As one type of heating furnaces, the electric heating furnace (EHF) typically suffers from time delay, non-linearity, time-varying parameters, system uncertainties, and harsh en-vironment of the furnace, which significantly deteriorate the temperature control process of the EHF system. In order to achieve accurate and robust temperature tracking performance, an integration of robust state feedback control (RSFC) and a novel sliding mode-based disturbance observer (SMDO) is proposed in this paper, where modeling errors and external disturbances are lumped as a lumped disturbance. To describe the characteristics of the EHF, by using convection laws, an integrated dynamic model is established and identified as an uncertain nonlinear second ord

This study concerns the removal of a trihydrate antibiotic (Amoxicillin) from synthetically contaminated water by adsorption on modified bentonite. The bentonite was modified using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), which turned it from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic material. The effects of different parameters were studied in batch experiments. These parameters were contact time, solution pH, agitation speed, initial concentration (C0) of the contaminant, and adsorbent dosage. Maximum removal of amoxicillin (93 %) was achieved at contact time = 240 min, pH = 10, agitation speed = 200 rpm, initial concentration = 30 ppm, and adsorbent dosage = 3 g bentonite per 1L of pollutant solution. The characterization of the adsorbent, modi

This paper proposes a novel finite-time generalized proportional integral observer (FTGPIO) based a sliding mode control (SMC) scheme for the tracking control problem of high order uncertain systems subject to fast time-varying disturbances. For this purpose, the construction of the controller consists of two consecutive steps. First, the novel FTGPIO is designed to observe unmeasurable plant dynamics states and disturbance with its higher time derivatives in finite time rather than infinite time as in the standard GPIO. In the FTGPO estimator, the finite time convergence rate of estimations is well achieved, whereas the convergence rate of estimations by classical GPIO is asymptotic and slow. Secondly, on the basis of the finite and fast e

Rutting is a crucial concern impacting asphalt concrete pavements’ stability and long-term performance, negatively affecting vehicle drivers’ comfort and safety. This research aims to evaluate the permanent deformation of pavement under different traffic and environmental conditions using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) prediction model. The model was built based on the outcomes of an experimental uniaxial repeated loading test of 306 cylindrical specimens. Twelve independent variables representing the materials’ properties, mix design parameters, loading settings, and environmental conditions were implemented in the model, resulting in a total of 3214 data points. The network accomplished high prediction accuracy with an R

Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774), a freshwater snail native to eastern Mediterranean, eastern Africa, southeast Asia, southern Asia, India, and Malaysia, it is an effective invader and is now nearly globally distributed. This snail has been studied with interest because of its rapidly distributed, and because of being can serve as compatible intermediate host for many of trematodes in the world. We have summarized information from many articles in order to highlight the most important aspects of this invader snail life.

The pure ZnS and ZnS-Gr nanocomposite have been prepared
successfully by a novel method using chemical co-precipitation. Also
conductive polymer PPy nanotubes and ZnS-PPy nanocomposite
have been synthesized successfully by chemical route. The effect of
graphene on the characterization of ZnS has been investigated. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) study confirmed the formation of cubic and
hexagonal structure of ZnS-Gr. Dc-conductivity proves that ZnS and
ZnS-Gr have semiconductor behavior. The SEM proved that
formation of PPy nanotubes and the Gr nanosheet. The sensing
properties of ZnS-PPy/ZnS-Gr for NO2 gas was investigated as a
function of operating temperature and time under optimal condition.
The sensitivity,