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The article presents a calendar of forthcoming congresses and conventions. The 13th International Congress on Sound and Vibration will be held on July 2-6, 2006 at Vienna University of Technology in Vienna, Austria. The 16th European Conference of Fracture will be held on July 3-7, 2006 in Alexandroupolis, Greece. The 8th Biennial ASME Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis is scheduled on July 4-7, 2006 in Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy.

This paper explores the exact relationship between the development level of American public libraries and the output of science and engineering publications. We use the sample data from 1996 to 2019 to build a time series model, and analyze the long-term equilibrium, short-term correlation and Granger causality relationships between them with stationarity test, cointegration test, Granger causality test, and impulse response function. The results suggest that there are a long-term equilibrium relationship and a bidirectional Granger causality between them. The two interact and promote each other. The impact of the development level of American public libraries on the output of science and engineering publications can be seen in fewer time periods, while the impact of the output of science and engineering publications on the development level of American public libraries take more time periods to show. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article undertakes a cross-national comparison of the aerospace sectors in two 'liberal' countries, the UK and Australia, examining how several multinational firms engage with engineering skill institutions: regulation of entry to profession, entry-level and ongoing training. The paper empirically demonstrates and theoretically argues that the social partners and employment protection institutions can in certain contexts play an important role in professional skill development. Institutional legacy matters, shaping multinational responses and providing distinct resources for various actors including unions. Tension between existing skill institutions ('country' or 'sector' effects) and the capacity of multinationals (MNCs) to shape practices are addressed. Both country cases demonstrate how MNCs may be able to shape practices in such a way that they create 'MNC' effects, defined as a combination of large firm/subsidiary, and 'corporate' effects, that affect engineering skill development for other firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probability and random processes is considered by students to be conceptually one of the most difficult subjects in the undergraduate electrical and computer engineering curriculum. There are numerous reasons for this difficulty encountered by the students. First off, humans are not innately good at probabilistic intuition. Traditionally, this subject has been introduced in a very abstract manner without emphasis on real-world applications from electrical and computer engineering discipline. In addition, extensive use of interactive simulation and visualization tools, offering an alternative way of developing probabilistic intuition, is usually missing from traditional course offerings. This paper presents a unique pedagogical approach to teaching an introductory probability course offered to electrical and computer engineering juniors. The salient features of the proposed pedagogical approach include more emphasis on real-world electrical and computer engineering problems that show the applications of abstract probabilistic concepts; extensive hands-on and interactive MATLAB® simulations of real-world electrical and computer engineering problems that are tightly integrated into the curriculum; highlighting the frequentist approach to build probabilistic intuition using simulations; concrete examples showing how naive probabilistic intuition can be erroneous and how to develop correct probabilistic intuition based on systematically modeling, simulating, and analyzing a problem; and application-based simulations driving the abstract theory rather than the other way around. This pedagogical approach was implemented in a course offered to electrical and computer engineering undergraduates at Purdue University Northwest. The paper presents a concrete example illustrating how the salient features of the proposed pedagogical approach were implemented as part of this course and student data from the courses to validate the efficacy of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article serves as an introduction to the June issue of the periodical "Concurrent Engineering: Research & Applications." The theme of the issue focuses on research into the concept of modularity and commonality and its management. An overview of the ten papers featured in the issue is presented. They include "Modularity and Commonality Research: Past Developments and Future Opportunities," by S. K. Fixson, and "Supporting 'Design for Re-use' with Modular Design," by J. S. Meehan and others.

The School of Engineering and Technology of Central Queensland University focuses on the continuous development and innovation of best learning and teaching practices to increase student retention and improve their learning experiences. Face to face and distance learning (teaching delivery models) are fundamental aspects of providing quality support to the students' learning. One incredibly important aspect of students' learning is to provide relevant industry-related projects and applications of relevant simulation software to mimic the systems. This paper develops students' essential problem-solving skills and control strategies of fluid power systems in mechanical engineering through the Master of Engineering programs by employing Simulink, SimScape Fluid applications in Matlab software and Energy Plus with Design Builder. The main focus is to ensure that the students achieve the required skills of building fluid circuit models based on physical connections that directly integrate with appropriate symbols and modelling paradigms in fluid power applications to model the appropriate physical models to mimic the industrial fluid power projects selected. The basic ideas and content are to be delivered through weekly lectures and tutorial sessions, and the students' skills in fluid power systems and software are developed and monitored through weekly workshops scheduled for all projects. The key outcomes of this study are the level of understanding of fluid power systems, development of simulation skills using the software indicated, interpretation of the results the students have obtained and validations of those results. The students must show they have developed appropriate problem-solving skills using simulation software, professional presentation and effective team-building skills. As the students develop appropriate problem-solving and engineering practice skills, their satisfaction and feedback rates improve significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory experiments offer one way to introduce more realism in education and play a key role for the acquisition of practical skills, especially in engineering. This paper addresses the development of an equipment to teach fundamentals of industrial process control engineering mainly for undergraduate courses at the University of Extremadura. The laboratory consists of the DELTALAB–COSIMI wastewater treatment plant SP244, which is controlled by a CompactRIO-9014 high-performance real-time embedded controller, a kind of programmable logic controller of National Instruments. Learning objectives and a summary of students activities carried out in the laboratory lessons are given to illustrate the possibilities of use of this equipment for teaching of industrial process control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the authors review extant natural language processing models in the context of undergraduate mechanical engineering education. These models have advanced to a stage where it has become increasingly more difficult to discern computer vs. human-produced material, and as a result, have understandably raised questions about their impact on academic integrity. As part of our review, we perform two sets of tests with OpenAI's natural language processing model (1) using GPT-3 to generate text for a mechanical engineering laboratory report and (2) using Codex to generate code for an automation and control systems laboratory. Our results show that natural language processing is a potentially powerful assistive technology for engineering students. However, it is a technology that must be used with care, given its potential to enable cheating and plagiarism behaviours given how the technology challenges traditional assessment practices and traditional notions of authorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation of a complex circuit with hardware components in a conventional way seems to be quite difficult for the students. Resultant wave-shapes may not be accurate and determined values of different parameters may not be exact. Due to inaccurate outcomes and time-consuming process in a conventional way, researchers despond to continue their approach. In this paper, a trainer kit has been developed which is just like a laboratory with necessary components and aims to implement multivibrators (Bistable, Monostable, and Astable) and RC phase shift oscillators in the laboratory. A variable power supply is constructed in the trainer kit that provides 9 V dc to the multivibrators and 15 V dc to the oscillator. Potentiometer, voltage regulator, different active and passive components such as resistors, capacitor, op-amp, transistor, and numerous jumper wires are introduced in this kit. The trainer kit ascertains an easy implementation by eliminating complexity and assures accurate wave-shapes at the oscilloscope within a short time. To validate the proposed system, a survey program has been introduced among many students and faculty members. The outcome of the survey is the demonstration of student and instructor views and opinions which acknowledges the trainer kit as an efficient and compatible working platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an information application, which utilizes undergraduate project-based learning curriculum for continuous improvement year by year. The project work curriculum of the undergraduates in engineering college fully complies with the concept and spirit of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. They practice all the learning in campus to analyze, plan, and solve the problems they meet in their projects. With the progression, the adviser/mentor of the projects should give them some suggestions timely to find out the right direction. This paper proposed an ubiquitous information application to support the integrative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning curriculum for continuous improvement. Finally, we have also successfully implemented and applied this application in Shih-Chien University Kaohsiung Campus, Taiwan since 2012. It helps 11 teachers and 772 undergraduates cooperate 258 project works for 11 years (iterations) for continuous improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the statistical analysis problem for multivariable stable sampled-data systems, where various delays are located in different parts of the control loop. The analysis is based on the parametric transfer function concept. Apart from closed expressions for the parametric transfer matrix of the system, the paper provides a constructive method for calculating the output variance as a function of continuous time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce a knowledge-based managemental prototype entitled E + for environmental-conscious construction relied on an integration of current environmental management tools in construction area. The overall objective of developing the E + prototype is to facilitate selectively reusing the retrievable knowledge in construction engineering and management areas assembled from previous projects for the best practice in environmental-conscious construction. The methodologies adopted in previous and ongoing research related to the development of the E + belong to the operations research area and the information technology area, including literature review, questionnaire survey and interview, statistical analysis, system analysis and development, experimental research and simulation, and so on. The content presented in this paper includes an advanced E + prototype, a comprehensive review of environmental management tools integrated to the E + prototype, and an experimental case study of the implementation of the E + prototype. It is expected that the adoption and implementation of the E + prototype can effectively facilitate contractors to improve their environmental performance in the lifecycle of project-based construction and to reduce adverse environmental impacts due to the deployment of various engineering and management processes at each construction stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual laboratories have been demonstrated to contribute successfully to the theoretical understanding of many important systems theory and automatic control concepts in engineering education. This paper describes the pilot experience on the use of such laboratories as learning tools in introductory systems theory courses at the University of Extremadura during the academic year 2015/2016. The purpose of the present paper is to offer some objective academic evidence for the effectiveness of the use of virtual laboratories to improve learning in laboratory lessons in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has been extensively studied both in the social sciences and in the engineering design field. In this paper we present the specifications and features of a new tool designed to coordinate the development of new solutions during the early phases of design projects. It is the result of 18 months of fieldwork within industrial companies during which we played an active role in the development of an innovative solution. We were also able to closely analyze the activities of certain actors (in this case materials experts) who are often behind proposals for new materials and processes. The Innovation Development and Diffusion (ID2) tool is geared to help innovative solutions emerge, on the one hand, and consolidate these solutions by circulating them to the company's different specialists on the other. The tool is based on a concepts/criteria table enabling the viewpoints of the different actors involved to be summarized during the design phase. In this paper we shall show how functional features such as links, questions, alarms, information enquiries, and the possibilities for exchanging information between actors can contribute to developing solutions for these different professionals. We will also see how the "innovative" solution proposed can be developed further by comparing and assessing it in relation to a list of criteria which is gradually drawn up by the actors involved in the project. This tool is designed to be managed by a coordinating actor who may also, depending on his/her strategy, consolidate the proposal by involving an increasing number of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how professional engineers recognize and make sense of product defects in their everyday work. Such activities form a crucial, if often overlooked, part of professional engineering practice. By detecting, recognizing and repairing defects, engineers contribute to the creation of value and the optimization of production processes. Focusing on early-career engineers in an advanced steel mill in the United States, we demonstrate how learning specific ways of seeing and attending to defects take shape around the increasing automation of certain aspects of engineering work. Practices of sensing defects are embodied, necessitating disciplined eyes, ears, and hands, but they are also distributed across human and non-human actors. We argue that such an approach to technical work provides texture to the stark opposition between human and machine work that has emerged in debates around automation. Our approach to sensing defects suggests that such an opposition, with its focus on job loss or retention, misses the more nuanced ways in which humans and machines are conjoined in perceptual tasks. The effects of automation should be understood through such shifting configurations and the ways that they variously incorporate the perceptual practices of humans and machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaughn, S. E. Engineering Vulnerability: In Pursuit of Climate Adaptation (Durham: Duke University Press, 2022), 256 pp. US $99.95 (cloth), US $26.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-4780-1548-2 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-4780-1810-0 (paper). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends our earlier work on continuous-time approximation of time-delayed dynamical systems by introducing a lowpass filter-based approach. The proposed method substantially improves the accuracy of predictions in frequency as well as time domain. It is applicable to linear and nonlinear dynamical systems, and can be readily incorporated with real-time controls. In the paper, we first review the mathematics literature on numerical methods for delayed differential equations including the equivalent abstract Cauchy problem. We show that the mathematics work provides a solid foundation for several well-studied numerical methods for time-delayed dynamical systems in the engineering literature. Examples are presented to show the accuracy of the pole prediction for linear systems, and temporal responses for linear and nonlinear systems. Furthermore, we discuss the bandwidth issue of the method, and demonstrate that many extraneous poles introduced by the discrete approximation of the time-delayed system that do not match any exact poles of the system are still very important and contribute to the accuracy of temporal responses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper addresses a comparison between three different approaches used to evaluate a set of different textile fabric samples in terms of pilling formation. Originally, the set was subjectively evaluated by a panel of experts, being that, our reference evaluation. Then, the same set of fabrics was analysed by a dual-scanning optical system which has been implemented by our team to reconstruct 3D images of the topography of the fabrics. With the obtained range data, an objective evaluation of the pilling formation was carried out based on the total pilling volume and the results showed to be in agreement with the original subjective evaluation. In this paper, our purpose is to establish a correspondence model in order to automatically attribute the equivalent pilling grade. Furthermore, the same set of fabrics was then subjectively reevaluated by different observers for comparison with the reference evaluation, and the results obtained by the correspondence model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon architecture and environmental engineering students' approaches to health and wellbeing issues in design studio project briefs. The design studio project is a key aspect of the students' fourth year programme in a dual accredited (RIBA/ARB and CIBSE) BEng course in the SW of England. Whilst the overarching site and brief are set by the studio leader, each student develops their own project agenda drawing on extensive urban and site analysis as well as precedent research. Particular detailed aspects of the brief are then further analysed and researched as part of an engineering report study. The research draws on first author's earlier work on effects of non-prescriptive briefs on transdisciplinary studio working in architecture and engineering programmes. Drawing on visual ethnography methods, the preliminary observations drawn out of the study begin to consider key intrinsic/extrinsic motivations and assumptions students draw on to develop a health and wellbeing agenda in their projects and the way these motivations further inform analysis in the engineering reports. The implications of the research are twofold. First, the preliminary analysis enables new insights into assumptions graduating architecture and engineering students draw on to develop a health and wellbeing motivated agenda. Second the study has benefits for design studio education brief setting approaches in particular, increasingly drawn upon in engineering and multidisciplinary built environment pedagogy. Practical application : This paper enables new initial insights into ways designers (architects and building services engineers) approach health and wellbeing issues at early stages of design, drawing on a higher education empirical setting. It is particularly relevant to professionals as well as educators in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After eminent thinkers in the 1960s submitted critical views on technology, some philosophers of technology extended their macro perspectives. Since then, many historians and sociologists of technology steadily marginalized their general claims through richly empirical, constructivist case studies of concrete engineering processes. Some recent efforts have begun to bridge these two diverging orientations. This paper participates in such efforts with a case study of relationships between macro cultures and engineering processes. It shows that behind the adoption of systems engineering by engineers and managers who led the Apollo programme was a macro current of social values in the USA. Post-war American society saw the rise of highly individualistic social norms that valued mobility, meritocracy and clear-cut contractual working relationships. Such norms triumphed most conspicuously in the federal government during the 1960s. Engineers and managers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters, who tended to share such values, refined the formalized, depersonalized methods of systems engineering, which enabled them to perfect space technology. In order to show such a correlation between macro values and micro practices, this paper draws a comparison between engineering communities in different cultural settings in the USA and Japan. This paper thus explores the macro social environment that gave rise to systems engineering, which, in turn, continues to function as a skeletal structure for our technological society today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the development of information searching expertise by graduate students conducting original research. The authors state the intention of their paper is to identify the types of sources or information needs of engineering research students and possible changes in types of information needed over time. Previous research was referenced by the authors and they explain their research methodology, collecting data through surveys, observations, student feedback and interviews over the course of one year.

The construction industry has been criticized, in many countries around the world, for not keeping pace with developments in the rest of the economy. One of the key issues the construction industry needs to address is how to become 'customer oriented'. This paper argues that the concept of customer orientation in construction has been influenced by the passive approach to product definition adopted by professional advisors and consultants. The paper will examine the current knowledge of the customer orientation concept and present a research model that can be used to examine the effectiveness of current practices in providing satisfactory products and services to customers. The paper will report the results of an investigation into the effectiveness of existing methods, practices and philosophies deployed by organizations involved in construction in identifying customer needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based techniques for automated condition monitoring of HVAC systems have been under development for some years. The generation of false alarms has been identified as a principal factor affecting the potential usefulness of condition monitoring in HVAC applications. Results from the application of these methods to systems installed in real buildings have highlighted the difficulty in selecting good alarm thresholds that balance robustness (lack of false alarms) and sensitivity (early detection). This paper demonstrates that this balance can be met in a transparent and analytical manner, through the application of uncertainty analysis. The paper discusses the sources of uncertainty associated with component models and system measurements. A condition monitoring scheme applied to a typical HVAC cooling coil subsystem installed in a real building is presented. Faults are artificially introduced into the system and are used in conjunction with fault-free operation to demonstrate the sensitivity and robustness of the scheme. The principle conclusions drawn by the paper consider the likely minimum magnitudes of faults that can be detected in typical HVAC systems, without false alarm generation. More broadly however, the paper demonstrates that the issue of uncertainty affects all aspects of system monitoring, modelling and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrent engineering (CE) principles have considerably matured over the last decade. However, many companies still face enormous challenges when implementing and managing CE practices. This is due to the increased complexity of engineering products and processes, on one hand, and the lack of corresponding CE models and tools, on the other hand. This paper focuses on four critical problems that challenge management while implementing CE in complex product development (PD) projects. We refer to these problems as: iteration, overlapping, decomposition and integration, and convergence problems. We describe these problems proposing a unified modeling and solution approach based on the design structure matrix (DSM) method, which is an information exchange model that allows managers to represent complex task relationships to better plan and manage CE initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction is by its nature a data-rich domain. It is also a competitive market with historically low profit margins. One step towards improving design efficiency is to develop techniques to examine and interpret construction related data. To achieve any significant improvement it is necessary to focus on a given sub-domain of engineering data. This paper focuses on analysis data, in particular building performance analysis data. This data, generated by performing an analysis of a building or its elements, may be used more efficiently and effectively by improving its visual representation. This is illustrated in this paper by three applications developed to improve the representation of specific building analysis datasets. Each exemplifies a structured and innovative approach to the development of applications used to enable engineers to dedicate more resources to understanding the results of their analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, researchers have debated the role of "domain" in creativity. Opinion remains divided, but a common view is that creativity is a combination of domain-general elements, coupled with domain-specific manifestations, usually in the form of different kinds of products. Discussions of domains and creativity frequently take place in very broad, thematic terms, differentiating only between Arts and Sciences, with less attention given to differences within domains. The goal of this paper is to explore a single technological domain, studying differences between the micro-domains of Engineering and Industrial Design. Do engineers and industrial designers differ when evaluating the creativity of products? If they differ, what might be the underlying drivers of these differences? Contrary to expectations, not only were there significant differences between these groups, but evidence presented in this study suggests that engineers have difficulty differentiating between aesthetics and functionality, as components of product creativity, in contrast to industrial designers, who seem to possess a more discriminating eye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdisciplinary, or cross-functional, teams have become quite common for engineering and design. Many of today's scientific breakthroughs occur in interdisciplinary teams, as the increasingly complex problems facing society often cannot be addressed by single disciplines alone. However, fostering creative and productive collaboration in interdisciplinary teams is no easy challenge. First, leading creative teamwork is difficult by itself. Second, many of the factors that impede teams and teamwork in general are exacerbated in interdisciplinary teams as a result of differences between team members. In this paper, we will review the team creativity psychology and management literature, and discuss how cognitive processes that facilitate creativity can be used by engineering and design teams. Specifically, past research has shown problem construction that allows teams to develop a structure to guide solving ambiguous problems. Further, problem construction allows teams to develop a shared understanding of the problem which aids in later processes. While there is significant research on idea generation, results suggest that teams may not be better at this than individuals. In this review, we discuss how idea generation in teams can mitigate some of the issues that lead to this effect. Finally, team research has only recently began to determine what factors influence idea evaluation and selection for implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of piping system requires a systematic consideration of various factors as addressed by the codes and standards. This research paper aims to provide a method for flexibility analysis of a selected area of process piping at an industrial plant. Analysis is done for the purpose of accommodating a spare heat exchanger in the process layout. The analysis follows a systematic procedure, with preparation of a tentative model of the system on CAESAR II software followed by insertion of different pipe supports. The selection and location of these supports is based on the results obtained from displacement, stress, reaction and equipment nozzle analysis of the piping system. The design is in accordance with ASME B31.3, which is the standard code for process piping. The proposed method can be adapted for piping configuration of any industrial plant. With the provision of a systematic procedure, the method ensures time saving and efficient flexibility analysis of any piping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents strategies that can be used to enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) awareness in academic libraries. A case study approach was used to provide insights from the author’s fellowship experience and personal reflections from working as a science librarian in academic and special library settings. In this regard it revealed six strategies that academic librarians can implement to enhance STEM awareness. These strategies target users, non-users and staff. This paper is unique in that it is the first publication on the initiatives of a Jamaican academic library in promoting the STEM concept. This study is of value as it includes strategies that can be used to enhance STEM awareness; allows for benchmarking; and points to the need for further research in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes teaching enhancements the author used to improve student satisfaction ratings in three higher year undergraduate Mechanical Engineering units. Improvements to student satisfaction and feedback rates were obtained by applying Central Queensland University’s seven principles of good teaching and the author’s new innovative teaching approach, called the ‘4-point teaching and learning strategy’ to make red units green and good units excellent. The research question is to analyse how effective is the author’s 4-point teaching and learning strategy to student satisfaction and their learning journey. Student satisfaction ratings and attrition rates, as well as student grades are compared over a few years to identify trends. These approaches were presented to other engineering colleagues, some of whom employed them with an overall improvement in student learning being noticed in recent terms. This paper deals with the Scholarship of Teaching where an instructor uses a systematic approach and a rational framework employing the new 4-point strategy to make changes to unit delivery to improve student learning and satisfaction, as well as to reduce attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how 24 adult YouTube vloggers tell their 'acne stories' by means of videos posted on YouTube between 2015 and 2020. In doing so, we study the relationship between embodied experiences of acne and health-seeking practices, particularly as they pertain to managing the everyday life of the body, abandoning medical expertise and embracing lay knowledge, living with disability, and engineering an improved self. Overall, we suggest that the vloggers share a general scepticism about the clinical management of their condition, often eschewing medical treatments while advocating for the modification of lifestyle practices. Ultimately, our study shows that vloggers understand healing from acne as both a personal journey that requires individual initiative and a shared pursuit best supported not by doctors and prescription medication but by an online environment that encourages self-engineering through free-market health care options and neoliberal values of working on the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewals and especially enhancements of rail signalling and control systems are increasingly including a strong programme of human factors integration. One contribution to the human factors work that is required is work analysis – the understanding of what tasks and functions exist in current work systems, the artefacts (controls and displays used) and the strategies employed by skilled operators. One increasingly common approach to such work systems analysis is cognitive work analysis (CWA), used to develop understanding of a work domain and tasks in a structured fashion and as a basis for new design recommendations. The purpose of this paper is to explain, for an engineering and systems developer audience, the basis for and use of CWA. This is done in the context of rail electrical control rooms and especially the use made of various information display elements including alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To obtain the genuine load spectra of the components of engineering vehicles, the influencing factors in the extrapolation of load spectra should be considered because these are of paramount importance. In the present paper, a multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) is proposed to determine the proper upcrossing of the high and low levels (UHLL) for extrapolation of the Rainflow matrix (RFM). First, the distribution characteristics of load amplitude extracted from observed RFMs are obtained. Subsequently, five criteria, namely, the statistic of mean, statistic of variance, coefficient of skewness, coefficient of kurtosis, and the experts’ preference, are selected to describe the fitting accuracy of the Weibull probability density function. Finally, the relationship between the load threshold and the level crossing function is determined after calculating their relative importance, and consequently, the proper UHLL is obtained. The usefulness and validity of the proposed method is illustrated by two typical load-time histories. Results show that the MCDM-based method can combine the subjective and objective factors and obtain an optimal load level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to study experimentally and numerically the frictional behaviour of engineering surfaces within all lubrication regions of point contacts. For this reason, a numerical solution proposed elsewhere by the current authors, which can predict friction under the different lubrication modes of elastohydrodynamic, mixed, and boundary lubrications, is introduced. Based on a deterministic model of mixed lubrication, the solution was combined with the variation of the lubricating films’ physical state during the transition of lubrication modes. Results show that roughness amplitude has a great effect on the transition of friction regimes. In addition, it is also observed that variation of the friction coefficient has nearly the same trend as the true contact area ratio in the mixed lubrication state. Meanwhile, it is concluded that transverse roughness has better film-forming capacity than longitudinal roughness and thus leads to a lower magnitude of friction coefficient if the operating conditions are the same. Analysis of the mechanism of friction behaviour suggests that the true contact area ratio determines the friction behaviour of engineering surfaces in mixed lubrication. In smooth contacts, the comparison of experiment tests and simulation results suggests that friction variation results from gradual change of the liquid lubricant to solid-like matter with diminishing film thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article introduces the October-November 2004 issue of "The International Journal of Robotics Research." This issue contains a selection of research papers presented at CLAWAR 2002 conference which was held in Paris, France, in September 2001. CLAWAR conferences are mainly dedicated to climbing and walking robots. The increasing interest in this new field of robot research is motivated by advanced applications such as exploration, intervention in extreme environments, personal services, emergency rescue operations, transportation, entertainment, etc,. and to envision robots evolving into electromechanical replica of humans.

This paper proposes a method of deriving the engineering and strength properties of unidirectional lamina from laminate properties. Simple straight-sided untabbed tension and compression specimens are used to obtain the laminate properties. The derivation approach is an extension of existing methods that use cross-ply or angle-ply test specimens and back-out factors (also known as cross-ply factors) to derive unidirectional lamina strengths in the fiber direction. This method may reduce the cost of testing and improve the accuracy of strength predictions. It may be used to characterize some newer material forms such as two-dimensional braids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of shape morphing compliant mechanism is inherently different from the typical single output design problems, due to the multiple output points along the morphing boundary. We have previously developed a genetic algorithm (GA)-based synthesis approach, incorporating a binary ground structure parameterization, to systematically design shape morphing compliant mechanisms. However, the approach is ineffective due to issues such as the generation of disconnected structures and the need to choose an initial mesh. In this paper, we present the `load path representation,' which is developed to overcome the issues encountered using the binary ground structure parameterization. The performance of the load path approach over the binary ground structure approach is demonstrated through several design examples. The results have shown that the load path approach offers several advantages, such as (a) eliminating the need of an initial ground structure, (b) ensuring structural connectivity, and (c) yielding solutions that generate desired shape change efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a feasible methodology is proposed for the damage-tolerant design of composite sandwich structures and the residual safety evaluation of low-velocity impacted composite sandwich structures. This methodology is based upon the implementation of an event-driven failure criterion called Damage Propagation Criterion. In this criterion, the impact-damaged composite sandwich structure is considered to be unsafe if the damage will propagate to a specified characteristic location near the damage zone under the desired compressive load. The critical far field stress corresponding to the initiation of damage propagation at the specified characteristic location is used as the only characteristic value in this criterion. For a sandwich structure with low-velocity impact damage, this critical far field stress can be determined through either Sandwich Compression After Impact (SCAI) test or numerical analysis by using a modified analytical model or a nonlinear finite element model. Both the experimental and numerical approaches are briefly introduced with examples in this paper. At the end of this paper, the feasible methodology is introduced for the engineering applications in damage-tolerant design of composite sandwich structures and the residual safety evaluation of impact-damaged composite sandwich panels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of things is emerging in the recent years and is changing many traditional industries in the recent years. Engineering students of several knowledge areas may benefit with the introduction of internet of things concepts in the undergraduate courses, since there is an increasingly need of professionals to work in multidisciplinary teams. This paper proposes an undergraduate course to teach internet of things concepts for engineering students using cooperative problem-based learning (CPBL). The students have to develop a project using different internet of things technologies: sensing and actuation, embedded computing, communication and networking, cloud computing, and data analytics. The proposed course may help students to improve not only their technical skills but also soft skills, such as teamwork, communication and creativity. The developed projects achieved good results, and positive feedback was received from the students. Students from engineering courses related to internet of things had a better performance than students of no internet of things-related courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research work concerning cooperative and concurrent engineering, increasingly interest industrial firms. Companies can no longer ignore this approach due to industrial needs such as improvement of quality and reduction of cost and delay. The objective of this paper is to propose an approach allowing the different experts or firms, to cooperate via Internet. To facilitate the communication of information among experts and to suppress the organizational borders of companies, STEP Standards is a viable tool that can be used in this frame. Nevertheless some tools have to be developed to give accessible STEP technology to the different actors. As an application study, the cutting process field is considered. Actually, STEP does not propose any parts for such field, so we have developed different standard models based on STEP methodology. These models have been validated by industrial cases. We have also proposed a methodology for cooperative work and an infrastructure architecture based on internet tools. An example of software prototype interface shows how different experts can share their different points of views at both information models and data. Finally the problems encountered by our proposed approach are explained and future works are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge management (KM) is now recognized as a core business concern and intellectual assets play a vital role in gaining competitive advantage. Within the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, where the need for innovation and improved business performance requires the effective deployment and utilization of project knowledge, the need for strategic knowledge management is also being acknowledged. This paper reviews various initiatives for KM in order to assess the extent to which it is being implemented in the AEC sector. Contextual issues are identified, and the findings from two research projects are used to assess current strategies for KM in AEC firms. These studies show that effective knowledge management requires a combination of both mechanistic and organic approaches in an integrated approach that incorporates both technological and organizational/cultural issues. The paper concludes with recommendations on how this could be achieved in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There seems to be a general penchant for dichotomous styles of thought in engineering, in which hierarchies and gender are often evident--both symbolically and organizationally. This paper explores these themes, drawing in part on a pilot ethnographic study of software developers. The technical/social distinction is strongly gendered inasmuch as it maps on to masculine instrumentalism and feminine expressiveness. Also, the two sides of this dualism are seen as mutually exclusive such that 'the technical', which defines the core of engineering expertise and identity, specifically excludes 'the social'. Still, the related distinction between specialist and heterogeneous rôles becomes valued, and gendered, in contradictory ways. The abstract/concrete dualism is even more contradictory. The privileging of analytical abstraction in science and education sits sometimes uncomfortably alongside the obvious practical importance of, and pleasures in, a hands-on relationship with technological artefacts--conflicting versions of masculinity. Multiple tensions coexist around such dualisms, yet they endure. The concluding discussion considers possible factors related to the co-existence of certainty and uncertainty around technology, and to the performance of gender more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss a new approach to Perfor mance Engineering called the Object-Oriented Per formance Engineering Approach (OOPEA). OOPEA is an innovative approach to performance modeling, simulation and design where an object-oriented per formance analysis model, a discrete-event simula tion model and an operational model are integrated into a modeling framework. We emphasize simula tion in this paper and present a case study on the UICCELL II (University of Illinois at Chicago CELLular II switching system), a software simula tor of a cellular phone system. The system can be divided into three main components: the Mobile Switching Center, Base Site, and Mobile Telephone Unit, which have client-server relationships and communicate with each other using IPC facilities, via message passing. The UICCELL II is implemented in a distributed environment on SUN SPARC 1 and 10 workstations using an Ethernet LAN. Sim ulation is used to examine the dynamic behavior of the system, and helps to capture the performance constraints, mainly the contention for resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using PowerPoints slides (PPT) to deliver lectures has become the norm and common practice in academia over the last decade. Despite the benefits of PPT in providing smooth presentations and helping to prompt the presenter, the use of slides in engineering teaching has its own drawbacks. By using slides in teaching, the information will be provided in a discontinued and very abstract format. However, as a matter of fact, students mainly depend on lecturing slides in their learning and only use the slides to prepare for their exams. Students rarely read beyond what is given in the slides or refer to the reading list for more in-depth knowledge. This creates a gap in knowledge, affects the overall student experience and, to a certain level, affects graduate employment. In this paper, we review a pilot experiment to test a new teaching theme in engineering with no PPT slides. This was implemented for a Level 4 module, Mechatronics 1, which is a newly developed module in the Mechanical/Marine Engineering programmes at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. The outcome of this practice is evaluated with the focus on student views, assessment results, and overall assessment of this style of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the changes of the publication "Building Services Engineering Research & Technology" (BSER&T) since he took the role as the BSER&T's editorial panel chairman in the early 1990s. He cites that access to the research papers published in the BSER&T and "Lighting Research and Technology" (LR&T) has been made freely available online. Moreover, the author also offer his appreciation to all of his co-workers over the past 17 years as he will now pass his role to another chairman.

The dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) has attracted attention since its invention. This paper deals with the optimization problems of the standard DVA and two other models of DVA called three-element DVA and non-traditional DVA for damped primary structures. Unlike the standard configuration, the three-element DVA contains two spring elements in which one is connected to a dashpot in a series and the other is placed in parallel. Meanwhile the non-traditional DVA has a linear viscous damper connecting the absorber mass directly to the ground. There have been some studies on the design of three-element and non-traditional dynamic vibration absorbers in the case of undamped primary structures. These studies have shown that both three-element and non-traditional DVAs perform better than the standard DVA. When the primary structure is damped, there are very few studies on the three-element and non-traditional DVAs in the literature. This article proposes a global-local approach to give approximate analytical solutions of the H∞ optimization for all standard, three-element and non-traditional DVAs attached to damped primary structures. The main idea of the study is based on the global-local criterion of the equivalent linearization method in order to replace approximately the original damped structure by an equivalent undamped one. Afterwards, the already derived expressions of the optimal parameters for the undamped primary system case are used with the equivalent undamped structure that was just obtained. The numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the obtained results. Additionally, design aids, which show the variation of the optimal design quantities for various DVA mass ratios and inherent structural damping ratios are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalised model based on damage mechanics for predicting the response of masonry subjected to compression is presented. The model accounts for the behaviour of the constituents of the masonry, viz., the units, the mortar and the unit–mortar interfaces; in this paper, the unit–mortar interfaces and the mortar layers have been treated as a homogenised continuum. The principles of damage mechanics coupled with limiting damage surfaces have been used to simulate the behaviour of the masonry constituents. The novelty is the use of a non-linear, progressively stiffening stress–strain curve to simulate the viscoelastic behaviour of the homogenised mortar–interface (for conventional masonry) or dry surface–interface (for dry-stack masonry) layers until a threshold strain is reached. Beyond the threshold strain, their behaviour is assumed to have changed to progressive softening common for concrete like materials. The damage model for compression and tension due to progressive stiffening and softening criteria respectively have been formulated for the masonry constituents. The parameters which characterise the tensile and compressive behaviours, the volumetric change and the damage behaviour of the masonry constituents have been calibrated using some available experimental data in the literature. The model is shown to predict the average compressive strength and stress–strain behaviour of the masonry prisms appropriately. The model is capable of capturing the behaviour including appropriate stiffness degradation and post peak softening that are comparable to the experimental predictions reported in the literature for various types of masonry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to develop a regularized Miner’s rule to assess the fatigue reliability of composites in conjunction with the Mittag-Leffler Monte Carlo method. The proposed strategy is validated by analyzing experimental data to investigate the fatigue reliability of carbon fiber/epoxy composites under different stress amplitudes. The estimated results are feasible for preliminary analysis at the design stage. The regularized Miner’s rule, a scale transform of fatigue life simulations, accurately describes the damage accumulation rate. It is stressed that the Mittag-Leffler Monte Carlo method is mathematically simple and easy-to-program for researchers and nonexpert engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variable length multisection continuum arms are a class of continuum robotic manipulators that generate motion by structural mechanical deformation. Unlike most continuum robots, the sections of these arms do not have (central) supporting flexible backbone, and are actuated by multiple variable length actuators. Because of the constraining nature of actuators, the continuum sections can bend and/or elongate (compress) depending on the elongation/contraction characteristics of the actuators being used. Continuum arms have a number of distinctive differences with respect to traditional rigid arms namely: smooth bending, high inherent compliance, and adaptive whole arm grasping. However, due to numerical instability and the complexity of curve parametric models, there are no spatial dynamic models for multisection continuum arms. This paper introduces novel spatial dynamics and applies these to variable length multisection continuum arms with any number of sections. An efficient recursive computational scheme for deriving the equations of motion is presented. This is applied in a general form based on structurally accurate and numerically well-posed modal kinematics that assumes circular arc deformation of continuum sections without torsion. It is shown that the proposed modal dynamics are highly scalable, producing efficient and accurate numerical results. The spatial dynamic simulation results are experimentally validated using a pneumatic muscle actuated multisection prototype continuum arm. For the first time this enables investigation of spatial dynamic effects in this class of continuum arms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present algorithms and experiments for multi-scale assembly of complex structures by multi-robot teams. We also focus on tasks where successful completion requires multiple types of assembly operations with a range of precision requirements. We develop a hierarchical planning approach to multi-scale perception in support of multi-scale manipulation, in which the resolution of the perception operation is matched with the required resolution for the manipulation operation. We demonstrate these techniques in the context of a multi-step task where robots assemble large box-like objects, inspired by the assembly of an airplane wing. The robots begin by transporting a wing panel, a coarse manipulation operation that requires a wide field of view, and gradually shifts to a narrower field of view but with more accurate sensors for part alignment and fastener insertion. Within this framework we also provide for failure detection and recovery: upon losing track of a feature, the robots retract to using wider field of view systems to re-localize. Finally, we contribute collaborative manipulation algorithms for assembling complex large objects. First, the team of robots coordinates to transport large assembly parts which are too heavy for a single robot to carry. Second, the fasteners and parts are co-localized for robust insertion and fastening. We implement these ideas using four KUKA youBot robots and present experiments where our robots successfully complete all 80 of the attempted fastener insertion operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]