Investigating the Condition Monitoring Potential of Oil Conductivity for Wear Identification in Electro Hydrostatic Actuators

To meet future goals of more electric airplanes conventional hydraulic airplane control systems, consisting of redundant centralized pumps within the airplane’s fuselage, need to be substituted for compact electro-hydraulic actuators (EHA). The capsulated architecture of EHAs results in higher safety due to separate hydraulic circuits, simple practicability of redundancy, decreased maintenance because of simplified error location detection as well as an overall reduction in weight and complexity of the airplane control system. Currently, EHAs are only used as backup devices as the reliability does not achieve normative requirements for a frontline application. Thus, recent studies aim to increase the reliability. The axial piston pump of current EHA is the source of most failures. High dynamic requirements and challenging operation points and environments result in wear of contact pairs such as swash plate/piston shoes, pistons/cylinder block and cylinder block/valve plate. In the scope of the project MODULAR at ifas one goal is to increase the robustness of the contact surfaces. A second goal addresses the topic of developing a condition monitoring approach to constantly track the pumps’ health status. Next to signals such as pressures and temperatures, acceleration and oil status signals describing the actual particle contamination are needed. In this contribution different methods of oil status detection are explained and the method of electric conductivity analysis for condition monitoring is further investigated. Filtered HLP46 is used and impurities in form of metallic powders are added. Furthermore, degraded oil of a disc-on-disc Tribometer test bench is measured and compared.

Alarm method of communication intelligent manhole cover based on multiple event fusion

As a comprehensive utilization of pipeline resources, communication intelligent manhole cover (CIMC) can effectively real-time monitor communication manhole cover and protect the safety of communication pipeline. Due to the complex working environment of manhole cover and the random error of sensor, the traditional monitoring method usual leads to frequent false alarm in actual applications. In order to ensure the monitoring service quality and improve the service efficiency, a new alarm method of CIMC with multiple event fusion in this paper via jointing analysis of multi-sensor status signals is proposed based on the equipment status signals generated by the CIMC terminal and abnormal alarm events definition. The experimental result shows that the proposed CIMC alarm method by means of multiple sensor signals in this paper can not only make up for the defect of a single sensor, but also reduces the false alarm rate caused by the random error of sensor and CIMC system. It can promote the intelligent monitoring efficiency of the manhole cover and be conducive to the construction of intelligent transportation and smart city.

Alarm Method of Communication Intelligent Manhole Cover Based on Multiple Event Fusion

Communication intelligent manhole cover (CIMC) can effectively, accurately and in real time monitor the status change of communication manhole cover and helps protect the safety of communication pipeline and the comprehensive utilization of pipeline resources. The traditional monitoring method often leads to frequent false alarms due to the complex working environment of manhole cover and the random error of sensor. In terms of the equipment status signals generated by the CIMC terminal, a new alarm method of CIMC with multiple event fusion in this paper via jointing analysis of multi-sensor status signals is proposed on the basis of abnormal alarm events definition. The experimental result shows that the proposed CIMC alarm method by means of multiple sensor signals in this paper can not only make up for the defect that it is difficult to fully reflect the real state of manhole cover by a single sensor, but also reduces the false alarm rate caused by the random error of sensor and CIMC system. It has better practicability for the intelligent management of manhole cover and be conducive to the construction of intelligent transportation and smart city.

Meta-Research: Weak evidence of country- and institution-related status bias in the peer review of abstracts

Research suggests that scientists based at prestigious institutions receive more credit for their work than scientists based at less prestigious institutions, as do scientists working in certain countries. We examined the extent to which country- and institution-related status signals drive such differences in scientific recognition. In a preregistered survey experiment, we asked 4,147 scientists from six disciplines (astronomy, cardiology materials science, political science, psychology and public health) to rate abstracts that varied on two factors: i) author country (high status vs lower status in science); ii) author institution (high status vs lower status university). We found only weak evidence of country- or institution-related status bias, and mixed regression models with discipline as random-effect parameter indicated that any plausible bias not detected by our study must be small in size.

Beyond Hirsh-index: Status signals among Russian researchers

The article presents the results of a study of signals conveying positive or negative messages about social scientists. We surveyed sociologists actively publishing in the Russian language (N = 810). Subjects were asked to respond to a hypothetical situation in which they were to assess CVs of a fictional applicant for a grant competition. Attributes of scholars comprising a standard academic biography differed markedly both in their salience and in the degree of consensus about their importance. A book written single-handedly was the most unanimously recognized symbol of academic merit among Russian sociologists. The least agreement was about the signals related to the presence at the international intellectual scene (teaching in a “well-known European university”, publishing in international periodicals) and to the participation in dissertation production (supervising or serving as a reviewer of many dissertations). Importance of these groups of signals depends on the overall orientation to the local or global audience and age. There were much more consensus about the attributes in different ways discrediting scientists, such as plagiarizing or multiple publications.

The influence of social-grouping on territorial defense behavior in the black-crested titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)

Status signals have evolved for individuals to avoid energetic and physical costs of resource defense. These signals reflect an individual’s competitive ability and therefore influence competitors’ decisions on how to invest in a fight. We hypothesized that the response of receivers to status signals will depend on the social context. During territorial defense, group members may provide support to a territory owner by participating in defense. We investigated whether the presence of juveniles—who group together with territorial males—alters the territorial male’s attack decisions and level of aggression in the black-crested titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus). Crest-length in this species functions as status signal. We simultaneously presented two taxidermic male models in a territory: one with an unmanipulated crest and one with a modified shortened crest. Models were presented to males that had resident juveniles cohabiting on their territory, and to males without juveniles. During intrusions, juveniles actively defended against the simulated intruders by approaching and sometimes attacking. The presence of juveniles affected how territorial males responded to the status signals of the intruders: when juveniles were present, males were more likely to first attack the model with the unmanipulated crest (i.e., longer, and more threatening), compared to males residing without juveniles. This suggests that juvenile support alters the risk-taking decision of the territorial male. To our knowledge, this is the first indication that behavioral responses to a status signal depends on the presence of supportive group members. Significance statement Status signals can indicate relative quality of animals and can therefore be used to evaluate a competitor when deciding whether or not to fight over resources. The black-crested titmouse has been shown to use its crest length as a status signal during fights over food. In our study, we assessed if this status signal is also used in territorial defense, by conducting an experiment where we presented two taxidermic male models with different crest sizes to a territorial male. We also investigated whether juvenile presence influenced which model was attacked. In trials where juveniles were present, territorial males attacked the longer crested model significantly more often than in trials where territorial males were alone. This suggests that the presence of juveniles, which help the male defend the territory, allows the male to attack the more aggressive-appearing intruder.

Prosocial Virtual Reality, Empathy, and EEG Measures: A Pilot Study Aimed at Monitoring Emotional Processes in Intergroup Helping Behaviors

During a non-invasive procedure, participants both helped and helped by a confederate with features that create social distance (membership in an ethnic outgroup or another social group). For this purpose, we created a set of virtual scenarios in which the confederate’s ethnicity (white vs. black) and appearance (business man vs. beggar, with casual dress as a control condition) were crossed. The study aimed to explore how the emotional reactions of participants changed according to the confederate’s status signals as well as signals that they belong to the same or a different ethnic group. Participants’ alertness, calmness, and engagement were monitored using electroencephalogram (EEG) during the original virtual reality (VR) video sessions. Participants’ distress and empathy when exposed to helping interactions were self-assessed after the VR video sessions. The results pointed out that, irrespective of whether they helped the confederate or were helped by him/her, white participants showed higher levels of alertness when exposed to helping interactions involving a white beggar or a black businessman, and their emotional calmness and engagement were higher when interacting with a black beggar or a white businessman. The results for self-assessed distress and empathy followed the same tendency, indicating how physiological and self-assessed measures can both contribute to a better understanding of the emotional processes in virtual intergroup helping situations. Based on the presented results, the methodological and practical implications of VR in terms of enhancing self-reflective capacities in intergroup helping processes are discussed.