Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geogrid in Flexible Pavements

Full-scale accelerated testing was used to provide new insight into quantifying the effectiveness of geogrids on low-volume flexible pavement performance. Although several previous studies report that geogrids improve pavement performance by enhancing structural capacity and reducing distress potential, the new study addresses how to maximize the benefits and cost-effectiveness of geogrid. To perform full-scale testing, three cells of flexible pavements, each having three pavement sections, were constructed. The granular base and hot-mix asphalt (HMA) layer thicknesses varied, and each cell had at least one control and one geogrid-reinforced pavement section. Instruments were embedded during construction to measure stress, strain, deflection, moisture, pore-water pressure, and temperature and were used to monitor pavement response to moving load. A moving dual-tire at 8 km/h and 44 kN was used to apply accelerated traffic loading. The performance of the various pavement sections when exposed to accelerated loading is presented. On the basis of pavement measured response as well as visual observation of the pavement cross section after excavation, the study showed that geogrid is very effective in reducing the horizontal shear deformation of the aggregate layer, especially in the traffic direction. Hence, the effectiveness of geogrid is clear for aggregate base layers with thicknesses ranging from 203 to 457 mm, and geogrid is expected to show similar effectiveness for greater base thickness given that thin HMA layer is used. The study also found that the optimal geogrid location in a thin aggregate layer is at the unbound aggregate-subgrade interface. For a thicker base layer, it is optimal to install a single geogrid at the upper third of the layer; the addition of another geogrid at the subgrade-base layer interface may be needed for stability.
Loop-to-Loop Close-Range EM Signal Transfer Through a Conducting Thin Sheet – An Analytical Study Based on the Cagniard-DeHoop Technique

A dedicated version of the Cagniard-DeHoop technique is applied to analyze the close-range electromagnetic (EM) field signal transfer between two small loop antennas through a highly-contrasting, thin conducting sheet. It is demonstrated that the solution methodology leads to useful asymptotic closed-form expressions describing the signal transfer in terms of Kirchhoff-circuit elements. Illustrative numerical examples that validate the results are presented.
A 70 nm gate length CMOS technology with 1.0 V operation

A 70-nm gate length CMOS technology for 1.0 V operation has been developed. This technology realizes high performance CMOS roadmap trend and utilizes sub-1 keV ion implantation for source/drain extension formations, quick-cooling RTA process, and ultra-thin gate dielectrics of 1.3 nm. The thickness of the gate dielectrics has been optimized in terms of both the I/sub ON/-I/sub OFF/, tradeoff and gate delay metrics. Obtained I/sub D//sup SAT/ for nMOS and pMOS are 723 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m (I/sub OFF/=16 nA//spl mu/m) and 290 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m (I/sub OFF/=20 nA//spl mu/m), respectively.
Voltage Balance of Multiconnected Half Bridge Converter

The aim of this paper is to verify the input voltage balance characteristics of a multiconnected half-bridge converter for dc power networks. The input side of the multiconnected half-bridge converter is connected in series. Since the input voltage of each converter is divided by the number of converters, low voltage semiconductors like MOSFETs can be used. For series-input converters, the voltage balance characteristics are important. One of the reasons for the input voltage unbalance is mismatched gate signals of MOSFETs. It is validated by an input-series output-series half-bridge converter with 1500V dc bus voltage. experimental results of the prototype provide the key design criteria.
Crack Fault Detection for a Gearbox Using Discrete Wavelet Transform and an Adaptive Resonance Theory Neural Network

In this paper, a new approach using discrete wavelet transform and an adaptive resonance theory neural network for crack fault detection of a gearbox is proposed. With the use of a multi-resolution analytical property of the discrete wavelet transform, the signals are decomposed into a series of sub-bands. The changes of sub-band energy are thought to be caused by the crack fault. Therefore, the relative wavelet energy is proposed as a feature. An artificial neural network is introduced for the detection of crack faults. Due to differences in operating environments, it is difficult to acquire typical, known samples of such faults. An adaptive resonance theory neural network is proposed in order to recognize the changing trend of crack faults without known samples on the basis of extracting the relative wavelet energy as an input eigenvector. The proposed method is applied to the vibration signals collected from a gearbox to diagnose a gear crack fault. The results show that the relative wavelet energy can effectively extract the signal feature and that the adaptive resonance theory neural network can recognize the changing trend from the normal state to a crack fault before the occurrence of a broken tooth fault.
A Study on Behavioral Characteristics and the Scale of Activities in Day Service Centers for the Elderly in Taiwan: A Case-study of Two Mixed-care Type Day Service Centers

Abstract This study applies behavior setting theory, and conducts an observation survey at ten-minute intervals of behavior mapping records by tracing the behavioral contents, interaction conditions and activity types of the elderly, trying to break down behavioral characteristics and an activity scale into two mixed-care day service centers (DSCs). Remarkable behavioral characteristics noted are as follows: Participants have various interests, particularly some less frail elderly whose interaction patterns are regarded as "active", and they are not satisfied with staying in one limited space all day long and require diverse activities. Participants with dementia, however, have interaction patterns that are "passive" and are often in a daze and do nothing when activities are held, showing a requirement for a place for wandering. Five items are presented as suggestions for the design of a mixed-care DSC: (1) Reducing the distance between user spaces when planning floor layouts; (2) Considering and offering the possibility of different activities and an activity scale held at the same time in the day room; (3) Designing in a manner that answers the need for wandering; (4) Providing ample and barrier-free spaces in corridors, passages and the courtyards, and (5) Providing plural toilets with easy access.
A Novel Discontinuous Mode Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Circuit for Low-Voltage Applications

In this study, a single stage rectifier-less electronic circuit (SSRBC) is presented for efficient energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials with low voltage. The proposed circuit eliminates the bridge rectification. In addition, it combines the topology of the boost and buck boost converter to regulate both positive and negative half cycles of the input AC voltage. Two inductors are used to reduce the stress in the switching operation. Using simulation software, A Novel Discontinuous Mode Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Circuit for Low-Voltage Applications the proposed design is found to be able to rectify, boost, and regularise an input AC voltage of 0.5 V to 3.0 V. Applications include powering of low voltage applications, medical, robotics industries, quartz watches and mobile chargers. Modelling is carried out by using circuit design software LTSPICE.
Modelling and Control of Multi-phase PMSM in ANSYS and PLECS

This paper demonstrates the cross-platform simulation of ANSYS Maxwell and PLECS using the co-simulation functionality offered by MATLAB Simulink and ANSYS Simplorer. A multiphase permanent magnet synchronous machine is designed and modelled using Maxwell finite-element method and controlled by a motor drive designed and implemented in PLECS. The cosimulation method allows the same motor drive control to be used cross-platform, reducing development time. Furthermore, the co-simulation method also allows saturation effects, thermal and mechanical analysis to be performed in conjunction with the control scheme implemented. Lastly, the paper compares the results obtained from the co-simulation method with traditional modelling methods.
Channel and source/drain engineering in high-performance sub-0.1 /spl mu/m NMOSFETs using X-ray lithography

Channel lengths are continually scaled to smaller dimensions to improve performance and packing density. In recent years this has led to demonstrations of MOSFETs with effective channel length of 0.1 /spl mu/m and below. The key technology challenges at these linewidths include the lithography to reproducibly achieve fine dimensions, source and drain engineering to reduce device parasitics, and channel engineering to control short-channel effects. In this work, we demonstrate a high-performance NMOS technology that utilizes X-ray lithography to achieve channel lengths below 0.1 /spl mu/m; a novel cobalt salicidation (CoSi/sub 2/) technique using a titanium/cobalt laminate to achieve very low parasitic source/drain resistance; and shallow junctions and an optimized super-steep retrograde (SSR) channel profile to achieve very high transconductance devices with excellent control of short-channel effects. <<ETX>>
Marginal Cost of Reliability Improvement for Standalone Microgrids

The marginal cost of reliability improvement (MCRI) is a very useful measure to compare the cost-effectiveness of various standalone microgrid (SMG) systems. This measure helps in decision making on reliability level and imports and exports between SMGs. The MCRI can elucidate how a SMG system is going to deal with the change of reliability requirements by customers and energy traders. This paper proposes an MCRI evaluation algorithm for a microgrid (MG) over its 25-year lifespan. A case study is evaluated, which consists of renewable energy resources (RES) and a battery energy storage system (BESS) as reliability improvement (RI) alternatives. Two sensitivity analysis study are performed to answer the following research questions: What if is the cost of energy resources changes? and What if demand response (DR) is included as an alternative to RI. Furthermore, whether maximum reliability can be achieved with 100% renewable generating resources is also evaluated. The Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method is used to model the equipment failure. The linear regression approach is used to create an equation for loss of load reduction (LOLR), for the addition of resource mix as a function of LOLR and for the addition of individual RI alternatives. A Matlab optimization tool is used to find the MCRI.
ELECTRE III in evaluating performance of construction plants: case study on concrete vibrators

In this paper, we discuss how a multi‐criteria decision‐making technique (ELECTRE III) facilitates construction practitioners in decision making for selecting an appropriate construction plant. We first introduce the theoretical background of the technique. Then a case study on how to apply the technique to select concrete vibrators is presented. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in outranking various options in the process of concrete vibrator selection. The use of ELECTRE III can systematically analyse expert judgments on the decision factors and alternatives that can rationalize the selection process.
Analysis of the influence of grid fault and dynamic load on the stability of microgrid system

Stability analysis is an important part of the stable operation of the micro-grid. Therefore, this paper studies the recovery ability of the microgrid after failure. Considering that the power generation devices in the micro-grid mostly use converters to realize the interaction with the power grid, this paper firstly analyzes the power characteristic model of the microgrid converters, and then analyzes the key parameters affecting the stability of the micro-grid converters. Based on the analysis results, a micro-grid system composed of multiple converters is established, and the state recovery ability of the micro-grid system after grid failure is analyzed. Since the change of motor load will have a key influence on the voltage of the micro-grid, this paper analyzes the influence of motor load fluctuation on the fault voltage of the grid, and obtains the value of the motor load and the micro-electricity through imitation calculation.
Effect of STI-induced mechanical stress on leakage current in deep submicron CMOS devices

The shallow trench isolation (STI) induced mechanical stress significantly affects the CMOS device off-state leakage behaviour. In this paper, we designed two types of devices to investigate this effect, and all leakage components, including sub-threshold leakage (Isub), gate-induced-drain-leakage (IGIDL), gate edge-direct-tunnelling leakage (IEDT) and band-to-band-tunnelling leakage (IBTBT) were analysed. For NMOS, Isub can be reduced due to the mechanical stress induced higher boron concentration in well region. However, the GIDL component increases simultaneously as a result of the high well concentration induced drain-to-well depletion layer narrowing as well as the shrinkage of the energy gap. For PMOS, the only mechanical stress effect on leakage current is the energy gap narrowing induced GIDL increase.
A Multiport Converter for More Electric Aircraft with Hybrid AC-DC Electric Power System

More electric aircraft (MEA) use a heterogeneous combination of AC and DC power generation units and loads. As a result, the electric power system (EPS) of MEA is designed based on a combination of AC and DC voltages at different levels to increase the design's flexibility and improve energy efficiency. However, one of the main drawbacks of such architecture is that many power electronic converters are required to interface different voltage types, which increases system cost, size, and weight. This paper proposes a new multi-port converter to interface an AC distribution system to a high-voltage non-isolated, low-voltage isolated DC system. The isolated system is supplied through the high-frequency isolation transformer designed to operate at a fixed frequency. The proposed converter replaces two conventional AC-DC and DC-DC converters with only six active switches. Furthermore, the converter is operated by a well-known control method without adding complexity to the design procedure. The proposed converter's feasibility is verified with the simulation results obtained from a MATLAB/ Simulink model.
Asymmetric Cascaded Transformer Multilevel AC-DC Converter

This paper presents a multilevel ac-dc single-phase converter with cascaded transformers and two dc links. The configuration is composed by k cascaded transformers, which isolate the load from the power source, and 2(k + 1) two-level (2L) legs, in which some insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) legs can be replaced by diode legs if bidirectional operation is not required. The cascaded transformers have different turns ratio characterizing as an asymmetric configuration. In addition, the second dc link is used to increase the number of voltage levels, which results in better input voltage quality. This dc link has a lower voltage and can be a floating capacitor. The proposed configuration is compared with a conventional configuration. Simulation and experimental results are shown to demonstrate the feasibility of the system.
Electric Vehicle Battery as Energy Storage Unit Consider Renewable Power Uncertainty

With the widespread of electric vehicles (EV), more and more EV batteries will be available to use as battery storage. This paper analyzes and understands the advantages and disadvantages of using electric vehicle fleet batteries as the community energy storage strategy in a measurable way. To analyze the dynamic EV fleet’s available battery capacity we used a Continuous Time Markov Chain-based framework. In this framework, four different types of Fast Charging Stations (FCS) are modeled, namely one-port, two-port, three-port, and four-port-FCS. A comparative storage sizing case study considering fleet batteries as wind and solar power banks is designed and evaluated. In this study, both weekdays load and weekends load scenarios with minimum or maximum renewable output situations are considered. The case study also considered EV user behavior differences during weekdays and weekends. Experimental results show that involving the EV fleet as energy storage units could cut down local battery needs, however, in excess of expectations of renewable generations the strategy’s effect is canceled out.
On-line diagnostics of washing machines: design issues for the optimization of the measurement set-up

This paper discusses some of the relevant aspects that a designer of an on-line test station for washing machine diagnostics based on a single-point laser Doppler vibrometer should consider. In particular, the paper presents a series of experiments useful to answer the two following questions: a) Where to locate the measurement point? b) Does the test need to be done with an external load to be inserted into the rotating drum? Tests have been done on a "good" washing machine and on a machine exhibiting the most frequent defects to be detected in production line. The study of the Operating Deflection Shapes (ODS) of the machine has been used to determine the best area of the machine cabinet where to position the single point laser vibrometer for on-line diagnostics. In order to support the decision whether or not to employ an artificial unbalance load inserted into the drum during the dynamic test, measurements have been repeated with and without load. Results have been analysed to highlight pros and cons of the use of an external load.
Optimal Home Energy Management With Distributed Generation and Energy Storage Systems

The development of the smart grid promotes the rapid development of distributed generation (DG), while the intermittent nature of DG and the growing demand for electricity make it difficult for the grid to maintain the reliability and stability of the grid. Moreover, the time interval between peak demand of electricity usually differs from the peak supply provided by DG, which creates a mismatch between supply and demand. An energy storage system (ESS) can be an effective solution to improve the self-consumption of electricity generated by DG. In this paper, an optimization strategy of household energy management based on DG and ESS is proposed, which makes full use of the rechargeable characteristics of ESS and EV to improve the economy and flexibility of the system in the case of uncertain output prediction of DG. The objective is to minimize the cost of electricity consumption and user comfort. The actual situation of the users is taken into account, as well as the integration of renewable energy, energy storage, demand response, and other new technologies in the smart grid. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm is verified by multi-scenario analysis.
Reference (Potential) Evapotranspiration. II: Frequency Distribution in Humid, Subhumid, Arid, Semiarid, and Mediterranean-Type Climates

AbstractWhile evapotranspiration (ET) has been a subject of research for decades, there is insufficient data, analyses and information on frequency (probability) values and distribution of this important variable for various climatic regions. Frequency distributions of grass-reference and alfalfa-reference (potential) evapotranspiration (ETo and ETr) were quantified and analyzed using long-term measured climate datasets for five locations in the United States that have significantly different climatic characteristics [Mediterranean-type climate, Davis, CA (ETo); arid, Phoenix, AZ (ETo); humid/subtropical, Gainesville, FL (ETo); a transition zone between subhumid and semiarid climate, Clay Center, NE (ETr); and a semiarid climate, Scottsbluff, NE (ETr)]. Two Nebraska locations presented higher variability of ETref among all locations because of their highly turbulent climatic characteristics with abrupt changes in wind speed, humidity and air temperature. At Davis, the peak ETo month is July with an averag.
Powerline Communication System-on-Chip in 180 nm Harsh Environment SOI Technology

Broadband powerline communication systems using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) can utilize existing power lines to transmit data packets alongside power distribution. Recent standards focus towards high speed multi-media in-house streaming. With improvements towards robustness and throughput new standards increase the speed and reliability of in-house powerline systems. A very different approach is the use of powerline communication systems in a deep drilling environment where temperatures of more than 150°C and pressure levels up to 30 000 psi are present. Typical applications in this environment usually do not require more than several kbit/ys per node and are more reliant on a stable and continuous connection. Here, a powerline communication system can reduce the amount of wiring needed and increase communication robustness significantly. This work provides a harsh environment suitable, reliable and standard compliant communication ASIC that is manufactured in XFAB 180 nm Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) technology allowing operating temperatures of up to 175°C. The die size is 5.25 mm x 5.25 mm and contains a complete Homeplug 1.0 communication stack with an environment for boot, interfacing and debugging. The data rate is as high as 6.1 Mbit/s using the fastest transmission mode and reaches the theoretical maximum of 0.55 Mbit/s in the robust OFDM (ROBO) mode which is of particular interest for harsh environment applications. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first OFDM-based powerline communication ASIC which is particularly designed for harsh environment.
Adaptive Observer Design for Wide-Speed Sensorless IPMSM Drives via Equivalent Control Method

This paper presents an adaptive position observer using normalized position error input in wide-speed sensorless interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSM) drives. The normalized position error observers of saliency-and model-based field orientations method are established, for which the position information can be unified extracted in wide-speed operation. However, this process introduces extra parameter factors and wide-speed operation especially in regeneration mode worsens the dynamic performance of drives. To realize smooth switch between two different drives and fast dynamic response, concept of equivalent control is incorporated into the observer design. The position error dynamic is extended to a third-order model, and the super-twisting algorithm is adopted to estimate high-order total disturbance. The key step is to introduce the corrective terms and the filtered equivalent control term, which forces the error dynamics to approach a finite-time converge second-order differentiator. A rigorous equivalent control stability analysis is set forth, and a convergence analysis of observer states is elaborated. Effective simulation results are included to verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme.