Learning SO(3) Equivariant Representations with Spherical CNNs

International Journal of Computer Vision - We address the problem of 3D rotation equivariance in convolutional neural networks. 3D rotations have been a challenging nuisance in 3D classification...     

Numerical simulation of the wire‐pinning process in PET film casting: Steady‐state results

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film casting involves melt flow through a slot die, across a small span, and onto a fast moving quench drum. In the “wire‐pinning” casting process, a thin electrified wire close to the line of contact with the drum creates a strong pinning force that delays air entrainment to higher line speeds. Nonuniform wetting of the die lips by the extruded melt is thought to be responsible for the formation of streaks, a defect in the machine direction. A finite element model of the film casting process with wire pinning was developed to assist in understanding what causes significant wetting of the lips and whether this can be avoided by electrostatic pinning. The solution of the governing equations provide the location of the static and dynamic contact lines, thus finding the wetting and pinning points in the process. The simulations investigate the sensitivity of the static wetting line locations on the die lands to the imposed values of static contact angle and die‐lip gap. It was found that while the contact angle has a small effect on the extent of die‐lip wetting within the parameter ranges examined, there is a considerable chance that the feed slot surfaces can be dewetted. This seems to be the greatest danger for causing streaks rather than excessive wetting of the die lands. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

The E3 architecture: enabling future cellular networks with cognitive and self‐x capabilities

Future mobile networks are expected to be complex heterogeneous systems. On the one hand this will enable users to take advantage of a number of different access technologies. On the other hand it will seriously affect network management procedures since more extensive operations and decisions will have to be dealt with. To tackle these challenges a number of new dynamic mechanisms need to be designed. It is imperative that certain network management tasks have to be performed without human intervention to reduce the OPEX costs and achieve faster responses in different events. To achieve this goal, the introduction of self‐x functionalities, combined with cognitive mechanisms and the ability to reconfigure network entities and terminals, is required. Moreover, the introduction of a new pilot channel needs to be considered to assist the terminals in selecting the most suitable radio access technology according to their requirements. We present the functional architecture of an evolved network that was designed in the context of the EU‐funded IP project ‘E³: End‐to‐End Efficiency’. This architecture aims to enhance existing procedures usually performed in traditional operation and maintenance systems (e.g. spectrum management, network planning, configuration actions). We explain the rationale of our design and provide specific examples to illustrate the role of the different functional entities and their interfaces. A considerable part of this architecture has recently been approved as a feasibility study by the ETSI Committee Reconfigurable Radio System. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Welfare Improvisation from the Receiving Waters of Urban Wastewater Systems in the Context of the Water Framework Directive

The compliance of wastewater authorities with the Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) although may highly contribute to a “good” ecological status in aquatic ecosystems, is alleged to require disproportionally high costs in relevance to the anticipated benefits. This is mainly due to the limited yet research in the assessment of the economic welfare derived by the compliance with the WFD. In this light, the direct and indirect economic benefits emerged by the attaining of WFD are investigated. The wastewater treatment plant of Athens (Greece) is demonstrated as a comprehensive pilot case.     

A mathematical model to study the effect of the air jet in the film blowing process

The aerodynamic effect of the air jet that supports the polymeric films produced in the film blowing process is studied theoretically. The nonlinear coupling between the air and the polymer is examined by assuming steady, axisymmetric, and isothermal flow for both phases. The governing equations for the polymer are simplified by following the thin‐film approximation and the corresponding ones for the air are derived by applying a boundary‐layer type analysis. The latter are solved analytically by first applying the Mangler transformation that reduces the boundary layer equations for the axisymmetric case to those for a plane boundary layer. Then a similarity solution is obtained, allowing the shear stress and the pressure on the outer polymer/air interface to be evaluated in terms of the film shape only. The final set of ordinary differential equations for the film is solved numerically using finite differences. The results show that the force caused by the airflow has a significant effect on the film shape and the characteristics of the final product. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers