Real-time monitoring of the rubber belt tension in an industrial conveyor

The paper presents a novel system for monitoring of the work of industrial belt conveyor. It is based on the strain gauges placed directly on the roller surface that measure pressing force of the belt on the roller. Automatical operation of the measurement system minimizes impact of an operator on the measurement results. Experimental researches included the stability of indications during 5 days, Type A uncertainty estimation and equipment variation EV calculations. Expanded uncertainty calculated for the level of confidence 95% was below 0.1% of the actually measured value, and percentage repeatability %EV = 9.5% was obtained. It can be considered satisfactory, since usually it is required %EV < 10% for new measurement systems.

Real-time monitoring of the rubber belt tension in an industrial conveyor

The paper presents a novel system for monitoring of the work of industrial belt conveyor. It is based on the strain gauges placed directly on the roller surface that measure pressing force of the belt on the roller. Automatical operation of the measurement system minimizes impact of an operator on the measurement results. Experimental researches included the stability of indications during 5 days, Type A uncertainty estimation and equipment variation EV calculations. Expanded uncertainty calculated for the level of confidence 95% was below 0.1% of the actually measured value, and percentage repeatability %EV = 9.5% was obtained. It can be considered satisfactory, since usually it is required %EV < 10% for new measurement systems.

Assessment of early warning signs in hospital projects' front-end phase

PurposeThe front-end phase plays an important role in achieving project success, and establishment of performance measurement systems considering project challenges or pitfalls is a way of keeping track of this phase. Early warning signs, a type of proactive performance indicators, may serve as means for improving decision-making and project processes aiming for short- and long-term project success. In this paper, the authors present findings from a study on early warning signs (EWS) in hospital projects' front-end. A preliminary systematisation of identified signs as a contribution to front-end improvement is provided.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a mixed methods approach, using a sequential, exploratory research design comprising document studies, interviews and a survey.FindingsThe authors identified 62 challenges for hospital projects' front-end performance and further established four categories of EWS as follows: (1) structure and tools, (2) context and frame factors, (3) management and (4) relational factors and properties. This mirrors the presence of hard and soft issues from previous studies. There is need for clarifying terminology and raising consciousness on EWS. Processual approaches to identify EWS are considered more useful than subsequent established indicators.Originality/valueThe findings from this paper provide insight into EWS in hospital projects' front-end phase. This adds to the general understanding of EWS and contributes to more knowledge on the front-end phase in general.

Detection of Possible COVID-19 Cases using Thermal Imaging and a DRONE

In December 2019, a series of cases of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 were identified in Wuhan (China), which was declared by the WHO as a pandemic on March 11th , 2020, because it caused enormous problems for the global public health due to its rapid expansion. In Peru it was only on March 6th , 2020, that the first case of COVID-19 was reported, therefore, the government took some measures to control the spread of the virus. A biosafety measure that is frequently used is taking the temperature with an infrared thermometer, which is not well seen by some specialists due to the error it has, therefore, it would not represent a safe measurement, as other measurement systems do. . In view of this problem, in this article a thermal image processing system was carried out to detect possible cases of patients with COVID-19, in such a way that the system performs a more accurate measurement of body temperature and can be implemented in any place, where this measurement is intended to be carried out, helping to combat the spread of the virus that currently continues to affect many people. Through the development of the system, tests were conducted with various people, obtaining a more accurate measurement of body temperature with an efficiency of 95% at 1 m between the drone and the person, in such a way that if it presents a body temperature above 37°C could be infected with COVID-19. Keywords-- Thermal camera, COVID-19, Drone, MATLAB, WHO, Image processing

Plantar pressure measurement system based on piezoelectric sensor: a review

Purpose Plantar force is the interface pressure existing between the foot plantar surface and the shoe sole during static or dynamic gait. Plantar force derived from gait and posture plays a critical role for rehabilitation, footwear design, clinical diagnostics and sports activities, and so on. This paper aims to review plantar force measurement technologies based on piezoelectric materials, which can make the reader understand preliminary works systematically and provide convenience for researchers to further study. Design/methodology/approach The review introduces working principle of piezoelectric sensor, structures and hardware design of plantar force measurement systems based on piezoelectric materials. The structures of sensors in plantar force measurement systems can be divided into four kinds, including monolayered sensor, multilayered sensor, tri-axial sensor and other sensor. The previous studies about plantar force measurement system based on piezoelectric technology are reviewed in detail, and their characteristics and performances are compared. Findings A good deal of measurement technologies have been studied by researchers to detect and analyze the plantar force. Among these measurement technologies, taking advantage of easy fabrication and high sensitivity, piezoelectric sensor is an ideal candidate sensing element. However, the number and arrangement of the sensors will influence the characteristics and performances of plantar force measurement systems. Therefore, it is necessary to further study plantar force measurement system for better performances. Originality/value So far, many plantar force measurement systems have been proposed, and several reviews already introduced plantar force measurement systems in the aspect of types of pressure sensors, experimental setups for foot pressure measurement analysis and the technologies used in plantar shear stress measurements. However, this paper reviews plantar force measurement systems based on piezoelectric materials. The structures of piezoelectric sensors in the measurement systems are discussed. Hardware design applied to measurement system is summarized. Moreover, the main point of further study is presented in this paper.

Measurement of Infrasound Components Contained in the Noise Emitted during a Working Wind Turbine

The research reported in this paper involves the development and refinement of methods applicable to the measurement and analysis of infrasound signals generated by the operation of wind turbines. In particular, the presentation focuses on the use of a new system that is applied for simultaneous recording of acoustic signals in the low-frequency range emitted by wind farms in three independent and identical measurement setups. A comparative analysis of the proposed new system was made with the Brüel & Kjaer measurement, a commonly used methodology, which meets the requirements of the IEC 61400-11 standard. The paper focuses on the results of frequency and time-frequency analysis of infrasound signals recorded throughout the operation of a wind turbine with a rated capacity of 2 MW. The use of a correlated system with three simultaneous measurement systems can be a new and alternative measurement method that will eliminate the drawbacks of previous approaches.

Residual Noise Identification for PIM Measurement Systems using Variable Low-PIM Termination

<p>In this letter, we describe the design for the variable low-PIM termination composed of the voltage-controlled IM-source, a fixed attenuator, and a linear attenuator.</p> <p>The design method for evaluating PIM-level of the fixed attenuator is presented in order not to limit the variable range of entire termination.</p> <p>It is possible to maintain low-PIM performance in spite of using active voltage-controlled IM-source, whose IM level is extremely high. </p> <p>This termination is used for a dynamic residual noise identification for PIM measurement systems by observing the saturation value for voltage sweep.</p> <p>The validity is confirmed by experiments in 2GHz band.</p>

Residual Noise Identification for PIM Measurement Systems using Variable Low-PIM Termination

<p>In this letter, we describe the design for the variable low-PIM termination composed of the voltage-controlled IM-source, a fixed attenuator, and a linear attenuator.</p> <p>The design method for evaluating PIM-level of the fixed attenuator is presented in order not to limit the variable range of entire termination.</p> <p>It is possible to maintain low-PIM performance in spite of using active voltage-controlled IM-source, whose IM level is extremely high. </p> <p>This termination is used for a dynamic residual noise identification for PIM measurement systems by observing the saturation value for voltage sweep.</p> <p>The validity is confirmed by experiments in 2GHz band.</p>