Classification of abnormal plant operation using multiple process variable trends

This paper illustrates two strategies for the detection and classification of abnormal process operating conditions in which multiple process variable trends are available. The first strategy uses a hidden Markov model (HMM) for overall process classification while the second method uses a back-propagation neural network (BPNN) to determine the overall process classification. The methods are compared in terms of their ability to detect and correctly diagnose a variety of abnormal operating conditions for a non-isothermal CSTR simulation. For the case study problem, the BPNN method resulted in better classification accuracy with a moderate increase in training time compared with the HMM approach.     

Groundwater legislation in Turkey: problems of conception and application

The uneven distribution of water resources, a growing population, urbanization and global climate change require new approaches for groundwater management in Turkey. “Safe yield” should yield to broader concepts such as “sustainability”. Groundwater management needs to consider future needs of the people and all ecosystems in accordance with basin development models. Groundwater law needs to be expanded beyond quantity to address quality concerns. A new institutional framework should be established and groundwater regulation should reflect new approaches and ideas, in particular to address problems of application.     

Identification of EMG signals using discriminant analysis and SVM classifier

The electromyography (EMG) signal is a bioelectrical signal variation, generated in muscles during voluntary or involuntary muscle activities. The muscle activities such as contraction or relaxation are always controlled by the nervous system. The EMG signal is a complicated biomedical signal due to anatomical/physiological properties of the muscles and its noisy environment. In this paper, a classification technique is proposed to classify signals required for a prosperous arm prosthesis control by using surface EMG signals. This work uses recorded EMG signals generated by biceps and triceps muscles for four different movements. Each signal has one single pattern and it is essential to separate and classify these patterns properly. Discriminant analysis and support vector machine (SVM) classifier have been used to classify four different arm movement signals. Prior to classification, proper feature vectors are derived from the signal. The feature vectors are generated by using mean absolute value (MAV). These feature vectors are provided as inputs to the identification/classification system. Discriminant analysis using five different approaches, classification accuracy rates achieved from very good (98%) to poor (96%) by using 10-fold cross validation. SVM classifier gives a very good average accuracy rate (99%) for four movements with the classification error rate 1%. Correct classification rates of the applied techniques are very high which can be used to classify EMG signals for prosperous arm prosthesis control studies.     

Natural frequencies of a flat viaduct road part simply supported on two ends

Viaduct roads have wide application in big cities with high traffic loads, in order to decrease traffic density and to connect subways to highways. Viaduct roads are constructed using steel structures instead of concrete ones in areas of earthquake risks. The low weight of steel structures however causes problems such as vibration and noise. There is increasing demand especially in populated areas to suppress vibration and noise on highway roads for reducing noise-related environmental pollution. In this study, bending vibrations of rectangular plate viaduct roads, which are supported by six fixed elements of rectangular cross-sectional elements are considered. Natural frequencies are obtained using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique, finite elements analysis, experimentally and neural networks (NN).     

Real-time monitoring of flank wear behavior of ceramic cutting tool in turning hardened steels

Flank wear of an alumina-based ceramic cutting tool was determined in hard turning two workpieces (AISI 4340 and 52100 hardened steels) at three cutting speeds (142, 181, and 264?m/min) to devise a real-time monitoring system. Results of the six turning tests were assessed using Kruskal?CWallis test, regression models, and linear trend analysis. Multiple non-linear regression models that explained variation in flank wear as a function of time (second) had a range of $ R_{\rm{adj}}^2 $ values of 27.7% for the test 4340-142 to 95% for the test 52100-181. Linear trend models revealed that the highest flank wear rate of the ceramic cutting tool belonged to the test 52100-181. Interaction effect of the three cutting speeds and the two workpiece types was determined to account for 82.2% of variation in flank wear (P?<?0.001). The real-time monitoring system designed in this study appeared to be promising in terms of determining and quantifying flank wear behavior of the ceramic cutting tool and optimal hard turning conditions.     

Coal consumption and industrial production nexus in USA: Cointegration with two unknown structural breaks and causality approaches

The paper investigates the causality relationships among industrial production index, coal consumption and employment in industrial sector for the period of 1973:1–2011:10 in USA. After noticing that there are breaks in the regression model, the Hatemi-J test for cointegration is employed to the cases that take into account two possible regime shifts. It is concluded that there is a long run relationship between industrial production and industrial coal consumption with the breaks at 1983:4 and 1998:4. We found a negative relationship between coal consumption and industrial production for the period of 1973:1–1983:4 and positive relationship for 1983:5–1998:4 period. For the last period that covers 1983:5–2011:10, the cointegration relationship turned to negative. In addition, the results show that causal relationship between coal consumption and industrial production changes over time.     

The influence of operating and device parameters on the maximum efficiency and the maximum output power of thermoelectric generator

Thermoelectric power generators are one of the promising green energy sources. The operating and the generator parameters influence the generator output performance. In the present study, the influence of the operating and the generator parameters on the maximum output power and the efficiency of the thermoelectric power generator are examined. The output power corresponding to the maximum efficiency and the maximum attainable output power of the generator are compared. It is found that the maximum power of the thermoelectric generator corresponding to the high Figure of Merit is very sensitive to the operating temperature. The maximum power attainable is larger than that its counterpart corresponding to the maximum generator efficiency. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Defining the suitability of new crushed rock aggregate source areas in the North of Kocaeli Province using GIS

This study evaluated the current crushed rock aggregate resources and defined the suitability of potential crushed rock aggregate resource areas in the north of Kocaeli Province by using the geographical information system (GIS). Evaluation of the current aggregate market showed that almost 80 % of the total annual production (14.35 million tonnes) is supplied by the quarries located in Gebze and 20 % of the total annual production (3.65 million tonnes) is supplied by the quarries located in Hereke. The commercial crushed rock aggregate is totally supplied from the limestone and dolomite type carbonate rocks in the northern Kocaeli region. Defining the suitability of potential crushed rock aggregate resource areas was achieved by using GIS methods. First, an aggregate bedrock potential map was developed by using the geological map of the area and categorized as high, moderate and low bedrock potential areas. The high potential areas, which comprised almost 25 % of the northern Kocaeli region, contain carbonate rocks with varying physical, chemical and engineering properties. Secondly, the suitability of the bedrock potential areas was checked by considering the land-use, distance to the county centres and distance to major roads and highways layers in the weighted overlay function of the GIS. The resulting final map contained not suitable, low suitability and suitable areas for crushed rock aggregate. The suitable areas were grouped into three zones according to their geographic distributions. Further, the most promising crushed rock aggregate areas were defined based on the previous field work and surveys in the suitable areas.