Model Checking for a Class of Weighted Automata

A large number of different model checking approaches has been proposed during the last decade. The different approaches are applicable to different model types including untimed, timed, probabilistic and stochastic models. This paper presents a new framework for model checking techniques which includes some of the known approaches and enlarges the class of models to which model checking can be applied to the general class of weighted automata. The approach allows an easy adaption of model checking to models which have not been considered yet for this purpose. Examples for those new model types for which model checking can be applied are max/plus or min/plus automata which are well established models to describe different forms of dynamic systems and optimization problems. In this context, model checking can be used to verify temporal or quantitative properties of a system. The paper first presents briefly our class of weighted automata, as a very general model type. Then Valued Computational Tree Logic (CTL) is introduced as a natural extension of the well known branching time logic CTL. Afterwards, algorithms to check a weighted automaton with respect to a CTL) is introduced as a natural extension of the well known branching time logic CTL. Afterwards, algorithms to check a weighted automaton with respect to a CTL formula are presented. As a last result, bisimulation equivalence is extended to weighted automata and CTL$.     

Development and validation of the College Life Alcohol Salience Scale: A measure of beliefs about the role of alcohol in college life.

This article reports the development and validation of the College Life Alcohol Salience Scale (CLASS), which assesses college students’ beliefs about the centrality of alcohol to the college experience. Developed using procedures designed to increase its ecological validity, the CLASS was administered to three samples of college students (total N = 571). Its unidimensional factor structure was first established via exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis on one sample and then verified via confirmatory factor analysis on a separate sample. Scores on the CLASS were predictably related to a nomological network of drinking and personality variables and it provided incremental validity in accounting for drinking frequency and amount, when added to drinking motive scores. The importance of assessing and developing interventions to target the types of beliefs measured by the CLASS is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of a wind turbine service life on the mechanical properties of the material and the blade

This paper presents results out of investigations of the DEBRA‐25 wind turbine blades. Almost unique in the history of modern wind energy, these blades were in operation for 18 years next to a weather station and were investigated afterward. Therefore, the loads experienced in the operational life could be post‐processed accurately with the measured data of the weather station and the turbine. The blades are made of materials that are similar with today's wind turbines. Furthermore, intensive laboratory tests and free field tests have been carried out, and all load assumptions and data and results are still available today. The results include experimental investigations on the moisture content of the load‐carrying material, static and fatigue behavior of the material, the relaxation of the coupling joints, the natural frequencies of the blade and a full scale static blade test. It is shown that the structural performance of the DEBRA‐25 service blades is comparable with modern wind turbine blades. Although some damage was found by visual inspection, the service blade of the DEBRA‐25 showed excellent mechanical behavior in the full scale blade test. Only small changes of the edgewise eigenfrequencies were detected. The pre‐tensioning forces of the IKEA bolts, where the two blade parts are connected, were measured and were still adequate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid Combinatorial Synthesis and Chromatography Based Screening of Phosphorescent Iridium Complexes for Solution Processing

This work reports the combinatorial synthesis and screening of phosphorescent iridium complexes as solution processable emitters for OLEDs. The approach taken here allows for the rapid synthesis, isolation, spectroscopic characterization and identification of the libraries based on chromatographic methods. Subsequent analysis of the irradiation induced degradation provides insight on the stability of the complexes under continuous excitation. The method is versatile and can easily be applied to other metal complexes or organic dyes for various applications, e.g., in electroluminescence, photovoltaics and sensing.     

Dynamic Modelling of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stack by Nonlinear System Identification

Real‐time models of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks with high accuracy are required, e.g. for the design of controllers or online diagnosis tools. By using physical and chemical laws representing the processes in a PEMFC stack, very detailed, but computationally complex models can be retrieved. In this paper, a nonlinear dynamic model obtained by system identification is proposed for PEMFC stacks. The model structure in this contribution is based on a modular concept and is divided into a static and a dynamic part. The static part represents the stationary points and the dynamic part describes the deviation from these stationary points due to changes in the input signals. Both parts can be modelled by different methods. A characteristic map and a neural network (NN) are proposed for the static part. For the dynamic part, transfer functions and a linear state‐space model retrieved by canonical variate analysis (CVA) are investigated.     

155 Mb/s operation of a FET-SEED free-space switching network

The interconnection problems present in many high-performance digital systems may be alleviated through the use of surface normal optical interconnections using optoelectronic smart pixels. We present recent results of high-speed operation of a five-stage experimental free-space switching network using embedded control techniques for network control. The smart pixels consist of buffered GaAs FET logic with MQW SEED detectors and modulators. The system also incorporates external cavity lasers, bulk, micro, and diffractive optics, two-dimensional fiber bundles, and novel optomechanics. At 155 Mb/s, 77 of the 80 total pixels in the system and 31 of the 32 input fibers were functional. Two of the network paths have carried digital video at 105 Mb/s for over four months without readjustment. Error rate measurements on these paths have shown a short-term BER of 10^-10