Search results for: capacity design.

Authors: M. H. Zarei, A. Nikakhtar, A. H. Roudsari, N. Madadi, K. Y. Wong

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Improving performance measures in the construction processes has been a major concern for managers and decision makers in the industry. They seek for ways to recognize the key factors which have the largest effect on the process. Identifying such factors can guide them to focus on the right parts of the process in order to gain the best possible result. In the present study design of experiment (DOE) has been applied to a computer simulation model of brick laying process to determine significant factors while productivity has been chosen as the response of the experiment. To this end, four controllable factors and their interaction have been experimented and the best factor level has been calculated for each one. The results indicate that three factors, namely, labor of brick, labor of mortar and inter arrival time of mortar along with interaction of labor of brick and labor of mortar are significant.

Keywords: Brick laying process, computer simulation, design of experiment, significant factors.

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Authors: G. Bal, D. Uygun

Abstract:

This paper describes the design and modeling procedure of a novel 5-phase segment type switched reluctance motor (ST-SRM) under simultaneous two-phase (bipolar) excitation of windings. The rotor cores of ST-SRM are embedded in an aluminum block as well as to improve the performance characteristics. The magnetic circuit of the produced ST-SRM is constructed so that the magnetic flux paths are short and exclusive to each phase, thereby minimizing the commutation switching and eddy current losses in the laminations. The design and simulation principles presented apply primarily to conventional SRM and ST-SRM. It is proved that the novel 5-phase switched reluctance motor under two-phase excitation is superior among the criteria used in comparison. The purposed model is particularly well suited for high torque and weight constrained applications such as automobiles, aerospace and military applications.

Keywords: Segmental Rotor Pairs, Two-phase Excitation, Commutation Switching, Aluminum Block.

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Authors: Martha C. Orazulume, Jibril D. Jiya

Abstract:

Flexible satellites are equipped with various appendages which vibrate under the influence of any excitation and make the attitude of the satellite to be unstable. Therefore, the system must be able to adjust to balance the effect of these appendages in order to point accurately and satisfactorily which is one of the most important problems in satellite design. Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) Controller is simple to design and computationally efficient to implement which is used to stabilize the effect of these flexible appendages. However, manual turning of the PID is time consuming, waste energy and money. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used to tune the parameters of PID Controller. Simulation results obtained show that PSO tuned PID Controller is able to re-orient the spacecraft attitude as well as dampen the effect of mechanical resonance and yields better performance when compared with manually tuned PID Controller.

Keywords: Attitude control, flexible satellite, particle swarm optimization, PID controller.

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Authors: T. P. Singh, Vijay Gautam

Abstract:

Gladiolus is an important cash crop and is grown mainly for its elegant spikes. Traditionally the gladiolus corms are planted manually which is very tedious, time consuming and labor intensive operation. So far, there is no planter available for planting of gladiolus corms. With a view to mechanize the planting operation of this horticultural crop, a prototype of 4-row gladiolus planter was developed and its performance was evaluated in-situ condition. Cupchain type metering device was used to place each single gladiolus corm in furrow at required spacing while planting. Three levels of corm spacing viz 15, 20 and 25 cm and four levels of forward speed viz 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km/h was taken as evaluation parameter for the planter. The performance indicators namely corm spacing in each row, coefficient of uniformity, missing index, multiple index, quality of feed index, number of corms per meter length, mechanical damage to the corms etc. were determined during the field test. The data was statistically analyzed using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) for testing the significance of the parameters. The result indicated that planter was able to drop the corms at required nominal spacing with minor variations. The highest deviation from the mean corm spacing was observed as 3.53 cm with maximum coefficient of variation as 13.88%. The highest missing and quality of feed indexes were observed as 6.33% and 97.45% respectively with no multiples. The performance of the planter was observed better at lower forward speed and wider corm spacing. The field capacity of the planter was found as 0.103 ha/h with an observed field efficiency of 76.57%.

Keywords: Coefficient of uniformity, corm spacing, gladiolus planter, mechanization.

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Authors: J. S. Yadav, N. P. Patidar, J. Singhai

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One of the main objectives of order reduction is to design a controller of lower order which can effectively control the original high order system so that the overall system is of lower order and easy to understand. In this paper, a simple method is presented for controller design of a higher order discrete system. First the original higher order discrete system in reduced to a lower order model. Then a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller is designed for lower order model. An error minimization technique is employed for both order reduction and controller design. For the error minimization purpose, Differential Evolution (DE) optimization algorithm has been employed. DE method is based on the minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) between the desired response and actual response pertaining to a unit step input. Finally the designed PID controller is connected to the original higher order discrete system to get the desired specification. The validity of the proposed method is illustrated through a numerical example.

Keywords: Discrete System, Model Order Reduction, PIDController, Integral Squared Error, Differential Evolution.

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Authors: H. Shayeghi, A. Safari, H. A. Shayanfar

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In this paper, multiobjective design of multi-machine Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is presented. The stabilizers are tuned to simultaneously shift the lightly damped and undamped electro-mechanical modes of all machines to a prescribed zone in the s-plane. A multiobjective problem is formulated to optimize a composite set of objective functions comprising the damping factor, and the damping ratio of the lightly damped electromechanical modes. The PSSs parameters tuning problem is converted to an optimization problem which is solved by PSO with the eigenvalue-based multiobjective function. The proposed PSO based PSSs is tested on a multimachine power system under different operating conditions and disturbances through eigenvalue analysis and some performance indices to illustrate its robust performance.

Keywords: PSS Design, Particle Swarm Optimization, Dynamic Stability, Multiobjective Optimization.

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Authors: Felix Dobslaw

Abstract:

In this paper, a framework for the simplification and standardization of metaheuristic related parameter-tuning by applying a four phase methodology, utilizing Design of Experiments and Artificial Neural Networks, is presented. Metaheuristics are multipurpose problem solvers that are utilized on computational optimization problems for which no efficient problem specific algorithm exist. Their successful application to concrete problems requires the finding of a good initial parameter setting, which is a tedious and time consuming task. Recent research reveals the lack of approach when it comes to this so called parameter-tuning process. In the majority of publications, researchers do have a weak motivation for their respective choices, if any. Because initial parameter settings have a significant impact on the solutions quality, this course of action could lead to suboptimal experimental results, and thereby a fraudulent basis for the drawing of conclusions.

Keywords: Parameter-Tuning, Metaheuristics, Design of Experiments, Artificial Neural Networks.

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Authors: Manal Rayes

Abstract:

In its efforts to utilize the information and communication technology to enhance the quality of public service delivery, national and local governments around the world are competing to introduce more ICT applications as tools to automate processes related to law enforcement or policy execution, increase citizen orientation, trust, and satisfaction, and create one-stop-shops for public services. In its implementation, e-Government ICTs need to maintain transparency, participation, and collaboration. Due to this diverse of mixed goals and requirements, e-Government systems need to be designed based on special design considerations in order to eliminate the risks of failure to compliance to government regulations, citizen dissatisfaction, or market repulsion. In this article we suggest a framework with guidelines for designing government information systems that takes into consideration the special requirements of the public sector. Then we introduce two case studies and show how applying those guidelines would result in a more solid system design.

Keywords: e-government, framework, guidelines, system design.

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Authors: Fabian Horn, Reinhard Guthke

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In molecular biology, microarray technology is widely and successfully utilized to efficiently measure gene activity. If working with less studied organisms, methods to design custom-made microarray probes are available. One design criterion is to select probes with minimal melting temperature variances thus ensuring similar hybridization properties. If the microarray application focuses on the investigation of metabolic pathways, it is not necessary to cover the whole genome. It is more efficient to cover each metabolic pathway with a limited number of genes. Firstly, an approach is presented which minimizes the overall melting temperature variance of selected probes for all genes of interest. Secondly, the approach is extended to include the additional constraints of covering all pathways with a limited number of genes while minimizing the overall variance. The new optimization problem is solved by a bottom-up programming approach which reduces the complexity to make it computationally feasible. The new method is exemplary applied for the selection of microarray probes in order to cover all fungal secondary metabolite gene clusters for Aspergillus terreus.

Keywords: bottom-up approach, gene clusters, melting temperature, metabolic pathway, microarray probe design, probe selection

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Authors: A. Rubiano F, N. Olarte, D. Lara

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This paper presents the design, implementation and results related to the storage system of medical information associated to the ECG (Electrocardiography) signal. The system includes the signal acquisition modules, the preprocessing and signal processing, followed by a module of transmission and reception of the signal, along with the storage and web display system of the medical platform. The tests were initially performed with this signal, with the purpose to include more biosignal under the same system in the future.

Keywords: Acquisition, ECG Signal, Storage, Web Platform

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Authors: Ju-Hong Lee, Yi-Lin Shieh

Abstract:

This paper deals with the optimal design of two-channel recursive parallelogram quadrature mirror filter (PQMF) banks. The analysis and synthesis filters of the PQMF bank are composed of two-dimensional (2-D) recursive digital all-pass filters (DAFs) with nonsymmetric half-plane (NSHP) support region. The design problem can be facilitated by using the 2-D doubly complementary half-band (DC-HB) property possessed by the analysis and synthesis filters. For finding the coefficients of the 2-D recursive NSHP DAFs, we appropriately formulate the design problem to result in an optimization problem that can be solved by using a weighted least-squares (WLS) algorithm in the minimax (L_∞) optimal sense. The designed 2-D recursive PQMF bank achieves perfect magnitude response and possesses satisfactory phase response without requiring extra phase equalizer. Simulation results are also provided for illustration and comparison.

Keywords: Parallelogram Quadrature Mirror Filter Bank, Doubly Complementary Filter, Nonsymmetric Half-Plane Filter, Weighted Least Squares Algorithm, Digital All-Pass Filter.

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Authors: Nasser Ghassembaglou, Armin Rahmatfam, Faramarz Ranjbar

Abstract:

Using cold EGR method with variable venturi and turbocharger has a very significant effect on reduction of NOX and grime simultaneously. EGR cooler is one of the most important parts in the cold EGR circuit. In this paper optimum design of cooler for working in different percentages of EGR and for determining optimum temperature of exhausted gases, growth of efficiency, reduction of weight, dimension, expenditures, sediment and also optimum performance by using gasoil which has significant amounts of brimstone are investigated and optimized.

Keywords: Cold EGR, NOX, Cooler.

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Authors: Ashok Ganguly, Pranjali Arondekar

Abstract:

In the present paper, we use generalized B-Spline curve in trigonometric form on circular domain, to capture the transcendental nature of circle involute curve and uncertainty characteristic of design. The required involute curve get generated within the given tolerance limit and is useful in gear design.

Keywords: Bézier, Circle Involute, NAUT B-Spline, Spur Gear.

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Authors: Walid S. Alfuhaid, Saud A. Alghamdi, John M. Watkins, M. Edwin Sawan

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Designing a controller for stochastic decentralized interconnected large scale systems usually involves a high degree of complexity and computation ability. Noise, observability, and controllability of all system states, connectivity, and channel bandwidth are other constraints to design procedures for distributed large scale systems. The quasi-steady state model investigated in this paper is a reduced order model of the original system using singular perturbation techniques. This paper results in an optimal control synthesis to design an observer based feedback controller by standard stochastic control theory techniques using Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) approach and Kalman filter design with less complexity and computation requirements. Numerical example is given at the end to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: Decentralized, optimal control, output, singular perturb.

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Authors: A. Sivakumar, S. S. Darun Prakash, P. Navaneethakrishnan

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In and around Erode District, it is estimated that more than 1250 chemical and allied textile processing fabric industries are affected, partially closed and shut off for various reasons such as poor management, poor supplier performance, lack of planning for productivity, fluctuation of output, poor investment, waste analysis, labor problems, capital/labor ratio, accumulation of stocks, poor maintenance of resources, deficiencies in the quality of fabric, low capacity utilization, age of plant and equipment, high investment and input but low throughput, poor research and development, lack of energy, workers’ fear of loss of jobs, work force mix and work ethic. The main objective of this work is to analyze the existing conditions in textile fabric sector, validate the break even of Total Productivity (TP), analyze, design and implement fuzzy sets and mathematical programming for improvement of productivity and quality dimensions in the fabric processing industry. It needs to be compatible with the reality of textile and fabric processing industries. The highly risk events from productivity and quality dimension were found by fuzzy systems and results are wrapped up among the textile fabric processing industry.

Keywords: Break Even Point, Fuzzy Crisp Data, Fuzzy Sets, Productivity, Productivity Cycle, Total Productive Maintenance.

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Authors: Kyung-Jung Lee, Hyun-Sik Ahn

Abstract:

This paper suggests a design methodology for the hardware and software of the electronic control unit (ECU) of safety-critical vehicle applications such as braking and steering. The architecture of the hardware is a high integrity system such thatit incorporates a high performance 32-bit CPU and a separate peripheral controlprocessor (PCP) together with an external watchdog CPU. Communication between the main CPU and the PCP is executed via a common area of RAM and events on either processor which are invoked by interrupts. Safety-related software is also implemented to provide a reliable, self-testing computing environment for safety critical and high integrity applications. The validity of the design approach is shown by using the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS)for electric power steering(EPS) systemswhich consists of the EPS mechanism, the designed ECU, and monitoring tools.

Keywords: Electronic control unit, electric power steering, functional safety, hardware-in-the-loop simulation.

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Authors: Naser Ojaroudi Parchin, Haleh Jahanbakhsh Basherlou, Raed A. Abd-Alhameed, Peter S. Excell

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In this paper, a multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) antenna design with polarization and radiation pattern diversity is presented for future smartphones. The configuration of the design consists of four double-fed circular-ring antenna elements located at different edges of the printed circuit board (PCB) with an FR-4 substrate and overall dimension of 75×150 mm². The antenna elements are fed by 50-Ohm microstrip-lines and provide polarization and radiation pattern diversity function due to the orthogonal placement of their feed lines. A good impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ ≤ -10 dB) of 3.4-3.8 GHz has been obtained for the smartphone antenna array. However, for S₁₁ ≤ -6 dB, this value is 3.25-3.95 GHz. More than 3 dB realized gain and 80% total efficiency are achieved for the single-element radiator. The presented design not only provides the required radiation coverage but also generates the polarization diversity characteristic.

Keywords: Cellular communications, MIMO systems, mobile-phone antenna, polarization diversity.

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Authors: S. Boria

Abstract:

In the last years, the crashworthiness of an automotive body structure can be improved, since the beginning of the design stage, thanks to the development of specific optimization tools. It is well known how the finite element codes can help the designer to investigate the crashing performance of structures under dynamic impact. Therefore, by coupling nonlinear mathematical programming procedure and statistical techniques with FE simulations, it is possible to optimize the design with reduced number of analytical evaluations. In engineering applications, many optimization methods which are based on statistical techniques and utilize estimated models, called meta-models, are quickly spreading. A meta-model is an approximation of a detailed simulation model based on a dataset of input, identified by the design of experiments (DOE); the number of simulations needed to build it depends on the number of variables. Among the various types of meta-modeling techniques, Kriging method seems to be excellent in accuracy, robustness and efficiency compared to other ones when applied to crashworthiness optimization. Therefore the application of such meta-model was used in this work, in order to improve the structural optimization of a bumper for a racing car in composite material subjected to frontal impact. The specific energy absorption represents the objective function to maximize and the geometrical parameters subjected to some design constraints are the design variables. LS-DYNA codes were interfaced with LS-OPT tool in order to find the optimized solution, through the use of a domain reduction strategy. With the use of the Kriging meta-model the crashworthiness characteristic of the composite bumper was improved.

Keywords: Composite material, crashworthiness, finite element analysis, optimization.

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Authors: Napat Watjanatepin, Wikorn Wong-SatieanNapat Watjanatepin, Wikorn Wong-Satiean

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to design and construct the PV-Wind hybrid autonomous system for the greenhouse plantation, and analyze the technical performance of the PV-Wind energy system. This design depends on the water consumption in the greenhouse by using 24 of the fogging mist each with the capability of 24 liter/min. The operating time is 4 times per day, each round for 15 min. The fogging system is being driven by water pump with AC motor rating 0.5 hp. The load energy consumed is around 1.125 kWh/d. The designing results of the PV-Wind hybrid energy system is that sufficient energy could be generated by this system. The results of this study can be applied as a technical data reference for other areas in the central part of Thailand.

Keywords: Central part of Thailand, fogging system, greenhouse plantation, PV-Wind hybrid autonomous system.

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Authors: Azza A. Abou-Arab, Ferial M. Abu-Salem

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The influence of microwave drying methods on the nutritional and anti-nutritional composition and physical characteristics of banana peels was investigated. Banana peels were assessed for physical properties such as yield, pH value, bulk density, water holding capacity (WHC) and oil holding capacity (OHC). The results showed that, the yield of banana peels and pH value was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased by microwave drying (11.20% and pH 5.08, respectively) compared with control. Bulk density was increased by microwave drying and recorded 62.03 g/100 ml. The banana peels flour demonstrated that the highest WHC was 8.65 g water/g dry sample and OHC was 6.73 g oil/g dry sample compared to control. The results observed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in moisture, fiber and total carbohydrates content of banana peels; whereas, the rates of ash, protein and fat content were increased after drying by microwave compared with control. The lignin content of banana peels was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by microwave drying and the recorded value was 8.31% dw. The results also revealed that the ascorbic acid content was significantly decreased by microwave drying and recorded 18.32 mg/100 g dw vis. 23.51 mg/100 g dw for control. With regarding the anti-nutrients, phytates, alkaloids, oxalates and hydrogen cyanides levels in banana peels, it was in the threshold value mentioned as safety restrict. These results demonstrated that the levels of phytates, alkaloids, oxalates and hydrogen cyanides were decreased by microwave drying methods which recorded 4.07%, 5.45%, 0.85% and 32.15%, respectively.

Keywords: Banana peels, microwave drying, physical characteristics, nutritional composition, anti-nutritional composition.

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Authors: Jamuna Konda, Umamaheswara Reddy Karumuri, Sriramya Muthugi, Varun Pishati, Ravi Shakya,

Abstract:

This paper investigates the challenges involved in mathematical modeling of plant simulation models ensuring the performance of the plant models much closer to the real time physical model. The paper includes the analysis performed and investigation on different methods of modeling, design and development for plant model. Issues which impact the design time, model accuracy as real time model, tool dependence are analyzed. The real time hardware plant would be a combination of multiple physical models. It is more challenging to test the complete system with all possible test scenarios. There are possibilities of failure or damage of the system due to any unwanted test execution on real time.

Keywords: Model Based Design, MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow, plant model, real time model, real-time workshop, target language compiler.

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Authors: Ipak Torkpour

Abstract:

In order to convert natural rubber or related polymers to material with varying physical properties such as elastic modulus or durability, a chemical process named sulfur vulcanization is needed. This can be either done by heating sulfur or sulfur-containing compounds. The main goal of this process is to produce untreated natural rubber latex that can be the main source of manufacturing for several rubber producers. Temperature, pressure, and time are considered as three crucial factors in the tire vulcanization process. The present study is an attempt to optimize these crucial parameters, with the aim of achieving maximum tire modulus using Taguchi experimental design. The results revealed that the optimal parameter values are as follows: a temperature of 170 °C, a pressure of 110 bar, and a time duration of 230 seconds. Under these optimized conditions, the obtained tire modulus reached 8.8 kgf.

Keywords: Rubber vulcanization, experimental design, Taguchi, polymers.

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Authors: Patil Ashwini, Archana Thosar

Abstract:

This paper addresses the mathematical model of wind energy system useful for designing fault tolerant control. To serve the demand of power, large capacity wind energy systems are vital. These systems are installed offshore where non planned service is very costly. Whenever there is a fault in between two planned services, the system may stop working abruptly. This might even lead to the complete failure of the system. To enhance the reliability, the availability and reduce the cost of maintenance of wind turbines, the fault tolerant control systems are very essential. For designing any control system, an appropriate mathematical model is always needed. In this paper, the two-mass model is modified by considering the frequent mechanical faults like misalignments in the drive train, gears and bearings faults. These faults are subject to a wear process and cause frictional losses. This paper addresses these faults in the mathematics of the wind energy system. Further, the work is extended to study the variations of the parameters namely generator inertia constant, spring constant, viscous friction coefficient and gear ratio; on the pole-zero plot which is related with the physical design of the wind turbine. Behavior of the wind turbine during drive train faults are simulated and briefly discussed.

Keywords: Mathematical model of wind energy system, stability analysis, shaft stiffness, viscous friction coefficient, gear ratio, generator inertia, fault tolerant control.

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Authors: Johan Wall, Johan Fredin, Anders Jönsson, Göran Broman

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Designing modern machine tools is a complex task. A simulation tool to aid the design work, a virtual machine, has therefore been developed in earlier work. The virtual machine considers the interaction between the mechanics of the machine (including structural flexibility) and the control system. This paper exemplifies the usefulness of the virtual machine as a tool for product development. An optimisation study is conducted aiming at improving the existing design of a machine tool regarding weight and manufacturing accuracy at maintained manufacturing speed. The problem can be categorised as constrained multidisciplinary multiobjective multivariable optimisation. Parameters of the control and geometric quantities of the machine are used as design variables. This results in a mix of continuous and discrete variables and an optimisation approach using a genetic algorithm is therefore deployed. The accuracy objective is evaluated according to international standards. The complete systems model shows nondeterministic behaviour. A strategy to handle this based on statistical analysis is suggested. The weight of the main moving parts is reduced by more than 30 per cent and the manufacturing accuracy is improvement by more than 60 per cent compared to the original design, with no reduction in manufacturing speed. It is also shown that interaction effects exist between the mechanics and the control, i.e. this improvement would most likely not been possible with a conventional sequential design approach within the same time, cost and general resource frame. This indicates the potential of the virtual machine concept for contributing to improved efficiency of both complex products and the development process for such products. Companies incorporating such advanced simulation tools in their product development could thus improve its own competitiveness as well as contribute to improved resource efficiency of society at large.

Keywords: Machine tools, Mechatronics, Non-deterministic, Optimisation, Product development, Virtual machine

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Authors: A. Shyamala Devi, K. Chitra Devi, R. Rajendiran

Abstract:

A total of 6 isolates of Bacillus subtilis were isolated from oil mill waste collected in Namakkal district, Tamilnadu, India. The isolated bacteria were screened using lipase screening medium containing Tween 80. BS-3 isolate exhibited a greater clear zone than the others, indicating higher lipase activity. Therefore, this isolate was selected for media optimization studies. Ten process variables were screened using Plackett–Burman design and were further optimized by central composite design of response surface methodology for lipase production in submerged fermentation. Maximum lipase production of 16.627 U/min/ml were predicted in medium containing yeast extract (9.3636g), CaCl2 (0.8986g) and incubation periods (1.813 days). A mean value of 16.98 ± 0.2286 U/min/ml of lipase was acquired from real experiments.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, extracellular lipase, Plackett–Burman design, response surface methodology.

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Authors: A. M. Tarola, R. Preti, A. M. Girelli, P. Campana

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Safeguarding, studying and enhancing biodiversity play an important and indispensable role in re-launching agriculture. The ancient local varieties are therefore a precious resource for genetic and health improvement. In order to protect biodiversity through the recovery and valorization of autochthonous varieties, in this study we analyzed 12 samples of four ancient apple cultivars representative of Friuli Venezia Giulia, selected by local farmers who work on a project for the recovery of ancient apple cultivars. The aim of this study is to evaluate the polyphenolic profile and the antioxidant capacity that characterize the organoleptic and functional qualities of this fruit species, besides having beneficial properties for health. In particular, for each variety, the following compounds were analyzed, both in the skins and in the pulp: gallic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, caffeic acid, coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin, phlorizin, phloretin and quercetin to highlight any differences in the edible parts of the apple. The analysis of individual phenolic compounds was performed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a diode array UV detector (DAD), the antioxidant capacity was estimated using an in vitro essay based on a Free Radical Scavenging Method and the total phenolic compounds was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteau method. From the results, it is evident that the catechins are the most present polyphenols, reaching a value of 140-200 μg/g in the pulp and of 400-500 μg/g in the skin, with the prevalence of epicatechin. Catechins and phlorizin, a dihydrohalcone typical of apples, are always contained in larger quantities in the peel. Total phenolic compounds content was positively correlated with antioxidant activity in apple pulp (r² = 0,850) and peel (r² = 0,820). Comparing the results, differences between the varieties analyzed and between the edible parts (pulp and peel) of the apple were highlighted. In particular, apple peel is richer in polyphenolic compounds than pulp and flavonols are exclusively present in the peel. In conclusion, polyphenols, being antioxidant substances, have confirmed the benefits of fruit in the diet, especially as a prevention and treatment for degenerative diseases. They demonstrated to be also a good marker for the characterization of different apple cultivars. The importance of protecting biodiversity in agriculture was also highlighted through the exploitation of native products and ancient varieties of apples now forgotten.

Keywords: Apple, biodiversity, polyphenols, antioxidant activity, HPLC-DAD, characterization.

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Authors: Tanvi P. Medshinge, Prasad Vaidya, Monisha E. Royan

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In India, cooling loads in residential sector is a major contributor to its total energy consumption. Due to the increasing cooling need, the market penetration of air-conditioners is further expected to rise. Natural Ventilation (NV), however, possesses great potential to save significant energy consumption especially for residential buildings in moderate climates. As multifamily residential apartment buildings are designed by repetitive use of prototype designs, deriving individual NV based design prototype solutions for a combination of different wind incidence angles and orientations would provide significant opportunity to address the rise in cooling loads by residential sector. This paper presents the results of NV performance of a selected prototype apartment design with a cluster of four units in Pune, India, and an attempt to improve the NV performance through design modifications. The water table apparatus, a physical modelling tool, is used to study the flow patterns and simulate wind-induced NV performance. Quantification of NV performance is done by post processing images captured from video recordings in terms of percentage of area with good and poor access to ventilation. NV performance of the existing design for eight wind incidence angles showed that of the cluster of four units, the windward units showed good access to ventilation for all rooms, and the leeward units had lower access to ventilation with the bedrooms in the leeward units having the least access. The results showed improved performance in all the units for all wind incidence angles to more than 80% good access to ventilation. Some units showed an additional improvement to more than 90% good access to ventilation. This process of design and performance evaluation improved some individual units from 0% to 100% for good access to ventilation. The results demonstrate the ease of use and the power of the water table apparatus for performance-based design to simulate wind induced NV.  

Keywords: Prototype design, water table apparatus, NV, wind incidence angles, simulations, fluid dynamics.

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Authors: Márcia Afonso, Cristina Fael, Marisa Dinis-Almeida

Abstract:

Population growth in cities has led to an increase in the infrastructures construction, including buildings and roadways. This aspect leads directly to the soils waterproofing. In turn, changes in precipitation patterns are developing into higher and more frequent intensities. Thus, these two conjugated aspects decrease the rainwater infiltration into soils and increase the volume of surface runoff. The practice of green and sustainable urban solutions has encouraged research in these areas. The porous asphalt pavement, as a green infrastructure, is part of practical solutions set to address urban challenges related to land use and adaptation to climate change. In this field, permeable pavements with porous asphalt mixtures (PA) have several advantages in terms of reducing the runoff generated by the floods. The porous structure of these pavements, compared to a conventional asphalt pavement, allows the rainwater infiltration in the subsoil, and consequently, the water quality improvement. This green infrastructure solution can be applied in cities, particularly in streets or parking lots to mitigate the floods effects. Over the years, the pores of these pavements can be filled by sediment, reducing their function in the rainwater infiltration. Thus, double layer porous asphalt (DLPA) was developed to mitigate the clogging effect and facilitate the water infiltration into the lower layers. This study intends to deepen the knowledge of the performance of DLPA when subjected to clogging. The experimental methodology consisted on four evaluation phases of the DLPA infiltration capacity submitted to three precipitation events (100, 200 and 300 mm/h) in each phase. The evaluation first phase determined the behavior after DLPA construction. In phases two and three, two 500 g/m² clogging cycles were performed, totaling a 1000 g/m² final simulation. Sand with gradation accented in fine particles was used as clogging material. In the last phase, the DLPA was subjected to simple sweeping and vacuuming maintenance. A precipitation simulator, type sprinkler, capable of simulating the real precipitation was developed for this purpose. The main conclusions show that the DLPA has the capacity to drain the water, even after two clogging cycles. The infiltration results of flows lead to an efficient performance of the DPLA in the surface runoff attenuation, since this was not observed in any of the evaluation phases, even at intensities of 200 and 300 mm/h, simulating intense precipitation events. The infiltration capacity under clogging conditions decreased about 7% on average in the three intensities relative to the initial performance that is after construction. However, this was restored when subjected to simple maintenance, recovering the DLPA hydraulic functionality. In summary, the study proved the efficacy of using a DLPA when it retains thicker surface sediments and limits the fine sediments entry to the remaining layers. At the same time, it is guaranteed the rainwater infiltration and the surface runoff reduction and is therefore a viable solution to put into practice in permeable pavements.

Keywords: Clogging, double layer porous asphalt, infiltration capacity, rainfall intensity.

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Authors: O. Zarrin, M. Ramezan Shirazi

Abstract:

The quality of concrete is usually defined by compressive strength, but flexural strength is the most important characteristic of concrete in a pavement which control the mix design of concrete instead of compressive strength. Therefore, the aggregates which are selected for the pavements are affected by higher flexural strength. Roller Compacting Concrete Pavement (RCCP) is not a new construction method. The other characteristic of this method is no bleeding and less shrinkage due to the lower amount of water. For this purpose, a roller is needed for placing and compacting. The surface of RCCP is not smooth; therefore, the most common use of this pavement is in an industrial zone with slower traffic speed which requires durable and tough pavement. For preparing a smoother surface, it can be achieved by asphalt paver. RCCP decrease the finishing cost because there are no bars, formwork, and the lesser labor need for placing the concrete. In this paper, different aspect of RCCP such as mix design, flexural, compressive strength and focus on the different part of RCCP on detail have been investigated.

Keywords: Flexural Strength, Compressive Strength, Pavement, Asphalt.

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Authors: Chuang-Hung Lin, Cheng-Yuan Hsu, Jia-Yan Lin

Abstract:

It is an indispensible strategy to adopt greenery approach on architectural bases so as to improve ecological habitats, decrease heat-island effect, purify air quality, and relieve surface runoff as well as noise pollution, all of which are done in an attempt to achieve sustainable environment. How we can do with plant design to attain the best visual quality and ideal carbon dioxide fixation depends on whether or not we can appropriately make use of greenery according to the nature of architectural bases. To achieve the goal, it is a need that architects and landscape architects should be provided with sufficient local references. Current greenery studies focus mainly on the heat-island effect of urban with large scale. Most of the architects still rely on people with years of expertise regarding the adoption and disposition of plantation in connection with microclimate scale. Therefore, environmental design, which integrates science and aesthetics, requires fundamental research on landscape environment technology divided from building environment technology. By doing so, we can create mutual benefits between green building and the environment. This issue is extremely important for the greening design of the bases of green buildings in cities and various open spaces. The purpose of this study is to establish plant selection and allocation strategies under different building sunshade levels. Initially, with the shading of sunshine on the greening bases as the starting point, the effects of the shades produced by different building types on the greening strategies were analyzed. Then, by measuring the PAR (photosynthetic active radiation), the relative DLI (daily light integral) was calculated, while the DLI Map was established in order to evaluate the effects of the building shading on the established environmental greening, thereby serving as a reference for plant selection and allocation. The discussion results were to be applied in the evaluation of environment greening of greening buildings and establish the “right plant, right place” design strategy of multi-level ecological greening for application in urban design and landscape design development, as well as the greening criteria to feedback to the eco-city greening buildings.

Keywords: Daily light integral, plant design, urban open space.

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