EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DRIED PISTACHIO EPICARP ON WOOL CHARACTERISTICS OF GROWING AFSHARI LAMBS

Dvadeset četiri muške janjadi pasmine Afshari (prosječne žive mase 35±1.21 kg u dobi 10 mjeseci) korišteno je za istraživanje djelovanja različitih razina epikarpa sušene pistacije (0,12, 22 i 32%) na značajke vune. Mjereni su dužina vlakna vlakna na ramenu (STS), slabinama (STF), leđima (STB) i butu (STR), vlakna prave vune (TW), srž/unutrašnjost vlakna (MF), postotak urednog vlakna (KF), prosječni promjer vlakna vune (MD) i variranje njegovog koeficijenta (CVMD), opterećenje lomljenja (BL), čvrstoća vune (WT) i duljina (E). Ti su podaci analizirani pomoću jednosmjerne ANOVA-e primjenom paketa softvera SAS. Ukupan prosjek STS-a, STB-a, STF-a, STR-a, TW-a, MF-a, KF-a, MD-a, CVMD-a, BL-a, WT-a i E vune bio je 6.06-0.26, 6.60-0.19, 6.23-0.18 i 5.64-0.18 cm, 63.74-2.2, 12.36-1.9 i 23.87-2.1%, 36.37-0.85mu, 46.7-1.99%, 7.06-0.3 kgf, 3.2-0.17gf/tex i 33.59-1.4%. Premda nije bilo značajnih razlika među tretmanima, rezultati su pokazali da hranjenje janjadi epikarpom pistacije do 32.5 posto ukupnog unosa suhe tvari nije djelovalo na značajke vune.Twenty - four male lamb of Afshari sheep (mean live weight 35±1.21 kg, 10 month of age) were used to study the effect of different levels of dried pistachio epicarp (0, 12, 22 and 32 %) on wool characteristics. The staple length on shoulder (STS), flank (STF), back (STB) and rump (STR), true wool fiber (TW), medullated fiber (MF), kemp fiber (KF) percentage, mean wool fiber diameter (MD) and its coefficient variation (CVMD), breaking load (BL), wool tenacity (WT) and extension (E) were measured. These data were analyzed by one- way ANOVA using SAS software package. The total means of STS, STB, STF, STR, TW, MF, KF, MD, CVMD, BL, WT and E of wool were 6.06 ± 0.26, 6.60 ± 0.19, 6.23 ± 0.18 and 5.64 ± 0.18 cm, 63.74 ± 2.2, 12.36 ± 1.9 and 23.87 ± 2.1 %, 36.37 ± 0.85 mu, 46.7 ± 1.99 %, 7.06 ± 0.3 kgf, 3.2 ± 0.17 gf/tex and 33.59 ± 1.4 % respectively. Although there were no significant differences among treatments, the results showed that feeding lambs pistachio epicarp up to 32.5 percentage of total dry matter intake did not affect wool characteristics

A NEW ALGORITHM IN NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

Solving systems of nonlinear equations is a difficult problem in numerical computation. Probably the best known and most widely used algorithm to solve a system of nonlinear equations is Newton-Raphson method. A significant shortcoming of this method becomes apparent when attempting to solve problems with limit points. Once a fixed load is defined in the first step, there is no way to modify the load vector should a limit point occur within the increment. To overcome this defect, displacement control methods for passing limit points can be used. In displacement control method, the load ratio in the first step of an increment is defined so that a particular key displacement component will change only by a prescribed amount. In this paper the load ratio is obtained using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm so that the complex behavior of structures can be followed, automatically. Design variable is load ratio and its unbalanced force is also considered as objective function in optimization process. Numerical results are performed under geometrical nonlinear analysis, elastic post-buckling analysis and inelastic post-buckling analysis. The efficiency and accuracy of proposed method are demonstrated by solving these examples.