Structural health monitoring cost estimation of piezo-sensorized aircraft fuselage

Guided waves-based SHM systems are of interest in the aeronautic sector due to their lightweight, long interrogation distances, and low power consumption. In this study, a bottom-up framework for the estimation of the initial investment cost (COTC) and the added weight (WAW) associated with the integration of a SHM system to an aircraft is presented. The framework provides a detailed breakdown of the activities and their costs for the sensorization of a structure using a fully wired approach or the adoption of the printed diagnostic film. Additionally, the framework considers the difference between configuring the system for Manual or Remote data acquisition. Based on the case study presented on the sensorization of a regional aircraft composite fuselage, there is a trade-off between COTC and WAW for the SHM options considered. The Wired–Manual case leads to the lowest COTC with the highest WAW, while the combination of diagnostic film with a Remote system leads to the highest COTC and the lowest WAW. These estimations capture the characteristics of each system and can be integrated into cost–benefit analyses for the final selection of a particular configuration

Specifying, Analyzing, Integrating Mobile Apps and Location Sensors as part of Cyber-Physical Systems in the Classroom Environment

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are characterized as complex systems usually networked, composed of several heterogeneous components that make the connection between events in the physical environment with computation. We can observe that this kind of systems is increasingly used in different areas such as automotive facilities, construction (civil engineering), health care and energy industry, providing a service or activity which depends on the interaction with users and the physical environment in which they are installed. Nowadays, in the educational context, the process of control and monitor of evaluation activities is conducted in a non-automated way by lecturers. This control is performed before, during and after the beginning of the evaluation activity, and include logistical processes such as classroom reservation, distribution of students per classroom, attendance record or fraud control. However, in an environment involving a large number of students, the execution of these tasks becomes difficult to perform efficiently and safely, requiring innovative techniques or assistance tools. In this work, the creation/design of a cyber-physical system through a modeling approach is proposed, aiming to help teachers to control and monitor evaluation activities. Based on a systematic literature study, we claim that there are no studies presenting the modeling of cyber-physical systems in an educational context, enhancing the interest of the proposed case study. In this document, we show how we used a framework named ModelicaML to model this system during the design phase. Also, this framework will offer a simulation component to simulate the behavior of the prescribed system. On the side of the hardware architecture, for the purpose of identifying the valid seats for the specific students inclass during the examination period, an indoor location system will be used, allowing to blueprint the physical layout of the room and globally manage the activity workflow. We finish this work by showing with empirical studies the gains of our solution when compared to the traditional method

A Proposed Framework For Measuring The Effectiveness Of Social Media: A Study Of Irish Tourism

Over the past five years, visitations of American holidaymakers to Ireland have grown exponentially owing to the online strategies of Tourism Ireland, a Destination Marketer (DMO) with a meagre budget which is extended by their understanding of best practices to maximise their monetary allowance. This suggested framework incorporates a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as financial, marketing and operational that offer a scale of measurement from which the Irish DMO can monitor the success of each promotional campaign when targeting the US and Canada. These are presented not as final solutions but rather as suggestions based on empirical evidence obtained from both primary and secondary sources. This research combines the wisdom extracted through qualitative methodologies with the objective of understanding the processes that drive both emergent and agile strategies. The study extends the work relative to performance and examines the role of social media in the context of promoting Ireland to North America. There are two main themes that are identified and analysed in this investigation, these are the approach of the DMO when advocating Ireland as a brand and the benefits of digital platforms set against a proposed scale of KPIs, such as destination marketing, brand positioning and identity development. The key narrative of this analysis is to focus on the power of social media when capitalising upon marketing opportunities, operating on a relatively small budget. This will always be a relevant theme of discussion due to the responsibility of an organisation like Tourism Ireland operating under the restraints imposed by government funding. The overall conclusions of this research may help inform those concerned with the implementing of social media strategies develop clearer models of measurement when promoting a destination to North America. The suggestions of this study will benefit small and medium enterprises particularly

Data integration for urban transport planning

Urban transport planning aims at balancing conflicting challenges by promoting more efficient transport systems while reducing negative impacts. The availability of better and more reliable data has not only stimulated new planning methodologies, but also created challenges for efficient data management and data integration. The major focus of this study is to improve methodologies for representing and integrating multi-source and multi-format urban transport data. This research approaches the issue of data integration based on the classification of urban transport data both from a functional and a representational perspective. The functional perspective considers characteristics of the urban transport system and planning requirements, and categorises data into supply, demand, performance and impact. The representational perspective considers transport data in terms of their spatial and non-spatial characteristics that are important for data representation. These two perspectives correspond to institutional and methodological data integration respectively, and are the foundation of transport data integration. This research is based on the city of Wuhan in China. The methodological issues of transport data integration are based on the representational perspective. A framework for data integration has been put forward, in which spatial data are classified as point, linear and areal types, and the non-spatial data are sorted out as values and temporal attributes. This research has respectively probed the integration of point, linear and areal transport data within a GIS environment. The locations of socio-economic activities are point-type data that need to be spatially referenced. A location referencing process requires a referencing base, source address units and referencing methods. The referencing base consists of such spatial features as streets, street addresses, points of interest and publicly known zones. These referencing bases have different levels of spatial preciseness and have to be kept in a hierarchy. Source addresses in Chinese cities are usually written as one sentence, which has to be divided into address units for automatic geo-coding. As it is difficult to separate from the sentences, the address units have to be clearly identified in survey forms. Depending on the types of address units, the referencing process makes use of either semantic name matching or address matching to link source addresses to features in the referencing base. The name-based and road-based referencing schemes constitute a comprehensive location referencing framework that is applicable to Chinese cities. The relationship between two sets of linear features can be identified with spatial overlay in the case of independent representation, or with internal linkage in a dependent representation. The bus line is such a feature that runs on the street network and can be dependently referenced by streets. In the heavily bus-oriented city of Wuhan, bus lines constitute a large public transit network that is important to transport planning and management. This research has extended conventional bus line representation to a more detailed level. Each bus line has been differentiated as two directional routes that are defined separately with reference to the street network. Accordingly, individual route stops are also represented in the database. These stop sites are spatial features with geometry that are linked to street segments and bus routes by linear location referencing methods. A data model linking base street network, bus lines and routes, line and route stops, and other bus operations data has been constructed. The benefits of the detailed model have been demonstrated in several transport applications. Zonal data transitions include three types of operations, i.e. aggregation, areal interpolation and disaggregation. This study focuses on disaggregating data from larger zones to smaller zones. In the context of Wuhan, zonal data disaggregation involves the allocation of statistical data from statistical units to smaller parcels. Given the availability of land use data, a weighted approach reflecting spatial variations has been applied in the disaggregation process. Two technical processes for disaggregation have been examined. Weighted area-weighting (WAW) is an adaptation of the classic area-weighting method, and Monte Carlo simulation (MC) is a stochastic process based on a raster data model. The MC outcome is more convenient for subsequent re-aggregation, and is also directly available for micro-simulation. An important contribution arising from this zonal integration study is that two standardised disaggregation tools have been developed within a GIS environment. The research has also explored the institutional aspect of data integration. The findings of this study show that there is generally a good institutional transport structure in the city of Wuhan and that there is also a growing awareness of using information technology. Professional cooperation exists among transport organisations, but not yet at a level for data sharing. An integrated data support framework requires data sharing. In such a framework, it should be possible to know where to get data for specific transport studies, or which kind of research an institution supports

Punk’s dead knot: Constructing the temporal and spatial in commercial punk imagery

This article analyses two deliberately constructed visual artefacts broadly classed within the punk style; a photograph from 1976 and a 30-second commercial from 2016. The period of analysis chimes with the current celebrations of 40 years of punk as seen within the city of London. Whilst the article presents overview considerations of punk as a (once) possible confrontational cultural discourse, I also develop a detailed visual methodology looking at embedded visual codes and cultural forms from both the high and the low. By considering the photograph within a flux of differing temporalities, and the commercial as a potential sequence of heavily coded still montages, I examine how the space and time of punk has been twisted for various purposes

Design of a subsonic wind tunnel electrical system

The purpose of this thesis is to present information and data used in the planning and construction of an electrical distribution system and main drive system for a wind tunnel designed for Chance Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas, by Sverdrup & Parcel, Incorporated, Consulting Engineers of St. Louis. Preliminary negotiations were started with Chance Vought Aircraft Company in March 1953, and the wind tunnel calibrations were started in October 1954. Between those dates all design, installation drawings, and construction were completed. The data used in preparing this thesis were taken from daily records, records of conferences, personal records, correspondence files, design specifications, and installation drawings. Included are some of the special design problems and their solutions and specific construction features of the facility. The low speed wind tunnel required by Chance Vought Aircraft Company was to be of the work horse type; that is to say, it would be used primarily for rapid solution of aircraft design problems. The tunnel was to be similar to other existing subsonic tunnels, without having the elaborate features usually found in a research” type wind tunnel. The most desirable features of the best operating wind tunnels were to be incorporated in the design. A balance between operating performance and initial cost was to be maintained through all the design and construction phases. Emphasis was placed upon simplicity and ease of operation, minimum maintenance, and maximum utilization of the facility --Preface, pages iii-iv

Humanitarian struggle : the politics of cross-border aid on the Thai-Burma border

Through an ethnographic study of a cross-border aid organisation, this thesis examines problems that go to the heart of the politics of humanitarian aid. At a time of significant political change in Burma, members of the Back Pack Health Worker Team had to grapple with questions that have shaped the history of humanitarianism but continue to raise complex political and ethical dilemmas. The Back Pack Health Worker Team - or Back Pack, as it is commonly known - is a Non-Government Organisation made up of indigenous medics who provide healthcare to ethnic minority communities in Burma's disputed border areas. Ten years after its creation in 1998, Back Pack had become an influential yet controversial player in the politics of aid to Burma. This thesis explores how humanitarian actors, systems and practices can at different times be defined as legitimate or illegitimate. It examines ways in which an 'embodied history' of violence can influence the worldviews and actions of humanitarian actors, as well as institutions that develop in a particular context to mitigate human suffering. Back Pack's 'humanitarian struggle' unites the provision of aid with a politico-moral vision, itself tied to the life experiences and embodied histories of state violence of its founders and members. This humanitarian struggle implies an attribution of legitimacy to some socio-political actors in Burma rather than others. For over a decade, it was endorsed by international donors and political actors. At a time of significant (geo)political change, however, international-level attributions of legitimacy to different socio-political actors in Burma shifted, with significant impacts on an already polarised and emotive politics of aid. This ethnographic study highlights the importance of analysing systems through which aid works from the perspective of values attributed to these systems by actors at different scales of analysis and in relation to wider political and geopolitical changes. It focuses on the complex and often-invisible webs of local organisations, international NGOs, donors and other socio-political actors, which can develop in a cross-border and extra-legal context - a context where competing constructions of systems as legitimate or illegitimate, humanitarian or not humanitarian are highlighted. It is in such a context and at a time of significant (geo)political change that constructions of 'licitness' can become most pertinent and that divergent and shifting attributions of value by actors at different scales become particularly significant. Finally, the thesis links this analysis to a conceptualisation of humanitarianism as an unequal 'politics of life' and 'politics of value'. It thus highlights ways in which actors differentially situated in an international system of 'humanitarian government' can be involved in contests over the attribution of value not only to human lives per se, but also to the systems and practices that enable the government of these lives

Airport classification based on cargo characteristics

Air cargo has received little attention in airport research. In this paper, 114 airports are grouped according to their cargo business characteristics. Applying a hierarchical cluster analysis, the paper uses absolute (cargo tonnage) and relative measures (share of cargo work load units, of freighter movements and of international cargo) to establish the reliance of different airport types and groupings on air cargo. Eight distinct clusters are identified which show clear differences in the characteristics of the sample with regard to cargo activities. Geographic patterns of these airports are also revealed. For example, North American and European airports are characterised by features unique to these regions. Airports that are highly dependent on air cargo tend to benefit from a central location within networks of cargo airlines, while other airports with high cargo volumes generate these as a result of significant belly-capacity of passenger operations. Understanding the heterogeneity of cargo airports is important for future benchmarking studies in this field