Development of a Thrust Measurement System

KSLV-I(Korea Space Launch Vehicle-I) is designed as a launch vehicle to enter a 100 kg-class satellite to the LEO(Low Earth Orbit). Attitude angles of the upper-stage, including roll, pitch and yaw are controlled by the cold gas thruster system using nitrogen gas. The cold gas thruster is an actuator in the RCS(Reaction Control System). To design an attitude controller for the upper-stage, thrust measurement in vacuum condition is required. In this paper, the new thrust measurement system and calibration mechanism are developed and measurement errors and signal processing method are presented.

Cost-Effective Design of Space Structures Joints: A Review

In construction of any structure, the aesthetic and utility values should be considered in such a way as to make the structure cost-effective. Most structures are composed of elements and joints which are very critical in any skeletal space structure because they majorly determine the performance of the structure. In early times, most space structures were constructed using rigid joints which had the advantage of better performing structures as compared to pin-jointed structures but with the disadvantage of requiring all the construction work to be done on site. The discovery of semi-rigid joints now enables connections to be prefabricated and quickly assembled on site while maintaining good performance. In this paper, cost-effective is discussed basing on strength of connectors at the joints, buckling of joints and overall structure, and the effect of initial geometrical imperfections. Several existing joints are reviewed by classifying them into categories and discussing where they are most suited and how they perform structurally. Also, finite element modeling using ABAQUS is done to determine the buckling behavior. It is observed that some joints are more economical than others. The rise to span ratio and imperfections are also found to affect the buckling of the structures. Based on these, general principles that guide the design of cost-effective joints and structures are discussed.

Multiple Object Tracking using Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based approach for multiple object tracking based on histogram matching. To start with, gray-level histograms are calculated to establish a feature model for each of the target object. The difference between the gray-level histogram corresponding to each particle in the search space and the target object is used as the fitness value. Multiple swarms are created depending on the number of the target objects under tracking. Because of the efficiency and simplicity of the PSO algorithm for global optimization, target objects can be tracked as iterations continue. Experimental results confirm that the proposed PSO algorithm can rapidly converge, allowing real-time tracking of each target object. When the objects being tracked move outside the tracking range, global search capability of the PSO resumes to re-trace the target objects.

Analysis on the Relationship between Rating and Economic Growth for the European Union Emergent Economies

This article analyses the relationship between sovereign credit risk rating and gross domestic product for Central and Eastern European Countries for the period 1996 – 2010. In order to study the metioned relationship, we have used a numerical transformation of the risk qualification, thus: we marked 0 the lowest risk; then, we went on ascending, with a pace of 5, up to the score of 355 corresponding to the maximum risk. The used method of analysis is that of econometric modelling with EViews 7.0. programme. This software allows the analysis of data into a pannel type system, involving a mix of periods of time and series of data for different entities. The main conclusion of the work is the one confirming the negative relationship between the sovereign credit risk and the gross domestic product for the Central European and Eastern countries during the reviewed period.

Development of a Microsensor to Minimize Post Cataract Surgery Complications

This paper presents design and characterization of a microaccelerometer designated for integration into cataract surgical probe to detect hardness of different eye tissues during cataract surgery. Soft posterior lens capsule of eye can be easily damaged in comparison with hard opaque lens since the surgeon can not see directly behind cutting needle during the surgery. Presence of microsensor helps the surgeon to avoid rupturing posterior lens capsule which if occurs leads to severe complications such as glaucoma, infection, or even blindness. The microsensor having overall dimensions of 480 μm x 395 μm is able to deliver significant capacitance variations during encountered vibration situations which makes it capable to distinguish between different types of tissue. Integration of electronic components on chip ensures high level of reliability and noise immunity while minimizes space and power requirements. Physical characteristics and results on performance testing, proves integration of microsensor as an effective tool to aid the surgeon during this procedure.

IFS on the Multi-Fuzzy Fractal Space

The IFS is a scheme for describing and manipulating complex fractal attractors using simple mathematical models. More precisely, the most popular “fractal –based" algorithms for both representation and compression of computer images have involved some implementation of the method of Iterated Function Systems (IFS) on complete metric spaces. In this paper a new generalized space called Multi-Fuzzy Fractal Space was constructed. On these spases a distance function is defined, and its completeness is proved. The completeness property of this space ensures the existence of a fixed-point theorem for the family of continuous mappings. This theorem is the fundamental result on which the IFS methods are based and the fractals are built. The defined mappings are proved to satisfy some generalizations of the contraction condition.

Software Development for the Kinematic Analysis of a Lynx 6 Robot Arm

The kinematics of manipulators is a central problem in the automatic control of robot manipulators. Theoretical background for the analysis of the 5 Dof Lynx-6 educational Robot Arm kinematics is presented in this paper. The kinematics problem is defined as the transformation from the Cartesian space to the joint space and vice versa. The Denavit-Harbenterg (D-H) model of representation is used to model robot links and joints in this study. Both forward and inverse kinematics solutions for this educational manipulator are presented, An effective method is suggested to decrease multiple solutions in inverse kinematics. A visual software package, named MSG, is also developed for testing Motional Characteristics of the Lynx-6 Robot arm. The kinematics solutions of the software package were found to be identical with the robot arm-s physical motional behaviors.

Agents Network on a Grid: An Approach with the Set of Circulant Operators

In this work we present some matrix operators named circulant operators and their action on square matrices. This study on square matrices provides new insights into the structure of the space of square matrices. Moreover it can be useful in various fields as in agents networking on Grid or large-scale distributed self-organizing grid systems.

Affine Radial Basis Function Neural Networks for the Robust Control of Hyperbolic Distributed Parameter Systems

In this work, a radial basis function (RBF) neural network is developed for the identification of hyperbolic distributed parameter systems (DPSs). This empirical model is based only on process input-output data and used for the estimation of the controlled variables at specific locations, without the need of online solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). The nonlinear model that is obtained is suitably transformed to a nonlinear state space formulation that also takes into account the model mismatch. A stable robust control law is implemented for the attenuation of external disturbances. The proposed identification and control methodology is applied on a long duct, a common component of thermal systems, for a flow based control of temperature distribution. The closed loop performance is significantly improved in comparison to existing control methodologies.

An Algorithm of Ordered Schur Factorization For Real Nonsymmetric Matrix

In this paper, we present an algorithm for computing a Schur factorization of a real nonsymmetric matrix with ordered diagonal blocks such that upper left blocks contains the largest magnitude eigenvalues. Especially in case of multiple eigenvalues, when matrix is non diagonalizable, we construct an invariant subspaces with few additional tricks which are heuristic and numerical results shows the stability and accuracy of the algorithm.

Mobile Robot Path Planning in a 2-Dimentional Mesh

A topologically oriented neural network is very efficient for real-time path planning for a mobile robot in changing environments. When using a recurrent neural network for this purpose and with the combination of the partial differential equation of heat transfer and the distributed potential concept of the network, the problem of obstacle avoidance of trajectory planning for a moving robot can be efficiently solved. The related dimensional network represents the state variables and the topology of the robot's working space. In this paper two approaches to problem solution are proposed. The first approach relies on the potential distribution of attraction distributed around the moving target, acting as a unique local extreme in the net, with the gradient of the state variables directing the current flow toward the source of the potential heat. The second approach considers two attractive and repulsive potential sources to decrease the time of potential distribution. Computer simulations have been carried out to interrogate the performance of the proposed approaches.

Optimized Delay Constrained QoS Routing

QoS Routing aims to find paths between senders and receivers satisfying the QoS requirements of the application which efficiently using the network resources and underlying routing algorithm to be able to find low-cost paths that satisfy given QoS constraints. The problem of finding least-cost routing is known to be NP-hard or complete and some algorithms have been proposed to find a near optimal solution. But these heuristics or algorithms either impose relationships among the link metrics to reduce the complexity of the problem which may limit the general applicability of the heuristic, or are too costly in terms of execution time to be applicable to large networks. In this paper, we concentrate an algorithm that finds a near-optimal solution fast and we named this algorithm as optimized Delay Constrained Routing (ODCR), which uses an adaptive path weight function together with an additional constraint imposed on the path cost, to restrict search space and hence ODCR finds near optimal solution in much quicker time.

A Multi-Level WEB Based Parallel Processing System A Hierarchical Volunteer Computing Approach

Over the past few years, a number of efforts have been exerted to build parallel processing systems that utilize the idle power of LAN-s and PC-s available in many homes and corporations. The main advantage of these approaches is that they provide cheap parallel processing environments for those who cannot afford the expenses of supercomputers and parallel processing hardware. However, most of the solutions provided are not very flexible in the use of available resources and very difficult to install and setup. In this paper, a multi-level web-based parallel processing system (MWPS) is designed (appendix). MWPS is based on the idea of volunteer computing, very flexible, easy to setup and easy to use. MWPS allows three types of subscribers: simple volunteers (single computers), super volunteers (full networks) and end users. All of these entities are coordinated transparently through a secure web site. Volunteer nodes provide the required processing power needed by the system end users. There is no limit on the number of volunteer nodes, and accordingly the system can grow indefinitely. Both volunteer and system users must register and subscribe. Once, they subscribe, each entity is provided with the appropriate MWPS components. These components are very easy to install. Super volunteer nodes are provided with special components that make it possible to delegate some of the load to their inner nodes. These inner nodes may also delegate some of the load to some other lower level inner nodes .... and so on. It is the responsibility of the parent super nodes to coordinate the delegation process and deliver the results back to the user. MWPS uses a simple behavior-based scheduler that takes into consideration the current load and previous behavior of processing nodes. Nodes that fulfill their contracts within the expected time get a high degree of trust. Nodes that fail to satisfy their contract get a lower degree of trust. MWPS is based on the .NET framework and provides the minimal level of security expected in distributed processing environments. Users and processing nodes are fully authenticated. Communications and messages between nodes are very secure. The system has been implemented using C#. MWPS may be used by any group of people or companies to establish a parallel processing or grid environment.

Web Log Mining by an Improved AprioriAll Algorithm

This paper sets forth the possibility and importance about applying Data Mining in Web logs mining and shows some problems in the conventional searching engines. Then it offers an improved algorithm based on the original AprioriAll algorithm which has been used in Web logs mining widely. The new algorithm adds the property of the User ID during the every step of producing the candidate set and every step of scanning the database by which to decide whether an item in the candidate set should be put into the large set which will be used to produce next candidate set. At the meantime, in order to reduce the number of the database scanning, the new algorithm, by using the property of the Apriori algorithm, limits the size of the candidate set in time whenever it is produced. Test results show the improved algorithm has a more lower complexity of time and space, better restrain noise and fit the capacity of memory.

Bee Parameter Determination via Weighted Centriod Modified Simplex and Constrained Response Surface Optimisation Methods

Various intelligences and inspirations have been adopted into the iterative searching process called as meta-heuristics. They intelligently perform the exploration and exploitation in the solution domain space aiming to efficiently seek near optimal solutions. In this work, the bee algorithm, inspired by the natural foraging behaviour of honey bees, was adapted to find the near optimal solutions of the transportation management system, dynamic multi-zone dispatching. This problem prepares for an uncertainty and changing customers- demand. In striving to remain competitive, transportation system should therefore be flexible in order to cope with the changes of customers- demand in terms of in-bound and outbound goods and technological innovations. To remain higher service level but lower cost management via the minimal imbalance scenario, the rearrangement penalty of the area, in each zone, including time periods are also included. However, the performance of the algorithm depends on the appropriate parameters- setting and need to be determined and analysed before its implementation. BEE parameters are determined through the linear constrained response surface optimisation or LCRSOM and weighted centroid modified simplex methods or WCMSM. Experimental results were analysed in terms of best solutions found so far, mean and standard deviation on the imbalance values including the convergence of the solutions obtained. It was found that the results obtained from the LCRSOM were better than those using the WCMSM. However, the average execution time of experimental run using the LCRSOM was longer than those using the WCMSM. Finally a recommendation of proper level settings of BEE parameters for some selected problem sizes is given as a guideline for future applications.

Speed Sensorless Direct Torque Control of a PMSM Drive using Space Vector Modulation Based MRAS and Stator Resistance Estimator

This paper presents a speed sensorless direct torque control scheme using space vector modulation (DTC-SVM) for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive based a Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) algorithm and stator resistance estimator. The MRAS is utilized to estimate speed and stator resistance and compensate the effects of parameter variation on stator resistance, which makes flux and torque estimation more accurate and insensitive to parameter variation. In other hand the use of SVM method reduces the torque ripple while achieving a good dynamic response. Simulation results are presented and show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Staling and Quality of Iranian Flat Bread Stored at Modified Atmosphere in Different Packaging

This study investigated the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and different packaging to extend the shelf life of Barbari flat bread. Three atmospheres including 70%CO2 and 30%N2, 50% CO2 and 50%N2 and a normal air as control were used. The bread samples were packaged in three type pouches. The shelf life was determined by appearance of mold and yeast (M +Y) in Barbari bread samples stored at 25 ± 1°C and 38 ± 2% relative humidity. The results showed that it is possible to prolong the shelf life of Barbari bread from four days to about 21 days by using modified atmosphere packaging with high carbon dioxide concentration and high-barrier laminated and vacuum bags packages. However, the hardness of samples kept in MAP increase significantly by increase of carbon dioxide concentration. The correlation coefficient (r) between headspace CO2 concentration and hardness was 0.997, 0.997 and 0.599 for A, B and C packaging respectively. High negative correlation coefficients were found between the crumb moisture and the hardness values in various packaging. There were significant negative correlation coefficients between sensory parameters and hardness of texture.

Two-step Iterative Process For Common Fixed Points of Two Asymptotically Quasi-nonexpansive Mappings

In this paper, we consider an iteration process for approximating common fixed points of two asymptotically quasinonexpansive mappings and we prove some strong and weak convergence theorems for such mappings in uniformly convex Banach spaces.

Energy Consumption and Surface Finish Analysis of Machining Ti6Al4V

Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions impose major threat to global warming potential (GWP). Unfortunately manufacturing sector is one of the major sources that contribute towards the rapid increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. In manufacturing sector electric power consumption is the major driver that influences CO2 emission. Titanium alloys are widely utilized in aerospace, automotive and petrochemical sectors because of their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Titanium alloys are termed as difficult to cut materials because of their poor machinability rating. The present study analyzes energy consumption during cutting with reference to material removal rate (MRR). Surface roughness was also measured in order to optimize energy consumption.

Development of New Cooling System using Nacelle Duct

In this paper, a new cooling system using a nacelle duct is proposed for the mechanical room in the household refrigerator. The conventional mechanical room consists of a condenser, a compressor and an axial fan. The axial fan is mainly responsible for cooling the condenser and the compressor. The new cooling system is developed by replacing the axial fan with the nacelle duct including the small centrifugal fan. The parametric study is carried out to find the optimum designs of the nacelle duct in terms of performance and efficiency. Through this study, it is revealed that the new system can reduce the space, electrical power and noise compared with the conventional system