Investigating the Feasibility of Integrating Pavement Friction and Texture Depth Data in Modeling for INDOT PMS

Under INDOT’s current friction testing program, the friction is measured annually on interstates but only once every three years on non-interstate roadways. The state’s Pavement Management System, however, would require current data if friction were to be included in the PMS. During routine pavement condition monitoring for the PMS, texture data is collected annually. This study explored the feasibility of using this pavement texture data to estimate the friction during those years when friction is not measured directly. After multi0ple approaches and a wide variety of ways of examining the currently available data and texture measuring technologies, it was determined that it is not currently feasible to use the texture data as a surrogate for friction testing. This is likely because the lasers used at this time are not capable of capturing the small-scale pavement microtexture. This situation may change, however, with advances in laser or photo interpretation technologies and improved access to materials data throughout the INDOT pavement network

Demonstration of the feasibility of automated silicon solar cell fabrication

An analysis of estimated costs indicate that for an annual output of 4,747,000 hexagonal cells (38 mm. on a side) a total factory cost of $0.866 per cell could be achieved. For cells with 14$1.22 per watt of electrical output. A laboratory model of such a facility was operated to produce a series of demonstration runs, producing hexagonal cells, 2 x 2 cm cells and 2 x 4 cm cells

The Effect of Dissolved Water on the Tribological Properties of Polyalkylene Glycol and Polyolester Oils

The effect of water dissolved in polyalkylene glycol and polyolester oils on the tribological behavior of two material contact pairs in three test environments is evaluated. The material contact pairs are M2 tool steel against 390 aluminum and M2 tool steel against gray cast iron. The three oils are a polyalkylene glycol (PAG) and two polyolester (PEl and PE2) oils. The test environments are R134a, air and argon. The tests are conducted in a specially designed high pressure tribometer which provides an accurate control of the test variables. The results indicate that the P AG oil performed better than the esters for both material contact pairs. The wear on the aluminum plates for the tests conducted with the P AG oil in all three environments is greatest at the lowest moisture content levels. From the stand point of friction and wear, it is beneficial to have a water content level of 5000 ppm or greater in the PAG oil when the plate material is 390 aluminum. The wear on the cast iron plates, when using a PAG oil as the lubricant showed a slight increase with water content in a R134a environment. This trend is opposite when air is the test environment. Both ester oils lubricated aluminum much better than the cast iron . The difference in the amount of wear can be as high as two orders of magnitude. This is probably due to the ability of the esters to form bidentate bonds with aluminum. Esters do not form such bonds with iron. The plate wear is greater for the PEl tests than for the PE2 tests for both material contact pairs. This is most likely due to the difference in the viscosity of the oils. In PE2 oil, water does not seem to affect the friction and wear of both aluminum/steel and cast iron/steel contacts when R134a is the test environment. On the contrary, for the aluminum/steel contacts, the water content significantly influences wear when argon or air is the test environment. For the cast iron/steel contacts, the wear is strongly influenced by the water content when the test is conducted in argon, but it is not influenced by the water content when the test is conducted in air.Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center Project 0

Pembinaan konstruk instrumen penilaian pasca penghunian untuk perumahan bertingkat yang dibina menggunakan kaedah Sistem Binaan Berindustri (IBS)

Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is an activity of the building evaluation process with a focus on quality, operational performance and satisfaction of the occupants. The POE is important to evaluate completed and occupied buildings to identify weaknesses and potential for future improvement. To date, there have been various variations of POE instruments and tools to evaluate occupied buildings. However, the POE instrument for assessing high-rise housing constructed using the industrialized building system (IBS) method has not been developed specifically. In this regard, this study aims to discuss the construction of an effective POE instrument to measure the quality and performance of high-rise housing built using the IBS method. For this purpose, the 3 round Delphi method was adapted by involving 15 experts selected based on their background and experience related to IBS. The results of a three-round Delphi study found that 33 out of all sub-constructs were dropped because of low mean scores (<4.2 in two rounds) while 75 sub-constructs were identified as final items. The results of the Delphi study also found that all 10 constructs were 1) Spatial; 2) Design and aesthetics; 3) Physical; 4) Building materials; 5) Quality of work; 6) Comfort and well-being; 7) Environment and health; 8) Maintenance; 9) Value and 10) Cost is the most significant construct for developing PPP instruments. Accordingly, an effective Post-Occupancy Assessment Instrument for measuring the quality, performance and value of a home built using the IBS method should include all of these constructs

Development of fire-resistant, low smoke generating, thermally stable end items for aircraft and spacecraft

Materials were developed to improve aircraft interior materials by modifying existing polymer structures, refining the process parameters, and by the use of mechanical configurations designed to overcome specific deficiencies. The optimization, selection, and fabrication of five fire resistant, low smoke emitting open cell foams are described for five different types of aircraft cabin structures. These include: resilient foams, laminate floor and wall paneling, thermal/acoustical insulation, molded shapes, and coated fabrics. All five have been produced from essentially the same polyimide precursor and have resulted in significant benefits from transfer of technology between the various tasks

Software component testing : a standard and the effectiveness of techniques

This portfolio comprises two projects linked by the theme of software component testing, which is also often referred to as module or unit testing. One project covers its standardisation, while the other considers the analysis and evaluation of the application of selected testing techniques to an existing avionics system. The evaluation is based on empirical data obtained from fault reports relating to the avionics system. The standardisation project is based on the development of the BC BSI Software Component Testing Standard and the BCS/BSI Glossary of terms used in software testing, which are both included in the portfolio. The papers included for this project consider both those issues concerned with the adopted development process and the resolution of technical matters concerning the definition of the testing techniques and their associated measures. The test effectiveness project documents a retrospective analysis of an operational avionics system to determine the relative effectiveness of several software component testing techniques. The methodology differs from that used in other test effectiveness experiments in that it considers every possible set of inputs that are required to satisfy a testing technique rather than arbitrarily chosen values from within this set. The three papers present the experimental methodology used, intermediate results from a failure analysis of the studied system, and the test effectiveness results for ten testing techniques, definitions for which were taken from the BCS BSI Software Component Testing Standard. The creation of the two standards has filled a gap in both the national and international software testing standards arenas. Their production required an in-depth knowledge of software component testing techniques, the identification and use of a development process, and the negotiation of the standardisation process at a national level. The knowledge gained during this process has been disseminated by the author in the papers included as part of this portfolio. The investigation of test effectiveness has introduced a new methodology for determining the test effectiveness of software component testing techniques by means of a retrospective analysis and so provided a new set of data that can be added to the body of empirical data on software component testing effectiveness

Rethinking the Value of Simulation Methods in the Information Systems Research Field: A Call for Reconstructing Contribution for a Broader Audience

The impact of simulation methods for social research in the Information Systems (IS) research field remains low. A concern is our field is inadequately leveraging the unique strengths of simulation methods. Although this low impact is frequently attributed to methodological complexity, we offer an alternative explanation – the poor construction of research value. We argue more intuitive value construction, better connected to the knowledge base, will facilitate increased value and broader appreciation. Meta-analysis of studies published in IS journals over the last decade evidences the low impact. To facilitate value construction, we synthesize four common types of simulation research contribution: Analyzer, Tester, Descriptor, and Theorizer. To illustrate, we employ the proposed typology to describe how each type of value is structured in simulation research and connect each type to instances from IS literature, thereby making these value types and their construction visible and readily accessible to the general IS community