Search results for: Cost optimization

Authors: Mustafa S. Fawad, Wang Wencheng, Wu Enhua

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Shadows add great amount of realism to a scene and many algorithms exists to generate shadows. Recently, Shadow volumes (SVs) have made great achievements to place a valuable position in the gaming industries. Looking at this, we concentrate on simple but valuable initial partial steps for further optimization in SV generation, i.e.; model simplification and silhouette edge detection and tracking. Shadow volumes (SVs) usually takes time in generating boundary silhouettes of the object and if the object is complex then the generation of edges become much harder and slower in process. The challenge gets stiffer when real time shadow generation and rendering is demanded. We investigated a way to use the real time silhouette edge detection method, which takes the advantage of spatial and temporal coherence, and exploit the level-of-details (LOD) technique for reducing silhouette edges of the model to use the simplified version of the model for shadow generation speeding up the running time. These steps highly reduce the execution time of shadow volume generations in real-time and are easily flexible to any of the recently proposed SV techniques. Our main focus is to exploit the LOD and silhouette edge detection technique, adopting them to further enhance the shadow volume generations for real time rendering.

Keywords: LOD, perception, Shadow Volumes, SilhouetteEdge, Spatial and Temporal coherence.

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Authors: G. M. Mir, N. A. Shah, Moinuddin

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Efficient handoff algorithms are a cost-effective way of enhancing the capacity and QoS of cellular system. The higher value of hysteresis effectively prevents unnecessary handoffs but causes undesired cell dragging. This undesired cell dragging causes interference or could lead to dropped calls in microcellular environment. The problems are further exacerbated by the corner effect phenomenon which causes the signal level to drop by 20-30 dB in 10-20 meters. Thus, in order to maintain reliable communication in a microcellular system new and better handoff algorithms must be developed. A fuzzy based handoff algorithm is proposed in this paper as a solution to this problem. Handoff on the basis of ratio of slopes of normal signal loss to the actual signal loss is presented. The fuzzy based solution is supported by comparing its results with the results obtained in analytical solution.

Keywords: Slope ratio, handoff, corner effect, fuzzy logic.

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Authors: Nemat Abazari, Ilgin Sager

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In this paper smooth trajectories are computed in the Lie group SO(2, 1) as a motion planning problem by assigning a Frenet frame to the rigid body system to optimize the cost function of the elastic energy which is spent to track a timelike curve in Minkowski space. A method is proposed to solve a motion planning problem that minimize the integral of the square norm of Darboux vector of a timelike curve. This method uses the coordinate free Maximum Principle of Optimal control and results in the theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems. The presence of several conversed quantities inherent in these Hamiltonian systems aids in the explicit computation of the rigid body motions.

Keywords: Optimal control, Hamiltonian vector field, Darboux vector, maximum principle, lie group, Rigid body motion, Lorentz metric.

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Authors: E. Sok, Y. Zhuo, S. Wang

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A hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) solar system integrates photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies into one single solar energy device, with dual generation of electricity and heat energy. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the potential for introduction of the PV/T technology into Northern China. For this purpose, outdoor experiments were conducted on a prototype of a PV/T water-heating system. The annual thermal and electrical performances were investigated under the climatic conditions of Beijing. An economic analysis of the system was then carried out, followed by a sensitivity study. The analysis revealed that the hybrid system is not economically attractive with the current market and energy prices. However, considering the continuous commitment of the Chinese government towards policy development in the renewable energy sector, and technological improvements like the increasing cost-effectiveness of PV cells, PV/Thermal technology may become economically viable in the near future.

Keywords: Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T), Solar energy, Economic analysis

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Authors: Sheikh I. Azid, Bibhya Sharma

Abstract:

A low cost Short Message System (SMS) based Home security system equipped with motion, smoke, temperature, humidity and light sensors has been studied and tested. The sensors are controlled by a microprocessor PIC 18F4520 through the SMS having password protection code for the secure operation. The user is able to switch light and the appliances and get instant feedback. Also in cases of emergencies such as fire or robbery the system will send alert message to occupant and relevant civil authorities. The operation of the home security has been tested on Vodafone- Fiji network and Digicel Fiji Network for emergency and feedback responses for 25 samples. The experiment showed that it takes about 8-10s for the security system to respond in case of emergency. It takes about 18-22s for the occupant to switch and monitor lights and appliances and then get feedback depending upon the network traffic.

Keywords: Smart Home, SMS, Sensors, Microprocessor.

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Authors: Ion Smeureanu, Adriana Reveiu, Marian Dardala, Titus Felix Furtuna, Roman Kanala

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This paper proposes a linear model for optimizing domestic energy consumption in Romania. The particularity of the model is that it is putting in competition both tangible technologies and thermal insulation projects with different financing modes. The model is optimizing the energy system by minimizing the global discounted cost in household sector, by integrating residential lighting, space heating, hot water, combined space heating – hot water, as well as space cooling, in a monolithic model. Another demand sector included is the passenger transport. This paper focuses on space heating part, analyzing technical and economic issues related to investment decisions to envelope and insulate buildings, in order to minimize energy consumption.

Keywords: Consumer behavior, energy modelling, Open Source Energy Modeling System (OSeMOSYS), MARKAL/TIMES Romanian energy model.

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Authors: W. J. Stępniowski, W. Florkiewicz, M. Norek, M. Michalska-Domańska, E. Kościuczyk, T. Czujko

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In this paper, two options of anodic alumina barrier layer thinning have been demonstrated. The approaches varied with the duration of the voltage step. It was found that too long step of the barrier layer thinning process leads to chemical etching of the nanopores on their top. At the bottoms pores are not fully opened what is disadvantageous for further applications in nanofabrication. On the other hand, while the duration of the voltage step is controlled by the current density (value of the current density cannot exceed 75% of the value recorded during previous voltage step) the pores are fully opened. However, pores at the bottom obtained with this procedure have smaller diameter, nevertheless this procedure provides electric contact between the bare aluminum (substrate) and electrolyte, what is suitable for template assisted electrodeposition, one of the most cost-efficient synthesis method in nanotechnology.

Keywords: Anodic aluminum oxide, anodization, barrier layer thinning, nanopores.

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Authors: I. Herraiz-Cardona, C. González-Buch, E. Ortega, V. Pérez-Herranz, J. García-Antón

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Hydrogen is considered to be the most promising candidate as a future energy carrier. One of the most used technologies for the electrolytic hydrogen production is alkaline water electrolysis. However, due to the high energy requirements, the cost of hydrogen produced in such a way is high. In continuous search to improve this process using advanced electrocatalytic materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Ni type Raney and macro-porous Ni-Co electrodes were prepared on AISI 304 stainless steel substrates by electrodeposition. The developed electrodes were characterized by SEM and confocal laser scanning microscopy. HER on these electrodes was evaluated in 30 wt.% KOH solution by means of hydrogen discharge curves and galvanostatic tests. Results show that the developed electrodes present a most efficient behaviour for HER when comparing with the smooth Ni cathode. It has been reported a reduction in the energy consumption of the electrolysis cell of about 25% by using the developed coatings as cathodes.

Keywords: Alkaline water electrolysis, energy efficiency, porous nickel electrodes

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Authors: Mikel Alonso López, María Francisca Blasco López, Víctor Molero Ayala

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The present study explains the somatic marker theory of Antonio Damasio, which indicates that when making a decision, the stored or possible future scenarios (future memory) images allow people to feel for a moment what would happen when they make a choice, and how this is emotionally marked. This process can be conscious or unconscious. The development of new Neuromarketing techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), carries a greater understanding of how the brain functions and consumer behavior. In the results observed in different studies using fMRI, the evidence suggests that the somatic marker and future memories influence the decision-making process, adding a positive or negative emotional component to the options. This would mean that all decisions would involve a present emotional component, with a rational cost-benefit analysis that can be performed later.

Keywords: Emotions, decision making, somatic marker, consumer´s brain.

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Authors: Tahir Majeed, Michael Handschuh, René Meier

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Rheumatoid Arthritis patients have swelling and pain in joints of the hand. The regions where the patient feels pain also show increased body temperature. Thermal cameras can be used to detect the rise in temperature of the affected regions. To monitor the progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis, patients must visit the clinic regularly for scanning and examination. After scanning and evaluation, the dosage of the medicine is regulated accordingly. To monitor the disease progression over time, the correlation of the images between different visits must be established. It has been observed that the thermal measurements do not remain the same over time, even within a single scanning, when low-cost thermal cameras are used. In some situations, temperatures can vary as much as 2◦C within the same scanning sequence. In this paper, it has been shown that although the absolute temperature varies over time, the relative difference between different regions remains similar. Results have been computed over four scanning sequences and are presented.

Keywords: Relative thermal difference, rheumatoid arthritis, thermal imaging, thermal sensors.

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Authors: O. Zarrin, M. Ramezan Shirazi

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The quality of concrete is usually defined by compressive strength, but flexural strength is the most important characteristic of concrete in a pavement which control the mix design of concrete instead of compressive strength. Therefore, the aggregates which are selected for the pavements are affected by higher flexural strength. Roller Compacting Concrete Pavement (RCCP) is not a new construction method. The other characteristic of this method is no bleeding and less shrinkage due to the lower amount of water. For this purpose, a roller is needed for placing and compacting. The surface of RCCP is not smooth; therefore, the most common use of this pavement is in an industrial zone with slower traffic speed which requires durable and tough pavement. For preparing a smoother surface, it can be achieved by asphalt paver. RCCP decrease the finishing cost because there are no bars, formwork, and the lesser labor need for placing the concrete. In this paper, different aspect of RCCP such as mix design, flexural, compressive strength and focus on the different part of RCCP on detail have been investigated.

Keywords: Flexural Strength, Compressive Strength, Pavement, Asphalt.

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Authors: Heba Mohammed Nagy, Walid Mohamed Aly, Osama Fathy Hegazy

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Educational  data mining  is  a  specific  data   mining field applied to data originating from educational environments, it relies on different  approaches to discover hidden knowledge  from  the  available   data. Among these approaches are   machine   learning techniques which are used to build a system that acquires learning from previous data. Machine learning can be applied to solve different regression, classification, clustering and optimization problems.

In  our  research, we propose  a “Student  Advisory  Framework” that  utilizes  classification  and  clustering  to  build  an  intelligent system. This system can be used to provide pieces of consultations to a first year  university  student to  pursue a  certain   education   track   where  he/she  will  likely  succeed  in, aiming  to  decrease   the  high  rate   of  academic  failure   among these  students.  A real case study  in Cairo  Higher  Institute  for Engineering, Computer  Science  and  Management  is  presented using  real  dataset   collected  from  2000−2012.The dataset has two main components: pre-higher education dataset and first year courses results dataset. Results have proved the efficiency of the suggested framework.

Keywords: Classification, Clustering, Educational Data Mining (EDM), Machine Learning.

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Authors: Rasheed Gbenga Jimoh, Akinbowale Nathaniel Babatunde

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The use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has become an important tool among commercial banks, customers of banks have come to depend on and trust the ATM conveniently meet their banking needs. Although the overwhelming advantages of ATM cannot be over-emphasized, its alarming fraud rate has become a bottleneck in it’s full adoption in Nigeria. This study examined the menace of ATM in the society another cost of running ATM services by banks in the country. The researcher developed a prototype of an enhanced Automated Teller Machine Authentication using Short Message Service (SMS) Verification. The developed prototype was tested by Ten (10) respondents who are users of ATM cards in the country and the data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Based on the results of the analysis, it is being envisaged that the developed prototype will go a long way in reducing the alarming rate of ATM fraud in Nigeria.

Keywords: ATM, ATM Fraud, E-banking, Prototyping.

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Authors: Takahiro Nishigaki, Katsumi Nitta, Takashi Onoda

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In this paper, we present a method of applying Independent Topic Analysis (ITA) to increasing the number of document data. The number of document data has been increasing since the spread of the Internet. ITA was presented as one method to analyze the document data. ITA is a method for extracting the independent topics from the document data by using the Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ICA is a technique in the signal processing; however, it is difficult to apply the ITA to increasing number of document data. Because ITA must use the all document data so temporal and spatial cost is very high. Therefore, we present Incremental ITA which extracts the independent topics from increasing number of document data. Incremental ITA is a method of updating the independent topics when the document data is added after extracted the independent topics from a just previous the data. In addition, Incremental ITA updates the independent topics when the document data is added. And we show the result applied Incremental ITA to benchmark datasets.

Keywords: Text mining, topic extraction, independent, incremental, independent component analysis.

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Authors: Joseph C. Chen, Joshua Cox

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This research focuses on the use of the Taguchi method to reduce the surface roughness and improve dimensional accuracy of parts machined by Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) with S7 heat treated steel material. Due to its high impact toughness, the material is a candidate for a wide variety of tooling applications which require high precision in dimension and desired surface roughness. This paper demonstrates that Taguchi Parameter Design methodology is able to optimize both dimensioning and surface roughness successfully by investigating seven wire-EDM controllable parameters: pulse on time (ON), pulse off time (OFF), servo voltage (SV), voltage (V), servo feed (SF), wire tension (WT), and wire speed (WS). The temperature of the water in the Wire EDM process is investigated as the noise factor in this research. Experimental design and analysis based on L₁₈ Taguchi orthogonal arrays are conducted. This paper demonstrates that the Taguchi-based system enables the wire EDM process to produce (1) high precision parts with an average of 0.6601 inches dimension, while the desired dimension is 0.6600 inches; and (2) surface roughness of 1.7322 microns which is significantly improved from 2.8160 microns.

Keywords: Taguchi parameter design, surface roughness, dimensional accuracy, Wire EDM.

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Authors: Shahin Zanbaghi, Saeed Samet

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The internet has transformed the way we shop. Previously, most of our purchases came in the form of shopping trips to a nearby store. Now, it is as easy as clicking a mouse. We have to be constantly vigilant about our personal information. In this work, our proposed approach is to encrypt the information printed on the physical packages, which include personal information in plain text using a symmetric encryption algorithm; then, we store that encrypted information into a Blockchain network rather than storing them in companies or corporations centralized databases. We present, implement and assess a blockchain-based system using Ethereum smart contracts. We present detailed algorithms that explain the details of our smart contract. We present the security, cost and performance analysis of the proposed method. Our work indicates that the proposed solution is economically attainable and provides data integrity, security, transparency and data traceability.

Keywords: Blockchain, Ethereum, smart contract, commit-reveal scheme.

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Authors: S. Choodoung, U. Smutkupt

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This study systemizes processes and methods in wooden furniture design that contains uniqueness in function and aesthetics. The study was done by research and analysis for designer-s consideration factors that affect function and production. Therefore, the study result indicates that such factors are design process (planning for design, product specifications, concept design, product architecture, industrial design, production), design evaluation as well as wooden furniture design dependent factors i.e. art (art style; furniture history, form), functionality (the strength and durability, area place, using), material (appropriate to function, wood mechanical properties), joints, cost, safety, and social responsibility. Specifically, all aforementioned factors affect good design. Resulting from direct experience gained through user-s usage, the designer must design the wooden furniture systemically and effectively. As a result, this study selected dinning armchair as a case study with all involving factors and all design process stated in this study.

Keywords: Furniture Design, Function Design, Aesthetic, Wooden Furniture.

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Authors: Elke Mackensen

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Systems Engineering plays a key role during industrial product development of complex technical systems. The need for systems engineers in industry is growing. But there is a gap between the industrial need and the academic education. Normally the academic education is focused on the domain specific design, implementation and testing of technical systems. Necessary systems engineering expertise like knowledge about requirements analysis, product cost estimation, management or social skills are poorly taught. Thus there is the need of new academic concepts for teaching systems engineering skills. This paper presents a project-orientated training concept to prepare students from different technical degree programs for systems engineering activities. The training concept has been initially implemented and applied in the industrial engineering master program of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg.

Keywords: Educational systems engineering training, requirements analysis, system modelling, SysML.

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Authors: A. Golshanraz, L. Hakemi, L. Pourkazemi, E. Dadgostar, F. Moradzandi, R. Tabatabaee, F. Moradi, K. Hosseinihajiagha, N. Jazayeri, H. Abedifar, R. Fouladi, M. Khooban, H. Saboori, M. Kiani, M. Sajedi, E. Karooninejad, S.Moeen, M.Ghavam, F.Beiranvand, S.Mansoori, F.Gheisari, H.Barzegari

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Supplement use is common in athletes. Besides their cost, they may have side effects on health and performance. 250 questionnaires were distributed among female athletes (mean age 27.08 years). The questionnaire aimed to explore the frequency, type, believes, attitudes and knowledge regarding dietary supplements. Knowledge was good in 30.3%, fair in 60.2%, and poor in 9.1% of respondents. 65.3% of athletes did not use supplements regularly. The most widely used supplements were vitamins (48.4%), minerals (42.9%), energy supplements (21.3%), and herbals (20.9%). 68.9% of athletes believed in their efficacy. 34.4% experienced performance enhancement and 6.8% of reported side effects. 68.2% reported little knowledge and 60.9% were eager to learn more. In conclusion, many of the female athletes believe in the efficacy of supplements and think they are an unavoidable part of competitive sports. However, their information is not sufficient. We have to stress on education, consulting sessions, and rational prescription.

Keywords: athlete, female, sports, supplement

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Authors: Kazunori Kojima, Masaaki Ishigame, Goutam Chakraborty, Hiroshi Hatsuo, Shozo Makino

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In most of the popular implementation of Parallel GAs the whole population is divided into a set of subpopulations, each subpopulation executes GA independently and some individuals are migrated at fixed intervals on a ring topology. In these studies, the migrations usually occur 'synchronously' among subpopulations. Therefore, CPUs are not used efficiently and the communication do not occur efficiently either. A few studies tried asynchronous migration but it is hard to implement and setting proper parameter values is difficult. The aim of our research is to develop a migration method which is easy to implement, which is easy to set parameter values, and which reduces communication traffic. In this paper, we propose a traffic reduction method for the Asynchronous Parallel Distributed GA by migration of elites only. This is a Server-Client model. Every client executes GA on a subpopulation and sends an elite information to the server. The server manages the elite information of each client and the migrations occur according to the evolution of sub-population in a client. This facilitates the reduction in communication traffic. To evaluate our proposed model, we apply it to many function optimization problems. We confirm that our proposed method performs as well as current methods, the communication traffic is less, and setting of the parameters are much easier.

Keywords: Parallel Distributed Genetic Algorithm (PDGA), asynchronousPDGA, Server-Client configuration, Elite Migration

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Authors: Omid Ghassemi

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As a by-product of its "cyberspace" status, electronic commerce is global, encompassing a whole range of B2C relationships which need to be approached with solutions provided at a local level while remaining viable when applied to global issues. Today, the European Union seems to be endowed with a reliable legal framework for consumer protection. A question which remains, however, is enforcement of this protection. This is probably a matter of time and awareness from both parties in the B2C relationship. Business should realize that enhancing trust in the minds of consumers is more than a question of technology; it is a question of best practice. Best practice starts with the online service of high street banks as well as with the existence of a secure, user-friendly and cost-effective payment system. It also includes the respect of privacy and the use of smart cards as well as enhancing privacy technologies and fair information practice. In sum, only by offering this guarantee of privacy and security will the consumer be assured that, in cyberspace, his/her interests will be protected in the same manner as in a traditional commercial environment.

Keywords: Consumer, Electronic, Jurisdiction, Payment

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Authors: Racholsan Raj Nirmal, B. S. V. Patnaik, R. Jayaganthan

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The deformation behaviour of additively manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy under low strains, high strain rates and elevated temperature conditions is essential to analyse and predict its response against dynamic loading such as impact and thermomechanical fatigue. The constitutive relation of Johnson-Cook is used to capture the strain rate sensitivity and thermal softening effect in AlSi10Mg alloy. Johnson-Cook failure model is widely used for exploring damage mechanics and predicting the fracture in many materials. In this present work, Johnson-Cook material and damage model parameters for additively manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy have been determined numerically from four types of uniaxial tensile test. Three different uniaxial tensile tests with dynamic strain rates (0.1, 1, 10, 50, and 100 s^-1) and elevated temperature tensile test with three different temperature conditions (450 K, 500 K and 550 K) were performed on 3D printed AlSi10Mg alloy in ABAQUS/Explicit. Hexahedral elements are used to discretize tensile specimens and fracture energy value of 43.6 kN/m was used for damage initiation. Levenberg Marquardt optimization method was used for the evaluation of Johnson-Cook model parameters. It was observed that additively manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy has shown relatively higher strain rate sensitivity and lower thermal stability as compared to the other Al alloys.

Keywords: ABAQUS, additive manufacturing, AlSi10Mg, Johnson-Cook model.

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Authors: J. S. Yadav, N. P. Patidar, J. Singhai, S. Panda, C. Ardil

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In this paper a mixed method by combining an evolutionary and a conventional technique is proposed for reduction of Single Input Single Output (SISO) continuous systems into Reduced Order Model (ROM). In the conventional technique, the mixed advantages of Mihailov stability criterion and continued Fraction Expansions (CFE) technique is employed where the reduced denominator polynomial is derived using Mihailov stability criterion and the numerator is obtained by matching the quotients of the Cauer second form of Continued fraction expansions. Then, retaining the numerator polynomial, the denominator polynomial is recalculated by an evolutionary technique. In the evolutionary method, the recently proposed Differential Evolution (DE) optimization technique is employed. DE method is based on the minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) between the transient responses of original higher order model and the reduced order model pertaining to a unit step input. The proposed method is illustrated through a numerical example and compared with ROM where both numerator and denominator polynomials are obtained by conventional method to show its superiority.

Keywords: Reduced Order Modeling, Stability, Mihailov Stability Criterion, Continued Fraction Expansions, Differential Evolution, Integral Squared Error.

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Authors: Zhizhong Jiang, Peter Naudé

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Effective evaluation of software development effort is an important aspect of successful project management. Based on a large database with 4106 projects ever developed, this study statistically examines the factors that influence development effort. The factors found to be significant for effort are project size, average number of developers that worked on the project, type of development, development language, development platform, and the use of rapid application development. Among these factors, project size is the most critical cost driver. Unsurprisingly, this study found that the use of CASE tools does not necessarily reduce development effort, which adds support to the claim that the use of tools is subtle. As many of the current estimation models are rarely or unsuccessfully used, this study proposes a parsimonious parametric model for the prediction of effort which is both simple and more accurate than previous models.

Keywords: Development effort, function points, team size, development language, CASE tool, rapid application development.

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Authors: Meichen Lee, Michael K. H. Leung

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In recent years, visible-light activated photocatalysis has become a major field of intense researches for the higher efficiency of solar energy utilizations. Many attempts have been made on the modification of wide band gap semiconductors, while more and more efforts emphasize on cost-effective synthesis of visible-light activated catalysts. In this work, BiOBr nanoplates with band gap of visible-light range are synthesized through a promising microwave solvothermal method. The treatment time period and temperature dependent BiOBr nanosheets of various particle sizes are investigated through SEM. BiOBr synthesized under the condition of 160°C for 60 mins shows the most uniform particle sizes around 311 nm and the highest surface-to-volume ratio on account of its smallest average particle sizes compared with others. It exhibits the best photocatalytic behavior among all samples in RhB degradation.

Keywords: Microwave solvothermal process, nanoplates, solar energy, visible-light photocatalysis.

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Authors: Zeynep Ayfer Bozat

Abstract:

As traditional innovation has already taken its place in managers’ to do lists; managers and companies have started to look for new ways to go beyond the traditional innovation. Because of its cost, traditional innovation became a burden for companies since they only use inner sources. Companies have intended to use outer innovation sources to decrease the innovation costs and Open Innovation has become a new solution for companies at this point. Crowdsourcing is a tool of Open Innovation and it consists of two words: Outsourcing and crowd. Crowdsourcing aims to benefit from the efforts and ideas of a virtual crowd via Internet technologies. In addition to that, crowdsourcing can help entrepreneurs to innovate and grow their businesses. They can crowd source anything they can use to grow their businesses: Ideas, investment, new business, new partners, new solutions, new policies, data, insight, marketing or talent. Therefore, the aim of the study is to be able to show some possible ways for entrepreneurs to benefit from crowdsourcing to expand or foster their businesses. In the study, the term crowdsourcing has been given in details and these possible ways have been searched and given.

Keywords: Crowdsourcing, entrepreneurship, innovation, open innovation.

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Authors: Amir Hossein Davami, Ali Gholami, Ebrahim Panahpour

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Although, it is a long time that human know about the importance of environment in life, but at the last decade of 20 century, the space that was full of hot scientific, collegial and political were made in environmental challenge, So much that, this problem not only disarrange the peace and security of life, but also it has threatened human existence. One of the problems in last years that are significant for authorities is unsatisfactory achieved results against of using huge cost for magnificent environmental projects. This subject leads thinker to this thought that for solving the environmental problems it is needed new methods include of sociology, ethics and philosophic, etc. methods apart of technical affairs. Environment ethics is a new branch of philosophic ethics discussion that discusses about the ethics relationship between humans and universe that is around them. By notifying to the above considered affairs, in today world, necessity of environmental ethics for environment management is reduplicated. In the following the article has been focused on environmental ethics role and environmental management methods and techniques for developing it.

Keywords: Environmental ethics and philosophy, Environmental challenges, Management techniques, Ethical values.

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Authors: N. Tahouni, M. Gholami, M. H. Panjeshahi

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Gas flaring is one of the most GHG emitting sources in the oil and gas industries. It is also a major way for wasting such an energy that could be better utilized and even generates revenue. Minimize flaring is an effective approach for reducing GHG emissions and also conserving energy in flaring systems. Integrating waste and flared gases into the fuel gas networks (FGN) of refineries is an efficient tool. A fuel gas network collects fuel gases from various source streams and mixes them in an optimal manner, and supplies them to different fuel sinks such as furnaces, boilers, turbines, etc. In this article we use fuel gas network model proposed by Hasan et al. as a base model and modify some of its features and add constraints on emission pollution by gas flaring to reduce GHG emissions as possible. Results for a refinery case study showed that integration of flare gas stream with waste and natural gas streams to construct an optimal FGN can significantly reduce total annualized cost and flaring emissions.

Keywords: Flaring, Fuel gas network, GHG emissions.

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Authors: Diego Tlapa, Jorge Limón, Yolanda Báez, Julián Aguilar

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This work is about Six Sigma (SS) implementation in Mexico by using an empirical study. Main goals are to analyze the degree of importance of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of SS and to examine if these factors are grouped in some way. A literature research and a survey were conducted to capture SS practitioner’s viewpoint about CSFs in SS implementation and their impact on the performance within manufacturing companies located in Baja California, Mexico. Finally, a Principal Component Analysis showed that nine critical success factors could be grouped in three components, which are: management vision, implementation strategy, and collaborative team. In the other hand, SS’s success is represented by cost reduction, variation reduction, experience and self-esteem of the workers, and quality improvement. Concluding remarks arising from the study are that CSFs are changing through time and paying attention to these nine factors can increase SS’s success likelihood.

Keywords: Six sigma, Critical Success Factors, Factor Analysis.

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Authors: Ali Sarosh, Dong Yun-Feng, Muhammad Umer

Abstract:

Fully reusable spaceplanes do not exist as yet. This implies that design-qualification for optimized highly-integrated forebody-inlet configuration of booster-stage vehicle cannot be based on archival data of other spaceplanes. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel TIPSO-SVM expert system methodology. A non-trivial problem related to optimization and classification of hypersonic forebody-inlet configuration in conjunction with mass-model of the two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle is solved. The hybrid-heuristic machine learning methodology is based on two-step improved particle swarm optimizer (TIPSO) algorithm and two-step support vector machine (SVM) data classification method. The efficacy of method is tested by first evolving an optimal configuration for hypersonic compression system using TIPSO algorithm; thereafter, classifying the results using two-step SVM method. In the first step extensive but non-classified mass-model training data for multiple optimized configurations is segregated and pre-classified for learning of SVM algorithm. In second step the TIPSO optimized mass-model data is classified using the SVM classification. Results showed remarkable improvement in configuration and mass-model along with sizing parameters.

Keywords: TIPSO-SVM expert system, TIPSO algorithm, two-step SVM method, aerothermodynamics, mass-modeling, TSTO vehicle.

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