Search results for: Sustainable energy

Authors: A. Vilutis, V. Jankauskas

Abstract:

The paper presents the results of the investigation of the dry sliding friction of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) against tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) hard alloy. The dependence of the dynamic coefficient of friction on the main influencing factors (vertical load, temperature, and sliding distance) was investigated by evaluating their mutual interaction. Multiple regression analysis showed a high polynomial dependence (adjusted R2 > 0.98). The resistance of the composite to thermo-mechanical effects determines how temperature and force factors affect the magnitude of the coefficient of friction. WPC-B composite has the lowest friction and highest resistance compared to WPC-A, while composite and cemented carbide materials wear the least. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), based on elemental composition, provided important insights into the friction process.

Keywords: Friction, composite, carbide, temperature.

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Authors: Hoda Molavi, Alireza Zahiri, Katayoon Anvarizadeh

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Dissolved gas analysis has been accepted as a sensitive, informative and reliable technique for incipient faults detection in power transformers and is widely used. In the last few years this method, which has been recommended by IEEE Power & Energy society, has been applied for fault detection in load tap changers. Regarding the critical role of load tap changers in electrical network and essential of catastrophic failures prevention, it is necessary to choose "condition based preventative maintenance strategy" which leads to reduction in costs, the number of unnecessary visits as well as the probability of interruptions and also increment in equipment reliability. In current work, considering the condition based preventative maintenance strategy, condition assessment of an Elin tap changer was carried out using dissolved gas analysis.

Keywords: Condition Assessment, Dissolved Gas Analysis, Load Tap Changer

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Authors: Ilya Kavalchuk, Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Ben Horan, Aman Than Oo, Alex Stojcevski

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The power electronic components within Electric Vehicles (EV) need to operate in several important modes. Some modes directly influence safety, while others influence vehicle performance. Given the variety of functions and operational modes required of the power electronics, it needs to meet efficiency requirements to minimize power losses. Another challenge in the control and construction of such systems is the ability to support bidirectional power flow. This paper considers the construction, operation, and feasibility of available converters for electric vehicles with feasible configurations of electrical buses and loads. This paper describes logic and control signals for the converters for different operations conditions based on the efficiency and energy usage bases.

Keywords: Electric Vehicles, Electrical Machines Control, Power Electronics, Powerflow Regulations.

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Authors: Angelica S. Valeriani, Lorenzo Biasiolo

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In recent years, the scale of the impact of climate change and its related side effects has become ever more massive and devastating. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoted by United Nations, aim to front issues related to climate change, among others. In particular, the project CROWD4SDG focuses on a bunch of SDGs, since it promotes environmental activities and climate-related issues. In this context, we developed a prototype of an application, under advanced development considering web design, that focuses on SDG 13 (SDG on climate action) by providing users with useful instruments to face environmental crises and climate-related disasters. Our prototype is thought and structured for both web and mobile development. The main goal of the application, POLI4SDG, is to help users to get through emergency services. To this extent, an organized overview and classification prove to be very effective and helpful to people in need. A careful analysis of data related to environmental crises prompted us to integrate the user contribution, i.e. exploiting a core principle of Citizen Science, into the realization of a public catalog, available for consulting and organized according to typology and specific features. In addition, gender equality and opportunity features are considered in the prototype, in order to allow women, often the most vulnerable category, to have direct support. The overall description of the application functionalities is detailed. Moreover, implementation features and properties of the prototype are discussed.

Keywords: Crowdsourcing, social media, SDG, climate change, natural disasters, gender equality.

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Authors: Mohammed Gamil Montasser, Angelo Battaglia

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Tourism is making its presence felt across the Sultanate of Oman. The story is one of the most recognized phenomena as a sustainable solid growth and is considered a remarkable outcome for any destination. The competitive situation and challenges within the tourism industry worldwide entail a better understanding of the destination position and its image to achieve Oman’s aspiration to retain its international reputation as one of the most desirable destinations in the Middle East. To access general perceptions of Oman’s attributes, their importance and their influences among U.S. tourists, an online survey was conducted with 522 American travelers who have traveled internationally, including non-visitors, virtual-visitors and visitors to Oman. This research involved a total of 36 attributes in the survey. Participants were asked to rate their agreement on how each attribute represented Oman and how important each attribute was for selecting destinations on 5- point Likert Scale. They also indicated if each attribute has a positive, neutral or negative influence on their destination selection. Descriptive statistics and importance performance analysis (IPA) were conducted. IPA illustrated U.S. tourists’ perceptions of Oman’s destination attributes and their importance in destination selection on a matrix with four quadrants, divided by actual mean value in each grid for importance (M=3.51) and performance (M=3.57). Oman tourism organizations and destination managers may use these research findings for future marketing and management efforts toward the U.S. travel market.

Keywords: Analysis of importance and performance, destination attributes, Oman’s position, U.S. tourists.

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Authors: Rohit, S. Vishnuvardhan, P. Gandhi, Nagesh R. Iyer

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The evaluation of energy release rate and centre Crack Opening Displacement (COD) for circumferential Through-Wall Cracked (TWC) pipes is an important issue in the assessment of critical crack length for unstable fracture. The ability to predict crack growth continues to be an important component of research for several structural materials. Crack growth predictions can aid the understanding of the useful life of a structural component and the determination of inspection intervals and criteria. In this context, studies were carried out at CSIR-SERC on Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) piping components subjected to monotonic as well as cyclic loading to assess the damage for crack growth due to low-cycle fatigue in circumferentially TWC pipes.

Keywords: 304LN stainless steel, cyclic J-integral, Elastic- Plastic Fracture Mechanics, J-integral, Through-wall crack

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Authors: O. Babalola Oladapo, A. Igbatayo Samuel

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Climate change and poverty are global issues which cannot be waved aside in welfare of the ever increasing population. The causes / consequences are far more elaborate in developing countries, including Nigeria, which poses threats to the existence of man and his environment. The dominant role of agriculture makes it obvious that even minor climate deteriorations can cause devastating socio-economic consequences. Policies to curb the climate change by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels like oil, gas or carbon compounds have significant economical impacts on the producers/suppliers of these fuels. Thus a unified political narrative that advances both agendas is needed, because their components of an environmental coin that needs to be addressed. The developed world should maintain a low-carbon growth & real commitment of 0.7% of gross national income, as aid to developing countries & renewable energy approach should be emphasized, hence global poverty combated.

Keywords: Climate Change, Greenhouse gases, Nigeria, Poverty.

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Authors: M. Hoseinnezhad, K. Gharanjig

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Two organic dyes comprising carbazole as the electron donors and cyanoacetic acid moieties as the electron acceptors were synthesized. The organic dye was prepared by standard reaction from carbazole as the starting material. To this end, carbazole was reacted with bromobenzene and further oxidation and reacted with cyanoacetic acid. The obtained organic dye was purified and characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³CNMR) and elemental analysis. The influence of heteroatom on carbazole donors and cyno substitution on the acid acceptor is evidenced by spectral and electrochemical photovoltaic experiments. Finally, light fastness properties for organic dye were investigated.

Keywords: Dye-sensitized solar cells, Indoline dye, nanostructure, oxidation potential, solar energy.

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Authors: Yasuyuki Konishi, Masayoshi Kobayashi

Abstract:

Six parameters, the effective diffusivity (De), activation energy of De, pre-exponential factor of De, amount (ASOW) of self-organized water species, and amplitude (α) of the forced oscillation of the molecular mobility (1/tC) derived from the forced cyclic temperature change operation, were characterized by using six typical foods, squid, sardines, scallops, salmon, beef, and pork, as a function of the correlation time (tC) of the water molecule-s proton retained in the foods. Each of the six parameters was clearly divided into the water species A1 and A2 at a specified value of tC =10-8s (=CtC), indicating an anomalous change in the physicochemical nature of the water species at the CtC. The forced oscillation of 1/tC clearly demonstrated a characteristic mode depending on the food shown as a three dimensional map associated with 1/tC, the amount of self-organized water, and tC.

Keywords: molecular mobility, self-organization, hysteresis, water species A1 and A2, forced cyclic temperature change operation (FCTCO)

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Authors: Mohammed Farag, Mina Attari, S. Andrew Gadsden, Saeid R. Habibi

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Battery state of charge (SOC) estimation is an important parameter as it measures the total amount of electrical energy stored at a current time. The SOC percentage acts as a fuel gauge if it is compared with a conventional vehicle. Estimating the SOC is, therefore, essential for monitoring the amount of useful life remaining in the battery system. This paper looks at the implementation of three nonlinear estimation strategies for Li-Ion battery SOC estimation. One of the most common behavioral battery models is the one state hysteresis (OSH) model. The extended Kalman filter (EKF), the smooth variable structure filter (SVSF), and the time-varying smoothing boundary layer SVSF are applied on this model, and the results are compared.

Keywords: State of charge estimation, battery modeling, one-state hysteresis, filtering and estimation.

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Authors: G. Mokryani, M. R. Haghifam, J. Esmaeilpoor

Abstract:

Happening of Ferroresonance phenomenon is one of the reasons of consuming and ruining transformers, so recognition of Ferroresonance phenomenon has a special importance. A novel method for classification of Ferroresonance presented in this paper. Using this method Ferroresonance can be discriminate from other transients such as capacitor switching, load switching, transformer switching. Wavelet transform is used for decomposition of signals and Competitive Neural Network used for classification. Ferroresonance data and other transients was obtained by simulation using EMTP program. Using Daubechies wavelet transform signals has been decomposed till six levels. The energy of six detailed signals that obtained by wavelet transform are used for training and trailing Competitive Neural Network. Results show that the proposed procedure is efficient in identifying Ferroresonance from other events.

Keywords: Competitive Neural Network, Ferroresonance, EMTP program, Wavelet transform.

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Authors: S. Avdakovic, A. Lukac, A. Nuhanovic, M. Music

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Renewable energy systems are becoming a topic of great interest and investment in the world. In recent years wind power generation has experienced a very fast development in the whole world. For planning and successful implementations of good wind power plant projects, wind potential measurements are required. In these projects, of great importance is the effective choice of the micro location for wind potential measurements, installation of the measurement station with the appropriate measuring equipment, its maintenance and analysis of the gained data on wind potential characteristics. In this paper, a wavelet transform has been applied to analyze the wind speed data in the context of insight in the characteristics of the wind and the selection of suitable locations that could be the subject of a wind farm construction. This approach shows that it can be a useful tool in investigation of wind potential.

Keywords: Wind potential, Wind speed data, Wavelettransform.

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Authors: N. C. Shahi, Anupama Singh, A. E. Kate

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There was a scenario present day that drying of fresh fruits and vegetables by indirect solar drying by using mechanical device; hence, an effort was made to develop a small scale solar tunnel dryer (STD). Drying of spinach is carried out to analyze the performance of the dryer and to study its drying characteristics. To evaluate the performance of dryer the independent variables were selected as air flow rate, loading density and shade net while collector efficiency, drying efficiency, overall efficiency and specific energy consumption were selected as responses during performing the experiments. The spinach was dried from initial moisture content 88.21-94.04% (w.b.) to final moisture content 3.50-5.13% (w.b.). The drying time considerably reduced as compared to open sun drying of spinach as sun drying took 15 h for drying. The average collector efficiency, drying efficiency and overall efficiency were in the range 28.73-61.15%, 11.63% to 22.13%, and 7.61-14.66%, respectively.

Keywords: Solar dryer, collector efficiency, drying efficiency, spinach.

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Authors: Attila Balogh, Eszter Varga, István Varjasi

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Nowadays there are several grid connected converter in the grid system. These grid connected converters are generally the converters of renewable energy sources, industrial four quadrant drives and other converters with DC link. These converters are connected to the grid through a three phase bridge. The standards prescribe the maximal harmonic emission which could be easily limited with high switching frequency. The increased switching losses can be reduced to the half with the utilization of the wellknown Flat-top modulation. The suggested control method is the expansion of the Flat-top modulation with which the losses could be also reduced to the half compared to the Flat-top modulation. Comparing to traditional control these requirements can be simultaneously satisfied much better with the DLF (DC Link Floating) method.

Keywords: DC link floating, high efficiency, PV converter, control method.

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Authors: Karan Vishavjit, Aakash Lakra, Shafaq Khan

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The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed healthcare professionals to use big data analytics as a vital tool for tracking and evaluating the effects of contagious viruses. To effectively analyse huge datasets, efficient NoSQL databases are needed. The analysis of post-COVID-19 health and well-being outcomes and the evaluation of the effectiveness of government efforts during the pandemic is made possible by this research’s integration of several datasets, which cuts down on query processing time and creates predictive visual artifacts. We recommend applying sharding and indexing technologies to improve query effectiveness and scalability as the dataset expands. Effective data retrieval and analysis are made possible by spreading the datasets into a sharded database and doing indexing on individual shards. Analysis of connections between governmental activities, poverty levels, and post-pandemic wellbeing is the key goal. We want to evaluate the effectiveness of governmental initiatives to improve health and lower poverty levels. We will do this by utilising advanced data analysis and visualisations. The findings provide relevant data that support the advancement of UN sustainable objectives, future pandemic preparation, and evidence-based decision-making. This study shows how Big Data and NoSQL databases may be used to address problems with global health.

Keywords: COVID-19, big data, data analysis, indexing, NoSQL, sharding, scalability, poverty.

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Authors: Richard E. Miller

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12.7-mm thick plates of 6061-T6511 aluminum alloy and high hardness steel (528 HV) were successfully joined by a friction stir bonding process using a tungsten-rhenium stir tool. Process parameter variation experiments, which included tool design geometry, plunge and traverse rates, tool offset, spindle tilt, and rotation speed, were conducted to develop a parameter set which yielded a defect free joint. Laboratory tensile tests exhibited yield stresses which exceed the strengths of comparable AA6061-to-AA6061 fusion and friction stir weld joints. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis also show atomic diffusion at the material interface region.

Keywords: Dissimilar materials, friction stir, welding.

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Authors: Evgeniia V. Mekhonoshina, Vladimir Ya. Modorskii, Vasilii Yu. Petrov

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At present, vibrations of rotors of gas transmittal unit evade sustainable forecasting. This paper describes elastic oscillation modes in resilient supports and rotor impellers modeled during computational experiments with regard to interference in the system of gas-dynamic flow and compressor rotor. Verification of aeroelastic approach was done on model problem of interaction between supersonic jet in shock tube with deformed plate. ANSYS 15.0 engineering analysis system was used as a modeling tool of numerical simulation in this paper. Finite volume method for gas dynamics and finite elements method for assessment of the strain stress state (SSS) components were used as research methods. Rotation speed and material’s elasticity modulus varied during calculations, and SSS components and gas-dynamic parameters in the dynamic system of gas-dynamic flow and compressor rotor were evaluated. The analysis of time dependence demonstrated that gas-dynamic parameters near the rotor blades oscillate at 200 Hz, and SSS parameters at the upper blade edge oscillate four times higher, i.e. with blade frequency. It has been detected that vibration amplitudes correction in the test points at magnetic bearings by aeroelasticity may correspond up to 50%, and about -π/4 for phases.

Keywords: Centrifugal compressor, aeroelasticity, interdisciplinary calculation, oscillation phase displacement, vibration, nonstationarity.

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Authors: Djarot B. Darmadi, John Norrish, Anh Kiet Tieu

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Solutions for the temperature profile around a moving heat source are obtained using both analytic and finite element (FEM) methods. Analytic and FEM solutions are applied to study the temperature profile in welding. A moving heat source is represented using both point heat source and uniform distributed disc heat source models. Analytic solutions are obtained by solving the partial differential equation for energy conservation in a solid, and FEM results are provided by simulating welding using the ANSYS software. Comparison is made for quasi steady state conditions. The results provided by the analytic solutions are in good agreement with results obtained by FEM.

Keywords: Analytic solution, FEM, Temperature profile, HeatSource Model

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Authors: Bin Su

Abstract:

Auckland has a temperate climate with comfortable warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. An Auckland school normally does not need air conditioning for cooling during the summer and only needs heating during the winter. The Auckland school building thermal design should more focus on winter thermal performance and indoor thermal comfort for energy efficiency. This field study of testing indoor and outdoor air temperatures, relative humidity and indoor surface temperatures of three classrooms with different envelopes were carried out in the Avondale College during the winter months in 2013. According to the field study data, this study is to compare and evaluate winter thermal performance and indoor thermal conditions of school buildings with different envelopes.

Keywords: Building envelope, Building mass effect, Building thermal comfort, Building thermal performance, School building.

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Authors: Tzu-Hsin Liu

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This study adopts a qualitative approach, which engages in the dialectical discussion on two levels of dyad opposite views. The first level of the dyad opposite views is the Western strategic perspective and the Eastern Tai-Chi thinking. The second level of the dyad opposite views is resource-based view and resource dependence theory. This study concludes the resource-oriented actions for competitive advantage as the metaphor of Tai-Chi consisted of yin and yang. This study argues that the focal firm should adopt bridging strategy during the core competence development period because its core competence development is likely to meet its competitor’s needs of exploring strategy during the competitor’s external resource development stage. In addition, the focal firm should adopt buffering strategy during the external resource development period to prevent its competitor’s the exploiting strategy from attack during the competitor’s core competence development stage. Consequently, this study takes a significant first step toward a novel contextualize understanding of resource development based on strategic perspective and Tai-Chi thinking providing more fully sustainable strategy for competitive advantage.

Keywords: Competitive advantage, resource-based view, resource dependence theory, strategic perspective, Tai-Chi thinking.

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Authors: Farid Saeidi, Serkan Dag

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In this study, fracture analysis of a fibrous composite laminate with variable fiber spacing is carried out using Jk-integral method. The laminate is assumed to be under thermal loading. Jk-integral is formulated by using the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic thermoelasticity. Developed domain independent form of the Jk-integral is then integrated into the general purpose finite element analysis software ANSYS. Numerical results are generated so as to assess the influence of variable fiber spacing on mode I and II stress intensity factors, energy release rate, and T-stress. For verification, some of the results are compared to those obtained using displacement correlation technique (DCT).

Keywords: Jk-integral, variable fiber spacing, thermoelasticity, t-stress, finite element method, fibrous composite.

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Authors: A. Boualouch, A. Essadki, T. Nasser, A. Boukhriss, A. Frigui

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This paper presents a power control for a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) using in Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) connected to the grid. The proposed control strategy employs two nonlinear controllers, Backstipping (BSC) and slidingmode controller (SMC) scheme to directly calculate the required rotor control voltage so as to eliminate the instantaneous errors of active and reactive powers. In this paper the advantages of BSC and SMC are presented, the performance and robustness of this two controller’s strategy are compared between them. First, we present a model of wind turbine and DFIG machine, then a synthesis of the controllers and their application in the DFIG power control. Simulation results on a 1.5MW grid-connected DFIG system are provided by MATLAB/Simulink.

Keywords: Backstipping, DFIG, power control, sliding-mode, WESC.

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Authors: Fahanim Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Azzam Ismail

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Part and parcel of building green homes (GHs) with favorable thermal comfort (TC) is to design and build with reduced carbon footprint (CF) from embodied energy in the building envelope and reduced operational CF overall. Together, the environmental impact of GHs can be reduced significantly. Nevertheless, there is still a need to identify the base CF value for Malaysian GHs and this can be done by assessing existing ones which can then be compared to conventional and vernacular houses which are built differently with different building materials. This paper underlines the research design and introduces the case studies. For now, the operational CF of the case studies is beyond the scope of this study. Findings from this research could identify the best building material and construction technique combination to build GHs depending on the available skills, financial constraints and the condition of the immediate environment.

Keywords: Embodied carbon footprint, Malaysian green homes.

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Authors: Sara Jelodarian

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Organic agriculture is a kind of living and dynamic agriculture that was introduced in the early 20^th century. The fundamental basis for organic agriculture is in harmony with nature. This version of farming emphasizes removing growth hormones, chemical fertilizers, toxins, radiation, genetic manipulation and instead, integration of modern scientific techniques (such as biologic and microbial control) that leads to the production of healthy food and the preservation of the environment and use of agricultural products such as forage and manure. Supports from governments for the markets producing organic products and taking advantage of the experiences from other successful societies in this field can help progress the positive and effective aspects of this technology, especially in developing countries. This research proves that till 2030, 25% of the global agricultural lands would be covered by organic farming. Consequently Iran, due to its rich genetic resources and various climates, can be a pioneer in promoting organic products. In addition, for sustainable farming, blend of organic and other innovative systems is needed. Important limitations exist to accept these systems, also a diversity of policy instruments will be required to comfort their development and implementation. The paper was conducted to results of compilation of reports, issues, books, articles related to the subject with library studies and research. Likewise we combined experimental and survey to get data.

Keywords: Development, production markets, progress, strategic role, technology.

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Authors: Berna Eren Tokgoz, Mahdi Safa, Seokyon Hwang

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Power distribution systems are essential and crucial infrastructures for the development and maintenance of a sustainable society. These systems are extremely vulnerable to various types of natural and man-made disasters. The assessment of resilience focuses on preparedness and mitigation actions under pre-disaster conditions. It also concentrates on response and recovery actions under post-disaster situations. The aim of this study is to present a methodology to assess the resilience of electric power distribution poles against wind-related events. The proposed methodology can improve the accuracy and rapidity of the evaluation of the conditions and the assessment of the resilience of poles. The methodology provides a metric for the evaluation of the resilience of poles under pre-disaster and post-disaster conditions. The metric was developed using mathematical expressions for physical forces that involve various variables, such as physical dimensions of the pole, the inclination of the pole, and wind speed. A three-dimensional imaging technology (photogrammetry) was used to determine the inclination of poles. Based on expert opinion, the proposed metric was used to define zones to visualize resilience. Visual representation of resilience is helpful for decision makers to prioritize their resources before and after experiencing a wind-related disaster. Multiple electric poles in the City of Beaumont, TX were used in a case study to evaluate the proposed methodology.  

Keywords: Photogrammetry, power distribution systems, resilience metric, system resilience, wind-related disasters.

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Authors: Elżbieta Antczak

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Cities offer important opportunities for economic development and for expanding access to basic services, including health care and education, for large numbers of people. Moreover, green areas (as an integral part of sustainable urban development) present a major opportunity for improving urban environments, quality of lives and livelihoods. This paper examines, using spatial concentration and spatial taxonomic measures, regional diversification of greenery in the cities of Poland. The analysis includes location quotients, Lorenz curve, Locational Gini Index, and the synthetic index of greenery and spatial statistics tools: (1) To verify the occurrence of strong concentration or dispersion of the phenomenon in time and space depending on the variable category, and, (2) To study if the level of greenery depends on the spatial autocorrelation. The data includes the greatest Polish cities, categories of the urban greenery (parks, lawns, street greenery, and green areas on housing estates, cemeteries, and forests) and the time span 2004-2015. According to the obtained estimations, most of cites in Poland are already taking measures to become greener. However, in the country there are still many barriers to well-balanced urban greenery development (e.g. uncontrolled urban sprawl, poor management as well as lack of spatial urban planning systems).

Keywords: Greenery, urban areas, regional spatial diversification and concentration, spatial taxonomic measure.

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Authors: Festus A. Olutoge, Ahmed A. Akintunde, Anuoluwapo S. Kolade, Aaron A. Chadee, Jovanca Smith

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Geopolymer concrete's (GPC) compressive strength was investigated. The GPC was incorporated with rice husk ash (RHA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), which may have potential in the construction industry to replace Portland limestone cement (PLC) concrete. The sustainable construction binders used were GGBFS and RHA, and a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate gel (Na2SiO3) was used as the 12-molar alkaline activator. Five GPC mixes comprising fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, GGBS, and RHA, and the alkaline solution in the ratio 2: 2.5: 1: 0.5, respectively, were prepared to achieve grade 40 concrete, and PLC was substituted with GGBFS and RHA in the ratios of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0. A control mix was also prepared which comprised of 100% water and 100% PLC as the cementitious material. The GPC mixes were thermally cured at 60-80 ºC in an oven for approximately 24 h. After curing for 7 and 28 days, the compressive strength test results of the hardened GPC samples showed that GPC-Mix #3, comprising 50% GGBFS and 50% RHA, was the most efficient geopolymer mix. The mix had compressive strengths of 35.71 MPa and 47.26 MPa, 19.87% and 8.69% higher than the PLC concrete samples, which had 29.79 MPa and 43.48 MPa after 7 and 28 days, respectively. Therefore, GPC containing GGBFS incorporated with RHA is an efficient method of decreasing the use of PLC in conventional concrete production and reducing the high amounts of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere in the construction industry.

Keywords: Alkaline solution, cementitious material, geopolymer concrete, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash.

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Authors: Rakmi Abd.-Rahman, Nurina Anuar

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Removal of PCP by a system combining biodegradation by biofilm and adsorption was investigated here. Three studies were conducted employing batch tests, sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and continuous biofilm activated carbon column reactor (BACCOR). The combination of biofilm-GAC batch process removed about 30% more PCP than GAC adsorption alone. For the SBR processes, both the suspended and attached biomass could remove more than 90% of the PCP after acclimatisation. BACCOR was able to remove more than 98% of PCP-Na at concentrations ranging from 10 to 100 mg/L, at empty bed contact time (EBCT) ranging from 0.75 to 4 hours. Pure and mixed cultures from BACCOR were tested for use of PCP as sole carbon and energy source under aerobic conditions. The isolates were able to degrade up to 42% of PCP under aerobic conditions in pure cultures. However, mixed cultures were found able to degrade more than 99% PCP indicating interdependence of species.

Keywords: Adsorption, biodegradation, identification, isolated bacteria, pentachlorophenol.

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Authors: Jobin Varghese, V. M. Akhil, P. K. Rajendrakumar, K. S. Sivanandan

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The major contributor to the human locomotion is the knee flexion and extension. During heel strike, a huge amount of energy is transmitted through the leg towards knee joint, which in fact is damped at heel and leg muscles. During high shocks, although it is damped to a certain extent, the balance force transmits towards knee joint which could damage the knee. Due to the vital function of the knee joint, it should be protected against damage due to additional load acting on it. This work concentrates on the development of spring mass damper system which exactly replicates the stiffness at the heel and muscles and the objective function is optimized to minimize the force acting at the knee joint. Further, the data collected using force plate are put into the model to verify its integrity and are found to be in good agreement.

Keywords: Spring, mass, damper, impact, knee joint.

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Authors: R.M.V. Silva, D.N. Souza

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This paper presents a model for the characterization and selection of beeswaxes for use as base substitute tissue for the manufacture of objects suitable for external radiotherapy using megavoltage photon beams. The model of characterization was divided into three distinct stages: 1) verification of aspects related to the origin of the beeswax, the bee species, the flora in the vicinity of the beehives and procedures to detect adulterations; 2) evaluation of physical and chemical properties; and 3) evaluation of beam attenuation capacity. The chemical composition of the beeswax evaluated in this study was similar to other simulators commonly used in radiotherapy. The behavior of the mass attenuation coefficient in the radiotherapy energy range was comparable to other simulators. The proposed model is efficient and enables convenient assessment of the use of any particular beeswax as a base substitute tissue for radiotherapy.

Keywords: Beeswaxes, characterization, model, radiotherapy

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