Experimental feasibility study of using date palm oil as a bitumen Bio-Modifier in HMA pavement

This paper examines the effects of Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier on the compressive strength of bitumen and hot mixed asphalt (HMA) pavement. Date palm oil contains anti-oxidant isomers that have the potential to enhance the performance and durability of bitumen. The compressive strength test of asphalt pavement mixed with Date palm oil was performed in accordance with British Standards BS 1881: Part 116: 1983. The cube specimens of asphalt pavement were manufactured mixing with 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% of Date palm oil out of total sample mass. The experimental results suggested that Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier reduced the compressive strength of HMA pavement. The findings of this paper urge for further experiments to understand the effects of Date palm oil on the asphalt pavements under long-term traffic load, environment and surface drainage

Studies on fungal cell walls

Imperial Users onl

Optical Waveguide Modelling Based On Scalar Finite Difference Scheme

A Numerical Method Based On Scalar Finite Difference Scheme Was Adopted And Programmed On MATLAB® Platform For Optical Waveguide Modeling Purpose. Comparisons With Other Established Methods In Terms Of Normalized Propagation Constant Were Included To Verify Its Applicability. The Comparison Results Obtained Were Proven To Have The Same Qualitative Behaviour. Furthermore, The Performances Were Evaluated In Terms Of Computation Complexity, Mesh Size, And Effect Of Acceleration Factor. Computation Complexity Can Be Reduced By Increasing The Mesh Size Which Will Then Produce More Error. The Problem Can Be Rectified By Introducing The Acceleration Factor, Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) Parameter. It Shows That SOR Range Between 1.3 And 1.7 Can Give Shorter Computation Time, While Producing Constant Value Of Simulation Results

Polymer optical waveguide based n wet-chemical fabrication process

The wet-chemical fabrication process of BenzoCyclobutene (BCB 4024-40) polymer waveguides are described. The method of prism coupling is adopted in the characterization process of the polymer film. A cost effective chemical etching technique is used in the waveguide fabrication process to take advantage of the photosensitive nature of the polymer. The waveguide loss is measured using the conventional cut back method which results on an average loss of 3.5 dB/cm

Achievement of Maqasid-al-Shari`ah in Islamic Banking: An Evaluation of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited

Shari`ah is the foundation of Islamic banking and also any other form of Islamic organization. The ultimate goal of the Islamic organization is to achieve the Shari`ah objectives, that is, Maqasid-al-Shari2019;ah. A comprehensive and careful examination of the Shari`ah rulings entails an understanding that Shari`ah aims at protecting and preserving public interests (i. e., Maslahah) in all aspects and segments of life. This study is a noble effort of evaluating the products of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) to justify how far these products are achieving the Maqasid-al-Shari2019;ah. The study found that the bank has been achieving the main and upmost (macro) Maqasid-al-Shari`ah, that is, public interest and the prohibition of riba over the last two decades. These two objectives have been achieving from the inception of the bank. However, the minor Maqasid-al-Shari`ah such as freeing from any kinds of debt and other benefits that related to macro-economics of the country is yet to be achieved in Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited

Biomajandustoodete võimalused Bangladeshis

Master’s Thesis Curriculum in Agri-Food Business ManagementBangladesh is a large and densely populated developing country. Bioeconomy could be a major factor for ensuring Bangladesh's food and environmental security. Bioeconomy is a new term in Bangladesh, and people's knowledge of it is limited. Given the large population, food security and environmental sustainability bioeconomy should be very common and widely discussed topics. Despite having all of the prerequisites for bioeconomy in Bangladesh, bioeconomy is not as popular in Bangladesh like western world. This research was conducted to determine why bioeconomy is not popular in Bangladesh, this study was conducted to determine the scope of bioeconomy products in Bangladesh. What is customers desired bioeconomy products that can be create market scope and can be developed was determine in this research.Bangladesh on suur ja tihedalt asustatud arengumaa. Biomajandus võib olla peamine tegur Bangladeshi toidu- ja keskkonnajulgeoleku tagamisel. Biomajandus on Bangladeshis uus termin ja inimeste teadmised sellest on piiratud. Arvestades suurt rahvaarvu, peaks toiduga kindlustatus ja keskkonnasäästlikkus olema biomajandus väga levinud ja laialdaselt arutatud teemadel. Hoolimata sellest, et Bangladeshis on kõik biomajanduse eeldused, pole biomajandus Bangladeshis nii populaarne kui läänemaailm. See uuring viidi läbi selleks, et teha kindlaks, miks biomajandus pole Bangladeshis populaarne, see uuring viidi läbi biomajandustoodete ulatuse kindlakstegemiseks Bangladeshis. Selles uuringus arutati, mida kliendid soovivad saada biomajandustoodetest, mis võivad luua turu ja mida saab arendada

Biomass Catalytic Upconversion with a Metallic Catalyst Bed under Radio Frequency Induction Heating

This study investigated the thermal performances of platinum particles when coupled on a steel support, under the application of a radio frequency (RF) field. Platinum nanoparticles were reduced on the surfaces of type-316 stainless steel balls, based on published methods of Pt reduction from chloroplatinic acid. Alternatively, 1wt. % Pt/Al2O3 commercial catalyst pellets were mixed with stainless steel balls and investigated for hydro-deoxygenation of pyrolysis oil from pine sawdust biomass. The catalysts were placed inside an electric insulator tube suspended within a looping copper coil connected to the induction heater, and heated at different power levels. An infrared camera was utilized to record the surface temperature profile during heating of Pt-coated balls and non-coated balls. Pt particles deposited onto silica beads showed no surface heating when placed inside an RF field. The Pt-coated steel systems, however, showed rapid heating of the surfaces following a first order response. The catalysts were characterized via SEM/EDX, XPS and XRD. Preliminary upgrading tests using these Pt-steel balls did not indicate any effect. The lack of catalytic activity was attributed to the limited surface area per unit volume of the Pt coating due to the large sizes and non-porous structure of the steel balls. For the catalytic upgrading experiment with the use of the Pt/Al2O3 commercial catalyst pellets mixed with steel balls, heating of the catalyst bed with the induction heater was compared with a conventional method of heating using electric tape around the catalyst bed reactor. Partial deoxygenation was successfully achieved in the catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis oil using Pt/Al2O3 pellets mixed with steel balls at 234°C, with the use of the induction heater. The molar O/C ratio of the oil decreased from 1.36 to 0.51. No deoxygenation was observed using the conventional heating method with the electric tape under identical conditions as both carbon and oxygen appeared to be removed at approximately equal rates, with the carbon being deposited in the form of coke onto the catalyst instead of being recovered in the liquid

Dimensions Of Development And Change In Bangladesh, 1960-1980

Bangladesh is a classic example of an overwhelmingly rural, low income, less developed country, seeking to achieve basic goals of development in both economic and social terms. In this study, what has been attempted is an analysis of change based on an array of 31 variables measuring social and economic well-being, and relating to an overall concept of development based on social justice and equality of opportunity. Change has been measured over the period 1960 to 1980 using data from the 1961, 1974 and 1981 censuses, organized on the spatial base of Bangladesh\u27s 71 Districts. The primary objective of the investigation was to analyze the regional characteristics of all variables on both an individual (univariate) and composite basis (multivariate), and in both absolute and relative terms. This investigation seeks to test the hypothesis that, over time and given the effort, some positive change did occur. Improvement is here defined as social well-being and greater equity, with particular reference to decline in regional disparities within Bangladesh.;Individual variable analysis reveals a varied pattern of generally modest improvements with public sector investment (health, education) and non-agricultural employment leading the way. Factor analysis using dimensional mapping techniques suggests that there has been an increase in well-being and equalization of benefits, but that improvements are concentrated outside and distinct from the agricultural sector. Composite analysis using cluster techniques suggests that in 1961 the cluster defined regions seem to correspond somewhat to the underlying physical base and traditional, rurally defined areas including one \u27core\u27 region (Dhaka District--the capital). In spatial terms, there remain strong differentiations between the two main urban axes (Dhaka-Chittagong and Khulna-Rajshahi) and much of the remaining, more rural hinterland. However, by 1981 there has emerged the more clear-cut development pattern incorporating (1) the better serviced areas, including major urban areas, but by no means an urban cluster, (2) a more specifically rural, less well serviced set of Districts, to some extent peripheral but not describing a coherent periphery, and (3) the set of poor Districts largely concentrated in the Chittagong Hill-Tracts of the south-east. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.

Rate-distortion Balanced Data Compression for Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents a data compression algorithm with error bound guarantee for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) using compressing neural networks. The proposed algorithm minimizes data congestion and reduces energy consumption by exploring spatio-temporal correlations among data samples. The adaptive rate-distortion feature balances the compressed data size (data rate) with the required error bound guarantee (distortion level). This compression relieves the strain on energy and bandwidth resources while collecting WSN data within tolerable error margins, thereby increasing the scale of WSNs. The algorithm is evaluated using real-world datasets and compared with conventional methods for temporal and spatial data compression. The experimental validation reveals that the proposed algorithm outperforms several existing WSN data compression methods in terms of compression efficiency and signal reconstruction. Moreover, an energy analysis shows that compressing the data can reduce the energy expenditure, and hence expand the service lifespan by several folds.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1408.294