Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421934
A. Samarasekara, K. D. H. N. Kahavita, D. Amarasinghe, L. Karunanayake
Increasing demands of property enhance materials lead to acquire advancement of nanomaterials. Therefore, interest in nanocellulose has been increasing exponentially in recent years. Out of two categories of nanocellulose, nanofibrillated cellulose has gained more attention than nanocrystalline cellulose due to attractive properties such as mechanical, reinforcing and aspect ratio. Reinforcement of nanofibrillated cellulose with synthetic polymers produce nanocomposite with enhanced properties than pure material. Polypropylene is one of the widely used hydrophobic thermoplastic materials and nanofibrillated cellulose is hydrophilic in nature. Therefore, surface modification of nanofibrillated cellulose is necessary for better performances. In the present paper discuss mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of polypropylene composites with up to 5% loading of silane surface modified nanofibrillated cellulose. Scanning electron microscopic images, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffractograms and thermal gravimetric analysis were used to analyze the properties. The best properties were given by the 3.5% nanofibrillated cellulose reinforced polypropylene composite and hardness, tensile and impact strength values are respectively 7.4%, 12.6%, and 86.1% higher than the neat polypropylene.
{"title":"Fabrication and Characterization of Nanofibrillated Cellulose (NFC) Reinforced Polymer Composite","authors":"A. Samarasekara, K. D. H. N. Kahavita, D. Amarasinghe, L. Karunanayake","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421934","url":null,"abstract":"Increasing demands of property enhance materials lead to acquire advancement of nanomaterials. Therefore, interest in nanocellulose has been increasing exponentially in recent years. Out of two categories of nanocellulose, nanofibrillated cellulose has gained more attention than nanocrystalline cellulose due to attractive properties such as mechanical, reinforcing and aspect ratio. Reinforcement of nanofibrillated cellulose with synthetic polymers produce nanocomposite with enhanced properties than pure material. Polypropylene is one of the widely used hydrophobic thermoplastic materials and nanofibrillated cellulose is hydrophilic in nature. Therefore, surface modification of nanofibrillated cellulose is necessary for better performances. In the present paper discuss mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of polypropylene composites with up to 5% loading of silane surface modified nanofibrillated cellulose. Scanning electron microscopic images, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffractograms and thermal gravimetric analysis were used to analyze the properties. The best properties were given by the 3.5% nanofibrillated cellulose reinforced polypropylene composite and hardness, tensile and impact strength values are respectively 7.4%, 12.6%, and 86.1% higher than the neat polypropylene.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"4 1","pages":"449-454"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88312030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421998
P. A. Diluka Harischandra, A. M. Harsha S. Abeykoon, S. Abeykoon
Most of the studies on rehabilitation robots consider the human arm inertia and the gravity torque as system disturbances. Individual anthropometry varies from patient to patient, and therefore human limbs are not modelled. Some studies used the Disturbance Observer (DOB) as a method of disturbance rejection. However, if the inertia and gravity torque parameters of the human arm could be estimated, they could be effectively used in the controller loop to achieve precise motion control. This paper proposes a novel Reaction Torque Observer (RTOB) based estimation technique which updates parameters using learning and recursive algorithms in real-time. The proposed method is applicable to many robot systems where the load inertia or the load is not known. A simulation was carried out with realistic parameters to compare the performance of two competing methods proposed namely, Adaptive Linear Neuron (ADALINE) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS). Results show that the RLS method outperforms the ADALINE method based on the performance criteria of accuracy, precision and convergence speed for estimating the inertia.
{"title":"Simulation of Online Human Arm Inertia Estimation for Robot-aided Rehabilitation","authors":"P. A. Diluka Harischandra, A. M. Harsha S. Abeykoon, S. Abeykoon","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421998","url":null,"abstract":"Most of the studies on rehabilitation robots consider the human arm inertia and the gravity torque as system disturbances. Individual anthropometry varies from patient to patient, and therefore human limbs are not modelled. Some studies used the Disturbance Observer (DOB) as a method of disturbance rejection. However, if the inertia and gravity torque parameters of the human arm could be estimated, they could be effectively used in the controller loop to achieve precise motion control. This paper proposes a novel Reaction Torque Observer (RTOB) based estimation technique which updates parameters using learning and recursive algorithms in real-time. The proposed method is applicable to many robot systems where the load inertia or the load is not known. A simulation was carried out with realistic parameters to compare the performance of two competing methods proposed namely, Adaptive Linear Neuron (ADALINE) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS). Results show that the RLS method outperforms the ADALINE method based on the performance criteria of accuracy, precision and convergence speed for estimating the inertia.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"14 1","pages":"31-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80070503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421946
H. R. Wickramarachchi, Y. Sandanayake, B. Ekanayake
Achieving quality in construction projects is vital for construction organisations. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) require vigorous quality achieving techniques to compete with large scale competitors. Therefore, this study investigated the total quality management (TQM) implementation in construction SMEs in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a mixed approach. Data collection was done through preliminary interviews and a questionnaire survey among professionals of construction SMEs. Quantitative data were analysed using respondent average score method and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The study revealed that although TQM practices are employed by the SME contractors, their understanding about TQM is low. The highest implemented TQM practice is the “Continual review and comparison of work progress and cash flow with data related to actual progress”, while “Conducting value engineering workshops with client at project commencement” is the least implemented. TQM practices of “Employees feel the commitment of top management towards project and process quality improvement” and “Ensuring prompt communication of design changes to the project team and other relevant parties during the construction process” are the most contributor to project success. “Employees are given with responsibility and authority to perform without monitoring and inspections”, is the least contributor to project success.
{"title":"Total Quality Management Implementation in Sri Lankan Construction Industry : A Study of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises","authors":"H. R. Wickramarachchi, Y. Sandanayake, B. Ekanayake","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421946","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421946","url":null,"abstract":"Achieving quality in construction projects is vital for construction organisations. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) require vigorous quality achieving techniques to compete with large scale competitors. Therefore, this study investigated the total quality management (TQM) implementation in construction SMEs in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a mixed approach. Data collection was done through preliminary interviews and a questionnaire survey among professionals of construction SMEs. Quantitative data were analysed using respondent average score method and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The study revealed that although TQM practices are employed by the SME contractors, their understanding about TQM is low. The highest implemented TQM practice is the “Continual review and comparison of work progress and cash flow with data related to actual progress”, while “Conducting value engineering workshops with client at project commencement” is the least implemented. TQM practices of “Employees feel the commitment of top management towards project and process quality improvement” and “Ensuring prompt communication of design changes to the project team and other relevant parties during the construction process” are the most contributor to project success. “Employees are given with responsibility and authority to perform without monitoring and inspections”, is the least contributor to project success.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"117 1","pages":"19-24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77445579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421979
Darren R. Kartchner, S. Jayaweera
The ratio of the maximum and minimum eigenvalues of the sample covariance matrix has been suggested as a test statistic for signal detection in low-SNR regimes. The threshold required to implement a Neyman-Pearson test on this statistic is usually computed by estimating the distribution of this eigenvalue ratio under the null hypothesis using results from random matrix theory (RMT). However, in order to apply asymptotic laws from RMT, the data matrix used to construct the test statistic must have statistically independent columns, which was not satisfied by the test statistics used in previously proposed detectors. This paper forms a data matrix with independent columns to compute the test statistic for maximum-minimum eigenvalue (MME) detection and compares its performance to that of the test statistic as currently defined in literature. The comparison is made with both the semi-asymptotic threshold, which uses the limiting distribution of the maximum eigenvalue and the asymptotic constant to which the minimum eigenvalue converges; as well as the limiting distribution-based threshold, which uses the limiting distribution of the ratio of the maximum and minimum eigenvalues. Simulations compare the expected false alarm rate versus actual false alarm rate, as well as the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) for the following three cases: the two test statistics with the semi-asymptotic threshold, the two test statistics with the limiting distribution threshold, and the two thresholds in conjunction with the newly proposed test statistic. Results demonstrate that the newly proposed test statistic with the limiting distribution threshold is the only case where the actual false alarm rate remains consistently below the false alarm constraint set in the Neyman-Pearson test, while the previous test statistics are almost completely unresponsive to changes to the false alarm constraint.
{"title":"A Modified Test Statistic for Maximum-Minimum Eigenvalue Detection Based on Asymptotic Distribution Thresholds","authors":"Darren R. Kartchner, S. Jayaweera","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421979","url":null,"abstract":"The ratio of the maximum and minimum eigenvalues of the sample covariance matrix has been suggested as a test statistic for signal detection in low-SNR regimes. The threshold required to implement a Neyman-Pearson test on this statistic is usually computed by estimating the distribution of this eigenvalue ratio under the null hypothesis using results from random matrix theory (RMT). However, in order to apply asymptotic laws from RMT, the data matrix used to construct the test statistic must have statistically independent columns, which was not satisfied by the test statistics used in previously proposed detectors. This paper forms a data matrix with independent columns to compute the test statistic for maximum-minimum eigenvalue (MME) detection and compares its performance to that of the test statistic as currently defined in literature. The comparison is made with both the semi-asymptotic threshold, which uses the limiting distribution of the maximum eigenvalue and the asymptotic constant to which the minimum eigenvalue converges; as well as the limiting distribution-based threshold, which uses the limiting distribution of the ratio of the maximum and minimum eigenvalues. Simulations compare the expected false alarm rate versus actual false alarm rate, as well as the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) for the following three cases: the two test statistics with the semi-asymptotic threshold, the two test statistics with the limiting distribution threshold, and the two thresholds in conjunction with the newly proposed test statistic. Results demonstrate that the newly proposed test statistic with the limiting distribution threshold is the only case where the actual false alarm rate remains consistently below the false alarm constraint set in the Neyman-Pearson test, while the previous test statistics are almost completely unresponsive to changes to the false alarm constraint.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"11 1","pages":"25-30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91271050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421972
R. Sahabandu, P. Asanka
The economic liberation in 1977 resulted in drastic changes in many aspects of Sri Lanka. Considering about 1978–2015, the country yearly import demand represents over 30% share of the gross domestic product (GDP) except 1984, 2009, 2010, 2013–2015. Investigations and the studies on a countries’ imports are surprisingly overlooked as there are several studies being carried out focusing only the aggregated export volume concerning the exchange rate volatility. The monthly data of Sri Lanka imports, import categories and monthly US Dollar (USD) volatility from January 2007-December 2016 were used for the analysis. This study tries to learn the impact of US Dollar Index (USDX) volatility on import demand of Sri Lanka. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Approach is employed to learn long-term and short-term cointegration among the underlying variables. There exists a 95% statistically significant short-run relationship and it is identified that the import categories, Consumer Goods (CG), Intermediate Goods (IG), Investment Goods (INV), Unclassified Items (UI), None-Oil Imports (NO) have a speed of adjustment to the equilibrium (SAE) in the long-run of 17%, 36%, 23%, 23%, 25% respectively. The total imports reveal that the disequilibrium conditions will be resolved by 27% within a period of one month that is shocked due to the USDX volatility. Knowledge of the relationship between USDX fluctuation, exchange rate volatility and import volume will support to pursuit for a beneficial trade and prevent or be prepared for a much more stable situation within Sri Lanka.
{"title":"Impact Analysis of US Dollar Index Volatility on Imports and Import Categories of Sri Lanka","authors":"R. Sahabandu, P. Asanka","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421972","url":null,"abstract":"The economic liberation in 1977 resulted in drastic changes in many aspects of Sri Lanka. Considering about 1978–2015, the country yearly import demand represents over 30% share of the gross domestic product (GDP) except 1984, 2009, 2010, 2013–2015. Investigations and the studies on a countries’ imports are surprisingly overlooked as there are several studies being carried out focusing only the aggregated export volume concerning the exchange rate volatility. The monthly data of Sri Lanka imports, import categories and monthly US Dollar (USD) volatility from January 2007-December 2016 were used for the analysis. This study tries to learn the impact of US Dollar Index (USDX) volatility on import demand of Sri Lanka. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Approach is employed to learn long-term and short-term cointegration among the underlying variables. There exists a 95% statistically significant short-run relationship and it is identified that the import categories, Consumer Goods (CG), Intermediate Goods (IG), Investment Goods (INV), Unclassified Items (UI), None-Oil Imports (NO) have a speed of adjustment to the equilibrium (SAE) in the long-run of 17%, 36%, 23%, 23%, 25% respectively. The total imports reveal that the disequilibrium conditions will be resolved by 27% within a period of one month that is shocked due to the USDX volatility. Knowledge of the relationship between USDX fluctuation, exchange rate volatility and import volume will support to pursuit for a beneficial trade and prevent or be prepared for a much more stable situation within Sri Lanka.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"24 1","pages":"54-59"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84609696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421941
Janith kalpa Gunarathna, R. Munasinghe
This paper describes the development of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). By combining the flying qualities of quadrotor UAV and that of fixed-wing UAVs it is possible to achieve superior flying qualities. This way, the vertical take-off and landing capability of quadrotors and the long endurance of fixed-wing UAVs have been put together, while eliminating the disadvantages of both of these UAV types. The proposed hybrid drone has shown exciting performance in taking-off, cruising and landing fully autonomously. Control transition from quadrotor to fixed-wing and backwards have been analyzed. Sky Scout fixed-wing drone has been used to build the hybrid UAV, and the performance has been successfully demonstrated through flight tests. This paper precent the complete design of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid aerial vehicle with modelling, simulation and experimental verification.
{"title":"Development of a Quad-rotor Fixed-wing Hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle","authors":"Janith kalpa Gunarathna, R. Munasinghe","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421941","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421941","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the development of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). By combining the flying qualities of quadrotor UAV and that of fixed-wing UAVs it is possible to achieve superior flying qualities. This way, the vertical take-off and landing capability of quadrotors and the long endurance of fixed-wing UAVs have been put together, while eliminating the disadvantages of both of these UAV types. The proposed hybrid drone has shown exciting performance in taking-off, cruising and landing fully autonomously. Control transition from quadrotor to fixed-wing and backwards have been analyzed. Sky Scout fixed-wing drone has been used to build the hybrid UAV, and the performance has been successfully demonstrated through flight tests. This paper precent the complete design of a quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid aerial vehicle with modelling, simulation and experimental verification.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"45 1","pages":"72-77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86711907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421992
S. Nanayakkara, V. Wickramasinghe, G. Samarasinghe
Throughout the years researches and practitioners have proved that the technology can play a significant role in gaining competitive advantage. However, despite superior technology, organizations may fail to successfully compete in the market place. One of the important factors to success for a technology aimed organization is the capability to learn and maintain knowledge and this involves the conversion of data into information. A company’s technological capability is developed over time and accumulated throughout its experience. When a business generates its technological capability, it invests considerable resources in research and development (R&D), which incorporates the development of unique products, the accumulation of knowledge stores, and the training of technical personnel. Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been identified as an important factor for corporate success. This study aims to investigate the moderating impact of strategic emotional intelligence i.e. Understanding Emotions (Self and Others), Managing Emotions (Self and Others), and Social Skills on technological capability and technological knowledge management towards enhancing the learning & growth of an organization. Based on the extensive literature review, this study develops five hypotheses to support the arguments. An empirical study with a questionnaire, was conducted on all banks which were registered under Colombo stock exchange in Sri Lanka in order to collect data. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analyse data and the moderation effect has been tested using SMART PLS based Structural Equation Modelling. Study concludes a positive influence of Strategic EI towards organizational learning and growth and how Strategic EI moderates the relationship between technological capability, technological knowledge management and the learning & growth of an Organization.
{"title":"Role of Strategic Emotional Intelligence on Technological Capability, Technological Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning & Growth","authors":"S. Nanayakkara, V. Wickramasinghe, G. Samarasinghe","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421992","url":null,"abstract":"Throughout the years researches and practitioners have proved that the technology can play a significant role in gaining competitive advantage. However, despite superior technology, organizations may fail to successfully compete in the market place. One of the important factors to success for a technology aimed organization is the capability to learn and maintain knowledge and this involves the conversion of data into information. A company’s technological capability is developed over time and accumulated throughout its experience. When a business generates its technological capability, it invests considerable resources in research and development (R&D), which incorporates the development of unique products, the accumulation of knowledge stores, and the training of technical personnel. Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been identified as an important factor for corporate success. This study aims to investigate the moderating impact of strategic emotional intelligence i.e. Understanding Emotions (Self and Others), Managing Emotions (Self and Others), and Social Skills on technological capability and technological knowledge management towards enhancing the learning & growth of an organization. Based on the extensive literature review, this study develops five hypotheses to support the arguments. An empirical study with a questionnaire, was conducted on all banks which were registered under Colombo stock exchange in Sri Lanka in order to collect data. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analyse data and the moderation effect has been tested using SMART PLS based Structural Equation Modelling. Study concludes a positive influence of Strategic EI towards organizational learning and growth and how Strategic EI moderates the relationship between technological capability, technological knowledge management and the learning & growth of an Organization.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"47 1","pages":"294-299"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86742475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421912
B. Balasuriya, H.W.P. Bhanuka, Hkt Sampath, A. Kulasekera, N. Jayaweera
Manufacturing industry faces several challenges when manufacturing complex shaped components. One such challenge is holding complex shaped components. For such instances, various dedicated fixturing methods are used, reducing the flexibility and increasing the initial cost in manufacturing. Pin type fixturing methods are the dominating method of fixturing for complex shaped components. But the point loading from pin type fixturing methods can lead to surface damage reducing the quality of the product. So various methods have been introduced to reduce the negative effects from point loading. Granular jamming is one such method that has been of recent interest. The fixturing force granular jamming materials can provide depends on various factors including membrane properties. This research paper describes how the fixturing force provided by granular jammed pin type method vary on the thickness of the granular jamming membrane and how negative pressure variation affect the fixturing force from granular jamming. The membrane in this study is made out of latex using simple dipping techniques. According to the results of experiments carried out, fixturing force increases with increase of thickness in jamming membrane and when negative pressure is increased. Further, a novel configuration to increase fixturing force with a tubular membrane mounted on two pins was experimented. Experiments revealed that higher fixturing force can be obtained through such a novel configuration.
{"title":"An Improved Fixturing Solution for Holding Complex Shaped Components","authors":"B. Balasuriya, H.W.P. Bhanuka, Hkt Sampath, A. Kulasekera, N. Jayaweera","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421912","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421912","url":null,"abstract":"Manufacturing industry faces several challenges when manufacturing complex shaped components. One such challenge is holding complex shaped components. For such instances, various dedicated fixturing methods are used, reducing the flexibility and increasing the initial cost in manufacturing. Pin type fixturing methods are the dominating method of fixturing for complex shaped components. But the point loading from pin type fixturing methods can lead to surface damage reducing the quality of the product. So various methods have been introduced to reduce the negative effects from point loading. Granular jamming is one such method that has been of recent interest. The fixturing force granular jamming materials can provide depends on various factors including membrane properties. This research paper describes how the fixturing force provided by granular jammed pin type method vary on the thickness of the granular jamming membrane and how negative pressure variation affect the fixturing force from granular jamming. The membrane in this study is made out of latex using simple dipping techniques. According to the results of experiments carried out, fixturing force increases with increase of thickness in jamming membrane and when negative pressure is increased. Further, a novel configuration to increase fixturing force with a tubular membrane mounted on two pins was experimented. Experiments revealed that higher fixturing force can be obtained through such a novel configuration.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"12 1","pages":"555-559"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86885199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421901
Fathima Farhath, Surangika Ranathunga, Sanath Jayasena, G. Dias
Availability of quality parallel data is a major requirement to build a reasonably well performing statistical machine translation (SMT) system. Thus, developing a decent SMT system for a low-resourced language pair like Sinhala and Tamil that does not have a large parallel corpus is rather challenging. Past research for other different language pairs has shown that different terminology / bilingual list integration methodologies can be used to improve the quality of SMT systems, for domain-specific SMT in particular. In this paper, we explore if this can be effective for Sinhala-Tamil machine translation for the domain of official government documents. We evaluate the impact of three types of bilingual lists, namely, a list of government organizations and official designations, a glossary related to government administration and operations, and a general bilingual dictionary, based on four different methodologies (three static and one dynamic). Out of four, one methodology gave notable improvements for all three types of list over the baseline.
{"title":"Integration of Bilingual Lists for Domain-Specific Statistical Machine Translation for Sinhala-Tamil","authors":"Fathima Farhath, Surangika Ranathunga, Sanath Jayasena, G. Dias","doi":"10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421901","url":null,"abstract":"Availability of quality parallel data is a major requirement to build a reasonably well performing statistical machine translation (SMT) system. Thus, developing a decent SMT system for a low-resourced language pair like Sinhala and Tamil that does not have a large parallel corpus is rather challenging. Past research for other different language pairs has shown that different terminology / bilingual list integration methodologies can be used to improve the quality of SMT systems, for domain-specific SMT in particular. In this paper, we explore if this can be effective for Sinhala-Tamil machine translation for the domain of official government documents. We evaluate the impact of three types of bilingual lists, namely, a list of government organizations and official designations, a glossary related to government administration and operations, and a general bilingual dictionary, based on four different methodologies (three static and one dynamic). Out of four, one methodology gave notable improvements for all three types of list over the baseline.","PeriodicalId":6603,"journal":{"name":"2018 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)","volume":"7 1","pages":"538-543"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86363502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-01DOI: 10.1109/MERCON.2018.8421964
M. N. Rammuni, T. Ariyadasa, P. Nimarshana, RA Attalage
Cultivation is the paramount step of microalgae bioprocessing as a concentrated and flourished biomass broth will result in higher recoveries of its metabolites. But there is scarce model development for the prediction of microalgae biomass productivity in outdoor cultivation systems under the fluctuations of process conditions. Hence, this study develops a mathematical model based on the first principles with a nonlinear approach to forecast the microalgae growth in open ponds under non-optimal cultivation conditions in respect of the location. The model accounts for the effect of temperature, solar irradiance level, availability of nutrients in the cultivation medium and the effect of local climatic conditions over the microalgae growth. The model is validated against the experimental results from literature data and model analyses have been proceeded to determine the effect of variations in process parameters on the microalgae biomass yield.
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