Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Digital Twin-Oriented Lightweight Approach for 3D Assemblies

In the design and operation scenarios driven by Digital Twins, large computer-aided design (CAD) models of production line equipment can limit the real-time performance and fidelity of the interaction between digital and physical entities. Digital CAD models often consist of combined parts with characteristics of discrete folded corner planes. CAD models simplified to a lower resolution by current mainstream mesh simplification algorithms might suffer from significant feature loss and mesh breakage, and the interfaces between the different parts cannot be well identified and simplified. A lightweight approach for common CAD assembly models of Digital Twins is proposed. Based on quadric error metrics, constraints of discrete folded corner plane characteristics of Digital Twin CAD models are added. The triangular regularity in the neighborhood of the contraction target vertices is used as the penalty function, and edge contraction is performed based on the cost. Finally, a segmentation algorithm is employed to identify and remove the interfaces between the two CAD assembly models. The proposed approach is verified through common stereoscopic warehouse, robot base, and shelf models. In addition, a scenario of a smart phone production line is applied. The experimental results indicate that the geometric error of the simplified mesh is reduced, the frame rate is improved, and the integrity of the geometric features and triangular facets is effectively preserved.
Do adults or young chimpanzees and humans have similar abilities to grasp objects?

To grasp food involves various hand and digit postures comprised between power (involving the palm) and precision grips (involving the tips of the digits). In human, numerous studies have shown that the external factors such as the size or the form of an object influenced grasp patterns (Cutkosky 1989) and several studies test the individual differences in grasping strategies according to the age of individuals. However, in non-human primates, these parameters are poorly known. The objective of the present study was to investigate species and age differences in the use of different grips, according to the size of the object for human and chimpanzee. We found individual and species differences which are discussed in relation to its potential contribution to understanding the evolution of grasping.
Dynamic behavior of unbalanced rigid shaft supported on turbulent journal bearings ― Theory and experiment

In this paper, the combined effects of turbulence and fluid film inertia on the dynamic behavior of an unbalanced rigid shaft supported horizontally on two identical aligned short journal bearings are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Utilizing analytical expressions for the dynamic fluid film force components considering the effects of turbulence and fluid film inertia, the nonlinear equations of motion for the rotor-bearing systems are solved by the improved Euler’s forward integration method. The journal center trajectories with unbalance eccentricity ratio of eμ = 0, 0.1 and 0.2 are examined theoretically for Reynolds number of Re = 2750, 4580, and 5500, and the theoretical results are compared with experimental results. From the theoretical and experimental results, it was found that the fluid film inertia improves the stability of unbalanced rigid shaft under certain operating conditions.
Multiple Stable/Unstable Equilibria of a Cylinder in the Wake of an Upstream Cylinder

The static equilibrium position and its associated dynamic stability of a cylinder situated in the wake of an upstream cylinder is investigated in this paper. Both the upstream and downstream cylinders are elastically mounted on springs to allow for streamwise and transverse displacements. Due to the wake effect the downstream cylinder is subject to a lift force as well as a drag. It is shown that under certain flow conditions there exist multiple stable and unstable equilibria for the downstream cylinder. There also exist a critical flow velocity and once this velocity is exceeded no equilibrium positions of the downstream cylinder can be found, which suggests a likely occurrence of clashing between the two cylinders.
Short- and long-term effects of transarterial chemoembolization on portal hypertension in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) affects hepatic perfusion, and might have an impact on portal pressure in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Objective The objective of this article is to report the secondary outcome “hepatic hemodynamics” from the AVATACE trial, a prospective randomized, placebo-controlled trial on the efficacy of conventional TACE in combination with bevacizumab or placebo. Methods Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) was measured at baseline (prior to first TACE), within nine days (“acute effects”), two months (“intermediate effects”) and six months (“long-term effects”) after the first TACE. Results Of 28 patients with early-intermediate stage HCC, n = 20 (71%) had clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH, HVPG ≥ 10 mmHg) at baseline (median, 12 (interquartile range (IQR): 9–19) mmHg). TACE had neither “acute effects” nor “intermediate effects” on HVPG. However, in 13 patients with available HVPG measurement at month 6, there was a significant increase in HVPG (median, 16 (IQR: 11–19) mmHg) compared with baseline (median, 10 (IQR: 5–12) mmHg; p = 0.007). Portal hypertension-related complications occurred exclusively in patients with CSPH (8 (40%) vs 0). Conclusions Repeated TACE was associated with a significant long-term increase in HVPG. This should be considered when deciding whether to continue with TACE or switch to systemic treatment, since CSPH drives the development of complications.
Should ISO 14000 be linked with ISO 9000

The ISO 9000 standards address the structure of quality management systems, which provide a specified level of quality performance to consumers. Organizations that link ISO 9000 and 14000 can develop a consistent, cost-effective management system. This article discusses the cost factors that affect a decision to implement management systems, the linkages between the two ISO standards, and some real-life examples of how these linkages are achieved.
An Analysis of the Plastic Interaction of Surface Asperities and its Relevance to the Value of the Coefficient of Friction

Surface asperities are considered as wedge-shaped bodies which are plastically deformed wherever relative motion occurs between mating surfaces. This plastic interaction produces interfacial forces between the surface asperities which are considered, in the collective sense, to represent the total applied normal and tangential forces acting on the sliding surfaces. A solution is proposed which enables the values of the interfacial forces to be obtained at each time interval during the life history of a junction interaction. Furthermore, it is shown that the nature of these forces is markedly dependent on both the initial asperity geometry and on the nature of any surface films which may be present at the asperity interfaces. From such results it is possible to predict the macroscopic values of the coefficient of sliding friction. Such results suggest that an earlier solution due to Tabor should be considered as the special case for perfectly plane surfaces. The solution also indicates the nature of the pl.
Evaluating an Indoor Daylight Illuminance Calculation Tool Against Full-Scale Measured Data

Abstract The determination of daylight illuminance in internal spaces is a key issue in daylighting analysis. The recently introduced concept of the daylight coefficient (DC), which considers changes in the luminance of sky patches, provides an accurate way for calculating indoor daylight illuminance under various sky patterns and sun positions. This paper proposes a simplified numerical procedure to estimate interior daylight illuminance using the DC concept. The paper presents an evaluation of the new method via full-scale field measurements under different sky conditions. The findings indicate that the daylight illuminances obtained by the proposed approach were in agreement with measured readings. The simple nature of the proposed method offers building professionals and students a reliable and convenient alternative to extensive calculations that incorporates sky luminance variations to predict the daylight illuminance and assess visual performance under various sky conditions.
Fostering emergent resilience: the complex adaptive supply network of disaster relief

The frequency and intensity of disasters continue to increase. Following large-scale and catastrophic disasters, local organisations integrate with other responding organisations to form hastily disaster relief supply chain networks. Such supply networks are infrequently activated in a single location, generate unparalleled uncertainty, change quickly, and are driven by the urgency of saving lives and restoring livelihoods. Unfortunately, even where sound supply chain management practices are used, supply networks have encountered diverse levels of resilience and adequate disaster relief performance has remained elusive. In this paper, several unique characteristics that disaster relief efforts exhibit are examined as compared with demand-driven, steady-state supply chains. Important differences in the flows of resource, money, and information are identified. A complex adaptive supply network (CASN) lens is used to frame what existing literature has uncovered regarding disaster relief efforts, showing how relief organisations, their interactions, and their environmental context help determine the level of resilience that supply networks experience following disasters. This CASN characterisation is leveraged to help explain why traditional supply chain management practices lead to varied results in disaster relief. Finally, complexity science theory is drawn on to set forth eight testable propositions that may help to enhance supply network resilience.
A typological analysis of public apartment buildings in Ghana

Typological studies are considered useful because they help trace and understand the changes in building characteristics from the past to the present. This knowledge serves as a basis for improvement and change in future designs. In Ghana, although different designs have been applied to public apartments since independence, it is not known what their typologies are in generic forms. This makes it difficult to raise research questions for post-occupancy evaluation and to formulate and test research hypothesis with respect to the relation between design attributes and use requirements. This study analyzes and presents a typological view of the public apartment buildings in Ghana synchronically using designs over the past five decades. A reductionist approach to data analysis, qualitative in nature, is used to describe the plan form characteristics of the designs, using the form of access – vertical and horizontal – as the criteria. The study found 11 mutually exclusive design typologies, the most dominant of which is the single central staircase with lobby access. The study builds on existing knowledge and contributes to knowledge and understanding with respect to the typo-morphological characteristics of public apartment buildings in Ghana.
Benefits of Using a Tactical-Grade IMU for High-Accuracy Positioning

: Integration of GPS with inertial sensors can provide many benefits for navigation, from improved accuracy to increased reliability. The extent of such benefits, however, is typically a function of the quality of the inertial system used. Traditionally, high-cost, navigation-grade inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been used to obtain the highest position and velocity accuracies. However, the work documented in this paper uses a Honeywell HG-1700 IMU (1 deg/h) to assess the benefits of a tactical-grade IMU in aiding GPS for high-accuracy (centimeter-level) applications. To this end, the position and velocity accuracy of the integrated system during complete and partial GPS data outages is investigated. The benefit of using inertial data to improve the ambiguity resolution process after such data outages is also addressed in detail. Centralized and decentralized filtering strategies are compared in terms of system performance.
Mode-Matching Techniques for Sound Propagation in Lined Ducts with Flow

This paper discusses the use of mode-matching techniques to model sound propagation in lined ducts with flow. With no flow mode-matching methods are relatively well established and the continuity of acoustic pressure and axial velocity is generally applied. But with a base flow the behaviour of the solution at the transition between, say, a hard wall and a lined wall is not well understood. For this reason different assumptions can be made on the behaviour of the acoustic field and these lead to different models. This paper presents a comparison of different models and illustrates that significant differences can be observed. A modified mode-matching scheme based on conservation of mass and momentum is proposed. The conservation of sound power is investigated for different matching conditions. Finally, the link between the solutions obtained with mode-matching methods and finite element methods is discussed, and the present analysis can shed some light on the underlying assumptions used in finite element models.
WHAT IS AN ENGINEER: STUDY DESCRIPTION AND CODEBOOOK DEVELOPMENT

There are still many questions to answer regarding the implementation and ongoing use of the CEAB graduate attributes (GAs) to guide engineering education content and student progression. How well doour students know and understand the twelve GAs? Which ones do they find most important? Do the knowledge and importance of the GAs vary over the course of students’ programs, or among institutions? Do students’ definitions of an engineer reflect the GAs? How do the definitions reflect students’ evolving understanding of engineering identity? Given the similarity of purpose, philosophy, and complementarity of questions and methods regarding the student perspective on engineering, the GAs, and their development, researchers from three institutions across Canada joined forces to conduct a national study. The overarching objectives of the study are to provide insight on how undergraduate students’ engineering identities develop through the course of their programs using the CEAB GAs as a normative framework, and enable meaningful comparisons of the GAs rankings and learning cultures at the three institutions. The objectives of this paper are to present an overview of the study development, and describe the methods used to develop the French and English codebooks for analysis of the qualitative data. We discuss the disambiguation of the codes and lexicon with particular attention to the concepts of professionalism and leadership and the emergence of three inductive codes: Engineering Work, Societal Improvement, and Personal Characteristics. We close the paper with a few words on future work.
Modelling and optimization of a GMA welding process by genetic algorithm and response surface methodology

The welding process, due to its complexity, has relied on empirical and experimental data to determine its welding conditions. However, trial-and-error methods to determine optimal conditions incur considerable time and cost. In order to overcome these problems, a genetic algorithm and response surface methodology have been suggested for determining optimal welding conditions. First, in a relatively broad region, near-optimal conditions were determined through a genetic algorithm. Then, the optimal conditions for welding were determined over a relatively small region around these near-optimal conditions by using response surface methodology. In order to give different objective function values according to the positive or negative response from the set target value in the optimization problem, a desirability function approach was used. Application of the method proposed in this paper revealed a good result for finding the optimal welding conditions in the gas metal arc (GMA) welding process.
Use Performance and Management of Biodegradable Fluids as Transformer Insulation

In recent years, the use of biodegradable fluids as liquid insulation for distribution and power transformers is spreading. The main biodegradable fluids used are natural and synthetic esters, although biodegradable hydrocarbons have been recently proposed. Biodegradable fluids have a much lower environmental impact than mineral oil, limiting the risk of soil contamination in leaks, which makes them a suitable solution for applications such as offshore transformers or railway transformers. Additionally, these fluids have a higher flash point than conventional mineral oils, which dramatically reduces the risk of fire and collateral damage derived from explosion and fire. Despite these advantageous factors, there are still some aspects that hinder the broadening of their use, such as the difference in thermal properties or the lack of accepted maintenance procedures for transformers that use them as liquid insulation. This paper presents the current status of biodegradable insulating fluids, analyzing some of their properties and discussing the aspects that are still to be investigated in order to make them a real alternative to petroleum-based fluids.
GIS based assessment of rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility of sensitive marine clays: a case study

ABSTRACT Landslides are frequent occurrences in Ottawa, Canada because sensitive marine clays (also known as Leda clay or Champlain Sea clay) dominate the landscape. These landslides are often triggered by rainfall in the region. A geographic information system (GIS) based modelling approach has been developed to assess and predict rainfall-induced landslides in the sensitive clays of the Ottawa region. The Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-based Slope-stability (TRIGRS) model has been used in a GIS framework to investigate the influence of rainfall On shallow landslides over the Ottawa region, with respect to time and location. The assessment result maps show that the steep slopes of sensitive clays are more prone to landslides. Furthermore, susceptibility to landslides in these areas increases with long periods of intense rainfall. The proposed GIS based model is validated by comparing the predicted areas of landslides induced by rainfall with previous shallow landslides that had occurred in the Ottawa region. The results show that there is a good agreement between the predicted areas of landslides and the previous landslides reported. The proposed GIS–TRIGRS combined modelling approach can be therefore considered as a potential tool for assessing and predicting rainfall induced landslides in sensitive marine clays in Ottawa.
Comparing New Designs with Baselines

28 ERGONOMICS IN DESIGN. OCTOBER 1999 FEW YEARS AGO, WE CREATED NEW symbdlogy for aircraft displays and showed it to our customers. They asked, "The new symbology looks pretty good, but how do we know it's better than the existing symbology? " In order for them to accept the new symbology, we would have to show them that pilot performance would be equal to or better than performance with the current design. So we began a series of tests to compare the old with the new to answer their questions. aur statistical analysis was based on the analysis of variance (ANaVA) model. When we found no performance difference between today's design and the new one, the customer was happy that we had shown both designs to be equivalent. Right? Wrong! In this article, we describe how we discovered a new type of testing, equivalency testing, and how it can be applied to human factors projects to show that new designs are indeed at least as good as, if not better than, the old ones. We also present some background on how to conduct an equivalency test.
PC-Based Decision-Support System for Trinity River, Texas

A personal computer (PC) based decision-support system (DSS) can provide real-time information for improved flood prevention and control in the Trinity River basin in Texas. The DSS components are (1) to retrieve, process, and file rainfall and streamflow data; (2) to estimate basin average rainfall, update model parameters, and forecast runoff; and (3) to simulate reservoir operation in order to forecast regulated flows basinwide. The DSS uses custom software for retrieving and processing the data and an industry-standard database-management system (DBMS) for filing the data. It uses specialized versions of the well-known programs HEC-1 and HEC-5 for forecasting runoff and simulating reservoir operation, respectively. The DSS integrates these components with a specialized program manager. Although not yet used as designed, potential improved flood prevention and control with the DSS are demonstrated with historical storm data.
Architecture for Lunar Return Using Existing Assets

The United States has a human space-flight program that bypasses the lunar surface in favor of missions to near-Earth objects and Mars. These are laudable goals, but the moon also has much to offer. Limited budgets probably preclude a U.S. government-sponsored human lunar exploration in the coming decade; however, the possibility exists for such to be accomplished by private enterprise. It is posited that, to bring costs within a range that might make a business case close, the mission must be relatively austere and make maximum use of existing assets and capabilities. This paper reports on a study conducted to evaluate the feasibility of lunar mission architectures primarily using as much existing or in-development, commercially available hardware and technology as possible. In particular, dual Earth-orbit rendezvous–lunar-orbit rendezvous and dual launch–lunar-orbit rendezvous missions are studied using existing and in-development flight systems as examples. The solutions described here are found to be .
An approach for simplifying a multiple beam-forming network for concentric ring arrays using CORPS

This research work deals with a innovative way to simplify the design of beam-forming networks (BFNs) for multi-beam steerable concentric ring arrays based on coherently radiating periodic structures (CORPS) technology. Mono- and multi-beam design configurations of CORPS-BFN for steerable concentric ring arrays are proposed and analyzed. The complex inputs of the feeding network for these configurations are optimized with the differential evolution algorithm. Simulation results reveal a significant simplification of the feeding network based on CORPS for concentric ring arrays reducing drastically the number of input ports to control each beam in both configurations analyzed.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting with a Clamped Circular Plate: Analysis

Energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials is not a new concept, but its small generation capability has not been attractive for mass energy generation. For this reason, little research has been done on the topic. Recently, increased interest in wearable computer concepts and remote electrical devices has provided motivation for more extensive study of piezoelectric energy harvesting. The theory behind cantilever-type piezoelectric elements is well known, but the transverse moving plate elements, which can be used in energy generation from pressure sources is not yet fully developed. The power generation in a pressure-loaded plate depends on several factors. Among them, the thickness of each layer is important, as is the electrode pattern used. In this article, two clamped circular plate structures, a fully electroded unimorph, and a so-called regrouped electrode unimorph, are modeled. These models are then used to calculate energy generation with varying thickness ratios. The results of this analysis are presented with an eye toward guidelines for design of useful energy harvesting structures.