Flexural Buckling of Steel Cold-Formed Hollow Profiles in the Framework of Eurocodes

The use of cold-formed hollow structural (CFHS) steel has been growing in the past decade due to several advantages such as superior behavior towards lateral-torsional buckling, aesthetic structures, and feasibility of using internal volume to increase load-carrying capacity. The cold-forming process can change drastically the shape of the stress-strain curve and strength parameters of the base material. There are several investigations on buckling tests of hollow section columns; however, studies on cold-formed hollow sections are still lacking. This shortcoming of experimental data becomes more pronounced when the corner behavior of CFHS is under consideration. Only a limited number of corner coupon tests can be found in international literature. This Ph.D. thesis is developed in line with the progress of the European project INNOvative 3D JOINTS for Robust and Economic Hybrid Tubular Construction (INNO3DJOINTS). The primary objective is to advance, through analytical and experimental research, knowledge on the flexural buckling behavior of CFHS columns. An extensive experimental program ( 21 flexural buckling tests) on SHS and RHS columns has been carried out varying the steel grade (i.e. S275 and S355) and the overall slenderness ratio. This database serves as the basis for the assessment and improvement of the flexural buckling curve for CFHS. The stress-strain behavior of the sections was investigated by performing tensile coupon tests (81 tests) from both flat and corner areas. special effort was made to obtain the static stress-strain data by pausing the test for 60 seconds during the test. We also employed an innovative method to perform the coupon test on the corner area of CFHS. This procedure will reduce the secondary effect results from methods such as welding a plate or flattening the end grip, and therefore reduce the bias in the results of the corner area. A comprehensive discussion on the definition of safety and the adopted safety levels in EN1990 and EN1993-1-1 has been presented. The results show some potential criticisms of the application of current rules for plastic design and analysis of such a column and a further investigation is required on the matter. In addition, it is shown that the current material test procedures in BSI and ATM standards may lead to misevaluate the static strengths of material which is required for the design of structures

Development of Cognitive Capabilities in Humanoid Robots

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/645 on 03.04.2017 by CS (TIS)Building intelligent systems with human level of competence is the ultimate grand challenge for science and technology in general, and especially for the computational intelligence community. Recent theories in autonomous cognitive systems have focused on the close integration (grounding) of communication with perception, categorisation and action. Cognitive systems are essential for integrated multi-platform systems that are capable of sensing and communicating. This thesis presents a cognitive system for a humanoid robot that integrates abilities such as object detection and recognition, which are merged with natural language understanding and refined motor controls. The work includes three studies; (1) the use of generic manipulation of objects using the NMFT algorithm, by successfully testing the extension of the NMFT to control robot behaviour; (2) a study of the development of a robotic simulator; (3) robotic simulation experiments showing that a humanoid robot is able to acquire complex behavioural, cognitive, and linguistic skills through individual and social learning. The robot is able to learn to handle and manipulate objects autonomously, to cooperate with human users, and to adapt its abilities to changes in internal and environmental conditions. The model and the experimental results reported in this thesis, emphasise the importance of embodied cognition, i.e. the humanoid robot's physical interaction between its body and the environment

استخدام تقنيات الذكاء الصنعي لاختيار أمثل نظام إداة علاقات مع الزبائن ملائم لاحتياجات شركة ما.

It is very important to a company to select the optimal CRM program based on its needs, especially there are hundreds of programs, similar in general, different in price and functions and many companies do only comparing between those programs, trying to select the best on this comparison. This research aimed to suggest an software evaluation system, to select the best CRM based customer's needs, using Cased based Reasoning- CBR- techniques, and associations Rules, in addition to evaluate these programs internally, and find the similarity rate between customer's needs and program's features. The evaluation system depends on a number of questions, have to be answered by the vendors, to specify their program features, after that the customer will answer also the same questions, to determine his needs, and give a weight related to each question. At the end, the evaluation system will select the best program, that has the top rank based on the similarity between customer's needs and program features

Context-aware real-time assistant architecture for pervasive healthcare

The aging population in many countries brings into focus rising healthcare costs and pressure on conventional healthcare services. Pervasive healthcare has emerged as a viable solution capable of providing a technology-driven approach to alleviate such problems by allowing healthcare to move from the hospital-centred care to self-care, mobile care, and at-home care. The state-of-the-art studies in this field, however, lack a systematic approach for providing comprehensive pervasive healthcare solutions from data collection to data interpretation and from data analysis to data delivery. In this thesis we introduce a Context-aware Real-time Assistant (CARA) architecture that integrates novel approaches with state-of-the-art technology solutions to provide a full-scale pervasive healthcare solution with the emphasis on context awareness to help maintaining the well-being of elderly people. CARA collects information about and around the individual in a home environment, and enables accurately recognition and continuously monitoring activities of daily living. It employs an innovative reasoning engine to provide accurate real-time interpretation of the context and current situation assessment. Being mindful of the use of the system for sensitive personal applications, CARA includes several mechanisms to make the sophisticated intelligent components as transparent and accountable as possible, it also includes a novel cloud-based component for more effective data analysis. To deliver the automated real-time services, CARA supports interactive video and medical sensor based remote consultation. Our proposal has been validated in three application domains that are rich in pervasive contexts and real-time scenarios: (i) Mobile-based Activity Recognition, (ii) Intelligent Healthcare Decision Support Systems and (iii) Home-based Remote Monitoring Systems

Project Risk Management for Sustainable Restoration of Immovable Cultural Heritage: Lessons from Construction Industry and Formulation of a Customized PRM Model

The purpose of this research is to introduce and develop a knowledge base for restoration industry aimed at understanding and dealing with risks arising in restoration projects of built and architectural cultural heritage. These projects face a number of risks and are viewed unfavorably from a number of sustainability perspectives. The research study, therefore, is expected to generate interest and debate among the professional and researcher community in the arena of restoration of built cultural heritage for formally applying Project Management (PM) and Project Risk management (PRM) theories and practices. The research method consists of reviewing published literature and analyzing the dynamics of restoration industry (both from academic and practitioner point of view) in order to propose an application framework. Owing to a number of striking similarities between construction and restoration projects (and more so with building renovation and maintenance), an attempt is made in order to align this study nearest to the construction sector, incorporating the lessons learnt in that area. Building upon and taking inspiration from the fundamentals of Construction Management, this thesis proposes a framework which is supposed to methodically apply risk management within the proposed project management stages. Research results seem to have confirmed that the restoration industry has not yet exposed to formal PM and PRM theories and practices to a greater level. Thus there is enormous impetus and ensuing incentive with the incorporation of formal theories and customized tools as proposed by this research, which attempts to target the exceedingly important area of cultural heritage restoration and the missing aspect of PM and PRM. Further, the proposed framework is an attempt at bridging communication gaps between management and restoration experts. Thus, it highlights the importance of scientifically and effectively managing restoration projects. Nevertheless, this uniting attempt has its own risks in terms of terminologies, technical language, and the understanding of risk and its management which may be a practical limitations as in the field of engineering also, the foundation of PM and PRM areas of knowledge finds its traces in Construction Management - which is further an application of management in construction engineering - it's rather challenging to reconcile knowledge from different areas. Further, the study explores issues concerning sustainability of restoration projects based on their use of PM and PRM. Results are expected to help stakeholders of restoration projects understand and apply the proposed PRM framework. This study is also aimed at developing a foundation for dissemination of PM and PRM knowledge in restoration industry, and provides impetus for future studies to examine how restoration projects can deal with risky situations. Based on the emphasis on sustainable development aspects of restoration projects for facilitating the stakeholders of built cultural heritage in taking critical decisions (because if not managed properly, the risks in a restoration project may either cause project failure or damage the historical buildings), it can be stated that this study has some potential sustainability implications. Therefore, from society's sustainability perspective, it is imperative that stakeholders identify, analyze, control and manage risks before commencing the restoration activities. The study is an original effort in examining the penetration of PM and PRM practices in restoration industry. Based on it, the study proposes an original framework for application of formal PRM for restoration projects. Results are of relevance in today's world where risks hinder and sustainability guides the decision makin

Revealed by low-temperature thermochronology, U-Pb geochronology, provenance analyses, and geomorphometry

Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der Entwicklung von “Fastebenen”, die im Weiteren einheitlich als “Peneplains” bezeichnet werden, sowie dem Zerfall dieses markanten geomorphologischen Erscheinungsbildes im südlichsten Teil des tibetischen Plateau dem sogenannten Lhasa Block. Im Zuge dieser Arbeit konnten neue Erkenntnisse über die Hebungsgeschichte und der Sedimentverteilung in diesem Untersuchungsgebiet gewonnen werden. Diese Ergebnisse tragen zu einem besseren Verständnis der geodynamischen Entwicklung Asiens bei, die bis heute viele Fragen aufwirft. Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts wurden Peneplains als metastabile geomorphologische Formen angesehen, die im Zuge großflächiger Erosion entstehen. Die Bezeichnung Peneplain und das dahinter stehende Konzept werden seitdem von der geomorphologischen Gemeinschaft jedoch kontrovers diskutiert. Bis heute gibt es keine standardisierte bzw. repräsentative Definition für das nicht zu übersehende landschaftsbildende Phänomen der Peneplains. Dementsprechend gibt es auch nur wenige Ansätze zu Modellierungen oder Berechnungen mit Geoinformationssystemen. Hier, in dieser Dissertation, werden idealisierte Peneplains als erhöhte, gleichmäßige und großflächige Ebenen mit abfallenden Hängen verstanden, auch wenn sich landschaftsbildende Peneplains oft gekippt darstellen und durch tektonische Prozesse gestört bzw. bereits durch fortschreitende Erosionsprozesse angegriffen sind. Gut erhaltene Peneplains sind speziell für das Gebiet um den höchstgelegenen See der Welt, dem Nam Co, im nördlichen Teil des Lhasa Blocks im Hochland von Tibet charakteristisch. Die Peneplains zerschneiden das dort vorkommende viel ältere und vorwiegend granitische Gestein sowie die angrenzenden Metasedimente. Zur Bestimmung der Abkühl- und Hebungsalter der Granite wurden geo- und thermochronologische Methoden wie Zirkon U-Pb, Zirkon (U-Th)/He, Apatit (U-Th)/He und Apatit-SpaltspurenDatierung angewendet. Neben der Hebungsrate konnte auch die Freilegung des granitischen Gesteines ermittelt werden. Mit der Methode zur Bestimmung des U-Pb-Zirkonalters konnten zwei Intrusionsgruppen, um 118 Ma und 85 Ma, festgestellt werden. Ebenso wurden vulkanische Aktivitäten nachgewiesen und auf einen Zeitraum zwischen 63 Ma und 58 Ma datiert. Thermische Modelle, aufbauend auf Zirkon- und Apatit-(U-Th)/He-Datierungen sowie auf ApatitSpaltspuren-Daten der untersuchten Granitoide, ergeben einen Hebungs- und Abkühlungszeitraum von 75 Ma bis 55 Ma mit einer Hebungsrate von 300 m/Ma, welche im Zeitfenster zwischen 55 Ma und 45 Ma stark abfällt auf 10 m/Ma. Die Auswertung der Messdaten unserer Kooperationspartner an der Universität Münster zu kosmogenen Nukliden zeigen sehr niedrigen Erosionsraten von 6-11 m/Ma und 11-16 m/Ma, in den letzten 10.000 Jahren die in den einzelnen Einzugsgebieten ermittelt wurden. Diese Daten zeugen von einer noch immer andauernden Periode der Stabilität und tragen zur Erhaltung der Peneplains bei. Während der anhaltenden Phase der Erosion und Einebnung sind vor ungefähr 45 Ma in der untersuchten Region zwischen 3 km und 6 km Gestein abgetragen und weg transportiert worden. Es ist naheliegend, dass das abgetragene Material als Sediment über das vorhandene Flusssystem fast vollständig in die heute bestehenden Ozenane transportiert wurde. Im Lhasa Block können nur verhältnismäßig wenig Sedimente aus dieser Zeit nachgewiesen werden. Alle bisherigen Untersuchungsergebnisse sowie die durchgeführte Sediment-Herkunftsanalyse untermauern die Theorie, dass die Peneplainbildung und ihre Erosionsprozesse in niedriger Höhe - höchstwahrscheinlich auf Meeresniveau - stattgefunden haben muss. Dieser Prozess wurde durch die Kollision des indischen Kontinents mit Asien gestoppt. Die resultierende Krustenverdickung führte zu einer Hebung der Landschaft mit den Peneplains, von Meeresniveau auf 5.000 bis 7.000 Höhenmeter. Die auf dem “das Dach der Welt” vorherrschenden idealen Klimabedingungen haben anschließend für die fast vollständige Erhaltung der Peneplains gesorgt. Der zweite Teil der Dissertation befasst sich mit der Entwicklung einer robusten Methode Peneplains anhand digitale Höhenmodelle (DEM) zu berechnen bzw. zu kartieren. Frei zugängliche DEMs machen es möglich, Erdoberflächen repräsentativ mathematisch und statistisch zu analysieren und zu charakterisieren. Diese Analysemethode stellt eine ausgezeichnete Möglichkeit dar, die Peneplains mittels aussagekräftiger Algorithmen zu charakterisieren und digital zu kartieren. Um Peneplains algorithmisch von der Umgebung klar abgrenzen zu können, wurde ein komplett neuer Ansatz der Fuzzylogik angewandt. Als DEM-Basis wurde ein 90 arcsec-DEM der Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) verwendet. Mithilfe eines Geoinformationssystems (GIS) wurden Algorithmen geschrieben, die vier verschiedene kritische Parameter zur Beschreibung von Peneplains berücksichtigen: (I) Gefälle, (II) Kurvigkeit, (III) Geländerauhigkeit und (IV) Relative Höhe. Um die Eignung der Methode zu prüfen, wurde auf Basis der SRTM-DEM weltweit kartiert und mit schon in der Literatur beschriebenen Peneplains verglichen. Die dabei erhaltenen Ergebnisse von den Appalachen, den Anden, dem Zentralmassif und Neuseeland bestätigen dass ein Einsatz des Modells, weltweit und unabhängig von der Höhenlage möglich ist

FUZZY LOGIC, CONTINUITY AND EFFECTIVENESS

It is shown the complete equivalence between the theory of continuous (enumeration) fuzzy closure operators and the theory of (effective) fuzzy deduction systems in Hilbert style. Moreover, it is proven that any truth-functional semantics whose connectives are interpreted in [0,1] by continuous functions is axiomatizable by a fuzzy deduction system (but not by an effective fuzzy deduction system, in general). 1