Sequential Elements Research Articles

Optimum design of uniform and non-uniform infill-coated structures with discrete variables

This article introduces a novel computer-aided procedure to design optimised coated structures with precise shell thickness control using the Smallest Univalue Segment Assimilating Nucleus operator and a novel augmentation-projection technique. Structures with heterogeneous sections, or coated structures, combine two different materials for the nucleus and the shell, which are generally chosen so that the material in the infill is lighter and the material in the coating is stiffer, which in this work are supposed homogeneous. Solving the interface problem requires material properties interpolation equations that consider three material phases, accurate placement of the coating over the base material, and precise control over the coating's thickness. The formation of the coating is controlled by the Smallest Univalue Segment Assimilating Nucleus, an edge detection operator developed in Digital Image Processing. The coating's thickness is controlled by an innovative methodology consisting of the projection of an augmented contour field, which is shown to create a constant thickness coating around the material domain. The optimisation problem is solved with the Sequential Element Rejection and Admission method. The validity of the procedure has been verified by solving various numerical application examples.

Experimental and numerical investigations of post-fire behaviour of circular steel tube confined steel-reinforced concrete columns under eccentric loading

Experimental and numerical analysis were conducted to investigate the post-fire behaviour of circular steel tube confined steel reinforced concrete (STCSRC) columns. A total of fifteen circular STCSRC columns, including five stub specimens and ten slender specimens, were tested under eccentric loading after heating following the ISO-834 standard fire curve. The test findings, such as cross-sectional temperature, failure modes, column deformation, residual load-bearing capacity, strains of steel tubes, etc., were all discussed in detail. A sequential thermal-stress coupling finite element (FE) model, including a heat transfer FE model and a mechanical FE model, was then developed using ABAQUS software and verified using the test results. To obtain further numerical data over a wide range of parameters, a parametric analysis was carried out using the established FE models. A simplified calculation method was presented to estimate the residual load-bearing capability of circular STCSRC columns subjected to eccentrical compression after ISO-834 fire exposure.

Sequential Hybrid Finite Element and Material Point Method to Simulate Slope Failures

Numerical modeling of slope failures seeks to predict two key phenomena: the initiation of failure and the post-failure runout. Currently, most modeling methods for slope failure analysis excel at one of these two but are deficient in the other. For example, the Finite Element Method (FEM) models the initiation of instability well but quickly loses accuracy when modeling large deformations because of mesh distortion, restricting its ability to predict runout. Conversely, the Material Point Method (MPM) utilizes material points which move freely across a background grid, allowing for indefinite deformations without computational issues. However, MPM is restricted in its ability to model slope failure initiation due to limitations of the available boundary conditions and reduced accuracy of its stress distributions. The sequential hybridization of these two methods, initiating a model in FEM and then transferring to MPM, presents an opportunity to accurately capture both initiation and runout by a single model. The exact time for this transfer is not self-apparent, but it must be conducted after the initiation mechanism and before excessive mesh distortion. By simulating two granular column failures and two slope failures, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this hybrid FEM-MPM method and identify the appropriate time to transfer.

An Evidence-Based Framework for the Use of Arts and Culture in Public Health.

In recent years, increasing efforts have been made to apply arts- and culture-based strategies to public health concerns. Accumulating studies point to the value of these strategies for addressing social determinants of health in ways that center communities, cultures, and lived experiences. However, this work has lacked a common framework to support application and advancement. The objectives of this study were to examine knowledge, experience, and evidence related to the uses of arts and culture in public health in the United States and to develop a pilot version of an evidence-based framework to guide cross-sector development and research. Using a convergent mixed-methods design with sequential elements, this study drew upon findings from a national field survey, seven focus groups, eight structured working-group dialogues, and a five-day structured dialogue and writing process with 12 interdisciplinary thought leaders. Data were integrated to develop a pilot evidence-based framework. The study identified six broad ways in which arts and culture can be used in public health and 59 specific outcomes that can be addressed through arts and cultural strategies. The framework identifies evidence supporting the effects of arts and culture on each outcome, along with mechanisms that may mediate or moderate these effects. The pilot framework clearly links arts and culture practices with public health outcomes. In doing so, it provides both a resource for current practice and a model for the continued development of interdisciplinary tools that support health researchers and practitioners in utilizing arts and culture resources to advance community health and health equity.

A Sequential Rotation Array Antenna Comprising Loop Elements With Quasi Two Sources

A Sequential Rotation Array Antenna Comprising Loop Elements With Quasi Two Sources

Sequential element control of non-precious dual atom catalysts on mesoporous carbon nanotubes for high performance lithium–oxygen batteries

Introducing nickel and iron based homogeneous and heterogeneous dual atom catalysts (DACs) onto N-doped carbon nanotube defect sites significantly enhances Li–O2 cell performance.

Control and diagnostics of sequential digital structures.

In the modern world of digital electronics, sequential digital structures are integral components of many electronic systems and devices. Such systems and devices find extensive applications across various domains of human endeavor, including communication systems, automatic, and automated devices. The tasks associated with monitoring and diagnosing these systems come with certain challenges. Research in this field holds particular significance for ensuring the resilience and reliability of digital systems in contemporary technological environments. In this context, the study of the characteristics of diagnosing sequential digital structures assumes a special importance. Diagnosing, in this context, refers to the systematic solving of problems related to determining the technical condition, localizing malfunctions (down to individual radio-electronic components), and forecasting the technical state over a specific period. Identifying individual Radio-Electronic Components (RECs) within a digital system means pinpointing a specific microchip whose functioning does not meet the technical specifications. This is crucial, as microchips, despite their complexity and multifunctionality, constitute minimal replaceable units. Monitoring the technical condition is especially crucial in systems containing a large number of interacting sequential digital elements. One of the key challenges in developing methods for monitoring sequential digital structures is their sheer numerical size and the presence of a multitude of logical elements, each of which can be a potential source of error when performing basic logical operations. Hence, engineers have to devise novel, efficient methods and algorithms for error detection in such systems.

Design contexts in interior space design (sewing workshops as a model)

The topic of context is one of the important topics, which was mentioned as a concept in several fields and different fields, and there were many points of view that defined that concept.He specified the title of the research (design contexts in the design of the interior space), as the research sought to identify the concept of context in the interior design of the spaces of sewing workshops. The research was divided into four chapters:The first chapter, which consists of the methodological framework, the problem of research and the need for it, the importance of research, the goal and limits of research for sewing workshops for vocational schools from (2020-2021).The second chapter: consists of previous studies and the theoretical framework of two topics:The first topic: the concept of context in interior design.The second topic: spaces for sewing workshops.The third chapter: It consists of research procedures, and it is the research community. The descriptive approach was adopted in the sample analysis, which is considered one of the important research methods, in order to study phenomena, improve them, and solve problems. It diagnoses the phenomenon accurately to analyze the information and being the most appropriate with the direction of the research. At the end of the chapter, several results were produced according to the analysis form and the indicators of the theoretical framework.The fourth chapter: includes the results, conclusions, recommendations and proposals reached from this research, the most important of which are:1- A context is one of the main foundations for achieving meaning through simultaneous and sequential elements.2- Poor proportionality in the scale of the space led to poor perception and assimilation of the components of the internal space

GemV-tool: A Comprehensive Soft Error Reliability Estimation Tool for Design Space Exploration

With aggressive technology scaling, soft errors have become a major threat in modern computing systems. Several techniques have been proposed in the literature and implemented in actual devices as countermeasures to this problem. However, their effectiveness in ensuring error-free computing cannot be ascertained without an accurate reliability estimation methodology. This can be achieved by using the vulnerability metric: the probability of system failure as a function of the time the program data are exposed to transient faults. In this work, we present a gemV-tool, a comprehensive toolset for estimating system vulnerability, based on the cycle-accurate gem5 simulator. The three main characteristics of the gemV-tool are: (i) fine-grained modeling: vulnerability modeling at a fine-grained granularity through the use of RTL abstraction; (ii) accurate modeling: accurate vulnerability calculation of speculatively executed instructions; and (iii) comprehensive modeling: vulnerability estimation of all the sequential elements in the out-of-order processor core. We validated our vulnerability models through extensive fault injection campaigns with <3% correlation error and 90% statistical confidence. Using the gemV-tool, we made the following observations: (i) the vulnerability of two microarchitectural configurations with similar performance can differ by 82%; (ii) the vulnerability of a processor can vary by more than 10×, depending on the implemented algorithm; and (iii) the vulnerability of each component in the processor varies significantly, depending on the ISA of the processor.

Residual stresses effects on fatigue crack growth behavior of rib-to-deck double-sided welded joints in orthotropic steel decks

Rib-to-deck (RTD) innovative double-sided welded joints have the potential to enhance the fatigue resistance of orthotropic steel decks (OSDs). However, welding residual stress (WRS) has been reported to be a contributing factor to fatigue cracking of steel bridges. This paper performed fatigue crack growth of the RTD innovative double-sided welded joints of OSD considering WRS. Firstly, a thermal-mechanical sequential coupling finite element model (FEM) of the RTD double-sided welded joints was established. The WRS distribution along the direction of deck thickness was analyzed. Secondly, the FEM of the OSD segment with crack was established. The fatigue crack behavior of RTD double-sided welded joints under the combined action of vehicle load and WRS was studied. Finally, the influences of initial crack on fatigue life was analyzed. Results indicate the distribution of the transverse WRS along the direction of deck thickness is tension-compression-tension stress, which has the characteristics of the sinusoidal function. The ∆ Keff value increases significantly considering WRS than without considering WRS during crack growth. WRS has a significant effect on fatigue life, and the fatigue life of the weld toe without considering WRS is about twice that of considering WRS. The crack depth and aspect ratio ( a0/ c0) of the initial crack affect the fatigue life of RTD double-sided welded joints.

Improved Linear Decomposition of Majority and Threshold Boolean Functions

To support efficient design automation for emerging computing fabrics, novel data structures for logic synthesis and technology mapping are being intensively studied. It has been shown that for several promising computing technologies intermediate forms like Majority-Inverter Graph (MIG), and Xor-Majority Graph (XMG) can be particularly beneficial. This has propelled the Boolean majority operator at the forefront of research. Though these structures primarily utilise 3-input Majority nodes, the efficacy of n-input Majority operators has been demonstrated as well. A long-standing research problem, in that context and also for theoretical circuit complexity, is to determine efficient decomposition of an n-input Majority (Majn) function in terms of 3-input Majority (Maj3) operator. In this manuscript, we make two significant advances in this topic. First, a practically realizable linear decomposition is provided, thus improving the previously reported quadratic bounds. Second, the theoretical upper bound of decomposing Majn, in terms of Maj3, is reduced from 5.884n to 3n. The erstwhile theoretical upper bound of 5.884n also lacked a practical construction for Majn decomposition, presumably due to the presence of sequential elements in the algorithm. The proof of the linearity, detailed construction procedure along with experimental studies using state-of-the-art synthesis flows to validate the aforementioned claims are presented in this work. The results are applicable to threshold Boolean functions, too.

A Sequential Feature-Based Rate of Penetration Representation Prediction Method by Attention Long Short-Term Memory Network

Summary In the petroleum and gas industry, optimizing cost-effectiveness remains a paramount objective. One of the key challenges is enhancing predictive models for the rate of penetration (ROP), which are intricately tied to the delicate interplay between significant parameters and drilling efficiency. Recent research has hinted at the potential of temporal and sequential elements in drilling, but a detailed exploration and understanding of these dynamics remain underdeveloped. Addressing this research gap, our primary innovation is not just the introduction of a model but rather the employment of the attention-based long short-term memory (LSTM) network as a tool to deeply analyze the role of sequential features in ROP prediction. Beyond merely applying the model, we furnish a robust foundation for sequential analysis, detailing data processing methods and laying out comprehensive data analytics guidelines for such temporal assessments. The utilization of the LSTM network, in this context, ensures meticulous capture of real-time drilling data nuances, providing insights that are both profound and actionable. Through empirical evaluations with real-world data sets, we accentuate the vital importance of time-sequential dynamics in refining ROP predictions. Our methodological approach, tailored for the oilfield domain, is both rigorous and illuminating, achieving an R2 score of 0.95 and maintaining a relative error under 10%. This effort goes beyond simply proposing a new predictive mechanism. It establishes the centrality of sequential analysis in the drilling process, charting a course for future research and operational optimization in the petroleum and gas sector. We not only offer enhanced modeling strategies but also pioneer insights that can shape the next frontier of industry advancements.

What Were You Thinking? A Constructive Epistemology of Nonprofit Policy Development

This paper examines the challenges of teaching management policy development in nonprofit organizations through a pan-disciplinary “constructive epistemology.” The elements of the epistemology encompass sequential elements that go beyond problem-solving heuristics, and apply well to managerial policy development in nonprofit organizations. Those elements include Issue Identification, Stakeholder Recognition, Normative Desires, Conceptual Framing, Empirical Observation, Scenario Envisioning and Prescriptive Recommendation. I argue that each of these helps to frame policy problems, and together they provide a firm basis for developing policy and for reviewing its effects. The constructive epistemology is illustrated with a discussion of how nonprofits might develop policy around the prospect of receiving donations from morally suspect sources, the so-called “dirty money” problem.

Smart-Redundancy With In Memory ECC Checking: Low-Power SEE-Resistant FPGA Architectures

In harsh environments, such as space, radiation, and charged particles cause single-event effects (SEEs), faults occurring randomly on any electronic component. These must be mitigated to ensure device functionality. Modern mitigation methods, such as triple modular redundancy (TMR), are very effective against single-event transients (SETs) but incur a minimum of 3 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math> </inline-formula> cost in the area. Single-event upsets (SEUs) affect sequential elements and are regularly repaired using memory scrubbing. Scrubbing is a slow serial process going through every memory word, looking for errors to repair. Scrubbing involves a nonnegligible amount of time before an error is detected, during which other events can occur and compromise the system. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) rely heavily on sequential elements to store their configuration; thus, FPGA’s SEU detection time is critical to ensuring design sustainability in harsh conditions. In this article, we propose an alternative mitigation method based on sensor integration and FPGA architecture modification, called smart-redundancy with in-memory error correction code checking (SRIMECCC). The sensors allow asynchronous SEU detection, reducing the time to detect by 57 250 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math> </inline-formula> on average and enabling local reconfiguration. Our method includes built-in dual redundancy that reduces the power consumption by 87% on average, benefiting embedded systems. SRIMECCC is also an area-efficient technique that saves 28% of total effective area compared to TMRed designs implemented in FPGAs.

Defining "Arts Participation" for Public Health Research.

Arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes around the globe. As more research is taking place on this topic, there is heightened need for definitions for the complex concepts involved. While significant work to define "arts participation" has taken place in the arts sector, less work has been undertaken for the purpose of researching the arts in public health. This study developed a definition for "arts participation" to guide a national arts in public health research agenda and to advance and make more inclusive previous work to define the term. A convergent mixed-methods study design with sequential elements was used to iteratively develop a definition that integrated the perspectives of field experts as well as the general public. Literature review was followed by four iterative phases of data collection, analysis, and integration, and a proposed definition was iteratively revised at each stage. The final definition includes modes, or ways, in which people engage with the arts, and includes examples of various art forms intended to frame arts participation broadly and inclusively. This definition has the potential to help advance the quality and precision of research aimed at evaluating relationships between arts participation and health, as well as outcomes of arts-based health programs and interventions in communities. With its more inclusive framing than previous definitions, it can also help guide the development of more inclusive search strategies for evidence synthesis in this rapidly growing arena and assist researchers in developing more effective survey questions and instruments.

Barriers to Deceased Donor Procurements: The Saudi Experience.

Barriers to Deceased Donor Procurements: The Saudi Experience.

Method for determining the optimal location of public catering facilities

Relevance and goals. The relevance of the research topic is due to the need for a comprehensive study of the problems of choosing a spatial location in the context of the rapid spread of digital technologies. The purpose of the study is an attempt to substantiate the feasibility of implementing a technical solution, namely the development of a digital geographic information system aimed at determining the optimal location for public catering facilities. Materials and methods. An approach is proposed for optimizing the layout of facilities as a set of three interrelated sequential elements (stages), consisting of determining the best operational-territorial unit, determining the expected rational boundaries of the consumer service market, determining the coordinates of the location of the catering facility and finding the optimal structure for the sale of products that provides the facility catering maximum profit. The advantage of the considered technical solution is to increase the accuracy of the optimal placement of public catering facilities, which ensures an increase in the speed of actions to determine the location point, including ensuring the speed of response of public catering facilities to continuous changes in dynamic competitive markets in real time; the emergence of the ability to most reliably draw conclusions about the optimal placement of a public catering facility at any time. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific methods: description, measurement, analysis, synthesis, comparison, modeling, as well as the use of statistical methods and linear programming. Results. Creation in the future of a program that implements the proposed model and algorithms. Conclusions. The results of the study showed the possibility of applying the proposed approach with the ability to determine the expected optimal location of the catering facility with great accuracy. The scope of the research results is associated with the subsequent creation of information technology to manage the optimization of the location of public catering facilities.

3D Structural Topology Optimization Using ESO, SESO and SERA: Comparison and an Extension to Flexible Mechanisms

This article investigates the study of Topology Optimization (TO) in 3D elasticity problems to determine the optimal topology by applying the evolutionary methods of Smoothing Evolutionary Structural Optimization (SESO), Sequential Element Rejection and Admission (SERA), and Evolutionary Structural Optimization (ESO). These procedures were implemented in MATLAB code as an extension of Top3d implemented for SIMP by using the eight-node hexahedral finite element formulation in three-dimensional elastostatic structures. The approaches conducted in the present study are demonstrated with numerical examples involving the compliance minimization criterion. Further, a brief synthesis of flexible mechanisms was studied to emphasize the performance of complaint mechanisms measured in terms of two design specifications/functionalities: mechanical and geometrical advantages, which are the highlights of this article. To show the gains of the proposed methods, numerical results obtained are compared with Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) models.

Analysis of residual stress relief for Ti62A alloy welded joints by post weld heat treatment considering creep effect

In this paper, the Arrhenius-type constitutive equation based on strain compensation was developed, and the constants of the constitutive equation were determined by linear fitting to construct the material models of Ti62A alloy. Meanwhile, the creep parameters of Ti62A alloy at high temperature were corrected by existing experiments, and the Norton creep model during post weld heat treatment (PWHT) was established. The sequential coupling finite element method was used to calculate the residual stress distribution in the welding and PWHT processes of Ti62A alloy plates. The effects of PWHT parameters on the residual stress relief of welded joints were revealed, such as creep, heating rate, and heat treatment temperature. The results reveal that the creep has an important influence on residual stress relief during PWHT. Compared with longitudinal residual stress, the effects of heating rate and heat treatment temperature on transverse residual stress are more significant. A lower heating rate or higher heat treatment temperature will be beneficial for releasing residual stress. The results of this paper will contribute to a better understanding of PWHT mechanisms and provide a good theoretical guidance for optimizing process parameters.

Investigating the influence of geometric parameters on the deformation of laser powder bed fused stents using low-fidelity thermo-mechanical analysis

Maintaining dimensional accuracy is a major challenge of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) preventing its application for more complex and filigree L-PBF structures in industrial practice. Previous studies have shown that residual stresses and distortion of benchmark L-PBF components may be predicted by sequential thermo-mechanical analyses. However, the reliability of these analyses for more complex structures must be critically questioned, as comprehensive validation and sensitivity analyses are scarce. In this paper, we present a calibrated and validated low-fidelity sequential thermo-mechanical finite element analysis (FEA) of a tubular L-PBF lattice structure, i.e., an aortic stent, where pronounced local deformation is expected. As a first step, the finite element model was extensively calibrated using experimental data to ensure reproducibility of the simulation results. Thereupon, geometric features critical to the distortion of L-PBF lattice structures and measures to compensate for the distortion, such as inversion of the distorted L-PBF structure, were investigated. It was found that the distortion of the L-PBF lattice structures can be reduced, but not completely prevented, by increasing the strut angles, increasing the strut thickness, and decreasing the transition radius in the area of merging struts. FEA-based inversion of the numerically predicted deformed structure minimized distortion, resulting in the L-PBF aortic stent approximating the intended CAD geometry even with a small strut thickness. This work shows that low-fidelity sequential thermo-mechanical FEA can be used not only for the analysis and deformation compensation of reference structures, but also for the analysis of more complex filigree structures with pronounced local deformation.