Abstract: The Markov decision process (MDP) based
methodology is implemented in order to establish the optimal
schedule which minimizes the cost. Formulation of MDP problem
is presented using the information about the current state of pipe,
improvement cost, failure cost and pipe deterioration model. The
objective function and detailed algorithm of dynamic programming
(DP) are modified due to the difficulty of implementing the
conventional DP approaches. The optimal schedule derived from
suggested model is compared to several policies via Monte
Carlo simulation. Validity of the solution and improvement in
computational time are proved.
Abstract: Bir El Djir is an important coastal township in Oran
department, located at 450 Km far away from Algiers on northwest of
Algeria. In this coastal area, the urban sprawl is one of the main
problems that reduce the limited highly fertile land. So, using the
remote sensing and GIS technologies have shown their great
capabilities to solve many earth resources issues.
The aim of this study is to produce land use and cover map for the
studied area at varied periods to monitor possible changes that may
occurred, particularly in the urban areas and subsequently predict
likely changes. For this, two spatial images SPOT and Landsat
satellites from 1987 and 2014 respectively were used to assess the
changes of urban expansion and encroachment during this period
with photo-interpretation and GIS approach.
The results revealed that the town of Bir El Djir has shown a
highest growth rate in the period 1987-2014 which is 1201.5 hectares
in terms of area. These expansions largely concern the new real estate
constructions falling within the social and promotional housing
programs launched by the government.
The most urban expansion is characterized by the new
construction in the form of spontaneous or peripheral precarious
habitat, but also unstructured slums settled especially in the
southeastern part of town.
Abstract: The article discusses the legal framework of the
government’s environmental function and analyzes the role of the
national policy in protection of wetlands. The problem is of interest
for it deals with the most important branch of economy – utilization
of Kazakhstan’s natural resources, protection of health and
environmental wellbeing of the population. Development of a longterm
environmental program addressing the protection of wetlands
represents the final stage of the government’s environmental policy,
and is a relatively new function for the public administration system.
It appeared due to the environmental measures that require immediate
decisions to be taken. It is an integral part of the effort in the field of
management of state-owned natural resource, as well as of the
measures aimed at efficient management of natural resources to avoid
their early depletion or contamination.
Abstract: Evaluated nuclear decay data for the 217Po nuclide is
presented in the present work. These data include recommended
values for the half-life T1/2, α-, β-- and γ-ray emission energies and
probabilities. Decay data from 221Rn α and 217Bi β—decays are
presented. Q(α) has been updated based on the recent published work
of the Atomic Mass Evaluation AME2012. In addition, the logft
values were calculated using the Logft program from the ENSDF
evaluation package. Moreover, the total internal conversion electrons
and the K-shell to L-shell and L-shell to M-shell and to N-shell
conversion electrons ratios K/L, L/M and L/N have been calculated
using Bricc program. Meanwhile, recommendation values or the
multi-polarities have been assigned based on recently measurement
yield a better intensity balance at the 254 keV and 264 keV gamma
transitions.
Abstract: Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are playing
increasingly prominent roles in defense programs and defense
strategies around the world. Technology advancements have
enabled the development of it to do many excellent jobs as
reconnaissance, surveillance, battle fighters, and communications
relays. Simulating a small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV)
dynamics and analyzing its behavior at the preflight stage is too
important and more efficient. The first step in the UAV design is
the mathematical modeling of the nonlinear equations of motion. .
In this paper, a survey with a standard method to obtain the full
non-linear equations of motion is utilized, and then the
linearization of the equations according to a steady state flight
condition (trimming) is derived. This modeling technique is
applied to an Ultrastick-25e fixed wing UAV to obtain the valued
linear longitudinal and lateral models. At the end the model is
checked by matching between the behavior of the states of the nonlinear
UAV and the resulted linear model with doublet at the
control surfaces.
Abstract: The turbocharger and turbocharging have been the
inherent component of diesel engines, so that critical parameters of
such engines, as BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption) or
thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, BMEP (Brake Mean Effective
Pressure), the power density output and emission level have been
improved extensively. In general, the turbocharger can be considered
as the most complex component of diesel engines, because it has
closely interrelated turbomachinery concepts of the turbines and the
compressors to thermodynamic fundamentals of internal combustion
engines and stress analysis of all components.
In this paper, a waste gate for a conventional single stage radial
turbine is investigated by consideration of turbochargers operation
constrains and engine operation conditions, without any detail
designs in the turbine and the compressor. Amount of opening waste
gate which extended between the ranges of full opened and closed
valve, is demonstrated by limiting compressor boost pressure ratio.
Obtaining of an optimum point by regard above mentioned items is
surveyed by three linked meanline modeling programs together
which consist of Turbomatch®, Compal®, Rital® madules in concepts
NREC® respectively.
Abstract: This experimental study evaluates the effect of using
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Multidimensional Self-
Concept Model (MSCM) in a drug prevention programme to increase
resiliency and reduce aggression among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A
number of 60 (N=60) university students who were at-risk of taking
drugs were involved in this study. Participants were identified with
self-rating scales, Adolescent Resilience Attitude Scale (ARAS) and
Aggression Questionnaire. Based on the mean score of these
instruments, the participants were divided into the treatment group,
and the control group. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding
showed that the mean score of resiliency was increased in the
treatment group compared to the control group. It also shows that the
mean score of aggression was reduced in the treatment group
compared to the control group. Drug Prevention Programme was
found to help in enhancing resiliency and reducing aggression among
participants in the treatment group compared to the controlled group.
Implications were given regarding the preventive actions on drug
abuse among youth in Malaysia.
Abstract: Analysis of the properties of coconut (Cocos nucifera)
and its oil was evaluated in this work using standard analytical
techniques. The analyses carried out include proximate composition
of the fruit, extraction of oil from the fruit using different process
parameters and physicochemical analysis of the extracted oil. The
results showed the percentage (%) moisture, crude lipid, crude
protein, ash and carbohydrate content of the coconut as 7.59, 55.15,
5.65, 7.35 and 19.51 respectively. The oil from the coconut fruit was
odourless and yellowish liquid at room temperature (30oC). The
treatment combinations used (leaching time, leaching temperature
and solute: solvent ratio) showed significant differences (P
Abstract: Wind energy offers a significant advantage such as no
fuel costs and no emissions from generation. However, wind energy
sources are variable and non-dispatchable. The utility grid is able to
accommodate the variability of wind in smaller proportion along with
the daily load. However, at high penetration levels, the variability can
severely impact the utility reserve requirements and the cost
associated with it. In this paper the impact of wind energy is
evaluated in detail in formulating the total utility cost. The objective
is to minimize the overall cost of generation while ensuring the
proper management of the load. Overall cost includes the curtailment
cost, reserve cost and the reliability cost, as well as any other penalty
imposed by the regulatory authority. Different levels of wind
penetrations are explored and the cost impacts are evaluated. As the
penetration level increases significantly, the reliability becomes a
critical question to be answered. Here we increase the penetration
from the wind yet keep the reliability factor within the acceptable
limit provided by NERC. This paper uses an economic dispatch (ED)
model to incorporate wind generation into the power grid. Power
system costs are analyzed at various wind penetration levels using
Linear Programming. The goal of this study is show how the
increases in wind generation will affect power system economics.
Abstract: Standard processes, similar and limited production
lines, the production of high direct costs will be more accurate than
the use of parts of the traditional cost systems in the literature.
However, direct costs, overhead expenses, in turn, decrease the
burden of increasingly sophisticated production facilities, a situation
that led the researchers to look for the cost of traditional systems of
alternative techniques. Variety cost management approaches for
example Total quality management (TQM), just-in-time (JIT),
benchmarking, kaizen costing, targeting cost, life cycle costs (LLC),
activity-based costing (ABC) value engineering have been
introduced. Management and cost applications have changed over the
past decade and will continue to change. Modern cost systems can
provide relevant and accurate cost information. These methods
provide the decisions about customer, product and process
improvement. The aim of study is to describe and explain the
adoption and application of costing systems in SME. This purpose
reports on a survey conducted during 2014 small and medium sized
enterprises (SME) in Ankara. The survey results were evaluated
using SPSS18 package program.
Abstract: Constructing a portfolio of investments is one of the
most significant financial decisions facing individuals and
institutions. In accordance with the modern portfolio theory
maximization of return at minimal risk should be the investment goal
of any successful investor. In addition, the costs incurred when
setting up a new portfolio or rebalancing an existing portfolio must
be included in any realistic analysis.
In this paper rebalancing an investment portfolio in the presence of
transaction costs on the Croatian capital market is analyzed. The
model applied in the paper is an extension of the standard portfolio
mean-variance optimization model in which transaction costs are
incurred to rebalance an investment portfolio. This model allows
different costs for different securities, and different costs for buying
and selling. In order to find efficient portfolio, using this model, first,
the solution of quadratic programming problem of similar size to the
Markowitz model, and then the solution of a linear programming
problem have to be found. Furthermore, in the paper the impact of
transaction costs on the efficient frontier is investigated. Moreover, it
is shown that global minimum variance portfolio on the efficient
frontier always has the same level of the risk regardless of the amount
of transaction costs. Although efficient frontier position depends of
both transaction costs amount and initial portfolio it can be concluded
that extreme right portfolio on the efficient frontier always contains
only one stock with the highest expected return and the highest risk.
Abstract: Concrete is found to undergo degradation when
subjected to elevated temperatures and loose substantial amount of its
strength. The loss of strength in concrete is mainly attributed to
decomposition of C-S-H and release of physically and chemically
bound water, which begins when the exposure temperature exceeds
100°C. When such a concrete comes in contact with moisture, the
cement paste is found rehydrate and considerable amount of strength
lost is found to recover. This paper presents results of an
experimental program carried out to investigate the effect of recuring
on strength gain of OPC concrete specimens subjected to elevated
temperatures from 200°C to 800°C, which were subjected to
retention time of two hours and four hours at the designated
temperature. Strength recoveries for concrete subjected to 7
designated elevated temperatures are compared. It is found that the
efficacy of recuring as a measure of strength recovery reduces with
increase in exposure temperature.
Abstract: Experimental & numeral study of temperature
distribution during milling process, is important in milling quality
and tools life aspects. In the present study the milling cross-section
temperature is determined by using Artificial Neural Networks
(ANN) according to the temperature of certain points of the work
piece and the point specifications and the milling rotational speed of
the blade. In the present work, at first three-dimensional model of the
work piece is provided and then by using the Computational Heat
Transfer (CHT) simulations, temperature in different nods of the
work piece are specified in steady-state conditions. Results obtained
from CHT are used for training and testing the ANN approach. Using
reverse engineering and setting the desired x, y, z and the milling
rotational speed of the blade as input data to the network, the milling
surface temperature determined by neural network is presented as
output data. The desired points temperature for different milling
blade rotational speed are obtained experimentally and by
extrapolation method for the milling surface temperature is obtained
and a comparison is performed among the soft programming ANN,
CHT results and experimental data and it is observed that ANN soft
programming code can be used more efficiently to determine the
temperature in a milling process.
Abstract: The purpose of this presentation is to describe an interdisciplinary teaching program that integrates physical education concepts using a philosophical approach. The presentation includes a review of: a) the philosophy of American education, b) the philosophy of sports and physical education, c) the interdisciplinary physical education program, d) professional development programs, (e) the Success of this physical education program, f) future of physical education. This unique interdisciplinary program has been implemented in an urban school physical education discipline in East Orange, New Jersey for over 10 years.
During the program the students realize that the bodies go through different experiences. The body becomes a place where a child can recognize in an enjoyable way to express and perceive particular feelings or mental states. Children may distinguish themselves to have high abilities in the social or other domains but low abilities in the field of athletics.
The goal of this program for the individuals is to discover new skills, develop and demonstrate age appropriate mastery level at different tasks, therefore the program consists of 9 to 12 sports, including many game. Each successful experience increases the awareness ability. Engaging in sports and physical activities are social movements involving groups of children in situations such as teams, friends, and recreational settings, which serve as a primary socializing agent for teaching interpersonal skills. As a result of this presentation the audience will reflect and explore how to structure a physical education program to integrate interdisciplinary subjects with philosophical concepts.
Abstract: In this paper, we consider the vehicle routing problem
with mixed fleet of conventional and heterogenous electric vehicles
and time dependent charging costs, denoted VRP-HFCC, in which
a set of geographically scattered customers have to be served by a
mixed fleet of vehicles composed of a heterogenous fleet of Electric
Vehicles (EVs), having different battery capacities and operating
costs, and Conventional Vehicles (CVs). We include the possibility
of charging EVs in the available charging stations during the routes
in order to serve all customers. Each charging station offers charging
service with a known technology of chargers and time dependent
charging costs. Charging stations are also subject to operating time
windows constraints. EVs are not necessarily compatible with all
available charging technologies and a partial charging is allowed.
Intermittent charging at the depot is also allowed provided that
constraints related to the electricity grid are satisfied.
The objective is to minimize the number of employed vehicles and
then minimize the total travel and charging costs.
In this study, we present a Mixed Integer Programming Model and
develop a Charging Routing Heuristic and a Local Search Heuristic
based on the Inject-Eject routine with different insertion methods. All
heuristics are tested on real data instances.
Abstract: This research was conducted in the Mae Sot
Watershed where located in the Moei River Basin at the Upper
Salween River Basin in Tak Province, Thailand. The Mae Sot
Municipality is the largest urban area in Tak Province and situated in
the midstream of the Mae Sot Watershed. It usually faces flash flood
problem after heavy rain due to poor flood management has been
reported since economic rapidly bloom up in recent years. Its
catchment can be classified as ungauged basin with lack of rainfall
data and no any stream gaging station was reported. It was attached
by most severely flood events in 2013 as the worst studied case for
all those communities in this municipality. Moreover, other problems
are also faced in this watershed, such shortage water supply for
domestic consumption and agriculture utilizations including a
deterioration of water quality and landslide as well. The research
aimed to increase capability building and strengthening the
participation of those local community leaders and related agencies to
conduct better water management in urban area was started by mean
of the data collection and illustration of the appropriated application
of some short period rainfall forecasting model as they aim for better
flood relief plan and management through the hydrologic model
system and river analysis system programs. The authors intended to
apply the global rainfall data via the integrated data viewer (IDV)
program from the Unidata with the aim for rainfall forecasting in a
short period of 7-10 days in advance during rainy season instead of
real time record. The IDV product can be present in an advance
period of rainfall with time step of 3-6 hours was introduced to the
communities. The result can be used as input data to the hydrologic
modeling system model (HEC-HMS) for synthesizing flood
hydrographs and use for flood forecasting as well. The authors
applied the river analysis system model (HEC-RAS) to present flood
flow behaviors in the reach of the Mae Sot stream via the downtown
of the Mae Sot City as flood extents as the water surface level at
every cross-sectional profiles of the stream. Both models of HMS and
RAS were tested in 2013 with observed rainfall and inflow-outflow
data from the Mae Sot Dam. The result of HMS showed fit to the
observed data at the dam and applied at upstream boundary discharge
to RAS in order to simulate flood extents and tested in the field, and
the result found satisfying. The product of rainfall from IDV was fair
while compared with observed data. However, it is an appropriate
tool to use in the ungauged catchment to use with flood hydrograph
and river analysis models for future efficient flood relief plan and
management.
Abstract: This work reports the potential of using Palm Kernel
(PK) ash and shell as a partial substitute for Portland Cement (PC)
and coarse aggregate in the development of mortar and concrete. PK
ash and shell are agro-waste materials from palm oil mills, the
disposal of PK ash and shell is an environmental problem of concern.
The PK ash has pozzolanic properties that enables it as a partial
replacement for cement and also plays an important role in the
strength and durability of concrete, its use in concrete will alleviate
the increasing challenges of scarcity and high cost of cement. In order
to investigate the PC replacement potential of PK ash, three types of
PK ash were produced at varying temperature (350-750C) and they
were used to replace up to 50% PC. The PK shell was used to replace
up to 100% coarse aggregate in order to study its aggregate
replacement potential. The testing programme included material
characterisation, the determination of compressive strength, tensile
splitting strength and chemical durability in aggressive sulfatebearing
exposure conditions. The 90 day compressive results showed
a significant strength gain (up to 26.2 N/mm2). The Portland cement
and conventional coarse aggregate has significantly higher influence
in the strength gain compared to the equivalent PK ash and PK shell.
The chemical durability results demonstrated that after a prolonged
period of exposure, significant strength losses in all the concretes
were observed. This phenomenon is explained, due to lower change
in concrete morphology and inhibition of reaction species and the
final disruption of the aggregate cement paste matrix.
Abstract: The organizations in the knowledge economy era have
recognized the importance of building knowledge assets for
sustainable growth and development. In comparison to other
industries, Information Technology (IT) enterprises, holds an edge in
developing an effective Knowledge Management (KM) programmethanks
to their in-house technological abilities. This paper tries to
study the various knowledge based incentive programmes and its
effect on Knowledge Sharing and Learning in the context of the
Indian IT sector. A conceptual model is developed linking KM
Incentives, Knowledge Sharing and Learning. A questionnaire study
is conducted to collect primary data from the knowledge workers of
the IT organizations located in India. The data was analysed using
Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Square method. The
results show a strong influence of knowledge management incentives
on knowledge sharing and an indirect influence on learning.
Abstract: The wear measuring and wear modelling are
fundamental issues in the industrial field, mainly correlated to the
economy and safety. Therefore, there is a need to study the wear
measurements and wear estimation. Pin-on-disc test is the most
common test which is used to study the wear behaviour. In this paper,
the pin-on-disc (AEROTECH UNIDEX 11) is used for the
investigation of the effects of normal load and hardness of material on
the wear under dry and sliding conditions. In the pin-on-disc rig, two
specimens were used; one, a pin is made of steel with a tip, positioned
perpendicular to the disc, where the disc is made of aluminium. The
pin wear and disc wear were measured by using the following
instruments: The Talysurf instrument, a digital microscope, and the
alicona instrument. The Talysurf profilometer was used to measure
the pin/disc wear scar depth, digital microscope was used to measure
the diameter and width of wear scar, and the alicona was used to
measure the pin wear and disc wear. After that, the Archard model,
American Society for Testing and Materials model (ASTM), and
neural network model were used for pin/disc wear modelling.
Simulation results were implemented by using the Matlab program.
This paper focuses on how the alicona can be used for wear
measurements and how the neural network can be used for wear
estimation.
Abstract: The air transport impact on environment is more than
ever a limitative obstacle to the aeronautical industry continuous
growth. Over the last decades, considerable effort has been carried
out in order to obtain quieter aircraft solutions, whether by changing
the original design or investigating more silent maneuvers. The
noise propagated by rotating surfaces is one of the most important
sources of annoyance, being present in most aerial vehicles. Bearing
this is mind, CEIIA developed a new computational chain for
noise prediction with in-house software tools to obtain solutions in
relatively short time without using excessive computer resources. This
work is based on the new acoustic tool, which aims to predict the
rotor noise generated during steady and maneuvering flight, making
use of the flexibility of the C language and the advantages of GPU
programming in terms of velocity. The acoustic tool is based in the
Formulation 1A of Farassat, capable of predicting two important
types of noise: the loading and thickness noise. The present work
describes the most important features of the acoustic tool, presenting
its most relevant results and framework analyses for helicopters and
UAV quadrotors.