Search results for: urban form
741 Hydrogen Rich Fuel Gas Production from 2- Propanol Using Pt/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3 Catalysts in Supercritical Water
Authors: Yağmur Karakuş, Fatih Aynacı, Ekin Kıpçak, Mesut Akgün
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Hydrogen is an important chemical in many industries and it is expected to become one of the major fuels for energy generation in the future. Unfortunately, hydrogen does not exist in its elemental form in nature and therefore has to be produced from hydrocarbons, hydrogen-containing compounds or water. Above its critical point (374.8oC and 22.1MPa), water has lower density and viscosity, and a higher heat capacity than those of ambient water. Mass transfer in supercritical water (SCW) is enhanced due to its increased diffusivity and transport ability. The reduced dielectric constant makes supercritical water a better solvent for organic compounds and gases. Hence, due to the aforementioned desirable properties, there is a growing interest toward studies regarding the gasification of organic matter containing biomass or model biomass solutions in supercritical water. In this study, hydrogen and biofuel production by the catalytic gasification of 2-Propanol in supercritical conditions of water was investigated. Pt/Al2O3and Ni/Al2O3were the catalysts used in the gasification reactions. All of the experiments were performed under a constant pressure of 25MPa. The effects of five reaction temperatures (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600°C) and five reaction times (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 s) on the gasification yield and flammable component content were investigated.Keywords: 2-Propanol, Gasification, Ni/Al2O3, Pt/Al2O3, Supercritical water.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2052740 Internal Leakage Analysis from Pd to Pc Port Direction in ECV Body Used in External Variable Type A/C Compressor
Authors: Md. Iqbal Mahmud, Haeng Muk Cho, Seo Hyun Sang, Wang Wen Hai, Chang Heon Yi, Man Ik Hwang, Dae Hoon Kang
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Solenoid operated electromagnetic control valve (ECV) playing an important role for car’s air conditioning control system. ECV is used in external variable displacement swash plate type compressor and controls the entire air conditioning system by means of a pulse width modulation (PWM) input signal supplying from an external source (controller). Complete form of ECV contains number of internal features like valve body, core, valve guide, plunger, guide pin, plunger spring, bellows etc. While designing the ECV; dimensions of different internal items must meet the standard requirements as it is quite challenging. In this research paper, especially the dimensioning of ECV body and its three pressure ports through which the air/refrigerant passes are considered. Here internal leakage test analysis of ECV body is being carried out from its discharge port (Pd) to crankcase port (Pc) when the guide valve is placed inside it. The experiments have made both in ordinary and digital system using different assumptions and thereafter compare the results.
Keywords: Electromagnetic control valve (ECV), Leakage, Pressure port, Valve body, Valve guide.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2853739 Trend Analysis for Extreme Rainfall Events in New South Wales, Australia
Authors: Evan Hajani, Ataur Rahman, Khaled Haddad
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Climate change will affect the hydrological cycle in many different ways such as increase in evaporation and rainfalls. There have been growing interests among researchers to identify the nature of trends in historical rainfall data in many different parts of the world. This paper examines the trends in annual maximum rainfall data from 30 stations in New South Wales, Australia by using two non-parametric tests, Mann-Kendall (MK) and Spearman’s Rho (SR). Rainfall data were analyzed for fifteen different durations ranging from 6 min to 3 days. It is found that the sub-hourly durations (6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 48 minutes) show statistically significant positive (upward) trends whereas longer duration (subdaily and daily) events generally show a statistically significant negative (downward) trend. It is also found that the MK test and SR test provide notably different results for some rainfall event durations considered in this study. Since shorter duration sub-hourly rainfall events show positive trends at many stations, the design rainfall data based on stationary frequency analysis for these durations need to be adjusted to account for the impact of climate change. These shorter durations are more relevant to many urban development projects based on smaller catchments having a much shorter response time.
Keywords: Climate change, Mann-Kendall test, Spearman’s Rho test, trends, design rainfall.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2910738 Data Mining Techniques in Computer-Aided Diagnosis: Non-Invasive Cancer Detection
Authors: Florin Gorunescu
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Diagnosis can be achieved by building a model of a certain organ under surveillance and comparing it with the real time physiological measurements taken from the patient. This paper deals with the presentation of the benefits of using Data Mining techniques in the computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), focusing on the cancer detection, in order to help doctors to make optimal decisions quickly and accurately. In the field of the noninvasive diagnosis techniques, the endoscopic ultrasound elastography (EUSE) is a recent elasticity imaging technique, allowing characterizing the difference between malignant and benign tumors. Digitalizing and summarizing the main EUSE sample movies features in a vector form concern with the use of the exploratory data analysis (EDA). Neural networks are then trained on the corresponding EUSE sample movies vector input in such a way that these intelligent systems are able to offer a very precise and objective diagnosis, discriminating between benign and malignant tumors. A concrete application of these Data Mining techniques illustrates the suitability and the reliability of this methodology in CAD.Keywords: Endoscopic ultrasound elastography, exploratorydata analysis, neural networks, non-invasive cancer detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1867737 Assessment of Energy Consumption in Cluster Redevelopment: A Case Study of Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai
Authors: Insiya Kapasi, Roshni Udyavar Yehuda
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Cluster Redevelopment is a new concept in the city of Mumbai. Its regulations were laid down by the government in 2009. The concept of cluster redevelopment encompasses a group of buildings defined by a boundary as specified by the municipal authority (in this case, Mumbai), which may be dilapidated or approved for redevelopment. The study analyses the effect of cluster redevelopment in the form of renewal of old group of buildings as compared to refurbishment or restoration - on energy consumption. The methodology includes methods of assessment to determine increase or decrease in energy consumption in cluster redevelopment based on different criteria such as carpet area of the units, building envelope and its architectural elements. Results show that as the area and number of units increase the Energy consumption increases and the EPI (energy performance index) decreases as compared to the base case. The energy consumption per unit area declines by 29% in the proposed cluster redevelopment as compared to the original settlement. It is recommended that although the development is spacious and provides more light and ventilation, aspects such as glass type, traditional architectural features and consumer behavior are critical in the reduction of energy consumption.
Keywords: Cluster redevelopment, energy consumption, energy efficiency, typologies.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 631736 Numerical Modelling of Dust Propagation in the Atmosphere of Tbilisi City in Case of Western Background Light Air
Authors: N. Gigauri, V. Kukhalashvili, A. Surmava, L. Intskirveli, L. Gverdtsiteli
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Tbilisi, a large city of the South Caucasus, is a junction point connecting Asia and Europe, Russia and republics of the Asia Minor. Over the last years, its atmosphere has been experienced an increasing anthropogenic load. Numerical modeling method is used for study of Tbilisi atmospheric air pollution. By means of 3D non-linear non-steady numerical model a peculiarity of city atmosphere pollution is investigated during background western light air. Dust concentration spatial and time changes are determined. There are identified the zones of high, average and less pollution, dust accumulation areas, transfer directions etc. By numerical modeling, there is shown that the process of air pollution by the dust proceeds in four stages, and they depend on the intensity of motor traffic, the micro-relief of the city, and the location of city mains. In the interval of time 06:00-09:00 the intensive growth, 09:00-15:00 a constancy or weak decrease, 18:00-21:00 an increase, and from 21:00 to 06:00 a reduction of the dust concentrations take place. The highly polluted areas are located in the vicinity of the city center and at some peripherical territories of the city, where the maximum dust concentration at 9PM is equal to 2 maximum allowable concentrations. The similar investigations conducted in case of various meteorological situations will enable us to compile the map of background urban pollution and to elaborate practical measures for ambient air protection.
Keywords: Numerical modelling, source of pollution, dust propagation, western light air.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 489735 Solar Energy Potential and Applications in Myanmar
Authors: Thet Thet Han Yee, Su Su Win, Nyein Nyein Soe
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Energy consumption is one of the indices in determining the levels of development of a nation. Therefore, availability of energy supply to all sectors of life in any country is crucial for its development. These exists shortage of all kinds of energy, particularly electricity which is badly needed for economic development. Electricity from the sun which is quite abundant in most of the developing countries is used in rural areas to meet basic electricity needs of a rural community. Today-s electricity supply in Myanmar is generated by fuel generators and hydroelectric power plants. However, far-flung areas which are away from National Grids cannot enjoy the electricity generated by these sources. Since Myanmar is a land of plentiful sunshine, especially in central and southern regions of the country, the first form of energy- solar energy could hopefully become the final solution to its energy supply problem. The direct conversion of solar energy into electricity using photovoltaic system has been receiving intensive installation not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. It is mainly intended to present solar energy potential and application in Myanmar. It is also wanted to get the benefits of using solar energy for people in remote areas which are not yet connected to the national grids because of the high price of fossil fuel.Keywords: Electricity supply in Myanmar, National Grids, solarenergy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7883734 Model Reduction of Linear Systems by Conventional and Evolutionary Techniques
Authors: S. Panda, S. K. Tomar, R. Prasad, C. Ardil
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Reduction of Single Input Single Output (SISO) continuous systems into Reduced Order Model (ROM), using a conventional and an evolutionary technique is presented in this paper. In the conventional technique, the mixed advantages of Mihailov stability criterion and continued fraction expansions (CFE) technique is employed where the reduced denominator polynomial is derived using Mihailov stability criterion and the numerator is obtained by matching the quotients of the Cauer second form of Continued fraction expansions. In the evolutionary technique method Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is employed to reduce the higher order model. PSO method is based on the minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) between the transient responses of original higher order model and the reduced order model pertaining to a unit step input. Both the methods are illustrated through numerical example.
Keywords: Reduced Order Modeling, Stability, Continued Fraction Expansions, Mihailov Stability Criterion, Particle Swarm Optimization, Integral Squared Error.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1927733 Formulation of Extended-Release Gliclazide Tablet Using a Mathematical Model for Estimation of Hypromellose
Authors: Farzad Khajavi, Farzaneh Jalilfar, Faranak Jafari, Leila Shokrani
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Formulation of gliclazide in the form of extended-release tablet in 30 and 60 mg dosage forms was performed using hypromellose (HPMC K4M) as a retarding agent. Drug-release profiles were investigated in comparison with references Diamicron MR 30 and 60 mg tablets. The effect of size of powder particles, the amount of hypromellose in formulation, hardness of tablets, and also the effect of halving the tablets were investigated on drug release profile. A mathematical model which describes hypromellose behavior in initial times of drug release was proposed for the estimation of hypromellose content in modified-release gliclazide 60 mg tablet. This model is based on erosion of hypromellose in dissolution media. The model is applicable to describe release profiles of insoluble drugs. Therefore, by using dissolved amount of drug in initial times of dissolution and the model, the amount of hypromellose in formulation can be predictable. The model was used to predict the HPMC K4M content in modified-release gliclazide 30 mg and extended-release quetiapine 200 mg tablets.
Keywords: Hypromellose, gliclazide, drug release, modified-release tablet, mathematical model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2305732 Evaluating the Nexus between Energy Demand and Economic Growth Using the VECM Approach: Case Study of Nigeria, China, and the United States
Authors: Rita U. Onolemhemhen, Saheed L. Bello, Akin P. Iwayemi
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The effectiveness of energy demand policy depends on identifying the key drivers of energy demand both in the short-run and the long-run. This paper examines the influence of regional differences on the link between energy demand and other explanatory variables for Nigeria, China and USA using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach. This study employed annual time series data on energy consumption (ED), real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (RGDP), real energy prices (P) and urbanization (N) for a thirty-six-year sample period. The utilized time-series data are sourced from World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI, 2016) and US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Results from the study, shows that all the independent variables (income, urbanization, and price) substantially affect the long-run energy consumption in Nigeria, USA and China, whereas, income has no significant effect on short-run energy demand in USA and Nigeria. In addition, the long-run effect of urbanization is relatively stronger in China. Urbanization is a key factor in energy demand, it therefore recommended that more attention should be given to the development of rural communities to reduce the inflow of migrants into urban communities which causes the increase in energy demand and energy excesses should be penalized while energy management should be incentivized.Keywords: Economic growth, energy demand, income, real GDP, urbanization, VECM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 988731 Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Bypass-Current MIG Welding-Brazed Dissimilar Al/Ti Joints
Authors: Bintao Wu, Xiangfang Xu, Yugang Miao, Duanfeng Han
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Joining of 1mm thick aluminum 6061 to titanium TC4 was conducted using Bypass-current MIG welding-brazed, and stable welding process and good bead appearance were obtained. The Joint profile and microstructure of Ti/Al joints were observed by optical microscopy and SEM and then the structure of the interfacial reaction layers were analyzed in details. It was found that the intermetallic compound layer at the interfacial top is in the form of columnar crystal, which is in short and dense state. A mount of AlTi were observed at the interfacial layer near the Ti base metal while intermetallic compound like Al3Ti, TiSi3 were formed near the Al base metal, and the Al11Ti5 transition phase was found in the center of the interface layer due to the uneven distribution inside the weld pool during the welding process. Tensile test results show that the average tensile strength of joints is up to 182.6 MPa, which reaches about 97.6% of aluminum base metal. Fracture is prone to occur in the base metal with a certain amount of necking.
Keywords: Bypass-current MIG welding-brazed, Al alloy, Ti alloy, joint characteristics, mechanical properties.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2301730 Feature Extraction from Aerial Photos
Authors: Mesut Gündüz, Ferruh Yildiz, Ayşe Onat
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In Geographic Information System, one of the sources of obtaining needed geographic data is digitizing analog maps and evaluation of aerial and satellite photos. In this study, a method will be discussed which can be used to extract vectorial features and creating vectorized drawing files for aerial photos. At the same time a software developed for these purpose. Converting from raster to vector is also known as vectorization and it is the most important step when creating vectorized drawing files. In the developed algorithm, first of all preprocessing on the aerial photo is done. These are; converting to grayscale if necessary, reducing noise, applying some filters and determining the edge of the objects etc. After these steps, every pixel which constitutes the photo are followed from upper left to right bottom by examining its neighborhood relationship and one pixel wide lines or polylines obtained. The obtained lines have to be erased for preventing confusion while continuing vectorization because if not erased they can be perceived as new line, but if erased it can cause discontinuity in vector drawing so the image converted from 2 bit to 8 bit and the detected pixels are expressed as a different bit. In conclusion, the aerial photo can be converted to vector form which includes lines and polylines and can be opened in any CAD application.Keywords: Vectorization, Aerial Photos, Vectorized DrawingFile.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1608729 Implementation of State-Space and Super-Element Techniques for the Modeling and Control of Smart Structures with Damping Characteristics
Authors: Nader Ghareeb, R¨udiger Schmidt
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Minimizing the weight in flexible structures means reducing material and costs as well. However, these structures could become prone to vibrations. Attenuating these vibrations has become a pivotal engineering problem that shifted the focus of many research endeavors. One technique to do that is to design and implement an active control system. This system is mainly composed of a vibrating structure, a sensor to perceive the vibrations, an actuator to counteract the influence of disturbances, and finally a controller to generate the appropriate control signals. In this work, two different techniques are explored to create two different mathematical models of an active control system. The first model is a finite element model with a reduced number of nodes and it is called a super-element. The second model is in the form of state-space representation, i.e. a set of partial differential equations. The damping coefficients are calculated and incorporated into both models. The effectiveness of these models is demonstrated when the system is excited by its first natural frequency and an active control strategy is developed and implemented to attenuate the resulting vibrations. Results from both modeling techniques are presented and compared.Keywords: Finite element analysis, super-element, state-space model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 828728 Multimodal Reasoning in a Knowledge Engineering Framework for Product Support
Authors: Rossitza M. Setchi, Nikolaos Lagos
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Problem solving has traditionally been one of the principal research areas for artificial intelligence. Yet, although artificial intelligence reasoning techniques have been employed in several product support systems, the benefit of integrating product support, knowledge engineering, and problem solving, is still unclear. This paper studies the synergy of these areas and proposes a knowledge engineering framework that integrates product support systems and artificial intelligence techniques. The framework includes four spaces; the data, problem, hypothesis, and solution ones. The data space incorporates the knowledge needed for structured reasoning to take place, the problem space contains representations of problems, and the hypothesis space utilizes a multimodal reasoning approach to produce appropriate solutions in the form of virtual documents. The solution space is used as the gateway between the system and the user. The proposed framework enables the development of product support systems in terms of smaller, more manageable steps while the combination of different reasoning techniques provides a way to overcome the lack of documentation resources.Keywords: Knowledge engineering framework, product support, case-based reasoning, model-based reasoning, multimodal reasoning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1796727 Online Robust Model Predictive Control for Linear Fractional Transformation Systems Using Linear Matrix Inequalities
Authors: Peyman Sindareh Esfahani, Jeffery Kurt Pieper
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In this paper, the problem of robust model predictive control (MPC) for discrete-time linear systems in linear fractional transformation form with structured uncertainty and norm-bounded disturbance is investigated. The problem of minimization of the cost function for MPC design is converted to minimization of the worst case of the cost function. Then, this problem is reduced to minimization of an upper bound of the cost function subject to a terminal inequality satisfying the l2-norm of the closed loop system. The characteristic of the linear fractional transformation system is taken into account, and by using some mathematical tools, the robust predictive controller design problem is turned into a linear matrix inequality minimization problem. Afterwards, a formulation which includes an integrator to improve the performance of the proposed robust model predictive controller in steady state condition is studied. The validity of the approaches is illustrated through a robust control benchmark problem.
Keywords: Linear fractional transformation, linear matrix inequality, robust model predictive control, state feedback control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1294726 OCR for Script Identification of Hindi (Devnagari) Numerals using Error Diffusion Halftoning Algorithm with Neural Classifier
Authors: Banashree N. P., Andhe Dharani, R. Vasanta, P. S. Satyanarayana
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The applications on numbers are across-the-board that there is much scope for study. The chic of writing numbers is diverse and comes in a variety of form, size and fonts. Identification of Indian languages scripts is challenging problems. In Optical Character Recognition [OCR], machine printed or handwritten characters/numerals are recognized. There are plentiful approaches that deal with problem of detection of numerals/character depending on the sort of feature extracted and different way of extracting them. This paper proposes a recognition scheme for handwritten Hindi (devnagiri) numerals; most admired one in Indian subcontinent our work focused on a technique in feature extraction i.e. Local-based approach, a method using 16-segment display concept, which is extracted from halftoned images & Binary images of isolated numerals. These feature vectors are fed to neural classifier model that has been trained to recognize a Hindi numeral. The archetype of system has been tested on varieties of image of numerals. Experimentation result shows that recognition rate of halftoned images is 98 % compared to binary images (95%).
Keywords: OCR, Halftoning, Neural classifier, 16-segmentdisplay concept.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1716725 Individuals’ Inner Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Comparison of Social Connections and Close Relationships between the UK and India
Authors: Maria Spanoudaki, Pauldy C. J. Otermans, Dev Aditya
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Relationships form an integral part of our everyday wellbeing. In this study, the focus is on Inner Wellbeing which can be described as an individuals' thoughts and feelings about what they can do and be. Relationships can come in many forms and can be divided into Social Connections (thoughts and feelings about the social network people can establish and rely on), and Close Relationships (thoughts and feeling about the emotional support people can receive from significant others or their close, intimate circle). The purpose of this study is to compare the Social Connections and Close Relationship dimensions of Inner Wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic between the UK and India. As part of the study, 392 participants in the UK and 205 participants India completed an online questionnaire using the Inner Wellbeing scale. Factor analyses showed that the construct of Inner Wellbeing can be described as one factor for the UK sample whereas it can be described as two factors (one focusing on positive items and one focusing on negative items) for the Indian sample. Results showed that during COVID-19, Social Connections were significantly different in the UK compared to India, whereas there is no significant difference for Close Relationships. The implications on relationships and wellbeing are discussed in detail.
Keywords: Social networks, relationship maintenance, relationship satisfaction, inner wellbeing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 837724 A Recognition Method of Ancient Yi Script Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Shanxiong Chen, Xu Han, Xiaolong Wang, Hui Ma
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Yi is an ethnic group mainly living in mainland China, with its own spoken and written language systems, after development of thousands of years. Ancient Yi is one of the six ancient languages in the world, which keeps a record of the history of the Yi people and offers documents valuable for research into human civilization. Recognition of the characters in ancient Yi helps to transform the documents into an electronic form, making their storage and spreading convenient. Due to historical and regional limitations, research on recognition of ancient characters is still inadequate. Thus, deep learning technology was applied to the recognition of such characters. Five models were developed on the basis of the four-layer convolutional neural network (CNN). Alpha-Beta divergence was taken as a penalty term to re-encode output neurons of the five models. Two fully connected layers fulfilled the compression of the features. Finally, at the softmax layer, the orthographic features of ancient Yi characters were re-evaluated, their probability distributions were obtained, and characters with features of the highest probability were recognized. Tests conducted show that the method has achieved higher precision compared with the traditional CNN model for handwriting recognition of the ancient Yi.
Keywords: Recognition, CNN, convolutional neural network, Yi character, divergence.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 749723 Reflection of Plane Waves at Free Surface of an Initially Stressed Dissipative Medium
Authors: M. M. Selim
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The paper discuses the effect of initial stresses on the reflection coefficients of plane waves in a dissipative medium. Basic governing equations are formulated in context of Biot's incremental deformation theory. These governing equations are solved analytically to obtain the dimensional phase velocities of plane waves propagating in plane of symmetry. Closed-form expressions for the reflection coefficients of P and SV waves- incident at the free surface of an initially stressed dissipative medium are obtained. Numerical computations, using these expressions, are carried out for a particular model. Computations made with the results predicted in presence and absence of the initial stresses and the results have been shown graphically. The study shows that the presence of compressive initial stresses increases the velocity of longitudinal wave (P-wave) but diminishes that of transverse wave (SV-wave). Also the numerical results presented indicate that initial stresses and dissipation might affect the reflection coefficients significantly.
Keywords: Dissipation medium, initial stress, longitudinal waves, reflection coefficients, reflection of plane waves, transverse waves.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1060722 Performance Evaluation of a ‘Priority-Controlled’ Intersection Converted to Signal-Controlled Intersection
Authors: Ezenwa Chinenye Amanamba
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There is a call to ensure that the issues of safety and efficient throughput are considered during design; the solutions to these issues can also be retrofitted at locations where they were not captured during design, but have become problems to road users over time. This paper adopts several methods to analyze the performance of an intersection which was formerly a ‘priority-controlled’ intersection, but has now been converted to a ‘signal-controlled’ intersection. Extensive review of literature helped form the basis for result analysis and discussion. The Ikot-Ekpene/Anagha-Ezikpe intersection, located at the heart of Umuahia was adopted as case study; considering the high traffic volume on the route. Anecdotal evidence revealed that traffic signals imposed enormous delays at the intersection, especially for traffic on the major road. The major road has arrival flow which surpasses the saturation flow obtained from modelling of the isolated signalized intersection. Similarly, there were several geometric elements that did not agree with the specific function of the road. A roundabout, particularly flower roundabout was recommended as a better traffic control measure.Keywords: Highway function, level of service, roundabout, traffic delays, Umuahia.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1108721 An Assessment of Groundwater Crisis in Iran Case Study: Fars Province
Authors: Mohammad Hossein Hojjati , Fardin Boustani
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Groundwater is one of the most important water resources in Fars province. Based on this study, 95 percent of the total annual water consumption in Fars is used for agriculture, whereas the percentages for domestic and industrial uses are 4 and 1 percent, respectively. Population growth, urban and industrial growth, and agricultural development in Fars have created a condition of water stress. In this province, farmers and other users are pumping groundwater faster than its natural replenishment rate, causing a continuous drop in groundwater tables and depletion of this resource. In this research variation of groundwater level , their effects and ways to help control groundwater levels in some plains of Fars were evaluated .Excessive exploitation of groundwater in Darab, Jahrom, Estahban, Arsanjan, Khir and Niriz plains of Fars caused the groundwater levels fall too fast or to unacceptable levels. The average drawdown of the water table in Arsanjan, Khir. Estahban and Niriz plain plains were 12,8, 9 and 6 meters during 16,11,11 and 13 years ago respectively. This not only reduces available water resources and well yields but also can saline water intrusion, reductions in river flow and in wetland areas , drying springs, and ground subsidence, considerable increase in pumping costs and a significant decline in crop yields as a result of the increasing salinity. Finally based on situation and condition of the aquifer some suggestions are recommended.
Keywords: Fars province , ground water overdraft , water table
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2674720 Generalization of SGIP Surface Tension Force Model in Three-Dimensional Flows and Compare to Other Models in Interfacial Flows
Authors: Afshin Ahmadi Nadooshan, Ebrahim Shirani
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In this paper, the two-dimensional stagger grid interface pressure (SGIP) model has been generalized and presented into three-dimensional form. For this purpose, various models of surface tension force for interfacial flows have been investigated and compared with each other. The VOF method has been used for tracking the interface. To show the ability of the SGIP model for three-dimensional flows in comparison with other models, pressure contours, maximum spurious velocities, norm spurious flow velocities and pressure jump error for motionless drop of liquid and bubble of gas are calculated using different models. It has been pointed out that SGIP model in comparison with the CSF, CSS and PCIL models produces the least maximum and norm spurious velocities. Additionally, the new model produces more accurate results in calculating the pressure jumps across the interface for motionless drop of liquid and bubble of gas which is generated in surface tension force. Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1413719 Surface Charge Based Rapid Method for Detection of Microbial Contamination in Drinking Water and Food Products
Authors: Kandpal M. , Gundampati R. K , Debnath M.
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Microbial contamination, most of which are fecal born in drinking water and food industry is a serious threat to humans. Escherichia coli is one of the most common and prevalent among them. We have developed a sensor for rapid and an early detection of contaminants, taking E.coli as a threat indicator organism. The sensor is based on co-polymerizations of aniline and formaldehyde in form of thin film over glass surface using the vacuum deposition technique. The particular doping combination of thin film with Fe-Al and Fe-Cu in different concentrations changes its non conducting properties to p- type semi conductor. This property is exploited to detect the different contaminants, believed to have the different surface charge. It was found through experiments that different microbes at same OD (0.600 at 600 nm) have different conductivity in solution. Also the doping concentration is found to be specific for attracting microbes on the basis of surface charge. This is a simple, cost effective and quick detection method which not only decreases the measurement time but also gives early warnings for highly contaminated samples.
Keywords: Sensor, Vacuum deposition technique, thin film, E.coli detection, doping concentration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1592718 Estimation of the Road Traffic Emissions and Dispersion in the Developing Countries Conditions
Authors: Hicham Gourgue, Ahmed Aharoune, Ahmed Ihlal
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We present in this work our model of road traffic emissions (line sources) and dispersion of these emissions, named DISPOLSPEM (Dispersion of Poly Sources and Pollutants Emission Model). In its emission part, this model was designed to keep the consistent bottom-up and top-down approaches. It also allows to generate emission inventories from reduced input parameters being adapted to existing conditions in Morocco and in the other developing countries. While several simplifications are made, all the performance of the model results are kept. A further important advantage of the model is that it allows the uncertainty calculation and emission rate uncertainty according to each of the input parameters. In the dispersion part of the model, an improved line source model has been developed, implemented and tested against a reference solution. It provides improvement in accuracy over previous formulas of line source Gaussian plume model, without being too demanding in terms of computational resources. In the case study presented here, the biggest errors were associated with the ends of line source sections; these errors will be canceled by adjacent sections of line sources during the simulation of a road network. In cases where the wind is parallel to the source line, the use of the combination discretized source and analytical line source formulas minimizes remarkably the error. Because this combination is applied only for a small number of wind directions, it should not excessively increase the calculation time.Keywords: Air pollution, dispersion, emissions, line sources, road traffic, urban transport.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1929717 Validation and Projections for Solar Radiation up to 2100: HadGEM2-AO Global Circulation Model
Authors: Elison Eduardo Jardim Bierhals, Claudineia Brazil, Deivid Pires, Rafael Haag, Elton Gimenez Rossini
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The objective of this work is to evaluate the results of solar radiation projections between 2006 and 2013 for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The projections are provided by the General Circulation Models (MCGs) belonging to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 5 (CMIP5). In all, the results of the simulation of six models are evaluated, compared to monthly data, measured by a network of thirteen meteorological stations of the National Meteorological Institute (INMET). The performance of the models is evaluated by the Nash coefficient and the Bias. The results are presented in the form of tables, graphs and spatialization maps. The ACCESS1-0 RCP 4.5 model presented the best results for the solar radiation simulations, for the most optimistic scenario, in much of the state. The efficiency coefficients (CEF) were between 0.95 and 0.98. In the most pessimistic scenario, HADGen2-AO RCP 8.5 had the best accuracy among the analyzed models, presenting coefficients of efficiency between 0.94 and 0.98. From this validation, solar radiation projection maps were elaborated, indicating a seasonal increase of this climatic variable in some regions of the Brazilian territory, mainly in the spring.
Keywords: climate change, projections, solar radiation, validation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 860716 Analysis of GI/M(n)/1/N Queue with Single Working Vacation and Vacation Interruption
Authors: P. Vijaya Laxmi, V. Goswami, V. Suchitra
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This paper presents a finite buffer renewal input single working vacation and vacation interruption queue with state dependent services and state dependent vacations, which has a wide range of applications in several areas including manufacturing, wireless communication systems. Service times during busy period, vacation period and vacation times are exponentially distributed and are state dependent. As a result of the finite waiting space, state dependent services and state dependent vacation policies, the analysis of these queueing models needs special attention. We provide a recursive method using the supplementary variable technique to compute the stationary queue length distributions at pre-arrival and arbitrary epochs. An efficient computational algorithm of the model is presented which is fast and accurate and easy to implement. Various performance measures have been discussed. Finally, some special cases and numerical results have been depicted in the form of tables and graphs.
Keywords: State Dependent Service, Vacation Interruption, Supplementary Variable, Single Working Vacation, Blocking Probability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2158715 Numerical Study of Laminar Mixed Convection Heat Transfer of a Nanofluid in a Concentric Annular Tube Using Two-Phase Mixture Model
Authors: Roghayyeh Motallebzadeh, Shahin Hajizadeh, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi
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Laminar mixed Convection heat transfer of a nanofluid with prescribed constant heat flux on the inner wall of horizontal annular tube has been studied numerically based on two-phase mixture model in different Rayleigh Numbers and Azimuth angles. Effects of applying of different volume fractions of Al2O3 nanoparticles in water as a base fluid on hydrodynamic and thermal behaviors of the fluid flow such as axial velocity, secondary flow, temperature, heat transfer coefficient and friction coefficient at the inner and outer wall region, has been investigated. Conservation equations in elliptical form has been utilized and solved in three dimensions for a steady flow. It is observed that, there is a good agreement between results in this work and previously published experimental and numerical works on mixed convection in horizontal annulus. These particles cause to increase convection heat transfer coefficient of the fluid, meanwhile there is no considerable effect on friction coefficient.
Keywords: Buoyancy force, Laminar mixed convection, Mixture model, Nanofluid, Two-phase.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2827714 Scientific Interpretation of “Fertilizing Winds” Mentioned in Verse 15:22 of Al-Quran
Authors: M. M. Rashid
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Allah (SWT) bestowed us with the Divine blessing, providing the wonderful source of water as stated in verse 15:22 of Al-Quran. Arabic “Ar-Riaaha Lawaaqiha (ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ لَوَٰقِحَ)” of this verse is translated as “fertilizing winds.” The “fertilizing winds” literally, refer to the winds having the roles: to fertilize something similar to the “zygotes” in humans and animals (formation of clouds in the sky in this case); to produce fertilizers for the plants, crops, etc.; and to pollinate the plants. In this paper, these roles of “fertilizing winds” have been validated by presenting the modern knowledge of science in this regard. Existing interpretations are mostly focused on the “formation of clouds in the sky” while few of them mention about the pollination of trees. The production of fertilizers, in this regard, may also be considered for the interpteration of this verse. It has been observed that the winds contain the necessary components of forming the clouds; the necessary components of producing the fertilizers; and the necessary components to pollinate the plants. The science of meteorology gives us a clear understanding of the formation of clouds. Moreover, we know that the lightning bolts break the nitrogen molecules of winds and the water molecules of vapor to form fertilizers. Pollination is a common role of winds in plant fertilization. All the scientific phenomena presented here give us better interpretations of “fertilizing winds.”
Keywords: Al-Quran, fertilizing winds, meteorology, cloud droplets.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 161713 Towards Model-Driven Communications
Authors: Antonio Natali, Ambra Molesini
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In modern distributed software systems, the issue of communication among composing parts represents a critical point, but the idea of extending conventional programming languages with general purpose communication constructs seems difficult to realize. As a consequence, there is a (growing) gap between the abstraction level required by distributed applications and the concepts provided by platforms that enable communication. This work intends to discuss how the Model Driven Software Development approach can be considered as a mature technology to generate in automatic way the schematic part of applications related to communication, by providing at the same time high level specialized languages useful in all the phases of software production. To achieve the goal, a stack of languages (meta-meta¬models) has been introduced in order to describe – at different levels of abstraction – the collaborative behavior of generic entities in terms of communication actions related to a taxonomy of messages. Finally, the generation of platforms for communication is viewed as a form of specification of language semantics, that provides executable models of applications together with model-checking supports and effective runtime environments.
Keywords: Interactions, specific languages, meta-models, model driven development.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1850712 Transgenerational Entrepreneurship in Chinese Family Businesses: Proposal for a Model of Work-Life Synergy
Authors: Jenny Oliveros Lao Phillips, Arturo E. Osorio, José Alves
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Family business are the dominant form of business in the world, and Chinese family business (CFB) is a unique type of family business that relies on collective action to survive. This paper argues that in CFBs, entrepreneurial actions are transgenerational collective endeavors, and successors are groomed as stewards of the family legacy. Work-life relationship in CFBs is about synergy and not balance because the family identity is the business identity, and vice-versa. Using five in-depth case studies, this research introduces an alternative understanding of CFBs and proposes a model of work-life synergy in transgenerational entrepreneurship based on discussion of five theory-based propositions. This model explains that through emphasizing on the business family’s shared value and entrepreneurial legacy, elements of trust, shared identity and stewardship of family members are enhanced which leads to collective action and goal of the business family, resulting in transgenerational entrepreneurship. Limitations and future research are presented.Keywords: Chinese family business, family legacy, stewardship, transgenerational entrepreneurship, work-life synergy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 950