Dynamic Simulation Methods for Evaluating Motor Vehicle and Roadway Design and Resolving Policy Issues, 1990

This study had three objectives: (1) to develop a comprehensive truck simulation that executes rapidly, has a modular program construction to allow variation of vehicle characteristics, and is able to realistically predict vehicle motion and the tire-road surface interaction forces; (2) to develop a model of doweled portland cement concrete pavement that can be used to determine slab deflection and stress at predetermined nodes, and that allows for the variation of traditional thickness design factors; and (3) to implement these two models on a work station with suitable menu driven modules so that both existing and proposed pavements can be evaluated with respect to design life, given specific characteristics of the heavy vehicles that will be using the facility. This report summarizes the work that has been performed during the first year of the study. Briefly, the following has been accomplished: A two dimensional model of a typical 3-S2 tractor-trailer combination was created. A finite element structural analysis program, ANSYS, was used to model the pavement. Computer runs have been performed varying the parameters defining both vehicle and road elements. The resulting time specific displacements for each node are plotted, and the displacement basin is generated for defined vehicles. Relative damage to the pavement can then be estimated. A damage function resulting from load replications must be assumed that will be reflected by further pavement deterioration. Comparison with actual damage on Interstate 80 will eventually allow verification of these procedures.

Simulation and optimization tools in paper machine concept design

The last decade has shown that the global paper industry needs new processes and products in order to reassert its position in the industry. As the paper markets in Western Europe and North America have stabilized, the competition has tightened. Along with the development of more cost-effective processes and products, new process design methods are also required to break the old molds and create new ideas. This thesis discusses the development of a process design methodology based on simulation and optimization methods. A bi-level optimization problem and a solution procedure for it are formulated and illustrated. Computational models and simulation are used to illustrate the phenomena inside a real process and mathematical optimization is exploited to find out the best process structures and control principles for the process. Dynamic process models are used inside the bi-level optimization problem, which is assumed to be dynamic and multiobjective due to the nature of papermaking processes. The numerical experiments show that the bi-level optimization approach is useful for different kinds of problems related to process design and optimization. Here, the design methodology is applied to a constrained process area of a papermaking line. However, the same methodology is applicable to all types of industrial processes, e.g., the design of biorefiners, because the methodology is totally generalized and can be easily modified.

The mechanician, a treatise on the construction and manipulation of tools, for the use and instruction of young engineers and scientific amateurs; comprising the arts of blacksmithing and forging; the construction and manufacture of hand tools, and the various methods of using and grinding them; description of hand and machine processes; turning and screw cutting; and the various details of setting out work incidental to the mechanical engineer's and machinist's art.

Mode of access: Internet.

A treatise on the construction and use of universal milling machines as made by Brown & Sharpe mfg. co., Providence, R.I., U.S.A., manufacturers of fine machinery and machine tools.

Mode of access: Internet.

High-Speed Solid-Rotor Induction Machine – Electromagnetic Calculation and Design

Within the latest decade high-speed motor technology has been increasingly commonly applied within the range of medium and large power. More particularly, applications like such involved with gas movement and compression seem to be the most important area in which high-speed machines are used. In manufacturing the induction motor rotor core of one single piece of steel it is possible to achieve an extremely rigid rotor construction for the high-speed motor. In a mechanical sense, the solid rotor may be the best possible rotor construction. Unfortunately, the electromagnetic properties of a solid rotor are poorer than the properties of the traditional laminated rotor of an induction motor. This thesis analyses methods for improving the electromagnetic properties of a solid-rotor induction machine. The slip of the solid rotor is reduced notably if the solid rotor is axially slitted. The slitting patterns of the solid rotor are examined. It is shown how the slitting parameters affect the produced torque. Methods for decreasing the harmonic eddy currents on the surface of the rotor are also examined. The motivation for this is to improve the efficiency of the motor to reach the efficiency standard of a laminated rotor induction motor. To carry out these research tasks the finite element analysis is used. An analytical calculation of solid rotors based on the multi-layer transfer-matrix method is developed especially for the calculation of axially slitted solid rotors equipped with wellconducting end rings. The calculation results are verified by using the finite element analysis and laboratory measurements. The prototype motors of 250 – 300 kW and 140 Hz were tested to verify the results. Utilization factor data are given for several other prototypes the largest of which delivers 1000 kW at 12000 min-1.

From CAD to virtual reality: modelling approaches, data exchange and interactive 3D building design tools

Virtual reality has the potential to improve visualisation of building design and construction, but its implementation in the industry has yet to reach maturity. Present day translation of building data to virtual reality is often unidirectional and unsatisfactory. Three different approaches to the creation of models are identified and described in this paper. Consideration is given to the potential of both advances in computer-aided design and the emerging standards for data exchange to facilitate an integrated use of virtual reality. Commonalities and differences between computer-aided design and virtual reality packages are reviewed, and trials of current system, are described. The trials have been conducted to explore the technical issues related to the integrated use of CAD and virtual environments within the house building sector of the construction industry and to investigate the practical use of the new technology.

Design and implementation of bioinformatics tools for large scale genome annotation

The continuous increase of genome sequencing projects produced a huge amount of data in the last 10 years: currently more than 600 prokaryotic and 80 eukaryotic genomes are fully sequenced and publically available. However the sole sequencing process of a genome is able to determine just raw nucleotide sequences. This is only the first step of the genome annotation process that will deal with the issue of assigning biological information to each sequence. The annotation process is done at each different level of the biological information processing mechanism, from DNA to protein, and cannot be accomplished only by in vitro analysis procedures resulting extremely expensive and time consuming when applied at a this large scale level. Thus, in silico methods need to be used to accomplish the task. The aim of this work was the implementation of predictive computational methods to allow a fast, reliable, and automated annotation of genomes and proteins starting from aminoacidic sequences. The first part of the work was focused on the implementation of a new machine learning based method for the prediction of the subcellular localization of soluble eukaryotic proteins. The method is called BaCelLo, and was developed in 2006. The main peculiarity of the method is to be independent from biases present in the training dataset, which causes the over‐prediction of the most represented examples in all the other available predictors developed so far. This important result was achieved by a modification, made by myself, to the standard Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm with the creation of the so called Balanced SVM. BaCelLo is able to predict the most important subcellular localizations in eukaryotic cells and three, kingdom‐specific, predictors were implemented. In two extensive comparisons, carried out in 2006 and 2008, BaCelLo reported to outperform all the currently available state‐of‐the‐art methods for this prediction task. BaCelLo was subsequently used to completely annotate 5 eukaryotic genomes, by integrating it in a pipeline of predictors developed at the Bologna Biocomputing group by Dr. Pier Luigi Martelli and Dr. Piero Fariselli. An online database, called eSLDB, was developed by integrating, for each aminoacidic sequence extracted from the genome, the predicted subcellular localization merged with experimental and similarity‐based annotations. In the second part of the work a new, machine learning based, method was implemented for the prediction of GPI‐anchored proteins. Basically the method is able to efficiently predict from the raw aminoacidic sequence both the presence of the GPI‐anchor (by means of an SVM), and the position in the sequence of the post‐translational modification event, the so called ω‐site (by means of an Hidden Markov Model (HMM)). The method is called GPIPE and reported to greatly enhance the prediction performances of GPI‐anchored proteins over all the previously developed methods. GPIPE was able to predict up to 88% of the experimentally annotated GPI‐anchored proteins by maintaining a rate of false positive prediction as low as 0.1%. GPIPE was used to completely annotate 81 eukaryotic genomes, and more than 15000 putative GPI‐anchored proteins were predicted, 561 of which are found in H. sapiens. In average 1% of a proteome is predicted as GPI‐anchored. A statistical analysis was performed onto the composition of the regions surrounding the ω‐site that allowed the definition of specific aminoacidic abundances in the different considered regions. Furthermore the hypothesis that compositional biases are present among the four major eukaryotic kingdoms, proposed in literature, was tested and rejected. All the developed predictors and databases are freely available at: BaCelLo http://gpcr.biocomp.unibo.it/bacello eSLDB http://gpcr.biocomp.unibo.it/esldb GPIPE http://gpcr.biocomp.unibo.it/gpipe

Controversy between curriculum design and curriculum development of online "highly specialized" education in the field of construction

Nowadays, on a global level, the Higher Education System has a complex and broad horizon of curricular tools to use in the teaching and learning process. In addition to these new educational instruments, full of possibilities, we face specific socio-economic conditions that affect in a significantly way the Curriculum Development in certain knowledge areas (areas traditionally built on a methodology based on a physical presence of students in the classroom). Some areas such as Restoration, Rehabilitation or Construction Pathologies, and the construction sector in general, require very defined and particular knowledge that only a small number of experts claim as specialized training. All these aspects condition the teaching methodology performed in a physical classroom at a university campus (the only option used until recent years) and made us consider the integration of online teaching in these areas too. The present work shows the teaching methodology used for the development of two online courses, where we offer distance learning for "highly specialized" formation in the Edification area (an area where traditionally there was only classroom training). At the beginning, both courses were designed by classroom training, but got a really small number of applications due to the specialized topic proposed. Later, we proposed a "Curriculum Redesign" of the contents, offering an online modality, which implied a significant demand both within and outside the university area. A notable feature of this educational experience is the great spectrum opened for attendees of both courses in the online version. This situation improved significantly the "Curriculum Development" for the student and implied an interesting new proposal on the offered contents and materials (what would have been really difficult to get in a face to face classroom). In conclusion, the absence of certain types of specialized contents in the academic university curricula makes essential to raise new methodologies to save the gap in this area through additional training courses as those analyzed in this paper. Thus, our experience opens a debate on the appropriateness of implementing online training in relation to the face to face training in constructive content subjects and, especially, presents a new scheme, not without controversy, for the curriculum design.

Practical design of manufacturing tools, dies, and fixtures. Prepared under supervision of A.S.T.E. Book Committee.

"Reprinted verbatim from the Tool engineers handbook, an official publication of the American Society of Tool Engineers."

Design and Characterization of a Biomimetic Piezoelectric Pump Inspired on Group Fish Swimming Effect

Flow pumps are important tools in several engineering areas, such as in the fields of bioengineering and thermal management solutions for electronic devices. Nowadays, many of the new flow pump principles are based on the use of piezoelectric actuators, which present some advantages such as miniaturization potential and lower noise generation. In previous work, authors presented a study of a novel pump configuration based on placing an oscillating bimorph piezoelectric actuator in water to generate flow. It was concluded that this oscillatory behavior (such as fish swimming) yields vortex interaction, generating flow rate due to the action and reaction principle. Thus, following this idea the objective of this work is to explore this oscillatory principle by studying the interaction among generated vortex from two bimorph piezoelectric actuators oscillating inside the same pump channel, which is similar to the interaction of vortex generated by frontal fish and posterior ones when they swim together in a group formation. It is shown that parallel-series configurations of bimorph piezoelectric actuators inside the same pump channel provide higher flow rates and pressure for liquid pumping than simple parallel-series arrangements of corresponding single piezoelectric pumps, respectively. The scope of this work includes structural simulations of bimorph piezoelectric actuators, fluid flow simulations, and prototype construction for result validation.

Microstrip circular phased array design and development using microwave antenna CAD tools

The complex design and development of a planar multilayer phased array antenna in microstrip technology can be simplified using two commercially available design tools 1) Ansoft Ensemble and 2) HP-EEsof Touchstone. In the approach presented here, Touchstone is used to design RF switches and phase shifters whose scattering parameters are incorporated in Ensemble simulations using its black box tool. Using this approach, Ensemble is able to fully analyze the performance of radiating and beamforming layers of a phased array prior to its manufacturing. This strategy is demonstrated in a design example of a 12-element linearly-polarized circular phased array operating at L band. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results of the array is demonstrated.

Decision Support Concerning Demand Response Programs Design and Use – A Conceptual Framework and Simulation Tool

Demand response can play a very relevant role in the context of power systems with an intensive use of distributed energy resources, from which renewable intermittent sources are a significant part. More active consumers participation can help improving the system reliability and decrease or defer the required investments. Demand response adequate use and management is even more important in competitive electricity markets. However, experience shows difficulties to make demand response be adequately used in this context, showing the need of research work in this area. The most important difficulties seem to be caused by inadequate business models and by inadequate demand response programs management. This paper contributes to developing methodologies and a computational infrastructure able to provide the involved players with adequate decision support on demand response programs and contracts design and use. The presented work uses DemSi, a demand response simulator that has been developed by the authors to simulate demand response actions and programs, which includes realistic power system simulation. It includes an optimization module for the application of demand response programs and contracts using deterministic and metaheuristic approaches. The proposed methodology is an important improvement in the simulator while providing adequate tools for demand response programs adoption by the involved players. A machine learning method based on clustering and classification techniques, resulting in a rule base concerning DR programs and contracts use, is also used. A case study concerning the use of demand response in an incident situation is presented.

Identification of the Best Practices for Design, Construction, and Repair of Bridge Approaches, January 2005

Bridge approach settlement and the formation of the bump is a common problem in Iowa that draws upon considerable resources for maintenance and creates a negative perception in the minds of transportation users. This research study was undertaken to investigate bridge approach problems and develop new concepts for design, construction, and maintenance that will reduce this costly problem. As a result of the research described in this report, the following changes are suggested for implementation on a pilot test basis: • Use porous backfill behind the abutment and/or geocomposite drainage systems to improve drainage capacity and reduce erosion around the abutment. • On a pilot basis, connect the approach slab to the bridge abutment. Change the expansion joint at the bridge to a construction joint of 2 inch. Use a more effective joint sealing system at the CF joint. Change the abutment wall rebar from #5 to #7 for non-integral abutments. • For bridges with soft foundation or embankment soils, implement practices of better compaction, preloading, ground improvement, soil removal and replacement, or soil reinforcement that reduce time-dependent post construction settlements.

Design Guide and Construction Specifications for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Site Runoff Control, 2006

According to the 1972 Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established a set of regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The purpose of these regulations is to reduce pollution of the nation’s waterways. In addition to other pollutants, the NPDES regulates stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities, municipal storm sewer systems, and construction sites. Phase II of the NPDES stormwater regulations, which went into effect in Iowa in 2003, applies to construction activities that disturb more than one acre of ground. The regulations also require certain communities with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) to perform education, inspection, and regulation activities to reduce stormwater pollution within their communities. Iowa does not currently have a resource to provide guidance on the stormwater regulations to contractors, designers, engineers, and municipal staff. The Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) manuals are widely accepted as the statewide standard for public improvements. The SUDAS Design manual currently contains a brief chapter (Chapter 7) on erosion and sediment control; however, it is outdated, and Phase II of the NPDES stormwater regulations is not discussed. In response to the need for guidance, this chapter was completely rewritten. It now escribes the need for erosion and sediment control and explains the NPDES stormwater regulations. It provides information for the development and completion of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) that comply with the stormwater regulations, as well as the proper design and implementation of 28 different erosion and sediment control practices. In addition to the design chapter, this project also updated a section in the SUDAS Specifications manual (Section 9040), which describes the proper materials and methods of construction for the erosion and sediment control practices.

GIS - Based Decision and Outreach Tools for Aggregate Source Management, September 2008

This research project combined various datasets, existing and created for this project, into an Interactive Mapping Service (IMS) for use by Iowa DOT personnel, county planning and zoning departments and the public in order to make more informed decisions regarding aggregate sources and future access to them. Iowa DOT Technical Advisory Committee meetings were held, along with public forum presentations, in order to understand better the social, ecological and economic limitations to extracting aggregate. The information needed by potential users was conveyed and integrated into a single informational source, the Aggregate Planning IMS.