Search results for: External explosion

Authors: Zhichao Zhao, Yi Liu, Shunping Xiao

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A new data fusion method called joint probability density matrix (JPDM) is proposed, which can associate and fuse measurements from spatially distributed heterogeneous sensors to identify the real target in a surveillance region. Using the probabilistic grids representation, we numerically combine the uncertainty regions of all the measurements in a general framework. The NP-hard multisensor data fusion problem has been converted to a peak picking problem in the grids map. Unlike most of the existing data fusion method, the JPDM method dose not need association processing, and will not lead to combinatorial explosion. Its convergence to the CRLB with a diminishing grid size has been proved. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

Keywords: Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB), data fusion, probabilistic grids, joint probability density matrix, localization, sensor network.

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Authors: Rana Soltani-Zarrin, Sohrab Khanmohammadi

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In this paper, a new method for multi criteria decision making is represented whichspecifies a trajectory satisfying desired criteria including minimization of time. A rescue robot is defined to perform certain tasks before the arrival of rescue team, including evaluation of the probability of explosion in the area, detecting human-beings, and providing preliminary aidsin case of identifying signs of life, so that the security of the surroundings will have enhanced significantly for the individuals inside the disaster zone as well as the rescue team. The main idea behind our technique is using the Program Evaluation and Review Technique analysis along with Critical Path Method and use the Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method to decidewhich set of activities must be performed first. Since the disastrous event in one area may be well contagious to others, it is one of the robot's priorities to evaluate the relative adversity of the situation, using the above methods and prioritize its mission.

Keywords: PERT, CPM, MCDM.

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Authors: Partha Banerjee, Aritra Acharyya, Arindam Biswas, A. K. Bhattacharjee, Amit Banerjee, Hiroshi Inokawa

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The effect of magnetic field on the noise performance of the magnetic field tunable avalanche transit time (MAGTATT) device based on Si, designed to operate at W-band (75 – 110 GHz), has been studied in this paper. A comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) model has been developed. The simulation results show that due to the presence of applied external transverse magnetic field, both the noise spectral density and noise measure of the MAGTATT device increase significantly. The noise performance of the device has been found to be further deteriorated if the magnetic field strength is further increased. Hence, in order to achieve the magnetic field tuning of the radio frequency (RF) properties of impact avalanche transit time (IMPATT) source, the noise performance of it has to be sacrificed in fair extent. Moreover, it clearly indicates that an IMPATT source must be covered with appropriate magnetic shielding material to avoid undesirable shift in operating frequency and output power and objectionable amount of deterioration in noise performance due to the presence of external magnetic field.

Keywords: 2-D model, IMPATT, MAGTATT, mm-wave, noise performance.

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Authors: A. Mavrikos, N. Petsas, E. Kaltsi, D. Kaliampakos

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The lignite-fired power plants in the Western Macedonia Lignite Center produce more than 810⁶ t of fly ash per year. Approximately 90% of this quantity is used for restoration-reclamation of exhausted open-cast lignite mines and slope stabilization of the overburden. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the environmental behavior of the mixture of waste rock and fly ash that is being used in the external deposition site of the South Field lignite mine. For this reason, a borehole was made within the site and 86 samples were taken and subjected to chemical analyses and leaching tests. The results showed very limited leaching of trace elements and heavy metals from this mixture. Moreover, when compared to the limit values set for waste acceptable in inert waste landfills, only few excesses were observed, indicating only minor risk for groundwater pollution. However, due to the complexity of both the leaching process and the contaminant pathway, more boreholes and analyses should be made in nearby locations and a systematic groundwater monitoring program should be implemented both downstream and within the external deposition site.

Keywords: Co-deposition, fly ash, leaching tests, lignite, waste rock.

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Authors: Elysia Barker, Jian Guo Zhou, Ling Qian, Steve Decent

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A method of modelling topography used in the simulation of riverbeds is proposed in this paper which removes the need for datapoints and measurements of a physical terrain. While complex scans of the contours of a surface can be achieved with other methods, this requires specialised tools which the proposed method overcomes by using fractional Brownian motion (FBM) as a basis to estimate the real surface within a 15% margin of error while attempting to optimise algorithmic efficiency. This removes the need for complex, expensive equipment and reduces resources spent modelling bed topography. This method also accounts for the change in topography over time due to erosion, sediment transport, and other external factors which could affect the topography of the ground by updating its parameters and generating a new bed. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to simulate both stationary and steady flow cases in a side-by-side comparison over the generated bed topography using the proposed method, and a test case taken from an external source. The method, if successful, will be incorporated into the current LBM program used in the testing phase, which will allow an automatic generation of topography for the given situation in future research, removing the need for bed data to be specified.

Keywords: Bed topography, FBM, LBM, shallow water, simulations.

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Authors: L. Dahmani, M.Kouane

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In this paper are illustrated the principal aspects connected with the numerical evaluation of thermal stress induced by high gradient temperature in the concrete beam. The reinforced concrete beam has many advantages over steel beam, such as high resistance to high temperature, high resistance to thermal shock, Better resistance to fatigue and buckling, strong resistance against, fire, explosion, etc. The main drawback of the reinforced concrete beam is its poor resistance to tensile stresses. In order to investigate the thermal induced tensile stresses, a numerical model of a transient thermal analysis is presented for the evaluation of thermo-mechanical response of concrete beam to the high temperature, taking into account the temperature dependence of the thermo physical properties of the concrete like thermal conductivity and specific heat.

Keywords: Cracking, Gradient Temperature, Reinforced Concrete beam, Thermo-mechanical analysis.

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Authors: Andre Slonopas, Warren Thompson, Zona Kostic

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Obfuscation is one of the most useful tools to prevent network compromise. Previous research focused on the obfuscation of the network communications between external-facing edge devices. This work proposes the use of two edge devices, external and internal facing, which communicates via private IPv4 addresses in a software-defined pseudo-random IP hopping. This methodology does not require additional IP addresses and/or resources to implement. Statistical analyses demonstrate that the hopping surface must be at least 1e3 IP addresses in size with a broad standard deviation to minimize the possibility of coincidence of monitored and communication IPs. The probability of breaking the hopping algorithm requires a collection of at least 1e6 samples, which for large hopping surfaces will take years to collect. The probability of dropped packets is controlled via memory buffers and the frequency of hops and can be reduced to levels acceptable for video streaming. This methodology provides an impenetrable layer of security ideal for information and supervisory control and data acquisition systems.

Keywords: Moving Target Defense, cybersecurity, network security, hopping randomization, software defined network, network security theory.

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Authors: Mojtaba Ghodsi, Hamidreza Ziaifar, Morteza Mohammadzaheri, Payam Soltani

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This article presents an analytical model to estimate the harvested power from a Magnetostrictive cantilevered beam with tip excitation. Furthermore, the effects of internal and external damping on harvested power are investigated. The magnetostrictive material in this harvester is Galfenol. In comparison to other popular smart materials like Terfenol-D, Galfenol has higher strength and machinability. In this article, first, a mechanical model of the Euler-Bernoulli beam is employed to calculate the deflection of the harvester. Then, the magneto-mechanical equation of Galfenol is combined with Faraday's law to calculate the generated voltage of the Magnetostrictive cantilevered beam harvester. Finally, the beam model is incorporated in the aforementioned combination. The results show that a 30×8.5×1 mm Galfenol cantilever beam harvester with 80 turn pickup coil can generate up to 3.7 mV and 9 mW. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis made by Response Surface Method (RSM) shows that the harvested power is only sensitive to the internal damping coefficient.

Keywords: Internal damping coefficient, external damping coefficient, Euler-Bernoulli, energy harvester, Galfenol, magnetostrictive, response surface method.

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Authors: Racha Khairallah, Lamia Ben Hamida

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Our paper attempts to examine how Swiss manufacturing firms manage to learn from patent citations to improve their innovation performance. We argue that the assessment of these effects needs a detailed analysis of spillovers according to the source of knowledge with respect to formal and informal patent citations made in European and internal search, the horizontal and vertical mechanisms by which knowledge spillovers take place, and the technological characteristics of innovative firms that able them to absorb external knowledge and integrate it in their existing innovation process. We use Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data and find evidence that knowledge spillovers occur only from horizontal and backward linkages. The importance of these effects depends on the type of citation, in which the references to non-patent literature (informal citations made in European and international searches) have a greater impact. In addition, only firms with high technological capacities benefit from knowledge spillovers from formal and informal citations. Low-technology firms fail to catch up and efficiently learn external knowledge from patent citations.

Keywords: Innovation performance, patent citation, absorptive capacity, knowledge spillover mechanisms.

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Authors: Angelo Lerro, Manuela Battipede, Piero Gili, Alberto Brandl

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Redundancy requirements for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are hardly faced due to the generally restricted amount of available space and allowable weight for the aircraft systems, limiting their exploitation. Essential equipment as the Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (ADAHRS) require several external probes to measure significant data as the Angle of Attack or the Sideslip Angle. Previous research focused on the analysis of a patented technology named Smart-ADAHRS (Smart Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference System) as an alternative method to obtain reliable and accurate estimates of the aerodynamic angles. This solution is based on an innovative sensor fusion algorithm implementing soft computing techniques and it allows to obtain a simplified inertial and air data system reducing external devices. In fact, only one external source of dynamic and static pressures is needed. This paper focuses on the benefits which would be gained by the implementation of this system in UAV applications. A simplification of the entire ADAHRS architecture will bring to reduce the overall cost together with improved safety performance. Smart-ADAHRS has currently reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. Real flight tests took place on ultralight aircraft equipped with a suitable Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The output of the algorithm using the flight test measurements demonstrates the capability for this fusion algorithm to embed in a single device multiple physical and virtual sensors. Any source of dynamic and static pressure can be integrated with this system gaining a significant improvement in terms of versatility.

Keywords: Neural network, aerodynamic angles, virtual sensor, unmanned aerial vehicle, air data system, flight test.

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Authors: Rahul Malhotra

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The field of wireless sensor networks (WSN) engages a lot of associates in the research community as an interdisciplinary field of interest. This type of network is inexpensive, multifunctionally attributable to advances in micro-electromechanical systems and conjointly the explosion and expansion of wireless communications. A mobile ad hoc network is a wireless network without fastened infrastructure or federal management. Due to the infrastructure-less mode of operation, mobile ad-hoc networks are gaining quality. During this work, we have performed an efficient performance study of the two major routing protocols: Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocols. We have used an accurate simulation model supported NS2 for this purpose. Our simulation results showed that AODV mitigates the drawbacks of the DSDV and provides better performance as compared to DSDV.

Keywords: Routing protocols, mobility, Mobile Ad-hoc Networks, Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector, Dynamic Source Routing, Destination Sequence Distance Vector, Quality of Service.

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Authors: V. Anbarasi, David V Rajan, K. Adalarasu

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Musculoskeletal problems are common in high performance dance population. This study attempts to identify lower extremity muscle flexibility parameters prevailing among bharatanatyam dancers and analyze if there is any significant difference exist between normal and injured dancers in flexibility parameters. Four hundred and one female dancers and 17 male dancers were participated in this study. Flexibility parameters (hamstring tightness, hip internal and external rotation and tendoachilles in supine and sitting posture) were measured using goniometer. Results of our study it is evident that injured female bharathnatyam dancers had significantly (p < 0.05) high hamstring tightness on left side lower extremity compared to normal female dancers. The range of motion for left tendoachilles was significantly (p < 0.05) high for the normal female group when compared to injured dancers during supine lying posture. Majority of the injured dancers had high hamstring tightness that could be a possible reason for pain and MSDs.

Keywords: External rotation (ER), Internal rotation (IR), Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), Range of motion (ROM)

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Authors: Andreas Ahrens, Ojaras Purvinis Jelena Zāšcerinska

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A successful shopping experience without overcrowded shops and long waiting times undoubtedly leads to the release of happiness hormones and is generally considered as the goal of any optimization. Factors influencing the shopping experience can be divided into internal and external ones. External factors are related e. g. to the arrival of the customers to the shop whereas internal factors are linked with the service process itself when checking out (waiting in the queue to the cash register and the scanning of the goods as well as the payment process itself) or any other non-expected delay when changing the status from a visitor to a buyer by choosing goods or items. This paper divides the customer-server interaction in five phases starting with the customer arrival at the shop, the selection of goods, the buyer waiting in the queue to the cash register, the payment process and ending with the customer or buyer departure. Our simulation results show how five phases are intertwined and influence the overall shopping experience. Parameters for measuring the shopping experience based on a burstiness level in each of the five phases of the customer-server interaction are estimated.

Keywords: Customers’ burstiness, cash register, customers’ waiting time, gap distribution function.

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Authors: Dharni Vasudhevan Venkatesan, Shanjay K E, Sujith Kumar H, Abhilash N A, Aswin Ram D, V.R.Sanal Kumar

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Numerical studies on race car aerodynamics at wing in ground effect have been carried out using a steady 3d, double precision, pressure-based, and standard k-epsilon turbulence model. Through various parametric analytical studies we have observed that at a particular speed and ground clearance of the wings a favorable negative lift was found high at a particular angle of attack for all the physical models considered in this paper. The fact is that if the ground clearance height to chord length (h/c) is too small, the developing boundary layers from either side (the ground and the lower surface of the wing) can interact, leading to an altered variation of the aerodynamic characteristics at wing in ground effect. Therefore a suitable ground clearance must be predicted throughout the racing for a better performance of the race car, which obviously depends upon the coupled effects of the topography, wing orientation with respect to the ground, the incoming flow features and/or the race car speed. We have concluded that for the design of high performance and high speed race cars the adjustable wings capable to alter the ground clearance and the angles of attack is the best design option for any race car for racing safely with variable speeds.

Keywords: External aerodynamics, External Flow Choking, Race car aerodynamics, Wing in Ground Effect.

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Authors: Mohammad Abdallah

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Due to the constant increase in terrorist attacks, the research and engineering communities have given significant attention to building performance under explosions. This paper presents a methodology for studying and simulating the dynamic responses of steel structures during external detonations, particularly for accurately investigating the impact of incrementing charge weight on the members total behavior, resistance and failure. Prediction damage method was introduced to evaluate the damage level of the steel members based on five scenarios of explosions. Johnson–Cook strength and failure model have been used as well as ABAQUS finite element code to simulate the explicit dynamic analysis, and antecedent field tests were used to verify the acceptance and accuracy of the proposed material strength and failure model. Based on the structural response, evaluation criteria such as deflection, vertical displacement, drift index, and damage level; the obtained results show the vulnerability of steel columns and un-braced steel frames which are designed and optimized to carry dead and live load to resist and endure blast loading.

Keywords: Steel structure, blast load, terrorist attacks, charge weight, damage level.

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Authors: Marzena Świgoń

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Nowadays, graduates should be prepared for serious challenges in the internal and external labor market. The notion that a degree is a “passport to employment” has been relegated to the past. In the last few years a phenomenon in the form of the increasing unemployment of highly educated young people in EU countries, including Poland has been observed. Empirical studies were conducted among Polish students in the scope of the so-called self-perceived employability review. In this study, a special scale was used which consisted of 19 statements regarding five components: student’s perception of university; field of study; self-belief; state of the external labor market; and, personal knowledge management. The respondent group consisted of final-year master’s students of International Relations at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. The findings of the empirical studies were compiled using statistical methods: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In general, in light of the conducted studies, the self-perceived employability of the Polish students was not high. Limitations of the studies were discussed, as well as the implications for future research in the scope of the students’ employability.

Keywords: Self-perceived employability, students of international relations, university education.

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Authors: Muhammad Haitham Albahnassi, Adnan Malki, Shokri Almekdad

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In this paper, a method for reconfiguring bandwidth in a circular dual-mode resonator is presented. The method concerns the optimized geometry of a structure that may be used to host the tuning elements, which are typically RF (Radio Frequency) switches. The tuning elements themselves, and their performance during tuning, are not the focus of this paper. The designed resonator is able to reconfigure its fractional bandwidth by adjusting the inter-coupling level between the degenerate modes, while at the same time improving its response by adjusting the external-coupling level and keeping the center frequency fixed. The inter-coupling level has been adjusted by changing the dimensions of the perturbation element, while the external-coupling level has been adjusted by changing one of the feeder dimensions. The design was arrived at via optimization. Agreeing simulation and measurement results of the designed and implemented filters showed good improvements in return loss values and the stability of the center frequency.

Keywords: Dual-mode resonators, perturbation element, perturbation theory, reconfigurable filters, software defined radio (SDR), cognitine radio.

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Authors: Ahmed Shuhaiber

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The explosion of the World Wide Web and the electronic trend of university teaching have transformed the learning style to become more learner-centered, which has popularized the digital delivery of mediated lectures as an alternative or an adjunct to traditional lectures. Despite its potential and popularity, virtual lectures have not been adopted yet in Jordanian universities. This research aimed to fill this gap by studying the factors that influence students’ willingness to accept virtual lectures in one Jordanian University. A quantitative approach was followed, by obtaining 216 survey responses and statistically applying the UTAUT model with some modifications. Results revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and self-efficacy could significantly influence students’ attitudes towards virtual lectures. Additionally, Facilitating conditions and attitudes towards virtual lectures were found with significant influence on students’ intention to take virtual lectures. Research implications and future work were specified afterwards.

Keywords: E-Learning, Student willingness, UTAUT, Virtual Lectures, Web-based learning systems.

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Authors: G. Das, S. Das, P. Purkait, A. Dasgupta, M. Kumar

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Properly sized capacitor banks are connected across induction motors for several reasons including power factor correction, reducing distortions, increasing capacity, etc. Total harmonic distortion (THD) and power factor (PF) are used in such cases to quantify the improvements obtained through connection of the external capacitor banks. On the other hand, one of the methods for assessing the motor internal condition is by the use of Park-s pattern analysis. In spite of taking adequate precautionary measures, the capacitor banks may sometimes malfunction. Such a minor fault in the capacitor bank is often not apparently discernible. This may however, give rise to substantial degradation of power factor correction performance and may also damage the supply profile. The case is more severe with the fact that the Park-s pattern gets distorted due to such external capacitor faults, and can give anomalous results about motor internal fault analyses. The aim of this paper is to present simulation and hardware laboratory test results to have an understanding of the anomalies in harmonic distortion and Park-s pattern analyses in induction motors due to capacitor bank defects.

Keywords: Capacitor bank, harmonic distortion, induction motor, Park's pattern, PSCAD simulation.

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Authors: Azizeh Chalak, Niloufar Nasri

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Students' academic achievement, along with the effects of different variables, has been a serious concern of educators since long ago. This study was an attempt to investigate the interplay of Locus of Control (LOC), academic achievement and biological variables among Iranian online EFL Learners. The participants of the study included 100 students of different age groups and genders studying English online at Iran Language Institute (ILI), Isfahan, Iran. The instrument used was Trice Academic LOC questionnaire which identifies orientations of internality or externality. The participants' Grade Point Averages (GPAs) were used as the measure of their academic achievement. A series of independent samples ttests were performed on the data. The results of the study showed that (a) there were no significant differences between male and female participants in LOC orientation, (b) there was no relationship between LOC and academic achievement among internal males and females, (c) external females were better achievers than external males, (d) and the age had no significant relationship with LOC and academic achievement. It can be concluded that the social, cultural patterns of genders have changed. This study might help sociologists and psychologists as well as applied linguists in that they reflect the recent social changes and their effects on the LOC and their consequent implications in teaching languages.

Keywords: Academic achievement, biological variables, Iranian online EFL learners, locus of control.

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Authors: Behzad Mohammadzadeh, Huyk Chun Noh

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Plate is one of the popular structural elements used in a wide range of industries and structures. They may be subjected to blast loads during explosion events, missile attacks or aircraft attacks. This study is to investigate dynamic responses of the rectangular plate subjected to explosive loads. The effects of material properties and plate thickness on responses of the plate are to be investigated. The compressive pressure is applied to the surface of the plate. Different amounts of thickness in the range from 1mm to 30mm are considered for the plate to evaluate the changes in responses of the plate with respect to plate thickness. Two different properties are considered for the steel. First, the analysis is performed by considering only the elastic-plastic properties for the steel plate. Later on damping is considered to investigate its effects on the responses of the plate. To do analysis, numerical method using a finite element based package ABAQUS is applied. Finally, dynamic responses and graphs showing the relation between maximum displacement of the plate and aim parameters are provided.

Keywords: Impulsive loaded plates, dynamic analysis, abaqus, material nonlinearity.

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Authors: Rodrigo T. Lourenço, Margarida Mano

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Higher Education Institutions (HEI), and other levels of Education, face important challenges. One of the most relevant one is the ability to adapt to a society that is changing over time, whilst guarantying levels of training that do not merely react to such changes. Thus, interacting with society, particularly with surrounding communities and key stakeholders, has become an essential requirement for the sustainability of these institutions. One of the formal mechanisms implemented in European educational institutions has been the design of organizational structures that include a top governance body sharing its constitution with both internal members, students and external members. Such frame holds the core mission of involving communities in the governance of educational institutions, assuming, both strategic decision-making functions, with the approval of the institutions’ strategic plans, and a supervision function, approved by activity reports. It also plays an essential role in the life of institutions by holding the responsibility of electing its top executives. In Portugal, it has been almost a decade since the publication of RJIES, the legal framework of Higher Education, such bodies being designated by General Councils. Thus, one may highlight that there has been a better understanding of the operative process of these bodies, as well as their added value to the education system. It has also been possible to analyse the extent to which their core mission has been fulfilled and to understand its growing relevance, particularly regarding the autonomy of institutions. This article aims to contribute to this theme by presenting the results of a study on the role of these bodies in the governance of Public Portuguese HEI, with a special focus on the supervisory competence of organizational performance. Through questionnaires made to board members and interviews with chairpersons of the bodies and top managers of the institutions, it was possible to conclude that there is a high concern with the connections to the external environment. However, regarding organizational performance and the role of the Council as a supervisor of that performance, the activity of the bodies has fallen short of what would be expected. Several reasons may be identified. It is important to emphasize the importance of the profile of the external members and the relationship between the organ’s standard functioning and the election of the head of the institution.

Keywords: Governance, stakeholders, supervision, organizational performance.

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Authors: Wen-Chao Tang, Tang-Yi Liu, Ming Gao, Gang Xu, Hua-Yuan Yang

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This study developed a method for teaching acupuncture manipulation in small groups optimized with the theory of motor learning. Sixty acupuncture students and their teacher participated in our research. Motion videos were recorded of their manipulations using the lifting-thrusting method. These videos were analyzed using Simi Motion software to acquire the movement parameters of the thumb tip. The parameter velocity curves along Y axis was used to generate small teaching groups clustered by a self-organized map (SOM) and K-means. Ten groups were generated. All the targeted instruction based on the comparative results groups as well as the videos of teacher and student was provided to the members of each group respectively. According to the theory and research of motor learning, the factors or technologies such as video instruction, observational learning, external focus and summary feedback were integrated into this teaching method. Such efforts were desired to improve and enhance the effectiveness of current acupuncture teaching methods in limited classroom teaching time and extracurricular training.

Keywords: Acupuncture, group teaching, video instruction, observational learning, external focus, summary feedback.

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Authors: Gyoutae Park, Geunjun Lyu, Yeonjae Lee, Wooksuk Kim, Jaheon Gu, Sanguk Ahn, Hiesik Kim

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In this paper, we propose a system for preventing gas risks through the use of wireless communication modules and intelligent gas safety appliances. Our system configuration consists of an automatic extinguishing system, detectors, a wall-pad, and a microcomputer controlled micom gas meter to monitor gas flow and pressure as well as the occurrence of earthquakes. The automatic fire extinguishing system checks for both combustible gaseous leaks and monitors the environmental temperature, while the detector array measures smoke and CO gas concentrations. Depending on detected conditions, the micom gas meter cuts off an inner valve and generates a warning, the automatic fire-extinguishing system cuts off an external valve and sprays extinguishing materials, or the sensors generate signals and take further action when smoke or CO are detected. Information on intelligent measures taken by the gas safety appliances and sensors are transmitted to the wall-pad, which in turn relays this as real time data to a server that can be monitored via an external network (BcN) connection to a web or mobile application for the management of gas safety. To validate this smart-home gas management system, we field-tested its suitability for use in Korean apartments under several scenarios.

Keywords: Gas sensor, leak, gas safety, gas meter, gas risk, wireless communication.

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Authors: Rajai Al-Rousan

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This paper presents a proposed analytical model for predicting the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP composites as external reinforcement. The proposed analytical model can predict the shear contribution of CFRP composites of RC beams with an acceptable coefficient of correlation with the tested results. Based on the comparison of the proposed model with the published well-known models (ACI model, Triantafillou model, and Colotti model), the ACI model had a wider range of 0.16 to 10.08 for the ratio between tested and predicted ultimate shears at failure. Also, an acceptable range of 0.27 to 2.78 for the ratio between tested and predicted ultimate shears by the Triantafillou model. Finally, the best prediction (the ratio between the tested and predicted ones) of the ultimate shear capacity is observed by using Colotti model with a range of 0.20 to 1.78. Thus, the contribution of the CFRP composites as external reinforcement can be predicted with high accuracy by using the proposed analytical model.

Keywords: Predicting, shear capacity, reinforced concrete, beams, strengthened, externally, CFRP composites.

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Authors: Ambuj Srivastava, Narender Singh

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This paper presents the effect of installation of cylindrical external store on the performance, stability, control and handling qualities of light transport category aircraft. A pair of long cylindrical store was installed symmetrically on either side of the fuselage (port and starboard) ahead of the wing and below the fuselage bottom surface running below pilot and co-pilot window. The cylindrical store was installed as hanging from aircraft surface through specially designed brackets. The adjoining structure was sufficiently reinforced for bearing aerodynamic loads. The length to diameter ratio of long cylindrical store was ~20. Based on academic studies and flow simulation analysis, a considerable detrimental effect on single engine second segment climb performance was found which was later validated through extensive flight testing exercise. The methodology of progressive flight envelope opening was adopted. The certification was sought from Regional airworthiness authorities and for according approval.

Keywords: Second segment climb, maximum operating speed, cruise performance, single engine and twin engine, minimum control speed, and additional trim required.

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Authors: Jia-Yu Dai, Don-Lin Yang, Jungpin Wu, Ming-Chuan Hung

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In an era of knowledge explosion, the growth of data increases rapidly day by day. Since data storage is a limited resource, how to reduce the data space in the process becomes a challenge issue. Data compression provides a good solution which can lower the required space. Data mining has many useful applications in recent years because it can help users discover interesting knowledge in large databases. However, existing compression algorithms are not appropriate for data mining. In [1, 2], two different approaches were proposed to compress databases and then perform the data mining process. However, they all lack the ability to decompress the data to their original state and improve the data mining performance. In this research a new approach called Mining Merged Transactions with the Quantification Table (M2TQT) was proposed to solve these problems. M2TQT uses the relationship of transactions to merge related transactions and builds a quantification table to prune the candidate itemsets which are impossible to become frequent in order to improve the performance of mining association rules. The experiments show that M2TQT performs better than existing approaches.

Keywords: Association rule, data mining, merged transaction, quantification table.

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Authors: Walter Sebron, Hans Tschürtz, Peter Krebs

Abstract:

The choice of applicable analysis methods in safety or systems engineering depends on the depth of knowledge about a system, and on the respective lifecycle phase. However, the analysis method chain still shows gaps as it should support system analysis during the lifecycle of a system from a rough concept in pre-project phase until end-of-life. This paper’s goal is to discuss an analysis method, the VISSE Shell Model Analysis (VISMA) method, which aims at closing the gap in the early system lifecycle phases, like the conceptual or pre-project phase, or the project start phase. It was originally developed to aid in the definition of the system boundary of electronic system parts, like e.g. a control unit for a pump motor. Furthermore, it can be also applied to non-electronic system parts. The VISMA method is a graphical sketch-like method that stratifies a system and its parts in inner and outer shells, like the layers of an onion. It analyses a system in a two-step approach, from the innermost to the outermost components followed by the reverse direction. To ensure a complete view of a system and its environment, the VISMA should be performed by (multifunctional) development teams. To introduce the method, a set of rules and guidelines has been defined in order to enable a proper shell build-up. In the first step, the innermost system, named system under consideration (SUC), is selected, which is the focus of the subsequent analysis. Then, its directly adjacent components, responsible for providing input to and receiving output from the SUC, are identified. These components are the content of the first shell around the SUC. Next, the input and output components to the components in the first shell are identified and form the second shell around the first one. Continuing this way, shell by shell is added with its respective parts until the border of the complete system (external border) is reached. Last, two external shells are added to complete the system view, the environment and the use case shell. This system view is also stored for future use. In the second step, the shells are examined in the reverse direction (outside to inside) in order to remove superfluous components or subsystems. Input chains to the SUC, as well as output chains from the SUC are described graphically via arrows, to highlight functional chains through the system. As a result, this method offers a clear and graphical description and overview of a system, its main parts and environment; however, the focus still remains on a specific SUC. It helps to identify the interfaces and interfacing components of the SUC, as well as important external interfaces of the overall system. It supports the identification of the first internal and external hazard causes and causal chains. Additionally, the method promotes a holistic picture and cross-functional understanding of a system, its contributing parts, internal relationships and possible dangers within a multidisciplinary development team.

Keywords: Analysis methods, functional safety, hazard identification, system and safety engineering, system boundary definition, system safety.

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Authors: Scott N. Gerard, Aliza Heching, Susann M. Keohane, Samuel S. Adams

Abstract:

The world-wide population of people over 60 years of age is growing rapidly. The explosion is placing increasingly onerous demands on individual families, multiple industries and entire countries. Current, human-intensive approaches to eldercare are not sustainable, but IoT and AI technologies can help. The Knowledge Reactor (KR) is a contextual, data fusion engine built to address this and other similar problems. It fuses and centralizes IoT and System of Record/Engagement data into a reactive knowledge graph. Cognitive applications and services are constructed with its multiagent architecture. The KR can scale-up and scaledown, because it exploits container-based, horizontally scalable services for graph store (JanusGraph) and pub-sub (Kafka) technologies. While the KR can be applied to many domains that require IoT and AI technologies, this paper describes how the KR specifically supports the challenging domain of cognitive eldercare. Rule- and machine learning-based analytics infer activities of daily living from IoT sensor readings. KR scalability, adaptability, flexibility and usability are demonstrated.

Keywords: Ambient sensing, AI, artificial intelligence, eldercare, IoT, internet of things, knowledge graph.

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Authors: Moosa Haji Abbasi, Emad Benhelal, Arshad Ahmad

Abstract:

Storage tank farms are essential industrial facilities to accumulate oil, petrochemicals and gaseous products. Since tank farms contain huge mass of fuel and hazardous materials, they are always targets of serious accidents such as fire, explosion, spill and toxic release which may cause severe impacts on human health, environmental and properties.

Although having a safe layout is not able to prevent initiating accidents, however it effectively controls and reduces the adverse impact of such accidents.

The aim of this paper is to determine the optimal layout for a storage tank contains different type of hydrocarbon fuels. A quantitative risk assessment is carried out on a selected tank farm in Jaipur, India, with particular attention given to both the consequence modeling and the overall risk assessment using PHAST Software. Various designs of tank layouts are examined taking into consideration several issues of plant operations and maintenance. In all stages of the work, standard guidelines specified by the industry are considered and recommendations are substantiated with simulation results and risk quantification.

Keywords: Tank farm, safe distance, safe layout, risk assessment, PHAST.

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