Application of neural network observer for on-line estimation of salient-pole synchronous generators' dynamic parameters using the operating data

Parameter identification is critical for modern control strategies in electrical power systems which is considered both dynamic performance and energy efficiency. This paper presents a novel application of ANN observers in estimating and tracking Salient-Pole Synchronous Generator Dynamic Parameters using time-domain, on-line disturbance measurements. The data for training ANN Observers are obtained through off-line simulations of a salient-pole synchronous generator operating in a one-machine-infinite-bus environment. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm has been adopted and assimilated into the back-propagation learning algorithm for training feed-forward neural networks. The inputs of ANNs are organized in conformity with the results of the observability analysis of synchronous generator dynamic parameters in its dynamic behavior. A collection of ANNs with same inputs but different outputs are developed to determine a set of the dynamic parameters. The ANNs are employed to estimate the dynamic parameters by the measurements which are carried out within each kind of fault separately. The trained ANNs are tested with on-line measurements to identify the dynamic parameters. Simulation studies indicate the ANN observer has a great ability to identify the dynamic parameters of salient-pole synchronous generator. The results also show that the tests which have given better results in estimation of each dynamic parameter can be obtained

Last Planner System: Experiences From Pilot Implementation in the Middle East

The work described in this paper is devoted to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing Last Planner to improve construction planning practice in Saudi construction industry. Firstly, the primary results of implementing Last Planner System (LPS) in two construction projects in Saudi Arabia are presented. Action research strategy was undertaken with different data collection methods employed included interviews, observation and survey questionnaire. Secondly, benefits gained in terms of improving construction management practice are presented, the critical success factors for LPS implementation are discussed, and potential barriers for implementing LPS revealed from the studies are presented. The results demonstrated numerous benefits were gained in terms of improving construction planning and site management. The fact that the structural work in one of the sites finished two weeks ahead of schedule is a clear evident of this improvement. However, there are some potential barriers reported which hindered the achievement of full potentials of LPS. Finally, a comparison between the outcome of this study and some previous studies on Last Planner in other countries is briefly carried out

Studying the Efficiency Dependence of CR-39 Detector on the Chamber Height

The response of CR-39 plastic detector was computed practically taking into account the most significant parameter of chamber height that effect on efficiency of CR-39. The aim of this project is to calculate the sensitivity of a CR-39 detector in a diffusion chamber for radon measurements using various chamber heights like, (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) cm. The obtained results revealed that the CR-39 detector's response for the chamber height of (10) cm is about 2 or 3 times higher than that of (15, 20, 25 and 30) cm, this is due to at the small height the concentrations of thoron (220Rn) will be mixing with the concentration of 222Rn

Spatial Evolutionary Generative Adversarial Networks

Generative adversary networks (GANs) suffer from training pathologies such as instability and mode collapse. These pathologies mainly arise from a lack of diversity in their adversarial interactions. Evolutionary generative adversarial networks apply the principles of evolutionary computation to mitigate these problems. We hybridize two of these approaches that promote training diversity. One, E-GAN, at each batch, injects mutation diversity by training the (replicated) generator with three independent objective functions then selecting the resulting best performing generator for the next batch. The other, Lipizzaner, injects population diversity by training a two-dimensional grid of GANs with a distributed evolutionary algorithm that includes neighbor exchanges of additional training adversaries, performance based selection and population-based hyper-parameter tuning. We propose to combine mutation and population approaches to diversity improvement. We contribute a superior evolutionary GANs training method, Mustangs, that eliminates the single loss function used across Lipizzaner's grid. Instead, each training round, a loss function is selected with equal probability, from among the three E-GAN uses. Experimental analyses on standard benchmarks, MNIST and CelebA, demonstrate that Mustangs provides a statistically faster training method resulting in more accurate networks

Model of Empowerment to Improve Autonomy Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) Tuberculosis Patients

Empowerment as not yet optimal health promotion efforts done to enhance the autonomy of Directly Observed Treatment (DOT), which affect the success of the recovery of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The purpose of research was to develop a model empowerment based on Health Promotion and Health Literacy with approach to nursing intervention in an effort enhance the autonomy of the DOT - pulmonary TB patients. The method was an observational analytic with cross sectional approach. Multistage random sampling was DOT-pulmonary TB patients to decide the district and simple random sampling was assigned to choose the participants, a total of 253 DOT- pulmonary TB patients new case with acid resistant bacilli positive on the advanced phase in this study. The study conducted in five districts in Surabaya City (center, north, south, east and west). Data were collected by questionnaire on variables namely personal, cognitive and affective, nursing intervention, commitment, family supports, health literacy and DOT- autonomy. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with LISREL is used for constructing predictive model. Result : This study found a new model which was developed based on combination of Health Promotion Model (HPM) and Health Literacy (HL). Statistical result confirm that personal, cognitive and affective, health literacy and family support considered as important factors in improving DOT-autonomy. Conclusion : DOT- autonomy will improve by considering four main factors, personal, cognitive and affective, health literacy, family support. This model can be adapted by District Health Office Surabaya City as the main actor regional health development. In addition, this model may become a reference for other district in improving their nursing intervention in community setting

Effect of Mineral Acids on Rooting Response of Aging Mung Bean (Phaseolus aureus Roxb. ) Cuttings via Indole Acetic Acid Level

The influence of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as a strong mineral acid on rooting response of fresh and aging mung bean cuttings has been studied on the level of (IAA) . The data revealed significant increase in rooting response of aged cuttings      ( for 3 days in d/H2O ) with (0.001 and 0.01%) concentrations of H2SO4 solution and highly significant increase in rooting response of aged cuttings (for 3 days in H2SO4 solution) with (0.0001 , 0.001 and 0.01%) concentration , While highly concentration (0.1 and 0.5 %) revealed highly significant decrease in rooting response compared to control (d/H2O). Quantitative estimation of IAA by spectrophotometric method as indicators for oxidative processes that occur during aging phenomenon verified a highly significant increase of IAA content in hypocotyles of aged cuttings in optimal concentration of H2SO4 . Key words: Aging, IAA biosynthesis, Rooting response, Mineral acids, Macronutrients, Stem cuttings

Improvement on rooting quality of Jatropha curcas using indole butyric acid (IBA).

The effects of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations and three types of cutting (softwood,semi hardwood and hardwood) on root performance of Jatropha curcas L. cuttings were investigated. Two experiments were conducted where in experiment 1, conducted on July 2007, the hardwood cutting gave the highest mean value for root dry weight (0.2g), number of roots (22) with percentage of rooted cuttings (56%) compared to the one using softwood cutting. 10, 000 mg/L IBA gave the highest mean value for root length (13.6cm), number of roots (28), percentage of rooted cuttings (74%) with root dry weight (0.5g). In experiment 2, conducted on January 2008, the hardwood cutting once again gave the highest mean value for root length (12.1cm) and root dry weight (0.4g). The greatest root number (59) was obtained at 20, 000 mg/L. There was no significant effect on percentage of rooted cuttings, root dry weight, root length and rootball diameter. The histological studies showed that adventitious roots were originated directly from the endodermis. The root primordial started to develop on day 8 and emerged through the epidermis after day 11

Detection of streptomycin residues in local meat of bovine and ovine

From meat retails in Mosul province, forty-five meat samples of local ovine and bovine (23 bovine samples and 22 ovine samples) were collected. The period of collection was during November 2010 to May 2011, by means of multistage random sampling for detection of streptomycin residues. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for detection of streptomycin residues. The results revealed that eleven ovine meat samples (50%) were positive to streptomycin residue, with a mean value 35.06 µg kg-1, while 14 bovine meat samples (60.86%) were positive to residual streptomycin with a mean value 59.56 µg kg-1. From the results, it is clear that all tested meat samples (ovine and bovine) were safe enough for human consumption

ESTIMATION OF EFFICIENCY AND THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO FINANCE ON EFFICIENCY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN THE WESTERN AREA OF SIERRA LEONE

To estimate efficiency and the impact of COVID-19 on the effect of access to finance on the efficiency of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, the study adopted the stochastic frontier estimation method of determining the efficiency of firms. A model of maximum performance (capacity) was estimated using 450 SMEs randomly selected from the population of registered SMEs in the Western Area of Sierra Leone from 2018 to 2020. The model of net business earnings was estimated using the Maximum Likelihood procedure and the firm efficiencies were consequently estimated. The mean inefficiencies are estimated by various categories, including SMEs' access to bank credit to determine firm characteristics that are associated with higher mean efficiencies. The empirical results reveal that the potential of firms is determined positively by capital productivity and labour productivity and negatively by the experience of firms, the latter results suggesting that more experience does not push their production outwards but inwards. However, other factors found significant in efficiency differences among firms include gender of the head of the SME, educational level, professional training of the firm heads, sector of operation and the area of operation of the SMEs. Moreover, firm mean efficiencies are not found to vary across the three periods 2018, 2019 and 2020, suggesting the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect firm efficiencies.JEL: F13, F15  Article visualizations