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The key to radical innovation lies in technological breakthroughs, and the key to technical breakthroughs lies in the application of cross-domain knowledge. However, in the conceptual design stage of new product development, the designer's cognition and knowledge are limited and the retrieval and evaluation of cross-domain technologies is often subjective, making it difficult to generate radical concepts. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a method for cross-domain technology recommendation based on patent analysis. In this method, feature words in various domains of patents are used to generalise the abstract functions of product core subsystems, where designers can obtain more comprehensive cross-domain technologies. This is conducive to breaking the design fixation of designers. Subject–Action–Object structural and functional similarity are combined to quickly extract cross-domain technologies in patents. Then multiple technical indicators are used to objectively evaluate and rank cross-domain technologies. This approach helps designers objectively select cross-domain technologies to change the way next-generation products work, enabling early planning of production conditions and a head start in the market. The method has been verified in a new product development project on peeling equipment, a new product that meets radical indicators is finally obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the maintenance and management efficiency of campus electromechanical equipment and reduce or even avoid the safety risks brought by campus electromechanical equipment, this work uses the data mining algorithm to design the security and protection system of campus electromechanical equipment. First, this work constructs the campus electromechanical equipment classification model using the Bayesian algorithm of data mining algorithm and designs a simulation experiment to verify the effect of the classification model. Then, the security and protection system for the campus electromechanical equipment is designed. It includes the system business process, system function design, system core module's function design and system implementation. Finally, a simulation experiment is designed to verify the system's performance. The results show that: (1) Bayesian algorithm is superior to the K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm in both classification effect and running time. (2) When the browser concurrency in the system increases, the server processor and memory usage also increases, but the value meets the expected requirements. It shows that the system has a certain browser concurrency-bearing capacity. Moreover, as the browser concurrency of the system increases, the response time of the test also increases, but the value meets the expected requirements. This work aims to improve the maintenance efficiency of campus electromechanical equipment and provide a reference for the safety protection work of electromechanical equipment in other enterprises or units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractGamification is increasingly recognized as a promising intervention to promote individual environmental contributions. However, the understanding of the motivations for users’ continuous engagement intentions with gamified environment protection remains insufficient. This study explores users’ continuous engagement intentions with Chinese pro-environmental gamification Ant Forest, using a research model that integrates the norm activation model, warm glow theory, and technology acceptance model. By analyzing quantitative survey data collected from 525 players of Ant Forest, the model is empirically examined through structural equation modelling. The research results show that Ant Forest users are motivated by a combination of altruistic, egoistic, and pragmatic factors. The identified positive impact factors include personal norms, ascription of responsibility, awareness of consequences, perceived warm glow, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness in improving users’ environmental contribution efficiency. Surprisingly, users find Ant Forest enjoyable as a game irrespective of its environmental benefits, but they are not primarily driven by the perceived pure fun from game playing. The findings of the study not only offer a comprehensive explanation for the antecedents of continuous engagement intentions with pro-environmental gamification but also provide theoretical and practical implications for gamification research and design in environment protection contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various working fluids are applied during geothermal reservoir development, and geothermal reservoir damage induced by contacts between working fluids and reservoir formations are inevitable. Reservoir damage mechanisms, including solid and colloidal plugging, fluid sensitivity, stress sensitivity, and water locking, provide guidance for designing reservoir protection working fluids. In this paper, based on the design principles of reservoir protection working fluids applied in oil–gas reservoirs, four design principles of reservoir protection working fluids are proposed to eliminate potential geothermal reservoir damage for geothermal reservoirs, containing solid-free, facilitated flowback, temporary plugging, and inhibition. Solid-free is achieved by replacing solids with polymers in working fluids. Surfactant and materials with low affinity towards rock surfaces are applied for the facilitated flowback of working fluids from reservoir formations. Temporary plugging is achieved by using temporary plugging materials, some of which are polymers that also apply to solid-free working fluids. Besides, some of the temporary plugging materials, such as surfactant, are applicable for both the facilitated flowback and inhibition of working fluids. The inhibition of working fluids include the inhibition of clay minerals, which can be attributed to clay mineral inhibitors or activity regulators in working fluids, as well as the inhibition of mineral precipitations. This review aims to provide insights for geothermal reservoir protection working fluids, contributing to achieving an efficient development of geothermal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies personalised smart apps, from a data protection and security point of view. More precisely, having as a reference model the provisions stemming from the General Data Protection Regulation, we investigate whether such apps, whose philosophy is based on the provision of personalised services, adopt appropriate data protection techniques, focusing especially on aspects from the data protection by design and by default principles, as well as on their security features. Our analysis over ten popular such Android apps illustrates the existence of several privacy concerns, including the facts that several data processes are by default enabled without requesting users' consent, as well as that several data processes are not well justified or sufficiently transparent to the users. Moreover, interestingly enough, the apps studied are not free of known security weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil arching is a common phenomenon existing in the earth structures such as pile-supported embankments and buried pipes. Suffusion would be triggered in these structures during flood events after rainstorms and pipe ruptures, which poses significant threats to these infrastructures. A novel trapdoor-suffusion apparatus was developed in this study to investigate the initiation and progressive development of suffusion in infrastructures involving soil arching. A series of laboratory tests were conducted using gap-graded glass beads with an initial fine particle content of 15% by mass. Initial soil arching was established via trapdoor movement and then was subjected to a horizontal seepage flow with an increasing hydraulic gradient to induce suffusion in the arched soil. The presence of soil arching increased the susceptibility of local instability of the soil specimen within the stress reduction areas at significantly low local hydraulic gradients, due to the reduced stress restriction on fine particles. Subsequently, global suffusion was triggered at a critical hydraulic gradient much lower than the predicted value by the modified zero effective stress principle, and this critical hydraulic gradient decreased rapidly with the reduction of initial soil arching ratio (SAR). This study obtained an empirical formula in the form of power functions to characterize the variation of critical hydraulic gradient with the initial soil arching ratio. As the suffusion continued, the degradation of soil arching intensified under the low initial SAR, and became the dominant factor increasing the surface displacement of the soil. This paper reveals the increased risk of suffusion to earth structures with the presence of soil arching, and provides valuable guidance for the design and protection of earth structures against suffusion-induced challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential for network operators to guarantee required levels of availability in the network without incurring in excessive costs. We address the optimization problem of upgrading links at a given cost, to achieve end‐to‐end availability guarantees in the network, via pairs of working and backup paths. These guarantees are expressed as nonlinear path pair availability constraints which cannot be readily linearized. For this reason, most works have only considered the working path availability or disaggregated models where availability guarantees are considered separately for the working and backup paths. We show that the aggregated models which jointly consider the availabilities of the working and backup paths can provide better solutions than the disaggregated models. Moreover, we present a more efficient aggregated model based on a novel strategy to linearize the path pair availability constraints, and show that it further improves previous results. It is usual to impose that the upgraded links belong to a spanning tree subgraph. We further compare the solutions with and without this imposition and show that relaxing the tree condition can provide better solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightning is the severest threaten to safe operation of wind turbines. In this letter, the authors present the first altitude‐triggered lightning experiment involving an elevated 12 m‐long wind turbine blade placed on the ground. A total of 50 precursors with amplitude over 62.9 A were observed through measurements of channel‐base current, fast electric field, and optical data. The air gap with around 3–5 m has been bridged between the wire's lower extremity and the metal blade tip during ascending of the rocket and it is observed to be luminous by slow framing rate camera. The precursors are classified into three groups, namely bipolar pulses, unipolar pulses, and group pulses. Excluding the precursors preceding the initial stage and M‐components at the late‐time of the initial stage, five stages are classified. In the first stage, the current remains limited at a relatively small value, while the electric field exhibited a slow rising behavior with positive polarity. In the second stage, the current starts to increase, and the electric field rapidly intensifies due to the accumulating charge, and the wire is assumed to experience an explosion. In the third stage, the reconnection process occurs. The current is characterized by a peak value of 1.45 kA with 10%–90% risetime of 10.4 μs. The electric fields suffer from notable decrease and are characterized by a microsecond‐scale V‐shape pulse. The current cutoff is quite short that almost not found. In the fourth step, the current is characterized by superimposed pulses. The final stage is the channel darkening. Plain Language Summary: Observation results are reported in detail about the altitude‐triggered lightning experiment involving an elevated 12 m‐long wind turbine blade placed on the ground. There are fruitful precursors prior to the beginning of the initial stage. The precursors demonstrate that the air gap with around 3–5 m has been bridged between the wire and the metal blade tip. The precursors are grouped into three groups, namely bipolar pulses, unipolar pulses, and group pulses. The initial stage is classified into five periods. The triggering wire is believed to be vapourized during the second stage. The so‐called initial current variation (ICV), also called reconnection process, occurs at the third stage. The superimposed pulses are found immediately after the reconnection process in the fourth stage. The late‐time of the initial stage is also characterized by superimposed pulses associated with M‐components. This work is potentially helpful to understand the physical process lightning strikes a wind turbine, and design lightning protection strategies for wind turbines. Key Points: First altitude‐triggered lightning experiment associated with an elevated 12 m‐long wind turbine blade has been conducted through simultaneous measurements of current, electric fields and optical dataThe 50 precursors over 62.9 A proceeding the initial stage are classified into three groups: (a) bipolar pulses with the notably initial positive peak and followed by the negative excursion; (b) unipolar pulses with the notably initial positive peak but with quite flat late‐time response; and (c) group pulsesFive stages associated with channel reestablishment are classified according to the measured current and electric field, in which the current cutoff is quite short that almost not found [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the dynamic thermal response of materials is crucial for designing effective thermal protection systems, particularly in extreme thermal environments such as transient thermal loading, extremely low/high temperature, etc. This study investigates the dynamic thermal response of a half plane containing multiple parallel cracks under transient thermal loading using a non‐Fourier, hyperbolic heat conduction model. Our findings highlight significant deviations from traditional Fourier models, enhancing the predictive capabilities for designing thermal protection systems in extreme thermal environments. The cracks are modeled as distributions of thermal dislocations, with densities determined through Fourier and Laplace transforms. By solving the resulting singular integral equations, we calculate the temperature gradient intensity factors across multiple scenarios. Additionally, we examine the effects of thermal relaxation time, loading parameters, and crack spacing on the thermal intensity factors, both in transient and steady‐state conditions. This research confirms the robustness of the hyperbolic model and its practical implications for thermal analysis in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Highly filled polymer fibers offer huge promise for radiation protection safety and wear comfort of personal protective equipment (PPE) in radiation environments. However, it usually sacrifices mechanical properties that directly related to practical usability. Here, as high as 75 wt% PbWO4 (PWO) particles have been filled in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber via tailoring their size and shape for enhanced γ‐rays shielding and good mechanical properties. Clearly shown that 0 dimensional (0‐D) PWO exhibits better dispersion and compatibility between the interfaces than 1‐D PWO in highly filled PVA fibers. In addition, 70 wt% 0‐D PWO/PVA fibers display better mechanical properties than 70 wt% 1‐D PWO/PVA fibers. Note that 75 wt% 0‐D PWO/PVA fibers show 1.02 cN/dtex of tensile strength. However, 75 wt% 1‐D PWO/PVA fibers fail to be fabricated smoothly. Importantly, the overlapped fabrics with 75 wt% 0‐D PWO/PVA fibers display 43.05% of γ‐ray shielding (105 keV) meanwhile it offers good air and water vapor permeability for wear comfort. The superior γ‐ray shielding ascribes the polymer fibers with the higher filling in comparison with its counterpart, which provides a practical means to design radiation protection safety and wear comfort of articles. This work breaks the upper limit of filling in polymer fibers Filler structure can weigh the integrated properties of polymer fibers. 0‐D PWO particles promote interfacial compatibility in highly filled fibers. Radiation protection safety and wear comfort of articles tend to be designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Member States' support for rule of law (RoL) enforcement in the Council of the European Union (the Council). Existing studies regarding this topic produce puzzling findings: there is a stable pro-RoL enforcement coalition between older Member States, while the positions of the newer members appear to be more nuanced in relation to different RoL issues and instruments. This article seeks to elucidate the factors underlying these divergent positions and proposes a solution to this puzzle by introducing the conceptualisation of Member States' ‘differential support’ for RoL enforcement. Furthermore, it develops a theoretical framework to explain various factors influencing these positions. By analysing Member States' stances on five RoL instruments designed for the promotion and protection of the RoL in the Union, this article demonstrates that the positions of new Member States on RoL enforcement are more stable than often perceived. Additionally, an in-depth qualitative analysis of Member States' arguments reveals that strategic calculations largely influence their positions on RoL enforcement within the Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing multi-point initiation in warhead structures produces a detonation wave aiming warhead. Numerous studies have concentrated on enhancing the velocity and analyzing its distribution in this type of warhead. Researchers have developed formulas for the velocity distribution of asymmetrically one-line initiated warheads; however, a reliable and complete calculation method for the velocity distribution in asymmetrically two-line initiated warheads is yet to be established. A new idea is proposed and verified in this work: the velocity distribution for the asymmetric two-line initiation can be derived from that of the one-line initiation. Initial efforts include conducting experimentally verified numerical modeling to examine the propagation and interaction of detonation waves in asymmetrically two-line initiated warheads. Subsequently, using the principle of independent propagation, a model is formulated to use the velocity distribution from asymmetric one-line initiation to predict that of asymmetric two-line initiations. Finally, arena tests are performed to corroborate the overlapping model. This research can provide valuable insights for lethality assessment, protection design, and security analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning networks have yielded promising insights in the field of image classification. However, the hierarchical image classification (HIC) task, which involves assigning multiple, hierarchically organized labels to each image, presents a notable challenge. In response to this complexity, we developed a novel framework (HCAM-CL), which integrates a hierarchical cross-attention mechanism with a CNN-LSTM architecture for the HIC task. The HCAM-CL model effectively identifies the relevance between images and their corresponding labels while also being attuned to learning the hierarchical inter-dependencies among labels. Our versatile model is designed to manage both fixed-length and variable-length classification pathways within the hierarchy. In the HCAM-CL model, the CNN module is responsible for the essential task of extracting image features. The hierarchical cross-attention mechanism vertically aligns these features with hierarchical levels, uniformly weighing the importance of different spatial regions. Ultimately, the LSTM module is strategically utilized to generate predictive outcomes by treating HIC as a sequence generation challenge. Extensive experimental evaluations on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and design patent image datasets demonstrate that our HCAM-CL framework consistently outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in hierarchical image classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the evacuation bottleneck of air-rail intermodal hub stations and improve the efficiency of personnel evacuation, the smoke spread process and the visibility and temperature changes in the case of fire in an air-rail intermodal hub station in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, were simulated via PyroSim simulation software based on performance-based fire protection design technology. The available safe escape time was obtained, the whole process of safe personnel evacuation was simulated, the bottleneck position in the process of evacuation was revealed, and the time required for safe crowd evacuation in the fire environment was determined. Results show that with a smoke exhaust system, smoke spreads to both sides of the hub station in 270 s, the visibility on both sides is affected, and the safe evacuation conditions fail. When the smoke exhaust system does not function, the available safe escape time is 497 s, and the required safe escape time is 370.5 s. The obtained conclusions provide a decision reference for performance-based fire protection design of air-rail intermodal hub stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural mass timber has been used more often in buildings over the last 5 years, given its potential to be a sustainable alternative. However, concerns still exist around the fire safety of mass timber structures, and current mass timber building designers must consider a variety of fire protection strategies, including but not limited to noncombustible protection and design for sacrificial char thickness. This research focuses on better understanding how prescriptive code fire protection strategies affect the sustainability goals that have partially driven mass timber use. This paper studies how decisions during early design can reduce embodied carbon (EC), the initial energy use of a structure's construction. Five structural floor system types were modeled parametrically for various levels of fire protection. System types included timber–concrete composites, cross-laminated timber (CLT)–steel hybrids, and all-timber systems. The resulting EC data analysis reveals that all-timber systems perform the best for EC when the fully protected option is used at shorter spans, when the combined approach option is used at midrange spans, and when the fully exposed timber option is used at longer spans. Across all studied systems, the shallowest possible depth occurred for the 10-ft (3.05-m) spanning CLT–steel hybrid systems at 11.5 in. (292 mm) deep for the fully protected system, and the lowest possible EC was 10.5 lb CO2 eq/ft2 (51.3 kg CO2 eq/m2) for the fully protected 10-ft (3.05 m) all-timber system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-impact river floods are often caused by very extreme precipitation events with return periods of several decades or centuries, and the design of flood protection measures thus relies on reliable estimates of the corresponding return values. However, calculating such return values from observations is associated with large statistical uncertainties due to the limited length of observational time series, uneven spatial distributions of rain gauges and trends associated with anthropogenic climate change. Here, 100-year return values of daily precipitation are estimated on a global grid based on a large data set of model-generated precipitation events from ensemble weather prediction. In this way, the statistical uncertainties in the return values can be substantially reduced compared to observational estimates due to the substantially longer time series. In spite of a general agreement in spatial patterns, the model-generated data set leads to systematically higher return values than the observations in many regions, with statistically significant differences, for instance, over the Amazon, western Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and India. This might be linked to an overestimation of tropical extreme precipitation in the model or an underestimation of extreme precipitation events in observations, which, if true, would have important consequences for practical water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible facing systems, the main element of which is a pinned net, are widely used to stabilise ground layers on slopes. Today, this technique benefits from decades of successful experience. The optimisation of their design has motivated a great deal of research, based on experiments and numerical modelling, particularly in recent years. This literature review first gives a synthetic overview of the available analytical design methods, before presenting the various research studies that have been carried out on flexible facing systems. The response of flexible facing systems is then discussed in a didactic manner, focusing on the membrane and paying particular attention to the mechanisms and parameters that influence this response. The relevance of current practices in terms of component characterisation tests and analytical approaches to design is then discussed. Finally, the latest research is presented and the best design criteria are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise intake towers in high-intensity seismic areas are prone to structural safety problems under vibration. Therefore, effective and low-cost anti-seismic engineering measures must be designed for protection. An intake tower in northwest China was considered the research object, and its natural vibration characteristics and dynamic response were first analyzed using the mode decomposition response spectrum method based on a three-dimensional finite element model. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) was adopted to optimize the anti-seismic scheme combination by comprehensively considering the dynamic tower response and variable project cost. Finally, the rationality of the original intake tower antiseismic design scheme was evaluated according to the obtained optimal solution set, and recommendations for improvement were proposed. The method adopted in this study may provide significant references for designing anti-seismic measures for high-rise structures such as intake towers located in high-intensity earthquake areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Stochastic Reduced-Order Models (SROMs) are a non-embedded uncertainty analysis method that has the advantages of high computational efficiency, easy implementation, and no dimensional disasters. Recently, it has been widely used in the field of EMC simulation. In the process of optimizing electromagnetic protection design, the worst-case estimation value is an extremely important uncertainty quantification simulation result. However, the SROMs have a large error in providing this result, which limits its application in the field of EMC simulation prediction. An improved SROM based on the Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network algorithm is proposed in this paper, which improves the fitness function in the genetic algorithm center clustering process and constructs an RBF neural network model to obtain accurate worst-case estimation results. The accuracy improvement effect of the algorithm proposed in this paper in worst-case estimation is quantitatively verified by using a parallel cable crosstalk prediction example from published literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal runaway characteristics and hazards of lithium-ion batteries under low ambient pressure in-flight conditions are studied in a dynamic pressure chamber. The influence of ambient pressures (95 kPa and 20 kPa) and packaging forms (cylindrical and pouch commercial batteries) were especially investigated. The results show that the values of heat release, temperature, and C O 2 concentration decrease with the reduction in pressure from 95 kPa to 20 kPa, while the total hydrocarbon and C O   increase. Without violent fire, explosion, and huge jet flames, the thermal hazards of TR fire under 20 kPa are lower, but the amount of toxic/flammable gas emissions increases greatly. The amount of C O and hydrocarbons varies inversely with the thermal hazards of fire. Under low-pressure environments of cruise altitude, the thermal hazards of TR fire for pouch cells and the toxic/potentially explosive hazards of gas emissions of cylindrical cells need more attention. The performance of TR hazards for two packaging types of battery is also different. Pouch cells have higher thermal hazards of fire and lower combustible/toxic emitted gases than cylindrical cells. The thermal runaway intensity of individual cells decreases under lower ambient pressure, but the burning intensity increases dramatically when thermal runaway occurs in a battery pack. The open time of a safety valve (rupture of the bag) is shortened, but the trigger time for a thermal runaway varies for different formats of batteries under 20 kPa. Those results may be helpful for the safety warning and hazard protection design of Li batteries under low-pressure conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• Current global trend and hotspots in ANAMMOX research have been elucidated. • Incessant studies on the anammox process over the decades is positively influencing its technological advancement. • SNAD, PD/A and DAMO/A are the most viable methodologies for mainstream anammox implementation. • The role of methanogenic archaea in anammox system needs further scrutiny. • Integrated state of the art engineering solutions are required for long-term stable mainstream PN/A operation. The removal of nitrogen via the ANAMMOX process is a promising green wastewater treatment technology, with numerous benefits. The incessant studies on the ANAMMOX process over the years due to its long start-up and high operational cost has positively influenced its technological advancement, even though at a rather slow pace. At the moment, relatively new ANAMMOX technologies are being developed with the goal of treating low carbon wastewater at low temperatures, tackling nitrite and nitrate accumulation and methane utilization from digestates while also recovering resources (phosphorus) in a sustainable manner. This review compares and contrasts the handful of ANAMMOX -based processes developed thus far with plausible solutions for addressing their respective bottlenecks hindering full-scale implementation. Ultimately, future prospects for advancing understanding of mechanisms and engineering application of ANAMMOX process are posited. As a whole, technological advances in process design and patents have greatly contributed to better understanding of the ANAMMOX process, which has greatly aided in the optimization and industrialization of the ANAMMOX process. This review is intended to provide researchers with an overview of the present state of research and technological development of the ANAMMOX process, thus serving as a guide for realizing energy autarkic future practical applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the structure–property relationship of the human cranium is crucial for enhancing personalized head protection design and improving injury prevention criteria. This study presents a thorough spatial analysis of cranial morphology at both the macro- and micro-scale through micro-CT scanning. Two statistical quantifiers (i.e., Cortico-trabecular thickness (CoTb.Th) and Cortico-trabecular spacing (CoTb.Sp)) are defined here to characterize the micro-structural morphology in both the cortical and cancellous tables. A new adaptive layer segmentation method is proposed that considers the micro-structural variation to quantify the porosity threshold between the inner table, the diploë and the outer table. Then, statistical analysis was employed to investigate the interaction between donor information (e.g., age, sex, and sample extraction location) and structural characteristics (maximum and average porosity, CoTb.Th and CoTb.Sp). The morphological results revealed that the peak parallel porosity of 55 ± 30% can be found in the diploë region, while the perpendicular porosity remained essentially stable and fluctuated between a range of 10–15%. Furthermore, the layer segmentation results demonstrated that the porosity threshold between the inner table and the diploë was 29.14 ± 3.93%, and 46.50 ± 4.80% between the diploë and the outer table. In addition, the statistical analyses indicated that age ( p < 0.01 ) and sex ( p < 0.05 ) were the most influential factors affecting maximum and average porosity. The novelty of this work stems from the comprehensive understanding of the morphological features of human crania, which is needed to advance the physical surrogate models of human skull, contributing to the mechanical testing of head protection devices and improvement of injury criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of relay protections of electrical installations without the use of bulky metal- and insulation-intensive measuring current transformers (CTs) was repeatedly discussed at Conferences of the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) as a challenge for the electric power industry. In the article, the authors present resource-saving reed switch current protection for 6–10-kV electrical installations connected to switchgear cells, which is an alternative to traditional protections. The scientific novelty of the work lies in (a) reed switch protection design on the basis of measuring the magnetic induction in different modes and at different points inside a cell, and we prove that inductance values are sufficient to detect phase short-circuits in electrical installations fed from this cell and derive the dependence of the induction on the position of an inductance coil inside the cell; (b) proven possibility of using the simplest formula of the Biot–Savart law for the calculations if the experimentally obtained coefficients are introduced into it; (c) development of a technique for calculating the parameters of the overcurrent protection based on reed switches. Experimental results are presented in graphical form and clearly show the points of EMS maxima and minima. Settings for resource-saving current protection are selected and a feasibility study of the effectiveness of resource-saving overcurrent protection is carried out. A technical and economical assessment of the efficiency of the suggested overcurrent protection is conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the dynamic mechanical properties of red sandstone under normal and acidic conditions with varying pH levels using the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) technique. By integrating fractal theory and energy dissipation theory, the study reveals the changing patterns of fractal dimension and dissipated energy density of red sandstone in acidic environments. The test results indicate that as the impact air pressure increases, the strain rate, compressive strength, and maximum strain of the red sandstone show an upward trend, demonstrating a noticeable hardening effect of the strain rate. The physicochemical effects of acid corrosion lead to a deterioration in the mechanical properties of red sandstone, with a more pronounced deterioration as acidity levels increase. Furthermore, the fractal dimension of crushed red sandstone shows a direct positive relationship with the strain rate, while the average fragmentation block size decreases with increasing strain rate and the fractal dimension increases. Under acid corrosion, the fractal dimension increases, the average fragmentation block size decreases, and the dissipated energy density decreases. These findings offer a scientific foundation for the design and protection of underground geotechnical structures in acid-prone regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation is an effective and environmental-friendly approach to improve slope stability. However, due to the lack of reasonable calculation methods for vegetated slopes, the analysis theory of ecological slope protection lags behind the engineering application. Based on the shallow translational failure model considering the boundary effects, the dimensionless seismic stability number of shallow overburden slopes with or without vegetation protection was deduced by using the upper limit method of limit analysis. A series of stability charts for slopes with or without vegetation protection under seismic excitations with different amplitudes were provided. The results show that the underestimation degree of the safety factor calculated from the infinite slope model increases gradually with the increase of the thickness ratio of the shallow overburden. Compared with the slope without vegetation protection, the seismic stability number of the slope with vegetation protection is nonlinear. The proposed stability charts show good performance for rapidly obtaining the safety factor with calculation errors of less than 9%, which is useful in assessing the safety of the shallow overburden slopes with vegetation protection in the preliminary design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the dynamic mechanical response and damage mechanisms of I‐shaped steel‐concrete composite beams under explosive loads, experimental research and numerical simulations were conducted on steel‐concrete composite structures. The accuracy of the numerical analysis model was validated by comparing the damage characteristics of the structures obtained from explosive tests on the steel‐concrete composite components. Based on this, numerical simulations were performed on steel‐concrete composite beams using the explicit dynamic analysis software ANSYS/LS‐DYNA, and a study on their damage mechanisms was conducted. This study resulted in the acquisition of dynamic mechanical response patterns, including time‐dependent stress, strain, displacement, acceleration, and so on. Different structural damage characteristics under various explosive conditions were summarized, and key parameters affecting the blast resistance of the structure were analyzed. The research findings indicated that, in contrast to the failure characteristics of I‐shaped reinforced concrete (RC) beams, the failure characteristics of I‐shaped steel‐concrete composite beams mainly include punching and shearing failure of the steel‐RC slab and local buckling of the steel beam. Under the same explosive conditions, steel‐concrete composite structures exhibit superior blast resistance, with certain changes in structural parameters significantly improving blast resistance. The research results can provide theoretical support and a scientific basis for the proactive design of blast protection in steel‐concrete beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Ballistic Protection Vests (BPVs) has gained significant attention, particularly focusing on the design of Ballistic Protection Soft Panels (BPSPs), which are crucial to the overall size and configuration of these vests. Despite their critical role, there is a noticeable lack of a standardized design method for surface area patterns of BPSPs in the existing literature. The findings indicate that the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard 0101.06 Ballistic Test Templates (BTTs) are only partially applicable to the design of BPSP patterns. While the NIJ standard 0101.06 provides a useful framework, it requires adaptation to meet the specific needs of regional body types and the practicalities of BPV manufacturing. This research aims to address this gap by assessing the suitability of NIJ BTTs for the design of BPSPs and BPVs and to develop a standardized pattern design methodology along with a method for calculating the surface area of the soft amour prior to its creation. Results have to be achieved ready for the production of BPSP patterns tailored to the body types of regional soldiers while adhering to relevant standards and soldier's physical comfort, thereby saving time and resources for manufacturers and researchers. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of the NIJ standard 0101.06 BTT for configuring these templates into the cutting patterns of BPSPs. To achieve this, patterns for BPSPs were designed and the feasibility of using NIJ BTTs for their configuration was analyzed. The research process involved a comprehensive literature review, an analysis of the dimensions of existing BPV soft panels, and a comparison with NIJ standard 0101.06 BTT. The design and scaling of the panel patterns were executed using computer-aided design (CAD) systems and evaluated through both physical fitting on mannequins and virtual fitting using the Clo3D program. The developed pattern-making methodology includes size specifications tailored to regional covers, incorporating a coefficient K identified to calculate the BPSP surface area prior to design. This approach not only ensures better fitting for the physical comfort and protection of soldiers but also saves time and resources in the manufacturing process of BPSPs. The proposed design methodology offers a significant step forward in standardizing BPSP patterns, promising enhanced protection and efficiency in BPV manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, jacket foundations have been increasingly employed in offshore wind farms. Their complex design comprising piles and trusses poses challenges for conducting comprehensive flow field measurements using physical experiments. Consequently, the influence of the flow field on local scour around these foundations remains unclear. Therefore, numerical simulation methods are essential to depict the surrounding flow characteristics. This study utilizes large eddy simulation (LES) turbulence models within OpenFOAM to simulate the flow field around jacket foundations on flat-bed and equilibrium scour bathymetry. A flume experiment was conducted for numerical model establishment and validation. The close agreement between experimental and numerical results indicates that the LES model accurately reflects the flow patterns around the jacket foundation. Time-averaged and instantaneous flow characteristics, average kinetic energy (AKE), turbulence structure, and bed shear stress were analyzed. The results indicate that flow intensity is reduced due to the shielding effect and energy dissipation by the truss structure of the jacket foundation. Furthermore, the AKE of the flow upstream of the rear piles decreases by 18.9% in the flat-bed state and 28.0% in the equilibrium state, indicating more energy dissipation and less scour at the rear piles in the equilibrium state. The research findings offer valuable insights into the design and scour protection strategies for jacket foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cycles of wildfire and rainfall produce sediment‐laden floods that pose a hazard to development and may clog or overtop protective infrastructure, including debris basins and flood channels. The compound, post‐fire flood hazards associated with infrastructure overtopping and clogging are challenging to estimate due to the need to account for interactions between sequences of wildfire and storm events and their impact on flood control infrastructure over time. Here we present data sources and calibration methods to estimate infrastructure clogging and channel overtopping hazards on a catchment‐by‐catchment basis using the Post‐Fire Flood Hazard Model (PF2HazMo), a stochastic modeling approach that utilizes continuous simulation to resolve the effects of antecedent conditions and system memory. Publicly available data sources provide parameter ranges needed for stochastic modeling, and several performance measures are considered for model calibration. With application to three catchments in southern California, we show that PF2HazMo predicts the median of the simulated distribution of peak bulked flows within the 95% confidence interval of observed flows, with an order of magnitude range in bulked flow estimates depending on the performance measure used for calibration. Using infrastructure overtopping data from a post‐fire wet season, we show that PF2HazMo accurately predicts the number of flood channel exceedances. Model applications to individual watersheds reveal where infrastructure is undersized to contain present‐day and future overtopping hazards based on current design standards. Model limitations and sources of uncertainty are also discussed. Plain Language Summary: Communities at the foot of the mountains face an especially dangerous type of flooding called "sediment‐laden floods." Many such communities in the southwestern U.S. are protected from water floods by flood infrastructure designed to trap sediment at the mouth of mountain canyons and convey only water flows safely past developed areas to a downstream water body. Sediment‐laden floods, which are more forceful and typically larger than water floods, are more likely to happen during storms over burned mountain canyons soon after a wildfire occurs. However, estimating the likelihood that sediment‐laden floods fill and overtop flood infrastructure is challenging since existing sediment‐laden flood models do not explicitly consider the role of flood infrastructure. Here we present the Post‐Fire Flood Hazard Model (PF2HazMo), a model that can estimate the likelihood of post‐fire floods on a canyon‐by‐canyon basis accounting for flood infrastructure. Environmental data collected following a major wildfire is used to apply PF2HazMo to three mountain canyons in southern California, and we find that it predicts the number of floods accurately relative to observed post‐fire flood channel overtopping events. Further, the model is used to predict the frequency of floods due to infrastructure overtopping under both present‐day and future wildfire scenarios. Key Points: Flood risks are heightened by clogging of infrastructure with sediment, which can occur from sequences of storms especially after wildfiresA framework for calibration and validation of a post‐fire infrastructure clogging and flood hazard model is presentedModel applications reveal whether infrastructure is adequately sized to meet design levels of protection [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In design patent law, we have created a monster—a chimera, a hybrid that sometimes looks and acts like a patent regime and then, unexpectedly, doesn’t. Courts in design patent cases sometimes apply the rules as they would in utility patent cases, sometimes modify those rules for the design context, and sometimes ignore the utility patent rules altogether. The consequences of that incomplete adoption of utility patent rules are grossly underappreciated. Among other things, it has wreaked havoc on the law of novelty and nonobviouness—doctrines that are supposed to ensure that we grant design patent protection only to new and meaningfully different designs. And it has too often resulted in rules that ignore how designers actually work. In this Article, we suggest that the problem stems from trying to fit design into a framework that was intended for the very different context of inventions. There are good reasons not to use the utility patent infringement rules for design, even if we are skeptical of the particular design patent infringement rule the Federal Circuit has settled on. And there are good reasons not to allow a design patent to have a different scope when it comes to infringement than for validity; doing so allows patent owners (and infringers) to game the system in litigation. The Federal Circuit has recognized some—but not all—of these necessary differences. But if there are good reasons to depart from utility patent rules in some cases, why insist on symmetry with utility patent in other respects? We think design patent law’s strange hybridity is largely a historical accident. In 1842, when design patents were first created, the utility patent system looked fundamentally different than it does today—and a lot more like an ideal design patent system would. Most significant, it used central rather than peripheral claiming. But as utility patent law changed, design patent law tagged along to its detriment. Courts (and ultimately Congress) should recognize the fundamental divergence between utility and design patents. Perhaps we should get rid of design patents altogether and adopt a sui generis regime for design, as virtually every other country has done. But if we are stuck with design patents, courts should apply design patent law with sensitivity to the differences between design and invention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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AbstractIn order to improve the safety of on-board hydrogen storage tanks during collision, a protective shell based on a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) core is designed in this paper. After analyzing and comparing the crashworthiness of three typical honeycomb structures, the concave hexagonal negative Poisson’s ratio honeycomb is selected as the energy-absorbing inner core of the hydrogen storage tank protection structure. The sensitivity analysis of the structural parameters of the NPR shell is conducted through orthogonal tests to identify parameters with a significant impact on crash performance. These parameters are then used as experimental variables for subsequent optimization design. Subsequently, a response surface approximation model between the optimization objective and the structural parameters is established based on the response surface method. Finally, the adaptive simulated annealing algorithm (ASA), neighborhood cultivation genetic algorithm (NCGA), and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) are used to optimize the structural parameters, and the optimization results are verified by the whole-vehicle crash simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that all three algorithms achieve better optimization results, among which NCGA is more advantageous in improving the overall performance of the protective shell. After NCGA optimization, the specific energy absorption of the protective shell increases by 19.75%, the maximum collision force of the rigid wall decreases by 23.63%, and the maximum stress of the hydrogen storage tank body decreases by 22.77%. These findings indicate that the designed protection shell effectively improves the crashworthiness of the hydrogen storage tank during collisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating strengthening phase with a higher thermal stability than traditional L12-ordered Ni3Al phase offers a promising avenue for developing the next-generation Ni-based superalloys. In this study, a powder metallurgy superalloy featuring addition of high-melting-point δ-Nb3Al was fabricated to investigate the high-temperature oxidation behavior at 900 °C. Heterogeneous and accelerated oxidation resulting from the various phase transition products in the alloy were observed. Notably, the preferential oxidation of δ-Nb3Al to Nb2O5 causes obvious surface bulges and cracks. The matrix and Laves phase form oxide layers containing a discontinuous Al2O3. The oxidation mechanism was elucidated through the formation oxidation diagrams based on Gibbs formation energy and total valence of Al2O3. The low Al content in matrix and the high Nb content in Laves phase were identified to cause the discontinuity of surface Al2O3 layer. Additionally, Nb could impede oxygen diffusion within Al2O3 by reducing oxygen vacancy concentration. The findings will provide optimization guidance for the composition design and oxidation protection of novel δ-Nb3Al-strengthened Ni-based superalloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel watermarking scheme designed to address the copyright protection challenges encountered with Neural radiation field (NeRF) models. We employ an embedding network to integrate the watermark into the images within the training set. Then, the NeRF model is utilized for 3D modeling. For copyright verification, a secret image is generated by inputting a confidential viewpoint into NeRF. On this basis, design an extraction network to extract embedded watermark images from confidential viewpoints. In the event of suspicion regarding the unauthorized usage of NeRF in a black-box scenario, the verifier can extract the watermark from the confidential viewpoint to authenticate the model's copyright. The experimental results demonstrate not only the production of visually appealing watermarks but also robust resistance against various types of noise attacks, thereby substantiating the effectiveness of our approach in safeguarding NeRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated metro is a typical type of urban rail transit that operates on viaducts. Due to its fast construction speed and low cost, it plays an important role in transportation systems with dense concentrations of people. Once a fire accident occurs in rush hour, it will cause high casualty and enormous injuries. In this regard, studying the characteristics of fire smoke spread and passengers' evacuation is of profound significance. In this paper, Pyrosim and Pathfinder software was utilized to simulate metro fire and evacuation process. The variation of temperature, CO concentration, and visibility inside carriage and outside walkaway were studied to explore the characteristic of fire and smoke. Evacuation time, speed, density, and path were analyzed for six cases considering the influence of railing settings on evacuation walkaway and the use of track bed. The impact of smoke on movement speed reduction and temperature on the available door numbers were taken into consideration. Results revealed that the temperature of accident carriage rose to tenability limit after 50 s and the visibility decreased to 5 m within 150 s. CO concentration was below safety criteria due to sufficient oxygen. Temperature was the most important factor that leads to the risk of evacuation, especially inside the accident carriage. The length of evacuation walkaway could highly reduce evacuation time and density. Railings had a negative impact on evacuation while the usage of track bed had a positive effect. Besides, the impact of railings was not as significant as the usage of the track bed. Research results can provide decision‐making reference for fire protection and evacuation design to alleviate congestion and improve safety management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-power ore furnaces mainly use single-phase transformers supplied by phase-to-phase voltage with the secondary winding made in the form of four to eight isolated splits and a high-voltage busbar assembly made of the same number of pairs of tube buses. Due to these design features, turn-to-turn faults are the main faults in the primary winding of the transformer, and flexible coupling breaks and arc faults in splitting circuits prevail in the high-voltage system. This is why current and gas protections are currently used to protect transformers against short circuits. However, current protections are insensitive to turn faults, and the gas protection response time can be long since it strongly depends on the oil temperature. High-current systems are protected from arc faults only by insulating tube buses. However, this insulation is gradually destroyed under the impact of abrasive dust in the air, and the presence of coal dust in the air creates conditions for arc faults. There is no protection against breaks in the circuits of pairs of tube buses. The extent of damage in a transformer and its high-current system due to the faults can be significantly reduced by using new protection devices based on the measurements of the longitudinal and transverse asymmetry of the stray magnetic fields of the protected transformer. To implement these protections, this article suggests a method for protecting a transformer and a high-current system using magnetic current transformers (MCTs). The number and points for MCT winding coils are determined through the analysis of their EMF values versus their positions relative to the windings of the transformer operating under different modes. The results serve as the basis for the protection circuit design; the protection response threshold is calculated, the protection operation is described, and the results of the experiment are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the integration of renewable energy source (RES) is increased in the distribution network to meet the escalating power demand. When the distributed system is used with renewable resources, it needs more protection techniques. The design of protection in the distribution network is difficult because of renewable resource integration. In order to overcome these issues, an adaptive protection method with directional overcurrent relay (DOCR) coordination using hybrid chaotic artificial humming bird optimization is proposed. In this work, the IEEE 30 bus distribution system is modified by adding RES like PV, wind, diesel and battery to meet the energy demand. In addition, the relay characteristics and settling are examined using hybrid chaotic artificial humming bird optimization (HCAO). The proposed optimization algorithm optimizes the value of the time dial setting (TDS) and the plug setting multiplier (PSM) to reduce the service time of the relay. The proposed work is implemented with IEEE 30 bus system in MATLAB. The proposed HCAO is validated on IEEE 26 and IEEE 14 bus systems. Existing optimization algorithms, such as African vulture and battle Royale optimization, are compared with the HCOA on the IEEE 30 bus system to show the performance efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In federated learning, benign participants aim to optimize a global model collaboratively. However, the risk of privacy leakage cannot be ignored in the presence of semi-honest adversaries. Existing research has focused either on designing protection mechanisms or on inventing attacking mechanisms. While the battle between defenders and attackers seems never-ending, we are concerned with one critical question: Is it possible to prevent potential attacks in advance? To address this, we propose the first game-theoretic framework that considers both FL defenders and attackers in terms of their respective payoffs, which include computational costs, FL model utilities, and privacy leakage risks. We name this game the federated learning privacy game (FLPG), in which neither defenders nor attackers are aware of all participants' payoffs. To handle the incomplete information inherent in this situation, we propose associating the FLPG with an oracle that has two primary responsibilities. First, the oracle provides lower and upper bounds of the payoffs for the players. Second, the oracle acts as a correlation device, privately providing suggested actions to each player. With this novel framework, we analyze the optimal strategies of defenders and attackers. Furthermore, we derive and demonstrate conditions under which the attacker, as a rational decision-maker, should always follow the oracle's suggestion not to attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents supervised machine learning techniques for the problem of virtualization design with protection over elastic optical networks (EONs) for predicting the total number of used spectrum slots to support all traffic demands. It considers virtual optical networks (VONs) subject to protection and proposes learning techniques to solve the link capacity problem of EONs with virtualization faster than traditional integer linear programming (ILP) formulations, but keeping the finds near to the optimal ones. The performance of the models were evaluated using statistical metrics, along with the time for training and performing inferences, both using quantitative and qualitative analysis. They showed that the proposed method is effective for predicting the number of required slots (bandwidth) on physical substrate subject to several VONs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the two decades, the utilisation of electronic equipment in aerospace applications drastically increased. High-intensity radiated fields highly influence the operation of electronic equipment. As per the survey, an economy flight is affected by a lightning strike for every 1000 hours of its journey. For the fabrication of the airplane structure, fibre-reinforced materials (FRP) were used, but there is a flaw in FRP's. FRP's having low conductance, which cannot flow the currents produced by the lightning strike, which causes delamination and embrittlement of the airplane structure. A different composite material was introduced as a lightning strike protection (LSP) layer to overcome the said problem. The electromagnetic protection is obtained in terms of reflection and absorption of the EM waves. Al6061 material is reinforced with SiC and flyash at different combinations and obtained good mechanical, absorption loss, and reflection loss properties. The maximum reflection loss of 32.61 dB and absorption loss of 32.60 dB was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the display industry, in line with the high performance and miniaturization of products, the fine patterning and the increase in integration in the backplane process are becoming very important. It is the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) issue that is increased importance in such a display panel development environment. Careful ESD management is very important because various types of electrostatic issues arising from the panel production process are directly connected to the decline in product quality and productivity. In this paper, we introduce the case of ESD defects in the ESD diode protection circuit of display panels being developed. The ESD failure caused by plasma ions and external surges during fabrication process was identified, and the charge and current path were verified through static and transient simulation to determine how it affects the actual display OLED panel. In addition, the design of ESD diode protection circuits optimized for ESD to robust layout was proposed. As a result, it was possible to reduce electric‐field, an insulating breakdown factor, by more than 80%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now-a-days, the scope of electric power systems has significantly expanded, encompassing power generating, transmission, and distribution systems. Currently, the six-phase transmission system holds the most importance among multi-phase transmission systems. However, it is even more critical to carefully plan and defend such a multi-phase system during fault circumstances. The power system networks and its equipment often experience various forms of problems when operating in an active state. In order to safeguard the multi-phase transmission system, a fault protection strategy is implemented to enhance the stability of the power system in the event of different faults. A problem identification method is necessary in order to promptly address and rectify malfunctioning circumstances. This work presents a new fault protection method for safeguarding the six phase transmission system under different failure scenarios. The scheme utilizes external trip-logic and is implemented using the Matlab/Simulink tool. The outcomes of the implementation are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the seismic performance of a novel passive vibration isolation and damping device termed Extended KDamper (EKD). The concept is applied to a representative two-span highway bridge, initially designed on conventional seismic isolation (CSI) bearings. An optimization process is developed and executed to design the EKDs, underscoring the importance of accounting for seismic motion variability. Compared to CSI, the incorporation of EKDs leads to a 40% to 70% reduction in deck drifts. In contrast to the CSI bridge, which may sustain excessive bearing shear strains when subjected to the most adverse seismic motions within the examined set, the bearings of the EKD bridge never exceed the 200% threshold. Through the use of nonlinear 3D time-history analyses, it is demonstrated that the nonlinearity of the EKD elements may result in residual deck drifts. The nonlinear EKDs exhibit a variation in maximum drifts and accelerations on the order of ±20% compared to the preliminary (linear elastic) design for the examined set of spectrum-compatible motions. The increased accelerations result from the stiffening of the negative stiffness elements (NSEs), being more pronounced for seismic motions that entail large displacement demands. With the aid of a fully nonlinear 3D model of the entire soil – foundation – structure system, the effects of soil-structure interaction (SSI) are explored and shown to significantly influence the seismic response of the system. Deck collision with the abutments restricts the movement of the deck and pier; however, it compromises the performance of the EKDs and leads to a substantial increase in deck accelerations. Overall, EKDs may facilitate a more economical design and enhanced seismic performance, particularly for displacement-sensitive structures like rail bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]