Tensile force distribution along the reinforcement for reinforced soil foundations

In a reinforced soil bed system reinforcement layer is usually placed with or without end anchorage. Since soil is weak in tension reinforcement develop tension under the applied load or the displacement of the footing. This tensile force is distributed along the length of the reinforcement subjected to the end condition. The reinforccement tension helps in distributing the load over a wider area, and becomes more effective at large induced settlements. As a result, vertical componenent of tensile force generated becomes effective in reducing applied load. However, very few studies to quantify the tensile force along the reinforcement have been reported in the literature. In this paper an attempt has been made to obtain the true nature of tensile force distribution along the reinforcement. For a reinforced soil bed below a strip footing this paper brings out induced tensile force distribution along the reinforcement at different load levels and for different types of reinforcements.

A stochastic dynamical system for image segmentation

Image segmentation is formulated as a stochastic process whose invariant distribution is concentrated at points of the desired region. By choosing multiple seed points, different regions can be segmented. The algorithm is based on the theory of time-homogeneous Markov chains and has been largely motivated by the technique of simulated annealing. The method proposed here has been found to perform well on real-world clean as well as noisy images while being computationally far less expensive than stochastic optimisation techniques

A robust three phase power flow algorithm for radial distribution systems

An efficient load flow solution technique is required as a part of the distribution automation (DA) system for taking various control and operations decisions. This paper presents an efficient and robust three phase power flow algorithm for application to radial distribution networks. This method exploits the radial nature of the network and uses forward and backward propagation to calculate branch currents and node voltages. The proposed method has been tested to analyse several practical distribution networks of various voltage levels and also having high R/X ratio. The results for a practical distribution feeder are presented for illustration purposes. The application of the proposed method is also extended to find optimum location for reactive power compensation and network reconfiguration for planning and day-to-day operation of distribution networks.

Neural network based power system damping controller for SVC

The development of a neural network based power system damping controller (PSDC) for a static Var compensator (SVC), designed to enhance the damping characteristics of a power system network representing a part of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) system is presented. The proposed stabilising controller scheme of the SVC consists of a neuro-identifier and a neuro-controller which have been developed based on a functional link network (FLN) model. A recursive online training algorithm has been utilised to train the two networks. The simulation results have been obtained under various operating conditions and disturbance cases to show that the proposed stabilising controller can provide a better damping to the low frequency oscillations, as compared to the conventional controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed stabilising controller has also been compared with a conventional power system stabiliser provided in the generator excitation system.

Statistical properties of entropy-consuming fluctuations in jammed states of laponite suspensions: Fluctuation relations and generalized Gumbel distribution

We report a universal large deviation behavior of spatially averaged global injected power just before the rejuvenation of the jammed state formed by an aging suspension of laponite clay under an applied stress. The probability distribution function (PDF) of these entropy consuming strongly non-Gaussian fluctuations follow an universal large deviation functional form described by the generalized Gumbel (GG) distribution like many other equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems with high degree of correlations but do not obey the Gallavotti-Cohen steady-state fluctuation relation (SSFR). However, far from the unjamming transition (for smaller applied stresses) SSFR is satisfied for both Gaussian as well as non-Gaussian PDF. The observed slow variation of the mean shear rate with system size supports a recent theoretical prediction for observing GG distribution.

Dependence of diffusivity on density and solute diameter in liquid phase: A molecular dynamics study of Lennard-Jones system

Investigations into the variation of self-diffusivity with solute radius, density, and degree of disorder of the host medium is explored. The system consists of a binary mixture of a relatively smaller sized solute, whose size is varied and a larger sized solvent interacting via Lennard-Jones potential. Calculations have been performed at three different reduced densities of 0.7, 0.8, and 0.933. These simulations show that diffusivity exhibits a maximum for some intermediate size of the solute when the solute diameter is varied. The maximum is found at the same size of the solute at all densities which is at variance with the prediction of the levitation effect. In order to understand this anomaly, additional simulations were carried out in which the degree of disorder has been varied while keeping the density constant. The results show that the diffusivity maximum gradually disappears with increase in disorder. Disorder has been characterized by means of the minimal spanning tree. Simulations have also been carried out in which the degree of disorder is constant and only the density is altered. The results from these simulations show that the maximum in diffusivity now shifts to larger distances with decrease in density. This is in agreement with the changes in void and neck distribution with density of the host medium. These results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the levitation effect. They suggest that the effect of disorder is to shift the maximum in diffusivity towards smaller solute radius while that of the decrease in density is to shift it towards larger solute radius. Thus, in real systems where the degree of disorder is lower at higher density and vice versa, the effect due to density and disorder have opposing influences. These are confirmed by the changes seen in the velocity autocorrelation function, self part of the intermediate scattering function and activation energy. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3701619]

Protein-Protein Interactions in Clathrin Vesicular Assembly: Radial Distribution of Evolutionary Constraints in Interfaces

In eukaryotic organisms clathrin-coated vesicles are instrumental in the processes of endocytosis as well as intracellular protein trafficking. Hence, it is important to understand how these vesicles have evolved across eukaryotes, to carry cargo molecules of varied shapes and sizes. The intricate nature and functional diversity of the vesicles are maintained by numerous interacting protein partners of the vesicle system. However, to delineate functionally important residues participating in protein-protein interactions of the assembly is a daunting task as there are no high-resolution structures of the intact assembly available. The two cryoEM structures closely representing intact assembly were determined at very low resolution and provide positions of C alpha atoms alone. In the present study, using the method developed by us earlier, we predict the protein-protein interface residues in clathrin assembly, taking guidance from the available low-resolution structures. The conservation status of these interfaces when investigated across eukaryotes, revealed a radial distribution of evolutionary constraints, i.e., if the members of the clathrin vesicular assembly can be imagined to be arranged in spherical manner, the cargo being at the center and clathrins being at the periphery, the detailed phylogenetic analysis of these members of the assembly indicated high-residue variation in the members of the assembly closer to the cargo while high conservation was noted in clathrins and in other proteins at the periphery of the vesicle. This points to the strategy adopted by the nature to package diverse proteins but transport them through a highly conserved mechanism.

Modeling of Ascending/Descending Velocity of Metal Droplet Emulsified in Pb-Salt System

Metal-slag emulsion is an important process to enhance the reaction rate between the two phases; thus, it improves the heat and mass transfer of the process significantly. Various experimental studies have been carried out, and some system specific relations have been proposed by various investigators. A unified, theoretical study is lacking to model this complex phenomenon. Therefore, two simple models based on fundamental laws for metal droplet velocity (both ascending and descending) and bubble velocity, as well as its position at any instant of time, have been proposed. Analytical solutions have been obtained for the developed equations. Analytical solutions have been verified for the droplet velocity, traveling time, and size distribution in slag phase by performing high-temperature experiments in a Pb-salt system and comparing the obtained data with theory. The proposed model has also been verified with published experimental data for various liquid systems with a wide range of physical properties. A good agreement has been found between the analytical solution and the experimental and published data in all cases.

Integrated magnetics based multi-port bidirectional DC-DC converter topology for discontinuous-mode operation

A new type of multi-port isolated bidirectional DC-DC converter is proposed in this study. In the proposed converter, transfer of power takes place through addition of magnetomotive forces generated by multiple windings on a common transformer core. This eliminates the need for a centralised storage capacitor to interface all the ports. Hence, the requirement of an additional power transfer stage from the centralised capacitor can also be eliminated. The converter can be used for a multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) system. A pulse width modulation (PWM) strategy for controlling simultaneous power flow in the MIMO converter is also proposed. The proposed PWM scheme works in the discontinuous conduction mode. The leakage inductance can be chosen to aid power transfer. By using the proposed converter topology and PWM scheme, the need to compute power flow equations to determine the magnitude and direction of power flow between ports is alleviated. Instead, a simple controller structure based on average current control can be used to control the power flow. This study discusses the operating phases of the proposed multi-port converter along with its PWM scheme, the design process for each of the ports and finally experimental waveforms that validate the multi-port scheme.

A LOWER INITIAL ABUNDANCE OF SHORT-LIVED Ca-41 IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SOLAR SYSTEM FORMATION

The short-lived radionuclide Ca-41 plays an important role in constraining the immediate astrophysical environment and the formation timescale of the nascent solar system due to its extremely short half-life (0.1 Myr). Nearly 20 years ago, the initial ratio of Ca-41/Ca-40 in the solar system was determined to be (1.41 +/- 0.14) x 10(-8), primarily based on two Ca-Al-rich Inclusions (CAIs) from the CV chondrite Efremovka. With an advanced analytical technique for isotopic measurements, we reanalyzed the potassium isotopic compositions of the two Efremovka CAIs and inferred the initial ratios of Ca-41/Ca-40 to be (2.6 +/- 0.9) x 10(-9) and (1.4 +/- 0.6) x 10(-9) (2 sigma), a factor of 7-10 lower than the previously inferred value. Considering possible thermal processing that led to lower Al-26/Al-27 ratios in the two CAIs, we propose that the true solar system initial value of Ca-41/Ca-40 should have been similar to 4.2 x 10(-9). Synchronicity could have existed between Al-26 and Ca-41, indicating a uniform distribution of the two radionuclides at the time of CAI formation. The new initial Ca-41 abundance is 4-16 times lower than the calculated value for steady-state galactic nucleosynthesis. Therefore, Ca-41 could have originated as part of molecular cloud materials with a free decay time of 0.2-0.4 Myr. Alternative possibilities, such as a last-minute input from a stellar source and early solar system irradiation, could not be definitively ruled out. This underscores the need for more data from diverse CAIs to determine the true astrophysical origin of Ca-41.

A Model for the Temperature Distribution in Resin Impregnated Paper Bushings

Resin impregnated paper (RIP) is a relatively new insulation system recommended for the use in transformer bushings. In the recent past, RIP has acquired prominence as insulation in bushings, over conventional oil impregnated paper (OIP), in view of its overwhelming advantages the more important among them being low dielectric loss and possibility for positioning the bushing at any desired angle over the transformer. In addition, the fact that such systems do not pose problems of fire hazard is counted as a very important consideration. The disadvantage of RIP compared to OIP, however, is its much higher cost and involved manufacturing process. The temperature rise in RIP bushings under normal operating conditions is seen to be a difficult parameter to control in view of the limited options for effective cooling. It is therefore essential to take serious note of this aspect, to arrest rapid deterioration of bushing. The degradation of dry-type insulation such as RIP is often due to thermal stress. The long time performance thereof, depends strongly, on the maximum operating temperature. With this in view, the Authors have developed a theoretical model and computational method to study the temperature distribution in the body of insulation. The Authors consider that the basis for the model as being the temperature and electric stress aided AC conductivity. The ensuing heat balance (continuity) equations in 2-D cylindrical geometry are treated as a Dirichelet-Neumann boundary value problem.

A GIS (geographical information system)-based spatial data mining approach for optimal location and capacity planning of distributed biomass power generation facilities: A case study of Tumkur district, India

This paper primarily intends to develop a GIS (geographical information system)-based data mining approach for optimally selecting the locations and determining installed capacities for setting up distributed biomass power generation systems in the context of decentralized energy planning for rural regions. The optimal locations within a cluster of villages are obtained by matching the installed capacity needed with the demand for power, minimizing the cost of transportation of biomass from dispersed sources to power generation system, and cost of distribution of electricity from the power generation system to demand centers or villages. The methodology was validated by using it for developing an optimal plan for implementing distributed biomass-based power systems for meeting the rural electricity needs of Tumkur district in India consisting of 2700 villages. The approach uses a k-medoid clustering algorithm to divide the total region into clusters of villages and locate biomass power generation systems at the medoids. The optimal value of k is determined iteratively by running the algorithm for the entire search space for different values of k along with demand-supply matching constraints. The optimal value of the k is chosen such that it minimizes the total cost of system installation, costs of transportation of biomass, and transmission and distribution. A smaller region, consisting of 293 villages was selected to study the sensitivity of the results to varying demand and supply parameters. The results of clustering are represented on a GIS map for the region.

Position control of DC motors with experience mapping based prediction controller

The paper presents a new controller inspired by the human experience based, voluntary body action control (dubbed motor control) learning mechanism. The controller is called Experience Mapping based Prediction Controller (EMPC). EMPC is designed with auto-learning features without the need for the plant model. The core of the controller is formed around the motor action prediction-control mechanism of humans based on past experiential learning with the ability to adapt to environmental changes intelligently. EMPC is utilized for high precision position control of DC motors. The simulation results are presented to show that accurate position control is achieved using EMPC for step and dynamic demands. The performance of EMPC is compared with conventional PD controller and MRAC based position controller under different system conditions. Position Control using EMPC is practically implemented and the results are presented.

CUDA-for-clusters: a system for efficient execution of CUDA kernels on multi-core clusters

Rapid advancements in multi-core processor architectures coupled with low-cost, low-latency, high-bandwidth interconnects have made clusters of multi-core machines a common computing resource. Unfortunately, writing good parallel programs that efficiently utilize all the resources in such a cluster is still a major challenge. Various programming languages have been proposed as a solution to this problem, but are yet to be adopted widely to run performance-critical code mainly due to the relatively immature software framework and the effort involved in re-writing existing code in the new language. In this paper, we motivate and describe our initial study in exploring CUDA as a programming language for a cluster of multi-cores. We develop CUDA-For-Clusters (CFC), a framework that transparently orchestrates execution of CUDA kernels on a cluster of multi-core machines. The well-structured nature of a CUDA kernel, the growing popularity, support and stability of the CUDA software stack collectively make CUDA a good candidate to be considered as a programming language for a cluster. CFC uses a mixture of source-to-source compiler transformations, a work distribution runtime and a light-weight software distributed shared memory to manage parallel executions. Initial results on running several standard CUDA benchmark programs achieve impressive speedups of up to 7.5X on a cluster with 8 nodes, thereby opening up an interesting direction of research for further investigation.