A Critique on “Measurement of the Hygric Resistance of Concrete Blocks with Perfect Contact Interface: Influence of the Contact Area”

Background: In March 2021, this journal published the article “Measurement of the hygric resistance of concrete blocks with perfect contact interface: influence of the contact area”. That article reports on a study on the impact of ‘perfect contact’ between concrete blocks on moisture absorption, with a focus on the impact of the sample cross-section. Objective: This critique aims at formulating several essential concerns on the hygric aspects of that article, thus expressing the discusser’s reservations on the reliability of the presented outcomes in particular and the published article in general. Methods: The data, as provided in the graphs of the critiqued article, are digitally extracted and further analysed by the discusser. Results: That analysis results in serious concerns with regard to 1) the magnitude of the quantified post-interface flows, 2) the distinguishability of the moisture absorption in the monolithic and perfect contact samples, 3) the robustness of the knee-point identification algorithm, 4) the dependability of the capillary absorption measurements, and 5) the consistency of the capillary absorption processing. These are finally translated into 8 concrete questions to be addressed by the authors of the critiqued article in order to placate these doubts and establish the reliability of their work. Conclusion: This critique formulates appreciable apprehension with respect to an earlier publication in the journal and invites its authors to respond to that via answering the 8 concrete questions. If not satisfactory, then the critiqued article’s findings cannot be considered reliable, and the journal should reconsider its prior publication.

A Nonlinear Fatigue Damage Model Based on Equivalent Transformation of Stress

It is rather difficult for engineers to apply many of the fatigue damage models for requiring a knee point, material-dependent coefficient, or extensive testing, and some of them are only validated by a fatigue test of two-stage loading rather than higher-stage loading. In this paper, we propose a new model of fatigue cumulative damage in variable amplitude loading, which just requires the information of the S-N curve determined from the fatigue experiment. Specifically, the proposed model defines a stress equivalent transformation way to translate the damage of one stress to another stress through simple calculation. Experimental data of fatigue including two-, three-, and four-block loading verify the superiority of the proposed model by comparing it with the Miner model and Manson model. The results show that the proposed model can be generalized to any type of loading and presents a better prediction. Therefore, the advantage of the proposed model can be easily used by an engineer.

Amount of Frequency Compression in Bimodal Cochlear Implant Users Is a Poor Predictor for Audibility and Spatial Hearing

Purpose Speech understanding in noise and horizontal sound localization is poor in most cochlear implant (CI) users with a hearing aid (bimodal stimulation). This study investigated the effect of static and less-extreme adaptive frequency compression in hearing aids on spatial hearing. By means of frequency compression, we aimed to restore high-frequency audibility, and thus improve sound localization and spatial speech recognition. Method Sound-detection thresholds, sound localization, and spatial speech recognition were measured in eight bimodal CI users, with and without frequency compression. We tested two compression algorithms: a static algorithm, which compressed frequencies beyond the compression knee point (160 or 480 Hz), and an adaptive algorithm, which aimed to compress only consonants leaving vowels unaffected (adaptive knee-point frequencies from 736 to 2946 Hz). Results Compression yielded a strong audibility benefit (high-frequency thresholds improved by 40 and 24 dB for static and adaptive compression, respectively), no meaningful improvement in localization performance (errors remained > 30 deg), and spatial speech recognition across all participants. Localization biases without compression (toward the hearing-aid and implant side for low- and high-frequency sounds, respectively) disappeared or reversed with compression. The audibility benefits provided to each bimodal user partially explained any individual improvements in localization performance; shifts in bias; and, for six out of eight participants, benefits in spatial speech recognition. Conclusions We speculate that limiting factors such as a persistent hearing asymmetry and mismatch in spectral overlap prevent compression in bimodal users from improving sound localization. Therefore, the benefit in spatial release from masking by compression is likely due to a shift of attention to the ear with the better signal-to-noise ratio facilitated by compression, rather than an improved spatial selectivity. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16869485

TỐI ƯU HÓA TIN CẬY VA ĐẬP CỦA ỐNG ĐA TẾ BÀO HÌNH VUÔNG CHỊU TẢI VA ĐẬP XIÊN

Tối ưu hóa tin cậy va đập của những ống hình vuông đa đa tế bào trong trường hợp va đập xiên được nghiên cứu trong bài báo này. Đối với các cấu trúc này, các chỉ số tin cậy va đập SEA và PCF được thu thập bằng cách sử dụng HYPERMESH / LS-DYNA. Pareto front thu được bẳng cách kết hợp response surface (RS) và Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II). Một “giải pháp tốt hơn” (hay còn gọi là knee point) được xác định từ Pareto front. Kết quả của nghiên cứu này là cơ sở tham khảo cho việc thiết kế các cấu trúc đa tế bào có khả năng tin cậy va đập tốt hơn.

Investigation of sag behaviour for aluminium conductor steel reinforced considering tensile stress distribution

Sag calculation plays an important role in overhead line design. Since the tensile stress of aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) is required for the sag calculation, an analysis on sag behaviour when considering the tensile stress distribution can be very useful to improve the accuracy of sag results. First, this paper analyses the ACSR tensile stress distribution arising from the temperature maldistribution through proposing a new calculation formula. A finite-element analysis (FEA) model of ACSR is conducted for the solution of the new formula. By using the results, the error and limitations of the existing sag calculation methods for ACSR are discussed. As the critical point of sag calculation, knee-point temperature is solved iteratively involving the tensile stress maldistribution phenomenon in aluminium wires. Based on this iterative solution, an improved analytical method for the ACSR sag calculation considering the creep effect is presented and also compared with the hybrid sag method. The results show that these two methods are basically coincident without the consideration of creep effect, while there are non-negligible differences between them as the creep strain is involved. Compared with the existing analytical methods, the improved sag calculation method proposed in this paper can be applied in more extensive situations.

Selection of Optimal Magnets for Traction Motors to Prevent Demagnetization

Currently, permanent-magnet-type traction motors drive most electric vehicles. However, the potential demagnetization of magnets in these motors limits the performance of an electric vehicle. It is well known that during severe duty, the magnets are demagnetized if they operate beyond a ‘knee point’ in the B(H) curve. We show herein that the classic knee point definition can degrade a magnet by up to 4 grades. To prevent consequent excessive loss in performance, this paper defines the knee point k as the point of intersection of the B(H) curve and a parallel line that limits the reduction in its residual flux density to 1%. We show that operating above such a knee point will not be demagnetizing the magnets. It will also prevent a magnet from degenerating to a lower grade. The flux density at such a knee point, termed demag flux density, characterizes the onset of demagnetization. It rightly reflects the value of a magnet, so can be used as a basis to price the magnets. Including such knee points in the purchase specifications also helps avoid the penalty of getting the performance of a low-grade magnet out of a high-grade magnet. It also facilitates an accurate demagnetization analysis of traction motors in the worst-case conditions.

Optimal Control Applied to Oenological Management of Red Wine Fermentative Macerations

The management of wineries for industrial red winemaking is limited by the capacity and availability of fermentation tanks over the harvest season. The winemakers aim to optimize the wine quality, the fermentative maceration length, and the fermentation tank’s productive cycle simultaneously. Maceration in varietal wine production is carried out until a specific sugar content (digging-out point) is attained, finishing before alcoholic fermentation. Winemakers have found that by trial and error handling of the digging-out point, they can improve the winery capacity and production cost. In this work, we develop an optimal control problem for managing the digging-out point considering two objectives associated with process efficiency and costs. A good compromise between these objectives was found by applying multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques and the knee point. Two control strategies were compared: free nutrition and traditional nutrition. TOPSIS and LINMAP algorithms were used to choose the most suitable strategy that coincided with the knee point. The preferred option was nitrogen addition only at the beginning of fermentation (6.6–10.6 g/hL of DAP) and a high fermentation temperature (30 °C), yielding the desired digging-out point with a small error (6–9 g/L).

KARAKTERISTIK PETIR INDONESIA DAN PENGGUNAANNYA DALAM EVALUASI UNJUK KERJA SALURAN UDARA 150 KV SAAT TERJADI SAMBARAN PETIR

Berdasarkan data historis, gangguan saluran transmisi udara di Indonesia mayoritas disebabkan oleh sambaran petir; hal tersebut mendorong PT PLN (Persero) sebagai perusahaan listrik milik negara untuk mengevaluasi unjuk kerja saluran udara terhadap sambaran petir. Pada makalah ini disajikan evaluasi karakterisasi petir menggunakan rekam data sistem deteksi petir/LDS (studi kasus untuk Jawa Barat) meliputi: jumlah sambaran, persentase polaritas, nilai modus arus puncak, persentase kejadian kumulatif, serta peta kerapatan petir. Evaluasi unjuk kerja saluran dilakukan melalui 1) simulasi tegangan lebih menggunakan perangkat lunak transient pada pemodelan saluran 150 kV untuk mengetahui korelasi arus puncak petir terhadap kenaikan tegangan pada insulator saat terjadi sambaran petir dan 2) evaluasi sudut lindung menggunakan Electro Geo-metric Model (EGM). Berdasarkan pengolahan data tahun 2018-2020, terdapat fluktuasi total kejadian petir per tahun dimana 84,63% (σ= 1,71) dari kejadian merupakan petir polaritas negatif. Modus nilai arus puncak petir adalah 12,33 kA (σ= 1,52), sementara persentase kejadian kumulatif memiliki knee point pada nilai 40 kA. Pola kerapatan petir tertinggi tidak mengalami perbedaan signifikan selama periode pengamatan dan bulan ke-7 merupakan periode dengan kejadian petir terendah. Hasil simulasi sambaran petir 40 kA pada kawat pembumiaan menunjukkan bahwa insulator mengalami kenaikan tegangan hingga 1083 kV; hal tersebut mendekati nilai Basic Impulse Insulation Level (BIL) dari insulator. Desain sudut lindung mampu mencegah shielding failure untuk arus petir ≥11 kA; meskipun demikian, perlu dicatat bahwa shielding failure akibat petir 10 kA menyebabkan kenaikan tegangan insulator melebihi nilai BIL. Peningkatan unjuk kerja saluran transmisi 150 kV tersebut dapat dilakukan dengan didasari oleh pertimbangan risk, cost dan benefit yang komprehensif.