Showing papers in "The Journal of Engineering Research in 2021"

A thermomechanical model for the analysis of disc brake using the finite element method in frictional contact

Abstract: In this work, we presented a numerical modeling using the ANSYS software adapted in finite element method in which, the transient thermal analysis and the static structural one is performed here sequentially with the coupled thermo-structural method. A numerical procedure of calculation relies on important steps such that the CFD thermal analysis is well illustrated in 3D, showing the effects of heat distribution over the brake disc. This CFD analysis will help us in the calculation of the values of the thermal coefficients (h) that will be exploited in 3D transient evolution of the brake disc temperatures. Three different brake disc materials were tested and a comparative analysis of the results was conducted in order to derive the one with the best thermal behavior. Finally, the resolution of the coupled thermomechanical model allows us to visualize other important results of this research such as; the deformations, and the equivalent Von Mises stress of the disc, as well as the contact pressure of the brake pads. Following our analysis and the results we draw from it, we derive several conclusions. The choice will allow us to deliver the rotor design excellence to ensure and guarantee the good braking performance of vehicles.

Personal Privacy Evaluation of Smart Devices Applications Serving Hajj and Umrah Rituals

Abstract: Mobile Applications (apps) are one of the most important tools that provide many services in different and varied fields of human life such as social, health, commercial, political, and other services. These apps make information easily available to everyone, fast to get, and cheaper than traditional methods. The Hajj pilgrims and Umrah performances (Al-Rahman Holy guests) have a share of the electronic services provided by many governmental and private sectors inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The offered services ensure that these religious guests have the ability to gain useful knowledge before and during the period they are stayed in the land of the Two Holy Mosques. In this paper, we collected all possible apps related to Hajj and Umrah, from the Google Store, during the season of Hajj 1440 AH (2019 AD), which amounted to 471 apps through searching on relevant applications to Hajj and Umrah services. We studied the applications public info trying to gain personal privacy characteristics from user rating, number of evaluators, recent updates, volume of applications, languages, number of downloads, and specific services provided. The results showed that the largest percentage of the studied apps are the facilitations of the Hajj ritual with 18%, followed by 15.1% for Umrah ritual and 10.2% for prayer supplications. The results also indicated attractive 33 common languages used, showing English with most popularity of 27.4%, followed by Arabic and Urdu of 24.3% and 14.3%. In addition, the study specified the most desirable services favoured by the religious guests expressing interesting valuable remarks.

Engineering Graphical Captcha and AES Crypto Hash Functions for Secure Online Authentication

Abstract: Password alone is not trusted for user online authentication since mere password cannot give full surety of proper access control. The authentication of the users is one of the key areas in research and practice in the domain of e-security. The threats from hackers are also growing and therefore need for a highly efficient defense safeguard protection against hackers and unauthorized users. The different password entering techniques create problems related to usability and inherent security issues, whereas CAPTCHA techniques came into picture to boost up security via automated assistance. This CAPTCHA automated test is to be built qualified by real humans but not by a computer program. Such CAPTCHA program can be used to distinguish between humans and robots. This CAPTCHA has many applications in the online security domain which is merged with encrypted hash function as accommodating advantages of retaining the facility of the graphical password schemes. This paper proposes engineering an authentication technique using graphical CAPTCHA with an AES encrypted hash password to maintain an applicable security accessing systems. We proposed three layered security system that joins highly efficient security mechanisms to avoid users stress of entering password many times or different other hectic routines in order to save account accessing. This engineering authentication technique includes modules of CAPTCHA combined with SHA2 cryptography to efficiently improve the online security showing fast attractive remarks as compared to related systems.

Improving of Green Sand-Mould Quality using Taguchi Technique:

Abstract: The green sand mould casting is an inevitable process to make large size and complex shape of the industrial components. The quality of green sand in mould is a significant phenomenon on casting quality. In this research, the number of ramming, sand thickness mould, and percentage of additives (western bentonite) mixing with sand have been considered to study the effects on permeability and hardness of mould by L27 orthogonal array. Greensand mould experiments have been conducted in the industry to observe the output parameter variations by Taguchi statistical analysis. It was revealed that the maximum permeability and minimum sand hardness have been obtained from the minimum number of ramming, thin sand thickness, and minimum mixing of additives in the sand. The confirmation tests were conducted to validate the predicted control parameter on responses.

Varying PRNG to improve image cryptography implementation

Abstract: Securing information became essential to exchange multimedia information safely. These exchanged data need to be transformed in a well-managed, secure and reliable manner. In this paper, the focus is securing multimedia images via cryptography during transmission among users using an effective selection from several Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG). This paper implements several techniques of Pseudo random number generators (PRNG) involved within consecutive crypto-processes of substitution and transposition proven secure process. The study different PRNGs are tested to encrypt images in forms of gray-scale as well as colored RGB images to be compared to current similar other approaches. The work experimentation is aiming to investigate and identify suitability and reliability through security measures standard parameters. The research is showing proper PRNG selection as attractive effective work worth remarking for image cryptography.

Investigation the impact of injection timing and pressure on emissions characteristics and smoke/soot emissions in diesel engine fuelling with soybean fuel

Abstract: Engine injection strategy and renewable fuel both can improve nitrogen oxides (NOX) and smoke/soot emissions in a common-rail compression ignition (CI) diesel engine. The effect of different post-injection (PI) timings (15, 30 and 45) and injection pressures (550 and 650 bar) on pollutant emissions and smoke/soot emissions were investigated from combustion renewable fuel (soybean biodiesel). The results showed that the levels of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs) and NOX reduced from the combustion of soybean biodiesel compared to the diesel fuel combustion for different injection strategy. Besides, NOX emission is clearly reduced with retarded PI timing, especially at 45° after top dead centre (aTDC). It is found that the increasing injection pressure reduced gaseous emissions for both fuels. The combination between biodiesel fuel and injection strategy can provide meaningful improvements in pollutant emissions as well as enhance the exhaust temperature compared to the diesel fuel. With biodiesel fuelling, smoke/soot emissions were reduced from biodiesel combustion (by 19.7%) under different fuel injection timings and pressures than to the diesel fuel combustion (by 12.2%).

Particle Swarm Optimization Application for Multiple Attribute Decision Making in Vertical Handover in Heterogenous Wireless Networks

Abstract: In wireless heterogenous networks, mobile terminals are covered by different wireless networks with varying quality of services to ensure the delivery of different classes of services. In this paper, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) was applied to the distance to ideal alternative (DIA) technique in the framework of network selection in a heterogenous wireless network. The PSO was applied to overcome the subjectivity and bias in the weights’ assignment process used in multiple attribute decision making (MADM). The PSO was utilized to optimize the weights of the DIA method through the maximization of the absolute value of the summation of the ranking differences among candidate networks. In this regard, two different optimization functions were introduced and used to generate the optimum weights. The performance of the PSO-based handover for the DIA method was investigated in terms of ranking difference, ranking abnormalities and network selection. The results show that the proposed PSO-based weights’ assignment technique increased the ranking difference and reduced the ranking abnormalities without degrading the network selection when compared to the conventional DIA technique. The results of this paper are expected to widen the application of the DIA method and other MADM techniques to the handover process in wireless networks and other decision-based challenges in other fields.

The Embedded Framework for Securing the Internet of Things.

Abstract: The smart devices connected on the internet turn to be the internet of things, which connect other objects ordevices through unique identifiers with the capability of transferring and receiving the information over the internet. There are numerous applications in different areas such as healthcare, home automation, transportation, military, agriculture, and still so many sectors that incorporate cutting-edge technologies of communication, networking, cloud computing, sensing, and actuation. With this huge increase in the number of connected devices, a strong security mechanism is required to protect the IoT devices. Hence, it is required to focus on the challenges and issues of IoT enabled applications to safeguard the entire network from the outside invasion. This paper discusses some of the challenges in building IoT applications, a detailed study of the existing security protocols, and its issues, and the potential of the IoT.

Investigation the helical strut attached vena cava filter hemodynamic performance

Abstract: The hemodynamic performance of the Celect Platinum vena cava filter and the modified forms of it with helical flow inducer strut attachments were studied, possible positive and negative effects of it were assessed. In this respect, computational fluid dynamic analyses were done by Ansys Fluent 18. The modified models that are attached with single and double helical flow inducer struts were enhanced the central velocity and shear stress on the filter. Increased velocity and shear stress on the filter may eliminate short term thrombus build-up problems by breaking the big size particulates under the high shearing forces. The new struts may also contribute to the ability of the filter to capture smaller clots, as well as to dissolve them from being bigger. Increased shear stress in the vessel wall near the vena cava filter may be evaluated as the reduction of recirculation and clotting in this region and it could prevent the accumulation of clots. The increased shear stress on the filter and the velocity may cause the migration problem of it, design improvements could eliminate this problem. With the idea of this helical flow inducer attachment, it is seen that the filter efficacy increases, and the flow are normalized.

BIM-based Facility Management Models for Existing Buildings

Abstract: While building information modeling (BIM) is used to design and develop new buildings, one major challenge to BIM adoption for existing buildings is capturing accurate initial building data and converting them into BIM model objects. This study, therefore, develops a framework that uses various data capturing techniques for existing buildings, then converts the captured data into 3D BIM models that can improve FM. Specifically, 3D laser scanning was used to capture interior building data, while uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) photography was used to capture exterior building data. Captured data was then converted into a 3D BIM model, which was verified as being identical to the existing building, and the 3D BIM model was further integrated into a web-based building management system (BMS) platform. This framework assists in developing a digital BIM-based model that visualizes the existing building and which, when integrated with existing BMS. This study advances the existing body of knowledge as it contributes to a better understanding of how different scanning techniques can be used to develop BIM models of existing buildings for broader adoption.

The Impact of Congestion Charging Technique on Traffic Flow and Atmospheric Pollution in Kuwait City

Abstract: Traffic congestion is a major problem in high populated cities, due to the frequent increase on travel demand and exponential vehicles growth. Resulting in increased vehicle queuing and slows road speed which can led to increase delays, air pollution, and fuel consumption. Poor traffic management in the congested spot result in elongated traffic jam. Therefore, this study aims to reduce traffic congestion by applying congestion charging system which is an effective method to regulate demand without increasing supply. Kuwait City network was selected to perform the system. Kuwait City is a vital city that has a lot of governmental and commercial facilities which make the city crowded especially during the peak hours. The current condition was analyzed in SYNCHRO simulation software in order to compare it with the improved condition to confirm the applicability. The genetic algorithm will be used as a practical method to apply congestion pricing in order to provide optimized solutions that will be analyzed in SYNCHRO software to examine the performance of the network. The impacts of applying congestion pricing system were remarkable. From traffic point of view, the demand was regulated, also total delays and fuel consumption were improved. The reduction of total delay is ranged between 24.4% to 40.58%, and the reduction of fuel used is ranged between 36.76% to 60.89%. From an economical point of view, the user cost decreased in a range between 27.77% and 43.75%. In addition, from an environmental aspect the emissions of HC, CO and NOx improved significantly which improved air quality.

Optimizing the Machining performance of CNC tools inserts coated with Diamond like Carbon Coatings under the dry cutting environment

Abstract: In this research work we have coated WC (tungsten carbide) tool inserts with diamond like carbon coatings. The deposition was done using the thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method. We have used bagasse of sugarcane which is an agriculture waste as a carbon precursor for developing the diamond like carbon coatings. Surface finish, cutting temperature and cutting forces of as-developed diamond like carbon coatings on the WC inserts were examined and analyzed in this research work. For confirming the presence of diamond like carbon coatings on the surface of coated tungsten carbide (WC) tool inserts substrate we have used Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (Fe-SEM). The increase in the hardness on the developed coated samples were inspected by performing the hardness test on the coated substrates. The average evaluated Vickers Hardness number were found to be 1455.24 HV and 950.65 HV for both coated as well as un-coated samples respectively. This shows 53% rise in the hardness of the un-coated WC inserts.

A New Mathematical Model to Cover Crew Pairing and Rostering Problems Simultaneously

Abstract: Crew scheduling problem includes two separate sub-problems, namely crew pairing and crew rostering problems. Solving these two sub-problems in a sequential order may not lead to an optimal solution. This study includes two main novelties. It combines these two sub-problems and presents them in a single model. On the other hand, despite previous researches that considered a pairing continuously, the proposed model benefits from the capability of considering one or more days off in a paring assigned to a crew member. This is very useful as it enables crew to participate in required courses, doing medical checks etc. Two solution approaches, namely; Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and are used to solve the model. Eventually, the performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated. Both ended to satisfactory results; however, PSO relatively outperformed GA in terms of solution optimality and computational time.

Thermomechanical evaluation of sustainable foamed concrete incorporating palm oil fuel ash and eggshell powder

Abstract: Increased usage of concrete contributes towards urban thermal discomfort due to Urban Heat Island effect while the corresponding increased consumption of cement also cause significant rise in carbon dioxide gas emissions. This experimental work aims at investigating the performance of 1800 kg/m3 dry density green sustainable foamed concrete (GFC) when locally available wastes such as POFA and ESA are utilized as supplementary cementitious materials. The POFA content varied by replacing cement replacement from 15 to 35%, which increament of 5%, while being supplemented with 5% ESA. To investigate the performance of the developed sustainable foamed concrete, the flowability, mechanical strengths (compressive and splitting tensile strengths) and thermal performances (thermal conductivity and surface temperature) were assessed. Incorporation of 15-25% of POFA supplemented with 5% ESA as partial cement replacement materials resulted in enhanced mechanical strengths. Although usage of POFA can reduce the thermal conductivity, the POFA content must be limited to 15-25% to prevent excessive heat absorption by the exterior surface of concrete. In overall, an optimum use of 15% POFA in combination of 5% ESA is desirable for the production of a sustainable foamed concrete.

Microstrip filters Based on Open Stubs and SIR for High Frequency and Ultra-Wideband Applications

Abstract: This paper includes two new microstrip filter configurations for high frequency and Ultra-Wide Band applications. The first proposed filter is a composition of four parallel open-circuited stubs connected by optimized fractal-structured microstrip line. The filter response is a combination of three passing regions, namely low pass from 0.1 GHz to 3 GHz, band-pass from 4.5 GHz to 9 GHz and high pass from 10.5 GHz to 13 GHz, separated by two rejection regions from 3 GHz to 4.5 GHz and 9 GHz to 10.5 GHz. Deep and sharp rejection regions reaching up to -44.6 dB with 40 % fractional bandwidth are observed with a good electrical performance. Furthermore, with a comparative table, the advantages of this proposed BSF in terms of FBW, compactness and insertion loss are compared with recently reported related studies. Secondly a dual-band band pass filter implementing a Stepped-Impedance resonator (SIR) and a modified H-shaped structure is presented. This filter is designed to operate in a low pass region up to 3.58 GHz and a bandpass region from 15.38 to 21.65 GHz, with a wide stopband region between 4.46 and 14.07 GHz. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement. Compared to its peers, the compact size and low price allow for a wide application of these filter configurations, while passing frequencies allow operation in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, which is popular for high-speed communication.

The Role of Street condition and forms on the amount of carbon emissions released from vehicles

Abstract: In the last two decades, the percentage volume of carbon emissions has increased from 280 to more than 380 parts per million in the atmosphere, the problem is that it is still increasing daily in which it caused many environmental hazard that has been seen the last couple of years. The end of this century, It is expected that the uncontrolled amount of emissions emitted to the atmosphere will increase the surface temperature of plant earth by 3.4oC. Worldwide, the percentage of carbon emissions in the atmosphere and its effect on air quality has been the main concern of scientist and researchers in the past decade. Egypt, is one of the biggest emitters that surfer from atmospheric pollution, almost 24% of the atmosphere pollutants in Egypt is from the transportation sector due to the heavy use of fossil fuels. Reducing the roads carbon emissions through streets design and form is the main scope of this research. This research intend to control the amount of carbon emission released in air by vehicles through controlling vehicles speed and motion which is effected by the street design and form. The presented research analysis the relation between carbon emissions and streets condition and forms, through measuring the amount of CO2 and CO emission produced in one of the Egyptian roads from different types of vehicles in road with three different conditions. El-Shuhada Street has been chosen to be the study area of this research. The researchers used Testo 315-3 to measure the Carbon emissions in the street and to identify the relation between CO2 emission and street condition and form. The results reveled that straight routes with vehicale speeds ranged between 80 to 100 kn/h produces less carbon emissions then straightroutes with street bumps and vehicle speed ranged between 26 to 19 km/h. Moreover, curved routes emitted more emission than straight routes.

Artificial Neural Network Modelling for Asphalt Concrete Samples with Boron Waste Modification

Abstract: Civil engineering science has evolved into the 21st century with concepts of recycling and sustainability. There are many studies has included the concerns in this sense and design tries to create a minimum effect on the natural state of environment. In this context, this study is also interested to use in pavement materials through the recycling of waste materials. Effect of boron wastes on asphalt concrete samples was investigated and varied rates of Crushed Boron Waste (CBW) were used as aggregate for preparation and experiments for asphalt concrete samples by using the Marshall Design Method. Besides, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was created for the evaluation of obtained data. As a result of Marshall Design Method, it has been proved that boron wastes can be used in asphalt concrete within the specification limits. Furthermore, examination of modelling and statistical analysis, mechanical performance of asphalt concrete samples with and without CBW addition has been predicted in noticeable manner. As a result of regression analysis, training and test sets r2 values are reached 0.95-0.91 for stability and 0.91-0.87 for flow values. By this investigation, an environmental waste has been reused and sustainable living has been provided.

A GIS-Based AHP Approach for Emergency Warehouse Site Selection: A Case Close to Turkey-Syria Border

Abstract: Although the term “disaster” includes natural events like earthquake, flood and drought, it also covers; the wars, intense migration waves, industrial accidents and even epidemic diseases. In recent years, the number and severity of both natural and man-made disasters has been increasing. In this context Gaziantep –the border city of Turkey to Syria- is facing many logistical problems because of the crisis in the region that has a broad repercussion in press. In addition, the corona virus pandemic increased the supply traffic in the region. The region is in need for many emergency warehouses to store the emergency supplies and send to the needy. Thus, a three step hybrid solution method is developed to solve this real life problem. The first stage is the determination of selection criteria; secondly the spatial database is created by using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Then, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique is applied to assign the importance levels to the selection criteria to generate the suitability map to choose the most appropriate emergency warehouse site selection in Gaziantep. Additionally, scenario analyses are conducted to understand the effects of importance levels on the problem results. As a result 1.3% of the study area is determined as “quite suitable” for establishing an emergency warehouse.

Short-term forecasting of monthly water consumption in hyper-arid climate using recurrent neural networks

Abstract: Freshwater supply is a major challenge in regions with limited water resources and extremely arid climatic conditions. The objective of this study is to model the monthly water demand in the State of Kuwait using the NARX neural network approach. The country lacks conventional surface water resources and is characterized by extremely arid climate. In addition, it has one of the fastest growing populations. In this study, linear detrending is performed on the water consumption time series for the period from January 1993 to December 2018 to eliminate the influence of population growth before application to the NARX model. Monthly temperature data are selected as exogenous input to the NARX model because they are strongly associated with the water consumption data. Correlation analyses are performed to determine the input and feedback delays of the NARX model. The results demonstrate that the recurrent NARX model is efficient and robust for forecasting the short-term water demand, with an NS coefficient of 0.837 in the validation period. Seasonal model assessment shows that the model performs best during the critical summer season. The NARX-based recurrent model is established as a powerful and promising tool for predicting urban water demand. Thus, it can efficiently aid the development of resilient water supply plans.

Effect of Aluminium Oxide Nano Additive on Diesel along with Gasoline Fumigation in Single Cylinder Diesel Engine

Abstract: The present investigation mainly focuses on to overcome the limitations of gasoline fumigation in diesel engine by adding up of nanofuel additives. Experiments were conducted to ascertain the engine working characteristics in a single cylinder, four stroke, multi fuel, variable compression ratio engine using (Al2O3) aluminium oxide nano additives blended diesel as a main injection fuel along with gasoline fumigation as an inducted fuel. Gasoline fumigation was achieved by controlling the electronic injector fitted at the intake manifold using open ECU software. Fuel map for gasoline fumigation was determined based on experiments with three divergent fumigation rates of 10%, 20% and 30% based on energy consumption and optimized using design of experiments. The optimization showed 10% fumigation resulted in better performance and emission characteristics and it was selected for this present investigation. Fumigation results showed decrease in brake thermal efficiency at low and medium loads; increase in brake thermal efficiency at high loads. The two different mass fractions of 25 ppm and 50 ppm Al2O3 nano liquid was blended with diesel. From the results, it was observed that Al2O3 nano additive blended diesel along with gasoline fumigation showed better performance and decreased emission characteristics. Compared to gasoline fumigation with diesel, gasoline fumigation along with 25 and 50ppm Al2O3 nanoadditives blended diesel showed that the brake thermal efficiency was enhanced about 1.95% and 3.97%, CO emission was reduced about 12.59% and 23.63%, unburned HC emission was reduced about 25.04% and 35.06%, smoke opacity was reduced about 18.74% and 31.43% maximum in-cylinder pressure was increased about 2.12% and 3.17% and cumulative heat release was increased about 0.21% and 0.92% for 25 and 50ppm Al2O3 nanoadditives blended diesel along with gasoline fumigation respectively at overall operating conditions. As the dosage level of Al2O3 increases from 25ppm to 50 ppm results in further enhancement of all working parameters except NOx emission. Finally, the addition Al2O3 nano additive was suitable solution to overcome the limitations of gasoline fumigation.

The Possibility of Using Waste PET Plastic Strip to Enhance the Flexural Capacity of Concrete Beams

Abstract: The most widely used material after water is the concrete composite. However, it is commonly accepted that concrete as a construction material is weak in tension compared to its compression, therefore, conventionally, it has been reinforced with steel rebars. Recently, reusing of waste plastic materials has been a great idea among researchers whom used it in different forms in improving some mechanical properties of the concrete such as impact and tensile strength. In this study the experimental laboratory work was conducted to investigate the possibility of using waste plastic strips as replacement for the main reinforcement steel bars to promote the flexural capacity of concrete beams at 28 days. For this purpose, a total number of 10 beams were casted with dimensions of (200mm x 200mm x 1200mm) to investigate the effects of using waste plastic strips in enhancing the bending capacity of the beams. The results showed that the incorporation of the plastic strips can improve the load carrying capacity and toughness of the concrete beams compared to unreinforced concrete beams.

A Modified Canny Detector-based Active Contour for Segmentation

Abstract: In the present work, an integrated modified canny detector and an active contour were proposed for automated medical image segmentation. Since the traditional canny detector (TCD) detects only the edge’s pixels, which are insufficient for labelling the image, a shape feature was extracted to select the initial region of interest ‘IROI’ as an initial mask for the active contour without edge (ACWE), using a proposed modified canny detector (MCD). This procedure overcomes the drawback of the manual initialization of the mask location and shape in the traditional ACWE, which is sensitive to the shape of region of region of interest (ROI). The proposed method solves this problem by selecting the initial location and shape of the IROI using the MCD. Also, a post-processing stage was applied for more cleaning and smoothing the ROI. A practical computational time is achieved as the proposed system requires less than 5 minutes, which is significantly less than the required time using the traditional ACWE. The results proved the ability of the proposed method for medical image segmentation with average dice 87.54%.

Torque ripple reduction of a brushless dc motor using y-source converter

Abstract: The brushless DC motor (BLDC) is a low cost, reliable and efficient motor for low power applications. In general, the speed, torque and current of the BLDC motor are controlled using a well tuned PI controller in the inner and outer control loops. This controller will be effective in reducing the dynamic speed error, but will produce large current ripples. This reference current when given to the inner control loop and controlled using hall-effect position sensing technique, leads to comparatively large ripples in the torque. Because of large dynamic behavior of dc link voltage when nominal rating capacitor is used, there will be torque ripples and reduction in rotor speed from the reference current value. Hence, to mitigate this torque ripples in BLDC motor a fast acting adjustable dc link voltage like chopper is generally used. The effective dc link voltage control with voltage boosting and controlling action is observed with Y-source converter and is compared with a Z-source converter in this paper. The Y-source converter is designed in such a way that, it will effectively control the speed and also produces lesser current ripples reference. Further, the inverter topology uses a six switch basic configuration but with a new switching strategy. The results are compared with a Z-source converter with the proposed Y-source converter under variable load torque and variable speed cases in MATLAB/ SIMULINK environment. It is found that, the torque ripples are reduced effectively without much change in the reference speed. Also, even at higher rotor speeds, the torque ripples and surges are also lesser.

Experimental investigation & analysis of hea transfer characteristics in automotive mmc disc brake under steady state and dynamic conditions

Abstract: During braking process, the kinetic energy of vehicle reduces and gets converted in thermal energy due to friction between disk and brake pads. The disk brake is used to retard the motion of vehicle by pressing brake pads against disk rotors. The frequent braking or panic braking results in overheating of brake disks which may result in brake fade. It is therefore essential to test newer materials which are more effective and possess better heat transfer characteristics than conventional cast iron material. The current research investigates the application of Al MMC material for ATV disk brake using experimental and numerical techniques. The numerical analysis is conducted on both conventional cast iron and Al MMC disk brake under steady state conditions and dynamic conditions. The dynamic condition testing involved testing of disk brake with externally flowing air at 2.5m/s and 5m/s using techniques of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The CAD model of ATV disk brake is developed in Creo design software and CFD analysis is conducted using ANSYS CFX. The turbulence model used for analysis is RNG k-epsilon. The temperature and heat flux are determined for disk brake under steady state and dynamic conditions. The results have shown that disk brake made from Al MMC possess better heat transfer characteristics as compared to conventional cast iron and cooling time also reduces with increase in external air speed.

Evaluating and ranking the circular supply chain implementation enablers

Abstract: This research aims to evaluate and rank the Circular Supply Chain (CSC) enablers for the effective implementation of CSC management. From the literature and input received from industrial experts, 30 CSC enablers are identified. Further, the selected CSC enablers are classified into seven main categories. This research employs the Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (PF-AHP) technique to prioritize the selected CSC enablers based on pairwise comparison of criteria and sub-criteria. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated with the help of responses received from an Indian manufacturing industry. The result reveals that global climate pressure and ecological scarcity of resources is the most significant enabler and the environment management certifications and systems is the least important enabler. The result of the present study will assist the practitioners / decision makers in implementing CSC in manufacturing organizations by adopting the ranking obtained in a systematic way.

Methods for protecting Network from Islanding Danger

Abstract: The Process of energizing loads from other sources like distributed generator with a total disconnection of utility grid at the Point of Common Coupling, is called Islanding. Islanding affect the Network by safety issues and bad impact on the utility and connected loads especially the workers on the utility . Hence, it has to be detected by a suitable anti-islanding technique which is needed to be faster in terms of time detection and smaller or negligible non-detection zone. To detect this phenomenon, Anti-Islanding techniques, namely; local and Remote techniques, are used. In this paper, local anti-islanding techniques are illustrated, which are used for improving the performance regarding the size of the non-detection zone and detection speed.

The use of computer games for teaching and learning cybersecurity in higher education institutions

Abstract: Teaching student’s cybersecurity effectively, such as encryption-based security protocols, are challenges and difficult problems in all sectors of international higher education. Therefore, higher education institutions need to search for an attractive and appropriate way to train students and society in general so that they can protect themselves and also preserve the security of their country. Many students also lack the mathematical knowledge necessary to understand the cryptographic algorithms underlying the protocols. This research will shed light on the teaching of cybersecurity through the use of playstyle, which is one of the possible methods that help students to learn better and more attractive. The objectives of this research paper are to 1) increase public interest in cybersecurity and help learners understand appropriate and safe behaviours online. 2) Provide a broad review of several game-based learning tools that have improved the understanding of cryptographic algorithms. Moreover, our proposed framework is presented in this paper, which utilises animation and gamification to provide an effective way to teach cryptography.

Failure of an under-dip shale slope and its response under excavation conditions

Abstract: A landslide occurred in the cut slope located in Chongqing Xi railway station, this slope belongs to a shale under-dip slope and has a complex failure mechanism. Some on-site investigations have been made to explore the deformation characteristics of this slope and structural geology analyses and outcomes of geological investigations in-situ are firstly described. Subsequently, the discrete element method has been employed in simulations to elucidate the deformation behavior exhibited by under-dip slopes under the long-term influence of gravity and material deterioration. The simulated deforming patterns have proven to be in strong agreement with the actual deformation at each stage. The results suggest that sliding, buckling and toppling can occur on the studied slope in the deformation process. Moreover, the progressive failure process of the slope during unloading excavation has also been simulated by the discontinuum mode UDEC. The obtained deformation and stress distribution of the slope have proven to well-match the field measurements, which verifies the practicability of the UDEC model. In addition, some reinforcement measures have been suggested and verified in the UDEC models.

Performance evaluation of combustion of palm kernel shell and coconut husk blend in a pilot-scale grate furnace

Abstract: Pollution resulting from the use of stereotypical fuels for energy generation has been a great menace to the air we breathe. Co-combustion of biomass fuels has proved effective against the deficiencies associated with burning of individual biomass on its own. This study aimed at investigating the combustion of Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) and Coconut Husk (CH) blend in a grate furnace. The proximate and ultimate analyses of the mix of PKS and CH were determined using ASTM 3174-76 method. Combustion tests were carried out with a 2 kW grate furnace where the effect of temperature distribution, flue gas emissions (CO2, CO and NO2) and combustion efficiency were measured. All the experimental tests were performed using varied primary-secondary air ratio of (40:60). The temperature distribution at different positions (H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5) in the combustion unit using PKS and CH blend (PKS-CH) ratio of 100:00, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 were measured. Temperature data were recorded for a period of 50 minutes after a stable bed temperature of 248.7 °C was reached. The results indicated that highest temperature immediately above the grate (H1) was 720.9 °C for 60:40 fuel proportions. A more significant temperature difference of 356.4 oC between the bed temperature and H1 temperature was recorded for 70:30 fuel proportions. The average deviation from temperatures at H1 to H5 at 50 minutes of experiment was approximately 122 °C. For each co-combustion fuel option, combustion efficiency increases with time following the same pattern as CO2 emission. The combustion efficiency was maximum (62.11%) at 70:30 PKS-CH ratios, which conversely showed a low CO emission of 302 ppm

Prediction and Forecasting of Air Quality Index in Chennai using Regression and ARIMA time series models

Abstract: Air is one of the most fundamental constituents for the sustenance of life on Earth. The meteorological and traffic factors, consumption of non-renewable energy sources, and industrial parameters are steadily increasing Air pollution. These factors affect the welfare and prosperity of life on Earth; therefore, the nature of air quality in our environment needs to be monitored continuously. The Air Quality Index (AQI) which indicates the quality of air is influenced by several individual factors such as accumulation of NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5, SO2, and PM10. This research paper aims to predict and forecast the AQI, with the help of Machine Learning (ML) techniques namely linear regression and time series analysis. Primarily, Multi Linear Regression (MLR) model, supervised machine learning is developed to predict AQI. NO2, Ozone (O3), PM 2.5 and SO2 sensor output collected from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) – Chennai region, India feed as input features and optimized AQI calculated from sensor’s output set as a target to train the regression model. The obtained model parameters are validated with new and unseen sensor’s output. The performance is analyzed using different quantitative indices. Secondly, the Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time series model is applied to forecast the AQI in future time. The obtained model parameters are again validated with new unobserved data for time. The result shows that both models are highly efficient and accurate in predicting and forecasting AQI.