Search results for: Millimetre-wave signal generation and Optical heterodyning.
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 2930

Search results for: Millimetre-wave signal generation and Optical heterodyning.

440 Analysis of Surface Hardness, Surface Roughness, and Near Surface Microstructure of AISI 4140 Steel Worked with Turn-Assisted Deep Cold Rolling Process

Authors: P. R. Prabhu, S. M. Kulkarni, S. S. Sharma, K. Jagannath, Achutha Kini U.

Abstract:

In the present study, response surface methodology has been used to optimize turn-assisted deep cold rolling process of AISI 4140 steel. A regression model is developed to predict surface hardness and surface roughness using response surface methodology and central composite design. In the development of predictive model, deep cold rolling force, ball diameter, initial roughness of the workpiece, and number of tool passes are considered as model variables. The rolling force and the ball diameter are the significant factors on the surface hardness and ball diameter and numbers of tool passes are found to be significant for surface roughness. The predicted surface hardness and surface roughness values and the subsequent verification experiments under the optimal operating conditions confirmed the validity of the predicted model. The absolute average error between the experimental and predicted values at the optimal combination of parameter settings for surface hardness and surface roughness is calculated as 0.16% and 1.58% respectively. Using the optimal processing parameters, the surface hardness is improved from 225 to 306 HV, which resulted in an increase in the near surface hardness by about 36% and the surface roughness is improved from 4.84µm to 0.252 µm, which resulted in decrease in the surface roughness by about 95%. The depth of compression is found to be more than 300µm from the microstructure analysis and this is in correlation with the results obtained from the microhardness measurements. Taylor hobson talysurf tester, micro vickers hardness tester, optical microscopy and X-ray diffractometer are used to characterize the modified surface layer. 

Keywords: Surface hardness, response surface methodology, microstructure, central composite design, deep cold rolling, surface roughness.

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439 Internal Power Recovery in Cryogenic Cooling Plants Part I: Expander Development

Authors: Ambra Giovannelli, Erika Maria Archilei

Abstract:

The amount of the electrical power required by refrigeration systems is relevant worldwide. It is evaluated in the order of 15% of the total electricity production taking refrigeration and air-conditioning into consideration. For this reason, in the last years several energy saving techniques have been proposed to reduce the power demand of such plants. The paper deals with the development of an innovative internal recovery system for cryogenic cooling plants. Such a system consists in a Compressor-Expander Group (CEG) designed on the basis of the automotive turbocharging technology. In particular, the paper is focused on the design of the expander, the critical component of the CEG system. Due to the low volumetric flow entering the expander and the high expansion ratio, a commercial turbocharger expander wheel was strongly modified. It was equipped with a transonic nozzle, designed to have a radially inflow full admission. To verify the performance of such a machine and suggest improvements, two different set of nozzles have been designed and modelled by means of the commercial Ansys-CFX software. steady-state 3D CFD simulations of the second-generation prototype are presented and compared with the initial ones.

Keywords: Energy saving, organic fluids, radial turbine, refrigeration plant, vapor compression systems.

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438 Adaptive Early Packet Discarding Policy Based on Two Traffic Classes

Authors: Rawya Rizk, Rehab Abdel-Kader, Rabab Ramadan

Abstract:

Unlike the best effort service provided by the internet today, next-generation wireless networks will support real-time applications. This paper proposes an adaptive early packet discard (AEPD) policy to improve the performance of the real time TCP traffic over ATM networks and avoid the fragmentation problem. Three main aspects are incorporated in the proposed policy. First, providing quality-of-service (QoS) guaranteed for real-time applications by implementing a priority scheduling. Second, resolving the partially corrupted packets problem by differentiating the buffered cells of one packet from another. Third, adapting a threshold dynamically using Fuzzy logic based on the traffic behavior to maintain a high throughput under a variety of load conditions. The simulation is run for two priority classes of the input traffic: real time and non-real time classes. Simulation results show that the proposed AEPD policy improves throughput and fairness over that using static threshold under the same traffic conditions.

Keywords: Early packet discard, Fuzzy logic, packet dropping policies, quality-of-service (QoS), TCP over ATM

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437 Discrete Polyphase Matched Filtering-based Soft Timing Estimation for Mobile Wireless Systems

Authors: Thomas O. Olwal, Michael A. van Wyk, Barend J. van Wyk

Abstract:

In this paper we present a soft timing phase estimation (STPE) method for wireless mobile receivers operating in low signal to noise ratios (SNRs). Discrete Polyphase Matched (DPM) filters, a Log-maximum a posterior probability (MAP) and/or a Soft-output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) are combined to derive a new timing recovery (TR) scheme. We apply this scheme to wireless cellular communication system model that comprises of a raised cosine filter (RCF), a bit-interleaved turbo-coded multi-level modulation (BITMM) scheme and the channel is assumed to be memory-less. Furthermore, no clock signals are transmitted to the receiver contrary to the classical data aided (DA) models. This new model ensures that both the bandwidth and power of the communication system is conserved. However, the computational complexity of ideal turbo synchronization is increased by 50%. Several simulation tests on bit error rate (BER) and block error rate (BLER) versus low SNR reveal that the proposed iterative soft timing recovery (ISTR) scheme outperforms the conventional schemes.

Keywords: discrete polyphase matched filters, maximum likelihood estimators, soft timing phase estimation, wireless mobile systems.

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436 Morpho-Phonological Modelling in Natural Language Processing

Authors: Eleni Galiotou, Angela Ralli

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a computational model for the representation and processing of morpho-phonological phenomena in a natural language, like Modern Greek. We aim at a unified treatment of inflection, compounding, and word-internal phonological changes, in a model that is used for both analysis and generation. After discussing certain difficulties cuase by well-known finitestate approaches, such as Koskenniemi-s two-level model [7] when applied to a computational treatment of compounding, we argue that a morphology-based model provides a more adequate account of word-internal phenomena. Contrary to the finite state approaches that cannot handle hierarchical word constituency in a satisfactory way, we propose a unification-based word grammar, as the nucleus of our strategy, which takes into consideration word representations that are based on affixation and [stem stem] or [stem word] compounds. In our formalism, feature-passing operations are formulated with the use of the unification device, and phonological rules modeling the correspondence between lexical and surface forms apply at morpheme boundaries. In the paper, examples from Modern Greek illustrate our approach. Morpheme structures, stress, and morphologically conditioned phoneme changes are analyzed and generated in a principled way.

Keywords: Morpho-Phonology, Natural Language Processing.

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435 Highly Accurate Target Motion Compensation Using Entropy Function Minimization

Authors: Amin Aghatabar Roodbary, Mohammad Hassan Bastani

Abstract:

One of the defects of stepped frequency radar systems is their sensitivity to target motion. In such systems, target motion causes range cell shift, false peaks, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) reduction and range profile spreading because of power spectrum interference of each range cell in adjacent range cells which induces distortion in High Resolution Range Profile (HRRP) and disrupt target recognition process. Thus Target Motion Parameters (TMPs) effects compensation should be employed. In this paper, such a method for estimating TMPs (velocity and acceleration) and consequently eliminating or suppressing the unwanted effects on HRRP based on entropy minimization has been proposed. This method is carried out in two major steps: in the first step, a discrete search method has been utilized over the whole acceleration-velocity lattice network, in a specific interval seeking to find a less-accurate minimum point of the entropy function. Then in the second step, a 1-D search over velocity is done in locus of the minimum for several constant acceleration lines, in order to enhance the accuracy of the minimum point found in the first step. The provided simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: ATR, HRRP, motion compensation, SFW, TMP.

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434 Design and Simulation of Heartbeat Measurement System Using Arduino Microcontroller in Proteus

Authors: Muhibul H. Bhuyan, Mafujul Hasan

Abstract:

If a person can monitor his/her heart rate regularly then he/she can detect heart disease early and thus he/she can enjoy longer life span. Therefore, this disease should be taken seriously. Hence, many health care devices and monitoring systems are being designed to keep track of the heart disease. This work reports a design and simulation processes of an Arduino microcontroller based heart rate measurement and monitoring system in Proteus environment. Clipping sensors were utilized to sense the heart rate of an individual from the finger tips. It is a digital device and uses mainly infrared (IR) transmitter (mainly IR LED) and receiver (mainly IR photo-transistor or IR photo-detector). When the heart pumps the blood and circulates it among the blood vessels of the body, the changed blood pressure is detected by the transmitter and then reflected back to the receiver accordingly. The reflected signals are then processed inside the microcontroller through a software written assembly language and appropriate heart rate (HR) is determined by it in beats per minute (bpm) from the detected signal for a duration of 10 seconds and display the same in bpm on the LCD screen in digital format. The designed system was simulated on several persons with varying ages, for example, infants, adult persons and active athletes. Simulation results were found very satisfactory.

Keywords: Heart rate measurement, design, simulation, Proteus, Arduino Uno microcontroller.

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433 Mathematical Approach towards Fault Detection and Isolation of Linear Dynamical Systems

Authors: V.Manikandan, N.Devarajan

Abstract:

The main objective of this work is to provide a fault detection and isolation based on Markov parameters for residual generation and a neural network for fault classification. The diagnostic approach is accomplished in two steps: In step 1, the system is identified using a series of input / output variables through an identification algorithm. In step 2, the fault is diagnosed comparing the Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The Artificial Neural Network is trained using predetermined faulty conditions serves to classify the unknown fault. In step 1, the identification is done by first formulating a Hankel matrix out of Input/ output variables and then decomposing the matrix via singular value decomposition technique. For identifying the system online sliding window approach is adopted wherein an open slit slides over a subset of 'n' input/output variables. The faults are introduced at arbitrary instances and the identification is carried out in online. Fault residues are extracted making a comparison of the first five Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The proposed diagnostic approach is illustrated on benchmark problems with encouraging results.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, Fault Diagnosis, Identification, Markov parameters.

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432 Development and Characterization of Bio-Tribological, Nano-Multilayer Coatings for Medical Tools Application

Authors: L. Major, J. M. Lackner, M. Dyner, B. Major

Abstract:

Development of new generation bio-tribological, multilayer coatings opens an avenue for fabrication of future hightech functional surfaces. In the presented work, nano-composite, Cr/CrN+[Cr/ a-C:H implanted by metallic nanocrystals] multilayer coatings have been developed for surface protection of medical tools. Thin films were fabricated by a hybrid Pulsed Laser Deposition technique. Complex microstructure analysis of nanomultilayer coatings, subjected to mechanical and biological tests, were performed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Microstructure characterization revealed the layered arrangement of Cr23C6 nanoparticles in multilayer structure. Influence of deposition conditions on bio-tribological properties of the coatings was studied. The bio-tests were used as a screening tool for the analyzed nanomultilayer coatings before they could be deposited on medical tools. Bio-medical tests were done using fibroblasts. The mechanical properties of the coatings were investigated by means of a ball-ondisc mechanical test. The micro hardness was done using Berkovich indenter. The scratch adhesion test was done using Rockwell indenter. From the bio-tribological point of view, the optimal properties had the C106_1 material.

Keywords: Bio-tribological coatings, cell-material interaction, hybrid PLD, tribology.

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431 Towards Growing Self-Organizing Neural Networks with Fixed Dimensionality

Authors: Guojian Cheng, Tianshi Liu, Jiaxin Han, Zheng Wang

Abstract:

The competitive learning is an adaptive process in which the neurons in a neural network gradually become sensitive to different input pattern clusters. The basic idea behind the Kohonen-s Self-Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM) is competitive learning. SOFM can generate mappings from high-dimensional signal spaces to lower dimensional topological structures. The main features of this kind of mappings are topology preserving, feature mappings and probability distribution approximation of input patterns. To overcome some limitations of SOFM, e.g., a fixed number of neural units and a topology of fixed dimensionality, Growing Self-Organizing Neural Network (GSONN) can be used. GSONN can change its topological structure during learning. It grows by learning and shrinks by forgetting. To speed up the training and convergence, a new variant of GSONN, twin growing cell structures (TGCS) is presented here. This paper first gives an introduction to competitive learning, SOFM and its variants. Then, we discuss some GSONN with fixed dimensionality, which include growing cell structures, its variants and the author-s model: TGCS. It is ended with some testing results comparison and conclusions.

Keywords: Artificial neural networks, Competitive learning, Growing cell structures, Self-organizing feature maps.

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430 The Investigation of Motor Cooling Performance

Authors: Chih-Chung Chang, Sy-Chi Kuo, Chen-Kang Huang, Sih-Li Chen

Abstract:

This study experimentally and numerically investigates motor cooling performance. The motor consists of a centrifugal fan, two axial fans, a shaft, a stator, a rotor and a heat exchanger with 637 cooling tubes. The pressure rise-flow rate (P-Q) performance curves of the cooling fans at 1800 rpm are tested using a test apparatus complying with the Chinese National Standard (CNS) 2726. Compared with the experimental measurements, the numerical analysis results show that the P-Q performance curves of the axial fan and centrifugal fan can be estimated within about 2% and 6%, respectively. By using the simplified model, setting up the heat exchanger and stator as porous media, the flow field in the motor is calculated. By using the results of the flow field near the rotor and stator, and subjecting the heat generation rate as a boundary condition, the temperature distributions of the stator and rotor are also calculated. The simulation results show that the calculated temperature of the stator winding near the axial fans is lower by about 5% than the measured value, and the calculated temperature of the stator core located at the center of the stator is about 1% higher than the measured value. Besides, discussion is made to improve the motor cooling performance.

Keywords: Motor cooling, P-Q performance curves, CNS, porous media.

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429 Hydrogen and Biofuel Production from 2-Propanol Over Ru/Al2O3 Catalyst in Supercritical Water

Authors: Ekin Kıpçak, Yağmur Karakuş, Mesut Akgün

Abstract:

Hydrogen is an important chemical in many industries and it is expected to become one of the major fuels for energy generation in the future. Unfortunately, hydrogen does not exist in its elemental form in nature and therefore has to be produced from hydrocarbons, hydrogen-containing compounds or water.

Above its critical point (374.8oC and 22.1MPa), water has lower density and viscosity, and a higher heat capacity than those of ambient water. Mass transfer in supercritical water (SCW) is enhanced due to its increased diffusivity and transport ability. The reduced dielectric constant makes supercritical water a better solvent for organic compounds and gases. Hence, due to the aforementioned desirable properties, there is a growing interest toward studies regarding the gasification of organic matter containing biomass or model biomass solutions in supercritical water.

In this study, hydrogen and biofuel production by the catalytic gasification of 2-Propanol in supercritical conditions of water was investigated. Ru/Al2O3 was the catalyst used in the gasification reactions. All of the experiments were performed under a constant pressure of 25 MPa. The effects of five reaction temperatures (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600oC) and five reaction times (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 s) on the gasification yield and flammable component content were investigated.

Keywords: 2-Propanol, Gasification, Ru/Al2O3, Supercritical water.

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428 Fast Wavelet Image Denoising Based on Local Variance and Edge Analysis

Authors: Gaoyong Luo

Abstract:

The approach based on the wavelet transform has been widely used for image denoising due to its multi-resolution nature, its ability to produce high levels of noise reduction and the low level of distortion introduced. However, by removing noise, high frequency components belonging to edges are also removed, which leads to blurring the signal features. This paper proposes a new method of image noise reduction based on local variance and edge analysis. The analysis is performed by dividing an image into 32 x 32 pixel blocks, and transforming the data into wavelet domain. Fast lifting wavelet spatial-frequency decomposition and reconstruction is developed with the advantages of being computationally efficient and boundary effects minimized. The adaptive thresholding by local variance estimation and edge strength measurement can effectively reduce image noise while preserve the features of the original image corresponding to the boundaries of the objects. Experimental results demonstrate that the method performs well for images contaminated by natural and artificial noise, and is suitable to be adapted for different class of images and type of noises. The proposed algorithm provides a potential solution with parallel computation for real time or embedded system application.

Keywords: Edge strength, Fast lifting wavelet, Image denoising, Local variance.

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427 STEP Implementation on Turn-mill Manufacturing Environment

Authors: Ahmad Majdi Bin Abdul-Rani, Mesfin Gizaw, Yusri Yusof

Abstract:

Researches related to standard product model and development of neutral manufacturing interfaces for numerical control machines becomes a significant topic since the last 25 years. In this paper, a detail description of STEP implementation on turnmill manufacturing has been discussed. It shows requirements of information contents from ISO14649 data model. It covers to describe the design of STEP-NC framework applicable to turn-mill manufacturing. In the framework, EXPRESS-G and UML modeling tools are used to depict the information contents of the system and established the bases of information model requirement. A product and manufacturing data model applicable for STEP compliant manufacturing. The next generation turn-mill operations requirements have been represented by a UML diagram. An object oriented classes of ISO1449 has been developed on Visual Basic dot NET platform for binding the static information model represented by the UML diagram. An architect of the proposed system implementation has been given on the bases of the design and manufacturing module of STEP-NC interface established. Finally, a part 21 file process plan generated for an illustration of turn-mill components.

Keywords: CAPP, ISO14649, Product modeling, STEP-NC

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426 Multi-Agent System for Irrigation Using Fuzzy Logic Algorithm and Open Platform Communication Data Access

Authors: T. Wanyama, B. Far

Abstract:

Automatic irrigation systems usually conveniently protect landscape investment. While conventional irrigation systems are known to be inefficient, automated ones have the potential to optimize water usage. In fact, there is a new generation of irrigation systems that are smart in the sense that they monitor the weather, soil conditions, evaporation and plant water use, and automatically adjust the irrigation schedule. In this paper, we present an agent based smart irrigation system. The agents are built using a mix of commercial off the shelf software, including MATLAB, Microsoft Excel and KEPServer Ex5 OPC server, and custom written code. The Irrigation Scheduler Agent uses fuzzy logic to integrate the information that affect the irrigation schedule. In addition, the Multi-Agent system uses Open Platform Connectivity (OPC) technology to share data. OPC technology enables the Irrigation Scheduler Agent to communicate over the Internet, making the system scalable to a municipal or regional agent based water monitoring, management, and optimization system. Finally, this paper presents simulation and pilot installation test result that show the operational effectiveness of our system.

Keywords: Community water usage, fuzzy logic, irrigation, multi-agent system.

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425 Estimated Production Potential Types of Wind Turbines Connected to the Network Using Random Numbers Simulation

Authors: Saeid Nahi, Seyed Mohammad Hossein Nabavi

Abstract:

Nowadays, power systems, energy generation by wind has been very important. Noting that the production of electrical energy by wind turbines on site to several factors (such as wind speed and profile site for the turbines, especially off the wind input speed, wind rated speed and wind output speed disconnect) is dependent. On the other hand, several different types of turbines in the market there. Therefore, selecting a turbine that its capacity could also answer the need for electric consumers the efficiency is high something is important and necessary. In this context, calculating the amount of wind power to help optimize overall network, system operation, in determining the parameters of wind power is very important. In this article, to help calculate the amount of wind power plant, connected to the national network in the region Manjil wind, selecting the best type of turbine and power delivery profile appropriate to the network using Monte Carlo method has been. In this paper, wind speed data from the wind site in Manjil, as minute and during the year has been. Necessary simulations based on Random Numbers Simulation method and repeat, using the software MATLAB and Excel has been done.

Keywords: wind turbine, efficiency, wind turbine work points, Random Numbers, reliability

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424 A New Image Psychovisual Coding Quality Measurement based Region of Interest

Authors: M. Nahid, A. Bajit, A. Tamtaoui, E. H. Bouyakhf

Abstract:

To model the human visual system (HVS) in the region of interest, we propose a new objective metric evaluation adapted to wavelet foveation-based image compression quality measurement, which exploits a foveation setup filter implementation technique in the DWT domain, based especially on the point and region of fixation of the human eye. This model is then used to predict the visible divergences between an original and compressed image with respect to this region field and yields an adapted and local measure error by removing all peripheral errors. The technique, which we call foveation wavelet visible difference prediction (FWVDP), is demonstrated on a number of noisy images all of which have the same local peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), but visibly different errors. We show that the FWVDP reliably predicts the fixation areas of interest where error is masked, due to high image contrast, and the areas where the error is visible, due to low image contrast. The paper also suggests ways in which the FWVDP can be used to determine a visually optimal quantization strategy for foveation-based wavelet coefficients and to produce a quantitative local measure of image quality.

Keywords: Human Visual System, Image Quality, ImageCompression, foveation wavelet, region of interest ROI.

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423 Porul: Option Generation and Selection and Scoring Algorithms for a Tamil Flash Card Game

Authors: Anitha Narasimhan, Aarthy Anandan, Madhan Karky, C. N. Subalalitha

Abstract:

Games can be the excellent tools for teaching a language. There are few e-learning games in Indian languages like word scrabble, cross word, quiz games etc., which were developed mainly for educational purposes. This paper proposes a Tamil word game called, “Porul”, which focuses on education as well as on players’ thinking and decision-making skills. Porul is a multiple choice based quiz game, in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly from the given multiple options that are generated using a unique algorithm called the Option Selection algorithm which explores the semantics of the question in various dimensions namely, synonym, rhyme and Universal Networking Language semantic category. This kind of semantic exploration of the question not only increases the complexity of the game but also makes it more interesting. The paper also proposes a Scoring Algorithm which allots a score based on the popularity score of the question word. The proposed game has been tested using 20,000 Tamil words.

Keywords: Porul game, Tamil word game, option selection, flash card, scoring, algorithm.

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422 Magnetohydrodynamic Maxwell Nanofluids Flow over a Stretching Surface through a Porous Medium: Effects of Non-Linear Thermal Radiation, Convective Boundary Conditions and Heat Generation/Absorption

Authors: Sameh E. Ahmed, Ramadan A. Mohamed, Abd Elraheem M. Aly, Mahmoud S. Soliman

Abstract:

In this paper, an enhancement of the heat transfer using non-Newtonian nanofluids by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection along stretching sheets embedded in an isotropic porous medium is investigated. Case of the Maxwell nanofluids is studied using the two phase mathematical model of nanofluids and the Darcy model is applied for the porous medium. Important effects are taken into account, namely, non-linear thermal radiation, convective boundary conditions, electromagnetic force and presence of the heat source/sink. Suitable similarity transformations are used to convert the governing equations to a system of ordinary differential equations then it is solved numerically using a fourth order Runge-Kutta method with shooting technique. The main results of the study revealed that the velocity profiles are decreasing functions of the Darcy number, the Deborah number and the magnetic field parameter. Also, the increase in the non-linear radiation parameters causes an enhancement in the local Nusselt number.

Keywords: MHD, nanofluids, stretching surface, non-linear thermal radiation, convective condition.

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421 Small Businesses as Vehicles for Job Creation in North-West Nigeria

Authors: Mustapha Shitu Suleiman, Francis Neshamba, Nestor Valero-Silva

Abstract:

Small businesses are considered as engine of economic growth, contributing to employment generation, wealth creation, and poverty alleviation and food security in both developed and developing countries. Nigeria is facing many socio-economic problems and it is believed that by supporting small business development, as propellers of new ideas and more effective users of resources, often driven by individual creativity and innovation, Nigeria would be able to address some of its economic and social challenges, such as unemployment and economic diversification. Using secondary literature, this paper examines the role small businesses can play in the creation of jobs in North-West Nigeria to overcome issues of unemployment, which is the most devastating economic challenge facing the region. Most studies in this area have focused on Nigeria as a whole and only a few studies provide a regional focus, hence, this study will contribute to knowledge by filling this gap by concentrating on North-West Nigeria. It is hoped that with the present administration’s determination to improve the economy, small businesses would be used as vehicles for diversification of the economy away from crude oil to create jobs that would lead to a reduction in the country’s high unemployment level.

Keywords: Job creation, North-West Nigeria, small business, unemployment.

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420 Multiplayer Game System for Therapeutic Exercise in Which Players with Different Athletic Abilities Can Participate on an Even Competitive Footing

Authors: Kazumoto Tanaka, Takayuki Fujino

Abstract:

Sports games conducted as a group are a form of therapeutic exercise for aged people with decreased strength and for people suffering from permanent damage of stroke and other conditions. However, it is difficult for patients with different athletic abilities to play a game on an equal footing. This study specifically examines a computer video game designed for therapeutic exercise, and a game system with support given depending on athletic ability. Thereby, anyone playing the game can participate equally. This video-game, to be specific, is a popular variant of balloon volleyball, in which players hit a balloon by hand before it falls to the floor. In this game system, each player plays the game watching a monitor on which the system displays tailor-made video-game images adjusted to the person’s athletic ability, providing players with player-adaptive assist support. We have developed a multiplayer game system with an image generation technique for the tailor-made video-game and conducted tests to evaluate it.

Keywords: Therapeutic exercise, computer video game, disability-adaptive assist, tailor-made video-game image.

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419 An Optimization of Machine Parameters for Modified Horizontal Boring Tool Using Taguchi Method

Authors: Thirasak Panyaphirawat, Pairoj Sapsmarnwong, Teeratas Pornyungyuen

Abstract:

This paper presents the findings of an experimental investigation of important machining parameters for the horizontal boring tool modified to mouth with a horizontal lathe machine to bore an overlength workpiece. In order to verify a usability of a modified tool, design of experiment based on Taguchi method is performed. The parameters investigated are spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut and length of workpiece. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is selected for four factors three level parameters in order to minimize surface roughness (Ra and Rz) of S45C steel tubes. Signal to noise ratio analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to study an effect of said parameters and to optimize the machine setting for best surface finish. The controlled factors with most effect are depth of cut, spindle speed, length of workpiece, and feed rate in order. The confirmation test is performed to test the optimal setting obtained from Taguchi method and the result is satisfactory.

Keywords: Design of Experiment, Taguchi Design, Optimization, Analysis of Variance, Machining Parameters, Horizontal Boring Tool.

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418 Achieving Shear Wave Elastography by a Three-element Probe for Wearable Human-machine Interface

Authors: Jipeng Yan, Xingchen Yang, Xiaowei Zhou, Mengxing Tang, Honghai Liu

Abstract:

Shear elastic modulus of skeletal muscles can be obtained by shear wave elastography (SWE) and has been linearly related to muscle force. However, SWE is currently implemented using array probes. Price and volumes of these probes and their driving equipment prevent SWE from being used in wearable human-machine interfaces (HMI). Moreover, beamforming processing for array probes reduces the real-time performance. To achieve SWE by wearable HMIs, a customized three-element probe is adopted in this work, with one element for acoustic radiation force generation and the others for shear wave tracking. In-phase quadrature demodulation and 2D autocorrelation are adopted to estimate velocities of tissues on the sound beams of the latter two elements. Shear wave speeds are calculated by phase shift between the tissue velocities. Three agar phantoms with different elasticities were made by changing the weights of agar. Values of the shear elastic modulus of the phantoms were measured as 8.98, 23.06 and 36.74 kPa at a depth of 7.5 mm respectively. This work verifies the feasibility of measuring shear elastic modulus by wearable devices.

Keywords: Shear elastic modulus, skeletal muscle, ultrasound, wearable human-machine interface.

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417 Optimization of Process Parameters of Pressure Die Casting using Taguchi Methodology

Authors: Satish Kumar, Arun Kumar Gupta, Pankaj Chandna

Abstract:

The present work analyses different parameters of pressure die casting to minimize the casting defects. Pressure diecasting is usually applied for casting of aluminium alloys. Good surface finish with required tolerances and dimensional accuracy can be achieved by optimization of controllable process parameters such as solidification time, molten temperature, filling time, injection pressure and plunger velocity. Moreover, by selection of optimum process parameters the pressure die casting defects such as porosity, insufficient spread of molten material, flash etc. are also minimized. Therefore, a pressure die casting component, carburetor housing of aluminium alloy (Al2Si2O5) has been considered. The effects of selected process parameters on casting defects and subsequent setting of parameters with the levels have been accomplished by Taguchi-s parameter design approach. The experiments have been performed as per the combination of levels of different process parameters suggested by L18 orthogonal array. Analyses of variance have been performed for mean and signal-to-noise ratio to estimate the percent contribution of different process parameters. Confidence interval has also been estimated for 95% consistency level and three conformational experiments have been performed to validate the optimum level of different parameters. Overall 2.352% reduction in defects has been observed with the help of suggested optimum process parameters.

Keywords: Aluminium Casting, Pressure Die Casting, Taguchi Methodology, Design of Experiments

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416 Sonic Localization Cues for Classrooms: A Structural Model Proposal

Authors: Abhijit Mitra, C. Ardil

Abstract:

We investigate sonic cues for binaural sound localization within classrooms and present a structural model for the same. Two of the primary cues for localization, interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) created between the two ears by sounds from a particular point in space, are used. Although these cues do not lend any information about the elevation of a sound source, the torso, head, and outer ear carry out elevation dependent spectral filtering of sounds before they reach the inner ear. This effect is commonly captured in head related transfer function (HRTF) which aids in resolving the ambiguity from the ITDs and ILDs alone and helps localize sounds in free space. The proposed structural model of HRTF produces well controlled horizontal as well as vertical effects. The implemented HRTF is a signal processing model which tries to mimic the physical effects of the sounds interacting with different parts of the body. The effectiveness of the method is tested by synthesizing spatial audio, in MATLAB, for use in listening tests with human subjects and is found to yield satisfactory results in comparison with existing models.

Keywords: Auditory localization, Binaural sound, Head related impulse response, Head related transfer function, Interaural level difference, Interaural time difference, Localization cues.

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415 Power System Stability Improvement by Simultaneous Tuning of PSS and SVC Based Damping Controllers Employing Differential Evolution Algorithm

Authors: Sangram Keshori Mohapatra, Sidhartha Panda, Prasant Kumar Satpathy

Abstract:

Power-system stability improvement by simultaneous tuning of power system stabilizer (PSS) and a Static Var Compensator (SVC) based damping controller is thoroughly investigated in this paper. Both local and remote signals with associated time delays are considered in the present study. The design problem of the proposed controller is formulated as an optimization problem, and differential evolution (DE) algorithm is employed to search for the optimal controller parameters. The performances of the proposed controllers are evaluated under different disturbances for both single-machine infinite bus power system and multi-machine power system. The performance of the proposed controllers with variations in the signal transmission delays has also been investigated. The proposed stabilizers are tested on a weakly connected power system subjected to different disturbances. Nonlinear simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control schemes over a wide range of loading conditions and disturbances. Further, the proposed design approach is found to be robust and improves stability effectively even under small disturbance conditions.

Keywords: Differential Evolution Algorithm, Power System Stability, Power System Stabilizer, Static Var Compensator

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414 Role of Technological Innovation in Improving Manufacturing Performance: A Review

Authors: Davinder Singh, Jaimal Singh Khamba, Tarun Nanda

Abstract:

MSMEs are regarded as the sunrise sector of the Indian economy in view of its large potential for growth and likely socio economic impact specifically on employment and income generation. In today’s competitive business environment, global competition forces companies to continuously seek ways of improving their products and services. The pressure on organizations to adapt to new technologies and external threats requires resourcefulness, creativity and innovation. Market has become more open, competitive and customers more demanding. Without continuous technology innovation, no organization can ever remain competitive. Innovations reflect a critical way in which organizations respond to either technological or market challenges. The need of the market is to deliver high quality products through continuous changing in features in product, improve existing products, reduce their cost, and improve employee skills, training, technology infrastructure and financial policies. Therefore, the key factor of organization’s ability to change is innovation. The study presents a detailed review of literature on the role of technology innovation in improving manufacturing performance of industries.

Keywords: Competitive, Manufacturing performance, MSMEs, Technological Innovation.

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413 3D Numerical Investigation of Asphalt Pavements Behaviour Using Infinite Elements

Authors: K. Sandjak, B. Tiliouine

Abstract:

This article presents the main results of three-dimensional (3-D) numerical investigation of asphalt pavement structures behaviour using a coupled Finite Element-Mapped Infinite Element (FE-MIE) model. The validation and numerical performance of this model are assessed by confronting critical pavement responses with Burmister’s solution and FEM simulation results for multi-layered elastic structures. The coupled model is then efficiently utilised to perform 3-D simulations of a typical asphalt pavement structure in order to investigate the impact of two tire configurations (conventional dual and new generation wide-base tires) on critical pavement response parameters. The numerical results obtained show the effectiveness and the accuracy of the coupled (FE-MIE) model. In addition, the simulation results indicate that, compared with conventional dual tire assembly, single wide base tire caused slightly greater fatigue asphalt cracking and subgrade rutting potentials and can thus be utilised in view of its potential to provide numerous mechanical, economic, and environmental benefits.

Keywords: Infinite elements, 3-D numerical investigation, asphalt pavements, dual and wide base tires.

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412 Co-tier and Co-channel Interference Avoidance Algorithm for Femtocell Networks

Authors: S. Padmapriya, M. Tamilarasi

Abstract:

Femtocells are regarded as a milestone for next generation cellular networks. As femtocells are deployed in an unplanned manner, there is a chance of assigning same resource to neighboring femtocells. This scenario may induce co-channel interference and may seriously affect the service quality of neighboring femtocells. In addition, the dominant transmit power of a femtocell will induce co-tier interference to neighboring femtocells. Thus to jointly handle co-tier and co-channel interference, we propose an interference-free power and resource block allocation (IFPRBA) algorithm for closely located, closed access femtocells. Based on neighboring list, inter-femto-base station distance and uplink noise power, the IFPRBA algorithm assigns non-interfering power and resource to femtocells. The IFPRBA algorithm also guarantees the quality of service to femtouser based on the knowledge of resource requirement, connection type, and the tolerable delay budget. Simulation result shows that the interference power experienced in IFPRBA algorithm is below the tolerable interference power and hence the overall service success ratio, PRB efficiency and network throughput are maximum when compared to conventional resource allocation framework for femtocell (RAFF) algorithm.

Keywords: Co-channel interference, co-tier interference, femtocells, guaranteed QoS, power optimization, resource assignment.

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411 Energy Detection Based Sensing and Primary User Traffic Classification for Cognitive Radio

Authors: Urvee B. Trivedi, U. D. Dalal

Abstract:

As wireless communication services grow quickly; the seriousness of spectrum utilization has been on the rise gradually. An emerging technology, cognitive radio has come out to solve today’s spectrum scarcity problem. To support the spectrum reuse functionality, secondary users are required to sense the radio frequency environment, and once the primary users are found to be active, the secondary users are required to vacate the channel within a certain amount of time. Therefore, spectrum sensing is of significant importance. Once sensing is done, different prediction rules apply to classify the traffic pattern of primary user. Primary user follows two types of traffic patterns: periodic and stochastic ON-OFF patterns. A cognitive radio can learn the patterns in different channels over time. Two types of classification methods are discussed in this paper, by considering edge detection and by using autocorrelation function. Edge detection method has a high accuracy but it cannot tolerate sensing errors. Autocorrelation-based classification is applicable in the real environment as it can tolerate some amount of sensing errors.

Keywords: Cognitive radio (CR), probability of detection (PD), probability of false alarm (PF), primary User (PU), secondary user (SU), Fast Fourier transform (FFT), signal to noise ratio (SNR).

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