Psychometric Characteristics of Different Versions of Vocal Tract Discomfort (VTD) Scale: A Systematic Review

Background: This review compare different Vocal Tract Discomfort (VTD) versions. This comparison is based on their validity and reliability parameters in the translation and adaptation process. We aimed to prepare numerical evidence to prove the validity of this easy screening tool. VTD is able to perform an accurate diagnosis of voice discomforts, particularly in primary stages. Methods: Articles were selected from databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. Our relevant papers were gathered by searching the phrase: VTD in titles, abstracts, and keys. Studies not followed an adaptive procedure were excluded. Based on the selection criteria, out of 23 collected articles, eight were studied in this review. Results: Standard psychometric protocol steps were followed in all selected articles and simultaneously high reliability and validity were reported in their translation procedure. Such analogous results may confirm the efficacy of this research tool. Conclusion: This review affirms VTD, perceptual patient-based scale, as a valuable evaluation tool to investigate the occurrence of voice disorders. Based on its structure and performance, VTD can work as a quick and precise source for predicting vocal discomforts. Moreover, this capability can help professional therapists to plan more efficient treatment procedures. The other important advantage of VTD is its diagnostic and prognostic capacity to inform patients about their current and future conditions so that they would be motivated to follow treatment procedures more consistently.

Operational Parametric Based Reliability Estimation & Justification of Failure Criterion of Hydro Power Plant: A Case Study

Generating more Power are complex at cheaper cost, also continuous energy supplied are important Hydro power generation is one of the most successful renewable energy resources for the production electrical energy without any environmental hazard and presently it providing more than 86% of all electricity generated by renewable sources worldwide and accounts for about 20% of world electricity. To increase the percentage of green energy in account of world electricity generation the analysis must be performed to get the information about the working conditions of each component in plants so that the required maintenance action should be taken. Maintenance and operation of a hydro power plant is very complicated and the process to calculate and analyzing its compatibility and reliability is very important. In this work introducing a Markov model to evaluate the reliability parameter of THPS-I Sirmour, Rewa. For this work the operational data regarding failure and maintenance time taken to repaired and analysis of all parts of generating unit of the power plant for period of 2010-2015 is considered. The availability and reliability of individual unit of power plant is evaluated by taking into account different reliability Parameters, namely failure rate (λ), repair rate (µ), MTTR, MTTF, MTBF through the collected data and tabulating the required information for the analysis. By this analysis work we can improve reliability of all the components of each unit of power plant. The sub-unit that is commonly failed during operation is like- penstock, butter fly valve, spiral case, turbine, generator, excitation system, speed governor etc. Reliability plays a key role in the cost-effectiveness of systems Keywords: Hydro power plant, Reliability evaluation, Reliability parameters, Markov analysis, Total schedule outage hrs and Total forced outage hrs.

Reliability Analysis for Unrepairable Automotive Components

The analysis of the reliability parameters of a technical object and the determination of the change in the reliability of the object over time, requires the knowledge of the functional characteristics and reliability parameters of the elements included in a system. On the basis of the failure data of the selected element of the object, in this case the vehicle, it is possible to determine the average working time to failure of the element and the appropriate form of distribution that characterizes the reliability and durability parameters of the tested element. The main purpose of the research presented in the article was to develop a method of assessing the reliability of an electronic component of a vehicle-a boot lid contactor. This paper also presents three possible methods of repairing the boot lid contactor (sealing the housing with adhesive with better way, replacing the element with a new one or the most time-consuming solution, changing the shape of the boot lid). The authors also decided to determine the reliability and cost parameters that will allow preventive replacement of this element. The tests were carried out on a fleet of 61 vehicles of the same model, but with different body structures. Contactor failures were reported in 41 cases, of which 29 were in the hatchback construction and 12 in the estate type. The analysis of the distribution selection for the tested part of the passenger car-the boot lid contactor-was performed using the Likelihood Value (LKV) test to determine the rank of distributions. Also the maximum likelihood (MLE) method was used to estimate the distribution parameters. The three-parameter Weibull distribution was the best-fitted distribution in both cases. It was clearly defined that one model of car with two different types of body have vastly different reliability characteristic. Based on the reliability characteristic and parameters, the appropriate preventive actions can be taken, minimizing the risk of damage, thus avoiding financial losses and guaranteeing an appropriate level of vehicle safety.

Performance and Energy Consumption of Paddle Wheel Aerator Driven by Brushless DC Motor and AC Motor: A Preliminary Study

Energy demand for paddle wheel aerator in a shrimp pond is high and brings to second highest cost of operational behind feed supply. Most of wheel aerators are driven by electric motors than diesel engines as their easy operations. The electric motors need high electrical energy to drive wheel aerators along day and night. The common type of motor used is Alternating Current (AC) or induction motor, however Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor has potential electrical energy saving which need to be explored. This study objectives to find out performance of BLDC and AC motor as paddle wheel aerator driver. The motor’s performances were compared in term of operation of paddle wheel at various static loads. Both motor also challenged by On/Off running every 5 minutes, the treatment goal was to determine their reliability. Parameters observed included consumption of power, wheel rotary, torque, and efficiency, motor temperature as well. Results showed energy consumption of BLDC motor 51% lower than AC motor, and BLDC motor attained 89.99% of maximum efficiency while AC motor efficiency had 73.16%, however rotary wheel and torque both of them were similar. The On/Off treatment caused rising temperature of AC motor but did not affect the temperature of BLDC motor. Therefore, applied BLDC motor as paddle wheel aerator driver could be alternative way to reduce energy consumption without reducing its performance.

Assessment reliability parameters of the DVB-T2 broadcasting station’s equipment with local content insertion

Local content modification provided to subscribers of the terrestrial digital television signal is necessary to provide the technical possibility of organizing inserts of local content signals, such as TV programs of regional broadcasters, as well as information on emergency situations. Broadcast multiplexes of federal TV programs are designed for use within the corresponding time zone (A, B, C, D, M). In each time zone, there are a number of regions, in each of which there are local TV and radio companies that produce local content that must be delivered to the subscribers of the whole subject. The task of embedding/modifying content at each remote transmitting station is performed by an inserter or local content insertion device (ETSI TS 102773). The reliability parameters of the restorable system for organizing terrestrial television broadcasting at a remote station with the content modification were calculated in this article. Tables and a graph of the broadcasting system states are presented, on the basis of which, systems of Kolmogorov differential equations are compiled. It was found that additional redundancy organized by connecting the output stream from the RX1 receiver directly to the transmitting device allows for a 2.5-fold increase in the average operating time between failures, as well as an increase in the availability factor by 5.26 percent. All calculations were performed using the SimInTech software package. The influence of automatic redundancy of the local content inserter and the transmitter on the occurrence of errors in the stream that affect the quality of the output signal is considered. The relationship between the availability factor and the components of the quality of service parameter – SAE, SDE and SIE is determined.

PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS OF RELIABILITY SLIDING WOODEN ROAD BRIDGE

Описываются методика, алгоритм и программа определения параметров надежности длительно эксплуатируемого неразрезного деревянного автодорожного моста с учетом выявленных при обследовании дефектов и повреждений и разброса прочностных характеристик материалов, действующих нагрузок, размеров конструкции. Приводятся результаты численных исследований зависимостей логарифмических показателей надежности несущих прогонов в среднем сечении многоэлементных пролетных строений от совместного действия постоянных и временных нагрузок. The paper describes a methodology, an algorithm, and a program for determining the reliability parameters of a continuous wooden road bridge in operation for a long time, taking into account the defects and damages identified during the examination and the scatter of strength characteristics of materials, acting loads, and dimensions of the structure. The results of numerical studies of the dependences of the logarithmic indicators of the reliability of bearing girders in the typical sections of multi-element span structures on the combined action of permanent and temporary loads are presented.

Questions of the overall dependability of the scada system in the corporate infrastructure

The paper considers the peculiarities of the SCADA (energy infrastructure management system in the railway infrastructure), as well as issues of the overall dependability in the corporate infrastructure, which is the aim of the study. The study, based on the accepted structure and values of the parameters, examines what depends on and how the readiness factor of a SCADA system changes when the recovery intensity changes and at a fixed failure rate. The results show that with increasing recovery intensity, the readiness factors of the telecommunications network and SCADA system thus defined increase, while reducing the downtime. For a more in-depth study of the overall reliability of the SCADA system, it is necessary to set specific normatively accepted dependability parameters of all connected elements, as well as a real set structure. Based on the fact that with backup resources provided, a defined dependability of the system can be ensured at preset values of the reliability parameters of its components and the backup structure; the opposite problem can also be solved. The proposed approach for studying the reliable behavior of the SCADA system within the corporate infrastructure can be noted as a contribution of the present work and conclusions are made for the practical use of the results.

Simulation modeling of non-stationary thermophysical processes when monitoring the reliability of main oil pipelines in the Arctic

The use of modern complexes for calculating the designed pipeline systems and for predicting their behavior for a period of more than ten years is necessary in modern conditions of the constantly developing hydrocarbon market and the development of new northern territories for greater oil production. It will allow avoiding accidents and environmental disasters that have become more frequent in recent years due to the deterioration of existing equipment. The article presents a method for monitoring the main reliability parameters of underground oil pipelines, taking into account changes in soil foundations, mainly in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. An oil pipeline section is considered as an object for monitoring of heat engineering processes and their influence on the reliability of the system. We describe the main results of calculations of the oil pipeline section and simulate changes in soil foundations. We used a multilayer pipe with polyurethane foam insulation and coating for the calculations to improve the reliability characteristics. This pipe has showed the best results of modeling in comparison with the design pipe.