On generating optimal signal probabilities for random tests: A genetic approach

Genetic Algorithms are robust search and optimization techniques. A Genetic Algorithm based approach for determining the optimal input distributions for generating random test vectors is proposed in the paper. A cost function based on the COP testability measure for determining the efficacy of the input distributions is discussed, A brief overview of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and the specific details of our implementation are described. Experimental results based on ISCAS-85 benchmark circuits are presented. The performance pf our GA-based approach is compared with previous results. While the GA generates more efficient input distributions than the previous methods which are based on gradient descent search, the overheads of the GA in computing the input distributions are larger. To account for the relatively quick convergence of the gradient descent methods, we analyze the landscape of the COP-based cost function. We prove that the cost function is unimodal in the search space. This feature makes the cost function amenable to optimization by gradient-descent techniques as compared to random search methods such as Genetic Algorithms.

Repeated drop weight impacts and post-impact ILSS tests on glass-epoxy composite

E glass epoxy laminates of thicknesses in the range 2-5 mm were subjected to repeated impacts. For each thickness the number of hits to cause tup penetration was determined and the value of this number was higher the larger the thickness of the laminate tested. The C-scan, before and after impact, was done to obtain information regarding flaw distribution. Short beam shear test samples were made from locations at fixed distances from impact point and tested. The samples closer to the zone of impact showed lower strength values. Scanning fractography revealed shear deformation features for these samples and brittle fracture features for the region near the zone of impact.

Reactivation kinetics of acceptors in hydrogenated InP during unbiased annealing

The reactivation kinetics of passivated Mg acceptors in hydrogenated InP during unbiased annealing of a Schottky diode is reported. The reactivation is found to slow down gradually with annealing time and this phenomenon is attributed to substantial retrapping of H at the acceptor sites. It is found from the concentration profiles and the kinetics data that the reactivation is most likely limited by H2 molecule formation processes for longer annealing times; for shorter annealing times, contributions from in-diffusion of H also become significant. The diffusion of H during the initial period follows an Arrhenius relation with an activation energy for the effective diffusion coefficient of 1.13±0.10 eV. In the H2 formation regime, the reactivation is thermally activated with an activation energy for the annealing parameter of 1.71±0.10 eV. The H2 formation-limited regime of reactivation occurs sooner as the annealing temperature is increased.

Maintaining dynamic sequences under equality tests in polylogarithmic time

We present a randomized and a deterministic data structure for maintaining a dynamic family of sequences under equality tests of pairs of sequences and creations of new sequences by joining or splitting existing sequences. Both data structures support equality tests in O(1) time. The randomized version supports new sequence creations in O(log(2) n) expected time where n is the length of the sequence created. The deterministic solution supports sequence creations in O(log n (log m log* m + log n)) time for the mth operation.

Validation of processing maps for a 15Cr-15Ni-2.2Mo-0.3Ti austenitic stainless steel using hot forging and rolling tests

The processing maps are being developed for use in optimising hot workability and controlling the microstructure of the product. The present investigation deals with the examination to assess the prediction of the processing maps for a 15Cr-15Ni-2.2Mo-0.3Ti austenitic stainless steel using forging and rolling tests at different temperatures in the range of 600-1200 degreesC. The tensile properties of these deformed products were evaluated at room temperature. The influence of the processing conditions, i.e. strain rate and temperature on the tensile properties of the deformed product were analysed to identify the optimum processing parameters. The results have shown good agreement between the regimes exhibited by the map and the properties of the rolled or forged product. The optimum parameters for processing of this steel were identified as rolling or press forging at temperatures above 1050 degreesC to obtain optimum product properties. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A new method for fracture toughness determination of graded (Pt,Ni)Al bond coats by microbeam bend tests

A novel method is proposed for fracture toughness determination of graded microstructurally complex (Pt,Ni)Al bond coats using edge-notched doubly clamped beams subjected to bending. Micron-scale beams are machined using the focused ion beam and loaded in bending under a nanoindenter. Failure loads gathered from the pop-ins in the load-displacement curves combined with XFEM analysis are used to calculate K-c at individual zones, free from substrate effects. The testing technique and sources of errors in measurement are described and possible micromechanisms of fracture in such heterogeneous coatings discussed.

Consistency tests of Ampcalculator and chiral amplitudes in SU(3) Chiral Perturbation Theory: A tutorial-based approach

Ampcalculator (AMPC) is a Mathematica (c) based program that was made publicly available some time ago by Unterdorfer and Ecker. It enables the user to compute several processes at one loop (upto O(p(4))) in SU(3) chiral perturbation theory. They include computing matrix elements and form factors for strong and non-leptonic weak processes with at most six external states. It was used to compute some novel processes and was tested against well-known results by the original authors. Here we present the results of several thorough checks of the package. Exhaustive checks performed by the original authors are not publicly available, and hence the present effort. Some new results are obtained from the software especially in the kaon odd-intrinsic parity non-leptonic decay sector involving the coupling G(27). Another illustrative set of amplitudes at tree level we provide is in the context of tau-decays with several mesons including quark mass effects, of use to the BELLE experiment. All eight meson-meson scattering amplitudes have been checked. The Kaon-Compton amplitude has been checked and a minor error in the published results has been pointed out. This exercise is a tutorial-based one, wherein several input and output notebooks are also being made available as ancillary files on the arXiv. Some of the additional notebooks we provide contain explicit expressions that we have used for comparison with established results. The purpose is to encourage users to apply the software to suit their specific needs. An automatic amplitude generator of this type can provide error-free outputs that could be used as inputs for further simplification, and in varied scenarios such as applications of chiral perturbation theory at finite temperature, density and volume. This can also be used by students as a learning aid in low-energy hadron dynamics.

Effect of frequency on seismic response of reinforced soil slopes in shaking table tests

This paper studies the effect of frequency of base shaking on the dynamic response of unreinforced and reinforced soil slopes through a series of shaking table tests. Slopes were constructed using clayey sand and geogrids were used for reinforcing the slopes. Two different slope angles 45 degrees and 60 degrees were used in tests and the quantity and location of reinforcement is varied in different tests. Acceleration of shaking is kept constant as 0.3 g in all the tests to maximize the response and the frequency of shaking was 2 Hz, 5 Hz and 7 Hz in different tests. The slope is instrumented with ultrasonic displacement sensors and accelerometers at different elevations. The response of different slopes is compared in terms of the deformation of the slope and acceleration amplifications measured at different elevations. It is observed that the displacements at all elevations increased with increase in frequency for all slopes, whereas the effect of frequency on acceleration amplifications is not significant for reinforced slopes. Results showed that the acceleration and displacement response is not increasing proportionately with the increase in the frequency, suggesting that the role of frequency in the seismic response is very important. Reinforced slopes showed lesser displacements compared to unreinforced slopes at all frequency levels. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal parameter selection for bilateral filters using Poisson unbiased risk estimate

Bilateral filters perform edge-preserving smoothing and are widely used for image denoising. The denoising performance is sensitive to the choice of the bilateral filter parameters. We propose an optimal parameter selection for bilateral filtering of images corrupted with Poisson noise. We employ the Poisson's Unbiased Risk Estimate (PURE), which is an unbiased estimate of the Mean Squared Error (MSE). It does not require a priori knowledge of the ground truth and is useful in practical scenarios where there is no access to the original image. Experimental results show that quality of denoising obtained with PURE-optimal bilateral filters is almost indistinguishable with that of the Oracle-MSE-optimal bilateral filters.

An approach for assessing the accuracy of accelerometer responses during axial impact tests

The primary objective of the present study is to show that for the most common configuration of an impactor system, the accelerometer cannot exactly reproduce the dynamic response of a specimen subjected to impact loading. An equivalent Lumped Parameter Model (LPM) of the given impactor set-up has been formulated for assessing the accuracy of an accelerometer mounted in a drop-weight impactor set-up for an axially loaded specimen. A specimen under the impact loading is represented by a non-linear spring of varying stiffness, while the accelerometer is assumed to behave in a linear manner due to its high stiffness. Specimens made of steel, aluminium and fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) are used in the present study. Assuming the force-displacement response obtained in an actual impact test to be the true behaviour of the test specimen, a suitable numerical approach has been used to solve the governing non-linear differential equations of a three degrees-of-freedom (DOF) system in a piece-wise linear manner. The numerical solution of the governing differential equations following an explicit time integration scheme yields an excellent reproduction of the mechanical behaviour of the specimen, consequently confirming the accuracy of the numerical approach. However, the spring representing the accelerometer predicts a response that qualitatively matches the assumed force-displacement response of the test specimen with a perceptibly lower magnitude of load.