Search results for: Production Structure
3639 Direct Measurement of Electromagnetic Thrust of Electrodeless Helicon Plasma Thruster Using Magnetic Nozzle
Authors: Takahiro Nakamura, Kenji Takahashi, Hiroyuki Nishida, Shunjiro Shinohara, Takeshi Matsuoka, Ikkoh Funaki, Takao Tanikawa, Tohru Hada
Abstract:
In order to realize long-lived electric propulsion systems, we have been investigating an electrodeless plasma thruster. In our concept, a helicon plasma is accelerated by the magnetic nozzle for the thrusts production. In addition, the electromagnetic thrust can be enhanced by the additional radio-frequency rotating electric field (REF) power in the magnetic nozzle. In this study, a direct measurement of the electromagnetic thrust and a probe measurement have been conducted using a laboratory model of the thruster under the condition without the REF power input. Fromthrust measurement, it is shown that the thruster produces a sub-milli-newton order electromagnetic thrust force without the additional REF power. The thrust force and the density jump are observed due to the discharge mode transition from the inductive coupled plasma to the helicon wave excited plasma. The thermal thrust is theoretically estimated, and the total thrust force, which is a sum of the electromagnetic and the thermal thrust force and specific impulse are calculated to be up to 650 μN (plasma production power of 400 W, Ar gas mass flow rate of 1.0 mg/s) and 210 s (plasma production power of 400 W, Ar gas mass flow rate of 0.2 mg/s), respectively.Keywords: Electric propulsion, Helicon plasma, Lissajous acceleration, Thrust stand.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21503638 Effect of Needle Diameter on the Morphological Structure of Electrospun n-Bi2O3/Epoxy-PVA Nanofiber Mats
Authors: Bassam M. Abunahel, Nurul Zahirah Noor Azman, Munirah Jamil
Abstract:
The effect of needle diameter on the morphological structure of electrospun n-Bi2O3/epoxy-PVA nanofibers has been investigated using three different types of needle diameters. The results were observed and investigated using two techniques of scanning electron microscope (SEM). The first technique is backscattered SEM while the second is secondary electron SEM. The results demonstrate that there is a correlation between the needle diameter and the morphology of electrospun nanofibers. As the internal needle diameter decreases, the average nanofiber diameter decreases and the fibers get thinner and smoother without agglomeration or beads formation. Moreover, with small needle diameter the nanofibrous porosity get larger compared with large needle diameter.
Keywords: Needle diameter, fiber diameter, agglomeration, porosity, SEM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9983637 Numerical Modeling of Various Support Systems to Stabilize Deep Excavations
Authors: M. Abdallah
Abstract:
Urban development requires deep excavations near buildings and other structures. Deep excavation has become more a necessity for better utilization of space as the population of the world has dramatically increased. In Lebanon, some urban areas are very crowded and lack spaces for new buildings and underground projects, which makes the usage of underground space indispensable. In this paper, a numerical modeling is performed using the finite element method to study the deep excavation-diaphragm wall soil-structure interaction in the case of nonlinear soil behavior. The study is focused on a comparison of the results obtained using different support systems. Furthermore, a parametric study is performed according to the remoteness of the structure.Keywords: Deep excavation, ground anchors, interaction, struts.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10753636 Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in Victoria’s Food Bowl: Optimizing Productivity with the use of Decision-Support Tools
Authors: M. Johnson, R. Faggian, V. Sposito
Abstract:
A participatory and engaged approach is key in connecting agricultural managers to sustainable agricultural systems to support and optimize production in Victoria’s food bowl. A sustainable intensification (SI) approach is well documented globally, but participation rates amongst Victorian farmers is fragmentary, and key outcomes and implementation strategies are poorly understood. Improvement in decision-support management tools and a greater understanding of the productivity gains available upon implementation of SI is necessary. This paper reviews the current understanding and uptake of SI practices amongst farmers in one of Victoria’s premier food producing regions, the Goulburn Broken; and it spatially analyses the potential for this region to adapt to climate change and optimize food production. A Geographical Information Systems (GIS) approach is taken to develop an interactive decision-support tool that can be accessible to on-ground agricultural managers. The tool encompasses multiple criteria analysis (MCA) that identifies factors during the construction phase of the tool, using expert witnesses and regional knowledge, framed within an Analytical Hierarchy Process. Given the complexities of the interrelations between each of the key outcomes, this participatory approach, in which local realities and factors inform the key outcomes and help to strategies for a particular region, results in a robust strategy for sustainably intensifying production in key food producing regions. The creation of an interactive, locally embedded, decision-support management and education tool can help to close the gap between farmer knowledge and production, increase on-farm adoption of sustainable farming strategies and techniques, and optimize farm productivity.
Keywords: Agriculture, decision-support management tools, GIS, sustainable intensification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8423635 Bioinformatics Profiling of Missense Mutations
Authors: I. Nassiri, B. Goliaei, M. Tavassoli
Abstract:
The ability to distinguish missense nucleotide substitutions that contribute to harmful effect from those that do not is a difficult problem usually accomplished through functional in vivo analyses. In this study, instead current biochemical methods, the effects of missense mutations upon protein structure and function were assayed by means of computational methods and information from the databases. For this order, the effects of new missense mutations in exon 5 of PTEN gene upon protein structure and function were examined. The gene coding for PTEN was identified and localized on chromosome region 10q23.3 as the tumor suppressor gene. The utilization of these methods were shown that c.319G>A and c.341T>G missense mutations that were recognized in patients with breast cancer and Cowden disease, could be pathogenic. This method could be use for analysis of missense mutation in others genes.Keywords: Bioinformatics, missense mutations, PTEN tumorsuppressor gene.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23813634 A Study on ESD Protection Circuit Applying Silicon Controlled Rectifier-Based Stack Technology with High Holding Voltage
Authors: Hee-Guk Chae, Bo-Bae Song, Kyoung-Il Do, Jeong-Yun Seo, Yong-Seo Koo
Abstract:
In this study, an improved Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection circuit with low trigger voltage and high holding voltage is proposed. ESD has become a serious problem in the semiconductor process because the semiconductor density has become very high these days. Therefore, much research has been done to prevent ESD. The proposed circuit is a stacked structure of the new unit structure combined by the Zener Triggering (SCR ZTSCR) and the High Holding Voltage SCR (HHVSCR). The simulation results show that the proposed circuit has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage. And the stack technology is applied to adjust the various operating voltage. As the results, the holding voltage is 7.7 V for 2-stack and 10.7 V for 3-stack.Keywords: ESD, SCR, latch-up, power clamp, holding voltage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9823633 Investigating the Effect of Uncertainty on a LP Model of a Petrochemical Complex: Stability Analysis Approach
Authors: Abdallah Al-Shammari
Abstract:
This study discusses the effect of uncertainty on production levels of a petrochemical complex. Uncertainly or variations in some model parameters, such as prices, supply and demand of materials, can affect the optimality or the efficiency of any chemical process. For any petrochemical complex with many plants, there are many sources of uncertainty and frequent variations which require more attention. Many optimization approaches are proposed in the literature to incorporate uncertainty within the model in order to obtain a robust solution. In this work, a stability analysis approach is applied to a deterministic LP model of a petrochemical complex consists of ten plants to investigate the effect of such variations on the obtained optimal production levels. The proposed approach can determinate the allowable variation ranges of some parameters, mainly objective or RHS coefficients, before the system lose its optimality. Parameters with relatively narrow range of variations, i.e. stability limits, are classified as sensitive parameters or constraints that need accurate estimate or intensive monitoring. These stability limits offer easy-to-use information to the decision maker and help in understanding the interaction between some model parameters and deciding when the system need to be re-optimize. The study shows that maximum production of ethylene and the prices of intermediate products are the most sensitive factors that affect the stability of the optimum solutionKeywords: Linear programming, Petrochemicals, stability analysis, uncertainty
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19403632 Characterization of Lactose Consumption during the Biogas Production from Acid Whey by FT-IR Spectroscopy
Authors: K. Rugele, M. Gavare, M. Grube, K. Tihomirova, E. Skripsts, S. Larsson, J. Rubulis
Abstract:
The consumption of lactose in acid cheese whey anaerobic fermentation process under fed-batch conditions was studied. During fermentation for 100 hours the biogas production (CO2 and CH4) was analyzed online. Among the standard analyses FT-IR spectroscopy was used to follow the consumption of lactose by bacteria. The absorption bands at 990, 894 and 787 cm-1 in the 2nd derivative spectra were shown to be characteristic for lactose and were used to follow the lactose conversion. It was shown that acid cheese whey lactose was converted by bacteria in first 7 hours. In the spectra of 17, 18 and 95 hour fermentation samples lactose was not identified and these results correlated with the HPLC data.Keywords: Acid whey, anaerobic digestion, biogas, FT-IR spectroscopy, lactose consumption.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24793631 Implementation of a New Neural Network Function Block to Programmable Logic Controllers Library Function
Authors: Hamid Abdi, Abolfazl Salami, Abolfazl Ahmadi
Abstract:
Programmable logic controllers are the main controllers in the today's industries; they are used for several applications in industrial control systems and there are lots of examples exist from the PLC applications in industries especially in big companies and plants such as refineries, power plants, petrochemical companies, steel companies, and food and production companies. In the PLCs there are some functions in the function library in software that can be used in PLC programs as basic program elements. The aim of this project are introducing and implementing a new function block of a neural network to the function library of PLC. This block can be applied for some control applications or nonlinear functions calculations after it has been trained for these applications. The implemented neural network is a Perceptron neural network with three layers, three input nodes and one output node. The block can be used in manual or automatic mode. In this paper the structure of the implemented function block, the parameters and the training method of the network are presented by considering the especial method of PLC programming and its complexities. Finally the application of the new block is compared with a classic simulated block and the results are presented.Keywords: Programmable Logic Controller, PLC Programming, Neural Networks, Perception Network, Intelligent Control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37963630 Methane Production from Biomedical Waste (Blood)
Authors: Fatima M. Kabbashi, Abdalla M. Abdalla, Hussam K. Hamad, Elias S. Hassan
Abstract:
This study investigates the production of renewable energy (biogas) from biomedical hazard waste (blood) and eco-friendly disposal. Biogas is produced by the bacterial anaerobic digestion of biomaterial (blood). During digestion process bacterial feeding result in breaking down chemical bonds of the biomaterial and changing its features, by the end of the digestion (biogas production) the remains become manure as known. That has led to the economic and eco-friendly disposal of hazard biomedical waste (blood). The samples (Whole blood, Red blood cells 'RBCs', Blood platelet and Fresh Frozen Plasma ‘FFP’) are collected and measured in terms of carbon to nitrogen C/N ratio and total solid, then filled in connected flasks (three flasks) using water displacement method. The results of trails showed that the platelet and FFP failed to produce flammable gas, but via a gas analyzer, it showed the presence of the following gases: CO, HC, CO₂, and NOX. Otherwise, the blood and RBCs produced flammable gases: Methane-nitrous CH₃NO (99.45%), which has a blue color flame and carbon dioxide CO₂ (0.55%), which has red/yellow color flame. Methane-nitrous is sometimes used as fuel for rockets, some aircraft and racing cars.
Keywords: Renewable energy, biogas, biomedical waste, blood, anaerobic digestion, eco-friendly disposal.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12013629 Microfluidic Continuous Approaches to Produce Magnetic Nanoparticles with Homogeneous Size Distribution
Authors: Ane Larrea, Victor Sebastian, Manuel Arruebo, Jesus Santamaria
Abstract:
We present a gas-liquid microfluidic system as a reactor to obtain magnetite nanoparticles with an excellent degree of control regarding their crystalline phase, shape and size. Several types of microflow approaches were selected to prevent nanomaterial aggregation and to promote homogenous size distribution. The selected reactor consists of a mixer stage aided by ultrasound waves and a reaction stage using a N2-liquid segmented flow to prevent magnetite oxidation to non-magnetic phases. A milli-fluidic reactor was developed to increase the production rate where a magnetite throughput close to 450 mg/h in a continuous fashion was obtained.Keywords: Microfluidics, magnetic nanoparticles, continuous production, nanomaterials.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29713628 Aspects to Motivate users of a Design Engineering Wiki to Share their Knowledge
Authors: Regine W. Vroom, Lysanne E. Vossen, Anoek M. Geers
Abstract:
Industrial design engineering is an information and knowledge intensive job. Although Wikipedia offers a lot of this information, design engineers are better served with a wiki tailored to their job, offering information in a compact manner and functioning as a design tool. For that reason WikID has been developed. However for the viability of a wiki, an active user community is essential. The main subject of this paper is a study to the influence of the communication and the contents of WikID on the user-s willingness to contribute. At first the theory about a website-s first impression, general usability guidelines and user motivation in an online community is studied. Using this theory, the aspects of the current site are analyzed on their suitability. These results have been verified with a questionnaire amongst 66 industrial design engineers (or students industrial design engineering). The main conclusion is that design engineers are enchanted with the existence of WikID and its knowledge structure (taxonomy) but this structure has not become clear without any guidance. In other words, the knowledge structure is very helpful for inspiring and guiding design engineers through their tailored knowledge domain in WikID but this taxonomy has to be better communicated on the main page. Thereby the main page needs to be fitted more to the target group preferences.Keywords: Industrial Design Engineering Knowledge, SemanticWiki, User Willingness to Contribute Knowledge to a Wiki, Influence of Website Content to User Activation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20953627 Extracellular Laccase Production by Co-culture between Galactomyces reesii IFO 10823 and Filamentous Fungal Strains Isolated from Fungus Comb Using Natural Inducer
Authors: P. Chaijak, M. Lertworapreecha, C. Sukkasem
Abstract:
Extracellular laccases are copper-containing microbial enzymes with many industrial biotechnological applications. This study evaluated the ability of nutrients in coconut coir to enhance the yield of extracellular laccase of Galactomyces reesii IFO 10823 and develop a co-culture between this yeast and other filamentous fungi isolated from the fungus comb of Macrotermes sp. The co-culture between G. reesii IFO 10823 and M. indicus FJ-M-5 (G3) gave the highest activity at 580.20 U/mL. When grown in fermentation media prepared from coconut coir and distilled water at 70% of initial moisture without supplement addition, G3 produced extracellular laccase of 113.99 U/mL.
Keywords: Extracellular laccase, production, yeast, natural inducer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11433626 Collaboration of Multi-Agent and Hyper-Heuristics Systems for Production Scheduling Problem
Authors: C. E. Nugraheni, L. Abednego
Abstract:
This paper introduces a framework based on the collaboration of multi agent and hyper-heuristics to find a solution of the real single machine production problem. There are many techniques used to solve this problem. Each of it has its own advantages and disadvantages. By the collaboration of multi agent system and hyper-heuristics, we can get more optimal solution. The hyper-heuristics approach operates on a search space of heuristics rather than directly on a search space of solutions. The proposed framework consists of some agents, i.e. problem agent, trainer agent, algorithm agent (GPHH, GAHH, and SAHH), optimizer agent, and solver agent. Some low level heuristics used in this paper are MRT, SPT, LPT, EDD, LDD, and MON
Keywords: Hyper-heuristics, multi-agent systems, scheduling problem.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21383625 A Review on Applications of Evolutionary Algorithms to Reservoir Operation for Hydropower Production
Authors: Nkechi Neboh, Josiah Adeyemo, Abimbola Enitan, Oludayo Olugbara
Abstract:
Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been used widely through evolution theory to discover acceptable solutions that corresponds to challenges such as natural resources management. EAs are also used to solve varied problems in the real world. EAs have been rapidly identified for its ease in handling multiple objective problems. Reservoir operations is a vital and researchable area which has been studied in the last few decades due to the limited nature of water resources that is found mostly in the semi-arid regions of the world. The state of some developing economy that depends on electricity for overall development through hydropower production, a renewable form of energy, is appalling due to water scarcity. This paper presents a review of the applications of evolutionary algorithms to reservoir operation for hydropower production. This review includes the discussion on areas such as genetic algorithm, differential evolution, and reservoir operation. It also identified the research gaps discovered in these areas. The results of this study will be an eye opener for researchers and decision makers to think deeply of the adverse effect of water scarcity and drought towards economic development of a nation. Hence, it becomes imperative to identify evolutionary algorithms that can address this issue which can hamper effective hydropower generation.Keywords: Evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithm, hydropower, multi-objective, reservoir operations.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27823624 The Influence of the Commons Structure Modification on the Active Power Losses Allocation
Authors: O. Pop, C. Barbulescu, M. Nemes, St. Kilyeni
Abstract:
The tracing methods determine the contribution the power system sources have in their supplying. These methods can be used to assess the transmission prices, but also to recover the transmission fixed cost. In this paper is presented the influence of the modification of commons structure has on the specific price of transfer and on active power losses. The authors propose a power losses allocation method, based on Kirschen-s method. The system operator must make use of a few basic principles about allocation. The only necessary information is the power flows on system branches and the modifications applied to power system buses. In order to illustrate this method, the 25-bus test system is used, elaborated within the Electrical Power Engineering Department, from Timisoara, Romania.Keywords: Power systems, P-U bus, P-Q bus, loss allocation, traceability methods.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15123623 Integration of FMEA and Human Factor in the Food Chain Risk Assessment
Authors: Mohsen Shirani, Micaela Demichela
Abstract:
During the last decades, a number of food crises such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), Mad-Cow disease, Dioxin in chicken food, Food-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), have certainly inflected the reliability of the food industry. Consequently, the trend in applying different scientific methods of risk assessment in food safety has obtained more attentions in the academic and practice. However, lack of practical approach considering entire food supply chain is tangible in the academic literature. In this regard, this paper aims to apply risk assessment tool (FMEA) with integration of Human Factor along the entire supply chain of food production and test the method in a case study of Diary production, and analyze its results.Keywords: Food Risk Assessment, FMEA, Human Factor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30743622 Vibration Suppression of Timoshenko Beams with Embedded Piezoelectrics Using POF
Authors: T. C. Manjunath, B. Bandyopadhyay
Abstract:
This paper deals with the design of a periodic output feedback controller for a flexible beam structure modeled with Timoshenko beam theory, Finite Element Method, State space methods and embedded piezoelectrics concept. The first 3 modes are considered in modeling the beam. The main objective of this work is to control the vibrations of the beam when subjected to an external force. Shear piezoelectric sensors and actuators are embedded into the top and bottom layers of a flexible aluminum beam structure, thus making it intelligent and self-adaptive. The composite beam is divided into 5 finite elements and the control actuator is placed at finite element position 1, whereas the sensor is varied from position 2 to 5, i.e., from the nearby fixed end to the free end. 4 state space SISO models are thus developed. Periodic Output Feedback (POF) Controllers are designed for the 4 SISO models of the same plant to control the flexural vibrations. The effect of placing the sensor at different locations on the beam is observed and the performance of the controller is evaluated for vibration control. Conclusions are finally drawn.Keywords: Smart structure, Timoshenko beam theory, Periodic output feedback control, Finite Element Method, State space model, SISO, Embedded sensors and actuators, Vibration control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21193621 Characterization of Organic Matter in Spodosol Amazonian by Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Authors: Amanda M. Tadini, Houssam Hajjoul, Gustavo Nicolodelli, Stéphane Mounier, Célia R. Montes, Débora M. B. P. Milori
Abstract:
Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in maintaining soil productivity and accounting for the promotion of biological diversity. The main components of the SOM are the humic substances which can be fractionated according to its solubility in humic acid (HA), fulvic acids (FA) and humin (HU). The determination of the chemical properties of organic matter as well as its interaction with metallic species is an important tool for understanding the structure of the humic fractions. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been studied as a source of information about what is happening at the molecular level in these compounds. Specially, soils of Amazon region are an important ecosystem of the planet. The aim of this study is to understand the molecular and structural composition of HA samples from Spodosol of Amazonia using the fluorescence Emission-Excitation Matrix (EEM) and Time Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TRFS). The results showed that the samples of HA showed two fluorescent components; one has a more complex structure and the other one has a simpler structure, which was also seen in TRFS through the evaluation of each sample lifetime. Thus, studies of this nature become important because it aims to evaluate the molecular and structural characteristics of the humic fractions in the region that is considered as one of the most important regions in the world, the Amazon.
Keywords: Amazonian soil, characterization, fluorescence, humic acid, lifetime.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11093620 Utilization of Wheat Bran as Bed Material in Solid State Bacterial Production of Lactic Acid with Various Nitrogen Sources
Abstract:
The present experimental investigation brings about a comparative study of lactic acid production by pure strains of Lactobacilli (1) L. delbreuckii (NCIM2025), (2) L. pentosus (NCIM 2912), (3) Lactobacillus sp.(NCIM 2734, (4) Lactobacillus sp. (NCIM2084) and coculture of strain-1 and Stain-2 in solid bed of wheat bran, under the influence of different nitrogen sources such as baker-s yeast, meat extract and proteose peptone. Among the pure cultures, strain-3 attained lowest pH value of 3.44, hence highest acid formation 46.41 g/L, while the coculture attained an overall maximum value 47.56 g/L lactic acid (pH 3.38) at 15 g/L and 20 g/L level of baker-s yeast, respectively.Keywords: Eco-friendly, lactic acid, lactobacilli, wheat bran
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20613619 Generating Concept Trees from Dynamic Self-organizing Map
Authors: Norashikin Ahmad, Damminda Alahakoon
Abstract:
Self-organizing map (SOM) provides both clustering and visualization capabilities in mining data. Dynamic self-organizing maps such as Growing Self-organizing Map (GSOM) has been developed to overcome the problem of fixed structure in SOM to enable better representation of the discovered patterns. However, in mining large datasets or historical data the hierarchical structure of the data is also useful to view the cluster formation at different levels of abstraction. In this paper, we present a technique to generate concept trees from the GSOM. The formation of tree from different spread factor values of GSOM is also investigated and the quality of the trees analyzed. The results show that concept trees can be generated from GSOM, thus, eliminating the need for re-clustering of the data from scratch to obtain a hierarchical view of the data under study.
Keywords: dynamic self-organizing map, concept formation, clustering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14493618 TOSOM: A Topic-Oriented Self-Organizing Map for Text Organization
Authors: Hsin-Chang Yang, Chung-Hong Lee, Kuo-Lung Ke
Abstract:
The self-organizing map (SOM) model is a well-known neural network model with wide spread of applications. The main characteristics of SOM are two-fold, namely dimension reduction and topology preservation. Using SOM, a high-dimensional data space will be mapped to some low-dimensional space. Meanwhile, the topological relations among data will be preserved. With such characteristics, the SOM was usually applied on data clustering and visualization tasks. However, the SOM has main disadvantage of the need to know the number and structure of neurons prior to training, which are difficult to be determined. Several schemes have been proposed to tackle such deficiency. Examples are growing/expandable SOM, hierarchical SOM, and growing hierarchical SOM. These schemes could dynamically expand the map, even generate hierarchical maps, during training. Encouraging results were reported. Basically, these schemes adapt the size and structure of the map according to the distribution of training data. That is, they are data-driven or dataoriented SOM schemes. In this work, a topic-oriented SOM scheme which is suitable for document clustering and organization will be developed. The proposed SOM will automatically adapt the number as well as the structure of the map according to identified topics. Unlike other data-oriented SOMs, our approach expands the map and generates the hierarchies both according to the topics and their characteristics of the neurons. The preliminary experiments give promising result and demonstrate the plausibility of the method.
Keywords: Self-organizing map, topic identification, learning algorithm, text clustering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20173617 Bioconversion of Oranges Wastes for Pectinase Production Using Aspergillus niger under Solid State Fermentation
Authors: N. Hachemi, A. Nouani, A. Benchabane
Abstract:
The influence of cultivation factors such as content of ammonium sulfate, glucose and water in the culture medium and particle size of dry orange waste, on their bioconversion for pectinase production was studied using complete factorial design. A polygalacturonase (PG) was isolated using ion exchange chromatography under gradient elution 0-0,5 m/l NaCl (column equilibrate with acetate buffer pH 4,5), subsequently by sephadex G75 column chromatography was applied and the molecular weight was obtained about 51,28 KDa. Purified PG enzyme exhibits a pH and temperature optima of activity at 5 and 35°C respectively. Treatment of apple juice by purified enzyme extract yielded a clear juice, which was competitive with juice yielded by pure Sigma Aldrich Aspergillus niger enzyme.
Keywords: Bioconversion, orange wastes, optimization, pectinase.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30583616 Phase Formation of Ba(Ce1-xZrx)0.90Y0.1O3-δ Prepared by a Modified Sol-Gel Method
Authors: N. Z. Baderisham, H. A. Hamid, N. Osman
Abstract:
The powders of Ba(Ce1-xZrx)0.90Y0.1O3-δ (BCZY) with 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.6 have been prepared by a modified sol-gel method. Triethylenetetramine (TETA) was employed as chelating agent. Phase formation of calcined powders at 1100oC and sintered pellets at 1400oC of BCZY were examined by an X-ray diffractrometer (XRD). XRD results showed the calcined powder and sintered pellet formed a single perovskite phase over the entire range of x values. As the amount of zirconium substitution (x values) increase, the main peaks are shifted to the higher 2theta values which suggest a complete substitution of zirconium into cerium sites. All the obtained calcined powders and sintered pellets possess cubic structure (Pm-3m) at all x values.
Keywords: Structure, phase formation, modified sol-gel, cerate-zirconate electrolye, XRD.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42133615 Just-In-Time Implementation Status in the Middle East Industry
Authors: Rami H. Fouad
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the scale of implementation of Just-In-Time (JIT) in the different industrial sectors in the Middle East. This study analyzes the empirical data collected by a questionnaire survey distributed to companies in three main industrial sectors in the Middle East, which are: food, chemicals and fabrics. The following main hypotheses is formulated and tested: (The requirements of JIT application differ according to the type of industrial sector).Descriptive statistics and Box plot analysis were used to examine the hypotheses. This study indicates a reasonable evidence for accepting the main hypotheses. It reveals that there is no standard way to adopt JIT as a production system. But each industrial sector should concentrate in the investment on critical requirements that differ according to the nature and strategy of production followed in that sector.Keywords: Just-In-Time, JIT, Questionnaire, Types of Industrial Sectors.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19623614 Bioethanol - A Viable Answer to India-s Surging Energy Needs
Authors: Pranav Raghav Sood
Abstract:
India is currently the second most populous nation in the world with over 1.2 billion people, growing annually at the rate of 1.5%. It is experiencing a surge in energy demands, expected to grow more than three to four times in 25 years. Most of the energy requirements are currently satisfied by the import of fossil fuels – coal, petroleum-based products and natural gas. Biofuels can satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels, thus providing National Energy Security. Among various forms of bioenergy, bioethanol is one of the major options for India because of availability of feed stock crops. This paper presents an overview on bioethanol production and technology, steps taken by the Indian government to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilization of indigenous biomass feedstocks for production of this biofuel.Keywords: Bioethanol, Fossil fuel, Biofuel, energy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17173613 Evaluation and Comparison of Seismic Performance of Structural Trusses under Cyclic Loading with Finite Element Method
Authors: Masoud Mahdavi
Abstract:
The structure is made using different members and combining them with each other. These members are basically based on technical and engineering principles and are combined in different ways and have their own unique effects on the building. Trusses are one of the most common and important members of the structure, accounting for a large percentage of the power transmission structure in the building. Different types of trusses are based on structural needs and evaluating and making complete comparisons between them is one of the most important engineering analyses. In the present study, four types of trusses have been studied; 1) Hawe truss, 2) Pratt truss, 3) k truss, and 4) warren truss, under cyclic loading for 80 seconds. The trusses are modeled in 3d using st37 steel. The results showed that Hawe trusses had higher values than all other trusses (k, Pratt and Warren) in all the studied indicators. Indicators examined in the study include; 1) von Mises stresses, 2) displacement, 3) support force, 4) velocity, 5) acceleration, 6) capacity (hysteresis curve) and 7) energy diagram. Pratt truss in indicators; Mises stress, displacement, energy have the least amount compared to other trusses. K truss in indicators; support force, speed and acceleration are the lowest compared to other trusses.
Keywords: Hawe truss, Pratt truss, K truss, Warren truss, cyclic loading, finite element method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5763612 Preparation of Porous Carbon Particles using a Spray-Drying Method with Colloidal Template
Authors: Yutaka Kisakibaru, AsepBayu Dani Nandiyanto, Ratna Balgis, Takashi Ogi, Kikuo Okuyama
Abstract:
spherical porous carbon particles with controllable porosity with a mean size of 2.5m have been prepared using a spray drying method with organic particle colloidal template. As a precursor, a mixing solution of carbon nanopowder and polystyrene (PS) particles as a template was used. The result showed that the particles with a good porous structure could be obtained. The pore size and shape (spherical) were identical to the initial template, giving a potential way for further developments. The control of particle porosity was also possible and reported in this paper, in which this control could be achieved by means of PS concentration.Keywords: Porous structure particle; Carbon nanoparticles; Catalyst; Spray-drying method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20903611 Modeling of Microelectromechanical Systems Diaphragm Based Acoustic Sensor
Authors: Vasudha Hegde, Narendra Chaulagain, H. M. Ravikumar, Sonu Mishra, Siva Yellampalli
Abstract:
Acoustic sensors are extensively used in recent days not only for sensing and condition monitoring applications but also for small scale energy harvesting applications to power wireless sensor networks (WSN) due to their inherent advantages. The natural frequency of the structure plays a major role in energy harvesting applications since the sensor key element has to operate at resonant frequency. In this paper, circular diaphragm based MEMS acoustic sensor is modelled by Lumped Element Model (LEM) and the natural frequency is compared with the simulated model using Finite Element Method (FEM) tool COMSOL Multiphysics. The sensor has the circular diaphragm of 3000 µm radius and thickness of 30 µm to withstand the high SPL (Sound Pressure Level) and also to withstand the various fabrication steps. A Piezoelectric ZnO layer of thickness of 1 µm sandwiched between two aluminium electrodes of thickness 0.5 µm and is coated on the diaphragm. Further, a channel with radius 3000 µm radius and length 270 µm is connected at the bottom of the diaphragm. The natural frequency of the structure by LEM method is approximately 16.6 kHz which is closely matching with that of simulated structure with suitable approximations.
Keywords: Acoustic sensor, diaphragm based, lumped element modeling, natural frequency, piezoelectric.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10173610 Seismic Behavior of Self-Balancing Post-Tensioned Reinforced Concrete Spatial Structure
Authors: Mircea Pastrav, Horia Constantinescu
Abstract:
The construction industry is currently trying to develop sustainable reinforced concrete structures. In trying to aid in the effort, the research presented in this paper aims to prove the efficiency of modified special hybrid moment frames composed of discretely jointed precast and post-tensioned concrete members. This aim is due to the fact that current design standards do not cover the spatial design of moment frame structures assembled by post-tensioning with special hybrid joints. This lack of standardization is coupled with the fact that previous experimental programs, available in scientific literature, deal mainly with plane structures and offer little information regarding spatial behavior. A spatial model of a modified hybrid moment frame is experimentally analyzed. The experimental results of a natural scale model test of a corner column-beams sub-structure, cut from an actual multilevel building tested to seismic type loading are presented in order to highlight the behavior of this type of structure. The test is performed under alternative cycles of imposed lateral displacements, up to a storey drift ratio of 0.035. Seismic response of the spatial model is discussed considering the acceptance criteria for reinforced concrete frame structures designed based on experimental tests, as well as some of its major sustainability features. The results obtained show an overall excellent behavior of the system. The joint detailing allows for quick and cheap repairs after an accidental event and a self-balancing behavior of the system that ensures it can be used almost immediately after an accidental event it.
Keywords: Modified hybrid joint, seismic type loading response, self-balancing structure, acceptance criteria.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1140