In-situ microfracture observation of strip-cast Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be bulk metallic glass alloys

In this study, Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be bulk metallic glass (BMG) alloys containing a small amount of crystalline phase particles were fabricated by strip casting, and their improvement of mechanical properties and fracture toughness was explained by direct observation of the microfracture process. The compressive and fracture toughness test results indicated that strength, strain to failure, and fracture toughness of the strip-cast BMG alloy containing coarse crystalline particles were higher than those of the as-cast monolithic BMG alloy or the strip-cast BMG alloy containing fine crystalline particles. From in-situ microfracture observations, the improvement of overall mechanical properties of the strip-cast BMG alloy containing coarse crystalline particles could be interpreted by taking consideration of both the existence of coarse crystalline particles and the role of the particles to block crack propagation and to form multiple shear bands. Such property improvement suggests new applicability of the strip-cast BMG alloys containing coarse crystalline particles, which can work as toughening and strengthening reinforcements, to structures and components requiring excellent mechanical properties.     

The effect of CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript> on thermodynamics of CaO-CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript>-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>(-MgO) slags

To address the role of CaF₂ in the CaO-CaF₂-SiO₂(-MgO) slag system employed for the production of low-pressure rotor steels, the thermodynamic aspects of the slag were investigated by equilibrating it with liquid iron at 1873 K in CaO or MgO crucibles. Presaturation of slag with an oxide block piece of CaO or MgO in a Pt crucible and application of a carbon paste to the outside of an oxide crucible were designed to prevent crucible failure during the slag-metal experiments. The liquidus isotherm and phase boundary of the preceding slag system were investigated using the slag-metal equilibria. Also, the effect of CaF₂ on the sulfide capacity and the activity coefficient of Fe _t O were of particular interest in controlling the sulfur level and cleanliness of low-pressure rotor steels.     

The evolving patterns of inter-industrial knowledge structure: Case of Korean manufacturing in the 1980s

The notion of knowledge-based economy premises that technological knowledge be created, accumulated and disseminated through the interactive learning among principal actors in the national system. This paper analyzes, from a dynamic perspective, the structure of inter-industrial technological knowledge. Both human-driven disembodied channel and capital-driven embodied channel are investigated based on network analysis. The set of empirical data covers the Korean manufacturing sector during the 1980s. Overall, density of network tends to be increasing over time, implying that knowledge network becomes expanded and intensified. A number of distinctive features are identified between knowledge types and industrial categories. The findings in turn render important policy implications that should be addressed when developing technology policy. Clearly, the policy framework needs to be industry-specific and country-specific in accordance with the development stage and industrial structure of reference time. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A formal model of creative decision making

Real-world tasks are often complex, uncertain, and constrained. The complexity arises from the need to consider numerous factors that are of varying degrees of relevance to the problem at hand. The uncertainty springs from imperfect information concerning the state of the world, the repertoire of feasible alternatives, and the consequences of each action. The constraints are attributable to time, money, and computational resources as well as individual tastes and societal values.Despite the rich nature of practical tasks, previous work in decision making—whether in engineering, statistics, management, or economics—has focused solely on partial aspects of the problem. This state of affairs is reflected in the nomenclature, which involves categories such as “constrained optimization” or “decisions under uncertainty”.If real-world tasks are to be addressed in a coherent fashion, it is imperative to develop a systematic framework providing an integrated view. The framework may then serve as the foundation for a general theory of decision making that can capture the full richness of realistic problems. This paper explores how these goals might be achieved.Algebraic and stochastic models of innovative decision making are presented. This is followed by an examination of idea generation in product design. Finally, suggestions are made for extending the work along both theoretical and empirical lines.     

Channel capacity and state estimation for state-dependent Gaussian channels

We formulate a problem of state information transmission over a state-dependent channel with states known at the transmitter. In particular, we solve a problem of minimizing the mean-squared channel state estimation error E/spl par/S/sup n/ - S/spl circ//sup n//spl par/ for a state-dependent additive Gaussian channel Y/sup n/ = X/sup n/ + S/sup n/ + Z/sup n/ with an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Gaussian state sequence S/sup n/ = (S/sub 1/, ..., S/sub n/) known at the transmitter and an unknown i.i.d. additive Gaussian noise Z/sup n/. We show that a simple technique of direct state amplification (i.e., X/sup n/ = /spl alpha/S/sup n/), where the transmitter uses its entire power budget to amplify the channel state, yields the minimum mean-squared state estimation error. This same channel can also be used to send additional independent information at the expense of a higher channel state estimation error. We characterize the optimal tradeoff between the rate R of the independent information that can be reliably transmitted and the mean-squared state estimation error D. We show that any optimal (R, D) tradeoff pair can be achieved via a simple power-sharing technique, whereby the transmitter power is appropriately allocated between pure information transmission and state amplification.     

Stochastic response of flexible rotor-bearing system to seismic excitations

Random vibration analysis of flexible rotor-bearing systems subjected to six-component nonstationary earthquake ground accelerations is carried out. The rotor system consists of several rigid disks and a flexible shaft that is modelled as a Timoshenko beam. The governing equations of motion involve both inhomogeneous random excitations and random parametric excitations. Analytically, the Markov vector approach using the Ito equation and Stratonovich averaging procedures is employed to determine the response statistics. Unfortunately, the second moments of the response quantities thus obtained involve a great discrepancy when compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulation. The difficulty involved in analytically solving such a complicated problem is pointed out. Currently, the method of Monte Carlo simulation appears to be the only practical approach for such a problem. The significant influence of the seismic base rotations and the flexibility of the rotor-bearing system on the overall dynamic structural response is demonstrated by a numerical example.     

Construction Robot Path-Planning for Earthwork Operations

In developing an intelligent mobile construction robot, a navigation system that can provide an effective and efficient path-planning algorithm is a very important element. The purpose of a path-planning method for a mobile construction robot is to find a continuous collision-free path from the initial position of the construction robot to its target position. This paper presents an improved Bug-based algorithm, called SensBug, which can produce an effective path in an unknown environment with both stationary and movable obstacles. The contributions, which make it possible to generate an effective and short path, are an improved method to select local directions, a reverse mode, and a simple leaving condition. Some emerging technologies that can be used for implementing an intelligent construction robot are introduced in this paper.     

Multi-antenna scheme for high capacity transmission in the digital audio broadcasting

In this paper, we apply multi-antenna scheme to DAB system for high-rate transmission. In the MIMO-DAB system with a number of transmitting and receiving antennas increases the transmission rate efficiently with low multiplication operations. For channel estimation in the MIMO-DAB system, we propose a new PRS structure and evaluate the channel estimation performance. The proposed PRS structure can estimate multi-channel information based on the semi-blind processing. The performance of proposed PRS is compared with that of conventional training sequence employing Tarokh's transmission matrix. And also we investigate the performance limitation due to the imperfect channel estimation in a MIMO-DAB receiver. It has been shown that the MIMO-DAB system with multi-antennas can achieve the high-rate transmission for multimedia broadcasting and the performance of MIMO-DAB system is impaired by imperfect channel information.     

Fatigue Behavior and Retrofit Investigation of Distortion-Induced Web Gap Cracking

This paper studies a Kansas Department of Transportation welded plate girder bridge that developed fatigue cracks at small web gaps close to the girder top flange. Repair had been previously performed by softening the connection plate end with a slot retrofit, but cracks were recently found to have reinitiated at some of the repaired details and are again propagating. A comprehensive finite-element method study was performed to investigate the cracking behavior observed in the bridge and to recommend appropriate measures for future bridge retrofit. The analytical results show that stresses developed at the top flange web gaps could exceed yielding under the loading of an HS15 fatigue truck. The current slot repair used in the bridge was found to have introduced higher magnitude fatigue stresses in the web gap. To achieve a permanent repair of the bridge, it is recommended that a welded connection plate to flange attachment be used during future bridge retrofit. The web gap details should be able to withstand unlimited number of load cycles once this additional repair is performed.