Solar tracking systems used are to increase the efficiency of the solar cells have attracted the attention of researchers recently due to the fact that the attention has been directed to the renewable energy sources. Solar tracking systems are of two types, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and sun path tracking. Both types are studied briefly in this paper and a simple low cost sun path tracking system is designed using simple commercially available component. Measurements have been made for comparison between fixed and tracking system. The results have shown that the trackin

Solar tracking systems used are to increase the efficiency of the solar cells have attracted the attention of
researchers recently due to the fact that the attention has been directed to the renewable energy sources. Solar tracking systems are of two types, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and sun path tracking. Both types are studied briefly in this paper and a simple low cost sun path tracking system is designed using simple commercially available component. Measurements have been made for comparison between fixed and tracking system. The results have shown that the tracking system is effective in the sense of relatively high output power increase and low cost.

In this paper, the time-history responses of a square plan two-story reinforced concrete prototype building, considering the elastic and inelastic behavior of the materials, were studied numerically. ABAQUS software was used in three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear dynamic analysis to predict the inelastic response of the buildings. Concrete Damage Plasticity Model (CDPM) has been used to model the inelastic behavior of the reinforced concrete building under seismic excitation. The input data included geometric information, material properties, and the ground motion. The building structure was designed only for gravity load according to ACI 318 with

Through an experimental program of eighteen specimens presented in this paper, the bond strength between reinforcing bar and rubberized concrete was produced by adding waste tire rubber instead of natural aggregate. The fine and coarse aggregate was replaced in 0%, 25%, and 50% with the small pieces of a waste tire. Natural aggregate replacement ratio, rebar size, embedded rebar length, the rebar yield stress of rebar, cover, and concrete compressive strength were studied in this investigation. Ultimate bond stress, bond stress-slip response, and failure modes were presented. The experimental results reported that a reduction of 19% in bond strength was noticed in 50% replaced rubberized concrete compared with convention

Low grade crude palm oil (LGCPO) presents as an attractive option as feedstock for biodiesel production due to its low cost and non-competition with food resources. Typically, LGCPO contains high contents of free fatty acids (FFA), rendering it impossible in direct trans-esterification processes due to the saponification reaction. Esterification is the typical pre-treatment process to reduce the FFA content and to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The pre-treatment of LGCPO using two different acid catalysts, such as titanium oxysulphate sulphuric acid complex hydrate (TiOSH) and 5-sulfosalicylic acid dihydrate (5-SOCAH) was investigated for the first time in this study. The optimum conditions for the homogenous catalyst (5-SOCAH) wer

The printed circuit heat exchanger is a plate type heat exchanger with a high performance and compact size. Heat exchangers such as this need a unique form of bonding and other techniques to be used in their construction. In this study, the process of joining plates, diffusion bonding, was performed and studied. A special furnace was manufactured for bonding purposes. The bonding process of copper metal was carried out under specific conditions of a high temperature up to 700 ^oC, high pressure of 3.45 MPa, and in an inert environment (Argon gas) to make tensile samples. The tensile samples are cylindrical shapes containing groves representing the flow channels in the printed circuit heat exchanger and checking their tensile st

Fatigue failure is almost considered as the predominant problem affecting automotive parts under dynamic loading condition. Thus, more understanding of crack behavior during fatigue can strongly help in finding the proper mechanism to avoid the final fracture and extent the service life of components. The main goal of this paper is to study the fracture behavior of low carbon steel which is used mostly in automotive industry. For this purpose, the fractography of samples subjected to high and low stress levels in fatigue test then was evaluated and analyzed. Hardness and tensile tests were carried out to determine the properties of used steel. Also, the samples were characterized by microstructure test and XRD analysis to examine the con

When the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s