Development and characterisation of a Y2Ti2O7-based glass-ceramic as a potential oxidation protective coating for titanium suboxide (TiOx)

A silica-based glass-ceramic, with Y₂Ti₂O₇ as the major crystalline phase, is designed, characterised and tested as an oxidation-protective coating for a titanium suboxide (TiO_x) thermoelectric material at temperatures of up to 600 °C. The optimised sinter-crystallisation treatment temperatures are found to be 1300 °C and 855 °C for a duration of 30 min, and this treatment leads to a glass-ceramic with cubic Y₂Ti₂O₇ and CaAl₂Si₂O₈ as crystalline phases. An increase of ~270 °C in the dilatometric softening temperature is observed after devitrification of the parent glass, thus further extending its working temperature range.Excellent adhesion of the glass-ceramic coating to the thermoelectric material is maintained after exposure to a temperature of 600 °C for 120 h under oxidising conditions, thus confirming the effectiveness of the T1 glass-ceramic in protecting the TiO_x material.     

Context‐Dependent Crowd Evaluation

Many times, even if a crowd simulation looks good in general, there could be some specific individual behaviors which do not seem correct. Spotting such problems manually can become tedious, but ignoring them may harm the simulation's credibility. In this paper we present a data‐driven approach for evaluating the behaviors of individuals within a simulated crowd. Based on video‐footage of a real crowd, a database of behavior examples is generated. Given a simulation of a crowd, an analog analysis is performed on it, defining a set of queries, which are matched by a similarity function to the database examples. The results offer a possible objective answer to the question of how similar are the simulated individual behaviors to real observed behaviors. Moreover, by changing the video input one can change the context of evaluation. We show several examples of evaluating simulated crowds produced using different techniques and comprising of dense crowds, sparse crowds and flocks.     

Fast Cloth Animation on Walking Avatars

This paper describes a fast technique for animating clothing on walking humans. It exploits a mass-spring cloth model but applies a new velocity directional modification approach to overcome its super-elasticity. The algorithm for cloth-body collision detection and response is based on image-space interference tests, unlike the existing ones that use object-space checks. The modern workstations' graphics hardware is used not only to compute the depth maps of the body but also to interpolate the body normal vectors and velocities of each vertex. As a result the approach is very fast and makes it possible to produce animation at a rate of three to four frames per second.     

The effect of pre-straining on the mechanical behaviour of self-piercing riveted aluminium alloy sheets

Self-piercing riveting as an alternative joining method to spot-welding has attracted considerable interest from the automotive industry and has been widely used in aluminium intensive vehicles. Pressing and stamping are important processes in automotive production and result in additional straining on the vehicle body sheet material. It is therefore important to have knowledge of the effect of sheet pre-straining on the quality of the self-piercing riveted joints and on the mechanical behaviour of the riveted aluminium alloy sheets. This paper reports the influence of sheet pre-straining on the static and fatigue behaviour of self-piercing riveted aluminium alloy sheet. Wrought aluminium alloy sheet, NG5754 with a nominal thickness value of 2 mm was used to obtain pre-strained NG5754 sheets with pre-straining levels of 3%, 5% and 10%. Pairs of pre-strained NG5754 sheets were joined to create single-riveted lap joints which subsequently underwent lap-shear and fatigue testing. Microscopic inspection showed that the joint quality was satisfactory despite the increasing sheet straining levels. The results showed that by increasing the pre-straining level up to 10%, the shear and fatigue strength also increased. The rate of increase of the static and fatigue strength differed as the pre-straining levels varied.     

On the Impact of Performance Faults in Modern Microprocessors

Modern microprocessors incorporate a variety of architectural features, such as branch prediction and speculative execution, which are not critical to the correctness of their operation yet are essential towards improving performance. Accordingly, while faults in the corresponding hardware may not necessarily affect functional correctness, they may, nevertheless, adversely impact performance. In this paper, we investigate quantitatively the performance impact of such faults using a superscalar, dynamically-scheduled, out-of-order, Alpha-like microprocessor, on which we execute SPEC2000 integer benchmarks. We provide extensive fault simulation-based experimental results that elucidate the various aspects of performance faults and we discuss how this information may guide the inclusion of additional hardware for performance loss recovery and yield enhancement.     

Crowds by Example

We present an example-based crowd simulation technique. Most crowd simulation techniques assume that the behavior exhibited by each person in the crowd can be defined by a restricted set of rules. This assumption limits the behavioral complexity of the simulated agents. By learning from real-world examples, our autonomous agents display complex natural behaviors that are often missing in crowd simulations. Examples are created from tracked video segments of real pedestrian crowds. During a simulation, autonomous agents search for examples that closely match the situation that they are facing. Trajectories taken by real people in similar situations, are copied to the simulated agents, resulting in seemingly natural behaviors.     

Production of copper-matrix composites by in situ processing

Reaction synthesis routes were studied as a means of production of copper-matrix composites. Routes for providing fine and uniform dispersions of TiC, TiB₂ and WC in a copper-rich matrix were identified. The reasons for achieving good dispersions of TiC and TiB₂ in the matrix were explained. The merits of each method were assessed in terms of the potential advantages offered.     

Computing Dynamic Changes to BSP Trees

This paper investigates a new method for dynamically changing Binary Space Partition (BSP) trees. A BSP tree representation of a 3D polygonal scene provides an ideal data structure for rapidly performing the hidden surface computations involved in changing the viewpoint. However, BSP trees have generally been thought to be unsuitable for applications where the geometry of objects in the scene changes dynamically. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a dynamic BSP tree algorithm which does allow for such changes, and which maintains the simplicity and integrity of the BSP tree representation. The algorithm is extended to include dynamic changes to shadows. We calibrate the algorithms by transforming a range of objects in a scene, and reporting on the observed timing results.     

A two-stage approach of manufacturing FeAl40 iron aluminides by self-propagating synthesis and pressureless sintering

A two-stage sintering process was successfully used to sinter FeAl to densification levels of just above 95% at a temperature of 1300°C. In the first stage, mixed iron and aluminium powders were synthesised at 750°C via self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) to form brittle and porous Fe₂Al₅. Then the pellets were crushed and milled to various sizes and mixed with iron powders in the nominal composition of FeAl40 and pressurelessly sintered at a higher temperature to obtain a higher densification by taking advantage of the less violent exothermic reaction of Fe₂Al₅ and Fe. The intermediate and end products in SHS and sintering were characterised by SEM/EDX and XRD. The porosity level of the final FeAl40 product was controlled by the heating rate and powder size, which was also strongly influenced by the temperature, holding time and the ratio of the two powders.     

Sensory Threshold Studies of Picrocrocin,the Major Bitter Compound of Saffron

This study is part of a wider project on the bitter taste of saffron and its preparations. A deeper knowledge on the taste perception of picrocrocin is necessary in order to develop products that satisfy consumer senses and provide them with adequate amounts of saffron major constituents, also appreciated for bioactivity. A systematic approach on the bitterness of picrocrocin, the major responsible compound, was conducted. A panel was trained specifically for the determination of taste detection and recognition thresholds of picrocrocin, which were found to be 5.34 and 7.26 mg/L, respectively, using the Ascending Forced Choice of Limits methodology. The threshold values were examined in water in absence and presence of other saffron constituents and ethanol and were found to decrease when served hot (61 ± 4 °C). Bitterness was enhanced in 40% (v/v) aqueous ethanol. In both aqueous and ethanol extracts, the presence of saffron volatiles improved bitterness perception. The usefulness of the study was tested in the case of commercial saffron based infusions.