Search results for: density functional theory

Authors: Richard Lewis

Abstract:

The following assumptions of the Big Bang theory are challenged and found to be false: the cosmological principle, the assumption that all matter formed at the same time and the assumption regarding the cause of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The evolution of the universe is described based on the conclusion that the universe is finite with a space boundary. This conclusion is reached by ruling out the possibility of an infinite universe or a universe which is finite with no boundary. In a finite universe, the centre of the universe can be located with reference to our home galaxy (The Milky Way) using the speed relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) rest frame and Hubble's law. This places our home galaxy at a distance of approximately 26 million light years from the centre of the universe. Because we are making observations from a point relatively close to the centre of the universe, the universe appears to be isotropic and homogeneous but this is not the case. The CMB is coming from a source located within the event horizon of the universe. There is sufficient mass in the universe to create an event horizon at the Schwarzschild radius. Galaxies form over time due to the energy released by the expansion of space. Conservation of energy must consider total energy which is mass (+ve) plus energy (+ve) plus spacetime curvature (-ve) so that the total energy of the universe is always zero. The predominant position of galaxy formation moves over time from the centre of the universe towards the boundary so that today the majority of new galaxy formation is taking place beyond our horizon of observation at 14 billion light years.

Keywords: Cosmic microwave background, dark energy, dark matter, evolution of the universe.

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Authors: A. Ghodbane, M. Saad, J.-F. Boland, C. Thibeault

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Historically, actuators’ redundancy was used to deal with faults occurring suddenly in flight systems. This technique was generally expensive, time consuming and involves increased weight and space in the system. Therefore, nowadays, the on-line fault diagnosis of actuators and accommodation plays a major role in the design of avionic systems. These approaches, known as Fault Tolerant Flight Control systems (FTFCs) are able to adapt to such sudden faults while keeping avionics systems lighter and less expensive. In this paper, a (FTFC) system based on the Geometric Approach and a Reconfigurable Flight Control (RFC) are presented. The Geometric approach is used for cosmic ray fault reconstruction, while Sliding Mode Control (SMC) based on Lyapunov stability theory is designed for the reconfiguration of the controller in order to compensate the fault effect. Matlab®/Simulink® simulations are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed flight control system against actuators’ faulty signal caused by cosmic rays. The results demonstrate the successful real-time implementation of the proposed FTFC system on a non-linear 6 DOF aircraft model.

Keywords: Actuators’ faults, Fault detection and diagnosis, Fault tolerant flight control, Sliding mode control, Geometric approach for fault reconstruction, Lyapunov stability.

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Authors: Malathi Balakrishnan, Gananathan M. Nadarajah, Saraswathy Vellasamy, Evelyn Gnanam William George

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The purpose of the study is to explore how the fun game-learning approach enhances teacher trainers’ higher order thinking skills. Two-day fun filled fun game learning-approach was introduced to teacher trainers as a Continuous Professional Development Program (CPD). 26 teacher trainers participated in this Transformation of Teaching and Learning Fun Way Program, organized by Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia. Qualitative research technique was adopted as the researchers observed the participants’ higher order thinking skills developed during the program. Data were collected from observational checklist; interview transcriptions of four participants and participants’ reflection notes. All the data were later analyzed with NVivo data analysis process. The finding of this study presented five main themes, which are critical thinking, hands on activities, creating, application and use of technology. The studies showed that the teacher trainers’ higher order thinking skills were enhanced after the two-day CPD program. Therefore, Institute of Teacher Education will have more success using the fun way game-learning approach to develop higher order thinking skills among its teacher trainers who can implement these skills to their trainee teachers in future. This study also added knowledge to Constructivism learning theory, which will further highlight the prominence of the fun way learning approach to enhance higher order thinking skills.

Keywords: Constructivism, game-learning approach, higher order thinking skill, teacher trainer.

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Authors: Mohammad M. Toufigh, Ahad Ouria

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This paper presents an analytical method to solve governing consolidation parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) for inelastic porous Medium (soil) with consideration of variation of equation coefficient under cyclic loading. Since under cyclic loads, soil skeleton parameters change, this would introduce variable coefficient of parabolic PDE. Classical theory would not rationalize consolidation phenomenon in such condition. In this research, a method based on time space mapping to a virtual time space along with superimposing rule is employed to solve consolidation of inelastic soils in cyclic condition. Changes of consolidation coefficient applied in solution by modification of loading and unloading duration by introducing virtual time. Mapping function is calculated based on consolidation partial differential equation results. Based on superimposing rule a set of continuous static loads in specified times used instead of cyclic load. A set of laboratory consolidation tests under cyclic load along with numerical calculations were performed in order to verify the presented method. Numerical solution and laboratory tests results showed accuracy of presented method.

Keywords: Mapping, Consolidation, Inelastic porous medium, Cyclic loading, Superimposing rule.

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Authors: Gaetano Zazzaro, Angelo Martone, Roberto V. Montaquila, Luigi Pavone

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Seizure is the main factor that affects the quality of life of epileptic patients. The diagnosis of epilepsy, and hence the identification of epileptogenic zone, is commonly made by using continuous Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal monitoring. Seizure identification on EEG signals is made manually by epileptologists and this process is usually very long and error prone. The aim of this paper is to describe an automated method able to detect seizures in EEG signals, using knowledge discovery in database process and data mining methods and algorithms, which can support physicians during the seizure detection process. Our detection method is based on Artificial Neural Network classifier, trained by applying the multilayer perceptron algorithm, and by using a software application, called Training Builder that has been developed for the massive extraction of features from EEG signals. This tool is able to cover all the data preparation steps ranging from signal processing to data analysis techniques, including the sliding window paradigm, the dimensionality reduction algorithms, information theory, and feature selection measures. The final model shows excellent performances, reaching an accuracy of over 99% during tests on data of a single patient retrieved from a publicly available EEG dataset.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Data Mining, Electroencephalogram, Epilepsy, Feature Extraction, Seizure Detection, Signal Processing.

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Authors: M. Ishak, K. Yamasaki, K. Maekawa

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Magnesium alloys have gained increased attention in recent years in automotive, electronics, and medical industry. This because of magnesium alloys have better properties than aluminum alloys and steels in respects of their low density and high strength to weight ratio. However, the main problems of magnesium alloy welding are the crack formation and the appearance of porosity during the solidification. This paper proposes a unique technique to weld two thin sheets of AZ31B magnesium alloy using a paste containing Ag nanoparticles. The paste containing Ag nanoparticles of 5 nm in average diameter and an organic solvent was used to coat the surface of AZ31B thin sheet. The coated sheet was heated at 100 °C for 60 s to evaporate the solvent. The dried sheet was set as a lower AZ31B sheet on the jig, and then lap fillet welding was carried out by using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser in a closed box filled with argon gas. The characteristics of the microstructure and the corrosion behavior of the joints were analyzed by opticalmicroscopy (OM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and immersion corrosion test. The experimental results show that the wrought AZ31B magnesium alloy can be joined successfully using Ag nanoparticles. Ag nanoparticles insert promote grain refinement, narrower the HAZ width and wider bond width compared to weld without and insert. Corrosion rate of welded AZ31B with Ag nanoparticles reduced up to 44 % compared to base metal. The improvement of corrosion resistance of welded AZ31B with Ag nanoparticles due to finer grains and large grain boundaries area which consist of high Al content. β-phase Mg17Al12 could serve as effective barrier and suppressed further propagation of corrosion. Furthermore, Ag distribution in fusion zone provide much more finer grains and may stabilize the magnesium solid solution making it less soluble or less anodic in aqueous

Keywords: Laser welding, magnesium alloys, nanoparticles, mechanical property

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Authors: Yi-Hsiang Pan

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to develop a “teachers’ self-efficacy scale for high school physical education teachers (TSES-HSPET)” in Taiwan. This scale is based on the self-efficacy theory of Bandura [1], [2]. This study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to test the reliability and validity. The participants were high school physical education teachers in Taiwan. Both stratified random sampling and cluster sampling were used to sample participants for the study. 350 teachers were sampled in the first stage and 234 valid scales (male 133, female 101) returned. During the second stage, 350 teachers were sampled and 257 valid scales (male 143, female 110, 4 did not indicate gender) returned. The exploratory factor analysis was used in the first stage, and it got 60.77% of total variance for construct validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of internal consistency was 0.91 for sumscale, and subscales were 0.84 and 0.90. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity. The result showed that the fit index could be accepted (χ2 (75) =167.94, p <.05, RMSEA =0.07, SRMR=0.05, GFI=0.92, NNFI=0.97, CFI=0.98, PNFI=0.79). Average variance extracted of latent variables were 0.43 and 0.53, which composite reliability are 0.78 and 0.90. It is concluded that the TSES-HSPET is a well-considered measurement instrument with acceptable validity and reliability. It may be used to estimate teachers’ self-efficacy for high school physical education teachers.

Keywords: teaching in physical education, teacher's self-efficacy, teacher's belief

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Authors: Neslihan Genckal, Reha Gursoy, Vedat Z. Dogan

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In this study, dynamic responses of composite plates on elastic foundations subjected to impact and moving loads are investigated. The first order shear deformation (FSDT) theory is used for moderately thick plates. Pasternak-type (two-parameter) elastic foundation is assumed. Elastic foundation effects are integrated into the governing equations. It is assumed that plate is first hit by a mass as an impact type loading then the mass continues to move on the composite plate as a distributed moving loading, which resembles the aircraft landing on airport pavements. Impact and moving loadings are modeled by a mass-spring-damper system with a wheel. The wheel is assumed to be continuously in contact with the plate after impact. The governing partial differential equations of motion for displacements are converted into the ordinary differential equations in the time domain by using Galerkin’s method. Then, these sets of equations are solved by using the Runge-Kutta method. Several parameters such as vertical and horizontal velocities of the aircraft, volume fractions of the steel rebar in the reinforced concrete layer, and the different touchdown locations of the aircraft tire on the runway are considered in the numerical simulation. The results are compared with those of the ABAQUS, which is a commercial finite element code.

Keywords: Elastic foundation, impact, moving load, thick plate.

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Authors: Madiha El Awamie, Catherine Rees

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Natural preservatives have been used as alternatives to traditional chemical preservatives; however, a limited number have been commercially developed and many remain to be investigated as sources of safer and effective antimicrobials. In this study, we have been investigating the antimicrobial activity of an extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice) that was provided as a waste material from the production of liquorice flavourings for the food industry, and to investigate if this retained the expected antimicrobial activity so it could be used as a natural preservative. Antibacterial activity of liquorice extract was screened for evidence of growth inhibition against eight species of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus subtilis. The Gram-negative bacteria tested include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium but none of these were affected by the extract. In contrast, for all of the Gram-positive bacteria tested, growth was inhibited as monitored using optical density. However parallel studies using viable count indicated that the cells were not killed meaning that the extract was bacteriostatic rather than bacteriocidal. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration [MIC] and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration [MBC] of the extract was also determined and a concentration of 50 µg ml^-1 was found to have a strong bacteriostatic effect on Gram-positive bacteria. Microscopic analysis indicated that there were changes in cell shape suggesting the cell wall was affected. In addition, the use of a reporter strain of Listeria transformed with the bioluminescence genes luxABCDE indicated that cell energy levels were reduced when treated with either 12.5 or 50 µg ml^-1 of the extract, with the reduction in light output being proportional to the concentration of the extract used. Together these results suggest that the extract is inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria only by damaging the cell wall and/or membrane.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, bioluminescence, Glycyrrhiza glabra, natural preservative.

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Authors: Mohammed T. Hayajneh

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Machining of Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) is very significant process and has been a main problem that draws many researchers to investigate the characteristics of MMCs during different machining process. The poor machining properties of hard particles reinforced MMCs make drilling process a rather interesting task. Unlike drilling of conventional materials, many problems can be seriously encountered during drilling of MMCs, such as tool wear and cutting forces. Cutting tool wear is a very significant concern in industries. Cutting tool wear not only influences the quality of the drilled hole, but also affects the cutting tool life. Prediction the cutting tool life during drilling is essential for optimizing the cutting conditions. However, the relationship between tool life and cutting conditions, tool geometrical factors and workpiece material properties has not yet been established by any machining theory. In this research work, fuzzy subtractive clustering system has been used to model the cutting tool life in drilling of Al₂O₃ particle reinforced aluminum alloy composite to investigate of the effect of cutting conditions on cutting tool life. This investigation can help in controlling and optimizing of cutting conditions when the process parameters are adjusted. The built model for prediction the tool life is identified by using drill diameter, cutting speed, and cutting feed rate as input data. The validity of the model was confirmed by the examinations under various cutting conditions. Experimental results have shown the efficiency of the model to predict cutting tool life.

Keywords: Composite, fuzzy, tool life, wear.

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Authors: M. L. Yeung

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With the surge of divorce rate and male cancer onset/death rates, the phenomenon of divorced wives in the facing cancer death of their ex-husbands is not uncommon in Hong Kong. Yet, there is a dearth of study on the experiences of bereaved-divorced wives in the Hong Kong cultural context. This project fills the knowledge gap by conducting a qualitative study for having interviewed four bereaved ex-wives, who returned to ex-husbands’ end-of-life caregiving and eventually grieved for the ex-spousal’s death. From the perspectives of attachment theory and disenfranchised grief in the Hong Kong cultural context, a ‘double-loss’ experience is found in which interviewees suffer from the first loss of divorce and the second loss of ex-husbands’ death. Traumatic childhood experiences, attachment needs, role ambiguity, unresolved emotions and unrecognized grief are found significant in their lived experiences which alert the ‘double-loss’ is worthy of attention. Extending a family-centered end-of-life and bereavement care services to divorced couples is called for, in which validation on the attachment needs, ex-couple reconciliation, and acknowledgement on the disenfranchised grief are essential for social work practice on this group of clienteles specifically in Hong Kong cultural context.

Keywords: Changing family, disenfranchised grief, divorce, ex-spousal death, marriage.

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Authors: Fathollah Ommi, Golnaz Pourabedin, Koros Nekofa

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In recent years fuel cell vehicles are rapidly appearing all over the globe. In less than 10 years, fuel cell vehicles have gone from mere research novelties to operating prototypes and demonstration models. At the same time, government and industry in development countries have teamed up to invest billions of dollars in partnerships intended to commercialize fuel cell vehicles within the early years of the 21st century. The purpose of this study is evaluation of model and performance of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle in different drive cycles. A fuel cell system model developed in this work is a semi-experimental model that allows users to use the theory and experimental relationships in a fuel cell system. The model can be used as part of a complex fuel cell vehicle model in advanced vehicle simulator (ADVISOR). This work reveals that the fuel consumption and energy efficiency vary in different drive cycles. Arising acceleration and speed in a drive cycle leads to Fuel consumption increase. In addition, energy losses in drive cycle relates to fuel cell system power request. Parasitic power in different parts of fuel cell system will increase when power request increases. Finally, most of energy losses in drive cycle occur in fuel cell system because of producing a lot of energy by fuel cell stack.

Keywords: Drive cycle, Energy efficiency, energy consumption, Fuel cell system.

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Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

This paper introduces the concept of neutral sets (NSs) and explores various operations on NSs, along with their associated properties. The foundation of the Neutral Set framework lies in ontological neutrality and the principles of logic, including the Law of Non-Contradiction. By encompassing components for possibility, indeterminacy, and necessity, the NS framework provides a flexible representation of truth, uncertainty, and necessity, accommodating diverse ontological perspectives without presupposing specific existential commitments. The inclusion of Possibility acknowledges the spectrum of potential states or propositions, promoting neutrality by accommodating various viewpoints. Indeterminacy reflects the inherent uncertainty in understanding reality, refraining from making definitive ontological commitments in uncertain situations. Necessity captures propositions that must hold true under all circumstances, aligning with the principle of logical consistency and implicitly supporting the Law of Non-Contradiction. Subsequently, a neutral set-TOPSIS approach is applied in the maintenance strategy selection problem, demonstrating the practical applicability of the NS framework. The paper further explores uncertainty relations and presents the fundamental preliminaries of NS theory, emphasizing its role in fostering ontological neutrality and logical coherence in reasoning.

Keywords: Uncertainty sets, neutral sets, maintenance strategy selection multiple criteria decision-making analysis, MCDM, uncertainty decision analysis, distance function, multiple attribute, decision making, selection method, uncertainty, TOPSIS

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Authors: Ilona Bala

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The subject of this abstract is related to the notion of 'popular music', a notion that should be treated with extreme care, particularly when applied to Frederic Chopin, one of the greatest composers of Romanticism. By ‘popular music’, we mean a category of everyday music, set against the more intellectual kind, referred to as ‘classical’. We only need to look back to the culture of the nineteenth century to realize that this ‘popular music’ refers to the ‘music of the low’. It can be studied from a sociological viewpoint, or as sociological aesthetics. However, we cannot ignore the fact that, very quickly, this music spread to the wealthiest strata of the European society of the nineteenth century, while likewise the lowest classes often listen to the intellectual classical music, so pleasant to listen to. Further, we can observe that a sort of ‘sacralisation of kitsch’ occurs at the intersection between the classical and popular music. This process is the topic of this contribution. We will start by investigating the notion of kitsch through the study of Chopin’s popular compositions. However, before considering the popularisation of this music in today’s culture, we will have to focus on the use of the word kitsch in Chopin’s times, through his own musical aesthetics. Finally, the objective here will be to negate the theory that art is simply the intellectual definition of aesthetics. A kitsch can, obviously, only work on the emotivity of the masses, as it represents one of the features of culture-language (the words which the masses identify with). All art is transformed, becoming something outdated or even outmoded. Here, we are truly within a process of mythologization of art, through the study of the aesthetic reception of the musical work.

Keywords: F. Chopin, musical work, popular music, romantic music, mythologization of art, kitsch.

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Authors: David M. Jenkins Jr.

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Scale Time Offset Robust Modulation (STORM) [1]– [3] is a high bandwidth waveform design that adds time-scale to embedded reference modulations using only time-delay [4]. In an environment where each user has a specific delay and scale, identification of the user with the highest signal power and that user-s phase is facilitated by the STORM processor. Both of these parameters are required in an efficient multiuser detection algorithm. In this paper, the STORM modulation approach is evaluated with a direct sequence spread quadrature phase shift keying (DS-QPSK) system. A misconception of the STORM time scale modulation is that a fine temporal resolution is required at the receiver. STORM will be applied to a QPSK code division multiaccess (CDMA) system by modifying the spreading codes. Specifically, the in-phase code will use a typical spreading code, and the quadrature code will use a time-delayed and time-scaled version of the in-phase code. Subsequently, the same temporal resolution in the receiver is required before and after the application of STORM. In this paper, the bit error performance of STORM in a synchronous CDMA system is evaluated and compared to theory, and the bit error performance of STORM incorporated in a single user WCDMA downlink is presented to demonstrate the applicability of STORM in a modern communication system.

Keywords: Pseudonoise coded communication, Cyclic codes, Code division multiaccess

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Authors: A. Naamane, M. Hasnaoui

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Numerical modeling of fluid flows, whether compressible or incompressible, laminar or turbulent presents a considerable contribution in the scientific and industrial fields. However, the development of an approximate model of a supersonic flow requires the introduction of specific and more precise techniques and methods. For this purpose, the object of this paper is modeling a supersonic flow of inviscid fluid around a dihedral airfoil. Based on the thin airfoils theory and the non-dimensional stationary Steichen equation of a two-dimensional supersonic flow in isentropic evolution, we obtained a solution for the downstream velocity potential of the oblique shock at the second order of relative thickness that characterizes a perturbation parameter. This result has been dealt with by the asymptotic analysis and characteristics method. In order to validate our model, the results are discussed in comparison with theoretical and experimental results. Indeed, firstly, the comparison of the results of our model has shown that they are quantitatively acceptable compared to the existing theoretical results. Finally, an experimental study was conducted using the AF300 supersonic wind tunnel. In this experiment, we have considered the incident upstream Mach number over a symmetrical dihedral airfoil wing. The comparison of the different Mach number downstream results of our model with those of the existing theoretical data (relative margin between 0.07% and 4%) and with experimental results (concordance for a deflection angle between 1° and 11°) support the validation of our model with accuracy.

Keywords: Asymptotic modelling, dihedral airfoil, supersonic flow, supersonic wind tunnel.

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Authors: Ali Essam El Shazly

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The Haussmannization plan of Cairo in 1867 formed a regular network of roundabout spaces, though deteriorated at present. The method of identifying the spatial structure of roundabout Cairo for conservation matches the voronoi diagram with the space syntax through their geometrical property of spatial convexity. In this initiative, the primary convex hull of first-order voronoi adopts the integral and control measurements of space syntax on Cairo’s roundabout generators. The functional essence of royal palaces optimizes the roundabout structure in terms of spatial measurements and the symbolic voronoi projection of 'Tahrir Roundabout' over the Giza Nile and Pyramids. Some roundabouts of major public and commercial landmarks surround the pole of 'Ezbekia Garden' with a higher control than integral measurements, which filter the new spatial structure from the adjacent traditional town. Nevertheless, the least integral and control measures correspond to the voronoi contents of pollutant workshops and the plateau of old Cairo Citadel with the visual compensation of new royal landmarks on top. Meanwhile, the extended suburbs of infinite voronoi polygons arrange high control generators of chateaux housing in 'garden city' environs. The point pattern of roundabouts determines the geometrical characteristics of voronoi polygons. The measured lengths of voronoi edges alternate between the zoned short range at the new poles of Cairo and the distributed structure of longer range. Nevertheless, the shortest range of generator-vertex geometry concentrates at 'Ezbekia Garden' where the crossways of vast Cairo intersect, which maximizes the variety of choice at different spatial resolutions. However, the symbolic 'Hippodrome' which is the largest public landmark forms exclusive geometrical measurements, while structuring a most integrative roundabout to parallel the royal syntax. Overview of the symbolic convex hull of voronoi with space syntax interconnects Parisian Cairo with the spatial chronology of scattered monuments to conceive one universal Cairo structure. Accordingly, the approached methodology of 'voronoi-syntax' prospects the future conservation of roundabout Cairo at the inferred city-level concept.

Keywords: Roundabout Cairo, first-order Voronoi, space syntax, spatial structure.

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Authors: Huda Ahmed Al Taisan

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This paper investigates a phonological phenomenon, which exhibits variation ‘alternation’ in terms of the uvular consonants [q] and [ʁ] in Hasawi Arabic. This dialect is spoken in Alahsa city, which is located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. To the best of our knowledge, no such research has systematically studied this phenomenon in Hasawi Arabic dialect. This paper is significant because it fills the gap in the literature about this alternation phenomenon in this understudied dialect. A large amount of the data is extracted from several interviews the author has conducted with 10 participants, native speakers of the dialect, and complemented by additional forms from social media. The latter method of collecting the data adds to the significance of the research. The analysis of the data is carried out in Harmonic Serialism Optimality Theory (HS-OT), a version of the Optimality Theoretic (OT) framework, which holds that linguistic forms are the outcome of the interaction among violable universal constraints, and in the recent development of OT into a model that accounts for linguistic variation in harmonic derivational steps. This alternation process is assumed to be phonologically unconditioned and in free variation in other varieties of Arabic dialects in the area. The goal of this paper is to investigate whether this phenomenon is in free variation or governed, what governs this alternation between [q] and [ʁ] and whether the alternation is phonological or other linguistic constraints are in action. The results show that the [q] and [ʁ] alternation is not free and it occurs due to different assimilation processes. Positional, segmental sequence and vowel adjacency factors are in action in Hasawi Arabic.

Keywords: Harmonic serialism, Hasawi, uvular, alternation.

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Authors: Hermann Kuehnle

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Applications of the Hausdorff space and its mappings into tangent spaces are outlined, including their fractal dimensions and self-similarities. The paper details this theory set up and further describes virtualizations and atomization of manufacturing processes. It demonstrates novel concurrency principles that will guide manufacturing processes and resources configurations. Moreover, varying levels of details may be produced by up folding and breaking down of newly introduced generic models. This choice of layered generic models for units and systems aspects along specific aspects allows research work in parallel to other disciplines with the same focus on all levels of detail. More credit and easier access are granted to outside disciplines for enriching manufacturing grounds. Specific mappings and the layers give hints for chances for interdisciplinary outcomes and may highlight more details for interoperability standards, as already worked on the international level. The new rules are described, which require additional properties concerning all involved entities for defining distributed decision cycles, again on the base of self-similarity. All properties are further detailed and assigned to a maturity scale, eventually displaying the smartness maturity of a total shopfloor or a factory. The paper contributes to the intensive ongoing discussion in the field of intelligent distributed manufacturing and promotes solid concepts for implementations of Cyber Physical Systems and the Internet of Things into manufacturing industry, like industry 4.0, as discussed in German-speaking countries.

Keywords: Autonomous unit, Networkability, Smart manufacturing unit, Virtualization.

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Authors: Yukinori Taniguchi, Kazuyoshi Kurita, Kohei Mizuta, Keigo Nishitani, Ryuichi Fukuda

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Tungsten carbide is widely used as a tool material in metal manufacturing process. Since tungsten is typical rare metal, establishment of recycle process of tungsten carbide tools and restore into cemented carbide material bring great impact to metal manufacturing industry. Recently, recycle process of tungsten carbide has been developed and established gradually. However, the demands for quality of cemented carbide tool are quite severe because hardness, toughness, anti-wear ability, heat resistance, fatigue strength and so on should be guaranteed for precision machining and tool life. Currently, it is hard to restore the recycled tungsten carbide powder entirely as raw material for new processed cemented carbide tool. In this study, to suggest positive use of recycled tungsten carbide powder, we have tried to fabricate a carbon based sintered steel which shows reinforced mechanical properties with recycled tungsten carbide powder. We have made set of newly designed sintered steels. Compression test of sintered specimen in density ratio of 0.85 (which means 15% porosity inside) has been conducted. As results, at least 1.7 times higher in nominal strength in the amount of 7.0 wt.% was shown in recycled WC powder. The strength reached to over 600 MPa for the Fe-WC-Co-Cu sintered alloy. Wear test has been conducted by using ball-on-disk type friction tester using 5 mm diameter ball with normal force of 2 N in the dry conditions. Wear amount after 1,000 m running distance shows that about 1.5 times longer life was shown in designed sintered alloy. Since results of tensile test showed that same tendency in previous testing, it is concluded that designed sintered alloy can be used for several mechanical parts with special strength and anti-wear ability in relatively low cost due to recycled tungsten carbide powder.

Keywords: Tungsten carbide, recycle process, compression test, powder metallurgy, anti-wear ability.

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Authors: Anton A. Bykov, Irina O. Glot, Igor N. Shardakov, Alexey P. Shestakov

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This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the mechanisms of crack formation in reinforced concrete beams subjected to quasi-static bending. The boundary-value problem has been formulated in the framework of brittle fracture mechanics and has been solved by using the finite-element method. Numerical simulation of the vibrations of an uncracked beam and a beam with cracks of different size serves to determine the pattern of changes in the spectrum of eigenfrequencies observed during crack evolution. Experiments were performed on the sequential quasistatic four-point bending of the beam leading to the formation of cracks in concrete. At each loading stage, the beam was subjected to an impulse load to induce vibrations. Two stages of cracking were detected. At the first stage the conservative process of deformation is realized. The second stage is an active cracking, which is marked by a sharp change in eingenfrequencies. The boundary of a transition from one stage to another is well registered. The vibration behavior was examined for the beams strengthened by carbon-fiber sheet before loading and at the intermediate stage of loading after the grouting of initial cracks. The obtained results show that the vibrodiagnostic approach is an effective tool for monitoring of cracking and for assessing the quality of measures aimed at strengthening concrete structures.

Keywords: Crack formation. experiment. mathematical modeling. reinforced concrete. vibrodiagnostics.

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Authors: Xiaowei Zhang, Min Xu, Saeid Habibi, Fengjun Yan, Ryan Ahmed

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Recently, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have received extensive consideration since they offer a more sustainable and greener transportation alternative compared to fossil-fuel propelled vehicles. Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries are increasingly being deployed in EVs because of their high energy density, high cell-level voltage, and low rate of self-discharge. Since Li-ion batteries represent the most expensive component in the EV powertrain, accurate monitoring and control strategies must be executed to ensure their prolonged lifespan. The Battery Management System (BMS) has to accurately estimate parameters such as the battery State-of-Charge (SOC), State-of-Health (SOH), and Remaining Useful Life (RUL). In order for the BMS to estimate these parameters, an accurate and control-oriented battery model has to work collaboratively with a robust state and parameter estimation strategy. Since battery physical parameters, such as the internal resistance and diffusion coefficient change depending on the battery state-of-life (SOL), the BMS has to be adaptive to accommodate for this change. In this paper, an extensive battery aging study has been conducted over 12-months period on 5.4 Ah, 3.7 V Lithium polymer cells. Instead of using fixed charging/discharging aging cycles at fixed C-rate, a set of real-world driving scenarios have been used to age the cells. The test has been interrupted every 5% capacity degradation by a set of reference performance tests to assess the battery degradation and track model parameters. As battery ages, the combined model parameters are optimized and tracked in an offline mode over the entire batteries lifespan. Based on the optimized model, a state and parameter estimation strategy based on the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and the relatively new Smooth Variable Structure Filter (SVSF) have been applied to estimate the SOC at various states of life.

Keywords: Lithium-Ion batteries, genetic algorithm optimization, battery aging test, and parameter identification.

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Authors: P. I. Moraru, T. Rusu

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Soil tillage systems can be able to influence soil compaction, water dynamics, soil temperature and crop yield. These processes can be expressed as changes of soil microbiological activity, soil respiration and sustainability of agriculture. Objectives of this study were: 1 - to assess the effects of tillage systems (Conventional System (CS), Minimum Tillage (MT), No-Tillage (NT)) on soil compaction, soil temperature, soil moisture and soil respiration and 2- to establish the effect of the changes on the production of wheat, maize and soybean. Five treatments were installed: CS-plough; MT-paraplow, chisel, rotary grape; NT-direct sowing. The study was conducted on an Argic-Stagnic Faeoziom. The MT and NT applications reduce or completely eliminate the soil mobilization, due to this; soil is compacted in the first year of application. The degree of compaction is directly related to soil type and its state of degradation. The state of soil compaction diminished over time, tending toward a specific type of soil density. Soil moisture was higher in NT and MT at the time of sowing and in the early stages of vegetation and differences diminished over time. Moisture determinations showed statistically significant differences. The MT and NT applications reduced the thermal amplitude in the first 15cm of soil depth and increased the soil temperature by 0.5-2.2⁰C. Water dynamics and soil temperature showed no differences on the effect of crop yields. The determinations confirm the effect of soil tillage system on soil respiration; the daily average was lower at NT (315-1914 mmoli m^-2s^-1) and followed by MT (318-2395 mmoli m^-2s^-1) and is higher in the CS (321-2480 mmol m^-2s^-1). Comparing with CS, all the four conservation tillage measures decreased soil respiration, with the best effects of no-tillage. Although wheat production at MT and NT applications, had no significant differences soybean production was significantly affected from MT and NT applications. The differences in crop yields are recorded at maize and can be a direct consequence of loosening, mineralization and intensive mobilization of soil fertility.

Keywords: Soil tillage, soil properties, yield.

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Authors: Rajkumar Verma, Bhu Dev Sharma

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Entropy is a key measure in studies related to information theory and its many applications. Campbell for the first time recognized that the exponential of the Shannon’s entropy is just the size of the sample space, when distribution is uniform. Here is the idea to study exponentials of Shannon’s and those other entropy generalizations that involve logarithmic function for a probability distribution in general. In this paper, we introduce a measure of sample space, called ‘entropic measure of a sample space’, with respect to the underlying distribution. It is shown in both discrete and continuous cases that this new measure depends on the parameters of the distribution on the sample space - same sample space having different ‘entropic measures’ depending on the distributions defined on it. It was noted that Campbell’s idea applied for R`enyi’s parametric entropy of a given order also. Knowing that parameters play a role in providing suitable choices and extended applications, paper studies parametric entropic measures of sample spaces also. Exponential entropies related to Shannon’s and those generalizations that have logarithmic functions, i.e. are additive have been studies for wider understanding and applications. We propose and study exponential entropies corresponding to non additive entropies of type (α, β), which include Havard and Charvˆat entropy as a special case.

Keywords: Sample space, Probability distributions, Shannon’s entropy, R`enyi’s entropy, Non-additive entropies .

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Authors: P. G. Siddheshwar, B. N. Veena

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Rayleigh-B´enard convection of a nanoliquid in shallow, square and tall enclosures is studied using the Khanafer-Vafai-Lightstone single-phase model. The thermophysical properties of water, copper, copper-oxide, alumina, silver and titania at 3000 K under stagnant conditions that are collected from literature are used in calculating thermophysical properties of water-based nanoliquids. Phenomenological laws and mixture theory are used for calculating thermophysical properties. Free-free, rigid-rigid and rigid-free boundary conditions are considered in the study. Intractable Lorenz model for each boundary combination is derived and then reduced to the tractable Ginzburg-Landau model. The amplitude thus obtained is used to quantify the heat transport in terms of Nusselt number. Addition of nanoparticles is shown not to alter the influence of the nature of boundaries on the onset of convection as well as on heat transport. Amongst the three enclosures considered, it is found that tall and shallow enclosures transport maximum and minimum energy respectively. Enhancement of heat transport due to nanoparticles in the three enclosures is found to be in the range 3% - 11%. Comparison of results in the case of rigid-rigid boundaries is made with those of an earlier work and good agreement is found. The study has limitations in the sense that thermophysical properties are calculated by using various quantities modelled for static condition.

Keywords: Enclosures, free-free, rigid-rigid and rigid-free boundaries, Ginzburg-Landau model, Lorenz model.

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Authors: Seema Chopra, R. Mitra, Vijay Kumar

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A neurofuzzy approach for a given set of input-output training data is proposed in two phases. Firstly, the data set is partitioned automatically into a set of clusters. Then a fuzzy if-then rule is extracted from each cluster to form a fuzzy rule base. Secondly, a fuzzy neural network is constructed accordingly and parameters are tuned to increase the precision of the fuzzy rule base. This network is able to learn and optimize the rule base of a Sugeno like Fuzzy inference system using Hybrid learning algorithm, which combines gradient descent, and least mean square algorithm. This proposed neurofuzzy system has the advantage of determining the number of rules automatically and also reduce the number of rules, decrease computational time, learns faster and consumes less memory. The authors also investigate that how neurofuzzy techniques can be applied in the area of control theory to design a fuzzy controller for linear and nonlinear dynamic systems modelling from a set of input/output data. The simulation analysis on a wide range of processes, to identify nonlinear components on-linely in a control system and a benchmark problem involving the prediction of a chaotic time series is carried out. Furthermore, the well-known examples of linear and nonlinear systems are also simulated under the Matlab/Simulink environment. The above combination is also illustrated in modeling the relationship between automobile trips and demographic factors.

Keywords: Fuzzy control, neuro-fuzzy techniques, fuzzy subtractive clustering, extraction of rules, and optimization of membership functions.

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Authors: Kai Häussermann, Christoph Hubig, Paul Levi, Frank Leymann, Oliver Siemoneit, Matthias Wieland, Oliver Zweigle

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Using spatial models as a shared common basis of information about the environment for different kinds of contextaware systems has been a heavily researched topic in the last years. Thereby the research focused on how to create, to update, and to merge spatial models so as to enable highly dynamic, consistent and coherent spatial models at large scale. In this paper however, we want to concentrate on how context-aware applications could use this information so as to adapt their behavior according to the situation they are in. The main idea is to provide the spatial model infrastructure with a situation recognition component based on generic situation templates. A situation template is – as part of a much larger situation template library – an abstract, machinereadable description of a certain basic situation type, which could be used by different applications to evaluate their situation. In this paper, different theoretical and practical issues – technical, ethical and philosophical ones – are discussed important for understanding and developing situation dependent systems based on situation templates. A basic system design is presented which allows for the reasoning with uncertain data using an improved version of a learning algorithm for the automatic adaption of situation templates. Finally, for supporting the development of adaptive applications, we present a new situation-aware adaptation concept based on workflows.

Keywords: context-awareness, ethics, facilitation of system use through workflows, situation recognition and learning based on situation templates and situation ontology's, theory of situationaware systems

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Authors: Munazza A. Mirza, Khawar Khurshid

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Individuals are generally associated with different learning styles, which have been explored extensively in recent past. The learning styles refer to the potential of an individual by which s/he can easily comprehend and retain information. Among various learning style models, VARK is the most accepted model which categorizes the learners with respect to their sensory characteristics. Based on the number of preferred learning modes, the learners can be categorized as uni-modal, bi-modal, tri-modal, or quad/multi-modal. Although there is a prevalent belief in the learning styles, however, the model is not being frequently and effectively utilized in the higher education. This research describes the identification model to validate teacher’s didactic practice and student’s performance linkage with the learning styles. The identification model is recommended to check the effective application and evaluation of the various learning styles. The proposed model is a guideline to effectively implement learning styles inventory in order to ensure that it will validate performance linkage with learning styles. If performance is linked with learning styles, this may help eradicate the distrust on learning style theory. For this purpose, a comprehensive study was conducted to compare and understand how VARK inventory model is being used to identify learning preferences and their correlation with learner’s performance. A comparative analysis of the findings of these studies is presented to understand the learning styles of tertiary students in various disciplines. It is concluded with confidence that the learning styles of students cannot be associated with any specific discipline. Furthermore, there is not enough empirical proof to link performance with learning styles.

Keywords: Learning style, VARK, sensory preferences, identification model, didactic practices.

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Authors: Claudio Díaz, Mabel Ortiz

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An EFL teacher education programme in Chile takes five years to train a future teacher of English. Preservice teachers are prepared to learn an advanced level of English and teach the language from 5th to 12th grade in the Chilean educational system. In the context of their first EFL Methodology course in year four, preservice teachers have to create a five-minute digital story that starts from a critical incident they have experienced as teachers-to-be during their observations or interventions in the schools. A critical incident can be defined as a happening, a specific incident or event either observed by them or involving them. The happening sparks their thinking and may make them subsequently think differently about the particular event. When they create their digital stories, preservice teachers put technology, teaching practice and theory together to narrate a story that is complemented by still images, moving images, text, sound effects and music. The story should be told as a personal narrative, which explains the critical incident. This presentation will focus on the creation process of 50 Chilean preservice teachers’ digital stories highlighting the critical incidents they started their stories. It will also unpack preservice teachers’ beliefs and reflections when approaching their teaching practices in schools. These beliefs will be coded and categorized through content analysis to evidence preservice teachers’ most rooted conceptions about English teaching and learning in Chilean schools. The findings seem to indicate that preservice teachers’ beliefs are strongly mediated by contextual and affective factors.

Keywords: Beliefs, Digital stories, Preservice teachers, Practicum.

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Authors: Rallapalli Revanth, Shivakumar Bhavi, Vijay Kumar Turaga

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Dispensing powders manually can be difficult as it requires to gradually pour and check the amount on the scale to be dispensed. Current systems are manual and non-continuous in nature and is user dependent and it is also difficult to control powder dispensation. Recurrent dosing of powdered medicines in precise amounts quickly and accurately has been an all-time challenge. Various powder dispensing mechanisms are being designed to overcome these challenges. Battery operated screw conveyor mechanism is being innovated to overcome above problems faced. These inventions are numerically evaluated at concept development level by employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) of gas-solids multiphase flow systems. CFD has been very helpful in the development of such devices, saving time and money by reducing the number of prototypes and testing. In this study, powder dispensation from the trocar's end is simulated by using the Dense Discrete Phase Model technique along with Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow. The powder is viewed as a secondary flow in air (DDPM-KTGF). By considering the volume fraction of powder as 50%, the transportation side is done by rotation of the screw conveyor. The performance is calculated for 1 sec time frame in an unsteady computation manner. This methodology will help designers in developing design concepts to improve the dispensation and the effective area within a quick turnaround time frame.

Keywords: Multiphase flow, screw conveyor, transient, DDPM - KTGF.

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