Engineering Computer Research Articles

Prediction on nonlinear mechanical performance of random particulate composites by a statistical second-order reduced multiscale approach

A novel statistical second-order reduced multiscale (SSRM) approach is established for nonlinear composite materials with random distribution of grains. For these composites considered in this work, the complex microstructure of grains, including their shape, orientation, size, spatial distribution, volume fraction and so on, results in changing of the macroscopic mechanical properties. The first- and second-order unit cell functions based on two-scale asymptotic expressions are constructed at first. Then, the expected homogenized parameters are defined, and the nonlinear homogenization equation on global structure is established, successively. Further, an effective reduced model format for analyzing second-order nonlinear unit cell problem with less computation cost is introduced in detail. Finally, some numerical examples for the materials with varying distribution models are evaluated and compared with the data by theoretical models and experimental results. These examples illustrate that the proposed SSRM approaches are effective for predicting the macroscopic properties of the random composite materials and supply a potential application in actual engineering computation.

Industrial Design and Development Software System Architecture Based on Model-Based Systems Engineering and Cloud Computing

Oriented to the new generation of cyber-physical manufacturing, this paper introduces two breakthroughs of industrial design and development software system: model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and cloud computing. Based on the classic V model for product development, an MBSE double-Vs model is refined which takes both model life-cycle and product life-cycle into consideration for design process re-engineering. Then cloud computing and its re-structuring on traditional industrial software system are discussed. Shift from classic single approach, this research proposes an industrial design and development software system architecture based on model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and cloud computing. The new architecture is shown in a stereoscopic way which amply utilizes the respective advantages of MBSE and cloud computing. At the end of the paper, as an example of actual cases, a flight management system (FMS) design and development platform is detailed to verify the effectiveness of this new architecture. The implement of new system architecture creates an efficient collaborative mechanism for FMS developing.

Computer Digital Technology‐Based Educational Platform for Protection and Activation Design of Ming Furniture

Chinese Ming‐style furniture is the first of the three major furnitures in the world, which has high artistic value and complete structural system. The protection of Ming‐style furniture and making its design show vitality that has always been a research topic in China and even in the world. Based on 3D virtual simulation technology, this paper uses 3D scanning reverse data acquisition technology and intelligent operation of computer engine to realize big data simulation and develops the design software of Ming furniture. By means of computer information technology, we interpret and present the structural thinking and design concept of Ming furniture and transform it into design program software. This has formed a system‐wide educational software operation platform for knowledge reserve, thinking training, design and application, and achievement transformation. By applying the mechanism strategy of production and teaching to the talent training plan of colleges and universities, the underlying logic of talent training, technical management, and production management that can open up the innovative industry of Ming furniture is also constructed. After experimenting with the platform software, students are able to understand the relationship between the structure and form of Ming furniture and can design new styles that fit the logic of Ming furniture shapes as they prefer.

Investigation of blasting impact on limestone of varying quality using FEA

Large deformation and rapid pressure propagation take place inside the rock mass under the dynamic loads caused by the explosives, on quarry faces in order to extract aggregate material. The complexity of the science of rock blasting is due to a number of factors that affect the phenomenon. However, blasting engineering computations could be facilitated by innovative software algorithms in order to determine the results of the violent explosion, since field experiments are particularly difficult to be conducted. The present research focuses on the design of a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) code, for investigating in detail the behavior of limestone under the blasting effect of Ammonium Nitrate & Fuel Oil (ANFO). Specifically, the manuscript presents the FEA models and the relevant transient analysis results, simulating the blasting process for three types of limestone, ranging from poor to very good quality. The Finite Element code was developed by applying the Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL) equation of state to describe the thermodynamic state of ANFO and the pressure dependent Drucker-Prager failure criterion to define the limestone plasticity behavior, under blasting induced, high rate stress. A progressive damage model was also used in order to define the stiffness degradation and destruction of the material. This paper performs a comparative analysis and quantifies the phenomena regarding pressure, stress distribution and energy balance, for three types of limestone. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide an answer for a number of scientific questions, considering various phenomena taking place during the explosion event, using advanced computational tools.

GPU-Accelerated Adaptive PCBSO Mode-Based Hybrid RLA for Sparse LU Factorization in Circuit Simulation

LU factorization is extensively used in engineering and scientific computations for solution of large set of linear equations. Particularly, circuit simulators rely heavily on sparse version of LU factorization for solution involving circuit matrices. One of the recent advances in this field is exploiting the emerging computing platform of graphics processing units (GPUs) for parallel and sparse LU factorization. In this article, following contributions are made to advance the state of the art in hybrid right-looking algorithm (RLA): 1) a novel GPU kernel based on parallel column and block size optimization (PCBSO) is developed for adaptively allocating the block size while optimizing the number of columns for parallel execution based on the size of their associated submatrices at every level. The proposed approach helps to minimize the resource contention and to improve the computational performance and 2) an algorithm is developed to enable the execution of the new adaptive mode with dynamic parallelism. Also, a comprehensive performance comparison using a set of benchmark circuit examples is presented. The results indicate that, the proposed advancements can improve the results of state-of-the-art right looking sparse LU factorization in GPU by <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.54\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> (Arithmetic Mean).

Topological data analysis: Concepts, computation, and applications in chemical engineering

A primary hypothesis that drives scientific and engineering studies is that data has structure. The dominant paradigms for describing such structure are statistics (e.g., moments, correlation functions) and signal processing (e.g., convolutional neural nets, Fourier series). Topological Data Analysis (TDA) is a field of mathematics that analyzes data from a fundamentally different perspective. TDA represents datasets as geometric objects and provides dimensionality reduction techniques that project such objects onto low-dimensional descriptors. The key properties of these descriptors (also known as topological features) are that they provide multiscale information and that they are stable under perturbations (e.g., noise, translation, and rotation). In this work, we review the key mathematical concepts and methods of TDA and present different applications in chemical engineering.

Software-Defined Networking: Concepts and Applications

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is a revolutionary paradigm that has transformed the way networks are designed, deployed, and managed. By decoupling the control plane from the data plane, SDN provides centralized control and programmability, offering numerous advantages over traditional networking approaches. This paper provides a comprehensive review of SDN concepts and applications, focusing on key aspects such as architecture, fundamentals, challenges, and future directions. We begin with an introduction to SDN, discussing its definition, evolution, and relevance in modern networking. We then delve into the fundamentals of SDN, exploring its key components, architecture, and control plane functionality. Next, we examine various SDN applications, including network management, traffic engineering, security, and cloud computing. We also discuss the challenges facing SDN, such as scalability, security, and interoperability, and highlight emerging trends and future research directions in the field. Through this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of SDN's impact on modern networking and its potential for future innovation.

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a look at prosthetics - past, present and possible future

Biological tissue autograft reconstruction using the patellar tendon or quadrupled semitendinosus/gracilis tendons has become the most popular procedure in surgical treatment of a ruptured ACL. This article provides a review of the history of the use of prosthetics with respect to ACL reconstruction grafts including Carbon Fibre, Gore-Tex and Dacron prosthetics as well as the Leeds-Keio Artificial Ligament and the Kennedy Ligament Augmentation Device (LAD). Emphasis is placed on the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS) as preliminary investigations of its use have been encouraging. Significant progress has been made recently with respect to the understanding of ACL anatomy, composition, biomechanics, and healing processes, leading to innovative techniques using approaches based in tissue engineering principles and computer - assisted surgery. While research into improved ACL treatment options continues, the synthesis of recent advancements provides a new optimism towards the regeneration of an ACL mirroring its original stability, function, and longevity.

Alternating directions parallel hybrid memory iGRM direct solver for non-stationary simulations

The three-dimensional isogeometric analysis (IGA-FEM) is a modern method for simulation. The idea is to utilize B-splines or NURBS basis functions for both computational domain descriptions and the engineering computations. Refined isogeometric analysis (rIGA) employs a mixture of patches of elements with B-spline basis functions, and $C^0$ separators between them. It enables a reduction of the computational cost of direct solvers. Both IGA and rIGA come with challenging sparse matrix structure, that is expensive to generate. In this paper, we show a hybrid parallelization method to reduce the computational cost of the integration phase using hybrid-memory parallel machines. The two-level parallelization includes the partitioning of the computational mesh into sub-domains on the first level (MPI), and loop parallelization on the second level (OpenMP). We show that hybrid parallelization of the integration reduces the contribution of this phase significantly. Thus, alternative algorithms for fast isogeometric integration are not necessary.

Symbolic Computation in Financial Engineering

Wolfram language is capable of representing a wide array of financial instruments and analyses as symbolic elements, thereby providing exact solutions.

Engineering computing and data-driven for gating system design in investment casting

The geometrical shape of the gating system and the casting process are vital to the occurrence of shrinkage porosity, and the effects of their combination directly determine the desired high-quality casting. Casting simulation plays a significant role in the deduction of the trial and error method for gating system design in investment casting, which is time-consuming. A breakthrough in optimization design often requires a comprehensive understanding of the geometrical structure of the gating system and the complex process parameter to generate a novel data-driven framework that improves the higher quality of casting and reduces the period of design. This paper proposed a data-driven framework to investigate the optimal gating system design integrated with complex casting processes through RBF optimization algorithm with the target of porosity-free casting as well as high casting yield percentage. The results demonstrate that the optimization of the gating design is more inspiring with high accuracy and high efficiency, and the casting yield is increased by 14.91%. Furthermore, the verification between simulation and experiments shows good agreement. The demonstrated data-driven approach is feasible and effective and can be extended not only incorporating the geometrical structure of the gating system and casting processes in investment casting optimization but also other potential types of casting design.

Graduate acoustics education in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

While graduate study in acoustics takes place in several colleges and schools at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), including Communication, Fine Arts, Geosciences, and Natural Sciences, this poster focuses on the acoustics program in Engineering. The core of this program resides in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Acoustics faculty in each department supervise graduate students in both departments. One undergraduate and nine graduate acoustics courses are taught in ME and ECE. Instructors for these courses include staff at Applied Research Laboratories at UT Austin, where many of the graduate students have research assistantships. The undergraduate course, taught every fall, begins with basic physical acoustics and proceeds to draw examples from different areas of engineering acoustics. Three of the graduate courses are taught every year: a two-course sequence on physical acoustics, and a transducers course. The remaining six graduate acoustics courses, taught in alternate years, are on nonlinear acoustics, underwater acoustics, ultrasonics, architectural acoustics, wave phenomena, and acoustic metamaterials. An acoustics seminar is held most Fridays during the long semesters, averaging over ten per semester since 1984. The ME and ECE departments both offer Ph.D. qualifying exams in acoustics.

Corpus linguistic technology as a digital tool in teaching idioms’ interpretation to EFL students

Corpus linguistics technology is considered from the linguodidactic perspective. Discussion of the results of extensive empirical research into efficient ways of teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students to interpret idioms has been presented. The research comprises three steps: ascertaining, educational and control experiments. The aim of the paper is to investigate the efficiency of corpus linguistic technology as a tool in developing corpus-based idioms’ interpretation skill (CBIIS). The methodology has been tested on the EFL students of Bachelor study programs in Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electrical Power Engineering, Machine-building and Information Science and Computer Engineering implemented by Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University in the years 2018-2019. The author shares personal experience of how to use corpus linguistics technology in foreign language teaching, presents a set of corpus-based exercises and describes the procedure of the learners’ work with the basic corpus tools while interpreting idioms. The result of the educational experiment shows that the average level of the CBIIS proficiency has increased that confirms the hypothesis of the research on the effectiveness of corpus linguistic technology as a tool in teaching idioms’ interpretation to EFL students.

Отражение развития инженерной геометрии в журнале «Геометрия и графика»

In the paper "On the Increasing Role of Geometry", published in the electronic "Journal of Natural Science Research" in 2017, it was outspoken a hypothesis that now, at the time of innovative technologies, the importance of geometry is constantly increasing. The significance of geometry is also demonstrated by numerous Ph.D. and doctoral dissertations in the specialty No 05.01.01 - “Engineering Geometry and Computer Graphics”. It can be affirmed that all and everyone dissertations of technical and technological profile contain a geometric component to one degree or another. The "Geometry and Graphics" journal turned 8 (it was founded in June 2012). During this time, on its pages have been published numerous scientific papers, developing namely geometry and its branches: from simplest geometric constructions based on new properties of both lines and surfaces, to imaginary elements. Investigations were conducted in the following areas: “New Directions in Geometry”, “Fractal Geometry”, “Multidimensional Geometry”, “Geometric Constructions”, “Construction and Research of Surfaces”, “Imaginary Geometry”, “Practical Application of Geometry”, “Computer Graphics”, “Descriptive Geometry as Basis of other Branches of Geometry” ,”Geometry of Phase Spaces”. The journal publishes both recognized scientists and candidate for Ph.D. and doctor degrees. The considered array of papers clearly confirms the statement of the majority of authors, published in the journal, about geometry continuous development, which knocks out the ground for skeptics who decided that geometry is the science of the past centuries. As long as objects with shapes and surfaces surround us, geometry will be in demand. This, as they say, is unequivocal.

A novel Omega-driven dynamic PANS model

A novel Omega (Ω) -driven dynamic partially-averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) model is proposed in this paper. The ratio of the modeled-to-total turbulent kinetic energies fk is dynamically adjusted by the rigid vorticity ratio (the ratio of the rigid vorticity to the total vorticity), the key parameter of the Ω vortex identification method. Three classical flow cases with rotation and curvature are used to test the model. The results show that the turbulent viscosity is effectively adjusted by the new dynamic fk and the LES-like mode is activated, which can help the revelation of more turbulence information and improve the prediction accuracy. The new PANS model does not contain any explicit dependency on the grid size and enjoys good adaptability to the flow fields, and can be used for efficient engineering computations of the turbulent flows in the hydraulic machinery.

A groundbreaking journal for high technology and innovative computing in civil engineering

A groundbreaking journal for high technology and innovative computing in civil engineering

A new integrated approach for management of soil threats in the vineyard ecosystem

The relevance of soil threats at affecting yield and grape composition is currently largely neglected as compared to the attention devoted to canopy factors. In this paper, we provide a new soil assessment procedure that, with the help of a web based new decision tool (DT), allows to (i) rate potential soil threats through a computer engine that processes a detailed check list of vineyard and site specific characteristics, (ii) identify which potential threats are valid on the basis of physical and/or analytical vineyard assessment, (iii) propose through a decision engine best soil mitigation solutions according to real threats and (iv) evaluate soil’s threats changes after the mitigation solution’s implementation. All gathered data were also used for a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and estimation of possible ecosystem services. Traditional (e.g combinations of tillage and native grassing) vs innovative soil management (SM) treatments were evaluated over three years (2017–2019) in nine test vineyards sited in the Parma and Piacenza provinces (Northern Italy).As expected, fraction of real-to-potential threat increased from 22% to 79% with increasing potential threat severity; however, potential threats classified as very likely (red color) had a 55% conversion rate into real threat, suggesting that summer drought and erosion threat assessment require more deepening. Overall, mitigation SM solutions consisting of a sown cover crop in mid-rows with the slashed sward either left on site and piled beneath the row or in temporary winter grassing followed by green manuring improved vine performances as compared to tillage and native grassing. SWOT analysis unleashed that the same SM solutions are well-perceived by growers who are still reluctant to incur additional costs for their implementation. A total ES benefit of 1454 € ha−1, with soil erosion containment accounting for 700 € ha−1, was estimated. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to provide grape growers with a tool allowing objective assessment of real soil threats. Albeit grapevine is taken as use case in this study, the same protocol is valuable in any orchard ecosystem organized in single rows separated by a mid row alley.

Special Issue: Selected Papers From 2019 IDETC-CIE, MSNDC, and VIB Conferences

It is with great pleasure that we bring to the readership of the ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics (JCND) a special issue dedicated to select papers from the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering (IDETC-CIE) Conferences. The 2019 IDETC-CIE conferences took place in Anaheim, CA, from August 18–21.We started this project motivated by our conviction that organizing a JCND special issue tied to the Multibody Systems and Nonlinear Dynamics and Controls (MSNDC) Conference, as well as the Mechanical Vibration and Noise (VIB) Conference, is long overdue. Last year, we had the 16th and 32nd editions of the MSNDC and VIB conferences, respectively. These two peer-reviewed conferences, whose focus includes vibrations, nonlinear dynamics, and multibody systems, have provided an international venue where our colleagues have presented an early glimpse into their highest-quality research. Following a parallel path, JCND was established in 2005, and under the effective leadership and steady guidance of Professors Subhash C. Sinha, Ahmed Shabana, and Bala Balachandran, this journal has become in short order a premier ASME journal with a current impact factor of 2.135.We happily took this opportunity to act on a project that we believe will help the MSNDC and VIB conferences, the JCND journal, and most importantly, the community at large. Indeed, we hope that through the publication of this special issue, its international readership will be reminded of the ASME IDETC-CIE conferences and their continued impact over the years. Perhaps this special issue will provide extra motivation for scholars to participate yet again, or perhaps for the first time, in this annual gathering of experts, students, and people new to the field. Conversely, the JCND will stand to benefit from bringing to its readership a selection of the best papers presented at the conference. The biggest winner, though, is the community at large. First, anyone who missed the Anaheim event will find in this special issue some of the conference highlights. Moreover, it is only fitting that a group of colleagues who took the time and effort to report on their recent research at the conference receive recognition for their hard and innovative work through this special issue, and it must be great work indeed given that the papers were selected through a rigorous peer selection and review process. The conference paper reviewers recommended a larger collection of manuscripts, which was then trimmed by the symposium organizers, before being down-selected yet again by our four-person group. The remaining manuscripts went through the standard JCND review process. The manuscripts that cleared this last hurdle make up this special issue. We hope you will enjoy them.We are indeed very happy to have had the opportunity to work on this special issue and start what we hope will become an annual tradition. Special thanks to Professor Bala Balachandran for giving us the green light on this idea and to Amy Suski for helping us greatly at every step of the process. It was great working as a team on this project and we are excited to bring it to fruition.

Quantum Computing for Microwave Engineers [From the Guest Editor's Desk

The articles in this special section focus on quantum computing. After decades of research and development, quantum computing has recently grown into one of the hottest and most promising of all emerging fields. While large-scale quantum computing was just a pipe dream even a decade ago, today there is an intense race around the globe to build a practical quantum computer. So, as a microwave engineer, why should you be interested in quantum computing? It turns out that there is actually a significant amount of microwave engineering involved in the implementation of many controllable quantum systems.

A modified STRUCT model for efficient engineering computations of turbulent flows in hydro-energy machinery

A modified STRUCT (MST) turbulence model for efficient engineering computations of turbulent flows in hydro-energy machinery is proposed in this paper. The MST model switches between URANS and LES-like modes using a new damping function to adjust the turbulent viscosity. Compared with the original STRUCT method, the modifications are as follows: (1) the BSL k-ω model with the Spalart-Shur correction is chosen as the new baseline to improve the sensitivity to rotation and curvature; (2) a new adaptive time-scale ratio is proposed to avoid the arbitrariness of geometric averaging operation in the original method; (3) the normalized helicity is introduced into the new damping function to detect the energy backscatter phenomenon. Five classical high Reynolds number flow cases are tested. The results show that the turbulent viscosity of the MST model is reasonably reduced in the massively separated regions and LES-like mode is activated, which captures more turbulent vortices and fluctuations on the URANS grids. With high efficiency and robustness, the MST model inherits the advantages of the original STRUCT method and improves the prediction accuracy of the turbulence with rotation and curvature, which enables efficient engineering computations of turbulent flows in hydro-energy machinery.