Search results for: sliding windows
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 299

Search results for: sliding windows

59 A Training Course Development to Promote Learning Activities of 2nd Year, Faculty of Education Students using Multiple Intelligences Theory

Authors: Chaiwat Waree, Kalanyoo Petcharaporn

Abstract:

This research aims to develop and evaluate a training course to promote learning activities of 2nd year, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, faculty of education students using multiple intelligences theory. The process is divided into two phases: Phase 1 development of training course to promote learning activities consisting of principles, objectives of the course, structure, training duration, content, training materials, training activities, media training, monitoring, measurement and evaluation quality of the course. Phase 2 evaluation efficiency of training course was to use the improved curriculum with experimental group which is 2nd year, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, faculty of education students was drawn randomly 152 students. The experimental pattern was randomized Control Group Pre-Test Post-Test Design, Analysis Data by t-Test with the software SPFSS for Windows. Research has shown that: 1). the ability of teaching and learning according to the theory of multiple intelligences after training is higher than before training significantly in statistic at .01 level, 2). The satisfaction of students to the training courses was overall at the highest level.

Keywords: A training course, learning activities, multiple intelligences.

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58 Daylightophil Approach towards High-Performance Architecture for Hybrid-Optimization of Visual Comfort and Daylight Factor in BSk

Authors: Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad, Hadi Yazdi

Abstract:

The greatest influence we have from the world is shaped through the visual form, thus light is an inseparable element in human life. The use of daylight in visual perception and environment readability is an important issue for users. With regard to the hazards of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and in line with the attitudes on the reduction of energy consumption, the correct use of daylight results in lower levels of energy consumed by artificial lighting, heating and cooling systems. Windows are usually the starting points for analysis and simulations to achieve visual comfort and energy optimization; therefore, attention should be paid to the orientation of buildings to minimize electrical energy and maximize the use of daylight. In this paper, by using the Design Builder Software, the effect of the orientation of an 18m2(3m*6m) room with 3m height in city of Tehran has been investigated considering the design constraint limitations. In these simulations, the dimensions of the building have been changed with one degree and the window is located on the smaller face (3m*3m) of the building with 80% ratio. The results indicate that the orientation of building has a lot to do with energy efficiency to meet high-performance architecture and planning goals and objectives.

Keywords: Daylight, window, orientation, energy consumption, design builder.

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57 Friction Calculation and Simulation of Column Electric Power Steering System

Authors: Seyed Hamid Mirmohammad Sadeghi, Raffaella Sesana, Daniela Maffiodo

Abstract:

This study presents a procedure for friction calculation of column electric power steering (C-EPS) system which affects handling and comfort in driving. The friction losses estimation is obtained from experimental tests and mathematical calculation. Parts in C-EPS mainly involved in friction losses are bearings and worm gear. In the theoretical approach, the gear geometry and Hertz law were employed to measure the normal load and the sliding velocity and contact areas from the worm gears driving conditions. The viscous friction generated in the worm gear was obtained with a theoretical approach and the result was applied to model the friction in the steering system. Finally, by viscous friction coefficient and Coulomb friction coefficient, values of friction in worm gear were calculated. According to the Bearing Company and the characteristics of each bearing, the friction torques due to load and due to speed were calculated. A MATLAB Simulink model for calculating the friction in bearings and worm gear in C-EPS were done and the total friction value was estimated.

Keywords: Friction, worm gear, column electric power steering system, Simulink, bearing, electric power steering, EPS.

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56 Perceptions of Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Regarding Use of Biological Control Practices: A Case Study in Jiroft County, Iran

Authors: Hossein Shabanali Fami, Omid Sharifi, Javad Ghasemi, Mahtab Pouratashi, Mona Sadat Moghadasian

Abstract:

The main purpose of this study was to investigate perception of greenhouse vegetable growers regarding use of biological control practices during the growing season. The statistical population of the study included greenhouse vegetable growers in Jiroft county (N=1862). A sample of 137 vegetable growers was selected, using random sampling method. Data were collected via a questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was obtained by the faculty members of the Department of Agricultural Development and Management in the University of Tehran. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to estimate the reliability which showed a high reliability for the instrument. Data was analyzed using SPSS/Windows 13.5. The results revealed that greenhouse vegetable growers had moderate level of perception regarding biological control practices. Levels of vegetable growers’ perceptions regarding biological control practices were different on the basis of their academic qualifications as well as educational level and job. In addition, the results indicated that about 54.1% of variations in vegetable growers’ perceptions could be explained by variables such as awareness of biological control practices, knowledge on pests, annual production and age.

Keywords: Greenhouse, biological control, biological agents, perception, vegetable grower.

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55 Mathematical Approach towards Fault Detection and Isolation of Linear Dynamical Systems

Authors: V.Manikandan, N.Devarajan

Abstract:

The main objective of this work is to provide a fault detection and isolation based on Markov parameters for residual generation and a neural network for fault classification. The diagnostic approach is accomplished in two steps: In step 1, the system is identified using a series of input / output variables through an identification algorithm. In step 2, the fault is diagnosed comparing the Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The Artificial Neural Network is trained using predetermined faulty conditions serves to classify the unknown fault. In step 1, the identification is done by first formulating a Hankel matrix out of Input/ output variables and then decomposing the matrix via singular value decomposition technique. For identifying the system online sliding window approach is adopted wherein an open slit slides over a subset of 'n' input/output variables. The faults are introduced at arbitrary instances and the identification is carried out in online. Fault residues are extracted making a comparison of the first five Markov parameters of faulty and non faulty systems. The proposed diagnostic approach is illustrated on benchmark problems with encouraging results.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, Fault Diagnosis, Identification, Markov parameters.

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54 Numerical Analysis of a Centrifugal Fan for Improved Performance using Splitter Vanes

Authors: N. Yagnesh Sharma, K. Vasudeva Karanth

Abstract:

The flow field in a centrifugal fan is highly complex with flow reversal taking place on the suction side of impeller and diffuser vanes. Generally performance of the centrifugal fan could be enhanced by judiciously introducing splitter vanes so as to improve the diffusion process. An extensive numerical whole field analysis on the effect of splitter vanes placed in discrete regions of suspected separation points is possible using CFD. This paper examines the effect of splitter vanes corresponding to various geometrical locations on the impeller and diffuser. The analysis shows that the splitter vanes located near the diffuser exit improves the static pressure recovery across the diffusing domain to a larger extent. Also it is found that splitter vanes located at the impeller trailing edge and diffuser leading edge at the mid-span of the circumferential distance between the blades show a marginal improvement in the static pressure recovery across the fan. However, splitters provided near to the suction side of the impeller trailing edge (25% of the circumferential gap between the impeller blades towards the suction side), adversely affect the static pressure recovery of the fan.

Keywords: Splitter vanes, Flow separation, Sliding mesh, Unsteady analysis, Recirculation zone, Jets and wakes.

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53 CVOIP-FRU: Comprehensive VoIP Forensics Report Utility

Authors: Alejandro Villegas, Cihan Varol

Abstract:

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) products is an emerging technology that can contain forensically important information for a criminal activity. Without having the user name and passwords, this forensically important information can still be gathered by the investigators. Although there are a few VoIP forensic investigative applications available in the literature, most of them are particularly designed to collect evidence from the Skype product. Therefore, in order to assist law enforcement with collecting forensically important information from variety of Betamax VoIP tools, CVOIP-FRU framework is developed. CVOIP-FRU provides a data gathering solution that retrieves usernames, contact lists, as well as call and SMS logs from Betamax VoIP products. It is a scripting utility that searches for data within the registry, logs and the user roaming profiles in Windows and Mac OSX operating systems. Subsequently, it parses the output into readable text and html formats. One superior way of CVOIP-FRU compared to the other applications that due to intelligent data filtering capabilities and cross platform scripting back end of CVOIP-FRU, it is expandable to include other VoIP solutions as well. Overall, this paper reveals the exploratory analysis performed in order to find the key data paths and locations, the development stages of the framework, and the empirical testing and quality assurance of CVOIP-FRU.

Keywords: Betamax, digital forensics, report utility, VoIP, VoIP Buster, VoIPWise.

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52 Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Intelligent Controllers in Load Frequency Control of Multi Area Interconnected Power Systems

Authors: Surya Prakash, Sunil Kumar Sinha

Abstract:

This paper deals with the application of artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy based Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System(ANFIS) approach to Load Frequency Control (LFC) of multi unequal area hydro-thermal interconnected power system. The proposed ANFIS controller combines the advantages of fuzzy controller as well as quick response and adaptability nature of ANN. Area-1 and area-2 consists of thermal reheat power plant whereas area-3 and area-4 consists of hydro power plant with electric governor. Performance evaluation is carried out by using intelligent controller like ANFIS, ANN and Fuzzy controllers and conventional PI and PID control approaches. To enhance the performance of intelligent and conventional controller sliding surface is included. The performances of the controllers are simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK package. A comparison of ANFIS, ANN, Fuzzy, PI and PID based approaches shows the superiority of proposed ANFIS over ANN & fuzzy, PI and PID controller for 1% step load variation.

Keywords: Load Frequency Control (LFC), ANFIS, ANN & Fuzzy, PI, PID Controllers, Area Control Error (ACE), Tie-line, MATLAB / SIMULINK.

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51 System Identification with General Dynamic Neural Networks and Network Pruning

Authors: Christian Endisch, Christoph Hackl, Dierk Schröder

Abstract:

This paper presents an exact pruning algorithm with adaptive pruning interval for general dynamic neural networks (GDNN). GDNNs are artificial neural networks with internal dynamics. All layers have feedback connections with time delays to the same and to all other layers. The structure of the plant is unknown, so the identification process is started with a larger network architecture than necessary. During parameter optimization with the Levenberg- Marquardt (LM) algorithm irrelevant weights of the dynamic neural network are deleted in order to find a model for the plant as simple as possible. The weights to be pruned are found by direct evaluation of the training data within a sliding time window. The influence of pruning on the identification system depends on the network architecture at pruning time and the selected weight to be deleted. As the architecture of the model is changed drastically during the identification and pruning process, it is suggested to adapt the pruning interval online. Two system identification examples show the architecture selection ability of the proposed pruning approach.

Keywords: System identification, dynamic neural network, recurrentneural network, GDNN, optimization, Levenberg Marquardt, realtime recurrent learning, network pruning, quasi-online learning.

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50 Life Cycle Assessment as a Decision Making for Window Performance Comparison in Green Building Design

Authors: Ghada Elshafei, Abdelazim Negm

Abstract:

Life cycle assessment is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision. In this paper, the life cycle assessment of aluminum and beech wood as two commonly used materials in Egypt for window frames are heading, highlighting their benefits and weaknesses. Window frames of the two materials have been assessed on the basis of their production, energy consumption and environmental impacts. It has been found that the climate change of the windows made of aluminum and beech wood window, for a reference window (1.2m×1.2m), are 81.7 mPt and -52.5 mPt impacts respectively. Among the most important results are: fossil fuel consumption, potential contributions to the green building effect and quantities of solid waste tend to be minor for wood products compared to aluminum products; incineration of wood products can cause higher impacts of acidification and eutrophication than aluminum, whereas thermal energy can be recovered.

Keywords: Aluminum window, beech wood window, green building, life cycle assessment, life cycle analysis, SimaPro software, window frame.

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49 Geotechnical Design of Bridge Foundations and Approaches in Hilly Granite Formation

Authors: Q. J. Yang

Abstract:

This paper presents a case study of geotechnical design of bridge foundations and approaches in hilly granite formation in northern New South Wales of Australia. Firstly, the geological formation and existing cut slope conditions which have high risks of rock fall will be described. The bridge has three spans to be constructed using balanced cantilever method with a middle span of 150 m. After concept design option engineering, it was decided to change from pile foundation to pad footing with ground anchor system to optimize the bridge foundation design. The geotechnical design parameters were derived after two staged site investigations. The foundation design was carried out to satisfy both serviceability limit state and ultimate limit state during construction and in operation. It was found that the pad footing design was governed by serviceability limit state design loading cases. The design of bridge foundation also considered presence of weak rock layer intrusion and a layer of “no core” to ensure foundation stability. The precast mass concrete block system was considered for the retaining walls for the bridge approaches to resolve the constructability issue over hilly terrain. The design considered the retaining wall block sliding stability, while the overturning and internal stabilities are satisfied.

Keywords: Pad footing, hilly formation, stability, block works.

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48 Control of Braking Force under Loaded and Empty Conditions on Two Wheeler

Authors: M. S. Manikandan, K. V. Nithish Kumar, M. Krishnamoorthi, V. Ganesh

Abstract:

The Automobile Braking System has a crucial role for safety of the passenger and riding quality of the vehicle. The braking force mainly depends on normal reaction on the wheel and the co-efficient of friction between the tire and the road surface. Whenever a vehicle is loaded, the normal reaction on the rear wheel is increased. Thus the amount of braking force required to halt the vehicle with minimum stopping distance, is based on the pillion load on the vehicle. In this work, in order to vary the braking force in two wheelers, the mechanical leverage which operates the master cylinder is varied based on the pillion load. Thus the amount of braking force developed between ground and tire is varied. This optimum braking force on the disc brake helps in attaining the minimum vehicle stopping distance. In addition to that, it also helps in preventing sliding. Thus the system results in reducing the stopping distance of the two wheelers and providing a better braking efficiency than the conventional braking system.

Keywords: Braking force, Master cylinder, Mechanical leverage, Minimum stopping distance.

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47 Introduce Applicability of Multi-Layer Perceptron to Predict the Behaviour of Semi-Interlocking Masonry Panel

Authors: O. Zarrin, M. Ramezanshirazi

Abstract:

The Semi Interlocking Masonry (SIM) system has been developed in Masonry Research Group at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The main purpose of this system is to enhance the seismic resistance of framed structures with masonry panels. In this system, SIM panels dissipate energy through the sliding friction between rows of SIM units during earthquake excitation. This paper aimed to find the applicability of artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the displacement behaviour of the SIM panel under out-of-plane loading. The general concept of ANN needs to be trained by related force-displacement data of SIM panel. The overall data to train and test the network are 70 increments of force-displacement from three tests, which comprise of none input nodes. The input data contain height and length of panels, height, length and width of the brick and friction and geometry angle of brick along the compressive strength of the brick with the lateral load applied to the panel. The aim of designed network is prediction displacement of the SIM panel by Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP). The mean square error (MSE) of network was 0.00042 and the coefficient of determination (R2) values showed the 0.91. The result revealed that the ANN has significant agreement to predict the SIM panel behaviour.

Keywords: Semi interlocking masonry, artificial neural network, ANN, multi-layer perceptron, MLP, displacement, prediction.

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46 Vehicle Routing Problem with Mixed Fleet of Conventional and Heterogenous Electric Vehicles and Time Dependent Charging Costs

Authors: Ons Sassi, Wahiba Ramdane Cherif-Khettaf, Ammar Oulamara

Abstract:

In this paper, we consider the vehicle routing problem with mixed fleet of conventional and heterogenous electric vehicles and time dependent charging costs, denoted VRP-HFCC, in which a set of geographically scattered customers have to be served by a mixed fleet of vehicles composed of a heterogenous fleet of Electric Vehicles (EVs), having different battery capacities and operating costs, and Conventional Vehicles (CVs). We include the possibility of charging EVs in the available charging stations during the routes in order to serve all customers. Each charging station offers charging service with a known technology of chargers and time dependent charging costs. Charging stations are also subject to operating time windows constraints. EVs are not necessarily compatible with all available charging technologies and a partial charging is allowed. Intermittent charging at the depot is also allowed provided that constraints related to the electricity grid are satisfied. The objective is to minimize the number of employed vehicles and then minimize the total travel and charging costs. In this study, we present a Mixed Integer Programming Model and develop a Charging Routing Heuristic and a Local Search Heuristic based on the Inject-Eject routine with different insertion methods. All heuristics are tested on real data instances.

Keywords: charging problem, electric vehicle, heuristics, local search, optimization, routing problem.

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45 A Psychophysiological Evaluation of an Effective Recognition Technique Using Interactive Dynamic Virtual Environments

Authors: Mohammadhossein Moghimi, Robert Stone, Pia Rotshtein

Abstract:

Recording psychological and physiological correlates of human performance within virtual environments and interpreting their impacts on human engagement, ‘immersion’ and related emotional or ‘effective’ states is both academically and technologically challenging. By exposing participants to an effective, real-time (game-like) virtual environment, designed and evaluated in an earlier study, a psychophysiological database containing the EEG, GSR and Heart Rate of 30 male and female gamers, exposed to 10 games, was constructed. Some 174 features were subsequently identified and extracted from a number of windows, with 28 different timing lengths (e.g. 2, 3, 5, etc. seconds). After reducing the number of features to 30, using a feature selection technique, K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) methods were subsequently employed for the classification process. The classifiers categorised the psychophysiological database into four effective clusters (defined based on a 3-dimensional space – valence, arousal and dominance) and eight emotion labels (relaxed, content, happy, excited, angry, afraid, sad, and bored). The KNN and SVM classifiers achieved average cross-validation accuracies of 97.01% (±1.3%) and 92.84% (±3.67%), respectively. However, no significant differences were found in the classification process based on effective clusters or emotion labels.

Keywords: Virtual Reality, effective computing, effective VR, emotion-based effective physiological database.

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44 Assisted Prediction of Hypertension Based on Heart Rate Variability and Improved Residual Networks

Authors: Yong Zhao, Jian He, Cheng Zhang

Abstract:

Cardiovascular disease resulting from hypertension poses a significant threat to human health, and early detection of hypertension can potentially save numerous lives. Traditional methods for detecting hypertension require specialized equipment and are often incapable of capturing continuous blood pressure fluctuations. To address this issue, this study starts by analyzing the principle of heart rate variability (HRV) and introduces the utilization of sliding window and power spectral density (PSD) techniques to analyze both temporal and frequency domain features of HRV. Subsequently, a hypertension prediction network that relies on HRV is proposed, combining Resnet, attention mechanisms, and a multi-layer perceptron. The network leverages a modified ResNet18 to extract frequency domain features, while employing an attention mechanism to integrate temporal domain features, thus enabling auxiliary hypertension prediction through the multi-layer perceptron. The proposed network is trained and tested using the publicly available SHAREE dataset from PhysioNet. The results demonstrate that the network achieves a high prediction accuracy of 92.06% for hypertension, surpassing traditional models such as K Near Neighbor (KNN), Bayes, Logistic regression, and traditional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN).

Keywords: Feature extraction, heart rate variability, hypertension, residual networks.

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43 Investigation of Flame and Soot Propagation in Non-Air Conditioned Railway Locomotives

Authors: Abhishek Agarwal, Manoj Sarda, Juhi Kaushik, Vatsal Sanjay, Arup Kumar Das

Abstract:

Propagation of fire through a non-air conditioned railway compartment is studied by virtue of numerical simulations. Simultaneous computational fire dynamics equations, such as Navier-Stokes, lumped species continuity, overall mass and energy conservation, and heat transfer are solved using finite volume based (for radiation) and finite difference based (for all other equations) solver, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). A single coupe with an eight berth occupancy is used to establish the numerical model, followed by the selection of a three coupe system as the fundamental unit of the locomotive compartment. Heat Release Rate Per Unit Area (HRRPUA) of the initial fire is varied to consider a wide range of compartmental fires. Parameters, such as air inlet velocity relative to the locomotive at the windows, the level of interaction with the ambiance and closure of middle berth are studied through a wide range of numerical simulations. Almost all the loss of lives and properties due to fire breakout can be attributed to the direct or indirect exposure to flames or to the inhalation of toxic gases and resultant suffocation due to smoke and soot. Therefore, the temporal stature of fire and smoke are reported for each of the considered cases which can be used in the present or extended form to develop guidelines to be followed in case of a fire breakout.

Keywords: Fire dynamics, flame propagation, locomotive fire, soot flow pattern.

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42 From Electroencephalogram to Epileptic Seizures Detection by Using Artificial Neural Networks

Authors: Gaetano Zazzaro, Angelo Martone, Roberto V. Montaquila, Luigi Pavone

Abstract:

Seizure is the main factor that affects the quality of life of epileptic patients. The diagnosis of epilepsy, and hence the identification of epileptogenic zone, is commonly made by using continuous Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal monitoring. Seizure identification on EEG signals is made manually by epileptologists and this process is usually very long and error prone. The aim of this paper is to describe an automated method able to detect seizures in EEG signals, using knowledge discovery in database process and data mining methods and algorithms, which can support physicians during the seizure detection process. Our detection method is based on Artificial Neural Network classifier, trained by applying the multilayer perceptron algorithm, and by using a software application, called Training Builder that has been developed for the massive extraction of features from EEG signals. This tool is able to cover all the data preparation steps ranging from signal processing to data analysis techniques, including the sliding window paradigm, the dimensionality reduction algorithms, information theory, and feature selection measures. The final model shows excellent performances, reaching an accuracy of over 99% during tests on data of a single patient retrieved from a publicly available EEG dataset.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Data Mining, Electroencephalogram, Epilepsy, Feature Extraction, Seizure Detection, Signal Processing.

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41 Simulation and Statistical Analysis of Motion Behavior of a Single Rockfall

Authors: Iau-Teh Wang, Chin-Yu Lee

Abstract:

The impact force of a rockfall is mainly determined by its moving behavior and velocity, which are contingent on the rock shape, slope gradient, height, and surface roughness of the moving path. It is essential to precisely calculate the moving path of the rockfall in order to effectively minimize and prevent damages caused by the rockfall. By applying the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program (CRSP) program as the analysis tool, this research studies the influence of three shapes of rock (spherical, cylindrical and discoidal) and surface roughness on the moving path of a single rockfall. As revealed in the analysis, in addition to the slope gradient, the geometry of the falling rock and joint roughness coefficient ( JRC ) of the slope are the main factors affecting the moving behavior of a rockfall. On a single flat slope, both the rock-s bounce height and moving velocity increase as the surface gradient increases, with a critical gradient value of 1:m = 1 . Bouncing behavior and faster moving velocity occur more easily when the rock geometry is more oval. A flat piece tends to cause sliding behavior and is easily influenced by the change of surface undulation. When JRC <1.4 the moving velocity decreases and the bounce height increases as JRC increases. If the gradient is fixed, when JRC is greater, the bounce height will be higher, while the moving velocity will experience a downward trend. Therefore, the best protecting point and facilities can be chosen if the moving paths of rockfalls are precisely estimated.

Keywords: rock shape, surface roughness, moving path.

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40 Natural Ventilation for the Sustainable Tall Office Buildings of the Future

Authors: Ayşin Sev, Görkem Aslan

Abstract:

Sustainable tall buildings that provide comfortable, healthy and efficient indoor environments are clearly desirable as the densification of living and working space for the world’s increasing population proceeds. For environmental concerns, these buildings must also be energy efficient. One component of these tasks is the provision of indoor air quality and thermal comfort, which can be enhanced with natural ventilation by the supply of fresh air. Working spaces can only be naturally ventilated with connections to the outdoors utilizing operable windows, double facades, ventilation stacks, balconies, patios, terraces and skygardens. Large amounts of fresh air can be provided to the indoor spaces without mechanical air-conditioning systems, which are widely employed in contemporary tall buildings. This paper tends to present the concept of natural ventilation for sustainable tall office buildings in order to achieve healthy and comfortable working spaces, as well as energy efficient environments. Initially the historical evolution of ventilation strategies for tall buildings is presented, beginning with natural ventilation and continuing with the introduction of mechanical airconditioning systems. Then the emergence of natural ventilation due to the health and environmental concerns in tall buildings is handled, and the strategies for implementing this strategy are revealed. In the next section, a number of case studies that utilize this strategy are investigated. Finally, how tall office buildings can benefit from this strategy is discussed.

Keywords: Tall office building, natural ventilation, energy efficiency, double-skin façade, stack ventilation, air conditioning.

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39 The Significance of Embodied Energy in Certified Passive Houses

Authors: Robert H. Crawford, André Stephan

Abstract:

Certifications such as the Passive House Standard aim to reduce the final space heating energy demand of residential buildings. Space conditioning, notably heating, is responsible for nearly 70% of final residential energy consumption in Europe. There is therefore significant scope for the reduction of energy consumption through improvements to the energy efficiency of residential buildings. However, these certifications totally overlook the energy embodied in the building materials used to achieve this greater operational energy efficiency. The large amount of insulation and the triple-glazed high efficiency windows require a significant amount of energy to manufacture. While some previous studies have assessed the life cycle energy demand of passive houses, including their embodied energy, these rely on incomplete assessment techniques which greatly underestimate embodied energy and can lead to misleading conclusions. This paper analyses the embodied and operational energy demands of a case study passive house using a comprehensive hybrid analysis technique to quantify embodied energy. Results show that the embodied energy is much more significant than previously thought. Also, compared to a standard house with the same geometry, structure, finishes and number of people, a passive house can use more energy over 80 years, mainly due to the additional materials required. Current building energy efficiency certifications should widen their system boundaries to include embodied energy in order to reduce the life cycle energy demand of residential buildings.

Keywords: Embodied energy, Hybrid analysis, Life cycle energy analysis, Passive house.

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38 Evaluating Efficiency of Nina Distribution Company Using Window Data Envelopment Analysis and Malmquist Index

Authors: Hossein Taherian Far, Ali Bazaee

Abstract:

Achieving continuous sustained economic growth and following economic development can be the target for all countries which are looking for it. In this regard, distribution industry plays an important role in growth and development of any nation. So, estimating the efficiency and productivity of the so called industry and identifying factors influencing it, is very necessary. The objective of the present study is to measure the efficiency and productivity of seven branches of Nina Distribution Company using window data envelopment analysis and Malmquist productivity index from spring 2013 to summer 2015. In this study, using criteria of fixed assets, payroll personnel, operating costs and duration of collection of receivables were selected as inputs and people and net sales, gross profit and percentage of coverage to customers were selected as outputs. Then, the process of performance window data envelopment analysis was driven and process efficiency has been measured using Malmquist index. The results indicate that the average technical efficiency of window Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model and fluctuating trend is sustainable. But the average management efficiency in window DEA model is related with negative growth (decline) of about 13%. The mean scale efficiency in all windows, except in the second one which is faced with 8%, shows growth of 18% compared to the first window. On the other hand, the mean change in total factor productivity in all branches of the industry shows average negative growth (decrease) of 12% which are the result of a negative change in technology.

Keywords: Nina Distribution Company branches, window data envelopment analysis, Malmquist productivity index.

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37 Identification of Outliers in Flood Frequency Analysis: Comparison of Original and Multiple Grubbs-Beck Test

Authors: Ayesha S. Rahman, Khaled Haddad, Ataur Rahman

Abstract:

At-site flood frequency analysis is used to estimate flood quantiles when at-site record length is reasonably long. In Australia, FLIKE software has been introduced for at-site flood frequency analysis. The advantage of FLIKE is that, for a given application, the user can compare a number of most commonly adopted probability distributions and parameter estimation methods relatively quickly using a windows interface. The new version of FLIKE has been incorporated with the multiple Grubbs and Beck test which can identify multiple numbers of potentially influential low flows. This paper presents a case study considering six catchments in eastern Australia which compares two outlier identification tests (original Grubbs and Beck test and multiple Grubbs and Beck test) and two commonly applied probability distributions (Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and Log Pearson type 3 (LP3)) using FLIKE software. It has been found that the multiple Grubbs and Beck test when used with LP3 distribution provides more accurate flood quantile estimates than when LP3 distribution is used with the original Grubbs and Beck test. Between these two methods, the differences in flood quantile estimates have been found to be up to 61% for the six study catchments. It has also been found that GEV distribution (with L moments) and LP3 distribution with the multiple Grubbs and Beck test provide quite similar results in most of the cases; however, a difference up to 38% has been noted for flood quantiles for annual exceedance probability (AEP) of 1 in 100 for one catchment. This finding needs to be confirmed with a greater number of stations across other Australian states.

Keywords: Floods, FLIKE, probability distributions, flood frequency, outlier.

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36 Applicability of Overhangs for Energy Saving in Existing High-Rise Housing in Different Climates

Authors: Qiong He, S. Thomas Ng

Abstract:

Upgrading the thermal performance of building envelope of existing residential buildings is an effective way to reduce heat gain or heat loss. Overhang device is a common solution for building envelope improvement as it can cut down solar heat gain and thereby can reduce the energy used for space cooling in summer time. Despite that, overhang can increase the demand for indoor heating in winter due to its function of lowering the solar heat gain. Obviously, overhang has different impacts on energy use in different climatic zones which have different energy demand. To evaluate the impact of overhang device on building energy performance under different climates of China, an energy analysis model is built up in a computer-based simulation program known as DesignBuilder based on the data of a typical high-rise residential building. The energy simulation results show that single overhang is able to cut down around 5% of the energy consumption of the case building in the stand-alone situation or about 2% when the building is surrounded by other buildings in regions which predominantly rely on space cooling though it has no contribution to energy reduction in cold region. In regions with cold summer and cold winter, adding overhang over windows can cut down around 4% and 1.8% energy use with and without adjoining buildings, respectively. The results indicate that overhang might not an effective shading device to reduce the energy consumption in the mixed climate or cold regions.

Keywords: Overhang, energy analysis, computer-based simulation, high-rise residential building, mutual shading, climate.

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35 Analyzing the Effect of Materials’ Selection on Energy Saving and Carbon Footprint: A Case Study Simulation of Concrete Structure Building

Authors: M. Kouhirostamkolaei, M. Kouhirostami, M. Sam, J. Woo, A. T. Asutosh, J. Li, C. Kibert

Abstract:

Construction is one of the most energy consumed activities in the urban environment that results in a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. Thus, the impact of the construction industry on global warming is undeniable. Thus, reducing building energy consumption and mitigating carbon production can slow the rate of global warming. The purpose of this study is to determine the amount of energy consumption and carbon dioxide production during the operation phase and the impact of using new shells on energy saving and carbon footprint. Therefore, a residential building with a re-enforced concrete structure is selected in Babolsar, Iran. DesignBuilder software has been used for one year of building operation to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide production and energy consumption in the operation phase of the building. The primary results show the building use 61750 kWh of energy each year. Computer simulation analyzes the effect of changing building shells -using XPS polystyrene and new electrochromic windows- as well as changing the type of lighting on energy consumption reduction and subsequent carbon dioxide production. The results show that the amount of energy and carbon production during building operation has been reduced by approximately 70% by applying the proposed changes. The changes reduce CO2e to 11345 kg CO2/yr. The result of this study helps designers and engineers to consider material selection’s process as one of the most important stages of design for improving energy performance of buildings.

Keywords: Construction materials, green construction, energy simulation, carbon footprint, energy saving, concrete structure, DesignBuilder.

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34 An Approach towards Designing an Energy Efficient Building through Embodied Energy Assessment: A Case of Apartment Building in Composite Climate

Authors: Ambalika Ekka

Abstract:

In today’s world, the growing demand for urban built forms has resulted in the production and consumption of building materials i.e. embodied energy in building construction, leading to pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, new buildings will offer a unique opportunity to implement more energy efficient building without compromising on building performance of the building. Embodied energy of building materials forms major contribution to embodied energy in buildings. The paper results in an approach towards designing an energy efficient apartment building through embodied energy assessment. This paper discusses the trend of residential development in Rourkela, which includes three case studies of the contemporary houses, followed by architectural elements, number of storeys, predominant material use and plot sizes using primary data. It results in identification of predominant material used and other characteristics in urban area. Further, the embodied energy coefficients of various dominant building materials and alternative materials manufactured in Indian Industry is taken in consideration from secondary source i.e. literature study. The paper analyses the embodied energy by estimating materials and operational energy of proposed building followed by altering the specifications of the materials based on the building components i.e. walls, flooring, windows, insulation and roof through res build India software and comparison of different options is assessed with consideration of sustainable parameters. This paper results that autoclaved aerated concrete block only reaches the energy performance Index benchmark i.e. 69.35 kWh/m2 yr i.e. by saving 4% of operational energy and as embodied energy has no particular index, out of all materials it has the highest EE 23206202.43  MJ.

Keywords: Energy efficient, embodied energy, energy performance index, building materials.

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33 Application Reliability Method for Concrete Dams

Authors: Mustapha Kamel Mihoubi, Mohamed Essadik Kerkar

Abstract:

Probabilistic risk analysis models are used to provide a better understanding of the reliability and structural failure of works, including when calculating the stability of large structures to a major risk in the event of an accident or breakdown. This work is interested in the study of the probability of failure of concrete dams through the application of reliability analysis methods including the methods used in engineering. It is in our case, the use of level 2 methods via the study limit state. Hence, the probability of product failures is estimated by analytical methods of the type first order risk method (FORM) and the second order risk method (SORM). By way of comparison, a level three method was used which generates a full analysis of the problem and involves an integration of the probability density function of random variables extended to the field of security using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Taking into account the change in stress following load combinations: normal, exceptional and extreme acting on the dam, calculation of the results obtained have provided acceptable failure probability values which largely corroborate the theory, in fact, the probability of failure tends to increase with increasing load intensities, thus causing a significant decrease in strength, shear forces then induce a shift that threatens the reliability of the structure by intolerable values of the probability of product failures. Especially, in case the increase of uplift in a hypothetical default of the drainage system.

Keywords: Dam, failure, limit-state, Monte Carlo simulation, reliability, probability, simulation, sliding, Taylor.

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32 Thermal Treatments and Characteristics Study On Unalloyed Structural (AISI 1140) Steel

Authors: S. S. Sharma, P. R. Prabhu, Rajagopal Chadaga

Abstract:

The main emphasis of metallurgists has been to process the materials to obtain the balanced mechanical properties for the given application. One of the processing routes to alter the properties is heat treatment. Nearly 90% of the structural applications are related to the medium carbon an alloyed steels and hence are regarded as structural steels. The major requirement in the conventional steel is to improve workability, toughness, hardness and grain refinement. In this view, it is proposed to study the mechanical and tribological properties of unalloyed structural (AISI 1140) steel with different thermal (heat) treatments like annealing, normalizing, tempering and hardening and compared with as brought (cold worked) specimen. All heat treatments are carried out in atmospheric condition. Hardening treatment improves hardness of the material, a marginal decrease in hardness value with improved ductility is observed in tempering. Annealing and normalizing improve ductility of the specimen. Normalized specimen shows ultimate ductility. Hardened specimen shows highest wear resistance in the initial period of slide wear where as above 25KM of sliding distance, as brought steel dominates the hardened specimen. Both mild and severe wear regions are observed. Microstructural analysis shows the existence of pearlitic structure in normalized specimen, lath martensitic structure in hardened, pearlitic, ferritic structure in annealed specimen.

Keywords: Annealing, hardness, heat treatment, normalizing, wear.

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31 Dual-Actuated Vibration Isolation Technology for a Rotary System’s Position Control on a Vibrating Frame: Disturbance Rejection and Active Damping

Authors: Kamand Bagherian, Nariman Niknejad

Abstract:

A vibration isolation technology for precise position control of a rotary system powered by two permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motors is proposed, where this system is mounted on an oscillatory frame. To achieve vibration isolation for this system, active damping and disturbance rejection (ADDR) technology is presented which introduces a cooperation of a main and an auxiliary PMDC, controlled by discrete-time sliding mode control (DTSMC) based schemes. The controller of the main actuator tracks a desired position and the auxiliary actuator simultaneously isolates the induced vibration, as its controller follows a torque trend. To determine this torque trend, a combination of two algorithms is introduced by the ADDR technology. The first torque-trend producing algorithm rejects the disturbance by counteracting the perturbation, estimated using a model-based observer. The second torque trend applies active variable damping to minimize the oscillation of the output shaft. In this practice, the presented technology is implemented on a rotary system with a pendulum attached, mounted on a linear actuator simulating an oscillation-transmitting structure. In addition, the obtained results illustrate the functionality of the proposed technology.

Keywords: Vibration isolation, position control, discrete-time nonlinear controller, active damping, disturbance tracking algorithm, oscillation transmitting support, stability robustness.

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30 A Finite Element/Finite Volume Method for Dam-Break Flows over Deformable Beds

Authors: Alia Alghosoun, Ashraf Osman, Mohammed Seaid

Abstract:

A coupled two-layer finite volume/finite element method was proposed for solving dam-break flow problem over deformable beds. The governing equations consist of the well-balanced two-layer shallow water equations for the water flow and a linear elastic model for the bed deformations. Deformations in the topography can be caused by a brutal localized force or simply by a class of sliding displacements on the bathymetry. This deformation in the bed is a source of perturbations, on the water surface generating water waves which propagate with different amplitudes and frequencies. Coupling conditions at the interface are also investigated in the current study and two mesh procedure is proposed for the transfer of information through the interface. In the present work a new procedure is implemented at the soil-water interface using the finite element and two-layer finite volume meshes with a conservative distribution of the forces at their intersections. The finite element method employs quadratic elements in an unstructured triangular mesh and the finite volume method uses the Rusanove to reconstruct the numerical fluxes. The numerical coupled method is highly efficient, accurate, well balanced, and it can handle complex geometries as well as rapidly varying flows. Numerical results are presented for several test examples of dam-break flows over deformable beds. Mesh convergence study is performed for both methods, the overall model provides new insight into the problems at minimal computational cost.

Keywords: Dam-break flows, deformable beds, finite element method, finite volume method, linear elasticity, Shallow water equations.

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