Abstract: Offshore floating structure under the various environmental conditions maintains a fixed position by mooring system. Environmental conditions, vessel motions and mooring loads are applied to mooring lines as the dynamic tension. Because global responses of mooring system in deep water are specified as wave frequency and low frequency response, they should be calculated from the time-domain analysis due to non-linear dynamic characteristics. To take into account all mooring loads, environmental conditions, added mass and damping terms at each time step, a lot of computation time and capacities are required. Thus, under the premise that reliable fatigue damage could be derived through reasonable analysis method, it is necessary to reduce the analysis cases through the sensitivity studies and appropriate assumptions. In this paper, effects in fatigue are studied for spread mooring system connected with oil FPSO which is positioned in deep water of West Africa offshore. The target FPSO with two Mbbls storage has 16 spread mooring lines (4 bundles x 4 lines). The various sensitivity studies are performed for environmental loads, type of responses, vessel offsets, mooring position, loading conditions and riser behavior. Each parameter applied to the sensitivity studies is investigated from the effects of fatigue damage through fatigue analysis. Based on the sensitivity studies, the following results are presented: Wave loads are more dominant in terms of fatigue than other environment conditions. Wave frequency response causes the higher fatigue damage than low frequency response. The larger vessel offset increases the mean tension and so it results in the increased fatigue damage. The external line of each bundle shows the highest fatigue damage by the governed vessel pitch motion due to swell wave conditions. Among three kinds of loading conditions, ballast condition has the highest fatigue damage due to higher tension. The riser damping occurred by riser behavior tends to reduce the fatigue damage. The various analysis results obtained from these sensitivity studies can be used for a simplified fatigue analysis of spread mooring line as the reference.
Abstract: Today, a new system of education is being created in Kazakhstan in order to develop the system of education and to satisfy the world class standards. For this purpose, there have been established new requirements and responsibilities to the instructors. Students should not be limited with providing only theoretical knowledge. Also, they should be encouraged to be competitive, to think creatively and critically. Moreover, students should be able to implement these skills into practice. These issues could be resolved through the permanent improvement of teaching methods. Therefore, a specialist who teaches the languages should use up-to-date methods and introduce new technologies. The result of the investigation suggests that an interactive teaching method is one of the new technologies in this field. This paper aims to provide information about implementing new technologies in the process of teaching language. The paper will discuss about necessity of introducing innovative technologies and the techniques of organizing interactive lessons. At the same time, the structure of the interactive lesson, conditions, principles, discussions, small group works and role-playing games will be considered. Interactive methods are carried out with the help of several types of activities, such as working in a team (with two or more group of people), playing situational or role-playing games, working with different sources of information, discussions, presentations, creative works and learning through solving situational tasks and etc.
Abstract: In this paper, a CMOS vector modulator designed for wireless backhaul system based on 802.11ac is presented. A poly phase filter and sign select switches yield two orthogonal signal paths. Two variable gain amplifiers with strongly reduced phase shift of only ±5 ° are used to weight these paths. It has a phase control range of 360 ° and a gain range of -10 dB to 10 dB. The current drawn from a 1.2 V supply amounts 20.4 mA. Using a 0.13 mm technology, the chip die area amounts 1.47x0.75 mm².
Abstract: One of the topical issues for the companies operating in the present-day conditions is making decisions about creation and development of brands. The goal of the research was to study peculiarities of implementation of branding principles using the well-known Georgian mineral water Borjomi as an example, to establish the attitude of consumers to Borjomi at Georgian market, to determine the discovered weaknesses based on the result of the research and to make certain proposals and give recommendations, which would help Georgian companies interested in branding issues to pay proper attention to fundamental principles of branding in their marketing activities. As a result of the marketing research, it was found out that Borjomi adhere to a number of branding principles in its activity, although it has certain shortcomings in that respect. The research method was of exploratory and descriptive nature. In the conclusive part of the work is given sum up research results, draw conclusions and give recommendations. If companies existing in Georgia will take them into consideration, it will help them to better make sense of branding and main aspects of using its principles.
Abstract: Less availability of high quality green forages leads to low productivity of national dairy herd of Sri Lanka. Growing grass and fodder to suit the production system is an efficient and economical solution for this problem. CO-3 is placed in a higher category, especially on tillering capacity, green forage yield, regeneration capacity, leaf to stem ratio, high crude protein content, resistance to pests and diseases and free from adverse factors along with other fodder varieties grown within the country. An experiment was designed to determine the effect of organic sheep manure, inorganic fertilizers and liquid sheep manure on growth, yield and nutritive value of CO-3. The study was consisted with three treatments; sheep manure (T1), recommended inorganic fertilizers (T2) and liquid sheep manure (T3) which was prepared using bucket fermentation method and each treatment was consisted with three replicates and those were assigned randomly. First harvest was obtained after 40 days of plant establishment and number of leaves (NL), leaf area (LA), tillering capacity (TC), fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) were recorded and second harvest was obtained after 30 days of first harvest and same set of data were recorded. SPSS 16 software was used for data analysis. For proximate analysis AOAC, 2000 standard methods were used. Results revealed that the plants treated with T1 recorded highest NL, LA, TC, FW and DW and were statistically significant at first and second harvest of CO-3 (p˂ 0.05) and it was found that T1 was statistically significant from T2 and T3. Although T3 was recorded higher than the T2 in almost all growth parameters; it was not statistically significant (p ˃0.05). In addition, the crude protein content was recorded highest in T1 with the value of 18.33±1.61 and was lowest in T2 with the value of 10.82±1.14 and was statistically significant (p˂ 0.05). Apart from this, other proximate composition crude fiber, crude fat, ash, moisture content and dry matter were not statistically significant between treatments (p ˃0.05). In accordance with the results, it was found that the organic fertilizer is the best fertilizer for CO-3 in terms of growth parameters and crude protein content.
Abstract: The paper presents the analysis of the current situation of agricultural development in Georgia. The investment environment that supports development of the agricultural sector is evaluated and the key priorities are identified. The analysis of the projects already implemented with state and EU support, as well as those that are being currently implemented is presented. The policy and the programs supporting development of agricultural sector are analyzed. Based on an analysis of the evaluations of experts and the primary accounting documents, the outcomes of investment programs, their advantages and disadvantages, are studied. Through identifying investment programs in the agricultural sector of Georgia, corresponding conclusions are made, based on which some recommendations are developed.
Abstract: The phenomenon of visual disorder is prominent in contemporary townscapes. This paper provides a theoretical framework for the assessment of visual consistency in townscape in order to achieve more favourable outcomes for users. In this paper, visual consistency refers to the amount of similarity between adjacent components of townscape. The paper investigates parameters which relate to visual consistency in townscape, explores the relationships between them and highlights their significance. The paper uses arithmetic methods from outside the domain of urban design to enable the establishment of an objective approach of assessment which considers subjective indicators including users’ preferences. These methods involve the standard of deviation, colour distance and the distance between points. The paper identifies urban space as a key representative of the visual parameters of townscape. It focuses on its two components, geometry and colour in the evaluation of the visual consistency of townscape. Accordingly, this article proposes four measurements. The first quantifies the number of vertices, which are points in the three-dimensional space that are connected, by lines, to represent the appearance of elements. The second evaluates the visual surroundings of urban space through assessing the location of their vertices. The last two measurements calculate the visual similarity in both vertices and colour in townscape by the calculation of their variation using methods including standard of deviation and colour difference. The proposed quantitative assessment is based on users’ preferences towards these measurements. The paper offers a theoretical basis for a practical tool which can alter the current understanding of architectural form and its application in urban space. This tool is currently under development. The proposed method underpins expert subjective assessment and permits the establishment of a unified framework which adds to creativity by the achievement of a higher level of consistency and satisfaction among the citizens of evolving townscapes.
Abstract: Firstly, in order to examine the influence of the remaining amount of the rust on the coating film durability, the accelerated deterioration tests were carried out. In order to prepare test specimens, uncoated steel plates were corroded by the Salt Spray Test (SST) prior to the accelerated deterioration tests, and then the prepared test specimens were coated by epoxy resin and phthalic acid resin each of which has different gas-barrier performance. As the result, it was confirmed that the under-film corrosion occurred in the area and the adjacency to great quantities of salt exists in the rust, and did not occurred in the specimen which was applied the epoxy resin paint after the surface preparation by the power tool. Secondly, in order to clarify the influence of the corrosive factors on the coating film durability, outdoor exposure tests were conducted for one year on actual steel bridge located at a coastal area. The tests specimens consist of coated corroded plates and the uncoated steel plates, and they were installed on the different structural members of the bridge for one year. From the test results, the uncoated steel plates which were installed on the underside of the member are easily corrosive and had highly correlation with the amount of salt in the rust. On the other hand, the most corrosive under-film steel was the vertical surface of the web plate. Thus, it was confirmed that under-film corrosion rate was not match with corrosion rate of the uncoated steel. Consequently, it is estimated that the main factors of under-film corrosion are gas-barrier property of coating film and corrosive factors such as water vapor and temperature. The salt which significantly corrodes the uncoated steel plate is not directly related to the under-film corrosion.
Abstract: In this paper, we develop a dynamic modeling of wind farms in the Jeju power system. The dynamic model of wind farms is developed to study their dynamic effects on the Jeju power system. PSS/E is used to develop the dynamic model of a wind farm composed of 1.5-MW doubly fed induction generators. The output of a wind farm is regulated based on pitch angle control, in which the two controllable parameters are speed and power references. The simulation results confirm that the pitch angle is successfully controlled, regardless of the variation in wind speed and output regulation.
Abstract: Textile industries cater to varied customer preferences and contribute substantially to the economy. However, these textile industries also produce a considerable amount of effluents. Prominent among these are the azo dyes which impart considerable color and toxicity even at low concentrations. Azo dyes are also used as coloring agents in food and pharmaceutical industry. Despite their applications, azo dyes are also notorious pollutants and carcinogens. Popular techniques like photo-degradation, biodegradation and the use of oxidizing agents are not applicable for all kinds of dyes, as most of them are stable to these techniques. Chemical coagulation produces a large amount of toxic sludge which is undesirable and is also ineffective towards a number of dyes. Most of the azo dyes are stable to UV-visible light irradiation and may even resist aerobic degradation. Adsorption has been the most preferred technique owing to its less cost, high capacity and process efficiency and the possibility of regenerating and recycling the adsorbent. Adsorption is also most preferred because it may produce high quality of the treated effluent and it is able to remove different kinds of dyes. However, the adsorption process is influenced by many variables whose inter-dependence makes it difficult to identify optimum conditions. The variables include stirring speed, temperature, initial concentration and adsorbent dosage. Further, the internal diffusional resistance inside the adsorbent particle leads to slow uptake of the solute within the adsorbent. Hence, it is necessary to identify optimum conditions that lead to high capacity and uptake rate of these pollutants. In this work, commercially available activated carbon was chosen as the adsorbent owing to its high surface area. A typical azo dye found in textile effluent waters, viz. the monoazo Acid Orange 10 dye (CAS: 1936-15-8) has been chosen as the representative pollutant. Adsorption studies were mainly focused at obtaining equilibrium and kinetic data for the batch adsorption process at different process conditions. Studies were conducted at different stirring speed, temperature, adsorbent dosage and initial dye concentration settings. The Full Factorial Design was the chosen statistical design framework for carrying out the experiments and identifying the important factors and their interactions. The optimum conditions identified from the experimental model were validated with actual experiments at the recommended settings. The equilibrium and kinetic data obtained were fitted to different models and the model parameters were estimated. This gives more details about the nature of adsorption taking place. Critical data required to design batch adsorption systems for removal of Acid Orange 10 dye and identification of factors that critically influence the separation efficiency are the key outcomes from this research.
Abstract: Sludge originates from the process of treatment of wastewater. It is the byproduct of wastewater treatment containing concentrated heavy metals and poorly biodegradable trace organic compounds, as well as potentially pathogenic organisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.) which are usually difficult to treat or dispose of. China, like other countries, is no stranger to the challenges posed by increase of wastewater. Treatment and disposal of sludge has been a problem for most cities in China. However, this problem has been exacerbated by other issues such as lack of technology, funding, and other factors. Suitable methods for such climatic conditions are still unavailable for modern cities in China. Against this background, this paper seeks to describe the methods used for treatment and disposal of sludge from industries and suggest a suitable method for treatment and disposal in Chongqing/China. From the research conducted, it was discovered that the highest treatment rate of sludge in Chongqing was 10.08%. The industrial waste piping system is not separated from the domestic system. Considering the proliferation of industry and urbanization, there is a likelihood that the production of sludge in Chongqing will increase. If the sludge produced is not properly managed, this may lead to adverse health and environmental effects. Disposal costs and methods for Chongqing were also included in this paper’s analysis. Research showed that incineration is the most expensive method of sludge disposal in China/Chongqing. Subsequent research therefore considered optional alternatives such as composting. Composting represents a relatively cheap waste disposal method considering the vast population, current technology and economic conditions of Chongqing, as well as China at large.
Abstract: Conventional wastewater treatment plants of activated carbon, electrodialysis, ion exchange, reverse osmosis etc. are expensive to install, operate and maintain especially in developing countries; therefore, the use of aquatic macrophytes for wastewater purification is a viable alternative. On the first day of experimentation, approximately 100g of water hyacinth was introduced into the hydroponic units in four replicates. The water quality parameters measured were total suspended solids (TSS), pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Others were concentration of ammonium–nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2--N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N), phosphate–phosphorus (PO43--P), and biomass value. At phytoremediation intervals of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, the biomass recorded were 438.2 g, 600.7 g, 688.2 g and 725.7 g. Water hyacinth was able to reduce the pollutant concentration of all the selected parameter. The percentage reduction of pH ranged from 1.9% to 14.7%, EC from 49.8% to 97.0%, TDS from 50.4% to 97.6%, TSS from 34.0% to 78.3%, NH4+-N from 38.9% to 85.2%, NO2--N from 0% to 84.6%, NO3--N from 63.2% to 98.8% and PO43--P from 10% to 88.0%. Paired sample t-test shows that at 95% confidence level, it can be concluded statistically that the inequality between the pre-treatment and post-treatment values are significant. This suggests that the use of water hyacinth is valuable in the design and operation of aquaculture effluent treatment and should therefore be adopted by environmental and wastewater managers.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to upgrade a pleasing, sustainable and safe shelter in the Afghan urban community. It also aims to maintain traditional housing, which is fitted to its environment, while attempting to upgrade it with new, traditional standards. The three main objectives of this study are to upgrade the traditional courtyard house to become safe and sustainable today and tomorrow; to fit the contemporary house environmentally and culturally, and to suppress or reduce the broad gap between traditional and contemporary housing. The paper tries to exhibit and analyze the sustainably best practices available in both traditional and contemporary courtyard housing in Afghanistan. For instance, the use of thick walls and Tawa-Khana (floor heating system) shows the best sustainable practice in that context.
Abstract: CO2 capture and storage technologies play a significant role in contributing to the control of climate change through the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The present study evaluates and optimizes CO2 capture through a process, where carbon dioxide is passed into pH adjusted high salinity water and reacted with sodium chloride to form a precipitate of sodium bicarbonate. This process is based on a modified Solvay process with higher CO2 capture efficiency, higher sodium removal, and higher pH level without the use of ammonia. The process was tested in a bubble column semi-batch reactor and was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). CO2 capture efficiency and sodium removal were optimized in terms of major operating parameters based on four levels and variables in Central Composite Design (CCD). The operating parameters were gas flow rate (0.5–1.5 L/min), reactor temperature (10 to 50 oC), buffer concentration (0.2-2.6%) and water salinity (25-197 g NaCl/L). The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial using multiple regression and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum values of the selected variables were obtained using response optimizer. The optimum conditions were tested experimentally using desalination reject brine with salinity ranging from 65,000 to 75,000 mg/L. The CO2 capture efficiency in 180 min was 99% and the maximum sodium removal was 35%. The experimental and predicted values were within 95% confidence interval, which demonstrates that the developed model can successfully predict the capture efficiency and sodium removal using the modified Solvay method.
Abstract: The problem under research is that of unpredictable modes occurring in two-stage centrifugal hydraulic pump as a result of hydraulic processes caused by vibrations of structural components. Numerical, analytical and experimental approaches are considered. A hypothesis was developed that the problem of unpredictable pressure decrease at the second stage of centrifugal pumps is caused by cavitation effects occurring upon vibration. The problem has been studied experimentally and theoretically as of today. The theoretical study was conducted numerically and analytically. Hydroelastic processes in dynamic “liquid – deformed structure” system were numerically modelled and analysed. Using ANSYS CFX program engineering analysis complex and computing capacity of a supercomputer the cavitation parameters were established to depend on vibration parameters. An influence domain of amplitudes and vibration frequencies on concentration of cavitation bubbles was formulated. The obtained numerical solution was verified using CFM program package developed in PNRPU. The package is based on a differential equation system in hyperbolic and elliptic partial derivatives. The system is solved by using one of finite-difference method options – the particle-in-cell method. The method defines the problem solution algorithm. The obtained numerical solution was verified analytically by model problem calculations with the use of known analytical solutions of in-pipe piston movement and cantilever rod end face impact. An infrastructure consisting of an experimental fast hydro-dynamic processes research installation and a supercomputer connected by a high-speed network, was created to verify the obtained numerical solutions. Physical experiments included measurement, record, processing and analysis of data for fast processes research by using National Instrument signals measurement system and Lab View software. The model chamber end face oscillated during physical experiments and, thus, loaded the hydraulic volume. The loading frequency varied from 0 to 5 kHz. The length of the operating chamber varied from 0.4 to 1.0 m. Additional loads weighed from 2 to 10 kg. The liquid column varied from 0.4 to 1 m high. Liquid pressure history was registered. The experiment showed dependence of forced system oscillation amplitude on loading frequency at various values: operating chamber geometrical dimensions, liquid column height and structure weight. Maximum pressure oscillation (in the basic variant) amplitudes were discovered at loading frequencies of approximately 1,5 kHz. These results match the analytical and numerical solutions in ANSYS and CFM.
Abstract: Cloud computing is the outcome of rapid growth of internet. Due to elastic nature of cloud computing and unpredictable behavior of user, load balancing is the major issue in cloud computing paradigm. An efficient load balancing technique can improve the performance in terms of efficient resource utilization and higher customer satisfaction. Load balancing can be implemented through task scheduling, resource allocation and task migration. Various parameters to analyze the performance of load balancing approach are response time, cost, data processing time and throughput. This paper demonstrates a two level load balancer approach by combining join idle queue and join shortest queue approach. Authors have used cloud analyst simulator to test proposed two level load balancer approach. The results are analyzed and compared with the existing algorithms and as observed, proposed work is one step ahead of existing techniques.
Abstract: In this paper, the influence of van der Waals, as well as electrostatic forces on the structural behavior of MEMS and NEMS actuators, has been investigated using of a Euler-Bernoulli beam continuous model. In the proposed nonlinear model, the electrostatic fringing-fields and the mid-plane stretching (geometric nonlinearity) effects have been considered. The nonlinear integro-differential equation governing the static structural behavior of the actuator has been derived. An original Galerkin-based reduced-order model has been developed to avoid problems arising from the nonlinearities in the differential equation. The obtained reduced-order model equations have been solved numerically using the Newton-Raphson method. The basic design parameters such as the pull-in parameters (voltage and deflection at pull-in), as well as the detachment length due to the van der Waals force of some investigated micro- and nano-actuators have been calculated. The obtained numerical results have been compared with some other existing methods (finite-elements method and finite-difference method) and the comparison showed good agreement among all assumed numerical techniques.
Abstract: The selection of diffractive events in the ALICE experiment during the first data taking period (RUN-I) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was limited by the range over which rapidity gaps occur. It would be possible to achieve better measurements by expanding the range in which the production of particles can be detected. For this purpose, the ALICE Diffractive (AD0) detector has been installed and commissioned for the second phase (RUN-II). Any new detector should be able to take the data synchronously with all other detectors and be operated through the ALICE central systems. One of the key elements that must be developed for the AD0 detector is the Detector Control System (DCS). The DCS must be designed to operate safely and correctly this detector. Furthermore, the DCS must also provide optimum operating conditions for the acquisition and storage of physics data and ensure these are of the highest quality. The operation of AD0 implies the configuration of about 200 parameters, from electronics settings and power supply levels to the archiving of operating conditions data and the generation of safety alerts. It also includes the automation of procedures to get the AD0 detector ready for taking data in the appropriate conditions for the different run types in ALICE. The performance of AD0 detector depends on a certain number of parameters such as the nominal voltages for each photomultiplier tube (PMT), their threshold levels to accept or reject the incoming pulses, the definition of triggers, etc. All these parameters define the efficiency of AD0 and they have to be monitored and controlled through AD0 DCS. Finally, AD0 DCS provides the operator with multiple interfaces to execute these tasks. They are realized as operating panels and scripts running in the background. These features are implemented on a SCADA software platform as a distributed control system which integrates to the global control system of the ALICE experiment.
Abstract: The emergence of Cloud data centers has revolutionized
the IT industry. Private Clouds in specific provide Cloud services
for certain group of customers/businesses. In a real-time private
Cloud each task that is given to the system has a deadline that
desirably should not be violated. Scheduling tasks in a real-time
private CLoud determine the way available resources in the system
are shared among incoming tasks. The aim of the scheduling policy is
to optimize the system outcome which for a real-time private Cloud
can include: energy consumption, deadline violation, execution time
and the number of host switches. Different scheduling policies can be
used for scheduling. Each lead to a sub-optimal outcome in a certain
settings of the system. A Bayesian Scheduling strategy is proposed
for scheduling to further improve the system outcome. The Bayesian
strategy showed to outperform all selected policies. It also has the
flexibility in dealing with complex pattern of incoming task and has
the ability to adapt.
Abstract: HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) infections each speed the other's progress. HIV-infection increases the risk of TB disease. At the same time, TB infection is associated with clinical progression of HIV-infection. HIV+TB co-infected patients are also at higher risk of acquiring new opportunistic infections. An important feature of disease progression and clinical outcome is the innate and acquired immune responses. HIV and TB, however, have a spectrum of dysfunctions of the immune response. As cytokines play a crucial role in the immunopathology of both infections, it is important to study immune interactions in patients with dual infection HIV+TB. Plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ and immunoregulating cytokines IL-4, IL-10 were evaluated in 75 patients with dual infection HIV+TB, 58 patients with HIV monoinfection and 50 patients with TB monoinfection who were previously naïve for HAART. The decreased levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 were observed in patients with dual infection HIV+TB in comparison with patients who had only HIV or TB which means the profound suppression of Th1 and Th2 cytokine secretion. Thus, those cytokines could possibly serve as immunological markers of progression of HIV-infection in patients with TB.