Numerical Construction Research Articles

Design and implementation of eye tracking application for generation of augmented reality content on spatial see through display of remote and virtual control tower (RVT)

Airports are a fundamental node in the aviation system. The growth of this sector undergoes the evolution of the airports procedures and infrastructures. Air traffic control is considered to be one of the most important activity performed in an airport. This often involves numerous personnel, construction and maintenance costs etc. With the ongoing digitalisation process in various fields, the concept of remote and virtual control towers (RVT) has emerged owing to the innovation in this field. Technologies such as augmented reality (AR) have successfully paved their smooth way to bring in improvements to an RVT. The current work aims to enhance and improve the controller work in an RVT exploiting the adaption of virtual reality and AR systems. In particular, this concept is under investigation within the EU funded SESAR project: RETINA (Resilient Synthetic Vision for Advanced Control Tower Air Navigation Service Provision) and DTT (Digital Technologies for Tower). AR content generation by virtue of various display technologies are studied and, Optical Spatial See-through displays (O SSTDs) have been considered for its own advantages in developing this application. One of the necessary requirements of AR in this configuration is identified as the tracking of the operator’s point of view (eye-tracking), to provide virtual content consistent with its real position. Thus, this paper elaborates the design of specific eye-tracking system using Microsoft Kinect V2 for the virtual control tower application. The need to have binocular vision to use AR content is assessed and the interface has been tested with few subjects to evaluate the precision of the measurements detected through the proposed solution.

Flexural Behaviour of Two Ribbed SFRC Slab Reinforced with GFRP Bars

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation on the application of steel fibres (SF) in combination with glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as the steel reinforcement replacement in a ribbed slab structure. The promising ability of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) to reduce the formation of cracks and increase the tensile strength of concrete has made it an attractive composite material for numerous civil construction applications. However, previous research had shown that the performance of the steel fibres on their own to replace steel reinforcements is still in doubt. Therefore, the GFRP bar is chosen due to its structural performance with flexural reinforcement with less weight and corrosion resistance. The influence of the steel fibres and GFRP bars on the two-ribbed slab flexural performance was investigated. Three (3) numbers of slab panels were cast, consisting of one solid SFRC slab (solid-SF), one SFRC ribbed slab (rib-SF), and one SFRC ribbed slab reinforced with GFRP bars (rib-SF-GFRP). All slab samples measuring 1000 mm x 1500 mm x 75 mm thickness were tested under bending and the results showed that the SFRC ribbed slab reinforced with GFRP (rib-SF-GFRP) is efficient in the flexural performance by exhibiting the highest first crack and ultimate load.

Strength and cost analysis of concrete made from three different recycled coarse aggregates

Concrete remains the only choice for most structures among numerous construction materials, and after water, it is the most widely used material. Recycling waste materials is one of the greatest challenges to construction sustainability. The rapid developments in the construction sectors and industrialization have forced to the demolition of many existing bricks and concrete structures, thus producing numerous amounts of demolished concrete waste worldwide. The construction waste and generation of demolished concrete is growing continuously worldwide. Several researchers investigated the performance of recycled concrete aggregate instead of natural aggregate and found positive results regarding strength and durability. It is also obvious that above 75% of construction waste has some residue value and can be reused in construction, which can be very beneficial to preventing the pollution of the environment as well. However, research on the sustainability of using demolished concrete waste can be supportive of protecting the world’s ecosystem, preserving natural assets, and improving the ecological conditions of all existing creatures on earth. This article represents the research on three combinations of concrete mixtures prepared with partially replaced three coarse aggregates: recycled brick aggregate, recycled concrete stone aggregate and recycled concrete brick aggregate. The primary analysis was accompanied based on the concrete compressive strength with various percentages of substitutive materials. Then a cost analysis is also carried out in this research, and eventually, a combination of the highest strength at minimum cost is pointed out. Another goal of this research is to identify how these supplementary materials of coarse aggregate can be used more, considering advantages as well as drawbacks keeping in mind that concrete is the most broadly used man-made material.

Love's a dance you learn as you go: Evidence for interpersonal complementarity during romantic conflict and its association with relationship outcomes

AbstractHigh‐quality romantic bonds benefit people. Extant literature has explored many individual and relational factors that contribute to high‐quality relationships, yet research on how moment‐to‐moment behaviours predict quality is still in the nascent stages. The current study explored interpersonal complementarity on warmth and dominance as one index of moment‐to‐moment interaction dynamics in romantic relationships. The sample included 180 couples (360 individuals), examined at 10‐s intervals, over the course of an 8‐min conflict discussion. Analysis confirmed the predicted pattern of complementarity such that people adjusted their behaviours in response to their partner's behaviour, engaging in similar levels of warmth and opposite levels of dominance (Hypothesis 1). Additionally, results revealed that relationship length was logarithmically related to dominance complementarity, whereas it was not significantly related to warmth complementarity (Hypothesis 2). Finally, dominance and warmth complementarity were differentially associated with numerous relational constructs (Hypothesis 3a/3b).

Design and Development of Granular Fuzzy Rule-Based Models for Knowledge Transfer

As an effective way for knowledge representation and processing, fuzzy rule-based models have been extensively studied and widely used in practice. In many circumstances, a very limited amount of data or insufficient computational resources make the construction of accurate models a genuine challenge. In this study, a granular augmentation of fuzzy rule-based models is proposed with intent to realize knowledge transfer in system modeling. This research mainly focuses on how to effectively exploit the existing fuzzy model, which has been constructed on extensive previously acquired experimental evidence and could be regarded as source of knowledge, in a new environment where only very limited experimental evidence is available. Rather than constructing a new model from scratch, knowledge conveyed by the existing model could be retained and reused in the target domain. The originality and innovation of this study lies in the adaption of the existing model to the new environment through optimal allocation of information granularity to produce granular fuzzy models, which are more abstract and general than the original numeric constructs. The granular fuzzy models yield results in a granular form whose quality is evaluated using the coverage and specificity criteria.

Eco-toxicological Health Status of Fish, Quality of the Estuary and their Impacts on Human Health: A Case Study of Consumers in Rabat, Morocco

The geographical location of Morocco is surrounded by two seas: The Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, and more than 3,000 km of coastline. This great maritime richness translates into a remarkable consumption of fish by Moroccans. Fishing in Morocco, particularly in the area around the capital Rabat, revealed a rich variety of aquatic life. Oued Bouregreg is the second major river in Morocco and has its source in the Middle Atlas at an altitude of 1627 m. This basin is drained by three main hydrological arteries: The Oued Bouregreg, the Oued Grou, and the Oued Korifla. Due to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam's construction, the Bouregreg estuary's ecosystem has been completely disrupted. As a result, the growth of the human population and industrial development poses a very serious threat to the aquatic ecosystem, the estuary's quality, and human health at the level of the Oued Bouregreg. Numerous construction initiatives have been recognized for the Bouregreg estuary since 2006, including the construction of the Grand Theatre, the Marina, and Tour Mohammed VI. The aim of this investigation was a statistical analysis that highlights the quality of the estuary as well as the effects of these construction projects on fish health and human health.&nbsp

From approximation to probability: bi’ + numeral constructions in Turkish

This paper provides a semantic analysis of bi’ + numeral constructions in Turkish (e.g., Markete varmak için bi’ 20 metre daha yürüyeceksin). Although there are similarities between bi'+ numeral constructions in Turkish and some+ numeral constructions in English, there are unexplained situations about the bi' structure in Turkish. We claim that the presence of the indefinite determiner bi’ ‘some’ in such constructions is licensed by the presence of the probability operator PROB at the sentence level.

Comparing a single pile's axial bearing capacity using numerical modeling and analytical techniques

It has become crucial to study the different pile types in terms of their performance and bearing capacity due to the growing use of different types of piles throughout numerous construction projects. The bearing capacity of piles has been determined for this purpose using various analytical, numerical (finite element and finite difference), and field approaches. To determine pile-bearing capacity, geotechnical engineers and accountants prefer to utilise analytical pile design methods, which take into consideration a variety of methodologies and the soil conditions for each method (such as adhesion, internal friction angle, etc.) Design decisions are made depending on the opinions that are expressed. By comparing the analytical and software results using Plaxis 2D software, using the design results of more than 30 heaps, and analysing prior studies, we attempted to gauge the validity of each of these approaches in this study. For the analyzed piles, the greatest relative error between the theoretical technique and the numerical approach utilised in this study was around 14%; however, this error can be greatly decreased by modifying the meshing and making it finer since the method answers the method. Based on the findings, it was concluded that accurate calculations of the bearing capacity of piles could be made using numerical models and appropriate behavior models for the soil and piles. Therefore, it is somewhat true, rational, and appropriate that numerical models can prevent costly loading tests on piles.

Experimental and numerical investigation on hydrodynamic behavior of a long curved pipeline system with multiple floating bodies in immersion construction

In practice, underwater pipeline needs to be designed into an irregular shape with multiple floating bodies due to special design and construction requirements. The pipeline alignment further increases the difficulty and risk of its immersion construction. With an aim to reduce the potential risk and cost, an in-depth experimental and numerical investigation is carried out using a large-scale wave-current flume and the OrcaFlex software, respectively, for examining the hydrodynamic behavior of a long curved river crossing pipeline system with multiple floating bodies. The results from numerical simulation, site construction, and model experiment are compared to assess the effectiveness of modeling, with an error of less than 5% between different approaches. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to understand the effect of deflate ways of gasbags, flow speed and coordination of hanger ropes. Results show that the irregular structure shape of the pipeline can induce the taut-slack phenomenon of hanger ropes. If the consistency in control of hanger ropes cannot be ensured, large tension could occur in different ropes. The present study provides important theoretical and technical guidance for construction of large-scale immersion systems of irregular shaped pipeline with multiple floating bodies.

Numerical Construction of the Transform of the Kernel of the Integral Representation of the Poincaré–Steklov Operator for an Elastic Strip

For an isotropic stratified elastic strip we consider the Poincaré–Steklov operator that maps normal stresses into normal displacements on part of the boundary. A new approach is proposed for constructing the transform of the kernel of the integral representation of this operator. A variational formulation of the boundary value problem for the transforms of displacements is obtained. A definition is given and the existence and uniqueness are proved for a generalized solution of the problem. An iteration method for solving variational equations is constructed, and conditions for its convergence are obtained based on the contraction mapping principle. The variational equations are approximated by the finite element method. As a result, at each step of the iteration method, it is required to solve two independent systems of linear algebraic equations, which are solved using the tridiagonal matrix algorithm. A heuristic algorithm is proposed for choosing the sequence of parameters of the iteration method that ensures its convergence. Verification of the developed computational algorithm is carried out, and recommendations on the use of adaptive finite element grids are given

Rapid Assessment of Membrane Protein Quality by Fluorescent Size Exclusion Chromatography.

During membrane protein structural elucidation and biophysical characterization, it is common to trial numerous protein constructs containing different tags, truncations, deletions, fusion partner insertions, and stabilizing mutations to find one that is not aggregated after extraction from the membrane. Furthermore, buffer screening to determine the detergent, additive, ligand, or polymer that provides the most stabilizing condition for the membrane protein is an important practice. The early characterization of membrane protein quality by fluorescent size exclusion chromatography provides a powerful tool to assess and rank different constructs or conditions without the requirement for protein purification, and this tool also minimizes the sample requirement. The membrane proteins must be fluorescently tagged, commonly by expressing them with a GFP tag or similar. The protein can be solubilized directly from whole cells and then crudely clarified by centrifugation; subsequently, the protein is passed down a size exclusion column, and a fluorescent trace is collected. Here, a method for running FSEC and representative FSEC data on the GPCR targets sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR1) and serotonin receptor (5HT2AR) are presented.

Limits of entrainment of circadian neuronal networks.

Circadian rhythmicity lies at the center of various important physiological and behavioral processes in mammals, such as sleep, metabolism, homeostasis, mood changes, and more. Misalignment of intrinsic neuronal oscillations with the external day-night cycle can disrupt such processes and lead to numerous disorders. In this work, we computationally determine the limits of circadian synchronization to external light signals of different frequency, duty cycle, and simulated amplitude. Instead of modeling circadian dynamics with generic oscillator models (e.g., Kuramoto-type), we use a detailed computational neuroscience model, which integrates biomolecular dynamics, neuronal electrophysiology, and network effects. This allows us to investigate the effect of small drug molecules, such as Longdaysin, and connect our results with experimental findings. To combat the high dimensionality of such a detailed model, we employ a matrix-free approach, while our entire algorithmic pipeline enables numerical continuation and construction of bifurcation diagrams using only direct simulation. We, thus, computationally explore the effect of heterogeneity in the circadian neuronal network, as well as the effect of the corrective therapeutic intervention of Longdaysin. Last, we employ unsupervised learning to construct a data-driven embedding space for representing neuronal heterogeneity.

Computing the area-minimizing surface by the Allen-Cahn equation with the fixed boundary

<abstract><p>The Allen-Cahn equation is a famous nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation used to study geometric motion and minimal hypersurfaces. This link has been scrutinized to construct minimal surfaces for many years. The shape of soap film is very interesting, and it can stimulate mathematical inspirations since it explains curvatures and equilibrium shapes in nature. There are many interesting ways to create area-minimizing surfaces with the boundaries, called frame boundaries. However, dealing with surface's ends (boundaries) numerically is not easy for constructing surfaces. This paper presents a mathematical formulation and numerical construction of area-minimizing surfaces, also known as minimal surfaces. We use differential geometry knowledge for numerical verification. The proposed numerical scheme involves fixed frame boundary conditions in the Laplacian operator. We treat the Laplacian with the constraint implicitly and explicitly solve the nonlinear free energy term. This approach ensures stable and efficient construction of area-minimizing surfaces with frame boundaries. In the numerical aspect, we suggest the construction of minimal surfaces by illustrating two classical examples, which are Scherk's minimal surface and catenoid. Both examples have the frame boundaries. Scherk's first surface is a doubly periodic, complete and properly embedded one with parallel ends. The catenoid is formed between two coaxial circular rings and is classified mathematically as the only properly embedded minimal surface with two ends and finite curvature. To be specific, we deal with two different frame boundaries, right angle frame and round frame boundaries, via two examples, Scherk's surface and catenoid.</p></abstract>

Characteristic Mode Decomposition Using the Scattering Dyadic in Arbitrary Full-Wave Solvers

Characteristic modes are formulated using the scattering dyadic, which maps incident plane waves to scattered far fields generated by an object of arbitrary material composition. Numerical construction of the scattering dyadic using arbitrary full-wave electromagnetic solvers is demonstrated in examples involving a variety of dielectric and magnetic materials. Wrapper functions for computing characteristic modes in method-of-moments, finite-difference time domain, and finite element solvers are provided as supplementary material.

Expected Competencies of Quantity Surveyors in Zimbabwe

Complex clients’ requirements and numerous construction industry challenges require an interrogation of the quantity surveyor’s competencies. This article reports on a study that sought to determine the expected competencies of quantity surveyors and to establish statistically significant differences in ranking due to quantity surveyor designations. A questionnaire survey research design was employed to collect the primary data. Quantity surveyors from all quantity surveying firms and those working for construction companies in the major cities of Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe participated in the study. Eight components were revealed through factor analysis, with the highest ranked component consisting of project finance control and reporting, sustainability issues and conflict avoidance management and dispute resolution procedures. While the traditional competencies of effective financial control and conflict management remain vital, sustainability issues have also become a priority. Hence, continuous professional development programmes and curricula redesigns that cater for these competencies are essential. A statistically significant difference due to the consultants’ and contractors’ quantity surveyor designations was revealed, indicating a differentiation of their roles. Thus, relevant weighted competency assessment frameworks also need to be instituted. However, owing to the exploratory nature of the study, only views of quantity surveyors were considered.

Numerical Construction of the Transform of the Kernel of the Integral Representation of the Poincaré–Steklov Operator for an Elastic Strip

Numerical Construction of the Transform of the Kernel of the Integral Representation of the Poincaré–Steklov Operator for an Elastic Strip

SailGenie: SAiling expertIse to knowLedge Graph through opEN Information Extraction

This work is focused on the sailing domain, for which several innovative technologies are being adopted to improve sailing efficiency, performance, and safety. In this context a knowledge graph could be used, for example, to represent information about different types of boats, sailing techniques, maritime safety, or weather conditions. Although numerous construction methods or ready-to-go knowledge graphs have been proposed in many fields, the sailing domain still needs to be explored. As the most effective methods rely on domain-specific datasets, the absence of suitable and available sailing datasets is one of the main challenges. Although several Open Information Extraction (OpenIE) methods may generate relevant triplets (the elementary units composing a knowledge graph) from arbitrary text without any additional information about its topic, such methods usually generate many incorrect triplets. In this paper, we aim (i) to address the aforementioned problem by proposing an innovative method that combines in an improved and strengthened way different OpenIE tools to generate proper triplets from domain-specific sources and, in particular, (ii) to build and release a suitable dataset for the sailing domain. Results confirm that our proposal can maximize the extracted information and infer unique information irretrievable by the classical OpenIE tools and, furthermore, that the generated dataset is significantly valuable for the sailing scenario.

Modified refinement algorithm to construct Lyapunov functions using meshless collocation

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>Lyapunov functions are functions with negative derivative along solutions of a given ordinary differential equation. Moreover, sublevel sets of a Lyapunov function are subsets of the domain of attraction of the equilibrium. One of the numerical construction methods for Lyapunov functions uses meshless collocation with radial basis functions.</p><p style='text-indent:20px;'>Recently, this method was combined with a grid refinement algorithm (GRA) to reduce the number of collocation points needed to construct Lyapunov functions. However, depending on the choice of the initial set of collocation point, the algorithm can terminate, failing to compute a Lyapunov function. In this paper, we propose a modified grid refinement algorithm (MGRA), which overcomes these shortcomings by adding appropriate collocation points using a clustering algorithm. The modified algorithm is applied to two- and three-dimensional examples.</p>

Numeral classifiers in Kazakh

Abstract Many languages distinguish numeral classifiers in their grammar systems categorizing nominals in terms of their inherent nature, such as animacy, shape, form, and arrangement. Kazakh, a Turkic language of Central Asia, distinguishes numeral classifiers, which are used in numeral classifier constructions consisting of a numeral, a numeral classifier and a specified noun. Numeral classifiers in such constructions can be optional. This paper aims at a preliminary description of the features, types, and usage of numeral classifiers in Kazakh.

Numerical Construction of a Set of Zero Values of Velocities and Countercurrents for Steady Dynamic Equilibria

Numerical Construction of a Set of Zero Values of Velocities and Countercurrents for Steady Dynamic Equilibria