Search results for: Software Components

Authors: V. Jafari, M. Jafari

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When long-term changes in normal weather patterns happen in a certain area, it generally could be identified as climate change. Concentration of principal's greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ozone, and water vapor will cause climate change and perhaps climate variability. Main climate factors are temperature, precipitation, air pressure, and humidity. Extreme events may be the result of the changing of carbon dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere which cause a change in temperature. Extreme events in some ways will affect the productivity of crop and dairy livestock. In this research, the correlation of milk production and temperature as the main climate factor in ChaharMahal and Bakhtiari province in Iran has been considered. The methodology employed for this study consists, collect reports and published national and provincial data, available recorded data on climate factors and analyzing collected data using statistical software. Milk production in ChaharMahal and Bakhtiari province is in the same pattern as national milk production in Iran. According to the current study results, there is a significant negative correlation between milk production in ChaharMahal and Bakhtiari provinces and temperature as the main climate change factor.

Keywords: ChaharMahal and Bakhtiari, climate change, impacts, Iran, milk production.

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Authors: Abdunaser Abduelmula, Maria Luisa M. Bastos, José A. Gonçalves

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Modelling of the earth's surface and evaluation of urban environment, with 3D models, is an important research topic. New stereo capabilities of high resolution optical satellites images, such as the tri-stereo mode of Pleiades, combined with new image matching algorithms, are now available and can be applied in urban area analysis. In addition, photogrammetry software packages gained new, more efficient matching algorithms, such as SGM, as well as improved filters to deal with shadow areas, can achieve more dense and more precise results. This paper describes a comparison between 3D data extracted from tri-stereo and dual stereo satellite images, combined with pixel based matching and Wallis filter. The aim was to improve the accuracy of 3D models especially in urban areas, in order to assess if satellite images are appropriate for a rapid evaluation of urban environments. The results showed that 3D models achieved by Pleiades tri-stereo outperformed, both in terms of accuracy and detail, the result obtained from a Geo-eye pair. The assessment was made with reference digital surface models derived from high resolution aerial photography. This could mean that tri-stereo images can be successfully used for the proposed urban change analyses.

Keywords: 3D Models, Environment, Matching, Pleiades.

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Authors: Muhibul H. Bhuyan, Mafujul Hasan

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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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Authors: Khairul Jauhari, Achmad Widodo, Ismoyo Haryanto

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The spindle system is one of the most important components of machine tool. The dynamic properties of the spindle affect the machining productivity and quality of the work pieces. Thus, it is important and necessary to determine its dynamic characteristics of spindles in the design and development in order to avoid forced resonance. The finite element method (FEM) has been adopted in order to obtain the dynamic behavior of spindle system. For this reason, obtaining the Campbell diagrams and determining the critical speeds are very useful to evaluate the spindle system dynamics. The unbalance response of the system to the center of mass unbalance at the cutting tool is also calculated to investigate the dynamic behavior. In this paper, we used an ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) program which based on finite element method has been implemented to make the full dynamic analysis and evaluation of the results. Results show that the calculated critical speeds are far from the operating speed range of the spindle, thus, the spindle would not experience resonance, and the maximum unbalance response at operating speed is still with acceptable limit. ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) can be used by spindle designer as tools in order to increase the product quality, reducing cost, and time consuming in the design and development stages.

Keywords: ANSYS parametric design language (APDL), Campbell diagram, Critical speeds, Unbalance response, The Spindle system.

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Authors: N. Matveev, A. Pervov

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Local utilities often face problems of local industrial wastes, storm water disposal due to existing strict regulations. For many local industries, the problem of wastewater treatment and discharge into surface reservoirs can’t be solved through the use of conventional biological treatment techniques. Current discharge standards require very strict removal of a number of impurities such as ammonia, nitrates, phosphate, etc. To reach this level of removal, expensive reagents and sorbents are used. The modern concept of rational water resources management requires the development of new efficient techniques that provide wastewater treatment and reuse. As RO membranes simultaneously reject all dissolved impurities such as BOD, TDS, ammonia, phosphates etc., they become very attractive for the direct treatment of wastewater without biological stage. To treat wastewater, specially designed membrane "open channel" modules are used that do not possess "dead areas" that cause fouling or require pretreatment. A solution to RO concentrate disposal problem is presented that consists of reducing of initial wastewater volume by 100 times. Concentrate is withdrawn from membrane unit as sludge moisture. The efficient use of membrane RO techniques is connected with a salt balance in water system. Thus, to provide high ecological efficiency of developed techniques, all components of water supply and wastewater discharge systems should be accounted for.

Keywords: Reverse osmosis, stormwater treatment, openchannel module, wastewater reuse.

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Authors: Ehi E. Aimiuwu

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As of 2017, many researchers in educational journals are still wondering if students are effectively and efficiently engaged in active learning in the online learning environment. The goal of this qualitative single case study and narrative research is to explore if students are actively engaged in their online learning. Seven online students in the United States from LinkedIn and residencies were interviewed for this study. Eleven online learning techniques from research were used as a framework.  Data collection tools were used for the study that included a digital audiotape, observation sheet, interview protocol, transcription, and NVivo 12 Plus qualitative software.  Data analysis process, member checking, and key themes were used to reach saturation. About 85.7% of students preferred individual grading. About 71.4% of students valued professor’s interacting 2-3 times weekly, participating through posts and responses, having good internet access, and using email.  Also, about 57.1% said students log in 2-3 times weekly to daily, professor’s social presence helps, regular punctuality in work submission, and prefer assessments style of research, essay, and case study.  About 42.9% appreciated syllabus usefulness and professor’s expertise.

Keywords: Class facilitation, course management, online teaching, online education, student engagement.

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Authors: P. Kamphikul, P. Krachodnok, R. Wongsan

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This paper presents the gain improvement of a sector antenna for mobile phone base station by using the new technique to enhance its gain for microstrip antenna (MSA) array without construction enlargement. The curved woodpile Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) has been utilized to improve the gain instead. The advantages of this proposed antenna are reducing the length of MSAs array but providing the higher gain and easy fabrication and installation. Moreover, it provides a fan-shaped radiation pattern, wide in the horizontal direction and relatively narrow in the vertical direction, which appropriate for mobile phone base station. The paper also presents the design procedures of a 1x8 MSAs array associated with U-shaped reflector for decreasing their back and side lobes. The fabricated curved woodpile EBG exhibits bandgap characteristics at 2.1 GHz and is utilized for realizing a resonant cavity of MSAs array. This idea has been verified by both the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) software and experimental results. As the results, the fabricated proposed antenna achieves a high gain of 20.3 dB and the half-power beam widths in the E- and H-plane of 36.8 and 8.7 degrees, respectively. Good qualitative agreement between measured and simulated results of the proposed antenna was obtained.

Keywords: Gain Improvement, Microstrip Antenna Array, Electromagnetic Band Gap, Base Station.

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Authors: Melodi Mbuyi Mata, Blessing Olamide Taiwo, Afolabi Ayodele David

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The purpose of this research is to create empirical models for assessing the profitability of granite aggregate production in Akure, Ondo state aggregate quarries. In addition, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model and multivariate predicting models for granite profitability were developed in the study. A formal survey questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The data extracted from the case study mine for this study include granite marketing operations, royalty, production costs, and mine production information. The following methods were used to achieve the goal of this study: descriptive statistics, MATLAB 2017, and SPSS16.0 software in analyzing and modeling the data collected from granite traders in the study areas. The ANN and Multi Variant Regression models' prediction accuracy was compared using a coefficient of determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and mean square error (MSE). Due to the high prediction error, the model evaluation indices revealed that the ANN model was suitable for predicting generated profit in a typical quarry. More quarries in Nigeria's southwest region and other geopolitical zones should be considered to improve ANN prediction accuracy.

Keywords: National development, granite, profitability assessment, ANN models.

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Authors: Pattamad Panedpojaman

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For fire safety purposes, the fire resistance and the structural behavior of reinforced concrete members are assessed to satisfy specific fire performance criteria. The available prescribed provisions are based on standard fire load. Under various fire scenarios, engineers are in need of both heat transfer analysis and structural analysis. For heat transfer analysis, the study proposed a modified finite difference method to evaluate the temperature profile within a cross section. The research conducted is limited to concrete sections exposed to a fire on their one side. The method is based on the energy conservation principle and a pre-determined power function of the temperature profile. The power value of 2.7 is found to be a suitable value for concrete sections. The temperature profiles of the proposed method are only slightly deviate from those of the experiment, the FEM and the FDM for various fire loads such as ASTM E 119, ASTM 1529, BS EN 1991-1-2 and 550 oC. The proposed method is useful to avoid incontinence of the large matrix system of the typical finite difference method to solve the temperature profile. Furthermore, design engineers can simply apply the proposed method in regular spreadsheet software.

Keywords: temperature profile, finite difference method, concrete section, one-side fire exposed, energy conservation

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Authors: Jamal S. Yassin

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This paper is to formulate a mathematical model to predict the amounts of the emissions produced from the combustion process of the gas turbine unit of the jet engine. These emissions have bad impacts on the environment if they are out of standards, which cause real threats to all type of life on the earth. The amounts of the emissions from the gas turbine engine are functions to many operational and design factors. In landing-takeoff (LTO) these amounts are not the same as in taxi or cruise of the plane using jet engines, because of the difference in the activity period during these operating modes. These emissions can be affected by several physical and chemical variables, such as fuel type, fuel to air ratio or equivalence ratio, flame temperature, combustion pressure, in addition to some inlet conditions such as ambient temperature and air humidity. To study the influence of these variables on the amounts of these emissions during the combustion process in the gas turbine unit, a computer program has been developed by using the visual basic 6 software. Here, the analysis of the combustion process is carried out by considering it as a chemical reaction with shifting equilibrium to find the products of the combustion of the octane fuel, at different equivalence ratios, compressor pressure ratios (CPR) and combustion temperatures. The results obtained have shown that there is noticeable influence of the equivalence ratio, CPR, and the combustion temperature on the amounts of the main emissions which are considered pollutants, such as CO, CO₂ and NO.

Keywords: Mathematical model, gas turbine unit, equivalence ratio, emissions, shifting equilibrium.

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Authors: Hosein Hamisheh Bahar, Mohammad Hossein Fazel Zarandi, Akbar Esfahanipour

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In this paper, a hybrid expert system is developed by using fuzzy genetic network programming with reinforcement learning (GNP-RL). In this system, the frame-based structure of the system uses the trading rules extracted by GNP. These rules are extracted by using technical indices of the stock prices in the training time period. For developing this system, we applied fuzzy node transition and decision making in both processing and judgment nodes of GNP-RL. Consequently, using these method not only did increase the accuracy of node transition and decision making in GNP's nodes, but also extended the GNP's binary signals to ternary trading signals. In the other words, in our proposed Fuzzy GNP-RL model, a No Trade signal is added to conventional Buy or Sell signals. Finally, the obtained rules are used in a frame-based system implemented in Kappa-PC software. This developed trading system has been used to generate trading signals for ten companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The simulation results in the testing time period shows that the developed system has more favorable performance in comparison with the Buy and Hold strategy.

Keywords: Fuzzy genetic network programming, hybrid expert system, technical trading signal, Tehran stock exchange.

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Authors: Saeid Fazli, Hajar Mohammadi D., Payman Moallem

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This paper presents a robust method to detect obstacles in stereo images using shadow removal technique and color information. Stereo vision based obstacle detection is an algorithm that aims to detect and compute obstacle depth using stereo matching and disparity map. The proposed advanced method is divided into three phases, the first phase is detecting obstacles and removing shadows, the second one is matching and the last phase is depth computing. We propose a robust method for detecting obstacles in stereo images using a shadow removal technique based on color information in HIS space, at the first phase. In this paper we use Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC) function matching with a 5 × 5 window and prepare an empty matching table τ and start growing disparity components by drawing a seed s from S which is computed using canny edge detector, and adding it to τ. In this way we achieve higher performance than the previous works [2,17]. A fast stereo matching algorithm is proposed that visits only a small fraction of disparity space in order to find a semi-dense disparity map. It works by growing from a small set of correspondence seeds. The obstacle identified in phase one which appears in the disparity map of phase two enters to the third phase of depth computing. Finally, experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: obstacle detection, stereo vision, shadowremoval, color, stereo matching

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Authors: G.H. Montazeri, Z. Dastkhan, H. Aliabadi

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Gas condensate Reservoirs show complicated thermodynamic behavior when their pressure reduces to under dew point pressure. Condensate blockage around the producing well cause significant reduction of production rate as well bottom-hole pressure drops below saturation pressure. The main objective of this work was to examine the well test analysis of naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir and investigate the effect of condensate formed around the well-bore on behavior of single phase pseudo pressure and its derivative curves. In this work a naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir is simulated with compositional simulator. Different sensitivity analysis done on Corry parameters and result of simulator is feed to analytical well testing software. For consideration of these phenomena eighteen compositional models with Capillary number effect are constructed. Matrix relative permeability obeys Corry relative permeability and relative permeability in fracture is linear. Well testing behavior of these models are studied and interpreted. Results show different sensitivity analysis on relative permeability of matrix does not have strong effect on well testing behavior even most part of the matrix around the well is occupied with condensate.

Keywords: Lean gas, fractured condensate reservoir, capillary number, well testing analysis, relative permeability.

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Authors: Maruto Masserie Sardadi, Mohd Shafry bin Mohd Rahim, Zahabidin Jupri, Daut bin Daman

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The latest Geographic Information System (GIS) technology makes it possible to administer the spatial components of daily “business object," in the corporate database, and apply suitable geographic analysis efficiently in a desktop-focused application. We can use wireless internet technology for transfer process in spatial data from server to client or vice versa. However, the problem in wireless Internet is system bottlenecks that can make the process of transferring data not efficient. The reason is large amount of spatial data. Optimization in the process of transferring and retrieving data, however, is an essential issue that must be considered. Appropriate decision to choose between R-tree and Quadtree spatial data indexing method can optimize the process. With the rapid proliferation of these databases in the past decade, extensive research has been conducted on the design of efficient data structures to enable fast spatial searching. Commercial database vendors like Oracle have also started implementing these spatial indexing to cater to the large and diverse GIS. This paper focuses on the decisions to choose R-tree and quadtree spatial indexing using Oracle spatial database in mobile GIS application. From our research condition, the result of using Quadtree and R-tree spatial data indexing method in one single spatial database can save the time until 42.5%.

Keywords: Indexing, Mobile GIS, MapViewer, Oracle SpatialDatabase.

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Authors: R. Abdulrahman, I. Sebastine

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Natural gas is the most popular fossil fuel in the current era and future as well. Natural gas is existed in underground reservoirs so it may contain many of non-hydrocarbon components for instance, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and water vapor. These impurities are undesirable compounds and cause several technical problems for example, corrosion and environment pollution. Therefore, these impurities should be reduce or removed from natural gas stream. Khurmala dome is located in southwest Erbil-Kurdistan region. The Kurdistan region government has paid great attention for this dome to provide the fuel for Kurdistan region. However, the Khurmala associated natural gas is currently flaring at the field. Moreover, nowadays there is a plan to recover and trade this gas and to use it either as feedstock to power station or to sell it in global market. However, the laboratory analysis has showed that the Khurmala sour gas has huge quantities of H2S about (5.3%) and CO2 about (4.4%). Indeed, Khurmala gas sweetening process has been removed in previous study by using Aspen HYSYS. However, Khurmala sweet gas still contents some quintets of water about 23 ppm in sweet gas stream. This amount of water should be removed or reduced. Indeed, water content in natural gas cause several technical problems such as hydrates and corrosion. Therefore, this study aims to simulate the prospective Khurmala gas dehydration process by using Aspen HYSYS V. 7.3 program. Moreover, the simulation process succeeded in reducing the water content to less than 0.1ppm. In addition, the simulation work is also achieved process optimization by using several desiccant types for example, TEG and DEG and it also study the relationship between absorbents type and its circulation rate with HCs losses from glycol regenerator tower.

Keywords: Aspen Hysys, Process simulation, gas dehydration, process optimization.

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Authors: A. Idawaty, O. Mohamed, A. Z. Zuriati

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This paper presents the development of an event based Discrete Event Simulation (DES) for a recovery algorithm known Backward Recovery Global Preemptive Utility Accrual Scheduling (BR_GPUAS). This algorithm implements the Backward Recovery (BR) mechanism as a fault recovery solution under the existing Time/Utility Function/ Utility Accrual (TUF/UA) scheduling domain for multiprocessor environment. The BR mechanism attempts to take the faulty tasks back to its initial safe state and then proceeds to re-execute the affected section of the faulty tasks to enable recovery. Considering that faults may occur in the components of any system; a fault tolerance system that can nullify the erroneous effect is necessary to be developed. Current TUF/UA scheduling algorithm uses the abortion recovery mechanism and it simply aborts the erroneous task as their fault recovery solution. None of the existing algorithm in TUF/UA scheduling domain in multiprocessor scheduling environment have considered the transient fault and implement the BR mechanism as a fault recovery mechanism to nullify the erroneous effect and solve the recovery problem in this domain. The developed BR_GPUAS simulator has derived the set of parameter, events and performance metrics according to a detailed analysis of the base model. Simulation results revealed that BR_GPUAS algorithm can saved almost 20-30% of the accumulated utilities making it reliable and efficient for the real-time application in the multiprocessor scheduling environment.

Keywords: Time Utility Function/ Utility Accrual (TUF/UA) scheduling, Real-time system (RTS), Backward Recovery, Multiprocessor, Discrete Event Simulation (DES).

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Authors: B. Tiseo, V. Quaranta, G. Bruno, G. Sisinni

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There is an increasing demand of nano-satellite development among universities, small companies, and emerging countries. Low-cost and fast-delivery are the main advantages of such class of satellites achieved by the extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components. On the other side, the loss of reliability and the poor success rate are limiting the use of nano-satellite to educational and technology demonstration and not to the commercial purpose. Standardization of nano-satellite environmental testing by tailoring the existing test standard for medium/large satellites is then a crucial step for their market growth. Thus, it is fundamental to find the right trade-off between the improvement of reliability and the need to keep their low-cost/fast-delivery advantages. This is particularly even more essential for satellites of CubeSat family. Such miniaturized and standardized satellites have 10 cm cubic form and mass no more than 1.33 kilograms per 1 unit (1U). For this class of nano-satellites, the qualification process is mandatory to reduce the risk of failure during a space mission. This paper reports the description and results of the space qualification test campaign performed on Endurosat’s CubeSat nano-satellite and modules. Mechanical and environmental tests have been carried out step by step: from the testing of the single subsystem up to the assembled CubeSat nano-satellite. Functional tests have been performed during all the test campaign to verify the functionalities of the systems. The test duration and levels have been selected by tailoring the European Space Agency standard ECSS-E-ST-10-03C and GEVS: GSFC-STD-7000A.

Keywords: CubeSat, Nano-satellite, shock, testing, vibration.

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Authors: Lawrence I. Onyeji, Girish M. Kale, M. Bijan Kermani

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Corrosion problem which exists in every stage of oil and gas production has been a great challenge to the operators in the industry. The conventional carbon steel with all its inherent advantages has been adjudged susceptible to the aggressive corrosion environment of oilfield. This has aroused increased interest in the use of micro alloyed steels for oil and gas production and transportation. The corrosion behavior of three commercially supplied micro alloyed steels designated as A, B, and C have been investigated with API 5L X65 as reference samples. Electrochemical corrosion tests were conducted in an unbuffered 3.5 wt% NaCl solution saturated with CO₂ at 30 ⁰C for 24 hours. Pre-corrosion analyses revealed that samples A, B and X65 consist of ferrite-pearlite microstructures but with different grain sizes, shapes and distribution whereas sample C has bainitic microstructure with dispersed acicular ferrites. The results of the electrochemical corrosion tests showed that within the experimental conditions, the corrosion rate of the samples can be ranked as CR_(A)< CR_(X65)< CR_(B)< CR_(C). These results are attributed to difference in microstructures of the samples as depicted by ASTM grain size number in accordance with ASTM E112-12 Standard and ferrite-pearlite volume fractions determined by ImageJ Fiji grain size analysis software.

Keywords: Carbon dioxide corrosion, corrosion behavior, micro-alloyed steel, microstructures.

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Authors: Louiza C. Duncker, Duarte Gonçalves

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Wildlife crime is a complex problem with many interconnected facets, which are generally responded to in parts or fragments in efforts to “break down” the complexity into manageable components. However, fragmentation increases complexity as coherence and cooperation become diluted. A whole-of-society approach has been developed towards finding a common goal and integrated approach to preventing wildlife crime. As part of this development, research was conducted in rural communities adjacent to conservation areas in South Africa to define and comprehend the challenges faced by them, and to understand their perceptions of wildlife crime. The results of the research showed that the perceptions of community members varied - most were in favor of conservation and of protecting rhinos, only if they derive adequate benefit from it. Regardless of gender, income level, education level, or access to services, conservation was perceived to be good and bad by the same people. Even though people in the communities are poor, a willingness to stop rhino poaching does exist amongst them, but their perception of parks not caring about people triggered an attitude of not being willing to stop, prevent or report poaching. Understanding the nuances, the history, the interests and values of community members, and the drivers behind poaching mind-sets (intrinsic or driven by transnational organized crime) is imperative to create sustainable and resilient communities on multiple levels that make a substantial positive impact on people’s lives, but also conserve wildlife for posterity.

Keywords: Conservation, community perceptions, wildlife crime, rhino poaching, interest and value creation, whole-of-society approach.

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Authors: Christopher C. Ihueze, Charles C. Okpala, Christian E. Okafor, Peter O. Ogbobe

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This paper focuses on robust design and optimization of industrial production wastes. Past literatures were reviewed to case study Clamason Industries Limited (CIL) - a leading ladder-tops manufacturer. A painstaking study of the firm-s practices at the shop floor revealed that Over-production, Waiting time, Excess inventory, and Defects are the major wastes that are impeding their progress and profitability. Design expert8 software was used to apply Taguchi robust design and response surface methodology in order to model, analyse and optimise the wastes cost in CIL. Waiting time and overproduction rank first and second in contributing to the costs of wastes in CIL. For minimal wastes cost the control factors of overproduction, waiting-time, defects and excess-inventory must be set at 0.30, 390.70, 4 and 55.70 respectively for CIL. The optimal value of cost of wastes for the months studied was 22.3679. Finally, a recommendation was made that for the company to enhance their profitability and customer satisfaction, they must adopt the Shingeo Shingo-s Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), which will immediately tackle the waste of waiting by drastically reducing their setup time.

Keywords: Excess-inventory, setup time, single minute exchange of dies, optimal value, over-production, robust design.

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Authors: Banafsheh Aghamohammadi, Masoud Honarvar, Babak Ghiassi Tarzi

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Usage of different components has been considered to improve the quality and nutritional properties of cakes in recent years. The effects of applying some sweeteners, instead of sugar, have been evaluated in cakes and many bread formulas up to now; but there has not been any research about the usage of by-products of sugar factories such as Wash and Green-A Syrups in cake formulas. In this research, the effects of substituting 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of sugar with Wash and Green-A Syrups on some dough and cake properties, such as pH, viscosity, density, volume, weight loss, moisture, water activity, texture, staling, color and sensory evaluations, are studied. The results of these experiments showed that the pH values were not significantly different among any of the all cake batters and also most of the cake samples. Although differences among viscosity and specific gravity of all treatments were both significant and insignificant, these two parameters resulted in higher volume in all samples than the blank one. The differences in weight loss, moisture content and water activity of samples were insignificant. Evaluating of texture showed that the softness of most of samples is increased and the staling is decreased. Crumb color and sensory evaluations of samples were also affected by the replacement of sucrose with Wash and Green-A Syrups. According to the results, we can increase the shelf life and improve the quality and nutritional values of cake by using these kinds of syrups in the formulation.

Keywords: Cake, green-A syrup, quality tests, sensory evaluation, wash syrup.

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Authors: Leonardo A. Ambrosio, Carlos. H. Silva Santos, Ivan E. L. Rodrigues, Ayumi K. de Campos, Leandro A. Machado

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In this work, we propose an algorithm developed under Python language for the modeling of ordinary scalar Bessel beams and their discrete superpositions and subsequent calculation of optical forces exerted over dielectric spherical particles. The mathematical formalism, based on the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory, is implemented in Python for its large number of free mathematical (as SciPy and NumPy), data visualization (Matplotlib and PyJamas) and multiprocessing libraries. We also propose an approach, provided by a synchronized Software as Service (SaaS) in cloud computing, to develop a user interface embedded on a mobile application, thus providing users with the necessary means to easily introduce desired unknowns and parameters and see the graphical outcomes of the simulations right at their mobile devices. Initially proposed as a free Android-based application, such an App enables data post-processing in cloud-based architectures and visualization of results, figures and numerical tables.

Keywords: Bessel Beams and Frozen Waves, Generalized Lorenz-Mie Theory, Numerical Methods, Optical Forces.

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Authors: Jihad S. Daba, J. P. Dubois, Yvette Antar

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With the exponential growth of cellular users, a new generation of cellular networks is needed to enhance the required peak data rates. The co-channel interference between neighboring base stations inhibits peak data rate increase. To overcome this interference, multi-cell cooperation known as coordinated multipoint transmission is proposed. Such a solution makes use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems under two different structures: Micro- and macro-diversity. In this paper, we study the capacity and bit error rate in cellular networks using MIMO technology. We analyse both micro- and macro-diversity schemes and develop a hybrid model that switches between macro- and micro-diversity in the case of hard handoff based on a cut-off range of signal-to-noise ratio values. We conclude that our hybrid switched micro-macro MIMO system outperforms classical MIMO systems at the cost of increased hardware and software complexity.

Keywords: Cooperative multipoint transmission, ergodic capacity, hard handoff, macro-diversity, micro-diversity, multiple-input-multiple-output systems, MIMO, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM.

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Authors: Eda Gök

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Peridynamics is a new modeling concept of non-local interactions for solid structures. The formulations of Peridynamic (PD) theory are based on integral equations rather than differential equations. Through, undefined equations of associated problems are avoided. PD theory might be defined as continuum version of molecular dynamics. The medium is usually modeled with mass particles bonded together. Particles interact with each other directly across finite distances through central forces named as bonds. The main assumption of this theory is that the body is composed of material points which interact with other material points within a finite distance. Although, PD theory developed for discontinuities, it gives good results for structures which have no discontinuities. In this paper, displacement control of the isotropic plate under the effect of tensile and bending loading has been investigated by means of PD theory. A MATLAB code is generated to create PD bonds and corresponding surface correction factors. Using generated MATLAB code the geometry of the specimen is generated, and the code is implemented in Finite Element Software. The results obtained from non-local continuum theory are compared with the Finite Element Analysis results and analytical solution. The results show good agreement.

Keywords: Flexural loading, non-local continuum mechanics, Peridynamic theory, solid structures, tensile loading.

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Authors: F. Kadioglu, M. Z. Polat, A. R. Gunay

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Correct measurement of a structural damping value is an important issue for the reliable design of the components exposed to vibratory and noise conditions. As far as a vibrating beam technique is concerned, the specimens under the test somehow are interacted with measuring and exciting devices, and also with boundary conditions of the test set-up. The aim of this study is to propose a vibrating beam method that offers a non-contact dynamic measurement of solid beam specimens. To evaluate the possible effects of the clamped portion of the specimens with clamped-free ends on the dynamic values (damping and the elastic modulus), the same measuring devices were used, and the results were compared to those with the free-free ends. First, the governing equations of beam specimens related to the free-free and clamped-free boundary conditions were expressed to be able to find their natural frequencies, flexural modulus and damping values. To get a clear idea of the sensitivity of the boundary conditions to the damping values at low, medium and high levels, representative materials were subjected to the tests. The results show that the specimens with low damping values are especially sensitive to the boundary conditions and that the most reliable structural damping values are obtained for the specimens with free-free ends. For the damping values at the low levels, a deviation of about 368% was obtained between the specimens with free-free and clamped-free ends, yet, for those having high inherent damping values, comparable results were obtained. It was obvious that the set-up with clamped-free boundary conditions was not able to produce correct/reliable damping values for the specimens with low inherent damping. 

Keywords: Boundary conditions, damping, dynamic values, non-contact measuring systems, vibrating beam technique.

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Authors: Priyanka Paliwal, N.P. Patidar

Abstract:

Distributed Power generation has gained a lot of attention in recent times due to constraints associated with conventional power generation and new advancements in DG technologies .The need to operate the power system economically and with optimum levels of reliability has further led to an increase in interest in Distributed Generation. However it is important to place Distributed Generator on an optimum location so that the purpose of loss minimization and voltage regulation is dully served on the feeder. This paper investigates the impact of DG units installation on electric losses, reliability and voltage profile of distribution networks. In this paper, our aim would be to find optimal distributed generation allocation for loss reduction subjected to constraint of voltage regulation in distribution network. The system is further analyzed for increased levels of Reliability. Distributed Generator offers the additional advantage of increase in reliability levels as suggested by the improvements in various reliability indices such as SAIDI, CAIDI and AENS. Comparative studies are performed and related results are addressed. An analytical technique is used in order to find the optimal location of Distributed Generator. The suggested technique is programmed under MATLAB software. The results clearly indicate that DG can reduce the electrical line loss while simultaneously improving the reliability of the system.

Keywords: AENS, CAIDI, Distributed Generation, lossreduction, Reliability, SAIDI

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Authors: Paola Lecca

Abstract:

Modeling and simulation of biochemical reactions is of great interest in the context of system biology. The central dogma of this re-emerging area states that it is system dynamics and organizing principles of complex biological phenomena that give rise to functioning and function of cells. Cell functions, such as growth, division, differentiation and apoptosis are temporal processes, that can be understood if they are treated as dynamic systems. System biology focuses on an understanding of functional activity from a system-wide perspective and, consequently, it is defined by two hey questions: (i) how do the components within a cell interact, so as to bring about its structure and functioning? (ii) How do cells interact, so as to develop and maintain higher levels of organization and functions? In recent years, wet-lab biologists embraced mathematical modeling and simulation as two essential means toward answering the above questions. The credo of dynamics system theory is that the behavior of a biological system is given by the temporal evolution of its state. Our understanding of the time behavior of a biological system can be measured by the extent to which a simulation mimics the real behavior of that system. Deviations of a simulation indicate either limitations or errors in our knowledge. The aim of this paper is to summarize and review the main conceptual frameworks in which models of biochemical networks can be developed. In particular, we review the stochastic molecular modelling approaches, by reporting the principal conceptualizations suggested by A. A. Markov, P. Langevin, A. Fokker, M. Planck, D. T. Gillespie, N. G. van Kampfen, and recently by D. Wilkinson, O. Wolkenhauer, P. S. Jöberg and by the author.

Keywords: Mathematical structure, algorithmic implementation, biochemical network models.

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Authors: Nikola Radovanovic, Petros Gkotsis, Mathieu Doussineau

Abstract:

Aeronautics is regarded as a strategically important sector for European competitiveness. It was at the heart of European entrepreneurial development since the industry was born. Currently, the EU is the world leader in the production of civil aircraft, including helicopters, aircraft engines, parts, and components. It is recording a surplus in trade relating to aerospace products, which are exported all over the globe. Also, this industry shows above-average investments in research and development, as demonstrated in the patent activity in this area. The post-pandemic recovery of the industry will partly depend on the possibilities to streamline collaboration in further research and innovation activities. Aeronautics features as one of the often-selected priority domains in smart specialisation, which represents the main regional and national approach in developing and implementing innovation policies in Europe. The basis for the selection of priority domains for smart specialisation lies in the mapping of innovative potential, with research and patent activities being among the key elements of this analysis. This research is aimed at identifying characteristics of the trends in research and patent activities in the regions and countries that base their competitiveness on the aeronautics sector. It is also aimed at determining the scope and patterns of collaborations in aeronautics between innovators from the European regions, focusing on revealing new technology areas that emerge from these collaborations. For this purpose, we developed a methodology based on desk research and the analysis of the PATSTAT patent database as well as the databases of R&I framework programmes.

Keywords: aeronautics, smart specialisation, innovation policy, regional policy.

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Authors: Herlandson C. Moura, Jorge H. Bidinotto, Eduardo M. Belo

Abstract:

The present work proposes the development of an adaptive control system which enables the suppression of Pilot Induced Oscillations (PIO) in Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) aircrafts. The proposed system consists of a Modified Model Reference Adaptive Control (M-MRAC) integrated with the Gain Scheduling technique. The PIO oscillations are detected using a Real Time Oscillation Verifier (ROVER) algorithm, which then enables the system to switch between two reference models; one in PIO condition, with low proneness to the phenomenon and another one in normal condition, with high (or medium) proneness. The reference models are defined in a closed loop condition using the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control methodology for Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. The implemented algorithms are simulated in software implementations with state space models and commercial flight simulators as the controlled elements and with pilot dynamics models. A sequence of pitch angles is considered as the reference signal, named as Synthetic Task (Syntask), which must be tracked by the pilot models. The initial outcomes show that the proposed system can detect and suppress (or mitigate) the PIO oscillations in real time before it reaches high amplitudes.

Keywords: Adaptive control, digital fly-by-wire, oscillations suppression, PIO.

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Authors: Astiaj Khoramshahi, Hossein Ahmadi Danesh Ashtiani, Ahmad Khoshgard, Hamidreza Damghani, Leila Damghani

Abstract:

Rural electrification rates are generally low in Iran and many parts of the world that lack sustainable renewable energy resources. Many homes are based on polluting solutions such as crude oil and diesel generators for lighting, heating, and charging electrical gadgets. Small-scale portable solar battery packs are accessible to the public; however, they have low capacity and are challenging to be distributed in developing countries. To design a battery-based microgrid power systems, the load profile is one of the key parameters. Additionally, the reliability of the system should be taken into account. A conventional microgrid system can be either AC or coupling DC. Both AC and DC microgrids have advantages and disadvantages depending on their application and can be either connected to the main grid or perform independently. This article proposes a tool for optimal sizing of microgrid-independent systems via respective analysis. To show such an analysis, the type of power generation, number of panels, battery capacity, microgrid size, and group of available consumers should be considered. Therefore, the optimization of different design scenarios is based on number of solar panels and super saving sources, ranges of the depth of discharges, to calculate size and estimate the overall cost. Generally, it is observed that there is an inverse relationship between the depth spectrum of discharge and the solar microgrid costs.

Keywords: Storage, super-storage, grid-independent, economic factors, microgrid.

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