bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tunnel face reinforcement and protection – Optimization using 3D finite element analyses
Authors: Prountzopoulos G.
Published: February 2025

The use of fibreglass nails in tunnel construction for the reinforcement, as well as the placement of a steel tube umbrella, also known as forepole umbrella, for the protection of the excavation face, are two well known and extensively applied methods. They can be used solely or in combination, which is the most common case when adverse tunnelling conditions are expected. As the application criteria and design of these methods are still mainly based on experience and some simplified analytical methodologies, 3D finite element analyses provide a very useful optimization tool. The paper presents a series of analyses of circular lined tunnels in three dimensions, to show how such analyses can be used for tunnel face reinforcement and protection design. The analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of each method and the way it changes the stress and strain distribution around and in front of the tunnel. Fibreglass nails keep the advance core under compression and minimize extrusion, enhancing the stability of the tunnel face seriously, especially when placed in frictional soils. Forepole umbrella on the other hand does not minimize face extrusion significantly, but limits the extent of the plastic zone above the tunnel face. Finally, special attention is given to the interaction between these two methods. Taking the effects of this interaction into account can lead to a more rational and economic design, as these methods are not only quite expensive but also time consuming within the tunnelling process.
Trench stability in cohesive soil
Authors: Gorska K.
Published: February 2025

Trench is connected to very narrow and deep excavation filled with bentonite suspension. This paper presents estimation of its stability in cohesive soil. The stability is assessed by two calculation methods. The first involves the equilibrium of forces acting on the rigid wedge. The second one includes numerical calculations conducted in Plaxis 3D Foundations. A few examples having different dimensions (length and depth) are analyzed in uniform soil conditions. Graphs defining the dependence of length, depth and factor of safety are presented. It is found that for long trenches (L≥6m) the soil kinematics at failure coincides with the literature data. Short trenches are under a large influence of the arching effect and cohesive forces. The limit equilibrium method can be used under the condition of employing a factor, which reduces the value of the earth pressure.
From factor to vector, a transition in safety investigations
Authors: Stoop J.A.
Published: February 2025

In ultra safe and complex, dynamic systems, safety requires a new approach in which:
Identification of the requirements for a handheld computer in aviation maintenance
Authors: Goossen Melchior  , Kuyper Yoran  , de Boer Robert J.
Published: February 2025

In many MRO departments problems are encountered with the use of manuals, task lists and ‘black books’ on paper. These problems are a critical factor for aviation safety and productivity in MRO. The NLR (Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory) has proposed a system called PAMELA using handheld computers to overcome many of the problems associated with the use of paper documents in aviation maintenance. The PAMELA concept has not previously been tested in actual practice. This paper presents the results of a study to determine which functions will need to be fulfilled by a handheld computer in aviation maintenance for it to be successfully introduced.
Modelling the behaviour of structured London Clay
Authors: González N.A.  , Gens A.  , Arroyo M.  , Rouainia M.
Published: February 2025

The paper presents a constitutive modelling of the London clay based on the detailed laboratory knowledge gathered about London clay structure (Hight et al, 2007; Gasparre et al, 2007; Gasparre & Coop, 2008). Modelling was performed using a structured kinematic hardening soil model based on Rouainia & Wood (2000). It was found that a smooth elasto-plastic transition was required to avoid a spurious stiffness degradation response. Consequently, the initial model was modified following a procedure similar to that suggested by Grammatikopoulou et al. (2006). Parameters associated with soil structure and state variables for each lithological sub-unit of the London clay are presented. A good prediction of stress-strain, strength and stiffness behaviour in the small strain range is obtained in spite of the complex behaviour observed in laboratory. The significantly different mechanical behaviours of the lithological sub-units, arising from differences in structure, are adequately reproduced.
CPT-based estimation of the small-strain elastic modulus for clean and silty sands
Authors: Lee Junhwan  , Park Donggyu  , Kyung Doohyun  , Choi Kyujin  , Choi Youngho
Published: February 2025

Determination of the small-strain elastic modulus G0using laboratory tests requires sample preparation and test procedures that can reproduce in-situ conditions. There have been several correlations between the small-strain elastic modulus and CPT cone resistance qc. However, there are difficulties in establishing reliable correlations between G0and qc, as qcis related essentially to the shear strength that is mobilized at large strains whereas the small-strain elastic modulus is a small-strain property. However, it is certain that both quantities have similar dependency on similar soil state variables. In the present study, a CPT-based method is presented for the estimation of the small-strain elastic modulus of clean and silty sands. In the proposed method, two existing representative G0-qcmodels proposed in the literature are selected and evaluated. It is seen that, for isotropic conditions, both selected G0-qcmodels show reasonably satisfactory estimates of G0for clean sands but produce overestimated results for silty sands. A modified G0-qcmodel is presented with consideration of the effect of silt content and stress anisotropy. Values of correlation parameters are evaluated and presented.
Static and dynamic response of bedding structure in railway tunnel
Authors: Huang Lin-chong  , Zhou Cui-ying  , Li Weike
Published: February 2025

On the basis of quasi-static loading, we selected the bedding structure of a railway tunnel under the rail as a research model and implemented static and dynamic analysis through numerical simulations. About bedding structure, we meant the concrete base between the ballast and the soil foundation under the rail structure of a tunnel. Four models of the tunnel bedding structure were analyzed under the static and impact loads of the train by simulating the infrastructure under the track. In this study, we examined the relationship between the vertical dynamic coefficient and the train velocity, and also analyzed the damage sustained by the bedding structure under the static and dynamic loads. It is suggested that the damage in the concrete bedding is detected in the longitudinal direction, immediately below the two rails, and that this damage is likely to occur not from attaining an elastic limit under static loads but more likely from damage accumulation in fatigue due to repeated loadings. In the bedding structure constructed with a steel bar, the attenuation rate at which the stress is transferred from the top bedding to the upper surface of the foundation rock will be high.
Piezocone data and state parameter interpretation for Venetian silty soils
Authors: Tonni Laura  , Gottardi Guido  , Simonini Paolo
Published: February 2025

The paper reports some results from an extensive piezocone testing campaign performed at the Treporti Test Site (Venice, Italy) within a long-lasting research project aimed at developing a reliable geotechnical model of the heterogeneous and highly-layered Venetian lagoon subsoil. The project also included the construction of a full scale cylindrical test bank and its subsequent removal, in conjunction with a very detailed monitoring system. The analysis of the large amount of piezocone data thus available, performed in different phases of the applied loading history, is here focused on the assessment of the in situ soil state, expressed in terms of the critical state based parameter ψ. Starting from previous experiences on this issue developed by other researchers and mainly based on calibration chamber tests, we provide a preliminary attempt to evaluate ψ using simple procedures and to investigate the effectiveness of such methods in capturing changes in Venetian soil state.
Upper-bound multi-rigid-block solutions for face stability of shallow tunnels in non-homogeneous clay
Authors: Song Chunxia  , Huang Maosong
Published: February 2025

The investigation of stability and failure mechanism of shallow-buried tunnel in undrained clay has important significance to tunnel design and construction. The paper considers two different shapes of shallow tunnel in non-homogeneous clay with the variation of both shear strength with depth and soil weight, and multi-rigid-block upper bound stability solutions were derived for collapse under undrained conditions. The reliability of the solutions, which were presented in the form of dimensionless stability chart, was verified by comparing with the existing methods in the literature. The influential factors affecting the tunnel stability and plastically deformed region were discussed and summarized. It is concluded that the multi-rigid-block upper-bound method of limit analysis is a feasible approach for the stability analysis of shallow tunnel, and it also provides an important theoretical basis for practical engineering.
Evaluation of effective thermal conductivity of closed-loop vertical ground heat exchangers by performing in-situ thermal response tests
Authors: Lee Chulho  , Park Moonseo  , Wi Jihae  , Choi Hangseok  , Kang Shin-Hyung
Published: February 2025

To investigate efficiency of closed-loop vertical ground heat exchangers, six boreholes were constructed to install closed-loop ground heat exchangers in a test bed in Wonju, South Korea, and a series of in-situ thermal response tests has been performed. This field investigation is designed to verify the effect of grout materials, additives and the configuration of circulation pipe on the overall performance of closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanging systems. The bentonite grout and the cement grout were chosen as grouting materials, and silica sand and graphite were considered as additives to the grout paste. Additionally, a new 3-hole pipe section invented to lessen thermal interference between the inlet and outlet pipes was compared with the conventional U-loop pipe section. From the experimental results, it is concluded that the effective thermal conductivity of the ground heat exchanger with cement grout is much higher than that of bentonite grout, and graphite is proved more efficient than silica for enhancing the effective thermal conductivity. Finally, the new 3-hole pipe section provides a better thermal performance of the ground heat exchanger than the conventional U-loop pipe section. In addition, a series of numerical analyses using FLUENT was performed in order to simulate the in-situ thermal response test in the selected boreholes and to compare with the field test results. From the comparison between the in-situ thermal response test results and numerical simulations, the average thermal conductivity of the ground formation in the construction site is back-calculated as approximately 4W/m·K. This value can be used in evaluating the long-term performance of the closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger.
Performance of an embankment supported by a piled raft on soft ground
Authors: Kim Sang-Kyu  , Han Sung-Gil  , Song Sun-Ok  , Poulos Harry George
Published: February 2025

A railway route passes over a thick deposit of normally consolidated clay. The railway embankment which had been built on the clay deposit using the stage construction technique was not successful because longitudinal cracks appeared on the ground surface soon after the first stage of its construction. The embankment construction was successfully completed by constructing the remaining embankment on the piled raft foundation. This paper describes the monitoring results obtained during the embankment construction on the piled raft. It was found from these results that if the pile group essentially exhibits friction pile behavior, then the raft develops positive contact pressure with the clay deposit, even on the NC clay deposit in which ground movement was occurring due to the previously applied embankment load.
Deformation Characteristics of Core and Rock-fill Materials in Korean Fill Dams
Authors: Kim Dong-Soo  , Lee Sei-Hyun  , Park Heon-Joon  , Kim Jong-Tae  , Kwon Hyek-Kee
Published: February 2025

Deformation characteristics of core and rock-fill zones of Korean fill dam, expressed in terms of shear wave velocity, modulus reduction(G/Gmax) and damping curves, were investigated by performing field surface wave tests and by gathering relevant laboratory test results performed in Korea and abroad. The VSprofiles of core and rock-fill zones were measured at 8 Korean dams and additionally collected for core zone from the D/B of 22 dams. The average, upper and lower bounds of Vsprofiles of core and rock-fill zones were suggested. The test D/B of G/Gmaxand damping curves of 48 specimens which satisfy the Korean specifications of core material were collected and the representative G/Gmaxand damping curves were suggested at 3 confining pressure ranges. The test D/B of G/Gmaxand damping curves of rock-fill materials were collected from 18 literatures and the representative G/Gmaxand damping curves were suggested considering confining pressures.
A Micromechanical Investigation of Drained Simple Shear Tests
Authors: Shen Chin-Kang  , O'Sullivan C.  , Jardine R.J.
Published: February 2025

This paper describes a study of the simple shear apparatus that was carried out using the discrete element method (DEM). Two testing configurations were considered, in the first instance the lateral walls were taken to be rigid and they rotated during shearing, while the second configuration simulated laminar sidewalls. The DEM analysis allowed measurements of the forces along the boundaries to be made (as in the physical test), while the particle scale response mechanisms could also be analysed in detail. While the overall specimen responses were similar, the contact force network and distribution of strains within the sample both revealed differences in the internal material response. The strains within the specimen are highly non-uniform.
Rate effects in free falling penetrometer tests
Authors: Chow S.H.  , Airey D.W.
Published: February 2025

Significant viscous rate effects are often observed in dynamic tests, such as free falling penetrometer tests, due to their high shear rates. This paper reports a review of existing rate models and compares the various model predictions to the results from a series of laboratory free falling penetrometer tests. The laboratory tests involve a penetrometer free-falling into claybeds of different strengths at impact velocities ranging from 4.75 to 12.22 m/s. Rate effects measured in the laboratory tests are compared with those estimated from existing rate models. The reliabilities of the estimations are found to depend on the assumed rate parameters, which are functions of the undrained strength, and static reference velocity in the respective models. While improved estimations may be achieved by linking the rate parameters with soil properties, more studies are still required to enable the static undrained strength to be reliably interpreted from rapid loading tests.
Deformation behavior of cement stabilized pond sediment mixed with shredded paper
Authors: Nabeshima Yasuyuki  , Tomohisa Seishi
Published: February 2025

Hyogo Prefecture has many irrigation ponds. Sediment in the ponds is removed to prevent the eutrophication. Because pond sediment has high water content, it is usually stabilized with stabilizers such as cement and lime to reuse it. Stabilized soil has brittle shear behavior therefore it is quite different from natural soils. The fiber reinforced soil was able to improve the mechanical properties of soft soil. To improve brittle shear behavior of stabilized soils, the authors carried out a series of mixing test of soft clays with cement and shredded paper as a fiber reinforcement. And unconfined compression tests of cement stabilized clays mixed with paper shreds were performed. After unconfined compression tests, the deformation modulus, failure strain and failure lines were compared with those of cement stabilized clay without paper shreds. As the result, by mixing with paper shreds, the unconfined compression strength of cement stabilized clays increases and brittle shear deformation behavior is improved.
Modelling transport of biogrout in soils
Authors: Fauriel S.  , Laloui L.
Published: February 2025

Bacterial strains producing urease can have a major impact on the natural calcite precipitation process if they are supplied with nutrients and urea. In Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) process, the precipitated calcite acts as a cementing agent in the soil, offering an alternative sustainable and cost-effective grouting technique. The miscible and reactive biogrout injection in saturated, deformable soils need however to be better understood and described to more effectively design the grouting technique. A research work is therefore carried out on this topic. The field equations for biogrout transport are established based on the understanding of the complex involved processes. The related constitutive equations for stress-strain relationship and fluid flow are considered. The resulting set of field equations is discretized and implemented into an advanced finite element code. Finite element modelling of column injection tests is carried out to validate the mathematical formulation and to demonstrate the potentiality of the developed model.
Change of physical and mechanical properties of sandy soil due to repeated water infiltration
Authors: Kuwano Reiko  , Suwal L.P.  , Beltran-Galvis A.L.
Published: February 2025

This paper presents the deformation characteristics of sandy soil specimens developed in wetting and drying processes. A series of triaxial tests was carried out on Toyoura sand and some silty sands, when the tested material is subject to wetting/drying cycles, under the constant confining pressure of 50kPa. During these processes, small cyclic loading tests were performed in order to obtain small strain stiffness of the materials. Throughout the test, volumetric, axial and radial strains were measured and the amount of water flowing in/out of the specimen was monitored. It was found that the deformation of silty sand was highly affected by the wetting/drying cycles, whereas Toyoura sand did not show noticeable changes. For silty sand, volumetric strains were developed positively throughout the first wetting process as well as the successive drying and repeated drying/wetting stages. The presence of fines appeared to play an important role in collapse behaviour of sandy soil, even though the fines content was only 3%. Small strain stiffness seemed to be also affected by the wet/dry condition, but the change in small strain stiffness could not be well explained by the change of density and suction of the material, which indicates that the internal structure of the material was altered due to the collapse occurred in the first wetting cycle.
Microstructural features and compressibility of volcanic deposits from Central Italy
Authors: Cecconi M.  , Rotonda T.  , Tommasi P.  , Viggiani G.M.B.
Published: February 2025

Large areas of Central and Southern Italy are covered by pyroclastic materials, at the border between weak rocks and granular soils, which pose various problems in modelling their mechanical behaviour for geotechnical design. The paper reports the results of a comparative experimental study of the microstructural features and compressibility of three pyroclastic deposits from Central Italy, namely two pozzolanas from the Colli Albani Volcanic Complex, located immediately south-east of the city of Roma, and one pozzolana from the Vulsini Volcanic Complex, forming the slab on which the historical town of Orvieto is founded. The compressibility was investigated by means of conventional laboratory techniques, such as one-dimensional and isotropic compression tests, performed on natural and reconstituted samples. However, due to the pyroclastic nature of the materials, special non-standard procedures had to be developed for the preparation of natural samples, including coring of frozen samples. At the same time, an investigation of the microstructural features of the materials was undertaken by means of optical and electron scanning microscopy. The paper discusses the results of the experimental activity in order to find out common features and differences of behaviour of the three materials and to try and connect the primary and secondary compressibility characteristics to the observed microstructural features.
Experimental investigation of the evolution of grading of an artificial material with crushable grains under different loading conditions
Authors: Casini Francesca  , Viggiani Giulia M.B.
Published: February 2025

The basic constitutive properties of granular materials depend on their grading. Crushing or breakage of particles under compression or shear modify the grain size distribution, with a tendency for the percentage of fine material to increase. It follows that the frictional properties of the material and the critical states are modified as a consequence of the changes in grain size distribution and the available range of packing densities. This paper shows the results of an experimental investigation of the evolution of the grading of an artificial granular material, consisting of crushed expanded clay pellets, most commonly known under the brand name LECA, under different loading conditions. The changes of grading of the material after isotropic, one-dimensional and constant mean effective stress triaxial compression were described using a single parameter based on the ratio of the areas under the current and an ultimate cumulative particle size distribution which were both assumed to be consistent with self similar grading with varying fractal dimension.
On 2SAT-MaxOnes with Unbalanced Polarity: from Easy Problems to Hard MaxClique Problems
Authors: Argelich Josep  , Béjar Ramón  , Fernández Cèsar  , Mateu Carles
Published: February 2025

We study the complexity of solving a variant of the Random 2SAT-MaxOnes problem, a variant created by introducing an additional parameter p to control the probability of having positive literals in the clauses of the problem instance, and show that its complexity pattern has interesting properties. This parameter p allows us to generate problem instances ranging from exceptionally hard optimization instances, when p=0, that are equivalent to MaxClique instances, to trivial problem instances when p=1. We show that our problem presents an easy-hard-easy complexity pattern, even on the hardest case of the problem (p=0) where instances are always feasible. We show that the hardness peak is mainly due to a sudden increase in the cost of finding the optimal solution and that for p>0 a phase transition from feasible to unfeasible instances appears, but with a lower hardness peak as p approaches to 1. We further investigate the reasons for such a peak, by analyzing the expected number of optimal solutions and expected number of variables set to 1 in optimal solutions.
Towards an Efficient Use of Resources in All-Optical Networks
Authors: Béjar Ramón  , Fernández Cèsar  , Guitart Francesc  , Mateu Carles
Published: February 2025

Designing networks which can provide more and more bandwidth is a daunting and continuous effort. All-optical networks are one of the most successful recent approaches to tackle with that need although they come with some inconveniences. One of such problems is the need to design networks that will be able to cope with existing and future demands with the least possible hardware deployment, especially without having to resort to costly frequency conversion or opto-electronic conversion.
From Repetition Suppression in Stroop to Backward Inhibition in Task Switching: An Example of Model Reusability
Authors: Juvina Ion  , Grange James A.  , Lebiere Christian
Published: February 2025

The concept of inhibition from cognitive neuroscience can inform the development of biologically-inspired cognitive architectures. Here we summarize a few attempts to develop an inhibition mechanism for the ACT-R architecture. The starting point is a model that uses inhibition to account for sequence effects in the Stroop task. This model is improved by adding a more general inhibition mechanism that requires less input from the modeler. Then, the modified model is used to account for backward inhibition in task switching, making a case for model generality and reusability.
Computational Hypothesis for Maturing Out of Addiction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Techniques
Authors: Levy Yariv Z.  , Levy Dino  , Meyer Jerrold S.
Published: February 2025

Use and misuse of addictive substances has been an ongoing phenomenon from early civilizations to the present. Experimental observations endorse the implication of a cognitive component during the addictive course. The present investigation proposes a learning mechanism affecting the cognitive level of a multiscale model of addiction. Simulations account for plausible initiations of natural recoveries through non-traditional techniques, such as meditation. This framework suggests that such plasticity mechanism within the cognitive substrate of an addict may be necessary in order for a maturing out experience to begin and possibly endure over time.
Does radical externalism suggest how to implement machine consciousness?
Authors: Manzotti Riccardo  , Papi Luca  , Amoretti Cristina  , Lee Soo-Young
Published: February 2025

Despite the great interest for externalist oriented models of the mind (enactivism, the extended mind, various forms of externalism, embodiment, embeddedness), most current artificial agents are designed as though the mind “is still in the head”. In other words, in the field of AI, the prevailing view still assumes that the relevant information is processed inside the system that provides the right kind of computation. In this paper, we outline a model of situated cognition that aims at offloading various aspects of cognition which are strongly related with conscious experience (semantics, intentionality, teleology) and then we discuss a robotic implementation which tries to show the kind of intimate agent-environment relationship that may be exploited by conscious agents.
Extended Sparse Distributed Memory
Authors: Snaider Javier  , Franklin Stan
Published: February 2025

Sparse distributed memory is an auto-associative memory system that stores high dimensional Boolean vectors. Here we present an extension of the original SDM that uses word vectors of larger size than address vectors. This extension preserves many of the desirable properties of the original SDM: auto-associability, content addressability, distributed storage, robustness over noisy inputs. In addition, it adds new functionality, enabling an efficient auto-associative storage of sequences of vectors, as well as of other data structures such as trees.
Writer Recognition by Means of Stroke Categorization based on Self-Organizing Maps
Authors: Sesa-Nogueras Enric  , Faundez-Zanuy Marcos
Published: February 2025

In this paper a biometric recognition system based on handwritten words is presented. The system relies on a pair of catalogues of strokes that are built unsupervisedly by means of self-organizing maps. One of the catalogues categorizes pen-down strokes (the strokes executed exerting pressure on the writing surface) while the other categorizes pen-up strokes (in-air movements of the hand performed while transitioning from one pen-down stroke to the next). These catalogues allow mapping sequences of strokes into sequences of integers. The latter, much simpler sequences, can be effectively compared by means of dynamic time warping, taking advantage of the neighboring properties exhibited by self-organizing maps. The system yields considerably good results both in identification (95.6% accuracy) and in verification (1.57 % error) when tested with 320 users and one handwritten word.
Dynamic Modelling of Agricultural Policies: the Role of Expectation Schemes
Authors: Femenia Fabienne  , Gohin Alexandre
Published: February 2025

The highly disputed effects of agricultural trade liberalization are mostly simulated with static models. Our main objective in this paper is to evaluate the robustness of the static simulation results to the consistent modeling of dynamic behaviors and to the linked specification of price/return expectations. Focusing on a complete trade liberalization scenario of arable crop markets by developed countries, we find that available static results are quite robust to dynamic specifications and to most expectation schemes. Endogenous market fluctuations due to expectation errors may appear following trade liberalization. These fluctuations are nevertheless limited by the many feedback effects revealed by our general equilibrium framework.
Reflectionson Pervasive Computing Models
Authors: Riguidel Michel
Published: February 2025

The present article introduces the digital realm as a dynamic, Darwinian ecosystem, and develops an account of information technology (IT), its evolution, and a road-map for its potential future development. The article then examines the constraints and the evolutionary pressures acting upon IT through an analysis of the subconscious representations that model the domain in the current discipline of IT. The investigation examines the principles of its conceptual models along with the conditions that permit these models to arise and flourish. The article concludes by proposing a number of novel representational concepts for communications that show future promise as well as an exploration of possible new models of the Future Internet.
Location-Based Services: Privacy, Security and Assurance
Authors: Jonker Hugo  , Mauw Sjouke  , Pang Jun
Published: February 2025

In a straight-forward setup, location-based services have many trust assumptions amongst the involved parties. However, some of the parties may be honest while still being interested in learning confidential information, and others can have reasons to cheat where possible. Therefore, system design needs to account for a less than perfect setting. Research in this area is currently focused on reducing the necessary amount of trust required by improving security, privacy and assurance of these systems. This paper provides an introduction to the field.
Conceptualizing the Biometric Body
Authors: Mordini Emilio  , Rebera Andrew P.
Published: February 2025

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the American mainland, many governments have seen in biometrics an opportunity for significant advances and breakthroughs in securing people and their assets. With a distance of a little over ten years between us and the 9/11 attacks, now is perhaps a good moment for a calm and level-headed evaluation of biometrics, its security applications, and its future as an identification technology. In this chapter we examine the conceptual framework underlying the employment of biometrics. We argue that the biometric body—the body as conceived against the conceptual framework we will describe—becomes a fetish object, and that, in consequence of this, biometrics does not offer the possibility of breakthroughs or new directions in the realm of national security.
Digital Identity Management and Privacy in Japan
Authors: Horibe Masao
Published: February 2025

The Digital Identity Management System in Japan's Basic Resident Registration Network System aims to improve residents' convenience and reform the administrative structure. At the same time it has spurred heated discussion on the issue of privacy and personal data protection, leading to the enactment of the Personal Information Protection Act 2003.
Design of Cable Strenghtened Beams for Glass Structures
Authors: Kamerling Wim
Published: February 2025

This paper focuses on the design of beams of glass strengthened with post-tensioned cables. Due to the strengthening the bending moments are decreased and the structural efficiency is improved, consequently the dimensions of the beams can be reduced. Post-tensioning the cables improves the bearing capacity and transparency of the structure. The effect of the post-tensioning is analyzed and the advantages as well as disadvantages are described. Recommendations and rules of thumb are given for the design of beams of glass, strengthened with post-tensioned cables and struts.
Special Aspects in Planning of Thermally Curved Glass: Structural Design, Constructional Hints
Authors: Kramer Markus  , Elstner Michael
Published: February 2025

The Federal Association of Flat Glass in Germany (Bundesverband Flachglas), published a new guideline “Guidelines for Thermally Curved Glass” in 2011. The guideline contains information about the processing of curved glass, tolerances which may occur as well as for the assembling of this type of glazing. The current paper deals with special aspects in planning and calculating structures including thermally curved glass, given in the guideline. Bases for calculating curved glass are explained, as well as problems due to the higher stiffness of bent glass panes used for insulating glass units. The need to use appropriate computational procedures, implicating shell action is shown in examples. Further more, some essential constructional aspects are discussed. Especially the influence of tolerances between glass and substructure, and deformation of the substructure is shown.
The French Competitiveness Clusters in a European Context: Getting Together Research LABs, Large Industry and SMEs
Authors: Schönfeld Thilo  , Schöntag Katja
Published: February 2025

European competitiveness is essentially driven by dynamic industry and technology-based clusters. In fact, globalisation on the one hand has strengthened the role of regional clusters on the other hand. As a result, along with increasing market globalisation, increasing resources will flow to the more attractive regions, reinforcing the role of clusters and driving regional specialisation. These clusters enable companies, research organisations and regions to join forces for their mutual development and innovation. In a steady process, European clusters are seeking to improve and strengthen their performance and innovativeness. The present paper presents the regional cluster policy currently applied throughout Europe (and worldwide) to the aerospace sector. Although this paper mainly focuses on the activities of the French competitiveness cluster “Aerospace Valley” perspectives on the future evolution in the context of European and international collaboration are provided.
The Future of Aeronautics, a European Perspective
Authors: Champion Charles
Published: February 2025

The author gives in this paper some thoughts on how to respond to the future travelling public expectations, viz to fly in greener aircraft with access to their digital world in flight with the best level of quality and comfort. Airbus is ready to take on these challenges but the question is: “will the EU be alongside Airbus in the endeavour?” Various examples of Airbus innovations are presented: fly-by-wire A320, double-deck A380, brake-to-vacate technology, ALCAS (Advanced Low Cost Aircraft Structures), ‘MAAXIMUS’ project for novel and cost effective composite structures, active participation in Clean Sky, leadership of the Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft (SFWA) technology demonstrator, etc. Airbus has proposed a concept plane to help crystallise its modern ideas and shape them in a communicable form. Innovation has become the major competitive differentiator.
The University and its Libraries: Reactions and Resistance to Scientific Publishers
Authors: Bastos Flavia  , Vidotti Silvana  , Oddone Nanci
Published: February 2025

This paper addresses the relationship of copyright and the right of Technologies (ICTs) are causing many changes in the system of scientific communication, such as the creation of Institutional Repositories that aim to gather scientific production in digital format. The University needs quicker ways of spreading academic production and many questions are emerging due to contexts such as the Open Access movement. Thus, this paper questions the positioning of Universities, especially Public Universities, which despite having policies related to intellectual property to protect the transferring forms of research results to society; many times do not have a positioning or a mechanism that regulates the self-deposit of scientific production in these Institutional Repositories. In order to develop this paper, the following issues are addressed: lack of interest of the University in storing scientific production; reports on the relationship of the library with scientific publishing houses; the participation of faculty members and students in supporting the Free Access movement; and initiatives aimed at greater flexibility of copyright to the context of scientific production. In order to follow the development of these issues at international level, it was opted for qualitative research with non-participating direct observation to carry out the identification and description of copyright policy of important publishers from the ROMEO SHERPA site; therefore, it can be observed that there are changes regarding the publishers' flexibility before self-archiving of authors in open access institutional repositories in their universities. Given this scenario, we presente reflections and considerations that involve the progress and mainly the integration of the University and its faculty members; the institution should recommend and guide its faculty members not to transfer their copyrights, but to defend their right of copy to Institutional Repositories along with Publishing Houses.
Information Retrieval Educational Goals in Library and Information Science and in Health Sciences
Authors: Serrano Anabela
Published: February 2025

This paper is intended to compare information retrieval (IR) educational goals in different academic and professional areas such as Library and Information Science (LIS) and Health Sciences (HS), analysing and identifying a shift on user seeking goals in the digital era and, eventually, on educational goals as well. It starts with a section on information literacy where several aspects are specified, such as user goals, IR systems, IR skills, information seeking strategies (queries) and user perception of search success. Another section focuses on teaching IR aspects, like IR educational goals, assessment and feedback, and e-resources in LIS and in HS. Teaching in an academic environment for academic audiences is somehow different from teaching for professional audiences even though these are located in an academic environment as well. Those are the issues and particularities that throughout the analysis of information literacy and teaching IR aspects will be explained along the full paper.
WIKI::SCORE – A Collaborative Environment For Music Transcription And Publishing
Authors: Almeida José João  , Carvalho Nuno Ramos  , Oliveira José Nuno
Published: February 2025

Music sources are most commontly shared in music scores scanned or printed on paper sheets. These artifacts are rich in information, but since they are images it is hard to re-use and share their content in todays' digital world. There are modern languages that can be used to transcribe music sheets, this is still a time consuming task, because of the complexity involved in the process and the typical huge size of the original documents.
Labor Cost Modeling to Reduce Project Risk in Urban Self-Building in Cameroon
Authors: Manjia Marcelline Blanche  , Kouamou Georges E.  , Pettang Chrispin
Published: February 2025

The informal sector of housing provision, although difficult, has become the principal method of housing provision within the construction sector of most developing countries. As an informal sector, practices are characterized by ambiguous management approaches. This situation leads to delays in the completion of some projects. Five major difficulties characterize and depreciate the informal sector, then generate its main complexity. These include disparity of constructions funds sources, the abstruse of labor cost management due to the self-employment of workers, the irrationality of construction means, the lack of standardization of some materials and the land insecurity. Those factors have an impact in the project risk. Even though we cannot reduce the resultant of this risk to zero, this paper presents a decision support aid (SIAD) for cost control that can help the self-constructor to minimize the project risk in the unregulated construction informal sector.
An Integrated Sustainability Analysis Approach to Support Holistic Decision Making in Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Authors: Liu Shaofeng  , Wang Zhihong  , Liu Li
Published: February 2025

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has recently emerged to address environmental and social concerns in product and service operations. Existing research has investigated sustainability issues at isolated stages of the supply chains. This paper aims to address Triple Bottom Line sustainability in a coherent manner. The paper proposes an integrated sustainability analysis (ISA) approach which seamlessly integrates Life Cycle Assessment into Multi-Criteria Decision Making process. Application of the integrated approach to an industrial case demonstrates that the proposed approach can provide concerted scientific backup to efficiently and effectively support holistic decision making in SSCM. The ISA approach has the potential to enable true integration of environmental management and social responsibility with supply chain management.
Development of Requirement Specification Editor with Semantic Information
Authors: Sato Kuniya  , Ooba Masahiro  , Takagi Tomohiko  , Furukawa Zengo  , Komiya Seiichi  , Yaegashi Rihito
Published: February 2025

We developed the Software requirement specifications(SRS) editor system with semantic information. Since this system have the semantic information, the engineer who takes charge of software requirement specifications and the engineer who takes charge of software test can reach shared understanding. Also, This system have the function which can find out the of description, the function which reuses the inputted the description, the function which shows the relationship of the descriptions. This paper describes that the sentence of SRS can be divided into six parts, 5W1H (Actor(Who), Time(When), Location(where), Reason(Why), Object of target(What)), and SRS has the tag which 5W1H are written as semantic information. This paper also describes how to give the degree of requirement, and describes the methods to have the tag which the degree of requirement is written as semantic information. This paper describes the SRS editor system with semantic information, and describes the function which can find out the of description, the function which reuses the inputted the description, the function which shows the relationship of the descriptions.
Planning as Quantified Boolean Formula
Authors: Cashmore Michael  , Fox Maria  , Giunchiglia Enrico
Published: February 2025

This paper introduces two techniques for translating bounded propositional reachability problems into Quantified Boolean Formulae (QBF). Both exploit the binary-tree structure of the QBF problem to produce encodings logarithmic in the size of the instance and thus exponentially smaller than the corresponding SAT encoding with the same bound. The first encoding is based on the iterative squaring formulation of Rintanen. The second encoding is a compact tree encoding that is more efficient than the first one, requiring fewer alternations of quantifiers and fewer variables. We present experimental results showing that the approach is feasible, although not yet competitive with current state of the art SAT-based solvers.
Approximate Tradeoffs on Matroids
Authors: Gourvès Laurent  , Monnot Jérôme  , Tlilane Lydia
Published: February 2025

We consider problems where a solution is evaluated with a couple. Each coordinate of this couple represents an agent's utility. Due to the possible conflicts, it is unlikely that one feasible solution is optimal for both agents. Then, a natural aim is to find tradeoffs. We investigate tradeoff solutions with guarantees for the agents.The focus is on discrete problems having a matroid structure. We provide polynomial-time deterministic algorithms which achieve several guarantees and we prove that some guarantees are not possible to reach.
Efficient Reasoning in Multiagent Epistemic Logics
Authors: Lakemeyer Gerhard  , Lespérance Yves
Published: February 2025

In many applications, agents must reason about what other agents know, whether to coordinate with them or to come out on top in a competitive situation. However in general, reasoning in a multiagent epistemic logic such as Kn has high complexity. In this paper, we look at a restricted class of knowledge bases that are sets of modal literals. We call these proper epistemic knowledge bases (PEKBs). We show that after a PEKB has been put in prime implicate normal form (PINF), an efficient database-like query evaluation procedure can be used to check whether an arbitrary query is entailed by the PEKB. The evaluation procedure is always sound and sometimes complete. We also develop a procedure to convert a PEKB into PINF. As well, we extend our approach to deal with introspection.
Never Ending Learning
Authors: Mitchell Tom M.
Published: February 2025

We will never really understand learning or intelligence until we can build machines that learn many different things, over years, and become better learners over time. This talk describes our research to build a Never-Ending Language Learner (NELL) that runs 24 hours per day, forever, learning to read the web. Each day NELL extracts (reads) more facts from the web, and integrates these into its growing knowledge base of beliefs. Each day NELL also learns to read better than yesterday, enabling it to go back to the text it read yesterday, and extract more facts, more accurately. NELL has been running 24 hours/day for over two years now. The result so far is a collection of 15 million interconnected beliefs (e.g., servedWtih(coffee, applePie), isA(applePie, bakedGood)), that NELL is considering at different levels of confidence, along with hundreds of thousands of learned phrasings, morphoogical features, and web page structures that NELL uses to extract beliefs from the web. Track NELL's progress at http://rtw.ml.cmu.edu.
Engineering Efficient Planners with SAT
Authors: Rintanen Jussi
Published: February 2025

Planning with SAT has long been viewed as a main approach to AI planning. In comparison to other approaches, its high memory requirements have been considered to be a main obstacle to its scalability to large planning problems. Better implementation technology, especially addressing the memory use, together with a shift of understanding about SAT-based planning during the past ten years, enables planners that radically differ from those from the late 1990s. We discuss a SAT-based planning system that implements modern versions of virtually all components of first planners that used SAT, focusing on the new implementation technology for a compact clause representation that is both simpler and more effective than ones proposed earlier. Specifically, the decreased memory requirements enable the use of top-level solution strategies that lift the performance of SAT-based planning to the same level with other search methods.