Improved Tower Cranes Operation Using Integrated 3D BIM Model and GPS Technology

Tower and mobile cranes are the most commonly used equipment on building construction jobsites. They play an essential role in material handling, placement, assembly and erection operations. Statistics reveal that during the last decade, the construction industry has suffered globally from crane related accidents. Hence, detailed study of different aspects of crane-based activity is important in terms of time and safety. There are several studies for enhancing safety conditions of crane operations on jobsites to decrease the number of fatalities and even increase the productivity. Existing approaches and studies have deployed wireless networks and tracking sensors to detect and identify workers, but high initial cost for installation and maintenance of these technologies and inappropriate feedback for disregarding workers privacy hold down their usability. The purpose of this study is to develop a proactive lifting operation management system to prevent potential accidents caused by tower cranes’ components through using GPS in integrated 3D BIM models. In this study, generated workspaces are utilized to demonstrate areas occupied by workers or equipment instead of using individual tags for each entity. As construction workers may leave their work zone for some reasons, 3D video tracking is applied for identifying and tracking if workers leave their pre-defined workspaces. The developed model captures the load position in real time and subsequently compares the load’s bounding box position with defined area in BIM model. In the developed model, tower crane’s load dimensions and starting point of the loading procedure are inserted and subsequently the model updates the load’s position in real time. The updated position in the 3D model is checked proactively with existing spaces to send alerts in case of overlapping. Two case studies are used to demonstrate the concept and to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. In the first case study the added plug-in is used to generate workspaces for material, equipment and labors and in the second one, the real time safety system is validated in two different scenarios. The developed plug-in in Revit environment enhances timely proximity detection for enhanced safety since it detects objects based on pre-defined spaces and retrieves crane’s load location in the model in real time. Identifying resources of interest which being free of tag and developing the real time conflict detection in Revit can be addressed as main findings of this study

Operating Room Scheduling Optimization Based on a Fuzzy Uncertainty Approach and Metaheuristic Algorithms

Today, planning and scheduling problems are the most significant issues in the world and make a great impact on improving organizational productivity and serving systems such as medical and healthcare providers. Since operating room planning is a major problem in healthcare organizations, the optimization of medical staff and equipment plays an essential role. Thus, this study presents a multi-objective mathematical model with a new categorization (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) to minimize operating room scheduling and the risk of using equipment. Time constraints in healthcare systems and medical equipment limited capacity are the most significant considered limitation in the present study. In this regard, since the duration of patient preparation and implementation of treatment processes occur in three states of optimistic, pessimistic, and normal, the introduced parameters are examined relying on a fuzzy uncertainty analysis of the problem. Hence, the model is measured in a real numerical solution sample in a medical center to evaluate and confirm the proposed mathematical model. Then, two meta-heuristic algorithms (NRGA and NSGAII) are implemented on the mathematical model to analyze the proposed model. Finally, the research results indicate that the NSGA-II is more efficient in the operating room scheduling problem

Product Characterization for Entrained Flow Coal/Biomass Co-Gasification

The U.S. Department of Energyâs National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) is exploring affordable technologies and processes to convert domestic coal and biomass resources to high-quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This interest is primarily motivated by the need to increase energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Gasification technologies represent clean, flexible and efficient conversion pathways to utilize coal and biomass resources. Substantial experience and knowledge had been developed worldwide on gasification of either coal or biomass. However, reliable data on effects of blending various biomass fuels with coal during gasification process and resulting syngas composition are lacking. In this project, GE Global Research performed a complete characterization of the gas, liquid and solid products that result from the co-gasification of coal/biomass mixtures. This work was performed using a bench-scale gasifier (BSG) and a pilot-scale entrained flow gasifier (EFG). This project focused on comprehensive characterization of the products from gasifying coal/biomass mixtures in a high-temperature, high-pressure entrained flow gasifier. Results from this project provide guidance on appropriate gas clean-up systems and optimization of operating parameters needed to develop and commercialize gasification technologies. GEâs bench-scale test facility provided the bulk of high-fidelity quantitative data under temperature, heating rate, and residence time conditions closely matching those of commercial oxygen-blown entrained flow gasifiers. Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) pilot-scale test facility provided focused high temperature and pressure tests at entrained flow gasifier conditions. Accurate matching of syngas time-temperature history during cooling ensured that complex species interactions including homogeneous and heterogeneous processes such as particle nucleation, coagulation, surface condensation, and gas-phase reactions were properly reproduced and lead to representative syngas composition at the syngas cooler outlet. The experimental work leveraged other ongoing GE R&D efforts such as biomass gasification and dry feeding systems projects. Experimental data obtained under this project were used to provide guidance on the appropriate clean-up system(s) and operating parameters to coal and biomass combinations beyond those evaluated under this project

Antiphospholipid antibodies: Paradigm in transition

OBJECTIVES: This is a critical review of anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL). Most prior reviews focus on the aPL syndrome (APS), a thrombotic condition often marked by neurological disturbance. We bring to attention recent evidence that aPL may be equally relevant to non-thrombotic autoimmune conditions, notably, multiple sclerosis and ITP. ORGANIZATION: After a brief history, the recent proliferation of aPL target antigens is reviewed. The implication is that many more exist. Theories of aPL in thrombosis are then reviewed, concluding that all have merit but that aPL may have more diverse pathological consequences than now recognized. Next, conflicting results are explained by methodological differences. The lupus anticoagulant (LA) is then discussed. LA is the best predictor of thrombosis, but why this is true is not settled. Finally, aPL in non-thrombotic disorders is reviewed. CONCLUSION: The current paradigm of aPL holds that they are important in thrombosis, but they may have much wider clinical significance, possibly of special interest in neurology

Humoral response to John Cunningham virus during pregnancy in multiple sclerosis

ConclusionsJCV-Ab levels remain unaltered during MS pregnancy, while the total IgG concentration is reduced/diluted due to increasing plasma volumes during the course of pregnancy. This may imply a biologically significant alteration in the immune response to JCV during MS pregnancy.</p

Product Characterization for Entrained Flow Coal/Biomass Co-Gasification

The U.S. Department of Energyâs National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) is exploring affordable technologies and processes to convert domestic coal and biomass resources to high-quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This interest is primarily motivated by the need to increase energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Gasification technologies represent clean, flexible and efficient conversion pathways to utilize coal and biomass resources. Substantial experience and knowledge had been developed worldwide on gasification of either coal or biomass. However, reliable data on effects of blending various biomass fuels with coal during gasification process and resulting syngas composition are lacking. In this project, GE Global Research performed a complete characterization of the gas, liquid and solid products that result from the co-gasification of coal/biomass mixtures. This work was performed using a bench-scale gasifier (BSG) and a pilot-scale entrained flow gasifier (EFG). This project focused on comprehensive characterization of the products from gasifying coal/biomass mixtures in a high-temperature, high-pressure entrained flow gasifier. Results from this project provide guidance on appropriate gas clean-up systems and optimization of operating parameters needed to develop and commercialize gasification technologies. GEâs bench-scale test facility provided the bulk of high-fidelity quantitative data under temperature, heating rate, and residence time conditions closely matching those of commercial oxygen-blown entrained flow gasifiers. Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) pilot-scale test facility provided focused high temperature and pressure tests at entrained flow gasifier conditions. Accurate matching of syngas time-temperature history during cooling ensured that complex species interactions including homogeneous and heterogeneous processes such as particle nucleation, coagulation, surface condensation, and gas-phase reactions were properly reproduced and lead to representative syngas composition at the syngas cooler outlet. The experimental work leveraged other ongoing GE R&D efforts such as biomass gasification and dry feeding systems projects. Experimental data obtained under this project were used to provide guidance on the appropriate clean-up system(s) and operating parameters to coal and biomass combinations beyond those evaluated under this project

Nanotechnology and global energy demand: challenges and prospects for a paradigm shift in the oil and gas industry.

The exploitation of new hydrocarbon discoveries in meeting the present global energy demand is a function of the availability and application of new technologies. The relevance of new technologies is borne out of the complex subsurface architecture and conditions of offshore petroleum plays. Conventional techniques, from drilling to production, for exploiting these discoveries may require adaption for such subsurface conditions as they fail under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. The oil and gas industry over the past decades has witnessed increased research into the use of nanotechnology with great promise for drilling operations, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir characterization, production, etc. The prospect for a paradigm shift towards the application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry is constrained by evolving challenges with its progression. This paper gave a review of developments from nano-research in the oil and gas industry, challenges and recommendations

Improved rheology and high-temperature stability of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide using graphene oxide nanosheet

Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) is a polymer that extensively used in chemical industry and hydrocarbon extraction and refinery processes, but suffers a common problem of high-temperature instability. This study improved high-temperature rheological characteristics of HPAM by using novel graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. Stable GO dispersions in aqueous HPAM were formulated, and their dynamic and viscoelastic behaviors were studied. The results showed that the addition of GO significantly increased the viscosities and high-temperature stability of the base polymer fluid, as well as the elastic properties of the dispersion. Spectral data indicated the formation of covalent linkages and electrostatic hydrogen bonding between the GO and the HPAM functional groups, leading to enhanced stability and viscosity that is beneficial for high-temperature oil recovery. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47582