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Retired Columns
Fortuitous Ephiphaneia #2: Moths to the Flame
By Flux November 25, 2002 0
Moths to the Flame
Ever wonder how we got here? What I mean is, what drives us to play Diablo II, or any game for that matter. Even search out websites devoted to the game. And, what makes us come back time and again?
I know that the question has been asked before, but I am still waiting for a complete answer. Surely we are not all waiting around for the v1.10 patch like children waiting for our birthday party to start. There must be more to it than that. Maybe it is the variety mixed with the classic gameplay features that we have come to expect – how many different ways would you like to kill monsters today? So many classes, so many weapons, and so many skills all devoted to booting some bad guy butt. Just trying to play each character class through normal difficulty alone is time consuming enough. Add to that the fact that you need to know what you are doing to get a character through hell difficulty and you have really devoted a significant amount of time playing and learning those characters. I'm sure that re-playability (is that a word?) has some part to play. I have a stack of games that I no longer play just because they have lost their luster after a single conquest. Some of them have even become so dull or predictable that I haven't even finished them.
Is it the forum community that keeps Diablo alive and kicking? We have forums for every type of game play and character type available. There is even a Diablo II forum dedicated to non-diablo topics! How is that for having your cake and eating it too? I'm sure that a good portion of the people on the forums don't even play anymore, they just come to chat with the friends that they have made.
I don't know how many people have told me that they want to find every set and/or unique item in the game. I know it is one of the factors that brings me back to play. Even if I haven't played in a couple of weeks, it is so easy to just fire up the game and do a half dozen Mephy and/or Pindleskin runs in just a short time. Your odds of actually finding every item in the game on your own are actually worse than winning some state lotteries, but the game is already paid for and you just never know when you might get lucky. Ah, just once I would like to see a gold-lettered Giant Thresher laying on the ground.
Is it the online gaming experience that keeps people coming back for more? My intuition says no. The concept of battle.net play is awesome and the fact that it comes totally free with a purchase of your game is a big credit to Blizzard. But, there are still some issues to work out, too many people feel that they are being cheated or taken advantage of. Sometimes Battle.net gives me the feeling of being thrown into the wild west or some "Mad Max" chaotic world where you can die at any second: either from the "lag monster" or some other player who was suppose to be playing with you, rather than against you.
The analytical side of me believes that it is the fact that there are so many potential objectives to be achieved in the game. Whether people realize it or not, most of us are objective oriented and goal driven. We make mental, or sometimes physical, "lists" of things that we want to accomplish. If we don't accomplish them, then we feel a sense of failure. Sure, it's only a game, so we know that we can always come back to accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves, whether it be "taking all the character classes through hell difficulty", or "getting to level 99 in single player (players 8 of course)", or "collecting all the items in the game". Regardless of the objectives that we set, we do eventually come back! To make things even more maddening, the truly successful people in life create new objectives after they accomplish the old ones and once you take a step down that path towards a new objective there is no turning back. It is a continuous cycle that drives us forward.
All of the above ideas may be true and they may contribute to why we play Diablo over other games, but none of them really answers the question of why we play games in a fantasy world rather than trying to improve our own. Don't we all have some type of dragon to slay or demon to exorcise in our personal lives? Do we play these games to escape the harsh realities or external sources of stress in our daily lives?
A recent commercial uses the theme "live in your world, play in ours". Maybe we resort to gaming as a way to simplify problems and change a fantasy world because we have a difficult time changing our own. If so, it makes a good outlet to blow off stress. Good and evil is a pretty straightforward concept in games and the solutions are usually just as simple and usually involve violence – he who strikes with the biggest sword or most devastating spell wins!
The real world isn't so black and white, right or wrong, good or evil. The world in which we live in is very subjective and allows for interpretation of morals, ethics, and values which creates many shades of grey that we must balance our actions against. Being principle centered may help people to remove many of the grey areas and even simplify their choice of action, but it doesn't envelop every situation that you may encounter.
Is gaming really just about entertainment, or is there some subconscious hunger that is being satiated with every goal and objective achieved. As with most things, the answers are probably as diverse as the people who enjoy gaming. Regardless of the answers, I enjoy it and thus I do it. Is pleasure synonymous with good? No, not really, most theologians would indicate quite the contrary. But, I reason that ridding the world of demons can't be a bad thing either, whether they are in real life or in an imaginary one.
Disclaimer: Fortuitous Ephiphaneia is written by Drandimere (Paul J. Darling) and hosted by Diii.net. The views expressed in this column are those of the author, and are not necessarily the opinions of Diii.net.
The Diablo Podcast #71: Garwulf's Conversation
By Flux July 10, 2012
Brother Laz Explains What's Wrong with Diablo III's Legendaries
By Flux June 5, 2012
Stillman's Slab 50: Male Demon Hunter
By Flux November 30, 2011
More in Retired Columns
Stillman's Slab 49: Two Second Zombies
By Flux November 1, 2011 7
Stillman's Slab 48: Barbarism Part IV
Diabloii.Net Columns
Stillman's Slab #47: Gem Cutting
By Flux September 1, 2011 10


The Outreach Committee aims to provide neighborhood events that are inviting and accessible to everyone in the neighborhood. Through these events, we hope to build on Creston-Kenilworth's great personality: laid-back and very diverse. If you love to plan parties, meet new people, use social media or website maintenance then this is the committee for you!
Community Preparedness & Resilience Chair: John Legler ~ john.legler@gmail.com This committee's purpose is to promote individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience. It seeks to coordinate with the City of Portland Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET), other neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, local businesses & residents to provide resources in support of this purpose.
Standing Committees are ongoing and led by volunteer Committee Chairs who are current Board Members. Committees are a great way to contribute to the work of your Neighborhood Association outside of general meetings. Neighbors who have interest in the work of a committee should contact the Chair to find out what current projects are.


Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino says that he was "happy" with his team's performance in Monday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists that his team must improve following their 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld says that his team "deserved more" from their Premier League clash against Manchester City.
Riyad Mahrez scores the only goal of the game as Manchester City edge to a narrow 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur to regain top spot in the Premier League table.
Relive Man City's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur as Riyad Mahrez scores the only goal of the game at Wembley to take his side back to the top of the table.
Sports Mole provides predicted lineups, team news and a full match preview of the Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
Ahead of Monday's Premier League meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, Sports Mole selects the strongest combined XI from both teams.
Sports Mole predicts how Tottenham Hotspur will line up for their Premier League clash with Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
Sports Mole looks at how Manchester City could line up against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday evening.
Tottenham Hotspur will not reimburse Manchester City supporters who have bought tickets and arranged travel for next month's rearranged fixture, according to a report.
Pep Guardiola casts doubt over Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of reversing their Premier League home fixture with Manchester City to the Etihad Stadium on October 28.


UNFPA is searching for individuals who are self-starters, able to see through initiatives and bring energy, drive, ideas and innovation to the work of UNFPA in Uganda. You will be a person who works well in a multi-disciplinary setting, across different sectors and Management levels. You should have a track record of achieving results, a believer in teamwork and a strong communicator.
A full job description of the position can be accessed on https://erecruit.partneragencies.org and only online applications using this link will be accepted.


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Sinking as low as any public health charity foundation in recent history, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation - which purports to have a mission of fighting breast cancer - is "cutting off grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country to provide breast cancer screenings, including breast exams and mammogram referrals," according to an article in the Boston Globe.
The funding that is being cut amounts to a total of $680,000, which provided approximately 170,000 breast exams and resulted in more than 6,400 mammography referrals.
The reason for the withdrawal of funding: "Komen -- which sponsors walks and races to raise money for breast cancer research -- said it halted the grants because of a controversial investigation of Planned Parenthood by a Republican congressman, who claims the organization is using government funds for abortions...".
This story is, quite frankly, disgusting. The rest of the story is that the Komen Foundation is putting women's lives at risk - eliminating funding that could well restrict thousands of women's access to potentially life-saving breast exams and mammograms - and therefore is willing to knowingly increase breast cancer morbidity and mortality. All for one purpose: to make a political statement against abortion rights and succumb to political pressure from conservative right-to-life groups.
In my book, there are two things you don't ever mix: breast cancer screening and treatment and politics. If Komen is going to do that, they might as well run over a bunch of women with a bus. This is essentially what they are doing. The bus they are driving has a big Right-to-Life sign on the side of it. But to get their message across, they are taking a bunch of women's lives with them.
And to make matters worse, the women they are running over are more likely to be poor and more likely to come from communities of color. After all, wealthier women have more easy access to women's health services and are less likely to need the services of Planned Parenthood.
Komen is telling poor women, and especially poor black women: Sorry. We are going to have to deprive you of breast cancer screening because we need to make a political statement. Your risk for fatal breast cancer is going to rise, but it's all for the greater good: we're making a vital political statement in opposition to your right to an abortion.
You know - breast cancer does not care about political affiliations or views. It affects women regardless of their political views on abortion rights. It affects women who support abortion rights and women who oppose abortion rights.
Making a political statement at the expense of potential breast cancer patients is about as despicable as it gets in public health.
Not only is the Komen Foundation destroying its mission by acting in a way to support breast cancer, but it is also alienating thousands of women, including many with the very disease that the Foundation purports to be fighting. I can't think of a worse slap in the face to breast cancer patients and to women in general.
Moreover, the Komen Foundation has now destroyed its own brand. It has taken what was a very successful public health brand and turned it into nothing more than a right-wing, conservative front group, now masquerading as a health charity.
On a personal level, I will - sadly - discontinue my contributions to the Komen Foundation unless and until they restore this funding to Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screening services. I know many fellow physicians are taking a similar stand. Were I a physician on the Komen Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board, my resignation letter would have already been in the mail.


Grant Monck LL.B. Senior Counsel with PGgrowth, has over twenty years of experience as a board member, gift planner and senior fundraiser with conservation, education and health organizations across Canada. Grant's fundraising experience includes working on annual, capital and endowment campaigns, communications and government relations. Specific expertise in major gift fundraising and gift planning. Working with staff and volunteer teams has been key to his success.
After being called to the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario, Grant's fundraising career began in 1995 when he developed the planned giving program for the Canadian Cancer Society. Grant then headed the gift and estate planning program for the University of British Columbia. As a member of CAGP, Grant has held the positions of National Education Chair and Chair of the Greater Vancouver Chapter. Grant is currently Chair of the National Government Relations Committee. Grant has presented the Original Gift Planning course, Gift Planning Fundamentals course and spoken at National CAGP conferences since 1996. He was named a Friend of CAGP in 2016 for his advancement of strategic charitable giving on a national scale.
Grant established a private consulting firm in 2014 based in Vancouver providing services to community and hospital foundations, education, environmental, health, indigenous, religious and social service organizations in the areas of gift planning, major gift campaigns, government relations and overall strategic planning.
Grant greatly looks forward to assisting clients of PGgrowth in British Columbia and across Canada as a Senior Counsel in the area of gift planning.


We believe in a design/build collaborative approach. Whether we are building from plans we designed or from plans created elsewhere, our practical, design-minded building experience efficiently allows us to work through inherent changes or challenges that arise during construction. As your builder, we will always look for the solution that best serves you. Our attention to detail and passion for beautiful design means that we are there for you through every step of the process.


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You searched for +publisher:"Clemson University" +contributor:("Dr. Robert Prucka"). Showing records 1 – 12 of 12 total matches.
1. Zhang, Xueyu. Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging.
Degree: PhD, Automotive Engineering, 2016, Clemson University
URL: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2293
► This dissertation integrates battery thermal management and aging into the supervisory control optimization for a heavy-duty series hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The framework for… (more)
▼ This dissertation integrates battery thermal management and aging into the supervisory control optimization for a heavy-duty series hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The framework for multi-objective optimization relies on novel implementation of the Dynamic Programing algorithm, and predictive models of critical phenomena. Electrochemistry based battery aging model is integrated into the framework to assesses the battery aging rate by considering instantaneous lithium ion (Li+) surface concentration rather than average concentration. This creates a large state-action space. Therefore, the computational effort required to solve a Deterministic or Stochastic Dynamic Programming becomes prohibitively intense, and a neuro-dynamic programming approach is proposed to remove the 'curse of dimensionality' in classical dynamic programming. First, unified simulation framework is developed for in-depth studies of series HEV system. The integration of a refrigerant system model enables prediction of energy use for cooling the battery pack. Side reaction, electrolyte decomposition, is considered as the main aging mechanism of LiFePO4/Graphite battery, and an electrochemical model is integrated to predict side reaction rate and the resulting fading of capacity and power. An approximate analytical solution is used to solve the partial difference equations (PDEs) for Li+ diffusion. Comparing with finite difference method, it largely reduces the number of states with only a slight penalty on prediction accuracy. This improves computational efficiency, and enables inclusion of the electrochemistry based aging model in the power management optimization framework. Next, a stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) approach is applied to the optimization of supervisory control. Auxiliary cooling power is included in addition to vehicle propulsion. Two objectives, fuel economy and battery life, are optimized by weighted sum method. To reduce the computation load, a simplified battery aging model coupled with equivalent circuit model is used in SDP optimization; Li+ diffusion dynamics are disregarded, and surface concentration is represented by the average concentration. This reduces the system state number to four with two control inputs. A real-time implementable strategy is generated and embedded into the supervisory controller. The result shows that SDP strategy can improve fuel economy and battery life simultaneously, comparing with Thermostatic SOC strategy. Further, the tradeoff between fuel consumption and active Li+ loss is studied under different battery temperature. Finally, the accuracy of battery aging model for optimization is improved by adding Li+ diffusion dynamics. This increases the number of states and brings challenges to classical dynamic programming algorithms. Hence, a neuro-dynamic programming (NDP) approach is proposed for the problem with large state-action space. It combines the idea of functional approximation and temporal difference learning with dynamic programming; in that case the… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Zoran Filipi, Committee Chair, Dr. Simona Onori, Dr. Pierluigi Pisu, Dr. Robert Prucka.
Subjects/Keywords: Automotive Engineering
Zhang, X. (2016). Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2293
Zhang, Xueyu. "Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging." 2016. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2293.
Zhang, Xueyu. "Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging." 2016. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Zhang X. Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2293.
Zhang X. Supervisory Control Optimization for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Consideration of Battery Thermal Management and Aging. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2293
2. O'Donnell, Ryan. Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion.
► Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), exhibits many fundamentally attractive thermodynamic characteristics. These traits, along with lean charge and low combustion temperatures, generally act to increase… (more)
▼ Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), exhibits many fundamentally attractive thermodynamic characteristics. These traits, along with lean charge and low combustion temperatures, generally act to increase thermal efficiency relative to competing spark and/or compression ignition strategies. However, HCCI's extreme sensitivity to in-cylinder thermal conditions, place limits on practical implementation. Thus, at low temperatures, combustion remains incomplete limiting cycle efficiency while increasing emissions. In contrast, the introduction of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to in-cylinder surfaces has been shown to fundamentally alter gas-wall interactions. The work in this dissertation explores HCCI/TBC synergies. Both experimental and analytical pathways are explored, attempting to illuminate the impact(s) of coatings on engine heat transfer and combustion metrics. Efforts to correlate TBC thermophysical properties and surface phenomena with HCCI performance and emissions are also explored. Finally, methods are proposed to evaluate the TBC-gas interaction as it relates to thermal stratification of the in-cylinder charge. The present work seeks to identify, and eventually quantify HCCI/TBC synergies. A specific research effort is developed, attempting to illuminate the impact(s) of TBCs on fundamental HCCI combustion metrics. Efforts to correlate TBC thermophysical properties and surface phenomena with HCCI performance and emissions are also proposed. Analysis is enabled through complimentary analytic and experimental pathways - which includes specialized solution methodology and experimental hardware. Combined, these tools enable a more complete qualitative assessment of thermal barrier coating's impact on engine performance and emissions metrics, heat loss at the wall, and ultimately thermal stratification of the in-cylinder temperature field. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Zoran Filipi, Committee Chair, Dr. Mark Hoffman, Co-Chair, Dr. Richard Miller, Dr. Robert Prucka.
Subjects/Keywords: Combustion Efficiency; HCCI; Heat Transfer; Low Temperature Combustion; Thermal Barriers; Thermal Efficiency
O'Donnell, R. (2018). Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2200
O'Donnell, Ryan. "Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion." 2018. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2200.
O'Donnell, Ryan. "Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion." 2018. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
O'Donnell R. Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2200.
O'Donnell R. Experimental and Analytical Techniques for Evaluating the Impact of Thermal Barrier Coatings on Low Temperature Combustion. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2200
3. Zhu, Qilun. A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing.
► Pressure to improve spark-ignition (SI) engine fuel economy has driven thedevelopment and integration of many control actuators, creating complex controlsystems. Integration of a high number… (more)
▼ Pressure to improve spark-ignition (SI) engine fuel economy has driven thedevelopment and integration of many control actuators, creating complex controlsystems. Integration of a high number of control actuators into traditional map basedcontrollers creates tremendous challenges since each actuator exponentially increasescalibration time and investment. Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategies have thepotential to better manage this high complexity since they provide near-optimal controlactions based on system models. This research work focuses on investigating somepractical issues of applying MPC with SI engine control and testing.Starting from one dimensional combustion phasing control using spark timing(SPKT), this dissertation discusses challenges of computing the optimal control actionswith complex engine models. A nonlinear optimization is formulated to compute thedesired spark timing in real time, while considering knock and combustion variationconstraints. Three numerical approaches are proposed to directly utilize complex high-fidelity combustion models to find the optimal SPKT. A model based combustionphasing estimator that considers the influence of cycle-by-cycle combustion variations isalso integrated into the control system, making feedback and adaption functions possible.An MPC based engine management system with a higher number of controldimensions is also investigated. The control objective is manipulating throttle, externalEGR valve and SPKT to provide demanded torque (IMEP) output with minimum fuelconsumption. A cascaded control structure is introduced to simplify the formulation and solution of the MPC problem that solves for desired control actions. Sequential quadratic programming (SQP) MPC is applied to solve the nonlinear optimization problem in real time. A real-time linearization technique is used to formulate the sub-QP problems with the complex high dimensional engine system. Techniques to simplify the formulation of SQP and improve its convergence performance are also discussed in the context of tracking MPC. Strategies to accelerate online quadratic programming (QP) are explored. It is proposed to use pattern recognition techniques to "warm-start" active set QP algorithms for general linear MPC applications. The proposed linear time varying (LTV) MPC is used in Engine-in-Loop (EIL) testing to mimic the pedal actuations of human drivers who foresee the incoming traffic conditions. For SQP applications, the MPC is initialized with optimal control actions predicted by an ANN. Both proposed MPC methods significantly reduce execution time with minimal additional memory requirement. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Robert Prucka, Committee Chair, Dr. Hussein Dourra, Dr. Zoran Filipi, Dr. Simona Onori.
Zhu, Q. (2015). A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1760
Zhu, Qilun. "A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing." 2015. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1760.
Zhu, Qilun. "A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing." 2015. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Zhu Q. A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1760.
Zhu Q. A Study Model Predictive Control for Spark Ignition Engine Management and Testing. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1760
4. Wang, Shu. Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines.
► With more restrictive engine emissions regulations and higher energy prices, the modern engine is equipped with an increasing number of actuators to meet the fuel… (more)
▼ With more restrictive engine emissions regulations and higher energy prices, the modern engine is equipped with an increasing number of actuators to meet the fuel economy, drivability and emissions requirements. Although map-based engine control and calibration routines are state of the art, they become burdensome when the number of control degrees of freedom increases significantly. The increased system complexity motivates the use of model-based methods to minimize product development time and ensure calibration flexibility when the engine is altered during the design process. Model-based control has the potential to significantly reduce the labor, time and expense of engine calibration, as compared to state-of-the-art experimentally based methods. In this research, physics-based models designed for real-time SI engine combustion phasing prediction and control are proposed. To realize real-time implementation of this system several models are derived; (1) a physics based internal residual gas mass prediction model, (2) a real-time cylinder pressure calculation model, (3) a two-step physics based turbulence intensity model, (4) a flame kernel development prediction model, and (5) a spark selection algorithm are subsequently developed. The complete physical models based combustion phasing prediction and control system are implemented into a rapid prototype ECU to realize real-time engine tests. Steady-state and transient engine test results show that the proposed system can accurately predict key variables and control the SI engine combustion phasing in real-time. The root-mean-square-error (RMSE) of the combustion phasing control over a wide range of operating conditions is 2-3 crank angle degrees. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Robert Prucka, Committee Chair, Dr. Zoran Filipi, Co-Chair, Dr. Pierluigi Pisu, Dr. Hussein Dourra.
Wang, S. (2015). Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1762
Wang, Shu. "Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines." 2015. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1762.
Wang, Shu. "Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines." 2015. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Wang S. Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1762.
Wang S. Model Based Combustion Phasing Control for High Degree of Freedom Spark-Ignition Engines. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1762
5. Zhang, Dexin. Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics.
► This dissertation describes three independent studies related to electrical component failures affecting vehicle electronics. The topics covered are: comparison of the accelerator-pedal-to-engine-control module (AP-to-ECM),… (more)
▼ This dissertation describes three independent studies related to electrical component failures affecting vehicle electronics. The topics covered are: comparison of the accelerator-pedal-to-engine-control module (AP-to-ECM), the effect of electrical fast transients on multi-layer ceramic (MLC) capacitors, and electrical behavior of MLC capacitors damaged by electrostatic discharge. The first chapter examines the AP-to-ECM interfaces of five vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control systems. All five vehicles employ simple voltage level sensing from two or three sensors in the accelerator pedal assembly. The purpose of the study is to identify any differences in the AP-to-ECM interfaces of vehicles with high reported rates of unintended acceleration compared to vehicles with low reported rates of unintended acceleration. The study does not attempt to identify the root causes of unintended acceleration; however it points out important design issues that suggest a set of best practices for electronic throttle control design. The second chapter investigates the susceptibility of MLC capacitors to high-voltage electrical fast transients (EFTs). X7R and NP0 MLC capacitors with a 50-V voltage rating and 0603 package size were tested. X7R capacitors often failed during a spike in the voltage, but exhibited no obvious degradation in the measured insulation resistance at low voltages immediately after the failure. NP0 capacitors usually failed by suddenly shorting and maintaining the short after the failure. With the application of additional voltage spikes, some X7R capacitors exhibited a full recovery in terms of the measured resistance, returning to their initial state. The resistance of an X7R capacitor damaged by an EFT event is a function of the applied voltage. The terminal impedance can be modeled as two diodes in parallel. The third chapter investigates the electrical behavior of MLC capacitors subjected to electrostatic discharge (ESD). The degradation of MLC capacitors subjected to repeated discharges manifests itself as a non-linear resistance. The leakage current in degraded capacitors increases exponentially with an applied voltage. The I-V characteristics of these capacitors are symmetric with voltage and independent of the polarity of the ESD discharges responsible for the degradation. A model for a degraded capacitor consisting of two parallel diodes with opposite polarities is proposed. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Todd H. Hubing, Committee Chair, Dr. Pierluigi Pisu, Dr. Robert Prucka, Dr. Simona Onori.
Zhang, D. (2014). Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1862
Zhang, Dexin. "Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics." 2014. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1862.
Zhang, Dexin. "Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics." 2014. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Zhang D. Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2014. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1862.
Zhang D. Investigation of Electrical Component Failures Affecting Vehicle Electronics. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2014. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1862
6. Zhang, Nan. Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process.
► The utilization of more non-ferrous materials is one of the key factors to succeed out of the constantly increasing demand for lightweight vehicles in automotive… (more)
▼ The utilization of more non-ferrous materials is one of the key factors to succeed out of the constantly increasing demand for lightweight vehicles in automotive sector. Aluminum-magnesium alloys have been identified as the most promising substitutions to the conventional steel without significant compromise in structural stiffness and strength. However, the conventional forming methods to deform the aluminum alloy sheets are either costly or insufficient in formability which limit the wide applications of aluminum alloy sheets. A recently proposed non-isothermal hot stamping approach, which is also referred as Hot Blank – Cold Die (HB-CD) stamping, aims at fitting the commercial grade aluminum alloy sheets, such as AA5XXX and AA7XXX, into high-volume and cost-effective production for automotive sector. In essence, HB-CD is a mutation of the conventional hot stamping approach for boron steel (22MnB5) which deforms the hot blank within the cold tool set. By elevating the operation temperature, the formability of aluminum alloy sheets can be significantly improved. Meanwhile, heating the blank only and deforming within the cold tool sets allow to reduce the energy and time consumed. This research work aims at conducting a comprehensive investigation of HB-CD with particular focuses on material characterization, constitutive modeling and coupled thermo-mechanical finite element simulations with validation. The material properties of AA5182-O, a popular commercial grade of aluminum alloy sheet in automotive sector, are obtained through isothermal tensile testing at temperatures from 25℃ to 300℃, covering a quasi-static strain-rate range (0.001-0.1s-1). As the state-of-the-art non-contact strain measurement technique, digital image correlation (DIC) system is utilized to evaluate the stress-strain curves as well as to reveal the details of material deformation with full-field and multi-axis strain measurement. Material anisotropy is characterized by extracting the evolving yield stresses and Lankford coefficients (r-value) at various temperatures with specimens in 0o, 45o and 90o to the rolling direction. Besides, thermally-activated deformation mechanisms, dynamic strain ageing and dislocation climb, are identified to control the material deformation at the ambient-to-warm temperature range. For biaxial loading condition, the hydraulic bulge test has been performed and the evaluated effective stress-strain curve is found to be identical to that from uniaxial tests. A new piece-wised temperature-dependent phenomenological constitutive model has been developed to describe and predict the evolving stress-strain curves within the experimental condition. The power-law model is chosen for temperature ranges from 25℃ to 100℃ where negative strain rate sensitivity is observed. At elevated temperatures, a new model has been developed and expressed as the product of two power-law models. This proposed model has been proved to be capable of capturing both strain hardening and thermal softening behaviors of… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Fadi Abu-Farha, Committee Chair, Dr. Srikanth Pilla, Dr. Robert Prucka, Dr. Gang Li.
Subjects/Keywords: Aluminum Alloy Sheets; Digital Image Correlation; Finite Element Simulation; Material Characterization; Stamping; Warming Forming
Zhang, N. (2016). Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1654
Zhang, Nan. "Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process." 2016. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1654.
Zhang, Nan. "Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process." 2016. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Zhang N. Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1654.
Zhang N. Material Characterization and Finite Element Simulations of Aluminum Alloy Sheets During Non-Isothermal Forming Process. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1654
7. Rathod, Dhruvang. Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application.
► The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has proven to be a promising technology for Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) systems in heavy duty diesel engine applications.… (more)
▼ The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has proven to be a promising technology for Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) systems in heavy duty diesel engine applications. However, due to the highly transient heat source, controlling the working fluid flow through the ORC system and maximizing the heat recovery is a challenge for real time application. To that end, this research resulted in the following main developments. The first new development is in the area of heat exchanger modeling. The heat exchanger is a key component within the WHR system and it governs the dynamics of the complete ORC system. The heat exchanger model is extended using a thermal image data to improve its phase length prediction capability. It's shown that the new identified empirical equations help improve the phase length estimation by 43% over a set of transient experiments. As a result, the model can be used to develop an improved control oriented moving boundary model and to provide insights into evaporator design. The second new development is the advancement of the control design of an ORC system. With advanced knowledge of the heat source dynamics, there is potential to enhance power optimization from the WHR system through predictive optimal control. The proposed approach in this this dissertation is a look-ahead control strategy where, the future vehicle speed is predicted utilizing road topography and V2V connectivity. The forecasted vehicle speed is utilized to predict the engine speed and torque, which facilitates estimation of the engine exhaust conditions used in the ORC control model. In the simulation study, a reference tracking controller is designed based on the Model Predictive Control (MPC) methodology. Two variants of Non-linear MPC (NMPC) are evaluated: an NMPC with look-ahead exhaust conditions and a baseline NMPC without the knowledge of future exhaust conditions. Simulation results show no particular improvement to working fluid superheat tracking at the evaporator outlet via the look-ahead strategy for a drive cycle. However, the look-ahead control strategy does provide a substantial reduction in system control effort via dampening the heavily transient working fluid pump actuation, enhancing pump longevity, health, and reducing pump power consumption. This reduction in pump actuation helps the NMPC with preview to maintain the superheat lower than the NMPC without this feature for certain frequency of the exhaust conditions. Overall, NMPC with preview feature can help reduce parasitic losses, like pump power and improve power generation. The third development addresses the modeling errors and measurement inaccuracies for NMPC implementation. NMPC is inherently a state feedback system and for that reason an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used to estimate unmeasurable states inside the ORC evaporators based on exhaust gas and working fluid temperatures. Since it is not realistic to expect that the system model will perfectly describe the behavior of the evaporator dynamics in all operating conditions, the… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Zoran Filipi, Committee Chair, Dr. Mark Hoffman, Dr. Ardalan Vahidi, Dr. Robert Prucka.
Subjects/Keywords: Disturbance rejection; Experimental; Model Predictive Control; Organic Rankine Cycle; Waste Heat Recovery; Automotive Engineering
Rathod, D. (2019). Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2704
Rathod, Dhruvang. "Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application." 2019. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2704.
Rathod, Dhruvang. "Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application." 2019. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Rathod D. Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2019. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2704.
Rathod D. Evaporator Modeling and an Optimal Control Strategy Development of an Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System for a Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2019. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2704
8. Siokos, Konstantinos. Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms.
► Low-displacement turbocharged spark-ignition engines have become the dominant choice of auto makers in the effort to meet the increasingly stringent emission regulations and fuel… (more)
▼ Low-displacement turbocharged spark-ignition engines have become the dominant choice of auto makers in the effort to meet the increasingly stringent emission regulations and fuel efficiency targets. Low-Pressure cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation introduces important efficiency benefits and complements the shortcomings of highly boosted engines. The main drawback of these configurations is the long air-path which may cause over-dilution limitations during transient operation. The pulsating exhaust environment and the low available pressure differential to drive the recirculation impose additional challenges with respect to feed-forward EGR estimation accuracy. For these reasons, these systems are currently implemented through calibration with less-than-optimum EGR dilution in order to ensure stable operation under all conditions. However, this technique introduces efficiency penalties. Aiming to exploit the full potential of this technology, the goal is to address these challenges and allow operation with near-optimum EGR dilution. This study is focused on three major areas regarding the implementation of Low-Pressure EGR systems:  Combustion effects, benefits and constraints  System optimization and transient operation  Estimation and adaptation Results from system optimization show that fuel efficiency benefits range from 2% – 3% over drive cycles through pumping and heat loss reduction, and up to 16% or more at higher loads through knock mitigation and fuel enrichment elimination. Soot emissions are also significantly reduced with cooled EGR. Regarding the transient challenges, a methodology that correlates experimental data with simulation results is developed to identify over-dilution limitations related to the engine's dilution tolerance. Different strategies are proposed to mitigate these issues, including a Neural Network-actuated VVT that controls the internal residual and increases the over-dilution tolerance by 3% of absolute EGR. Physics-based estimation algorithms are also developed, including an exhaust pressure/temperature model which is validated through real-time transient experiments and eliminates the need for exhaust sensors. Furthermore, the installation of an intake oxygen sensor is investigated and an adaptation algorithm based on an Extended Kalman Filter is created. This algorithm delivers short-term and long-term corrections to feed-forward EGR models achieving a final estimation error of less than 1%. The combination of the proposed methodologies, strategies and algorithms allows the implementation of near-optimum EGR dilution and translates to fuel efficiency benefits ranging from 1% at low-load up to 10% at high-load operation over the current state-of-the-art. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Robert Prucka, Committee Chair, Dr. Zoran Filipi, Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Mark Hoffman, Dr. Simona Onori.
Subjects/Keywords: adaptation; estimation; exhaust gas recirculation; low pressure; optimization; spark-ignition engines
Siokos, K. (2017). Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1983
Siokos, Konstantinos. "Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms." 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1983.
Siokos, Konstantinos. "Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms." 2017. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Siokos K. Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2017. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1983.
Siokos K. Low-Pressure EGR in Spark-Ignition Engines: Combustion Effects, System Optimization, Transients & Estimation Algorithms. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2017. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1983
9. Koli, Rohit Vishvanath. Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR.
► The efficiency of modern downsized SI engines has been significantly improved using cooled Low-Pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation, Turbocharging and Variable Valve Timing actuation. Control of… (more)
▼ The efficiency of modern downsized SI engines has been significantly improved using cooled Low-Pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation, Turbocharging and Variable Valve Timing actuation. Control of these sub-systems is challenging due to their inter-dependence and the increased number of actuators associated with engine control. Much research has been done on developing algorithms which improve the transient turbocharged engine response without affecting fuel-economy. With the addition of newer technologies like external cooled EGR the control complexity has increased exponentially. This research proposes a methodology to evaluate the ability of a Model Predictive Controller to coordinate engine and air-path actuators simultaneously. A semi-physical engine model has been developed and analyzed for non-linearity. The computational burden of implementing this control law has been addressed by utilizing a semi-physical engine system model and basic analytical differentiation. The resulting linearization process requires less than 10% of the time required for widely used numerical linearization approach. Based on this approach a Nonlinear MPC-Quadratic Program has been formulated and solved with preliminary validation applied to a 1D Engine model followed by implementation on an experimental rapid prototyping control system. The MPC based control demonstrates the ability to co-ordinate different engine and air-path actuators simultaneously for torque-tracking with minimal constraint violation. Avenues for further improvement have been identified and discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Robert Prucka, Committee Chair, Dr. Zoran Filipi, Dr. Qilun Zhu, Dr. Srikanth Pilla.
Subjects/Keywords: EGR; Internal Combustion Engine; Model Predictive Control
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Koli, R. V. (2018). Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2211
Koli, Rohit Vishvanath. "Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR." 2018. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2211.
Koli, Rohit Vishvanath. "Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR." 2018. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Koli RV. Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2211.
Koli RV. Model Predictive Control of Modern High-Degree-of-Freedom Turbocharged Spark Ignited Engines with External Cooled EGR. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2211
10. Rios-Torres, Jackeline. An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways.
► Environmental concerns along with stronger governmental regulations regarding automotive fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas emissions are contributing to the push for development of more sustainable transportation technologies.… (more)
▼ Environmental concerns along with stronger governmental regulations regarding automotive fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas emissions are contributing to the push for development of more sustainable transportation technologies. Furthermore, the widespread use of the automobile gives rise to other issues such as traffic congestion and increasing traffic accidents. Consequently, two main goals of new technologies are the reduction of vehicle fuel consumption and emissions and the reduction of traffic congestion. While an extensive list of published work addresses the problem of fuel consumption reduction by optimizing the vehicle powertrain operations, particularly in the case of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), approaches like eco-driving and traffic coordination have been studied more recently as alternative methods that can, in addition, address the problem of traffic congestion and traffic accidents reduction. This dissertation builds on some of those approaches, with particular emphasis on autonomous vehicle coordination control. In this direction, the objective is to derive an optimization approach for energy efficient and safe coordination control of vehicles in merging highways. Most of the current optimization-based centralized approaches to this problem are solved numerically, at the expense of a high computational load which limits their potential for real-time implementation. In addition, closed-form solutions, which are desired to facilitate traffic analysis and the development of approaches to address interconnected merging/intersection points and achieve further traffic improvements at the road-network level, are very limited in the literature. In this dissertation, through the application of the Pontryagin's minimum principle, a closed-form solution is obtained which allows the implementation of a real-time centralized optimal control for fleets of vehicles. The results of applying the proposed framework show that the system can reduce the fuel consumption by up to 50% and the travel time by an average of 6.9% with respect to a scenario with not coordination strategy. By integrating the traffic coordination scheme with in-vehicle energy management, a two level optimization system is achieved which allows assessing the benefits of integrating hybrid electric vehicles into the road network. Regarding in-vehicle energy optimization, four methods are developed to improve the tuning process of the equivalent consumption optimization strategy (ECMS). First, two model predictive control (MPC)-based strategies are implemented and the results show improvements in the efficiency obtained with the standard ECMS implementation. On the other hand, the research efforts focus in performing analysis of the engine and electric motor operating points which can lead to the optimal tuning of the ECMS with reduced iterations. Two approaches are evaluated and even though the results in fuel economy are slightly worse than those for the standard ECMS, they show potential to significantly reduce the tuning time of the ECMS.… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Pierluigi Pisu, Committee Chair, Dr. Beshah Ayalew, Dr. Robert Prucka, Dr. Ardalan Vahidi.
Rios-Torres, J. (2015). An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1765
Rios-Torres, Jackeline. "An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways." 2015. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1765.
Rios-Torres, Jackeline. "An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways." 2015. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Rios-Torres J. An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1765.
Rios-Torres J. An Optimization Approach for Energy Efficient Coordination Control of Vehicles in Merging Highways. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2015. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1765
11. Xu, Shuonan. Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation.
► Ever tightening emissions and fuel economy regulations provide a strong impetus for research on high-efficiency low-emission engine concepts. In addition, CO2 emission regulation and energy… (more)
▼ Ever tightening emissions and fuel economy regulations provide a strong impetus for research on high-efficiency low-emission engine concepts. In addition, CO2 emission regulation and energy security considerations motivate investigations focused on alternative fuels. In the current heavy-duty fleet, diesel engines dominate the market due to their unmatched thermal efficiency. Nevertheless, they suffer from NOx and soot emissions and require complex aftertreatment systems to meet stringent regulations. Due to recent advancements of the Natural Gas (NG) extraction technology, its supply has become increasingly abundant. Conversion of Heavy Duty engines to NG operation provides a most effective way of increasing utilization of this low-carbon fuel in transportation, and reducing its dependence on oil. Dual-fuel engines currently offered by OEMs are invariable conversions to spark ignited (SI) combustion. The compression ratio (CR) is lowered compared to diesel, and the engine operates with stoichiometric mixture in order to enable application of a Three-Way Catalyst. Dual fuel NG-diesel engines offer an attractive alternative. NG is mixed with air in the intake system, and a relatively small amount of diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder to initiate combustion. In that case, the conversion from a conventional diesel engine requires little modification of engine hardware. High CR is retained, and the engine can operate lean; hence, there is a prospect of achieving roughly the same thermal efficiency as in the case of a diesel baseline. Range anxiety is avoided, since the truck can continue running solely on diesel fuel if NG filling station is not available. Development of the dual-fuel concept requires systematic investigations of maximum substitution rates, while addressing challenges such as the combustion stability, knock, transient response and methane slip. Since combustion characteristics are not fully understood, and increased degree-of-freedom (DOF) in modern engines demand excessive calibration effort, traditional development process that relies on experimentation becomes very costly. A predictive engine-system simulation built around physics-based models can provide a paradigm shift, by enabling investigations of the design options and pre-development of the complex multi-variable control strategies on the computer. Extension of the physics-based approach can also yield very effective virtual sensing of intake charge flow, and support development of a next-generation transient air-to-fuel ratio control. Main contributions of this research are such models, namely (i) a hybrid diesel + NG dual-fuel combustion model, based on the multi-zonal diesel spray/combustion model and a turbulent flame propagation model of NG-air mixture, and (ii) a model of intake charge mass-flow rate that utilizes intake manifold pressure as a single pressure input, and simultaneously solves differential equations for gas flow and cylinder pressure. Dual-fuel combustion model addresses two modes of… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Zoran Filipi, Committee Chair, Dr. Robert Prucka, Dr. Mark Hoffman, Dr. Simona Onori.
Xu, S. (2016). Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1814
Xu, Shuonan. "Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation." 2016. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1814.
Xu, Shuonan. "Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation." 2016. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Xu S. Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1814.
Xu S. Physics-based Models for Engine System Studies: Quasi-D Dual-fuel Combustion and Real-time Intake Charge Flow Estimation. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2016. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1814
12. Arunachalam, Harikesh. A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model.
► Technological advancements and globalization in recent decades have largely been responsible for the ever-increasing energy and power demands across different industrial sectors. This has led… (more)
▼ Technological advancements and globalization in recent decades have largely been responsible for the ever-increasing energy and power demands across different industrial sectors. This has led to an extensive use of fossil fuel based resources such as gasoline and diesel, especially in the transportation industry [1]. The consequences of this utilization are excessive emission of greenhouse gases and degradation of air quality, which have raised significant environmental concerns. Added to this, concerns over the eventual depletion of fossil fuels has accelerated the exploration and development of new energy sources. At the same time, increasingly stringent regulations have been imposed to enhance the fuel efficiency and minimize emissions in automobiles. Efforts to meet current and future regulation targets have led to the development of new technologies, some of which are: a) vehicle electrification [2], b) gasoline direct injection technology [3], c) variable valve timing [4], d) advanced exhaust gas recirculation [5], and e) selective catalytic reduction for <i>NOx</i> [6]. On the energy front, wind and solar technologies have been vastly explored [7], but these technologies are time-dependent and intermittent in nature and must be supplemented by energy storage devices. Lithium-ion batteries have been considered the most preferred technology for grid energy storage and electrified transportation because of their higher energy and power densities, better efficiency, and longer lifespan in comparison with other energy storage devices such as lead acid, nickel metal hydride, and nickel cadmium [8]. Lithium-ion batteries are the most dominant technology today in small scale applications such as portable phones and computers [9]. However, their wide-scale adoption in automotive and grid energy storage applications has been hampered by concerns associated with battery life, safety, and reliability. A lack of comprehensive understanding of battery behavior across different environments and operating conditions make it challenging to extract their best performance. Currently, significant trade-offs are being made to optimize battery performance, such as over-sizing and under-utilization in automotive applications. While sensors are used to evaluate battery performance and regulate their operation, their fundamental limitation lies in the inability to measure battery internal states such as state-of-charge (SoC) or state-of-health (SoH). The aforementioned issues with lithium-ion batteries can addressed to a large extent with the help of mathematical modeling. They play an important role in the design and utilization of batteries in an efficient manner with existing technologies, because of their ability to predict battery behavior with minimal expenditure of time and materials [10]. While empirical mathematical models are computationally efficient, they rely on a significant amount of experimental data and calibration effort to predict future battery behavior. In addition, such models do not consider… Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Simona Onori, Committee Chair, Dr. Ilenia Battiato, Dr. Mark Hoffman, Dr. Robert Prucka, Dr. Fadi Abu-Farha.
Subjects/Keywords: COMSOL Multiphysics; experimental validation; homogenization; lithium-ion battery; multiscale modeling; Particle Swarm Optimization
Arunachalam, H. (2017). A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2082
Arunachalam, Harikesh. "A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model." 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2082.
Arunachalam, Harikesh. "A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model." 2017. Web. 17 Jan 2021.
Arunachalam H. A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2017. [cited 2021 Jan 17]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2082.
Arunachalam H. A New Multiscale Modeling Framework for Lithium-Ion Battery Dynamics: Theory, Experiments, and Comparative Study with the Doyle-Fuller-Newman Model. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2017. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2082

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
air traveller testing
Covid tracking
George Batchelor
Taking back control from Covid-19
All of our analysis on the impact of Covid-19 on the NHS is shared here - this includes our regional tracker. For further information please contact George on 07980804956 or george@edgehealth.co.uk
Q: How will we know when we have taken back control from Covid-19? A: "R0" (the rate of reproduction of the disease) drops below 1. The math of this is intriguing*, but what it means is that someone catching the disease spreads it to fewer people, and the disease will stop spreading. We can then go back to normality (eventually)... The chart below, which came highly recommended to me, is an excellent way of showing this graphically (for publicly available data).
China is the most advanced in responding to the disease. Most would agree it has taken back a lot of control, and this is visible in the publicly available data. I also understand factories have started to reopen. The situation in China is in complete contrast to the situation in the US, and it is entirely unclear what pressure their health system will face and how it will cope in the coming days. Italy also appears to have started turning the corner and has for the past four days reported fewer new daily cases. Deaths should follow, although with a lag. Hopefully, the UK will follow Italy in the next few days, although it is not currently showing evidence of slowing down - despite evidence of social distancing. So peak admissions are likely to be around the 8th of April - three days later than we previously expected. The question for the UK is how it will manage the transition from the current crisis to a steady-state, which allows the health system to function effectively and people to start to return to work.
* The coefficient on the log of new cases against the log of cumulative cases is R. When R = 1 (South Korea, Italy) the line in the chart is horizontal. When R>1 (US) the line in the chart is upward sloping. When R<1 the line in the chart is downward sloping (China). R cannot be below 0.
As many as 1 in 5 people in England have had the Covid-19 disease
How many people have had Covid-19?
The last lockdown?
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For more information, please contact George on:
info@edgehealth.co.uk
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Sitting outside with a cold beer is an iconic moment of the spring and summer. Drinking beer is also, of course, an essential part of many St. Patrick's Day celebrations. For these reasons we present a small collection of some of our favorite green beers to add to your shopping list this season.


text:
Tornado-Like System Hit North Las Vegas
Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013, 3:49pm
Strong winds tore the tiles off roofs, uprooted trees, damaged cars and caused a power outage in North Las Vegas Tuesday night.
The tornado-type system known as down burst winds hit a neighborhood near Simmons Street and Ann Road just after 11 p.m.
One group of North Las Vegas firefighters were in their fire station when the system hit, tearing tiles off the roof. The firefighters said it sounded like a train was on the roof.
No one was hurt in the system. The total cost of the damage is not known.
Problems with Pipes at NLV Elementary School
Monday, January 14th, 2013, 2:28pm
The freezing temperatures have caused all kinds of trouble with pipes around southern Nevada.
The Clark County School District had to send a water truck to a school in North Las Vegas because of a broken or frozen water pipes Monday.
According to CCSD, students at Vincent Triggs Elementary School were given bottled water, and water truck was used to make sure the bathrooms could be used.
Weather Forces Classes to be Cancelled at Desert Rose High School
Thursday, October 11th, 2012, 1:15pm
The wet weather is forcing the Clark County School District to cancel classes at Desert Rose High School in North Las Vegas.
Classes for both the regular high school and the adult program will be cancelled for Thursday. There will also be no classes Friday because of a district-wide professional development for teachers.
According to North Las Vegas Police, there are no roads closed in that section of the city.
Rain Sweeps Across Southern Nevada
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011, 1:19pm
Pictures of rain and flooding have been pouring in all day from viewers around the Las Vegas Valley. Forecasters say southern Nevada should brace for another round between 8 and 11 p.m. Tuesday.
County Opens Cooling Stations for Hot Weekend
Submitted by Adam Candee on Friday, July 1st, 11:45 am
As temperatures are expected to reach or exceed 110 degrees this weekend, additional cooling stations will be open to the public in an effort to move the homeless and other individuals out of the heat, and to keep them hydrated.
The cooling stations are in addition to the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition's Inclement Weather Shelter Program, which provides seasonal shelter on an as-needed basis. The program also provides funding for long-term day shelters during the summer.
The National Weather Service, in partnership with the Clark County Coroner and the Regional Initiatives Office, has developed a graduated heat index which shows when people are most vulnerable to the heat. When the weather reaches these "Extreme Weather" thresholds, cooling stations are made available to the homeless and others to provide a safe place to escape from the heat and receive water.
CES shows off unique oven, water purifier and Gizmo watch
St. Rose Dominican hospital issues 'disaster declaration' following surge of ICU patients
NEW: Nevada reports 40 deaths, lower COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases


A Leo womanalso has traits that may be located less than appealing. Often you are blunt honesty can hurt other people. Not everybody is as truthful as you are. The globe would probably be a greater location if they had been. You truly like to be in the limelight. You want to be noticed for you achievements. This isn't negative, it can just rub some zodiac signs the incorrect way.
Regardless of whether we like it or not there are conditions and places that demand a particular way of dressing. Though this website is directing the situation toward mature females, I often see younger females who dress shabbily, inappropriately, and as well provocatively. Some men and women in the name of freedom of style proclaim that a particular person need to be capable to put on whatever they like, wherever they like. But this is not only an irresponsible attitude, but also wishful considering.
I hope that my journey in this life continues with a clear mind and an open heart and soul so that I can do good for my young children and this globe. None of these incidents alone imply you're being bullied. Rather, it is the pattern of almost everything put together, along with a growing feeling of being uncomfortable in a specific setting. Bullying is defined as repeated incidents of harassment or aggression over a period of time.


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How You Can Help Our Vets and Active-Duty Military Go Hunting
We want you to come hunt pheasants with U.S. veterans and military this Novemeber
By Scott Linden | Published Jul 2, 2016 3:39 AM
Bring your bird dog to Kansas this fall. Andrew McKean
I'm searching for upland bird hunters to help at a unique event near Topeka, Kansas, this fall. My Wingshooting USA TV fans have asked for a chance to "do good," so I got to work. The result is the inaugural "Fur Feathers Friends" event, scheduled for Nov. 11-12, 2016, at Ravenwood Lodge near Topeka.
Hunters and fans of the show—and their dogs—will travel from across the country to host retired and active-duty military for two days of bird hunting, target shooting, and camaraderie, with dogs as the bond. And because every civilian hunter (and dog) will be paired with a military guest, we need a large number of civilians to ensure every military guest can go hunting.
Upland hunters know how important their four-footed companions are to them. And now we can share their magic with those who have – or are – defending our country.
Hunters can come for a couple hours, or the entire weekend. Field hunts, a European-style driven hunt, sporting clays, and fellowship opportunities are scheduled throughout the weekend. Registration and more information are available here.
Ravenwood owner and State Rep. Ken Corbet has hosted military groups for several years, and I've been making episodes for my show at the hunting club for almost a decade—including an episode last year with the military group Heroes Among Us. It was well-received by fans and participants, and became the impetus for the bigger event.
Discussion began in social media where I conducted a survey, and Wingshooting USA fans overwhelmingly voted for the military as the beneficiary of the event, Kansas as the location, and early November for the date. In a bit of serendipity, the event takes place on Veterans' Day weekend, which is also opening weekend of Kansas pheasant season. I will also produce an episode of his show from the event, to air in mid-2017.
So mark your calendars now, and come out for a weekend of upland hunting with the men and women who have kept and continue to keep us safe.


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What's the Most Expensive College? The Least? Education Dept. Puts It All Online
TAMAR LEWIN
The new Web site lists tuition costs for public and private colleges and also notes which ones have the fastest-rising costs.
Students and families can compare colleges' tuitions, the pace at which they are rising and the net cost of attending each college on a new Web site the Department of Education made public on Thursday, fulfilling a legislative mandate.
The new lists, required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, show the institutions with the highest and lowest tuitions, the highest and lowest percentage tuition increases over the last two years, and the highest and lowest net price — that is, the actual price full-time students pay, including room and board, after financial aid like grants and scholarships are taken into account.
In each of several categories — public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, four-year and two-year — the most expensive institutions and those whose costs are rising most rapidly will be required to report to the Education Department why their costs are so high and what they plan to do about it.
"This allows students and families to see the highs and lows of the distributions and highlights those good-performing institutions," said David Bergeron, a department official.
Information about colleges that are not among the highest 5 percent or lowest 10 percent in their category, he said, can be found on the department's College Navigator site.
A separate report to be released Thursday shows that community colleges — long seen as the affordable route to higher education — are increasingly unaffordable for American families. From 1999 to 2009, tuition at public two-year colleges increased 71 percent, while the median family income declined 4.9 percent, adjusted for inflation, according to a study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
"We've gotten pretty jaded about this issue, with people saying, 'Look how cheap community colleges are, compared with four-year colleges,' " said Patrick M. Callan, president of the center. "But actually, community colleges, which are supposed to be our safety net institutions, were losing ground even before the economic downturn, with huge tuition increases at a time when family income was declining."
The Education Department data cover a smaller time period, reporting tuition from the academic year that began in the fall of 2009, but calculating increases from 2006 to 2008.
According to the lists, the average 2009-10 tuition at a four-year nonprofit college was $21,324. But the highest-priced institutions were far more costly: Bates College in Maine had the highest tuition last year ($51,300); Wells College, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the largest percentage increase in the two years before that (67 percent); and the Art Center College of Design in California the highest net cost for those receiving aid ($29,672).
A spokesman for Bates took issue with the department's methods, noting that its price — and that of the other four most expensive schools listed — includes room and board, making for an apples-and-oranges comparison with colleges where tuition is listed separately.
"Bates's average net price, taking into account financial aid, is below that of more than 400 other institutions," noted the spokesman, Roland Adams. "Bates' percentage increase in tuition and fees over the last three academic years is lower than that of more than 800 other institutions."
Indeed, the data are uneven in other respects as well. The net cost numbers, for example, include only full-time, first-time students who received financial aid, a group that at many colleges is not very large.
But the Web site offers much more comprehensive data than had previously been readily available, and presents it in a user-friendly way, providing a useful window on college costs.
The average tuition at public four-year colleges was $10,747. Pennsylvania State had the highest tuition ($14,416), Northern New Mexico College the largest percentage increase (51 percent) and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio the highest net price ($24,192).
Among public two-year colleges, the average tuition was $2,527, the University of Pittsburgh, and Titusville charged nearly five times that ($10,430), making it the most expensive in the group. And Sanford-Brown College had the highest tuition ($45,628) among four-year for-profit schools, where the average was $15,661.
In another effort to expand consumer information about higher education, the government will require career and vocational colleges' promotional materials to show their tuition and fees, and their students' median debt load, along with rates of graduation and job placement.


For most of my childhood we didn't have a television. My mom would spend evenings reading poems and stories to my sister and I, as we sat, picking at the splintering wood, on our old front porch. She encouraged summer reading programs and the money she splurged on us was usually spent at Scholastic Book fairs. Later, when I hit my unfortunate rebellious phase and began skipping school, I would go to the library. I don't think my mom even knows that. She undoubtedly thought I was hanging out with a Bad Crowd, smoking in alleyways, sketching my first tattoo. Nope. Library.
Thanks to an early exposure to the beauty of poetry and the adventures offered in books, I love reading. It doesn't matter what it is. If someone is blogging about the power of their mage in World of Warcraft, or how they've just created the very best homemade auger sealant, I'll read and enjoy what they have to say. However, I realize not everyone enjoys very specific topics that don't relate to them, so here's where I give you a warning: I'm about to write about geocaching.
Geocaching has been explained like this, "I use multi-million dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods." That's pretty accurate. You use your GPS to navigate to a hidden cache somewhere in the world. Actually, everywhere in the world, even Antarctica. Once you find the cache, you sign the log, re-hide the container, and log your find online. It's a lot of fun! Not only does it take you to places you may otherwise never visit, it encourages activity. Whether you're an urban 'cacher' or you prefer trudging through the wilds, you're out and about.
This past weekend we started exploring Montana, geocaching, and looking for a place to hide one of our own.
We drove over to Bozeman, which reminded me a great deal of Boston, and which made me feel very uncomfortable. Bozeman is quite pretty but seems to be very shopping-oriented and designed to look like Montana without feeling like Montana. I would feel guilty walking down the Main Street sidewalks with muddy boots, is what I'm saying.
Then we traveled around Big Timber, which is an area we've camped near before, and love. We went up near Big Timber Peak, which still has snow covering its rocky top. It's always impressive to see the mountains out here, after living for so long around the Appalachian mountains, which (not to be disrespectful) feel more like big hills now.
Unfortunately, we didn't find a place to hide our cache, but we did find quite a few existing caches that were inventive and placed in beautiful spots.
If you've never geocached before, give it a try. There's a free app ($NO – iPhone | Android | Windows Phone), I recommend the one from Groundspeak, that will let you find a few without requiring the purchase of the full version ($10 – iPhone | Android) or a fancy GPS unit. Though they're not as exciting as those found on the full version, it's still a great way to get a taste for the game that's going on all around you.


Your company's reputation is its most valuable asset. If it's tarnished, you could lose customers and sales. This article shows how negative reviews are not always what they seem and what you can do about it.
So in order to keep your Online Reputation a positive aspect to your business, you should jealously guard it and take proactive steps to repair any damage you may find.
Everyone within your company, from the top executives down to the shop floor sales staff, has the potential to cause your business to get some negative press. It could be that someone makes a statement that is very controversial; rowdy or criminal behaviour of staff connected back to your business; controversial photographs involving members of your staff could be published on social media, reflecting badly on your business.
It is important to treat any breech by staff, or any of the other situations, in the right way. As tempting as it may be to terminate staff employments or launch a counter attack on the competitor you think is bad mouthing you, that type of action will only lead to bigger problems.
By building up a strong positive reputation, you will be better equipped to weather any negative comments that come your way. If you become a business voice that is respected and well thought of, then people will be less likely to be swayed by one negative opinion and more probable to listen to your explanation, as well as spring to your defence.
Don't be afraid of feedback – in fact as a business, you should openly invite customers to feed back as often as you can. That way, you are showing your company to be an open and transparent one, which cares about the concerns of its customers.
If you do find a negative review or have to reply to a complaint publicly, try to maintain a professional but helpful attitude. Try to resolve any legitimate issues amicably. You may want to take your initial communication with the person off the review site or forum, but publish the results publically. Even invite the complainant to re-evaluate their original comments.
We know that maintaining a good online reputation is vital to the health of any business. But finding the time to monitor all the strands of the internet can take away valuable resources from your business.
Let us help. We have many years of experience helping businesses monitor and improve their Online Reputation.
Why not give us a call now. We can arrange a friendly, no-obligation chat and show you how we can help your business keep a good reputation and stay profitable.


Flexible framework, which recognises the unique needs of individual businesses and supports them through high-speed connectivity, reliable data and precise control, is the need of the hour. Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation business unit has, for that, come up with e-F@ctory – an approach to the increasing digital transformation affecting business. Here, Anil Bhise, Senior Manager – Sales (End User Vertical), Factory Automation and Industrial Division, Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt Ltd, shares his views about the company's participation in Automation Expo 2018 and about e-F@ctory, the technological solution for enhancing the integration of the business and production environments.
It's has been a great platform for all automation players to showcase their latest products and solutions. The end-users and OEMs visited this exhibition to keep tabs on the automation market. We showcased the concept of e-F@ctory, which enables smart manufacturing.
Smart manufacturing, digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and IoT projects are the buzzwords in the industry today. In all these scenarios, data captured from the control system is helpful to generate various reports, which can be used by top managements to make necessary decisions.
To support these initiatives, Mitsubishi Electric's Factory Automation & Industrial Division (FAID) has come out with a concept called e-F@ctory, which helps the end-users to collect basic data from small equipment, control systems, and create meaningful reports out of that.
Yes, definitely! The concept provides whatever the Industry 4.0 requires; how to collect data, how to create meaningful report out of the collected data, and how it would be helpful for Business Intelligence. e-F@ctory uses the same concept, which provides the necessary assistance in smart manufacturing as per Industry 4.0.
Many of the European industries are trying to follow Industry 4.0. Meanwhile, in the US, they believe IIoT is the perfect solution for industries, and in China, they have Manufacturing 2020. But, if you dig deep, it talks about the same thing — how to create a meaningful report. e-F@ctory is one of the concepts that support these activities.
e-F@ctory is about efficiency of data collection. Under the e-F@ctory umbrella, we have about 3,000 alliance partners, who are distributed all over the world. We collaborate with them and guide them about what kind of information they can expect from particular equipment or machine and how it will be communicated to the control systems. We have been implementing e-F@ctory since 2004 and the response has been really good. People appreciated these projects.
MELIPC is a new product range that Mitsubishi Electric has launched. It is an industrial-use computer that realises edge computing, utilising production shop floor data. It is a high-performance processor series lineup for models available according to the application, including high-end models that utilise CC-Link IE Field Network for real-time data processing and compact (low-range models) with limited functionality.
It utilises edge computing to collect and process production shop floor data. Additionally, analysis, diagnosis, monitoring, and other functions can be executed after installing applications.
People try to collect data and store it at cloud level or central server level. But, nowadays, data being captured exceeds the capacity of the storage, which is also a costly approach. So, we have come out with a concept of storing the data at the intermediate level or factory level. MELIPC is based on this concept. Here, we can store data and do some basic analysis, and only the important data will be transferred to the cloud or to the central servers, for efficient data management.
e-F@ctory concept, where about 3,000 partners from across the world are already associated with us.
The future is definitely Edgecross – it is a software platform of the edge computing domain developed in Japan that enables FA and IT to work together. Members of the Edgecross Consortium are from a variety of companies and industries, allowing the promotion of borderless collaboration that will result in the expansion and dissemination of both. The main features of Edgecross includes, a real-time diagnosis and feedback, model production shop floors, utilising a wide variety of applications in the edge area, collection of all data on the production shop floor, and seamless cooperation with IT systems, to name a few. It is the platform where the consortium members work together building the edge domain. We are utilising Edgecross as one of the element of ongoing e-F@ctory development. By collaborating in Edgecross, it is possible to collect data from various field networks and protocols, and link with many diverse applications, and we believe that this will enable us to better answer the needs of more customers.
Usually, IT operation teams expect some data from control systems, whereas control systems are meant to perform the operational tasks. So, we have come up with a new Microsoft Windows based hardware, which has multiple protocols or drivers (collectors) that make communication easier between control systems and the operational people. With the adaptation of this hardware, data sharing is no more a problem – all relevant data like productivity of the machines, breakdown, etc., can be shared and retrieved very easily between the concerned departments. These new Edgecross industrial computers – MELIPC Series collect information, perform analytics, synthesise the data, and then send it to the cloud or the central server.


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Q: error reading protobuf spec. validator error: The. mlmodel supplied is of version 3, intended for a newer version of xcode I'm running this out-of-the-box turi python code:
import turicreate as tc
# Load the data
data =  tc.SFrame('annotations.sframe')

# Make a train-test split
train_data, test_data = data.random_split(0.8)

# Create a model
model = tc.object_detector.create(train_data, model="darknet-yolo", max_iterations=1, verbose=True)

# Save predictions to an SArray
predictions = model.predict(test_data)

# Evaluate the model and save the results into a dictionary
metrics = model.evaluate(test_data)

# Save the model for later use in Turi Create
model.save('mymodel.model')

# Export for use in Core ML
model.export_coreml('MyCustomObjectDetector.mlmodel')

But on the last line I'm getting the error:
model.export_coreml('MyCustomObjectDetector.mlmodel')
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/Users/amir/anaconda/envs/CowsVision/lib/python2.7/site-packages/turicreate/toolkits/object_detector/object_detector.py", line 1477, in export_coreml
    mlmodel = coremltools.models.MLModel(model)
  File "/Users/amir/anaconda/envs/CowsVision/lib/python2.7/site-packages/coremltools/models/model.py", line 209, in __init__
    self.__proxy__ = _get_proxy_from_spec(filename)
  File "/Users/amir/anaconda/envs/CowsVision/lib/python2.7/site-packages/coremltools/models/model.py", line 103, in _get_proxy_from_spec
    return _MLModelProxy(filename)
RuntimeError: Error compiling model: "Error reading protobuf spec. validator error: The .mlmodel supplied is of version 3, intended for a newer version of Xcode. This version of Xcode supports model version 2 or earlier.".
>>>

In the console.
Does that mean that my local installed xcode version needs upgrade?
Where is the .mlmodel version being determined? What's "this version of Xcode"?

A: Per the comments above, I've downgraded to turicreate 4.0 version and the problem was solved for me. It looks like the most recent beta version (5.1) isn't working well.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Does there exist a sequence $(s_n)$ of partial sums of a series $\Sigma a_n$ where the series diverges and the sequence is bounded and increasing? Fairly simple question, but I was unable to thing of a good solution.
It is obvious that the sequence can be bounded as it can just be $s_n=(-1)^n$, but I can not figure out how to prove whether or not it can be increasing. My gut instinct is no, but I don't know how I would prove that. Any help would be appreciated.

A: No it is not possible indeed if $s_n$ is bounded and increasing it has finite limit, that is converges, and by definition
$$\lim_{n\to \infty} s_n=\sum_{n\ge n_0} a_n$$
Refer to monotone convergence theorem.

A: If the sequence $(s_n)$ of partial sums is increasing and bounded (in particular bounded above) it follows that $s_n$ converges to $\sup_{k} s_k<\infty$. So the series converges.


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World Business Academy
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Peter Russell
Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, of The World Business Academy and of The Findhorn Foundation, and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest.
As a student, he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Then, as he became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the human mind he changed to experimental psychology. Pursuing this interest, he traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return to the UK and took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation.
He also has a post-graduate degree in computer science, and conducted there some of the early work on 3-dimensional displays, presaging by some twenty years the advent of virtual reality.
In the mid-seventies Peter Russell joined forces with Tony Buzan and helped teach "Mind Maps" and learning methods to a variety of international organizations and educational institutions. Since then his corporate programs have focused increasingly on self-development, creativity, stress management, and sustainable environmental practices. Clients have included IBM, Apple, Digital, American Express, Barclays Bank, Swedish Telecom, ICI, Shell Oil and British Petroleum.
His principal interest is the deeper, spiritual significance of the times we are passing through. He has written several books in this area — The TM Technique, The Upanishads, The Brain Book, The Global Brain Awakens, The Creative Manager, The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God.
As one of the more revolutionary futurists Peter Russell has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences, in Europe, Japan and the USA. His multi-image shows and videos, The Global Brain and The White Hole in Time have won praise and prizes from around the world. In 1993 the environmental magazine Buzzworm voted Peter Russell "Eco-Philosopher Extraordinaire" of the year. To read more about Peter, visit his personal site.
Academy Articles by Peter Russell
Who's Kidding Whom: Is Western Civilization Compatible with Sustainable Development?
A Shift in Consciousness: Some Implications for Business
Y2K and Spirituality 101
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