Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High moisture corn stover pelleting in a flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die: physical properties and specific energy consumption

The quality and specific energy consumption (SEC) of the biomass pellets produced depend upon pelleting process conditions. The present study includes understanding the effect of feedstock moisture in the range of 28–38% (wet basis [w.b.]) and preheating in the range of 30–110°C at two die speeds of 40 and 60 Hz on the physical properties and SEC. A flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die was used in the present study. The physical properties of pellets such as moisture content, unit, bulk and tapped density, durability, and expansion ratio and SEC of the pelleting process are measured. The results indicate that the pellets produced have durability values in the range of 87–98%, and unit bulk and tapped density in the range of 670–1100, 375–575, and 420–620 kg/m3. Increasing the feedstock moisture content from 33% to 38% (w.b) decreased the unit, bulk and tapped density by about 30–40%. Increasing feedstock moisture content increased the expansion ratio and decreased the density values. A higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and higher preheating temperature of 110°C resulted in lower density and a higher expansion ratio, which can be attributed to flash off of moisture as the material extrudes out of the die. The SEC was in the range of 75–275 kWh/ton. Higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and a lower die speed of 40 Hz increased the SEC, whereas lower to medium preheating temperature (30–70°C), medium feedstock moisture content of 33% (w.b.), and a higher die speed of 60 Hz minimized the SEC to <100 kWh/ton.
An evaluation of the predictions of near bottom interaction forces and moments on unmanned undersea vehicles : validation, reduction, and implementation of the results of a computer code into a real-time simulation

The purpose of this thesis is to provide extensions to and evaluation of the proximity codes currently available at Draper Laboratory. These codes have been developed to predict the interaction force and moment which an Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) will experience when in proximity with an obstacle. The theory presented uses a potential flow model of a body operating in an ideal fluid. The body is represented by an axial distribution of singularities from which the force and moment are predicted using Lagally's theorem. The currently available code has been extended to include unsteady motion, an inclined bottom, and automatic convergence. The validation of these codes involved performing model testing at the MIT towing tank as well as collecting previously published data and examining the theoretical trends. A theoretical database has been compiled to examine the trends associated with changes in vehicle shape and orientation. Finally, the results of these extensions and evaluations are presented in the form of prediction equations that can be used in Draper Laboratory's real-time simulation. Thesis Supervisor : Michael S. Triantafyllou Title : Professor of Ocean Engineering Acknowledgments The author would like to begin by thanking all of the following people for their assistance in this endeavor: Audrey Fitzgerald for bringing me to MIT and providing a basis for my thesis as well as providing many insights into the theory while supervising my work, Narender Chhabra for also supervising this project and supporting my efforts over the past year, Dr. Jerry Feldman for providing reference materials, and finally, my advisor, Professor Michael Triantafyllou for encouraging me, particularly as I learned the theory I needed to start this project. Special thanks go to my fiance, Greg Diggs, for all of his support, understanding, and patience throughout my studies here at MIT. Without him, I never would have had the desire to finish. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Howard and Muffet Chatterton. Their love and encouragement has made me who I am today. Thank you and I love you both. Jacquie Chatterton May 6, 1994 Acknowledgement of Copyright 5/94 This thesis was prepared at The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., under IR&D Contract 15105. Publication of this thesis does not constitute approval by Draper or the sponsoring agency of the findings or conclusions contained herein. It is published for the exchange and stimulation of ideas. I hereby assign copyright of this thesis to The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge Massachusetts. (Li-f~ AlmlJ 6 C) t) Jacqueline Chatterton Permission is hereby granted by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to reproduce any or all of this thesis. r KJ
An adaptive Wiener filter based technique for automated detection of defect locations from bobbin coil eddy current data

This paper presents an adaptive Wiener filter based technique for detection of defect locations from (noisy) bobbin coil eddy current data. First, the data is de-noised using an improved adaptive Wiener filter that significantly enhances the defect signals. Next, a statistical signal detection technique is used to detect the probable defect points from the enhanced data. The results of experiments conducted on some real world data sets indicate that the method is quite promising and useful for automated processing and classification of eddy current data.
Acceptability of Accounting Learning and Teaching Through the World Wide Web

This paper considers the effectiveness of web-based learning and teaching and appraises whether it could provide the appropriate medium to create an efficient and robust learning environment for accounting students. Changes in learning styles of students were evaluated and it is suggested that the model put forward in this paper has engendered a move to more autonomous learning on the students.
A novel flexible sensor for compression stress relaxation

In this paper, a novel route was developed to fabricate a new flexible force sensor using carbon composites that consist of micro carbon particles as conductive matrix, silicone rubber as insulating matrix and elastomer fillers as elastic matrix. The force sensor can not only show a gradual change in electrical resistivity with applied quasi-static pressure, but also measure the changes of compression stress relaxation in soft substrates under it. Furthermore, it is flexible and thin (1.2 mm) enough to be adhered on the measured soft substrates, so the result of relaxation can be obtained directly instead of presumption from sample testing.
QFD implementation in a discrete semiconductor industry

Semiconductor manufacturers seek to improve the quality and reliability of their products while reducing costs and decreasing production time to enhance its competitiveness. There are so many factors involved that can make or break a company in this fast paced world where companies have to aggressively meet new demands, especially from the customers because they are the ultimate evaluator of the company's product. One therefore needs a way to integrate 'customer voices' in this costly production process as it is essential for the component manufacturers and vendors to know precisely what their customer wants and expects in a device so that they can meet their needs. With the application on the power rectifier, this work illustrates how QFD can help the power device vendors and manufacturers to achieve greater customer satisfaction through supplying a better quality and more reliable product. The completed functional QFD matrix allows the manufacturer to identify the most critical need from the customer that corresponded to the key technical requirements. This helps the manufacturer to focus its attention on the more important customer needs. The completed reliability QFD matrix together with the FMECA analysis helps the manufacturer to consider the reliability demands from its customer. Integrating both the QFD and FMECA charts helps to identify the most critical failure modes and its associated failure mechanisms. Finally, a spreadsheet implementation to generate the QFD and FMECA matrices have been created to reduce the cumbersome process of the numerous manual recordings.
The Pregnancy Ecological Momentary Assessment Pilot Study: Applications of Mobile Technology

The Pregnancy Ecological Assessment (PregEMA) Pilot Study was designed to apply EMA approaches (i.e., capturing experiences in real time in the natural environment) among a population of pregnant women. A total of 28 women completed EMA surveys on their smartphone over a 4 week period during their second and third trimester. We assessed mood, eating, physical activity, stress, location and context at the beginning of the day, end of day, and randomly throughout the day and week. The majority of participants completed EMA surveys (average 76% completion rate) with limited missing surveys. Key findings from the EMA data were that on average, women indicated having trouble sleep 71% of the time, were taking prenatal vitamins 73% of the time, were physically active 55% of the time, and spent 5.7 hours per day sitting. The innovative approaches employed in PregEMA allowed us to understand women’s experiences in real-time and in women’s natural environments. Future work could consider how these methods may be integrated into larger population studies, trials and clinical or community-based interventions.
High Q VCO using an electro-acoustic device compatible with CMOS integrated circuit technology

Low phase noise characteristic can be in a VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) by using a high Q SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) device. In this type of VCO, new method for obtaining both wide tuning range and low phase noise characteristic is proposed and experimentally verified. This paper also shows the feasibility of single chip VCOs using PLIC (Poly-Lithic Integrated Circuit) technology compatible with CMOS integrated circuit technology, which allows us to develop a true single chip mobile communication system.
The links between uncertainty, variability of outputs and flexibility in manufacturing systems

This research looks into the relationships between uncertainty, variability and flexibility in manufacturing systems from an operations strategy viewpoint. After reviewing the literature concerning the three categories, 6 research propositions are defined in order to guide the research. A research method (case-studies with semistructured interviews) is then selected and field research which encompassed 8 companies, including the ones of the pilot study is described. The field work resulted in 4 in-depth case studies, performed with Brazilian and British companies (2 in each country), all of them belonging to the automotive industry. Based on the conclusion i of the literature review and on the results of the field work, the 6 propositions are discussed and an original model is then proposed in order to help managers understand and analyze unplanned change from the operations management's viewpoint. The model proposes two complementary categories which are used by managers in order to deal with unplanned change: control and flexibility. Control is related to the managerial actions which aim to restrict the amount and level of unplanned change with which the organization will have to deal ex-ante the occurrence of the change. Flexibility is related to the managerial actions taken in order to respond to the uncontrolled unplanned change's effects ex-post the change. Types and dimensions of control and flexibility are proposed and discussed. A new way to look into the flexibility of the manufacturing structural resources is also proposed, which is based on the presence of the resource switchability and on some types of redundancy of the resources - of capacity, of capability and of utilization.
Understanding the role of linguistic distributional knowledge in cognition

ABSTRACT The distributional pattern of words in language forms the basis of linguistic distributional knowledge and contributes to conceptual processing, yet many questions remain regarding its role in cognition. We propose that corpus-based linguistic distributional models can represent a cognitively plausible approach to understanding linguistic distributional knowledge when assumed to represent an essential component of semantics, when trained on corpora representative of human language experience, and when they capture the diverse distributional relations that are useful to cognition. Using an extensive set of cognitive tasks that vary in the complexity of conceptual processing required, we systematically evaluate a wide range of model families, corpora, and parameters, and demonstrate that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for how linguistic distributional knowledge is used across cognition. Rather, linguistic distributional knowledge is a rich source of information about the world that can be accessed flexibly according to the conceptual complexity of the task at hand.
Productivity, investment in ICT and market experimentation: micro evidence from Germany und the US

In this paper, we examine the relationship between the use of advanced technologies, such as information and communications technologies (ICT), and related business practices and outcomes such as productivity, employment, the skill mix of the workforce and wages using micro data for the U.S. and Germany. We find support to the idea that U.S. businesses engage in experimentation in a variety of ways not matched by their German counterparts. In particular, there is greater experimentation amongst young US businesses and there is greater experimentation among those actively changing their technology. This experimentation is evidenced in a greater dispersion in productivity and in related key business choices, like the skill mix and Internet access for workers. We also find that the mean impact of adopting new technology is greater in U.S. than in Germany. Putting the pieces together suggests that U.S. businesses choose a higher mean, higher variance strategy in adopting new technology.
“I Had so Many Conflicts in My Mind”: Navigating the Doctoral Journey across Languages and Cultures

ABSTRACT Situated on the broad landscape of international education and informed by theories of language, culture, and identity trajectory, this longitudinal narrative study unravels an Asian international doctoral student’s story of living and learning in the United States. Using narrative as the research method and form of representation, the paper unfolds her early struggles, agency, and professional growth in her doctoral journey of examining and reexamining language and culture in her life and research. It illustrates how this former EFL teacher constantly negotiates her inner conflicts concerning language and culture and gradually considers herself a legitimate English speaker and an emerging scholar in international education. The discussion highlights the importance of personal agency and collective identity in an international doctoral student’s professional identity construction. It also emphasizes the significance of embracing cultural and linguistic diversity in international education.
A New Robotic System Concept for Automating Highway Maintenance Operations

The purpose of this paper is to present the Tethered Mobile Robot (TMR) concept, a new robotic system for automating highway maintenance operations. The operational requirements of this system have resulted in a differentially steered, wheeled mobile robot which is tethered to the support vehicle via a mechanical linkage for accurate relative positioning and connectivity. The support vehicle provides the primary sensing as well as power and other necessary supplies. This paper discusses the unique system configuration.
Optimal Control of a Process with Discrete and Continuous Decision Variables

Abstract : The paper presents a systematic technique for solving the problem of optimally controlling a converter aisle in a copper smelter. The converter aisle is distinguished from the usual dynamic system in that some of the control variables occur as discrete decisions while others may vary continuously with time. In this sense, the converter aisle typifies many industrial processes. The aisle is viewed as a total system with the objective of optimizing overall performance as evaluated using a mathematical performance criterion. Typical criteria reflect total processing time and operating costs.
Micromachined coplanar waveguides: design, realization and test up to 40 GHz

The micromachining technique is suitable of interesting applications at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies. The dispersion control as well as the decrease in the level of the propagation losses reveals immense potentialities for the realization of planar waveguides and filters. Moreover, the packaging optimization allows the possibility of integrated devices for both ground and space applications. In this paper, results ore presented on the technological processing for the realization of simple coplanar waveguide (CPW) structures on silicon wafers, together with the design criteria and the experimental validation of the obtained structures. A comparison is performed between CPWs realized on bulk silicon wafers and on SiO/sub 2//Si/sub 3/N/sub 4//SiO/sub 2/ membranes to demonstrate the improvement obtained by using the membrane solution.
The Demystification of Gating

for Spatial Development and OTB Research Institute, Delft University of Technology ISSN 1650-9544 Publication details, including instructions for authors: www.nordregio. se/EJSD The demystification of gating Online Publication Date: 2009-02-16 To cite this Article: Csefalvay, Zoltan, The demystification of gating, Debate February 2009, European Journal of Spatial Development. URL: http://www.nordregio. se/EJSD/debate200902
Novel voltage control for embedded generators in rural distribution networks

Connection and use of embedded generators in distribution networks have been increasing in many parts of the world. These embedded generators, depending on operating characteristics and location, can significantly affect the voltage profile, fault level and subsequently the optimum protection settings of the networks. Large embedded generators in the MW range could, however, have potential to support voltage profile besides providing peak lopping and deferring network reinforcement. This paper describes a case study involving Northern Ireland's 11 kV distribution network and demonstrates the use of an embedded generation scheme in deferring network reinforcement and providing assistance during the re-supply of the network. The effects of various excitation controllers of the scheme on the network voltage profile are presented. Laboratory tests and computer simulations have shown that the embedded generator with a novel excitation controller can provide voltage support to the network.
A Study of Commonly Used Design Solutions for Green Roofs in Dhaka City and their Comparative Analysis

Although architects, landscape designers and building engineers have been designing and building green roofs in Dhaka, Bangladesh, there is a dearth of evidence based research regarding the best practices of setting design parameters, available solution types and performance. Based on the descriptive survey method, this study identifies three basic types of green roofs. The common construction and use related design parameters used by the local practitioners were identified. The three types of green roofs are compared on the basis of their performance against these design parameters. It was concluded that further research, proper policies and research based development in the practice is necessary to materialize the true potential of green roofs and roof top gardening in Dhaka which will address the UN sustainable development goals.
A Case-based Exploration of Task/Technology Fit in a Knowledge Management Context

Abstract : Task/Technology Fit (TTF) posits that as the intersection of the task domain and the capabilities of an information system (IS) increases in magnitude, the performance gains experienced by user through use of the IS will be positively impacted. While rooted in the traditional IS literature, this research proposes that TTF be extended to incorporate additional factors unique to the context of Knowledge Management (KM). Based upon the findings of this research, it is reasonable to conclude that when employing the TTF model to determine KMS fitness, additional factors other than the task requirements and KMS capabilities should be considered. This research also shows that the social ecology present within the organization has significant impacts on KMS fit. Finally, this research lends credibility to the idea that KMS are indeed a unique subset of IS and that traditional IS models (such as TTF) should reflect the unique social nature of KM.
Achieving large acoustic and phonon band gaps in multilayered structures

Band gaps in the vibrational spectrum of periodic multilayer structures offer excellent opportunities to control acoustic waves and phonons. Engineering the characteristics of the band gaps requires a careful selection of layer materials and thicknesses. This paper aims to develop general guidelines for material and geometry selection to maximize band gaps in the elastic wave spectrum of binary multilayer structures. We calculate band gaps for a wide range of layer thickness fractions and material properties using an analytical solution for plane wave propagation normal to the layers. The behavior of the maximum band gap and the midgap frequency is captured into empirical relations which allow optimal layer materials and thicknesses to be selected. Their use is demonstrated with specific promising material systems for oxide‐based thermoelectric applications, which show the possibility of band gaps on the order of the midgap frequency.
Impact of Advanced Propeller Technology on Aircraft/Mission Characteristics of Several General Aviation Aircraft

Studies of several General Aviation aircraft indicated that the application of advanced technologies to General Aviation propellers can reduce fuel consumption in future aircraft by a significant amount. Propeller blade weight reductions achieved through the use of composites, propeller efficiency and noise improvements achieved through the use of advanced concepts and improved propeller analytical design methods result in aircraft with lower operating cost, acquisition cost and gross weight.
Reserve Component Soldiers as Peacekeepers.

Abstract : In the continuing effort to maintain a ready force and honor the United States commitments throughout the world, in 1993 the Chief of Staff of the Army directed a test of the use of Reserve Component forces for the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) peacekeeping mission in the Sinai. A battalion composed of 80% RC individual volunteers and 20% Active Component soldiers was activated, trained and deployed as the 28th MFO rotation to the Sinai (Jan-Jul 95). ARI conducted an assessment of personnel and training issues using performance, interview and survey data. The four research questions and their findings are as follows. (1) Personnel: who volunteered and why? what, if any, changes should be made to the volunteer screening process? (2) Family Support: How well did the family support system work? What was the impact of Sinai service on the family and civilian lives of volunteers? (3) Training/Performance: What are the unique and minimal training requirements? Did the training process produce a cohesive unit that could perform the mission? (4) Impact on the 29th ID(L): What is the impact on the ARYG units that sent volunteers, both during the deployment and post-deployment? Recommendations for future deployments are discussed in the text. ARI will continue to assess the impact of the deployment and post-redeployment re-entry on National Guard soldier commitment/retention, marital stability and financial well-being through October 1997. Cost analyses are not included in the ARI portion of the MFO assessment.