Continuous Fixed Bed Reactor Application for Decolourization of Textile Effluent by Adsorption on NaOH Treated Eggshell

Fixed bed adsorption has become a frequently used industrial application in wastewater treatment processes. Various low cost adsorbents have been studied for their applicability in treatment of different types of effluents. In this work, the intention of the study was to explore the efficacy and feasibility for azo dye, Acid Orange 7 (AO7) adsorption onto fixed bed column of NaOH Treated eggshell (TES). The effect of various parameters like flow rate, initial dye concentration, and bed height were exploited in this study. The studies confirmed that the breakthrough curves were dependent on flow rate, initial dye concentration solution of AO7 and bed depth. The Thomas, Yoon–Nelson, and Adams and Bohart models were analysed to evaluate the column adsorption performance. The adsorption capacity, rate constant and correlation coefficient associated to each model for column adsorption was calculated and mentioned. The column experimental data were fitted well with Thomas model with coefficients of correlation R2 ≥0.93 at different conditions but the Yoon–Nelson, BDST and Bohart–Adams model (R2=0.911), predicted poor performance of fixed-bed column. The (TES) was shown to be suitable adsorbent for adsorption of AO7 using fixed-bed adsorption column.

Transformations of Spatial Distributions of Bio-Polymers and Nanoparticles in Water Suspensions Induced by Resonance-Like Low Frequency Electrical Fields

Water suspensions of in-organic (metals and oxides) and organic nano-objects (chitozan and collagen) were subjected to the treatment of direct and alternative electrical fields. In addition to quasi-periodical spatial patterning resonance-like performance of spatial distributions of these suspensions has been found at low frequencies of alternating electrical field. These resonances are explained as the result of creation of equilibrium states of groups of charged nano-objects with opposite signs of charges at the interparticle distances where the forces of Coulomb attraction are compensated by the repulsion forces induced by relatively negative polarization of hydrated regions surrounding the nanoparticles with respect to pure water. The low frequencies of these resonances are explained by comparatively big distances between the particles and their big masses with t\respect to masses of atoms constituting molecules with high resonance frequencies. These new resonances open a new approach to detailed modeling and understanding of mechanisms of the influence of electrical fields on the functioning of internal organs of living organisms at the level of cells and neurons.

A Numerical Simulation of Arterial Mass Transport in Presence of Magnetic Field-Links to Atherosclerosis

This paper has focused on the most important parameters in the LSC uptake; inlet Re number and Sc number in the presence of non-uniform magnetic field. The magnetic field is arising from the thin wire with electric current placed vertically to the arterial blood vessel. According to the results of this study, applying magnetic field can be a treatment for atherosclerosis by reducing LSC along the vessel wall. Homogeneous porous layer as a arterial wall has been regarded. Blood flow has been considered laminar and incompressible containing Ferro fluid (blood and 4 % vol. Fe3O4) under steady state conditions. Numerical solution of governing equations was obtained by using the single-phase model and control volume technique for flow field.

Production of Ultra-Low Temperature by the Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycles with Environment Friendly Working Fluids

We investigate the performance of an integrated cascade (IC) refrigeration system which uses environment friendly zeotropic mixtures. Computational calculation has been carried out by varying pressure level at the evaporator and the condenser of the system. Effects of mass flow rate of the refrigerant on the coefficient of performance (COP) are presented. We show that the integrated cascade system produces ultra-low temperatures in the evaporator by using environment friendly zeotropic mixture.

Mining Big Data in Telecommunications Industry: Challenges, Techniques, and Revenue Opportunity

Mining big data represents a big challenge nowadays. Many types of research are concerned with mining massive amounts of data and big data streams. Mining big data faces a lot of challenges including scalability, speed, heterogeneity, accuracy, provenance and privacy. In telecommunication industry, mining big data is like a mining for gold; it represents a big opportunity and maximizing the revenue streams in this industry. This paper discusses the characteristics of big data (volume, variety, velocity and veracity), data mining techniques and tools for handling very large data sets, mining big data in telecommunication and the benefits and opportunities gained from them.

Cellular Components of the Hemal Node of Egyptian Cattle

10 clinically healthy hemal nodes were collected from male bulls aged 2-3 years. Light microscopy revealed a capsule of connective tissue consisted mainly of collagen fiber surrounding hemal node, numerous erythrocytes were found in wide subcapsular sinus under the capsule. The parenchyma of the hemal node was divided into cortex and medulla. Diffused lymphocytes, and lymphoid follicles, having germinal centers were the main components of the cortex, while in the medulla there was wide medullary sinus, diffused lymphocytes and few lymphoid nodules. The area occupied with lymph nodules was larger than that occupied with non-nodular structure of lymphoid cords and blood sinusoids. Electron microscopy revealed the cellular components of hemal node including elements of circulating erythrocytes intermingled with lymphocytes, plasma cells, mast cells, reticular cells, macrophages, megakaryocytes and endothelial cells lining the blood sinuses. The lymphocytes were somewhat triangular in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent erythrocytes. Nuclei were triangular to oval in shape, lightly stained with clear nuclear membrane indentation and clear nucleoli. The reticular cells were elongated in shape with cytoplasmic processes extending between adjacent lymphocytes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and few lysosomes were seen in their cytoplasm. Nucleus was elongated in shape with less condensed chromatin. Plasma cells were oval to irregular in shape with numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum containing electron lucent material occupying the whole cytoplasm and few mitochondria were found. Nuclei were centrally located and oval in shape with heterochromatin emarginated and often clumped near the nuclear membrane. Occasionally megakaryocytes and mast cells were seen among lymphocytes. Megakaryocytes had multilobulated nucleus and free ribosomes often appearing as small aggregates in their cytoplasm, while mast cell had their characteristic electron dense granule in the cytoplasm, few electron lucent granules were found also, we conclude that, the main function of the hemal node of cattle is proliferation of lymphocytes. No role for plasma cell in erythrophagocytosis could be suggested.

RS Based SCADA System for Longer Distance Powered Devices

This project aims at building an efficient and automatic power monitoring SCADA system, which is capable of monitoring the electrical parameters of high voltage powered devices in real time for example RMS voltage and current, frequency, energy consumed, power factor etc. The system uses RS-485 serial communication interface to transfer data over longer distances. Embedded C programming is the platform used to develop two hardware modules namely: RTU and Master Station modules, which both use the CC2540 BLE 4.0 microcontroller configured in slave / master mode. The Si8900 galvanic ally isolated microchip is used to perform ADC externally. The hardware communicates via UART port and sends data to the user PC using the USB port. Labview software is used to design a user interface to display current state of the power loads being monitored as well as logs data to excel spreadsheet file. An understanding of the Si8900’s auto baud rate process is key to successful implementation of this project.

Binary Programming for Manufacturing Material and Manufacturing Process Selection Using Genetic Algorithms

The material selection problem is concerned with the determination of the right material for a certain product to optimize certain performance indices in that product such as mass, energy density, and power-to-weight ratio. This paper is concerned about optimizing the selection of the manufacturing process along with the material used in the product under performance indices and availability constraints. In this paper, the material selection problem is formulated using binary programming and solved by genetic algorithm. The objective function of the model is to minimize the total manufacturing cost under performance indices and material and manufacturing process availability constraints.

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

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.

Comparative Study of Dynamic Effect on Analysis Approaches for Circular Tanks Using Codal Provisions

Liquid storage tanks have become widespread during the recent decades due to their extensive usage. Analysis of liquid containing tanks is known to be complex due to hydrodynamic force exerted on tank which makes the analysis a complex one. The objective of this research is to carry out analysis of liquid domain along with structural interaction for various geometries of circular tanks considering seismic effects. An attempt has been made to determine hydrodynamic pressure distribution on the tank wall considering impulsive and convective components of liquid mass. To get a better picture, a comparative study of Draft IS 1893 Part 2, ACI 350.3 and Eurocode 8 for Circular Shaped Tank has been performed. Further, the differences in the magnitude of shear and moment at base as obtained from static (IS 3370 IV) and dynamic (Draft IS 1892 Part 2) analysis of ground supported circular tank highlight the need for us to mature from the old code to a newer code, which is more accurate and reliable.

Evaluation of PTFE Composites with Mineral Tailing Considering Friction, Wear and Cost

The tribological test with Pin-On-Disc configuration measures friction and wear properties in dry or lubricated sliding surfaces of a variety of materials and coatings. Polymeric matrix composites loaded with mineral filler were used, 1%, 3%, 10%, 30%, and 50% mass percentage of filler, to reduce the material cost by using mineral tailings. Using a pin-on-disc tribometer to quantify coefficient of friction and wear resistance of the specimens. The parameters known to performing the test were 300 rpm rotation, normal load of 16N and duration of 33.5 minutes. The composite with 10% mineral filler performed better, considering that the wear resistance was good when compared to the other compositions and an average low coefficient of friction, in the order of μ ≤ 0.15.

Impact of the Operation and Infrastructure Parameters to the Railway Track Capacity

The railway transport is considered as a one of the most environmentally friendly mode of transport. With future prediction of increasing of freight transport there are lines facing problems with demanded capacity. Increase of the track capacity could be achieved by infrastructure constructive adjustments. The contribution shows how the travel time can be minimized and the track capacity increased by changing some of the basic infrastructure and operation parameters, for example, the minimal curve radius of the track, the number of tracks, or the usable track length at stations. Calculation of the necessary parameter changes is based on the fundamental physical laws applied to the train movement, and calculation of the occupation time is dependent on the changes of controlling the traffic between the stations.

Multi-Agent Based Modeling Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and OLAP System for Decision Support Problems

This paper discusses the intake of combining multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with OLAP systems, to generate an integrated analysis process dealing with complex multi-criteria decision-making situations. In this context, a multi-agent modeling is presented for decision support systems by combining multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with OLAP systems. The proposed modeling which consists in performing the multi-agent system (MAS) architecture, procedure and protocol of the negotiation model is elaborated as a decision support tool for complex decision-making environments. Our objective is to take advantage from the multi-agent system which distributes resources and computational capabilities across interconnected agents, and provide a problem modeling in terms of autonomous interacting component-agents. Thus, the identification and evaluation of criteria as well as the evaluation and ranking of alternatives in a decision support situation will be performed by organizing tasks and user preferences between different agents in order to reach the right decision. At the end, an illustrative example is conducted to demonstrate the function and effectiveness of our MAS modeling.

GPU-Accelerated Triangle Mesh Simplification Using Parallel Vertex Removal

We present an approach to triangle mesh simplification designed to be executed on the GPU. We use a quadric error metric to calculate an error value for each vertex of the mesh and order all vertices based on this value. This step is followed by the parallel removal of a number of vertices with the lowest calculated error values. To allow for the parallel removal of multiple vertices we use a set of per-vertex boundaries that prevent mesh foldovers even when simplification operations are performed on neighbouring vertices. We execute multiple iterations of the calculation of the vertex errors, ordering of the error values and removal of vertices until either a desired number of vertices remains in the mesh or a minimum error value is reached. This parallel approach is used to speed up the simplification process while maintaining mesh topology and avoiding foldovers at every step of the simplification.

Winged Test Rocket with Fully Autonomous Guidance and Control for Realizing Reusable Suborbital Vehicle

This paper presents the strategic development plan of winged rockets WIRES (WInged REusable Sounding rocket) aiming at unmanned suborbital winged rocket for demonstrating future fully reusable space transportation technologies, such as aerodynamics, Navigation, Guidance and Control (NGC), composite structure, propulsion system, and cryogenic tanks etc., by universities in collaboration with government and industries, as well as the past and current flight test results.

The Influence of the Intellectual Capital on the Firms’ Market Value: A Study of Listed Firms in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)

Intellectual capital is one of the most valuable and important parts of the intangible assets of enterprises especially in knowledge-based enterprises. With respect to increasing gap between the market value and the book value of the companies, intellectual capital is one of the components that can be placed in this gap. This paper uses the value added efficiency of the three components, capital employed, human capital and structural capital, to measure the intellectual capital efficiency of Iranian industries groups, listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), using a 8 years period data set from 2005 to 2012. In order to analyze the effect of intellectual capital on the market-to-book value ratio of the companies, the data set was divided into 10 industries, Banking, Pharmaceutical, Metals & Mineral Nonmetallic, Food, Computer, Building, Investments, Chemical, Cement and Automotive, and the panel data method was applied to estimating pooled OLS. The results exhibited that value added of capital employed has a positive significant relation with increasing market value in the industries, Banking, Metals & Mineral Nonmetallic, Food, Computer, Chemical and Cement, and also, showed that value added efficiency of structural capital has a positive significant relation with increasing market value in the Banking, Pharmaceutical and Computer industries groups. The results of the value added showed a negative relation with the Banking and Pharmaceutical industries groups and a positive relation with computer and Automotive industries groups. Among the studied industries, computer industry has placed the widest gap between the market value and book value in its intellectual capital.

Numerical and Experimental Studies of Joule Heating Effects around Crack and Notch Tips

This paper investigates the thermo-electric effects around the crack and notch tips under the electric current load. The research methods include the finite element analysis and thermal imaging experiment. The finite element solutions show that the electric current density field concentrates at the crack tip. Due to the Joule heating, this electric concentration causes the hot spot at the tip zone. From numerical and experimental results, this hot spot is identified. The temperature of the hot spot is affected by the electric load, operation time and geometry of the sample.

Free Convection in a Darcy Thermally Stratified Porous Medium That Embeds a Vertical Wall of Constant Heat Flux and Concentration

This paper presents the heat and mass driven natural convection succession in a Darcy thermally stratified porous medium that embeds a vertical semi-infinite impermeable wall of constant heat flux and concentration. The scale analysis of the system determines the two possible maps of the heat and mass driven natural convection sequence along the wall as a function of the process parameters. These results are verified using the finite differences method applied to the conservation equations.

An Efficient Iterative Updating Method for Damped Structural Systems

Model updating is an inverse eigenvalue problem which concerns the modification of an existing but inaccurate model with measured modal data. In this paper, an efficient gradient based iterative method for updating the mass, damping and stiffness matrices simultaneously using a few of complex measured modal data is developed. Convergence analysis indicates that the iterative solutions always converge to the unique minimum Frobenius norm symmetric solution of the model updating problem by choosing a special kind of initial matrices.

Torrefaction of Biomass Pellets: Modeling of the Process in a Fixed Bed Reactor

Torrefaction of biomass pellets is considered as a useful pretreatment technology in order to convert them into a high quality solid biofuel that is more suitable for pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, and co-firing applications. In the course of torrefaction, the temperature varies across the pellet, and therefore chemical reactions proceed unevenly within the pellet. However, the uniformity of the thermal distribution along the pellet is generally assumed. The torrefaction process of a single cylindrical pellet is modeled here, accounting for heat transfer coupled with chemical kinetics. The drying sub-model was also introduced. The nonstationary process of wood pellet decomposition is described by the system of non-linear partial differential equations over the temperature and mass. The model captures well the main features of the experimental data.