Constituent Systems Research Articles

Pengembangan Sistem Informasi Konstituen Menggunakan Rapid Application Development

Constituent data collection for each member of Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (DPRD) becomes a necessity. By conducting data collection of DPRD constituents will be easier to design the main points of the DPRD constituents who are aspirations from the constituents. Better constituent data processing is very necessary considering today in the absence of a system specifically for processing constituent data. The study conducted with members of the East Lombok Regency DPRD wants the development of constituent information systems to be developed quickly. The problem in this study is in a short period, therefore this study proposed Rapid Application Development (RAD) as a methodology in modeling the problem of developing information systems. RAD is a life cycle providing a way to design and develop information systems much faster with results that have high-value quality. Based on the test results on the system, testing is carried out by considering the three aspects, the first is the quality of this system aims to test the interface (interface), namely ease of use, response time, and language. Based on the results of testing the quality of the system obtained a score of 87% of the 13 respondents. Both assessments on the quality of information, this assessment aims to measure the accuracy of the information, information. Based on the results of the test, the assessment score was 83% while the third related to the quality of the Constituent Information System Service received as much as 85%. So the average results of the assessment of the entire type of testing obtained a score of 85% that the information system developed has been by the user's requirements.

Robustness analysis of cyber-coupled power systems with considerations of interdependence of structures, operations and dynamic behaviors

The failure propagation of a networked system is profoundly affected by the operation and dynamic behavior of its constituent systems. In this paper, we propose a novel network-based model to investigate the cascading failure of cyber-coupled power systems. Unlike existing models that assume oversimplified network functions, operational characteristics and failure evolution, our proposed model considers the practical differences between a communication network and a power network in terms of network structure, physical operation and dynamic behavior. A practical trip mechanism is derived according to the instantaneous data transmission overload and the stochastic power flow overload. The effects of communication network connection strength and coupling patterns on the robustness of interdependent systems are also studied. Our study shows that the thermal memory effect of power lines aggravates the failure propagation, and that the robustness of the interdependent system is strongly related to the coupled communication network’s tolerance. Furthermore, coupling patterns based on network similarity have better inhibition effects on cascading failure under random attacks, and node destructiveness is a suitable coupling similarity index that can be used to improve the robustness of the system. However, the strategy is inapplicable when the system is under intentional attacks.

Federated Space Systems’ Trade-Space Exploration for Strategic Robustness

Motivated by the growth of the commercial space economy and renewed focus on the disaggregation of military space systems, this work develops a method for conceptual design of federated satellite systems as a collaborative system of systems (SOS). Objectives seek to improve the likelihood of successful SOS formation and pursue constituent system utility robustness. The proposed metaheuristic optimization trade-space exploration method accounts for technical and economic design variables and multi-decision-maker strategy dynamics. Constituent system designs are ranked on their simulated net present value. A game-theoretic measure of risk dominance is used in concert with the net present value to assess the robustness and utility of candidate SOS designs. The method is validated with a notional application case that assesses potential collaboration between Earth-observing and telecommunications systems. The proposed methodology reduces the threshold probability of partner collaboration for which SOS participation is economically rational by up to 18% for the most efficient designs as compared to a typical conceptual design method, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful SOS formation. The results highlight the importance of accounting for strategy dynamics when designing systems for collaboration.

Thermodynamic assessment of the C[sbnd]Cr[sbnd]Ti system—Supported by DFT calculations

The thermodynamic description of the CCrTi ternary system has been reassessed. The main reason was to adjust the solubility limit of Cr in MC (M = Cr, Ti), but also to take the solubility of Ti in M3C2 and M7C3 into account. Another reason was that the thermodynamic descriptions of all the three constituent binary systems (CCr, CTi and CrTi) had been revised after the previously published description of the CCrTi system. Important metastable end-members and interaction parameters were calculated using Density Functional Theory (DFT). For fcc-CrC and Ti3C2, DFT was used together with a recently published method to calculate the molar Gibbs energy as a function of temperature (Gm(T)). For fcc-CrC also the magnetic contribution and the magnetic transition temperature, i.e. the Curie temperature (TC), were included. DFT was also used to calculate Gibbs energy of formation at 0 K for Ti7C3 and to calculate the molar excess Gibbs energy contribution, and TC, as a function of Ti composition in MC. DFT calculated parameters were compared with experiments or previous assessments. Selected experimental information from literature was then used to optimize parameters that are difficult to calculate with DFT, e.g. interaction parameters for the liquid phase and temperature dependence for interaction parameters in the solid phases. The resulting thermodynamic description, which is based on critically reviewed binary descriptions, reproduces the experimental solidification sequence, found in literature, equally well as the previous description of the CCrTi system. Furthermore, in contrast to the previous description, the new description also reproduces the most recent experimentally determined solubility of Cr in MC and takes the solubility of Ti in M3C2 and M7C3 into account. Finally the new description uses DFT calculated metastable end-members and interaction parameters, which gives more reliable predictions, especially at low temperatures.

Microvascular system of hip joint constituents with special reference to ultrastructural findings and early arteriosclerosis.

This study aimed to examine the ultrastructure of the arteries of the synovium, acetabular labrum, and ligamentum teres of the hip joint using light, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopes to identify features of early arteriosclerosis. Tissues collected from three patients (under 40years of age) with osteonecrosis of the femoral head were immersed in 8N HCl at 60°C for 20min to digest collagen fibers for scanning electron microscopy. Tortuous arterioles and arteries were noted in the joint components, including the synovium, acetabular labrum, and ligamentum teres. The ultrastructure of the arterioles appeared normal; however, intimal thickening was found in most arteries. The thickened intima had abundant elastic fibers and many smooth muscle cells (which were of a synthetic phenotype because they had a few actin filaments and well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum). This study illustrates that arteriosclerotic changes are present in tortuous arteries in the synovium, acetabular labrum, and ligamentum teres of the hip joint even from a relatively young age and suggests that meandering blood vessels may be the preferred foci of arteriosclerosis.

The Language of Suicide Notes: A Corpus-based Stylistic Analysis

This study aimed to contribute to the literature of suicide notes studies, especially those who are mainly interested in analyzing the content of suicide notes and the stylistics studies intended to extract the linguistics features of a particular text/corpus. It was designed to investigate and compare a set of linguistics stylistic features of a collection of suicide notes collected by Shneidman and Farberow in 1957 and a collection of suicide notes posted on an online website (Reddit) in 2018-2020. This study aimed to examine whether there is any change in the language of suicide notes between these two collections of data due to the different periods of time and medium (the first collection includes written suicide notes while the second includes posted online suicide notes). So, to achieve the aim of the study, two types of corpora were compiled, one dedicated to Shneidman and Farberow’s collection of suicide notes (1957) and the second for the online suicide notes (2018-2020). The two corpora were examined for their most frequent POS, distribution of content words, TTR, and words and sentences’ length. The analysis was conducted using CLAWS (UCREL, 2020), “the Constituent Likelihood Automatic Word-tagging System” for part-of-speech tagging, and WordSmith 8.0 software (Scott, 2020). Such analysis indicated that: both types employed an informal style of writing, but the words and sentences used in OSN tend to be longer and more complicated than those in SSN. Both corpora had lower TTR and STTR, which indicated that they were not lexically diverse. Their words were highly repetitive because they concentrated on one or two themes only. Finally, concerning content word distributions, the verbs were the most frequent type, followed by nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

Quaternary liquid-liquid equilibria measurements and NRTL modelling for the (Water + Ethanol + 2-Propanol + 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane) system at 298.2K to 328.2K

In this work, the influence of a second alcohol on the phase behaviour of (water + alcohol + entrainer) systems was investigated by measuring Liquid-Liquid Equilibrium (LLE) data for the quaternary system of (water + ethanol + 2-propanol + isooctane) under isobaric (0.1 MPa) conditions. Data were measured at three ethanol: 2-propanol ratios to characterise the quaternary system behaviour, and for the constituent ternary (water + ethanol + isooctane) and (water + 2-propanol + isooctane) systems at 298.2 K. The measured quaternary data exhibit an evolution in phase behaviour between the constituent ternary systems in both the miscibility and total alcohol distribution between the aqueous and organic phases. The individual alcohol behaviour highlights the differing intermolecular interactions occurring in the systems, resulting in an increased recovery of ethanol to the organic phase and 2-propanol to the aqueous phase in the quaternary system. Further, the influence of temperature on the quaternary system's phase behaviour was investigated by measuring the quaternary system's data at four temperatures (298.2 K, 308.22 K, 318.2 K, and 328.2 K).The ternary (water + alcohol + entrainer) LLE literature and experimental data were correlated well using the Non-Random Two Liquid (NRTL) activity coefficient model with binary interaction parameters (BIPs) incorporating linear temperature dependence. These BIPs acceptably predicted the quaternary system's total alcohol behaviour, but only qualitatively captured the correct individual alcohol behaviour.

Designing and testing systems of systems: From variability models to test cases passing through desirability assessment

AbstractIn the early stages of a system of systems (SoS) conception, several constituent systems could be available that provide similar functionalities. An SoS design methodology should provide adequate means to model variability in order to support the opportunistic selection of the most desirable SoS configuration. We propose the VANTESS approach that (i) supports SoS modeling taking into account the variation points implied by the considered constituent systems; (ii) includes a heuristics to weight benefits and costs of potential architectural choices (called as SoS variants) for the selection of the constituent systems; and finally (iii) also helps test planning for the selected SoS variant by deriving a simulation model on which test objectives and scenarios can be devised. We illustrate an application example of VANTESS to the “educational” SoS and discuss its pros and cons within a focus group.

Coordination Protocol and Admission Control for Distributed Services in System-of-Systems With Real-Time Requirements

System-of-Systems (SoS) offer unprecedented potential for new types of emerging services, which significantly exceed the capabilities of the constituting systems. SoS in safety-critical domains (e.g., medical applications, smart grid, disaster recovery, defense) are prominent examples, but they have stringent real-time and reliability requirements. Therefore, a suitable temporal and spatial allocation of resources is required both within each constituent system and in the wide area networks between them. This paper introduces an algorithm for admission control and resources’ allocation, which considers these requirements and the autonomy of the constituent systems. To simulate a realistic admission control and resources’ allocation process of a typical SoS network, a simulated case study with eight constituent systems, six services, and twenty-five processes/requests is developed. The suggested admission control and resources’ allocation process’s performance is measured in terms of gain in the execution time and blockage probability. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to evaluate the influence of the number of constituent systems and the number of services sought by the received processes/requests on the efficacy of the proposed process. The results show that the proposed admission control and resources’ allocation process have very low blockage probability, high gain in the execution time, and high resources’ utilization.

A Quarter of a Century of “The Single-seat Constituency and Proportional Representation Concurrent System”

A Quarter of a Century of “The Single-seat Constituency and Proportional Representation Concurrent System”

Connections Between System of System Sustainability and Resilience in an Electric Motor Manufacturing Supply Chain

Systems of Systems combine constituent systems (such as financial, transportation, energy, food, and water) to improve performance. System of Systems employment, however, often requires additional material and infrastructure investment. Due to their widespread use, it is essential that Systems of Systems are sustainable. One approach to increasing Systems of Systems sustainability is to increase its resilience (e.g. a less-resilient System of Systems would require additional resources to recover from a fault). The need for increased Systems of Systems resilience inspired our research question: How does SoS resilience change environmental impact during post-fault operation? To examine this research question, a model of an electric motor supply chain is examined. The supply chain architecture is divided into two parallel supply chains servicing four distribution centers. If supply to a distribution center is disrupted, the non-impacted supply chain can provide motors, but at a changed use-phase impact due to new shipping routes (e.g. further geographic distance). To answer our research question, each of the 14 constituents were disrupted one at a time, supply rerouting occurred as necessary, and the change in operational impact is reported (additional km of supply chain travel per week. This study provides key evidence that even if System of System infrastructure repair could occur without impact, changes in operational impact is an important factor for decision makers. Additionally, this paper provides case study evidence supporting the claim that improved resilience can improve System of Systems sustainability.

Object of criminal offenсe: Modern interpretations

The struggle of law enforcement and judicial bodies of the modern rule of law, as well as the entire society with the manifestations of crime is necessarily connected with the need for an in-depth study of crimes (hereinafter referred to as criminal offences), their essence, the structure of the constituent system elements, forms of external manifestation, which is a prerequisite for the development of the latest effective means of countering criminal offences. Among these issues, the object of a criminal offence is of particular importance, as it has a significant impact on the determination of the social characteristics of the offence and largely determines its actual objective and subjective characteristics. Meanwhile, there is no unity among scientists in the interpretation of the object of offence. The problem has therefore not yet been sufficiently studied. The purpose of the study is a scientific analysis of modern views on the object of a criminal offence and the establishment of a scientifically based content and essence of this concept. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: dialectical, historical and legal, dogmatic, comparative, system-structural, legal hermeneutics. The article analysed the existing scientific approaches (positions) regarding the definition of the object of a criminal offense, which were systematised and reduced to two generalised groups: 1) ontological, which includes positions that recognise the object of a crime (criminal offence) as protected by criminal law public relations in various modifications; 2) axiological, which includes the interpretation of the object as values and related definitions: benefits, and individual interests. The authors made a reasoned conclusion that the object of a criminal offence is social relations that arise and exist in society about its social values, which are protected by the law on criminal liability

Quantitative Characterization of Complex Systems—An Information Theoretic Approach

A significant increase in System-of-Systems (SoS) is currently observed in the social and technical domains. As a result of the increasing number of constituent system components, Systems of Systems are becoming larger and more complex. Recent research efforts have highlighted the importance of identifying innovative statistical and theoretical approaches for analyzing complex systems to better understand how they work. This paper portrays the use of an agnostic two-stage examination structure for complex systems aimed towards developing an information theory-based approach to analyze complex technical and socio-technical systems. Towards the goal of characterizing system complexity with information entropy, work was carried out in exploring the potential application of entropy to a simulated case study to illustrate its applicability and to establish the use of information theory within the broad horizon of complex systems. Although previous efforts have been made to use entropy for understanding complexity, this paper provides a basic foundation for identifying a framework to characterize complexity, in order to analyze and assess complex systems in different operational domains.

Methods and results of extending the life of the International Space Station Russian Segment

The paper discusses the current status of work to extend the life of the International Space Station Russian Segment (ISS RS). The effort to monitor and maintain the ISS RS systems and modules in good working order forms the basis of the work aimed at station longevity and the safety of its crew. It describes measures taken to keep the ISS RS operational in a situation where some of the components have been taken out of production, and specified storage life for the spares, tools and accessories has expired. It reviews changes in the requirements for the operation of constituent components, systems and assemblies that were adopted to support extension of the ISS RS mission. It describes a procedure for detecting the sources of failures and malfunctions found in flight and resolving their causes, which makes it possible to take measures aimed at preventing propagation of faults and malfunctions within the shortest time possible while keeping the systems and assemblies of the ISS RS modules operational during repairs. It describes an approach to analysis of the causes of component failures, which makes it possible to classify them for the purposes of statistical analysis, on the basis of which one could evaluate failure dynamics in the course of the mission and use it for making a conclusion about the feasibility of extending flight tests of the ISS RS till 2024 and further. It provides data on dynamics of changes in the number of component failures in the course of the ISS RS mission, which show that this number does not grow. Key words: International Space Station, ISS RS, Russian Segment, operational integrity, operating life, failures.

Agent based coordination protocol for system of cyber-physical systems

Nowadays, society and business rely heavily on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems, which are progressing faster than ever. To stay on pace with them, focus is shifted towards integration of individual ICT systems into complex systems, which offers more functionality than simply the sum of individual systems. In this regard, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) have gained significant importance and System-of-Systems (SoS) approach has been suggested for modeling complex CPSs to achieve a higher level goal, by dynamically building a large system with existing autonomous, and heterogeneous constituent systems (CSs). An important challenge in a system of Cyber-Physical Systems (SoCPSs) is to develop seamless collaboration between autonomous constituent-CPSs (CCPSs) to coordinate their operations. In this paper, we propose an agent based coordination mechanism to coordinate resource allocation and demand in SoCPSs. The approach models each CCPS as an agent and describes how multiple autonomous CCPSs, i.e., Virtual Power Plant (VPP), Commercial Greenhouse Growers (CGGs), communicate and collaborate with each other asynchronously through negotiation and how potential conflicts between CCPSs with conflicting goals are resolved. The efficacy of the proposed mechanism is validated through simulation of different real-world acyclic SoCPSs topologies. The results show that proposed approach is able to balance the individual requirements of multiple connected CPSs while achieving SoCPSs’ mission.

Detecting and Mitigating Social Dysfunction within Systems of Systems

ABSTRACTWhat are systems engineers supposed to do when social dysfunction leads to operational dysfunction? This article elaborates on a means of assessing the managerial relationships between the organizations that own constituent systems (CS) within a system of systems (SoS), with a goal of detecting social dysfunction that could adversely affect operations. For each of the relationship types, or affinity options, tangible, actionable guidance is offered that could help mitigate the social and operational dysfunctions. Results from a case study are included to illustrate the application, detection, and successful mitigation of social dysfunction within a system of systems.

Perancangan Simulasi Hardware-in-The-Loop Untuk Sistem Manajemen Baterai

In a Microgrid system that relies on renewable energy generation, one of the most important constituent systems is the Battery Energy Storage System because of its vital role in maintaining the stability of the Microgrid in providing power to the load. However, to operate the battery, a Battery Management System is needed to ensure the battery operates at the desired working range, so that battery reliability can be maintained. To determine the behavior of the Microgrid and the designed BMS in accordance with the desired specifications, a Hardware-inthe-Loop (HIL) Simulation has been designed using Simulink to model a DC Microgrid which consists of several sub-systems such as: An ideally designed generator and load as a tester, a bidirectional buck and boost converter with a PI controller, and a battery system equipped with a Switched Shunt Resistor Cell Balancing type, all controlled using the BMS algorithm implemented on Arduino. From the test results, it is found that HIL can communicate with good QoS on various inputs as long as the Arduino sample time meets. Then the PI controller with HIL was able to improve converter performance and also succeeded in controlling cell balancing with the efficiency of charging and idle modes of 99% and 99.4% respectively. Finally, in testing the integrated system, the BMS can maintain the performance of the Microgrid with bus voltage and battery current parameters in various SoC conditions and generator voltage fluctuations, even though there are high voltage transients.

An Investigation of the Miscibility Gap Controlling Phase Formation in Refractory Metal High Entropy Superalloys via the Ti-Nb-Zr Constituent System

Refractory metal high entropy superalloys (RSAs) have been heralded as potential new high temperature structural materials. They have nanoscale cuboidal bcc+B2 microstructures that are thought to form on quenching through a spinodal decomposition process driven by the Ta-Zr or Nb-Zr miscibility gaps, followed by ordering of one of the bcc phases. However, it is difficult to isolate the role of different elemental interactions within compositionally complex RSAs. Therefore, in this work the microstructures produced by the Nb-Zr miscibility gap within the compositionally simpler Ti-Nb-Zr constituent system were investigated. A systematic series of alloys with compositions of Ti5NbxZr95−x (x = 25–85 at.%) was studied following quenching from solution heat treatment and long duration thermal exposures at 1000, 900 and 700 °C for 1000 h. During exposures at 900 °C and above the alloys resided in a single bcc phase field. At 700 °C, alloys with 40–75 at.% Nb resided within a three phase bcc + bcc + hcp phase field and a large misfit, 4.7–5%, was present between the two bcc phases. Evidence of nanoscale cuboidal microstructures was not observed, even in slow cooled samples. Whilst it was not possible to conclusively determine whether a spinodal decomposition occurs within this ternary system, these insights suggest that Nb-Zr interactions may not play a significant role in the formation of the nanoscale cuboidal RSA microstructures during cooling.

Microstructural and mechanical characterization of stainless steel 420 and Inconel 718 multi-material structures fabricated using laser directed energy deposition

Varying material properties are required for components designed to withstand harsh environments with simultaneous thermal and mechanical loading. This has been traditionally achieved by using multiple materials fabricated by traditional processes, followed by permanent or non-permanent joining techniques to realize a full, multi-material and multi-functional component. A potential simpler approach to this is to develop multi-material structures fabricated using additive manufacturing (AM). Additionally, many existing structures in can also be simplified by incorporating multi-material and multi-functional structures. Laser directed energy deposition (laser-DED) AM technique is suitable for fabricating multi-material structures using powdered feedstock material with high material flexibility. However, the fabrication of multi-material structures requires careful investigation into the compatibility and behavior of the constituent material systems. This remains a crucial task for multi-material deposition because there is relatively less knowledge available currently on the optimal multi-material mixtures for achieving adequate structural integrity and mechanical performance. In this study, multi-material structures of stainless steel 420 (SS420) and Inconel 718 (IN718) alloys were studied. These alloys were chose due to their applications in gas turbine components such as shaft assemblies, exhaust components and in the energy industry for fabricating various high strength, corrosion resistant devices. The specific compositions of the multi-materials structures investigated were: 100% SS420, 100% IN718, 75% SS420 + 25% IN718, 50% SS420 + 50% IN718 and 75% IN718 + 25% SS420. These samples were characterized for their microstructural, phase, and mechanical properties in the as-fabricated condition and compared with conventionally fabricated alloys. Significant differences in the microstructure and properties were observed between the laser-DED fabricated 100% alloys and mixtures of the two alloys. The laser-DED fabricated SS420 and IN718 alloys showed rapidly solidified microstructures typical to laser processes and properties comparable or better than the conventionally fabricated alloys. The three mixtures of SS420 and IN718 alloys showed microstructure and phases that were intermediate between the two unmixed alloys, as well as a higher amount of metallic carbide and Laves phases. Hardness and tensile tests indicated that the three mixtures of SS420 and IN718 were weaker than the unmixed laser-DED fabricated alloys due to the brittle carbide and Laves phases. Amongst the mixture, the mixture composition of 25%SS420 + 75%IN718 has showed highest strength and ductility.

A Metrics Framework to Facilitate Integration of Disaggregated Software Development

AbstractContemporary defence information system developments are moving towards utilising Continuous Iterative Development (CID) employing cloud native software development approaches involving many contractors delivering various components. The key questions for capability managers not familiar with CID developments revolve around knowing how well the development is progressing and understanding how well the constituent systems to be delivered will integrate as time goes by. The authors were tasked to produce a metrics framework to address these questions and the resulting new construction is presented along with the key metrics and integration matrices. The paper concludes that the matrices will readily identify integration issues very early in the program because their instantiation will necessitate the evaluation of all nominated services between the constituent systems.