The method of machinery and device assessment based on MAZTe-Mutilization.

Interdisciplinary relations of the issues concerning machinery and device utilization have gained significant importance in technical diagnostics in the aspect of their applications. Technical diagnostics as a discipline of the methods and techniques to examine the technical condition of structures, refers to the assessment of the reliability through monitoring functional performance of production and assisting processes and the features of the end product. The MAZTe-M method enables assessment of the value of the fixed assets within the area of machinery and devices on the basis of the technical environment of their operations (according to their technical condition, reliability, the amount of work performed and order priority) in two aspects: their wear in the specific working place in a company as well as economic profitability of utilization. The MAZTe- M method analyses the utilization of machinery and devices in a particular technical environment. In order to estimate the average value of a machine,one applies functions describing coefficient values against the passing of time. In the case ofeconomic wear of machinery and devices, calculating complementary synergy coefficientis calculated taking into account the process of machinery and devices liquidationunder the owner’s supervision

Multidecadal (1960–2011) shoreline changes in Isbjørnhamna (Hornsund, Svalbard)

A section of a gravel-dominated coast in Isbjørnhamna (Hornsund, Svalbard) was analysed to calculate the rate of shoreline changes and explain processes controlling coastal zone development over last 50 years. Between 1960 and 2011, coastal landscape of Isbjørnhamna experienced a significant shift from dominated by influence of tide-water glacier and protected by prolonged sea-ice conditions towards storm-affected and rapidly changing coast. Information derived from analyses of aerial images and geomorphological mapping shows that the Isbjørnhamna coastal zone is dominated by coastal erosion resulting in a shore area reduction of more than 31,600 m2. With ~3,500 m2 of local aggradation, the general balance of changes in the study area of the shore is negative, and amounts to a loss of more than 28,000 m2. Mean shoreline change is −13.1 m (−0.26 m a−1). Erosional processes threaten the Polish Polar Station infrastructure and may damage of one of the storage buildings in nearby future

Integrating multiple criteria decision analysis in participatory forest planning

Forest planning in a participatory context often involves multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests. A promising approach for handling these complex situations is to integrate participatory planning and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The objective of this paper is to analyze strengths and weaknesses of such an integrated approach, focusing on how the use of MCDA has influenced the participatory process. The paper outlines a model for a participatory MCDA process with five steps: stakeholder analysis, structuring of the decision problem, generation of alternatives, elicitation of preferences, and ranking of alternatives. This model was applied in a case study of a planning process for the urban forest in Lycksele, Sweden. In interviews with stakeholders, criteria for four different social groups were identified. Stakeholders also identified specific areas important to them and explained what activities the areas were used for and the forest management they wished for there. Existing forest data were combined with information from interviews to create a map in which the urban forest was divided into zones of different management classes. Three alternative strategic forest plans were produced based on the zonal map. The stakeholders stated their preferences individually by the Analytic Hierarchy Process in inquiry forms and a ranking of alternatives and consistency ratios were determined for each stakeholder. Rankings of alternatives were aggregated; first, for each social group using the arithmetic mean, and then an overall aggregated ranking was calculated from the group rankings using the weighted arithmetic mean. The participatory MCDA process in Lycksele is assessed against five social goals: incorporating public values into decisions, improving the substantive quality of decisions, resolving conflict among competing interests, building trust in institutions, and educating and informing the public. The results and assessment of the case study support the integration of participatory planning and MCDA as a viable option for handling complex forest-management situations. Key issues related to the MCDA methodology that need to be explored further were identified: 1) The handling of place-specific criteria, 2) development of alternatives, 3) the aggregation of individual preferences into a common preference, and 4) application and evaluation of the integrated approach in real case studies

Bi-Modal Excitation of a Supersonic Rectangular Jet

This work addresses the issue of supersonic rectangular jet noise via bi-modal excitation. A Mach 1.5 heated rectangular jet with a 2:1 aspect ratio is considered. Theoretical work is presented in which a Reduced-Order Model (ROM) is used in conjunction with the Linearized Euler Equations to predict the nonlinear growth and decay of various frequencies due to the interaction between harmonically related modes and the mean flow. Scope is limited to a symmetric disturbance. The case of no interaction is used to help identify a dominant coherent structure, referred to as “f”. For the symmetric disturbance, a Strouhal number of 0.15, based on the height of the jet, is found to be the most amplified frequency. The ROM is then used including interaction where either the subharmonic (f/2) or harmonic (2f) are added to reduce “f”. It was found that adding harmonics are effective at reducing the peak of the fundamental depending on the initial phase angle. By assuming “f” to be the dominant noise source, it is possible that this is an effective noise reduction mechanism. To validate the ROM, Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) are conducted starting with a previously validated case. The unexcited case is first considered. Using FFT, Strouhal number 0.15 is identified as the dominant coherent structure in the near field, which is consistent with the ROM. However in the far field, StH = 0.25 appears as the dominant frequency at the peak emissivity angle, though StH = 0.15 still appeared as a secondary peak and dominated lower angles. The ROM shows the requirement of natural amplification, thus StH = 0.15 is taken as the fundamental. Based on guidance from the ROM, the jet is excited with the harmonic, StH = 0.30, assuming StH = 0.15 to be naturally amplified. A second set of cases is considered where both StH = 0.30 and StH = 0.15 are excited with varying initial phase lags. In both cases, excitation is imposed using a pressure fluctuation. For all excitation cases, the coherent structure at StH = 0.15 in the near field, and the amount of reduction correlates to the amount of amplification of StH = 0.30, supporting the proposal of energy exchange between the two modes. In the far field, peak noise in the minor plane is not reduced since StH = 0.25 was not reduced. However, considerable noise reduction is observed at lower emissivity angles up to 2dB. It is shown that this noise reduction comes from reductions in StH = 0.15, which was the intended effect of the excitation. The final aspect of this work focuses on the use of a feed-forward controller to control the actuation. Excitation studies have traditionally used open-loop control where only a single frequency is excited with an analytic function. There are very few published studies that have used real time sensing to excite jet flows. In this work, 4 actuators are placed along the span of the upper and lower nozzle surfaces for a total of 8 actuators. Upstream, each actuator has its own sensor that read the instantaneous pressure disturbance. Each actuator then responds with the opposite of that pressure disturbance, but out of phase 180 degrees. In addition, the actuator response is scaled with a proportional gain constant, Kp. In the near field, all feed-forward cases with positive gain values reduced the RMS pressure fluctuations in the initial shear layer, whereas the single-mode excitation increased it. The reduction in downstream pressure fluctuations is shown to have effects with the best results coming from Kp = 1.0. For all feed-forward cases, the near field reductions occur for a broad range of Strouhal numbers in the range of the peak radiated noise. In the far field, the feed-forward cases successfully reduced the low-angle noise by up to 2dB for the case of Kp = 1.0. Analysis of spectra shows that the feed-forward cases reduce a broad range of Strouhal numbers. The feed-forward case with Kp = 1.0 ultimately reduced the noise by more and for a wider range of Strouhal numbers than the single-mode excitation case. An additional set of cases with negative gain values are considered to create additive waves. Near field reduction is considerably lower for these cases and the minor plane far field noise was amplified. Amplification occurred for a large range of Strouhal numbers. It is ultimately suggested that the feed-forward control with gain values close to 1.0 can effectively reduce the noise

Semi-PROPELLER Compressed Sensing Image Reconstruction with Enhanced Resolution in MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reconstruction algorithm using semi-PROPELLER compressed sensing is pre- sented in this paper. It is exhibited that introduced algorithm for estimating data shifts is feasible when super- resolution is applied. The offered approach utilizes compressively sensed MRI PROPELLER sequences and improves MR images spatial resolution in circumstances when highly undersampled k-space trajectories are applied. Compressed Sensing (CS) aims at signal and images reconstructing from significantly fewer measurements than were conventionally assumed necessary. Compressed sensing (CS) aims at signal and images reconstructing from significantly fewer measurements than were traditionally thought necessary. It is shown that the presented approach improves MR spatial resolution in cases when Compressed Sensing (CS) sequences are used. The application of CS in medical modalities has the potential for significant scan time reductions, with visible benefits for patients and health care economics. These methods emphasize on maximizing image sparsity on known sparse transform do- main and minimizing fidelity. This diagnostic modality struggles with an inherently slow data acquisition process. The use of CS to MRI leads to substantial scan time reductions and visible benefits for patients and economic factors. In this report the objective is to combine Super-Resolution image enhancement algorithm with both PROPELLER sequence and CS framework. All the techniques emphasize on maximizing image sparsity on known sparse transform domain and minimizing fidelity. The motion estimation algorithm being a part of super resolution reconstruction (SRR) estimates shifts for all blades jointly, emphasizing blade-pair correlations that are both strong and more robust to noise.

A Reduced-Order Model Bi-Modal Excitation of a Supersonic Planar Jet

This work analytically and numerically examines the effects of bi-modal excitation on a Mach 1.5 heated planar jet. Starting with the Navier-Stokes equations, triple decomposition is applied to the flow components. A reduced order model is derived, turning the Navier-Stokes partial differential equations into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations, relating the momentum thickness and amplitudes of a fundamental and subharmonic mode to the streamwise location along the jet. Computational fluid dynamics data from the minor plane of a Mach 1.5 heated rectangular jet is used to verify a hyperbolic tangent profile for the mean flow at various streamwise locations. Locallyparallel linear stability theory is used to compute the shape assumptions for the coherent structure components involved in the set of ordinary differential equations. The set of ordinary differential equations is first solved for a single mode. The trends for the single mode excitation qualitatively compared well with previous work. In the initial region, the nonlinear amplitude generally agreed well with the linear solution. Bi-modal excitation is then examined for the fundamental Strouhal number 0.10, which has been identified as a dominant noise source. Cases were considered separately with adding the subharmonic and the harmonic as a means of reducing the amplitude of the fundamental. Adding the subharmonic had minimal effects on reducing the fundamental unless both initial amplitudes are large. However, adding the harmonic could be very effective at reducing the fundamental even at low initial amplitudes. It is ultimately determined that adding the subharmonic may or may not be effective as a noise-reducing mechanism but adding the harmonic can be effective depending on the initial phase difference between the two excitations

Scalable and privacy-respectful interactive discovery of place semantics from human mobility traces

Mobility diaries of a large number of people are needed for assessing transportation infrastructure and for spatial development planning. Acquisition of personal mobility diaries through population surveys is a costly and error-prone endeavour. We examine an alternative approach to obtaining similar information from episodic digital traces of people’s presence in various locations, which appear when people use their mobile devices for making phone calls, accessing the internet, or posting georeferenced contents (texts, photos, or videos) in social media. Having episodic traces of a person over a long time period, it is possible to detect significant (repeatedly visited) personal places and identify them as home, work, or place of social activities based on temporal patterns of a person’s presence in these places. Such analysis, however, can lead to compromising personal privacy. We have investigated the feasibility of deriving place meanings and reconstructing personal mobility diaries while preserving the privacy of individuals whose data are analysed. We have devised a visual analytics approach and a set of supporting tools making such privacy-preserving analysis possible. The approach was tested in two case studies with publicly available data: simulated tracks from the VAST Challenge 2014 and real traces built from georeferenced Twitter posts

Natural radioactivity in rocks of the Modane-Aussois region (SE France)

The activity concentrations of 40K, 232Th, and 238U in the characteristic rocks of the Modane-Aussois region (Western Alps, France) were determined using an HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry system. The activity concentrations of 40K varied from 18 Bqkg-1 (limestone dolomite) to 392 Bqkg-1 (calcschist), while those of 232Th varied from 0.7 Bqkg-1 (limestone dolomite) to 18 Bqkg-1 (calcschist). The activities associated with 238U ranged from 9 (quartzite) to 29 Bqkg-1 (dolomite). In the investigated rock samples, concentrations of 238U (ppm) and 40K (%) had a strong negative correlation