AJASE 5th Issue

Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Volume 3, No 1 (2014) ISSN 2305-915X
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Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran (Environmental Toxicology & Nanotechnology)
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University of Oklahoma, USA (Medical Physics)
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Varendra University, Bangladesh (Theoretical Physics)
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Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering
Blind Peer-Reviewed Journal
Volume 3, Number 1/2014 (Fifth Issue)

Contents

1.
Mud in Urban Context: A Study on Rammed Earth as Building Material in Dhaka City

09-19

Syma Haque Trisha &
Mahbuba Afroz Jinia

2.
Investigation of the Efficiency of Vibro-Isolating Supports of Optical Tables

20-25

Vladas Vekteris
Artras Kilikeviius
Vadim Mokin &
Andrius Gedvila

3.
A 12-Element Chemical Reactor Network for Carbon Oxide Emission Prediction in Gas
Turbine Combustor

26-34

Nguyen Thanh Hao

4.
Effects of Nitrogen Application on Growth and Yield of Snowpeas (Pisum sativum)

35-43

Njoroge, P.K.
Shibairo, S.I.
Githiri, S.M. &
M.W.K. Mburu

5.
Evaluation of the Correlation between Selected Quality Indices of Activated Carbon: A
Review

44-52

Benjamin Edem Meteku

6.
Customer Satisfaction of Internet Banking in Bangladesh: A Case Study on Citibank N.A

53-64

K. M. Anwarul Islam
& Umme Salma

Call for Papers - Volume 3, Number 2/2014 (Sixth Issue) 65-68



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Mud in Urban Context: A Study on Rammed
Earth as Building Material in Dhaka City
Syma Haque Trisha
1
& Mahbuba Afroz Jinia
2

1
Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Stamford University, Bangladesh
2
Senior Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Stamford University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT
Traditional mud houses are integral part of Bangladeshi culture from the
ancient period. But with the course of time urbanization, industrialization
& technology have achieved an infinite development & people began to
forget their origin-mud or earth. At present that time has come to rethink
the existence-relationship with earth. Architects have started realizing the
destructive effects of different building materials like concrete, C.I. sheet,
etc. They are going back to nature with the slogan of Go Green. Recently
mud is being used in urban areas even in capital Dhaka not only by poor
masses but also in rich peoples residences, resorts, caf and shops;
sometimes in the form of fusion as rammed earth construction, sometimes
as interior cladding or plastering material & sometimes for research.
Sometimes mud is being used realizing it as an eco friendly material &
sometimes it is being used only for aesthetical purpose. But for benefit &
sustainability, every building material should be chosen after
understanding its environmental & economic issues which can enhance a
new horizon in construction arena being a true friend of nature & culture &
create a revolution. This paper reviews and argues the environmental
(temperature, relative humidity, carbon-di-oxide emission, other climatic
effects) & economic benefits (manufacturing & maintenance cost) of using
rammed earth as a building material for urban construction in Bangladesh
in context of Dhaka. A critical literature review & field survey using
experimental & qualitative approach was adopted in this paper to
investigate whether rammed earth construction & mud plastering is
feasible in Dhaka compared to the conventional brick construction.

Key words: climatic-effects, cost, feasibility, rammed earth, urban.

INTRODUCTION
pproximately half of people of the world live in earthen house because its availability
and permanent solution in cheaper cost. The construction technique of earthen house
is derived by the craftsmen by themselves so it is simple to build for the users. In
Bangladesh still most of the people live in earthen house. Earth structures are found almost
every area in our country with different construction technique and style, for example the
Rajshahi region double storied mud house are found but at Jessore region singe storied mud
A

house are mostly found. The planning of these houses are also different from each other. In
some region house made with mud cube mixed with rice husk another part of the country wall
construct with direct layer of clay. These entire houses are climate responsive and mostly
acceptable to the society. Regarding the traditional mud construction lots of study has done.
Rammed earth is an ancient or traditional construction technique used in many countries of the
world. The most common technique of the rammed earth construction is pouring and
ramming Soil within the form work which is similar to modern concrete. At present rammed
earth construction & mud plastering is being used in Dhaka for research works, low cost
construction, residential & recreational purposes both for construction & interior design
breaking the tradition of conventional brick buildings. The objective of this paper is to find out
whether urban mud architectures rammed earth Construction is feasible in context of Dhaka
using critical literature review & field survey with experimental & qualitative approach.
RELATED LITERATURE
Rammed earth is a method of building walls whereby a mixture of earth is compacted in layers
between forms. Each layer of earth is approximately 15 cm deep. As each form is filled, another
form is placed above it, and the process begins again. This is continued until the desired wall
height is achieved (HBRI report, 2009). Forms can be stripped off as soon as the form above is
begun, as the compressed earth wall is self-supporting immediately. The clay and moisture
content of rammed earth is relatively low compared to that used for mud brick or other earth
building methods .A wider range of soils are suitable when a small amount of cement is added
to the mix. The result, known as stabilized rammed earth, is a strong masonry product which
provides excellent thermal mass. Ordinary mud constriction is popular in Bangladesh but the
there is no significant rammed earth structure in this country.
According to Climate Classification, Bangladesh may be placed in a zone called Composite
or Monsoon climatic zone, These climates usually occur in large land masses near the
tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, which are sufficiently far from the equator to experience
marked seasonal variations in solar radiation and wind direction (Atkinson, 1953) .These
climates are normally said to have two distinct seasons, a hot-dry and a warm-humid
season, and often a third, best described as cool-dry. In different seasons average air
temperature, relative humidity & other climatic variables change determines peoples
comfort range. In Dhaka carbon-di-oxide emission level & energy consumption is also very
high. Stabilized earth construction is environmentally sustainable compare to conventional
(fried brick, concrete, etc.) building materials & would be appropriate in the case of urban
building construction in Bangladesh .Promotion & implementation of earth as an alternative
urban construction material is worthwhile & significantly helpful in achieving
environmental sustainability ( Zami & Lee, 2009). Earth buildings have inspired many who
are searching for ways of living that are in harmony with the environment & enable what
Heidgegger (1954) called poetic dwelling (Dayaratne, 2003).In Dhaka Building material is
available but expensive in comparison with living cost. Therefore, rammed earth may work
as a sustainable building material for Dhaka. However, replacing traditional buildings with
modern ones does not necessarily lead to progress. While recognition of the building
traditions is necessary it should be consistent with improvement techniques that address
problems. In that way it will be possible to build & preserve a culturally suitable, regional,
rural earth architecture which will be contemporary & durable as well (Ahmed, I.1994). To
explore and transform the rammed earth construction technique in urban areas it is
important to find out its feasibility & sustainability not only in environmental & economic
context or as a fusion of traditional mud structure but in a holistic manner.

METHODOLOGY
Fig. 1 shows conceptual framework & Fig. 2 shows methodology of the study.
Step 1: Soil map analysis: Soil map is studied to know the soil quality of which areas of
Dhaka is suitable for rammed earth construction. Clay soil with plastic quality is the most
suitable for the rammed earth construction.
Step 2: Sampling: Among the suitable areas two buildings are chosen in Housing &
building research institute (HBRI),Dhaka in Darus salaam road which have concrete plain
roof , plinth , almost similar surroundings , orientation & architectural features like
opening, shading, interior-exterior relationship but have facades of different material of
rammed earth & exposed brick. For interior mud plastering another building is chosen in
Dhanmondi at Dhaka Art Center named Caf Ajo.
Step 3: Instrumental survey: For physical dimensions an instrumental survey is carried
out to know length, breadth (thickness) and height of each faade with opening areas
using measuring tape.
Step 4: instrumental survey with treatment-experimental approach: Indoor-outdoor air
temperature & relative humidity level is measured with thermo hygro meter(air
temperature & relative humidity measuring device) using treatment keeping the openings
close & open & convenient time sampling at noon & evening period in two days &
measured at 1m high from ground floor level almost at the middle of the room. Table 1
shows instrument specification.
Step 5: market survey & literature review: Market survey & literature review is done to
know energy consumption, carbon di oxide emission & manufacturing, maintenance cost.
Step 6: observation & questionnaire survey-open ended: Observation & open ended
questionnaire survey is done to find out other advantage, disadvantage & climatic effects.
Brand name KTJ-max-m in thermo hygro clock
Model no. TA218B
Origin China
Table 1: instrument specification

Fig. 1: conceptual framework of the study


Fig. 2: methodology of the study

ANALYSIS
Soil quality
Fig.3 shows in Dhaka earthen construction is
only 15 to 20 percent. The red clay soil found
in Pubail, Uttara,Mirpur, Azimpur area is
suitable for earthen construction most of the
areas have become urbanized the new
growing areas where yellow, grey & red
mud found is suitable for rammed earth
construction.

Fig. 3: earthen construction in Bangladesh


PHYSICAL FEATURES
Building location, orientation & outdoor features (surroundings)
Proper building orientation is one of the features rightly emphasized from the early stages
of design. The most coveted orientation for Dhaka, .i.e. north-south, is impossible for a
given site, because of the site's geometry and orientation. Fig. 10 shows both the building
are a little inclined with north-south orientation with dense green areas & water body, on
the west & meadow on the north east corner as site force.


Indoor features
Both the building has no occupancy during survey with earthen furniture in rammed
earth building & conventional wooden furniture in brick building. Fig. 12 shows some
earthen furniture at HBRI.

Material
Fig. 11 & 13(b) shows rammed earth wall is layered (500 mm to 700mm) in which red soil
gravel & brick chips can be seen. Fig. 13(a) shows the conventional building is built with
first class exposed brick of 250mm thick wall.

Window opening, orientation & shading
In a recent study window orientation for buildings in Dhaka was studied aiming to
exclude solar radiation during the hot periods of the day. It is a known fact that southern
and western walls of a building receive huge amounts of solar radiation during the course
of each day in our hemisphere. When these walls are pierced by windows, direct radiation
from the sun penetrates into the indoor areas, thus creating an even greater source of heat
(Ahmed, Z.N., 1982)
When a window is provided with shading, the shaded part of the window receives no
direct radiation, though it continues to receive its share of diffuse radiation from the sky.
In both of the case studied window is provided in all facades with large cornice. Table 2
shows window area & Fig.4, 5,6,7,8, 9 shows facades of the both buildings. In both cases
indoor air temperature would be controlled not only by openings but also by the dense
foliage of trees.

AIR TEMPERATURE & RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Thermal comfort is strongly related to the thermal balance of the body and this balance is
influenced by environmental parameters like air temperature (Ta), mean radiant temperature
(T), relative air velocity (v), and relative humidity (RH) (ASHRAE Standards, 1974).
Air temperature determines the convective heat dissipation, together with any air
movement. Humidity of the air also affects evaporation rate as moisture content of the air
is related to wetness of skin, which in turns affect comfort sensation. (Mallick, 1996)
For Dhaka, The indoor air temperature for comfort with no air movement are within the
range of 24 C and 32 C and relative humidity range is 50% to 95%. The mean comfort
temperature for this range is 28.9 0C for air velocity up to 0.15 m/s. For higher velocities of
0.3 m/s to 0.45 m/s the upper and lower limits of comfort temperature increase between
2-3 K and mean comfort temperature increases to 31.2 C. (Mallick, 1996)
Table 3 shows, both rammed earthen & brick building helps to keep indoor temperature
lower than outdoor either with or without air movement during hot sunny days & keep
indoor temperature comfortable. Here indoor air temperature is a little bit high than
comfort level but lower than outdoor. According to Fig.14 in case of both treatments
rammed earth is much more effective than brick wall. For mud plaster the difference is
very low & it works almost as exposed brick faade in respect of indoor outdoor
temperature variation. During cool evening period rammed earth also shows much
effectivity than others. It helps to keep indoor temperature higher & near comfort range
than brick faade or mud plastered wall.

Table 3: survey data of air temperature & relative humidity with treatment at rammed
earthen, exposed brick building & mud plastered on brick wall

Fig.15 shows, for relative humidity level all the material keeps indoor humidity level
lower than outdoor in case of both treatment during both cool evening & sunny days. But
rammed earth is much effective than brick faade. Mud plastered faades relative
humidity variance between indoor & outdoor is lower than others. Humidity depends
much on air movement & outdoor air humidity content. In this site outdoor humidity level
is naturally high for the presence of water body & dense trees. However, in all cases the
indoor humidity level increased in open condition of doors & windows.


LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Lacking of air velocity data minimizes the analysis. Otherwise more detail analysis can be possible.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION & CARBON-DI-OXIDE EMISSION
Air pollution is one of the major environmental problems nowadays, especially for developing
countries such as Bangladesh and brickfields have been identified as a vital pollutant source of
the major cities of the country .Numerous brick-making kilns operating in the dry season are
one of the major sources of air pollution in cities and a significant factor is that brick kilns are
usually clustered near big sites in different parts of Bangladesh (Ahmed & Hossain ,2008).
However manufacturing of bricks is a burning question for air pollution in Dhaka. Some
studies have shown that, in the Indian context, building a square meter of masonry with
stabilized earth block consumes energy 15 times less than country fired bricks
(Maini,2005).Table 4 shows rammed earth construction is more eco-friendly than fired bricks
and their manufacture consumes less energy and pollute less than fired bricks.
Total faade area without opening
=[(length breadth total no. of faade) - total opening area]
= [(2.4 4.7 4) - 7.57] = 37.55 sqm.

For country fried brick ,
energy consumption = 1657 37.55 = 62220.35 MJ
[energy/consumption/sqm.= 1657 MJ] (Maini,2005)
Carbon di oxide emission = 126 37.55 = 4731.3 kg
[Carbon di oxide emission/sqm. = 126 kg] (Maini,2005)
Table 4: calculation of energy consumption & Carbon di oxide emission of Rammed earth
building (HBRI), if brick used in place of mud
MANUFACTURING & MAINTENANCE COST
Prime material of rammed earth construction is earth. It is available in site .There is no need to
buy mud for construction which lessens the manufacturing material cost largely. However,
rammed earth construction need 90% of its cost for shuttering & polishing as maintenance
material. In case of plastering it is cheaper than cement but the difference is not so high. Table 5
shows a comparison of manufacturing & maintenance cost of rammed earth construction &
mud plastering with conventional exposed brick wall & cement plaster.

Table 5: comparison of manufacturing & maintenance cost of rammed earth construction
& mud plastering with conventional exposed brick wall & cement plaster.

Others: From observation & questionnaire survey some merits & demerits of rammed
earth construction are found, such as:
Demerits
- Crack
- Erosion at rainy days
Merits
- Noise reduction
- Less construction time
- Strong & durable
- Recyclable
DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION
From analysis it can be stated that for availability of material rammed earth is suitable
only in the growing new areas of Dhaka. It keeps indoor air temperature & humidity level
near comfort range than brick though mud plaster is not much effective in this regard. As
rammed earth constructions main material is mud & needs no environment hazardous
processing or causes no pollution even for transportation & consumes less energy, it can
be an alternative of brick. If the maintenance cost can be afforded at primary level (almost
two years according to HBRI) it is beneficial in the long run for its longevity. However, if
compared with land value of Dhaka it is not feasible for height restriction & thickness of
wall .Even rainy season makes the structure vulnerable causing erosion & scorching dry
summer causes crack. Therefore, using layers & textured shuttering a traditional pleasing
look can be achieved which is architecturally pleasing.
In a nut shell it can be said that Rammed earth in context of Dhaka is comfortable
according to air temperature & humidity level. It also reduces air pollution. Dhakas soil
quality according to area basis its construction is possible & its architecturally gives a
traditional look. But for crack, erosion, height restriction, comparison with land value
results it can be used as building material only for special causes where green architecture
is the primary & dominating issue.

REFERENCES
[1] Ahmed, S. & Hossain , l. (2008), Applicability of air pollution modeling in a cluster of brick
fields in Bangladesh; Chemical Engineering Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bulletin 12,pp28-34.
[2] Ahmed, I. (1994), Earth Architecture of Bangladesh & future directions for its conservation &
upgrading, Protibesh, Vol.8, Issue 1, pp 73-81.BUET.
[3] Ahmed ,Z.N. (1982), The effects of climate on the design & location of windows for buildings in
Bangladesh; M.phill, Thesis,Shefield,UK,Octd.
[4] ASHRAE Standards ( 1974), Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy,
pp55-74 .
[5] Atkinson, G.A.( 1953) Tropical Architecture and Building Standards, conference on Tropical
Architecture.
[6] Dayaratne, R. (2003), Earth Architecture for contemporary living: prospects & new initiatives,
Open house international, Vol.28, Issue 3, pp 23-33.University of Bahrain.
[7] House & building research institute(HBRI) report, Hands on Workshop on modern structure &
architecture(rammed earth construction), 2009
[8] Mallick, F.H. (1996), Thermal Comfort and Building Design in the Tropical Climates. Energy and
Buildings, Vol.23, pp161-167. Elsevier.
[9] Maini, S. ( 2005), Earthen architecture for sustainable habitat and compressed stabilised earth
block technology, The Auroville Earth Institute, Auroville Building Center-India.
[10] Schedule of rates, Public Works Department, 2008
[11] Zami, M.S. & Lee, A. (2009), Reducing carbon dioxide emission by the adoption of contemporary
earth construction in urban Bangladesh, Protibesh, Vol.13, Issue 2, pp 25-33.BUET.

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Investigation of the Efficiency of Vibro-
Isolating Supports of Optical Tables
Vladas Vekteris, Artras Kilikeviius, Vadim Mokin & Andrius Gedvila

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, LITHUANIA

ABSTRACT
The main tasks of this work are to investigate experimentally the vibration
behaviour of the optical tables and the floor structure and to establish the
vibration transmission factor of vibro-isolating supports. It is established
that the vibration frequency of the table is low, about 1 Hz. Therefore it is
possible to mount the laser and optomechanical convergence system of
multiple pump beams to the optical table, because the transmission factor
of vibro-isolating supports varies from 0.879 to 0.968.

Key words: Optical Table, Vibro-Isolating Supports, Vibration
Acceleration, Vibration Transmission Factor

1 INTRODUCTION
asers and their systems are sensible to vibrations and acoustic noise. Noise and
vibrations can arise from sources inside or outside the building, for example, from
passing cars, wind, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, etc [1].
Therefore precision balances, optical microscopes, lasers must be well isolated from
vibrations to ensure their proper performance.
Ultrastable Fabry Perot cavities used to stabilize lasers also require vibration isolation [2].
Although these cavities are primarily sensitive to horizontal motion, vertical motion of the
ground and optical table can distort the cavity and thus displace the reflecting surfaces [2].
Similarly, in precision atom interferometer measurements, a single optical element must
be constrained to move such that it accelerates uniformly with respect to free falling atoms
over a time scale as long as 1 s [2, 3]. In atom interferometer measurement of g, for
instance, it is necessary to stabilize the position of a mirror to a small fraction of the
wavelength of light for times approaching 1 s. The typical level of background vibrations
in the frequency range between 0.1 and 10 Hz would completely wash out the
interferometer fringes [2].
A mechanical spring can adequately isolate key elements from background vibrations, but
only in a certain frequency range. Vibrations occurring at frequencies below the natural
resonance frequency of the spring-mass system will pass through the spring virtually
undiminished. Above the natural resonance frequency of a spring-mass system with negligible
damping, vibrations are reduced by a factor proportional to
-2
[2]. Standard optical tables
floating on compressed air have resonance frequencies around 2 Hz and thus isolate the
equipment from any ground motion faster than 2 Hz [2]. Isolating against background
vibrations slower than 2 Hz requires a different approach. Custom designed optical tables are
L

usually used in laser centres and laboratories to mount such equipment. The aim of this work
is to evaluate the efficiency of vibro-isolating supports of optical tables.
2 OBJECT OF INVESTIGATION
Rigid tables assembled on vibro-isolating supports are shown in Figure 1 (2, 3). Vibration
behaviour of two similar tables located at different technological premises was investigated.
Arrangement of accelerometers is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1: Experimental vibration isolating tables, which are rigidly connected to one
another: 1 accelerometer mounting place; 2, 3 investigated table; 4 Machine
Diagnostics Toolbox (type 9727, Bruel&Kjaer)

Figure 2: Arrangement of accelerometers on vibration isolating tables: 1 block; 2
accelerometer (type 8344, Bruel&Kjaer); x, y, z coordinates
A lightweight honeycomb table structure was used. Mechanical properties of the
honeycombs depend on the size of the cells, thickness of the walls and material properties.
Honeycomb tables are characterized by excellent vibration damping properties; they are
much lighter than conventional granite tables. One of the most important properties of the
vibro-isolating supports of such tables is vibration transmission from floor to the table top. In
order to establish vibration transmission characteristics two points were chosen (Figure 2).

3 RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION
Results of measurements of vibrations of the floor and the 1st table are presented in Figure
3 and Figure 4.
Statistical parameters of the vibration acceleration signal are presented in the Table 1.
Figure 3: Vibration acceleration of the 1st table measured in vertical direction (a) and
vibration acceleration spectrum (b) (results obtained from accelerometer 8344 data)
Figure 4: Vibration acceleration of the floor surface measured in vertical direction (a) and
Table 1: Statistical parameters of the vibration acceleration signal (1st optical table)


Vibration transmission factor of vibration isolating supports was calculated as follows:
15 . 1
08447 . 0
09716 . 0
= = =
f
t
x
x
tr
S
S
k

1)

where
t
x
S is the standard deviation of the vibration acceleration of the table;
f
x
S is the
standard deviation of the vibration acceleration of the floor structure.
Results of measurements of vibrations of the floor and the 2
nd
table are presented in Figures 5
7. Statistical parameters of the vibration acceleration signal are presented in the Table 2.
Figure 5: Vibration acceleration of the 2
nd
table (with additional mass) measured in vertical direction (a)
and vibration acceleration spectrum (b) (results obtained from accelerometer 8344 data)
Figure 6: Vibration acceleration of the floor surface measured in vertical direction (a) and


Figure 7: Vibration acceleration of the 2nd table (without additional mass) measured in
vertical direction (a) and vibration acceleration spectrum (b) (results obtained from
accelerometer 8344 data)

Table 2: Statistical parameters of the vibration acceleration signal (2nd optical table)
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Arithmetic
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Standard
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Standard
deviation of
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m/s
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Minimum
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Variation,
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c
e

-1.49198E-4 0.06362 9.94039E-4 -0.198 0.206 0.404 -0.611
O
n

t
h
e

f
l
o
o
r

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

-1.34346E-4 0.06575 0.00103 -0.145 0.186 0.331 -0.55
T
a
b
l
e

w
i
t
h
o
u
t

a
d
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
l

m
a
s
s

O
n

t
h
e

t
a
b
l
e

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

5.30981E-4 0.05783 9.03581E-4 -0.158 0.164 0.322 2.1749
O
n

t
h
e

f
l
o
o
r

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

-1.34346E-4 0.06575 0.00103 -0.145 0.186 0.331 -0.55


Vibration transmission factors of vibro-isolating supports of the 2
nd
table were calculated
by formula (1):
, 9676 . 0
06575 . 0
0.06362
) (
= = =
f
t
x
x
mass with tr
S
S
k

. 8795 . 0
06575 . 0
0.05783
) (
= = =
f
t
x
x
mass without tr
S
S
k

Obtained results show that transmission factor of the vibration isolating supports varies
from 0.8795 to 1.15.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with the results of experiments, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- Vibration behaviour of vibro-isolating supports of optical tables was investigated,
vibration transmission factors were established.
- Transmission factor of the vibro-isolating supports of the first table reached value of
1.15; therefore additional vibration isolation is required.
REFERENCES
[1] Kilikeviius, A.; Vekteris, V. 2006. Vibration sources acting the computer stand.
Mechanika 2006: Proceedings of the 11th international conference, April 6-7, 2006,
Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania, 168-172.
[2] Weiss, D. S.; Young, B. C.; Chu, S. 1994. Precision measurement of /m
Cs
based on
photon recoil using laser-cooled atoms and atomic interferometry. Applied Physics B:
Lasers and Optics, 59, 3, 217-256.
[3] Young, B. C. 1997. Ph. D. thesis. Stanford University.

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A 12-Element Chemical Reactor Network for
Carbon Oxide Emission Prediction in Gas
Turbine Combustor
Nguyen Thanh Hao

Industrial University of HoChiMinh City, VIETNAM

ABSTRACT
This study presents the use of a new chemical reactor network (CRN)
model and non-uniform injectorsto predict CO emission pollutant in gas
turbine combustor. The CRN uses information from Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) combustion analysis with two injectors of CH4-air
mixture. Theinjectors of CH4-air mixture have difference lean equivalence
ratio, and they control fuel flow to stabilize combustion and adjust
combustors equivalence ratio. Non-uniform injectoris applied to improve
the burning process of the turbine combustor. The results of the new CRN
for CO prediction in the gas turbine combustor show very goodagreement
with the experimental data from Korea Electric Power Research Institute.

Key words: Chemical Reactor Networks (CRN), Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD), Perfectly Stirred Reactor (PSR), Plug Flow Reactor (PFR),
Gas Turbine Combustor, Carbon Oxide Emission (CO).

1 INTRODUCTION
rom the nineteen fifties, engineers have used chemical kinetic models to study the
combustion process. The concept of modeling the flame by a perfectly stirred reactor
(PSR) followed by a plug flow reactor (PFR) was introduced by S.L. Bragg and N.T.
Hao [1-2]. Zonal combustion modeling was proposed by Swithen bank as an improvement
for combustor design via correlation parameters [3]. The flame volume was divided into
zones represented by idealized reactor elements, such as PSR, PFR, and MIX [4-5].
The concept of modeling the combustor by MIXs and PSRs followed by two PFRs will be
applied to predict CO emission in gas turbine combustor. In the PSR the chemical time is
assumed to be much slower than the mixing time. Chemical reactor modeling of
combustion systems is not necessarily limited to the use of extensive chemical reactor
networks. Very simple two/three reactor models have been found useful in modeling
research combustion reactors [6-7].
The new chemical reactor network modeling of the gas turbine combustor is constructed
based on CFD-predicted flow patterns: flame shape and location, and entrainment of the
dome air and gas from main recirculation zone into the flame. The new chemical reactor
network modeling is shown the schematic layout of the 12-element CRN developed
herein. The chemical reactor network consists of 12 PSR, PFR, and MIX elements. The PSR
F

stands for perfectly stirred reactor (i.e., a continuously stirred tank reactor), in which
mixing to the molecular scale is assumed to happen instantaneously compared to chemical
reaction. The chemical reaction occurs homogeneously in the reactor.The PFR stands for
plug flow reactor, in which the flow is assumed to move as a plug and the chemical
reaction proceeds one-dimensionally, longitudinal mixing in the reactor is assumed to be
zero.The MIX stands for an element in which the entering streams are uniformly mixed
without chemical reaction.This research is somewhat different from the previous ones,
being more descriptive and less theoretical. The CFD modeling has ability to provide the
valuable insight on the flow and the temperature fields of the combustor, which are
difficult to obtain from the experiment. While CFD is a valuable tool to predict the flow
and the temperature fields, this method cannot incorporate the complicated chemistry of
the detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms.
2 CFD ANALYSIS
The new CRN combustion model is constructed in this study based on the actual
experiment and CFD-predicted flow patterns: the flame shape and location, the entrance
of the dome air and gas from main recirculation zone into the flame. These flow patterns
are treated by adjusting the flow splits between the corresponding elements of the
network. The analysis includes a three-step EBU model which was performed using a
simple interpretation of the results of the flame. The temperature was used to separate the
flame zone which was replaced by simple reactors.
The schematic 3D drawing of the combustor with the air flow splits is shown in figure 2.
The major design and operating parameters of the modeled combustor are similar to those
of typical industrial gas turbine combustor. The modeled combustor consists of the
combustor liners, the swirl injector with main circuit, and the swirl pilot circuit. The mean
axial velocity profiles of the injector are determined based on the profiles of the swirl ratio
and the non-uniform swirl mixture injector. The CRN model is configured from the
entrance, consider the mixture of fuel and air to the back-flash phenomenon occur because
CH
4
-air separate analysis is applied to the entrance of the combustor. The k- turbulence
model is used for wall insulation combustion chamber conditions. In Star-CCM, however,
these effects are modeled as in the standard k-c model. The turbulent kinetic energy and
turbulence dissipation rate are determined by solving their modeled transport equations.
The simulation performed in the model of CH
4
-air combustion is repeated using a three-
step reaction of the following forms
CH
4
+ 0.5O
2
CO + 2H
2
(1)
CO + 0.5O
2
CO
2
(2)
H
2
+ 0.5O
2
H
2
O (3)
The Reactions (1) (3) themselves are defined by specifying the amounts (in kilomoles) of
the participating leading reactants, reactants and products. In the properties of Star-CCM
window, these amounts are entered into each node for the stoichiometry coefficient.
The overall structure of the gas turbine combustor system includes an air compressor, an
air heater, a compressed natural gas, a combustor, two gas turbine burners, and an
exhaust processing unit. The control instrumentation consists of the ICCD camera and the
image processing controller, etc.

(a) The Experiment Schematic Measurement

(b) The Control Instrumentation of Gas Turbine Combustor
Figure 1.The Experimental Gas Turbine Combustor Model
The experiment parameters are based on combustion conditions (Figure 1). The external

temperature is 298K, after passing through compressor, the temperature is 650K. Pressure and
other combustion parameters are based on the maximum load (1.0N load) and minimum load
(idle load).
In order to understand the effect of the injector CH
4
-air mixing profile on the flame position
and emission levels, this study will calculate profile of non-uniform injector. The mixture
between fuel and air in both main injector and pilot injector are not the same. At the idle load,
the overall equivalent ratio of the pilot injector is less than 0.7, the lower overall equivalent
ratio is 0.166. The overall equivalent ratio of the main injector and pilot injector at the 1.0N
load is 0.422, at the 0.8N load is 0.367, and at the 0.6N load is 0.314.

Figure 2.Computation Grid for CFD Modeling of Gas Turbine Combustor
The combustion chamber boundary is a cylindrical shape using the grid to reduce the
computational time is shown in Figure 2. A two-dimensional grid consist of 190,000 cells is
used. In order to adequately resolve the gradients that exist in the flame, the grid resolution is
refined in the pilot flame region and the boundary layer effect.
The results of the mass fraction of the gasturbine combustor at the entrance with overall
equivalent ratio of 0.7 are shown in figure 3. The formation of CO emission in the combustor
are determined by post-processing CFD solutions of the flow field.

(a) Flame Temperature Surface

(b) Ratio of Unburned Fuel in a Premixed Flame

(c) Mass Fraction of CO Surface
Figure 3.Temperature, Regress Variable and Mass Fraction of CO Contours Plot from Star-
CCMSoftware Showing the Presence of the Different Combustion Zones

The temperature vectors plot from the 2D CFD simulation of the different load (1.0N, 0.8N,
0.6N, and idle) show the different combustion zones. The highest temperature of the flame in
combustion chamber appear on the wall, in this case the temperature is up to 1903.5K. The
temperature contours plot from the 2D CFD simulation show the different combustion zones
(figure 4): main flame zone, main recirculation zone, pilot inner zone, pilot out post, pilot
median zone, pilot recirculation zone. The development chemical reactor network modeling
of the gas turbine combustor is constructed based on the CFD-predicted flow patterns such as
the flame temperature and the volumetric zones (figure 4), and the entrainment of the dome
air and gas from the main recirculation zone into the flame.

Figure 4.Flame Zone Mapping onto the CRN
3. CRN MODEL CONFIGURATION
The CRN model is constructed in this study based on the Figures 3 and 4. First of all, the
recirculation zone consists of PSR which was fully mixed assumption. According to the
results of Figure 4, the temperature of the flame was broken.
At the idle state, the overall equivalent ratio distribution is up to 0.9. More than 0.05 units
from overall equivalent ratio of 0.7 are divided into two entrances. The overall equivalent

ratio range from 0.6 to 0.7, one of area is subdivided into the entrance, so that the total
entrances are two. Number of the flame zone is also divided into eight zones. The regions of
overall equivalent ratio of 0.7 or more are approximately accounted 20% of the total.
At the 0.6N load, 0.8N load, and 1.0N load state, when the overall equivalent ratio
distribution is 0.85, the equivalent ratio does not exist and the flame zone is divided into eight
zones. The regions of overall equivalent ratio of 0.7of 0.6N load is accounting approximately
12%, 1.0N load is approximately accounted 9% of the total.
The CRN model is separated by a non-equivalent portion of the pilot flame was broken. Area
consists of more than overall equivalent ratio of 0.8 is pilot out 2 to simulate the flame was on the
wall. Area consists of more than overall equivalent ratio of 0.7 is pilot out 1, flame inside of the wall
is modeled. Overall equivalent ratio is less than 0.6 is accounting approximately a medium flame.

(a) The Schematic Layout of the 12-Element CRN Model

(b) The 12-Element CRN Model for Evaluating the CO Emission Based on CHEMKIN Software
Figure 5: 12-Element Chemical Reactor Network of the Gas Turbine Combustor
10% Pilot Recir.
Main Recir.
10%
80%
99%
1%
70%
30%
Immediate
Post-Flame
Dome Recir.
Main Pilot
Post Pilot
Main Flame
Center
Post-Flame
Main
Post-Flame Dilution Zone
Air
MIX
MIX
PS
R
PS
R
PS
R
PS
R
Main Injector
PS
R
PFR PFR
Pilot Injector
PS
R
Air
Fuel
PS
R
PS
R
Fuel

The schematic layout of 12-element CRN is constructed in this study which based on the
CFD-predicted results as shown in Figure 5. The PSR stands for perfectly reactor, in which
mixing to the molecular scale is assumed to happen instantaneously compared to chemical
reaction. The combustion occurs homogeneously in the reactor. The PFR stands for plug
flow reactor, in which the flow is assumed to move as a plug and the chemical reaction
proceeds one-dimensionally, longitudinal mixing in the reactor is assumed to be zero. the
MIX stands for an element in which the entering streams are uniformly mixed without
chemical reaction. The first element in the CRN arrangement is the MIX, which represent
the cone shape zone of inlet mixture where the mixture is not ignited yet. The flame zone,
the dome and the main recirculation zone, and the immediate post flame zone are
modeled by using PSRs, while the post flame zones is modeled by using PFR.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Figures 6 8 are used to show the mole fraction of CO emission results in three CRN
model conditions. The amount of CO at low load appears significantly higher than others.
Especially, the mole fraction of CO in cold condition is highest. In this situation, the effect
of temperature on the formation of CO into the gas turbine combustor is played the role of
great importance.
The CO concentrations rapidly fall with temperature, as illustrated by each condition shown in
Figures 6 8. So that, the CO production mechanisms are also depending on the temperature
input such as normal condition, cold condition or hot condition (boundary condition).
The CO emission at the exit of the gas turbine combustor is essentially dependent on
overall fuel-air equivalent ratio of the idle load, 0.6N load, 0.8N load, and 1.0N load. The
formation of CO in the gas turbine combustor non-uniform inlet was applied using the
new modified CRN predicts the CO emission is more closely to the experimental data.

Figure 6.Non-Uniformity Mole Fraction of CO in Normal Condition

Figure 7.Non-Uniformity Mole Fraction of CO in Cold Condition

Figure 8.Non-Uniformity Mole Fraction of CO in Hot Condition
5 CONCLUSIONS
The 12-element CRN mechanism has been applied CFD modeling of the gas turbine combustor in
order to obtain insight on the flow, temperature, and species fields. The flow field information from
the gas turbine combustor CFD has been analyzed to determine combustion zones in the
combustor. These zones are modeled as chemical reactor elements in the CRN. The methodology of
the CRN development is determined based on the agreement between CFD and CRN models.
The new CRN model using 12 idealized reactor scheme modeling has been developed based on
CFD results for the gas turbine combustor with overall fuel-air equivalent ratio of the idle load,
0.6N load, 0.8N load, and 1.0N load. The formation of CO emission in turbine combustornon-
uniform inlet prediction are more closely to the experimental data, especially at low overall
equivalent ratio in normalcondition shown in Figure 6.

This research has shown that:
o The combined CFD and CRN approach shows the ability to accurately predict CO
emission for lean premixed gas turbine combustor.
o The simple CRN modelby applying non-uniforminlet is able to predict CO emission
more accurate than uniform inlet.
o The simple CRN model can also be applied to the industrial combustors. The resulting CRN
incorporates important flow features and boundary conditions such as: fuel-air distribution,
velocity profile, entrainment of the main recirculation zone and the main flame.
REFERENCES
[1] Bragg, S.L. Application reaction rate theory to combustion chamber analysis, aeronautical
research council pub. ARC 16170, Ministry of Defense, London, England, 1629-1633.
[2] N.T. Hao and Park JungKyu. CRN application to predict the NOx emissions for industrial
combustion chamber. AJASE - Vol.2 - No.2/2013.
[3] Swithenbank, J. Combustion fundamentals. AFOSR 70-2110 TR.
[4] Steel, R.C., Tarrett, A.C., Malte, P.C., Tonouchi, J. H., and Nicol, D. G., Variables affecting
NOx formation in lean-premixed combustion, Transactions of the ASME, Journal of
Engineering for Gas Turbine and Power, Vol. 119, pp. 102107, 1997.
[5] Rubin, P.M. and Pratt, D.T. Zone combustion model development and use: Application to
emissions control. American Sosiety of Mechanical Engineers, 91-JPGC-FACT-25.
[6] Nicol, D. G., Malte, P. C., and Steele, R. C., Simplified Models for NOx Production Rates in
Lean-Premixed Combustion, ASME Paper 94-GT-432, 1994.
[7] N.T. Hao and Park JungKyu. A CRN simulation for emission pollutants prediction in lean
premixerd gas turbine combustor, Asean Engineering Journal, Vol.1 - No.1 7/2011.

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Effects of Nitrogen Application on Growth and
Yield of Snowpeas (Pisum sativum)
Njoroge, P.K.; Shibairo, S.I.; Githiri, S.M.; & M.W.K. Mburu

Department of crop science, University of Nairobi, KENYA

ABSTRACT
An experiment was conducted at Kabete field station, University of
Nairobi between March and July 2000 (season I) and between June and
September 2000 (season II) to determine the effect of different rates of
nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on growth and yield of snowpea.
Snowpea variety Oregon sugar pod II was used. The experiment was
laid out in a complete randomized block design with three replicates. Four
N levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha-1) were split applied in equal halves as
CAN (26% N) at 29 and 58 days after planting (DAP). Plant height, leaf
area index, above ground dry mass, number of pods and pod dry weight
were determined overtime. All the growth and yield parameters studied
did not substantially benefit from N fertilizer application. It was therefore
recommended that less N be applied for growth and yield of snowpeas.

INTRODUCTION
itrogen (N) influences the crop yields mainly through leaf area expansion, leaf
area duration, and susceptibility to lodging (Addiscott et al., 1992). The growth
rate and N composition of the new tissue determine demand for N by a plant.
The response of legumes to N application has been shown to depend on many factors among
them its level. Lenka and SatPathy, (1976) reported that application of up to 40 kg N ha
-1
increased vegetative growth, plant height and number of branches plant
-1
in pigeon pea. In
beans, a low level of N fertilization of less than 50 kg N ha
-1
was found to give early vigorous
growth (Westermann et al., 1981). Srivastava and Verma (1984) showed that application of 20
kg N ha
-1
increased yields and quality traits in field pea (Pisum sativum L. var. arvense).
Gunawardena et al., 1997 worked with different cultivars of pea and observed significant
differences in shoot growth among cultivars but not between N levels. Nitrogen
application did not affect root dry matter at any stage for any of the cultivars.
Increase in grain and shoot biomass in medium duration pigeonpea to N fertilizer applied at
sowing on both Alfisols and Vertisols have been reported (Kumar et al., 1981). Nitrogen
applied at later stages of growth i.e., from flowering onwards, boosted final dry matter and
grain yield, particularly on Vertisols confirming the inadequacy of the symbiosis on this soil
(ICRISAT, 1987). Lack of response to N on three other soil types, namely Alfisols, Entisols and
Inceptisols in India may perhaps be due to high levels of N in the soil pool, or because N-
fixation was adequate to meet the N requirements of the crop in these soils (ICRISAT, 1987).
In recent times, legumes are increasingly playing a central role in horticulture. In Kenya, much
attention has been focussed on production of french beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) although
N

production of snowpeas (Pisum sativum) is increasingly becoming important. Response of
snowpeas to fertilizer N in Kenya has not been documented. The objective of this study was to
determine the effect of different levels of N application on growth and yield of snowpeas.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Snowpea (Pisum sativum var. Oregon sugar pod II), produced by Royal Sluis and treated
with Thirum (class 3) was used in this experiment. The experiment was conducted in two
seasons at Kabete field station, University of Nairobi between March and July 2000 (season
I) and between June and September 2000 (season II). The site lies at latitude 1
o
15S and
longitude 36
o
44E (Jaetzold and Schmidt, 1983) at an altitude of 1940m above sea level.
The mean maximum and minimum temperatures are 23
o
C and 13
o
C respectively. The
rainfall is bimodal, with long rains in March to June and short rains in October to
December. The average rainfall is 1000 mm/year (Mburu, 1996).
The soils have been described as humic nitisols according to FAO/UNESCO (1984)
classification, with Oxic paeleustult as the soils taxonomy USDA (1975) equivalent
(Siderius 1976). The soil pH ranges between 5.2 to 7.2 in the topsoil and 5.2 to 7.7 in the
subsoil. Available potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorous (P)
ranges from low to fairly high levels. Total soil N is about 0.26 % (Njuguna, 1997). In this
study, soil pH was determined using a pH meter, Soil N was determined by micro
Kjeldahl method, soil available P was determined using mehlichs double acid method,
CEC was determined using 1M KCL and 1M NH
4+
Oac and organic carbon was
determined using Walkley-Black method. Other soil parameters e.g. sand, silt and clay
fractions, available Ca, Mg, Na and K were not determined. The results of soil analysis in
the top 0-15cm before the experiment was conducted are shown in Table 3.
The treatments consisted of four N levels i.e. 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha applied as
calcium ammonium nitrate (26% N). For each of the N rates, split application with half at
29 days after planting (DAP) and the rest at 58 DAP was adopted in both seasons to
increase fertilizer N recovery by the crop. These rates were adopted based on the 100 kg
N/ha applied to snowpeas by farmers. The experiment was laid out in a randomized
complete block design. Each treatment was replicated 3 times. Each experimental plot
measured 2 m x 3 m. The plant spacing was 0.1 m x 0.75 m within and between rows,
respectively. Seeds were hand sown in furrows on 26
th
March 2000 in season I and on 3
rd

June 2000 in season II. In both seasons planted seeds took eight days to emerge.
The crop received 357 mm and 82 mm of rainfall in season I and season II, respectively.
Supplemental sprinkler irrigation was done at 58 DAP (22
nd
May 2000) in season I. In season II,
it was done after planting, at 29, 44 and 58 DAP (1
st
, 16
th
and 30
th
July 2000) respectively. In
both seasons, each duration of irrigation was three hours and this supplied approximately
10mm of rainfall. The crop was trained 3 weeks after planting in both season in order to reduce
lodging, improve air circulation around the plant, reduce incidence of pests and diseases and
improve light penetration through the canopy. Crop training was done using sisal strings tied
from 0.2 m to 1.2 m above ground at 0.07m to 0.1m intervals.
Weed control was done through manual cultivation. Two weedings were done before the canopy
closed. Powdery mildew was controlled by alternate application of Antracol and Bavistin at
40g/15 l and 40g/20 l of water, respectively. Insect pests were controlled using Diazol at 30ml/15
l of water. All chemicals were applied at 10 to 14 day interval up to maturity.


MEASUREMENTS
Plant heights were measured at 31,38,45,58,71,84 and 97 DAP, on three plants randomly
selected from the middle three rows using a meter rule. Leaf area index (LAI) was
determined at 29, 43, 63, 77 and 94 DAP using the specific leaf area method (Norman and
campbell, 1989). Using a cork borer, thirty 1-cm diameter discs were excised on 10 fully
expanded leaves selected from three plants in each plot and put in 0.164m x 0.164m
envelopes for drying. The remaining leaf portions were put in separate craft papers then
oven dried (Model number TV80UL 508032, Memmert, Germany) to constant mass. The
LAI was calculated using the following formula:
LAI = [LM x (LA discs /Lm discs)] x n (e.g. Mburu, 1996).
Where LM= leaf dry mass, LA discs = leaf area (m
2
) of the discs, Lm discs = leaf dry mass
(g) of the discs and n = number of plants per hectare.

Total above ground dry mass of snowpeas was determined on the three plants used for
LAI determination. The leaves, leaf-discs, shoots and reproductive parts (pods, flowers
and flower buds) were separately placed in craft papers and oven dried to constant mass.
The snowpea pods were hand harvested from three plants randomly selected from three
middle rows starting 68 DAP i.e. 1
st
June 2000 in season I and 9th Aug. 2000 in season II.
Harvesting was done twice a week for upto five weeks by carefully picking the mature
pods. Mature pods were described as being uniformly green, intact, clean (free from any
disease or physiological disorders), flat with seeds not exceeding 4 mm in diameter and
pod width of 1.5 to 2 cm (HCDA, 1996). The pods were then put in separate craft papers
and oven dried after counting the number of pods.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
All the data collected was subjected to analysis of variance using GENSTAT 5 Release 3.2
statistical software (Lawes Agricultural Trust, Rothamsted Experimental Station, 1995).
Treatment effects were analysed by fitting orthogonal polynomial contrasts at P s 0.05
(Steel and Torrie, 1981).
RESULTS
In both seasons, 50% flowering occurred at 58 DAP. Harvesting of pods started at 68 DAP and
continued up to 100 DAP. The crop received 357 mm and 82 mm of rainfall in season I and
season II, respectively. Nitrogen application did not affect plant height at all measurement
durations in both experiments. On average the maximum plant height observed at the end of
the experiment in both seasons was 0.86 m. There was no treatment effect on LAI at all
measurement durations in both seasons (Figure 2). LAI increased up to 63 DAP and later
declined. Influence of N application on total dry matter (TDM) at all measurement durations
was not observed in both seasons (Figure 3). However at 43 DAP, TDM increased both linearly
and quadratically in experiment II. TDM increased upto 77 DAP and decreased at 94 DAP in
both seasons. Higher values of TDM were observed in season 1 than in season II.
Application of N did not affect number of pods plant
-1
in most measurement durations in
both seasons (Table 1). However, at 68 DAP in season I, number of pods plant
-1
increased
linearly with increasing N. In season II at 86 DAP, the increase in number of pods plant
-1

was quadratic. Application of 50 kg N ha
-1
resulted in the highest pod yield in both
seasons. Pod production increased from 68 DAP up to 89 DAP, then decreased upto 100
DAP in both seasons. Pod production was high in season I than in season II. Overall, N

treatment did not affect pod dry mass plant
-1
at all measurement durations in both
experiments (Table 2). However, pod dry mass increased linearly and quadratically with
increasing N at 68 DAP in season I. A quadratic response was observed at 72 DAP in
season II. At 86 DAP, both linear and quadratic increases were observed in season II.
DISCUSSION
The anticipated increase in growth and yield of snowpeas from N application was not
observed in the present study. In season I, the crop was better supplied with water. However,
high rainfall after 1
st
N application (146.1 mm) in three consecutive days may have leached
some of the applied N. This can result in appreciable loss of topsoil nitrate and subsequent
accumulation in the subsoil. Michori (1993) observed 2200 kg NO
3
-N ha
-1
at 1 to 5 m depth
under fertilized coffee in Kenya. In season II, the total amount of water supplied to the crop
between 58 and 100 DAP (Figure 1) was not more than 30 mm. This would result in restricted
pea growth and also N uptake. Lack of increase in growth and yield following N application
have been observed in soybean (Meyer et al., 1974) and in cowpea (Agboola, 1976). Exactly why
N fertilizer did not affect growth in this study was not determined. Whether N affects growth
of legumes depends on many factors including N fixation through symbiosis, soil N content,
soil organic matter content and N uptake which is influenced by soil water supply.
Many legumes have been shown to satisfy their N needs through its fixation symbiotically
with Rhizobia. For instance, Kumar (1980) estimated that pigeonpea could fix up to 69 kg N ha
-
1
per season, which accounted for 52 % of the total N uptake. Peas typically fix about 65 kg N
ha
-1
yr
-1
with a range of 30 to 160 kg N hha
-1
yr
-1
(Tisdale et al., 1990). However, the amount of N
fixed through symbiosis was not determined in this study.
It has been reported that response to N is highly probable only when total soil N is low i.e. less
than 0.2% (Landon, 1991). Soil N at the study site was 0.24 and 0.26% in season I and season II,
respectively hence medium (0.2 to 0.5%). Therefore, response to added N was expected. This
shows that, lack of response to N application on growth of snowpeas, in this study may not
have been due to soil N per se.
It has been reported that the level of soil organic matter affects crop response to applied N.
Agboola, (1976) reported that on soils having 0.5% organic matter, grain yield of cowpeas was
increased from 800 kg ha
-1
on the check to 1850 kg ha
-1
where 20 kg N ha
-1
was applied.
Although nutrient release from soil organic matter is normally more dependent on the portion
of the organic matter in biologically active fractions than on total quantity of organic matter, he
observed that in soils with 2% or more organic matter, there was no constant response to N
fertilizer. The organic matter content in the soils of our study was 5.09% and 4.94% in
experiment I and experiment II, respectively. It is therefore possible that, lack of response to N
application may have been due to the high soil organic matter content.
In season II, there was increase in height with increase in N at 71 DAP and increase in TDM
with increase in N at 43 DAP, respectively. This could be attributed to improved moisture
availability following supplemental irrigation, which was done at 29, 44 and 58 DAP. Begg and
Turner, (1976) reported that there is a significant interaction between N uptake and water
stress. They also observed that there is a reduction in N uptake induced by water stress.
Leaf area index and above ground dry matter accumulation were higher in season I than in
season II. Maximum LAI was observed at 63 DAP in both seasons but decreased more rapidly
in season II than season I. i.e. at 94 DAP, LAI was 1.9 and 1.4 in seasons I and II, respectively.
The variation in leaf growth between the seasons may imply that another factor other than N
limited leaf growth and this was probably soil moisture availability. In Mexico, rainfall regimes

were shown to exert a marked influence on maize N responses (Rockfeller foundation report,
1963-64). Lower responses to N were obtained when either excess moisture or drought
occurred. Amount of rainfall received in season I was 357 mm compared with the 82 mm
received in season II. Adequate soil moisture is important since uptake of mineral nutrients
takes place via water films surrounding the soil particles. However, excess moisture may cause
leaching of the N below the root zone thereby interfering with its availability for plant uptake.
Consequently, in dry weather as in season II, N uptake may have been low due to impaired
absorption.
Sheoran et al., (1981) reported that in pigeon peas, water deficit resulted in decreased water
potential of the roots, nodules and leaves. This decreased water potential in the nodules
resulted in decreased activities of nitrogenase, glutamine synthase, glutamate dehydrogenase
and uricase, all of which are central in biological N fixation. Hence less N was obtained
through symbiotic fixation in season II and this led to the observed low growth.
Dry mass accumulation in many legumes may affect yield via its influence on the rate of pod
set, seed set and seed dry mass (Weber et al., 1966). Generally, leguminous crops do not
respond by yield increases to soil or applied N to the same degree as other crops based on their
ability to fix N. Paterson et al., 1966 reported significant effect of N fertilization on pod yield in
snap beans. A similar observation has been reported in pigeonpea following application of
urea at a rate of 30 and 45 kg N ha
-1
(Mukindia, 1993). However, findings of the present study
indicated that N application did not affect both the number of pods plant
-1
and pod dry mass.
Pietri et al., (1971) observed similar results in pigeonpea. This was attributed to lack of effect of
N on number of branches plant
-1
. It is not clear as to why pod yields in this study were not
affected by N application. However, N may not have affected pod yield through its lack of
effect on growth.
Reduction in yield can be brought about by a reduction in any of the yield components such as
number of branches plant
-1
, number of pods plant
-1
, number of seeds pod
-1
and 100 seed mass
(Ishag, 1972). In this study, the decrease in yields in season II was attributed to decrease in
number of pods plant
-1
formed under moisture limiting conditions. This has also been reported
in beans (Hidalgo, 1978) and in cowpeas (Turk and Hall, 1980). Decrease in pod number could
be due to reduced flower production and increased flower abscission in dry weather (Turk and
Hall, 1980). Sheoran et al., (1981) attributed the lack of response of yield of pigeonpea on low
growth caused by water deficit. It is therefore suggested that low snowpeas yields were
observed in season II due to the low soil water content. Snowpeas plants did not substantially
benefit in growth from N fertilizer application. It is possible that either snowpeas were able to
fix enough N to meet their requirements or these N requirements were met from the soil
supply. This study shows that N application does not increase pea yields. Lack of increase in
pea yield is attributed to lack of effect of N on growth. It has further shown that pea yields will
be increased with high than low soil moisture.
REFERENCES
[1] Addiscott, T.M., Whitmore, A.L. and D.S. Powlson. 1992. Farming, fertilizers and the nitrate
problem. Wallingford. pp 115.
[2] Agboola, A.A. 1976. Influence of soil organic matter on cowpea response to Nitrogen
fertilizer. Agron. J. 70:25-28.
[3] Begg, J.E. and N.C. Turner, 1976. Crop water deficits. Adv. Agron. 28: 161-217.
[4] Gunawardena, S.F.B.N., McKenzie, B.A., Hill, G.D. and K.M. Goh, 1997. Dry matter accumulation
and nitrogen partitioning between shoot and root of pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars. Proceedings-
Annual-Conference-Agronomy-Society-of-New-Zealand. 27: 129-133.

[5] HCDA, 1996. Horticultural crop development authority. Export crop bulletin No 1.
[6] Hildalgo, R. 1978. Screening for drought tolerance in dry beans (P. vulgaris L.). Field bean
Abst. 3: 0552.
[7] ICRISAT, 1987. Annual Report 1986. Patancheru, A.P., India: ICRISAT. pp.191-192.
[8] Ishag, H.M. 1972. Physiology of seed yield in field beans. (Vicia faba L.) II. Dry matter
production. J. Agric. Sci. (camb) 80: 191-199.
[9] Jaetzold, R. and H. Schmidt, 1983. Farm Management Handbook of Kenya. II-C pp. 144- 244.
[10] Keya, S.O. and D.M. Mukunya, 1979. The influence of phosphorous and micronutrients on
nodulation of Phaseolus Vulgaris at Kabete, Kenya. Paper presented at the symposium on grain
legume improvement in Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
[11] Kumar Rao, J.V.D.K., Dart, P.J., Matsumoto, T. and J.M. Day, 1981. Nitrogen fixation by
pigeon pea. In : Proceedings of the international Workshop on Pigeonpeas, Vol. 1, 15-19
December 1980, ICRISAT center, India. Patancheru, A.P., India: ICRISAT, pp. 190-199.
[12] Landon, J.R. 1991. Booker tropical soil manual. A hand book for soil survey and agricultural
land evaluation in the tropics and subtropics. Longman group (FE) Limited Hongkong. pp.
474.
[13] Lenka, D. and R.K. Sat-Pathy, 1976. Response of pigeonpea varieties to levels of nitrogen and
phosphate in laterite soil. Indian J. Agron. 21: 217-220.
[14] Mburu, M.W.K. 1996 The effect of irrigation, fertilizer nitrogen and planting density on bean
(Phaseolus vulgaris) yield under different weather conditions, Ph.D. Thesis University of
reading, Britain.
[15] Meyer, L.J., P.J. Gallagher, G.L. Harms, R.F. Sloan, G.W. Knight, and L.S. Murphy. 1974.
Kansas fertilizer research. Report of progress 224: 146-147.
[16] Michori, P. 1993. Nitrogen budget under coffee. Ph.D. diss. Univ.of reading, England (Br.
Thesis serv. DX 175716)
[17] Mukindia, C.B. 1992. Response of pigeonpea (C. cajan L. Millsp) to phosphate and nitrogen
fertilizers and manure. MSc. Thesis, University of Nairobi.
[18] Njuguna, J.K. 1997. Effect of seed tuber storage condition and dormancy breaking treatments
on the growth and yield of ware potato. MSc. Thesis, University of Nairobi.
[19] Norman, J.M. and G.S. Campbell. Canopy structure. In plant physiological ecology; Field methods
and instrumentation (Pearcy, R.W., Ehleringer, J., Mooney, H.A. and P.W. Rundel. Eds.). Pp
301-325.
[20] Paterson, D.R., Downes, J.D., Peck, N.H., Ozaki, H., Tyler, K.B. and S.C. Wiggans, 1966. Effects
of nitrogen on yield, quality and mineral uptake of harvester snap beans. Texas Agric. Expl.
Stn. Misc. publ. 808.
[21] Pietri, R., Abrams, R. and F.J. Julia, 1971. Influence of fertility level on the protein content and
agronomic characters of pigeon peas in an oxisal. J. Agric. Univ. P. Rico. 55: 474-477.
[22] Rockfeller Foundation, 1964. Annual Report Program in the Agricultural sciences. New York.
[23] Saimbhi, M.S and K.S. Randhawa, 1986. Influence of nitrogen and phosphorous levels on yield
of processing peas (Pisum sativum L.) J. of Res. Punjab Agric. University (India). 23: 229-232.
[24] Sheoran, I.S., Luthra, Y.P., Kuhad, M.S and R. Singh 1981. Effect of water stress on some
enzymes of nitrogen metabolism in pigeon pea. Pytochemistry 20: 2675-2677.
[25] Siderius, W. 1976. Environment and characteristics of nitisols at Kabete NAL, Nairobi.
Ministry of agriculture and livestock development.
[26] Steel, R.G.D. and J.H. Torrie, 1980. Principles and procedures of statistics. A biometrical
approach. McGraw-Hill Inc. 633 pp.
[27] Tisdale O.S, Nelson W.L and J.D Beaton, 1990. Soil fertility and Fertilizers. Macmillan
publishing company, New York, Pp. 754.
[28] Turk, K.J. and Hall, A.E. 1980. Drought adaptation of cowpeas III. Influence of drought on
plant growth and relations with seed yield. Agron. J. 72: 428- 433.
[29] Westermann, D.T., Kleinkopf, G.E., Porter, L.K. and G.E. Leggett, 1981. Nitrogen sources for
bean seed production. Agron. J. 73: 660-664.


APPENDICES

Figure 1. Effect of different levels of N on leaf area index (LAI) in snowpeas in season I (a) and
season II (b) (DAS= Days after sowing, N0 = 0, N1 = 50,N2 = 100 and N3 = 150 kg N ha
-1
,
Vertical bars = Lsd bars at P = 0.05)

Figure 2. Effect of different levels of N on total above ground dry matter (AGDM) accumulation
in snowpeas in season I (a) and season II (b), (DAS =Days after sowing, N0 = 0, N1 = 50, N2 =
100 and N3 = 150 kg N ha
-1
, Vertical bars = Lsd bars at P = 0.05)


Figure 3. Effects of different levels of P on plant height in snowpeas in season 1 (a) and season
2 (b), (DAS= Days after sowing, P0= 0 , P1= 57,P2= 114 and P3= 171kg P
2
O
5
ha
-1
,Vertical bars =
Lsd bars at P = 0.05).

Table 1; Effect of different levels of N application on snowpeas number of pods plant
-1
in season
1(March-June 2000) and II (June-sept. 2000)

N0, N1, N2, and N3 = 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha
-1
, NS= Not significant, *= Significant (P s
0.05), L = Linear, Q = Quadratic

Table 2: Effect of different levels of N application on snowpeas pod dry mass plant
-1
in season
1(March-June 2000) and II (June-sept. 2000)

N0, N1, N2, and N3 = 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha
-1
, NS= Not significant, *= Significant (P s
0.05), L = Linear, Q = Quadratic

Table 3; Results of laboratory analysis of the soil from the experimental sites (0-15cm)
Parameter Experiment 1 Experiment 2
pH (H
2
O) 6.22 6.37
pH (CaCl
2
) 5.36 5.39
%N 0.24 0.26
P (ppm) 17.9 18.7
%C 2.96 2.87
CEC (meq/100g) 14.3 14.1
pH (H
2
O) = soil pH in water, pH (CaCl
2
) = Soil pH in calcium chloride, %N = Percent
nitrogen in the soil, P (ppm) = Soil phosphorous in parts per million , %C = soil organic
carbon and CEC (meq/100g) = Cation exchange capacity.


Evaluation of the Correlation between Selected
Quality Indices of Activated Carbon: A Review
Benjamin Edem Meteku

Post Graduate Researcher, Chemical Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
and Technology, Kumasi, GHANA

ABSTRACT
The choice of activated carbon for use depends on the quality, which is
measured by selected indices. The correlation between BET surface area,
iodine number, ash content and bulk density, major quality indices for
characterisation were investigated in this study. The iodine number and
surface area were strongly correlated (R
2
= 0.9684 and 0.9577). The bulk
density and ash content were highly correlated with surface area with
coefficient of determination (R
2
) values of 0.9040 and 0.9788 respectively for
samples from same raw material under similar treatment. The ash content
could also be used as an approximate estimate of iodine number and bulk
density with R
2
values of 0.5966 and 0.6236 respectively.

Key Words: activated carbon, adsorption, activity, correlation, coefficient of
determination.

1 INTRODUCTION
ctivated carbon, an amorphous, porous form of carbon with high surface area is
the most widely used industrial adsorbent [1], [2]. It is used in the manufacture of
protective gas mask for the entrapment of toxic gases in the plant and also in the
manufacture respiratory devices for personal protection during chemical warfare [3]. In
medicine; activated charcoal (carbon) is frequently used treating and managing severe,
acute poisoning [4]. In hydrometallurgy, it is used in precious metal (such as Au and Ag)
recovery processes and also for the removal of organic pollutants in drinking water and
industrial wastewater processing [5],[6]. Activated carbon is also used in the removal of
compounds that adversely affect taste, colour and odour in food processing industries and
also in the removal of dye in effluent streams in the textile industry [7][8]. The versatility
of activated carbon for use in the fore stated processes is due to its large surface area, a
property that enables it to be used effectively for adsorption.
Depending on the intended use of activated carbon, various quality parameters including
surface area, activity, bulk density and ash content are tested for in a sample.
The surface area, the total area of the surface of a powder or a solid including both
external and accessible internal surface (from voids, cracks, open porosity and fissures) is
an important parameter used in the determination of the quality of activated carbon.
Generally, the higher the measured surface area value of an activated carbon sample, the
A

better the carbon for adsorption operations. It is usually determined by the BET (Brunauer,
Emmett and Teller) method [9].
Activity, the measure of the adsorptive capacity of an adsorbent (activated carbon) usually
determined by a standard test is a major quality test carried on activated carbon. Various
forms of activity test are carried out depending on the end user application: Iodine
number (standard for liquid phase application such as water treatment), Molasses number
or Caramel decolourising performance (colour adsorption processes such as in sugar
industry), carbon tetrachloride value (vapour phase application) fresh carbon activity
(gold mine operations) [10],[11],[12]
Bulk density, the mass per unit volume of a material (activated carbon) including voids in
the material is another parameter used sometimes to estimate the quality of carbon. A Low
bulk density value may imply a relatively high surface area, a good indicator of high
adsorption capacity. [9],[13].
The ash content of activated carbon is the inorganic residue that remains when the
carbonaceous portion is burned off. It is used as an estimate of the adsorptive property of
carbon. The inorganic residues (mainly silica and oxides of metals) are non porous and
hence high ash content invariably results in low adsorptive capacity of the carbon [9].
Although considerable amount of research has been carried out on the production
activated carbon from various raw materials for adsorption, little has been done on finding
a concrete relationship (not speculative) between the quality indices used in characterising
carbon.
In this paper, a conscious effort is made in finding the correlation (if any) between selected
quality indices (surface area, bulk density, iodine number and ash content) used in
characterising activated carbon.
2 TOOLS AND METHODS
The correlation between the selected quality indices were determined by finding the
Pearson correlation coefficient (R) values between the chosen parameters in the works of
other authors on the subject matter using Microsoft excel spreadsheet. The meaningfulness
or strength of the correlation coefficient is ascertained from the coefficient of
determination (R
2
). The formula for the correlation coefficient (R) is:

=
y x
s s
y y x x
n
R
) )( (
1
1

Where n is number of pairs of data, x and y are the means for x and y respectively, s
x
and s
y
represent the standard deviations for the x-values and y-values.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fig 1: Correlation between Iodine Number and Surface Area for Activated Carbon
Prepared from Bituminous Coal, Carbonised at 800C and Activated under same
conditions with different chemicals. (Source: Adapted from Cuhadaroglu and Uygun,
2008.) [14]

Fig .2: Correlation between Iodine Number and Surface Area for Activated carbon from
Jute Stick Char under same conditions but different Activation temperatures. (Source:
Adapted from Asadullah et al., 2007) [15]
y = 0.625x + 223.8
R = 0.957
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
0 500 1000 1500 2000
I
o
d
i
n
e

N
u
m
b
e
r

(
m
g
/
g
)
BET Surface Area (m
2
/g)
y = 0.94x - 120.3
R = 0.968
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800
I
o
d
i
n
e

N
u
m
b
e
r

(
m
g
/
g
)
BET Surface Area (m
2
/g)

Fig. 3: Correlation between Bulk Density and Surface Area for different samples of
Activated carbon used in industrial processes in Iran. (Source: Adapted from Soleimani
and Kaghazchi, 2008) [5]

Fig. 4: Correlation between Bulk Density and Surface Area of Activated carbon from
different raw materials by both physical and chemical activation (Source: Adapted from
Yusufu et al., 2012) [16]
y = -0.069x + 555.9
R = 0.477
440
450
460
470
480
490
500
510
800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
B
u
l
k

D
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
k
g
/
m
3
)
BET Surface Area (m
2
/g)
y = -0.001x + 1.621
R = 0.904
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
600 700 800 900 1000 1100
B
u
l
k

D
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
g
/
c
m
3
)
BET Surface Area (m2/g)

Fig.5: Correlation between Surface Area and Ash Content of Activated carbon from Olive
Mill Waste Chemically activated with KOH (Source: Adapted from Moreno-Castilla et al.,
2001) [17]

Fig. 6: Correlation between Surface Area and Ash Content of Different samples of
Activated carbon used in industrial processes in Iran (Source: Adapted from Soleimani
and Kaghazchi, 2008) [5]
y = -178.8x + 1718.
R = 0.978
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
0 2 4 6 8 10
B
E
T

S
u
r
f
a
c
e

A
r
e
a

(
m
2
/
g
)
Ash Content (%)
y = -48.06x + 1305.
R = 0.747
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
0 2 4 6 8 10
B
E
T

S
u
r
f
a
c
e

A
r
e
a

(
m
2
/
g
)
Ash Content (%)

Fig. 7: Correlation between Bulk Density and Ash Content of Activated carbon from Palm
Oil Shell Physically activated at 750C( optimum conditions for different sizes) (Source:
Adapted from Vitidsant et al., 1999) [18]

Fig. 8: Correlation between Bulk Density and Ash Content of Activated carbon from
different raw materials by both physical and chemical activation (Source: Adapted from
Yusufu et al., 2012) [16]
y = 0.002x + 0.474
R = 0.517
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
B
u
l
k

D
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
g
/
c
m
3
)
Ash Content (%)
y = 0.002x + 0.566
R = 0.623
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0 20 40 60 80 100
B
u
l
k

D
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
g
/
c
m
3
)
Ash Content (%)

Fig. 9: Correlation between Iodine Number and Ash Content of Activated Carbon from
Fluted Pumpkin Seed Shell by Chemical activation (Source: Adapted from Verla et al.,
2012) [19]

Fig. 10: Correlation between Iodine Number and Ash Content of Activated Carbon from
Palm Oil Shell Physically activated at 750C( optimum conditions for different sizes)
(Source: Adapted from Vitidsant et al., 1999) [18]
The Iodine number values and the BET surface area were highly correlated (Fig.1 and
Fig.2). About 96% - 97% of the variation in iodine number can be explained by variations
in the surface area. This is probably the reason why in liquid phase applications, the iodine
number remains the basic quality test for adsorptive capacity of carbon, a measure of the
y = -3.142x + 286.5
R = 0.572
230
235
240
245
250
255
260
265
270
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
I
o
d
i
n
e

N
u
m
b
e
r

(
m
g
/
g
)
Ash Content (%)
y = -6.496x + 574.0
R = 0.596
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0 10 20 30 40 50
I
o
d
i
n
e

N
u
m
b
e
r

(
m
g
/
g
)
Ash Content (%)

available surface area for adsorption processes. A similar trend of high correlation
between iodine number and surface area was observed elsewhere [18].
Generally, an expected inverse relation exists between density and surface area [13]. This
assertion is confirmed by the nature of the high coefficient of determination (R
2
= 0.9040)
in Fig. 4. Although a relatively weak correlation (R =0.6908) exist between density and
surface area as shown in Fig. 3, about 48% of the variation in density may be accounted for
by variations in the surface area. Bulk density may there only be used for approximate
estimation surface area (adsorption capacity for that matter).
The ash content is known to interfere with pore structure development and hence adversely
affect adsorption. High ash content may therefore correspond to low surface area [20]. As
shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, there is a strong correlation between surface area and ash content.
For activated carbon from the same raw material and prepared in similar manner (olive mill
waste activated with KOH), about 97% of the variations in the surface area are explained by
the variations in ash content (Fig.5). A similar trend is observed in the same work when
H
3
PO
4
was used as activating agent [17]. However, for activated carbon samples from
different precursors, variations in surface area may only be explained by about 75%
variations ash. The Disparity could be a reflection of degree of variation in the chemical
composition of each raw material which reflects in the inorganic residues after combustion,
the ash content. A positive correlation exists between the density of activated carbon and the
ash content (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8). Variations in density may be explained by variations in ash
content by 50-60%. The observed trend in ash and density is expected as both parameters
impact negatively on surface area as seen in the foregoing analysis.
Generally, the inorganic residues that make up the ash (such as SiO
2
, Na
2
O) are non
adsorptive and therefore high ash content in an activated carbon sample may correspond
to low iodine number. Although there is a general negative correlation between the iodine
number and ash content (Fig. 9 and 10), the ash content is not as strongly correlated to the
iodine number (R
2
= 0.60). The ash content could perhaps only be used as a rough estimate
of the iodine number and any other measure of activity.
4 CONCLUSION
The studies conducted on some selected quality indices of activated carbon ( BET Surface
area, Iodine number, ash content and bulk density) from randomly selected scholarly
articles on the subject matter gave an indication of a very strong correlation between
Iodine number and Surface area( R
2
= 0.9684 and 0.9577). Disparities in the correlation
between density and surface area as well as ash content and surface area, show that ash
and density may only be useful for approximate estimation of surface area or when the
carbon samples are from the same raw material and produced in like manner. Though
moderate, a correlation exist between bulk density and ash content (R
2
= 0.517 and 0.6236).
The ash content may also be used as an approximate forecast of Iodine number (R
2
~ 0.60).
REFERENCES
[1] Daintith, J. (2004), Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry, Fifth Edition, Oxford University
Press,U.K., page 121
[2] Seader ,J.D. and Henley E.J.(2007),Separation Process Principles, Second Edition, John Wiley
and Sons ,NJ , U.S.A, pages 551-554
[3] Activated Carbon Manufacture, Structure and Properties (2006), Cameron Carbon
Incorporated, Accessed on 20
th
October, 2013 from
http://www.cameroncarbon.com/documents/carbon_structure.pdf

[4] Cooney, D.O.,(1995), Activated Charcoal in Medical Applications, Marcel Dekker, New York
[5] Soleimani, M. and Kaghazchi, T. (2008), Activated Hard Shell of Apricot Stones: A promising
Adsorbent in Gold Recovery, Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 16 (1), 112-118
[6] Adinata, D., Daud, W.M.A., Aroua, M.K. (2007), Preparation of Activated Carbon from Palm
shell by Chemical Activation, Bioresource Technology, 98 , 145- 149
[7] Qureshi, K., Bhatti, I., Kazi, R., Ansari, A.K., (2008), Physical and Chemical Analysis of
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Customer Satisfaction of Internet Banking in
Bangladesh: A Case Study on Citibank N.A
K. M. Anwarul Islam
1
; & Umme Salma
2

1
Senior Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, The Millennium University, Bangladesh
2
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Bangladesh University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT
The concept of E-banking or internet banking has been practiced by
Citibank N.A successfully over the years. E-banking applications enable an
account holder to gain control over the cash positions. Customization is
another benefit for both the bank and the user if e-banking is used instead
of traditional banking. It makes it easier for the user to carry out day to day
transactions. Citibank via CitiDirect Online banking streamlines banking
activities by giving authorized access to certain authorized users at every
level of the organization to corporate accounts. An easy to use web
interface allows this procedure. Citibank N.A has achieved success in this
field of e-banking and has been named the Best Internet Bank by Global
Finance in the previous years. The Study was carried out using
questionnaires survey from clients and multiple regression with
satisfaction factors are found using SPSS software. The results clearly
indicate that internet banking plays an important role in customer
satisfaction. A very significant task is to understand the risks of customer
satisfaction of internet banking and rectify the errors wherever possible.
The results show that the majority of the users of internet banking are
satisfied with the internet banking. Citibank also needs to be aware of
future threats of internet banking and introduce new techniques to combat
hacking, phishing, pharming and other unethical practices. It is also
evident that those who use traditional banking want to switch to internet
banking so the prospect of internet banking is very prosperous for Citibank
N.A and Bangladesh.

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Internet Banking, Citibank N.A,
Bangladesh.

1 INTRODUCTION
n the present world money is circulated all over the globe. Globalization, technological
advances and other factors money is circulating unimaginably .Financial Institutions
mainly Banks play a pivotal role in matching a depositor and lenders and channeling
money and making the economy more efficient. Although the history of Banking goes
back to the 14th century in Europe but Banks are now everywhere. Banks in Bangladesh
play a significant role compared to other financial Institutions.
I

Although there are different types of banks specialized for different purposes and with
different brands and capital structure, they are regulated by standards such as the BASEL
standards (to keep a minimum amount of capital, BASEL II etc. Banks offer a wide range of
products and services to appeal to different customers and be competitive in the market place.
Amongst the 10 commercial banks which operate in Bangladesh Citi Bank N.A has a unique
position in the minds of clients and regulatory bodies. The Company is a part of the CITI
Group which was founded in 1812 and operates in more than 104 countries worldwide.
However the competition in the banking industry has intensified more than ever before.
Global financial crisis, stock market crash, recessions and other factors affected the
banking industry. So banks should position themselves at a unique place in the minds of
the customers by offering attractive offers such as higher interest rates or by offering
superior service to the customers. Services include financial advice, flexible rates or dates
of payment, portfolio management etc.
Internet banking is a service offered to the customers which includes viewing the balances
on accounts, checking the transactions, downloading useful information, transfer of funds,
paying third parties, making loan applications etc from a secured website of the bank.
Online banking has opened up a new field of competition for banks. To operate online an
individual needs the customer number and password. Online banking has started in the
1980s but it is relatively a new concept in Bangladesh.
Customer satisfaction is positively related to Internet Banking. It is believed that customers are
the king of the market place today. The competition in the banking industry is intensifying and
it is the banks priority to satisfy its respective customer. The research aims to establish positive
relationships between Internet Banking and Customer Satisfaction.
2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
- To analyze the level of customer satisfaction of internet banking in Bangladesh. To
give a brief idea of internet banking
- To give the readers an idea of the internet banking operations of Citibank N.A
Bangladesh
- To identify the relationships of the use of internet banking and customer satisfaction.
3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The paper gives the readers an idea of the financial giants Citigroup and Citibank N.A. It
also makes the reader aware of the operations of Citibank N.A and the internet banking
service of the bank in Bangladesh. However Citibank N.A only provides corporate
banking and the study cannot be related to consumer banking.
4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The researcher will investigate the impact of internet banking on customer satisfaction of
the Clients of Citibank Bangladesh. There has been research in this field by many
researchers and for this reason the research has been carried out to analyze the factors of
internet banking those results in customer satisfaction.
The Customers are treated as the king of the market place. For a bank like Citi with a very
narrow customer base, customer satisfaction is the main priority. Citi Bank handles its
online banking activities through CitiDirect. CitiDirect online banking is one of the
largest technology investments of Citigroup which allows superior online banking
facilities for their clients. The technology allows a web based banking platform to make

banking activities easier for the clients and the employees. Allows performing your
corporate banking functions in one security-protected place and provides you a
centralized access to your account information in real time from a networked device.
Online banking satisfies the customers because of the independent variables
convenience, speed, quick confirmation, user friendliness, trustworthiness and safety. The
dependent variable is customer satisfaction. A conceptual framework will demonstrate the
variables. Models on customer satisfaction will also be shown based on step wise
regression by the use of SPSS software.
5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to determine the factors of internet banking which has an
impact on the customer satisfaction. Although Citibank N.A operates in all over the world
but Citibank N.A. has a very narrow operation base in Bangladesh and limited to serving
the financial needs of the leading businesses, corporate houses and offers services to local
banks. To become successful the company has to provide superior client service to satisfy
the customers. The research was conducted to show how the various qualities of internet
banking is related to customer satisfaction.
In todays market place customers are exposed to many commercials, logos, jingle, banner
etc. The competition in the banking sector is also becoming crowded. Customers are
treated as the king and most banks are almost in a state of a Tug of War in order to
attract or retain customers. One thing that will make a particular bank extraordinary is
satisfaction of the customers. Almost all banks are introducing new features on banking
facilities such as notifications being sent to account holders if a new transaction is made, e-
alerts etc .In such a competitive market place it is necessary for banks to make things
easier for their customers. This research is aimed to show positive relationships between
determinants of internet banking such as convenience, speed, quick confirmation, privacy,
user friendliness, trustworthiness, and safety and customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank N.A Bangladesh.
6 LITERATURE REVIEW
6.1 Online Banking
Online banking is the fastest growing service that banks can offer in order to gain and
retain new customers (Moody, 2002). The rise of Internet Banking is also due to its number
of benefits for both the provider and the customer as well. From the banks perspective
these are mainly related to cost savings (Sathye, 1999; Robinson, 2000) and Internet
Banking remains one of the cheapest and more efficient delivery channels (see Pikkarainen
et al., 2004). Arunachalam and Sivasubramanian (2007) content that Internet banking is
where customer can access his or her bank account via the Internet using PC or mobile
phone and web-browser. Ongkasuwan and Tantichattanon (2002) defined Internet
banking service as banking service that allows customers to access and perform financial
transactions on their bank accounts from their Computers with Internet connection. Kim et
al. (2006) predicted that 87% of community banks would offer Internet banking in 2003 to
meet consumers needs, and asserted that, Internet banking has advantages for banks to
maintain competition, to save costs, to enhance mass customization, marketing and
communication activities, and to maintain and attract consumers. On-line, real-time
banking services have now become a birth right of the customer as the customer demands

the flexibility of operating an account in any branch of a bank irrespective of which branch
the account was domiciled (Bank Away, 2001).
E-service quality can be explained as an overall customer evaluation about e-service
delivery in the marketplace which is virtual Santos, J. (2003)
6.2 Customer Satisfaction
A satisfied customer will repeat the purchase of the product and convey positive messages
about it to others (Dispensa, 1997; Metawa and Almossawi, 1998). The complex nature of
services coupled with the growing province of the service sector has increased the need for
better customer satisfaction. Banking and financial services are an important part of the service
industry (Mishkin, 2001). Customer satisfaction is typically defined as a post consumption
evaluative judgement concerning a specific product or service (Gunderson, Heide and Olsson,
1996. The most widely accepted conceptualization of the customer satisfaction concept is the
expectancy disconfirmation theory (McQuitty, Finn and Wiley, 2000).
According to Saha and Zhao (2005), customer satisfaction is defined as a collection of
outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption
experience with a product/service. In other words, Saha and Zhao further defined
customer satisfaction as a result of a cognitive and affective evaluation where some
comparison standard is compared to the actually perceived performance. If the
performance perceived is less than expected, customers will be dissatisfied. On the other
hand, if the perceived performance exceeds expectations, customer will be satisfied.
7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- Does safety facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context
of Citibank Bangladesh?
- Does Convenience facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the
context of Citibank Bangladesh?
- Does User-Friendliness of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the
- Does Quick Confirmation facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction
in the context of Citibank Bangladesh?
- Does Privacy facility of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context
of Citibank Bangladesh?
- Does Speed of internet Banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank Bangladesh?
- Does Trustworthiness of internet Banking effect customer satisfaction in the
8 HYPOTHESIS
- Safety facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank Bangladesh.
- Convenience facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context
of Citibank Bangladesh.
- User-Friendliness of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of
- Quick Confirmation facilities of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the
context of Citibank Bangladesh.
- Privacy facility of internet banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of

- Speed of internet Banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh.
- Trustworthiness of internet Banking effect customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank Bangladesh
9 VARIABLES FOR THE RESEARCH
The Dependent variable is customer satisfaction and the Independent variables are Speed,
Convenience, Quick confirmation, User friendliness, Safety, Privacy, and Trustworthiness.
- Speed: Speed is a vital factor of internet banking as speed is the differentiating factor
of manual and internet banking .People expect internet banking to be faster than
manual banking.
- Convenience: Internet banking gives you the opportunity to do other tasks while you
check your cash positions or account details on the net from your mobile phone or
other peripherals such as tabs, laptop etc.
- Quick Confirmation: Quick Confirmation gives you a direct relief and gives you a
notification via email whenever a payment or deposit is made. Internet banking does
not involve humans in the banking process so quick confirmation gives the user a
relief that the banking process is carried out successfully.
- User-Friendliness: An in-depth knowledge of the internet option is not required by the
users. However certain security codes, steps and procedures are required and online
assistance is there to assist users to help them solve problems.
- Safety: Safety issues are a matter of concern for users and internet features enables
customers to carry out banking activities via mail or sms without much attention of
the people surrounding the person. Encryption techniques, internal controls, security
codes and proper web hosting measures are taken by the banks authority to avoid
unethical practices.
- Privacy: The personal information of the users is kept very confidential and
information are not disclosed. Security codes are required in various steps of the
internet banking process to avoid security breaches.
- Trustworthiness: In order to secure information and avoid security breaches such as
hacking, sniffing, tapping, spoofing, phishing and other unethical practices public and
private encrypted keys are used. A trusted third party which is the certification
authority is used for this reason.
- Customer Satisfaction: Kotler (2000) defined satisfaction as: a persons feeling of
pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived
performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Customers are
treated as the king of the market place and there are a huge number of marketers who
are trying to successful either by market share of by other measures such as
profitability, market growth etc. The term Customer Satisfaction is frequently used in
marketing. Customers have expectations of products and services in their minds. If
the products or services of a company meet the customers expectations they are
satisfied. The aim of most marketers in todays market place is to delight the
customers. That is to exceed the customer expectations by a greater degree and delight
them. In this research Customer Satisfaction is the Dependent Variable which depends
on the independent variables mentioned above.

10 METHODOLOGY
10.1 The Research Design
The type of study that will be carried out to test the hypothesis and to answer the research
questions will be a causal study. This type of study will show a cause and effect
relationship of the independent and dependent variables. As shown in the diagram of the
conceptual framework of the research there are seven independent variables and one
dependent variable. So a change in the independent variables (speed, convenience,
privacy, safety, quick confirmation, user friendliness, and trustworthiness) will change the
dependent variable (customer satisfaction). So to investigate the research questions and
test the hypothesis a causal study is required.
The study will be a causal explanatory research because it explains the relationships among the
independent and dependent variables and how a change in the independent variable changes
the dependent variable. A causal explanatory research goes further beyond than indication
relationships between variables it also indicates the direction of the relationship. The research
will be carried out once due to shortage of budget, time and convenience.

10.2 Sampling Method
Non probability sampling technique is used for the research. To be more specific
purposive sampling is used because of a limited access to the customers who use internet
banking at Citibank, usually junior officers are sent to carry out banking tasks for the
company. Selected clients are surveyed who were accessible for surveying and had
expertise in the field of online banking.

10.3 Sample Size:
The sample size will be forty (20 user and 20 non-user). The reason for selecting such a
small sample is that Citibank has a very narrow customer base in Bangladesh. But the
narrow base of customers is profitable for the bank. So it is not possible to carry out
research on a large sample of customers.

10.4 Sources of Data:
For collecting the data both primary and secondary sources are used.
Primary Sources:
- Conversations with bank employees and customers.
- Discussions with the employees of Citi Global Transactions Systems
department Questionnaires
Secondary Sources:
- Citibanks global and regional websites
- Various Publications and manuals

10.5 Data Collection Method: A quantitative data collection method is used for the
research. A structured questionnaire is designed. The questionnaire will comprise
questions of the independent and dependent variables. Each item will be rated on a likert
scale of (1 to 5) which ranges on a continuum from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
- Data Collection: The questionnaire is distributed among the 40 respondents (20 user
and 20 nonusers of internet banking). The questionnaire was surveyed by mail mostly
as Citi has corporate clients who are not much accessible for doing the survey. A few
questionnaires were surveyed personally at the branch of Citibank Gulshan branch.

This was possible because of a prior notice from the branch officers of an arrival of a
client. The rest of the survey was done by e mail. A survey by email is cheaper than
other methods of surveying, easier to administer and free from errors.
- Data Collection Instrument: A structured Questionnaire is used in this research to
collect the data.
- Data Analysis: The Data Analysis will be done using for an in-depth investigation of
the data. Step-wise regression are used to test hypothesis and to find out individually
which independent variable contributes to the dependent variable. MS Excel is also
used to carry out calculations in some cases.
- Questionnaire Design: The design of the questionnaire is prepared with close-ended
questions. These questions were rated on a five point scale (from a continuum of
Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree to Strongly Disagree). ( The values are
1=Strongly Agree , 2= Agree, 3= Neutral , 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly Disagree.)
11 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
Hypothesis 1
H0: Speed of internet Banking doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank Bangladesh
Ha: Speed of internet Banking affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh
Decision Rule: To reject the null hypothesis, the significance value must be less than the
significance level of 5%.
Decision: The critical P-Value is 0.05 because the confidence interval is 95% and the
calculated P-value is 0.011. So,
Calculated P=0.01 < Critical P=0.05
So, at 95% confidence interval, the null hypothesis is rejected. Hence, Speed of internet
Banking affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh.

Hypothesis 2
H0: Convenience doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh
Ha: Convenience affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh
calculated P-value is 0.603. So, Calculated P=0.603 > Critical P=0.05. So, at 95% confidence
interval, the null hypothesis is accepted.
Hence, Convenience of Internet Banking does not affect customer satisfaction in the

Hypothesis 3
H0: Quick Confirmation of Transaction doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context
of Citibank Bangladesh
Ha: Quick Confirmation of Transaction affects customer satisfaction in the context of
Citibank Bangladesh

calculated P-value is 0. 942. So,
Calculated P=0.942 > Critical P=0.05. So, at 95% confidence interval, the null hypothesis is
accepted.
Hence, Quick Confirmation of Internet Banking does not affect customer satisfaction in the

Hypothesis 4
H0: User-Friendliness doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh
Ha: User-Friendliness affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh
calculated P-value is 0. 026. So, Calculated P=0.026 < Critical P=0.05.
So, at 95% confidence interval, the null hypothesis is rejected.
Hence, User-Friendliness of Internet Banking affects customer satisfaction in the context of

Hypothesis 5:
H0: Safety of user doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh
Ha: Safety of user in the context of Citibank Bangladesh
calculated P-value is 0. 002. So, Calculated P=0.002 < Critical P=0.05.
Hence, Safety of Users of Internet Banking affects customer satisfaction in the context of

Hypothesis 6
H0: Privacy of users doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh
Ha: Privacy of users affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh
calculated P-value is 0. 407. So, Calculated P=0.407 > Critical P=0.05
So, at 95% confidence interval, the null hypothesis is accepted.
Hence, Privacy of Users of Internet Banking does not affect customer satisfaction in the

11.7 Hypothesis 7
H0: Trustworthiness doesnt affect customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank
Bangladesh
Ha: Trustworthiness affects customer satisfaction in the context of Citibank Bangladesh

calculated P-value is 0. 035. So, Calculated P=0.035 < Critical P=0.05
Hence, Trustworthiness of Users of Internet Banking affects customer satisfaction in the

Multiple Regression Analysis
By far, we have tested each of the variables individually with our dependent variables. But in
reality all the variables work together to determine the customer satisfaction. So, it highly calls
for multiple linearity tests of all the variables with the given dependent variable
H0: Customer Satisfaction is not a function of Speed, Convenience, Quick Confirmation,
User Friendliness, Safety, Privacy, and Trustworthiness together.
Ha: Customer Satisfaction is a function of Speed, Convenience, Quick Confirmation, User
Friendliness, Safety, Privacy, and Trustworthiness together.
calculated P-value is 0. 009. So, Calculated P=0.009 < Critical P=0.05
Hence, Customer Satisfaction is a function of Speed, Convenience, Quick Confirmation,
User Friendliness, Safety, Privacy, and Trustworthiness together.
12 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Independent Variables (Speed, Convenience, Quick Confirmation, User Friendliness,
Safety, Privacy, and Trustworthiness) were tested individually to find any linear relationship
with the dependent variable which is Customer Satisfaction. After the tests were being run I
have found that Speed, User friendliness, Safety and trustworthiness were the variables
which were proven to be statistically significant, However considering the fact all the seven
independent variables play a role in a macroeconomic environment together and test was
also statistically significant. Since Speed, User friendliness, Safety and trustworthiness were
found to leave a significant impact on customer satisfaction so Citibank N.A should focus
more on improving these factors to improve the customer satisfaction.

Figure: Existing users Satisfaction on Internet Banking.

The chart was constructed using the results of the questionnaire survey on the users of internet
banking. The results of the survey show that 75% users are satisfied with the internet banking
facilities. This should help CitiBank N.A in retaining their customers. CitiBank N.A has a very
narrow customer base in Bangladesh so internet banking will play a significant role in
achieving success for the company. CitiBank N.A should try to maintain this in the long run.

Figure: Customers Willingness to switch to Internet Banking.
After carrying out the survey a study was carried out to find out how many non-users of
the internet banking are interested to switch to e banking. The chart shows that around
70% users have a positive attitude towards internet banking. Citibank N.A can convert
these non-users of internet banking to users by putting some marketing effort such as
advertisement or other practices. The study also shows that only a minimum percentage of
people have a negative attitude towards internet banking.

Derived Model
Customer Satisfaction= 1.844+ 0.398(Speed of Internet Banking).
Customer Satisfaction=4.87-3.52(User Friendliness of Internet Banking).
Customer Satisfaction= 4.79 0.352(Safety of Users)
Customer Satisfaction = 4.18-0.334(Trustworthiness of System)
Customer Satisfaction=5.95+0.16(Speed) + 0.08(Convenience)-0.06(Quick Confirmation)-
0.24(User-Friendliness)-0.35(Safety of Users)-0.22(Privacy of Users)-0.26(Trustworthiness
of System).
13 CONCLUSION
The research clearly indicates that those who use internet banking features of Citibank N.A are
satisfied the service. If the bank plans to expand the customer base of internet banking they
should focus more on speed, user friendliness, and safety and trustworthiness factors of
internet banking. Proper web-hosting is required for this reason. Customers should also be
made aware of unethical practices like sniffing, spoofing, phishing, pharming and other
malicious software which can be used by hackers. Attention should also be given in the
encryption of the information which is exchanged between the users and the bank. The study
also shows that people who are using manual banking prefer to switch to internet banking in
the future. So the study is very beneficial for both Citibank N.A and Bangladesh to get insights
about online banking relations with customer satisfaction. This study will also help other
companies who plan to convert to click and brick or click-only companies in the future.

14 RECOMMENDATION
It is suggested that a better research on customer satisfaction of Internet banking can be
carried out if more people become habituated with the internet in Bangladesh. At the
current situation Bangladesh is slowly improving its information technology base. The
connectivity of the internet of Bangladesh is expected to improve. A more useful and
effective research can be carried out in the near future if connectivity and network
improvements are witnessed by customers.
Moreover a study on a larger population sample is likely to give more accurate results. If
Citibank N.A increases its customer base and a survey is made on a larger sample will
give more accurate information. A research should be made by considering the users of
internet banking across all the major banks that are operating in the country. This will help
a particular bank to compare its satisfaction results with the industry average of customer
satisfaction results of internet banking in Bangladesh. To know the trend of customer
satisfaction of internet banking of Bangladesh a Longitudinal research should be carried
out instead of a cross-sectional research to get an idea of the changes of customer
satisfaction of internet banking.
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[18] Pikkarainen, T., Pikkarainen, K., Karjaluoto, H., and Pahnila, S. (2004).
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Service Quality, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 233-46.
[21] Shirshendu Ganguli, Sanjit Kumar Roy, (2011),"Generic technology-based service quality dimensions
inbanking: Impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty", International Journal of Bank Marketing,
Vol. 29 Iss: 2 pp. 168 189.
[22] Saha p & Zhao Y. (2005) Relationship between online service quality and customer
satisfaction. Lulea University

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Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Volume 3, No 1 (2014) ISSN 2305-915X

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