Design of super-orthogonal space-time trellis codes based on trace criterion

A design of super-orthogonal space-time trellis codes （SOSTTCs） based on the trace criterion （TC） is proposed for improving the design of SOSTTCs. The shortcomings of the rank and determinant criteria based design and the advantages of the TC-based design are analyzed. The optimization principle of four factors is presented, which includes the space-time block coding （STBC） scheme, set partitioning, trellis structure, and the assignment of signal subsets and STBC schemes in the trellis. According to this principle, systematical and handcrafted design steps are given in detail. By constellation expansion, the code performance can be further improved. The code design results are given, and the new codes outperform others in the simulation.

Revision of seismic design codes corresponding to building damagesin the “5.12” Wenchuan earthquake

A large number of buildings were seriously damaged or collapsed in the "5.12" Wenchuan earthquake. Based on field surveys and studies of damage to different types of buildings, seismic design codes have been updated. This paper briefly summarizes some of the major revisions that have been incorporated into the "Standard for classification of seismic protection of building constructions GB50223-2008" and "Code for Seismic Design of Buildings GB50011-2001." The definition of seismic fortification class for buildings has been revisited, and as a result, the seismic classifications for schools, hospitals and other buildings that hold large populations such as evacuation shelters and information centers have been upgraded in the GB50223-2008 Code. The main aspects of the revised GB50011-2001 code include: (a) modification of the seismic intensity specified for the Provinces of Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu; (b) basic conceptual design for retaining walls and building foundations in mountainous areas; (c) regularity of building configuration; (d) integration of masonry structures and precast RC floors; (e) requirements for calculating and detailing stair shafts; and (f) limiting the use of single-bay RC frame structures. Some significant examples of damage in the epicenter areas are provided as a reference in the discussion on the consequences of collapse, the importance of duplicate structural systems, and the integration of RC and masonry structures.

A comparative study of pseudo-static slope stability analysis using different design codes

Many researchers have developed new calculation methods to analyze seismic slope stability problems, but the conventional pseudo-static method is still widely used in engineering design due to its simplicity. Based on the Technical Code for Building Slope Engineering（GB 50330-2013） of China and the Guidelines for Evaluating and Mitigating Seismic Hazards in California（SP117）, a comparative study on the pseudo-static method was performed. The results indicate that the largest difference between these two design codes lies in determination of the seismic equivalence reduction factor( f;). The GB 50330-2013 code specifies a single value for f;of 0.25. In SP117, numerous factors,such as magnitude and distance, are considered in determining f;. Two case studies show that the types of slope stability status evaluated by SP117 are in agreement with those evaluated by the seismic time-history stability analysis and Newmark displacement analysis. The factors of safety evaluated by SP117 can be used in practice for safe design. However, the factors of safety evaluated by GB 50330-2013 are risky for slope seismic design.

Combinatorial design-based quasi-cyclic LDPC codes with girth eight

This paper presents a novel regular Quasi-Cyclic (QC)Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)codes with columnweight three and girth at least eight.These are designed on the basis of combinatorial design in which subsets applied for the construction of circulant matrices are determined by a particular subset.Considering the nonexistence of cycles four and six in the structure of the parity check matrix,a bound for their minimum weight is proposed.The simtdations conducted confirm that without applying a masking technique,the newly implemented codes have a performance similar to or better than other well-known codes.This is evident in the waterfall region, while their error floor at very low Bit Error Rate (BER)is expected.

Seismic resilience assessment of corroded reinforced concrete structures designed to the Chinese codes

The natural landscape in China exposes many existing RC buildings to aggressive environments.Such exposure can lead to deterioration in structural performance with regard to resisting events such as earthquakes.Corrosion of embedded reinforcement is one of the most common mechanisms by which such structural degradation occurs.There has been increasing attention in recent years toward seismic resilience in communities and their constituent construction;however,to date,studies have neglected the effect of natural aging.This study aims to examine the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the seismic resilience of RC frames that are designed according to Chinese seismic design codes.A total of twenty RC frames are used to represent design and construction that is typical of coastal China,with consideration given to various seismic fortification levels and elevation arrangements.Seismic fragility relationships are developed for case frames under varying levels of reinforcement corrosion,i.e.,corrosion rates are increased from 5%to 15%.Subsequently,the seismic resilience levels of uncorroded and corroded RC frames are compared using a normalized loss factor.It was found that the loss of resilience of the corroded frames is greater than that of their uncorroded counterparts.At the Rare Earthquake hazard level,the corrosioninduced increase in loss of resilience can be more than 200%,showing the significant effect of reinforcement corrosion on structural resilience under the influence of earthquakes.

Methodology of factorial design deriving guidelines for simulation of growth curve and production of sugars by Spirulina (Arthrospira) maxima

It is practical, economic and sometimes essential to derive rules or conclusions by performing lesser runs of experiments. In this part, a methodology based on 2 f factorial design was brought up to derive guidelines to simulate growth curve and production of sugars by Spirulina (Arthrospira) maxima . The growth curve or accumulation process of sugars was idealized by sets of straight lines limited by phase transfers of growth or accumulation of sugars. Normal analyses of the critical values of the transfers were used to derive their linear relationships with the initial conditions of the experimental factors. These linear functions were called guidelines and were used to simulate the growth curve or accumulation of sugars. Generalization of the guideline technique was determined by the kinetic limitation of nutrient nitrogen or sulfur that was dependent upon their stoichiometric deficiency directly derived from their initial values in the medium. This method uses the initial conditions of culture and does not need measurements of concentrations of nitrate, sulfate and pigments during cultivation. It is a practical and useful alternative way to trace and predict approximately the growth curve and production of sugars by S. maxima .

Evaluation of Codebook Design Using SCMA Scheme Based on A_(n) and D_(n) Lattices

The sparse code multiple access(SCMA)scheme is a Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access(NOMA)type of scheme that is used to handle the uplink com-ponent of mobile communication in the current generation.A need of the 5G mobile network is the ability to handle more users.To accommodate this,the SCMA allows each user to deploy a variety of sub-carrier broadcasts,and several consumers may contribute to the same frequency using superposition coding.The SCMA approach,together with codebook design for each user,is used to improve channel efficiency through better management of the available spectrum.How-ever,developing a codebook with a greater number of value sets is still another challenge.With enhanced techniques of encoding and decoding for 5G networks,mapping the multidimensional constellations in the SCMA system plays a signif-icant role in improving the system performance and enhancing the overall system performance.The creation of a codebook utilizing the SCMA approach in con-junction with the lattice theory is suggested in this study.The prototype is shaped using a popular lattice,such as A n and D n,as the basis.Afterward,from the primary lattice constellation,the multidimensional complex mother constellation with the most noticeable variance in power is discovered.The lattice-based cod-ing is generated by combining the codebooks with the mother constellation,and the codes in the matrices are mapped by rotating the constellations in this context.The suggested technique,in conjunction with the investigation of novel SCMA codebook sets,provides improved performance in terms of Bit Error Rate(BER)and complexity with regard to Signal to Noise Ratio(SNR).Finally,the bit error rate is reduced for various SNRs during transmission in the channel.

Half Rate Quasi Cyclic Low Density Parity Check Codes Based on Combinatorial Designs

This paper presents new half rate Quasi Cyclic Low Density Parity Check (QC- LDPC) codes formed on the basis of combinatorial designs. In these codes, circulant matrices of the parity check matrix are formed on the basis of subsets in which the difference between any two elements of a subset is unique with all differences obtained from the same or different subsets. This structure of circulant matrices guarantees non-existence of cycle-4 in the Tanner graph of QC-LDPC codes. First, an irregular code with girth 6 constituted by two rows of circulant matrices is proposed. Then, more criteria will be considered on the structure of subsets with the mentioned feature aiming to represent a new scheme of regular QC-LPDC codes with girth at least 8. From simulations, it is confirmed that codes have similar to or better performance than other well-known half rate codes, while require lower complexity in their design.

Reconfigurable mechanism-based metamaterials for ternary-coded elastic wave polarizers and programmable refraction control

Elastic metamaterials with unusual elastic properties offer unprecedented ways to modulate the polarization and propagation of elastic waves.However,most of them rely on the resonant structural components,and thus are frequency-dependent and unchangeable.Here,we present a reconfigurable 2D mechanism-based metamaterial which possesses transformable and frequency-independent elastic properties.Based on the proposed mechanism-based metamaterial,interesting functionalities,such as ternarycoded elastic wave polarizer and programmable refraction,are demonstrated.Particularly,unique ternary-coded polarizers,with 1-trit polarization filtering and 2-trit polarization separating of longitudinal and transverse waves,are first achieved.Then,the strong anisotropy of the proposed metamaterial is harnessed to realize positive-negative bi-refraction,only-positive refraction,and only-negative refraction.Finally,the wave functions with detailed microstructures are numerically verified.

Guidelines for rational design of high-performance absorbents:A case study of zeolite adsorbents for emerging pollutants in water

Rational design is important to achieve high-performance sorbents used to remove the contaminants of emerging concern(CECs) from water.However, it is hard to propose effective design guidelines due to the lack of a clear understanding of the interaction mechanisms. By means of systematic quantum chemical computations, as a case study, we investigated the interactions between zeolite X/M^(n+)-zeolite X(Si/Al=1,M^(n+)=Cu^(2+) and Ni^(2+)) and three commonly used CECs(namely salicylic acid, carbamazepine and ciprofloxacin) in water to clarify the adsorption mechanisms. Our computations found that anionic salicylic acid cannot be adsorbed by neither zeolite X nor M^(n+)-zeolite X in neutral water due to the high electrostatic repulsion. In comparison, carbamazepine and ciprofloxacin have favorable binding energies with both zeolite X and M^(n+)-zeolite X, and their interactions with M^(n+)-zeolite X are stronger due to the joint effects of H-bond, metal complexation and electrostatic interaction. The adsorption loading of ciprofloxacin, which has a large molecular size, on M^(n+)-zeolite X is limited due to the steric hindrance. In general, steric hindrance, electrostatic interaction, H-bond and metal complexation are dominant factors for the examined systems in this study. Thus, for the design of high-performance absorbing materials, we should fully consider the molecular properties of pollutants(molecular size, surface electrostatic potential and atomic type, etc.), and properly enhance the favorable effects and avoid the unfavorable factors as much as possible under the guidance of the interaction mechanisms.

On Cross-Layer Design of AMC Based on Rate Compatible Punctured Turbo Codes

This paper extends the work on cross-layer design which combines adaptive modulation and coding at the physical layer and hybrid automatic repeat request protocol at the data link layer. By contrast with previous works on this topic, the present development and the performance analysis as well, is based on rate compatible punctured turbo codes. Rate compatibility provides incremental redundancy in transmission of parity bits for error correction at the data link layer. Turbo coding and iterative decoding gives lower packet error rate values in low signal-to-noise ratio regions of the adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) schemes. Thus, the applied cross-layer design results in AMC schemes can achieve better spectral efficiency than convolutional one while it retains the QoS requirements at the application layer. Numerical results in terms of spectral efficiency for both turbo and convolutional rate compatible punctured codes are presented. For a more comprehensive presentation, the performance of rate compatible LDPC is contrasted with turbo case as well as the performance complexity is discussed for each of the above codes.

Space-time Block Codes Based on Quasi-Orthogonal Designs

A new space-time block codes based on quasi-orthogonal designs are put forward. First the channel model is formulated. Then the connection between orthogonal /quasi-orthogonal designs and space-time block codes is explored. Finally we make simulations for the transmission of 4 bits/s/Hz and 6 bits/s/Hz using eight transmit antennas using the rate 3/4 quasi-orthogonal space-time block code and the rate 1/2 full-diversity orthogonal space-time block code. Simulation results show that full transmission rate is more important for very low signal noise ratio (SNR) and high bit error probability (BEP), while full diversity is more important for very high SNR and low BEP.

CONSTRUCTION OF NONSYSTEMATIC LOW-DENSITY PARITY-CHECK CODES BASED ON SYMMETRIC BALANCED INCOMPLETE BLOCK DESIGN

This paper studies the nonsystematic Low-Density Parity-Check(LDPC)codes based onSymmetric Balanced Incomplete Block Design(SBIBD).First,it is concluded that the performancedegradation of nonsystematic linear block codes is bounded by the average row weight of generalizedinverses of their generator matrices and code rate.Then a class of nonsystematic LDPC codes con-structed based on SBIBD is presented.Their characteristics include:both generator matrices andparity-check matrices are sparse and cyclic,which are simple to encode and decode;and almost arbi-trary rate codes can be easily constructed,so they are rate-compatible codes.Because there aresparse generalized inverses of generator matrices,the performance of the proposed codes is only0.15dB away from that of the traditional systematic LDPC codes.

A new design criterion and construction method for space-time trellis codes based on classification of error events

The known design criterions of Space-Time Trellis Codes （STFC） on slow Rayleigh fading channel are rank, determinant and trace criterion. These criterions are not advantageous not onlv in operation but also in performance. With classifying the error events of STTC, a new criterion was presented on slow Rayleigh fading channels. Basod on the criterion, an effective and straighttbrward multi-step method is proposed to ennstruet codes with better performance. This method can reduce the computation of search to small enough. Simulation results show that the codes searched by computer have the same or even better performance than the repored codes.

Analysis of Key Issues in Design Codes for Long-Span Highway Bridges

In recent years,with the continuous expansion of China's infrastructure construction,related construction work,including highway and bridge construction,has been steadily progressing.Among them,bridges are an important component of infrastructure construction,and their safety and stability are related to the travel of the masses and even the safety of their lives.China has a strict management system for bridge design specifications.This article mainly takes long-span highway bridges as an example to study the key issues of its design specifications and proposes countermeasures for related work.

Deploying a Deep Learning-based Application for an Efficient Ther­mal Energy Storage Air-Conditioning(TES-AC)System:Design Guidelines

Facility management and maintenance of the Thermal-Energy-Storage Air-Conditioning(TES-AC)system is a tedious task at a large scale mainly due to the charging load that can increase energy consumption if needed to be charged at peak hours.Besides,maintenance of TES-AC at a large scale gets complex as it contains many sensor data.By utilizing deep learning techniques on the sensor data,charging load prediction can be made possible,so facility managers can prepare in advance.However,a deep learning-based application will be unusable if it is not deployed in a user-friendly manner where facility managers can benefit from this application.Hence,this research focuses on gathering design guidelines for a deep learning-based application and further validates the design considerations with a developed application for efficient human-computer interaction through qualitative analysis.The approach taken to gather design guidelines demonstrated a positive correlation between expert-suggested features and the user-friendly aspect of the application as 67.08%of participants found the features suggested by experts to be most satisfactory.Furthermore,it evaluates user satisfaction with the advanced developed application for TES-AC according to the gathered design guidelines.

Seismic fragility assessment of RC frame structure designed according to modern Chinese code for seismic design of buildings

Following several damaging earthquakes in China, research has been devoted to find the causes of the collapse of reinforced concrete （RC） building sand studying the vulnerability of existing buildings. The Chinese Code for Seismic Design of Buildings （CCSDB） has evolved over time, however, there is still reported earthquake induced damage of newly designed RC buildings. Thus, to investigate modern Chinese seismic design code, three low-, mid- and high-rise RC frames were designed according to the 2010 CCSDB and the corresponding vulnerability curves were derived by computing a probabilistic seismic demand model （PSDM）.The PSDM was computed by carrying out nonlinear time history analysis using thirty ground motions obtained from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. Finally, the PSDM was used to generate fragility curves for immediate occupancy, significant damage, and collapse prevention damage levels. Results of the vulnerability assessment indicate that the seismic demands on the three different frames designed according to the 2010 CCSDB meet the seismic requirements and are almost in the same safety level.

Comparison of seismic actions and structural design requirements in Chinese Code GB 50011 and International Standard ISO 3010

This papcr presents a comparison between the Chinese Code GB50011-2001 and the International Standard ISO3010:2001(E),emphasizing the similarities and differences related to design requirements,seismic actions and analytical approaches.Similarities include:earthquake return period,conceptual design,site classification,structural strength and ductility requirements,deformation limits,response spectra,seismic analysis procedures,isolation and energy dissipation, and nonstructural elements.Differences exist in the following areas:seismic levels,earthquake loading,mode damping factors and structural control.

Seismic performance evaluation of typical dampers designed by Chinese building code

Adding dampers is a commonly adopted seismic risk mitigation strategy for modern buildings, and the corresponding design procedure of dampers has been well established by the Chinese Building Code. Even though all types of dampers are designed by the same procedure, actual seismic performance of the building may differ from one to the others. In this study, a nine-story benchmark steel building is established, and three different and typical types of dampers are designed according to the Chinese Building Code to realize structural vibration control under strong earthquake excitation. The seismic response of the prototype building equipped with a viscoelastic damper, viscous damper and buckling-restrained brace(BRB) subjected to 10 earthquake records are calculated, and Incremental Dynamic Analysis(IDA) is performed to describe progressive damage of the structure under increasing earthquake intensity. In the perspective of fragility, it shows that the viscoelastic damper has the highest collapse margin ratio(CMR), and the viscous damper provides the best drift control. Both the BRB and viscoelastic dampers can effectively reduce the floor acceleration responses in the mid-rise building.

REVERSE DESIGN APPROACH FOR MECHANISM TRAJECTORY BASED ON CODE-CHAINS MATCHING

Aiming at the problem of reverse-design of mechanism, a method based on the matching of trajectory code-chains is presented. The motion trajectory of mechanism is described with code-chain, which is normalized to simplify the operation of geometric transformation. The geometric transforma-tion formulas of scale, mirror and rotation for trajectory code-chain are defined, and the reverse de-sign for mechanism trajectory is realized through the analysis and solution of similarity matching between the desired trajectory and the predefined trajectory. The algorithm program and prototype system of reverse design for mechanism trajectory are developed. Application samples show that the method can break the restriction of trajectory patterns in matching, meet the demand of partial match-ing, and overcome the influence of geometric transformation of trajectory on the reverse design for mechanism.