MERCon - 2019
http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/14700
2024-03-29T06:44:59ZMoratuwa Engineering Research Conference - MERCon 2019 [Pre Text]
http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/19505
Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference - MERCon 2019 [Pre Text]
2019-01-01T00:00:00ZAchieving value from process intensification through better process control
http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/15189
Achieving value from process intensification through better process control
Udugama, IA; Mansouri, SS; Gernaey, KV; Bayer, C; Young, BR
The continual economic drive to achieve
improved process efficiencies has made process integration and
intensification a main stay in process industries ranging from
petrochemicals to biotechnology. However, from a process
control viewpoint these integrated and intensified processes are
much harder to control due to complex process dynamics
and/or reduced degrees of freedom. As such, in many process
industries the realized efficiency gain through integration and
intensification is diminished. The objective of this article is to
highlight some of the lessons learnt by the authors during their
involvement in controlling intensified processes in different
process industries. To this end two industrial troubleshooting
case studies of a side-draw distillation column and a divided
wall column are presented together with actual problems the
facilities faced and how the solutions developed enabled them
to be remedied within industrial limitations. This is followed by
an analysis of the current process integration and
intensification drive of dairy and bioprocesses. Finally the
lessons learnt in these diverse process industries are
summarized and its implication for process control discussed.
2019-01-01T00:00:00ZInfluence of enzyme and chemical pretreatment processes on the colours of banana fibres
http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/15188
Influence of enzyme and chemical pretreatment processes on the colours of banana fibres
Balakrishnan, S; Wickramasinghe, GLD; Wijayapala, UGS
Colour is an important property of textile fibres.
The colour of mechanically extracted fibre affects the colour of
the fibre textiles products. The focus of this investigation is to
compare the colour of different pre-treatment process for banana
fibre and evaluate the suitability of the banana fibre treatment
methods for dyeing process. Experimental research strategies were
used to investigate the colour properties. Ambun (AAA/Cavendish)
banana variety was selected for this research study. Treated and
mechanically extracted banana fibre samples colour measurement
was performed by using a data colour machine 600
spectrophotometer and assessed using CIELAB colour values.
This experiment was conducted to the suitability of the banana
fibre extraction methods for dyeing process. Results indicate that
there is a significant change in colour due to the different
treatments achieved higher ΔE values. Treatment of enzyme and
6% H2O2, 2% Na2SiO3, 3% NaOH, combined experiments shows
higher ΔE values than the other treatments. The FTIR results
show that the removal performance of the lignin component is
satisfying after the enzyme and chemical combined treatments of
banana fibres.
Development of a surface muscle pressure monitoring system for wearable robotic devices
http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/15187
Development of a surface muscle pressure monitoring system for wearable robotic devices
Chandrasiri, MDSD; Ranaweera, RKPS; Gopura, RARC
Monitoring of muscle activities of human limbs is
essential for designing controllers of wearable robotic devices
such as prosthetics, orthotics and exoskeletons. Human-robot
interaction (HRI) is generally studied to control these devices
and ascertain comfort levels of the wearer. Cognitive-HRI (cHRI)
and physical-HRI (pHRI) are the two main types of HRI methods
identified in literature. Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals
of skeletal muscles are commonly used in cHRI methods to
identify the motion intentions. However, sEMG signals are
sensitive to the environmental conditions such as electric and
magnetic disturbances. Alternatively, changes to muscle stiffness
and volume are measured in pHRI methods. Accordingly, this
paper presents a novel sensory system to detect motions of upper
or lower limbs by monitoring surface-muscle pressure (SMP). It
is comprised of specially designed ’pressurized-air-pouches’ made
of silicone. Experiments were carried out with the developed SMP
monitoring system to detect muscles activities during biceps curls.
The results were compared against sEMG signals to evaluate
the validity of the proposed method. The analysis indicated a
strong correlation between the signals measured and verifies the
potential of using SMP as an effective muscle activity sensing
method.