Search results for: Active tuned mass damper

Authors: André C. Silva, Mariana R. Barros, Elenice M. S. Silva, Douglas. Y. Marinho, Diego F. Lopes, Débora N. Sousa, Raphael S. Tomáz

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Modern agriculture requires productivity, efficiency and quality. Therefore, there is need for agricultural limestone implementation that provides adequate amounts of calcium and magnesium carbonates in order to correct soil acidity. During the limestone process, fine particles (with average size under 400#) are generated. These particles do not have economic value in agricultural and metallurgical sectors due their size. When limestone is used for agriculture purposes, these fine particles can be easily transported by wind generated air pollution. Therefore, briquetting, a mineral processing technique, was used to mitigate this problem resulting in an agglomerated product suitable for agriculture use. Briquetting uses compressive pressure to agglomerate fine particles. It can be aided by agglutination agents, allowing adjustments in shape, size and mechanical parameters of the mass. Briquettes can generate extra profits for mineral industry, presenting as a distinct product for agriculture, and can reduce the environmental liabilities of the fine particles storage or disposition. The produced limestone briquettes were subjected to shatter and water action resistance tests. The results show that after six minutes completely submerged in water, the briquettes where fully diluted, a highly favorable result considering its use for soil acidity correction.

Keywords: Agglomeration, briquetting, limestone, agriculture.

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Authors: B. A. Q. Santos, S. K. O. Ntwampe, G. Muchatibaya

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In this study, the designed dual stage membrane bioreactor (MBR) system was conceptualized for the treatment of cyanide and heavy metals in electroplating wastewater. The design consisted of a primary treatment stage to reduce the impact of fluctuations and the secondary treatment stage to remove the residual cyanide and heavy metal contaminants in the wastewater under alkaline pH conditions. The primary treatment stage contained hydrolyzed Citrus sinensis (C. sinensis) pomace and the secondary treatment stage contained active Aspergillus awamori (A. awamori) biomass, supplemented solely with C. sinensis pomace extract from the hydrolysis process. An average of 76.37%, 95.37%, 93.26 and 94.76% and 99.55%, 99.91%, 99.92% and 99.92% degradation efficiency for total cyanide (T-CN), including the sorption of nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were observed after the first and second treatment stages, respectively. Furthermore, cyanide conversion by-products degradation was 99.81% and 99.75 for both formate (CHOO-) and ammonium (NH4 +) after the second treatment stage. After the first, second and third regeneration cycles of the C. sinensis pomace in the first treatment stage, Ni, Zn and Cu removal achieved was 99.13%, 99.12% and 99.04% (first regeneration cycle), 98.94%, 98.92% and 98.41% (second regeneration cycle) and 98.46 %, 98.44% and 97.91% (third regeneration cycle), respectively. There was relatively insignificant standard deviation detected in all the measured parameters in the system which indicated reproducibility of the remediation efficiency in this continuous system.

Keywords: Aspergillus awamori, Citrus sinensis pomace, electroplating wastewater remediation, membrane bioreactor.

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Authors: V. Thulasi Bai, Srivatsa S. K.

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Deaths from cardiovascular diseases have decreased substantially over the past two decades, largely as a result of advances in acute care and cardiac surgery. These developments have produced a growing population of patients who have survived a myocardial infarction. These patients need to be continuously monitored so that the initiation of treatment can be given within the crucial golden hour. The available conventional methods of monitoring mostly perform offline analysis and restrict the mobility of these patients within a hospital or room. Hence the aim of this paper is to design a Portable Cardiac Telemedicine System to aid the patients to regain their independence and return to an active work schedule, there by improving the psychological well being. The portable telemedicine system consists of a Wearable ECG Transmitter (WET) and a slightly modified mobile phone, which has an inbuilt ECG analyzer. The WET is placed on the body of the patient that continuously acquires the ECG signals from the high-risk cardiac patients who can move around anywhere. This WET transmits the ECG to the patient-s Bluetooth enabled mobile phone using blue tooth technology. The ECG analyzer inbuilt in the mobile phone continuously analyzes the heartbeats derived from the received ECG signals. In case of any panic condition, the mobile phone alerts the patients care taker by an SMS and initiates the transmission of a sample ECG signal to the doctor, via the mobile network.

Keywords: WET, ECG analyzer, Bluetooth, mobilecellular network, high risk cardiac patients.

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Authors: Ayuko Itsuki, Sachiyo Aburatani

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The soil ecology of the organic and mineral soil layers of laurel-leaved and Cryptomeria japonica forest in the Kasuga-yama Hill Primeval Forest (Nara, Japan) was assessed. The number of bacteria obtained by the dilution plate count method was less than 0.05% of those counted by the direct microscopic count. We therefore found that forest soil contains large numbers of non-culturable bacteria compared with agricultural soils. The numbers of bacteria and fungi obtained by both the dilution plate count and the direct microscopic count were larger in the deeper horizons (F and H) of the organic layer than in the mineral soil layer. This suggests that active microbial metabolism takes place in the organic layer. The numbers of bacteria and the length of fungal hyphae obtained by the direct count method were greater in the H horizon than in the F horizon. The direct microscopic count revealed numerous non-culturable bacteria and fungi in the soil. The ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass was lower in the laurel-leaved forest soil. The fungal biomass was therefore relatively low in the laurel-leaved forest soil due to differences in forest vegetation.

Keywords: Bacterial number, Dilution plate count, Direct microscopic count, Forest soil.

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Authors: Sarah M. Oteifa, Lobna A. Sherif, Yasser M. Mostafa

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Visually impaired people, in their daily lives, face struggles and spatial barriers because the built environment is often designed with an extreme focus on the visual element, causing what is called architectural visual bias or ocularcentrism. The aim of the study is to holistically understand the world of the visually impaired as an attempt to extract the qualities of space that accommodate their needs, and to show the importance of multi-sensory, holistic designs for the blind. Within the framework of existential phenomenology, common themes are reached through "intersubjectivity": experience descriptions by blind people and blind architects, observation of how blind children learn to perceive their surrounding environment, and a personal lived blind-folded experience are analyzed. The extracted themes show how visually impaired people filter out and prioritize tactile (active, passive and dynamic touch), acoustic and olfactory spatial qualities respectively, and how this happened during the personal lived blind folded experience. The themes clarify that haptic and aural inclusive designs are essential to create environments suitable for the visually impaired to empower them towards an independent, safe and efficient life.

Keywords: Visually impaired, architecture, multi-sensory design, architectural ocularcentrism.

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Authors: Eda Gök

Abstract:

Peridynamics is a new modeling concept of non-local interactions for solid structures. The formulations of Peridynamic (PD) theory are based on integral equations rather than differential equations. Through, undefined equations of associated problems are avoided. PD theory might be defined as continuum version of molecular dynamics. The medium is usually modeled with mass particles bonded together. Particles interact with each other directly across finite distances through central forces named as bonds. The main assumption of this theory is that the body is composed of material points which interact with other material points within a finite distance. Although, PD theory developed for discontinuities, it gives good results for structures which have no discontinuities. In this paper, displacement control of the isotropic plate under the effect of tensile and bending loading has been investigated by means of PD theory. A MATLAB code is generated to create PD bonds and corresponding surface correction factors. Using generated MATLAB code the geometry of the specimen is generated, and the code is implemented in Finite Element Software. The results obtained from non-local continuum theory are compared with the Finite Element Analysis results and analytical solution. The results show good agreement.

Keywords: Flexural loading, non-local continuum mechanics, Peridynamic theory, solid structures, tensile loading.

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Authors: Mohd Fairuz Iskandar Othman, Nazrulazhar Bahaman, Zulkiflee Muslim, Faizal Abdollah

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This paper discusses a curriculum approach that will give emphasis on practical portions of teaching network security subjects in information and communication technology courses. As we are well aware, the need to use a practice and application oriented approach in education is paramount. Research on active learning and cooperative groups have shown that students grasps more and have more tendency towards obtaining and realizing soft skills like leadership, communication and team work as opposed to the more traditional theory and exam based teaching and learning. While this teaching and learning paradigm is relatively new in Malaysia, it has been practiced widely in the West. This paper examines a certain approach whereby students learning wireless security are divided into and work in small and manageable groups where there will be 2 teams which consist of black hat and white hat teams. The former will try to find and expose vulnerabilities in a wireless network while the latter will try their best to prevent such attacks on their wireless networks using hardware, software, design and enforcement of security policy and etc. This paper will try to show that the approach taken plus the use of relevant and up to date software and hardware and with suitable environment setting will hopefully expose students to a more fruitful outcome in terms of understanding of concepts, theories and their motivation to learn.

Keywords: Curriculum approach, wireless networks, wirelesssecurity.

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Authors: Mahmoud Elmezain, Ayoub Al-Hamadi, Bernd Michaelis

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Hand gesture is an active area of research in the vision community, mainly for the purpose of sign language recognition and Human Computer Interaction. In this paper, we propose a system to recognize alphabet characters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9) in real-time from stereo color image sequences using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Our system is based on three main stages; automatic segmentation and preprocessing of the hand regions, feature extraction and classification. In automatic segmentation and preprocessing stage, color and 3D depth map are used to detect hands where the hand trajectory will take place in further step using Mean-shift algorithm and Kalman filter. In the feature extraction stage, 3D combined features of location, orientation and velocity with respected to Cartesian systems are used. And then, k-means clustering is employed for HMMs codeword. The final stage so-called classification, Baum- Welch algorithm is used to do a full train for HMMs parameters. The gesture of alphabets and numbers is recognized using Left-Right Banded model in conjunction with Viterbi algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that, our system can successfully recognize hand gestures with 98.33% recognition rate.

Keywords: Gesture Recognition, Computer Vision & Image Processing, Pattern Recognition.

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Authors: Si-Hwan Kim, Gum-Sung Ryu, Kyung-Taek Koh, Jang-Hwa Lee

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Despite of the preponderant role played by cement among the construction materials, it is today considered as a material destructing the environment due to the large quantities of carbon dioxide exhausted during its manufacture. Besides, global warming is now recognized worldwide as the new threat to the humankind against which advanced countries are investigating measures to reduce the current amount of exhausted gases to the half by 2050. Accordingly, efforts to reduce green gases are exerted in all industrial fields. Especially, the cement industry strives to reduce the consumption of cement through the development of alkali-activated geopolymer mortars using industrial byproducts like bottom ash. This study intends to gather basic data on the flowability and strength development characteristics of alkali-activated geopolymer mortar by examining its FT-IT features with respect to the effects and strength of the alkali-activator in order to develop bottom ash-based alkali-activated geopolymer mortar. The results show that the 35:65 mass ratio of sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate is appropriate and that a molarity of 9M for sodium hydroxide is advantageous. The ratio of the alkali-activators to bottom ash is seen to have poor effect on the strength. Moreover, the FT-IR analysis reveals that larger improvement of the strength shifts the peak from 1060 cm–1 (T-O, T=Si or Al) toward shorter wavenumber.

Keywords: Bottom Ash, Geopolymer mortar, Flowability, Strength Properties.

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Authors: M. Zake, I. Barmina, A. Kolmickovs, R. Valdmanis

Abstract:

Experimental investigations of the DC electric field effect on thermal decomposition of biomass, formation of the axial flow of volatiles (CO, H2, CxHy), mixing of volatiles with swirling airflow at low swirl intensity (S ≈ 0.2-0.35), their ignition and on formation of combustion dynamics are carried out with the aim to understand the mechanism of electric field influence on biomass gasification, combustion of volatiles and heat energy production. The DC electric field effect on combustion dynamics was studied by varying the positive bias voltage of the central electrode from 0.6 kV to 3 kV, whereas the ion current was limited to 2 mA. The results of experimental investigations confirm the field-enhanced biomass gasification with enhanced release of volatiles and the development of endothermic processes at the primary stage of thermochemical conversion of biomass determining the field-enhanced heat energy consumption with the correlating decrease of the flame temperature and heat energy production at this stage of flame formation. Further, the field-enhanced radial expansion of the flame reaction zone correlates with a more complete combustion of volatiles increasing the combustion efficiency by 3% and decreasing the mass fraction of CO, H2 and CxHy in the products, whereas by 10% increases the average volume fraction of CO2 and the heat energy production downstream the combustor increases by 5-10% 

Keywords: Biomass, combustion, electrodynamic control, gasification.

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Authors: H. Ali, A. Whitehead

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Providing a panoramic view of famous landmarks around the world offers artistic and historic value for historians, tourists, and researchers. Exploring the history of famous landmarks by presenting a comprehensive view of a temporal panorama merged with geographical and historical information presents a unique challenge of dealing with images that span a long period, from the 1800’s up to the present. This work presents the concept of temporal panorama through a timeline display of aligned historic and modern images for many famous landmarks. Utilization of this panorama requires a collection of hundreds of thousands of landmark images from the Internet comprised of historic images and modern images of the digital age. These images have to be classified for subset selection to keep the more suitable images that chronologically document a landmark’s history. Processing of historic images captured using older analog technology under various different capturing conditions represents a big challenge when they have to be used with modern digital images. Successful processing of historic images to prepare them for next steps of temporal panorama creation represents an active contribution in cultural heritage preservation through the fulfillment of one of UNESCO goals in preservation and displaying famous worldwide landmarks.

Keywords: Cultural heritage, image registration, image subset selection, registered image similarity, temporal panorama, timescapes.

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Authors: Reza Ziaie Moayed, Ehsan Azini

Abstract:

Jet grouting (JG) is one of the methods of improving and increasing the strength and bearing of soil in which the high pressure water or grout is injected through the nozzles into the soil. During this process, a part of the soil and grout particles comes out of the drill borehole, and the other part is mixed up with the grout in place, as a result of this process, a mass of modified soil is created. The purpose of this method is to change the soil into a mixture of soil and cement, commonly known as "soil-cement". In this paper, first, the principles of high pressure injection and then the effective parameters in the JG method are described. Then, the tests on the samples taken from the columns formed from the excavation around the soil-cement columns, as well as the static loading test on the created column, are discussed. In the other part of this paper, the soil behavior models for numerical modeling in PLAXIS software are mentioned. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the results of numerical modeling based on in-situ static loading tests. The results indicate an acceptable agreement between the results of the tests mentioned and the modeling results. Also, modeling with this software as an appropriate option for technical feasibility can be used to soil improvement using JG.

Keywords: Jet grouting column, Soil improvement, Numerical modeling, In-situ loading test.

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Authors: F. Elashhab, L. Sheha, R. Fawzi Elsupikhe, A. E. A. Youssef, R. M. Sheltami, T. Alfazani

Abstract:

Chitosans, CSs, in solution are increasingly used in a range of geometric properties in various academic and industrial sectors, especially in the domain of pharmaceutical and biomedical engineering. In order to provide a tailoring guide of CSs to the applicants, gamma (γ)-irradiation technology and simple viscosity measurements have been used in this study. Accordingly, CS solid discs (0.5 cm thickness and 2.5 cm diameter) were exposed in air to Cobalt-60 (γ)-radiation, at room temperature and constant 50 kGy dose for different periods of exposer time (tγ). Diluted solutions of native and different irradiated CS were then prepared by dissolving 1.25 mg cm-3 of each polymer in 0.1 M NaCl/0.2 M CH3COOH. The single-concentration relative viscosity (ƞr) measurements were employed to obtain their intrinsic viscosity ([ƞ]) values and interrelated parameters, like: the molar mass (Mƞ), hydrodynamic radiuses (RH,ƞ), radius of gyration (RG,ƞ), and second virial coefficient (A2,ƞ) of CSs in the solution. The results show an exponential decrease of ƞr, [ƞ], Mƞ, RH,ƞ and RG,ƞ with increasing tγ. This suggests the influence of random chain-scission of CSs glycosidic bonds, with rate constant kr and kr-1 (lifetime τr ~ 0.017 min-1 and 57.14 min, respectively). The results also show an exponential decrease of A2ƞ with increasing tγ, which can be attributed to the growth of excluded volume effect in CS segments by tγ and, hence, better solution quality. The results are represented in following scaling laws as a tailoring guide to the applicants: RH,ƞ = 6.98 x 10-3 Mr0.65; RG,ƞ = 7.09 x 10-4 Mr0.83; A2,ƞ = 121.03 Mƞ,r-0.19.

Keywords: Gamma irradiation, geometric properties, kinetic model, scaling laws, viscosity measurement.

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Authors: Mehmet Nefes, Selman Demirel, Hasan H. Ertok, Cenk Sen

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A typical reliability engineering problem regarding communication satellites has been considered to determine redundancy allocation scheme of power amplifiers within payload transponder module, whose dominant function is to amplify power levels of the received signals from the Earth, through maximizing reliability against mass, power, and other technical limitations. Adding each redundant power amplifier component increases not only reliability but also hardware, testing, and launch cost of a satellite. This study investigates a multi-objective approach used in order to solve Redundancy Allocation Problem (RAP) for a communication satellite payload transponder, focusing on design cost due to redundancy and reliability factors. The main purpose is to find the optimum power amplifier redundancy configuration satisfying reliability and capacity thresholds simultaneously instead of analyzing respectively or independently. A mathematical model and calculation approach are instituted including objective function definitions, and then, the problem is solved analytically with different input parameters in MATLAB environment. Example results showed that payload capacity and failure rate of power amplifiers have remarkable effects on the solution and also processing time.

Keywords: Communication satellite payload, multi-objective optimization, redundancy allocation problem, reliability, transponder.

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Authors: Mansoor Ahsan, Suhail Akhtar, Adnan Ali, Farrukh Mazhar, Muddssar Khalid

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In the present era of aviation technology, autonomous navigation and control have emerged as a prime area of active research. Owing to the tremendous developments in the field, autonomous controls have led today’s engineers to claim that future of aerospace vehicle is unmanned. Development of guidance and navigation algorithms for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an extremely challenging task, which requires efforts to meet strict, and at times, conflicting goals of guidance and control. In this paper, aircraft altitude and heading controllers and an efficient algorithm for self-governing navigation using MATLAB® mapping toolbox is presented which also enables loitering of a fixed wing UAV over a specified area. For this purpose, a nonlinear mathematical model of a UAV is used. The nonlinear model is linearized around a stable trim point and decoupled for controller design. The linear controllers are tested on the nonlinear aircraft model and navigation algorithm is subsequently developed for for autonomous flight of the UAV. The results are presented for trajectory controllers and waypoint based navigation. Our investigation reveals that MATLAB® mapping toolbox can be exploited to successfully deliver an efficient algorithm for autonomous aerial navigation for a UAV.

Keywords: Navigation, trajectory-control, unmanned aerial vehicle, PID-control, MATLAB® mapping toolbox.

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Authors: Ali Heidari

Abstract:

This paper presents the principles for improving flood mitigation operation in multipurpose dams and maximizing reservoir performance during flood occurrence with a focus on the real-time operation of gated spillways. The criteria of operation include the safety of dams during flood management, minimizing the downstream flood risk by decreasing the flood hazard and fulfilling water supply and other purposes of the dam operation in mid and long terms horizons. The parameters deemed to be important include flood inflow, outlet capacity restrictions, downstream flood inundation damages, economic revenue of dam operation, and environmental and sedimentation restrictions. A simulation model was used to determine the real-time release of the Dez Dam located in the Dez Rivers in southwest Iran, considering the gate regulation curves for the gated spillway. The results of the simulation model show that there is a possibility to improve the current procedures used in the real-time operation of the dams, particularly using gate regulation curves and early flood forecasting system results. The Dez Dam operation data show that in one of the best flood control records, 17% of the total active volume and flood control pool of the reservoir have not been used in decreasing the downstream flood hazard despite the availability of a flood forecasting system.

Keywords: Dam operation, flood control criteria, Dez Dam, Iran.

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Authors: R. Kamali, A. R. Binesh, S. Hossainpour

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To understand working features of a micro combustor, a computer code has been developed to study combustion of hydrogen–air mixture in a series of chambers with same shape aspect ratio but various dimensions from millimeter to micrometer level. The prepared algorithm and the computer code are capable of modeling mixture effects in different fluid flows including chemical reactions, viscous and mass diffusion effects. The effect of various heat transfer conditions at chamber wall, e.g. adiabatic wall, with heat loss and heat conduction within the wall, on the combustion is analyzed. These thermal conditions have strong effects on the combustion especially when the chamber dimension goes smaller and the ratio of surface area to volume becomes larger. Both factors, such as larger heat loss through the chamber wall and smaller chamber dimension size, may lead to the thermal quenching of micro-scale combustion. Through such systematic numerical analysis, a proper operation space for the micro-combustor is suggested, which may be used as the guideline for microcombustor design. In addition, the results reported in this paper illustrate that the numerical simulation can be one of the most powerful and beneficial tools for the micro-combustor design, optimization and performance analysis.

Keywords: Numerical simulation, Micro-combustion, MEMS, CFD, Chemical reaction.

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Authors: Mohamad Azmi Haniffa, Fakhruldin Mohd Hashim

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Pipeline infrastructures normally represent high cost of investment and the pipeline must be free from risks that could cause environmental hazard and potential threats to personnel safety. Pipeline integrity such monitoring and management become very crucial to provide unimpeded transportation and avoiding unnecessary production deferment. Thus proper cleaning and inspection is the key to safe and reliable pipeline operation and plays an important role in pipeline integrity management program and has become a standard industry procedure. In view of this, understanding the motion (dynamic behavior), prediction and control of the PIG speed is important in executing pigging operation as it offers significant benefits, such as estimating PIG arrival time at receiving station, planning for suitable pigging operation, and improves efficiency of pigging tasks. The objective of this paper is to review recent developments in speed control system of pipeline PIGs. The review carried out would serve as an industrial application in a form of quick reference of recent developments in pipeline PIG speed control system, and further initiate others to add-in/update the list in the future leading to knowledge based data, and would attract active interest of others to share their view points.

Keywords: Pipeline Inspection Gauge (PIG), In Line Inspection Tools (ILI), PIG motion, PIG speed control system

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Authors: Jahanbakhsh Hamedi, Hassan Zohoor

Abstract:

This article proposes modeling, simulation and kinematic and workspace analysis of a spatial cable suspended robot as incompletely Restrained Positioning Mechanism (IRPM). These types of robots have six cables equal to the number of degrees of freedom. After modeling, the kinds of workspace are defined then an statically reachable combined workspace for different geometric structures of fixed and moving platform is obtained. This workspace is defined as the situations of reference point of the moving platform (center of mass) which under external forces such as weight and with ignorance of inertial effects, the moving platform should be in static equilibrium under conditions that length of all cables must not be exceeded from the maximum value and all of cables must be at tension (they must have non-negative tension forces). Then the effect of various parameters such as the size of moving platform, the size of fixed platform, geometric configuration of robots, magnitude of applied forces and moments to moving platform on workspace of these robots with different geometric configuration are investigated. Obtained results should be effective in employing these robots under different conditions of applied wrench for increasing the workspace volume.

Keywords: Kinematic modeling, applied wrench, workspace, cable based robot.

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Authors: Edward Pol

Abstract:

All companies are confronted with the need to innovate in order to meet market demands. In so doing they are challenged with the dilemma of whether to aim to be first into the market with a new innovative product, or to deliberately wait and learn from a pioneers’ mistakes; potentially avoiding higher risks. It is therefore important to critically understand from a first mover advantage and disadvantage perspective the decision-making implications of defence industry transformation onset by an innovative paradigm shift. This paper will argue that the type of industry characteristics matter, especially when considering what role the clients play in the innovation process and what their level of influence is. Through investigation of qualitative case study research, this inquiry will focus on first mover advantages and first mover disadvantages with a view to establish practical and value-added academic findings by focusing on specific industries where the clients play an active role in cooperation with the supplier innovation. The resulting findings will help managers to mitigate risk in innovative technology introduction. A selection from several defence industry innovations is specifically chosen because of the client–supplier relationship that typically differs from traditional first mover research. In this instance, case studies will be used referencing vertical-take-off-and-landing defence equipment innovations. 

Keywords: innovation, pioneer, first mover advantage, first mover disadvantage, risk

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Authors: Umar Ubandawaki

Abstract:

Political participation involves voluntary and deliberate efforts by the members of a political system to determine the kinds of political institution and individuals that will govern them and equally influence the mobilization and allocation of the available societal resources. Over the years, youths in Nigeria participate actively in political party rallies and voting to elect their leaders and representatives in governance. This paper examines categories and nature of participation in politics as well as factors that drive youths into politics in Sokoto State. A survey conducted, through focus group discussions, interviews and questionnaire, in the six sampled Local Government of Sokoto State identifies three category of political participation; namely, active, moderate and apathetic participation. The findings reveal that 63.57% of respondents are apathetic to politics in the State and unemployed youth constitutes 34.74% of the entire responses. The paper establishes that lack of attainment of need (63.22%) is one of the reasons that make youths engage into participatory activities that encourage political thuggery and manipulation of electoral outcomes. The paper recommends that youths should be engaged into positive rational participatory activities that ensure inclusiveness and promotion of good governance in Nigeria. It is hoped that this will enlighten youths and policy implementers on the constructive strategies in controlling youths’ negative participation in politics in Nigeria.

Keywords: Democracy, Governance, Inclusiveness, Participation and Politics.

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Authors: Abdullah M. Alodhaiani, Yasir A. Alturki, Mohamed A. Elkady

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Complex power flow distribution factors, which relate line complex power flows to the bus injected complex powers, have been widely used in various power system planning and analysis studies. In particular, AC distribution factors have been used extensively in the recent power and energy pricing studies in free electricity market field. As was demonstrated in the existing literature, many of the electricity market related costing studies rely on the use of the distribution factors. These known distribution factors, whether the injection shift factors (ISF’s) or power transfer distribution factors (PTDF’s), are linear approximations of the first order sensitivities of the active power flows with respect to various variables. This paper presents a novel model for evaluating the universal distribution factors (UDF’s), which are appropriate for an extensive range of power systems analysis and free electricity market studies. These distribution factors are used for the calculations of lines complex power flows and its independent of bus power injections, they are compact matrix-form expressions with total flexibility in determining the position on the line at which line flows are measured. The proposed approach was tested on IEEE 9-Bus system. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach is very accurate compared with exact method.

Keywords: Distribution Factors, Power System, Sensitivity Factors, Electricity Market.

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Authors: N. B. Fedosenko, A.A Iatcenko, S.A. Levanov

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The paper shows some ability to manage two-phase flows arising from the use of unsteady effects. In one case, we consider the condition of fragmentation of the interface between the two components leads to the intensification of mixing. The problem is solved when the temporal and linear scale are small for the appearance of the developed mixing layer. Showing that exist such conditions for unsteady flow velocity at the surface of the channel, which will lead to the creation and fragmentation of vortices at Re numbers of order unity. Also showing that the Re is not a criterion of similarity for this type of flows, but we can introduce a criterion that depends on both the Re, and the frequency splitting of the vortices. It turned out that feature of this situation is that streamlines behave stable, and if we analyze the behavior of the interface between the components it satisfies all the properties of unstable flows. The other problem we consider the behavior of solid impurities in the extensive system of channels. Simulated unsteady periodic flow modeled breaths. Consider the behavior of the particles along the trajectories. It is shown that, depending on the mass and diameter of the particles, they can be collected in a caustic on the channel walls, stop in a certain place or fly back. Of interest is the distribution of particle velocity in frequency. It turned out that by choosing a behavior of the velocity field of the carrier gas can affect the trajectory of individual particles including force them to fly back.

Keywords: Two-phase, mixing, separating, flow control

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Authors: Q. J. Yang

Abstract:

This paper presents a case study of geotechnical design of bridge foundations and approaches in hilly granite formation in northern New South Wales of Australia. Firstly, the geological formation and existing cut slope conditions which have high risks of rock fall will be described. The bridge has three spans to be constructed using balanced cantilever method with a middle span of 150 m. After concept design option engineering, it was decided to change from pile foundation to pad footing with ground anchor system to optimize the bridge foundation design. The geotechnical design parameters were derived after two staged site investigations. The foundation design was carried out to satisfy both serviceability limit state and ultimate limit state during construction and in operation. It was found that the pad footing design was governed by serviceability limit state design loading cases. The design of bridge foundation also considered presence of weak rock layer intrusion and a layer of “no core” to ensure foundation stability. The precast mass concrete block system was considered for the retaining walls for the bridge approaches to resolve the constructability issue over hilly terrain. The design considered the retaining wall block sliding stability, while the overturning and internal stabilities are satisfied.

Keywords: Pad footing, hilly formation, stability, block works.

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Authors: Asif Ansari, T.C.Manjunath, C. Ardil

Abstract:

In today-s competitive environment, the security concerns have grown tremendously. In the modern world, possession is known to be 9/10-ths of the law. Hence, it is imperative for one to be able to safeguard one-s property from worldly harms such as thefts, destruction of property, people with malicious intent etc. Due to the advent of technology in the modern world, the methodologies used by thieves and robbers for stealing have been improving exponentially. Therefore, it is necessary for the surveillance techniques to also improve with the changing world. With the improvement in mass media and various forms of communication, it is now possible to monitor and control the environment to the advantage of the owners of the property. The latest technologies used in the fight against thefts and destruction are the video surveillance and monitoring. By using the technologies, it is possible to monitor and capture every inch and second of the area in interest. However, so far the technologies used are passive in nature, i.e., the monitoring systems only help in detecting the crime but do not actively participate in stopping or curbing the crime while it takes place. Therefore, we have developed a methodology to detect the motion in a video stream environment and this is an idea to ensure that the monitoring systems not only actively participate in stopping the crime, but do so while the crime is taking place. Hence, a system is used to detect any motion in a live streaming video and once motion has been detected in the live stream, the software will activate a warning system and capture the live streaming video.

Keywords: Motion, Detection, System, Video, Crime, Matlab, Surveillance.

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Authors: Bharat Jhamnani, SK Singh

Abstract:

Sampling and analysis of leachate from Bhalaswa landfill and groundwater samples from nearby locations, clearly indicated the likely contamination of groundwater due to landfill leachate. The results of simulation studies carried out for the migration of Chloride from landfill shows that the simulation results are in consonance with the observed concentration of Chloride in the vicinity of landfill facility. The solid waste disposal system presently being practiced in Delhi consists of mere dumping of wastes generated, at three locations Bhalaswa, Ghazipur, and Okhla without any regard to proper care for the protection of surrounding environment. Bhalaswa landfill site in Delhi, which is being operated as a dump site, is expected to become cause of serious groundwater pollution in its vicinity. The leachate from Bhalaswa landfill was found to be having a high concentration of chlorides, as well as DOC, COD. The present study was undertaken to determine the likely concentrations of principle contaminants in the groundwater over a period of time due to the discharge of such contaminants from landfill leachates to the underlying groundwater. The observed concentration of chlorides in the groundwater within 75m of the radius of landfill facility was found to be in consonance with the simulated concentration of chloride in groundwater considering one dimensional transport model, with finite mass of contaminant source. Governing equation of contaminant transport involving advection and diffusion-dispersion was solved in matlab7.0 using finite difference method.

Keywords: Groundwater, landfill, leachate, solid waste.

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Authors: N. Cetinkaya, F. Erdem

Abstract:

Juncus acutus (Juncaceae) is a perennial wetland plant and it is commonly known as spiny rush or sharp rush. It is the most abundant plant in Kizilirmak grassland, Samsun, Turkey. Heavy metals are significant environmental contaminants in delta and their toxicity is an increasing problem for animals whose natural habitat is delta. The objective of this study was to evaluate heavy metal concentrations mainly As, Cd, Sb, Ba, Pb and Hg in stem and seed of Juncus acutus for grazing animals and birds in delta. The Juncus acutus stem and seed samples were collected from Kizilirmak Delta in July, August and September. Heavy metal concentrations of collected samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The obtained mean values of three months for As, Cd, Sb, Ba, Pb and Hg of stem and seed samples of Juncus acutus were 0.11 and 0.23 mg/kg; 0.07 and 0.11 mg/kg; 0.02 and 0.02 mg/kg; 5.26 and 1.75 mg/kg; 0.05 and not detectable in July respectively. Hg was not detected in both stem and seed of Juncus acutus, Pb concentration was determined only in stem of Juncus acutus but not in seed. There were no significant differences between the values of three months for As, Cd, Sb, Ba, Pb and Hg of stem and seed samples of Juncus acutus. The obtained As, Cd, Sb, Ba, Pb and Hg results of stem and seed of Juncus acutus show that seed and stem of Juncus acutus may be safely consumed for grazing animals and birds regarding to heavy metals contamination in Kizilirmak Delta.

Keywords: Heavy metals, Juncus acutus, Kizilirmak Delta, wetland.

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Authors: M. Cuevas-González, O. Monserrat, A. Barra, C. Reyes-Carmona, R. M. Mateos, J. P. Galve, R. Sarro, M. Cantalejo, E. Peña, M. Martínez-Corbella, J. A. Luque, J. M. Azañón, A. Millares, M. Béjar, J. A. Navarro, L. Solari

Abstract:

Geohazard prone areas require continuous monitoring to detect risks, understand the phenomena occurring in those regions and prevent disasters. Satellite interferometry (InSAR) has come to be a trustworthy technique for ground movement detection and monitoring in the last few years. InSAR based techniques allow to process large areas providing high number of displacement measurements at low cost. However, the results provided by such techniques are usually not easy to interpret by non-experienced users hampering its use for decision makers. This work presents a set of tools developed in the framework of different projects (Momit, Safety, U-Geohaz, Riskcoast) and an example of their use in the Granada Coastal area (Spain) is shown. The ADA (Active Displacement Areas) tool has been developed with the aim of easing the management, use and interpretation of InSAR based results. It provides a semi-automatic extraction of the most significant ADAs through the application ADAFinder tool. This tool aims to support the exploitation of the European Ground Motion Service (EU-GMS), which will offer reliable and systematic information on natural and anthropogenic ground motion phenomena across Europe.

Keywords: Ground displacements, InSAR, natural hazards, satellite imagery.

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Authors: Rajine Swetha R, B. Shekar Babu, Sumithra Devi K.A

Abstract:

Electronic Systems are the core of everyday lives. They form an integral part in financial networks, mass transit, telephone systems, power plants and personal computers. Electronic systems are increasingly based on complex VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) integrated circuits. Initial electronic design automation is concerned with the design and production of VLSI systems. The next important step in creating a VLSI circuit is Physical Design. The input to the physical design is a logical representation of the system under design. The output of this step is the layout of a physical package that optimally or near optimally realizes the logical representation. Physical design problems are combinatorial in nature and of large problem sizes. Darwin observed that, as variations are introduced into a population with each new generation, the less-fit individuals tend to extinct in the competition of basic necessities. This survival of fittest principle leads to evolution in species. The objective of the Genetic Algorithms (GA) is to find an optimal solution to a problem .Since GA-s are heuristic procedures that can function as optimizers, they are not guaranteed to find the optimum, but are able to find acceptable solutions for a wide range of problems. This survey paper aims at a study on Efficient Algorithms for VLSI Physical design and observes the common traits of the superior contributions.

Keywords: Genetic Algorithms, Physical Design, VLSI.

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Authors: A. A. Embaby, A. Abu Halawa, M. Ramadan

Abstract:

In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are several areas where expansive soil exists in the form of variable-thicknesses layers in the developed regions. Severe distress to infrastructures can be caused by the development of heave and swelling pressure in this kind of expansive shale. Among the various techniques for expansive soil mitigation, the removal and replacement technique is very popular for lightly loaded structures and shallow foundations. This paper presents the result of an experimental study conducted for evaluating the effect of type and thickness of the cushion soils on mitigation of swelling characteristics of expanded shale. Seven undisturbed shale samples collected from Al Qadsiyah district, which is located in the Tabuk town north Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are treated with two types of cushion coarse-grained sediments (CCS); sand and gravel. Each type is represented with three thicknesses, 22%, 33% and 44% in relation to the depth of the active zone. The test results indicated that the replacement of expansive shale by CCS reduces the swelling potential and pressure. It is found that the reduction in swelling depends on the type and thickness of CCS. The treatment by removing the original expansive shale and replacing it by cushion sand with 44% thickness reduced the swelling potential and pressure of about 53.29% and 62.78 %, respectively.

Keywords: Cushion coarse-grained sediments, expansive soil, Saudi Arabia, swelling pressure, Tabuk Shale.

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