Search results for: MARKAL/TIMES Romanian energy model
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10323

Search results for: MARKAL/TIMES Romanian energy model

8973 Fuzzy Control of Thermally Isolated Greenhouse Building by Utilizing Underground Heat Exchanger and Outside Weather Conditions

Authors: Raghad Alhusari, Farag Omar, Moustafa Fadel

Abstract:

A traditional greenhouse is a metal frame agricultural building used for cultivation plants in a controlled environment isolated from external climatic changes. Using greenhouses in agriculture is an efficient way to reduce the water consumption, where agriculture field is considered the biggest water consumer world widely. Controlling greenhouse environment yields better productivity of plants but demands an increase of electric power. Although various control approaches have been used towards greenhouse automation, most of them are applied to traditional greenhouses with ventilation fans and/or evaporation cooling system. Such approaches are still demanding high energy and water consumption. The aim of this research is to develop a fuzzy control system that minimizes water and energy consumption by utilizing outside weather conditions and underground heat exchanger to maintain the optimum climate of the greenhouse. The proposed control system is implemented on an experimental model of thermally isolated greenhouse structure with dimensions of 6x5x2.8 meters. It uses fans for extracting heat from the ground heat exchanger system, motors for automatic open/close of the greenhouse windows and LED as lighting system. The controller is integrated also with environmental condition sensors. It was found that using the air-to-air horizontal ground heat exchanger with 90 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness placed 2.5 m below the ground surface results in decreasing the greenhouse temperature of 3.28 ˚C which saves around 3 kW of consumed energy. It also eliminated the water consumption needed in evaporation cooling systems which are traditionally used for cooling the greenhouse environment.

Keywords: Automation, earth-to-air heat exchangers, fuzzy control, greenhouse, sustainable buildings.

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8972 Dye Removal from Aqueous Solution by Regenerated Spent Bleaching Earth

Authors: Ahmed I. Shehab, Sabah M. Abdel Basir, M. A. Abdel Khalek, M. H. Soliman, G. Elgemeie

Abstract:

Spent bleaching earth (SBE) recycling and utilization as an adsorbent to eliminate dyes from aqueous solution was studied. Organic solvents and subsequent thermal treatment were carried out to recover and reactivate the SBE. The effect of pH, temperature, dye’s initial concentration, and contact time on the dye removal using recycled spent bleaching earth (RSBE) was investigated. Recycled SBE showed better removal affinity of cationic than anionic dyes. The maximum removal was achieved at pH 2 and 8 for anionic and cationic dyes, respectively. Kinetic data matched with the pseudo second-order model. The adsorption phenomenon governing this process was identified by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms for anionic dye while Freundlich model represented the sorption process for cationic dye. The changes of Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°) were computed and compared through thermodynamic study for both dyes.

Keywords: Spent bleaching earth, Regeneration, Dye removal, Thermodynamics.

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8971 Corporate Social Responsibility in an Experimental Market

Authors: Nikolaos Georgantzis, Efi Vasileiou

Abstract:

We present results from experimental price-setting oligopolies in which green firms undertake different levels of energy-saving investments motivated by public subsidies and demand-side advantages. We find that consumers reveal higher willingness to pay for greener sellers’ products. This observation in conjunction to the fact that greener sellers set higher prices is compatible with the use and interpretation of energy-saving behaviour as a differentiation strategy. However, sellers do not exploit the resulting advantage through sufficiently high price-cost margins, because they seem trapped into “run to stay still” competition. Regarding the use of public subsidies to energy-saving sellers we uncover an undesirable crowding-out effect of consumers’ intrinsic tendency to support green manufacturers. Namely, consumers may be less willing to support a green seller whose energy-saving strategy entails a direct financial benefit. Finally, we disentangle two alternative motivations for consumer’s attractions to pro-social firms; first, the self-interested recognition of the firm’s contribution to the public and private welfare and, second, the need to compensate a firm for the cost entailed in each pro-social action. Our results show the prevalence of the former over the latter.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, energy savings, public good, experiments, vertical differentiation, altruism.

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8970 Non-Homogeneous Layered Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Authors: Vitalijs Lusis, Andrejs Krasnikovs

Abstract:

Fiber reinforced concrete is important material for load bearing structural elements. Usually fibers are homogeneously distributed in a concrete body having arbitrary spatial orientations. At the same time, in many situations, fiber concrete with oriented fibers is more optimal. Is obvious, that is possible to create constructions with oriented short fibers in them, in different ways. Present research is devoted to one of such approaches- fiber reinforced concrete prisms having dimensions 100mm ×100mm ×400mmwith layers of non-homogeneously distributed fibers inside them were fabricated.

Simultaneously prisms with homogeneously dispersed fibers were produced for reference as well. Prisms were tested under four point bending conditions. During the tests vertical deflection at the center of every prism and crack opening were measured (using linear displacements transducers in real timescale). Prediction results were discussed.

Keywords: Fiber reinforced concrete, 4-point bending, steel fiber.

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8969 Investigation of Heat Loss in Ethanol-Water Distillation Column with Direct Vapour Recompression Heat Pump

Authors: Christopher C. Enweremadu, Hilary L. Rutto

Abstract:

Vapour recompression system has been used to enhance reduction in energy consumption and improvement in energy effectiveness of distillation columns. However, the effects of certain parameters have not been taken into consideration. One of such parameters is the column heat loss which has either been assumed to be a certain percent of reboiler heat transfer or negligible. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the heat loss from an ethanol-water vapour recompression distillation column with pressure increase across the compressor (VRCAS) and compare the results obtained and its effect on some parameters in similar system (VRCCS) where the column heat loss has been assumed or neglected. Results show that the heat loss evaluated was higher when compared with that obtained for the column VRCCS. The results also showed that increase in heat loss could have significant effect on the total energy consumption, reboiler heat transfer, the number of trays and energy effectiveness of the column.

Keywords: Compressor, distillation column, heat loss, vapourrecompression.

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8968 Electronic Auction Market in Croatia

Authors: Bojan Korizma, Zeljko Panian

Abstract:

Online auctions are not very popular in Croatia. The main reason for this is a very limited number of services which can be used by Croatian users. Until recent times, even selling through the most popular online auction site eBay wasn't possible because PayPal services could not make payment to bank or debit card accounts in Croatia. Furthermore, many foreign sellers do not offer delivery of their products to Croatia which means that large quantities of goods initially offered on such sites are not available. With that in mind, it is necessary to analyze the buying and selling habits of Croatian users and existing online auction sites, both Croatian and foreign, and create a model for new domestic site. This site will have to exploit every positive aspect of existing models and neutralize every negative perception indicated by users in the survey so that, hopefully, it would attract new users.

Keywords: online auction, eBay, safe payment, product delivery

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8967 Performance Evaluation of Routing Protocols for High Density Ad Hoc Networks Based on Energy Consumption by GlomoSim Simulator

Authors: E. Ahvar, M. Fathy

Abstract:

Ad hoc networks are characterized by multihop wireless connectivity, frequently changing network topology and the need for efficient dynamic routing protocols. We compare the performance of three routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks: Dynamic Source Routing (DSR), Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV), location-aided routing (LAR1).Our evaluation is based on energy consumption in mobile ad hoc networks. The performance differentials are analyzed using varying network load, mobility, and network size. We simulate protocols with GLOMOSIM simulator. Based on the observations, we make recommendations about when the performance of either protocol can be best.

Keywords: Ad hoc Network, energy consumption, Glomosim, routing protocols.

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8966 Discrete Estimation of Spectral Density for Alpha Stable Signals Observed with an Additive Error

Authors: R. Sabre, W. Horrigue, J. C. Simon

Abstract:

This paper is interested in two difficulties encountered in practice when observing a continuous time process. The first is that we cannot observe a process over a time interval; we only take discrete observations. The second is the process frequently observed with a constant additive error. It is important to give an estimator of the spectral density of such a process taking into account the additive observation error and the choice of the discrete observation times. In this work, we propose an estimator based on the spectral smoothing of the periodogram by the polynomial Jackson kernel reducing the additive error. In order to solve the aliasing phenomenon, this estimator is constructed from observations taken at well-chosen times so as to reduce the estimator to the field where the spectral density is not zero. We show that the proposed estimator is asymptotically unbiased and consistent. Thus we obtain an estimate solving the two difficulties concerning the choice of the instants of observations of a continuous time process and the observations affected by a constant error.

Keywords: Spectral density, stable processes, aliasing, periodogram.

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8965 Belt Conveyor Dynamics in Transient Operation for Speed Control

Authors: D. He, Y. Pang, G. Lodewijks

Abstract:

Belt conveyors play an important role in continuous dry bulk material transport, especially at the mining industry. Speed control is expected to reduce the energy consumption of belt conveyors. Transient operation is the operation of increasing or decreasing conveyor speed for speed control. According to literature review, current research rarely takes the conveyor dynamics in transient operation into account. However, in belt conveyor speed control, the conveyor dynamic behaviors are significantly important since the poor dynamics might result in risks. In this paper, the potential risks in transient operation will be analyzed. An existing finite element model will be applied to build a conveyor model, and simulations will be carried out to analyze the conveyor dynamics. In order to realize the soft speed regulation, Harrison’s sinusoid acceleration profile will be applied, and Lodewijks estimator will be built to approximate the required acceleration time. A long inclined belt conveyor will be studied with two major simulations. The conveyor dynamics will be given.

Keywords: Belt conveyor, speed control, transient operation, dynamics

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8964 Operating Conditions Optimization of Steam Injection in Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Duelist Algorithm

Authors: Totok R. Biyanto, Sonny Irawan, Hiskia J. Ginting, Matradji, Ya’umar, A. I. Fitri

Abstract:

Steam injection is the most suitable of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods to recover high viscosity oil. This is due to the capabilities of steam to reduce oil viscosity and increase the sweep capability of oil from the injection well toward the production well. Oil operating conditions in production should be match well with the operating condition target at the bottom of the production well. It is influenced by oil properties and reservoir rock properties. Hence, the operating condition should be optimized. Optimization requires three components i.e., objective function, model, and optimization technique. In this paper, the objective function is to obtain the optimum operating condition at the production well. The model was built using Darcy equation and mass-energy balance. The optimization technique utilizes Duelist Algorithm due to the effectiveness of its algorithm to obtain the desirable optimization results at the optimum operating condition.

Keywords: Enhanced oil recovery, steam injection, operating conditions, modeling, optimization, Duelist algorithm.

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8963 Climate Adaptive Building Shells for Plus-Energy-Buildings, Designed on Bionic Principles

Authors: Andreas Hammer

Abstract:

Six peculiar architecture designs from the Frankfurt University will be discussed within this paper and their future potential of the adaptable and solar thin-film sheets implemented facades will be shown acting and reacting on climate/solar changes of their specific sites. The different aspects, as well as limitations with regard to technical and functional restrictions, will be named.  The design process for a “multi-purpose building”, a “high-rise building refurbishment” and a “biker’s lodge” on the river Rheine valley, has been critically outlined and developed step by step from an international studentship towards an overall energy strategy, that firstly had to push the design to a plus-energy building and secondly had to incorporate bionic aspects into the building skins design. Both main parameters needed to be reviewed and refined during the whole design process. Various basic bionic approaches have been given [e.g. solar ivy TM, flectofin TM or hygroskin TM, which were to experiment with, regarding the use of bendable photovoltaic thin film elements being parts of a hybrid, kinetic façade system.

Keywords: Energy-strategy, photovoltaic in building skins, bionic and bioclimatic design, plus-energy-buildings, solar gain, the harvesting façade, sustainable building concept, high-efficiency building skin, climate adaptive Building Shells (CABS).

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8962 The Relationship between Business-model Innovation and Firm Value: A Dynamic Perspective

Authors: Yung C. Ho, Hui C. Fang, Ming J. Hsieh

Abstract:

When consistently innovative business-models can give companies a competitive advantage, longitudinal empirical research, which can reflect dynamic business-model changes, has yet to prove a definitive connection. This study consequently employs a dynamic perspective in conjunction with innovation theory to examine the relationship between the types of business-model innovation and firm value. This study tries to examine various types of business-model innovation in high-end and low-end technology industries such as HTC and the 7-Eleven chain stores with research periods of 14 years and 32 years, respectively. The empirical results suggest that adopting radical business-model innovation in addition to expanding new target markets can successfully lead to a competitive advantage. Sustained advanced technological competences and service/product innovation are the key successful factors in high-end and low-end technology industry business-models respectively. In sum up, the business-model innovation can yield a higher market value and financial value in high-end technology industries than low-end ones.

Keywords: Business-model, Dynamic Perspective, Firm Value, Innovation

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8961 Manual Testing of Web Software Systems Supported by Direct Guidance of the Tester Based On Design Model

Authors: Karel Frajtak, Miroslav Bures, Ivan Jelinek

Abstract:

Software testing is important stage of software development cycle. Current testing process involves tester and electronic documents with test case scenarios. In this paper we focus on new approach to testing process using automated test case generation and tester guidance through the system based on the model of the system. Test case generation and model-based testing is not possible without proper system model. We aim on providing better feedback from the testing process thus eliminating the unnecessary paper work.

Keywords: Model based testing, test automation, test generating, tester support.

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8960 Mass rearing and Effects of Gamma Irradiation on the Pupal Mortality and Reproduction of Citrus Leaf Miner Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

Authors: Shiva Osouli, Maryam Atapour, Mehrdad Ahmadi, Shima Shokri

Abstract:

Citrus leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is native to Asia and one of the most serious pests of Iran’s citrus nursery stocks. In the present study, the possibility of insect mass rearing on four various citrus hosts and the effects of gamma irradiation on the pupal mortality and reproduction of this pest were studied. Trifoliate orange and grapefruit showed less infection, while the number of pupae in Valencia oranges and sweet lemons cages was so high. There was not any significant difference between weight of male and female pupae among different citrus hosts, but generally the weight of male pupae was less than females. Use of Valencia orange or sweet lemons seedlings in especial dark emergence and oviposition cages could be recommended for mass rearing of this pest. In this study, the effects of gamma radiation at doses 100 to 450 Gy on biological and reproductive parameters of the pest has been determined. The results show that mean percent of pupal mortality increased with increasing doses and reached to 28.67% at 450 Gy for male pupae and 38.367% for female pupae. Also, the mean values of this parameter were higher for irradiated female, which indicated the higher sensitivity of this sex. The gamma ray irradiation from 200 and 300 Gy caused decrease in male and female adult moth longevity, respectively. The eggs were laid by emerged females, and their hatchability was decreased by increasing gamma doses. The fecundity of females in both combinations of crosses (irradiated male × normal female and irradiated female × normal male) did not differ, but fertility of laid eggs by irradiated female × normal male affected seriously and the mean values of this parameter reached to zero at 300 Gy. The hatchability percentage of produced eggs by normal female × irradiated male at 300 Gy was 23.29% and reached to less than 2 % at 450 Gy as the highest tested dose. The results of this test show that females have more radio-sensitivity in comparison to males.

Keywords: Citrus leaf miner, Phyllocnistis citrella, citrus hosts, mass rearing, sterile insect technique.

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8959 An Extension of Multi-Layer Perceptron Based on Layer-Topology

Authors: Jānis Zuters

Abstract:

There are a lot of extensions made to the classic model of multi-layer perceptron (MLP). A notable amount of them has been designed to hasten the learning process without considering the quality of generalization. The paper proposes a new MLP extension based on exploiting topology of the input layer of the network. Experimental results show the extended model to improve upon generalization capability in certain cases. The new model requires additional computational resources to compare to the classic model, nevertheless the loss in efficiency isn-t regarded to be significant.

Keywords: Learning algorithm, multi-layer perceptron, topology.

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8958 The Effect of Size, Thickness, and Type of the Bonding Interlayer on Bullet Proof Glass as per EN 1063

Authors: Rabinder Singh Bharj, Sandeep Kumar

Abstract:

This investigation presents preparation of sample and  analysis of results of ballistic impact test as per EN 1063 on the size,  thickness, number, position, and type of the bonding interlayer  Polyvinyl Butyral, Poly Carbonate and Poly Urethane on bullet proof  glass. It was observed that impact energy absorbed by bullet proof  glass increases with the increase of the total thickness from 33mm to  42mm to 51mm for all the three samples respectively. Absorption  impact energy is greater for samples with more number of bonding  interlayers than with the number of glass layers for uniform increase  in total sample thickness. There is no effect on the absorption impact  energy with the change in position of the bonding interlayer. 

Keywords: Absorbed energy, bullet proof glass, laminated glass, safety glass.

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8957 Adsorptive Removal of Vapors of Toxic Sulfur Compounds using Activated Carbons

Authors: Meenakshi Goyal, Rashmi Dhawan

Abstract:

Adsorption of CS2 vapors has been studied on different types of activated carbons obtained from different source raw materials. The activated carbons have different surface areas and are associated with varying amounts of the carbon-oxygen surface groups. The adsorption of CS2 vapors is not directly related to surface area, but is considerably influenced by the presence of carbonoxygen surface groups. The adsorption decreases on increasing the amount of carbon-oxygen surface groups on oxidation and increases when these surface groups are eliminated on degassing. The adsorption is maximum in case of the 950°-degassed carbon sample which is almost completely free of any associated oxygen. The kinetic data as analysed by Empirical diffusion model and Linear driving force mass transfer model indicate that the adsorption does not involve Fickian diffusion but may be considered as a pseudo first order mass transfer process. The activation energy of adsorption and isosteric enthalpies of adsorption indicate that the adsorption does not involve interaction between CS2 and carbon-oxygen surface groups, but hydrophobic interactions between CS2 and C-C atoms in the carbon lattice.

Keywords: Adsorption, surface groups, adsorption kinetics, isosteric enthalpy of adsorption.

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8956 Geometric and Material Nonlinear Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structure Considering Soil-Structure Interaction

Authors: Mohamed M. El-Gendy, Ibrahim A. El-Arabi, Rafik W. Abdel-Missih, Omar A. Kandil

Abstract:

In the present research, a finite element model is presented to study the geometrical and material nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete plane frames considering soil-structure interaction. The nonlinear behaviors of concrete and reinforcing steel are considered both in compression and tension up to failure. The model takes account also for the number, diameter, and distribution of rebar along every cross section. Soil behavior is taken into consideration using four different models; namely: linear-, nonlinear Winkler's model, and linear-, nonlinear continuum model. A computer program (NARC) is specially developed in order to perform the analysis. The results achieved by the present model show good agreement with both theoretical and experimental published literature. The nonlinear behavior of a rectangular frame resting on soft soil up to failure using the proposed model is introduced for demonstration.

Keywords: Nonlinear analysis, Geometric nonlinearity, Material nonlinearity, Reinforced concrete, Finite element method, Soilstructure interaction, Winkler's soil model, Continuum soil model

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8955 Adaptive Design of Large Prefabricated Concrete Panels Collective Housing

Authors: Daniel M. Muntean, Viorel Ungureanu

Abstract:

More than half of the urban population in Romania lives today in residential buildings made out of large prefabricated reinforced concrete panels. Since their initial design was made in the 1960’s, these housing units are now being technically and morally outdated, consuming large amounts of energy for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting, while failing to meet the needs of the contemporary life-style. Due to their widespread use, the design of a system that improves their energy efficiency would have a real impact, not only on the energy consumption of the residential sector, but also on the quality of life that it offers. Furthermore, with the transition of today’s existing power grid to a “smart grid”, buildings could become an active element for future electricity networks by contributing in micro-generation and energy storage. One of the most addressed issues today is to find locally adapted strategies that can be applied considering the 20-20-20 EU policy criteria and to offer sustainable and innovative solutions for the cost-optimal energy performance of buildings adapted on the existing local market. This paper presents a possible adaptive design scenario towards sustainable retrofitting of these housing units. The apartments are transformed in order to meet the current living requirements and additional extensions are placed on top of the building, replacing the unused roof space, acting not only as housing units, but as active solar energy collection systems. An adaptive building envelope is ensured in order to achieve overall air-tightness and an elevator system is introduced to facilitate access to the upper levels.

Keywords: Adaptive building, energy efficiency, retrofitting, residential buildings, smart grid.

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8954 Financial Analysis of Feasibility for a Heat Utilization System Using Rice Straw Pellets - Heating Energy Demand and the Collection and Storage Method in Nanporo, Japan

Authors: K. Ishii, T. Furuichi, A. Fujiyama, S. Hariya

Abstract:

Rice straw pellets are a promising fuel as a renewable energy source. Financial analysis is needed to make a utilization system using rise straw pellets financially feasible, considering all regional conditions including stakeholders related to the collection and storage, production, transportation and heat utilization. We conducted the financial analysis of feasibility for a heat utilization system using rice straw pellets which has been developed for the first time in Nanporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Especially, we attempted to clarify the effect of factors required for the system to be financial feasibility, such as the heating energy demand and collection and storage method of rice straw. The financial feasibility was found to improve when increasing the heating energy demand and collecting wheat straw in August separately from collection of rice straw in November because the costs of storing rice straw and producing pellets were reduced. However, the system remained financially unfeasible. This study proposed a contractor program funded by a subsidy from Nanporo local government where a contracted company, instead of farmers, collects and transports rice straw in order to ensure the financial feasibility of the system, contributing to job creation in the region.

Keywords: Rice straw, pellets, heating energy demand, collection, storage.

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8953 A Methodological Test to Study the Concrete Workability with the Fractal Model

Authors: F. Achouri, K. Chouicha

Abstract:

The main parameters affecting the workability are the water content, particle size, and the total surface of the grains, as long as the mixing water begins by wetting the surface of the grains and then fills the voids between the grains to form entrapped water, the quantity of water remaining is called free water. The aim of this study is to undertake a fractal approach through the relationship between the concrete formulation parameters and workability. To develop this approach a series of concrete taken from the literature was investigated by varying formulation parameters such as G/S, the quantity of cement C and the quantity of water W. We also call another model as the model of water layer thickness and model of paste layer thickness to judge their relevance, hence the following results: the relevance of the water layer thickness model is considered as a relevant when there is a variation in the water quantity. The model of the paste layer thickness is only applicable if we considered that the paste is made with the grain value Dmax = 2.85: value from which we see a stability of the model.

Keywords: Concrete, fractal method, paste layer thickness, water layer thickness, workability.

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8952 Development of a Catchment Water Quality Model for Continuous Simulations of Pollutants Build-up and Wash-off

Authors: Iqbal Hossain, Dr. Monzur Imteaz, Dr. Shirley Gato-Trinidad, Prof. Abdallah Shanableh

Abstract:

Estimation of runoff water quality parameters is required to determine appropriate water quality management options. Various models are used to estimate runoff water quality parameters. However, most models provide event-based estimates of water quality parameters for specific sites. The work presented in this paper describes the development of a model that continuously simulates the accumulation and wash-off of water quality pollutants in a catchment. The model allows estimation of pollutants build-up during dry periods and pollutants wash-off during storm events. The model was developed by integrating two individual models; rainfall-runoff model, and catchment water quality model. The rainfall-runoff model is based on the time-area runoff estimation method. The model allows users to estimate the time of concentration using a range of established methods. The model also allows estimation of the continuing runoff losses using any of the available estimation methods (i.e., constant, linearly varying or exponentially varying). Pollutants build-up in a catchment was represented by one of three pre-defined functions; power, exponential, or saturation. Similarly, pollutants wash-off was represented by one of three different functions; power, rating-curve, or exponential. The developed runoff water quality model was set-up to simulate the build-up and wash-off of total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). The application of the model was demonstrated using available runoff and TSS field data from road and roof surfaces in the Gold Coast, Australia. The model provided excellent representation of the field data demonstrating the simplicity yet effectiveness of the proposed model.

Keywords: Catchment, continuous pollutants build-up, pollutants wash-off, runoff, runoff water quality model.

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8951 Design, Development and Analysis of Automated Storage and Retrieval System with Single and Dual Command Dispatching using MATLAB

Authors: M. Aslam, Farrukh, A. R. Gardezi, Nasir Hayat

Abstract:

Automated material handling is given prime importance in the semi automated and automated facilities since it provides solution to the gigantic problems related to inventory and also support the latest philosophies like just in time production JIT and lean production. Automated storage and retrieval system is an antidote (if designed properly) to the facility sufferings like getting the right material , materials getting perished, long cycle times or many other similar kind of problems. A working model of automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) is designed and developed under the design parameters specified by Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA). Later on analysis was carried out to calculate the throughput and size of the machine. The possible implementation of this technology in local scenario is also discussed in this paper.

Keywords: Automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), Material handling, Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), Lightdependent resistor (LDR)

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8950 Chromium Adsorption by Modified Wood

Authors: I. Domingos, B. Esteves, A. Figueirinha, Luísa P. Cruz-Lopes, J. Ferreira, H. Pereira

Abstract:

Chromium is one of the most common heavy metals which exist in very high concentrations in wastewater. The removal is very expensive due to the high cost of normal adsorbents. Lignocellulosic materials and mainly treated materials have proven to be a good solution for this problem.

Adsorption tests were performed at different pH, different times and with varying concentrations.

Results show that is at pH 3 that treated wood absorbs more chromium ranging from 70% (2h treatment) to almost 100% (12 h treatment) much more than untreated wood with less than 40%. Most of the adsorption is made in the first 2-3 hours for untreated and heat treated wood. Modified wood adsorbs more chromium throughout the time. For all the samples, adsorption fitted relatively well the Langmuir model with correlation coefficient ranging from 0.85 to 0.97.

The results show that heat treated wood is a good adsorbent ant that this might be a good utilization for sawdust from treating companies.

Keywords: Adsorption, chromium, heat treatment, wood modification.

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8949 Temperature Effect on the Mechanical Properties of Pd3Rh and PdRh3 Ordered Alloys

Authors: J. Davoodi , J. Moradi

Abstract:

The aim of this research was to calculate the mechanical properties of Pd3Rh and PdRh3 ordered alloys. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique was used to obtain temperature dependence of the energy, the Yong modulus, the shear modulus, the bulk modulus, Poisson-s ratio and the elastic stiffness constants at the isobaric-isothermal (NPT) ensemble in the range of 100-325 K. The interatomic potential energy and force on atoms were calculated by Quantum Sutton-Chen (Q-SC) many body potential. Our MD simulation results show the effect of temperature on the cohesive energy and mechanical properties of Pd3Rh as well as PdRh3 alloys. Our computed results show good agreement with the experimental results where they have been available.

Keywords: Pd-Rh alloy; Mechanical properties; Moleculardynamics simulation

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8948 Approaches to Determining Optimal Asset Structure for a Commercial Bank

Authors: Svetlana Saksonova

Abstract:

Every commercial bank optimises its asset portfolio depending on the profitability of assets and chosen or imposed constraints. This paper proposes and applies a stylized model for optimising banks' asset and liability structure, reflecting profitability of different asset categories and their risks as well as costs associated with different liability categories and reserve requirements. The level of detail for asset and liability categories is chosen to create a suitably parsimonious model and to include the most important categories in the model. It is shown that the most appropriate optimisation criterion for the model is the maximisation of the ratio of net interest income to assets. The maximisation of this ratio is subject to several constraints. Some are accounting identities or dictated by legislative requirements; others vary depending on the market objectives for a particular bank. The model predicts variable amount of assets allocated to loan provision.

Keywords: asset structure, commercial bank, model, optimisation

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8947 Energy Separation Mechanism in Uni-Flow Vortex Tube Using Compressible Vortex Flow

Authors: Hiroshi Katanoda, Mohd Hazwan bin Yusof

Abstract:

A theoretical investigation from the view point of gas-dynamics and thermodynamics was carried out, in order to clarify the energy separation mechanism in a viscous compressible vortex, as a primary flow element in a uni-flow vortex tube. The mathematical solutions of tangential velocity, density and temperature in a viscous compressible vortical flow were used in this study.It is clear that a total temperature in the vortex core falls well below that distant from the vortex core in the radial direction, causing aregion with higher total temperature,compared to the distant region,peripheral to the vortex core.

Keywords: Energy separation mechanism, theoretical analysis, vortex tube, vortical flow.

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8946 Ni Metallization on SiGe Nanowire

Authors: Y. Li, K. Buddharaju, X. P. Wang

Abstract:

The mechanism of nickel (Ni) metallization in silicon-germanium (Si0.5Ge0.5) alloy nanowire (NW) was studied. Transmission electron microscope imaging with in-situ annealing was conducted at temperatures of 200oC to 600°C. During rapid formation of Ni germanosilicide, loss of material from from the SiGe NW occurred which led to the formation of a thin Ni germanosilicide filament and eventual void. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis along the SiGe NW before and after annealing determined that Ge atoms tend to out-diffuse from the Ni germanosilicide towards the Ni source in the course of annealing. A model for the Ni germanosilicide formation in SiGe NW is proposed to explain this observation.

Keywords: SiGe, nanowires, germanosilicide.

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8945 A Lagrangian Hamiltonian Computational Method for Hyper-Elastic Structural Dynamics

Authors: Hosein Falahaty, Hitoshi Gotoh, Abbas Khayyer

Abstract:

Performance of a Hamiltonian based particle method in simulation of nonlinear structural dynamics is subjected to investigation in terms of stability and accuracy. The governing equation of motion is derived based on Hamilton's principle of least action, while the deformation gradient is obtained according to Weighted Least Square method. The hyper-elasticity models of Saint Venant-Kirchhoff and a compressible version similar to Mooney- Rivlin are engaged for the calculation of second Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor, respectively. Stability along with accuracy of numerical model is verified by reproducing critical stress fields in static and dynamic responses. As the results, although performance of Hamiltonian based model is evaluated as being acceptable in dealing with intense extensional stress fields, however kinds of instabilities reveal in the case of violent collision which can be most likely attributed to zero energy singular modes.

Keywords: Hamilton's principle of least action, particle based method, hyper-elasticity, analysis of stability.

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8944 Dynamic Analyses for Passenger Volume of Domestic Airline and High Speed Rail

Authors: Shih-Ching Lo

Abstract:

Discrete choice model is the most used methodology for studying traveler-s mode choice and demand. However, to calibrate the discrete choice model needs to have plenty of questionnaire survey. In this study, an aggregative model is proposed. The historical data of passenger volumes for high speed rail and domestic civil aviation are employed to calibrate and validate the model. In this study, different models are compared so as to propose the best one. From the results, systematic equations forecast better than single equation do. Models with the external variable, which is oil price, are better than models based on closed system assumption.

Keywords: forecasting, passenger volume, dynamic competition model, external variable, oil price

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