Advanced Aspects of Engineering Research Vol. 15

A high quality and precise machine and tool component is needed to produce the desire product. In order to manufacture in the shop floor machine factory, it significant to find the best solution with taking into account the tool condition, tool failure, thermal softening and surface finish etc. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of 2 dimensional Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Milling (UVAM) cutting mechanics, considering tool path trajectory and the effect on the chip thickness. The theoretical modelling of cutting mechanics is focused by considering the trajectory of the tool locus into the workpiece during the machining. The studies found the major advantages of VAM are come from the intermittent tool tip interaction phenomena between cutting tool and workpiece. The reduction of thinning chip thickness formations can be identifying advantages from vibration assisted milling in 2 dimensional. It is discovered that the main increase in cutting force reduction, temperature reduction, increased tool life, discontinuous, thinning, and improvements in chip formation, and improving surface roughness resulted from the effect of the tool entering and disengaging from the workpiece.

The rise of biodiesel production resulted in an increase in the formation of glycerol as a by-product. It takes some effort to purified the crude glycerol and convert it into more valuable product. The increase in biodiesel production could not be separated from crude glycerol as by-product. One of these is by converting glycerol into triacetin which can be used as a bio additive in fuel through the acetylation process. This study aims to determine the effect of concentration and type of acid used in the glycerol purification. The purification were done by acidification, adsorption, filtration, distillation and evaporation. The acidification processes used H₃PO₄, H₂SO₄, HCl with percentage of 0.5%, 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%. The purified glycerol was analyzed to determine glycerol content, water content, density and viscosity and converted through acetylation reaction using Ni/Zeolite as a catalyst. The reaction products were analyzed by NaOH titration to determine the unreacted acetic acid which is converted into conversion of reaction. It can be concluded that the highest glycerol concentration was achieved in the addition 5% of H₃PO₄ with glycerol content of 79.59% and glycerol conversion in acetylation reaction of 82.39%. And its application as a bio additive can increase the Octane Number of commercial gasoline by 6.5%.

In this chapter, We looked into the optical propertiessuch as refractive index n(\(\omega\)), absorption coefficient \(\alpha\)(\(\omega\)), and dielectric constant of wurtzite (WZ) GaN semiconductor using the plane-wave pseudopotential method within density functional theory (DFT).  The optical phonon modes were also calculated at 0 GPa utilising phonon calculation on Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package (CASTEP) software. All of the aforementioned parameters' calculated values are compared with available experimental values and the values reported by different workers. They have reached a fairly good agreement.

Characteristics of the interaction of haloperidol with HSA and BSA at 25°C and 37°C were studied by applying a computational model based on spectrofluorimetry data. The relative positions of primary binding sites for this drug in albumins were estimated. Haloperidol is a typical or first-generation antipsychotic medication and a neuroleptic drug from the butyrophenone group. Results suggested that the primary binding site for haloperidol in HSA and BSA is located inside the subdomain IB. At 37°C, HPD quenched 12.2(± 0.6)% of HSA fluorescence and 22.7(± 0.9)%  of BSA fluorescence when  [HPD]/[albumin] ratio was 1/1000. For [HPD]/[albumin] ratio equal 2/300, HPD was able to quench 58-65% of fluorescence of the two albumins at 37°C. The association constant of the HSA fluorescence by HPD was found in the order of 10⁷ M^-1, approximately two orders of magnitude larger than that found for risperidone, and about three orders of magnitude than those estimated for clorpromazine and sulpiride.

Biogas is made up of methane, carbon dioxide, and traces of numerous trace of elements. It is created through the anaerobic digestion of organic materials, such as cattle manure, and is dependent on a number of parameters impacting the population and activity of the bacteria that make biogas. Temperature is one of the many variables that affect biogas production from cattle manure.

The effect of temperature on biogas production from cattle dung was investigated at temperatures ranging from 35°C to 55°C, with each step of 5°C. The effect of temperature on the rate of biogas production from cattle dung is evaluated using a mathematical model developed in this study.

The temperature impact is added to the modified Gompertz model to create the new mathematical model. The new model was found to be capable of predicting biogas production from cattle dung at temperatures ranging from 35°C to 55°C. The results of the new model are found to be highly correlated with the experimental data of the current study.

The use of bio liquid electrolytes in solar cells improves the efficiency of the cell, reduces the resulting electrostatic charge on the surface and reduces the potential leakage of solid electrolyte. The research aims to prepare liquid electrolyte of polyvinyl alcohol in addition to yellow dye extracted from flowers. The yellow dye of the flowers growing in Carthage, Tunisia, was extracted using acetone and diluted with ionized water to prepare different concentrations of dye. The dye molecules works as a collector of light and is produced excitation of electrons .Polyvinyl alcohol was dissolved in 100 ml of various solvents (water, diluted dye and concentrated dye) separately to obtain a constant concentration of all solutions 0.01 g / ml. optical. The optical properties, including absorbance, transmittance, and energy gap using ultraviolet spectrum were studied. Results proved that the optical properties including absorbance, absorption coefficient increased with increasing dye concentration, transmittance decreased with increasing of the pigment concentration. The energy gap decreases by increasing the concentration of the dye and has the lowest value at the concentrated dye about 1.7 eV. However, when adding the concentrated dye to the polyvinyl alcohol, the energy gap decreases from 4 eV to 1.8 eV.

The urban traffic in city areas leads to serious problems with traffic jams, air and noise pollution, social problems, etc. The chapter presents solutions of two important transportation problems: distribution of goods and travelling salesman problems, applied in an urban area. The solutions of such problems lead to improvement of the management of the transportation services. The distribution problem is formalized by mixed integer-linear programming problem. The Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) has long history for the design of appropriate numerical algorithms for its solution. It belongs to a class of combinatorial optimization problems, which insist considerable computational workload for its solution. The added value of the research is that it gives examples how these two problems can be solved by wide available software suit. Real transportation problems in Sofia city are defined. It is illustrated how these problems can be solved relatively easy in Excel environment. Appropriate programming of the Excel sheet and its software application Solver is given. This work provides examples for the definition of transportation problem for distribution of goods and TSP one and their solutions.

This chapter illustrates the usage of the market indices for the estimation of parameters of the portfolio problem. It is derived an evaluation algorithm for decreasing the computational workload in definition and solution of portfolio optimization problem. The algorithm applies numerical relations, which lead to transformation of the classical portfolio problem to optimization one, which contains parameters from Capital Market Theory. The decreasing of the computational workload results from the inclusion of beta coefficient. Thus, the estimation of the asset characteristics is not performed by individual assessment of each asset return. The characteristics are found only by estimation of the market index and next evaluations according to relations of the asset risks and returns. This considerably decreases the amount of evaluations for the covariance matrix of the portfolio problem. The algorithm is illustrated by solution of portfolio problem with indices and mutual funds from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. The obtained results support the decision making for investments on stock exchanges.

Total shading was introduced as one of the prime factors for improving the thermal performance of buildings and the surrounding spaces in hot-arid regions. The Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Eco-House was taken as a case study, and the findings were used as an input into a prototype housing project in Oman. The Eco-House project was designed and supervised by a team of the college of engineering faculty and students lead by the author. It was built at the university campus by the University Projects Department. This work concentrates on the total shading system used in the project, and presents the theoretical bases, the design, and implementation of the system.

It was constructed of light of weight low-cost outer shell that wrapped around the walls and the roof, and it provided full shade for the building and the surrounding spaces. The shading elements in the system were assessed by graphical shading charts, and physical models. Shading efficiencies were calculated and compared to select the appropriate type for each orientation. The findings of the Eco-House were further developed to be applicable to a shaded prototype housing project. The shading was achieved by the mutual shading of house masses, then complemented by light weight secondary roof shell, and landscape elements.

We used the Differential Transformation Method to solve linear and nonlinear eighth-order boundary value problems in this study. The error of DTM is then calculated, and the results are compared to those of other methods such as the modified implementation of the variational iteration method (MVAM), the homotopy perturbation method (HPM), and the modified Adomian decomposition method (MADM).

We compared each method's errors to exact solutions. To demonstrate the precision and efficiency of the current method, we presented many numerical examples.In contrast to the results obtained by other methods, the DTM proved to be more reliable.  

The goal of this study is to use an MMUM mathematical model updating method from incomplete test data to detect damages in reinforced concrete bridges. It is carried out a suitable finite element model of a repaired bridge. We can use the diagnostics to find and detect damage in a reinforced concrete bridge. As a result, modal testing techniques have been used to check the progress of analytical predictions. Furthermore, a finite time centred space scheme has been developed to solve a set of equations that can readily handle finite element matrices in a bridge model. In this study, the method is used to detect damages as well as existing cracks in a repaired bridge in real time. The repaired bridge at Oued Oumazer in Algeria was chosen to test the method's efficiency.Identification methods have been shown to be capable of detecting the exact location of damage areas that need to be rectified while avoiding the inaccuracies of the finite element model for mass, stiffness, and loading.

The formation of emulsions is undesirable in the oil and gas industry because emulsification brings a number of problems; it affects the flow regimes and flow behavior, reduces the crude oil’s quality, occupies a volume in the pipeline, reduces the mass flow rate, requires longer retention time in the separation vessels, causes corrosion to the transport system, contaminates catalyst used in the refining process and increases operating cost. Yet, this is unavoidable because oil will always be produced together with water from the reservoir and towards the end of the reservoir life, with the increasing amount of water especially if the reservoir is driven by water aquifer. Less attention has been paid to the pipeline flow of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. Therefore, one of the attempts of this research work is to investigate the formation of W/O emulsions using a continuous flow loop, where the emulsification process is induced by the flow shear and turbulence effects such as the pipeline constriction disturbance in the flow loop. The experimental part of this research study is conducted using a model lab-scale continuous flow rig with the present of a 90° bend pipeline constriction and Bintulu crude oil is used. The experiments is focusing on studying the flow velocity and the turbulence role in the formation of emulsions by using an ultrasonic velocity profiler (UVP) system. The roles of turbulence in the formation of emulsions can be understood from the UVP study. This will then broadly contribute to the transportation of crude, i.e. with less emulsions formation, as the energy for the formation of emulsions can be controlled accordingly with the understanding on the roles of turbulence activities in the emulsification process.

Fatty acids, mainly unsaturated ones during a thermo-oxidative treatment can produce isomers and oxidation products, which consumed in high concentrations have a negative effect on health. Therefore, the objective of this work was to identify fatty acids in butter and margarine subjected to a thermo-oxidative treatment in order to determine their quality. Commercial brand butter and margarine were purchased. The thermo-oxidative treatment was carried out at 200°C during 30 min. To identify the fatty acids, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used in the middle region (400-4000 cm^-1). It was identified that saturated and unsaturated fatty acids did not show chemical changes and oxidative degradation products. A minimum strength in the absorbance corresponding to the double bonds with trans configuration was determined, due to the origin of the raw material. Therefore, the conditions of the thermo-oxidative treatment do not generate changes in the chemical structure of the fatty acids.

This work intends to analyze the flexibility to improve the adaptability to the users and to define some strategies to delay building obsolescence. If flexibility is defined as the ability of a system to be easily modified and to respond to user needs in a timely and effective manner, then it can be considered an antidote to obsolescence and a characteristic of the system that ensures the extension of its life cycle over time. The research proposes the project strategies aimed at ensuring the survival over time of the building, thanks to the ability to implement several cycles of use of the building, confront the ability to reconfigure the internal structure and intervene in a simplified way on the technological system that governs the space.

The Upper-Siwalik Sub-Group of the Sub-Himalayan Range exhibits spatial heterogeneity with respect to geotechnical and geological properties which makes either the prediction of quality of rock mass or the characterization of the rock mass a difficult task. Although challenging, it is important to predict the general response of the rock mass to tunnel excavation. This paper attempts to characterize  the Rock Mass around the Head Race Tunnel (HRT) of Pare Hydro-Electric Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh, India based on the classification systems viz. Rock Quality Designation (RQD), Terzaghi’s Rock Load Theory, Rock Structure Rating (RSR), Rock Mass Rating (RMR), and, Rock Mass Quality (Q) system. An attempt is also made to design the support system for the HRT of the proposed study area. A critical evaluation of the various support systems derived analytically from the above mentioned methods and that actually provided at the HRT is been made in the paper. This paper will assist other engineers in the design of support system for a rock mass using the outputs of various Rock Mass Classifications for similar rock conditions.