Weigh-in-Motion Data Analysis Software for Developing Traffic Data for Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design

Currently, there are few user friendly Weigh-in- Motion (WIM) data analysis softwares available which can produce traffic input data for the recently developed AASHTOWare pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) design software. However, these softwares have only rudimentary Quality Control (QC) processes. Therefore, they cannot properly deal with erroneous WIM data. As the pavement performance is highly sensible to the quality of WIM data, it is highly recommended to use more refined QC process on raw WIM data to get a good result. This study develops a userfriendly software, which can produce traffic input for the ME design software. This software takes the raw data (Class and Weight data) collected from the WIM station and processes it with a sophisticated QC procedure. Traffic data such as traffic volume, traffic distribution, axle load spectra, etc. can be obtained from this software; which can directly be used in the ME design software.

Performance of Neural Networks vs. Radial Basis Functions When Forming a Metamodel for Residential Buildings

Average temperatures worldwide are expected to continue to rise. At the same time, major cities in developing countries are becoming increasingly populated and polluted. Governments are tasked with the problem of overheating and air quality in residential buildings. This paper presents the development of a model, which is able to estimate the occupant exposure to extreme temperatures and high air pollution within domestic buildings. Building physics simulations were performed using the EnergyPlus building physics software. An accurate metamodel is then formed by randomly sampling building input parameters and training on the outputs of EnergyPlus simulations. Metamodels are used to vastly reduce the amount of computation time required when performing optimisation and sensitivity analyses. Neural Networks (NNs) have been compared to a Radial Basis Function (RBF) algorithm when forming a metamodel. These techniques were implemented using the PyBrain and scikit-learn python libraries, respectively. NNs are shown to perform around 15% better than RBFs when estimating overheating and air pollution metrics modelled by EnergyPlus.

Establishing of Function Point Process Based On Stochastic Distribution

This study aims to establish function point process based on stochastic distribution. In order to demonstrate effectiveness of the study we present a case study that it applies suggested method on an automotive electrical and electronics system software development based on Monte Carlo Simulation. It is expected that the result of this paper is used as guidance for establishing function point process in organizations and tools for helping project managers make decisions correctly.

A Framework for Enhancing Mobile Development Software for Rangsit University, Thailand

This paper presents the development of a mobile application for students at the Faculty of Information Technology, Rangsit University (RSU), Thailand. RSU upgrades an enrollment process by improving its information systems. Students can download the RSU APP easily in order to access the RSU substantial information. The reason of having a mobile application is to help students to access the system regardless of time and place. The objectives of this paper include: 1. To develop an application on iOS platform for those students at the Faculty of Information Technology, Rangsit University, Thailand. 2. To obtain the students’ perception towards the new mobile app. The target group is those from the freshman year till the senior year of the faculty of Information Technology, Rangsit University. The new mobile application, called as RSU APP, is developed by the department of Information Technology, Rangsit University. It contains useful features and various functionalities particularly on those that can give support to students. The core contents of the app consist of RSU’s announcement, calendar, events, activities, and ebook. The mobile app is developed on the iOS platform. The user satisfaction is analyzed from the interview data from 81 interviewees as well as a Google application like a Google form which 122 interviewees are involved. The result shows that users are satisfied with the application as they score it the most satisfaction level at 4.67 SD 0.52. The score for the question if users can learn and use the application quickly is high which is 4.82 SD 0.71. On the other hand, the lowest satisfaction rating is in the app’s form, apps lists, with the satisfaction level as 4.01 SD 0.45.

Electrical Equivalent Analysis of Micro Cantilever Beams for Sensing Applications

Microcantilevers are the basic MEMS devices, which can be used as sensors, actuators and electronics can be easily built into them. The detection principle of microcantilever sensors is based on the measurement of change in cantilever deflection or change in its resonance frequency. The objective of this work is to explore the analogies between mechanical and electrical equivalent of microcantilever beams. Normally scientists and engineers working in MEMS use expensive software like CoventorWare, IntelliSuite, ANSYS/Multiphysics etc. This paper indicates the need of developing electrical equivalent of the MEMS structure and with that, one can have a better insight on important parameters, and their interrelation of the MEMS structure. In this work, considering the mechanical model of microcantilever, equivalent electrical circuit is drawn and using force-voltage analogy, it is analyzed with circuit simulation software. By doing so, one can gain access to powerful set of intellectual tools that have been developed for understanding electrical circuits Later the analysis is performed using ANSYS/Multiphysics - software based on finite element method (FEM). It is observed that both mechanical and electrical domain results for a rectangular microcantlevers are in agreement with each other.

A Common Automated Programming Platform for Knowledge Based Software Engineering

Common Platform for Automated Programming (CPAP) is defined in details. Two versions of CPAP are described: Cloud based (including set of components for classic programming, and set of components for combined programming); and Knowledge Based Automated Software Engineering (KBASE) based (including set of components for automated programming, and set of components for ontology programming). Four KBASE products (Module for Automated Programming of Robots, Intelligent Product Manual, Intelligent Document Display, and Intelligent Form Generator) are analyzed and CPAP contributions to automated programming are presented.

Defect Management Life Cycle Process for Software Quality Improvement

Software quality issues require special attention especially in view of the demands of quality software product to meet customer satisfaction. Software development projects in most organisations need proper defect management process in order to produce high quality software product and reduce the number of defects. The research question of this study is how to produce high quality software and reducing the number of defects. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide a framework for managing software defects by following defined life cycle processes. The methodology starts by reviewing defects, defect models, best practices, and standards. A framework for defect management life cycle is proposed. The major contribution of this study is to define a defect management roadmap in software development. The adoption of an effective defect management process helps to achieve the ultimate goal of producing high quality software products and contributes towards continuous software process improvement.

Measured versus Default Interstate Traffic Data in New Mexico, USA

This study investigates how the site specific traffic data differs from the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Software default values. Two Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) stations were installed in Interstate-40 (I-40) and Interstate-25 (I-25) to developed site specific data. A computer program named WIM Data Analysis Software (WIMDAS) was developed using Microsoft C-Sharp (.Net) for quality checking and processing of raw WIM data. A complete year data from November 2013 to October 2014 was analyzed using the developed WIM Data Analysis Program. After that, the vehicle class distribution, directional distribution, lane distribution, monthly adjustment factor, hourly distribution, axle load spectra, average number of axle per vehicle, axle spacing, lateral wander distribution, and wheelbase distribution were calculated. Then a comparative study was done between measured data and AASHTOWare default values. It was found that the measured general traffic inputs for I-40 and I-25 significantly differ from the default values.

Usage of Military Continuity Management System for Flooding Solution

Increase of emergency incidents and crisis situations requires proactive crisis management of authorities and for its solution. Application Business Continuity Management helps the crisis management authorities to quickly and responsibly respond to threats. It also helps effectively and efficiently planning powers and resources. The main goal of this article is describing Military Continuity Management System (MCMS) based on the principles of Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) for dealing with floods in the territory of the selected municipalities. There are explained steps of loading, running and evaluating activities in the software application MCMS. Software MCMS provides complete control over the tasks, contribute a comprehensive and responsible approach solutions to solution floods in the municipality.

Determination of Myocardial Function Using Heart Accumulated Radiopharmaceuticals

The myocardium is composed of specialized muscle which relies mainly on fatty acid and sugar metabolism and it is widely contribute to the heart functioning. The changes of the cardiac energy-producing system during heart failure have been proved using autoradiography techniques. This study focused on evaluating sugar and fatty acid metabolism in myocardium as cardiac energy getting system using heart-accumulated radiopharmaceuticals. Two sets of autoradiographs of heart cross sections of Lewis male rats were analyzed and the time- accumulation curve obtained with use of the MATLAB image processing software to evaluate fatty acid and sugar metabolic functions.

Numerical Analysis of Roughness Effect on Mini and Microchannels: Hydrodynamics and Heat Transfer

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of flow through mini and microchannels with designed roughness is conducted here. The effect of the roughness height (surface roughness), geometry, Reynolds number on the friction factor, and Nusselt number is investigated. The study is carried out by employing CFD software, CFX. Our work focuses on a water flow inside a circular mini-channel of 1 mm and microchannels of 500 and 100 m in diameter. The speed entry varies from 0.1 m/s to 20 m/s. The general trend can be observed that bigger sizes of roughness element lead to higher flow resistance. It is found that the friction factor increases in a nonlinear fashion with the increase in obstruction height. Particularly, the effect of roughness can no longer be ignored at relative roughness height higher than 3%. A significant increase in Poiseuille number is detected for all configurations considered. The same observation can be done for Nusselt number. The transition zone between laminar and turbulent flow depends on the channel diameter.

Development of a Wind Resource Assessment Framework Using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, Python Scripting and Geographic Information Systems

Wind energy is rapidly emerging as the primary source of electricity in the Philippines, although developing an accurate wind resource model is difficult. In this study, Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, an open source mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, was used to produce a 1-year atmospheric simulation with 4 km resolution on the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. The WRF output (netCDF) extracts the annual mean wind speed data using a Python-based Graphical User Interface. Lastly, wind resource assessment was produced using a GIS software. Results of the study showed that it is more flexible to use Python scripts than using other post-processing tools in dealing with netCDF files. Using WRF Model, Python, and Geographic Information Systems, a reliable wind resource map is produced.

Surface Thermodynamics Approach to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M-TB) – Human Sputum Interactions

This research work presents the surface thermodynamics approach to M-TB/HIV-Human sputum interactions. This involved the use of the Hamaker coefficient concept as a surface energetics tool in determining the interaction processes, with the surface interfacial energies explained using van der Waals concept of particle interactions. The Lifshitz derivation for van der Waals forces was applied as an alternative to the contact angle approach which has been widely used in other biological systems. The methodology involved taking sputum samples from twenty infected persons and from twenty uninfected persons for absorbance measurement using a digital Ultraviolet visible Spectrophotometer. The variables required for the computations with the Lifshitz formula were derived from the absorbance data. The Matlab software tools were used in the mathematical analysis of the data produced from the experiments (absorbance values). The Hamaker constants and the combined Hamaker coefficients were obtained using the values of the dielectric constant together with the Lifshitz Equation. The absolute combined Hamaker coefficients A132abs and A131abs on both infected and uninfected sputum samples gave the values of A132abs = 0.21631x10-21Joule for M-TB infected sputum and Ã132abs = 0.18825x10-21Joule for M-TB/HIV infected sputum. The significance of this result is the positive value of the absolute combined Hamaker coefficient which suggests the existence of net positive van der waals forces demonstrating an attraction between the bacteria and the macrophage. This however, implies that infection can occur. It was also shown that in the presence of HIV, the interaction energy is reduced by 13% conforming adverse effects observed in HIV patients suffering from tuberculosis.

The Use of Computer Simulation as Technological Education for Crisis Management Staff

Education and practical training crisis management members are a topical issue nowadays. The paper deals with the perspectives and possibilities of "smart solutions" to education for crisis management staff. Currently, there is a large number of simulation tools, which notes that they are suitable for practical training of crisis management staff. The first part of the paper is focused on the introduction of the technology simulation tools. The simulators aim is to create a realistic environment for the practical training of extending units of crisis staff. The second part of the paper concerns the possibilities of using the simulation technology to the education process. The aim of this section is to introduce the practical capabilities and potential of the simulation programs for practical training of crisis management staff.

Numerical Analysis of End Plate Bolted Connection with Corrugated Beam

Steel extended end plate bolted connections are recommended to be widely utilized in special moment-resisting frame subjected to monotonic loading. Improper design of steel beam to column connection can lead to the collapse and fatality of structures. Therefore comprehensive research studies of beam to column connection design should be carried out. Also the performance and effect of corrugated on the strength of beam column end plate connection up to failure under monotonic loading in horizontal direction is presented in this paper. The non-linear elastic–plastic behavior has been considered through a finite element analysis using the multi-purpose software package LUSAS. The effect of vertically and horizontally types of corrugated web was also investigated.

Generic Model for Timetabling Problems by Integer Linear Programming Approach

The agenda of showing the scheduled time for performing certain tasks is known as timetabling. It is widely used in many departments such as transportation, education, and production. Some difficulties arise to ensure all tasks happen in the time and place allocated. Therefore, many researchers invented various programming models to solve the scheduling problems from several fields. However, the studies in developing the general integer programming model for many timetabling problems are still questionable. Meanwhile, this thesis describes about creating a general model which solves different types of timetabling problems by considering the basic constraints. Initially, the common basic constraints from five different fields are selected and analyzed. A general basic integer programming model was created and then verified by using the medium set of data obtained randomly which is much similar to realistic data. The mathematical software, AIMMS with CPLEX as a solver has been used to solve the model. The model obtained is significant in solving many timetabling problems easily since it is modifiable to all types of scheduling problems which have same basic constraints.

Importance of Hardware Systems and Circuits in Secure Software Development Life Cycle

Although it is fully impossible to ensure that a software system is quite secure, developing an acceptable secure software system in a convenient platform is not unreachable. In this paper, we attempt to analyze software development life cycle (SDLC) models from the hardware systems and circuits point of view. To date, the SDLC models pay merely attention to the software security from the software perspectives. In this paper, we present new features for SDLC stages to emphasize the role of systems and circuits in developing secure software system through the software development stages, the point that has not been considered previously in the SDLC models.

Critical Analysis of Different Actuation Techniques for a Micro Cantilever

The objective of this work is to carryout critical comparison of different actuation mechanisms like electrostatic, thermal, piezoelectric, and magnetic with reference to a micro cantilever. The relevant parameters like force generated, displacement are compared in actuation methods. With these results, helps in choosing the best actuation method for a particular application. In this study, Comsol/Multiphysics software is used. Modeling and simulation is done by considering the micro cantilever of same dimensions as an actuator using all the above mentioned actuation techniques. In addition to their small size, micro actuators consume very little power and are capable of accurate results. In this work, a comparison of actuation mechanisms is done to decide the efficient system in micro domain.

Effect of Injection Moulding Process Parameter on Tensile Strength Using Taguchi Method

The plastic industry plays very important role in the economy of any country. It is generally among the leading share of the economy of the country. Since metals and their alloys are very rarely available on the earth. Therefore, to produce plastic products and components, which finds application in many industrial as well as household consumer products is beneficial. Since 50% plastic products are manufactured by injection moulding process. For production of better quality product, we have to control quality characteristics and performance of the product. The process parameters plays a significant role in production of plastic, hence the control of process parameter is essential. In this paper the effect of the parameters selection on injection moulding process has been described. It is to define suitable parameters in producing plastic product. Selecting the process parameter by trial and error is neither desirable nor acceptable, as it is often tends to increase the cost and time. Hence, optimization of processing parameter of injection moulding process is essential. The experiments were designed with Taguchi’s orthogonal array to achieve the result with least number of experiments. Plastic material polypropylene is studied. Tensile strength test of material is done on universal testing machine, which is produced by injection moulding machine. By using Taguchi technique with the help of MiniTab-14 software the best value of injection pressure, melt temperature, packing pressure and packing time is obtained. We found that process parameter packing pressure contribute more in production of good tensile plastic product.

Numerical Investigation of Hot Oil Velocity Effect on Force Heat Convection and Impact of Wind Velocity on Convection Heat Transfer in Receiver Tube of Parabolic Trough Collector System

A solar receiver is designed for operation under extremely uneven heat flux distribution, cyclic weather, and cloud transient cycle conditions, which can include large thermal stress and even receiver failure. In this study, the effect of different oil velocity on convection coefficient factor and impact of wind velocity on local Nusselt number by Finite Volume Method will be analyzed. This study is organized to give an overview of the numerical modeling using a MATLAB software, as an accurate, time efficient and economical way of analyzing the heat transfer trends over stationary receiver tube for different Reynolds number. The results reveal when oil velocity is below 0.33m/s, the value of convection coefficient is negligible at low temperature. The numerical graphs indicate that when oil velocity increases up to 1.2 m/s, heat convection coefficient increases significantly. In fact, a reduction in oil velocity causes a reduction in heat conduction through the glass envelope. In addition, the different local Nusselt number is reduced when the wind blows toward the concave side of the collector and it has a significant effect on heat losses reduction through the glass envelope.