Application of response surface methodology for electrochemical destruction of cyanide
November 2012
This study investigated the influence of experimental factors on the electrochemical cyanide destruction efficiency in a flow-through reactor using response surface methodology. Central composite experimental design was used to obtain the four main operating factors, such as current density, initial cyanide concentration, chloride concentration, and electrolysis time, on the response surface of cyanide destruction...
Bayesian analysis of two parameter Pareto mixture using censoring
November 2012
The Pareto distribution is a commonly used model for heavy tailed data. Pareto distribution is a useful modeling and predicting tool in a wide variety of socioeconomic contexts. In the present study, we model heterogeneous population by using two component mixture model and two parameter Pareto mixture is considered for this purpose. The expressions for Bayes estimators and their posterior risks (using squared error...
The algorithm of Fuzzy C-Means clustering based on non-negative matrix factorization
November 2012
Clustering analysis is an effective method to discover and identify tumor classes. So, this paper proposes a Fuzzy C-Means clustering (FCM) algorithm based on Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). Firstly, gene expression profiling (GEP) is simply processed through mean and variance of gene expression, which can then be mapped into a low dimensional space by NMF method. Finally, for discovering and identifying cancer...
On-line drill wear monitoring in high speed machining of jute fiber-reinforced composites using virtual instrumentation
November 2012
Many challenges in machining need to be overcome in replacing fiber reinforced composites. In this work, jute fiber reinforced bioepoxy resin laminates were manufactured, drilled and inspected. The drilling operations were performed on jute fiber reinforced composites by high speed steel (HSS) drill bits. Drill wear state prediction allows the determination of the hole quality as well as tool replacement...
Development of the sugarcane harvester using a small engine in Northeast Thailand
November 2012
This research presents the developing sugarcane harvester using small engine in order to focus on its appropriateness in sugarcane farming for farmers who are encountering problems of labor shortage and sugar factories lacking sugar cane for producing sugar. It is operated by 180 hp (134.28 kW) at 2500 rpm. Sugarcane was harvested at 12 months after planting with an average-stalk length of 1.8 m, and average-stalk...
Influence of natural long fiber in mechanical, thermal and recycling properties of thermoplastic composites in automotive components
November 2012
Natural fiber thermoplastic components in the automotive industry can afford the advantages of weight, cost reduction and recyclability, compared to conventional materials. Handlings of natural fibers in automotive exterior and interior components are essential to recover eco-efficiency and renewability. Natural fibers have recently become affordable to automotive industry as an alternative reinforcement for glass fiber...
Effect of storage and thermochemical treatments on glass indentation cracks and residual stresses
November 2012
In this work, the effect of storage, annealing and chemical strengthening on indentation radial cracks of a sodalime glass is presented. During the storage of an indented glass with a Vickers indenter, the induced radial cracks propagate under the combined effect of the residual stresses and the environmental humidity (stress corrosion). The cracks length achieves a threshold of stability after 6 to 24 h. The...
Low temperature hydrothermal synthesis of BaTiO3 with ultra-high crystallinity
November 2012
Nano-sized barium titanate (BaTiO3) powders with ultra-high crystallinity have been successfully prepared by a hydrothermal condition at 170°C for only 2 h. In this study, the influence of processing parameters on the phase and the particle size of hydrothermally derived BaTiO3 powders was investigated. The powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning election microscopy (SEM),...
Development of an experimental apparatus for testing a total knee prostheses focused on Mexican phenotype
November 2012
This work was focused on the design and development of an experimental loading rig adapted to make experimental tests of total knee prosthesis. Location of contact points due to rotation and translation of simultaneous movements was analyzed carefully. This takes place between the femoral component and the polyethylene insert, since this is one of the main obstacles in the design of devices adapted to...
Determinants of residential water demand in an arid and oil rich country: A case study of Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia
November 2012
The accurate forecast of residential water demand is critically important for arid and oil rich countries such as Saudi Arabia which depend on costly desalination plants to satisfy the growing water demand. Achieving the desired prediction accuracy is a challenging task since the forecast model should take into consideration a variety of factors such as economic development, climate conditions and population growth. The...
River Usuma: A medium of assessing bioavailability of heavy metals in Abuja
November 2012
River Usuma was used as a substrate through which toxic elements and their sources were identified and measured due to anthropogenic activities in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. It makes good public health sense, good economic and environmental sense to prevent water contamination at the source. Concentrations of heavy metals [Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe),...
Interaction of essential properties of potential layers in stormwater management using column method
November 2012
Yearly forecasting data indicate that wet season occurs at short intervals. Flooding and drainage problems have been sources of complaints from local and surrounding communities in Sri Gading area. The current situation is made more difficult because of the flat area and low infiltration rate. An investigation on this location shows that most of the Parit Raja area sits on compacted clay more than 30 m deep. The failure...
Sample of Batman in determination of urban solid waste management and recycling potential
November 2012
The collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of solid wastes, particularly wastes generated in medium and large urban centres, have become a relatively difficult problem to solve for those responsible for their management. However, recycling-related activities bring waste reduction, prevention of waste of raw materials and less environmental damage as well as providing an economic benefit to the countries. In this...
Theoretical background of 1/f fluctuations of energy partition among harmonic oscillators in equilibrium
November 2012
A physical background is derived for the generation of 1/f fluctuations that are observed ubiquitously in energy partition in quasi-harmonic oscillators that exchange energy through weak nonlinear interactions. Weak three-mode coupling terms in the unperturbed Hamiltonian bring no net transfer of energy between oscillators, but four-mode coupling terms bring about irreversible energy transfer between unperturbed...
Chebyshev-Tau method for the linear Klein-Gordon equation
November 2012
In this paper, we study a numerical method based on polynomial approximation, using the shifted Chebyshev polynomial, to construct the approximate solutions of the one dimensional linear Klein-Gordon equation with constant coefficients. Also, we give general forms of the operational matrices of integral and derivative. We solve two illustrative examples to test this method known as the shifted Chebyshev Tau method. By...
Solution of sixth-order boundary-value problems by collocation method using Haar wavelets
November 2012
A new method based on uniform Haar wavelets is proposed for the numerical solution of sixth-order two-point boundary value problems (BVPs) in ordinary differential equations. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the practical usefulness of present approach. Accuracy and efficiency of the suggested method is established through comparison with the existing spline based technique and variational iteration method....
Experimental investigations of immune fuzzy Q-learning algorithms for robot obstacle avoidance
November 2012
This article presents a new approach to car-like robot control for obstacle avoidance and target tracking. The proposed approach employs cooperative algorithms including artificial immune algorithms, fuzzy logic and Q-learning denoted shortly as IFQ-learning control. The article explains the artificial immune system and the proposed algorithms. The fuzzy Q-learning algorithms are also presented. The article elaborates...
Metallic phytoremediation and extraction of nanoparticles
November 2012
The use of phytoremediation is a non-destructive method of heavy metal’s removal from soils. Water hyacinth plant (Eichhronia crassipes), normally found in habitats around the world, and has the ability to extract heavy metals through its roots, stem, and leaves. The main aims of this study were two folds; the use of water hyacinth plant to remove metals (Lead, Pb; Copper, Cu; Zinc, Zn; Chromium, Cr; and Cadmium,...
Wind energy conversion system with full-scale power converter and squirrel cage induction generator
November 2012
This paper describes a modeling and control of a variable speed squirrel-cage induction generator with back to back power electronics converters used in variable speed wind energy conversion system. The power electronics is composed of the generator side converter (GSC) coupling to the grid connected converter (GCC) together via DC bus capacitor. The generator side converter (GSC) is controlled by direct torque...
Analysis and optimization of a repairable M[x]/G/1 queue with an additional optional vacation
November 2012
This paper investigates an M[x]/G/1 queueing system with an unreliable server, where the server may take an additional vacation after the essential vacation. If the system becomes empty, the server leaves the system and takes the essential vacation. At the end of the essential vacation, the server may return to the system with probability p or take another vacation with probability 1-p. When the additional...
Individual and competitive adsorption of Lead(II) and Nickel(II) ions by chemically activated carbons
November 2012
This work deals with the removal of heavy metals from wastewater which presents a major ecological problem. Recently, this has been solved by using adsorption techniques as a means to extract heavy metal ions. The present investigation was carried out on the adsorption of heavy metals from single and binary component aqueous solutions on activated carbons. The concentrations of heavy metals ions, Ni(II) and Pb(II),...
Breast tumor detection using microwave ultra wideband (UWB) forward scattering radar system
November 2012
Most of the currently established techniques for breast cancer have inherent disadvantages, such as destructive effects, image accuracy, and others. In addition, mammography and nuclear methods have a potential for producing harmful ionization effects in humans. Another technique for breast cancer detection is microwave imaging radar, which has the advantage of a less hazardous modality and is a non-destructive method....
Application of Benjamin-Feir equations to Tornadoes’ rogue waves modulational instability in oceans
November 2012
Pilots put their plane in the ideal conditions for the atmosphere to suck it and allow a successful launch; similarly some portions of the ocean surface put a Troposphere column placed above them in ideal temperature and humidity training tornadoes and primary gravity waves that accompany them. To study the behavior of rogue waves triggered by tornadoes in terms of their space and time evolution, that is, their motion...
Composition dependence of structural, morphological and magnetic properties of Co (FCC)-Cu granular films
November 2012
The Cobalt (Co) (FCC)-Copper (Cu) magnetic films with different compositions (x = 55.5, 44.4, 22.5) grown on glass substrate are prepared by sputtering process using a Co target and Cu sheets. The effects of the composition on morphological, structural and magnetic of the films were reported. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the film thickness is about 80 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM)...
Compositional domain dynamics in two-coupled lipid monolayer: A mean field approximation approach
November 2012
A continuum model for artificial membrane was developed by treating the upper and lower layers of the membrane as a pair of coupled Ising monolayers. Linear coupling between the layers was included. Linear stability analysis was used to predict the phase diagram. The dependence of the phase-separated regions on inter-layer coupling is determined. We numerically solve the Cahn-Hilliard type equations to obtain domain...
Hardness-improvement of titanium using mixture gases
November 2012
Hardness of 99.7% titanium was improved in acetylene-ammonia mixtures at 1,250°C for 2 h. The flow rate of acetylene was set constantly at 0.4 cm3s-1, but those of ammonia were varied over the range of 0 to 12 cm3s-1. By using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyzer, TiC, TiN, TiC0.7N0.3, and TiC0.3N0.7 phases with the corresponding elements were detected. Knoop hardness...
Returning to the old belief of "ether" is mandatory
November 2012
Luminiferous ether or light-bearing ether or simply ”ether”, which had been mentioned somehow since 17th century by Boyle, once believed to be a medium for traveling of light. Although, experiments like the Michelson and Morley could not prove its existence. In this article, we try to explain that, the experiments for detecting ether should be done in ultra-high velocities (over 5000 km/s), and that;...
A life cycle assessment of a coal fired power plant with carbon capture and storage in Mexico
October 2012
A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for three cases with the goal of assessing the environmental viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity infrastructure in Mexico. Case 1 is standard coal fired power plant, 350 MW and 35.7% efficiency. Case 2 is the same power plant with facilities for carbon dioxide capture using absorption by...
Climate change mitigation: Challenges of adopting the green energy option in the Lake Victoria basin
October 2012
The search for green/renewable energy such as hydropower, wind power, geothermal power, solar electricity and biomass which are environmentally clean is aimed at diversification of the energy matrix, mitigating against climate change and providing alternatives to the use of fossils fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) which are associated with greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, environmental...
Nonlineaer analysis of high-ninlinearity structures
October 2012
Rapid progress in the analysis and construction of high-nonlinearity structures has been made over the last three decades. The use of a new method is necessary to accuracy and stability to improve performance of this structure. The Fletcher-Reeves method belongs to a group of methods called conjugate gradient methods which attempt to locate a local minimum function. The approach of the proposed method was...
The influence of adherend width on tensile strength and failure load of Z joints bonded with adhesive
October 2012
In this study, the influence of the adherend width on the tensile strength and failure loads of Z joints were analyzed both experimentally and numerically. The Z joints were subjected to tensile load in the experiments. The stress analyses were executed using the finite element method (FEM). The FEM analyses were performed with Ansys (v.14.0.1). The FEM analyses were carried out to investigate the stress and...
Stability of water-in-crude oil emulsions: Effect of cocamide diethanolamine (DEA) and Span83
October 2012
Water-in-oil emulsions are important in the petroleum industry in production operations, where the water content of the emulsion can be as high as 60% in volume. An environmentally friendly, nonionic emulsifying agent for crude oil emulsions Cocamide diethanolamine (Cocamide DEA) is introduced in the present work. The emulsion formation, rheology, stability and water separation performance of the...
Monitoring of 222Rn/220Rn concentrations at the work places of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir
October 2012
Thoron (220Rn), due to its-short half-life of 55.5 s is unable to travel far from its point of generation. A number of studies report indoor radon (222Rn) concentration in different locations of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while no study reports indoor 220Rn concentration. The CR-39 based passive alpha track detectors were used for the measurement of 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations at different...
Research on indoor positioning algorithm based on powerline
October 2012
In this research, the basic principle of data acquisition based on powerline is introduced.Probabilistic neural network (PNN) is applied to indoor location system aiming at environment of strong noise indoor and the reason of PNN applied to indoor location system based on powerline is discussed in detail. According to characteristics of transmitted signal by powerline, the signal is...
An adaptive neuro-fuzzy digital filter
October 2012
This work describes the neural net as identification process, considering an adaptation that adjusts the parameters in dynamical form using a proportional condition. Neural nets have problems when the weight gains are dynamically modified in a specific environment with stochastic smooth conditions adjusting in some sense in accordance with a reference signal. This output and identification error has...
An alternative approach for unsupervised cluster based image retrieval
October 2012
In this research, we proposed an alternative method to retrieve images from its clusters which is determined by its color histogram. In other approach, it is called cluster based image retrieval model. One common problem with conventional content based image retrieval (CBIR) system is that the output data contains too many non-relevant feedbacks due to the indistinct symmetry of semantic gap. In this paper,...
Causal analysis and calculation of the steam turbine efficiency of a thermal power plant
October 2012
After a presentation of the functionality of steam turbines of thermal power plants, we present the method of enthalpy difference used for the calculation of the steam turbine efficiency. This is why we present a stratification survey by circuit, by equipment and by organ. The objective is to determine the possible reasons for the deterioration of the heat rate of a thermal power plant at the level of a steam...
Monitoring of the genetic algorithm operators in application to the GaAs0.7Sb0.3/GaAs single quantum well nanostructure
October 2012
In this work we investigated some new aspects of a recently introduced hybrid method which was a combination of Genetic algorithm, Monte Carlo integration schema and variational method. We also added some new features to the method in order to reduce the computational costs. Now we have introduced the biased Genetic Monte Carlo Variational (BGMV). With the help of different components of the method like...
Shell model calculations on even nuclei near 208Pb
October 2012
Binding energy of the ground state, energy levels and the B(E2) values of both positive and negative parities for 202,204Au, 202-206Hg, 202-206Tl and 202-206Pb isotopes have been calculated through shell model calculations using the shell model code OXBASH for Windows employing the Modified Kuo-Herling interaction (khhe) for neutron and proton hole orbits in 208Pb. The binding...
First principles study of some thermodynamic properties of Calcium Indium (CaIn) intermetallic compound
October 2012
Calculations of some thermodynamic properties of Calcium Indium (CaIn) intermetallic compounds are carried out using the quasi harmonic Debye model. The Debye temperature was studied as a function of both lattice temperature and unit cell volume. The calculations showed that the Debye temperature decreases slowly with elevation of the temperature. It was found that the Debye temperature varies from 130...
Forecasting the output of Taiwan’s integrated circuit (IC) industry using empirical mode decomposition and support vector machines
October 2012
As the production values in the integrated circuit (IC) industry are inherently nonlinear and non-stationary, it is regarded as one of the most challenging tasks for practitioners and academics. This study proposed a hybrid methodology by combining empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector regression (SVR) in production values forecasting. The proposed approach first...
Biodegradation of oil spill dispersants in natural aquatic ecosystem
October 2012
The biodegradability of three oil spill dispersants (teepol, sodium dodeocyl sulphate (SDS) and corexit 9527) in a brackish water were monitored using the ratio of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to total organic carbon (TOC) (primary biodegradation), the ratio of inorganic carbon to total organic carbon (mineralization) and total microbial (bacteria and fungi) population. The study lasted for 20 days....
Electrochemical polymerization and Raman study of polypyrrole and polyaniline thin films
October 2012
In this paper we present thin films of polypyrrole (PPY) and polyaniline (PANi) which have been synthesized electrochemically on Gold electrode by direct oxidation of pyrrole and aniline in Acetonitrille using three electrodes. Raman spectroscopy results were analyzed in terms of normal modes, and spectra were obtained using 633 nm He-Ne laser. It was found that Raman spectra depend on the doping level of PPY...
Experimental study of structural and optical band gap of nickel doped tin oxide nanoparticles
September 2012
Nickel-doped tin oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. The structural, morphological and optical properties of these nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction revealed that all samples are pure rutile-type tetragonal phase; and the nickel doping did not change the...
Approximate analytic solutions for non-linear oscillators with fractional-order restoring force by means of the optimal variational iteration method
September 2012
In this paper, a new approach, namely the optimal variational iteration method (OVIM) was proposed to investigate oscillators with fractional-power nonlinearities. It was illustrated that this approach is very effective and convenient and does not require linearization or small parameter. Unlike other classical iteration methods, only one iteration leads to highly accurate results, due to a rigorous procedure...
Application of geographical information system (GIS) to groundwater quality investigation: A case study of Mardan district, Pakistan
September 2012
A study was conducted to determine the groundwater quality of Mardan salinity control and reclamation project (SCARP) area and its suitability for irrigation purposes. A total of 18 villages were selected and water samples were taken from each one. Spatial data of the locations were taken by Magellan GPS Receiver. These samples were analyzed in the laboratory and then compared with the irrigation water...
Calculation of two-center overlap integrals over slater-type orbitals via fourier transform convolution theorem
September 2012
Formulas for two-center overlap integrals over slater type orbitals are presented. The established formula contains Gaunt coefficients and auxiliary functions. Analytical and recurrence relations for these auxiliary functions have been presented. The efficiency of the presented algorithm for the evaluation of two-center overlap integrals depends strictly on the accurate calculation of these auxiliary...
Geomagnetic field variations at dip equatorial latitudes of West Africa
September 2012
A comprehensive study of geomagnetic field variations has been carried out at the dip equatorial latitudes of West Africa. The data obtained during the 1993 French participation in the International Equatorial Electrojet Year experiment in Africa was used for the analysis. Only the quiet condition was examined. Variation in the three geomagnetic field elements (H, D, and Z) showed more variability in D...
Statistical evaluation of hardness behavior in a thermally aged A356.0-type Al-Si-Mg alloy
September 2012
A statistical study has been made on the isothermal treatments of A356.0-type Al-Si-Mg alloy. The reprocessed alloy was subjected to hardness evaluation. The values obtained were processed using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) software to compare all tempers and multiple-step thermal ageing treatment (MSTAT) values by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson Correlation Index. Equally, a...
Propagation of a pulsed laser through a plasma based waveguide with a parabolic profile of the electron density
September 2012
The paper presents a numerical study of the periodic self focusing behavior of a laser pulse propagation in a gas filled capillary plasma with a parabolic electron density profile. An implicit and inherently stable Crank-Nicholson method was used to demonstrate the periodic laser beam waist behavior inside the tube discharge. The dependence of the tube radius and beam waist on maximum intensity delivered to...
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