Optimizing The Spatial Content Caching Distribution for Device-to-Device Communications

We study the optimal geographic content placement problem for device-to-device (D2D) networks in which the content popularity follows the Zipf law. We consider a D2D caching model where the locations of the D2D users (caches) are modeled by a Poisson point process (PPP) and have limited communication range and finite storage. Unlike most related work which assumes independent placement of content, and does not capture the locations of the users, we model the spatial properties of the network including spatial correlation in terms of the cached content. We propose two novel spatial correlation models, the exchangeable content model and a Mat\'{e}rn (MHC) content placement model, and analyze and optimize the \emph{hit probability}, which is the probability of a given D2D node finding a desired file at another node within its communication range. We contrast these results to the independent placement model, and show that exchangeable placement performs worse. On the other hand, MHC placement yields a higher cache hit probability than independent placement for small cache sizes.Comment: appeared in Proc. IEEE Intl. Symposium on Info. Theory, Barcelona, Spain, July 201

Optical vortex singularities and atomic circulation in evanescent waves

The total internal reflection of an optical beam with a phase singularity can generate evanescent light that displays a rotational character. At a metalized surface, in particular, field components extending into the vacuum region possess vortex properties in addition to surface plasmon features. These surface plasmonic vortices retain the phase singularity of the input light, also mapping its associated orbital angular momentum. In addition to a two-dimensional patterning on the surface, the strongly localized intensity distribution decays with distance perpendicular to the film surface. The detailed characteristics of these surface optical vortex structures depend on the incident beam parameters and the dielectric mismatch of the media. The static interference of the resulting surface vortices, achieved by using beams suitably configured to restrict lateral in-plane motion, can be shown to give rise to optical forces that produce interesting dynamical effects on atoms or small molecules trapped in the vicinity of the surface. As well as trapping within the surface plasmonic fields, model calculations reveal that the corresponding atomic trajectories will typically exhibit a variety of rotational and vibrational effects, significantly depending on the extent and sign of detuning from resonance

On/Off Macrocells and Load Balancing in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

The rate distribution in heterogeneous networks (HetNets) greatly benefits from load balancing, by which mobile users are pushed onto lightly-loaded small cells despite the resulting loss in SINR. This offloading can be made more aggressive and robust if the macrocells leave a fraction of time/frequency resource blank, which reduces the interference to the offloaded users. We investigate the joint optimization of this technique - referred to in 3GPP as enhanced intercell interference coordination (eICIC) via almost blank subframes (ABSs) - with offloading in this paper. Although the joint cell association and blank resource (BR) problem is nominally combinatorial, by allowing users to associate with multiple base stations (BSs), the problem becomes convex, and upper bounds the performance versus a binary association. We show both theoretically and through simulation that the optimal solution of the relaxed problem still results in an association that is mostly binary. The optimal association differs significantly when the macrocell is on or off; in particular the offloading can be much more aggressive when the resource is left blank by macro BSs. Further, we observe that jointly optimizing the offloading with BR is important. The rate gain for cell edge users (the worst 3-10%) is very large - on the order of 5-10x - versus a naive association strategy without macrocell blanking

Rutting Prediction of Flexible Pavements Using Finite Element Modeling

During the past two decades, Finite Element (FE) techniques were successfully used to simulate different pavement problems that could not be modelled using the simpler multi-layer elastic theory. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element model was developed, using ABAQUS software, in order to investigate the impact of static repeated wheel load on rutting formation and pavement response. The procedures of building a model and performing static analysis are introduced. In that model, pavement materials were presented as linear-elastic–plastic based on Drucker-Prager model. In addition, the asphalt layer was assumed to follow a viscoelastic behavior using Pellinen and Witczak model, which was adopted by NCHRP. The Falling Weight Deflectometer FWD was also proposed as an effective and practical tool for on-site pavement evaluation and field measurements, other than the laboratory tests. After insuring the model validation, the study investigated the impact of temperature, tire pressure and subgrade strength on the rut depth as a pavement response. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the rut depth increases with increasing the temperature and the tire pressure and with decreasing the subgrade strength

Evaluating the use of lecture capture using a revealed preference approach

This article discusses the introduction of lecture capture technology on a large undergraduate module with diverse student cohorts. Literature has so far relied on surveying students to discover their use of the technology or attempted to quantify the impact of watching lecture recordings on assessment performance. Alternatively, the principal contribution of this article is an evaluation of the use of the recorded lectures using a revealed preference approach. Specifically we identify to what extent students watched lecture recordings, rather than simply claimed to watch them when asked to provide comments on the technology. Data indicates the number of distinct students who watched recordings, the frequency with which they watched recordings, the average length of viewings as well as the time of day when lectures were viewed. We monitored viewings over two academic years, identifying ‘spikes’ in the number of viewings in the days before tests, as well as regularities in the viewing patterns across the two years. We analyse the data to assess the extent to which students used the recordings, how and when they watched the recordings. We conclude that the students value lecture recordings, making more extensive use of the recordings than has been identified in the literature to date. Ultimately, lecture recordings are suggested to offer valuable support for students’ independent study