Using electroencephalogram to continuously discriminate feelings of personal thermal comfort between uncomfortably hot and comfortable environments

Thermal comfort is an important factor for the design of buildings. Although it has been well recognized that many physiological parameters are linked to the state of thermal comfort or discomfort of humans, how to use physiological signal to judge the state of thermal comfort has not been well studied. In this paper, the feasibility of continuously determining feelings of personal thermal comfort was discussed by using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in private space. In the study, 22 subjects were exposed to thermally comfortable and uncomfortably hot environments, and their EEG signals were recorded. Spectral power features of the EEG signals were extracted, and an ensemble learning method using linear discriminant analysis or support vector machine as a sub-classifier was used to build the discriminant model. The results show that an average discriminate accuracy of 87.9% can be obtained within a detection window of 60 seconds. This study indicates that it is feasible to distinguish whether a person feels comfortable or too hot in their private space by multi-channel EEG signals without interruption and suggests possibility for further applications in neuroergonomics.     

Decoder side information generation techniques in Wyner-Ziv video coding: a review

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In Wyner-Ziv (WZ) video coding, decoder side information (SI) takes a key role in a WZ video codec among other building blocks. In this paper, we review the...     

Study of MW-scale biogas-fed SOFC-WGS-TSA-PEMFC hybrid power technology as distributed energy system: Thermodynamic,exergetic and thermo-economic evaluation

Advanced biogas power generation technology has been attracting attentions, which contributes to the waste disposal and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This work proposes and models a novel biogas-fed hybrid power generation system consisting of solid oxide fuel cell, water gas shift reaction, thermal swing adsorption and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (SOFC-WGS-TSA-PEMFC). The thermodynamic, exergetic, and thermo-economic analyses of this hybrid system for power generation were conducted to comprehensively evaluate its performance. It was found that the novel biogas-fed hybrid system has a gross energy conversion efficiency of 68.63% and exergy efficiency of 65.36%, indicating high efficiency for this kind of hybrid power technology. The market sensitivity analysis showed that the hybrid system also has a low sensitivity to market price fluctuation. Under the current subsidy level for the distributed biogas power plant, the levelized cost of energy can be lowered to 0.02942 $/kWh for a 1 MW scale system. Accordingly, the payback period and annual return on investment can reach 1.4 year and about 20%, respectively. These results reveal that the proposed hybrid system is promising and economically feasible as a distributed power plant, especially for the small power scale (no more than 2 MW).     

古建筑木结构透榫节点力学模型研究

为研究古建筑木结构透榫节点的M-θ力学模型，在分析透榫节点构造特征与受力机理的基础上，建立其数值模型，用透榫节点的试验数据验证了该数值模型的正确性，并分析了节点缝隙、木材横纹弹性模量和大榫头长度对透榫节点受弯承载力的影响。根据受力分析结果，建立以弹性点、屈服点与极限点为特征点的三折线多参数M-θ力学模型，其结果与多数的试验结果基本吻合，并将该力学模型应用于木构架的受力分析。研究结果表明：透榫节点的滞回耗能能力强，节点的变形主要集中在榫头处。当榫头与卯口之间的缝隙增大时，节点的受弯承载力降低。随木材横纹弹性模量的提高和大榫头长度的增加，节点的受弯承载力有一定提高。文章建立的M-θ力学模型能较好反映透榫节点的受力过程，适用于木构架的受力分析，其荷载 位移骨架曲线与试验结果基本吻合。研究成果可为古建筑木结构的维修与保护提供参考。     

多元合金化大断面球墨铸铁组织和性能的分析

为了提升大断面球墨铸铁综合力学性能，通过复合添加微量合金元素铜、锑、锡、钼对大断面球墨铸铁进行微合金化处理，借助金相显微镜(OM)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及力学性能测试等手段，研究了Cu Sb Sn Mo复合微合金化大断面球墨铸铁微观组织和力学性能。结果表明，试验球墨铸铁具有良好的综合力学性能。大断面球墨铸铁中添加铜、锑、锡、钼后优化了材料的组织结构，基体组织为珠光体＋少量牛眼状铁素体；试样石墨组织细小、圆整，分布均匀。同时，合金元素的复合加入使得其抗拉强度达到800 MPa以上，硬度约为280HB，伸长率达到5%以上。拉伸断口分析表明，微合金化大断面球墨铸铁断裂模式以解理断裂为主，伴有少量的塑性变形。     

A facile method for preparation of PGS@ZB‐N and gas‐sol alternating synergistic effect for fire resistance of EVA

Through the simple precipitation of palygorskite (PGS) by zinc borate (ZB) (to make PGS@ZB) and the decoration of PGS@ZB by dodecylamine (N), a novel organic‐inorganic@inorganic hybrid flame retardant of PGS@ZB‐N was prepared and was incorporated with ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) to improve its flame retardance. The structure and morphology of PGS@ZB‐N were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and it was confirmed that the PGS@ZB‐N hybrid had been successfully prepared. The flame retardancy and burning behavior of EVA/PGS@ZB‐N/EG (EG = expandable graphite) composite were studied through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94 (by the vertical burning test), and cone calorimeter test (CCT) characterizations. The prepared EVA/PGS@ZB‐N/EG composite obtained an LOI value of 41.2% with the addition of 30 wt% PGS@ZB‐N/EG. It was found that EVA/PGS@ZB‐N/EG was protected through a gas phase and condensed phase alternating synergistic effect mechanism.     

具有光照鲁棒的图像匹配方法

针对现有的基于局部特征的图像匹配算法对光照变化敏感、匹配正确率低等问题，提出一种具有光照鲁棒性的图像匹配算法。首先使用实时对比保留去色（RTCP）算法灰度化图像，然后利用对比拉伸函数模拟不同光照变换对图像的影响从而提取抗光照变换特征点，最后采用局部强度顺序模式建立特征点描述符，根据待匹配图像局部特征点描述符的欧氏距离判断是否为成对匹配点。在公开数据集上，所提算法与尺度不变特征变换（SIFT）算法、加速鲁棒特征（SURF）算法、"风"（KAZE）算法和ORB算法在匹配速度和匹配正确率上进行了对比实验。实验结果表明：随着图像亮度差异的增加，SIFT算法、SURF算法、"风"（KAZE）算法和ORB算法匹配正确率下降迅速，所提算法下降缓慢并且正确率均高于80%；所提算法特征点检测较慢和描述符维数较高，平均耗时为23.47 s，匹配速度不及另外四种算法，但匹配质量却远超过它们。对实时性要求不高的系统中，所提算法可以克服光照变化对图像匹配造成的影响。