Abstract: Perturbed-Chain Statistical Association Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) equation of state (EOS) is a modified SAFT EOS with three pure component specific parameters: segment number (m), diameter (σ) and energy (ε). These PC-SAFT parameters need to be determined for each component under the conditions of interest by fitting experimental data, such as vapor pressure, density or heat capacity. PC-SAFT parameters for propane, ethylene and hydrogen in supercritical region were successfully estimated by fitting experimental density data available in literature. The regressed PCSAFT parameters were compared with the literature values by means of estimating pure component density and calculating average absolute deviation between the estimated and experimental density values. PC-SAFT parameters available in literature especially for ethylene and hydrogen estimated density in supercritical region reasonably well. However, the regressed PC-SAFT parameters performed better in supercritical region than the PC-SAFT parameters from literature.
Abstract: This paper is to develop a fuzzy net present value (FNPV) method by taking vague cash flow and imprecise required rate of return into account for evaluating the value of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) sport facilities. In order to clearly manifest a more realistic capital budgeting model based on the classical net present value (NPV) method, some uncertain financial elements in NPV formula will be fuzzified as triangular fuzzy numbers. Through the conscientious manipulation of fuzzy set theory, we will find that the proposed FNPV model is a more explicit extension of classical (crisp) model and could be more practicable for the financial managers to capture the essence of capital budgeting of sport facilities than non-fuzzy model.
Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of constructing
constraints in non safe Petri Nets and then reducing the number of the
constructed constraints. In a system, assigning some linear constraints
to forbidden states is possible. Enforcing these constraints on the
system prevents it from entering these states. But there is no a
systematic method for assigning constraints to forbidden states in non
safe Petri Nets. In this paper a useful method is proposed for
constructing constraints in non safe Petri Nets. But when the number of these constraints is large enforcing them on the system may complicate the Petri Net model. So, another method is proposed for reducing the number of constructed constraints.
Abstract: Palestinian cities face the challenges of land scarcity,
high population growth rates, rapid urbanization, uneven
development and territorial fragmentation. Due to geopolitical
constrains and the absence of an effective Palestinian planning
institution, urban development in Palestinian cities has not followed
any discernable planning scheme. This has led to a number of
internal contradictions in the structure of cities, and adversely
affected land use, the provision of urban services, and the quality of
the living environment.
This paper explores these challenges, and the potential that exists
for introducing a more sustainable urban development pattern in
Palestinian cities. It assesses alternative development approaches
with a particular focus on sustainable development, promoting ecodevelopment
imperatives, limiting random urbanization, and meeting
present and future challenges, including fulfilling the needs of the
people and conserving the scarce land and limited natural resources.
This paper concludes by offering conceptual proposals and guidelines
for promoting sustainable physical development in Palestinian cities.
Abstract: Power loss reduction is one of the main targets in power industry and so in this paper, the problem of finding the optimal configuration of a radial distribution system for loss reduction is considered. Optimal reconfiguration involves the selection of the best set of branches to be opened ,one each from each loop, for reducing resistive line losses , and reliving overloads on feeders by shifting the load to adjacent feeders. However ,since there are many candidate switching combinations in the system ,the feeder reconfiguration is a complicated problem. In this paper a new approach is proposed based on a simple optimum loss calculation by determining optimal trees of the given network. From graph theory a distribution network can be represented with a graph that consists a set of nodes and branches. In fact this problem can be viewed as a problem of determining an optimal tree of the graph which simultaneously ensure radial structure of each candidate topology .In this method the refined genetic algorithm is also set up and some improvements of algorithm are made on chromosome coding. In this paper an implementation of the algorithm presented by [7] is applied by modifying in load flow program and a comparison of this method with the proposed method is employed. In [7] an algorithm is proposed that the choice of the switches to be opened is based on simple heuristic rules. This algorithm reduce the number of load flow runs and also reduce the switching combinations to a fewer number and gives the optimum solution. To demonstrate the validity of these methods computer simulations with PSAT and MATLAB programs are carried out on 33-bus test system. The results show that the performance of the proposed method is better than [7] method and also other methods.
Abstract: Data mining uses a variety of techniques each of which is useful for some particular task. It is important to have a deep understanding of each technique and be able to perform sophisticated analysis. In this article we describe a tool built to simulate a variation of the Kohonen network to perform unsupervised clustering and support the entire data mining process up to results visualization. A graphical representation helps the user to find out a strategy to optmize classification by adding, moving or delete a neuron in order to change the number of classes. The tool is also able to automatically suggest a strategy for number of classes optimization.The tool is used to classify macroeconomic data that report the most developed countries? import and export. It is possible to classify the countries based on their economic behaviour and use an ad hoc tool to characterize the commercial behaviour of a country in a selected class from the analysis of positive and negative features that contribute to classes formation.
Abstract: Kepsut-Dursunbey volcanic field (KDVF) is located
in NW Turkey and contains various products of the post-collisional
Neogene magmatic activity. Two distinct volcanic suites have been
recognized; the Kepsut volcanic suite (KVS) and the Dursunbey
volcanic suite (DVS). The KVS includes basaltic trachyandesitebasaltic
andesite-andesite lavas and associated pyroclastic rocks. The
DVS consists of dacite-rhyodacite lavas and extensive pumice-ash
fall and flow deposits. Petrographical features (i.e. existence of
xenocrysts, glomerocrysts, and mixing-compatible textures) and
mineral chemistry of phenocryst assemblages of both suites provide
evidence for magma mixing/AFC. Calculated crystallization
pressures and temperatures give values of 5.7–7.0 kbar and 927–982
°C for the KVS and 3.7–5.3 kbar and 783-787°C for the DVS,
indicating separate magma reservoirs and crystallization in magma
chambers at deep and mid crustal levels, respectively. These
observations support the establishment and evolution of KDVF
magma system promoted by episodic basaltic inputs which may
generate and mix with crustal melts.
Abstract: Link reliability and transmitted power are two important design constraints in wireless network design. Error control coding (ECC) is a classic approach used to increase link reliability and to lower the required transmitted power. It provides coding gain, resulting in transmitter energy savings at the cost of added decoder power consumption. But the choice of ECC is very critical in the case of wireless sensor network (WSN). Since the WSNs are energy constraint in nature, both the BER and power consumption has to be taken into count. This paper develops a step by step approach in finding suitable error control codes for WSNs. Several simulations are taken considering different error control codes and the result shows that the RS(31,21) fits both in BER and power consumption criteria.
Abstract: In this paper, the effect of atmospheric turbulence on
bit error probability in free-space optical CDMA scheme with
Sequence Inverse Keyed (SIK) optical correlator receiver is analyzed.
Here Intensity Modulation scheme is considered for transmission.
The turbulence induced fading is described by the newly introduced
gamma-gamma pdf[1] as a tractable mathematical model for
atmospheric turbulence. Results are evaluated with Gold and Kasami
code & it is shown that Gold sequence can be used for more
efficient transmission than Kasami sequence in an atmospheric
turbulence channel.
Abstract: The temporal nature of negative selection is an under exploited area. In a negative selection system, newly generated antibodies go through a maturing phase, and the survivors of the phase then wait to be activated by the incoming antigens after certain number of matches. These without having enough matches will age and die, while these with enough matches (i.e., being activated) will become active detectors. A currently active detector may also age and die if it cannot find any match in a pre-defined (lengthy) period of time. Therefore, what matters in a negative selection system is the dynamics of the involved parties in the current time window, not the whole time duration, which may be up to eternity. This property has the potential to define the uniqueness of negative selection in comparison with the other approaches. On the other hand, a negative selection system is only trained with “normal" data samples. It has to learn and discover unknown “abnormal" data patterns on the fly by itself. Consequently, it is more appreciate to utilize negation selection as a system for pattern discovery and recognition rather than just pattern recognition. In this paper, we study the potential of using negative selection in discovering unknown temporal patterns.
Abstract: Dredged sediment (DS) was utilized as source of
silt-clay and organic matter in artificially prepared eelgrass substrates with mountain sand (MS) as the sand media. Addition of DS showed
improved growth of eelgrass in the mixed substrates. Increase in added
DS up to 15% silt-clay showed increased shoot growth but additional
DS in 20% silt-clay mixture didn-t result to further increase in eelgrass
growth. Improved root establishment were also found for plants in pots
with added DS as shown by the increased resistance to uprooting, increased number of rhizome nodes and longer roots. Results demonstrated that addition of DS may be beneficial to eelgrass up to a
certain extent only and too much of it might be harmful to eelgrass plants.
Abstract: The paper deals with the estimation of amplitude and phase of an analogue multi-harmonic band-limited signal from irregularly spaced sampling values. To this end, assuming the signal fundamental frequency is known in advance (i.e., estimated at an independent stage), a complexity-reduced algorithm for signal reconstruction in time domain is proposed. The reduction in complexity is achieved owing to completely new analytical and summarized expressions that enable a quick estimation at a low numerical error. The proposed algorithm for the calculation of the unknown parameters requires O((2M+1)2) flops, while the straightforward solution of the obtained equations takes O((2M+1)3) flops (M is the number of the harmonic components). It is applied in signal reconstruction, spectral estimation, system identification, as well as in other important signal processing problems. The proposed method of processing can be used for precise RMS measurements (for power and energy) of a periodic signal based on the presented signal reconstruction. The paper investigates the errors related to the signal parameter estimation, and there is a computer simulation that demonstrates the accuracy of these algorithms.
Abstract: The technology usages of high speed Internet leads to
establish and start new era of online education. With the
advancement of the information technology and communication
systems new opportunities have been created. This leads universities
to have various online education channels to meet the demand of
different learners- needs. One of these channels is M-learning, which
can be used to improve the online education environment. With using
such mobile technology in learning both students and instructors can
easily access educational courses anytime from anywhere. The paper
first presents literature about mobile learning and to what extent this
approach can be utilized to enhance the overall learning system. It
provides a comparison between mobile learning and traditional elearning
showing the wide array of benefits of the new generation of
technology. The possible challenges and potential advantages of Mlearning
in the online education system are also discussed.
Abstract: Experimental investigations were carried out in the
Manchester Tidal flow Facility (MTF) to study the flow patterns in
the region around and adjacent to a hypothetical headland in tidal
(oscillatory) ambient flow. The Planar laser-induced fluorescence
(PLIF) technique was used for visualization, with fluorescent dye
released at specific points around the headland perimeter and in its
adjacent recirculation zone. The flow patterns can be generalized into
the acceleration, stable flow and deceleration stages for each halfcycle,
with small variations according to location, which are more
distinct for low Keulegan-Carpenter number (KC) cases. Flow
patterns in the mixing region are unstable and complex, especially in
the recirculation zone. The flow patterns are in agreement with
previous visualizations, and support previous results in steady
ambient flow. It is suggested that the headland lee could be a viable
location for siting of pollutant outfalls.
Abstract: Trust management and Reputation models are
becoming integral part of Internet based applications such as CSCW,
E-commerce and Grid Computing. Also the trust dimension is a
significant social structure and key to social relations within a
collaborative community. Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) is
a difficult task in the context of distributed environment (information
across different geographical locations) and multidisciplinary
decisions are involved such as Virtual Organization (VO). To aid
team decision making in VO, Decision Support System and social
network analysis approaches are integrated. In such situations social
learning helps an organization in terms of relationship, team
formation, partner selection etc. In this paper we focus on trust
learning. Trust learning is an important activity in terms of
information exchange, negotiation, collaboration and trust
assessment for cooperation among virtual team members. In this
paper we have proposed a reinforcement learning which enhances the
trust decision making capability of interacting agents during
collaboration in problem solving activity. Trust computational model
with learning that we present is adapted for best alternate selection of
new project in the organization. We verify our model in a multi-agent
simulation where the agents in the community learn to identify
trustworthy members, inconsistent behavior and conflicting behavior
of agents.
Abstract: This study presents a new approach based on Tanaka's
fuzzy linear regression (FLP) algorithm to solve well-known power
system economic load dispatch problem (ELD). Tanaka's fuzzy linear
regression (FLP) formulation will be employed to compute the
optimal solution of optimization problem after linearization. The
unknowns are expressed as fuzzy numbers with a triangular
membership function that has middle and spread value reflected on
the unknowns. The proposed fuzzy model is formulated as a linear
optimization problem, where the objective is to minimize the sum of
the spread of the unknowns, subject to double inequality constraints.
Linear programming technique is employed to obtain the middle and
the symmetric spread for every unknown (power generation level).
Simulation results of the proposed approach will be compared with
those reported in literature.
Abstract: The effect of wheat flour extraction rates on flour
composition, farinographic characteristics and the quality of
sourdough naans was investigated. The results indicated that by
increasing the extraction rate, the amount of protein, fiber, fat and
ash increased, whereas moisture content decreased. Farinographic
characteristic like water absorption and dough development time
increased with an increase in flour extraction rate but the dough
stabilities and tolerance indices were reduced with an increase in
flour extraction rates. Titratable acidity for both sourdough and
sourdough naans also increased along with flour extraction rate. The
study showed that overall quality of sourdough naans were affected
by both flour extraction rate and starter culture used. Sensory
analysis of sourdough naans revealed that desirable extraction rate
for sourdough naan was 76%.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to use the Pfaffian
technique to construct different classes of exact Pfaffian solutions and
N-soliton solutions to some of the generalized integrable nonlinear
partial differential equations in (3+1) dimensions. In this paper, I will
show that the Pfaffian solutions to the nonlinear PDEs are nothing but
Pfaffian identities. Solitons are among the most beneficial solutions
for science and technology, from ocean waves to transmission of
information through optical fibers or energy transport along protein
molecules. The existence of multi-solitons, especially three-soliton
solutions, is essential for information technology: it makes possible
undisturbed simultaneous propagation of many pulses in both directions.
Abstract: The group mutual exclusion (GME) problem is a
variant of the mutual exclusion problem. In the present paper a
token-based group mutual exclusion algorithm, capable of handling
transient faults, is proposed. The algorithm uses the concept of
dynamic request sets. A time out mechanism is used to detect the
token loss; also, a distributed scheme is used to regenerate the token.
The worst case message complexity of the algorithm is n+1. The
maximum concurrency and forum switch complexity of the
algorithm are n and min (n, m) respectively, where n is the number of
processes and m is the number of groups. The algorithm also satisfies
another desirable property called smooth admission. The scheme can
also be adapted to handle the extended group mutual exclusion
problem.
Abstract: In a product development process, understanding the functional behavior of the system, the role of components in achieving functions and failure modes if components/subsystem fails its required function will help develop appropriate design validation and verification program for reliability assessment. The integration of these three issues will help design and reliability engineers in identifying weak spots in design and planning future actions and testing program. This case study demonstrate the advantage of unascertained theory described in the subjective cognition uncertainty, and then applies blind number (BN) theory in describing the uncertainty of the mechanical system failure process and the same time used the same theory in bringing out another mechanical reliability system model. The practical calculations shows the BN Model embodied the characters of simply, small account of calculation but betterforecasting capability, which had the value of macroscopic discussion to some extent.