RKDG Methods with Multi-resolution WENO Limiters for Solving Steady-State Problems on Triangular Meshes

In this paper, we design high-order Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) methods with multi-resolution weighted essentially non-oscillatory (multi-resolution WENO) limiters to compute compressible steady-state problems on triangular meshes. A troubled cell indicator extended from structured meshes to unstructured meshes is constructed to identify triangular cells in which the application of the limiting procedures is required. In such troubled cells, the multi-resolution WENO limiting methods are used to the hierarchical L^(2) projection polynomial sequence of the DG solution. Through using the RKDG methods with multi-resolution WENO limiters, the optimal high-order accuracy can be gradually reduced to first-order in the triangular troubled cells, so that the shock wave oscillations can be well suppressed. In steady-state simulations on triangular meshes, the numerical residual converges to near machine zero. The proposed spatial reconstruction methods enhance the robustness of classical DG methods on triangular meshes. The good results of these RKDG methods with multi-resolution WENO limiters are verified by a series of two-dimensional steady-state problems.

Impact of Typical Steady-state Conditions and Transient Conditions on Flow Ripple and Its Test Accuracy for Axial Piston Pump

The current research about the flow ripple of axial piston pump mainly focuses on the effect of the structure of parts on the flow ripple. Therein, the structure of parts are usually designed and optimized at rated working conditions. However, the pump usually has to work in large-scale and time-variant working conditions. Therefore, the flow ripple characteristics of pump and analysis for its test accuracy with respect to variant steady-state conditions and transient conditions in a wide range of operating parameters are focused in this paper. First, a simulation model has been constructed, which takes the kinematics of oil film within friction pairs into account for higher accuracy. Afterwards, a test bed which adopts Secondary Source Method is built to verify the model. The simulation and tests results show that the angular position of the piston, corresponding to the position where the peak flow ripple is produced, varies with the different pressure. The pulsating amplitude and pulsation rate of flow ripple increase with the rise of pressure and the variation rate of pressure. For the pump working at a constant speed, the flow pulsation rate decreases dramatically with the increasing speed when the speed is less than 27.78% of the maximum speed, subsequently presents a small decrease tendency with the speed further increasing. With the rise of the variation rate of speed, the pulsating amplitude and pulsation rate of flow ripple increase. As the swash plate angle augments, the pulsating amplitude of flow ripple increases, nevertheless the flow pulsation rate decreases. In contrast with the effect of the variation of pressure, the test accuracy of flow ripple is more sensitive to the variation of speed. It makes the test accuracy above 96.20% available for the pulsating amplitude of pressure deviating within a range of ~6% from the mean pressure. However, with a variation of speed deviating within a range of ±2% from the mean speed, the attainable test accuracy of flow ripple is above 93.07%. The model constructed in this research proposes a method to determine the flow ripple characteristics of pump and its attainable test accuracy under the large-scale and time-variant working conditions. Meanwhile, a discussion about the variation of flow ripple and its obtainable test accuracy with the conditions of the pump working in wide operating ranges is given as well.

Quantifying the agreement and accuracy characteristics of four satellite-based LULC products for cropland classification in China

Various land use and land cover(LULC)products have been produced over the past decade with the development of remote sensing technology.Despite the differences in LULC classification schemes,there is a lack of research on assessing the accuracy of their application to croplands in a unified framework.Thus,this study evaluated the spatial and area accuracies of cropland classification for four commonly used global LULC products(i.e.,MCD12Q1V6,GlobCover2009,FROM-GLC and GlobeLand30)based on the harmonised FAO criterion,and quantified the relationships between four factors(i.e.,slope,elevation,field size and crop system)and cropland classification agreement.The validation results indicated that MCD12Q1 and GlobeLand30 performed well in cropland classification regarding spatial consistency,with overall accuracies of 94.90 and 93.52%,respectively.The FROMGLC showed the worst performance,with an overall accuracy of 83.17%.Overlaying the cropland generated by the four global LULC products,we found the proportions of complete agreement and disagreement were 15.51 and 44.72% for the cropland classification,respectively.High consistency was mainly observed in the Northeast China Plain,the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the northern part of the Middle-lower Yangtze Plain,China.In contrast,low consistency was detected primarily on the eastern edge of the northern and semiarid region,the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and southern China.Field size was the most important factor for mapping cropland.For area accuracy,compared with China Statistical Yearbook data at the provincial scale,the accuracies of different products in descending order were:GlobeLand30,FROM-GLC,MCD12Q1,and GlobCover2009.The cropland classification schemes mainly caused large area deviations among the four products,and they also resulted in the different ranks of spatial accuracy and area accuracy among the four products.Our results can provide valuable suggestions for selecting cropland products at the national or provincial scale and help cropland mapping and reconstruction,which is essential for food security and crop management,so they can also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals issued by the United Nations.

Semi-analytical steady-state response prediction for multi-dimensional quasi-Hamiltonian systems

The majority of nonlinear stochastic systems can be expressed as the quasi-Hamiltonian systems in science and engineering. Moreover, the corresponding Hamiltonian system offers two concepts of integrability and resonance that can fully describe the global relationship among the degrees-of-freedom(DOFs) of the system. In this work, an effective and promising approximate semi-analytical method is proposed for the steady-state response of multi-dimensional quasi-Hamiltonian systems. To be specific, the trial solution of the reduced Fokker–Plank–Kolmogorov(FPK) equation is obtained by using radial basis function(RBF) neural networks. Then, the residual generated by substituting the trial solution into the reduced FPK equation is considered, and a loss function is constructed by combining random sampling technique. The unknown weight coefficients are optimized by minimizing the loss function through the Lagrange multiplier method. Moreover, an efficient sampling strategy is employed to promote the implementation of algorithms. Finally, two numerical examples are studied in detail, and all the semi-analytical solutions are compared with Monte Carlo simulations(MCS) results. The results indicate that the complex nonlinear dynamic features of the system response can be captured through the proposed scheme accurately.

A Posteriori Stabilized Sixth-Order Finite Volume Scheme with Adaptive Stencil Construction:Basics for the 1D Steady-State Hyperbolic Equations

We propose an adaptive stencil construction for high-order accurate finite volume schemes a posteriori stabilized devoted to solve one-dimensional steady-state hyperbolic equations.High accuracy(up to the sixth-order presently)is achieved,thanks to polynomial recon-structions while stability is provided with an a posteriori MOOD method which controls the cell polynomial degree for eliminating non-physical oscillations in the vicinity of dis-continuities.We supplemented this scheme with a stencil construction allowing to reduce even further the numerical dissipation.The stencil is shifted away from troubles(shocks,discontinuities,etc.)leading to less oscillating polynomial reconstructions.Experimented on linear,Burgers',and Euler equations,we demonstrate that the adaptive stencil technique manages to retrieve smooth solutions with optimal order of accuracy but also irregular ones without spurious oscillations.Moreover,we numerically show that the approach allows to reduce the dissipation still maintaining the essentially non-oscillatory behavior.

Secondary steady-state and time-periodic flows from a basic flow with square array of odd number of vortices

In a magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)driven fluid cell,a plane non-parallel flow in a square domain satisfying a free-slip boundary condition is examined.The energy dissipation of the flow is controlled by the viscosity and linear friction.The latter arises from the influence of the Hartmann bottom boundary layer in a three-dimensional(3D)MHD experiment in a square bottomed cell.The basic flow in this fluid system is a square eddy flow exhibiting a network of N~2 vortices rotating alternately in clockwise and anticlockwise directions.When N is odd,the instability of the flow gives rise to secondary steady-state flows and secondary time-periodic flows,exhibiting similar characteristics to those observed when N=3.For this reason,this study focuses on the instability of the square eddy flow of nine vortices.It is shown that there exist eight bi-critical values corresponding to the existence of eight neutral eigenfunction spaces.Especially,there exist non-real neutral eigenfunctions,which produce secondary time-periodic flows exhibiting vortices merging in an oscillatory manner.This Hopf bifurcation phenomenon has not been observed in earlier investigations.

High-Intensity Interval Training v/s Steady-State Cardio in Rehabilitation of Neurological Patients

Neuropathy is nerve damage that can cause chronic neuropathic pain, which is challenging to cure and has a significant financial burden. Exercise therapies, including High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and steady-state cardio, are being explored as potential treatments for neuropathic pain. This systematic review compares the effectiveness of HIIT and steady-state cardio for improving function in neurological patients. This article provides an overview of the systematic review conducted on the effects of exercise on neuropathic patients, with a focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and steady-state cardio. The authors conducted a comprehensive search of various databases, identified relevant studies based on predetermined inclusion criteria, and used the EPPI automation application to process the data. The final selection of studies was based on validity and relevance, with redundant articles removed. The article reviews four studies that compare high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on various health outcomes. The studies found that HIIT can improve aerobic fitness, cerebral blood flow, and brain function in stroke patients;lower diastolic blood pressure more than MICT and improve insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle mitochondrial content in obese individuals, potentially helping with the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. In people with multiple sclerosis, acute exercise can decrease the plasma neurofilament light chain while increasing the flow of the kynurenine pathway. The available clinical and preclinical data suggest that further study on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and its potential to alleviate neuropathic pain is justified. Randomized controlled trials are needed to investigate the type, intensity, frequency, and duration of exercise, which could lead to consensus and specific HIIT-based advice for patients with neuropathies.

Influence of initial check, information exchange, final accuracy check, reaction information nursing on the psychology of elderly with lung cancer

BACKGROUND As one of the fatal diseases with high incidence,lung cancer has seriously endangered public health and safety.Elderly patients usually have poor self-care and are more likely to show a series of psychological problems.AIM To investigate the effectiveness of the initial check,information exchange,final accuracy check,reaction(IIFAR)information care model on the mental health status of elderly patients with lung cancer.METHODS This study is a single-centre study.We randomly recruited 60 elderly patients with lung cancer who attended our hospital from January 2021 to January 2022.These elderly patients with lung cancer were randomly divided into two groups,with the control group taking the conventional propaganda and education and the observation group taking the IIFAR information care model based on the conventional care protocol.The differences in psychological distress,anxiety and depression,life quality,fatigue,and the locus of control in psychology were compared between these two groups,and the causes of psychological distress were analyzed.RESULTS After the intervention,Distress Thermometer,Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS)for anxiety and the HADS for depression,Revised Piper’s Fatigue Scale,and Chance Health Locus of Control scores were lower in the observation group compared to the pre-intervention period in the same group and were significantly lower in the observation group compared to those of the control group(P<0.05).After the intervention,Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30(QLQ-C30),Internal Health Locus of Control,and Powerful Others Health Locus of Control scores were significantly higher in the observation and the control groups compared to the pre-intervention period in their same group,and QLQ-C30 scores were significantly higher in the observation group compared to those of the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The IIFAR information care model can help elderly patients with lung cancer by reducing their anxiety and depression,psychological distress,and fatigue,improving their tendencies on the locus of control in psychology,and enhancing their life qualities.

Urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori infection in adult dyspeptic patients: A meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy

BACKGROUND Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection has been well-established as a significant risk factor for several gastrointestinal disorders.The urea breath test(UBT)has emerged as a leading non-invasive method for detecting H.pylori.Despite numerous studies confirming its substantial accuracy,the reliability of UBT results is often compromised by inherent limitations.These findings underscore the need for a rigorous statistical synthesis to clarify and reconcile the diagnostic accuracy of the UBT for the diagnosis of H.pylori infection.AIM To determine and compare the diagnostic accuracy of 13C-UBT and 14C-UBT for H.pylori infection in adult patients with dyspepsia.METHODS We conducted an independent search of the PubMed/MEDLINE,EMBASE,and Cochrane Central databases until April 2022.Our search included diagnostic accuracy studies that evaluated at least one of the index tests(^(13)C-UBT or ^(14)C-UBT)against a reference standard.We used the QUADAS-2 tool to assess the methodo-logical quality of the studies.We utilized the bivariate random-effects model to calculate sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative test likelihood ratios(LR+and LR-),as well as the diagnostic odds ratio(DOR),and their 95%confidence intervals.We conducted subgroup analyses based on urea dosing,time after urea administration,and assessment technique.To investigate a possible threshold effect,we conducted Spearman correlation analysis,and we generated summary receiver operating characteristic(SROC)curves to assess heterogeneity.Finally,we visually inspected a funnel plot and used Egger’s test to evaluate publication bias.endorsing both as reliable diagnostic tools in clinical practice.CONCLUSION In summary,our study has demonstrated that ^(13)C-UBT has been found to outperform the ^(14)C-UBT,making it the preferred diagnostic approach.Additionally,our results emphasize the significance of carefully considering urea dosage,assessment timing,and measurement techniques for both tests to enhance diagnostic precision.Nevertheless,it is crucial for researchers and clinicians to evaluate the strengths and limitations of our findings before implementing them in practice.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Computerized Bowel Sound Analysis with Non-Invasive Devices for Irritable Bowel Syndrome:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective To assess the diagnostic accuracy of bowel sound analysis for irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)with a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods We searched MEDLINE,Embase,the Cochrane Library,Web of Science,and IEEE Xplore databases until September 2023.Cross-sectional and case-control studies on diagnostic accuracy of bowel sound analysis for IBS were identified.We estimated the pooled sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likeli-hood ratio,and diagnostic odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval(CI),and plotted a summary receiver operat-ing characteristic curve and evaluated the area under the curve.Results Four studies were included.The pooled diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,nega-tive likelihood ratio,and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.94(95%CI,0.87‒0.97),0.89(95%CI,0.81‒0.94),8.43(95%CI,4.81‒14.78),0.07(95%CI,0.03‒0.15),and 118.86(95%CI,44.18‒319.75),respectively,with an area under the curve of 0.97(95%CI,0.95‒0.98).Conclusions Computerized bowel sound analysis is a promising tool for IBS.However,limited high-quality data make the results'validity and applicability questionable.There is a need for more diagnostic test accuracy studies and better wearable devices for monitoring and analysis of IBS.

Accuracy of FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes who migrated from highlands to plains

BACKGROUND The FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring(FGM)system entered the Chinese market in 2017 to complement the self-monitoring of blood glucose.Due to its increased usage in clinics,the number of studies investigating its accuracy has increased.However,its accuracy has not been investigated in highland populations in China.AIM To evaluate measurements recorded using the FreeStyle Libre FGM system compared with capillary blood glucose measured using the enzyme electrode method in patients with type 2 diabetes(T2D)who had migrated within 3 mo from highlands to plains.METHODS Overall,68 patients with T2D,selected from those who had recently migrated from highlands to plains(within 3 mo),were hospitalized at the Department of Endocrinology from August to October 2017 and underwent continuous glucose monitoring(CGM)with the FreeStyle Libre FGM system for 14 d.Throughout the study period,fingertip capillary blood glucose was measured daily using the enzyme electrode method(Super GL,China),and blood glucose levels were read from the scanning probe during fasting and 2 h after all three meals.Moreover,the time interval between reading the data from the scanning probe and collecting fingertip capillary blood was controlled to<5 min.The accuracy of the FGM system was evaluated according to the CGM guidelines.Subsequently,the factors influencing the mean absolute relative difference(MARD)of this system were analyzed by a multiple linear regression method.RESULTS Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that the fingertip and scanned glucose levels were positively correlated(R=0.86,P=0.00).The aggregated MARD of scanned glucose was 14.28±13.40%.Parker's error analysis showed that 99.30%of the data pairs were located in areas A and B.According to the probe wear time of the FreeStyle Libre FGM system,MARD_(1 d) and MARD_(2-14 d) were 16.55%and 14.35%,respectively(t=1.23,P=0.22).Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that MARD did not correlate with blood glucose when the largest amplitude of glycemic excursion(LAGE)was<5.80 mmol/L but negatively correlated with blood glucose when the LAGE was≥5.80 mmol/L.CONCLUSION The FreeStyle Libre FGM system has good accuracy in patients with T2D who had recently migrated from highlands to plains.This system might be ideal for avoiding the effects of high hematocrit on blood glucose monitoring in populations that recently migrated to plains.MARD is mainly influenced by glucose levels and fluctuations,and the accuracy of the system is higher when the blood glucose fluctuation is small.In case of higher blood glucose level fluctuations,deviation in the scanned glucose levels is the highest at extremely low blood glucose levels.

Clinical study on improving the diagnostic accuracy of adult elbow joint cartilage injury by multisequence magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND Due to frequent and high-risk sports activities,the elbow joint is susceptible to injury,especially to cartilage tissue,which can cause pain,limited movement and even loss of joint function.AIM To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)multisequence imaging for improving the diagnostic accuracy of adult elbow cartilage injury.METHODS A total of 60 patients diagnosed with elbow cartilage injury in our hospital from January 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled in this retrospective study.We analyzed the accuracy of conventional MRI sequences(T1-weighted imaging,T2-weighted imaging,proton density weighted imaging,and T2 star weighted image)and Three-Dimensional Coronary Imaging by Spiral Scanning(3D-CISS)in the diagnosis of elbow cartilage injury.Arthroscopy was used as the gold standard to evaluate the diagnostic effect of single and combination sequences in different injury degrees and the consistency with arthroscopy.RESULTS The diagnostic accuracy of 3D-CISS sequence was 89.34%±4.98%,the sensitivity was 90%,and the specificity was 88.33%,which showed the best performance among all sequences(P<0.05).The combined application of the whole sequence had the highest accuracy in all sequence combinations,the accuracy of mild injury was 91.30%,the accuracy of moderate injury was 96.15%,and the accuracy of severe injury was 93.33%(P<0.05).Compared with arthroscopy,the combination of all MRI sequences had the highest consistency of 91.67%,and the kappa value reached 0.890(P<0.001).CONCLUSION Combination of 3D-CISS and each sequence had significant advantages in improving MRI diagnostic accuracy of elbow cartilage injuries in adults.Multisequence MRI is recommended to ensure the best diagnosis and treatment.

Numerical Investigation of Thermal Behavior of CNC Machine Tool and Its Effects on Dimensional Accuracy of Machined Parts

The dimensional accuracy of machined parts is strongly influenced by the thermal behavior of machine tools (MT). Minimizing this influence represents a key objective for any modern manufacturing industry. Thermally induced positioning error compensation remains the most effective and practical method in this context. However, the efficiency of the compensation process depends on the quality of the model used to predict the thermal errors. The model should consistently reflect the relationships between temperature distribution in the MT structure and thermally induced positioning errors. A judicious choice of the number and location of temperature sensitive points to represent heat distribution is a key factor for robust thermal error modeling. Therefore, in this paper, the temperature sensitive points are selected following a structured thermomechanical analysis carried out to evaluate the effects of various temperature gradients on MT structure deformation intensity. The MT thermal behavior is first modeled using finite element method and validated by various experimentally measured temperature fields using temperature sensors and thermal imaging. MT Thermal behavior validation shows a maximum error of less than 10% when comparing the numerical estimations with the experimental results even under changing operation conditions. The numerical model is used through several series of simulations carried out using varied working condition to explore possible relationships between temperature distribution and thermal deformation characteristics to select the most appropriate temperature sensitive points that will be considered for building an empirical prediction model for thermal errors as function of MT thermal state. Validation tests achieved using an artificial neural network based simplified model confirmed the efficiency of the proposed temperature sensitive points allowing the prediction of the thermally induced errors with an accuracy greater than 90%.

Further Analysis of Machine Tool Dimensional Accuracy and Thermal Stability under Varying Floor Temperature

Machining is as old as humanity, and changes in temperature in both the machine’s internal and external environments can be of great concern as they affect the machine’s thermal stability and, thus, the machine’s dimensional accuracy. This paper is a continuation of our earlier work, which aimed to analyze the effect of the internal temperature of a machine tool as the machine is put into operation and vary the external temperature, the machine floor temperature. Some experiments are carried out under controlled conditions to study how machine tool components get heated up and how this heating up affects the machine’s accuracy due to thermally induced deviations. Additionally, another angle is added by varying the machine floor temperature. The parameters mentioned above are explored in line with the overall thermal stability of the machine tool and its dimensional accuracy. A Robodrill CNC machine tool is used. The CNC was first soaked with thermal energy by gradually raising the machine floor temperature to a certain level before putting the machine in operation. The machine was monitored, and analytical methods were deplored to evaluate thermal stability. Secondly, the machine was run idle for some time under raised floor temperature before it was put into operation. Data was also collected and analyzed. It is observed that machine thermal stability can be achieved in several ways depending on how the above parameters are joggled. This paper, in conclusion, reinforces the idea of machine tool warm-up process in conjunction with a carefully analyzed and established machine floor temperature variation for the approximation of the machine tool’s thermally stability to map the long-time behavior of the machine tool.

Study on the Accuracy of Serum Prealbumin Level in Predicting the Prognosis of Patients with Critical Respiratory Illness

Objective: To analyze the accuracy of serum prealbumin levels in predicting the prognosis of patients with critical respiratory illness. Methods: Fifty patients with critical respiratory illness admitted to our hospital from October 2022 to September 2023 were selected and divided into an observation group and a control group after condition assessment, with 25 cases in each group. The results of cholinesterase (ChE), prealbumin (PALB), albumin (ALB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein (TP), and forced expiratory volume (FEV1)/Predicted (Pred) of the two groups were measured. Results: The ChE levels of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, while the PALB and ALB levels of the observation group were higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The AST, TP, and FEV1 /Pred levels of the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Serum PALB levels can be used as the main indicator for prognosis in critically ill respiratory patients.

Observing the steady-state visual evoked potentials with a compact quad-channel spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer

We observed the steady-state visually evoked potential(SSVEP) from a healthy subject using a compact quad-channel potassium spin exchange relaxation-free(SERF) optically pumped magnetometer(OPM). To this end, 30 s of data were collected, and SSVEP-related magnetic responses with signal intensity ranging from 150 fT to 300 f T were observed for all four channels. The corresponding signal to noise ratio(SNR) was in the range of 3.5–5.5. We then used different channels to operate the sensor as a gradiometer. In the specific case of detecting SSVEP, we noticed that the short channel separation distance led to a strongly diminished gradiometer signal. Although not optimal for the case of SSVEP detection, this set-up can prove to be highly useful for other magnetoencephalography(MEG) paradigms that require good noise cancellation.Considering its compactness, low cost, and good performance, the K-SERF sensor has great potential for biomagnetic field measurements and brain-computer interfaces(BCI).

Steady-state responses of a belt-drive dynamical system under dual excitations

The stable steady-state periodic responses of a belt-drive system with a one-way clutch are studied. For the first time, the dynamical system is investigated under dual excitations. The system is simultaneously excited by the firing pulsations of the engine and the harmonic motion of the foundation. Nonlinear discrete-continuous equations are derived for coupling the transverse vibration of the belt spans and the rotations of the driving and driven pulleys and the accessory pulley. The nonlinear dynamics is studied under equal and multiple relations between the frequency of the fir- ing pulsations and the frequency of the foundation motion. Furthermore, translating belt spans are modeled as axially moving strings. A set of nonlinear piecewise ordinary differ- ential equations is achieved by using the Galerkin truncation. Under various relations between the excitation frequencies, the time histories of the dynamical system are numerically simulated based on the time discretization method. Further- more, the stable steady-state periodic response curves are calculated based on the frequency sweep. Moreover, the convergence of the Galerkin truncation is examined. Numer- ical results demonstrate that the one-way clutch reduces the resonance amplitude of the rotations of the driven pul- ley and the accessory pulley. On the other hand, numerical examples prove that the resonance areas of the belt spans are decreased by eliminating the torque-transmitting in the opposite direction. With the increasing amplitude of the foun- dation excitation, the damping effect of the one-way clutch will be reduced. Furthermore, as the amplitude of the firing pulsations of the engine increases, the jumping phenomena in steady-state response curves of the belt-drive system with or without a one-way clutch both occur.

Development and Experimental Evaluation of a Steady-state Model for the Step-feed Biological Nitrogen Removal Process

In this article,a steady-state mathematical model was developed and experimentally evaluated to inves- tigate the effect of influent flow distribution and volume ratios of anoxic and aerobic zones in each stage on the to- tal nitrogen concentration of the effluent in the step-feed biological nitrogen removal process.Unlike the previous modeling methods,this model can be used to calculate the removal rates of ammonia and nitrate in each stage and thereby predict the concentrations of ammonia,nitrate,and total nitrogen in the effluent.To verify the simulation results,pilot-scale experimental studies were carried out in a four-stage step feed process.Good correlations were achieved between the measured data and the simulation results,which proved the validity of the developed model. The sensitivity of the model predictions was analyzed.After verification of the validity,the step feed process was optimally operated for five months using the model and the criteria developed for the design and operation.During the pilot-scale experimental period,the effluent total nitrogen concentrations were all below 5mg·L -1 ,with more than 90%removal efficiency.

STEADY-STATE AND IDLE OPTIMIZA-TION OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES

A novel steady-state optimization （SSO） of internal combustion engine （ICE） strategy is proposed to maximize the efficiency of the overall powertrain for hybrid electric vehicles, in which the ICE efficiency, the efficiencies of the electric motor （EM） and the energy storage device are all explicitly taken into account. In addition, a novel idle optimization of ICE strategy is implemented to obtain the optimal idle operating point of the ICE and corresponding optimal parking generation power of the EM using the view of the novel SSO of ICE strategy. Simulations results show that potential fuel economy improvement is achieved relative to the conventional one which only optimized the ICE efficiency by the novel SSO of ICE strategy, and fuel consumption per voltage increment decreases a lot during the parking charge by the novel idle optimization of ICE strategy.

Meshless analysis of three-dimensional steady-state heat conduction problems

Steady-state heat conduction problems arisen in connection with various physical and engineering problems where the functions satisfy a given partial differential equation and particular boundary conditions, have attracted much attention and research recently. These problems are independent of time and involve only space coordinates, as in Poisson＇s equation or the Laplace equation with Dirichlet, Neuman, or mixed conditions. When the problems are too complex, it is difficult to find an analytical solution, the only choice left is an approximate numerical solution. This paper deals with the numerical solution of three-dimensional steady-state heat conduction problems using the meshless reproducing kernel particle method （RKPM）. A variational method is used to obtain the discrete equations. The essential boundary conditions are enforced by the penalty method. The effectiveness of RKPM for three-dimensional steady-state heat conduction problems is investigated by two numerical examples.