An Analysis of Success and Failure Factors for ERP Systems in Engineering and Construction Firms (Civil Project)

Even though the use of ERP systems is growing and becoming more popular, these systems are still somewhat unfamiliar in the construction industry. Many engineering and construction firms know how beneficial ERP systems are, but they still hesitate to adopt these systems due to their high cost and risk.

Without a doubt, a successful ERP implementation is an essential for the benefits from such systems, so this issue is always considered top priority in the ERP related research area. It is obvious that several important factors must be considered for successful implementation, but most engineering and construction firms have no idea what factors should be considered most heavily. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to help these firms better understand the critical factors that need to be considered to ensure the success of ERP systems.

This research formulated the conceptual ERP success model based on strong background theories and knowledge gained from several industry practitioners. The survey instrument was designed based on the conceptual ERP success model, and was tested before conducting the main survey. The ERP success model and its variables were finally fixed after completing a series of data analyses with the main survey. Since there have been few studies attempting to validate empirically the factors affecting both ERP implementation and user adoption, this research focused on identifying the factors for the ERP success from both implementation project and user adoption perspectives.

Then, identified factors were examined to verify their relationships with success indicators associated with the redefined ERP success. Furthermore, the research suggested recommendations for the ERP success showing how to approach ERP implementation to avoid failure and what we should do considering the significance of each factor to a given dependent variable based on the findings of the study. These recommendations can provide helpful information to engineering and construction firms when they consider implementing or upgrading their ERP systems. This information should help companies reduce tremendous ERP implementation risks so that companies can have more chances to improve their business value with the success of EPR systems.
Source: University of Maryland
Author: Chung, BooYoung

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The main objective of Matrimonial Web Application is to provide Grooms and Brides with excellent matchmaking experience by exploring the opportunities and resources to meet true potential partner. Keeping our objective in mind, we have created a world renowned online matchmaking services that will touch the souls of millions of people all over the globe.

The purposes of the Matrimonial Web Application are:

• The main purpose of this application is to facilitate matchmaking business by applying the information in the field.
• It helps the user by providing profiles of perspective “Bride” or “Groom” and other information regarding them online.
• User can get information regarding their dream life partner at his/her home at his/her convenience.
• This application also provides a search utility which helps those users who have a certain criteria of qualities in mind to make online matrimonial easier.
• Since internet is a pivot for modern business, our project which is based on internet paves a path for modernization in trade.

Matrimonial Web Application will allow a new user to register and after successfully registration user can get email confirmation, after completing registration users profile will be visible to other users.

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WaitLess Bus Tracking Device (Electronics Project)

The WaitLess bus tracking device is a standalone system designed to display the real-time location(s) of the buses on Georgia Tech’s campus. The system will consist of a solar panel and backup battery, wireless module, PSoC microprocessor, and a LED embedded map of the Georgia Tech bus transportation routes.

Assembly of these components will enable the tracking device to connect to the internet to obtain GPS data of the bus locations, which it will depict by activating LEDs in the approximate geographic positions of the buses on the route map. In addition, the device will be portable and sustainable; it will not require an external power source, which will eliminate long-term energy costs.

NextBus, the tracking company that Georgia Tech employs to retain the GPS location of the campus buses, currently provides a $3600 scrolling LED panel installed at three of the bus stops on campus. The display panel provides a rough text-based time estimate of the next arrival of a bus at the particular stop. In a recent survey, conducted by the design team, 75% of the survey correspondents attributed that waiting for the bus has often caused them to be late to a destination. Furthermore, 96% affirmed that if they had an easy way to see each bus’s actual location, in real-time, they could make a more accurate, informed decision of whether or not to wait.

The WaitLess bus tracking device will serve as a viable alternative notification system that will be more effective than the LED scrolling panel but for a quarter of the cost. A system prototype can be designed and assembled for approximately $6,724.10, when accounting for labor and component costs. If, subsequently, 40 of these systems were produced to be installed at each of the bus stops on the Georgia Tech campus; each device could be individually sold for $933 dollars, resulting in a 33% profit margin.
Source: Georgia Tech
Author: Matthew Brooks |Chris Chidi | Josh Mauldin | Daniel Nadeau

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Capacity of Frozen Soil for Shallow Tunnel Pre-Support Underneath a Building Founded on Wooden Piles (Civil Project)

The ever-increasing density of urban environments poses new challenges to tunneling for transit projects. Tunneling methods are called for that meet these challenges whilt e minimizing the impact on every day routines. With only a few exceptions, urban tunneling is confronted with soft ground conditions resulting from two basic facts.

Historically, dwellings were established near rivers for reasons of logistics situating cities on alluvial deposits. In addition, tunnel alignments must be kept at shallow depths to optimize access and passenger circulation. This study analyzes implementation of a binocular tunnel underneath a historic building at low cover using ground freezing for tunnel pre-support and building underpinning. The shallow depth required tunneling through a large number of timber piles arranged in groups that serve as foundations for the steel frame, brick and masonry building.

Tunneling was carried out using a sequenced excavation with shotcrete for tunnel support, commonly referred to as the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). During the tunneling the building remained operational for its mainly commercial purpose. The analysis focuses on the performance of the building foundations, frozen soil and tunnel opening. Observations from the construction-monitoring program are utilized in the development of a numerical model to study the performance of the support system consisting of timber piles, frozen soil and tunnel lining.

Adfreeze strength that develops between the frozen soil and wooden piles provides a significant increase in shear capacity of the pile-frozen soil interface as compared with unfrozen conditions. The analyses suggest that the interconnect between frozen soil and pile is of such structural capacity as to allow for a substantial reduction of frozen soil thickness when compared to the one implemented on this project. This reduction provides for economies in freezing and in mitigation measures such as compensation systems for initial building heave and subsequent settlement due to freeze consolidation. It is further suggested that ground freezing in combination with NATM tunneling offers a methodical concept for tunnel construction through vertical foundation elements. A thorough testing program for adfreeze strength must support its implementation, since adfreeze strength is the primary contribution to the capacity of the hybrid tunnel-frozen ground-pile support system.
Source: University of Maryland
Author: Gall, Vojtech

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Development of a Simulation and Optimization Tool for Heat Exchanger Design (Mechanical Project)

Heat exchangers have been used extensively and play an important role in the capital cost, energy efficiency and physical size of refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

In this project, a simulation and optimization tool to improve effectiveness and efficiency in design, rating, and analysis of air to refrigerant heat exchangers including conventional finned tube coils and emerging microchannel heat exchangers, Coil Designer, is developed and investigated using a general-purpose modeling concept and user-friendly interface. It is applicable to design of condensers, evaporators, and heating and cooling coils under any operating conditions.

A network viewpoint was adopted to establish the general-purpose model and allow for analysis of arbitrary tube circuitry and mal-distribution of fluid flow inside the tubes. Comprehensive evaluation of solutions to the highly nonlinear system of equations in the local thermal/hydraulic performance within the tube network was conducted and a new solution method to successively approximate the physics of heat and fluid flow was developed to enhance the solution convergence capability. A segment-by-segment approach within each tube was implemented, to account for two-dimensional non-uniformity of air distribution across the exchanger, and heterogeneous refrigerant flow patterns through a tube.

A further sub-dividable-segment model was created in order to address the significant change of properties and heat transfer coefficients in the single-phase and two-phase regime when a segment experiences flow regime change. The effectiveness-NTU method for cross-flow configuration was used also for combined heat and mass transfer problem under dehumidification, by defining equivalent thermal resistance and heat capacity. Object-oriented programming techniques were applied in developing Coil Designer to facilitate flexible and customizable design platform and building graphic user-friendly interface. Coupled heat exchangers with multiple fluids inside different subsets of tubes can be modeled and analyzed simultaneously.

A wide variety of working fluids and correlations of heat transfer and pressure drop are available at the user’s choice. The tabular and graphic representation of performance simulation results provides convenience in comprehensive and detailed parametric analysis. The model prediction with Coil Designer was verified against experimentally determined data collected from a number of sources. The simulation tool was shown to be able to predict the heat transfer rate for a variety of coils with good accuracy.

Parametric studies were conducted to confirm the capability of the program in exploring all aspects of heat exchanger performance under a wide variation of design and operating conditions. A genetic algorithm is introduced and integrated with the simulation tool for single and multi-objective optimization design of heat exchanger to accomplish the following goals quickly and accurately: achieve optimum circuitry selection, minimize volume, minimize the amount of material utilized in the coil and thus minimize overall cost of the coil while achieving the best possible performance.
Source: University of Maryland
Author: Jiang, Haobo

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Electronics Info: Nanoparticle-Based Sensors Used in Cancer DetectionNew Technology allows LCDs to recycle energy Nanoprocessors: Configurable Hardware Accelerators for Embedded Systems (Electronics Project)

Abstract

Today’s consumer market is driven by technology innovations. Many technologies that were not available a few years ago are quickly being adopted into common use. Equipment for these services requires microprocessors inside and can be regarded as embedded systems.

Embedded systems are computer systems that are well hidden inside devices. At the time of design, much is known about the operating conditions and requirements. Embedded systems are designed to meet these requirements at a minimal cost. To improve efficiency and throughput, real-time operating systems (RTOSs) can be used. However, RTOSs can create overhead in systems.

Using hardware accelerators can significantly reduce overhead. In this work, we survey the major overhead in embedded systems and identify and analyze some of them in details. We then purpose and discuss nanoprocessors, as configurable hardware accelerators, to lower this system overhead. Our simulation result shows that nanoprocessors can improve system performance at a nominal cost.
Source: University of Maryland
Author: Zong, Lei

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Intelligent Energy Saving System full project report

Intelligent Energy Saving System 
 Intelligent Energy Saving System can be used in places like where lighting is very important. The libraries will be well illuminated with many lamps. When people are not present at a reading place the lighting can be made OFF and when they are present, the lighting made ON. All these can be done through by Dimming circuit and PIR sensor. If a person entering to the monitored area, the PIR sensors activates and sense the person, gives to the micro controller. The Infrared energy emitted from the living body is focused by a Fresnel lens segment. Then only the PIR sensor activates. After sensing the person   LDR checks the light intensity of the monitored area, whether it is bright or dark. Depending on the LDR output, the lamp may be ON / OFF by using Dimmer circuit.

             By using this system we can adjust the speed of Fan according to the room temperature measured by Thermostat, which is connected to the micro controller.

            To display the room temperature of PIR mode operation we are using the LCD display. 
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