Search results for: energy storage

Authors: J. Prakash, K. Rajesh

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In this paper we propose a novel method for human face segmentation using the elliptical structure of the human head. It makes use of the information present in the edge map of the image. In this approach we use the fact that the eigenvalues of covariance matrix represent the elliptical structure. The large and small eigenvalues of covariance matrix are associated with major and minor axial lengths of an ellipse. The other elliptical parameters are used to identify the centre and orientation of the face. Since an Elliptical Hough Transform requires 5D Hough Space, the Circular Hough Transform (CHT) is used to evaluate the elliptical parameters. Sparse matrix technique is used to perform CHT, as it squeeze zero elements, and have only a small number of non-zero elements, thereby having an advantage of less storage space and computational time. Neighborhood suppression scheme is used to identify the valid Hough peaks. The accurate position of the circumference pixels for occluded and distorted ellipses is identified using Bresenham-s Raster Scan Algorithm which uses the geometrical symmetry properties. This method does not require the evaluation of tangents for curvature contours, which are very sensitive to noise. The method has been evaluated on several images with different face orientations.

Keywords: Circular Hough Transform, Covariance matrix, Eigenvalues, Elliptical Hough Transform, Face segmentation, Raster Scan Algorithm.

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Authors: Jonmichael A. Weaver, David A. Miller

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Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) presents several distinct advantages as a material with a high strength to weight ratio, durability, and neutron stability. Understanding the change in the mechanical performance of UHMWPE due to environmental exposure is key to safety for future applications. Dyneema® HB-210, a 15 µm diameter UHMWPE multi-filament fiber laid up in a polyurethane matrix in [0/ 90]2, with a thickness of 0.17 mm is compared to the same fiber and orientation system, HB-212, with a rubber-based matrix under UV aging conditions. UV aging tests according to ASTM-G154 were performed on both HB-210 and HB-212 to interrogate the change in mechanical properties, as measured through dynamic mechanical analysis and imaged using a scanning electron microscope. These results showed a decrease in both the storage modulus and loss modulus of the aged material compared to the unaged, even though the tan δ slightly increased. Material degradation occurred at a higher rate in Dyneema® HB-212 compared to HB-210. The HB-210 was characterized for the effects of 100 hours of UV aging via dynamic mechanical analysis. Scanning electron microscope images were taken of the HB-210 and HB-212 to identify the primary damage mechanisms in the matrix. Embrittlement and matrix spall were the products of prolonged UV exposure and erosion, resulting in decreased mechanical properties.

Keywords: Composite materials, material characterization, UV aging, UHMWPE.

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Authors: Minsoo Lee, Yun-mi Kim, Yoon-kyung Lee

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XML data consists of a very flexible tree-structure which makes it difficult to support the storing and retrieving of XML data. The node numbering scheme is one of the most popular approaches to store XML in relational databases. Together with the node numbering storage scheme, structural joins can be used to efficiently process the hierarchical relationships in XML. However, in order to process a tree-structured XPath query containing several hierarchical relationships and conditional sentences on XML data, many structural joins need to be carried out, which results in a high query execution cost. This paper introduces mechanisms to reduce the XPath queries including branch nodes into a much more efficient form with less numbers of structural joins. A two step approach is proposed. The first step merges duplicate nodes in the tree-structured query and the second step divides the query into sub-queries, shortens the paths and then merges the sub-queries back together. The proposed approach can highly contribute to the efficient execution of XML queries. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can reduce the query execution cost by up to an order of magnitude of the original execution cost.

Keywords: XML, Xpath, tree-structured query, query reduction.

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Authors: S. Jungsuttiwong, R. Tarsang, S. Pansay, T. Yakhantip, V. Promarak, T. Sudyoadsuk, T. Kaewin, S. Saengsuwan, S. Namuangrak

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In this paper, four carbazole-based D-D-π-A organic dyes code as CCT2A, CCT3A, CCT1PA and CCT2PA were reported. A series of these organic dyes containing identical donor and acceptor group but different π-system. The effect of replacing of thiophene by phenyl thiophene as π-system on the physical properties has been focused. The structural, energetic properties and absorption spectra were theoretically investigated by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT). The results show that nonplanar conformation due to steric hindrance in donor part (cabazolecarbazole unit) of dye molecule can prevent unfavorable dye aggregation. By means of the TD-DFT method, the absorption spectra were calculated by B3LYP and BHandHLYP to study the affect of hybrid functional on the excitation energy (Eg). The results revealed the increasing of thiophene units not only resulted in decreasing of Eg, but also found the shifting of absorption spectra to higher wavelength. TD-DFT/BHandHLYP calculated results are more strongly agreed with the experimental data than B3LYP functions. Furthermore, the adsorptions of CCT2A and CCT3A on the TiO2 anatase (101) surface were carried out by mean of the chemical periodic calculation. The result exhibit the strong adsorption energy. The calculated results provide our new organic dyes can be effectively used as dye for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC).

Keywords: Dye-Sensitized Solar cell, Carbarzole, TD-DFT, D-D-π-A organic dye

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Authors: M.R. Mansoujian, N. Hedayat, M. Mashal, H, Kiamanesh

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Analytical investigation of the sedimentation processes in the river engineering and hydraulic structures is of vital importance as this can affect water supply for the cultivating lands in the command area. The reason being that gradual sediment formation behind the reservoir can reduce the nominal capacity of these dams. The aim of the present paper is to analytically investigate sedimentation process along the river course and behind the storage reservoirs in general and the Eastern Intake of the Dez Diversion weir in particular using the SHARC software. Results of the model indicated the water level at 115.97m whereas the real time measurement from the river cross section was 115.98 m which suggests a significantly close relation between them. The average transported sediment load in the river was measured at 0.25mm , from which it can be concluded that nearly 100% of the suspended loads in river are moving which suggests no sediment settling but indicates that almost all sediment loads enters into the intake. It was further showed the average sediment diameter entering the intake to be 0.293 mm which in turn suggests that about 85% of suspended sediments in the river entre the intake. Comparison of the results from the SHARC model with those obtained form the SSIIM software suggests quite similar outputs but distinguishing the SHARC model as more appropriate for the analysis of simpler problems than other model.

Keywords: SHARC, Eastern Intake, Dez Diversion Weir.

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Authors: Sadia Iqbal, Faheem Iqbal, Furqan Iqbal

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Efficient utilization of existing water is a pressing need for Pakistan. Due to rising population, reduction in present storage capacity and poor delivery efficiency of 30 to 40% from canal. A study to evaluate an irrigation system in the cotton-wheat zone of Pakistan, after the watercourse lining was conducted. The study is made on the basis of cropping pattern and salinity to evaluate the system. This study employed an index-based approach of using Geographic information system with field data. The satellite images of different years were use to examine the effective area. Several combinations of the ratio of signals received in different spectral bands were used for development of this index. Near Infrared and Thermal IR spectral bands proved to be most effective as this combination helped easy detection of salt affected area and cropping pattern of the study area. Result showed that 9.97% area under salinity in 1992, 9.17% in 2000 and it left 2.29% in year 2005. Similarly in 1992, 45% area is under vegetation it improves to 56% and 65% in 2000 and 2005 respectively. On the basis of these results evaluation is done 30% performance is increase after the watercourse improvement.

Keywords: Salinity, remote sensing index, salinity index, cropping pattern.

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Authors: Alireza Hajiani Boushehrian, Nader Hataf, Arsalan Ghahramani

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When the foundations of structures under cyclic loading with amplitudes less than their permissible load, the concern exists often for the amount of uniform and non-uniform settlement of such structures. Storage tank foundations with numerous filling and discharging and railways ballast course under repeating transportation loads are examples of such conditions. This paper deals with the effects of using the new generation of reinforcements, Grid-Anchor, for the purpose of reducing the permanent settlement of these foundations under the influence of different proportions of the ultimate load. Other items such as the type and the number of reinforcements as well as the number of loading cycles are studied numerically. Numerical models were made using the Plaxis3D Tunnel finite element code. The results show that by using gridanchor and increasing the number of their layers in the same proportion as that of the cyclic load being applied, the amount of permanent settlement decreases up to 42% relative to unreinforced condition depends on the number of reinforcement layers and percent of applied load and the number of loading cycles to reach a constant value of dimensionless settlement decreases up to 20% relative to unreinforced condition.

Keywords: Shallow foundation, Reinforced soil, Cyclic loading, Grid-Anchor, Numerical analysis.

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Authors: G. Shanmugasundar, R. Sivaramakrishnan, S. Venugopal

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Robots are booming as an essential substituent in the field of inspection. In hazardous environments like nuclear waste disposal, robots are really a necessitate one. In a view to meet such demands, this paper presents the seven degree of freedom articulated inspection robot. To design such a robot the kinematic analysis of seven Degree of freedom robot which can inspect the hazardous nuclear waste storage tanks is done. The effective utilization of universal joints for arms and screw jack mechanisms at the base gives the higher order of degree of freedom to the newly designed robot. The analytical method of deriving the manipulator forward as well as inverse kinematics is explained elaborately using the Denavit-Hartenberg Approach for the purpose of calculating the robot joints, links and end-effector parameters. The comparison of the geometric and the analytical approach is stated. The self-developed kinematic model gives the accurate positions of the end effector. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed in Visual Basic language for the manipulation of kinematic results easily. This software gives the expected position of the end-effector accurately at short time compared to manual manipulations.

Keywords: Robot kinematics, screw jack mechanisms, Denavit-Hartenberg approach, universal joints.

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Authors: Mohanad El-Harbawi, Nurul Amirah Hanim Bt. Umar, Norizan Ali, Yoshimitsu Uemura

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Study of fire and explosion is very important mainly in oil and gas industries due to several accidents which have been reported in the past and present. In this work, we have investigated the flammability of bio oil vapour mixtures. This mixture may contribute to fire during the storage and transportation process. Bio oil sample derived from Palm Kernell shell was analysed using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to examine the composition of the sample. Mole fractions of 12 selected components in the liquid phase were obtained from the GC-FID data and used to calculate mole fractions of components in the gas phase via modified Raoult-s law. Lower Flammability Limits (LFLs) and Upper Flammability Limits (UFLs) for individual components were obtained from published literature. However, stoichiometric concentration method was used to calculate the flammability limits of some components which their flammability limit values are not available in the literature. The LFL and UFL values for the mixture were calculated using the Le Chatelier equation. The LFLmix and UFLmix values were used to construct a flammability diagram and subsequently used to determine the flammability of the mixture. The findings of this study can be used to propose suitable inherently safer method to prevent the flammable mixture from occurring and to minimizing the loss of properties, business, and life due to fire accidents in bio oil productions.

Keywords: Gas chromatography, compositions, lower and upper flammability limits (LFL & UFL), flammability diagram.

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Authors: Oriyomi M. Okeyinka, David A. Oloke, Jamal M. Khatib

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Large quantities of solid wastes being generated worldwide from sources such as household, domestic, industrial, commercial and construction demolition activities, leads to environmental concerns. Utilization of these wastes in making building construction materials can reduce the magnitude of the associated problems. When these waste products are used in place of other conventional materials, natural resources and energy are preserved and expensive and/or potentially harmful waste disposal is avoided. Recycling which is regarded as the third most preferred waste disposal option, with its numerous environmental benefits, stand as a viable option to offset the environmental impact associated with the construction industry. This paper reviews the results of laboratory tests and important research findings, and the potential of using these wastes in building construction materials with focus on sustainable development. Research gaps, which includes; the need to develop standard mix design for solid waste based building materials; the need to develop energy efficient method of processing solid waste use in concrete; the need to study the actual behavior or performance of such building materials in practical application and the limited real life application of such building materials have also been identified. A research is being proposed to develop an environmentally friendly, lightweight building block from recycled waste paper, without the use of cement, and with properties suitable for use as walling unit. This proposed research intends to incorporate, laboratory experimentation and modeling to address the identified research gaps.

Keywords: Recycling, solid waste, construction, building materials.

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Authors: Adel Belal, Sameh Aboelsoud, Mohy Elmashad, Mohammed Abdelmonem

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The two main criteria that control the design and performance of footings are bearing capacity and settlement of soil. In soft soils, the construction of buildings, storage tanks, warehouse, etc. on weak soils usually involves excessive settlement problems. To solve bearing capacity or reduce settlement problems, soil improvement may be considered by using different techniques, including encased cement dust–lime columns. The proposed research studies the effect of adding floating encased cement dust and lime mix columns to soft clay on the clay-bearing capacity. Four experimental tests were carried out. Columns diameters of 3.0 cm, 4.0 cm, and 5.0 cm and columns length of 60% of the clay layer thickness were used. Numerical model was constructed and verified using commercial finite element package (PLAXIS 2D, V8.5). The verified model was used to study the effect of distributing columns around the footing at different distances. The study showed that the floating cement dust lime columns enhanced the clay-bearing capacity with 262%. The numerical model showed that the columns around the footing have a limit effect on the clay improvement.

Keywords: Bearing capacity, cement dust – lime columns, ground improvement, soft clay.

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Authors: Murtaza Adil, Sen Yang, Zhou Chao, Song Xiaoping

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The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) recently has attracted constant interest in ferromagnetic systems for obtaining enhanced large magnetoelastic response. In the present study, structural and magnetoelastic properties of MPB involved ferromagnetic Tb_1-xGd_xFe₂ (0≤x≤1) system has been investigated. The change of easy magnetic direction from <111> to <100> with increasing x up MPB composition of x=0.9 is detected by step-scanned [440] synchrotron X-ray diffraction reflections. The Gd substitution for Tb changes the composition for the anisotropy compensation near MPB composition of x=0.9, which was confirmed by the analysis of detailed scanned XRD, magnetization curves and the calculation of the first anisotropy constant K₁. The spin configuration diagram accompanied with different crystal structures for Tb_1-xGd_xFe₂ was designed. The calculated first anisotropy constant K₁ shows a minimum value at MPB composition of x=0.9. In addition, the large ratio between magnetostriction, and the absolute values of the first anisotropy constant │λ_S∕K₁│ appears at MPB composition, which makes it a potential material for magnetostrictive application. Based on experimental results, a theoretically approach was also proposed to signify that the facilitated magnetization rotation and enhanced magnetoelastic effect near MPB composition are a consequence of the anisotropic flattening of free energy of ferromagnetic crystal. Our work specifies the universal existence of MPB in ferromagnetic materials which is important for substantial improvement of magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and may provide a new route to develop advanced functional materials.

Keywords: Free energy, lattice distortion, magnetic anisotropy, magnetostriction, morphotropic phase boundary.

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Authors: J. B. Qin, X. H. Jiang, Y. T. Ge

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The growing awareness of global warming potential has internationally aroused interest and demand in reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity. Much national energy in the UK had been consumed in the residential sector mainly for space heating and domestic hot water production. Currently, gas boilers are mostly applied in the domestic water heating which contribute significantly to excessive CO₂ emissions and consumption of primary energy resources. The issues can be solved by popularizing heat pump systems that are attributable to higher performance efficiency than those of traditional gas boilers. Even so, the heat pump system performance can be further enhanced if the dissolved gases in its hot water circuit can be efficiently discharged.  To achieve this target, the bubble behaviors in the heat pump water heating system need to be extensively investigated. In this paper, by varying different experimental conditions, the effects of various heat pump hot water side parameters on gas microbubble diameters were measured and analyzed. Correspondingly, the effect of each parameter has been investigated. These include varied system pressures, water flow rates, saturation ratios and heat outputs. The results measurement showed that the water flow rate is the most significant parameter to influence on gas microbubble productions. The research outcomes can significantly contribute to the understanding of gas bubble behaviors at domestic heat pump water heating systems and thus the efficient way for the discharging of the associated dissolved gases.  

Keywords: Dissolved gases in water, heat pump, domestic water heating system, microbubble formation.

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Authors: Thomas V. Prevenslik

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Ovshinsky initiated scientific research in the field of amorphous and disordered materials that continues to this day. The Ovshinsky Effect where the resistance of thin GST films is significantly reduced upon the application of low voltage is of fundamental importance in phase-change - random access memory (PC-RAM) devices.GST stands for GdSbTe chalcogenide type glasses.However, the Ovshinsky Effect is not without controversy. Ovshinsky thought the resistance of GST films is reduced by the redistribution of charge carriers; whereas, others at that time including many PC-RAM researchers today argue that the GST resistance changes because the GST amorphous state is transformed to the crystalline state by melting, the heat supplied by external heaters. In this controversy, quantum mechanics (QM) asserts the heat capacity of GST films vanishes, and therefore melting cannot occur as the heat supplied cannot be conserved by an increase in GST film temperature.By precluding melting, QM re-opens the controversy between the melting and charge carrier mechanisms. Supporting analysis is presented to show that instead of increasing GST film temperature, conservation proceeds by the QED induced creation of photons within the GST film, the QED photons confined by TIR. QED stands for quantum electrodynamics and TIR for total internal reflection. The TIR confinement of QED photons is enhanced by the fact the absorbedheat energy absorbed in the GST film is concentrated in the TIR mode because of their high surface to volume ratio. The QED photons having Planck energy beyond the ultraviolet produce excitons by the photoelectric effect, the electrons and holes of which reduce the GST film resistance.

Keywords: Ovshinsky, phase change memory, PC-RAM, chalcogenide, quantummechanics, quantum electrodynamics.

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Authors: C. Kalamani, K. Paramasivam

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Test data compression is an efficient method for reducing the test application cost. The problem of reducing test data has been addressed by researchers in three different aspects: Test Data Compression, Built-in-Self-Test (BIST) and Test set compaction. The latter two methods are capable of enhancing fault coverage with cost of hardware overhead. The drawback of the conventional methods is that they are capable of reducing the test storage and test power but when test data have redundant length of runs, no additional compression method is followed. This paper presents a modified Run Length Coding (RLC) technique with Multilevel Selective Huffman Coding (MLSHC) technique to reduce test data volume, test pattern delivery time and power dissipation in scan test applications where redundant length of runs is encountered then the preceding run symbol is replaced with tiny codeword. Experimental results show that the presented method not only improves the test data compression but also reduces the overall test data volume compared to recent schemes. Experiments for the six largest ISCAS-98 benchmarks show that our method outperforms most known techniques.

Keywords: Modified run length coding, multilevel selective Huffman coding, built-in-self-test modified selective Huffman coding, automatic test equipment.

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Authors: Jefrey Pilusa, Tumisang Seodigeng

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This research discusses a South African case study for the potential of utilizing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) obtained from non-burn treatment of health care risk waste (HCRW) as potential feedstock for green energy production. This specific waste stream can be destroyed via non-burn treatment technology involving high-speed mechanical shredding followed by steam or chemical injection to disinfect the final product. The RDF obtained from this process is characterised by a low moisture, low ash, and high calorific value which means it can be potentially used as high-value solid fuel. Due to the raw feed of this RDF being classified as hazardous, the final RDF has been reported to be non-infectious and can blend with other combustible wastes such as rubber and plastic for waste to energy applications. This study evaluated non-burn treatment technology as a possible solution for on-site destruction of HCRW in South African private and public health care centres. Waste generation quantities were estimated based on the number of registered patient beds, theoretical bed occupancy. Time and motion study was conducted to evaluate the logistics viability of on-site treatment. Non-burn treatment technology for HCRW is a promising option for South Africa, and successful implementation of this method depends upon the initial capital investment, operational cost and environmental permitting of such technology; there are other influencing factors such as the size of the waste stream, product off-take price as well as product demand.

Keywords: Autoclave, disposal, fuel, incineration, medical waste.

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Authors: Nazim Uddin, Yohiko Nakaura, Kazutaka Yamamoto

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Compote (fruit in syrup) of pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merrill) is expected to have a high market potential as one of convenient ready-to-eat (RTE) foods worldwide. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) in combination with low temperature (LT) was applied to the processing of pineapple compote as well as medium HHP (MHHP) in combination with medium-high temperature (MHT) since both processes can enhance liquid impregnation and inactivate microbes. MHHP+MHT (55 or 65 °C) process, as well as the HHP+LT process, has successfully inactivated the microbes in the compote to a non-detectable level. Although the compotes processed by MHHP+MHT or HHP+LT have lost the fresh texture as in a similar manner as those processed solely by heat, it was indicated that the texture degradations by heat were suppressed under MHHP. Degassing process reduced the hardness, while calcium (Ca) contributed to be retained hardness in MHT and MHHP+MHT processes. Electrical impedance measurement supported the damage due to degassing and heat. The color, Brix, and appearance were not affected by the processing methods significantly. MHHP+MHT and HHP+LT processes may be applicable to produce high-quality, safe RTE pineapple compotes. Further studies on the optimization of packaging and storage condition will be indispensable for commercialization.

Keywords: Compote of pineapple, ready-to-eat, medium high hydrostatic pressure, postharvest loss, and texture.

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Authors: M. Khosravy-el-Hossani, Q. Dorosti

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One of the important applications of gas turbines is their utilization for heat recovery steam generator in combine-cycle technology. Exhaust flow and energy are two key parameters for determining heat recovery steam generator performance which are mainly determined by the main gas turbine components performance data. For this reason a method was developed for determining the exhaust energy in the new edition of ASME PTC22. The result of this investigation shows that the method of standard has considerable error. Therefore in this paper a new method is presented for modifying of the performance calculation. The modified method is based on exhaust gas constituent analysis and combustion calculations. The case study presented here by two kind of General Electric gas turbine design data for validation of methodologies. The result shows that the modified method is more precise than the ASME PTC22 method. The exhaust flow calculation deviation from design data is 1.5-2 % by ASME PTC22 method so that the deviation regarding with modified method is 0.3-0.5%. Based on precision of analyzer instruments, the method can be suitable alternative for gas turbine standard performance test. In advance two methods are proposed based on known and unknown fuel in modified method procedure. The result of this paper shows that the difference between the two methods is below than %0.02. In according to reasonable esult of the second procedure (unknown fuel composition), the method can be applied to performance evaluation of gas turbine, so that the measuring cost and data gathering should be reduced.

Keywords: Gas turbine, Performance test code, Combined cycle.

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Authors: Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Vasilis Peristeras, Ioannis Magnisalis

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Organizations, including governments, generate (big) data that are high in volume, velocity, veracity, and come from a variety of sources. Public Administrations are using (big) data, implementing base registries, and enforcing data sharing within the entire government to deliver (big) data related integrated services, provision of insights to users, and for good governance. Government (Big) data ecosystem actors represent distinct entities that provide data, consume data, manipulate data to offer paid services, and extend data services like data storage, hosting services to other actors. In this research work, we perform a systematic literature review. The key objectives of this paper are to propose a robust definition of government (big) data ecosystem and a classification of government (big) data ecosystem actors and their roles. We showcase a graphical view of actors, roles, and their relationship in the government (big) data ecosystem. We also discuss our research findings. We did not find too much published research articles about the government (big) data ecosystem, including its definition and classification of actors and their roles. Therefore, we lent ideas for the government (big) data ecosystem from numerous areas that include scientific research data, humanitarian data, open government data, industry data, in the literature.

Keywords: Big data, big data ecosystem, classification of big data actors, big data actors roles, definition of government (big) data ecosystem, data-driven government, eGovernment, gaps in data ecosystems, government (big) data, public administration, systematic literature review.

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Authors: Sven Borén, Lisiana Nurhadi, Henrik Ny

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From a theoretical perspective, electric buses can be more sustainable and can be cheaper than fossil fuelled buses in city traffic. The authors have not found other studies based on actual urban public transport in Swedish winter climate. Further on, noise measurements from buses for the European market were found old. The aims of this follow-up study was therefore to test and possibly verify in a real-life environment how energy efficient and silent electric buses are, and then conclude on if electric buses are preferable to use in public transport. The Ebusco 2.0 electric bus, fitted with a 311 kWh battery pack, was used and the tests were carried out during November 2014-April 2015 in eight municipalities in the south of Sweden. Six tests took place in urban traffic and two took place in more of a rural traffic setting. The energy use for propulsion was measured via logging of the internal system in the bus and via an external charging meter. The average energy use turned out to be 8% less (0,96 kWh/km) than assumed in the earlier theoretical study. This rate allows for a 320 km range in public urban traffic. The interior of the bus was kept warm by a diesel heater (biodiesel will probably be used in a future operational traffic situation), which used 0,67 kWh/km in January. This verified that electric buses can be up to 25% cheaper when used in public transport in cities for about eight years. The noise was found to be lower, primarily during acceleration, than for buses with combustion engines in urban bus traffic. According to our surveys, most passengers and drivers appreciated the silent and comfortable ride and preferred electric buses rather than combustion engine buses. Bus operators and passenger transport executives were also positive to start using electric buses for public transport. The operators did however point out that procurement processes need to account for eventual risks regarding this new technology, along with personnel education. The study revealed that it is possible to establish a charging infrastructure for almost all studied bus lines. However, design of a charging infrastructure for each municipality requires further investigations, including electric grid capacity analysis, smart location of charging points, and tailored schedules to allow fast charging. In conclusion, electric buses proved to be a preferable alternative for all stakeholders involved in public bus transport in the studied municipalities. However, in order to electric buses to be a prominent support for sustainable development, they need to be charged either by stand-alone units or via an expansion of the electric grid, and the electricity should be made from new renewable sources.

Keywords: Sustainability, Electric, Bus, Noise, GreenCharge.

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Authors: S. Visetpotjanakit, C. Khrautongkieo

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Radiation monitoring in the environment and foodstuffs is one of the main responsibilities of Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) as the nuclear regulatory body of Thailand. The main goal of the OAP is to assure the safety of the Thai people and environment from any radiological incidents. Various radioanalytical methods have been developed to monitor radiation and radionuclides in the environmental and foodstuff samples. To validate our analytical performance, several proficiency test exercises from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been performed. Here, the results of a proficiency test exercise referred to as the Proficiency Test for Tritium, Cobalt, Strontium and Caesium Isotopes in Seawater 2017 (IAEA-RML-2017-01) are presented. All radionuclides excepting ³H were analysed using various radioanalytical methods, i.e. direct gamma-ray counting for determining ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs and developed radiochemical techniques for analysing ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs using AMP pre-concentration technique and 90Sr using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) liquid extraction technique. The analysis results were submitted to IAEA. All results passed IAEA criteria, i.e. accuracy, precision and trueness and obtained ‘Accepted’ statuses. These confirm the data quality from the OAP environmental radiation laboratory to monitor radiation in the environment.

Keywords: International atomic energy agency, proficiency test, radiation monitoring, seawater.

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

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

Keywords: Agglomeration, briquetting, limestone, agriculture.

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Authors: Gela Gelashvili, David Gelenidze, Sulkhan Nanobashvili, Irakli Nanobashvili, George Tavkhelidze, Tsiuri Sitchinava

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Development of new highly efficient plasma arc combustion system of pulverized coal is presented. As it is well-known, coal is one of the main energy carriers by means of which electric and heat energy is produced in thermal power stations. The quality of the extracted coal decreases very rapidly. Therefore, the difficulties associated with its firing and complete combustion arise and thermo-chemical preparation of pulverized coal becomes necessary. Usually, other organic fuels (mazut-fuel oil or natural gas) are added to low-quality coal for this purpose. The fraction of additional organic fuels varies within 35-40% range. This decreases dramatically the economic efficiency of such systems. At the same time, emission of noxious substances in the environment increases. Because of all these, intense development of plasma combustion systems of pulverized coal takes place in whole world. These systems are equipped with Non-Transferred Plasma Arc Torches. They allow practically complete combustion of pulverized coal (without organic additives) in boilers, increase of energetic and financial efficiency. At the same time, emission of noxious substances in the environment decreases dramatically. But, the non-transferred plasma torches have numerous drawbacks, e.g. complicated construction, low service life (especially in the case of high power), instability of plasma arc and most important – up to 30% of energy loss due to anode cooling. Due to these reasons, intense development of new plasma technologies that are free from these shortcomings takes place. In our proposed system, pulverized coal-air mixture passes through plasma arc area that burns between to carbon electrodes directly in pulverized coal muffler burner. Consumption of the carbon electrodes is low and does not need a cooling system, but the main advantage of this method is that radiation of plasma arc directly impacts on coal-air mixture that accelerates the process of thermo-chemical preparation of coal to burn. To ensure the stability of the plasma arc in such difficult conditions, we have developed a power source that provides fixed current during fluctuations in the arc resistance automatically compensated by the voltage change as well as regulation of plasma arc length over a wide range. Our combustion system where plasma arc acts directly on pulverized coal-air mixture is simple. This should allow a significant improvement of pulverized coal combustion (especially low-quality coal) and its economic efficiency. Preliminary experiments demonstrated the successful functioning of the system.

Keywords: Coal combustion, plasma arc, plasma torches, pulverized coal.

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Authors: D. Koren, V. Kilar

Abstract:

The modern energy-efficient houses are often founded on a thermal insulation (TI) layer placed under the building’s RC foundation slab.The purpose of the paper is to identify the potential problems of the buildings founded on TI layer from the seismic point of view. The two main goals of the study were to assess the seismic behavior of such buildings, and to search for the critical structural parameters affecting the response of the superstructure as well as of the extruded polystyrene (XPS) layer. As a test building a multi-storeyed RC frame structure with and without the XPS layer under the foundation slab has been investigated utilizing nonlinear dynamic (time-history) and static (pushover) analyses. The structural response has been investigated with reference to the following performance parameters: i) Building’s lateral roof displacements, ii) Edge compressive and shear strains of the XPS, iii) Horizontal accelerations of the superstructure, iv) Plastic hinge patterns of the superstructure, v) Part of the foundation in compression, and vi) Deformations of the underlying soil and vertical displacements of the foundation slab (i.e. identifying the potential uplift). The results have shown that in the case of higher and stiff structures lying on firm soil the use of XPS under the foundation slab might induce amplified structural peak responses compared to the building models without XPS under the foundation slab. The analysis has revealed that the superstructure as well as the XPS response is substantially affected by the stiffness of the foundation slab.

Keywords: Extruded polystyrene (XPS), foundation on thermal insulation, energy-efficient buildings, nonlinear seismic analysis, seismic response, soil–structure interaction.

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Authors: Mochammad Dewo, Sumarsono Sudarto

Abstract:

The Exponential Triple Smoothing Algorithm approach nowadays, which is used to anticipate the export value of Indonesia's two major commodities, coal and palm oil, has a Mean Percentage Absolute Error (MAPE) value of 30-50%, which may be considered as a "reasonable" forecasting mistake. Forecasting errors of more than 30% shall have a domino effect on industrial output, as extra production adds to raw material, manufacturing and storage expenses. Whereas, reaching an "excellent" classification with an error value of less than 10% will provide new investors and exporters with confidence in the commercial development of related sectors. Industrial growth will bring out a positive impact on economic development. It can be applied for other commodities if the forecast error is less than 10%. The purpose of this project is to create a forecasting technique that can produce precise forecasting results with an error of less than 10%. This research analyzes forecasting methods such as ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average), ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and LSTM (Long-Short Term Memory). By providing a MAPE of 1%, this study reveals that ANN is the most successful strategy for forecasting coal and palm oil commodities in Indonesia.

Keywords: ANN, Artificial Neural Network, ARIMA, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average, export value, forecast, LSTM, Long Short Term Memory.

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Authors: A. Bendarma, T. Jankowiak, A. Rusinek, T. Lodygowski, M. Klósak, S. Bouslikhane

Abstract:

The analysis of the mechanical characteristics and dynamic behavior of aluminum alloy sheet due to perforation tests based on the experimental tests coupled with the numerical simulation is presented. The impact problems (penetration and perforation) of the metallic plates have been of interest for a long time. Experimental, analytical as well as numerical studies have been carried out to analyze in details the perforation process. Based on these approaches, the ballistic properties of the material have been studied. The initial and residual velocities laser sensor is used during experiments to obtain the ballistic curve and the ballistic limit. The energy balance is also reported together with the energy absorbed by the aluminum including the ballistic curve and ballistic limit. The high speed camera helps to estimate the failure time and to calculate the impact force. A wide range of initial impact velocities from 40 up to 180 m/s has been covered during the tests. The mass of the conical nose shaped projectile is 28 g, its diameter is 12 mm, and the thickness of the aluminum sheet is equal to 1.0 mm. The ABAQUS/Explicit finite element code has been used to simulate the perforation processes. The comparison of the ballistic curve was obtained numerically and was verified experimentally, and the failure patterns are presented using the optimal mesh densities which provide the stability of the results. A good agreement of the numerical and experimental results is observed.

Keywords: Aluminum alloy, ballistic behavior, failure criterion, numerical simulation.

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Authors: Shivalinge Gowda

Abstract:

The total mass attenuation coefficients m/r, of some halides such as, NaCl, KCl, CuCl, NaBr, KBr, RbCl, AgCl, NaI, KI, AgBr, CsI, HgCl₂, CdI₂ and HgI₂ were determined at photon energies 279.2, 320.07, 514.0, 661.6, 1115.5, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV in a well-collimated narrow beam good geometry set-up using a high resolution, hyper pure germanium detector. The mass attenuation coefficients and the effective atomic cross sections are found to be in good agreement with the XCOM values. From these mass attenuation coefficients, the effective atomic cross sections s_a, of the compounds were determined. These effective atomic cross section s_a data so obtained are then used to compute the effective atomic numbers Z_eff. For this, the interpolation of total attenuation cross-sections of photons of energy E in elements of atomic number Z was performed by using the logarithmic regression analysis of the data measured by the authors and reported earlier for the above said energies along with XCOM data for standard energies. The best-fit coefficients in the photon energy range of 250 to 350 keV, 350 to 500 keV, 500 to 700 keV, 700 to 1000 keV and 1000 to 1500 keV by a piecewise interpolation method were then used to find the Z_eff of the compounds with respect to the effective atomic cross section s_a from the relation obtained by piece wise interpolation method. Using these Z_eff values, the electron densities N_el of halides were also determined. The present Z_eff and N_el values of halides are found to be in good agreement with the values calculated from XCOM data and other available published values.

Keywords: Mass attenuation coefficient, atomic cross-section, effective atomic number, electron density.

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Authors: Ivan C. Mustakerov, Daniela I. Borissova

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The increasing competitiveness in manufacturing industry is forcing manufacturers to seek effective processing schedules. The paper presents an optimization manufacture scheduling approach for dependent details processing with given processing sequences and times on multiple machines. By defining decision variables as start and end moments of details processing it is possible to use straightforward variables restrictions to satisfy different technological requirements and to formulate easy to understand and solve optimization tasks for multiple numbers of details and machines. A case study example is solved for seven base moldings for CNC metalworking machines processed on five different machines with given processing order among details and machines and known processing time-s duration. As a result of linear optimization task solution the optimal manufacturing schedule minimizing the overall processing time is obtained. The manufacturing schedule defines the moments of moldings delivery thus minimizing storage costs and provides mounting due-time satisfaction. The proposed optimization approach is based on real manufacturing plant problem. Different processing schedules variants for different technological restrictions were defined and implemented in the practice of Bulgarian company RAIS Ltd. The proposed approach could be generalized for other job shop scheduling problems for different applications.

Keywords: Optimal manufacturing scheduling, linear programming, metalworking machines production, dependant details processing.

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Authors: Paula M. R. Correia, Marta Gonzaga, Luis M. Batista, Luísa Beirão-Costa, Raquel F. P. Guiné

Abstract:

The purpose of the present work was to develop an innovative food product with good textural and sensorial characteristics. The product, a new type of bread, was prepared with wheat (90%) and lupin (10%) flours, without the addition of any conservatives. Several experiences were also done to find the most appropriate proportion of lupin flour. The optimized product was characterized considering the rheological, physical-chemical and sensorial properties. The water absorption of wheat flour with 10% of lupin was higher than that of the normal wheat flours, and Wheat Ceres flour presented the lower value, with lower dough development time and high stability time. The breads presented low moisture but a considerable water activity. The density of bread decreased with the introduction of lupin flour. The breads were quite white, and during storage the colour parameters decreased. The lupin flour clearly increased the number of alveolus, but the total area increased significantly just for the Wheat Cerealis bread. The addition of lupin flour increased the hardness and chewiness of breads, but the elasticity did not vary significantly. Lupin bread was sensorially similar to wheat bread produced with WCerealis flour, and the main differences are the crust rugosity, colour and alveolus characteristics.

Keywords: Lupin flour, physical-chemical properties, sensorial analysis, wheat flour.

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Authors: A. Baith Mohamed, Ayman Abdel-Hamid, Kareem Youssri Mohamed

Abstract:

Current proposals for E-passport or ID-Card is similar to a regular passport with the addition of tiny contactless integrated circuit (computer chip) inserted in the back cover, which will act as a secure storage device of the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport. In addition, it will include a digital photograph that will enable biometric comparison, through the use of facial recognition technology at international borders. Moreover, the e-passport will have a new interface, incorporating additional antifraud and security features. However, its problems are reliability, security and privacy. Privacy is a serious issue since there is no encryption between the readers and the E-passport. However, security issues such as authentication, data protection and control techniques cannot be embedded in one process. In this paper, design and prototype implementation of an improved E-passport reader is presented. The passport holder is authenticated online by using GSM network. The GSM network is the main interface between identification center and the e-passport reader. The communication data is protected between server and e-passport reader by using AES to encrypt data for protection will transferring through GSM network. Performance measurements indicate a 19% improvement in encryption cycles versus previously reported results.

Keywords: RFID "Radio Frequency Identification", EPC"Electronic Product Code", ICAO "International Civil Aviation Organization", IFF "Identify Friend or Foe"

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