Advanced Materials Research Vols. 931-932

Abstract: In this paper, we proposed an optimization model that addresses the evacuation routing problem for flood disaster when evacuees trying to move from affected areas to safe places using public transportation. A focus is on the situation of evacuating during high water level when special high vehicles are needed. The objective is to minimize the total traveled distance through evacuation periods where a limited number of vehicles is given. We formulated the problem as a mixed integer programming model based on the capacitated vehicle routing problem with multiple evcuation periods where demand changing by the time. The proposed model has been tested on a real-world case study affected by the severe flooding in Thailand, 2011.

Abstract: Virtual worlds are successfully used for training a personal skill in an emergency situation. In this paper, we present a serious game for fire evacuation training in any public places like office buildings, conventional centers, hotels, and universities. The goal of fire safety evacuation plan is to minimize the damage, i.e. the number of injured people and casualties. In this paper, we built a virtual environment where imitates a classroom building in Bangkok University. We described a design process and development approach for achieving the objectives of evacuation training. The user evaluation was also conducted, showing that the prototype can be used effectively for training a fire drill at other public places.

Abstract: Motorcycle accidents have been rapidly growing throughout the years in many countries. Due to various social and economic factors, this type of vehicle is becoming increasingly popular. The helmet is the main safety equipment of motorcyclists but many drivers do not use it. If a motorcyclist is without helmet an accident can be fatal. This paper presented an automatic method for vehicle detection, motorcycles classification on public roads and a system for automatic detection of motorcyclists without helmet. For processing, in first step, we detect vehicles that moving real-time by extracting back ground out from front ground using back subtraction then enhancing it using threshold and mathematical morphology method. In the second step, we classify between motorcycle and other vehicles. Area is applied for feature extraction and neural network is applied for classification. In the final step, Hough transform is applied for detecting a helmet. From the experimental results, the accuracy rates of the motorcycle classification and helmet detection were 98.22% and 77%, respectively.

Abstract: Traction forces that vehicles use to propel their wheels depend on efficiencies of motors, power transmissions, and vehicle constructions. Behavior of driver on acceleration or deceleration varies responding to road conditions, traffic lights, and driving styles. Average speed estimation of the vehicle under known road conditions can be obtained from the standard driving cycles such as the urban driving cycle by NEDC and the highway fuel economy test cycle (HWFET) by EPA. An urban area, Khon Kaen province located in Northeastern part of Thailand, mostly has flat and rough road conditions that have not been well recorded. In this study a GPS device was installed on a midsize vehicle to record speed and time on roundtrip test drives. In this paper, the data on speed of the vehicle traveled from Department of Electrical Engineering, Khon Kaen University to four nearby locations were investigated than compared with standard driving cycles. These data offer greater knowledge and development in power consumption of electric vehicles and transportation sector.

Abstract: Within a period of a decade, Baan Mankong Programme (BMP) has been a critical topic of discourse as for urban poor housing scenario in Thailand. This paper unveils the contribution of Income Generation Space (IGS) on the BMP, tools to get IGS, clarifies the categorization of IGS in the BMP as well as pinpoints the imperative factors which help for the IGS enhancement strategy. IGS houses are clarified and made categorizations to unveil the contribution of IGS and trends of spatial utilization of a practical urban poor housing case, Tawanmai community in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The imperative factors for IGS enhancement strategy consist of chronological change, dwellers keenness, dwellers occupation, gender implication, household maneuver system, dwellers education level, as well as transportation issue.

Abstract: This research aims to evaluate on Urban Heat Island Intensity in Chiang Mai city and to study effects of population density, building density and traffic density on ambient air temperature. The ambient air temperature was measured by thermocouples at a constant altitude of 2 m above the road. The surveyed routes were divided to urban routes and rural routes. The Urban Heat Island Intensity (UHII) was calculated from an average ambient air temperature difference between urban and rural areas. Experimental investigations were carried out in 2 periods, which were a day time (12.30-02.30 pm) and a night time (10.00 pm-00.00 am) on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday in summer time (March-May, 2013). The results show that the UHII in Chiang Mai city in a day time is +1.1 °C and in a night time is +1.3 °C. Moreover, the population density, building density and traffic density were found to have significant effects on ambient air temperature, especially the population density and building density have direct effect on ambient air temperature. However, the traffic density has direct effect on ambient air temperature only in a day time.

Abstract: Since 1950, it has been found that the global diurnal temperature range (DTR), the difference between the minimum temperature (T_min) and the maximum temperature (T_max) of daily surface air temperature, has been temporally decreasing in several places all over the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of DTR on the amount of total monthly rainfall (TRF) and the number of rainy days per month (RD), as well as to evaluate the possibility of using DTR as a parameter in the rainfall prediction process. The study area is in northern Thailand, which covers about one third of the total area of the country. The impact of DTR on rainfall over the studied area is evaluated from the relationship between DTR and TRF, as well as DTR and RD, by using long-term meteorological monthly data over 30 years (1978-2007). Besides, the relationships of RD, TRF, and the temperature of mean monthly T_max and T_min are also analysed. The significance of the correlation between the two parameters is identified by the coefficient of correlation. The possibility of using DTR is evaluated by estimating the relationships between DTR and a one month-lag time of RD and TRF. It is found that the DTR has a strong statistically significant ( > 99%) negative correlation with TRF and RD, as well as with the one month-lag time of TRF and RD. Therefore, it is possible to consider DTR as a significant parameter for rainfall prediction.

Abstract: The rapid growth of industry has resulted in increased severity of water scarcity in the Eastern region of Thailand over the past decade. The assessment of water use by industrial manufacturing processes located in areas experiencing water stress is necessary to ensure a sustainable water resources management. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of life cycle assessment as a tool for assessing water use in an industrial manufacturing process. A case study of S-PVC resin manufacturing process located in Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong province, Thailand, is presented. The studying results indicate that the amount of water used to produce 1 Kg of S-PVC resin is 14.72 liters, of which 6.22 liters are withdrawn from local water resources. Additionally, the direct and indirect water use along the production supply chain is accounted for in a streamlined life cycle assessment.

Abstract: Levels of ²¹⁰Po in mussel (Perna viridis) collected from green mussel farming area at the Samut Sakhon province during the period of 2012 are presented. Parameters including total tissues wet weight and dry weight, maximum length, and the physiological performance of mussels using Condition Index were measured. The type of fluctuations observed with ²¹⁰Po concentrations are interpreted as a seasonal effect which peaks of high concentrations in wet season and low concentrations in dry season. Analysis of ²¹⁰Po activities in mussel (activity per individual) revealed the lower activities in smaller sized mussels (2.0-2.5 cm) and the higher in the larger sized group (6.5-7.0 cm). In the contrary, ²¹⁰Po concentrations decreased with increasing shell length, or with increasing body size. The ²¹⁰Po body burdens (activity per mussel) varied from 2.413 to 17.183 mBq while the ²¹⁰Po concentrations were ranged from 2.511 to 4.474 Bq.Kg^-1 ww. The results indicated that larger mussels were transfer lower ²¹⁰Po concentrations to consumer on a weight basis. It is concluded that the apparent seasonal fluctuation of radionuclide concentration were mostly caused by mussel body size fluctuation and not by radionuclide body burden fluctuation.

Abstract: This paper investigated mercury (Hg) flows and stock through mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers in Thailand for 2010 using Material Flow Analysis (MFA) based on mass balance principles. All calculations in this study are based on data from hospital surveys and reliable secondary data sources. This study indicates that all thermometers and sphygmomanometers used in Thailand were only imported. Mercury contained in thermometers and sphygmomanometers was about 1,675 kg and 5,375 kg respectively. During the use phase, thermometers can release roughly 70% of Hg into the environment (air and water) while no emissions were emitted from sphygmomanometers. This study also shows that about 20-30% of mercury thermometer and sphygmomanometer waste were disposed of in landfills and incinerators. Hg can be released into air, land, and water at approximately 53%, 35%, and 12% respectively. According to our scenario analysis, it shows that phasing out Hg medical-based devices combined with preventing the breakage and spillage of Hg-thermometers can give higher potential reduction of Hg in Thailand.