Some strategies for the simulation of vocabulary agreement in multi-agent communities

In this paper, we present several experiments of belief propagation in multi-agent communities. Each agent in the simulation has an initial random vocabulary (4 words) corresponding to each possible movement (north, south, east and west). Agents move and communicate the associated word to the surrounding agents, which can be convinced by the 'speaking agent', and change their corresponding word by 'imitation'. Vocabulary uniformity is achieved, but strong interactions and competition can occur between dominant words. Several moving and trusting strategies as well as agent roles are analyzed.This paper has been sponsored by the Spanish Interdepartmental Commission of Science and Technology (CICYT), project number TEL1999-0181

Measurement of aerodynamic and acoustic quantities describing flow around a body placed in a wind tunnel

Aerodynamically generated noise affects passenger comfort in cars, high-speed trains, and airplanes, and thus, automobile manufacturers aim for its reduction. Investigation methods of noise and vibration sources can be divided into two groups, i.e. experimental research and mathematical research. Recently, owing to the increase in computing power, research in aerodynamically generated noise (aero-acoustics) is beginning to use modem methods such as computational fluid dynamics or fluid-structure interaction. The mathematical model of turbulent flow is given by the system of partial differential equations, its solution is ambiguous and thus requires verification by physical experiment. The results of numerical methods are affected by the boundary conditions of high quality gained from the actual experiment. This article describes an application of complex measurement methodology in the aerodynamic and acoustic (vibro-acoustic) fields. The first part of the paper is focused on the specification of the experimental equipment, i.e. the wind tunnel, which was significantly upgraded in order to obtain the relevant aerodynamics and vibro-acoustics data. The paper presents specific results from the measurement of the aerodynamic and vibro-acoustic fields.Web of Science191282

Optimizing the geometrical accuracy of curvilinear meshes

This paper presents a method to generate valid high order meshes with optimized geometrical accuracy. The high order meshing procedure starts with a linear mesh, that is subsequently curved without taking care of the validity of the high order elements. An optimization procedure is then used to both untangle invalid elements and optimize the geometrical accuracy of the mesh. Standard measures of the distance between curves are considered to evaluate the geometrical accuracy in planar two-dimensional meshes, but they prove computationally too costly for optimization purposes. A fast estimate of the geometrical accuracy, based on Taylor expansions of the curves, is introduced. An unconstrained optimization procedure based on this estimate is shown to yield significant improvements in the geometrical accuracy of high order meshes, as measured by the standard Haudorff distance between the geometrical model and the mesh. Several examples illustrate the beneficial impact of this method on CFD solutions, with a particular role of the enhanced mesh boundary smoothness.Comment: Submitted to JC

Node-to-segment and node-to-surface interface finite elements for fracture mechanics

The topologies of existing interface elements used to discretize cohesive cracks are such that they can be used to compute the relative displacements (displacement discontinuities) of two opposing segments (in 2D) or of two opposing facets (in 3D) belonging to the opposite crack faces and enforce the cohesive traction-separation relation. In the present work we propose a novel type of interface element for fracture mechanics sharing some analogies with the node-to-segment (in 2D) and with the node-to-surface (in 3D) contact elements. The displacement gap of a node belonging to the finite element discretization of one crack face with respect to its projected point on the opposite face is used to determine the cohesive tractions, the residual vector and its consistent linearization for an implicit solution scheme. The following advantages with respect to classical interface finite elements are demonstrated: (i) non-matching finite element discretizations of the opposite crack faces is possible; (ii) easy modelling of cohesive cracks with non-propagating crack tips; (iii) the internal rotational equilibrium of the interface element is assured. Detailed examples are provided to show the usefulness of the proposed approach in nonlinear fracture mechanics problems.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figure

Quantifying and reducing uncertainty in tidal energy yield assessments

Tidal stream energy has the potential to contribute to a diverse future energy mix. As the industry moves towards commercialisation and array scale deployment, there is an opportunity to better understand the uncertainties around energy yield assessments. Energy yield assessments are used widely in the wind industry to evaluate the potential energy production from a prospective project. One of the key challenges is to quantify and reduce uncertainty in energy yield assessment. This thesis investigates ways to achieve this through utilising lessons learnt from the established wind industry. An evaluation of both the wind and tidal energy yield assessment process is conducted, highlighting where synergies can be used to increase understanding of uncertainty for the nascent tidal industry. The processes are comparable starting with a campaign to collect site data to characterise the resource at the measurement location. The next stage is to evaluate the long term variations, however this is where the two methods differ. Analysis of long term wind effects requires correlations to be made between short term site data and long term reference data from alternative sources. An assessment of tidal variations over longer periods utilises harmonic analysis, which is capable of deconstructing the individual astronomical variations of the tide and reconstructing them to predict future variations. Despite harmonic analysis being able to determine the astronomical effects of the tide, there are uncertainties in the measurements of tidal flow which are associated with non-astronomical effects. Effects such as turbulence introduce uncertainty when evaluating measured tidal data. This is one area which is investigated further in the thesis. Methods to evaluate the turbulence intensity from real ADCP data are investigated. The next stages require creating a numerical model of the site to extrapolate the data spatially to other areas of interest (such as a turbine location). Energy yield predictions for both wind and tidal are made by combining a power curve with the long term resource. The energy yield outputs are then adjusted to account for energy losses and uncertainties are applied to produce final energy yield values with the attributed probability values associated. Statistical methods are applied to harmonic analysis to assess the level of uncertainty in long term predictions of tidal variations. A method using spectral analysis is applied to evaluate the residuals between measured and modelled data and proves to be accurate at determining missing tidal constituents from the analysis. A method for evaluating the turbulence intensity of the flow is shown, to better understand the stochastic nature of the tidal signal. An investigation is conducted to assess the propagation of bed friction uncertainty, in hydrodynamic modelling, and the resulting impact on the predicted power output from a theoretical fence of tidal turbines spanning a tidal channel. The methodology is based on first conducting sensitivity studies by varying a parameter in the model and calculating the power. Then using a mean and standard deviation for the input parameter, the impact of the uncertainty can be transferred to the estimate of power. The results show that a larger uncertainty associated with the bed roughness tends to over predict the estimation of power. This work aims to inform the standardisation of practices and guidelines in tidal resource assessment and to support developers, consultants and financiers in future tidal energy yield assessments. The final chapter includes procedural recommendations for future tidal energy projects, summarising methods to calculate uncertainty and recommendations to reduce them

SCAN-TO-BIM vs 3D IDEAL MODEL HBIM: PARAMETRIC TOOLS TO STUDY DOMES GEOMETRY

Abstract. The contribution is part of an interdisciplinary research that aims to address the problems of knowledge, interpretation and documentation of vulnerable structures such as the brick Renaissance domes in Campania (XV-XVI century). The goal is to analyze the relationship between Survey, Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) and 3D parametric models based on geometric rules from Treaties to study and to manage Cultural Heritage. HBIM is generally based on scan-to-BIM process that allows to generate 3D model from point cloud. The reverse modeling process, from a point cloud to parametric geometric model, poses a series of issues at the center of cultural debate that currently takes place around HBIM. The experimentation underway is part of this research field with the aim of using the parametric approach as a tool able to introduce an additional methodology for big data interpretation. Currently we can identify two different approaches for the construction of a HBIM system: building a simplified model by identifying the shape grammar or building the geometric components from survey without using pre-compiled objects libraries, following the scan to BIM logic. In our research we are going to identify an "hybrid" methodology. Generally the process is based on the knowledge and critical abilities of individual scholars, the idea is to increase the efficiency of the system through collaborative workflow forms that allow to optimize the processes through effective knowledge management actions. We are going to use procedural modeling techniques to generate HBIM domes library.</p

Phase field modeling of electrochemistry I: Equilibrium

A diffuse interface (phase field) model for an electrochemical system is developed. We describe the minimal set of components needed to model an electrochemical interface and present a variational derivation of the governing equations. With a simple set of assumptions: mass and volume constraints, Poisson's equation, ideal solution thermodynamics in the bulk, and a simple description of the competing energies in the interface, the model captures the charge separation associated with the equilibrium double layer at the electrochemical interface. The decay of the electrostatic potential in the electrolyte agrees with the classical Gouy-Chapman and Debye-H\"uckel theories. We calculate the surface energy, surface charge, and differential capacitance as functions of potential and find qualitative agreement between the model and existing theories and experiments. In particular, the differential capacitance curves exhibit complex shapes with multiple extrema, as exhibited in many electrochemical systems.Comment: v3: To be published in Phys. Rev. E v2: Added link to cond-mat/0308179 in References 13 pages, 6 figures in 15 files, REVTeX 4, SIUnits.sty. Precedes cond-mat/030817