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Literature on the commercial applications of dielectric industrial drying is plentiful; however, literature on the computations required for estimating dielectric drying power requirements is sparse. Dielectric drying involves several complicated heat and mass transfer phenomena, including absorption of electromagnetic energy, transport of the generated heat, generation of internal vapor, and changes, and changes due to shrinkage. Furthermore, this process involves an assortment of computational expertise, particularly dielectric property characterization. This paper addresses the computational iterations required to estimate the power requirements for unit operation dielectric drying .The objective of the investigation is to explain the theory of the power interaction between dielectric and the drying material. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design calculations for heat energy using microwave power and finally the computation process is applied to corrugated board manufacturing case study to calculate the drying requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WIMAX relay station mesh network has been approved by IEEE 802.16j as a standard to provide a highly data rate transmission , the RS was implemented to extend the coverage zone of the BS, for instance the MSs previously were out of the coverage of the BS they become in the coverage of the RS, therefore these MSs can have Admission control from the BS through the RS. This paper describe a problem in the mesh network Relay station, for instance the problem of how to serve the mobile stations (MSs) which are out of the Relay station coverage. This paper also proposed a solution for mobile stations out of the coverage of the WIMAX Relay stations mesh Network. Therefore Ad-hoc network defined as a solution by using its admission control schema and apply it on the mobiles inside and outside the Relay station coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IEEE802.16 is the standard defining the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) for Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). WiMAX has recently being considered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as an attractive alternative to leasing lines from current ISPs or the deployment of new fiber networks. This is mainly the case since WiMAX is more flexible and much cheaper than other possible solutions. Our focus in this paper is on mobile WiMAX i.e. IEEE802.16e designed to provide broadband wireless access for mobile users. In this paper we have designed various scenarios using the Qualnet simulation package to evaluate the performance of WiMAX in delivering traffic under different operational conditions for a point to multi point configuration. The results showed how different factors such as load and mobility might affect the performance of WiMAX in a single cell environment. End to end delay, delay jitter and throughput were considered as the performance measures in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User's perceptive video quality differs greatly with video contents hence, it is of practical importance to classify videos. Videos are most commonly classified according to their spatial and temporal features. In this paper, we classify videos into groups based on objective video quality evaluation. Video quality measured in terms of the Mean Opinion Score (MOS), obtained by the application and network level parameters is classified into groups using cluster analysis with good prediction accuracy. The QoS (Quality of Service) parameters that affect video quality considered in this paper are send bitrate, frame rate in application and packet error rate in the network level. We then find the degree of influence of each of the QoS parameter and analyze the relationship between QoS parameters and content types by using principal component analysis for streaming MPEG4 video over wireless networks. We compare our classified contents to the spatio-temporal dynamics of the content and establish the relationship between video contents and video quality by equations obtained by multiple linear regression. Finally, we apply the results to rate control methods. The proposed scheme makes it possible to apply priority control to content delivery, based on content types with similar attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and investigates a dynamic buffer management scheme for QoS control of multimedia services in a 3.5G wireless system i.e. the High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). HSDPA was introduced to enhance UMTS for high-speed packet switched services. With HSDPA, packet scheduling and HARQ mechanisms in the base station require data buffering at the air interface thus introducing a potential bottleneck to end-to-end communication. Hence, for multimedia services with multiplexed parallel diverse flows such as video and data in the same end-user session, buffer management schemes in the base station are essential to support end-to-end QoS provision. We propose a dynamic buffer management scheme for HSDPA multimedia sessions with aggregated real-time and non real-time flows in the paper. The end-to-end performance impact of the scheme is evaluated with an example multimedia session comprising a real-time streaming flow concurrent with TCP-based non real-time flow via extensive HSDPA simulations. Results demonstrate that the scheme can guarantee the end-to-end QoS of the real-time streaming flow, whilst simultaneously protecting non real-time flow from starvation resulting in improved end-to-end throughput performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a need of paradigm shift in maintenance system so as to improve performance of overall system in this global competition. It discovers flaws in present day maintenance strategies that were considered to be the rationale behind the need for this new paradigm; changing scheme from a problem solving maintenance to a problem understanding maintenance. To reply to that research gap, this study unveils want in quality system and systems thinking that must have got to be integrated into conception of the existing maintenance strategies. Having had demand for integration of these methodologies, this paper offers a novel framework that enable maintenance operatives to plan maintenance actions through the identification of true root cause of failures and the quest of optimal solutions by viewing problem as a system in its entirety. Unlike current maintenance strategies, the proposed framework will count not only 'hard' factors but also their relationships with nascent 'soft' factors as contributing elements in the cause of failure. It can then be developed from beneficial effect of integration between the Six Sigma and the System Dynamics benefiting from favorable merged characteristics of the two; quality system and systems thinking respectively, along with feedback mechanism. Details construction of the framework is explained thoroughly in every section of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an alternative energy-based algorithm to provide speech/silence classification. The algorithm is capable to track non-stationary signals and dynamically calculate instantaneous value for threshold using adaptive scaling parameter. It is based on the observation of a noise power estimation used for computation of the threshold can be obtained using minimum and maximum values of a short-term energy estimate. The paper presents this novel voice activity detection algorithm, its performance, its limitations, and some other techniques which deal with energy estimation as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the simultaneous scheduling of landside container handling operations in a container terminal. Issues addressed include scheduling the sequence of loading (unloading) of containers to (from) the vessels from (to) the quayside, assigning trucks to transport containers between quayside and yard side, and scheduling operations of yard cranes in different yard zones. A mathematical model describing the characteristics of the problem is developed. The objective is to minimize the total completion time for handling all the containers under consideration in the terminal. As optimizing the landside container handling operations in a terminal is known to be NP-hard, a new genetic algorithm with the selection process based on the principle of simulated annealing is developed in this paper to solve the problem. Comparison of the respective results obtained by using the proposed genetic algorithm, the canonical genetic algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm clearly shows that the total completion times obtained by the proposed algorithm are 12%-18% shorter than that obtained by GA and SA, and the computing times of GA-SA are only 50% of that of GA. The proposed genetic algorithm is indeed superior to the other two algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a study about human error optimization is presented. A discussion about the maintenance or operation management is done. The models of human error were made using a well known technique named Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP), wisely used in the nuclear area. These models were included in the Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) to evaluate the impact of human error on the frequency of a damage plant states. This paper shows how the optimization of maintenance management is only possible with a global approach and it is not feasible focusing on each task in a particular way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Fourier transform approach to obtain frequency response function (FRF) is presented in this paper. The aim in this paper is to eliminate the need for the classical impact experimental approach used in extracting structure's FRF. The numerical and experimental FRFs have been used to obtain stable regions in machining of thin walled structures, which gives a good comparison. Examples are presented and compared with experimental results with a satisfactory agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the immense growth of services offered by Internet, the requirement of broadband connectivity has increased significantly in past few years. Organizations and individuals are relying heavily on the internet for their daily communication needs. Consequently, networks have become more prone to different types of network attacks. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) offer a method to protect networks against many such attacks. Numerous IDS have been proposed in literature, which employ different techniques to identify attack patterns as well as abrupt changes in network traffic flows. Anomaly detection is a type of Intrusion Detection corresponding to a suite of techniques that can be used to identify novel or "zero-day" attacks against computers and network infrastructure. Different Anomaly-based Intrusion Detection Systems (ADS) work on different principles e.g., a few take into account the packet headers only, where as others operate on payload as well as packet headers. In this paper we evaluate six different ADS; three of them work on packet header only, while remaining three works on both header and payload. We aim to provide a conclusive comparison of these ADS (header only or both header and payload) in terms of accuracy, complexity and detection delay to highlight factors that must be considered while designing IDS in future. The comparison is performed using two real-world labeled datasets to enable cross-reference for future research in this field. In the end of this paper we will conclude that anomaly detectors which work on both header and payload perform better than those ADS which consider only header for intrusion detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development, finite element(FE) analysis of magnetic field distribution, performance, control and testing of a new axial flux permanent magnet linear oscillating motor (PMLOM) along with a suitable speed and thrust control technique is described in this paper. The PMLOM can perform precision oscillation task without exceeding the given limit on allowable average power dissipation. The use of new powerful permanent magnet materials such as Neodymium-Iron-Boron alloys can greatly improve the performance of electrical machines. Also its performance parameters, such as the force, current etc. are experimentally assessed. The objective of this paper is to determine the forces for aluminium mover embedded with rare earth permanent magnet experimentally and analytically through FEMM software and develop a microcontroller based IGBT Inverter for its control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the optimal location and parameters of Unified Power Flow Controllers (UPFCs) in electrical power systems. The UPFC is one of the most promising FACTS devices in terms of its ability to control power system quantities. Shunt FACTS devices are used for controlling transmission voltage, power flow, reducing reactive losses, and damping of power system oscillations for high power transfer levels. In this paper the optimal location of a shunt FACT device is investigated for an actual line model of a transmission line having series compensation at the center. As one of the most promising FACTS devices in terms of its ability to control power system quantities, UPFC Effect of change in degree of series compensation on the optimal placement of the shunt FACTS device to get the highest possible benefit is studied. The results obtained shown that optimal placement of the shunt FACTS device varies with the change in the level of series compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new outer bounds to the individual rates and the conditions under which these bounds become tight for the symmetric Gaussian cognitive radio (CR) channel in the low interference gain regime. The CR transmitter is assumed to use dirty paper coding while deriving the outer bounds. The capacity of the CR channel in the low interference scenario is known when the CR employs "polite" approach by devoting some portion of its power to transmit primary user's (PU's) message. However, this approach does not guarantee any quality of service for the CR users. Hence, we focus on the scenario when the CR goes for the "rude" approach, does not relay PU's message and tries to maximize its own rates only. It is shown that when both CR and the PU operate in low interference gain regime, then treating interference as additive noise at the PU receiver and doing dirty paper coding at the CR is nearly optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two simulation models for two variants of a large chipper drive used in a paper mill. If a slip ring induction motor is used, the impact of a rotor circuit rheostat with respect to starting behavior and heavy duty load impulses can be examined. Furthermore a speed controlled squirrel cage induction machine will be investigated. The modeling language for both drives is Modelica. The simulation results for both drives are compared and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give a general overview of fuzzy research according to the results found in the ISI Web of Knowledge. We present the most cited articles in fuzzy research, the top authors, the top journals, the evolution by years and the top countries. We also provide a longer list of journals in order to be informative to the scientific community, especially for the young researchers. Note that the results given in this paper are only a general orientation because the rankings can be developed in different ways depending on the variables that we want to take into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assimilation of formal logic into the domain of Software Engineering offers the possibility of enormous benefits in terms of software reliability and verifiability. To date, however, the integration of such techniques has proved difficult since they involve a significantly increased burden on the programmer in meeting the demands of the formal mechanisms being employed. The current paper investigates the advantages which may be gained by the software development process with the introduction of Artificial Neural Network technology into a formal software development system. Essentially, the adaptive artificial neural network model is employed to refine an existing formal software model in order to produce increasingly better approximations to a given solution. Each approximation is itself a valid formal system whose precise behaviour may be formally determined. The paper introduces a framework by which a programmer may define a system possessing the abstract structure of a traditional neural network but whose internal structures are taken from the formal mathematical domain of Constructive Type Theory. The system will then refine itself to produce successive approximations to a desired goal based on data presented to it. An example is presented addressing a problem domain which has previously proved difficult to model. Although the example presented is necessarily limited, it does provide an insight into the potential advantages of merging formal logic with artificial neural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) defines a framework for the development of Open Distributed Processing (ODP) systems in terms of five viewpoints. Each viewpoint language defines concepts and rules for specifying ODP systems from the corresponding viewpoint. However the ODP viewpoint languages are abstract and do not show how these should be represented and specified. We treat in this paper the need of formal notation and specification for behavioural concepts in the enterprise language. Using the Unified Modelling Language (UML)/OCL (Object Constraints Language) we define a formal semantics for a fragment of ODP behaviour concepts defined in the RM-ODP foundations part and in the enterprise language. We mainly focus on time, action, behaviour constraints (sequentiality, non determinism and concurrency constraints), and policies (permission, obligation, prohibition). We also give a mapping of the considered concepts to Event-B. This will permit the verification of such specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless mesh networks based on IEEE 802.11 technology are a scalable and efficient solution for next generation wireless networking to provide wide-area wideband internet access to a significant number of users. The deployment of these wireless mesh networks may be within different authorities and without any planning, they are potentially overlapped partially or completely in the same service area. So in this paper is design a new model to Enhancement Throughput of Unplanned Wireless Mesh Networks Deployment Using Partitioning Hierarchical Cluster (PHC) and using bridge nodes to allow interworking traffic between these WMNs to reduce the performance degradation, the unplanned deployment of WMNs are determinates their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents Lifting Scheme as a tool to compute the interpolated versions of an image for modeling Human Vision interpolation phenomenon at optimum computational load. Image can be zoomed in or zoomed out using various interpolation techniques. Here, Lifting Scheme is used as a tool to increase/decrease image size, even though image is not of size 2n x 2n where n is an integer. Zero padding technique is used for images those are not of size 2n x 2n dimensions. Any variable size reduction/magnification of an image can be computed using the proposed lifting scheme. For this, piecewise application of Lifting Scheme based DWT is presented along with the MSE & PSNR of reconstruction for gray and color images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel dynamic contention window control scheme is presented to improve the performance and energy efficiency of IEEE 802.11-based CSMA/CA DCF wireless networks operating in ad-hoc mode. The number of competing nodes in physical carrier sense systems has a major influence on the probability of collisions and a subsequent impact on DCF performance and on the energy consumed. A new cross-layer approach to alleviating this problem is developed, which attempts to improve the performance and energy efficiency by controlling the contention window size in the MAC layer according to the number of competing nodes, and the length of the MPDU (MAC Protocol Data Unit) payload according to the physical channel condition in the PHY layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread popularity of mobile computing devices, such as Laptops, handheld devices and cell phones, as well as recent advances in the wireless communication technologies have motivated researchers to provide novel solutions and applications for the users that were previously not feasible. The users of these mobile computing devices expect the same features and services from these devices as were previously available from conventional desktop computers. However to provide mobility and reduction of size of these mobile devices, the battery life is a major concern; several hardware based techniques have been proposed which results in more energy efficient systems as compared to the earlier systems. Even after these hardware improvement based techniques the problem still persists and it is believed that software based techniques have enough potential to reduce the energy demand to overcome the problems faced due to energy limitation. In this paper, we look into the problem of distributing the computational tasks among different devices in hybrid network environment. By hybrid networks we mean a network containing both wired as well as wireless handheld devices. The reason of selecting hybrid network environment is because most of the applications of mobile devices require accessing resources on the high bandwidth unlimited energy devices connected on wired network to help conserve the energy utilization of the energy limited wireless handheld devices. We have proposed a novel energy-aware scheduling algorithm to solve the problems of resource constrained mobile devices. Our scheduling algorithm schedules a set of computational tasks which may have operational and communication dependencies, into the set of heterogeneous devices so as to minimize both the energy consumption and time taken by the tasks to be completed. Experiments show that significant improvement in the over all performance in terms of energy consumption and execution time of the handheld devices can be achieved by using our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

an increase number of wireless applications consist of a network of mobile nodes moving together in high velocity, existing protocols focused on roaming of single node, and there are no mature solutions to keeping uninterrupted high-speed mobile communications for roaming the entire subnet with a moving velocity as high as a vehicle. In this paper, firstly we propose the idea of the new handover scheme based on mobile IP, and then introduce the principle and key issues for subnet mobility in networks. The station (STA), a wireless communications equipments in mobile wireless subnet, taking the access point (AP) as the gateway, implements the multiple-hop subnet mobile IP by cooperation of the home agent, the foreign agent, interior network routing agent and reused tunneling, thus to overcome the limitation of one hop between the movement node (MN) to the exit of the tunnel. A dynamic next AP scanning and finding model and a handover trigger model named Well-time is designed to provide low latency. We implement the scheme on re-designed STA and AP, the experiment shows that the new scheme enables a mobile subnet to handover seamlessly across heterogeneous wireless networks and maintains all ongoing high-speed communications with the nodes in fixed networks, when moving at a high velocity up to 50km/h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in the use of mobile devices demand the need to meet different multimedia application requirements of the users. However, the application demand and allocation could lead to congestion if the network has to maintain such high resources for the quality of service (QoS) requirements of the applications. In this paper, a new admission control policy for wireless mobile multimedia networks is being proposed. Two kinds of traffics are assumed to compete for the access to the limited number of frequency channels available in each cell: Real-time and non-real-time calls. The calls are further categorized as new real-time and non-real-time calls or real-time and non-real-time handoff calls. Hot spot calls are given priority over cold spot calls if the cold spot request is non-real-time. Call of the same cell and priority are served using ticket scheduling. Blocked new real-time and non-real-time calls are lost, while blocked real-time and non-real-time handoff calls can wait in the handoff buffer for channel to be available. The system is modelled by a multi-dimensional Markov chain, and a numerical analysis would be presented to calculate the blocking probabilities of the calls. The scheme would also be simulated using extensive runs to investigate its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the importance of reliable and consistent production equipments has increased. As a result, companies are shifting their maintenance policy from preventive maintenance towards Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). Despite the growing trend in this area and success stories of CBM implementation in the literature, in reality, many programmes do not meet the predefined targets. In this paper, we investigate how collaborative learning within asset life cycle and between operation and maintenance disciplines effects CBM programmes success. The theoretical arguments are supported through a case study within an industrial plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to implement a wireless sensor network in process automation system it is needed to specify the sample number for the sensors. Because of the hardware and power supply limitations, wireless sensors are applied to discrete event control system. In wireless sensor network the highest sample number is restricted in comparison to the wired one. Moreover, the lowest sample number is also constrained by the limitations imposed by the control limits values. In this paper, relations between sample number and actuator's frequency drift in discrete domain is formulated and presented. The central and autonomous sensor network structures are introduced. In addition, ways to compromise the sample number with the actuator's frequency and control limits value are acknowledged. An approach to find the optimal sample number is proposed. It is shown when the sensor network becomes larger, autonomous network can partly compensate energy consumption increase by adding the sample number whereas central network does not support this feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimization of power consumption is a critical design goal for wireless-relay networks comprised of battery-powered sensor devices. In the paper, we consider a source-initiated (one-to-all) broadcast scenario in wirelessly-relay sensor networks (WSNs) with a high delivery probability requirement. We analyze both the transmission and the reception power to gain insights into the optimization of the overall power consumption of WSNs at network planning stage. Specifically, at the network planning stage, one wishes to maximize the network lifetime of the network through a proper selection of three key design parameters including the transmission range, the sleep period, and the broadcast probability. As a rule of thumb, the optimal number of nodes awaken to broadcast messages within a transmission range is constant with a given network size and path loss exponent for a target delivery probability requirement. Given the optimal settings above, we also present the trade-off between the delay requirement and power consumption. Our results can serve as general guidelines at the network planning stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore image segmentation using active contours model to detect oil spills. A partial differential equation based level set method, which represents the spill surface as an implicit propagation interface, is used. Starting from an initial estimation with priori information, the level set method creates a set of speed functions to detect the position of the propagation interface. Specifically, the image intensity gradient and the curvature are utilized together to determine the speed and direction of the propagation. This allows the front interface to propagate naturally with topological changes, significant protrusions and narrow regions, giving rise to stable and smooth boundaries that discriminate oil spills from the surrounding water. The proposed method has been illustrated by experiments to detect oil spills in real images. Its advantages over the traditional image segmentation approaches have also been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continued advancement of software-defined radio (SDR) technology has been a key factor in furthering research about the implementation of most signal processing algorithms at baseband. Traditionally, most algorithms have been carried out at radio frequency (RF). With the coming of SDR, the processing can be done at baseband frequencies which are more compatible with the fast developing software radio technology. This paper looks at matched filter detection and investigates the possibility and benefits of carrying out the detection process at quadrature baseband (QBB). A simple chirp signal is considered for the analysis. The analysis is carried out using MatLab simulations at RF and QBB and the results do show the possibility of carrying out the detection process at QBB with the expected benefits as compared to carrying out the process at RF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markov models are well-established stochastic models for image analysis and processing since they allow one to take into account the contextual relationships between image pixels. In this paper, we attempt to methodically review the use of Markov models and their extensions for Land Cover mapping problem in aerial imagery according to available literature and previous research works. A new Markov model combining Markov random fields and hidden Markov models and inspired from the NSHP-HMM model, initially introduced for Handwritten Words Recognition is defined. New learning and labeling procedures are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important challenge to any image pixels classification system is to correctly assign each pixel to its proper class without blurring edges delimiting neighboring regions. In this paper, we present an aerial image mapping approach that advantageously combines unsupervised segmentation with a supervised Markov model based recognition. The originality of the proposed system carries on three concepts: the introduction of an auto-adaptive circular-like window size while applying our stochastic classification to preserve region edges, the extension of the Dependency Tree -HMM to permit the computation of likelihood probability on windows of different shapes and sizes and a mechanism that checks the coherence of the indexing by integrating both segmentations results: from unsupervised over segmentation, regions are assigned to the predominating class with a focus on inner region pixels. To validate our approach, we achieved experiments on real world high resolution aerial images. The obtained results outperform those obtained by supervised classification alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a VLSI design for very high-speed image computing using discrete wavelet transform. The proposed architecture, based on new and fast convolution approach, reduces the hardware complexity in addition to reduce the critical path to the multiplier delay. Furthermore, an advanced two-dimensional (2-D) discrete wavelet transform (DWT) implementation, with an efficient memory area, is designed to produce one output in every clock cycle. As a result, a very high-speed is attained. The system is verified, using JPEG2000 coefficients filters, on Xilinx Virtex-II Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device without accessing any external memory. The resulting computing rate is up to 275 M samples/s and the (9,7) 2-D wavelet filter uses only 16 kb of memory with 256 x 256 image size. In this way, the developed design requests reduced memory and provides very high-speed processing as well as high PSNR quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape optimization is numerically a very demanding process, where several traditionally separate numerical processes meet together in a heterogeneous multidisciplinary environment. Typical elements involved are (1) the optimizer itself that implements the selected search strategy, (2) the parameterization procedure that provides the bidirectional mapping interface between the 3D geometric shape of the object and a limited number of parameters that control the parametric model of the geometry, (3) the simulation program that provides the results of the simulated interaction between the object and its environment (such as finite element analysis, FEA), and (4) control procedures that monitor the overall workflow and invoke mutual application calls (process flows and data flows) and handle data mining as well as acceptance or rejection of individual instances of candidate designs which are numerically generated and analyzed. In this paper, the set-up of this complex process, combined with evolutionary optimization, is developed with the objectives of numerical flexibility, computational efficiency in terms of combining sequential and parallel execution of individual applications, and low-cost implementation within an unmanaged computer cluster based on the Windows Communication Foundation, WCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantages of Manufacturing Execution Systems have been well documented. One such advantage, reduced labour overheads, has been tested at an agile manufacturing facility to determine the extent of this capability. A review of literature is initially presented from which a hypothesis is developed. The methodology and research stages are then described, followed by the findings. The paper concludes with the results of the findings and the limitations of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical behaviour of the human eye is often characterized with the Zernike coeficients. Great number of measurements and statistical data are available for individuals and for various groups of people concerning the Zernike coeficients of their eyes. Although, these coeficients were obtained from measurements at discrete points and via computations using some discretization of the continuous Zernike functions, the developers of these algorithms could not rely on the discrete orthogonality Zernike functions, simply because no mesh of points ensuring discrete orthogonality was known. Only recently was such a mesh of points found and reported. In the present paper, this mesh is used to calculate Zernike coeficients for some artificial cornea-like surfaces. Tests were carried out and are reported herein on the precision of the discrete orthogonality obtained via the mentioned discretization and on the precision of the surface reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the importance and necessity of engineering analysis has shown a steady growth. However, researchers working in small and medium enterprises know little about the usefulness of engineering analysis and suffer from lack of technical knowledge. Axial fan is air fluid machinery in various fields of industry such as automobile, electric appliance, and heavy machinery. It is also a time and budget consuming equipment to develop the axial fan through physical experiments. In order to overcome this problem, we have designed and developed a web-based axial fan simulator using supercomputer. In our simulator, all of processes for engineering analysis including pre-process, solving, and post-process can be performed automatically without user intervention after transferring fan model(CAD files) made by user. After executing the simulator with some parameters, user can receive report including P-Q curves. In this paper, we introduce the architecture of our easy and efficient automated axial fan simulator, related techniques and result of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the parallelization process of the code PROMES, which represents a regional atmospheric model developed by some of the authors. The parallel code, called PROMESPAR, has been carried out under a distributed platform (cluster of PCs) and using Message Passing Interface (MPI) communication subroutines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The element arsenic usually exists mainly as As(III) and As(V) in aqueous medium, and the migration and toxicity of arsenite are higher than those of arsenate. In order to improve the removal efficiency of arsenic, As(III) is generally oxidized to As(V). There are many kinds of methods to remove arsenic in an aqueous medium. When compared with others, coagulation and precipitation in ferrated sulfate salt is relatively simple and economical, which is suitable for use in remote rural locations. Because the As(III) is the main form of arsenic in groundwater, its transformation and removal are of widespread concern. In this paper, the behaviour of As(III) being removed in aqueous medium by FeSO4, Fe2(SO4)3 and polymeric ferric sulfate (PFS) were investigated. It was found that when increasing amounts of sulfate ferrated salts are added the corresponding As(III) removal rates increased gradually until a limiting state was reached. The treatment effect of chemical agents can be shown as PFS > Fe2(SO4)3 > FeSO4. The data for arsenite removal rates fitted the Langmiur equation well. The As(III) removal rates were influenced by pH, and the optimal removal rate of arsenic occurred at pH 7∼9. Adsorption and co-precipitation could be the removal mechanism of As(III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper addresses the ethical issues facing the construction industry of Pakistan. It forms a framework for ethical standards in the construction industry by recommending concrete measures. These have been based on the identification of ethical issues from the results of comprehensive and in depth research carried out through questionnaire survey, interviews and telephonic survey of various stakeholders in sample projects, employees of each of them and also study of related engineering journals. Although Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) does provide guide lines on the issue but these are rarely followed in true spirit. The existing standards have been compared with our socio cultural traditions and with ethical standards and practices of developed countries. Finally, a mechanism has been recommended which can deal with most of the ethical issues confronting construction industry of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication (ICT) technology related projects, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects have a high failure rate. Planned and systematically adopted risk management procedure is crucial to keep projects on time and within budget with all requirements fulfilled. In this paper, we have analysed the critical risks of ERP projects through the case study of three manufacturing small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). First, by using company-specific risk analysis method, the critical risks of the ERP projects have been identified and assessed. Second, by using characteristics analysis method, the recommendations of how to divide the ERP projects into manageable sub projects have been given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are normally required to attain dynamic success targets by improvement of their processes, products and services. One way to achieve this could be through quality initiatives and innovation in processes, products and services. In a knowledge based economy, use of quality measures alone may not bring competitive advantage due to severe resource constraints. Therefore, innovation may become a key parameter to define the strategic objectives. This paper focuses on investigating quality initiatives implemented by SMEs and its innovation. Data was collected on these parameters from 38 SMEs and eight measures of innovation were investigated for their importance and use. Pakistani, British and Portuguese SMEs were compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injection moulding parameters that simultaneously satisfy green part qualities (green defect, green strength and green density) have been optimised using L27 (313) Taguchi orthogonal array. Moulding variables involved in the optimisation are the moulding pressure, moulding temperature, mould temperature, holding pressure, moulding rate, holding time and cooling time. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) is employed to determine the significant levels (α) and contributions of the variables to the green qualities. Results show that the mould temperature and holding time is highly significant simultaneously to the green qualities, while the holding pressure and cooling time does not show any significance. Besides that, densification of the compact moulded with the optimised moulding parameter is presented in this paper. With sintering temperature ranging from 1340 to 1400 °C while heating rate and dwell time remains at 10 °C/min and 4 hours respectively demonstrates that the optimised moulding parameter is enabled to produce a sintered part with a density which is very close to the solid density of SS316L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric accelerometers are used to measure vibration and impact acceleration. In this paper we develop a piezoelectric accelerometer, which can measure the acceleration of a object with high velocity (which is called the measured object) in impact environment. Based on the physical model of accelerometer, the mechanical model is established, and the main factors influencing on the natural frequency are analyzed. With the nonlinear transient dynamics finite element analysis software Msc.dytran, the dynamic stress of the transducer fixed on the measured object has been simulated. The measurement results show that the developed sensor has a measurement range of 100,000g and response frequency of 8 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an investigation on the microstructure analysis of a bimetallic component consisting of the steel powder deposited on the solid copper substrate using laser cladding technology, Direct Metal Deposition (DMD). Study includes the variation of formation of microstructures of copper particles and porosity in the laser cladded structure at various thicknesses. Results obtained from the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) display a metallurgically sound and fully dense steel layer, where copper in rounded form was seen in the layer, which decreased with the increase of layer thickness. It is observed that porous holes also reduce with the increase of the thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global competitiveness intensifies, it is imperative that manufacturing organizations in developing countries can compete at a global level. This paper empirically identifies the critical factors associated with the implementation of World-Class Manufacturing (WCM) techniques in ISO 9001 certified manufacturing organizations in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). The critical factors synonymous with successful WCM implementation were identified via a comprehensive review of WCM implementation literature. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) framework is proposed. The application of the proposed approach and the contribution of this research are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing system design is the topic of discussion in this paper. Numerous manufacturing system design methodologies have been proposed by researchers but most of them remain procedural which flow from top to down and rough to detail design. But none of the methodologies provide a link between what we want to achieve and how to achieve it. Similarly, various researchers have written in detail about various tools of lean manufacturing but not much literature can be found on a methodology of lean manufacturing design. In the absence of systematic implementation of components of lean manufacturing, the system fails to produce any good results. Using lean manufacturing principles as the basic functional requirements and following axiomatic design theory, a framework proposing the design requirements of the system is developed. The proposed framework is successfully used to implement lean manufacturing system in a manufacturing company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injection moulding is one of the most versatile and important operation for mass production of plastic parts. In this process, cooling system design is very important as it largely determines the cycle time. A good cooling system design can reduce cycle time and achieve dimensional stability of the part. This paper describes a new square sectioned conformal cooling channel system for injection moulding dies. Both simulation and experimental verification have been done with these new cooling channels system. Comparative analysis has been done for an industrial part, a plastic bowel, with conventional cooling channels using the Moldflow simulation software. Experimental verification has been done for a test plastic part with mini injection moulding machine. Comparative results are presented based on temperature distribution on mould surface and cooling time or freezing time of the plastic part. The results provide a uniform temperature distribution with reduced freezing time and hence reduction in cycle time for the plastic part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sometimes, quality of a process is characterized by a relationship between two variables referred to as profile. So far, several methods have been proposed for monitoring simple linear profiles. In all of the researches, the performance of the proposed methods is only investigated under step shifts. However, the other types of shifts such as drift can occur in the process and control charts should detect them as well. In this paper, phase II monitoring of simple linear profiles is investigated and the performance of more popular methods in the literature including T², EWMA-R, and EWMA-3 is evaluated under drift shift. Average run length criterion is used for this purpose. The results show that the EWMA-3 method roughly performs better than the other methods. It is roughly similar to the results obtained under the step shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy demand and production have raised vast amounts of pollutants such as NOx and other harmful components. These are emitted daily from various industrial processes including stationary and non-stationary sources, i.e. automotive engines, industrial boilers and power plants. This article reports on an experimental investigation of the conversion levels for NO decomposition over Cu-ZSM5(158) catalyst using electrical heating element reactor. This was achieved by passing a stream containing 1% NO and 99% He, through the reactor, and then measuring the concentration of the stream exiting the reactor. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the conversion calculation process at various temperatures and contact times. This included the applicability of first order kinetics, i.e. whether the system followed the Arrhenius temperature relationship by calculating and plotting the equilibrium constants at each reaction temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventive maintenance (PM) can benefit systems having an increasing failure rate. However, PM is often scheduled in order to minimize the maintenance cost or to comply with production planning requirements or instruction from the equipment suppliers. Given that maintenance actions affect process time variability and resource utilization, such maintenance planning criteria may cause other adverse effects on the operational performance of the manufacturing system such as an increase in Work In Process (WIP) and cycle time. In this paper some approximate queueing models are utilize to asses the impact of PM interval on WIP. It is shown that WIP value is strongly influenced by the PM interval and that maintenance intervals corresponding to a minimum maintenance cost or minimum WIP can be quite different. This kind of analysis can help in making more informed decisions involving WIP and cost trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]