Search results for: good teacher
1232 Modeling of Bisphenol A (BPA) Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Adsorption Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
Authors: Mohammad Ali Zazouli, Farzaneh Veisi, Amir Veisi
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Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic synthetic compound that has many applications in various industries and is known as persistent pollutant. The aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of bone ash and banana peel as adsorbents for BPA adsorption from aqueous solution by using Response Surface Methodology. The effects of some variables such as sorbent dose, detention time, solution pH, and BPA concentration on the sorption efficiency was examined. All analyses were carried out according to Standard Methods. The sample size was performed using Box-Benken design and also optimization of BPA removal was done using response surface methodology (RSM). The results showed that the BPA adsorption increases with increasing of contact time and BPA concentration. However, it decreases with higher pH. More adsorption efficiency of a banana peel is very smaller than a bone ash so that BPA removal for bone ash and banana peel is 62 and 28 percent, respectively. It is concluded that a bone ash has a good ability for the BPA adsorption.
Keywords: Adsorbent, banana peel, bisphenol A (BPA), bone ash, wastewater treatment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16381231 Free Vibration and Buckling of Rectangular Plates under Nonuniform In-Plane Edge Shear Loads
Authors: T. H. Young, Y. J. Tsai
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A method for determining the stress distribution of a rectangular plate subjected to two pairs of arbitrarily distributed in-plane edge shear loads is proposed, and the free vibration and buckling of such a rectangular plate are investigated in this work. The method utilizes two stress functions to synthesize the stress-resultant field of the plate with each of the stress functions satisfying the biharmonic compatibility equation. The sum of stress-resultant fields due to these two stress functions satisfies the boundary conditions at the edges of the plate, from which these two stress functions are determined. Then, the free vibration and buckling of the rectangular plate are investigated by the Galerkin method. Numerical results obtained by this work are compared with those appeared in the literature, and good agreements are observed.
Keywords: Stress analysis, free vibration, plate buckling, nonuniform in-plane edge shear.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7371230 A Study of Recycle Materials to Develop for Auto Part
Authors: Sittichai Kaewkuekool, Vanchai Laemlaksakul
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At the present, auto part industries have become higher challenge in strategy market. As this consequence, manufacturers need to have better response to customers in terms of quality, cost, and delivery time. Moreover, they need to have a good management in factory to comply with international standard maximum capacity and lower cost. This would lead companies to have to order standard part from aboard and become the major cost of inventory. The development of auto part research by recycling materials experiment is to compare the auto parts from recycle materials to international auto parts (CKD). Factors studied in this research were the recycle material ratios of PU-foam, felt, and fabric. Results of recycling materials were considered in terms of qualities and properties on the parameters such as weight, sound absorption, water absorption, tensile strength, elongation, and heat resistance with the CKD. The results were showed that recycling materials would be used to replace for the CKD.
Keywords: International auto parts, recycling materials.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20541229 GPU Implementation for Solving in Compressible Two-Phase Flows
Authors: Sheng-Hsiu Kuo, Pao-Hsiung Chiu, Reui-Kuo Lin, Yan-Ting Lin
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A one-step conservative level set method, combined with a global mass correction method, is developed in this study to simulate the incompressible two-phase flows. The present framework do not need to solve the conservative level set scheme at two separated steps, and the global mass can be exactly conserved. The present method is then more efficient than two-step conservative level set scheme. The dispersion-relation-preserving schemes are utilized for the advection terms. The pressure Poisson equation solver is applied to GPU computation using the pCDR library developed by National Center for High-Performance Computing, Taiwan. The SMP parallelization is used to accelerate the rest of calculations. Three benchmark problems were done for the performance evaluation. Good agreements with the referenced solutions are demonstrated for all the investigated problems.
Keywords: Conservative level set method, two-phase flow, dispersion-relation-preserving, graphics processing unit (GPU), multi-threading.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20531228 A Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm Applied to the Synthesis of Polyacrylamide Hydrogels
Authors: Florin Leon, Silvia Curteanu
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The Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) algorithm is inspired by the behavior of bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Myxococcus xanthus when searching for food, more precisely the chemotaxis behavior. Bacteria perceive chemical gradients in the environment, such as nutrients, and also other individual bacteria, and move toward or in the opposite direction to those signals. The application example considered as a case study consists in establishing the dependency between the reaction yield of hydrogels based on polyacrylamide and the working conditions such as time, temperature, monomer, initiator, crosslinking agent and inclusion polymer concentrations, as well as type of the polymer added. This process is modeled with a neural network which is included in an optimization procedure based on BFO. An experimental study of BFO parameters is performed. The results show that the algorithm is quite robust and can obtain good results for diverse combinations of parameter values.
Keywords: Bacterial foraging optimization, hydrogels, neural networks, modeling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7091227 Core Issues Affecting Software Architecture in Enterprise Projects
Authors: Halûk Gümüşkaya
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In this paper we analyze the core issues affecting software architecture in enterprise projects where a large number of people at different backgrounds are involved and complex business, management and technical problems exist. We first give general features of typical enterprise projects and then present foundations of software architectures. The detailed analysis of core issues affecting software architecture in software development phases is given. We focus on three main areas in each development phase: people, process, and management related issues, structural (product) issues, and technology related issues. After we point out core issues and problems in these main areas, we give recommendations for designing good architecture. We observed these core issues and the importance of following the best software development practices and also developed some novel practices in many big enterprise commercial and military projects in about 10 years of experience.Keywords: Software architecture, enterprise projects.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35911226 Performance Evaluation of an Aboveground LNG Storage Tank Cover using Nondestructive and Destructive Tests
Authors: Sungnam Hong, Sun-Kyu Park, Jieun Jeong, Jinwoong Choi
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In this study, a new procedure for inspecting damages on LNG storage tanks was proposed with the use of structural diagnostic techniques: i.e., nondestructive inspection techniques such as macrography, the hammer sounding test, the Schmidt hammer test, and the ultrasonic pulse velocity test, and destructive inspection techniques such as the compressive strength test, the chloride penetration test, and the carbonation test. From the analysis of all the test results, it was concluded that the LNG storage tank cover was in good condition. Such results were also compared with the Korean concrete standard specifications and design values. In addition, the remaining life of the LNG storage tank was estimated by using existing models. Based on the results, an LNG storage tank cover performance evaluation procedure was suggested.
Keywords: Destructive test, LNG storage tank, Nondestructive test, Performance evaluation procedure, Remaining life.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31781225 Development of Thermal Insulation Materials Based On Silicate Using Non-Traditional Binders and Fillers
Authors: J. Hroudova, J. Zach, L. Vodova
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When insulation and rehabilitation of structures is important to use quality building materials with high utility value. One potentially interesting and promising groups of construction materials in this area are advanced, thermally insulating plaster silicate based. With the present trend reduction of energy consumption of building structures and reducing CO2 emissions to be developed capillary-active materials that are characterized by their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good mechanical properties.
The paper describes the results of research activities aimed at the development of thermal insulating and rehabilitation material ongoing at the Technical University in Brno, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The achieved results of this development will be the basis for subsequent experimental analysis of the influence of thermal and moisture loads developed on these materials.
Keywords: Insulation materials, rehabilitation materials, lightweight aggregate, fly ash, slag, hemp fibers, glass fibers, metakaolin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24251224 The Video Database for Teaching and Learning in Football Refereeing
Authors: M. Armenteros, A. Domínguez, M. Fernández, A. J. Benítez
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The following paper describes the video database tool used by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as part of the research project developed in collaboration with the Carlos III University of Madrid. The database project began in 2012, with the aim of creating an educational tool for the training of instructors, referees and assistant referees, and it has been used in all FUTURO III courses since 2013. The platform now contains 3,135 video clips of different match situations from FIFA competitions. It has 1,835 users (FIFA instructors, referees and assistant referees). In this work, the main features of the database are described, such as the use of a search tool and the creation of multimedia presentations and video quizzes. The database has been developed in MySQL, ActionScript, Ruby on Rails and HTML. This tool has been rated by users as "very good" in all courses, which prompt us to introduce it as an ideal tool for any other sport that requires the use of video analysis.Keywords: Video database, FIFA, refereeing, e-learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13041223 Assessment of the Energy Balance Method in the Case of Masonry Domes
Authors: M. M. Sadeghi, S. Vahdani
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Masonry dome structures had been widely used for covering large spans in the past. The seismic assessment of these historical structures is very complicated due to the nonlinear behavior of the material, their rigidness, and special stability configuration. The assessment method based on energy balance concept, as well as the standard pushover analysis, is used to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods in the case of masonry dome structures. The Soltanieh dome building is used as an example to which two methods are applied. The performance points are given from superimposing the capacity, and demand curves in Acceleration Displacement Response Spectra (ADRS) and energy coordination are compared with the nonlinear time history analysis as the exact result. The results show a good agreement between the dynamic analysis and the energy balance method, but standard pushover method does not provide an acceptable estimation.
Keywords: Energy balance method, pushover analysis, time history analysis, masonry dome.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8231222 Modelling Indoor Air Carbon Dioxide (CO2)Concentration using Neural Network
Authors: J-P. Skön, M. Johansson, M. Raatikainen, K. Leiviskä, M. Kolehmainen
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The use of neural networks is popular in various building applications such as prediction of heating load, ventilation rate and indoor temperature. Significant is, that only few papers deal with indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) prediction which is a very good indicator of indoor air quality (IAQ). In this study, a data-driven modelling method based on multilayer perceptron network for indoor air carbon dioxide in an apartment building is developed. Temperature and humidity measurements are used as input variables to the network. Motivation for this study derives from the following issues. First, measuring carbon dioxide is expensive and sensors power consumptions is high and secondly, this leads to short operating times of battery-powered sensors. The results show that predicting CO2 concentration based on relative humidity and temperature measurements, is difficult. Therefore, more additional information is needed.Keywords: Indoor air quality, Modelling, Neural networks
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18791221 Tourists, on Marine Sport Tourism Attraction, Travel Experiences and Perceived Values
Authors: Hsiao-Ming Chang, Jui-Liang Hsu
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The purpose of this study is to analyze the cognitive and travel experience the situation of the tourist attraction of the sport tourism in Penghu. This study used a questionnaires, the main island of Taiwan to Penghu in the way of marine sports tourists adopted the designated convenience sampling method, a total of 1447 valid questionnaires. After statistical analysis, this study found that: 1. Tourists to Penghu sports tourism attraction cognitive as “good air quality, suitable for water activities". 2. Tourists in Penghu's tourism experience, “Let me taste the delicious specialties and snacks". 3. The attraction of the sport tourism, travel experience and perceived value are correlated, and both the perceived value with a high degree of predictive ability. Based on the findings of this study not only for Penghu's tourism industry with the unit in charge of the proposed operating and suggestions for future research to other researchers.Keywords: Sport tourism, travel experience, perceived value, sport attraction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31801220 Determining of Stage-Discharge Relationship for Meandering Compound Channels Using M5 Decision Tree Model
Authors: Mehdi Kheradmand, Mehdi Azhdary Moghaddam, Abdolreza Zahiri, Khalil Ghorbani
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In modeling phenomena, the presence of local conditions may cause the use of a general relation not to produce good results and thus fail to demonstrate local changes. If possible, identifying homogenous limits and providing simple linear relations for each of these limits will increase the accuracy of models. Accordingly, the models are divided into simpler and smaller problems to solve complicated problems, and the obtained answers will be combined. This simple idea can be applied to decision tree models. For this aim, the input data values are divided into several sub-intervals or sub-regions, and an appropriate model is extracted for an appropriate model or equation. This research proposes the M5 decision tree method as a solution to accurately compute the flow discharge in meandering compound channels.
Keywords: Stage-discharge relationship, decision tree, M5 decision tree model, meandering compound channels.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2101219 Double Loop Control of H-Bridge DC Chopper Fed Permanent Magnet DC Motor Drives Using Low Cost Hardware
Authors: Zin Maw Tun, Tun Lin Naing
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This paper presents the two loop proportional integral (PI) controller for speed control of permanent magnet DC motor (PMDC) motor drive with H-bridge DC chopper. PMDC motors are widely used in many applications because of having a good performance and it is easy to apply the speed control. The speed can be adjusted by using armature voltage control as it had only the armature circuit. H-bridge DC chopper circuit is used to obtain the desired speed in any direction. In this system, the two loop PI controller is designed by using pole-zero cancellation method. The speed and current controller gains are considered depending on the sampling frequency of the microcontroller. An Arduino IO package is used to implement the control algorithm. Both simulation and experimental results are presented to prove the correctness of the mathematical model.Keywords: Arduino IO package, double loop PI controller, H-bridge DC chopper, low cost hardware, PMDC motor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8001218 Factors of Successful Wooden Furniture Design Process
Authors: S. Choodoung, U. Smutkupt
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This study systemizes processes and methods in wooden furniture design that contains uniqueness in function and aesthetics. The study was done by research and analysis for designer-s consideration factors that affect function and production. Therefore, the study result indicates that such factors are design process (planning for design, product specifications, concept design, product architecture, industrial design, production), design evaluation as well as wooden furniture design dependent factors i.e. art (art style; furniture history, form), functionality (the strength and durability, area place, using), material (appropriate to function, wood mechanical properties), joints, cost, safety, and social responsibility. Specifically, all aforementioned factors affect good design. Resulting from direct experience gained through user-s usage, the designer must design the wooden furniture systemically and effectively. As a result, this study selected dinning armchair as a case study with all involving factors and all design process stated in this study.Keywords: Furniture Design, Function Design, Aesthetic, Wooden Furniture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 99811217 A Study of Feedback Strategy to Improve Inspector Performance by Using Computer Based Training
Authors: Santirat Nansaarng, Sittichai Kaewkuekool, Supreeya Siripattanakunkajorn
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The purpose of this research was to study the inspector performance by using computer based training (CBT). Visual inspection task was printed circuit board (PCB) simulated on several types of defects. Subjects were 16 undergraduate randomly selected from King Mongkut-s University of Technology Thonburi and test for 20/20. Then, they were equally divided on performance into two groups (control and treatment groups) and were provided information before running the experiment. Only treatment group was provided feedback information after first experiment. Results revealed that treatment group was showed significantly difference at the level of 0.01. The treatment group showed high percentage on defects detected. Moreover, the attitude of inspectors on using the CBT to inspection was showed on good. These results have been showed that CBT could be used for training to improve inspector performance.
Keywords: Training, Feedback, Computer based Training (CBT)
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14121216 Multifunctional Barcode Inventory System for Retailing. Are You Ready for It?
Authors: Ling Shi Cai, Leau Yu Beng, Charlie Albert Lasuin, Tan Soo Fun, Chin Pei Yee
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This paper explains the development of Multifunctional Barcode Inventory Management System (MBIMS) to manage inventory and stock ordering. Today, most of the retailing market is still manually record their stocks and its effectiveness is quite low. By providing MBIMS, it will bring effectiveness to retailing market in inventory management. MBIMS will not only save time in recording input, output and refilling the inventory stock, but also in calculating remaining stock and provide auto-ordering function. This system is developed through System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and the flow and structure of the system is fully built based on requirements of a retailing market. Furthermore, this system has been developed from methodical research and study where each part of the system is vigilantly designed. Thus, MBIMS will offer a good solution to the retailing market in achieving effectiveness and efficiency in inventory management.
Keywords: Inventory, Retailing Market, Barcode, Automated Alerting and Ordering
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20841215 Governance of Inter-Organizational Research Cooperation
Authors: Guenther Schuh, Sebastian Woelk
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Companies face increasing challenges in research due to higher costs and risks. The intensifying technology complexity and interdisciplinarity require unique know-how. Therefore, companies need to decide whether research shall be conducted internally or externally with partners. On the other hand, research institutes meet increasing efforts to achieve good financing and to maintain high research reputation. Therefore, relevant research topics need to be identified and specialization of competency is necessary. However, additional competences for solving interdisciplinary research projects are also often required. Secured financing can be achieved by bonding industry partners as well as public fundings. The realization of faster and better research drives companies and research institutes to cooperate in organized research networks, which are managed by an administrative organization. For an effective and efficient cooperation, necessary processes, roles, tools and a set of rules need to be determined. Goal of this paper is to show the state-of-art research and to propose a governance framework for organized research networks.Keywords: Interorganizational cooperation, design of network governance, research network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14751214 Prediction and Reduction of Cracking Issue in Precision Forging of Engine Valves Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Xi Yang, Bulent Chavdar, Alan Vonseggern, Taylan Altan
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Fracture in hot precision forging of engine valves was investigated in this paper. The entire valve forging procedure was described and the possible cause of the fracture was proposed. Finite Element simulation was conducted for the forging process, with commercial Finite Element code DEFORMTM. The effects of material properties, the effect of strain rate and temperature were considered in the FE simulation. Two fracture criteria were discussed and compared, based on the accuracy and reliability of the FE simulation results. The selected criterion predicted the fracture location and shows the trend of damage increasing with good accuracy, which matches the experimental observation. Additional modification of the punch shapes was proposed to further reduce the tendency of fracture in forging. Finite Element comparison shows a great potential of such application in the mass production.
Keywords: Hot forging, engine valve, fracture, tooling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28511213 Patterns of Sports Supplement Use among Iranian Female Athletes
Authors: A. Golshanraz, L. Hakemi, L. Pourkazemi, E. Dadgostar, F. Moradzandi, R. Tabatabaee, F. Moradi, K. Hosseinihajiagha, N. Jazayeri, H. Abedifar, R. Fouladi, M. Khooban, H. Saboori, M. Kiani, M. Sajedi, E. Karooninejad, S.Moeen, M.Ghavam, F.Beiranvand, S.Mansoori, F.Gheisari, H.Barzegari
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Supplement use is common in athletes. Besides their cost, they may have side effects on health and performance. 250 questionnaires were distributed among female athletes (mean age 27.08 years). The questionnaire aimed to explore the frequency, type, believes, attitudes and knowledge regarding dietary supplements. Knowledge was good in 30.3%, fair in 60.2%, and poor in 9.1% of respondents. 65.3% of athletes did not use supplements regularly. The most widely used supplements were vitamins (48.4%), minerals (42.9%), energy supplements (21.3%), and herbals (20.9%). 68.9% of athletes believed in their efficacy. 34.4% experienced performance enhancement and 6.8% of reported side effects. 68.2% reported little knowledge and 60.9% were eager to learn more. In conclusion, many of the female athletes believe in the efficacy of supplements and think they are an unavoidable part of competitive sports. However, their information is not sufficient. We have to stress on education, consulting sessions, and rational prescription.
Keywords: athlete, female, sports, supplement
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17361212 A Study of Management Principles Incorporating Corporate Governance and Advocating Ethics to Reduce Fraud at a South African Bank
Authors: Roshan Jelal, Charles Mbohwa
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In today’s world, internal fraud remains one of the most challenging problems within companies worldwide and despite investment in controls and attention given to the problem, the instances of internal fraud has not abated. To the contrary it appears that internal fraud is on the rise especially in the wake of the economic downturn.
Leadership within companies believes that the more sophisticated the controls employed the less likely it would be for employees to pilfer. This is a very antiquated view as investment in controls may not be enough to curtail internal fraud; however, ensuring that a company drives the correct culture and behavior within the organization is likely to yield desired results.
This research aims to understand how creating a strong ethical culture and embedding the principle of good corporate governance impacts on levels of internal fraud with an organization (a South African Bank).
Keywords: Internal Fraud, Corporate Governance, Ethics, South African Reserve Bank, The King Code.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20511211 Dual Band Fractal Antenna for Wireless Sensor Network Application
Authors: M. Shanmugapriya, M. A. Maluk Mohamed, J. William
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A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a collection of sensor nodes organized into a cooperative network. These nodes communicate through a wireless antenna. Reduction in physical size and multiband operation is an important requirement of WSN antenna. Fractal antenna is used for miniaturization and multiband operation. The self-similar or self-affine and space filling property of fractal geometry increases the effective electrical length of the antenna, reduces the size and make them frequency independent. This paper elaborates on Dual band fractal antenna with Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) feed for WSN. The proposed antenna is designed on a FR4 substrate with the dimension of 27mm x 28.5mm x 1.6mm, resonates at 2.4GHz and 5.2GHz with a return loss less than -10dB. The design and simulation process is carried out using IE3D simulation software. The simulated and measured results are found in good agreement.
Keywords: CPW, Fractal, Iterations, Miniaturization, Space filling, Self Similar, WSN, WLAN.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24581210 Region-Based Image Fusion with Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Shuo-Li Hsu, Peng-Wei Gau, I-Lin Wu, Jyh-Horng Jeng
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For most image fusion algorithms separate relationship by pixels in the image and treat them more or less independently. In addition, they have to be adjusted different parameters in different time or weather. In this paper, we propose a region–based image fusion which combines aspects of feature and pixel-level fusion method to replace only by pixel. The basic idea is to segment far infrared image only and to add information of each region from segmented image to visual image respectively. Then we determine different fused parameters according different region. At last, we adopt artificial neural network to deal with the problems of different time or weather, because the relationship between fused parameters and image features are nonlinear. It render the fused parameters can be produce automatically according different states. The experimental results present the method we proposed indeed have good adaptive capacity with automatic determined fused parameters. And the architecture can be used for lots of applications.Keywords: Image fusion, Region-based fusion, Segmentation, Neural network, Multi-sensor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22381209 Tax Morale Dimensions Analysis in Portugal and Spain
Authors: Cristina Sá, Carlos Gomes, António Martins
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The reasons that explain different behaviors towards tax obligations in similar countries are not completely understood yet. The main purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors that influence tax morale levels in Portugal and Spain. We use data from European Values Study (EVS). Using a sample of 2,652 individuals, a factor analysis was used to extract the underlying dimensions of tax morale of Portuguese and Spanish taxpayers. Based on a factor analysis, the results of this paper show that sociological and behavioral factors, psychological factors and political factors are important for a good understanding of taxpayers’ behavior in Iberian Peninsula. This paper added value relies on the analyses of a wide range of variables and on the comparison between Portugal and Spain. Our conclusions provided insights that tax authorities and politicians can use to better focus their strategies and actions in order to increase compliance, reduce tax evasion, fight underground economy and increase country´s competitiveness.Keywords: Compliance, tax morale, Portugal, Spain.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9881208 Speed Sensorless Direct Torque Control of a PMSM Drive using Space Vector Modulation Based MRAS and Stator Resistance Estimator
Authors: A. Ameur, B. Mokhtari, N. Essounbouli, L. Mokrani
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This paper presents a speed sensorless direct torque control scheme using space vector modulation (DTC-SVM) for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive based a Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) algorithm and stator resistance estimator. The MRAS is utilized to estimate speed and stator resistance and compensate the effects of parameter variation on stator resistance, which makes flux and torque estimation more accurate and insensitive to parameter variation. In other hand the use of SVM method reduces the torque ripple while achieving a good dynamic response. Simulation results are presented and show the effectiveness of the proposed method.Keywords: MRAS, PMSM, SVM, DTC, Speed and Resistance estimation, Sensorless drive
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 38511207 Hydro-Mechanical Behavior of a Tuff and Calcareous Sand Mixture for Use in Pavement in Arid Region
Authors: I. Goual, M. S. Goual, M. K. Gueddouda, Taïbi Saïd, Abou-Bekr Nabil, A. Ferhat
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The aim of the paper is to study the hydro-mechanical behavior of a tuff and calcareous sand mixture. A first experimental phase was carried out in order to find the optimal mixture. This showed that the material composed of 80% tuff and 20% calcareous sand provides the maximum mechanical strength. The second experimental phase concerns the study of the drying-wetting behavior of the optimal mixture was carried out on slurry samples and compacted samples at the MPO. Experimental results let to deduce the parameters necessary for the prediction of the hydro-mechanical behavior of pavement formulated from tuff and calcareous sand mixtures, related to moisture. This optimal mixture satisfies the regulation rules and hence constitutes a good local eco-material, abundantly available, for the conception of pavements.Keywords: Tuff, sandy calcareous, road engineering, hydro mechanical behaviour, suction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15171206 A Wavelet-Based Watermarking Method Exploiting the Contrast Sensitivity Function
Authors: John N. Ellinas, Panagiotis Kenterlis
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The efficiency of an image watermarking technique depends on the preservation of visually significant information. This is attained by embedding the watermark transparently with the maximum possible strength. The current paper presents an approach for still image digital watermarking in which the watermark embedding process employs the wavelet transform and incorporates Human Visual System (HVS) characteristics. The sensitivity of a human observer to contrast with respect to spatial frequency is described by the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF). The strength of the watermark within the decomposition subbands, which occupy an interval on the spatial frequencies, is adjusted according to this sensitivity. Moreover, the watermark embedding process is carried over the subband coefficients that lie on edges where distortions are less noticeable. The experimental evaluation of the proposed method shows very good results in terms of robustness and transparency.
Keywords: Image watermarking, wavelet transform, human visual system, contrast sensitivity function.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20841205 Cloud Computing Security for Multi-Cloud Service Providers: Controls and Techniques in our Modern Threat Landscape
Authors: Sandesh Achar
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Cloud computing security is a broad term that covers a variety of security concerns for organizations that use cloud services. Multi-cloud service providers must consider several factors when addressing security for their customers, including identity and access management, data at rest and in transit, egress and ingress traffic control, vulnerability and threat management, and auditing. This paper explores each of these aspects of cloud security in detail and provides recommendations for best practices for multi-cloud service providers. It also discusses the challenges inherent in securing a multi-cloud environment and offers solutions for overcoming these challenges. By the end of this paper, readers should have a good understanding of the various security concerns associated with multi-cloud environments in the context of today’s modern cyber threats and how to address them.
Keywords: Multi-cloud service, SOC, system organization control, data loss prevention, DLP, identity and access management, IAM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6691204 Using TRACE, PARCS, and SNAP Codes to Analyze the Load Rejection Transient of ABWR
Authors: J. R. Wang, H. C. Chang, A. L. Ho, J. H. Yang, S. W. Chen, C. Shih
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The purpose of the study is to analyze the load rejection transient of ABWR by using TRACE, PARCS, and SNAP codes. This study has some steps. First, using TRACE, PARCS, and SNAP codes establish the model of ABWR. Second, the key parameters are identified to refine the TRACE/PARCS/SNAP model further in the frame of a steady state analysis. Third, the TRACE/PARCS/SNAP model is used to perform the load rejection transient analysis. Finally, the FSAR data are used to compare with the analysis results. The results of TRACE/PARCS are consistent with the FSAR data for the important parameters. It indicates that the TRACE/PARCS/SNAP model of ABWR has a good accuracy in the load rejection transient.
Keywords: ABWR, TRACE, PARCS, SNAP.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8041203 Provision of Basic Water and Sanitation Services in South Africa through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant Programme
Authors: Elkington Sibusiso Mnguni
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Although South Africa has made good progress in providing basic water and sanitation services to its citizens, there is still a large section of the population that has no access to these services. This paper reviews the performance of the government’s municipal infrastructure grant programme in providing basic water and sanitation services which are part of the constitutional requirements to the citizens. The method used to gather data and information was a desk top study which sought to review the progress made in rolling out the programme. The successes and challenges were highlighted and possible solutions were identified that can accelerate the elimination of the remaining backlogs and improve the level of service to the citizens. Currently, approximately 6.5 million citizens are without access to basic water services and approximately 10 million are without access to basic sanitation services.
Keywords: Grant, municipal infrastructure, sanitation, services, water.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 653