Application of Geographic Information System and Probabilistic Analysis for Water Pipeline Renewal Prioritization

Aging infrastructure such as the water distribution system needs to be rehabilitated and maintained to provide uninterrupted and intended service, and to minimize possible failure with minimum expenditure. The failure of water distribution system is inherently uncertain and cannot be predicted deterministically. The theories and methodologies for rational maintenance decisions under uncertainty for water distribution systems have been well developed. The methodologies take into account the uncertainty in the break occurrence and consider the cost associated with rehabilitation and renewal. Some of these methodologies have been implemented in the decision support systems (DSS), and the presentation of the analysis results for the spatially distributed water main network is facilitated through the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS). However, in many studies, the integration of the probabilistic analysis models and a GIS to prioritize the rehabilitation scheme for water distribution systems is often either loose coupling, which is often considered to be cumbersome in data exchange among the GIS and other programs, or embedded computing system, which is often considered to be superficial in problem solving and expensive due to the complex system development. Therefore, in those studies, a GIS is often used as a tool for spatial query, spatial selection or thematic mapping and they do not take the full advantage of the features, such as the spatial analysis functionalities, available within the GIS environment. To facilitate the municipal engineers in using probabilistic based DSS to make informed decisions, in this study, development of integrated application of the GIS and probabilistic analysis for water pipeline renewal prioritization are carried out. The development includes the implementation of necessary subroutines and functions, and the m incorporation of optimization algorithm for the probabilistic analysis in Visual Basic Application (VBA) environment that is supported by the commercially available GIS software, ArcView 9.1 by ESRI. In addition, user friendly Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs) are built and within the ArcView 9.1 to assist the user with data processing (e.g., cost information) and result visualization in map format. The developed system uses the expected total cost during a service period or the expected cost per unit service period as objective functions, and takes into account stochastic break occurrence modeling, pipe material and surrounding soil condition. An illustrative application of the developed system is given with the water distribution system obtained from an industry partner, the City of Hamilton. Through the example application, it is shown that the developed GIS-integrated DSS is not only an effective and efficient tight coupling system to implement the analysis and provide optimal replacement schedules to decision makers and city planners, but also a user-friendly system with the developed GUIs in ArcGIS

Effect of Size and Shape of PDC Cutter on Wear Rate in Multi Layer Formation

During a normal drilling operation, the rate of penetration (ROP) often over focused while the wear rate is less taken care of. However, wear rate is a more severe problem faced in a long run drilling operation in multi-layer formation rather than focusing solely on the ROP. The project is to investigate the effect of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) bit design features on the bit wear rate during the operation in multi-layer formation, which is sandstone formation and dolomite formation. The bit design features studied in the project is the shape of the cutters and the size of the cutters. The effect of drilling fluid is assumed to be optimum. Using ABAQUS, models with different shape of cutter and size of cutter are simulated and compared. Results are analyzed and compared to study the effects on wear rate and select the best model which has minimum wear rate. Result showed that 16mm size cutter and cone shape cutter are best design to minimize the cutter wear compared to other size and shape of cutter used in the project

Effect of Size and Shape of PDC Cutter on Wear Rate in Multi Layer Formation

During a normal drilling operation, the rate of penetration (ROP) often over focused while the wear rate is less taken care of. However, wear rate is a more severe problem faced in a long run drilling operation in multi-layer formation rather than focusing solely on the ROP. The project is to investigate the effect of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) bit design features on the bit wear rate during the operation in multi-layer formation, which is sandstone formation and dolomite formation. The bit design features studied in the project is the shape of the cutters and the size of the cutters. The effect of drilling fluid is assumed to be optimum. Using ABAQUS, models with different shape of cutter and size of cutter are simulated and compared. Results are analyzed and compared to study the effects on wear rate and select the best model which has minimum wear rate. Result showed that 16mm size cutter and cone shape cutter are best design to minimize the cutter wear compared to other size and shape of cutter used in the project

SIDE-TOSIDE ASYMMETRY OF LANDING KINETICS IN HEAVY AND LIGHT BASKETBALL PLAYERS DURING A DROP LANDING

This study examined (1) the effect of body mass on impact forces during drop landings in basketball players, and (2) side-to-side asymmetry in landing kinetics between legs. Thirty male basketball players were assigned into 'heavy" (n = 15, mass 82.7 i 4.3 kg) or "light" (n = 15, mass 63.1 * 2.8 kg) groups. Players performed five drop landings from a 0.42 m platform. Vertical ground reaction forces for both legs were sampled using two adjacent and embedded force plates. A mixed factorial analysis of variance (Body Mass x Side) was applied to normalised peak force and loading rate variables (a = -05). The left leg experienced higher forefoot peak force (1 5.946, p = .001), forefoot mean loading rate (10.9%, p = .007) and rearfoot mean loading rate (1 1.846, p = .014) than the right leg, suggesting that side-to-side asymmetry exists. No body mass effect was found