Search results for: surface water resources

Authors: Hyunsang Kim, Younghun Kim, Younghee Kim, Sangku Lee

Abstract:

We investigated ecotoxicity and performed experiment for removing ZnO nanoparticles in water. Short term exposure of hatching test using fertilized eggs (O. latipes) showed deformity in 5ppm of ZnO nanoparticles solution. And in 10ppm ZnO nanoparticles solution delayed hatching was observed. Hereine, chemical precipitation method was suggested for removing ZnO nanoparticles in water. The precipitated ZnO nanoparticles showed the form of ZnS after addition of Na2S, and the form of Zn3(PO4)2 for Na2HPO4. The removal efficiency of ZnO nanoparticles in water was closed to 100% for two cases. In ecotoxicity evaluation of as-precipitated ZnS and Zn3(PO4)2, they did not cause any acute toxicity for D. magna. It is noted that this precipitation treatment of ZnO is effective to reduce the potential cytotoxicity.

Keywords: ZnO nanoparticles, ZnS, Zn3(PO4)2, ecotoxicity evaluation, chemical precipitation.

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Authors: Fatma Khaled, Khaoula Hidouri, Bechir Chaouachi

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Desalination using solar energy coupled with membrane techniques such as vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) is considered as an interesting alternative for the production of pure water. During this work, a developed model of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membrane module of a VMD unit of seawater was carried out. This simulation leads to establishing a comparison between the effects of two different equations of the vaporization latent heat on the membrane surface temperature and on the unit productivity. Besides, in order to study the effect of putting membrane modules in series on the outlet fluid temperature and on the productivity of the process, a simulation was executed.

Keywords: Vacuum membrane distillation, membrane module, membrane temperature, productivity.

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Authors: Aline Alves Bandeira, Maria Cecília de Paula Silva

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The existing legal gap regarding thes treatment and final disposal of industrial effluents in Brazil promotes legal uncertainty. The government has not structured itself to guarantee environmental protection. The current legal system and public policies must guarantee the protection of bodies of water and an effective treatment of industrial effluents. This is because economic progress, eco-efficiency and industrial ecology are inseparable. The lack of protection for the water bodies weakens environmental protection, with abuses by companies that do not give due treatment to their effluents, or fail to present the water balance of their factories. It is considered necessary to enact a specific law on industrial effluents related to a National Industrial Effluent Policy, because it is the location of the largest Integrated Industrial Complex in the Southern Hemisphere. The regulation of this subject cannot be limited by decrees of the local Executive Branch, allowing the inspection of the industrial activity or enterprise to be affected fundamentally by environmental self-control, or by private institutions.

Keywords: Effluent policy, environmental law, environmental management, industrial effluents.

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Authors: Eka Sari, Siti Syamsiah, Hary Sulistyo, Muslikhin

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Lignocellulosic materials are considered the most abundant renewable resource available for the Bioethanol Production. Water Hyacinth is one of potential raw material of the world-s worst aquatic plant as a feedstock to produce Bioethanol. The purposed this research is obtain reduced of matter for biodegradation lignin in Biological pretreatment with White Rot Fungi eg. Phanerochaete Chrysosporium using Solid state Fermentation methods. Phanerochaete Chrysosporium is known to have the best ability to degraded lignin, but simultaneously it can also degraded cellulose and hemicelulose. During 8 weeks incubation, water hyacinth occurred loss of weight reached 34,67%, while loss of lignin reached 67,21%, loss of cellulose reached 11,01% and loss of hemicellulose reached 36,56%. The kinetic of losses lignin using regression linear plot, the results is obtained constant rate (k) of reduction lignin is -0.1053 and the equation of reduction of lignin is y = wo - 0, 1.53 x

Keywords: Biodegradation, lignin, PhanerochaeteChrysosporium, SSF, Water Hyacinth, Bioethanol

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Authors: A. Zaidi, F. Khelifi, R. Masmoudi, M. Bouhicha

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In order to eradicate the degradation of reinforced concrete structures due to the steel corrosion, professionals in constructions suggest using fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) for their excellent properties. Nevertheless, high temperatures may affect the bond between FRP bar and concrete, and consequently the serviceability of FRP-reinforced concrete structures. This paper presents a nonlinear numerical investigation using ADINA software to investigate the effect of the spacing between glass FRP (GFRP) bars embedded in concrete on circumferential thermal deformations and the distribution of radial thermal cracks in reinforced concrete beams submitted to high temperature variations up to 60 °C for asymmetrical problems. The thermal deformations predicted from nonlinear finite elements model, at the FRP bar/concrete interface and at the external surface of concrete cover, were established as a function of the ratio of concrete cover thickness to FRP bar diameter (c/d_b) and the ratio of spacing between FRP bars in concrete to FRP bar diameter (e/d_b). Numerical results show that the circumferential thermal deformations at the external surface of concrete cover are linear until cracking thermal load varied from 32 to 55 °C corresponding to the ratio of e/d_b varied from 1.3 to 2.3, respectively. However, for ratios e/d_b >2.3 and c/d_b >1.6, the thermal deformations at the external surface of concrete cover exhibit linear behavior without any cracks observed on the specified surface. The numerical results are compared to those obtained from analytical models validated by experimental tests.

Keywords: Concrete beam, FRP bars, spacing effect, thermal deformation.

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Authors: D. Sivakumar

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The groundwater quality was assessed nearby places of Nagalkeni, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The selected physico-chemical parameters were pH, EC, TDS, total hardness (TH), anions like Ca, Mg, Na and K, and cations like SO₄, NO_3, Cl_2, HCO₃, and CO₃, and Cr(VI). In order to suit the groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes, compared the value of selected parameters with the value of selected parameters from BIS drinking water quality standard and irrigation water quality indices. The physico-chemical study of the groundwater systems of selected sites of nearby places of Nagalkeni showed that the groundwater is nearly acidic and mostly oxidizing in nature and hence, water is not suitable for drinking purpose directly. The results of the irrigation indices indicated that the groundwater samples in the study area found to be brackish water, results, groundwater from the study area is also not suitable for irrigation purpose directly, but the groundwater may be used after implementing some suitable treatment techniques.

Keywords: Physico-Chemical Parameters, Tannery Industry Effluent, Groundwater Quality Indices.

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Authors: C. C. Chen, C. W. Hun, C. J. Wang, C. Y. Chen, J. S. Lin, K. J. Huang

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Cesium iodide (CsI) melt was injected into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and was solidified to CsI column. The controllable AAO channel size (10~500 nm) can makes CsI column size from 10 to 500 nm in diameter. In order to have a shorter light irradiate from each singe CsI column top to bottom the AAO template was coated a TiO2 nano-film. The TiO2 film acts a refraction film and makes X-ray has a shorter irradiation path in the CsI crystal making a stronger the photo-electron signal. When the incidence light irradiate from air (R=1.0) to CsI’s first surface (R=1.84) the first refraction happen, the first refraction continue into TiO2 film (R=2.88) and produces the low angle of the second refraction. Then the second refraction continue into AAO wall (R=1.78) and produces the third refraction after refractions between CsI and AAO wall (R=1.78) produce the fourth refraction. The incidence light through TiO2 filmand the first surface of CsI then arrive to the second surface of CsI. Therefore, the TiO2 film can has shorter refraction path of incidence light and increase the photo-electron conversion efficiency.

Keywords: Cesium iodide, AAO, TiO2, Refraction, X-ray.

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Authors: Meftah Ali

Abstract:

This article aims to analyze the static stability and pseudostatic slope by using different methods such as: Bishop method, Junbu, Ordinary, Morgenstern-price and GLE. The two dimensional modeling of slope stability under various loading as: the earthquake effect, the water level and road mobile charges. The results show that the slope is stable in the static case without water, but in other cases, the slope lost its stability and give unstable. The calculation of safety factor is to evaluate the stability of the slope using the limit equilibrium method despite the difference between the results obtained by these methods that do not rely on the same assumptions. In the end, the results of this study illuminate well the influence of the action of water, moving loads and the earthquake on the stability of the slope.

Keywords: Slope stability, pseudo static, safety factor, limit equilibrium.

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Authors: Johan Fredin, Anders Jönsson

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Abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJ) is a highly efficient method for cutting almost any type of material. When holes shall be cut the waterjet first needs to pierce the material.This paper presents a vast experimental analysis of piercing parameters effect on piercing time. Results from experimentation on feed rates, work piece thicknesses, abrasive flow rates, standoff distances and water pressure are also presented as well as studies on three methods for dynamic piercing. It is shown that a large amount of time and resources can be saved by choosing the piercing parameters in a correct way. The large number of experiments puts demands on the experimental setup. An automated experimental setup including piercing detection is presented to enable large series of experiments to be carried out efficiently.

Keywords: Waterjet cutting, Piercing, Experimentation

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Authors: Jae-Young Lee, Woo-Young Jung, Myeong-Jun Nam

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Water hammer is a hydraulic transient problem which is commonly encountered in the penstocks of hydropower plants. The numerical model was developed to estimate the transient behavior of pressure waves in pipe systems. The computational algorithm was proposed to model the water hammer phenomenon in a pipe system with pump shutdown at midstream and sudden valve closure at downstream. To predict the pressure head and flow velocity as a function of time as a result of rapidly closing a valve and pump shutdown, two boundary conditions at the ends considering pump operation and valve control can be implemented as specified equations of the pressure head and flow velocity based on the characteristics method. It was shown that the effects of transient flow make it determine the needs for protection devices, such as surge tanks, surge relief valves, or air valves, at various points in the system against overpressure and low pressure. It produced reasonably good performance with the results of the proposed transient model for pipeline systems. The proposed numerical model can be used as an efficient tool for the safety assessment of hydropower plants due to water hammer.

Keywords: Water hammer, hydraulic transient, pipe systems, characteristics method.

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Authors: Reza Gharehkhani

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Sedimentation in reservoirs lowers the quality of consumed water, reduce the volume of reservoir, lowers the controllable amount of flood, increases the risk of water overflow during possible floods and the risk of reversal and reduction of dam's useful life. So in all stages of dam establishment such as cognitive studies, phase-1 studies of design, control, construction and maintenance, the problem of sedimentation in reservoir should be considered. What engineers need to do is examine and develop the methods to keep effective capacity of a reservoir, however engineers should also consider the influences of the methods on the flood disaster, functions of water use facilities and environmental issues.This article first examines the sedimentation in reservoirs and shows how to control it and then discusses the studies about the sedimens in Siazakh Dam.

Keywords: Sedimentation, Reservoir, Sediment Control, Dam

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Authors: M. S. Kaiser, S. Reaz Ahmed

Abstract:

Chip formation characteristics are investigated during surface finishing of high density polyethylene (HDPE) samples using a shaper machine. Both the cutting speed and depth of cut are varied continually to enable observations under various machining conditions. The generated chips are analyzed in terms of their shape, size, and deformation. Their physical appearances are also observed using digital camera and optical microscope. The investigation shows that continuous chips are obtained for all the cutting conditions. It is observed that cutting speed is more influential than depth of cut to cause dimensional changes of chips. Chips curl radius is also found to increase gradually with the increase of cutting speed. The length of continuous chips remains always smaller than the job length, and the corresponding discrepancies are found to be more prominent at lower cutting speed. Microstructures of the chips reveal that cracks are formed at higher cutting speeds and depth of cuts, which is not that significant at low depth of cut.

Keywords: HDPE, surface-finishing, chip formation, deformation, roughness.

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Authors: Michely Vargas Delpupo, José Geraldo Romanello Bueno

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The right to basic sanitation, was elevated to the category of fundamental right by the Constitution of 1988 to protect the ecologically balanced environment, ensuring social rights to health and adequate housing and put the dignity of the human person as the foundation of the Brazilian Democratic State. Before their essentiality to humans, this article seeks to understand why universal access to basic sanitation is a goal so difficult to achieve in Brazil. Therefore, this research uses the deductive and analytical method. Given the nature of the research literature, research techniques were centered in specialized books on the subject, journals, theses and dissertations, laws, relevant law case and raising social indicators relating to the theme. The relevance of the topic stems, among other things, the fact that sanitation services are essential for a dignified life, i.e., everyone is entitled to the maintenance of the necessary existence conditions are satisfied. However, the effectiveness of this right is undermined in society, since Brazil has huge deficit in sanitation services, denying thus a worthy life to most of the population. Thus, it can be seen that the provision of water and sewage services in Brazil is still characterized by a large imbalance, since the municipalities with lower population index have greater disability in the sanitation service. The truth is that the precariousness of water and sewage services in Brazil is still very concentrated in the North and Northeast regions, limiting the effective implementation of the Law 11.445/2007 in the country. Therefore, there is urgent need for a positive service by the State in the provision of sanitation services in order to prevent and control disease, improve quality of life and productivity of individuals, besides preventing contamination of water resources. More than just social and economic necessity, there is a government duty to implement such services. In this sense, given the current scenario, to achieve universal access to basic sanitation imposes many hurdles. These are mainly in the field of properly formulated and implemented public policies, i.e., it requires an excellent institutional organization, management services, strategic planning, social control, in order to provide answers to complex challenges.

Keywords: Fundamental rights, sanitation, universal access.

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Authors: V. Paployan, K. Madoyan, A. Melikyan, H. Minassian

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In this paper, we calculate the two-photon ionization (TPI) cross-section for pump-probe scheme in Ag neutral cluster. The pump photon energy is assumed to be close to the surface plasmon (SP) energy of cluster in dielectric media. Due to this choice, the pump wave excites collective oscillations of electrons-SP and the probe wave causes ionization of the cluster. Since the interband transition energy in Ag exceeds the SP resonance energy, the main contribution into the TPI comes from the latter. The advantage of Ag clusters as compared to the other noble metals is that the SP resonance in silver cluster is much sharper because of peculiarities of its dielectric function. The calculations are performed by separating the coordinates of electrons corresponding to the collective oscillations and the individual motion that allows taking into account the resonance contribution of excited SP oscillations. It is shown that the ionization cross section increases by two orders of magnitude if the energy of the pump photon matches the surface plasmon energy in the cluster.

Keywords: Resonance enhancement, silver clusters, surface plasmon, two-photon ionization.

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Authors: Masood Abdollahi, Seyed Naser Moghaddas Tafreshi

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Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam is a cellular geosynthetic material that can be used to protect lifelines (e.g. pipelines, electricity cables, etc.) below ground. Post and beam system is the most recent configuration of EPS blocks which can be implemented for this purpose. It provides a void space atop lifelines which allows settlement of the loading surface with imposing no pressure on the lifelines system. This paper investigates the efficiency of the configuration of post-beam system subjected to static loading. To evaluate the soil surface settlement, beam deformation and transferred pressure over the beam, laboratory tests using two different densities for EPS blocks are conducted. The effect of geogrid-reinforcing the cover soil on system response is also investigated. The experimental results show favorable performance of EPS post and beam configuration in protecting underground lifelines. 

Keywords: Beam deformation, EPS block, laboratory test, post-beam system, soil surface settlement.

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Authors: Mengjun Zhang, Yuli Sun, Dunwen Zuo, Chunxiang Xie, Chunming Zhang

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Experimental study on slicing of sapphire with fixed abrasive diamond wire saw was conducted in this paper. The process parameters were optimized through orthogonal experiment of three factors and four levels. The effects of wire speed, feed speed and tension pressure on the surface roughness were analyzed. Surface roughness in cutting direction and feed direction were both detected. The results show that feed speed plays the most significant role on the surface roughness of sliced sapphire followed by wire speed and tension pressure. The optimized process parameters are as follows: wire speed 1.9 m/s, feed speed 0.187 mm/min and tension pressure 0.18 MPa. In the end, the results were verified by analysis of variance.

Keywords: Fixed abrasive, diamond wire saw, slicing, sapphire, orthogonal experiment.

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Authors: Fahad Al Shidi, Reginald Victor

Abstract:

This study was conducted in Northern Oman to assess the physical and chemical characteristics of 40 thermal springs distributed in Al Hajar Mountains in northern Oman. Physical measurements of water samples were carried out in two main seasons in Oman (winter and summer 2019). Studied springs were classified into three groups based on water temperature, four groups based on water pH values and two groups based on conductivity. Ten thermal alkaline springs that originated in Ophiolite (Samail Napp) were dominated by high pH (> 11), elevated concentration of Cl- and Na+ ions, relatively low temperature and discharge ratio. Other springs in the Hajar Super Group massif recorded high concentrations of Ca²+ and SO^2-₄ ions controlled by rock dominance, geochemistry processes, and mineralization. There was only one spring which has brackish water with very high conductivity (5500 µs/cm) and Total Dissolved Solids and it is not suitable for irrigation purposes because of the high abundance of Na+, Cl−, and Ca²+ ions.

Keywords: Alkaline springs, geothermal, Hajar Super Group, Northern Oman, ophiolite.

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Authors: C. T. Cheung, R. K. P. Ng, T. Y. Lo, Zhou Jinyun

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This paper aims at manipulating loop alignment in knitting a three-dimensional (3D) shape by its geometry. Two loop alignment methods are introduced to handle a surface with positive Gaussian curvature. As weft knitting is a two-dimensional (2D) knitting mechanism that the knitting cam carrying the feeders moves in two directions only, left and right, the knitted fabric generated grows in width and length but not in depth. Therefore, a 3D shape is required to be flattened to a 2D plane with surface area preserved for knitting. On this flattened plane, dimensional measurements are taken for loop alignment. The way these measurements being taken derived two different loop alignment methods. In this paper, only plain knitted structure was considered. Each knitted loop was taken as a basic unit for loop alignment in order to achieve the required geometric dimensions, without the inclusion of other stitches which give textural dimensions to the fabric. Two loop alignment methods were experimented and compared. Only one of these two can successfully preserve the dimensions of the shape.

Keywords: 3D knitting, 3D shape, loop alignment, positive Gaussian curvature.

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Authors: Jitlada Chumee

Abstract:

Low silica type X (LSX) Zeolite is one of useful material in many manufacturing due to the advantage properties including high surface area, stability, microporous crystalline aluminosilicates and positive ion in an extra–framework. The LSX was used rice husk silica source which obtained by leaching with hydrochloric acid and calcination at 500C. To improve the synthesis method, the LSX was crystallizated in Teflon–lined autoclave will expedite deceasing of the amorphous particles. The mixed gel with composition of 5.5 Na2O : 1.65 K2O : Al2O3 : 2.2 SiO2 : 122 H2O was crystallized in different container (Polypropylene bottom and Teflon–lined autoclave). The obtained powder was characterized by X–ray diffraction (XRD), X–ray fluorescence spectrometry, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis BET surface area Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to justify the quality of zeolite. The results showed the crystallized zeolite in Teflon lined autoclave has 102.8 nm of crystal size, 286 m2/g of surface area and fewer amounts of round amorphous particles when compared with the crystallized zeolite in Polypropylene.

Keywords: LSX Zeolite, rice husk and crystallized container.

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Authors: B.-A. Behrens, H. J. Maier, A. Neumann, J. Moritz, S. Hübner, T. Gretzki, F. Nürnberger, A. Spiekermeier

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Press-hardened profiles are used e.g. for automotive applications in order to improve light weight construction due to the high reachable strength. The application of interior water-air spray cooling contributes to significantly reducing the cycle time in the production of heat-treated tubes. This paper describes a new manufacturing method for producing press-hardened hollow profiles by means of an additional interior cooling based on a water-air spray. Furthermore, this paper provides the results of thorough investigations on the properties of press-hardened tubes in dependence of varying spray parameters.

Keywords: 22MnB5, hollow profiles, press hardening, tubes, water-air spray cooling.

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Authors: Norzita Ngadi, John Abrahamson, Conan Fee, Ken Morison

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Nonspecific protein adsorption generally occurs on any solid surfaces and usually has adverse consequences. Adsorption of proteins onto a solid surface is believed to be the initial and controlling step in biofouling. Surfaces modified with end-tethered poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) have been shown to be protein-resistant to some degree. In this study, the adsorption of β-casein and lysozyme was performed on 6 different types of surfaces where PEG was tethered onto stainless steel by polyethylene imine (PEI) through either OH or NHS end groups. Protein adsorption was also performed on the bare stainless steel surface as a control. The adsorption was conducted at 23 °C and pH 7.2. In situ QCM-D was used to determine PEG adsorption kinetics, plateau PEG chain densities, protein adsorption kinetics and plateau protein adsorbed quantities. PEG grafting density was the highest for a NHS coupled chain, around 0.5 chains / nm2. Interestingly, lysozyme which has smaller size than β-casein, appeared to adsorb much less mass than that of β- casein. Overall, the surface with high PEG grafting density exhibited a good protein rejection.

Keywords: QCM-D, PEG, stainless steel, β-casein, lysozyme.

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Authors: Siriluck Lorpunmanee, Mohd Noor Sap, Abdul Hanan Abdullah, Chai Chompoo-inwai

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Grid computing is growing rapidly in the distributed heterogeneous systems for utilizing and sharing large-scale resources to solve complex scientific problems. Scheduling is the most recent topic used to achieve high performance in grid environments. It aims to find a suitable allocation of resources for each job. A typical problem which arises during this task is the decision of scheduling. It is about an effective utilization of processor to minimize tardiness time of a job, when it is being scheduled. This paper, therefore, addresses the problem by developing a general framework of grid scheduling using dynamic information and an ant colony optimization algorithm to improve the decision of scheduling. The performance of various dispatching rules such as First Come First Served (FCFS), Earliest Due Date (EDD), Earliest Release Date (ERD), and an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) are compared. Moreover, the benefit of using an Ant Colony Optimization for performance improvement of the grid Scheduling is also discussed. It is found that the scheduling system using an Ant Colony Optimization algorithm can efficiently and effectively allocate jobs to proper resources.

Keywords: Grid computing, Distributed heterogeneous system, Ant colony optimization algorithm, Grid scheduling, Dispatchingrules.

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Authors: F. F. Howard, I. Yakubu, C. B. Boye, J. S. Y. Kuma

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Natural and human activities, such as mining operations, expose the natural soil to adverse environmental conditions, leading to contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface water, which has negative effects on humans, flora, and fauna. Bare or partly exposed soil is most liable to fluvial erosion. This paper enumerates various methods used to identify, map, and model fluvial erosion in a mining environment. Classical, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and GIS methods have been reviewed. One of the many classical methods used to estimate river erosion is the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. The RUSLE model is easy to use. Its reliance on empirical relationships that may not always be applicable to specific circumstances or locations is a flaw. Other classical models for estimating fluvial erosion are the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). These models offer a more complete understanding of the underlying physical processes and encompass a wider range of situations. Although more difficult to utilise, they depend on the availability and dependability of input data for correctness. AI can help deal with multivariate and complex difficulties and predict soil loss with higher accuracy than traditional methods, and also be used to build unique models for identifying degraded areas. AI techniques have become popular as an alternative predictor for degraded environments. However, this research proposed a hybrid of classical, AI, and GIS methods for efficient and effective modelling of fluvial erosion.

Keywords: Fluvial erosion, classical methods, Artificial Intelligence, Geographic Information System.

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Authors: S. W. Lo, S.-H. Lu, Y. H. Guo, L.-C. Hsu

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In this paper a novel design of aerostatic thrust bearing is proposed and is analyzed numerically. The capillary restrictor and bearing disk are made of elastomer like silicone and PU. The viscoelasticity of elastomer helps the capillary expand for more air flux and at the same time, allows conicity of the bearing surface to form when the air pressure is enhanced. Therefore the bearing has the better ability of passive compensation. In the present example, as compared with the typical model, the new designs can nearly double the load capability and offer four times static stiffness.

Keywords: Aerostatic, bearing, elastomer, static stiffness.

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Authors: Mirigul Altan, Huseyin Yildirim

Abstract:

Plastics occupy wide place in the applications of automotive, electronics and house goods. Especially reinforced plastics become popular because of their high strength besides their advantages of low weight and easy manufacturability. In this study, mechanical and morphological properties of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix composites reinforced with surface modified nano titan dioxide (TiO2) particles were investigated. Surface modification was made by coating the nano powders with maleic anhydride grafted styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS-g-MA) and silane, respectively. After surface modification, PP/TiO2 and HDPE/TiO2 composites were obtained by using twin screw extruder at titan dioxide loading of 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.%. Effects of surface modification were determined by thermal and morphological analysis. SEBS-g-MA provided bridging effect between TiO2 particles and polymer matrix while silane was effective as a dispersant. Depending on that, homogenous structures without agglomeration were obtained. Mechanical tests were performed on the injection moldings of the composites for obtaining the impact strength, tensile strength, stress at break, elongation and elastic modulus. Reinforced HDPE and PP moldings gave higher tensile strength and elastic modulus due to the rigid structure of TiO2. Slight increment was seen in stress at break. Elongation and impact strength decreased due to the stiffness of the nano titan dioxide.

Keywords: High density polyethylene, mechanical properties, nano TiO2, polypropylene.

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Authors: XhevrieMamaqi

Abstract:

Organization capacity learning is a process referring to the sum total of individual and collective learning through training programs, experience and experimentation, among others. Today, in-business ongoing training is one of the most important strategies for human capital development and it is crucial to sustain and improve workers’ knowledge and skills. Many organizations, firms and business are adopting a strategy of continuous learning, encouraging employees to learn new skills continually to be innovative and to try new processes and work in order to achieve a competitive advantage and superior business results. This paper uses the Resource Based View and Capacities (RBV) approach to construct a hypothetical relationships model between training and business results. The test of the model is applied on transversal data. A sample of 266 business of Spanish sector service has been selected. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to estimate the relationship between ongoing training, represented by two latent dimension denominated Human and Social Capital resources and economic business results. The coefficients estimated have shown the efficient of some training aspectsexplaining the variation in business results.

Keywords: Business results, Human and Social Capital resources, training, RBV Theory, SEM.

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Authors: Ming-Hsiung Wu, Yu-Hsi Yuan

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The aim of the research is to understand whether the accuracy of customer detection of employee emotional labor strategy would influence the overall service satisfaction. From path analysis, it was found that employee-s positive emotions positively influenced service quality. Service quality in turn influenced Customer detection of employee emotional deep action strategy and Customer detection of employee emotional surface action strategy. Lastly, Customer detection of employee emotional deep action strategy and Customer detection of employee emotional surface action strategy positively influenced service satisfaction. Based on the analysis results, suggestions are proposed to provide reference for human resource management and use in relative fields.

Keywords: Emotional labor, Emotional deep action strategy, Emotional surface action strategy, Service satisfaction

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Authors: Murad A, Baker H, Mahmoud S, Gabr A

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The groundwater is one of the main sources for sustainability in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Intensive developments in Al-Ain area lead to increase water demand, which consequently reduced the overall groundwater quantity in major aquifers. However, in certain residential areas within Al-Ain, it has been noticed that the groundwater level is rising, for example in Sha-ab Al Askher area. The reasons for the groundwater rising phenomenon are yet to be investigated. In this work, twenty four seismic refraction profiles have been carried out along the study pilot area; as well as field measurement of the groundwater level in a number of available water wells in the area. The processed seismic data indicated the deepest and shallowest groundwater levels are 15m and 2.3 meters respectively. This result is greatly consistent with the proper field measurement of the groundwater level. The minimum detected value may be referred to perched subsurface water which may be associated to the infiltration from the surrounding water bodies such as lakes, and elevated farms. The maximum values indicate the accurate groundwater level within the study area. The findings of this work may be considered as a preliminary help to the decision makers.

Keywords: groundwater, shallow seismic method, United Arab Emirates

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Authors: A.Diaf, Z.Tigrine, H. Aburideh, D.Tassalit , F.Alaoui, B .Abbad

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The distillation process in the general sense is a relatively simple technique from the standpoints of its principles. When dedicating distillation to water treatment and specifically producing fresh water from sea, ocean and/ briny waters it is interesting to notice that distillation has no limitations or domains of applicability regarding the nature or the type of the feedstock water. This is not the case however for other techniques that are technologically quite complex, necessitate bigger capital investments and are limited in their usability. In a previous paper we have explored some of the effects of temperature on yield. In this paper, we continue building onto that knowledge base and focus on the effects of several additional engineering and design variables on productivity.

Keywords: Distillation, Desalination, Multi-Stage still, Solar Energy

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Authors: Alaoua Bouaicha, Fahim Kahlouche, Abdelhamid Benouali

Abstract:

Many embankment dams have suffered failures during earthquakes due to the increase of pore water pressure under seismic loading. After analyzing of the behavior of embankment dams under severe earthquakes, major advances have been attained in the understanding of the seismic action on dams. The present study concerns numerical analysis of the seismic response of earth dams. The procedure uses a nonlinear stress-strain relation incorporated into the code FLAC2D based on the finite difference method. This analysis provides the variation of the pore water pressure and horizontal displacement.

Keywords: Earthquake, numerical analysis, FLAC2D, displacement, Embankment Dam, pore water pressure.

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