Search results for: sensitivity improvement

Authors: Kai Jin, Hyder Abdul-Razzak, Yousri Elkassabgi, Hong Zhou, Aaron Herrera

Abstract:

Six Sigma is a well known discipline that reduces variation using complex statistical tools and the DMAIC model. By integrating Goldratts-s Theory of Constraints, the Five Focusing Points and System Thinking tools, Six Sigma projects can be selected where it can cause more impact in the company. This research defines an integrated model of six sigma and constraint management that shows a step-by-step guide using the original methodologies from each discipline and is evaluated in a case study from the production line of a Automobile engine monoblock V8, resulting in an increase in the line capacity from 18.7 pieces per hour to 22.4 pieces per hour, a reduction of 60% of Work-In-Process and a variation decrease of 0.73%.

Keywords: Constraint Management, Manufacturing Process Improvement, Six Sigma, System Thinking.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1703

Authors: Kawinphat Lertpongmanee

Abstract:

The development of One Tambon One Product (OTOP) became the policy of the government in 1997 after the former Prime Minister had been in power. The strategy of sections is currently set for the policy. OTOP has become the part of the way of community lives around the country. OTOP may be developed under changing into ASEAN economic community in 2015 because of the flow of capitals, productions, and many workers in the region. All sectors are improved for the change. The purposes of study were to study the strength and weakness of the OTOP-creating process via its policy and to lead to the strategy to be able to apply before changing. The methodology is qualitative to study its policy including document and to interview experienced persons. The findings showed that the effort of improvement of all sectors obviously involves with OTOP development. Particularly, the strategic administration of OTOP is in every level of the state, central sector, region, and community.

Keywords: ASEAN Economic Community – AEC, One Tambon One Product – OTOP.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2546

Authors: H. L. Chan, T. M. Choi, C. L. Hui, S. F. Ng

Abstract:

In this study, we explore the use of information for inventory decision in the healthcare organization (HO). We consider the scenario when the HO can make use of the information collected from some correlated products to enhance its inventory planning. Motivated by our real world observations that HOs adopt RFID and bar-coding system for information collection purpose, we examine the effectiveness of these systems for inventory planning with Bayesian information updating. We derive the optimal ordering decision and study the issue of Pareto improvement in the supply chain. Our analysis demonstrates that RFID system will outperform the bar-coding system when the RFID system installation cost and the tag cost reduce to a level that is comparable with that of the barcoding system. We also show how an appropriately set wholesale pricing contract can achieve Pareto improvement in the HO supply chain.

Keywords: Efficient consumer response program, healthcare, inventory management, RFID system, bar-coding system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1867

Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Hamidreza Rahmani

Abstract:

Laboratory consolidated undrained triaxial (CU) tests were carried out to study the strength behavior of silty soil reinforced with randomly plastic waste bottle chips. Specimens mixed with plastic waste chips in triaxial compression tests with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25% by dry weight of soil and tree different length including 4, 8, and 12 mm. In all of the samples, the width and thickness of plastic chips were kept constant. According to the results, the amount and size of plastic waste bottle chips played an important role in the increasing of the strength parameters of reinforced silt compared to the pure soil. Because of good results, the suggested method of soil improvement can be used in many engineering problems such as increasing the bearing capacity and settlement reduction in foundations.

Keywords: Soil improvement, waste bottle chips, reinforcement, silt, Triaxial test.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1919

Authors: Amel Grissa-Touzi, Habib Ounally, Aissa Boulila

Abstract:

The utility of expert system generators has been widely recognized in many applications. Several generators based on concept of the paradigm object, have been recently proposed. The generator of oriented object expert system (GSEOO) offers languages that are often complex and difficult to use. We propose in this paper an extension of the expert system generator, JESS, which permits a friendly use of this expert system. The new tool, called VISUAL JESS, bring two main improvements to JESS. The first improvement concerns the easiness of its utilization while giving back transparency to the syntax and semantic aspects of the JESS programming language. The second improvement permits an easy access and modification of the JESS knowledge basis. The implementation of VISUAL JESS is made so that it is extensible and portable.

Keywords: Generator of Systems Expert, Programming oriented object classifies, object, inheritance, polymorphism.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1554

Authors: Oksana G. Cherednichenko, Anastasia L. Pilyugina, Sergey N.Lukashenko, Elena G. Gubitskaya

Abstract:

The estimation of accumulated radiation doses in people professionally exposed to ionizing radiation was performed using methods of biological (chromosomal aberrations frequency in lymphocytes) and physical (radionuclides analysis in urine, whole-body radiation meter, individual thermoluminescent dosimeters) dosimetry. A group of 84 "A" category employees after their work in the territory of former Semipalatinsk test site (Kazakhstan) was investigated. The dose rate in some funnels exceeds 40 μSv/h. After radionuclides determination in urine using radiochemical and WBC methods, it was shown that the total effective dose of personnel internal exposure did not exceed 0.2 mSv/year, while an acceptable dose limit for staff is 20 mSv/year. The range of external radiation doses measured with individual thermo-luminescent dosimeters was 0.3-1.406 µSv. The cytogenetic examination showed that chromosomal aberrations frequency in staff was 4.27±0.22%, which is significantly higher than at the people from non-polluting settlement Tausugur (0.87±0.1%) (р ≤ 0.01) and citizens of Almaty (1.6±0.12%) (р≤ 0.01). Chromosomal type aberrations accounted for 2.32±0.16%, 0.27±0.06% of which were dicentrics and centric rings. The cytogenetic analysis of different types group radiosensitivity among «professionals» (age, sex, ethnic group, epidemiological data) revealed no significant differences between the compared values. Using various techniques by frequency of dicentrics and centric rings, the average cumulative radiation dose for group was calculated, and that was 0.084-0.143 Gy. To perform comparative individual dosimetry using physical and biological methods of dose assessment, calibration curves (including own ones) and regression equations based on general frequency of chromosomal aberrations obtained after irradiation of blood samples by gamma-radiation with the dose rate of 0,1 Gy/min were used. Herewith, on the assumption of individual variation of chromosomal aberrations frequency (1–10%), the accumulated dose of radiation varied 0-0.3 Gy. The main problem in the interpretation of individual dosimetry results is reduced to different reaction of the objects to irradiation - radiosensitivity, which dictates the need of quantitative definition of this individual reaction and its consideration in the calculation of the received radiation dose. The entire examined contingent was assigned to a group based on the received dose and detected cytogenetic aberrations. Radiosensitive individuals, at the lowest received dose in a year, showed the highest frequency of chromosomal aberrations (5.72%). In opposite, radioresistant individuals showed the lowest frequency of chromosomal aberrations (2.8%). The cohort correlation according to the criterion of radio-sensitivity in our research was distributed as follows: radio-sensitive (26.2%) — medium radio-sensitivity (57.1%), radioresistant (16.7%). Herewith, the dispersion for radioresistant individuals is 2.3; for the group with medium radio-sensitivity — 3.3; and for radio-sensitive group — 9. These data indicate the highest variation of characteristic (reactions to radiation effect) in the group of radio-sensitive individuals. People with medium radio-sensitivity show significant long-term correlation (0.66; n=48, β ≥ 0.999) between the values of doses defined according to the results of cytogenetic analysis and dose of external radiation obtained with the help of thermoluminescent dosimeters. Mathematical models based on the type of violation of the radiation dose according to the professionals radiosensitivity level were offered.

Keywords: Biodosimetry, chromosomal aberrations, ionizing radiation, radiosensitivity.

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

Authors: Ketevan Kokrashvili, Rusudan Kutateladze, Nino Pailodze

Abstract:

Importance of management of legal entities under private law of which especially corporate management, as well as looking for ways of its improvement and perfection has become especially relevant in the twenty-first century, which was greatly contributed to by the global economic crisis. Some states have adopted Corporate Governance Codes; the European Union has set to work on a series of directives the main purpose of which is an improvement of corporate governance, provision of greater transparency and implementation of an effective control mechanism. This process is not yet completed, and various problematic issues associated with management of legal persons are still being debated among practitioner experts and scholars. Georgia is not an exception in this regard. The article discusses the legislative gaps, and in some cases, discrepancies having arisen in legal relationships under private law and having caused many practical problems. This especially applies to the management of capital companies.

Keywords: Business entities, corporate management, public capital management, collective norms, existing problems, legal discrepancies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 880

Authors: Ziari Hassan, Divandari Hassan, Babagoli Rezvan, Akbari Ali

Abstract:

Asphalt surfaces are exposed to various weather conditions and dynamic loading caused by passing trucks and vehicles. In such situations, asphalt cement shows so different rheological-mechanical behavior. If asphalt cement isn-t compatible enough, asphalt layer will be damaged immediately and expensive repairing procedures should be performed then. To overcome this problem, researchers study on mechanical improved asphalt cement. In this study, bentonite was used in order to modify bitumen characteristics and the modified bitumen's characteristics were investigated by asphalt cement tests. Then, the optimal bitumen content in various compounds was determined and asphalt samples with different contents of additives were prepared and tested. Results show using this kind of additive not only has caused improvement in bitumen mechanical properties, but also improvement in Marshall Parameters was achieved.

Keywords: Asphalt mixture, Bentonite, Modified bitumen, Performance characteristics

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3841

Authors: Mohie Eldin Mohamed Afifiy Elmashad

Abstract:

Day by day technology increases and problems associated with this technology also increase. Several researches were carried out to investigate the deployment of such material safely in geotechnical engineering in particular and civil engineering in general. However, different types of waste material have such as cement duct, fly ash and slag been proven to be suitable in several applications. In this research cement dust mixed with different percentages of sand will be used in some civil engineering application as will be explained later in this paper throughout filed and laboratory test. The used mixer (waste material with sand) prove high performance, durability to environmental condition, low cost and high benefits. At higher cement dust ratio, small cement ratio is valuable for compressive strength and permeability. Also at small cement dust ratio higher cement ratio is valuable for compressive strength.

Keywords: cement dust, cement, soil improvement, permeability

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2870

Authors: M. Farnush

Abstract:

This study is concerned with the microstructural analysis and improvement of wear resistance of 356 aluminum alloy by a high energy electron beam. Shock hardening on material by high energy electron beam improved wear resistance. Particularly, in the surface of material by shock hardening, the wear resistance was greatly enhanced to 29% higher than that of the 356 aluminum alloy substrate. These findings suggested that surface shock hardening using high energy electron beam irradiation was economical and useful for the development of surface shock hardening with improved wear resistance.

Keywords: Al356 alloy, HEEB, wear resistance, frictional characteristics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1146

Authors: Sumalee B., Sirinapa L., Jenjira T., Jr., Setasak S.

Abstract:

The paper describes ergonomics problems trend of student at B5101 classroom building 2, Suranaree University of Technology. The objective to survey ergonomics problems and effect from use chairs for sitting in class room. The result from survey method 100 student they use lecture chair for sitting in classroom more than 2 hours/ day by RULA[1]. and Body discomfort survey[2]. The result from Body discomfort survey contribute fatigue problems at neck, lower back, upper back and right shoulder 2.93, 2.91, 2.33, 1.75 respectively and result from RULA contribute fatigue problems at neck, body and right upper arm 4.00, 3.75 and 3.00 respectively are consistent. After that the researcher provide improvement plan for design new chair support student fatigue reduction by prepare data of sample anthropometry and design ergonomics chair prototype 3 unit. Then sample 100 student trial to use new chair and evaluate again by RULA, Body discomfort and satisfaction. The result from trial new chair after improvement by RULA present fatigue reduction average of head and neck from 4.00 to 2.25 , body and trunk from 3.75 to 2.00 and arm force from 1.00 to 0.25 respectively. The result from trial new chair after improvement by Body discomfort present fatigue reduction average of lower back from 2.91 to 0.87, neck from 2.93 to 1.24, upper back 2.33 to 0.84 and right upper arm from 1.75 to 0.74. That statistical of RULA and Body discomfort survey present fatigue reduction after improvement significance with a confidence level of 95% (p-value 0.05). When analyzing the relationship of fatigue as part of the body by Chi – square test during RULA and Body discomfort that before and after improvements were consistent with the significant level of confidence 95% (p-value 0.05) . Moreover the students satisfaction result from trial with a new chair for 30 minutes [3]. 72 percent very satisfied of the folding of the secondary writing simple 66% the width of the writing plate, 64% the suitability of the writing plate, 62% of soft seat cushion and 61% easy to seat the chair.

Keywords: Ergonomics, Work station design, ErgonomicsChair, Student, Fatigue

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3461

Authors: Hanny H. Tumbelaka, Masafumi Miyatake

Abstract:

This paper proposes a three-phase four-wire currentcontrolled Voltage Source Inverter (CC-VSI) for both power quality improvement and PV energy extraction. For power quality improvement, the CC-VSI works as a grid current-controlling shunt active power filter to compensate for harmonic and reactive power of loads. Then, the PV array is coupled to the DC bus of the CC-VSI and supplies active power to the grid. The MPPT controller employs the particle swarm optimization technique. The output of the MPPT controller is a DC voltage that determines the DC-bus voltage according to PV maximum power. The PSO method is simple and effective especially for a partially shaded PV array. From computer simulation results, it proves that grid currents are sinusoidal and inphase with grid voltages, while the PV maximum active power is delivered to loads.

Keywords: Active Power Filter, MPPT, PV Energy Conversion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2105

Authors: Farhad Hadinejad, Hasan Saberi, Saeed Kazem

Abstract:

Support vector clustering (SVC) is an important kernelbased clustering algorithm in multi applications. It has got two main bottle necks, the high computation price and labeling piece. In this paper, we presented a modified SVC method, named Grid–SVC, to improve the original algorithm computationally. First we normalized and then we parted the interval, where the SVC is processing, using a novel Grid–based clustering algorithm. The algorithm parts the intervals, based on the density function of the data set and then applying the cartesian multiply makes multi-dimensional grids. Eliminating many outliers and noise in the preprocess, we apply an improved SVC method to each parted grid in a parallel way. The experimental results show both improvement in time complexity order and the accuracy.

Keywords: Grid–based clustering, SVC, Density function, Radial basis function.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1697

Authors: Diako Azizi, Ahmad Gholami, Vahid Abbasi

Abstract:

High voltage generators are being subject to higher voltage rating and are being designed to operate in harsh conditions. Stator windings are the main component of generators in which Electrical, magnetically and thermal stresses remain major failures for insulation degradation accelerated aging. A large number of generators failed due to stator winding problems, mainly insulation deterioration. Insulation degradation assessment plays vital role in the asset life management. Mostly the stator failure is catastrophic causing significant damage to the plant. Other than generation loss, stator failure involves heavy repair or replacement cost. Electro thermal analysis is the main characteristic for improvement design of stator slot-s insulation. Dielectric parameters such as insulation thickness, spacing, material types, geometry of winding and slot are major design consideration. A very powerful method available to analyze electro thermal performance is Finite Element Method (FEM) which is used in this paper. The analysis of various stator coil and slot configurations are used to design the better dielectric system to reduce electrical and thermal stresses in order to increase the power of generator in the same volume of core. This paper describes the process used to perform classical design and improvement analysis of stator slot-s insulation.

Keywords: Electromagnetic field, field distribution, insulation, winding, finite element method

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1545

Authors: Jiratta Phuboon-ob, Raweewan Auepanwiriyakul

Abstract:

A data warehouse (DW) is a system which has value and role for decision-making by querying. Queries to DW are critical regarding to their complexity and length. They often access millions of tuples, and involve joins between relations and aggregations. Materialized views are able to provide the better performance for DW queries. However, these views have maintenance cost, so materialization of all views is not possible. An important challenge of DW environment is materialized view selection because we have to realize the trade-off between performance and view maintenance cost. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a new approach aimed at solve this challenge based on Two-Phase Optimization (2PO), which is a combination of Simulated Annealing (SA) and Iterative Improvement (II), with the use of Multiple View Processing Plan (MVPP). Our experiments show that our method provides a further improvement in term of query processing cost and view maintenance cost.

Keywords: Data warehouse, materialized views, view selectionproblem, two-phase optimization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1617

Authors: G. E. Gandomkar, E. Bekhradinassab, S. Sabbaghi, M. M. Zerafat

Abstract:

The reduction of water content in crude oil emulsions reduces pipeline corrosion potential and increases the productivity. Chemical emulsification of crude oil emulsions is one of the methods available to reduce the water content. Presence of demulsifier causes the film layer between the crude oil emulsion and water droplets to become unstable leading to the acceleration of water coalescence. This research has been performed to study the improvement performance of a chemical demulsifier by silica nanoparticles. The silica nano-particles have been synthesized by sol-gel technique and precipitation using poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly ethylene glycol (PEG) as surfactants and then nano-particles are added to the demulsifier. The silica nanoparticles were characterized by Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) and SEM. Upon the addition of nanoparticles, bottle tests have been carried out to separate and measure the water content. The results show that silica nano-particles increase the demulsifier efficiency by about 40%.

Keywords: Demulsifier, dehydration, silicon dioxide, nanoparticle.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1749

Authors: R. Goede, E. Taylor

Abstract:

This paper demonstrates how the soft systems methodology can be used to improve the delivery of a module in data warehousing for fourth year information technology students. Graduates in information technology needs to have academic skills but also needs to have good practical skills to meet the skills requirements of the information technology industry. In developing and improving current data warehousing education modules one has to find a balance in meeting the expectations of various role players such as the students themselves, industry and academia. The soft systems methodology, developed by Peter Checkland, provides a methodology for facilitating problem understanding from different world views. In this paper it is demonstrated how the soft systems methodology can be used to plan the improvement of data warehousing education for fourth year information technology students.

Keywords: Data warehousing, education, soft systems methodology, stakeholders, systems thinking.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1658

Authors: Diako Azizi, Ahmad Gholami, Vahid Abbasi

Abstract:

High voltage generators are being subject to higher voltage rating and are being designed to operate in harsh conditions. Stator windings are the main component of generators in which Electrical, magnetical and thermal stresses remain major failures for insulation degradation accelerated aging. A large number of generators failed due to stator winding problems, mainly insulation deterioration. Insulation degradation assessment plays vital role in the asset life management. Mostly the stator failure is catastrophic causing significant damage to the plant. Other than generation loss, stator failure involves heavy repair or replacement cost. Electro thermal analysis is the main characteristic for improvement design of stator slot-s insulation. Dielectric parameters such as insulation thickness, spacing, material types, geometry of winding and slot are major design consideration. A very powerful method available to analyze electro thermal performance is Finite Element Method (FEM) which is used in this paper. The analysis of various stator coil and slot configurations are used to design the better dielectric system to reduce electrical and thermal stresses in order to increase the power of generator in the same volume of core. This paper describes the process used to perform classical design and improvement analysis of stator slot-s insulation.

Keywords: Electrical field, field distribution, insulation, winding, finite element method, electro thermal

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1744

Authors: P. Gao, Z. Q. Li, Y. G. Jin

Abstract:

In the past 10 years, computers and cellphones have become one of the most important factors in our lives, and one which has a tremendously negative impact on our muscles. Muscle tension may be one of the causes of sleep disturbance. Tension in the shoulders and neck can affect blood circulation to the muscles. This research uses a dry needling treatment to reduce muscle tension in order to determine if the strain in the head and shoulders can influence sleep duration. All 38 patients taking part in the testing suffered from tinnitus and have been experiencing disturbed sleep for at least one to five years. Even after undergoing drug therapy treatments and traditional acupuncture therapies, their sleep disturbances have not shown any improvement. After five to 10 dry needling treatments, 24 of the patients reported an improvement in their sleep duration. Five patients considered themselves to be completely recovered, while 12 patients experienced no improvement. This study investigated these pathogenic and therapeutic problems. The standard treatment for sleep disturbances is drug-based therapy; the results of most standard treatments are unfortunately negative. The result of this clinical research has demonstrated that: The possible cause of sleep disturbance for a lot of patients is the result of tensions in the neck and shoulder muscles. Blood circulation to those muscles is also influenced by the duration of sleep. Hypertonic neck and shoulder muscles are considered to impact sleeping patterns and lead to disturbed sleep. Poor posture, often adopted while speaking on the phone, is one of the main causes of hypertonic neck and shoulder muscle problems. The dry needling treatment specifically focuses on the release of muscle tension.

Keywords: Dry needling, sleep disturbance, sleep duration, muscle tension, trigger points.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2097

Authors: Gül Tekin Temur, Tolga Kaya, Serpil Öktem, Sıtkı Gözlü

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to reveal the principles, which have the highest impact on determining the Strategic Quality Management (SQM) implementation perceptions of managers. In order to accomplish this goal, first of all, a factor analysis is conducted on the attitudes of managers at 80 large-scale firms in Turkey for SQM principles. Secondly, utilizing t tests and discriminant analysis, the most effective items are determined. The results show that “process improvement" and “assessment of competitiveness" are the management principles, which have the highest impact on determining the SQM implementation perceptions of Turkish managers.

Keywords: Assessment of Competitiveness, Process Improvement, Strategic Quality Management.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1492

Authors: Deepthi Narayan, Srikanta Murthy K., G. Hemantha Kumar

Abstract:

Graph based image segmentation techniques are considered to be one of the most efficient segmentation techniques which are mainly used as time & space efficient methods for real time applications. How ever, there is need to focus on improving the quality of segmented images obtained from the earlier graph based methods. This paper proposes an improvement to the graph based image segmentation methods already described in the literature. We contribute to the existing method by proposing the use of a weighted Euclidean distance to calculate the edge weight which is the key element in building the graph. We also propose a slight modification of the segmentation method already described in the literature, which results in selection of more prominent edges in the graph. The experimental results show the improvement in the segmentation quality as compared to the methods that already exist, with a slight compromise in efficiency.

Keywords: Graph based image segmentation, threshold, Weighted Euclidean distance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1513

Authors: Yingyi Zhou, Tohru Kawabe

Abstract:

With the spread of EVs (electric Vehicles), the ride comfort has been gaining a lot of attention. The influence of the lateral acceleration is important for the improvement of ride comfort of EVs as well as the longitudinal acceleration, especially upon turning of the vehicle. Therefore, this paper proposes a practical optimal speed control method to greatly improve the ride comfort in the vehicle turning situation. For consturcting this method, effective criteria that can appropriately evaluate deterioration of ride comfort is derived. The method can reduce the influence of both the longitudinal and the lateral speed changes for providing a confortable ride. From several simulation results, we can see the fact that the method can prevent aggravation of the ride comfort by suppressing the influence of longitudinal speed change in the turning situation. Hence, the effectiveness of the method is recognized.

Keywords: Electric vehicle, speed control, ride comfort, optimal control theory, driving support system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 851

Authors: Ranjan Sarukkalige, Dinushi Gamage

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to develop a storm water quality improvement strategy plan (WQISP) which assists managers and decision makers of local city councils in enhancing their activities to improve regional water quality. City of Gosnells in Western Australia has been considered as a case study. The procedure on developing the WQISP consists of reviewing existing water quality data, identifying water quality issues in the study areas and developing a decision making tool for the officers, managers and decision makers. It was found that land use type is the main factor affecting the water quality. Therefore, activities, sources and pollutants related to different land use types including residential, industrial, agricultural and commercial are given high importance during the study. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with coordinators of different management sections of the regional councils in order to understand the associated management framework and issues. The issues identified from these interviews were used in preparing the decision making tool. Variables associated with the defined “value versus threat" decision making tool are obtained from the intensive literature review. The main recommendations provided for improvement of water quality in local city councils, include non-structural, structural and management controls and potential impacts of climate change.

Keywords: Storm water quality, Storm water Management, Land use, Strategy plan

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1606

Authors: Morteza Fathipour, Samira Omidbakhsh, Kimia Khodayari

Abstract:

RF performance of SOI CMOS device has attracted significant amount of interest recently. In order to improve RF parameters, Strained Si/Relaxed Si0.8Ge0.2 investigated as a replacement for Si technology .Enhancement of carrier mobility associated with strain engineering makes Strained Si a promising candidate for improving RF performance of CMOS technology. From the simulation, the cut-off frequency is estimated to be 224 GHZ, whereas in SOI at similar bias is about 188 GHZ. Therefore, Strained Si exhibits 19% improvement in cut-off frequency over similar Si counterpart. In this paper, Ion/Ioff ratio is studied as one of the key parameters in logic and digital application. Strained Si/SiGe demonstrates better Ion/Ioff characteristic than SOI, in similar channel length of 100 nm.Another important key analog figures of merit such as Early Voltage (VEA) ,transconductance vs drain current (gm /Ids) are studied. They introduce the efficiency of the devices to convert dc power into ac frequency.

Keywords: cut-off frequency, RF application, Silicon oninsulator, Strained Si/SiGe on insulator.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1701

Authors: Sachin Kamble, Shradha Gawankar

Abstract:

This paper presents the findings of successful implementation of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) of cement dispatch activities in a cement manufacturing plant located in India. Simulation model was developed for the purpose of identifying and analyzing the areas for improvement. The company was facing a problem of low throughput rate and subsequent forced stoppages of the plant leading to a high production loss of 15000MT per month. It was found from the study that the present systems and procedures related to the in-plant logistics plant required significant changes. The major recommendations included process improvement at the entry gate, reducing the cycle time at the security gate and installation of an additional weigh bridge. This paper demonstrates how BPR can be implemented for improving the in-plant logistics process. Various recommendations helped the plant to increase its throughput by 14%.

Keywords: Business process reengineering, simulation modeling, in-plant logistics, distribution process, cement industry.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2243

Authors: Veronika Kántor-Forgách

Abstract:

To comply with the international human right legislation concerning the freedom of movement, transport systems are required to be made accessible in order that all citizens, regardless of their physical condition, have equal possibilities to use them. In Hungary, apparently there is a considerable default in the improvement of accessible public transport. This study is aiming to overview the current Hungarian situation and to reveal the reasons of the deficiency. The result shows that in spite of the relatively favourable juridical background linked to the accessibility needs and to the rights of persons with disabilities there is a strong delay in putting all in practice in the field of public transport. Its main reason is the lack of financial resource and referring to this the lack of creating mandatory regulations. In addition to this the proprietary rights related to public transport are also variable, which also limits the improvement possibilities. Consequently, first of all an accurate and detailed regulatory procedure is expected to change the present unfavourable situation and to create the conditions of the fast realization, which is already behind time.

Keywords: accessibility, legislation, people with reducedmobility, public transport.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1295

Authors: Ahmed Mohsen, Yoshinobu Kitamura, Katsuyuki Shimizu

Abstract:

The improvement of irrigation systems in the Nile Delta is one of the most important attempts in Egypt to implement more effective irrigation technology by improving the existing irrigation networks. Demand delivery system in the existing irrigation network is using of mechanical gates structures to automatically divert water from one portion of an agricultural field to another in the desired amount and sequence. This paper discusses evaluating main irrigation networks system under the government managed before and after improvement systems in the Nile Delta. The overall results indicate that policy of using the demand delivery concept through irrigation networks is successful by improving water delivery performance among them than the rotation delivery concept that used before. It is provided fair share of water delivery among irrigation districts and available water in the end of irrigation network, although this system located in an end of irrigation networks in the Nile Delta.

Keywords: Automation system, Irrigation district, Rotation system, Water delivery performance

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2358

Authors: Sarbjot Singh Sandhu

Abstract:

This paper presents the experimental results of a single cylinder Enfield engine using an electronically controlled fuel injection system which was developed to carry out exhaustive tests using neat CNG, and mixtures of hydrogen in compressed natural gas (HCNG) as 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% by energy. Experiments were performed at 2000 and 2400 rpm with wide open throttle and varying the equivalence ratio. Hydrogen which has fast burning rate, when added to compressed natural gas, enhances its flame propagation rate. The emissions of HC, CO, decreased with increasing percentage of hydrogen but NOx was found to increase. The results indicated a marked improvement in the brake thermal efficiency with the increase in percentage of hydrogen added. The improved thermal efficiency was clearly observed to be more in lean region as compared to rich region. This study is expected to reduce vehicular emissions along with increase in thermal efficiency and thus help in reduction of further environmental degradation.

Keywords: Hydrogen, CNG, HCNG, Emissions.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2657

Authors: Charles Chikwendu Okpala, Christopher Chukwutoo Ihueze

Abstract:

As a technique that reduces variation in a product by lessening the sensitivity of the design to sources of variation, rather than by controlling their sources, Taguchi Robust Design entails the designing of ideal goods, by developing a product that has minimal variance in its characteristics and also meets the desired exact performance. This paper examined the concept of the manufacturing approach and its application to brake pad product of an automotive parts manufacturing company. Although the firm claimed that only defects, excess inventory, and over-production were the few wastes that grossly affect their productivity and profitability, a careful study and analysis of their manufacturing processes with the application of Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) tool showed that the waste of waiting is the fourth waste that bedevils the firm. The selection of the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array which is based on the four parameters and the three levels of variation for each parameter revealed that with a range of 2.17, that waiting is the major waste that the company must reduce in order to continue to be viable. Also, to enhance the company’s throughput and profitability, the wastes of over-production, excess inventory, and defects with ranges of 2.01, 1.46, and 0.82, ranking second, third, and fourth respectively must also be reduced to the barest minimum. After proposing -33.84 as the highest optimum Signal-to-Noise ratio to be maintained for the waste of waiting, the paper advocated for the adoption of all the tools and techniques of Lean Production System (LPS), and Continuous Improvement (CI), and concluded by recommending SMED in order to drastically reduce set up time which leads to unnecessary waiting.

Keywords: Taguchi Robust Design, signal to noise ratio, Single Minute Exchange of Dies, lean production system, waste.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 919

Authors: Elham Lashkari, Mehrshad Khalaj

Abstract:

Rapid enlargement and physical development of cities have facilitated the emergence of a number of city life crises and decrease of environment quality. Subsequently, the need for noticing the concept of quality and its improvement in urban environments, besides quantitative issues, is obviously recognized. In the domain of urban ideas the importance of taking these issues into consideration is obvious not only in accordance to sustainable development concepts and improvement of public environment quality, but also in the enhancement of social and behavioral models. The major concern of present article is to study the nature of urban environment quality in urban development plans, which is important not only in the concept and the aim of projects but also in their execution procedure. As a result, this paper is going to utilize planning capacities caused by environmental virtues in the planning procedure of Moft Abad neighborhood. Thus, at the first step, applying the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), it has assessed quantitative environmental issues. The present conditions of Moft Abad state that “the neighborhood is generally suffering from the lack of qualitative parameters, and the previously formed planning procedures could not take the sustainable and developmental paths which are aimed at environment quality virtues." The diminution of economical and environmental virtues has resulted in the diminution of residential and social virtues. Therefore, in order to enhance the environment quality in Moft Abad, the present paper has tried to supply the subject plans in order to make a safe, healthy, and lively neighborhood.

Keywords: Urban Environment Quality, Neighborhood Plan, Urban Development Plan, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2036