Implementation Feasibility of a Digital Nervous System for the Construction Industry: For Efficient and Effective Information Management across the Project Lifecycle

The construction industry has long been considered as highly fragmented and non-collaborative industry. This fragmentation sprouted from complex and unstructured traditional coordination processes and information exchanges amongst all parties involved in a construction project. This nature coupled with risk and uncertainty has pushed clients and their supply chain to search for new ways of improving their business process to deliver better quality and high performing product. This research will closely investigate the need to implement a Digital Nervous System (DNS), analogous to a biological nervous system, on the flow and management of digital information across the project lifecycle. This will be through direct examination of the key processes and information produced in a construction project and how a DNS can provide a well-integrated flow of digital information throughout the project lifecycle. This research will also investigate how a DNS can create a tight digital feedback loop that enables the organisation to sense, react and adapt to changing project conditions. A Digital Nervous System is a digital infrastructure that provides a well-integrated flow of digital information to the right part of the organisation at the right time. It provides the organisation with the relevant and up-to-date information it needs, for critical project issues, to aid in near real-time decision-making. Previous literature review and survey questionnaires were used in this research to collect and analyse data about information management problems of the industry – e.g. disruption and discontinuity of digital information flow due to interoperability issues, disintegration/fragmentation of the adopted digital solutions and paper-based transactions. Results analysis revealed efficient and effective information management requires the creation and implementation of a DNS.

Assessment of regional long-axis function during dobutamine echocardiography

Echocardiographic analysis of regional left ventricular function is based upon the assessment of radial motion. Long-axis motion is an important contributor to overall function. but has been difficult to evaluate clinically until the recent development of tissue Doppler techniques. We sought to compare the standard visual assessment of radial motion with quantitative tissue Doppler measurement of peak systolic velocity. timing and strain rate (SRI) in 104 patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography (DbE). A standard DbE protocol was used with colour tissue Doppler images acquired in digital cine-loop format. peak systolic velocity (PSV), time to peak velocity (TPV) and SRI were assessed off-line by an independent operator. Wall motion was assessed by an experienced reader. Mean PSV, TPV and SRI values were compared with wall motion and the presence of coronary artery disease by angiography. A further analysis included assessing the extent of jeopardized myocardium by comparing average values of PSV, TPV and SRI against the previously validated angiographic score. Segments identified as having normal and abnormal radial wall motion showed significant differences in mean PSV (7.9 +/- 3.8 and 5.9 +/- 3.3 cm/s respectively; P < 0.001), TPV (84 40 and 95 +/- 48 ms respectively; P = 0.005) and SRI (- 1.45 +/- 0.5 and - 1.1 +/- 0.9 s(-1) respectively; P < 0.001). The presence of a stenosed subtending coronary artery was also associated with significant differences from normally perfused segments for mean PSV (8.1 3.4 compared with 5.7 +/- 3.7 cm/s; P < 0.001), TPV (78 50 compared with 92 +/- 45 ms; P < 0.001) and SRI (- 1.35 0.5 compared with - 1.20 +/- 0.4 s(-1); P = 0.05). PSV, TPV and SRI also varied significantly according to the extent of jeopardized myocardium within a vascular territory. These results suggest that peak systolic velocity, timing of contraction and SRI reflect the underlying physiological characteristics of the regional myocardium during DbE, and may potentially allow objective analysis of wall motion.

Frequency synthesizer using a hybrid analog/digital loop filter: A low complexity approach

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Burstlock : a digital phase-locked loop using burst techniques /

Thesis (M. S.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mutually connected phase-locked loop networks: dynamical models and design parameters

Distribution of timing signals is an essential factor for the development of digital systems for telecommunication networks, integrated circuits and manufacturing automation. Originally, this distribution was implemented by using the master-slave architecture with a precise master clock generator sending signals to phase-locked loops (PLL) working as slave oscillators. Nowadays, wireless networks with dynamical connectivity and the increase in size and operation frequency of the integrated circuits suggest that the distribution of clock signals could be more efficient if mutually connected architectures were used. Here, mutually connected PLL networks are studied and conditions for synchronous states existence are analytically derived, depending on individual node parameters and network connectivity, considering that the nodes are nonlinear oscillators with nonlinear coupling conditions. An expression for the network synchronisation frequency is obtained. The lock-in range and the transmission error bounds are analysed providing hints to the design of this kind of clock distribution system.

Digitally programmable delay-locked-loop with adaptive charge pump current for UWB radar system

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e Computadores

Análise e implementação digital de uma malha de captura de fase para sincronização de conversores à rede elétrica

Dissertação para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica Ramo de Automação e Eletrónica Industrial

Parametric analog signal amplification applied to nanoscale cmos wireless digital transceivers

Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Electrical and Computer Engineering by the Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia

A built-in self-test technique for high speed analog-to-digital converters

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PhD grant (SFRH/BD/62568/2009)

Loop bifurcation and magnetization rotation in exchange-biased Ni/FeF2

Exchange-biased Ni/FeF2 films have been investigated using vector coil vibrating-sample magnetometry as a function of the cooling field strength HFC . In films with epitaxial FeF2 , a loop bifurcation develops with increasing HFC as it divides into two sub-loops shifted oppositely from zero field by the same amount. The positively biased sub-loop grows in size with HFC until only a single positively shifted loop is found. Throughout this process, the negative and positive (sub)loop shifts maintain the same discrete value. This is in sharp contrast to films with twinned FeF2 where the exchange field gradually changes with increasing HFC . The transverse magnetization shows clear correlations with the longitudinal subloops. Interestingly, over 85% of the Ni reverses its magnetization by rotation, either in one step or through two successive rotations. These results are due to the single-crystal nature of the antiferromagnetic FeF2 , which breaks down into two opposite regions of large domains.

Chaos in high performance digital robot controllers

Active robot force control requires some form of dynamic inner loop control for stability. The author considers the implementation of position-based inner loop control on an industrial robot fitted with encoders only. It is shown that high gain velocity feedback for such a robot, which is effectively stationary when in contact with a stiff environment, involves problems beyond the usual caveats on the effects of unknown environment stiffness. It is shown that it is possible for the controlled joint to become chaotic at very low velocities if encoder edge timing data are used for velocity measurement. The results obtained indicate that there is a lower limit on controlled velocity when encoders are the only means of joint measurement. This lower limit to speed is determined by the desired amount of loop gain, which is itself determined by the severity of the nonlinearities present in the drive system.

Force system evaluation of symmetrical beta-titanium T-loop springs preactivated by curvature and concentrated bends

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

New approach of induction machine drive using an adaptive digital PID controller with gain planning based on artificial neural networks

The present work introduces a new strategy of induction machines speed adjustment using an adaptive PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) digital controller with gain planning based on the artificial neural networks. This digital controller uses an auxiliary variable to determine the ideal induction machine operating conditions and to establish the closed loop gain of the system. The auxiliary variable value can be estimated from the information stored in a general-purpose artificial neural network based on CMAC (Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller).