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Pavement
Management
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Surface transportation infrastructure in the United States of America
(USA) is aging according to a report prepared by Department of Homeland
Security in 2014. The USA was ranked 16th in the overall quality of roads in a
report developed by World Economic Forum despite a 3rd place ranking in an
overall competitiveness of the economy among the rest of the world. The
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) indicated in another study that it
would take up to $225 billion to upgrade the United States’ aging
transportation infrastructure to meet current demands and future growth. There
are two significant concerns regarding the aging transportation infrastructure:
the failing existing conditions, and how to prioritize and allocate funding for
their Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R). Hence, the need for the United
States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and local jurisdictions to develop
programs and efficient tools to improve and rehabilitate roadway systems. These
programs and tools can help local agencies to allocate fund to enhance and
preserve transportation networks appropriately. Read more>>>>>>
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| Fertigation |
Fertigation uniformity is
defined here as a composite parameter consisting of irrigation and fertilizer
application uniformity indicators. The field and computational procedures for
sprinkler irrigation uniformity evaluation has been the subject of various
studies. The objective of the study reported in this paper, however, is the
development of an analytical framework for the evaluation and analyses of
test-plot scale fertilizer application uniformity under solid-set sprinkler
irrigation systems. Irrigation uniformity indices are adapted for use in
fertilizer application uniformity evaluation. Fertilizer application rate,
given as a function of irrigation depth and fertilizer concentration, is
identified as the appropriate variable to express fertilizer application
uniformity indices. Pertinent mathematical properties of the uniformity indices
along with their practical fertigation management implications are outlined. Read more>>>>>>>
The
dependence of a vast majority of the global population on petroleum has led to
an acute concern regarding its negative environmental impact and long-term
sustainability of utilizing this finite resource. The control of its reservesby some, has left others vulnerable, and has made decision makers andintellectuals alike to mull over practical alternatives. Climate damage is tied
to radiative forcing that is affected strongly by carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, a greenhouse gas that had cycled between about 170 to 280 ppm from
800,000 BCE till the start of industrial revolution in 1760, and since then has
been increasing continuously to today’s level of near 400 ppm, largely due to
anthropogenic activities such as transportation, power and electricity
generation.
Cost, renewability, environmental impact, and availability are some
of the most important considerations in finding substitutes for gasoline.
Cellulosic ethanol satisfies many of such criteria with cost being its main
hurdle to commercialization. Its pursuit over other fuels comes from the
learning that when produced through biological route from plant biomass, it is
currently the only known liquid fuel that can be produced at the high yields
and scale necessary to be able to compete with the well-established gasoline
fuel and its infrastructure. While it has begun its journey to penetrate the
fossil fuel supply chain, its cost needs to be lowered to a point at which
profit margins appear lucrative enough to attract investment and satisfy
requirements for sustainability. The current bottleneck for a high yielding biological
route for ethanol involves pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation.
It is the higher in cost than economically desired due to in part to
pre-treatment costs and the quantity of enzyme employed to depolymerize
polysaccharides in biomass into fermentable sugars. High concentration of
sugars at low cost and low inhibitor levels not only leads to lower cost
cellulosic ethanol, but opens doors to industry to pursue fuel and chemical
production using pathways originating from sugars.
(Read more)
Reinforcements
are mostly used in the development of composite materials ranging from macro to
nano-scale. Nanofillers are commonly added as reinforcement to enhance the
performance of the adhesive properties of Epoxy resin. Due to their excellent
stiffness and strength and exceptional high aspect ratio combined with low
density, Carbon nanotubes are considered as an ideal candidate for the
reinforcement of conventional adhesives. The electrical, thermal and mechanical
property of CNT provides a new perspective for improving the conducting
performance of the mechanical adhesives.On this study the Epoxy resin was mixed
with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as a reinforcement to increase the
mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of Epoxy adhesives.(Read more)
The
main objective of this paper is to study the basic electrical machine types and
their applications. A DC machine can operate as a generator or motor.
Generators and motors are the rotating machines. Based on the mode of
operation, the mechanical power is converted in to electrical power and
electrical power is converted in to mechanical power. A DC machine works on thebasis of three modes of operation namely: Generating mode, Motoring mode andBraking mode. In first mode of operation, prime mover with mechanical power is
converted in to electrical power. In the second mode of operation, the
electrical power is converted in to mechanical power and this mechanical power
is used to drive the mechanical load.
In the third mode of operation, a machine
can operate as a generator and electrical power is pumped back to the system
for applying regenerative braking.An
electrical generator is a mechanism which converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy. The energy conversion is based on the principle of
electromagnetic induction. According to faraday’s law of electromagnetic
induction, whenever current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field,
it will cut the flux lines thereby leading to create a force and generator
tends to rotate.(Read more)
The
tasks performed by industrial robots are exciting. On the other hand, there are
lots of tasks remained to be done by human workers. These tasks include (1)
picking parts from cluster, (2) reorienting parts to certain poses, and (3)
force-based assembly. These tasks cannot be done using industrial robots and
teach pendants since: (1) The parts shapes and physical properties are varying.
It is difficult to manually specify the grasping strategies for infinite number
of parts. (2) The initial poses and goal poses of manipulated parts are
changing. It is difficult to teach the robots all motions to reorient different
parts. (3) The first two processes lead to variety in force control and
assembly, which also make pre-teaching difficult.(Read more)
Various
types of materials are used in the house construction industry depending on the
process to be used, the specifications of instruments, or the design employed.
Currently, the materials used in rapid manufacturing (RM) for considerable
parts of buildings are neither biodegradable nor eco-friendly. Although themain materials in use for rapid prototyping system include thermoplasticmaterials, epoxy resin, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic, and polyester
materials, many scholars have made efforts to develop biofibres as fillers and
composite reinforcements for industrial building systems. Materials currently
in use in RM are limited to those that can be sintered or melted and solidified
quickly.
The problem with using polymeric materials lies mainly in their price
and non-ecofriendliness, both of which make the system inappropriate for adoption
in the construction field. Providing an eco-friendly material with
cost-effective components can allow the use of such systems within the
construction industry.Kenaf
fibres can be used in large quantities as excellent reinforcing fillers in
plastics and in thermoplastics, such as polypropylene (PP), for their many
unique properties and lower cost. Moreover, Kenaf, as a natural fibre
composite, has been shown to perform better in some mechanical activities, such
as flexural testing, compared with a number of other natural fibres.(Read More)
Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMIs) have been one of the most
influential and disruptive science fields of the past decades. Prosthetic orremotely operated robotic devices being controlled by brain signals hastransitioned from science fiction to reality. Advances in the recording
electrodes technology and the machine learning and signal decoding algorithms
were critical in the realization of those systems. The second decade of the
21st century brings new challenges found in both frontiers; first, advancements
in neuroscience are sought via high-resolution mapping of the brain for better
understanding of its function and decision making processes.
On the robotics
frontiers, the challenge of the human controlling many robots simultaneously is
of utmost importance for applications spanning from industrial and
entertainment, to disaster response and military. As the swarming paradigm,
deriving inspiration from the behaviour of natural swarms such as bird flocks
and fish schools, offers myriad advantages to a team of robots, the way humans
interact and control a robotic swarm creates new avenues of research. This
article summarizes recent developments and novel methods for brain-swarm
interfaces, and poses challenges for the future researchers.(Read more)
All over the research, hot and cold
water rolled finished the internal pipe and the interplanetary between the
pipes (annulus), correspondingly. It was strained to keep the bay hot and cold
water temperatures at constant values. Effectiveness-NTU studies were made for
the circumstances with and without curly bands including their different angles
and associated to each other. Results displayed the substantial decision of
turbulators on effectiveness (e) and number of heat transfer units (NTU) of
dual tube heat exchanger. In totalling, some experiential associations uttering
the domino effect were also industrialized constructed on curve fitting.(Read more)
Traditional medicine has been empirically used for
different health ailments from primitive to till now. Ancient philosophers and
scientist were conducted experiment to claim the safety and efficacy of herbal
medicine and formulated different hypothesis. Some of the hypotheses arealready proven by scientific justification and technological adaptation. Some
are not proved by clinical trials or other interventional studies. But it has
been claimed that herbal or traditional medicine has huge prospect to prove, to
establish new formulation and can play great role in health disorders.
Peoples
are used to take such medicines which are easily accessible, feasible and
affordable. Some formulations are not used to take by consumers because
semisolid or powder forms are so bitter or pungent that these are difficult to
consume. By transforming the dosage form and gather huge clinical data or
result regarding safety and efficacy of herbal medicine, the medicine will
become more popular medicine to the peoples and can play pivotal role in
economy. That’s why; transformational dosage form can change the scenario of
herbal or traditional medicine in the world.(Read more)
Our
actions do not affect ourselves, but it also affect people around us. Many of
our professional decisions involve ethics. Ethics is the branch of philosophy,
which differentiates actions as right or wrong. It is the study how people
should make decisions and how those decisions affects us, other people and environment.
In short ethics are the principals of right conduct. Quran stats “The noblestof you in the sight of Allah is the best of you in conduct” (49:13).
Daily
people face ethical issues. Some of them include bribery, lying, frauds,
violating rules and policies. These ethical issues lead to various disasters
like Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, Tacoma Washington Bridge Disaster,
Titanic and many others. Electrical engineers should be ethically perfect. As
they are responsible for everyone lives.Islam
teaches its followers to earn “Hilal” income. Hilal income is the legal and
ethical way of earning. It is earned by honesty and truth. Islam forbids
laziness, aversion to work and idleness at all.”(Read more)
By targeting various virulence
factors novel therapies can be devised for the treatment of severe infections
caused by Pseudomonas
species. Current therapies focus on the use of antibiotics but the development
of antibiotic resistance and expression of multiple virulence factors has led
to the ineffectiveness of current therapies. The main virulence determinants ofPseudomonasinfections are not only bacterial surface factors, flagella, pili and lipopolysaccharide,
but also active processes such as the secretion of toxins, biofilm formation,
quorum sensing as well as the involvement of swarming-swimming motility,
motility enables P. aeruginosa to colonize different environments,
attach to surfaces, and form biofilms.
P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescens can become resistant to certain
antibiotics which further complicates the treatment of its infections. This
resistance arises due to its ability to form biofilm which consist of bacterial
communities embedded in an exopolysaccharide matrix (EPS). Because of their
high resistance to antimicrobial and cleaning treatments,their biofilms
contribute markedly to the persistence of pathogens on medical devices, leading
to critical problems in terms of public health and a potentially major economic
impact.(Read more)
The working mechanism of these senses is generalized as a) reception of input
signal by the sensory cells because of external stimuli b) conduction of data
towards the brain for interpretation as neurological impulses c) receptors
respond to the stimulus as per instructed by the interoperating center. With
this brief explanation of sense, more methodical and technical definition for
sensor could be established which is as follows; it is a device that obtains
and responds to stimulus and signals originated from the environment.(Read more)
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and Wireless Multimedia
Sensor Networks (WMSNs) consist of wirelessly interconnected sensor nodes which
can collect, deliver and process information in different application areas.
Power Consumption in these networks is a major problem.
Some of the
applications include landslide detection, glacial monitoring, wildlife
tracking, health care, military applications, environmental monitoring and a
large number of applications to robotics, “internet of things” projects. This
paper will illustrate the fundamental characteristics of WSN followed by
different power consumption protocols. Here we have performed the comparative
performance analysis of different power consumption protocols.(Read more)
The objective of the ESA SpaceSituational Awareness (SSA) programme is to support Europe's independent
utilisation of, and access to, space through the provision of timely and
accurate information, data and services regarding the space environment, and
particularly regarding hazards to infrastructure in orbit and on the ground.
The SSA programme will,
ultimately, enable Europe to autonomously detect, predict and assess the risk
to life and property due to man-made space objects (remnant debris, re-entries,
in-orbit explosions and release events, in-orbit collisions, disruption of
missions and satellite-based service capabilities), potential impacts of Near-
Earth Objects (NEOs), and the effects of space weather phenomena on space- and
ground-based infrastructure.(Read more)
Crop water requirement mainly depends
upon crop sowing date, crop growth stages, crop duration and climatic
conditions during the growing season of an individual crop. A good estimate of evapotranspiration is essential for water balance irrigation scheduling and
water resource planning and management. Since, direct measurement of ET0
is difficult and time consuming, so most common practice is to estimate ET0
from meteorological data available for the area employing empirical equations.
There are numerous evapotranspiration equations developed and used by
researchers but still there is confusion in selecting the reliable
evapotranspiration estimation method for the area concerned. Some authors
compared estimates of different ET0 estimation methods for different
regions of the world. Al-Ghobari compared five different methods: FAO-Penman,
Jensen- Haise, Blaney and Criddle, Pan Evaporation and calibrated FAO-Penman
for four areas under local conditions of Saudi Arabia. The results showed that
estimated ET values were highly correlated with measured evapotranspiration
values. (Read more)
Concerning the possible sexual
port of entry in the cause of endocarditis, this mode of transmission should be
suspected in a search of clinical history, especially in recurrent
endocarditis.
The use of high power amplifiers with high linearity for mobile and satellite communications systems is essential. For example, in second and third generation mobile systems, GSM (Global System Mobile), 3GPP (third Generation Partnership Project), a large number of signals with different frequencies are transmitted from BS (Base Station) by high power amplifiers at the same time. To avoid interference of these amplified signals, the amplifier must operate linear and that linearization is not possible by classical methods. Since the amplitude of intermodulation signals at the output of the amplifiers depends on the size of the input signals, input signals with large amplitude limit the performance of the amplifier.
If the connection between an amplifier input and output signals display as transformation function that is extended in the form of a series (for example Taylor’s series), we see that for the larger signal, the role of higher degrees of expression is more and more important, that is, the behavior of amplifiers is no longer linear and amplifier operates in saturation (non-linear) region. The saturation region, due to high output power and resulting high efficiency in mobile communications and satellite systems play an important role.
Clays are processed by mechanical methods, such as crushing, grinding, and screening, however, because clays are used in such a wide range of applications, it is often necessary to use other mechanical and chemical processes, such as drying, calcining, bleaching, blunging, and extruding to prepare the material for use. Kaolin samples originally exhibit white color with high clay brightness, but it mainly contains various amounts, of discoloring elements, such as anatase (TiO2), mica and iron oxides (Fe2O3), which give low brightness and low quality. In addition, the anatase (titaniferrous) and mica can also contain iron contaminants.
West African countries are faced to a lack of access to modern energy such as electricity which can compromise their economic development. In the case of Burkina Faso the electricity production policies must considered energy sources such as agricultural residues (cotton stalks) in order to ensure economic growth. Indeed, Burkina Faso is a great African cotton producer. Thus, the cotton stalks (CS) can be converted into gas by the gasification technology for electricity production. The limit of the gasification is related to the gas quality. Indeed, the produced gas may contain significant amounts of tar which condense at low temperatures, leading to mechanical problems in the engines and in turbines.
Removing of tar from the gas engenders a considerable increase of the kWh production cost as a result of investment in the gas scrubber. The volatile matter content in the biomass is at the origin of tar formation during the gasification. Thus, reducing volatile matter content in raw biomass could reduce the tar content of the gasification gas. Torrefaction and carbonization reduces the volatile matter content and this process can be implemented easily in rural areas. It should be noted that the research results on tar production during the gasification of torrefied or carbonized biomass are scarce.
Industrial robots are widely used
in automobile assembly lines. These robots are called industrial robots since
their goal is to follow some pre-taught paths or way points, which isessentially the same as automation machines. The tasks performed by these
robots include welding, painting, pick-and-place in structured environment (e.g.,
glass installation, door installation, and nut/bolt fastening), etc.
The tasks performed by industrial robots are exciting. On the other hand, there
are lots of tasks remained to be done by human workers. These tasks include
picking parts from cluster,reorienting parts to certain poses, and force-based
assembly. These tasks cannot be done using industrial robots and teach pendantssince: The parts shapes and physical properties are varying. It is difficult to
manually specify the grasping strategies for infinite number of parts. The
initial poses and goal poses of manipulated parts are changing. It is difficult
to teach the robots all motions to reorient different parts.The first two
processes lead to variety in force control and assembly, which also make
pre-teaching difficult.
GSM a computerized portable telephony framework, which is globally gotten to by more than 212 nations and domains. Worldwide framework for portable correspondence is totally enhanced for full duplex voice telephony. At first created for the substitution of original (1G) innovation, now GSM is accessible with heaps of remarkable elements with the consistent up degree of third era (3G) innovation. What’s more, now with the organization together of microcontroller, GSM MODEM could be further perfectly customized for some of exceptionally creative applications including GSM based DC engine controller, GSM based home security framework, GSM based robot control, GSM based voting machine control, GSM based stepper engine coordinator and so on. Fundamental Function of GSM Based E-Notice Board.
