Modeling of Temperature–Frequency Correlation Using Combined Principal Component Analysis and Support Vector Regression Technique

A good understanding of environmental effects on structural modal properties is essential for reliable performance of vibration-based damage diagnosis methods. In this paper, a method of combining principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector regression (SVR) technique is proposed for modeling temperature-caused variability of modal frequencies for structures instrumented with long-term monitoring systems. PCA is first applied to extract principal components from the measured temperatures for dimensionality reduction. The predominant feature vectors in conjunction with the measured modal frequencies are then fed into a support vector algorithm to formulate regression models that may take into account thermal inertia effect. The research is focused on proper selection of the hyperparameters to obtain SVR models with good generalization performance. A grid search method with cross validation and a heuristic method are utilized for determining the optimal values of SVR hyperparameters. The proposed method is compared with the method directly using measurement data to train SVR models and the multivariate linear regression (MLR) method through the use of long-term measurement data from a cable-stayed bridge. It is shown that PCA-compressed features make the training and validation of SVR models more efficient in both model accuracy and computational costs, and the formulated SVR model performs much better than the MLR model in generalization performance. When continuously measured data is available, the SVR model formulated taking into account thermal inertia effect can achieve more accurate prediction than that without considering thermal inertia effect.     

Free-Edge and Ply Cracking Effect in Angle-Ply Laminated Composites Subjected to In-Plane Loads

This paper presents a semianalytical method for the prediction of interlaminar stresses and displacements near the free edges and ply cracks in general angle-ply laminates subjected to biaxial extensions and/or in plane shear deformation. The method is based on a state space representation of the three-dimensional equations of elasticity. Numerical solutions are obtained by using layer refinement in the through thickness direction and Fourier series expansion in the other directions. By this approach, an angle-ply laminate may be composed of an arbitrary number of monoclinic layers and each layer may have different material property and thickness. This method guarantees continuous fields of all interlaminar stresses across interfaces between material layers. Numerical results are compared with those obtained from other methods. It is found that the theory provides a satisfactory approximation to the stress singularities near the free edges and ply cracks. Numerical solutions for antisymmetric laminates under extension and general laminates under shearing are new in the literature and can be used as benchmarks for validating new models.     

Model Selection in Applied Science and Engineering: A Decision-Theoretic Approach

Mathematical models are developed and used to study the properties of complex systems in just about every area of applied science and engineering. Information on the system being modeled is, in general, incomplete, so that there may be two or more models consistent with the available information. The collection of these models is called the class of candidate models. A decision-theoretic method is developed for selecting the optimal member from the collection. The optimal model depends on the available information, the class of candidate models, and the model use. The candidate models may be deterministic or random. Classical methods for model selection, including the method of maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, are briefly reviewed. These methods ignore model use and require data to be available. In addition, examples are used to show that classical methods for model selection can be unreliable in the sense that they can deliver unsatisfactory models when data is limited. The proposed decision-theoretic method for model selection does not have these limitations. The method accounts for model use via a utility function. This feature is especially important when modeling high-risk systems where the consequences of using an inappropriate model for the system can be disastrous.     

Case Study-Based Challenges of Quality Concrete Finishing for Architecturally Complex Structures

This paper focuses on the procedure utilized in the construction of tilt-up irregular concrete panels that are constructed on-site using concrete slabs and wooden formwork. The case study required high-quality concrete finishing. The erection and installation procedure called for a maximum panel-to-panel joint tolerance of 1.27?cm (0.5?in.), often 90° joints between panels. To meet precision requirements, the casting slabs were leveled and flattened with laser screed technology and smoothed with chemical solutions. To ensure that the final result met expectations, a mock-up model was built using different types of materials and to simulate site constraints. The architectural design is a composition of precast concrete panels like “Lego” pieces assembled similarly to a jigsaw puzzle. The unique construction process required a state-of-the-art analysis to produce the set quality. Quality conditions as set by the owner included creating a smooth concrete surface on all panels while avoiding damages and reducing equipment and material costs. The proposed methodology is described through its implementation on the case study, which is also described in this paper.     

Emergency department status boards: user-evolved artefacts for inter- and intra-group coordination

Large, easily viewed status boards are commonly used in some healthcare settings such as emergency departments, operating theaters, intensive care units, and inpatient wards. Because these artefacts were developed by front-line users, and have little to no supervisory or regulatory control, they offer valuable insights into the theories of work and hazard held by those users. Although the status boards case were locally developed over many years for within-group coordination, they have also become useful for between-group coordination across organizational boundaries. In this paper, we compare and contrast the use of such status boards in two disparate settings: a US emergency department, and a UK pediatric ward, and note striking similarities in their form and usage, despite the large differences in setting.     

AssetCollector: a system for managing collections of cultural assets

In this paper, AssetCollector is presented, which is a system for managing collections of cultural assets. AssetCollector covers the needs of collection curators towards defining, populating and searching a collection in a flexible way, while supporting them in generating reports based on the collection’s assets and reusing them in order to build web sites and CD-ROMs. In order to support the above functionality, the system provides the content structuring subsystem, the content input subsystem, the search subsystem and the report subsystem. The use of the subsystems is straightforward and requires no technical skills from the curators. AssetCollector has been successfully applied for organizing various collections of cultural assets in Greece, such as archaeological sites, museums and published books. In the future, an evaluation procedure is planned in order to further refine the use of the system according to the targeted users’ needs. Furthermore, more import and export facilities will be provided, which will make the system compliant with widely accepted standards.     

Finite element analysis of a center crack specimen warm pre-stressed under different modes of loading

Load bearing capacity of cracked specimens can be improved following pre-loading procedures like warm pre-stressing (WPS). In this paper, the effects of modes I and II pre-loading on fracture load of a central angled crack specimen are studied by finite element analysis. The specimen is reloaded either in mode I or in mode II. To predict the fracture load of cracked specimen after pre-loading, the maximum tensile stress (MTS) and maximum shear stress (MSS) criteria are used. It is shown that mode II fracture load is independent of pre-loading but the mode I fracture load is highly improved after warm pre-stressing. The mode mixity of the specimen is also changed when the pre-loading and reloading modes are not identical. An increase in the fracture load of the specimen following pre-loading may be due to change of failure mode as predicted by finite element analysis in this work.     

一种基于PWM的半桥型开关电源

主要介绍了由SG3525组成的半桥型开关稳压电路的结构和工作原理，阐述了PWN集成电路SG3525的特性和主要功能。实践表明：该系统工作稳定，运行效果良好。