Analysis of Pre‐filter Based Closed‐loop Control‐relevant Identification Methodologies

Control‐relevant identification strategies have been variously proposed for open loop model building. In this paper, issues related to control‐relevant model building in closed‐loop schemes are discussed. Various important aspects such as pre‐filter design and plant friendliness of the perturbation signals have been examined. Simulations involving representative problems have been considered from chemical engineering literature to highlight the applicability of the proposed methods.     

Crack initiation and propagation paths for brittle failures in aligned and misaligned pipe butt fusion joints

Medium density polyethylene pipes of 63, 90, and 125mm outside diameter, together with 63mm high density polyethylene pipes, were butt fusion joined to give aligned and controlled misaligned joints. These fabricated systems were tested at elevated temperatures under constant and fluctuating internal pressure loading. For brittle failures at the butt fusion joint, a thorough examination has been made of the points of crack initiation and the crack propagation path in relation to weld microstructure, It has been observed that the butt fusion process induces the presence of a long sharp notch formed when the internal weld bead rolls towards the pipe. This notch initiates circumferential joint failures, particularly in misaligned butt joints. Points of disturbance on the inner weld bead appear capable of inducing axial cracks at the butt fusion joint but only for aligned joints. The microstructure at the butt fusion joint was seen to have little influence on the crack propagation path.     

Perturbation signal design for neural network based identification of multivariable nonlinear systems

The paper focuses on issues in experimental design for identification of nonlinear multivariable systems. Perturbation signal design is analyzed for a hybrid model structure consisting of linear and neural network structures. Input signals, designed to minimize the effects of nonlinearities during the linear model identification for the multivariable case, have been proposed and its properties have been theoretically established. The superiority of the proposed perturbation signal and the hybrid model has been demonstrated through extensive cross validations. The utility of the obtained models for control has also been proved through a case study involving MPC of a nonlinear multivariable neutralization plant.     

Integral method of analysis of fischer-tropsch synthesis reactions in a catalyst pellet

A generalized integral method is developed to analyze complex reactions in a catalyst pellet. This method is valid for any kinetics and takes into account both internal and external heat and mass transfer effects. The integral equations are solved for a Fischer-Tropsch kinetic model to obtain effectiveness factors. Isothermal multiplicities are observed for low values of the surface coverage parameter α(α = 1/K₁p_co,0), and low values of the parameter σ₂₁ (ratio of Thiele moduli for H₂ and CO). The effectiveness factor is mildly sensitive to the external resistances.     

Kinetics of reactions involved in pyrolysis of cellulose I. The three reaction model

Kinetics of reactions involved in pyrolysis of cellulose has been modeled in terms of a three reaction model. In this model it is assumed that cellulose decomposes to tars, chars and gaseous products via three competitive first-order reactions. Arrhenius parameters have been obtained to describe the rate constants of these reactions. The three reaction model predicts the weight loss data reasonably well. Product yields of tars, chars and gases predicted by the three reaction model are compared over the temperature range 250 to 360°C. In this communication a technique for analyzing experimental data of a solid state reaction is presented.     

Pressure thresholds of the human foot: measurement reliability and effects of stimulus characteristics

Information related to reliable values of discomfort thresholds can help to improve the designs of various products. This study aimed to investigate the measurement reliabilities associated with pressure thresholds, while determining the effects of stimulus characteristics (stimulus area, indentation speed) of the human foot. An indentation apparatus was used with four sizes of indentation probes and three indentation speeds. In total, 13 locations on the right foot of 10 male and 10 female participants were tested to determine the pressure discomfort thresholds (PDT) and pressure pain thresholds (PPT). Results show that the tests had very good measurement reliability with intra-class correlations (ICC) greater than 0.8 for the PPT measurements and acceptable reliability (most ICC?>?0.75, with a few between 0.5 and 0.75) for the PDT measurements, demonstrating that participants are capable of judging their pain and discomfort thresholds. Pressure sensitivity differs across locations of the foot, with the medial plantar arch of the foot being the most sensitive, followed by the dorsal surface of the foot. The heel area was the least sensitive. PPT and PDT are dependent on the stimulus characteristics of the area and the speed of indentation. A smaller area has a higher PPT and PDT, indicating significant effects of spatial summation. The increase of PDT and PPT at higher speeds may be partially explained by the increase in stiffness because foot tissue exhibits viscoelastic properties. The findings can have a significant impact on the design of footwear and other accessories for improved foot health and comfort. Statement of Relevance: This study investigated the threshold measurement reliability while determining the pressure sensitivity on the surface of the foot with varying stimulus characteristics. The findings may be very useful in the design of footwear and other accessories for improved comfort and reduced injuries.     

Personalized ranking in web databases: establishing and utilizing an appropriate workload

The emergence of the deep Web has given a new connotation to the concept of ranking database query results. Earlier approaches for ranking either resorted to analyzing frequencies of database values and query logs or establishing user profiles. In contrast, an integrated approach, based on the notion of a similarity model, for holistically supporting user- and query-dependent ranking has been recently proposed (Telang et al. in IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering (TKDE), 2011). An important component of this framework is a workload consisting of ranking functions, wherein each function represents an individual user’s preferences towards the results of a specific query. At the time of answering a query for which no prior ranking function exists, the similarity model is employed, and is expected to ensure a good quality of ranking as long as a ranking function for a very similar user-query pair exists in this workload. In this paper, we address the problem of determining an appropriate set of user-query pairs to form a workload of ranking functions to support user- and query-dependent ranking for Web databases. We propose a novel metric, termed workload goodness, that quantifies the notion of a “good” workload into an absolute value. The process of finding such a workload of optimal goodness is a combinatorially explosive problem; therefore, we propose a heuristic solution, and advance three approaches for determining an acceptable workload, in a static as well as a dynamic environment. We discuss the effectiveness of our proposal analytically as well as experimentally over two Web databases.     

Frequency domain computations for nonlinear steady-state solutions

Steady-state analysis and Fourier analysis play a major role in linear signal processing. In response to a bounded input, a steady-state solution exists if all the poles of the discrete-time linear system are inside the unit circle. Despite the fact that there is no principle of superposition for nonlinear systems, under appropriate sufficient conditions (including all poles inside the unit circle for the linear part of the nonlinear system), there is a bounded solution for all time in response to a bounded input for all time for a time-varying nonlinear difference equation. All solutions that start sufficiently close to this unique solution converge to it as time goes to infinity. This steady-state solution can be computed by applying Fourier and inverse Fourier transforms to each step in a Picard process. In this paper, we develop an algorithm to compute (approximate) steady-state solutions for discrete-time, nonlinear difference equations by employing fast Fourier transforms and inverse fast Fourier transforms at each step of the iterative process. Simulations are provided to illustrate our algorithm