Studies in Engineering and Technology

High-speed transceivers are receiving great interest due to the demand for huge data traffic and information storage capacities in the Big Data era. Recently, 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) has become an IEEE standardized data communication protocol. The 100G quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) transceiver is one of the key technological enablers in the high-speed optical networks. In this paper, we study the reliability current dependence for the four-lambda QSFP (4x25G) EML devices that are employed in the 100G QSFP transceivers. In order to meet the energy-efficient and environmental requirements, we develop a swift reliability test methodology that can provide fast, accurate reliability assessment to ensure robust long-term field performance. We discuss the acceleration factor and extrapolation for the energy-efficient reliability test.

Quantifying the proportion of normal-and high-emitting vehicles and their emissions is vital for creating an air quality improvement strategy for emission reduction policies. This paper includes the California LEV III and United States Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 vehicle regulations in this projection of high emitter quantification for 2018 and 2030. Results show high emitting vehicles account for up to 6% of vehicle population and vehicle miles traveled. Yet, they will contribute to over 75% of exhaust and 66% of evaporative emissions. As these high emitting vehicles are gradually retired from service and are removed from the roads, the overall effect on air quality from vehicle emissions will be reduced.

Designing a system requires evaluating multiple architecture design alternatives against multiple evaluation criteria. This is called a tradeoff study. This paper presents common mental mistakes that people make when doing tradeoff studies. The authors examined tradeoff studies created by system analysts and excerpted examples of these mistakes. There are suggestions to help systems engineers avoid making these mental mistakes while doing tradeoff studies.

The sand body distribution is relatively limited in this block, the lens-shaped sandbodies are more developed, the change of intergranular sandbody is fast and the internal architecture of the sand body is complex, which results in the difficulties of the arrangement of horizontal wells in the study area and the tapping of remaining oil in high water reservoirs. In this paper, taking an example of S2L410 sandbodies in Wen 79 Southern Block, rich drilling data, core data, logging data and geological research results accumulated over many years in Wennan Oilfield were applied to discuss the anatomical method of the reservoir architecture unit in the underwater distributary channel in the shallow delta front, the hierarchy of the internal architecture of the reservoir and the anatomy of the single sand body. On the basis of this, the sequence of the underwater distributary channel in the composite channel is determined by the cross section and the source profile. Under the guidance of the sedimentology principle, the formation process of the underwater distributary channel is restored and the evolution process of underwater distributary channel is recovered.

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 5, Number 1 Girish Upreti, University of Tennessee, USAHala Abd El Megeed, National Institute for Standards, EgyptHossam Zaqoot, Ministry of Environmental Affairs, GazaLoc Nguyen, Sunflower Soft Company, VietnamMarco A Ruano, Economics Department Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainMohammad Reza Barati, Flinders University, AustraliMohsen Sheikholeslami, Babol University of Technology, IranTangming Yuan, University of York, UKWael Salah, Multimedia University, Malaysia Andrew WalterEditorial AssistantStudies in Engineering and Technology-------------------------------------------Redfame Publishing9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416Beaverton, OR 97008, USATel: 1-503-828-0536 ext. 504Fax: 1-503-828-0537E-mail: set@redfame.comURL: http://set.redfame.com

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 4, Number 1António Calha, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, PortugalCarmen Pérez-Sabater, Universitat Poltècnica de València, SpainCélio Gonçalo Marques, Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, PortugalDeborah Christine Robinson, University of Derby, UKElena Jerves, University of Cuenca, EcuadorEnisa Mede, Bahcesehir University, TurkeyEsra DERELİ-Eskişehir Osmangazi University, TurkeyEsra DERELİ-Eskişehir Osmangazi University, TurkeyIntakhab Khan, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi ArabiaJohn Cowan, Edinburgh Napier University, UKLisa Marie Portugal, Grand Canyon University, USALorna T. Enerva, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, PhilippinesM. Emin Türkoğlu, Afyon Kocatepe University, TurkeyMarcie Zaharee, The MITRE Corporation, USAMeral Seker, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, TurkeyMustafa Çakır, Marmara Üniversity, TurkeyNerina Fernanda Sarthou, Univ. Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, ArgentinaNicole Celestine, The University of Western Australia, AustraliaNiveen M. Zayed, MENA College of Management, JordanPirkko Siklander, University of Lapland, FinlandRichard Penny, University of Washington Bothell, USARui Manuel Carreteiro, National Institute of Psychology and Neurosciences, PortugalSamad Mirza Suzani, Islamic Azad University, IranYalçın Dilekli, Aksaray University, Turkey Andrew WalterEditorial AssistantStudies in Engineering and Technology-------------------------------------------Redfame Publishing9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416Beaverton, OR 97008, USATel: 1-503-828-0536 ext. 504Fax: 1-503-828-0537E-mail: set@redfame.comURL: http://set.redfame.com

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 6, Number 1 Hassan Shaaban, Atomic energy Authority, EgyptKrzysztof Wolk, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology, PolandArnaud Duchosal, University of Montpellier, FranceHossam Zaqoot, Ministry of Environmental Affairs, GazaAlexander Pisarevskiy, Bauman Moscow State Tecnnical University, RussiaGirish Upreti, University of Tennessee, USAMartin Jaeger, Australian College of Kuwait, KuwaitHala Abd El Megeed, National Institute for Standards, EgyptMarco A Ruano, Economics Department Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainSimona Rainis, International Research Center for Mountain, ItalyMahdieh Zabihimayvan, Wright State University, USAYi Zheng, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USALoc Nguyen, Sunflower Soft Company, VietnamMohammad Reza Barati, Flinders University, Australia Andrew WalterEditorial AssistantStudies in Engineering and Technology-------------------------------------------Redfame Publishing9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416Beaverton, OR 97008, USATel: 1-503-828-0536 ext. 504Fax: 1-503-828-0537E-mail: set@redfame.comURL: http://set.redfame.com

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue. Reviewers for Volume 3, Number 1 Ahmet Can Altunişik Alexander Russell Arnaud Duchosal Girish Upreti Hassan Shaaban Hossam Zaqoot Isaac Atuahene KaiLong Hsiao Lei Kang Loc Nguyen Marco A Ruano S. Haddout Saminda Dharmarathna Wael Salah Wolday Abrha Yao Liu Yi Zheng Andrew Walter Editorial Assistant On behalf of, The Editorial Board of Studies in Engineering and Technology Redfame Publishing 9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416 Beaverton, OR 97008, USA URL: http://set.redfame.com

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to thank the following reviewers for reviewing manuscripts from October 15, 2013, to December 31, 2013. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Redfame Publishing appreciates the following reviewers’ rigorous and conscientious efforts for this journal. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review during this period. Alexander Russell Halil Karahan Hossam Zaqoot Isaac Atuahene Roohollah Kalatehjari Sonia María Gómez Puente Martin Jaeger Quamrul H. Mazumder Shahab Bahrami

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to thank the following reviewers for reviewing manuscripts from August 1, 2014, to July 31, 2015. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Redfame Publishing appreciates the following reviewers’ rigorous and conscientious efforts for this journal. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review during this period.

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 7, Number 1Alexander Medvedev, Transport and Telecommunication Institute (TTI), LatviaAlexander Pisarevskiy, Bauman Moscow State Tecnnical University, RussiaArnaud Duchosal, University of Montpellier, FranceGirish Upreti, Methodist University, USAHala Abd El Megeed, National Institute for Standards, EgyptHassan Shaaban, Egyption Atomic Authority (EAEA), EgyptHossam Zaqoot, Ministry of Environmental Affairs, GazaHossein Moayedi, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, MalaysiaJose Hernandez, Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, ChileMahdieh Zabihimayvan, Wright State University, USAMarco A Ruano, Economics Department Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainMohammad Reza Barati, Flinders University, AustraliaPau Redon, Fundación Hospital General de Valencia, SpainSimona Rainis, RARDARFVG, ItalyTangming Yuan, University of York, UKTony di Feo, Natural Resources Canadanior Engineer, CanadaWael Salah, Palestine Technical University - Kadoorie, PalestineYao Liu, University Malaysia Pahang, MalaysiaYi Zheng, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USA Andrew WalterEditorial AssistantStudies in Engineering and Technology-------------------------------------------Redfame Publishing9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416Beaverton, OR 97008, USATel: 1-503-828-0536 ext. 504Fax: 1-503-828-0537E-mail: set@redfame.comURL: http://set.redfame.com

Studies in Engineering and Technology (SET) would like to thank the following reviewers for reviewing manuscripts from January 1, 2014, to July 31, 2014. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Many authors, regardless of whether SET publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Redfame Publishing appreciates the following reviewers’ rigorous and conscientious efforts for this journal. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review during this period.Ahmet Can ALTUNIŞIKAlexander RussellGiovanni AngrisaniGirish UpretiHala Abd El MegeedHalil KARAHANHassan ShaabanLei KangMarco A RuanoPaul SteskensShahab BahramiWael SalahXiuyu GaoYi Zheng

This paper proposes an adaptive variable structure control (VSC) for a class of mismatched uncertain systems with unknown disturbances. First, a necessary and sufficient condition in terms of linear matrix inequalities is proposed to guarantee the system in sliding mode is asymptotically stable. Second, an adaptive output feedback variable structure controller is designed to force the system states reach the sliding surface and stay on it thereafter. Finally, the advantages and effectiveness of the proposed approaches are demonstrated via a numerical example.

This study investigated transient effects on the air quality of parked cars and moving cars with and without operating air conditioning. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and formaldehyde concentrations were measured for comparative analysis. The results showed that simply changing the air conditioning system from internal circulation to external circulation to introduce air from outside reduces carbon dioxide concentrations by more than 50%, volatile organic compound concentrations by more than 77%, and the heat index from 0.1℃/min to less than 0.05 ℃/min. In order to conserve energy and improve car indoor air quality, this study can serve as a reference on healthy car environments.

Laser-welded joints of stainless steel AISI304 are investigated experimentally to determine the transformation of austenite to martensite during the welding process. This transformation, which occurs in the welded region due to heating and residual stresses, can influence the fatigue and fracture properties of the affected material. Therefore, the scope of the present study is to determine the quantity of introduced martensite in the welded region and hereby clarify the influence of laser welding on the fatigue and fracture properties of welded AISI304 joints. The quantification of martensite concentration is carried out by use of four different methods, namely Lichtenegger and Bloech (LB1) etching, Ferritescope, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Vickers hardness. It is found that a concentration of 1-1.6 % martensite is introduced in the laser-welded area; a quantity that has insignificant influence on the fatigue properties of the joints.

Quick response time in emergency situation is critical to protect human lives. In the fast-growing cities, fire departments can fall behind the standard response time due to cities’ expansion. This research focuses on ways to improve the response time of a city’s emergency situation. A Non-linear Programming model is used to determine the locations of fire stations, so that they can cover the maximum number of residents, in terms of the geographical area and population. The model is applied to the city of Kingsville, Texas to check the practicability. The results of the research indicate that optimized locations make population coverage increment up to 15% and geographic coverage increment up to 21% with two fire stations. With three fire stations including a newly added fire station, the population coverage goes up to 48% increment and the geographic coverage increased up to 71%, which covers 88% of total city population.

Non-destructive characterization of surface microstructure of an engineering component is an important parameter to assess its fitness to function in the given service conditions. The paper describes various case studies performed in authors' laboratory involving use of portable X-ray diffraction based residual stress analysis system to examine and understand the micro-structural state of the investigated surface. A significant decrease in full width at half maximum (FWHM) of gamma(311) diffraction peak from about 4.2° in the cold worked state to about 2.5° in the annealed/surface melted state was recorded for austenitic stainless steel. In case of 0.4% carbon steel there is sharp increase in FWHM of alpha(211) diffraction peak from about 2° in the as received condition to about 5-6° in the laser hardened condition. Crystallographic texture developed during electro-plating of chromium on stainless steel, could be detected from the strong intensity of alpha (211) peak of chromium at about 19° to the surface normal with respect to all other X-ray inclination angles (ѱ) during residual stress measurement. The results show that FWHM and intensity variation of the diffraction peak are two sensitive parameters for characterization of surface microstructure. Change in FWHM has been used to detect machining-induced cold deformation and evolution of re-crystallized grains in austenitic stainless steel and formation of hard martensite in laser transformation hardened ferritic steel. Variation in the intensity of diffracted peak with respect to X-ray inclination angle provided valuable information regarding crystallographic texture in hard chrome plated deposits.

In this paper, based on ATM transaction status analysis and anomaly detection problem, by analyzing the transaction statistics of a bank ATM application system, the characteristic parameters of ATM transaction status are extracted and analyzed, then a set of targets are designed. An abnormal monitoring scheme that can promptly and accurately alarm the four abnormal situations in which the trading volume is steep, the transaction failure rate is increased, the transaction processing is slow, and the transaction response time is too long. Firstly, the transaction data is divided to distinguish between working days, non-working days, trading volume troughs, and normal trading periods, to avoid data interference between different time periods and to take into account the data discontinuity. The characteristics of the anomaly data were identified by K-Means Clustering Analysis. Then the data is analyzed by B-P Neural Network method, the change rule of ATM transaction status with time is obtained. According to this rule, the ATM transaction status is judged, and the abnormal situation is alarmed in time. Finally, this paper increases the amount and type of data collected, then increases the influencing factors such as ATM popularity, holidays, transaction types into the model, uses the existing transaction data before and after the Spring Festival to verify, in order to obtain a more realistic monitoring and early warning program. The transaction status anomaly monitoring scheme designed in this paper not only can correctly judge but also timely alarm the financial aid equipment failure scenarios, so that the security of the financial self-service equipment trading system is guaranteed.

In this article, Very Crucial subject discussed in Semi-Passive RFID TAGs system stability. Semi-Passive TAGs with double loop antennas arranged as a shifted gate system stability optimization under delayed electromagnetic interferences. The double loop antenna is employed due to the fact that this antenna consists of two parallel loops; i.e., primary and secondary loops. We define V i1(t) and V i2(t) as the voltages in time on double loop antennas. V i1(t) is the voltage in time on the primary loop and V i2(t) is the voltage in time on the secondary loop. The index (i) stand for the first gate (i=1) and second gate (i=2). Due to electromagnetic interferences there are different in time delays respect to gate antenna's first and second loop voltages and voltages derivatives. The delayed voltages are V i1(t-τ 1) and V i2(t-τ 2) respectively (τ 1≠ τ 2) and delayed voltages derivatives are dV i1(t-Δ 1)/dt, dV i2(t-Δ 2)/dt respectively.

Particles distributions along a conical fluidized bed were predicted by an alternative arrangement of the minimum fluidization velocity equation. The proposed approach introduces two new equations which present the particle diameter in the bed as function of: height in the bed (Z), angle of inclination of the fluidized bed wall (θ), input flow rate (Qo), and gas distributor diameter (Do, 2ro). A novel arc-shaped design of the gas distributor was suggested, which provides enhanced distribution of the gas and enables greater control on the direction of the gas inlet. The model showed that the inclination of the fluidized bed wall should not exceed a critical angle, which can be determined with the set of equations specially developed for this purpose, to prevent inhomogeneous fluidization across the bed and accumulation of particles along the walls. By applying the Box Wilson Method, theoretical data were obtained for constant column diameter at the base (0.05 m), and varying bed height, Z, (range: 0.5 to 1.5 m), velocity of gas inlet, U, (range 0.25 to 1 m s⁻¹), and balance factor, a, (range: 0.5 to 1, a new factor), respectively. The angle of inclination of the wall was first predicted based on the above parameters, and subsequently, the particle size distribution along the column was determined. Theoretically the novel arc-shaped distributor design has shown the potential of generating homogeneous fluidization regimes along the bed.

This paper presents an educational praxis of classroom assessment in curriculum and learning outcomes of “Introduction to Education”, and constructs assessment tool and analyzes them based on the mathematical modeling, the former with Q Matrix and ISM (Interpretive Structural Modeling), the latter mainly with Nagai’s GSP (Grey S-P) Chart, RaschGSP Curve, GSM (Grey Structural Modeling) and MSM (Matrix Based Structure Modeling). It aims: (1) To use and implement numerical value as the code for processing data, (2) To analyze and diagnose based on raw numerical values, (3) To illustrate and explain in visual diagraph analysis. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that applying mathematical logic in educational research, and such tools are not in favor of the quantitative approach, rather claimed unique feature of math logic, in benefit to: (1) Interface qualitative contextual analysis and quantitative numerical characters as the whole, (2) Convert teaching-learning praxis into binary numerical data, (3) Address alternative interdisciplinary educational research.

Unsafe working conditions in underground mines have led to a number of accidents, loss of life, damage to property, interruption of production, etc. Safety is essential in mining industry, which in recent years mainly focuses on injury prevention in the workplace through a variety of procedures and employee training. The primary goal of this paper is to present a methodology with systematic analysis to determine the most risky places for fire occurrence in underground mines and using a computer simulation to determine the movement of smoke and fire gases trough underground mining facilities from which depends the safe evacuation of all employees.

Energy and resource efficiency are becoming more and more important objectives in industrial companies, so that it has also become relevant to material handling as part of the lean strategy in supply chain management. The design of sustainable, energy efficient material handling systems and processes depends on methods and tools that analyse and evaluate the composition of the technologies and processes of the system. Therefore analysis on detailed data on energy consumption, energy supply and process organisation is required to improve overall system efficiency. This study proposes a novel approach to energy data generation based on Standardised Energy Consuming Activities (SECA). Simulating process energy consumption and consumption behaviour based on process function investigations increases knowledge about the sequence and characteristics of energy consumption and its process allocation. Executing the research project Usable Battery Energy of the material handling equipment was identified to be gradable by 25% to 43% in order to increase equipment availability and thus system efficiency. In the performed case study a system range extension of 19% to 33% was reached by the implementation of a fast engaging charging system using process related idle times. Generally applicable data is required for the design of a scalable simulation to enable the identification of requirements to the design of non-automated material handling system components. The proposed framework forms the basis necessary for the derivation and evaluation of technical and organisational improvement of system efficiency with respect to energy, ecological and economic objectives.

Based on features of high speed of network transmission and easy operations, this thesis covers two aspects to realize network-based management on repairing tool kits of civil aviation engineering maintenance. Firstly, develop a network inquiry system, which can help employees and administrators inquire tool borrowing information. Secondly, a module is designed that has functions to transmit text messages to tool kits borrowers prompting them to return tools at times when the returning date approaches.

In the environment of large forest, the factors causing fire are nonlinear and uncertain. If the data collected by the sensor is simply analyzed and compared, the false alarm rate will be higher. How to combine the data of several sensors for effective fire warning is a difficult point. In order to improve the accuracy of prediction, aiming at the shortcomings of traditional forest fire prevention early warning system, we propose a forest fire prevention early warning method based on fuzzy Bayesian network. Firstly, we combine the fuzzy control system and the Bayesian network in series, and pre-process the collected sensor data. The pre-processed data is sent to the previously trained Bayesian network for processing. Then the calculated open fire probability, smoldering fire probability, and no fire probability are used as input data of fuzzy control system, and fuzzy inference is performed. Finally, we de-fuzzify the results of fuzzy reasoning and get the probability of fire. Simulation results show that our method can effectively combine the data collected by multiple sensors, quickly and accurately determine fire occurrence probability, improve the accuracy of forest fire prevention warning, and reduce the false positive rate.

In this paper, we introduce a probabilistic model for learning interpolative decomposition (ID), which is commonly used for feature selection, low-rank approximation, and identifying hidden patterns in data, where the matrix factors are latent variables associated with each data dimension. Prior densities with support on the specified subspace are used to address the constraint for the magnitude of the factored component of the observed matrix. Bayesian inference procedure based on Gibbs sampling is employed. We evaluate the model on a variety of real-world datasets including CCLE EC50, CCLE IC50, CTRP EC50, and MovieLens 100K datasets with different sizes, and dimensions, and show that the proposed Bayesian ID GBT and GBTN models lead to smaller reconstructive errors compared to existing randomized approaches.

Study of aircraft aerodynamic characteristics with operation of its powerplant engines is a vital task. In this article we represent mathematical modeling of the aircraft flow with operation of its propeller. The considered mathematical model of the propeller is based on the vortex and momentum theory. Solution of the model problem of the flow behind the propeller allows obtaining of the fields of perturbed velocities in the vicinity of the aircraft and its aerodynamic characteristics. The proposed approach is aimed at simplification of the mathematical model and reduction of calculation time.

The possibility of heating two large hospitals in Crete, Greece utilizing locally produced solid biomass has been investigated. Olive kernel wood is produced in Crete as a byproduct of the olive processing industry and it is an excellent renewable fuel. It is currently used for heat generation replacing heating and fuel oil. Use of solid biomass for heat generation is a mature and reliable technology resulting in the mitigation of the greenhouse effect. Cost analysis estimations regarding the replacement of heating oil with olive kernel wood for heating two large hospitals in Crete have shown that the investment is very attractive. The required capital investment for the installation of new biomass boilers in the hospitals has been estimated at 1.7-2.1 mil. €. Replacement of the heating oil with olive kernel wood would result in annual savings of 1963 – 2328 € per bed. Annual CO2 emissions savings due to the use of renewable fuel have been calculated at 8.8-10.4 kg CO2 per bed. Realization of such energy investments in hospitals could be obtained with public-private partnerships and the financial support of energy service companies.

This work describes the experimental procedure of purification and preparation of BiI3 crystals by Repeated Vertical Bridgman technique, aiming a future application of this semiconductor crystal as a room temperature radiation detector. The BiI3 powder used as raw material was purified three times and, at each purification, the crystal was evaluated by systematic measurements of the reduction of the impurities, crystalline structure, stoichiometry and surface morphology. The reduction of the trace metal impurities in the BiI3, at each purification, was analyzed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), in order to evaluate the efficiency of the purification technique established in this work. It was demonstrated that the Repeated Bridgman technique is effective to reduce the concentration of many impurities in BiI3, such as Ag, As, Br, Cr, K, Mo, Na and Sb. The crystalline structure of the BiI3 crystal purified twice and three times was similar to BiI3 pattern. However, for BiI3 powder and purified once, an intensity contribution of the BiOI was observed in the diffractograms. Improvement in the stoichiometric ratio was observed at each purification step, as well as the crystal surface morphology.

European buildings account for large amounts of energy consumption and CO2 emissions and current EU policies target in decreasing their energy consumption and subsequent CO2 emissions. Realization of a small, grid-connected, residential building with zero CO2 emissions due to energy use in Crete, Greece shows that this can be easily achieved. Required heat and electricity in the building were generated with the use of locally available renewable energies including solar energy and solid biomass. Annual energy consumption and on-site energy generation were balanced over a year as well as the annual electricity exchange between the building and the grid. Technologies used for heat and power generation included solar-thermal, solar-PV and solid-biomass burning which are reliable, mature and cost-effective. Annual energy consumption in the 65 m2 building was 180 KWh/m2 and its annual CO2 emissions were 84.67 kgCO2/m2. The total capital cost of the required renewable energy systems was estimated at approximately 10.77% of its total construction cost, and the required capital investments in renewable energy systems, in order to achieve the goal of a residential building with zero CO2 emissions due to energy use, were 1.65 € per kgCO2, saved annually. The results of this study prove that the creation of zero CO2 emissions buildings is technically feasible, economically attractive and environmentally friendly. Therefore they could be used to create future policies promoting the creation of this type of building additionally to the existing policies promoting near-zero energy buildings.

The corrosion inhibitive potential of Plumeria Alba, Blighia Sapida and Secamone Afezeli plants extracts on heat-treated and non-heat-treated mild steel samples immersed in different concentrations of hydrochloric acid (HCl) were investigated using weight loss technique. The mild steel samples were cut and prepared for the corrosion test in the acid media mixed with the plant extracts obtained by natural drying, grinding and chemical extraction using hexane. The plants were collected from the botanical garden of University of Lagos, Nigeria. Samples of the mild steel were weighed before immersion and at regular interval of 7 days for a period of 56 days after immersion. The experiment was repeated using 0.1 M and 0.2 M of an inorganic inhibitor. Results obtained showed that the extract of Blighia Sapida exhibited the highest inhibitive power, while annealed samples have the least corrosion rate in the Hcl solution.

This study contains a statistical analysis exploring the interrelationships between technology, production and various socio-economic variables in the context of China’s regional macroeconomy. We focus on empirically examining how technology at the macro level is interrelated to production, output, and various macro-level socio-economic indicators. Our statistical analysis shows that a higher level of technology is always associated with socio-economically desirable outcomes on the various chosen macro-level indicators. However, the causality may run bi-directionally. Our empirical results also show that even after the partial effects of all the other macro-level variables are netted out, that is, even when the indirect effects of technology are not considered, the remaining direct effect of technology is still shown to play a very crucial role in determining labor productivity in the production process at the macro level.

The undrained shear strength is a paramount parameter in determining the consistency and the ultimate bearing capacity of a clay layer. This resistance can be determined by in-situ tests, such as the field vane test or by laboratory tests, including the portable vane test, the triaxial, the simple compression test, and the consistency penetrometer test (i.e. the Swedish cone). However, the field vane test and the Swedish cone are the most commonly test used by geotechnical experts. In this paper, relationships between the field undrained shear strength of sensitive clay and some laboratory soil properties were developed. The soil properties consisted of the percentage of fine particles (less than 2 µm), the moisture content and the Atterberg limits. Furthermore, a correlation was proposed associating between the undrained shear strength of sensitive clay as obtained by the field vane test and the laboratory cone penetration test (Swedish cone). In addition, some applications of the proposed correlation on some geotechnical problems were included, such as the determination of the consistency and the bearing capacity of a clay layer. Comparison of the results of the developed correlations with the experimental results of the present investigation and the results reported in the literature show acceptable agreement.

Graphene has been applied and demonstrates its excellent functions in various functional coatings by virtue of its excellent thermal, mechanical and electrical properties. This paper mainly introduces the application status and effect of graphene in conductive coating, anticorrosive coating, flame retardant coating, thermal conductive coating and high-strength coating. Finally, the application prospect of graphene in the field of coating is prospected.

In recent years, Neural Network (NN) has gained popularity in proffering solution to complex nonlinear problems. Monitoring of variations in Petroleum Products Pipeline (PPP) attributes (flow rate, pressure, temperature, viscosity, density, inlet and outlet volume) which changes with time is complex due to existence of non linear interaction amongst the attributes. The existing works on PPP monitoring are limited by lack of capabilities for pattern recognition and learning from previous data. In this paper, NN models with pattern recognition and learning capabilities are compared with a view of selecting the best model for monitoring PPP. Data was collected from Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The data was used for NN training, validation and testing with different NN models such as Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), Generalized Feed Forward (GFF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Time Delay Network (TDN) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). Neuro Solutions 6.0 was used as the front-end-engine for NN training, validation and testing while My Structured Query Language (MySQL) database served as the back-end-engine. Performance of NN models was measured using Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Correlation Coefficient (r), Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) and Minimum Descriptive Length (MDL). MLP with one hidden layer and three processing elements performed better than other NN models in terms of MSE, MAE, AIC, MDL and r values between the computed and the desired output.

The work presented concerns the development of a quantum-based decision making model utilised in the identification of optimal strategies in engineering design under uncertainty in a quantum-like entangled decision making, assessing intention interference. Several experiments and decision making paradoxes have manifested the deficiency of rationality assumption employed by classical decision making theory, with humans often violating the hypotheses of the expected utility theory and Game Theory by making irrational choices. Quantum Decision Theory (QDT) is the basis of the proposed decision making model, since only this theory can be employed to develop an operational tool in any social interplay, given the preferences of the individuals/players, to assess the quantum probabilities of their strategies. The decision makers’ brain is assumed of a dual nature, with brain processes divided to conscious and subconscious constituent parts and the computed quantum strategic probabilities consisted of two parts, the first one being rationality related and the other one capturing biases, emotions and feelings. Hence, given a priori the preferences of the decision makers, this model can be utilised as an operational tool for decision making under uncertainty in the presence of entanglement assessing the quantum probabilities of the players’ strategies in any engineering design. This quantum-based decision making model, identifying the optimal strategic choices of the stakeholders involved, is employed in the presented conceptual design of an Unmanned Air System (UAS), based on both the stakeholders’ rationality, personal intuitive feelings and behavioural biases.

employee voluntary turnover factors using logistic regression and forecasts employee tenure using a decision tree for four research and development departments in a large U.S organization. Company job title, gender, ethnicity, age and years of service significantly affect employee voluntary turnover behavior determined by logistic regression. The findings assist managers and human resource departments in specific employee retention strategies to reduce R&D departments’ voluntary turnover rate. The decision tree method built a five-level depth tree model with 17 nodes. This model has the lowest AIC value and the best performance in the validation dataset. Age at hire, jobtitle, division, and race are statistically significant factors to predict employee tenure. The most important variable is age at hire located in the decision tree’s first, third, and fourth nodes. Classification rules assist managers and human resource departments in quickly predicting employee tenure and in making hiring decisions.

The capabilities of the optoacoustic principle as a means of temperature measurement have been explored by means of experiments. In the experiments, a tissue test specimen, biological muscle sample, was positioned in a precisely temperature-controlled environment and irradiated with 532-nm laser light. The absorbed radiation gave rise to thermal expansion whose induced stresses created a sound field which was detected by a piezoelectric sensor. During the course of the experiments, the temperature of the water bath was systematically varied, with ample time being allowed to enable the test specimen to achieve thermal equilibrium. The temperature variation encompassed both increasing and decreasing protocols. Replicate samples were tested to ensure accuracy. It was found that temperature increases gave rise to decreasing acoustic amplitudes. An opposite trend was observed when the temperature was decreased. This outcome, when compared with the published literature, suggested that accurate use of the photoacoustic effect as a means of temperature measurement requires great care in the setup and execution of the experiment.

With the gradual development of economy, the scale of transportation industry continues to expand. The problem of overload or overrun in the vehicle transport has emerged. Therefore, how simply and conveniently to know the vehicle load and how to effectively limit overload has become a key issue. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of vehicle load control system from the above problems. Through the pressure sensors installed in the vehicle suspension, the single-chip microprocessor receives the information transmitted by the pressure sensors, and calculates the total weight of the vehicle load; if overweight, the single-chip microprocessor will send commands to the ignition system, to stop the ignition system working. Its purpose is to improve vehicle safety and effectively reduce heavy workload of the vehicle detection station to improve their work efficiency.

The Einstein’s program enables a theoretical economy for quantum double slit experiment, in its wave-particle duality behavior, with the unification of first and second quantifications for light and matter. It introduces a space-like amplitude function u(r,t), which completes the usual time-like functions ψ(r,t) of quantum mechanics and quantum fields. The Einstein’s program is founded upon a scalar field propagating at speed of light c. It forms a common relativist framework, for classical and quantum properties of matter and interactions. Matter properties derive from standing waves, and interactions from progressive waves. The classical domain arises in the geometrical optics approximation, when frequencies are infinitely high, and then hidden. The quantum domain corresponds to wave optics approximation. Adiabatic variations of frequencies yield electromagnetic interaction and dynamical laws of energy-momentum conservation and least action principle.

A mechanical vibration-induced, electric energy harvesting method is discussed with applications to vibration analyses of systems of vehicles, motorboats, trains, machines and bridges, etc.. The research has evolved from the analysis of International Roughness Index (IRI), which studies roughness of road-surface as longitudinal vibrational motions in a vehicle measured with a quarter-car simulation (QCS) or Global Positioning System (GPS) with sensors such as gyro sensor and magnetometer sensor. The electric energy-convertible vibrations with information of roughness of road surface are extracted by way of an mechanoelectric energy conversion, and an energy harvesting technology suitable for the system of vehicles is discussed. The mechanical vibration-induced electric current is also suitable for IRI information measurement as well as a measure for ride quality of vehicles.

Currently, the recognition and research on the classification of fluvial types mainly focus on the description and results of a series of indicators, such as the plane shape and sediment characteristics. However, there is limited literacy about how to demonstrate the fluvial types from the depositional process, especially less on sequence model of inland fluvial. Thus, this paper aims o propose a new kind of sequence stratigraphic framework, which is able to reflect the fluvial processes under the perspective of sequence stratigraphy. Accordingly, we use the principle of concrete analysis for concrete problems by comprehensively summing up the previous classification schemes of river types. With the research method of sedimentation process, new fluvial systems tracts for fluvial are presented here, including four parts: low fluvial system tract (LFST), advancing fluvial system tract (AFST), flooding fluvial system tract (FFST), receding fluvial system tract (RFST). Moreover, these could be applied to tackle the problem of the traditional division of fluvial. Various rivers have the different characteristics of systems tracts, then this may play a vital role in the discrimination of meandering river, braided river, anastomosing river and branched river. This study embodies the philosophical thought of Process Sedimentology and may contribute to revealing the deposition process of the fluvial system more profoundly from the aspect of genetic mechanism and evolution course. Most importantly, the fluvial classification system is definitely improved from the description stage to a complete rational stage.

In this paper, a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach is used to evaluate the probability of successful handoff in heterogeneous wireless networks (HWNs) so as to increase capacity and network performance. The traditional handoff schemes are prone to ping pong and corner effects and developing an optimized handoff scheme for seamless, faster, and less power consuming handoff decision is challenging. The GA scheme can effectively optimize soft handoff decision by selecting the best fit network for the mobile terminal (MT) considering quality of service (QoS) requirements, network parameters and user’s preference in terms of cost of different attachment points for the MT. The robustness and ability to determine global optima for any function using crossover and mutation operations makes GA a promising solution. The developed optimization framework was simulated in Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) software using MATLAB’s optima tool and results show that an optimal MT attachment point is the one with the highest handoff success probability value which determines direction for successful handoff in HWN environment. The system maintained a 90% with 4 channels and more while a 75% was obtained even at high traffic intensity.

Social technologies have changed the way business is done by providing opportunities never before possible. Is it feasible that social technologies platforms could provide empowerment and support for economic stability and gender equality? This study investigated the use of technology in the workplace, specifically social technologies, including the purposes used and benefits realized. In addition, participants responded to whether social technologies could be a source for empowerment. Respondents included both women and men. Findings reveal that both female and male respondents use social technologies for business support, realize benefits, and believe that these technologies could provide empowerment for success. Detailed results are reported in this paper including a comparative analysis.

In a hybrid hydraulic vehicle, the hydraulic accumulator is used as the secondary power source in addition to the engine to propel the vehicle. Since the accumulator is a passive power source, it will be only used to compensate the difference between the power demand and the power delivery by the engine. Obviously, the main energy consumption is the engine. Hence a straightforward strategy to improve the fuel economy is to reduce the engine operating period. In contrast, because of the low energy density characteristic, the accumulator can only afford the required power in a short period. As a consequence, the hydraulic hybrid vehicle has been concluded only suitable for start-stop-and-go driving pattern. This paper present different rule-based control schemes for a 3.5- ton series hydraulic hybrid truck. The simulation results indicate that by applying suitable control scheme, the proposed series hydraulic hybrid system offers improvements of fuel economy for both urban and highway driving condition. The improvement is of 42.67% and 36.56% for urban and highway driving conditions, respectively in comparison with the corresponding conventional vehicle.

This article shows the importance of data for the resolution of current problems, through a case study of preventive maintenance of a company’s machines. From a given inspection of the condition of the machines, enough data is obtained to simulate the operation of the machines under specific conditions using Python programming environment, for a long enough period of time to obtain reliable information about the machines’ lifetime. By using “R”, the statistical analysis of the data is performed to determine the optimal period between repairs, schedule the company’s preventive maintenance and show the possibility of solving complex problems from a simple data set.

For a given mechanical equipment, knowing its modular topology has the advantage of facilitating its maintenance. Indeed, during a maintenance problem, we will not act on the whole product except on the failed module (product subsystem) and we would also gain time to detect, diagnose and compensate for the observed failure. On the other hand, the clustering algorithm, which has served as a reference for several works has several limits. It generates much more complex and more expensive modules in terms of coupling costs, which could require more resources, more intervention time and more maintenance work. This has worse consequences for product maintenance, because the more complex the product modules are, the more expensive the maintenance is. We therefore propose an improved clustering algorithm which has the advantage of reducing maintenance costs by reducing the coupling and decoupling costs (Disassembly and reassembly costs) of the modules, generated by the reference algorithm for good maintainability (dis-assemblability). The application is made on a soy roaster. The approach followed in the proposed algorithm consists first of all in defining a DSM (Design Structure Matrix) which will make it possible to define the correction coefficients of the coupling cost, then in formulating an objective function to reduce the coupling costs, and finally to take into account the integrating elements to reduce the size of the modules. The result achieved is the proposal for a modular topology (modular architecture) leading to a significant reduction in maintenance costs. The developed algorithm also allows an economy of scale in reducing the complexity of the modules, promoting good maintainability.

This study applies analytic hierarchy process (A­­­HP), 0-1 integer programming and other systematic programming models, combined with the needs of manufacturers to build a set of mathematical models to help manufacturers select suppliers, control raw material ordering costs, and transporting costs. As the production costs of products is linked to the ordering and transporting of raw materials, manufacturers need to choose suitable raw material suppliers and develop the most economical ordering and transporting schemes with the most negligible loss so as to improve profits and enhance the market competitiveness. Taking a building and decorative plate enterprise as a case, this model shows that AHP can effectively quantify the supplying characteristics of suppliers and obtain a list of high-quality suppliers. LINGO software combined with linear programming can be used to obtain the optimal weekly ordering and transporting schemes, thus reducing the raw material ordering costs and transporting losses. It is shown from the results that the production costs of enterprises from the source can be reduced so as to improve their cost control system. The present study seeks to fill the gap in ordering and transporting raw materials for manufacturers to control production costs. At the same time, this model provides references for producers who have the demand for processing raw materials and play a significant role in controlling production costs.

This study aimed to present a new model to develop and expand nanotechnology in particular in the field of medicine. The subject under study focus on the control design of nano-robots for bio-molecular assembly manipulation, and use of evolutionary factors as a suitable method to gain the adaptive properties for proposed model is needed. Moreover, the study use of neural networks as the most practical method for the optimization problem of robot motion using a sensor based system. Thus, the study proposes a useful method within advanced graphics simulation for nano-assembly automation with its focus on an applied model for nano-medicine. Therefore, the study results should provide a great impact for effective design of control instrumentation, helping in the development of nanotechnology. The presented nano-robot model is required to survive and interact with a complex environment. Furthermore the nano-robot has to consider a pre-defined set of tasks both in a competitive scenario and in a collective environment. Nano-robot in a three-dimensional environment monitors organ inlets’ nutritional levels, and assembling new biomolecules into that have to be delivered to the organ inlets with higher priority during each moment of our dynamic simulation. The nano-robot must avoid fuzzy obstacles, and must with proper time and manner react in real time for an environment requiring continuous control. In order to achieve the most pre-programmed set of behaviors the nano-robot uses a local perception through simulated sensors to effectively interact with the surrounding environment. The development of new concepts on nano-mechatronics and automation theory is focused on the problem of molecular machine systems. Finally a novel adaptive optimal method is described and the model validation through the application of nano-robot control design for nano-medicine confirmed.

This paper describes improvements in predictive quality to the original Wilcox k-ω turbulence model. A major disadvantage in the near-wall formulation of this model is usage of the large eddy inverse time-scale, ω ~ ε/k, even though small, dissipative eddies popular the immediate vicinity of walls. The present work suggests a correction to this problemthrough a realizable constraint introduced by the Kolmogorov time-scale. A second realizability constraint, the Schwarz condition, limits eddy viscosity magnitude in flow zones involving large normal strain gradients. Several examples demonstrate the improvements enabled due to these corrections, particularly in transonic and impinging flows where significant normal strain gradients occur.