Search results for: Field capacity

Authors: Aigerim Uyzbayeva, Valeriya Tyo, Nurlan Ibrayev

Abstract:

Kazakhstan is currently one of the dynamically developing states in its region. The stable growth in all sectors of the economy leads to a corresponding increase in energy consumption. Thus country consumes significant amount of energy due to the high level of industrialisation and the presence of energy-intensive manufacturing such as mining and metallurgy which in turn leads to low energy efficiency. With allowance for this the Government has set several priorities to adopt a transition of Republic of Kazakhstan to a “green economy”. This article provides an overview of Kazakhstan’s energy efficiency situation in for the period of 1991- 2014. First, the dynamics of production and consumption of conventional energy resources are given. Second, the potential of renewable energy sources is summarised followed by the description of GHG emissions trends in the country. Third, Kazakhstan’ national initiatives, policies and locally implemented projects in the field of energy efficiency are described.

Keywords: Energy efficiency in Kazakhstan, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, sustainable development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3516

Authors: Chandra Gupt Porwal

Abstract:

Excessive vibration means increased wear, increased repair efforts, bad product selection & quality and high energy consumption. This may be sometimes experienced by cavitation or suction/discharge recirculation which could occur only when net positive suction head available NPSHA drops below the net positive suction head required NPSHR. Cavitation can cause axial surging, if it is excessive, will damage mechanical seals, bearings, possibly other pump components frequently, and shorten the life of the impeller. Efforts have been made to explain Suction Energy (SE), Specific Speed (Ns), Suction Specific Speed (Nss), NPSHA, NPSHR & their significance, possible reasons of cavitation /internal recirculation, its diagnostics and remedial measures to arrest and prevent cavitation in this paper. A case study is presented by the author highlighting that the root cause of unwanted noise and vibration is due to cavitation, caused by high specific speeds or inadequate net- positive suction head available which results in damages to material surfaces of impeller & suction bells and degradation of machine performance, its capacity and efficiency too. Author strongly recommends revisiting the technical specifications of CW pumps to provide sufficient NPSH margin ratios >1.5, for future projects and Nss be limited to 8500 - 9000 for cavitation free operation.

Keywords: Best efficiency point (BEP), Net positive suction head NPSHA, NPSHR, Specific Speed NS, Suction Specific Speed Nss.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5015

Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, M. Alibolandi

Abstract:

Dynamic behavior of soil are evaluated relative to a number of factors including: strain level, density, number of cycles, material type, fine content, geosynthetic inclusion, saturation, and effective stress .This paper investigate the dynamic behavior of saturated reinforced sand under cyclic stress condition. The cyclic triaxial tests are conducted on remolded specimens under various CSR which reinforced by different arrangement of non-woven geotextile. Aforementioned tests simulate field reinforced saturated deposits during earthquake or other cyclic loadings. This analysis revealed that the geotextile arrangement played dominant role on dynamic soil behavior and as geotextile close to top of specimen, the liquefaction resistance increased.

Keywords: Dynamic Behavior, Reinforced Sand, Triaxial Test, Non-woven Geotextile.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2750

Authors: Vladimir I. Byshev, Victor G. Neiman, Yuri A. Romanov, Ilya V. Serykh

Abstract:

Since atmosphere pressure field is an actual envoy of climatic signal the atmospheric Highs and Lows should be attributed to the key active focal points within the ocean-atmosphere interplay system. Here we were set a task to determine how the dynamics of those centres of action relates to the climate change both on regional and global scales. For this target the near-surface temperature and atmospheric pressure differences between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High were considered. The secular term of phase states of the system under consideration was found divided into three nonintersecting subsets. Each of that was put in consequence with one of three climatic scenarios related to the periods of 1905-1935 (relatively warm phase), 1940-1970 (cold phase) and 1980-2000 (warm phase).

Keywords: Climate change, climatic scenario, fields of environmental characteristics, North Atlantic region.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1539

Authors: Y. Hoffner, Y. Rusho, S. Rubach, S. Abargil

Abstract:

This paper presents CommonSense, a platform that provides researchers with the infrastructure and tools that enable the efficient and smooth creation, execution and processing of multiple participant experiments taking place outside the laboratory environment. The platform provides the infrastructure and tools to accompany the researchers throughout the life cycle of an experiment – from its inception, through its execution, to its processing and termination. The approach of our platform is based on providing a comprehensive solution, which puts emphasis on the support for the entire life-cycle of an experiment, starting from its definition, the setting up and the configuration of the platform, through the management of the experiment itself and its post processing. Some of the components that support those processes are constructed and configured automatically from the experiment definition.

Keywords: Mobile applications, mobile experiments, web experiments, software system architecture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 392

Authors: Dong Wook Lee

Abstract:

This paper describes a method for analyzing penetration for composite material using an explicit nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This method may be used in the early stage of design for the protection of military vehicles, aircraft engines and nuclear power plant structures made of composite materials. This paper deals with simple ballistic penetration tests for composite materials and the FEA modeling method and results. The FEA was performed to interpret the ballistic field test phenomenon regarding the damage propagation in the structure subjected to local foreign object impact.

Keywords: Computer Aided Engineering, CAE, Finite Element Analysis, FEA, impact analysis, penetration analysis, composite material.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 583

Authors: Akram Shahriyari, Reza Mokhtari Malek Abadi

Abstract:

E-tourism is among the issues that have recently been entered into the field of tourism. In order to achieve this type of tourism, Information and Communications Technology or ICT infrastructures as well as Co-governmental organizations and tourism resources are important. In this study, the opinions of managers and tourism officials about the e-tourism in Lenjan city were measured; it also surveyed the impact of level of digital literacy of managers and tourism officials on attracting tourists in Lenjan city. This study was conducted in Lenjan, one of the environs of the Esfahan province. This study is a documentary – survey and the sources include library resources and also questionnaires. The results obtained indicate that if managers use ICT, it may help E-tourism to be developed in the region, and increasing managers’ beliefs on e-tourism and upgrading their level of digital literacy may affect e-tourism development.

Keywords: ICT, e-tourism, opinion of managers and officials.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1453

Authors: Thanasis K. Barlas, Helge A. Madsen

Abstract:

A novel Active Flap System (AFS) has been developed at DTU Wind Energy, as a result of a 3-year R&D project following almost 10 years of innovative research in this field. The full scale AFS comprises an active deformable trailing edge has been tested at the unique rotating test facility at the Risø Campus of DTU Wind Energy in Denmark. The design and instrumentation of the wing section and the AFS are described. The general description and objectives of the rotating test rig at the Risø campus of DTU are presented, along with an overview of sensors on the setup and the test cases. The post-processing of data is discussed and results of steady, flap step and azimuth control flap cases are presented.

Keywords: morphing, adaptive, flap, smart blade, wind turbine.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1689

Authors: A. Muthuramalingam, S. Himavathi, E. Srinivasan

Abstract:

.Hardware realization of a Neural Network (NN), to a large extent depends on the efficient implementation of a single neuron. FPGA-based reconfigurable computing architectures are suitable for hardware implementation of neural networks. FPGA realization of ANNs with a large number of neurons is still a challenging task. This paper discusses the issues involved in implementation of a multi-input neuron with linear/nonlinear excitation functions using FPGA. Implementation method with resource/speed tradeoff is proposed to handle signed decimal numbers. The VHDL coding developed is tested using Xilinx XC V50hq240 Chip. To improve the speed of operation a lookup table method is used. The problems involved in using a lookup table (LUT) for a nonlinear function is discussed. The percentage saving in resource and the improvement in speed with an LUT for a neuron is reported. An attempt is also made to derive a generalized formula for a multi-input neuron that facilitates to estimate approximately the total resource requirement and speed achievable for a given multilayer neural network. This facilitates the designer to choose the FPGA capacity for a given application. Using the proposed method of implementation a neural network based application, namely, a Space vector modulator for a vector-controlled drive is presented

Keywords: FPGA implementation, multi-input neuron, neural network, nn based space vector modulator.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4386

Authors: Muhammad Sohail Khan, Rehan Ali Shah

Abstract:

The present paper applies the optimal homotopy perturbation method (OHPM) and the optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM) introduced recently to obtain analytic approximations of the non-linear equations modeling the flow of polymer in case of wire coating of a corotational Maxwell fluid. Expression for the velocity field is obtained in non-dimensional form. Comparison of the results obtained by the two methods at different values of non-dimensional parameter l₁₀, reveal that the OHPM is more effective and easy to use. The OHPM solution can be improved even working in the same order of approximation depends on the choices of the auxiliary functions.

Keywords: Wire coating die, Corotational Maxwell model, optimal homotopy asymptotic method, optimal homotopy perturbation method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1030

Authors: A. Ras, I. Nait Zerrad, N. Benmouna, N. Boumechra

Abstract:

Use of base isolators in the seismic design of structures has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The major concern in the design of these structures is to have enough lateral stability to resist wind and seismic forces. There are different systems providing such isolation, among them there are friction- pendulum base isolation systems (FPS) which are rather widely applied nowadays involving to both affordable cost and high fundamental periods. These devices are characterised by a stiff resistance against wind loads and to be flexible to the seismic tremors, which make them suitable for different situations. In this paper, a 3D numerical investigation is done considering the seismic response of a twelve-storey steel building retrofitted with a FPS. Fast nonlinear time history analysis (FNA) of Boumerdes earthquake (Algeria, May 2003) is considered for analysis and carried out using SAP2000 software. Comparisons between fixed base, bearing base isolated and braced structures are shown in a tabulated and graphical format. The results of the various alternatives studies to compare the structural response without and with this device of dissipation energy thus obtained were discussed and the conclusions showed the interesting potential of the FPS isolator. This system may to improve the dissipative capacities of the structure without increasing its rigidity in a significant way which contributes to optimize the quantity of steel necessary for its general stability.

Keywords: Steel structure, energy dissipation, friction-pendulum system, nonlinear analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1344

Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

Abstract:

Rapid aging and depopulation could lead to serious problems, including workforce shortages and health expenditure costs. The current and predicted future LTC workforce shortages could be a real threat to Taiwan’s society. By means of comparison of data from 144 nursing aide trainees and 727 general public, the main purpose of the present study was to determine whether there were any notable differences between the two groups toward engaging in LTC services. Moreover, this study focused on recognizing the attributes of the general public who had the willingness to take LTC jobs but continue to ride the fence. A self-developed questionnaire was designed based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior model. After conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, the questionnaire was a reliable and valid instrument for both nursing aide trainees and the general public. The main results were as follows: Firstly, nearly 70% of nursing aide trainees showed interest in LTC jobs. Most of them were middle-aged female (M = 46.85, SD = 9.31), had a high school diploma or lower, had unrelated work experience in healthcare, and were mostly unemployed. The most common reason for attending the LTC training program was to gain skills in a particular field. The second most common reason was to obtain the license. The third and fourth reasons were to be interested in caring for people and to increase income. The three major reasons that might push them to leave LTC jobs were physical exhaustion, payment is bad, and being looked down on. Secondly, the variables that best-predicted nursing aide trainees’ intention to engage in LTC services were having personal willingness, perceived behavior control, with high school diploma or lower, and supported from family and friends. Finally, only 11.80% of the general public reported having interest in LTC jobs (the disapproval rating was 50% for the general public). In comparison to nursing aide trainees who showed interest in LTC settings, 64.8% of the new workforce for LTC among the general public was male and had an associate degree, 54.8% had relevant healthcare experience, 67.1% was currently employed, and they were younger (M = 32.19, SD = 13.19) and unmarried (66.3%). Furthermore, the most commonly reason for the new workforce to engage in LTC jobs were to gain skills in a particular field. The second priority was to be interested in caring for people. The third and fourth most reasons were to give back to society and to increase income, respectively. The top five most commonly reasons for the new workforce to quitting LTC jobs were listed as follows: physical exhaustion, being looked down on, excessive working hours, payment is bad, and excessive job stress.

Keywords: Long-term care services, nursing aide trainees, Taiwanese people, theory of planned behavior.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 868

Authors: M. Raciti Castelli, E. Benini

Abstract:

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the unsteady flow around an American 19th century vertical-axis windmill: the Stevens & Jolly rotor, patented on April 16, 1895. The computational approach used is based on solving the complete transient Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (t-RANS) equations: a full campaign of numerical simulation has been performed using the k-ω SST turbulence model. Flow field characteristics have been investigated for several values of tip speed ratio and for a constant unperturbed free-stream wind velocity of 6 m/s, enabling the study of some unsteady flow phenomena in the rotor wake. Finally, the global power generated from the windmill has been determined for each simulated angular velocity, allowing the calculation of the rotor power-curve.

Keywords: CFD, vertical-axis rotor, windmill.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1419

Authors: Munendra Kumar, Deepak Singh

Abstract:

The present investigation aims to study the effect of channel bed slopes on energy dissipation across the different types of Piano Key Weir (PK weir or PKW) under the free-flow conditions in rigid rectangular channels. To this end, three different types (type-A, type-B, and type-C) of PKW models were tested and examined. To document and quantify this experimental investigation, a total of 270 tests were performed, including detailed observations of the flow field. The results show that the energy dissipation of all PKW models increases with the bed slopes and decreases with increasing the discharge over the weirs. In addition, the energy dissipation over the PKW varies significantly with the geometry of the weir. The type-A PKW has shown the highest energy dissipation than the other PKWs. As the bottom slope changed from Sb = 0% to 1.25%, the energy dissipation increased by about 8.5%, 9.1%, and 10.55% for type-A, type-B, and type-C, respectively.

Keywords: Piano key weir, bed slope, energy dissipation across PKW, free overfalls.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 480

Authors: Toshinori Nawata

Abstract:

In this paper we consider a nonlinear feedback control called augmented automatic choosing control (AACC) for nonlinear systems with constrained input using weighted gradient optimization automatic choosing functions. Constant term which arises from linearization of a given nonlinear system is treated as a coefficient of a stable zero dynamics. Parameters of the control are suboptimally selected by maximizing the stable region in the sense of Lyapunov with the aid of a genetic algorithm. This approach is applied to a field excitation control problem of power system to demonstrate the splendidness of the AACC. Simulation results show that the new controller can improve performance remarkably well.

Keywords: Augmented automatic choosing control, nonlinear control, genetic algorithm, zero dynamics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1820

Authors: Edward J. Kansa, Pavel Holoborodko

Abstract:

Continuously differentiable radial basis functions (RBFs) are meshfree, converge faster as the dimensionality increases, and is theoretically spectrally convergent. When implemented on current single and double precision computers, such RBFs can suffer from ill-conditioning because the systems of equations needed to be solved to find the expansion coefficients are full. However, the Advanpix extended precision software package allows computer mathematics to resemble asymptotically ideal Platonic mathematics. Additionally, full systems with extended precision execute faster graphical processors units and field-programmable gate arrays because no branching is needed. Sparse equation systems are fast for iterative solvers in a very limited number of cases.

Keywords: Meshless spectrally convergent, partial differential equations, extended arithmetic precision, no branching.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 594

Authors: Afshin Moradi, Mohammad Hosain Teimourpour

Abstract:

We derive simple sets of equations to describe the microwave response of a thin film of magnetized hydrogen plasma in the presence of carbon nanotubes, which were grown by ironcatalyzed high-pressure disproportionation (HiPco). By considering the interference effects due to multiple reflections between thin plasma film interfaces, we present the effects of the continuously changing external magnetic field and plasma parameters on the reflected power, absorbed power, and transmitted power in the system. The simulation results show that the interference effects play an important role in the reflectance, transmittance and absorptance of microwave radiation at the magnetized plasma slab. As a consequence, the interference effects lead to a sinusoidal variation of the reflected intensity and can greatly reduce the amount of reflection power, but the absorption power increases.

Keywords:

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1383

Authors: Yaşar Baykul, Musa Gürsel, Hacı Sulak, Erhan Ertekin, Ersen Yazıcı, Osman Dülger, Yasin Aslan, Kağan Büyükkarcı

Abstract:

The reliability of the tools developed to learn the learning styles is essential to find out students- learning styles trustworthily. For this purpose, the psychometric features of Grasha- Riechman Student Learning Style Inventory developed by Grasha was studied to contribute to this field. The study was carried out on 6th, 7th, and 8th graders of 10 primary education schools in Konya. The inventory was applied twice with an interval of one month, and according to the data of this application, the reliability coefficient numbers of the 6 sub-dimensions pointed in the theory of the inventory was found to be medium. Besides, it was found that the inventory does not have a structure with 6 factors for both Mathematics and English courses as represented in the theory.

Keywords: Learning styles, Grasha-Riechmann, reliability, validity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6532

Authors: M. Akbari, S. Sadodin

Abstract:

In this paper, the melting of a semi-infinite body as a result of a moving laser beam has been studied. Because the Fourier heat transfer equation at short times and large dimensions does not have sufficient accuracy; a non-Fourier form of heat transfer equation has been used. Due to the fact that the beam is moving in x direction, the temperature distribution and the melting pool shape are not asymmetric. As a result, the problem is a transient threedimensional problem. Therefore, thermophysical properties such as heat conductivity coefficient, density and heat capacity are functions of temperature and material states. The enthalpy technique, used for the solution of phase change problems, has been used in an explicit finite volume form for the hyperbolic heat transfer equation. This technique has been used to calculate the transient temperature distribution in the semi-infinite body and the growth rate of the melt pool. In order to validate the numerical results, comparisons were made with experimental data. Finally, the results of this paper were compared with similar problem that has used the Fourier theory. The comparison shows the influence of infinite speed of heat propagation in Fourier theory on the temperature distribution and the melt pool size.

Keywords: Non-Fourier, Enthalpy technique, Melt pool, Radiational boundary condition

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1962

Authors: Bin Su

Abstract:

According to the Auckland climate, building passive design more focus on improving winter indoor thermal and health conditions. Based on field study data of indoor air temperature and relative humidity close to ceiling and floor of an insulated Auckland townhouse with and without a whole home mechanical ventilation system, this study is to analysis variation of indoor microclimate data of an Auckland townhouse using or not using the mechanical ventilation system to evaluate winter indoor thermal and health conditions for the future house design with a mechanical ventilation system.

Keywords: House ventilation, indoor thermal condition, indoor health condition, passive design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1490

Authors: Youssef Chahir, Messaoud Mostefai, Salah Khodja

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of a 2D visual marker, derived from a recent patented work in the field of numbering systems. The proposed fiducial uses a group of projective invariant straight-line patterns, easily detectable and remotely recognizable. Based on an efficient data coding scheme, the developed marker enables producing a large panel of unique real time identifiers with highly distinguishable patterns. The proposed marker Incorporates simultaneously decimal and binary information, making it readable by both humans and machines. This important feature opens up new opportunities for the development of efficient visual human-machine communication and monitoring protocols. Extensive experiment tests validate the robustness of the marker against acquisition and geometric distortions.

Keywords: visual marker, projective invariants, distance map, level set

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 501

Authors: Nuran Öze

Abstract:

Communities and societies have been changing towards computer mediated communication. This paper explores online and offline identities and how relationships are formed and negotiated within internet environments which offer opportunities for people who know each other offline and move into relationships online. The expectations and norms of behavior within everyday life cause people to be embodied self. According to the age categories of Turkish Cypriots, their measurements of attitudes in Facebook will be investigated. Face-to-face field research and semi-structured interview methods are used in the study. Face-to-face interview has been done with Turkish Cypriots who are using Facebook already. According to the study, in constructing a linkage between real and virtual identities mostly affected from societal relations serves as a societal grooming tool for Turkish Cypriots.

Keywords: Facebook, identity, social media, virtual reality.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1084

Authors: Sawangjit Sopid

Abstract:

In this study sugarcane field soils with a long history of atrazine application in Chachoengsao and Chonburi provinces have been explored for their potential of atrazine biodegradation. For the atrazine degrading bacteria isolation, the soils used in this study named ACS and ACB were inoculated in MS-medium containing atrazine. Six short rod and gram-negative bacterial isolates, which were able to use this herbicide as a sole source of nitrogen, were isolated and named as ACS1, ACB1, ACB3, ACB4, ACB5 and ACB6. From the 16S rDNA nucleotide sequence analysis, the isolated bacteria ACS1 and ACB4 were identified as Rhizobium sp. with 89.1-98.7% nucleotide identity, ACB1 and ACB5 were identified as Stenotrophomonas sp. with 91.0-92.8% nucleotide identity, whereas ACB3 and ACB6 were Klebsiella sp. with 97.4-97.8% nucleotide identity.

Keywords: Atrazine-degrading bacteria, bioremediation, Thai isolate bacteria.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2188

Authors: Ali Fadhil Naser, Wang Zonglin

Abstract:

The main objectives of this study are to inspect and identify any damage of jaimusi highway prestressed concrete bridge after repair and strengthening of damaged structural members and to evaluate the performance of the bridge structural members by adopting static load test. Inspection program after repair and strengthening includes identifying and evaluating the structural members of bridge such as T-shape cantilever structure, hanging beams, corbels, external tendons, anchor beams, sticking steel plate, and piers. The results of inspection show that the overall state of the bridge structural member after repair and strengthening is good. The results of rebound test of concrete strength show that the average strength of concrete is 46.31Mpa. Whereas, the average value of concrete strength of anchor beam is 49.82Mpa. According to the results of static load test, the experimental values are less than theoretical values of internal forces, deflection, and strain, indicating that the stiffness of the experimental structure, overall deformation and integrity satisfy the designed standard and the working performance is good, and the undertaking capacity has a certain surplus. There is not visible change in the length and width of cracks and there are not new cracks under experimental load.

Keywords: Jiamusi Bridge, Damage inspection, deflection, strain.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1785

Authors: Sakura Yoshii, Masakazu Abe, Akihiro Iijima

Abstract:

Nitrogen saturation has become one of the serious issues in the field of forest environment. The watershed protection forests located in the downwind hinterland of Tokyo Metropolitan Area are believed to be facing nitrogen saturation. In this study, we carefully focus on the balance of nitrogen between load and runoff. Annual nitrogen load via atmospheric deposition was estimated to 461.1 t-N/year in the upper reaches of the Kanna River. Annual nitrogen runoff to the forested headwater stream of the Kanna River was determined to 184.9 t-N/year, corresponding to 40.1% of the total nitrogen load. Clear seasonal change in NO₃-N concentration was still observed. Therefore, watershed protection forest of the Kanna River is most likely to be in Stage-1 on the status of nitrogen saturation.

Keywords: Atmospheric deposition, Nitrogen accumulation, Denitrification, Forest ecosystems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1697

Authors: Tatsuya Kato, Masanobu Nagata, Hidetoshi Nakashima, Kazunori Matsuo

Abstract:

Localization of mobile robots are important tasks for developing autonomous mobile robots. This paper proposes a method to estimate positions of a mobile robot using a omnidirectional camera on the robot. Landmarks for points of references are set up on a field where the robot works. The omnidirectional camera which can obtain 360 [deg] around images takes photographs of these landmarks. The positions of the robots are estimated from directions of these landmarks that are extracted from the images by image processing. This method can obtain the robot positions without accumulative position errors. Accuracy of the estimated robot positions by the proposed method are evaluated through some experiments. The results show that it can obtain the positions with small standard deviations. Therefore the method has possibilities of more accurate localization by tuning of appropriate offset parameters.

Keywords: Mobile robots, Localization, Omnidirectional camera.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2313

Authors: Atjanakul W, Chutima S., Kamnerdthong T.

Abstract:

Shipping comb is mounted on Head Stack Assembly (HSA) to prevent collision of the heads, maintain the gap between suspensions and protect HSA tips from unintentional contact damaged in the manufacturing process. Failure analysis of shipping comb in hard disk drive production processes is proposed .Field observations were performed to determine the fatal areas on shipping comb and their failure fraction. Root cause failure analysis (RCFA) is applied to specify the failure causes subjected to various loading conditions. For reliability improvement, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) procedure to evaluate the risk priority is performed. Consequently, the more suitable information design criterions were obtained.

Keywords: Shipping comb, Hard disk drive, Root cause failureanalysis, Failure mode and effects analysis

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1616

Authors: Oladotun A. Fatoki, Deborah A. Onifade

Abstract:

Spoilage occurs in plant produce due to the action of field and storage microorganisms. The conditions of storage can also cause physiological spoilage. Various methods exist to ensure that these food substances maintain their quality long after harvesting. However, many of these methods either fail to keep the plant for the required period or predispose the plant to other spoilage risks. The major shortcoming posed by the use of many antimicrobials is the chemical residues it deposits in the food substance. The use of plants in preservation has been in use for a long period, though little understood then, it served its purposes. A better understanding of the roles of these plant parts in increasing the shelf life of farm produce has helped in the creation of more effective and safer means of pest and microbial control. This can be extended to plants that have not been used for these purposes initially. Microbial sources should also be investigated as these have provided cheaper sources of secondary metabolites.

Keywords: Antimicrobials, Food preservation, Phytochemicals

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3995

Authors: Nada Farhani, Naim Terbeh, Mounir Zrigui

Abstract:

The recognition of the objects contained in images has always presented a challenge in the field of research because of several difficulties that the researcher can envisage because of the variability of shape, position, contrast of objects, etc. In this paper, we will be interested in the recognition of objects. The classical Hough Transform (HT) presented a tool for detecting straight line segments in images. The technique of HT has been generalized (GHT) for the detection of arbitrary forms. With GHT, the forms sought are not necessarily defined analytically but rather by a particular silhouette. For more precision, we proposed to combine the results from the GHT with the results from a calculation of similarity between the histograms and the spatiograms of the images. The main purpose of our work is to use the concepts from recognition to generate sentences in Arabic that summarize the content of the image.

Keywords: Recognition of shape, generalized hough transformation, histogram, Spatiogram, learning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 585

Authors: Ngoc Trung Ngo, Buddhima Indraratna, Cholachat Rujikiathmakjornr

Abstract:

For several hundred years, the design of railway tracks has practically remained unchanged. Traditionally, rail tracks are placed on a ballast layer due to several reasons, including economy, rapid drainage, and high load bearing capacity. The primary function of ballast is to distributing dynamic track loads to sub-ballast and subgrade layers, while also providing lateral resistance and allowing for rapid drainage. Upon repeated trainloads, the ballast becomes fouled due to ballast degradation and the intrusion of fines which adversely affects the strength and deformation behaviour of ballast. This paper presents the use of three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) in studying the shear behaviour of the fouled ballast subjected to direct shear loading. Irregularly shaped particles of ballast were modelled by grouping many spherical balls together in appropriate sizes to simulate representative ballast aggregates. Fouled ballast was modelled by injecting a specified number of miniature spherical particles into the void spaces. The DEM simulation highlights that the peak shear stress of the ballast assembly decreases and the dilation of fouled ballast increases with an increase level of fouling. Additionally, the distributions of contact force chain and particle displacement vectors were captured during shearing progress, explaining the formation of shear band and the evolutions of volumetric change of fouled ballast.

Keywords: Railway ballast, coal fouling, discrete element modelling, discrete element method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1626