One-dimensional GIS-based model compared with a two-dimensional model in urban floods simulation.

A GIS-based one-dimensional flood simulation model is presented and applied to the centre of the city of N?mes (Gard, France), for mapping flow depths or velocities in the streets network. The geometry of the one-dimensional elements is derived from the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The flow is routed from one element to the next using the kinematic wave approximation. At the crossroads, the flows in the downstream branches are computed using a conceptual scheme. This scheme was previously designed to fit Y-shaped pipes junctions, and has been modified here to fit X-shaped crossroads. The results were compared with the results of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model based on the full shallow water equations. The comparison shows that good agreements can be found in the steepest streets of the study zone, but differences may be important in the other streets. Some reasons that can explain the differences between the two models are given and some research possibilities are proposed.     

Control of reactive distillation production of high-purity isopropanol

The process characteristics and control strategy of a high-purity IPA reactive distillation column were investigated. A robust nominal operation was found by maintaining an excess of propylene feed to the column and recycling the unreacted propylene to the feed instead of the top stage. Stage temperature and propylene composition with one-to-one relationship with reboiler duty and propylene feed are selected as controlled variables for maintaining bottom purity and feed ratio in the presence of possible measurement bias respectively. High nonlinearity between selected input–output pair was reduced by using variable transformation. Dynamic simulations demonstrated that such a control scheme with nonlinear transformed variable was capable of providing much superior control performance than the one using natural variable.     

Strain hardening due to deformation twinning in α-titanium: Mechanisms

Novel experiments were conducted to elucidate the effect of deformation twinning on the mechanical response of high-purity α-titanium deformed at room temperature. Orientation-imaging microscopy (OIM), microhardness, and nanohardness evaluations were employed in conjunction with optical microscopy and quasi-static compression testing to obtain insight into the deformation mechanisms. Hardness measurements revealed that the newly formed deformation twins were harder than the matrix. This observation is perhaps the first experimental evidence for the Basinski mechanism for hardening associated with twinning, arising from the transition of glissile dislocations to a sessile configuration upon the lattice reorientation by twinning shear. This work also provided direct evidence for two competing effects of deformation twinning on the overall stress-strain response: (1) hardening via both a reduction of the effective slip length (Hall-Petch effect) and an increase in the hardness of twinned regions (Basinski mechanism) and (2) softening due to the lattice reorientation of the twinned regions.     

On the problem of hydrogen removal during heat treatment of large forgings

The solutions to a differential equation for the problem of heating of a cylinder in a medium with a fixed temperature are used to obtain equations for estimating the change in the hydrogen concentration in forgings from data on the hydrogen concentration at the cylinder axis or on the average bulk hydrogen concentration. Similar equations are also obtained for forgings having square cross sections. The calculation demonstrates that, for the case of a twofold decrease in the hydrogen concentration in a forging, the calculated times of annealing of a cylindrical forging differ by three times.     

Word length and lexical activation: Longer is better.

Many models of spoken word recognition posit the existence of lexical and sublexical representations, with excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms used to affect the activation levels of such representations. Bottom-up evidence provides excitatory input, and inhibition from phonetically similar representations leads to lexical competition. In such a system, long words should produce stronger lexical activation than short words, for 2 reasons: Long words provide more bottom-up evidence than short words, and short words are subject to greater inhibition due to the existence of more similar words. Four experiments provide evidence for this view. In addition, reaction-time-based partitioning of the data shows that long words generate greater activation that is available both earlier and for a longer time than is the case for short words. As a result, lexical influences on phoneme identification are extremely robust for long words but are quite fragile and condition-dependent for short words. Models of word recognition must consider words of all lengths to capture the true dynamics of lexical activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On a New Method for H2 -Based Decomposition

This note proposes a simple linear matrix inequality (LMI) system for the design of static precompensators to reduce the interactions of a multivariable system. The approach is based on minimizing the H₂ norm of a modified system and the LMIs are derived from the well known technique of pseudodiagonalisation. The approach is applied to two complex real-life benchmark problems with high levels of interaction. It is shown that its performance is significantly better than previously proposed LMI optimization techniques for designing static precompensators     

Volumetric out-of-furnace heat treatment of 3600-M3 decomposers

Specifications require that all the welds in 12-m-diam. decomposers with a capacity of 3600 m³ be subjected to high-temperature tempering before going into service in order to alleviate the stresses from the welding operation. Specialists at the organizations VNIIPTkhimnefteapparatury and VNIImontazhspetsstroi have proposed out-of-furnace volumetric (complete) of the assembled decomposer with the use of special heaters. The use of this heating method has shortened assembly operations while providing the welds with a highquality heat treatment and reducing the stresses overall (including welding stresses, stresses from assembly of the decomposer, etc.) The technology ensures uniform heating of the housing of the decomposer and provides for close control over the process. The experience gained in heat-treating decomposers can also be used in the construction of other containers that come into contact with corrosive media. __________ Translated from Metallurg, No. 3, pp. 61–64, March, 2006.     

An element-based displacement preconditioner for linear elasticity problems

Finite element analysis of problems in structural and geotechnical engineering results in linear systems where the unknowns are displacements and rotations at nodes. Although the solution of these systems can be carried out using either direct or iterative methods, in practice the matrices involved are usually very large and sparse (particularly for 3D problems) so an iterative approach is often advantageous in terms of both computational time and memory requirements. This memory saving can be further enhanced if the method used does not require assembly of the full coefficient matrix during the solution procedure. One disadvantage of iterative methods is the need to apply preconditioning to improve convergence. In this paper, we review a range of established element-based preconditioning methods for linear elastic problems and compare their performance with a new method based on preconditioning with element displacement components. This new method appears to offer a significant improvement in performance.     

On the credibility of manet simulations

Simulation is useful for evaluating protocol performance and operation. However, the lack of rigor with which it's applied threatens the credibility of the published research within the manet research community. Mobile ad hoc networks (manets) allow rapid deployment because they don't depend on a fixed infrastructure. Manet nodes can participate as the source, the destination, or an intermediate router. This flexibility is attractive for military applications, disaster-response situations, and academic environments where fixed net working infrastructures might not be available.     

Reliable eye-diagram analysis of data links via device macromodels

This paper addresses the impact of device macromodels on the accuracy of signal integrity and performance predictions for critical digital interconnecting systems. It exploits nonlinear parametric models for both single-ended and differential devices, including the effects of power supply fluctuations and receiver bit detection. The analysis demonstrates that the use of well-designed macromodels dramatically speeds up the simulation as well it preserves timing accuracy even for long bit sequences.