Android vs. IOS: a comparative analysis over mobile operator infrastructures based on crowdsourced mobile dataset

User equipment (UE)’s operating system (OS) and category types are important factors that are affecting the end-user performance in a given mobile network operator (MNO)’s infrastructure. For this reason, fair and statistically accurate observed network performance differences of UE’s OSs based on category types, MNOs or locations can be of interest for mobile telecommunication ecosystem players. This paper’s focus is on performance comparisons of UE OSs (including Android, IOS (iPhone Operating System) and Windows phones) over different UE categories, MNOs and locations based on previously collected end-to-end nationwide crowd-sourced data measurements in Turkey. The analysis results performed in this paper uses statistical comparisons of unpaired observations due to imbalance between number of observations between all OSs and yield insight on how the mobile OS types’ network performances differ using some important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as downlink (DL) speed, latency, jitter and packet loss (PL). The outcome of the analysis indicate that Android devices perform better in terms of DL speed among all MNOs, whereas IOS devices are better in terms of latency values. On the other hand depending on the UE category, the performances of MNOs may vary when IOS and Android OSs are compared based on different KPIs. Additionally, IOS has shown better performance than Android in large geographical areas of Turkey. Finally, the business aspects of performing the proposed statistical OS comparisons from the perspectives of OS developers, MNOs, device manufacturers, and end-users are highlighted.

     

Fatigue characteristics of continuous welded rails and the effect of residual stress on fatigue-ratchetting interaction

ABSTRACT

The importance of ratchetting-fatigue interaction is garnering interest due to complex failure mechanism of rail welds under cyclic loading. The objective of this paper is to investigate the fatigue characteristics of continuous welded rails (CWRs) and the effect of residual stress on fatigue-ratchetting interaction. For this purpose, UIC60 rails have been modeled using a three-dimensional finite element model, including a combination of nonlinear kinematic and isotropic hardening. In addition, the interaction between cyclic loading and the effect of residual stress on fatigue is taken into consideration. Finite element model is validated against representative experimental findings. Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) method is utilized in order to estimate the fatigue life of rail welds under static and cyclic loading. Lower fatigue life is predicted with increasing load due to the contact between rails and wheels. Simulation results also show that failure in the form of ratchetting occurs during the 10,236th cycle, while failure corresponds to the 15,290th cycle and the 145,161st cycle based on the SWT and Coffin-Manson fatigue models, respectively. These findings suggest that investigations on ratchetting and fatigue should be carried out simultaneously to estimate the failure of the CWRs.     

Detection of gamma irradiated fig seeds by analysing electron spin resonance

Seeds of fig produced in Turkey were studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) technique for detection purposes. Unirradiated fig seeds (control) exhibited a weak ESR singlet at g = 2.0052 ± 0.0003 (native signal). Irradiation induced at least one additional intense singlet overlapping to the control signal and caused a significant increase in signal intensity without any changes in spectral patterns. Variation of ESR signal intensity of irradiated samples at room temperature with time in a long-term showed that free radicals responsible from the ESR spectrum of fig seeds were not stable but detectable after 80 days. Annealing studies at five different temperatures were used to determine the kinetic behaviour and activation energy of the radiation-induced radicals in fig seeds. A study on microwave saturation characteristics and thermal behaviour of the ESR singlet (g = 2.0052) in irradiated and unirradiated fig seed samples was also carried out by using ESR technique. These preliminary results indicate that microwave saturation characteristics of the ESR signal at room and low temperatures may be useful method to distinguish irradiated fig seeds from unirradiated ones.     

A four-leg unified series-parallel active filter system for periodic and non-periodic disturbance compensation

This paper presents a three-phase four-leg (3P4L) unified series-parallel active filter (USPAF) system, compensating for both periodic and non-periodic disturbances using a generalized non-active power theory (GNAP) based control strategy. The 3P4L USPAF system is realized by the integration of series and parallel active filters (AFs), composed of the two 3P4L voltage source inverters (VSIs) sharing a common dc-link capacitor. The GNAP theory was implemented previously in the parallel AF. In this study, the theory is proposed for the 3P4L USPAF system to compensate non-sinusoidal periodic and non-periodic currents and voltages. Distorted source voltages and unbalanced non-linear load currents compensation were verified simultaneously through the 3P4L USPAF system experimental prototype. Sub-harmonic and stochastic non-periodic current/voltage compensations were analyzed through simulations with Matlab/Simulink software. The simulation and experimental results showed that the theory proposed for the 3P4L USPAF system was applicable to non-active power compensation in three-phase four-wire (3P4W) systems under periodic and non-periodic disturbances.     

Evaluation of micro-structural damage caused by needle penetration testing

The needle penetrometer (NP) is a non-destructive, cheap and simple device which can be used indirectly to obtain the uniaxial compressive strength of extremely weak rocks. It requires little sample preparation and can be used in the field and laboratory and applied in natural and man-made structures where sampling is not allowed. The microstructural damage created by the needle, its shape and size, have been assessed using four rock types (marl, mudstone and tuff from Turkey and calcarenite from the Netherlands) and two types of needle. During needle penetration, very high compressive and shear stresses are developed in advance of the needle and normal to the shaft. In all the tested rocks, densification occurred in a zone some 0.4 and 1?mm ahead of the Maruto and Eijkelkamp needles respectively. The grains are crushed and compacted in a zone which appears like an extension of the needle tip (Eijkelkamp needle). As damage is local, the NP test is said to be non-destructive. The NP results in coarse grained rocks are far more variable than in fine grained rocks. The damage caused by a needle decreases with a decrease in the diameter of the needle and an increase in the slenderness of the needle.     

Quintuple-mode wideband bandpass filter based on stub-loaded circular resonator

In this paper, novel compact wideband filters have been implemented using a stub-loaded microstrip resonator based on a circular open-loop configuration for the first time. To offer an alternative wideband filter configuration, the quadruple?/quintuple-mode wideband bandpass filters (BPFs) using stub-loaded circular microstrip resonator (SLCMR) and parallel-coupled microstrip line (PCML) feed configuration are proposed. They are realized by employing a single open stub and two open stubs, respectively. A half-wavelength $\left(\lambda /2\right)$ circular microstrip resonator (CMR) loaded with two open stubs excites three resonant modes, while the one with a single stub produces two resonant modes. One of the modes is odd-mode generated by a $\lambda /2$ CMR, the others are even-modes excited by the two loading stubs. The PCML with enhanced input/output (I/O) coupling degree excites also two modes in the passband. Two loading stubs not only creates transmission poles in the passband, they also create two transmission zeros in the lower and upper stopbands. The quadruple?/quintuple-mode wideband BPFs with fractional bandwidths FBW of 60% and 62% are successfully realized by using the SLCMR and PCML feed configuration together. Both filters are designed, fabricated, and tested where excellent agreement between simulated and measured results is observed.