An Experimental and Numerical Study on Embedded Rebar Diameter in Concrete Using Ground Penetrating Radar

High frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been widely used to detect and locate rebars in concrete. In this paper, a method of estimating the diameter of steel rebars in concrete with GPR is investigated. The relationship between the maximum normalized positive GPR amplitude from embedded rebars and the rebar diameter was established. Concrete samples with rebars of different diameters were cast and the maximum normalized amplitudes were recorded using a 2.6 GHz GPR antenna. Numerical models using GPRMAX software were developed and verified with the experimental data. The numerical models were then used to investigate the effect of dielectric constant of concrete and concrete cover on the maximum normalized amplitude. The results showed that there is an approximate linear relationship between the rebar diameter and the maximum GPR normalized amplitude. The developed models can be conveniently used to estimate the embedded rebar diameters in existing concrete with GPR scanning; if the concrete is homogeneous, the cover depth is known and the concrete dielectric constant is also known. The models will be highly beneficial in forensic investigations of existing concrete structures with unknown rebar sizes and locations.

Research on Joint Handoff Algorithm in Vehicles Networks

With the communication services evolution from the fourth generation (4G) to the fifth generation (5G), we are going to face diverse challenges from the new network systems. On the one hand, seamless handoff is expected to integrate universal access among various network mechanisms. On the other hand, a variety of 5G technologies will complement each other to provide ubiquitous high speed wireless connectivity. Because the current wireless network cannot support the handoff among Wireless Access for Vehicular Environment (WAVE), WiMAX, and LTE flexibly, the paper provides an advanced handoff algorithm to solve this problem. Firstly, the received signal strength is classified, and the vehicle speed and data rate under different channel conditions are optimized. Then, the optimal network is selected for handoff. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can well adapt to high speed environment, guarantee flexible and reasonable vehicles access to a variety of networks, and prevent ping-pong handoff and link access failure effectively.

5G: Vision and Requirements for Mobile Communication System towards Year 2020

The forecast for future 10 years’ traffic demand shows an increase in 1000 scales and more than 100 billion connections of Internet of Things, which imposes a big challenge for future mobile communication technology beyond year 2020. The mobile industry is struggling in the challenges of high capacity demand but low cost for future mobile network when it starts to enable a connected mobile world. 5G is targeted to shed light on these contradictory demands towards year 2020. This paper firstly forecasts the vision of mobile communication’s application in the daily life of the society and then figures out the traffic trends and demands for next 10 years from the Mobile Broadband (MBB) service and Internet of Things (IoT) perspective, respectively. The requirements from the specific service and user demands are analyzed, and the specific requirements from typical usage scenarios are calculated by the defined performance indicators. To achieve the target of affordable 5G service, the requirements from network deployment and operation perspective are also captured. Finally, the capabilities and the efficiency requirements of the 5G system are demonstrated as a flower. To realize the vision of 5G, “information a finger away, everything in touch,” 5G will provide the fiber-like access data rate, “zero” latency user experience, and connecting to more than 100 billion devices and deliver a consistent experience across a variety of scenarios with the improved energy and cost efficiency by over a hundred of times.

Propagation Channel Comparison between 23.5 and 45 GHz in Conference Scenario

The characteristics of propagation channel at 23.5 and 45 GHz in an indoor conference room are studied based on hybrid approach. A ray-based simulator which includes the reflection, penetration, diffraction, and diffuse scattering is adopted to generate the massive channel realizations. This platform is well calibrated in path and power delay profile (PDP) levels according to some specified measurements at different frequencies. Subsequently, according to the simulated channel samples, the statistical channel model for both the large and small scale characteristics is established based on the alpha-beta approach and extended Saleh-Valenzuela (S-V) structure, respectively. Results show that the slope of fitted path loss (PL) is less than free space due to the waveguide effect for both 23.5 and 45 GHz in indoor scenario and larger PL is experienced at higher frequency. Additionally, the cluster is more centralized with less spreads and decaying faster in delay domain at 45 GHz.

Multiuser Beamforming with Limited Feedback for FDD Massive MIMO Systems

This paper discusses the multiuser beamforming in FDD massive MIMO systems. It first introduces the feature of FDD massive MIMO systems to implement multiuser beamforming schemes. After that, considering the realistic implementation of multiuser beamforming scheme in FDD massive MIMO systems, it introduces the knowledge of channel quantization. In the main part of the paper, we introduce two traditional multiuser beamforming schemes and analyse their merits and demerits. Based on these, we propose a novel multiuser beamforming scheme to flexibly combine the merits of the traditional beamforming schemes. In the final part of the paper, we give some simulation results to compare the beamforming schemes mentioned in the paper. These simulation results show the superiority of the proposed beamforming scheme.

Investigation of Control Model in a New Series Hybrid Hydraulic/Electric System for Heavy Vehicles Based on Energy Efficiency

An interesting model which was able to recuperate and reuse braking energy was investigated. It was named series hybrid hydraulic/electric system (SHHES). The innovated model was presented for heavy hybrid vehicles to overcome the existing drawbacks of single energy storage sources. The novelty of this paper was investigation of a new series hybrid vehicle with triple sources, combustion engine, electric motor, and hydraulic sources. It was simulated with MATLAB-Simulink and different operational mode of control system was investigated. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the energy-loading components in the power train system and the transmission system independently. The ability to store and reuse the kinetic energy was added to the system to prevent energy wasting while the vehicle was braking. Control models were also investigated to realize suitable control algorithms to offer the best efficiency in system components for different vehicle conditions. The torque control strategy based on fuzzy logic controller was proposed to achieve better vehicle performance while the fuel consumption was minimized. The results implied efficient storage and usage in the transmission system. A small vehicle model experimentally verified the simulation results.

Statistical Characteristics of Measured 3-Dimensional MIMO Channel for Outdoor-to-Indoor Scenario in China and New Zealand

The 3-dimensional (3D) channel model gives a better understanding of statistical characteristics for practical channels than the 2-dimensional (2D) channel model, by taking the elevation domain into consideration. As different organizations and researchers have agreed to a standard 3D channel model, we attempt to measure the 3D channel and determine the parameters of the standard model. In this paper, we present the statistical propagation results of the 3D multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) channel measurement campaign performed in China and New Zealand (NZ). The measurements are done for an outdoor-to-indoor (O2I) urban scenario. The dense indoor terminals at different floors in a building form a typical 3D propagation environment. The key parameters of the channel are estimated from the measured channel impulse response (CIR) using the spatial-alternating generalized expectation-maximization (SAGE) algorithm. Till now there is abundant research performed on the azimuth domain; this paper mainly considers the statistical characteristics of the elevation domain. A statistical analysis of 3D MIMO channel results for both China and NZ measurements is presented for the following parameters: power delay profile (PDP), root mean square (rms), delay spread (DS), elevation angle-of-arrival (EAoA) distribution, elevation angle-of-departure (EAoD) distribution, elevation angular spread (AS), and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD).

Modeling and Experiments of Severe Slugging in a Riser System

A transient mathematical model based on continuity equations for liquid and gas phases, with a momentum equation for the mixture, was developed, and numerical solutions and simulations corresponding to severe slugging in pipeline-riser system were presented, and the results were compared with the experimental data to verify the mathematical model. In numerical solutions, backward Euler schemes were adopted as predictors and trapezoidal methods were used as correctors. Variable time steps were employed for higher computational efficiency and accuracy in the integration. Experiments of severe slugging characteristics were performed, and the simulation results of the cycle periods and bottom pressure were compared with experimental values. Finally, the calculation results of detailed characteristics were analyzed thoroughly. The results show that the developed mathematical model can accurately predict the cycle time and the detailed characteristics of severe slugging. Under the experimental conditions, the liquid slug length can reach 1.6 times the height of the riser, and the maximum instantaneous gas velocity of outlet is 50 times the inlet gas velocity, and the maximum instantaneous liquid velocity of outlet is 28 times the inlet liquid velocity, having important implications for the hazard assessment of severe slugging.

Combinatorial Bayesian Dynamic Linear Models of Bridge Monitored Data and Reliability Prediction

Considering the uncertainties and randomness of the mass structural health monitored data, the objectives of this paper are to present (a) a procedure for effective incorporation of the monitored data for the reliability prediction of structural components or structures, (b) one transforming method of Bayesian dynamic linear models (BDLMs) based on 1-order polynomial function, (c) model monitoring mechanism used to look for possible abnormal data based on BDLMs, (d) combinatorial Bayesian dynamic linear models based on the multiple BDLMs and their corresponding weights of prediction precision, and (e) an effective way of taking advantage of combinatorial Bayesian dynamic linear models to incorporate the historical data and real-time data in structural time-variant reliability prediction. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the application and feasibility of the proposed procedures and concepts.