Turbine Speed Variation Study in Gas Power Plant for an Active Generator

This research deals with investigations on the “Active Generator" under rotor speed variations and output frequency control. It runs at turbine speed and it is connected to a three phase electrical power grid which has its own frequency different from turbine frequency. In this regard the set composed of a four phase synchronous generator and a natural commutated matrix converter (NCMC) made with thyristors, is called active generator. It replaces a classical mechanical gearbox which introduces many drawbacks. The main idea in this article is the presentation of frequency control at grid side when turbine runs at variable speed. Frequency control has been done by linear and step variations of the turbine speed. Relation between turbine speed (frequency) and main grid zero sequence voltage frequency is presented.

Assessment of Thermal Comfort at Manual Car Body Assembly Workstation

The objective of this study is to determine the thermal comfort among worker at Malaysian automotive industry. One critical manual assembly workstation had been chosen as a subject for the study. The human subjects for the study constitute operators at Body Assembly Station of the factory. The environment examined was the Relative Humidity (%), Airflow (m/s), Air Temperature (°C) and Radiant Temperature (°C) of the surrounding workstation area. The environmental factors were measured using Babuc apparatus, which is capable to measure simultaneously those mentioned environmental factors. The time series data of fluctuating level of factors were plotted to identify the significant changes of factors. Then thermal comfort of the workers were assessed by using ISO Standard 7730 Thermal sensation scale by using Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). Further Predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) is used to estimate the thermal comfort satisfaction of the occupant. Finally the PPD versus PMV were plotted to present the thermal comfort scenario of workers involved in related workstation. The result of PMV at the related industry is between 1.8 and 2.3, where PPD at that building is between 60% to 84%. The survey result indicated that the temperature more influenced comfort to the occupants

Classifier Combination Approach in Motion Imagery Signals Processing for Brain Computer Interface

In this study we focus on improvement performance of a cue based Motor Imagery Brain Computer Interface (BCI). For this purpose, data fusion approach is used on results of different classifiers to make the best decision. At first step Distinction Sensitive Learning Vector Quantization method is used as a feature selection method to determine most informative frequencies in recorded signals and its performance is evaluated by frequency search method. Then informative features are extracted by packet wavelet transform. In next step 5 different types of classification methods are applied. The methodologies are tested on BCI Competition II dataset III, the best obtained accuracy is 85% and the best kappa value is 0.8. At final step ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method is used to provide a proper aggregation classifiers outputs. Using OWA enhanced system accuracy to 95% and kappa value to 0.9. Applying OWA just uses 50 milliseconds for performing calculation.

Development of a Neural Network based Algorithm for Multi-Scale Roughness Parameters and Soil Moisture Retrieval

The overall objective of this paper is to retrieve soil surfaces parameters namely, roughness and soil moisture related to the dielectric constant by inverting the radar backscattered signal from natural soil surfaces. Because the classical description of roughness using statistical parameters like the correlation length doesn't lead to satisfactory results to predict radar backscattering, we used a multi-scale roughness description using the wavelet transform and the Mallat algorithm. In this description, the surface is considered as a superposition of a finite number of one-dimensional Gaussian processes each having a spatial scale. A second step in this study consisted in adapting a direct model simulating radar backscattering namely the small perturbation model to this multi-scale surface description. We investigated the impact of this description on radar backscattering through a sensitivity analysis of backscattering coefficient to the multi-scale roughness parameters. To perform the inversion of the small perturbation multi-scale scattering model (MLS SPM) we used a multi-layer neural network architecture trained by backpropagation learning rule. The inversion leads to satisfactory results with a relative uncertainty of 8%.

Comparative Evaluation of the Biopharmaceutical and Chemical Equivalence of the Some Commercial Brands of Paracetamol Tablets

Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) tablets are popular OTC products among patients as analgesics and antipyretics. Paracetamol is marketed by a lot of suppliers around the world. The aim of the present investigation was to compare between many types of paracetamol tablets obtained from different suppliers (six brands produced by different pharmaceutical companies in middle east countries, and Panadol® manufactured in Ireland), by different quality control tests according to USP pharmacopeia.Using Non official tests-hardness and friability; official tests- disintegration, dissolution, and drug content. Additionally, evaluate the influence of temperatures 4°C, 25°C and 40°C at 75% relative humidity on the stability of the same brands in their original packaging has been conducted for two months. The results revealed that all paracetamol tablet brands complied with the official USP specifications. In conclusion, paracetamol tablets preferred to be stored at 25°C. All the tested brands being biopharmaceutically and chemically equivalent.

Adaptive Filtering of Heart Rate Signals for an Improved Measure of Cardiac Autonomic Control

In order to provide accurate heart rate variability indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, the low frequency and high frequency components of an RR heart rate signal must be adequately separated. This is not always possible by just applying spectral analysis, as power from the high and low frequency components often leak into their adjacent bands. Furthermore, without the respiratory spectra it is not obvious that the low frequency component is not another respiratory component, which can appear in the lower band. This paper describes an adaptive filter, which aids the separation of the low frequency sympathetic and high frequency parasympathetic components from an ECG R-R interval signal, enabling the attainment of more accurate heart rate variability measures. The algorithm is applied to simulated signals and heart rate and respiratory signals acquired from an ambulatory monitor incorporating single lead ECG and inductive plethysmography sensors embedded in a garment. The results show an improvement over standard heart rate variability spectral measurements.

Effect of Anionic and Non-ionic Surfactants on Activated Sludge Oxygen Uptake Rate and Nitrification

A local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) experiencing poor nitrification tracked down high level of surfactants in the plant-s influent and effluent. The aims of this project were to assess the potential inhibitory effect of surfactants on activated sludge processes. The effect of the presence of TergitolNP-9, TrigetolNP-7, Trigetol15-S-9, dodecylbenzene sulphonate (SDBS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on activated sludge oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and nitrification were assessed. The average concentration of non-ionic and anionic surfactants in the influent to the local WWTP were 7 and 8.7 mg/L, respectively. Removal of 67% to 90% of the non-ionic and 93-99% of the anionic surfactants tested were measured. All surfactants tested showed inhibitory effects both on OUR and nitrification. SDS incurred the lowest inhibition whereas SDBS and NP-9 caused severe inhibition to OUR and Nitrification. Activated sludge flocs sizes slightly decreased after 3 hours contact with the surfactant present in the test. The results obtained indicated that high concentrations of surfactants are likely to have an adverse effect on the performance of WWTPs utilizing activated sludge processes.

Mechanical Design and Theoretical Analysis of a Skip-Cycle Mechanism for an Internal Combustion Engine

Skip cycle is a working strategy for spark ignition engines, which allows changing the effective stroke of an engine through skipping some of the four stroke cycles. This study proposes a new mechanism to achieve the desired skip-cycle strategy for internal combustion engines. The air and fuel leakage, which occurs through the gas exchange, negatively affects the efficiency of the engine at high speeds and loads. An absolute sealing is assured by direct use of poppet valves, which are kept in fully closed position during the skipped mode. All the components of the mechanism were designed according to the real dimensions of the Anadolu Motor's gasoline engine and modeled in 3D by means of CAD software. As the mechanism operates in two modes, two dynamically equivalent models are established to obtain the force and strength analysis for critical components.

A Cost Function for Joint Blind Equalization and Phase Recovery

In this paper a new cost function for blind equalization is proposed. The proposed cost function, referred to as the modified maximum normalized cumulant criterion (MMNC), is an extension of the previously proposed maximum normalized cumulant criterion (MNC). While the MNC requires a separate phase recovery system after blind equalization, the MMNC performs joint blind equalization and phase recovery. To achieve this, the proposed algorithm maximizes a cost function that considers both amplitude and phase of the equalizer output. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has an improved channel equalization effect than the MNC algorithm and simultaneously can correct the phase error that the MNC algorithm is unable to do. The simulation results also show that the MMNC algorithm has lower complexity than the MNC algorithm. Moreover, the MMNC algorithm outperforms the MNC algorithm particularly when the symbols block size is small.

Vector Control of Multimotor Drive

Three-phase induction machines are today a standard for industrial electrical drives. Cost, reliability, robustness and maintenance free operation are among the reasons these machines are replacing dc drive systems. The development of power electronics and signal processing systems has eliminated one of the greatest disadvantages of such ac systems, which is the issue of control. With modern techniques of field oriented vector control, the task of variable speed control of induction machines is no longer a disadvantage. The need to increase system performance, particularly when facing limits on the power ratings of power supplies and semiconductors, motivates the use of phase number other than three, In this paper a novel scheme of connecting two, three phase induction motors in parallel fed by two inverters; viz. VSI and CSI and their vector control is presented.

Fuzzy Trust for Peer-to-Peer Based Systems

Trust management is one of the drawbacks in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) system. Lack of centralized control makes it difficult to control the behavior of the peers. Reputation system is one approach to provide trust assessment in P2P system. In this paper, we use fuzzy logic to model trust in a P2P environment. Our trust model combines first-hand (direct experience) and second-hand (reputation)information to allow peers to represent and reason with uncertainty regarding other peers' trustworthiness. Fuzzy logic can help in handling the imprecise nature and uncertainty of trust. Linguistic labels are used to enable peers assign a trust level intuitively. Our fuzzy trust model is flexible such that inference rules are used to weight first-hand and second-hand accordingly.

Efficient Scheduling Algorithm for QoS Support in High Speed Downlink Packet Access Networks

In this paper, we propose APO, a new packet scheduling scheme with Quality of Service (QoS) support for hybrid of real and non-real time services in HSDPA networks. The APO scheduling algorithm is based on the effective channel anticipation model. In contrast to the traditional schemes, the proposed method is implemented based on a cyclic non-work-conserving discipline. Simulation results indicated that proposed scheme has good capability to maximize the channel usage efficiency in compared to another exist scheduling methods. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Model Based Monitoring Using Integrated Data Validation, Simulation and Parameter Estimation

Efficient and safe plant operation can only be achieved if the operators are able to monitor all key process parameters. Instrumentation is used to measure many process variables, like temperatures, pressures, flow rates, compositions or other product properties. Therefore Performance monitoring is a suitable tool for operators. In this paper, we integrate rigorous simulation model, data reconciliation and parameter estimation to monitor process equipments and determine key performance indicator (KPI) of them. The applied method here has been implemented in two case studies.

Fabrication of Nanoporous Template of Aluminum Oxide with High Regularity Using Hard Anodization Method

Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish. Aluminum is ideally suited to anodizing, although other nonferrous metals, such as magnesium and titanium, also can be anodized. The anodic oxide structure originates from the aluminum substrate and is composed entirely of aluminum oxide. This aluminum oxide is not applied to the surface like paint or plating, but is fully integrated with the underlying aluminum substrate, so cannot chip or peel. It has a highly ordered, porous structure that allows for secondary processes such as coloring and sealing. In this experimental paper, we focus on a reliable method for fabricating nanoporous alumina with high regularity. Starting from study of nanostructure materials synthesize methods. After that, porous alumina fabricate in the laboratory by anodization of aluminum oxide. Hard anodization processes are employed to fabricate the nanoporous alumina using 0.3M oxalic acid and 90, 120 and 140 anodized voltages. The nanoporous templates were characterized by SEM and FFT. The nanoporous templates using 140 voltages have high ordered. The pore formation, influence of the experimental conditions on the pore formation, the structural characteristics of the pore and the oxide chemical reactions involved in the pore growth are discuss.

Research of a Multistep Method Applied to Numerical Solution of Volterra Integro-Differential Equation

Solution of some practical problems is reduced to the solution of the integro-differential equations. But for the numerical solution of such equations basically quadrature methods or its combination with multistep or one-step methods are used. The quadrature methods basically is applied to calculation of the integral participating in right hand side of integro-differential equations. As this integral is of Volterra type, it is obvious that at replacement with its integrated sum the upper limit of the sum depends on a current point in which values of the integral are defined. Thus we receive the integrated sum with variable boundary, to work with is hardly. Therefore multistep method with the constant coefficients, which is free from noted lack and gives the way for finding it-s coefficients is present.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Enteric Bacteria Isolated from Water and Fish in Lake Victoria Basin of Western Kenya

A cross sectional study design and standard microbiological procedures were used to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium and Vibrio cholerae O1 isolated from water and two fish species Rastrineobola argentea and Oreochromis niloticus collected from fish landing beaches and markets in the Lake Victoria Basin of western Kenya. Out of 162 samples analyzed, 133 (82.1%) were contaminated, with S. typhimurium as the most prevalent (49.6%), followed by E. coli (46.6%), and lastly V. cholerae (2.8%). All the bacteria isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. E. coli isolates were resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, cotrimoxazole, chloramphenical and gentamicin while S. typhimurium isolates exhibited resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole. The V. cholerae O1 isolates were resistant to tetracycline and ampicillin. The high prevalence of drug resistant enteric bacteria in water and fish from the study region needs public health intervention from the local government.

Philosophy of Education: The Challenges of Globalization and Innovation in the Information Society

Information society is an absolutely new public formation at which the infrastructure and the social relations correspond to the socialized essence of «information genotype» mankind. Information society is a natural social environment which allows the person to open completely the information nature, to use intelligence for joint creation with other people of new information on the basis of knowledge earlier saved up by previous generations.

Corporate Information System Educational Center

The given work is devoted to the description of Information Technologies NAS of Azerbaijan created and successfully maintained in Institute. On the basis of the decision of board of the Supreme Certifying commission at the President of the Azerbaijan Republic and Presidium of National Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan Republic, the organization of training courses on Computer Sciences for all post-graduate students and dissertators of the republic, taking of examinations of candidate minima, it was on-line entrusted to Institute of Information Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. Therefore, teaching the computer sciences to post-graduate students and dissertators a scientific - methodological manual on effective application of new information technologies for research works by post-graduate students and dissertators and taking of candidate minima is carried out in the Educational Center. Information and communication technologies offer new opportunities and prospects of their application for teaching and training. The new level of literacy demands creation of essentially new technology of obtaining of scientific knowledge. Methods of training and development, social and professional requirements, globalization of the communicative economic and political projects connected with construction of a new society, depends on a level of application of information and communication technologies in the educational process. Computer technologies develop ideas of programmed training, open completely new, not investigated technological ways of training connected to unique opportunities of modern computers and telecommunications. Computer technologies of training are processes of preparation and transfer of the information to the trainee by means of computer. Scientific and technical progress as well as global spread of the technologies created in the most developed countries of the world is the main proof of the leading role of education in XXI century. Information society needs individuals having modern knowledge. In practice, all technologies, using special technical information means (computer, audio, video) are called information technologies of education.

Discovery of Quantified Hierarchical Production Rules from Large Set of Discovered Rules

Automated discovery of Rule is, due to its applicability, one of the most fundamental and important method in KDD. It has been an active research area in the recent past. Hierarchical representation allows us to easily manage the complexity of knowledge, to view the knowledge at different levels of details, and to focus our attention on the interesting aspects only. One of such efficient and easy to understand systems is Hierarchical Production rule (HPRs) system. A HPR, a standard production rule augmented with generality and specificity information, is of the following form: Decision If < condition> Generality Specificity . HPRs systems are capable of handling taxonomical structures inherent in the knowledge about the real world. This paper focuses on the issue of mining Quantified rules with crisp hierarchical structure using Genetic Programming (GP) approach to knowledge discovery. The post-processing scheme presented in this work uses Quantified production rules as initial individuals of GP and discovers hierarchical structure. In proposed approach rules are quantified by using Dempster Shafer theory. Suitable genetic operators are proposed for the suggested encoding. Based on the Subsumption Matrix(SM), an appropriate fitness function is suggested. Finally, Quantified Hierarchical Production Rules (HPRs) are generated from the discovered hierarchy, using Dempster Shafer theory. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Optimal Space Vector Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor based on Nonrecursive Riccati Equation

In this paper the optimal control strategy for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) based drive system is presented. The designed full optimal control is available for speed operating range up to base speed. The optimal voltage space-vector assures input energy reduction and stator loss minimization, maintaining the output energy in the same limits with the conventional PMSM electrical drive. The optimal control with three components is based on the energetically criteria and it is applicable in numerical version, being a nonrecursive solution. The simulation results confirm the increased efficiency of the optimal PMSM drive. The properties of the optimal voltage space vector are shown.