Search results for: scale adaptive simulation
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5262

Search results for: scale adaptive simulation

3612 Experimental Studies of Position Control of Linkage based Robotic Finger

Authors: N. Z. Azlan, H. Yamaura

Abstract:

The experimental study of position control of a light weight and small size robotic finger during non-contact motion is presented in this paper. The finger possesses fingertip pinching and self adaptive grasping capabilities, and is made of a seven bar linkage mechanism with a slider in the middle phalanx. The control system is tested under the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control algorithm and Recursive Least Square (RLS) based Feedback Error Learning (FEL) control scheme to overcome the uncertainties present in the plant. The experiments conducted in Matlab Simulink and xPC Target environments show that the overall control strategy is efficient in controlling the finger movement.

Keywords: Anthropomorphic finger, position control, feedback error learning, experimental study

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3611 Adaptive Routing Protocol for Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: Fayez Mostafa Alhamoui, Adnan Hadi Mahdi Al- Helali

Abstract:

The main issue in designing a wireless sensor network (WSN) is the finding of a proper routing protocol that complies with the several requirements of high reliability, short latency, scalability, low power consumption, and many others. This paper proposes a novel routing algorithm that complies with these design requirements. The new routing protocol divides the WSN into several subnetworks and each sub-network is divided into several clusters. This division is designed to reduce the number of radio transmission and hence decreases the power consumption. The network division may be changed dynamically to adapt with the network changes and allows the realization of the design requirements.

Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, routing protocols, ad hoc topology, cluster, sub-network, WSN design requirements.

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3610 Uncertainty Analysis of a Hardware in Loop Setup for Testing Products Related to Building Technology

Authors: Balasundaram Prasaant, Ploix Stephane, Delinchant Benoit, Muresan Cristian

Abstract:

Hardware in Loop (HIL) testing is done to test and validate a particular product especially in building technology. When it comes to building technology, it is more important to test the products for their efficiency. The test rig in the HIL simulator may contribute to some uncertainties on measured efficiency. The uncertainties include physical uncertainties and scenario-based uncertainties. In this paper, a simple uncertainty analysis framework for an HIL setup is shown considering only the physical uncertainties. The entire modeling of the HIL setup is done in Dymola. The uncertain sources are considered based on available knowledge of the components and also on expert knowledge. For the propagation of uncertainty, Monte Carlo Simulation is used since it is the most reliable and easy to use. In this article it is shown how an HIL setup can be modeled and how uncertainty propagation can be performed on it. Such an approach is not common in building energy analysis.

Keywords: Energy in Buildings, Hardware in Loop, Modelica (Dymola), Monte Carlo Simulation, Uncertainty Propagation.

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3609 Method and Experiment of Fabricating and Cutting the Burr for Y Shape Nanochannel

Authors: Zone-Ching Lin, Hao-Yuan Jheng, Shih-Hung Ma

Abstract:

The present paper proposes using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the concept of specific down force energy (SDFE) to establish a method for fabricating and cutting the burr for Y shape nanochannel on silicon (Si) substrate. For fabricating Y shape nanochannel, it first makes the experimental cutting path planning for fabricating Y shape nanochannel until the fifth cutting layer. Using the constant down force by AFM and SDFE theory and following the experimental cutting path planning, the cutting depth and width of each pass of Y shape nanochannel can be predicted by simulation. The paper plans the path for cutting the burr at the edge of Y shape nanochannel. Then, it carries out cutting the burr along the Y nanochannel edge by using a smaller down force. The height of standing burr at the edge is required to be below the set value of 0.54 nm. The results of simulation and experiment of fabricating and cutting the burr for Y shape nanochannel is further compared.

Keywords: Atomic force microscopy, nanochannel, specific down force energy, Y shape, burr, silicon.

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3608 Blockchain’s Feasibility in Military Data Networks

Authors: Brenden M. Shutt, Lubjana Beshaj, Paul L. Goethals, Ambrose Kam

Abstract:

Communication security is of particular interest to military data networks. A relatively novel approach to network security is blockchain, a cryptographically secured distribution ledger with a decentralized consensus mechanism for data transaction processing. Recent advances in blockchain technology have proposed new techniques for both data validation and trust management, as well as different frameworks for managing dataflow. The purpose of this work is to test the feasibility of different blockchain architectures as applied to military command and control networks. Various architectures are tested through discrete-event simulation and the feasibility is determined based upon a blockchain design’s ability to maintain long-term stable performance at industry standards of throughput, network latency, and security. This work proposes a consortium blockchain architecture with a computationally inexpensive consensus mechanism, one that leverages a Proof-of-Identity (PoI) concept and a reputation management mechanism.

Keywords: Blockchain, command & control network, discrete-event simulation, reputation management.

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3607 Efficient Tools for Managing Uncertainties in Design and Operation of Engineering Structures

Authors: J. Menčík

Abstract:

Actual load, material characteristics and other quantities often differ from the design values. This can cause worse function, shorter life or failure of a civil engineering structure, a machine, vehicle or another appliance. The paper shows main causes of the uncertainties and deviations and presents a systematic approach and efficient tools for their elimination or mitigation of consequences. Emphasis is put on the design stage, which is most important for reliability ensuring. Principles of robust design and important tools are explained, including FMEA, sensitivity analysis and probabilistic simulation methods. The lifetime prediction of long-life objects can be improved by long-term monitoring of the load response and damage accumulation in operation. The condition evaluation of engineering structures, such as bridges, is often based on visual inspection and verbal description. Here, methods based on fuzzy logic can reduce the subjective influences.

Keywords: Design, fuzzy methods, Monte Carlo, reliability, robust design, sensitivity analysis, simulation, uncertainties.

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3606 Slug Tracking Simulation of Severe Slugging Experiments

Authors: Tor Kindsbekken Kjeldby, Ruud Henkes, Ole Jørgen Nydal

Abstract:

Experimental data from an atmospheric air/water terrain slugging case has been made available by the Shell Amsterdam research center, and has been subject to numerical simulation and comparison with a one-dimensional two-phase slug tracking simulator under development at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The code is based on tracking of liquid slugs in pipelines by use of a Lagrangian grid formulation implemented in Cµ by use of object oriented techniques. An existing hybrid spatial discretization scheme is tested, in which the stratified regions are modelled by the two-fluid model. The slug regions are treated incompressible, thus requiring a single momentum balance over the whole slug. Upon comparison with the experimental data, the period of the simulated severe slugging cycle is observed to be sensitive to slug generation in the horizontal parts of the system. Two different slug initiation methods have been tested with the slug tracking code, and grid dependency has been investigated.

Keywords: Hydrodynamic initiation, slug tracking, terrain slugging, two-fluid model, two-phase flow.

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3605 Fragility Analysis of Weir Structure Subjected to Flooding Water Damage

Authors: Oh Hyeon Jeon, WooYoung Jung

Abstract:

In this study, seepage analysis was performed by the level difference between upstream and downstream of weir structure for safety evaluation of weir structure against flooding. Monte Carlo Simulation method was employed by considering the probability distribution of the adjacent ground parameter, i.e., permeability coefficient of weir structure. Moreover, by using a commercially available finite element program (ABAQUS), modeling of the weir structure is carried out. Based on this model, the characteristic of water seepage during flooding was determined at each water level with consideration of the uncertainty of their corresponding permeability coefficient. Subsequently, fragility function could be constructed based on this response from numerical analysis; this fragility function results could be used to determine the weakness of weir structure subjected to flooding disaster. They can also be used as a reference data that can comprehensively predict the probability of failur,e and the degree of damage of a weir structure.

Keywords: Weir structure, seepage, flood disaster fragility, probabilistic risk assessment, Monte-Carlo Simulation, permeability coefficient.

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3604 An Algorithm for Detecting Seam Cracks in Steel Plates

Authors: Doo-chul Choi, Yong-Ju Jeon, Jong Pil Yun, Sung Wook Yun, Sang Woo Kim

Abstract:

In this study, we developed an algorithm for detecting seam cracks in a steel plate. Seam cracks are generated in the edge region of a steel plate. We used the Gabor filter and an adaptive double threshold method to detect them. To reduce the number of pseudo defects, features based on the shape of seam cracks were used. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, we tested 989 images with seam cracks and 9470 defect-free images. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is suitable for detecting seam cracks. However, it should be improved to increase the true positive rate.

Keywords: Defect detection, Gabor filter, machine vision, surface inspection.

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3603 Agricultural Mechanisation for Transformation

Authors: Lawrence Gumbe

Abstract:

This paper concludes that, for economic development, and to ensure survival, Kenya and similar countries must industrialize their economy and mechanize their agriculture using modern large scale methods.

Keywords: Agriculture, mechanazation, transformation, industrialization.

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3602 Computational Analysis of Potential Inhibitors Selected Based On Structural Similarity for the Src SH2 Domain

Authors: W. P. Hu, J. V. Kumar, Jeffrey J. P. Tsai

Abstract:

The inhibition of SH2 domain regulated protein-protein interactions is an attractive target for developing an effective chemotherapeutic approach in the treatment of disease. Molecular simulation is a useful tool for developing new drugs and for studying molecular recognition. In this study, we searched potential drug compounds for the inhibition of SH2 domain by performing structural similarity search in PubChem Compound Database. A total of 37 compounds were screened from the database, and then we used the LibDock docking program to evaluate the inhibition effect. The best three compounds (AP22408, CID 71463546 and CID 9917321) were chosen for MD simulations after the LibDock docking. Our results show that the compound CID 9917321 can produce a more stable protein-ligand complex compared to other two currently known inhibitors of Src SH2 domain. The compound CID 9917321 may be useful for the inhibition of SH2 domain based on these computational results. Subsequently experiments are needed to verify the effect of compound CID 9917321 on the SH2 domain in the future studies.

Keywords: Nonpeptide inhibitor, Src SH2 domain, LibDock, molecular dynamics simulation.

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3601 Thermal Evaluation of Printed Circuit Board Design Options and Voids in Solder Interface by a Simulation Tool

Authors: B. Arzhanov, A. Correia, P. Delgado, J. Meireles

Abstract:

Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) packages have become very popular for turners, converters and audio amplifiers, among others applications, needing efficient power dissipation in small footprints. Since semiconductor junction temperature (TJ) is a critical parameter in the product quality. And to ensure that die temperature does not exceed the maximum allowable TJ, a thermal analysis conducted in an earlier development phase is essential to avoid repeated re-designs process with huge losses in cost and time. A simulation tool capable to estimate die temperature of components with QFN package was developed. Allow establish a non-empirical way to define an acceptance criterion for amount of voids in solder interface between its exposed pad and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to be applied during industrialization process, and evaluate the impact of PCB designs parameters. Targeting PCB layout designer as an end user for the application, a user-friendly interface (GUI) was implemented allowing user to introduce design parameters in a convenient and secure way and hiding all the complexity of finite element simulation process. This cost effective tool turns transparent a simulating process and provides useful outputs after acceptable time, which can be adopted by PCB designers, preventing potential risks during the design stage and make product economically efficient by not oversizing it. This article gathers relevant information related to the design and implementation of the developed tool, presenting a parametric study conducted with it. The simulation tool was experimentally validated using a Thermal-Test-Chip (TTC) in a QFN open-cavity, in order to measure junction temperature (TJ) directly on the die under controlled and knowing conditions. Providing a short overview about standard thermal solutions and impacts in exposed pad packages (i.e. QFN), accurately describe the methods and techniques that the system designer should use to achieve optimum thermal performance, and demonstrate the effect of system-level constraints on the thermal performance of the design.

Keywords: Quad Flat No-Lead packages, exposed pads, junction temperature, thermal management and measurements.

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3600 Simulation of Enhanced Biomass Gasification for Hydrogen Production using iCON

Authors: Mohd K. Yunus, Murni M. Ahmad, Abrar Inayat, Suzana Yusup

Abstract:

Due to the environmental and price issues of current energy crisis, scientists and technologists around the globe are intensively searching for new environmentally less-impact form of clean energy that will reduce the high dependency on fossil fuel. Particularly hydrogen can be produced from biomass via thermochemical processes including pyrolysis and gasification due to the economic advantage and can be further enhanced through in-situ carbon dioxide removal using calcium oxide. This work focuses on the synthesis and development of the flowsheet for the enhanced biomass gasification process in PETRONAS-s iCON process simulation software. This hydrogen prediction model is conducted at operating temperature between 600 to 1000oC at atmospheric pressure. Effects of temperature, steam-to-biomass ratio and adsorbent-to-biomass ratio were studied and 0.85 mol fraction of hydrogen is predicted in the product gas. Comparisons of the results are also made with experimental data from literature. The preliminary economic potential of developed system is RM 12.57 x 106 which equivalent to USD 3.77 x 106 annually shows economic viability of this process.

Keywords: Biomass, Gasification, Hydrogen, iCON.

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3599 Optimization of Multi-Zone Unconventional (Shale) Gas Reservoir Using Hydraulic Fracturing Technique

Authors: F.C. Amadi, G. C. Enyi, G. G. Nasr

Abstract:

Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most important stimulation techniques available to the petroleum engineer to extract hydrocarbons in tight gas sandstones. It allows more oil and gas production in tight reservoirs as compared to conventional means. The main aim of the study is to optimize the hydraulic fracturing as technique and for this purpose three multi-zones layer formation is considered and fractured contemporaneously. The three zones are named as Zone1 (upper zone), Zone2 (middle zone) and Zone3 (lower zone) respectively and they all occur in shale rock. Simulation was performed with Mfrac integrated software which gives a variety of 3D fracture options. This simulation process yielded an average fracture efficiency of 93.8%for the three respective zones and an increase of the average permeability of the rock system. An average fracture length of 909 ft with net height (propped height) of 210 ft (average) was achieved. Optimum fracturing results was also achieved with maximum fracture width of 0.379 inches at an injection rate of 13.01 bpm with 17995 Mscf of gas production.

Keywords: Hydraulic fracturing, Mfrac, Optimisation, Tight reservoir.

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3598 Prediction of Unsteady Forced Convection over Square Cylinder in the Presence of Nanofluid by Using ANN

Authors: Ajoy Kumar Das, Prasenjit Dey

Abstract:

Heat transfer due to forced convection of copper water based nanofluid has been predicted by Artificial Neural network (ANN). The present nanofluid is formed by mixing copper nanoparticles in water and the volume fractions are considered here are 0% to 15% and the Reynolds number are kept constant at 100. The back propagation algorithm is used to train the network. The present ANN is trained by the input and output data which has been obtained from the numerical simulation, performed in finite volume based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) commercial software Ansys Fluent. The numerical simulation based results are compared with the back propagation based ANN results. It is found that the forced convection heat transfer of water based nanofluid can be predicted correctly by ANN. It is also observed that the back propagation ANN can predict the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluid very quickly compared to standard CFD method.

Keywords: Forced convection, Square cylinder, nanofluid, neural network.

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3597 A Framework of Monte Carlo Simulation for Examining the Uncertainty-Investment Relationship

Authors: George Yungchih Wang

Abstract:

This paper argues that increased uncertainty, in certain situations, may actually encourage investment. Since earlier studies mostly base their arguments on the assumption of geometric Brownian motion, the study extends the assumption to alternative stochastic processes, such as mixed diffusion-jump, mean-reverting process, and jump amplitude process. A general approach of Monte Carlo simulation is developed to derive optimal investment trigger for the situation that the closed-form solution could not be readily obtained under the assumption of alternative process. The main finding is that the overall effect of uncertainty on investment is interpreted by the probability of investing, and the relationship appears to be an invested U-shaped curve between uncertainty and investment. The implication is that uncertainty does not always discourage investment even under several sources of uncertainty. Furthermore, high-risk projects are not always dominated by low-risk projects because the high-risk projects may have a positive realization effect on encouraging investment.

Keywords: real options, geometric Brownian motion, mixeddiffusion-jump process, mean- reverting process, jump amplitudeprocess

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3596 Statistical Approach to Basis Function Truncation in Digital Interpolation Filters

Authors: F. Castillo, J. Arellano, S. Sánchez

Abstract:

In this paper an alternative analysis in the time domain is described and the results of the interpolation process are presented by means of functions that are based on the rule of conditional mathematical expectation and the covariance function. A comparison between the interpolation error caused by low order filters and the classic sinc(t) truncated function is also presented. When fewer samples are used, low-order filters have less error. If the number of samples increases, the sinc(t) type functions are a better alternative. Generally speaking there is an optimal filter for each input signal which depends on the filter length and covariance function of the signal. A novel scheme of work for adaptive interpolation filters is also presented.

Keywords: Interpolation, basis function, over-sampling.

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3595 CFD Analysis of Natural Ventilation Behaviour in Four Sided Wind Catcher

Authors: M. Hossein Ghadiri, Mohd Farid Mohamed, N. Lukman N. Ibrahim

Abstract:

Wind catchers are traditional natural ventilation systems attached to buildings in order to ventilate the indoor air. The most common type of wind catcher is four sided one which is capable to catch wind in all directions. CFD simulation is the perfect way to evaluate the wind catcher performance. The accuracy of CFD results is the issue of concern, so sensitivity analyses is crucial to find out the effect of different settings of CFD on results. This paper presents a series of 3D steady RANS simulations for a generic isolated four-sided wind catcher attached to a room subjected to wind direction ranging from 0º to 180º with an interval of 45º. The CFD simulations are validated with detailed wind tunnel experiments. The influence of an extensive range of computational parameters is explored in this paper, including the resolution of the computational grid, the size of the computational domain and the turbulence model. This study found that CFD simulation is a reliable method for wind catcher study, but it is less accurate in prediction of models with non perpendicular wind directions.

Keywords: Wind catcher, CFD, natural ventilation, sensitivity study.

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3594 An Adaptive Dynamic Fracture for 3D Fatigue Crack Growth Using X-FEM

Authors: S. Lecheb, A. Nour, A. Chellil, A. Basta, D. Belmiloud, H. Kebi

Abstract:

In recent years, a new numerical method has been developed, the extended finite element method (X-FEM). The objective of this work is to exploit the (X-FEM) for the treatment of the fracture mechanics problems on 3D geometries, where we showed the ability of this method to simulate the fatigue crack growth into two cases: edge and central crack. In the results we compared the six first natural frequencies of mode shapes uncracking with the cracking initiation in the structure, and showed the stress intensity factor (SIF) evolution function as crack size propagation into structure, the analytical validation of (SIF) is presented. For to evidence the aspects of this method, all result is compared between FEA and X-FEM.

Keywords: 3D fatigue crack growth, FEA, natural frequencies, stress intensity factor (SIF), X-FEM.

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3593 Simulation of the Reactive Rotational Molding Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

Authors: A. Hamidi, S. Khelladi, L. Illoul, A. Tcharkhtchi

Abstract:

Reactive rotational molding (RRM) is a process to manufacture hollow plastic parts with reactive material has several advantages compared to conventional roto molding of thermoplastic powders: process cycle time is shorter; raw material is less expensive because polymerization occurs during processing and high-performance polymers may be used such as thermosets, thermoplastics or blends. However, several phenomena occur during this process which makes the optimization of the process quite complex. In this study, we have used a mixture of isocyanate and polyol as a reactive system. The chemical transformation of this system to polyurethane has been studied by thermal analysis and rheology tests. Thanks to these results of the curing process and rheological measurements, the kinetic and rheokinetik of polyurethane was identified. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, a Lagrangian meshless method, was chosen to simulate reactive fluid flow in 2 and 3D configurations of the polyurethane during the process taking into account the chemical, and chemiorehological results obtained experimentally in this study.

Keywords: Reactive rotational molding, free surface flows, simulation, smoothed particle hydrodynamics, surface tension.

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3592 Finite Element Modeling of the Mechanical Behavior of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash with the Mohr-Coulomb Model

Authors: Le Ngoc Hung, Abriak Nor Edine, Binetruy Christophe, Benzerzour Mahfoud, Shahrour Isam, Patrice Rivard

Abstract:

Bottom ash from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) can be viewed as a typical granular material because these industrial by-products result from the incineration of various domestic wastes. MSWI bottom ash is mainly used in road engineering in substitution of the traditional natural aggregates. As the characterization of their mechanical behavior is essential in order to use them, specific studies have been led over the past few years. In the first part of this paper, the mechanical behavior of MSWI bottom ash is studied with triaxial tests. After, analysis of the experiment results, the simulation of triaxial tests is carried out by using the software package CESAR-LCPC. As the first approach in modeling of this new class material, the Mohr-Coulomb model was chosen to describe the evolution of material under the influence of external mechanical actions.

Keywords: Bottom ash, granular material, triaxial test, mechanical behavior, simulation, Mohr-Coulomb model, CESARLCPC.

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3591 A Generalized Coordination Setting Method for Distribution Systems with Closed-loop

Authors: Kang-Le Guan, Seung-Jae Lee, Myeon-Song Choi

Abstract:

The protection issues in distribution systems with open and closed-loop are studied, and a generalized protection setting scheme based on the traditional over current protection theories is proposed to meet the new requirements. The setting method is expected to be easier realized using computer program, so that the on-line adaptive setting for coordination in distribution system can be implemented. An automatic setting program is created and several cases are taken into practice. The setting results are verified by the coordination curves of the protective devices which are plotted using MATLAB.

Keywords: protection setting, on-line system analysis, over current protection, closed-loop distribution system

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3590 Non-Sensitive Solutions in Multi-Objective Optimization of a Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal(PV/T) Air Collector

Authors: F. Sarhaddi, S. Farahat, M .A. Alavi, F. Sobhnamayan

Abstract:

In this paper, an attempt has been made to obtain nonsensitive solutions in the multi-objective optimization of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air collector. The selected objective functions are overall energy efficiency and exergy efficiency. Improved thermal, electrical and exergy models are used to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters, overall energy efficiency, exergy components and exergy efficiency of a typical PV/T air collector. A computer simulation program is also developed. The results of numerical simulation are in good agreement with the experimental measurements noted in the previous literature. Finally, multi-objective optimization has been carried out under given climatic, operating and design parameters. The optimized ranges of inlet air velocity, duct depth and the objective functions in optimal Pareto front have been obtained. Furthermore, non-sensitive solutions from energy or exergy point of view in the results of multi-objective optimization have been shown.

Keywords: Solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector, Overall energy efficiency, Exergy efficiency, Multi-objectiveoptimization, Sensitivity analysis.

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3589 Mapping Soil Fertility at Different Scales to Support Sustainable Brazilian Agriculture

Authors: Rachel Bardy Prado, Vinícius de Melo Benites, José Carlos Polidoro, Carlos Eduardo Gonçalves, Alexey Naumov

Abstract:

Most agricultural crops cultivated in Brazil are highly nutrient demanding. Brazilian soils are generally acidic with low base saturation and available nutrients. Demand for fertilizer application has increased because the national agricultural sector expansion. To improve productivity without environmental impact, there is the need for the utilization of novel procedures and techniques to optimize fertilizer application. This includes the digital soil mapping and GIS application applied to mapping in different scales. This paper is based on research, realized during 2005 to 2010 by Brazilian Corporation for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) and its partners. The purpose was to map soil fertility in national and regional scales. A soil profile data set in national scale (1:5,000,000) was constructed from the soil archives of Embrapa Soils, Rio de Janeiro and in the regional scale (1:250,000) from COMIGO Cooperative soil data set, Rio Verde, Brazil. The mapping was doing using ArcGIS 9.1 tools from ESRI.

Keywords: agricultural sustainability, fertilizer optimization, GIS, soil attributes.

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3588 A Predictive control based on Neural Network for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Authors: M. Sedighizadeh, M. Rezaei, V. Najmi

Abstract:

The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) control system has an important effect on operation of cell. Traditional controllers couldn-t lead to acceptable responses because of time- change, long- hysteresis, uncertainty, strong- coupling and nonlinear characteristics of PEMFCs, so an intelligent or adaptive controller is needed. In this paper a neural network predictive controller have been designed to control the voltage of at the presence of fluctuations of temperature. The results of implementation of this designed NN Predictive controller on a dynamic electrochemical model of a small size 5 KW, PEM fuel cell have been simulated by MATLAB/SIMULINK.

Keywords: PEMFC, Neural Network, Predictive Control..

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3587 Pilot-scale Study of Horizontal Anaerobic Digester for Biogas Production using Food Waste

Authors: Yongsei Lee, Hyunsu Park, Youngseob Yu, Heechan Yoo, Sungin Yoo

Abstract:

A horizontal anaerobic digester was developed and tested in pilot scale for Korean food waste with high water contents (>80%). The hydrogen sulfide in the biogas was removed by a biological desulfurization equipment integrated in the horizontal digester. A mixer of the horizontal digester was designed to easily remove the sediment in the bottom and scum layers on surface in the digester. Experimental result for 120 days of operation of the pilot plant showed a high removal efficiency of 81.2% for organic substance and high stability during the whole operation period were acquired. Also food waste was treated at high organic loading rates over 4 kg•VS/m3∙day and a methane gas production rate of 0.62 m3/kg•VSremoved was accomplished. The biological desulfurization equipment inside the horizontal digester was proven to be an economic and effective method to reduce the biogas desulfurization cost by removing hydrogen sulfide more than 90% without external desulfurization equipments.

Keywords: Biogas, Biological desulfurization, Horizontal anaerobic digester, Korean food waste

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3586 An Integrated CFD and Experimental Analysis on Double-Skin Window

Authors: Sheam-Chyun Lin, Wei-Kai Chen, Hung-Cheng Yen, Yung-Jen Cheng, Yu-Cheng Chen

Abstract:

Result from the constant dwindle in natural resources, the alternative way to reduce the costs in our daily life would be urgent to be found in the near future. As the ancient technique based on the theory of solar chimney since roman times, the double-skin façade are simply composed of two large glass panels in purpose of daylighting and also natural ventilation in the daytime. Double-skin façade is generally installed on the exterior side of buildings as function as the window, so there is always a huge amount of passive solar energy the façade would receive to induce the airflow every sunny day. Therefore, this article imposes a domestic double-skin window for residential usage and attempts to improve the volume flow rate inside the cavity between the panels by the frame geometry design, the installation of outlet guide plate and the solar energy collection system. Note that the numerical analyses are applied to investigate the characteristics of flow field, and the boundary conditions in the simulation are totally based on the practical experiment of the original prototype. Then we redesign the prototype from the knowledge of the numerical results and fluid dynamic theory, and later the experiments of modified prototype will be conducted to verify the simulation results. The velocities at the inlet of each case are increase by 5%, 45% and 15% from the experimental data, and also the numerical simulation results reported 20% improvement in volume flow rate both for the frame geometry design and installation of outlet guide plate.

Keywords: Solar energy, Double-skin façades, Thermal buoyancy, Fluid machinery.

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3585 A Dictionary Learning Method Based On EMD for Audio Sparse Representation

Authors: Yueming Wang, Zenghui Zhang, Rendong Ying, Peilin Liu

Abstract:

Sparse representation has long been studied and several dictionary learning methods have been proposed. The dictionary learning methods are widely used because they are adaptive. In this paper, a new dictionary learning method for audio is proposed. Signals are at first decomposed into different degrees of Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) technique. Then these IMFs form a learned dictionary. To reduce the size of the dictionary, the K-means method is applied to the dictionary to generate a K-EMD dictionary. Compared to K-SVD algorithm, the K-EMD dictionary decomposes audio signals into structured components, thus the sparsity of the representation is increased by 34.4% and the SNR of the recovered audio signals is increased by 20.9%.

Keywords: Dictionary Learning, EMD, K-means Method, Sparse Representation.

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3584 Structuring and Visualizing Healthcare Claims Data Using Systems Architecture Methodology

Authors: Inas S. Khayal, Weiping Zhou, Jonathan Skinner

Abstract:

Healthcare delivery systems around the world are in crisis. The need to improve health outcomes while decreasing healthcare costs have led to an imminent call to action to transform the healthcare delivery system. While Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering have primarily focused on biological level data and biomedical technology, there is clear evidence of the importance of the delivery of care on patient outcomes. Classic singular decomposition approaches from reductionist science are not capable of explaining complex systems. Approaches and methods from systems science and systems engineering are utilized to structure healthcare delivery system data. Specifically, systems architecture is used to develop a multi-scale and multi-dimensional characterization of the healthcare delivery system, defined here as the Healthcare Delivery System Knowledge Base. This paper is the first to contribute a new method of structuring and visualizing a multi-dimensional and multi-scale healthcare delivery system using systems architecture in order to better understand healthcare delivery.

Keywords: Health informatics, systems thinking, systems architecture, healthcare delivery system, data analytics.

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3583 Construction of Large Scale UAVs Using Homebuilt Composite Techniques

Authors: Brian J. Kozak, Joshua D. Shipman, Peng Hao Wang, Blake Shipp

Abstract:

The unmanned aerial system (UAS) industry is growing at a rapid pace. This growth has increased the demand for low cost, custom made and high strength unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The area of most growth is in the area of 25 kg to 200 kg vehicles. Vehicles this size are beyond the size and scope of simple wood and fabric designs commonly found in hobbyist aircraft. These high end vehicles require stronger materials to complete their mission. Traditional aircraft construction materials such as aluminum are difficult to use without machining or advanced computer controlled tooling. However, by using general aviation composite aircraft homebuilding techniques and materials, a large scale UAV can be constructed cheaply and easily. Furthermore, these techniques could be used to easily manufacture cost made composite shapes and airfoils that would be cost prohibitive when using metals. These homebuilt aircraft techniques are being demonstrated by the researchers in the construction of a 75 kg aircraft.

Keywords: Composite aircraft, homebuilding, unmanned aerial system, unmanned aerial vehicles.

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