An Investigation of Short Circuit Analysis in Komag Sarawak Operations (KSO) Factory

Short circuit currents plays a vital role in influencing the design and operation of equipment and power system and could not be avoided despite careful planning and design, good maintenance and thorough operation of the system. This paper discusses the short circuit analysis conducted in KSO briefly comprising of its significances, methods and results. A result sample of the analysis based on a single transformer is detailed in this paper. Furthermore, the results of the analysis and its significances were also discussed and commented.

Jitter Transfer in High Speed Data Links

Phase locked loops for data links operating at 10 Gb/s or faster are low phase noise devices designed to operate with a low jitter reference clock. Characterization of their jitter transfer function is difficult because the intrinsic noise of the device is comparable to the random noise level in the reference clock signal. A linear model is proposed to account for the intrinsic noise of a PLL. The intrinsic noise data of a PLL for 10 Gb/s links is presented. The jitter transfer function of a PLL in a test chip for 12.8 Gb/s data links was determined in experiments using the 400 MHz reference clock as the source of simultaneous excitations over a wide range of frequency. The result shows that the PLL jitter transfer function can be approximated by a second order linear model.

On the Exact Solution of Non-Uniform Torsion for Beams with Axial Symmetric Cross-Section

In the traditional theory of non-uniform torsion the axial displacement field is expressed as the product of the unit twist angle and the warping function. The first one, variable along the beam axis, is obtained by a global congruence condition; the second one, instead, defined over the cross-section, is determined by solving a Neumann problem associated to the Laplace equation, as well as for the uniform torsion problem. So, as in the classical theory the warping function doesn-t punctually satisfy the first indefinite equilibrium equation, the principal aim of this work is to develop a new theory for non-uniform torsion of beams with axial symmetric cross-section, fully restrained on both ends and loaded by a constant torque, that permits to punctually satisfy the previous equation, by means of a trigonometric expansion of the axial displacement and unit twist angle functions. Furthermore, as the classical theory is generally applied with good results to the global and local analysis of ship structures, two beams having the first one an open profile, the second one a closed section, have been analyzed, in order to compare the two theories.

Capacitor Placement in Distribution Systems Using Simulating Annealing (SA)

This paper undertakes the problem of optimal capacitor placement in a distribution system. The problem is how to optimally determine the locations to install capacitors, the types and sizes of capacitors to he installed and, during each load level,the control settings of these capacitors in order that a desired objective function is minimized while the load constraints,network constraints and operational constraints (e.g. voltage profile) at different load levels are satisfied. The problem is formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem with a nondifferentiable objective function. Four solution mythologies based on algorithms (GA),tabu search (TS), and hybrid GA-SA algorithms are presented.The solution methodologies are preceded by a sensitivity analysis to select the candidate capacitor installation locations.

The Use of Recommender Systems in Decision Support–A Case Study on Used Car Dealers

This research focuses on the use of a recommender system in decision support by means of a used car dealer case study in Bangkok Metropolitan. The goal is to develop an effective used car purchasing system for dealers based on the above premise. The underlying principle rests on content-based recommendation from a set of usability surveys. A prototype was developed to conduct buyers- survey selected from 5 experts and 95 general public. The responses were analyzed to determine the mean and standard deviation of buyers- preference. The results revealed that both groups were in favor of using the proposed system to assist their buying decision. This indicates that the proposed system is meritorious to used car dealers.

Effect of Cassava Root Ensiled with Cassava Top or Legumes on Feed Intake and Digestibility of Dairy Cows

The effect of cassava root ensiled with cassava top or legumes on voluntary feed intake and milk production were determined in 12 dairy cows using a 4×3 change-over design. Experimental period were 30 days long and consisted of 14 days of adaptation. Silage was prepared from cassava root mixed with cassava top or legumes at ratio 60:40. Cows were allotted at random to receive ad libitum one of four rations: T1) control, T2) cassava root +cassava top-silages, T3) cassava root +hamata - silages and T4) cassava root +Thapra stylo-silages. The dry matter intake (BW0.75) was higher (P< 0.05) in cow fed with silages diets compared with T1. However, the intake of T2 was higher among treatments. Milk production was lowest in cow fed with T1. Among silages based diets, milk production was not significantly different but 4%FCM was higher in cow fed T2. Milk compositions were not affected by feeding diets. It is concluded that feeding cassava root ensiled with its leaves as a supplement increased dry matter intake and significantly improved 4%FCM. The combination of cassava root and legume silages did not improve the feed intake but did increase the milk production.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for Thai Youths

The objectives of this study are to determine the role of media that influence the values, attitudes and behaviors of Thai youths. Analytical qualitative research techniques were used for this purpose. Data collection based techniques was used which were individual interviews and focus group discussions with journalists, sample of high school and university students, and parents. The results show that “Social Media" is still the most popular media for Thai youths. It is also still in the hands of the marketing business and it can motivate Thai youths to do so many things. The main reasons of media exposure are to find quality information that they want quickly, get satisfaction and can use social media to get more exciting and to build communities. They believe that the need for media and information literacy skills is defined as making judgments, personal integrity, training of family and the behavior of close friends.

Watermark-based Counter for Restricting Digital Audio Consumption

In this paper we introduce three watermarking methods that can be used to count the number of times that a user has played some content. The proposed methods are tested with audio content in our experimental system using the most common signal processing attacks. The test results show that the watermarking methods used enable the watermark to be extracted under the most common attacks with a low bit error rate.

Mitigation of Flicker using STATCOM with Three-Level 12-pulse Voltage Source Inverter

Voltage flicker is a disturbance in electrical power systems. The reason for this disturbance is mainly the large nonlinear loads such as electric arc furnaces. Synchronous static compensator (STATCOM) is considered as a proper technique to mitigate the voltage flicker. Application of more suitable and precise power electronic converter leads to a more precise performance of the compensator. In this paper a three-level 12-pulse voltage source inverter (VSI) with a 12-terminal transformer connected to the ac system is studied and the obtained results are compared with the performance of a STATCOM using a simple two-level VSI and an optimal and more precise performance of the proposed scheme is achieved.

Determination of Penicillins Residues in Livestock and Marine Products by LC/MS/MS

Multi-residue analysis method for penicillins was developed and validated in bovine muscle, chicken, milk, and flatfish. Detection was based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The developed method was validated for specificity, precision, recovery, and linearity. The analytes were extracted with 80% acetonitrile and clean-up by a single reversed-phase solid-phase extraction step. Six penicillins presented recoveries higher than 76% with the exception of Amoxicillin (59.7%). Relative standard deviations (RSDs) were not more than 10%. LOQs values ranged from 0.1 and to 4.5 ug/kg. The method was applied to 128 real samples. Benzylpenicillin was detected in 15 samples and Cloxacillin was detected in 7 samples. Oxacillin was detected in 2 samples. But the detected levels were under the MRL levels for penicillins in samples.

Improvement of Stator Slot Structure based on Electro-Thermal Analysis in HV Generator

High voltage generators are being subject to higher voltage rating and are being designed to operate in harsh conditions. Stator windings are the main component of generators in which Electrical, magnetically and thermal stresses remain major failures for insulation degradation accelerated aging. A large number of generators failed due to stator winding problems, mainly insulation deterioration. Insulation degradation assessment plays vital role in the asset life management. Mostly the stator failure is catastrophic causing significant damage to the plant. Other than generation loss, stator failure involves heavy repair or replacement cost. Electro thermal analysis is the main characteristic for improvement design of stator slot-s insulation. Dielectric parameters such as insulation thickness, spacing, material types, geometry of winding and slot are major design consideration. A very powerful method available to analyze electro thermal performance is Finite Element Method (FEM) which is used in this paper. The analysis of various stator coil and slot configurations are used to design the better dielectric system to reduce electrical and thermal stresses in order to increase the power of generator in the same volume of core. This paper describes the process used to perform classical design and improvement analysis of stator slot-s insulation.

Poverty Alleviation Potential of Snail Farming in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria

The recurring decimal of rural and urban poverty in Nigeria, resulting from lack of sustainable livelihood activities by the people due to non-diversification of the economy, necessitated this study. One hundred snail farmers were randomly selected in Akure North and Akure South Local Government areas of Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria where snail farming is widely practised. Data collection was through questionnaires administration and onsite observation of farms. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Student-s t-test and regression analysis. Cost benefit ratio (CBR) and rate of return on investment (RORI) were calculated in order to determine the poverty alleviation potentials of snail farming in the study areas. Although snail farming was profitable and viable, it was below poverty line. With time and more knowledge in its farming activities, and with more people taking to snail production, its poverty alleviation and reduction potentials will increase.

Novel Glycopolymers Containing Carbohydrate Moiety: Copolymerization and Thermal Properties

Polymers are one of the most widely used materials in our every day life. The subject of renewable resources has attracted great attention in the last period of time. New polymeric materials derived from renewable resources, like carbohydrates draw attention to public eye especially because of their biocompatibility and biodegradability. The aim of our paper was to obtain environmentally compatible polymers from monosaccharides. Novel glycopolymers based on D-glucose have been obtained from copolymerization of a new monomer carrying carbohydrate moiety with methyl methacrylate (MMA) via free radical bulk polymerization. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed in order to study the copolymerization process of the monomer into the chosen co-monomer; the activation energy of this process was evaluated using Ozawa method. The copolymers obtained were characterized using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the obtained products was studied by thermogravimetry (TG).

Finding Equilibrium in Transport Networks by Simulation and Investigation of Behaviors

The goal of this paper is to find Wardrop equilibrium in transport networks at case of uncertainty situations, where the uncertainty comes from lack of information. We use simulation tool to find the equilibrium, which gives only approximate solution, but this is sufficient for large networks as well. In order to take the uncertainty into account we have developed an interval-based procedure for finding the paths with minimal cost using the Dempster-Shafer theory. Furthermore we have investigated the users- behaviors using game theory approach, because their path choices influence the costs of the other users- paths.

Evaluation Biofilm Sewage Treatment Plant

The research study is carried out to determine the efficiency of the Biofilm sewage treatment plant which is located at the Engineering Complex-s. Wastewater analyses have been carried out at the Environmental Engineering laboratory to study the six parameters: Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD, Chemical Oxygen Demand COD l, and Total Suspended Solids TSS, Ammoniac Nitrogen NH3-N and Phosphorous P which have been selected to determine the wastewater quality. The plant was designed to treat 750 Pe (population equivalent) at hydraulic retention time of 5 hours in the aerobic zone. The results show that Biofilm wastewater treatment plant was able to treat sewage successfully at different flow condition. The discharge has fulfilled the Malaysia Environmental of Standard A water quality. The achieved BOD removal is more than 85%, COD is more than 80%, TSS is more than 80%, NH3-N is more than 70%, and P was more than 70%. The Biofilm system provides a very efficient process for sewage treatment and it is compact in structure thus minimizes the required land area.

Investigation on Polymer Based Nano-Silver as Food Packaging Materials

Commercial nanocomposite food packaging type nano-silver containers were characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The presence of nanoparticles consistent with the incorporation of 1% nano-silver (Ag) and 0.1% titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticle into polymeric materials formed into food containers was confirmed. Both nanomaterials used in this type of packaging appear to be embedded in a layered configuration within the bulk polymer. The dimensions of the incorporated nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and determined by calculation using the Scherrer Formula; these were consistent with Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles in the size range 20-70nm both were spherical shape nanoparticles. Antimicrobial assessment of the nanocomposite container has also been performed and the results confirm the antimicrobial activity of Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles in food packaging containers. Migration assessments were performed in a wide range of food matrices to determine the migration of nanoparticles from the packages. The analysis was based upon the relevant European safety Directives and involved the application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to identify the range of migration risk. The data pertain to insignificance levels of migration of Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles into the selected food matrices.

Exergy Analysis of a Solar Humidification- Dehumidification Desalination Unit

This paper presents the exergy analysis of a desalination unit using humidification-dehumidification process. Here, this unit is considered as a thermal system with three main components, which are the heating unit by using a solar collector, the evaporator or the humidifier, and the condenser or the dehumidifier. In these components the exergy is a measure of the quality or grade of energy and it can be destroyed in them. According to the second law of thermodynamics this destroyed part is due to irreversibilities which must be determined to obtain the exergetic efficiency of the system. In the current paper a computer program has been developed using visual basic to determine the exergy destruction and the exergetic efficiencies of the components of the desalination unit at variable operation conditions such as feed water temperature, outlet air temperature, air to feed water mass ratio and salinity, in addition to cooling water mass flow rate and inlet temperature, as well as quantity of solar irradiance. The results obtained indicate that the exergy efficiency of the humidifier increases by increasing the mass ratio and decreasing the outlet air temperature. In the other hand the exergy efficiency of the condenser increases with the increase of this ratio and also with the increase of the outlet air temperature.

Assessment Methods for Surgical Skill

The increasingly sophisticated technologies have now been able to provide assistance for surgeons to improve surgical performance through various training programs. Equally important to learning skills is the assessment method as it determines the learning and technical proficiency of a trainee. A consistent and rigorous assessment system will ensure that trainees acquire the specific level of competency prior to certification. This paper reviews the methods currently in use for assessment of surgical skill and some modern techniques using computer-based measurements and virtual reality systems for more quantitative measurements

Free-Form Query for Cell Phones

It is a challenge to provide a wide range of queries to database query systems for small mobile devices, such as the PDAs and cell phones. Currently, due to the physical and resource limitations of these devices, most reported database querying systems developed for them are only offering a small set of pre-determined queries for users to possibly pose. The above can be resolved by allowing free-form queries to be entered on the devices. Hence, a query language that does not restrict the combination of query terms entered by users is proposed. This paper presents the free-form query language and the method used in translating free-form queries to their equivalent SQL statements.

M2LGP: Mining Multiple Level Gradual Patterns

Gradual patterns have been studied for many years as they contain precious information. They have been integrated in many expert systems and rule-based systems, for instance to reason on knowledge such as “the greater the number of turns, the greater the number of car crashes”. In many cases, this knowledge has been considered as a rule “the greater the number of turns → the greater the number of car crashes” Historically, works have thus been focused on the representation of such rules, studying how implication could be defined, especially fuzzy implication. These rules were defined by experts who were in charge to describe the systems they were working on in order to turn them to operate automatically. More recently, approaches have been proposed in order to mine databases for automatically discovering such knowledge. Several approaches have been studied, the main scientific topics being: how to determine what is an relevant gradual pattern, and how to discover them as efficiently as possible (in terms of both memory and CPU usage). However, in some cases, end-users are not interested in raw level knowledge, and are rather interested in trends. Moreover, it may be the case that no relevant pattern can be discovered at a low level of granularity (e.g. city), whereas some can be discovered at a higher level (e.g. county). In this paper, we thus extend gradual pattern approaches in order to consider multiple level gradual patterns. For this purpose, we consider two aggregation policies, namely horizontal and vertical.