New double indentation technique for measurement of the elasticity modulus of thin objects

In this paper we introduce a new method to determine the Young's modulus of thin (biological) samples. The method is especially suitable for small objects with a thickness of a few hundred micrometers. Such specimens cannot be examined with existing tests: compression and tensile tests need well-known geometry and boundary conditions while classic indentation tests need relatively thick pieces of material. In order to determine the elastic modulus we use the indentation theory as proposed by Sneddon and correct it with a finite element calculated kappa factor to compensate for the small thickness. In order to avoid material deformations at the contact zone between the sample bottom and the sample stage, we replace the sample stage by a second indentation needle. In this way the sample can be clamped between two identical needles and a virtual mirror plane is introduced. The new method was used on four test-materials and results agreed well with the outcome of a standard compression method applied on large samples of the same materials. As an application example the technique was applied on thin biological samples, namely middle ear ossicles of rabbits

Reverse flow catalytic membrane reactors for energy efficient syngas production

To improve the recuperative heat exchange, a Reverse Flow Catalytic Membrane Reactor (RFCMR) with porous membranes is proposed in this thesis, in which very efficient heat exchange between the feed and product streams is achieved by using the reverse flow concept (i.e. periodic alternation of the flow direction of the gas through a fixed catalyst bed)

Two Ships in the Night or in the Same Boat Together? Why the European Court of Justice Made the Right Choice in the Kadi Case. College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 03/2009, June 2009

This paper investigates the approaches to the recent Kadi case taken by both the Court of First Instance and the Advocate General and asks whether the European Court of Justice made the right choice with regard to the case’s implications for the relationship between European and international law. It argues that the Court’s judgement of 3 September 2008 in Kadi is to be welcomed, also from an internatio-nal perspective. It rightly rejected the approach presented by the Court of First Instance, which, albeit stressing the importance of the UN Charter, ultimately turned out to be a ‘false friend’ of international law. By largely following the Advocate General’s Opinion, the Court maintained the integrity and the superior human rights standard of the EU legal order. Without jeopardizing the compliance of the Member States with their UN Charter obligations right away, it sent a clear warning signal to the United Nations Security Council to exhaust its potential for reform of the targeted sanction regime to the fullest. The Court showed that in an interdependent world of multilevel governance, the different components cannot ‘pass by each other like ships in the night’. In the face of threats like global terrorism like the threat of terrorism as well as undue curtailing of human rights, we are all in the same boat together after all

[DC] self-adaptive technologies for immersive trainings

Online learning is the preferred option for professional training, e.g. Industry 4.0 or e-health, because it is more cost efficient than on-site organisation of realistic training sessions. However, current online learning technologies are limited in terms of personalisation, interactivity and immersiveness that are required by applications such as surgery and pilot training. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have the potential to overcome these limitations. However, due to its early stage of research, VR requires significant improvements to fully unlock its potential. The focus of this PhD is to tackle research challenges to enable VR for online training in three dimensions: (1) dynamic adaptation of the training content for personalised trainings, by incorporating prior knowledge and context data into self-learning algorithms; (2) mapping of sensor data onto what happens in the VR environment, by focusing on motion prediction techniques that use past movements of the users, and (3) investigating immersive environments with intuitive interactions, by gaining a better understanding of human motion in order to improve interaction. The designed improvements will be characterised though a prototype VR training platform for multiple use cases. This work will not only advance the state of the art on VR training, but also on online e-learning applications in general