Engineering Work Research Articles

Investigation of a Notable Landslide under Complex Hydrogeological Conditions at Pak Tam Road, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

On 8 June 2022, an intense rainstorm triggered multiple landslides in the northeastern area of Hong Kong. One of these landslides occurred at the registered soil and rock cut slope adjoining Pak Tam Road in the Sai Kung East Country Park with significant social consequences and widespread media attention. An investigation of this notable landslide was undertaken to study the probable causes and mechanism of the failure, as well as the hydrogeological conditions of the slope. The landslide was a large‑scale rain‑induced sliding failure caused by adversely orientated relict joints within the weathered rock profile. Coupling effects of inadequate slope maintenance, steep slope profile and tension cracks rendered the slope particularly vulnerable to landsliding under severe rainfall. Additionally, heavy seepage was observed from some weep holes within the same slope, which suggested the presence of complex hydrogeological conditions. Field mapping and site‑specific ground investigation revealed preferential flow paths along a network of soil pipes and relict joints in the groundmass that prompted the subsurface flow and the build-up of a transient perched groundwater table. The landslide highlighted the importance of proper and regular slope maintenance of slopes in Hong Kong, and the need of assessing the site holistically when modifying the site with engineering works. A robust design solution is strongly advocated for stabilising slopes.

A Systematic Analysis of The Current 2D Perovskite Engineering Approach and Future Prospects

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have become a hot topic in the photovoltaic studies. Although perovskite has excellent photoelectric properties including adjustable bandgap, high power conversion efficiency (PCE) performance, high electron transport, the three-dimensional perovskite commonly studied is often unstable, short life, and subject to environmental interference especially heat and humidity. So two-dimensional perovskites have been studied and studied. This paper introduces the 2D materials and 2D perovskite solar cells. And then several new works of surface engineering on 2D perovskite solar cells including passivation strategies, interface engineering and orientation of crystallization on perovskite films are mentioned and concluded, thereby providing a future understanding to improve and balance the efficiency and stability of 2D PSCs. Even though the existing strategies for optimizing two-dimensional perovskite are abundant and have certain rules, more essential two-dimensional perovskite properties to improve efficiency and stability need to be studied, so that two-dimensional perovskite will have more possibilities in industrial production.

Representation in Engineering-Focused Children’s Literature: A Critical Content Analysis

AbstractChildren’s picturebooks have long been understood as a powerful medium for exploring aspects of children’s lives, experiences, and identities serving as mirrors which allow children to see themselves reflected, as windows through which they can gain insight into the experiences of others, and as sliding glass doors when children are connected to the story and characters in meaningful ways. Utilizing a critical content analytic approach, this research examined the identity markers and engineering practices found in contemporary children’s picturebooks with an engineering focus. The analysis yielded key themes that highlight the ways children can interact and connect to the characters and engineering content through both visual imagery and storyline. As the reviewed books held limited social, cultural, and personal identity representations, study findings hold implications for early childhood educators as they highlight the importance of affirming and connecting engineering and design work to the diverse, multifaceted identities of the students in their classrooms. Recommendations from this research call for extending traditional classroom building and construction experiences through the inclusion of engineering-focused children’s literature to enhance and extend children’s understandings of design and engineering work.

Alternative clean approaches to accessing subglacial Lake Vostok

A study of the subglacial Lake Vostok requires clean accessing and sampling technologies. The paper presents four potential options — three types of hot-points and a hot-water drilling system — which can be considered as environmental-friendly technologies and could be used in the cold ice of East Antarctica. The description contains only general ideas and a brief estimation of the main parameters of the technologies suggested and does not include any detailed analysis. All the methods proposed have their own advantages and disadvantages. The final decision about a method’s applicability should be made following careful development and engineering work, including theoretical studies, modelling, laboratory testing, taking into account the available funds and logistics opportunities.

Crafting a Sustainable Engineering Vision Through a Consultation Process

A wide-ranging consultation process was conducted by Polytechnique Montréal between 2022 and 2023 explores the impact of environmental, technological and societal transformation on the work of engineers and competencies needed, as well as on engineering education. This study highlights a mobilization approach aimed at co-creating a competency profile of the engineer of tomorrow. The methodology includes interviews, internal and external surveys, and a forum bringing together over 250 stakeholders in May 2023. The results provide a better understanding of the global, national and local issues engineers are facing, as well as the competencies required to support the engineer's global development from a sustainable engineering perspective. This vision captures the essence of the engineer's future role, focusing on collaborative efforts to define and implement an updated engineer profile, integrate it into educational pathways, and streamline accreditation processes. This vision aligns with a transformative epistemology and UNESCO's sustainable development goals, offering a blueprint for institutions to mobilize their ecosystem towards common goals.

A Machine Learning-Based Multi-Model Approach for Predicting Post-Deep Brain Stimulation Outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease Patients

Objectives and Background: Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is a demonstrated rehabilitation for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), regularly resulting in an upgrade of engine work. In any case, some unfortunate incidental upshots can occur past DBS, which can deteriorate the patient's satisfaction. In this way, the medical group must painstakingly choose patients over whom to perform DBS. In the past, there have been a few endeavors to associate pre-usable information and DBS experimental results, generally centered on engine symptomatology. Objectives & Methodology: A machine learning (ML)-based strategy called a multimodel pipeline alluded to as FlowModel is designed and implemented to anticipate an enormous number of DBS medical results for AD. It is composed of a patented Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for processing medical data, using a conventional image handling technique to extract morphological biomarkers from T1 imaging, and employing a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to perform regressions. We authenticated it in 256 AD patients who underwent DBS. Results: The FlowModel demonstrated high predictive precision, achieving a correlation coefficient of as high as 0.82 and successfully predicting 63 out of 84 clinical outcome scores. Importantly, FlowModel outperformed traditional linear models, demonstrating the capability to learn effectively from preoperative data alone. Conclusion: The uniqueness of this study lies in its ability to predict multiple clinical outcomes across different modalities, independent of stimulation parameters. The introduction of this ML pipeline contributes to the precision medicine landscape by providing a robust, data-driven tool to select patients for DBS, potentially improving clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

A Multi-Objective Ant Colony Optimization for Routing in Printed Circuit Boards

Automatic routing for Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design is an important tool to facilitate and optimize the work of engineers. Such a tool is typically provided by popular Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software and is a long-running research field. As electronics technology evolves and both discrete and integrated components get smaller and faster, the constraints to design circuits become more complex and new challenges arise. To deal with these difficulties, strategies using computational intelligence algorithms are employed to provide viable routing solutions in a timely manner. Within these strategies, multi-agent and swarm algorithms are highly relevant, being frequently applied alongside other approaches or by themselves. In this paper, we introduce a variation of the typical Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm modified to perform PCB routing, focusing on length matching between traces. The PCB area is divided into a grid that represents the search space for the algorithm. For each trace, the initial and final positions are known and contained within a cell of the grid. The routing of each trace is performed by an individual ant colony. The ants of a colony must travel from the initial to the final position of a trace to find the route that better fits the constraints of a multi-objective function. An ant in a cell can only move to neighboring cells. The number of movements it makes represents the length of the route. The algorithm consists of three steps. First, colonies and data structures are initialized. In the second step, one iteration is performed; the ants of each colony find a route to a trace. In the third step, the results found by the ants are evaluated, and the pheromone trails for the colonies are updated. The pheromone trails are updated based on a function that simultaneously minimizes three objectives: trace length, the number of times that traces cross with each other, and the length difference between traces. In other words, the ants try to find the shortest possible trace that has the same length as the other traces without crossing with them. Steps two and three are repeated until the maximum number of iterations is reached. We tested our algorithm in five fundamental scenarios and performed a statistical analysis on multiple executions of each scenario. The results obtained show that our algorithm is a viable approach to perform PCB trace routing with length matching.

Impact of Impurities on the Properties of Recycled Aggregate for Use in Civil Engineering Work and Road Construction. Part 2: Environmental Assessment

Abstract Recycled concrete aggregate fraction 0/63 mm is used as unbound materials in several construction works, for which the environmental soundness is of a great importance. The present study aims to evaluate the influence of impurities such as asphalt, bricks, soil, and lightweight materials on the environmental properties of recycled concrete aggregate. The chemical characteristics are determined as per EN 13242+A1 requirements. The environmental performance is evaluated based on a batch leaching test according to EN 12457-1 (L/S =2) and on the content of organic materials such as PAHs, PCBs, C10-C40. The two sets of tests were found to give conflicting results: no problematic chemical characteristics were found even at a high percentage of impurities in the recycled concrete aggregate, while the environmental performance was not satisfactory; the recycled aggregates were found not inert because of the significant amounts of sulphates, chlorides and total dissolved solids, sometimes heavy metals and, when blended with ground asphalt, organic compounds such as hydrocarbons. Thus, backfills and road facilities can be a source of soil and groundwater pollution if a pre-demolition audit, identification of contaminated CDW, decontamination activities and selective demolition are not implemented. Some improvements in the regulatory framework are proposed.

Application of AVL BOOST modeling to optimize the engine working load and drivetrain transmission ratio of the diesel firefighting pump system

Application of AVL BOOST modeling to optimize the engine working load and drivetrain transmission ratio of the diesel firefighting pump system

Impact of Impurities on the Properties of Recycled Aggregate for Use in Civil Engineering Work and Road Construction. Part 1: Technical Assessment

Abstract Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a significant source of mineral resources. Recycled concrete aggregate fraction 0/63 mm is among the most used materials. The present study aims to evaluate the influence of impurities such as asphalt, bricks, soil, and lightweight materials on the properties of recycled aggregate. Two types of blended recycled materials are composed – one, representative for recycled aggregate from CDW generated at road projects and another type, representative for recycled materials from buildings rehabilitation and demolition. The main characteristics of blended recycled aggregate with different amounts of impurities are being investigated according to EN 13 242. The maximum dry density and optimum water content according to EN 13286-2 and the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) according to EN 13286-47 are also determined. The source of CDW is found to have a significant impact on the performance of the recycled material. The rule of mixtures and some testing methods are not always appropriate for the recycled materials. Based on the results, some recommendations regarding the management of CDW and the appropriate use of recycled aggregates in civil engineering and road construction are made.

APPLICATION OF PILE-RAFT FOUNDATION IN COMPLEX ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to analyze the existing structures of slab-pile foundations, to determine the features of their application and the possibility of their use in complex engineering and geological conditions, as well as to develop alternative constructive solutions of slab-pile foundations for their optimal operation in earthquake-prone areas with base, which deforms unevenly. Methodology. In the study, an analysis of literary sources, data on built and designed slab-pile foundations, their characteristics and application conditions were determined. Special attention is paid to the work of foundations under seismic conditions. Various engineering approaches were used to model loading processes, in particular ANSYS, ABAQUS, and SOFISTIK software packages, to accurately reflect the behavior of soil massifs. Findings. The result of the performed work is the improvement of the combined slab-pile foundation by filling the cavities between the piles and the slab part with seismic insulators made of elastic material, made of rubber in the shape of a cylinder or cube and installed on the heads of the foundation piles, which are not connected to each other. Originality. A new constructive solution of the foundation is proposed, which takes into account the influence of seismic loads and uneven deformation of the foundation. This constructive solution is innovative due to the use of seismic isolators on pile heads, which allows to minimize negative effects on the foundation in difficult conditions. Practical value. The new constructive solution of the slab-pile foundation can be used for work in difficult engineering and geological conditions on the ground, which deforms unevenly in earthquake-prone territories. This decision will contribute to increasing safety and increasing the service life of buildings and structures.

PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN UNSUR TEMBAGA PADA PENGECORAN TEKAN BLOK SILINDER BEKAS TERHADAP NILAI IMPAK DAN KEAUSAN

The cylinder liner block is part of the cylinder block which functions as a place for the engine working process to take place. Where in this section the suction, compression, work and exhaust processes occur. Cylinder blocks have two types, some can be repaired and cannot be repaired, to utilize cylinder blocks that cannot be repaired by recycling them by casting metal with copper (Cu) with variations in the addition of 5%, 10%, 15% with a casting temperature of 1150⁰C using metal molds using the press technique method. Data collection was carried out by wear testing, impact testing, and microstructure testing. By increasing the percentage of copper (Cu) in the cylinder block casting, the highest wear was obtained with the addition of 15% Cu of 2,87×10-9 m3. The highest impact strength of 15% Cu is 0.12 Joule/mm2.

Meniscus gene expression profiling of inner and outer zone meniscus tissue compared to cartilage and passaged monolayer meniscus cells

Meniscus injuries are common and while surgical strategies have improved, there is a need for alternative therapeutics to improve long-term outcomes and prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Current research efforts in regenerative therapies and tissue engineering are hindered by a lack of understanding of meniscus cell biology and a poorly defined meniscus cell phenotype. This study utilized bulk RNA-sequencing to identify unique and overlapping transcriptomic profiles in cartilage, inner and outer zone meniscus tissue, and passaged inner and outer zone meniscus cells. The greatest transcriptomic differences were identified when comparing meniscus tissue to passaged monolayer cells (> 4,600 differentially expressed genes (DEGs)) and meniscus tissue to cartilage (> 3,100 DEGs). While zonal differences exist within the meniscus tissue (205 DEGs between inner and outer zone meniscus tissue), meniscus resident cells are more similar to each other than to either cartilage or passaged monolayer meniscus cells. Additionally, we identified and validated LUM, PRRX1, and SNTB1 as potential markers for meniscus tissue and ACTA2, TAGLN, SFRP2, and FSTL1 as novel markers for meniscus cell dedifferentiation. Our data contribute significantly to the current characterization of meniscus cells and provide an important foundation for future work in meniscus cell biology, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering.

An Integrated Approach for Structural Crack Monitoring: Combining Plastic Tell Tales and Image Analysis for Enhanced Structural Health Evaluation

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) calls for the development of the ideas of safety and main ability of civil structures. The most critical of the aspects explored in the paper is the safety monitoring of the structural configuration of any civil engineering work. Supervision of any sign of an odd shift from the usual state of structure enables one to prevent and or counter severe loss. It also depends on other environmental parameters such as load, nature of a seasonal parameter and the type of soil. Within this research project the Al-Beruni Academic Block of Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology is taken to monitor the cracks using Glass Tell-Tales, to collect data on cracks of buildings and during seismic activity, observe, study the cracks that are present.

Logic of internship learning in hybrid engineering workplace settings: a sociomaterial assemble of digital tools, humans and activities

ABSTRACT During the recent pandemic, established modes of organising internships in engineering were disrupted; Internships often transitioned into hybrid formats with extensive online activity. But, empirical research on the quality of learning in engineering during these exceptional circumstances is limited. This study therefore examines internship experiences among engineering undergraduates (N = 39) in Singapore through semi-structured interviews conducted at two different time points. Thematic analysis revealed four challenges encountered by interns when access to engineering sites was disrupted. These included changes to processes of learning through the reorganisation of work routines requiring interns to adeptly utilise diverse technological tools and digital platforms for remote collaboration. Interns faced difficulties in gaining insights into the logic of engineering work through disrupted workflow. This was not helped when their learning experiences were also contingent upon the availability of meaningful work tasks. Finally, interns had to adapt to virtual and on-demand networking as a means of integrating into the engineering practice. Thus, the shift presented both challenges and opportunities for interns to learn about engineering in unprecedented ways. This research sheds light on how interns adapt during severe disruptions to engineering work environments, emphasising the importance of considering the sociomaterial context for supporting interns in hybrid workplaces.

Real-time monitoring of aero-engine vibration signals by wireless communication technology

Abstract The conventional way to monitor the vibration signals of aircraft engines is to use wired communication sensors to transmit and collect the signals on a fixed platform on the ground. The signal acquisition equipment of wired communication technology has various drawbacks, resulting in the inability to collect vibration signals when the object under test is in real operating conditions. Based on previous studies, this research team uses a 2.4G wireless transmission scheme to realize short-distance wireless transmission of aero-engine vibration signals, and a 4G cellular communication scheme to realize long-distance wireless transmission of aero-engine vibration signals. The acquired signals are displayed and monitored using the tool developed in LabVIEW2022. The designed tool is successfully applied in the engineering practice of engine maintenance, realizing the remote real-time monitoring of the engine operation status, shortening the monitoring cycle of the equipment from hourly to real-time level, and greatly facilitating the technical support work of engineers and technicians.

Prediction of aircraft fuel consumption based on machine learning algorithm

Abstract The shortcomings of traditional aircraft fuel consumption calculation methods include insufficient theoretical analysis, complex input parameters, and poor calculation accuracy. Through the analysis of aircraft motion equations and engine working characteristics, this paper screens out the key parameters affecting aircraft fuel consumption. Based on the real flight data, three machine learning methods, BP neural network, RBF neural network, and Support Vector Machine(SVM), are used for training, and a fuel consumption prediction model is established with key parameters as inputs. The prediction accuracy and characteristics of the three models are analyzed and compared. The aircraft fuel consumption prediction model achieves the operational requirements, and the accuracy in the flight profile reaches 5%. The trained model was applied to the planning of the transport aircraft mission profile, achieving a fuel consumption error of only 1.1% across the entire mission profile, resulting in a relatively accurate outcome.

Model based design of a turbo-compound bottomed to internal combustion engine exhaust gas

Abstract The transportation sector is living a new era, where the conventional powertrains based on thermal engines are flanked by innovative ones, based on electric and hybrid systems. This revolutionizes the behaviour and the driving habits, as well as the figure of the whole propulsive system, which should integrate different energy sources on board and the energy demand for propulsion, auxiliaries, ancillary components, vehicle needs, etc. But, for heavy-duty vehicles, it is very difficult to abandon in the short and mean term the reciprocating combustion engine technology. Also, for passenger cars and light duty vehicles, the pure electric propulsion seems to put in more evidence limits not only technological. In this panorama, the development of very high efficiency engines is mandatory to fit the emissions targets, both referred to pollutant emission and CO2. In this regard, waste heat recovery into mechanical or electrical energy is one of the most promising options to reduce fuel consumption. It is of particular interest for heavy duty engines, where the operation does not suffer so much the transient phases, and hybrid powertrains, where the energy recovered can be stored in electrical form and used for all the necessities of the vehicles. In this paper, a waste heat recovery system based on an additional turbine placed in the exhaust line of a turbocharged internal combustion engine has been studied. The auxiliary turbine is designed thanks to a model-based approach. The performance map of the turbine has been calculated referring to the thermodynamic conditions of the engine exhaust gases as input parameters. The so-designed component is then integrated with an engine model, and the benefits of a turbo-compound technology bottomed to the engine were assessed. In this way, the potential power recoverable from the turbine is evaluated under design and off-design conditions. The integration with engine model allowed to estimate the side effects related to backpressure increase on the engine exhaust manifold (which leads to an overconsumption or an underrating of the engine torque), as well as the equilibrium change on the turbocharger shaft. Definitively, the final overall engine performances are assessed including the need for a bypass which, in certain engine working conditions, must exclude the recovery.

Mechanical Properties of Fully-Grouted Bolts Support Based on Compression Tests of Anchored Rock Mass

The mechanical properties of fully-grouted bolt support are critical for the safety of support engineering works. To study the influences of factors including the bolt length and diameter, strength of the rock, and fracture angle on the mechanical properties of fully-grouted bolt support, compression tests were conducted on an anchored rock mass, considering the shortcomings of pullout tests on bolts. The discrete element software PFC2D (4.0) was adopted for numerical simulation and analysis from two aspects, namely, the stress distribution and anchorage force supplied by such bolts. The research found that by increasing the bolt diameter and length as well as the strength of the rock, the maximum anchorage force of bolts increases. Whereas the stress distribution of all bolts increases at first and then decreases along the bolts, and there is only one peak on the stress distribution curves, which also gradually shifts to a greater depth. In a fractured rock mass, the maximum anchorage force of bolts decreases, then increases (and is minimized at a fracture angle of 45°) with the decrease in fracture angle. The influence of fractures with different angles on the stress distribution of bolts is mainly reflected in the fracture zone. The bolt stress decreases abruptly in the zone with a fracture angle of 90°, forming a valley. The bolt stress increases suddenly in the zones with fracture angles of 60° and 45°, thus forming peaks. The bolt stress does not increase or decrease suddenly in the zone with a fracture angle of 30°. Therefore, it necessitates consideration of the influences of fractures on the anchorage force and the selection of bolts of appropriate size during anchorage design. After installation, the bolt stress should be monitored for stability and early warning of anchored rock mass according to changes in the stress provided.

Engineering under oppressive regimes: exploring the role of engineers during apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT Engineers’ contribution to society tends to be located in rational, technical constructs devoid of social and political interests. This paradigm presents a challenge to engineering educators tasked with undergraduate engineering curriculum content that links to society in some way. This article reports on a study undertaken by engineering educators who were motivated to understand the role of the social and political on the work of engineers. It explores how engineers conceived of their role during apartheid, an oppressive political regime for the majority of South Africans that officially ended in 1994. Interviews were conducted with engineers and academic staff to examine how participants’ navigated engineering practice and academic work during that period. The thematic findings allow for a conceptualisation of the apartheid ‘system’ they encountered, depicts how they saw their role in this system and explores the underlying reasons for why they behaved in the ways that they did.