Search results for: Laboratory experiments
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2161

Search results for: Laboratory experiments

1861 Damage Evolution of Underground Structural Reinforced Concrete Small-Scale Static-Loading Experiments

Authors: Ahmed Mohammed Youssef Mohammed, Mohammad Reza Okhovat, Koichi Maekawa

Abstract:

Small-scale RC models of both piles and tunnel ducts were produced as mockups of reality and loaded under soil confinement conditionsto investigate the damage evolution of structural RC interacting with soil. Experimental verifications usinga 3D nonlinear FE analysis program called COM3D, which was developed at the University of Tokyo, are introduced. This analysis has been used in practice for seismic performance assessment of underground ducts and in-ground LNG storage tanks in consideration of soil-structure interactionunder static and dynamic loading. Varying modes of failure of RCpilessubjected to different magnitudes of soil confinement were successfully reproduced in the proposed small-scale experiments and numerically simulated as well. Analytical simulation was applied to RC tunnel mockups under a wide variety of depth and soil confinement conditions, and reasonable matching was confirmed.

Keywords: Soil-Structure Interaction, RC pile, RC Tunnel

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1860 Decontamination of Cr(VI) Polluted Wastewater by use of Low Cost Industrial Wastes

Authors: Marius Gheju, Rodica Pode

Abstract:

The reduction of hexavalent chromium by scrap iron was investigated in continuous system, using long-term column experiments, for aqueous Cr(VI) solutions having low buffering capacities, over the Cr(VI) concentration range of 5 – 40 mg/L. The results showed that the initial Cr(VI) concentration significantly affects the reduction capacity of scrap iron. Maximum reduction capacity of scrap iron was observed at the beginning of the column experiments; the lower the Cr(VI) concentration, the greater the experiment duration with maximum scrap iron reduction capacity. However, due to passivation of active surface, scrap iron reduction capacity continuously decreased in time, especially after Cr(VI) breakthrough. The experimental results showed that highest reduction capacity recorded until Cr(VI) breakthrough was 22.8 mg Cr(VI)/g scrap iron, at CI = 5 mg/L, and decreased with increasing Cr(VI) concentration. In order to assure total reduction of greater Cr(VI) concentrations for a longer period of time, either the mass of scrap iron filling, or the hydraulic retention time should be increased.

Keywords: hexavalent chromium, heavy metals, scrap iron, reduction capacity, wastewater treatment.

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1859 Desktop High-Speed Aerodynamics by Shallow Water Analogy in a Tin Box for Engineering Students

Authors: Etsuo Morishita

Abstract:

In this paper, we show shallow water in a tin box as an analogous simulation tool for high-speed aerodynamics education and research. It is customary that we use a water tank to create shallow water flow. While a flow in a water tank is not necessarily uniform and is sometimes wavy, we can visualize a clear supercritical flow even when we move a body manually in stationary water in a simple shallow tin box. We can visualize a blunt shock wave around a moving circular cylinder together with a shock pattern around a diamond airfoil. Another interesting analogous experiment is a hydrodynamic shock tube with water and tea. We observe the contact surface clearly due to color difference of the two liquids those are invisible in the real gas dynamics experiment. We first revisit the similarities between high-speed aerodynamics and shallow water hydraulics. Several educational and research experiments are then introduced for engineering students. Shallow water experiments in a tin box simulate properly the high-speed flows.

Keywords: Aerodynamics compressible flow, gas dynamics, hydraulics, shock wave.

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1858 Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of a Retaining Wall Structure on a Weathered Soil through Probabilistic Methods

Authors: P. V. S. Mascarenhas, B. C. P. Albuquerque, D. J. F. Campos, L. L. Almeida, V. R. Domingues, L. C. S. M. Ozelim

Abstract:

Retaining slope structures are increasingly considered in geotechnical engineering projects due to extensive urban cities growth. These kinds of engineering constructions may present instabilities over the time and may require reinforcement or even rebuilding of the structure. In this context, statistical analysis is an important tool for decision making regarding retaining structures. This study approaches the failure probability of the construction of a retaining wall over the debris of an old and collapsed one. The new solution’s extension length will be of approximately 350 m and will be located over the margins of the Lake Paranoá, Brasilia, in the capital of Brazil. The building process must also account for the utilization of the ruins as a caisson. A series of in situ and laboratory experiments defined local soil strength parameters. A Standard Penetration Test (SPT) defined the in situ soil stratigraphy. Also, the parameters obtained were verified using soil data from a collection of masters and doctoral works from the University of Brasília, which is similar to the local soil. Initial studies show that the concrete wall is the proper solution for this case, taking into account the technical, economic and deterministic analysis. On the other hand, in order to better analyze the statistical significance of the factor-of-safety factors obtained, a Monte Carlo analysis was performed for the concrete wall and two more initial solutions. A comparison between the statistical and risk results generated for the different solutions indicated that a Gabion solution would better fit the financial and technical feasibility of the project.

Keywords: Economical analysis, probability of failure, retaining walls, statistical analysis.

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1857 Infestations of Olive Fruit Fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in Different Olive Cultivars in Çanakkale, Turkey

Authors: Hanife Genç

Abstract:

The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is an economically important and endemic pest in olive (Oleae europae) orchards in Turkey. The aim of this study was to determine olive fruit fly infestation in different olive cultivars in the laboratory. Olive fly infested fruits were collected in Çanakkale province to establish wild fly population. After having reproductive olive fly colonies, 14 olive cultivars were tested in the controlled laboratory conditions, at 23±2 °C, 65% RH and 16:8 h (light: dark) photoperiod. The olive samples from 14 different olive cultivars were collected in October 2015, in Campus of Dardanos, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Observations were carried out detecting some biological parameters such as the number of oviposition stings, active infestation, total infestation, the number of pupae and the adult emergence. The results indicated that oviposition stings were not associated with pupal yield. A few pupae were found within olive fruits which were not able to exit. Screening of the varieties suggested that less susceptible cultivar to olive fruit fly attacks was Arbequin while Gemlik-2M 2/3 showed significant susceptibility. Ovipositional preference of olive fly females and the success of larval development in different olive varieties are crucial for establishing new olive orchards to prevent high olive fruit fly infestation.

Keywords: Infestation, olive fruit fly, olive cultivars, oviposition sting.

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1856 New Method for Determining the Distribution of Birefringence and Linear Dichroism in Polymer Materials Based On Polarization-Holographic Grating

Authors: Barbara Kilosanidze, George Kakauridze, Levan Nadareishvili, Yuri Mshvenieradze

Abstract:

A new method for determining the distribution of birefringence and linear dichroism in optical polymer materials is presented. The method is based on the use of polarizationholographic diffraction grating that forms an orthogonal circular basis in the process of diffraction of probing laser beam on the grating. The intensities ratio of the orders of diffraction on this grating enables the value of birefringence and linear dichroism in the sample to be determined. The distribution of birefringence in the sample is determined by scanning with a circularly polarized beam with a wavelength far from the absorption band of the material. If the scanning is carried out by probing beam with the wavelength near to a maximum of the absorption band of the chromophore then the distribution of linear dichroism can be determined. An appropriate theoretical model of this method is presented. A laboratory setup was created for the proposed method. An optical scheme of the laboratory setup is presented. The results of measurement in polymer films with two-dimensional gradient distribution of birefringence and linear dichroism are discussed.

Keywords: Birefringence, graded oriented polymers, linear dichroism, optical polymers, optical anisotropy, polarization-holographic grating,

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1855 System Identification and Performance Improvement to a Micro Gas Turbine Applying Biogas

Authors: Chun Hsiang Yang, Cheng Chia Lee, Chiun Hsun Chen

Abstract:

In this study, the effects of biogas fuels on the performance of an annular micro gas turbine (MGT) were assessed experimentally and numerically. In the experiments, the proposed MGT system was operated successfully under each test condition; minimum composition to the fuel with the biogas was roughly 50% CH4 with 50% CO2. The power output was around 170W at 85,000 RPM as 90% CH4 with 10% CO2 was used and 70W at 65,000 RPM as 70% CH4 with 30% CO2 was used. When a critical limit of 60% CH4 was reached, the power output was extremely low. Furthermore, the theoretical Brayton cycle efficiency and electric efficiency of the MGT were calculated as 23% and 10%, respectively. Following the experiments, the measured data helped us identify the parameters of dynamic model in numerical simulation. Additionally, a numerical analysis of re-designed combustion chamber showed that the performance of MGT could be improved by raising the temperature at turbine inlet. This study presents a novel distributed power supply system that can utilize renewable biogas. The completed micro biogas power supply system is small, low cost, easy to maintain and suited to household use.

Keywords: Micro Gas Turbine, Biogas; System Identification, Distributed power supply system

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1854 Effect of Landfill Leachate on Engineering Properties of Test Soil

Authors: S. A. Nta, M. J. Ayotamuno, I. J. Udom

Abstract:

The work presents result of laboratory analysis of the effects of landfill leachate on engineering properties of test soil. The soil used for the present study was a sandy loam soil and acidic in nature. It was collected at a depth of 0.9 m. The landfill leachate used was collected from a hole dug some meters away from dumped solid waste and analyzed to identify the pollutants and its effect on engineering properties of the test soil. The test soil applied with landfill leachate was collected at 0.25 and 0.50 m radial distances at a depth of 0.15, 0.30, 0.45 and 0.60 m from the point of application of leachate after 50 days were the application of the leachate end and 80 days from the start of the experiment for laboratory analysis. Engineering properties such as particle size distribution, specific gravity, optimum moisture content, maximum dry density, unconfined compressive strength, liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit were considered. The concentration of various chemicals at 0.25 and 0.50 radial distances and 0.15, 0.30, 0.45 and 0.6 m depth from the point of application of leachate were different. This study founds the effect of landfill leachate on the engineering properties of soil. It can be concluded that, the type of soil, chemical composition of the leachate, infiltration rate, aquifers, ground water table etc., will have a major role on the area of influence zone of the pollutants in a landfill.

Keywords: Engineering properties of test soil, landfill leachate, Municipal solid waste.

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1853 Experiments and Modeling of Ion Exchange Resins for Nuclear Power Plants

Authors: Aurélie Mabrouk, Vincent Lagneau, Caroline De Dieuleveult, Martin Bachet, Hélène Schneider, Christophe Coquelet

Abstract:

Resins are used in nuclear power plants for water ultrapurification. Two approaches are considered in this work: column experiments and simulations. A software called OPTIPUR was developed, tested and used. The approach simulates the onedimensional reactive transport in porous medium with convectivedispersive transport between particles and diffusive transport within the boundary layer around the particles. The transfer limitation in the boundary layer is characterized by the mass transfer coefficient (MTC). The influences on MTC were measured experimentally. The variation of the inlet concentration does not influence the MTC; on the contrary of the Darcy velocity which influences. This is consistent with results obtained using the correlation of Dwivedi&Upadhyay. With the MTC, knowing the number of exchange site and the relative affinity, OPTIPUR can simulate the column outlet concentration versus time. Then, the duration of use of resins can be predicted in conditions of a binary exchange.

Keywords: ion exchange resin, mass transfer coefficient, modeling, OPTIPUR

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1852 Electrical Impedance Imaging Using Eddy Current

Authors: A. Ambia, T. Takemae, Y. Kosugi, M. Hongo

Abstract:

Electric impedance imaging is a method of reconstructing spatial distribution of electrical conductivity inside a subject. In this paper, a new method of electrical impedance imaging using eddy current is proposed. The eddy current distribution in the body depends on the conductivity distribution and the magnetic field pattern. By changing the position of magnetic core, a set of voltage differences is measured with a pair of electrodes. This set of voltage differences is used in image reconstruction of conductivity distribution. The least square error minimization method is used as a reconstruction algorithm. The back projection algorithm is used to get two dimensional images. Based on this principle, a measurement system is developed and some model experiments were performed with a saline filled phantom. The shape of each model in the reconstructed image is similar to the corresponding model, respectively. From the results of these experiments, it is confirmed that the proposed method is applicable in the realization of electrical imaging.

Keywords: Back projection algorithm, electrical impedancetomography, eddy current, magnetic inductance tomography.

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1851 A Study of General Attacks on Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem over Prime Field and Binary Field

Authors: Tun Myat Aung, Ni Ni Hla

Abstract:

This paper begins by describing basic properties of finite field and elliptic curve cryptography over prime field and binary field. Then we discuss the discrete logarithm problem for elliptic curves and its properties. We study the general common attacks on elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem such as the Baby Step, Giant Step method, Pollard’s rho method and Pohlig-Hellman method, and describe in detail experiments of these attacks over prime field and binary field. The paper finishes by describing expected running time of the attacks and suggesting strong elliptic curves that are not susceptible to these attacks.c

Keywords: Discrete logarithm problem, general attacks, elliptic curves, strong curves, prime field, binary field, attack experiments.

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1850 Selective Sulfidation of Copper, Zinc and Nickelin Plating Wastewater using Calcium Sulfide

Authors: K. Soya, N. Mihara, D. Kuchar, M. Kubota, H. Matsuda, T. Fukuta

Abstract:

The present work is concerned with sulfidation of Cu, Zn and Ni containing plating wastewater with CaS. The sulfidation experiments were carried out at a room temperature by adding solid CaS to simulated metal solution containing either single-metal of Ni, Zn and Cu, or Ni-Zn-Cu mixture. At first, the experiments were conducted without pH adjustment and it was found that the complete sulfidation of Zn and Ni was achieved at an equimolar ratio of CaS to a particular metal. However, in the case of Cu, a complete copper sulfidation was achieved at CaS to Cu molar ratio of about 2. In the case of the selective sulfidation, a simulated plating solution containing Cu, Zn and Ni at the concentration of 100 mg/dm3 was treated with CaS under various pH conditions. As a result, selective precipitation of metal sulfides was achieved by a sulfidation treatment at different pH values. Further, the precipitation agents of NaOH, Na2S and CaS were compared in terms of the average specific filtration resistance and compressibility coefficients of metal sulfide slurry. Consequently, based on the lowest filtration parameters of the produced metal sulfides, it was concluded that CaS was the most effective precipitation agent for separation and recovery of Cu, Zn and Ni.

Keywords: Calcium sulfide, Plating Wastewater, Filtrationcharacteristics, Heavy metals, Sulfidation.

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1849 Greywater Treatment Using Activated Biochar Produced from Agricultural Waste

Authors: Pascal Mwenge, Tumisang Seodigeng

Abstract:

The increase in urbanisation in South Africa has led to an increase in water demand and a decline in freshwater supply. Despite this, poor water usage is still a major challenge in South Africa, for instance, freshwater is still used for non-drinking applications. The freshwater shortage can be alleviated by using other sources of water for non-portable purposes such as greywater treated with activated biochar produced from agricultural waste. The success of activated biochar produced from agricultural waste to treat greywater can be both economically and environmentally beneficial. Greywater treated with activated biochar produced from agricultural waste is considered a cost-effective wastewater treatment.  This work was aimed at determining the ability of activated biochar to remove Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Ammonium (NH4-N), Nitrate (NO3-N), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from greywater. The experiments were carried out in 800 ml laboratory plastic cylinders used as filter columns. 2.5 cm layer of gravel was used at the bottom and top of the column to sandwich the activated biochar material. Activated biochar (200 g and 400 g) was loaded in a column and used as a filter medium for greywater. Samples were collected after a week and sent for analysis. Four types of greywater were treated: Kitchen, floor cleaning water, shower and laundry water. The findings showed: 95% removal of TSS, 76% of NO3-N and 63% of COD on kitchen greywater and 85% removal of NH4-N on bathroom greywater, as highest removal of efficiency of the studied pollutants. The results showed that activated biochar produced from agricultural waste reduces a certain amount of pollutants from greywater. The results also indicated the ability of activated biochar to treat greywater for onsite non-potable reuse purposes.

Keywords: Activated biochar produced from agriculture waste, ammonium (NH4-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), greywater, nitrate (NO3-N), total suspended solids (TSS).

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1848 Comparison of Two Types of Preconditioners for Stokes and Linearized Navier-Stokes Equations

Authors: Ze-Jun Hu, Ting-Zhu Huang, Ning-Bo Tan

Abstract:

To solve saddle point systems efficiently, several preconditioners have been published. There are many methods for constructing preconditioners for linear systems from saddle point problems, for instance, the relaxed dimensional factorization (RDF) preconditioner and the augmented Lagrangian (AL) preconditioner are used for both steady and unsteady Navier-Stokes equations. In this paper we compare the RDF preconditioner with the modified AL (MAL) preconditioner to show which is more effective to solve Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical experiments indicate that the MAL preconditioner is more efficient and robust, especially, for moderate viscosities and stretched grids in steady problems. For unsteady cases, the convergence rate of the RDF preconditioner is slightly faster than the MAL perconditioner in some circumstances, but the parameter of the RDF preconditioner is more sensitive than the MAL preconditioner. Moreover the convergence rate of the MAL preconditioner is still quite acceptable. Therefore we conclude that the MAL preconditioner is more competitive than the RDF preconditioner. These experiments are implemented with IFISS package. 

Keywords: Navier-Stokes equations, Krylov subspace method, preconditioner, dimensional splitting, augmented Lagrangian preconditioner.

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1847 Aerodynamic Prediction and Performance Analysis for Mars Science Laboratory Entry Vehicle

Authors: Tang Wei, Yang Xiaofeng, Gui Yewei, Du Yanxia

Abstract:

Complex lifting entry was selected for precise landing performance during the Mars Science Laboratory entry. This study aims to develop the three-dimensional numerical method for precise computation and the surface panel method for rapid engineering prediction. Detailed flow field analysis for Mars exploration mission was performed by carrying on a series of fully three-dimensional Navier-Stokes computations. The static aerodynamic performance was then discussed, including the surface pressure, lift and drag coefficient, lift-to-drag ratio with the numerical and engineering method. Computation results shown that the shock layer is thin because of lower effective specific heat ratio, and that calculated results from both methods agree well with each other, and is consistent with the reference data. Aerodynamic performance analysis shows that CG location determines trim characteristics and pitch stability, and certain radially and axially shift of the CG location can alter the capsule lifting entry performance, which is of vital significance for the aerodynamic configuration design and inner instrument layout of the Mars entry capsule.

Keywords: Mars entry capsule, static aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, hypersonic.

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1846 Optimization of Car Seat Considering Whiplash Injury

Authors: Wookyung Baik, Seungchan Lee, Choongmin Jeong, Siwoo Kim, Myungwon Suh

Abstract:

Development of motor car safety devices has reduced fatality rates in car accidents. Yet despite this increase in car safety, neck injuries resulting from rear impact collisions, particularly at low speed, remain a primary concern. In this study, FEA(Finite Element Analysis) of seat was performed to evaluate neck injuries in rear impact. And the FEA result was verified by comparison with the actual test results. The dummy used in FE model and actual test is BioRID II which is regarded suitable for rear impact collision analysis. A threshold of the BioRID II neck injury indicators was also proposed to upgrade seat performance in order to reduce whiplash injury. To optimize the seat for a low-speed rear impact collision, a method was proposed, which is multi-objective optimization idea using DOE (Design of Experiments) results.

Keywords: Whiplash injury, Dynamic assessment, Finite element method, Optimization, DOE (Design of Experiments), WSM (Weighed Sum Method).

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1845 Mining Image Features in an Automatic Two-Dimensional Shape Recognition System

Authors: R. A. Salam, M.A. Rodrigues

Abstract:

The number of features required to represent an image can be very huge. Using all available features to recognize objects can suffer from curse dimensionality. Feature selection and extraction is the pre-processing step of image mining. Main issues in analyzing images is the effective identification of features and another one is extracting them. The mining problem that has been focused is the grouping of features for different shapes. Experiments have been conducted by using shape outline as the features. Shape outline readings are put through normalization and dimensionality reduction process using an eigenvector based method to produce a new set of readings. After this pre-processing step data will be grouped through their shapes. Through statistical analysis, these readings together with peak measures a robust classification and recognition process is achieved. Tests showed that the suggested methods are able to automatically recognize objects through their shapes. Finally, experiments also demonstrate the system invariance to rotation, translation, scale, reflection and to a small degree of distortion.

Keywords: Image mining, feature selection, shape recognition, peak measures.

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1844 Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds from the Residential Combustion of Pyrenean Oak and Black Poplar

Authors: M. Evtyugina, C. A. Alves, A. I. Calvo, T. Nunes, L. Tarelho, M. Duarte, S. O. Prozil

Abstract:

Smoke from domestic wood burning has been identified as a major contributor to air pollution, motivating detailed emission measurements under controlled conditions. A series of experiments was performed to characterise the emissions from wood combustion in a fireplace and in a woodstove of two common species of trees grown in Spain: Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and black poplar (Populus nigra). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the exhaust emissions were collected in Tedlar bags, re-sampled in sorbent tubes and analysed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection. Pyrenean oak presented substantially higher emissions in the woodstove than in the fireplace, for the majority of compounds. The opposite was observed for poplar. Among the 45 identified species, benzene and benzenerelated compounds represent the most abundant group, followed by oxygenated VOCs and aliphatics. Emission factors obtained in this study are generally of the same order than those reported for residential experiments in the USA.

Keywords: Fireplace, VOC emissions, woodstove.

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1843 Soil/Phytofisionomy Relationship in Southeast of Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil

Authors: Marcelo Araujo da Nóbrega, Ariel Moura Vilas Boas

Abstract:

This study aims to characterize the physicochemical aspects of the soils of southeastern Chapada Diamantina - Bahia related to the phytophysiognomies of this area, rupestrian field, small savanna (savanna fields), small dense savanna (savanna fields), savanna (Cerrado), dry thorny forest (Caatinga), dry thorny forest/savanna, scrub (Carrasco - ecotone), forest island (seasonal semi-deciduous forest - Capão) and seasonal semi-deciduous forest. To achieve the research objective, soil samples were collected in each plant formation and analyzed in the soil laboratory of ESALQ - USP in order to identify soil fertility through the determination of pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, potential acidity, sum of bases, cation exchange capacity and base saturation. The composition of soil particles was also checked; that is, the texture, step made in the terrestrial ecosystems laboratory of the Department of Ecology of USP and in the soil laboratory of ESALQ. Another important factor also studied was to show the variations in the vegetation cover in the region as a function of soil moisture in the different existing physiographic environments. Another study carried out was a comparison between the average soil moisture data with precipitation data from three locations with very different phytophysiognomies. The soils found in this part of Bahia can be classified into 5 classes, with a predominance of oxisols. All of these classes have a great diversity of physical and chemical properties, as can be seen in photographs and in particle size and fertility analyzes. The deepest soils are located in the Central Pediplano of Chapada Diamantina where the dirty field, the clean field, the executioner and the semideciduous seasonal forest (Capão) are located, and the shallower soils were found in the rupestrian field, dry thorny forest, and savanna fields, the latter located on a hillside. As for the variations in water in the region's soil, the data indicate that there were large spatial variations in humidity in both the rainy and dry periods.

Keywords: Bahia, Chapada diamantina, phytophysiognomies, soils.

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1842 The Effects of Aggregate Sizes and Fiber Volume Fraction on Bending Toughness and Direct Tension of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Authors: Hyun-Woo Cho, Jae-Heum Moon, Jang-Hwa Lee

Abstract:

In order to supplement the brittle property of concrete, fibers are added into concrete mixtures. Compared to general concrete, various characteristics such as tensile strength, bending strength, bending toughness, and resistance to crack are superior, and even when cracks occur, improvements on toughness as well as resistance to shock are excellent due to the growth of fracture energy. Increased function of steel fiber reinforced concrete can be differentiated depending on the fiber dispersion, and sand percentage can be an important influence on the fiber dispersion. Therefore, in this research, experiments were planned on sand percentage in order to apprehend the influence of sand percentage on the bending properties and direct tension of SFRC and basic experiments were conducted on bending and direct tension in order to recognize the properties of bending properties and direct tension following the size of the aggregates and sand percentage.

Keywords: Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Bending Toughness, Direct tension.

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1841 Investigation of the Acoustic Properties of Recycled Felt Panels and Their Application in Classrooms and Multi-Purpose Halls

Authors: Ivanova B. Natalia, Djambova Т. Svetlana, Hristev S. Ivailo

Abstract:

The acoustic properties of recycled felt panels have been investigated using various methods. Experimentally, the sound insulation of the panels has been evaluated for frequencies in the range of 600 Hz to 4000 Hz, utilizing a small-sized acoustic chamber. Additionally, the sound absorption coefficient for the frequency range of 63 Hz to 4000 Hz was measured according to the EN ISO 354 standard in a laboratory reverberation room. This research was deemed necessary after conducting reverberation time measurements of a university classroom following the EN ISO 3382-2 standard. The measurements indicated values of 2.86 s at 500 Hz, 3.23 s at 1000 Hz, and 2.53 s at 2000 Hz, which significantly exceeded the requirements set by the national regulatory framework (0.6 s) for such premises. For this reason, recycled felt panels have been investigated in the laboratory, showing very good acoustic properties at high frequencies. To enhance performance in the low frequencies, the influence of the distance of the panel spacing was examined. Furthermore, the sound insulation of the panels was studied to expand the possibilities of their application, both for the acoustic treatment of educational and multifunctional halls and for sound insulation purposes (e.g., a suspended ceiling with an air gap passing from room to room). As a conclusion, a theoretical acoustic design of the classroom has been carried out with suggestions for improvements to achieve the necessary acoustic and aesthetic parameters for such rooms.

Keywords: Acoustic panels, recycled felt, sound absorption, sound insulation, classroom acoustics.

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1840 Physicochemical Properties of Microemulsions and their uses in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Authors: T. Kumar, Achinta Bera, Ajay Mandal

Abstract:

Use of microemulsion in enhanced oil recovery has become more attractive in recent years because of its high level of extraction efficiency. Experimental investigations have been made on characterization of microemulsions of oil-brinesurfactant/ cosurfactant system for its use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Sodium dodecyl sulfate, propan-1-ol and heptane were selected as surfactant, cosurfactant and oil respectively for preparation of microemulsion. The effects of salinity on the relative phase volumes and solubilization parameters have also been studied. As salinity changes from low to high value, phase transition takes place from Winsor I to Winsor II via Winsor III. Suitable microemulsion composition has been selected based on its stability and ability to reduce interfacial tension. A series of flooding experiments have been performed using the selected microemulsion. The flooding experiments were performed in a core flooding apparatus using uniform sand pack. The core holder was tightly packed with uniform sands (60-100 mesh) and saturated with brines of different salinities. It was flooded with the brine at 25 psig and the absolute permeability was calculated from the flow rate of the through sand pack. The sand pack was then flooded with the crude oil at 800 psig to irreducible water saturation. The initial water saturation was determined on the basis of mass balance. Waterflooding was conducted by placing the coreholder horizontally at a constant injection pressure at 200 pisg. After water flooding, when water-cut reached above 95%, around 0.5 pore volume (PV) of the above microemulsion slug was injected followed by chasing water. The experiments were repeated using different composition of microemulsion slug. The additional recoveries were calculated by material balance. Encouraging results with additional recovery more than 20% of original oil in place above the conventional water flooding have been observed.

Keywords: Microemulsion Flooding, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Phase Behavior, Optimal salinity

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1839 Environmental Modeling of Storm Water Channels

Authors: L. Grinis

Abstract:

Turbulent flow in complex geometries receives considerable attention due to its importance in many engineering applications. It has been the subject of interest for many researchers. Some of these interests include the design of storm water channels. The design of these channels requires testing through physical models. The main practical limitation of physical models is the so called “scale effect”, that is, the fact that in many cases only primary physical mechanisms can be correctly represented, while secondary mechanisms are often distorted. These observations form the basis of our study, which centered on problems associated with the design of storm water channels near the Dead Sea, in Israel. To help reach a final design decision we used different physical models. Our research showed good coincidence with the results of laboratory tests and theoretical calculations, and allowed us to study different effects of fluid flow in an open channel. We determined that problems of this nature cannot be solved only by means of theoretical calculation and computer simulation. This study demonstrates the use of physical models to help resolve very complicated problems of fluid flow through baffles and similar structures. The study applies these models and observations to different construction and multiphase water flows, among them, those that include sand and stone particles, a significant attempt to bring to the testing laboratory a closer association with reality.

Keywords: Baffles, open channel, physical modeling.

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1838 Effects of Aggressive Ammonium Nitrate on Durability Properties of Concrete Using Sandstone and Granite Aggregates

Authors: L. Wong, H. Asrah, M.E. Rahman, M.A. Mannan

Abstract:

The storage of chemical fertilizers in concrete building often leads to durability problems due to chemical attack. The damage of concrete is mostly caused by certain ammonium salts. The main purpose of the research is to investigate the durability properties of concrete being exposed to ammonium nitrate solution. In this investigation, experiments are conducted on concrete type G50 and G60. The leaching process is achieved by the use of 20% concentration solution of ammonium nitrate. The durability properties investigated are water absorption, volume of permeable voids, and sorptivity. Compressive strength, pH value, and degradation depth are measured after a certain period of leaching. A decrease in compressive strength and an increase in porosity are found through the conducted experiments. Apart from that, the experimental data shows that pH value decreases with increased leaching time while the degradation depth of concrete increases with leaching time. By comparing concrete type G50 and G60, concrete type G60 is more resistant to ammonium nitrate attack.

Keywords: Normal weight concrete durability, Aggressive Ammonium Nitrate Solution, G50 & G60 concretes, Chemical attack.

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1837 Classifying Bio-Chip Data using an Ant Colony System Algorithm

Authors: Minsoo Lee, Yearn Jeong Kim, Yun-mi Kim, Sujeung Cheong, Sookyung Song

Abstract:

Bio-chips are used for experiments on genes and contain various information such as genes, samples and so on. The two-dimensional bio-chips, in which one axis represent genes and the other represent samples, are widely being used these days. Instead of experimenting with real genes which cost lots of money and much time to get the results, bio-chips are being used for biological experiments. And extracting data from the bio-chips with high accuracy and finding out the patterns or useful information from such data is very important. Bio-chip analysis systems extract data from various kinds of bio-chips and mine the data in order to get useful information. One of the commonly used methods to mine the data is classification. The algorithm that is used to classify the data can be various depending on the data types or number characteristics and so on. Considering that bio-chip data is extremely large, an algorithm that imitates the ecosystem such as the ant algorithm is suitable to use as an algorithm for classification. This paper focuses on finding the classification rules from the bio-chip data using the Ant Colony algorithm which imitates the ecosystem. The developed system takes in consideration the accuracy of the discovered rules when it applies it to the bio-chip data in order to predict the classes.

Keywords: Ant Colony System, DNA chip data, Classification.

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1836 Vapor Bubble Dynamics in Upward Subcooled Flow Boiling During Void Evolution

Authors: Rouhollah Ahmadi, Tatsuya Ueno, Tomio Okawa

Abstract:

Bubble generation was observed using a high-speed camera in subcooled flow boiling at low void fraction. Constant heat flux was applied on one side of an upward rectangular channel to make heated test channel. Water as a working fluid from high subcooling to near saturation temperature was injected step by step to investigate bubble behavior during void development. Experiments were performed in two different pressures condition close to 2bar and 4bar. It was observed that in high subcooling when boiling was commenced, bubble after nucleation departed its origin and slid beside heated surface. In an observation window mean release frequency of bubble fb,mean, nucleation site Ns and mean bubble volume Vb,mean in each step of experiments were measured to investigate wall vaporization rate. It was found that in proximity of PNVG vaporization rate was increased significantly in compare with condensation rate which remained in low value.

Keywords: Subcooled flow boiling, Bubble dynamics, Void fraction, Sliding bubble.

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1835 Developing New Processes and Optimizing Performance Using Response Surface Methodology

Authors: S. Raissi

Abstract:

Response surface methodology (RSM) is a very efficient tool to provide a good practical insight into developing new process and optimizing them. This methodology could help engineers to raise a mathematical model to represent the behavior of system as a convincing function of process parameters. Through this paper the sequential nature of the RSM surveyed for process engineers and its relationship to design of experiments (DOE), regression analysis and robust design reviewed. The proposed four-step procedure in two different phases could help system analyst to resolve the parameter design problem involving responses. In order to check accuracy of the designed model, residual analysis and prediction error sum of squares (PRESS) described. It is believed that the proposed procedure in this study can resolve a complex parameter design problem with one or more responses. It can be applied to those areas where there are large data sets and a number of responses are to be optimized simultaneously. In addition, the proposed procedure is relatively simple and can be implemented easily by using ready-made standard statistical packages.

Keywords: Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Design of Experiments (DOE), Process modeling, Process setting, Process optimization.

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1834 Numerical Analysis of Concrete Crash Barriers

Authors: J. Kala, P. Hradil, V. Salajka

Abstract:

Reinforced concrete crash barriers used in road traffic must meet a number of criteria. Crash barriers are laid lengthwise, one behind another, and joined using specially designed steel locks. While developing BSV reinforced concrete crash barriers (type ŽPSV), experiments and calculations aimed to optimize the shape of a newly designed lock and the reinforcement quantity and distribution in a crash barrier were carried out. The tension carrying capacity of two parallelly joined locks was solved experimentally. Based on the performed experiments, adjustments of nonlinear properties of steel were performed in the calculations. The obtained results served as a basis to optimize the lock design using a computational model that takes into account the plastic behaviour of steel and the influence of the surrounding concrete [6]. The response to the vehicle impact has been analyzed using a specially elaborated complex computational model, comprising both the nonlinear model of the damping wall or crash barrier and the detailed model of the vehicle [7].

Keywords: Crash Barrier, impact, static analysis, concrete nonlinear model.

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1833 Implementing Delivery Drones in Logistics Business Process: Case of Pharmaceutical Industry

Authors: Nikola Vlahovic, Blazenka Knezevic, Petra Batalic

Abstract:

In this paper, we will present a research about feasibility of implementing unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as 'drones', in logistics. Research is based on available information about current incentives and experiments in application of delivery drones in commercial use. Overview of current pilot projects and literature, as well as an overview of detected challenges, will be compiled and presented. Based on these findings, we will present a conceptual model of business process that implements delivery drones in business to business logistic operations. Business scenario is based on a pharmaceutical supply chain. Simulation modeling will be used to create models for running experiments and collecting performance data. Comparative study of the presented conceptual model will be given. The work will outline the main advantages and disadvantages of implementing unmanned aerial vehicles in delivery services as a supplementary distribution channel along the supply chain.

Keywords: Business process, delivery drones, logistics, simulation modelling, unmanned aerial vehicles.

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1832 Waste to Biofuel by Torrefaction Technology

Authors: Jyh-Cherng Chen, Yu-Zen Lin, Wei-Zhi Chen

Abstract:

Torrefaction is one of waste to energy (WTE) technologies developing in Taiwan recently, which can reduce the moisture and impuritiesand increase the energy density of biowaste effectively.To understand the torrefaction characteristics of different biowaste and the influences of different torrefaction conditions, four typical biowaste were selected to carry out the torrefaction experiments. The physical and chemical properties of different biowaste prior to and after torrefaction were analyzed and compared. Experimental results show that the contents of elemental carbon and caloric value of the four biowaste were significantly increased after torrefaction. The increase of combustible and caloric value in bamboo was the greatest among the four biowaste. The caloric value of bamboo can be increased from 1526 kcal/kg to 6104 kcal/kg after 300oC and 1 hour torrefaction. The caloric valueof torrefied bamboo was almost four times as the original. The increase of elemental carbon content in wood was the greatest (from 41.03% to 75.24%), and the next was bamboo (from 47.07% to 74.63%). The major parameters which affected the caloric value of torrefied biowaste followed the sequence of biowaste kinds, torrefaction time, and torrefaction temperature. The optimal torrefaction conditions of the experiments were bamboo torrefied at 300oC for 3 hours, and the corresponding caloric value of torrefied bamboo was 5953 kcal/kg. This caloric value is similar to that of brown coal or bituminous coal.

Keywords: Torrefaction, waste to energy, calorie, biofuel.

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