An Application of Retroduction to Analyzing and Testing the Backing off of Nuts and Bolts During Dynamic Loading

The method of retroduction, adapted from the doctoral thesis of Dr. A. Croce, relies on a process of dialectic questioning that begins with the information sought, proceeds to Given items (either in the form of dimensions or limits of research). and to Known mathematical forms of analysis in design or to principles of study in research. Finally, analysis and synthesis are used to abstract the dielectic questions and to arrive at the information desired. This method is used to solve the engineering design problem of a beam and to determine why bolts and nuts vibrate apart. Both mathematical analysis and dialectic logical analysis are utilized. Results are provided of tests conducted to check the retroductive study of why and how nuts back off

(re)construct: exploring objecthood in a digital age

The following paper describes the conceptual framework and several works in the exhibition: (re)construct: exploring objecthood in a digital age, which was on view at the Laura Mesaros Gallery at the College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University. The exhibition ran from November 30th through December 11th, 2009. The exhibition consisted of both oil paintings on clear acrylic and ink jet photographs. The question which this paper and the exhibition attempts to address is: what are the ontology and the limits of hyperreality in contemporary society? The following paper and the exhibition is epistemologically based and asks the following questions: Are we in a continuous state of the hyperreal, as theorist Jean Baudrillard (1929--2009) suggested, or are we in a state of flux between the real and the hyperreal? And further, what place does the handmade play in contemporary society and art making? The work and the paper assert that the handmade, the sense of objecthood and physical manipulation in the works, dislocates the digital referent, which is suggested through both process and image

Impressionistic techniques applied in sound art & design

Sound art and design collectively refer to the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating sonic elements to evoke emotion and environment. Sound is used to convey the intentions, emotions, spirit or aura of a story, performance, or sonic installation. Sound connects unique aural environments, creating an immersive experience via mood and atmosphere. Impressionistic techniques such as Impasto, Pointillism, Sgraffito, Stippling introduced by 19th-century painters captured the essence of their subject in more vivid compositions, exuding authentic movements and atmosphere. This thesis applied impressionistic techniques using sound art and design to project specific mood and atmosphere responses among listeners. Four unique sound textures, each representing a technique from Impressionism, and a fifth composite sound texture were created for this project. All five sound textures were validated as representative of their respective Impressionistic technique. Only sonic Pointillism matched its emotive intent. This outcome supports the research question that sound art and design can be used to direct listeners’ mood and atmosphere responses. Partnering Impressionistic principles with sound art and design offers a deeper palette to sonically deliver more robust, holistic soundscapes for amplifying an audience’s listening experience. This project provides a foundation for future explorations and studies in applying cross-disciplinary artistic techniques with sound art and design or other artistic endeavors

What is the method in applying formal methods to PLC applications?

The question we investigate is how to obtain PLC applications with confidence in their proper functioning. Especially, we are interested in the contribution that formal methods can provide for their development. Our maxim is that the place of a particular formal method in the total picture of system development should be made very clear. Developers and customers ought to understand very well what they can rely on or not, and we see our task in trying to make this explicit. Therefore, for us the answer to the question above leads to the following questions: Which parts of the system can be treated formally? What formal methods and tools can be applied? What does their successful application tell (or does not) about the proper functioning of the whole system

Improvements to the weak-post W-beam guardrail

Recent full-scale crash tests of the weak-post W-beam guardrail system have resulted in unsatisfactory collision performance as evaluated by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350. Since acceptable crash test performance is required in order to use a guardrail on a Federal-Aid Highway in the United States, the poor performance of the weak-post W-beam guardrail is a significant problem to those states that use it. The goal of this project was to improve the impact performance of the weak-post W-beam guardrail system so that it satisfies the requirements of NCHRP Report 350 at test level three

A collaborative approach to embedding academic literacies in first year grant projects

This paper describes the collaborative approach that Academic Language and Learning developers are using as part of a university’s First Year Experience project. This project draws on the idea of a third generation approach which utilises a bottom-up and top-down institutional framework. Intrinsic to this framework at UTS is a small grant scheme devised to support academics in designing curricula which facilitate first year students’ transition. However, smooth transition can be affected by the academic and linguistic capital of the increasingly diverse student population. This has provided the opportunity for ALL developers to become active participants in the small grant scheme and to work collaboratively with academics on the seamless integration of domain specific academic literacy. Two case studies of FYE grants illustrate the parameters and benefits of such an approach and how it may enable a discursive space to support sustainable practice

Template-based geometric transformations of a functionally enriched DMU into FE assembly models

International audiencePre-processing of CAD models derived from Digital Mock-Ups (DMUs) into finite element (FE) models is usually completed after many tedious tasks of model preparation and shape transformations. It is highly valuable for simulation engineers to automate time-consuming sequences of assembly preparation processes. Here, it is proposed to use an enriched DMU with geometric interfaces between components (contacts and interferences) and functional properties. Then, the key concept of template-based transformation can connect to assembly functions to locate consistent sets of components in the DMU. Subsequently, sets of shape transformations feed the template content to adapt components to FE requirements. To precisely monitor the friction areas and the mesh around bolts, the template creates sub-domains into their tightened components and preserves the consistency of geometric interfaces for the mesh generation purposes. From a user-selected assembly function, the method is able to robustly identify, locate and transform groups of components while preserving the consistency of the assembly needed for FE models. To enlarge the scope of the template in the assembly function taxonomy, it is shown how the concept of dependent function enforces the geometric and functional consistency of the transformed assembly. To demonstrate the proposed approach, a business oriented prototype processes bolted junctions of aeronautical structures

Design of Path Correction for Improved Gait Rehabilitation

Following a serious neurological injury or disease, such as a spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis, many patients develop impaired gait (the ability to walk). There are many different pieces of equipment to help rehabilitate people with impaired gait, ranging from over ground walking with exoskeletons to treadmills with partial bodyweight support. Since the 1990s and 2000s, elliptical trainers have entered the rehabilitative field as a machine with low impact forces and gait-like motion. This led researchers at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals to collaborate with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to create the Intelligently Controlled Assistive Rehabilitation Elliptical (ICARE). While the ICARE is currently used in rehabilitating patients, its motion patterns tend to deviate from normal gait at more distal joints. In order to correct these deviations and further improve the ICARE’s performance, a four-bar mechanism was created to attach to the ICARE while assisting a patient in rehabilitative exercise. The kinematic synthesis input for this problem specifically focused on the gait of the right foot centroid. Both traditional kinematic synthesis techniques and modern synthesis software were utilized in the process of creating a solution to this synthesis problem. It was observed that the designed mechanism greatly improved the horizontal and vertical displacements of the foot centroid with milder improvements for the angular displacement. Advisor: Carl A. Nelso