Search results for: bridge estimators
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 914

Search results for: bridge estimators

584 Shape Management Method of Large Structure Based on Octree Space Partitioning

Authors: Gichun Cha, Changgil Lee, Seunghee Park

Abstract:

The objective of the study is to construct the shape management method contributing to the safety of the large structure. In Korea, the research of the shape management is lack because of the new attempted technology. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is used for measurements of large structures. TLS provides an efficient way to actively acquire accurate the point clouds of object surfaces or environments. The point clouds provide a basis for rapid modeling in the industrial automation, architecture, construction or maintenance of the civil infrastructures. TLS produce a huge amount of point clouds. Registration, Extraction and Visualization of data require the processing of a massive amount of scan data. The octree can be applied to the shape management of the large structure because the scan data is reduced in the size but, the data attributes are maintained. The octree space partitioning generates the voxel of 3D space, and the voxel is recursively subdivided into eight sub-voxels. The point cloud of scan data was converted to voxel and sampled. The experimental site is located at Sungkyunkwan University. The scanned structure is the steel-frame bridge. The used TLS is Leica ScanStation C10/C5. The scan data was condensed 92%, and the octree model was constructed with 2 millimeter in resolution. This study presents octree space partitioning for handling the point clouds. The basis is created by shape management of the large structures such as double-deck tunnel, building and bridge. The research will be expected to improve the efficiency of structural health monitoring and maintenance. "This work is financially supported by 'U-City Master and Doctor Course Grant Program' and the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (NRF- 2015R1D1A1A01059291)."

Keywords: 3D scan data, octree space partitioning, shape management, structural health monitoring, terrestrial laser scanning

Procedia PDF Downloads 276
583 Data Calibration of the Actual versus the Theoretical Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Based Accelerometer Reading through Remote Monitoring of Padre Jacinto Zamora Flyover

Authors: John Mark Payawal, Francis Aldrine Uy, John Paul Carreon

Abstract:

This paper shows the application of Structural Health Monitoring, SHM into bridges. Bridges are structures built to provide passage over a physical obstruction such as rivers, chasms or roads. The Philippines has a total of 8,166 national bridges as published on the 2015 atlas of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and only 2,924 or 35.81% of these bridges are in good condition. As a result, PHP 30.464 billion of the 2016 budget of DPWH is allocated on roads and/or bridges maintenance alone. Intensive spending is owed to the present practice of outdated manual inspection and assessment, and poor structural health monitoring of Philippine infrastructures. As the School of Civil, Environmental, & Geological Engineering of Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) continuous its well driven passion in research based projects, a partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the DPWH launched the application of Structural Health Monitoring, (SHM) in Padre Jacinto Zamora Flyover. The flyover is located along Nagtahan Boulevard in Sta. Mesa, Manila that connects Brgy. 411 and Brgy. 635. It gives service to vehicles going from Lacson Avenue to Mabini Bridge passing over Legarda Flyover. The flyover is chosen among the many located bridges in Metro Manila as the focus of the pilot testing due to its site accessibility, and complete structural built plans and specifications necessary for SHM as provided by the Bureau of Design, BOD department of DPWH. This paper focuses on providing a method to calibrate theoretical readings from STAAD Vi8 Pro and sync the data to actual MEMS accelerometer readings. It is observed that while the design standards used in constructing the flyover was reflected on the model, actual readings of MEMS accelerometer display a large difference compared to the theoretical data ran and taken from STAAD Vi8 Pro. In achieving a true seismic response of the modeled bridge or hence syncing the theoretical data to the actual sensor reading also called as the independent variable of this paper, analysis using single degree of freedom (SDOF) of the flyover under free vibration without damping using STAAD Vi8 Pro is done. The earthquake excitation and bridge responses are subjected to earthquake ground motion in the form of ground acceleration or Peak Ground Acceleration, PGA. Translational acceleration load is used to simulate the ground motion of the time history analysis acceleration record in STAAD Vi8 Pro.

Keywords: accelerometer, analysis using single degree of freedom, micro electro mechanical system, peak ground acceleration, structural health monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 292
582 Machine Learning for Exoplanetary Habitability Assessment

Authors: King Kumire, Amos Kubeka

Abstract:

The synergy of machine learning and astronomical technology advancement is giving rise to the new space age, which is pronounced by better habitability assessments. To initiate this discussion, it should be recorded for definition purposes that the symbiotic relationship between astronomy and improved computing has been code-named the Cis-Astro gateway concept. The cosmological fate of this phrase has been unashamedly plagiarized from the cis-lunar gateway template and its associated LaGrange points which act as an orbital bridge to the moon from our planet Earth. However, for this study, the scientific audience is invited to bridge toward the discovery of new habitable planets. It is imperative to state that cosmic probes of this magnitude can be utilized as the starting nodes of the astrobiological search for galactic life. This research can also assist by acting as the navigation system for future space telescope launches through the delimitation of target exoplanets. The findings and the associated platforms can be harnessed as building blocks for the modeling of climate change on planet earth. The notion that if the human genus exhausts the resources of the planet earth or there is a bug of some sort that makes the earth inhabitable for humans explains the need to find an alternative planet to inhabit. The scientific community, through interdisciplinary discussions of the International Astronautical Federation so far has the common position that engineers can reduce space mission costs by constructing a stable cis-lunar orbit infrastructure for refilling and carrying out other associated in-orbit servicing activities. Similarly, the Cis-Astro gateway can be envisaged as a budget optimization technique that models extra-solar bodies and can facilitate the scoping of future mission rendezvous. It should be registered as well that this broad and voluminous catalog of exoplanets shall be narrowed along the way using machine learning filters. The gist of this topic revolves around the indirect economic rationale of establishing a habitability scoping platform.

Keywords: machine-learning, habitability, exoplanets, supercomputing

Procedia PDF Downloads 64
581 Machine Learning for Exoplanetary Habitability Assessment

Authors: King Kumire, Amos Kubeka

Abstract:

The synergy of machine learning and astronomical technology advancement is giving rise to the new space age, which is pronounced by better habitability assessments. To initiate this discussion, it should be recorded for definition purposes that the symbiotic relationship between astronomy and improved computing has been code-named the Cis-Astro gateway concept. The cosmological fate of this phrase has been unashamedly plagiarized from the cis-lunar gateway template and its associated LaGrange points which act as an orbital bridge to the moon from our planet Earth. However, for this study, the scientific audience is invited to bridge toward the discovery of new habitable planets. It is imperative to state that cosmic probes of this magnitude can be utilized as the starting nodes of the astrobiological search for galactic life. This research can also assist by acting as the navigation system for future space telescope launches through the delimitation of target exoplanets. The findings and the associated platforms can be harnessed as building blocks for the modeling of climate change on planet earth. The notion that if the human genus exhausts the resources of the planet earth or there is a bug of some sort that makes the earth inhabitable for humans explains the need to find an alternative planet to inhabit. The scientific community, through interdisciplinary discussions of the International Astronautical Federation so far, has the common position that engineers can reduce space mission costs by constructing a stable cis-lunar orbit infrastructure for refilling and carrying out other associated in-orbit servicing activities. Similarly, the Cis-Astro gateway can be envisaged as a budget optimization technique that models extra-solar bodies and can facilitate the scoping of future mission rendezvous. It should be registered as well that this broad and voluminous catalog of exoplanets shall be narrowed along the way using machine learning filters. The gist of this topic revolves around the indirect economic rationale of establishing a habitability scoping platform.

Keywords: exoplanets, habitability, machine-learning, supercomputing

Procedia PDF Downloads 81
580 Efficient Energy Extraction Circuit for Impact Harvesting from High Impedance Sources

Authors: Sherif Keddis, Mohamed Azzam, Norbert Schwesinger

Abstract:

Harvesting mechanical energy from footsteps or other impacts is a possibility to enable wireless autonomous sensor nodes. These can be used for a highly efficient control of connected devices such as lights, security systems, air conditioning systems or other smart home applications. They can also be used for accurate location or occupancy monitoring. Converting the mechanical energy into useful electrical energy can be achieved using the piezoelectric effect offering simple harvesting setups and low deflections. The challenge facing piezoelectric transducers is the achievable amount of energy per impact in the lower mJ range and the management of such low energies. Simple setups for energy extraction such as a full wave bridge connected directly to a capacitor are problematic due to the mismatch between high impedance sources and low impedance storage elements. Efficient energy circuits for piezoelectric harvesters are commonly designed for vibration harvesters and require periodic input energies with predictable frequencies. Due to the sporadic nature of impact harvesters, such circuits are not well suited. This paper presents a self-powered circuit that avoids the impedance mismatch during energy extraction by disconnecting the load until the source reaches its charge peak. The switch is implemented with passive components and works independent from the input frequency. Therefore, this circuit is suited for impact harvesting and sporadic inputs. For the same input energy, this circuit stores 150% of the energy in comparison to a directly connected capacitor to a bridge rectifier. The total efficiency, defined as the ratio of stored energy on a capacitor to available energy measured across a matched resistive load, is 63%. Although the resulting energy is already sufficient to power certain autonomous applications, further optimization of the circuit are still under investigation in order to improve the overall efficiency.

Keywords: autonomous sensors, circuit design, energy harvesting, energy management, impact harvester, piezoelectricity

Procedia PDF Downloads 124
579 An Alternative Stratified Cox Model for Correlated Variables in Infant Mortality

Authors: K. A. Adeleke

Abstract:

Often in epidemiological research, introducing stratified Cox model can account for the existence of interactions of some inherent factors with some major/noticeable factors. This research work aimed at modelling correlated variables in infant mortality with the existence of some inherent factors affecting the infant survival function. An alternative semiparametric Stratified Cox model is proposed with a view to take care of multilevel factors that have interactions with others. This, however, was used as a tool to model infant mortality data from Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) with some multilevel factors (Tetanus, Polio, and Breastfeeding) having correlation with main factors (Sex, Size, and Mode of Delivery). Asymptotic properties of the estimators are also studied via simulation. The tested model via data showed good fit and performed differently depending on the levels of the interaction of the strata variable Z*. An evidence that the baseline hazard functions and regression coefficients are not the same from stratum to stratum provides a gain in information as against the usage of Cox model. Simulation result showed that the present method produced better estimates in terms of bias, lower standard errors, and or mean square errors.

Keywords: stratified Cox, semiparametric model, infant mortality, multilevel factors, cofounding variables

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578 Seismic Performance of Highway Bridges with Partially Self-Centering Isolation Bearings against Near-Fault Ground Motions

Authors: Shengxin Yu

Abstract:

Earthquakes can cause varying degrees of damage to building and bridge structures. Traditional laminated natural rubber bearings (NRB) exhibit inadequate energy dissipation and restraint, particularly under near-fault ground motions, resulting in excessive displacements in the superstructure. This paper presents a composite natural rubber bearing (NFUD-NRB) incorporating two types of shape memory alloy (SMA) U-shaped dampers (UD). The bearing exhibits adjustable features, predominantly characterized by partial self-centering and multi-level energy dissipation, facilitated by nickel-titanium-based SMA (NiTi-SMA) and iron-based SMA (Fe-SMA) UDs. The hysteresis characteristics of NFUD-NRB can be tailored by manipulating the configuration of NiTi-SMA and Fe-SMA UDs. Firstly, the proposed bearing's geometric configuration and working principle are introduced. The rationality of the modeling strategy for the bearing is validated through existing experimental results. Parameterized numerical simulations are subsequently performed to investigate the partially self-centering behavior of NFUD-NRB. The findings indicate that NFUD-NRB can attain the anticipated nonlinear behavior and deliver adequate energy dissipation. Finally, the impact of NFUD-NRB on improving the seismic resilience of highway bridges is examined using the OpenSees software, with particular emphasis on the seismic performance of NFUD-NRB under near-fault ground motions. System-level analysis reveals that bridge systems equipped with NFUD-NRBs exhibit satisfactory residual deformations and higher energy dissipation than those equipped with traditional NRBs. Moreover, NFUD-NRB markedly mitigates the detrimental impacts of near-fault ground motions on the main structure of bridges.

Keywords: partially self-centering behavior, energy dissipation, natural rubber bearing, shape memory alloy, U-shaped damper, numerical investigation, near-fault ground motion

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577 An Estimating Parameter of the Mean in Normal Distribution by Maximum Likelihood, Bayes, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods

Authors: Autcha Araveeporn

Abstract:

This paper is to compare the parameter estimation of the mean in normal distribution by Maximum Likelihood (ML), Bayes, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The ML estimator is estimated by the average of data, the Bayes method is considered from the prior distribution to estimate Bayes estimator, and MCMC estimator is approximated by Gibbs sampling from posterior distribution. These methods are also to estimate a parameter then the hypothesis testing is used to check a robustness of the estimators. Data are simulated from normal distribution with the true parameter of mean 2, and variance 4, 9, and 16 when the sample sizes is set as 10, 20, 30, and 50. From the results, it can be seen that the estimation of MLE, and MCMC are perceivably different from the true parameter when the sample size is 10 and 20 with variance 16. Furthermore, the Bayes estimator is estimated from the prior distribution when mean is 1, and variance is 12 which showed the significant difference in mean with variance 9 at the sample size 10 and 20.

Keywords: Bayes method, Markov chain Monte Carlo method, maximum likelihood method, normal distribution

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576 A Case Study on the Field Surveys and Repair of a Marine Approach-Bridge

Authors: S. H. Park, D. W. You

Abstract:

This study is about to the field survey and repair works in a marine approach-bride. In order to evaluate the stability of the ground and the structure, field surveys such as exterior inspection, non-destructive inspection, measurement, and geophysical exploration are carried out. Numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the cause of the abutment displacement at the same time. In addition, repair works are practiced to the region damaged with intent to sustain long-term safety.

Keywords: field survey, expansion joint, repair, maintenance

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575 Heteroscedastic Parametric and Semiparametric Smooth Coefficient Stochastic Frontier Application to Technical Efficiency Measurement

Authors: Rebecca Owusu Coffie, Atakelty Hailu

Abstract:

Variants of production frontier models have emerged, however, only a limited number of them are applied in empirical research. Hence the effects of these alternative frontier models are not well understood, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we apply recent advances in the production frontier to examine levels of technical efficiency and efficiency drivers. Specifically, we compare the heteroscedastic parametric and the semiparametric stochastic smooth coefficient (SPSC) models. Using rice production data from Ghana, our empirical estimates reveal that alternative specification of efficiency estimators results in either downward or upward bias in the technical efficiency estimates. Methodologically, we find that the SPSC model is more suitable and generates high-efficiency estimates. Within the parametric framework, we find that parameterization of both the mean and variance of the pre-truncated function is the best model. For the drivers of technical efficiency, we observed that longer farm distances increase inefficiency through a reduction in labor productivity. High soil quality, however, increases productivity through increased land productivity.

Keywords: pre-truncated, rice production, smooth coefficient, technical efficiency

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574 Investigating the Online Effect of Language on Gesture in Advanced Bilinguals of Two Structurally Different Languages in Comparison to L1 Native Speakers of L2 and Explores Whether Bilinguals Will Follow Target L2 Patterns in Speech and Co-speech

Authors: Armita Ghobadi, Samantha Emerson, Seyda Ozcaliskan

Abstract:

Being a bilingual involves mastery of both speech and gesture patterns in a second language (L2). We know from earlier work in first language (L1) production contexts that speech and co-speech gesture form a tightly integrated system: co-speech gesture mirrors the patterns observed in speech, suggesting an online effect of language on nonverbal representation of events in gesture during the act of speaking (i.e., “thinking for speaking”). Relatively less is known about the online effect of language on gesture in bilinguals speaking structurally different languages. The few existing studies—mostly with small sample sizes—suggests inconclusive findings: some show greater achievement of L2 patterns in gesture with more advanced L2 speech production, while others show preferences for L1 gesture patterns even in advanced bilinguals. In this study, we focus on advanced bilingual speakers of two structurally different languages (Spanish L1 with English L2) in comparison to L1 English speakers. We ask whether bilingual speakers will follow target L2 patterns not only in speech but also in gesture, or alternatively, follow L2 patterns in speech but resort to L1 patterns in gesture. We examined this question by studying speech and gestures produced by 23 advanced adult Spanish (L1)-English (L2) bilinguals (Mage=22; SD=7) and 23 monolingual English speakers (Mage=20; SD=2). Participants were shown 16 animated motion event scenes that included distinct manner and path components (e.g., "run over the bridge"). We recorded and transcribed all participant responses for speech and segmented it into sentence units that included at least one motion verb and its associated arguments. We also coded all gestures that accompanied each sentence unit. We focused on motion event descriptions as it shows strong crosslinguistic differences in the packaging of motion elements in speech and co-speech gesture in first language production contexts. English speakers synthesize manner and path into a single clause or gesture (he runs over the bridge; running fingers forward), while Spanish speakers express each component separately (manner-only: el corre=he is running; circle arms next to body conveying running; path-only: el cruza el puente=he crosses the bridge; trace finger forward conveying trajectory). We tallied all responses by group and packaging type, separately for speech and co-speech gesture. Our preliminary results (n=4/group) showed that productions in English L1 and Spanish L1 differed, with greater preference for conflated packaging in L1 English and separated packaging in L1 Spanish—a pattern that was also largely evident in co-speech gesture. Bilinguals’ production in L2 English, however, followed the patterns of the target language in speech—with greater preference for conflated packaging—but not in gesture. Bilinguals used separated and conflated strategies in gesture in roughly similar rates in their L2 English, showing an effect of both L1 and L2 on co-speech gesture. Our results suggest that online production of L2 language has more limited effects on L2 gestures and that mastery of native-like patterns in L2 gesture might take longer than native-like L2 speech patterns.

Keywords: bilingualism, cross-linguistic variation, gesture, second language acquisition, thinking for speaking hypothesis

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573 A Low-Voltage Synchronous Command for JFET Rectifiers

Authors: P. Monginaud, J. C. Baudey

Abstract:

The synchronous, low-voltage command for JFET Rectifiers has many applications: indeed, replacing the traditional diodes by these components allows enhanced performances in gain, linearity and phase shift. We introduce here a new bridge, including JFET associated with pull-down, bipolar command systems, and double-purpose logic gates.

Keywords: synchronous, rectifier, MOSFET, JFET, bipolar command system, push-pull circuits, double-purpose logic gates

Procedia PDF Downloads 337
572 Quasi-Photon Monte Carlo on Radiative Heat Transfer: An Importance Sampling and Learning Approach

Authors: Utkarsh A. Mishra, Ankit Bansal

Abstract:

At high temperature, radiative heat transfer is the dominant mode of heat transfer. It is governed by various phenomena such as photon emission, absorption, and scattering. The solution of the governing integrodifferential equation of radiative transfer is a complex process, more when the effect of participating medium and wavelength properties are taken into consideration. Although a generic formulation of such radiative transport problem can be modeled for a wide variety of problems with non-gray, non-diffusive surfaces, there is always a trade-off between simplicity and accuracy of the problem. Recently, solutions of complicated mathematical problems with statistical methods based on randomization of naturally occurring phenomena have gained significant importance. Photon bundles with discrete energy can be replicated with random numbers describing the emission, absorption, and scattering processes. Photon Monte Carlo (PMC) is a simple, yet powerful technique, to solve radiative transfer problems in complicated geometries with arbitrary participating medium. The method, on the one hand, increases the accuracy of estimation, and on the other hand, increases the computational cost. The participating media -generally a gas, such as CO₂, CO, and H₂O- present complex emission and absorption spectra. To model the emission/absorption accurately with random numbers requires a weighted sampling as different sections of the spectrum carries different importance. Importance sampling (IS) was implemented to sample random photon of arbitrary wavelength, and the sampled data provided unbiased training of MC estimators for better results. A better replacement to uniform random numbers is using deterministic, quasi-random sequences. Halton, Sobol, and Faure Low-Discrepancy Sequences are used in this study. They possess better space-filling performance than the uniform random number generator and gives rise to a low variance, stable Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) estimators with faster convergence. An optimal supervised learning scheme was further considered to reduce the computation costs of the PMC simulation. A one-dimensional plane-parallel slab problem with participating media was formulated. The history of some randomly sampled photon bundles is recorded to train an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), back-propagation model. The flux was calculated using the standard quasi PMC and was considered to be the training target. Results obtained with the proposed model for the one-dimensional problem are compared with the exact analytical and PMC model with the Line by Line (LBL) spectral model. The approximate variance obtained was around 3.14%. Results were analyzed with respect to time and the total flux in both cases. A significant reduction in variance as well a faster rate of convergence was observed in the case of the QMC method over the standard PMC method. However, the results obtained with the ANN method resulted in greater variance (around 25-28%) as compared to the other cases. There is a great scope of machine learning models to help in further reduction of computation cost once trained successfully. Multiple ways of selecting the input data as well as various architectures will be tried such that the concerned environment can be fully addressed to the ANN model. Better results can be achieved in this unexplored domain.

Keywords: radiative heat transfer, Monte Carlo Method, pseudo-random numbers, low discrepancy sequences, artificial neural networks

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571 Progressive Type-I Interval Censoring with Binomial Removal-Estimation and Its Properties

Authors: Sonal Budhiraja, Biswabrata Pradhan

Abstract:

This work considers statistical inference based on progressive Type-I interval censored data with random removal. The scheme of progressive Type-I interval censoring with random removal can be described as follows. Suppose n identical items are placed on a test at time T0 = 0 under k pre-fixed inspection times at pre-specified times T1 < T2 < . . . < Tk, where Tk is the scheduled termination time of the experiment. At inspection time Ti, Ri of the remaining surviving units Si, are randomly removed from the experiment. The removal follows a binomial distribution with parameters Si and pi for i = 1, . . . , k, with pk = 1. In this censoring scheme, the number of failures in different inspection intervals and the number of randomly removed items at pre-specified inspection times are observed. Asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) are established under some regularity conditions. A β-content γ-level tolerance interval (TI) is determined for two parameters Weibull lifetime model using the asymptotic properties of MLEs. The minimum sample size required to achieve the desired β-content γ-level TI is determined. The performance of the MLEs and TI is studied via simulation.

Keywords: asymptotic normality, consistency, regularity conditions, simulation study, tolerance interval

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570 An Approach for Estimation in Hierarchical Clustered Data Applicable to Rare Diseases

Authors: Daniel C. Bonzo

Abstract:

Practical considerations lead to the use of unit of analysis within subjects, e.g., bleeding episodes or treatment-related adverse events, in rare disease settings. This is coupled with data augmentation techniques such as extrapolation to enlarge the subject base. In general, one can think about extrapolation of data as extending information and conclusions from one estimand to another estimand. This approach induces hierarchichal clustered data with varying cluster sizes. Extrapolation of clinical trial data is being accepted increasingly by regulatory agencies as a means of generating data in diverse situations during drug development process. Under certain circumstances, data can be extrapolated to a different population, a different but related indication, and different but similar product. We consider here the problem of estimation (point and interval) using a mixed-models approach under an extrapolation. It is proposed that estimators (point and interval) be constructed using weighting schemes for the clusters, e.g., equally weighted and with weights proportional to cluster size. Simulated data generated under varying scenarios are then used to evaluate the performance of this approach. In conclusion, the evaluation result showed that the approach is a useful means for improving statistical inference in rare disease settings and thus aids not only signal detection but risk-benefit evaluation as well.

Keywords: clustered data, estimand, extrapolation, mixed model

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569 As a Secure Bridge Country about Oil and Gas Sources Transfer after Arab Spring: Turkey

Authors: Fatih Ercin Guney, Hami Karagol

Abstract:

Day by day, humanity's energy needs increase, to facilitate access to energy sources by energy importing countries is of great importance in terms of issues both in terms of economic security and political security. The geographical location of the oil exporting countries in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar) today, it is observed that evaluated by emerging Arab Spring(from Tunisia to Egypt) and freedom battles(in Syria) with security issues arise sourced from terrorist activities(ISIS). Progresses related with limited natural resources, energy and it's transportation issues which worries the developing countries, the energy in the region is considered to how to transfer safely. North Region of the Black Sea , the beginning of the conflict in the regional nature formed between Russia and Ukraine (2010), followed by the relevant regions of the power transmission line (From Russia to Europe) the discovery is considered to be the east's hand began to strengthen in terms of both the economical and political sides. With the growing need for safe access to the west of the new energy transmission lines are followed by Turkey, re-interest is considered to be shifted to the Mediterranean and the Middle East by West. Also, Russia, Iran and China (three axis of east) are generally performing as carry out parallel policies about energy , economical side and security in both United Nations Security Council (Two of Five Permanent Members are Russia and China) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In addition, Eastern Mediterranean Region Tension are rapidly increasing about research new oil and natural gas sources by Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon. This paper provides, new energy corridor(s) are needed to transfer sources (Oil&Natural Gas) by Europe from East to West. So The West needs either safe bridge country to transfer natural sources to Europe in region or is needed to discovery new natural sources in extraterritorial waters of Eastern Mediterranean Region. But in two opportunities are evaluated with secure transfer corridors form region to Europe in safely. Even if the natural sources can be discovered, they are considered to transfer in safe manner. This paper involved, Turkey’s importance as a leader country in region over both of political and safe energy transfer sides as bridge country between south and north of Turkey why natural sources shall be transferred over Turkey, Even if diplomatic issues-For Example; Cyprus membership in European Union, Turkey membership candidate duration, Israel-Cyprus- Egypt-Lebanon researches about new natural sources in Mediterranean - occurred. But politic balance in Middle-East is changing quickly because of lack of democratic governments in region. So it is evaluated that the alliance of natural sources researches may not be long-time relations due to share sources after discoveries. After evaluating over causes and reasons, aim to reach finding foresight about future of region for energy transfer periods in secure manner.

Keywords: Middle East, natural gas, oil, Turkey

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568 Statistical Characteristics of Code Formula for Design of Concrete Structures

Authors: Inyeol Paik, Ah-Ryang Kim

Abstract:

In this research, a statistical analysis is carried out to examine the statistical properties of the formula given in the design code for concrete structures. The design formulas of the Korea highway bridge design code - the limit state design method (KHBDC) which is the current national bridge design code and the design code for concrete structures by Korea Concrete Institute (KCI) are applied for the analysis. The safety levels provided by the strength formulas of the design codes are defined based on the probabilistic and statistical theory.KHBDC is a reliability-based design code. The load and resistance factors of this code were calibrated to attain the target reliability index. It is essential to define the statistical properties for the design formulas in this calibration process. In general, the statistical characteristics of a member strength are due to the following three factors. The first is due to the difference between the material strength of the actual construction and that used in the design calculation. The second is the difference between the actual dimensions of the constructed sections and those used in design calculation. The third is the difference between the strength of the actual member and the formula simplified for the design calculation. In this paper, the statistical study is focused on the third difference. The formulas for calculating the shear strength of concrete members are presented in different ways in KHBDC and KCI. In this study, the statistical properties of design formulas were obtained through comparison with the database which comprises the experimental results from the reference publications. The test specimen was either reinforced with the shear stirrup or not. For an applied database, the bias factor was about 1.12 and the coefficient of variation was about 0.18. By applying the statistical properties of the design formula to the reliability analysis, it is shown that the resistance factors of the current design codes satisfy the target reliability indexes of both codes. Also, the minimum resistance factors of the KHBDC which is written in the material resistance factor format and KCE which is in the member resistance format are obtained and the results are presented. A further research is underway to calibrate the resistance factors of the high strength and high-performance concrete design guide.

Keywords: concrete design code, reliability analysis, resistance factor, shear strength, statistical property

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567 State Estimation of a Biotechnological Process Using Extended Kalman Filter and Particle Filter

Authors: R. Simutis, V. Galvanauskas, D. Levisauskas, J. Repsyte, V. Grincas

Abstract:

This paper deals with advanced state estimation algorithms for estimation of biomass concentration and specific growth rate in a typical fed-batch biotechnological process. This biotechnological process was represented by a nonlinear mass-balance based process model. Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Particle Filter (PF) was used to estimate the unmeasured state variables from oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and base consumption (BC) measurements. To obtain more general results, a simplified process model was involved in EKF and PF estimation algorithms. This model doesn’t require any special growth kinetic equations and could be applied for state estimation in various bioprocesses. The focus of this investigation was concentrated on the comparison of the estimation quality of the EKF and PF estimators by applying different measurement noises. The simulation results show that Particle Filter algorithm requires significantly more computation time for state estimation but gives lower estimation errors both for biomass concentration and specific growth rate. Also the tuning procedure for Particle Filter is simpler than for EKF. Consequently, Particle Filter should be preferred in real applications, especially for monitoring of industrial bioprocesses where the simplified implementation procedures are always desirable.

Keywords: biomass concentration, extended Kalman filter, particle filter, state estimation, specific growth rate

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566 Northern Istanbul Urban Infrastructure Projects: A Critical Account on the Environmental, Spatial, Social and Economical Impacts

Authors: Evren Aysev Denec

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As an urban settlement dating as early as 8000 years and the capital for Byzantine and Ottoman empires; İstanbul has been a significant global city throughout history. The most drastic changes in the macro form of Istanbul have taken place in the last seven decades; starting from 1950’s with rapid industrialization and population growth; pacing up after the 1980’s with the efforts of integration to the global capitalist system; reaching to a climax in the 2000’s with the adaptation of a neoliberal urban regime. Today, the rate of urbanization together with land speculation and real estate investment has been growing enormously. Every inch of urban land is conceptualized as a commodity to be capitalized. This neoliberal mindset has many controversial implementations, from the privatization of public land to the urban transformation of historic neighbourhoods and consumption of natural resources. The planning decisions concerning the city have been mainly top down initiations; conceptualising historical, cultural and natural heritage as commodities to be capitalised and consumed in favour of creating rent value. One of the most crucial implementations of this neoliberal urban regime is the project of establishing a ‘new city’ around northern Istanbul; together with a number of large-scale infrastructural projects such as the Third Bosporus Bridge; a new highway system, a Third Airport Project and a secondary Bosporus project called the ‘Canal Istanbul’. Urbanizing northern Istanbul is highly controversial as this area consists of major natural resources of the city; being the northern forests, water supplies and wildlife; which are bound to be destroyed to a great extent following the implementations. The construction of the third bridge and the third airport has begun in 2013, despite environmental objections and protests. Over five hundred thousand trees are planned be cut for solely the construction of the bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway. Yet the real damage will be the urbanization of the forest area; irreversibly corrupting the natural resources and attracting millions of additional population towards Istanbul. Furthermore, these projects lack an integrated planning scope as the plans prepared for Istanbul are constantly subjected to alterations forced by the central government. Urban interventions mentioned above are executed despite the rulings of Istanbul Environmental plan, due to top down planning decisions. Instead of an integrated action plan that prepares for the future of the city, Istanbul is governed by partial plans and projects that are issued by a profit based agenda; supported by legal alterations and laws issued by the central government. This paper aims to discuss the ongoing implementations with regards to northern Istanbul; claiming that they are not merely infrastructural interventions but parts of a greater neoliberal urbanization strategy. In the course of the study, firstly a brief account on the northern forests of Istanbul will be presented. Then, the projects will be discussed in detail, addressing how the current planning schemes deal with the natural heritage of the city. Lastly, concluding remarks on how the implementations could affect the future of Istanbul will be presented.

Keywords: Istanbul, urban design, urban planning, natural resources

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565 Design and Simulation Interface Circuit for Piezoresistive Accelerometers with Offset Cancellation Ability

Authors: Mohsen Bagheri, Ahmad Afifi

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This paper presents a new method for read out of the piezoresistive accelerometer sensors. The circuit works based on instrumentation amplifier and it is useful for reducing offset in Wheatstone bridge. The obtained gain is 645 with 1 μv/°c equivalent drift and 1.58 mw power consumption. A Schmitt trigger and multiplexer circuit control output node. A high speed counter is designed in this work. The proposed circuit is designed and simulated in 0.18 μm CMOS technology with 1.8 v power supply.

Keywords: piezoresistive accelerometer, zero offset, Schmitt trigger, bidirectional reversible counter

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564 Design and Analysis of Adaptive Type-I Progressive Hybrid Censoring Plan under Step Stress Partially Accelerated Life Testing Using Competing Risk

Authors: Ariful Islam, Showkat Ahmad Lone

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Statistical distributions have long been employed in the assessment of semiconductor devices and product reliability. The power function-distribution is one of the most important distributions in the modern reliability practice and can be frequently preferred over mathematically more complex distributions, such as the Weibull and the lognormal, because of its simplicity. Moreover, it may exhibit a better fit for failure data and provide more appropriate information about reliability and hazard rates in some circumstances. This study deals with estimating information about failure times of items under step-stress partially accelerated life tests for competing risk based on adoptive type-I progressive hybrid censoring criteria. The life data of the units under test is assumed to follow Mukherjee-Islam distribution. The point and interval maximum-likelihood estimations are obtained for distribution parameters and tampering coefficient. The performances of the resulting estimators of the developed model parameters are evaluated and investigated by using a simulation algorithm.

Keywords: adoptive progressive hybrid censoring, competing risk, mukherjee-islam distribution, partially accelerated life testing, simulation study

Procedia PDF Downloads 320
563 156vdc to 110vac Sinusoidal Inverter Simulation and Implementation

Authors: Phinyo Mueangmeesap

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This paper describes about pure sinusoidal inverter simulation and implementation from high voltage DC (156 Vdc). This simulation is to study and improve the efficiency of the inverter. By reducing the loss of power from boost converter in current inverter. The simulation is done by using the H-bridge circuit with pulse width modulate (PWM) signal and low-pass filter circuit. To convert the DC into AC. This paper used the PSCad for simulation. The result of simulation can be used to create prototype inverter by converting 156 Vdc to 110Vac. The inverter gives the output signal similar to the output from a simulation.

Keywords: inverter simulation, PWM signal, single-phase inverter, sinusoidal inverter

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562 A Single-Channel BSS-Based Method for Structural Health Monitoring of Civil Infrastructure under Environmental Variations

Authors: Yanjie Zhu, André Jesus, Irwanda Laory

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Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), involving data acquisition, data interpretation and decision-making system aim to continuously monitor the structural performance of civil infrastructures under various in-service circumstances. The main value and purpose of SHM is identifying damages through data interpretation system. Research on SHM has been expanded in the last decades and a large volume of data is recorded every day owing to the dramatic development in sensor techniques and certain progress in signal processing techniques. However, efficient and reliable data interpretation for damage detection under environmental variations is still a big challenge. Structural damages might be masked because variations in measured data can be the result of environmental variations. This research reports a novel method based on single-channel Blind Signal Separation (BSS), which extracts environmental effects from measured data directly without any prior knowledge of the structure loading and environmental conditions. Despite the successful application in audio processing and bio-medical research fields, BSS has never been used to detect damage under varying environmental conditions. This proposed method optimizes and combines Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) together to separate structural responses due to different loading conditions respectively from a single channel input signal. The ICA is applying on dimension-reduced output of EEMD. Numerical simulation of a truss bridge, inspired from New Joban Line Arakawa Railway Bridge, is used to validate this method. All results demonstrate that the single-channel BSS-based method can recover temperature effects from mixed structural response recorded by a single sensor with a convincing accuracy. This will be the foundation of further research on direct damage detection under varying environment.

Keywords: damage detection, ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), environmental variations, independent component analysis (ICA), principal component analysis (PCA), structural health monitoring (SHM)

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561 What Happens When We Try to Bridge the Science-Practice Gap? An Example from the Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law

Authors: Alice Brites, Gerd Sparovek, Jean Paul Metzger, Ricardo Rodrigues

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The segregation between science and policy in decision making process hinders nature conservation efforts worldwide. Scientists have been criticized for not producing information that leads to effective solutions for environmental problems. In an attempt to bridge this gap between science and practice, we conducted a project aimed at supporting the implementation of the Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL) implementation in São Paulo State (SP), Brazil. To do so, we conducted multiple open meetings with the stakeholders involved in this discussion. Throughout this process, we raised stakeholders' demands for scientific information and brought feedbacks about our findings. However, our main scientific advice was not taken into account during the NVPL implementation in SP. The NVPL has a mechanism that exempts landholders who converted native vegetation without offending the legislation in place at the time of the conversion from restoration requirements. We found out that there were no accurate spatialized data for native vegetation cover before the 1960s. Thus, the initial benchmark for the mechanism application should be the 1965 Brazilian Forest Act. Even so, SP kept the 1934 Brazilian Forest Act as the initial legal benchmark for the law application. This decision implies the use of a probabilistic native vegetation map that has uncertainty and subjectivity as its intrinsic characteristics, thus its use can lead to legal queries, corruption, and an unfair benefit application. But why this decision was made even after the scientific advice was vastly divulgated? We raised some possible reasons to explain it. First, the decision was made during a government transition, showing that circumstantial political events can overshadow scientific arguments. Second, the debate about the NVPL in SP was not pacified and powerful stakeholders could benefit from the confusion created by this decision. Finally, the native vegetation protection mechanism is a complex issue, with many technical aspects that can be hard to understand for a non-specialized courtroom, such as the one that made the final decision at SP. This example shows that science and decision-makers still have a long way ahead to improve their way to interact and that science needs to find its way to be heard above the political buzz.

Keywords: Brazil, forest act, science-based dialogue, science-policy interface

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560 Soil-Structure Interaction in a Case Study Bridge: Seismic Response under Moderate and Strong Near-Fault Earthquakes

Authors: Nastaran Cheshmehkaboodi, Lotfi Guizani, Noureddine Ghlamallah

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Seismic isolation proves to be a powerful technology in reducing seismic hazards and enhancing overall structural resilience. However, the performance of the technology can be influenced by various factors, including seismic inputs and soil conditions. This research aims to investigate the effects of moderate and strong earthquakes associated with different distances of the source on the seismic responses of conventional and isolated bridges, considering the soil-structure interaction effects. Two groups of moderate and strong near-fault records are applied to the conventional and isolated bridges, with and without considering the underlying soil. For this purpose, using the direct method, three soil properties representing rock, dense, and stiff soils are modeled in Abaqus software. Nonlinear time history analysis is carried out, and structural responses in terms of maximum deck acceleration, deck displacement, and isolation system displacement are studied. The comparison of dynamic responses between both earthquake groups demonstrates a consistent pattern, indicating that the bridge performance and the effects of soil-structure interaction are primarily influenced by the ground motions and their frequency contents. Low ratios of PGA/PGV are found to significantly impact all dynamic responses, resulting in higher force and displacement responses, regardless of the distance associated with the ruptured fault. In addition, displacement responses increase drastically on softer soils. Thus, meticulous consideration is crucial in designing isolation systems to avoid underestimating displacement demands and to ensure sufficient displacement capacity. Despite a lower PGA value in high seismicity areas in this study, the acceleration demand during strong earthquakes is up to 1.3 times higher in conventional bridges and up to 3 times higher in isolated bridges than in moderate earthquakes. Additionally, the displacement demand in strong earthquakes is up to 2 times higher in conventional bridges and up to 5 times higher in isolated bridges compared to moderate earthquakes, highlighting the increased force and displacement demand in strong earthquakes.

Keywords: bridges, seismic isolation, near-fault, earthquake characteristics, soil-structure interaction

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559 Investigation of Riprap Stability on Roughness Bridge Pier in River Bend

Authors: A. Alireza Masjedi, B. Amir Taeedi

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In this research, by placing the two cylindrical piers without roughness and with roughness with riprap around its, they proceeded to a series of tests. Experiments were done by three relative diameters of riprap with density 2.1 and one rate of discharge 27 lit/s under pure water condition. In each experiment, flow depth measured in terms of failure threshold then stability number calculated by using data obtained. The results of the research showed that the riprap stability in pier with roughness is more pier without roughness because of the pier with roughness is sharp-pointed and reduced horseshoe vortex.

Keywords: riprap stability, roughness, river bend, froude number

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558 Effect of Riprap Stability on Roughness Bridge Pier in River Bend

Authors: Alireza Masjedi, Amir Taeedi

Abstract:

In this research, by placing the two cylindrical piers without roughness and with roughness with riprap around its, they proceeded to a series of tests. Experiments were done by three relative diameters of riprap with density 2.1 and one rate of discharge 27 lit/s under pure water condition. In each experiment, flow depth measured in terms of failure threshold then stability number calculated by using data obtained. The results of the research showed that the riprap stability in pier with roughness is more pier without roughness because of the pier with roughness is sharp-pointed and reduced horseshoe vortex.

Keywords: riprap stability, roughness, river bend, froude number

Procedia PDF Downloads 306
557 Social Network Roles in Organizations: Influencers, Bridges, and Soloists

Authors: Sofia Dokuka, Liz Lockhart, Alex Furman

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Organizational hierarchy, traditionally composed of individual contributors, middle management, and executives, is enhanced by the understanding of informal social roles. These roles, identified with organizational network analysis (ONA), might have an important effect on organizational functioning. In this paper, we identify three social roles – influencers, bridges, and soloists, and provide empirical analysis based on real-world organizational networks. Influencers are employees with broad networks and whose contacts also have rich networks. Influence is calculated using PageRank, initially proposed for measuring website importance, but now applied in various network settings, including social networks. Influencers, having high PageRank, become key players in shaping opinions and behaviors within an organization. Bridges serve as links between loosely connected groups within the organization. Bridges are identified using betweenness and Burt’s constraint. Betweenness quantifies a node's control over information flows by evaluating its role in the control over the shortest paths within the network. Burt's constraint measures the extent of interconnection among an individual's contacts. A high constraint value suggests fewer structural holes and lesser control over information flows, whereas a low value suggests the contrary. Soloists are individuals with fewer than 5 stable social contacts, potentially facing challenges due to reduced social interaction and hypothetical lack of feedback and communication. We considered social roles in the analysis of real-world organizations (N=1,060). Based on data from digital traces (Slack, corporate email and calendar) we reconstructed an organizational communication network and identified influencers, bridges and soloists. We also collected employee engagement data through an online survey. Among the top-5% of influencers, 10% are members of the Executive Team. 56% of the Executive Team members are part of the top influencers group. The same proportion of top influencers (10%) is individual contributors, accounting for just 0.6% of all individual contributors in the company. The majority of influencers (80%) are at the middle management level. Out of all middle managers, 19% hold the role of influencers. However, individual contributors represent a small proportion of influencers, and having information about these individuals who hold influential roles can be crucial for management in identifying high-potential talents. Among the bridges, 4% are members of the Executive Team, 16% are individual contributors, and 80% are middle management. Predominantly middle management acts as a bridge. Bridge positions of some members of the executive team might indicate potential micromanagement on the leader's part. Recognizing the individuals serving as bridges in an organization uncovers potential communication problems. The majority of soloists are individual contributors (96%), and 4% of soloists are from middle management. These managers might face communication difficulties. We found an association between being an influencer and attitude toward a company's direction. There is a statistically significant 20% higher perception that the company is headed in the right direction among influencers compared to non-influencers (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test). Taken together, we demonstrate that considering social roles in the company might indicate both positive and negative aspects of organizational functioning that should be considered in data-driven decision-making.

Keywords: organizational network analysis, social roles, influencer, bridge, soloist

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556 Optimal Design of Step-Stress Partially Life Test Using Multiply Censored Exponential Data with Random Removals

Authors: Showkat Ahmad Lone, Ahmadur Rahman, Ariful Islam

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The major assumption in accelerated life tests (ALT) is that the mathematical model relating the lifetime of a test unit and the stress are known or can be assumed. In some cases, such life–stress relationships are not known and cannot be assumed, i.e. ALT data cannot be extrapolated to use condition. So, in such cases, partially accelerated life test (PALT) is a more suitable test to be performed for which tested units are subjected to both normal and accelerated conditions. This study deals with estimating information about failure times of items under step-stress partially accelerated life tests using progressive failure-censored hybrid data with random removals. The life data of the units under test is considered to follow exponential life distribution. The removals from the test are assumed to have binomial distributions. The point and interval maximum likelihood estimations are obtained for unknown distribution parameters and tampering coefficient. An optimum test plan is developed using the D-optimality criterion. The performances of the resulting estimators of the developed model parameters are evaluated and investigated by using a simulation algorithm.

Keywords: binomial distribution, d-optimality, multiple censoring, optimal design, partially accelerated life testing, simulation study

Procedia PDF Downloads 297
555 The Interpretation of World Order by Epistemic Communities in Security Studies

Authors: Gabriel A. Orozco

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The purpose of this article is to make an approach to the Security Studies, exposing their theories and concepts to understand the role that have had in the interpretation of the changes and continuities of the world order and their impact on policies or decision-making facing the problems of the 21st century. The aim is to build a bridge between the security studies as a subfield and the meaning that has been given to the world order. The idea of epistemic communities serves as a methodological proposal about the different programs of research in security studies, showing their influence in the realities of States, intergovernmental organizations and transnational forces, moving to implement, perpetuate and project a vision of the world order.

Keywords: security studies, epistemic communities, international, relations

Procedia PDF Downloads 245