed robust and inherently feature-enhanced texture synthesis approach ensures the generation of excellent and perceptually plausible visual error concealment results, the outlier pruning property guarantees the significant quality improvements, both quantitatively and qualitatively. No intermediate user-interaction is required for the pre-segmented media and the presented method follows a bootstrapping approach for an automatic visual loss recovery and the image and video error concealment.Keywords: Exemplar-based image and video inpainting, outlierpruning, RST-invariant partial patch matching model (RSTI-PPMM), visual error concealment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1403507 Causes and Implications of Obesity in Urban School Going Children
Authors: Mohammad Amjad, Muhammad Iqbal Zafar, Ashfaq Ahmed Maan, Muhammad Tayyab Kashif
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Obesity is an abnormal physical condition where an increased and undesirable fat accumulates in the human body. Obesity is an international phenomenon. In the present study, 12 schools were randomly selected from each district considering the areas i.e. Elite Private Schools in the private sector, Government schools in urban areas and Government schools in rural areas. Interviews were conducted with male students studying in grade 5 to grade 9 in each school. The sample size was 600 students; 300 from Faisalabad district and 300 from Rawalpindi district in Pakistan. A well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The calibrated scales were used to attain the heights and weights of the respondents. Obesity of school-going children depends on family types, family size, family history, junk food consumption, mother’s education, weekly time spent in walking, and sports facility at school levels. Academic performance, physical health and psychological health of school going children are affected with obesity. Concrete steps and policies could minimize the incidence of obesity in children in Pakistan.
Keywords: BMI, cardiovascular disease, fast food, morbidity and overweight.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 914506 The Attitude of Second Year Pharmacy Students towards Lectures, Exams and E-Learning
Authors: Ahmed T. Alahmar
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There is an increasing trend toward student-centred interactive e-learning methods and students’ feedback is a valuable tool for improving learning methods. The aim of this study was to explore the attitude of second year pharmacy students at the University of Babylon, Iraq, towards lectures, exams and e-learning. Materials and methods: Ninety pharmacy students were surveyed by paper questionnaire about their preference for lecture format, use of e-files, theoretical lectures versus practical experiments, lecture and lab time. Students were also asked about their predilection for Moodle-based online exams, different types of exam questions, exam time and other extra academic activities. Results: Students prefer to read lectures on paper (73.3%), use of PowerPoint file (76.7%), short lectures of less than 10 pages (94.5%), practical experiments (66.7%), lectures and lab time of less than two hours (89.9% and 96.6 respectively) and intra-lecture discussions (68.9%). Students also like to have paper-based exam (73.3%), short essay (40%) or MCQ (34.4%) questions and also prefer to do extra activities like reports (22.2%), seminars (18.6%) and posters (10.8%). Conclusion: Second year pharmacy students have different attitudes toward traditional and electronic leaning and assessment methods. Using multimedia, e-learning and Moodle are increasingly preferred methods among some students.
Keywords: Pharmacy, students, lecture, exam, e-learning, Moodle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1412505 Risk Management Approach for Lean, Agile, Resilient and Green Supply Chain
Authors: Benmoussa Rachid, Deguio Roland, Dubois Sebastien, Rasovska Ivana
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Implementation of LARG (Lean, Agile, Resilient, Green) practices in the supply chain management is a complex task mainly because ecological, economical and operational goals are usually in conflict. To implement these LARG practices successfully, companies’ need relevant decision making tools allowing processes performance control and improvement strategies visibility. To contribute to this issue, this work tries to answer the following research question: How to master performance and anticipate problems in supply chain LARG practices implementation? To answer this question, a risk management approach (RMA) is adopted. Indeed, the proposed RMA aims basically to assess the ability of a supply chain, guided by “Lean, Green and Achievement” performance goals, to face “agility and resilience risk” factors. To proof its relevance, a logistics academic case study based on simulation is used to illustrate all its stages. It shows particularly how to build the “LARG risk map” which is the main output of this approach.
Keywords: Risk approach, lean supply chain, agile supply chain, green supply chain, resilient supply chain.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1874504 Modal Analysis for Study of Minor Historical Architecture
Authors: Milorad Pavlovic, Anna Manzato, Antonella Cecchi
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Cultural heritage conservation is a challenge for contemporary society. In recent decades, significant resources have been allocated for the conservation and restoration of architectural heritage. Historical buildings were restored, protected and reinforced with the intent to limit the risks of degradation or loss, due to phenomena of structural damage and to external factors such as differential settlements, earthquake effects, etc. The wide diffusion of historic masonry constructions in Italy, Europe and the Mediterranean area requires reliable tools for the evaluation of their structural safety. In this paper is presented a free modal analysis performed on a minor historical architecture located in the village of Bagno Grande, near the city of L’Aquila in Italy. The location is characterized by a complex urban context, seriously damaged by the earthquake of 2009. The aim of this work is to check the structural behavior of a masonry building characterized by several boundary conditions imposed by adjacent buildings and infrastructural facilities.
Keywords: FEM, masonry, minor historical architecture, modal analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1102503 Knowledge Management Challenges within Traditional Procurement System
Authors: M. Takhtravanchi, C. Pathirage
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In the construction industry, project members are conveyor of project knowledge which is, often, not managed properly to be used in future projects. As construction projects are temporary and unique, project members are willing to be recruited once a project is completed. Therefore, poor management of knowledge across construction projects will lead to a considerable amount of knowledge loss; the ignoring of which would be detrimental to project performance. This issue is more prominent in projects undertaken through the traditional procurement system, as this system does not incentives project members for integration. Thus, disputes exist between the design and construction phases based on the poor management of knowledge between those two phases. This paper aims to highlight the challenges of the knowledge management that exists within the traditional procurement system. Expert interviews were conducted and challenges were identified and analysed by the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach in order to summarise the relationships among them. Two identified key challenges are the Culture of an Organisation and Knowledge Management Policies. A knowledge of the challenges and their relationships will help project manager and stakeholders to have a better understanding of the importance of knowledge management.
Keywords: Challenges, construction industry, knowledge management, traditional procurement system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1239502 Development of EREC IF Model to Increase Critical Thinking and Creativity Skills of Undergraduate Nursing Students
Authors: Kamolrat Turner, Boontuan Wattanakul
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Critical thinking and creativity are prerequisite skills for working professionals in the 21st century. A survey conducted in 2014 at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Chon Buri, Thailand, revealed that these skills within students across all academic years was at a low to moderate level. An action research study was conducted to develop the EREC IF Model, a framework which includes the concepts of experience, reflection, engagement, culture and language, ICT, and flexibility and fun, to guide pedagogic activities for 75 sophomores of the undergraduate nursing science program at the college. The model was applied to all professional nursing courses. Prior to implementation, workshops were held to prepare lecturers and students. Both lecturers and students initially expressed their discomfort and pointed to the difficulties with the model. However, later they felt more comfortable, and by the end of the project they expressed their understanding and appreciation of the model. A survey conducted four and eight months after implementation found that the critical thinking and creativity skills of the sophomores were significantly higher than those recorded in the pretest. It could be concluded that the EREC IF model is efficient for fostering critical thinking and creativity skills in the undergraduate nursing science program. This model should be used for other levels of students.
Keywords: Critical thinking, creativity, undergraduate nursing students, EREC IF model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2150501 Calculation Analysis of an Axial Compressor Supersonic Stage Impeller
Authors: Y. B. Galerkin, E. Y. Popova, K. V. Soldatova
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There is an evident trend to elevate pressure ratio of a single stage of a turbo compressors - axial compressors in particular. Whilst there was an opinion recently that a pressure ratio 1,9 was a reasonable limit, later appeared information on successful modeling tested of stages with pressure ratio up to 2,8. The authors recon that lack of information on high pressure stages makes actual a study of rational choice of design parameters before high supersonic flow problems solving. The computer program of an engineering type was developed. Below is presented a sample of its application to study possible parameters of the impeller of the stage with pressure ratio 3,0. Influence of two main design parameters on expected efficiency, periphery blade speed and flow structure is demonstrated. The results had lead to choose a variant for further analysis and improvement by CFD methods.
Keywords: Supersonic stage, impeller, efficiency, flow rate coefficient, work coefficient, loss coefficient, oblique shock, direct shock.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2646500 A CFD Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement in Pipe Flow with Al2O3 Nanofluid
Authors: P.Kumar
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Fluids are used for heat transfer in many engineering equipments. Water, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are some of the common heat transfer fluids. Over the years, in an attempt to reduce the size of the equipment and/or efficiency of the process, various techniques have been employed to improve the heat transfer rate of these fluids. Surface modification, use of inserts and increased fluid velocity are some examples of heat transfer enhancement techniques. Addition of milli or micro sized particles to the heat transfer fluid is another way of improving heat transfer rate. Though this looks simple, this method has practical problems such as high pressure loss, clogging and erosion of the material of construction. These problems can be overcome by using nanofluids, which is a dispersion of nanosized particles in a base fluid. Nanoparticles increase the thermal conductivity of the base fluid manifold which in turn increases the heat transfer rate. In this work, the heat transfer enhancement using aluminium oxide nanofluid has been studied by computational fluid dynamic modeling of the nanofluid flow adopting the single phase approach.Keywords: Heat transfer intensification, nanofluid, CFD, friction factor
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3777499 The Role of the Internal Audit Unit in Detecting and Preventing Fraud at Public Universities in West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Fury Khristianty Fitriyah
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This study aims to identify the extent of the role of the Satuan Pengawas Intern (Internal Audit Unit) in detecting and preventing fraud in public universities in West Java under the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education. The research method applied was a qualitative case study approach, while the unit of analysis for this study is the Internal Audit Unit at each public university. Results of this study indicate that the Internal Audit Unit is able to detect and prevent fraud within a public university environment by means of red flags to mark accounting anomalies. These stem from inaccurate budget planning that prompts inappropriate use of funds, exacerbated by late disbursements of funds, which potentially lead to fictitious transactions, and discrepancies in recording state-owned assets into a state property management system (SIMAK BMN), which, if not conducted properly, potentially causes loss to the state.Keywords: Internal Audit Unit, efficiency, fraud, public university.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2134498 Wind Farm Modeling for Steady State and Dynamic Analysis
Authors: G.Kabashi, K.Kadriu, A.Gashi, S.Kabashi, G, Pula, V.Komoni
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This paper focuses on PSS/E modeling of wind farms of Doubly-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) type and their impact on issues of power system operation. Since Wind Turbine Generators (WTG) don-t have the same characteristics as synchronous generators, the appropriate modeling of wind farms is essential for transmission system operators to analyze the best options of transmission grid reinforcements as well as to evaluate the wind power impact on reliability and security of supply. With the high excepted penetration of wind power into the power system a simultaneous loss of Wind Farm generation will put at risk power system security and reliability. Therefore, the main wind grid code requirements concern the fault ride through capability and frequency operation range of wind turbines. In case of grid faults wind turbines have to supply a definite reactive power depending on the instantaneous voltage and to return quickly to normal operation.Keywords: Power System transients, PSS/E dynamic simulationDouble-fed Induction Generator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4598497 Stability Improvement of AC System by Controllability of the HVDC
Authors: Omid Borazjani, Alireza Rajabi, Mojtaba Saeedimoghadam, Khodakhast Isapour
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High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) power transmission is employed to move large amounts of electric power. There are several possibilities to enhance the transient stability in a power system. One adequate option is by using the high controllability of the HVDC if HVDC is available in the system. This paper presents a control technique for HVDC to enhance the transient stability. The strategy controls the power through the HVDC to help make the system more transient stable during disturbances. Loss of synchronism is prevented by quickly producing sufficient decelerating energy to counteract accelerating energy gained during. In this study, the power flow in the HVDC link is modulated with the addition of an auxiliary signal to the current reference of the rectifier firing angle controller. This modulation control signal is derived from speed deviation signal of the generator utilizing a PD controller; the utilization of a PD controller is suitable because it has the property of fast response. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated with a SMIB test system.Keywords: HVDC, SMIB, Stability, Power System.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2324496 Perceptions of Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Regarding Use of Biological Control Practices: A Case Study in Jiroft County, Iran
Authors: Hossein Shabanali Fami, Omid Sharifi, Javad Ghasemi, Mahtab Pouratashi, Mona Sadat Moghadasian
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The main purpose of this study was to investigate perception of greenhouse vegetable growers regarding use of biological control practices during the growing season. The statistical population of the study included greenhouse vegetable growers in Jiroft county (N=1862). A sample of 137 vegetable growers was selected, using random sampling method. Data were collected via a questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was obtained by the faculty members of the Department of Agricultural Development and Management in the University of Tehran. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to estimate the reliability which showed a high reliability for the instrument. Data was analyzed using SPSS/Windows 13.5. The results revealed that greenhouse vegetable growers had moderate level of perception regarding biological control practices. Levels of vegetable growers’ perceptions regarding biological control practices were different on the basis of their academic qualifications as well as educational level and job. In addition, the results indicated that about 54.1% of variations in vegetable growers’ perceptions could be explained by variables such as awareness of biological control practices, knowledge on pests, annual production and age.Keywords: Greenhouse, biological control, biological agents, perception, vegetable grower.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1692495 The Use of Substances and Sports Performance among Youth: Implications for Lagos State Sports
Authors: Osifeko Olalekan Remigious, Adesanya Adebisi Joseph, Omolade Akinmade Olatunde
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The focus of this study was to determine the factors associated with the use of substances for sport performance of youth in Lagos state sport. Questionnaire was the instrument used for the study. Descriptive research method was used. The estimated population for the study was 2000 sport men and women. The sample size was 200 respondents for purposive sampling techniques were used. The instrument was validated in it content and constructs value. The instrument was administered with the assistance of the coaches. Same 200 copies administered were returned. The data obtained was analysed using simple percentage and chi-square (x2) for stated hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The finding reveal that sport injuries exercise induced and anaphylaxis and asthma and feeling of loss of efficacy associated with alcohol used on sport performance among the users of substances. Alcohol users are recommended to partake in sport like swimming, basketball and volleyball because they have space of time for resting while at play. Government should be fully in charge of the health of sport men and women.Keywords: Implications, Lagos state, substances, sports performance, youths.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1963494 Distributed Generator Placement and Sizing in Unbalanced Radial Distribution System
Authors: J. B. V. Subrahmanyam, C. Radhakrishna
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To minimize power losses, it is important to determine the location and size of local generators to be placed in unbalanced power distribution systems. On account of some inherent features of unbalanced distribution systems, such as radial structure, large number of nodes, a wide range of X/R ratios, the conventional techniques developed for the transmission systems generally fail on the determination of optimum size and location of distributed generators (DGs). This paper presents a simple method for investigating the problem of contemporaneously choosing best location and size of DG in three-phase unbalanced radial distribution system (URDS) for power loss minimization and to improve the voltage profile of the system. Best location of the DG is determined by using voltage index analysis and size of DG is computed by variational technique algorithm according to available standard size of DGs. This paper presents the results of simulations for 25-bus and IEEE 37- bus Unbalanced Radial Distribution system.Keywords: Distributed generator, unbalanced radial distributionsystem, voltage index analysis, variational algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3721493 Digital Privacy Legislation Awareness
Authors: Henry Foulds, Magda Huisman, Gunther R. Drevin
Abstract:
Privacy is regarded as a fundamental human right and it is clear that the study of digital privacy is an important field. Digital privacy is influenced by new and constantly evolving technologies and this continuous change makes it hard to create legislation to protect people’s privacy from being exploited by misuse of these technologies.
This study aims to benefit digital privacy legislation efforts by evaluating the awareness and perceived importance of digital privacy legislation among computer science students. The chosen fixed variables for the population are study year and gamer classification.
The use of location based services in mobile applications and games are a concern for digital privacy. For this reason the study focused on computer science students as they have a high likelihood to use and develop this type of software. Surveys were used to evaluate awareness and perceived importance of digital privacy legislation.
The results of the study show that privacy legislation and awareness of privacy legislation are important to people. The perception of the importance of privacy legislation increases with academic experience. Awareness of privacy legislation increases from non-gamers to pro gamers.
Keywords: Digital privacy, Legislation awareness, Gaming.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1972492 Surface Roughness Optimization in End Milling Operation with Damper Inserted End Milling Cutters
Authors: Krishna Mohana Rao, G. Ravi Kumar, P. Sowmya
Abstract:
This paper presents a study of the Taguchi design application to optimize surface quality in damper inserted end milling operation. Maintaining good surface quality usually involves additional manufacturing cost or loss of productivity. The Taguchi design is an efficient and effective experimental method in which a response variable can be optimized, given various factors, using fewer resources than a factorial design. This Study included spindle speed, feed rate, and depth of cut as control factors, usage of different tools in the same specification, which introduced tool condition and dimensional variability. An orthogonal array of L9(3^4)was used; ANOVA analyses were carried out to identify the significant factors affecting surface roughness, and the optimal cutting combination was determined by seeking the best surface roughness (response) and signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, confirmation tests verified that the Taguchi design was successful in optimizing milling parameters for surface roughness.Keywords: ANOVA, Damper, End Milling, Optimization, Surface roughness, Taguchi design.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2334491 Machine Learning Methods for Flood Hazard Mapping
Authors: S. Zappacosta, C. Bove, M. Carmela Marinelli, P. di Lauro, K. Spasenovic, L. Ostano, G. Aiello, M. Pietrosanto
Abstract:
This paper proposes a neural network approach for assessing flood hazard mapping. The core of the model is a machine learning component fed by frequency ratios, namely statistical correlations between flood event occurrences and a selected number of topographic properties. The classification capability was compared with the flood hazard mapping River Basin Plans (Piani Assetto Idrogeologico, acronimed as PAI) designed by the Italian Institute for Environmental Research and Defence, ISPRA (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale), encoding four different increasing flood hazard levels. The study area of Piemonte, an Italian region, has been considered without loss of generality. The frequency ratios may be used as a standalone block to model the flood hazard mapping. Nevertheless, the mixture with a neural network improves the classification power of several percentage points, and may be proposed as a basic tool to model the flood hazard map in a wider scope.
Keywords: flood modeling, hazard map, neural networks, hydrogeological risk, flood risk assessment
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 694