Intelligent System Application to Monitor the Smart City Building Lighting

A smart city incorporates infrastructure methods that are environmentally responsible, such as smart communications, smart grids, smart energy, and smart buildings. The city administration has prioritized the use of cutting-edge technology and informatics as the primary strategy for enhancing service quality, with energy resources taking precedence. To achieve optimal energy management in the multidimensional system of a city tribe, it is necessary not only to identify and study the vast majority of energy elements, but also to define their implicit interdependencies. This is because optimal energy management is required to reach this objective. The lighting index is an essential consideration when evaluating the comfort indicators. In order to realize the concept of a smart city, the primary objective of this research is to create a system for managing and monitoring the lighting index. It is possible to identify two distinct phases within the intelligent system. Once data collection concludes, the monitoring system will be activated. In the second step, the operation of the control system is analyzed and its effect on the performance of the numerical model is determined. This evaluation is based on the proposed methodology. The optimized results were deemed satisfactory because they maintained the brightness index value (79%) while consuming less energy. The intelligent implementation system generated satisfactory outcomes, which were observed 1.75 times on average.     

Precipitation Behavior of Modified as Cast High Nitrogen Super Hard High‐Speed Tool Steel

The properties of high‐speed tool steels can be improved by modifying their chemical composition or the technology of production. Nitrogen alloying is an attractive technology to enhance the mechanical and physical properties of tool steels. In this work, modified super hard high‐speed tool steel was produced through nitrogen alloying and decreasing the level of cobalt content in investigated steels. This work aims to study the effect of nitrogen as alloying element on carbides and carbo‐nitrides precipitates type, shape, and size for investigated steels. From the results obtained from Thermo‐Calc, it was concluded that nitrogen alloying produced large amount of stable austenite, also eutectic carbides precipitates (M₆C and M₇C₃) were stable at room temperature. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images for traditional grade showed that the as cast structure contains beside the carbides network other single carbides precipitates. While on the other hand the selected area diffraction pattern (SADP) images of nitrogen alloyed grade shows fine carbides and carbo‐nitrides precipitates with more amount of retained austenite in the ferrite matrix, they showed also the presence of the eutectic precipitates as well as the dislocations.     

Effect of graphene loading on thermomechanical properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/starch blend

Polymer nanocomposites based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/starch blend and graphene were prepared by solution mixing and casting. Glycerol was used as a plasticizer and added in the starch dispersion. The uniform dispersion of graphene in water was achieved by using an Ultrasonicator Probe. The composites were characterized by FTIR, tensile properties, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis, and FE‐SEM studies. FTIR studies indicated probable hydrogen bonding interaction between the oxygen containing groups on graphene surface and the –OH groups in PVA and starch. Mechanical properties results showed that the optimum loading of graphene was 0.5 wt % in the blend. XRD studies indicated uniform dispersion of graphene in PVA/starch matrix upto 0.5 wt % loadings and further increase caused agglomeration. Thermal studies showed that the thermal stability of PVA increased and the crystallinity decreased in the presence of starch and graphene. FE‐SEM studies showed that incorporation of graphene increased the ductility of the composites. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41827.     

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel integrated geothermal based power generation-quadruple effect absorption cooling-hydrogen liquefaction system

In this paper, we propose a novel integrated geothermal absorption system for hydrogen liquefaction, power and cooling productions. The effect of geothermal, ambient temperature and concentration of ammonia-water vapor on the system outputs and efficiencies are studied through energy and exergy analyses. It is found that both energetic and exergetic coefficient of performances (COPs), and amounts of hydrogen gas pre-cooled and liquefied decrease with increase in the mass flow rate of geothermal water. Moreover, increasing the temperature of geothermal source degrades the performance of the quadruple effect absorption system (QEAS), but at the same time it affects the liquefaction production rate of hydrogen gas in a positive way. However, an increase in ambient temperature has a negative effect on the liquefaction rate of hydrogen gas produced as it decreases from 0.2 kg/s to 0.05 kg/s. Moreover, an increase in the concentration of the ammonia-water vapor results in an increase in the amount of hydrogen gas liquefied from 0.07 kg/s to 0.11 kg/s.     

A new video magnification technique using complex wavelets with Radon transform application

Magnifying micro-movements of natural videos that are undetectable by human eye has recently received considerable interests, due to its impact in numerous applications. In this paper, we use dual tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT), to analyze video frames in order to detect and magnify micro-movements to make them visible. We use DT-CWT, due to its excellent edge-preserving and nearly-shift invariant features. In order to detect any minor change in object’s spatial position, the paper proposes to modify the phases of the CWT coefficients decomposition of successive video frames. Furthermore, the paper applies Radon transform to track frame micro-movements without any temporal band-pass filtering. The paper starts by presenting a simple technique to design orthogonal filters that construct this CWT system. Next, it is shown that modifying the phase differences between the CWT coefficients of arbitrary frame and a reference one results in image spatial magnification. This in turn, makes these micro-movements seen and observable. Several simulation results are given, to show that the proposed technique competes very well to the existing micro-magnification approaches. In fact, as it manages to yield superior video quality in far less computation time.     

Manganese Distribution between FeO‐MnO‐SiO2–CaO–MgO‐Al2O3 Slags and Molten Iron

Pretreatment of high manganese hot metal is suggested to produce hot metal suitable for further processing to steel in conventional LD converter and rich manganese slags satisfy the requirements for the production of silicomanganese alloys. Manganese distribution between slag and iron represents the efficiency of manganese oxidation from hot metal. The present study has been done to investigate the effect of temperature, slag basicity and composition of oxidizer mixture on the distribution coefficient of manganese between slag and iron. Ferrous oxide activity was determined in molten synthetic slag mixtures of FeO‐MnO‐SiO₂–CaO–MgO‐Al₂O₃. The investigated slags had chemical compositions similar to either oxidizer mixture or slags expected to result from the treatment of high manganese hot metal. The technique used to measure the ferrous oxide activity in the investigated slag systems was the well established one of gas‐slag‐metal equilibration in which molten slags contained in armco iron crucibles are exposed to a flowing gas mixture with a known oxygen potential until equilibrium has been attained. After equilibration, the final chemical analysis of the slags gave compositions having a particular ferrous oxide activity corresponding to the oxygen potential of the gas mixture. The determined values of ferrous oxide activity were used to calculate the equilibrium distribution of manganese between slag and iron. Higher manganese distribution between slag and iron was found to be obtained by using oxidizer containing high active iron oxide under acidic slag and relatively low temperature of about 1350°C.     

Biochemical and physiological studies of certain ticks (Ixodoidea): Isolation and partial identification of a new fatty acid in eggs ofDermacentor andersoni Stiles (Ixodidae)

Gas liquid chromatographic analysis of the fatty acid methyl esters from eggs ofDermacentor andersoni Stiles (Ixodidae) revealed the presence of significant quantities (15% total fatty acids) of an unidentified component with a retention time between C_18∶3−C_22∶0 fatty acids. Smaller amounts of the unidentified component (ca. 5% total fatty acid) also were detected in host rabbit serum. Purified, the unidentified component's methyl ester collected from the tick eggs by preparative gas liquid chromatography was partially identified and characterized by chemical and spectroscopic analyses. The evidence suggests that the unidentified component is a methyl branched C₁₅ tricarboxylic acid containing two vicinal carboxylic acid groups. Biosynthesis of the unidentified component by the tick is under investigation.     

A parametric study on the factors affecting the froth floatation of Jordanian tar sand utilizing a fluidized bed floatator

Different parameters affecting the behavior of froth flotation of Jordanian tar sand, obtained from the Dead Sea area, were studied. This study was performed in a modified fluidized bed floatator. The effects of the addition of a flotation agent, NaOH, temperature and flotation time on the beneficiation of bitumen in the froth were investigated. It was found that the beneficiation factor in the froth increased with the increase of temperature and flotation time. However, the amount of base (NaOH) and the flotation agent were found to have a negative effect on that factor. A regression model based on a full factorial experimental design results was obtained with a significant correlation coefficient. The optimum beneficiation factor was found to be 7.2 and the bitumen content in the froth was found to be 79% in the froth, which was obtained at 0.2 gNaOH/L, zero agent, 80 °C, and 30 min.