Large Feedback Arc Sets, High Minimum Degree Subgraphs, and Long Cycles in Eulerian Digraphs

A minimum feedback arc set of a directed graph G is a smallest set of arcs whose removal makes G acyclic. Its cardinality is denoted by β(G). We show that a simple Eulerian digraph with n vertices and m arcs has β(G) ≥ m 2/2n 2+m/2n, and this bound is optimal for infinitely many m, n. Using this result we prove that a simple Eulerian digraph contains a cycle of length at most 6n 2/m, and has an Eulerian subgraph with minimum degree at least m 2/24n 3. Both estimates are tight up to a constant factor. Finally, motivated by a conjecture of Bollobás and Scott, we also show how to find long cycles in Eulerian digraph

A study of two stochastic search methods for structural control

Abstract: Many engineering tasks involve the search for good solutions among many possibilities. In most cases, tasks are too complex to be modeled completely and their solution spaces often contain local minima. Therefore, classical optimization techniques cannot, in general, be applied effectively. This paper studies two stochastic search methods, one well-established �simulated annealing � and one recently developed �probabilistic global search Lausanne�, applied to structural shape control. Search results are applied to control the quasistatic displacement of a tensegrity structure with multiple objectives and interdependent actuator effects. The best method depends on the accuracy related to requirements defined by the objective function and the maximum number of evaluations that are allowed

Analysing Construction Trends in the European Union Using Geographic Information Systems

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a useful tool for storing and manipulating geographical information to analyse patterns, relationships, and trends in order to gain new insights to make better and more informed decisions. Using the power of spatial organisation to suggest causes, explanations and relationships is significantly more superior to other forms of data representation such as the table or graph. This paper examines the construction trends in the European Union (EU) by using GIS software as a computional and presentation tool. The performance trends of the construction market in EU countries relative to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population and other economic sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing for a 20-year period between 1985 and 2004 were evaluated using GIS. Many EU countries seem to have a relationship with construction among the variables considered. This suggests that GDP, population, agriculture, and manufacturing are important factors that affect the role and development of the construction industry within an economy. GIS representation also demonstrated that it is capable of highlighting unique trends and features for further detailed analysis to be carried ou

ClaimChain: Improving the Security and Privacy of In-band Key Distribution for Messaging

The social demand for email end-to-end encryption is barely supported by mainstream service providers. Autocrypt is a new community-driven open specification for e-mail encryption that attempts to respond to this demand. In Autocrypt the encryption keys are attached directly to messages, and thus the encryption can be implemented by email clients without any collaboration of the providers. The decentralized nature of this in-band key distribution, however, makes it prone to man-in-the-middle attacks and can leak the social graph of users. To address this problem we introduce ClaimChain, a cryptographic construction for privacy-preserving authentication of public keys. Users store claims about their identities and keys, as well as their beliefs about others, in ClaimChains. These chains form authenticated decentralized repositories that enable users to prove the authenticity of both their keys and the keys of their contacts. ClaimChains are encrypted, and therefore protect the stored information, such as keys and contact identities, from prying eyes. At the same time, ClaimChain implements mechanisms to provide strong non-equivocation properties, discouraging malicious actors from distributing conflicting or inauthentic claims. We implemented ClaimChain and we show that it offers reasonable performance, low overhead, and authenticity guarantees.Comment: Appears in 2018 Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society (WPES'18

Augmenting simulations of airflow around buildings using field measurements

Computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) simulations have become an important tool for the assessment of airflow in urban areas. However, large discrepancies may appear when simulated predictions are compared with field measurements because of the complexity of airflow behaviour around buildings and difficulties in defining correct sets of parameter values, including those for inlet conditions. Inlet conditions of the CFD model are difficult to estimate and often the values employed do not represent real conditions. In this paper, a model-based data-interpretation framework is proposed in order to integrate knowledge obtained through CFD simulations with those obtained from field measurements carried out in the urban canopy layer (UCL). In this framework, probability-based inlet conditions of the CFD simulation are identified with measurements taken in the UCL. The framework is built on the error-domain model falsification approach that has been developed for the identification of other complex systems. System identification of physics-based models is a challenging task because of the presence of errors in models as well as measurements. This paper presents a methodology to estimate modelling errors. Furthermore, error-domain model falsification has been adapted for the application of airflow modelling around buildings in order to accommodate the time variability of atmospheric conditions. As a case study, the framework is tested and validated for the predictions of airflow around an experimental facility of the Future Cities Laboratory, called “BubbleZERO”. Results show that the framework is capable of narrowing down parameter-value sets from over five hundred to a few having possible inlet conditions for the selected case-study. Thus the case-study illustrates an approach to identifying time-varying inlet conditions and predicting wind characteristics at locations where there are no sensors

Improving simulation predictions of wind around buildings using measurements through system identification techniques

Wind behavior in urban areas is receiving increasing interest from city planners and architects. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are often employed to assess wind behavior around buildings. However, the accuracy of CFD simulations is often unknown. Measurements can be used to help understand wind behavior around buildings more accurately. In this paper, a model-based data interpretation framework is presented to integrate information obtained from measurements with simulation results. Multiple model instances are generated from a model class through assigning values to parameters that are not known precisely, including those for inlet wind conditions. The information provided by measurements is used to falsify model instances whose predictions do not match measurements and to estimate the parameter values of the simulation. The information content of measurement data depends on levels of measurement and modeling uncertainties at sensor locations. Modeling uncertainties are those associated with the model class such as effects associated with turbulent fluctuations or thermal processes. The model-based data interpretation framework is applied to the study of the wind behavior around the buildings of the Treelodge@Punggol estate, located in Singapore. The framework incorporates modeling and measurement uncertainties and provides probability-based predictions at unmeasured locations. This paper illustrates the possibility to improve approximations of modeling uncertainties through avoiding falsification of the entire set of model instances. It is concluded that the framework has the potential to infer time-dependent sets of parameter values and to predict time-dependent responses at unmeasured locations

A model-based data-interpretation framework for improving wind predictions around buildings

Although Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are often used to assess wind conditions around buildings, the accuracy of such simulations is often unknown. This paper proposes a data-interpretation framework that uses multiple simulations in combination with measurement data to improve the accuracy of wind predictions. Multiple simulations are generated through varying sets of parameter values. Sets of parameter values are falsified and thus not used for predictions if differences between measurement data and simulation predictions, for any measurement location, are larger than an estimate of uncertainty bounds. The bounds are defined by combining measurement and modeling uncertainties at sensor locations. The framework accounts for time-dependent and spatially-distributed modeling uncertainties that are present in CFD simulations of wind. The framework is applied to the case study of the CREATE Tower located at the National University of Singapore. Values for time-dependent inlet conditions, as well as values for the roughness of surrounding buildings, are identified with measurements carried out around the CREATE Tower. Results show that, on average, ranges of horizontal wind-speed predictions at an unmeasured location have been decreased by 65% when measurement data are used. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved