A classification of data quality assessment methods

Data quality (DQ) assessment can be significantly enhanced with the use of the right DQ assessment methods, which provide automated solutions to assess DQ. The range of DQ assessment methods is very broad: from data profiling and semantic profiling to data matching and data validation. This paper gives an overview of current methods for DQ assessment and classifies the DQ assessment methods into an existing taxonomy of DQ problems. Specific examples of the placement of each DQ method in the taxonomy are provided and illustrate why the method is relevant to the particular taxonomy position. The gaps in the taxonomy, where no current DQ methods exist, show where new methods are required and can guide future research and DQ tool development.

Real-time marker prediction and CoR estimation in optical motion capture

Optical motion capture systems suffer from marker occlusions resulting in loss of useful information. This paper addresses the problem of real-time joint localisation of legged skeletons in the presence of such missing data. The data is assumed to be labelled 3d marker positions from a motion capture system. An integrated framework is presented which predicts the occluded marker positions using a Variable Turn Model within an Unscented Kalman filter. Inferred information from neighbouring markers is used as observation states; these constraints are efficient, simple, and real-time implementable. This work also takes advantage of the common case that missing markers are still visible to a single camera, by combining predictions with under-determined positions, resulting in more accurate predictions. An Inverse Kinematics technique is then applied ensuring that the bone lengths remain constant over time; the system can thereby maintain a continuous data-flow. The marker and Centre of Rotation (CoR) positions can be calculated with high accuracy even in cases where markers are occluded for a long period of time. Our methodology is tested against some of the most popular methods for marker prediction and the results confirm that our approach outperforms these methods in estimating both marker and CoR positions. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Numerical study of soil heterogeneity effects on contaminant transport in unsaturated soil (model development and validation)

The movement of chemicals through soil to groundwater is a major cause of degradation of water resources. In many cases, serious human and stock health implications are associated with this form of pollution. The study of the effects of different factors involved in transport phenomena can provide valuable information to find the best remediation approaches. Numerical models are increasingly being used for predicting or analyzing solute transport processes in soils and groundwater. This article presents the development of a stochastic finite element model for the simulation of contaminant transport through soils with the main focus being on the incorporation of the effects of soil heterogeneity in the model. The governing equations of contaminant transport are presented. The mathematical framework and the numerical implementation of the model are described. The comparison of the results obtained from the developed stochastic model with those obtained from a deterministic method and some experimental results shows that the stochastic model is capable of predicting the transport of solutes in unsaturated soil with higher accuracy than deterministic one. The importance of the consideration of the effects of soil heterogeneity on contaminant fate is highlighted through a sensitivity analysis regarding the variance of saturated hydraulic conductivity as an index of soil heterogeneity. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A flexural crack model for damage detection in reinforced concrete structures

The use of changes in vibration data for damage detection of reinforced concrete structures faces many challenges that obstruct its transition from a research topic to field applications. Among these is the lack of appropriate damage models that can be deployed in the damage detection methods. In this paper, a model of a simply supported reinforced concrete beam with multiple cracks is developed to examine its use for damage detection and structural health monitoring. The cracks are simulated by a model that accounts for crack formation, propagation and closure. The beam model is studied under different dynamic excitations, including sine sweep and single excitation frequency, for various damage levels. The changes in resonant frequency with increasing loads are examined along with the nonlinear vibration characteristics. The model demonstrates that the resonant frequency reduces by about 10% at the application of 30% of the ultimate load and then drops gradually by about 25% at 70% of the ultimate load. The model also illustrates some nonlinearity in the dynamic response of damaged beams. The appearance of super-harmonics shows that the nonlinearity is higher when the damage level is about 35% and then decreases with increasing damage. The restoring force-displacement relationship predicted the reduction in the overall stiffness of the damaged beam. The model quantitatively predicts the experimental vibration behaviour of damaged RC beams and also shows the damage dependency of nonlinear vibration behaviour. © 2011 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Wave propagation in nonlinear one-dimensional soil model

The objective of the research conducted by the authors is to explore the feasibility of determining reliable in situ values of shear modulus as a function of strain. In this paper the meaning of the material stiffness obtained from impact and harmonic excitation tests on a surface slab is discussed. A one-dimensional discrete model with the nonlinear material stiffness is used for this purpose. When a static load is applied followed by an impact excitation, if the amplitude of the impact is very small, the measured wave velocity using the cross-correlation indicates the wave velocity calculated from the tangent modulus corresponding to the state of stress caused by the applied static load. The duration of the impact affects the magnitude of the displacement and the particle velocity but has very little effect on the estimation of the wave velocity for the magnitudes considered herein. When a harmonic excitation is applied, the cross-correlation of the time histories at different depths estimates a wave velocity close to the one calculated from the secant modulus in the stress-strain loop under steady-state condition. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ultra-thin 242mAm fuel elements in nuclear reactors

There is a growing interest in using 242mAm as a nuclear fuel. The advantages of 242mAm as a nuclear fuel derive from the fact that 242mAm has the highest thermal fission cross section. The thermal capture cross section is relatively low and the number of neutrons per thermal fission is high. These nuclear properties make it possible to obtain nuclear criticality with ultra-thin fuel elements. The possibility of having ultra-thin fuel elements enables the use of these fission products directly, without the necessity of converting their energy to heat, as is done in conventional reactors. There are three options of using such highly energetic and highly ionized fission products. 1. Using the fission products themselves for ionic propulsion. 2. Using the fission products in an MHD generator, in order to obtain electricity directly. 3. Using the fission products to heat a gas up to a high temperature for propulsion purposes. In this work, we are not dealing with a specific reactor design, but only calculating the minimal fuel elements' thickness and the energy of the fission products emerging from these fuel elements. It was found that it is possible to design a nuclear reactor with a fuel element of less than 1 μm of 242mAm. In such a fuel element, 90% of the fission products' energy can escape.

The limits of inclusive design in the current design practice

The adoption of inclusive design principles and methods in the design practice is meant to support the equity of use of everyday products by as many people as possible independently of their age, physical, sensorial and cognitive capabilities. Although the intention is highly valuable, inclusive design approaches have not been widely applied in industrial context. This paper analyses the findings of an empirical research conducted with industrial designers and product managers. The research indicates some of the hindrances to the adoption of inclusive design, such as the current way the market is considered and targeted, and; the way the designers are driven by the project's brief and budget to orient their research strategy and activities. The paper proposes a way to improve the current industrial mode by strategically supplying clients, designers or both together with information about inclusivity. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group.

An investigation into numerical analysis alternatives for predicting reingestion in turbine disc rim cavities

Reliable means of predicting ingestion in cavities adjacent to the main gas path are increasingly being sought by engineers involved in the design of gas turbines. In this paper, analysis is to be presented that results from an extended research programme, MAGPI, sponsored by the EU and several leading gas turbine manufactures and universities. Extensive use is made of CFD modelling techniques to understand the aerodynamic behaviour of a turbine stator well cavity, focusing on the interaction of cooling air supply with the main annulus gas. The objective of the study has been to benchmark a number of CFD codes and numerical techniques covering RANS and URANS calculations with different turbulence models in order to assess the suitability of the standard settings used in the industry for calculating the mechanics of the flow travelling between cavities in a turbine through the main gas path. The modelling methods employed have been compared making use of experimental data gathered from a dedicated two-stage turbine rig, running at engine representative conditions. Extensive measurements are available for a range of flow conditions and alternative cooling arrangements. The limitations of the numerical methods in calculating the interaction of the cooling flow egress and the main stream gas, and subsequent ingestion into downstream cavities in the engine (i.e. re-ingestion), have been exposed. This has been done without losing sight of the validation of the CFD for its use for predicting heat transfer, which was the main objective of the partners of the MAGPI Work- Package 1 consortium. Copyright © 2012 by ASME.

Improvement in growth and toxin production of Alexandrium tamarense by two-step culture method

The growth and toxin content of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense ATHK was markedly affected by culture methods. In early growth phase at lower cell density static or mild agitation methods were beneficial to growth, but continuous agitation or aeration, to some extent, had an adverse effect on cell growth. Static culture in 2 L Erlenmeyer flasks had the highest growth rate (0.38 d(-1)) but smaller cell size compared with other culture conditions. Cells grown under aerated conditions possessed low nitrogen and phosphorus cell yields, namely high N and P cell-quota. At day 18, cells grown in continuous agitated and 1 h aerated culture entered the late stationary phase and their cellular toxin contents were higher (0.67 and 0.54 pg cell(-1)) compared with cells grown by other culture methods (0.27-0.49 pg cell(-1)). The highest cell density and cellular toxin content were 17190 cells mL(-1) and 1.26 pg cell(-1) respectively in an airlift photobioreactor with two-step culture. The results indicate that A. tamarense could be grown successfully in airlift photobioreactor by a two-step culture method, which involved cultivating the cells statically for 4 days and then aerating the medium. This provides an efficient way to enhance cell and toxin yield of A. tamarense.

Experimental and numerical investigation of the seismic behavior of rectangular tunnels in soft soils

Underground structures constitute crucial components of the transportation networks. Considering their significance for modern societies, their proper seismic design is of great importance. However, this design may become very tricky, accounting of the lack of knowledge regarding their seismic behavior. Several issues that are significantly affecting this behavior (i.e. earth pressures on the structure, seismic shear stresses around the structure, complex deformation modes for rectangular structures during shaking etc.) are still open. The problem is wider for the non-circular (i.e. rectangular) structures, were the soilstructure interaction effects are expected to be maximized. The paper presents representative experimental results from a test case of a series of dynamic centrifuge tests that were performed on rectangular tunnels embedded in dry sand. The tests were carried out at the centrifuge facility of the University of Cambridge, within the Transnational Task of the SERIES EU research program. The presented test case is also numerically simulated and studied. Preliminary full dynamic time history analyses of the coupled soil-tunnel system are performed, using ABAQUS. Soil non-linearity and soil-structure interaction are modeled, following relevant specifications for underground structures and tunnels. Numerical predictions are compared to experimental results and discussed. Based on this comprehensive experimental and numerical study, the seismic behavior of rectangular embedded structures is better understood and modeled, consisting an important step in the development of appropriate specifications for the seismic design of rectangular shallow tunnels.

Monitoring and preventing numerical oscillations in 3D simulations with coupled Monte Carlo codes

Previous studies have reported that different schemes for coupling Monte Carlo (MC) neutron transport with burnup and thermal hydraulic feedbacks may potentially be numerically unstable. This issue can be resolved by application of implicit methods, such as the stochastic implicit mid-point (SIMP) methods. In order to assure numerical stability, the new methods do require additional computational effort. The instability issue however, is problem-dependent and does not necessarily occur in all cases. Therefore, blind application of the unconditionally stable coupling schemes, and thus incurring extra computational costs, may not always be necessary. In this paper, we attempt to develop an intelligent diagnostic mechanism, which will monitor numerical stability of the calculations and, if necessary, switch from simple and fast coupling scheme to more computationally expensive but unconditionally stable one. To illustrate this diagnostic mechanism, we performed a coupled burnup and TH analysis of a single BWR fuel assembly. The results indicate that the developed algorithm can be easily implemented in any MC based code for monitoring of numerical instabilities. The proposed monitoring method has negligible impact on the calculation time even for realistic 3D multi-region full core calculations. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MEIOTIC CHROMOSOME BEHAVIOR IN FEMALE INTERSEXES OF ARTIFICIAL TRIPLOID TRANSPARENT-COLORED CRUCIAN CARP

Chromosome behavior in meiosis was studied by air-drying, C-banding and surface-spreading methods in female intersexes of artificial triploid transparent-colored crucian carp (Carassius auratus). Chromosome pairing and contraction were obviously asynchronous. The preferential pairing of two homologous chromosomes was the major pattern of chromosome pairing, and a few triple pairing, repeated pairing, telomer or centromere associating and multiple pairing were also observed in the pachytene cells. The metaphase I cells were mainly composed of univalents, bivalents and trivalents, as well as few of other multivalents, such as tetravalents, pentavalents, hexavalents and heptavalents, were also found in some metaphase I cells. The chromosome elements including uni-, bi-, tri- and other multivalents varied considerably among the metaphase I cells, and the associating patterns of multivalents were also diverse. Some 6 n and 12 n cells, in which premeiotic endomitosis occurred once or twice, were found at the prophase and first metaphase of meiosis, and the pairing and associating patterns were basically similar to that of the triploid cells.

Depth dependent elastic strain in ZnO epilayer: combined Rutherford backscattering/channeling and X-ray diffraction

A ZnO layer was grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on a sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrate. The perpendicular and parallel elastic strain of the ZnO epilayer, e(perpendicular to) = 0.19%, e(parallel to) = -0.29%, respectively, were derived by using the combination of Rutherford backscattering (RBS)/channeling and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The ratio vertical bar e(parallel to)/ e(perpendicular to)vertical bar = 1.5 indicates that ZnO layer is much stiffer in the a-axis direction than in the c-axis direction. By using RBS/C, the depth dependent elastic strain was deduced. The strain is higher at the depth close to the interface and decreases towards the surface. The negative tetragonal distortion was explained by considering the lattice mismatch and thermal mismatch in ZnO thin film. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A photonic crystal waveguide with silicon on insulator in the near-infrared band

A two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal waveguide in the Gamma-K direction with triangular lattice on a silicon-on insulator (SOI) substrate in the near-infrared band is fabricated by the combination of electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching. Its transmission characteristics are analysed from the stimulated band diagram by the effective index and the 2D plane wave expansion (PWE) methods. In the experiment, the transmission band edge in a longer wavelength of the photonic crystal waveguide is about 1590 nm, which is in good qualitative agreement with the simulated value. However, there is a disagreement between the experimental and the simulated results when the wavelength ranges from 1607 to 1630 nm, which can be considered as due to the unpolarized source used in the transmission measurement.