Abstract: This paper aims at to develop a robust optimization methodology for the mechatronic modules of machine tools by considering all important characteristics from all structural and control domains in one single process. The relationship between these two domains is strongly coupled. In order to reduce the disturbance caused by parameters in either one, the mechanical and controller design domains need to be integrated. Therefore, the concurrent integrated design method Design For Control (DFC), will be employed in this paper. In this connect, it is not only applied to achieve minimal power consumption but also enhance structural performance and system response at same time. To investigate the method for integrated optimization, a mechatronic feed drive system of the machine tools is used as a design platform. Pro/Engineer and AnSys are first used to build the 3D model to analyze and design structure parameters such as elastic deformation, nature frequency and component size, based on their effects and sensitivities to the structure. In addition, the robust controller,based on Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT), will be applied to determine proper control parameters for the controller. Therefore, overall physical properties of the machine tool will be obtained in the initial stage. Finally, the technology of design for control will be carried out to modify the structural and control parameters to achieve overall system performance. Hence, the corresponding productivity is expected to be greatly improved.
Abstract: In order to study the effect of plant density and
competition of wheat with field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) on
yield and agronomical properties of wheat(Triticum Sativum) in
irrigated conditions, a factorial experiment as the base of complete
randomize block design in three replication was conducted at the
field of Kamalvand in khoramabad (Lorestan) region of Iran during
2008-2009. Three plant density (Factor A=200, 230 and 260kg/ha)
three cultivar (Factor B=Bahar,Pishtaz and Alvand) and weed control
(Factor C= control and no control of weeds)were assigned in
experiment. Results show that: Plant density had significant effect
(statistically) on seed yield, 1000 seed weight, weed density and dry
weight of weeds, seed yield and harvest index had been meaningful
effect for cultivars. The interaction between plant density and
cultivars for weed density, seed yield, thousand seed weight and
harvest index were significant. 260 kg/ha (plant density) of wheat had
more effect on increasing of seed yield in Bahar cultivar wheat in
khoramabad region of Iran.
Abstract: Safety, river environment, and sediment utilization are the elements of the target of sediment management. As a change in an element by sediment management, may affect the other two elements, and the priority among three elements depends on stakeholders. It is necessary to develop a method to evaluate the effect of sediment management on each element and an integrated evaluation method for socio-economic effect. In this study, taking Mount Merapi basin as an investigation field, the method for an active volcanic basin was developed. An integrated evaluation method for sediment management was discussed from a socio-economic point on safety, environment, and sediment utilization and a case study of sediment management was evaluated by means of this method. To evaluate the effect of sediment management, some parameters on safety, utilization, and environment have been introduced. From a utilization point of view, job opportunity, additional income of local people, and tax income to local government were used to evaluate the effectiveness of sediment management. The risk degree of river infrastructure was used to describe the effect of sediment management on a safety aspect. To evaluate the effects of sediment management on environment, the mean diameter of grain size distribution of riverbed surface was used. On the coordinate system designating these elements, the direction of change in basin condition by sediment management can be predicted, so that the most preferable sediment management can be decided. The results indicate that the cases of sediment management tend to give the negative impacts on sediment utilization. However, these sediment managements will give positive impacts on safety and environment condition. Evaluation result from a social-economic point of view shows that the case study of sediment management reduces job opportunity and additional income for inhabitants as well as tax income for government. Therefore, it is necessary to make another policy for creating job opportunity for inhabitants to support these sediment managements.
Abstract: In this work we investigated the behavior of methane
hydrates dispersed in crude oils from different fields at temperatures
below 0°C. In case of crude oil emulsion the size of water droplets is
in the range of 50e100"m. The size of hydrate particles formed from
droplets is the same. The self-preservation is not expected in this
field. However, the self-preservation of hydrates with the size of
particles 24±18"m (electron microscopy data) in suspensions is
observed. Similar results were obtained for four different kinds of
crude oil and model system such as asphaltenes, resins and wax in ndecane.
This result can allow developing effective methods to prevent
the formation and elimination of gas-hydrate plugs in pipelines under
low temperature conditions (e. g. in Eastern Siberia). There is a
prospective to use experiment results for working out the technology
of associated petroleum gas recovery.
Abstract: This paper considers a scheduling problem in flexible
flow shops environment with the aim of minimizing two important
criteria including makespan and cumulative tardiness of jobs. Since
the proposed problem is known as an Np-hard problem in literature,
we have to develop a meta-heuristic to solve it. We considered
general structure of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and developed a new
version of that based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Two
objective functions assumed as two different inputs for each Decision
Making Unit (DMU). In this paper we focused on efficiency score of
DMUs and efficient frontier concept in DEA technique. After
introducing the method we defined two different scenarios with
considering two types of mutation operator. Also we provided an
experimental design with some computational results to show the
performance of algorithm. The results show that the algorithm
implements in a reasonable time.
Abstract: This paper demonstrates a model of an e-Learning
system based on nowadays learning theory and distant education
practice. The relationships in the model are designed to be simple
and functional and do not necessarily represent any particular e-
Learning environments. It is meant to be a generic e-Learning
system model with implications for any distant education course
instructional design. It allows online instructors to move away from
the discrepancy between the courses and body of knowledge. The
interrelationships of four primary sectors that are at the e-Learning
system are presented in this paper. This integrated model includes
[1] pedagogy, [2] technology, [3] teaching, and [4] learning. There
are interactions within each of these sectors depicted by system loop
map.
Abstract: Technology assessment is a vital part of decision process in manufacturing, particularly for decisions on selection of new sustainable manufacturing processes. To assess these processes, a matrix approach is introduced and sustainability assessment models are developed. Case studies show that the matrix-based approach provides a flexible and practical way for sustainability evaluation of new manufacturing technologies such as those used in surface coating. The technology assessment of coating processes reveals that compared with powder coating, the sol-gel coating can deliver better technical, economical and environmental sustainability with respect to the selected sustainability evaluation criteria for a decorative coating application of car wheels.
Abstract: This paper shows how we can integrate
communication modeling into the design modeling at early stages of
the design flow. We consider effect of incorporating noise such as
impulsive noise on system stability. We show that with change of the
system model and investigate the system performance under the
different communication effects. We modeled a unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) as a demonstration using SystemC methodology.
Moreover the system is modeled by joining the capabilities of UML
and SystemC to operate at system level.
Abstract: A Laboratory-scale packed bed reactor with microbial
cellulose as the biofilm carrier was used to investigate the
denitrification of high-strength nitrate wastewater with specific
emphasis on the effect the nitrogen loading rate and hydraulic
retention time. Ethanol was added as a carbon source for
denitrification. As a result of this investigation, it was found that up
to 500 mg/l feed nitrate concentration the present system is able to
produce an effluent with nitrate content below 10 ppm at 3 h
hydraulic retention time. The highest observed denitrification rate
was 4.57 kg NO3-N/ (m3 .d) at a nitrate load of 5.64 kg NO3-
N/(m3 .d), and removal efficiencies higher than 90% were obtained
for loads up to 4.2 kg NO3-N/(m3 .d). A mass relation between COD
consumed and NO3-N removed around 2.82 was observed. This
continuous-flow bioreactor proved an efficient denitrification system
with a relatively low retention time.
Abstract: In recent years, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
is followed with interest by many researches, especially for the
purpose of indoor positioning as the innate properties of RFID are
profitable for achieving it. A lot of algorithms or schemes are proposed
to be used in the RFID-based positioning system, but most of them are
lack of environmental consideration and it induces inaccuracy of
application. In this research, a lot of algorithms and schemes of RFID
indoor positioning are discussed to see whether effective or not on
application, and some rules are summarized for achieving accurate
positioning. On the other hand, a new term “Noise Factor" is involved
to describe the signal loss between the target and the obstacle. As a
result, experimental data can be obtained but not only simulation; and
the performance of the positioning system can be expressed
substantially.
Abstract: One of the major disadvantages of the minimally
invasive surgery (MIS) is the lack of tactile feedback to the surgeon.
In order to identify and avoid any damage to the grasped complex
tissue by endoscopic graspers, it is important to measure the local
softness of tissue during MIS. One way to display the measured
softness to the surgeon is a graphical method. In this paper, a new
tactile sensor has been reported. The tactile sensor consists of an
array of four softness sensors, which are integrated into the jaws of a
modified commercial endoscopic grasper. Each individual softness
sensor consists of two piezoelectric polymer Polyvinylidene Fluoride
(PVDF) films, which are positioned below a rigid and a compliant
cylinder. The compliant cylinder is fabricated using a micro molding
technique. The combination of output voltages from PVDF films is
used to determine the softness of the grasped object. The theoretical
analysis of the sensor is also presented.
A method has been developed with the aim of reproducing the
tactile softness to the surgeon by using a graphical method. In this
approach, the proposed system, including the interfacing and the data
acquisition card, receives signals from the array of softness sensors.
After the signals are processed, the tactile information is displayed
by means of a color coding method. It is shown that the degrees of
softness of the grasped objects/tissues can be visually differentiated
and displayed on a monitor.
Abstract: Road traffic accidents are a major cause of death worldwide. In an attempt to reduce accidents, some research efforts have focused on creating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) able to detect vehicle, driver and environmental conditions and to use this information to identify cues for potential accidents. This paper presents continued work on a novel Non-intrusive Intelligent Driver Assistance and Safety System (Ni-DASS) for assessing driver point of regard within vehicles. It uses an on-board CCD camera to observe the driver-s face. A template matching approach is used to compare the driver-s eye-gaze pattern with a set of eye-gesture templates of the driver looking at different focal points within the vehicle. The windscreen is divided into cells and comparison of the driver-s eye-gaze pattern with templates of a driver-s eyes looking at each cell is used to determine the driver-s point of regard on the windscreen. Results indicate that the proposed technique could be useful in situations where low resolution estimates of driver point of regard are adequate. For instance, To allow ADAS systems to alert the driver if he/she has positively failed to observe a hazard.
Abstract: Nowadays companies strive to survive in a
competitive global environment. To speed up product
development/modifications, it is suggested to adopt a collaborative
product development approach. However, despite the advantages of
new IT improvements still many CAx systems work separately and
locally. Collaborative design and manufacture requires a product
information model that supports related CAx product data models. To
solve this problem many solutions are proposed, which the most
successful one is adopting the STEP standard as a product data model
to develop a collaborative CAx platform. However, the improvement
of the STEP-s Application Protocols (APs) over the time, huge
number of STEP AP-s and cc-s, the high costs of implementation,
costly process for conversion of older CAx software files to the STEP
neutral file format; and lack of STEP knowledge, that usually slows
down the implementation of the STEP standard in collaborative data
exchange, management and integration should be considered. In this
paper the requirements for a successful collaborative CAx system is
discussed. The STEP standard capability for product data integration
and its shortcomings as well as the dominant platforms for supporting
CAx collaboration management and product data integration are
reviewed. Finally a platform named LAYMOD to fulfil the
requirements of CAx collaborative environment and integrating the
product data is proposed. The platform is a layered platform to enable
global collaboration among different CAx software
packages/developers. It also adopts the STEP modular architecture
and the XML data structures to enable collaboration between CAx
software packages as well as overcoming the STEP standard
limitations. The architecture and procedures of LAYMOD platform
to manage collaboration and avoid contradicts in product data
integration are introduced.
Abstract: Visual inputs are one of the key sources from which
humans perceive the environment and 'understand' what is
happening. Artificial systems perceive the visual inputs as digital
images. The images need to be processed and analysed. Within the
human brain, processing of visual inputs and subsequent
development of perception is one of its major functionalities. In this
paper we present part of our research project, which aims at the
development of an artificial model for visual perception (or
'understanding') based on the human perceptive and cognitive
systems. We propose a new model for perception from visual inputs
and a way of understaning or interpreting images using the model.
We demonstrate the implementation and use of the model with a real
image data set.
Abstract: terrorism and extremism are among the most
dangerous and difficult to forecast the phenomena of our time, which
are becoming more diverse forms and rampant. Terrorist attacks often
produce mass casualties, involve the destruction of material and
spiritual values, beyond the recovery times, sow hatred among
nations, provoke war, mistrust and hatred between the social and
national groups, which sometimes can not be overcome within a
generation. Currently, the countries of Central Asia are a topical issue
– the threat of terrorism and religious extremism, which grow not
only in our area, but throughout the world. Of course, in each of the
terrorist threat is assessed differently. In our country the problem of
terrorism should not be acutely. Thus, after independence and
sovereignty of Kazakhstan has chosen the path of democracy,
progress and free economy. With the policy of the President of
Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and well-organized political and
economic reforms, there has been economic growth and rising living
standards, socio-political stability, ensured civil peace and accord in
society [1].
Abstract: Through inward perceptions, we intuitively expect
distributed software development to increase the risks associated with
achieving cost, schedule, and quality goals. To compound this
problem, agile software development (ASD) insists one of the main
ingredients of its success is cohesive communication attributed to
collocation of the development team. The following study identified
the degree of communication richness needed to achieve comparable
software quality (reduce pre-release defects) between distributed and
collocated teams. This paper explores the relevancy of
communication richness in various development phases and its
impact on quality. Through examination of a large distributed agile
development project, this investigation seeks to understand the levels
of communication required within each ASD phase to produce
comparable quality results achieved by collocated teams. Obviously,
a multitude of factors affects the outcome of software projects.
However, within distributed agile software development teams, the
mode of communication is one of the critical components required to
achieve team cohesiveness and effectiveness. As such, this study
constructs a distributed agile communication model (DAC-M) for
potential application to similar distributed agile development efforts
using the measurement of the suitable level of communication. The
results of the study show that less rich communication methods, in
the appropriate phase, might be satisfactory to achieve equivalent
quality in distributed ASD efforts.
Abstract: Dynamic shear test on simulated phantom can be used
to validate magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) measurements.
Phantom gel has been usually utilized for the cell culture of cartilage
and soft tissue and also been used for mechanical property
characterization using imaging systems. The viscoelastic property of
the phantom would be important for dynamic experiments and
analyses. In this study, An axisymmetric FE model is presented for
determining the dynamic shear behaviour of brain simulated phantom
using ABAQUS. The main objective of this study was to investigate
the effect of excitation frequencies and boundary conditions on shear
modulus and shear viscosity in viscoelastic media.
Abstract: The purpose of study was to design and construction
the semi-automatic sliced ginger machine for reduce production times
in sheet and slice ginger procedure furthermore, reduced amount of
labor of slides and cutting method. Take consider into clean and safety of workers and consumers. The principle of machines, used 1
horsepower motor, rotation speed of sliced blade 967 rpm, the diameter of sliced dish 310 mm, consists of 2 blades for sheet cutting
ginger and the power from motor which transfer to rotate the sliced blade roller, rotation speed 440 rpm. The slice cutter roller was sliced
ginger from sheet ginger to line ginger. The conveyer could
adjustment level of motors, used to the beginning area that sheet
ginger was transference to the roller for sheet and sliced cutting in next process. The cover of sliced cutting had channel for 1 tuber of
ginger. The semi-automatic sliced ginger machine could produced sheet ginger 81.8 kg/h (6.2 times of labor) and line ginger 17.9 kg/h
(2.5 times of labor) compare with, labor work could produced sheet
ginger 13.2 kg/h and line ginger 7.1 kg/h, and when timekeeper, the
total times of semi auto machine 30.86 kg/h and labor 4.6 kg/h, there
for the semi auto machine was 6.7 times of labor. The semiautomatic
sliced ginger machine convenient, easy for use and
maintain, in addition to reduce fatigue of body and seriousness from
works; must be used high skill, and protection accident in slicing
procedure. Beside, machine could used with other vegetables for
example potato, carrot .etc
Abstract: The cycles of the steam-injection gas-turbine systems are studied. The analyses of the parametric effects and the optimal operating conditions for the steam-injection gas-turbine (STIG) system and the regenerative steam-injection gas-turbine (RSTIG) system are investigated to ensure the maximum performance. Using the analytic model, the performance parameters of the system such as thermal efficiency, fuel consumption and specific power, and also the optimal operating conditions are evaluated in terms of pressure ratio, steam injection ratio, ambient temperature and turbine inlet temperature (TIT). It is shown that the computational results are presented to have a notable enhancement of thermal efficiency and specific power.
Abstract: The response of King Abdulla Canal (KAC) water to the upgrade of As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant which discharges its effluent to the Zarqa River is investigated. Time series quality data that extends between October 2005 and December 2009 obtained by a state of the art telemetric monitoring system were analyzed for COD, EC, TP and TN at two monitoring stations located upstream and downstream of the confluence of the Zarqa River with KAC. The samples- means and the t-test showed that there has been significant improvement in the quality of the KAC water for COD, and TP. However, the improvement in the TN was found statistically insignificant, whereas the EC of the KAC was unaffected by the upgrade. Comparing the selected parameters with the standards and guidelines for using treated wastewater in irrigation showed that the KAC water has improved towards meeting the required standards and guidelines for treated wastewater reuse in irrigation.