Abstract: An effort estimation model is needed for softwareintensive
projects that consist of hardware, embedded software or
some combination of the two, as well as high level software
solutions. This paper first focuses on functional decomposition
techniques to measure functional complexity of a computer system
and investigates its impact on system development effort. Later, it
examines effects of technical difficulty and design team capability
factors in order to construct the best effort estimation model. With
using traditional regression analysis technique, the study develops a
system development effort estimation model which takes functional
complexity, technical difficulty and design team capability factors as
input parameters. Finally, the assumptions of the model are tested.
Abstract: Research into the problem of classification of sonar signals has been taken up as a challenging task for the neural networks. This paper investigates the design of an optimal classifier using a Multi layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP NN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Results obtained using sonar data sets suggest that SVM classifier perform well in comparison with well-known MLP NN classifier. An average classification accuracy of 91.974% is achieved with SVM classifier and 90.3609% with MLP NN classifier, on the test instances. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve for the proposed SVM classifier on test data set is found as 0.981183, which is very close to unity and this clearly confirms the excellent quality of the proposed classifier. The SVM classifier employed in this paper is implemented using kernel Adatron algorithm is seen to be robust and relatively insensitive to the parameter initialization in comparison to MLP NN.
Abstract: Reliable information about tool temperature
distribution is of central importance in metal cutting. In this study,
tool-chip interface temperature was determined in cutting of ST37
steel workpiece by applying HSS as the cutting tool in dry turning.
Two different approaches were implemented for temperature
measuring: an embedded thermocouple (RTD) in to the cutting tool
and infrared (IR) camera. Comparisons are made between
experimental data and results of MSC.SuperForm and FLUENT
software.
An investigation of heat generation in cutting tool was performed
by varying cutting parameters at the stable cutting tool geometry and
results were saved in a computer; then the diagrams of tool
temperature vs. various cutting parameters were obtained. The
experimental results reveal that the main factors of the increasing
cutting temperature are cutting speed (V ), feed rate ( S ) and depth
of cut ( h ), respectively. It was also determined that simultaneously
change in cutting speed and feed rate has the maximum effect on
increasing cutting temperature.
Abstract: Using steelmaking slag as a raw material, aragonite superstructure product had been synthesized via an indirect CO2 mineral sequestration rout. It mainly involved two separate steps, in which the element of calcium is first selectively leached from steelmaking slag by a novel leaching media consisting of organic solvent Tributyl phosphate (TBP), acetic acid, and ultra-purity water, followed by enhanced carbonation in a separate step for aragonite superstructure production as well as efficiency recovery of leaching media. Based on the different leaching medium employed in the steelmaking slag leaching process, two typical products were collected from the enhanced carbonation step. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. It reveals that the needle-like aragonite crystals self-organized into aragonite superstructure particles including aragonite microspheres as well as dumbbell-like spherical particles, can be obtained from the steelmaking slag with the purity over 99%.
Abstract: This paper gives a novel method for improving
classification performance for cancer classification with very few
microarray Gene expression data. The method employs classification
with individual gene ranking and gene subset ranking. For selection
and classification, the proposed method uses the same classifier. The
method is applied to three publicly available cancer gene expression
datasets from Lymphoma, Liver and Leukaemia datasets. Three
different classifiers namely Support vector machines-one against all
(SVM-OAA), K nearest neighbour (KNN) and Linear Discriminant
analysis (LDA) were tested and the results indicate the improvement
in performance of SVM-OAA classifier with satisfactory results on
all the three datasets when compared with the other two classifiers.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel approach to finding a
priori interesting regions in mammograms. In order to delineate those
regions of interest (ROI-s) in mammograms, which appear to be
prominent, a topographic representation called the iso-level contour
map consisting of iso-level contours at multiple intensity levels and
region segmentation based-thresholding have been proposed. The
simulation results indicate that the computed boundary gives the
detection rate of 99.5% accuracy.
Abstract: Networked schools have become a feature of
education systems in countries that seek to provide learning
opportunities in schools located beyond major centres of population.
The internet and e-learning have facilitated the development of
virtual educational structures that complement traditional schools,
encouraging collaborative teaching and learning to proceed. In rural
New Zealand and in the Atlantic Canadian province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, e-learning is able to provide new ways
of organizing teaching, learning and the management of educational
opportunities. However, the future of e-teaching and e-learning in
networked schools depends on the development of professional
education programs that prepare teachers for collaborative teaching
and learning environments in which both virtual and traditional face
to face instruction co-exist.
Abstract: The company-s ability to draw on a range of external
sources to meet their needs for innovation, has been termed 'open
innovation' (OI). Very few empirical analyses have been conducted
on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the extent that they
describe and understand the characteristics and implications of this
new paradigm.
The study's objective is to identify and characterize different
modes of OI, (considering innovation process phases and the variety
and breadth of the collaboration), determinants, barriers and
motivations in SMEs. Therefore a survey was carried out among
Italian manufacturing firms and a database of 105 companies was
obtained. With regard to data elaboration, a factorial and cluster
analysis has been conducted and three different OI modes have
emerged: selective low open, unselective open upstream, and mid-
partners integrated open. The different behaviours of the three
clusters in terms of determinants factors, performance, firm-s
technology intensity, barriers and motivations have been analyzed
and discussed.
Abstract: Recently, some convergent results of the generalized AOR iterative (GAOR) method for solving linear systems with strictly diagonally dominant matrices are presented in [Darvishi, M.T., Hessari, P.: On convergence of the generalized AOR method for linear systems with diagonally dominant cofficient matrices. Appl. Math. Comput. 176, 128-133 (2006)] and [Tian, G.X., Huang, T.Z., Cui, S.Y.: Convergence of generalized AOR iterative method for linear systems with strictly diagonally dominant cofficient matrices. J. Comp. Appl. Math. 213, 240-247 (2008)]. In this paper, we give the convergence of the GAOR method for linear systems with strictly doubly diagonally dominant matrix, which improves these corresponding results.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the
relationships among students- process of study, creative self-efficacy
and creativity while attending college. A total of 60 students enrolled
in Hsiuping Institute of Technology in central Taiwan were selected as
samples for the study. The instruments for this study included three
questionnaires to explore the aforesaid aspects.
This researchers tested creative self-efficacy and process of study,
and creativity with Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression
analyses. The major findings of this research are (1) the process of
study had direct positive predictability on creativity, and (2) the
relationship between process of study and creativity is partially
mediated by creative self-efficacy.
Abstract: This paper investigates the performance of a speech
recognizer in an interactive voice response system for various coded
speech signals, coded by using a vector quantization technique namely
Multi Switched Split Vector Quantization Technique. The process of
recognizing the coded output can be used in Voice banking application.
The recognition technique used for the recognition of the coded speech
signals is the Hidden Markov Model technique. The spectral distortion
performance, computational complexity, and memory requirements of
Multi Switched Split Vector Quantization Technique and the
performance of the speech recognizer at various bit rates have been
computed. From results it is found that the speech recognizer is
showing better performance at 24 bits/frame and it is found that the
percentage of recognition is being varied from 100% to 93.33% for
various bit rates.
Abstract: This report shows the performance of composite
biodegradable film from chitosan, starch and sawdust fiber. The main
objectives of this research are to fabricate and characterize composite
biodegradable film in terms of morphology and physical properties.
The film was prepared by casting method. Sawdust fiber was used as
reinforcing agent and starch as polymer matrix in the casting
solution. The morphology of the film was characterized using atomic
force microscope (AFM). The result showed that the film has
smooth structure. Chemical composition of the film was investigated
using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) where the result revealed
present of starch in the film. The thermal properties were
characterized using thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and
differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) where the results showed
that the film has small difference in melting and degradation
temperature.
Abstract: In the meantime, there were lots of hardware solutions like products or urban facilities for crime prevention in the public design area. Meanwhile, people have growing interest in public design so by making a village; community design in public design is getting active by the society. The system for crime prevention is actively done by the citizens who created the community. Regarding the social situation, in this project, we saw it as a kind of community design practices and researched about 'how does community design influence Crime prevention?' The purpose of this study is to propose the community design as a way of preventing the crime in the city. First, we found out about the definition, elements and methods of community design by reviewing the theory. And then, this study analyzed the case that was enforced in Seoul and organize the elements and methods of community design. This study can be refer to Public Design based on civil participation and make the community design area contribute to expand the way of solving social problems.
Abstract: Adaptive Genetic Algorithms extend the Standard Gas
to use dynamic procedures to apply evolutionary operators such as
crossover, mutation and selection. In this paper, we try to propose a
new adaptive genetic algorithm, which is based on the statistical
information of the population as a guideline to tune its crossover,
selection and mutation operators. This algorithms is called Statistical
Genetic Algorithm and is compared with traditional GA in some
benchmark problems.
Abstract: In this research work, investigations are carried out on
Continuous Wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser welding system after
preliminary experimentation to understand the influencing parameters
associated with laser welding of AISI 304. The experimental
procedure involves a series of laser welding trials on AISI 304
stainless steel sheets with various combinations of process parameters
like beam power, beam incident angle and beam incident angle. An
industrial 2 kW CW Nd:YAG laser system, available at Welding
Research Institute (WRI), BHEL Tiruchirappalli, is used for
conducting the welding trials for this research. After proper tuning of
laser beam, laser welding experiments are conducted on AISI 304
grade sheets to evaluate the influence of various input parameters on
weld bead geometry i.e. bead width (BW) and depth of penetration
(DOP). From the laser welding results, it is noticed that the beam
power and welding speed are the two influencing parameters on
depth and width of the bead. Three dimensional finite element
simulation of high density heat source have been performed for laser
welding technique using finite element code ANSYS for predicting
the temperature profile of laser beam heat source on AISI 304
stainless steel sheets. The temperature dependent material properties
for AISI 304 stainless steel are taken into account in the simulation,
which has a great influence in computing the temperature profiles.
The latent heat of fusion is considered by the thermal enthalpy of
material for calculation of phase transition problem. A Gaussian
distribution of heat flux using a moving heat source with a conical
shape is used for analyzing the temperature profiles. Experimental
and simulated values for weld bead profiles are analyzed for stainless
steel material for different beam power, welding speed and beam
incident angle. The results obtained from the simulation are
compared with those from the experimental data and it is observed
that the results of numerical analysis (FEM) are in good agreement
with experimental results, with an overall percentage of error
estimated to be within ±6%.
Abstract: This paper presents a new approach for setting
frequency relays based on the dynamic of power system. A
simplified model of the power system based on the load-frequency
control loop will be developed to be used instead of the complete
model of the power system. The effects of the equipments and their
responses on the frequency variations of the power plant will be
investigated and then a method for adaptive settings of frequency
relays will be explained. The proposed method will be investigated
by analyzing a simplified model of a power plant by MATLAB
software.
Abstract: Biomass is becoming a large renewable resource for
power generation; it is involved in higher frequency in
environmentally clean processes, and even it is used for biofuels
preparation. On the other hand, hydrogen – other energy source – can
be produced in a variety of methods including gasification of
biomass. In this study, the production of hydrogen by gasification of
biomass waste is examined. This work explores the production of a
gaseous mixture with high power potential from Amazonas´ specie
known as copoazu, using a counter-flow fixed-bed bioreactor.
Abstract: In this work, thermoelastic damping effect on the hemi- spherical shells is investigated. The material is selected silicon, and heat conduction equation for thermal flow is solved to obtain the temperature profile in which bending approximation with inextensional assumption of the model. Using the temperature profile, eigen-value analysis is performed to get the natural frequencies of hemispherical shells. Effects of mode numbers, radii and radial thicknesses of the model on the natural frequencies are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the quality factor (Q-factor) is defined, and discussed for the ring and hemispherical shell.
Abstract: In this paper the development of a heat exchanger as a
pilot plant for educational purpose is discussed and the use of neural
network for controlling the process is being presented. The aim of the
study is to highlight the need of a specific Pseudo Random Binary
Sequence (PRBS) to excite a process under control. As the neural
network is a data driven technique, the method for data generation
plays an important role. In light of this a careful experimentation
procedure for data generation was crucial task. Heat exchange is a
complex process, which has a capacity and a time lag as process
elements. The proposed system is a typical pipe-in- pipe type heat
exchanger. The complexity of the system demands careful selection,
proper installation and commissioning. The temperature, flow, and
pressure sensors play a vital role in the control performance. The
final control element used is a pneumatically operated control valve.
While carrying out the experimentation on heat exchanger a welldrafted
procedure is followed giving utmost attention towards safety
of the system. The results obtained are encouraging and revealing
the fact that if the process details are known completely as far as
process parameters are concerned and utilities are well stabilized then
feedback systems are suitable, whereas neural network control
paradigm is useful for the processes with nonlinearity and less
knowledge about process. The implementation of NN control
reinforces the concepts of process control and NN control paradigm.
The result also underlined the importance of excitation signal
typically for that process. Data acquisition, processing, and
presentation in a typical format are the most important parameters
while validating the results.
Abstract: The development of renewable energies - particularly energy from wind, water, solar power and biomass - is a central aim of the European Commission's energy policy. There are several reasons for this choice: renewable energies are sustainable, nonpolluting, widely available and clean. Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy balance enhances sustainability. It also helps to improve the security of energy supply by reducing the Community's growing dependence on imported energy sources.In this paper it was studied the possibility to realize three photovoltaic systems in the Italian Natural Park “Gola della Rossa e di Frasassi". The first photovoltaic system is a grid-connected system for Services and Documentation Center of Castelletta with a nominal power of about 6 kWp. The second photovoltaic system is a grid-connected integrated system on the ticket office-s roof with a nominal power of about 4 kWp. The third project is set up by five grid-connected systems integrated on the roofs of the bungalows in Natural Park-s tourist camping with a nominal power of about 10 kWp. The electricity which is generated by all these plants is purchased according to the Italian program called “Conto Energia". Economical analysis and the amount of the avoided CO2 emissions are elaborated for these photovoltaic systems.