Factorial Experimental Design to Study the Effects of Layers and Fiber Content on Concrete Flexural Behavior

Experimentation has come a long in helping researchers achieve breakthroughs in their different scientific areas and engineering happens to be one of those areas with the most impact from experimental advancement. The need for valid experimental results free from biases and confounding conclusions has prompted the development of new experimental techniques that takes consideration of all applicable factor and combinations in providing answers on a research topic, and the Factorial Experimental design credited to Sir Ronald Fisher is one technique yielding highly valid results. This paper uses the factorial design of experiments to research the flexural impact of polyvinyl acetate fiber and layered concrete in construction. The experiment considered two levels of fiber contents and two levels of layers, and prepared samples with all combinations of the variable factors. The samples were tested after 7 days from casting for flexural strength and an advance statistical analysis was performed on the flexural responses of the samples using R-program. The results from the analyses revealed the significance of the variables to the flexural strength of the samples, as well as their interactions. The experiment concluded that based on the number of layers and fiber content used for the experiment, casting concrete in layers does have a significant negative effect on the flexural strength of concrete, and the failure pattern of concrete members under flexural load in evidently influenced by the material composition of the concrete, and that it can be evidently influenced by casting the concrete in layers.

Architecture design and demand analysis on application layer of standard system for ubiquitous power Internet of Things

The ubiquitous power Internet of Things(UPIoT)is an intelligent service system with comprehensive state perception,efficient processing,and flexible application of information.It focuses on each link of the power system and makes full use of the mobile internet,artificial intelligence,and other advanced information and communication technologies in order to realize the inter-human interaction of all things in all links of the power system.This article systematically presents to the national and international organizations and agencies in charge of UPIoT layer standardization the status quo of the research on the Internet of Things(IoT)-related industry standards system.It briefly describes the generic standard classification methods,layered architecture,conceptual model,and system tables in the UPIoT application layer.Based on the principles of inheritance,innovation,and practicability,this study divides the application layer into customer service,power grid operation,integrated energy,and enterprise operation,emerging business and analyzes the standard requirements of these five fields.This study also proposes a standard plan.Finally,it summarizes the research report and provides suggestions for a follow-up work.

Rational architecture design of yolk/double-shells Si-based anode material with double buffering carbon layers for high performance lithium-ion battery

Among the many strategies to fabricate the silicon/carbon composite,yolk/double-shells structure can be regarded as an effective strategy to overcome the intrinsic defects of Si-based anode materials for Li-ion batteries(LIBs).Hereon,a facile and inexpensive technology to prepare silicon/carbon composite with yolk/double-shells structure is proposed,in which the double buffering carbon shells are fabricated.The silicon/carbon nanoparticles with core-shell structure are encapsulated by SiO_(2)and external carbon layer,and it shows the yolk/double-shells structure via etching the SiO_(2)sacrificial layer.The multiply shells structure not only significantly improves the electrical conductivity of composite,but also effectively prevents the exposure of Si particles from the electrolyte composition.Meanwhile,the yolk/double-shells structure can provide enough space to accommodate the volume change of the electrode during charge/discharge process and avoid the pulverization of Si particles.Moreover,the as-prepared YDS-Si/C shows excellent performance as anode of LIBs,the reversible capacity is as high as 1066 mA h g^(-1) at the current density of 0.5 A g^(-1) after 200 cycles.At the same time,the YDS-Si/C has high capacity retention and good cyclic stability.Therefore,the unique architecture design of yolk/double-shells for Si/C composite provides an instructive exploration for the development of next generation anode materials of LIBs with high electrochemical performances and structural stability.

An Ant Colony Algorithm Based on Cross-Layer Design for Routing and Wavelength Assignment in Optical Satellite Networks

This paper introduces an ant colony routing and wavelength assignment algorithm based on cross-layer design(CL-ACRWA),which can overcome the adverse effects of Doppler wavelength shift on data transmission in optical satellite networks. Firstly, a cross-layer optimization model is built, which considers the Doppler wavelength shift, the transmission delay as well as wavelength-continuity constraint. Then an ant colony algorithm is utilized to solve the cross-layer optimization model, resulting in finding an optimal light path satisfying the above constraints for every connection request. The performance of CL-ACRWA is measured by the communication success probability, the convergence property and the transmission delay. Simulation results show that CL-ACRWA performs well in communication success probability and has good global search ability as well as fast convergence speed. Meanwhile, the transmission delay can meet the basic requirement of real-time transmission of business.

Design of multi-layered porous fibrous metals for optimal sound absorption in the low frequency range

We present a design method for calculating and optimizing sound absorption coefficient of multi-layered porous fibrous metals （PFM） in the low frequency range. PFM is simplified as an equivalent idealized sheet with all metallic fibers aligned in one direction and distributed in periodic hexagonal patterns. We use a phenomenological model in the literature to investigate the effects of pore geometrical parameters （fiber diameter and gap） on sound absorption performance. The sound absorption coefficient of multi- layered PFMs is calculated using impedance translation theorem, To demonstrate the validity of the present model, we compare the predicted results with the experimental data. With the average sound absorption （low frequency range） as the objective function and the fiber gaps as the design variables, an optimization method for multi-layered fibrous metals is proposed. A new fibrous layout with given porosity of multi-layered fibrous metals is suggested to achieve optimal low frequency sound absorption. The sound absorption coefficient of the optimal multi-layered fibrous metal is higher than the single- layered fibrous metal, and a significant effect of the fibrous material on sound absorption is found due to the surface Dorosity of the multi-layered fibrous.

Layered double hydroxides as electrode materials for flexible energy storage devices

To prevent and mitigate environmental degradation,high-performance and cost-effective electrochemical flexible energy storage systems need to be urgently developed.This demand has led to an increase in research on electrode materials for high-capacity flexible supercapacitors and secondary batteries,which have greatly aided the development of contemporary digital communications and electric vehicles.The use of layered double hydroxides(LDHs)as electrode materials has shown productive results over the last decade,owing to their easy production,versatile composition,low cost,and excellent physicochemical features.This review highlights the distinctive 2D sheet-like structures and electrochemical characteristics of LDH materials,as well as current developments in their fabrication strategies for expanding the application scope of LDHs as electrode materials for flexible supercapacitors and alkali metal(Li,Na,K)ion batteries.

Wireless sensor networks in relic protection:deployment methodology and cross-layer design

This paper describes the deployment optimization technology and the cross-layer design of a surveil-lance WSN system applied in relic protection.Facing the typical technical challenges in the applicationcontext of relic protection,we firstly propose a deployment technology based on ant colony optimization al-gorithm(DT-ACO)to overcome the difficulties in communication connectivity and sensing coverage.Meanwhile,DT-ACO minimizes the overall cost of the system as much as possible.Secondly we proposea novel power-aware cross-layer scheme(PACS)to facilitate adjustable system lifetime and surveillanceaccuracy.The performance analysis shows that we achieve lower device cost,significant extension of thesystem lifetime and improvement on the data delivery rate compared with the traditional methods.

Cationic potential:An effective descriptor for rational design of layered oxides for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are very promising in large-scale energy storage.The exploration of Na layered oxides as cathode materials for Na ion batteries usually consumes much resource,while the performances of Na layered oxides are dominated by their crystal structures.Therefore,it is highly desired to predict the stacking mode of the target oxides in advance:whether O3-type with higher ordered structure and stability,or P2-type with more Na content.For this purpose density functional theory computations do not work.Very recently,Hu's group and international collaborators have proposed a cationic potential to provide a very timely,effective,and accurate criterion to predict the stacking mode of Na layered oxides(Science,370(2020)708-711).Under the guidance of the cationic potential phase map,Na layered oxides could be rationally designed.Here we would like to highlight the progress that novel Na layered oxides could be obtained with the combination of large specific capacity,high power density and good cycling stability.

An Innovative Soft Design Science Methodology for Improving Development of a Secure Information System in Tanzania Using Multi-Layered Approach

This paper presents an innovative Soft Design Science Methodology for improving information systems security using multi-layered security approach. The study applied Soft Design Science Methodology to address the problematic situation on how information systems security can be improved. In addition, Soft Design Science Methodology was compounded with mixed research methodology. This holistic approach helped for research methodology triangulation. The study assessed security requirements and developed a framework for improving information systems security. The study carried out maturity level assessment to determine security status quo in the education sector in Tanzania. The study identified security requirements gap (IT security controls, IT security measures) using ISO/IEC 21827: Systems Security Engineering-Capability Maturity Model (SSE-CMM) with a rating scale of 0 - 5. The results of this study show that maturity level across security domain is 0.44 out of 5. The finding shows that the implementation of IT security controls and security measures for ensuring security goals are lacking or conducted in ad-hoc. Thus, for improving the security of information systems, organisations should implement security controls and security measures in each security domain (multi-layer security). This research provides a framework for enhancing information systems security during capturing, processing, storage and transmission of information. This research has several practical contributions. Firstly, it contributes to the body of knowledge of information systems security by providing a set of security requirements for ensuring information systems security. Secondly, it contributes empirical evidence on how information systems security can be improved. Thirdly, it contributes on the applicability of Soft Design Science Methodology on addressing the problematic situation in information systems security. The research findings can be used by decision makers and lawmakers to improve existing cyber security laws, and enact laws for data privacy and sharing of open data.

Cross Layer Design for Cooperative Transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks

Several protocols and schemes have been proposed to reduce energy consumption in Wireless Sensor Net-works (WSNs). In this paper we employ farcoopt, a cross layer design approach with the concept of coop-eration among the nodes with best farthest neighbor scheme to increase the Quality of Service (QoS), reduce energy consumption, increases performance and end-to-end throughput. We present cooperative transmission to connect previously disconnect parts of a network thus overcoming the separation problem of multi-hop network. We show that this approach improves connectivity over 50% compared to multi-hop approaches and reduces the number of nodes necessary to provide full coverage of an area up to 35%. Simulation results show that on increase of data rates i.e. packet the network life time increases in farcoopt as compared to tra-ditional multi hop approach. The result of this analysis is presented in this work.

Novel Optimized Cross-Layer Design with Maximum Weighted Capacity Based Resource Allocation for AMC/HARQ Wireless Networks

To provide quality-of service (QoS) guarantees for heterogeneous applications, most recent wireless communications technologies and standards combine the error-correcting capability of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) schemes at the data link layer (DLL) with the adaptation ability of the adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) modes at the physical layer (PHY) layer. This paper aims to investigate the aggregated system capacity as well as the breakdown of this capacity for different ACM modes in each HARQ scheme. This investigation was done by using maximum weighted capacity (MWC) resource allocation at the PHY layer in conjunction with a novel packet error rate (PER)-based scheduling at the medium access control (MAC) layer. As a result, the dominant AMC mode corresponding to channel SNR was available.

Cross Layered MAC Design for RF Energy Harvesting Sensor Network

The main research objective in wireless sensor networks (WSN) domain is to develop algorithms and protocols to ensure minimal energy consumption with maximum network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a novel design for energy harvesting sensor node and cross-layered MAC protocol using three adjacent layers (Physical, MAC and Network) to economize energy for WSN. The basic idea behind our protocol is to re-energize the neighboring nodes using the radio frequency (RF) energy transmitted by the active nodes. This can be achieved by designing new energy harvesting sensor node and redesigning the MAC protocol. The results show that the proposed cross layer CL_EHSN improves the life time of the WSN by 40%.

Optimal Rate Allocation Based on Cross-Layer Design and End-to-End Congestion Control in WCDMA Networks

In this paper, a novel idea for rate allocation combining both vertical coupling and horizontal coupling constraints is proposed, and a unified utility function to balance two paradoxical issues: efficiency and fairness, revenue and cost is elaborated in WCDMA networks. Then, the optimal rate allocation problem is formulated as a network utility maximization(NUM) model based on cross-layer design and end-to-end congestion control, aiming at exploring the impacts of wired networks and the characteristics of radio access networks(RANs) on rate allocation. Furthermore, a distributed algorithm is derived, which can effectively match load states between RANs and wired networks, followed by a detailed illustration of the practical implementations. Numerical results demonstrate a signifi cant performance improvement in the end-to-end throughput.

Cross-Layer Design Based Optimized Link State Routing Protocol for Wireless Mesh Networks

A proactive routing protocol CL-OLSR （cross-layer based optimized link state routing） by using a brand-new routing metric CLM （cross-layer metric） is proposed. CL-OLSR takes into account four link quality impact factors in route calculation through the cross-layer operation mechanism： the node available bandwidth, the node load, the link delivery rate, and the link interference, and thus the effect of route selection is optimized greatly. The simulation results show that the proposed CL-OLSR protocol can not only improve the network throughput to a large extent, but also reduce the end-to-end delay, while achieving load balance route results.

A cross-layer design approach on spectrum allocation and resource scheduling in cognitive PMP networks

We propose the spectrum allocation and resource scheduling algorithms in cognitive point to multipoint (PMP) networks with rapid changes of spectrum opportunities and present a media access control (MAC) protocol based on these algorithms. The objective of spectrum allocation is to make efficient use of the spectrum while maintaining the transceiver synchronization on frequency and time in the network. The objective of resource scheduling is to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) requirements of different kinds of connections and to minimize the total energy consumption in the network as well. By sensing only a small set of possible channels in each slot based on the state transition probability of each channel, our spectrum allocation algorithm achieves high spectrum efficiency in the network. The resource scheduling problem is divided into three sub problems and we derive optimal solutions to these problems by greedy algorithm and convex optimization. The simulation results show that our algorithm can make efficient use of the spectrum and the network resources at a cost of low computational complexity.

Research on Top-layer Planning and Overall Design Project Decision of Weapon System Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

Based on analytic hierarchy process(AHP) theory,a vital important problem for top-layer planning and overall design of modern self-propelled gun-howitzer system,namely overall project decision-making,was analyzed.A hierarchy model was built to solve the complex and uncertain problem,and a decision-making index system was established.Then,the weights in all layers of the model were determined by simulating experts.Finally,according to the calculated results of the elements in each layer,the weights of the alternatives to the overall goal were calculated to conduct the hierarchy total decision.A decision example shows that the overall project of a self-propelled gun-howitzer A is much better than that of another self-propelled gun-howitzer B,digitalized in comprehensive efficiency,operability,system accuracy and economy,but inferior to it in the information capability,and there exists relatively larger gap between them in the information sharing index.

Dynamic routing and wavelength assignment algorithm of optical satellite networks based on cross-layer design

In order to overcome the adverse effects of Doppler wavelength shift on data transmission in the optical satellite networks,a dynamic routing and wavelength assignment algorithm based on crosslayer design( CL-DRWA) is introduced which can improve robustness of the network. Above all,a cross-layer optimization model is designed,which considers transmission delay and wavelength-continuity constraint,as well as Doppler wavelength shift. Then CL-DRWA is applied to solve this model,resulting in finding an optimal light path satisfying the above constraints for every connection request. In CL-DRWA,Bellman-Ford method is used to find an optimal route and a distributed relative capacity loss method is implemented to get an optimal wavelength assignment result on the optimal route. Moreover,compared with the dynamic routing and wavelength assignment algorithm based on minimum delay strategy( MD-DRWA),CL-DRWA can make an improvement of 5. 3% on the communication success probability. Meanwhile,CL-DRWA can meet the requirement of transmission delay for real-time services.

Performance of Cross-Layer Design with Power Allocation in Space-Time Coded MIMO Systems

A cross-layer design(CLD)scheme with combination of power allocation,adaptive modulation(AM)and automatic repeat request(ARQ)is presented for space-time coded MIMO system under imperfect feedback,and the corresponding system performance is investigated in a Rayleigh fading channel.Based on imperfect feedback information,a suboptimal power allocation(PA)scheme is derived to maximize the average spectral efficiency(SE)of the system.The scheme is based on a so-called compressed SNR criterion,and has a closed-form expression for positive power allocation,thus being computationally efficient.Moreover,it can improve SE of the presented CLD.Besides,due to better approximation,it obtains the performance close to the existing optimal approach which requires numerical search.Simulation results show that the proposed CLD with PA can achieve higher SE than the conventional CLD with equal power allocation scheme,and has almost the same performance as CLD with optimal PA.However,it has lower calculation complexity.

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.