Lifetime Maintenance Research Articles

State of the Art Care in Computer-Assisted Facial Prosthetic Rehabilitation.

Autologous reconstruction for major facial defects is primarily considered for patient's lifetime care. There are situations, however, when autologous reconstruction is not ideal or feasible, and prosthetic reconstruction is necessary to reconstruct missing anatomy or to complement surgical reconstruction. The history of facial prosthetic reconstruction can be traced for millennia. At our craniofacial center, craniomaxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation has been incorporated in the care provided to our patients since the center's inception, more than 70 years ago.The purpose of this review is to present the evolution of our current thinking based on our long experience since the implementation of computer-assistive technologies over 15 years ago, to further improve our patients' overall rehabilitation.These applications include all stages of prosthetic care from planning, design through device delivery, and for lifetime maintenance. The collaboration among surgeons and anaplastologists is fundamental to achieving optimal patient outcomes and in the success of our technology-based practice. Such collaboration starts with the patient's decision to proceed with prosthetic rehabilitation and continues with postoperative care and lifetime management of the patient's prosthetic device and prosthesis-bearing soft tissue.Although computer-assistive techniques often represent a substantial financial investment, the benefits of using them demonstrate clear advantages to both the clinician and patient. These benefits include: Improved predictability of outcomes, surgeon preparedness, reduction in operating room time, reduction in overall treatment times, improved precision and anatomical accuracy, improved treatment efficiencies, and overall treatment experience, particularly for those patients traveling great distances for access to care.Representative examples will be presented.

Lifetime maintenance (care) contract: origin, formation, legal characteristic

The article examines the legal characteristics of the contract of life maintenance (care), as well as the emergence and formation. It is noted that the process of emergence and formation of legal relations for life maintenance (care) was significantly influenced by classical Roman law. Roman law itself laid the foundations for further development of the mechanism for concluding this treaty, which is certainly positive for the modern development of contractual constructions in general, and the contract of lifetime maintenance (care) in particular. It is believed that the Civil Code of the Ukrainian SSR is the first piece of legislation of 1963, which regulated in detail the relationship of life maintenance (care). The debatable issues that arise during the legal regulation of the contract of life maintenance (care) are considered. The legal characteristics of this type of contract are studied and attention is focused on the obligations of the parties to this contract. In particular, it is emphasized that under the contract of lifetime maintenance (care), these obligations are effectively exhausted with the transfer to the purchaser of ownership of real estate, which is not encumbered by collateral, as well as movable property of significant value.

BENCHMARKING OF THE SERPENT 2 MONTE CARLO CODE FOR FUSION NEUTRONICS APPLICATIONS

Analyses of radiation fields resulting from a deuterium-tritium (DT) plasma in fusion devices is a critical input to the design and validation of many aspects of the reactor design, including, shielding, material lifetime and remote maintenance requirements/scheduling. Neutronics studies, which perform in-depth analysis are typically performed using radiation transport codes such as MCNP, TRIPOLI, Serpent, FLUKA and OpenMC. The Serpent 2 Monte-Carlo code, developed by VTT in Finland, is the focus of this work which seeks to benchmark the code for fusion applications. The application of Serpent 2 in fusion specific analysis requires validation of the codes performance in an energy range, and a geometrical description, which significantly differs to conventional nuclear fission analysis, for which the code was originally developed. A Serpent model of the Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG) Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) mock up experiment has been prepared and the calculated results compared against experimental data, as well as the reference Monte Carlo code MCNP. The analysis is extended to a model of DEMO with HCPB blanket concept. For this model, the flux, nuclear heating, tritium production and DPA are calculated, all of which are integral nuclear responses in fusion reactor analysis. In general, a very good agreement is demonstrated for both of the benchmarks, with any discrepancies pinpointed to different physics models implemented.

Types of Contractual Obligations with the Participation of the State of Ukraine

It is established that the state of Ukraine can be a party to civil agreements. It is determined that agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine are mostly bilateral, paid, can be both real and consensual, and are concluded in writing. At the same time, the state of Ukraine cannot be a party to public contracts, and therefore is not a party to the contract of retail sale, rental agreement, household contract, bank deposit, etc. In the vast majority of cases, agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine are mixed, as they contain elements of different types of agreements. The legal framework on the types of agreements in which the state of Ukraine may be a party is analyzed, and the methods underlying the division are identified. Thus, according to the method of concluding agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine are divided into: concluded at the auction and accession agreements. According to the obligation to conclude agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine, they are obligatory and voluntary. According to the method of fixing the terms of the contract they are standard and model contracts. By main areas of application the agreements can be fuel and energy; defensive (military); banking, etc. By territory of action the agreements are divided into domestic and foreign. The article provides a general description of each type of agreement with the participation of the state of Ukraine. In particular, the following subject classification of agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine was introduced: agreements on transfer of property to ownership; agreements on the transfer of property for temporary possession and use; agreements for the performance of works and provision of services. Thus, agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine on the transfer of property to ownership are a contract of sale and gift. In this case, contracts of sale may be concluded in the form of contracts for the purchase, redemption, supply, contracting of agricultural products. A lease agreement and a loan are included to the agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine on the transfer of property into temporary possession and use. Agreements with the participation of the state of Ukraine on the performance of works and provision of services include a concession agreement, production sharing agreements, joint venture agreement, storage agreements, commission instructions, property management, as well as credit, loan. It is investigated that the state of Ukraine cannot be a party to the contract of supply of electric or other resources through the connected network, rent, lifetime maintenance, some lease agreements, insurance contract, agreements on disposition of intellectual property rights, etc.

WITHDRAWN: Reduction in information loss due to isolated and dumb nodes using ant colony optimization for WSN

A Wireless Sensor Network is a collection of miniature devices known as Sensors that are intended for the purpose of sensing and sending data and information to the sink. They are used in various applications and in areas that require continuous monitoring such as military fields and medical cabins. The most critical issue or the important criteria regarding this WSN is energy conservation and lifetime maintenance. Although various clustering and routing mechanisms are proposed for WSNs, the problem remains unsolved and still it remains as a popular research topic. One such idea to improve the lifetime improvement is the effective usage of the isolated and dumb nodes in the network. Dumb nodes are different from the isolated ones. The nodes that continue sensing but unable to send the data is categorized as dumb nodes while the nodes that aren’t included into clusters are called isolated nodes. We have proposed a method known as RILoID-ACO (Ant Colony Optimization enriched scheme for Reduction in information loss in the occurrence of Dumb and isolated nodes) that enables the practice of mobile mule in collecting the data from isolated and dumb nodes by enhancing a trust parameter. Success probability of 100% and data loss protection over 19% is obtained as the result of simulation that shows the success of the proposed system.

A simplified method for holistic value of information computation for informed structural integrity management under uncertainty

Collecting structural information by inspection or monitoring is important means to reduce uncertainty and improve the qualities of maintenance decisions in structural integrity management. However, information collecting inevitably involves some costs. When information collecting brings added value and to what extent uncertainty reduction suffices are questions that are often not fully accounted for before information collecting activities are carried out. Value of information (VoI) computation helps justifying investments and informing efficient strategies for information collecting. This paper develops a holistic approach to quantify the VoI from multiple inspections in the lifetime of an engineering structure, taking into account combined effects of lifetime maintenance interventions. The approach can be used for holistic planning and optimization of lifetime inspections at an early stage. Also, a simplified VoI computation approach is developed for some maintenance decision cases based on an alignment decision strategy (ADS). The approaches are exemplified on a typical marine structure, and sensitivities of VoI to the number of planned interventions, cost ratio, inspection times and methods are studied. It is shown that the ADS and the simplified method are well applicable when the number of planned interventions is large. The optimal maintenance decisions and inspection times obtained by VoI-based and cost-based optimization methods are compared.

Investigation on inspection scheduling for the maintenance of tunnel with different degradation modes

Inspection scheduling is an important task in the maintenance of tunnels, which will obviously affect the lifetime maintenance cost and risk. Traditional periodic inspection with fixed inspection interval has low efficiency in the early age or high risk in the later age of tunnel. This study aims at developing a novel non-periodic inspection policy and investigating the adaptability of several inspection scheduling functions with different degradation modes. Three classical degradation modes (namely, accelerated, decelerated and stationary) are categorized to describe the potential trends of degradation, and they are modeled by non-stationary Gamma process in a unified form. The effects of three types of inspection scheduling functions on the tunnel maintenance are compared in the view of the expectation of lifetime maintenance cost. The results of the numerical analysis show that inspection schedule function f2(x) (in the form of a convex curve) always yields the lowest maintenance cost, regardless of the degradation mode of tunnel. The results indicate that the inspection scheduling function in the type of a convex function is the best and shortening the inspection interval is an effective measure to reduce maintenance cost and risk. The proposed method and the obtained results are helpful for practitioners to make more effective inspection scheduling and to reduce both risk and cost associated with the maintenance of tunnels.

Techno-Economic Modelling of Tidal Energy Converter Arrays in the Tacoma Narrows

Hydrokinetic tidal energy converter (TEC) technology is yet to become cost competitive with other renewable energy sources. Understanding the interaction between energy production and the costs incurred harvesting that energy may unlock the economic potential of this technology. Although hydrodynamic simulation of TEC arrays has matured over time, including demonstration of how small and large arrays affect the resource, integration of cost modelling is often limited. The advanced ocean energy array techno-economic modelling tool ‘DTOcean’ enables designers to calculate and improve the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of an array through parametric simulation of the energy extraction, design of the electrical network, moorings and foundations, and simulation of the installation and lifetime operations and maintenance of the array. This work presents a verification of DTOcean’s ability to simulate the techno-economic performance of TEC arrays by reproducing the hypothetical RM1 reference model, a semi-analytical model of a TEC array based in the Tacoma Narrows of Washington state, U.S.A. It is demonstrated that DTOcean can produce a reasonable estimate to the LCOE predicted by the reference model, giving (in Euro cents per kiloWatt hour) 36.69 ¢/kWh against the reference model’s 34.612 ¢/kWh for 10 TECs, while for 50 TECs, DTOcean calculated 20.34 ¢/kWh compared to 17.34 ¢/kWh for the reference model.

NSHT: New Smart Hybrid Transducer for Structural and Geotechnical Applications

This work describes the application of a new transducer prototype for continuous monitoring in both the structural and geotechnical fields. The transducer is synthetically constituted by a wire of optical fiber embedded between two fiber tapes (fiberglass or carbon fiber) and glued by a matrix of polyester resin. The fiber optical wire ends have been connected to a control unit whose detection system is based on Brillouin optical time-domain frequency analysis. Three laboratory tests were carried out to evaluate the sensor’s reliability and accuracy. In each experiment, the transducer was applied to a sample of inclinometer casing sets in different configurations and with different constraint conditions. The experimental collected data were compared with theoretical models and with data obtained from the use of different measuring instruments to perform validation and calibration of the transducer at the same time. Several diagrams can compare the transducer and highlight its suitability for the monitoring and maintenance of structures. The characteristic of the transducer suggests its use as a mixed system for reinforcing and monitoring, especially in the lifetime maintenance of critical infrastructures such as transportation and service networks, and historical heritage.

Risk-based decision-making on corrosion delay for ship hull tankers

Corrosion addition, as defined by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), is a proactive design measure against corrosion-induced structural deterioration. In conjunction with regular dry-docking maintenance (e.g., coating and steel renewal), corrosion addition is aimed to sustain the intended functionality of a corroding ship toward the end of its service life. It is expected that corrosion addition can improve hull strength and save the lifetime maintenance cost. However, the benefit of upfront steel investment in corrosion addition on the ship’s life-cycle cost, including construction, dry-docking maintenance, and failure consequence, remains unclear. Obtaining such knowledge is very helpful in ship design and lifetime dry-docking planning. This paper presents a risk-based approach to study the most economically optimal corrosion addition. The method is illustrated on a very large crude carrier (VLCC) and the benefit analysis takes into account different magnitudes of the construction, dry-docking, steel renewal, and failure costs. The results show that corrosion addition by IACS may not be economically optimal; the reduction in the life-cycle cost through corrosion addition and the optimal corrosion addition achieving the maximum benefit varies with the item costs specified.

Optimal Preventive Maintenance of Wind Turbine Components with Imperfect Continuous Condition Monitoring

Among the different maintenance techniques applied to wind turbine (WT) components, online condition monitoring is probably the most promising technique. The maintenance models based on online condition monitoring have been examined in many studies. However, no study has considered preventive maintenance models with incorporated probabilities of correct and incorrect decisions made during continuous condition monitoring. This article presents a mathematical model of preventive maintenance, with imperfect continuous condition monitoring of the WT components. For the first time, the article introduces generalized expressions for calculating the interval probabilities of false positive, true positive, false negative, and true negative when continuously monitoring the condition of a WT component. Mathematical equations that allow for calculating the expected cost of maintenance per unit of time and the average lifetime maintenance cost are derived for an arbitrary distribution of time to degradation failure. A numerical example of WT blades maintenance illustrates that preventive maintenance with online condition monitoring reduces the average lifetime maintenance cost by 11.8 times, as compared to corrective maintenance, and by at least 4.2 and 2.6 times, compared with predetermined preventive maintenance for low and high crack initiation rates, respectively.

Design and Analysis of a Propeller Blade Used for Marine Engine

Most of the marine propellers are made of metal material such as bronze or steel. The advantages of replacing metal with CFRP composite materials are that the latter is lighter and corrosion-resistant. Another important advantage is that the deformation of the composite propeller can be controlled to improve its performance. Propellers always rotate at a constant velocity that maximizes the efficiency of the engine. When the ship sails at the designed speed, the inflow angle is close to its pitch angle. When the ship sails at a lower speed, the inflow angle is smaller. Hence, the pressure on the propeller increases as the ship speed decreases. The propulsion efficiency is also low when the inflow angle is far from the pitch angle. If the pitch angle can be reduced when the inflow angle is low, then the efficiency of the propeller can be improved. In addition the load-bearing fibers can be aligned and stacked to reduce fluttering and to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency. Composites can offer the potential benefits of reduced corrosion and cavitations damage, improved fatigue performance, lower noise, improved material damping properties, and reduced lifetime maintenance cost. Traditionally marine propellers are made of manganese-nickel-aluminum-bronze (MAB) or nickel-aluminum-bronze (NAB) for superior corrosion resistance, high-yield strength, reliability, and affordability.

STATE-ORIENTED MAINTENANCE STRATEGY FOR DETERIORATING SEGMENTAL LINING OF TUNNEL

The lining of tunnel is the principal part in ensuring its usage for transportation or utilities. Maintenance during operation is the way to keep structure in the state of high performance. To consider the efficiency of maintenance within limited resources (maintenance cost), state-oriented maintenance (SOM) approach is proposed. The SOM approach takes service state of the tunnel lining as a levelled target which should be maintained by different degrees of repairing measures. The evolution of service state of tunnel lining is modelled as a non-stationary Gamma process in this investigation, as this process can characteristic the variations of degradation rates. Two cases of numerical analysis with SOM approach give their lifetime maintenance costs. Case one (MS-1) sets SOM strategy with two-levelled service state. The other case (MS-2) adopts SOM strategy with multi-levelled service state. The numerical results demonstrate that the later one would reduce maintenance cost during the whole service life of tunnel lining.

Woodchip bioreactors as treatment for recirculating aquaculture systems’ wastewater: A cost assessment of nitrogen removal

Denitrifying “woodchip” bioreactors are engineered systems, consisting of a carbon filled trench (e.g., with woodchips), designed to remediate nitrogen (N)-enriched water through naturally occurring denitrification, a process where microbes reduce nitrate into inert di-nitrogen gas during their respiration processes. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of woodchip bioreactors for treating aquacultural wastewater, specifically the concentrated effluents generated from recirculating aquaculture (RAS), with the caveat that system lifespan can be reduced from clogging associated with high organic solids loading and bacterial overgrowth. Because this technology is relatively new, particularly for aquaculture applications, lifetime cost-efficiency has not been fully assessed. A cost-estimate of N removal over a one- to five-year anticipated lifespan was obtained by estimating initial capital, recurring, and operational expenditures of a full-scale bioreactor system designed for a RAS production facility, using N removal rates from previous pilot-scale aquaculture wastewater bioreactor research. Assumptions included static N removal rates of 6.06 or 11.75 kg of N removal per year for conservative and maximum sensitivities, respectively 49 and 71% N removal efficiency, and at least one woodchip replacement over the system lifetime across a ten-year planning horizon. Initial capital expenditure totaled $47,838 or roughly $139.88 per m3 installed with woodchip replacements each $19,469. Ten-year operational expenditure total present value costs included of $3737 for water quality work and $4666 for lifetime maintenance. Cost per kg of N removed per year ranged from $13.35 to $2.83, dependent on woodchip replacement scenarios of one- to five-years, respectively, which demonstrated denitrification bioreactors might offer a low-cost N treatment option for aquacultural farmers.

Identification of barriers in the reintegration of Pakistan military amputees at the workplace: A cross-sectional survey

Many soldiers and officers of Pakistan army have suffered major limb loss in the war against terrorism. Amputee rehabilitation leads to successful community reintegration but certain barriers can hinder this process. This study aims to identify barriers in the reintegration of Pakistan military amputees at their workplace and to suggest remedial measures. Cross-sectional survey was planned and hospital ethics committee approval was obtained. Two part survey was constructed consisting of demographics and questions about the possible barriers in the workplace. Fifty-eight military amputees (20–60 years, with disability class A and B due to major amputation of a limb) were approached and requested to fill in the questionnaire after explaining the rationale and possible benefits of the study. Response rate was 100%. All patients were males. Most of the patients had transtibial amputation (41). Majority were matriculate and earned between Rs 20,000–40,000 (53.4%) All patients were provided with latest modular prosthesis of Ottobock (Germany) and Ossur (USA), free of cost with life time maintenance and replacement by AFIRM. Majority of the patients had accessible washrooms in units, could ambulate independently, were confident after provision of prosthesis and were spared by their units for timely follow-up. Amputee rehabilitation can lead to successful and complete community reintegration. Pakistan army is providing comprehensive amputee rehabilitation services to those who sustain a limb loss. However, certain barriers can hinder the rehabilitation process and it is important to identify and remove these barriers for better functional outcomes in amputees.

SOLAR POWER ANALYZER: A PHYSICAL AND CYBER SYSTEM FOR SOLAR ENERGY COMPUTATION

The electricity requirements of the world are increasing at alarming rate and the power demand has been running ahead of supply. It is now recognized that the fossil fuels (i.e. coal, petroleum and natural gas) and other conventional resources, presently being used for electricity generation may not be sufficient to keep pace with the demands. Another major disadvantage of fossil fuels is environmental degradation .The burning of fossil fuels in conversion to energy creates waste of H2O and CO2. CO2 being a greenhouse gas is major cause of global warming. All this facts promote us to use renewable energy resources (Solar energy, Wind energy etc.). Amongst all, the most sustainable renewable resource is solar energy which is free, clean and inexhaustible. Solar panels are responsible for converting solar energy into electricity. The advantages of employing the photovoltaic cells include no production of pollutants during operation, silent, long lifetime and low maintenance. The only concern is unawareness about solar energy among individuals and the number of resources needed to produce electricity. Solar Power Analyzer estimates the number of solar panels required to generate sufficient electricity for a given place based on the users location .We calculate number of solar panels required for the given area. For a given location using the data provided by NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Website we find the amount of electricity generated and also display it graphically.

ПРАВОВЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ НАЦІОНАЛІЗАЦІЇ

The article discusses the issues of latent and direct nationalization (eminent domain) in the Ukrainian economy, foreign use of nationalization, e.g. in the United States of America (USA), the French Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan. In particular, the active participation of jurors in the nationalization procedure in the United States, examples of effective use of nationalization in the French Republic, and the comprehensive law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on state property. Theoretical and empirical basis for this study were the scientific definitions of nationalization, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine bills, current regulations, which indirectly indicate the forced transfer of ownership from a private entity to the state. The authorial definition of the concept of nationalization is offered, but in modern conditions of market economy and democratic political regime. Given the regulatory importance of nationalization (as well as privatization) for the economy, it is stated that before nationalization it is necessary to prepare a forecast of socio-economic consequences, and nationalization itself should be appropriate, adequate, effective, balanced, predictable, transparent and take into account public opinion, comply with the legal economic regime. The structure of legal relations on nationalization is considered: subjects, object, rights, and duties. The role of the employees and administration for positioning the business entity as an active participant and not a passive object of legal relations is considered. The possibility of applying other agreements during the nationalization of the business entity, except as a contract of sale, namely: rent and lifetime maintenance, are considered. Ways to improve the efficiency of resolving the issue of returning privatized enterprises to state ownership and the application of the institution of operational and economic sanctions in privatization agreements are proposed. The currently available ways to protect the rights and legitimate interests in the nationalization procedure are analyzed. E.g. it is proposed to extend the institution of property liability insurance to cases of expropriation, as currently nationalization and expropriation are classified by insurers as non-insured events.

Establishing a Formation of Small Satellites in a Lunar Flower Constellation

The success of previous lunar science missions can be expanded upon by using a constellation of satellites to increase the lunar surface coverage. A constellation could also serve as a communications or GPS network for a lunar human base. Small-sats, deployed from a single mothercraft, are proposed to achieve a lunar constellation. The establishment of a single- and multi-petal constellation is investigated where the mothercraft does the primary deployment maneuvers. The constellation lifetime and closed-loop maintenance are addressed once higher order lunar gravity fields and Earth/solar perturbations are included.

Inflammatory signals in HSPC development and homeostasis: Too much ofagood thing?

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in the bone marrow and are responsible for the lifetime maintenance of the blood and bone marrow, achieved through their differentiation into the myriad cellular components and their ability to generate additional stem cells via self-renewal. Identification of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate how the HSC population is maintained over the lifespan of an organism, or those that trigger differentiation into mature hematopoietic cell types, are important goals for regenerative medicine. Recent studies have found that inflammatory signals play a role in the regulation of adult HSC homeostasis and tonic innate immune signals influence HSC development during embryogenesis. Additionally, dysregulation of inflammatory cytokines, and the consequent impact of this on hematopoietic progenitors, may be a contributing factor to the hematopoietic defects that occur during aging and in patients with bone marrow failure syndromes or blood cancers. To update recent findings on this topic, the International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH) organized a webinar entitled "The Role of Inflammatory Signals in Embryonic HSC Development and Adult HSC Function," which we summarize here.

Integrated Toolset for WSN Application Planning, Development, Commissioning and Maintenance: The WSN-DPCM ARTEMIS-JU Project.

In this article we present the main results obtained in the ARTEMIS-JU WSN-DPCM project between October 2011 and September 2015. The first objective of the project was the development of an integrated toolset for Wireless sensor networks (WSN) application planning, development, commissioning and maintenance, which aims to support application domain experts, with limited WSN expertise, to efficiently develop WSN applications from planning to lifetime maintenance. The toolset is made of three main tools: one for planning, one for application development and simulation (which can include hardware nodes), and one for network commissioning and lifetime maintenance. The tools are integrated in a single platform which promotes software reuse by automatically selecting suitable library components for application synthesis and the abstraction of the underlying architecture through the use of a middleware layer. The second objective of the project was to test the effectiveness of the toolset for the development of two case studies in different domains, one for detecting the occupancy state of parking lots and one for monitoring air concentration of harmful gasses near an industrial site.