Automatic target scoring system using machine vision

This paper reports on the development of a machine vision system for assessing targeting accuracy of ballistic, projectile-firing, weapon systems. The machine vision system developed here can monitor the target continuously, report precise quantitative targeting information, and simultaneously provide a color-coded display of impacts. The only other automated target scoring system on the market today is based on the analysis of acoustic signatures of projectiles using a heavily instrumented target. The proposed vision-based technique, in contrast, is inherently passive, requiring little or no modification of the existing set up.     

Integrating AHP with QFD for robot selection under requirement perspective

Selection of a robot is an important task, as improper selection may adversely affect a firm's production by reducing the quality of the product, thereby reducing productivity as well as profitability. To effectively select a robot for a specified job, several factors have to be considered. The objective of this paper is to explain how, using a combined AHP/QFD model, the authors are able to determine if the deployment of robots in industry helped in performance enhancement from requirement perspective. Incorporating a simple and novel cost factor measure in the proposed integrated AHP/QFD model aids justification of the implementation of a robotic system in a manufacturing firm from an economic point of view also. The proposed integrated approach also identifies technical requirements followed by customer requirements. In this paper, an integrated model combining AHP and QFD has been delineated for the industrial robot selection problem. Seven technical requirement factors have been considered for the case study.     

An empirical relationship to determine lateral seismic response of mid‐rise building frames under influence of soil–structure interaction

In this study, to determine the elastic and inelastic structural responses of mid‐rise building frames under the influence of soil–structure interaction, three types of mid‐rise moment‐resisting building frames, including 5‐storey, 10‐storey and 15‐storey buildings are selected. In addition, three soil types with the shear wave velocities less than 600 m/s, representing soil classes C_e, D_e and E_e according to AS 1170.4–2007 (Earthquake action in Australia, Australian Standards), having three bedrock depths of 10 m, 20 m and 30 m are adopted. The structural sections are designed after conducting nonlinear time history analysis, on the basis of both elastic method and inelastic procedure considering elastic‐perfectly plastic behaviour of structural elements. The frame sections are modelled and analysed, employing finite difference method adopting FLAC2D software under two different boundary conditions: (a) fixed base (no soil–structure interaction) and (b) considering soil–structure interaction. Fully nonlinear dynamic analyses under the influence of different earthquake records are conducted, and the results in terms of the maximum lateral displacements and base shears for the above mentioned boundary conditions for both elastic and inelastic behaviours of the structural models are obtained, compared and discussed. With the results, a comprehensive empirical relationship is proposed to determine the lateral displacements of the mid‐rise moment‐resisting building frames under earthquake and the influence of soil–structure interaction. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical study of reactive pollutant dispersion in street canyons with green roofs

Roof greening is a new technique for improvement of outdoor thermal environment which influences air quality through its impacts on thermal and flow field. In order to examine effects of green roofs on reactive pollutant dispersion within urban street canyons, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was employed which contained NO-NO₂-O₃ photochemistry and energy balance models. Simulations were performed for street canyons with different aspect ratios (H/W) of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 such that leaf area density (LAD) of green roofs changed. It was found that roof greening led distribution of pollutants to alter for H/W = 0.5 and 1.0 cases in such a manner that their averaged concentrations had small variations as LAD changed. However, by increasing LAD in H/W = 2.0, ventilation efficiency of nitrogen oxides increased since the flow was enhanced within the canyon. Additionally, averaged concentration of ozone in H/W = 2.0 increased with increasing LAD, owing to downward flux of ozone at roof level. Results show that roof greening is a good strategy which can be used in order to improve air quality and thermal environment, especially within deep street canyons.     

An experimental study on the performance and emission characteristics of a CI engine fuelled with Jatropha biodiesel and its blends with diesel

The performance and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine using mixture of jatropha biodiesel and mineral diesel have been experimentally investigated. It is observed that brake specific fuel consumption increases with higher percentage of biodiesel in the blends. Brake thermal efficiency decreases with the increased percentage of biodiesel in the blends. The maximum efficiency is found to be 29.6% with pure diesel and 21.2% with pure biodiesel. Carbon mono-oxide and hydrocarbon emissions are improved with the addition of biodiesel to diesel. NO_x emission is found to be increased with pure biodiesel by 24% compared to mineral diesel.     

Numerical investigation of the velocity field and separation efficiency of deoiling hydrocyclones

Three-dimensional simulation of a multiphase flow is performed using the EulerianEulerian finite volume method in order to evaluate the separation efficiency and velocity field of deoiling hydrocyclones.The solution is developed using a mass conservation-based algorithm(MCBA) with collocated grid arrangement.The mixture approach of the Reynolds stress model is also employed in order to capture features of turbulent multiphase swirling flow.The velocity field and separation efficiency of two different configurations of deoiling hydrocyclones are compared with available experimental data.The comparison shows that the separation efficiency can be predicted with high accuracy using computational fluid dynamics.The velocity fields are also in good agreement with available experimental velocity measurements.Special attention is drawn to swirl intensity in deoiling hydrocyclones and it is shown that the differences in velocity and volume fraction fields of different configurations are related to swirl distribution.     

A method for detection and classification of events in neural activity

We present a method for the real time prediction of punctuate events in neural activity, based on the time-frequency spectrum of the signal, applicable both to continuous processes like local field potentials (LFPs) as well as to spike trains. We test it on recordings of LFP and spiking activity acquired previously from the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of macaque monkeys performing a memory-saccade task. In contrast to earlier work, where trials with known start times were classified, our method detects and classifies trials directly from the data. It provides a means to quantitatively compare and contrast the content of LFP signals and spike trains: we find that the detector performance based on the LFP matches the performance based on spike rates. The method should find application in the development of neural prosthetics based on the LFP signal. Our approach uses a new feature vector, which we call the 2d cepstrum.     

Integrated ozone and biotreatment of pulp mill effluent and changes in biodegradability and molecular weight distribution of organic compounds

The overall effectiveness of integrating ozonation with biological treatment on the biodegradability enhancement and recalcitrant organic matter (ROM) removal from pulp mill alkaline bleach plant effluent was investigated. Ozonation was performed in a semi-batch bubble column reactor at pH of 11 and 4.5. Batch biological treatment was conducted in shake flasks. Samples obtained during the treatments were monitored for BOD₅, COD, TOC, and molecular weight distribution. At an ozone dosage of 0.7-0.8 mg O₃/mL wastewater, integrated treatment showed about 30% higher TOC mineralization compared to individual ozonation or biotreatment. Ozone treatment enhanced the biodegradability of the effluent (monitored as 21% COD reduction and 13% BOD₅ enhancement), allowing for a higher removal of pollutants. The conversion of high molecular weight (HMW) to low molecular weight (LMW) compounds was an important factor in the overall biodegradability enhancement of the alkaline effluent. The overall biodegradability of the LMW compounds did not change over the course of ozonation, but it increased from 5% to 50% (measured as COD removal) for the HMW portion. Ozonation at pH of 11 was more effective than that at pH of 4.5 in terms of generating more biodegradable compounds.     

Enhanced thermal performance and entropy generation analysis in a novel cavity design with circular cylinder

Analyzing fluid dynamics and heat transfer holds significant importance in the design and enhancement of engineering systems. The current investigation utilizes the finite element method to explore natural convection and heat transfer intricacies within a novel cavity containing an inner circular cylinder under steady and laminar flow conditions. The principal aim of this study is to assess the impact of Rayleigh number (Ra), Bejan number (Be), and the presence of adiabatic, hot, and cold cylinders on heat transfer, entropy generation, and fluid flow. The range of Ra considered in this investigation spans from 10³ to 10⁶, while the Prandtl number for the air is fixed at 0.71. The findings illustrate that the presence of a cylinder leads to higher Be as Ra increase, compared to scenarios where no cylinder is present. This observation suggests that buoyancy forces dominate in the absence of a cylinder, resulting in significantly enhanced convective heat transfer efficiency. However, the presence of a heated cylinder within the tooth-shaped cavity exerts a substantial influence on the overall thermal performance of the system. Notably, the average Nusselt Number (Nu) experiences a remarkable increase of 41.97% under the influence of a heated cylinder, when compared to situations where a cold cylinder is present. This elevated average Nu signifies improved heat transfer characteristics, ultimately resulting in an overall improvement in the thermal system's efficiency.