Search results for: plant design

Authors: M. N. Hasnine, M. K. H. Chayon, M. M. Rahman

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Organizational tendencies towards computer-based information processing have been observed noticeably in the third-world countries. Many enterprises are taking major initiatives towards computerized working environment because of massive benefits of computer-based information processing. However, designing and developing information resource management software for small and mid-size enterprises under budget costs and strict deadline is always challenging for software engineers. Therefore, we introduced an approach to design mid-size enterprise software by using the Waterfall model, which is one of the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycles), in a cost effective way. To fulfill research objectives, in this study, we developed mid-sized enterprise software named “BSK Management System” that assists enterprise software clients with information resource management and perform complex organizational tasks. Waterfall model phases have been applied to ensure that all functions, user requirements, strategic goals, and objectives are met. In addition, Rich Picture, Structured English, and Data Dictionary have been implemented and investigated properly in engineering manner. Furthermore, an assessment survey with 20 participants has been conducted to investigate the usability and performance of the proposed software. The survey results indicated that our system featured simple interfaces, easy operation and maintenance, quick processing, and reliable and accurate transactions.

Keywords: End-user Application Development, Enterprise Software Design, Information Resource Management, Usability.

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Authors: K. Ö. Kartal, L. Maul, M. Hägele

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With the development of new technologies come additional opportunities for the founding of companies and new markets to be created. The barriers to entry are lowered and technology makes old business models obsolete. Incumbent companies have to be adaptable to this quickly changing environment. They have to start the process of digital maturation and they have to be able to adapt quickly to new and drastic changes that might arise. One of the biggest barriers for organizations in order to do so is their culture. This paper shows the core elements of a corporate culture that supports the process of digital maturation in incumbent organizations. Furthermore, it is explored how ideation and innovation can be used in a strategy in order to facilitate these core elements of culture that promote digital maturity. Focus areas are identified for the design of ideation strategies, with the aim to make the facilitation and incitation process more effective, short to long term. Therefore, one in-depth case study is conducted with data collection from interviews, observation, document review and surveys. The findings indicate that digital maturity is connected to cultural shift and 11 relevant elements of digital culture are identified which have to be considered. Based on these 11 core elements, five focus areas that need to be regarded in the design of a strategy that uses ideation and innovation to facilitate the cultural shift are identified. These are: Focus topics, rewards and communication, structure and frequency, regions and new online formats.

Keywords: Digital transformation, innovation management, ideation strategy, creativity culture, change.

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Authors: A. Buruzs, M. F. Hatwágner, A. Torma, L. T. Kóczy

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Recently, an increasing number of researchers have been focusing on working out realistic solutions to sustainability problems. As sustainability issues gain higher importance for organisations, the management of such decisions becomes critical. Knowledge representation is a fundamental issue of complex knowledge based systems. Many types of sustainability problems would benefit from models based on experts’ knowledge. Cognitive maps have been used for analyzing and aiding decision making. A cognitive map can be made of almost any system or problem. A fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) can successfully represent knowledge and human experience, introducing concepts to represent the essential elements and the cause and effect relationships among the concepts to model the behaviour of any system. Integrated waste management systems (IWMS) are complex systems that can be decomposed to non-related and related subsystems and elements, where many factors have to be taken into consideration that may be complementary, contradictory, and competitive; these factors influence each other and determine the overall decision process of the system. The goal of the present paper is to construct an efficient IWMS which considers various factors. The authors’ intention is to propose an expert based system design approach for implementing expert decision support in the area of IWMSs and introduces an appropriate methodology for the development and analysis of group FCM. A framework for such a methodology consisting of the development and application phases is presented.

Keywords: Factors, fuzzy cognitive map, group decision, integrated waste management system.

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Authors: M. Talebzadegan, S. Bina, I. Riazi

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The purpose of this paper is to present an active solar energy system to supply heating demands of the teaching staff dormitory of the Islamic Azad University of Ramhormoz. The design takes into account the solar radiations and climate data of Ramhormoz town and is based on the daily warm water consumption for health demands of 450 residents of the dormitory, which is equal to 27000 lit of 50-C° water, and building heating requirements with an area of 3500 m² well-protected by heatproof materials. First, heating demands of the building were calculated, then a hybrid system made up of solar and fossil energies was developed and finally, the design was economically evaluated. Since there is only roof space for using 110 flat solar water heaters, the calculations were made to hybridize solar water heating system with heat pumping system in which solar energy contributes 67% of the heat generated. According to calculations, the net present value “N.P.V.” of revenue stream exceeds “N.P.V.” of cash paid off in this project over three years, which makes economically quite promising. The return of investment and payback period of the project is 4 years. Also, the internal rate of return (IRR) of the project was 25%, which exceeds bank rate of interest in Iran and emphasizes the desirability of the project.

Keywords: Solar energy, heat demand, renewable, pollution.

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Authors: Kyaw Hla Myint, Phyoe Wai Htun

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Aloe Vera is a short-stemmed succulent plant which is commonly used in Myanmar traditional medicine. A. vera gel was also used as food addictive. This study aims to improve the Myanmar folk medicine to a functional beverage. In this research, Aloe vera was fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 6 months. Three different processes were carried out. Process I contains A. vera 10%, sugar 30%, water 50%, and starter culture 10%, process II contains A. vera 10%, sugar 15%, honey 15%, and water 50%, starter culture 10%; process III contains A. vera 10%, honey 30%, water 50%, starter culture 10%. During wine fermentation, the wine parameters such as alcohol content, total soluble solid (ºBrix), pH, color and cell population were analyzed. After 30 days of fermentation, total cell population remained 2.8x10⁶ in P-I, P-II and 3.2x10⁶ in P-III. Total soluble solid content dropped to 15.8 in P-I, P-II and 15.7 in P-III. After 30 days, clear wine was transferred to other vassals for racking. After 6 months of racking, microbial population reached under detectable level and alcohol content was round about 11% but not significantly different among these processes. P-II was found to have the highest color intensity at 450 nm and it got the most taster satisfaction when sensory evaluation was carried out using five hedonic scales after 6 month of racking.

Keywords: Aloe vera, fermentation, S. cerevisiae, functional beverage, folk medicine.

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Authors: Nuo Duan, Yi Pik Cheng

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This paper presents the data of a series of two-dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations of a large-diameter rigid monopile subjected to cyclic loading under a high gravitational force. At present, monopile foundations are widely used to support the tall and heavy wind turbines, which are also subjected to significant from wind and wave actions. A safe design must address issues such as rotations and changes in soil stiffness subject to these loadings conditions. Design guidance on the issue is limited, so are the availability of laboratory and field test data. The interpretation of these results in sand, such as the relation between loading and displacement, relies mainly on empirical correlations to pile properties. Regarding numerical models, most data from Finite Element Method (FEM) can be found. They are not comprehensive, and most of the FEM results are sensitive to input parameters. The micro scale behaviour could change the mechanism of the soil-structure interaction. A DEM model was used in this paper to study the cyclic lateral loads behaviour. A non-dimensional framework is presented and applied to interpret the simulation results. The DEM data compares well with various set of published experimental centrifuge model test data in terms of lateral deflection. The accumulated permanent pile lateral displacements induced by the cyclic lateral loads were found to be dependent on the characteristics of the applied cyclic load, such as the extent of the loading magnitudes and directions.

Keywords: Cyclic loading, DEM, numerical modelling, sands.

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Authors: F. Benkaci-Ali, R. Mékaoui, G. Scholl, G. Eppe

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The new methods as accelerated steam distillation assisted by microwave (ASDAM) is a combination of microwave heating and steam distillation, performed at atmospheric pressure at very short extraction time. Isolation and concentration of volatile compounds are performed by a single stage. (ASDAM) has been compared with (ASDAM) with cryogrinding of seeds (CG) and a conventional technique, hydrodistillation assisted by microwave (HDAM), hydro-distillation (HD) for the extraction of essential oil from aromatic herb as caraway and cumin seeds. The essential oils extracted by (ASDAM) for 1 min were quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (aromatic profile) no similar to those obtained by ASDAM-CG (1 min) and HD (for 3 h). The accelerated microwave extraction with cryogrinding inhibits numerous enzymatic reactions as hydrolysis of oils. Microwave radiations constitute the adequate mean for the extraction operations from the yields and high content in major component majority point view, and allow to minimise considerably the energy consumption, but especially heating time too, which is one of essential parameters of artifacts formation. The ASDAM and ASDAM-CG are green techniques and yields an essential oil with higher amounts of more valuable oxygenated compounds comparable to the biosynthesis compounds, and allows substantial savings of costs, in terms of time, energy and plant material.

Keywords: Microwave, steam distillation, caraway, cumin, cryogrinding, GC-MS, GCxGC-MS.

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Authors: Sriram Venkatesh, V. Murali Mohan, T. V. Karthikeyan

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The main advantage of multidirectionally reinforced composites is the freedom to orient selected fiber types and hence derives the benefits of varying fibre volume fractions and there by accommodate the design loads of the final structure of composites. This technology provides the means to produce tailored composites with desired properties. Due to the high level of fibre integrity with through thickness reinforcement those composites are expected to exhibit superior load bearing characteristics with capability to carry load even after noticeable and apparent fracture. However, a survey of published literature indicates inadequacy in the design and test data base for the complete characterization of the multidirectional composites. In this paper the research objective is focused on the development and testing of 4-D orthogonal composites with different preform configurations and resin systems. A preform is the skeleton 4D reinforced composite other than the matrix. In 4-D performs fibre bundles are oriented in three directions at 120⁰ with respect to each other and they are on orthogonal plane with the fibre in 4^th direction. This paper addresses the various types of 4-D composite manufacturing processes and the mechanical test methods followed for the material characterization. A composite analysis is also made, experiments on course and fine woven preforms are conducted and the findings of test results are discussed in this paper. The interpretations of the test results reveal several useful and interesting features. This should pave the way for more widespread use of the perform configurations for allied applications.

Keywords: Multidirectionally Reinforced Composites, 4-D Orthogonal Preform, Course weave, Fine weave.

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Authors: Hiram I. Beltrán, Arturo Rojo-Domínguez, Máximo Eduardo Sánchez Gutiérrez, Pedro Pablo González Pérez

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A computational platform is presented in this contribution. It has been designed as a virtual laboratory to be used for exploring optimization algorithms in biological problems. This platform is built on a blackboard-based agent architecture. As a test case, the version of the platform presented here is devoted to the study of protein folding, initially with a bead-like description of the chain and with the widely used model of hydrophobic and polar residues (HP model). Some details of the platform design are presented along with its capabilities and also are revised some explorations of the protein folding problems with different types of discrete space. It is also shown the capability of the platform to incorporate specific tools for the structural analysis of the runs in order to understand and improve the optimization process. Accordingly, the results obtained demonstrate that the ensemble of computational tools into a single platform is worthwhile by itself, since experiments developed on it can be designed to fulfill different levels of information in a self-consistent fashion. By now, it is being explored how an experiment design can be useful to create a computational agent to be included within the platform. These inclusions of designed agents –or software pieces– are useful for the better accomplishment of the tasks to be developed by the platform. Clearly, while the number of agents increases the new version of the virtual laboratory thus enhances in robustness and functionality.

Keywords: genetic algorithms, multi-agent systems, bioinformatics, optimization, protein folding, structural biology.

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Authors: M. Ramezani, S. Ghaderifard, HR. Monsef-Esfahani, S. Nasri

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The aim of this study is evaluating the antinociceptive and anti-inflamatory activity of Geum kokanicum. After determination total extract LD50, different doses of extract were chosen for intrapritoneal injections. In inflammation test, male NMRI mice were divided into 6 groups: control (normal saline), positive control (Dexamethasone 15mg/kg), and total extract (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 gr/kg). The inflammation was produced by xyleneinduced edema. In order to evaluate the antinociceptive effect of total extract, formalin test was used. Mice were divided into 6 groups: control, positive control (morphine 10mg/kg), and 4 groups which received total extract. Then they received Formalin. The animals were observed for the reaction to pain. Data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test. LD50 was 1 gr/kg. Data indicated that 0.5,0.1 and 0.2 gr/kg doses of total extract have particular antinociceptive and antiinflammatory effects in a comparison with control (P<0.001). The most effective dose was 0.2 gr/kg which did not show any significant difference in a comparison with positive control. Results indicated that total extract can inhibit nociception in the first and second phase. The antinociceptive effects in high doses are the same as morphine as a strong analgesic substance. TLC chromatography indicated presence of steroids and triterpenoids in this plant. The effects of extract may be related to presence of these compounds.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Antinociceptive, Geum kokanicum, Mice.

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Authors: S. Wongkoon, M. Jaroensutasinee, K. Jaroensutasinee, W. Preechaporn, S. Chumkiew

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This study investigated the number of Aedes larvae, the key breeding sites of Aedes sp., and the relationship between climatic factors and the incidence of DHF in Samui Islands. We conducted our questionnaire and larval surveys from randomly selected 105 households in Samui Islands in July-September 2006. Pearson-s correlation coefficient was used to explore the primary association between the DHF incidence and all climatic factors. Multiple stepwise regression technique was then used to fit the statistical model. The results showed that the positive indoor containers were small jars, cement tanks, and plastic tanks. The positive outdoor containers were small jars, cement tanks, plastic tanks, used cans, tires, plastic bottles, discarded objects, pot saucers, plant pots, and areca husks. All Ae. albopictus larval indices (i.e., CI, HI, and BI) were higher than Ae. aegypti larval indices in this area. These larval indices were higher than WHO standard. This indicated a high risk of DHF transmission at Samui Islands. The multiple stepwise regression model was y = –288.80 + 11.024xmean temp. The mean temperature was positively associated with the DHF incidence in this area.

Keywords: Dengue vectors, Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Container Index, House Index, Breteau Index, Aedes indices, Climatic factors, Temperature.

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Authors: Dinh-Ha Tran, Chung-Ruey Yen, Yu-Kuang H. Chen

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A collection of thirty cultivars/clones of a red pitaya was used to investigate flowering response to lighting supplementation in the winter season of 2013-2014 in southern Taiwan. The night-breaking treatment was conducted during the period of 10 Oct. 2013 to 5 Mar. 2014 with 4-continuous hours (22.00 – 02.00 hrs) of additional lighting daily using incandescent bulbs (100W). Among cultivars and clones tested, twenty-three genotypes, most belonging to the red-magenta flesh type, were found to have positively flowering response to the lighting treatment. The duration of night-breaking treatment for successful flowering initiation varied from 33- 48 days. The lighting-sensitive genotypes bore 1-2 flowering flushes. Floral and fruiting stages took 21-26 and 46-59 days, respectively. Among sixteen fruiting genotypes, the highest fruit set rates were found in Damao 9, D4, D13, Chaozou large, Chaozhou 5, Small Nick and F22. Five cultivars and clones (Orejona, D4, Chaozhou large, Chaozhou 5 and Small Nick) produced fruits with an average weight of more than 300 g per fruit which were higher than those of the fruits formed in the summer of 2013. Fruits produced during off-season containing total soluble solids (TSS) from 17.5 to 20.7oBrix, which were higher than those produced inseason.

Keywords: Flowering response, long-day plant, night-breaking treatment, off-season production, pitaya.

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Authors: Uğur Çakır, Erol Sahin, Kemal Çomaklı, Aysegül Çokgez Kus

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Greenhouses offer us suitable conditions which can be controlled easily for the growth of the plant and they are made by using a covering material that allows the sun light entering into the system. Covering material can be glass, fiber glass, plastic or another transparent element. This study investigates the solar energy usability rates and solar energy benefitting rates of a semi-spherical (modified arch) type greenhouse system according to different orientations and positions which exists under climatic conditions of Bayburt. In the concept of this study it is tried to determine the best direction and best sizes of a semi-spherical greenhouse to get best solar benefit from the sun. To achieve this aim a modeling study is made by using MATLAB. However, this modeling study is run for some determined shapes and greenhouses it can be used for different shaped greenhouses or buildings. The basic parameters are determined as greenhouse azimuth angle, the rate of size of long edge to short and seasonal solar energy gaining of greenhouse. The optimum azimuth angles of 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 50 m2 modified arch greenhouse are 90o, 90o, 35o, 35o, 34o, 33o and 22o while their optimum k values (ratio of length to width) are 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 4 and 4 respectively. Positioning the buildings in order to get more solar heat energy in winter and less in summer brings out energy and money savings and increases the comfort.

Keywords: Greenhousing, solar energy, direct radiation, renewable energy.

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Authors: Ofelia A. Damag

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The study was focused on the development and assessment of the illustrated language activities of the 1996 Edition of the Portage Guide to Early Education. It determined the extent of appropriateness, applicability, time efficiency and aesthetics of the illustrated language activities to be used as instructional material not only by teachers, but parents and caregivers as well. The eclectic research design was applied in this study using qualitative and quantitative methods. To determine the applicability and time efficiency of the study, a try out was done. Since the eclectic research design was used, it made use of a researcher-made survey questionnaire and focus group discussion. Analysis of the data was done through weighted mean and ANOVA. The respondents of the study were representatives of Special Education (SPED) teachers, caregivers and parents of a special-needs child, particularly with difficulties in learning basic language skills. The results of the study show that a large number of respondents are SPED teachers and caregivers and are mostly college graduates. Many of them have earned units towards Master’s studies. Moreover, a majority of the respondents have not attended seminars or in-service training in early intervention for them to be more competent in the area of specialization. It is concluded that the illustrated language activities under review in this study are appropriate, applicable, time efficient and aesthetic for use as a tool in teaching. The recommendations are focused on the advocacy for SPED teachers, caregivers and parents of special-needs children to be more consistent in the implementation of the new instructional materials as an aid in an intervention program.

Keywords: Illustrated language activities, inclusion, portage guide to early education, special educational needs.

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Authors: O. Kratochvíl, J. Križan

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The paper deals with the analysis of the dynamic response of footbridges under human - induced dynamic loads. This is a frequently occurring and often dominant load for footbridges as it stems from the very purpose of a footbridge - to convey pedestrian. Due to the emergence of new materials and advanced engineering technology, slender footbridges are increasingly becoming popular to satisfy the modern transportation needs and the aesthetical requirements of the society. These structures however are always lively with low stiffness, low mass, low damping and low natural frequencies. As a consequence, they are prone to vibration induced by human activities and can suffer severe vibration serviceability problems, particularly in the lateral direction. Pedestrian bridges are designed according to first and second limit states, these are the criteria involved in response to static design load. However, it is necessary to assess the dynamic response of bridge design load on pedestrians and assess it impact on the comfort of the user movement. Usually the load is considered a person or a small group which can be assumed in perfect motion synchronization. Already one person or small group can excite significant vibration of the deck. In order to calculate the dynamic response to the movement of people, designer needs available and suitable computational model and criteria. For the calculation program ANSYS based on finite element method was used.

Keywords: Footbridge, dynamic analysis, vibration serviceability of footbridges, lateral vibration, stiffness, dynamic force, walking force, slender suspension footbridges, natural frequencies and vibration modes, rhythm jumping, normal walking.

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Authors: Mohammad R. Jafari, Francois G. Bernardeau

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With its arid climate, Qatar experiences low annual rainfall, intense storms, and high evaporation rates. However, the fast-paced rate of infrastructure development in the capital city of Doha has led to recurring instances of surface water flooding as well as rising groundwater levels. Public Work Authority (PWA/ASHGHAL) has implemented an approach to collect and discharge the flood water into a) positive gravity systems; b) Emergency Flooding Area (EFA) – Evaporation, Infiltration or Storage off-site using tankers; and c) Discharge to deep injection wells. As part of the flood prevention scheme, 21 deep injection wells have been constructed to discharge the collected surface and groundwater table in Doha city. These injection wells function as an alternative in localities that do not possess either positive gravity systems or downstream networks that can accommodate additional loads. These injection wells are 400-m deep and are constructed in a complex karstic subsurface condition with large cavities. The injection well system will discharge collected groundwater and storm surface runoff into the permeable Umm Er Radhuma Formation, which is an aquifer present throughout the Persian Gulf Region. The Umm Er Radhuma formation contains saline water that is not being used for water supply. The injection zone is separated by an impervious gypsum formation which acts as a barrier between upper and lower aquifer. State of the art drilling, grouting, and geophysical techniques have been implemented in construction of the wells to assure that the shallow aquifer would not be contaminated and impacted by injected water. Injection and pumping tests were performed to evaluate injection well functionality (injectability). The results of these tests indicated that majority of the wells can accept injection rate of 200 to 300 m³ /h (56 to 83 l/s) under gravity with average value of 250 m³ /h (70 l/s) compared to design value of 50 l/s. This paper presents design and construction process and issues associated with these injection wells, performing injection/pumping tests to determine capacity and effectiveness of the injection wells, the detailed design of collection system and conveying system into the injection wells, and the operation and maintenance process. This system is completed now and is under operation, and therefore, construction of injection wells is an effective option for flood control.

Keywords: Deep injection well, wellhead assembly system, emergency flood area, flood prevention scheme, geophysical tests, pumping and injection tests, Qatar geology.

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Authors: Migbar Assefa

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The performance of a machine tool is eventually assessed by its ability to produce a component of the required geometry in minimum time and at small operating cost. It is customary to base the structural design of any machine tool primarily upon the requirements of static rigidity and minimum natural frequency of vibration. The operating properties of machines like cutting speed, feed and depth of cut as well as the size of the work piece also have to be kept in mind by a machine tool structural designer. This paper presents a novel approach to the design of machine tool column for static and dynamic rigidity requirement. Model evaluation is done effectively through use of General Finite Element Analysis software ANSYS. Studies on machine tool column are used to illustrate finite element based concept evaluation technique. This paper also presents results obtained from the computations of thin walled box type columns that are subjected to torsional and bending loads in case of static analysis and also results from modal analysis. The columns analyzed are square and rectangle based tapered open column, column with cover plate, horizontal partitions and with apertures. For the analysis purpose a total of 70 columns were analyzed for bending, torsional and modal analysis. In this study it is observed that the orientation and aspect ratio of apertures have no significant effect on the static and dynamic rigidity of the machine tool structure.

Keywords: Finite Element Modeling, Modal Analysis, Machine tool structure, Static Analysis.

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Authors: Nneka N. Uchegbu, Charles N. Ishiwu

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The nutritional composition and hypoglycaemic effect of crackers produced from blend of sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain and brewers’ spent grain and fed to Alloxan induced diabetic rat was investigated. Crackers were produced from different blends of sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain and brewers’ spent grain. The crackers were evaluated for proximate composition, amino acid profile and antinutritional factors. Blood glucose levels of normal and diabetic rats fed with the control sample and different formulations of cracker were measured. The protein content of the samples were significantly different (p<0.05) from each other with sample A having the lowest value and sample B with the highest value. The values obtained showed that the samples contained most of the amino acids that are found in plant proteins. The levels of antinutritional factor determined were generally low. Administration of the formulated cracker meals led to a significant reduction in the fasting blood glucose level in the diabetic rats. The present study concluded that consumption of crackers produced from this composite flour could be recommended for the diabetics and those who are sceptical about the disease.

Keywords: Crackers, diabetics rat, sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain and brewers’ spent grain.

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Authors: Ali A. Al-Jazaairry, Tahsin T. Sabbagh

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One of the important concerns within the field of geotechnical engineering is the presence of cavities in soils. This present work is an attempt to understand the behaviour of strip footing subjected to inclined load and constructed on cavitied soil. The failure mechanism of strip footing located above such soils was studied analytically. The capability of analytical model to correctly expect the system behaviour is assessed by carrying out verification analysis on available studies. The study was prepared by finite element software (PLAXIS) in which an elastic-perfectly plastic soil model was used. It was indicated, from the results of the study, that the load carrying capacity of foundation constructed on cavity can be analysed well using such analysis. The research covered many foundation cases, and in each foundation case, there occurs a critical depth under which the presence of cavities has shown minimum impact on the foundation performance. When cavities are found above this critical depth, the load carrying capacity of the foundation differs with many influences, such as the location and size of the cavity and footing depth. Figures involving the load carrying capacity with the affecting factors studied are presented. These figures offer information beneficial for the design of strip footings rested on underground cavities. Moreover, the results might be used to design a shallow foundation constructed on cavitied soil, whereas the obtained failure mechanisms may be employed to improve numerical solutions for this kind of problems.

Keywords: Axial load, cavity, inclined load, strip footing.

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

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

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

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Authors: H. Al-Jabli

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Using the freeze-melting process for the disposing of high saline brines was the aim of the paper by confirming the performance estimation of the treatment system. A laboratory bench scale freezing technique test unit was designed, constructed, and tested at Doha Research Plant (DRP) in Kuwait. The principal unit operations that have been considered for the laboratory study are: ice crystallization, separation, washing, and melting. The applied process is characterized as “the secondary-refrigerant indirect freezing”, which is utilizing normal freezing concept. The high saline brine was used as definite feed water, i.e. average TDS of 250,000 ppm. Kuwait desalination plants were carried out in the experimental study to measure the performance of the proposed treatment system. Experimental analysis shows that the freeze-melting process is capable of dropping the TDS of the feed water from 249,482 ppm to 56,880 ppm of the freeze-melting process in the two-phase’s course, whereas overall recovery results of the salt passage and salt rejection are 31.11%, 19.05%, and 80.95%, correspondingly. Therefore, the freeze-melting process is encouraging for the proposed application, as it shows on the results, which approves the process capability of reducing a major amount of the dissolved salts of the high saline brine with reasonable sensible recovery. This process might be reasonable with other brine disposal processes.

Keywords: High saline brine, freeze-melting process, ice crystallization, brine disposal process.

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Authors: Gabi N. Nehme

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Below-knee amputees commonly experience asymmetrical gait patterns. It is generally believed that ischemia is related to the formation of pressure sores due to uneven distribution of forces. Micro-vascular responses can reveal local malnutrition. Changes in local skin blood supply under various external loading conditions have been studied for a number of years. Radionuclide clearance, photo-plethysmography, trans-cutaneous oxygen tension along with other studies showed that the blood supply would be influenced by the epidermal forces, and the rate and the amount of blood supply would decrease with increased epidermal loads being shear forces or normal forces. Several cases of socket designs were investigated using Finite Element Model (FEM) and Design of Experiment (DOE) to increase flexibility and minimize the pressure at the limb/socket interface using ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyamide 6 (PA6) or Duraform. The pressure reliefs at designated areas where reducing thickness is involved are seen to be critical in determination of amputees’ comfort and are very important to clinical applications. Implementing a hole between the Patellar Tendon (PT) and Distal Tibia (DT) would decrease stiffness and increase prosthesis range of motion where flexibility is needed. In addition, displacement and prosthetic energy storage increased without compromising mechanical efficiency and prosthetic design integrity.

Keywords: Patellar tendon, distal tibia, prosthetic socket, relief areas, hole implementation.

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Authors: Hatice Özbek, Caner Çil, Ahmet Rodoplu

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Automotive lighting is the leading function in the configuration of vehicle architecture. Especially headlights and taillights from external lighting functions are among the structures that determine the stylistic character of the vehicle. At the same time, the fact that lighting functions are related to many other functions brings along difficulties in design. Customers expect maximum quality from the vehicle. In these circumstances, it is necessary to make designs that aim to keep the performance of bulbs with limited working lives at the highest level. With this study, the factors that influence the working lives of filament lamps were examined and bulb explosions that can occur sooner than anticipated in the future were prevented while the vehicle was still in the design phase by determining the relations with electrical, dynamical and static variables. Especially the filaments of the bulbs used in the front lighting of the vehicle are deformed in a shorter time due to the high voltage requirement. In addition to this, rear lighting lamps vibrate as a result of the tailgate opening and closing and cause the filaments to be exposed to high stress. With this study, the findings that cause bulb explosions were evaluated. Among the most important findings: 1. The structure of the cables to the lighting functions of the vehicle and the effect of the voltage values are drawn; 2. The effect of the vibration to bulb throughout the life of the vehicle; 3 The effect of the loads carried to bulb while the vehicle doors are opened and closed. At the end of the study, the maximum performance was established in the bulb lifetimes with the optimum changes made in the vehicle architecture based on the findings obtained.

Keywords: Vehicle architecture, automotive lighting functions, filament lamps, bulb lifetime.

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Authors: Grace Rachid, Mutasem El-Fadel, Mahmoud Al-Hindi, Ibrahim Jamali, Daniel Abdel Nour

Abstract:

This study examines the feasibility of indirect solar desalination in oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It relies on value engineering (VE) and costbenefit with sensitivity analyses to identify optimal coupling configurations of desalination and solar energy technologies. A comparative return on investment was assessed as a function of water costs for varied plant capacities (25,000 to 75,000 m3/day), project lifetimes (15 to 25 years), and discount rates (5 to 15%) taking into consideration water and energy subsidies, land cost as well as environmental externalities in the form of carbon credit related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The results showed reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic technologies (PVs) as the most promising configuration, robust across different prices for Brent oil, discount rates, as well as different project lifetimes. Environmental externalities and subsidies analysis revealed that a 16% reduction in existing subsidy on water tariffs would ensure economic viability. Additionally, while land costs affect investment attractiveness, the viability of RO coupled with PV remains possible for a land purchase cost <$ 80/m2 or a lease rate <$1/m2/yr. Beyond those rates, further subsidy lifting is required.

Keywords: Solar energy, desalination, value engineering, CBA, carbon credit, subsidies.

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Authors: Ali Bakhtiari Gharibdosti, Mohammad Hosein Bijeh Keshavarzi, Samira Alijani

Abstract:

To understand internal characteristics relationships and determine factors which explain under consideration characteristics in rapeseed varieties, 10 rapeseed genotypes were implemented in complete accidental plot with three-time repetitions under drought stress in 2009-2010 in research field of agriculture college, Islamic Azad University, Karaj branch. In this research, 11 characteristics include of characteristics related to growth, production and functions stages was considered. Variance analysis results showed that there is a significant difference among rapeseed varieties characteristics. By calculating simple correlation coefficient under both conditions, normal and drought stress indicate that seed function characteristics in plant and pod number have positive and significant correlation in 1% probable level with seed function and selection on the base of these characteristics was effective for improving this function. Under normal and drought stress, analyzing the main factors showed that numbers of factors which have more than one amount, had five factors under normal conditions which were 82.72% of total variance totally, but under drought stress four factors diagnosed which were 76.78% of total variance. By considering total results of this research and by assessing effective characteristics for factor analysis and selecting different components of these characteristics, they can be used for modifying works to select applicable and tolerant genotypes in drought stress conditions.

Keywords: Correlation, drought stress, factor analysis, rapeseed.

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Authors: Kullanart Obsuwan, Chockpisit Thepsithar

Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate effect of different organic supplements on growth of Vanda and Mokara seedlings. Vanda and Mokara seedlings approximately 0.2 and 0.3 cm. in height were sub-cultured onto VW supplemented with 150 ml/L coconut water, 100 g/L potato extract, 100 g/L ‘Gros Michel’ banana (AAA group) and 100 g/L ‘Namwa’ banana (ABB group). The explants were sub-cultured onto the same medium every month for 3 months. The best medium increased stem height to 0.52 and 0.44 Cm. in Vanda and Mokara respectively was supplemented with coconut water. The maximum fresh weight of Vanda (0.59 g) was found on medium supplemented with ‘Gros Michel’ banana while Mokara cultured on medium supplemented with Potato extract had the maximum fresh weight (0.27 g) and number of roots (5.20 roots/shoot) statistically different (p≤ 0.05) to other treatments. However, Vanda cultured on medium supplemented with ‘Namwa’ banana had the maximum number of roots (3.80 roots/shoot). Our results suggested that growth of different orchid genera was responded diversely to different organic supplements. 

 

Keywords: Fresh weight, in vitro propagation, orchid, plant height.

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Authors: Ahmed. S. Alasmari, M. S. Soliman, Magdy M. El-Rayes

Abstract:

This study focuses on the effect of the addition of magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag) on the mechanical properties of aluminum based alloys. The alloying elements will be added at different levels using the factorial design of experiments of 2²; the two factors are Mg and Ag at two levels of concentration. The superior mechanical properties of the produced Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys after aging will be resulted from a unique type of precipitation named as Ω-phase. The formed precipitate enhanced the tensile strength and thermal stability. This paper further investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of as cast Al–Cu–Mg–Ag alloys after being complete homogenized treatment at 520 °C for 8 hours followed by isothermally age hardening process at 190 °C for different periods of time. The homogenization at 520 °C for 8 hours was selected based on homogenization study at various temperatures and times. The alloys’ microstructures were studied by using optical microscopy (OM). In addition to that, the fracture surface investigation was performed using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Studying the microstructure of aged Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys reveal that the grains are equiaxed with an average grain size of about 50 µm. A detailed fractography study for fractured surface of the aged alloys exhibited a mixed fracture whereby the random fracture suggested crack propagation along the grain boundaries while the dimples indicated that the fracture was ductile. The present result has shown that alloy 5 has the highest hardness values and the best mechanical behaviors.

Keywords: Precipitation hardening, aluminum alloys, aging, design of experiments, analysis of variance, heat treatments.

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Authors: Mohammad Koushafar, Amir Hossein Khoshgoftarmanesh

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Due to water shortage, application of saline water for irrigation is an urgent in agriculture. In this study the effect of calcium and potassium application as additive in saline root media for reduce salinity adverse effects was investigated on tomato growth in a hydroponic system with unequal distribution of salts in the root media, which was divided in to two equal parts containing full Johnson nutrient solution and 40 mMNaCl solution, alone or in combination with KCl (6 mM), CaCl2 (4 mM), K+Ca (3+2 mM) or half-strength Johnson nutrient solution. The root splits were exchanged every 7 days. Results showed that addition of calcium, calcium-potassium and nutrition elements equivalent to half the concentration of Johnson formula to the saline-half of culture media minimized the reduction in plant growth caused by NaCl, although addition of potassium to culture media wasn’t effective. The greatest concentration of sodium was observed at the shoot of treatments which had smallest growth. According to the results of this study, in case of dynamic and non-uniform distribution of salts in the root media, by addition of additive to the saline solution, it would be possible to use of saline water with no significant growth reduction.

Keywords: Calcium, Hydroponic, Local salinity, Potassium, Saline water, Tomato.

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Authors: Raied Salman, Nazar Younis

Abstract:

In a none-super-competitive environment the concepts of closed system, management control remains to be the dominant guiding concept to management. The merits of closed loop have been the sources of most of the management literature and culture for many decades. It is a useful exercise to investigate and poke into the dynamics of the control loop phenomenon and draws some lessons to use for refining the practice of management. This paper examines the multitude of lessons abstracted from the behavior of the Input /output /feedback control loop model, which is the core of control theory. There are numerous lessons that can be learned from the insights this model would provide and how it parallels the management dynamics of the organization. It is assumed that an organization is basically a living system that interacts with the internal and external variables. A viable control loop is the one that reacts to the variation in the environment and provide or exert a corrective action. In managing organizations this is reflected in organizational structure and management control practices. This paper will report findings that were a result of examining several abstract scenarios that are exhibited in the design, operation, and dynamics of the control loop and how they are projected on the functioning of the organization. Valuable lessons are drawn in trying to find parallels and new paradigms, and how the control theory science is reflected in the design of the organizational structure and management practices. The paper is structured in a logical and perceptive format. Further research is needed to extend these findings.

Keywords: Management theory, control theory, feed back, input/output, strategy, change, information technology, informationsystems, IS, organizational environment, organizations, opensystems, closed systems.

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Authors: B. F. Dada, B. S. Ewulo, M. A. Awodun, S. O. Ajayi

Abstract:

Aggregate soil carbon distribution and stock in the soil in the form of a carbon pool is important for soil fertility and sequestration. The amount of carbon pool and other nutrients statues of the soil are to benefit plants, animal and the environment in the long run. This study was carried out at Akure North and South Local Government; the study area is one of the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State in the Southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. The sites were divided into Map Grids and geo-referenced with Global Positioning System (GPS). Horizons were designated and morphological description carried out on the field. Pedons were characterized and classified according to USDA soil taxonomy. The local government area shares boundaries with; Ikere Local Government (LG) in the North, Ise Orun LG in the northwest, Ifedore LG in the northeast Akure South LG in the East, Ose LG in the South East, and Owo LG in the South. SOC-pool at Federal College of Agriculture topsoil horizon A2 is significantly higher than all horizons, 67.83 th⁻¹. The chemical properties of the pedons have shown that the soil is very strongly acidic to neutral reaction (4.68 – 6.73). The nutrients status of the soil topsoil A1 and A2 generally indicates that the soils have a low potential for retaining plant nutrients, and therefore call for adequate soil management.

Keywords: Soil organic carbon, horizon, pedon, Akure.

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