• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.815-824
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• 2012

Extractive distillation system can be used when the components to be separated have close boiling points or form azeotropes. Extractive distillation is one of the most important and widely used separation methods in chemical process industry. The main disadvantage of the distillation is its high-energy requirements. Thermally coupled distillation system (TCDS) can provide significant savings in energy consumption and capital cost over the operation of sequences based on conventional distillation column. Despite such advantages of the thermally coupled distillation system, the process is not widely used in industry because control and operation of the column are difficult. In this study, we propose several control schemes for thermally coupled distillation system to overcome the difficulties and make the column stable when the process is confronted with feed disturbances. Profile position control scheme shows best control performance among the proposed control schemes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.678-684
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• 2011

A trial was performed to study the effects of feeding a diet containing solid-state fermentation rapeseed meal (FRSM) replaced soybean meal (SBM) on growth performance and serum biochemistry parameters of ducks and then to determine the appropriate proportion of soybean meal replacement. The 75% rapeseed meal and 25% blood meal were mixed and inoculated with the Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis. Over the 21-day fermentation, isothiocyanates were reduced from 72.7 to 14.1 mmol/kg. A total of 1,280 fifteen-day-old Cherry Valley ducks were randomly allocated into 4 dietary treatments, 4 replicate groups of 80 ducks each for a 30-day feeding trial. In four treatment groups, fermentation rapeseed meal replaced soybean meal at 0, 33, 67 or 100%, respectively. Results showed that feed intake of ducks fed 100% FRSM was greater (p<0.05) than SBM and partial FRSM in both the finishing period (31-45 d) and entire feeding period (15-45 d). Daily gain increased gradually in the three treatment groups with augmenting FRSM over in the whole study period. In the growing period (15-30 d), compared with the SBM group, phosphorus and calcium content in serum from the FRSM group was improved (p<0.05). Total protein concentration was lower in ducks fed 100% FRSM than SBM and 33% FRSM (p<0.05). Concentrations of IgM were dramatically higher for animals fed 100% FRSM than in the SBM, 33% FRSM and 67% FRSM groups. In the finishing trail stage (31-45 d), only serum IgG content in 100% FRSM group was improved (p<0.05). Therefore, rapeseed meal fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis is a promising alternative protein source and fermented rapeseed meal can completely replace soybean meal in duck diet and potentially reduce the cost of duck production.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.561-574
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• 2018

In this paper, for efficiently reducing the computational cost of the model updating during the optimization process of damage detection, the structural response is evaluated using properly trained surrogate model. Furthermore, in practice uncertainties in the FE model parameters and modelling errors are inevitable. Hence, an efficient approach based on Monte Carlo simulation is proposed to take into account the effect of uncertainties in developing a surrogate model. The probability of damage existence (PDE) is calculated based on the probability density function of the existence of undamaged and damaged states. The current work builds a framework for Probability Based Damage Detection (PBDD) of structures based on the best combination of metaheuristic optimization algorithm and surrogate models. To reach this goal, three popular metamodeling techniques including Cascade Feed Forward Neural Network (CFNN), Least Square Support Vector Machines (LS-SVMs) and Kriging are constructed, trained and tested in order to inspect features and faults of each algorithm. Furthermore, three wellknown optimization algorithms including Ideal Gas Molecular Movement (IGMM), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Bat Algorithm (BA) are utilized and the comparative results are presented accordingly. Furthermore, efficient schemes are implemented on these algorithms to improve their performance in handling problems with a large number of variables. By considering various indices for measuring the accuracy and computational time of PBDD process, the results indicate that combination of LS-SVM surrogate model by IGMM optimization algorithm have better performance in predicting the of damage compared with other methods.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2004

Pest monitoring through field surveys and surveillance helps in forecasting the population build up of pest. It reduces the load of pesticides application and forms the basis of Integrated Pest Management in sericulture. Common sampling techniques for quantifying pest populations and damage caused by them are reviewed emphasizing the need for quick and simple sampling methods. Various direct and indirect sampling methods for establishing pest populations are discussed and methods have been discussed to use indirect sampling method under IPM programme in sericulture. The use of pheromone lures and traps forms one of the important ingredients of integrated pest management, which calls for integration of all available methods in a cost effective and environmental friendly manner offering consistent efficacy. Silk-worms feed on the variety of silk host plants and spin cocoons. Each silk host plant is attacked in the field by number of insect pest species. Several pests are common to mulberry, tasar, oak tasar, muga and eri host plant but pest status and seasonal abundance differs from each crop. The key pests are serious perennially occurring persistent species which cause considerable yield loss every year on large areas and require control measure. Regular occurrence of minor pest is noticed but sudden increase in its population is not known. The occasional pests are sporadic but potential causing sufficient damage. Silk losses due to attack of all the pests have not been calculated. However, information on pest biology and ecology, and control practices being practiced is available but the period of outbreak of major pests and predators on silkworms and its host plant needs to be reinvestigated. Pest and predators forecasting based on surveillance information may provide an opportunity to minimize the losses, particularly to reduce expenditure involved in pest management.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.277-282
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• 2014

Nutritive value analysis of feed is very important for the growth of livestock, and ensures the efficiency of feeds as well as economic status. However, general laboratory analyses require considerable time and high cost. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a spectroscopic technique used to analyze the nutritive values of seeds. It is very effective and less costly than the conventional method. The sample used in this study was a corn kernel and the partial least square regression method was used for evaluating nutrient composition, digestibility, and energy value based on the calibration equation. The evaluation methods employed were the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) and the root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP). The results showed the moisture content ($R^2_{val}=0.97$, RMSEP=0.109), crude protein content ($R^2_{val}=0.94$, RMSEP=0.212), neutral detergent fiber content ($R^2_{val}=0.96$, RMSEP=0.763), acid detergent fiber content ($R^2_{val}=0.96$, RMSEP=0.142), gross energy ($R^2_{val}=0.82$, RMSEP=23.249), in vitro dry matter digestibility ($R^2_{val}=0.68$, RMSEP=1.69), and metabolizable energy (approximately $R^2_{val}$ >0.80). This study confirmed that the nutritive components of corn kernels can be predicted using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.12-20
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• 2016

Purpose: Pepper prices have risen continuously because of a decrease in cultivation area; therefore, mechanical harvesting systems for peppers should be developed to reduce cost, time, and labor during harvest. In this study, a screw type picking head for a self-propelled pepper harvester was developed, and the optimal working conditions were evaluated considering helix types, winding directions of helix, and rotational speeds of the helix. Methods: The screw type was selected for the picking head after analyzing previous studies, and the device consisted of helices and a feed chain mechanism for conveying pepper branches. A double helix and a triple helix were manufactured, and rotational speeds of 200, 300, and 400 rpm were tested. The device was controlled by a variable speed (VS) motor and an inverter. Both the forward and reverse directions were tested for the winding and rotating directions of the helix. An experiment crop (cultivar: Longgreenmat) was cultivated in a plastic greenhouse. The test results were analyzed using the SAS program with ANOVA to examine the relationship between each factor and the performance of the picking head. Results: The results of the double and triple helix tests in the reverse direction showed gross harvest efficiency levels of 60-95%, mechanical damage rates of 8-20%, and net marketable portion rates of 50-80%. The dividing ratio was highest at a rotational speed of 400 rpm. Gross harvest efficiency was influenced by the types of helix and rotational speed. Net marketable portion was influenced by rotational speed but not influenced by the type of helix. Mechanical damage was not influenced by the type of helix or rotational speed. Conclusions: Best gross harvest efficiency was obtained at a rotational speed of 400 rpm; however, operating the device at that speed resulted in vibration, which should be reduced.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.7-21
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• 2000

This paper describes an overview of the thixoforming and thixomolding processes. Semi-solid metalworking (SSM), which is called the thixoforming process of aluminium materials, incorporates the elements of both casting and for the manufacture of near net shape parts. The SSM has some advantages such as net shape or near net shape manufacturing, the ability to form thin walls, excellent surface finish, tight tolerance, and excellent dimensional precision. The thixomolding process of Mg alloy (AZ9l) is a combination of two technologies both conventional die casting and plastic injection molding. The feed material used is a machined chip with a geometry of approximately 1 mm square and a length of 2~3 mm. The semi-solid forming (SSF) of high quality aluminium and magnesium parts will be established in the automotive and electronic industry, in the future. The hybrid method of casting/forging has been caused attention. This process uses a preformed material made by casting instead of the wrought material and finishes it by a single forging process. This process is expected to lower costs without sacrificing the mechanical and finishes it by a single forging process. The process is expected to lower costs without sacrificing the mechanical properties. The authors, intending that the casting/forging process contributes to a reduction in production cost of aluminum automotive parts in Korea, describes the feature of the casting/forging process, aluminum alloys suitable for the cast preform, microstructure and mechanical properties of the cast preform, application examples of cast/forging, and further study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.3391-3397
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• 2011

These excavators have been widely used due to their flexibility in handing various tasks via simple changes of their attachments. Since the performance of manually-operated excavators heavily depend on the operators' skill level, there is a strong need for developing automatic excavators in the industry. In order to achieve such goals, exiting approaches have studied direct modification of existing hydraulic systems in the excavator for feed back control of each link. This paper presents a miniaturized automatic excavator that can be used for the development and demonstration of advanced control algorithm for excavators under a safer environment with reduced cost. Two PCs were installed and connected to the excavator through wireless communications for its control and monitoring. Tracking control of each link using a time varying sliding mode controller was performed through experiments on the developed system to demonstrate its ability.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.407-414
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• 2001

In this study, the absorption kinetics of $CO_2$onto a mixture of AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) MEA (monoethanolamine) water were investigated at 30 and 4$0^{\circ}C$ using a packed absorption tower. Solubility and absorption rate of $CO_2$into alkanolamine solutions and optimal condition of $CO_2$absorption process were investigated. The experimental conditions are as follows; temperature of 30 and 4$0^{\circ}C$, gas flow rate of 3ι/min for the absorption tower, and liquid flow rate of 0.1ι/min. Feed gas was a mixture of 85% $N_2$and 15% $CO_2$. The experimental results showed that AMP had greater solubilities and faster absorption rates than MEA and DEA. In addition, MEA had the fastest initial reaction rate. To improve the properties of AMP which have low initial reaction rate and high cost, AMP was used with MEA. The mixing ratio was also changed in constant total molarity of 1,2,3 and 4. The experimental results can be summarized as follows: (1) in solubility experiment, the addition of MEA in constant total polarity decreased the solubility of $CO_2$in AMP/MEA mixture. (2) from 0 to about 0.3 in mixing ratio, the solubility of $CO_2$in AMP/MEA mixture had little differences compared with the sum of solubility of AMP only and solubility of MEA only . (3) mixing ratio of 0.3 was found to be an optimal point with the fastest $CO_2$absorption rate.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.644-649
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• 2003

The effects of housing and nutrition on the performance of first lactation sows of the Nepalese Pakhribas breed were investigated. A total of 36 sows, from a previous experiment on nutrition during gilt rearing, were allocated according to a factorial design with 2 levels of nutrition, 60 or 80% of the calculated lactation requirement, and two types of housing, traditional or improved. The mean live weight loss of sows during lactation was reduced to a slightly greater extent by improved housing (p<0.05) than by better nutrition (p<0.10). There was also a significantly lower loss of $P_2$ backfat thickness (p<0.05) and mean body condition score (p<0.05) for sows on the higher plane of nutrition. Piglet weight gain in early and mid lactation was influenced by gestation feeding of the gilt (p<0.10) and by housing (p<0.05). Late lactation gain was influenced only by lactation feeding (p<0.05). In consequence, piglet weight at 42 day weaning was increased to a similar extent by improved housing (p<0.05) and better lactation nutrition (p<0.01). Significantly more sows were remated by day 10 after weaning from a higher level of rearing nutrition ($x^2=13.57$, p=0.001), and from improved housing and improved lactation (both $x^2=4.57$, p=0.033). It is concluded that, under Nepalese village conditions, improvements in housing may be a more cost effective way of improving sow performance than expenditure on additional feed resources.