Search results for: knowledge structures.

Authors: Kati Kõrbe Kaare, Kristjan Kuhi, Ott Koppel

Abstract:

Transportation authorities need to provide the services and facilities that are critical to every country-s well-being and development. Management of the road network is becoming increasingly challenging as demands increase and resources are limited. Public sector institutions are integrating performance information into budgeting, managing and reporting via implementing performance measurement systems. In the face of growing challenges, performance measurement of road networks is attracting growing interest in many countries. The large scale of public investments makes the maintenance and development of road networks an area where such systems are an important assessment tool. Transportation agencies have been using performance measurement and modeling as part of pavement and bridge management systems. Recently the focus has been on extending the process to applications in road construction and maintenance systems, operations and safety programs, and administrative structures and procedures. To eliminate failure and dysfunctional consequences the importance of obtaining objective data and implementing evaluation instrument where necessary is presented in this paper

Keywords: Key performance indicators, performance measurement system, evaluation, system architecture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2010

Authors: Gabriela R. Fernandes, Renato F. Denadai, Guido J. Denipotti

Abstract:

In this work, are discussed two formulations of the boundary element method - BEM to perform linear bending analysis of plates reinforced by beams. Both formulations are based on the Kirchhoff's hypothesis and they are obtained from the reciprocity theorem applied to zoned plates, where each sub-region defines a beam or a slab. In the first model the problem values are defined along the interfaces and the external boundary. Then, in order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom kinematics hypothesis are assumed along the beam cross section, leading to a second formulation where the collocation points are defined along the beam skeleton, instead of being placed on interfaces. On these formulations no approximation of the generalized forces along the interface is required. Moreover, compatibility and equilibrium conditions along the interface are automatically imposed by the integral equation. Thus, these formulations require less approximation and the total number of the degree s of freedom is reduced. In the numerical examples are discussed the differences between these two BEM formulations, comparing as well the results to a well-known finite element code.

Keywords: Boundary elements, Building floor structures, Platebending.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1663

Authors: Abdesh Toleubayev, Rinat Zhumatayev, Kulzhazira Toleubayeva

Abstract:

Mounds are one of the most valuable sources of information on various aspects of life, household skills, rituals and beliefs of the ancient peoples of Kazakhstan. Moreover, the objects associated with the cult of the burial of the dead are the most informative, and often the only source of knowledge about past eras. The present study is devoted to some results of the excavations carried out on the mound "Baygetobe" of Shilikti burial ground. The purpose of the work is associated with certain categories of grave goods and reading "Fine Text" of Shilikti graves, whose structure is the same for burials of nobles and ordinary graves. The safety of a royal burial mounds, the integrity and completeness of the source are of particular value for studying.

Keywords: Animal style, barrow, Baygetobe, dromos, Shilikty.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2448

Authors: A. Faro, D. Giordano, C. Spampinato

Abstract:

Traffic management in an urban area is highly facilitated by the knowledge of the traffic conditions in every street or highway involved in the vehicular mobility system. Aim of the paper is to propose a neuro-fuzzy approach able to compute the main parameters of a traffic system, i.e., car density, velocity and flow, by using the images collected by the web-cams located at the crossroads of the traffic network. The performances of this approach encourage its application when the traffic system is far from the saturation. A fuzzy model is also outlined to evaluate when it is suitable to use more accurate, even if more time consuming, algorithms for measuring traffic conditions near to saturation.

Keywords: Neuro-fuzzy networks, computer vision, Fuzzy systems, intelligent transportation system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1591

Authors: E. A. Asabina, V. I. Pet'kov, P. A. Mayorov, A. V. Markin, N. N. Smirnova, A. M. Kovalskii, A. A. Usenko

Abstract:

The purpose of this work was to synthesize and investigate phase formation, structure and thermophysical properties of the phosphates M_0.5+xM'_xZr_2–x(PO₄)₃ (M – Cd, Sr, Pb; M' – Mg, Co, Mn). The compounds were synthesized by sol-gel method. The results showed formation of limited solid solutions of NZP/NASICON type. The crystal structures of triple phosphates of the compositions MMg_0.5Zr_1.5(PO₄)₃ were refined by the Rietveld method using XRD data. Heat capacity (8–660 K) of the phosphates Pb_0.5+xMg_xZr_2-x(PO₄)₃ (x = 0, 0.5) was measured, and reversible polymorphic transitions were found at temperatures, close to the room temperature. The results of Rietveld structure refinement showed the polymorphism caused by disordering of lead cations in the cavities of NZP/NASICON structure. Thermal expansion (298−1073 K) of the phosphates MMg_0.5Zr_1.5(PO₄)₃ was studied by XRD method, and the compounds were found to belong to middle and low-expanding materials. Thermal diffusivity (298–573 K) of the ceramic samples of phosphates slightly decreased with temperature increasing. As was demonstrated, the studied phosphates are characterized by the better thermophysical characteristics than widespread fire-resistant materials, such as zirconia and etc.

Keywords: NASICON, NZP, phosphate, structure, synthesis, thermophysical properties.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 838

Authors: S. Dorbani, M. Badaoui, D. Benouar

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of the building fundamental period of reinforced concrete buildings of (6, 9, and 12-storey), with different floor plans: Symmetric, mono-symmetric, and unsymmetric. These structures are erected at different epicentral distances. Using the Boumerdes, Algeria (2003) earthquake data, we focused primarily on the establishment of the deterministic formulation linking the base shear force to two parameters: The first one is the fundamental period that represents the numerical fingerprint of the structure, and the second one is the epicentral distance used to represent the impact of the earthquake on this force. In a second step, with a view to highlight the effect of uncertainty in these parameters on the analyzed response, these parameters are modeled as random variables with a log-normal distribution. The variability of the coefficients of variation of the chosen uncertain parameters, on the statistics on the seismic base shear force, showed that the effect of uncertainty on fundamental period on this force statistics is low compared to the epicentral distance uncertainty influence.

Keywords: Base shear force, fundamental period, epicentral distance, uncertainty, lognormal variable, statistics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1300

Authors: Vivekanandan C., Prabhakar .R., Prema D.

Abstract:

This paper presents the application of discrete-time variable structure control with sliding mode based on the 'reaching law' method for robust control of a 'simple inverted pendulum on moving cart' - a standard nonlinear benchmark system. The controllers designed using the above techniques are completely insensitive to parametric uncertainty and external disturbance. The controller design is carried out using pole placement technique to find state feedback gain matrix , which decides the dynamic behavior of the system during sliding mode. This is followed by feedback gain realization using the control law which is synthesized from 'Gao-s reaching law'. The model of a single inverted pendulum and the discrete variable structure control controller are developed, simulated in MATLAB-SIMULINK and results are presented. The response of this simulation is compared with that of the discrete linear quadratic regulator (DLQR) and the advantages of sliding mode controller over DLQR are also presented

Keywords: Inverted pendulum, Variable Structure, Sliding mode control, Discrete-time systems, Nonlinear systems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2002

Authors: Gökhan Yüksel, Serdar Akça, İlker Kalkan

Abstract:

The present study is an attempt to demonstrate the significant levels of contribution of the moment-resisting beam-column connections with side plates to the earthquake behavior of special steel moment frames. To this end, the moment-curvature relationships of a regular beam-column connection and its SidePlate counterpart were determined with the help of finite element analyses. The connection stiffness and deformability values from these finite element analyses were used in the linear time-history analyses of an example structural steel frame under three different seismic excitations. The top-story lateral drift, base shear, and overturning moment values in two orthogonal directions were obtained from these time-history analyses and compared to each other. The results revealed the improvements in the system response with the use of SidePlate connections. The paper ends with crucial recommendations for the plan and design of further studies on this very topic.

Keywords: Seismic detailing, special moment frame, steel structures, beam-column connection, earthquake-resistant design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 526

Authors: Arshia Azam, J. Amarnath, Ch. D. V. Paradesi Rao

Abstract:

The advantage of solving the complex nonlinear problems by utilizing fuzzy logic methodologies is that the experience or expert-s knowledge described as a fuzzy rule base can be directly embedded into the systems for dealing with the problems. The current limitation of appropriate and automated designing of fuzzy controllers are focused in this paper. The structure discovery and parameter adjustment of the Branched T-S fuzzy model is addressed by a hybrid technique of type constrained sparse tree algorithms. The simulation result for different system model is evaluated and the identification error is observed to be minimum.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, branch T-S fuzzy model, tree modeling, complex nonlinear system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1388

Authors: Dingding Chen, Kazuo Arakawa, Masakazu Uchino, Changheng Xu

Abstract:

Vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) is a promising manufacture process for making large and complex fiber reinforced composite structures. However, the complexity of the flow of the resin in the infusion stage usually leads to nonuniform property distribution of the produced composite part. In order to control the flow of the resin, the situation of flow should be mastered. For the safety of the usage of the produced composite in practice, the understanding of the property distribution is essential. In this paper, we did some trials on monitoring the resin infusion stage and evaluation for the fiber volume fraction distribution of the VARTM produced composite using the digital image correlation methods. The results showthat3D-DIC is valid on monitoring the resin infusion stage and it is possible to use 2D-DIC to estimate the distribution of the fiber volume fraction on a FRP plate.

Keywords: Digital image correlation, VARTM, FRP, fiber volume fraction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2434

Authors: S. A. Naeini, M. Hamidzadeh

Abstract:

Today, with the daily advancement of geotechnical engineering on soil improvement and modification of the physical properties and shear strength of soil, it is now possible to construct structures with high-volume and high service load on loose sandy soils. One of such methods is using micropiles, which are mostly used to control asymmetrical subsidence, increase bearing capacity, and prevent soil liquefaction. This study examined the improvement of Anzali's saturated loose silty sand using 192 micropiles with a length of 8 meters and diameter of 75 mm. Bandar-e Anzali is one of Iran's coastal populated cities which are located in a high-seismicity region. The effects of the insertion of micropiles on prevention of liquefaction and improvement of subsidence were examined through comparison of the results of Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Plate Load Test (PLT) before and after implementation of the micropiles. The results show that the SPT values and the ultimate bearing capacity of silty sand increased after the implementation of the micropiles. Therefore, the installation of micropiles increases the strength of silty sand improving the resistance of soil against liquefaction.

Keywords: Soil improvement, silty sand, micropiles, SPT, PLT, strength.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1325

Authors: Kourosh Nazarian

Abstract:

Many of the engineering materials, such as behavioral metals, have at least a certain level of linear behavior. It means that if the stresses are doubled, the deformations would be also doubled. In fact, these materials have linear elastic properties. Soils do not follow this law, for example, when compressed, soils become gradually tighter. On the surface of the ground, the sand can be easily deformed with a finger, but in high compressive stresses, they gain considerable hardness and strength. This is mainly due to the increase in the forces among the separate particles. Creeps also deform the soils under a constant load over time. Clay and peat soils have creep behavior. As a result of this phenomenon, structures constructed on such soils will continue their collapse over time. In this paper, the researchers analyzed and modeled the stresses and creeps in the southern plains of Kerman province in Iran through library-documentary, quantitative and software techniques, and field survey. The results of the modeling showed that these plains experienced severe stresses and had a collapse of about 26 cm in the last 15 years and also creep evidence was discovered in an area with a gradient of 3-6 degrees.

Keywords: Stress, creep, surface runoff.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 716

Authors: Arslan Qamar Malik, Jehanzeb Ahmad

Abstract:

The paper presents a novel idea to control computer mouse cursor movement with human eyes. In this paper, a working of the product has been described as to how it helps the special people share their knowledge with the world. Number of traditional techniques such as Head and Eye Movement Tracking Systems etc. exist for cursor control by making use of image processing in which light is the primary source. Electro-oculography (EOG) is a new technology to sense eye signals with which the mouse cursor can be controlled. The signals captured using sensors, are first amplified, then noise is removed and then digitized, before being transferred to PC for software interfacing.

Keywords: Human Computer Interaction, Real-Time System, Electro-oculography, Signal Processing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4246

Authors: Cinna Soltanpur, Mohammad Ghamari, Behzad Momahed Heravi, Fatemeh Zare

Abstract:

Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have been shown to deliver capacity approaching performance; however, problematic graphical structures (e.g. trapping sets) in the Tanner graph of some LDPC codes can cause high error floors in bit-error-ratio (BER) performance under conventional sum-product algorithm (SPA). This paper presents a serial concatenation scheme to avoid the trapping sets and to lower the error floors of LDPC code. The outer code in the proposed concatenation is the LDPC, and the inner code is a high rate array code. This approach applies an interactive hybrid process between the BCJR decoding for the array code and the SPA for the LDPC code together with bit-pinning and bit-flipping techniques. Margulis code of size (2640, 1320) has been used for the simulation and it has been shown that the proposed concatenation and decoding scheme can considerably improve the error floor performance with minimal rate loss.

Keywords: Concatenated coding, low–density parity–check codes, array code, error floors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 992

Authors: J. T. Manhire

Abstract:

A tax authority wants to take actions it knows will foster the greatest degree of voluntary taxpayer compliance to reduce the “tax gap.” This paper suggests that even if a tax authority could attain a state of complete knowledge, there are constraints on whether and to what extent such actions would result in reducing the macro-level tax gap. These limits are not merely a consequence of finite agency resources. They are inherent in the system itself. To show that this is one possible interpretation of the tax gap data, the paper formulates known results in a different way by analyzing tax compliance as a population with a single covariate. This leads to a standard use of the logistic map to analyze the dynamics of non-compliance growth or decay over a sequence of periods. This formulation gives the same results as the tax gap studies performed over the past fifty years in the U.S. given the published margins of error. Limitations and recommendations for future work are discussed, along with some implications for tax policy.

Keywords: Tax law, tax compliance, tax gap, income tax.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 735

Authors: Widad Jakjoud, Mohamed Bahaj, Jamal Bakkas

Abstract:

Through this paper we present a method for automatic generation of ontological model from any data source using Model Driven Architecture (MDA), this generation is dedicated to the cooperation of the knowledge engineering and software engineering. Indeed, reverse engineering of a data source generates a software model (schema of data) that will undergo transformations to generate the ontological model. This method uses the meta-models to validate software and ontological models.

Keywords: Meta model, model, ontology, data source.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1997

Authors: Arturo Aquino, Manuel Emilio Gegundez, Jose Manuel Bravo, Diego Marin

Abstract:

Retinal vascularity assessment plays an important role in diagnosis of ophthalmic pathologies. The employment of digital images for this purpose makes possible a computerized approach and has motivated development of many methods for automated vascular tree segmentation. Metrics based on contingency tables for binary classification have been widely used for evaluating performance of these algorithms and, concretely, the accuracy has been mostly used as measure of global performance in this topic. However, this metric shows very poor matching with human perception as well as other notable deficiencies. Here, a new similarity function for measuring quality of retinal vessel segmentations is proposed. This similarity function is based on characterizing the vascular tree as a connected structure with a measurable area and length. Tests made indicate that this new approach shows better behaviour than the current one does. Generalizing, this concept of measuring descriptive properties may be used for designing functions for measuring more successfully segmentation quality of other complex structures.

Keywords: Retinal vessel segmentation, quality assessment, performanceevaluation, similarity function.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1499

Authors: S. Di Benedetto, M. P. Di Donato, A. Rispoli, S. Cardone, J. Riehmer, J. Steelant, L. Vecchione

Abstract:

Thanks to a coordinated funding by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (EC) within the 7th framework program, the High-Speed Experimental Fly Vehicles – International (HEXAFLY-INT) project is aimed at the flight validation of hypersonics technologies enabling future trans-atmospheric flights. The project, which is currently involving partners from Europe, Russian Federation and Australia operating under ESA/ESTEC coordination, will achieve the goal of designing, manufacturing, assembling and flight testing an unpowered high speed vehicle in a glider configuration by 2018. The main technical challenges of the project are specifically related to the design of the vehicle gliding configuration and to the complexity of integrating breakthrough technologies with standard aeronautical technologies, e.g. high temperature protection system and airframe cold structures. Also, the sonic boom impact, which is one of the environmental challenges of the high speed flight, will be assessed. This paper provides a comprehensive and detailed update on all the current projects activities carried out to date on both the vehicle and mission design.

Keywords: Design, flight testing, hypersonics, integration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2314

Authors: Ralf God, Lothar Kerschgens, Leonardo Goratti, Steven Lemaire

Abstract:

Ubiquitous connectivity is a reality and a basic need for users on ground. Air travel connectivity in the cabin is also becoming increasingly important for passengers during cabin use. Wireless sensor networks that provide information to cabin management systems are being used by airlines to optimize cabin crew workload. In networked cabin systems, communications and digitally transmitted data must be managed by airlines in every direction. Security and privacy, information processing and knowledge management are the current and future requirements for a smart and connected cabin.

Keywords: Smart and connected cabin management, Internet of Things, power management, airline business.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 435

Authors: Khaleel Sami Hamdan, Dong-Eok Kim, Sang-Ki Moon

Abstract:

An appropriate model to predict the size of the droplets resulting from the break-up with the structures will help in a better understanding and modeling of the two-phase flow calculations in the simulation of a reactor core loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). A droplet behavior impacting on a hot surface above the Leidenfrost temperature was investigated. Droplets of known size and velocity were impacted to an inclined plate of hot temperature, and the behavior of the droplets was observed by a high-speed camera. It was found that for droplets of Weber number higher than a certain value, the higher the Weber number of the droplet the smaller the secondary droplets. The COBRA-TF model over-predicted the measured secondary droplet sizes obtained by the present experiment. A simple model for the secondary droplet size was proposed using the mass conservation equation. The maximum spreading diameter of the droplets was also compared to previous correlations and a fairly good agreement was found. A better prediction of the heat transfer in the case of LOCA can be obtained with the presented model.

Keywords: Break-up, droplet, impact, inclined hot plate, Leidenfrost temperature, LOCA.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2370

Authors: Daniel Y. Abebe, Jaehyouk Choi

Abstract:

There are several types of metal-based devices conceived as dampers for the seismic energy absorber whereby damages to the major structural components could be minimized for both new and existing structures. This paper aimed to develop and evaluate structural performance of slit circular shear panel damper for passive seismic energy protection by inelastic deformation. Structural evaluation was done using commercially available nonlinear FE simulation program. The main parameters considered are: diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio and slit length-to-width ratio (l/w). Depending on these parameters three different buckling mode and hysteretic behavior was found: yielding prior to buckling without strength degradation, yielding prior to buckling with strength degradation and yielding with buckling and strength degradation which forms pinching at initial displacement. The susceptible location at which the possible crack is initiated is also identified for selected specimens using rupture index.

Keywords: Slit circular shear panel damper, Hysteresis Characteristics, Slip length-to-width ratio, D/t ratio, FE analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2495

Authors: Emad S. Abouel Nasr, Abdulaziz M. El-Tamimi, Mustufa H. Abidi, Abdulrahman M. Al-Ahmari

Abstract:

Virtual Assembly (VA) is one of the key technologies in advanced manufacturing field. It is a promising application of virtual reality in design and manufacturing field. It has drawn much interest from industries and research institutes in the last two decades. This paper describes a process for integrating an interactive Virtual Reality-based assembly simulation of a digital mockup with the CAD/CAM infrastructure. The necessary hardware and software preconditions for the process are explained so that it can easily be adopted by non VR experts. The article outlines how assembly simulation can improve the CAD/CAM procedures and structures; how CAD model preparations have to be carried out and which virtual environment requirements have to be fulfilled. The issue of data transfer is also explained in the paper. The other challenges and requirements like anti-aliasing and collision detection have also been explained. Finally, a VA simulation has been carried out for a ball valve assembly and a car door assembly with the help of Vizard virtual reality toolkit in a semi-immersive environment and their performance analysis has been done on different workstations to evaluate the importance of graphical processing unit (GPU) in the field of VA.

Keywords: Collision Detection, Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), Virtual Reality (VR), Virtual Assembly (VA).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2905

Authors: Batin Latif Aylak, Bernd Noche

Abstract:

Nowadays there are lots of applications of power and free conveyors in logistics. They are the most frequently used conveyor systems worldwide. Overhead conveyor technologies like power and free systems are used in the most intra-logistics applications in trade and industry. The automotive, food, beverage and textile industry as well as aeronautic catering or engineering are among the applications. Power and free systems employ different manufacturing intervals in manufacturing as well as in production as temporary store and buffer. Depending on the application area, power and free conveyors are equipped with target controls enabling complex distribution-and sorting tasks. This article introduces a new power and free conveyor design in intra-logistics and explains its components. According to the explanation of the components, a model is created by means of their technical characteristics. Through the CAD software, the model is visualized. After that, the static analysis is evaluated. This analysis helps the calculation of the mandatory state of structures under force action. This powerful model helps companies achieve lower development costs as well as quicker market maturity.

Keywords: Intra-logistics, material flow, power and free conveyor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2005

Authors: Magdalena Pejas

Abstract:

This article concerns the presentation of an integrated method for detection of steganographic content embedded by new unknown programs. The method is based on data mining and aggregated hypothesis testing. The article contains the theoretical basics used to deploy the proposed detection system and the description of improvement proposed for the basic system idea. Further main results of experiments and implementation details are collected and described. Finally example results of the tests are presented.

Keywords: Steganography, steganalysis, data embedding, data mining, feature extraction, knowledge base, system learning, hypothesis testing, error estimation, black box program, file structure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1563

Authors: Mongezi Nene, Emma Ayesu-Koranteng, Christopher Amoah, Ayo Adeniran

Abstract:

Although its use has been criticised over the years as being unencouraging, the green building concept is quickly overtaking other concepts, particularly in the construction of commercial properties. The goal of the study is to identify the variables influencing the use of green building practices when developing residential structures. A qualitative methodology, using interviews with semi-structured open-ended questions to 35 property practitioners operating residential apartments in Bloemfontein, South Africa, was used to collect primary data which were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that while respondents have a good understanding of green building principles, they are not being used in the construction of residential buildings in South Africa due to issues with green building approval procedures, the potential for tenant rent increases, the cost of materials, technical issues, contractual issues, and a lack of awareness, among others. This paper recommends among others an urgent need to implement measures by stakeholders towards enhancing the adoption of green building concepts in the construction of residential buildings as well as incentivising its construction through lowered property rates.

Keywords: Green building, residential apartments, construction, South Africa.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 222

Authors: S. K. Aruna, S. Chitra

Abstract:

This research paper presents a framework for classifying Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images for Dementia. Dementia, an age-related cognitive decline is indicated by degeneration of cortical and sub-cortical structures. Characterizing morphological changes helps understand disease development and contributes to early prediction and prevention of the disease. Modelling, that captures the brain’s structural variability and which is valid in disease classification and interpretation is very challenging. Features are extracted using Gabor filter with 0, 30, 60, 90 orientations and Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM). It is proposed to normalize and fuse the features. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) selects features. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier with different kernels is evaluated, for efficiency to classify dementia. This study evaluates the presented framework using MRI images from OASIS dataset for identifying dementia. Results showed that the proposed feature fusion classifier achieves higher classification accuracy.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, dementia, Gabor filter, gray level co-occurrence matrix, support vector machine.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2113

Authors: S.Jerald Jeba Kumar, M.Madheswaran

Abstract:

The structure of retinal vessels is a prominent feature, that reveals information on the state of disease that are reflected in the form of measurable abnormalities in thickness and colour. Vascular structures of retina, for implementation of clinical diabetic retinopathy decision making system is presented in this paper. Retinal Vascular structure is with thin blood vessel, whose accuracy is highly dependent upon the vessel segmentation. In this paper the blood vessel thickness is automatically detected using preprocessing techniques and vessel segmentation algorithm. First the capture image is binarized to get the blood vessel structure clearly, then it is skeletonised to get the overall structure of all the terminal and branching nodes of the blood vessels. By identifying the terminal node and the branching points automatically, the main and branching blood vessel thickness is estimated. Results are presented and compared with those provided by clinical classification on 50 vessels collected from Bejan Singh Eye hospital..

Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy, Binarization, SegmentationClinical Decision Support Systems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2042

Authors: M. Benachour, N. Benachour, M. Benguediab

Abstract:

In this investigation variation of cyclic loading effect on fatigue crack growth is the studied. This study is performed on 2024 T351 and 7050-T74 aluminum alloys, used in aeronautical structures. The propagation model used in this study is NASGRO model. In constant amplitude loading (CA), effect of stress ratio has been investigated. Fatigue life and fatigue crack growth rate were affected by this factor. Results showed an increasing in fatigue crack growth rates (FCGRs) with increasing stress ratio. Variable amplitude loading (VAL) can take many forms i.e. with a single overload, overload band… etc. The shape of these loads affects strongly the fracture life and FCGRs. The application of a single overload (ORL) decrease the FCGR and increase the delay crack length caused by the formation of a larger plastic zone compared to the plastic zone due without VAL. The fatigue behavior of the both material under single overload has been compared.

Keywords: Fatigue crack growth, overload ratio, stress ratio, generalized willenborg model, retardation, Al-alloys.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3599

Authors: Debojyoti Mitra

Abstract:

Higher capacities of power plants together with increased awareness on environmental considerations have led to taller height of stacks. It is seen that strong wind can result in falling of stacks. So, aerodynamic consideration of stacks is very important in order to save the falling of stacks. One stack is not enough in industries and power sectors and two or three stacks are required for proper operation of the unit. It is very important to arrange the stacks in proper way to resist their downfall. The present experimental study concentrates on the mutual effect of three nearby stacks on each other at three different arrangements, viz. linear, side-by-side and triangular. The experiments find out the directions of resultant forces acting on the stacks in different configurations so that proper arrangement of supports can be made with respect to the wind directionality obtained from local meteorological data. One can also easily ascertain which stack is more vulnerable to wind in comparison to the others for a particular configuration. Thus, this study is important in studying the effect of wind force on three stacks in different arrangements and is very helpful in placing the supports in proper places in order to avoid failing of stack-like structures due to wind.

Keywords: Stacks, relative positioning, drag and lift forces, resultant forces and supports.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1498

Authors: M. E. Soto-López, I. Gaxiola-Avendaño, A. Reyes-Salazar, E. Bojórquez, S. E. Ruiz

Abstract:

The seismic responses of steel buildings with semirigid post-tensioned connections (PC) are estimated and compared with those of steel buildings with typical rigid (welded) connections (RC). The comparison is made in terms of global and local response parameters. The results indicate that the seismic responses in terms of interstory shears, roof displacements, axial load and bending moments are smaller for the buildings with PC connection. The difference is larger for global than for local parameters, which in turn varies from one column location to another. The reason for this improved behavior is that the buildings with PC dissipate more hysteretic energy than those with RC. In addition, unlike the case of buildings with WC, for the PC structures the hysteretic energy is mostly dissipated at the connections, which implies that structural damage in beams and columns is not significant. According to these results, steel buildings with PC are a viable option in high seismicity areas because of their smaller response and self-centering connection capacity as well as the fact that brittle failure is avoided.

Keywords: Inter-story drift, Nonlinear time-history analysis, Post-tensioned connections, Steel buildings.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2165