Search results for: voltage conversion ratio
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3044

Search results for: voltage conversion ratio

2174 DTC-SVM Scheme for Induction Motors Fedwith a Three-level Inverter

Authors: Ehsan Hassankhan, Davood A. Khaburi

Abstract:

Direct Torque Control is a control technique in AC drive systems to obtain high performance torque control. The conventional DTC drive contains a pair of hysteresis comparators. DTC drives utilizing hysteresis comparators suffer from high torque ripple and variable switching frequency. The most common solution to those problems is to use the space vector depends on the reference torque and flux. In this Paper The space vector modulation technique (SVPWM) is applied to 2 level inverter control in the proposed DTC-based induction motor drive system, thereby dramatically reducing the torque ripple. Then the controller based on space vector modulation is designed to be applied in the control of Induction Motor (IM) with a three-level Inverter. This type of Inverter has several advantages over the standard two-level VSI, such as a greater number of levels in the output voltage waveforms, Lower dV/dt, less harmonic distortion in voltage and current waveforms and lower switching frequencies. This paper proposes a general SVPWM algorithm for three-level based on standard two-level SVPWM. The proposed scheme is described clearly and simulation results are reported to demonstrate its effectiveness. The entire control scheme is implemented with Matlab/Simulink.

Keywords: Direct torque control, space vector Pulsewidthmodulation(SVPWM), neutral point clamped(NPC), two-levelinverter.

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2173 Electro-Thermal Imaging of Breast Phantom: An Experimental Study

Authors: H. Feza Carlak, N. G. Gencer

Abstract:

To increase the temperature contrast in thermal images, the characteristics of the electrical conductivity and thermal imaging modalities can be combined. In this experimental study, it is objected to observe whether the temperature contrast created by the tumor tissue can be improved just due to the current application within medical safety limits. Various thermal breast phantoms are developed to simulate the female breast tissue. In vitro experiments are implemented using a thermal infrared camera in a controlled manner. Since experiments are implemented in vitro, there is no metabolic heat generation and blood perfusion. Only the effects and results of the electrical stimulation are investigated. Experimental study is implemented with two-dimensional models. Temperature contrasts due to the tumor tissues are obtained. Cancerous tissue is determined using the difference and ratio of healthy and tumor images. 1 cm diameter single tumor tissue causes almost 40 °mC temperature contrast on the thermal-breast phantom. Electrode artifacts are reduced by taking the difference and ratio of background (healthy) and tumor images. Ratio of healthy and tumor images show that temperature contrast is increased by the current application.

Keywords: Medical diagnostic imaging, breast phantom, active thermography, breast cancer detection.

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2172 Experimental Study on the Effects of Water-in-Oil Emulsions to the Pressure Drop in Pipeline Flow

Authors: S. S. Dol, M. S. Chan, S. F. Wong, J. S. Lim

Abstract:

Emulsion formation is unavoidable and can be detrimental to an oil field production. The presence of stable emulsions also reduces the quality of crude oil and causes more problems in the downstream refinery operations, such as corrosion and pipeline pressure drop. Hence, it is important to know the effects of emulsions in the pipeline. Light crude oil was used for the continuous phase in the W/O emulsions where the emulsions pass through a flow loop to test the pressure drop across the pipeline. The results obtained shows that pressure drop increases as water cut is increased until it peaks at the phase inversion of the W/O emulsion between 30% to 40% water cut. Emulsions produced by gradual constrictions show a lower stability as compared to sudden constrictions. Lower stability of emulsions in gradual constriction has the higher influence of pressure drop compared to a sudden sharp decrease in diameter in sudden constriction. Generally, sudden constriction experiences pressure drop of 0.013% to 0.067% higher than gradual constriction of the same ratio. Lower constriction ratio cases cause larger pressure drop ranging from 0.061% to 0.241%. Considering the higher profitability in lower emulsion stability and lower pressure drop at the developed flow region of different constrictions, an optimum design of constriction is found to be gradual constriction with a ratio of 0.5.

Keywords: Constriction, pressure drop, turbulence, water cut, water-in-oil emulsions.

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2171 Cognitive SATP for Airborne Radar Based on Slow-Time Coding

Authors: Fanqiang Kong, Jindong Zhang, Daiyin Zhu

Abstract:

Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) techniques have been motivated as a key enabling technology for advanced airborne radar applications. In this paper, the notion of cognitive radar is extended to STAP technique, and cognitive STAP is discussed. The principle for improving signal-to-clutter ratio (SCNR) based on slow-time coding is given, and the corresponding optimization algorithm based on cyclic and power-like algorithms is presented. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Space-time adaptive processing (STAP), signal-to-clutter ratio, slow-time coding.

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2170 Nine-Level Shunt Active Power Filter Associated with a Photovoltaic Array Coupled to the Electrical Distribution Network

Authors: Zahzouh Zoubir, Bouzaouit Azzeddine, Gahgah Mounir

Abstract:

The use of more and more electronic power switches with a nonlinear behavior generates non-sinusoidal currents in distribution networks, which causes damage to domestic and industrial equipment. The multi-level shunt power active filter is subsequently shown to be an adequate solution to the problem raised. Nevertheless, the difficulty of adjusting the active filter DC supply voltage requires another technology to ensure it. In this article, a photovoltaic generator is associated with the DC bus power terminals of the active filter. The proposed system consists of a field of solar panels, three multi-level voltage inverters connected to the power grid and a non-linear load consisting of a six-diode rectifier bridge supplying a resistive-inductive load. Current control techniques of active and reactive power are used to compensate for both harmonic currents and reactive power as well as to inject active solar power into the distribution network. An algorithm of the search method of the maximum power point of type Perturb and observe is applied. Simulation results of the system proposed under the MATLAB/Simulink environment shows that the performance of control commands that reassure the solar power injection in the network, harmonic current compensation and power factor correction.

Keywords: MPPT, active power filter, PV array, perturb and observe algorithm, PWM-control.

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2169 Optimization of Process Parameters for Diesters Biolubricant using D-optimal Design

Authors: Bashar Mudhaffar Abdullah, Jumat Salimon

Abstract:

Optimization study of the diesters biolubricant oleyl 9(12)-hydroxy-10(13)-oleioxy-12(9)-octadecanoate (OLHYOOT) was synthesized in the presence of sulfuric acid (SA) as catalyst has been done. Optimum conditions of the experiment to obtain high yield% of OLHYOOT were predicted at ratio of OL/HYOOA of 1:1 g/g, ratio of SA/HYOOA of 0.20:1 g/g, reaction temperature 110 °C and 4.5 h of reaction time. At this condition, the Yield% of OLHYOOT was 88.7. Disappearance of carboxylic acid (C=O) peak has observed by FTIR with appearance ester (C=O) at 1738 cm-1. 1H NMR spectra analyses confirmed the result of OLHYOOT with appearance ester (-CHOCOR) at 4.05ppm and also the 13C-NMR confirmed the result with appearance ester (C=O) peak at 173.93ppm.

Keywords: Esterification, Diesters, Biolubricant, D-optimaldesign.

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2168 A Novel Application of Network Equivalencing Method in Time Domain to Precise Calculation of Dead Time in Power Transmission Title

Authors: J. Moshtagh, L. Eslami

Abstract:

Various studies have showed that about 90% of single line to ground faults occurred on High voltage transmission lines have transient nature. This type of faults is cleared by temporary outage (by the single phase auto-reclosure). The interval between opening and reclosing of the faulted phase circuit breakers is named “Dead Time” that is varying about several hundred milliseconds. For adjustment of traditional single phase auto-reclosures that usually are not intelligent, it is necessary to calculate the dead time in the off-line condition precisely. If the dead time used in adjustment of single phase auto-reclosure is less than the real dead time, the reclosing of circuit breakers threats the power systems seriously. So in this paper a novel approach for precise calculation of dead time in power transmission lines based on the network equivalencing in time domain is presented. This approach has extremely higher precision in comparison with the traditional method based on Thevenin equivalent circuit. For comparison between the proposed approach in this paper and the traditional method, a comprehensive simulation by EMTP-ATP is performed on an extensive power network.

Keywords: Dead Time, Network Equivalencing, High Voltage Transmission Lines, Single Phase Auto-Reclosure.

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2167 Efficiency of Different GLR Test-statistics for Spatial Signal Detection

Authors: Olesya Bolkhovskaya, Alexander Maltsev

Abstract:

In this work the characteristics of spatial signal detec¬tion from an antenna array in various sample cases are investigated. Cases for a various number of available prior information about the received signal and the background noise are considered. The spatial difference between a signal and noise is only used. The performance characteristics and detecting curves are presented. All test-statistics are obtained on the basis of the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR). The received results are correct for a short and long sample.

Keywords: GLR test-statistic, detection task, generalized likelihood ratio, antenna array, detection curves, performance characteristics.

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2166 Osmotic Dehydration of Apricot using Saltsucrose Solutions

Authors: M. Manafi, J. Hesari, H. Peighambardoust, M. Rahimzade Khoyi

Abstract:

Fruit drying is a well known process mostly used for preservation of fruits. Osmotic dehydration of apricot slices were carried out in three different salt-sucrose concentrations and four different temperatures. Also three different weight ratios of solution to sample were conducted to one set of experiments. The dehydration curves were constructed using Peleg-s model. Increasing the solution volume increased the mass transfer rate and hence the solid gain increased rapidly. Increasing the volume of osmotic media caused an increase in overall mass transfer but a 'solution to sample' ratio of 5:1 gave the best product quality. The best temperature and concentration that had a high water loss to solid gain ratio and an acceptable taste were 40°C and 5%, respectively.

Keywords: Apricot, Effective diffusivities, Osmotic dehydration

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2165 Effect of Phosphate and Zinc Biofertilizers on Seed Yield and Molar Ratio of Phytic Acid to Zinc in Two Cultivars of Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Authors: M. Mohammadi

Abstract:

In order to evaluate the effect of phosphate and Zn bio-fertilizers on the yield, phytic acid (PA), Zn concentration and PA/Zn molar ratio in bean, a field experiment was carried out for two years. The treatments included two cultivars of bean (Talash and Sadri), four levels of P (P0, P1: 100 kg ha-1 triple super phosphate (TSP), P2: 50 kg ha-1 TSP + phosphate bio-fertilizer, P3: phosphate bio-fertilizer), three levels of Zn (Zn0, Zn1: 50 kg ha-1 ZnSO4, Zn2: Zn bio-fertilizer). Phosphate bio-fertilizer consisted of inoculum of mycorrhizal fungus and Azotobacter and Zn bio-fertilizer consisted of Pseudomonas bacteria. The results revealed that there was significant difference between yield and Zn concentration between years. The effect of cultivar was significant on studied parameters. The lowest content of PA and PA/Zn were obtained from Talash. P treatment caused to significant difference on parameters in which P2 caused to increase yield, P and Zn concentration, and decrease PA and PA/Zn by 21.8%, 38.2%, 33.4%, 17.4% and 38.6% respectively. Zn treatment caused to significant difference on studied parameters. The maximum number of parameters were obtained from Zn1 and Zn2. The higher Zn concentration led to lower content of PA and PA/Zn. Using of P and Zn bio–fertilizers were caused to increasing nutrient uptake, improving growth condition and reducing PA and PA/Zn molar ratio.

Keywords: Mycorrhizae, phosphorus, pseudomonas, zinc.

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2164 O-Functionalized CNT Mediated CO Hydro-Deoxygenation and Chain Growth

Authors: K. Mondal, S. Talapatra, M. Terrones, S. Pokhrel, C. Frizzel, B. Sumpter, V. Meunier, A. L. Elias

Abstract:

Worldwide energy independence is reliant on the ability to leverage locally available resources for fuel production. Recently, syngas produced through gasification of carbonaceous materials provided a gateway to a host of processes for the production of various chemicals including transportation fuels. The basis of the production of gasoline and diesel-like fuels is the Fischer Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process: A catalyzed chemical reaction that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) into long chain hydrocarbons. Until now, it has been argued that only transition metal catalysts (usually Co or Fe) are active toward the CO hydrogenation and subsequent chain growth in the presence of hydrogen. In this paper, we demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) surfaces are also capable of hydro-deoxygenating CO and producing long chain hydrocarbons similar to that obtained through the FTS but with orders of magnitude higher conversion efficiencies than the present state-of-the-art FTS catalysts. We have used advanced experimental tools such as XPS and microscopy techniques to characterize CNTs and identify C-O functional groups as the active sites for the enhanced catalytic activity. Furthermore, we have conducted quantum Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to confirm that C-O groups (inherent on CNT surfaces) could indeed be catalytically active towards reduction of CO with H2, and capable of sustaining chain growth. The DFT calculations have shown that the kinetically and thermodynamically feasible route for CO insertion and hydro-deoxygenation are different from that on transition metal catalysts. Experiments on a continuous flow tubular reactor with various nearly metal-free CNTs have been carried out and the products have been analyzed. CNTs functionalized by various methods were evaluated under different conditions. Reactor tests revealed that the hydrogen pre-treatment reduced the activity of the catalysts to negligible levels. Without the pretreatment, the activity for CO conversion as found to be 7 µmol CO/g CNT/s. The O-functionalized samples showed very activities greater than 85 µmol CO/g CNT/s with nearly 100% conversion. Analyses show that CO hydro-deoxygenation occurred at the C-O/O-H functional groups. It was found that while the products were similar to FT products, differences in selectivities were observed which, in turn, was a result of a different catalytic mechanism. These findings now open a new paradigm for CNT-based hydrogenation catalysts and constitute a defining point for obtaining clean, earth abundant, alternative fuels through the use of efficient and renewable catalyst.

Keywords: CNT, CO hydro-deoxygenation, DFT, liquid fuels, XPS, XTL.

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2163 Theoretical and Analytical Approaches for Investigating the Relations between Sediment Transport and Channel Shape

Authors: Nidal Hadadin

Abstract:

This study investigated the effect of cross sectional geometry on sediment transport rate. The processes of sediment transport are generally associated to environmental management, such as pollution caused by the forming of suspended sediment in the channel network of a watershed and preserving physical habitats and native vegetations, and engineering applications, such as the influence of sediment transport on hydraulic structures and flood control design. Many equations have been proposed for computing the sediment transport, the influence of many variables on sediment transport has been understood; however, the effect of other variables still requires further research. For open channel flow, sediment transport capacity is recognized to be a function of friction slope, flow velocity, grain size, grain roughness and form roughness, the hydraulic radius of the bed section and the type and quantity of vegetation cover. The effect of cross sectional geometry of the channel on sediment transport is one of the variables that need additional investigation. The width-depth ratio (W/d) is a comparative indicator of the channel shape. The width is the total distance across the channel and the depth is the mean depth of the channel. The mean depth is best calculated as total cross-sectional area divided by the top width. Channels with high W/d ratios tend to be shallow and wide, while channels with low (W/d) ratios tend to be narrow and deep. In this study, the effects of the width-depth ratio on sediment transport was demonstrated theoretically by inserting the shape factor in sediment continuity equation and analytically by utilizing the field data sets for Yalobusha River. It was found by utilizing the two approaches as a width-depth ratio increases the sediment transport decreases.

Keywords: Sediment transport, shape factor, hydraulicgeometry, flow discharge, width depth ratio.

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2162 Structure-Activity Relationship of Gold Catalysts on Alumina Supported Cu-Ce Oxides for CO and Volatile Organic Compound Oxidation

Authors: Tatyana T. Tabakova, Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Krasimir I. Ivanov, Yordanka G. Karakirova, Petya Cv. Petrova, Georgi V. Avdeev

Abstract:

The catalytic oxidation of CO and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is considered as one of the most efficient ways to reduce harmful emissions from various chemical industries. The effectiveness of gold-based catalysts for many reactions of environmental significance was proven during the past three decades. The aim of this work was to combine the favorable features of Au and Cu-Ce mixed oxides in the design of new catalytic materials of improved efficiency and economic viability for removal of air pollutants in waste gases from formaldehyde production. Supported oxides of copper and cerium with Cu: Ce molar ratio 2:1 and 1:5 were prepared by wet impregnation of g-alumina. Gold (2 wt.%) catalysts were synthesized by a deposition-precipitation method. Catalysts characterization was carried out by texture measurements, powder X-ray diffraction, temperature programmed reduction and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The catalytic activity in the oxidation of CO, CH3OH and (CH3)2O was measured using continuous flow equipment with fixed bed reactor. Both Cu-Ce/alumina samples demonstrated similar catalytic behavior. The addition of gold caused significant enhancement of CO and methanol oxidation activity (100 % degree of CO and CH3OH conversion at about 60 and 140 oC, respectively). The composition of Cu-Ce mixed oxides affected the performance of gold-based samples considerably. Gold catalyst on Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 1:5 exhibited higher activity for CO and CH3OH oxidation in comparison with Au on Cu-Ce/γ-Al2O3 2:1. The better performance of Au/Cu-Ce 1:5 was related to the availability of highly dispersed gold particles and copper oxide clusters in close contact with ceria.

Keywords: CO and VOCs oxidation, copper oxide, ceria, gold catalysts.

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2161 Cost Efficient Receiver Tube Technology for Eco-Friendly Concentrated Solar Thermal Applications

Authors: M. Shiva Prasad, S. R. Atchuta, T. Vijayaraghavan, S. Sakthivel

Abstract:

The world is in need of efficient energy conversion technologies which are affordable, accessible, and sustainable with eco-friendly nature. Solar energy is one of the cornerstones for the world’s economic growth because of its abundancy with zero carbon pollution. Among the various solar energy conversion technologies, solar thermal technology has attracted a substantial renewed interest due to its diversity and compatibility in various applications. Solar thermal systems employ concentrators, tracking systems and heat engines for electricity generation which lead to high cost and complexity in comparison with photovoltaics; however, it is compatible with distinct thermal energy storage capability and dispatchable electricity which creates a tremendous attraction. Apart from that, employing cost-effective solar selective receiver tube in a concentrating solar thermal (CST) system improves the energy conversion efficiency and directly reduces the cost of technology. In addition, the development of solar receiver tubes by low cost methods which can offer high optical properties and corrosion resistance in an open-air atmosphere would be beneficial for low and medium temperature applications. In this regard, our work opens up an approach which has the potential to achieve cost-effective energy conversion. We have developed a highly selective tandem absorber coating through a facile wet chemical route by a combination of chemical oxidation, sol-gel, and nanoparticle coating methods. The developed tandem absorber coating has gradient refractive index nature on stainless steel (SS 304) and exhibited high optical properties (α ≤ 0.95 & ε ≤ 0.14). The first absorber layer (Cr-Mn-Fe oxides) developed by controlled oxidation of SS 304 in a chemical bath reactor. A second composite layer of ZrO2-SiO2 has been applied on the chemically oxidized substrate by So-gel dip coating method to serve as optical enhancing and corrosion resistant layer. Finally, an antireflective layer (MgF2) has been deposited on the second layer, to achieve > 95% of absorption. The developed tandem layer exhibited good thermal stability up to 250 °C in open air atmospheric condition and superior corrosion resistance (withstands for > 200h in salt spray test (ASTM B117)). After the successful development of a coating with targeted properties at a laboratory scale, a prototype of the 1 m tube has been demonstrated with excellent uniformity and reproducibility. Moreover, it has been validated under standard laboratory test condition as well as in field condition with a comparison of the commercial receiver tube. The presented strategy can be widely adapted to develop highly selective coatings for a variety of CST applications ranging from hot water, solar desalination, and industrial process heat and power generation. The high-performance, cost-effective medium temperature receiver tube technology has attracted many industries, and recently the technology has been transferred to Indian industry.

Keywords: Concentrated solar thermal system, solar selective coating, tandem absorber, ultralow refractive index.

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2160 Boundary Effect on the Onset of Marangoni Convection with Internal Heat Generation

Authors: Norihan Md Arifin, Norfifah Bachok

Abstract:

The onset of Marangoni convection in a horizontal fluid layer with internal heat generation overlying a solid layer heated from below is studied. The upper free surface of a fluid is nondeformable and the bottom boundary are rigid and no-slip. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved exactly. The critical values of the Marangoni numbers for the onset of Marangoni convection are calculated and the latter is found to be critically dependent on the internal heating, depth ratio and conductivity ratio. The effects of the thermal conductivity and the thickness of the solid plate on the onset of convective instability with internal heating are studied in detail.

Keywords: Linear stability, Marangoni convection, Internal Heatgeneration.

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2159 Female Work Force Participation and Women Empowerment in Haryana

Authors: Dinabandhu Mahata, Amit Kumar, Ambarish Kumar Rai

Abstract:

India is known as a country of diversity regarding the social, cultural and wide geographical variations. In the north and north-west part of the country, the strong patriarchal norms and the male dominance based social structure are the important constructs. Patriarchal social setup adversely affects the women’s social and economic wellbeing and hence in that social structure women are considered as second level citizen. Work participation rate of women has directly linked to the development of society or household. Haryana is one of the developed states of India, still being ahead in economic prosperity, much lagged behind in gender-based equality and male dominance in all dimensions of life. The position of women in the Haryana is no better than the other states of India. Haryana state has the great difference among the male-female sex ratio which is a serious concern for social science research as a demographic problem for the state. Now women are requiring for their holistic empowerment and that will take care of them for an enabling process that must lead to their economic as well as social transformation. Hence, the objective of the paper is to address the role of sex ratio, women literacy and her work participation in the process of their empowerment with special attention to the gender perspective. The study used the data from Census of India from 1991 to 2011. This paper will examine the regional disparity of sex ratio, literacy rate and female work participation and the improvement of empowerment of women in the state of Haryana. This paper will suggest the idea for focusing much intensively on the issues of women empowerment through enhancement of her education, workforce participation and social participation with people participation and holistic approach.

Keywords: Sex ratio, literacy rate, workforce participation rate, women empowerment, Haryana.

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2158 Scour Depth Prediction around Bridge Piers Using Neuro-Fuzzy and Neural Network Approaches

Authors: H. Bonakdari, I. Ebtehaj

Abstract:

The prediction of scour depth around bridge piers is frequently considered in river engineering. One of the key aspects in efficient and optimum bridge structure design is considered to be scour depth estimation around bridge piers. In this study, scour depth around bridge piers is estimated using two methods, namely the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Therefore, the effective parameters in scour depth prediction are determined using the ANN and ANFIS methods via dimensional analysis, and subsequently, the parameters are predicted. In the current study, the methods’ performances are compared with the nonlinear regression (NLR) method. The results show that both methods presented in this study outperform existing methods. Moreover, using the ratio of pier length to flow depth, ratio of median diameter of particles to flow depth, ratio of pier width to flow depth, the Froude number and standard deviation of bed grain size parameters leads to optimal performance in scour depth estimation.

Keywords: Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, ANFIS, artificial neural network, ANN, bridge pier, scour depth, nonlinear regression, NLR.

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2157 The Determination of the Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Hydroxide and Boric Acid Molar Ratio on the Production of Zinc Borates

Authors: N. Tugrul, A. S. Kipcak, E. MoroydorDerun, S. Piskin

Abstract:

Zinc borate is an important boron compound that can be used as multi-functional flame retardant additive due to its high dehydration temperature property. In this study, theraw materials of ZnSO4.7H2O, NaOH and H3BO3werecharacterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and used in the synthesis of zinc borates.The synthesis parameters were set to 100°C reaction temperature and 120 minutes of reaction time, with different molar ratio of starting materials (ZnSO4.7H2O:NaOH:H3BO3). After the zinc borate synthesis, the identifications of the products were conducted by XRD and FT-IR. As a result,Zinc Oxide Borate Hydrate [Zn3B6O12.3.5H2O], were synthesized at the molar ratios of 1:1:3, 1:1:4, 1:2:5 and 1:2:6. Among these ratios 1:2:6 had the best results.

Keywords: Zinc borate, ZnSO4.7H2O, NaOH, H3BO3, XRD, FT-IR.

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2156 An Experimental Study on the Effect of Premixed and Equivalence Ratios on CO and HC Emissions of Dual Fuel HCCI Engine

Authors: M. Ghazikhani, M. R. Kalateh, Y. K. Toroghi, M. Dehnavi

Abstract:

In this study, effects of premixed and equivalence ratios on CO and HC emissions of a dual fuel HCCI engine are investigated. Tests were conducted on a single-cylinder engine with compression ratio of 17.5. Premixed gasoline is provided by a carburetor connected to intake manifold and equipped with a screw to adjust premixed air-fuel ratio, and diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder through an injector at pressure of 250 bars. A heater placed at inlet manifold is used to control the intake charge temperature. Optimal intake charge temperature results in better HCCI combustion due to formation of a homogeneous mixture, therefore, all tests were carried out over the optimum intake temperature of 110-115 ºC. Timing of diesel fuel injection has a great effect on stratification of in-cylinder charge and plays an important role in HCCI combustion phasing. Experiments indicated 35 BTDC as the optimum injection timing. Varying the coolant temperature in a range of 40 to 70 ºC, better HCCI combustion was achieved at 50 ºC. Therefore, coolant temperature was maintained 50 ºC during all tests. Simultaneous investigation of effective parameters on HCCI combustion was conducted to determine optimum parameters resulting in fast transition to HCCI combustion. One of the advantages of the method studied in this study is feasibility of easy and fast transition of typical diesel engine to a dual fuel HCCI engine. Results show that increasing premixed ratio, while keeping EGR rate constant, increases unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions due to quenching phenomena and trapping of premixed fuel in crevices, but CO emission decreases due to increase in CO to CO2 reactions.

Keywords: Dual fuel HCCI engine, premixed ratio, equivalenceratio, CO and UHC emissions.

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2155 Investigation of Fire Damaged Reinforced Concrete Walls with Axial Force

Authors: Hyun Ah Yoon, Ji Yeon Kang, Hee Sun Kim, Yeong Soo Shin

Abstract:

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall system of residential buildings is popular in South Korea. RC walls are subjected to axial forces in common and the effect of axial forces on the strength loss of the fire damaged walls has not been investigated. This paper aims at investigating temperature distribution on fire damaged concrete walls having different axial loads. In the experiments, a variable of specimens is axial force ratio. RC walls are fabricated with 150mm of wall thicknesses, 750mm of lengths and 1,300mm of heights having concrete strength of 24MPa. After curing, specimens are heated on one surface with ISO-834 standard time-temperature curve for 2 hours and temperature distributions during the test are measured using thermocouples inside the walls. The experimental results show that the temperature of the RC walls exposed to fire increases as axial force ratio increases. To verify the experiments, finite element (FE) models are generated for coupled temperature-structure analyses. The analytical results of thermal behaviors are in good agreement with the experimental results. The predicted displacement of the walls decreases when the axial force increases. 

Keywords: Axial force ratio, coupled analysis, fire, reinforced concrete wall, temperature distribution.

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2154 Maternal Health Outcome and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis

Authors: Okwan Frank

Abstract:

Maternal health outcome is one of the major population development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region has the highest maternal mortality ratio, despite the progressive economic growth in the region during the global economic crisis. It has been hypothesized that increase in economic growth will reduce the level of maternal mortality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of the negative relationship between health outcome proxy by maternal mortality ratio and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study used the Pooled Mean Group estimator of ARDL Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and the Kao test for cointegration to examine the short-run and long-run relationship between maternal mortality and economic growth. The results of the cointegration test showed the existence of a long-run relationship between the variables considered for the study. The long-run result of the Pooled Mean group estimates confirmed the hypothesis of an inverse relationship between maternal health outcome proxy by maternal mortality ratio and economic growth proxy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Thus increasing economic growth by investing in the health care systems to reduce pregnancy and childbirth complications will help reduce maternal mortality in the sub-region.

Keywords: Economic growth, maternal mortality, pool mean group, Sub-Saharan Africa.

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2153 Migration of a Drop in Simple Shear Flow at Finite Reynolds Numbers: Size and Viscosity Ratio Effects

Authors: M. Bayareh, S. Mortazavi

Abstract:

The migration of a deformable drop in simple shear flow at finite Reynolds numbers is investigated numerically by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations using a finite difference/front tracking method. The objectives of this study are to examine the effectiveness of the present approach to predict the migration of a drop in a shear flow and to investigate the behavior of the drop migration with different drop sizes and non-unity viscosity ratios. It is shown that the drop deformation depends strongly on the capillary number, so that; the proper non-dimensional number for the interfacial tension is the capillary number. The rate of migration increased with increasing the drop radius. In other words, the required time for drop migration to the centreline decreases. As the viscosity ratio increases, the drop rotates more slowly and the lubrication force becomes stronger. The increased lubrication force makes it easier for the drop to migrate to the centre of the channel. The migration velocity of the drop vanishes as the drop reaches the centreline under viscosity ratio of one and non-unity viscosity ratios. To validate the present calculations, some typical results are compared with available experimental and theoretical data.

Keywords: drop migration, shear flow, front-tracking method, finite difference method.

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2152 Design Optimization of Doubly Fed Induction Generator Performance by Differential Evolution

Authors: Mamidi Ramakrishna Rao

Abstract:

Doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG) due to their advantages like speed variation and four-quadrant operation, find its application in wind turbines. DFIG besides supplying power to the grid has to support reactive power (kvar) under grid voltage variations, should contribute minimum fault current during faults, have high efficiency, minimum weight, adequate rotor protection during crow-bar-operation from +20% to -20% of rated speed.  To achieve the optimum performance, a good electromagnetic design of DFIG is required. In this paper, a simple and heuristic global optimization – Differential Evolution has been used. Variables considered are lamination details such as slot dimensions, stack diameters, air gap length, and generator stator and rotor stack length. Two operating conditions have been considered - voltage and speed variations. Constraints included were reactive power supplied to the grid and limiting fault current and torque. The optimization has been executed separately for three objective functions - maximum efficiency, weight reduction, and grid fault stator currents. Subsequent calculations led to the conclusion that designs determined through differential evolution help in determining an optimum electrical design for each objective function.

Keywords: Design optimization, performance, doubly fed induction generators, DFIG, differential evolution.

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2151 A High-Frequency Low-Power Low-Pass-Filter-Based All-Current-Mirror Sinusoidal Quadrature Oscillator

Authors: A. Leelasantitham, B. Srisuchinwong

Abstract:

A high-frequency low-power sinusoidal quadrature oscillator is presented through the use of two 2nd-order low-pass current-mirror (CM)-based filters, a 1st-order CM low-pass filter and a CM bilinear transfer function. The technique is relatively simple based on (i) inherent time constants of current mirrors, i.e. the internal capacitances and the transconductance of a diode-connected NMOS, (ii) a simple negative resistance RN formed by a resistor load RL of a current mirror. Neither external capacitances nor inductances are required. As a particular example, a 1.9-GHz, 0.45-mW, 2-V CMOS low-pass-filter-based all-current-mirror sinusoidal quadrature oscillator is demonstrated. The oscillation frequency (f0) is 1.9 GHz and is current-tunable over a range of 370 MHz or 21.6 %. The power consumption is at approximately 0.45 mW. The amplitude matching and the quadrature phase matching are better than 0.05 dB and 0.15°, respectively. Total harmonic distortions (THD) are less than 0.3 %. At 2 MHz offset from the 1.9 GHz, the carrier to noise ratio (CNR) is 90.01 dBc/Hz whilst the figure of merit called a normalized carrier-to-noise ratio (CNRnorm) is 153.03 dBc/Hz. The ratio of the oscillation frequency (f0) to the unity-gain frequency (fT) of a transistor is 0.25. Comparisons to other approaches are also included.

Keywords: Sinusoidal quadrature oscillator, low-pass-filterbased, current-mirror bilinear transfer function, all-current-mirror, negative resistance, low power, high frequency, low distortion.

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2150 The Effects of Organic or Inorganic Zinc and Microbial Phytase, Alone or in Combination, on the Performance, Biochemical Parameters and Nutrient Utilization of Broilers Fed a Diet Low in Available Phosphorus

Authors: Mustafa Midilli, Mustafa Salman, Omer Hakan Muglali, Tülay Ögretmen, Sena Cenesiz, Neslihan Ormanci

Abstract:

This study examined the effects of zinc (Zn) from different sources and microbial phytase on the broiler performance, biochemical parameters and digestibility of nutrients when they were added to broiler diets containing low available phosphorus. A total of 875, 1-day-old male broilers of the Ross 308 strain were randomly separated into two control groups (positive and negative) and five treatment groups each containing 125 birds; each group was divided into 5 replicates of 25 birds. The positive control (PC) group was fed a diet containing adequate concentration (0.45%) of available phosphorus due to mineral premix (except zinc) and feeds. The negative control (NC) group was fed a basal diet including low concentration (0.30%) of available phosphorus due to mineral premix (except zinc) and feeds. The basal diet was supplemented with 0.30% phosphorus and 500 FTU phytase (PH); 0.30% phosphorus and organic zinc (OZ; 75mg/kg of Zn from Zn-proteinate); 0.30% phosphorus and inorganic zinc (IZ; 75 mg/kg of Zn from ZnSO4); 0.30% phosphorus, organic zinc and 500 FTU phytase (OZ + PH); and 0.30% phosphorus, inorganic zinc and 500 FTU phytase (IZ + PH) in the treatment groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. The lowest value for mean body weight was in the negative control group on a diet containing low available phosphorus. The use of supplementation with organic and inorganic zinc alone or in combination with microbial phytase significantly (P<0.05) increased the digestibility of Zn in the male broilers. Supplementation of those diets with OZ + PH or IZ + PH was very effective for increasing the body weight, body weight gain and the feed conversion ratio. In conclusion, the effects on broilers of diets with low phosphorus levels may be overcome by the addition of inorganic or organic zinc compounds in combination with microbial phytase.

Keywords: Broiler, Performance, Phytase, Phosphorus, Zinc.

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2149 Experimental Verification of the Relationship between Physiological Indexes and the Presence or Absence of an Operation during E-learning

Authors: Masaki Omata, Shumma Hosokawa

Abstract:

An experiment to verify the relationships between physiological indexes of an e-learner and the presence or absence of an operation during e-learning is described. Electroencephalogram (EEG), hemoencephalography (HEG), skin conductance (SC), and blood volume pulse (BVP) values were measured while participants performed experimental learning tasks. The results show that there are significant differences between the SC values when reading with clicking on learning materials and the SC values when reading without clicking, and between the HEG ratio when reading (with and without clicking) and the HEG ratio when resting for four of five participants. We conclude that the SC signals can be used to estimate whether or not a learner is performing an active task and that the HEG ratios can be used to estimate whether a learner is learning.

Keywords: E-learning, physiological index, physiological signal, state of learning.

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2148 Analytical Model to Predict the Shear Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams Externally Strengthened with CFRP Composites Conditions

Authors: Rajai Al-Rousan

Abstract:

This paper presents a proposed analytical model for predicting the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP composites as external reinforcement. The proposed analytical model can predict the shear contribution of CFRP composites of RC beams with an acceptable coefficient of correlation with the tested results. Based on the comparison of the proposed model with the published well-known models (ACI model, Triantafillou model, and Colotti model), the ACI model had a wider range of 0.16 to 10.08 for the ratio between tested and predicted ultimate shears at failure. Also, an acceptable range of 0.27 to 2.78 for the ratio between tested and predicted ultimate shears by the Triantafillou model. Finally, the best prediction (the ratio between the tested and predicted ones) of the ultimate shear capacity is observed by using Colotti model with a range of 0.20 to 1.78. Thus, the contribution of the CFRP composites as external reinforcement can be predicted with high accuracy by using the proposed analytical model.

Keywords: Predicting, shear capacity, reinforced concrete, beams, strengthened, externally, CFRP composites.

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2147 Adaptive Fuzzy Control for Air-Fuel Ratio of Automobile Spark Ignition Engine

Authors: Ali Ghaffari, A. Hosein Shamekhi, Akbar Saki, Ehsan Kamrani

Abstract:

In order to meet the limits imposed on automotive emissions, engine control systems are required to constrain air/fuel ratio (AFR) in a narrow band around the stoichiometric value, due to the strong decay of catalyst efficiency in case of rich or lean mixture. This paper presents a model of a sample spark ignition engine and demonstrates Simulink-s capabilities to model an internal combustion engine from the throttle to the crankshaft output. We used welldefined physical principles supplemented, where appropriate, with empirical relationships that describe the system-s dynamic behavior without introducing unnecessary complexity. We also presents a PID tuning method that uses an adaptive fuzzy system to model the relationship between the controller gains and the target output response, with the response specification set by desired percent overshoot and settling time. The adaptive fuzzy based input-output model is then used to tune on-line the PID gains for different response specifications. Experimental results demonstrate that better performance can be achieved with adaptive fuzzy tuning relative to similar alternative control strategies. The actual response specifications with adaptive fuzzy matched the desired response specifications.

Keywords: Modelling, Air–fuel ratio control, SI engine, Adaptive fuzzy Control.

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2146 An Investigation of the Effect of the Different Mix Constituents on Concrete Electric Resistivity

Authors: H. M. Ghasemzadeh, Y. Mohammadi, Gh. Nouri, S. E. Nabavi

Abstract:

Steel corrosion in concrete is considered as a main engineering problems for many countries and lots of expenses has been paid for their repair and maintenance annually. This problem may occur in all engineering structures whether in coastal and offshore or other areas. Hence, concrete structures should be able to withstand corrosion factors existing in water or soil. Reinforcing steel corrosion enhancement can be measured by use of concrete electrical resistance; and maintaining high electric resistivity in concrete is necessary for steel corrosion prevention. Lots of studies devoted to different aspects of the subjects worldwide. In this paper, an evaluation of the effects of W/C ratio, cementitious materials, and percent increase in silica fume were investigated on electric resistivity of high strength concrete. To do that, sixteen mix design with one aggregate grading was planned. Five of them had varying amount of W/C ratio and other eleven mixes was prepared with constant W/C ratio but different amount of cementitious materials. Silica fume and super plasticizer were used with different proportions in all specimens. Specimens were tested after moist curing for 28 days. A total of 80 cube specimens (50 mm) were tested for concrete electrical resistance. Results show that concrete electric resistivity can be increased with increasing amount of cementitious materials and silica fume.

Keywords: Corrosion, Electric resistivity, Mix design, Silica fume

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2145 CFD Simulations to Study the Cooling Effects of Different Greening Modifications

Authors: An-Shik Yang, Chih-Yung Wen, Chiang-Ho Cheng, Yu-Hsuan Juan

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to conduct computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations for evaluating the cooling efficacy from vegetation implanted in a public park in the Taipei, Taiwan. To probe the impacts of park renewal by means of adding three pavilions and supplementary green areas on urban microclimates, the simulated results have revealed that the park having a higher percentage of green coverage ratio (GCR) tended to experience a better cooling effect. These findings can be used to explore the effects of different greening modifications on urban environments for achieving an effective thermal comfort in urban public spaces.

Keywords: CFD simulations, green coverage ratio, urban heat island, urban public park.

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