Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Wastewater by Use of Scrap Iron

Hexavalent chromium is highly toxic to most living organisms and a known human carcinogen by the inhalation route of exposure. Therefore, treatment of Cr(VI) contaminated wastewater is essential before their discharge to the natural water bodies. Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) can be beneficial because a more mobile and more toxic chromium species is converted to a less mobile and less toxic form. Zero-valence-state metals, such as scrap iron, can serve as electron donors for reducing Cr(VI) to Cr(III). The influence of pH on scrap iron capacity to reduce Cr(VI) was investigated in this study. Maximum reduction capacity of scrap iron was observed at the beginning of the column experiments; the lower the pH, the greater the experiment duration with maximum scrap iron reduction capacity. The experimental results showed that highest maximum reduction capacity of scrap iron was 12.5 mg Cr(VI)/g scrap iron, at pH 2.0, and decreased with increasing pH up to 1.9 mg Cr(VI)/g scrap iron at pH = 7.3.

Solving Part Type Selection and Loading Problem in Flexible Manufacturing System Using Real Coded Genetic Algorithms – Part II: Optimization

This paper presents modeling and optimization of two NP-hard problems in flexible manufacturing system (FMS), part type selection problem and loading problem. Due to the complexity and extent of the problems, the paper was split into two parts. The first part of the papers has discussed the modeling of the problems and showed how the real coded genetic algorithms (RCGA) can be applied to solve the problems. This second part discusses the effectiveness of the RCGA which uses an array of real numbers as chromosome representation. The novel proposed chromosome representation produces only feasible solutions which minimize a computational time needed by GA to push its population toward feasible search space or repair infeasible chromosomes. The proposed RCGA improves the FMS performance by considering two objectives, maximizing system throughput and maintaining the balance of the system (minimizing system unbalance). The resulted objective values are compared to the optimum values produced by branch-and-bound method. The experiments show that the proposed RCGA could reach near optimum solutions in a reasonable amount of time.

The Use of Dynamically Optimised High Frequency Moving Average Strategies for Intraday Trading

This paper is motivated by the aspect of uncertainty in financial decision making, and how artificial intelligence and soft computing, with its uncertainty reducing aspects can be used for algorithmic trading applications that trade in high frequency. This paper presents an optimized high frequency trading system that has been combined with various moving averages to produce a hybrid system that outperforms trading systems that rely solely on moving averages. The paper optimizes an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system that takes both the price and its moving average as input, learns to predict price movements from training data consisting of intraday data, dynamically switches between the best performing moving averages, and performs decision making of when to buy or sell a certain currency in high frequency.

Enhancing the Error-Correcting Performance of LDPC Codes through an Efficient Use of Decoding Iterations

The decoding of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes is operated over a redundant structure known as the bipartite graph, meaning that the full set of bit nodes is not absolutely necessary for decoder convergence. In 2008, Soyjaudah and Catherine designed a recovery algorithm for LDPC codes based on this assumption and showed that the error-correcting performance of their codes outperformed conventional LDPC Codes. In this work, the use of the recovery algorithm is further explored to test the performance of LDPC codes while the number of iterations is progressively increased. For experiments conducted with small blocklengths of up to 800 bits and number of iterations of up to 2000, the results interestingly demonstrate that contrary to conventional wisdom, the error-correcting performance keeps increasing with increasing number of iterations.

Mining Image Features in an Automatic Two-Dimensional Shape Recognition System

The number of features required to represent an image can be very huge. Using all available features to recognize objects can suffer from curse dimensionality. Feature selection and extraction is the pre-processing step of image mining. Main issues in analyzing images is the effective identification of features and another one is extracting them. The mining problem that has been focused is the grouping of features for different shapes. Experiments have been conducted by using shape outline as the features. Shape outline readings are put through normalization and dimensionality reduction process using an eigenvector based method to produce a new set of readings. After this pre-processing step data will be grouped through their shapes. Through statistical analysis, these readings together with peak measures a robust classification and recognition process is achieved. Tests showed that the suggested methods are able to automatically recognize objects through their shapes. Finally, experiments also demonstrate the system invariance to rotation, translation, scale, reflection and to a small degree of distortion.

A Design and Implementation Model for Web Caching Using Server “URL Rewriting“

In order to make surfing the internet faster, and to save redundant processing load with each request for the same web page, many caching techniques have been developed to reduce latency of retrieving data on World Wide Web. In this paper we will give a quick overview of existing web caching techniques used for dynamic web pages then we will introduce a design and implementation model that take advantage of “URL Rewriting" feature in some popular web servers, e.g. Apache, to provide an effective approach of caching dynamic web pages.

Examination of Self and Decision Making Levels of Students Receiving Education in Schools of Physical Education and Sports

The purpose of this study is to examine the self and decision making levels of students receiving education in schools of physical training and sports. The population of the study consisted 258 students, among which 152 were male and 106 were female ( X age=19,3713 + 1,6968), that received education in the schools of physical education and sports of Selcuk University, Inonu University, Gazi University and Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnary developed by Mann et al. (1998) [1] and adapted to Turkish by Deniz (2004) [2] and the Self-Esteem Scale developed by Aricak (1999) [3] was utilized. For analyzing and interpreting data Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t-test and one way anova test were used, while for determining the difference between the groups Tukey test and Multiple Linear Regression test were employed and significance was accepted at P

An Extension of the Kratzel Function and Associated Inverse Gaussian Probability Distribution Occurring in Reliability Theory

In view of their importance and usefulness in reliability theory and probability distributions, several generalizations of the inverse Gaussian distribution and the Krtzel function are investigated in recent years. This has motivated the authors to introduce and study a new generalization of the inverse Gaussian distribution and the Krtzel function associated with a product of a Bessel function of the third kind )(zKQ and a Z - Fox-Wright generalized hyper geometric function introduced in this paper. The introduced function turns out to be a unified gamma-type function. Its incomplete forms are also discussed. Several properties of this gamma-type function are obtained. By means of this generalized function, we introduce a generalization of inverse Gaussian distribution, which is useful in reliability analysis, diffusion processes, and radio techniques etc. The inverse Gaussian distribution thus introduced also provides a generalization of the Krtzel function. Some basic statistical functions associated with this probability density function, such as moments, the Mellin transform, the moment generating function, the hazard rate function, and the mean residue life function are also obtained.KeywordsFox-Wright function, Inverse Gaussian distribution, Krtzel function & Bessel function of the third kind.

Green Building Materials: Hemp Oil Based Biocomposites

Novel acrylated epoxidized hemp oil (AEHO) based bioresins were successfully synthesised, characterized and applied to biocomposites reinforced with woven jute fibre. Characterisation of the synthesised AEHO consisted of acid number titrations and FTIR spectroscopy to assess the success of the acrylation reaction. Three different matrices were produced (vinylester (VE), 50/50 blend of AEHO/VE and 100% AEHO) and reinforced with jute fibre to form three different types of biocomposite samples. Mechanical properties in the form of flexural and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) were investigated and compared for the different samples. Results from the mechanical tests showed that AEHO and 50/50 based neat bioresins displayed lower flexural properties compared with the VE samples. However when applied to biocomposites and compared with VE based samples, AEHO biocomposites demonstrated comparable flexural performance and improved ILSS. These results are attributed to improved fibre-matrix interfacial adhesion due to surface-chemical compatibility between the natural fibres and bioresin.

A Vortex Plate Theory of Hovering Animal Flight

A model of vortex wake is suggested to determine the induced power during animal hovering flight. The wake is modeled by a series of equi-spaced rigid rectangular vortex plates, positioned horizontally and moving vertically downwards with identical speeds; each plate is generated during powering of the functionally wing stroke. The vortex representation of the wake considered in the current theory allows a considerable loss of momentum to occur. The current approach accords well with the nature of the wingbeat since it considers the unsteadiness in the wake as an important fluid dynamical characteristic. Induced power in hovering is calculated as the aerodynamic power required to generate the vortex wake system. Specific mean induced power to mean wing tip velocity ratio is determined by solely the normal spacing parameter (f) for a given wing stroke amplitude. The current theory gives much higher specific induced power estimate than anticipated by classical methods.

Numerical Solution of a Laminar Viscous Flow Boundary Layer Equation Using Uniform Haar Wavelet Quasi-linearization Method

In this paper, we have proposed a Haar wavelet quasilinearization method to solve the well known Blasius equation. The method is based on the uniform Haar wavelet operational matrix defined over the interval [0, 1]. In this method, we have proposed the transformation for converting the problem on a fixed computational domain. The Blasius equation arises in the various boundary layer problems of hydrodynamics and in fluid mechanics of laminar viscous flows. Quasi-linearization is iterative process but our proposed technique gives excellent numerical results with quasilinearization for solving nonlinear differential equations without any iteration on selecting collocation points by Haar wavelets. We have solved Blasius equation for 1≤α ≤ 2 and the numerical results are compared with the available results in literature. Finally, we conclude that proposed method is a promising tool for solving the well known nonlinear Blasius equation.

Identification of a PWA Model of a Batch Reactor for Model Predictive Control

The complex hybrid and nonlinear nature of many processes that are met in practice causes problems with both structure modelling and parameter identification; therefore, obtaining a model that is suitable for MPC is often a difficult task. The basic idea of this paper is to present an identification method for a piecewise affine (PWA) model based on a fuzzy clustering algorithm. First we introduce the PWA model. Next, we tackle the identification method. We treat the fuzzy clustering algorithm, deal with the projections of the fuzzy clusters into the input space of the PWA model and explain the estimation of the parameters of the PWA model by means of a modified least-squares method. Furthermore, we verify the usability of the proposed identification approach on a hybrid nonlinear batch reactor example. The result suggest that the batch reactor can be efficiently identified and thus formulated as a PWA model, which can eventually be used for model predictive control purposes.

Design and Analysis of a Novel 8-DOF Hybrid Manipulator

This paper presents kinematic and dynamic analysis of a novel 8-DOF hybrid robot manipulator. The hybrid robot manipulator under consideration consists of a parallel robot which is followed by a serial mechanism. The parallel mechanism has three translational DOF, and the serial mechanism has five DOF so that the overall degree of freedom is eight. The introduced manipulator has a wide workspace and a high capability to reduce the actuating energy. The inverse and forward kinematic solutions are described in closed form. The theoretical results are verified by a numerical example. Inverse dynamic analysis of the robot is presented by utilizing the Iterative Newton-Euler and Lagrange dynamic formulation methods. Finally, for performing a multi-step arc welding process, results have indicated that the introduced manipulator is highly capable of reducing the actuating energy.

Modeling Cost Structure for Assessment Production Cost of Algal - Biofue

Algae-based fuel are considered a promising sources of clean energy, and because it has many advantages over traditional biofuel, research and business ventures have driven into developing and producing Algal-biofuel. But its production stages create a cost structure that it is not competitive with traditional fuels. Therefore, cost becomes the main obstacle in commercial production purpose. However, the present research which aims at using cost structure model, and designed MS-Dose program, to investigate the a mount of production cost and determined the parameter had great effect on it, second to measured the amount of contribution rate of algae in process the pollution by capturing Co2 from air . The result generated from the model shows that the production cost of biomass is between $0.137 /kg for 100 ha and $0.132 /kg for 500 ha which was less than cost of other studies, while gallon costs between $3.4 - 3.5, more than traditional sources of oil about $1 ,which regarded as a rate of contribution of algal in capturing CO2 from air.

Numerical Simulations of Shear Driven Square and Triangular Cavity by Using Lattice Boltzmann Scheme

In this paper, fluid flow patterns of steady incompressible flow inside shear driven cavity are studied. The numerical simulations are conducted by using lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for different Reynolds numbers. In order to simulate the flow, derivation of macroscopic hydrodynamics equations from the continuous Boltzmann equation need to be performed. Then, the numerical results of shear-driven flow inside square and triangular cavity are compared with results found in literature review. Present study found that flow patterns are affected by the geometry of the cavity and the Reynolds numbers used.

Structure and Magnetic Properties of Nanocomposite Fe2O3/TiO2 Catalysts Fabricated by Heterogeneous Precipitation

The aim of our work is to study phase composition, particle size and magnetic response of Fe2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites with respect to the final annealing temperature. Those nanomaterials are considered as smart catalysts, separable from a liquid/gaseous phase by applied magnetic field. The starting product was obtained by an ecologically acceptable route, based on heterogeneous precipitation of the TiO2 on modified g-Fe2O3 nanocrystals dispersed in water. The precursor was subsequently annealed on air at temperatures ranging from 200 oC to 900 oC. The samples were investigated by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (S-PXRD), magnetic measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy. As evidenced by S-PXRD and Mössbauer spectroscopy, increasing the annealing temperature causes evolution of the phase composition from anatase/maghemite to rutile/hematite, finally above 700 oC the pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5) also forms. The apparent particle size of the various Fe2O3/TiO2 phases has been determined from the highquality S-PXRD data by using two different approaches: the Rietveld refinement and the Debye method. Magnetic response of the samples is discussed in considering the phase composition and the particle size.

Visual Attention Analysis on Mutated Brand Name using Eye-Tracking: A Case Study

Brand name plays a vital role for in-shop buying behavior of consumers and mutated brand name may affect the selling of leading branded products. In Indian market, there are many products with mutated brand names which are either orthographically or phonologically similar. Due to presence of such products, Indian consumers very often fall under confusion when buying some regularly used stuff. Authors of the present paper have attempted to demonstrate relationship between less attention and false recognition of mutated brand names during a product selection process. To achieve this goal, visual attention study was conducted on 15 male college students using eye-tracker against a mutated brand name and errors in recognition were noted using questionnaire. Statistical analysis of the acquired data revealed that there was more false recognition of mutated brand name when less attention was paid during selection of favorite product. Moreover, it was perceived that eye tracking is an effective tool for analyzing false recognition of brand name mutation.

An Energy Efficient Protocol for Target Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

Target tracking and localization are important applications in wireless sensor networks. In these applications, sensor nodes collectively monitor and track the movement of a target. They have limited energy supplied by batteries, so energy efficiency is essential for sensor networks. Most existing target tracking protocols need to wake up sensors periodically to perform tracking. Some unnecessary energy waste is thus introduced. In this paper, an energy efficient protocol for target localization is proposed. In order to preserve energy, the protocol fixes the number of sensors for target tracking, but it retains the quality of target localization in an acceptable level. By selecting a set of sensors for target localization, the other sensors can sleep rather than periodically wake up to track the target. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol saves a significant amount of energy and also prolongs the network lifetime.

Development of Indwelling Wireless pH Telemetry of Intraoral Acidity

As the increase of intraoral acidity due to ingestion of sweet foods and acidic beverages usually bring forth a dental caries and a erosion, the measurement of intraoral pH is essential in the study of oral environment. The indwelling intraoral pH telemetry for lasting longer than 24 hours in the mouth was developed to overcome the limits of conventional wire electrode method previously used for salivary and plaque pH measurement, and to assess its effectiveness.

Effect of Endplate Shape on Performance and Stability of Wings-in Ground (WIG) Craft

Numerical analysis for the aerodynamic characteristics of the WIG (wing-in ground effect) craft with highly cambered and aspect ratio of one is performed to predict the ground effect for the case of with- and without- lower-extension endplate. The analysis is included varying angles of attack from 0 to10 deg. and ground clearances from 5% of chord to 50%. Due to the ground effect, the lift by rising in pressure on the lower surface is increased and the influence of wing-tip vortices is decreased. These two significant effects improve the lift-drag ratio. On the other hand, the endplate prevents the high-pressure air escaping from the air cushion at the wing tip and causes to increase the lift and lift-drag ratio further. It is found from the visualization of computation results that two wing-tip vortices are generated from each surface of the wing tip and their strength are weak and diminished rapidly. Irodov-s criteria are also evaluated to investigate the static height stability. The comparison of Irodov-s criteria shows that the endplate improves the deviation of the static height stability with respect to pitch angles and heights. As the results, the endplate can improve the aerodynamic characteristics and static height stability of wings in ground effect, simultaneously.