Search results for: reference displacement sensor.

Authors: Chaoyi Sun, Congxin Chen, Yun Zheng, Kaizong Xia, Wei Zhang

Abstract:

Crest loads are often encountered in hydropower, highway, open-pit and other engineering rock slopes. Toppling failure is one of the most common deformation failure types of anti-dip bedding rock slopes. Analysis on such failure of anti-dip bedding rock slopes subjected to crest loads has an important influence on engineering practice. Based on the step-by-step analysis approach proposed by Goodman and Bray, a geo-mechanical model was developed, and the related analysis approach was proposed for the toppling failure of anti-dip bedding rock slopes subjected to crest loads. Using the transfer coefficient method, a formulation was derived for calculating the residual thrust of slope toe and the support force required to meet the requirements of the slope stability under crest loads, which provided a scientific reference to design and support for such slopes. Through slope examples, the influence of crest loads on the residual thrust and sliding ratio coefficient was investigated for cases of different block widths and slope cut angles. The results show that there exists a critical block width for such slope. The influence of crest loads on the residual thrust is non-negligible when the block thickness is smaller than the critical value. Moreover, the influence of crest loads on the slope stability increases with the slope cut angle and the sliding ratio coefficient of anti-dip bedding rock slopes increases with the crest loads. Finally, the theoretical solutions and numerical simulations using Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) were compared, in which the consistent results show the applicability of both approaches.

Keywords: Anti-dip slopes, crest loads, stability analysis, toppling failure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 857

Authors: Wang Qiaowei, Gao Yujiang

Abstract:

With the economic growth and rapid urbanization after the reform and openness, some of China's fast-growing cities have demolished former dwellings and built modern residential quarters. The blind, incomplete reference to western modern cities and the one-off construction lacking feedback mechanism have intensified such phenomenon, causing the citizen gradually expanded their living scale with the popularization of car traffic, and the peer-to-peer lifestyle gradually settled. The construction of large-scale commercial centers has caused obstacles to small business around the residential areas, leading to space for residents' interaction has been compressed. At the same time, the advocated Central Business District (CBD) model even leads to the unsatisfactory reconstruction of many historical blocks such as the Hangzhou Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Street. However, the popularity of historical spaces such as Wuzhen and Hongcun also indicates the collective memory and needs of the street space for Chinese residents. The evolution of Shanghai TianZiFang also proves the importance of the motivation of space participants in space construction in the context of the “top-down” construction model in China. In fact, there are frequent occurrences of “reconstruction”, which may redefine the space, in various residential areas. If these activities can be selectively controlled and encouraged, it will be beneficial to activate the public space as well as the residents’ intercourse, so that the traditional Chinese street space can be reconstructed in the context of modern cities.

Keywords: Rapid urbanization, traditional street space, space re-construction, bottom-up design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 763

Authors: Haythem A. Nakkas, Philip J. Scott, Jim S. Briggs

Abstract:

This paper reports a structured literature review of the application of Health Information Technology in developing countries, defined as the World Bank categories Low-income countries, Lower-middle-income, and Upper-middle-income countries. The aim was to identify and classify the various applications of health information technology to assess its current state in developing countries and explore potential areas of research. We offer specific analysis and application of HIT in Libya as one of the developing countries. A structured literature review was conducted using the following online databases: IEEE, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Publication dates were set for 2000-2013. For the PubMed search, publications in English, French, and Arabic were specified. Using a content analysis approach, 159 papers were analyzed and a total number of 26 factors were identified that affect the adoption of health information technology. Of the 2681 retrieved articles, 159 met the inclusion criteria which were carefully analyzed and classified. The implementation of health information technology across developing countries is varied. Whilst it was initially expected financial constraints would have severely limited health information technology implementation, some developing countries like India have nevertheless dominated the literature and taken the lead in conducting scientific research. Comparing the number of studies to the number of countries in each category, we found that Low-income countries and Lower-middle-income had more studies carried out than Upper-middle-income countries. However, whilst IT has been used in various sectors of the economy, the healthcare sector in developing countries is still failing to benefit fully from the potential advantages that IT can offer.

Keywords: Developing Countries, Developed Countries, Factors, Failure, Implementation, Libya, Success.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2184

Authors: A. Kospach, A. Mladek, M. Waltenberger, F. Schilling

Abstract:

In this work, a coupled 1D/3D simulation approach for thermal protection and optimization of a trailer refrigeration power pack unit was developed. With the developed 1D/3D simulation approach thermal critical scenarios, such as summer, high-load scenarios are investigated. The 1D thermal model was built up consisting of the thermal network, which includes different point masses and associated heat transfers, the coolant and oil circuits, as well as the fan unit. The 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to model the air flow through the power pack unit considering convective heat transfer effects. In the 1D thermal model the temperatures of the individual point masses were calculated, which served as input variables for the 3D CFD model. For the calculation of the point mass temperatures in the 1D thermal model, the convective heat transfer rates from the 3D CFD model were required as input variables. These two variables (point mass temperatures and convective heat transfer rates) were the main couple variables for the coupled 1D/3D simulation model. The coupled 1D/3D model was validated with measurements under normal operating conditions. Coupled simulations for summer high-load case were than performed and compared with a reference case under normal operation conditions. Hot temperature regions and components could be identified. Due to the detailed information about the flow field, temperatures and heat fluxes, it was possible to directly derive improvement suggestions for the cooling design of the transport refrigeration power pack unit.

Keywords: Coupled thermal simulation, thermal analysis, transport refrigeration unit, 3D computational fluid dynamics, 1D thermal modelling, thermal management systems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 121

Authors: P. Acosta-Santamaría, A. Ibatá-Soto, A. López-Vásquez

Abstract:

Organic compounds in wastewaters coming from textile and pharmaceutical industry generated multiple harmful effects on the environment and the human health. One of them is the methyl orange (MeO), an azoic dye considered to be a recalcitrant compound. The heterogeneous photocatalysis emerges as an alternative for treating this type of hazardous compounds, through the generation of OH radicals using radiation and a semiconductor oxide. According to the author’s knowledge, catalysts such as TiO₂ doped with metals show high efficiency in degrading MeO; however, this presents economic limitations on industrial scale. Black sand can be considered as a naturally doped catalyst because in its structure is common to find compounds such as titanium, iron and aluminum oxides, also elements such as zircon, cadmium, manganese, etc. This study reports the photocatalytic activity of the mineral black sand used as semiconductor in the discoloration of MeO by oxidation and reduction photocatalytic techniques. For this, magnetic composites from the mineral were prepared (RM, M1, M2 and NM) and their activity were tested through MeO discoloration while TiO₂ was used as reference. For the fractions, chemical, morphological and structural characterizations were performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis. M2 fraction showed higher MeO discoloration (93%) in oxidation conditions at pH 2 and it could be due to the presence of ferric oxides. However, the best result to reduction process was using M1 fraction (20%) at pH 2, which contains a higher titanium percentage. In the first process, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was used as electron donor agent. According to the results, black sand mineral can be used as natural semiconductor in photocatalytic process. It could be considered as a photocatalyst precursor in such processes, due to its low cost and easy access.

Keywords: Black sand mineral, methyl orange, oxidation, photocatalysis, reduction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1222

Authors: Kung-Jen Tu, Danny Vernatha

Abstract:

To assist individual departments within universities in their energy management tasks, this study explores the application of Building Information Modeling in establishing the ‘BIM based Energy Management Support System’ (BIM-EMSS). The BIM-EMSS consists of six components: (1) sensors installed for each occupant and each equipment, (2) electricity sub-meters (constantly logging lighting, HVAC, and socket electricity consumptions of each room), (3) BIM models of all rooms within individual departments’ facilities, (4) data warehouse (for storing occupancy status and logged electricity consumption data), (5) building energy management system that provides energy managers with various energy management functions, and (6) energy simulation tool (such as eQuest) that generates real time 'standard energy consumptions' data against which 'actual energy consumptions' data are compared and energy efficiency evaluated. Through the building energy management system, the energy manager is able to (a) have 3D visualization (BIM model) of each room, in which the occupancy and equipment status detected by the sensors and the electricity consumptions data logged are displayed constantly; (b) perform real time energy consumption analysis to compare the actual and standard energy consumption profiles of a space; (c) obtain energy consumption anomaly detection warnings on certain rooms so that energy management corrective actions can be further taken (data mining technique is employed to analyze the relation between space occupancy pattern with current space equipment setting to indicate an anomaly, such as when appliances turn on without occupancy); and (d) perform historical energy consumption analysis to review monthly and annually energy consumption profiles and compare them against historical energy profiles. The BIM-EMSS was further implemented in a research lab in the Department of Architecture of NTUST in Taiwan and implementation results presented to illustrate how it can be used to assist individual departments within universities in their energy management tasks.

Keywords: Sensor, electricity sub-meters, database, energy anomaly detection.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2228

Authors: Ch. Sarojnalini, Wahengbam Sarjubala Devi

Abstract:

Antioxidant properties and nutritive values of raw and cooked Pool barb, Puntius sophore (Hamilton-Buchanan) of Eastern Himalayas, India were determined. Antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of the raw, steamed, fried and curried Pool barb was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay. In DPPH scavenging assay the IC₅₀ value of the raw, steamed, fried and curried Pool barb was 1.66 micro-gram/ml, 16.09 micro-gram/ml, 8.99 micro-gram/ml, 0.59 micro-gram/ml whereas the IC₅₀ of the reference ascorbic acid was 46.66miro-gram/ml. These results showed that the fish have high antioxidant activity. Protein content was found highest in raw (20.50±0.08%) and lowest in curried (18.66±0.13%). Moisture content in raw, fried and curried was 76.35±0.09, 46.27±0.14 and 57.46±0.24 respectively. Lipid content was recorded 2.46±0.14% in raw and 21.76±0.10% in curried. Ash content varied from 12.57±0.11 to 22.53±0.07%. The total amino acids varied from 36.79±0.02 and 288.43±0.12 mg/100g. Eleven essential mineral elements were found abundant in all the samples. The samples had considerable amount of Fe ranging from 152.17 to 320.39 milli-gram/100gram, Ca 902.06 to 1356.02 milli-gram/100gram, Zn 91.07 to 138.14 milli-gram/100gram, K 193.25 to 261.56 milli-gram/100gram, Mg 225.06 to 229.10 milli-gram/100gram. Ni was not detected in the curried fish. The Mg and K contents were significantly decreased in frying method; however the Fe, Cu, Ca, Co and Mn contents were increased significantly in all the cooked samples. The Mg and Na contents were significantly increased in curried sample and the Cr content was decreased significantly (p<0.05) in all the cooked samples.

Keywords: Antioxidant property, Pool barb, minerals, amino acids, proximate composition, cooking methods.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2678

Authors: D. O. Omondi, M. K. Walingo, G. M. Mbagaya

Abstract:

Objective: This study explored the possibility of integrating Health Belief Concepts as additional predictors of intention to adopt a recommended diet-category within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Methods: The study adopted a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods approach. Qualitative data were generated on attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and perceptions on predetermined diet-categories including perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived severity and cues to action. Synthesis of qualitative data was done using constant comparative approach during phase 1. A survey tool developed from qualitative results was used to collect information on the same concepts across 237 legible Type 2 diabetics. Data analysis included use of Structural Equation Modeling in Analysis of Moment Structures to explore the possibility of including perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived severity and cues to action as additional intention predictors in a single nested model. Results: Two models-one nested based on the traditional TPB model {χ2=223.3, df = 77, p = .02, χ2/df = 2.9; TLI = .93; CFI =.91; RMSEA (90CI) = .090(.039, .146)} and the newly proposed Planned Behavior Health Belief Model (PBHB) {χ2 = 743.47, df = 301, p = .019; TLI = .90; CFI=.91; RMSEA (90CI) = .079(.031, .14)} passed the goodness of fit tests based on common fit indicators used. Conclusion: The newly developed PBHB Model ranked higher than the traditional TPB model with reference made to chi-square ratios (PBHB: χ2/df = 2.47; p=0.19 against TPB: χ2/df = 2.9, p=0.02). The integrated model can be used to motivate Type 2 diabetics towards healthy eating.

Keywords: Theory, intention, predictors, mixed methods design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1378

Authors: Andres Gonzalez, Adam Boies, Jacob Swanson, David Kittelson

Abstract:

The concern of the indoor air quality (IAQ) has been increasing due to its risk to human health. The smoking, sweeping, and stove and stovetop use are the activities that have a major contribution to the indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution also affects IAQ. The most important factors over IAQ from cooking activities are the materials, fuels, foods, and ventilation. The low-cost, mobile air quality monitoring (LCMAQM) sensors, is reachable technology to assess the IAQ. This is because of the lower cost of LCMAQM compared to conventional instruments. The IAQ was assessed, using LCMAQM, during cooking activities in a University of Minnesota graduate-housing evaluating different ventilation systems. The gases measured are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The particles measured are particle matter (PM) _2.5 micrometer (µm) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA). The measurements are being conducted during April 2019 in Como Student Community Cooperative (CSCC) that is a graduate housing at the University of Minnesota. The measurements are conducted using an electric stove for cooking. The amount and type of food and oil using for cooking are the same for each measurement. There are six measurements: two experiments measure air quality without any ventilation, two using an extractor as mechanical ventilation, and two using the extractor and windows open as mechanical and natural ventilation. 3The results of experiments show that natural ventilation is most efficient system to control particles and CO₂. The natural ventilation reduces the concentration in 79% for LDSA and 55% for PM_2.5, compared to the no ventilation. In the same way, CO₂ reduces its concentration in 35%. A well-mixed vessel model was implemented to assess particle the formation and decay rates. Removal rates by the extractor were significantly higher for LDSA, which is dominated by smaller particles, than for PM_2.5, but in both cases much lower compared to the natural ventilation. There was significant day to day variation in particle concentrations under nominally identical conditions. This may be related to the fat content of the food. Further research is needed to assess the impact of the fat in food on particle generations.

Keywords: Cooking, indoor air quality, low-cost sensor, ventilation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 968

Authors: Emre Kara, Metehan Demir, Şura Karakuzu, Kadir Koç, Ahmet F. Geylan, Halil Aykul

Abstract:

While the polymeric foam cored sandwiches have been realized for many years, recently there is a growing and outstanding interest on the use of sandwiches consisting of aluminum foam core because of their some of the distinct mechanical properties such as high bending stiffness, high load carrying and energy absorption capacities. These properties make them very useful in the transportation industry (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding industry), where the "lightweight design" philosophy and the safety of vehicles are very important aspects. Therefore, in this study, the sandwich panels with aluminum alloy foam core and various types and thicknesses of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) skins produced via Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) technique were obtained by using a commercial toughened epoxy based adhesive with two components. The aim of this contribution was the analysis of the bending response of sandwiches with various glass fiber reinforced polymer skins. The three point bending tests were performed on sandwich panels at different values of support span distance using a universal static testing machine in order to clarify the effects of the type and thickness of the GFRP skins in terms of peak load, energy efficiency and absorbed energy values. The GFRP skins were easily bonded to the aluminum alloy foam core under press machine with a very low pressure. The main results of the bending tests are: force-displacement curves, peak force values, absorbed energy, collapse mechanisms and the influence of the support span length and GFRP skins. The obtained results of the experimental investigation presented that the sandwich with the skin made of thicker S-Glass fabric failed at the highest load and absorbed the highest amount of energy compared to the other sandwich specimens. The increment of the support span distance made the decrease of the peak force and absorbed energy values for each type of panels. The common collapse mechanism of the panels was obtained as core shear failure which was not affected by the skin materials and the support span distance.

Keywords: Aluminum foam, collapse mechanisms, light-weight structures, transport application

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1179

Authors: Thomas Meier

Abstract:

One of the major challenges for sustainable smart building systems is to support device interoperability, i.e. connecting sensor or actuator devices from different vendors, and present their functionality to the external applications. Furthermore, smart building systems are supposed to connect with devices that are not available yet, i.e. devices that become available on the market sometime later. It is of vital importance that a sustainable smart building platform provides an appropriate external interface that can be leveraged by external applications and smart services. An external platform interface must be stable and independent of specific devices and should support flexible and scalable usage scenarios. A typical approach applied in smart home systems is based on a generic device interface used within the smart building platform. Device functions, even of rather complex devices, are mapped to that generic base type interface by means of specific device drivers. Our new approach, presented in this work, extends that approach by using the smart building system’s rule engine to create complex virtual devices that can represent the most diverse properties of real devices. We examined and evaluated both approaches by means of a practical case study using a smart building system that we have developed. We show that the solution we present allows the highest degree of flexibility without affecting external application interface stability and scalability. In contrast to other systems our approach supports complex virtual device configuration on application layer (e.g. by administration users) instead of device configuration at platform layer (e.g. platform operators). Based on our work, we can show that our approach supports almost arbitrarily flexible use case scenarios without affecting the external application interface stability. However, the cost of this approach is additional appropriate configuration overhead and additional resource consumption at the IoT platform level that must be considered by platform operators. We conclude that the concept of complex virtual devices presented in this work can be applied to improve the usability and device interoperability of sustainable intelligent building systems significantly.

Keywords: Complex virtual devices, device integration, device interoperability, Internet of Things, smart building platform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 718

Authors: Kanokkan Titipornpun, Tripob Bhongsuwan, Jan Gimsa

Abstract:

The Ko Samui district of Surat Thani province is located in the high amounts of equivalent uranium in the ground surface that is the source of radon. Our research in the Ko Samui district aimed at comparing the indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces. Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were carried out in 46 dwellings and 127 workplaces, using CR-39 alpha-track detectors in closed-cup. A total of 173 detectors were distributed in 7 sub-districts. The detectors were placed in bedrooms of dwellings and workrooms of workplaces. All detectors were exposed to airborne radon for 90 days. After exposure, the alpha tracks were made visible by chemical etching before they were manually counted under an optical microscope. The track densities were assumed to be correlated with the radon concentration levels. We found that the radon concentrations could be well described by a log-normal distribution. Most concentrations (37%) were found in the range between 16 and 30 Bq.m^-3. The radon concentrations in dwellings and workplaces varied from a minimum of 11 Bq.m^-3 to a maximum of 305 Bq.m^-3. The minimum (11 Bq.m^-3) and maximum (305 Bq.m^-3) values of indoor radon concentrations were found in a workplace and a dwelling, respectively. Only for four samples (3%), the indoor radon concentrations were found to be higher than the reference level recommended by the WHO (100 Bq.m^-3). The overall geometric mean in the surveyed area was 32.6±1.65 Bq.m^-3, which was lower than the worldwide average (39 Bq.m^-3). The statistic comparison of the geometric mean indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces showed that the geometric mean in dwellings (46.0±1.55 Bq.m^-3) was significantly higher than in workplaces (28.8±1.58 Bq.m^-3) at the 0.05 level. Moreover, our study found that the majority of the bedrooms in dwellings had a closed atmosphere, resulting in poorer ventilation than in most of the workplaces that had access to air flow through open doors and windows at daytime. We consider this to be the main reason for the higher geometric mean indoor radon concentration in dwellings compared to workplaces.

Keywords: CR-39 detector, indoor radon, radon in dwelling, radon in workplace.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 888

Authors: L. R. Ferreira, R. C. G. Bianchi, L. C.R. Ferreira, C. M. Galhardi, E. P. Baciuk, L. H. Oliveira

Abstract:

Inhalation hazards are associated with potentially injurious exposure and increased risk for lung diseases, within the bauxite mining industry, especially for the smelter workers. Smoking is related to decreased lung function and leads to chronic lung diseases. This study had the objective to evaluate whether smoking is related to functional and radiographic respiratory changes in retired bauxite mining workers. Methods: This was a retrospective and cross-sectional study involving the analysis of database information of 140 retired bauxite mining workers from Poços de Caldas-MG evaluated at Worker’s Health Reference Center and at the Social Security Brazilian National Institute, from July 1^st, 2015 until June 30^th, 2016. The workers were divided into three groups: non-smokers (n = 47), ex-smokers (n = 46), and smokers (n = 47). The data included: age, gender, spirometry results, and the presence or not of pulmonary pleural and/or parenchymal changes in chest radiographs. Chi-Squared test was used (p < 0,05). Results: In the smokers’ group, 83% of spirometry tests and 64% of chest x-rays were altered. In the non-smokers’ group, 19% of spirometry tests and 13% of chest x-rays were altered. In the ex-smokers’ group, 35% of spirometry tests and 30% of chest x-rays were altered. Most of the results were statistically significant. Results demonstrated a significant difference between smokers’ and non-smokers’ groups in regard to spirometric and radiographic pulmonary alterations. Ex-smokers’ and non-smokers’ group demonstrated better results when compared to the smokers’ group in relation to altered spirometry and radiograph findings. These data may contribute to planning strategies to enhance smoking cessation programs within the bauxite mining industry.

Keywords: Bauxite mining, spirometry, chest radiography, smoking.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 637

Authors: A. Yavar, S. Sarmani, K. S. Khoo

Abstract:

The analysis of trace elements in human hair provides crucial insights into an individual's nutritional status and environmental exposure. This research aimed to examine the levels of toxic and essential elements in the scalp hair of school children aged 12-17 from three villages (Anglong Romiot (AR), Svay Romiot (SR), and Kampong Kong (KK)) in Cambodia's Kandal province, a region where residents are especially vulnerable to toxic elements, notably arsenic (As), due to their dietary habits, lifestyle, and environmental conditions. The scalp hair samples were analyzed using the k0-Instrumental Neutron Activation method (k0-INAA), with a six-hour irradiation period in the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA) research reactor followed by High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector use to identify the gamma peaks of radionuclides. The analysis identified 31 elements in the human hair from the study area, including As, Au, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Dy, Eu-152m, Hg-197, Hg-203, Ho, Ir, K, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Pa, Pt-195m, Pt-197, Sb, Sc-46, Sc-47, Sm, Sn-117m, W-181, W-187, Yb-169, Yb-175, Zn, and Zn-69m. The accuracy of the method was verified through the analysis of ERM-DB001-human hair as a Certified Reference Material (CRM), with the results demonstrating consistency with the certified values. Given the prevalent arsenic pollution in the research area, the study also examined the relationship between the concentration of As and other elements using Pearson's correlation test. The outcomes offer a comprehensive resource for future investigations into toxic and essential element presence in the region. In the main body of the paper, a more extensive discussion on the implications of arsenic pollution and the correlations observed is provided to enhance understanding and inform future research directions.

Keywords: Human scalp hair, toxic and essential elements, Kandal Province, Cambodia, k0-Instrumental Neutron Activation Method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 194

Authors: C. Paramasivam, K. B. Jayanthi

Abstract:

An innovative approach to develop modified scaling free CORDIC based two parallel pipelined Multipath Delay Commutator (MDC) FFT and IFFT architectures for radix 2² FFT algorithm is presented. Multipliers and adders are the most important data paths in FFT and IFFT architectures. Multipliers occupy high area and consume more power. In order to optimize the area and power overhead, modified scaling-free CORDIC based complex multiplier is utilized in the proposed design. In general twiddle factor values are stored in RAM block. In the proposed work, modified scaling-free CORDIC based twiddle factor generator unit is used to generate the twiddle factor and efficient switching units are used. In addition to this, four point FFT operations are performed without complex multiplication which helps to reduce area and power in the last two stages of the pipelined architectures. The design proposed in this paper is based on multipath delay commutator method. The proposed design can be extended to any radix 2ⁿ based FFT/IFFT algorithm to improve the throughput. The work is synthesized using Synopsys design Compiler using TSMC 90-nm library. The proposed method proves to be better compared to the reference design in terms of area, throughput and power consumption. The comparative analysis of the proposed design with Xilinx FPGA platform is also discussed in the paper.

Keywords: Coordinate Rotational Digital Computer(CORDIC), Complex multiplier, Fast Fourier transform (FFT), Inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), Multipath delay Commutator (MDC), modified scaling free CORDIC, complex multiplier, pipelining, parallel processing, radix-2^2.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1769

Authors: Katarzyna Rzeszut, Ilona Szewczak

Abstract:

The review of selected methods of strengthening of steel structures with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) tapes and the analysis of influence of composite materials on the steel thin-walled elements are performed in this paper. The study is also focused to the problem of applying fast and effective strengthening methods of the steel structures made of thin-walled profiles. It is worth noting that the issue of strengthening the thin-walled structures is a very complex, due to inability to perform welded joints in this type of elements and the limited ability to applying mechanical fasteners. Moreover, structures made of thin-walled cross-section demonstrate a high sensitivity to imperfections and tendency to interactive buckling, which may substantially contribute to the reduction of critical load capacity. Due to the lack of commonly used and recognized modern methods of strengthening of thin-walled steel structures, authors performed the experimental studies of thin-walled sigma profiles strengthened with CFRP tapes. The paper presents the experimental stand and the preliminary results of laboratory test concerning the analysis of the effectiveness of the strengthening steel beams made of thin-walled sigma profiles with CFRP tapes. The study includes six beams made of the cold-rolled sigma profiles with height of 140 mm, wall thickness of 2.5 mm, and a length of 3 m, subjected to the uniformly distributed load. Four beams have been strengthened with carbon fiber tape Sika CarboDur S, while the other two were tested without strengthening to obtain reference results. Based on the obtained results, the evaluation of the accuracy of applied composite materials for strengthening of thin-walled structures was performed.

Keywords: CFRP tapes, sigma profiles, steel thin-walled structures, strengthening.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 821

Authors: Hashim Isam Jameel Al-Safi, P. Ranjan Sarukkalige

Abstract:

Climate change is likely to impact the Australian continent by changing the trends of rainfall, increasing temperature, and affecting the accessibility of water quantity and quality. This study investigates the possible impacts of future climate change on the hydrological system of the Harvey River catchment in Western Australia by using the conceptual modelling approach (HBV mode). Daily observations of rainfall and temperature and the long-term monthly mean potential evapotranspiration, from six weather stations, were available for the period (1961-2015). The observed streamflow data at Clifton Park gauging station for 33 years (1983-2015) in line with the observed climate variables were used to run, calibrate and validate the HBV-model prior to the simulation process. The calibrated model was then forced with the downscaled future climate signals from a multi-model ensemble of fifteen GCMs of the CMIP3 model under three emission scenarios (A2, A1B and B1) to simulate the future runoff at the catchment outlet. Two periods were selected to represent the future climate conditions including the mid (2046-2065) and late (2080-2099) of the 21^st century. A control run, with the reference climate period (1981-2000), was used to represent the current climate status. The modelling outcomes show an evident reduction in the mean annual streamflow during the mid of this century particularly for the A1B scenario relative to the control run. Toward the end of the century, all scenarios show a relatively high reduction trends in the mean annual streamflow, especially the A1B scenario, compared to the control run. The decline in the mean annual streamflow ranged between 4-15% during the mid of the current century and 9-42% by the end of the century.

Keywords: Climate change impact, Harvey catchment, HBV model, hydrological modelling, GCMs, LARS-WG, Australia.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1394

Authors: H. Shamoradifar, B. Teimuri, P. Parvaresh, S. Mohammadi

Abstract:

One of the main characteristics of Heavy Water Moderated Reactors is their high production of plutonium. This article demonstrates the possibility of reduction of plutonium and other actinides in Heavy Water Research Reactor. Among the many ways for reducing plutonium production in a heavy water reactor, in this research, changing the fuel from natural Uranium fuel to Thorium-Uranium mixed fuel was focused. The main fissile nucleus in Thorium-Uranium fuels is U-233 which would be produced after neutron absorption by Th-232, so the Thorium-Uranium fuels have some known advantages compared to the Uranium fuels. Due to this fact, four Thorium-Uranium fuels with different compositions ratios were chosen in our simulations; a) 10% UO₂-90% THO₂ (enriched= 20%); b) 15% UO₂-85% THO₂ (enriched= 10%); c) 30% UO₂-70% THO₂ (enriched= 5%); d) 35% UO₂-65% THO₂ (enriched= 3.7%). The natural Uranium Oxide (UO₂) is considered as the reference fuel, in other words all of the calculated data are compared with the related data from Uranium fuel. Neutronic parameters were calculated and used as the comparison parameters. All calculations were performed by Monte Carol (MCNPX2.6) steady state reaction rate calculation linked to a deterministic depletion calculation (CINDER90). The obtained computational data showed that Thorium-Uranium fuels with four different fissile compositions ratios can satisfy the safety and operating requirements for Heavy Water Research Reactor. Furthermore, Thorium-Uranium fuels have a very good proliferation resistance and consume less fissile material than uranium fuels at the same reactor operation time. Using mixed Thorium-Uranium fuels reduced the long-lived α emitter, high radiotoxic wastes and the radio toxicity level of spent fuel.

Keywords: Burn-up, heavy water reactor, minor actinides, Monte Carlo, proliferation resistance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 959

Authors: Huan-Chieh Chiu, Hung-Shuo Wu, Chien-Hao Wang, Yu-Cheng Yang, Ching-Ya Tseng, Joe-Air Jiang

Abstract:

Power failure resulting from tower collapse due to violent seismic events might bring enormous and inestimable losses. The Chi-Chi earthquake, for example, strongly struck Taiwan and caused huge damage to the power system on September 21, 1999. Nearly 10% of extra high voltage (EHV) transmission towers were damaged in the earthquake. Therefore, seismic hazards of EHV transmission towers should be monitored and evaluated. The ultimate goal of this study is to establish a damage level assessment model for EHV transmission towers. The data of earthquakes provided by Taiwan Central Weather Bureau serve as a reference and then lay the foundation for earthquake simulations and analyses afterward. Some parameters related to the damage level of each point of an EHV tower are simulated and analyzed by the data from monitoring stations once an earthquake occurs. Through the Fourier transform, the seismic wave is then analyzed and transformed into different wave frequencies, and the data would be shown through a response spectrum. With this method, the seismic frequency which damages EHV towers the most is clearly identified. An estimation model is built to determine the damage level caused by a future seismic event. Finally, instead of relying on visual observation done by inspectors, the proposed model can provide a power company with the damage information of a transmission tower. Using the model, manpower required by visual observation can be reduced, and the accuracy of the damage level estimation can be substantially improved. Such a model is greatly useful for health and construction monitoring because of the advantages of long-term evaluation of structural characteristics and long-term damage detection.

Keywords: Smart grid, EHV transmission tower, response spectrum, damage level monitoring.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1031

Authors: A. Soria-Salinas, M.-P. Zorzano, J. Martín-Torres, J. Sánchez-García-Casarrubios, J.-L. Pérez-Díaz, A. Vakkada-Ramachandran

Abstract:

The current state-of-the-art methods of mass gauging of Electric Propulsion (EP) propellants in microgravity conditions rely on external measurements that are taken at the surface of the tank. The tanks are operated under a constant thermal duty cycle to store the propellant within a pre-defined temperature and pressure range. We demonstrate using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations that the heat-transfer within the pressurized propellant generates temperature and density anisotropies. This challenges the standard mass gauging methods that rely on the use of time changing skin-temperatures and pressures. We observe that the domes of the tanks are prone to be overheated, and that a long time after the heaters of the thermal cycle are switched off, the system reaches a quasi-equilibrium state with a more uniform density. We propose a new gauging method, which we call the Improved PVT method, based on universal physics and thermodynamics principles, existing TRL-9 technology and telemetry data. This method only uses as inputs the temperature and pressure readings of sensors externally attached to the tank. These sensors can operate during the nominal thermal duty cycle. The improved PVT method shows little sensitivity to the pressure sensor drifts which are critical towards the end-of-life of the missions, as well as little sensitivity to systematic temperature errors. The retrieval method has been validated experimentally with CO₂ in gas and fluid state in a chamber that operates up to 82 bar within a nominal thermal cycle of 38 °C to 42 °C. The mass gauging error is shown to be lower than 1% the mass at the beginning of life, assuming an initial tank load at 100 bar. In particular, for a pressure of about 70 bar, just below the critical pressure of CO₂, the error of the mass gauging in gas phase goes down to 0.1% and for 77 bar, just above the critical point, the error of the mass gauging of the liquid phase is 0.6% of initial tank load. This gauging method improves by a factor of 8 the accuracy of the standard PVT retrievals using look-up tables with tabulated data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Keywords: Electric propulsion, mass gauging, propellant, PVT, xenon.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2143

Authors: Yusuf Bulale, Mark Prince, Geoff Tansley, Peter Brett

Abstract:

Cochlear Implantation (CI) which became a routine procedure for the last decades is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound for patients who are severely and profoundly deaf. The optimal success of this implantation depends on the electrode technology and deep insertion techniques. However, this manual insertion procedure may cause mechanical trauma which can lead to severe destruction of the delicate intracochlear structure. Accordingly, future improvement of the cochlear electrode implant insertion needs reduction of the excessive force application during the cochlear implantation which causes tissue damage and trauma. This study is examined tool-tissue interaction of large prototype scale digit embedded with distributive tactile sensor based upon cochlear electrode and large prototype scale cochlea phantom for simulating the human cochlear which could lead to small scale digit requirements. The digit, distributive tactile sensors embedded with silicon-substrate was inserted into the cochlea phantom to measure any digit/phantom interaction and position of the digit in order to minimize tissue and trauma damage during the electrode cochlear insertion. The digit have provided tactile information from the digitphantom insertion interaction such as contact status, tip penetration, obstacles, relative shape and location, contact orientation and multiple contacts. The tests demonstrated that even devices of such a relative simple design with low cost have potential to improve cochlear implant surgery and other lumen mapping applications by providing tactile sensory feedback information and thus controlling the insertion through sensing and control of the tip of the implant during the insertion. In that approach, the surgeon could minimize the tissue damage and potential damage to the delicate structures within the cochlear caused by current manual electrode insertion of the cochlear implantation. This approach also can be applied to other minimally invasive surgery applications as well as diagnosis and path navigation procedures.

Keywords: Cochlear electrode insertion, distributive tactile sensory feedback information, flexible digit, minimally invasive surgery, tool/tissue interaction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2128

Authors: A. Halim Sahelan, Mohd Halid Abu, Jamaluddin Hashim, Zulisman Maksom, Mohd Afif Md Nasir

Abstract:

This study aims to assess the students' needs for the tour planning e-guide. The study is developing on the contribution and importance of the Educational Tour Planning Guide (ETP) is a multimedia course ware as one of the effective methods in teaching and learning of environmental science among the students in primary schools of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. It is to provide the student with knowledge and experience about tourism, environmental science activities and process. E-guide to ETP also hopes to strengthen the student understanding toward the subject learn in the tourism environmental science. In order to assess the student's needs on the e-Guide to Educational Tour Planning in Environmental Science, the study has produced a similar e-Guide to ETP in the form as a course ware to be tested during the study. The study has involved several steps in order to be completed. It is such as the formulation of the problem, the review of the literature, the formulation of the study methodology, the production of the e-Guide to ETP, field survey and finally the analyses and discussion made on the data gathered during the study. The survey has involved 100 respondents among the students in standard six primary schools in Kluang Johor. Through the findings, the study indicates that the current tested product is acceptable among the students in learning environmental science as a guide to plan for the tour. The findings also show a slight difference between the respondents who are using the e-Guide to ETP, and those who are not on the basis of the e-Guide to ETP results. Due the important for the study, the researcher hopes to be having a fair discussion and excellence, recommendation for the development of the product of the current study. This report is written also important to provide a written reference for the future related study.

Keywords: Tour planning e-guide, educational tour planning guide, environmental science, multimedia course ware.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1936

Authors: V. Markogianni, D. Kalivas, G. Petropoulos, E. Dimitriou

Abstract:

Lake water quality monitoring in combination with the use of earth observation products constitutes a major component in many water quality monitoring programs. Landsat 8 images of Trichonis Lake (Greece) acquired on 30/10/2013 and 30/08/2014 were used in order to explore the possibility of Landsat 8 to estimate water quality parameters and particularly CDOM absorption at specific wavelengths, chlorophyll-a and nutrient concentrations in this oligotrophic freshwater body, characterized by inexistent quantitative, temporal and spatial variability. Water samples have been collected at 22 different stations, on late August of 2014 and the satellite image of the same date was used to statistically correlate the in-situ measurements with various combinations of Landsat 8 bands in order to develop algorithms that best describe those relationships and calculate accurately the aforementioned water quality components. Optimal models were applied to the image of late October of 2013 and the validation of the results was conducted through their comparison with the respective available in-situ data of 2013. Initial results indicated the limited ability of the Landsat 8 sensor to accurately estimate water quality components in an oligotrophic waterbody. As resulted by the validation process, ammonium concentrations were proved to be the most accurately estimated component (R = 0.7), followed by chl-a concentration (R = 0.5) and the CDOM absorption at 420 nm (R = 0.3). In-situ nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and total nitrogen concentrations of 2014 were measured as lower than the detection limit of the instrument used, hence no statistical elaboration was conducted. On the other hand, multiple linear regression among reflectance measures and total phosphorus concentrations resulted in low and statistical insignificant correlations. Our results were concurrent with other studies in international literature, indicating that estimations for eutrophic and mesotrophic lakes are more accurate than oligotrophic, owing to the lack of suspended particles that are detectable by satellite sensors. Nevertheless, although those predictive models, developed and applied to Trichonis oligotrophic lake are less accurate, may still be useful indicators of its water quality deterioration.

Keywords: Landsat 8, oligotrophic lake, remote sensing, water quality.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1495

Authors: Mohamed Elghorab, Vendra C. Madhav Rao, Jennifer X. Wen

Abstract:

Turbulence modelling is still evolving, and efforts are on to improve and develop numerical methods to simulate the real turbulence structures by using the empirical and experimental information. The monotonically integrated large eddy simulation (MILES) is an attractive approach for modelling turbulence in high Re flows, which is based on the solving of the unfiltered flow equations with no explicit sub-grid scale (SGS) model. In the current work, this approach has been used, and the action of the SGS model has been included implicitly by intrinsic nonlinear high-frequency filters built into the convection discretization schemes. The MILES solver is developed using the opensource CFD OpenFOAM libraries. The role of flux limiters schemes namely, Gamma, superBee, van-Albada and van-Leer, is studied in predicting turbulent statistical quantities for a fully developed channel flow with a friction Reynolds number, Re_T = 180, and compared the numerical predictions with the well-established Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results for studying the wall generated turbulence. It is inferred from the numerical predictions that Gamma, van-Leer and van-Albada limiters produced more diffusion and overpredicted the velocity profiles, while superBee scheme reproduced velocity profiles and turbulence statistical quantities in good agreement with the reference DNS data in the streamwise direction although it deviated slightly in the spanwise and normal to the wall directions. The simulation results are further discussed in terms of the turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses averaged in time and space to draw conclusion on the flux limiter schemes performance in OpenFOAM context.

Keywords: Flux limiters, MILES, OpenFOAM, turbulence structures, TVD schemes.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1077

Authors: Ying-Ming Su, Mei-Shu Huang

Abstract:

To mitigate the urban heat island effect has become a global issue when we are faced with the challenge of climate change. Through literature review, plant photosynthesis can reduce the carbon dioxide and mitigate the urban heat island effect to a degree. Because there are not enough open space and parks, green roof has become an important policy in Taiwan. We selected elementary school buildings in northern New Taipei City as research subjects since elementary schools are asked with priority to build green roof and important educational place to promote green roof concept. Testo175-H1 recording device was used to record the temperature and humidity differences between roof surface and interior space below roof with and without green roof in the long-term. We also use questionnaires to investigate the awareness of comfort level of green roof and sensation of teachers and students of the elementary schools. The results indicated that the temperature of roof without greening was higher than that with greening by about 2°C. But sometimes during noontime, the temperature of green roof was higher than that of non-green roof probably because of the character of the accumulation and dissipation of heat of greening. The temperature of the interior space below green roof was normally lower than that without green roof by about 1°C, showing that green roof could lower the temperature. The humidity of the green roof was higher than the one without greening also indicated that green roof retained water better. Teachers liked to combine green roof concept in the curriculum, and students wished all classes can take turns to maintain the green roof. Teachers and students whose school had integrated green roof concept in the curriculum were more willing to participate in the maintenance work of green roof. Teachers and students who may have access to and touch the green roof can be more aware of the green roof benefit. We suggest architects to increase the accessibility and visibility of green roof, such as use it as a part of the activity space. This idea can be a reference to the green roof curriculum design.

Keywords: Comfort level, elementary school, green roof, heat island effect.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1964

Authors: M. Marjaneh, M. Y. Narazah, H. Shahrul

Abstract:

Array-based gene expression analysis is a powerful tool to profile expression of genes and to generate information on therapeutic effects of new anti-cancer compounds. Anti-apoptotic effect of thymoquinone was studied in MCF7 breast cancer cell line using gene expression profiling with cDNA microarray. The purity and yield of RNA samples were determined using RNeasyPlus Mini kit. The Agilent RNA 6000 NanoLabChip kit evaluated the quantity of the RNA samples. AffinityScript RT oligo-dT promoter primer was used to generate cDNA strands. T7 RNA polymerase was used to convert cDNA to cRNA. The cRNA samples and human universal reference RNA were labelled with Cy-3-CTP and Cy-5-CTP, respectively. Feature Extraction and GeneSpring softwares analysed the data. The single experiment analysis revealed involvement of 64 pathways with up-regulated genes and 78 pathways with downregulated genes. The MAPK and p38-MAPK pathways were inhibited due to the up-regulation of PTPRR gene. The inhibition of p38-MAPK suggested up-regulation of TGF-ß pathway. Inhibition of p38-MAPK caused up-regulation of TP53 and down-regulation of Bcl2 genes indicating involvement of intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Down-regulation of CARD16 gene as an adaptor molecule regulated CASP1 and suggested necrosis-like programmed cell death and involvement of caspase in apoptosis. Furthermore, down-regulation of GPCR, EGF-EGFR signalling pathways suggested reduction of ER. Involvement of AhR pathway which control cytochrome P450 and glucuronidation pathways showed metabolism of Thymoquinone. The findings showed differential expression of several genes in apoptosis pathways with thymoquinone treatment in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells.

Keywords: CARD16, CASP10, cDNA microarray, PTPRR, Thymoquinone.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2242

Authors: Rony Reátegui, Cesar Chácara, Benjamin Castañeda, Rafael Aguilar

Abstract:

Nowadays, Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) is considered an efficient tool to represent and manage information of Cultural Heritage (CH). The basis of this tool relies on a 3D model generally obtained from a Cloud-to-BIM procedure. There are different methods to create an HBIM model that goes from manual modeling based on the point cloud to the automatic detection of shapes and the creation of objects. The selection of these methods depends on the desired Level of Development (LOD), Level of Information (LOI), Grade of Generation (GOG) as well as on the availability of commercial software. This paper presents the 3D modeling of a stone masonry chapel using Recap Pro, Revit and Dynamo interface following a three-step methodology. The first step consists of the manual modeling of simple structural (e.g., regular walls, columns, floors, wall openings, etc.) and architectural (e.g., cornices, moldings and other minor details) elements using the point cloud as reference. Then, Dynamo is used for generative modeling of complex structural elements such as vaults, infills and domes. Finally, semantic information (e.g., materials, typology, state of conservation, etc.) and pathologies are added within the HBIM model as text parameters and generic models’ families respectively. The application of this methodology allows the documentation of CH following a relatively simple to apply process that ensures adequate LOD, LOI and GOG levels. In addition, the easy implementation of the method as well as the fact of using only one BIM software with its respective plugin for the scan-to-BIM modeling process means that this methodology can be adopted by a larger number of users with intermediate knowledge and limited resources, since the BIM software used has a free student license.

Keywords: Cloud-to-BIM, cultural heritage, generative modeling, HBIM, parametric modeling, Revit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 826

Authors: P. Pimsee, C. Sablayrolles, P. de Caro, J. Guyomarch, N. Lesage, M. Montréjaud-Vignoles

Abstract:

The MIGR’HYCAR research project was initiated to provide decisional tools for risks connected to oil spill drifts in continental waters. These tools aim to serve in the decision-making process once oil spill pollution occurs and/or as reference tools to study scenarios of potential impacts of pollutions on a given site. This paper focuses on the study of the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and derivatives from oil spill in water as function of environmental parameters. Eight petroleum oils covering a representative range of commercially available products were tested. 41 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and derivates, among them 16 EPA priority pollutants were studied by dynamic tests at laboratory scale. The chemical profile of the water soluble fraction was different from the parent oil profile due to the various water solubility of oil components. Semi-volatile compounds (naphtalenes) constitute the major part of the water soluble fraction. A large variation in composition of the water soluble fraction was highlighted depending on oil type. Moreover, four environmental parameters (temperature, suspended solid quantity, salinity and oil: water surface ratio) were investigated with the Taguchi experimental design methodology. The results showed that oils are divided into three groups: the solubility of Domestic fuel and Jet A1 presented a high sensitivity to parameters studied, meaning they must be taken into account. For Gasoline (SP95-E10) and Diesel fuel, a medium sensitivity to parameters was observed. In fact, the four others oils have shown low sensitivity to parameters studied. Finally, three parameters were found to be significant towards the water soluble fraction.

Keywords: Monitoring, PAHs, SBSE, water soluble fraction, Taguchi experimental design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1940

Authors: Yousef Swesi, Asia Elmeshergi, Abdelati Elalem, Walid Alfoghy

Abstract:

This paper involves a study of the heavy metal pollution of the soils around one of cement plants in Libya called Suk-Alkhameas and surrounding urban areas caused by cement kiln dust (CKD) emitted. Samples of soil was collected from sites at four directions around the cement factory at distances 250m, 1000m, and 3000m from the factory and at (0-10)cm deep in the soil. These samples are analyzed for Fe (iii), Zn(ii), and Pb (ii) as major pollutants. These values are compared with soils at 25 Km distances from the factory as a reference or control samples. The results show that the concentration of Fe ions in the surface soil was within the acceptable range of 1000ppm. However, for Zn and Pb ions the concentrations at the east and north sides of the factory were found six fold higher than the benchmark level. This high value was attributed to the wind which blows usually from south to north and from west to east. This work includes an investigation of the adsorption isotherms and adsorption efficiency of CKD as adsorbent of heavy metal ions (Fe (iii), Zn(ii), and Pb(ii)) from the polluted soils of Suk-Alkameas city. The investigation was conducted in batch and fixed bed column flow technique. The adsorption efficiency of the studied heavy metals ions removals onto CKD depends on the pH of the solution. The optimum pH values are found to be in the ranges of 8-10 and decreases at lower pH values. The removal efficiency of these heavy metals ions ranged from 93% for Pb, 94% for Zn, and 98% for Fe ions for 10 g.l^-1 adsorbent concentration. The maximum removal efficiency of these ions was achieved at 50-60 minutes contact times at which equilibrium is reached. Fixed bed column experimental measurements are also made to evaluate CKD as an adsorbent for the heavy metals. Results obtained are with good agreement with Langmuir and Drachsal assumption of multilayer formation on the adsorbent surface.

Keywords: Adsorption, Cement Kiln dust (CKD & CAC), Isotherms, Zn and Pb ions.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2349

Authors: Emre Ipekci Cetin, Ebru Tarcan Icigen

Abstract:

Personnel selection process is considered as one of the most important and most difficult issues in human resources management. At the stage of personnel selection, the applicants are handled according to certain criteria, the candidates are dealt with, and efforts are made to select the most appropriate candidate. However, this process can be more complicated in terms of the managers who will carry out the staff selection process. Candidates should be evaluated according to different criteria such as work experience, education, foreign language level etc. It is crucial that a rational selection process is carried out by considering all the criteria in an integrated structure. In this study, the problem of choosing the front office manager of a 5 star accommodation enterprise operating in Antalya is addressed by using multi-criteria decision-making methods. In this context, SWARA (Step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis) and MOORA (Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of ratio analysis) methods, which have relatively few applications when compared with other methods, have been used together. Firstly SWARA method was used to calculate the weights of the criteria and subcriteria that were determined by the business. After the weights of the criteria were obtained, the MOORA method was used to rank the candidates using the ratio system and the reference point approach. Recruitment processes differ from sector to sector, from operation to operation. There are a number of criteria that must be taken into consideration by businesses in accordance with the structure of each sector. It is of utmost importance that all candidates are evaluated objectively in the framework of these criteria, after these criteria have been carefully selected in the selection of suitable candidates for employment. In the study, staff selection process was handled by using SWARA and MOORA methods together.

Keywords: Accommodation establishments, human resource management, MOORA, multi criteria decision making, SWARA.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1195