User Guide for Procurement of Plant Design, Supply, and Installation: Standard Bidding Document

This document guides borrowers on how to prepare a bidding document for a single-responsibility contract covering design, supply, and installation of plant, and how to evaluate bids and award contracts for both single-stage and two-stage bidding procedures.

The effects of aircraft use and available repair spares on aircraft sortie generation: a long-duration logistical wargaming simulation tool

Long-duration logistical wargames within the Air domain are complex and highly dynamic events that are driven by aircraft availability. In order to gain insight into the impact of aircraft use, this research developed a simulation tool that uses a stepwise approach for adjudication and provides the user many capabilities including, but not limited to, the ability to have multiple bases and types of aircraft. Daily aircraft availability and missions accomplished are two critical metrics of interest. Within the simulation, the user has the ability to control types of part failures, control parts availability, control maintenance capabilities, and control number of mission scheduled. Finally, the user can account for the possibility of attrition along with the effects of numerous major events present in real-life scenarios. This tool is validated through application of a space covering design along with regression modeling and shows that the tool is well-behaved, functions as expected, and can quickly provide meaningful insights into operational scenarios.

Managing energy performance in buildings from design to operation using modelling and calibration

To manage the concerns regarding the energy performance gap in buildings, a structured and longitudinal performance assessment of buildings, covering design through to operation, is necessary. Modelling can form an integral part of this process by ensuring that a good practice design stage modelling is followed by an ongoing evaluation of operational stage performance using a robust calibration protocol. In this paper, we demonstrate, via a case study of an office building, how a good practice design stage model can be fine-tuned for operational stage using a new framework that helps validate the causes for deviations of actual performance from design intents. This paper maps the modelling based process of tracking building performance from design to operation, identifying the various types of performance gaps. Further, during the operational stage, the framework provides a systematic way to separate the effect of (i) operating conditions that are driven by the building’s actual function and occupancy as compared with the design assumptions, and (ii) the effect of potential technical issues that cause underperformance. As the identification of issues is based on energy modelling, the process requires use of advanced and well-documented simulation tools. The paper concludes with providing an outline of the software platform requirements needed to generate robust design models and their calibration for operational performance assessments. Practical application The paper’s findings are a useful guide for building industry professionals to manage the performance gap with appropriate accuracy through a robust methodology in an easy to use workflow. The methodological framework to analyse building energy performance in-use links best practice design stage modelling guidance with a robust operational stage investigation. It helps designers, contractors, building managers and other stakeholders with an understanding of procedures to follow to undertake an effective measurement and verification exercise.

DAC Assessment Tool (DAT)

The DAC Assessment Tool (DAT) is a questionnaire which may be used or completed by the study PI and her/his team covering design, analyze, and communicate topics important to consider when designing informative studies. While not all points are relevant to all studies, in general they are intended to promote sound and proven scientific methodology combined with the use of recent innovations in trial design. For example, in addition to supporting PI teams as they plan their study, fully completed DATs can serve as diagnostic guides to help study stakeholders assess whether a proposed study is likely to provide definitive answers and lead to implementable results. Completed DATs help identify gaps in study planning that need to be addressed with funding and technical partnerships before a study is finalized or initiated.

A review of algorithms and techniques for image-based recognition and inference in mobile robotic systems

Autonomous vehicles include driverless, self-driving and robotic cars, and other platforms capable of sensing and interacting with its environment and navigating without human help. On the other hand, semiautonomous vehicles achieve partial realization of autonomy with human intervention, for example, in driver-assisted vehicles. Autonomous vehicles first interact with their surrounding using mounted sensors. Typically, visual sensors are used to acquire images, and computer vision techniques, signal processing, machine learning, and other techniques are applied to acquire, process, and extract information. The control subsystem interprets sensory information to identify appropriate navigation path to its destination and action plan to carry out tasks. Feedbacks are also elicited from the environment to improve upon its behavior. To increase sensing accuracy, autonomous vehicles are equipped with many sensors [light detection and ranging (LiDARs), infrared, sonar, inertial measurement units, etc.], as well as communication subsystem. Autonomous vehicles face several challenges such as unknown environments, blind spots (unseen views), non-line-of-sight scenarios, poor performance of sensors due to weather conditions, sensor errors, false alarms, limited energy, limited computational resources, algorithmic complexity, human–machine communications, size, and weight constraints. To tackle these problems, several algorithmic approaches have been implemented covering design of sensors, processing, control, and navigation. The review seeks to provide up-to-date information on the requirements, algorithms, and main challenges in the use of machine vision–based techniques for navigation and control in autonomous vehicles. An application using land-based vehicle as an Internet of Thing-enabled platform for pedestrian detection and tracking is also presented.

Phase noise performance stabilization of PLL system under dynamic vibration condition for airborne applications

The purpose of this paper is to disclose improved crystal based frequency source system covering design techniques and experimental methodologies for the stabilization of phase noise performance of X-band phase-locked loop (PLL) at 10.6 GHz. Phase noise performance of PLL-based unit under test (UUT) is prone to disturbance occurred in random vibration profile frequency spectrum. UUT self-resonance plays vital role in occurrence of disturbance in random vibration profile. The stabilization of phase noise performance during dynamic (random) vibration condition is achieved by following methodologies, i.e. vibration-isolator compensation techniques, purification tactic for reference crystal of PLL, and spatial location analysis for finding out mounting position of reference crystal. Spatial analysis helps to filter out UUT self-resonance frequency from random vibration spectrum which leads to reduction of frequency resonance pickups during random vibration testing.

On $q$-Covering Designs

A $q$-covering design $\mathbb{C}_q (n, k, r)$, $k \ge r$, is a collection $\mathcal{X}$ of $(k-1)$-spaces of $PG(n-1, q)$ such that every $(r-1)$-space of $PG(n-1,q)$ is contained in at least one element of $\mathcal{X}$ . Let $\mathcal{C}_q(n, k, r)$ denote the minimum number of $(k-1)$-spaces in a $q$-covering design $\mathbb{C}_q (n, k, r)$. In this paper improved upper bounds on $\mathcal{C}_q(2n, 3, 2)$, $n \ge 4$, $\mathcal{C}_q(3n + 8, 4, 2)$, $n \ge 0$, and $\mathcal{C}_q(2n,4,3)$, $n \ge 4$, are presented. The results are achieved by constructing the related $q$-covering designs.

Green road evaluation system and its progression route -Case study of Hubei province, China

In view of the lack of coordination or guidance of green road concept and relevant evaluation to encourage sustainability, we redefined the concept of green road and its characteristics, and then reviewed some cross-sector targets of various departments related to green development. The history of green road related policies and studies were reviewed, and a green road evaluation indices system were established with 2 broad categories-compulsory and selective. The compulsory category contains 8 indices; and the selective category includes 76 indices, which are divided into 7 categories and 31 subcategories, covering design, construction and operation. In order to improve the evaluation continually, rating principles, grading methods and main reference literature were given. Then we selected 30 indices and design in a questionnaire to trial evaluation, and 11 projects of Hubei province were collected and used for analysis. Finally, based on the long-term and complexity of the evaluation system, we suggest some key improving strategies of green road evaluation in China. The establishment of the green road system is an attempt to bridge the requirements of different departments, and to stimulate the progressing technology to meet various challenges.

Design of a Digital Art Teaching Platform Based on Automatic Recording Technology

Digital media art is a brand-new course combining technology and art under the background of streaming media. Since digital art is based on computer technology, the course is required to keep up with the frontiers of science and technology, and the speed of knowledge update should keep pace with the development of the times. Traditional teaching methods are inflexible and outdated, so that students’ knowledge is lagging far behind market demands. In addition, the courseware produced by teachers themselves is not well-targeted and the production cost is high. With this regard, a micro-lesson teaching platform for Digital Art was designed based on the five-star teaching theory and the automatic micro-lesson recording system. The design follows the principles of driving learners’ interest with tasks and using learning activities to support services and deepen skills, covering design of micro-lesson learning content, design of learning activities to support services, design of application, and design of evaluation. The results show that the micro-lesson teaching platform can improve learners’ interest, achievement and self-confidence in learning; at the same time, it can improve the quality of teachers’ micro-lesson resources and reduce the workload of teachers in producing micro-lesson.