Prediction of Vibrations of Footings for Highly Sensitive Devices

When planning foundations for devices sensitive to vibrations the planned location should be investigated for vibrations. These investigations have to include the existing sources in the vicinity as for instance street or rail traffic as well as exciting devices to be installed at the same building site like compressor stations or other machines. The present paper shows a procedure to estimate the vibrations at the planned locations for sensitive devices. The procedure includes investigations of the dynamic soil properties, the decrease of the vibrations with distance, and the transfer functions of rigid footings. It takes into consideration stochastic excitation as well as harmonic ones. As the result of this procedure it will be possible to state minimum admissible distances and to specify probabilities of exceeding the given boundary values for admissible vibrations

The State of Ambient Air Quality in Two Ugandan Cities:A Pilot Cross-Sectional Spatial Assessment

Air pollution is one of the leading global public health risks but its magnitude in many developing countries’ cities is not known. We aimed to measure the concentration of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) pollutants in two Ugandan cities (Kampala and Jinja). PM2.5, O3, temperature and humidity were measured with real-time monitors, while NO2 and SO2 were measured with diffusion tubes. We found that the mean concentrations of the air pollutants PM2.5, NO2, SO2 and O3 were 132.1 μg/m3, 24.9 µg/m3, 3.7 µg/m3 and 11.4 μg/m3, respectively. The mean PM2.5 concentration is 5.3 times the World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off limits while the NO2, SO2 and O3 concentrations are below WHO cut-off limits. PM2.5 levels were higher in Kampala than in Jinja (138.6 μg/m3 vs. 99.3 μg/m3) and at industrial than residential sites (152.6 μg/m3 vs. 120.5 μg/m3) but residential sites with unpaved roads also had high PM2.5 concentrations (152.6 μg/m3). In conclusion, air pollutant concentrations in Kampala and Jinja in Uganda are dangerously high. Long-term studies are needed to characterize air pollution levels during all seasons, to assess related public health impacts, and explore mitigation approaches

Longitudinal CT Imaging to Explore the Predictive Power of 3D Radiomic Tumour Heterogeneity in Precise Imaging of Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)

The study’s primary aim is to evaluate the predictive performance of CT-derived 3D radiomics for MCL risk stratification. The secondary objective is to search for radiomic features associated with sustained remission. Included were 70 patients: 31 MCL patients and 39 control subjects with normal axillary lymph nodes followed over five years. Radiomic analysis of all targets (n = 745) was performed and features selected using the Mann Whitney U test; the discriminative power of identifying “high-risk MCL” was evaluated by receiver operating characteristics (ROC). The four radiomic features, “Uniformity”, “Entropy”, “Skewness” and “Difference Entropy” showed predictive significance for relapse (p < 0.05)—in contrast to the routine size measurements, which showed no relevant difference. The best prognostication for relapse achieved the feature “Uniformity” (AUC-ROC-curve 0.87; optimal cut-off ≤0.0159 to predict relapse with 87% sensitivity, 65% specificity, 69% accuracy). Several radiomic features, including the parameter “Short Axis,” were associated with sustained remission. CT-derived 3D radiomics improves the predictive estimation of MCL patients; in combination with the ability to identify potential radiomic features that are characteristic for sustained remission, it may assist physicians in the clinical management of MCL

Laboratory X-ray tomography for metal additive manufacturing: Round robin test

This paper reports on the results of a round robin test conducted by ten X-ray micro computed tomography (micro-CT) laboratories with the same three selected titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) test parts. These parts were a 10-mm cube, a 60-mm long and 40-mm high complex-shaped bracket, and a 15-mm diameter rod. Previously developed protocols for micro-CT analysis of these parts were provided to all participants, including suggested scanning parameters and image analysis steps. No further information on the samples were provided, and they were selected from a variety of parts from a previous different type of round robin study where various L-PBF laboratories provided identical parts for micro-CT analysis at one laboratory. In this new micro-CT round robin test which involves various micro-CT laboratories, parts from the previous work were selected such that each part had a different characteristic flaw type, and all laboratories involved in the study analyzed the same set of parts. The 10-mm cube contained subsurface pores just under its top surface (relative to build direction), and all participants could positively identify this. The complex bracket had contour pores around its outer vertical sides, and was warped with two arms deflected towards one another. Both of these features were positively identified by all participants. The 15-mm diameter rod had a layered stop/start flaw, which was also positively identified by all participants. Differences were found among participants for quantitative evaluations, ranging from no quantitative measurement made, to under and overestimation of the values in all analyses attempted. This round robin provides the opportunity to highlight typical causes of errors in micro-CT scanning and image analysis as applied to additively manufactured parts. Some workflow variations, sources of error and ways to increase the reproducibility of such analysis workflows are discussed. The ultimate aim of this work is to advance the efficient use of micro-CT facilities for process optimization and quality inspections for additively manufactured products. The results provide confidence in the use of laboratory micro-CT but also indicate the need for further development of standards, protocols and image analysis workflows for quantitative assessment, especially for direct and quantitative comparisons between different laboratories.status: Published onlin

Laboratory X-ray tomography for metal additive manufacturing: Round robin test

This paper reports on the results of a round robin test conducted by ten X-ray micro computed tomography (micro-CT) laboratories with the same three selected titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) test parts. These parts were a 10-mm cube, a 60-mm long and 40-mm high complex-shaped bracket, and a 15-mm diameter rod. Previously developed protocols for micro-CT analysis of these parts were provided to all participants, including suggested scanning parameters and image analysis steps. No further information on the samples were provided, and they were selected from a variety of parts from a previous different type of round robin study where various L-PBF laboratories provided identical parts for micro-CT analysis at one laboratory. In this new micro-CT round robin test which involves various micro-CT laboratories, parts from the previous work were selected such that each part had a different characteristic flaw type, and all laboratories involved in the study analyzed the same set of parts. The 10-mm cube contained subsurface pores just under its top surface (relative to build direction), and all participants could positively identify this. The complex bracket had contour pores around its outer vertical sides, and was warped with two arms deflected towards one another. Both of these features were positively identified by all participants. The 15-mm diameter rod had a layered stop/start flaw, which was also positively identified by all participants. Differences were found among participants for quantitative evaluations, ranging from no quantitative measurement made, to under and overestimation of the values in all analyses attempted. This round robin provides the opportunity to highlight typical causes of errors in micro-CT scanning and image analysis as applied to additively manufactured parts. Some workflow variations, sources of error and ways to increase the reproducibility of such analysis workflows are discussed. The ultimate aim of this work is to advance the efficient use of micro-CT facilities for process optimization and quality inspections for additively manufactured products. The results provide confidence in the use of laboratory micro-CT but also indicate the need for further development of standards, protocols and image analysis workflows for quantitative assessment, especially for direct and quantitative comparisons between different laboratories