CPT-Based Geotechnical Design Manual, Volume 1: CPT Interpretation—Estimation of Soil Properties

This manual provides guidance on how to use the cone penetration test (CPT) for site investigation and foundation design. The manual has been organized into three volumes. Volume 1 covers the execution of CPT-based site investigations and presents a comprehensive literature review of CPT-based soil behavior type (SBT) charts and estimation of soil variables from CPT results. Volume 2 covers the methods and equations needed for CPT data interpretation and foundation design in different soil types, while Volume 3 includes several example problems (based on instrumented case histories) with detailed, step-by-step calculations to demonstrate the application of the design methods. The methods included in the manual are current, reliable, and demonstrably the best available for Indiana geology based on extensive CPT research carried out during the past two decades. The design of shallow and pile foundations in the manual is based on the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) framework. The manual also indicates areas of low reliability and limited knowledge, which can be used as indicators for future research

Bibliography of Lewis Research Center technical publications announced in 1988

This bibliography contains abstracts of the technical reports that resulted from the scientific and engineering work performed and managed by the Lewis Research Center in 1988. Subject, author, and corporate source indexes are also included. All the publications were announced in the 1988 issues of STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports) and/or IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts). Included are research reports, journal articles, conference presentations, patents and patent applications, and theses

Mathematical Modelling of Energy Systems and Fluid Machinery

The ongoing digitalization of the energy sector, which will make a large amount of data available, should not be viewed as a passive ICT application for energy technology or a threat to thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, in the light of the competition triggered by data mining and machine learning techniques. These new technologies must be posed on solid bases for the representation of energy systems and fluid machinery. Therefore, mathematical modelling is still relevant and its importance cannot be underestimated. The aim of this Special Issue was to collect contributions about mathematical modelling of energy systems and fluid machinery in order to build and consolidate the base of this knowledge

Graduate School: Course Decriptions, 1972-73

Official publication of Cornell University V.64 1972/7

Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy Logic is becoming an essential method of solving problems in all domains. It gives tremendous impact on the design of autonomous intelligent systems. The purpose of this book is to introduce Hybrid Algorithms, Techniques, and Implementations of Fuzzy Logic. The book consists of thirteen chapters highlighting models and principles of fuzzy logic and issues on its techniques and implementations. The intended readers of this book are engineers, researchers, and graduate students interested in fuzzy logic systems

Development of a heuristic methodology for designing measurement networks for precise metal accounting

This thesis investigates the development of a heuristic based methodology for designing measurement networks with application to the precise accounting of metal flows in mineral beneficiation operations. The term 'measurement network' is used to refer to the 'system of sampling and weight measurement equipment' from which process measurements are routinely collected. Metal accounting is defined as the estimation of saleable metal in the mine and subsequent process streams over a defined time period. One of the greatest challenges facing metal accounting is 'uncertainty' that is caused by random errors, and sometimes gross errors, that obtain in process measurements. While gross errors can be eliminated through correct measurement practices, random errors are an inherent property of measured data and they can only be minimised. Two types of rules for designing measurement networks were considered. The first type of rules referred to as 'expert heuristics' consists of (i) Code of Practice Guidelines from the AMIRA P754 Code, and (ii) prevailing accounting practices from the mineral and metallurgical processing industry which were obtained through a questionnaire survey campaign. It was hypothesised that experts in the industry design measurement networks using rules or guidelines that ensure requisite quality in metal accounting. The second set of rules was derived from the symbolic manipulation of the general steady-state linear data reconciliation solution as well as from an intensive numerical study on the variance reduction response of measurements after data reconciliation conducted in this study. These were referred to as 'mathematical heuristics' and are based on the general principle of variance reduction through data reconciliation. It was hypothesised that data reconciliation can be used to target variance reduction for selected measurements by exploiting characteristics of entire measurement networks as well as individual measurement characteristics

The contribution of multitemporal information from multispectral satellite images for automatic land cover classification at the national scale

Thesis submitted to the Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação da Universidade Nova de Lisboa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Management – Geographic Information SystemsImaging and sensing technologies are constantly evolving so that, now, the latest generations of satellites commonly provide with Earth’s surface snapshots at very short sampling periods (i.e. daily images). It is unquestionable that this tendency towards continuous time observation will broaden up the scope of remotely sensed activities. Inevitable also, such increasing amount of information will prompt methodological approaches that combine digital image processing techniques with time series analysis for the characterization of land cover distribution and monitoring of its dynamics on a frequent basis. Nonetheless, quantitative analyses that convey the proficiency of three-dimensional satellite images data sets (i.e. spatial, spectral and temporal) for the automatic mapping of land cover and land cover time evolution have not been thoroughly explored. In this dissertation, we investigate the usefulness of multispectral time series sets of medium spatial resolution satellite images for the regular land cover characterization at the national scale. This study is carried out on the territory of Continental Portugal and exploits satellite images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). In detail, we first focus on the analysis of the contribution of multitemporal information from multispectral satellite images for the automatic land cover classes’ discrimination. The outcomes show that multispectral information contributes more significantly than multitemporal information for the automatic classification of land cover types. In the sequence, we review some of the most important steps that constitute a standard protocol for the automatic land cover mapping from satellite images. Moreover, we delineate a methodological approach for the production and assessment of land cover maps from multitemporal satellite images that guides us in the production of a land cover map with high thematic accuracy for the study area. Finally, we develop a nonlinear harmonic model for fitting multispectral reflectances and vegetation indices time series from satellite images for numerous land cover classes. The simplified multitemporal information retrieved with the model proves adequate to describe the main land cover classes’ characteristics and to predict the time evolution of land cover classes’individuals

The effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on spatial motor skill learning in healthy and spinal cord injured humans

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an intervention which is thought to enhance motor learning in healthy and stroke-injured states, when applied adjunctively during skill learning. We set out to investigate whether anodal tDCS might enhance functional rehabilitation from incomplete tetraplegic SCI. To address current limitations in the measurement of task-dependent skill, a novel integrated skill training and measurement task, the Motor Skill Rehabilitation Task (MSRT) was designed and developed. Measures of performance from this task delivered the functional measure of spatial motor skill learning, Task Productivity Rate (TPR). TPR was analysed and validated as a univariate dependent outcome, which is of potential importance to the future development of clinical measures measuring goal-directed motor skills. The MSRT was included alongside conventional behavioural measures in a repeated-measures RCT pilot study, the first to investigate the effect of anodal tDCS on rehabilitation of motor skill from chronic spinal cord injury. Adjunctive application of anodal tDCS had a statistically significant benefit upon retention of skill in the incomplete spinal cord injured population, but only when the independent factor of sensory acuity was included in the analysis. Differences between the development of task-dependent skill and generic dexterity over time suggested that spatial skill development was subject to an interaction of short-term and lasting effects. A larger study in healthy persons further investigated these phenomena, also applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)–evoked measurements to investigate intervention-dependent effects upon the excitability of projections between the primary motor cortex and muscles involved in the prehension task. The findings revealed that active tDCS did not enhance skill learning at 7 days beyond the training period, but did significantly alter the development of motor skill following a period of learning and subsequent skill consolidation which was associated with underlying perturbation of motor control strategy. Significant and divergent patterns of cortical plasticity were evoked in projections to muscles necessary for reaching and grasping. The main findings of this thesis do not support anodal tDCS as an effective adjunctive means of enhancing spatial motor skill in rehabilitation from incomplete tetraplegic SCI. If applied in patient populations, the clinical benefits of anodal tDCS may be contingent both on the nature of the sensorimotor deficit affecting upper limb function and the spatial demands of the behavioural task. The findings of this project serve to inform further research in relation to the effect of anodal tDCS on the brain and behavioural outcomes, the potential for efficacy in target patient groups and the sensitivity of outcome measures to spatial and temporal dimensions of practical motor skills.This study was partly supported by The Brunel University Isambard Research Scholarship, and The Orthotist Education and Training Trust

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2017

Proceedings of the 11th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 20, 2017 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia. 211 pp