Development of geometrically exact new shell elements based on general curvilinear co‐ordinates

In the present study first‐order shear deformable shell finite elements based on general curvilinear co‐ordinates are proposed. For the development of the present shell elements, a partial mixed variational functional with independently assumed strains is provided in order to avoid the severe locking troubles known as transverse shear and membrane lockings. Bubble functions are included in the shape function of displacement to improve the performance of the developed element. The proposed assumed strain four‐ and nine‐node elements based on the general tensor shell theory provide an efficient linkage framework for shell surface modelling and finite element analysis. In the several benchmark problems, the present shell elements with exact geometric representations demonstrate their performance compared to previously reported results. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wireless-adaptive fair scheduling for multimedia stream

As packet cellular networks are expected to support multimedia services, the authors incorporate the multimedia QoS requirements into the design of a new scheduling algorithm. The proposed wireless-adaptive fair scheduling tries to allocate time slots for each user with fair share by considering the varying channel condition while reflecting the stream requirements and achieving high throughput.     

Abnormal junction profile of silicided p+/n shallowjunctions: a leakage mechanism

The leakage mechanism in p⁺/n shallow junctions fabricated using Co silicidation and shallow trench isolation processes has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with selective chemical etching. TEM and TSUPREM-4 simulation results show that dopant profiles bend upward near the edge of the active region. The formation of the abnormal profile is attributed to transient enhanced diffusion induced by source/drain implantation. Based on the TEM and simulation results, it is suggested that the shallower junctions formed near the active edge can serve as a source for leakage current in the silicided p+ /n shallow junctions     

Model-based monitoring of diamond turning process using cross entropy

This paper discusses the model-based monitoring as one of key steps toward building an inprocess diagnostic tool for the supervisory level control in diamond turning. In particular, estimation of surface profile from a nonlinear force model and model-based monitoring of tool chipping are demonstrated. Classification rule is based on the minimization of information-theoretic measure called the cross entropy. The experimental results indicate that monitoring strategy based on the minimum cross entropy guarantees the consistent and optimum classification results in the presence of varying cutting conditions. In addition, the cross entropy as a criterion for indicating the dynamic quality of machine-tool is explained.     

The effect of topical corticosteroids on refractive outcome and corneal haze after photorefractive keratectomy

BACKGROUND: The effect of topical corticosteroids after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) remains a matter of some controversy. Refractive effects may be different according to the amount of myopia and timing of instillation. METHODS: Two groups of patients were studied: Study A consisted of 215 eyes (128 patients) with PRK (mean baseline myopia, -6.53 +/- 2.22 D) that received no corticosteroids (No Corticosteroid Group) unless significant regression or corneal haze appeared (Delayed Corticosteroid Group), and in Study B, we randomly assigned eyes to the Initial Corticosteroid Group (mean baseline myopia, -6.39 +/- 1.84 D) or the No/delayed Corticosteroid Group (mean baseline myopia -5.78 +/- 2.02 D). Clinical results after PRK for low-to-moderate and high myopia were compared. RESULTS: In the first group, 70.9% (73 eyes) of moderately myopic eyes (mean, -4.56 +/- 1.10 D) belonged to the No Corticosteroid Group that had a mean refraction of -5.39 +/- 1.77 D. Delayed Corticosteroid Group eyes were more myopic (mean, -7.52 +/- 2.10 D), and showed more severe haze than those in the No Corticosteroid Group. In study B, only in high myopes with more than -6.00 D (mean, -7.76 +/- 1.15 D) did refraction and corneal haze outcomes show significant difference between the Initial Corticosteroid Group and the No/delayed Corticosteroid Group. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of topical corticosteroids after PRK were less in moderate myopes compared to high myopes. Delayed instillation of corticosteroids did not reverse the regression or haze whereas initial instillation showed a beneficial effect on high myopes but not on moderate myopes.     

Arthroscopic reduction and fixation of bony avulsion of the posterior cruciate ligament of the tibia

Bony avulsion fractures of the posterior cruciate ligament of the tibia have commonly been treated by open reduction and internal fixation using the posterior approach. However, this approach, using the prone position, makes it difficult to investigate and treat other combined injuries of the knee joint. We report a case of posterior cruciate ligament avulsion of the tibia that was arthroscopically reduced and firmly fixed with two cannulated screws. The posterior sag was absent after the operation and the result was excellent. By arthroscopy, we got rigid fixation of the avulsed fragment for early rehabilitation, and detection of a concomitant injury was also possible.     

Bandwidth Adaptation Algorithms for Adaptive Multimedia Services in Mobile Cellular Networks

The fluctuation of available link bandwidth in mobilecellular networks motivates the study of adaptive multimediaservices, where the bandwidth of an ongoing multimedia call can bedynamically adjusted. We analyze the diverse objectives of theadaptive multimedia framework and propose two bandwidth adaptationalgorithms (BAAs) that can satisfy these objectives. The firstalgorithm, BAA-RA, takes into consideration revenue and``anti-adaptation' where anti-adaptation means that a user feelsuncomfortable whenever the bandwidth of the user's call ischanged. This algorithm achieves near-optimal total revenue withmuch less complexity compared to an optimal BAA. The secondalgorithm, BAA-RF, considers revenue and fairness, and aims at themaximum revenue generation while satisfying the fairnessconstraint defined herein. Comprehensive simulation experimentsshow that the difference of the total revenue of BAA-RA and thatof an optimal BAA is negligible. Also, numerical results revealthat there is a conflicting relationship between anti-adaptationand fairness.     

Numerical modeling of combustion processes and pollutant formations in direct-injection diesel engines

The Representative Interactive Flamelet (RIF) concept has been applied to numerically simulate the combustion processes and pollutant formation in the direct injection diesel engine. Due to the ability for interactively describing the transient behaviors of local flame structures with CFD solver, the RIF concept has the capabilities to predict the auto-ignition and subsequent flame propagation in the diesel engine combustion chamber as well as to effectively account for the detailed mechanisms of soot formation, NO_X formation including thermal NO path, prompt and nitrous NO_X formation, and reburning process. Special emphasis is given to the turbulent combustion model which properly accounts for vaporization effects on the mixture fraction fluctuations and the pdf model. The results of numerical modeling using the RIF concept are compared with experimental data and with numerical results of the commonly applied procedure which the low-temperature and high-temperature oxidation processes are represented by the Shell ignition model and the eddy dissipation model, respectively. Numerical results indicate that the RIF approach including the vaporization effect on turbulent spray combustion process successfully predicts the ignition delay time and location as well as the pollutant formation.     

The onset of vortex instability in laminar forced convection flow through a horizontal porous channel

The onset of convective instability in a fluid-saturated porous layer between the two horizontal plates heated isothermally from below has been analyzed theoretically by using propagation theory. In the analysis the thermal dispersion coefficient is assumed to be proportional to the streamwise velocity. The results show that both inertia and thermal dispersion stabilize the system.     

Smart TDI readout circuit for long-wavelength IR detector

A smart time delay and integration (TDI) readout circuit is suggested which performs background suppression, cell-to-cell non-uniformity compensation, and dead pixel correction. Using the smart TDI readout circuit, the integration capacitor area occupying almost the whole area of a unit-cell can be reduced to one-fifth and transimpedance gain can increase by five times. From measurement results, it is found that the skimming current error for a few hundred nA background current is < 1.25 nA corresponding to LSB/2 of ADC and the non-uniformity introduced by cell-to-cell background current variation is reduced to 1.02 nA