Search results for: design of fuzzy time control DEV system.

Authors: Orly Sarid, Yana Shraga

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Purpose: To compare attitudes and perceptions of Israeli native born mothers versus former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrant mothers regarding the physical health of their infant. Methodology: cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 50 participants was recruited by face to face and snowball technique. A questionnaire was constructed according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health for the care and treatment of infants. The main areas explored were: sources of knowledge that the young mother acquired regarding the care of her infant, ways of caring for the infant, hygiene and sanitary habits, and the pattern of referral to health professionals. The last topic relates to emotions mothers might experience towards their infant. Results: Mothers from both cultural groups present some similar caring behaviors, which may express a universal aspect of mothers' behavior towards their infants. However, immigrant mothers differ significantly from native born by relying less on their mothers' and grandmothers' experience, they wean their infants from diapers earlier, they are stricter about hygiene and sanitary habits and they tend to consult a physician when their infant has low fever. Native born and immigrant mothers differ in their expressions of pride and wonder. Immigrant mothers report of a lesser degree of these emotions towards their infants than native born mothers. Conclusion: The theoretical model of socialization and acculturation of immigrant mothers is employed as an explanatory model for the current findings Young immigrant mothers undergo a complex acculturation process and adapt behavioral patterns in various areas to comply with Israeli norms and values, demonstrating assimilation. In other areas they adhere to the norms of their original culture.

Keywords: Attitudes, immigrant mothers, infant, physical health

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Authors: M. M. Bagheri, G. Doudak, M. Gong

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The in-plane rigidity of light frame diaphragms has been investigated by researchers due to the importance of this subsystem regarding lateral force distribution between the lateral force resisting system (LFRS). Where research has lacked is in evaluating the impact of out-of-plane raigidity of the diaphragm on the deflection of shear walls. This study aims at investigating the effect of the diaphragm on the behavior of wood light-frame shear walls, in particular its out-of-plane rigidity was simulated by modeling the floors as beam. The out of plane stiffness of the diaphragm was investigated for idealized (infinitely stiff or flexible) as well as “realistic”. The results showed reductions in the shear wall deflection in the magnitude of approximately 80% considering the out of plane rigidity of the diaphragm. It was also concluded that considering conservative estimates of out-of-plane stiffness might lead to a very significant reduction in deflection and that assuming the floor diaphragm to be infinitely rigid out of plan seems to be reasonable. For diaphragms supported on multiple panels, further reduction in the deflection was observed. More work, particularly at the experimental level, is needed to verify the finding obtained in the numerical investigation related to the effect of out of plane diaphragm stiffness.

Keywords: Deflection of light-frame wood shear walls, out-of-plane stiffness of the diaphragm, initial stiffness.

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Authors: Chanchal Biswas, Anrin Bhattacharyya, Gopes Chandra Das, Mahua Ghosh Chaudhuri, Rajib Dey

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Boiler coals with low fixed carbon and higher ash content have always challenged the metallurgists to develop a suitable method for their utilization. In the present study, an attempt is made to establish an energy effective method for the reduction of iron ore fines in the form of nuggets by using ‘Syngas’. By devolatisation (expulsion of volatile matter by applying heat) of boiler coal, gaseous product (enriched with reducing agents like CO, CO2, H2, and CH4 gases) is generated. Iron ore nuggets are reduced by this syngas. For that reason, there is no direct contact between iron ore nuggets and coal ash. It helps to control the minimization of the sulphur intake of the reduced nuggets. A laboratory scale devolatisation furnace designed with reduction facility is evaluated after in-depth studies and exhaustive experimentations including thermo-gravimetric (TG-DTA) analysis to find out the volatile fraction present in boiler grade coal, gas chromatography (GC) to find out syngas composition in different temperature and furnace temperature gradient measurements to minimize the furnace cost by applying one heating coil. The nuggets are reduced in the devolatisation furnace at three different temperatures and three different times. The pre-reduced nuggets are subjected to analytical weight loss calculations to evaluate the extent of reduction. The phase and surface morphology analysis of pre-reduced samples are characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), carbon sulphur analyzer and chemical analysis method. Degree of metallization of the reduced nuggets is 78.9% by using boiler grade coal. The pre-reduced nuggets with lesser sulphur content could be used in the blast furnace as raw materials or coolant which would reduce the high quality of coke rate of the furnace due to its pre-reduced character. These can be used in Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) as coolant also.

Keywords: Alternative ironmaking, coal devolatisation, extent of reduction, nugget making, syngas based DRI, solid state reduction.

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Authors: Syong-Yang Chung, Xin-An Chen

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This study aims to explore the less well-known animation “Final Flight of the Osiris”, consisting of an initial exploration of the film color, storyline, and the simulacrum meanings of the roles, which leads to a further exploration of the light-shadow contrast and the psychological images presented by the screen colors and the characters. The research is based on literature review, and all data was compiled for the analysis of the visual vocabulary evolution of the characters. In terms of the structure, the relational study of the animation and the historical background of that time came first, including The Wachowskis’ and Andy Jones’ impact towards the cinematographic version and the animation version of “The Matrix”. Through literature review, the film color, the meaning and the relevant points were clarified. It was found in this research that “Final Flight of the Osiris” separates the realistic and virtual spaces by the changing the color tones; the "self" of the audience gradually dissolves into the "virtual" in the simulacra world, and the "Animatrix" has become a virtual field for the audience to understand itself about "existence" and "self".

Keywords: The Matrix, The Final Flight of Osiris, Wachowski sisters, simulacrum.

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Authors: Roslinda Nazar, Amin Noor, Khamisah Jafar, Ioan Pop

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In this paper, the steady laminar three-dimensional boundary layer flow and heat transfer of a copper (Cu)-water nanofluid in the vicinity of a permeable shrinking flat surface in an otherwise quiescent fluid is studied. The nanofluid mathematical model in which the effect of the nanoparticle volume fraction is taken into account is considered. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation which is then solved numerically using the function bvp4c from Matlab. Dual solutions (upper and lower branch solutions) are found for the similarity boundary layer equations for a certain range of the suction parameter. A stability analysis has been performed to show which branch solutions are stable and physically realizable. The numerical results for the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number as well as the velocity and temperature profiles are obtained, presented and discussed in detail for a range of various governing parameters.

Keywords: Heat Transfer, Nanofluid, Shrinking Surface, Stability Analysis, Three-Dimensional Flow.

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Authors: Mihaela Mocanu

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The Romanian multilingual dictionaries – also named polyglot, plurilingual or polylingual dictionaries, have known a slow yet constant development starting with the end of the 17th century, when the first such work is attested, to the present time, when we witness a considerable increase of the number of polyglot dictionaries, especially the terminological ones. This paper aims at analyzing the context in which the first Romanian multilingual dictionaries were issued, as well as and the organization and structure particularities of the first lexicographic works of this type. The irretrievable loss of some of these works as well as the partial conservation of others renders the attempt to retrace the beginnings of Romanian lexicography extremely difficult. The research methodology is part of a descriptive and analytical approach based on two types of sources, subject to contrastive analysis: the notes made by the initiators of lexicographic projects and the testimonies of their contemporaries, respectively, along with the specialized studies regarding the history of the old Romanian lexicography. The analysis of the contents has indicated that these dictionaries lacked a scientific apparatus in the true sense of the phrase, failed to obey unitary organizational criteria, being limited, most of the times, to mere inventories of words, where the Romanian term was assigned its correspondent in other languages. Motivated by practical reasons, the first multilingual dictionaries were aimed at the clerics their purpose being to ensure the translators’ fidelity towards the original religious texts, regarded as sacred.

Keywords: Language, multilingual dictionary, Romanian lexicography, terminology.

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Authors: Khaled Halimi, Hassina Seridi-Bouchelaghem

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The purpose of this paper is to describe how learning analytics approaches based on social semantic web techniques can be applied to enhance the lifelong learning experiences in a connectivist perspective. For this reason, a prototype of a system called SoLearn (Social Learning Environment) that supports this approach. We observed and studied literature related to lifelong learning systems, social semantic web and ontologies, connectivism theory, learning analytics approaches and reviewed implemented systems based on these fields to extract and draw conclusions about necessary features for enhancing the lifelong learning process. The semantic analytics of learning can be used for viewing, studying and analysing the massive data generated by learners, which helps them to understand through recommendations, charts and figures their learning and behaviour, and to detect where they have weaknesses or limitations. This paper emphasises that implementing a learning analytics approach based on social semantic web representations can enhance the learning process. From one hand, the analysis process leverages the meaning expressed by semantics presented in the ontology (relationships between concepts). From the other hand, the analysis process exploits the discovery of new knowledge by means of inferring mechanism of the semantic web.

Keywords: Connectivism, data visualization, informal learning, learning analytics, semantic web, social web.

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Authors: Faisal Alazzaz, Andrew Whyte

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Off-site construction methods have played an important role in the construction sector in the past few decades. It is increasingly becoming a major alternative technique and strategic direction compared to traditional in-situ method. It produces a significant amount of value for the construction industry and the economy more generally. To date, an impressive number of studies have been lunched on the perceived perception of off-site construction. However, it seems that a quantifying benefit on the offsite construction area is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the recent research literature on the benefits of off- site construction and provides future direction. In the beginning, this paper provides a brief history and current value of the off-site construction followed by a detailed discussion on the benefit of off-site construction. These benefits include but not limited to time saving, quality improvement, relieving skills shortages, cost reduction and productivity improvement. Toward this end, off-site construction should learn from other productive industry similar to services or manufacturing industry by applying operational management tools and techniques with extensive focus on employee empowerment will shed the light on future uptake of Off-site construction. This study is of value in providing scholars have a clear picture of perceived benefit of off-site construction research and give an opportunities for future uptake of off-site method.

Keywords: Building projects, Employer empowerment, Off-site construction benefits, Productivity.

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Authors: Yujie Zhang

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There are debates around the legitimacy of capital punishment, i.e., whether death could serve as a proper execution in our legal system or not. Different arguments have been raised. However, none of them seem able to provide a determined answer to the issue; this results in a lack of instruction in the legal practice. This article, therefore, devotes itself to the effort to find such an answer. It takes the perspective of rights, through interpreting the concept of right to life, which capital punishment appears to be in confliction with in the two traditional approaches, to reveal a possibly best account of the right and its conclusion on capital punishment. However, this effort is not a normative one which focuses on what ought to be. It means the article does not try to work out which argument we should choose and solve the hot debate on whether capital punishment should be allowed or not. It, again, does not propose which perspective we should take to approach this issue or generally which account of right must be better; rather, it is more a thought experiment. It attempts to raise a new perspective to approach the issue of the legitimacy of capital punishment. Both its perspective and conclusion therefore are tentative: what if we view this issue in a way we have never tried before, for example the different accounts of right to life? In this sense, the perspective could be defied, while the conclusion could be rejected. Other perspectives and conclusions are also possible. Notwithstanding, this tentative perspective and account of the right still could not be denied from serving as a potential approach, since it does have the ability to provide us with a determined attitude toward capital punishment that is hard to achieve through existing arguments.

Keywords: Capital punishment, right to life, theories of rights, the choice theory.

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Authors: Ahmet Kivanc Kutluca, Semahat Ozdemir

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Urban disaster risks and vulnerabilities are great problems for Turkey. The annual loss of life and property through disaster in the world-s major metropolitan areas is increasing. Urban concentrations of the poor and less-informed in environmentally fragile locations suffer the impact of disaster disproportionately. Gecekondu (squatter) developments will compound the inherent risks associated with high-density environments, in appropriate technologies, and inadequate infrastructure. On the other hand, there are many geological disadvantages such as sitting on top of active tectonic plate boundaries, and why having avalanche, flood, and landslide and drought prone areas in Turkey. However, this natural formation is inevitable; the only way to survive in such a harsh geography is to be aware of importance of these natural events and to take political and physical measures. The main aim of this research is to bring up the magnitude of natural hazard risks in Izmir built-up zone, not being taken into consideration adequately. Because the dimensions of the peril are not taken seriously enough, the natural hazard risks, which are commonly well known, are not considered important or they are being forgotten after some time passes. Within this research, the magnitude of natural hazard risks for Izmir is being presented in the scope of concrete and local researches over Izmir risky areas.

Keywords: Earthquake, Flood, Landslide, Natural Hazard Planning.

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Authors: J. Y. Jang, Y. W. Lee, C. N. Lin, C. H. Wang

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The reheating furnace is used to reheat the steel slabs before the hot-rolling process. The supported system includes the stationary/moving beams, and the skid buttons which block some thermal radiation transmitted to the bottom of the slabs. Therefore, it is important to analyze the steel slab temperature distribution during the heating period. A three-dimensional mathematical transient heat transfer model for the prediction of temperature distribution within the slab has been developed. The effects of different skid button height (H=60mm, 90mm, and 120mm) and different gap distance between two slabs (S=50mm, 75mm, and 100mm) on the slab skid mark formation and temperature profiles are investigated. Comparison with the in-situ experimental data from Steel Company in Taiwan shows that the present heat transfer model works well for the prediction of thermal behavior of the slab in the reheating furnace. It is found that the skid mark severity decreases with an increase in the skid button height. The effect of gap distance is important only for the slab edge planes, while it is insignificant for the slab central planes.

Keywords: 3-D, slab, transient heat conduction, reheating furnace, thermal radiation.

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Authors: Gholamreza Habibi

Abstract:

In order to study seed yield and seed yield components in bean under reduced irrigation condition and assessment drought tolerance of genotypes, 15 lines of White beans were evaluated in two separate RCB design with 3 replications under stress and non stress conditions. Analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences among varieties in terms of traits under study, indicating the existence of genetic variation among varieties. The results indicate that drought stress reduced seed yield, number of seed per plant, biological yield and number of pod in White been. In non stress condition, yield was highly correlated with the biological yield, whereas in stress condition it was highly correlated with harvest index. Results of stepwise regression showed that, selection can we done based on, biological yield, harvest index, number of seed per pod, seed length, 100 seed weight. Result of path analysis showed that the highest direct effect, being positive, was related to biological yield in non stress and to harvest index in stress conditions. Factor analysis were accomplished in stress and nonstress condition a, there were 4 factors that explained more than 76 percent of total variations. We used several selection indices such as Stress Susceptibility Index ( SSI ), Geometric Mean Productivity ( GMP ), Mean Productivity ( MP ), Stress Tolerance Index ( STI ) and Tolerance Index ( TOL ) to study drought tolerance of genotypes, we found that the best Stress Index for selection tolerance genotypes were STI, GMP and MP were the greatest correlations between these Indices and seed yield under stress and non stress conditions. In classification of genotypes base on phenotypic characteristics, using cluster analysis ( UPGMA ), all allels classified in 5 separate groups in stress and non stress conditions.

Keywords: Cluster analysis, factor analysis, path analysis, selection index, White bean

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Authors: Daliyah S. Aljutaili, Redna A. Almutlaq, Suha A. Alharbi, Dina M. Ibrahim

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All currencies around the world look very different from each other. For instance, the size, color, and pattern of the paper are different. With the development of modern banking services, automatic methods for paper currency recognition become important in many applications like vending machines. One of the currency recognition architecture’s phases is Feature detection and description. There are many algorithms that are used for this phase, but they still have some disadvantages. This paper proposes a feature detection algorithm, which merges the advantages given in the current SIFT and SURF algorithms, which we call, Speeded up Robust Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SR-SIFT) algorithm. Our proposed SR-SIFT algorithm overcomes the problems of both the SIFT and SURF algorithms. The proposed algorithm aims to speed up the SIFT feature detection algorithm and keep it robust. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed SR-SIFT algorithm decreases the average response time, especially in small and minimum number of best key points, increases the distribution of the number of best key points on the surface of the currency. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm increases the accuracy of the true best point distribution inside the currency edge than the other two algorithms.

Keywords: Currency recognition, feature detection and description, SIFT algorithm, SURF algorithm, speeded up and robust features.

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Authors: M. Almas Anjum, M. Younus Javed, A. Basit

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In this paper a new approach to face recognition is presented that achieves double dimension reduction, making the system computationally efficient with better recognition results and out perform common DCT technique of face recognition. In pattern recognition techniques, discriminative information of image increases with increase in resolution to a certain extent, consequently face recognition results change with change in face image resolution and provide optimal results when arriving at a certain resolution level. In the proposed model of face recognition, initially image decimation algorithm is applied on face image for dimension reduction to a certain resolution level which provides best recognition results. Due to increased computational speed and feature extraction potential of Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), it is applied on face image. A subset of coefficients of DCT from low to mid frequencies that represent the face adequately and provides best recognition results is retained. A tradeoff between decimation factor, number of DCT coefficients retained and recognition rate with minimum computation is obtained. Preprocessing of the image is carried out to increase its robustness against variations in poses and illumination level. This new model has been tested on different databases which include ORL , Yale and EME color database.

Keywords: Biometrics, DCT, Face Recognition, Illumination, Computation, Feature extraction.

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Authors: E. Seidi

Abstract:

Offset Double-Disk Opener (DDO) is a popular furrow opener in conservation tillage. It has some limitations such as negative suction to penetrate in the soil, hair pinning and mixing seed and fertilizer in the slot. Because of importance of separation of seed and fertilizer in the slot, by adding two horizontal mini disks to DDO a modified opener was made (MDO) which placed the fertilizer between and under two rows of seed. To consider performance of novel opener an indoor comparison test between DDO and MDO was performed at soil bin. The experiment was conducted with three working speeds (3, 6 and 8 km h-1), two bulk densities of soil (1.1 and 1.4 Mg m-3) and two levels of residues (1 and 2 ton ha-1). The experimental design consisted in a (3×2×2) complete randomized factorial with three replicates for each test. Moisture of seed furrow, separation of seed and fertilizer, hair pinning and resultant forces acting on the openers were used as assessing indexes. There was no significant difference between soil moisture content in slots created by DDO and MDO at 0-4 cm depth, but at 4-8 cm the in the slot created by MDO moisture content was higher about 9%. Horizontal force for both openers increased with increasing speed and soil bulk density. Vertical force for DDO was negative so it needed additional weight for penetrating in the soil, but vertical force for MDO was positive and, which can solve the challenge of penetration in the soil in DDO. In soft soil with heavy residues some trash was pushed by DDO into seed furrow (hair pinning) but at MDO seed were placed at clean groove. Lateral and vertical separation of seed and fertilizer was performed effectively by MDO (4.5 and 5 cm, respectively) while DDO put seed and fertilizer close to each other. Overall, the Modified Offset Double-disks (MDO) had better performance. So by adapting this opener with no-tillage drillers it would possible to have higher yield in conservation tillage where the most appropriate opener is disk type.

Keywords: Seed Slot, opener's geometry, physical properties.

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Authors: K. Vijayalakshmi, S. Radhakrishnan

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In this paper we have proposed a novel dynamic least cost multicast routing protocol using hybrid genetic algorithm for IP networks. Our protocol finds the multicast tree with minimum cost subject to delay, degree, and bandwidth constraints. The proposed protocol has the following features: i. Heuristic local search function has been devised and embedded with normal genetic operation to increase the speed and to get the optimized tree, ii. It is efficient to handle the dynamic situation arises due to either change in the multicast group membership or node / link failure, iii. Two different crossover and mutation probabilities have been used for maintaining the diversity of solution and quick convergence. The simulation results have shown that our proposed protocol generates dynamic multicast tree with lower cost. Results have also shown that the proposed algorithm has better convergence rate, better dynamic request success rate and less execution time than other existing algorithms. Effects of degree and delay constraints have also been analyzed for the multicast tree interns of search success rate.

Keywords: Dynamic Group membership change, Hybrid Genetic Algorithm, Link / node failure, QoS Parameters.

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Authors: Hayder Kamil Shanbara, Felicite Ruddock, William Atherton, Nassier A. Nassir

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Cold bitumen emulsion mixture (CBEM) offers a series benefits as compared with hot mix asphalt (HMA); these include environmental factors, energy saving, the resolution of logistical challenges that can characterise hot mix, and the potential to reserve funds. However, this mixture has some problems similar to any bituminous mixtures as it has low early strength, long curing time that needed to obtain the maximum performance, high air voids and considered inferior to HMA. Thus, CBEM has been used in limited applications such as lightly trafficked roads, footways and reinstatements. This laboratory study describes the development of CBEM using ordinary Portland cement (OPC) instead of the traditional mineral filler. Stiffness modulus, moisture damage and temperature sensitivity tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the produced mixtures. The study concluded that there is a substantial improvement in the mechanical properties and moisture damage resistance of CBEMs containing OPC. Also, the produced cement modified CBEM shows a considerable lower thermal sensitivity than the conventional CBEM.

Keywords: Cold bitumen emulsion mixture, moisture damage, OPC, stiffness modulus, temperature sensitivity.

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Authors: M. A. Sedghamiz, S. Raeissi

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This study presents three different approaches to estimate bubble point pressures for the binary system of CO2 and ethyl palmitate fatty acid ethyl ester. The first method involves the Peng-Robinson (PR) Equation of State (EoS) with the conventional mixing rule of Van der Waals. The second approach involves the PR EOS together with the Wong Sandler (WS) mixing rule, coupled with the UNIQUAC GE model. In order to model the bubble point pressures with this approach, the volume and area parameter for ethyl palmitate were estimated by the Hansen group contribution method. The last method involved the Peng-Robinson, combined with the Wong-Sandler method, but using NRTL as the GE model. Results using the Van der Waals mixing rule clearly indicated that this method has the largest errors among all three methods, with errors in the range of 3.96-6.22%. The PR-WS-UNIQUAC method exhibited small errors, with average absolute deviations between 0.95 to 1.97 percent. The PR-WS-NRTL method led to the least errors, where average absolute deviations ranged between 0.65-1.7%.

Keywords: Bubble pressure, Gibbs excess energy model, mixing rule, CO2 solubility, ethyl palmitate.

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Authors: Thomas Bryan, Veton Kepuska, Ivica Kostanic

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A simple adaptive voice activity detector (VAD) is implemented using Gabor and gammatone atomic decomposition of speech for high Gaussian noise environments. Matching pursuit is used for atomic decomposition, and is shown to achieve optimal speech detection capability at high data compression rates for low signal to noise ratios. The most active dictionary elements found by matching pursuit are used for the signal reconstruction so that the algorithm adapts to the individual speakers dominant time-frequency characteristics. Speech has a high peak to average ratio enabling matching pursuit greedy heuristic of highest inner products to isolate high energy speech components in high noise environments. Gabor and gammatone atoms are both investigated with identical logarithmically spaced center frequencies, and similar bandwidths. The algorithm performs equally well for both Gabor and gammatone atoms with no significant statistical differences. The algorithm achieves 70% accuracy at a 0 dB SNR, 90% accuracy at a 5 dB SNR and 98% accuracy at a 20dB SNR using 30d B SNR as a reference for voice activity.

Keywords: Atomic Decomposition, Gabor, Gammatone, Matching Pursuit, Voice Activity Detection.

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Authors: Ji Wenzhan, Zhang Tao, Li Guoyou

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Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world. At the same time, the world produces a large amount of construction waste each year. Waste concrete is processed and treated, and the recycled aggregate is used to make pervious concrete, which enables the construction waste to be recycled. Pervious concrete has many advantages such as permeability to water, protection of water resources, and so on. This paper tests the recycled aggregate obtained by crushing high-strength waste concrete (TOU) and low-strength waste concrete (PU), and analyzes the effect of porosity, amount of cement, mineral admixture and recycled aggregate on the strength of permeable concrete. The porosity is inversely proportional to the strength, and the amount of cement used is proportional to the strength. The mineral admixture can effectively improve the workability of the mixture. The quality of recycled aggregates had a significant effect on strength. Compared with concrete using "PU" aggregates, the strength of 7d and 28d concrete using "TOU" aggregates increased by 69.0% and 73.3%, respectively. Therefore, the quality of recycled aggregates should be strictly controlled during production, and the mix ratio should be designed according to different use environments and usage requirements. This test prepared a recycled aggregate permeable concrete with a compressive strength of 35.8 MPa, which can be used for light load roads and provides a reference for engineering applications.

Keywords: Recycled aggregate, pervious concrete, compressive strength, permeability.

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Authors: A. A. Abaker Omer, H. B. Mohamed Balh, W. Liu, A. Abas, J. Yu, S. Li, W. Ma, W. El Kolaly, Y. Y. Ahmed Abuker

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We have discovered an important technical solution that could make new approaches in the processing of wet silicon etching, especially in the production of photovoltaic cells. During its inferior light-trapping and structural properties, the inverted pyramid structure outperforms the conventional pyramid textures and black silicone. The traditional pyramid textures and black silicon can only be accomplished with more advanced lithography, laser processing, etc. Importantly, our data demonstrate the feasibility of an inverted pyramidal structure of silicon via one-step Cu-catalyzed chemical etching (CCCE) in Cu (NO₃)₂/HF/H₂O₂/H₂O solutions. The effects of etching time and reaction temperature on surface geometry and light trapping were systematically investigated. The conclusion shows that the inverted pyramid structure has ultra-low reflectivity of ~4.2% in the wavelength of 300~1000 nm; introduce of Cu particles can significantly accelerate the dissolution of the silicon wafer. The etching and the inverted pyramid structure formation mechanism are discussed. Inverted pyramid structure with outstanding anti-reflectivity includes useful applications throughout the manufacture of semi-conductive industry-compatible solar cells, and can have significant impacts on industry colleagues and populations.

Keywords: Cu-catalyzed chemical etching, inverted pyramid nanostructured, reflection, solar cells.

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Authors: Surendra K Pandey

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Optical emission based on excitonic scattering processes becomes important in dense exciton systems in which the average distance between excitons is of the order of a few Bohr radii but still below the exciton screening threshold. The phenomena due to interactions among excited states play significant role in the emission near band edge of the material. The theory of two-exciton collisions for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well systems is a mild attempt to understand the physics associated with the optical spectra due to excitonic scattering processes in these novel systems. The four typical processes considered give different spectral shape, peak position and temperature dependence of the emission spectra. We have used the theory of scattering together with the second order perturbation theory to derive the radiative power spontaneously emitted at an energy ħω by these processes. The results arrived at are purely qualitative in nature. The intensity of emitted light in quantum well systems varies inversely to the square of temperature, whereas in case of bulk materials it simply decreases with the  temperature.

Keywords: Exciton-Exciton Collisions, Excitonic Scattering Processes, Interacting Excitonic States, Quantum Wells.

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Authors: Foad Hassaninejadafarahani, Scott Ormiston

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Reflux condensation occurs in vertical channels and tubes when there is an upward core flow of vapour (or gas-vapour mixture) and a downward flow of the liquid film. The understanding of this condensation configuration is crucial in the design of reflux condensers, distillation columns, and in loss-of-coolant safety analyses in nuclear power plant steam generators. The unique feature of this flow is the upward flow of the vapour-gas mixture (or pure vapour) that retards the liquid flow via shear at the liquid-mixture interface. The present model solves the full, elliptic governing equations in both the film and the gas-vapour core flow. The computational mesh is non-orthogonal and adapts dynamically the phase interface, thus produces a sharp and accurate interface. Shear forces and heat and mass transfer at the interface are accounted for fundamentally. This modeling is a big step ahead of current capabilities by removing the limitations of previous reflux condensation models which inherently cannot account for the detailed local balances of shear, mass, and heat transfer at the interface. Discretisation has been done based on finite volume method and co-located variable storage scheme. An in-house computer code was developed to implement the numerical solution scheme. Detailed results are presented for laminar reflux condensation from steam-air mixtures flowing in vertical parallel plate channels. The results include velocity and gas mass fraction profiles, as well as axial variations of film thickness.

Keywords: Reflux Condensation, Heat Transfer, Channel, Laminar Flow

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Authors: Mohamad Muqtada Ali Khan, Nor Ashikin Shaari, Donny Adriansyah Bin Nazaruddin, Hafzan Eva Bt Mansoor

Abstract:

Floods play a key role in landform evolution of an area. This process is likely to alter the topography of the earth’s surface. The present study area, Kota Bharu is very prone to floods extends from upstream of Kelantan River near Kemubu to the downstream area near Kuala Besar. These flood events which occur every year in the study area exhibit a strong bearing on river morphological set-up. In the present study, three satellite imageries of different time periods have been used to manifest the post-flood landform changes. The pre-processing of the images such as subset, geometric corrections and atmospheric corrections were carried-out using ENVI 4.5 followed by the analysis processes. Twenty sets of cross sections were plotted using software Erdas 9.2, ERDAS and ArcGis 10 for the all three images. The results show a significant change in the length of the cross section which suggest that the geomorphological processes play a key role in carving and shaping the river banks during the floods. 

Keywords: Flood Induced, Geomorphic imprints, Kelantan river, Malaysia.

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Authors: Mohamed Gouskir, Belaid Bouikhalene, Hicham Aissaoui, Benachir Elhadadi

Abstract:

In this paper, we present an application of Riemannian geometry for processing non-Euclidean image data. We consider the image as residing in a Riemannian manifold, for developing a new method to brain edge detection and brain extraction. Automating this process is a challenge due to the high diversity in appearance brain tissue, among different patients and sequences. The main contribution, in this paper, is the use of an edge-based anisotropic diffusion tensor for the segmentation task by integrating both image edge geometry and Riemannian manifold (geodesic, metric tensor) to regularize the convergence contour and extract complex anatomical structures. We check the accuracy of the segmentation results on simulated brain MRI scans of single T1-weighted, T2-weighted and Proton Density sequences. We validate our approach using two different databases: BrainWeb database, and MRI Multiple sclerosis Database (MRI MS DB). We have compared, qualitatively and quantitatively, our approach with the well-known brain extraction algorithms. We show that using a Riemannian manifolds to medical image analysis improves the efficient results to brain extraction, in real time, outperforming the results of the standard techniques.

Keywords: Riemannian manifolds, Riemannian Tensor, Brain Segmentation, Non-Euclidean data, Brain Extraction.

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Authors: Khalil Ur Rehman, M. Y. Malik, Usman Ali

Abstract:

In this paper, the problem proposed by Von Karman is treated in the attendance of additional flow field effects when the liquid is spaced above the rotating rigid disk. To be more specific, a purely viscous fluid flow yield by rotating rigid disk with Navier’s condition is considered in both magnetohydrodynamic and hydrodynamic frames. The rotating flow regime is manifested with heat source/sink and chemically reactive species. Moreover, the features of thermophoresis and Brownian motion are reported by considering nanofluid model. The flow field formulation is obtained mathematically in terms of high order differential equations. The reduced system of equations is solved numerically through self-coded computational algorithm. The pertinent outcomes are discussed systematically and provided through graphical and tabular practices. A simultaneous way of study makes this attempt attractive in this sense that the article contains dual framework and validation of results with existing work confirms the execution of self-coded algorithm for fluid flow regime over a rotating rigid disk.

Keywords: Nanoparticles, Newtonian fluid model, chemical reaction, heat source/sink.

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Authors: Yuxuan Huang, Weixin Qian, Hongfang Ma, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying

Abstract:

Light olefins are important building blocks for chemical industry. Direct conversion of syngas to light olefins has been investigated for decades. Meanwhile, the limit for light olefins selectivity described by Anderson-Schulz-Flory (ASF) distribution model is still a great challenge to conventional Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The emerging strategy called oxide-zeolite concept (OX-ZEO) is a promising way to get rid of this limit. ZnCrO_x was prepared by co-precipitation method and (NH₄)₂CO₃ was used as precipitant. SAPO-34 was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis, and Tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH) was used as template, while silica sol, pseudo-boehmite, and phosphoric acid were Al, Si and P source, respectively. The bifunctional catalyst was prepared by mechanical mixing of ZnCrO_x and SAPO-34. Catalytic reactions were carried out under H₂/CO=2, 380 ℃, 1 MPa and 6000 mL·g_cat^-1·h^-1 in a fixed-bed reactor with a quartz lining. Catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, NH₃-TPD, H₂-TPR, and CO-TPD. The addition of Al as structure promoter enhances CO conversion and selectivity to light olefins. Zn/Cr ratio, which decides the active component content and chemisorption property of the catalyst, influences CO conversion and selectivity to light olefins at the same time. C_2-4⁼ distribution of 86% among hydrocarbons at CO conversion of 14% was reached when Zn/Cr=1.5.

Keywords: Light olefins, OX-ZEO, syngas, ZnCrOx.

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Authors: K. Benyounes, A. Benmounah

Abstract:

Cement-based grouts has been used successfully to repair cracks in many concrete structures such as bridges, tunnels, buildings and to consolidate soils or rock foundations. In the present study the rheological characterization of cement grout with water/binder ratio (W/B) is fixed at 0.5. The effect of the replacement of cement by bentonite (2 to 10% wt) in presence of superplasticizer (0.5% wt) was investigated. Several rheological tests were carried out by using controlled-stress rheometer equipped with vane geometry in temperature of 20°C. To highlight the influence of bentonite and superplasticizer on the rheological behavior of grout cement, various flow tests in a range of shear rate from 0 to 200 s-1 were observed. Cement grout showed a non-Newtonian viscosity behavior at all concentrations of bentonite. Three parameter model Herschel- Bulkley was chosen for fitting of experimental data. Based on the values of correlation coefficients of the estimated parameters, The Herschel-Bulkley law model well described the rheological behavior of the grouts. Test results showed that the dosage of bentonite increases the viscosity and yield stress of the system and introduces more thixotropy. While the addition of both bentonite and superplasticizer with cement grout improve significantly the fluidity and reduced the yield stress due to the action of dispersion of SP.

Keywords: Cement grout, bentonite, superplasticizer, viscosity, yield stress.

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Authors: A. Kospach, A. Mladek, M. Waltenberger, F. Schilling

Abstract:

In this work, a coupled 1D/3D simulation approach for thermal protection and optimization of a trailer refrigeration power pack unit was developed. With the developed 1D/3D simulation approach thermal critical scenarios, such as summer, high-load scenarios are investigated. The 1D thermal model was built up consisting of the thermal network, which includes different point masses and associated heat transfers, the coolant and oil circuits, as well as the fan unit. The 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to model the air flow through the power pack unit considering convective heat transfer effects. In the 1D thermal model the temperatures of the individual point masses were calculated, which served as input variables for the 3D CFD model. For the calculation of the point mass temperatures in the 1D thermal model, the convective heat transfer rates from the 3D CFD model were required as input variables. These two variables (point mass temperatures and convective heat transfer rates) were the main couple variables for the coupled 1D/3D simulation model. The coupled 1D/3D model was validated with measurements under normal operating conditions. Coupled simulations for summer high-load case were than performed and compared with a reference case under normal operation conditions. Hot temperature regions and components could be identified. Due to the detailed information about the flow field, temperatures and heat fluxes, it was possible to directly derive improvement suggestions for the cooling design of the transport refrigeration power pack unit.

Keywords: Coupled thermal simulation, thermal analysis, transport refrigeration unit, 3D computational fluid dynamics, 1D thermal modelling, thermal management systems.

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Authors: Samera Salimpour Abkenar

Abstract:

In traditional dyeing of natural fibers with natural dyes, metal salts are commonly used to increase color stability. This method always carries the risk of environmental pollution (contamination of arable soils and fresh groundwater) due to the release of dyeing effluents containing large amounts of metal. Therefore, researchers are always looking for new methods to obtain a green dyeing system. In this research, the use of the enzymatic dyeing method to prevent environmental pollution with metals and reduce production costs has been proposed. After degumming and bleaching, raw silk fabrics were dyed with natural dyes (Madder and Sumac) by three methods (pre-mordanting with a metal salt, one-step enzymatic dyeing, and two-step enzymatic dyeing). Results show that silk dyed with natural dyes by the enzymatic method has higher color strength and colorfastness than the pretreated with a metal salt. Also, the amount of remained dyes in the dyeing wastewater is significantly reduced by the enzymatic method. It is found that the enzymatic dyeing method leads to improvement of dye absorption, color strength, soft hand, no change in color shade, low production costs (due to low dyeing temperature), and a significant reduction in environmental pollution.

Keywords: Eco-friendly, natural dyes, silk, traditional dyeing.

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