Search results for: speech compression
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1624

Search results for: speech compression

1444 Modeling of a Pendulum Test Including Skin and Muscles under Compression

Authors: M. J. Kang, Y. N. Jo, H. H. Yoo

Abstract:

Pendulum tests were used to identify a stretch reflex and diagnose spasticity. Some researches tried to make a mathematical model to simulate the motions. Thighs are subject to compressive forces due to gravity during a pendulum test. Therefore, it affects knee trajectories. However, the most studies on the pendulum tests did not consider that conditions. We used Kelvin-Voight model as compression model of skin and muscles. In this study, we investigated viscoelastic behaviors of skin and muscles using gelatin blocks from experiments of the vibration of the compliantly supported beam. Then we calculated a dynamic stiffness and loss factors from the experiment and estimated a damping coefficient of the model. We also did pendulum tests of human lower limbs to validate the stiffness and damping coefficient of a skin model. To simulate the pendulum motion, we derive equations of motion. We used stretch reflex activation model to estimate muscle forces induced by the stretch reflex. To validate the results, we compared the activation with electromyography signals during experiments. The compression behavior of skin and muscles in this study can be applied to analyze sitting posture as wee as developing surgical techniques.

Keywords: Kelvin-Voight model, pendulum test, skin and muscles under compression, stretch reflex

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1443 Bioremediation Effect on Shear Strength of Contaminated Soils

Authors: Samira Abbaspour

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Soil contamination by oil industry is unavoidable issue; irrespective of environmental impact, which occurs during the process of soil contaminating and remediating. Effect of this phenomenon on the geotechnical properties of the soil has not been investigated thoroughly. Some researchers studied the environmental aspects of these phenomena more than geotechnical point of view. In this research, compaction and unconfined compression tests were conducted on samples of natural, contaminated and treated soil after 50 days of bio-treatment. The results manifest that increasing the amount of crude oil, leads to decreased values of maximum dry density and optimum water content and increased values of unconfined compression strength (UCS). However, almost 65% of this contamination terminated by using a Bioremer as a bioremediation agent. Foremost, as bioremediation takes place, values of maximum dry density, unconfined compression strength and failure strain increase.

Keywords: contamination, shear strength, compaction, oil contamination

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1442 A Comprehensive Methodology for Voice Segmentation of Large Sets of Speech Files Recorded in Naturalistic Environments

Authors: Ana Londral, Burcu Demiray, Marcus Cheetham

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Speech recording is a methodology used in many different studies related to cognitive and behaviour research. Modern advances in digital equipment brought the possibility of continuously recording hours of speech in naturalistic environments and building rich sets of sound files. Speech analysis can then extract from these files multiple features for different scopes of research in Language and Communication. However, tools for analysing a large set of sound files and automatically extract relevant features from these files are often inaccessible to researchers that are not familiar with programming languages. Manual analysis is a common alternative, with a high time and efficiency cost. In the analysis of long sound files, the first step is the voice segmentation, i.e. to detect and label segments containing speech. We present a comprehensive methodology aiming to support researchers on voice segmentation, as the first step for data analysis of a big set of sound files. Praat, an open source software, is suggested as a tool to run a voice detection algorithm, label segments and files and extract other quantitative features on a structure of folders containing a large number of sound files. We present the validation of our methodology with a set of 5000 sound files that were collected in the daily life of a group of voluntary participants with age over 65. A smartphone device was used to collect sound using the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR): an app programmed to record 30-second sound samples that were randomly distributed throughout the day. Results demonstrated that automatic segmentation and labelling of files containing speech segments was 74% faster when compared to a manual analysis performed with two independent coders. Furthermore, the methodology presented allows manual adjustments of voiced segments with visualisation of the sound signal and the automatic extraction of quantitative information on speech. In conclusion, we propose a comprehensive methodology for voice segmentation, to be used by researchers that have to work with large sets of sound files and are not familiar with programming tools.

Keywords: automatic speech analysis, behavior analysis, naturalistic environments, voice segmentation

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1441 Frequency of Consonant Production Errors in Children with Speech Sound Disorder: A Retrospective-Descriptive Study

Authors: Amulya P. Rao, Prathima S., Sreedevi N.

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Speech sound disorders (SSD) encompass the major concern in younger population of India with highest prevalence rate among the speech disorders. Children with SSD if not identified and rehabilitated at the earliest, are at risk for academic difficulties. This necessitates early identification using screening tools assessing the frequently misarticulated speech sounds. The literature on frequently misarticulated speech sounds is ample in English and other western languages targeting individuals with various communication disorders. Articulation is language specific, and there are limited studies reporting the same in Kannada, a Dravidian Language. Hence, the present study aimed to identify the frequently misarticulated consonants in Kannada and also to examine the error type. A retrospective, descriptive study was carried out using secondary data analysis of 41 participants (34-phonetic type and 7-phonemic type) with SSD in the age range 3-to 12-years. All the consonants of Kannada were analyzed by considering three words for each speech sound from the Kannada Diagnostic Photo Articulation test (KDPAT). Picture naming task was carried out, and responses were audio recorded. The recorded data were transcribed using IPA 2018 broad transcription. A criterion of 2/3 or 3/3 error productions was set to consider the speech sound to be an error. Number of error productions was calculated for each consonant in each participant. Then, the percentage of participants meeting the criteria were documented for each consonant to identify the frequently misarticulated speech sound. Overall results indicated that velar /k/ (48.78%) and /g/ (43.90%) were frequently misarticulated followed by voiced retroflex /ɖ/ (36.58%) and trill /r/ (36.58%). The lateral retroflex /ɭ/ was misarticulated by 31.70% of the children with SSD. Dentals (/t/, /n/), bilabials (/p/, /b/, /m/) and labiodental /v/ were produced correctly by all the participants. The highly misarticulated velars /k/ and /g/ were frequently substituted by dentals /t/ and /d/ respectively or omitted. Participants with SSD-phonemic type had multiple substitutions for one speech sound whereas, SSD-phonetic type had consistent single sound substitutions. Intra- and inter-judge reliability for 10% of the data using Cronbach’s Alpha revealed good reliability (0.8 ≤ α < 0.9). Analyzing a larger sample by replicating such studies will validate the present study results.

Keywords: consonant, frequently misarticulated, Kannada, SSD

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1440 The Effect of Speech-Shaped Noise and Speaker’s Voice Quality on First-Grade Children’s Speech Perception and Listening Comprehension

Authors: I. Schiller, D. Morsomme, A. Remacle

Abstract:

Children’s ability to process spoken language develops until the late teenage years. At school, where efficient spoken language processing is key to academic achievement, listening conditions are often unfavorable. High background noise and poor teacher’s voice represent typical sources of interference. It can be assumed that these factors particularly affect primary school children, because their language and literacy skills are still low. While it is generally accepted that background noise and impaired voice impede spoken language processing, there is an increasing need for analyzing impacts within specific linguistic areas. Against this background, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of speech-shaped noise and imitated dysphonic voice on first-grade primary school children’s speech perception and sentence comprehension. Via headphones, 5 to 6-year-old children, recruited within the French-speaking community of Belgium, listened to and performed a minimal-pair discrimination task and a sentence-picture matching task. Stimuli were randomly presented according to four experimental conditions: (1) normal voice / no noise, (2) normal voice / noise, (3) impaired voice / no noise, and (4) impaired voice / noise. The primary outcome measure was task score. How did performance vary with respect to listening condition? Preliminary results will be presented with respect to speech perception and sentence comprehension and carefully interpreted in the light of past findings. This study helps to support our understanding of children’s language processing skills under adverse conditions. Results shall serve as a starting point for probing new measures to optimize children’s learning environment.

Keywords: impaired voice, sentence comprehension, speech perception, speech-shaped noise, spoken language processing

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1439 Programmed Speech to Text Summarization Using Graph-Based Algorithm

Authors: Hamsini Pulugurtha, P. V. S. L. Jagadamba

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Programmed Speech to Text and Text Summarization Using Graph-based Algorithms can be utilized in gatherings to get the short depiction of the gathering for future reference. This gives signature check utilizing Siamese neural organization to confirm the personality of the client and convert the client gave sound record which is in English into English text utilizing the discourse acknowledgment bundle given in python. At times just the outline of the gathering is required, the answer for this text rundown. Thus, the record is then summed up utilizing the regular language preparing approaches, for example, solo extractive text outline calculations

Keywords: Siamese neural network, English speech, English text, natural language processing, unsupervised extractive text summarization

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1438 Autoignition Delay Characterstic of Hydrocarbon (n-Pentane) from Lean to Rich Mixtures

Authors: Sunil Verma

Abstract:

This report is concerned with study of autoignition delay characterstics of n-pentane. Experiments are done for different equivalents ratio on Rapid compression machine. Dependence of autoignition delay period is clearly explained from lean to rich mixtures. Equivalence ratio is varied from 0.33 to 0.6.

Keywords: combustion, autoignition, ignition delay, rapid compression machine

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1437 Hot Deformation Behavior and Recrystallization of Inconel 718 Superalloy under Double Cone Compression

Authors: Wang Jianguo, Ding Xiao, Liu Dong, Wang Haiping, Yang Yanhui, Hu Yang

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The hot deformation behavior of Inconel 718 alloy was studied by uniaxial compression tests under the deformation temperature of 940~1040℃ and strain rate of 0.001-10s⁻¹. The double cone compression (DCC) tests develop strains range from 30% to the 79% strain including all intermediate values of stains at different temperature (960~1040℃). DCC tests were simulated by finite element software which shown the strain and strain rates distribution. The result shows that the peak stress level of the alloy decreased with increasing deformation temperature and decreasing strain rate, which could be characterized by a Zener-Hollomon parameter in the hyperbolic-sine equation. The characterization method of hot processing window containing recrystallization volume fraction and average grain size was proposed for double cone compression test of uniform coarse grain, mixed crystal and uniform fine grain double conical specimen in hydraulic press and screw press. The results show that uniform microstructures can be obtained by low temperature with high deformation followed by high temperature with small deformation on the hydraulic press and low temperature, medium deformation, multi-pass on the screw press. The two methods were applied in industrial forgings process, and the forgings with uniform microstructure were obtained successfully.

Keywords: inconel 718 superalloy, hot processing windows, double cone compression, uniform microstructure

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1436 Undrained Shear Strength and Anisotropic Yield Surface of Diatomaceous Mudstone

Authors: Najibullah Arsalan, Masaru Akaishi, Motohiro Sugiyama

Abstract:

When constructing a structure on soft rock, adequate research and study are required concerning the shear behavior in the over-consolidation region because soft rock is considered to be in a heavily over-consolidated state. In many of the existing studies concerning the strength of soft rock, triaxial compression tests were conducted using isotropically consolidated samples. In this study, the strength of diatomaceous soft rock anisotropically consolidated under a designated consolidation pressure is examined in undrained triaxial compression tests, and studies are made of the peak and residual strengths of the sample in the over-consolidated state in the initial yield surface and the anisotropic yield surface.

Keywords: diatomaceouse mudstone, shear strength, yield surface, triaxial compression test

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1435 Mortar Positioning Effects on Uniaxial Compression Behavior in Hollow Concrete Block Masonry

Authors: José Álvarez Pérez, Ramón García Cedeño, Gerardo Fajardo-San Miguel, Jorge H. Chávez Gómez, Franco A. Carpio Santamaría, Milena Mesa Lavista

Abstract:

The uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity in hollow concrete block masonry (HCBM) represent key mechanical properties for structural design considerations. These properties are obtained through experimental tests conducted on prisms or wallettes and depend on various factors, with the HCB contributing significantly to overall strength. One influential factor in the compressive behaviour of masonry is the thickness and method of mortar placement. Mexican regulations stipulate mortar placement over the entire net area (full-shell) for strength computation based on the gross area. However, in professional practice, there's a growing trend to place mortar solely on the lateral faces. Conversely, the United States of America standard dictates mortar placement and computation over the net area of HCB. The Canadian standard specifies mortar placement solely on the lateral face (Face-Shell-Bedding), where computation necessitates the use of the effective load area, corresponding to the mortar's placement area. This research aims to evaluate the influence of different mortar placement methods on the axial compression behaviour of HCBM. To achieve this, an experimental campaign was conducted, including: (1) 10 HCB specimens with mortar on the entire net area, (2) 10 HCB specimens with mortar placed on the lateral faces, (3) 10 prisms of 2-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in full-shell, (4) 10 prisms of 2-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in face-shell-bedding, (5) 10 prisms of 3-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in full-shell, (6) 10 prisms of 3-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in face-shell-bedding, (7) 10 prisms of 4-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in full-shell, and, (8) 10 prisms of 4-course HCB under axial compression with mortar in face-shell-bedding. A combination of sulphur and fly ash in a 2:1 ratio was used for the capping material, meeting the average compressive strength requirement of over 35 MPa as per NMX-C-036 standards. Additionally, a mortar with a strength of over 17 MPa was utilized for the prisms. The results indicate that prisms with mortar placed over the full-shell exhibit higher strength compared to those with mortar over the face-shell-bedding. However, the elastic modulus was lower for prisms with mortar placement over the full-shell compared to face-shell bedding.

Keywords: masonry, hollow concrete blocks, mortar placement, prisms tests

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1434 Reconstructed Phase Space Features for Estimating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Authors: Andre Wittenborn, Jarek Krajewski

Abstract:

Trauma-related sadness in speech can alter the voice in several ways. The generation of non-linear aerodynamic phenomena within the vocal tract is crucial when analyzing trauma-influenced speech production. They include non-laminar flow and formation of jets rather than well-behaved laminar flow aspects. Especially state-space reconstruction methods based on chaotic dynamics and fractal theory have been suggested to describe these aerodynamic turbulence-related phenomena of the speech production system. To extract the non-linear properties of the speech signal, we used the time delay embedding method to reconstruct from a scalar time series (reconstructed phase space, RPS). This approach results in the extraction of 7238 Features per .wav file (N= 47, 32 m, 15 f). The speech material was prompted by telling about autobiographical related sadness-inducing experiences (sampling rate 16 kHz, 8-bit resolution). After combining these features in a support vector machine based machine learning approach (leave-one-sample out validation), we achieved a correlation of r = .41 with the well-established, self-report ground truth measure (RATS) of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Keywords: non-linear dynamics features, post traumatic stress disorder, reconstructed phase space, support vector machine

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1433 A Survey on Compression Methods for Table Constraints

Authors: N. Gharbi

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Constraint Satisfaction problems are mathematical problems that are often used to model many real-world problems for which we look if there exists a solution satisfying all its constraints. Table constraints are important for modeling parts of many problems since they list all combinations of allowed or forbidden values. However, they admit practical limitations because they are sometimes too large to be represented in a direct way. In this paper, we present a survey of the different categories of the proposed approaches to compress table constraints in order to reduce both space and time complexities.

Keywords: constraint programming, compression, data mining, table constraints

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1432 Speech Perception by Video Hosting Services Actors: Urban Planning Conflicts

Authors: M. Pilgun

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The report presents the results of a study of the specifics of speech perception by actors of video hosting services on the material of urban planning conflicts. To analyze the content, the multimodal approach using neural network technologies is employed. Analysis of word associations and associative networks of relevant stimulus revealed the evaluative reactions of the actors. Analysis of the data identified key topics that generated negative and positive perceptions from the participants. The calculation of social stress and social well-being indices based on user-generated content made it possible to build a rating of road transport construction objects according to the degree of negative and positive perception by actors.

Keywords: social media, speech perception, video hosting, networks

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1431 Functions and Pragmatic Aspects of English Nonsense

Authors: Natalia V. Ursul

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In linguistic studies, the question of nonsense is attracting increasing interest. Nonsense is usually defined as spoken or written words that have no meaning. However, this definition is likely to be outdated as any speech act is generated due to the speaker’s pragmatic reasons, thus it cannot be purely illogical or meaningless. In the current paper a new working definition of nonsense as a linguistic medium will be formulated; moreover, the pragmatic peculiarities of newly coined linguistic patterns and possible ways of their interpretation will be discussed.

Keywords: nonsense, nonse verse, pragmatics, speech act

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1430 Preliminary Study of the Phonological Development in Three and Four Year Old Bulgarian Children

Authors: Tsvetomira Braynova, Miglena Simonska

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The article presents the results of research on phonological processes in three and four-year-old children. For the purpose of the study, an author's test was developed and conducted among 120 children. The study included three areas of research - at the level of words (96 words), at the level of sentence repetition (10 sentences) and at the level of generating own speech from a picture (15 pictures). The test also gives us additional information about the articulation errors of the assessed children. The main purpose of the icing is to analyze all phonological processes that occur at this age in Bulgarian children and to identify which are typical and atypical for this age. The results show that the most common phonology errors that children make are: sound substitution, an elision of sound, metathesis of sound, elision of a syllable, and elision of consonants clustered in a syllable. All examined children were identified with the articulatory disorder from type bilabial lambdacism. Measuring the correlation between the average length of repeated speech and the average length of generated speech, the analysis proves that the more words a child can repeat in part “repeated speech,” the more words they can be expected to generate in part “generating sentence.” The results of this study show that the task of naming a word provides sufficient and representative information to assess the child's phonology.

Keywords: assessment, phonology, articulation, speech-language development

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1429 Large Strain Compression-Tension Behavior of AZ31B Rolled Sheet in the Rolling Direction

Authors: A. Yazdanmehr, H. Jahed

Abstract:

Being made with the lightest commercially available industrial metal, Magnesium (Mg) alloys are of interest for light-weighting. Expanding their application to different material processing methods requires Mg properties at large strains. Several room-temperature processes such as shot and laser peening and hole cold expansion need compressive large strain data. Two methods have been proposed in the literature to obtain the stress-strain curve at high strains: 1) anti-buckling guides and 2) small cubic samples. In this paper, an anti-buckling fixture is used with the help of digital image correlation (DIC) to obtain the compression-tension (C-T) of AZ31B-H24 rolled sheet at large strain values of up to 10.5%. The effect of the anti-bucking fixture on stress-strain curves is evaluated experimentally by comparing the results with those of the compression tests of cubic samples. For testing cubic samples, a new fixture has been designed to increase the accuracy of testing cubic samples with DIC strain measurements. Results show a negligible effect of anti-buckling on stress-strain curves, specifically at high strain values.

Keywords: large strain, compression-tension, loading-unloading, Mg alloys

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1428 Effects of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Speech and Communication Skills of Children with Autism

Authors: Aristi Alopoudi, Sofia Beloka, Vassiliki Pliogou

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Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder with a variety of difficulties in many aspects such as social interaction, communication skills and verbal communication (speech). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of therapeutic horseback riding in improving the verbal and communication skills of children diagnosed with autism during 16 sessions. The researcher examined whether the expression of speech, the use of vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, echolalia and communication skills were influenced by the therapeutic horseback riding when we increase the frequency of the sessions. The researcher observed two subjects of primary-school aged, in a two case observation design, with autism during 16 therapeutic horseback riding sessions (one riding session per week). Compared to baseline, at the end of the 16th therapeutic session, therapeutic horseback riding increased both verbal skills such as vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, formation of sentences and communication skills such as eye contact, greeting, participation in dialogue and spontaneous speech. It was noticeable that echolalia remained stable. Increased frequency of therapeutic horseback riding was beneficial for significant improvement in verbal and communication skills. More specifically, from the first to the last riding session there was a great increase of vocabulary, semantics, and formation of sentences. Pragmatics reached a lower level than semantics but the same as the right usage of the first person (for example, I make a hug) and echolalia used for that. A great increase of spontaneous speech was noticed. The eye contact was presented in a lower level, and there was a slow but important raise at the greeting as well as the participation in dialogue. Last but not least; this is a first study conducted in therapeutic horseback riding studying the verbal communication and communication skills in autistic children. According to the references, therapeutic horseback riding is a therapy with a variety of benefits, thus; this research made clear that in the benefits of this therapy there should be included the improvement of verbal speech and communication.

Keywords: Autism, communication skills, speech, therapeutic horseback riding

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1427 Co-Design of Accessible Speech Recognition for Users with Dysarthric Speech

Authors: Elizabeth Howarth, Dawn Green, Sean Connolly, Geena Vabulas, Sara Smolley

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Through the EU Horizon 2020 Nuvoic Project, the project team recruited 70 individuals in the UK and Ireland to test the Voiceitt speech recognition app and provide user feedback to developers. The app is designed for people with dysarthric speech, to support communication with unfamiliar people and access to speech-driven technologies such as smart home equipment and smart assistants. Participants with atypical speech, due to a range of conditions such as cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury, Down syndrome, stroke and hearing impairment, were recruited, primarily through organisations supporting disabled people. Most had physical or learning disabilities in addition to dysarthric speech. The project team worked with individuals, their families and local support teams, to provide access to the app, including through additional assistive technologies where needed. Testing was user-led, with participants asked to identify and test use cases most relevant to their daily lives over a period of three months or more. Ongoing technical support and training were provided remotely and in-person throughout the testing period. Structured interviews were used to collect feedback on users' experiences, with delivery adapted to individuals' needs and preferences. Informal feedback was collected through ongoing contact between participants, their families and support teams and the project team. Focus groups were held to collect feedback on specific design proposals. User feedback shared with developers has led to improvements to the user interface and functionality, including faster voice training, simplified navigation, the introduction of gamification elements and of switch access as an alternative to touchscreen access, with other feature requests from users still in development. This work offers a case-study in successful and inclusive co-design with the disabled community.

Keywords: co-design, assistive technology, dysarthria, inclusive speech recognition

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1426 Damage to LCP by the Ratcheting Phenomenon Under Cyclic Motion in Oligocyclic Fatigue

Authors: Aboussalih Amira, Zarza Tahar, Fedaoui Kamel, Baroura Lazhar, Hammoudi Salah

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316 L steel is a stainless steel frequently used in orthopedic surgery; in the design of implants (hip, knee, shoulder, ankle, etc.), in dental surgery, cardiology, ophthalmology. Before any use, it is essential to predict the macroscopic phenomenological behavior of the material, and to analyze its response. The behavior of 316 L steel in low cycle fatigue, under uniaxial cyclic loading of tension/compression, producing significant plastic deformations leading to material damage. This investigation allowed us to characterize the behavior of the 316L steel employed in the locking of the compression plates (LCP), of which they are generally used in orthopedics to stabilize the fractured bone parts. And to perceive the phenomenon of Ratcheting leading to the damage of LCP by an excess of plastic deformation under nonsymmetrical alternated imposed constraint in low cycle fatigue.

Keywords: 316L SS, locking compression plate, low cycle fatigue, ratcheting

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1425 Low-Income African-American Fathers' Gendered Relationships with Their Children: A Study Examining the Impact of Child Gender on Father-Child Interactions

Authors: M. Lim Haslip

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This quantitative study explores the correlation between child gender and father-child interactions. The author analyzes data from videotaped interactions between African-American fathers and their boy or girl toddler to explain how African-American fathers and toddlers interact with each other and whether these interactions differ by child gender. The purpose of this study is to investigate the research question: 'How, if at all, do fathers’ speech and gestures differ when interacting with their two-year-old sons versus daughters during free play?' The objectives of this study are to describe how child gender impacts African-American fathers’ verbal communication, examine how fathers gesture and speak to their toddler by gender, and to guide interventions for low-income African-American families and their children in early language development. This study involves a sample of 41 low-income African-American fathers and their 24-month-old toddlers. The videotape data will be used to observe 10-minute father-child interactions during free play. This study uses the already transcribed and coded data provided by Dr. Meredith Rowe, who did her study on the impact of African-American fathers’ verbal input on their children’s language development. The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES program), created to study conversational interactions, was used for transcription and coding of the videotape data. The findings focus on the quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech, and the quantity of gesture to inform the vocabulary usage, number of spoken words, length of speech, and the number of object pointings observed during father-toddler interactions in a free play setting. This study will help intervention and prevention scientists understand early language development in the African-American population. It will contribute to knowledge of the role of African-American fathers’ interactions on their children’s language development. It will guide interventions for the early language development of African-American children.

Keywords: parental engagement, early language development, African-American families, quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech and the quantity of gesture

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1424 A Slip Transmission through Alpha/Beta Boundaries in a Titanium Alloy (Ti-6Al-4V)

Authors: Rayan B. M. Ameen, Ian P. Jones, Yu Lung Chiu

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Single alpha-beta colony micro-pillars have been manufactured from a polycrystalline commercial Ti-6Al-4V sample using Focused Ion Beam (FIB). Each pillar contained two alpha lamellae separated by a thin fillet of beta phase. A nano-indenter was then used to conduct uniaxial micro-compression tests on Ti alloy single crystals, using a diamond flat tip as a compression platen. By controlling the crystal orientation along the micro-pillar using Electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) different slip systems have been selectively activated. The advantage of the micro-compression method over conventional mechanical testing techniques is the ability to localize a single crystal volume which is characterizable after deformation. By matching the stress-strain relations resulting from micro-compression experiments to TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) studies of slip transmission mechanisms through the α-β interfaces, some proper constitutive material parameters such as the role of these interfaces in determining yield, strain-hardening behaviour, initial dislocation density and the critical resolved shear stress are suggested.

Keywords: α/β-Ti alloy, focused ion beam, micro-mechanical test, nano-indentation, transmission electron diffraction, plastic flow

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1423 Hysteresis in Sustainable Two-layer Circular Tube under a Lateral Compression Load

Authors: Ami Nomura, Ken Imanishi, Etsuko Ueda, Tadahiro Wada, Shinichi Enoki

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Recently, there have been a lot of earthquakes in Japan. It is necessary to promote seismic isolation devices for buildings. The devices have been hardly diffused in attached houses, because the devices are very expensive. We should develop a low-cost seismic isolation device for detached houses. We suggested a new seismic isolation device which uses a two-layer circular tube as a unit. If hysteresis is produced in the two-layer circular tube under lateral compression load, we think that the two-layer circular tube can have energy absorbing capacity. It is necessary to contact the outer layer and the inner layer to produce hysteresis. We have previously reported how the inner layer comes in contact with the outer layer from a perspective of analysis used mechanics of materials. We have clarified that the inner layer comes in contact with the outer layer under a lateral compression load. In this paper, we explored contact area between the outer layer and the inner layer under a lateral compression load by using FEA. We think that changing the inner layer’s thickness is effective in increase the contact area. In order to change the inner layer’s thickness, we changed the shape of the inner layer. As a result, the contact area changes depending on the inner layer’s thickness. Additionally, we experimented to check whether hysteresis occurs in fact. As a consequence, we can reveal hysteresis in the two-layer circular tube under the condition.

Keywords: contact area, energy absorbing capacity, hysteresis, seismic isolation device

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1422 Buckling Analysis of Composite Shells under Compression and Torsional Loads: Numerical and Analytical Study

Authors: Güneş Aydın, Razi Kalantari Osgouei, Murat Emre Öztürk, Ahmad Partovi Meran, Ekrem Tüfekçi

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Advanced lightweight laminated composite shells are increasingly being used in all types of modern structures, for enhancing their structural efficiency and performance. Such thin-walled structures are susceptible to buckling when subjected to various loading. This paper focuses on the buckling of cylindrical shells under axial compression and torsional loads. Effects of fiber orientation on the maximum buckling load of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) shells are optimized. Optimum fiber angles have been calculated analytically by using MATLAB program. Numerical models have been carried out by using Finite Element Method program ABAQUS. Results from analytical and numerical analyses are also compared.

Keywords: buckling, composite, cylindrical shell, finite element, compression, torsion, MATLAB, optimization

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1421 Forensic Speaker Verification in Noisy Environmental by Enhancing the Speech Signal Using ICA Approach

Authors: Ahmed Kamil Hasan Al-Ali, Bouchra Senadji, Ganesh Naik

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We propose a system to real environmental noise and channel mismatch for forensic speaker verification systems. This method is based on suppressing various types of real environmental noise by using independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm. The enhanced speech signal is applied to mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) or MFCC feature warping to extract the essential characteristics of the speech signal. Channel effects are reduced using an intermediate vector (i-vector) and probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) approach for classification. The proposed algorithm is evaluated by using an Australian forensic voice comparison database, combined with car, street and home noises from QUT-NOISE at a signal to noise ratio (SNR) ranging from -10 dB to 10 dB. Experimental results indicate that the MFCC feature warping-ICA achieves a reduction in equal error rate about (48.22%, 44.66%, and 50.07%) over using MFCC feature warping when the test speech signals are corrupted with random sessions of street, car, and home noises at -10 dB SNR.

Keywords: noisy forensic speaker verification, ICA algorithm, MFCC, MFCC feature warping

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1420 Efficient Video Compression Technique Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Generative Adversarial Network

Authors: P. Karthick, K. Mahesh

Abstract:

Video has become an increasingly significant component of our digital everyday contact. With the advancement of greater contents and shows of the resolution, its significant volume poses serious obstacles to the objective of receiving, distributing, compressing, and revealing video content of high quality. In this paper, we propose the primary beginning to complete a deep video compression model that jointly upgrades all video compression components. The video compression method involves splitting the video into frames, comparing the images using convolutional neural networks (CNN) to remove duplicates, repeating the single image instead of the duplicate images by recognizing and detecting minute changes using generative adversarial network (GAN) and recorded with long short-term memory (LSTM). Instead of the complete image, the small changes generated using GAN are substituted, which helps in frame level compression. Pixel wise comparison is performed using K-nearest neighbours (KNN) over the frame, clustered with K-means, and singular value decomposition (SVD) is applied for each and every frame in the video for all three color channels [Red, Green, Blue] to decrease the dimension of the utility matrix [R, G, B] by extracting its latent factors. Video frames are packed with parameters with the aid of a codec and converted to video format, and the results are compared with the original video. Repeated experiments on several videos with different sizes, duration, frames per second (FPS), and quality results demonstrate a significant resampling rate. On average, the result produced had approximately a 10% deviation in quality and more than 50% in size when compared with the original video.

Keywords: video compression, K-means clustering, convolutional neural network, generative adversarial network, singular value decomposition, pixel visualization, stochastic gradient descent, frame per second extraction, RGB channel extraction, self-detection and deciding system

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1419 Speech Recognition Performance by Adults: A Proposal for a Battery for Marathi

Authors: S. B. Rathna Kumar, Pranjali A Ujwane, Panchanan Mohanty

Abstract:

The present study aimed to develop a battery for assessing speech recognition performance by adults in Marathi. A total of four word lists were developed by considering word frequency, word familiarity, words in common use, and phonemic balance. Each word list consists of 25 words (15 monosyllabic words in CVC structure and 10 monosyllabic words in CVCV structure). Equivalence analysis and performance-intensity function testing was carried using the four word lists on a total of 150 native speakers of Marathi belonging to different regions of Maharashtra (Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh and Northern Maharashtra, Pune, and Konkan). The subjects were further equally divided into five groups based on above mentioned regions. It was found that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the speech recognition performance between groups for each word list and between word lists for each group. Hence, the four word lists developed were equally difficult for all the groups and can be used interchangeably. The performance-intensity (PI) function curve showed semi-linear function, and the groups’ mean slope of the linear portions of the curve indicated an average linear slope of 4.64%, 4.73%, 4.68%, and 4.85% increase in word recognition score per dB for list 1, list 2, list 3 and list 4 respectively. Although, there is no data available on speech recognition tests for adults in Marathi, most of the findings of the study are in line with the findings of research reports on other languages. The four word lists, thus developed, were found to have sufficient reliability and validity in assessing speech recognition performance by adults in Marathi.

Keywords: speech recognition performance, phonemic balance, equivalence analysis, performance-intensity function testing, reliability, validity

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1418 Study on Hysteresis in Sustainable Two-Layer Circular Tube under a Lateral Compression Load

Authors: Ami Nomura, Ken Imanishi, Yukinori Taniguchi, Etsuko Ueda, Tadahiro Wada, Shinichi Enoki

Abstract:

Recently, there have been a lot of earthquakes in Japan. It is necessary to promote seismic isolation devices for buildings. The devices have been hardly diffused in attached houses, because the devices are very expensive. We should develop a low-cost seismic isolation device for detached houses. We suggested a new seismic isolation device which uses a two-layer circular tube as a unit. If hysteresis is produced in the two-layer circular tube under lateral compression load, we think that the two-layer circular tube can have energy absorbing capacity. It is necessary to contact the outer layer and the inner layer to produce hysteresis. We have previously reported how the inner layer comes in contact with the outer layer from a perspective of analysis used mechanics of materials. We have clarified that the inner layer comes in contact with the outer layer under a lateral compression load. In this paper, we explored contact area between the outer layer and the inner layer under a lateral compression load by using FEA. We think that changing the inner layer’s thickness is effective in increase the contact area. In order to change the inner layer’s thickness, we changed the shape of the inner layer. As a result, the contact area changes depending on the inner layer’s thickness. Additionally, we experimented to check whether hysteresis occurs in fact. As a consequence, we can reveal hysteresis in the two-layer circular tube under the condition.

Keywords: contact area, energy absorbing capacity, hysteresis, seismic isolation device

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1417 An Evaluation on the Effectiveness of a 3D Printed Composite Compression Mold

Authors: Peng Hao Wang, Garam Kim, Ronald Sterkenburg

Abstract:

The applications of composite materials within the aviation industry has been increasing at a rapid pace.  However, the growing applications of composite materials have also led to growing demand for more tooling to support its manufacturing processes. Tooling and tooling maintenance represents a large portion of the composite manufacturing process and cost. Therefore, the industry’s adaptability to new techniques for fabricating high quality tools quickly and inexpensively will play a crucial role in composite material’s growing popularity in the aviation industry. One popular tool fabrication technique currently being developed involves additive manufacturing such as 3D printing. Although additive manufacturing and 3D printing are not entirely new concepts, the technique has been gaining popularity due to its ability to quickly fabricate components, maintain low material waste, and low cost. In this study, a team of Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology (SATT) faculty and students investigated the effectiveness of a 3D printed composite compression mold. A 3D printed composite compression mold was fabricated by 3D scanning a steel valve cover of an aircraft reciprocating engine. The 3D printed composite compression mold was used to fabricate carbon fiber versions of the aircraft reciprocating engine valve cover. The 3D printed composite compression mold was evaluated for its performance, durability, and dimensional stability while the fabricated carbon fiber valve covers were evaluated for its accuracy and quality. The results and data gathered from this study will determine the effectiveness of the 3D printed composite compression mold in a mass production environment and provide valuable information for future understanding, improvements, and design considerations of 3D printed composite molds.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, carbon fiber, composite tooling, molds

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1416 A Comparative Study on Vowel Articulation in Malayalam Speaking Children Using Cochlear Implant

Authors: Deepthy Ann Joy, N. Sreedevi

Abstract:

Hearing impairment (HI) at an early age, identified before the onset of language development can reduce the negative effect on speech and language development of children. Early rehabilitation is very important in the improvement of speech production in children with HI. Other than conventional hearing aids, Cochlear Implants are being used in the rehabilitation of children with HI. However, delay in acquisition of speech and language milestones persist in children with Cochlear Implant (CI). Delay in speech milestones are reflected through speech sound errors. These errors reflect the temporal and spectral characteristics of speech. Hence, acoustical analysis of the speech sounds will provide a better representation of speech production skills in children with CI. The present study aimed at investigating the acoustic characteristics of vowels in Malayalam speaking children with a cochlear implant. The participants of the study consisted of 20 Malayalam speaking children in the age range of four and seven years. The experimental group consisted of 10 children with CI, and the control group consisted of 10 typically developing children. Acoustic analysis was carried out for 5 short (/a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/) and 5 long vowels (/a:/, /i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/) in word-initial position. The responses were recorded and analyzed for acoustic parameters such as Vowel duration, Ratio of the duration of a short and long vowel, Formant frequencies (F₁ and F₂) and Formant Centralization Ratio (FCR) computed using the formula (F₂u+F₂a+F₁i+F₁u)/(F₂i+F₁a). Findings of the present study indicated that the values for vowel duration were higher in experimental group compared to the control group for all the vowels except for /u/. Ratio of duration of short and long vowel was also found to be higher in experimental group compared to control group except for /i/. Further F₁ for all vowels was found to be higher in experimental group with variability noticed in F₂ values. FCR was found be higher in experimental group, indicating vowel centralization. Further, the results of independent t-test revealed no significant difference across the parameters in both the groups. It was found that the spectral and temporal measures in children with CI moved towards normal range. The result emphasizes the significance of early rehabilitation in children with hearing impairment. The role of rehabilitation related aspects are also discussed in detail which can be clinically incorporated for the betterment of speech therapeutic services in children with CI.

Keywords: acoustics, cochlear implant, Malayalam, vowels

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1415 Exploring Pre-Trained Automatic Speech Recognition Model HuBERT for Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment Detection in Speech

Authors: Monica Gonzalez Machorro

Abstract:

Dementia is hard to diagnose because of the lack of early physical symptoms. Early dementia recognition is key to improving the living condition of patients. Speech technology is considered a valuable biomarker for this challenge. Recent works have utilized conventional acoustic features and machine learning methods to detect dementia in speech. BERT-like classifiers have reported the most promising performance. One constraint, nonetheless, is that these studies are either based on human transcripts or on transcripts produced by automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. This research contribution is to explore a method that does not require transcriptions to detect early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This is achieved by fine-tuning a pre-trained ASR model for the downstream early AD and MCI tasks. To do so, a subset of the thoroughly studied Pitt Corpus is customized. The subset is balanced for class, age, and gender. Data processing also involves cropping the samples into 10-second segments. For comparison purposes, a baseline model is defined by training and testing a Random Forest with 20 extracted acoustic features using the librosa library implemented in Python. These are: zero-crossing rate, MFCCs, spectral bandwidth, spectral centroid, root mean square, and short-time Fourier transform. The baseline model achieved a 58% accuracy. To fine-tune HuBERT as a classifier, an average pooling strategy is employed to merge the 3D representations from audio into 2D representations, and a linear layer is added. The pre-trained model used is ‘hubert-large-ls960-ft’. Empirically, the number of epochs selected is 5, and the batch size defined is 1. Experiments show that our proposed method reaches a 69% balanced accuracy. This suggests that the linguistic and speech information encoded in the self-supervised ASR-based model is able to learn acoustic cues of AD and MCI.

Keywords: automatic speech recognition, early Alzheimer’s recognition, mild cognitive impairment, speech impairment

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