Unified Degradation Model in Low Gate Voltage Range During Hot-Carrier Stressing of p-MOS Transistors

Hot carrier effects of p MOSFETs with different oxide thicknesses are studied in low gate voltage range.All electrical parameters follow a power law relationship with stress time,but degradation slope is dependent on gate voltage.For the devices with thicker oxides,saturated drain current degradation has a close relationship with the product of gate current and electron fluence.For small dimensional devices,saturated drain current degradation has a close relationship with the electron fluence.This degradation model is valid for p MOSFETs with 0 25μm channel length and different gate oxide thicknesses.

SEFIDROOD RIVER SUB-WATERSHED-DAM-ESTUARY AND DEGRADATION MODEL:A HOLISTIC APPROACH IN IRAN

The major concern of this article is to address the shortcoming and outgoing effects of the human activities on the landscape patterns and their consequences in the Sefidrood River watershed in Iran. A flow of data includes three inputs; each of them belongs to one part of three zones of a fluvial system. The three parts of the Sefidrood River fluvial system include Zone 1,a sub-watershed as degradation modeling site,Zone 2,Sefidrood Dam as dam site,and Zone 3,17km away from the Sefidrood River path to the Caspian Sea as ending point site. The degradation model in the Zone 1 provides a suitable mean for decision support system to decrease the human impacts on each small district. The maximum number for degradation coefficient belongs to the small district with the highest physiographic density,relatively cumulative activities,and a lower figure for the habitat vulnerability. The human degradation impact were not limited to the upstream. The investigation to the Sefidrood Dam and ending point of the Sefidrood River depicts that sedimentation continues as a significant visual impact in the Sefidrood Dam reservoir and the estuary.

Validation methodology for distribution-based degradation model

Distribution-based degradation models （or graphical approach in some literature） occur in a wide range of applications. However, few of existing methods have taken the validation of the built model into consideration. A validation methodology for distribution-based models is proposed in this paper. Since the model can be expressed as consisting of assumptions of model structures and embedded model parameters, the proposed methodology carries out the validation from these two aspects. By using appropriate statistical techniques, the rationality of degradation distributions, suitability of fitted models and validity of degradation models are validated respectively. A new statistical technique based on control limits is also proposed, which can be implemented in the validation of degradation models＇ validity. The case study on degradation modeling of an actual accelerometer shows that the proposed methodology is an effective solution to the validation problem of distribution-based de qradation models.

Multiresolution Fusion of Remote Sensing Images Based on Resolution Degradation Model

A new method based on resolution degradation model is proposed to improve both spatial and spectral quality of the synthetic images. Some ETM+ panchromatic and multispectral images are used to assess the new method. Its spatial and spectral effects are evaluated by qualitative and quantitative measures and the results are compared with those of IHS, PCA, Brovey, OWT(Orthogonal Wavelet Transform) and RWT(Redundant Wavelet Transform). The results show that the new method can keep almost the same spatial resolution as the panchromatic images, and the spectral effect of the new method is as good as those of wavelet-based methods.

Stiffness Degradation Modeling for Composite Wind Turbine Blades Based on Full-Scale Fatigue Testing

In order to provide more insights into the damage propagation composite wind turbine blades(blade)under cyclic fatigue loading,a stiffness degradation model for blade is proposed based on the full-scale fatigue testing of a blade.A novel non-linear fatigue damage accumulation model is proposed using the damage assessment theories of composite laminates for the first time.Then,a stiffness degradation model is established based on the correlation of fatigue damage and residual stiffness of the composite laminates.Finally,a stiffness degradation model for the blade is presented based on the full-scale fatigue testing.The scientific rationale of the proposed stiffness model of blade is verified by using full-scale fatigue test data of blade with a total length of 52.5 m.The results indicate that the proposed stiffness degradation model of the blade agrees well with the fatigue testing results of this blade.This work provides a basis for evaluating the fatigue damage and lifetime of blade under cyclic fatigue loading.

Multi-objective structural optimization and degradation model of magnesium alloy ureteral stent

Background:Mg alloys have attractive properties,including biocompatibility,biodegradability,and ideal mechanical properties.Moreover,Mg alloys are regarded as one of the promising candidates for manufacturing ureteral stents.This study proposed a multi-objective optimization method based on the Kriging surrogate model,NSGA-III,and finite element analysis to improve the degradation performance of Mg alloy ureteral stents.Methods:The finite element model for the degradation of Mg alloy ureteral stents has been established to compare the degradation performance of the stents under different parameters.Latin hypercube sampling was adopted to generate train sample points in the design space.Meanwhile,the Kriging surrogate model was constructed between strut parameters and stent degradation behavior.The NSGA-III was utilized to determine the optimal solution in the global design space.Results:The optimized stent achieved 5.52degradation uniformity(M),10degradation time(DT),and 4work time(FT).The errors between the Kriging surrogate model and the finite element calculation results were less than 6%.Conclusion:The optimized stent achieved better degradation performance.The degradation behavior of stents was dependent on the design parameters.The multi-objective optimization method based on the Kriging surrogate model and finite element analysis was effective in stent design optimization problems.

Bayesian Reliability Assessment and Degradation Modeling with Calibrations and Random Failure Threshold

A degradation model with a random failure threshold is presented for the assessment of reliability by the Bayesian approach. This model is different from others in that the degradation process is proceeding under pre-specified periodical calibrations. And here a random threshold distribution instead of a constant threshold which is difficult to determine in practice is used. The system reliability is defined as the probability that the degradation signals do not exceed the random threshold. Based on the posterior distribution estimates of degradation performance, two models for Bayesian reliability assessments are presented in terms of the degradation performance and the distribution of random failure threshold. The methods proposed in this paper are very useful and practical for multi-stage system with uncertain failure threshold. This study perfects the degradation modeling approaches and plays an important role in the remaining useful life estimation and maintenance decision making.

Objective Bayesian Analysis of Degradation Model with Respect to a Wiener Process

This paper proposes an objective Bayesian method to study the degradation model with respect to a Wiener process.The Jeffreys prior and reference prior for the parameters are derived,and the propriety of the posteriors under these priors is validated.Two sampling algorithms are introduced to compute the posteriors.A simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of the objective Bayesian procedure.Finally,the authors apply the approach to a degradation data.

Artificial woodland degradation in semi-arid agro-pastoral transitional area： conceptual model and status assessment

Planting trees was used as one of cost-effective measures for desertification control in add and semi-add areas of China. Woodland degradation, however, is becoming an inevitable issue in these areas. In this paper, a typical county, Ejin Holo County, Inner Mongolia, China was selected for its assessment of artificial woodland degradation. A conceptual model for woodland degradation was delineated qualitatively based on field sampling survey, and four model-based indicators as humidity index （HI）, vegetation index （NDVI）, soil type （ST） and soil erosion modulus （EM） were screened out and used to a GIS-based method for artificial woodland degradation assessment in this semi-add agro-pastoral transitional area. All the indicator layers were overlaid and desertification assessed using simplified equation with equal weights for each indicators. The assessment results showed that in 336. 09 km^2 of total woodland area, 311.35 km^2 woodland were under degradation, and the area for slight, medium, severe degradation was 78.97, 119.73 and 112.65 km^2, respectively. It was suggested that much attention should be paid on woodland improvement and plant species selection, especially shrub species, before revegetation in similar areas.

Objective Bayesian analysis for the accelerated degradation model usingWiener process with measurement errors

The Wiener process as a degradation model plays an important role in the degradation analysis.In this paper, we propose an objective Bayesian analysis for an acceleration degradation Wienermodel which is subjected to measurement errors. The Jeffreys prior and reference priors underdifferent group orderings are first derived, the propriety of the posteriors is then validated. It isshown that two of the reference priors can yield proper posteriors while the others cannot. A simulation study is carried out to investigate the frequentist performance of the approach comparedto the maximum likelihood method. Finally, the approach is applied to analyse a real data.

Degradation modeling of degradable copolymers for biomimetic scaffolds

Biomimetic scaffolds provide a suitable growth environment for tissue engineering and demonstrate good potential for application in biomedical fields.Different-sized copolymerized biomimetic scaffolds degrade differently,and the degradation rate is affected by the copolymerization ratio.The study of the degradation property is the foundational research necessary for realizing individualized biomimetic scaffold design.The degradation performance of polyesters with different copolymerization ratios has been widely reported;however,the modeling of this performance has been rarely reported.In this research,the degradation of copolymers was studied with multi-scale modeling,in which the copolymers were dispersed in a cellular manner,the chain break time was simulated,and the chain selection was based on the Monte Carlo(MC)algorithm.The probability model of the copolymer's chain break position was established as a//roulette,/model,whose probability values were estimated by the calculation of the potential energy difference at different chain break positions by molecular dynamics that determined the position of chain shear,thereby fully realizing the simulation of the chain micro-break process.The diffusion of the oligomers was then calculated using the macro diffusion equation,and the degradation process of the copolymer was simulated by three-scale coupling calculations.The calculation results were in good agreement with the experimental data,demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method.

An improved HCI degradation model for a VLSI MOSFET

An improved hot carrier injection （HCI） degradation model was proposed based on interface trap generation and oxide charge injection theory. It was evident that the degradation behavior of electric parameters such as Idlin, Idsat, Gm and Vt fitted well with this model. Devices were prepared with 0.35μm technology and different LDD processes. Idlin and Idsat after HCI stress were analyzed with the improved model. The effects of interface trap generation and oxide charge injection on device degradation were extracted, and the charge injection site could be obtained by this method. The work provides important information to device designers and process engineers.

Bivariate Constant-Stress Accelerated Degradation Model and Inference Based on the Inverse Gaussian Process

Modern highly reliable products may have two or more quality characteristics(QCs) because of their complex structures and abundant functions. Relations between the QCs should be considered when assessing the reliability of these products. This paper conducts a Bayesian analysis for a bivariate constant-stress accelerated degradation model based on the inverse Gaussian(IG) process. We assume that the product considered has two QCs and each of the QCs is governed by an IG process. The relationship between the QCs is described by a Frank copula function. We also assume that the stress on the products affects not only the parameters of the IG processes, but also the parameter of the Frank copula function. The Bayesian MCMC method is developed to calculate the maximum likelihood estimators(MLE) of the model parameters. The reliability function and the mean-time-to-failure(MTTF) are estimated through the calculation of the posterior samples. Finally, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the proposed bivariate constant-stress accelerated degradation model.

Validation Metric of Degradation Model with Dynamic Performance

With more and more attention on degradation process, we need the degradation model to be accurate all over the time rather than only at some specific moments. However, the traditional validation metric only estimates difference of static features. A validation method proposed in this paper uses hypothesis testing to identify whether the distributions of experimental measurements and simulation results are consistent. Then, based on the deviation between sample means, a global validation metric which reflects the difference of degradation process between computational model and physical system all over the service time is derived from the statistics of deviation between sample means. Furthermore, curve fit method for discrete experimental measurements is introduced. The case of electro-hydraulic servo valve is studied, and the results show that the proposed validation metric is appropriate for the validation of degradation model with dynamic performance output.

Photolytic Model of Six Degradable Mulch Plastic Films

[Objective] This study aimed to solve the mulch plastic film pollution problems in Xinjiang, in order to provide reliable theoretical basis for the research on the degradation mechanism of biodegradable plastic films. [Method] The effect of illumination intensity on the decomposition of decomposable mulching films was investigated through simulating the field condition in laboratory. Regression analysis was employed to fit the processes of film decompositions. [Result] The weight loss ratios of different types of plastic films were closely related with the illumination. There was no sundry produced during the degradation process, but the weight was reduced, indicating that degradation produced gas, thus, ultraviolet rays had destructive effect on mulch plastic films. Different types of plastic films showed significant differences in the degradation speeds, and under the same conditions, the degradation speed of S4# with the induction period of 30 d was the fastest. With the extension of uv illumination time, the degradation became cumulative degradation process. [Conclusion] Under the uv rays, the weight loss ratio and illumination hours is regarded as a positive correlation relationship. The significant inspection shows that the data fitted degradation model can be described by the logistic model of Y = a/（1＋b×e -ct）, and all the parameters show significant differences （P0.01）.

Remaining lifetime prediction for nonlinear degradation device with random effect

For the large number of nonlinear degradation devices existing in a project, the existing methods have not systematically studied the effects of random effect on the remaining lifetime(RL),the accuracy and efficiency of the parameters estimation are not high, and the current degradation state of the target device is not accurately estimated. In this paper, a nonlinear Wiener degradation model with random effect is proposed and the corresponding probability density function(PDF) of the first hitting time(FHT)is deduced. A parameter estimation method based on modified expectation maximum(EM) algorithm is proposed to obtain the estimated value of fixed coefficient and the priori value of random coefficient in the model. The posterior value of the random coefficient and the current degradation state of target device are updated synchronously by the state space model(SSM) and the Kalman filter algorithm. The PDF of RL with random effect is deduced. A simulation example is analyzed to verify that the proposed method has the obvious advantage over the existing methods in parameter estimation error and RL prediction accuracy.

Strength Degradation of Wood Members Based on the Correlation of Natural and Accelerated Decay Experiments

An accelerated decay test and a natural decay test were conducted synchronically to explore the strength degradation of decaying wood members under long-term exposure to natural environment.A natural decay test was carried out to measure the bending strength,compressive strength parallel to grain and modulus of elasticity of the wood members,with 6 groups of specimens decayed in natural environment for 3 to 18 months respectively.To compare with corresponding decay test,in which 6 other groups of specimens were measured under accelerated conditions.The experimental data collected were evaluated by Pearson productmoment for the correlation.The results indicate that the mechanical properties of the accelerated decay were highly correlated with those in natural environment,both of which decreased in the same trend.Under the given test conditions,the mean value of the accelerated decay test data were curve-fitted to achieve the time-dependent degradation model of the bending strength,the compressive strength parallel to grain,as well as the modulus of elasticity.Due to the high correlation,the acceleration shift factors(ASF)of the two tests were derived,where the bending strength of 2.934,the compressive strength parallel to grain of 2.519 and the elastic modulus of 2.346 were employed to formulate the strength degradation models in the long-term natural environment.The results verify that the exponential function
σ=σ0e^(-βt)enables to exactly capture the degradation of the mechanical properties of wood members decayed in natural environment.

Shear failure behaviors and degradation mechanical model of rockmass under true triaxial multi-level loading and unloading shear tests OA

The redistribution of three-dimensional(3D)geostress during underground tunnel excavation can easily induce to shear failure along rockmass structural plane,potentially resulting in engineering disasters.However,the current understanding of rockmass shear behavior is mainly based on shear tests under2D stress without lateral stress,the shear fracture under 3D stress is unclear,and the relevant 3D shear fracture theory research is deficient.Therefore,this study conducted true triaxial cyclic loading and unloading shear tests on intact and bedded limestone under different normal stressσnand lateral stressσpto investigate the shear strength,deformation,and failure characteristics.The results indicate that under differentσnandσp,the stress–strain hysteresis loop area gradually increases from nearly zero in the pre-peak stage,becomes most significant in the post-peak stage,and then becomes very small in the residual stage as the number of shear test cycles increases.The shear peak strength and failure surface roughness almost linearly increase with the increase inσn,while they first increase and then gradually decrease asσpincreases,with the maximum increases of 12.9%for strength and 15.1%for roughness.The shear residual strength almost linearly increases withσn,but shows no significant change withσp.Based on the acoustic emission characteristic parameters during the test process,the shear fracture process and microscopic failure mechanism were analyzed.As the shear stressτincreases,the acoustic emission activity,main frequency,and amplitude gradually increase,showing a significant rise during the cycle near the peak strength,while remaining almost unchanged in the residual stage.The true triaxial shear fracture process presents tensile-shear mixture failure characteristics dominated by microscopic tensile failure.Based on the test results,a 3D shear strength criterion considering the lateral stress effect was proposed,and the determination methods and evolution of the shear modulus G,cohesion cjp,friction angleφjp,and dilation angleψjpduring rockmass shear fracture process were studied.Under differentσnandσp,G first rapidly decreases and then tends to stabilize;cjp,φjp,andψjpfirst increase rapidly to the maximum value,then decrease slowly,and finally remain basically unchanged.A 3D shear mechanics model considering the effects of lateral stress and shear parameter degradation was further established,and a corresponding numerical calculation program was developed based on3D discrete element software.The proposed model effectively simulates the shear failure evolution process of rockmass under true triaxial shear test,and is further applied to successfully reveal the failure characteristics of surrounding rocks with structural planes under different combinations of tunnel axis and geostress direction.

Methods for Reliability Assessment under Irregular Time-Varying-Stress Degradation Testing

Degradation tests are often used to assess the reliability of products with long failure-time or few test units. Much of the previous work on reliability assessment methods has focused on constant-stress degradation test( CSDT) and accelerated degradation test( ADT), mainly under the constant, step or progressive stresses. However,in actual testing environments,some stresses are difficult to control and vary with time irregularly,which are quite different from the three stresses mentioned above. In this paper a new approach was presented for reliability assessment with degradation data under irregular time-varying-stress( ITVS).Firstly,the conventional degradation path modeling method was improved by taking into account the influences of the variable stress on the degradation variable. Then,an example was conducted to show the effectiveness of our improved model.