Destructive and non-destructive evaluation of concrete for optimum sand to aggregate volume ratio

Aggregates are the biggest contributor to concrete volume and are a crucial parameter in dictating its mechanical properties. As such, a detailed experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of sand-to-aggregate volume ratio (s/a) on the mechanical properties of concrete utilizing both destructive and non-destructive testing (employing UPV (ultrasonic pulse velocity) measurements). For investigation, standard cylindrical concrete samples were made with different s/a (0.36, 0.40, 0.44, 0.48, 0.52, and 0.56), cement content (340 and 450 kg/m³), water-to-cement ratio (0.45 and 0.50), and maximum aggregate size (12 and 19 mm). The effect of these design parameters on the 7, 14, and 28 d compressive strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and UPV of concrete were assessed. The careful analysis demonstrates that aggregate proportions and size need to be optimized for formulating mix designs; optimum ratios of s/a were found to be 0.40 and 0.44 for the maximum aggregate size of 12 and 19 mm, respectively, irrespective of the W/C (water-to-cement) and cement content.     

我国环境土壤中的重要超铀核素分布

Pu、Am、Np是3种重要的超铀核素，环境中的这些核素主要来源于人类的核活动，包括大气层核武器试验、核设施排放和核事故释放等。这些超铀核素不仅具有放射性，还兼具化学毒性。我国地域辽阔，环境土壤类型丰富，在当前核电事业蓬勃发展的背景下，建立和扩大我国环境土壤中这些重要超铀核素的“准本底”数据库是辐射环境安全评价的重要组成部分，也是公众关心的热点问题。近30多年来，研究人员对我国不同环境土壤中这几种超铀核素从不同科学角度开展了调查测量研究。本文对此进行整理和分析，对我国环境土壤中这些重要超铀核素（主要是Pu核素，还包括241Am和237Np）的来源、浓度水平和分布特征进行讨论和综述，为辐射环境安全评价奠定基础。     

On globally stable adaptive control providing l 1 tracking performance for linear discrete-time systems

Existing adaptive control algorithms at best guarantee that the tracking error is a l ₂ sequence. This paper presents globally stable adaptive control algorithms for linear discrete-time systems providing l ₁ tracking performance. Two algorithms with different degree of complexity are proposed, one for the case of known control directions, and a separate algorithm for the case of unknown control directions. It is demonstrated that in both cases the tracking error is l ₁ sequence, while the input and output signals are uniformly bounded.     

Water crisis through the analytic of urban transformation: an analysis of Bangalore’s hydrosocial regimes

ABSTRACT

This paper explores intensified water crisis in Bangalore (or Bengaluru) in India by using the analytic of three hydrosocial regimes: the catchment-based regime, the hydraulic regime and the speculative urban regime. It uses a wide range of qualitative interviews, scientific reports and secondary sources to analyze shifting urban trajectories, agrarian relations and their interlinkages with water. Historical ruptures (in the realm of governance, urban growth and changing urban–rural dynamics) allow one to highlight the complex role of speculative logics that shape urban expansion and water scarcity.     

Extended vertical lists for temporal pattern mining from multivariate time series

In this paper, the problem of mining complex temporal patterns in the context of multivariate time series is considered. A new method called the Fast Temporal Pattern Mining with Extended Vertical Lists is introduced. The method is based on an extension of the level‐wise property, which requires a more complex pattern to start at positions within a record where all of the subpatterns of the pattern start. The approach is built around a novel data structure called the Extended Vertical List that tracks positions of the first state of the pattern inside records and links them to appropriate positions of a specific subpattern of the pattern called the prefix. Extensive computational results indicate that the new method performs significantly faster than the previous version of the algorithm for Temporal Pattern Mining; however, the increase in speed comes at the expense of increased memory usage.     

两次喷射对正丁醇部分预混燃烧影响的试验研究

在一台改造的单缸柴油机上进行了预主喷两次喷射策略对正丁醇部分预混燃烧影响的试验研究。研究结果表明:正丁醇燃料实现部分预混燃烧相对汽油燃料对喷射时刻较敏感,最大压力升高率高,稳定运行范围窄,但未燃碳氢、氮氧化物和碳烟排放较低;预主喷两次喷射能有效降低正丁醇部分预混燃烧最大压力升高率,随着预主喷间隔的增大,最大压力升高率先快速降低后上升,预喷射比例越大,获得最低压力升高率对应的预主喷间隔越大;通过优化预主喷两次喷射策略,能显著改善正丁醇部分预混燃烧可控性差、最大压力升高率高的问题,从而有利于实现更大工况范围内的高效燃烧。     

Blockchain in global supply chains and cross border trade: a critical synthesis of the state-of-the-art,challenges and opportunities

Blockchain possesses the potential of transforming global supply chain management. Gartner predicts that blockchain could be able to track $2?T of goods and services in their movement across the globe by 2023, and blockchain will be a more than $3 trillion business by 2030. Nowadays, a growing number of blockchain initiatives are disrupting traditional business models in each sector. In this paper, we provide a timely and holistic overview of the state-of-the-art, challenges, gaps and opportunities in global supply chain and trade operations for both the private sector and governmental agencies, by synthesising a wide range of resources from business leaders, global international organisations, leading supply chain consulting firms, research articles, trade magazines and conferences. We then identify collaborative schema and future research directions for industry, government, and academia to jointly work together in ensuring that the full potential of blockchain is unleashed amidst the socioeconomic, geopolitical and technological disruptions that global supply chains and trade are facing.     

基于卡尔曼滤波的波浪发电系统反步法最优功率跟踪控制

常规变速控制系统的精度不高,变换器晶闸管开关动作产生的高频纹波较大,为此提出一种基于卡尔曼滤波的反步控制方法。文章通过分析波浪能提取装置的受力及幅频特性,获取了波浪能转化效率最大化的控制条件,并搭建了一套基于卡尔曼滤波的波浪发电反步最优功率控制系统。通过仿真研究了3种控制方法的控制精度和有效性,仿真结果表明:低通滤波反步法存在相位延迟,不能满足最大功率捕获策略的相位条件,影响系统的最终有功功率输出;反步法的跟踪误差较大,导致系统输出的有功功率较低;卡尔曼滤波反步法的动态性能较好,跟踪电流的波形振幅较小,能保证系统全局收敛,在电机速度方向、幅值和频率突变的情况下,仍能快速准确跟踪给定信号,鲁棒性和抗干扰能力更好。     

From a local community to a global influence. How elBulli restaurant created a new epistemic movement in the world of haute cuisine

Location plays a major role in the building of artistic, technological or scientific movements that emerge in specific locations before achieving a worldwide reach. However, a deeper understanding is needed about the interplay of local/global knowledge dynamics in the epistemic construction of a movement. Based on an in-depth longitudinal study of a critical case, this article sheds light on these issues by analysing the case of ‘techno-emotional cuisine’, a global gastronomic movement initiated and led by chef Ferran Adrià and his team at the restaurant elBulli in Catalonia (in Northern Spain). The results suggest that the dynamics of formation of a new epistemic movement depend on the form and nature of the interactions between the local buzz and global pipelines, and on the capacity of the originating community to develop and diffuse the new rules and ‘episteme’ on a global scale while consolidating them locally.