Search results for: growth rate of GDP
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4031

Search results for: growth rate of GDP

3161 Solar Calculations of Modified Arch (Semi Spherical) Type Greenhouse System for Bayburt City

Authors: Uğur Çakır, Erol Sahin, Kemal Çomaklı, Aysegül Çokgez Kus

Abstract:

Greenhouses offer us suitable conditions which can be controlled easily for the growth of the plant and they are made by using a covering material that allows the sun light entering into the system. Covering material can be glass, fiber glass, plastic or another transparent element. This study investigates the solar energy usability rates and solar energy benefitting rates of a semi-spherical (modified arch) type greenhouse system according to different orientations and positions which exists under climatic conditions of Bayburt. In the concept of this study it is tried to determine the best direction and best sizes of a semi-spherical greenhouse to get best solar benefit from the sun. To achieve this aim a modeling study is made by using MATLAB. However, this modeling study is run for some determined shapes and greenhouses it can be used for different shaped greenhouses or buildings. The basic parameters are determined as greenhouse azimuth angle, the rate of size of long edge to short and seasonal solar energy gaining of greenhouse. The optimum azimuth angles of 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 50 m2 modified arch greenhouse are 90o, 90o, 35o, 35o, 34o, 33o and 22o while their optimum k values (ratio of length to width) are 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 4 and 4 respectively. Positioning the buildings in order to get more solar heat energy in winter and less in summer brings out energy and money savings and increases the comfort.

Keywords: Greenhousing, solar energy, direct radiation, renewable energy.

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3160 Challenges and Proposed Solutions toward Successful Dealing with E-Waste in Kuwait

Authors: Salem Alajmi, Bader Altaweel

Abstract:

Kuwait, like many parts of the world, has started facing the dangerous growth of electrical and electronic waste. This growth has been noted in last two decades, emerging with the development of mobile phones, computers, TVs, as well as other electronic devices and electrical equipment. Kuwait is already among the highest global producers of electronic waste (e-waste) in kg per capita. Furthermore, Kuwait is among the global countries that set high-level future targets in renewable energy projects. Accumulation of this electronic waste, as well as accelerated renewable energy projects, will lead to the increase of future threats to the country. In this research, factors that lead to the increase the e-waste in Kuwait are presented. Also, the current situations of dealing with e-waste in the country as well as the associated challenges are examined. The impact of renewable energy projects on future e-waste accumulation is considered. Moreover, this research proposes the best strategies and practices toward successfully dealing with the waste of electronic devices and renewable energy technologies.

Keywords: E-waste, landfill, environmental management, valuable metals, hazardous materials.

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3159 Influence of Valve Lift Timing on Producer Gas Combustion and Its Modeling Using Two-Stage Wiebe Function

Authors: M. Sreedhar Babu, Vishal Garg, S. B. Akella, Shibu Clement, N. K. S Rajan

Abstract:

Producer gas is a biomass derived gaseous fuel which is extensively used in internal combustion engines for power generation application. Unlike the conventional hydrocarbon fuels (Gasoline and Natural gas), the combustion properties of producer gas fuel are much different. Therefore, setting of optimal spark time for efficient engine operation is required. Owing to the fluctuating tendency of producer gas composition during gasification process, the heat release patterns (dictating the power output and emissions) obtained are quite different from conventional fuels. It was found that, valve lift timing is yet another factor which influences the burn rate of producer gas fuel, and thus, the heat release rate of the engine. Therefore, the present study was motivated to estimate the influence of valve lift timing analytically (Wiebe model) on the burn rate of producer gas through curve fitting against experimentally obtained mass fraction burn curves of several producer gas compositions. Furthermore, Wiebe models are widely used in zero-dimensional codes for engine parametric studies and are quite popular. This study also addresses the influence of hydrogen and methane concentration of producer gas on combustion trends, which are known to cause dynamics in engine combustion.

Keywords: Combustion Duration, crank angle, mass fraction burnt, producer gas, wiebe combustion model, wide open throttle.

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3158 Concentrations and History of Heavy Metals in Sediment Cores: Geochemistry and Geochronology Using 210Pb

Authors: F. Fernandes, C. Poleto

Abstract:

This paper aims at assessing the concentrations of heavy metals and the isotopic composition of lead 210Pb in different fractions of sediment produced in the watershed that makes up the Mãe d'água dam and thus characterizing the distribution of metals along the sedimentary column and inferencing in the urbanization of the same process. Sample collection was carried out in June 2014; eight sediment cores were sampled in the lake of the dam. For extraction of the sediments core, a core sampler “Piston Core” was used. The trace metal concentrations were determined by conventional atomic absorption spectrophotometric methods. The samples were subjected to radiochemical analysis of 210Po. 210Pb activity was obtained by measuring 210Po activity. The chronology was calculated using the constant rate of supply (CRS). 210Pb is used to estimate the sedimentation rate.

Keywords: 210Pb dating method, heavy metal, lakes urban, pollution history.

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3157 Removal of Iron from Groundwater by Sulfide Precipitation

Authors: H. Jusoh, N. Sapari, R.Z. Raja Azie

Abstract:

Iron in groundwater is one of the problems that render the water unsuitable for drinking. The concentration above 0.3 mg/L is common in groundwater. The conventional method of removal is by precipitation under oxic condition. In this study, iron removal under anaerobic conditions was examined by batch experiment as a main purpose. The process involved by purging of groundwater samples with H2S to form iron sulfide. Removal up to 83% for 1 mg/L iron solution was achieved. The removal efficiency dropped to 82% and 75% for the higher initial iron concentrations 3.55 and 5.01 mg/L, respectively. The average residual sulfide concentration in water after the process was 25*g/L. The Eh level during the process was -272 mV. The removal process was found to follow the first order reaction with average rate constant of 4.52 x 10-3. The half-life for the concentrations to reduce from initial values was 157 minutes.

Keywords: Anaerobic, chemical kinetics, hydrogen sulfide, iron, rate constant

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3156 A Perceptual Image Coding method of High Compression Rate

Authors: Fahmi Kammoun, Mohamed Salim Bouhlel

Abstract:

In the framework of the image compression by Wavelet Transforms, we propose a perceptual method by incorporating Human Visual System (HVS) characteristics in the quantization stage. Indeed, human eyes haven-t an equal sensitivity across the frequency bandwidth. Therefore, the clarity of the reconstructed images can be improved by weighting the quantization according to the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF). The visual artifact at low bit rate is minimized. To evaluate our method, we use the Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and a new evaluating criteria witch takes into account visual criteria. The experimental results illustrate that our technique shows improvement on image quality at the same compression ratio.

Keywords: Contrast Sensitivity Function, Human Visual System, Image compression, Wavelet transforms.

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3155 Remediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon-contaminated Soil Slurry by Fenton Oxidation

Authors: C. Pongcharoen, K. Kaiyavongand T. Satapanajaru

Abstract:

Theobjective of this study was to evaluate the optimal treatment condition of Fenton oxidation process to removal contaminant in soil slurry contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons. This research studied somefactors that affect the removal efficiency of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil slurry including molar ratio of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to ferrous ion(Fe2+), pH condition and reaction time.The resultsdemonstrated that the optimum condition was that the molar ratio of H2O2:Fe3+ was 200:1,the pHwas 4.0and the rate of reaction was increasing rapidly from starting point to 7th hour and destruction kinetic rate (k) was 0.24 h-1. Approximately 96% of petroleum hydrocarbon was observed(initialtotal petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration = 70±7gkg-1)

Keywords: Contaminated soil, Fenton oxidation, Petroleumhydrocarbon, Remediation.

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3154 Empirical Analyses of Determinants of D.J.S.I.US Mean Returns

Authors: Nikolaos Sariannidis, Grigoris Giannarakis, Nikolaos Litinas, Nikos Kartalis

Abstract:

This study investigates the relationship between 10 year bond value, Yen/U.S dollar exchange rate, non-farm payrolls (all employs) and crude oil to U.S. Dow Jones Sustainability Index. A GARCH model is used to test these relationships for the period January 1st 1999 to January 31st 2008 using monthly data. Results show that an increase of the 10 year bond and non farm payrolls (all employs) lead to an increase of the D.J.S.I returns. On the contrary the volatility of the Yen/U.S dollar exchange rates as well as the increase of crude oil returns has negative effects on the U.S D.J.S.I returns. This study aims at assisting investors to understand the influences certain macroeconomic indicators have on the companies- stock returns as reported by the D.J.S.I.

Keywords: Bond value, Corporate Social Responsibility, Crudeoil, D.J.S.I United States, Exchange rate, GARCH, Non-farmpayrolls.

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3153 Error Estimates for Calculated Glomerular Filtration Rates

Authors: Simon Brown

Abstract:

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a measure of kidney function. It is usually estimated from serum concentrations of cystatin C or creatinine although there has been considerable debate in the literature about (i) the best equation to use and (ii) the variability in the correlation between the concentrations of creatinine and cystatin C. The equations for GFR can be written in a general form and from these I calculate the error of the GFR estimates associated with analyte measurement error. These show that the error of the GFR estimates is such that it is not possible to distinguish between the equations over much of the concentration range of either analyte. The general forms of the equations are also used to derive an expression for the concentration of cystatin C as a function of the concentration of creatinine. This equation shows that these analyte concentrations are not linearly related. Clinical reports of cystatin C and creatinine concentration are consistent with the expression derived.

Keywords: creatinine, cystatin C, error analysis, glomerularfiltration rate, measurement error.

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3152 Optimization of Reaction Rate Parameters in Modeling of Heavy Paraffins Dehydrogenation

Authors: Leila Vafajoo, Farhad Khorasheh, Mehrnoosh Hamzezadeh Nakhjavani, Moslem Fattahi

Abstract:

In the present study, a procedure was developed to determine the optimum reaction rate constants in generalized Arrhenius form and optimized through the Nelder-Mead method. For this purpose, a comprehensive mathematical model of a fixed bed reactor for dehydrogenation of heavy paraffins over Pt–Sn/Al2O3 catalyst was developed. Utilizing appropriate kinetic rate expressions for the main dehydrogenation reaction as well as side reactions and catalyst deactivation, a detailed model for the radial flow reactor was obtained. The reactor model composed of a set of partial differential equations (PDE), ordinary differential equations (ODE) as well as algebraic equations all of which were solved numerically to determine variations in components- concentrations in term of mole percents as a function of time and reactor radius. It was demonstrated that most significant variations observed at the entrance of the bed and the initial olefin production obtained was rather high. The aforementioned method utilized a direct-search optimization algorithm along with the numerical solution of the governing differential equations. The usefulness and validity of the method was demonstrated by comparing the predicted values of the kinetic constants using the proposed method with a series of experimental values reported in the literature for different systems.

Keywords: Dehydrogenation, Pt-Sn/Al2O3 Catalyst, Modeling, Nelder-Mead, Optimization

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3151 Reduction of Impulsive Noise in OFDM System Using Adaptive Algorithm

Authors: Alina Mirza, Sumrin M. Kabir, Shahzad A. Sheikh

Abstract:

The Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with high data rate, high spectral efficiency and its ability to mitigate the effects of multipath makes them most suitable in wireless application. Impulsive noise distorts the OFDM transmission and therefore methods must be investigated to suppress this noise. In this paper, a State Space Recursive Least Square (SSRLS) algorithm based adaptive impulsive noise suppressor for OFDM communication system is proposed. And a comparison with another adaptive algorithm is conducted. The state space model-dependent recursive parameters of proposed scheme enables to achieve steady state mean squared error (MSE), low bit error rate (BER), and faster convergence than that of some of existing algorithm.

Keywords: OFDM, Impulsive Noise, SSRLS, BER.

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3150 Text Mining Technique for Data Mining Application

Authors: M. Govindarajan

Abstract:

Text Mining is around applying knowledge discovery techniques to unstructured text is termed knowledge discovery in text (KDT), or Text data mining or Text Mining. In decision tree approach is most useful in classification problem. With this technique, tree is constructed to model the classification process. There are two basic steps in the technique: building the tree and applying the tree to the database. This paper describes a proposed C5.0 classifier that performs rulesets, cross validation and boosting for original C5.0 in order to reduce the optimization of error ratio. The feasibility and the benefits of the proposed approach are demonstrated by means of medial data set like hypothyroid. It is shown that, the performance of a classifier on the training cases from which it was constructed gives a poor estimate by sampling or using a separate test file, either way, the classifier is evaluated on cases that were not used to build and evaluate the classifier are both are large. If the cases in hypothyroid.data and hypothyroid.test were to be shuffled and divided into a new 2772 case training set and a 1000 case test set, C5.0 might construct a different classifier with a lower or higher error rate on the test cases. An important feature of see5 is its ability to classifiers called rulesets. The ruleset has an error rate 0.5 % on the test cases. The standard errors of the means provide an estimate of the variability of results. One way to get a more reliable estimate of predictive is by f-fold –cross- validation. The error rate of a classifier produced from all the cases is estimated as the ratio of the total number of errors on the hold-out cases to the total number of cases. The Boost option with x trials instructs See5 to construct up to x classifiers in this manner. Trials over numerous datasets, large and small, show that on average 10-classifier boosting reduces the error rate for test cases by about 25%.

Keywords: C5.0, Error Ratio, text mining, training data, test data.

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3149 Digital Transformation of Payment Systems Using Field Service Management

Authors: Hamze Torabian, Mohammad Mehrabioun Mohammadi

Abstract:

Like many other industries, the payment industry has been affected by digital transformation. The importance of digital transformation in the payment industry is very crucial. Because the payment industry is considered a leading industry in digital and emerging technologies, and the digitalization of other industries such as retail, health, and telecommunication, it also depends on the growth rate of digitalized payment systems. One of the technological innovations in service management is Field Service Management (FSM). Despite the widespread use of FSM in various industries such as petrochemical, health, maintenance, etc., this technology can also be recruited in the payment industry, transforming the payment industry into a more agile and efficient one. Accordingly, the present study pays close attention to the application of FSM in the payment industry. Given the importance of merchants' bargaining power in the payment industry, this study aims to use FSM in the digital transformation initiative with a targeted focus on providing real-time services to merchants. The research method consists of three parts. Firstly, conducting the review of past research, applications of FSM in the payment industry are considered. In the next step, merchants' benefits such as emotional, functional, economic, and social benefits in using FSM are identified using in-depth interviews and content analysis methods. The related business model in helping the payment industry transforming into a more agile and efficient industry is considered in the following step. The results revealed the 10 main pillars required to realize the digital transformation of payment systems using FSM.

Keywords: Digital transformation, field service management, merchant support systems, payment industry.

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3148 Experimental Study on a Solar Heat Concentrating Steam Generator

Authors: Qiangqiang Xu, Xu Ji, Jingyang Han, Changchun Yang, Ming Li

Abstract:

Replacing of complex solar concentrating unit, this paper designs a solar heat-concentrating medium-temperature steam-generating system. Solar radiation is collected by using a large solar collecting and heat concentrating plate and is converged to the metal evaporating pipe with high efficient heat transfer. In the meantime, the heat loss is reduced by employing a double-glazed cover and other heat insulating structures. Thus, a high temperature is reached in the metal evaporating pipe. The influences of the system's structure parameters on system performance are analyzed. The steam production rate and the steam production under different solar irradiance, solar collecting and heat concentrating plate area, solar collecting and heat concentrating plate temperature and heat loss are obtained. The results show that when solar irradiance is higher than 600 W/m2, the effective heat collecting area is 7.6 m2 and the double-glazing cover is adopted, the system heat loss amount is lower than the solar irradiance value. The stable steam is produced in the metal evaporating pipe at 100 ℃, 110 ℃, and 120 ℃, respectively. When the average solar irradiance is about 896 W/m2, and the steaming cumulative time is about 5 hours, the daily steam production of the system is about 6.174 kg. In a single day, the solar irradiance is larger at noon, thus the steam production rate is large at that time. Before 9:00 and after 16:00, the solar irradiance is smaller, and the steam production rate is almost 0.

Keywords: Heat concentrating, heat loss, medium temperature, solar steam production.

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3147 Biosynthesis of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Property

Authors: Prachi Singh

Abstract:

This paper presents a low-cost, eco-friendly and reproducible microbe mediated biosynthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles. TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized using the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, from titanium as a precursor, were confirmed by TEM analysis. The morphological characteristics state spherical shape, with the size of individual or aggregate nanoparticles, around 30-40 nm. Microbial resistance represents a challenge for the scientific community to develop new bioactive compounds. Here, the antibacterial effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on Escherichia coli was investigated, which was confirmed by CFU (Colony-forming unit). Further, growth curve study of E. coli Hb101 in the presence and absence of TiO2 nanoparticles was done. Optical density decrease was observed with the increase in the concentration of TiO2. It could be attributed to the inactivation of cellular enzymes and DNA by binding to electron-donating groups such as carboxylates, amides, indoles, hydroxyls, thiols, etc. which cause little pores in bacterial cell walls, leading to increased permeability and cell death. This justifies that TiO2 nanoparticles have efficient antibacterial effect and have potential to be used as an antibacterial agent for different purposes.

Keywords: Antibacterial effect, CFU, Escherichia coli Hb101, growth curve, TEM, TiO2 nanoparticle, toxicity, UV-Vis.

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3146 Willingness and Attitude Towards Organ Donation of Nurses in Taiwan

Authors: Min-Chuan Huang, I-Ping Chen, Shu-Ying Chung

Abstract:

Taking the medical staff in an emergency ward of a medical center in Central Taiwan as the research object, the questionnaire data were collected by anonymous and voluntary reporting methods with structured questionnaires to explore organ donation’s actual situation, willingness, and attitude. Only 80 valid questionnaires were gathered. Of the 8 questions, the correct mean rate was 5.9 and the correct rate was 73.13%. According to the statistics of organ donation survey, only 8.7% have signed the consent for organ donation, 21.3% are willing but have not yet signed the consent for organ donation, 62.5% have not yet decided, and 7.5% are unwilling. The average total score (standard deviation) of attitude towards organ donation was 36.2. There is no significant difference between the demographic variables and the awareness and willingness of organ donation, but there is a significant correlation between marital status and the attitude toward organ donation.

Keywords: clinical psychology, organ donation, factors affecting psychological disorders, commitment

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3145 Biological Control of Tomato Wilt Fungi Using Leaf Extracts of Bitter Leaf (Vernonia amygdalina)

Authors: Terna T. Paul, Agbara D. Onwoke

Abstract:

The antifungal potential of ethanolic leaf extracts of Vernonia amygdalina in the biological control of some common tomato wilt fungi was investigated. The experiment was set up in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with eight treatments and three replicates. 5 mm diameter agar discs of 7 days old cultures of Fusarium oxysporum and Sclerotium rolfsii were obtained using a sterile 5 mm diameter cork borer and cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) inoculated with 5 ml of various concentrations of V. amygdalina ethanolic leaf extracts in petri dishes, and incubated for 10 days at 28 0C. The highest radial growth inhibitions of F. oxysporum (34.98%) and S. rolfsii (31.05%) were recorded 48 hours post-inoculation, both at 75% extract concentration. The leaf extracts of V. amygdalina used in the study exhibited significant inhibition of radial growth of the test organisms (P ≤ 0.05) and could be applied in the biological control of fungal wilt pathogens of tomato as a means of enhancing tomato yield and productivity.

Keywords: Biological control, fungi, leaf extracts, tomato wilt, V. amygdalina.

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3144 Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Hard Material Machining

Authors: Rajaram Kr. Gupta, Bhupendra Kumar, T. V. K. Gupta, D. S. Ramteke

Abstract:

Machining of hard materials is a recent technology for direct production of work-pieces. The primary challenge in machining these materials is selection of cutting tool inserts which facilitates an extended tool life and high-precision machining of the component. These materials are widely for making precision parts for the aerospace industry. Nickel-based alloys are typically used in extreme environment applications where a combination of strength, corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance material characteristics are required. The present paper reports the theoretical and experimental investigations carried out to understand the influence of machining parameters on the response parameters. Considering the basic machining parameters (speed, feed and depth of cut) a study has been conducted to observe their influence on material removal rate, surface roughness, cutting forces and corresponding tool wear. Experiments are designed and conducted with the help of Central Composite Rotatable Design technique. The results reveals that for a given range of process parameters, material removal rate is favorable for higher depths of cut and low feed rate for cutting forces. Low feed rates and high values of rotational speeds are suitable for better finish and higher tool life.

Keywords: Speed, feed, depth of cut, roughness, cutting force, flank wear.

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3143 Study of the Oxidation Resistance of Coated AISI 441 Ferritic Stainless Steel for SOFCs

Authors: M. B. Limooei, Hadi Ebrahimifar, Sh. Hosseini

Abstract:

Protective coatings that resist oxide scale growth and decrease chromium evaporation are necessary to make stainless steel interconnect materials for long-term durable operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this study a layer of cobalt was electroplated on the surface of AISI 441 ferritic stainless steel which is used in solid oxide fuel cells for interconnect applications. The oxidation behavior of coated substrates was studied as a function of time at operating conditions of SOFCs. Cyclic oxidation has been also tested at 800ºC for 100 cycles. Cobalt coating during isothermal oxidation caused to the oxide growth resistance by limiting the outward diffusion of Cr cation and the inward diffusion of oxygen anion. Results of cyclic oxidation exhibited that coated substrates demonstrate an excellent resistance against the spallation and cracking.

Keywords: Oxidation resistance, full cell, Cobalt coating, ferritic stainless steel.

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3142 A Study of Relationship between WBGT and Relative Humidity to Worker Performance

Authors: A.R. Ismail, M. R. A. Rani, Z. K. M. Makhbul, M. J. M. Nor, M. N. A. Rahman

Abstract:

The environmental factors such as temperature and relative humidity are very contribute to the effect of comfort, health, performance and worker productivity. To ensure an ergonomics work environment, it is possible to require a specific attention especially in industries. The aim of this study is to show the effect of temperature and relative humidity on worker productivity in automotive industry by taking a workstation in an automotive plant as the location to conduct the study. From the analysis of the data, there were relationship between temperature and relative humidity on worker productivity. Mathematical equation to represent the relationship between temperatures and relative humidity on the production rate is modelled. From the equation model, the production rate for the workstation can be predicted base on the value of temperature and relative humidity.

Keywords: WBGT, Relative Humidity, Comfort, Productivity.

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3141 Directionally-Sensitive Personal Wearable Radiation Dosimeter

Authors: Hai Huu Le, Paul Junor, Moshi Geso, Graeme O’Keefe

Abstract:

In this paper, the authors propose a personal wearable directionally-sensitive radiation dosimeter using multiple semiconductor CdZnTe detectors. The proposed dosimeter not only measures the real-time dose rate but also provide the direction of the radioactive source. A linear relationship between radioactive source direction and the radiation intensity measured by each detectors is established and an equation to determine the source direction is derived by the authors. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed dosimeter is verified by simulation using Geant4 package. Results have indicated that in a measurement duration of about 7 seconds, the proposed dosimeter was able to estimate the direction of a 10μCi 137/55Cs radioactive source to within 2 degrees.

Keywords: Dose rate, Geant4 package, radiation detectors, radioactive source direction.

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3140 An Improved ICI Self-Cancellation Scheme for Multi-Carrier Communication Systems

Authors: Arvind Kumar, Rajoo Pandey

Abstract:

For broadband wireless mobile communication systems the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a suitable modulation scheme. The frequency offset between transmitter and receiver local oscillator is main drawback of OFDM systems, which causes intercarrier interference (ICI) in the subcarriers of the OFDM system. This ICI degrades the bit error rate (BER) performance of the system. In this paper an improved self-ICI cancellation scheme is proposed to improve the system performance. The proposed scheme is based on discrete Fourier transform-inverse discrete Fourier transform (DFT-IDFT). The simulation results show that there is satisfactory improvement in the bit error rate (BER) performance of the present scheme.

Keywords: OFDM, Intercarrier Interference, InterferenceCoefficients, DFT based Self-ICI Cancellation.

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3139 Neural Network Controller for Mobile Robot Motion Control

Authors: Jasmin Velagic, Nedim Osmic, Bakir Lacevic

Abstract:

In this paper the neural network-based controller is designed for motion control of a mobile robot. This paper treats the problems of trajectory following and posture stabilization of the mobile robot with nonholonomic constraints. For this purpose the recurrent neural network with one hidden layer is used. It learns relationship between linear velocities and error positions of the mobile robot. This neural network is trained on-line using the backpropagation optimization algorithm with an adaptive learning rate. The optimization algorithm is performed at each sample time to compute the optimal control inputs. The performance of the proposed system is investigated using a kinematic model of the mobile robot.

Keywords: Mobile robot, kinematic model, neural network, motion control, adaptive learning rate.

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3138 Simultaneously Reduction of NOx and Soot Emissions in a DI Heavy Duty diesel Engine Operating at High Cooled EGR Rates

Authors: Sh. Khalilarya, S. Jafarmadar, H. Khatamnezhad, Gh. Javadirad, M. Pourfallah

Abstract:

One promising way to achieve low temperature combustion regime is the use of a large amount of cooled EGR. In this paper, the effect of injection timing on low temperature combustion process and emissions were investigated via three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) procedures in a DI diesel engine using high EGR rates. The results show when increasing EGR from low levels to levels corresponding to reduced temperature combustion, soot emission after first increasing, is decreased beyond 40% EGR and get the lowest value at 58% EGR rate. Soot and NOx emissions are simultaneously decreased at advanced injection timing before 20.5 ºCA BTDC in conjunction with 58% cooled EGR rate in compared to baseline case.

Keywords: Diesel Engine, Low Temperature Combustion, High Cooled EGR Rates, Combustion, Emissions

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3137 Effect of Specimen Thickness on Probability Distribution of Grown Crack Size in Magnesium Alloys

Authors: Seon Soon Choi

Abstract:

The fatigue crack growth is stochastic because of the fatigue behavior having an uncertainty and a randomness. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the probability distribution of a grown crack size at a specific fatigue crack propagation life for maintenance of structure as well as reliability estimation. The essential purpose of this study is to present the good probability distribution fit for the grown crack size at a specified fatigue life in a rolled magnesium alloy under different specimen thickness conditions. Fatigue crack propagation experiments are carried out in laboratory air under three conditions of specimen thickness using AZ31 to investigate a stochastic crack growth behavior. The goodness-of-fit test for probability distribution of a grown crack size under different specimen thickness conditions is performed by Anderson-Darling test. The effect of a specimen thickness on variability of a grown crack size is also investigated.

Keywords: Crack size, Fatigue crack propagation, Magnesium alloys, Probability distribution, Specimen thickness.

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3136 Research on Hybrid Neural Network in Intrusion Detection System

Authors: Jianhua Wang, Yan Yu

Abstract:

This paper presents an intrusion detection system of hybrid neural network model based on RBF and Elman. It is used for anomaly detection and misuse detection. This model has the memory function .It can detect discrete and related aggressive behavior effectively. RBF network is a real-time pattern classifier, and Elman network achieves the memory ability for former event. Based on the hybrid model intrusion detection system uses DARPA data set to do test evaluation. It uses ROC curve to display the test result intuitively. After the experiment it proves this hybrid model intrusion detection system can effectively improve the detection rate, and reduce the rate of false alarm and fail.

Keywords: RBF, Elman, anomaly detection, misuse detection, hybrid neural network.

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3135 An Evaluation of TIG Welding Parametric Influence on Tensile Strength of 5083 Aluminium Alloy

Authors: Lakshman Singh, Rajeshwar Singh, Naveen Kumar Singh, Davinder Singh, Pargat Singh

Abstract:

Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding is a high quality welding process used to weld the thin metals and their alloy. 5083 Aluminium alloys play an important role in engineering and metallurgy field because of excellent corrosion properties, ease of fabrication and high specific strength coupled with best combination of toughness and formability.

TIG welding technique is one of the precise and fastest processes used in aerospace, ship and marine industries. TIG welding process is used to analyze the data and evaluate the influence of input parameters on tensile strength of 5083 Al-alloy specimens with dimensions of 100mm long x 15mm wide x 5mm thick. Welding current (I), gas flow rate (G) and welding speed (S) are the input parameters which effect tensile strength of 5083 Al-alloy welded joints. As welding speed increased, tensile strength increases first till optimum value and after that both decreases by increasing welding speed further. Results of the study show that maximum tensile strength of 129 MPa of weld joint are obtained at welding current of 240 Amps, gas flow rate of 7 Lt/min and welding speed of 98 mm/min. These values are the optimum values of input parameters which help to produce efficient weld joint that have good mechanical properties as a tensile strength.

Keywords: 5083 Aluminium alloy, Gas flow rate, TIG welding, Welding current, Welding speed and Tensile strength.

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3134 Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of the Hydraulic L-Shaped Check Ball Behavior

Authors: Shinji Kajiwara

Abstract:

The spring-driven ball-type check valve is one of the most important components of hydraulic systems: it controls the position of the ball and prevents backward flow. To simplify the structure, the spring must be eliminated, and to accomplish this, the flow pattern and the behavior of the check ball in L-shaped pipe must be determined. In this paper, we present a full-scale model of a check ball made of acrylic resin, and we determine the relationship between the initial position of the ball, the position and diameter of the inflow port. The check flow rate increases in a standard center inflow model, and it is possible to greatly decrease the check-flow rate by shifting the inflow from the center.

Keywords: Hydraulics, Pipe Flow, Numerical Simulation, Flow Visualization, Check ball, L-shaped Pipe.

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3133 The Role of Physically Adsorbing Species of Oxyhydryl Reagents in Flotation Aggregate Formation

Authors: S. A. Kondratyev, O. I. Ibragimova

Abstract:

The authors discuss the collecting abilities of desorbable species (DS) of saturated fatty acids. The DS species of the reagent are understood as species capable of moving from the surface of the mineral particle to the bubble at the moment of the rupture of the interlayer of liquid separating these objects of interaction. DS species of carboxylic acids (molecules and ionic-molecular complexes) have the ability to spread over the surface of the bubble. The rate of their spreading at pH 7 and 10 over the water surface is determined. The collectibility criterion of saturated fatty acids is proposed. The values of forces exerted by the spreading DS species of reagents on liquid in the interlayer and the liquid flow rate from the interlayer are determined.

Keywords: Criterion of action of physically adsorbed reagent, flotation, saturated fatty acids, surface pressure.

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3132 Oman’s Position in U.S. Tourists’ Mind: The Use of Importance-Performance Analysis on Destination Attributes

Authors: Mohammed Gamil Montasser, Angelo Battaglia

Abstract:

Tourism is making its presence felt across the Sultanate of Oman. The story is one of the most recognized phenomena as a sustainable solid growth and is considered a remarkable outcome for any destination. The competitive situation and challenges within the tourism industry worldwide entail a better understanding of the destination position and its image to achieve Oman’s aspiration to retain its international reputation as one of the most desirable destinations in the Middle East. To access general perceptions of Oman’s attributes, their importance and their influences among U.S. tourists, an online survey was conducted with 522 American travelers who have traveled internationally, including non-visitors, virtual-visitors and visitors to Oman. This research involved a total of 36 attributes in the survey. Participants were asked to rate their agreement on how each attribute represented Oman and how important each attribute was for selecting destinations on 5- point Likert Scale. They also indicated if each attribute has a positive, neutral or negative influence on their destination selection. Descriptive statistics and importance performance analysis (IPA) were conducted. IPA illustrated U.S. tourists’ perceptions of Oman’s destination attributes and their importance in destination selection on a matrix with four quadrants, divided by actual mean value in each grid for importance (M=3.51) and performance (M=3.57). Oman tourism organizations and destination managers may use these research findings for future marketing and management efforts toward the U.S. travel market.

Keywords: Analysis of importance and performance, destination attributes, Oman’s position, U.S. tourists.

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