Abstract: This study was developed to compare the behavior
and the ability of polymer foam composites towards sound absorption
test of Shorea leprosula wood (SL) of acid hydrolysis treatment with
particle size
Abstract: This work reports the potential of using Palm Kernel
(PK) ash and shell as a partial substitute for Portland Cement (PC)
and coarse aggregate in the development of mortar and concrete. PK
ash and shell are agro-waste materials from palm oil mills, the
disposal of PK ash and shell is an environmental problem of concern.
The PK ash has pozzolanic properties that enables it as a partial
replacement for cement and also plays an important role in the
strength and durability of concrete, its use in concrete will alleviate
the increasing challenges of scarcity and high cost of cement. In order
to investigate the PC replacement potential of PK ash, three types of
PK ash were produced at varying temperature (350-750C) and they
were used to replace up to 50% PC. The PK shell was used to replace
up to 100% coarse aggregate in order to study its aggregate
replacement potential. The testing programme included material
characterisation, the determination of compressive strength, tensile
splitting strength and chemical durability in aggressive sulfatebearing
exposure conditions. The 90 day compressive results showed
a significant strength gain (up to 26.2 N/mm2). The Portland cement
and conventional coarse aggregate has significantly higher influence
in the strength gain compared to the equivalent PK ash and PK shell.
The chemical durability results demonstrated that after a prolonged
period of exposure, significant strength losses in all the concretes
were observed. This phenomenon is explained, due to lower change
in concrete morphology and inhibition of reaction species and the
final disruption of the aggregate cement paste matrix.
Abstract: A numerical study of natural convection heat transfer
in water filled cavity has been examined in 3-Dfor single phase liquid
cooling system by using an array of parallel plate fins mounted to one
wall of a cavity. The heat generated by a heat source represents a
computer CPU with dimensions of 37.5∗37.5mm mounted on
substrate. A cold plate is used as a heat sink installed on the opposite
vertical end of the enclosure. The air flow inside the computer case is
created by an exhaust fan. A turbulent air flow is assumed and k-ε
model is applied. The fins are installed on the substrate to enhance
the heat transfer. The applied power energy range used is between 15
- 40W. In order to determine the thermal behaviour of the cooling
system, the effect of the heat input and the number of the parallel
plate fins are investigated. The results illustrate that as the fin number
increases the maximum heat source temperature decreases. However,
when the fin number increases to critical value the temperature start
to increase due to the fins are too closely spaced and that cause the
obstruction of water flow. The introduction of parallel plate fins
reduces the maximum heat source temperature by 10% compared to
the case without fins. The cooling system maintains the maximum
chip temperature at 64.68°C when the heat input was at 40W that is
much lower than the recommended computer chips limit temperature
of no more than 85°C and hence the performance of the CPU is
enhanced.
Abstract: In this study, we have focused our attention on
combining of molecular imprinting into nanofilms and QCM
nanosensor approaches and producing QCM nanosensor for anti-
CCP, chosen as model protein, using anti-CCP imprinted nanofilms.
The nonimprinted nanosensor was also prepared to evaluate the
selectivity of the imprinted nanosensor. Anti-CCP imprinted QCM
nanosensor was tested for real time detection of anti-CCP from
aqueous solution. The kinetic and affinity studies were determined by
using anti-CCP solutions with different concentrations. The
responses related with mass shifts (%m) and frequency shifts (%f)
were used to evaluate adsorption properties. To show the selectivity
of the anti-CCP imprinted QCM nanosensor, competitive adsorption
of anti-CCP and IgM was investigated. The results indicate that anti-
CCP imprinted QCM nanosensor has higher adsorption capabilities
for anti-CCP than for IgM, due to selective cavities in the polymer
structure.
Abstract: Environmental impact assessment techniques have
been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the
environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification
method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the
greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the
environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the
proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of
construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in
particular in the construction field.
In this research, intended for concrete products for the construction
materials, by using the LCA method, we compared the results of
environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing
products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to
existing products. As a results, by introducing a raw material of
industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of
the carbon emission reduction effect of low carbon technologies, it is
intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse
gases in the construction sector and the development of low carbon
technologies of the future.
Abstract: In this paper, an analysis of some model order
reduction techniques is presented. A new hybrid algorithm for model
order reduction of linear time invariant systems is compared with the
conventional techniques namely Balanced Truncation, Hankel Norm
reduction and Dominant Pole Algorithm (DPA). The proposed hybrid
algorithm is known as Clustering Dominant Pole Algorithm (CDPA),
is able to compute the full set of dominant poles and its cluster center
efficiently. The dominant poles of a transfer function are specific
eigenvalues of the state space matrix of the corresponding dynamical
system. The effectiveness of this novel technique is shown through
the simulation results.
Abstract: This article is trying to determine the status of flue gas
that is entering the KWH heat exchanger from combustion chamber
in order to calculate the heat transfer ratio of the heat exchanger.
Combination of measurement, calculation and computer simulation
was used to create a useful way to approximate the heat transfer rate.
The measurements were taken by a number of sensors that are
mounted on the experimental device and by a thermal imaging
camera. The results of the numerical calculation are in a good
correspondence with the real power output of the experimental
device. That result shows that the research has a good direction and
can be used to propose changes in the construction of the heat
exchanger, but still needs enhancements.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to identify the optimal
level of partial replacement of Portland cement by the ashes
originating from burning straw and bagasse from sugar cane (ASB).
Order to this end, were made five series of flat plates and cylindrical
bodies: control and others with the partial replacement in 20, 30, 40
and 50% of ASB in relation to the mass of the Ordinary Portland
cement, and conducted a mechanical testing of simple axial
compression (cylindrical bodies) and the four-point bending (flat
plates) and determined water absorption (WA), bulk density (BD)
and apparent void volume (AVV) on both types of specimens. Based
on the data obtained, it may be noted that the control treatment
containing only Portland cement, obtained the best results. However,
the cylindrical bodies with 20% ashes showed better results
compared to the other treatments. And in the formulations plates, the
treatment which showed the best results was 30% cement
replacement by ashes.
Abstract: This paper examines how “Zakat” provides fair
income redistribution and aids the struggle against poverty. Providing
fair income redistribution and combating poverty constitutes some of
the fundamental tasks performed by countries all over the world.
Each country seeks a solution for these problems according to their
political, economic and administrative styles through applying
various economic and financial policies. The same situation can be
handled via “zakat” association in Islam. Nowadays, we observe
different versions of “zakat” in developed countries. Applications
such as negative income tax denote merely a different form of
“zakat” that is being applied almost in the same way but under
changed names. However, the minimum values to donate under zakat
(e.g. 85 gr. gold and 40 animals) get altered and various amounts are
put into practice. It might be named as negative income tax instead of
zakat, nonetheless, these applications are based on the Holy Koran
and the hadith released 1400 years ago. Besides, considering the
savage and slavery in the world at those times, we might easily
recognize the true value of the zakat being applied for the first time
then in the Islamic system. Through zakat, governments are able to
transfer incomes to the poor as a means of enabling them achieve the
minimum standard of living required. With regards to who benefits
from the Zakat, an objective and fair criteria was used to determine
who benefits from the zakat contrary to the notion that it was based
on peoples’ own choices. Since the zakat is obligatory, the transfers
do not get forwarded directly but via the government and get
distributed, which requires vast governmental organizations. Through
the application of Zakat, reduced levels of poverty can be achieved
and also ensure the fair income redistribution.
Abstract: Biofuels production has come forth as a future
technology to combat the problem of depleting fossil fuels. Bio-based
ethanol production from enzymatic lignocellulosic biomass
degradation serves an efficient method and catching the eye of
scientific community. High cost of the enzyme is the major obstacle
in preventing the commercialization of this process. Thus main
objective of the present study was to optimize composition of
medium components for enhancing cellulase production by newly
isolated strain of Bacillus tequilensis. Nineteen factors were taken
into account using statistical Plackett-Burman Design. The significant
variables influencing the cellulose production were further employed
in statistical Response Surface Methodology using Central
Composite Design for maximizing cellulase production. The
optimum medium composition for cellulase production was: peptone
(4.94 g/L), ammonium chloride (4.99 g/L), yeast extract (2.00 g/L),
Tween-20 (0.53 g/L), calcium chloride (0.20 g/L) and cobalt chloride
(0.60 g/L) with pH 7, agitation speed 150 rpm and 72 h incubation at
37oC. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed high coefficient of
determination (R2) of 0.99. Maximum cellulase productivity of 11.5
IU/ml was observed against the model predicted value of 13 IU/ml.
This was found to be optimally active at 60oC and pH 5.5.
Abstract: The paper deals with the diagnostics of steel roof
structure of the winter sports halls built in 1970 year. The necessity
of the diagnostics has been given by the requirement to the evaluation
design of this structure, which has been caused by the new situation
in the field of the loadings given by the validity of the European
Standards in the Czech Republic from 2010 year. Due to these
changes in the normative rules, in practice existing structures are
gradually subjected to the evaluation design and depending on its
results to the strengthening or reconstruction, respectively. Steel roof
is composed of plane truss main girders, purlins and bracings and the
roof structure is supported by two arch main girders with the span of
L = 84 m. The in situ diagnostics of the roof structure was oriented to
the following parts: (i) determination and evaluation of the actual
material properties of used steel and (ii) verification of the actual
dimensions of the structural members. For the solution the nondestructive
methods have been used for in situ measurement. For the
indicative determination of steel strengths the modified method based
on the determination of Rockwell’s hardness has been used. For the
verification of the member’s dimensions (thickness of hollow
sections) the ultrasound method has been used. This paper presents
the results obtained using these testing methods and their evaluation,
from the viewpoint of the usage for the subsequent static assessment
and design evaluation of the existing structure. For the comparison,
the examples of the similar evaluations realized for steel structures of
the stadiums in Olomouc and Jihlava cities are briefly illustrated, too.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to perform experimental
modal analysis (EMA) of reinforced concrete (RC) square slabs.
EMA is the process of determining the modal parameters (Natural
Frequencies, damping factors, modal vectors) of a structure from a
set of frequency response functions FRFs (curve fitting). Although,
experimental modal analysis (or modal testing) has grown steadily in
popularity since the advent of the digital FFT spectrum analyzer in
the early 1970’s, studying all types of members and materials using
such method have not yet been well documented. Therefore, in this
work, experimental tests were conducted on RC square slab
specimens of dimensions 600mm x 600mmx 40mm. Experimental
analysis was based on freely supported boundary condition.
Moreover, impact testing as a fast and economical means of finding
the modes of vibration of a structure was used during the
experiments. In addition, Pico Scope 6 device and MATLAB
software were used to acquire data, analyze and plot Frequency
Response Function (FRF). The experimental natural frequencies
which were extracted from measurements exhibit good agreement
with analytical predictions. It is showed that EMA method can be
usefully employed to investigate the dynamic behavior of RC slabs.
Abstract: This paper presents small signal stability study carried
over the 140-Bus, 31-Machine, 5-Area MEPE system and validated
on free and open source software: PSAT. Well-established linearalgebra
analysis, eigenvalue analysis, is employed to determine the
small signal dynamic behavior of test system. The aspects of local
and interarea oscillations which may affect the operation and
behavior of power system are analyzed. Eigenvalue analysis is carried
out to investigate the small signal behavior of test system and the
participation factors have been determined to identify the
participation of the states in the variation of different mode shapes.
Also, the variations in oscillatory modes are presented to observe the
damping performance of the test system.
Abstract: For the treatment of acute and chronic lung diseases it is preferred to deliver medicaments by inhalation. The drug is delivered directly to tracheobronchial tree. This way allows the given medicament to get directly into the place of action and it makes rapid onset of action and maximum efficiency. The transport of aerosol particles in the particular part of the lung is influenced by their size, anatomy of the lungs, breathing pattern and airway resistance. This article deals with calculation of airway resistance in the lung model of Horsfield. It solves the problem of determination of the pressure losses in bifurcation and thus defines the pressure drop at a given location in the bronchial tree. The obtained data will be used as boundary conditions for transport of aerosol particles in a central part of bronchial tree realized by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. The results obtained from CFD simulation will allow us to provide information on the required particle size and optimal inhalation technique for particle transport into particular part of the lung.
Abstract: Elastomeric dielectric material has recently become a
new alternative for actuator technology. The characteristics of
dielectric elastomers placed between two electrodes to withstand
large strain when electrodes are charged has attracted the attention of
many researcher to study this material for actuator technology. Thus,
in the past few years Danfoss Ventures A/S has established their own
dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP), which was called
PolyPower.
The main objective of this work was to investigate the dynamic
characteristics for vibration control of a PolyPower actuator folded in
‘pull’ configuration. A range of experiments was carried out on the
folded actuator including passive (without electrical load) and active
(with electrical load) testing. For both categories static and dynamic
testing have been done to determine the behavior of folded DEAP
actuator.
Voltage-Strain experiments show that the DEAP folded actuator is
a non-linear system. It is also shown that the voltage supplied has no
effect on the natural frequency. Finally, varying AC voltage with
different amplitude and frequency shows the parameters that
influence the performance of DEAP folded actuator. As a result, the
actuator performance dominated by the frequency dependence of the
elastic response and was less influenced by dielectric properties.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to determine the effect
of pollination on seed quality of rapeseed in Chitwan, Nepal during
2012-2013. The experiment was designed in Randomized Complete
Block with four replications and five treatments. The rapeseed plots
were caged with mosquito nets at 10% flowering except natural
pollination. Two-framed colonies of Apis mellifera L. and Apis
cerana F. were introduced separately for pollination, and control plot
caged without pollinators. The highest germination percent was
observed on Apis cerana F. pollinated plot seeds (90.50%
germination) followed by Apis mellifera L. pollinated plots (87.25 %)
and lowest on control plots (42.00% germination) seeds. Similarly,
seed test weight of Apis cerana F. pollinated plots (3.22 gm/ 1000
seed) and Apis mellifera L. pollinated plots (2.93 gm/1000 seed) were
and lowest on control plots (2.26 gm/ 1000 seed) recorded. Likewise,
oil content was recorded highest on pollinated by Apis cerana F.
(36.1%) followed by pollinated by Apis mellifera L. (35.4%) and
lowest on control plots (32.8%). This study clearly indicated
pollination increases the seed quality of rapeseed and therefore,
management of honeybee is necessary for producing higher quality of
rapeseed under Chitwan condition.
Abstract: The concentration levels of six heavy metals (Cd, Cr,
Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) and two mineral elements (Ca and Mg) were
determined in soil samples collected from the vicinity of two auto
mechanic workshops in Sabon-Gari, Kaduna state, Nigeria, using
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), in order to compare the
gradation of their concentrations with distance and depth of soil from
the workshop sites. At site 1, concentrations of Lead, Chromium, Iron
and Zinc were generally found to be above the World Health
Organization limits, while those of Nickel and Cadmium fell within
the limits. Iron had the highest concentration with a range of 176.274
ppm to 489.127 ppm at depths of 5 cm to 15 cm and a distance range
of 5 m to 15 m, while the concentration of cadmium was least with a
range of 0.001 ppm to 0.008 ppm at similar depth and distance
ranges. In addition, there was more of calcium (11.521 ppm to
121.709 ppm), in all the samples, than magnesium (11.293 ppm to
21.635 ppm). Similar results were obtained for site II. The
concentrations of all the metals analyzed showed a downward
gradient with increase in depth and distance from both workshop sites
except for iron and zinc at site 2. The immediate and remote
implications of these findings on the biota are discussed.
Abstract: Diffusion stills have been effective in water
desalination. The present work represents a model of the distillation
process by using vertical single-effect diffusion stills. A semianalytical
model has been developed to model the process. A
software computer code using Engineering Equation Solver EES
software has been developed to solve the equations of the developed
model. An experimental setup has been constructed, and used for the
validation of the model. The model is also validated against former
literature results. The results obtained from the present experimental
test rig, and the data from the literature, have been compared with the
results of the code to find its best range of validity. In addition, a
parametric analysis of the system has been developed using the
model to determine the effect of operating conditions on the system's
performance. The dominant parameters that affect the productivity of
the still are the hot plate temperature that ranges from (55- 90°C) and
feed flow rate in range of (0.00694-0.0211 kg/m2-s).
Abstract: The study examined the effect of Bonny Light whole
crude oil (WC) and its water soluble fraction (WSF) on the activities
of antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase
(SOD)) and crude mitochondria ATPases in the radicle of
germinating bean (Vigna unguiculata). The percentage germination,
level of lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme and mitochondria
Ca2+ and Mg2+ ATPase activities were measured in the radicle of
bean after 7, 14 and 21 days post germination. Viable bean seeds
were planted in soils contaminated with 10ml, 25ml and 50ml of
whole crude oil (WC) and its water soluble fraction (WSF) to obtain
2, 5 and 10% v/w crude oil contamination. There was dose dependent
reduction of the number of bean seeds that germinated in the
contaminated soils compared with control (p
Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of
the antioxidant activity of germinated African Yam Bean (AYB) on
oxidative stress markers in alloxan induced diabetic rat. Rats were
randomized into three groups; control, diabetic and germinated AYB
– treated diabetic rats. The Total phenol and flavonoid content and
DPPH radical scavenging activity before and after germination were
investigated. The glucose level, lipid peroxidation and reduced
glutathione of the animals were also determined using standard
technique for four weeks. Germination increased the total phenol,
flavonoid and antioxidant activity of AYB extract by 19.14%,
32.28% and 57.25% respectively. The diabetic rats placed on
germinated AYB diet had a significant decrease in the blood glucose
and lipid peroxidation with a corresponding increase in glutathione
(p