Abstract: Macrobenthos distribution along the coastal waters of
Penang National Park was studid to estimate the effect of different
environmental parameters at three stations, during six sampling
months, from June 2010 to April 2011. The aim of this survey was to
investigate different environment stress over soft bottom polychaete
community along Teluk Ketapang and Pantai Acheh (Penang
National Park) over a year period. Variations in the polychaete
community were evaluated using univariate and multivariate
methods. A total of 604 individuals were examined which was
grouped into 23 families. Family Nereidae was the most abundant
(22.68%), followed by Spionidae (22.02%), Hesionidae (12.58%),
Nephtylidae (9.27%) and Orbiniidae (8.61%). It is noticeable that
good results can only be obtained on the basis of good taxonomic
resolution. The maximum Shannon-Wiener diversity (H'=2.16) was
recorded at distance 200m and 1200m (August 2010) in Teluk
Ketapang and lowest value of diversity was found at distance 1200m
(December 2010) in Teluk Ketapang.
Abstract: In this study, the designed dual stage membrane
bioreactor (MBR) system was conceptualized for the treatment of
cyanide and heavy metals in electroplating wastewater. The design
consisted of a primary treatment stage to reduce the impact of
fluctuations and the secondary treatment stage to remove the residual
cyanide and heavy metal contaminants in the wastewater under
alkaline pH conditions. The primary treatment stage contained
hydrolyzed Citrus sinensis (C. sinensis) pomace and the secondary
treatment stage contained active Aspergillus awamori (A. awamori)
biomass, supplemented solely with C. sinensis pomace extract from
the hydrolysis process. An average of 76.37%, 95.37%, 93.26 and
94.76% and 99.55%, 99.91%, 99.92% and 99.92% degradation
efficiency for total cyanide (T-CN), including the sorption of nickel
(Ni), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were observed after the first and
second treatment stages, respectively. Furthermore, cyanide
conversion by-products degradation was 99.81% and 99.75 for both
formate (CHOO-) and ammonium (NH4
+) after the second treatment
stage. After the first, second and third regeneration cycles of the C.
sinensis pomace in the first treatment stage, Ni, Zn and Cu removal
achieved was 99.13%, 99.12% and 99.04% (first regeneration cycle),
98.94%, 98.92% and 98.41% (second regeneration cycle) and 98.46
%, 98.44% and 97.91% (third regeneration cycle), respectively.
There was relatively insignificant standard deviation detected in all
the measured parameters in the system which indicated
reproducibility of the remediation efficiency in this continuous
system.
Abstract: Fixed-bed slow pyrolysis experiments of rice husk
have been conducted to determine the effect of pyrolysis
temperature, heating rate, particle size and reactor length on the
pyrolysis product yields. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at
pyrolysis temperature between 400 and 600°C with a constant
heating rate of 60°C/min and particle sizes of 0.60-1.18 mm. The
optimum process conditions for maximum liquid yield from the rice
husk pyrolysis in a fixed bed reactor were also identified. The highest
liquid yield was obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 500°C,
particle size of
1.18-1.80 mm, with a heating rate of 60°C/min in a 300 mm length
reactor. The obtained yield of, liquid, gas and solid were found be in
the range of 22.57-31.78 %, 27.75-42.26 % and 34.17-42.52 % (all
weight basics) respectively at different pyrolysis conditions. The
results indicate that the effects of pyrolysis temperature and particle
size on the pyrolysis yield are more significant than that of heating
rate and reactor length. The functional groups and chemical
compositions present in the liquid obtained at optimum conditions
were identified by Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy
and Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis
respectively.
Abstract: Steel corrosion in concrete is considered as a main
engineering problems for many countries and lots of expenses has been paid for their repair and maintenance annually. This problem
may occur in all engineering structures whether in coastal and offshore or other areas. Hence, concrete structures should be able to
withstand corrosion factors existing in water or soil. Reinforcing
steel corrosion enhancement can be measured by use of concrete
electrical resistance; and maintaining high electric resistivity in concrete is necessary for steel corrosion prevention. Lots of studies
devoted to different aspects of the subjects worldwide. In this paper, an evaluation of the effects of W/C ratio, cementitious materials, and
percent increase in silica fume were investigated on electric resistivity of high strength concrete. To do that, sixteen mix design
with one aggregate grading was planned. Five of them had varying amount of W/C ratio and other eleven mixes was prepared with
constant W/C ratio but different amount of cementitious materials.
Silica fume and super plasticizer were used with different proportions
in all specimens. Specimens were tested after moist curing for 28 days. A total of 80 cube specimens (50 mm) were tested for concrete
electrical resistance. Results show that concrete electric resistivity can be increased with increasing amount of cementitious materials
and silica fume.
Abstract: A specially designed flat plate was mounted vertically
over the axial line in the wind tunnel of the Aerospace Department of
the Pusan National University. The plate is 2 m long, 0.8 m high and 8
cm thick. The measurements were performed in velocity range from
15 to 60 m/s. A sand paper turbulizer was placed close to the plate nose
to provide fully developed turbulent boundary layer over the most part
of the plate. Strain balances were mounted in the trailing part of the
plate to measure the skin friction drag over removable insertions of
0.55×0.25m2 size. A set of the insertions was designed and
manufactured: 3mm thick polished metal surface and three compliant
surfaces. The compliant surfaces were manufactured of a silicone
rubber Silastic® S2 (Dow Corning company). To modify the
viscoelastic properties of the rubber, its composition was varied: 90%
of the rubber + 10% catalyst (standard), 92.5% + 7.5% (weak), 85% +
15% (strong). Modulus of elasticity and the loss tangent were
measured accurately for these materials in the frequency range from
40 Hz to 3 KHz using the unique proposed technique.
Abstract: Unlike its conventional counterpart, Islamic principles
forbid Islamic banks to take any interest-related income and thus
makes deposits from depositors as an important source of fund for its
operational and financing. Consequently, the risk of deposit
withdrawal by depositors is an important aspect that should be wellmanaged
in Islamic banking. This paper aims to investigate factors
that influence depositors- withdrawal behavior in Islamic banks,
particularly in Malaysia, using the framework of theory of reasoned
action. A total of 368 respondents from Klang valley are involved in
the analysis. The paper finds that all the constructs variable i.e.
normative beliefs, subjective norms, behavioral beliefs, and attitude
towards behavior are perceived to be distinct by the respondents. In
addition, the structural equation model is able to verify the structural
relationships between subjective norms, attitude towards behavior
and behavioral intention. Subjective norms gives more influence to
depositors- decision on deposit withdrawal compared to attitude
towards behavior.
Abstract: A multi-board run-time reconfigurable (MRTR)
system for evolvable hardware (EHW) is introduced with the aim to
implement on hardware the bidirectional incremental evolution (BIE)
method. The main features of this digital intrinsic EHW solution rely
on the multi-board approach, the variable chromosome length
management and the partial configuration of the reconfigurable
circuit. These three features provide a high scalability to the solution.
The design has been written in VHDL with the concern of not being
platform dependant in order to keep a flexibility factor as high as
possible. This solution helps tackling the problem of evolving
complex task on digital configurable support.
Abstract: Chess is one of the indoor games, which improves the
level of human confidence, concentration, planning skills and
knowledge. The main objective of this paper is to help the chess
players to improve their chess openings using data mining
techniques. Budding Chess Players usually do practices by analyzing
various existing openings. When they analyze and correlate
thousands of openings it becomes tedious and complex for them. The
work done in this paper is to analyze the best lines of Blackmar-
Diemer Gambit(BDG) which opens with White D4... using data
mining analysis. It is carried out on the collection of winning games
by applying association rules. The first step of this analysis is
assigning variables to each different sequence moves. In the second
step, the sequence association rules were generated to calculate
support and confidence factor which help us to find the best
subsequence chess moves that may lead to winning position.
Abstract: Determination of nano particle size is substantial since
the nano particle size exerts a significant effect on various properties
of nano materials. Accordingly, proposing non-destructive, accurate
and rapid techniques for this aim is of high interest. There are some
conventional techniques to investigate the morphology and grain size
of nano particles such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD).
Vibrational spectroscopy is utilized to characterize different
compounds and applied for evaluation of the average particle size
based on relationship between particle size and near infrared spectra
[1,4] , but it has never been applied in quantitative morphological
analysis of nano materials. So far, the potential application of nearinfrared
(NIR) spectroscopy with its ability in rapid analysis of
powdered materials with minimal sample preparation, has been
suggested for particle size determination of powdered
pharmaceuticals. The relationship between particle size and diffuse
reflectance (DR) spectra in near infrared region has been applied to
introduce a method for estimation of particle size. Back propagation
artificial neural network (BP-ANN) as a nonlinear model was applied
to estimate average particle size based on near infrared diffuse
reflectance spectra. Thirty five different nano TiO2 samples with
different particle size were analyzed by DR-FTNIR spectrometry and
the obtained data were processed by BP- ANN.
Abstract: The Japanese integrative approach to social systems
can be observed in supply chain management as well as in the
relationship between public and private sectors. Both the Lean
Production System and the Developmental State Model are
characterized by efforts towards the achievement of mutual goals,
resulting in initiatives for capacity building which emphasize the
system level. In Brazil, although organizations undertake efforts to
build capabilities at the individual and organizational levels, the
system level is being neglected. Fieldwork data confirmed the findings
of other studies in terms of the lack of integration in supply chain
management in the Brazilian automobile industry. Moreover, due to
the absence of an active role of the Brazilian state in its relationship
with the private sector, automakers are not fully exploiting the
opportunities in the domestic and regional markets. For promoting a
higher level of economic growth as well as to increase the degree of
spill-over of technologies and techniques, a more integrative approach
is needed.
Abstract: This study adopted previous fault patterns, results of
detection analysis, historical records and data, and experts-
experiences to establish fuzzy principles and estimate the failure
probability index of components of a power transformer. Considering
that actual parameters and limiting conditions of parameters may
differ, this study used the standard data of IEC, IEEE, and CIGRE as
condition parameters. According to the characteristics of each
condition parameter, relative degradation was introduced to reflect the
degree of influence of the factors on the transformer condition. The
method of fuzzy mathematics was adopted to determine the
subordinate function of the transformer condition. The calculation
used the Matlab Fuzzy Tool Box to select the condition parameters of
coil winding, iron core, bushing, OLTC, insulating oil and other
auxiliary components and factors (e.g., load records, performance
history, and maintenance records) of the transformer to establish the
fuzzy principles. Examples were presented to support the rationality
and effectiveness of the evaluation method of power transformer
performance conditions, as based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation.
Abstract: The effect of the rotational speed and axial torque on
the diagnostics of tapered rolling element bearing defects was
investigated. The accelerometer was mounted on the bearing housing
and connected to Sound and Vibration Analyzer (SVAN 958) and
was used to measure the accelerations from the bearing housing. The
data obtained from the bearing was processed to detect damage of the
bearing using statistical tools and the results were subsequently
analyzed to see if bearing damage had been captured. From this study
it can be seen that damage is more evident when the bearing is
loaded. Also, at the incipient stage of damage the crest factor and
kurtosis values are high but as time progresses the crest factors and
kurtosis values decrease whereas the peak and RMS values are low at
the incipient stage but increase with damage.
Abstract: In Supply Chain Management (SCM), strengthening partnerships with suppliers is a significant factor for enhancing competitiveness. Hence, firms increasingly emphasize supplier evaluation processes. Supplier evaluation systems are basically developed in terms of criteria such as quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility. Because there are many variables to be analyzed, this process becomes hard to execute and needs expertise. On this account, this study aims to develop an expert system on supplier evaluation process by designing Artificial Neural Network (ANN) that is supported with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The methods are applied on the data of 24 suppliers, which have longterm relationships with a medium sized company from German Iron and Steel Industry. The data of suppliers consists of variables such as material quality (MQ), discount of amount (DOA), discount of cash (DOC), payment term (PT), delivery time (DT) and annual revenue (AR). Meanwhile, the efficiency that is generated by using DEA is added to the supplier evaluation system in order to use them as system outputs.
Abstract: Direct conversion of methane to methanol by partial oxidation in a thermal reactor has a poor yield of about 2% which is less than the expected economical yield of about 10%. Conventional thermal catalytic reactors have been proposed to be superseded by plasma reactors as a promising approach, due to strength of the electrical energy which can break C-H bonds of methane. Among the plasma techniques, non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma chemical process is one of the most future promising technologies in synthesizing methanol. The purpose of this paper is presenting a brief review of CH4 oxidation with O2 in DBD plasma reactors based on the recent investigations. For this reason, the effect of various parameters of reactor configuration, feed ratio, applied voltage, residence time (gas flow rate), type of applied catalyst, pressure and reactor wall temperature on methane conversion and methanol selectivity are discussed.
Abstract: Air quality studies were carried out in the towns of
Putrajaya, Petaling Jaya and Nilai in the Malaysian Peninsular. In this
study, the variations of Ozone (O3) concentrations over a four year
period (2008-2011) were investigated using data obtained from the
Malaysian Department of the Environment (DOE). This study aims to
identify and describe the daily and monthly variations of O3
concentrations at the monitoring sites mentioned. The SPPS program
(Statistical Package for the Social Science) was used to analyze this
data in order to obtain the variations of O3 and also to clarify the
relationship between the stations. The findings of the study revealed
that the highest concentration of O3 occurred during the midday and
afternoon (between 13:00-15:00 hrs). The comparison between
stations also showed that highest O3 concentrations were recorded in
Putrajaya. The comparisons of average and maximum concentrations
of O3 for the three stations showed that the strongest significant
correlation was recorded in the Petaling Jaya station with the value
R2= 0.667. Results from this study indicate that in the urban areas of
Peninsular Malaysia, the concentration of O3 depends on the
concentration of NOx. Furthermore, HYSPLIT back trajectories
(-72h) indicated that air-mass transport patterns can also influence the
O3 concentration in the areas studied.
Abstract: Using a methodology grounded in business process
change theory, we investigate the critical success factors that affect
ERP implementation success in United States and India.
Specifically, we examine the ERP implementation at two case study
companies, one in each country. Our findings suggest that certain
factors that affect the success of ERP implementations are not
culturally bound, whereas some critical success factors depend on the
national culture of the country in which the system is being
implemented. We believe that the understanding of these critical
success factors will deepen the understanding of ERP
implementations and will help avoid implementation mistakes,
thereby increasing the rate of success in culturally different contexts.
Implications of the findings and future research directions for both
academicians and practitioners are also discussed.
Abstract: Tungsten trioxide has been prepared by using P-PTA
as a precursor on alumina substrates by spin coating method.
Palladium introduced on WO3 film via electrolysis deposition by
using palladium chloride as catalytic precursor. The catalytic
precursor was introduced on the series of films with different
morphologies. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and XPS were applied to analyze structure and
morphology of the fabricated thin films. Then we measured variation
of samples- electrical conductivity of pure and Pd added films in air
and diluted hydrogen. Addition of Pd resulted in a remarkable
improvement of the hydrogen sensing properties of WO3 by detection
of Hydrogen below 1% at room temperature. Also variation of the
electrical conductivity in the presence of diluted hydrogen revealed
that response of samples depends rather strongly on the palladium
configuration on the surface.
Abstract: Wind turbines with double output induction
generators can operate at variable speed permitting conversion
efficiency maximization over a wide range of wind velocities. This
paper presents the performance analysis of a wind driven double
output induction generator (DOIG) operating at varying shafts speed.
A periodic transient state analysis of DOIG equipped with two
converters is carried out using a hybrid induction machine model.
This paper simulates the harmonic content of waveforms in various
points of drive at different speeds, based on the hybrid model
(dqabc). Then the sinusoidal and trapezoidal pulse-width–modulation
control techniques are used in order to improve the power factor of
the machine and to weaken the injected low order harmonics to the
supply. Based on the frequency spectrum, total harmonics distortion,
distortion factor and power factor. Finally advantages of sinusoidal
and trapezoidal pulse width modulation techniques are compared.
Abstract: Semiconductor materials with coatings have a wide range of applications in MEMS and NEMS. This work uses transfermatrix method for calculating the radiative properties. Dopped silicon is used and the coherent formulation is applied. The Drude model for the optical constants of doped silicon is employed. Results showed that for the visible wavelengths, more emittance occurs in greater concentrations and the reflectance decreases as the concentration increases. In these wavelengths, transmittance is negligible. Donars and acceptors act similar in visible wavelengths. The effect of wave interference can be understood by plotting the spectral properties such as reflectance or transmittance of a thin dielectric film versus the film thickness and analyzing the oscillations of properties due to constructive and destructive interferences. But this effect has not been shown at visible wavelengths. At room temperature, the scattering process is dominated by lattice scattering for lightly doped silicon, and the impurity scattering becomes important for heavily doped silicon when the dopant concentration exceeds1018cm-3 .
Abstract: A multivariable discontinuous feedback linearization approach is proposed to position control of an electrically driven fast robot manipulator. A desired performance is achieved by selecting a useful controller and suitable sampling rate and considering saturation for actuators. There is a high flexibility to apply the proposed control approach on different electrically driven manipulators. The control approach can guarantee the stability and satisfactory tracking performance. A PUMA 560 robot driven by geared permanent magnet dc motors is simulated. The simulation results show a desired performance for control system under technical specifications.