Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Slant-Face Fiber Side Coupling of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser

Slant-face fiber side coupling of vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) is reported. The direct coupling efficiency can reach 70%. The relative coupling efficiency variety caused by the position displacement and angle displacement was studied respectively. It is found that the cylinder of the fiber can collimate the divergent laser beam and improve aligning tolerance.
Fabrication and design of a heat transfer micro-channel system by a low temperature MEMS technique

This work describes a low temperature fabrication technique for a micro-channel configuration that is integrated with an array of temperature sensors and micro-heaters. This channel configuration can be used to study the micro-scale heat transfer process in the channels. The low temperature fabrication process enables the use of low thermal conductivity material for forming the channel walls. This can provide a uniform heat flux boundary condition due to adequate insulation for reducing both the heat loss from the channel to the surrounding ambient and the streamwise conduction. In addition, the wall roughness of the micro-channel is minimized by a special wet etch process. Therefore, more accurate local heat transfer data along the channel can be obtained, which provides entry length heat transfer information for the first time in the literature. Design consideration and fabrication techniques used in this study are explained. Final measurements for validation of the fabricated heaters and sensors are presented. The paper also presents averaged heat transfer which is compared with available data. Discrepancies between different works can be clarified.
Integrated simulation of line-edge roughness (LER) effects on sub-65nm transistor operation: From lithography simulation, to LER metrology, to device operation

Understanding how CD metrology, lithographic material and processing, affect linewidth roughness (LWR), and finally device operation is of immense importance in future scaled MOS transistors. The goal of this work is to determine the impact of spatial LWR parameters as well as the relative importance of LWR and CD variation on device operation and to connect material and process parameters with these effects. To this end, we examine first the impact of LWR on threshold voltage shifts by using model lines with fractal self-affine characteristics for the simulation of transistor gate morphology. It is found that for resist lines or transistor gates with constant sigma LWR σLWR, the decrease of spatial LWR parameters (correlation length ξ and roughness exponent α) leads to smaller deviations from the designed electrical transistor performance. Second, the effects of photoresist polymer length and acid diffusion length on LWR parameters and transistor performance are investigated. Through the application of a homemade simulator of the lithographic process, it is shown that photoresists with small polymer chains and small acid diffusion lengths form lines with low LWR parameters (r.m.s. LWR σLWR, ξ ,α) and thus lead to transistors with more reliable electrical performance. Furthermore, the related problem of the relative importance of CD variation and LWR on device operation is addressed. We confirm and generalize the findings of previous works according to which CD variation has more drastic effects on threshold voltage shift than LWR.
Keeping Passenger Surveys Up to Date: A Fuzzy Approach

The knowledge of travel demand is an essential prerequisite for analyzing and planning transport supply. Obtaining travel-demand data for a transit system requires passenger surveys that combine counts and interviews. Passenger surveys have two unpleasant characteristics: they are expensive, and the results of such studies tend to lose their validity fairly rapidly. For these reasons, the development of techniques that reduce survey costs and keep demand matrices up to date is gaining increasing interest. Details of a technique for computer-aided processing of passenger surveys are given, and a method for continuous updating of demand matrices is presented. Because traffic surveys represent only a snapshot situation, the proposed updating method employs a fuzzy approach to consider that traffic volumes vary within a certain bandwidth.
Multi-modal sensing using photoactive thin films

The need for a reliable prognosis of the health of structural systems has promoted the development of sensing technologies capable of simultaneously detecting multiple types of damage. However, conventional sensors are designed to only measure a specific structural response (e.g., strain, displacement, or acceleration). This limitation forces one to use a wide variety of sensors densely instrumented on a given structure, which results in high overhead costs and requires extensive signal processing of raw sensor data. In this study, a photoactive thin film that has been engineered for multi-modal sensing to selectively detect strain and pH is proposed. In addition, the thin film is self-sensing in that it does not require external power to operate. Instead, light illumination causes the photoactive film to generate an electrical current, whose magnitude is directly related to applied strains (for deformations, impact or cracks) or pH (as a precursor of corrosion). First, the thin films were fabricated by spin-coating photoactive and conjugated polymers like poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The thin film was also encoded with pH sensitivity by integrating polyaniline (PANI) as one component within the multilayered film architecture. Second, the optical response of the P3HT and PANI thin films subjected to applied strains or pH was characterized using absorption spectroscopy. Lastly, it was also verified that the thin films could selectively sense strain or pH depending on the wavelengths of light used for sensor interrogation.
Increasing ship operational reliability through the implementation of a holistic maintenance management strategy

Ship maintenance was initially considered as more of a financial burden than as a way to preserve safety, environment and quality transportation. The benefits from applying a sound and systematic maintenance policy are emerging both in the minimisation of unnecessary downtime as well as in the increase of operational capability. In this paper, a novel predictive maintenance strategy is demonstrated, combining the existing ship operational and maintenance tasks with the advances stemming from new applied techniques. The initial step for the application of the above-mentioned strategy is also shown regarding the machinery space of a cruise ship. Well-known tools are applied such as Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). Outcomes of this study are the identification of the critical components of the system, the estimation of the reliability of the overall system and sub-systems, the prioritisation of the maintenance tasks and finally the availability of the specific end events/items.
Age-differences in information flow in executive and sensorimotor brain networks during childhood and adolescence

Objective: Mental disorders often emerge during adolescence, and age-related differences in connection strengths of brain networks (static connectivity) have been identified. However, little is known about the directionality of information flow (directed connectivity) in this period of brain development. Methods: We employed dynamic graphical models (DGM) to estimate directed functional connectivity from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data on 979 participants aged 6 to 17 years from the healthy brain network (HBN) sample. We tested for effects of age, sex, cognitive abilities and psychopathology on directionality. Results: We show robust bi-directionality in information flow between visual-medial and visual-lateral nodes of the network, in line with prior studies in adult samples. Furthermore, we found that age in this developmental sample was associated with directionality of information flow in sensorimotor and executive control networks, yet we did not find associations with cognitive abilities or psychopathology. Discussion: Our results revealed that directionality in information flow of large-scale brain networks is sensitive to age during adolescence, warranting further studies that may explore trajectories of development in more fine-grained network parcellations and in different populations.
Structure and Coarsening of Foams: Beyond von Neumann's Law

STRUCTURE AND COARSENING OF FOAMS: BEYOND VON NEUMANN’S LAW Adam E Roth Douglas J. Durian We report on the statistics of bubble size, topology, and shape and on their role in the coarsening dynamics for foams consisting of bubbles compressed between two parallel plates. We find that in the scaling regime, all bubble distributions are independent not only of time, but also of liquid content. For coarsening, the average rate decreases with liquid content due to the blocking of gas diffusion by Plateau borders inflated with liquid. By observing the growth rate of individual bubbles, we find that von Neumann’s law becomes progressively violated with increasing wetness and decreasing bubble size. We successfully model this behavior by explicitly incorporating the border-blocking effect into the von Neumann argument. We report on bubble growth rates and on the statistics of bubble topology for the coarsening of a dry foam contained in the gap between two hemispheres. By contrast with coarsening in flat space, we observe that six-sided bubbles grow with time at a rate that depends on their size. We measure the statistics of bubble topology, and find distributions that differ from the scaling state of a flat two dimensional foam.
A Transient Heat and Mass Transfer Model of Residential Attics Used to Simulate Radiant Barrier Retrofits, Part II: Validation and Simulations

A computer program was developed and used to implement the model described on Part I of this paper. The program used an iterative process to predict temperatures and heat fluxes using linear algebra principles. The results from the program were compared to experimental data collected during a three-year period. The model simulated different conditions such as variations in attic ventilation, variations in attic ceiling insulation, and different radiant barrier orientations for summer and winter seasons. It was observed that the model predicted with an error of less than ten percent for most cases. This paper presents model results for nonradiant barrier cases as well as cases for radiant barriers installed horizontally on top of the attic floor (HRB) and for radiant barriers stapled to the attic rafters (TRB). Savings produced by radiant barriers and sensitivity analyses are also presented. The model results supported the experimental trend that emissivity was the single most significant parameter that affected the performance of radiant barriers.
Social and Organisational Implications of Cad Usage: A Grounded Theory in a Fashion Company

This paper focuses on the process of Computer Aided Design (CAD) diffusion into a group engaged in the development of innovative products. Adopting an ethnographic approach, we build a grounded theory for interpreting CAD usage in terms of the interplay between variables such as management orientation, training, actors' specialisation and deskilling, availability of shared archives, technological discontinuities between organisational areas.
Improved Indoor Visible Light Communication with PAM and RLS Decision Feedback Equalizer

Abstract One of the key factors that limits the data rate in visible light communication (VLC) is switching speed of the transmitter LEDs. In this paper, a multilevel pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) scheme is employed to increase the data rate significantly while maintaining the LED switching speed limitation. With the use of the multilevel PAM, the training sequence (TS) length is considerably reduced up to 1.67% of the data frame at the recursive least square decision feedback equalizer (RLS-DFE) receiver. This reduction in the TS length allows more data bits to transmit in the frame, thereby increasing the throughput. The proposed VLC system consists of four LED transmitters to transmit data while illuminating the environment at the same time in compliance with the ISO standards. Furthermore, the analysis of the outage area probability demonstrates that the proposed system supports high data rate transmission at nearly error-free rates for most areas in indoor environments.
Construction Project Administration

1. The Project Delivery System. 2. Responsibility and Authority. 3. Resident Inspection Office Responsibilities. 4. Documentation: Records and Reports. 5. Specifications and Drawings. 6. Using the Specifications in Contract Administration. 7. Construction Laws and Labor Relations. 8. Construction Safety. 9. Meetings and Negotiations. 10. Risk Allocation and Liability Sharing. 11. Preconstruction Operations. 12. Planning for Construction. 13. Fundamentals of CPM Construction Scheduling. 14. Construction Operations. 15. Value Engineering. 16. Measurement and Payment. 17. Construction Materials and Workmanship. 18. Changes and Extra Work. 19. Claims and Disputes. 20. Project Closeout. 21. Bibliography. 22. Index. 23. Forms Index.
Assessing Hydrus‐2D to Simulate Soil Water Content (SWC) and Salt Accumulation Under an SDI System: Application to a Potato Crop in a Semi‐Arid Area of Central Tunisia

In this paper the suitability of the HYDRUS‐2D model to simulate volumetric soil water content in the root zone of a potato crop under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is initially assessed on the basis of a field study. Then, considering that the crop is moderately sensitive to soil salinity, the model is tested to predict the salt distribution around a buried emitter, when two different water qualities (i.e. electrical conductivity of 1.0 and 4.0 dS m‐1) are used during the growing season (treatments T1 and T2). Finally, the soil volume in which salt accumulates is distinguished by the model for the two treatments, for which the respective yields are not significantly different.
Traffic Dynamics and Congested Phases Derived from an Extended Optimal-Velocity Model

Dynamics is studied for one-dimensional single-lane traffic flow by means of an extended optimal-velocity model with continuously varied bottleneck strength for nonlinear roads. Two phases exist in this model such as free flow and wide moving jam states in the systems having relatively small values of the bottleneck strength parameter. In addition to the two phases, locally congested phaseappears as the strength becomes prominent. Jam formation occurs with the similar mechanism to the boomerang effect as well as the pinch one in it. Wide scattering of the flow-density relation in fundamental diagram is found in the congested phase.
Exploratory factors influencing design practice learning within a Thai context

Purpose – Development of staff learning enhances work productivity and sustains organizational development. In particular, design practitioners require both theoretical knowledge and mentoring with their practical experience. Without extensive knowledge, designers may produce design work errors that produce poor quality of work and this leads to project cost and time overruns. This paper aims to explore staff's perception of the factors that influence learning in construction design companies.Design/methodology/approach – Twenty‐six variables are reviewed from literature, and evaluated by 70 designers from construction design and consulting firms in Thailand. A factor analysis technique is applied to the group of identified variables.Findings – Eight factors that affect staff learning are identified: organizational support for learning; group learning; individual learning and sharing; absorptive capability; personal relationships; characteristics of the knowledge source; learning equilibrium; and work cha.
Experimental study of a modeled building frame supported by pile groups embedded in cohesionless soil

This paper presents the results of static vertical load tests carried out on a model building frame supported by pile groups embedded in cohesionless soil (sand). The effect of soil interaction on displacements and rotation at the column base and also the shears and bending moments in the columns of the building frame were investigated. The experimental results have been compared with those obtained from the finite element analysis and conventional method of analysis. Soil nonlinearity in the lateral direction is characterized by the p-y curves and in the axial direction by nonlinear vertical springs along the length of the piles (τ-z curves) at their tips (Q-z curves). The results reveal that the conventional method gives the shear force in the column by about 40-60%, the bending moment at the column top about 20-30% and at the column base about 75-100% more than those from the experimental results. The response of the frame from the experimental results is in good agreement with that obtained by the nonlinear finite element analysis.
FLOW BEHAVIOR OF OLIVE PASTE

The major rheological properties of olive paste were characterized. Olive paste represents a coarse solid-liquid mixture consisting of two distinct liquid phases (oil and water) and an extremely heterogeneous solid phase, in terms of size, shape, and density of solid fragments. Measurements carried out with a rotational viscometer on pastes obtained from ‘Coratina’ and ‘Moraiolo’ olive cultivars using different technologies, within the explored range of shear rates, showed a time-independent behavior, typical of a non-Newtonian quasi-plastic fluid (i.e., presenting a yield stress value) with viscosity decreasing as the shear rate increased. The Herschel-Bulkley model fitted experimental points best. The understanding of the flow behavior of olive paste provides helpful information on designing extraction plants with the aim of obtaining more efficient processes and better product quality.
Pseudo‐dynamic testing of a concrete gravity dam

Inspired from the simplified single degree of freedom modeling approach used in the preliminary design of concrete gravity dams, a pseudo‐dynamic testing method was devised for the seismic testing of a concrete gravity dam section. The test specimen was a 1/75 scaled section of the 120‐m‐high monolith of the Melen Dam, one of the highest concrete gravity dams to be built in Turkey. The single degree of freedom idealization of the dam section was validated in the first stage of the study using numerical simulations including the dam–reservoir interaction. Afterwards, pseudo‐dynamic testing was conducted on the specimen using three ground motions corresponding to different hazard levels. Lateral displacement and base shear demands were measured. The crack propagation at the base of the dam was monitored with the measurement of the crack widths and the base sliding displacements. After the pseudo‐dynamic loading, a static pushover test was conducted to determine the reserve capacity of the test specimen. Despite major cracking at the base of the monolith, neither significant sliding nor a stability problem that might jeopardize the stability of the dam was observed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A generalization of multidimensional modulation

The paper presents a generalization of multidimensional modulation to all dimensions that are an integer power of 2. Minimum-bandwidth transfer functions are constructed using binary orthogonal Walsh-Hadamard sequences. The author also presents a time-domain approach which consists of using Walsh-Hadamard sequences as spreading and despreading sequences and discusses its relationship with conventional direct sequence code-division multiple access (DS/CDMA). It is pointed out that multidimensional modulation systems essentially have the same performance and bandwidth efficiency as conventional 2-D systems.
Construction time-influencing factors: the contractor's perspective

The result of a preliminary survey of factors affecting construction time is described. The objective of the survey which was conducted in the UK was to prioritize factors which are taken into consideration by accomplished contractors in planning the construction time of buildings, A significant degree of consistency in ranking ‘time-influencing factors’ was found. The most important factors are apparently those which can readily be identified or deduced from project information and whose impact on construction time can generally be assessed explicitly by mathematical and judgemental analyses.
Entry and business strategies used by international architectural, engineering and construction firms in China

International architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms need to decide on the appropriate market entry mode and business strategies when undertaking projects overseas. The objectives of this research are to investigate the effective market entry modes for penetrating China and the effective business strategies for managing projects in China. The research method is based on a structured questionnaire and data were collected via postal survey. Interviews have been conducted to complement the survey. The results show that establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in China is the most effective entry mode. Foreign AEC firms need to adopt a differentiation strategy by providing niche and superior service. They must also pay great attention to customer satisfaction to gain competitive advantage and clinch and manage projects. To succeed in China, foreign AEC firms need to set up a physical office there, to develop a good understanding of local by‐laws, understand client requirements better and therefore provide them with a superior product or service.
Education for Hydrogeologists of the Future: Serving to Ensure an Environmentally Secure World

What kind of Hydrogeologists will be required for an environmentally secure future world? Noting that Poland is on the threshold of a new future, in which economic and social benefits have fundamentally transformed society from its constraints of three decades ago, this might be a valid question. This paper outlines the tradition of classical geological education from the 18th century, through to the needs of present millennium. In the course of this time span social and economic upheavals have caused an astonishing 'roller coaster' ride for educational institutions. These institutions of Poland are reacting in various ways to the most recent stimuli, and geological education is no less changing and developing. There are excellent opportunities for providing contemporary educational opportunities for national and foreign students. Given that groundwater resources in aquifers are a hidden yet utterly indispensable water resource, which will help the planet get over its forthcoming stresses, Poland’s hydrogeological institutions can benefit significantly by placing themselves in strategic positions to train regional candidates as well as international candidates in the forthcoming decades, when the role of aquifers in environmental sustainability is increasingly recognised by governments and by global developmental agencies.