Abstract: This paper deals with the thermo-mechanical deformation behavior of shear deformable functionally graded ceramicmetal (FGM) plates. Theoretical formulations are based on higher order shear deformation theory with a considerable amendment in the transverse displacement using finite element method (FEM). The mechanical properties of the plate are assumed to be temperaturedependent and graded in the thickness direction according to a powerlaw distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The temperature field is supposed to be a uniform distribution over the plate surface (XY plane) and varied in the thickness direction only. The fundamental equations for the FGM plates are obtained using variational approach by considering traction free boundary conditions on the top and bottom faces of the plate. A C0 continuous isoparametric Lagrangian finite element with thirteen degrees of freedom per node have been employed to accomplish the results. Convergence and comparison studies have been performed to demonstrate the efficiency of the present model. The numerical results are obtained for different thickness ratios, aspect ratios, volume fraction index and temperature rise with different loading and boundary conditions. Numerical results for the FGM plates are provided in dimensionless tabular and graphical forms. The results proclaim that the temperature field and the gradient in the material properties have significant role on the thermo-mechanical deformation behavior of the FGM plates.
Abstract: Biological reactions of individuals of a testing animal
to toxic substance are unique and can be used as an indication of the
existing of toxic substance. However, to distinguish such phenomenon
need a very complicate system and even more complicate to analyze
data in 3 dimensional. In this paper, a system to evaluate in vitro
biological activities to acute toxicity of stochastic self-affine
non-stationary signal of 3D goldfish swimming by using fractal
analysis is introduced. Regular digital camcorders are utilized by
proposed algorithm 3DCCPC to effectively capture and construct 3D
movements of the fish. A Critical Exponent Method (CEM) has been
adopted as a fractal estimator. The hypothesis was that the swimming
of goldfish to acute toxic would show the fractal property which
related to the toxic concentration. The experimental results supported
the hypothesis by showing that the swimming of goldfish under the
different toxic concentration has fractal properties. It also shows that
the fractal dimension of the swimming related to the pH value of FD Ôëê
0.26pH + 0.05. With the proposed system, the fish is allowed to swim
freely in all direction to react to the toxic. In addition, the trajectories
are precisely evaluated by fractal analysis with critical exponent
method and hence the results exhibit with much higher degree of
confidence.
Abstract: Biodisel is a type of biofuel having similar properties of diesel fuel but lacks substances (undesirable emissions) such as sulfur, nitrogen and aromatic polycyclic. Upon filtration of waste oil, the biodiesel fuel was produced via carrying out transestrification reaction of triglycerides followed by conducting viscosity, density, flash point, cloud point, pour point and copper strip corrosion tests on the samples and comparing with EN14214 and ASTM 6751 standards and all results were found in the permitted limit. The highest yield of biodiesel production reaction was found 46.6435 g when Sodium Hydroxide catalyst in amount of 0.375g was employed, 44.2347 g when Sodium methoxide catalyst in amount of 0.5g was employed and 56.5124 g when acid sulfuric catalyst in amount of 1g was employed and 47.3290 g when two stage reaction was done.
Abstract: Travel demand forecasting including four travel choices, i.e., trip generation, trip distribution, modal split and traffic assignment constructs the core of transportation planning. In its current application, travel demand forecasting has associated with three important issues, i.e., interface inconsistencies among four travel choices, inefficiency of commonly used solution algorithms, and undesirable multiple path solutions. In this paper, each of the three issues is extensively elaborated. An ideal unified framework for the combined model consisting of the four travel choices and variable demand functions is also suggested. Then, a few remarks are provided in the end of the paper
Abstract: To solve the problem of multisensor data fusion under
non-Gaussian channel noise. The advanced M-estimates are known
to be robust solution while trading off some accuracy. In order to
improve the estimation accuracy while still maintaining the equivalent
robustness, a two-stage robust fusion algorithm is proposed using
preliminary rejection of outliers then an optimal linear fusion. The
numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm is equivalent
to the M-estimates in the case of uncorrelated local estimates and
significantly outperforms the M-estimates when local estimates are
correlated.
Abstract: The use of magnetic and magnetic/gold core/shell
nanoparticles in biotechnology or medicine has shown good promise
due to their hybrid nature which possesses superior magnetic and
optical properties. Some of these potential applications include
hyperthermia treatment, bio-separations, diagnostics, drug delivery
and toxin removal. Synthesis refinement to control geometric and
magnetic/optical properties, and finding functional surfactants for
biomolecular attachment, are requirements to meet application
specifics.
Various high-temperature preparative methods were used for the
synthesis of iron oxide and gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles.
Different surface functionalities, such as 11-aminoundecanoic and
11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, were introduced on the surface of the
particles to facilitate further attachment of biomolecular functionality
and drug-like molecules. Nanoparticle thermal stability, composition,
state of aggregation, size and morphology were investigated and the
results from techniques such as Fourier Transform-Infra Red
spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis),
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and thermal analysis are
discussed.
Abstract: As a company competitiveness depends more and more on the relationship with its stakeholders, the topic of companystakeholder fit is becoming increasingly important. This fit affects the extent to which a stakeholder perceives CSR company commitment, values and behaviors and, therefore, stakeholder identification in a company and his/her loyalty to it. Consequently, it is important to measure the alignment or the gap between stakeholder CSR demands, values, preferences and perceptions, and the company CSR disclosed commitment, values and policies. In this paper, in order to assess the company-stakeholder fit about corporate responsibility, an innovative CSR fit positioning matrix is proposed. This matrix is based on the measurement of a company CSR disclosed commitment and stakeholder perceived and required commitment. The matrix is part of a more complex methodology based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators, content analysis and stakeholder questionnaires. This methodology provides appropriate indications for helping companies to achieve CSR company-stakeholder fit, by leveraging both CSR commitment and communication. Moreover, it could be used by top management for comparing different companies and stakeholders, and for planning specific CSR strategies, policies and activities.
Abstract: Higher productivity and less cost in the ship
manufacturing process are required to maintain the international
competitiveness of morden manufacturing industries. In shipbuilding,
however, the Engineering To Order (ETO) production method and
production process is very difficult. Thus, designs change frequently.
In accordance with production, planning should be set up according
to scene changes. Therefore, fixed production planning is very
difficult. Thus, a scheduler must first make sketchy plans, then
change the plans based on the work progress and modifications.
Thus, data sharing in a shipbuilding block assembly shop is very
important. In this paper, we proposed to scheduling method
applicable to the shipbuilding industry and decision making support
system through web based visualization system.
Abstract: In this paper a novel scheme for watermarking digital
audio during its compression to MPEG-1 Layer III format is
proposed. For this purpose we slightly modify some of the selected
MDCT coefficients, which are used during MPEG audio
compression procedure. Due to the possibility of modifying different
MDCT coefficients, there will be different choices for embedding the
watermark into audio data, considering robustness and transparency
factors. Our proposed method uses a genetic algorithm to select the
best coefficients to embed the watermark. This genetic selection is
done according to the parameters that are extracted from the
perceptual content of the audio to optimize the robustness and
transparency of the watermark. On the other hand the watermark
security is increased due to the random nature of the genetic
selection. The information of the selected MDCT coefficients that
carry the watermark bits, are saves in a database for future extraction
of the watermark. The proposed method is suitable for online MP3
stores to pursue illegal copies of musical artworks. Experimental
results show that the detection ratio of the watermarks at the bitrate
of 128kbps remains above 90% while the inaudibility of the
watermark is preserved.
Abstract: This study aims to explore the differences and
similarities in perceptions of affective climate antecedents at the
workplace (intimacy, flexibility, employment stability, and team)
among Japanese and Thai Generations X and Y. The samples in this
study were Thai and Japanese workers who completed a work
environment questionnaire and provided demographic information.
Generational differences in perceptions (beliefs) of what factors
contribute to affective climate were investigated using t-test analysis.
Mean scores for each antecedent were ranked to determine how each
generation in each group prioritized the importance of all affective
climate antecedents. Japanese Generation Y perceived the importance
of employment stability for affective climate of their workplaces to be
significantly higher than did Japanese Generation X. Thai Generation
Y considered flexibility with a higher priority than did Thai
Generation X. Intimacy was perceived as highly important across
generations and countries in regard to affective climate. Results
suggest that managers should design workplaces for a mixture of
diverse generations, resulting in a better affective climate. Differences
in the importance of antecedents for affective climate among
Generations X and Y in two countries were clarified. In addition,
different preferences regarding work environment across Japanese
Generations X and Y and Thai Generations X and Y were discussed.
Abstract: The main purpose of this study is to analyze the
relationship of leisure agriculture park visitors on tourist destination
image, environmental perception, travel experiences and revisiting
willingness. This study used questionnaires to Xinshe leisure
agriculture park visitors- targeted convenience sampling manner total
of 636 valid questionnaires. Valid questionnaires by descriptive
statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis, the
study found that: 1. The agricultural park visitors- correlations exist
between the destination image, perception of the environment, tourism
experience and revisiting willingness. 2."Excellent facilities and
services", "space atmosphere comfortable" and "the spacious paternity
outdoor space" imagery, of visitors- "revisiting willingness predict. 3.
Visitors- in leisure agriculture park "environmental perception" and
"travel experience, future revisiting willingness predict. According to
the analysis of the results, the study not only operate on the
recommendations of the leisure farm owners also provide follow-up
study direction for future researchers.
Abstract: One of research issues in social network analysis is to
evaluate the position/importance of users in social networks. As the
information diffusion in social network is evolving, it seems difficult
to evaluate the importance of users using traditional approaches. In
this paper, we propose an evaluation approach for user importance
with fractal view in social networks. In this approach, the global importance
(Fractal Importance) and the local importance (Topological
Importance) of nodes are considered. The basic idea is that the bigger
the product of fractal importance and topological importance of a
node is, the more important of the node is. We devise the algorithm
called TFRank corresponding to the proposed approach. Finally, we
evaluate TFRank by experiments. Experimental results demonstrate
our TFRank has the high correlations with PageRank algorithm
and potential ranking algorithm, and it shows the effectiveness and
advantages of our approach.
Abstract: The presented paper is related to the design methods and neutronic characterization of the reactivity control system in the large power unit of Generation IV Gas cooled Fast Reactor – GFR2400. The reactor core is based on carbide pin fuel type with the application of refractory metallic liners used to enhance the fission product retention of the SiCcladding. The heterogeneous design optimization of control rod is presented and the results of rods worth and their interferences in a core are evaluated. In addition, the idea of reflector removal as an additive reactivity management option is investigated and briefly described.
Abstract: CONWIP (constant work-in-process) as a pull
production system have been widely studied by researchers to date.
The CONWIP pull production system is an alternative to pure push
and pure pull production systems. It lowers and controls inventory
levels which make the throughput better, reduces production lead
time, delivery reliability and utilization of work. In this article a
CONWIP pull production system was simulated. It was simulated
push and pull planning system. To compare these systems via a
production planning system (PPS) game were adjusted parameters of
each production planning system. The main target was to reduce the
total WIP and achieve throughput and delivery reliability to
minimum values. Data was recorded and evaluated. A future state
was made for real production of plastic components and the setup of
the two indicators with CONWIP pull production system which can
greatly help the company to be more competitive on the market.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel approach for representing
the spatio-temporal topology of the camera network with overlapping
and non-overlapping fields of view (FOVs). The topology is
determined by tracking moving objects and establishing object
correspondence across multiple cameras. To track people successfully
in multiple camera views, we used the Merge-Split (MS) approach for
object occlusion in a single camera and the grid-based approach for
extracting the accurate object feature. In addition, we considered the
appearance of people and the transition time between entry and exit
zones for tracking objects across blind regions of multiple cameras
with non-overlapping FOVs. The main contribution of this paper is to
estimate transition times between various entry and exit zones, and to
graphically represent the camera topology as an undirected weighted
graph using the transition probabilities.
Abstract: Applying corona wind as a novel technique can lead
to a great level of heat and mass transfer augmentation by using very
small amount of energy. Enhancement of forced flow evaporation
rate by applying electric field (corona wind) has been experimentally
evaluated in this study. Corona wind produced by a fine wire
electrode which is charged with positive high DC voltage impinges
to water surface and leads to evaporation enhancement by disturbing
the saturated air layer over water surface. The study was focused on
the effect of corona wind velocity, electrode spacing and air flow
velocity on the level of evaporation enhancement. Two sets of
experiments, i.e. with and without electric field, have been
conducted. Data obtained from the first experiment were used as
reference for evaluation of evaporation enhancement at the presence
of electric field. Applied voltages ranged from corona threshold
voltage to spark over voltage at 1 kV increments. The results showed
that corona wind has great enhancement effect on water evaporation
rate, but its effectiveness gradually diminishes by increasing air flow
velocity. Maximum enhancements were 7.3 and 3.6 for air velocities
of 0.125 and 1.75 m/s, respectively.
Abstract: This paper applies fuzzy clustering algorithm in classifying real estate companies in China according to some general financial indexes, such as income per share, share accumulation fund, net profit margins, weighted net assets yield and shareholders' equity. By constructing and normalizing initial partition matrix, getting fuzzy similar matrix with Minkowski metric and gaining the transitive closure, the dynamic fuzzy clustering analysis for real estate companies is shown clearly that different clustered result change gradually with the threshold reducing, and then, it-s shown there is the similar relationship with the prices of those companies in stock market. In this way, it-s great valuable in contrasting the real estate companies- financial condition in order to grasp some good chances of investment, and so on.
Abstract: The general idea behind the filter is to average a pixel
using other pixel values from its neighborhood, but simultaneously to
take care of important image structures such as edges. The main
concern of the proposed filter is to distinguish between any variations
of the captured digital image due to noise and due to image structure.
The edges give the image the appearance depth and sharpness. A
loss of edges makes the image appear blurred or unfocused.
However, noise smoothing and edge enhancement are traditionally
conflicting tasks. Since most noise filtering behaves like a low pass
filter, the blurring of edges and loss of detail seems a natural
consequence. Techniques to remedy this inherent conflict often
encompass generation of new noise due to enhancement.
In this work a new fuzzy filter is presented for the noise reduction
of images corrupted with additive noise. The filter consists of three
stages. (1) Define fuzzy sets in the input space to computes a fuzzy
derivative for eight different directions (2) construct a set of IFTHEN
rules by to perform fuzzy smoothing according to
contributions of neighboring pixel values and (3) define fuzzy sets in
the output space to get the filtered and edged image.
Experimental results are obtained to show the feasibility of the
proposed approach with two dimensional objects.
Abstract: Extracting in-play scenes in sport videos is essential for
quantitative analysis and effective video browsing of the sport
activities. Game analysis of badminton as of the other racket sports
requires detecting the start and end of each rally period in an
automated manner. This paper describes an automatic serve scene
detection method employing cubic higher-order local auto-correlation
(CHLAC) and multiple regression analysis (MRA). CHLAC can
extract features of postures and motions of multiple persons without
segmenting and tracking each person by virtue of shift-invariance and
additivity, and necessitate no prior knowledge. Then, the specific
scenes, such as serve, are detected by linear regression (MRA) from
the CHLAC features. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our method,
the experiment was conducted on video sequences of five badminton
matches captured by a single ceiling camera. The averaged precision
and recall rates for the serve scene detection were 95.1% and 96.3%,
respectively.
Abstract: Navigation is the processes of monitoring and
controlling the movement of an object from one place to another.
Currently, Global Positioning System (GPS) is the main navigation
system used all over the world for navigation applications. GPS
receiver receives signals from at least three satellites to locate and
display itself. Displayed positioning information is updated
continuously. Update rate is the number of times per second that a
display is illuminated. The speed of update is governed by receiver
update rate. A higher update rate decreases display lag time and
improves distance measurements and tracking especially when
moving on a curvy route. The majority of GPS receivers used
nowadays are updated every second continuously. This period is
considered reasonable for some applications while it is long relatively
for high speed applications. In this paper, the suitability and
feasibility of GPS receiver with different update rates will be
evaluated for various applications according to the level of speed and
update rate needed for particular applications.