Abstract: This paper contains 2 main parts. In the first part of paper we simulated and studied three types of electrode patterns used in various industries for suspension and handling of the semiconductor and glass and we selected the best pattern by evaluating the electrostatic force, which was comb pattern electrode.
In the second part we investigated the parameters affecting the amount of electrostatic force such as the gap between surface and electrode (g), the electrode width (w), the gap between electrodes (t), the surface permittivity and electrode length and methods of improvement of adhesion force by changing these values.
Abstract: The objective of the Economic Dispatch(ED) Problems
of electric power generation is to schedule the committed generating
units outputs so as to meet the required load demand at minimum
operating cost while satisfying all units and system equality and
inequality constraints. This paper presents a new method of ED
problems utilizing the Max-Min Ant System Optimization.
Historically, traditional optimizations techniques have been used,
such as linear and non-linear programming, but within the past
decade the focus has shifted on the utilization of Evolutionary
Algorithms, as an example Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing
and recently Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). In this paper we
introduce the Max-Min Ant System based version of the Ant System.
This algorithm encourages local searching around the best solution
found in each iteration. To show its efficiency and effectiveness, the
proposed Max-Min Ant System is applied to sample ED problems
composed of 4 generators. Comparison to conventional genetic
algorithms is presented.
Abstract: Composites depending on the nature of their
constituents and mode of production are regarded as one of the
advanced materials that drive today’s technology. This paper
attempts a short review of the subject matter with a general aim of
pushing to the next level the frontier of knowledge as it impacts the
technology of nano-particles manufacturing. The objectives entail an
effort to; aggregate recent research efforts in this field, analyse
research findings and observations, streamline research efforts and
support industry in taking decision on areas of fund deployment. It is
envisaged that this work will serve as a quick hand-on compendium
material for researchers in this field and a guide to relevant
government departments wishing to fund a research whose outcomes
have the potential of improving the nation’s GDP.
Abstract: Magnetic powder of Sr-ferrite was prepared by
conventional and sol-gel auto-combustion methods. In conventional
method, strontium carbonate and ferric oxide powders were mixed
together and then mixture was calcined. In sol-gel auto-combustion
method, a solution containing strontium nitrate, ferric nitrate and
citric acid was heated until the combustion took place automatically;
then, as-burnt powder was calcined. Thermal behavior, phase
identification, morphology and magnetic properties of powders
obtained by these two methods were compared by DTA, XRD, SEM
and VSM techniques. According to the results of DTA analysis,
formation temperature of Sr-ferrite obtained by conventional and solgel
auto-combustion methods were 1300°C and 1000°C, respectively.
XRD results confirmed the formation of pure Sr-ferrite at the
mentioned temperatures. Plate and hexagonal-shape particles of Srferrite
were observed using SEM. The Sr-ferrite powder obtained by
sol-gel auto-combustion method had saturation magnetization of
66.03 emu/g and coercivity of 5731 Oe in comparison with values of
58.20 emu/g and 4378 Oe obtained by conventional method.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the contemporary phenomenon
of Anti-Gypsyism which diffused widely throughout social
representations of the so called “Gypsies”. In Europe and especially
in Italy, the media tends to reproduce racist stereotypes and
prejudices through a xenophobic depiction of this ethnic group, often
offering an ethnocentric point of view. From an anthropological
perspective, Roma people are a minority group facing diasporic
phenomena across Europe, produced by the host societies.
Abstract: Reduction of CO2 emissions has become a priority for
several countries due to increasing concerns about global warming
and climate change, especially in the developed countries. Residential
sector is considered one of the most important sectors for
considerable reduction of CO2 emissions since it represents a
significant amount of the total consumed energy in those countries. A
significant CO2 reduction cannot be achieved unless some initiatives
have been adopted in the policy of these countries. Introducing micro
combined heat and power (!CHP) systems into residential energy
systems is one of these initiatives, since such a technology offers
several advantages. Moreover, !CHP technology has the opportunity
to be operated not only by natural gas but it could also be operated by
renewable fuels. However, this technology can be operated by
different operation strategies. Each strategy has some advantages and
disadvantages.
This paper provides a review of different operation strategies of
such a technology used for residential energy systems, especially for
single dwellings. The review summarizes key points that outline the
trend of previous research carried out in this field.
Abstract: Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is one of the most
attractive bioceramics due to its moldable and shape ability to fill
complicated bony cavities or small dental defect positions. In this
study, CPC was produced by using mixture of tetracalcium phosphate
(TTCP, Ca4O(PO4)2) and dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA,
CaHPO4) in equimolar ratio (1/1) with aqueous solutions of acetic
acid (C2H4O2) and disodium hydrogen phosphate dehydrate
(Na2HPO4.2H2O) in combination with sodium alginate in order to
improve theirs moldable characteristic. The concentration of the
aqueous solutions and sodium alginate were varied to investigate the
effect of different aqueous solutions and alginate on properties of the
cements. The cement paste was prepared by mixing cement powder
(P) with aqueous solution (L) in a P/L ratio of 1.0g/0.35ml. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) was used to analyses phase formation of the
cements. Setting time and compressive strength of the set CPCs were
measured using the Gilmore apparatus and Universal testing
machine, respectively.
The results showed that CPCs could be produced by using both
basic (Na2HPO4.2H2O) and acidic (C2H4O2) solutions. XRD results
show the precipitation of hydroxyapatite in all cement samples. No
change in phase formation among cements using difference
concentrations of Na2HPO4.2H2O solutions. With increasing
concentration of acidic solutions, samples obtained less
hydroxyapatite with a high dicalcium phosphate dehydrate leaded to
a shorter setting time. Samples with sodium alginate exhibited higher
crystallization of hydroxyapatite than that of without alginate as a
result of shorten setting time in a basic solution but a longer setting
time in an acidic solution. The stronger cement was attained from
samples using the acidic solution with sodium alginate; however the
strength was lower than that of using the basic solution.
Abstract: The main objective of the study is focused in
producing slag based geopolymer concrete obtained with the addition
of alkali activator. Test results indicated that the reaction of silicates
in slag is based on the reaction potential of sodium hydroxide and the
formation of alumino-silicates. The study also comprises on the
evaluation of the efficiency of polymer reaction in terms of the
strength gain properties for different geopolymer mixtures.
Geopolymer mixture proportions were designed for different binder
to total aggregate ratio (0.3 & 0.45) and fine to coarse aggregate ratio
(0.4 & 0.8). Geopolymer concrete specimens casted with normal
curing conditions reported a maximum 28 days compressive strength
of 54.75 MPa. The addition of glued steel fibres at 1.0% Vf in
geopolymer concrete showed reasonable improvements on the
compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural properties of
different geopolymer mixtures. Further, comparative assessment was
made for different geopolymer mixtures and the reinforcing effects of
steel fibres were investigated in different concrete matrix.
Abstract: Heightened concerns over the amount of carbon
emitted from coal-related processes are generating shifts to the
application of biomass. In co-gasification, where coal is gasified
along with biomass, the biomass may be fed together with coal (cofeeding)
or an independent biomass gasifier needs to be integrated
with the coal gasifier. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the
biomass introduction methods in coal co-gasification. This includes
the evaluation of biomass concentration input (B0 to B100) and its
gasification performance. A process model is developed and
simulated in Aspen HYSYS, where both coal and biomass are
modelled according to its ultimate analysis. It was found that the
syngas produced increased with increasing biomass content for both
co-feeding and independent schemes. However, the heating values
and heat duties decreases with biomass concentration as more CO2
are produced from complete combustion.
Abstract: Medical imaging produces human body pictures in
digital form. Since these imaging techniques produce prohibitive
amounts of data, compression is necessary for storage and
communication purposes. Many current compression schemes
provide a very high compression rate but with considerable loss of
quality. On the other hand, in some areas in medicine, it may be
sufficient to maintain high image quality only in region of interest
(ROI). This paper discusses a contribution to the lossless
compression in the region of interest of Scintigraphic images based
on SPIHT algorithm and global transform thresholding using
Huffman coding.
Abstract: Since the marine environmental conditions are
extremely different from the other ones, marine actinomycetes might
produce novel bioactive compounds. Therefore, actinomycete strains
were screened from marine water and sediment samples collected
from the coastal areas of Northern Vietnam. Ninety-nine
actinomycete strains were obtained on starch-casein agar media by
dilution technique, only seven strains, named HP112, HP12, HP411,
HPN11, HP 11, HPT13 and HPX12, showed significant antibacterial
activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria
(Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Staphylococcus epidemidis ATCC
12228, Escherichia coli ATCC 11105). Further studies were carried
out with the most active HP411 strain against Candida albicans
ATCC 10231. This strain could grow rapidly on starch casein agar
and other media with high salt containing 7-10% NaCl at 28-30oC.
Spore-chain of HP411 showed an elongated and circular shape with
10 to 30 spores/chain. Identification of the strain was carried out by
employing the taxonomical studies including the 16S rRNA
sequence. Based on phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence it is
proposed that HP411 to be belongs to species Streptomyces
variabilis. The potent of the crude extract of fermentation broth of
HP411 that are effective against wide range of pathogens: both grampositive,
gram-negative and fungi. Further studies revealed that the
crude extract HP411 could obtain the anticancer activity for cancer
cell lines: Hep-G2 (liver cancer cell line); RD (cardiac and skeletal
muscle letters cell line); FL (membrane of the uterus cancer cell line).
However, the actinomycetes from marine ecosystem will be useful
for the discovery of new drugs in the future.
Abstract: Electricity is recognized as fundamental to
industrialization and improving the quality of life of the people.
Harnessing the immense untapped hydropower potential in Tripura
region opens avenues for growth and provides an opportunity to
improve the well-being of the people of the region, while making
substantial contribution to the national economy. Gumti hydro power
plant generates power to mitigate the crisis of power in Tripura,
India. The first unit of hydro power plant (5MW) was commissioned
in June 1976 & another two units of 5 MW was commissioned
simultaneously. But out of 15MW capacity at present only 8MW-
9MW power is produced from Gumti hydro power plant during rainy
season. But during lean season the production reduces to 0.5MW due
to shortage of water. Now, it is essential to implement some
mitigation measures so that the further atrocities can be prevented
and originality will be possible to restore. The decision making
ability of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Concordance
Analysis Techniques (CAT) are utilized to identify the better decision
or solution to the present problem. Some related attributes are
identified by the method of surveying within the experts and the
available reports and literatures. Similar criteria are removed and
ultimately seven relevant ones are identified. All the attributes are
compared with each other and rated accordingly to their importance
over the other with the help of Pair wise Comparison Matrix. In the
present investigation different mitigation measures are identified and
compared to find the best suitable alternative which can solve the
present uncertainties involving the existence of the Gumti Hydro
Power Plant.
Abstract: The bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the best
known of the legumes, and it has a long cultivation tradition in Italy.
The territory of “Subappennino Dauno” (southern Italy) is at around
700 m a.s.l. and is predominantly grown with cereals, olive trees and
grapevines. Ecotypes of white beans to eat dry (such as cannellini
beans) are also grown, which are sought for their palatability, high
digestibility, and ease of cooking. However, these are not easy to find
on the market due to their low production in relatively small areas
and on small family farms that use seeds handed down from
generation to generation. The introduction of these ecotypes in plain
areas of the Puglia region would provide an opportunity to promote
the diffusion of this type of bean. To investigate the adaptability of
these ecotypes in plain environments (Cerignola, in southern Italy) a
comparative trial was carried out between three ‘Monti Dauni’
ecotypes (E1, E2, E3) that are native to mountain areas and the
similar commercial variety, ‘Cannellini’. The data provide useful
information about the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of
these ecotypes when grown in lowland environments. Ecotype E3
provided the greatest bean production (2.34 t ha-1) compared to
‘Cannellini’ (1.28 t ha-1) and the other ecotypes (0.55 and 0.40 t ha-1,
for E1 and E2, respectively), due to its greater plant growth and the
larger size of the seed (and thickness, in particular). Finally, ecotype
E2 provided the greatest protein content (31.2%), although not
significantly different from the commercial cultivar ‘Cannellini’
(32.1%).
Abstract: The effective development of a geoscience education
and training program takes account of the rapidly changing
environment in the geoscience market, includes information about
resource-rich countries which have international education demands.
In this paper, we introduce the geoscience program run by the
International School for Geoscience Resources at the Korea Institute
of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (IS-Geo of KIGAM), and show
its remarkable performance. To further effective geoscience program
planning and operation, we present recommendations for strategic
management for customer-oriented operation with a more favorable
program format and advanced training aids. Above all, the IS-Geo of
KIGAM should continue improve through ‘plan-do-see-feedback’
activities based on the recommendations.
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.
Abstract: A novel method to produce a fast high voltage solid
states switch using Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) is
presented for discharge-pumped gas lasers. The IGBTs are connected
in series to achieve a high voltage rating. An avalanche transistor is
used as the gate driver. The fast pulse generated by the avalanche
transistor quickly charges the large input capacitance of the IGBT,
resulting in a switch out of a fast high-voltage pulse. The switching
characteristic of fast-high voltage solid state switch has been estimated
in the multi-stage series-connected IGBT with the applied voltage of
several tens of kV. Electrical circuit diagram and the mythology of
fast-high voltage solid state switch as well as experimental results
obtained are presented.
Abstract: Present study is aimed on the cutting process of circular
cross-section rods where the fracture is used to separate one rod
into two pieces. Incorporating the phenomenological ductile fracture
model into the explicit formulation of finite element method, the
process can be analyzed without the necessity of realizing too many
real experiments which could be expensive in case of repetitive
testing in different conditions. In the present paper, the steel AISI
1045 was examined and the tensile tests of smooth and notched
cylindrical bars were conducted together with biaxial testing of the
notched tube specimens to calibrate material constants of selected
phenomenological ductile fracture models. These were implemented
into the Abaqus/Explicit through user subroutine VUMAT and used
for cutting process simulation. As the calibration process is based
on variables which cannot be obtained directly from experiments,
numerical simulations of fracture tests are inevitable part of the
calibration. Finally, experiments regarding the cutting process were
carried out and predictive capability of selected fracture models is
discussed. Concluding remarks then make the summary of gained
experience both with the calibration and application of particular
ductile fracture criteria.
Abstract: Self-service technologies (SSTs) make an important
contribution to the daily life of people nowadays. However, the
introduction of SST does not lead to its usage. Thereby, this paper
was an attempt on discovery of the most preferred SST in the
customers’ point of view. To fulfill this aim, the Analytical Hierarchy
Process (AHP) was applied based on Saaty’s questionnaire which
was administered to the customers of e-banking services located in
Golestan providence, northern Iran. This study used qualitative
factors in association with the intention of consumers’ usage of SSTs
to rank three SSTs: ATM, mobile banking and internet banking. The
results showed that mobile banking get the highest weight in
consumers’ point of view. This research can be useful both for
managers and service providers and also for customers who intend to
use e-banking.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of age
and physiological status on progesterone and energy metabolism of
Ouled Djellal (O.D) breed ewes. 40 healthy ewes were divided into
two groups, primiparous and multiparous, with 20 ewes in each
group. The body weights (BW) (Kg) were 46.6 ± 4.20 and 59.2 ±
3.02, and consuming less 25 to 30% of their basal energetic
requirements. The values of serum glucose, triglycerides and
cholesterol were lower in pregnant than in non-pregnant ewes. The
high to very high significant differences were found during the 15th
week of pregnancy for glycaemia and triglyceridemia respectively.
Concerning serum progesterone, a very highly significant difference
(p
Abstract: In the present work, the finite element formulation for
the investigation of the effects of a localized interfacial degeneration
on the dynamic behavior of the [90°/0°] laminated composite plate
employing the state-space technique is performed. The stiffness of
the laminate is determined by assembling the stiffnesses of subelements.
This includes an introduction of an interface layer adopting
the virtually zero-thickness formulation to model the interfacial
degeneration. Also, the kinematically consistent mass matrix and
proportional damping have been formulated to complete the free
vibration governing expression. To simulate the interfacial
degeneration of the laminate, the degenerated areas are defined from
the center propagating outwards in a localized manner. It is found
that the natural frequency, damped frequency and damping ratio of
the plate decreases as the degenerated area of the interface increases.
On the contrary, the loss factor increases correspondingly.