bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparing a Seismic Imaging Code for the Intel Knights Landing Xeon Phi processor
Authors: Civario Gilles  , Delaney Seán  , Lysaght Michael
Published: February 2025

We report on how we are preparing a seismic imaging code for the Intel Knight's Landing (KNL) Xeon Phi processor. The seismic imaging code in question is a Reverse Time Migration (RTM) code based on an unconventional rotated staggered grid (RSG) method and has undergone a significant amount of Xeon/Xeon Phi-focused re-engineering at ICHEC. The code uses an explicit finite difference (FD) scheme of variable spatial order, and second order in time, to model wave propagation in three isotropy cases. The code is parallelized with MPI and OpenMP, for wide hardware compatibility. Vectorization and efficient cache utilization were carefully considered in the kernel design, while attempting to maintain portability and maintainability. The stencil-based kernels of the code have low arithmetic intensity and are bound by the main memory bandwidth of the Xeon/Xeon Phi, which we have successfully alleviated by making highly efficient use of shared last level cache (LLC) on Xeon. The latter optimization is one that throws up some interesting challenges for achieving optimal performance on Xeon Phi, which we discuss further in this report.
LU Factorisation on Xeon and Xeon Phi Processors
Authors: Jackson Adrian  , Dubaniowski Mateusz Iwo
Published: February 2025

This paper outlines the parallelisation and vectorisation methods we have used to port a LU decomposition library to the Xeon Phi co-processor. We ported a LU factorisation algorithm, which utilizes the Gaussian elimination method to perform the decomposition, using Intel LEO directives, OpenMP 4.0 directives, Intel's Cilk array notation, and vectorisation directives. We compare the performance achieved with these different methods, investigate the cost of data transfer on the overall time to solution, and analyse the impact of these optimization and parallelisation techniques on code running on the host processors as well. The results show that performance can be improved on the Xeon Phi by optimising the memory operations, and that Cilk array notation can benefit this benchmark on standard processors but do not have the same impact on the Xeon Phi co-processor. We have also demonstrated cases where the Xeon Phi will compute our implementations faster than we can run them on a node of a HPC system, and that our implementations are not as efficient as the LU factorisation implemented in the mkl library.
Claud: Coordination, Locality And Universal Distribution
Authors: Beilharz Jossekin  , Feinbube Frank  , Eberhardt Felix  , Plauth Max  , Polze Andreas
Published: February 2025

Due to the increasing heterogeneity of parallel and distributed systems, coordination of data (placement) and tasks (scheduling) becomes increasingly complex. Many traditional solutions do not take into account the details of modern system topologies and consequently experience unacceptable performance penalties with modern hierarchical interconnect technologies and memory architectures. Others offload the coordination of tasks and data to the programmer by requiring explicit information about thread and data creation and placement. While allowing full control of the system, explicit coordination severely decreases programming productivity and disallows implementing best practices in a reusable layer. In this paper we introduce Claud, a locality-preserving latency-aware hierarchical object space. Claud is based on the understanding that productivity-oriented programmers prefer simple programming constructs for data access (like key-value stores) and task coordination (like parallel loops). Instead of providing explicit facilities for coordination, our approach places and moves data and tasks implicitly based on a detailed topology model of the system relying on best performance practices like hierarchical task queues, concurrent data structures, and similarity-based placement.
Porting the COSMO dynamical core to heterogeneous platforms using STELLA Library
Authors: Osuna Carlos  , Fuhrer Oliver  , Gysi Tobias  , Schulthess Thomas C.
Published: February 2025

Numerical weather prediction and climate models like COSMO solve a large set of Partial Differential Equations using stencil computations on structured grids. STELLA (Stencil Loop Language) is a DSL in C++ for finite difference methods on structured grids that abstracts the underlying programming model and optimization techniques used for multiple architectures. The STELLA language allows to describe stencils with a unique source code in a concise way, close to the discretized mathematical description of the PDEs, increasing its readability by hiding the complexity of loops and hardware dependent optimizations. STELLA has been used to port the COSMO dynamical core to GPUs while retaining a single source code for multiple computing architectures. We present the STELLA syntax and focus on new, advanced syntax elements for some of the algorithmic motifs present in the dynamical core of COSMO. Namely, the new features improve strong scalability, increase the conciseness of the STELLA DSL, and significantly improve the performance of the COSMO dynamical core. Performance comparisons on GPU are presented.
Towards Compiler-Agnostic Performance in Finite-Difference Codes
Authors: Porter A.R.  , Ford R.W.  , Ashworth M.  , Riley G.D.  , Modani M.
Published: February 2025

In this paper we evaluate the performance implications of applying a technique which we call PSyKAl to finite difference Ocean models. In PSyKAl the code related to the underlying science is formally separated from code related to parallelisation and single core optimisations. This separation of concerns allows scientists to code their science independently of the underlying hardware architecture (thereby keeping a single code base) and for optimisation specialists to be able to tailor the code for a particular machine independently of the science code. A finite difference shallow water benchmark optimised for cache-based architectures is taken as the starting point. A vanilla PSyKAl version is written and the performance of the two compared. The optimisations that were applied to the original benchmark (loop fusion etc.) are then manually applied to the PSyKAl version as a set of code modifications to the optimisation layer. Performance results are presented for the Cray, Intel and GNU compilers on Intel Ivybridge and Haswell processors and for the IBM compiler on Power8. Results show that the combined set of code modifications obtain performance that is within a few percent of the original code for all compiler and architecture combinations on all tested problem sizes. The only exception to this (other than where we see performance improvement) is the Gnu compiler on Haswell for one problem size. Our tests indicate that this may be due to immature support for that architecture in the Gnu compiler – no such problem is seen on the Ivy Bridge system. Further, the original code performed poorly using the IBM compiler on Power8 and needed to be modified to obtain performant code. Therefore, the PSyKAl approach can be used with negligible performance loss and sometimes small performance gains compared to the original optimised code. We also find that there is no single best hand-optimised implementation of the code for all of the compilers tested.
Performance and Fault Tolerance of Preconditioned Iterative Solvers on Low-Power ARM Architectures
Authors: Aliaga José I.  , Catalán Sandra  , Chalios Charalampos  , Nikolopoulos Dimitrios S.  , Quintana-Ortí Enrique S.
Published: February 2025

As the complexity of computing systems grows, reliability and energy are two crucial challenges that will demand holistic solutions. In this paper, we investigate the interplay among concurrency, power dissipation, energy consumption and voltage-frequency scaling for a key numerical kernel for the solution of sparse linear systems. Concretely, we leverage a task-parallel implementation of the Conjugate Gradient method, equipped with an state-of-the-art preconditioner embedded in the ILUPACK software, and target a low-power multicore processor from ARM. In addition, we perform a theoretical analysis on the impact of a technique like Near Threshold Voltage Computing (NTVC) from the points of view of increased hardware concurrency and error rate.
Landing Containment Domains on SWARM: Toward a Robust Resiliency Solution on a Dynamic Adaptive Runtime Machine
Authors: Kaplan Sam  , Pino Sergio  , Landwehr Aaron M.  , Gao Guang R.
Published: February 2025

Software and hardware errors are expected to be a much larger issue on exascale systems than current hardware. For this reason, resilience must be a major component of the design of an exascale system. By using containment domains, we propose a resilience scheme that works with the type of codelet-based runtimes expected to be utilized on exascale systems. We implemented a prototype of our containment domain framework in SWARM (SWift Adaptive Runtime Machine), and adapted a Cholesky decomposition program written in SWARM to use this framework. We will demonstrate the feasibility of this approach by showing the low overhead and high adaptability of our framework.
High throughput simulations of two-phase flows on Blue Gene/Q
Authors: Hadjidoukas Panagiotis  , Rossinelli Diego  , Wermelinger Fabian  , Sukys Jonas  , Rasthofer Ursula  , Conti Christian  , Hejazialhosseini Babak  , Koumoutsakos Petros
Published: February 2025

CUBISM-MPCF is a high throughput software for two-phase flow simulations that has demonstrated unprecedented performance in terms of floating point operations, memory traffic and storage. The software has been optimized to take advantage of the features of the IBM BlueGene/Q (BGQ) platform to simulate cavitation collapse dynamics using up to 13 Trillion computational elements. The performance of the software has been shown to reach an unprecedented 14.4 PFLOP/s on 1.6 Million cores corresponding to 72% of the peak on the 20 PFLOP/s Sequoia supercomputer. It is important to note that, to the best of our knowledge, no flow simulations have ever been reported exceeding 1 Trillion elements and reaching more than 1 PFLOP/s or more than 15% of peak. In this work, we first extend CUBISM-MPCF with a more accurate numerical flux and then summarize and evaluate the most important software optimization techniques that allowed us to reach 72% of the theoretical peak performance on BGQ systems. Finally, we show recent simulation results from cloud cavitation comprising 50000 vapor bubbles.
Direct Numerical Simulation of Fluid Turbulence at Extreme Scale with psOpen
Authors: Goebbert Jens Henrik  , Gauding Michael  , Ansorge Cedrick  , Hentschel Bernd  , Kuhlen Torsten  , Pitsch Heinz
Published: February 2025

The hybrid OpenMP/MPI code psOpen has been developed at the Institute for Combustion Technology, RWTH Aachen University, to study incompressible fluid turbulence by means of direct numerical simulations (DNS). For efficiency and accuracy psOpen employs a pseudo-spectral method, where the governing equations are solved partly in Fourier space. Hence, a pseudo-spectral method requires frequent transformations between real and Fourier space which is particularly challenging for massively-parallel setups. The frequently invoked Fourier transformation is a non-local operation and requires access to all data along a global grid line for each computational process. psOpen was improved by a new inhouse-developed 3d-FFT library optimised to the special needs of pseudo-spectral DNS. For an optimal use of the hardware resources two techniques have been combined to reduce the communication time significantly. Firstly, the number of operations and the size of data to be transposed while computing a 3d-FFT has been reduced by integrating the dealiasing cut-off filter into the 3d-FFT. Secondly, the new 3d-FFT library allows to overlap communication and computation of multiple FFTs at the same time. The scaling performance of psOpen with three different grid sizes, namely 40963, 61443 and 81923, has been studied on JUQUEEN up to the full machine.
Simulating Morphologically Detailed Neuronal Networks at Extreme Scale
Authors: Ovcharenko Aleksandr  , Kumbhar Pramod  , Hines Michael  , Cremonesi Francesco  , Ewart Timothée  , Yates Stuart  , Schürmann Felix  , Delalondre Fabien
Published: February 2025

In order to achieve performance at very large scale, the core functionalities of the widely used NEURON simulator have been isolated and optimized into a new application CoreNeuron. CoreNeuron has been developed with the goal of minimizing memory footprint and maximizing scalability. This paper presents the scaling behaviour and performance of CoreNeuron on up to 28 racks of the IBM Blue Gene/Q, with one MPI process per node and 64 OpenMP threads per MPI process, comprising 458,752 cores and 1,835,008 threads at maximum.
Performance Evaluation of the LBM Solver Musubi on Various HPC Architectures
Authors: Qi Jiaxing  , Jain Kartik  , Klimach Harald  , Roller Sabine
Published: February 2025

This contribution presents the performance of the Lattice Boltzmann implementation Musubi on four different High Performance Computing architectures. Musubi is maintained within the APES simulation framework that makes use of a distributed octree mesh representation and includes a mesh generation and a postprocessing tool to enable end-to-end parallel simulation work flows. An unstructured representation of the mesh is used, so only fluid elements are stored and computed for any arbitrary complex geometry with minimum user interference. Elements are serialized according to a space filling curve to ensure good spatial locality. The validity of our approach is demonstrated by the good performance and scaling behavior on the four HPC systems with minimal porting efforts.
Extreme Scale-out SuperMUC Phase 2 – lessons learned
Authors: Hammer Nicolay  , Jamitzky Ferdinand  , Satzger Helmut  , Allalen Momme  , Block Alexander  , Karmakar Anupam  , Brehm Matthias  , Bader Reinhold  , Iapichino Luigi  , Ragagnin Antonio  , Karakasis Vasilios  , Kranzlmüller Dieter  , Bode Arndt  , Huber Herbert  , Kühn Martin  , Machado Rui  , Grünewald Daniel  , Edelmann Philipp V.F.  , Röpke Friedrich K.  , Wittmann Markus  , Zeiser Thomas  , Wellein Gerhard  , Mathias Gerald  , Schwörer Magnus  , Lorenzen Konstantin  , Federrath Christoph  , Klessen Ralf  , Bamberg Karl-Ulrich  , Ruhl Hartmut  , Schornbaum Florian  , Bauer Martin  , Nikhil Anand  , Qi Jiaxing  , Klimach Harald  , Stüben Hinnerk  , Deshmukh Abhishek  , Falkenstein Tobias  , Dolag Klaus  , Petkova Margarita
Published: February 2025

We report lessons learned during the friendly user block operation period of the new system at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (SuperMUC Phase 2).
A Tutorial on Mean-payoff and Energy Games
Authors: Raskin Jean-François
Published: February 2025

In this tutorial, we first review the definitions of mean-payoff and energy games. We then present simple and self-contained proofs of their main properties. We also provide a pseudo-polynomial time algorithm to solve them. Pointers to more advanced materials in the literature are also provided to the reader.
Analysis and Synthesis with “Big Code”
Authors: Yahav Eran
Published: February 2025

The vast amount of code available on the web is increasing on a daily basis. Open-source hosting sites such as GitHub contain billions of lines of code. Community question-answering sites provide millions of code snippets with corresponding text and metadata. The amount of code available in executable binaries is even greater. In this lecture series, I will cover recent research trends on leveraging such “big code” for program analysis, program synthesis and reverse engineering. We will consider a range of semantic representations based on symbolic automata [55,63], tracelets [28], numerical abstractions [61,58], and textual descriptions [82,1], as well as different notions of code similarity based on these representations. To leverage these semantic representations, we will consider a number of prediction techniques, including statistical language models [66,73], variable order Markov models [18], and other distance-based and model-based sequence classification techniques. Finally, we discuss applications of these techniques including semantic code search in both source code [55] and stripped binaries [28], code completion and reverse engineering [43].
Reconstruction of Multiple Cavity Defects in Metallic Foam from DC Potential Drop Signals
Authors: Du Yali  , Xie Shejuan  , Wang Xiaojuan  , Chen Zhenmao  , Lin Junming
Published: February 2025

In this paper, a numerical scheme for simulation of DC potential drop (DCPD) signal is updated at first to deal with multiple defects in order to reconstruct multiple cavities in metallic foam (MF) from measured DCPD signals. A hybrid inversion strategy combining the genetic algorithm and the steepest descent optimization method is proposed then to evaluate the size and position parameters of the multiple defects. As example, simulated signals with artificial noise are adopted to reconstruct the profile of double cavity defects. The numerical results validated the hybrid inversion strategy and the updated forward scheme for sizing the multiple defects in metallic foam.
Nonlinear Ultrasonic Change in High Cromium Ferritic Heat Resisting Steel Welded Joint During Creep
Authors: Ohtani Toshihiro  , Honma Takumi  , Ishii Yutaka  , Tbuchi Masaaki  , Hongo Hiromichi  , Hirao Masahiko
Published: February 2025

In this paper, we described the changes of two nonlinear acoustic characterizations; resonant frequency shift and three-wave interaction, with electromagnetic acoustic resonance (EMAR) throughout the creep life in the welded joints of ASME Grade 91, one of high Cr ferritic heat resisting steels. EMAR was a combination of the resonant acoustic technique with a non-contact electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). Two nonlinear acoustic parameters and ultrasonic attenuation decreased from the start to 20% of creep life. They gradually increased from 50% of creep life to rupture. We interpreted these phenomena in terms of dislocation recovery, recrystallization, and restructuring related to the initiation and growth of creep void, with support from the SEM and TEM observation.
Moldova's Reintegration Policy: Challenging the Status Quo
Authors: Popşoi Mihail
Published: February 2025

The fall of the Soviet Union led to a series of armed conflicts in the periphery, which later became frozen, only to perpetuate instability in the regions concerned. Moldova's region of Transnistria is a case in point. Following a brief war and a number of settlement proposals from Russian and Ukrainian representatives, the separatist entity continues to undermine Moldova's territorial integrity. Economic developments in Moldova, and especially in Transnistria, show that neither side is better off as a result of the secession. The Gagauz experience, albeit imperfect, is nonetheless a successful example of peaceful conflict settlement. Moldova's European integration ambitions offer increased incentives for cooperation. Thus, a pathway towards a political settlement becomes imperative, since for the past quarter century the status quo has been detrimental to both parties. Economic and geopolitical developments in the region present a window of opportunity. The Moldovan Government and Parliament need to be ready to capitalize on this rare chance.
After the war in Ukraine: peace building and reconciliation in spite of the external aggressor
Authors: Schmidt-Felzmann Anke
Published: February 2025

The obstacles to sustainable peace building in Ukraine are enormous. The conflict scenario is problematic as it combines elements of traditional inter-state warfare with an intra-state conflict, while at the same time complex domestic challenges have to be overcome. This contribution discusses how and under what conditions conflict transformation and lasting peace in Ukraine can be achieved. It focuses on the challenges posed by asymmetric cyber and information warfare, and on the difficulties of promoting change under conditions of occupation and armed aggression. Divisions within society, both in Ukraine and within the international community, weaken the capacities of domestic and international actors to promote peace in Ukraine in spite of the external aggressor.
Cyber Threats in Hybrid Warfare: the Ukrainian Case
Authors: Teodor Mihaela  , Teodor Bogdan-Alexandru
Published: February 2025

October is the European Cyber Security Month (ECSM), a European Union advocacy campaign which aims to promote cyber security among citizens, to change their perception of cyber-threats and provide up to date security information, through education and sharing good practices. In this respect we may contribute to the EU's campaign with a research paper on cyber threats. The year 2014 has brought big news, significant changes and remarkable successes in the cyber-threat landscape. Experts and media correspondents have stated that the crisis in Ukraine was the largest cyber-war battlefield since Russia's cyber-attacks on Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. The aim of this study is to analyze the use of cyber threats in the wider context of hybrid warfare, with focus on the Ukrainian case, in order to emphasize the lessons learned and the importance of cooperation in cyber security and defence area.
The Republic of Moldova in the Context of the Ukrainian Crisis: Vulnerabilities and Threats
Authors: Albu Natalia
Published: February 2025

The crisis in Ukraine has influenced the way in which the security options of the Republic of Moldova are analyzed. On the other hand, this phenomenon determined an increased interest from the European structures towards the Republic of Moldova. These two aspects of the crisis from Ukraine reflect the uncertainty persisting in the Moldovan society related to the security of the territory under the State border. It should be mentioned that the crisis in Ukraine determined a retreatment reaction on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, which came back to a reactive and defensive behavior in relation to Russia. At the same time, such a reaction led to the resuscitation of some pro-NATO attitudes expressed during the election campaign (autumn 2014) by the liberal parties. This behavior also reflects an old cleavage from the Republic of Moldova – the neutrality adepts versus those who support the joining of the country to the North-Atlantic Alliance. In this context, this article will assess the main trends in the security system of the Republic of Moldova from the perspective of the Ukrainian crisis consequences. And finally, we cannot neglect the fact that the Republic of Moldova – a state with profound vulnerabilities in the area of security and defense – should be concerned more than ever with the assessment of the alternatives existing for ensuring its own security. Unfortunately, the political instability, but mainly the lack of will, courage, and vision among the ruling parties, has determined the lack of any progress in the area related to enhancing the capacities of the country in the area of security and defense.
“Trans Dniester Moldovan Republic” and the Separatist Regime as an Integrated Threat to the Regional Peace and Security
Authors: Mihăeş Roman
Published: February 2025

The Trans-Dniester Conflict and its aftermath were together an obstacle to the development of better relations between the European Union and Republic of Moldova. The reserved approach of the EU to engage in conflict resolution processes in the eastern neighborhood is counterproductive. A more active EU involvement in sustainable political settlement of the Trans-Dniester conflict – and other unresolved conflicts in the region - could help to prevent their escalation and to prevent further conflicts, ensuring greater visibility of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of EU and determining a greater impact on regional and global level. The European integration of Moldova can contribute to the conflict solution. However, the European Union closeness to Republic of Moldova increased the offer of Europeans to assist internal reforms and EU engagement in Trans-Dniester separatist matters, assisted by Russian troops in region.
Nation's Right to Self-Determination in the Context of Regional Crises – between the Autonomy and Separatism
Authors: Gamurari Vitalie
Published: February 2025

The collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia provoked wide discussions around the principles of the international public law – the right of peoples to self-determination, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, etc. However, these discussions take place in the context of a broader decentralization present in the Member States of the European Union. The Republic of Moldova which equally faces separatist tendencies, should promote international law and the best practices of the European Union in the dialogue on these issues. We have to focus primarily on the idea that in conformity with the international law the right to fiscal or administrative autonomy in the framework of a state does not exist. Instead of the right to autonomy – despite the set of clear characteristics which define this term – in this century international law mainly focuses on defining the norm of self-determination.
Framing NATO's Approach to Hybrid Warfare
Authors: Ducaru Sorin Dumitru
Published: February 2025

While there are to date many relevant articles and studies devoted to the description of Hybrid Warfare (HW), these studies could be considered as being just convergent building blocks towards a comprehensive and generally accepted definition. In fact, so far there is no agreed definition of Hybrid Warfare within NATO taxonomy. The Allied discussion on HW has favored a pragmatic approach towards the recent manifestations of HW, based on a comprehensive description and analysis of the phenomenon, followed by the development of a relevant strategy, instead of engaging in a scholastic, conceptual effort of adopting agreed definitions. Hybrid warfare is supported through comprehensive hybrid strategies based on a broad, complex, adaptive and often highly integrated combination of conventional and unconventional means, overt and covert activities. Hybrid strategies can be applied by both state and non-state actors, through different models of engagement. These activities are performed by military, paramilitary, irregular and civilian actors, whose goals are political, geopolitical and strategic.
Intelligence in Hybrid Warfare
Authors: Medar Sergiu
Published: February 2025

Today's world conflicts have been diversified according with participants objectives. 4GW, Hybrid Warfare, Proxy Warfare, Lawfare and other types of wars a currently developing in different areas. These wars are theoretically clear but in practice there are differences of interpretation accordingly with combatants' intentions. All these wars have a common need to clarify not only objectives but to classify them according with a matrix. This common need is Intelligence. Planning, collection, analysis and dissemination of Intelligence is different from one type of war to another one. The presented paper try to underline how these actions must be effected according with which type of war.
Military Conflict in the East of Ukraine – Between the Historical Premises and Political Decisions
Authors: Proca Maria
Published: February 2025

The military conflict in the east of Ukraine is a result of division of the Ukrainian society depending on the cultural influence of the milieu that has existed and evolved throughout the history, that of divergences of the Kiev political elite and the geopolitical interests in this area shown by the West (the EU and NATO) on one part, and by the Russian Federation on the other part. The military conflict in the East of Ukraine has started with the protest of the Ukrainian society against the governing elite when the latter refused to sign the EU Association Agreement (November 2013), but it became a determining one in the decline of the American unipolarity at the international arena in prefiguration of the European security and demonstration of influence of the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet space. If initially the internal political crisis that Ukraine has faced may be interpreted as a reaction of the society towards shifting of the national interest from the West to the East of the policy promoted by the president that was in office at that time, Victor Ianukovici, consequently this conflict has transformed for the young Ukrainian state in that of defending the whole territorial integrity.
Battlespace Perspectives of Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine
Authors: Jeswal Rupali
Published: February 2025

A Battlespace perspective on the depth of hybrid warfare as seen in Ukraine, has a backdraft and also the butterfly effect. Hyper accelerated reengineering or reinventing is required on all levels, strategic, tactical and operational. Hybrid warfare can only evolve if no interventions are installed such is the nature of this dynamic system. Intelligence preparation of the battlefield rests on multirole in a multi-operational theatre which would incorporate all these factions: civil wars, army factions, quasi-military units, partisans with outside support, insurgents, militarized criminal gangs, grounds for violent extremist organizations, communal and commodity riots, overall - General Lawlessness. Hybrid wars don't just “pop-up” they are a product of long-term “play”. Russia has been employing not only the military Instrument of Power (IOP) of the modern state, but also the economic, informational, and diplomatic IOPs in its hybrid threat construct. The deployment of long-term efforts on to Ukraine through “gas wars” to food embargo (introduced and then lifted) was to weaken, the already weak economy and political system. Denial, Deception, Provocation & Rumors are part of hybrid war-gaming (keeping in mind the recent investigation by Novaya Gazeta states that Russia is controlling the flow of jihadist in to Syria.) “Bratstvo” wants the war in eastern Ukraine to be a religious war. Like all hybrid warfare spillovers, Ukrainians are dissatisfied with the new government, its broken institutions and endemic corruption. So the need to take advantage of the situation has led them to state, that this can only be solved, by creating a national elite composed of people determined to wage a sort of Ukrainian jihad against the Russians. Noble or not many factions globally are fighting for “their” cause against “their” evil – affecting geopolitics, global security, and international relations and tearing the fabric of humanity. Forging a new consensus on a division of power and resources is a huge challenge and failure tends to lead to renewed strife giving the crisis another new complex face. Hybrid warfare has a successive cycle spanning borders. Being cognizant of what actions are taken today will determine the course of tomorrow.
Investigation of Machining Parameters for Different Microstructures of AISI P20 in Wire-Cut EDM
Authors: Zahoor Sadaf  , Shehzad Adeel  , Saleem Muhammad Qaiser  , Ayyaz Muhammad  , Ehsan M.  , Maqsood Ali
Published: February 2025

Microstructure of workpiece material is seen to influence the machinability characteristics. AISI P20 tool steel is widely used material for the manufacturing of dies/moulds. Different machinability characteristics are directly influenced by the microstructure of the material during conventional and non conventional machining processes. This study reports machinability aspects of two microstructures of AISI P20 for a non-conventional machining process, Electric Discharge Machining (wire-cut). Two samples of AISI P20 steel are normalized and tempered and their effects along with plus on time, servo voltage, open voltage and plus off time are investigated for surface roughness. Design of experiment is done using full factorial design and analysis of variance is carried out to identify significant parameters influencing surface roughness.
Numerical Modelling and Simulation of Temperature Distribution in End Milling
Authors: Ojolo Sunday Joshua  , Aina Ibukunoluwa  , Sobamowo Gbeminiyi Musibau
Published: February 2025

In this work, mathematical models were developed to simulate the temperature distribution in two flute and four flute end mills during slotting operations. The Differential equation obtained by modelling the physics of the machining process, subject to appropriate boundary conditions based on energy interactions at the tool boundary, was solved by finite difference method implemented in MATLABTM. Descriptive geometric equations were also developed to define the boundary of the tool. Temperature distribution results were obtained typical of a High Speed Steel tool machining a mild steel workpiece subject to variations in machining parameters such as Tool diameter of 25mm, depth of cut of 2mm, Tool Feed of 0.17mm/tooth, Tool Speed of 860 rpm, Tool material conductivity of 40W/m.K, Tool specific heat capacity of 475J/kg.K, Tool density of 8150kg/m3, Specific energy of Tool-workpiece material pair of 4 W.s/mm3.
Analysis and Impacts of Chips Formation on Hole Quality During Fibre-Reinforced Plastic Composites Machining
Authors: Ismail Sikiru Oluwarotimi  , Dhakal Hom Nath  , Popov Ivan  , Beaugrand Johnny
Published: February 2025

This work presents the effect of chips formation types on the quality of drilled holes of a natural and conventional hemp and carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (HFRP and CFRP) composites respectively. The results depict that variation in chips morphology depends on drilling parameters, drill geometry and compositions of composites (matrix and fibre properties). HFRP samples produced continuous brown ribbon-like chips, which were short and melted at lower feed rate and cutting speed, implying that higher feed rate and cutting speed produced wider, longer and lighter chips. CFRP samples generated discontinuous black powder-like chips, with small and abrasive chips at the same applied drilling parameters. These formations and morphology affected quality of drilled holes: lower surface roughness in CFRP, but lower delamination and drill wear in HFRP samples. Evidently, an increased feed rate, cutting speed and drill diameter caused an increase in chips formation, validating the material removal rate (MRR) model results.
Wear Behaviour of Laser Cladded Ni-Based WC Composite Coating for Inconel Hot Extrusion: Practical Challenges and Effectiveness
Authors: McIntosh Lynne  , Falsafi Javad  , Fitzpatrick Stephen  , Blackwell Paul L.
Published: February 2025

In forging, tooling costs make up a significant percentage of the total manufacturing cost. To combat tool failure, forging dies can be manufactured using or including layers of high wear-resistant alloys. The present work compares the manufacturing process challenges and wear response of traditional Nitriding to laser cladding using Ni-based WC on an H13 substrate for IN718 extrusion. The results have shown that machining of NiCrSiB + WC matrix material is problematic, both with regards to cutting tool wear and achievable surface finish. Assessment of pre- and post-extrusion Nitrided H13 and NiCrSiB + 30%WC laser clad dies shows more significant wear features in the case of the additively coated die. Crack formation and surface discontinuities attributed to the effects of material porosity and die heating are also discussed.
A Path Planning Algorithm for a Materials Handling Gantry Robot and Its Validation by Virtual Commissioning
Authors: Fleisch Ruth  , Schöch Robert  , Prante Thorsten  , Pfefferkorn Reinhard
Published: February 2025

Adaptive and intelligent path planning is required to provide fully automated and optimized transportation systems directed at reducing the non-productive time related to materials handling. This paper presents a case study from the machine-tool industry sector: In order to optimize the efficiency of a cut-to-size plant with feedbacks in the material flow, a materials handling gantry robot is employed for transporting panels of largely varying sizes. For each of these panels, a path within spatial limitations, which are partially very tight, is planned so that collisions are prevented. This paper describes the developed path planning algorithm and its integration with the programmable logic controller (PLC) of the robot. Towards improving solution quality and decreasing lead time, first, the integration with the PLC is realized by software components automatically generated based on code developed in a high-level programming language. Second, virtual commissioning of the materials handling robot was performed.
AFRC's Image Processing Platform: A High Speed User-Friendly Architecture for Real Time Object Detection in Forging Processes
Authors: Kahani Danial  , Zante Remi
Published: February 2025

Real-time detection and measurements of hot parts is desirable to permit real-time process control and automated part handling in harsh environments like forging and forming. The image processing platform described provides improved performance of Graphical User Interface (GUI), fast processing speed and integrity over industrial packages which are typically used in process control of forging processes or harsh manufacturing environments. A flexible, image processing software package for detecting objects in manufacturing environments has been developed at the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC). The software consists of a set of image processing tools, written in MFC/C++ and OpenCV for Windows platforms. The software provides a powerful flowchart-based GUI for designing image processing algorithms. AFRC's Image Processing Platform can be easily integrated with other industrial software packages like GE Proficy® using ActiveX technology. The package was successfully tested for real-time hot object detection inside a hot furnace in a forging environment.
Distributed Cognition in Manufacturing: Collaborative Assembly Work
Authors: Andreasson Rebecca  , Lindblom Jessica  , Thorvald Peter
Published: February 2025

Cognitive science is becoming increasingly central within human factors and ergonomics (HF&E) and there has long been a call for a more systemic perspective in the area with a somewhat broader unit of analysis. This paper presents a case study applying the theoretical framework of distributed cognition (DCog), which shows how DCog would offer a more complete understanding of manufacturing within its greater context, including the social, cultural, and material surroundings. This paper aims to characterize and analyse dock assembly of forest machines as a complex socio-technical system from a DCog perspective; focusing on the creation of enacted landscapes in this particular setting. The paper also exemplifies benefits of using the DCog framework in the manufacturing domain as a way of grasping the assembly workers' tacit competence and skills.
Industrie 4.0 Implementations in the Automotive Industry
Authors: Segura-Velandia Diana  , Neal Aaron  , Goodall Paul  , Conway Paul  , West Andrew
Published: February 2025

To address the challenges imposed by the adoption of new technology to realise the Industrial Internet also known as Industrie 4.0, manufacturing companies are recognising the need to set up and manage “intelligent test factories”. The result is networks of cyber-physical systems (CPS) where software interfaces and services are developed to support interoperability between physical and control structures. A test factory using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a first generation enabler of CPS in industrial production systems is presented in this paper. The research outlined in this paper describes the first generation of CPS that uses identification technologies such as RFID tags embedded into engine components and their carries, which allow unique identification. Data storage, processing and analytics are also provided to support real-time algorithmic intelligent services that may be used in manufacturing operations including supply chain logistics, quality audits and manufacturing strategies.
Product Lifecycle Management Enabled by Industry 4.0 Technology
Authors: Ferreira Filipe  , Faria José  , Azevedo Américo  , Marques Ana Luísa
Published: February 2025

The rise of a new digital industrial paradigm known as industry 4.0, powered by several enabling technologies such as flexible and collaborative robots, autonomous vehicles, internet of things, cloud and manufacturing servitization, is seen as the key enabler for the fourth industrial revolution: the digital manufacturing. However, there are still several challenges related to the effective adoption of these technologies and to enterprise level interoperability so that an entire cyber physical production system can work seamlessly. Besides the set of challenges faced by industrialists, this research work presents innovative results towards a plug and play seamlessly integration of technologies, from the shop floor to the enterprise management layers, ensuring a total integrated architecture supporting the full product lifecycle management.
A Manufacturing Approach to Reducing Consumer Food Waste
Authors: Jellil Aicha  , Woolley Elliot  , Garcia-Garcia Guillermo  , Rahimifard Shahin
Published: February 2025

Globally, one third of food produced is wasted. In the UK, 47% of the food waste is post-consumer revealing a need to encourage more efficient consumption. This research asserts that manufacturers and retailers can play a crucial role in minimising consumer food waste (CFW) through consumer engagement and provision of smart solutions that ensure more efficient use of food products. Supporting manufacturers and retailers to minimise CFW can be achieved via two stages: a) understanding and evaluating CFW, and b) identifying improvements to manufacturing and retail activities that would reduce CFW. On-site waste audits have identified that the percentage of edible CFW from domestic environments (77%) is greater than that disposed of in public areas (14%) supporting the hypothesis that improving the full food provisioning process (e.g. packaging, storage, guidance) would be beneficial. This paper proposes a number of mechanisms to support manufacturing and retail in reducing CFW.
Sustainable Process Planning for Customized Production Optimization
Authors: Wang Sheng  , Lu Xin  , Li Weidong
Published: February 2025

An innovative process planning system to facilitate customized production optimization is presented. The system consists of a process parameter optimization service, an energy monitoring service and an on-board execution service. Based on a new design of Cyber-Physical machine system, the energy monitoring service and on-board execution service mounted on a machine can maintain effective and bi-directional communication with the process parameter optimization service deployed in Cloud for closed-loop monitoring, planning, optimization and control. The system, validated in EU companies, has significantly improved the companies' performances in terms of energy usage and productivity under typical dynamic situations of customized productions.
Cost Modelling for Aircraft in a Multi-Disciplinary Design Context
Authors: Di Pasquale Davide  , Gore David  , Savill Mark  , Kipouros Timoleon  , Holden Carren
Published: February 2025

The majority of existing cost models look at a specific manufacturing process or a particular aspect of maintenance, and hence do not provide a complete picture. The challenge in manufacturing new aircraft is to look into all the aspects of cost and link these into the decision-making process at early design stage. There is a strong need to understand the cost associate with different competing concepts, and this could be addressed by incorporating cost estimation in the design process. This work discusses the generation of a Multidisciplinary Cost Suite for preliminary aircraft design. The key feature of the cost suite is that it captures the attributes of a design that drive the cost, which generally is not only weight, but also assembly and detailed manufacturing costs, which are directly taken into account by means of component layout and manufacturing rules. The model is built with the integration of an Excel and Visual Basic interface, and integrated within a Model Centre environment framework that can automatically take inputs from external sources.
Management of Promotional Activity Supported by Forecasts Based on Assorted Information
Authors: Ribeiro Cátia  , Oliveira José Manuel  , Ramos Patrícia
Published: February 2025

Aggressive marketing causes rapid changes in consumer behavior and some significant impact in the retail business. In this context, the sales forecasting at the SKU level can help retailers to become more competitive by reducing inventory investment and distribution costs. Sales forecasts are often obtained combining basic univariate forecasting models with empirical judgment. However, more effective forecasting methods can be obtained by incorporating promotional information, including price, percentage of discount (direct discount or loyalty card discount), calendar events and weekend indicators not only from the focal product but also from its competitors. To deal with the high dimensionality of the variable space, we propose a two-stage LASSO regression to select optimal predictors and estimate the model parameters. At the first stage, only focal SKUs promotional explanatory variables are included in the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. At the second stage, the in-sample forecast errors from the first stage are regressed on the explanatory variables from the other SKUs in the same category with the focal SKU, and to use that information more effectively three different approaches were considered: select the five top sales SKUs, include all raw promotional information, and preprocess raw information using Principal Component Analysis. The empirical results obtained using daily data from a Portuguese retailer show that the inclusion of promotional information from SKUs in the same category may improve the forecast accuracy and that better overall forecasting results may be obtained if the best model for each SKU is selected.
Evaluating the Forecasting Accuracy of Pure Time Series Models on Retail Data
Authors: Ramos Patrícia  , Oliveira José Manuel  , Rebelo Rui
Published: February 2025

Forecasting future sales is one of the most important issues that is beyond all strategic and planning decisions in effective operations of retail supply chains. For profitable retail businesses, accurate sales forecasting is crucial in organizing and planning purchasing, production, transportation and labor force. Retail sales series belong to a special type of time series that typically contain strong trend and seasonal patterns, presenting challenges in developing effective forecasting models. This paper compares the forecasting performance of state space models and ARIMA models. The forecasting performance is demonstrated through a case study of retail sales of five different categories of women footwear: Boots, Booties, Flats, Sandals and Shoes. An approach based on cross-validation is used to identify automatically appropriate state space and ARIMA models. The forecasting performance of these models is also compared by examining the out-of-sample forecasts. The results indicate that the overall out-of-sample forecasting performance of ARIMA models evaluated via RMSE, MAE and MAPE is better than state space models. The performance of both forecasting methodologies in producing forecast intervals was also evaluated and the results indicate that ARIMA produces slightly better coverage probabilities than state space models for the nominal 95% forecast intervals. For the nominal 80% forecast intervals the performance of state space models is slightly better.