Search results for: Growth measurement constructs

Authors: E. Al-Essa, R. Bello-Mendoza, D. G. Wareham

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Anaerobic batch experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of magnetite-supplementation (7 mM) on methane production from digested sludge undergoing two different microbial growth phases, namely fresh sludge (exponential growth phase) and degassed sludge (endogenous decay phase). Three different particle sizes were assessed: small (50 - 150 nm), medium (168 – 490 nm) and large (800 nm - 4.5 µm) particles. Results show that, in the case of the fresh sludge, magnetite significantly enhanced the methane production rate (up to 32%) and reduced the lag phase (by 15% - 41%) as compared to the control, regardless of the particle size used. However, the cumulative methane produced at the end of the incubation was comparable in all treatment and control bottles. In the case of the degassed sludge, only the medium-sized magnetite particles increased significantly the methane production rate (12% higher) as compared to the control. Small and large particles had little effect on the methane production rate but did result in an extended lag phase which led to significantly lower cumulative methane production at the end of the incubation period. These results suggest that magnetite produces a clear and positive effect on methane production only when an active and balanced microbial community is present in the anaerobic digester. It is concluded that, (i) the effect of magnetite particle size on increasing the methane production rate and reducing lag phase duration is strongly influenced by the initial metabolic state of the microbial consortium, and (ii) the particle size would positively affect the methane production if it is provided within the nanometer size range.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, iron oxide (Fe3O4), methanogenesis, nanoparticle.

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Authors: Z. Pavlík, A. Trník, M. Pavlíková, M. Keppert, R. Černý

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A new type of lightweight plaster with the thermal capacity enhanced by PCM (Phase Change Material) addition is analyzed. The basic physical characteristics, namely the bulk density, matrix density, total open porosity, and pore size distribution are measured at first. For description of mechanical properties, compressive strength measurements are done. The thermal properties are characterized by transient impulse techniques as well as by DSC analysis that enables determination of the specific heat capacity as a function of temperature. The resistivity against the liquid water ingress is described by water absorption coefficient measurement. The experimental results indicate a good capability of the designed plaster to moderate effectively the interior climate of buildings.

Keywords: Lime-pozzolan plaster, PCM addition, enhanced thermal capacity, DSC analysis.

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Authors: Kazuo Komatsu, Hitoshi Takata

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This paper discusses a design of nonlinear observer by a formal linearization method using an application of Chebyshev Interpolation in order to facilitate processes for synthesizing a nonlinear observer and to improve the precision of linearization. A dynamic nonlinear system is linearized with respect to a linearization function, and a measurement equation is transformed into an augmented linear one by the formal linearization method which is based on Chebyshev interpolation. To the linearized system, a linear estimation theory is applied and a nonlinear observer is derived. To show effectiveness of the observer design, numerical experiments are illustrated and they indicate that the design shows remarkable performances for nonlinear systems.

Keywords: nonlinear system, nonlinear observer, formal linearization, Chebyshev interpolation.

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Authors: C. Shih, J. R. Wang, H. C. Chang, S. W. Chen, S. C. Chiang, T. Y. Yu

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After the measurement uncertainty recapture (MUR) power uprates, Kuosheng nuclear power plant (NPP) was uprated the power from 2894 MWt to 2943 MWt. For power upgrade, several codes (e.g., TRACE, RELAP5, etc.) were applied to assess the safety of Kuosheng NPP. Hence, the main work of this research is to establish a RELAP5/MOD3.3 model of Kuosheng NPP with SNAP interface. The establishment of RELAP5/SNAP model was referred to the FSAR, training documents, and TRACE model which has been developed and verified before. After completing the model establishment, the startup test scenarios would be applied to the RELAP5/SNAP model. With comparing the startup test data and TRACE analysis results, the applicability of RELAP5/SNAP model would be assessed.

Keywords: RELAP5, TRACE, SNAP, BWR.

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Authors: Anwar Jarndal

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In this paper, a genetic-neural-network (GNN) based large-signal model for GaN HEMTs is presented along with its parameters extraction procedure. The model is easy to construct and implement in CAD software and requires only DC and S-parameter measurements. An improved decomposition technique is used to model self-heating effect. Two GNN models are constructed to simulate isothermal drain current and power dissipation, respectively. The two model are then composed to simulate the drain current. The modeling procedure was applied to a packaged GaN-on-Si HEMT and the developed model is validated by comparing its large-signal simulation with measured data. A very good agreement between the simulation and measurement is obtained.

Keywords: GaN HEMT, computer-aided design & modeling, neural networks, genetic optimization.

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Authors: Ki-Jin Kim, Sanghoon Park, K. H. Ahn

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This paper presents the 20-GHz fractional PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit for the next generation Wi-Fi by using 90 nm TSMC process. The newly suggested millimeter wave 16/17 pre-scalar is designed and verified by measurement to make the fractional PLL having a low quantization noise. The operational bandwidth of the 60 GHz system is 15 % of the carrier frequency which requires large value of Kv (VCO control gain) resulting in degradation of phase noise. To solve this problem, this paper adopts AFC (Automatic Frequency Controller) controlled 4-bit millimeter wave VCO with small value of Kv. Also constant Kv is implemented using 4-bit varactor bank. The measured operational bandwidth is 18.2 ~ 23.2 GHz which is 25 % of the carrier frequency. The phase noise of -58 and -96.2 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz and 1 MHz offset is measured respectively. The total power consumption of the PLL is only 30 mW.

Keywords: Millimeter Wave Fractional PLL, Wide band VCO, WPAN Transceiver.

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Authors: Zane Bulderberga

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Spatial dimension in development planning is becoming more topical in 21^st century as a result of changes in population structure. Sustainable spatial development focuses on identifying and using territorial advantages to foster the harmonized development of the entire country, reducing negative effects of population concentration, increasing availability and mobility. EU and national development planning documents state polycentrism as main tool for balance spatial development, including investment concentration in growth centres. If mutual cooperation of growth centres as well as urban–rural cooperation is not fostered, then territorial differences can deepen and create unbalanced development.

The aim of research: to evaluate the urban–rural interaction, elaborating spatial development scenarios in framework of Latvian regional policy. To perform the research monographic, comparison, abstract–logical method, synthesis and analysis will be used when studying the theoretical aspects of research aiming at collecting the ideas of scientists from different countries, concepts, regulations as well as to create meaningful scientific discussion. Hierarchy analysis process (AHP) will be used to state further scenarios of spatial development in Latvia.

Experts from various institutions recognized urban – rural interaction and co-operation as an essential tool for the development. The most important factors for balanced spatial development in Latvia are availability of public transportation and improvement of service availability. Evaluating the three alternative scenarios, it was concluded that the urban – rural partnership will ensure a balanced development in Latvian regions.

Keywords: Rural – urban interaction, rural – urban cooperation, spatial development, AHP.

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Authors: U. Datta

Abstract:

The main objective of this study is to find a suitable approach to monitor the land infrastructure growth over a period of time using multispectral satellite images. Bi-temporal change detection method is unable to indicate the continuous change occurring over a long period of time. To achieve this objective, the approach used here estimates a statistical model from series of multispectral image data over a long period of time, assuming there is no considerable change during that time period and then compare it with the multispectral image data obtained at a later time. The change is estimated pixel-wise. Statistical composite hypothesis technique is used for estimating pixel based change detection in a defined region. The generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) is used to detect the changed pixel from probabilistic estimated model of the corresponding pixel. The changed pixel is detected assuming that the images have been co-registered prior to estimation. To minimize error due to co-registration, 8-neighborhood pixels around the pixel under test are also considered. The multispectral images from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 from 2015 to 2018 are used for this purpose. There are different challenges in this method. First and foremost challenge is to get quite a large number of datasets for multivariate distribution modelling. A large number of images are always discarded due to cloud coverage. Due to imperfect modelling there will be high probability of false alarm. Overall conclusion that can be drawn from this work is that the probabilistic method described in this paper has given some promising results, which need to be pursued further.

Keywords: Co-registration, GLRT, infrastructure growth, multispectral, multitemporal, pixel-based change detection.

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Authors: Seiya Teshima, Kazushige Magatani

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Currently, many types of no-reversible compressed sound source, represented by MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3) are popular in the world and they are widely used to make the music file size smaller. The sound data created in this way has less information as compared to pre-compressed data. The objective of this study is by analyzing EEG to determine if people can recognize such difference as differences in sound. A measurement system that can measure and analyze EEG when a subject listens to music were experimentally developed. And ten subjects were studied with this system. In this experiment, a WAVE formatted music data and a MP3 compressed music data that is made from the WAVE formatted data were prepared. Each subject was made to hear these music sources at the same volume. From the results of this experiment, clear differences were confirmed between two wound sources.

Keywords: EEG, Biological signal , Sound , MP3

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Authors: E. J. Cilliers

Abstract:

It is the living conditions in the cities that determine the future of our livelihood. “To change life, we must first change space"- Henri Lefebvre. Sustainable development is a utopian aspiration for South African cities (especially the case study of the Gauteng City Region), which are currently characterized by unplanned growth and increasing urban sprawl. While the reasons for poor environmental quality and living conditions are undoubtedly diverse and complex, having political, economical and social dimensions, it is argued that the prevailing approach to layout planning in South Africa is part of the problem. This article seeks a solution to the problem of sustainability, from a spatial planning perspective. The spatial planning tool, the urban development boundary, is introduced as the concept that will ensure empty talk being translated into a sustainable vision. The urban development boundary is a spatial planning tool that can be used and implemented to direct urban growth towards a more sustainable form. The urban development boundary aims to ensure planned urban areas, in contrast to the current unplanned areas characterized by urban sprawl and insufficient infrastructure. However, the success of the urban development boundary concept is subject to effective implementation measures, as well as adequate and efficient management. The concept of sustainable development can function as a driving force underlying societal change and transformation, but the interface between spatial planning and environmental management needs to be established (as this is the core aspects underlying sustainable development), and authorities needs to understand and implement this interface consecutively. This interface can, however, realize in terms of the objectives of the planning tool – the urban development boundary. The case study, the Gauteng City Region, is depicted as a site of economic growth and innovation, but there is a lack of good urban and regional governance, impacting on the design (layout) and function of urban areas and land use, as current authorities make uninformed decisions in terms of development applications, leading to unsustainable urban forms and unsustainable nodes. Place and space concepts are thus critical matters applicable to planning of the Gauteng City Region. The urban development boundary are thus explored as a planning tool to guide decision-making, and create a sustainable urban form, leading to better environmental and living conditions, and continuous sustainability.

Keywords: Urban planning, sustainable urban form, urbandevelopment boundary, planning tool.

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Authors: Haeng A. Seo, Changseok Oh, Seung Jun Yoo

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This study attempts to examine the disparities in S&T innovation capacity from 14 developing countries to discuss how to support specific features in national innovation systems. It includes East-Asian, Middle-Asian, Central American and African countries. Here, we particularly focus on five dimensions- resources, activities, network, environment and performance- with 37 indicators. They were derived as structuring components of the relevant diagnostic model, which encompasses the whole process of S&T innovation from the input of resources to the output of economically valuable results. For many developing nations, economic industries remain weaker than actual S&T capabilities, and relevant regulatory authorities may not exist. This paper will be helpful to provide basic evidence and to set directions for better national S&T Innovation capacities and toward national competitiveness.

Keywords: Developing countries, measurement, NIS, S&T innovation capacity.

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Authors: Xin Wang, Yuanzhong Wang

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Pipa is one of the most important Chinese traditional plucked instruments, but its directivity has never been measured systematically. In western, directivity of loudness for western instruments is deeply researched through analysis of sound pressure level, whereas the directivity of timbre is seldom studied. In this paper, a new method for directivity of timbre was proposed, and horizontal directivity patterns of loudness and timbre of Pipa were measured. Directivity of Pipa radiation was measured in an anechoic room. The sound of Pipa played by a musician was recorded simultaneously by 32 microphones with Pipa in the center. The measuring results were examined through listening test. According to the measurement of Pipa directivity radiation, we put forward the best localization of Pipa in the Chinese traditional orchestra and the optimal recording region.

Keywords: Directivity, Pipa, Roughness, Listening test.

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Authors: M.Ghotbi, M.Ghotbi, Gh. Azari Takami

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In this study Vitaton (an organic supplement which contains fermentative β-carotene) and synthetic astaxanthin (CAROPHYLL® Pink) were evaluated as pro-growth factors in Rainbow trout diet. An 8 week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effects of Vitaton versus astaxanthin on rearing factors, survival rate and visual flesh color of Rainbow trout (Oncorhnchynchus mykiss) with initial weight of 196±5. Four practical diets were formulated to contain 50 and 80 (ppm) of β- carotene and astaxanthin and also a control diet was prepared without any pigment. Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of fish rearing in fresh water. Fish were fed twice daily. The water temperature fluctuated from 12 to 15 (C˚) and also dissolved oxygen content was between 7 to 7.5 (mg/lit) during the experimental period. At the end of the experiment, growth and food utilization parameters and survival rate were unaffected by dietary treatments (p>0.05). Also, there was no significant difference between carcass yield within treatments (p>0.05). No significant difference recognized between visual flesh color (SalmoFan score) of fish fed Vitaton-containing diets. On the contrary, feeding on diets containing 50 and 80 (ppm) of astaxanthin, increased SalmoFan score (flesh astaxanthin concentration) from <20 (<1 mg/kg) to 23.33 (2.03 mg/kg) and 27.67 (5.74 mg/kg), respectively. Ultimately, a significant difference was seen between flesh carotenoid concentrations of fish feeding on astaxanthin containing treatments and control treatment (P<0.05). It should be mentioned that just raw fillet color of fish belonged to 80 (ppm) of astaxanthin treatment was seen to be close to color targets (SalmoFan scores) adopted for harvest-size fish.

Keywords: Astaxanthin, Flesh color, Rainbow trout, Vitaton, β- carotene,

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Authors: O. Arikan, C. Kocatepe, G. Ucar, Y. Hacialiefendioglu

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In this paper, influence of harmonics on medium voltage distribution system of Bogazici Electricity Distribution Inc. (BEDAS) which takes place at Istanbul/Turkey is investigated. A ring network consisting of residential loads is taken into account for this study. Real system parameters and measurement results are used for simulations. Also, probable working conditions of the system are analyzed for 50%, 75%, and 100% loading of transformers with similar harmonic contents. Results of the study are exhibited the influence of nonlinear loads on %THDV, P.F. and technical losses of the medium voltage distribution system.

Keywords: Distribution system, harmonic, technical losses, power factor (PF), total harmonic distortion (THD), residential load, medium voltage.

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Authors: K. Mondal, S. Talapatra, M. Terrones, S. Pokhrel, C. Frizzel, B. Sumpter, V. Meunier, A. L. Elias

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Worldwide energy independence is reliant on the ability to leverage locally available resources for fuel production. Recently, syngas produced through gasification of carbonaceous materials provided a gateway to a host of processes for the production of various chemicals including transportation fuels. The basis of the production of gasoline and diesel-like fuels is the Fischer Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process: A catalyzed chemical reaction that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂) into long chain hydrocarbons. Until now, it has been argued that only transition metal catalysts (usually Co or Fe) are active toward the CO hydrogenation and subsequent chain growth in the presence of hydrogen. In this paper, we demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) surfaces are also capable of hydro-deoxygenating CO and producing long chain hydrocarbons similar to that obtained through the FTS but with orders of magnitude higher conversion efficiencies than the present state-of-the-art FTS catalysts. We have used advanced experimental tools such as XPS and microscopy techniques to characterize CNTs and identify C-O functional groups as the active sites for the enhanced catalytic activity. Furthermore, we have conducted quantum Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to confirm that C-O groups (inherent on CNT surfaces) could indeed be catalytically active towards reduction of CO with H₂, and capable of sustaining chain growth. The DFT calculations have shown that the kinetically and thermodynamically feasible route for CO insertion and hydro-deoxygenation are different from that on transition metal catalysts. Experiments on a continuous flow tubular reactor with various nearly metal-free CNTs have been carried out and the products have been analyzed. CNTs functionalized by various methods were evaluated under different conditions. Reactor tests revealed that the hydrogen pre-treatment reduced the activity of the catalysts to negligible levels. Without the pretreatment, the activity for CO conversion as found to be 7 µmol CO/g CNT/s. The O-functionalized samples showed very activities greater than 85 µmol CO/g CNT/s with nearly 100% conversion. Analyses show that CO hydro-deoxygenation occurred at the C-O/O-H functional groups. It was found that while the products were similar to FT products, differences in selectivities were observed which, in turn, was a result of a different catalytic mechanism. These findings now open a new paradigm for CNT-based hydrogenation catalysts and constitute a defining point for obtaining clean, earth abundant, alternative fuels through the use of efficient and renewable catalyst.

Keywords: CNT, CO hydro-deoxygenation, DFT, liquid fuels, XPS, XTL.

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Authors: M. Mordjaoui, B. Boudjema, M. Chabane, R. Daira

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In determining the electromagnetic properties of magnetic materials, hysteresis modeling is of high importance. Many models are available to investigate those characteristics but they tend to be complex and difficult to implement. In this paper a new qualitative hysteresis model for ferromagnetic core is presented, based on the function approximation capabilities of adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The proposed ANFIS model combined the neural network adaptive capabilities and the fuzzy logic qualitative approach can restored the hysteresis curve with a little RMS error. The model accuracy is good and can be easily adapted to the requirements of the application by extending or reducing the network training set and thus the required amount of measurement data.

Keywords: ANFIS modeling technique, magnetic hysteresis, Jiles-Atherton model, ferromagnetic core.

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Authors: Ana Bobirca, Paul-Gabriel Miclaus

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The purpose of the article is to illustrate the main characteristics of the corporate governance challenge facing the countries of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and to subsequently determine and assess the extensiveness and effectiveness of corporate governance regulations in these countries. Therefore, we start with an overview on the subject of the key problems of corporate governance in transition. We then address the issue of corporate governance measurement for SEE countries. To this end, we include a review of the methodological framework for determining both the extensiveness and the effectiveness of corporate governance legislation. We then focus on the actual analysis of the quality of corporate governance codes, as well as of legal institutions effectiveness and provide a measure of corporate governance in Romania and other SEE emerging markets. The paper concludes by emphasizing the corporate governance enforcement gap and by identifying research issues that require further study.

Keywords: corporate governance, effectiveness, extensiveness, South-Eastern Europe

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Authors: M. Anandhavalli Gauthaman

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DNA microarrays allow the measurement of expression levels for a large number of genes, perhaps all genes of an organism, within a number of different experimental samples. It is very much important to extract biologically meaningful information from this huge amount of expression data to know the current state of the cell because most cellular processes are regulated by changes in gene expression. Association rule mining techniques are helpful to find association relationship between genes. Numerous association rule mining algorithms have been developed to analyze and associate this huge amount of gene expression data. This paper focuses on some of the popular association rule mining algorithms developed to analyze gene expression data.

Keywords: DNA microarray, gene expression, association rule mining.

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Authors: Adrian Bostan, Nicolae Tapus, Adriana Tapus

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The purpose of this research paper is to study and develop a system that is able to help identify problems and improve human rehabilitation after traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries in human’s lower limbs can occur over a life time and can have serious side effects if they are not treated correctly. In this paper, we developed an intelligent cane (IntelliCane) so as to help individuals in their rehabilitation process and provide feedback to the users. The first stage of the paper involves an analysis of the existing systems on the market and what can be improved. The second stage presents the design of the system. The third part, which is still under development is the validation of the system in real world setups with people in need. This paper presents mainly stages one and two.

Keywords: IntelliCane, 3D printing, microprocessor, weight measurement, rehabilitation tool.

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Authors: Sema Kurtuluş, Kemal Kurtuluş

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The objective of this paper is to review and assess the methodological issues and problems in marketing research, data and knowledge mining in Turkey. As a summary, academic marketing research publications in Turkey have significant problems. The most vital problem seems to be related with modeling. Most of the publications had major weaknesses in modeling. There were also, serious problems regarding measurement and scaling, sampling and analyses. Analyses myopia seems to be the most important problem for young academia in Turkey. Another very important finding is the lack of publications on data and knowledge mining in the academic world.

Keywords: Marketing research, data mining, knowledge mining, research modeling, analyses.

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Authors: Melby Chacko, Jagannath Nayak

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The aging behaviour of 6061 Al-15 vol% SiC composite was investigated using Rockwell B hardness measurement. The composite was solutionized at 350°C and quenched in water. The composite was aged at room temperature (T4 treatment) and also at 140°C, 160°C, 180°C and 200°C (T6 treatment). The natural and artificial aging behaviour of composite was studied using aging curves determined at different temperatures. The aging period for peak aging for different temperatures was identified. The time required for attaining peak aging decreased with increase in the aging temperature. The peak hardness was found to increase with increase with aging temperature and the highest peak hardness was observed at 180ºC. Beyond 180ºC the peak hardness was found to be decreasing.

Keywords: 6061 Al-SiC composite, Aging curve, Rockwell B hardness, T4, T6 treatments.

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Authors: Karel Borovec, Jerzy Gorecki, Tadeas Ochodek

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Combustion of solid fuels is one of the main sources of mercury in the environment. To reduce the amount of mercury emitted to the atmosphere, it is necessary to modify or optimize old purification technologies or introduce the new ones. Effective reduction of mercury level in the flue gas requires the use of speciation systems for mercury form determination. This paper describes tests and provides comparison of two industrial portable and continuous systems for mercury speciation in the flue gas: Durag HM-1400 TRX with a speciation module and the Portable Continuous Mercury Speciation System based on the SGM-8 mercury speciation set, made by Nippon Instruments Corporation. Additionally, the paper describes a few analytical problems that were encountered during a two-year period of using the systems.

Keywords: Mercury determination, speciation, continuous measurement, flue gas.

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Authors: Man Young Kim

Abstract:

In this work, the effects of scale on thermal behavior of the slab in a walking-beam type reheating furnace is studied by considering scale formation and growth in a furnace environment. Also, mathematical heat transfer model to predict the thermal radiation in a complex shaped reheating furnace with slab and skid buttons is developed with combined nongray WSGGM and blocked-off solution procedure. The model can attack the heat flux distribution within the furnace and the temperature distribution in the slab throughout the reheating furnace process by considering the heat exchange between the slab and its surroundings, including the radiant heat transfer among the slabs, the skids, the hot combustion gases and the furnace wall as well as the gas convective heat transfer in the furnace. With the introduction of the mathematical formulations validation of the present numerical model is conducted by calculating two example problems of blocked-off and nongray gas radiative heat transfer. After discussing the formation and growth of the scale on the slab surface, slab heating characteristics with scale is investigated in terms of temperature rise with time. 

Keywords: Reheating Furnace, Scale, Steel Slab, Radiative Heat Transfer, WSGGM.

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Authors: Mohanapriya Venkataraman, Rajesh Mishra, Jakub Weiner, Adnan Mazari, Jiri Militky, Veera Kumar Arumugam

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The major objective of this study is to understand the potential of a newly fabricated equipment to study the thermal properties of nonwoven textile fabrics treated with aerogel at subzero temperatures. Thermal conductivity was calculated by using the empirical relation Fourier’s law, The relationship between the thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of the samples were studied at various environmental temperatures (which was set in the clima temperature system between +25oC to -25oC). The newly fabricated equipment was found to be a suitable for measuring at subzero temperatures. This field of measurements is being developed and will be the subject of further research which will be more suitable for measurement of the various thermal characteristics.

Keywords: Thermal Measurements, Aerogel, Nonwoven, Hot plate Heading.

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Authors: Sutthawee Suwannarat, Thanate Khaorapapong, Mitchai Chongcheawchamnan

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In this paper, an ultrasonic technique is proposed to predict oil content in a fresh palm fruit. This is accomplished by measuring the attenuation based on ultrasonic transmission mode. Several palm fruit samples with known oil content by Soxhlet extraction (ISO9001:2008) were tested with our ultrasonic measurement. Amplitude attenuation data results for all palm samples were collected. The Feedforward Neural Networks (FNNs) are applied to predict the oil content for the samples. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of the FNN model for predicting oil content percentage are 7.6186 and 5.2287 with the correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9193.

Keywords: Non-destructive, ultrasonic testing, oil content, fresh palm fruit, neural network.

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Authors: Grigoris Giannarakis, Nikolaos Litinas, Ioannis Theotokas

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The aim of the study is to investigate a number of characteristics of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) indicators that should be adopted by CSR assessment methodologies. For the purpose of this paper, a survey among the Greek companies that belong to FTSE 20 in Athens Exchange (FTSE/Athex-20) has been conducted, as these companies are expected to pioneer in the field of CSR. The results show consensus as regards the characteristics of indicators such as the need for the adoption of general and specific sector indicators, financial and non-financial indicators, the origin and the weight rate. However, the results are contradictory concerning the appropriate number of indicators for the assessment of CSR and the unit of measurement. Finally, the company-s sector is a more important dimension of CSR than the size and the country where the company operates. The purpose of this paper is to standardize the main characteristics of CSR indicators.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Greece, Indicators

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Authors: Yu-Ting Tsai, Yu-da Lee, Jin H. Huang

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The nonlinear damping behavior is usually ignored in the design of a miniature moving-coil loudspeaker. But when the loudspeaker operated in air, the damping parameter varies with the voice-coil displacement corresponding due to viscous air flow. The present paper presents an identification model as inverse problem to identify the nonlinear damping parameter in the lumped parameter model for the loudspeaker. Theoretical results for the nonlinear damping are verified by using laser displacement measurement scanner. These results indicate that the damping parameter has the greatly different nonlinearity between in air and vacuum. It is believed that the results of the present work can be applied in diagnosis and sound quality improvement of a miniature loudspeaker.

Keywords: Miniature loudspeaker, non-linear damping, system identification, Lumped parameter model.

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Authors: Beatriz dos Anjos Furtado, Marina Barreiros Lamim, Camila Avozani Zago, Julianne Alvim Milward-de-Azevedo, Luís Cláudio Meirelles de Medeiros

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The intense process of economic acceleration, expansion of industrial activities and capitalism, combined with population growth, while promoting the development, bring environmental consequences and dynamics of locations. It can be seen that society is seeking to break with old paradigms of capitalist society, seeking to reconcile growth with sustainable development, with a change of mentality of the stakeholders of the production process (shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, governments, and neighbors, groups citizens and the public in general). In this context, this research aims to map the stakeholders interested in environmental management in industries located in the city of Três Rios/RJ. The city of Três Rios is located in South-Central region of the state of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. Methodological resources used refer to descriptive and field research, whose nature is qualitative and quantitative. It is also of multicases studies in the study area, and the data collection occurred by means of semi-structured questionnaires and interviews with employees related to the environmental area of the industries located in Três Rios and registered at the Federation of Industries the State of Rio de Janeiro - FIRJAN in the version of 2013 and active in federal revenue. Through this research it observed, among other things, the stakeholders involved in the environmental management process of “Três Rios” industry respondents, and those responding to the demands of environmental management.

Keywords: Environmental management, environmental practices, industry, stakeholders.

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Authors: M. H. Korayem, K. Khoshhal, H. Aliakbarpour

Abstract:

In this paper, a vision based system has been used for controlling an industrial 3P Cartesian robot. The vision system will recognize the target and control the robot by obtaining images from environment and processing them. At the first stage, images from environment are changed to a grayscale mode then it can diverse and identify objects and noises by using a threshold objects which are stored in different frames and then the main object will be recognized. This will control the robot to achieve the target. A vision system can be an appropriate tool for measuring errors of a robot in a situation where the experimental test is conducted for a 3P robot. Finally, the international standard ANSI/RIA R15.05-2 is used for evaluating the path-related characteristics of the robot. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method experimental test is carried out.

Keywords: Robot, Vision, Experiment, Standard.

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Authors: Ikhwan Hakim, Bruno Parolin

Abstract:

This paper investigates the spatial structure of employment in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA), with reference to the concept of the Southeast Asian extended metropolitan region (EMR). A combination of factor analysis and local Getis-Ord (Gi*) hot-spot analysis is used to identify clusters of employment in the region, including those of the urban and agriculture sectors. Spatial statistical analysis is further used to probe the spatial association of identified employment clusters with their surroundings on several dimensions, including the spatial association between the central business district (CBD) in Jakarta city on employment density in the region, the spatial impacts of urban expansion on population growth and the degree of urban-rural interaction. The degree of spatial interaction for the whole JMA is measured by the patterns of commuting trips destined to the various employment clusters. Results reveal the strong role of the urban core of Jakarta, and the regional CBD, as the centre for mixed job sectors such as retail, wholesale, services and finance. Manufacturing and local government services, on the other hand, form corridors radiating out of the urban core, reaching out to the agriculture zones in the fringes. Strong associations between the urban expansion corridors and population growth, and urban-rural mix, are revealed particularly in the eastern and western parts of JMA. Metropolitan wide commuting patterns are focussed on the urban core of Jakarta and the CBD, while relatively local commuting patterns are shown to be prevalent for the employment corridors.

Keywords: Jakarta Metropolitan Area, Southeast Asian EMR, spatial association, spatial statistics, spatial structure.

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