In this paper the effect on energy consumption and pollution of fuzzy automatic control of a rotary kiln is investigated. The computer-based fuzzy control system is installed at the Larko ferronickel plant in Larymna, Greece, by the Danish firm F .L. Smidth & Co. A/S. Operation characteristics for the manual operation against automatic control are defined and compared. Preliminary results show ...

The effect of irradiance on leaf construction costs, chemical composition, and on the payback time of leaves was investigated. To enable more generalized conclusions, three different systems were studied: top and the most-shaded leaves of 10 adult tree species in a European mixed forest, top leaves of sub-dominant trees of two evergreen species growing in small gaps or below the canopy in an Am...

OBJECTIVES To consider how the impact of the NHS Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme should be measured. To determine what models are available and their strengths and weaknesses. To assess the impact of the first 10 years of the NHS HTA programme from its inception in 1993 to June 2003 and to identify the factors associated with HTA research that are making an impact. DATA SOURCES M...

Editor—Grant et al note that organisations that fund biomedical research assume that the research they support will lead to an eventual improvement in health. Because clinical guidelines represent one of the final links between basic research and actions to improve health, they looked at which studies were cited in guidelines. Although their analysis is a valuable move away from the naive use a...

Variable-speed drives (VSDs) control the speed of machinery, pumps, mixers, fans and compressors to match the needs of the process. In many applications VSDs save so much energy that their economic payback time is only a matter of months. A new approach to the assessment of environmental impacts shows that the environmental payback time of VSDs can be even shorter, in many cases as little as on...

Action Research is an applied scholarly paradigm resulting in action for continuous improvement in our teaching and learning techniques offering faculty immediate classroom payback and providing documentation of meeting our educational responsibilities as required by AACSB standards. This article reviews the iterative action research process of planning, acting, observing, reflecting and revisi...

Feeder design affected payback. The Cinch Net paid for itself in less than 1 month; Tombstone and Ring, 2 months; Hayhut and Tombstone Saver, 4 months; Hay Sleigh, 5 months; Waste Less, 8 months; Cone, 9 months; and Covered Cradle, 19 month. Although the Cinch Net paid for itself in the shortest amount of me, it is only guaranteed for three years. All other feeders claim to last indefinitely, h...

The purpose of this paper is to study a Monte Carlo simulation of the discounted payback, and its application to investment appraisal. The underlying project in the case study has a useful life of 10 years with an initial outlay of $2,000, and with stochastic, independent, and normally distributed cash inflows. These cash inflows are simulated from the same normal frequency distribution, i.e. f...