Search results for: Transmission Expansion Planning
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2134

Search results for: Transmission Expansion Planning

274 Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Axially Restrained Steel Cellular Beams in Fire

Authors: Asal Pournaghshband

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of a finite element model to study the large deflection behaviour of restrained stainless steel cellular beams at elevated temperature. Cellular beams are widely used for efficient utilization of raw materials to facilitate long spans with faster construction resulting sustainable design solution that can enhance the performance and merit of any construction project. However, their load carrying capacity is less than the equivalent beams without opening due to developing shear-moment interaction at the openings. In structural frames due to elements continuity, such beams are restrained by their adjoining members which has a substantial effect on beams behaviour in fire. Stainless steel has also become integral part of the build environment due to its excellent corrosion resistance, whole life-cycle costs, and sustainability. This paper reports the numerical investigations into the effect of structural continuity on the thermo-mechanical performance of restrained steel beams with circle and elongated circle shapes of web opening in fire. The numerical model is firstly validated using existing numerical results from the literature, and then employed to perform a parametric study. Parametric studies to explore the influence of variation in i) axial restraint stiffness, ii) steel grades, iii) shape and size of web openings, and iv) load level were described. Hence, the structural continuity is evaluated through the application of different levels of axial restraints on the response of carbon steel and stainless steel cellular beam in fire. The transit temperature for stainless steel cellular beam is shown to be less affected by the level of axial stiffness than the equivalent carbon steel cellular beam. Overall, it was established that whereas stainless steel cellular beams show similar stages of behaviour of carbon steel cellular beams in fire, they are capable of withstanding higher temperatures prior to the onset of catenary action in large deflection, despite the higher thermal expansion of stainless steel material.

Keywords: Axial restraint, catenary action, cellular beam, fire, numerical modelling, stainless steel, transit temperature.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 73
273 A Study of RSCMAC Enhanced GPS Dynamic Positioning

Authors: Ching-Tsan Chiang, Sheng-Jie Yang, Jing-Kai Huang

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to develop and apply the RSCMAC to enhance the dynamic accuracy of Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS devices provide services of accurate positioning, speed detection and highly precise time standard for over 98% area on the earth. The overall operation of Global Positioning System includes 24 GPS satellites in space; signal transmission that includes 2 frequency carrier waves (Link 1 and Link 2) and 2 sets random telegraphic codes (C/A code and P code), on-earth monitoring stations or client GPS receivers. Only 4 satellites utilization, the client position and its elevation can be detected rapidly. The more receivable satellites, the more accurate position can be decoded. Currently, the standard positioning accuracy of the simplified GPS receiver is greatly increased, but due to affected by the error of satellite clock, the troposphere delay and the ionosphere delay, current measurement accuracy is in the level of 5~15m. In increasing the dynamic GPS positioning accuracy, most researchers mainly use inertial navigation system (INS) and installation of other sensors or maps for the assistance. This research utilizes the RSCMAC advantages of fast learning, learning convergence assurance, solving capability of time-related dynamic system problems with the static positioning calibration structure to improve and increase the GPS dynamic accuracy. The increasing of GPS dynamic positioning accuracy can be achieved by using RSCMAC system with GPS receivers collecting dynamic error data for the error prediction and follows by using the predicted error to correct the GPS dynamic positioning data. The ultimate purpose of this research is to improve the dynamic positioning error of cheap GPS receivers and the economic benefits will be enhanced while the accuracy is increased.

Keywords: Dynamic Error, GPS, Prediction, RSCMAC.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1685
272 Dynamic Model Conception of Improving Services Quality in Railway Transport

Authors: Eva Nedeliakova, Jaroslav Masek, Juraj Camaj

Abstract:

This article describes the results of research focused on quality of railway freight transport services. Improvement of these services has a crucial importance in customer considering on the future use of railway transport. Processes filling the customer demands and output quality assessment were defined as a part of the research. In this contribution is introduced the map of quality planning and the algorithm of applied methodology. It characterizes a model which takes into account characters of transportation with linking a perception services quality in ordinary and extraordinary operation. Despite the fact that rail freight transport has its solid position in the transport market, lots of carriers worldwide have been experiencing a stagnation for a couple of years. Therefore, specific results of the research have a significant importance and belong to numerous initiatives aimed to develop and support railway transport not only by creating a single railway area or reducing noise but also by promoting railway services. This contribution is focused also on the application of dynamic quality models which represent an innovative method of evaluation quality services. Through this conception, time factor, expected, and perceived quality in each moment of the transportation process can be taken into account.

Keywords: Quality, railway, transport, service.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1702
271 An Overall Approach to the Communication of Organizations in Conventional and Virtual Offices

Authors: Mehmet Altınöz

Abstract:

Organizational communication is an administrative function crucial especially for executives in the implementation of organizational and administrative functions. Executives spend a significant part of their time on communicative activities. Doing his or her daily routine, arranging meeting schedules, speaking on the telephone, reading or replying to business correspondence, or fulfilling the control functions within the organization, an executive typically engages in communication processes. Efficient communication is the principal device for the adequate implementation of administrative and organizational activities. For this purpose, management needs to specify the kind of communication system to be set up and the kind of communication devices to be used. Communication is vital for any organization. In conventional offices, communication takes place within the hierarchical pyramid called the organizational structure, and is known as formal or informal communication. Formal communication is the type that works in specified structures within the organizational rules and towards the organizational goals. Informal communication, on the other hand, is the unofficial type taking place among staff as face-to-face or telephone interaction. Communication in virtual as well as conventional offices is essential for obtaining the right information in administrative activities and decision-making. Virtual communication technologies increase the efficiency of communication especially in virtual teams. Group communication is strengthened through an inter-group central channel. Further, ease of information transmission makes it possible to reach the information at the source, allowing efficient and correct decisions. Virtual offices can present as a whole the elements of information which conventional offices produce in different environments. At present, virtual work has become a reality with its pros and cons, and will probably spread very rapidly in coming years, in line with the growth in information technologies.

Keywords: Organization, conventional office, virtual office, communication, communication model, communication functions, communication methods, vertical communication, linear communication, diagonal communication

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3164
270 Lamb Wave Wireless Communication in Healthy Plates Using Coherent Demodulation

Authors: Rudy Bahouth, Farouk Benmeddour, Emmanuel Moulin, Jamal Assaad

Abstract:

Guided ultrasonic waves are used in Non-Destructive Testing and Structural Health Monitoring for inspection and damage detection. Recently, wireless data transmission using ultrasonic waves in solid metallic channels has gained popularity in some industrial applications such as nuclear, aerospace and smart vehicles. The idea is to find a good substitute for electromagnetic waves since they are highly attenuated near metallic components due to Faraday shielding. The proposed solution is to use ultrasonic guided waves such as Lamb waves as an information carrier due to their capability of propagation for long distances. In addition to this, valuable information about the health of the structure could be extracted simultaneously. In this work, the reliable frequency bandwidth for communication is extracted experimentally from dispersion curves at first. Then, an experimental platform for wireless communication using Lamb waves is described and built. After this, coherent demodulation algorithm used in telecommunications is tested for Amplitude Shift Keying, On-Off Keying and Binary Phase Shift Keying modulation techniques. Signal processing parameters such as threshold choice, number of cycles per bit and Bit Rate are optimized. Experimental results are compared based on the average bit error percentage. Results has shown high sensitivity to threshold selection for Amplitude Shift Keying and On-Off Keying techniques resulting a Bit Rate decrease. Binary Phase Shift Keying technique shows the highest stability and data rate between all tested modulation techniques.

Keywords: Lamb Wave Communication, wireless communication, coherent demodulation, bit error percentage.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 561
269 Territories' Challenges and Opportunities to Promote Circular Economy in the Building Sector

Authors: R. Tirado, G. Habert, A. Mailhac, S. Laurenceau

Abstract:

The rapid development of cities implies significant material inflows and outflows. The construction sector is one of the main consumers of raw materials and producers of waste. The waste from the building sector, for its quantity and potential for recovery, constitutes significant deposits requiring major efforts, by combining different actors, to achieve the circular economy's objectives. It is necessary to understand and know the current construction actors' knowledge of stocks, urban metabolism, deposits, and recovery practices in this context. This article aims to explore the role of local governments in planning strategies by facilitating a circular economy. In particular, the principal opportunities and challenges of communities for applying the principles of the circular economy in the building sector will be identified. The approach used for the study was to conduct semi-structured interviews with those responsible for circular economy projects within local administrations of some communities in France. The results show territories' involvement in the inclusion and application of the principles of the circular economy in the building sector. The main challenges encountered are numerous, hence the importance of having identified and described them so that the different actors can work to meet them.

Keywords: Building stock, circular economy, interview, local authorities.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 531
268 Dynamic Modeling of Underwater Manipulator and Its Simulation

Authors: Ruiheng Li, Amir Parsa Anvar, Amir M. Anvar, Tien-Fu Lu

Abstract:

High redundancy and strong uncertainty are two main characteristics for underwater robotic manipulators with unlimited workspace and mobility, but they also make the motion planning and control difficult and complex. In order to setup the groundwork for the research on control schemes, the mathematical representation is built by using the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) method [9]&[12]; in addition to the geometry of the manipulator which was studied for establishing the direct and inverse kinematics. Then, the dynamic model is developed and used by employing the Lagrange theorem. Furthermore, derivation and computer simulation is accomplished using the MATLAB environment. The result obtained is compared with mechanical system dynamics analysis software, ADAMS. In addition, the creation of intelligent artificial skin using Interlink Force Sensing ResistorTM technology is presented as groundwork for future work

Keywords: Manipulator System, Robot, AUV, Denavit- Hartenberg method Lagrange theorem, MALTAB, ADAMS, Direct and Inverse Kinematics, Dynamics, PD Control-law, Interlink Force Sensing ResistorTM, intelligent artificial skin system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3499
267 Multipath Routing Protocol Using Basic Reconstruction Routing (BRR) Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Network

Authors: K. Rajasekaran, Kannan Balasubramanian

Abstract:

A sensory network consists of multiple detection locations called sensor nodes, each of which is tiny, featherweight and portable. A single path routing protocols in wireless sensor network can lead to holes in the network, since only the nodes present in the single path is used for the data transmission. Apart from the advantages like reduced computation, complexity and resource utilization, there are some drawbacks like throughput, increased traffic load and delay in data delivery. Therefore, multipath routing protocols are preferred for WSN. Distributing the traffic among multiple paths increases the network lifetime. We propose a scheme, for the data to be transmitted through a dominant path to save energy. In order to obtain a high delivery ratio, a basic route reconstruction protocol is utilized to reconstruct the path whenever a failure is detected. A basic reconstruction routing (BRR) algorithm is proposed, in which a node can leap over path failure by using the already existing routing information from its neighbourhood while the composed data is transmitted from the source to the sink. In order to save the energy and attain high data delivery ratio, data is transmitted along a multiple path, which is achieved by BRR algorithm whenever a failure is detected. Further, the analysis of how the proposed protocol overcomes the drawback of the existing protocols is presented. The performance of our protocol is compared to AOMDV and energy efficient node-disjoint multipath routing protocol (EENDMRP). The system is implemented using NS-2.34. The simulation results show that the proposed protocol has high delivery ratio with low energy consumption.

Keywords: Multipath routing, WSN, energy efficient routing, alternate route, assured data delivery.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1723
266 Students as Global Citizens: Lessons from the International Study Tour

Authors: Ana Hol

Abstract:

Study and work operations are being transformed with the uses of technologies and are consequently becoming global. This paper outlines lessons learned based on the international study tour that Australian Bachelor of Information Systems students undertook. This research identifies that for the study tour to be successful, students need to gain skills that global citizens require. For example, students will need to gain an understanding of local cultures, local customs and habits. Furthermore, students would also need to gain an understanding of how a field of their future career expertise operates in the host country, how study and business are conducted internationally, which tools and technologies are currently being utilized on a global scale, what trends drive future developments world-wide and how business negotiations and collaborations are being undertaken across borders. Furthermore, this research provides a guide to educators who are planning, guiding and running study tours as it outlines the requirements of having a pre-tour preparatory session, carefully planned and executed tour itineraries and post-tour sessions during which students can reflect on their experiences and lessons learned so that they can apply them to future international business visits and ventures.

Keywords: Global education, international experiences, international study tours, students as global citizens, student centered education.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1599
265 Sustainable Development Variables to Assess Transport Infrastructure in Remote Destinations

Authors: Dimitrios J. Dimitriou, Maria F. Sartzetaki

Abstract:

The assessment variables of the accessibility and the sustainability of access infrastructure for remote regions may vary significant by location and a wide range of factors may affect the decision process. In this paper, the environmental disturbance implications of transportation system to key demand and supply variables impact the economic system in remote destination are descripted. According to a systemic approach, the key sustainability variables deals with decision making process that have to be included in strategic plan for the critical transport infrastructure development and their relationship to regional socioeconomic system are presented. The application deals with the development of railway in remote destinations, where the traditional CBA not include the external cost generated by the environmental impacts that may have a range of diverse impacts on transport infrastructure and services. The analysis output provides key messages to decision and policy makers towards sustainable development of transport infrastructure, especially for remote destinations where accessibility is a key factor of regional economic development and social stability. The key conclusion could be essential useful for relevant applications in remote regions in the same latitude.

Keywords: Sustainable development in remote regions, sustainability variables, transport infrastructure, strategic planning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1387
264 Counterpropagation Neural Network for Solving Power Flow Problem

Authors: Jayendra Krishna, Laxmi Srivastava

Abstract:

Power flow (PF) study, which is performed to determine the power system static states (voltage magnitudes and voltage angles) at each bus to find the steady state operating condition of a system, is very important and is the most frequently carried out study by power utilities for power system planning, operation and control. In this paper, a counterpropagation neural network (CPNN) is proposed to solve power flow problem under different loading/contingency conditions for computing bus voltage magnitudes and angles of the power system. The counterpropagation network uses a different mapping strategy namely counterpropagation and provides a practical approach for implementing a pattern mapping task, since learning is fast in this network. The composition of the input variables for the proposed neural network has been selected to emulate the solution process of a conventional power flow program. The effectiveness of the proposed CPNN based approach for solving power flow is demonstrated by computation of bus voltage magnitudes and voltage angles for different loading conditions and single line-outage contingencies in IEEE 14-bus system.

Keywords: Admittance matrix, counterpropagation neural network, line outage contingency, power flow

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2430
263 Study on Geometric Design of Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay Expressway and Possible Improvements; Sagarinn-Myinsain Portion

Authors: War War Myint

Abstract:

Geometric design is an important part of planning process design for physical highway to fill up basic function of roads, to give good traffic service. It is found that most of the road safety problems occur at the horizontal curves and complex-compound curves. In this paper, review on Sagarinn-Myinsain Portion of Nay Pyi Taw - Mandalay highway has been conducted in aspect of geometric design induced road safety condition. Horizontal alignment of geometric features and curve details are reviewed based on (AASHTO) standard and revised by Autodesk Land Desktop Software. Moreover, 85th Percentile Operation Speeds (V85) with driver confidence on horizontal curves is evaluated in order to obtain the range of highway safety factor (FS). The length of the selected highway portion is 13.65 miles and 8 lanes. The results of this study can be used to investigate the possible hazardous locations in advance and to revise how design radius and super elevation should be for better road safety performance for the selected portion. Moreover, the relationship between highway safety and highway geometry characteristics can also be known.

Keywords: Geometric design; horizontal alignment; superelevation; 85th percentile operation speed (V85), safety factor (FS).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1540
262 Analysis of the Accuracy of Earth Movement with Drone Surveys

Authors: Raúl Pereda García, Julio Manuel de Luis Ruiz, Elena Castillo López, Rubén Pérez Álvarez, Felipe Piña García

Abstract:

New technologies for the capture of point clouds have experienced a great advance in recent years. In this way, its use has been extended in geomatics, providing measurement solutions that have been popularized without there being, many times, a detailed study of its accuracy. This research focuses on the study of the viability of topographic works with drones incorporating different sensors sensitive to the visible spectrum. The fundamentals have been applied to a road, located in Cantabria (Spain), where a platform extension and the reform of a riprap were being constructed. A total of six flights were made during two months, all of them with GPS as part of the photogrammetric process, and the results were contrasted with those measured with total station. The obtained results show that the choice of the camera and the planning of the flight have an important impact on the accuracy. In fact, the representations with a level of detail corresponding to 1/1000 scale are admissible, depending on the existing vegetation, and obtaining better results in the area of the riprap. This set of techniques is, therefore, suitable for the control of earthworks in road works but with certain limitations which are exposed in this paper.

Keywords: Drone, earth movement control, global position system, surveying technology.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 715
261 Gas Condensing Unit with Inner Heat Exchanger

Authors: Dagnija Blumberga, Toms Prodanuks, Ivars Veidenbergs, Andra Blumberga

Abstract:

Gas condensing units with inner tubes heat exchangers represent third generation technology and differ from second generation heat and mass transfer units, which are fulfilled by passive filling material layer. The first one improves heat and mass transfer by increasing cooled contact surface of gas and condensate drops and film formed in inner tubes heat exchanger. This paper presents a selection of significant factors which influence the heat and mass transfer. Experimental planning is based on the research and analysis of main three independent variables; velocity of water and gas as well as density of spraying. Empirical mathematical models show that the coefficient of heat transfer is used as dependent parameter which depends on two independent variables; water and gas velocity. Empirical model is proved by the use of experimental data of two independent gas condensing units in Lithuania and Russia. Experimental data are processed by the use of heat transfer criteria-Kirpichov number. Results allow drawing the graphical nomogram for the calculation of heat and mass transfer conditions in the innovative and energy efficient gas cooling unit.

Keywords: Gas condensing unit, filling, inner heat exchanger, package, spraying, tunes.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1459
260 Effects of Annealing Treatment on Optical Properties of Anatase TiO2 Thin Films

Authors: M. M. Hasan, A. S. M. A. Haseeb, R. Saidur, H. H. Masjuki

Abstract:

In this investigation, anatase TiO2 thin films were grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on glass substrates at a high sputtering pressure and room temperature. The anatase films were then annealed at 300-600 °C in air for a period of 1 hour. To examine the structure and morphology of the films, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods were used respectively. From X-ray diffraction patterns of the TiO2 films, it was found that the as-deposited film showed some differences compared with the annealed films and the intensities of the peaks of the crystalline phase increased with the increase of annealing temperature. From AFM images, the distinct variations in the morphology of the thin films were also observed. The optical constants were characterized using the transmission spectra of the films obtained by UV-VIS-IR spectrophotometer. Besides, optical thickness of the film deposited at room temperature was calculated and cross-checked by taking a cross-sectional image through SEM. The optical band gaps were evaluated through Tauc model. It was observed that TiO2 films produced at room temperatures exhibited high visible transmittance and transmittance decreased slightly with the increase of annealing temperatures. The films were found to be crystalline having anatase phase. The refractive index of the films was found from 2.31-2.35 in the visible range. The extinction coefficient was nearly zero in the visible range and was found to increase with annealing temperature. The allowed indirect optical band gap of the films was estimated to be in the range from 3.39 to 3.42 eV which showed a small variation. The allowed direct band gap was found to increase from 3.67 to 3.72 eV. The porosity was also found to decrease at a higher annealing temperature making the film compact and dense.

Keywords: Titanium dioxide, RF reactive sputtering, Structuralproperties, Surface morphology, Optical properties.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3692
259 Sediment Transport Monitoring in the Port of Veracruz Expansion Project

Authors: Francisco Liaño-Carrera, José Isaac Ramírez-Macías, David Salas-Monreal, Mayra Lorena Riveron-Enzastiga, Marcos Rangel-Avalos, Adriana Andrea Roldán-Ubando

Abstract:

The construction of most coastal infrastructure developments around the world are usually made considering wave height, current velocities and river discharges; however, little effort has been paid to surveying sediment transport during dredging or the modification to currents outside the ports or marinas during and after the construction. This study shows a complete survey during the construction of one of the largest ports of the Gulf of Mexico. An anchored Acoustic Doppler Current Velocity profiler (ADCP), a towed ADCP and a combination of model outputs were used at the Veracruz port construction in order to describe the hourly sediment transport and current modifications in and out of the new port. Owing to the stability of the system the new port was construction inside Vergara Bay, a low wave energy system with a tidal range of up to 0.40 m. The results show a two-current system pattern within the bay. The north side of the bay has an anticyclonic gyre, while the southern part of the bay shows a cyclonic gyre. Sediment transport trajectories were made every hour using the anchored ADCP, a numerical model and the weekly data obtained from the towed ADCP within the entire bay. The sediment transport trajectories were carefully tracked since the bay is surrounded by coral reef structures which are sensitive to sedimentation rate and water turbidity. The survey shows that during dredging and rock input used to build the wave breaker sediments were locally added (< 2500 m2) and local currents disperse it in less than 4 h. While the river input located in the middle of the bay and the sewer system plant may add more than 10 times this amount during a rainy day or during the tourist season. Finally, the coastal line obtained seasonally with a drone suggests that the southern part of the bay has not been modified by the construction of the new port located in the northern part of the bay, owing to the two subsystem division of the bay.

Keywords: Acoustic Doppler current profiler, time series, port construction, construction around coral reefs, sediment transport monitoring.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1276
258 Analysis of Meteorological Drought in the Ruhr Basin by Using the Standardized Precipitation Index

Authors: Mosaad Khadr, Gerd Morgenschweis, Andreas Schlenkhoff

Abstract:

Drought is one of the most damaging climate-related hazards, it is generally considered as a prolonged absence of precipitation. This normal and recurring climate phenomenon had plagued civilization throughout history because of the negative impacts on economical, environmental and social sectors. Drought characteristics are thus recognized as important factors in water resources planning and management. The purpose of this study is to detect the changes in drought frequency, persistence and severity in the Ruhr river basin. The frequency of drought events was calculated using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Used data are daily precipitation records from seven meteorological stations covering the period 1961-2007. The main benefit of the application of this index is its versatility, only rainfall data is required to deliver five major dimensions of a drought : duration, intensity, severity, magnitude, and frequency. Furthermore, drought can be calculated in different time steps. In this study SPI was calculated for 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. Several drought events were detected in the covered period, these events contain mild, moderate and severe droughts. Also positive and negative trends in the SPI values were observed.

Keywords: Drought, Germany, Precipitation, Ruhr River, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Trend Test.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2317
257 Attitude towards the Consumption of Social Media: Analyzing Young Consumers’ Travel Behavior

Authors: Farzana Sharmin, Mohammad Tipu Sultan, Benqian Li

Abstract:

Advancement of new media technology and consumption of social media have altered the way of communication in the tourism industry, mostly for consumers’ travel planning, online purchase, and experience sharing activity. There is an accelerating trend among young consumers’ to utilize this new media technology. This paper aims to analyze the attitude of young consumers’ about social media use for travel purposes. The convenience random sample method used to collect data from an urban area of Shanghai (China), consists of 225 young consumers’. This survey identified behavioral determinants of social media consumption by the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). The instrument developed support on previous research to test hypotheses. The results of structural analyses indicate that attitude towards the use of social media is affected by external factors such as availability and accessibility of technology. In addition, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have partially influenced the attitude of respondents’. The results of this study could help to improve social media travel marketing and promotional strategies for respective groups.

Keywords: Social media, theory of planned behavior, travel behavior, young consumer.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1304
256 Business Skills Laboratory in Action: Combining a Practice Enterprise Model and an ERP-Simulation to a Comprehensive Business Learning Environment

Authors: Karoliina Nisula, Samuli Pekkola

Abstract:

Business education has been criticized for being too theoretical and distant from business life. Different types of experiential learning environments ranging from manual role-play to computer simulations and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been used to introduce the realistic and practical experience into business learning. Each of these learning environments approaches business learning from a different perspective. The implementations tend to be individual exercises supplementing the traditional courses. We suggest combining them into a business skills laboratory resembling an actual workplace. In this paper, we present a concrete implementation of an ERP-supported business learning environment that is used throughout the first year undergraduate business curriculum. We validate the implementation by evaluating the learning outcomes through the different domains of Bloom’s taxonomy. We use the role-play oriented practice enterprise model as a comparison group. Our findings indicate that using the ERP simulation improves the poor and average students’ lower-level cognitive learning. On the affective domain, the ERP-simulation appears to enhance motivation to learn as well as perceived acquisition of practical hands-on skills.

Keywords: Business simulations, experiential learning, ERP systems, learning environments.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1150
255 Dynamic Simulation of a Hybrid Wind Farm with Wind Turbines and Distributed Compressed Air Energy Storage System

Authors: Eronini Umez-Eronini

Abstract:

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) coupled with wind farms have gained attention as a means to address the intermittency and variability of wind power. However, most existing studies and implementations focus on bulk or centralized CAES plants. This study presents a dynamic model of a hybrid wind farm with distributed CAES, using air storage tanks and compressor and expander trains at each wind turbine station. It introduces the concept of a distributed CAES with linked air cooling and heating, and presents an approach to scheduling and regulating the production of compressed air and power in such a system. Mathematical models of the dynamic components of this hybrid wind farm system, including a simple transient wake field model, were developed and simulated using MATLAB, with real wind data and Transmission System Operator (TSO) absolute power reference signals as inputs. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed ad hoc supervisory controller is able to track the minute-scale power demand signal within an error band size comparable to the electrical power rating of a single expander. This suggests that combining the global distributed CAES control with power regulation for individual wind turbines could further improve the system’s performance. The round trip electrical storage efficiency computed for the distributed CAES was also in the range of reported round trip storage electrical efficiencies for improved bulk CAES. These findings contribute to the enhancement of efficiency of wind farms without access to large-scale storage or underground caverns.

Keywords: Distributed CAES, compressed air, energy storage, hybrid wind farm, wind turbines, dynamic simulation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 76
254 Geospatial Network Analysis Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Authors: Varun Singh, Mainak Bandyopadhyay, Maharana Pratap Singh

Abstract:

The shortest path (SP) problem concerns with finding the shortest path from a specific origin to a specified destination in a given network while minimizing the total cost associated with the path. This problem has widespread applications. Important applications of the SP problem include vehicle routing in transportation systems particularly in the field of in-vehicle Route Guidance System (RGS) and traffic assignment problem (in transportation planning). Well known applications of evolutionary methods like Genetic Algorithms (GA), Ant Colony Optimization, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) have come up to solve complex optimization problems to overcome the shortcomings of existing shortest path analysis methods. It has been reported by various researchers that PSO performs better than other evolutionary optimization algorithms in terms of success rate and solution quality. Further Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have emerged as key information systems for geospatial data analysis and visualization. This research paper is focused towards the application of PSO for solving the shortest path problem between multiple points of interest (POI) based on spatial data of Allahabad City and traffic speed data collected using GPS. Geovisualization of results of analysis is carried out in GIS.

Keywords: GIS, Outliers, PSO, Traffic Data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2893
253 A Mixed Expert Evaluation System and Dynamic Interval-Valued Hesitant Fuzzy Selection Approach

Authors: Hossein Gitinavard, Mohammad Hossein Fazel Zarandi

Abstract:

In the last decades, concerns about the environmental issues lead to professional and academic efforts on green supplier selection problems. In this sake, one of the main issues in evaluating the green supplier selection problems, which could increase the uncertainty, is the preferences of the experts' judgments about the candidate green suppliers. Therefore, preparing an expert system to evaluate the problem based on the historical data and the experts' knowledge can be sensible. This study provides an expert evaluation system to assess the candidate green suppliers under selected criteria in a multi-period approach. In addition, a ranking approach under interval-valued hesitant fuzzy set (IVHFS) environment is proposed to select the most appropriate green supplier in planning horizon. In the proposed ranking approach, the IVHFS and the last aggregation approach are considered to margin the errors and to prevent data loss, respectively. Hence, a comparative analysis is provided based on an illustrative example to show the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Green supplier selection, expert system, ranking approach, interval-valued hesitant fuzzy setting.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1424
252 Dynamic Traffic Simulation for Traffic Congestion Problem Using an Enhanced Algorithm

Authors: Wong Poh Lee, Mohd. Azam Osman, Abdullah Zawawi Talib, Ahmad Izani Md. Ismail

Abstract:

Traffic congestion has become a major problem in many countries. One of the main causes of traffic congestion is due to road merges. Vehicles tend to move slower when they reach the merging point. In this paper, an enhanced algorithm for traffic simulation based on the fluid-dynamic algorithm and kinematic wave theory is proposed. The enhanced algorithm is used to study traffic congestion at a road merge. This paper also describes the development of a dynamic traffic simulation tool which is used as a scenario planning and to forecast traffic congestion level in a certain time based on defined parameter values. The tool incorporates the enhanced algorithm as well as the two original algorithms. Output from the three above mentioned algorithms are measured in terms of traffic queue length, travel time and the total number of vehicles passing through the merging point. This paper also suggests an efficient way of reducing traffic congestion at a road merge by analyzing the traffic queue length and travel time.

Keywords: Dynamic, fluid-dynamic, kinematic wave theory, simulation, traffic congestion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3142
251 Modeling and Simulation of Delaminations in FML Using Step Pulsed Active Thermography

Authors: S. Sundaravalli, M. C. Majumder, G. K. Vijayaraghavan

Abstract:

The study focuses to investigate the thermal response of delaminations and develop mathematical models using numerical results to obtain the optimum heat requirement and time to identify delaminations in GLARE type of Fibre Metal Laminates (FML) in both reflection mode and through-transmission (TT) mode of step pulsed active thermography (SPAT) method in the type of nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDTE) technique. The influence of applied heat flux and time on various sizes and depth of delaminations in FML is analyzed to investigate the thermal response through numerical simulations. A finite element method (FEM) is applied to simulate SPAT through ANSYS software based on 3D transient heat transfer principle with the assumption of reflection mode and TT mode of observation individually.

The results conclude that the numerical approach based on SPAT in reflection mode is more suitable for analysing smaller size of near-surface delaminations located at the thermal stimulator side and TT mode is more suitable for analysing smaller size of deeper delaminations located far from thermal stimulator side or near thermal detector/Infrared camera side. The mathematical models provide the optimum q and T at the required MRTD to identify unidentified delamination 7 with 25015.0022W/m2 at 2.531sec and delamination 8 with 16663.3356 W/m2 at 1.37857sec in reflection mode. In TT mode, the delamination 1 with 34954W/m2 at 13.0399sec, delamination 2 with 20002.67W/m2 at 1.998sec and delamination 7 with 20010.87 W/m2 at 0.6171sec could be identified.

Keywords: Step pulsed active thermography (SPAT), NDTE, FML, Delaminations, Finite element method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2551
250 Biomarkers in a Post-Stroke Population: Allied to Health Care in Brazil

Authors: M. Ricardo Lang, A. Costa, I. Iesbik, K. Haag, L. Trindade Buffara, O. Reimann Junior, C. Auswaldt Steclan

Abstract:

Stroke affects not only the individual, but has significant impacts on the social and family context. Therefore, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of each region, in order to contribute to regional public health policies effectively. Thus, the present study discusses biomarkers in a post-stroke population, admitted to a stroke unit (U-stroke) of reference in the southern region of Brazil. Biomarkers were analyzed, such as age, length of stay, mortality rate, survival time, risk factors and family history of stroke in patients after ischemic stroke. In this studied population, comparing men and women, it was identified that men were more affected than women, and the average age of women affected was higher, as they also had the highest mortality rate and the shortest hospital stay. The risk factors identified here were according to the global scenario; with systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) being the most frequent and those associated with sedentary lifestyle in women the most frequent (dyslipidemia, heart disease and obesity). In view of this, the importance of studies that characterize populations regionally is evident, strengthening the strategic planning of policies in favor of health care.

Keywords: Biomarkers, population, stroke, sex, stroke unit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 602
249 Development of an Automated Quality Management System to Control District Heating

Authors: Nigina Toktasynova, Sholpan Sagyndykova, Zhanat Kenzhebayeva, Maksat Kalimoldayev, Mariya Ishimova, Irbulat Utepbergenov

Abstract:

To solve these problems, we investigated the management system of heating enterprise, including strategic planning based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), quality management in accordance with the standards of the Quality Management System (QMS) ISO 9001 and analysis of the system based on expert judgment using fuzzy inference. To carry out our work we used the theory of fuzzy sets, the QMS in accordance with ISO 9001, BSC, method of construction of business processes according to the notation IDEF0, theory of modeling using Matlab software simulation tools and graphical programming LabVIEW. The results of the work are as follows: We determined possibilities of improving the management of heat-supply plant-based on QMS; after the justification and adaptation of software tool it has been used to automate a series of functions for the management and reduction of resources and for the maintenance of the system up to date; an application for the analysis of the QMS based on fuzzy inference has been created with novel organization of communication software with the application enabling the analysis of relevant data of enterprise management system. 

Keywords: Balanced scorecard, heat supply, quality management system, the theory of fuzzy sets.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1780
248 Strategic Redesign of Public Spaces with a Sustainable Approach: Case Study of Parque Huancavilca, Guayaquil

Authors: Juan Carlos Briones Macias

Abstract:

Currently, the Huancavilca City Park in Guayaquil is an abandoned public space that is discovering a growing problem of insecurity, where various problems have been perceived, such as the lack of green areas, deteriorating furniture, insufficient lighting, the use of inadequate cladding materials and very sunny areas due to the lack of planning in the design of green areas. The objective of this scientific article is to redesign Huancavilca Park through public space design strategies for more attractive and comfortable areas, becoming a point of interaction in a safe and accessible way. A mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was applied, obtaining information based on surveys, interviews, field observations, and systematizing the data in the traditional weighting of the structuring aspects of the park. The results were obtained from the methodological design scheme of iterative analysis of public spaces by Jan Güell. It is concluded that the use of urban strategies in the structuring elements of the park, such as vegetation, furniture, generating new activities, and security interventions, will specifically solve all the problems of the Huancavilca Park tested in a Pareto 80/20 Diagram.

Keywords: Public space, green areas, vegetation, street furniture, urban analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 329
247 Study of Hydrocarbons Metering Issues in Algerian Fields under the New Law Context

Authors: A. Hadjadj, S. Maamir

Abstract:

Since the advent of the law 86/14 concerning the
exploitation of the national territory by foreign companies in
partnership with the Algerian oil and gas company, the problem of
hydrocarbons metering in the sharing production come out.
More generally, good management counting hydrocarbons can
provide data on the production wells, the field and the reservoir for
medium and long term planning, particularly in the context of the
management and field development.
In this work, we are interested in the transactional metering which
is a very delicate and crucial period in the current context of the new
hydrocarbon’s law characterized by assets system between the
various activities of Sonatrach and its foreign partners.
After a state of the art on hydrocarbons metering devices in
Algeria and elsewhere, we will decline the advantages and
disadvantages of each system, and then we describe the problem to
try to reach an optimal solution.

Keywords: Flowmeter orifice, heat flow, Sonatrach, Transactional metering.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1449
246 Transient Stability Assessment Using Fuzzy SVM and Modified Preventive Control

Authors: B. Dora Arul Selvi, .N. Kamaraj

Abstract:

Transient Stability is an important issue in power systems planning, operation and extension. The objective of transient stability analysis problem is not satisfied with mere transient instability detection or evaluation and it is most important to complement it by defining fast and efficient control measures in order to ensure system security. This paper presents a new Fuzzy Support Vector Machines (FSVM) to investigate the stability status of power systems and a modified generation rescheduling scheme to bring back the identified unstable cases to a more economical and stable operating point. FSVM improves the traditional SVM (Support Vector Machines) by adding fuzzy membership to each training sample to indicate the degree of membership of this sample to different classes. The preventive control based on economic generator rescheduling avoids the instability of the power systems with minimum change in operating cost under disturbed conditions. Numerical results on the New England 39 bus test system show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Fuzzy Support Vector Machine (FSVM), Incremental Cost, Preventive Control, Transient stability

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1491
245 A Partially Accelerated Life Test Planning with Competing Risks and Linear Degradation Path under Tampered Failure Rate Model

Authors: Fariba Azizi, Firoozeh Haghighi, Viliam Makis

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a method to model the relationship between failure time and degradation for a simple step stress test where underlying degradation path is linear and different causes of failure are possible. It is assumed that the intensity function depends only on the degradation value. No assumptions are made about the distribution of the failure times. A simple step-stress test is used to shorten failure time of products and a tampered failure rate (TFR) model is proposed to describe the effect of the changing stress on the intensities. We assume that some of the products that fail during the test have a cause of failure that is only known to belong to a certain subset of all possible failures. This case is known as masking. In the presence of masking, the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) of the model parameters are obtained through an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm by treating the causes of failure as missing values. The effect of incomplete information on the estimation of parameters is studied through a Monte-Carlo simulation. Finally, a real example is analyzed to illustrate the application of the proposed methods.

Keywords: Expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, cause of failure, intensity, linear degradation path, masked data, reliability function.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1073