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The complexity and ambiguity of financial and economic systems, along with frequent changes in the economic environment, have made it difficult to make precise predictions that are supported by theory-consistent explanations. Interpreting the prediction models used for forecasting important macroeconomic indicators is highly valuable for understanding relations among different factors, increasing trust towards the prediction models, and making predictions more actionable. In this study, we develop a fundamental-based model for the Canadian-U.S. dollar exchange rate within an interpretative framework. We propose a comprehensive approach using machine learning to predict the exchange rate and employ interpretability methods to accurately analyze the relationships among macroeconomic variables. Moreover, we implement an ablation study based on the output of the interpretations to improve the predictive accuracy of the models. Our empirical results show that crude oil, as Canada's main commodity export, is the leading factor that determines the exchange rate dynamics with time-varying effects. The changes in the sign and magnitude of the contributions of crude oil to the exchange rate are consistent with significant events in the commodity and energy markets and the evolution of the crude oil trend in Canada. Gold and the TSX stock index are found to be the second and third most important variables that influence the exchange rate. Accordingly, this analysis provides trustworthy and practical insights for policymakers and economists and accurate knowledge about the predictive model's decisions, which are supported by theoretical considerations.

A phase-field approach becomes a more popular candidate in modeling crack propagation. It uses a scalar auxiliary variable, namely a phase-field variable, to model a discontinuity zone in a continuity domain. Furthermore, the fourth-order phase-field approach produces a better convergence rate and more accurate solutions than the second-order one. However, it is available for modeling crack propagation in brittle material. This study addresses the fourth-order phase-field model combining the non-standard phase-field form with a cohesive zone model (CZM) to predict crack propagation in quasi-brittle material. A Cornelisson's softening law is used to capture the high precision of crack propagation prediction. The concrete material is considered as a quasi-brittle one. For computation efficiency using NURBS-based finite elements, Virtual Uncommon-Knot-Inserted Master-Slave (VUKIMS) technique is employed to derive a local refinement mesh. Numerical results are verified by the published ones from literature. It was found that the peak load and crack path are independent of the element size and insensitive to the length-scale number using the fourth-order phase-field CZM. Our proposed model shows the most significant advantage compared to the standard phase-field approach in terms of computational cost and solution accuracy., Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures

This paper proposes an effective computational tool for brittle crack propagation problems based on a combination of a higher-order phase-field model and a non-conforming mesh using a NURBS-based isogeometric approach. This combination, as demonstrated in this paper, is of great benefit in reducing the computational cost of using a local refinement mesh and a higher-order phase-field, which needs higher derivatives of basis functions. Compared with other approaches using a local refinement mesh, the Virtual Uncommon-Knot-Inserted Master-Slave (VUKIMS) method presented here is not only simple to implement but can also reduce the variable numbers. VUKIMS is an outstanding choice in order to establish a local refinement mesh, i.e. a non-conforming mesh, in a multi-patch problem. A phase-field model is an efficient approach for various complicated crack patterns, including those with or without an initial crack path, curved cracks, crack coalescence, and crack propagation through holes. The paper demonstrates that cubic NURBS elements are ideal for balancing the computational cost and the accuracy because they can produce accurate solutions by utilising a lower degree of freedom number than an extremely fine mesh of first-order B-spline elements., Comment: 40 pages, 35 figures

Analysis of static bending, free vibration and buckling behaviours of functionally graded microplates is investigated in this study. The main idea is to use the isogeometric analysis in associated with novel four-variable refined plate theory and quasi-3D theory. More importantly, the modified couple stress theory with only one material length scale parameter is employed to effectively capture the size-dependent effects within the microplates. Meanwhile, the quasi-3D theory which is constructed from a novel seventh-order shear deformation refined plate theory with four unknowns is able to consider both shear deformations and thickness stretching effect without requiring shear correction factors. The NURBS-based isogeometric analysis is integrated to exactly describe the geometry and approximately calculate the unknown fields with higher-order derivative and continuity requirements. The convergence and verification show the validity and efficiency of this proposed computational approach in comparison with those existing in the literature. It is further applied to study the static bending, free vibration and buckling responses of rectangular and circular functionally graded microplates with various types of boundary conditions. A number of investigations are also conducted to illustrate the effects of the material length scale, material index, and length-to-thickness ratios on the responses of the microplates., Comment: 57 pages, 14 figures, 18 tables

In this paper, equilibrium and stability equations of functionally graded material (FGM) plate under thermal environment are formulated based on isogeometric analysis (IGA) in combination with higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The FGM plate is made by a mixture of two distinct components, for which material properties not only vary continuously through thickness according to a power-law distribution but also are assumed to be a function of temperature. Temperature field is assumed to be constant in any plane and uniform, linear and nonlinear through plate thickness, respectively. The governing equation is in nonlinear form based on von Karman assumption and thermal effect. A NURBS-based isogeometric finite element formulation is utilized to naturally fulfil the rigorous C1-continuity required by the present plate model. Influences of gradient indices, boundary conditions, temperature distributions, material properties, length-to-thickness ratios on the behaviour of FGM plate are discussed in details. Numerical results demonstrate excellent performance of the present approach.

In this paper, we present an effectively numerical approach based on isogeometric analysis (IGA) and higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) for geometrically nonlinear analysis of laminated composite plates. The HSDT allows us to approximate displacement field that ensures by itself the realistic shear strain energy part without shear correction factors. IGA utilizing basis functions namely B-splines or non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) enables to satisfy easily the stringent continuity requirement of the HSDT model without any additional variables. The nonlinearity of the plates is formed in the total Lagrange approach based on the von-Karman strain assumptions. Numerous numerical validations for the isotropic, orthotropic, cross-ply and angle-ply laminated plates are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Effect of L-threonine (LT) doping on crystalline perfection, second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency, optical transparency and laser damage threshold (LDT) in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) has been investigated. The influence of doping on growth rate and morphology of the grown crystals has also been studied. Powder X-ray diffraction data confirms the crystal structure of KDP and shows a systematic variation in intensity of diffraction peaks in correlation with morphology due to varying LT concentration. No extra phase formation was observed which is further confirmed by Fourier Transform (FT) Raman studies. High-resolution X-ray diffraction curves indicate that crystalline perfection has been improved to a great extent at low concentrations with a maximum perfection at 1 mol% doping. At higher concentrations (5 to 10 mol%), it is slightly reduced due to excess incorporation of dopants at the interstitial sites of the crystalline matrix. LDT has been increased considerably with increase in doping concentration, whereas SHG efficiency was found to be maximum at 1 mol% in correlation with crystalline. The optical transparency for doped crystals has been increased as compared to that of pure KDP with a maximum value at 1 mol% doping., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures

A novel and effective formulation that combines the eXtended IsoGeometric Approach (XIGA) and Higher-order Shear Deformation Theory (HSDT) is proposed to study the free vibration of cracked Functionally Graded Material (FGM) plates. Herein, the general HSDT model with five unknown variables per node is applied for calculating the stiffness matrix without needing Shear Correction Factor (SCF). In order to model the discontinuous and singular phenomena in the cracked plates, IsoGeometric Analysis (IGA) utilizing the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) functions is incorporated with enrichment functions through the partition of unity method. NURBS basis functions with their inherent arbitrary high order smoothness permit the C1 requirement of the HSDT model. The material properties of the FGM plates vary continuously through the plate thickness according to an exponent function. The effects of gradient index, crack length, crack location, length to thickness on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of simply supported and clamped FGM plate are studied. Numerical examples are provided to show excellent performance of the proposed method compared with other published solutions in the literature.

This paper discusses the current technology available to design and develop a reliable and compact instrumentation platform for parachute system data collection and command actuation. Wireless communication with a parachute canopy will be an advancement to the state of the art of parachute design, development, and testing. Embedded instrumentation of the parachute canopy will provide reefing line tension, skirt position data, parachute health monitoring, and other telemetry, further validating computer models and giving engineering insight into parachute dynamics for both Earth and Mars entry that is currently unavailable. This will allow for more robust designs which are more optimally designed in terms of structural loading, less susceptible to adverse dynamics, and may eventually pave the way to currently unattainable advanced concepts of operations. The development of this technology has dual use potential for a variety of other applications including inflatable habitats, aerodynamic decelerators, heat shields, and other high stress environments.