Engineering Commons^™

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Different Classification Techniques In Predicting Dns Tunnels, Patrick Walsh

Dissertations

DNS is one of the most widely used protocols on the internet and is used in the translation of domain names into IP address in order to correctly route messages between computers. It presents an attractive attack vector for criminals as the service is not as closely monitored by security experts as other protocols such as HTTP or FTP. Its use as a covert means of communication has increased with the availability of tools that allow for the creation of DNS tunnels using the protocol. One of the primary motivations for using DNS tunnels is the illegal extraction of information …

Cost Benefit Evaluation Of Maintenance Options For Aging Equipment Using Monetised Risk Values: A Practical Application, Maria Chiara Leva, G. Baldissone, R. Caso, M. Demichela, L. Lawlor, B. Mcaleer

Conference Papers

With constant pressure to reduce maintenance costs as well as short-term budget constraints in a changing market environment, asset managers are compelled to continue operating aging assets while deferring maintenance and investment. The scope of the paper is to get an overview of the methods used to evaluate risks and opportunities for deferred maintenance interventions on aging equipment, and underline the importance to include monetised risk considerations and timeline considerations, to evaluate different scenarios connected with the possible options. Monetised risk values offer the opportunity to support risk-based decision-making using the data collected from the field. The paper presents examples …

Non-Crossing Partitions And Milnor Fibers, Colum Watt, Michael Falk, Thomas Brady

Articles

For a finite real reflection group, W, we use non-crossing partitions of type W to construct a finite cell complex with the homotopy type of the Milnor fiber of the associated W–discriminant, Δ_W, and another with the homotopy type of the Milnor fiber of the defining polynomial of the associated reflection arrangement. These complexes support natural cyclic group actions realizing the geometric monodromy. Using the shellability of the non-crossing partition lattice, this cell complex yields a chain complex of homology groups computing the integral homology of the Milnor fiber of Δ_W.

Toxicity Screening Of Biochar-Mineral Composites Using Germination Tests, Jan Mumme, Josephine Getz, Munoo Prasad, Ulf Lüder, Kern Jurgen, Ondrej Masek, Wolfram Buss

Articles

This study assessed the properties and toxicity (water cress germination trials) of 38 waste-derived, novel biochar-mineral composites (BMCs) produced via slow pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization (hydrochars). The biochars were produced from sewage sludge and compost-like output (CLO) by varying the type of mineral additive (zeolite, wood ash and lignite fly ash), the mineral-to-feedstock ratio and the carbonization process. While pure hydrochars completely inhibited germination of water cress, this effect was ameliorated by mineral additives. Seedlings grew best in pyrolysis chars and while wood ash addition decreased plant growth in many cases, 1:10 addition to CLO doubled germination rate. The factors …

Adapt At Semeval-2018 Task 9: Skip-Gram Word Embeddings For Unsupervised Hypernym Discovery In Specialised Corpora, Alfredo Maldonado, Filip Klubicka

Other resources

This paper describes a simple but competitive unsupervised system for hypernym discovery. The system uses skip-gram word embeddings with negative sampling, trained on specialised corpora. Candidate hypernyms for an input word are predicted based on cosine similar- ity scores. Two sets of word embedding mod- els were trained separately on two specialised corpora: a medical corpus and a music indus- try corpus. Our system scored highest in the medical domain among the competing unsu- pervised systems but performed poorly on the music industry domain. Our approach does not depend on any external data other than raw specialised corpora.

An Energy-Based Approach To Assess And Predict Erosive Airfoil Defouling, Arthur Rudek, Thomas-Alexander Zitzmann, Geral Russ, Barry Duignan

Articles

A dynamic indentation experiment is presented for assessment of the adhesive behavior of a range of coatings in erosive defouling of commercial aircraft engines using CO2 dry-ice. A series of experiments is presented in which particles made from a reference material (polyoxymethylene – POM) and from CO2 dry-ice are made to impact compressor airfoils under a range of impact angle and velocity conditions. The airfoils investigated are coated with an indicator material (PTFE), which is typically used to visualise the defouling effect in large scale compressor defouling experiments. In addition, fouled compressor airfoils taken from service and coated with a …

A Lightweight Classification Algorithm For Human Activity Recognition In Outdoor Spaces, Graham Mccalmont, Huiru Zheng, Haiying Wang, S. I. Mcclean, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry

Conference Papers

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of a lightweight classification algorithm for human activity recognition in a defined setting. Current techniques to analyse data such as machine learning are often very resource intensive meaning they can only be implemented on machines or devices that have large amounts of storage or processing power. The lightweight algorithm uses Euclidean distance to measure the difference between two points and predict the class of new records.

The results of the algorithm are largely positive achieving accuracy of 100% when classifying records taken from the same sensor position and accuracy of …

Computer Aided Drawing Software Delivered Through Emotional Learning. The Use Of Emoticons And Gifs As A Tool For Increasing Student Engagement., Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry

Conference Papers

It is known that one of the key factors for many manufacturing companies, who are involved in the design and development process, is represented by the quality of the skills, capacity and experience of computer-aided design draftsman and designers. This means that effective, up-to-date and engaging training has to be performed by teachers and instructors, since the early stage lectures for novice engineering students. When learners are engaged and actively participate in the training process, then this transfers in to a high, deep level of learning, quality of the learnt topics and perceived passion. The following question arises, “how can …

Rethinking Zoning For People: Utilizing The Concept Of The Village, Kevin Leyden, Lorraine D'Arcy

Other

In this chapter, we propose it is time to re-think and re-imagine how we approach zoning. This is especially true for suburban developments. Today, especially in the United States, zoning in suburban areas is being used to segregate and separate the component parts of our communities into distinct zones which are spread out geographically and in most cases require the daily use of an automobile. The negative consequences of this form of development for health, community and the environment are discussed. Using a study of neighborhoods in Dublin, Ireland and its suburbs we examine how professionals and the public view …

Mental Workload Assessment: Knowledge-Bases Based Upon The Features Of The Original Nasa Task Load Index, Lucas Rizzo, Luca Longo

Other resources

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Multimode Interference In Tapered Optical Fibers And Related Applications, Pengfei Wang, Haiyan Zhao, Xianfan Wang, Gerald Farrell, Gilberto Brambilla

Conference papers

In recent years, tapered optical fibers (TOFs) have attracted increasing interest and developed into a range of devices used in many practical applications ranging from optical communication, sensing to optical manipulation and high-Q resonators. Compared with conventional optical fibers, TOFs possess a range of unique features, such as large evanescent field, strong optical confinement, mechanical flexibility and compactness. In this review, we critically summarize the multimode interference in TOFs and some of its applications with a focus on our research project undertaken at the Optoelectronics Research Centre of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

Engineered Nanomaterials And Human Health: Part 1. Preparation, Functionalization And Characterization (Iupac Technical Report), Vladimir Gubala, Linda J. Johnston, Harald Friedrich Krug, Colin J. Moore, Christopher K. Ober, Michael Schwenk, Michel R. Vert

Reports

Research on engineered nanomaterials (ENM) has progressed rapidly from the very early stages of studying their unique, size-dependent physicochemical properties and commercial exploration to the development of products that influence our everyday lives. We have previously reviewed various methods for synthesis, surface functionalization, and analytical characterization of ENM in a publication titled 'Engineered Nanomaterials: Preparation, Functionalization and Characterization'. In this second, inter-linked document, we first provide an overview of important applications of ENM in products relevant to human healthcare and consumer goods, such as food, textiles, and cosmetics. We then highlight the challenges for the design and development of new …

Engineered Nanomaterials And Human Health: Part 2. Applications And Nanotoxicology (Iupac Technical Report) (Review), Vladimir Gubala, Linda J. Johnston, Harald Friedrich Krug, Colin J. Moore, Christopher K. Ober, Michael Schwenk, Michel R. Vert

Reports

Research on engineered nanomaterials (ENM) has progressed rapidly from the very early stages of studying their unique, size-dependent physicochemical properties and commercial exploration to the development of products that influence our everyday lives. We have previously reviewed various methods for synthesis, surface functionalization, and analytical characterization of ENM in a publication titled 'Engineered Nanomaterials: Preparation, Functionalization and Characterization'. In this second, inter-linked document, we first provide an overview of important applications of ENM in products relevant to human healthcare and consumer goods, such as food, textiles, and cosmetics. We then highlight the challenges for the design and development of new …

A Constructivist Approach To The Use Of Case Studies In Teaching Engineering Ethics, Diana Adela Martin, Eddie Conlon, Brian Bowe

Articles

Our paper aims to explore the effectiveness of a constructivist approach to the teaching of engineering ethics through case studies, by putting forward a contextualization of the much discussed case study “Cutting Road Side Trees” (Pritchard, 1992) in light of the constructivist frame suggested by Jonassen (1999). First, we briefly analyse how the use of case studies for the teaching of engineering ethics eludes the complexity of the engineering professional environment before arguing that constructivism is a learning theory that can help to address this complexity. The final section proposes a constructivist reworking of the case method in a manner …

Nádúr Daonna (Natureza Humana): An Intervention To Work With Nature In The Intellectual Development Of First Year Engineering Students, Domhnall Sheridan, Michael Carr

Conference papers

For most of the 20th Century there has been a debate among psychologists, educationalists and others as to whether nature or nurture determined the personality and capabilities of the adult person. Only in the last decade has an answer been found for that perennial question: the adult is the product of both nature and nurture. The genotype, the genetic inheritance from parents provides a template, but the expression of the genotype, the phenotype, depends on the interaction between the individual and their environment. Nothing is written in stone: the young child beginning education has almost infinite possibilities. In order for …

Mens Sana: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Psychological Traits And Academic Success Of First Year Engineering Students, Domhnall Sheridan, Michael Carr

Conference papers

In 1904, the French government asked the psychologist Alfred Binet to devise a general test of intelligence that could be used to identify pupils who were behind their age cohort, in order to give them extra help to bring their level up to that of their peers. For most of the 20th century, intelligence testing has played a major role in education, unfortunately to categorize pupils at an early stage in the life, rather than to help them. In the last two decades, much work has been done in broadening the testing of students, especially in examining the relationship between …

A Comparative Study Of Chisel For Fpga Design, Paul Lennon, Richard Gahan

Conference Papers

This paper presents the results of a comparative study conducted into designing with the Chisel hardware construction language against the Verilog hardware description language across a range of standard-library and bespoke FPGA design components including an N-bit FIFO, a round-robin arbiter and a complex, scalable arbiter. Comparison metrics such as maximum operating frequency, silicon area, design flow run-time, source-code density and maintainability, simulation run-time and speed of coding are employed to evaluate the merits of designing with Chisel. Each component is implemented with a deep low-level hardware understanding with an aim to evaluate the merits of designing with Chisel from …

A Bioreactor For Conditioning Tissue Engineered Heart Valves, Claire Brougham, Francisco Almeida, Fergal J O'Brien

Other resources

No abstract provided.

Introducing A New Cement Hydration And Microstructure Model, Niall Holmes

Articles

This paper presents a new cement hydration model (HYDCEM) to predict the microstructure evolution of hydrating tricalcium silicate (C3S). The model is written in MATLAB and employs the continuum approach and integrated particle kinetics relationships to show the change in C3S and the growth of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) and Calcium Hydroxide (CH) in the pore space over time. Cement hydration is a highly complex process. While hydration models should never completely remove experimental analysis, they are an aid to better understand cement hydration and microstructure development by providing a method to analyse a large number of pastes with different …

Microdisk Resonator With Negative Thermal Optical Coefficient Polymer For Refractive Index Sensing With Thermal Stability, Tao Ma, Jinhui Yuan, Feng Li, Lei Sun, Zhe Kang, Binbin Yan, Qiang Wu, Xinzhu Sang, Heng Liu, Fang Wang, Bo Wu, Chongxiu Yu, Gerald Farrell

Articles

In this paper, we propose a microdisk resonator with negative thermal optical coefficient (TOC) polymer for refractive index (RI) sensing with thermal stability. The transmission characteristics and sensing performances by using quasi-TE01 and quasi-TM01 modes are simulated by a three-dimensional finite element method. The influences of the TOC, RI, and thickness of the polymer on the sensing performances are also investigated. The simulation results show that the RI sensitivity Sn and temperature sensitivity ST with different polymers are in the ranges of 25.1-26 nm/RIU and 67.3-75.2 pm/K for the quasi-TE01 mode, and 94.5-110.6 nm/RIU and 1.2-51.3 pm/K for the quasi-TM01 …

Compound Glass Microsphere Resonator Devices, Jibo Yu, Elfed Lewis, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In recent years, compound glass microsphere resonator devices have attracted increasing interest and have been widely used in sensing, microsphere lasers, and nonlinear optics. Compared with traditional silica resonators, compound glass microsphere resonators have many significant and attractive properties, such as high-Q factor, an ability to achieve high rare earth ion, wide infrared transmittance, and low phonon energy. This review provides a summary and a critical assessment of the fabrication and the optical characterization of compound glasses and the related fabrication and applications of compound glass microsphere resonators.

Using Regular Languages To Explore The Representational Capacity Of Recurrent Neural Architectures, Abhijit Mahalunkar, John D. Kelleher

Conference papers

The presence of Long Distance Dependencies (LDDs) in sequential data poses significant challenges for computational models. Various recurrent neural architectures have been designed to mitigate this issue. In order to test these state-of-the-art architectures, there is growing need for rich benchmarking datasets. However, one of the drawbacks of existing datasets is the lack of experimental control with regards to the presence and/or degree of LDDs. This lack of control limits the analysis of model performance in relation to the specific challenge posed by LDDs. One way to address this is to use synthetic data having the properties of subregular languages. …

The Social, Educational, And Market Scenario For Nzeb In Europe, Evangelia Topriska, Maria Kolokotroni, Daniela Melandri, Simon Mcguinness, Andrei Ceclan, Georgios C. Christoforidis, Fazio Vittoria, Maria Hadjpannayi, Patrick Hendrick, Marija Kacarska, López Lopez, Kaj Leonhart Petersen, Jutta Steinbrecher

Articles

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) are a significant part of the energy efficiency strategy of the European Union. As buildings represent approximately 40% of the final energy use in Europe, the reduction of their energy demand is key for a sustainable future. This paper takes a qualitative approach and presents data about professional and market barriers, as well as the educational market in relation to the implementation of nZEB policies for new and retrofit buildings in 11 European countries. Different levels of policy enactments and market penetration are reported and are generally found to be more advanced in western and …

Multiband Slot-Loaded Dipole Antenna For Wlan And Lte-A Applications, Samir Salem Al-Bawri, Mohd. Faizal Jamlos, Ping Jack Soh, Syed Alwee Aljunid Syed Junid, Mohd Aminudin Jamlos, Adam Narbudowicz

Articles

A multiband printed dipole antenna for wireless local area network (WLAN) and long-term evolution-advanced (LTEA) applications is investigated here. Its multiband characteristic is enabled by the Y-slot present in the upper arm of the dipole, while the antenna's dimensions are 0.08λo × 0.384λo at the lowest operating frequency. It features bandwidth of 14.6% centred at 2.4 GHz, and ∼30.5% centred at 5.5 GHz for WLAN operation. An additional bandwidth of 6.9% centred at 3.5 GHz supporting LTE-A applications is also featured. Besides being compact, the proposed antenna radiates omnidirectionally with a gain of up to 4.09 dBi. Simulations and measurements …

Low-Cost Multimode Patch Antenna For Dual Mimo And Enhanced Localization Use, Adam Narbudowicz, Max Ammann

Articles

This paper proposes a simple, low-cost multi-mode patch antenna combining good MIMO performance with precise Angle of Arrival (AoA) estimation. The AoA is based on the monopulse antenna concept, however, unlike in radar applications, the necessity for complex circuitry is replaced by the intrinsic properties of even and odd resonant patch modes. This capability is advantageous for future “Internet of Things” antennas, embedded into low-cost and size-constrained devices. The envelope correlation coefficient, measured in an anechoic chamber, is below 1.5 %, ensuring good MIMO performance. An exemplary addition to localization algorithm exploiting antenna properties is demonstrated.

The Link Between Spatial Skills And Engineering Problem-Solving, Gavin Duffy, Sheryl Sorby, Presentacion Rivera Reyes, Tom Delahunty, Lance Perez, Jayashri Ravishankar

Conference papers

Well-developed 3-D spatial skills are correlated with engineering success. However, most studies examining the link between spatial skills and engineering success have been conducted at the macro level, i.e., the link between spatial skills and course grades or between spatial skills and graduation rates. In this research, a more refined approach has been taken. Relationships between spatial skills and success in solving certain types of problems that engineering students commonly encounter are examined. It was found that high levels of spatial skills predict success in solving certain types of engineering problems but not in all types of problems. Data gathered …

Application Of Improved Phase-Shifted Pulse Width Modulation With Third Harmonic Injection To Hybrid Modular Multi-Level Converter, Mohammad Mohsen Rahimian, Majid Hosseinpour, Malabika Basu, Michael Farrell, Shahab Sajedi

Conference papers

Hybrid modular multi-level converters (Hybrid-

MMCs) which are modular multi-level converters including full and half bridge sub-modules, are recently used in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems. Compared to its non-hybrid counterpart, these converters have several advantages such as the ability to nullify the DC side fault current and controlling AC side reactive power during the faults. This paper proposes a novel modified phase shifted PWM method (PS-PWM) which uses a combination of an improved PS-PWM with cancelled mismatch pulses and a third harmonic injection method. The proposed method not only reduces output voltage harmonic content and uneven loss distribution …

Capacity Enhancement And Flexible Operation Of Unified Power Quality Conditioner In Smart And Microgrid Network, Shafiuzzaman Khan Khadem, Malabika Basu, Michael Conlon

Reports

This paper presents a new approach to design Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC), termed as distributed UPQC (D-UPQC), for smart or microgrid network where capacity enhancement and flexible operation of UPQC are the important issues. This paper shows the possibility of capacity enhancement and operational flexibility of UPQC through a coordinated control of existing resources. This UPQC consists of a single unit series active power filter (APFse) and multiple shunt APF (APFsh) units in a distributed (parallel) mode. These units can be connected with a common/separate dc linked capacitor(s). The requirement of capacity enhancement arises from the flexibility to cope …

The Potential For Power Quality Problem Mitigation Through Statcom, Arsalan Zaidi, Keith Sunderland, Michael Conlon

Conference papers

Consideration of spatial and temporal diversity of EV charging demand has been demonstrated to reduce the estimating impacts on the distribution networks. The data formulation is based on impact studies of Electrical vehicles (EV s) on distribution networks. It is suggested that Distribution System Operator (DSO) could benefit for new innovation/advancement in the market (BESS-STATCOM) in a way that makes networks more reliable/robust, In this regard such innovation creates more opportunities for demand side management, reduces planning uncertainties associated with stochastic nature of EV charging and makes space for demand side management. This work considers probabilistic load flow in a …

Voltage Distortion Mitigation In A Distributed Generation-Integrated Weak Utility Network Via A Self-Tuning Filter-Based Dynamic Voltage Restorer, Samet Biricik, Shafiuzzaman Khadem, Soydan Redif, Malabika Basu

Articles

The dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is mainly used in a utility grid to protect sensitive loads from power quality problems, such as voltage sags and swells. However, the effectiveness of the DVR can wane under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. Recently, DVR control algorithms have been developed that enable the elimination of voltage harmonics in weak and distorted utility networks. This paper presents a modified control method for the DVR, which can (1) compensate the voltage swell and (2) eliminate the voltage harmonics in a combined utility condition consisting of voltage unbalance and harmonic distortion. A self-tuning filter (STF) is used …