Preference-based topology optimization for vehicle concept design with concurrent static and crash load cases

In the simulation-based design process of automotive structures, an increasing amount of multi-disciplinary requirements have to be considered. Methods of topology optimization can be used to devise structural concepts early in the design process to obtain the best possible structural layout as starting point for further development steps. Especially relevant for the vehicle design process is the concurrent consideration of static load requirements representing normal operating conditions and energy absorption requirements targeting passive safety in crash events. When the disciplines are considered separately, the heuristic Hybrid Cellular Automaton topology optimization is a suitable method. However, in practical applications, both disciplines are usually addressed sequentially. This complicates the overall process and may reduce the quality of the final optimization result, since optimization objectives may be conflicting. We propose a preference-based Scaled Energy Weighting approach to address the topology optimization of both disciplines concurrently. The main idea is to decouple the user preference from the scaling of the different magnitudes of energies. This enables a multi-objective optimization and ultimately the selection of the desired trade-off solution. We first validate the capability of the method to provide structures optimized for stiffness and energy absorption objectives on beam examples. Finally, the method is applied to optimize a concept structure of an industrial vehicle body, demonstrating its practical feasibility.     

SkaSim – Skalierbare HPC‐Software für molekulare Simulationen in der chemischen Industrie

This article outlines advances in molecular modeling and simulation using massively parallel high‐performance computers (HPC). In the SkaSim project, partners from the HPC community collaborated with users from science and industry. The aim was to optimize the prediction of thermodynamic property data in terms of efficiency, quality and reliability using HPC methods. In this context, various topics were dealt with: atomistic simulation of homogeneous gas bubble formation, surface tension of classical fluids and ionic liquids, multicriteria optimization of molecular models, the development of the molecular simulation codes ls1 mardyn and ms2, atomistic simulation of gas separation processes, molecular membrane structure generators, transport resistors and the evaluation of predictive property data models based on specific mixture types.     

An Example of Human-Centric Sensor Network: Be Responsible Platform

The paper addresses the Be Responsible platform, a representative example of human-centric sensing network which, relying on the Info-Communication and Internet of Things concepts, aims to improve the communication between citizens, on one side, and government authorities, on the other side, with the purpose of resolving various problems encountered in a modern society. A widespread network of human-centric smartphone devices and PCs has been used as a valuable source of data collected and processed in order to trigger adequate actions upon problem resolving. In this way, humans acting as sensor operators and data sources become a powerful factor in improving their society. The Be Responsible platform enables the people to report the irregularities in various aspects of their social life (grey economy, misuse of government vehicles, ecology, traffic), and hence to take active part in resolving them. It also promotes positive and responsible social and institutional behavior, which has to be nurtured in any society seeking progress. The number of submitted reports as well as the money collected from the fine revenues and subsequently invested in projects of social good, undoubtedly prove that what could not be achieved through years of traditional government-led policy approach, was achieved in months of citizen engagement.     

基于剪切波域改进Gamma校正的医学图像增强算法

为了解决医学图像在采集和传输过程中引入噪 声和干扰导致图像质量恶化从而严重影响医学诊断的问题,提出 一种基于剪切波(shearlet)域改进Gamma校正的图像增强方法。首先,通过剪切波变换,把 图像分解成高频 部分和低频部分;其次,用改进的Gamma校正处理剪切波分解后的低频部分以调整图像的整 体对比 度,采用改进的自适应阈值函数对高频部分进行去噪;最后,把剪切波反变换的重构图 像进行模糊对比 增强,以突出图像的细节信息。实验结果表明,本文算法的峰值信噪比(PSNR )、结构相似度(SSIM)和 绝对均值差(MAE)优于其他对比算法,尤其是PSNR的提升更加明显。这些 客观指标说明,本 文算法不仅能有效地抑制噪声,而且能明显改善增强对比度。从主观方面观察,本文算法与 其他算法相比,能获得更好的视觉效果。     

Management of bridges with shallow foundations exposed to local scour

Abstract

The Serbian road network includes a large portion of bridges with shallow foundations vulnerable to local scour as tragically demonstrated during the extreme flooding in May 2014. Currently, the bridge management procedures in Serbia and worldwide do not comprehensively account for a risk of bridge failure due to flooding and fail to provide sufficient information for the decision-making. Thus, a novel methodology for quantitative vulnerability assessment is suggested as a tool to identify the most vulnerable bridges in a network. Herein, the essential task is evaluation of the conditional probability of a bridge failure due to local scour in a flooding event of a certain magnitude. To apply this approach on a network level, there is a dire need to establish precise practice-ready guidelines on an optimal set of information to be used and/or collected in situ, which is discussed on an example of the Serbian bridge database. The vulnerability of a bridge to local scour may be used as a comprehensive indicator of a bridge performance in a flooding event. For a network level, the vulnerability maps with respect to flooding of different magnitudes will give road operators crucial information to apply adequate quality control plans to vulnerable bridges.     

MIMO ARIMA models for handoff resource reservation in multimedia wireless networks

This paper presents a new approach to prediction of resource demand for future handoff calls in multimedia wireless IP networks. Our approach is based on application of multi‐input‐multi‐output (MIMO) multiplicative autoregressive‐integrated‐moving average (ARIMA) (p,d,q)x(P,D,Q)_S models fitted to the traffic data measured in the considered cell itself and on the new call admission control (CAC) algorithm that simultaneously maximizes the system throughput while keeping the handoff call dropping probability (CDP) below the targeted value. The main advantages of the proposed approach are the following: first, the proposed multi‐variable prediction method gives on average better predictions (i.e. narrower prediction confidence interval) for realistic traffic situations, which results in lower new call blocking probability (CBP) at the targeted handoff CDP and second, the model is simple to implement since it does not require communication among the adjacent cells. Simulation results show the superiority of the proposed MIMO prediction approach combined with the proposed call admission control algorithm for some typical nonstationary situations in comparison with univariate models. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Periodontal Regeneration Using a Porous Collagen Scaffold

(1) Aim: To immunohistochemically evaluate the effect of a volume-stable collagen scaffold (VCMX) on periodontal regeneration. (2) Methods: In eight beagle dogs, acute two-wall intrabony defects were treated with open flap debridement either with VCMX (test) or without (control). After 12 weeks, eight defects out of four animals were processed for paraffin histology and immunohistochemistry. (3) Results: All defects (four test + four control) revealed periodontal regeneration with cementum and bone formation. VCMX remnants were integrated in bone, periodontal ligament (PDL), and cementum. No differences in immunohistochemical labeling patterns were observed between test and control sites. New bone and cementum were labeled for bone sialoprotein, while the regenerated PDL was labeled for periostin and collagen type 1. Cytokeratin-positive epithelial cell rests of Malassez were detected in 50% of the defects. The regenerated PDL demonstrated a larger blood vessel area at the test (14.48% ± 3.52%) than at control sites (8.04% ± 1.85%, p = 0.0007). The number of blood vessels was higher in the regenerated PDL (test + control) compared to the pristine one (p = 0.012). The cell proliferative index was not statistically significantly different in pristine and regenerated PDL. (4) Conclusions: The data suggest a positive effect of VCMX on angiogenesis and an equally high cell turnover in the regenerated and pristine PDL. This VCMX supported periodontal regeneration in intrabony defects.     

Image/video communications: joint source/channel coding

Transmission of image/video messages over communication networks is becoming a standard way of communication due to very efficient compression algorithms that reduce required channel capacity to an acceptable level. However, all compression standard techniques are strongly sensitivitive to channel disturbances and their application is suitable only for practically noiseless channels. In standard noisy channels, the effect of errors on a compressed data bit stream can be divided into two categories: systematic errors defined by the structure of data blocks, and random errors caused by amplitude changes of transmitted components. A systematic error can be detected at the receiver through control of the data stream structure and corrected by error concealment methods or by automatic repeat request (ARQ) procedures. Random errors, noise and burst‐like errors, as well as impulse noise, should be controlled through channel coding. It is reasonable that an integrated source and channel coding methods should be preferred and should give better coding performance. In this paper, a new framework for an image/video coding approach has been presented in which the source and channel coding is integrated in a unique procedure. Image compression is performed in a standard way of the JPEG algorithm based on discrete cosine transform (DCT) and error control coding is based on the real/complex‐number (N,M) BCH code using discrete Fourier transform (DFT) specified with zeros in the time domain, i.e. with roots in the frequency domain. Efficiency of the proposed method is tested on two examples, an one‐dimensional real‐valued time sequence coded by real‐number (20,16) BCH code using DFT, and an example of an image coded by complex (10,8) BCH code using DFT with the correction ability of up to 8 impulses per transmitted 8×8 block. In addition, two decoding methods based on Berlekamp–Massey algorithm (BMA) and the minimum‐norm algorithm (MNA) have also compared. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于NSCT和改进模糊的遥感图像增强方法

为了解决遥感图像处理过程中噪声放大和图像失真现象,提出了一种结合NSCT和改进模糊对比度的图像增强方法。通过NSCT变换把图像分解成低频子带和若干个高频子带;对低频子带进行线性增强,并利用改进的阈值函数对高频子带进行去噪;随后采用改进的模糊对比度来调整NSCT反变换的系数,以提高图像的整体对比度。实验结果表明,提出的算法的客观指标明显优于其他对比算法,并且视觉效果也得到很大改善。     

An elasto-plastic fracture mechanics based model for assessment of hydride embrittlement in zircaloy cladding tubes

This paper describes a finite element based fracture mechanics model to assess how hydrides affect the integrity of zircaloy cladding tubes. The hydrides are assumed to fracture at a low load whereas the propagation of the fractured hydrides in the matrix material and failure of the tube is controlled by non-linear fracture mechanics and plastic collapse of the ligaments between the hydrides. The paper quantifies the relative importance of hydride geometrical parameters such as size, orientation and location of individual hydrides and interaction between adjacent hydrides. The paper also presents analyses for some different and representative multi-hydride configurations. The model is adaptable to general and complex crack configurations and can therefore be used to assess realistic hydride configurations. The mechanism of cladding failure is by plastic collapse of ligaments between interacting fractured hydrides. The results show that the integrity can be drastically reduced when several radial hydrides form continuous patterns.