Search

Flexible poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/polypyrrole/paper (PEDOT:PSS/PPy/paper) thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite films were prepared by a two-step method: first, PPy/paper nanocomposite films were prepared by an in situ chemical polymerization process, and second, PEDOT:PSS/PPy/paper TE composite films were fabricated by coating the as-prepared PPy/paper nanocomposite films using a dimethyl sulfoxide-doped PEDOT:PSS solution. Both the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of the PEDOT:PSS/PPy/paper TE nanocomposite films were greatly enhanced from 0.06 S/cm to ~0.365 S/cm, and from 5.44 μV/K to ~16.0 μV/K at ~300 K, respectively, when compared to the PPy/paper TE nanocomposite films. The thermal conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS/PPy/paper composite film (0.1522 Wm−1K−1 at ~300 K) was, however, only slightly higher than that of the PPy/paper composite film (0.1142 Wm−1K−1 at ~300 K). As a result, the ZT value of the PEDOT:PSS/PPy/paper composite film (~1.85 × 10−5 at ~300 K) was significantly enhanced when compared to that of the PPy/paper composite film (~4.73 × 10−7 at ~300 K). The as-prepared nanocomposite films have great potential for application in flexible TE devices.

Optimal pressure regulation to reduce water losses in water distribution systems (WDSs) becomes an important concern due to the increasing water demand and the threat of drought in many areas of the world. The leakage amount in a WDS depends heavily on its operating pressure and thus can be minimized by implementing optimal pressure strategies through pressure reducing valves (PRVs). To achieve this, a model-based optimization is necessary, where an accurate model of the PRVs is required. The PRV models having been used until now for pressure regulations are two-mode models which cannot circumstantiate many situations occurring in WDSs. In this paper, we extend the existing model by a three-mode one for PRVs which is able to describe the required circumstances of pressure regulations in WDSs. The non-smoothness of this model is smoothed by an approximation approach, thus allowing the formulation and solution of a continuous nonlinear optimization problem for optimal pressure regulation. Two benchmark WDSs are used to verify our approach and it can be shown from the results that our PRV model outperforms the existing models in terms of the quality and accuracy of the optimal solutions.

This paper presents the results of cement-based mortars characterizations that were taken from rendered layers of military bunkers in the Rupnik Line. The Rupnik Line was conceived as a part of the fortified defence system protecting the Rapallo Border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, established in 1920. The bunkers were built between 1938 and 1941, and the renders of various compositions were applied as a camouflage layer that merged the bunkers with the environment. Results of petrographic examination and microstructural and chemical analysis of the samples confirmed that locally available crushed dolomite or limestone sands were used as an aggregate in the mortars. As binders, pure Portland cement or a mixture of cement and ground granulated blast furnace slag were used. The selection of the aggregate and binder type in a particular mortar was based on the colour of the artificial stone produced. All samples with the dolomite aggregate show the presence of alkali-aggregate reactions, dedolomitization of the grains and secondary calcite formation in the cement binder, along with the Mg-Al, Mg-Si and Mg-Al-Si phase formations. In mortar compositions with a high Portland cement content, the presence of delayed ettringite formation was also confirmed.

This paper presents a collaboratively adaptive vibration monitoring system that captures high-fidelity structural vibration signals induced by pedestrians. These signals can be used for various human activities’ monitoring by inferring information about the impact sources, such as pedestrian footsteps, door opening and closing, and dragging objects. Such applications often require high-fidelity (high resolution and low distortion) signals. Traditionally, expensive high resolution and high dynamic range sensors are adopted to ensure sufficient resolution. However, for sensing systems that use low-cost sensing devices, the resolution and dynamic range are often limited; hence this type of sensing methods is not well explored ubiquitously. We propose a low-cost sensing system that utilizes (1) a heuristic model of the investigating excitations and (2) shared information through networked devices to adapt hardware configurations and obtain high-fidelity structural vibration signals. To further explain the system, we use indoor pedestrian footstep sensing through ambient structural vibration as an example to demonstrate the system performance. We evaluate the application with three metrics that measure the signal quality from different aspects: the sufficient resolution rate to present signal resolution improvement without clipping, the clipping rate to measure the distortion of the footstep signal, and the signal magnitude to quantify the detailed resolution of the detected footstep signal. In experiments conducted in a school building, our system demonstrated up to 2× increase on the sufficient resolution rate and 2× less error rate when used to locate the pedestrians as they walk along the hallway, compared to a fixed sensing setting.

As the development of autonomous vehicles rapidly advances, the use of convoying/platooning becomes a more widely explored technology option for saving fuel and increasing the efficiency of traffic. In cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC), the vehicles in a convoy follow each other under adaptive cruise control (ACC) that is augmented by the sharing of preceding vehicle acceleration through the vehicle to vehicle communication in a feedforward control path. In general, the desired velocity optimization for vehicles in the convoy is based on fuel economy optimization, rather than driveability. This paper is a preliminary study on the impact of the desired velocity profile on the driveability characteristics of a convoy of vehicles and the controller gain impact on the driveability. A simple low-level longitudinal model of the vehicle has been used along with a PD type cruise controller and a generic spacing policy for ACC/CACC. The acceleration of the previous vehicle is available to the next vehicle as input, and the simulations are performed as Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control of a convoy of vehicles. Individual vehicle acceleration profiles have been analyzed for driveability for two different velocity profiles that are followed in a stretch of 720 m between stop signs. The controller gains have been re-tuned based on the parameter space robust control PID approach for driveability and compared with the original gains. The US06 SFTP drive cycle has also been used for the comparison of the two different controller gain sets.

This paper focuses on energy cost and consumption in the pasteurised milk sector of the dairy industry which accounts for over 90 percent of the UK milk market. Although the industry is not considered to be energy intensive, it has been shown that there is a significant potential for savings, typically 2.2 million GJ/annum or £10.5 million/annum. This paper aims to show how the pasteurised milk sector can achieve these potential savings, using as its example a recent study of a liquid milk dairy in South Wales. The implementation of Monitoring and Targeting methods for energy management, combined heat and power (CHP) generation and third party energy management are introduced, since these are considered to be novel solutions for this sector of industry.

The use of energy harvesting wireless sensor network (EH-WSN) is a rising wireless communication technology with a wide range of applications such as environment monitoring. Maximizing the number of samples collected by the sink from sensors is a key approach in order to minimize uncertainties for those applications. The considered system in this paper consists of an uplink scenario with EH sensors communicating with a non EH sink, equipped with multiple antennas, receiving data forwarded by the sensors. Using a zero-forcing (ZF) receiver, the data collector (i.e., sink) selects the largest possible set of transmitting sensor nodes to maximize the received quantity of information, while satisfying their signal-to-noise ratio quality of service (QoS) constraints. This paper presents efficient and simple EH node selection algorithms in EH-WSNs in order to maximize the number of selected sensors. The problem is formulated as an integer non linear program that can be optimally solved using an exhaustive search. Due to the prohibitive complexity of such a brute force approach, two low complexity and efficient heuristic algorithms are proposed to perform node selection decisions. Simulation results show the performance of the proposed algorithms and illustrate their adaptability and efficiency in the energy harvesting context.

A new magnetorheological piston head design inspired by toroidal electromagnets was proposed in previous work as an alternative to conventional annular dampers. A prototype with a circular valve array integrated inside the piston head was built and tested to measure its passive performance. The mechanical, electromagnetic, and hydraulic models used in the new design were explained, and the relevant parameters of the actuator were analyzed to construct a mathematical model to estimate its performance. These works showed the feasibility of the concept and its potential as an alternative to current damper technology, but lacked a baseline for comparison. This paper reviews and widens this groundwork. It adds a magnetic finite element method study to address the previously found leakage, and a new set of experiments, including a force controller, to compare its performance against a conventional annular piston head. The new findings show how the current force limitations can be overcome by striking a balance between the coil space and the size of electromagnet cores to achieve the performance of current dampers. They also highlight its potential in force control applications to provide a wider range of customization options, such as number and size of holes, electromagnets, and coils, and a better use of the active area of the gap.

A domestic water heating system that combines photovoltaic thermal (PVT) solar collectors with two heat pumps, in a novel cascade arrangement, is presented and analyzed in this paper. The goal of this analysis is to determine and compare the annual thermal energy output of the PVT cascade heat pump system with an evacuated tube and simultaneous consumption PVT single heat pump water heating system. The computational technique that was developed to analyze the PVT cascade heat pump system, which determines solar panel energy outputs, and heat pump operating characteristics, is described in detail. Case study simulation results are also presented, which include transient power output profiles, temperature profiles, and yearly energy output results. Hourly weather data, including air dry-bulb temperatures and solar flux values, from locations with a range of climates was used in these simulations. The results of this study show that the PVT cascade heat pump system has an annual thermal energy output improvement over the evacuated tube heating system ranging from 37% to 68%, depending on the selected simulation location.

The paper proposes a multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) of permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) for wind energy conversion systems (WECS). Such a MDO seeks the best compromise between the PMSG cost and the lifetime energy production of the WECS. So far, most of the papers in this field presented design methods using quite a few optimization variables and requiring a lot of assumptions. In the proposed MDO the specifications consist of geometrical, economical, magnetic, electrical and thermal constraints. Several analytic and semi-analytic sub-models where used to deal with these constraints, resulting in a large non-linear optimization problem that uses a sequential quadratic programming optimization algorithm. The paper considers the annual wind profile to estimate the lifetime wind turbine energy production. Moreover, the best possible solutions are presented in a Pareto front showing the trade-off between the generator cost and the wind turbine energy production. Among them, one optimal solution machine was chosen to be further investigated and its results were verified by finite element analysis.

International audience; This paper concerns an application of magnetic coupling RFID technology at 13.56 MHz (HF band) for tracking devices such as instruments. The tag size is defined to be ergonomically small compared to the hand, and fixed inside a maximum surface of 1 cm 2. The case of multiple detections is considered, and consequently the reader surface of control is considered wide enough to include several instruments at the same time during a logistic control process. The use of such a small RFID tag is almost impossible using a large reader loop of 15×30 cm 2, as chosen for the tests. The key idea of the paper is then the addition of a resonator that enables to create the mandatory physical link by means of magnetic coupling between the tag coil and the resonator coil and between the resonator coil and the reader loop. Finally the detection range is highly improved by the presence of this resonator and results demonstrate that it is possible to detect these small RFID “1 by 1 cm 2 tags” at a distance of 1.5 cm to 3 cm, depending on their orientations.

Most major appliances are produced in manned assembly lines consisting of multiple workstations controlled by human labour. Since, human workers are very flexible in adapting to components’ major and minor changes, assembly process planning for manned assembly lines depends on products’ component structure than on the features of each component unlike automated systems. This paper proposes a framework for a variant process planning system for manned assembly lines comprising two phases: (1) the preparatory phase for building a database of standard process plans, and (2) the development phase for creating a new process plan through the modification of existing standard process plans. In the preparatory phase, this research develops a ‘work process analysis template’ that describes the task of human labour as a sequence of standard work processes. As the development phase requires an efficient method for evaluating the performance of assembly process plans, this research proposes an ‘assembly process analys...

Presented in this paper is a procedure to develop a high fidelity quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for use in race car vehicle dynamic simulations. Developed to fit quasi steady-state wind tunnel data, the aerodynamic model is regressed against three independent variables: front ground clearance, rear ride height, and yaw angle. An initial dual range model is presented and then further refined to reduce the model complexity while maintaining a high level of predictive accuracy. The model complexity reduction decreases the required amount of wind tunnel data thereby reducing wind tunnel testing time and cost. The quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for the pitch moment degree of freedom is systematically developed in this paper. This same procedure can be extended to the other five aerodynamic degrees of freedom to develop a complete six degree of freedom quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for any vehicle.

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by the introduction of the Internet of things (IoT) and Internet of Services (IoS) concepts into manufacturing, which enables smart factories with vertically and horizontally integrated production systems. The main driver is technology, as Industry 4.0 is a collective term for technologies and concepts of value chain organization. Digital manufacturing platforms play an increasing role in dealing with competitive pressures and incorporating new technologies, applications, and services. Motivated by the difficulties to understand and adopt Industry 4.0 and the momentum that the topic has currently, this paper reviews the concepts and approaches related to digital manufacturing platforms from different perspectives: IoT platforms, digital manufacturing platforms, digital platforms as ecosystems, digital platforms from research and development perspective, and digital platform from industrial equipment suppliers.

This paper summarizes the submissions to a recently announced contact-mechanics modeling challenge. The task was to solve a typical, albeit mathematically fully defined problem on the adhesion between nominally flat surfaces. The surface topography of the rough, rigid substrate, the elastic properties of the indenter, as well as the short-range adhesion between indenter and substrate, were specified so that diverse quantities of interest, e.g., the distribution of interfacial stresses at a given load or the mean gap as a function of load, could be computed and compared to a reference solution. Many different solution strategies were pursued, ranging from traditional asperity-based models via Persson theory and brute-force computational approaches, to real-laboratory experiments and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of a model, in which the original assignment was scaled down to the atomistic scale. While each submission contained satisfying answers for at least a subset of the posed questions, efficiency, versatility, and accuracy differed between methods, the more precise methods being, in general, computationally more complex. The aim of this paper is to provide both theorists and experimentalists with benchmarks to decide which method is the most appropriate for a particular application and to gauge the errors associated with each one.

This paper presents an estimation procedure of equivalent electric circuit parameters of a lithium-ion cell using data from a pulse charge/discharge test. An extraction process of the model parameters is based on a transient voltage response of relaxation process following a current pulse. The entire procedure is straightforward and there is no restriction in a number of parallel RC-branches in the electrical model. Convergence problem of the parameter estimation process, existing in classic solutions, is solved by application of a particle swarm optimization method (PSO). The entire parameter identification procedure is performed in automated way in order to reduce time required to obtain a sufficient set of parameter values for different states of charge. The model is verified based on experimental data.

This paper describes a statistical and mathematical approach to optimize the mechanical properties of a wood plastic composite with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as polymeric matrix. Wood plastic composite are materials that consist of a primary continuous polymer phase, where a secondary filler dispersed phase is embedded, the filler generally is wood fibers or sawdust. The slack variable approach in mixture experiments, consist in selecting a component of the mixture as slack variable, to subsequently design and analyze the experiment in terms of the remaining components. With the experimental design information three slack variable model were fit. Using response surface graphs, we show how different compositions modify the mechanical properties of wood plastic composite. Besides, by the desirability function, the optimal formulation of the compound that simultaneously maximizing the mechanical properties of wood plastic composite, was obtained. Finally, the components proportions that provides the best tensile, flexural and compression strength are presented.

Security has been a growing concern for large organizations, especially financial and governmental institutions, as security breaches in the systems they depend on have repeatedly resulted in billions of dollars in losses per year, and this cost is on the rise. A primary reason for these breaches is that the systems in question are socio-technical — a mix of people, processes, technology and infrastructure. However, such systems are designed in a piecemeal rather than a holistic fashion, leaving parts of the system vulnerable. To tackle this problem, a three-realm security requirements framework was proposed to holistically analyse security requirements in different conceptual realms, including social realm (business processes, social actors), a software realm (software applications that support the social realm) and an infrastructure realm (physical and technological infrastructure). In this paper we evaluate this security requirements analysis framework. The evaluation was performed by two graduate students using a large scale case study on a medical emergency response system.

Purpose This paper offers design cybernetics as a theoretical common ground to bridge diverging approaches to design as they frequently occur in collaborative design projects. Focusing on the education of architects and structural engineers in China, the paper examines how compatible approaches to design can be established in both disciplines. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses relevant literature as well as observations from Chinese practice and academia. Design cybernetics is introduced and examined as a basis for establishing shared narratives to support cross-disciplinary collaborations involving architects and structural engineers. Findings Design cybernetics offers a body of vocabulary and a rich resource of strategies to address applied designing across design-oriented disciplines such as architecture and science-based disciplines such as structural engineering. The meta perspective of design cybernetics also provides a basis for the implementation of pedagogy supporting cross-disciplinary collaboration in applied design. Research limitations/implications The scope of the paper is limited to the examination of the theoretical framing as well as the implementation of pedagogy in the cultural and geographical context of China. Practical implications The paper outlines several design cybernetic strategies for pedagogy in support of cross-disciplinary collaborative design processes and illustrates their implementation in applied design education. Originality/value Addressing a significant and persistent gap between the two disciplines of architecture and structural engineering in the context of Chinese building practice, this paper examines the particularities of this context and presents an educational approach to support cross-disciplinary collaboration that has value in and beyond the context of China.

This paper reviews existing approaches to the airport gate assignment problem (AGAP) and presents an optimization model for the problem considering operational safety constraints. The main objective is to minimize the dispersion of gate idle time periods (to get robust optimization) while ensuring appropriate matching between the size of each aircraft and its assigned gate type and avoiding the potential hazard caused by gate apron operational conflict. Genetic algorithm is adopted to solve the problem. An illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the algorithm. The algorithm performance is further demonstrated using data of a terminal from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK).

This paper aims to examine the relationship between users’ characteristics towards adopting the LLMTG. These relations were found correlated in its intention to adopt this type of glass in building structures. Despite the indication provided by numerous empirical studies, the organizations that adopt the LLMTG will gain more competitive advantage and improvement. It is strongly believed that this attempt would contribute both to knowledge of the diffusion of innovation and to implications for practice by assisting the industry to understand the important factors when adopting innovation. Rich data will be collected using questionnaire among managers from all industrial in Malaysia.

This paper focuses on the integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem in container terminals. We consider the decrease in the marginal productivity of quay cranes and the increase in handling time due to deviation from the desired position. We consider a continuous berth, discretized in small equal-sized sections. A number of enhancements over the state-of-the-art formulation and an Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search (ALNS) heuristic are presented. Computational results reveal that the enhancements improve many of the best-known bounds, and the ALNS outperforms the state-of-the-art heuristics for many instances. We also conduct further analysis on a new larger benchmark.

This paper provides new topologies for thyristor controlled reactors (TCR) used for static VAR compensators (SVC). This paper explains the need for these new topologies by providing the harmonic analysis of each type. The conventional TCR, two parallel TCR, two tapped inductors TCR and three tapped inductors TCR are explained and evaluated to be impeded in the SVC system. The design of each type is provided to control the inductive reactive power of the SVC. The harmonic analysis of each topology is obtained to get the most proper TCR characteristics. The ratings of the each TCR components are provided. These new topologies may be a method to control the inductive reactive power of the SVC with limited harmonic content or even zero current harmonics.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual reality (VR) have attracted growing attention within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry in recent years. Integration of BIM and VR technology can develop workflow efficiency through enhanced common understanding and prepare students in architecture and engineering programs to become leaders of the AEC industry. However, the current shortage of AEC professionals trained in BIM and VR is still a barrier to collaborative working practice in this industry. This paper reviews previous work on the BIM, VR, and BIM-into-VR in AEC education/training to bridge this gap. It also presents an advanced framework to clarify creating and using the BIM model into VR workflow in the AEC industry through the integrated definition function (IDEF0) model. The authors further evaluated the BIM-into-VR applications in literature and real-life by surveying students’ learning performance in terms of eight characteristics relevant to the VR environment and students’ performance within two projects, one involving the “NASA Mars Habitat Project” and the other involving the “Norris Center Project” at Northwestern University. The results confirmed that BIM-into-VR usability and efficiency in improving students’ main learning performance characteristics: Learnability, Interoperability, Visualization, Real-world, Interaction, Creativity, Motivation, and Comfort. This study addresses the advantages of using BIM-into-VR in AEC programs. It also offers suggestions to AEC educators and students in implementing BIM-into-VR in different courses and creating a roadmap for their future as professionals in the AEC industry.

Cognitive Radio (CR) presents a lot of challenges with regard to developing the techniques and methodologies to dynamically utilize the unused or underused spectrum. The issue of efficient utilization of radio resources can be implemented unitedly through dynamic waveform design and an efficient spectrum sensing. In this paper, waveform design using spectrally modulated spectrally encoded (SMSE) framework is conjoined with the cyclostationary based sensing technique (CSS) for CR. To identify the free spectrum, an analytical expression of waveform design variables in terms of sensing parameters has been derived. Further, to find the channel occupancy/spectrum holes, a joint CSS and SMSE based test stat has been proposed. The joint test stat offers a better and clear decision by providing a large gap between test stat and the required threshold setting. Finally, to evaluate the receiver performance, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves have been plotted which show that the proposed joint scheme achieves a significant performance improvement at lower SNR values when compared with traditionally available detectors.

Ambipolar carbon nanotube based field-effect transistors (AP-CNFETs) exhibit unique electrical characteristics, such as tri-state operation and bi-directionality, enabling systems with complex and reconfigurable computing. In this paper, AP-CNFETs are used to design a mixed-signal machine learning logistic regression classifier. The classifier is designed in SPICE with feature size of 15 nm and operates at 250 MHz. The system is demonstrated in SPICE based on MNIST digit dataset, yielding 90% accuracy and no accuracy degradation as compared with the classification of this dataset in Python. The system also exhibits lower power consumption and smaller physical size as compared with the state-of-the-art CMOS and memristor based mixed-signal classifiers.

International audience; This paper presents a visual servoing method based on 2D ultrasound images. The main goal is to guide a robot actuating a 2D ultrasound probe in order to reach a desired cross-section image of an object of interest. The method we propose allows the control of both in-plane and out-of-plane probe motions. Its feedback visual features are combinations of moments extracted from the observed image. The exact analytical form of the interaction matrix that relates the image moments time variation to the probe velocity is developed, and six independent visual features are proposed to control the 6 degrees of freedom of the robot. In order to endow the system with the capability of automatically interacting with objects of unknown shape, a model-free visual servoing is developed. For that, we propose an efficient on-line estimation method to identify the parameters involved in the interaction matrix. Results obtained in both simulations and experiments validate this work and show the robustness of the developed servo method to different errors and perturbations, especially those inherent to the noisy ultrasound images.

Recently it has been noticed an increased number of cyber-incidents, sometimes causing seriously impact to organizations and governments. Cyberattacks exploits a variety of technological and social vulnerabilities to achieve a malicious objective. The emergence of new and sophisticated Cyberthreats demand very skilled operators with a solid knowledge about concepts and technologies related to Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense. However, the landscape of this base knowledge is very diverse in nature, requiring agile learning methods, besides a very demanding training process limited by the intrinsic technology's complexity and broad range of application domains. Although existing Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense curricula spans a wide array of topics and training strategies, its programs content lack focus on some particular aspect, like depth of education/training and its link to professional development. This paper intends to provide some reflections regarding the curricula contents that should be considered when a graduate level curriculum in cybersecurity is designed., This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-014S-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.

Immobilization of proteins on a solid electrode is to date done by chemical cross-linking or by addition of an adjustable intermediate. In this paper we introduce a concept where a solid with variable surface properties is optimized to mediate binding of the electron-transfer protein Cytochrome c (Cyt c) by mimicking the natural binding environment. It is shown that, as a carbon-based material, boron-doped diamond can be adjusted by simple electrochemical surface treatments to the specific biochemical requirements of Cyt c. The structure and functionality of passively adsorbed Cyt c on variously terminated diamond surfaces were characterized in detail using a combination of electrochemical techniques and atomic force microscopy with single-molecule resolution. Partially oxidized diamond allowed stable immobilization of Cyt c together with high electron transfer activity, driven by a combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. This surface mimics the natural binding partner, where coarse orientation is governed by electrostatic interaction of the protein's dipole and hydrophobic interactions assist in formation of the electron transfer complex. The optimized surface mediated electron transfer kinetics around 100 times faster than those reported for other solids and even faster kinetics than on self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols.

Smart materials have played significant contribution towards the development of buildings. There are various smart materials which can change their properties and behavior under the influence of external catalyst or stimulus. Such materials are changing the face of traditional engineering materials. Smart materials can be utilized individually as well as it can be incorporated with existing materials to enhance their desirable properties. Smart materials are widespread across all the domains of human inventions due to its multidisciplinary applications. Some of these materials are relatively new while some are being used from a very long time. Hence it suffices to say that the recently developed smart materials still require research. The general classification of smart material is illustrated in this review paper. The paper intends to identify the various types of available smart materials and also illustrated the application of such materials in the various fields of civil engineering. Further, the potential benefits and downsides are also discussed along with their applicability under different conditions. Some innovative materials are also discussed which can bring potential revolution in the construction industry. The impact or the benefits related to sustainability also discussed in this review paper.

In the growing technology automobile industries plays an importance role. The tire industry is a part of automobile industry. The growing practice in the tire industry is to replace Initial wheel size machinery of a car of a greater wheel dia. and a smaller aspect tyre with the similar diameter is replaced by the pneumatics. This activity is usually synonymous with retailing, and automotive manufactures are facing an increasing inclination for new vehicles to suit the bigger tyres. This paper explores general practise and its influence on the performance characteristics of the automobile. This research is aimed at demonstrating how the plus-size pneumatic affects all vehicle performance as well as stability. Any complex tyre influence that could impact the performance of the system will be addressed and preliminary performance data will be provided on the dynamic influence of plus sizing.

Air suspension system is been used by vehicle manufacturers since decades. Earlier it was only used by the commercial vehicle but soon the manufacturers and the users found the need of air suspension in commercial vehicles as well. Nowadays this system can mostly be seen in luxury vehicles, the application of air suspension has come a long way, earlier when it was installed in commercial vehicles, it was generally used for raising and lowering ride height to accommodate different sizes of trails, but later air suspension system majorly started to be used as a luxury feature because manufacturers invented that it was providing supreme ride and comfort especially when comparing with traditional spring mechanism used in suspension. Therefore all the luxury cars are using air suspension to provide supreme comfort during riding even through rough terrains. This paper discusses about the different applications of air suspension discussing about the working and its advantages and disadvantages.

Chitosan (CS) is a natural and biopolymer that are suitable biomedical properties such as; biocompatibility, non-toxicity, biodegradability and bioactive polymer that’s reason with a very large application (fabrication of biomedical scaffolds, implants). Some of the biocompatible thermoplastic polymers (PLA, PEEK, PLGA, PE, PP, PMMA, PET and etc.) are most widely used in biomedical field as per their properties from last two decades. Poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) thermoplastic polymer are most widely used in medical field but there are some limitations of their uses. For enhancement of PVC thermoplastic polymers properties sometimes add some bioactive and biocompatible fillers or other bioactive thermoplastic polymers. In this review paper try to link and discussed about the possible reinforcement CS in PVC thermoplastic polymer for biomedical applications.

Typical artifact in bond is every asset & vitality serious material. Handling for bond Moreover emits carbonic corrosive gas done environment. In this way they will be diminishing this natural contamination & esteem from claiming average fabricating materials, Different materials in ash, ground coarse blast-furnace dross, metakaolin, rice husk powder (RHA) Also silicon dioxide seethe may be utilized much appreciated will their pozzolanic conduct. RHA that holds secondary silicon dioxide content constructed through controlled smoldering about rice husk will a chance to be utilized likewise supplementary building material (SCM) done cement creation since it exhibits pozzolanic aspects and contributes should quality Also impermeableness from claiming cement. This paper displays a framework of the worth of effort apportioned on the usage about RHA Likewise fractional reinstatement from claiming bond previously; cement What's more its outcome for workability, compressive quality Furthermore chloride porous for concrete.

In traditional volute design methods, the flow at the volute inlet is assumed to be uniform according to one-dimensional theory. However, many experimental results have shown that under the design operating conditions, the actual distributions of the flow parameters at the volute inlet are different from those predicted by the ideal assumption. This is because of the influence of the non-axisymmetrical volute geometry, especially due to the presence of the volute tongue. Based on this fact, a new method was considered whereby different volute profiles can be generated by varying the distributions of flow parameters at the volute inlet. The ultimate objective is to achieve the optimal volute profile design so that the performance of a centrifugal machine can be improved. In this paper, a two-dimensional inverse method has been used to redesign the original volute profiles of two centrifugal fans. The results show that the method presented provides effective improvement to the one-dimensional volute design method. The controlled distribution form of volute inlet flow angle α4 in the redesign is qualitatively discussed and can be used for reference in the volute design and further research.

As a basis for the further development of a wall-function approach, the SETCOM (Separate Effect test for Condensation Modeling) facility is operated at Forschungszentrum Julich to gain an insight into the turbulent heat and mass transfer in the boundary layer during wall condensation. This data was applied on the one hand for a detailed validation of a resolved boundary layer (low-Re) CFD approach. On the other hand, the data has been post processed following the classical scaling approach based on the friction or shear velocity uτ (i.e. u+ − y+ or T+ − y+). It became obvious that a single dimensionless parameter y+, which is a kind of Reynolds number, is not sufficient for describing flows including near wall buoyancy and wall normal mass transfer. For this reason, two additional new dimensionless parameters, the dimensionless gravity force and the dimensionless heat flux have been introduced to describe the wall boundary conditions by 3D surfaces instead of a 1D analytical correlation. These characteristic 3D maps, which are based on a combination of detailed experimental data and validated CFD results, are implemented numerically efficient for u+, T+, YS+ and turbulence (ηt via ω) by means of a non-equilibrium factor and an approximation by radial basis functions into an existing U-RANS model. Following a detailed discussion of the model derivation and implementation, the paper is concluded with exemplary discussion of current model assessment results.

Advanced multivairiable control system designs had little impact in the process industries until the development of model-based predictive control (MBPC) systems. This paper records some aspects of the application of one particular MBPC technique, Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC), to three different plants in the process industries. The paper begins by recalling the essential principles of MBPC systems, by briefly outlining the origins of their use in the process industries, and by recording some of the theoretical issues associated with these systems, that are currently being examined. It proceeds with a particular focus on DMC. Its use in the control of process plants is discussed by reference to a simulated paper machine. Subject to the constraints imposed by commercial confidentiality, studies are then presented of application to a fluidised catalytic cracker in the petrochemical industry and to paper fibre recycle plants in the paper industry. The paper closes with a discussion of the benefit plant-wide optimisation systems can offer whole process plants, once MBPC systems have been implemented on the individual units making up the process.

Recently, bicycles have become popular in large cities and many bicycle sharing companies have established their own bike sharing systems. Extra vehicles are used to transport bikes among different bike stations, such that the number of bikes in each bike station can be balanced. This paper studies a bike rebalancing schedule that minimizes the total vehicle shipping distances. Starting with a minimum length path covering all bike stations, the proposed algorithm iteratively updates its configuration, whenever the vehicle capacity constraint is violated. Finally, experiments demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

In this paper, a detailed cost analysis was presented for various configurations of passive and active solar stills. An Excel program was prepared for calculating the cost analysis parameters for the considered systems. There are only two input parameters; the present capital cost (P) and the annual yield (M = daily average productivity × 260 days). Number of life years was assumed to be 10 years. Cost comparisons between the different passive and active solar stills and with another works were presented; and some conclusions were drawn. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the production cost per liter of potable water using either passive or active solar desalination techniques was more competitive compared to the price per liter in both Egyptian and Saudi markets.

In high-strength steel fabricated eccentrically braced frame with vertical shear link (HSSEBF-VSL), the vertical shear links use conventional steel while beam and column use high-strength steel (HSS). Using HSS for beams and columns in HSSEBF-VSL can reduce steel weight and increased economic efficiency. In this paper, static tests for two 1:2 length scaled HSSEBF-VSL specimens with one-bay and one-story were carried out, including one static pushover test and one cyclic loading test. The failure mode, load-bearing, ductility and energy dissipation capacities of the specimens were studied through the two static tests. Shake table test of a 1:2 length scaled three-story HSSEBF-VSL specimen was used to study its dynamic responses and dynamic strain responses of the vertical shear links. In addition, the finite element models of several HSSEBF-VSL and conventional EBF with vertical shear link (EBF-VSL) buildings were established for seismic effects. Nonlinear pushover and dynamic analyses were conducted to compare their seismic performance and economy. The test results indicated that the specimen with one-bay and one story had reliable lateral stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation capacity. The three-story specimen had good lateral stiffness and there was no dangerous of collapse for the specimen during the severe earthquakes. Under the same design conditions, the seismic performance of HSSEBF-VSL was slightly lower than that of EBF-VSL if it was designed to match the member section strength of EBF-VSL, but it used less steel than that of EBF-VSL, which could reduce the usage amount of steel in HSSEBF-VSL.

Natural gas distribution systems play a fundamental role in delivering a primary energy resource toward industrial, tertiary and residential building. These networks assume today an increasing relevance due to growing energy demand and tighter environmental constrains, but they are still operated and managed according to aging practices, without any "smartness" given by information and communication technologies. In this paper, a prototypal monitoring and controlling systems has been implemented on the natural gas medium pressure grid feeding the city of Bari (Italy). Results prove that such an application can considerably upgrade the overall reliability and efficiency of the gas distribution process, also assuring the possibility of very fast interventions in case of leakage or breaking of pipes with predictable benefits in terms of personal safety and economic savings.

This paper presents a modeling approach to evaluate the security of cyber-physical systems (CPSs).The security modeling process of CPSs is divided into two phases: the intrusion phase and the disruption phase.In each phase, a game-theoretic method predicts the interactions between the attacker and the system.By solving the model, the security of CPSs is estimated in terms of security metrics.As an illustrative example, the security of a chemical plant is investigated using the proposed method. The security of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) has become an active research area in recent years. The goal of attackers in these systems is often disrupting physical processes. However, breaking into a CPS is not the same as disrupting its physical process. To achieve the desired physical disruptions, an attacker needs to deep understanding about the failure conditions of the system, its control principles, and signal processing. For a better evaluation of the security of these systems, considering these issues is necessary. This paper presents a modeling approach to evaluate the security of CPSs. In the proposed model, the system moves discretely between different states, and in each state, the system evolves continuously according to a system of ordinary differential equations. The security modeling process of CPSs is divided into two phases of intrusion and disruption. In each phase, a game-theoretic paradigm with different parameters predicts the interactions between the attacker and the system. By solving the model, the security of CPSs is estimated in terms of metrics, such as mean-time-to-system shutdown and availability. Finally, the security of a chemical plant is investigated as an illustrative example.

Poor adherence to prescription medication can compromise treatment effectiveness and cost the billions of dollars in unnecessary health care expenses. Though various interventions have been proposed for estimating adherence rates, few have been shown to be effective. Digital systems are capable of estimating adherence without extensive user involvement and can potentially provide higher accuracy with lower user burden than manual methods. In this paper, we propose a smartwatch-based system for detecting several motions that may be predictors of medication adherence, using built-in triaxial accelerometers and gyroscopes. The efficacy of the proposed technique is confirmed through a survey of medication ingestion habits and experimental results on movement classification.

In this paper, a nonlinear controller using sliding mode method which is a robust nonlinear controller is designed to control a fast nuclear reactor. The reactor core is simulated based on the point kinetics equations and one delayed neutron group. Considering the limitations of the delayed neutron precursor density measurement, a sliding mode observer is designed to estimate it and finally a sliding mode control based on the sliding mode observer is presented. The stability analysis is given by means Lyapunov approach, thus the control system is guaranteed to be stable within a large range. Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is one of the robust and nonlinear methods which have several advantages such as robustness against matched external disturbances and parameter uncertainties. The employed method is easy to implement in practical applications and moreover, the sliding mode control exhibits the desired dynamic properties during the entire output-tracking process independent of perturbations. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in terms of performance, robustness and stability.

Microgrid allows flexible integration of distributed generation using renewable energy sources into the conventional centralized power system with the additional benefit of islanded mode operation Research efforts on DC microgrids have gained momentum in the recent years, mainly due to its inherent advantages compared to AC microgrids. Several DC renewable energy sources are connected to a common DC bus in a DC microgrid using DC-DC converters. When converters of different ratings are connected in parallel, it is required that the load demand is shared by the converters proportional to their power ratings. This will ensure that individual converters are not overstressed and the connected load is optimally shared. This paper investigates a droop control strategy for parallel DC-DC converters using virtual output impedance method for optimum load sharing. Simulation of the control strategy has been done for two parallel connected buck converters and the results show the optimum load sharing between the two converters.

In this study, RC frames with unreinforced masonry (URM) infill for typical school buildings in Korea are experimentally investigated to evaluate their seismic performance. For this purpose, one-bay, one-fourth scale specimens, with unreinforced concrete block (CB) infill having different boundary conditions due to beam rigidity, are tested under in-plane cyclic loading, using a distinctive measurement scheme consisting of three-axis strain gauges attached to all CB units. In this paper, the diagonal strut mechanism of CB infill including its main strut angle, average compressive strain, and equivalent strut width is discussed using principal compressive strains on CB units. The lateral strength carried by CB infill and RC frame from the overall response of the specimens is also explained, based on the compressive stress acting on the infill and the curvature distribution along RC members during the test.

Multi-vehicle tracking is crucial in many applications, such as traffic surveillance, intelligent transportation systems, and advanced driver assistance systems. Most conventional multi-target tracking algorithms are not ideal for multi-vehicle tracking, since they assume that the targets move independently of one another. However, due to traffic volume and limited lane resources, vehicles have to interact with their neighbors, resulting in highly dependent motions. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a novel multi-vehicle tracking algorithm for the single-lane case that considers motion dependence across vehicles by integrating the car-following model (CFM) into the tracking process with on-road constraints. A new CFM-based motion model that describes the dependent motion of vehicles in the single-lane case is proposed, and the notion of car-following clusters is defined. In order to exploit all available information in sensor measurements, the proposed algorithm updates the state estimates of car-following clusters by utilizing a stacked-update strategy. Furthermore, the variable structure interacting multiple model estimator is modified and integrated into the proposed algorithm to handle maneuvers that may violate the CFM. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed multi-vehicle tracking algorithm over other state-of-the-art multi-vehicle tracking algorithms.

This paper is motivated by the necessity of introducing the principles of circular economy at the level of different social – economic activities, and from this point of view one of the fields with a special potential is that of the manufacture of castings. Objective: to connect to the organizing and application of the methodology of the circular economy principles. The proposed method is an innovating one, being connected to the use of institutionalization engineering. Formulating the subject: The subject formulated to be solved aims at the introduction of new approaches, defined through institutionalization engineering, which proposes to set the correlation of actions between the specifics of the circular economy and the specific elements of the manufacture of castings. Research method: An institutional structuring operation was imposed for the optimization of the research method, in which different versions interact at the following levels: the level of public policies, the level of the regulatory framework, the level of technical solutions and the level of financing solutions and financial instruments. The determination of the optimal solution established in a dynamic context, favorable for the requirements of the different actors present within the process, appeals to the elements of critical thinking, specific for the engineer's actions. Achievement of the research activity: The research activity structures a methodology of quantifying the contributions of each stage of the manufacturing process for castings at the fulfilling of the specific conditions of the circular economy, indicating the critical areas of action for more efficient actions of the circular economy, according to the market economy requirements, where there is a potential of implementing the technical solutions by quantizing the financial solutions and the opportunity of using the financial instruments. The major contribution of the research: The proposed methodology, with examples at the level of castings manufacture, sets the bases of a new field of action of the engineering thinking, namely, that of circular economy institutionalization functioning. Conclusions of the research activity: The proposed methodology represents the bases of establishing a new instrument of action at the level of institutionalized functioning of the circular economy.

An alternative integration scheme for a half-bridge switch using 70 μm thin Si IGBTs and diodes is presented. This flat switch, which is designed for high-frequency application with high power density, exhibits high strength, high toughness, low parasitic inductance and high thermal conductivity. Such a novel assembly approach is suitable to optimize performance, reliability and availability of the power system in which it is used. The paper focuses on the thermal performance of this assembly at normal and extreme operating conditions, studied by means of FEM thermo-fluidynamic simulations of the module integrated with connectors and liquid cooler, and thermal measurement performed on an early prototype. Improved solutions are also investigated by the FE model.