Search results for: Local cost computation.

Authors: M. Tohidi, J. Yang, C. Baniotopoulos

Abstract:

Progressive collapse of buildings typically occurs  when abnormal loading conditions cause local damages, which leads  to a chain reaction of failure and ultimately catastrophic collapse. The  tie force (TF) method is one of the main design approaches for  progressive collapse. As the TF method is a simplified method, further  investigations on the reliability of the method is necessary. This study  aims to develop an improved TF method to design the cross wall  structures for progressive collapse. To this end, the pullout behavior of  strands in grout was firstly analyzed; and then, by considering the tie  force-slip relationship in the friction stage together with the catenary  action mechanism, a comprehensive analytical method was developed.  The reliability of this approach is verified by the experimental results  of concrete block pullout tests and full scale floor-to-floor joints tests  undertaken by Portland Cement Association (PCA). Discrepancies in  the tie force between the analytical results and codified specifications  have suggested the deficiency of TF method, hence an improved  model based on the analytical results has been proposed to address this  concern.

 

Keywords: Cross wall, progressive collapse, ties force method, catenary, analytical.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3679

Authors: Omar Farahat Hassanein, A. Samer Ezeldin

Abstract:

The construction industry is a very dynamic field. Every day new technologies and methods are developed to fasten the process and increase its efficiency. Hence, if a project uses fewer resources it will be more efficient.

This paper examines the recycling of concrete construction and demolition (C&D) waste to reuse it as aggregates in on-site applications for construction projects in Egypt and possibly in the Middle East. The study focuses on a stationary plant setting. The machinery set-up used in the plant is analyzed technically and financially.

The findings are gathered and grouped to obtain a comprehensive cost-benefit financial model to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing and operating a concrete recycling plant. Furthermore, a detailed business plan including the time and hierarchy is proposed. 

Keywords: Construction wastes, recycling, sustainability, financial model, concrete recycling, concrete life cycle.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3321

Authors: Amir Hossein Daei Sorkhabi, Bita Khazini

Abstract:

In this paper the intelligent control of full automatic car wash using a programmable logic controller (PLC) has been investigated and designed to do all steps of carwashing. The Intelligent control of full automatic carwash has the ability to identify and profile the geometrical dimensions of the vehicle chassis. Vehicle dimension identification is an important point in this control system to adjust the washing brushes position and time duration. The study also tries to design a control set for simulating and building the automatic carwash. The main purpose of the simulation is to develop criteria for designing and building this type of carwash in actual size to overcome challenges of automation. The results of this research indicate that the proposed method in process control not only increases productivity, speed, accuracy and safety but also reduce the time and cost of washing based on dynamic model of the vehicle. A laboratory prototype based on an advanced intelligent control has been built to study the validity of the design and simulation which it’s appropriate performance confirms the validity of this study.

Keywords: Automatic Carwash, Dimension, PLC.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6813

Authors: Md. Anayet U. Patwari, Mohammad Ahsan Habib, Md. Tanzib Ehsan, Md Golam Ahnaf, Md. S. I. Chowdhury

Abstract:

Surface roughness is one of the key quality parameters of the finished product. During any machining operation, high temperatures are generated at the tool-chip interface impairing surface quality and dimensional accuracy of products. Cutting fluids are generally applied during machining to reduce temperature at the tool-chip interface. However, usages of cutting fluids give rise to problems such as waste disposal, pollution, high cost, and human health hazard. Researchers, now-a-days, are opting towards dry machining and other cooling techniques to minimize use of coolants during machining while keeping surface roughness of products within desirable limits. In this paper, a concept of using peltier cooling effects during aluminium milling operation has been presented and adopted with an aim to improve surface roughness of the machined surface. Experimental evidence shows that peltier cooling effect provides better surface roughness of the machined surface compared to dry machining.

Keywords: Aluminium, surface roughness, Peltier cooling effect, milling operation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 946

Authors: Ali Salehipour

Abstract:

Studying literature theme in the fields of tourism and sustainable development and its importance in today world and their criteria in architecture, here in this article we will also study the area where the selected site is located; beside the Aab-Ask Village located in Larijan region in Mazandaran province on the way to Haraz – one of the tourism routes of Iran. After these studies by analyzing the site, its strong potentials – such as mineral water springs (hot springs), geothermal, landscapes and ideal climate - as a tourist attraction spot in the region, and considering sustainable development criteria – with regard to limits and available facilities – a plan was offered that could change the region to provide the needs of local people and in addition change it to a place where tourism services is offered to the visitors and make it an acceptable sample of stable building in Iran. Finally the reason to make design for this complex is recovery of natural and historical values of Aab-Ask area regarding development and sustainable architecture criteria in the form of a functional sample which can be a suitable place to fulfill this goal for having lots of strong points in attracting cultural and sustainable tourist.

Keywords: Sustainable Architecture, Tourist Complex, Development, Landscape Preservation, Culture

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1475

Authors: K. C. Meher, R. K. Swain, C. K. Chanda

Abstract:

This paper presents the performance analysis of dynamic search space reduction (DSR) based gravitational search algorithm (GSA) to solve dynamic economic dispatch of thermal generating units with valve point effects. Dynamic economic dispatch basically dictates the best setting of generator units with anticipated load demand over a definite period of time. In this paper, the presented technique is considered that deals an inequality constraints treatment mechanism known as DSR strategy to accelerate the optimization process. The presented method is demonstrated through five-unit test systems to verify its effectiveness and robustness. The simulation results are compared with other existing evolutionary methods reported in the literature. It is intuited from the comparison that the fuel cost and other performances of the presented approach yield fruitful results with marginal value of simulation time.

Keywords: Dynamic economic dispatch, dynamic search space reduction strategy, gravitational search algorithm, ramp rate limits, valve-point effects.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1490

Authors: A. Abdalla, A. Kaltayev

Abstract:

The ultimate goal of this article is to develop a robust and accurate numerical method for solving hyperbolic conservation laws in one and two dimensions. A hybrid numerical method, coupling a cheap fourth order total variation diminishing (TVD) scheme [1] for smooth region and a Robust seventh-order weighted non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme [2] near discontinuities, is considered. High order multi-resolution analysis is used to detect the high gradients regions of the numerical solution in order to capture the shocks with the WENO scheme, while the smooth regions are computed with fourth order total variation diminishing (TVD). For time integration, we use the third order TVD Runge-Kutta scheme. The accuracy of the resulting hybrid high order scheme is comparable with these of WENO, but with significant decrease of the CPU cost. Numerical demonstrates that the proposed scheme is comparable to the high order WENO scheme and superior to the fourth order TVD scheme. Our scheme has the added advantage of simplicity and computational efficiency. Numerical tests are presented which show the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: WENO scheme, TVD schemes, smoothness indicators, multi-resolution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2011

Authors: S. Iijima, K. Nakayama, D. Kuchar, M. Kubota, H. Matsuda

Abstract:

Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) is one of the best solutions for removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from industrial processes. In the RTO, VOC in a raw gas are usually decomposed at 950-1300 K and the combustion heat of VOC is recovered by regenerative heat exchangers charged with ceramic honeycombs. The optimization of the treatment of VOC leads to the reduction of fuel addition to VOC decomposition, the minimization of CO2 emission and operating cost as well. In the present work, the thermal efficiency of the RTO was investigated experimentally in a pilot-scale RTO unit using toluene as a typical representative of VOC. As a result, it was recognized that the radiative heat transfer was dominant in the preheating process of a raw gas when the gas flow rate was relatively low. Further, it was found that a minimum heat exchanger volume to achieve self combustion of toluene without additional heating of the RTO by fuel combustion was dependent on both the flow rate of a raw gas and the concentration of toluene. The thermal efficiency calculated from fuel consumption and the decomposed toluene ratio, was found to have a maximum value of 0.95 at a raw gas mass flow rate of 1810 kg·h-1 and honeycombs height of 1.5m.

Keywords: Regenerative Heat Exchange, Self Combustion, Toluene, Volatile Organic Compounds.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2430

Authors: Abdul Rashid Ahmadi, Samiullah Paracha, Hamidullah Sokout, Mohammad Hanif Gharanai

Abstract:

Conventional educational practices, do not offer all the required skills for teachers to successfully survive in today’s workplace. Due to poor professional training, a big gap exists across the curriculum plan and the teacher practices in the classroom. As such, raising the quality of teaching through ICT-enabled training and professional development of teachers should be an urgent priority. ‘Mobile Learning’, in that vein, is an increasingly growing field of educational research and practice across schools and work places. In this paper, we propose a novel Mobile learning system that allows the users to learn through an intelligent mobile learning in cooperatively every-time and every-where. The system will reduce the training cost and increase consistency, efficiency, and data reliability. To establish that our system will display neither functional nor performance failure, the evaluation strategy is based on formal observation of users interacting with system followed by questionnaires and structured interviews.

Keywords: Computer Assisted Learning, Intelligent Tutoring system, Learner Centered Design, Mobile Mediated Learning and Teacher education (MMLTE).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2230

Authors: A. Pourkamali Anaraki, M. Shahabizadeh, B. Babaee

Abstract:

The plastic forming process of sheet plate takes an important place in forming metals. The traditional techniques of tool design for sheet forming operations used in industry are experimental and expensive methods. Prediction of the forming results, determination of the punching force, blank holder forces and the thickness distribution of the sheet metal will decrease the production cost and time of the material to be formed. In this paper, multi-stage deep drawing simulation of an Industrial Part has been presented with finite element method. The entire production steps with additional operations such as intermediate annealing and springback has been simulated by ABAQUS software under axisymmetric conditions. The simulation results such as sheet thickness distribution, Punch force and residual stresses have been extracted in any stages and sheet thickness distribution was compared with experimental results. It was found through comparison of results, the FE model have proven to be in close agreement with those of experiment.

Keywords: Deep drawing, Finite element method, Simulation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5068

Authors: Anu Paul, Varghese Paul

Abstract:

The focal aspire of e-Government (eGovt) is to offer citizen-centered service delivery. Accordingly, the citizenry consumes services from multiple government agencies through national portal. Thus, eGovt is an enterprise with the primary business motive of transparent, efficient and effective public services to its citizenry and its logical structure is the eGovernment Enterprise Architecture (eGEA). Since eGovt is IT oriented multifaceted service-centric system, EA doesn’t do much on an automated enterprise other than the business artifacts. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) manifestation led some governments to pertain this in their eGovts, but it limits the source of business artifacts. The concurrent use of EA and SOA in eGovt executes interoperability and integration and leads to Service-Oriented e-Government Enterprise (SOeGE). Consequently, agile eGovt system becomes a reality. As an IT perspective eGovt comprises of centralized public service artifacts with the existing application logics belong to various departments at central, state and local level. The eGovt is renovating to SOeGE by apply the Service-Orientation (SO) principles in the entire system. This paper explores IT perspective of SOeGE in India which encompasses the public service models and illustrated with a case study the Passport service of India.

Keywords: Enterprise Architecture, Service-Oriented e-Government Enterprise, Service Interface Layer, Service Model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2501

Authors: Muhammad Tariq A. Chaudhary

Abstract:

The tremendous loss of life that resulted in the aftermath of recent earthquakes in developing countries is mostly due to the collapse of non-engineered and semi-engineered building structures. Such structures are used as houses, schools, primary healthcare centers and government offices. These building are classified structurally into two categories viz. non-engineered and semi-engineered. Non-engineered structures include: adobe, unreinforced masonry (URM) and wood buildings. Semi-engineered buildings are mostly low-rise (up to 3 story) light concrete frame structures or masonry bearing walls with reinforced concrete slab. This paper presents an overview of the typical damage observed in non-engineered structures and their most likely causes in the past earthquakes with specific emphasis on the performance of such structures in the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. It is demonstrated that seismic performance of these structures can be improved from life-safety viewpoint by adopting simple low-cost modifications to the existing construction practices. Incorporation of some of these practices in the reconstruction efforts after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake are examined in the last section for mitigating seismic risk hazard.

Keywords: Kashmir earthquake, non-engineered buildings, seismic hazard, structural details, structural strengthening.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2934

Authors: Z. Khan, O. Moselhi, T. Zayed

Abstract:

Development of levels of service in municipal context is a flexible vehicle to assist in performing quality-cost trade-off analysis for municipal services. This trade-off depends on the willingness of a community to pay as well as on the condition of the assets. Community perspective of the performance of an asset from service point of view may be quite different from the municipality perspective of the performance of the same asset from condition point of view. This paper presents a three phased level of service based methodology for water mains that consists of :1)development of an Analytical Hierarchy model of level of service 2) development of Fuzzy Weighted Sum model of water main condition index and 3) deriving a Fuzzy logic based function that maps level of service to asset condition index. This mapping will assist asset managers in quantifying condition improvement requirement to meet service goals and to make more informed decisions on interventions and relayed priorities.

Keywords: Asset Management, Level of Service, Condition Index, Analytical Hierarchy, Fuzzy Logic.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1944

Authors: Diego Giuseppe Romano, Gianvito Apuleo, Jiri Duda

Abstract:

Mobility is one of the most important societal needs for amusement, business activities and health. Thus, transport needs are continuously increasing, with the consequent traffic congestion and pollution increase. Aeronautic effort aims at smarter infrastructures use and in introducing greener concepts. A possible solution to address the abovementioned topics is the development of Small Air Transport (SAT) system, able to guarantee operability from today underused airfields in an affordable and green way, helping meanwhile travel time reduction, too. In the framework of Horizon2020, EU (European Union) has funded the Clean Sky 2 SAT TA (Transverse Activity) initiative to address market innovations able to reduce SAT operational cost and environmental impact, ensuring good levels of operational safety. Nowadays, most of the key technologies to improve passenger comfort and to reduce community noise, DOC (Direct Operating Costs) and pilot workload for SAT have reached an intermediate level of maturity TRL (Technology Readiness Level) 3/4. Thus, the key technologies must be developed, validated and integrated on dedicated ground and flying aircraft demonstrators to reach higher TRL levels (5/6). Particularly, SAT TA focuses on the integration at aircraft level of the following technologies [1]: 1)    Low-cost composite wing box and engine nacelle using OoA (Out of Autoclave) technology, LRI (Liquid Resin Infusion) and advance automation process. 2) Innovative high lift devices, allowing aircraft operations from short airfields (< 800 m). 3) Affordable small aircraft manufacturing of metallic fuselage using FSW (Friction Stir Welding) and LMD (Laser Metal Deposition). 4)       Affordable fly-by-wire architecture for small aircraft (CS23 certification rules). 5) More electric systems replacing pneumatic and hydraulic systems (high voltage EPGDS -Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System-, hybrid de-ice system, landing gear and brakes). 6) Advanced avionics for small aircraft, reducing pilot workload. 7) Advanced cabin comfort with new interiors materials and more comfortable seats. 8) New generation of turboprop engine with reduced fuel consumption, emissions, noise and maintenance costs for 19 seats aircraft. (9) Alternative diesel engine for 9 seats commuter aircraft. To address abovementioned market innovations, two different platforms have been designed: Reference and Green aircraft. Reference aircraft is a virtual aircraft designed considering 2014 technologies with an existing engine assuring requested take-off power; Green aircraft is designed integrating the technologies addressed in Clean Sky 2. Preliminary integration of the proposed technologies shows an encouraging reduction of emissions and operational costs of small: about 20% CO₂ reduction, about 24% NO_x reduction, about 10 db (A) noise reduction at measurement point and about 25% DOC reduction. Detailed description of the performed studies, analyses and validations for each technology as well as the expected benefit at aircraft level are reported in the present paper.

Keywords: Affordable, European, green, mobility, technologies development, travel time reduction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 527

Authors: Mongezi Nene, Emma Ayesu-Koranteng, Christopher Amoah, Ayo Adeniran

Abstract:

Although its use has been criticised over the years as being unencouraging, the green building concept is quickly overtaking other concepts, particularly in the construction of commercial properties. The goal of the study is to identify the variables influencing the use of green building practices when developing residential structures. A qualitative methodology, using interviews with semi-structured open-ended questions to 35 property practitioners operating residential apartments in Bloemfontein, South Africa, was used to collect primary data which were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that while respondents have a good understanding of green building principles, they are not being used in the construction of residential buildings in South Africa due to issues with green building approval procedures, the potential for tenant rent increases, the cost of materials, technical issues, contractual issues, and a lack of awareness, among others. This paper recommends among others an urgent need to implement measures by stakeholders towards enhancing the adoption of green building concepts in the construction of residential buildings as well as incentivising its construction through lowered property rates.

Keywords: Green building, residential apartments, construction, South Africa.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Hemani Kaushal, V.K.Jain, Subrat Kar

Abstract:

The performance of ground to deep space optical communication systems is degraded by distortion of the beam as it propagates through the turbulent atmosphere. Turbulence causes fluctuations in the intensity of the received signal which ultimately affects the acquisition time required to acquire and locate the spaceborne target using narrow laser beam. In this paper, performance of free-space optical (FSO) communication system in atmospheric turbulence has been analyzed in terms of acquisition time for coherent and non-coherent modulation schemes. Numerical results presented in graphical and tabular forms show that the acquisition time increases with the increase in turbulence level. This is true for both schemes. The BPSK has lowest acquisition time among all schemes. In non-coherent schemes, M-PPM performs better than the other schemes. With the increase in M, acquisition time becomes lower, but at the cost of increase in system complexity.

Keywords: Atmospheric Turbulence, Acquisition Time, BinaryPhase Shift Keying (BPSK), Free-Space Optical (FSO)Communication System, M-ary Pulse Position Modulation (M-PPM), Coherent/Non-coherent Modulation Schemes.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1775

Authors: E. Alexandrou, A. Chronopoulou

Abstract:

This paper thoroughly investigates residential buildings of the period 1920-1960 in Athens and evaluates their bioclimatic response and energy performance. A methodology adapted to the specific context of the city is proposed and applied in order to assess and extract results related to the climate analysis of the city of Athens, the general/architectural design and construction characteristics of the apartment buildings constructed during the period 1920-1960, the bioclimatic strategies applied on them, and the achieved thermal comfort based on questionnaires answered by their users. The results of the current study indicate that the residential architecture of that period in the city of Athens is adapted to an extent to the local climate with various climate responsive strategies. As an outcome of the analysis, the most frequently applied strategies depending on the period of construction are presented. For this reason, the examined period is divided into 3 sub – periods: 1st period, 1920s-1930s (late neoclassicism & eclecticism), 2nd period, 1930s-1940s (modernism), 3rd period, 1940s-1960s (postwar modernism).

Keywords: Athens, climatic design strategies, residential buildings, middle war and post war architecture, thermal comfort.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Bhim Singh

Abstract:

Due to increased pressure from global competitors, manufacturing organizations are switching over to lean philosophies from traditional mass production. Lean manufacturing is a manufacturing philosophy which focuses on elimination of various types of wastes and creates maximum value for the end customers. Lean thinking aims to produce high quality products and services at the lowest possible cost with maximum customer responsiveness. Indian Industry is facing lot of problems in this transformation from traditional mass production to lean production. Through this paper an attempt has been made to identify various lean implementation hurdles in Indian industries with the help of a structured survey. Identified hurdles are grouped with the help of factor analysis and rated by calculating descriptive statistics. To show the effect of lean implementation hurdles a hypothesis “Organizations having higher level of lean implementation hurdles will have poor (negative) performance” has been postulated and tested using correlation matrix between performance parameters of the organizations and identified hurdles. The findings of the paper will be helpful to prepare road map to identify and eradicate the lean implementation hurdles.

Keywords: Factor analysis, global competition, lean implementation and lean hurdles.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2002

Authors: J. I. Aguwa, S. Sadiku, M. Abdullahi

Abstract:

This study examined the structural reliability of the Nigerian grown Opepe timber as bridge beam material. The strength of a particular specie of timber depends so much on some factors such as soil and environment in which it is grown. The steps involved are collection of the Opepe timber samples, seasoning/preparation of the test specimens, determination of the strength properties/statistical analysis, development of a computer programme in FORTRAN language and finally structural reliability analysis using FORM 5 software. The result revealed that the Nigerian grown Opepe is a reliable and durable structural bridge beam material for span of 5000mm, depth of 400mm, breadth of 250mm and end bearing length of 150mm. The probabilities of failure in bending parallel to the grain, compression perpendicular to the grain, shear parallel to the grain and deflection are 1.61 x 10^-7, 1.43 x 10^-8, 1.93 x 10^-4 and 1.51 x 10^-15 respectively. The paper recommends establishment of Opepe plantation in various Local Government Areas in Nigeria for structural applications such as in bridges, railway sleepers, generation of income to the nation as well as creating employment for the numerous unemployed youths.

Keywords: Bending and deflection, Bridge beam, Compression, Nigerian Opepe, Shear, Structural reliability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1250

Authors: Zian Cheak Tiu, Harith Ahmad, Sulaiman Wadi Harun

Abstract:

A simple multi-wavelength passively Q-switched Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is demonstrated using low cost multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) based saturable absorber (SA), which is prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a host polymer. The multi-wavelength operation is achieved based on nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) effect by incorporating 50 m long photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in the ring cavity. The EDFL produces a stable multi-wavelength comb spectrum for more than 14 lines with a fixed spacing of 0.48 nm. The laser also demonstrates a stable pulse train with the repetition rate increases from 14.9 kHz to 25.4 kHz as the pump power increases from the threshold power of 69.0 mW to the maximum pump power of 133.8 mW. The minimum pulse width of 4.4 μs was obtained at the maximum pump power of 133.8 mW while the highest energy of 0.74 nJ was obtained at pump power of 69.0 mW.

Keywords: Multi-wavelength, Q-switched, multi-wall carbon nanotube, photonic crystal fiber.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2484

Authors: Won Song, Bo-Ra Koo, Seok Eui Choi, Yong-Taeg Oh, Dong-Chan Shin

Abstract:

Optical properties of sputter-deposited ZnS thin films were investigated as potential replacements for CBD(chemical bath deposition) CdS buffer layers in the application of CIGS solar cells. ZnS thin films were fabricated on glass substrates at RT, 150oC, 200oC, and 250oC with 50 sccm Ar gas using an RF magnetron sputtering system. The crystal structure of the thin film is found to be zinc blende (cubic) structure. Lattice parameter of ZnS is slightly larger than CdS on the plane and thus better matched with that of CIGS. Within a 400-800 nm wavelength region, the average transmittance was larger than 75%. When the deposition temperature of the thin film was increased, the blue shift phenomenon was enhanced. Band gap energy of the ZnS thin film tended to increase as the deposition temperature increased. ZnS thin film is a promising material system for the CIGS buffer layer, in terms of ease of processing, low cost, environmental friendliness, higher transparency, and electrical properties

Keywords: ZnS thin film, Buffer layer, CIGS, Solar cell.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2394

Authors: S. Dan'azumi, S. Shamsudin, A. A. Rahman

Abstract:

Rainfall data at fine resolution and knowledge of its characteristics plays a major role in the efficient design and operation of agricultural, telecommunication, runoff and erosion control as well as water quality control systems. The paper is aimed to study the statistical distribution of hourly rainfall depth for 12 representative stations spread across Peninsular Malaysia. Hourly rainfall data of 10 to 22 years period were collected and its statistical characteristics were estimated. Three probability distributions namely, Generalized Pareto, Exponential and Gamma distributions were proposed to model the hourly rainfall depth, and three goodness-of-fit tests, namely, Kolmogorov-Sminov, Anderson-Darling and Chi-Squared tests were used to evaluate their fitness. Result indicates that the east cost of the Peninsular receives higher depth of rainfall as compared to west coast. However, the rainfall frequency is found to be irregular. Also result from the goodness-of-fit tests show that all the three models fit the rainfall data at 1% level of significance. However, Generalized Pareto fits better than Exponential and Gamma distributions and is therefore recommended as the best fit.

Keywords: Goodness-of-fit test, Hourly rainfall, Malaysia, Probability distribution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2914

Authors: Pallabi Kalita, Hui Tag, H. N. Sarma, A. K. Das.

Abstract:

Wild edible food plants contain a number of organic phytochemical that have been linked to the promotion of good health. These plants used by the local people of Arunachal Pradesh (Northeast India) are found to have high nutritional potential to maintain general balance diet. A study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional potential of five commonly found, unexplored wild food plants namely, Piper pedicellatum C. DC (leaves), Gonostegia hirta (Blume ex Hassk.) Miq. (leaves), Mussaenda roxburghii Hook.f (leaves), Solanum spirale Roxb. (leaves and fruits) and Cyathea spinulosa Wall. ex Hook. (pith portion and tender rachis) from East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh Northeast (India) for ascertaining their suitability for utilization as supplementary food. Results of study revealed that P. pedicellatum, C. spinulosa, and S. spirale (leaves) are the most promising species which have high nutritional content out of the five wild food plants investigated which is required for the normal growth and development of human.

Keywords: Wild edible plants, Gross energy, Gonostegia hirta, Cyathea spinulosa,

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3258

Authors: Yang-Wai Chow

Abstract:

This research investigates the design of a low-cost 3D spatial interaction approach using the Wii Remote for immersive Head-Mounted Display (HMD) virtual reality. Current virtual reality applications that incorporate the Wii Remote are either desktop virtual reality applications or systems that use large screen displays. However, the requirements for an HMD virtual reality system differ from such systems. This is mainly because in HMD virtual reality, the display screen does not remain at a fixed location. The user views the virtual environment through display screens that are in front of the user-s eyes and when the user moves his/her head, these screens move as well. This means that the display has to be updated in realtime based on where the user is currently looking. Normal usage of the Wii Remote requires the controller to be pointed in a certain direction, typically towards the display. This is too restrictive for HMD virtual reality systems that ideally require the user to be able to turn around in the virtual environment. Previous work proposed a design to achieve this, however it suffered from a number of drawbacks. The aim of this study is to look into a suitable method of using the Wii Remote for 3D interaction in a space around the user for HMD virtual reality. This paper presents an overview of issues that had to be considered, the system design as well as experimental results.

Keywords: 3D interaction, head-mounted display, virtual reality, Wii remote

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1590

Authors: Adil K. Tamimi, Tarig Ali, Rawan Anoohi, Ahmed Rajput, Kaltham Alkamali

Abstract:

3D concrete printing is one of the most innovative and modern techniques in the field of construction that achieved several milestones in that field for the following advantages: saving project’s time, ability to execute complicated shapes, reduce waste and low cost. However, the concept of 3D printing in UAE is relatively new where construction teams, including clients, consultants, and contractors, do not have the required knowledge and experience in the field. This is the most significant obstacle for the construction parties, which make them refrained from using 3D concrete printing compared to conventional concreting methods. This study shows the historical development of the 3D concrete printing, its advantages, and the challenges facing this innovation. Concrete mixes and materials have been proposed and evaluated to select the best combination for successful 3D concrete printing. The main characteristics of the 3D concrete printing in the fresh and hardened states are considered, such as slump test, flow table, compressive strength, tensile, and flexural strengths. There is need to assess the structural stability of the 3D concrete by testing the bond between interlayers of the concrete.  

Keywords: 3D printing, concrete mixes, workability, compressive strength, slump test, tensile strength, flexural strength.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 665

Authors: Sunitha Abburu, Golla Suresh Babu

Abstract:

The issues that limit application interoperability is lack of common vocabulary, common structure, application domain knowledge ontology based semantic technology provides solutions that resolves application interoperability issues. Ontology is broadly used in diverse applications such as artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, biomedical, information integration, etc. Ontology can be used to interpret the knowledge of various domains. To reuse, enrich the available ontologies and reduce the duplication of ontologies of the same domain, there is a strong need to integrate the ontologies of the particular domain. The integrated ontology gives complete knowledge about the domain by sharing this comprehensive domain ontology among the groups. As per the literature survey there is no well-defined methodology to represent knowledge of a whole domain. The current research addresses a systematic methodology for knowledge representation using multiple sub-ontologies at different levels that addresses application interoperability and enables semantic information retrieval. The current method represents complete knowledge of a domain by importing concepts from multiple sub ontologies of same and relative domains that reduces ontology duplication, rework, implementation cost through ontology reusability.

Keywords: Knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, knowledge transfer, ontologies, semantics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 963

Authors: Oluwaseyi O. Taiwo, Adeolu A. Adediran, Abayomi A. Akinwande, Frank C. Okoyeh

Abstract:

The use of fuel fired crucible furnace is essential in the foundries of developing countries owing to the luxury of electricity. Fuel fired crucible furnace are commonly used in recycling, casting, research and training activities in tertiary institutions, therefore, several attempts are being made to improve the performance and service life of fuel fired crucible. The current study reviews the sequential stages involved in the designs and fabrication of fuel fired crucible furnace which include; design, material selection, modelling and simulation as well as performance evaluation. The study shows that selecting appropriate materials for the different units in the fabrication process is important to the efficiency and service life of fuel fired crucible furnaces. Also, efficiency and performance of fuel fired furnaces are independent of cost of fabrication and their capacity. The importance of modelling and simulation tools in the fabrication process are identified while their non-frequent usage in several works is observed. The need to widen performance evaluations in further studies beyond efficiency determination to give a more detailed assessment of fuel fired crucible furnaces is also observed.

Keywords: Crucible furnace, furnace design, fabrication, fuel.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 462

Authors: V. Fuis, P. Janicek, T. Navrat

Abstract:

The global solved problem is the calculation of the parameters of ceramic material from a set of destruction tests of ceramic heads of total hip joint endoprosthesis. The standard way of calculation of the material parameters consists in carrying out a set of 3 or 4 point bending tests of specimens cut out from parts of the ceramic material to be analysed. In case of ceramic heads, it is not possible to cut out specimens of required dimensions because the heads are too small (if the cut out specimens were smaller than the normalised ones, the material parameters derived from them would exhibit higher strength values than those which the given ceramic material really has). A special destruction device for heads destruction was designed and the solved local problem is the modification of this destructive device based on the analysis of tensile stress in the head for two different values of the depth of the conical hole in the head. The goal of device modification is a shift of the location with extreme value of σ1max from the region of head’s hole bottom to its opening. This modification will increase the credibility of the obtained material properties of bioceramics, which will be determined from a set of head destructions using the Weibull weakest link theory.

Keywords: Ceramic heads, depth of the conical hole, destruction test, material parameters, principal stress, total hip joint endoprosthesis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1839

Authors: Abdulrahman K. Alshegaifi, Chun-Hsi Huang

Abstract:

Treating data based on its location in memory has received much attention in recent years due to its different properties, which offer important aspects for cache utilization. Stack data and non-stack data may interfere with each other’s locality in the data cache. One of the important aspects of stack data is that it has high spatial and temporal locality. In this work, we simulate non-unified cache design that split data cache into stack and non-stack caches in order to maintain stack data and non-stack data separate in different caches. We observe that the overall hit rate of non-unified cache design is sensitive to the size of non-stack cache. Then, we investigate the appropriate size and associativity for stack cache to achieve high hit ratio especially when over 99% of accesses are directed to stack cache. The result shows that on average more than 99% of stack cache accuracy is achieved by using 2KB of capacity and 1-way associativity. Further, we analyze the improvement in hit rate when adding small, fixed, size of stack cache at level1 to unified cache architecture. The result shows that the overall hit rate of unified cache design with adding 1KB of stack cache is improved by approximately, on average, 3.9% for Rijndael benchmark. The stack cache is simulated by using SimpleScalar toolset.

Keywords: Hit rate, Locality of program, Stack cache, and Stack data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1503

Authors: Omar B. Yaakob, Yasser M. Ahmed, Ahmad F. Said

Abstract:

There is an essential need for obtaining the mathematical representation of fish body undulations, which can be used for designing and building new innovative types of marine propulsion systems with less environmental impact. This research work presents a case study to derive the mathematical model for fish body movement. Observation and capturing image methods were used in this study in order to obtain a mathematical representation of Clariasbatrachus fish (catfish). An experiment was conducted by using an aquarium with dimension 0.609 m x 0.304 m x 0.304 m, and a 0.5 m ruler was attached at the base of the aquarium. Progressive Scan Monochrome Camera was positioned at 1.8 m above the base of the aquarium to provide swimming sequences. Seven points were marked on the fish body using white marker to indicate the fish movement and measuring the amplitude of undulation. Images from video recordings (20 frames/s) were analyzed frame by frame using local coordinate system, with time interval 0.05 s. The amplitudes of undulations were obtained for image analysis from each point that has been marked on fish body. A graph of amplitude of undulations versus time was plotted by using computer to derive a mathematical fit. The function for the graph is polynomial with nine orders.

Keywords: Fish locomotion, body undulation, steady and unsteady swimming modes.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2196