bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Study on the Development Direction of Korean Green Building Assessment by Analyzing Comprehensive Scoring Methods
Authors: Shin Eun Mi , Shin Sung Woo , Tea Sung Ho
Published: March 2013

In response to international concern about climate change and environmental degradation, the Korean government recently began developing the new concept of the Green Building Index (GBI), which represents the overall quality of green buildings. As the initial stage of the developmental process, this research contrastively analyzed two green building comprehensive assessment methods: the Weighted Total Comprehensive Method (GBCC method) and Relative Efficiency Comprehensive Method (CASBEE method), by reconstituting GBCC with the concept of CASBEE and performing calculations in order to understand the characteristics of these methods. The analysis results demonstrated that there were big differences between the two methods. Even though the two buildings received the same total, they are not the same with respect to environmental efficiency, because the ratios of environmental quality (Q) and environmental load (L) in the total gain score were different. Therefore, when setting the grading standard, the characteristics of different comprehensive methods should be considered in order to make GBI a more rational and agreeable representative index.
The Application of MRI for Scanning Internal Cracks of Cement-Based Material
Authors: Chiang Hsiang Wei , Huang Ran , Tsai Chia-Jung
Published: March 2013

Regarding the internal structure of cement-based materials, some major concerns the mode of distribution of pores, pore size, and the type in which they are connected. A thorough understanding of the distributive rules of pores and the approaches to break their links will be a considerable contribution to enhancing the durability of cement-based materials. There are several methods to discover the pores of cement-based materials, but cannot show the exact location of pores and the structural links. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely applied to physical examinations. This technique has matured and is now able to obtain information and 3-D images about the organs of recipients without causing damage. The signals from MRI indicate where the hydrogen nucleus is located. However, MRI is seldom used for cement-based materials. In this study, we use H2O as the source of MR image signals in the mortar. Through this experiment, we verify that MRI can be used to analyze the distribution of internal cracks in cement-based material.
Control of Lateral Displacement for Super Tall Building by Floor & Partial 3D Brace
Authors: Shin Sung Woo , Jung Cheul Kyu , Lee Kwang Soo
Published: March 2013

Present control system of lateral displacement for super tall building has problems as follows, stress concentrate on some floor, shear lag, restriction on architectural design, etc. Thus in spite of superior structural ability the efficiency of system is so lessened. This study is about the system that using X type Floor brace and Partial 3D brace, for the purpose of lateral displacement control. This system is a method that distribute lateral loads equally inner wall. According to analysis result, Floor brace and Partial 3D brace system have equal or superior lateral displacement control ability of Outrigger system, by control of brace shape, arrangement, stiffness. When reducing core ratio, Floor brace system shows similar displacement control as outrigger system. If core shape becomes rectangular, Partial 3D brace system does not show difference in maximum displacement in X and Y directions as large as in Outrigger system. Also in case of Outrigger system, abrupt lateral displacement occurs by wind load nearby the outrigger floor. On the contrary, Partial 3D brace system is a structural system advantageous for habitability near specific floor since smaller lateral displacement is shown to reduce the effects of wind vibration and wind acceleration.
Full-Scale Measurements on Vibrations of a 51-Story Tall Building Due to a Major Earthquake and Typhoon
Authors: Liu Kun Sung , Tsai Yi Ben
Published: March 2013

The Shin Kong Tower located in Taipei City has a height of 244.15 m. It was the tallest building in northern Taiwan when it was built in 1993. This super tall building is susceptible to severe vibrations induced by strong winds or earthquakes. Safety of the building structures and its contents as well as the comfort of its occupants under such strong forces remains a significant engineering concern. Records by a structural array in the 51-story SK Building of the 1999 M7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake and 2004 Typhoon Aere are analyzed in this study. As a result, the structural dynamic characteristics of the high-rise building, including the transfer functions and natural frequencies, excited by the Chi-Chi earthquake, Typhoon Aere, and ambient vibrations are also determined and compared.
FEM Simulation on Rotating Piercing Process with Coulomb Friction
Authors: Teng Hsiang Yu , Tzou Gow Yi , Hwang Yeong Maw
Published: March 2013

This study proposes a new piercing technology with rotating punch; it carries out an FEM simulation on rotating piercing process using DEFORM-3D commercial software. Frictions among the punch, the blank holder, the dies and the work-piece material are assumed as Coulomb friction, but can be different. The surface of the inner diameter, the effective stress, the effective strain, velocity field, damage, burr and the shearing force can be determined form the FEM simulation. In this study, effects of various piercing conditions such as the clearance, the punch nose angle, the frictional coefficient, the rotating angular velocity, the shearing force, and burr on shearing characteristics are explored effectively to realize the feasibility of FEM model.
Effective Steel Area of Fully Embedded Cold-Formed Steel Frame in Composite Slab System under Pure Bending
Authors: Lee Yee Ling , Siang Tan Cher , Lee Yeong Huei , Mohammad Shahrin , Tahir M.Md. , Shek Poi Ngian
Published: March 2013

In conjunction with the promote of Industrial Building System (IBS) in Malaysia building construction, precast units such as slab, beam and column were widely used. This paper reports on the determination of the effective cross sectional area of the proposed cold-formed sections that embedded in precast concrete slab. The cold-formed steel sections are single and double lipped channel section, with 100mm in depth, 50 mm width, 12 mm lips length and 1.55 mm thickness. In order to determine the flexural capacity of the composite slab system, it is necessary to identify the effective cross sectional area of the section contributes to load-carrying of the slab system. The calculation method was based on the effective width method concept from BS EN 1993-1-3 and BS EN 1993-1-5. Four types of cold-formed steel frame profiles that embedded in the concrete to form a new type of composite slab system were used to study in this paper. The four types of cold-formed steel section configuration are S1-SV, S2-SH, S3-DV and S4-DH. From the analytical calculation, S3-DV has the highest effective cross-sectional area, which it only consists of 2% ineffective area for load-carry capacity. Besides that, single lipped section S2-SH fully utilized the cross sectional in carrying load. It can be concluded that S3-DV is predicted to have highest bending resistance than other three types of configuration with condition that the reliability of the prediction need to verify as other factors such as shear bonding and shifted neutral axis happened due to combination of concrete and cold-formed section which, will also contribute the strength capacity of the composite slab system.
Implementation of a Vibration-Based Bridge Health Monitoring System on Scour Issue
Authors: Lin Tzu Kang , Wang Yen Po , Huang Ming Chih , Tsai Chen An
Published: March 2013

Bridges are prone to suffer from multiple hazards such as earthquake, wind, or floods for the special structural characteristic. To guarantee the stability of bridge structure, how to precisely evaluate the scour depth of bridge foundation has become an important issue recently as most of the unexpected damage or collapse of bridges are caused by hydraulic issue. In this paper, a vibration-based bridge health monitoring system considering the response of superstructure only is proposed to rapidly evaluate the embedded depth of bridge column. To clarify the complex fluid-solid coupling phenomenon, the effect of embedded depth and water level was first verified through a series of static experiment. A finite element model with confinement simulated by soil spring was then established to illustrate the relationship between the fundamental frequency and the embedded depth. With the proposed algorithm, the health condition of the bridge can be inferred by processing the ambient vibration response of the superstructure. To implement the proposed algorithm, a SHM prototype system monitoring the environmental factors such as temperature, water level, and inclination was developed to support on-line processing. The performance of the proposed system was verified by a series of dynamic bridge scour experiment conducted in laboratory flume and compared with the reading from water-proof camera. The result has shown that by using the proposed vibration-based bridge health monitoring system, the embedded depth of bridge column during complex scour process can be reliably reflected.
Structural Performance of High Strength Concrete Filled Steel Tube with the Width-to-Thickness Ratio
Authors: Hong Geon Ho , Kim Won Ki , Choi In Rak , Chung Kyung Soo
Published: March 2013

Concrete filled steel tube has been consistently used in tall buildings as it represents excellent structural performance and economical efficiency compared with other structural systems. The use of high strength steel in concrete filled steel tube can reduce the column size and increase the effective space in the buildings. But, the limit of width-to-thickness ratio to prevent local buckling is an obstacle to applying the high strength steel as it considerably decrease following to the strength increase. This paper addresses the effect of steel plate slenderness limit on the compression behavior in 800 MPa Grade steel. Four short column specimens were tested under axial compression. Main test variables were width-to-thickness ratio and shape of section. Test results were analyzed in the viewpoint of local buckling strength, yield strength, maximum strength and plastic deformation capacity of specimens. The experimental results showed that all specimens exceeded the maximum strength of calculated value by design code and represented similar deformation capacity regardless of width-to-thickness ratio. So, the limit of width-to-thickness ratio in high strength steel could be amended less strict.
Simulation of Accordion Effect of I-Girder with Corrugated Steel Webs
Authors: Ko Hee Jung , Moon Ji Ho , Lee Hak Eun
Published: March 2013

The axial stiffness of the corrugated steel plate is negligible by nature of unique geometric characteristics of the plate called as the accordion effect. This unique effect results in high efficiency on post-tensioning. Thus, corrugated steel plate is very suitable for a web of PC-box girder. Recent researches show that strain and stress in sub-panel of corrugated steel webs, that are induced by local bending of the sub-panel, exist even if the axial stiffness is negligible. These strain and stress in sub-panel are important since it might cause fatigue failure of the structure under repeated loading. This study presents the analytical simulation of the accordion effect of the I-girder with corrugated steel webs under pure axial load or bending including the effect of local bending of sub-panel of the corrugated steel webs. Theoretical study and numerical results were combined to develop the simplified equation to evaluate the accordion effect including the effect of local bending of the sub-panel.
Case Study on the Environmental Education Application Status for Water Recycling Facilities in Elementary and Junior High Schools in Yilan
Authors: Hsieh Hung Ren
Published: March 2013

The goal of school campus renovations in Taiwan is sustainability. In addition to providing an atmosphere of high-performance and learning, these renovations can support school environmental education by being like a ‘living textbook’. In light of Yilan’s climate, a water recycling facility has become the focus of sustainable campus renovation. Considering the 10 elementary and junior high schools in Yilan that have already built water recycling facilities, this research studied the application status of a facility for environmental education, employing such research methods as document reviews, field surveys, lesson plans analysis, user interviews, and questionnaire surveys. According to the results of this research, a water recycling facility can serve as a good textbook for environmental education in elementary, junior high, and high schools in Yilan. Environmental education using water recycling facilities has achieved great success. However, teachers have encountered the following problems while teaching their lessons: anxiety over the depth of the pond and poor water quality, limited instruction facilities and explanations regarding animals and plants, lack of proper operation space for instruction, and teachers’ inadequate understanding of the operation of water recycling facilities.
Integrating Principle Component Analysis and Canonical Correlation Analysis for Monitoring Water Quality in Storage Reservoir
Authors: Chan Mio Cheng , Lou In Chio , Ung Wai Kin , Mok Kai Meng
Published: March 2013

Water quality monitoring is of great importance in managing drinking water lakes or reservoirs. However, developing such an effective monitoring system used in evaluating water quality is difficult, due to spatial and temporal variation in water quality that are usually hard to interpret. Principle component analysis (PCA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) techniques were used in this study to determine the principle water parameters, and explore the relationship between the physical and chemical water parameters, respectively in Macau Main Storage Reservoir (MSR) that is experiencing algal bloom in recent years. Twenty-eight water parameters including physical and chemical parameters were monitored each month from Jan 2001 to Dec 2010. The results showed that using PCA, six of the water quality parameters were found less important in explaining the monthly variation of the water quality and thus excluded from the further CCA, while applying CCA, the first six canonical correlations were 0.998, 0.988, 0.937, 0.778, 0.606 and 0.453, indicating that electro-conductivity and chloride compounds were the dominant (highly scored) variables of the physical parameters and chemical parameters, respectively. These results are helpful in understanding the main physical and chemical parameters involved in MSR, thus improving the water quality monitoring system in drinking water reservoirs.
Probability Distribution of Tidal Elevation Data around Korean Coasts
Authors: Cho Hong Yeon , Jeong Shin Taek , Ko Dong Hui , Lee Sang Ho
Published: March 2013

Frequency information of tidal elevations in the coastal zone is essential for the determination of datum level, the classification of inhabitation zones, and the analysis of mean sea level variation. In this study, the non-parametric density function is suggested for the analysis of hourly tidal elevation data provided by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration. The density function was estimated for six principal locations, Incheon, Mokpo, Jeju, Yeosu, Busan, and Pohang in the Korean coastal area using a kernel function. The parameter required for the probability density function was optimally estimated with the Sheather and Jones (SJ). And the optimal parameter appropriate for the normal distribution function was about 30% higher than that predicted by the SJ method or the Cross Validation (CV) method. It can be seen that the final kernel functions were less affected. The smoothing parameters for all of the tidal elevation data were optimized to be in the range of 0.13-0.17 with the SJ method. From the normality test of the observed tidal elevation data, it was proposed that the hypothesis of a normal distribution was inappropriate in the test techniques with a 95% significance level.
Loss Curve Analysis of a Debris Flow: A Case Study on the Daniao Tribe
Authors: Li Hsin Chi , Liu Ko Fei , Hsu Yu Charn
Published: March 2013

The post-disaster recovery from a debris flow imposes a heavy financial burden on a government; thus, it is necessary for governmental agencies use their limited resources effectively. In this study, we focus on the loss curve assessment, the framework of which includes hazard simulation, exposure evaluation and loss assessment. A numerical program named DEBRIS-2D is used to simulate debris flow hazards of different scale. Then, the latest land usage data and the economic loss model are factored in for exposure and loss assessment. In August 2009, Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan and horrendous disasters resulted, including large-scale landslides and debris flows. The Daniao tribe in Taitung in eastern Taiwan was hit by one of these debris flows, with a debris-flow volume in excess of 500,000 m3, which was beyond the scope of any recovery plan. We simulate the hazards of the debris flow in different volumes and build the loss curve in relation. Notably, the practice of assessing damage caused by such disasters can help in assessing possible losses before they occur, thus allowing governments to take the necessary precautionary measures.
Measurement of the Human Cochlear Spiral Curvature In Vivo
Authors: Yu Jen Fang , Lee Kun Che
Published: March 2013

This research aims to characterize the geometry of the human cochlear spiral in vivo by measuring curvature and length. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to visualise the human inner ear in vivo. The inner ear was imaged in 12 ears in 7 subjects recruited. Visualisation of the cochlear spiral was enhanced by T2 weighting and further processing of the raw images. The spirals were divided into 3 segments: the basal turn segment, the middle turn segment and the apex turn segment. The length and curvature of each segment were measured. The measured lengths of cochlear spiral are consistent with data in the literature derived from anatomical dissections. Overall, the apex turn segment of the cochlear had the greatest degree of curvature. A detailed description of the cochlear spiral is provided, using measurements of curvature and length. This data will provide a valuable reference in the development of cochlear implantation procedures.
A Novel Approach to Predict Schizophrenia Disease: Conceptual Framework
Authors: Loh Han Chern
Published: March 2013

A multilayer perceptrons (MLP) is proposed to aid in early detection of schizophrenia in this study. Schizophrenia is a disabling illness with unknown pathogenesis. Clinical studies have shown that there is a genetic contribution to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The transcription factor 4 (TCF4) gene, vaccinia-related kinase 2 (VRK2) gene as well as other five genes which were newly-identified loci of 1p21.3, 2p32.3, 8pp23.3, 8q21.3 and 10q24.32-p22.1 are among the most prominent susceptibility genes for schizophrenia. It has been hypothesized that TCF4 affects normal brain development and it has been related to different forms of neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite numerous linkage and association analyses (haplotype and meta analyses), the seven gene polymorphisms that contribute to schizophrenia remain to be elucidated. Using a haplotype block-based gene-tagging approach we will conduct an association study of thirty single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the above seven gene polymorphisms. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are widely used in prediction application. This research work will demonstrate that the MLP based prediction of schizophrenia which used genetic data (simple combination of thirty genotypic frequencies) of thirty SNPs to improve the detection possibility and accuracy with high consistency. This ANN is expected to exhibit good performance in the prediction of schizophrenia.
MID-Based Instant Transmission of Radiological Images for Emergency Teleconsultation
Authors: Hsu Steen J. , Chen Kun Hui , Huang Chih Ning , Chiang Chih Yen , Chan Chia Tai
Published: March 2013

Since the medical environment becomes more complicated nowadays, an efficient teleconsultation plays an important role for surgical emergency and medical decision making. The advances in the information communication technique during the past decade have already made the remote consulting feasible. The remote consulting must provide rapid response time, high quality radiological images and flexible cooperation platform. Based on the mobile internet device (MID) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) platform, we propose an effective teleconsultation system to improve the medical quality of service. The internet virtual community concept is also adopted to provide a convenient and rapid connection manner. The results demonstrate that it fulfills the requirements of remote consultation system.
Analysis of the Degradation Tendency of NPP Cables Using a Wireless Cable Indenting Robot
Authors: Jang Kyung Nam , Kim Jong Soeg , Jeong Sun Chul , Park Kyung Heum , Hong Sung Yull
Published: March 2013

In nuclear power plants, there are many cables that perform safety-related functions. These cables should implement condition monitoring during the operation period in the nuclear power plant, in order to assess the remaining qualified life and extend the qualified life. In this study we focused on the indenting method which can measure the hardness of the cable jacket. This method is selected because it is non-destructive and requires short testing time and small sized equipment. In order to address the problems with the existing indenting test equipment, we developed new indenting test equipment, which could automatically move on the surface of the object cable. The newly developed equipment is designed for a small-sized and light-weight robot using wireless communication in order to implement condition monitoring in a harsh environment or locations that are inaccessible to the tester. The developed wireless cable indenting robot is composed of three parts, which are mechanical and electrical hardware parts and remote-control part. In order to analyze the degradation tendency of the cable, we prepared four thermally aged specimens and one un-aged specimen. Using the developed robot, we measured the modulus of the cable jacket of each specimen. The test data showed that the modulus of the cable jacket increased linearly as the accelerated aging time increased. From these results, we can analyze the degradation trends pertaining to cables installed in nuclear power plant according to the operation period.
Numerical Analysis on Failure Behavior of Composite Sandwich Plate
Authors: Hsu Yao
Published: March 2013

The Composite sandwich plate is made of two laminated face-sheets and one core material. Since such a kind of structure has many advantages, they have been widely used in structural manufacturing industry. However, when sandwich plates are impacted by transverse loadings, damages that are usually invisible would occur inside the sandwich plate and those damages would potentially reduce the structural safety. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the failure mechanism and how they affect the failure behaviors of sandwich structures for safety purpose. To this end, the present study is to investigate the impact failure behaviors of sandwich plates subjected to a rigid spherical impactor. Numerical simulation approach is carried out by finite element method. To predict the initial failure, several failure criteria to face-sheets and core material are proposed. In addition, to further simulate the progressive failure behaviors, a stiffness modification method is proposed and incorporated into the finite element software. The analytical results show that the local failure including fiber breakages, delamination, core cracking and plasticity is the main failure mechanism of cases studied. Furthermore, parametric study is also conducted and discussed in the paper.
Control Hardware Design of a Robotic Follow Spot System
Authors: Oh Myung Hwan , Park Ill Woo
Published: March 2013

A follow spot, known as a spot light, is a kind of stage lighting instrument which projects a beam light onto a specific, mobile, and individual object, i.e. actor. The developed system pans and tilts the follow spot by using its actuator mechanism, manual operating mechanism, tracking sensors, and control system. The system operates in four modes (manual operation, pre-defined motion saving/playing, auto tracking, and console operation). In the manual operation mode, a human operates the robotic follow spot by using a force sensor (load cell). This mode is activated in emergency situations and for pre-defined motion generation. The pre-defined motion saving/playing mode is applied for motion playing, which is generated by a human. A specific trajectory, e.g. circle, rectangle, and etc., can be saved and played for future use. The auto tracking mode makes the beam light to follow the actor. A vision system is used to detect the actor’s location. In the console operation mode, the robotic follow system communicates (through DMX512 protocol) with the light console, which controls the various lighting instruments in the theater. This paper explains the system design that fulfills the above stated 4 modes in detail. In addition, experimental results are presented in snap shot photos.
Dynamic Stiffness Effects on Robot Safety and Performance in Human-Friendly Robots
Authors: Shin Dong Jun
Published: March 2013

Some researchers have recently investigated the effects of joint stiffness on both robot safety and performance in human-friendly robots using pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). However, due to the limited control bandwidth of pneumatic muscles, dynamic stiffness characteristics and their effects on safety as well as performance should be taken into account in the frequency domain. This paper introduces the concept of instantaneous stiffness and validates its model with the Stanford Safety Robot (S2ρ). The potential effects of dynamic stiffness on safety and performance are explored through experimental comparison of peak impact accelerations and sinusoidal position tracking, respectively. Simulation and experimental results with the Stanford Safety Robot show that the stiffness demonstrates limited effects on the impact acceleration given the same impact velocity and controller gain, whereas it significantly affects control performance due to pressure-induced non-linearities. A strategy for stiffness optimization for robot safety and performance is discussed as a design guideline of human-friendly robot design.
Force and Position Control of the Pneumatic Cylinders through a Microscope with a CCD Camera
Authors: Chen Hung I , Shih Ming Chang
Published: March 2013

In this paper, the pneumatic driven manipulation system is driven by the pneumatic cylinders. The proposed system is built by the designed pneumatic force control system and the microscope, which is integrated with the control interface. Firstly, the characteristics of the pneumatic force control system are measured as the proportional pressure control valve. In accordance with these nonlinear characteristics, a self tuning fuzzy controller with a dead zone compensator is designed to improve precision of the pneumatic force control system. From experimental results, the force error can be controlled within ±1 mN. Next, the real-time image is captured by the microscope with a 1/2 type CCD camera. Through designed image processing, image tracking and image recognition, visual image is used to define the position a probe tip. The distance between the target position and a probe tip can be calculated. Finally, the force control of the pneumatic force control system, calculating the distance between the target position and a probe tip, the control processes are integrated with designed the control interface. Visual C++ code from MFC is used to finish the control interface. From experimental results, the position error can be controlled within ± 1 pixel.
New Fault-Tolerant Scheme for Flight Control System of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Pan Ji Hui , Zhang Xiao Lin , Zhang Sheng Bing , Ma Hao
Published: March 2013

In complex systems like flight control systems etc., reliability is as important as performance. In order to improve the reliability of flight control system (FCS), the fault- tolerant technique was adopted. Three parts of the FCS which are Flight Control Fault Tolerant Computer, Redundancy sensor and Servo-actuator have been explored. The key techniques have been solved, such as Redundant Disposition, Synchronism of the Redundant Channels, Data link and Communication of Channels, etc. The experimental results show that the system meets with the fly control system’s demand of reliability.
Panda Robot: Kinematic Design and Simulation for Quadrupedal Walking
Authors: Lin Chyi Yeu , Chiu Yi Pin , Cheng Li Chieh , Huang Chun Chia , Jo Po Chia , Lin Wei Lung
Published: March 2013

For most quadruped robots, their waist joints can usually pitch or yaw, but cannot roll. Thus, their gaits can only be simulated by a simple motion model based on single-legged mechanisms. When pandas move on their four feet, they swing their hips and rear legs from side to side. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop a quadruped robot which is equipped with a waist joint of one degree of freedom (DOF) for rolling so as to imitate the waist-swinging motion of a real panda. This research starts at editing the predetermined motion conditions with lengths of all panda body parts and the mechanism model with corresponding degree-of-freedom in the CAE software. The related simulation parameters of leg motions are acquired as a reference for gait controls. The quadrupedal walking process was tested in simulators to verify important design variables and simulation validity was also verified on the actual panda robot after their buildup. With this approach, this study has effectively and successfully developed a panda robot with a waist joint that can roll.
Studies on the Exchangeability of Different APT Interpreters for 5-Axis Machine Tool Applications
Authors: Cheng Hsin Yu , Kao Yung Chou
Published: March 2013

Generally, the NC format is the description for the positioning and/or the movement of its linear and rotary axes. As the multi-axis machine tools have a variety of configurations, their NC codes are not exchangeable. This issue leads to some inconvenience and confounding in the manufacturing processing schedule. Furthermore, when the specifications of tool such as length, diameter or shape are reset, the NC program must be regenerated accordingly. That is to say, the exchangeability of NC program among different five-axis machine configurations is an important issue in making better usage of industrial five-axis machine tools for efficient applications. An APT program records the tool path, tool vector and cutting information, etc. In particular, the recent development of APT format can provide the capability recording the motion posture of the tool such as the tool orientation, the position and its normal vector of the tool contact point. Therefore, it can solve the problems of the exchangeability for the different machine tools as well as the online resetting of tool specifications, even the tool posture. In this paper, a new method was proposed to interpret the APT code into tool movement data including toolpath, location, tool orientation, the contact point and its contact vector, etc., which can be applied to the conversion of different NC codes, or be connected to the controller of the machine tool so as to proceed the interpolation calculation for directly machining control. Moreover, the application scope can be extended to the verification of machining and to drive a virtual machine tool for previewing. Since the APT format varies according to different CAD/CAM systems, a common intermediate interchange standard (CMIS) was proposed, designed and verified in this paper as a feasible solution for the exchangeability of different APT formats. The process of the proposed method includes interpreting a variety of APT program into a common standard format, and then transforming this intermediate standard code into various NC programs for the corresponding machine configurations. An example was used to demonstrate how to convert an APT generated by CATIA software into intermediate code for a Table-Table five-axis machine tool with two rotary axes attached on table (XYZAC configuration). As the APT contains the definition of inclined plane, so the homogeneous coordinate transformation was adopted to transform the coordinate system of the inclined plane into the work coordinate system; it was further transformed into the corresponding NC program via an inverse kinematics transformation. This example has shown the feasibility of the method proposed. Moreover, the research can be applied not only to the exchangeability of different APT format but also to the other related applications such as the verification of machining error and the drive of virtual machine tool.
T-S Fuzzy Tracking Control of a 2-DOF Rehabilitation Robot Using System Identification
Authors: Chang Ming Kun , Chen Ming Lun
Published: March 2013

Achieving excellent tracking performance for a 2-DOF rehabilitation robot actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) is very difficult, due to the high nonlinearity and time-varying behavior associated with gas compression and the nonlinear elasticity of bladder containers. This paper proposes a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model control to improve control performance and establish a 2nd order system model using a recursive least square method. The proposed approach decomposes the model of a nonlinear system into a set of linear subsystems. In this manner, the design of the controller in the T-S fuzzy model is capable of using simple linear control techniques to provide a systematic framework with which to design a state feedback controller. The analysis of stability is performed by using the Lyapunov direct method. We employed the powerful LMI Toolbox of MATLAB to solve linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to determine controller gains. Experimental results verify that the proposed controller can achieve excellent tracking performance.
A Novel Wireless Thermal Convection Type Angular Accelerometer Integrated with an Active RFID-Tag
Authors: Lin Jium Ming , Cho Kuo Hsiung , Lin Cheng Hung , Lu Hung Han
Published: March 2013

Five novel ideas are proposed in this paper to integrate an active RFID tag with thermal convection angular accelerometer on a flexible substrate, thus the device is a wireless sensor. The first innovative idea is that this device is without any movable parts, so it is very reliable. The second new idea is that it is made on a flexible substrate, such as plastic or polyimide, thus it can save more power. The third new idea is that the xenon gas is applied in the chamber to conduct the heat instead of the traditional Carbon dioxide. CO2 can produce oxidation effect to the heater and thermal sensors, while the xenon not. The fourth new idea is to apply a hemi-spherical chamber; it is more streamline in nature with less drag effect to ease the fluid flow and yield quicker response. The fifth new idea and the most powerful one is that the angular accelerometer is integrated with an active RFID tag on the same flexible substrate, thus the device becomes a more useful wireless sensor. Note the linearity, sensitivity, and response times of step-input angular accelerations are better for the hemi-spherical chamber filled with Xe gas. The sensitivity is 71.4°C/(rad/s2) and the response time is 60μs.
Dynamics of New Electromagnetic Valve in Camless Engines
Authors: Dat Ly Vinh , Shiao Yao Jung , Tsou Ku Hsiao
Published: March 2013

Conventional electromagnetic valvetrain (EMV) usually uses double E-coils to control valve timings for engines. This kind of EMV needs large energy to reset valve at engine start state and requires energy to hold valve at opening or closing position. Therefore, it consumes large amount of energy. In this study, an EMV system that uses hybrid permanent magnet and electromagnetic coil together is proposed. The use of EMV in SI engines allows valve timings to be variably controlled without camshaft. Dynamic models for the new EMV have been built to simulate and analyze valve dynamics in this study. Effects of gas flow resistance on valve surface and the damping coefficient are also discussed. Besides, actuation strategy for valve releasing is investigated. The results show that the new EMV satisfies requirements about lifting time, actuation energy, valve velocity and acceleration in SI engines.
Grating-Coupled Surface-Plasmon-Resonance Biosensor Discs with a C-Type Fluidic Channel for Monitoring Growth of Self-Assembled Monolayer
Authors: Yih Jenq Nan , Chiu Kuo Chi , Chou Sheng Yu , Lin Chih Ming , Lan Yung Sung , Chen Shu Jen , Cheng Nai Jen
Published: March 2013

In this paper, we present a grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with a c-type fluidic channel on a grating disc. For obtaining the kinetic information of molecular interaction, we combined a c-type fluidic channel on disc to drive testing solution forward by gravity via turning the grating disc. The disc biosensor can react with probe molecules on the different sensing surfaces in the following time. The repeatability testing shows the resolution of angle of the measuring system was enhanced by threefold comparing to that without the automation improvement. In order to identify the accuracy of angle changes of SPR due to the chemical reaction on surface, experiment for monitoring a growth self-assembled monolayer (SAM) immobilized on gold surface was performed. The measured response curves show that the saturation time of the SAM formation, which thickness is smaller than 2 nm, is roughly 5 hours when 1 mM MHDA growing on gold at room temperature. The demonstration reveals that the disc biosensor with c-type fluidic channels can be a promising tool for a kinetic analysis of bimolecular interaction without any external fluid pumping systems.
Two Fluid Mixing in a Micromixer with Helical Channels and Grooved Surfaces
Authors: Hu Ya Hui , Hwu Farn Shiun , Lin Kao Hui
Published: March 2013

The mixing behavior of two fluids in a passive micromixer with a Y-type inlet and helical fluid channels with herringbone grooves etched into the bottom was studied in a numerical simulation and experiments. The mixing of the pure water and acetone solution prepared with different Reynolds numbers and acetone concentrations was investigated. An image inspection method using the variance in contrast of the image gray level as the measurement parameter was adopted to calculate the mixing efficiency distribution. Inspection results show that the mixing efficiency decreased with the increase in the concentration of the acetone solution, although the mixing efficiency around the outlet reached to a value of 90%, even when the Reynolds numbers of the fluids were as low as Re = 1, and the best efficiency achieved for the case of Re = 10 was over 98%. The results show that it should be possible to apply the proposed micromixer in the field of biomedical diagnosis.
Susceptibility to Stress Corrosion Cracking of Fe-35Mn Alloy under a Pseudo-Physiological Condition
Authors: Hermawan Hendra , Mantovani Diego
Published: March 2013

Biodegradable metals have been proposed for temporary implants such as coronary artery stent and internal bone fixators. During implantation, a stent is inserted and expanded by using a catheter into a narrowed coronary artery and is subjected to mechanical stress in a corrosive body fluid environment, a condition where stress corrosion cracking may occur. This letter reports an experimental work to verify the susceptibility of Fe-35Mn alloy, a proposed alloy for biodegradable coronary stent, to stress corrosion cracking under a pseudo-physiological condition.
New Drift Reset Method for Pedestrian Tracking with a Low-Cost IMU
Authors: Chuang Yao Tung , Shen Cheng Ta , Hsu Yi Lin , Shih Sheng Wen
Published: March 2013

In this work, we study the pedestrian position tracking problem using a foot-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU consists of a tri-axis rate-gyro, a tri-axis accelerometer and a tri-axis magnetometer. The magnetometer is used for constructing a global reference frame at the initial phase. The pedestrian orientation and position are estimated by integrating signals of the rate-gyro and the accelerometer. Since the integration operation usually introduces unbounded drift errors, a new drift reset method derived from a constant-ground-normal condition is proposed to compensate for the accumulated drift error. Furthermore, a temperature compensation (TC) method is described which can alleviate the rate-gyro error due to temperature variation. Real experiments have been conducted with six subjects to test the performance of the proposed method and the results show the promising performance of the proposed tracking system.
Achieving Passive Integral Control Using Feedback and Output Redefinition
Authors: Liu Liang Yih , Lin Hsiung Cheng
Published: March 2013

There exist an infinite number of right-half plane zeros in the transfer function relating the joint torque input to the tip contact force output for a constrained single-link flexible arm. Since the non-minimum phase nature is the cause of instability or stability but caused the smaller control bandwidth. In order to overcome the inherent limitations caused by the non-minimum phase nature, a new input induced by the measurement of joint angular acceleration and a output generated using the measurements of contact force and root shear force are defined. A necessary and sufficient condition is derived such that all poles and zeros of the new transfer function lie on the imaginary axis. The passive integral control is designed to accomplish the regulation of the contact force. The excellent performance of the passive integral controller is verified through numerical simulations.
Taguchi Method and Genetic Algorithm Neural Networks Analysis of Forging Process of Bicycle Chain Wheel
Authors: Chen Dyi Cheng , You Ci Syong
Published: March 2013

Recent years due to the rise of awareness of environmental protection and energy conservation are attention. Which is the most representative of the bike. Many processing factors must be controlled in the bicycle chain wheel. This study employed the rigid-plastic finite element (FE) DEFORMTM 3D software to investigate the plastic deformation behavior of an aluminum alloy workpiece as it is forged for bicycle chain wheels. Factors include the temperature of the forging billet, shear friction factor, temperature of die and punch speed control all parameters. Moreover, this study used the Taguchi method and Genetic algorithm neural networks to determine the most favorable optimization parameters. Finally, our results confirmed the suitability of the proposed design, which enabled a bicycle chain wheel die to achieve perfect forging during finite element testing.
Advanced Mode Control Strategies for Inverter Based Distributed Generators in Micro-Grids
Authors: Ma Tsao Tsung , Ho Shun Yao
Published: March 2013

This paper describes a novel control algorithm for inverter-based distributed generators (DG) to maintain a continuous voltage and power supply for the critical and voltage sensitive loads in micro-grids when a serious fault on the grid side occurs. Based on a set of given system conditions, the proposed algorithm can automatically switch the DG inverter between the power-controlled and the voltage-controlled modes. In this paper, to develop a feasible control algorithm, some operating conditions are firstly assumed and the proposed control strategies are then addressed. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme are verified with comprehensive simulation studies carried out in the PSIM software environment. The simulation results confirm some merits of the proposed control method. It is worthwhile noting that the proposed control algorithm can easily be implemented using digital controllers for practical applications.
Intelligent Sliding-Mode Control for Knee Rehabilitation System
Authors: Hsieh Ming Shium , Chen Chin Sheng , Chien Kuan Sheng
Published: March 2013

In this paper, we present the design and control of continuous passive motion (CPM) machine based on Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) for a patient who needs knee rehabilitation. First, the dynamic model of the CPM machine is derived by the principal of virtual work in dynamics. Then, an intelligent sliding-mode control (ISMC) system which involved recurrent Chebyshev neural network (RCNN) estimator to estimate the unknown external disturbance and uncertainty online is proposed to track the angular position and velocity of the CPM machine. Furthermore, we prove that the proposed ISMC system is asymptotically stable via Lyapunov theory. Finally, the experimental results are illustrated to demonstrate that the ISMC system can effectively reduce chattering phenomenon and precisely track reference trajectory of the CPM machine.
Taper Angle of Silicon Nitride Thin Film Control by Laser Direct Pattern for Transistors Fabrication
Authors: Chen Chao Nan , Huang Jung Jie , Wu Gwo Mei , Chien How Wen
Published: March 2013

Silicon nitride (SiNx), an important material used as a dielectric layer and passivation layer in thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) was patterned by a non-lithographic process. SiNx was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on glass substrate. Laser photoablation can effectively pattern 5 µm diameter with 200 nm depth hole in SiNx thin films with laser photoablation. The threshold remove fluence is 1350 mJ/cm2 with 1 laser irradiation shot. The contact-hole taper angle as a function of the laser irradiation shot number. The taper angle increased with increasing the laser irradiation shot number. The contact-hole taper angle etched profile was successfully controlled by vary the laser irradiation shot number.
Interacting Multiple Model Particle Filters for GPS/INS Integration
Authors: Jwo Dah Jing , Chung Fong Chi , Yu Kai Lun
Published: March 2013

This paper presents the interacting multiple model (IMM) particle filters with application to navigation sensor fusion. Performance evaluation for various single model nonlinear filters as well as nonlinear filters with IMM framework is carried out. A high gain (high bandwidth) filter is needed to response fast enough to the platform maneuvers while a low gain filter is necessary to reduce the estimation errors during the uniform motion periods. The IMM estimator obtains its estimate as a weighted sum of the individual estimates from a number of parallel filters matched to different motion modes of the platform. Based on a soft-switching framework, the IMM algorithm allows the possibility of using highly dynamic models just when required. The use of an IMM allows exploiting the benefits of high dynamic models in the problem of vehicle navigation. Some results presented in this paper confirm the improvements.