Search results for: Stress measuring.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1535

Search results for: Stress measuring.

575 Well-Being Inequality Using Superimposing Satisfaction Waves: Heisenberg Uncertainty in Behavioural Economics and Econometrics

Authors: Okay Gunes

Abstract:

In this article, a new method is proposed for the measuring of well-being inequality through a model composed of superimposing satisfaction waves. The displacement of households’ satisfactory state (i.e. satisfaction) is defined in a satisfaction string. The duration of the satisfactory state for a given period is measured in order to determine the relationship between utility and total satisfactory time, itself dependent on the density and tension of each satisfaction string. Thus, individual cardinal total satisfaction values are computed by way of a one-dimensional form for scalar sinusoidal (harmonic) moving wave function, using satisfaction waves with varying amplitudes and frequencies which allow us to measure wellbeing inequality. One advantage to using satisfaction waves is the ability to show that individual utility and consumption amounts would probably not commute; hence, it is impossible to measure or to know simultaneously the values of these observables from the dataset. Thus, we crystallize the problem by using a Heisenberg-type uncertainty resolution for self-adjoint economic operators. We propose to eliminate any estimation bias by correlating the standard deviations of selected economic operators; this is achieved by replacing the aforementioned observed uncertainties with households’ perceived uncertainties (i.e. corrected standard deviations) obtained through the logarithmic psychophysical law proposed by Weber and Fechner.

Keywords: Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, superimposing satisfaction waves, Weber–Fechner law, well-being inequality.

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574 Unsteady Temperature Distribution in a Finite Functionally Graded Cylinder

Authors: A. Amiri Delouei

Abstract:

In the current study, two-dimensional unsteady heat conduction in a functionally graded cylinder is studied analytically. The temperature distribution is in radial and longitudinal directions. Heat conduction coefficients are considered a power function of radius both in radial and longitudinal directions. The proposed solution can exactly satisfy the boundary conditions. Analytical unsteady temperature distribution for different parameters of functionally graded cylinder is investigated. The achieved exact solution is useful for thermal stress analysis of functionally graded cylinders. Regarding the analytical approach, this solution can be used to understand the concepts of heat conduction in functionally graded materials.

Keywords: Functionally graded materials, unsteady heat conduction, cylinder, Temperature distribution.

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573 Theoretical and Experimental Bending Properties of Composite Pipes

Authors: M. Stefanovska, S. Risteska, B. Samakoski, G. Maneski, B. Kostadinoska

Abstract:

Aim of this work is to determine the theoretical and experimental properties of filament wound glass fiber/epoxy resin composite pipes with different winding design subjected under bending. For determination of bending strength of composite samples three point bending tests were conducted. Good correlation between theoretical and experimental results has been obtained, where sample No4 has shown the highest value of bending strength. All samples have demonstrated matrix cracking and fiber failure followed by layers delamination during testing. Also, it was found that smaller winding angles lead to an increase in bending stress. From presented results good merger between glass fibers and epoxy resin was confirmed by SEM analysis.

Keywords: Bending properties, composite pipe, winding design.

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572 Momentum and Heat Transfer in the Flow of a Viscoelastic Fluid Past a Porous Flat Plate Subject to Suction or Blowing

Authors: Motahar Reza, Anadi Sankar Gupta

Abstract:

An analysis is made of the flow of an incompressible viscoelastic fluid (of small memory) over a porous plate subject to suction or blowing. It is found that velocity at a point increases with increase in the elasticity in the fluid. It is also shown that wall shear stress depends only on suction and is also independent of the material of fluids. No steady solution for velocity distribution exists when there is blowing at the plate. Temperature distribution in the boundary layer is determined and it is found that temperature at a point decreases with increase in the elasticity in the fluid.

Keywords: Viscoelastic fluid, Flow past a porous plate, Heat transfer

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571 Analysis of Distribution of Thrust, Torque and Efficiency of a Constant Chord, Constant Pitch C.R.P. Fan by H.E.S. Method

Authors: Morteza Abbaszadeh, Parvin Nikpoorparizi, Mina Shahrooz

Abstract:

For the first time since 1940 and presentation of theodorson-s theory, distribution of thrust, torque and efficiency along the blade of a counter rotating propeller axial fan was studied with a novel method in this research. A constant chord, constant pitch symmetric fan was investigated with Reynolds Stress Turbulence method in this project and H.E.S. method was utilized to obtain distribution profiles from C.F.D. tests outcome. C.F.D. test results were validated by estimation from Playlic-s analytical method. Final results proved ability of H.E.S. method to obtain distribution profiles from C.F.D test results and demonstrated interesting facts about effects of solidity and differences between distributions in front and rear section.

Keywords: C.F.D Test, Counter Rotating Propeller, H.E.S. Method, R.S.M. Method

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570 The Empirical Survey on the Effect of Using Media in Explosive Forming of Tubular Shells

Authors: V. Hadavi, J. Zamani, R. Hosseini

Abstract:

The special and unique advantages of explosive forming, has developed its use in different industries. Considering the important influence of improving the current explosive forming techniques on increasing the efficiency and control over the explosive forming procedure, the effects of air and water as the energy-conveying medium, and also their differences will be illustrated in this paper. Hence, a large number of explosive forming tests have been conducted on two sizes of thin walled cylindrical shells by using air and water as the working medium. Comparative diagrams of the maximum radial deflection of work-pieces of the same size, as a function of the scaled distance, show that for the points with the same values of scaled distance, the maximum radial deformation caused by the under water explosive loading is 4 to 5 times more than the deflection of the shells under explosive forming, while using air. Results of this experimental research have also been compared with other studies which show that using water as the energy conveying media increases the efficiency up to 4.8 times. The effect of the media on failure modes of the shells, and the necking mechanism of the walls of the specimens, while being explosively loaded, are also discussed in this issue. Measuring the tested specimens shows that, the increase in the internal volume has been accompanied by necking of the walls, which finally results in the radial rupture of the structure.

Keywords: Explosive Forming, Energy Conveying Medium, Tubular Shell

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569 Application of a Similarity Measure for Graphs to Web-based Document Structures

Authors: Matthias Dehmer, Frank Emmert Streib, Alexander Mehler, Jürgen Kilian, Max Mühlhauser

Abstract:

Due to the tremendous amount of information provided by the World Wide Web (WWW) developing methods for mining the structure of web-based documents is of considerable interest. In this paper we present a similarity measure for graphs representing web-based hypertext structures. Our similarity measure is mainly based on a novel representation of a graph as linear integer strings, whose components represent structural properties of the graph. The similarity of two graphs is then defined as the optimal alignment of the underlying property strings. In this paper we apply the well known technique of sequence alignments for solving a novel and challenging problem: Measuring the structural similarity of generalized trees. In other words: We first transform our graphs considered as high dimensional objects in linear structures. Then we derive similarity values from the alignments of the property strings in order to measure the structural similarity of generalized trees. Hence, we transform a graph similarity problem to a string similarity problem for developing a efficient graph similarity measure. We demonstrate that our similarity measure captures important structural information by applying it to two different test sets consisting of graphs representing web-based document structures.

Keywords: Graph similarity, hierarchical and directed graphs, hypertext, generalized trees, web structure mining.

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568 2D Fracture Analysis of the First Compression Piston Ring

Authors: I. Razmi, N. Choupani

Abstract:

The incidence of mechanical fracture of an automobile piston rings prompted development of fracture analysis method on this case. The three rings (two compression rings and one oil ring) were smashed into several parts during the power-test (after manufacturing the engine) causing piston and liner to be damaged. The radial and oblique cracking happened on the failed piston rings. The aim of the fracture mechanics simulations presented in this paper was the calculation of particular effective fracture mechanics parameters, such as J-integrals and stress intensity factors. Crack propagation angles were calculated as well. Two-dimensional fracture analysis of the first compression ring has been developed in this paper using ABAQUS CAE6.5-1 software. Moreover, SEM fractography was developed on fracture surfaces and is discussed in this paper. Results of numerical calculations constitute the basis for further research on real object.

Keywords: Compression piston ring, Crack, Fracture mechanics, SEM fractography.

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567 Effect of Inclusions on the Shape and Size of Crack Tip Plastic Zones by Element Free Galerkin Method

Authors: A. Jameel, G. A. Harmain, Y. Anand, J. H. Masoodi, F. A. Najar

Abstract:

The present study investigates the effect of inclusions on the shape and size of crack tip plastic zones in engineering materials subjected to static loads by employing the element free Galerkin method (EFGM). The modeling of the discontinuities produced by cracks and inclusions becomes independent of the grid chosen for analysis. The standard displacement approximation is modified by adding additional enrichment functions, which introduce the effects of different discontinuities into the formulation. The level set method has been used to represent different discontinuities present in the domain. The effect of inclusions on the extent of crack tip plastic zones is investigated by solving some numerical problems by the EFGM.

Keywords: EFGM, stress intensity factors, crack tip plastic zones, inclusions.

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566 Study of Natural Patterns on Digital Image Correlation Using Simulation Method

Authors: Gang Li, Ghulam Mubashar Hassan, Arcady Dyskin, Cara MacNish

Abstract:

Digital image correlation (DIC) is a contactless fullfield displacement and strain reconstruction technique commonly used in the field of experimental mechanics. Comparing with physical measuring devices, such as strain gauges, which only provide very restricted coverage and are expensive to deploy widely, the DIC technique provides the result with full-field coverage and relative high accuracy using an inexpensive and simple experimental setup. It is very important to study the natural patterns effect on the DIC technique because the preparation of the artificial patterns is time consuming and hectic process. The objective of this research is to study the effect of using images having natural pattern on the performance of DIC. A systematical simulation method is used to build simulated deformed images used in DIC. A parameter (subset size) used in DIC can have an effect on the processing and accuracy of DIC and even cause DIC to failure. Regarding to the picture parameters (correlation coefficient), the higher similarity of two subset can lead the DIC process to fail and make the result more inaccurate. The pictures with good and bad quality for DIC methods have been presented and more importantly, it is a systematic way to evaluate the quality of the picture with natural patterns before they install the measurement devices.

Keywords: Digital image correlation (DIC), Deformation simulation, Natural pattern, Subset size.

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565 The Links between Brain Insulin Resistance and Alzheimer’s Disease

Authors: Negar Khezri, Golnaz Yaghoubnezhadzanganeh, Amirreza Attarzadeh

Abstract:

Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are two main health problems influencing millions of people in the world. Neuron loss and synaptic impairment that interfere with cognition and memory cause for the behavioral indications of AD. While it is now accepted that insulin has central neuromodulatory purpose, it was contemplated for many years that brain is insusceptible to insulin, involving its function in memory and learning, which are impaired in AD. The common characteristics of both AD and T2D are impaired insulin signaling, oxidative stress, the excitation of inflammatory pathways and unqualified glucose metabolism. This review summarizes how the recognition of these mechanisms may lead to the development of alternative therapeutic approaches. Here we summarize how the recognition of these mechanisms may lead to the development of alternative therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, neurodegenerative.

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564 Carvacrol Attenuates Lung Injury in Rats with Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Authors: Salim Cerig, Fatime Geyikoglu, Pınar Akpulat, Suat Colak, Hasan Turkez, Murat Bakir, Mirkhalil Hosseinigouzdagani, Kubra Koc

Abstract:

This study was designed to evaluate whether carvacrol (CAR) could provide protection against lung injury by acute pancreatitis development. The rats were randomized into groups to receive (I) no therapy; (II) 50 μg/kg cerulein at 1h intervals by four intraperitoneal injections (i.p.); (III) 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg CAR by one i.p.; and (IV) cerulein+CAR after 2h of cerulein injection. 12h later, serum samples were obtained to assess pancreatic function the lipase and amylase values. The animals were euthanized and lung samples were excised. The specimens were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E), periodic acid–Schif (PAS), Mallory's trichrome and amyloid. Additionally, oxidative DNA damage was determined by measuring as increases in 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) adducts. The results showed that the serum activity of lipase and amylase in AP rats were significantly reduced after the therapy (p<0.05). We also found that the 100 mg/kg dose of CAR significantly decreased 8-OH-dG levels. Moreover, the severe pathological findings in the lung such as necrosis, inflammation, congestion, fibrosis, and thickened alveolar septum were attenuated in the AP+CAR groups when compared with AP group. Finally, the magnitude of the protective effect on lung is certain, and CAR is an effective therapy for lung injury caused by AP.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, carvacrol, experimental acute pancreatitis, lung injury, oxidative DNA damage.

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563 Preliminary Study of the Phonological Development in Three- and Four-Year-Old Bulgarian Children

Authors: Tsvetomira Braynova, Miglena Simonska

Abstract:

The article presents the results of a research of phonological processes in three- and four-year-old children. A test, created for the purpose of the study, was developed and conducted among 120 children. The study included three areas of research - at the level of words (96 words), at the level of sentence repetition (10 sentences) and at the level of generating own speech from a picture (15 pictures). The test also gives us additional information about the articulation errors of the assessed children. The main purpose of the research is to analyze all phonological processes that occur at this age in Bulgarian children and to identify which are typical and atypical for this age. The results show that the most common phonology errors that children make are: sound substitution, elision of sound, metathesis of sound, elision of syllable, elision of consonants clustered in a syllable. Measuring the correlation between average length of repeated speech and average length of generated speech, the analysis does not prove that the more words a child can repeat in part “repeated speech”, the more words they can be expected to generate in part “generating sentence”. The results of this study show that the task of naming a word provides sufficient and representative information to assess the child's phonology.

Keywords: Articulation, phonology, speech, language development.

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562 Fuzzy Logic System for Tractive Performance Prediction of an Intelligent Air-Cushion Track Vehicle

Authors: Altab Hossain, Ataur Rahman, A. K. M. Mohiuddin, Yulfian Aminanda

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Fuzzy logic system (FLS) is used in this study to predict the tractive performance in terms of traction force, and motion resistance for an intelligent air cushion track vehicle while it operates in the swamp peat. The system is effective to control the intelligent air –cushion system with measuring the vehicle traction force (TF), motion resistance (MR), cushion clearance height (CH) and cushion pressure (CP). Ultrasonic displacement sensor, pull-in solenoid electromagnetic switch, pressure control sensor, micro controller, and battery pH sensor are incorporated with the Fuzzy logic system to investigate experimentally the TF, MR, CH, and CP. In this study, a comparison for tractive performance of an intelligent air cushion track vehicle has been performed with the results obtained from the predicted values of FLS and experimental actual values. The mean relative error of actual and predicted values from the FLS model on traction force, and total motion resistance are found as 5.58 %, and 6.78 % respectively. For all parameters, the relative error of predicted values are found to be less than the acceptable limits. The goodness of fit of the prediction values from the FLS model on TF, and MR are found as 0.90, and 0.98 respectively.

Keywords: Cushion pressure, Fuzzy logic, Motion resistance, Traction force.

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561 Design, Simulation, and Implementation of a Digital Pulse Oxygen Saturation Measurement System Using the Arduino Microcontroller

Authors: Muhibul Haque Bhuyan, Md. Refat Sarder

Abstract:

If a person can monitor his/her oxygen saturation level intermittently then he/she can identify his/her condition early and thus he/she can seek a doctor’s help. This paper reports the design, simulation, and implementation of a low-cost pulse oxygen saturation measurement device based on a reflective photoplethysmography (PPG) system using an integrated circuit sensor as the fundamental component of this health status checking device. The measurement of the physiological parameter is the blood oxygen saturation level (SpO2) in the peripheral capillary. This work has been implemented using an Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller along with this sensor integrated circuit (IC). The system is designed in the Proteus environment and then simulated to check its performance. After that, the hardware implementation is performed. We used a clipping type optical sensor to sense the arterial oxygen saturation level of blood signal from the fingertips of an individual and then transformed it into the digital data in the microcontroller through its programming its instruction. The designed system was tested by measuring the SpO2 level for several people of different ages, from 12 to 57 years of age. Besides, the same people were tested using a standard machine purchased from the market. Test results were found very satisfactory as the average percentage of error was very low, 1.59% only.

Keywords: Digital pulse oxygen saturation level, oximeter, measurement, design, simulation, implementation, proteus, Arduino Uno microcontroller.

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560 Cardiac Biosignal and Adaptation in Confined Nuclear Submarine Patrol

Authors: B. Lefranc, C. Aufauvre-Poupon, C. Martin-Krumm, M. Trousselard

Abstract:

Isolated and confined environments (ICE) present several challenges which may adversely affect human’s psychology and physiology. Submariners in Sub-Surface Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) mission exposed to these environmental constraints must be able to perform complex tasks as part of their normal duties, as well as during crisis periods when emergency actions are required or imminent. The operational and environmental constraints they face contribute to challenge human adaptability. The impact of such a constrained environment has yet to be explored. Establishing a knowledge framework is a determining factor, particularly in view of the next long space travels. Ensuring that the crews are maintained in optimal operational conditions is a real challenge because the success of the mission depends on them. This study focused on the evaluation of the impact of stress on mental health and sensory degradation of submariners during a mission on SSBN using cardiac biosignal (heart rate variability, HRV) clustering. This is a pragmatic exploratory study of a prospective cohort included 19 submariner volunteers. HRV was recorded at baseline to classify by clustering the submariners according to their stress level based on parasympathetic (Pa) activity. Impacts of high Pa (HPa) versus low Pa (LPa) level at baseline were assessed on emotional state and sensory perception (interoception and exteroception) as a cardiac biosignal during the patrol and at a recovery time one month after. Whatever the time, no significant difference was found in mental health between groups. There are significant differences in the interoceptive, exteroceptive and physiological functioning during the patrol and at recovery time. To sum up, compared to the LPa group, the HPa maintains a higher level in psychosensory functioning during the patrol and at recovery but exhibits a decrease in Pa level. The HPa group has less adaptable HRV characteristics, less unpredictability and flexibility of cardiac biosignals while the LPa group increases them during the patrol and at recovery time. This dissociation between psychosensory and physiological adaptation suggests two treatment modalities for ICE environments. To our best knowledge, our results are the first to highlight the impact of physiological differences in the HRV profile on the adaptability of submariners. Further studies are needed to evaluate the negative emotional and cognitive effects of ICEs based on the cardiac profile. Artificial intelligence offers a promising future for maintaining high level of operational conditions. These future perspectives will not only allow submariners to be better prepared, but also to design feasible countermeasures that will help support analog environments that bring us closer to a trip to Mars.

Keywords: Adaptation, exteroception, HRV, ICE, interoception, SSBN.

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559 Experimental Study of Strength Recovery from Residual Strength on Kaolin Clay

Authors: Deepak R. Bhat, Netra P. Bhandery, Ryuichi Yatabe

Abstract:

Strength recovery effect from the residual-state of shear is not well address in scientific literature. Torsional ring shear strength recovery tests on kaolin clay using rest periods up to 30 days are performed at the effective normal stress 100kN/m2. Test results shows that recovered strength measured in the laboratory is slightly noticeable after rest period of 3 days, but recovered strength lost after very small shear displacement. This paper mainly focused on the strength recovery phenomenon from the residual strength of kaolin clay based on torsional ring shear test results. Mechanisms of recovered strength are also discussed.

Keywords: Kaolin clay, Residual strength, Strength recovery, Torsional ring shear test.

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558 Measuring the Amount of Eroded Soil and Surface Runoff Water in the Field

Authors: Abdulfatah Faraj Aboufayed

Abstract:

Water erosion is the most important problems of the soil in the Jabel Nefusa area located in northwest of Libya; therefore, erosion station had been established in the Faculty of Veterinary and dryfarming research Station, University of the Al-japel Al-gharbi in Zentan. The length of the station is 72.6 feet, 6 feet width and the percentage of its slope is 3%. The station were established to measure the amount of soil eroded and amount of surface water produced during the seasons 95/96 and 96/97 from each rain storms. The monitoring shows that there was a difference between the two seasons in the number of rainstorms which made differences in the amount of surface runoff water and the amount of soil eroded between the two seasons. Although the slope is low (3%), the soil texture is sandy and the land ploughed twice during each season surface runoff and soil eroded were occurred. The average amount of eroded soil was 3792 grams (gr) per season and the average amount of surface runoff water was 410 liter (L) per season. The amount of surface runoff water would be much greater from Jebel Nefusa upland with steep slopes and collecting of them will save a valuable amount of water which lost as a runoff while this area is in desperate of this water. The regression analysis of variance show strong correlation between rainfall depth and the other two depended variable (the amount of surface runoff water and the amount of eroded soil. It shows also strong correlation between amount of surface runoff water and amount of eroded soil.

Keywords: Rain, Surface runoff water, Soil, Water erosion, Soil erosion.

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557 Linguistic Competence Analysis and the Development of Speaking Instructional Material

Authors: Felipa M. Rico

Abstract:

Linguistic oral competence plays a vital role in attaining effective communication. Since the English language is considered as universally used language and has a high demand skill needed in the work-place, mastery is the expected output from learners. To achieve this, learners should be given integrated differentiated tasks which help them develop and strengthen the expected skills. This study aimed to develop speaking instructional supplementary material to enhance the English linguistic competence of Grade 9 students in areas of pronunciation, intonation and stress, voice projection, diction and fluency. A descriptive analysis was utilized to analyze the speaking level of performance of the students in order to employ appropriate strategies. There were two sets of respondents: 178 Grade 9 students selected through a stratified sampling and chosen at random. The other set comprised English teachers who evaluated the usefulness of the devised teaching materials. A teacher conducted a speaking test and activities were employed to analyze the speaking needs of students. Observation and recordings were also used to evaluate the students’ performance. The findings revealed that the English pronunciation of the students was slightly unclear at times, but generally fair. There were lapses but generally they rated moderate in intonation and stress, because of other language interference. In terms of voice projection, students have erratic high volume pitch. For diction, the students’ ability to produce comprehensible language is limited, and as to fluency, the choice of vocabulary and use of structure were severely limited. Based on the students’ speaking needs analyses, the supplementary material devised was based on Nunan’s IM model, incorporating context of daily life and global work settings, considering the principle that language is best learned in the actual meaningful situation. To widen the mastery of skill, a rich learning environment, filled with a variety instructional material tends to foster faster acquisition of the requisite skills for sustained learning and development. The role of IM is to encourage information to stick in the learners’ mind, as what is seen is understood more than what is heard. Teachers say they found the IM “very useful.” This implied that English teachers could adopt the materials to improve the speaking skills of students. Further, teachers should provide varied opportunities for students to get involved in real life situations where they could take turns in asking and answering questions and share information related to the activities. This would minimize anxiety among students in the use of the English language.

Keywords: Fluency, intonation, instructional materials, linguistic competence, pronunciation.

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556 Indicators as Early Warning Signal Performance to Solve Underlying Safety Problem before They Emerge as Accident Risks

Authors: Benson Chizubem

Abstract:

Because of the severe hazards that substantially impact workers' lives and assets lost, the oil and gas industry has established a goal of establishing zero occurrences or accidents in operations. Using leading indicators to measure and assess an organization's safety performance is a proactive approach to safety management. Also, it will provide early warning signals to solve inherent safety issues before they lead to an accident in the study industry. The analysis of these indicators' performance was based on a questionnaire-based methodology. A total number of 1000 questionnaires were disseminated to the workers, of which 327 were returned to the researcher team. The data collected were analysed to evaluate their safety perceptions on indicators performance. Data analysis identified safety training, safety system, safety supervision, safety rules and procedures, safety auditing, strategies and policies, management commitment, safety meeting and safety behaviour, as potential leading indicators that are capable of measuring organizational safety performance and as capable of providing early warning signals of weak safety area in an operational environment. The findings of this study have provided safety researchers and industrial safety practitioners with helpful information on the improvement of the existing safety monitoring process in the oil and gas industry, both locally and globally, as proactive actions.

Keywords: Early warning, safety, accident risks, oil and gas industry.

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555 Value Analysis Dashboard in Supply Chain Management: Real Case Study from Iran

Authors: Seyedehfatemeh Golrizgashti, Seyedali Dalil

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is proposing a supply chain value dashboard in home appliance manufacturing firms to create more value for all stakeholders via balanced scorecard approach. Balanced scorecard is an effective approach that managers have used to evaluate supply chain performance in many fields but there is a lack of enough attention to all supply chain stakeholders, improving value creation and, defining correlation between value indicators and performance measuring quantitatively. In this research the key stakeholders in home appliance supply chain, value indicators with respect to create more value for stakeholders and the most important metrics to evaluate supply chain value performance based on balanced scorecard approach have been selected via literature review. The most important indicators based on expert’s judgment acquired by in survey focused on creating more value for. Structural equation modelling has been used to disclose relations between value indicators and balanced scorecard metrics. The important result of this research is identifying effective value dashboard to create more value for all stakeholders in supply chain via balanced scorecard approach and based on an empirical study covering ten home appliance manufacturing firms in Iran. Home appliance manufacturing firms can increase their stakeholder's satisfaction by using this value dashboard.

Keywords: Supply chain management, balanced scorecard, value, Structural modeling, Stakeholders.

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554 Biosorption of Heavy Metals by Low Cost Adsorbents

Authors: Azam Tabatabaee, Fereshteh Dastgoshadeh, Akram Tabatabaee

Abstract:

This paper describes the use of by-products as adsorbents for removing heavy metals from aqueous effluent solutions. Products of almond skin, walnut shell, saw dust, rice bran and egg shell were evaluated as metal ion adsorbents in aqueous solutions. A comparative study was done with commercial adsorbents like ion exchange resins and activated carbon too. Batch experiments were investigated to determine the affinity of all of biomasses for, Cd(ΙΙ), Cr(ΙΙΙ), Ni(ΙΙ), and Pb(ΙΙ) metal ions at pH 5. The rate of metal ion removal in the synthetic wastewater by the biomass was evaluated by measuring final concentration of synthetic wastewater. At a concentration of metal ion (50 mg/L), egg shell adsorbed high levels (98.6 – 99.7%) of Pb(ΙΙ) and Cr(ΙΙΙ) and walnut shell adsorbed high levels (35.3 – 65.4%) of Ni(ΙΙ) and Cd(ΙΙ). In this study, it has been shown that by-products were excellent adsorbents for removal of toxic ions from wastewater with efficiency comparable to commercially available adsorbents, but at a reduced cost. Also statistical studies using Independent Sample t Test and ANOVA Oneway for statistical comparison between various elements adsorption showed that there isn’t a significant difference in some elements adsorption percentage by by-products and commercial adsorbents.

Keywords: Adsorbents, heavy metals, commercial adsorbents, wastewater, by-products.

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553 CFD Predictions of Dense Slurry Flow in Centrifugal Pump Casings

Authors: Krishnan V. Pagalthivarthi, Pankaj K. Gupta, Vipin Tyagi, M. R. Ravi

Abstract:

Dense slurry flow through centrifugal pump casing has been modeled using the Eulerian-Eulerian approach with Eulerian multiphase model in FLUENT 6.1®. First order upwinding is considered for the discretization of momentum, k and ε terms. SIMPLE algorithm has been applied for dealing with pressurevelocity coupling. A mixture property based k-ε turbulence model has been used for modeling turbulence. Results are validated first against mesh independence and experiments for a particular set of operational and geometric conditions. Parametric analysis is then performed to determine the effect on important physical quantities viz. solid velocities, solid concentration and solid stresses near the wall with various operational geometric conditions of the pump.

Keywords: Centrifugal pump casing, Dense slurry, Solidsconcentration, Wall shear stress, Pump geometric parameters.

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552 A Comprehensive Review of Adaptive Building Energy Management Systems Based on Users’ Feedback

Authors: P. Nafisi Poor, P. Javid

Abstract:

Over the past few years, the idea of adaptive buildings and specifically, adaptive building energy management systems (ABEMS) has become popular. Well-performed management in terms of energy is to create a balance between energy consumption and user comfort; therefore, in new energy management models, efficient energy consumption is not the sole factor and the user's comfortability is also considered in the calculations. One of the main ways of measuring this factor is by analyzing user feedback on the conditions to understand whether they are satisfied with conditions or not. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent approaches towards energy management systems based on users' feedbacks and subsequently performs a comparison between them premised upon their efficiency and accuracy to understand which approaches were more accurate and which ones resulted in a more efficient way of minimizing energy consumption while maintaining users' comfortability. It was concluded that the highest accuracy rate among the presented works was 95% accuracy in determining satisfaction and up to 51.08% energy savings can be achieved without disturbing user’s comfort. Considering the growing interest in designing and developing adaptive buildings, these studies can support diverse inquiries about this subject and can be used as a resource to support studies and researches towards efficient energy consumption while maintaining the comfortability of users.

Keywords: Adaptive buildings, energy efficiency, intelligent buildings, user comfortability.

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551 Qualitative Data Analysis for Health Care Services

Authors: Taner Ersoz, Filiz Ersoz

Abstract:

This study was designed enable application of multivariate technique in the interpretation of categorical data for measuring health care services satisfaction in Turkey. The data was collected from a total of 17726 respondents. The establishment of the sample group and collection of the data were carried out by a joint team from The Ministry of Health and Turkish Statistical Institute (Turk Stat) of Turkey. The multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used on the data of 2882 respondents who answered the questionnaire in full. The multiple correspondence analysis indicated that, in the evaluation of health services females, public employees, younger and more highly educated individuals were more concerned and complainant than males, private sector employees, older and less educated individuals. Overall 53 % of the respondents were pleased with the improvements in health care services in the past three years. This study demonstrates the public consciousness in health services and health care satisfaction in Turkey. It was found that most the respondents were pleased with the improvements in health care services over the past three years. Awareness of health service quality increases with education levels. Older individuals and males would appear to have lower expectancies in health services.

Keywords: Multiple correspondence analysis, optimal scaling, multivariate categorical data, health care services, health satisfaction survey, statistical visualizing, Turkey.

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550 Fatigue Life of an Anti-Roll Bar of a Passenger Vehicle

Authors: J. Marzbanrad, A. Yadollahi

Abstract:

In the present paper, Fatigue life assessment of an anti-roll bar component of a passenger vehicle, is investigated by ANSYS 11 software. A stress analysis is also carried out by the finite element technique for the determination of highly stressed regions on the bar. Anti-roll bar is a suspension element used at the front, rear, or at both ends of a car that reduces body roll by resisting any unequal vertical motion between the pair of wheels to which it is connected. As a first stage, fatigue damage models proposed by some well-known references and the corresponding assumptions are discussed and some enhancements are proposed. Then, fracture analysis of an anti-roll bar of an automobile is carried out. The analysed type of the anti-roll bar is especially important as many cases are reported about the fracture after a 100,000 km of travel fatigue and fracture conditions. This paper demonstrates fatigue life of an anti-roll bar and then evaluated by experimental analytically results from other researcher.

Keywords: Anti-roll bar, Fracture, Fatigue life, Random loading

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549 Haemocompatibility of Surface Modified AISI 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel Tested in Artificial Plasma

Authors: W. Walke, J. Przondziono, K. Nowińska

Abstract:

The study comprises evaluation of suitability of passive layer created on the surface of AISI 316L stainless steel for products that are intended to have contact with blood. For that purpose, prior to and after chemical passivation, samples were subject to 7 day exposure in artificial plasma at the temperature of T=37°C. Next, tests of metallic ions infiltration from the surface to the solution were performed. The tests were performed with application of spectrometer JY 2000, by Yobin – Yvon, employing Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). In order to characterize physical and chemical features of electrochemical processes taking place during exposure of samples to artificial plasma, tests with application of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were suggested. The tests were performed with application of measuring unit equipped with potentiostat PGSTAT 302n with an attachment for impedance tests FRA2. Measurements were made in the environment simulating human blood at the temperature of T=37°C. Performed tests proved that application of chemical passivation process for AISI 316L stainless steel used for production of goods intended to have contact with blood is well-grounded and useful in order to improve safety of their usage.

Keywords: AISI 316L stainless steel, chemical passivation, artificial plasma, ions infiltration, EIS.

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548 Effect of Domestic Treated Wastewater use on Three Varieties of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) under Semi Arid Conditions

Authors: El Youssfi L., Choukr-Allah R., Zaafrani M., Mediouni T., Ba Samba M., Hirich A

Abstract:

The purpose of this work was to study the effect of the irrigation using waste water with various electric conductivities (T(0,92ds/m), EC3 (3ds/m) and EC6 (6ds/m) on three varieties of quinoa cultivated in a field south of Morocco. The follow up of the evolution of the chemical and agronomic parameters throughout the culture made it possible to determine the responses to the saline stress in arid conditions. Results showed that the salinity caused the depression of plant-s height, and reduced the fresh and dry weight in the different parts of the three varieties plants. The increase of the irrigation water EC didn-t affect the yield for the varieties. Thus, quinoa resisted to salinity and proved a behavior of a facultative halophyte crop. In fact, the cultivation of this using treated wastewater is feasible especially in arid areas for a sustainable use of water resources.

Keywords: Quinoa, salinity, semi-arid, treated wastewater.

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547 3D Rendering of American Sign Language Finger-Spelling: A Comparative Study of Two Animation Techniques

Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani

Abstract:

In this paper we report a study aimed at determining the most effective animation technique for representing ASL (American Sign Language) finger-spelling. Specifically, in the study we compare two commonly used 3D computer animation methods (keyframe animation and motion capture) in order to ascertain which technique produces the most 'accurate', 'readable', and 'close to actual signing' (i.e. realistic) rendering of ASL finger-spelling. To accomplish this goal we have developed 20 animated clips of fingerspelled words and we have designed an experiment consisting of a web survey with rating questions. 71 subjects ages 19-45 participated in the study. Results showed that recognition of the words was correlated with the method used to animate the signs. In particular, keyframe technique produced the most accurate representation of the signs (i.e., participants were more likely to identify the words correctly in keyframed sequences rather than in motion captured ones). Further, findings showed that the animation method had an effect on the reported scores for readability and closeness to actual signing; the estimated marginal mean readability and closeness was greater for keyframed signs than for motion captured signs. To our knowledge, this is the first study aimed at measuring and comparing accuracy, readability and realism of ASL animations produced with different techniques.

Keywords: 3D Animation, American Sign Language, DeafEducation, Motion Capture.

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546 The Oxidative Damage Marker for Sodium Formate Exposure on Lymphocytes

Authors: Malinee Pongsavee

Abstract:

Sodium formate is the chemical substance used for food additive. Catalase is the important antioxidative enzyme in protecting the cell from oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The resultant level of oxidative stress in sodium formatetreated lymphocytes was investigated. The sodium formate concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg/mL were treated in human lymphocytes for 12 hours. After 12 treated hours, catalase activity change was measured in sodium formate-treated lymphocytes. The results showed that the sodium formate concentrations of 0.4 and 0.6 mg/mL significantly decreased catalase activities in lymphocytes (P < 0.05). The change of catalase activity in sodium formate-treated lymphocytes may be the oxidative damage marker for detect sodium formate exposure in human.

Keywords: Sodium formate, catalase activity, oxidative damage marker, toxicity.

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