Secure multicast routing protocols in mobile ad‐hoc networks

A mobile ad‐hoc network (MANET) is a collection of autonomous nodes that communicate with each other by forming a multi‐hop radio network. Routing protocols in MANETs define how routes between source and destination nodes are established and maintained. Multicast routing provides a bandwidth‐efficient means for supporting group‐oriented applications. The increasing demand for such applications coupled with the inherent characteristics of MANETs (e.g., lack of infrastructure and node mobility) have made secure multicast routing a crucial yet challenging issue. Recently, several multicast routing protocols (MRP) have been proposed in MANETs. Depending on whether security is built‐in or added, MRP can be classified into two types: secure and security‐enhanced routing protocols, respectively. This paper presents a survey on secure and security‐enhanced MRP along with their security techniques and the types of attacks they can confront. A detailed comparison for the capability of the various routing protocols against some known attacks is also presented and analyzed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformations and cracks in zirconia films leading to breakaway oxidation of Zircaloy

Using combined Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy, this paper suggests that breakaway oxidation of Zircaloy is caused by the change of circumferential stress sign from compressive to tensile, which triggers catastrophic cracks to propagate from the oxide free surface toward the oxide–metal interface. The stress sign changes at a critical oxide thickness, which depends on the circumferential stress at the interface. This biaxial interfacial stress is promoted by a lattice expansion stress that accompanies the tetragonal to monoclinic crystal phase transition. In contrast with current research in the literature, this allotropic transformation is suggested to be beneficial, not detrimental, because it contributes to retard the thresholds for the change of circumferential stress sign, and thus breakaway oxidation. The tetragonal phase was revealed to localize at the interface and adopt the shape of prismatic isosceles triangles detected at early stages of oxidation. These growth morphologies are consistent with a cationic oxidation mechanism. Upon phase transition, the monoclinic variant quickly dominates the oxide scale above the interfacial regions and forces the overall oxidation to proceed by an anionic diffusion mechanism. The results of Raman spectroscopy compared well with those of atomic force microscopy.     

Simplified quasi‐Z source indirect matrix converter

Conventional matrix converters have a limited voltage gain less than 0.866 and also require many power switches and additional input filter that ensures a low input current harmonics to the grid. Quasi‐Z source (qZS) indirect matrix converter can provide high voltage gain and ensure a sinusoidal input current without additional input filter, which requires 12 power switches in rectifier stage. In this paper, a simplified qZS indirect matrix converter is proposed to overcome aforementioned limitations and achieve (1) higher voltage gain than 0.866, (2) less power switches, and (3) LC‐filter function integrated in qZS network to avoid additional filter. The new converter's operating principle and equivalent circuits are analyzed, and the modulation method is presented. The input current closed‐loop control is employed to implement sinusoidal input current waveform even though the proposed converter has less power switches and without extra input filter. A test bench is used to verify the simplified qZS indirect matrix converter and control methods. Simulation and experimental results identically validate the proposed converter system with wide voltage gain range and low input current harmonics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic Behavior of Posttensioned Concrete-Filled Fiber Tubes

Precast segmental construction technique is an excellent candidate for economic rapid bridge construction in highly congested urban environments and environmentally sensitive regions. This paper presents the seismic behavior of four hybrid segmental columns consisting of precast posttensioned concrete-filled fiber tubes (PPT-CFFTs). A fifth monolithic column was also tested as a reference specimen. The columns were tested under increasing lateral loading cycles in a displacement control. The columns had circular cross section diameters of 203 mm and heights of 1,524 mm each. The parameters investigated included different construction details and energy dissipation systems. The PPT-CFFT columns developed lateral strength and deformation capacity comparable to those of the monolithic reinforced concrete column. However, the PPT-CFFT columns dissipated smaller hysteretic energy compared to that of the monolithic reinforced concrete column. Finally, a simple model was used to predict the backbone curves of segmental columns. The model was conservative and it predicted approximately 75% of the measured ultimate strength and displacement.     

Performance enhancement of cascaded qZS-HB based renewable energy system using Model Predictive Control

This paper presents a multi-objective Model Predictive Control (MPC) for a grid connected 2-cell 5-level quasi Z-Source (qZS) Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) inverter. The main contribution of the proposed control approach is the design of a multi-constraint cost function to achieve multi-objective MPC strategy dealing with the complex nature of the presented qZS-CHB topology. The designed cost function takes into account three control objectives, which are the minimization of the grid current, input current, and capacitors' voltages tracking errors. The best performance scenario is realized through the fine tuning of the constraints' weighting factors based on the grid current's error minimization and the reduction of the double-line frequency ripples on the input current. As a result, the proposed scheme achieves high-quality tracking of the encompassed state variables with the elimination of the double-line frequency power flow through the qZS inductors leading to the reduction of the hysteresis losses and the increase of the overall system efficiency. The performance of the proposed MPC strategy has been investigated and compared to the state of art PI controller. Theoretical analysis and implementation results are given to show that the proposed scheme is suitable for all system configurations and has good performances even during disturbances.     

Computationally efficient MUSIC based DOA estimation algorithm for FMCW radar

This paper proposes low-cost yet high-accuracy direction of arrival (DOA) estimation for the automotive frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar. The existing subspace-based DOA estimation algorithms suffer from either high computational costs or low accuracy. We aim to solve such contradictory relation between complexity and accuracy by using randomized matrix approximation. Specifically, we apply an easily-interpretable randomized low-rank approximation to the covariance matrix (CM) and approximately compute its subspaces. That is, we first approximate CM \begin{document}${\bf{R} }\in {\mathbb{C}}^{M\times M} $\end{document} through three sketch matrices, in the form of \begin{document}$\mathbf{R}\approx \mathbf{Q}\mathbf{B}{\mathbf{Q}}^{\mathrm{H}} $\end{document}. Here the matrix \begin{document}$\mathbf{Q}\in {\mathbb{C}}^{M\times z} $\end{document} contains the orthonormal basis for the range of the sketch matrix \begin{document}$\mathbf{C}\in {\mathbb{C}}^{M\times z} $\end{document} which is extracted from \begin{document}$ \mathbf{R} $\end{document} using randomized uniform column sampling and \begin{document}$ \mathbf{B}\in {\mathbb{C}}^{z\times z} $\end{document} is a weight-matrix reducing the approximation error. Relying on such approximation, we are able to accelerate the subspace computation by the orders of the magnitude without compromising estimation accuracy. Furthermore, we drive a theoretical error bound for the suggested scheme to ensure the accuracy of the approximation. As validated by the simulation results, the DOA estimation accuracy of the proposed algorithm, efficient multiple signal classification (E-MUSIC), is high, closely tracks standard MUSIC, and outperforms the well-known algorithms with tremendously reduced time complexity. Thus, the devised method can realize high-resolution real-time target detection in the emerging multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) automotive radar systems.     

Optimization Study of Residuum Hydrotreating Processes

This paper presents an optimization study of catalytic hydrotreating reactors processing heavy residuum feedstock. The focus is on conversion, throughput and catalyst life. The core of the proposed optimization model is a cost function representing the essential economical parameters of hydrotreating processes and accounts for additional costs imposed by deeper desulfurization in addition to the monetary benefit of lower sulfur products. Operational variables are estimated using a mathematical model, which accounts for catalyst deactivation. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effect of various operating variables on the process performance. An industrial scale atmospheric residue desulfurization process has been selected as a typical hydrotreating unit to demonstrate the capabilities of the optimization model. Optimization results were found quite reliable and consistent with actual industrial practices.