WorldWideScience

Sample records for safety dynamical triangulation

  1. Triangulation and the importance of establishing valid methods for food safety culture evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jespersen, Lone; Wallace, Carol A

    2017-10-01

    The research evaluates maturity of food safety culture in five multi-national food companies using method triangulation, specifically self-assessment scale, performance documents, and semi-structured interviews. Weaknesses associated with each individual method are known but there are few studies in food safety where a method triangulation approach is used for both data collection and data analysis. Significantly, this research shows that individual results taken in isolation can lead to wrong conclusions, resulting in potentially failing tactics and wasted investments. However, by applying method triangulation and reviewing results from a range of culture measurement tools it is possible to better direct investments and interventions. The findings add to the food safety culture paradigm beyond a single evaluation of food safety culture using generic culture surveys. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Dynamically triangulated surfaces - some analytical results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostov, I.K.

    1987-01-01

    We give a brief review of the analytical results concerning the model of dynamically triangulated surfaces. We will discuss the possible types of critical behaviour (depending on the dimension D of the embedding space) and the exact solutions obtained for D=0 and D=-2. The latter are important as a check of the Monte Carlo simulations applyed to study the model in more physical dimensions. They give also some general insight of its critical properties

  3. The ising model on the dynamical triangulated random surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aleinov, I.D.; Migelal, A.A.; Zmushkow, U.V.

    1990-01-01

    The critical properties of Ising model on the dynamical triangulated random surface embedded in D-dimensional Euclidean space are investigated. The strong coupling expansion method is used. The transition to thermodynamical limit is performed by means of continuous fractions

  4. Exploring Torus Universes in Causal Dynamical Triangulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Budd, Timothy George; Loll, R.

    2013-01-01

    Motivated by the search for new observables in nonperturbative quantum gravity, we consider Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) in 2+1 dimensions with the spatial topology of a torus. This system is of particular interest, because one can study not only the global scale factor, but also global...... shape variables in the presence of arbitrary quantum fluctuations of the geometry. Our initial investigation focusses on the dynamics of the scale factor and uncovers a qualitatively new behaviour, which leads us to investigate a novel type of boundary conditions for the path integral. Comparing large....... Apart from setting the stage for the analysis of shape dynamics on the torus, the new set-up highlights the role of nontrivial boundaries and topology....

  5. Putting a cap on causality violations in causal dynamical triangulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambjoern, Jan; Loll, Renate; Westra, Willem; Zohren, Stefan

    2007-01-01

    The formalism of causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) provides us with a non-perturbatively defined model of quantum gravity, where the sum over histories includes only causal space-time histories. Path integrals of CDT and their continuum limits have been studied in two, three and four dimensions. Here we investigate a generalization of the two-dimensional CDT model, where the causality constraint is partially lifted by introducing branching points with a weight g s , and demonstrate that the system can be solved analytically in the genus-zero sector. The solution is analytic in a neighborhood around weight g s = 0 and cannot be analytically continued to g s = ∞, where the branching is entirely geometric and where one would formally recover standard Euclidean two-dimensional quantum gravity defined via dynamical triangulations or Liouville theory

  6. Quantum gravity from simplices: analytical investigations of causal dynamical triangulations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benedetti, D.

    2007-01-01

    A potentially powerful approach to quantum gravity has been developed over the last few years under the name of Causal Dynamical Triangulations. Although these models can be solved exactly in a variety of ways in the case of pure gravity in (1+1) dimensions,it is difficult to extend any of the

  7. Scaling analyses of the spectral dimension in 3-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooperman, Joshua H.

    2018-05-01

    The spectral dimension measures the dimensionality of a space as witnessed by a diffusing random walker. Within the causal dynamical triangulations approach to the quantization of gravity (Ambjørn et al 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 347, 2001 Nucl. Phys. B 610 347, 1998 Nucl. Phys. B 536 407), the spectral dimension exhibits novel scale-dependent dynamics: reducing towards a value near 2 on sufficiently small scales, matching closely the topological dimension on intermediate scales, and decaying in the presence of positive curvature on sufficiently large scales (Ambjørn et al 2005 Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 171301, Ambjørn et al 2005 Phys. Rev. D 72 064014, Benedetti and Henson 2009 Phys. Rev. D 80 124036, Cooperman 2014 Phys. Rev. D 90 124053, Cooperman et al 2017 Class. Quantum Grav. 34 115008, Coumbe and Jurkiewicz 2015 J. High Energy Phys. JHEP03(2015)151, Kommu 2012 Class. Quantum Grav. 29 105003). I report the first comprehensive scaling analysis of the small-to-intermediate scale spectral dimension for the test case of the causal dynamical triangulations of 3-dimensional Einstein gravity. I find that the spectral dimension scales trivially with the diffusion constant. I find that the spectral dimension is completely finite in the infinite volume limit, and I argue that its maximal value is exactly consistent with the topological dimension of 3 in this limit. I find that the spectral dimension reduces further towards a value near 2 as this case’s bare coupling approaches its phase transition, and I present evidence against the conjecture that the bare coupling simply sets the overall scale of the quantum geometry (Ambjørn et al 2001 Phys. Rev. D 64 044011). On the basis of these findings, I advance a tentative physical explanation for the dynamical reduction of the spectral dimension observed within causal dynamical triangulations: branched polymeric quantum geometry on sufficiently small scales. My analyses should facilitate attempts to employ the spectral

  8. Dynamical triangulated fermionic surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambjoern, J.; Varsted, S.

    1990-12-01

    We perform Monte Carlo simulations of randomly triangulated random surfaces which have fermionic world-sheet scalars θ i associated with each vertex i in addition to the usual bosonic world-sheet scalar χ i μ . The fermionic degrees of freedom force the internal metrics of the string to be less singular than the internal metric of the pure bosonic string. (orig.)

  9. Triangulating case-finding tools for patient safety surveillance: a cross-sectional case study of puncture/laceration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jennifer A; Gerwin, Daniel; Morlock, Laura; Miller, Marlene R

    2011-12-01

    To evaluate the need for triangulating case-finding tools in patient safety surveillance. This study applied four case-finding tools to error-associated patient safety events to identify and characterise the spectrum of events captured by these tools, using puncture or laceration as an example for in-depth analysis. Retrospective hospital discharge data were collected for calendar year 2005 (n=48,418) from a large, urban medical centre in the USA. The study design was cross-sectional and used data linkage to identify the cases captured by each of four case-finding tools. Three case-finding tools (International Classification of Diseases external (E) and nature (N) of injury codes, Patient Safety Indicators (PSI)) were applied to the administrative discharge data to identify potential patient safety events. The fourth tool was Patient Safety Net, a web-based voluntary patient safety event reporting system. The degree of mutual exclusion among detection methods was substantial. For example, when linking puncture or laceration on unique identifiers, out of 447 potential events, 118 were identical between PSI and E-codes, 152 were identical between N-codes and E-codes and 188 were identical between PSI and N-codes. Only 100 events that were identified by PSI, E-codes and N-codes were identical. Triangulation of multiple tools through data linkage captures potential patient safety events most comprehensively. Existing detection tools target patient safety domains differently, and consequently capture different occurrences, necessitating the integration of data from a combination of tools to fully estimate the total burden.

  10. (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity as the continuum limit of causal dynamical triangulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benedetti, D.; Loll, R.; Zamponi, F.

    2007-01-01

    We perform a nonperturbative sum over geometries in a (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity model given in terms of causal dynamical triangulations. Inspired by the concept of triangulations of product type introduced previously, we impose an additional notion of order on the discrete, causal geometries. This simplifies the combinatorial problem of counting geometries just enough to enable us to calculate the transfer matrix between boundary states labeled by the area of the spatial universe, as well as the corresponding quantum Hamiltonian of the continuum theory. This is the first time in dimension larger than 2 that a Hamiltonian has been derived from such a model by mainly analytical means, and it opens the way for a better understanding of scaling and renormalization issues

  11. From causal dynamical triangulations to astronomical observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielczarek, Jakub

    2017-09-01

    This letter discusses phenomenological aspects of dimensional reduction predicted by the Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) approach to quantum gravity. The deformed form of the dispersion relation for the fields defined on the CDT space-time is reconstructed. Using the Fermi satellite observations of the GRB 090510 source we find that the energy scale of the dimensional reduction is E* > 0.7 \\sqrt{4-d\\text{UV}} \\cdot 1010 \\text{GeV} at (95% CL), where d\\text{UV} is the value of the spectral dimension in the UV limit. By applying the deformed dispersion relation to the cosmological perturbations it is shown that, for a scenario when the primordial perturbations are formed in the UV region, the scalar power spectrum PS \\propto kn_S-1 , where n_S-1≈ \\frac{3 r (d\\text{UV}-2)}{(d\\text{UV}-1)r-48} . Here, r is the tensor-to-scalar ratio. We find that within the considered model, the predicted from CDT deviation from the scale invariance (n_S=1) is in contradiction with the up to date Planck and BICEP2.

  12. Evidence for asymptotic safety from lattice quantum gravity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laiho, J; Coumbe, D

    2011-10-14

    We calculate the spectral dimension for nonperturbative quantum gravity defined via Euclidean dynamical triangulations. We find that it runs from a value of ∼3/2 at short distance to ∼4 at large distance scales, similar to results from causal dynamical triangulations. We argue that the short-distance value of 3/2 for the spectral dimension may resolve the tension between asymptotic safety and the holographic principle.

  13. Relating covariant and canonical approaches to triangulated models of quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnsdorf, Matthias

    2002-01-01

    In this paper we explore the relation between covariant and canonical approaches to quantum gravity and BF theory. We will focus on the dynamical triangulation and spin-foam models, which have in common that they can be defined in terms of sums over spacetime triangulations. Our aim is to show how we can recover these covariant models from a canonical framework by providing two regularizations of the projector onto the kernel of the Hamiltonian constraint. This link is important for the understanding of the dynamics of quantum gravity. In particular, we will see how in the simplest dynamical triangulation model we can recover the Hamiltonian constraint via our definition of the projector. Our discussion of spin-foam models will show how the elementary spin-network moves in loop quantum gravity, which were originally assumed to describe the Hamiltonian constraint action, are in fact related to the time-evolution generated by the constraint. We also show that the Immirzi parameter is important for the understanding of a continuum limit of the theory

  14. The use of triangulation in qualitative research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Nancy; Bryant-Lukosius, Denise; DiCenso, Alba; Blythe, Jennifer; Neville, Alan J

    2014-09-01

    Triangulation refers to the use of multiple methods or data sources in qualitative research to develop a comprehensive understanding of phenomena (Patton, 1999). Triangulation also has been viewed as a qualitative research strategy to test validity through the convergence of information from different sources. Denzin (1978) and Patton (1999) identified four types of triangulation: (a) method triangulation, (b) investigator triangulation, (c) theory triangulation, and (d) data source triangulation. The current article will present the four types of triangulation followed by a discussion of the use of focus groups (FGs) and in-depth individual (IDI) interviews as an example of data source triangulation in qualitative inquiry.

  15. Summing Feynman graphs by Monte Carlo: Planar φ3-theory and dynamically triangulated random surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boulatov, D.V.

    1988-01-01

    New combinatorial identities are suggested relating the ratio of (n-1)th and nth orders of (planar) perturbation expansion for any quantity to some average over the ensemble of all planar graphs of the nth order. These identities are used for Monte Carlo calculation of critical exponents γ str (string susceptibility) in planar φ 3 -theory and in the dynamically triangulated random surface (DTRS) model near the convergence circle for various dimensions. In the solvable case D=1 the exact critical properties of the theory are reproduced numerically. (orig.)

  16. Triangulated categories (AM-148)

    CERN Document Server

    Neeman, Amnon

    2014-01-01

    The first two chapters of this book offer a modern, self-contained exposition of the elementary theory of triangulated categories and their quotients. The simple, elegant presentation of these known results makes these chapters eminently suitable as a text for graduate students. The remainder of the book is devoted to new research, providing, among other material, some remarkable improvements on Brown''s classical representability theorem. In addition, the author introduces a class of triangulated categories""--the ""well generated triangulated categories""--and studies their properties. This

  17. Grey signal processing and data reconstruction in the non-diffracting beam triangulation measurement system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Hao; Wang, Zhongyu; Fu, Jihua

    2008-12-01

    The non-diffracting beam triangulation measurement system possesses the advantages of longer measurement range, higher theoretical measurement accuracy and higher resolution over the traditional laser triangulation measurement system. Unfortunately the measurement accuracy of the system is greatly degraded due to the speckle noise, the CCD photoelectric noise and the background light noise in practical applications. Hence, some effective signal processing methods must be applied to improve the measurement accuracy. In this paper a novel effective method for removing the noises in the non-diffracting beam triangulation measurement system is proposed. In the method the grey system theory is used to process and reconstruct the measurement signal. Through implementing the grey dynamic filtering based on the dynamic GM(1,1), the noises can be effectively removed from the primary measurement data and the measurement accuracy of the system can be improved as a result.

  18. Pre-processing for Triangulation of Probabilistic Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bodlaender, H.L.; Koster, A.M.C.A.; Eijkhof, F. van den; Gaag, L.C. van der

    2001-01-01

    The currently most efficient algorithm for inference with a probabilistic network builds upon a triangulation of a networks graph. In this paper, we show that pre-processing can help in finding good triangulations for probabilistic networks, that is, triangulations with a minimal maximum

  19. Simulating triangulations. Graphs, manifolds and (quantum) spacetime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krueger, Benedikt

    2016-01-01

    Triangulations, which can intuitively be described as a tessellation of space into simplicial building blocks, are structures that arise in various different branches of physics: They can be used for describing complicated and curved objects in a discretized way, e.g., in foams, gels or porous media, or for discretizing curved boundaries for fluid simulations or dissipative systems. Interpreting triangulations as (maximal planar) graphs makes it possible to use them in graph theory or statistical physics, e.g., as small-world networks, as networks of spins or in biological physics as actin networks. Since one can find an analogue of the Einstein-Hilbert action on triangulations, they can even be used for formulating theories of quantum gravity. Triangulations have also important applications in mathematics, especially in discrete topology. Despite their wide occurrence in different branches of physics and mathematics, there are still some fundamental open questions about triangulations in general. It is a prior unknown how many triangulations there are for a given set of points or a given manifold, or even whether there are exponentially many triangulations or more, a question that relates to a well-defined behavior of certain quantum geometry models. Another major unknown question is whether elementary steps transforming triangulations into each other, which are used in computer simulations, are ergodic. Using triangulations as model for spacetime, it is not clear whether there is a meaningful continuum limit that can be identified with the usual and well-tested theory of general relativity. Within this thesis some of these fundamental questions about triangulations are answered by the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, which are a probabilistic method for calculating statistical expectation values, or more generally a tool for calculating high-dimensional integrals. Additionally, some details about the Wang-Landau algorithm, which is the primary used

  20. Simulating triangulations. Graphs, manifolds and (quantum) spacetime

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krueger, Benedikt

    2016-07-01

    Triangulations, which can intuitively be described as a tessellation of space into simplicial building blocks, are structures that arise in various different branches of physics: They can be used for describing complicated and curved objects in a discretized way, e.g., in foams, gels or porous media, or for discretizing curved boundaries for fluid simulations or dissipative systems. Interpreting triangulations as (maximal planar) graphs makes it possible to use them in graph theory or statistical physics, e.g., as small-world networks, as networks of spins or in biological physics as actin networks. Since one can find an analogue of the Einstein-Hilbert action on triangulations, they can even be used for formulating theories of quantum gravity. Triangulations have also important applications in mathematics, especially in discrete topology. Despite their wide occurrence in different branches of physics and mathematics, there are still some fundamental open questions about triangulations in general. It is a prior unknown how many triangulations there are for a given set of points or a given manifold, or even whether there are exponentially many triangulations or more, a question that relates to a well-defined behavior of certain quantum geometry models. Another major unknown question is whether elementary steps transforming triangulations into each other, which are used in computer simulations, are ergodic. Using triangulations as model for spacetime, it is not clear whether there is a meaningful continuum limit that can be identified with the usual and well-tested theory of general relativity. Within this thesis some of these fundamental questions about triangulations are answered by the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, which are a probabilistic method for calculating statistical expectation values, or more generally a tool for calculating high-dimensional integrals. Additionally, some details about the Wang-Landau algorithm, which is the primary used

  1. Simulations of four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity as dynamical triangulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agishtein, M.E.; Migdal, A.A.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, Four-Dimensional Simplicial Quantum Gravity is simulated using the dynamical triangulation approach. The authors studied simplicial manifolds of spherical topology and found the critical line for the cosmological constant as a function of the gravitational one, separating the phases of opened and closed Universe. When the bare cosmological constant approaches this line from above, the four-volume grows: the authors reached about 5 x 10 4 simplexes, which proved to be sufficient for the statistical limit of infinite volume. However, for the genuine continuum theory of gravity, the parameters of the lattice model should be further adjusted to reach the second order phase transition point, where the correlation length grows to infinity. The authors varied the gravitational constant, and they found the first order phase transition, similar to the one found in three-dimensional model, except in 4D the fluctuations are rather large at the transition point, so that this is close to the second order phase transition. The average curvature in cutoff units is large and positive in one phase (gravity), and small negative in another (antigravity). The authors studied the fractal geometry of both phases, using the heavy particle propagator to define the geodesic map, as well as with the old approach using the shortest lattice paths

  2. Triangulation positioning system network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sfendourakis Marios

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents ongoing work on localization and positioning through triangulation procedure for a Fixed Sensors Network - FSN.The FSN has to work as a system.As the triangulation problem becomes high complicated in a case with large numbers of sensors and transmitters, an adequate grid topology is needed in order to tackle the detection complexity.For that reason a Network grid topology is presented and areas that are problematic and need further analysis are analyzed.The Network System in order to deal with problems of saturation and False Triangulations - FTRNs will have to find adequate methods in every sub-area of the Area Of Interest - AOI.Also, concepts like Sensor blindness and overall Network blindness, are presented. All these concepts affect the Network detection rate and its performance and ought to be considered in a way that the network overall performance won’t be degraded.Network performance should be monitored contentiously, with right algorithms and methods.It is also shown that as the number of TRNs and FTRNs is increased Detection Complexity - DC is increased.It is hoped that with further research all the characteristics of a triangulation system network for positioning will be gained and the system will be able to perform autonomously with a high detection rate.

  3. Euclidean Dynamical Triangulation revisited: is the phase transition really 1st order?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rindlisbacher, Tobias; Forcrand, Philippe de

    2015-01-01

    The transition between the two phases of 4D Euclidean Dynamical Triangulation (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(92)90709-D) was long believed to be of second order until in 1996 first order behavior was found for sufficiently large systems (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0550-3213(96)00214-3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0370-2693(96)01277-4). However, one may wonder if this finding was affected by the numerical methods used: to control volume fluctuations, in both studies (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0550-3213(96)00214-3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0370-2693(96)01277-4) an artificial harmonic potential was added to the action and in (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0370-2693(96)01277-4) measurements were taken after a fixed number of accepted instead of attempted moves which introduces an additional error. Finally the simulations suffer from strong critical slowing down which may have been underestimated. In the present work, we address the above weaknesses: we allow the volume to fluctuate freely within a fixed interval; we take measurements after a fixed number of attempted moves; and we overcome critical slowing down by using an optimized parallel tempering algorithm (http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2010/01/P01020). With these improved methods, on systems of size up to N_4=64k 4-simplices, we confirm that the phase transition is 1"s"t order. In addition, we discuss a local criterion to decide whether parts of a triangulation are in the elongated or crumpled state and describe a new correspondence between EDT and the balls in boxes model. The latter gives rise to a modified partition function with an additional, third coupling. Finally, we propose and motivate a class of modified path-integral measures that might remove the metastability of the Markov chain and turn the phase transition into 2"n"d order.

  4. Summations over equilaterally triangulated surfaces and the critical string measure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smit, D.J.; Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA

    1992-01-01

    We propose a new approach to the summation over dynamically triangulated Riemann surfaces which does not rely on properties of the potential in a matrix model. Instead, we formulate a purely algebraic discretization of critical string path integral. This is combined with a technique which assigns to each equilateral triangulation of a two-dimensional surface a Riemann surface defined over a certain finite extension of the field of rational numbers, i.e. an arithmetic surface. Thus we establish a new formulated in which the sum over randomly triangulated surfaces defines an invariant measure on the moduli space of arithmetic surfaces. It is shown that because of this it is far from obvious that this measure for large genera approximates the measure defined by the continuum theory, i.e. Liouville theory or critical string theory. In low genus this subtlety does not exist. In the case of critical string theory we explicitly compute the volume of the moduli space of arithmetic surfaces in terms of the modular height function and show that for low genus it approximates correctly the continuum measure. We also discuss a continuum limit which bears some resemblance with a double scaling limit in matrix models. (orig.)

  5. Mixed Methods, Triangulation, and Causal Explanation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Kenneth R.

    2012-01-01

    This article distinguishes a disjunctive conception of mixed methods/triangulation, which brings different methods to bear on different questions, from a conjunctive conception, which brings different methods to bear on the same question. It then examines a more inclusive, holistic conception of mixed methods/triangulation that accommodates…

  6. Hamiltonian Cycles on Random Eulerian Triangulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guitter, E.; Kristjansen, C.; Nielsen, Jakob Langgaard

    1998-01-01

    . Considering the case n -> 0, this implies that the system of random Eulerian triangulations equipped with Hamiltonian cycles describes a c=-1 matter field coupled to 2D quantum gravity as opposed to the system of usual random triangulations equipped with Hamiltonian cycles which has c=-2. Hence, in this case...

  7. Improved laser-based triangulation sensor with enhanced range and resolution through adaptive optics-based active beam control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reza, Syed Azer; Khwaja, Tariq Shamim; Mazhar, Mohsin Ali; Niazi, Haris Khan; Nawab, Rahma

    2017-07-20

    Various existing target ranging techniques are limited in terms of the dynamic range of operation and measurement resolution. These limitations arise as a result of a particular measurement methodology, the finite processing capability of the hardware components deployed within the sensor module, and the medium through which the target is viewed. Generally, improving the sensor range adversely affects its resolution and vice versa. Often, a distance sensor is designed for an optimal range/resolution setting depending on its intended application. Optical triangulation is broadly classified as a spatial-signal-processing-based ranging technique and measures target distance from the location of the reflected spot on a position sensitive detector (PSD). In most triangulation sensors that use lasers as a light source, beam divergence-which severely affects sensor measurement range-is often ignored in calculations. In this paper, we first discuss in detail the limitations to ranging imposed by beam divergence, which, in effect, sets the sensor dynamic range. Next, we show how the resolution of laser-based triangulation sensors is limited by the interpixel pitch of a finite-sized PSD. In this paper, through the use of tunable focus lenses (TFLs), we propose a novel design of a triangulation-based optical rangefinder that improves both the sensor resolution and its dynamic range through adaptive electronic control of beam propagation parameters. We present the theory and operation of the proposed sensor and clearly demonstrate a range and resolution improvement with the use of TFLs. Experimental results in support of our claims are shown to be in strong agreement with theory.

  8. Triangulation in rewriting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oostrom, V. van; Zantema, Hans

    2012-01-01

    We introduce a process, dubbed triangulation, turning any rewrite relation into a confluent one. It is more direct than usual completion, in the sense that objects connected by a peak are directly oriented rather than their normal forms. We investigate conditions under which this process preserves

  9. A TQFT of Tuarev-Viro type on shaped triangulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kashaev, Rinat [Geneva Univ. (Switzerland); Luo, Feng [Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States). Dept. of Mathematics; Vartanov, Grigory [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2012-10-15

    A shaped triangulation is a finite triangulation of an oriented pseudo three manifold where each tetrahedron carries dihedral angles of an ideal hyberbolic tetrahedron. To each shaped triangulation, we associate a quantum partition function in the form of an absolutely convergent state integral which is invariant under shaped 3-2 Pachner moves and invariant with respect to shape gauge transformations generated by total dihedral angles around internal edges through the Neumann-Zagier Poisson bracket. Similarly to Turaev-Viro theory, the state variables live on edges of the triangulation but take their values on the whole real axis. The tetrahedral weight functions are composed of three hyperbolic gamma functions in a way that they enjoy a manifest tetrahedral symmetry. We conjecture that for shaped triangulations of closed 3-manifolds, our partition function is twice the absolute value squared of the partition function of Techmueller TQFT defined by Andersen and Kashaev. This is similar to the known relationship between the Turaev-Viro and the Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants of three manifolds. We also discuss interpretations of our construction in terms of three-dimensional supersymmetric field theories related to triangulated three-dimensional manifolds.

  10. A TQFT of Tuarev-Viro type on shaped triangulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashaev, Rinat; Luo, Feng

    2012-10-01

    A shaped triangulation is a finite triangulation of an oriented pseudo three manifold where each tetrahedron carries dihedral angles of an ideal hyberbolic tetrahedron. To each shaped triangulation, we associate a quantum partition function in the form of an absolutely convergent state integral which is invariant under shaped 3-2 Pachner moves and invariant with respect to shape gauge transformations generated by total dihedral angles around internal edges through the Neumann-Zagier Poisson bracket. Similarly to Turaev-Viro theory, the state variables live on edges of the triangulation but take their values on the whole real axis. The tetrahedral weight functions are composed of three hyperbolic gamma functions in a way that they enjoy a manifest tetrahedral symmetry. We conjecture that for shaped triangulations of closed 3-manifolds, our partition function is twice the absolute value squared of the partition function of Techmueller TQFT defined by Andersen and Kashaev. This is similar to the known relationship between the Turaev-Viro and the Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants of three manifolds. We also discuss interpretations of our construction in terms of three-dimensional supersymmetric field theories related to triangulated three-dimensional manifolds.

  11. Aerial Triangulation Close-range Images with Dual Quaternion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SHENG Qinghong

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A new method for the aerial triangulation of close-range images based on dual quaternion is presented. Using dual quaternion to represent the spiral screw motion of the beam in the space, the real part of dual quaternion represents the angular elements of all the beams in the close-range area networks, the real part and the dual part of dual quaternion represents the line elements corporately. Finally, an aerial triangulation adjustment model based on dual quaternion is established, and the elements of interior orientation and exterior orientation and the object coordinates of the ground points are calculated. Real images and large attitude angle simulated images are selected to run the experiments of aerial triangulation. The experimental results show that the new method for the aerial triangulation of close-range images based on dual quaternion can obtain higher accuracy.

  12. Strongly minimal triangulations of (S × S )#3 and (S S

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2011) 986–995). We show that there are exactly 12 such triangulations up to isomorphism, 10 of which are orientable. Keywords. Stacked sphere; tight neighbourly triangulation; minimal triangulation. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification.

  13. Efficient triangulation of Poisson-disk sampled point sets

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Jianwei

    2014-05-06

    In this paper, we present a simple yet efficient algorithm for triangulating a 2D input domain containing a Poisson-disk sampled point set. The proposed algorithm combines a regular grid and a discrete clustering approach to speedup the triangulation. Moreover, our triangulation algorithm is flexible and performs well on more general point sets such as adaptive, non-maximal Poisson-disk sets. The experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm is robust for a wide range of input domains and achieves significant performance improvement compared to the current state-of-the-art approaches. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  14. Observation, innovation and triangulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hetmar, Vibeke

    2007-01-01

    on experiences from a pilot project in three different classrooms methodological possibilities and problems are presented and discussed: 1) educational criticism, including the concepts of positions, perspectives and connoisseurship, 2) classroom observations and 3) triangulation as a methodological tool....

  15. Degree-regular triangulations of torus and Klein bottle

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Proceedings – Mathematical Sciences; Volume 115; Issue 3 ... A triangulation of a connected closed surface is called degree-regular if each of its vertices have the same degree. ... In [5], Datta and Nilakantan have classified all the degree-regular triangulations of closed surfaces on at most 11 vertices.

  16. I/O-Efficient Construction of Constrained Delaunay Triangulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agarwal, Pankaj Kumar; Arge, Lars; Yi, Ke

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we designed and implemented an I/O-efficient algorithm for constructing constrained Delaunay triangulations. If the number of constraining segments is smaller than the memory size, our algorithm runs in expected O( N B logM/B NB ) I/Os for triangulating N points in the plane, where...

  17. Performance of dynamic safety barriers-Structuring, modelling and visualization

    OpenAIRE

    Wikdahl, Olga

    2014-01-01

    The main objective of this master thesis is to discuss performance of dynamic safety barriers. A comprehensive literature review is performed in order to get understanding what dynamic safety barrier is. Three different concepts of dynamic safety barriers based on various meanings of dynamic were derived from the literature review: - dynamic safety barriers related to motion or physical force - dynamic safety barriers as updated barriers from dynamic risk analysis - dynamic safety ...

  18. Looseness and Independence Number of Triangulations on Closed Surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nakamoto Atsuhiro

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The looseness of a triangulation G on a closed surface F2, denoted by ξ (G, is defined as the minimum number k such that for any surjection c : V (G → {1, 2, . . . , k + 3}, there is a face uvw of G with c(u, c(v and c(w all distinct. We shall bound ξ (G for triangulations G on closed surfaces by the independence number of G denoted by α(G. In particular, for a triangulation G on the sphere, we have

  19. Label triangulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    May, R.P.

    1983-01-01

    Label Triangulation (LT) with neutrons allows the investigation of the quaternary structure of biological multicomponent complexes under native conditions. Provided that the complex can be fully separated into and reconstituted from its single - protonated and deuterated - components, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) can give selective information on shapes and pair distances of these components. Following basic geometrical rules, the spatial arrangement of the components can be reconstructed from these data. LT has so far been successfully applied to the small and large ribosomal subunits and the transcriptase of E. coli. (author)

  20. Onomatopoeia characters extraction from comic images using constrained Delaunay triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiangping; Shoji, Kenji; Mori, Hiroshi; Toyama, Fubito

    2014-02-01

    A method for extracting onomatopoeia characters from comic images was developed based on stroke width feature of characters, since they nearly have a constant stroke width in a number of cases. An image was segmented with a constrained Delaunay triangulation. Connected component grouping was performed based on the triangles generated by the constrained Delaunay triangulation. Stroke width calculation of the connected components was conducted based on the altitude of the triangles generated with the constrained Delaunay triangulation. The experimental results proved the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  1. Dynamic Safety Cases for Through-Life Safety Assurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh; Habli, Ibrahim

    2015-01-01

    We describe dynamic safety cases, a novel operationalization of the concept of through-life safety assurance, whose goal is to enable proactive safety management. Using an example from the aviation systems domain, we motivate our approach, its underlying principles, and a lifecycle. We then identify the key elements required to move towards a formalization of the associated framework.

  2. A REST Service for Triangulation of Point Sets Using Oriented Matroids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio Valero Medina

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the implementation of a prototype REST service for triangulation of point sets collected by mobile GPS receivers. The first objective of this paper is to test functionalities of an application, which exploits mobile devices’ capabilities to get data associated with their spatial location. A triangulation of a set of points provides a mechanism through which it is possible to produce an accurate representation of spatial data. Such triangulation may be used for representing surfaces by Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs, and for decomposing complex two-dimensional spatial objects into simpler geometries. The second objective of this paper is to promote the use of oriented matroids for finding alternative solutions to spatial data processing and analysis tasks. This study focused on the particular case of the calculation of triangulations based on oriented matroids. The prototype described in this paper used a wrapper to integrate and expose several tools previously implemented in C++.

  3. An improved triangulation laser rangefinder using a custom CMOS HDR linear image sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liscombe, Michael

    3-D triangulation laser rangefinders are used in many modern applications, from terrain mapping to biometric identification. Although a wide variety of designs have been proposed, laser speckle noise still provides a fundamental limitation on range accuracy. These works propose a new triangulation laser rangefinder designed specifically to mitigate the effects of laser speckle noise. The proposed rangefinder uses a precision linear translator to laterally reposition the imaging system (e.g., image sensor and imaging lens). For a given spatial location of the laser spot, capturing N spatially uncorrelated laser spot profiles is shown to improve range accuracy by a factor of N . This technique has many advantages over past speckle-reduction technologies, such as a fixed system cost and form factor, and the ability to virtually eliminate laser speckle noise. These advantages are made possible through spatial diversity and come at the cost of increased acquisition time. The rangefinder makes use of the ICFYKWG1 linear image sensor, a custom CMOS sensor developed at the Vision Sensor Laboratory (York University). Tests are performed on the image sensor's innovative high dynamic range technology to determine its effects on range accuracy. As expected, experimental results have shown that the sensor provides a trade-off between dynamic range and range accuracy.

  4. Stereo-tomography in triangulated models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Kai; Shao, Wei-Dong; Xing, Feng-yuan; Xiong, Kai

    2018-04-01

    Stereo-tomography is a distinctive tomographic method. It is capable of estimating the scatterer position, the local dip of scatterer and the background velocity simultaneously. Building a geologically consistent velocity model is always appealing for applied and earthquake seismologists. Differing from the previous work to incorporate various regularization techniques into the cost function of stereo-tomography, we think extending stereo-tomography to the triangulated model will be the most straightforward way to achieve this goal. In this paper, we provided all the Fréchet derivatives of stereo-tomographic data components with respect to model components for slowness-squared triangulated model (or sloth model) in 2D Cartesian coordinate based on the ray perturbation theory for interfaces. A sloth model representation means a sparser model representation when compared with conventional B-spline model representation. A sparser model representation leads to a smaller scale of stereo-tomographic (Fréchet) matrix, a higher-accuracy solution when solving linear equations, a faster convergence rate and a lower requirement for quantity of data space. Moreover, a quantitative representation of interface strengthens the relationships among different model components, which makes the cross regularizations among these model components, such as node coordinates, scatterer coordinates and scattering angles, etc., more straightforward and easier to be implemented. The sensitivity analysis, the model resolution matrix analysis and a series of synthetic data examples demonstrate the correctness of the Fréchet derivatives, the applicability of the regularization terms and the robustness of the stereo-tomography in triangulated model. It provides a solid theoretical foundation for the real applications in the future.

  5. Triangulating and guarding realistic polygons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aloupis, G.; Bose, P.; Dujmovic, V.; Gray, C.M.; Langerman, S.; Speckmann, B.

    2014-01-01

    We propose a new model of realistic input: k-guardable objects. An object is k-guardable if its boundary can be seen by k guards. We show that k-guardable polygons generalize two previously identified classes of realistic input. Following this, we give two simple algorithms for triangulating

  6. Triangulation, Respondent Validation, and Democratic Participation in Mixed Methods Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrance, Harry

    2012-01-01

    Over the past 10 years or so the "Field" of "Mixed Methods Research" (MMR) has increasingly been exerting itself as something separate, novel, and significant, with some advocates claiming paradigmatic status. Triangulation is an important component of mixed methods designs. Triangulation has its origins in attempts to validate research findings…

  7. Triangulating and guarding realistic polygons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aloupis, G.; Bose, P.; Dujmovic, V.; Gray, C.M.; Langerman, S.; Speckmann, B.

    2008-01-01

    We propose a new model of realistic input: k-guardable objects. An object is k-guardable if its boundary can be seen by k guards in the interior of the object. In this abstract, we describe a simple algorithm for triangulating k-guardable polygons. Our algorithm, which is easily implementable, takes

  8. Fixed-topology Lorentzian triangulations: Quantum Regge Calculus in the Lorentzian domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tate, Kyle; Visser, Matt

    2011-11-01

    A key insight used in developing the theory of Causal Dynamical Triangu-lations (CDTs) is to use the causal (or light-cone) structure of Lorentzian manifolds to restrict the class of geometries appearing in the Quantum Gravity (QG) path integral. By exploiting this structure the models developed in CDTs differ from the analogous models developed in the Euclidean domain, models of (Euclidean) Dynamical Triangulations (DT), and the corresponding Lorentzian results are in many ways more "physical". In this paper we use this insight to formulate a Lorentzian signature model that is anal-ogous to the Quantum Regge Calculus (QRC) approach to Euclidean Quantum Gravity. We exploit another crucial fact about the structure of Lorentzian manifolds, namely that certain simplices are not constrained by the triangle inequalities present in Euclidean signa-ture. We show that this model is not related to QRC by a naive Wick rotation; this serves as another demonstration that the sum over Lorentzian geometries is not simply related to the sum over Euclidean geometries. By removing the triangle inequality constraints, there is more freedom to perform analytical calculations, and in addition numerical simulations are more computationally efficient. We first formulate the model in 1 + 1 dimensions, and derive scaling relations for the pure gravity path integral on the torus using two different measures. It appears relatively easy to generate "large" universes, both in spatial and temporal extent. In addition, loopto-loop amplitudes are discussed, and a transfer matrix is derived. We then also discuss the model in higher dimensions.

  9. Measuring and Controlling Fairness of Triangulations

    KAUST Repository

    Jiang, Caigui; Gü nther, Felix; Wallner, Johannes; Pottmann, Helmut

    2016-01-01

    of fairness must take new aspects into account. We use concepts from discrete differential geometry (star-shaped Gauss images) to express fairness, and we also demonstrate how fairness can be incorporated into interactive geometric design of triangulated

  10. Path integral measure and triangulation independence in discrete gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dittrich, Bianca; Steinhaus, Sebastian

    2012-02-01

    A path integral measure for gravity should also preserve the fundamental symmetry of general relativity, which is diffeomorphism symmetry. In previous work, we argued that a successful implementation of this symmetry into discrete quantum gravity models would imply discretization independence. We therefore consider the requirement of triangulation independence for the measure in (linearized) Regge calculus, which is a discrete model for quantum gravity, appearing in the semi-classical limit of spin foam models. To this end we develop a technique to evaluate the linearized Regge action associated to Pachner moves in 3D and 4D and show that it has a simple, factorized structure. We succeed in finding a local measure for 3D (linearized) Regge calculus that leads to triangulation independence. This measure factor coincides with the asymptotics of the Ponzano Regge Model, a 3D spin foam model for gravity. We furthermore discuss to which extent one can find a triangulation independent measure for 4D Regge calculus and how such a measure would be related to a quantum model for 4D flat space. To this end, we also determine the dependence of classical Regge calculus on the choice of triangulation in 3D and 4D.

  11. Triangulation in Friedmann's cosmological model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fagundes, H.V.

    1977-01-01

    In Friedmann's model, physical 3-space has a curvature K = constant. In the cases of greatest interest (K different from 0) triangulation for the measurement of great distances should be based on non-Euclidean geometries: Riemannian (or doubly elliptic) geometry for a closed universe and Bolyai-Lobatchevsky's (or hiperbolic) geometry for an open universe [pt

  12. Integrated framework for dynamic safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Tae Wan; Karanki, Durga R.

    2012-01-01

    In the conventional PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment), detailed plant simulations by independent thermal hydraulic (TH) codes are used in the development of accident sequence models. Typical accidents in a NPP involve complex interactions among process, safety systems, and operator actions. As independent TH codes do not have the models of operator actions and full safety systems, they cannot literally simulate the integrated and dynamic interactions of process, safety systems, and operator responses. Offline simulation with pre decided states and time delays may not model the accident sequences properly. Moreover, when stochastic variability in responses of accident models is considered, defining all the combinations for simulations will be cumbersome task. To overcome some of these limitations of conventional safety analysis approach, TH models are coupled with the stochastic models in the dynamic event tree (DET) framework, which provides flexibility to model the integrated response due to better communication as all the accident elements are in the same model. The advantages of this framework also include: Realistic modeling in dynamic scenarios, comprehensive results, integrated approach (both deterministic and probabilistic models), and support for HRA (Human Reliability Analysis)

  13. An overview of the stereo correlation and triangulation formulations used in DICe.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turner, Daniel Z. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-02-01

    This document provides a detailed overview of the stereo correlation algorithm and triangulation formulation used in the Digital Image Correlation Engine (DICe) to triangulate three dimensional motion in space given the image coordinates and camera calibration parameters.

  14. Quantum triangulations. Moduli spaces, strings, and quantum computing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carfora, Mauro; Marzouli, Annalisa [Univ. degli Studi di Pavia (Italy). Dipt. Fisica Nucleare e Teorica; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica, Pavia (Italy)

    2012-07-01

    Research on polyhedral manifolds often points to unexpected connections between very distinct aspects of Mathematics and Physics. In particular triangulated manifolds play quite a distinguished role in such settings as Riemann moduli space theory, strings and quantum gravity, topological quantum field theory, condensed matter physics, and critical phenomena. Not only do they provide a natural discrete analogue to the smooth manifolds on which physical theories are typically formulated, but their appearance is rather often a consequence of an underlying structure which naturally calls into play non-trivial aspects of representation theory, of complex analysis and topology in a way which makes manifest the basic geometric structures of the physical interactions involved. Yet, in most of the existing literature, triangulated manifolds are still merely viewed as a convenient discretization of a given physical theory to make it more amenable for numerical treatment. The motivation for these lectures notes is thus to provide an approachable introduction to this topic, emphasizing the conceptual aspects, and probing, through a set of cases studies, the connection between triangulated manifolds and quantum physics to the deepest. This volume addresses applied mathematicians and theoretical physicists working in the field of quantum geometry and its applications. (orig.)

  15. Gaussian vector fields on triangulated surfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ipsen, John H

    2016-01-01

    proven to be very useful to resolve the complex interplay between in-plane ordering of membranes and membrane conformations. In the present work we have developed a procedure for realistic representations of Gaussian models with in-plane vector degrees of freedoms on a triangulated surface. The method...

  16. Public health triangulation: approach and application to synthesizing data to understand national and local HIV epidemics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aberle-Grasse John

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health triangulation is a process for reviewing, synthesising and interpreting secondary data from multiple sources that bear on the same question to make public health decisions. It can be used to understand the dynamics of HIV transmission and to measure the impact of public health programs. While traditional intervention research and metaanalysis would be ideal sources of information for public health decision making, they are infrequently available, and often decisions can be based only on surveillance and survey data. Methods The process involves examination of a wide variety of data sources and both biological, behavioral and program data and seeks input from stakeholders to formulate meaningful public health questions. Finally and most importantly, it uses the results to inform public health decision-making. There are 12 discrete steps in the triangulation process, which included identification and assessment of key questions, identification of data sources, refining questions, gathering data and reports, assessing the quality of those data and reports, formulating hypotheses to explain trends in the data, corroborating or refining working hypotheses, drawing conclusions, communicating results and recommendations and taking public health action. Results Triangulation can be limited by the quality of the original data, the potentials for ecological fallacy and "data dredging" and reproducibility of results. Conclusions Nonetheless, we believe that public health triangulation allows for the interpretation of data sets that cannot be analyzed using meta-analysis and can be a helpful adjunct to surveillance, to formal public health intervention research and to monitoring and evaluation, which in turn lead to improved national strategic planning and resource allocation.

  17. The chromatic class and the chromatic number of the planar conjugated triangulation

    OpenAIRE

    Malinina, Natalia

    2013-01-01

    This material is dedicated to the estimation of the chromatic number and chromatic class of the conjugated triangulation (first conversion) and also of the second conversion of the planar triangulation. Also this paper introduces some new hypotheses, which are equivalent to Four Color Problem.

  18. Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balaji, P.

    2014-01-01

    Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making

  19. Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balaji, P. [The Glocal University, Mirzapur Pole, Delhi- Yamuntori Highway, Saharanpur 2470001 (India)

    2014-10-06

    Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.

  20. Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaji, P.

    2014-10-01

    Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.

  1. Drug repurposing by integrated literature mining and drug–gene–disease triangulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Peng; Guo, Jiong; Winnenburg, Rainer

    2017-01-01

    recent developments in computational drug repositioning and introduce the utilized data sources. Afterwards, we introduce a new data fusion model based on n-cluster editing as a novel multi-source triangulation strategy, which was further combined with semantic literature mining. Our evaluation suggests...... that utilizing drug–gene–disease triangulation coupled to sophisticated text analysis is a robust approach for identifying new drug candidates for repurposing....

  2. Triangulation-based 3D surveying borescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulwer, S.; Steglich, P.; Villringer, C.; Bauer, J.; Burger, M.; Franz, M.; Grieshober, K.; Wirth, F.; Blondeau, J.; Rautenberg, J.; Mouti, S.; Schrader, S.

    2016-04-01

    In this work, a measurement concept based on triangulation was developed for borescopic 3D-surveying of surface defects. The integration of such measurement system into a borescope environment requires excellent space utilization. The triangulation angle, the projected pattern, the numerical apertures of the optical system, and the viewing angle were calculated using partial coherence imaging and geometric optical raytracing methods. Additionally, optical aberrations and defocus were considered by the integration of Zernike polynomial coefficients. The measurement system is able to measure objects with a size of 50 μm in all dimensions with an accuracy of +/- 5 μm. To manage the issue of a low depth of field while using an optical high resolution system, a wavelength dependent aperture was integrated. Thereby, we are able to control depth of field and resolution of the optical system and can use the borescope in measurement mode with high resolution and low depth of field or in inspection mode with low resolution and higher depth of field. First measurements of a demonstrator system are in good agreement with our simulations.

  3. Fast randomized point location without preprocessing in two- and three-dimensional Delaunay triangulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muecke, E.P.; Saias, I.; Zhu, B.

    1996-05-01

    This paper studies the point location problem in Delaunay triangulations without preprocessing and additional storage. The proposed procedure finds the query point simply by walking through the triangulation, after selecting a good starting point by random sampling. The analysis generalizes and extends a recent result of d = 2 dimensions by proving this procedure to take expected time close to O(n{sup 1/(d+1)}) for point location in Delaunay triangulations of n random points in d = 3 dimensions. Empirical results in both two and three dimensions show that this procedure is efficient in practice.

  4. A dynamic probabilistic safety margin characterization approach in support of Integrated Deterministic and Probabilistic Safety Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Maio, Francesco; Rai, Ajit; Zio, Enrico

    2016-01-01

    The challenge of Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) is to develop a methodology for estimating system safety margins in the presence of stochastic and epistemic uncertainties affecting the system dynamic behavior. This is useful to support decision-making for licensing purposes. In the present work, safety margin uncertainties are handled by Order Statistics (OS) (with both Bracketing and Coverage approaches) to jointly estimate percentiles of the distributions of the safety parameter and of the time required for it to reach these percentiles values during its dynamic evolution. The novelty of the proposed approach consists in the integration of dynamic aspects (i.e., timing of events) into the definition of a dynamic safety margin for a probabilistic Quantification of Margin and Uncertainties (QMU). The system here considered for demonstration purposes is the Lead–Bismuth Eutectic- eXperimental Accelerator Driven System (LBE-XADS). - Highlights: • We integrate dynamic aspects into the definition of a safety margins. • We consider stochastic and epistemic uncertainties affecting the system dynamics. • Uncertainties are handled by Order Statistics (OS). • We estimate the system grace time during accidental scenarios. • We apply the approach to an LBE-XADS accidental scenario.

  5. Triangulating' AMPATH: Demonstration of a multi-perspective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    For strategic planning, the Kenyan HIV/AIDS programme AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare) sought to evaluate its performance in 2006. The method used for this evaluation was termed 'triangulation,' because it used information from three different sources – patients, communities, and programme ...

  6. A Sweepline Algorithm for Generalized Delaunay Triangulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skyum, Sven

    We give a deterministic O(n log n) sweepline algorithm to construct the generalized Voronoi diagram for n points in the plane or rather its dual the generalized Delaunay triangulation. The algorithm uses no transformations and it is developed solely from the sweepline paradigm together...

  7. Triangulation applied to Jan H. van Bemmel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hasman, A.; Bergemann, D.; McCray, A. T.; Talmon, J. L.; Zvárová, J.

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To describe the person of Jan H. van Bemmel from different points of view. METHOD: Triangulation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Jan H. van Bemmel successfully contributed to research and education in medical informatics. He inspired a lot of people in The Netherlands and internationally

  8. Tradeoffs in Design Research: Development Oriented Triangulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koen van Turnhout; Sabine Craenmehr; Robert Holwerda; Mark Menijn; Jan-Pieter Zwart; René Bakker

    2013-01-01

    The Development Oriented Triangulation (DOT) framework in this paper can spark and focus the debate about mixed-method approaches in HCI. The framework can be used to classify HCI methods, create mixed-method designs, and to align research activities in multidisciplinary projects. The framework is

  9. Constructing Delaunay triangulations along space-filling curves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buchin, K.; Fiat, A.; Sanders, P.

    2009-01-01

    Incremental construction con BRIO using a space-filling curve order for insertion is a popular algorithm for constructing Delaunay triangulations. So far, it has only been analyzed for the case that a worst-case optimal point location data structure is used which is often avoided in implementations.

  10. Altitude, Orthocenter of a Triangle and Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coghetto Roland

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available We introduce the altitudes of a triangle (the cevians perpendicular to the opposite sides. Using the generalized Ceva’s Theorem, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the orthocenter of a triangle [7]. Finally, we formalize in Mizar [1] some formulas [2] to calculate distance using triangulation.

  11. The relationships between stressful life events during childhood and differentiation of self and intergenerational triangulation in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peleg, Ora

    2014-12-01

    This study examined the relationships between stressful life events in childhood and differentiation of self and intergenerational triangulation in adulthood. The sample included 217 students (173 females and 44 males) from a college in northern Israel. Participants completed the Hebrew versions of Life Events Checklist (LEC), Differentiation of Self Inventory-Revised (DSI-R) and intergenerational triangulation (INTRI). The main findings were that levels of stressful life events during childhood and adolescence among both genders were positively correlated with the levels of fusion with others and intergenerational triangulation. The levels of positive life events were negatively related to levels of emotional reactivity, emotional cut-off and intergenerational triangulation. Levels of stressful life events in females were positively correlated with emotional reactivity. Intergenerational triangulation was correlated with emotional reactivity, emotional cut-off, fusion with others and I-position. Findings suggest that families that experience higher levels of stressful life events may be at risk for higher levels of intergenerational triangulation and lower levels of differentiation of self. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

  12. TRIANGULATION OF METHODS OF CAREER EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Turnsek Mikacic

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an overview of the current research in the field of career education and career planning. Presented results constitute a model based on the insight into different theories and empirical studies about career planning as a building block of personal excellence. We defined credibility, transferability and reliability of the research by means of triangulation. As sources of data of triangulation we included essays of participants of education and questionnaires. Qualitative analysis represented the framework for the construction of the paradigmatic model and the formulation of the final theory. We formulated a questionnaire on the basis of our own experiences in the area of the education of individuals. The quantitative analysis, based on the results of the interviews, confirms the following three hypotheses: The individuals who elaborated a personal career plan and acted accordingly, changed their attitudes towards their careers and took control over their lives; in addition, they achieved a high level of self-esteem and self-confidence, in tandem with the perception of personal excellence, in contrast to the individuals who did not participate in career education and did not elaborate a career plan. We used the tools of NLP (neurolinguistic programming as an additional technique at learning.

  13. Internet information triangulation: Design theory and prototype evaluation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnhoven, Alphonsus B.J.M.; Brinkhuis, Michel

    2014-01-01

    Many discussions exist regarding the credibility of information on the Internet. Similar discussions happen on the interpretation of social scientific research data, for which information triangulation has been proposed as a useful method. In this article, we explore a design theory—consisting of a

  14. A grand-canonical ensemble of randomly triangulated surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurkiewicz, J.; Krzywicki, A.; Petersson, B.

    1986-01-01

    An algorithm is presented generating the grand-canonical ensemble of discrete, randomly triangulated Polyakov surfaces. The algorithm is used to calculate the susceptibility exponent, which controls the existence of the continuum limit of the considered model, for the dimensionality of the embedding space ranging from 0 to 20. (orig.)

  15. Flattening of the electrocardiographic T-wave is a sign of proarrhythmic risk and a reflection of action potential triangulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhuiyan, Tanveer Ahmed; Graff, Claus; Kanters, J.K.

    2013-01-01

    Drug-induced triangulation of the cardiac action potential is associated with increased risk of arrhythmic events. It has been suggested that triangulation causes a flattening of the electrocardiographic T-wave but the relationship between triangulation, T-wave flattening and onset of arrhythmia ...

  16. Quantum geometry in dynamical Regge calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagura, Hiroyuki

    2002-01-01

    We study geometric properties of dynamical Regge calculus which is a hybridization of dynamical triangulation and quantum Regge calculus. Lattice diffeomorphisms are generated by certain elementary moves on a simplicial lattice in the hybrid model. At the semiclassical level, we discuss a possibility that the lattice diffeomorphisms give a simple explanation for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a black hole. At the quantum level, numerical calculations of 3D pure gravity show that a fractal structure of the hybrid model is the same as that of dynamical triangulation in the strong-coupling phase. In the weak-coupling phase, on the other hand, space-time becomes a spiky configuration, which often occurs in quantum Regge calculus

  17. Triangulation Made Easy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lindstrom, P

    2009-12-23

    We describe a simple and efficient algorithm for two-view triangulation of 3D points from approximate 2D matches based on minimizing the L2 reprojection error. Our iterative algorithm improves on the one by Kanatani et al. by ensuring that in each iteration the epipolar constraint is satisfied. In the case where the two cameras are pointed in the same direction, the method provably converges to an optimal solution in exactly two iterations. For more general camera poses, two iterations are sufficient to achieve convergence to machine precision, which we exploit to devise a fast, non-iterative method. The resulting algorithm amounts to little more than solving a quadratic equation, and involves a fixed, small number of simple matrixvector operations and no conditional branches. We demonstrate that the method computes solutions that agree to very high precision with those of Hartley and Sturm's original polynomial method, though achieves higher numerical stability and 1-4 orders of magnitude greater speed.

  18. Non-degenerated Ground States and Low-degenerated Excited States in the Antiferromagnetic Ising Model on Triangulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Andrea

    2014-02-01

    We study the unexpected asymptotic behavior of the degeneracy of the first few energy levels in the antiferromagnetic Ising model on triangulations of closed Riemann surfaces. There are strong mathematical and physical reasons to expect that the number of ground states (i.e., degeneracy) of the antiferromagnetic Ising model on the triangulations of a fixed closed Riemann surface is exponential in the number of vertices. In the set of plane triangulations, the degeneracy equals the number of perfect matchings of the geometric duals, and thus it is exponential by a recent result of Chudnovsky and Seymour. From the physics point of view, antiferromagnetic triangulations are geometrically frustrated systems, and in such systems exponential degeneracy is predicted. We present results that contradict these predictions. We prove that for each closed Riemann surface S of positive genus, there are sequences of triangulations of S with exactly one ground state. One possible explanation of this phenomenon is that exponential degeneracy would be found in the excited states with energy close to the ground state energy. However, as our second result, we show the existence of a sequence of triangulations of a closed Riemann surface of genus 10 with exactly one ground state such that the degeneracy of each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th excited energy levels belongs to O( n), O( n 2), O( n 3) and O( n 4), respectively.

  19. The use of Triangulation in Social Sciences Research : Can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashatu Hussein

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This article refers to a study in Tanzania on fringe benefits or welfare via the work contract1 where we will work both quantitatively and qualitatively. My focus is on the vital issue of combining methods or methodologies. There has been mixed views on the uses of triangulation in researches. Some authors argue that triangulation is just for increasing the wider and deep understanding of the study phenomenon, while others have argued that triangulation is actually used to increase the study accuracy, in this case triangulation is one of the validity measures. Triangulation is defined as the use of multiple methods mainly qualitative and quantitative methods in studying the same phenomenon for the purpose of increasing study credibility. This implies that triangulation is the combination of two or more methodological approaches, theoretical perspectives, data sources, investigators and analysis methods to study the same phenomenon.However, using both qualitative and quantitative paradigms in the same study has resulted into debate from some researchers arguing that the two paradigms differ epistemologically and ontologically. Nevertheless, both paradigms are designed towards understanding about a particular subject area of interest and both of them have strengths and weaknesses. Thus, when combined there is a great possibility of neutralizing the flaws of one method and strengthening the benefits of the other for the better research results. Thus, to reap the benefits of two paradigms and minimizing the drawbacks of each, the combination of the two approaches have been advocated in this article. The quality of our studies on welfare to combat poverty is crucial, and especially when we want our conclusions to matter in practice.

  20. Random discrete Morse theory and a new library of triangulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benedetti, Bruno; Lutz, Frank Hagen

    2014-01-01

    We introduce random discrete Morse theory as a computational scheme to measure the complexity of a triangulation. The idea is to try to quantify the frequency of discrete Morse matchings with few critical cells. Our measure will depend on the topology of the space, but also on how nicely the space...... is triangulated. The scheme we propose looks for optimal discrete Morse functions with an elementary random heuristic. Despite its naiveté, this approach turns out to be very successful even in the case of huge inputs. In our view, the existing libraries of examples in computational topology are “too easy......” for testing algorithms based on discrete Morse theory. We propose a new library containing more complicated (and thus more meaningful) test examples....

  1. Employee-satisfaction: A triangulation approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. J. Visser

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available The research on employee-satisfaction was conducted in the manufacturing industry. The sample consisted of 543 employees. The methodology could be described as a "triangulation approach" where a combination of quantitative and qualitative measurements were utilised and the results of both types of measurement integrated in the study of the construct. The research confirms existing findings that although the measurement of dimensions such as equitable rewards, working conditions, supportive colleagues, job content, etc. yield results on the level of employee-satisfaction, a single question, namely, "How satisfied are you with your job?" compares favourably with the general index. The findings also suggest the advantage of complimenting the quantitative data with qualitative information. The conclusions confirm the value of a qualitative method in cross-cultural research in an African environment. Opsomming Die navorsing omtrent werknemerstevredenheid is uitgevoer in die vervaardigingsbedryf. Die steekproef het bestaan uit 543 werknemers. Die metode van ondersoek kan beskryf word as 'n "driekantige benadering" (triangulation approach waar daar van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe meting gebruik gemaak is en die resultate geihtegreer is in die bestudering van die konstruk. Die navorsing bevestig bestaande bevindinge dat die meting van dimensies soos vergelykbare belonings, werkstoestande, ondersteunende kollegas, inhoud van werk, ens. resultate lewer rakende die vlak van werknemerstevredenheid, 'n enkel vraag, naamlik, "Hoe tevrede is jy met jou werk?" gunstig vergelyk met die algemene indeks. Die bevindinge dui ook op die voordele van 'n benadering waar die kwantitatiewe data gekomplimenteer word deur kwalitatiewe inligting soos verkry uit individuele onderhoude. Die gevolgtrekkings bevestig die waarde wat die kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetode inhou vir kruis-kulturele navorsing in 'n Afrika konteks.

  2. Visualization research of 3D radiation field based on Delaunay triangulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Changji; Chen Yuqing; Li Shiting; Zhu Bo

    2011-01-01

    Based on the characteristics of the three dimensional partition, the triangulation of discrete date sets is improved by the method of point-by-point insertion. The discrete data for the radiation field by theoretical calculation or actual measurement is restructured, and the continuous distribution of the radiation field data is obtained. Finally, the 3D virtual scene of the nuclear facilities is built with the VR simulation techniques, and the visualization of the 3D radiation field is also achieved by the visualization mapping techniques. It is shown that the method combined VR and Delaunay triangulation could greatly improve the quality and efficiency of 3D radiation field visualization. (authors)

  3. Development Of Dynamic Probabilistic Safety Assessment: The Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) Tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Y.H.; Mosleh, A.; Dang, V.N.

    2003-01-01

    The development of a dynamic methodology for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) addresses the complex interactions between the behaviour of technical systems and personnel response in the evolution of accident scenarios. This paper introduces the discrete dynamic event tree, a framework for dynamic PSA, and its implementation in the Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) tool. Dynamic event tree tools generate and quantify accident scenarios through coupled simulation models of the plant physical processes, its automatic systems, the equipment reliability, and the human response. The current research on the framework, the ADS tool, and on Human Reliability Analysis issues within dynamic PSA, is discussed. (author)

  4. Development Of Dynamic Probabilistic Safety Assessment: The Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) Tool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Y.H.; Mosleh, A.; Dang, V.N

    2003-03-01

    The development of a dynamic methodology for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) addresses the complex interactions between the behaviour of technical systems and personnel response in the evolution of accident scenarios. This paper introduces the discrete dynamic event tree, a framework for dynamic PSA, and its implementation in the Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) tool. Dynamic event tree tools generate and quantify accident scenarios through coupled simulation models of the plant physical processes, its automatic systems, the equipment reliability, and the human response. The current research on the framework, the ADS tool, and on Human Reliability Analysis issues within dynamic PSA, is discussed. (author)

  5. Large N Limits in Tensor Models: Towards More Universality Classes of Colored Triangulations in Dimension d≥2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonzom, Valentin

    2016-07-01

    We review an approach which aims at studying discrete (pseudo-)manifolds in dimension d≥ 2 and called random tensor models. More specifically, we insist on generalizing the two-dimensional notion of p-angulations to higher dimensions. To do so, we consider families of triangulations built out of simplices with colored faces. Those simplices can be glued to form new building blocks, called bubbles which are pseudo-manifolds with boundaries. Bubbles can in turn be glued together to form triangulations. The main challenge is to classify the triangulations built from a given set of bubbles with respect to their numbers of bubbles and simplices of codimension two. While the colored triangulations which maximize the number of simplices of codimension two at fixed number of simplices are series-parallel objects called melonic triangulations, this is not always true anymore when restricting attention to colored triangulations built from specific bubbles. This opens up the possibility of new universality classes of colored triangulations. We present three existing strategies to find those universality classes. The first two strategies consist in building new bubbles from old ones for which the problem can be solved. The third strategy is a bijection between those colored triangulations and stuffed, edge-colored maps, which are some sort of hypermaps whose hyperedges are replaced with edge-colored maps. We then show that the present approach can lead to enumeration results and identification of universality classes, by working out the example of quartic tensor models. They feature a tree-like phase, a planar phase similar to two-dimensional quantum gravity and a phase transition between them which is interpreted as a proliferation of baby universes. While this work is written in the context of random tensors, it is almost exclusively of combinatorial nature and we hope it is accessible to interested readers who are not familiar with random matrices, tensors and quantum

  6. Methodological triangulation in work life research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warring, Niels

    Based on examples from two research projects on preschool teachers' work, the paper will discuss potentials and challenges in methodological triangulation in work life research. Analysis of ethnographic and phenomenological inspired observations of everyday life in day care centers formed the basis...... for individual interviews and informal talks with employees. The interviews and conversations were based on a critical hermeneutic approach. The analysis of observations and interviews constituted a knowledge base as the project went in to the last phase: action research workshops. In the workshops findings from...

  7. GEOPOSITIONING PRECISION ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE IMAGE TRIANGULATION USING LRO NAC LUNAR IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Di

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical analysis of the geopositioning precision of multiple image triangulation using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC images at the Chang’e-3(CE-3 landing site. Nine LROC NAC images are selected for comparative analysis of geopositioning precision. Rigorous sensor models of the images are established based on collinearity equations with interior and exterior orientation elements retrieved from the corresponding SPICE kernels. Rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs of each image are derived by least squares fitting using vast number of virtual control points generated according to rigorous sensor models. Experiments of different combinations of images are performed for comparisons. The results demonstrate that the plane coordinates can achieve a precision of 0.54 m to 2.54 m, with a height precision of 0.71 m to 8.16 m when only two images are used for three-dimensional triangulation. There is a general trend that the geopositioning precision, especially the height precision, is improved with the convergent angle of the two images increasing from several degrees to about 50°. However, the image matching precision should also be taken into consideration when choosing image pairs for triangulation. The precisions of using all the 9 images are 0.60 m, 0.50 m, 1.23 m in along-track, cross-track, and height directions, which are better than most combinations of two or more images. However, triangulation with selected fewer images could produce better precision than that using all the images.

  8. Classification and Filtering of Constrained Delaunay Triangulation for Automated Building Aggregation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GUO Peipei

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Building aggregation is an important part of research on large scale map generalization. A triangulation based approach is proposed from the perspective of shape features, six measure parameters of triangles in a constrained Delaunay triangulation are proposed. First of all, use the six measure parameters to determine which triangles are retained and which are erased. Then, the contours of retained triangles, as bridge areas between buildings, are automatically identified and right angle processed. And then, the buildings are aggregated with right angle feature retained by merging the bridge areas with connecting buildings. Finally, the approach is verified by being carried out on actual data. Experimental result shows that it is efficient and practical.

  9. Safety margins in older adults increase with improved control of a dynamic object

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasson, Christopher J.; Sternad, Dagmar

    2014-01-01

    Older adults face decreasing motor capabilities due to pervasive neuromuscular degradations. As a consequence, errors in movement control increase. Thus, older individuals should maintain larger safety margins than younger adults. While this has been shown for object manipulation tasks, several reports on whole-body activities, such as posture and locomotion, demonstrate age-related reductions in safety margins. This is despite increased costs for control errors, such as a fall. We posit that this paradox could be explained by the dynamic challenge presented by the body or also an external object, and that age-related reductions in safety margins are in part due to a decreased ability to control dynamics. To test this conjecture we used a virtual ball-in-cup task that had challenging dynamics, yet afforded an explicit rendering of the physics and safety margin. The hypotheses were: (1) When manipulating an object with challenging dynamics, older adults have smaller safety margins than younger adults. (2) Older adults increase their safety margins with practice. Nine young and 10 healthy older adults practiced moving the virtual ball-in-cup to a target location in exactly 2 s. The accuracy and precision of the timing error quantified skill, and the ball energy relative to an escape threshold quantified the safety margin. Compared to the young adults, older adults had increased timing errors, greater variability, and decreased safety margins. With practice, both young and older adults improved their ability to control the object with decreased timing errors and variability, and increased their safety margins. These results suggest that safety margins are related to the ability to control dynamics, and may explain why in tasks with simple dynamics older adults use adequate safety margins, but in more complex tasks, safety margins may be inadequate. Further, the results indicate that task-specific training may improve safety margins in older adults. PMID:25071566

  10. Safety Margins in Older Adults Increase with Improved Control of a Dynamic Object

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher James Hasson

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Older adults face decreasing motor capabilities due to pervasive neuromuscular degradations. As a consequence errors in movement control increase. Thus, older individuals should maintain larger safety margins than younger adults. While this has been shown for object manipulation tasks, several reports on whole-body activities, such as posture and locomotion, however demonstrate age-related reductions in safety margins. This is despite increased costs for control errors, such as a fall. We posit that this paradox could be explained by the dynamic challenge presented by the body or an external object, and that age-related reductions in safety margins are in part due to a decreased ability to control dynamics. To test this conjecture we used a virtual ball-in-cup task that had challenging dynamics, yet afforded an explicit rendering of the physics and safety margin. The hypotheses were: 1 When manipulating an object with challenging dynamics, older adults have smaller safety margins than younger adults. 2 Older adults increase their safety margins with practice. Nine young and 10 healthy older adults practiced moving the virtual ball-in-cup to a target location in exactly two seconds. The accuracy and precision of the timing error quantified skill and the ball energy relative to an escape threshold quantified the safety margin. Compared to the young adults, older adults had increased timing errors, greater variability, and decreased safety margins. With practice, both young and older adults improved their ability to control the object with decreased timing errors and variability, and increased their safety margins. These results suggest that safety margins are related to the ability to control dynamics, and may explain why in tasks with simple dynamics older adults use adequate safety margins, but in more complex tasks, safety margins may be inadequate. Further, the results indicate that task-specific training may improve safety margins in older

  11. Reconstructing Surface Triangulations by Their Intersection Matrices 26 September 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arocha Jorge L.

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The intersection matrix of a simplicial complex has entries equal to the rank of the intersecction of its facets. We prove that this matrix is enough to define up to isomorphism a triangulation of a surface.

  12. All roads lead to Rome - New search methods for the optimal triangulation problem

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ottosen, T. J.; Vomlel, Jiří

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 53, č. 9 (2012), s. 1350-1366 ISSN 0888-613X R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572; GA ČR GEICC/08/E010; GA ČR GA201/09/1891 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) 2C06019 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Bayesian networks * Optimal triangulation * Probabilistic inference * Cliques in a graph Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 1.729, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/MTR/vomlel-all roads lead to rome - new search methods for the optimal triangulation problem.pdf

  13. Advanced vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks with the perspective of road safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trigell, Annika Stensson; Rothhämel, Malte; Pauwelussen, Joop; Kural, Karel

    2017-10-01

    This paper presents state-of-the art within advanced vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks with the perspective of road safety. The most common accidents with heavy trucks involved are truck against passenger cars. Safety critical situations are for example loss of control (such as rollover and lateral stability) and a majority of these occur during speed when cornering. Other critical situations are avoidance manoeuvre and road edge recovery. The dynamic behaviour of heavy trucks have significant differences compared to passenger cars and as a consequence, successful application of vehicle dynamic functions for enhanced safety of trucks might differ from the functions in passenger cars. Here, the differences between vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks and passenger cars are clarified. Advanced vehicle dynamics solutions with the perspective of road safety of trucks are presented, beginning with the topic vehicle stability, followed by the steering system, the braking system and driver assistance systems that differ in some way from that of passenger cars as well.

  14. Quantum Computing in Decoherence-Free Subspace Constructed by Triangulation

    OpenAIRE

    Bi, Qiao; Guo, Liu; Ruda, H. E.

    2010-01-01

    A formalism for quantum computing in decoherence-free subspaces is presented. The constructed subspaces are partial triangulated to an index related to environment. The quantum states in the subspaces are just projected states which are ruled by a subdynamic kinetic equation. These projected states can be used to perform ideal quantum logical operations without decoherence.

  15. Quantum Computing in Decoherence-Free Subspace Constructed by Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiao Bi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A formalism for quantum computing in decoherence-free subspaces is presented. The constructed subspaces are partial triangulated to an index related to environment. The quantum states in the subspaces are just projected states which are ruled by a subdynamic kinetic equation. These projected states can be used to perform ideal quantum logical operations without decoherence.

  16. Marginal elasticity of periodic triangulated origami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bryan; Sussman, Dan; Lubensky, Tom; Santangelo, Chris

    Origami, the classical art of folding paper, has inspired much recent work on assembling complex 3D structures from planar sheets. Origami, and more generally hinged structures with rigid panels, where all faces are triangles have special properties due to having a bulk balance of mechanical degrees of freedom and constraints. We study two families of periodic triangulated origami structures, one based on the Miura ori and one based on a kagome-like pattern due to Ron Resch. We point out the consequences of the balance of degrees of freedom and constraints for these ''metamaterial plates'' and show how the elasticity can be tuned by changing the unit cell geometry.

  17. The Dynamics of Agile Practices for Safety-Critical Software Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Peter Axel; Tordrup Heeager, Lise

    2017-01-01

    This short paper reports from a case study of the agile development of safety-critical software. It utilizes a framework of dynamic relationships between agile practices with the purpose of demonstrating the utility of the framework to understand a case in its context, and it shows significant...... dynamics. The study is concluded by pointing at which further research on the framework is required to use the framework in managing the agile development of safety-critical software....

  18. Simulation study of coal mine safety investment based on system dynamics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Tong Lei; Dou Yuanyuan

    2014-01-01

    To generate dynamic planning for coal mine safety investment, this study applies system dynamics to decision-making, classifying safety investments by accident type. It validates the relationship between safety investments and accident cost, by structurally analyzing the causality between safety investments and their influence factors. Our simulation model, based on Vensim software, conducts simulation anal-ysis on a series of actual data from a coalmine in Shanxi Province. Our results indicate a lag phase in safety investments, and that increasing pre-phase safety investment reduces accident costs. We found that a 24%increase in initial safety investment could help reach the target accident costs level 14 months earlier. Our simulation test included nine kinds of variation trends of accident costs brought by different investment ratios on accident prevention. We found an optimized ratio of accident prevention invest-ments allowing a mine to reach accident cost goals 4 months earlier, without changing its total investment.

  19. SACS2: Dynamic and Formal Safety Analysis Method for Complex Safety Critical System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koh, Kwang Yong; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2009-01-01

    Fault tree analysis (FTA) is one of the most widely used safety analysis technique in the development of safety critical systems. However, over the years, several drawbacks of the conventional FTA have become apparent. One major drawback is that conventional FTA uses only static gates and hence can not capture dynamic behaviors of the complex system precisely. Although several attempts such as dynamic fault tree (DFT), PANDORA, formal fault tree (FFT) and so on, have been made to overcome this problem, they can not still do absolute or actual time modeling because they adapt relative time concept and can capture only sequential behaviors of the system. Second drawback of conventional FTA is its lack of rigorous semantics. Because it is informal in nature, safety analysis results heavily depend on an analyst's ability and are error-prone. Finally reasoning process which is to check whether basic events really cause top events is done manually and hence very labor-intensive and timeconsuming for the complex systems. In this paper, we propose a new safety analysis method for complex safety critical system in qualitative manner. We introduce several temporal gates based on timed computational tree logic (TCTL) which can represent quantitative notion of time. Then, we translate the information of the fault trees into UPPAAL query language and the reasoning process is automatically done by UPPAAL which is the model checker for time critical system

  20. Robotic tool positioning process using a multi-line off-axis laser triangulation sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, T. C.; Matos, G.

    2018-03-01

    Proper positioning of a friction stir welding head for pin insertion, driven by a closed chain robot, is important to ensure quality repair of cracks. A multi-line off-axis laser triangulation sensor was designed to be integrated to the robot, allowing relative measurements of the surface to be repaired. This work describes the sensor characteristics, its evaluation and the measurement process for tool positioning to a surface point of interest. The developed process uses a point of interest image and a measured point cloud to define the translation and rotation for tool positioning. Sensor evaluation and tests are described. Keywords: laser triangulation, 3D measurement, tool positioning, robotics.

  1. Kinetic and dynamic Delaunay tetrahedralizations in three dimensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaller, Gernot; Meyer-Hermann, Michael

    2004-09-01

    We describe algorithms to implement fully dynamic and kinetic three-dimensional unconstrained Delaunay triangulations, where the time evolution of the triangulation is not only governed by moving vertices but also by a changing number of vertices. We use three-dimensional simplex flip algorithms, a stochastic visibility walk algorithm for point location and in addition, we propose a new simple method of deleting vertices from an existing three-dimensional Delaunay triangulation while maintaining the Delaunay property. As an example, we analyse the performance in various cases of practical relevance. The dual Dirichlet tessellation can be used to solve differential equations on an irregular grid, to define partitions in cell tissue simulations, for collision detection etc.

  2. Measuring and Controlling Fairness of Triangulations

    KAUST Repository

    Jiang, Caigui

    2016-09-30

    The fairness of meshes that represent geometric shapes is a topic that has been studied extensively and thoroughly. However, the focus in such considerations often is not on the mesh itself, but rather on the smooth surface approximated by it, and fairness essentially expresses a mesh’s suitability for purposes such as visualization or simulation. This paper focusses on meshes in the architectural context, where vertices, edges, and faces of meshes are often highly visible, and any notion of fairness must take new aspects into account. We use concepts from discrete differential geometry (star-shaped Gauss images) to express fairness, and we also demonstrate how fairness can be incorporated into interactive geometric design of triangulated freeform skins.

  3. Chromatic polynomials of planar triangulations, the Tutte upper bound and chromatic zeros

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrock, Robert; Xu Yan

    2012-01-01

    Tutte proved that if G pt is a planar triangulation and P(G pt , q) is its chromatic polynomial, then |P(G pt , τ + 1)| ⩽ (τ − 1) n−5 , where τ=(1+√5 )/2 and n is the number of vertices in G pt . Here we study the ratio r(G pt ) = |P(G pt , τ + 1)|/(τ − 1) n−5 for a variety of planar triangulations. We construct infinite recursive families of planar triangulations G pt,m depending on a parameter m linearly related to n and show that if P(G pt,m , q) only involves a single power of a polynomial, then r(G pt,m ) approaches zero exponentially fast as n → ∞. We also construct infinite recursive families for which P(G pt,m , q) is a sum of powers of certain functions and show that for these, r(G pt,m ) may approach a finite nonzero constant as n → ∞. The connection between the Tutte upper bound and the observed chromatic zero(s) near to τ + 1 is investigated. We report the first known graph for which the zero(s) closest to τ + 1 is not real, but instead is a complex-conjugate pair. Finally, we discuss connections with the nonzero ground-state entropy of the Potts antiferromagnet on these families of graphs. (paper)

  4. Dynamics of safety performance and culture: a group model building approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Yang Miang; Love, Peter E D; Stagbouer, Greg; Annesley, Chris

    2012-09-01

    The management of occupational health and safety (OHS) including safety culture interventions is comprised of complex problems that are often hard to scope and define. Due to the dynamic nature and complexity of OHS management, the concept of system dynamics (SD) is used to analyze accident prevention. In this paper, a system dynamics group model building (GMB) approach is used to create a causal loop diagram of the underlying factors influencing the OHS performance of a major drilling and mining contractor in Australia. While the organization has invested considerable resources into OHS their disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR) has not been decreasing. With this in mind, rich individualistic knowledge about the dynamics influencing the DIFR was acquired from experienced employees with operations, health and safety and training background using a GMB workshop. Findings derived from the workshop were used to develop a series of causal loop diagrams that includes a wide range of dynamics that can assist in better understanding the causal influences OHS performance. The causal loop diagram provides a tool for organizations to hypothesize the dynamics influencing effectiveness of OHS management, particularly the impact on DIFR. In addition the paper demonstrates that the SD GMB approach has significant potential in understanding and improving OHS management. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Investigation of point triangulation methods for optimality and performance in Structure from Motion systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Structure from Motion (SFM) systems are composed of cameras and structure in the form of 3D points and other features. It is most often that the structure components outnumber the cameras by a great margin. It is not uncommon to have a configuration with 3 cameras observing more than 500 3D points...... an overview of existing triangulation methods with emphasis on performance versus optimality, and will suggest a fast triangulation algorithm based on linear constraints. The structure and camera motion estimation in a SFM system is based on the minimization of some norm of the reprojection error between...

  6. Measuring teamwork in primary care: Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Judith Belle; Ryan, Bridget L; Thorpe, Cathy; Markle, Emma K R; Hutchison, Brian; Glazier, Richard H

    2015-09-01

    This article describes the triangulation of qualitative dimensions, reflecting high functioning teams, with the results of standardized teamwork measures. The study used a mixed methods design using qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess teamwork in 19 Family Health Teams in Ontario, Canada. This article describes dimensions from the qualitative phase using grounded theory to explore the issues and challenges to teamwork. Two quantitative measures were used in the study, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI) and the Providing Effective Resources and Knowledge (PERK) scale. For the triangulation analysis, the mean scores of these measures were compared with the qualitatively derived ratings for the dimensions. The final sample for the qualitative component was 107 participants. The qualitative analysis identified 9 dimensions related to high team functioning such as common philosophy, scope of practice, conflict resolution, change management, leadership, and team evolution. From these dimensions, teams were categorized numerically as high, moderate, or low functioning. Three hundred seventeen team members completed the survey measures. Mean site scores for the TCI and PERK were 3.87 and 3.88, respectively (of 5). The TCI was associated will all dimensions except for team location, space allocation, and executive director leadership. The PERK was associated with all dimensions except team location. Data triangulation provided qualitative and quantitative evidence of what constitutes teamwork. Leadership was pivotal in forging a common philosophy and encouraging team collaboration. Teams used conflict resolution strategies and adapted to the changes they encountered. These dimensions advanced the team's evolution toward a high functioning team. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Triangulation and Mixed Methods Designs: Data Integration with New Research Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fielding, Nigel G.

    2012-01-01

    Data integration is a crucial element in mixed methods analysis and conceptualization. It has three principal purposes: illustration, convergent validation (triangulation), and the development of analytic density or "richness." This article discusses such applications in relation to new technologies for social research, looking at three…

  8. A dynamic Bayesian network based approach to safety decision support in tunnel construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Xianguo; Liu, Huitao; Zhang, Limao; Skibniewski, Miroslaw J.; Deng, Qianli; Teng, Jiaying

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a systemic decision approach with step-by-step procedures based on dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), aiming to provide guidelines for dynamic safety analysis of the tunnel-induced road surface damage over time. The proposed DBN-based approach can accurately illustrate the dynamic and updated feature of geological, design and mechanical variables as the construction progress evolves, in order to overcome deficiencies of traditional fault analysis methods. Adopting the predictive, sensitivity and diagnostic analysis techniques in the DBN inference, this approach is able to perform feed-forward, concurrent and back-forward control respectively on a quantitative basis, and provide real-time support before and after an accident. A case study in relating to dynamic safety analysis in the construction of Wuhan Yangtze Metro Tunnel in China is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach, as well as its application potential. The relationships between the DBN-based and BN-based approaches are further discussed according to analysis results. The proposed approach can be used as a decision tool to provide support for safety analysis in tunnel construction, and thus increase the likelihood of a successful project in a dynamic project environment. - Highlights: • A dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) based approach for safety decision support is developed. • This approach is able to perform feed-forward, concurrent and back-forward analysis and control. • A case concerning dynamic safety analysis in Wuhan Yangtze Metro Tunnel in China is presented. • DBN-based approach can perform a higher accuracy than traditional static BN-based approach

  9. Interferometer predictions with triangulated images

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinch, Christian; Dullemond, C. P.

    2014-01-01

    the synthetic model images. To get the correct values of these integrals, the model images must have the right size and resolution. Insufficient care in these choices can lead to wrong results. We present a new general-purpose scheme for the computation of visibilities of radiative transfer images. Our method...... requires a model image that is a list of intensities at arbitrarily placed positions on the image-plane. It creates a triangulated grid from these vertices, and assumes that the intensity inside each triangle of the grid is a linear function. The Fourier integral over each triangle is then evaluated...... with an analytic expression and the complex visibility of the entire image is then the sum of all triangles. The result is a robust Fourier transform that does not suffer from aliasing effects due to grid regularities. The method automatically ensures that all structure contained in the model gets reflected...

  10. Interprofessional collaboration from nurses and physicians – A triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schärli, Marianne; Müller, Rita; Martin, Jacqueline S; Spichiger, Elisabeth; Spirig, Rebecca

    2017-01-01

    Background: Interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians is a recurrent challenge in daily clinical practice. To ameliorate the situation, quantitative or qualitative studies are conducted. However, the results of these studies have often been limited by the methods chosen. Aim: To describe the synthesis of interprofessional collaboration from the nursing perspective by triangulating quantitative and qualitative data. Method: Data triangulation was performed as a sub-project of the interprofessional Sinergia DRG Research program. Initially, quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately in a mixed methods design. By means of triangulation a „meta-matrix“ resulted in a four-step process. Results: The „meta-matrix“ displays all relevant quantitative and qualitative results as well as their interrelations on one page. Relevance, influencing factors as well as consequences of interprofessional collaboration for patients, relatives and systems become visible. Conclusion: For the first time, the interprofessional collaboration from the nursing perspective at five Swiss hospitals is shown in a „meta-matrix“. The consequences of insufficient collaboration between nurses and physicians are considerable. This is why it’s necessary to invest in interprofessional concepts. In the „meta-matrix“ the factors which influence the interprofessional collaboration positively or negatively are visible.

  11. Triangulation based inclusion probabilities: a design-unbiased sampling approach

    OpenAIRE

    Fehrmann, Lutz; Gregoire, Timothy; Kleinn, Christoph

    2011-01-01

    A probabilistic sampling approach for design-unbiased estimation of area-related quantitative characteristics of spatially dispersed population units is proposed. The developed field protocol includes a fixed number of 3 units per sampling location and is based on partial triangulations over their natural neighbors to derive the individual inclusion probabilities. The performance of the proposed design is tested in comparison to fixed area sample plots in a simulation with two forest stands. ...

  12. Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Optical System Using Shadows Triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barba, J. Leiner; Vargas, Q. Lorena; Torres, M. Cesar; Mattos, V. Lorenzo

    2008-04-01

    In this work is developed a three-dimensional reconstruction system using the Shades3D tool of the Matlab® Programming Language and materials of low cost, such as webcam camera, a stick, a weak structured lighting system composed by a desk lamp, and observation plane in which the object is located. The reconstruction is obtained through a triangulation process that is executed after acquiring a sequence of images of the scene with a shadow projected on the object; additionally an image filtering process is done for obtaining only the part of the scene that will be reconstructed. Previously, it is necessary to develop a calibration process for determining the internal camera geometric and optical characteristics (intrinsic parameters), and the 3D position and orientation of the camera frame relative to a certain world coordinate system (extrinsic parameters). The lamp and the stick are used to produce a shadow which scans the object; in this technique, it is not necessary to know the position of the light source, instead the triangulation is obtained using shadow plane produced by intersection between the stick and the illumination pattern. The webcam camera captures all images with the shadow scanning the object, and Shades3D tool processes all information taking into account captured images and calibration parameters. Likewise, this technique is evaluated in the reconstruction of parts of the human body and its application in the detection of external abnormalities and elaboration of prosthesis or implant.

  13. Accurate measurement of surface areas of anatomical structures by computer-assisted triangulation of computed tomography images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allardice, J.T.; Jacomb-Hood, J.; Abulafi, A.M.; Williams, N.S. (Royal London Hospital (United Kingdom)); Cookson, J.; Dykes, E.; Holman, J. (London Hospital Medical College (United Kingdom))

    1993-05-01

    There is a need for accurate surface area measurement of internal anatomical structures in order to define light dosimetry in adjunctive intraoperative photodynamic therapy (AIOPDT). The authors investigated whether computer-assisted triangulation of serial sections generated by computed tomography (CT) scanning can give an accurate assessment of the surface area of the walls of the true pelvis after anterior resection and before colorectal anastomosis. They show that the technique of paper density tessellation is an acceptable method of measuring the surface areas of phantom objects, with a maximum error of 0.5%, and is used as the gold standard. Computer-assisted triangulation of CT images of standard geometric objects and accurately-constructed pelvic phantoms gives a surface area assessment with a maximum error of 2.5% compared with the gold standard. The CT images of 20 patients' pelves have been analysed by computer-assisted triangulation and this shows the surface area of the walls varies from 143 cm[sup 2] to 392 cm[sup 2]. (Author).

  14. New Approach for Nuclear Safety and Regulation - Application of Complexity Theory and System Dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Kwang Sik; Choi, Young Sung; Han, Kyu Hyun; Kim, Do Hyoung

    2007-01-01

    The methodology being used today for assuring nuclear safety is based on analytic approaches. In the 21st century, holistic approaches are increasingly used over traditional analytic method that is based on reductionism. Presently, it leads to interest in complexity theory or system dynamics. In this paper, we review global academic trends, social environments, concept of nuclear safety and regulatory frameworks for nuclear safety. We propose a new safety paradigm and also regulatory approach using holistic approach and system dynamics now in fashion

  15. The Application of a Multiphase Triangulation Approach to Mixed Methods: The Research of an Aspiring School Principal Development Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngs, Howard; Piggot-Irvine, Eileen

    2012-01-01

    Mixed methods research has emerged as a credible alternative to unitary research approaches. The authors show how a combination of a triangulation convergence model with a triangulation multilevel model was used to research an aspiring school principal development pilot program. The multilevel model is used to show the national and regional levels…

  16. Lattice gas simulations of dynamical geometry in two dimensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klales, Anna; Cianci, Donato; Needell, Zachary; Meyer, David A; Love, Peter J

    2010-10-01

    We present a hydrodynamic lattice gas model for two-dimensional flows on curved surfaces with dynamical geometry. This model is an extension to two dimensions of the dynamical geometry lattice gas model previously studied in one dimension. We expand upon a variation of the two-dimensional flat space Frisch-Hasslacher-Pomeau (FHP) model created by Frisch [Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 1505 (1986)] and independently by Wolfram, and modified by Boghosian [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 360, 333 (2002)]. We define a hydrodynamic lattice gas model on an arbitrary triangulation whose flat space limit is the FHP model. Rules that change the geometry are constructed using the Pachner moves, which alter the triangulation but not the topology. We present results on the growth of the number of triangles as a function of time. Simulations show that the number of triangles grows with time as t(1/3), in agreement with a mean-field prediction. We also present preliminary results on the distribution of curvature for a typical triangulation in these simulations.

  17. Exploring Forms of Triangulation to Facilitate Collaborative Research Practice: Reflections From a Multidisciplinary Research Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tarja Tiainen

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available This article contains critical reflections of a multidisciplinary research group studying the human and technological dynamics around some newly offered electronic services in a specific rural area of Finland. For their research, the group adopted ethnography. On facing the challenges of doing ethnographic research in a multidisciplinary setting, the group evolved its own breed of research practice based on multiple forms of triangulation. This implied the use of multiple data sources, methods, theories, and researchers, in different combinations. One of the outcomes of the work is a model for collaborative research. It highlights, among others, the importance of creating a climate for collaboration within the research group and following a process of individual and collaborative writing to achieve the potential benefits of such research. The article also identifies a set of remaining challenges relevant to collaborative research.

  18. Kowledge-based dynamic network safety calculations. Wissensbasierte dynamische Netzsicherheitsberechnungen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kulicke, B [Inst. fuer Hochspannungstechnik und Starkstromanlagen, Berlin (Germany); Schlegel, S [Inst. fuer Hochspannungstechnik und Starkstromanlagen, Berlin (Germany)

    1993-06-28

    An important part of network operation management is the estimation and maintenance of the security of supply. So far the control personnel has only been supported by static network analyses and safety calculations. The authors describe an expert system, which is coupled to a real time simulation program on a transputer basis, for dynamic network safety calculations. They also introduce the system concept and the most important functions of the expert system. (orig.)

  19. Triangulation of written assessments from patients, teachers and students: useful for students and teachers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gran, Sarah Frandsen; Braend, Anja Maria; Lindbaek, Morten

    2010-01-01

    Many medical students in general practice clerkships experience lack of observation-based feedback. The StudentPEP project combined written feedback from patients, observing teachers and students. This study analyzes the perceived usefulness of triangulated written feedback. A total of 71 general practitioners and 79 medical students at the University of Oslo completed project evaluation forms after a 6-week clerkship. A principal component analysis was performed to find structures within the questionnaire. Regression analysis was performed regarding students' answers to whether StudentPEP was worthwhile. Free-text answers were analyzed qualitatively. Student and teacher responses were mixed within six subscales, with highest agreement on 'Teachers oral and written feedback' and 'Attitude to patient evaluation'. Fifty-four per cent of the students agreed that the triangulation gave concrete feedback on their weaknesses, and 59% valued the teachers' feedback provided. Two statements regarding the teacher's attitudes towards StudentPEP were significantly associated with the student's perception of worthwhileness. Qualitative analysis showed that patient evaluations were encouraging or distrusted. Some students thought that StudentPEP ensured observation and feedback. The patient evaluations increased the students' awareness of the patient perspective. A majority of the students considered the triangulated written feedback beneficial, although time-consuming. The teacher's attitudes strongly influenced how the students perceived the usefulness of StudentPEP.

  20. Optimizing 3D Triangulations to Recapture Sharp Edges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bærentzen, Jakob Andreas

    2006-01-01

    In this report, a technique for optimizing 3D triangulations is proposed. The method seeks to minimize an energy defined as a sum of energy terms for each edge in a triangle mesh. The main contribution is a novel per edge energy which strikes a balance between penalizing dihedral angle yet allowing...... sharp edges. The energy is minimized using edge swapping, and this can be done either in a greedy fashion or using simulated annealing. The latter is more costly, but effectively avoids local minima. The method has been used on a number of models. Particularly good results have been obtained on digital...

  1. A study on the effect of different image centres on stereo triangulation accuracy

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Villiers, J

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper evaluates the effect of mixing the distortion centre, principal point and arithmetic image centre on the distortion correction, focal length determination and resulting real-world stereo vision triangulation. A robotic arm is used...

  2. Triangulation of the monophasic action potential causes flattening of the electrocardiographic T-wave

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhuiyan, Tanveer Ahmed; Graff, Claus; Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard

    2012-01-01

    of the action potential under the effect of the IKr blocker sertindole and associated these changes to concurrent changes in the morphology of electrocardiographic T-waves in dogs. We show that, under the effect of sertindole, the peak changes in the morphology of action potentials occur at time points similar......It has been proposed that triangulation on the cardiac action potential manifests as a broadened, more flat and notched T-wave on the ECG but to what extent such morphology characteristics are indicative of triangulation is more unclear. In this paper, we have analyzed the morphological changes...... to those observed for the peak changes in T-wave morphology on the ECG. We further show that the association between action potential shape and ECG shape is dose-dependent and most prominent at the time corresponding to phase 3 of the action potential....

  3. The finite body triangulation: algorithms, subgraphs, homogeneity estimation and application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carson, Cantwell G; Levine, Jonathan S

    2016-09-01

    The concept of a finite body Dirichlet tessellation has been extended to that of a finite body Delaunay 'triangulation' to provide a more meaningful description of the spatial distribution of nonspherical secondary phase bodies in 2- and 3-dimensional images. A finite body triangulation (FBT) consists of a network of minimum edge-to-edge distances between adjacent objects in a microstructure. From this is also obtained the characteristic object chords formed by the intersection of the object boundary with the finite body tessellation. These two sets of distances form the basis of a parsimonious homogeneity estimation. The characteristics of the spatial distribution are then evaluated with respect to the distances between objects and the distances within them. Quantitative analysis shows that more physically representative distributions can be obtained by selecting subgraphs, such as the relative neighbourhood graph and the minimum spanning tree, from the finite body tessellation. To demonstrate their potential, we apply these methods to 3-dimensional X-ray computed tomographic images of foamed cement and their 2-dimensional cross sections. The Python computer code used to estimate the FBT is made available. Other applications for the algorithm - such as porous media transport and crack-tip propagation - are also discussed. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2016 Royal Microscopical Society.

  4. The Family System and Depressive Symptoms during the College Years: Triangulation, Parental Differential Treatment, and Sibling Warmth as Predictors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponappa, Sujata; Bartle-Haring, Suzanne; Holowacz, Eugene; Ferriby, Megan

    2017-01-01

    Guided by Bowen theory, we investigated the relationships between parent-child triangulation, parental differential treatment (PDT), sibling warmth, and individual depressive symptoms in a sample of 77 sibling dyads, aged 18-25 years, recruited through undergraduate classes at a U.S. public University. Results of the actor-partner interdependence models suggested that being triangulated into parental conflict was positively related to both siblings' perception of PDT; however, as one sibling felt triangulated, the other perceived reduced levels of PDT. For both siblings, the perception of higher levels of PDT was related to decreased sibling warmth and higher sibling warmth was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. The implications of these findings for research and the treatment of depression in the college-aged population are discussed. © 2016 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

  5. Incremental Reconstruction of Urban Environments by Edge-Points Delaunay Triangulation

    OpenAIRE

    Romanoni, Andrea; Matteucci, Matteo

    2016-01-01

    Urban reconstruction from a video captured by a surveying vehicle constitutes a core module of automated mapping. When computational power represents a limited resource and, a detailed map is not the primary goal, the reconstruction can be performed incrementally, from a monocular video, carving a 3D Delaunay triangulation of sparse points; this allows online incremental mapping for tasks such as traversability analysis or obstacle avoidance. To exploit the sharp edges of urban landscape, we ...

  6. Dynamic probability evaluation of safety levels of earth-rockfill dams using Bayesian approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zi-wu Fan

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to accurately predict and control the aging process of dams, new information should be collected continuously to renew the quantitative evaluation of dam safety levels. Owing to the complex structural characteristics of dams, it is quite difficult to predict the time-varying factors affecting their safety levels. It is not feasible to employ dynamic reliability indices to evaluate the actual safety levels of dams. Based on the relevant regulations for dam safety classification in China, a dynamic probability description of dam safety levels was developed. Using the Bayesian approach and effective information mining, as well as real-time information, this study achieved more rational evaluation and prediction of dam safety levels. With the Bayesian expression of discrete stochastic variables, the a priori probabilities of the dam safety levels determined by experts were combined with the likelihood probability of the real-time check information, and the probability information for the evaluation of dam safety levels was renewed. The probability index was then applied to dam rehabilitation decision-making. This method helps reduce the difficulty and uncertainty of the evaluation of dam safety levels and complies with the current safe decision-making regulations for dams in China. It also enhances the application of current risk analysis methods for dam safety levels.

  7. Theoretical triangulation as an approach for revealing the complexity of a classroom discussion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Drie, J.; Dekker, R.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we explore the value of theoretical triangulation as a methodological approach for the analysis of classroom interaction. We analyze an excerpt of a whole-class discussion in history from three theoretical perspectives: interactivity of the discourse, conceptual level raising and

  8. Quantum triangulations moduli space, quantum computing, non-linear sigma models and Ricci flow

    CERN Document Server

    Carfora, Mauro

    2017-01-01

    This book discusses key conceptual aspects and explores the connection between triangulated manifolds and quantum physics, using a set of case studies ranging from moduli space theory to quantum computing to provide an accessible introduction to this topic. Research on polyhedral manifolds often reveals unexpected connections between very distinct aspects of mathematics and physics. In particular, triangulated manifolds play an important role in settings such as Riemann moduli space theory, strings and quantum gravity, topological quantum field theory, condensed matter physics, critical phenomena and complex systems. Not only do they provide a natural discrete analogue to the smooth manifolds on which physical theories are typically formulated, but their appearance is also often a consequence of an underlying structure that naturally calls into play non-trivial aspects of representation theory, complex analysis and topology in a way that makes the basic geometric structures of the physical interactions involv...

  9. Shared decision-making in medical encounters regarding breast cancer treatment: the contribution of methodological triangulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durif-Bruckert, C; Roux, P; Morelle, M; Mignotte, H; Faure, C; Moumjid-Ferdjaoui, N

    2015-07-01

    The aim of this study on shared decision-making in the doctor-patient encounter about surgical treatment for early-stage breast cancer, conducted in a regional cancer centre in France, was to further the understanding of patient perceptions on shared decision-making. The study used methodological triangulation to collect data (both quantitative and qualitative) about patient preferences in the context of a clinical consultation in which surgeons followed a shared decision-making protocol. Data were analysed from a multi-disciplinary research perspective (social psychology and health economics). The triangulated data collection methods were questionnaires (n = 132), longitudinal interviews (n = 47) and observations of consultations (n = 26). Methodological triangulation revealed levels of divergence and complementarity between qualitative and quantitative results that suggest new perspectives on the three inter-related notions of decision-making, participation and information. Patients' responses revealed important differences between shared decision-making and participation per se. The authors note that subjecting patients to a normative behavioural model of shared decision-making in an era when paradigms of medical authority are shifting may undermine the patient's quest for what he or she believes is a more important right: a guarantee of the best care available. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Risk-based reconfiguration of safety monitoring system using dynamic Bayesian network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohda, Takehisa; Cui Weimin

    2007-01-01

    To prevent an abnormal event from leading to an accident, the role of its safety monitoring system is very important. The safety monitoring system detects symptoms of an abnormal event to mitigate its effect at its early stage. As the operation time passes by, the sensor reliability decreases, which implies that the decision criteria of the safety monitoring system should be modified depending on the sensor reliability as well as the system reliability. This paper presents a framework for the decision criteria (or diagnosis logic) of the safety monitoring system. The logic can be dynamically modified based on sensor output data monitored at regular intervals to minimize the expected loss caused by two types of safety monitoring system failure events: failed-dangerous (FD) and failed-safe (FS). The former corresponds to no response under an abnormal system condition, while the latter implies a spurious activation under a normal system condition. Dynamic Bayesian network theory can be applied to modeling the entire system behavior composed of the system and its safety monitoring system. Using the estimated state probabilities, the optimal decision criterion is given to obtain the optimal diagnosis logic. An illustrative example of a three-sensor system shows the merits and characteristics of the proposed method, where the reasonable interpretation of sensor data can be obtained

  11. Recent development of micro-triangulation for magnet fiducialisation

    CERN Document Server

    Vlachakis, Vasileios; Mainaud Durand, Helene; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

    2016-01-01

    The micro-triangulation method is proposed as an alternative for magnet fiducialisation. The main objective is to measure horizontal and vertical angles to fiducial points and stretched wires, utilising theodolites equipped with cameras. This study aims to develop various methods, algorithms and software tools to enable the data acquisition and processing. In this paper, we present the first test measurement as an attempt to demonstrate the feasibility of the method and to evaluate the accuracy. The preliminary results are very promising, with accuracy always better than 20 μm for the wire position, and of about40 μm/m for the wire orientation, compared with a coordinate measuring machine.

  12. Dynamic responses of connections in road safety barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bayton, D.A.F.; Long, R.; Fourlaris, G.

    2009-01-01

    Bolted road safety barrier connections utilise slotted holes that are perpendicular to the direction of the safety barrier beam. Due to the clearance between the slotted holes and the bolts, a varying amount of slippage is seen before contact with the edge of the slot is made. The stiffness characteristics of bolted road safety barrier connections have been examined with a representative test coupon that incorporates a full size safety barrier connection slot to industry standard dimensions. Previous research work has successfully determined the stiffness characteristics of the bolted connections at quasi-static strain rates. Representative non-linear finite element models of the bolted test coupons have been constructed. When compared to the laboratory results the initial stiffness, maximum force and displacement of the bolted connections are similar to the finite element model predictions. Current investigations have moved onto strain rates comparable to those observed in actual vehicle crash tests. Explicit dynamic finite element (FE) models have been constructed and validated, using experimental data produced using a series of high strain rate laboratory tests for a number of bolt configurations

  13. Dynamics of psychological safety in mothers raising children with special needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atamanova I.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a considerable decrease in psychological well-being among mothers raising children with special needs. Addressing the issues of providing psychological support for them is of particular importance for both researchers and practitioners. The paper presents a study aimed at exploring the dynamics of psychological safety in mothers raising children with special needs. 32 mothers whose children underwent a rehabilitation programme in a rehabilitation centre participated in the study. The key element of the psychological support programme developed for these mothers was a specific psychotherapeutic space combining hippotherapy with environmental, social and personal factors. Compared to the control group, the study participants’ parameters of psychological safety showed statistically significant positive dynamics. The results obtained contribute to studying factors of psychological well-being in mothers raising children with special needs and suggest an effective way of enhancing their sense of psychological safety.

  14. Control of Industrial Safety Based on Dynamic Characteristics of a Safety Budget-Industrial Accident Rate Model in Republic of Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Gi Heung; Loh, Byoung Gook

    2017-06-01

    Despite the recent efforts to prevent industrial accidents in the Republic of Korea, the industrial accident rate has not improved much. Industrial safety policies and safety management are also known to be inefficient. This study focused on dynamic characteristics of industrial safety systems and their effects on safety performance in the Republic of Korea. Such dynamic characteristics are particularly important for restructuring of the industrial safety system. The effects of damping and elastic characteristics of the industrial safety system model on safety performance were examined and feedback control performance was explained in view of cost and benefit. The implications on safety policies of restructuring the industrial safety system were also explored. A strong correlation between the safety budget and the industrial accident rate enabled modeling of an industrial safety system with these variables as the input and the output, respectively. A more effective and efficient industrial safety system could be realized by having weaker elastic characteristics and stronger damping characteristics in it. A substantial decrease in total social cost is expected as the industrial safety system is restructured accordingly. A simple feedback control with proportional-integral action is effective in prevention of industrial accidents. Securing a lower level of elastic industrial accident-driving energy appears to have dominant effects on the control performance compared with the damping effort to dissipate such energy. More attention needs to be directed towards physical and social feedbacks that have prolonged cumulative effects. Suggestions for further improvement of the safety system including physical and social feedbacks are also made.

  15. THE CONDITION AND THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGES OF REGIONAL ENERGETIC SAFETY LEVEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.L. Myzin

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of indicative analysis method use, the dynamic processes of changes of energetic safety condition of federal districts and subjects of Russian Federation for last 5 years are investigated. The results of diagnosing safety levels for separate indicators, their blocks and the results of situation evaluation as a whole are discussed. The comparison of regions’ energetic safety condition is given, the causes of crisis situations appearance are discovered, and on this basis the suggestions for regions’ safety levels increasing are formulated.

  16. A Parallel Non-Overlapping Domain-Decomposition Algorithm for Compressible Fluid Flow Problems on Triangulated Domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barth, Timothy J.; Chan, Tony F.; Tang, Wei-Pai

    1998-01-01

    This paper considers an algebraic preconditioning algorithm for hyperbolic-elliptic fluid flow problems. The algorithm is based on a parallel non-overlapping Schur complement domain-decomposition technique for triangulated domains. In the Schur complement technique, the triangulation is first partitioned into a number of non-overlapping subdomains and interfaces. This suggests a reordering of triangulation vertices which separates subdomain and interface solution unknowns. The reordering induces a natural 2 x 2 block partitioning of the discretization matrix. Exact LU factorization of this block system yields a Schur complement matrix which couples subdomains and the interface together. The remaining sections of this paper present a family of approximate techniques for both constructing and applying the Schur complement as a domain-decomposition preconditioner. The approximate Schur complement serves as an algebraic coarse space operator, thus avoiding the known difficulties associated with the direct formation of a coarse space discretization. In developing Schur complement approximations, particular attention has been given to improving sequential and parallel efficiency of implementations without significantly degrading the quality of the preconditioner. A computer code based on these developments has been tested on the IBM SP2 using MPI message passing protocol. A number of 2-D calculations are presented for both scalar advection-diffusion equations as well as the Euler equations governing compressible fluid flow to demonstrate performance of the preconditioning algorithm.

  17. On-Line Metrology with Conoscopic Holography: Beyond Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignacio Álvarez

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available On-line non-contact surface inspection with high precision is still an open problem. Laser triangulation techniques are the most common solution for this kind of systems, but there exist fundamental limitations to their applicability when high precisions, long standoffs or large apertures are needed, and when there are difficult operating conditions. Other methods are, in general, not applicable in hostile environments or inadequate for on-line measurement. In this paper we review the latest research in Conoscopic Holography, an interferometric technique that has been applied successfully in this kind of applications, ranging from submicrometric roughness measurements, to long standoff sensors for surface defect detection in steel at high temperatures.

  18. Application of the Integrated Safety Assessment methodology to safety margins. Dynamic Event Trees, Damage Domains and Risk Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibánez, L.; Hortal, J.; Queral, C.; Gómez-Magán, J.; Sánchez-Perea, M.; Fernández, I.; Meléndez, E.; Expósito, A.; Izquierdo, J.M.; Gil, J.; Marrao, H.; Villalba-Jabonero, E.

    2016-01-01

    The Integrated Safety Assessment (ISA) methodology, developed by the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, has been applied to an analysis of Zion NPP for sequences with Loss of the Component Cooling Water System (CCWS). The ISA methodology proposal starts from the unfolding of the Dynamic Event Tree (DET). Results from this first step allow assessing the sequence delineation of standard Probabilistic Safety Analysis results. For some sequences of interest of the outlined DET, ISA then identifies the Damage Domain (DD). This is the region of uncertain times and/or parameters where a safety limit is exceeded, which indicates the occurrence of certain damage situation. This paper illustrates application of this concept obtained simulating sequences with MAAP and with TRACE. From information of simulation results of sequence transients belonging to the DD and the time-density probability distributions of the manual actions and of occurrence of stochastic phenomena, ISA integrates the dynamic reliability equations proposed to obtain the sequence contribution to the global Damage Exceedance Frequency (DEF). Reported results show a slight increase in the DEF for sequences investigated following a power uprate from 100% to 110%. This demonstrates the potential use of the method to help in the assessment of design modifications. - Highlights: • This paper illustrates an application of the ISA methodology to safety margins. • Dynamic Event Trees are useful tool for verifying the standard PSA Event Trees. • The ISA methodology takes into account the uncertainties in human action times. • The ISA methodology shows the Damage Exceedance Frequency increase in power uprates.

  19. The condition and the dynamics of changes of regional energetic safety level

    OpenAIRE

    Anatoliy Myzin; Aleksey Kalina; Andrey Kozitsyn; Pavel Pykhov

    2006-01-01

    On the basis of indicative analysis method use, the dynamic processes of changes of energetic safety condition of federal districts and subjects of Russian Federation for last 5 years are investigated. The results of diagnosing safety levels for separate indicators, their blocks and the results of situation evaluation as a whole are discussed. The comparison of regions’ energetic safety condition is given, the causes of crisis situations appearance are discovered, and on this basis the sugg...

  20. An Array of Qualitative Data Analysis Tools: A Call for Data Analysis Triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leech, Nancy L.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.

    2007-01-01

    One of the most important steps in the qualitative research process is analysis of data. The purpose of this article is to provide elements for understanding multiple types of qualitative data analysis techniques available and the importance of utilizing more than one type of analysis, thus utilizing data analysis triangulation, in order to…

  1. Ising model of a randomly triangulated random surface as a definition of fermionic string theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bershadsky, M.A.; Migdal, A.A.

    1986-01-01

    Fermionic degrees of freedom are added to randomly triangulated planar random surfaces. It is shown that the Ising model on a fixed graph is equivalent to a certain Majorana fermion theory on the dual graph. (orig.)

  2. RECONSTRUCTION, QUANTIFICATION, AND VISUALIZATION OF FOREST CANOPY BASED ON 3D TRIANGULATIONS OF AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING POINT DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Vauhkonen

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D forest canopy is described and quantified using airborne laser scanning (ALS data with densities of 0.6–0.8 points m-2 and field measurements aggregated at resolutions of 400–900 m2. The reconstruction was based on computational geometry, topological connectivity, and numerical optimization. More precisely, triangulations and their filtrations, i.e. ordered sets of simplices belonging to the triangulations, based on the point data were analyzed. Triangulating the ALS point data corresponds to subdividing the underlying space of the points into weighted simplicial complexes with weights quantifying the (empty space delimited by the points. Reconstructing the canopy volume populated by biomass will thus likely require filtering to exclude that volume from canopy voids. The approaches applied for this purpose were (i to optimize the degree of filtration with respect to the field measurements, and (ii to predict this degree by means of analyzing the persistent homology of the obtained triangulations, which is applied for the first time for vegetation point clouds. When derived from optimized filtrations, the total tetrahedral volume had a high degree of determination (R2 with the stem volume considered, both alone (R2=0.65 and together with other predictors (R2=0.78. When derived by analyzing the topological persistence of the point data and without any field input, the R2 were lower, but the predictions still showed a correlation with the field-measured stem volumes. Finally, producing realistic visualizations of a forested landscape using the persistent homology approach is demonstrated.

  3. A quantitative assessment of organizational factors affecting safety using a system dynamics model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoo, J. K.; Yoon, T. S.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a system dynamics model for the assessment of organizational and human factors in the nuclear power plant safety. Previous studies are classified into two major approaches. One is the engineering approach such as ergonomics and Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The other is socio-psychology one. Both have contributed to find organizational and human factors and increased nuclear safety However, since these approaches assume that the relationship among factors is independent they do not explain the interactions between factors or variables in NPP's. To overcome these restrictions, a system dynamics model, which can show causal relations between factors and quantify organizational and human factors, has been developed. Operating variables such as degree of leadership, adjustment of number of employee, and workload in each department, users can simulate various situations in nuclear power plants in the organization side. Through simulation, user can get an insight to improve safety in plants and to find managerial tools in the organization and human side

  4. Towards the Verification of Safety-critical Autonomous Systems in Dynamic Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adina Aniculaesei

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available There is an increasing necessity to deploy autonomous systems in highly heterogeneous, dynamic environments, e.g. service robots in hospitals or autonomous cars on highways. Due to the uncertainty in these environments, the verification results obtained with respect to the system and environment models at design-time might not be transferable to the system behavior at run time. For autonomous systems operating in dynamic environments, safety of motion and collision avoidance are critical requirements. With regard to these requirements, Macek et al. [6] define the passive safety property, which requires that no collision can occur while the autonomous system is moving. To verify this property, we adopt a two phase process which combines static verification methods, used at design time, with dynamic ones, used at run time. In the design phase, we exploit UPPAAL to formalize the autonomous system and its environment as timed automata and the safety property as TCTL formula and to verify the correctness of these models with respect to this property. For the runtime phase, we build a monitor to check whether the assumptions made at design time are also correct at run time. If the current system observations of the environment do not correspond to the initial system assumptions, the monitor sends feedback to the system and the system enters a passive safe state.

  5. Laser triangulation method for measuring the size of parking claw

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bo; Zhang, Ming; Pang, Ying

    2017-10-01

    With the development of science and technology and the maturity of measurement technology, the 3D profile measurement technology has been developed rapidly. Three dimensional measurement technology is widely used in mold manufacturing, industrial inspection, automatic processing and manufacturing, etc. There are many kinds of situations in scientific research and industrial production. It is necessary to transform the original mechanical parts into the 3D data model on the computer quickly and accurately. At present, many methods have been developed to measure the contour size, laser triangulation is one of the most widely used methods.

  6. Automated Photogrammetric Image Matching with Sift Algorithm and Delaunay Triangulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karagiannis, Georgios; Antón Castro, Francesc/François; Mioc, Darka

    2016-01-01

    An algorithm for image matching of multi-sensor and multi-temporal satellite images is developed. The method is based on the SIFT feature detector proposed by Lowe in (Lowe, 1999). First, SIFT feature points are detected independently in two images (reference and sensed image). The features detec...... of each feature set for each image are computed. The isomorphism of the Delaunay triangulations is determined to guarantee the quality of the image matching. The algorithm is implemented in Matlab and tested on World-View 2, SPOT6 and TerraSAR-X image patches....

  7. Technique Triangulation for Validation in Directed Content Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Áine M. Humble PhD

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Division of labor in wedding planning varies for first-time marriages, with three types of couples—traditional, transitional, and egalitarian—identified, but nothing is known about wedding planning for remarrying individuals. Using semistructured interviews, the author interviewed 14 couples in which at least one person had remarried and used directed content analysis to investigate the extent to which the aforementioned typology could be transferred to this different context. In this paper she describes how a triangulation of analytic techniques provided validation for couple classifications and also helped with moving beyond “blind spots” in data analysis. Analytic approaches were the constant comparative technique, rank order comparison, and visual representation of coding, using MAXQDA 2007's tool called TextPortraits.

  8. Using system dynamics simulation for assessment of hydropower system safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, L. M.; Simonovic, S. P.; Hartford, D. N. D.

    2017-08-01

    Hydropower infrastructure systems are complex, high consequence structures which must be operated safely to avoid catastrophic impacts to human life, the environment, and the economy. Dam safety practitioners must have an in-depth understanding of how these systems function under various operating conditions in order to ensure the appropriate measures are taken to reduce system vulnerability. Simulation of system operating conditions allows modelers to investigate system performance from the beginning of an undesirable event to full system recovery. System dynamics simulation facilitates the modeling of dynamic interactions among complex arrangements of system components, providing outputs of system performance that can be used to quantify safety. This paper presents the framework for a modeling approach that can be used to simulate a range of potential operating conditions for a hydropower infrastructure system. Details of the generic hydropower infrastructure system simulation model are provided. A case study is used to evaluate system outcomes in response to a particular earthquake scenario, with two system safety performance measures shown. Results indicate that the simulation model is able to estimate potential measures of system safety which relate to flow conveyance and flow retention. A comparison of operational and upgrade strategies is shown to demonstrate the utility of the model for comparing various operational response strategies, capital upgrade alternatives, and maintenance regimes. Results show that seismic upgrades to the spillway gates provide the largest improvement in system performance for the system and scenario of interest.

  9. Qualitative to quantitative: linked trajectory of method triangulation in a study on HIV/AIDS in Goa, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Ajay; Hutter, Inge

    2008-10-01

    With 3.1 million people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in India and 39.5 million people globally, the epidemic has posed academics the challenge of identifying behaviours and their underlying beliefs in the effort to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is frequently used to identify risk behaviours and adherence behaviour in the field of HIV/AIDS. Risk behaviour studies that apply HBM have been largely quantitative and use of qualitative methodology is rare. The marriage of qualitative and quantitative methods has never been easy. The challenge is in triangulating the methods. Method triangulation has been largely used to combine insights from the qualitative and quantitative methods but not to link both the methods. In this paper we suggest a linked trajectory of method triangulation (LTMT). The linked trajectory aims to first gather individual level information through in-depth interviews and then to present the information as vignettes in focus group discussions. We thus validate information obtained from in-depth interviews and gather emic concepts that arise from the interaction. We thus capture both the interpretation and the interaction angles of the qualitative method. Further, using the qualitative information gained, a survey is designed. In doing so, the survey questions are grounded and contextualized. We employed this linked trajectory of method triangulation in a study on the risk assessment of HIV/AIDS among migrant and mobile men. Fieldwork was carried out in Goa, India. Data come from two waves of studies, first an explorative qualitative study (2003), second a larger study (2004-2005), including in-depth interviews (25), focus group discussions (21) and a survey (n=1259). By employing the qualitative to quantitative LTMT we can not only contextualize the existing concepts of the HBM, but also validate new concepts and identify new risk groups.

  10. A meta-model for computer executable dynamic clinical safety checklists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nan, Shan; Van Gorp, Pieter; Lu, Xudong; Kaymak, Uzay; Korsten, Hendrikus; Vdovjak, Richard; Duan, Huilong

    2017-12-12

    Safety checklist is a type of cognitive tool enforcing short term memory of medical workers with the purpose of reducing medical errors caused by overlook and ignorance. To facilitate the daily use of safety checklists, computerized systems embedded in the clinical workflow and adapted to patient-context are increasingly developed. However, the current hard-coded approach of implementing checklists in these systems increase the cognitive efforts of clinical experts and coding efforts for informaticists. This is due to the lack of a formal representation format that is both understandable by clinical experts and executable by computer programs. We developed a dynamic checklist meta-model with a three-step approach. Dynamic checklist modeling requirements were extracted by performing a domain analysis. Then, existing modeling approaches and tools were investigated with the purpose of reusing these languages. Finally, the meta-model was developed by eliciting domain concepts and their hierarchies. The feasibility of using the meta-model was validated by two case studies. The meta-model was mapped to specific modeling languages according to the requirements of hospitals. Using the proposed meta-model, a comprehensive coronary artery bypass graft peri-operative checklist set and a percutaneous coronary intervention peri-operative checklist set have been developed in a Dutch hospital and a Chinese hospital, respectively. The result shows that it is feasible to use the meta-model to facilitate the modeling and execution of dynamic checklists. We proposed a novel meta-model for the dynamic checklist with the purpose of facilitating creating dynamic checklists. The meta-model is a framework of reusing existing modeling languages and tools to model dynamic checklists. The feasibility of using the meta-model is validated by implementing a use case in the system.

  11. The Marginalized "Model" Minority: An Empirical Examination of the Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jun; Lee, Jennifer C.

    2013-01-01

    In this article, we propose a shift in race research from a one-dimensional hierarchical approach to a multidimensional system of racial stratification. Building upon Claire Kim's (1999) racial triangulation theory, we examine how the American public rates Asians relative to blacks and whites along two dimensions of racial stratification: racial…

  12. Lymphoscintigraphy and triangulated body marking for morbidity reduction during sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krynyckyi, Borys R; Shafir, Michail K; Kim, Suk Chul; Kim, Dong Wook; Travis, Arlene; Moadel, Renee M; Kim, Chun K

    2005-11-08

    Current trends in patient care include the desire for minimizing invasiveness of procedures and interventions. This aim is reflected in the increasing utilization of sentinel lymph node biopsy, which results in a lower level of morbidity in breast cancer staging, in comparison to extensive conventional axillary dissection. Optimized lymphoscintigraphy with triangulated body marking is a clinical option that can further reduce morbidity, more than when a hand held gamma probe alone is utilized. Unfortunately it is often either overlooked or not fully understood, and thus not utilized. This results in the unnecessary loss of an opportunity to further reduce morbidity. Optimized lymphoscintigraphy and triangulated body marking provides a detailed 3 dimensional map of the number and location of the sentinel nodes, available before the first incision is made. The number, location, relevance based on time/sequence of appearance of the nodes, all can influence 1) where the incision is made, 2) how extensive the dissection is, and 3) how many nodes are removed. In addition, complex patterns can arise from injections. These include prominent lymphatic channels, pseudo-sentinel nodes, echelon and reverse echelon nodes and even contamination, which are much more difficult to access with the probe only. With the detailed information provided by optimized lymphoscintigraphy and triangulated body marking, the surgeon can approach the axilla in a more enlightened fashion, in contrast to when the less informed probe only method is used. This allows for better planning, resulting in the best cosmetic effect and less trauma to the tissues, further reducing morbidity while maintaining adequate sampling of the sentinel node(s).

  13. A quantitative assessment of organizational factors affecting safety using a system dynamics model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, J. K. [Systemix Company, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, T. S. [Korea Electric Power Research Institute (Korea, Republic of)

    2003-07-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a system dynamics model for the assessment of organizational and human factors in the nuclear power plant safety. Previous studies are classified into two major approaches. One is the engineering approach such as ergonomics and Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The other is socio-psychology one. Both have contributed to find organizational and human factors and increased nuclear safety However, since these approaches assume that the relationship among factors is independent they do not explain the interactions between factors or variables in NPP's. To overcome these restrictions, a system dynamics model, which can show causal relations between factors and quantify organizational and human factors, has been developed. Operating variables such as degree of leadership, adjustment of number of employee, and workload in each department, users can simulate various situations in nuclear power plants in the organization side. Through simulation, user can get an insight to improve safety in plants and to find managerial tools in the organization and human side.

  14. First Instances of Generalized Expo-Rational Finite Elements on Triangulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dechevsky, Lubomir T.; Zanaty, Peter; Laksa˚, Arne; Bang, Børre

    2011-12-01

    In this communication we consider a construction of simplicial finite elements on triangulated two-dimensional polygonal domains. This construction is, in some sense, dual to the construction of generalized expo-rational B-splines (GERBS). The main result is in the obtaining of new polynomial simplicial patches of the first several lowest possible total polynomial degrees which exhibit Hermite interpolatory properties. The derivation of these results is based on the theory of piecewise polynomial GERBS called Euler Beta-function B-splines. We also provide 3-dimensional visualization of the graphs of the new polynomial simplicial patches and their control polygons.

  15. Options for a health system researcher to choose in Meta Review (MR approaches-Meta Narrative (MN and Meta Triangulation (MT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjeev Davey

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Two new approaches in systematic reviewing i.e. Meta-narrative review(MNR (which a health researcher can use for topics which are differently conceptualized and studied by different types of researchers for policy decisions and Meta-triangulation review(MTR (done to build theory for studying multifaceted phenomena characterized by expansive and contested research domains are ready for penetration in an arena of health system research. So critical look at which approach in Meta-review is better i.e. Meta-narrative review or Meta-triangulation review, can give new insights to a health system researcher. A systematic review on 2 key words-"meta-narrative review" and "meta-triangulation review" in health system research, were searched from key search engines, such as Pubmed, Cochrane library, Bio-med Central and Google Scholar etc till 21st March 2014 since last 20 years. Studies from both developed and developing world were included in any form and scope to draw final conclusions. However unpublished data from thesis was not included in systematic review. Meta-narrative review is a type of systematic review which can be used for a wide range of topics and questions involving making judgments and inferences in public health. On the other hand Meta-triangulation review is a three-phased, qualitative meta-analysis process which can be used to explore variations in the assumptions of alternative paradigms, gain insights into these multiple paradigms at one point of time and addresses emerging themes and the resulting theories.

  16. Making the Most of Obesity Research: Developing Research and Policy Objectives through Evidence Triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, Kathryn; Aicken, Catherine; Arai, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    Drawing lessons from research can help policy makers make better decisions. If a large and methodologically varied body of research exists, as with childhood obesity, this is challenging. We present new research and policy objectives for child obesity developed by triangulating user involvement data with a mapping study of interventions aimed at…

  17. Triangulation-based edge measurement using polyview optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yinan; Kästner, Markus; Reithmeier, Eduard

    2018-04-01

    Laser triangulation sensors as non-contact measurement devices are widely used in industry and research for profile measurements and quantitative inspections. Some technical applications e.g. edge measurements usually require a configuration of a single sensor and a translation stage or a configuration of multiple sensors, so that they can measure a large measurement range that is out of the scope of a single sensor. However, the cost of both configurations is high, due to the additional rotational axis or additional sensor. This paper provides a special measurement system for measurement of great curved surfaces based on a single sensor configuration. Utilizing a self-designed polyview optics and calibration process, the proposed measurement system allows an over 180° FOV (field of view) with a precise measurement accuracy as well as an advantage of low cost. The detailed capability of this measurement system based on experimental data is discussed in this paper.

  18. Outcomes and impact of HIV prevention, ART and TB programs in Swaziland--early evidence from public health triangulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schalkwyk, Cari; Mndzebele, Sibongile; Hlophe, Thabo; Garcia Calleja, Jesus Maria; Korenromp, Eline L; Stoneburner, Rand; Pervilhac, Cyril

    2013-01-01

    Swaziland's severe HIV epidemic inspired an early national response since the late 1980s, and regular reporting of program outcomes since the onset of a national antiretroviral treatment (ART) program in 2004. We assessed effectiveness outcomes and mortality trends in relation to ART, HIV testing and counseling (HTC), tuberculosis (TB) and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). Data triangulated include intervention coverage and outcomes according to program registries (2001-2010), hospital admissions and deaths disaggregated by age and sex (2001-2010) and population mortality estimates from the 1997 and 2007 censuses and the 2007 demographic and health survey. By 2010, ART reached 70% of the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS with CD4impact to specific interventions (versus natural epidemic dynamics) will require additional data from future household surveys, and improved routine (program, surveillance, and hospital) data at district level.

  19. Intensive care unit nurses' perceptions of safety after a highly specific safety intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elder, N C; Brungs, S M; Nagy, M; Kudel, I; Render, M L

    2008-02-01

    It is unknown if successful changes in specific safety practices in the intensive care unit (ICU) generalize to broader concepts of patient safety by staff nurses. To explore perceptions of patient safety among nursing staff in ICUs following participation in a safety project that decreased hospital acquired infections. After implementation of practices that reduced catheter-related bloodstream infections in ICUs at four community hospitals, ICU nurses participated in focus groups to discuss patient safety. Audiotapes from the focus groups were transcribed, and two independent reviewers categorised the data which were triangulated with responses from selected questions of safety climate surveys and with the safety checklists used by management leadership on walk rounds. Thirty-three nurses attended eight focus groups; 92 nurses and managers completed safety climate surveys, and three separate leadership checklists were reviewed. In focus groups, nurses predominantly related patient safety to dangers in the physical environment (eg, bed rails, alarms, restraints, equipment, etc.) and to medication administration. These areas also represented 47% of checklist items from leadership walk rounds. Nurses most frequently mentioned self-initiated "double checking" as their main safety task. Focus-group participants and survey responses both noted inconsistency between management's verbal and written commitment compared with their day-to-day support of patient safety issues. ICU nurses who participated in a project to decrease hospital acquired infections did not generalize their experience to other aspects of patient safety or relate it to management's interest in patient safety. These findings are consistent with many adult learning theories, where self-initiated tasks, combined with immediate, but temporary problem-solving, are stronger learning forces than management-led activities with delayed feedback.

  20. The assessment of structural dynamics problems in nuclear reactor safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liebe, R.

    1978-10-01

    The paper discusses important physical features of structural dynamics problems in reactor safety. First a general characterization is given of the following problems: Containment deformation due to pool-dynamics during BWR-blowdown; behavior of the core internals due to PWR-blowdown loads; dynamic response of a nuclear power plant during an earthquake; fuel element deformation due to local pressure pulses in an LMFBR core. Several criterias are formulated to classify typical problems so that a better choise can be made both of appropriate mathematical/numerical as well as experimental techniques. The degree of physical coupling between structural dynamics and fluid dynamics is discussed in more detail since it requires particular attention when selecting problem-oriented methods of solution. Some examples are given to illustrate the application and to compare advantages and disadvantages of several numerical methods. Then description is given of experimental techniques in structural dynamics and typical problem areas are identified. Finally some results are presented concerning the fuel element deformation problem in LMFBRs and from the general considerations some important conclusions are summarized. (orig.) 891 RW 892 AP [de

  1. Analisis Kepatuhan Supervisor Terhadap Implementasi Program Occupational Health & Safety (Ohs) Planned Inspection Di PT. Ccai

    OpenAIRE

    Sarah, Dewi; Ekawati, Ekawati; Widjasena, Baju

    2015-01-01

    The Government has issued Regulation Legislation No. 50 Year 2012 on Health and Safety Management System (SMK3). CCAI is a company that has implemented SMK3. The application of the CCAI SMK3 supported by K3 program one of them is OHS Planned Inspection. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) program Planned Inspection in CCAI. The subjects of this study amounted to five people as the main informants and 2 as an informant triangulation. The res...

  2. Feminist Approaches to Triangulation: Uncovering Subjugated Knowledge and Fostering Social Change in Mixed Methods Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesse-Biber, Sharlene

    2012-01-01

    This article explores the deployment of triangulation in the service of uncovering subjugated knowledge and promoting social change for women and other oppressed groups. Feminist approaches to mixed methods praxis create a tight link between the research problem and the research design. An analysis of selected case studies of feminist praxis…

  3. Generation of triangulated random surfaces by the Monte Carlo method in the grand canonical ensemble

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zmushko, V.V.; Migdal, A.A.

    1987-01-01

    A model of triangulated random surfaces which is the discrete analog of the Polyakov string is considered. An algorithm is proposed which enables one to study the model by the Monte Carlo method in the grand canonical ensemble. Preliminary results on the determination of the critical index γ are presented

  4. Hand-held triangulation laser profilometer with audio output for blind people Profilométre laser à triangulation tenu en main avec sortie sonare pour non-voyants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farcy, R.; Damaschini, R.

    1998-06-01

    We describe a device currently under industrial development which will give to the blind a means of three-dimensional space perception. It consists of a 350 g hand-held triangulating laser telemeter including electronic parts and batteries, with auditory feedback either inside the apparatus or close to the ear. The microprocessor unit converts in real time the distance measured by the telemeter into a musical note. Scanning the space with an adequate movement of the hand produces musical lines corresponding to the profiles of the environment. We discuss the optical configuration of the system relative to our first year of clinical experimentation.

  5. Lattice quantum gravity and asymptotic safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laiho, J.; Bassler, S.; Coumbe, D.; Du, D.; Neelakanta, J. T.

    2017-09-01

    We study the nonperturbative formulation of quantum gravity defined via Euclidean dynamical triangulations (EDT) in an attempt to make contact with Weinberg's asymptotic safety scenario. We find that a fine-tuning is necessary in order to recover semiclassical behavior. Such a fine-tuning is generally associated with the breaking of a target symmetry by the lattice regulator; in this case we argue that the target symmetry is the general coordinate invariance of the theory. After introducing and fine-tuning a nontrivial local measure term, we find no barrier to taking a continuum limit, and we find evidence that four-dimensional, semiclassical geometries are recovered at long distance scales in the continuum limit. We also find that the spectral dimension at short distance scales is consistent with 3 /2 , a value that could resolve the tension between asymptotic safety and the holographic entropy scaling of black holes. We argue that the number of relevant couplings in the continuum theory is one, once symmetry breaking by the lattice regulator is accounted for. Such a theory is maximally predictive, with no adjustable parameters. The cosmological constant in Planck units is the only relevant parameter, which serves to set the lattice scale. The cosmological constant in Planck units is of order 1 in the ultraviolet and undergoes renormalization group running to small values in the infrared. If these findings hold up under further scrutiny, the lattice may provide a nonperturbative definition of a renormalizable quantum field theory of general relativity with no adjustable parameters and a cosmological constant that is naturally small in the infrared.

  6. Fast reactor safety and computational thermo-fluid dynamics approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ninokata, Hisashi; Shimizu, Takeshi

    1993-01-01

    This article provides a brief description of the safety principle on which liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) is based and the roles of computations in the safety practices. A number of thermohydraulics models have been developed to date that successfully describe several of the important types of fluids and materials motion encountered in the analysis of postulated accidents in LMFBRs. Most of these models use a mixture of implicit and explicit numerical solution techniques in solving a set of conservation equations formulated in Eulerian coordinates, with special techniques included to specific situations. Typical computational thermo-fluid dynamics approaches are discussed in particular areas of analyses of the physical phenomena relevant to the fuel subassembly thermohydraulics design and that involve describing the motion of molten materials in the core over a large scale. (orig.)

  7. The dynamic flowgraph methodology as a safety analysis tool : programmable electronic system design and verification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houtermans, M.J.M.; Apostolakis, G.E.; Brombacher, A.C.; Karydas, D.M.

    2002-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the use of the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) during the design and verification of programmable electronic safety-related systems. The safety system consists of hardware as well as software. This paper explains and demonstrates the use of DFM, and

  8. A quantitative assessment of organizational factors affecting safety using system dynamics model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Jae Kook; Ahn, Nam Sung [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Jae, Moo Sung [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-02-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a system dynamics model for the assessment of the organizational and human factors in a nuclear power plant which contribute to nuclear safety. Previous studies can be classified into two major approaches. One is the engineering approach using tools such as ergonomics and Probability Safety Assessment (PSA). The other is the socio-psychology approach. Both have contributed to find organizational and human factors and to present guidelines to lessen human error in plants. However, since these approaches assume that the relationship among factors is independent they do not explain the interactions among the factors or variables in nuclear power plants. To overcome these restrictions, a system dynamics model, which can show cause and effect relationships among factors and quantify the organizational and human factors, has been developed. Handling variables such as the degree of leadership, the number of employees, and workload in each department, users can simulate various situations in nuclear power plant organization. Through simulation, users can get insights to improve safety in plants and to find managerial tools in both organizational and human factors.

  9. A quantitative assessment of organizational factors affecting safety using system dynamics model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Jae Kook; Ahn, Nam Sung; Jae, Moo Sung

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a system dynamics model for the assessment of the organizational and human factors in a nuclear power plant which contribute to nuclear safety. Previous studies can be classified into two major approaches. One is the engineering approach using tools such as ergonomics and Probability Safety Assessment (PSA). The other is the socio-psychology approach. Both have contributed to find organizational and human factors and to present guidelines to lessen human error in plants. However, since these approaches assume that the relationship among factors is independent they do not explain the interactions among the factors or variables in nuclear power plants. To overcome these restrictions, a system dynamics model, which can show cause and effect relationships among factors and quantify the organizational and human factors, has been developed. Handling variables such as the degree of leadership, the number of employees, and workload in each department, users can simulate various situations in nuclear power plant organization. Through simulation, users can get insights to improve safety in plants and to find managerial tools in both organizational and human factors

  10. Lagrangian fluid dynamics using the Voronoi-Delauanay mesh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dukowicz, J.K.

    1981-01-01

    A Lagrangian technique for numerical fluid dynamics is described. This technique makes use of the Voronoi mesh to efficiently locate new neighbors, and it uses the dual (Delaunay) triangulation to define computational cells. This removes all topological restrictions and facilitates the solution of problems containing interfaces and multiple materials. To improve computational accuracy a mesh smoothing procedure is employed

  11. Depth measurements of drilled holes in bone by laser triangulation for the field of oral implantology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quest, D.; Gayer, C.; Hering, P.

    2012-01-01

    Laser osteotomy is one possible method of preparing beds for dental implants in the human jaw. A major problem in using this contactless treatment modality is the lack of haptic feedback to control the depth while drilling the implant bed. A contactless measurement system called laser triangulation is presented as a new procedure to overcome this problem. Together with a tomographic picture the actual position of the laser ablation in the bone can be calculated. Furthermore, the laser response is sufficiently fast as to pose little risk to surrounding sensitive areas such as nerves and blood vessels. In the jaw two different bone structures exist, namely the cancellous bone and the compact bone. Samples of both bone structures were examined with test drillings performed either by laser osteotomy or by a conventional rotating drilling tool. The depth of these holes was measured using laser triangulation. The results and the setup are reported in this study.

  12. Spectral triangulation molecular contrast optical coherence tomography with indocyanine green as the contrast agent

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Changhuei; McGuckin, Laura E. L.; Simon, John D.; Choma, Michael A.; Applegate, Brian E.; Izatt, Joseph A.

    2004-01-01

    We report a new molecular contrast optical coherence tomography (MCOCT) implementation that profiles the contrast agent distribution in a sample by measuring the agent's spectral differential absorption. The method, spectra triangulation MCOCT, can effectively suppress contributions from spectrally dependent scatterings from the sample without a priori knowledge of the scattering properties. We demonstrate molecular imaging with this new MCOCT modality by mapping the distribution of indocyani...

  13. A general and Robust Ray-Casting-Based Algorithm for Triangulating Surfaces at the Nanoscale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decherchi, Sergio; Rocchia, Walter

    2013-01-01

    We present a general, robust, and efficient ray-casting-based approach to triangulating complex manifold surfaces arising in the nano-bioscience field. This feature is inserted in a more extended framework that: i) builds the molecular surface of nanometric systems according to several existing definitions, ii) can import external meshes, iii) performs accurate surface area estimation, iv) performs volume estimation, cavity detection, and conditional volume filling, and v) can color the points of a grid according to their locations with respect to the given surface. We implemented our methods in the publicly available NanoShaper software suite (www.electrostaticszone.eu). Robustness is achieved using the CGAL library and an ad hoc ray-casting technique. Our approach can deal with any manifold surface (including nonmolecular ones). Those explicitly treated here are the Connolly-Richards (SES), the Skin, and the Gaussian surfaces. Test results indicate that it is robust to rotation, scale, and atom displacement. This last aspect is evidenced by cavity detection of the highly symmetric structure of fullerene, which fails when attempted by MSMS and has problems in EDTSurf. In terms of timings, NanoShaper builds the Skin surface three times faster than the single threaded version in Lindow et al. on a 100,000 atoms protein and triangulates it at least ten times more rapidly than the Kruithof algorithm. NanoShaper was integrated with the DelPhi Poisson-Boltzmann equation solver. Its SES grid coloring outperformed the DelPhi counterpart. To test the viability of our method on large systems, we chose one of the biggest molecular structures in the Protein Data Bank, namely the 1VSZ entry, which corresponds to the human adenovirus (180,000 atoms after Hydrogen addition). We were able to triangulate the corresponding SES and Skin surfaces (6.2 and 7.0 million triangles, respectively, at a scale of 2 grids per Å) on a middle-range workstation. PMID:23577073

  14. Dynamics of a barium release in the magnetospheric tail

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mende, S. B.; Swenson, G. R.; Geller, S. P.; Doolittle, J. H.; Haerendel, G.

    1989-01-01

    The late time behavior of the May 13, 1985 magnetotail barium cloud is examined. The bulk dynamics of the cloud are studied based on triangulated data and data from Fabry-Perot Doppler velocity measurements. The changes in cloud morphology in relation to the in situ measurements made by the Ion Release Module satellite are discussed.

  15. Indirect measurement of molten steel level in tundish based on laser triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Zhiqi; He, Qing; Xie, Zhi

    2016-03-01

    For real-time and precise measurement of molten steel level in tundish during continuous casting, slag level and slag thickness are needed. Among which, the problem of slag thickness measurement has been solved in our previous work. In this paper, a systematic solution for slag level measurement based on laser triangulation is proposed. Being different from traditional laser triangulation, several aspects for measuring precision and robustness have been done. First, laser line is adopted for multi-position measurement to overcome the deficiency of single point laser range finder caused by the uneven surface of the slag. Second, the key parameters, such as installing angle and minimum requirement of the laser power, are analyzed and determined based on the gray-body radiation theory to fulfill the rigorous requirement of measurement accuracy. Third, two kinds of severe noises in the acquired images, which are, respectively, caused by heat radiation and Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI), are cleaned via morphological characteristic of the liquid slag and color difference between EMI and the laser signals, respectively. Fourth, as false target created by stationary slag usually disorders the measurement, valid signals of the slag are distinguished from the false ones to calculate the slag level. Then, molten steel level is obtained by the slag level minus the slag thickness. The measuring error of this solution is verified by the applications in steel plants, which is ±2.5 mm during steady casting and ±3.2 mm at the end of casting.

  16. Indirect measurement of molten steel level in tundish based on laser triangulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Su, Zhiqi; He, Qing, E-mail: heqing@ise.neu.edu.cn; Xie, Zhi [State Key Laboratory of Synthetical Automation for Process Industries, School of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819 (China)

    2016-03-15

    For real-time and precise measurement of molten steel level in tundish during continuous casting, slag level and slag thickness are needed. Among which, the problem of slag thickness measurement has been solved in our previous work. In this paper, a systematic solution for slag level measurement based on laser triangulation is proposed. Being different from traditional laser triangulation, several aspects for measuring precision and robustness have been done. First, laser line is adopted for multi-position measurement to overcome the deficiency of single point laser range finder caused by the uneven surface of the slag. Second, the key parameters, such as installing angle and minimum requirement of the laser power, are analyzed and determined based on the gray-body radiation theory to fulfill the rigorous requirement of measurement accuracy. Third, two kinds of severe noises in the acquired images, which are, respectively, caused by heat radiation and Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI), are cleaned via morphological characteristic of the liquid slag and color difference between EMI and the laser signals, respectively. Fourth, as false target created by stationary slag usually disorders the measurement, valid signals of the slag are distinguished from the false ones to calculate the slag level. Then, molten steel level is obtained by the slag level minus the slag thickness. The measuring error of this solution is verified by the applications in steel plants, which is ±2.5 mm during steady casting and ±3.2 mm at the end of casting.

  17. 1:500 Scale Aerial Triangulation Test with Unmanned Airship in Hubei Province

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feifei, Xie; Zongjian, Lin; Dezhu, Gui

    2014-01-01

    A new UAVS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System) for low altitude aerial photogrammetry is introduced for fine surveying and mapping, including the platform airship, sensor system four-combined wide-angle camera and photogrammetry software MAP-AT. It is demonstrated that this low-altitude aerial photogrammetric system meets the precision requirements of 1:500 scale aerial triangulation based on the test of this system in Hubei province, including the working condition of the airship, the quality of image data and the data processing report. This work provides a possibility for fine surveying and mapping

  18. Triangulating laser profilometer as a navigational aid for the blind: optical aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farcy, R.; Denise, B.; Damaschini, R.

    1996-03-01

    We propose a navigational aid approach for the blind that relies on active optical profilometry with real-time electrotactile interfacing on the skin. Here we are concerned with the optical parts of this system. We point out the particular requirements the profilometer must meet to meet the needs of blind people. We show experimentally that an adequate compromise is possible that consists of a compact class I IR laser-diode triangulation profilometer with the following angular resolution, 20-ms acquisition time per measure of distance, 60 degrees angular scanning field.

  19. Self-powered 'AND' logic circuit of dynamic type with positive safety and application of said 'AND' circuit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lefebvre, Claude; Therond, J.P.

    1974-01-01

    The present invention relates to a self-powered 'AND' logic circuit of dynamic type with positive safety, which delivers on duty operation an output signal equal to the logic product of the input logic signals. The invention relates also to the use of said 'AND' logic circuits in developing n/m logics also of dynamic types with positive safety, delivering on duty operation a zero valued signal when, at least n of the m input signals have the value zero. This type of logics can be inserted in nuclear reactor protection systems; when the value of the reactor operating physical characteristics go out of the safety margins, or true trouble affects 'AND' circuits the value of the output signal is zero, that triggers off the safety absorber drap, for instance [fr

  20. UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY: BLOCK TRIANGULATION COMPARISONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Gini

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available UAVs systems represent a flexible technology able to collect a big amount of high resolution information, both for metric and interpretation uses. In the frame of experimental tests carried out at Dept. ICA of Politecnico di Milano to validate vector-sensor systems and to assess metric accuracies of images acquired by UAVs, a block of photos taken by a fixed wing system is triangulated with several software. The test field is a rural area included in an Italian Park ("Parco Adda Nord", useful to study flight and imagery performances on buildings, roads, cultivated and uncultivated vegetation. The UAV SenseFly, equipped with a camera Canon Ixus 220HS, flew autonomously over the area at a height of 130 m yielding a block of 49 images divided in 5 strips. Sixteen pre-signalized Ground Control Points, surveyed in the area through GPS (NRTK survey, allowed the referencing of the block and accuracy analyses. Approximate values for exterior orientation parameters (positions and attitudes were recorded by the flight control system. The block was processed with several software: Erdas-LPS, EyeDEA (Univ. of Parma, Agisoft Photoscan, Pix4UAV, in assisted or automatic way. Results comparisons are given in terms of differences among digital surface models, differences in orientation parameters and accuracies, when available. Moreover, image and ground point coordinates obtained by the various software were independently used as initial values in a comparative adjustment made by scientific in-house software, which can apply constraints to evaluate the effectiveness of different methods of point extraction and accuracies on ground check points.

  1. Triangulated Proxy Reporting: a technique for improving how communication partners come to know people with severe cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Gordon; De Bortoli, Tania; Arthur-Kelly, Michael

    2017-09-01

    This paper explains and demonstrates the pilot application of Triangulated Proxy Reporting (TPR); a practical technique for enhancing communication around people who have severe cognitive impairment (SCI). An introduction explains SCI and how this impacts on communication; and consequently on quality of care and quality of life. This is followed by an explanation of TPR and its origins in triangulation research techniques. An illustrative vignette explicates its utility and value in a group home for a resident with profound multiple disabilities. The Discussion and Conclusion sections propose the wider application of TPR for different cohorts of people with SCIs, their communication partners and service providers. TPR presents as a practical technique for enhancing communication interactions with people who have SCI. The paper demonstrates the potential of the technique for improving engagement amongst those with profound multiple disabilities, severe acquired brain injury and advanced dementia and their partners in and across different care settings. Implications for Rehabilitation Triangulated Proxy Reporting (TPR) shows potential to improve communications between people with severe cognitive impairments and their communication partners. TPR can lead to improved quality of care and quality of life for people with profound multiple disabilities, very advanced dementia and severe acquired brain injury, who otherwise are very difficult to support. TPR is a relatively simple and inexpensive technique that service providers can incorporate into practice to improving communications between clients with severe cognitive impairments, their carers and other support professionals.

  2. Safety-oriented global analysis of reactor dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belhadj, M.; Aldemir, T.

    1992-01-01

    It is well known that the asymptotic solutions of the non-linear systems encountered in reactor dynamics can change from stable to periodic or from periodic to chaotic with a very small change in system parameters and/or initial conditions. In that respect, determination of the domains of attraction (DOAs) in the state-space that contains the asymptotic solutions and the identification of the basins of attraction (BOAs) and lead to these DOAs usually requires a global analysis of reactor dynamics (as opposed to a local analysis through perturbation theory). From the standpoint of safety, the DOAs indicate whether the reactor behavior remains within the imposed constraints or not, and the BOAs show which initial conditions lead to safe operation. Due to the lack of a general theory, often the only feasible method for the global analysis of nonlinear systems is the direct integration of governing equations. However, direct integration can be computationally prohibitive, particularly if there is uncertainty on the values of the system parameters to be used in the analysis, and/or asymptotic system behavior is chaotic. In a recent study, a global analysis algorithm was presented to determine the structure of DOAs (and their probability distribution when there is uncertainty on the system parameters) more quickly than by direct integration. This paper shows how the new algorithm can be expanded to determine the BOAs of reactor dynamics equations as well as their DOAs

  3. A survey of dynamic methodologies for probabilistic safety assessment of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldemir, Tunc

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Dynamic methodologies for probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) are surveyed. ► These methodologies overcome the limitations of the traditional approach to PSA. ► They are suitable for PSA using a best estimate plus uncertainty approach. ► They are highly computation intensive and produce very large number of scenarios. ► Use of scenario clustering can assist the analysis of the results. -- Abstract: Dynamic methodologies for probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) are defined as those which use a time-dependent phenomenological model of system evolution along with its stochastic behavior to account for possible dependencies between failure events. Over the past 30 years, numerous concerns have been raised in the literature regarding the capability of the traditional static modeling approaches such as the event-tree/fault-tree methodology to adequately account for the impact of process/hardware/software/firmware/human interactions on the stochastic system behavior. A survey of the types of dynamic PSA methodologies proposed to date is presented, as well as a brief summary of an example application for the PSA modeling of a digital feedwater control system of an operating pressurized water reactor. The use of dynamic methodologies for PSA modeling of passive components and phenomenological uncertainties are also discussed.

  4. Dynamic safety assessment of natural gas stations using Bayesian network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zarei, Esmaeil, E-mail: smlzarei65@gmail.com [Center of Excellence for Occupational Health Engineering, Research Center for Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Azadeh, Ali [School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Center of Excellence for Intelligent-Based Experimental Mechanic, College of Engineering, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khakzad, Nima [Safety and Security Science Section, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Aliabadi, Mostafa Mirzaei [Center of Excellence for Occupational Health Engineering, Research Center for Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mohammadfam, Iraj, E-mail: mohammadfam@umsha.ac.ir [Center of Excellence for Occupational Health Engineering, Research Center for Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-01-05

    Graphical abstract: Dynamic cause-consequence analysis of the regulator system failure using BN. - Highlights: • A dynamic and comprehensive QRA (DCQRA) framework is proposed for safety assessment of CGSs. • Bow-tie diagram and Bayesian network are employed for accident scenario modeling. • Critical basic events and minimal cut sets are identified using probability updating. - Abstract: Pipelines are one of the most popular and effective ways of transporting hazardous materials, especially natural gas. However, the rapid development of gas pipelines and stations in urban areas has introduced a serious threat to public safety and assets. Although different methods have been developed for risk analysis of gas transportation systems, a comprehensive methodology for risk analysis is still lacking, especially in natural gas stations. The present work is aimed at developing a dynamic and comprehensive quantitative risk analysis (DCQRA) approach for accident scenario and risk modeling of natural gas stations. In this approach, a FMEA is used for hazard analysis while a Bow-tie diagram and Bayesian network are employed to model the worst-case accident scenario and to assess the risks. The results have indicated that the failure of the regulator system was the worst-case accident scenario with the human error as the most contributing factor. Thus, in risk management plan of natural gas stations, priority should be given to the most probable root events and main contribution factors, which have identified in the present study, in order to reduce the occurrence probability of the accident scenarios and thus alleviate the risks.

  5. Dynamic safety assessment of natural gas stations using Bayesian network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zarei, Esmaeil; Azadeh, Ali; Khakzad, Nima; Aliabadi, Mostafa Mirzaei; Mohammadfam, Iraj

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Dynamic cause-consequence analysis of the regulator system failure using BN. - Highlights: • A dynamic and comprehensive QRA (DCQRA) framework is proposed for safety assessment of CGSs. • Bow-tie diagram and Bayesian network are employed for accident scenario modeling. • Critical basic events and minimal cut sets are identified using probability updating. - Abstract: Pipelines are one of the most popular and effective ways of transporting hazardous materials, especially natural gas. However, the rapid development of gas pipelines and stations in urban areas has introduced a serious threat to public safety and assets. Although different methods have been developed for risk analysis of gas transportation systems, a comprehensive methodology for risk analysis is still lacking, especially in natural gas stations. The present work is aimed at developing a dynamic and comprehensive quantitative risk analysis (DCQRA) approach for accident scenario and risk modeling of natural gas stations. In this approach, a FMEA is used for hazard analysis while a Bow-tie diagram and Bayesian network are employed to model the worst-case accident scenario and to assess the risks. The results have indicated that the failure of the regulator system was the worst-case accident scenario with the human error as the most contributing factor. Thus, in risk management plan of natural gas stations, priority should be given to the most probable root events and main contribution factors, which have identified in the present study, in order to reduce the occurrence probability of the accident scenarios and thus alleviate the risks.

  6. Safety, Liveness and Run-time Refinement for Modular Process-Aware Information Systems with Dynamic Sub Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Debois, Søren; Hildebrandt, Thomas; Slaats, Tijs

    2015-01-01

    and verification of flexible, run-time adaptable process-aware information systems, moved into practice via the Dynamic Condition Response (DCR) Graphs notation co-developed with our industrial partner. Our key contributions are: (1) A formal theory of dynamic sub-process instantiation for declarative, event......We study modularity, run-time adaptation and refinement under safety and liveness constraints in event-based process models with dynamic sub-process instantiation. The study is part of a larger programme to provide semantically well-founded technologies for modelling, implementation......-based processes under safety and liveness constraints, given as the DCR* process language, equipped with a compositional operational semantics and conservatively extending the DCR Graphs notation; (2) an expressiveness analysis revealing that the DCR* process language is Turing-complete, while the fragment cor...

  7. Shifting configurations of shopping practices and food safety dynamics in Hanoi, Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wertheim-Heck, S.C.O.; Spaargaren, Gert

    2016-01-01

    This paper offers a historical analysis of contemporary practices of shopping for vegetables in the highly dynamic context of urban Hanoi during the period from 1975 to 2014. Focusing on everyday shopping practices from a food safety perspective, we assess the extent to which the policy-enforced

  8. Does lean management improve patient safety culture? An extensive evaluation of safety culture in a radiotherapy institute.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Pascale A M; Houben, Ruud; Vlayen, Annemie; Hellings, Johan; Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Marneffe, Wim; Vandijck, Dominique

    2015-02-01

    The importance of a safety culture to maximize safety is no longer questioned. However, achieving sustainable culture improvements are less evident. Evidence is growing for a multifaceted approach, where multiple safety interventions are combined. Lean management is such an integral approach to improve safety, quality and efficiency and therefore, could be expected to improve the safety culture. This paper presents the effects of lean management activities on the patient safety culture in a radiotherapy institute. Patient safety culture was evaluated over a three year period using triangulation of methodologies. Two surveys were distributed three times, workshops were performed twice, data from an incident reporting system (IRS) was monitored and results were explored using structured interviews with professionals. Averages, chi-square, logistical and multi-level regression were used for analysis. The workshops showed no changes in safety culture, whereas the surveys showed improvements on six out of twelve dimensions of safety climate. The intention to report incidents not reaching patient-level decreased in accordance with the decreasing number of reports in the IRS. However, the intention to take action in order to prevent future incidents improved (factorial survey presented β: 1.19 with p: 0.01). Due to increased problem solving and improvements in equipment, the number of incidents decreased. Although the intention to report incidents not reaching patient-level decreased, employees experienced sustained safety awareness and an increased intention to structurally improve. The patient safety culture improved due to the lean activities combined with an organizational restructure, and actual patient safety outcomes might have improved as well. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Initial development of a practical safety audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Rebecca; Friswell, Rena; Mooren, Lori

    2012-07-01

    Work-related vehicle crashes are a common cause of occupational injury. Yet, there are few studies that investigate management practices used for light vehicle fleets (i.e. vehicles less than 4.5 tonnes). One of the impediments to obtaining and sharing information on effective fleet safety management is the lack of an evidence-based, standardised measurement tool. This article describes the initial development of an audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices in light vehicle fleets. The audit tool was developed by triangulating information from a review of the literature on fleet safety management practices and from semi-structured interviews with 15 fleet managers and 21 fleet drivers. A preliminary useability assessment was conducted with 5 organisations. The audit tool assesses the management of fleet safety against five core categories: (1) management, systems and processes; (2) monitoring and assessment; (3) employee recruitment, training and education; (4) vehicle technology, selection and maintenance; and (5) vehicle journeys. Each of these core categories has between 1 and 3 sub-categories. Organisations are rated at one of 4 levels on each sub-category. The fleet safety management audit tool is designed to identify the extent to which fleet safety is managed in an organisation against best practice. It is intended that the audit tool be used to conduct audits within an organisation to provide an indicator of progress in managing fleet safety and to consistently benchmark performance against other organisations. Application of the tool by fleet safety researchers is now needed to inform its further development and refinement and to permit psychometric evaluation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Indoor Trajectory Tracking Scheme Based on Delaunay Triangulation and Heuristic Information in Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Junping; Sun, Shiwen; Deng, Qingxu; Liu, Limin; Tian, Yonghong

    2017-06-02

    Object tracking and detection is one of the most significant research areas for wireless sensor networks. Existing indoor trajectory tracking schemes in wireless sensor networks are based on continuous localization and moving object data mining. Indoor trajectory tracking based on the received signal strength indicator ( RSSI ) has received increased attention because it has low cost and requires no special infrastructure. However, RSSI tracking introduces uncertainty because of the inaccuracies of measurement instruments and the irregularities (unstable, multipath, diffraction) of wireless signal transmissions in indoor environments. Heuristic information includes some key factors for trajectory tracking procedures. This paper proposes a novel trajectory tracking scheme based on Delaunay triangulation and heuristic information (TTDH). In this scheme, the entire field is divided into a series of triangular regions. The common side of adjacent triangular regions is regarded as a regional boundary. Our scheme detects heuristic information related to a moving object's trajectory, including boundaries and triangular regions. Then, the trajectory is formed by means of a dynamic time-warping position-fingerprint-matching algorithm with heuristic information constraints. Field experiments show that the average error distance of our scheme is less than 1.5 m, and that error does not accumulate among the regions.

  11. The unitary conformal field theory behind 2D Asymptotic Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nink, Andreas; Reuter, Martin [Institute of Physics, PRISMA & MITP, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz,Staudingerweg 7, D-55099 Mainz (Germany)

    2016-02-25

    Being interested in the compatibility of Asymptotic Safety with Hilbert space positivity (unitarity), we consider a local truncation of the functional RG flow which describes quantum gravity in d>2 dimensions and construct its limit of exactly two dimensions. We find that in this limit the flow displays a nontrivial fixed point whose effective average action is a non-local functional of the metric. Its pure gravity sector is shown to correspond to a unitary conformal field theory with positive central charge c=25. Representing the fixed point CFT by a Liouville theory in the conformal gauge, we investigate its general properties and their implications for the Asymptotic Safety program. In particular, we discuss its field parametrization dependence and argue that there might exist more than one universality class of metric gravity theories in two dimensions. Furthermore, studying the gravitational dressing in 2D asymptotically safe gravity coupled to conformal matter we uncover a mechanism which leads to a complete quenching of the a priori expected Knizhnik-Polyakov-Zamolodchikov (KPZ) scaling. A possible connection of this prediction to Monte Carlo results obtained in the discrete approach to 2D quantum gravity based upon causal dynamical triangulations is mentioned. Similarities of the fixed point theory to, and differences from, non-critical string theory are also described. On the technical side, we provide a detailed analysis of an intriguing connection between the Einstein-Hilbert action in d>2 dimensions and Polyakov’s induced gravity action in two dimensions.

  12. Establishment and prioritization of relevant factors to the safety of fuel cycle facilities non reactor through dynamics archetypes evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sousa, Anna Leticia Barbosa de

    2012-01-01

    The present work aims to establish and prioritize factors that are important to the safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities in order to model, analyze and design safety as a physical system, employing systemic models in an innovative way. This work takes into consideration the fact that models that use adaptations of methodologies for nuclear reactors will not properly work due to the specificities of fuel cycle facilities. Based on the fundamentals of the theory of systems, the four levels of system thinking, and the relationship of eight socio technical factors, a mental model has been developed for safety management in the nuclear fuel cycle context. From this conceptual model, safety archetypes were constructed in order to identify and highlight the processes of change and decision making that allow the system to migrate to a state of loss of safety. After that, stock and flow diagrams were created so that their behavior could be assessed by the system's dynamics. The results from the analysis using the model that simulates the dynamic behavior of the variables (socio technical factors) indicated, as expected, that the system's dynamics proved to be an appropriate and efficient tool for modeling fuel cycle safety as an emergent property. (author)

  13. A Novel Model of Conforming Delaunay Triangulation for Sensor Network Configuration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Ma

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Delaunay refinement is a technique for generating unstructured meshes of triangles for sensor network configuration engineering practice. A new method for solving Delaunay triangulation problem is proposed in this paper, which is called endpoint triangle’s circumcircle model (ETCM. As compared with the original fractional node refinement algorithms, the proposed algorithm can get well refinement stability with least time cost. Simulations are performed under five aspects including refinement stability, the number of additional nodes, time cost, mesh quality after intruding additional nodes, and the aspect ratio improved by single additional node. All experimental results show the advantages of the proposed algorithm as compared with the existing algorithms and confirm the algorithm analysis sufficiently.

  14. Safety Learning, Organizational Contradictions and the Dynamics of Safety Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ripamonti, Silvio Carlo; Scaratti, Giuseppe

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the enactment of safety routines in a transshipment port. Research on work safety and reliability has largely neglected the role of the workers' knowledge in practice in the enactment of organisational safety. The workers' lack of compliance with safety regulations represents an enduring problem…

  15. Dynamical Regge calculus as lattice gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagura, Hiroyuki

    2001-01-01

    We propose a hybrid approach to lattice quantum gravity by combining simultaneously the dynamical triangulation with the Regge calculus, called the dynamical Regge calculus (DRC). In this approach lattice diffeomorphism is realized as an exact symmetry by some hybrid (k, l) moves on the simplicial lattice. Numerical study of 3D pure gravity shows that an entropy of the DRC is not exponetially bounded if we adopt the uniform measure Π i dl i . On the other hand, using the scale-invariant measure Π i dl i /l i , we can calculate observables and observe a large hysteresis between two phases that indicates the first-order nature of the phase transition

  16. A Delaunay Triangulation Approach For Segmenting Clumps Of Nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen, Quan; Chang, Hang; Parvin, Bahram

    2009-01-01

    Cell-based fluorescence imaging assays have the potential to generate massive amount of data, which requires detailed quantitative analysis. Often, as a result of fixation, labeled nuclei overlap and create a clump of cells. However, it is important to quantify phenotypic read out on a cell-by-cell basis. In this paper, we propose a novel method for decomposing clumps of nuclei using high-level geometric constraints that are derived from low-level features of maximum curvature computed along the contour of each clump. Points of maximum curvature are used as vertices for Delaunay triangulation (DT), which provides a set of edge hypotheses for decomposing a clump of nuclei. Each hypothesis is subsequently tested against a constraint satisfaction network for a near optimum decomposition. The proposed method is compared with other traditional techniques such as the watershed method with/without markers. The experimental results show that our approach can overcome the deficiencies of the traditional methods and is very effective in separating severely touching nuclei.

  17. Generation of triangulated random surfaces by means of the Monte Carlo method in the grand canonical ensemble

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zmushko, V.V.; Migdal, A.A.

    1987-01-01

    A model of triangulated random surfaces which is the discrete analogue of the Polyakov string is considered in the work. An algorithm is proposed which enables one to study the model by means of the Monte Carlo method in the grand canonical ensemble. Preliminary results are presented on the evaluation of the critical index γ

  18. Safety of 5 MW district heating reactor (DHR) and hydraulic dynamic pressure drive control rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Yuanqiang; Wang Dazhong

    1991-11-01

    The principles and movement characteristic of the hydraulic dynamic pressure drive for control rods in 5 MW district heating reactor are described with stress on analysis of its effects on reactor safety features. The drive is different from electric-magnetic drive for PWR or hydraulic drive for BWR. The drive cylinder is driven by dynamic pressure. In the new drive system, the reactor coolant (water) used as actuating medium is pressed by pump, then injected into a step cylinder which is set in the reactor core. The cylinder will move step by step by controlling flow, then the cylinder drives the neutron absorber and controls nuclear reaction. The drive is characterized by simplicity in structure, high reliability, inherent safety, reduction in reactor height, economy, etc

  19. Prediction of main factors’ values of air transportation system safety based on system dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiridonov, A. Yu; Rezchikov, A. F.; Kushnikov, V. A.; Ivashchenko, V. A.; Bogomolov, A. S.; Filimonyuk, L. Yu; Dolinina, O. N.; Kushnikova, E. V.; Shulga, T. E.; Tverdokhlebov, V. A.; Kushnikov, O. V.; Fominykh, D. S.

    2018-05-01

    On the basis of the system-dynamic approach [1-8], a set of models has been developed that makes it possible to analyse and predict the values of the main safety indicators for the operation of aviation transport systems.

  20. The Dynamic Safety Evaluation Model of the Safety Control Theory and Its Application%安全控制论的动态安全评价模型及其应用

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2001-01-01

    In this paper, on the principle of the modern control theory, the safety state equation of the safety systems was established and the dynamic model of the safety evaluation was put out. And finally, the example of its application in an iron and steel corporation was given.

  1. Understanding bicycling in cities using system dynamics modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macmillan, Alexandra; Woodcock, James

    2017-12-01

    Increasing urban bicycling has established net benefits for human and environmental health. Questions remain about which policies are needed and in what order, to achieve an increase in cycling while avoiding negative consequences. Novel ways of considering cycling policy are needed, bringing together expertise across policy, community and research to develop a shared understanding of the dynamically complex cycling system. In this paper we use a collaborative learning process to develop a dynamic causal model of urban cycling to develop consensus about the nature and order of policies needed in different cycling contexts to optimise outcomes. We used participatory system dynamics modelling to develop causal loop diagrams (CLDs) of cycling in three contrasting contexts: Auckland, London and Nijmegen. We combined qualitative interviews and workshops to develop the CLDs. We used the three CLDs to compare and contrast influences on cycling at different points on a "cycling trajectory" and drew out policy insights. The three CLDs consisted of feedback loops dynamically influencing cycling, with significant overlap between the three diagrams. Common reinforcing patterns emerged: growing numbers of people cycling lifts political will to improve the environment; cycling safety in numbers drives further growth; and more cycling can lead to normalisation across the population. By contrast, limits to growth varied as cycling increases. In Auckland and London, real and perceived danger was considered the main limit, with added barriers to normalisation in London. Cycling congestion and "market saturation" were important in the Netherlands. A generalisable, dynamic causal theory for urban cycling enables a more ordered set of policy recommendations for different cities on a cycling trajectory. Participation meant the collective knowledge of cycling stakeholders was represented and triangulated with research evidence. Extending this research to further cities, especially in low

  2. Applications of Dynamic Clamp to Cardiac Arrhythmia Research: Role in Drug Target Discovery and Safety Pharmacology Testing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis A. Ortega

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Dynamic clamp, a hybrid-computational-experimental technique that has been used to elucidate ionic mechanisms underlying cardiac electrophysiology, is emerging as a promising tool in the discovery of potential anti-arrhythmic targets and in pharmacological safety testing. Through the injection of computationally simulated conductances into isolated cardiomyocytes in a real-time continuous loop, dynamic clamp has greatly expanded the capabilities of patch clamp outside traditional static voltage and current protocols. Recent applications include fine manipulation of injected artificial conductances to identify promising drug targets in the prevention of arrhythmia and the direct testing of model-based hypotheses. Furthermore, dynamic clamp has been used to enhance existing experimental models by addressing their intrinsic limitations, which increased predictive power in identifying pro-arrhythmic pharmacological compounds. Here, we review the recent advances of the dynamic clamp technique in cardiac electrophysiology with a focus on its future role in the development of safety testing and discovery of anti-arrhythmic drugs.

  3. A preliminary study on the application of system dynamics methodology to organizational safety in nuclear power plants: Learning from past models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Do, Giang [Sol Bridge International School of Business, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sakil; Lee, Yong Hee; Lee, Yong Hee [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-10-15

    Besides technical design, organizational and human factor are of increasing interest in literature on nuclear safety. Among the methodologies employed to study these factors, System Dynamics (SD) is considered to be suitable for addressing the complexity and dynamicity of the organizational system in nuclear power plants (NPPs). In the following sections, the method will be described and its several prior applications to studying organizational safety will be introduced. An SD model with emphasis on the role of organizational learning in organizational safety will be presented.

  4. Quantitative dynamic reliability evaluation of AP1000 passive safety systems by using FMEA and GO-FLOW methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashim Muhammad; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Matsuoka, Takeshi; Yang Ming

    2014-01-01

    The passive safety systems utilized in advanced pressurized water reactor (PWR) design such as AP1000 should be more reliable than that of active safety systems of conventional PWR by less possible opportunities of hardware failures and human errors (less human intervention). The objectives of present study are to evaluate the dynamic reliability of AP1000 plant in order to check the effectiveness of passive safety systems by comparing the reliability-related issues with that of active safety systems in the event of the big accidents. How should the dynamic reliability of passive safety systems properly evaluated? And then what will be the comparison of reliability results of AP1000 passive safety systems with the active safety systems of conventional PWR. For this purpose, a single loop model of AP1000 passive core cooling system (PXS) and passive containment cooling system (PCCS) are assumed separately for quantitative reliability evaluation. The transient behaviors of these passive safety systems are taken under the large break loss-of-coolant accident in the cold leg. The analysis is made by utilizing the qualitative method failure mode and effect analysis in order to identify the potential failure mode and success-oriented reliability analysis tool called GO-FLOW for quantitative reliability evaluation. The GO-FLOW analysis has been conducted separately for PXS and PCCS systems under the same accident. The analysis results show that reliability of AP1000 passive safety systems (PXS and PCCS) is increased due to redundancies and diversity of passive safety subsystems and components, and four stages automatic depressurization system is the key subsystem for successful actuation of PXS and PCCS system. The reliability results of PCCS system of AP1000 are more reliable than that of the containment spray system of conventional PWR. And also GO-FLOW method can be utilized for reliability evaluation of passive safety systems. (author)

  5. Archetypes for Organisational Safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marais, Karen; Leveson, Nancy G.

    2003-01-01

    We propose a framework using system dynamics to model the dynamic behavior of organizations in accident analysis. Most current accident analysis techniques are event-based and do not adequately capture the dynamic complexity and non-linear interactions that characterize accidents in complex systems. In this paper we propose a set of system safety archetypes that model common safety culture flaws in organizations, i.e., the dynamic behaviour of organizations that often leads to accidents. As accident analysis and investigation tools, the archetypes can be used to develop dynamic models that describe the systemic and organizational factors contributing to the accident. The archetypes help clarify why safety-related decisions do not always result in the desired behavior, and how independent decisions in different parts of the organization can combine to impact safety.

  6. Determination of Shift/Bias in Digital Aerial Triangulation of UAV Imagery Sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wierzbicki, Damian

    2017-12-01

    Currently UAV Photogrammetry is characterized a largely automated and efficient data processing. Depicting from the low altitude more often gains on the meaning in the uses of applications as: cities mapping, corridor mapping, road and pipeline inspections or mapping of large areas e.g. forests. Additionally, high-resolution video image (HD and bigger) is more often use for depicting from the low altitude from one side it lets deliver a lot of details and characteristics of ground surfaces features, and from the other side is presenting new challenges in the data processing. Therefore, determination of elements of external orientation plays a substantial role the detail of Digital Terrain Models and artefact-free ortophoto generation. Parallel a research on the quality of acquired images from UAV and above the quality of products e.g. orthophotos are conducted. Despite so fast development UAV photogrammetry still exists the necessity of accomplishment Automatic Aerial Triangulation (AAT) on the basis of the observations GPS/INS and via ground control points. During low altitude photogrammetric flight, the approximate elements of external orientation registered by UAV are burdened with the influence of some shift/bias errors. In this article, methods of determination shift/bias error are presented. In the process of the digital aerial triangulation two solutions are applied. In the first method shift/bias error was determined together with the drift/bias error, elements of external orientation and coordinates of ground control points. In the second method shift/bias error was determined together with the elements of external orientation, coordinates of ground control points and drift/bias error equals 0. When two methods were compared the difference for shift/bias error is more than ±0.01 m for all terrain coordinates XYZ.

  7. Accuracy enhancement of point triangulation probes for linear displacement measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyung-Chan; Kim, Jong-Ahn; Oh, SeBaek; Kim, Soo Hyun; Kwak, Yoon Keun

    2000-03-01

    Point triangulation probes (PTBs) fall into a general category of noncontact height or displacement measurement devices. PTBs are widely used for their simple structure, high resolution, and long operating range. However, there are several factors that must be taken into account in order to obtain high accuracy and reliability; measurement errors from inclinations of an object surface, probe signal fluctuations generated by speckle effects, power variation of a light source, electronic noises, and so on. In this paper, we propose a novel signal processing algorithm, named as EASDF (expanded average square difference function), for a newly designed PTB which is composed of an incoherent source (LED), a line scan array detector, a specially selected diffuse reflecting surface, and several optical components. The EASDF, which is a modified correlation function, is able to calculate displacement between the probe and the object surface effectively even if there are inclinations, power fluctuations, and noises.

  8. Effect of DEM resolution on rainfall-triggered landslide modeling within a triangulated network-based model. A case study in the Luquillo Forest, Puerto Rico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnone, E.; Dialynas, Y. G.; Noto, L. V.; Bras, R. L.

    2013-12-01

    Catchment slope distribution is one of the topographic characteristics that significantly control rainfall-triggered landslide modeling, in both direct and indirect ways. Slope directly determines the soil volume associated with instability. Indirectly slope also affects the subsurface lateral redistribution of soil moisture across the basin, which in turn determines the water pore pressure conditions that impact slope stability. In this study, we investigate the influence of DEM resolution on slope stability and the slope stability analysis by using a distributed eco-hydrological and landslide model, the tRIBS-VEGGIE (Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator - VEGetation Generator for Interactive Evolution). The model implements a triangulated irregular network to describe the topography, and it is capable of evaluating vegetation dynamics and predicting shallow landslides triggered by rainfall. The impact of DEM resolution on the landslide prediction was studied using five TINs derived from five grid DEMs at different resolutions, i.e. 10, 20, 30, 50 and 70 m respectively. The analysis was carried out on the Mameyes Basin, located in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico, where previous landslide analyses have been carried out. Results showed that the use of the irregular mesh reduced the loss of accuracy in the derived slope distribution when coarser resolutions were used. The impact of the different resolutions on soil moisture patterns was important only when the lateral redistribution was considerable, depending on hydrological properties and rainfall forcing. In some cases, the use of different DEM resolutions did not significantly affect tRIBS-VEGGIE landslide output, in terms of landslide locations, and values of slope and soil moisture at failure.

  9. Safety of railroad passenger vehicle dynamics : OMNISIM simulation and test correlations for passenger rail cars

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-07-01

    The purpose of the work is to validate the safety assessment methodology previously developed for passenger rail vehicle dynamics, which requires the application of simulation tools as well as testing of vehicles under different track scenarios. This...

  10. A Case Study of Dynamic Response Analysis and Safety Assessment for a Suspended Monorail System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Yulong; Li, Yongle; Ding, Jiajie

    2016-11-10

    A suspended monorail transit system is a category of urban rail transit, which is effective in alleviating traffic pressure and injury prevention. Meanwhile, with the advantages of low cost and short construction time, suspended monorail transit systems show vast potential for future development. However, the suspended monorail has not been systematically studied in China, and there is a lack of relevant knowledge and analytical methods. To ensure the health and reliability of a suspended monorail transit system, the driving safety of vehicles and structure dynamic behaviors when vehicles are running on the bridge should be analyzed and evaluated. Based on the method of vehicle-bridge coupling vibration theory, the finite element method (FEM) software ANSYS and multi-body dynamics software SIMPACK are adopted respectively to establish the finite element model for bridge and the multi-body vehicle. A co-simulation method is employed to investigate the vehicle-bridge coupling vibration for the transit system. The traffic operation factors, including train formation, track irregularity and tire stiffness, are incorporated into the models separately to analyze the bridge and vehicle responses. The results show that the coupling of dynamic effects of the suspended monorail system between vehicle and bridge are significant in the case studied, and it is strongly suggested to take necessary measures for vibration suppression. The simulation of track irregularity is a critical factor for its vibration safety, and the track irregularity of A-level road roughness negatively influences the system vibration safety.

  11. A Case Study of Dynamic Response Analysis and Safety Assessment for a Suspended Monorail System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulong Bao

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available A suspended monorail transit system is a category of urban rail transit, which is effective in alleviating traffic pressure and injury prevention. Meanwhile, with the advantages of low cost and short construction time, suspended monorail transit systems show vast potential for future development. However, the suspended monorail has not been systematically studied in China, and there is a lack of relevant knowledge and analytical methods. To ensure the health and reliability of a suspended monorail transit system, the driving safety of vehicles and structure dynamic behaviors when vehicles are running on the bridge should be analyzed and evaluated. Based on the method of vehicle-bridge coupling vibration theory, the finite element method (FEM software ANSYS and multi-body dynamics software SIMPACK are adopted respectively to establish the finite element model for bridge and the multi-body vehicle. A co-simulation method is employed to investigate the vehicle-bridge coupling vibration for the transit system. The traffic operation factors, including train formation, track irregularity and tire stiffness, are incorporated into the models separately to analyze the bridge and vehicle responses. The results show that the coupling of dynamic effects of the suspended monorail system between vehicle and bridge are significant in the case studied, and it is strongly suggested to take necessary measures for vibration suppression. The simulation of track irregularity is a critical factor for its vibration safety, and the track irregularity of A-level road roughness negatively influences the system vibration safety.

  12. Modification of the laser triangulation method for measuring the thickness of optical layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khramov, V. N.; Adamov, A. A.

    2018-04-01

    The problem of determining the thickness of thin films by the method of laser triangulation is considered. An expression is derived for the film thickness and the distance between the focused beams on the photo detector. The possibility of applying the chosen method for measuring thickness is in the range [0.1; 1] mm. We could resolve 2 individual light marks for a minimum film thickness of 0.23 mm. We resolved with the help of computer processing of photos with a resolution of 0.10 mm. The obtained results can be used in ophthalmology for express diagnostics during surgical operations on the corneal layer.

  13. Development of the delyed-neutron triangulation technique for locating failed fuel in LMFBR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kryter, R.C.

    1975-01-01

    Two major accomplishments of the ORNL delayed neutron triangulation program are (1) an analysis of anticipated detector counting rates and sensitivities to unclad fuel and erosion types of pin failure, and (2) an experimental assessment of the accuracy with which the position of failed fuel can be determined in the FFTF (this was performed in a quarter-scale water mockup of realistic outlet plenum geometry using electrolyte injections and conductivity cells to simulate delayed-neutron precursor releases and detections, respectively). The major results and conclusions from these studies are presented, along with plans for further DNT development work at ORNL for the FFTF and CRBR. (author)

  14. The structure of chromatic polynomials of planar triangulations and implications for chromatic zeros and asymptotic limiting quantities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrock, Robert; Xu Yan

    2012-01-01

    We present an analysis of the structure and properties of chromatic polynomials P(G pt,m-vector, q) of one-parameter and multi-parameter families of planar triangulation graphs G pt,m-vector , where m-vector = (m 1 ,…,m p ) is a vector of integer parameters. We use these to study the ratio of |P(G pt,m-vector, τ+1)| to the Tutte upper bound (τ − 1) n−5 , where τ=(1+√5)/2 and n is the number of vertices in G pt,m-vector . In particular, we calculate limiting values of this ratio as n → ∞ for various families of planar triangulations. We also use our calculations to analyze zeros of these chromatic polynomials. We study a large class of families G pt,m-vector with p = 1 and p = 2 and show that these have a structure of the form P(G pt,m ,q) = c G pt ,1 λ 1 m + c G pt ,2 λ 2 m + c G pt ,3 λ 3 m for p = 1, where λ 1 = q − 2, λ 2 = q − 3, and λ 3 = −1, and P(G pt,m-vector ,q) =Σ i 1 =1 3 Σ i 2 =1 3 c G pt ,i 1 i 2 λ i 1 m 1 λ i 2 m 2 for p = 2. We derive properties of the coefficients c G pt ,i-vector and show that P(G pt,m-vector ,q) has a real chromatic zero that approaches (1/2)(3+√5) as one or more of the m i → ∞. The generalization to p ⩾ 3 is given. Further, we present a one-parameter family of planar triangulations with real zeros that approach 3 from below as m → ∞. Implications for the ground-state entropy of the Potts antiferromagnet are discussed. (paper)

  15. Assessment of behavioral changes associated with oral meloxicam administration at time of dehorning in calves using a remote triangulation device and accelerometers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theurer Miles E

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dehorning is common in the cattle industry, and there is a need for research evaluating pain mitigation techniques. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oral meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, on cattle behavior post-dehorning by monitoring the percent of time spent standing, walking, and lying in specific locations within the pen using accelerometers and a remote triangulation device. Twelve calves approximately ten weeks of age were randomized into 2 treatment groups (meloxicam or control in a complete block design by body weight. Six calves were orally administered 0.5 mg/kg meloxicam at the time of dehorning and six calves served as negative controls. All calves were dehorned using thermocautery and behavior of each calf was continuously monitored for 7 days after dehorning using accelerometers and a remote triangulation device. Accelerometers monitored lying behavior and the remote triangulation device was used to monitor each calf’s movement within the pen. Results Analysis of behavioral data revealed significant interactions between treatment (meloxicam vs. control and the number of days post dehorning. Calves that received meloxicam spent more time at the grain bunk on trial days 2 and 6 post-dehorning; spent more time lying down on days 1, 2, 3, and 4; and less time at the hay feeder on days 0 and 1 compared to the control group. Meloxicam calves tended to walk more at the beginning and end of the trial compared to the control group. By day 5, the meloxicam and control group exhibited similar behaviors. Conclusions The noted behavioral changes provide evidence of differences associated with meloxicam administration. More studies need to be performed to evaluate the relationship of behavior monitoring and post-operative pain. To our knowledge this is the first published report demonstrating behavioral changes following dehorning using a remote triangulation device in conjunction

  16. TRIANGULATION OF THE INTERSTELLAR MAGNETIC FIELD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schwadron, N. A.; Moebius, E. [University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 (United States); Richardson, J. D. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Burlaga, L. F. [Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); McComas, D. J. [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78228 (United States)

    2015-11-01

    Determining the direction of the local interstellar magnetic field (LISMF) is important for understanding the heliosphere’s global structure, the properties of the interstellar medium, and the propagation of cosmic rays in the local galactic medium. Measurements of interstellar neutral atoms by Ulysses for He and by SOHO/SWAN for H provided some of the first observational insights into the LISMF direction. Because secondary neutral H is partially deflected by the interstellar flow in the outer heliosheath and this deflection is influenced by the LISMF, the relative deflection of H versus He provides a plane—the so-called B–V plane in which the LISMF direction should lie. Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) subsequently discovered a ribbon, the center of which is conjectured to be the LISMF direction. The most recent He velocity measurements from IBEX and those from Ulysses yield a B–V plane with uncertainty limits that contain the centers of the IBEX ribbon at 0.7–2.7 keV. The possibility that Voyager 1 has moved into the outer heliosheath now suggests that Voyager 1's direct observations provide another independent determination of the LISMF. We show that LISMF direction measured by Voyager 1 is >40° off from the IBEX ribbon center and the B–V plane. Taking into account the temporal gradient of the field direction measured by Voyager 1, we extrapolate to a field direction that passes directly through the IBEX ribbon center (0.7–2.7 keV) and the B–V plane, allowing us to triangulate the LISMF direction and estimate the gradient scale size of the magnetic field.

  17. The Extraction of Road Boundary from Crowdsourcing Trajectory Using Constrained Delaunay Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YANG Wei

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Extraction of road boundary accurately from crowdsourcing trajectory lines is still a hard work.Therefore,this study presented a new approach to use vehicle trajectory lines to extract road boundary.Firstly, constructing constrained Delaunay triangulation within interpolated track lines to calculate road boundary descriptors using triangle edge length and Voronoi cell.Road boundary recognition model was established by integrating the two boundary descriptors.Then,based on seed polygons,a regional growing method was proposed to extract road boundary. Finally, taxi GPS traces in Beijing were used to verify the validity of the novel method, and the results also showed that our method was suitable for GPS traces with disparity density,complex road structure and different time interval.

  18. Probabilistic safety assessment based expert systems in support of dynamic risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varde, P.V.; Sharma, U.L.; Marik, S.K.; Raina, V.K.; Tikku, A.C.

    2006-01-01

    Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies are being performed, world over as part of integrated risk assessment for Nuclear Power Plants and in many cases PSA insight is utilized in support of decision making. Though the modern plants are built with inherent safety provisions, particularly to reduce the supervisory requirements during initial period into the accident, it is always desired to develop an efficient user friendly real-time operator advisory system for handling of plant transients/emergencies which would be of immense benefit for the enhancement of operational safety of the plant. This paper discusses an integrated approach for the development of operator support system. In this approach, PSA methodology and the insight obtained from PSA has been utilized for development of knowledge based or rule based experts system. While Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach has been employed for transient identification, rule-base expert system shell environment was used for the development of diagnostic module in this system. Attempt has been made to demonstrate that this approach offers an efficient framework for addressing requirements related to handling of real-time/dynamic scenario. (author)

  19. Development of a dynamical systems model of plant programmatic performance on nuclear power plant safety risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hess, Stephen M.; Albano, Alfonso M.; Gaertner, John P.

    2005-01-01

    Application of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) techniques to model nuclear power plant accident sequences has provided a significant contribution to understanding the potential initiating events, equipment failures and operator errors that can lead to core damage accidents. Application of the lessons learned from these analyses has resulted in significant improvements in plant operation and safety. However, this approach has not been nearly as successful in addressing the impact of plant processes and management effectiveness on the risks of plant operation. The research described in this paper presents an alternative approach to addressing this issue. In this paper we propose a dynamical systems model that describes the interaction of important plant processes on nuclear safety risk. We discuss development of the mathematical model including the identification and interpretation of significant inter-process interactions. Next, we review the techniques applicable to analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems that are utilized in the characterization of the model. This is followed by a preliminary analysis of the model that demonstrates that its dynamical evolution displays features that have been observed at commercially operating plants. From this analysis, several significant insights are presented with respect to the effective control of nuclear safety risk. As an important example, analysis of the model dynamics indicates that significant benefits in effectively managing risk are obtained by integrating the plant operation and work management processes such that decisions are made utilizing a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach. We note that although the model was developed specifically to be applicable to nuclear power plants, many of the insights and conclusions obtained are likely applicable to other process industries

  20. Validation of programmable industrial automation systems for safety critical applications in NPP's; dynamic testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haapanen, P.; Korhonen, J.

    1995-01-01

    The safety assessment of programmable automation systems cannot be totally be based on conventional probabilistic methods because of the difficulties in quantification of the reliability of the software as well as the hardware. Additional means shall therefore be used to gain more confidence on the system dependability. One central confidence building measure is the independent dynamic testing of the completed system. An automated test harness is needed to run the required large amount of test cases in a restricted time span. This paper describes a prototype dynamic testing harness for programmable digital systems developed at VTT. (author). 12 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

  1. Two Strategies for Qualitative Content Analysis: An Intramethod Approach to Triangulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renz, Susan M; Carrington, Jane M; Badger, Terry A

    2018-04-01

    The overarching aim of qualitative research is to gain an understanding of certain social phenomena. Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of empirical materials, all to describe moments and meanings in individuals' lives. Data derived from these various materials require a form of analysis of the content, focusing on written or spoken language as communication, to provide context and understanding of the message. Qualitative research often involves the collection of data through extensive interviews, note taking, and tape recording. These methods are time- and labor-intensive. With the advances in computerized text analysis software, the practice of combining methods to analyze qualitative data can assist the researcher in making large data sets more manageable and enhance the trustworthiness of the results. This article will describe a novel process of combining two methods of qualitative data analysis, or Intramethod triangulation, as a means to provide a deeper analysis of text.

  2. Branches of Triangulated Origami Near the Unfolded State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryan Gin-ge Chen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Origami structures are characterized by a network of folds and vertices joining unbendable plates. For applications to mechanical design and self-folding structures, it is essential to understand the interplay between the set of folds in the unfolded origami and the possible 3D folded configurations. When deforming a structure that has been folded, one can often linearize the geometric constraints, but the degeneracy of the unfolded state makes a linear approach impossible there. We derive a theory for the second-order infinitesimal rigidity of an initially unfolded triangulated origami structure and use it to study the set of nearly unfolded configurations of origami with four boundary vertices. We find that locally, this set consists of a number of distinct “branches” which intersect at the unfolded state, and that the number of these branches is exponential in the number of vertices. We find numerical and analytical evidence that suggests that the branches are characterized by choosing each internal vertex to either “pop up” or “pop down.” The large number of pathways along which one can fold an initially unfolded origami structure strongly indicates that a generic structure is likely to become trapped in a “misfolded” state. Thus, new techniques for creating self-folding origami are likely necessary; controlling the popping state of the vertices may be one possibility.

  3. Branches of Triangulated Origami Near the Unfolded State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bryan Gin-ge; Santangelo, Christian D.

    2018-01-01

    Origami structures are characterized by a network of folds and vertices joining unbendable plates. For applications to mechanical design and self-folding structures, it is essential to understand the interplay between the set of folds in the unfolded origami and the possible 3D folded configurations. When deforming a structure that has been folded, one can often linearize the geometric constraints, but the degeneracy of the unfolded state makes a linear approach impossible there. We derive a theory for the second-order infinitesimal rigidity of an initially unfolded triangulated origami structure and use it to study the set of nearly unfolded configurations of origami with four boundary vertices. We find that locally, this set consists of a number of distinct "branches" which intersect at the unfolded state, and that the number of these branches is exponential in the number of vertices. We find numerical and analytical evidence that suggests that the branches are characterized by choosing each internal vertex to either "pop up" or "pop down." The large number of pathways along which one can fold an initially unfolded origami structure strongly indicates that a generic structure is likely to become trapped in a "misfolded" state. Thus, new techniques for creating self-folding origami are likely necessary; controlling the popping state of the vertices may be one possibility.

  4. Discrepancies between qualitative and quantitative evaluation of randomised controlled trial results: achieving clarity through mixed methods triangulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonkin-Crine, Sarah; Anthierens, Sibyl; Hood, Kerenza; Yardley, Lucy; Cals, Jochen W L; Francis, Nick A; Coenen, Samuel; van der Velden, Alike W; Godycki-Cwirko, Maciek; Llor, Carl; Butler, Chris C; Verheij, Theo J M; Goossens, Herman; Little, Paul

    2016-05-12

    Mixed methods are commonly used in health services research; however, data are not often integrated to explore complementarity of findings. A triangulation protocol is one approach to integrating such data. A retrospective triangulation protocol was carried out on mixed methods data collected as part of a process evaluation of a trial. The multi-country randomised controlled trial found that a web-based training in communication skills (including use of a patient booklet) and the use of a C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care test decreased antibiotic prescribing by general practitioners (GPs) for acute cough. The process evaluation investigated GPs' and patients' experiences of taking part in the trial. Three analysts independently compared findings across four data sets: qualitative data collected view semi-structured interviews with (1) 62 patients and (2) 66 GPs and quantitative data collected via questionnaires with (3) 2886 patients and (4) 346 GPs. Pairwise comparisons were made between data sets and were categorised as agreement, partial agreement, dissonance or silence. Three instances of dissonance occurred in 39 independent findings. GPs and patients reported different views on the use of a CRP test. GPs felt that the test was useful in convincing patients to accept a no-antibiotic decision, but patient data suggested that this was unnecessary if a full explanation was given. Whilst qualitative data indicated all patients were generally satisfied with their consultation, quantitative data indicated highest levels of satisfaction for those receiving a detailed explanation from their GP with a booklet giving advice on self-care. Both qualitative and quantitative data sets indicated higher patient enablement for those in the communication groups who had received a booklet. Use of CRP tests does not appear to engage patients or influence illness perceptions and its effect is more centred on changing clinician behaviour. Communication skills and the patient

  5. Annual progress report FY 1977. [Computer calculations of light water reactor dynamics and safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, K.F.; Henry, A.F.

    1977-07-01

    Progress is summarized in a project directed toward development of numerical methods suitable for the computer solution of problems in reactor dynamics and safety. Specific areas of research include methods of integration of the time-dependent diffusion equations by finite difference and finite element methods; representation of reactor properties by various homogenization procedures; application of synthesis methods; and development of response matrix techniques.

  6. Dynamics and inherent safety features of small modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrington, R.M.; Ball, S.J.; Cleveland, J.C.

    1986-01-01

    Investigations were made at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to characterize the dynamics and inherent safety features of various modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designs. This work was sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's HTGR Safety Research program. The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Gas Cooled Reactor Associates (GCRA) have sponsored studies of several modular HTGR concepts, each having it own unique advantageous economic and inherent safety features. The DOE design team has recently choses a 350-MW(t) annular core with prismatic, graphite matrix fuel for its reference plant. The various safety features of this plant and of the pebble-bed core designs similar to those currently being developed and operated in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) are described. A varity of postulated accident sequences involving combinations of loss of forced circulation of the helium primary coolant, loss of primary coolant pressurization, and loss of normal and backup heat sinks were studied and are discussed. Results demonstrate that each concept can withstand an uncontrolled heatup accident without reaching excessive peak fuel temperatures. Comparisons of calculated and measured response for a loss of forced circulation test on the FRG reactor, AVR, are also presented. 10 refs

  7. Zur Rekonstruktion einer Typologie jugendlichen Medienhandelns gemäß dem Leitbild der Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klaus Peter Treumann

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Die im Folgenden dargestellten Ergebnisse sind im Rahmen des von der DFG geförderten Forschungsprojekts „Eine Untersuchung zum Mediennutzungsverhalten 12- bis 20-Jähriger und zur Entwicklung von Medienkompetenz im Jugendalter“ entstanden, das gemeinsam von Klaus Peter Treumann, Uwe Sander und Dorothee Meister geleitet wird. Das Forschungsprojekt untersucht das Medienhandeln Jugendlicher sowohl hinsichtlich Neuer als auch alter Medien. Zum einen fragen wir dabei nach den Ausprägungen von Medienkompetenz in verschiedenen Dimensionen und zum anderen konzentrieren wir uns auf die Entwicklung einer empirisch fundierten Typologie jugendlichen Medienhandelns. Methodologisch ist die Untersuchung an dem Leitbild der Triangulation orientiert und kombiniert qualitative und quantitative Zugänge zum Forschungsfeld in Form von Gruppendiskussionen, leitfadengestützten Einzelinterviews und einer Repräsentativerhebung.

  8. Validation of programmable industrial automation systems for safety critical applications in NPP's dynamic testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haapanen, P.; Korhonen, J.

    1995-01-01

    The safety assessment of programmable automation systems can not totally be based on conventional probabilistic methods because of the difficulties in quantification of the reliability of the software as well as the hardware. Additional means shall therefore be used to gain more confidence on the system dependability. One central confidence building measure is the independent dynamic testing of the completed system. An automated test harness is needed to run the required large amount of test cases in a restricted time span. The prototype dynamic testing harness for programmable digital systems developed at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) is described in the presentation. (12 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.)

  9. A dynamic fail-safe approach to the design of computer-based safety systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, I.C.; Miller, M.

    1994-01-01

    For over 30 years AEA Technology has carried out research and development in the field of nuclear instrumentation and protection systems. Throughout the course of this extensive period of research and development the dominant theme has been the achievement of fully fail-safe designs. These are defined as designs in which the failure of any single component will result in the unit output reverting to a demand for trip action status. At an early stage it was recognized that the use of dynamic rather than static logic could ease the difficulties inherent in achieving a fail-safe design. The first dynamic logic systems coupled logic elements magnetically. The paper outlines the evolution from these early concepts of a dynamic fail-safe approach to the design of computer-based safety systems. Details are given of collaboration between AEA Technology and Duke Power Co. to mount an ISAT TM demonstration at Duke's Oconee Nuclear Power Station

  10. Quadtree of TIN: a new algorithm of dynamic LOD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Junfeng; Fei, Lifan; Chen, Zhen

    2009-10-01

    Currently, Real-time visualization of large-scale digital elevation model mainly employs the regular structure of GRID based on quadtree and triangle simplification methods based on irregular triangulated network (TIN). TIN is a refined means to express the terrain surface in the computer science, compared with GRID. However, the data structure of TIN model is complex, and is difficult to realize view-dependence representation of level of detail (LOD) quickly. GRID is a simple method to realize the LOD of terrain, but contains more triangle count. A new algorithm, which takes full advantage of the two methods' merit, is presented in this paper. This algorithm combines TIN with quadtree structure to realize the view-dependence LOD controlling over the irregular sampling point sets, and holds the details through the distance of viewpoint and the geometric error of terrain. Experiments indicate that this approach can generate an efficient quadtree triangulation hierarchy over any irregular sampling point sets and achieve dynamic and visual multi-resolution performance of large-scale terrain at real-time.

  11. Rule-based Dynamic Safety Monitoring for Mobile Robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adam, Marian Sorin; Larsen, Morten; Jensen, Kjeld

    2016-01-01

    Safety is a key challenge in robotics, in particular for mobile robots operating in an open and unpredictable environment. Safety certification is desired for commercial robots, but no existing approaches for addressing the safety challenge provide a clearly specified and isolated safety layer......, defined in an easily understandable way for facilitating safety certification. In this paper, we propose that functional-safety-critical concerns regarding the robot software be explicitly declared separately from the main program, in terms of externally observable properties of the software. Concretely...

  12. Implementing an interprofessional patient safety learning initiative: insights from participants, project leads and steering committee members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffs, Lianne; Abramovich, Ilona Alex; Hayes, Chris; Smith, Orla; Tregunno, Deborah; Chan, Wai-Hin; Reeves, Scott

    2013-11-01

    Effective teamwork and interprofessional collaboration are vital for healthcare quality and safety; however, challenges persist in creating interprofessional teamwork and resilient professional teams. A study was undertaken to delineate perceptions of individuals involved with the implementation of an interprofessional patient safety competency-based intervention and intervention participants. The study employed a qualitative study design that triangulated data from interviews with six steering committee members and five members of the project team who developed and monitored the intervention and six focus groups with clinical team members who participated in the intervention and implemented local patient safety projects within a large teaching hospital in Canada. Our study findings reveal that healthcare professionals and support staff acquired patient safety competencies in an interprofessional context that can result in improved patient and work flow processes. However, key challenges exist including managing projects amidst competing priorities, lacking physician engagement and sustaining projects. Our findings point to leaders to provide opportunities for healthcare teams to engage in interprofessional teamwork and patient safety projects to improve quality of patient care. Further research efforts should examine the sustainability of interprofessional safety projects and how leaders can more fully engage the participation of all professions, specifically physicians.

  13. Tle Triangulation Campaign by Japanese High School Students as a Space Educational Project of the Ssh Consortium Kochi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Masa-Yuki; Okamoto, Sumito; Miyoshi, Terunori; Takamura, Yuzaburo; Aoshima, Akira; Hinokuchi, Jin

    As one of the space educational projects in Japan, a triangulation observation project of TLE (Transient Luminous Events: sprites, elves, blue-jets, etc.) has been carried out since 2006 in collaboration between 29 Super Science High-schools (SSH) and Kochi University of Technol-ogy (KUT). Following with previous success of sprite observations by "Astro High-school" since 2004, the SSH consortium Kochi was established as a national space educational project sup-ported by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). High-sensitivity CCD camera (Watec, Neptune-100) with 6 mm F/1.4 C-mount lens (Fujinon) and motion-detective software (UFO-Capture, SonotaCo) were given to each participating team in order to monitor Northern night sky of Japan with almost full-coverage. During each school year (from April to March in Japan) since 2006, thousands of TLE images were taken by many student teams, with considerably large numbers of successful triangulations, i.e., (School year, Numbers of TLE observations, Numbers of triangulations) are (2006, 43, 3), (2007, 441, 95), (2008, 734, 115), and (2009, 337, 78). Note that, school year in Japan begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. The observation campaign began in December 2006, numbers are as of Feb. 28, 2010. Recently, some high schools started wide field observations using multiple cameras, and others started VLF observations using handmade loop antennae and amplifiers. Infomation exchange among the SSH consortium Kochi is frequently communicated with scientific discussion via KUT's mailing lists. Also, interactions with amateur observers in Japan are made through an internet forum of "SonotaCo Network Japan" (http://sonotaco.jp). Not only as an educational project but also as a scientific one, the project is also in success. In February 2008, simultaneous observations of Elves were obtained, in November 2009 a Giant "Graft-shaped" Sprites driven by Jets was clearly imaged with VLF signals. Most recently, ob-servations of Elves

  14. Source parameters for the 1952 Kern County earthquake, California: A joint inversion of leveling and triangulation observations

    OpenAIRE

    Bawden, Gerald W.

    2001-01-01

    Coseismic leveling and triangulation observations are used to determine the faulting geometry and slip distribution of the July 21, 1952, Mw 7.3 Kern County earthquake on the White Wolf fault. A singular value decomposition inversion is used to assess the ability of the geodetic network to resolve slip along a multisegment fault and shows that the network is sufficient to resolve slip along the surface rupture to a depth of 10 km. Below 10 km, the network can only resolve dip slip near the fa...

  15. Seismic safety of Paks nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katona, T.

    1995-01-01

    This paper contains an overview of the results concerning the following activities: investigation of methods, regulations and techniques for reassessment of seismic safety of operating NPPs and upgrading of safety; investigation of earthquake hazards; development of concept for creation of the seismic safety location of earthquake warning system; determination of dynamic features of systems and facilities determined by the concept and preliminary evaluation of the seismic safety. It is limited on investigation of dynamic features of building structures, the building dynamical experiments and experimental investigation of the equipment

  16. Pump safety device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timmermans, Francis; Vandervorst, Jean.

    1981-01-01

    Safety device for longitudinally leak proofing the shaft of a pump in the event of the fracture of the dynamic seal separating the pump fluid high pressure chamber from the low pressure chamber. It is designed for fitting to the primary pumps of nuclear reactors. It includes a hollow cyclindrical piston located coaxially around the pump shaft and normally housed in a chamber provided for this purpose in the fixed housing of the dynamic seal, and means for moving this piston coaxially so as to compress a safety O ring between the shaft and the piston in the event of the dynamic seal failing [fr

  17. The Climate Change-Road Safety-Economy Nexus: A System Dynamics Approach to Understanding Complex Interdependencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Alirezaei

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Road accidents have the highest externality costs to society and to the economy, even when compared to the externality damages associated with air emissions and oil dependency. Road safety is one of the most complicated topics, which involves many interdependencies, and so, a sufficiently thorough analysis of roadway safety will require a novel system-based approach in which the associated feedback relationships and causal effects are given appropriate consideration. The factors affecting accident frequency and severity are highly dependent on economic parameters, environmental factors and weather conditions. In this study, we try to use a system dynamics modeling approach to model the climate change-road safety-economy nexus, thereby investigating the complex interactions among these important areas by tracking how they affect each other over time. For this purpose, five sub-models are developed to model each aspect of the overall nexus and to interact with each other to simulate the overall system. As a result, this comprehensive model can provide a platform for policy makers to test the effectiveness of different policy scenarios to reduce the negative consequences of traffic accidents and improve road safety.

  18. Delaunay Triangulation as a New Coverage Measurement Method in Wireless Sensor Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chizari, Hassan; Hosseini, Majid; Poston, Timothy; Razak, Shukor Abd; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan

    2011-01-01

    Sensing and communication coverage are among the most important trade-offs in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) design. A minimum bound of sensing coverage is vital in scheduling, target tracking and redeployment phases, as well as providing communication coverage. Some methods measure the coverage as a percentage value, but detailed information has been missing. Two scenarios with equal coverage percentage may not have the same Quality of Coverage (QoC). In this paper, we propose a new coverage measurement method using Delaunay Triangulation (DT). This can provide the value for all coverage measurement tools. Moreover, it categorizes sensors as ‘fat’, ‘healthy’ or ‘thin’ to show the dense, optimal and scattered areas. It can also yield the largest empty area of sensors in the field. Simulation results show that the proposed DT method can achieve accurate coverage information, and provides many tools to compare QoC between different scenarios. PMID:22163792

  19. Triangulation and Gender Perspectives in ‘Falling Man’ by Don DeLillo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noemi Abe

    2011-09-01

    Susannah Radstone argues that the rhetorical response to 9/11 by the Bush administration is based on the opposition of two father figures: “the 'chastened' but powerful 'good' patriarchal father” Vs. “the 'bad' archaic father”. She explains: “In this Manichean fantasy can be glimpsed the continuing battle between competing versions of masculinity” (2002:459 that leaves women on the margins. The battle of the fathers of Bush’s rhetoric is counterposed in Falling Man by a battle between two men that stands for an unaccomplished fatherhood. Furthermore, the dualistic vision engendered by post-9/11 rhetoric and reflected in the novel should be evaluated in a trilateral dimension, given that at its core lies a triangulation built upon three stereotypical representations: the white middle-class man; the Arab terrorist; and a composite character in the middle, the woman, who shifts from ally, to victim, to a plausible supporter of the enemy.

  20. A study on design of the trip computer for ECCS based on dynamic safety system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seog Nam

    2000-02-01

    The Emergency Core Cooling system in current nuclear power plants typically has a considerable number of complex functions and largely cumbersome operator interfaces. Functions for initiation, switch-over between various phases of operation, interlocks, monitoring, and alarming are usually performed by relay and analog comparator logic which is difficult to maintain and test. To improve problems of an analog based ECC (Emergency Core Cooling) System, the trip computer for ECCS based on Dynamic Safety System is implemented. The Dynamic Safety System (DSS) is a computer based reactor protection system that has fail-safe nature and performs a dynamic self-testing. The most important feature of the DSS is the introduction of test signal that send the system into a tripped state. The test signals are interleaved between the plant signals to produce an output which switches between a tripped and health state. The dynamic operation is a key feature of the failsafe design of the system. In this thesis, a possible implementation of the DSS using PLC is presented for a CANDU reactor. ECC System of the CANDU Reactor is selected as the reference system. The function of the DSS is implemented In PLC with the CONCEPT language. CONCEPT was developed by GROUPE SCHNEIDER as a graphic user interface programming tool for the Quantum PLC. A MMI display for ECCS based on DSS is implemented with LOOKOUT as an object driven programming tool. The Validation test has been performed by S/W Input Simulator as per Validation Test Procedure. The result of the test was checked and displayed on the MMI display. From the test results, it is shown that the DSS based ECC System operates correctly in all conditions

  1. Application of dynamic probabilistic safety assessment approach for accident sequence precursor analysis: Case study for steam generator tube rupture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Han Sul; Heo, Gyun Young [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Wan [Incheon National University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    The purpose of this research is to introduce the technical standard of accident sequence precursor (ASP) analysis, and to propose a case study using the dynamic-probabilistic safety assessment (D-PSA) approach. The D-PSA approach can aid in the determination of high-risk/low-frequency accident scenarios from all potential scenarios. It can also be used to investigate the dynamic interaction between the physical state and the actions of the operator in an accident situation for risk quantification. This approach lends significant potential for safety analysis. Furthermore, the D-PSA approach provides a more realistic risk assessment by minimizing assumptions used in the conventional PSA model so-called the static-PSA model, which are relatively static in comparison. We performed risk quantification of a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident using the dynamic event tree (DET) methodology, which is the most widely used methodology in D-PSA. The risk quantification results of D-PSA and S-PSA are compared and evaluated. Suggestions and recommendations for using D-PSA are described in order to provide a technical perspective.

  2. Application of dynamic probabilistic safety assessment approach for accident sequence precursor analysis: Case study for steam generator tube rupture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Han Sul; Heo, Gyun Young; Kim, Tae Wan

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to introduce the technical standard of accident sequence precursor (ASP) analysis, and to propose a case study using the dynamic-probabilistic safety assessment (D-PSA) approach. The D-PSA approach can aid in the determination of high-risk/low-frequency accident scenarios from all potential scenarios. It can also be used to investigate the dynamic interaction between the physical state and the actions of the operator in an accident situation for risk quantification. This approach lends significant potential for safety analysis. Furthermore, the D-PSA approach provides a more realistic risk assessment by minimizing assumptions used in the conventional PSA model so-called the static-PSA model, which are relatively static in comparison. We performed risk quantification of a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident using the dynamic event tree (DET) methodology, which is the most widely used methodology in D-PSA. The risk quantification results of D-PSA and S-PSA are compared and evaluated. Suggestions and recommendations for using D-PSA are described in order to provide a technical perspective

  3. SOFTWARE MODULE FOR CONSTRUCTING THE INTERSECTION OF TRIANGULATED SURFACES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir V. Kurgansky

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The effective algorithm is proposed for implementing Boolean operations over triangulated surfaces, namely, disjunction, conjunction and Boolean difference, and its software implementation. The idea consists in as follow. The first step is to determine pairs of intersecting triangles: localizing the intersection of the two surfaces using the bounding volume of the parallelepipeds and the future of their intersection. The second step is constructing an intersection line for each pair of triangles: a pair of intersecting triangles is selected, and the segment along which they intersect is constructed. Further, thanks to the entered data structure, "adjacent" triangles are selected, among which are selected those that form the intersecting pair. The process described above continues as long as such triangles can be detected. After that the triangles involved in the intersection are retriangulated. For each triangle, all the edges are known on which it intersects with triangles from another surface. These edges are structural edges in the triangulation problem with constraints for a given triangle. The third step is to combine all surfaces into one surface. Further, subsurfaces are constructed along the loops of intersection limited by the found loops. Since the intersection line of the surfaces was constructed in sequence, it is possible to specify the direction of each edge. Any edge from the intersection line is selected. The triangle is added to the subsurface under construction, which includes this edge and its orientation is the same as the direction of the edge. The edge which was selected previously is deleted from intersection line, but two new edges are added is the remaining edges of added triangle. The third step is to combine all surfaces into one surface. Further, subsurfaces are constructed along the cycles of intersection limited by the found cycles. Since the intersection line of the surfaces was constructed in sequence, it is

  4. Spectral triangulation: a 3D method for locating single-walled carbon nanotubes in vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ching-Wei; Bachilo, Sergei M.; Vu, Michael; Beckingham, Kathleen M.; Bruce Weisman, R.

    2016-05-01

    Nanomaterials with luminescence in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) region are of special interest for biological research and medical diagnostics because of favorable tissue transparency and low autofluorescence backgrounds in that region. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) show well-known sharp SWIR spectral signatures and therefore have potential for noninvasive detection and imaging of cancer tumours, when linked to selective targeting agents such as antibodies. However, such applications face the challenge of sensitively detecting and localizing the source of SWIR emission from inside tissues. A new method, called spectral triangulation, is presented for three dimensional (3D) localization using sparse optical measurements made at the specimen surface. Structurally unsorted SWCNT samples emitting over a range of wavelengths are excited inside tissue phantoms by an LED matrix. The resulting SWIR emission is sampled at points on the surface by a scanning fibre optic probe leading to an InGaAs spectrometer or a spectrally filtered InGaAs avalanche photodiode detector. Because of water absorption, attenuation of the SWCNT fluorescence in tissues is strongly wavelength-dependent. We therefore gauge the SWCNT-probe distance by analysing differential changes in the measured SWCNT emission spectra. SWCNT fluorescence can be clearly detected through at least 20 mm of tissue phantom, and the 3D locations of embedded SWCNT test samples are found with sub-millimeter accuracy at depths up to 10 mm. Our method can also distinguish and locate two embedded SWCNT sources at distinct positions.Nanomaterials with luminescence in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) region are of special interest for biological research and medical diagnostics because of favorable tissue transparency and low autofluorescence backgrounds in that region. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) show well-known sharp SWIR spectral signatures and therefore have potential for noninvasive detection and

  5. Dynamic modeling of the tradeoff between productivity and safety in critical engineering systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowing, Michelle M.; Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, M.; Glynn, Peter W.

    2004-01-01

    Short-term tradeoffs between productivity and safety often exist in the operation of critical facilities such as nuclear power plants, offshore oil platforms, or simply individual cars. For example, interruption of operations for maintenance on demand can decrease short-term productivity but may be needed to ensure safety. Operations are interrupted for several reasons: scheduled maintenance, maintenance on demand, response to warnings, subsystem failure, or a catastrophic accident. The choice of operational procedures (e.g. timing and extent of scheduled maintenance) generally affects the probabilities of both production interruptions and catastrophic failures. In this paper, we present and illustrate a dynamic probabilistic model designed to describe the long-term evolution of such a system through the different phases of operation, shutdown, and possibly accident. The model's parameters represent explicitly the effects of different components' performance on the system's safety and reliability through an engineering probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). In addition to PRA, a Markov model is used to track the evolution of the system and its components through different performance phases. The model parameters are then linked to different operations strategies, to allow computation of the effects of each management strategy on the system's long-term productivity and safety. Decision analysis is then used to support the management of the short-term trade-offs between productivity and safety in order to maximize long-term performance. The value function is that of plant managers, within the constraints set by local utility commissions and national (e.g. energy) agencies. This model is illustrated by the case of outages (planned and unplanned) in nuclear power plants to show how it can be used to guide policy decisions regarding outage frequency and plant lifetime, and more specifically, the choice of a reactor tripping policy as a function of the state of the

  6. Quantum Gravity in Two Dimensions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ipsen, Asger Cronberg

    The topic of this thesis is quantum gravity in 1 + 1 dimensions. We will focus on two formalisms, namely Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) and Dy- namical Triangulations (DT). Both theories regularize the gravity path integral as a sum over triangulations. The difference lies in the class...

  7. Potentiation of E-4031-induced torsade de pointes by HMR1556 or ATX-II is not predicted by action potential short-term variability or triangulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, G; Dempster, J; Kane, K A; Coker, S J

    2007-12-01

    Torsade de pointes (TdP) can be induced by a reduction in cardiac repolarizing capacity. The aim of this study was to assess whether IKs blockade or enhancement of INa could potentiate TdP induced by IKr blockade and to investigate whether short-term variability (STV) or triangulation of action potentials preceded TdP. Experiments were performed in open-chest, pentobarbital-anaesthetized, alpha 1-adrenoceptor-stimulated, male New Zealand White rabbits, which received three consecutive i.v. infusions of either the IKr blocker E-4031 (1, 3 and 10 nmol kg(-1) min(-1)), the IKs blocker HMR1556 (25, 75 and 250 nmol kg(-1) min(-1)) or E-4031 and HMR1556 combined. In a second study rabbits received either the same doses of E-4031, the INa enhancer, ATX-II (0.4, 1.2 and 4.0 nmol kg(-1)) or both of these drugs. ECGs and epicardial monophasic action potentials were recorded. HMR1556 alone did not cause TdP but increased E-4031-induced TdP from 25 to 80%. ATX-II alone caused TdP in 38% of rabbits, as did E-4031; 75% of rabbits receiving both drugs had TdP. QT intervals were prolonged by all drugs but the extent of QT prolongation was not related to the occurrence of TdP. No changes in STV were detected and triangulation was only increased after TdP occurred. Giving modulators of ion channels in combination substantially increased TdP but, in this model, neither STV nor triangulation of action potentials could predict TdP.

  8. DIPS space exploration initiative safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dix, T.E.

    1991-01-01

    The Dynamic Isotope Power Subsystem has been identified for potential applications for the Space Exploration Initiative. A qualitative safety assessment has been performed to demonstrate the overall safety adequacy of the Dynamic Isotope Power Subsystem for these applications. Mission profiles were defined for reference lunar and martian flights. Accident scenarios were qualitatively defined for all mission phases. Safety issues were then identified. The safety issues included radiation exposure, fuel containment, criticality, diversion, toxic materials, heat flux to the extravehicular mobility unit, and disposal. The design was reviewed for areas where safety might be further improved. Safety would be improved by launching the fuel separate from the rest of the subsystem on expendable launch vehicles, using a fuel handling tool during unloading of the hot fuel canister, and constructing a cage-like structure around the reversible heat removal system lithium heat pipes. The results of the safety assessment indicate that the DIPS design with minor modifications will produce a low risk concept

  9. Triangulation of Qualitative Methods for the Exploration of Activity Systems in Ergonomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Hackel

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Research concerning ergonomic issues in interdisciplinary projects often raises several very specific questions depending on project objectives. To answer these questions the application of research methods should be thoroughly considered, regarding both the expenditure and the options within the scope of the given resources. The project AQUIMO develops an adaptable modelling tool for mechatronical engineering and creates a related qualification program. The task of social scientific research within this project is to identify requirements viewed from the perspective of the subsequent users. This formative evaluation is based on the approach of "developmental work research" as set forth by ENGESTRÖM and, thus, is a form of "action research". This paper discusses the triangulation of several qualitative methods addressing the examination of difficulties in interdisciplinary collaboration in mechatronical engineering. After a description of both background and analytic approach within the project AQUIMO, the methods are briefly described concerning their advantages and critical points. Their application within the research project AQUIMO is explained from an activity theoretical perspective. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0803158

  10. Computational fluid dynamic simulation of pressurizer safety valve loop seal purge phenomena in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jong Woon

    2012-01-01

    In Korean 3 Loop plants a water loop seal pipe is installed containing condensed water upstream of a pressurizer safety valve to protect the valve disk from the hot steam environment. The loop seal water purge time is a key parameter in safety analyses for overpressure transients, because it delays valve opening. The loop seal purge time is uncertain to measure by test and thus 3-dimensional realistic computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed in this paper to predict the seal water purge time before full opening of the valve which is driven by steam after water purge. The CFD model for a typical pressurizer safety valve with a loop seal pipe is developed using the computer code of ANSYS CFX 11. Steady-state simulations are performed for full discharge of steam at the valve full opening. Transient simulations are performed for the loop seal dynamics and to estimate the loop seal purge time. A sudden pressure drop higher than 2,000 psia at the tip of the upper nozzle ring is expected from the steady-state calculation. Through the transient simulation, almost loop seal water is discharged within 1.2 second through the narrow opening between the disk and the nozzle of the valve. It can be expected that the valve fully opens at least before 1.2 second because constant valve opening is assumed in this CFX simulation, which is conservative because the valve opens fully before the loop seal water is completely discharged. The predicted loop seal purge time is compared with previous correlation. (orig.)

  11. Computational fluid dynamic simulation of pressurizer safety valve loop seal purge phenomena in nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Jong Woon [Dongguk Univ., Gyeongju (Korea, Republic of). Nuclear and Energy Engineering Dept.

    2012-11-15

    In Korean 3 Loop plants a water loop seal pipe is installed containing condensed water upstream of a pressurizer safety valve to protect the valve disk from the hot steam environment. The loop seal water purge time is a key parameter in safety analyses for overpressure transients, because it delays valve opening. The loop seal purge time is uncertain to measure by test and thus 3-dimensional realistic computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed in this paper to predict the seal water purge time before full opening of the valve which is driven by steam after water purge. The CFD model for a typical pressurizer safety valve with a loop seal pipe is developed using the computer code of ANSYS CFX 11. Steady-state simulations are performed for full discharge of steam at the valve full opening. Transient simulations are performed for the loop seal dynamics and to estimate the loop seal purge time. A sudden pressure drop higher than 2,000 psia at the tip of the upper nozzle ring is expected from the steady-state calculation. Through the transient simulation, almost loop seal water is discharged within 1.2 second through the narrow opening between the disk and the nozzle of the valve. It can be expected that the valve fully opens at least before 1.2 second because constant valve opening is assumed in this CFX simulation, which is conservative because the valve opens fully before the loop seal water is completely discharged. The predicted loop seal purge time is compared with previous correlation. (orig.)

  12. Contrasting safety assessments of a runway incursion scenario: Event sequence analysis versus multi-agent dynamic risk modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroeve, Sybert H.; Blom, Henk A.P.; Bakker, G.J.

    2013-01-01

    In the safety literature it has been argued, that in a complex socio-technical system safety cannot be well analysed by event sequence based approaches, but requires to capture the complex interactions and performance variability of the socio-technical system. In order to evaluate the quantitative and practical consequences of these arguments, this study compares two approaches to assess accident risk of an example safety critical sociotechnical system. It contrasts an event sequence based assessment with a multi-agent dynamic risk model (MA-DRM) based assessment, both of which are performed for a particular runway incursion scenario. The event sequence analysis uses the well-known event tree modelling formalism and the MA-DRM based approach combines agent based modelling, hybrid Petri nets and rare event Monte Carlo simulation. The comparison addresses qualitative and quantitative differences in the methods, attained risk levels, and in the prime factors influencing the safety of the operation. The assessments show considerable differences in the accident risk implications of the performance of human operators and technical systems in the runway incursion scenario. In contrast with the event sequence based results, the MA-DRM based results show that the accident risk is not manifest from the performance of and relations between individual human operators and technical systems. Instead, the safety risk emerges from the totality of the performance and interactions in the agent based model of the safety critical operation considered, which coincides very well with the argumentation in the safety literature.

  13. Introductory review on `Flying Triangulation': a motion-robust optical 3D measurement principle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ettl, Svenja

    2015-04-01

    'Flying Triangulation' (FlyTri) is a recently developed principle which allows for a motion-robust optical 3D measurement of rough surfaces. It combines a simple sensor with sophisticated algorithms: a single-shot sensor acquires 2D camera images. From each camera image, a 3D profile is generated. The series of 3D profiles generated are aligned to one another by algorithms, without relying on any external tracking device. It delivers real-time feedback of the measurement process which enables an all-around measurement of objects. The principle has great potential for small-space acquisition environments, such as the measurement of the interior of a car, and motion-sensitive measurement tasks, such as the intraoral measurement of teeth. This article gives an overview of the basic ideas and applications of FlyTri. The main challenges and their solutions are discussed. Measurement examples are also given to demonstrate the potential of the measurement principle.

  14. Characteristics of the safety climate in teams with world-class safety ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    interact to deliver a project successfully in terms of cost .... small-scale accidents occurring at high frequency and from diverse ... the team dynamics of role players in a construction project and .... modified safety pyramid to measure the impact of the safety climate ...... Methodological Centre for Vocational Education and.

  15. Identifying behaviour patterns of construction safety using system archetypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Brian H W; Yiu, Tak Wing; González, Vicente A

    2015-07-01

    Construction safety management involves complex issues (e.g., different trades, multi-organizational project structure, constantly changing work environment, and transient workforce). Systems thinking is widely considered as an effective approach to understanding and managing the complexity. This paper aims to better understand dynamic complexity of construction safety management by exploring archetypes of construction safety. To achieve this, this paper adopted the ground theory method (GTM) and 22 interviews were conducted with participants in various positions (government safety inspector, client, health and safety manager, safety consultant, safety auditor, and safety researcher). Eight archetypes were emerged from the collected data: (1) safety regulations, (2) incentive programs, (3) procurement and safety, (4) safety management in small businesses (5) production and safety, (6) workers' conflicting goals, (7) blame on workers, and (8) reactive and proactive learning. These archetypes capture the interactions between a wide range of factors within various hierarchical levels and subsystems. As a free-standing tool, they advance the understanding of dynamic complexity of construction safety management and provide systemic insights into dealing with the complexity. They also can facilitate system dynamics modelling of construction safety process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Dynamic event Tress applied to sequences Full Spectrum LOCA. Calculating the frequency of excedeence of damage by integrated Safety Analysis Methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomez-Magan, J. J.; Fernandez, I.; Gil, J.; Marrao, H.; Queral, C.; Gonzalez-Cadelo, J.; Montero-Mayorga, J.; Rivas, J.; Ibane-Llano, C.; Izquierdo, J. M.; Sanchez-Perea, M.; Melendez, E.; Hortal, J.

    2013-01-01

    The Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) methodology, developed by the Spanish Nuclear Safety council (CSN), has been applied to obtain the dynamic Event Trees (DETs) for full spectrum Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCAs) of a Westinghouse 3-loop PWR plant. The purpose of this ISA application is to obtain the Damage Excedence Frequency (DEF) for the LOCA Event Tree by taking into account the uncertainties in the break area and the operator actuation time needed to cool down and de pressurize reactor coolant system by means of steam generator. Simulations are performed with SCAIS, a software tool which includes a dynamic coupling with MAAP thermal hydraulic code. The results show the capability of the ISA methodology to obtain the DEF taking into account the time uncertainty in human actions. (Author)

  17. Thermal Entanglement and Critical Behavior of Magnetic Properties on a Triangulated Kagomé Lattice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Ananikian

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The equilibrium magnetic and entanglement properties in a spin-1/2 Ising-Heisenberg model on a triangulated Kagomé lattice are analyzed by means of the effective field for the Gibbs-Bogoliubov inequality. The calculation is reduced to decoupled individual (clusters trimers due to the separable character of the Ising-type exchange interactions between the Heisenberg trimers. The concurrence in terms of the three qubit isotropic Heisenberg model in the effective Ising field in the absence of a magnetic field is non-zero. The magnetic and entanglement properties exhibit common (plateau, peak features driven by a magnetic field and (antiferromagnetic exchange interaction. The (quantum entangled and non-entangled phases can be exploited as a useful tool for signalling the quantum phase transitions and crossovers at finite temperatures. The critical temperature of order-disorder coincides with the threshold temperature of thermal entanglement.

  18. Vesicle dynamics in shear and capillary flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguchi, Hiroshi; Gompper, Gerhard

    2005-01-01

    The deformation of vesicles in flow is studied by a mesoscopic simulation technique, which combines multi-particle collision dynamics for the solvent with a dynamically triangulated surface model for the membrane. Shape transitions are investigated both in simple shear flows and in cylindrical capillary flows. We focus on reduced volumes, where the discocyte shape of fluid vesicles is stable, and the prolate shape is metastable. In simple shear flow at low membrane viscosity, the shear induces a transformation from discocyte to prolate with increasing shear rate, while at high membrane viscosity, the shear induces a transformation from prolate to discocyte, or tumbling motion accompanied by oscillations between these two morphologies. In capillary flow, at small flow velocities the symmetry axis of the discocyte is found not to be oriented perpendicular to the cylinder axis. With increasing flow velocity, a transition to a prolate shape occurs for fluid vesicles, while vesicles with shear-elastic membranes (like red blood cells) transform into a coaxial parachute-like shape

  19. The Human Bathtub: Safety and Risk Predictions Including the Dynamic Probability of Operator Errors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duffey, Romney B.; Saull, John W.

    2006-01-01

    Reactor safety and risk are dominated by the potential and major contribution for human error in the design, operation, control, management, regulation and maintenance of the plant, and hence to all accidents. Given the possibility of accidents and errors, now we need to determine the outcome (error) probability, or the chance of failure. Conventionally, reliability engineering is associated with the failure rate of components, or systems, or mechanisms, not of human beings in and interacting with a technological system. The probability of failure requires a prior knowledge of the total number of outcomes, which for any predictive purposes we do not know or have. Analysis of failure rates due to human error and the rate of learning allow a new determination of the dynamic human error rate in technological systems, consistent with and derived from the available world data. The basis for the analysis is the 'learning hypothesis' that humans learn from experience, and consequently the accumulated experience defines the failure rate. A new 'best' equation has been derived for the human error, outcome or failure rate, which allows for calculation and prediction of the probability of human error. We also provide comparisons to the empirical Weibull parameter fitting used in and by conventional reliability engineering and probabilistic safety analysis methods. These new analyses show that arbitrary Weibull fitting parameters and typical empirical hazard function techniques cannot be used to predict the dynamics of human errors and outcomes in the presence of learning. Comparisons of these new insights show agreement with human error data from the world's commercial airlines, the two shuttle failures, and from nuclear plant operator actions and transient control behavior observed in transients in both plants and simulators. The results demonstrate that the human error probability (HEP) is dynamic, and that it may be predicted using the learning hypothesis and the minimum

  20. DYNAMIC EFFECTS OF THE “SHOCKS” INFLUENCE ON THE ECONOMIC SAFETY OF MACROREGIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidiya Guryanova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern forms of integration processes, along with a number of opportunities to obtain synergistic effects by regions, impose additional threats and risks. In particular, such risks include deterioration of trading conditions in partner countries, depreciation of assets, unidirectional reaction to “shocks”. The need to monitor and prevent such specific risks and threats requires an appropriate transformation of economic security systems (RESS of the regions (macroregions. The development of a model basis is one of the ways to increase the RESS functioning efficiency. The basis would allow to analyze dynamic effects of the “shocks” influence; to identify the system components, which at certain stages contribute to an increase in the overall level of economic safety, or, on the contrary, create additional threats. The authors propose a methodical approach to the formation of such a model basis, which is based on the application of principal components method, canonical correlations method, the method of development level, vector autoregressive technologies, vector models of error correction. The proposed methodical approach is implemented on the data of macroregions’ financial security indicators, as one of the dominant components of economic security. The obtained results allowed to reveal the interrelations between the structural components of safety, taking into account long-term relationships, short-term effects and the speed of return to the equilibrium trajectory after the impact of external “shocks” (threats. The developed models of dynamically stable systems have shown that in modern conditions there is a high probability of short-term local crises formation, since the reaction at the time of the “shock” impact often has the character of “explosive” oscillations. The study of dynamically unstable systems models has made it possible to determine the points of bifurcation, the dominant threats, the elimination of which

  1. Health, utilisation of health services, 'core' information, and reasons for non-participation: a triangulation study amongst non-respondents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Näslindh-Ylispangar, Anita; Sihvonen, Marja; Kekki, Pertti

    2008-11-01

    To explore health, use of health services, 'core' information and reasons for non-participation amongst males. Gender may provide an explanation for non-participation in the healthcare system. A growing body of research suggests that males are less likely than females to seek help from health professionals for their problems. The current research had its beginnings with the low response rate in a prior voluntary survey and health examination for Finnish males born in 1961. Data triangulation among 28 non-respondent middle-aged males in Helsinki was used. The methods involved structured and in-depth interviews and health measurements to explore the views of these males concerning their health-related behaviours and use of health services. Non-respondent males seldom used healthcare services. Despite clinical risk factors (e.g. obesity and blood pressure) and various symptoms, males perceived their health status as good. Work was widely experienced as excessively demanding, causing insomnia and other stress symptoms. Males expressed sensitive messages when a session was ending and when the participant was close to the door and leaving the room. This 'core' information included major causes of concern, anxiety, fears and loneliness. This triangulation study showed that by using an in-depth interview as one research strategy, more sensitive 'feminist' expressions in health and ill-health were got by men. The results emphasise a male's self-perception of his masculinity that may have relevance to the health experience of the male population. Nurses and physicians need to pay special attention to the requirements of gender-specific healthcare to be most effective in the delivery of healthcare to males.

  2. Multiomics Data Triangulation for Asthma Candidate Biomarkers and Precision Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecak, Matija; Korošec, Peter; Kunej, Tanja

    2018-06-01

    Asthma is a common complex disorder and has been subject to intensive omics research for disease susceptibility and therapeutic innovation. Candidate biomarkers of asthma and its precision treatment demand that they stand the test of multiomics data triangulation before they can be prioritized for clinical applications. We classified the biomarkers of asthma after a search of the literature and based on whether or not a given biomarker candidate is reported in multiple omics platforms and methodologies, using PubMed and Web of Science, we identified omics studies of asthma conducted on diverse platforms using keywords, such as asthma, genomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics. We extracted data about asthma candidate biomarkers from 73 articles and developed a catalog of 190 potential asthma biomarkers (167 human, 23 animal data), comprising DNA loci, transcripts, proteins, metabolites, epimutations, and noncoding RNAs. The data were sorted according to 13 omics types: genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, metabolomics, ncRNAomics, glycomics, lipidomics, environmental omics, pharmacogenomics, phenomics, and integrative omics. Importantly, we found that 10 candidate biomarkers were apparent in at least two or more omics levels, thus promising potential for further biomarker research and development and precision medicine applications. This multiomics catalog reported herein for the first time contributes to future decision-making on prioritization of biomarkers and validation efforts for precision medicine in asthma. The findings may also facilitate meta-analyses and integrative omics studies in the future.

  3. Data governance requirements for distributed clinical research networks: triangulating perspectives of diverse stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Katherine K; Browe, Dennis K; Logan, Holly C; Holm, Roberta; Hack, Lori; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

    2014-01-01

    There is currently limited information on best practices for the development of governance requirements for distributed research networks (DRNs), an emerging model that promotes clinical data reuse and improves timeliness of comparative effectiveness research. Much of the existing information is based on a single type of stakeholder such as researchers or administrators. This paper reports on a triangulated approach to developing DRN data governance requirements based on a combination of policy analysis with experts, interviews with institutional leaders, and patient focus groups. This approach is illustrated with an example from the Scalable National Network for Effectiveness Research, which resulted in 91 requirements. These requirements were analyzed against the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protected versus non-protected health information. The requirements addressed all FIPPs, showing how a DRN's technical infrastructure is able to fulfill HIPAA regulations, protect privacy, and provide a trustworthy platform for research. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  4. Yanqing solar field: Dynamic optical model and operational safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Dongming; Wang, Zhifeng; Xu, Ershu; Zhu, Lingzhi; Lei, Dongqiang; Xu, Li; Yuan, Guofeng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A dynamic optical model of the Yanqing solar field was built. • Tracking angle characteristics were studied with different SCA layouts and time. • The average energy flux was simulated across four clear days. • Influences of defocus angles for energy flux were analyzed. - Abstract: A dynamic optical model was established for the Yanqing solar field at the parabolic trough solar thermal power plant and a simulation was conducted on four separate days of clear weather (March 3rd, June 2nd, September 25th, December 17th). The solar collector assembly (SCA) was comprised of a North-South and East-West layout. The model consisted of the following modules: DNI, SCA operational, and SCA optical. The tracking angle characteristics were analyzed and the results showed that the East-West layout of the tracking system was the most viable. The average energy flux was simulated for a given time period and different SCA layouts, yielding an average flux of 6 kW/m 2 , which was then used as the design and operational standards of the Yanqing parabolic trough plant. The mass flow of North-South layout was relatively stable. The influences of the defocus angles on both the average energy flux and the circumferential flux distribution were also studied. The results provided a theoretical basis for the following components: solar field design, mass flow control of the heat transfer fluid, design and operation of the tracking system, operational safety of SCAs, and power production prediction in the Yanqing 1 MW parabolic trough plant.

  5. Use of computational fluid dynamics codes for safety analysis of nuclear reactor systems, including containment. Summary report of a technical meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-11-01

    Safety analysis is an important tool for justifying the safety of nuclear power plants. Typically, this type of analysis is performed by means of system computer codes with one dimensional approximation for modelling real plant systems. However, in the nuclear area there are issues for which traditional treatment using one dimensional system codes is considered inadequate for modelling local flow and heat transfer phenomena. There is therefore increasing interest in the application of three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes as a supplement to or in combination with system codes. There are a number of both commercial (general purpose) CFD codes as well as special codes for nuclear safety applications available. With further progress in safety analysis techniques, the increasing use of CFD codes for nuclear applications is expected. At present, the main objective with respect to CFD codes is generally to improve confidence in the available analysis tools and to achieve a more reliable approach to safety relevant issues. An exchange of views and experience can facilitate and speed up progress in the implementation of this objective. Both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/NEA) believed that it would be advantageous to provide a forum for such an exchange. Therefore, within the framework of the Working Group on the Analysis and Management of Accidents of the NEA's Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations, the IAEA and the NEA agreed to jointly organize the Technical Meeting on the Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics Codes for Safety Analysis of Reactor Systems, including Containment. The meeting was held in Pisa, Italy, from 11 to 14 November 2002. The publication constitutes the report of the Technical Meeting. It includes short summaries of the presentations that were made and of the discussions as well as conclusions and

  6. linear time algorithm for finding the convex ropes between two vertices of a simple polygon without triangulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phan Thanh An

    2008-06-01

    The convex rope problem, posed by Peshkin and Sanderson in IEEE J. Robotics Automat, 2 (1986) pp. 53-58, is to find the counterclockwise and clockwise convex ropes starting at the vertex a and ending at the vertex b of a simple polygon, where a is on the boundary of the convex hull of the polygon and b is visible from infinity. In this paper, we present a linear time algorithm for solving this problem without resorting to a linear-time triangulation algorithm and without resorting to a convex hull algorithm for the polygon. The counterclockwise (clockwise, respectively) convex rope consists of two polylines obtained in a basic incremental strategy described in convex hull algorithms for the polylines forming the polygon from a to b. (author)

  7. Alternative perspectives of safety in home delivered health care: a sequential exploratory mixed method study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sarahjane

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this study was to discover and describe how patients, carers and case management nurses define safety and compare it to the traditional risk reduction and harm avoidance definition of safety. Care services are increasingly being delivered in the home for patients with complex long-term conditions. However, the concept of safety remains largely unexplored. A sequential, exploratory mixed method design. A qualitative case study of the UK National Health Service case management programme in the English UK National Health Service was deployed during 2012. Thirteen interviews were conducted with patients (n = 9) and carers (n = 6) and three focus groups with nurses (n = 17) from three community care providers. The qualitative element explored the definition of safety. Data were subjected to framework analysis and themes were identified by participant group. Sequentially, a cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2013 in a fourth community care provider (patient n = 35, carer n = 19, nurse n = 26) as a form of triangulation. Patients and carers describe safety differently to case management nurses, choosing to focus on meeting needs. They use more positive language and recognize the role they have in safety in home-delivered health care. In comparison, case management nurses described safety similarly to the definitions found in the literature. However, when offered the patient and carer definition of safety, they preferentially selected this definition to their own or the literature definition. Patients and carers offer an alternative perspective on patient safety in home-delivered health care that identifies their role in ensuring safety and is more closely aligned with the empowerment philosophy of case management. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Solving the Einstein constraint equations on multi-block triangulations using finite element methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korobkin, Oleg; Pazos, Enrique [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Aksoylu, Burak [Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Holst, Michael [Department of Mathematics, University of California at San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0112 (United States); Tiglio, Manuel [Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

    2009-07-21

    In order to generate initial data for nonlinear relativistic simulations, one needs to solve the Einstein constraints, which can be cast into a coupled set of nonlinear elliptic equations. Here we present an approach for solving these equations on three-dimensional multi-block domains using finite element methods. We illustrate our approach on a simple example of Brill wave initial data, with the constraints reducing to a single linear elliptic equation for the conformal factor psi. We use quadratic Lagrange elements on semi-structured simplicial meshes, obtained by triangulation of multi-block grids. In the case of uniform refinement the scheme is superconvergent at most mesh vertices, due to local symmetry of the finite element basis with respect to local spatial inversions. We show that in the superconvergent case subsequent unstructured mesh refinements do not improve the quality of our initial data. As proof of concept that this approach is feasible for generating multi-block initial data in three dimensions, after constructing the initial data we evolve them in time using a high-order finite-differencing multi-block approach and extract the gravitational waves from the numerical solution.

  9. Solving the Einstein constraint equations on multi-block triangulations using finite element methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korobkin, Oleg; Pazos, Enrique; Aksoylu, Burak; Holst, Michael; Tiglio, Manuel

    2009-01-01

    In order to generate initial data for nonlinear relativistic simulations, one needs to solve the Einstein constraints, which can be cast into a coupled set of nonlinear elliptic equations. Here we present an approach for solving these equations on three-dimensional multi-block domains using finite element methods. We illustrate our approach on a simple example of Brill wave initial data, with the constraints reducing to a single linear elliptic equation for the conformal factor ψ. We use quadratic Lagrange elements on semi-structured simplicial meshes, obtained by triangulation of multi-block grids. In the case of uniform refinement the scheme is superconvergent at most mesh vertices, due to local symmetry of the finite element basis with respect to local spatial inversions. We show that in the superconvergent case subsequent unstructured mesh refinements do not improve the quality of our initial data. As proof of concept that this approach is feasible for generating multi-block initial data in three dimensions, after constructing the initial data we evolve them in time using a high-order finite-differencing multi-block approach and extract the gravitational waves from the numerical solution.

  10. Reliability and safety engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Verma, Ajit Kumar; Karanki, Durga Rao

    2016-01-01

    Reliability and safety are core issues that must be addressed throughout the life cycle of engineering systems. Reliability and Safety Engineering presents an overview of the basic concepts, together with simple and practical illustrations. The authors present reliability terminology in various engineering fields, viz.,electronics engineering, software engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering and power systems engineering. The book describes the latest applications in the area of probabilistic safety assessment, such as technical specification optimization, risk monitoring and risk informed in-service inspection. Reliability and safety studies must, inevitably, deal with uncertainty, so the book includes uncertainty propagation methods: Monte Carlo simulation, fuzzy arithmetic, Dempster-Shafer theory and probability bounds. Reliability and Safety Engineering also highlights advances in system reliability and safety assessment including dynamic system modeling and uncertainty management. Cas...

  11. Quantum Gravity, Dynamical Triangulation and Higer Derivative Regularization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambjorn, J.; Jurkiewicz, J.; Kristjansen, C. F.

    1992-01-01

    We consider a discrete model of euclidean quantum gravity in four dimensions based on a summation over random simplicial manifolds. The action used is the Einstein-Hilbert action plus an $R^2$-term. The phase diagram as a function of the bare coupling constants is studied in the search for a sens......We consider a discrete model of euclidean quantum gravity in four dimensions based on a summation over random simplicial manifolds. The action used is the Einstein-Hilbert action plus an $R^2$-term. The phase diagram as a function of the bare coupling constants is studied in the search...

  12. Reactor Safety Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arien, B.

    1998-01-01

    The objective of SCK-CEN's programme on reactor safety is to develop expertise in probabilistic and deterministic reactor safety analysis. The research programme consists of four main activities, in particular the development of software for reliability analysis of large systems and participation in the international PHEBUS-FP programme for severe accidents, the development of an expert system for the aid to diagnosis; the development and application of a probabilistic reactor dynamics method. Main achievements in 1999 are reported

  13. AMNT 2014. Key topic: Reactor operation, safety - report. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, Klaus-Christian; Willschuetz, Hans-Georg; Wortmann, Birgit

    2014-01-01

    Summary report on the following sessions of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology held in Frankfurt, 6 to 8 May 2014: - Thermo Dynamics and Fluid Dynamics: Experiments and Backfittings for the Improvement of Safety and Efficiency; - Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analyses, Results: In-Vessel Phenomena; Ex-Vessel Phenomena; - Standards and Regulations; Hazard and Safety Analysis; and Validation and Uncertainty Analysis. The other Sessions of the Key Topics 'Reactor Operation, Safety', 'Competence, Innovation, Regulation' and 'Fuel, Decommissioning and Disposal' have been covered in atw 10 (2014) and will be covered in further issues of atw.

  14. Seismic safety of Paks nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katona, T.

    1993-01-01

    An extensive program is underway at Paks NPP for evaluation of the seismic safety and for development of the necessary safety increasing measures. This program includes the following five measures: investigation of methods, regulations and techniques utilized for reassessment of seismic safety of operating NPPs and promoting safety; investigation of earthquake hazards; development of concepts for creating the seismic safety location of earthquake warning system; determination of dynamic features of systems and facilities determined by the concept, and preliminary evaluation of the seismic safety

  15. Safety Analysis of Stochastic Dynamical Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sloth, Christoffer; Wisniewski, Rafael

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a method for verifying the safety of a stochastic system. In particular, we show how to compute the largest set of initial conditions such that a given stochastic system is safe with probability p. To compute the set of initial conditions we rely on the moment method that via...... that shows how the p-safe initial set is computed numerically....

  16. Dynamic-speckle profilometer for online measurements of coating thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamshilin, A A [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Semenov, D V [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Nippolainen, E [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Miridonov, S [Optics Department, CICESE, Carr. Tijuana-Ensenada km 107, C.P. 22860, A.P. 360, Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico)

    2007-10-15

    Online control of thickness of as-deposited coatings is of great importance because it directly affects the quality of protective coatings. We present a novel approach that enables online, real-time and non-contact measurements thickness of thermally sprayed coatings. The proposed technique uses dynamic speckles generated by rapidly deflecting laser beam. Within 10 ms the system can scan 500 times a small area of the deposited layer thus resulting in measurement accuracy of 5 microns irrespectively of the layer roughness. In comparison with traditional optical triangulation technique of distance measurements, our system has following advantages: (i) much simpler optical scheme that includes conventional photodiode to measure the scattered light, (ii) much simpler electronics for real-time data processing, (iii) much higher speed of measurements.

  17. Dynamic-speckle profilometer for online measurements of coating thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamshilin, A A; Semenov, D V; Nippolainen, E; Miridonov, S

    2007-01-01

    Online control of thickness of as-deposited coatings is of great importance because it directly affects the quality of protective coatings. We present a novel approach that enables online, real-time and non-contact measurements thickness of thermally sprayed coatings. The proposed technique uses dynamic speckles generated by rapidly deflecting laser beam. Within 10 ms the system can scan 500 times a small area of the deposited layer thus resulting in measurement accuracy of 5 microns irrespectively of the layer roughness. In comparison with traditional optical triangulation technique of distance measurements, our system has following advantages: (i) much simpler optical scheme that includes conventional photodiode to measure the scattered light, (ii) much simpler electronics for real-time data processing, (iii) much higher speed of measurements

  18. The collective construction of safety: a trade-off between "understanding" and "doing" in managing dynamic situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuvelier, L; Falzon, P

    2015-03-01

    This exploratory research aims to understand how teams organize themselves and collectively manage risky dynamic situations. The objective is to assess the plausibility of a model of a collective trade-off between "understanding" and "doing". The empirical study, conducted in the pediatric anesthesia service of a French university hospital, was supported by a "high fidelity" simulation with six teams. Data on the teams' behavior and on the verbal communications were collected through video recordings. The results highlight three modes for management of dynamic situations (determined management, cautious management, and overwhelmed management). These modes are related to the way in which teams manage their cognitive resources. More precisely, they are related to the teams' ability to collectively elaborate a trade-off between "understanding" and "doing". These results question existing perspectives on safety and suggest improvements in the design of crisis management training (concerning for example the recommendation of "calling for help"). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Strong-back safety latch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeSantis, G.N.

    1995-01-01

    The calculation decides the integrity of the safety latch that will hold the strong-back to the pump during lifting. The safety latch will be welded to the strong-back and will latch to a 1.5-in. dia cantilever rod welded to the pump baseplate. The static and dynamic analysis shows that the safety latch will hold the strong-back to the pump if the friction clamps fail and the pump become free from the strong-back. Thus, the safety latch will meet the requirements of the Lifting and Rigging Manual for under the hook lifting for static loading; it can withstand shock loads from the strong-back falling 0.25 inch

  20. Dynamic dune management, integrating objectives of nature development and coastal safety: Examples from the Netherlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arens, Sebastiaan M.; Mulder, Jan P. M.; Slings, Quirinus L.; Geelen, Luc H. W. T.; Damsma, Petra

    2013-10-01

    This paper discusses and compares results of management interventions to remobilise dunes and obtain more autonomous changes in foredunes resulting from a change in coastal defence policy. In recent decades, nature conservation managers tried to restore aeolian dynamics and dune mobility landward of foredunes to maintain threatened, rare pioneer species. Results indicate that destabilisation activities yielded an important increase of blowing sand and its effects on ecology but with a limited effect on the desired integral remobilization of dunes. Roots remaining in the sand after removal of vegetation and soil is one of the main problems. Follow up removal of roots for 3 to 5 years seems to be essential, but it is not clear whether the dunes will remain mobile in the long term. In 1990 the Dutch government decided to maintain the position of the coastline by artificial sand nourishment. An intensive management of the foredunes was no longer required. Consequently, natural processes in the foredunes revived, and the sediment budget of the beach-dune system changed. Two main types of responses are visible. In some areas, increased input of sand resulted in the development of embryonic dunes seaward of the former foredunes, leading to increased stabilisation of the former foredunes. In other areas, development of embryonic dunes was insignificant despite the increased sand input, but wind erosion features developed in the foredunes, and the environment was more dynamic. The reasons for the differences are not clear, and the interaction between shoreface, beach and dunes is still poorly understood. Until now, attempts to mobilise the inner dunes were independent of changes made to the foredunes. We argue that an integrated, dynamic approach to coastal management, taking account of all relevant functions (including safety and natural values) and the dune-beach system as a whole, may provide new and durable solutions. An integrated approach would ideally provide fresh

  1. Safety assessment for electricity generation failure accident of gas cooled nuclear power plant using system dynamics (SD) method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woo, Tae Ho [Seoul National Univ. (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

    2013-04-15

    The power production failure happens in the loss of coolant of the nuclear power plants (NPPs). The air ingress is a serious accident in gas cooled NPPs. The quantification of the study performed by the system dynamics (SD) method which is processed by the feedback algorithms. The Vensim software package is used for the simulation, which is performed by the Monte-Carlo method. Two kinds of considerations as the economic and safety properties are important in NPPs. The result shows the stability of the operation when the power can be decided. The maximum value of risk is the 11.77 in 43rd and the minimum value is 0.0 in several years. So, the success of the circulation of coolant is simulated by the dynamical values. (orig.)

  2. Applying a realistic evaluation model to occupational safety interventions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Louise Møller

    2018-01-01

    Background: Recent literature characterizes occupational safety interventions as complex social activities, applied in complex and dynamic social systems. Hence, the actual outcomes of an intervention will vary, depending on the intervention, the implementation process, context, personal characte......Background: Recent literature characterizes occupational safety interventions as complex social activities, applied in complex and dynamic social systems. Hence, the actual outcomes of an intervention will vary, depending on the intervention, the implementation process, context, personal...... and qualitative methods. This revised model has, however, not been applied in a real life context. Method: The model is applied in a controlled, four-component, integrated behaviour-based and safety culture-based safety intervention study (2008-2010) in a medium-sized wood manufacturing company. The interventions...... involve the company’s safety committee, safety manager, safety groups and 130 workers. Results: The model provides a framework for more valid evidence of what works within injury prevention. Affective commitment and role behaviour among key actors are identified as crucial for the implementation...

  3. Studies of vehicle lane-changing dynamics and its effect on traffic efficiency, safety and environmental impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiang; Sun, Jian-Qiao

    2017-02-01

    Drivers often change lanes on the road to maintain desired speed and to avoid slow vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles and lane closure. Understanding the effect of lane-changing on the traffic is an important topic in designing optimal traffic control systems. This paper presents a comprehensive study of this topic. We review the theory of microscopic dynamic car-following models and the lane-changing models, propose additional lane-changing rules to deal with moving bottleneck and lane reduction, and investigate the effects of lane-changing on the traffic efficiency, traffic safety and fuel consumption as a function of different variables including the distance of the emergency sign ahead of the lane closure, speed limit, traffic density, etc. Extensive simulations of the traffic system have been carried out in different scenarios. A number of important findings of the effect of various factors on the traffic are reported. These findings provide guidance on the traffic management and are important to the designers and engineers of modern highway or inner city roads to achieve high traffic efficiency and safety with minimum environmental impact.

  4. An evaluation of orthopaedic nurses’ participation in an educational intervention promoting research utilization – A triangulation convergence model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berthelsen, Connie Bøttcher; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi

    2016-01-01

    Aims and objectives To describe the orthopaedic nurses' experiences regarding the relevance of an educational intervention and their personal and contextual barriers to participation in the intervention. Background One of the largest barriers against nurses' research usage in clinical practice...... is the lack of participation. A previous survey identified 32 orthopaedic nurses as interested in participating in nursing research. An educational intervention was conducted to increase the orthopaedic nurses' research knowledge and competencies. However, only an average of six nurses participated. Design...... A triangulation convergence model was applied through a mixed methods design to combine quantitative results and qualitative findings for evaluation. Methods Data were collected from 2013–2014 from 32 orthopaedic nurses in a Danish regional hospital through a newly developed 21-item questionnaire and two focus...

  5. Modification of the SAS4A Safety Analysis Code for Integration with the ADAPT Discrete Dynamic Event Tree Framework.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jankovsky, Zachary Kyle [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Denman, Matthew R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-05-01

    It is difficult to assess the consequences of a transient in a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) using traditional probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methods, as numerous safety-related sys- tems have passive characteristics. Often there is significant dependence on the value of con- tinuous stochastic parameters rather than binary success/failure determinations. One form of dynamic PRA uses a system simulator to represent the progression of a transient, tracking events through time in a discrete dynamic event tree (DDET). In order to function in a DDET environment, a simulator must have characteristics that make it amenable to changing physical parameters midway through the analysis. The SAS4A SFR system analysis code did not have these characteristics as received. This report describes the code modifications made to allow dynamic operation as well as the linking to a Sandia DDET driver code. A test case is briefly described to demonstrate the utility of the changes.

  6. Application of the dynamic bounds method in the safety assessment of flood defences, a case study: 17th Street flood wall, New Orleans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rajabali Nejad, Mohammadreza; van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M.; Demirbilek, Zeki; Mahdi, Tew-Fik; Vrijling, J.K.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we provide a computational framework for evaluation of reliability and safety assessment of infrastructures. It is based on the combined application of the dynamic bounds (DB) method and a probabilistic finite element model (FEM). The DB improves the computational efficiency of the FEM

  7. Development of safety related technology and infrastructure for safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkat Raj, V.

    1997-01-01

    Development and optimum utilisation of any technology calls for the building up of the necessary infrastructure and backup facilities. This is particularly true for a developing country like India and more so for an advanced technology like nuclear technology. Right from the inception of its nuclear power programme, the Indian approach has been to develop adequate infrastructure in various areas such as design, construction, manufacture, installation, commissioning and safety assessment of nuclear plants. This paper deals with the development of safety related technology and the relevant infrastructure for safety assessment. A number of computer codes for safety assessment have been developed or adapted in the areas of thermal hydraulics, structural dynamics etc. These codes have undergone extensive validation through data generated in the experimental facilities set up in India as well as participation in international standard problem exercises. Side by side with the development of the tools for safety assessment, the development of safety related technology was also given equal importance. Many of the technologies required for the inspection, ageing assessment and estimation of the residual life of various components and equipment, particularly those having a bearing on safety, were developed. This paper highlights, briefly, the work carried out in some of the areas mentioned above. (author)

  8. Safety Verification for Probabilistic Hybrid Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Lijun; She, Zhikun; Ratschan, Stefan

    2010-01-01

    The interplay of random phenomena and continuous real-time control deserves increased attention for instance in wireless sensing and control applications. Safety verification for such systems thus needs to consider probabilistic variations of systems with hybrid dynamics. In safety verification o...... on a number of case studies, tackled using a prototypical implementation....

  9. Reactor safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arien, B.

    1998-01-01

    Risk assessments of nuclear installations require accurate safety and reliability analyses to estimate the consequences of accidental events and their probability of occurrence. The objective of the work performed in this field at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN is to develop expertise in probabilistic and deterministic reactor safety analysis. The four main activities of the research project on reactor safety analysis are: (1) the development of software for the reliable analysis of large systems; (2) the development of an expert system for the aid to diagnosis; (3) the development and the application of a probabilistic reactor-dynamics method, and (4) to participate in the international PHEBUS-FP programme for severe accidents. Progress in research during 1997 is described

  10. Preliminary Study on the Development of Quantitative Safety Culture Index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Young Eal; Kim, Hun Sil; Ahn, Nam Sung

    2005-01-01

    Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance. Because it needs to be recognized as the most significant consciousness to achieve the nuclear safety performance, Korean government and nuclear power generation company have tried to develop the practical method to improve the safety culture from the long term point view. In this study, based on the site interviews to define the potential issues on organizational behavior for the safe operation and the survey on the level of safety culture of occupied workers are conducted. Survey results are quantified as a few indicators of nuclear safety by the statistical method and it can be simulated by the dynamic modeling as time goes on. Currently index and dynamic modeling are still being developed, however, results can be used to suggest the long term strategy which safety is clearly integrated into all activities in the nuclear organization

  11. Safety-technical comparison of a hard-wired dynamic reactor protection system with a computerized alternative. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buettner, W.E.

    1978-03-01

    The investigation presented here compares a conventional hard-wired dynamic reactor protection system with a computerized alternative. For both systems the spurious trip probability is determined, i.e. the probability of a false release of one or more protection actions due to failures. The mean unavailability is also determined for those not distinctly safety-oriented protection actions of the computerized protection system which are released via the open circuit current principle. This is because system breakdowns prevent the release of those protection actions in case of demand. The advantages and disadvantages of either type of system are viewed against each other. (orig.) [de

  12. New method for distance-based close following safety indicator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharizli, A A; Rahizar, R; Karim, M R; Saifizul, A A

    2015-01-01

    The increase in the number of fatalities caused by road accidents involving heavy vehicles every year has raised the level of concern and awareness on road safety in developing countries like Malaysia. Changes in the vehicle dynamic characteristics such as gross vehicle weight, travel speed, and vehicle classification will affect a heavy vehicle's braking performance and its ability to stop safely in emergency situations. As such, the aim of this study is to establish a more realistic new distance-based safety indicator called the minimum safe distance gap (MSDG), which incorporates vehicle classification (VC), speed, and gross vehicle weight (GVW). Commercial multibody dynamics simulation software was used to generate braking distance data for various heavy vehicle classes under various loads and speeds. By applying nonlinear regression analysis to the simulation results, a mathematical expression of MSDG has been established. The results show that MSDG is dynamically changed according to GVW, VC, and speed. It is envisaged that this new distance-based safety indicator would provide a more realistic depiction of the real traffic situation for safety analysis.

  13. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in Nuclear Reactor Safety (NRS) - Proceedings of the workshop on Experiments and CFD Code Application to Nuclear Reactor Safety (XCFD4NRS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is to an increasing extent being adopted in nuclear reactor safety analyses as a tool that enables specific safety relevant phenomena occurring in the reactor coolant system to be better described. The Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), which is responsible for the activities of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency that support advancing the technical base of the safety of nuclear installations, has in recent years conducted an important activity in the CFD area. This activity has been carried out within the scope of the CSNI working group on the analysis and management of accidents (GAMA), and has mainly focused on the formulation of user guidelines and on the assessment and verification of CFD codes. It is in this GAMA framework that a first workshop CFD4NRS was organized and held in Garching, Germany in 2006. Following the CFD4NRS workshop, this XCFD4NRS Workshop was intended to extend the forum created for numerical analysts and experimentalists to exchange information in the field of Nuclear Reactor Safety (NRS) related activities relevant to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) validation, but this time with more emphasis placed on new experimental techniques and two-phase CFD applications. The purpose of the workshop was to provide a forum for numerical analysts and experimentalists to exchange information in the field of NRS-related activities relevant to CFD validation, with the objective of providing input to GAMA CFD experts to create a practical, state-of-the-art, web-based assessment matrix on the use of CFD for NRS applications. The scope of XCFD4NRS includes: - Single-phase and two-phase CFD simulations with an emphasis on validation in areas such as: boiling flows, free-surface flows, direct contact condensation and turbulent mixing. These applications should relate to NRS-relevant issues such as: pressurized thermal shocks, critical heat flux, pool heat exchangers, boron dilution, hydrogen

  14. Participatory System Dynamics Modeling: Increasing Stakeholder Engagement and Precision to Improve Implementation Planning in Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Lindsey; Lounsbury, David W; Rosen, Craig S; Kimerling, Rachel; Trafton, Jodie A; Lindley, Steven E

    2016-11-01

    Implementation planning typically incorporates stakeholder input. Quality improvement efforts provide data-based feedback regarding progress. Participatory system dynamics modeling (PSD) triangulates stakeholder expertise, data and simulation of implementation plans prior to attempting change. Frontline staff in one VA outpatient mental health system used PSD to examine policy and procedural "mechanisms" they believe underlie local capacity to implement evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for PTSD and depression. We piloted the PSD process, simulating implementation plans to improve EBP reach. Findings indicate PSD is a feasible, useful strategy for building stakeholder consensus, and may save time and effort as compared to trial-and-error EBP implementation planning.

  15. A new approach for categorizing pig lying behaviour based on a Delaunay triangulation method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasirahmadi, A; Hensel, O; Edwards, S A; Sturm, B

    2017-01-01

    Machine vision-based monitoring of pig lying behaviour is a fast and non-intrusive approach that could be used to improve animal health and welfare. Four pens with 22 pigs in each were selected at a commercial pig farm and monitored for 15 days using top view cameras. Three thermal categories were selected relative to room setpoint temperature. An image processing technique based on Delaunay triangulation (DT) was utilized. Different lying patterns (close, normal and far) were defined regarding the perimeter of each DT triangle and the percentages of each lying pattern were obtained in each thermal category. A method using a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network, to automatically classify group lying behaviour of pigs into three thermal categories, was developed and tested for its feasibility. The DT features (mean value of perimeters, maximum and minimum length of sides of triangles) were calculated as inputs for the MLP classifier. The network was trained, validated and tested and the results revealed that MLP could classify lying features into the three thermal categories with high overall accuracy (95.6%). The technique indicates that a combination of image processing, MLP classification and mathematical modelling can be used as a precise method for quantifying pig lying behaviour in welfare investigations.

  16. Compositional Safety Analysis using Barrier Certificates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sloth, Christoffer; Pappas, George J.; Wisniewski, Rafael

    2012-01-01

    This paper proposes a compositional method for verifying the safety of a dynamical system, given as an interconnection of subsystems. The safety verification is conducted by the use of the barrier certificate method; hence, the contribution of this paper is to show how to obtain compositional...... conditions for safety verification. We show how to formulate the verification problem, as a composition of coupled subproblems, each given for one subsystem. Furthermore, we show how to find the compositional barrier certificates via linear and sum of squares programming problems. The proposed method makes...... it possible to verify the safety of higher dimensional systems, than the method for centrally computed barrier certificates. This is demonstrated by verifying the safety of an emergency shutdown of a wind turbine....

  17. Safety culture and subcontractor network governance in a complex safety critical project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oedewald, Pia; Gotcheva, Nadezhda

    2015-01-01

    In safety critical industries many activities are currently carried out by subcontractor networks. Nevertheless, there are few studies where the core dimensions of resilience would have been studied in safety critical network activities. This paper claims that engineering resilience into a system is largely about steering the development of culture of the system towards better ability to anticipate, monitor, respond and learn. Thus, safety culture literature has relevance in resilience engineering field. This paper analyzes practical and theoretical challenges in applying the concept of safety culture in a complex, dynamic network of subcontractors involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Finland, Olkiluoto 3. The concept of safety culture is in focus since it is widely used in nuclear industry and bridges the scientific and practical interests. This paper approaches subcontractor networks as complex systems. However, the management model of the Olkiluoto 3 project is to a large degree a traditional top-down hierarchy, which creates a mismatch between the management approach and the characteristics of the system to be managed. New insights were drawn from network governance studies. - Highlights: • We studied a relevant topical subject safety culture in nuclear new build project. • We integrated safety science challenges and network governance studies. • We produced practicable insights in managing safety of subcontractor networks

  18. Safety margins associated with containment structures under dynamic loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, S.C.

    1978-01-01

    A technical basis for assessing the true safety margins of containment structures involved with MARK I boiling water reactor reevaluation activities is presented. It is based on the results of a plane-strain, large displacement, elasto-plastic, finite-element analysis of a thin cylindrical shell subjected to external and internal pressure pulses. An analytical procedure is presented for estimating the ultimate load capacity of the thin shell structure, and subsequently, for quantifying the design margins of safety for the type of loads under consideration. For defining failure of structures, a finite strain failure criterion is derived that accounts for multiaxiality effects

  19. The Study Related to the Execution of a Triangulation Network in the Dump of Rovinari Pit, in Order to be Restored to the Economic Circuit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Popescu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The lignite mining extraction within the mining perimeter in Rovinari is carried out through mining works in the open, by using large equipments for the excavation, transport and storage of the mining material. These surfaces are currently being set up in the area of level two of the dump, the west and north-west part of Rovinari pit. In order to carry out the set-up works and of follow-up of the stability of the pit levels it is necessary to maintain the triangulation network.

  20. Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, Institute of Safety Research. Annual report 2003

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    The work of the institute is directed to the assessment and enhancement of the safety of technical plants and to the increase of the efficiency and environmental sustainability of those facilities. Subjects of investigation are equally nuclear plants and installations of process industries. To achieve the goals mentioned, the institute is mainly engaged in the scientific fields of thermal fluid dynamics including magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) and materials sciences. In 2003, the ISR worked on the following main scientific projects. Sub-programme: Plant and Rector Safety. Project: accident analysis of nuclear reactors, safety of materials and components, particle and radiation transport, safety and efficiency of chemical processes. Sub-programme: Thermal Fluid Dynamics. Project: magneto-hydrodynamics, thermal fluid dynamics of multiphase systems. Considerable progress could also be achieved in the CFD simulation of two-phase flows. New approaches for the forces acting on steam bubbles in a water flow could be developed and implemented into the CFX code in close cooperation with the CFX developer ANSYS/CFX. The qualified models allow to simulate the evolution of bubble size specific radial void distribution profiles along the flow path. These theoretical studies and the related experiments at the Rossendorf TOPFLOW test facility represent an important part of the German CFD network that aims at the improvement of thermal hydraulic calculation methods in reactor safety. (orig.)

  1. Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, Institute of Safety Research. Annual report 2003

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The work of the institute is directed to the assessment and enhancement of the safety of technical plants and to the increase of the efficiency and environmental sustainability of those facilities. Subjects of investigation are equally nuclear plants and installations of process industries. To achieve the goals mentioned, the institute is mainly engaged in the scientific fields of thermal fluid dynamics including magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) and materials sciences. In 2003, the ISR worked on the following main scientific projects. Sub-programme: Plant and Rector Safety. Project: accident analysis of nuclear reactors, safety of materials and components, particle and radiation transport, safety and efficiency of chemical processes. Sub-programme: Thermal Fluid Dynamics. Project: magneto-hydrodynamics, thermal fluid dynamics of multiphase systems. Considerable progress could also be achieved in the CFD simulation of two-phase flows. New approaches for the forces acting on steam bubbles in a water flow could be developed and implemented into the CFX code in close cooperation with the CFX developer ANSYS/CFX. The qualified models allow to simulate the evolution of bubble size specific radial void distribution profiles along the flow path. These theoretical studies and the related experiments at the Rossendorf TOPFLOW test facility represent an important part of the German CFD network that aims at the improvement of thermal hydraulic calculation methods in reactor safety. (orig.)

  2. Nuclear Safety. 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    A quick review of the nuclear safety at EDF may be summarized as follows: - the nuclear safety at EDF maintains at a rather good standard; - none of the incidents that took place has had any direct impact upon safety; - the availability remained good; - initiation of the floor 4 reactor generation (N4 unit - 1450 MW) ensued without major difficulties (the Civaux 1 NPP has been coupled to the power network at 24 december 1997); - the analysis of the incidents interesting from the safety point of view presents many similarities with earlier ones. Significant progress has been recorded in promoting actively and directly a safe operation by making visible, evident and concrete the exertion of the nuclear operation responsibility and its control by the hierarchy. The report develops the following chapters and subjects: 1. An overview on 1997; 1.1. The technical issues of the nuclear sector; 1.2. General performances in safety; 1.3. The main incidents; 1.4. Wastes and radiation protection; 2. Nuclear safety management; 2.1. Dynamics and results; 2.2. Ameliorations to be consolidated; 3. Other important issues in safety; 3.1. Probabilistic safety studies; 3.2. Approach for safety re-evaluation; 3.3. The network safety; 3.4. Crisis management; 3.5. The Lifetime program; 3.6. PWR; 3.7. Documentation; 3.8. Competence; 4. Safety management in the future; 4.1. An open future; 4.2. The fast neutron NPP at Creys-Malville; 4.3. Stabilization of the PWR reference frame; 4.4. Implementing the EURATOM directive regarding the radiation protection standards; 4.5. Development of biomedical research and epidemiological studies; 4.6. New regulations concerning the liquid and gaseous effluents; 5. Visions of an open future; 5.1. Alternative views upon safety ay EDF; 5.2. Safety authority; 5.3. International considerations; 5.4. What happens abroad; 5.5. References from non-nuclear domain. Four appendices are added referring to policy of safety management, policy of human factors in NPPs

  3. ITER plasma safety interface models and assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uckan, N.A.; Bartels, H-W.; Honda, T.; Amano, T.; Boucher, D.; Post, D.; Wesley, J.

    1996-01-01

    Physics models and requirements to be used as a basis for safety analysis studies are developed and physics results motivated by safety considerations are presented for the ITER design. Physics specifications are provided for enveloping plasma dynamic events for Category I (operational event), Category II (likely event), and Category III (unlikely event). A safety analysis code SAFALY has been developed to investigate plasma anomaly events. The plasma response to ex-vessel component failure and machine response to plasma transients are considered

  4. Vehicle track interaction safety standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-02

    Vehicle/Track Interaction (VTI) Safety Standards aim to : reduce the risk of derailments and other accidents attributable : to the dynamic interaction between moving vehicles and the : track over which they operate. On March 13, 2013, the Federal : R...

  5. THE EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTRACTOR SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CSMS PROGRAM ON TURNAROUND PROJECT (TA AT PT. PUPUK SRIWIDJAJA (PUSRI PALEMBANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Arif

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Background :Turnaround is one of the done by contractor in which if it is not managed well, it could cause work accident. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of contractor safety management system (CSMS program on turnaround project at PT. Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang. Method : This study was a qualitative study. The information was obtained from deep interview, observation and the study of document. The data was analyzed by using content analysis. The validity of the instruments was tested through triangulation of sources, method and data Result : The program implementation Contractor Safety Management System (CSMS on a turnaround project is already well underway only on projects in addition to departments turnaround K3 & LH less involved in the risk assessment stage, pre-qualification and selection of contractors. Conclusion : The implementation of the program Contractor Safety Management System (CSMS on a turnaround project at PT. Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang are in accordance with the Code of Labor Management Health, Safety and Environmental Protection Contractor BPMIGAS. It is advisable to PT. Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang in order to improve communication between departments procure goods and services with K3 and LH-related departments work tendered as the risk assessment stage, pre-qualification and selection on work tendered. Need sanctions against contractors who do not regularly report performance data K3.

  6. Automated matching of corresponding seed images of three simulator radiographs to allow 3D triangulation of implanted seeds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altschuler, Martin D.; Kassaee, Alireza

    1997-02-01

    To match corresponding seed images in different radiographs so that the 3D seed locations can be triangulated automatically and without ambiguity requires (at least) three radiographs taken from different perspectives, and an algorithm that finds the proper permutations of the seed-image indices. Matching corresponding images in only two radiographs introduces inherent ambiguities which can be resolved only with the use of non-positional information obtained with intensive human effort. Matching images in three or more radiographs is an `NP (Non-determinant in Polynomial time)-complete' problem. Although the matching problem is fundamental, current methods for three-radiograph seed-image matching use `local' (seed-by-seed) methods that may lead to incorrect matchings. We describe a permutation-sampling method which not only gives good `global' (full permutation) matches for the NP-complete three-radiograph seed-matching problem, but also determines the reliability of the radiographic data themselves, namely, whether the patient moved in the interval between radiographic perspectives.

  7. Beyond metrics? Utilizing 'soft intelligence' for healthcare quality and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Graham P; McKee, Lorna; Dixon-Woods, Mary

    2015-10-01

    Formal metrics for monitoring the quality and safety of healthcare have a valuable role, but may not, by themselves, yield full insight into the range of fallibilities in organizations. 'Soft intelligence' is usefully understood as the processes and behaviours associated with seeking and interpreting soft data-of the kind that evade easy capture, straightforward classification and simple quantification-to produce forms of knowledge that can provide the basis for intervention. With the aim of examining current and potential practice in relation to soft intelligence, we conducted and analysed 107 in-depth qualitative interviews with senior leaders, including managers and clinicians, involved in healthcare quality and safety in the English National Health Service. We found that participants were in little doubt about the value of softer forms of data, especially for their role in revealing troubling issues that might be obscured by conventional metrics. Their struggles lay in how to access softer data and turn them into a useful form of knowing. Some of the dominant approaches they used risked replicating the limitations of hard, quantitative data. They relied on processes of aggregation and triangulation that prioritised reliability, or on instrumental use of soft data to animate the metrics. The unpredictable, untameable, spontaneous quality of soft data could be lost in efforts to systematize their collection and interpretation to render them more tractable. A more challenging but potentially rewarding approach involved processes and behaviours aimed at disrupting taken-for-granted assumptions about quality, safety, and organizational performance. This approach, which explicitly values the seeking out and the hearing of multiple voices, is consistent with conceptual frameworks of organizational sensemaking and dialogical understandings of knowledge. Using soft intelligence this way can be challenging and discomfiting, but may offer a critical defence against the

  8. Restrictions on Measurement of Roughness of Textile Fabrics by Laser Triangulation: A Phenomenological Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berberi, Pellumb; Tabaku, Burhan

    2010-01-01

    Laser triangulation method is one of the methods used for contactless measurement of roughness of textile fabrics. Method is based on measurement of distance between the sensor and the object by imaging the light scattered from the surface. However, experimental results, especially for high values of roughness, show a strong dependence to duration of exposure time to laser pulses. Use of very short exposure times and long exposures times causes appearance on the surface of the scanned textile of pixels with Active peak heights. The number of Active peaks increases with decrease of exposure time down to 0.1 ms, and increases with increase of exposure time up to 100 ms. Appearance of Active peaks leads to nonrealistic increase of roughness of the surface both for short exposure times and long exposure times reaching a minimum somewhere in the region of medium exposure times, 1 to 2 ms. The above effect suggests a careful analysis of experimental data and, also, becomes an important restriction to the method. In this paper we attempt to make a phenomenological approach to the mechanisms leading to these effects. We suppose that effect is related both to scattering properties of scanned surface and to physical parameters of CCD sensors. The first factor becomes more important in the region of long exposure times, while second factor becomes more important in the region of short exposure times.

  9. Dynamic design load of type 2 water-flow capsule in Nuclear Safety Research Reactor in Tokai Research Establishment of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, and its reuse test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    A report by the Nuclear Safety Bureau of the Science and Technology Agency to the Nuclear Safety Commission was presented on the validity of the dynamic design load of type 2 water-flow capsule and the method of its reuse test. The safety in both aspects of the capsule was confirmed. The Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR), in which the water-flow capsule is set, is a swimming pool type reactor, fueled with enriched uranium, having heat output of 300 kW in normal operation and maximum instantaneous heat output of 23,000 MW in pulse operation. The type 2 water-flow capsule, with the initial conditions simulating a power generating LWR plant and being appropriately set, is used to acquire the data on fuel behavior and destructive power in pulse irradiation. (J.P.N.)

  10. Dynamic design load of type 2 water-flow capsule in Nuclear Safety Research Reactor in Tokai Research Establishment of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, and its reuse test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1981-01-01

    A report by the Nuclear Safety Bureau of the Science and Technology Agency to the Nuclear Safety Commission was presented on the validity of the dynamic design load of type 2 water-flow capsule and the method of its reuse test. The safety in both aspects of the capsule was confirmed. The Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR), in which the water-flow capsule is set, is a swimming pool type reactor, fueled with enriched uranium, having heat output of 300 kW in normal operation and maximum instantaneous heat output of 23,000 MW in pulse operation. The type 2 water-flow capsule, with the initial conditions simulating a power generating LWR plant and being appropriately set, is used to acquire the data on fuel behavior and destructive power in pulse irradiation.

  11. Hospital board oversight of quality and safety: a stakeholder analysis exploring the role of trust and intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millar, Ross; Freeman, Tim; Mannion, Russell

    2015-06-16

    Hospital boards, those executive members charged with developing appropriate organisational strategies and cultures, have an important role to play in safeguarding the care provided by their organisation. However, recent concerns have been raised over boards' ability to enact their duty to ensure the quality and safety of care. This paper offers critical reflection on the relationship between hospital board oversight and patient safety. In doing so it highlights new perspectives and suggestions for developing this area of study. The article draws on 10 interviews with key informants and policy actors who form part of the 'issue network' interested in the promotion of patient safety in the English National Health Service. The interviews surfaced a series of narratives regarding hospital board oversight of patient safety. These elaborated on the role of trust and intelligence in highlighting the potential dangers and limitations of approaches to hospital board oversight which have been narrowly focused on a risk-based view of organisational performance. In response, a need to engage with the development of trust based organisational relationships is identified, in which effective board oversight is built on 'trust' characterised by styles of leadership and behaviours that are attentive to the needs and concerns of both staff and patients. Effective board oversight also requires the gathering and triangulating of 'intelligence' generated from both national and local information sources. We call for a re-imagination of hospital board oversight in the light of these different perspectives and articulate an emerging research agenda in this area.

  12. Outcomes and Impact of HIV Prevention, ART and TB Programs in Swaziland – Early Evidence from Public Health Triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schalkwyk, Cari; Mndzebele, Sibongile; Hlophe, Thabo; Garcia Calleja, Jesus Maria; Korenromp, Eline L.; Stoneburner, Rand; Pervilhac, Cyril

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Swaziland’s severe HIV epidemic inspired an early national response since the late 1980s, and regular reporting of program outcomes since the onset of a national antiretroviral treatment (ART) program in 2004. We assessed effectiveness outcomes and mortality trends in relation to ART, HIV testing and counseling (HTC), tuberculosis (TB) and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). Methods Data triangulated include intervention coverage and outcomes according to program registries (2001-2010), hospital admissions and deaths disaggregated by age and sex (2001-2010) and population mortality estimates from the 1997 and 2007 censuses and the 2007 demographic and health survey. Results By 2010, ART reached 70% of the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS with CD4<350/mm3, with progressively improving patient retention and survival. As of 2010, 88% of health facilities providing antenatal care offered comprehensive PMTCT services. The HTC program recorded a halving in the proportion of adults tested who were HIV-infected; similarly HIV infection rates among HIV-exposed babies halved from 2007 to 2010. Case fatality rates among hospital patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS started to decrease from 2005–6 in adults and especially in children, contrasting with stable case fatality for other causes including TB. All-cause child in-patient case fatality rates started to decrease from 2005–6. TB case notifications as well as rates of HIV/TB co-infection among notified TB patients continued a steady increase through 2010, while coverage of HIV testing and CPT for co-infected patients increased to above 80%. Conclusion Against a background of high, but stable HIV prevalence and decreasing HIV incidence, we documented early evidence of a mortality decline associated with the expanded national HIV response since 2004. Attribution of impact to specific interventions (versus natural epidemic dynamics) will require additional data from future

  13. Safety Aspects of Sustainable Storage Dams and Earthquake Safety of Existing Dams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Wieland

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The basic element in any sustainable dam project is safety, which includes the following safety elements: ① structural safety, ② dam safety monitoring, ③ operational safety and maintenance, and ④ emergency planning. Long-term safety primarily includes the analysis of all hazards affecting the project; that is, hazards from the natural environment, hazards from the man-made environment, and project-specific and site-specific hazards. The special features of the seismic safety of dams are discussed. Large dams were the first structures to be systematically designed against earthquakes, starting in the 1930s. However, the seismic safety of older dams is unknown, as most were designed using seismic design criteria and methods of dynamic analysis that are considered obsolete today. Therefore, we need to reevaluate the seismic safety of existing dams based on current state-of-the-art practices and rehabilitate deficient dams. For large dams, a site-specific seismic hazard analysis is usually recommended. Today, large dams and the safety-relevant elements used for controlling the reservoir after a strong earthquake must be able to withstand the ground motions of a safety evaluation earthquake. The ground motion parameters can be determined either by a probabilistic or a deterministic seismic hazard analysis. During strong earthquakes, inelastic deformations may occur in a dam; therefore, the seismic analysis has to be carried out in the time domain. Furthermore, earthquakes create multiple seismic hazards for dams such as ground shaking, fault movements, mass movements, and others. The ground motions needed by the dam engineer are not real earthquake ground motions but models of the ground motion, which allow the safe design of dams. It must also be kept in mind that dam safety evaluations must be carried out several times during the long life of large storage dams. These features are discussed in this paper.

  14. Automatic anatomical structures location based on dynamic shape measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witkowski, Marcin; Rapp, Walter; Sitnik, Robert; Kujawinska, Malgorzata; Vander Sloten, Jos; Haex, Bart; Bogaert, Nico; Heitmann, Kjell

    2005-09-01

    New image processing methods and active photonics apparatus have made possible the development of relatively inexpensive optical systems for complex shape and object measurements. We present dynamic 360° scanning method for analysis of human lower body biomechanics, with an emphasis on the analysis of the knee joint. The anatomical structure (of high medical interest) that is possible to scan and analyze, is patella. Tracking of patella position and orientation under dynamic conditions may lead to detect pathological patella movements and help in knee joint disease diagnosis. The processed data is obtained from a dynamic laser triangulation surface measurement system, able to capture slow to normal movements with a scan frequency between 15 and 30 Hz. These frequency rates are enough to capture controlled movements used e.g. for medical examination purposes. The purpose of the work presented is to develop surface analysis methods that may be used as support of diagnosis of motoric abilities of lower limbs. The paper presents algorithms used to process acquired lower limbs surface data in order to find the position and orientation of patella. The algorithms implemented include input data preparation, curvature description methods, knee region discrimination and patella assumed position/orientation calculation. Additionally, a method of 4D (3D + time) medical data visualization is proposed. Also some exemplary results are presented.

  15. Dynamic strains for earthquake source characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbour, Andrew J.; Crowell, Brendan W

    2017-01-01

    Strainmeters measure elastodynamic deformation associated with earthquakes over a broad frequency band, with detection characteristics that complement traditional instrumentation, but they are commonly used to study slow transient deformation along active faults and at subduction zones, for example. Here, we analyze dynamic strains at Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) borehole strainmeters (BSM) associated with 146 local and regional earthquakes from 2004–2014, with magnitudes from M 4.5 to 7.2. We find that peak values in seismic strain can be predicted from a general regression against distance and magnitude, with improvements in accuracy gained by accounting for biases associated with site–station effects and source–path effects, the latter exhibiting the strongest influence on the regression coefficients. To account for the influence of these biases in a general way, we include crustal‐type classifications from the CRUST1.0 global velocity model, which demonstrates that high‐frequency strain data from the PBO BSM network carry information on crustal structure and fault mechanics: earthquakes nucleating offshore on the Blanco fracture zone, for example, generate consistently lower dynamic strains than earthquakes around the Sierra Nevada microplate and in the Salton trough. Finally, we test our dynamic strain prediction equations on the 2011 M 9 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake, specifically continuous strain records derived from triangulation of 137 high‐rate Global Navigation Satellite System Earth Observation Network stations in Japan. Moment magnitudes inferred from these data and the strain model are in agreement when Global Positioning System subnetworks are unaffected by spatial aliasing.

  16. Simultaneous hierarchical segmentation and vectorization of satellite images through combined data sampling and anisotropic triangulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grazzini, Jacopo [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Prasad, Lakshman [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dillard, Scott [PNNL

    2010-10-21

    The automatic detection, recognition , and segmentation of object classes in remote sensed images is of crucial importance for scene interpretation and understanding. However, it is a difficult task because of the high variability of satellite data. Indeed, the observed scenes usually exhibit a high degree of complexity, where complexity refers to the large variety of pictorial representations of objects with the same semantic meaning and also to the extensive amount of available det.ails. Therefore, there is still a strong demand for robust techniques for automatic information extraction and interpretation of satellite images. In parallel, there is a growing interest in techniques that can extract vector features directly from such imagery. In this paper, we investigate the problem of automatic hierarchical segmentation and vectorization of multispectral satellite images. We propose a new algorithm composed of the following steps: (i) a non-uniform sampling scheme extracting most salient pixels in the image, (ii) an anisotropic triangulation constrained by the sampled pixels taking into account both strength and directionality of local structures present in the image, (iii) a polygonal grouping scheme merging, through techniques based on perceptual information , the obtained segments to a smaller quantity of superior vectorial objects. Besides its computational efficiency, this approach provides a meaningful polygonal representation for subsequent image analysis and/or interpretation.

  17. Enhancing Safety through Generic Competencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Mockel

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This article provides insights into proactive safety management and mitigation. An analysis of accident reports reveals categories of supervening causes of accidents which can be directly linked to the concept of generic competencies (information management, communication and coordination, problem solving, and effect control. These findings strongly suggest adding the human element as another safety-constituting pillar to the concept of ship safety next to technology and regulation. We argue that the human element has unique abilities in dealing with critical and highly dynamic situations which can contribute to the system's recovery from non-routine or critical situations. By educating seafarers in generic competencies we claim to enable the people onboard to successfully deal with critical situations.

  18. Safety analysis of a high temperature gas-cooled reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimazu, Akira; Morimoto, Toshio

    1975-01-01

    In recent years, in order to satisfy the social requirements of environment and safety and also to cope with the current energy stringency, the installation of safe nuclear power plants is indispensable. Herein, safety analysis and evaluation to confirm quantitatively the safety design of a nuclear power plant become more and more important. The safety analysis and its methods for a high temperature gas-cooled reactor are described, with emphasis placed on the practices by Fuji Electric Manufacturing Co. Fundamental rule of securing plant safety ; safety analysis in normal operation regarding plant dynamic characteristics and radioactivity evaluation ; and safety analysis at the time of accidents regarding plant response to the accidents and radioactivity evaluation are explained. (Mori, K.)

  19. Research on Occupational Safety, Health Management and Risk Control Technology in Coal Mines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Lu-Jie; Cao, Qing-Gui; Yu, Kai; Wang, Lin-Lin; Wang, Hai-Bin

    2018-04-26

    This paper studies the occupational safety and health management methods as well as risk control technology associated with the coal mining industry, including daily management of occupational safety and health, identification and assessment of risks, early warning and dynamic monitoring of risks, etc.; also, a B/S mode software (Geting Coal Mine, Jining, Shandong, China), i.e., Coal Mine Occupational Safety and Health Management and Risk Control System, is developed to attain the aforementioned objectives, namely promoting the coal mine occupational safety and health management based on early warning and dynamic monitoring of risks. Furthermore, the practical effectiveness and the associated pattern for applying this software package to coal mining is analyzed. The study indicates that the presently developed coal mine occupational safety and health management and risk control technology and the associated software can support the occupational safety and health management efforts in coal mines in a standardized and effective manner. It can also control the accident risks scientifically and effectively; its effective implementation can further improve the coal mine occupational safety and health management mechanism, and further enhance the risk management approaches. Besides, its implementation indicates that the occupational safety and health management and risk control technology has been established based on a benign cycle involving dynamic feedback and scientific development, which can provide a reliable assurance to the safe operation of coal mines.

  20. Electronic clinical safety reporting system: a benefits evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Pamela; Martin, Desmond; Neville, Doreen

    2014-06-11

    Eastern Health, a large health care organization in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), started a staged implementation of an electronic occurrence reporting system (used interchangeably with "clinical safety reporting system") in 2008, completing Phase One in 2009. The electronic clinical safety reporting system (CSRS) was designed to replace a paper-based system. The CSRS involves reporting on occurrences such as falls, safety/security issues, medication errors, treatment and procedural mishaps, medical equipment malfunctions, and close calls. The electronic system was purchased from a vendor in the United Kingdom that had implemented the system in the United Kingdom and other places, such as British Columbia. The main objective of the new system was to improve the reporting process with the goal of improving clinical safety. The project was funded jointly by Eastern Health and Canada Health Infoway. The objectives of the evaluation were to: (1) assess the CSRS on achieving its stated objectives (particularly, the benefits realized and lessons learned), and (2) identify contributions, if any, that can be made to the emerging field of electronic clinical safety reporting. The evaluation involved mixed methods, including extensive stakeholder participation, pre/post comparative study design, and triangulation of data where possible. The data were collected from several sources, such as project documentation, occurrence reporting records, stakeholder workshops, surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews. The findings provided evidence that frontline staff and managers support the CSRS, identifying both benefits and areas for improvement. Many benefits were realized, such as increases in the number of occurrences reported, in occurrences reported within 48 hours, in occurrences reported by staff other than registered nurses, in close calls reported, and improved timelines for notification. There was also user satisfaction with the tool regarding ease of use

  1. Plasma-safety assessment model and safety analyses of ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Honda, T.; Okazaki, T.; Bartels, H.-H.; Uckan, N.A.; Sugihara, M.; Seki, Y.

    2001-01-01

    A plasma-safety assessment model has been provided on the basis of the plasma physics database of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) to analyze events including plasma behavior. The model was implemented in a safety analysis code (SAFALY), which consists of a 0-D dynamic plasma model and a 1-D thermal behavior model of the in-vessel components. Unusual plasma events of ITER, e.g., overfueling, were calculated using the code and plasma burning is found to be self-bounded by operation limits or passively shut down due to impurity ingress from overheated divertor targets. Sudden transition of divertor plasma might lead to failure of the divertor target because of a sharp increase of the heat flux. However, the effects of the aggravating failure can be safely handled by the confinement boundaries. (author)

  2. EFFICIENT QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT OF JUMP PROCESSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SAFETY

    OpenAIRE

    Nganje, William E.

    1999-01-01

    This paper develops a dynamic framework for efficient quantitative risk assessment from the simplest general risk, combining three parameters (contamination, exposure, and dose response) in a Kataoka safety-first model and a Poisson probability representing the uncertainty effect or jump processes associated with food safety. Analysis indicates that incorporating jump processes in food safety risk assessment provides more efficient cost/risk tradeoffs. Nevertheless, increased margin of safety...

  3. Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina (VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland))

    2010-03-15

    Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

  4. Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina

    2010-03-01

    Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

  5. Image processing for safety assessment in civil engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer, Belen; Pomares, Juan C; Irles, Ramon; Espinosa, Julian; Mas, David

    2013-06-20

    Behavior analysis of construction safety systems is of fundamental importance to avoid accidental injuries. Traditionally, measurements of dynamic actions in civil engineering have been done through accelerometers, but high-speed cameras and image processing techniques can play an important role in this area. Here, we propose using morphological image filtering and Hough transform on high-speed video sequence as tools for dynamic measurements on that field. The presented method is applied to obtain the trajectory and acceleration of a cylindrical ballast falling from a building and trapped by a thread net. Results show that safety recommendations given in construction codes can be potentially dangerous for workers.

  6. Safety design guide for pipe rupture protection for CANDU 9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Duk Su; Chang, Woo Hyun; Lee, Nam Young; A. C. D. Wright

    1996-03-01

    This safety design guide for pipe rupture protection identifies high-energy systems in which pipe ruptures must be postulated to occur, as well as systems that must be protected from the dynamic effects of such ruptures. Dynamic effects considered in this SDG consist of pipe whip (including missiles generated by pipe ruptures, if any) and jet impingement, Requirements for protection against the dynamic effects of a postulated pipe rupture and method of protection of essential structures, systems and components are specified for these effects. The change status for the regulatory requirements, code and standards should be traced and this safety design guide shall be updated accordingly. 2 tabs., 5 refs. (Author) .new

  7. Criticality safety studies at VTT Energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roine, T.; Anttila, M.

    1995-01-01

    At VTT Energy a compact reactor physics calculation system is applied in many kind of problems. Generation of group constants for static and dynamic core calculations, flux and dose rate calculations as well as criticality safety studies are performed basically with the same codes. In the presentation a short overview of the wide variety of criticality safety problems analyzed at VTT Energy is given. The calculation system with some illustrative examples is also described. (12 refs., 1 tab.)

  8. Sandia Laboratories environment and safety programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zak, B.D.; McGrath, P.E.; Trauth, C.A. Jr.

    1975-01-01

    Sandia, one of ERDA's largest laboratories, is primarily known for its extensive work in the nuclear weapons field. In recent years, however, Sandia's role has expanded to embrace sizeable programs in the energy, resource recovery, and the environment and safety fields. In this latter area, Sandia has programs which address nuclear, fossil fuel, and general environment and safety issues. Here we survey ongoing activities and describe in more detail aa few projects of particular interest. These range from a study of the impact of sealed disposal of radioactive wastes, through reactor safety and fossil fuel plume chemistry, to investigations of the composition and dynamics of the stratosphere

  9. Mathematical modelling of active safety system functions as tools for development of driverless vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryazantsev, V.; Mezentsev, N.; Zakharov, A.

    2018-02-01

    This paper is dedicated to a solution of the issue of synthesis of the vehicle longitudinal dynamics control functions (acceleration and deceleration control) based on the element base of the vehicle active safety system (ESP) - driverless vehicle development tool. This strategy helps to reduce time and complexity of integration of autonomous motion control systems (AMCS) into the vehicle architecture and allows direct control of actuators ensuring the longitudinal dynamics control, as well as reduction of time for calibration works. The “vehicle+wheel+road” longitudinal dynamics control is complicated due to the absence of the required prior information about the control object. Therefore, the control loop becomes an adaptive system, i.e. a self-adjusting monitoring system. Another difficulty is the driver’s perception of the longitudinal dynamics control process in terms of comfort. Traditionally, one doesn’t pay a lot of attention to this issue within active safety systems, and retention of vehicle steerability, controllability and stability in emergency situations are considered to be the quality criteria. This is mainly connected to its operational limits, since it is activated only in critical situations. However, implementation of the longitudinal dynamics control in the AMCS poses another challenge for the developers - providing the driver with comfortable vehicle movement during acceleration and deceleration - while the possible highest safety level in terms of the road grip is provided by the active safety system (ESP). The results of this research are: universal active safety system - AMCS interaction interface; block diagram for the vehicle longitudinal acceleration and deceleration control as one of the active safety system’s integrated functions; ideology of adaptive longitudinal dynamics control, which enables to realize the deceleration and acceleration requested by the AMCS; algorithms synthesised; analytical experiments proving the

  10. Stakeholder management in the local government decision-making area: evidences from a triangulation study with the English local government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Corrêa Gomes

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The stakeholder theory has been in the management agenda for about thirty years and reservations about its acceptance as a comprehensive theory still remains. It was introduced as a managerial issue by the Labour Party in 1997 aiming to make public management more inclusive. This article aims to contribute to the stakeholder theory adding descriptive issues to its theoretical basis. The findings are derived from an inductive investigationcarried out with English Local Authorities, which will most likely be reproduced in other contexts. Data collection and analysis is based on a data triangulation method that involves case-studies, interviews of validation and analysis of documents. The investigation proposes a model for representing the nature of therelationships between stakeholders and the decision-making process of such organizations. The decision-making of local government organizations is in fact a stakeholder-based process in which stakeholders are empowered to exert influences due to power over and interest in the organization’s operations and outcomes.

  11. Co-simulation for real time safety verification of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boafo, E.K.; Zhang, L.; Nasimi, E.; Gabbar, H.A.

    2015-01-01

    Small and major accidents and near misses are still occurring in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Risk level has increased with the degradation of NPP equipment and instrumentations. In order to achieve NPP safety, it is important to continuously evaluate risk for all potential hazard and fault propagation scenarios and map protection layers to fault / failure / hazard propagation scenarios to be able to evaluate and verify safety level during NPP operation. There are major limitations in current real time safety verification tools, as it is mainly offline and with no integration to NPP simulation tools. The main goal of this research is to develop real time safety verification with co-simulation tool to be integrated with plant operation support systems. This includes the development of static and dynamic fault semantic network (FSN) to model all possible fault propagation scenarios and the interrelationships among associated process variables. Safety and protection layers along with their reliability are mapped to FSN so that safety levels can be verified during plant operation. Errors between multiphysics models and real time data are modeled to accurately and dynamically tune FSN for each fault propagation scenario. The detailed methodology will show how to integrate process models, construction of static FSN with fault propagation scenarios, and evaluation and tuning of dynamic FSN with probabilistic and process variable interaction values. Principle Component Analysis method is used reduce dimensionality and reduce process variables associated with each fault scenario. Then map independent protection layers (IPL) to FSN with estimated reliability measures of each protection layer to accurately verify safety for different operational scenarios. Intelligent algorithms is used with multivariate techniques to accurate define the interrelation among process variables, in terms of signal strength and time delay, using Genetic Programming (GP), which will provide basis

  12. Modeling safety culture as a socially emergent phenomenon: a case study in aircraft maintenance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Passenier, D.F.; Mols, C.; Bím, J.; Sharpanskykh, A.

    2016-01-01

    Safety culture is often understood as encompassing organizational members’ shared attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values associated with safety. Safety culture theory development is fraught with inconsistencies and superficiality of measurement methods, because the dynamic and political nature

  13. Modeling safety culture as a socially emergent phenomenon : A case study in aircraft maintenance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Passenier, D; Mols, C; Bim, J; Sharpans'kykh, Alexei

    2016-01-01

    Safety culture is often understood as encompassing organizational members’ shared attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values associated with safety. Safety culture theory development is fraught with inconsistencies and superficiality of measurement methods, because the dynamic and political nature

  14. Evolving US Food Safety Regulations and International Competitors: Implementation Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tekuni Nakuja

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The 2011 US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA represents a major initiative to improve food safety. The legislation mandates the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA with developing a regulatory system to implement the Act. Both domestic and foreign firms that wish to supply US consumers with food will face a considerable increase in regulatory costs. Implementation has proved challenging for the FDA leading to delays which increase investment risks for foreign suppliers, particulalry from developing countries. This paper sets out the major FSMA requirements and examines how the regulatory burden may fall on foreign versus US suppliers.

  15. Tunnel fire dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Ingason, Haukur; Lönnermark, Anders

    2015-01-01

    This book covers a wide range of issues in fire safety engineering in tunnels, describes the phenomena related to tunnel fire dynamics, presents state-of-the-art research, and gives detailed solutions to these major issues. Examples for calculations are provided. The aim is to significantly improve the understanding of fire safety engineering in tunnels. Chapters on fuel and ventilation control, combustion products, gas temperatures, heat fluxes, smoke stratification, visibility, tenability, design fire curves, heat release, fire suppression and detection, CFD modeling, and scaling techniques all equip readers to create their own fire safety plans for tunnels. This book should be purchased by any engineer or public official with responsibility for tunnels. It would also be of interest to many fire protection engineers as an application of evolving technical principles of fire safety.

  16. A study on implementation of dynamic safety system in programmable logic controller for pressurized water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ung Soo

    1997-02-01

    The dynamic safety system (DSS) is a computer based reactor protection system that has dynamic self-testing feature and fail-safe nature inherently. The inherent dynamic self-testing feature and fail-safe design provide a high level of reliability and low spurious trip rate. We can also reduce the time and human efforts to maintain the system by virtue of those features. Therefore, the application of the DSS to PWR has many advantages. The DSS has been applied only to advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) in the UK. In order to apply the DSS for PWR, the DSS has to be modified because there exist many differences between PWR and AGR for which the DSS was tested and installed. These differences are trip algorithms, monitored parameters, trip logics, and other conditions. In this study, the DSS algorithm is modified for PWR first. The modified DSS has several new features : 1) The modified DSS tests and processes time-dependent parameters, while the original DSS does not. 2) It has flexibility for handling several types of voting logic but the original DSS handles the only one type of voting - 2 out of 4 coincidence logic. Then, in this study, the modified DSS is implemented in programmable logic controller (PLC) using the ladder logic. Finally, the modified DSS is tested in two ways in this work : 1) The manual test is performed using direct input through the human computer interface (HCI) system. 2) The scenario based test is performed using input from the FISA-2/WS simulator. From the test results, it is shown that the modified DSS operates correctly in all conditions

  17. Safety climate and culture: Integrating psychological and systems perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Tristan; Griffin, Mark A; Flatau Harrison, Huw; Neal, Andrew

    2017-07-01

    Safety climate research has reached a mature stage of development, with a number of meta-analyses demonstrating the link between safety climate and safety outcomes. More recently, there has been interest from systems theorists in integrating the concept of safety culture and to a lesser extent, safety climate into systems-based models of organizational safety. Such models represent a theoretical and practical development of the safety climate concept by positioning climate as part of a dynamic work system in which perceptions of safety act to constrain and shape employee behavior. We propose safety climate and safety culture constitute part of the enabling capitals through which organizations build safety capability. We discuss how organizations can deploy different configurations of enabling capital to exert control over work systems and maintain safe and productive performance. We outline 4 key strategies through which organizations to reconcile the system control problems of promotion versus prevention, and stability versus flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Multiparty Evolutionary Game Model in Coal Mine Safety Management and Its Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongwu Lu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Coal mine safety management involves many interested parties and there are complex relationships between them. According to game theory, a multiparty evolutionary game model is established to analyze the selection of strategies. Then, a simplified three-party model is taken as an example to carry out detailed analysis and solution. Based on stability theory of dynamics system and phase diagram analysis, this article studies replicator dynamics of the evolutionary model to make an optimization analysis of the behaviors of those interested parties and the adjustment mechanism of safety management policies and decisions. The results show how the charge of supervision of government department and inspection of coal mine enterprise impact the efficiency of safety management and the effect of constraint measures and incentive and other measures in safety management.

  19. Bloch Modes and Evanescent Modes of Photonic Crystals: Weak Form Solutions Based on Accurate Interface Triangulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthias Saba

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a new approach to calculate the complex photonic band structure, both purely dispersive and evanescent Bloch modes of a finite range, of arbitrary three-dimensional photonic crystals. Our method, based on a well-established plane wave expansion and the weak form solution of Maxwell’s equations, computes the Fourier components of periodic structures composed of distinct homogeneous material domains from a triangulated mesh representation of the inter-material interfaces; this allows substantially more accurate representations of the geometry of complex photonic crystals than the conventional representation by a cubic voxel grid. Our method works for general two-phase composite materials, consisting of bi-anisotropic materials with tensor-valued dielectric and magnetic permittivities ε and μ and coupling matrices ς. We demonstrate for the Bragg mirror and a simple cubic crystal closely related to the Kelvin foam that relatively small numbers of Fourier components are sufficient to yield good convergence of the eigenvalues, making this method viable, despite its computational complexity. As an application, we use the single gyroid crystal to demonstrate that the consideration of both conventional and evanescent Bloch modes is necessary to predict the key features of the reflectance spectrum by analysis of the band structure, in particular for light incident along the cubic [111] direction.

  20. Declarative Rule-based Safety for Robotic Perception Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

    2017-01-01

    Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

  1. Safety Computer Vision Rules for Improved Sensor Certification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

    2017-01-01

    Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

  2. CEC activities in the field of LMFBR safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balz, W.; Finzi, S.; Klersy, R.

    1976-01-01

    The aim of the ECC is to reach a common LMFBR Safety strategy in Europe. To this end the Commission promotes collaboration between the different fast reactor projects in the Community through working groups and collaborative arrangements and contributes with a research activity executed in its Joint Research Centre Ispra. A short description is given of the activity in the working groups and of the Ispra programme on LMFBR Safety. This programme covers: LMFBR thermohydraulics, fuel coolant interactions, dynamic structure loading and response, safety related material properties and whole core accident code development

  3. Nuclear Safety Project. Annual report 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-09-01

    The annual report 1986 is a detailed description of work within the Nuclear Safety Project performed in 1986 in the nuclear safety field by KfK institutes and departments and by external institutes on behalf of KfK. It includes individual research activities on dynamic loads and strains of reactor components under accident conditions, fuel behaviour under accident conditions, investigation and control of LWR core-meltdown accidents, improvement of fission product retention and reduction of radiation exposure, and on behaviour, impact and removal of released pollutants. (DG)

  4. Information About Dynamics of the Sea Surface as a Means to Improve Safety of the Unmanned Vessel at Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Przyborski Marek

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the fundamental states of the sea surface is its heave. Despite of years of the intense scientific inquiry, no clear understanding of the influence of this aspect on the dynamics of the sea environment has emerged. The separation of two nearby fluid elements which one may observed for example as a free floating of small objects on the sea surface (rescuers on the rough sea or small research vessels is caused by the interaction of different components. On the other hand one may say that the heave of the sea is also a summary interaction of a few components describing the dynamics of the sea. Therefore it is the most important aspect, which influenced the dispersion phenomenon. This observation has important consequences for many different problems as for example conducting Search and Rescue missions and using unmanned ships. We would like to present results of our experiment focused on finding the answer to question about nature of the heave of the sea and its influence on safety of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV.

  5. Establishment and prioritization of relevant factors to the safety of fuel cycle facilities non reactor through dynamics archetypes evaluation; Estabelecimento e priorizacao de fatores relevantes para a seguranca de instalacoes do ciclo do combustivel exceto o reator atraves da avaliacao da dinamica de arquetipos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sousa, Anna Leticia Barbosa de

    2012-07-01

    The present work aims to establish and prioritize factors that are important to the safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities in order to model, analyze and design safety as a physical system, employing systemic models in an innovative way. This work takes into consideration the fact that models that use adaptations of methodologies for nuclear reactors will not properly work due to the specificities of fuel cycle facilities. Based on the fundamentals of the theory of systems, the four levels of system thinking, and the relationship of eight socio technical factors, a mental model has been developed for safety management in the nuclear fuel cycle context. From this conceptual model, safety archetypes were constructed in order to identify and highlight the processes of change and decision making that allow the system to migrate to a state of loss of safety. After that, stock and flow diagrams were created so that their behavior could be assessed by the system's dynamics. The results from the analysis using the model that simulates the dynamic behavior of the variables (socio technical factors) indicated, as expected, that the system's dynamics proved to be an appropriate and efficient tool for modeling fuel cycle safety as an emergent property. (author)

  6. Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, Institute for Safety Research. Annual report 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weiss, F.P.; Rindelhardt, U.

    1996-09-01

    The scientific work of the Institute of Safety Research covers a wide range of safety related investigations. During 1995 important results on thermo-fluid dynamic single effects, thermalhydraulics and neutron kinetics for accident analysis, materials safety, simulation of radiation and particle transport, mechanical integrity of technical systems and process monitoring, risk management for waste deposits, magneto-hydrodynamics of conductive fluids, and of renewable energies were reached. The annual report presents also lists of publications, conference contributions, meetings, and workshops. (DG)

  7. Using a multi-method, user centred, prospective hazard analysis to assess care quality and patient safety in a care pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Escoto Kamisha

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Care pathways can be complex, often involving multiple care providers and as such are recognised as containing multiple opportunities for error. Prospective hazard analysis methods may be useful for evaluating care provided across primary and secondary care pathway boundaries. These methods take into account the views of users (staff and patients when determining where potential hazards may lie. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of prospective hazard analysis methods when assessing quality and safety in care pathways that lie across primary and secondary care boundaries. Methods Development of a process map of the care pathway for patients entering into a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD supported discharge programme. Triangulation of information from: care process mapping, semi-structured interviews with COPD patients, semi-structured interviews with COPD staff, two round modified Delphi study and review of prioritised quality and safety challenges by health care staff. Results Interview themes emerged under the headings of quality of care and patient safety. Quality and safety concerns were mostly raised in relation to communication, for example, communication with other hospital teams. The three highest ranked safety concerns from the modified Delphi review were: difficulties in accessing hospital records, information transfer to primary care and failure to communicate medication changes to primary care. Conclusion This study has demonstrated the feasibility of using mixed methods to review the quality and safety of care in a care pathway. By using multiple research methods it was possible to get a clear picture of service quality variations and also to demonstrate which points in the care pathway had real potential for patient safety incidents or system failures to occur. By using these methods to analyse one condition specific care pathway it was possible to uncover a number of hospital

  8. El uso de la triangulación en un estudio de detección de necesidades de formación permanente en profesorado no universitario de la Comunidad de Madrid. Using triangulation to assess continuing education teacher needs in Madrid (Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coral González

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo pretende destacar la importancia de la triangulación como elemento o herramienta para comparar y validar informaciones obtenidas mediante diferentes fuentes y métodos. Para ello se apoya en los resultados de un estudio realizado en la Comunidad de Madrid con el fin de determinar las necesidades que el profesorado manifiesta con respecto a la oferta de formación permanente que se les ofrece en la actualidad. Dichos resultados son producto de la utilización de diferentes modos de recogida de información así como de diferentes técnicas de análisis de datos, hecho que los dota de mayor complejidad y riqueza. Partiendo de una breve introducción sobre la técnica de triangulación, se presentan los métodos, fuentes y análisis de datos llevados a cabo junto a los resultados y las conclusiones principales del estudio. This article aims at highlighting the importance of triangulation as tool to compare and validate information coming from different sources and procedures. To do so, we assessed the needs for in-service training demanded by teachers and offered by the educational administration in Madrid (Spain. The data was collected using different techniques and analyzed with different data-analysis method and from this combination the results are richer and more complex. Starting with a short introduction about triangulation, we present methods, sources and analysis of the data as well main results and conclusions obtained via triangulation.

  9. Proceedings of the SRESA national conference on reliability and safety engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varde, P.V.; Vaishnavi, P.; Sujatha, S.; Valarmathi, A.

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this conference was to provide a forum for technical discussions on recent developments in the area of risk based approach and Prognostic Health Management of critical systems in decision making. The reliability and safety engineering methods are concerned with the way which the product fails, and the effects of failure is to understand how a product works and assures acceptable levels of safety. The reliability engineering addresses all the anticipated and possibly unanticipated causes of failure to ensure the occurrence of failure is prevented or minimized. The topics discussed in the conference were: Reliability in Engineering Design, Safety Assessment and Management, Reliability analysis and Assessment , Stochastic Petri nets for reliability Modeling, Dynamic Reliability, Reliability Prediction, Hardware Reliability, Software Reliability in Safety Critical Issues, Probabilistic Safety Assessment, Risk Informed Approach, Dynamic Models for Reliability Analysis, Reliability based Design and Analysis, Prognostics and Health Management, Remaining Useful Life (RUL), Human Reliability Modeling, Risk Based Applications, Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP), Reliability in Network Security and Quality Assurance and Management etc. The papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

  10. Vibration analysis of the Golfech 2 safety injection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morilhat, P.

    1993-01-01

    The main function of the safety injection system in a PWR plant is to ensure cooling of fuel elements in the event of a loss of coolant accident. The multistage centrifugal pump mounted-on this system induces pressure fluctuations, resulting in dynamic loads on piping. In certain plant units, these loads have caused cracking in the nozzles connected to the safety injection system, whereas in others, no damage has been observed. In order to understand the differences in dynamic behavior observed from one site to another, tests were performed on a real safety injection system, that of Golfech-2. They enabled determination of the modal characteristics of the system and identification of the hydro-acoustic source of the low head safety injection pump. They also enabled assessment of the pressure fluctuation levels in the pump suction and discharge areas as well as the vibratory response of the system when operating under partial and nominal flow conditions. Finally, these test results were used to estimate fatigue damage in the safety injection system. The experimental results will later be used to validate the model of the system undertaken with the piping design code CIRCUS and define the boundary conditions to be taken into account. (author). 6 figs., 2 refs

  11. Simulation modeling on the growth of firm's safety management capability

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Tie-zhong; LI Zhi-xiang

    2008-01-01

    Aiming to the deficiency of safety management measure, established simulation model about firm's safety management capability(FSMC) based on organizational learning theory. The system dynamics(SD) method was used, in which level and rate system, variable equation and system structure flow diagram was concluded. Simulation model was verified from two aspects: first, model's sensitivity to variable was tested from the gross of safety investment and the proportion of safety investment; second, variables dependency was checked up from the correlative variable of FSMC and organizational learning. The feasibility of simulation model is verified though these processes.

  12. Psychological aspect of safety culture and motivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godienko, O.

    2002-01-01

    Evaluations of motivation related to safety of personnel in NPPs and other nuclear facilities is made using the results from a study involving 606 persons from Kursk NPP, Physics and Power Engineering Institute (Russia), Obninsk Institute od Nuclear Power and Engineering and Training Centre of Russian Federation Navy. The results show the predominant role of safety motivation as an independent component in the structure of labor activity of nuclear workers and its dynamics in forming the motivation structure

  13. Maintaining Contour Trees of Dynamic Terrains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agarwal, Pankaj K.; Mølhave, Thomas; Revsbæk, Morten

    2015-01-01

    We study the problem of maintaining the contour tree T of a terrain Sigma, represented as a triangulated xy-monotone surface, as the heights of its vertices vary continuously with time. We characterize the combinatorial changes in T and how they relate to topological changes in Sigma. We present ...

  14. Improving homogeneity by dynamic speed limit systems.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nes, N. van Brandenberg, S. & Twisk, D.A.M.

    2010-01-01

    Homogeneity of driving speeds is an important variable in determining road safety; more homogeneous driving speeds increase road safety. This study investigates the effect of introducing dynamic speed limit systems on homogeneity of driving speeds. A total of 46 subjects twice drove a route along 12

  15. Proposals for the Operationalisation of the Discourse Theory of Laclau and Mouffe Using a Triangulation of Lexicometrical and Interpretative Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georg Glasze

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The discourse theory of Ernesto LACLAU and Chantal MOUFFE brings together three elements: the FOUCAULTian notion of discourse, the (post- MARXist notion of hegemony, and the poststructuralist writings of Jacques DERRIDA and Roland BARTHES. Discourses are regarded as temporary fixations of differential relations. Meaning, i.e. any social "objectivity", is conceptualised as an effect of such a fixation. The discussion on an appropriate operationalisation of such a discourse theory is just beginning. In this paper, it is argued that a triangulation of two linguistic methods is appropriate to reveal temporary fixations: by means of corpus-driven lexicometric procedures as well as by the analysis of narrative patterns, the regularities of the linkage of elements can be analysed (for example, in diachronic comparisons. The example of a geographic research project shows how, in so doing, the historically contingent constitution of an international community and "world region" can be analysed. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0702143

  16. The Interactive Trampoline - Safety and Enjoyment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karoff, Helle Skovbjerg; Elbæk, Lars; Rytz, Sigrid Alison

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses the use of technology as a supplement to traditional and well-known dynamics of play. By examining the use of the Interactive Trampoline in the development process of play activities, this paper seeks to emphasise the relationship between physical activity, safety, enjoyment ...

  17. System Dynamics Modeling for the Resilience in Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Florah, Kamanj; Kim, Jonghyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-10-15

    This paper aims to model and evaluate emergency operation system (EOS) resilience using the System Dynamics. System Dynamics is the study of causal interactions between elements of a complex system. This paper identifies the EOS resilience attributes and their interactions by constructing a causal loop diagram. Then, the interactions are quantified based on literature review and simulated to analyze resilience dynamics. This paper describes the use of system dynamics to improve understanding of the resilience dynamics of complex systems such as emergency operation systems. This paper takes into account two aspects; the strength of resilience attributes interactions and the quantification of dynamic behaviour of resilience over time. This model can be applied to review NPP safety in terms of the resilience level and organization. Simulation results can give managers insights to support their decisions in safety management. A nuclear power plant (NPP) is classified as a safety critical organization whose safety objective is to control hazards that can cause significant harm to the environment, public, or personnel. There has been a significant improvement of safety designs as well as risk analysis tools and methods applied in nuclear power plants over the last decade. Conventional safety analysis methods such as PSA have several limitations they primarily focus on technical dimension, the analysis are linear and sequential, they are dominated by static models, they do not take a systemic view into account, and they focus primarily on why accidents happen and not how success is achieved. Hence new approaches to risk analysis for NPPs are needed to complement the conventional approaches. Resilience is the intrinsic ability of a system to adjust to its functioning prior to, during, or following changes and disturbances, so that it can sustain required operations under both expected and unexpected conditions. An EOS in a NPP refers to a system consisting of personnel

  18. System Dynamics Modeling for the Resilience in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florah, Kamanj; Kim, Jonghyun

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to model and evaluate emergency operation system (EOS) resilience using the System Dynamics. System Dynamics is the study of causal interactions between elements of a complex system. This paper identifies the EOS resilience attributes and their interactions by constructing a causal loop diagram. Then, the interactions are quantified based on literature review and simulated to analyze resilience dynamics. This paper describes the use of system dynamics to improve understanding of the resilience dynamics of complex systems such as emergency operation systems. This paper takes into account two aspects; the strength of resilience attributes interactions and the quantification of dynamic behaviour of resilience over time. This model can be applied to review NPP safety in terms of the resilience level and organization. Simulation results can give managers insights to support their decisions in safety management. A nuclear power plant (NPP) is classified as a safety critical organization whose safety objective is to control hazards that can cause significant harm to the environment, public, or personnel. There has been a significant improvement of safety designs as well as risk analysis tools and methods applied in nuclear power plants over the last decade. Conventional safety analysis methods such as PSA have several limitations they primarily focus on technical dimension, the analysis are linear and sequential, they are dominated by static models, they do not take a systemic view into account, and they focus primarily on why accidents happen and not how success is achieved. Hence new approaches to risk analysis for NPPs are needed to complement the conventional approaches. Resilience is the intrinsic ability of a system to adjust to its functioning prior to, during, or following changes and disturbances, so that it can sustain required operations under both expected and unexpected conditions. An EOS in a NPP refers to a system consisting of personnel

  19. From Safety Analysis to Formal Specification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kirsten Mark; Ravn, Anders P.; Stavridou, Victoria

    1998-01-01

    Software for safety critical systems must deal with the hazards identified bysafety analysis. This paper investigates, how the results of onesafety analysis technique, fault trees, are interpreted as software safetyrequirements to be used in the program design process. We propose thatfault tree...... analysis and program development use the samesystem model. This model is formalized in areal-time, interval logic, based on a conventional dynamic systems modelwith state evolving over time. Fault trees are interpreted astemporal formulas, and it is shown how such formulas can be usedfor deriving safety...

  20. Incorporating organisational safety culture within ergonomics practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, Tim; Tappin, David

    2010-10-01

    This paper conceptualises organisational safety culture and considers its relevance to ergonomics practice. Issues discussed in the paper include the modest contribution that ergonomists and ergonomics as a discipline have made to this burgeoning field of study and the significance of safety culture to a systems approach. The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics work with regard to the analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process, and implications for participatory ergonomics approaches, are also discussed. A potential user-friendly, qualitative approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented, based on a recently published conceptual framework that recognises the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of safety culture. The paper concludes by considering the use of such an approach, where an understanding of different aspects of safety culture within an organisation is seen as important to the success of ergonomics projects. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics practice is a key focus of this paper, including its relationship with the systems approach, participatory ergonomics and the ergonomics analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process. An approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented.

  1. A complete solution of cartographic displacement based on elastic beams model and Delaunay triangulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Y.; Guo, Q.; Sun, Y.

    2014-04-01

    In map production and generalization, it is inevitable to arise some spatial conflicts, but the detection and resolution of these spatial conflicts still requires manual operation. It is become a bottleneck hindering the development of automated cartographic generalization. Displacement is the most useful contextual operator that is often used for resolving the conflicts arising between two or more map objects. Automated generalization researches have reported many approaches of displacement including sequential approaches and optimization approaches. As an excellent optimization approach on the basis of energy minimization principles, elastic beams model has been used in resolving displacement problem of roads and buildings for several times. However, to realize a complete displacement solution, techniques of conflict detection and spatial context analysis should be also take into consideration. So we proposed a complete solution of displacement based on the combined use of elastic beams model and constrained Delaunay triangulation (CDT) in this paper. The solution designed as a cyclic and iterative process containing two phases: detection phase and displacement phase. In detection phase, CDT of map is use to detect proximity conflicts, identify spatial relationships and structures, and construct auxiliary structure, so as to support the displacement phase on the basis of elastic beams. In addition, for the improvements of displacement algorithm, a method for adaptive parameters setting and a new iterative strategy are put forward. Finally, we implemented our solution on a testing map generalization platform, and successfully tested it against 2 hand-generated test datasets of roads and buildings respectively.

  2. Institute for safety technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    In the area of nuclear reactor safety studies, the Institute for Safety Technology (STI) concentrated its efforts in analysing experimentally and numerically phenomena which characterize highly-improbable but very severe accidents either for light water or for sodium cooled reactors. In the STI nuclear isle, three new laboratories for waste (PETRA), fusion (ETHEL) and safeguards, (PERLA) activities are approaching completion and have made substantial progress in their licensing procedure. The Institute started activities in the non-nuclear safety research area only a few years ago and has been able this year to present its first significant experimental and theoretical results in the areas of runaway reactions, accidental release of products and their deflagration/detonation. Concerning Reference Methods for the Evaluation of Structure Reliability a better understanding was gained of the nonlinear cyclic and dynamic behaviour of materials and structures by performing experiments and developing constitutive and structural member models leading to the computer simulation of complete structures

  3. Data Analysis Approaches for the Risk-Informed Safety Margins Characterization Toolkit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandelli, Diego; Alfonsi, Andrea; Maljovec, Daniel P.; Parisi, Carlo; Cogliati, Joshua J.; Talbot, Paul W.; Smith, Curtis L.; Rabiti, Cristian; Picoco, Claudia

    2016-01-01

    In the past decades, several numerical simulation codes have been employed to simulate accident dynamics (e.g., RELAP5-3D, RELAP-7, MELCOR, MAAP). In order to evaluate the impact of uncertainties into accident dynamics, several stochastic methodologies have been coupled with these codes. These stochastic methods range from classical Monte-Carlo and Latin Hypercube sampling to stochastic polynomial methods. Similar approaches have been introduced into the risk and safety community where stochastic methods (such as RAVEN, ADAPT, MCDET, ADS) have been coupled with safety analysis codes in order to evaluate the safety impact of timing and sequencing of events. These approaches are usually called Dynamic PRA or simulation-based PRA methods. These uncertainties and safety methods usually generate a large number of simulation runs (database storage may be on the order of gigabytes or higher). The scope of this paper is to present a broad overview of methods and algorithms that can be used to analyze and extract information from large data sets containing time dependent data. In this context, ''extracting information'' means constructing input-output correlations, finding commonalities, and identifying outliers. Some of the algorithms presented here have been developed or are under development within the RAVEN statistical framework.

  4. Data Analysis Approaches for the Risk-Informed Safety Margins Characterization Toolkit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mandelli, Diego [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Alfonsi, Andrea [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Maljovec, Daniel P. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Parisi, Carlo [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Cogliati, Joshua J. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Talbot, Paul W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Smith, Curtis L. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rabiti, Cristian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Picoco, Claudia [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-09-01

    In the past decades, several numerical simulation codes have been employed to simulate accident dynamics (e.g., RELAP5-3D, RELAP-7, MELCOR, MAAP). In order to evaluate the impact of uncertainties into accident dynamics, several stochastic methodologies have been coupled with these codes. These stochastic methods range from classical Monte-Carlo and Latin Hypercube sampling to stochastic polynomial methods. Similar approaches have been introduced into the risk and safety community where stochastic methods (such as RAVEN, ADAPT, MCDET, ADS) have been coupled with safety analysis codes in order to evaluate the safety impact of timing and sequencing of events. These approaches are usually called Dynamic PRA or simulation-based PRA methods. These uncertainties and safety methods usually generate a large number of simulation runs (database storage may be on the order of gigabytes or higher). The scope of this paper is to present a broad overview of methods and algorithms that can be used to analyze and extract information from large data sets containing time dependent data. In this context, “extracting information” means constructing input-output correlations, finding commonalities, and identifying outliers. Some of the algorithms presented here have been developed or are under development within the RAVEN statistical framework.

  5. Investigation of assumptions underlying current safety guidelines on EM-induced nerve stimulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufeld, Esra; Vogiatzis Oikonomidis, Ioannis; Iacono, Maria Ida; Angelone, Leonardo M.; Kainz, Wolfgang; Kuster, Niels

    2016-06-01

    An intricate network of a variety of nerves is embedded within the complex anatomy of the human body. Although nerves are shielded from unwanted excitation, they can still be stimulated by external electromagnetic sources that induce strongly non-uniform field distributions. Current exposure safety standards designed to limit unwanted nerve stimulation are based on a series of explicit and implicit assumptions and simplifications. This paper demonstrates the applicability of functionalized anatomical phantoms with integrated coupled electromagnetic and neuronal dynamics solvers for investigating the impact of magnetic resonance exposure on nerve excitation within the full complexity of the human anatomy. The impact of neuronal dynamics models, temperature and local hot-spots, nerve trajectory and potential smoothing, anatomical inhomogeneity, and pulse duration on nerve stimulation was evaluated. As a result, multiple assumptions underlying current safety standards are questioned. It is demonstrated that coupled EM-neuronal dynamics modeling involving realistic anatomies is valuable to establish conservative safety criteria.

  6. Soft systems methodology as a systemic approach to nuclear safety management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieira Neto, Antonio S.; Guilhen, Sabine N.; Rubin, Gerson A.; Caldeira Filho, Jose S.; Camargo, Iara M.C.

    2017-01-01

    Safety approach currently adopted by nuclear installations is built almost exclusively upon analytical methodologies based, mainly, on the belief that the properties of a system, such as its safety, are given by its constituent parts. This approach, however, does not properly address the complex dynamic interactions between technical, human and organizational factors occurring within and outside the organization. After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommended a systemic approach as a complementary perspective to nuclear safety. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the systems thinking approach and its potential use for structuring socio technical problems involved in the safety of nuclear installations, highlighting the methodologies related to the soft systems thinking, in particular the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). The implementation of a systemic approach may thus result in a more holistic picture of the system by the complex dynamic interactions between technical, human and organizational factors. (author)

  7. Soft systems methodology as a systemic approach to nuclear safety management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vieira Neto, Antonio S.; Guilhen, Sabine N.; Rubin, Gerson A.; Caldeira Filho, Jose S.; Camargo, Iara M.C., E-mail: asvneto@ipen.br, E-mail: snguilhen@ipen.br, E-mail: garubin@ipen.br, E-mail: jscaldeira@ipen.br, E-mail: icamargo@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNE-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    Safety approach currently adopted by nuclear installations is built almost exclusively upon analytical methodologies based, mainly, on the belief that the properties of a system, such as its safety, are given by its constituent parts. This approach, however, does not properly address the complex dynamic interactions between technical, human and organizational factors occurring within and outside the organization. After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommended a systemic approach as a complementary perspective to nuclear safety. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the systems thinking approach and its potential use for structuring socio technical problems involved in the safety of nuclear installations, highlighting the methodologies related to the soft systems thinking, in particular the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). The implementation of a systemic approach may thus result in a more holistic picture of the system by the complex dynamic interactions between technical, human and organizational factors. (author)

  8. Chequered surfaces and complex matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, T.R.; Southampton Univ.

    1991-01-01

    We investigate a large-N matrix model involving general complex matrices. It can be reinterpreted as a model of two hermitian matrices with specific couplings, and as a model of positive definite hermitian matrices. Large-N perturbation theory generates dynamical triangulations in which the triangles can be chequered (i.e. coloured so that neighbours are opposite colours). On a sphere there is a simple relation between such triangulations and those generated by the single hermitian matrix model. For the torus (and a quartic potential) we solve the counting problem for the number of triangulations that cannot be quechered. The critical physics of chequered triangulations is the same as that of the hermitian matrix model. We show this explicitly by solving non-perturbatively pure two-dimensional ''chequered'' gravity. The interpretative framework given here applies to a number of other generalisations of the hermitian matrix model. (orig.)

  9. Understanding and assessing safety culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalling, Ian

    1997-01-01

    The 'Dalling' integrated model of organisational performance is introduced and described. A principal element of this model is culture, which is dynamically contrasted with the five other interacting critical elements, which comprise: the management system, the knowledge base, corporate leadership, stakeholders and consciousness. All six of these principal driving elements significantly influence health, safety, environmental, security, or any other aspect of organisational performance. It is asserted that the elements of organisational performance must be clearly defined and understood if meaningful measurements are to be carried out and sustained progress made in improving the knowledge of organisational performance. AEA Technology's safety culture research programme is then described together with the application of a safety culture assessment tool to organisations in the nuclear, electricity, transport, and oil and gas industries, both within and outside of the United Kingdom. (author)

  10. Computational Fluid Dynamics for Nuclear Reactor Safety-5 (CFD4NRS-5). Workshop Proceedings, 9-11 September 2014, Zurich, Switzerland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Brian L.; Andreani, Michele; Badillo, Arnoldo; Dehbi, Abdel; Sato, Yohei; Smith, Brian L.; Dreier, Joerg; Kapulla, Ralf; Niceno, Bojan; Sharabi, Medhat; Bestion, Dominique; Bieder, Ulrich; Coste, Pierre; Martinez, Jean Marc; Zigh, Ghani; Boyd, Chris; Prasser, Horst-Michael; Kerenyi, Nora; Adams, Robert; Bolesch, Christian; D'Aleo, Paolo; Eismann, Ralph; Kickhofel, John; Lafferty, Nathan; Saxena, Abhishek; Kissane, Martin; ); Ulses, Anthony; ); Bartosiewicz, Yann; Seynhaeve, Jean-Marie; Caraghiaur, Diana; Munoz Cobo, Jose Luis; Glaeser, Horst; Buchholz, Sebastian; Scheuerer, Martina; Hassan, Yassin; In, Wang-Kee; Song, Chul-Hwa; Yoon, Han-Young; Kim, J.W.; Koncar, Bostjan; Tiselj, Iztoc; Lakehal, Djamel; Yadigaroglu, George; Lo, Simon; Manera, Annalisa; Petrov, Victor; Mimouni, Stephane; Benhamadouche, Sofiane; Morii, Tadashi; Suikkanen, Heikki; Toppila, Timo; Angele, Kristian; Baglietto, Emilio; Cheng, Xu; Graffard, Estelle; Ko, Jordan; Hoehne, Thomas; Lucas, Dirk; Krepper, Eckhard; Laurien, Eckart; Moretti, Fabio; Piro, Markus; Roelofs, Ferry; Veber, Pascal; Watanabe, Tadashi; Yan, Jin; Yeoh, Guan

    2016-01-01

    This present workshop, the 5. Computational Fluid Dynamics for Nuclear-Reactor Safety (CFD4NRS-5), in the biennial series of such Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sponsored events, a tradition which began in Garching in 2006, follows the format and objectives of its predecessors in creating a forum whereby numerical analysts and experimentalists can exchange information in the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to nuclear power plant (NPP) safety and future design issues. The emphasis, as always, was, in a congenial atmosphere, to offer exposure to state-of-the-art (single-phase and multi-phase) CFD applications reflecting topical issues arising in NPP design and safety, but in particular to promote the release of high-resolution experimental data to continue the CFD validation process in this application area. The reason for the increased use of multi-dimensional CFD methods is that a number of important thermal-hydraulic phenomena occurring in NPPs cannot be adequately predicted using traditional one-dimensional system hydraulics codes with the required accuracy and spatial resolution when strong three-dimensional motions prevail. Established CFD codes already contain empirical models for simulating turbulence, heat transfer, multi-phase interaction and chemical reactions. Nonetheless, such models must be validated against test data before they can be used with confidence. The necessary validation procedure is performed by comparing model predictions against trustworthy experimental data. However, reliable model assessment requires CFD simulations to be undertaken with full control over numerical errors and input uncertainties. The writing groups originally set up by the NEA have been consistently promoting the use of best practice guidelines (BPGs) in the application of CFD for just this purpose, and BPGs remain a central pillar of the simulation material accepted at this current workshop, as it was at its

  11. Generalized Boolean logic Driven Markov Processes: A powerful modeling framework for Model-Based Safety Analysis of dynamic repairable and reconfigurable systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piriou, Pierre-Yves; Faure, Jean-Marc; Lesage, Jean-Jacques

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a modeling framework that permits to describe in an integrated manner the structure of the critical system to analyze, by using an enriched fault tree, the dysfunctional behavior of its components, by means of Markov processes, and the reconfiguration strategies that have been planned to ensure safety and availability, with Moore machines. This framework has been developed from BDMP (Boolean logic Driven Markov Processes), a previous framework for dynamic repairable systems. First, the contribution is motivated by pinpointing the limitations of BDMP to model complex reconfiguration strategies and the failures of the control of these strategies. The syntax and semantics of GBDMP (Generalized Boolean logic Driven Markov Processes) are then formally defined; in particular, an algorithm to analyze the dynamic behavior of a GBDMP model is developed. The modeling capabilities of this framework are illustrated on three representative examples. Last, qualitative and quantitative analysis of GDBMP models highlight the benefits of the approach.

  12. Handling and safety enhancement of race cars using active aerodynamic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diba, Fereydoon; Barari, Ahmad; Esmailzadeh, Ebrahim

    2014-09-01

    A methodology is presented in this work that employs the active inverted wings to enhance the road holding by increasing the downward force on the tyres. In the proposed active system, the angles of attack of the vehicle's wings are adjusted by using a real-time controller to increase the road holding and hence improve the vehicle handling. The handling of the race car and safety of the driver are two important concerns in the design of race cars. The handling of a vehicle depends on the dynamic capabilities of the vehicle and also the pneumatic tyres' limitations. The vehicle side-slip angle, as a measure of the vehicle dynamic safety, should be narrowed into an acceptable range. This paper demonstrates that active inverted wings can provide noteworthy dynamic capabilities and enhance the safety features of race cars. Detailed analytical study and formulations of the race car nonlinear model with the airfoils are presented. Computer simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed active aerodynamic system.

  13. Keeping Up Appearances: Perceptions of Street Food Safety in Urban Kumasi, Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Mette; Bakang, John Abubakar; Takyi, Harriet; Konradsen, Flemming; Samuelsen, Helle

    2008-01-01

    The growing street food sector in low-income countries offers easy access to inexpensive food as well as new job opportunities for urban residents. While this development is positive in many ways, it also presents new public health challenges for the urban population. Safe food hygiene is difficult to practice at street level, and outbreaks of diarrheal diseases have been linked to street food. This study investigates local perceptions of food safety among street food vendors and their consumers in Kumasi, Ghana in order to identify the most important aspects to be included in future public health interventions concerning street food safety. This qualitative study includes data from a triangulation of various qualitative methods. Observations at several markets and street food vending sites in Kumasi were performed. Fourteen street food vendors were chosen for in-depth studies, and extensive participant observations and several interviews were carried out with case vendors. In addition, street interviews and Focus Group Discussions were carried out with street food customers. The study found that although vendors and consumers demonstrated basic knowledge of food safety, the criteria did not emphasize basic hygiene practices such as hand washing, cleaning of utensils, washing of raw vegetables, and quality of ingredients. Instead, four main food selection criteria could be identified and were related to (1) aesthetic appearance of food and food stand, (2) appearance of the food vendor, (3) interpersonal trust in the vendor, and (4) consumers often chose to prioritize price and accessibility of food—not putting much stress on food safety. Hence, consumers relied on risk avoidance strategies by assessing neatness, appearance, and trustworthiness of vendor. Vendors were also found to emphasize appearance while vending and to ignore core food safety practices while preparing food. These findings are discussed in this paper using social and anthropological theoretical

  14. Dynamic assessment for life extension of nuclear power plants (NPPs) using system dynamics (SD) method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, Tae Ho

    2012-01-01

    It has been proposed to extend the life of nuclear power plants (NPPs) for the economic purpose. Especially, the primary systems in reactor are considered in the thermohydraulic and neutronic aspect, which is related to the safety system. The electric power and the lifespan of components are expressed as economic situation. In addition, political considerations are given by the presidential change and the nuclear non-proliferation characteristics. The dynamical investigation using system dynamics (SD) shows the effective time for the life extension of the NPPs by Monte-Carlo simulations. This non-linear algorithm is incorporated with the feedback loop of the event sequences. The expected event is related to the past event, which affects to the dynamical simulations of lifetime in the NPPs. In the conclusions, the safety guarantee as well as the economic profit in the re-use of long term operated power plants is presented, which is mentioned as the transient time between 2019 and 2021 in this paper. (orig.)

  15. Dynamic assessment for life extension of nuclear power plants (NPPs) using system dynamics (SD) method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woo, Tae Ho [Seoul National Univ. (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

    2012-12-15

    It has been proposed to extend the life of nuclear power plants (NPPs) for the economic purpose. Especially, the primary systems in reactor are considered in the thermohydraulic and neutronic aspect, which is related to the safety system. The electric power and the lifespan of components are expressed as economic situation. In addition, political considerations are given by the presidential change and the nuclear non-proliferation characteristics. The dynamical investigation using system dynamics (SD) shows the effective time for the life extension of the NPPs by Monte-Carlo simulations. This non-linear algorithm is incorporated with the feedback loop of the event sequences. The expected event is related to the past event, which affects to the dynamical simulations of lifetime in the NPPs. In the conclusions, the safety guarantee as well as the economic profit in the re-use of long term operated power plants is presented, which is mentioned as the transient time between 2019 and 2021 in this paper. (orig.)

  16. Barriers to energy efficiency in shipping: A triangulated approach to investigate the principal agent problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehmatulla, Nishatabbas; Smith, Tristan

    2015-01-01

    Energy efficiency is a key policy strategy to meet some of the challenges being faced today and to plan for a sustainable future. Numerous empirical studies in various sectors suggest that there are cost-effective measures that are available but not always implemented due to existence of barriers to energy efficiency. Several cost-effective energy efficient options (technologies for new and existing ships and operations) have also been identified for improving energy efficiency of ships. This paper is one of the first to empirically investigate barriers to energy efficiency in the shipping industry using a novel framework and multidisciplinary methods to gauge implementation of cost-effective measures, perception on barriers and observations of barriers. It draws on findings of a survey conducted of shipping companies, content analysis of shipping contracts and analysis of energy efficiency data. Initial results from these methods suggest the existence of the principal agent problem and other market failures and barriers that have also been suggested in other sectors and industries. Given this finding, policies to improve implementation of energy efficiency in shipping need to be carefully considered to improve their efficacy and avoid unintended consequences. -- Highlights: •We provide the first analysis of the principal agent problem in shipping. •We develop a framework that incorporates methodological triangulation. •Our results show the extent to which this barrier is observed and perceived. •The presence of the barrier has implications on the policy most suited to shipping

  17. Focus on quantum Einstein gravity Focus on quantum Einstein gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambjorn, Jan; Reuter, Martin; Saueressig, Frank

    2012-09-01

    time cosmology and the big bang, as well as TeV-scale gravity models testable at the Large Hadron Collider. On different grounds, Monte-Carlo studies of the gravitational partition function based on the discrete causal dynamical triangulations approach provide an a priori independent avenue towards unveiling the non-perturbative features of gravity. As a highlight, detailed simulations established that the phase diagram underlying causal dynamical triangulations contains a phase where the triangulations naturally give rise to four-dimensional, macroscopic universes. Moreover, there are indications for a second-order phase transition that naturally forms the discrete analog of the non-Gaussian fixed point seen in the continuum computations. Thus there is a good chance that the discrete and continuum computations will converge to the same fundamental physics. This focus issue collects a series of papers that outline the current frontiers of the gravitational asymptotic safety program. We hope that readers get an impression of the depth and variety of this research area as well as our excitement about the new and ongoing developments. References [1] Weinberg S 1979 General Relativity, an Einstein Centenary Survey ed S W Hawking and W Israel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

  18. A literature review of safety culture.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, Kerstan Suzanne; Stevens-Adams, Susan Marie; Wenner, Caren A.

    2013-03-01

    Workplace safety has been historically neglected by organizations in order to enhance profitability. Over the past 30 years, safety concerns and attention to safety have increased due to a series of disastrous events occurring across many different industries (e.g., Chernobyl, Upper Big-Branch Mine, Davis-Besse etc.). Many organizations have focused on promoting a healthy safety culture as a way to understand past incidents, and to prevent future disasters. There is an extensive academic literature devoted to safety culture, and the Department of Energy has also published a significant number of documents related to safety culture. The purpose of the current endeavor was to conduct a review of the safety culture literature in order to understand definitions, methodologies, models, and successful interventions for improving safety culture. After reviewing the literature, we observed four emerging themes. First, it was apparent that although safety culture is a valuable construct, it has some inherent weaknesses. For example, there is no common definition of safety culture and no standard way for assessing the construct. Second, it is apparent that researchers know how to measure particular components of safety culture, with specific focus on individual and organizational factors. Such existing methodologies can be leveraged for future assessments. Third, based on the published literature, the relationship between safety culture and performance is tenuous at best. There are few empirical studies that examine the relationship between safety culture and safety performance metrics. Further, most of these studies do not include a description of the implementation of interventions to improve safety culture, or do not measure the effect of these interventions on safety culture or performance. Fourth, safety culture is best viewed as a dynamic, multi-faceted overall system composed of individual, engineered and organizational models. By addressing all three components of

  19. Advances in industrial ergonomics and safety I

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mital, A. (ed.) (University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH (USA). Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ergonomics Research Lab.)

    1989-01-01

    125 papers are presented under the session headings: industrial ergonomics - programs and applications; applied work physiology; occupational biomechanics; engineering anthropometry; work and protective clothing; hand tools; human-computer interface; theory and practice of industrial safety; human perception and performance; human strengths; industrial noise and vibration; machine guarding and industrial machine safety; manual materials handling; modelling for safety and health; occupational injuries and health problems; policies and standards; quality control and inspection; rehabilitation and designing for the disabled; work duration and fatigue; and work and work place design. Includes papers on static and dynamic back strength of underground coal miners, and slip and fall accidents during equipment maintenance in the surface mining industry.

  20. Safety precautions in atomic pile control (1962)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furet, J.

    1962-01-01

    We have been led to study the problem of safety in atomic pile control as a result of our participation on the one hand in the planning of C.E.A. atomic piles, and on the other hand in the pile safety sub omission considering atomic pile safety of operational or planned C.E.A. piles. We have thus had to consider the wishes occurring in piles during their operation and also their behaviour in the dynamic state The present work deals mainly with the importance of intrinsic safety devices, with the influence of reactivity variations on the power fluctuations during accidental operation, and with the development of robust and reliable safety appliances. The starting p accident has been especially studied both for low-flux piles where a compromise is necessary between the response time of the safety appliances and the statistical fluctuations and for high lux piles where xenon poisoning has an effect on the lower limit of the velocity of reactivity liberation. The desirability has been stressed of automation as a safety factor in atomic pile control. The details required for an understanding of the diagrams of the apparatus are given. (author) [fr

  1. Quantitative evaluation for small surface damage based on iterative difference and triangulation of 3D point cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuyan; Guo, Quanli; Wang, Zhenchun; Yang, Degong

    2018-03-01

    This paper proposes a non-contact, non-destructive evaluation method for the surface damage of high-speed sliding electrical contact rails. The proposed method establishes a model of damage identification and calculation. A laser scanning system is built to obtain the 3D point cloud data of the rail surface. In order to extract the damage region of the rail surface, the 3D point cloud data are processed using iterative difference, nearest neighbours search and a data registration algorithm. The curvature of the point cloud data in the damage region is mapped to RGB color information, which can directly reflect the change trend of the curvature of the point cloud data in the damage region. The extracted damage region is divided into three prism elements by a method of triangulation. The volume and mass of a single element are calculated by the method of geometric segmentation. Finally, the total volume and mass of the damage region are obtained by the principle of superposition. The proposed method is applied to several typical injuries and the results are discussed. The experimental results show that the algorithm can identify damage shapes and calculate damage mass with milligram precision, which are useful for evaluating the damage in a further research stage.

  2. A multilevel model of patient safety culture: cross-level relationship between organizational culture and patient safety behavior in Taiwan's hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, I-Chi; Ng, Hui-Fuang; Li, Hung-Hui

    2012-01-01

    As health-care organizations endeavor to improve their quality of care, there is a growing recognition of the importance of establishing a culture of patient safety. The main objective of this study was to investigate the cross-level influences of organizational culture on patient safety behavior in Taiwan's hospitals. The authors measured organizational culture (bureaucratic, supportive and innovative culture), patient safety culture and behavior from 788 hospital workers among 42 hospitals in Taiwan. Multilevel analysis was applied to explore the relationship between organizational culture (group level) and patient safety behavior (individual level). Patient safety culture had positive impact on patient safety behavior in Taiwan's hospitals. The results also indicated that bureaucratic, innovative and supportive organizational cultures all had direct influence on patient safety behavior. However, only supportive culture demonstrated significant moderation effect on the relationship between patient safety culture and patient safety behavior. Furthermore, organizational culture strength was shown correlated negatively with patient safety culture variability. Overall, organizational culture plays an important role in patient safety activities. Safety behaviors of hospital staff are partly influenced by the prevailing cultural norms in their organizations and work groups. For management implications, constructed patient priority from management commitment to leadership is necessary. For academic implications, research on patient safety should consider leadership, group dynamics and organizational learning. These factors are important for understanding the barriers and the possibilities embedded in patient safety. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Addressing the fundamental issues in reliability evaluation of passive safety of AP1000 for a comparison with active safety of PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashim Muhammad; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Yang Ming

    2013-01-01

    Passive safety systems adopted in advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), such as AP1000 and EPR, should attain higher reliability than the existing active safety systems of the conventional PWR. The objective of this study is to discuss the fundamental issues relating to the reliability evaluation of AP1000 passive safety systems for a comparison with the active safety systems of conventional PWR, based on several aspects. First, comparisons between conventional PWR and AP1000 are made from the both aspects of safety design and cost reduction. The main differences between these PWR plants exist in the configurations of safety systems: AP1000 employs the passive safety system while reducing the number of active systems. Second, the safety of AP1000 is discussed from the aspect of severe accident prevention in the event of large break loss of coolant accidents (LOCA). Third, detailed fundamental issues on reliability evaluation of AP1000 passive safety systems are discussed qualitatively by using single loop models of safety systems of both PWRs plants. Lastly, methodology to conduct quantitative estimation of dynamic reliability for AP1000 passive safety systems in LOCA condition is discussed, in order to evaluate the reliability of AP1000 in future by a success-path-based reliability analysis method (i.e., GO-FLOW). (author)

  4. Optimization of safety production supervision mode of coalmining enterprises

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, M.; Xiao, Z. [China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (China). School of Management

    2005-12-01

    In view of the fact that safety production supervision of coal mines in China features low efficacy, this paper applies principles of cybernetics to simulate the dynamic process of safety supervision, and proposes that institutional variables be controlled to support intermediate goals, which in turn contribute to the ultimate safety production objective. Rather than focussing all attention on safety issues of working faces, supervising departments of coalmines are advised to pay much more attention to institutional factors that may impact people's attitude and behavior, which are responsible for most coalmine accidents. It is believed that such a shift of attention can effectively reduce coalmining production accidents and greatly enhance supervision efficacy. 8 refs., 5 figs.

  5. L1 Use in EFL Classes with English-only Policy: Insights from Triangulated Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the role of the use of the L1 in EFL classes from the perspective of EFL learners. The triangulated data were collected using class observations, focus group semi-structured interviews and the learners’ written reports of their perceptions and attitudes in a purpose-designed questionnaire. The participants consisted of sixty male Iranian EFL learners who constituted three classes. The results indicated a strong tendency among the participants toward L1 and its positive effects on language learning; while only a minority of the learners favoured an English-only policy, the majority supported the judicious, limited and occasional use of the L1, particularly on the part of the teacher. The participants mentioned the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the use/non-use of the L1. While the major advantage and the main purpose of L1 use was said to be the clarification and intelligibility of instructions, grammatical and lexical items, the main advantages of avoiding it were stated as being the improvement of speaking and listening skills, aximizing learners’ exposure to English and their becoming accustomed to it. The study concludes that, overall and in line with the majority of the previous research studies, a judicious, occasional and limited use of the L1 is a better approach to take in EFL classes than to include or exclude it totally. In conclusion, a re-examination of the English-only policy and a reconsideration of the role of the L1 are recommended. Finally, the commonly held assumption that L1 is a hindrance and an impediment to the learners’ language learning is challenged.

  6. Structural dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Strømmen, Einar N

    2014-01-01

    This book introduces to the theory of structural dynamics, with focus on civil engineering structures that may be described by line-like beam or beam-column type of systems, or by a system of rectangular plates. Throughout this book the mathematical presentation contains a classical analytical description as well as a description in a discrete finite element format, covering the mathematical development from basic assumptions to the final equations ready for practical dynamic response predictions. Solutions are presented in time domain as well as in frequency domain. Structural Dynamics starts off at a basic level and step by step brings the reader up to a level where the necessary safety considerations to wind or horizontal ground motion induced dynamic design problems can be performed. The special theory of the tuned mass damper has been given a comprehensive treatment, as this is a theory not fully covered elsewhere. For the same reason a chapter on the problem of moving loads on beams has been included.

  7. Toward risk assessment 2.0: Safety supervisory control and model-based hazard monitoring for risk-informed safety interventions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favarò, Francesca M.; Saleh, Joseph H.

    2016-01-01

    Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) is a staple in the engineering risk community, and it has become to some extent synonymous with the entire quantitative risk assessment undertaking. Limitations of PRA continue to occupy researchers, and workarounds are often proposed. After a brief review of this literature, we propose to address some of PRA's limitations by developing a novel framework and analytical tools for model-based system safety, or safety supervisory control, to guide safety interventions and support a dynamic approach to risk assessment and accident prevention. Our work shifts the emphasis from the pervading probabilistic mindset in risk assessment toward the notions of danger indices and hazard temporal contingency. The framework and tools here developed are grounded in Control Theory and make use of the state-space formalism in modeling dynamical systems. We show that the use of state variables enables the definition of metrics for accident escalation, termed hazard levels or danger indices, which measure the “proximity” of the system state to adverse events, and we illustrate the development of such indices. Monitoring of the hazard levels provides diagnostic information to support both on-line and off-line safety interventions. For example, we show how the application of the proposed tools to a rejected takeoff scenario provides new insight to support pilots’ go/no-go decisions. Furthermore, we augment the traditional state-space equations with a hazard equation and use the latter to estimate the times at which critical thresholds for the hazard level are (b)reached. This estimation process provides important prognostic information and produces a proxy for a time-to-accident metric or advance notice for an impending adverse event. The ability to estimate these two hazard coordinates, danger index and time-to-accident, offers many possibilities for informing system control strategies and improving accident prevention and risk mitigation

  8. A progressive methodology for seismic safety evaluation of gravity dams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghrib, F.; Leger, P.; Tinawi, R.; Lupien, R.; Veilleux, M.

    1995-01-01

    A progressive methodology for the seismic safety evaluation of existing concrete gravity dams was described. The methodology was based on five structural analysis levels with increasing complexity to represent inertia forces, dam-foundation and dam-interaction mechanisms, as well as concrete cracking. The five levels were (1) preliminary screening, (2) pseudo-static method, (3) pseudo-dynamic method, (4) linear time history analysis, and (5) non-linear history analysis. The first four levels of analysis were applied for the seismic safety evaluation of Paugan gravity dam (Quebec). Results showed that internal forces from pseudo-dynamic, response spectra and transient finite element analyses could be used to interpret the dynamic stability of dams from familiar strength-based criteria. However, as soon as the base was cracked, the seismically induced forces were modified, and level IV analyses proved more suitable to handle rationally these complexities. 8 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab

  9. Annual activity report of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group for 1996 year

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ushpuras, E.; Augutis, J.; Bubelis, E.

    1997-03-01

    The main results of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) investigations for 1996 are presented. ISAG is concentrating its research activities into four areas: the neutrons dynamics modelling, simulation of transient processes during loss of coolant accident, the reactor cooling systems modelling and the probabilistic safety assessment of accident confinement system. Ignalina Safety Analysis Report was prepared on the basis of these results. 37 refs., 9 tabs., 96 figs

  10. Enhancing operational nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sengoku, Katsuhisa

    2008-01-01

    Since Chernobyl, the dictum A n accident anywhere is an accident everywhere i s a globally shared perception. The paper presents challenges to the international nuclear community: globalization, sustainable and dynamic development, secure, safe and clean energy supply, nuclear r enaissance , public concern for nuclear safety, nuclear security, and technology and management. Strong national safety infrastructures and international cooperation are required to maintain a high level of nuclear safety and security worldwide. There is an increasing number of countries thinking of going nuclear: Morocco, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Turkey, Bangladesh, Egypt, Vietnam, Chile, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Uruguay, Tunisia, Algeria. Another serious incident will jeopardize the prospect of nuclear renaissance. Safety and security are preconditions for countries newly introducing NPP as well as for those with mature nuclear programmes. The Global Nuclear Safety Regime (GNSR) is referred to as the institutional, legal and technical framework to achieve worldwide implementation of the safety of nuclear installations. At the top of the framework is the Convention on Nuclear Safety which covers the nuclear power plants. The convention has 56 contracting parties which meet triennially where national reports are presented and subject to the review of peers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) undertakes a programme to foster the GNSR through the establishment of IAEA safety standards and related publications. The programme provides for the application of standards for the (1) safety of nuclear installations, (2) safety of radioactive sources, (3) safe transport of radioactive material and (4) management of radioactive waste. It also provides for the security of nuclear installations, nuclear material and radioactive material. The safety standards hierarchy is as follows: safety fundamental, safety requirements and safety guides. The safety fundamentals are the bases for IAEA

  11. Maintaining Contour Trees of Dynamic Terrains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agarwal, Pankaj K.; Arge, Lars; Mølhave, Thomas

    We consider maintaining the contour tree T of a piecewise-linear triangulation M that is the graph of a time varying height function h:R2→R. We carefully describe the combinatorial change in T that happen as h varies over time and how these changes relate to topological changes in M. We present a...

  12. International Conference on Human and Organizational Aspects of Assuring Nuclear Safety. Exploring 30 years of Safety Culture. Programme and Abstracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-01-01

    Thirty years ago, the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group concluded, in its investigation of the Chernobyl accident, that one of the key lessons to be learned from that accident was the importance of a strong safety culture to maintain safe operations. Almost five years have now passed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and the need to implement a systemic approach to safety that takes into account the complex and dynamic sociotechnical systems comprising nuclear infrastructure is one of the main lessons emerging from investigations. This conference will allow an international audience to take a step back and reflect upon the knowledge accumulated in the areas of human and organizational factors (HOF), safety culture and leadership for safety over the past 30 years. The objectives of the conference are to: • Review the experience gained with regard to HOF, safety culture and leadership for safety; • Share and gather experiences related to current developments, approaches, methods and research in the areas of HOF, safety culture and leadership for safety; and • Identify the future needs for building organizational resilience capabilities in order to further strengthen defence in depth for nuclear facilities and activities. The special focus of the conference will be on safety culture and the past 30 years of developments in this area.

  13. Safety culture competition - expectations of a regulatory authority

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keil, D.; Gloeckle, W.

    2000-01-01

    The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station on April 26, 1986 influenced the development of reactor safety and promulgated two basic concepts especially in Germany. On the one hand, extensive measures of in-plant accident management have greatly reduced the so-called residual risk. On the other hand, a comprehensive safety approach has been initiated which comprises the nuclear power plant as a system together with people, technology, and organization and also includes safety culture. In a modern regulatory concept based on the dynamic development of safety, the authority's classical regulatory function of controlling is supplemented by the objective of promoting safety. While preserving the division of responsibilities between the regulatory authority and plant operators, the authority uses 'constructive critical dialog' as a tool to enhance safety. Besides the regulatory assessment of safety culture on the basis of indications or indicators, also the continuous promotion of safety culture in a dialog with plant operators is seen as one of the duties of a regulatory authority. Continued efforts are necessary to maintain the high level of safety culture in German nuclear power plants. Operators are expected to establish a safety management which assigns top priority to safety issues, and which pursues the goal of supervising and promoting safety culture. Developments on the deregulated electricity markets must not lead to safety aspects ranking second to economic aspects. Moreover, also under changed boundary conditions, only the safe operation of nuclear power plants ensures economic viability. (orig.) [de

  14. Is Neighborhood Green Space Protective against Associations between Child Asthma, Neighborhood Traffic Volume and Perceived Lack of Area Safety? Multilevel Analysis of 4447 Australian Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiaoqi; Astell-Burt, Thomas

    2017-05-19

    Heavy traffic is a source of air pollution and a safety concern with important public health implications. We investigated whether green space lowers child asthma risk by buffering the effects of heavy traffic and a lack of neighborhood safety. Multilevel models were used to analyze affirmative asthma cases in nationally representative cross-sectional data from 4447 children aged 6-7 years old in Australia. Case-finding was based upon a triangulation of affirmative responses to three questions on doctor-diagnosed asthma, asthma-related medications and illness with wheezing lasting for at least 1 week within the 12 months prior. Among children considered to be exposed to high traffic volumes and areas with 0 to 20% green space quantity, the odds ratio of affirmative asthma was 1.87 (95% CI 1.37 to 2.55). However, the association between heavy traffic and asthma was significantly lower for participants living in areas with over 40% green space coverage (odds ratio for interaction 0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.84). No association between affirmative asthma and green space coverage was observed for participants not exposed to heavy traffic, nor for the area safety variable. Protecting existing and investing in new green space may help to promote child respiratory health through the buffering of traffic-related air pollution.

  15. Dynamic load in suppression pool during BWR main steam safety relief valve actuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsukada, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Hirokatsu; Morita, Terumichi

    1979-01-01

    BWRs are so designed that the exhaust steam from main steam safety relief valves is led to pressure suppression pools, and the steam is condensed in pool water, but at this time, dynamic load seems to arise in the pool water. In Tokai No. 2 Power Station, a Mark-2 containment vessel was adopted to improve the reliability as much as possible and to obtain the design with margin. In this report, the result of actual machine test in Tokai No. 2 Power Station and the method of reducing the load are described. When a relief valve works, the discharge of water in exhaust pipes into a suppression pool, the exhaust of air in exhaust pipes and repeated expansion and contraction of bubbles in pool water, and the exhaust of steam and condensation occur. As for the construction of the suppression pool in Tokai No. 2 Power Station, cross-shaped quencher and the structure with jet deflector were installed. The test plan and the test result with an actual machine are reported. The soundness of the Mark-2 containment vessel and the structures in the pool was proved. The differential pressure acting on the structures was negligibly small. The measured pulsating pressure was in the range from 0.84 to -0.39 kg/cm 2 . (Kako, I.)

  16. System analysis of vehicle active safety problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buznikov, S. E.

    2018-02-01

    The problem of the road transport safety affects the vital interests of the most of the population and is characterized by a global level of significance. The system analysis of problem of creation of competitive active vehicle safety systems is presented as an interrelated complex of tasks of multi-criterion optimization and dynamic stabilization of the state variables of a controlled object. Solving them requires generation of all possible variants of technical solutions within the software and hardware domains and synthesis of the control, which is close to optimum. For implementing the task of the system analysis the Zwicky “morphological box” method is used. Creation of comprehensive active safety systems involves solution of the problem of preventing typical collisions. For solving it, a structured set of collisions is introduced with its elements being generated also using the Zwicky “morphological box” method. The obstacle speed, the longitudinal acceleration of the controlled object and the unpredictable changes in its movement direction due to certain faults, the road surface condition and the control errors are taken as structure variables that characterize the conditions of collisions. The conditions for preventing typical collisions are presented as inequalities for physical variables that define the state vector of the object and its dynamic limits.

  17. Tritium safety study using Caisson Assembly (CATS) at TPL/JAEA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, T.; Kobayashi, K.; Iwai, Y.; Isobe, K.; Nakamura, H.; Kawamura, Y.; Shu, W.; Suzuki, T.; Yamada, M.; Yamanishi, T.

    2008-01-01

    Tritium confinement is required as the most important safety Junction for a fusion reactor. In order to demonstrate the confinement performance experimentally, an unique equipment, called CATS: Caisson Assembly for Tritium Safety study, was installed in Tritium Process Laboratory of Japan Atomic Energy Agency and operated for about 10 years. Tritium confinement and migration data in CATS have been accumulated and dynamic simulation code was accumulated using these data. Contamination and decontamination behavior on various materials and new safety equipment functions have been investigated under collaborations with a lot of laboratories and universities. (authors)

  18. Safety and Availability Checking for User Authorization Queries in RBAC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian-feng Lu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces the notion of safety and availability checking for user authorization query processing, and develop a recursive algorithm use the ideas from backtracking-based search techniques to search for the optimal solution. For the availability checking, we introduce the notion of max activatable set (MAS, and show formally how MAS can be determined in a hybrid role hierarchy. For the safety checking, we give a formal definition of dynamic separation-of-duty (DSoD policies, and show how to reduce the safety checking for DSoD to a SAT instance.

  19. Dynamic safety assessment of natural gas stations using Bayesian network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zarei, Esmaeil; Azadeh, Ali; Khakzad Rostami, N.; Mirzaei Aliabadi, Mostafa; Mohammadfam, Iraj

    2017-01-01

    Pipelines are one of the most popular and effective ways of transporting hazardous materials, especially natural gas. However, the rapid development of gas pipelines and stations in urban areas has introduced a serious threat to public safety and assets. Although different methods have been

  20. Real-time safety risk assessment based on a real-time location system for hydropower construction sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hanchen; Lin, Peng; Fan, Qixiang; Qiang, Maoshan

    2014-01-01

    The concern for workers' safety in construction industry is reflected in many studies focusing on static safety risk identification and assessment. However, studies on real-time safety risk assessment aimed at reducing uncertainty and supporting quick response are rare. A method for real-time safety risk assessment (RTSRA) to implement a dynamic evaluation of worker safety states on construction site has been proposed in this paper. The method provides construction managers who are in charge of safety with more abundant information to reduce the uncertainty of the site. A quantitative calculation formula, integrating the influence of static and dynamic hazards and that of safety supervisors, is established to link the safety risk of workers with the locations of on-site assets. By employing the hidden Markov model (HMM), the RTSRA provides a mechanism for processing location data provided by the real-time location system (RTLS) and analyzing the probability distributions of different states in terms of false positives and negatives. Simulation analysis demonstrated the logic of the proposed method and how it works. Application case shows that the proposed RTSRA is both feasible and effective in managing construction project safety concerns.

  1. Applying Sensor-Based Technology to Improve Construction Safety Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mingyuan; Cao, Tianzhuo; Zhao, Xuefeng

    2017-08-11

    Construction sites are dynamic and complicated systems. The movement and interaction of people, goods and energy make construction safety management extremely difficult. Due to the ever-increasing amount of information, traditional construction safety management has operated under difficult circumstances. As an effective way to collect, identify and process information, sensor-based technology is deemed to provide new generation of methods for advancing construction safety management. It makes the real-time construction safety management with high efficiency and accuracy a reality and provides a solid foundation for facilitating its modernization, and informatization. Nowadays, various sensor-based technologies have been adopted for construction safety management, including locating sensor-based technology, vision-based sensing and wireless sensor networks. This paper provides a systematic and comprehensive review of previous studies in this field to acknowledge useful findings, identify the research gaps and point out future research directions.

  2. LIMBO computer code for analyzing coolant-voiding dynamics in LMFBR safety tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bordner, G.L.

    1979-10-01

    The LIMBO (liquid metal boiling) code for the analysis of two-phase flow phenomena in an LMFBR reactor coolant channel is presented. The code uses a nonequilibrium, annular, two-phase flow model, which allows for slip between the phases. Furthermore, the model is intended to be valid for both quasi-steady boiling and rapid coolant voiding of the channel. The code was developed primarily for the prediction of, and the posttest analysis of, coolant-voiding behavior in the SLSF P-series in-pile safety test experiments. The program was conceived to be simple, efficient, and easy to use. It is particularly suited for parametric studies requiring many computer runs and for the evaluation of the effects of model or correlation changes that require modification of the computer program. The LIMBO code, of course, lacks the sophistication and model detail of the reactor safety codes, such as SAS, and is therefore intended to compliment these safety codes

  3. [B-BS and occupational health and safety management systems].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacchetta, Adriano Paolo

    2010-01-01

    The objective of a SGSL is the "prevention" agreement as approach of "pro-active" toward the safety at work through the construction of an integrated managerial system in synergic an dynamic way with the business organization, according to continuous improvement principles. Nevertheless the adoption of a SGSL, not could guarantee by itself the obtainment of the full effectiveness than projected and every individual's adhesion to it, must guarantee it's personal involvement in proactive way, so that to succeed to actual really how much hypothesized to systemic level to increase the safety in firm. The objective of a behavioral safety process that comes to be integrated in a SGSL, it has the purpose to succeed in implementing in firm a process of cultural change that raises the workers social group fundamental safety value, producing an ample and full involvement of all in the activities of safety at work development. SGSL = Occupational Health and Safety Management System.

  4. Nuclear Safety. 1997; Surete Nucleaire. 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-01-19

    A quick review of the nuclear safety at EDF may be summarized as follows: - the nuclear safety at EDF maintains at a rather good standard; - none of the incidents that took place has had any direct impact upon safety; - the availability remained good; - initiation of the floor 4 reactor generation (N4 unit - 1450 MW) ensued without major difficulties (the Civaux 1 NPP has been coupled to the power network at 24 december 1997); - the analysis of the incidents interesting from the safety point of view presents many similarities with earlier ones. Significant progress has been recorded in promoting actively and directly a safe operation by making visible, evident and concrete the exertion of the nuclear operation responsibility and its control by the hierarchy. The report develops the following chapters and subjects: 1. An overview on 1997; 1.1. The technical issues of the nuclear sector; 1.2. General performances in safety; 1.3. The main incidents; 1.4. Wastes and radiation protection; 2. Nuclear safety management; 2.1. Dynamics and results; 2.2. Ameliorations to be consolidated; 3. Other important issues in safety; 3.1. Probabilistic safety studies; 3.2. Approach for safety re-evaluation; 3.3. The network safety; 3.4. Crisis management; 3.5. The Lifetime program; 3.6. PWR; 3.7. Documentation; 3.8. Competence; 4. Safety management in the future; 4.1. An open future; 4.2. The fast neutron NPP at Creys-Malville; 4.3. Stabilization of the PWR reference frame; 4.4. Implementing the EURATOM directive regarding the radiation protection standards; 4.5. Development of biomedical research and epidemiological studies; 4.6. New regulations concerning the liquid and gaseous effluents; 5. Visions of an open future; 5.1. Alternative views upon safety ay EDF; 5.2. Safety authority; 5.3. International considerations; 5.4. What happens abroad; 5.5. References from non-nuclear domain. Four appendices are added referring to policy of safety management, policy of human factors in NPPs

  5. Design of plant safety model in plant enterprise engineering environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabbar, Hossam A.; Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Shimada, Yukiyasu

    2001-01-01

    Plant enterprise engineering environment (PEEE) is an approach aiming to manage the plant through its lifecycle. In such environment, safety is considered as the common objective for all activities throughout the plant lifecycle. One approach to achieve plant safety is to embed safety aspects within each function and activity within such environment. One ideal way to enable safety aspects within each automated function is through modeling. This paper proposes a theoretical approach to design plant safety model as integrated with the plant lifecycle model within such environment. Object-oriented modeling approach is used to construct the plant safety model using OO CASE tool on the basis of unified modeling language (UML). Multiple views are defined for plant objects to express static, dynamic, and functional semantics of these objects. Process safety aspects are mapped to each model element and inherited from design to operation stage, as it is naturally embedded within plant's objects. By developing and realizing the plant safety model, safer plant operation can be achieved and plant safety can be assured

  6. Linking spatial and dynamic models for traffic maneuvers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olderog, Ernst-Rüdiger; Ravn, Anders Peter; Wisniewski, Rafal

    2015-01-01

    For traffic maneuvers of multiple vehicles on highways we build an abstract spatial and a concrete dynamic model. In the spatial model we show the safety (collision freedom) of lane-change maneuvers. By linking the spatial and dynamic model via suitable refinements of the spatial atoms to distance...

  7. Safety logic systems of PFBR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sambasivan, S. Ilango

    2004-01-01

    Full text : PFBR is provided with two independent, fast acting and diverse shutdown systems to detect any abnormalities and to initiate safety action. Each system consists of sensors, signal processing systems, logics, drive mechanisms and absorber rods. The absorber rods of the first system are Control and Safety Rods (CSR) and that of the second are called as Diverse Safety Rods (DSR). There are nine CSR and three DSR. While CSR are used for startup, control of reactor power, controlled shutdown and SCRAM, the DSR are used only for SCRAM. The respective drive mechanisms are called as CSRDM and DSRDM. Each of these two systems is capable of executing the shutdown satisfactorily with single failure criteria. Two independent safety logic systems based on diverse principles have been designed for the two shut down systems. The analog outputs of the sensors of Core Monitoring Systems comprising of reactor flux monitoring, core temperature monitoring, failed fuel detection and core flow monitoring systems are processed and converted into binary signals depending on their instantaneous values. Safety logic systems receive the binary signals from these core-monitoring systems and process them logically to protect the reactor against postulated initiating events. Neutronic and power to flow (P/Q) signals form the inputs to safety logic system-I and temperature signals are inputs to the safety logic system II. Failed fuel detection signals are processed by both the shut down systems. The two logic systems to actuate the safety rods are also based on two diverse designs and implemented with solid-state devices to meet all the requirements of safety systems. Safety logic system I that caters to neutronic and P/Q signals is designed around combinational logic and has an on-line test facility to detect struck at faults. The second logic system is based on dynamic logic and hence is inherently safe. This paper gives an overview of the two logic systems that have been

  8. Development of evaluation method for software safety analysis techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, H.; Tu, W.; Shih, C.; Chen, C.; Yang, W.; Yih, S.; Kuo, C.; Chen, M.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: Full text: Following the massive adoption of digital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) system for nuclear power plant (NPP), various Software Safety Analysis (SSA) techniques are used to evaluate the NPP safety for adopting appropriate digital I and C system, and then to reduce risk to acceptable level. However, each technique has its specific advantage and disadvantage. If the two or more techniques can be complementarily incorporated, the SSA combination would be more acceptable. As a result, if proper evaluation criteria are available, the analyst can then choose appropriate technique combination to perform analysis on the basis of resources. This research evaluated the applicable software safety analysis techniques nowadays, such as, Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Markov chain modeling, Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM), and simulation-based model analysis; and then determined indexes in view of their characteristics, which include dynamic capability, completeness, achievability, detail, signal/ noise ratio, complexity, and implementation cost. These indexes may help the decision makers and the software safety analysts to choose the best SSA combination arrange their own software safety plan. By this proposed method, the analysts can evaluate various SSA combinations for specific purpose. According to the case study results, the traditional PHA + FMEA + FTA (with failure rate) + Markov chain modeling (without transfer rate) combination is not competitive due to the dilemma for obtaining acceptable software failure rates. However, the systematic architecture of FTA and Markov chain modeling is still valuable for realizing the software fault structure. The system centric techniques, such as DFM and Simulation-based model analysis, show the advantage on dynamic capability, achievability, detail, signal/noise ratio. However, their disadvantage are the completeness complexity

  9. Institute for Safety Research. Annual report 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weiss, F.P.; Boehmert, J.

    1993-11-01

    The Institute is concerned with evaluating the design based safety and increasing the operational safety of technical systems which include serious sources of danger. It is further occupied with methods of mitigating the effects of incidents and accidents. For all these goals the institute does research work in the following fields: modelling and simulation of thermofluid dynamics and neutron kinetics in cases of accidents; two-phase measuring techniques; safety-related analyses and characterizing of mechanical behaviours of material; measurements and calculations of radiation fields; process and plant diagnostics; development and application of methods of decision analysis. This annual report gives a survey of projects and scientific contributions (e.g. Single rod burst tests with ZrNb1 cladding), lists publications, institute seminars and workshops, names the personal staff and describes the organizational structure. (orig./HP)

  10. Advances in crash dynamics for aircraft safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guida, M.; Marulo, F.; Abrate, S.

    2018-04-01

    This paper studies the ability of the fuselage's lower lobe to absorb the energy during a crash landing, where the introduction of the composite materials can improve the crash survivability thanks to the crushing capability of structural parts to limit the effects of deceleration on the occupants. Providing a protective shell around the occupants and minimizing the risks of injuries during and immediately after the crash in the post-crash regime is a safety requirement. This study consists of: (1) numerical and experimental investigations on small components to verify design concepts using high performance composite materials; (2) analyses of full scale crashes of fuselage lower lobes. This paper outlines an approach for demonstrating the crashworthiness characteristics of the airframe performing a drop test at low velocity impact to validate a numerical model obtained by assembling structural components and materials' properties previously obtained by testing coupons and sub-elements.

  11. Protection and safety of nuclear power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1976-01-01

    The extreme requirements for the safety of nuclear power stations set tasks to the civil engineer which, resulting from dynamic load assumptions, among other things also demand the development of novel special concrete steels with a high elastic limit (here: DYWIDAG thread tie rod) for singly reinforced members. (orig.) [de

  12. Building a Safety Culture in New Comers — A Case for Turkey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Göktepe, B.G.; Dayday, N.; Oymaci, S.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Nuclear safety is a dynamic field. The nuclear power industry has been continuing to improve the safety and performance of operating reactors. However since the Fukushima event, nuclear safety and safety culture has become one of the highest priority issues around the world. Although a safety culture development program is necessary for all nuclear countries and companies, it is especially critical for new comers starting from the pre-operational phase. Safety Culture Aspects In Newcomers: When a country embarking on a Nuclear Power Program, there are many aspects to consider. Building a national nuclear power infrastructure as one of the priority is a complex issue, requiring several years of planning. Implementation of nuclear safety infrastructure includes various steps. Major progressive steps for ensuring nuclear safety requires the availability of suitably qualified staff and the establishment of an effective safety culture in the country of concern.

  13. Systematic assessment of core assurance activities in a company specific food safety management system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luning, P.A.; Marcelis, W.J.; Rovira, J.; Spiegel, van der M.; Uyttendaele, M.; Jacxsens, L.

    2009-01-01

    The dynamic environment wherein agri-food companies operate and the high requirements on food safety force companies to critically judge and improve their food safety management system (FSMS) and its performance. The objective of this study was to develop a diagnostic instrument enabling a

  14. Dynamic Response of AP1000 Nuclear Island Due to Safe Shutdown Earthquake Loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gan Buntara S.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available AP1000 is a standard nuclear power plant developed by Westinghouse and its partners by using an advanced passive safety feature. Among the five principle building structures, namely the nuclear island, turbine building, annex building, diesel generator building and radwaste building, the safety of the nuclear island building is the most concerned. This paper investigates the dynamic response of the nuclear island building of the AP1000 plant subjected to safe shutdown earthquake loadings. A finite element model for the building, which is assumed to be built in a hard-rock base, is developed and its dynamic response is computed with the aid of the commercial finite element package ANSYS. The dynamic characteristics, including the natural frequencies, the vibration modes, and the time histories for displacements, velocities, and accelerations of the building are obtained for two typical safe shutdown earthquakes, El Centro and Kobe earthquakes. The dynamic behavior of the building due to the earthquakes and its safety is examined and highlighted.

  15. Annual activity report of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group for 1995 year

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ushpuras, E.; Augutis, J.; Bubelis, E.

    1995-01-01

    The main results of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) investigations for 1995 are presented. ISAG is concentrating its research activities into four areas: the neutrons dynamics modelling, simulation of transient processes during loss of coolant accident, the reactor cooling systems modelling and the probabilistic safety assessment of accident confinement system. 18 refs., 9 tabs., 110 figs

  16. Dynamic mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite/polyethylene oxide nanocomposites: characterizing isotropic and post-processing microstructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shofner, Meisha; Lee, Ji Hoon

    2012-02-01

    Compatible component interfaces in polymer nanocomposites can be used to facilitate a dispersed morphology and improved physical properties as has been shown extensively in experimental results concerning amorphous matrix nanocomposites. In this research, a block copolymer compatibilized interface is employed in a semi-crystalline matrix to prevent large scale nanoparticle clustering and enable microstructure construction with post-processing drawing. The specific materials used are hydroxyapatite nanoparticles coated with a polyethylene oxide-b-polymethacrylic acid block copolymer and a polyethylene oxide matrix. Two particle shapes are used: spherical and needle-shaped. Characterization of the dynamic mechanical properties indicated that the two nanoparticle systems provided similar levels of reinforcement to the matrix. For the needle-shaped nanoparticles, the post-processing step increased matrix crystallinity and changed the thermomechanical reinforcement trends. These results will be used to further refine the post-processing parameters to achieve a nanocomposite microstructure with triangulated arrays of nanoparticles.

  17. Dynamically variable spot size laser system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gradl, Paul R. (Inventor); Hurst, John F. (Inventor); Middleton, James R. (Inventor)

    2012-01-01

    A Dynamically Variable Spot Size (DVSS) laser system for bonding metal components includes an elongated housing containing a light entry aperture coupled to a laser beam transmission cable and a light exit aperture. A plurality of lenses contained within the housing focus a laser beam from the light entry aperture through the light exit aperture. The lenses may be dynamically adjusted to vary the spot size of the laser. A plurality of interoperable safety devices, including a manually depressible interlock switch, an internal proximity sensor, a remotely operated potentiometer, a remotely activated toggle and a power supply interlock, prevent activation of the laser and DVSS laser system if each safety device does not provide a closed circuit. The remotely operated potentiometer also provides continuous variability in laser energy output.

  18. Probabilistic assessment of NPP safety under aircraft impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birbraer, A.N.; Roleder, A.J.; Arhipov, S.B.

    1999-01-01

    Methodology of probabilistic assessment of NPP safety under aircraft impact is described below. The assessment is made taking into account not only the fact of aircraft fall onto the NPP building, but another casual parameters too, namely an aircraft class, velocity and mass, as well as point and angle of its impact with the building structure. This analysis can permit to justify the decrease of the required structure strength and dynamic loads on the NPP equipment. It can also be especially useful when assessing the safety of existing NPP. (author)

  19. A review of dynamic characteristics of magnetically levitated vehicle systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cai, Y.; Chen, S.S.

    1995-11-01

    The dynamic response of magnetically levitated (maglev) ground transportation systems has important consequences for safety and ride quality, guideway design, and system costs. Ride quality is determined by vehicle response and by environmental factors such as humidity and noise. The dynamic response of the vehicles is the key element in determining ride quality, while vehicle stability is an important safety-related element. To design a guideway that provides acceptable ride quality in the stable region, vehicle dynamics must be understood. Furthermore, the trade-off between guideway smoothness and levitation and control systems must be considered if maglev systems are to be economically feasible. The link between the guideway and the other maglev components is vehicle dynamics. For a commercial maglev system, vehicle dynamics must be analyzed and tested in detail. This report, which reviews various aspects of the dynamic characteristics, experiments and analysis, and design guidelines for maglev systems, discusses vehicle stability, motion dependent magnetic force components, guideway characteristics, vehicle/ guideway interaction, ride quality, suspension control laws, aerodynamic loads and other excitations, and research needs.

  20. Spin foam model for pure gauge theory coupled to quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oriti, Daniele; Pfeiffer, Hendryk

    2002-01-01

    We propose a spin foam model for pure gauge fields coupled to Riemannian quantum gravity in four dimensions. The model is formulated for the triangulation of a four-manifold which is given merely combinatorially. The Riemannian Barrett-Crane model provides the gravity sector of our model and dynamically assigns geometric data to the given combinatorial triangulation. The gauge theory sector is a lattice gauge theory living on the same triangulation and obtains from the gravity sector the geometric information which is required to calculate the Yang-Mills action. The model is designed so that one obtains a continuum approximation of the gauge theory sector at an effective level, similarly to the continuum limit of lattice gauge theory, when the typical length scale of gravity is much smaller than the Yang-Mills scale

  1. 'AER working group D on VVER safety analysis' minutes of the meeting in Rossendorf, Germany, 10-12 May 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siltanen, P.

    1999-01-01

    AER Working Group D on VVER reactor safety analysis held its eighth meeting in Research Centre Rossendorf during the period 10-12 May 1999. There were altogether 14 participants from eight member organizations. In addition to the general information exchange on recent activities, the topics of the meeting included: Final conclusions and lessons from the solution of the AER Dynamic Benchmark Problem No. 5 on a main steam header break accident; Validation of dynamics codes and the definition of a 6th dynamic benchmark; Safety analyses and reactivity issues: approaches and results; Advances in development of models and codes for reactor dynamics applications; Documentation of dynamic benchmark problems and solutions for the AER Benchmark Book; Future activities. (author)

  2. Annual activity report of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group for the year 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ushpuras, E.; Augutis, J.; Bubelis, E.; Kaliatka, A

    1998-01-01

    The main results of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) investigations for the year 1997 are presented. ISAG is concentrating its research activities into four areas: the neutrons dynamics modelling, simulation of transient processes during loss of coolant accident, the reactor cooling systems modelling and the probabilistic safety assessment of accident confinement system

  3. Flight safety measurements of UAVs in congested airspace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Jinwu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Describing spatial safety status is crucial for high-density air traffic involving multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs in a complex environment. A probabilistic approach is proposed to measure safety situation in congested airspace. The occupancy distribution of the airspace is represented with conflict probability between spatial positions and UAV. The concept of a safety envelope related to flight performance and response time is presented first instead of the conventional fixed-size protected zones around aircraft. Consequently, the conflict probability is performance-dependent, and effects of various UAVs on safety can be distinguished. The uncertainty of a UAV future position is explicitly accounted for as Brownian motion. An analytic approximate algorithm for the conflict probability is developed to decrease the computational consumption. The relationship between safety and flight performance are discussed for different response times and prediction intervals. To illustrate the applications of the approach, an experiment of three UAVs in formation flight is performed. In addition, an example of trajectory planning is simulated for one UAV flying over airspace where five UAVs exist. The validation of the approach shows its potential in guaranteeing flight safety in highly dynamic environment.

  4. Converse Theorems for Safety and Barrier Certificates

    OpenAIRE

    Ratschan, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    An important tool for proving safety of dynamical systems is the notion of a barrier certificate. In this paper we prove that every robustly safe ordinary differential equation has a barrier certificate. Moreover, we show a construction of such a barrier certificate based on a set of states that is reachable in finite time.

  5. Patient safety: Safety culture and patient safety ethics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Marlene Dyrløv

    2006-01-01

    ,demonstrating significant, consistent and sometimes large differences in terms of safety culture factors across the units participating in the survey. Paper 5 is the results of a study of the relation between safety culture, occupational health andpatient safety using a safety culture questionnaire survey......Patient safety - the prevention of medical error and adverse events - and the initiative of developing safety cultures to assure patients from harm have become one of the central concerns in quality improvement in healthcare both nationally andinternationally. This subject raises numerous...... challenging issues of systemic, organisational, cultural and ethical relevance, which this dissertation seeks to address through the application of different disciplinary approaches. The main focus of researchis safety culture; through empirical and theoretical studies to comprehend the phenomenon, address...

  6. Insights from triangulation of two purchase choice elicitation methods to predict social decision making in healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitty, Jennifer A; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn R; Scuffham, Paul A

    2012-03-01

    Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) and the Juster scale are accepted methods for the prediction of individual purchase probabilities. Nevertheless, these methods have seldom been applied to a social decision-making context. To gain an overview of social decisions for a decision-making population through data triangulation, these two methods were used to understand purchase probability in a social decision-making context. We report an exploratory social decision-making study of pharmaceutical subsidy in Australia. A DCE and selected Juster scale profiles were presented to current and past members of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and its Economic Subcommittee. Across 66 observations derived from 11 respondents for 6 different pharmaceutical profiles, there was a small overall median difference of 0.024 in the predicted probability of public subsidy (p = 0.003), with the Juster scale predicting the higher likelihood. While consistency was observed at the extremes of the probability scale, the funding probability differed over the mid-range of profiles. There was larger variability in the DCE than Juster predictions within each individual respondent, suggesting the DCE is better able to discriminate between profiles. However, large variation was observed between individuals in the Juster scale but not DCE predictions. It is important to use multiple methods to obtain a complete picture of the probability of purchase or public subsidy in a social decision-making context until further research can elaborate on our findings. This exploratory analysis supports the suggestion that the mixed logit model, which was used for the DCE analysis, may fail to adequately account for preference heterogeneity in some contexts.

  7. Pulse coded safety logic for PFBR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anwer, Md. Najam; Satheesh, N.; Nagaraj, C.P.; Krishnakumar, B.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: Reactor safety logic is designed to initiate safety action against design basis events. The reactor is shutdown by de-energizing electromagnets and dropping the absorber rods under gravity. In prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR), shutdown is affected by two independent shutdown systems, viz., control and safety rod drive mechanism (CSRDM) and diverse safety rod drive mechanism (DSRDM). Two separate safety logics are proposed for CSRDM and DSRDM, i.e. solid state logic with on-line fine impulse test (FIT) for CSRDM and pulse coded safety logic (PCSL) for DSRDM. The PCSL primarily utilizes the fact that the vast majority of faults in the logic circuitry result in static conditions at the output. It is arranged such that the presence of pulses are required to hold the shutdown actuators and any DC logic state, either logic 0 or logic 1 releases them. It is a dynamic, self-testing logic and used in a number of reactors. This paper describes the principle of operation of PCSL, its advantages, the concept of guard line logic (GLL), detection of stuck at 0 and stuck at 1 faults, fail safe and diversity features. The implementation of PCSL using Altera Max+Plus II software for PFBR trip signals and the results of simulation are discussed. This paper also describes a test jig using 80186 based system for testing PCSL for various input parameter's combinations and monitoring the outputs

  8. Long-term versus short-term deformation of the meizoseismal area of the 2008 Achaia-Elia (MW 6.4) earthquake in NW Peloponnese, Greece: Evidence from historical triangulation and morphotectonic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiros, Stathis; Moschas, Fanis; Feng, Lujia; Newman, Andrew

    2013-04-01

    The deformation of the meizoseismal area of the 2008 Achaia-Elia (MW 6.4) earthquake in NW Peloponnese, of the first significant strike slip earthquake in continental Greece, was examined in two time scales; of 102 years, based on the analysis of high-accuracy historical triangulation data describing shear, and of 105-106 years, based on the analysis of the hydrographic network of the area for signs of streams offset by faulting. Our study revealed pre-seismic accumulation of shear strain of the order of 0.2 μrad/year in the study area, consistent with recent GPS evidence, but no signs of significant strike slip-induced offsets in the hydrographic network. These results confirm the hypothesis that the 2008 fault, which did not reached the surface and was not associated with significant seismic ground deformation, probably because of a surface flysch layer filtering high-strain events, was associated with an immature or a dormant, recently activated fault. This fault, about 150 km long and discordant to the morphotectonic trends of the area, seems first, to contain segments which have progressively reactivated in a specific direction in the last 20 years, reminiscent of the North Anatolian Fault, and second, to limit an 150 km wide (recent?) shear zone in the internal part of the arc, in a region mostly dominated by thrust faulting and strong destructive earthquakes. Deformation of the first main strike slip fault in continental Greece analyzed. Triangulation data show preseismic shear, hydrographic net no previous faulting. Surface shear deformation only in low strain rates. Immature or reactivated dormant strike slip fault, with gradual oriented rupturing. Interplay between shear and thrusting along the arc.

  9. Application Possibility of Smartphone as Payload for Photogrammetric Uav System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, M. H.; Kim, J.; Seo, D.; Lee, J.; Choi, C.

    2012-07-01

    Smartphone can not only be operated under 3G network environment anytime and anyplace but also cost less than the existing photogrammetric UAV since it provides high-resolution image, 3D location and attitude data on a real-time basis from a variety of built-in sensors. This study is aimed to assess the possibility of smartphone as a payload for photogrammetric UAV system. Prior to such assessment, a smartphone-based photogrammetric UAV system application was developed, through which real-time image, location and attitude data was obtained using smartphone under both static and dynamic conditions. Subsequently the accuracy assessment on the location and attitude data obtained and sent by this system was conducted. The smartphone images were converted into ortho-images through image triangulation. The image triangulation was conducted in accordance with presence or absence of consideration of the interior orientation (IO) parameters determined by camera calibration. In case IO parameters were taken into account in the static experiment, the results from triangulation for any smartphone type were within 1.5 pixel (RMSE), which was improved at least by 35% compared to when IO parameters were not taken into account. On the contrary, the improvement effect of considering IO parameters on accuracy in triangulation for smartphone images in dynamic experiment was not significant compared to the static experiment. It was due to the significant impact of vibration and sudden attitude change of UAV on the actuator for automatic focus control within the camera built in smartphone under the dynamic condition. This cause appears to have a negative impact on the image-based DEM generation. Considering these study findings, it is suggested that smartphone is very feasible as a payload for UAV system. It is also expected that smartphone may be loaded onto existing UAV playing direct or indirect roles significantly.

  10. Optical profilometer using laser based conical triangulation for inspection of inner geometry of corroded pipes in cylindrical coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschinelli, Pedro D. V.; Melo, João. Ricardo C.; Albertazzi, Armando; Santos, João. M. C.; Camerini, Claudio S.

    2013-04-01

    An axis-symmetrical optical laser triangulation system was developed by the authors to measure the inner geometry of long pipes used in the oil industry. It has a special optical configuration able to acquire shape information of the inner geometry of a section of a pipe from a single image frame. A collimated laser beam is pointed to the tip of a 45° conical mirror. The laser light is reflected in such a way that a radial light sheet is formed and intercepts the inner geometry and forms a bright laser line on a section of the inspected pipe. A camera acquires the image of the laser line through a wide angle lens. An odometer-based triggering system is used to shot the camera to acquire a set of equally spaced images at high speed while the device is moved along the pipe's axis. Image processing is done in real-time (between images acquisitions) thanks to the use of parallel computing technology. The measured geometry is analyzed to identify corrosion damages. The measured geometry and results are graphically presented using virtual reality techniques and devices as 3D glasses and head-mounted displays. The paper describes the measurement principles, calibration strategies, laboratory evaluation of the developed device, as well as, a practical example of a corroded pipe used in an industrial gas production plant.

  11. Core size effects on safety performances of LMRs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Na, Byung Chan; Hahn, Do Hee [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-12-31

    An oxide fuel small size core (1200 MWt) was analyzed in comparison with a large size core (3600 MWt) in order to evaluate the size effects on transient safety performances of liquid-metal reactors (LMRs). In the first part of the study, main static safety parameters (i.e., Doppler coefficient, sodium void effect, etc.) of the two cores were characterized, and the second part of the study was focused on the dynamic behavior of the cores in two representative transient events: the unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) and the unprotected transient overpower (UTOP). Margins to fuel melting and sodium boiling have been evaluated for these representative transients. Results show that the small core has a generally better or equivalent level of safety performances during these events. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs. (Author)

  12. Core size effects on safety performances of LMRs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Na, Byung Chan; Hahn, Do Hee [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-12-31

    An oxide fuel small size core (1200 MWt) was analyzed in comparison with a large size core (3600 MWt) in order to evaluate the size effects on transient safety performances of liquid-metal reactors (LMRs). In the first part of the study, main static safety parameters (i.e., Doppler coefficient, sodium void effect, etc.) of the two cores were characterized, and the second part of the study was focused on the dynamic behavior of the cores in two representative transient events: the unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) and the unprotected transient overpower (UTOP). Margins to fuel melting and sodium boiling have been evaluated for these representative transients. Results show that the small core has a generally better or equivalent level of safety performances during these events. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs. (Author)

  13. Operation safety of control systems. Principles and methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aubry, J.F.; Chatelet, E.

    2008-01-01

    This article presents the main operation safety methods that can be implemented to design safe control systems taking into account the behaviour of the different components with each other (binary 'operation/failure' behaviours, non-consistent behaviours and 'hidden' failures, dynamical behaviours and temporal aspects etc). To take into account these different behaviours, advanced qualitative and quantitative methods have to be used which are described in this article: 1 - qualitative methods of analysis: functional analysis, preliminary risk analysis, failure mode and failure effects analyses; 2 - quantitative study of systems operation safety: binary representation models, state space-based methods, event space-based methods; 3 - application to the design of control systems: safe specifications of a control system, qualitative analysis of operation safety, quantitative analysis, example of application; 4 - conclusion. (J.S.)

  14. Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 4. Enhancing Safety Culture Through the Establishment of Safety Goals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tateiwa, Kenji; Miyata, Koichi; Yahagi, Kimitoshi

    2001-01-01

    Safety culture is the perception of each individual and organization of a nuclear power plant that safety is the first priority, and at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), we have been practicing it in everyday activities. On the other hand, with the demand for competitiveness of nuclear power becoming even more intense these days, we need to pursue efficient management while maintaining the safety level at the same time. Below, we discuss how to achieve compatibility between safety culture and efficient management as well as enhance safety culture. Discussion at Tepco: safety culture-nurturing activities such as the following are being implemented: 1. informing the employees of the 'Declaration of Safety Promotion' by handing out brochures and posting it on the intranet home page; 2. publishing safety culture reports covering stories on safety culture of other industry sectors, recent movements on safety culture, etc.; 3. conducting periodic questionnaires to employees to grasp how deeply safety culture is being established; 4. carrying out educational programs to learn from past cases inside and outside the nuclear industry; 5. committing to common ownership of information with the public. The current status of safety culture in Japan sometimes seems to be biased to the quest of ultimate safety; rephrasing it, there have been few discussions regarding the sufficiency of the quantitative safety level in conjunction with the safety culture. Safety culture is one of the most crucial foundations guaranteeing the plant's safety, and for example, the plant safety level evaluated by probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) could be said to be valid only on the ground that a sound and sufficient safety culture exists. Although there is no doubt that the safety culture is a fundamental and important attitude of an individual and organization that keeps safety the first priority, the safety culture in itself should not be considered an obstruction to efforts to implement

  15. Design of a dynamic compensated temperature sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Wu; Katz, E.M.; Kerlin, T.W.

    1991-01-01

    One important function of a temperature sensor in a nuclear power plant is to track changing process temperatures, but the sensor output lags the changing temperature. This lag may have a large influence when the sensor is used in control or safety systems. Therefore, it is advantageous to develop methods that increase the sensor response speed. The goal of this project is to develop a fast-responding temperature sensor, the dynamic compensated temperature sensor (DCTS), based on signal dynamic compensation technology. To verify the theoretical basis of the DCTS and incorporate the DCTS into a real temperature measurement process, several experiments have been performed. The DCTS is a simple approach that can decrease the temperature sensor's response time, and it can provide faster temperature signals to the nuclear power plant safety system

  16. Routine testing on protective and safety systems and components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rysy, W.

    1977-01-01

    1) In-process inspection, tests during commissioning. 2) Tests during reactor operation. 2.1) Reactor protection system, for example: continuous auto-testing by a dynamic system, check of the output signals; 2.2) safety features: selected examples: functional tests on the ECCS, trial operation of the emergency diesels. 3) Tests during refuelling phase. 3.1) Containment: Leakage rate tests, leak testing; 3.2) coolant system: selected examples: inservice inspections of the pressure vessel, eddy current testing of the steam generator, functional tests of safety valves. (orig./HP) [de

  17. Depth-kymography: high-speed calibrated 3D imaging of human vocal fold vibration dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, Nibu A; Mul, Frits F M de; Qiu Qingjun; Rakhorst, Gerhard; Schutte, Harm K

    2008-01-01

    We designed and developed a laser line-triangulation endoscope compatible with any standard high-speed camera for a complete three-dimensional profiling of human vocal fold vibration dynamics. With this novel device we are able to measure absolute values of vertical and horizontal vibration amplitudes, length and width of vocal folds as well as the opening and closing velocities from a single in vivo measurement. We have studied, for the first time, the generation and propagation of mucosal waves by locating the position of its maximum vertical position and the propagation velocity. Precise knowledge about the absolute dimensions of human vocal folds and their vibration parameters has significant importance in clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as in fundamental research in voice. The new device can be used to investigate different kinds of pathological conditions including periodic or aperiodic vibrations. Consequently, the new device has significant importance in investigating vocal fold paralysis and in phonosurgical applications

  18. Depth-kymography: high-speed calibrated 3D imaging of human vocal fold vibration dynamics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    George, Nibu A; Mul, Frits F M de; Qiu Qingjun; Rakhorst, Gerhard; Schutte, Harm K [Groningen Voice Research Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen, 9700 AD Groningen (Netherlands)

    2008-05-21

    We designed and developed a laser line-triangulation endoscope compatible with any standard high-speed camera for a complete three-dimensional profiling of human vocal fold vibration dynamics. With this novel device we are able to measure absolute values of vertical and horizontal vibration amplitudes, length and width of vocal folds as well as the opening and closing velocities from a single in vivo measurement. We have studied, for the first time, the generation and propagation of mucosal waves by locating the position of its maximum vertical position and the propagation velocity. Precise knowledge about the absolute dimensions of human vocal folds and their vibration parameters has significant importance in clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as in fundamental research in voice. The new device can be used to investigate different kinds of pathological conditions including periodic or aperiodic vibrations. Consequently, the new device has significant importance in investigating vocal fold paralysis and in phonosurgical applications.

  19. Fissile solution dynamics: Student research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hetrick, D.L.

    1994-09-01

    There are two research projects in criticality safety at the University of Arizona: one in dynamic simulation of hypothetical criticality accidents in fissile solutions, and one in criticality benchmarks using transport theory. We have used the data from nuclear excursions in KEWB, CRAC, and SILENE to help in building models for solution excursions. An equation of state for liquids containing gas bubbles has been developed and coupled to point-reactor dynamics in an attempt to predict fission rate, yield, pressure, and kinetic energy. It appears that radiolytic gas is unimportant until after the first peak, but that it does strongly affect the shape of the subsequent power decrease and also the dynamic pressure.

  20. Analysis of safety supervision effect on coal mine using game theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou Min; Xiao Zhong-hai [China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou (China). School of Management

    2006-07-01

    A two-phase game model was constructed based on economic game theory to improve the inefficient supervision conditions of coalmining enterprises' safety production. The inner mechanism of safety supervision system was carefully studied. The strategy set of the dynamic game-theory relations between colliery proprietor and safety supervision department and the strict competitive game-theory relations between safety supervision department and workers at the production line was analyzed. The conditions of achieving the dominant-strategy equilibrium were revealed. Upon this basis, the possible solution set of safety benefit distribution for the cooperative game-theory of triple party was obtained and the effective and cooperative fair solution was formed. Finally, conclusions are drawn as follows: the combination of necessary penalty to supervisors and operators with the fair distribution of safety benefits can realize the zero-defect of operational violation, so that the violation behavior can be completely avoided. 10 refs., 7 figs.

  1. Problem of dynamic impacts upon NPP buildings and constructions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosterev, A.E.

    1998-01-01

    Activities of IAEA member-states dealing with the problems of taking into account external natural and technogenic impacts (earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, aircraft crushes, air shock waves) when designing NPP buildings and constructions important for nuclear and radiation safety are briefly discussed. It is concluded that development of IAEA general recommendations for taking into account specific dynamic impacts will improve noticeably safety of NPPs being in operation both in Russia and all over the World as a result of reconstruction of safety-important buildings and constructions

  2. Panel Resource Management (PRM) Implementation and Effects within Safety Review Panel Settings and Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Robert W.; Nash, Sally K.

    2007-01-01

    While technical training and advanced degree's assure proficiency at specific tasks within engineering disciplines, they fail to address the potential for communication breakdown and decision making errors familiar to multicultural environments where language barriers, intimidating personalities and interdisciplinary misconceptions exist. In an effort to minimize these pitfalls to effective panel review, NASA's lead safety engineers to the ISS Safety Review Panel (SRP), and Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) initiated training with their engineers, in conjunction with the panel chairs, and began a Panel Resource Management (PRM) program. The intent of this program focuses on the ability to reduce the barriers inhibiting effective participation from all panel attendees by bolstering participants confidence levels through increased communication skills, situational awareness, debriefing, and a better technical understanding of requirements and systems.

  3. Safety design approach for JSFR toward the realization of GEN IV SFR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, S.; Yamano, H.; Chikazawa, Y.; Shimakawa, Y.

    2013-01-01

    Conclusion: Safety Design Approach for JSFR: • Based on the safety design criteria for Generation-IV SFR • DECs, Situations practically eliminated and related design measures are identified and selected with due consideration of the safety features of SFR and the lessons learned from the TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plants accident Safety Design Concept of JSFR: • For failure to shutdown: Passive shutdown capability, Mitigation of core damage (Prevention of severe mechanical energy release, In-Vessel Retention) • For failure to remove heat: Prevention of significant core damage (Natural circulation DHR, Alternative cooling measures) • Containment: Prevention of sever dynamic loads by design measures (IVR, double boundary concept, inertization)

  4. Smooth random surfaces from tight immersions?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baillie, C.F.; Johnston, D.A.

    1994-01-01

    We investigate actions for dynamically triangulated random surfaces that consist of a Gaussian or area term plus the modulus of the Gaussian curvature and compare their behavior with both Gaussian plus extrinsic curvature and ''Steiner'' actions

  5. A Regulatory Perspective on the Performance and Reliability of Nuclear Passive Safety Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quan, Pham Trung; Lee, Sukho

    2016-01-01

    Passive safety systems have been proven to enhance the safety of NPPs. When an accident such as station blackout occurs, these systems can perform the following functions: the decay heat removal, passive safety injection, containment cooling, and the retention of radioactive materials. Following the IAEA definitions, using passive safety systems reduces reliance on active components to achieve proper actuation and not requiring operator intervention in accident conditions. That leads to the deviations in boundary conditions of the critical process or geometric parameters, which activate and operate the system to perform accident prevention and mitigation functions. The main difficulties in evaluation of functional failure of passive systems arise because of (a) lack of plant operational experience; (b) scarcity of adequate experimental data from integral test facilities or from separate effect tests in order to understand the performance characteristics of these passive systems, not only at normal operation but also during accidents and transients; (c) lack of accepted definitions of failure modes for these systems; and (d) difficulty in modeling certain physical behavior of these systems. Reliability assessment of the PSS is still one of the important issues. Several reliability methodologies such as REPAS, RMPS and ASPRA have been applied to the reliability assessments. However, some issues are remained unresolved due to lack of understanding of the treatment of dynamic failure characteristics of components of the PSS, the treatment of dynamic variation of independence process parameters such as ambient temperature and the functional failure criteria of the PSS. Dynamic reliability methodologies should be integrated in the PSS reliability analysis to have a true estimate of system failure probability. The methodology should estimate the physical variation of the parameters and the frequency of the accident sequences when the dynamic effects are considered

  6. PX–An Innovative Safety Concept for an Unmanned Reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Jae Yi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available An innovative safety concept for a light water reactor has been developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. It is a unique concept that adopts both a fast heat transfer mechanism for a small containment and a changing mechanism of the cooling geometry to take advantage of the potential, thermal, and dynamic energies of the cold water in the containment. It can bring about rapid cooling of the containment and long-term cooling of the decay heat. By virtue of this innovative concept, nuclear fuel damage events can be prevented. The ultimate heat transfer mechanism contributes to minimization of the heat exchanger size and containment volume. A small containment can ensure the underground construction, which can use river or seawater as an ultimate heat sink. The changing mechanism of the cooling geometry simplifies several safety systems and unifies diverse functions. Simplicity of the present safety system does not require any operator actions during events or accidents. Therefore, the unique safety concept of PX can realize both economic competitiveness and inherent safety.

  7. Motorcycle state estimation for lateral dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teerhuis, A.P.; Jansen, S.T.H.

    2012-01-01

    The motorcycle lean (or roll) angle development is one of the main characteristics of motorcycle lateral dynamics. Control of motorcycle motions requires an accurate assessment of this quantity and for safety applications also the risk of sliding needs to be considered. Direct measurement of the

  8. Patient safety problem identification and solution sharing among rural community pharmacists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galt, Kimberly A; Fuji, Kevin T; Faber, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    To implement a communication network for safety problem identification and solution sharing among rural community pharmacists and to report participating pharmacists' perceived value and impact of the network on patient safety after 1 year of implementation. Action research study. Rural community pharmacies in Nebraska from January 2010 to April 2011. Rural community pharmacists who voluntarily agreed to join the Pharmacists for Patient Safety Network in Nebraska. Pharmacists reported errors, near misses, and safety concerns through Web-based event reporting. A rapid feedback process was used to provide patient safety solutions to consider implementing across the network. Qualitative interviews were conducted 1 year after program implementation with participating pharmacists to assess use of the reporting system, value of the disseminated safety solutions, and perceived impact on patient safety in pharmacies. 30 of 38 pharmacists participating in the project completed the interviews. The communication network improved pharmacist awareness, promoted open discussion and knowledge sharing, contributed to practice vigilance, and led to incorporation of proactive safety prevention practices. Despite low participation in error and near-miss reporting, a dynamic communication network designed to rapidly disseminate evidence-based patient safety strategies to reduce risk was valued and effective at improving patient safety practices in rural community pharmacies.

  9. Integration of car-body flexibility into train-track coupling system dynamics analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Liang; Zhang, Qing; Xiao, Xinbiao; Wen, Zefeng; Jin, Xuesong

    2018-04-01

    The resonance vibration of flexible car-bodies greatly affects the dynamics performances of high-speed trains. In this paper, we report a three-dimensional train-track model to capture the flexible vibration features of high-speed train carriages based on the flexible multi-body dynamics approach. The flexible car-body is modelled using both the finite element method (FEM) and the multi-body dynamics (MBD) approach, in which the rigid motions are obtained by using the MBD theory and the structure deformation is calculated by the FEM and the modal superposition method. The proposed model is applied to investigate the influence of the flexible vibration of car-bodies on the dynamics performances of train-track systems. The dynamics performances of a high-speed train running on a slab track, including the car-body vibration behaviour, the ride comfort, and the running safety, calculated by the numerical models with rigid and flexible car-bodies are compared in detail. The results show that the car-body flexibility not only significantly affects the vibration behaviour and ride comfort of rail carriages, but also can has an important influence on the running safety of trains. The rigid car-body model underestimates the vibration level and ride comfort of rail vehicles, and ignoring carriage torsional flexibility in the curving safety evaluation of trains is conservative.

  10. Study on coal mine macro, meso and micro safety management system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Longkang Wang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the coal mine safety production situation in our country improved year by year, but severe accidents still occurred; the accidents caused great economic loss to the national economy. According to statistical analysis, almost all of the coal mine accidents will expose the hidden danger in before, most of the accidents caused due to safety management not reaching the designated position and the hidden danger management does not take any decision in time. Based on the coal mine safety management holes in our country, the coal mine macro, meso and micro safety management system was established in this paper, which includes meaning and conception of the theories of the macro, meso and micro safety management, and also includes the matching hardware equipment, in order to achieve the hidden danger's closed-loop control and dynamic early warning in the process of coal mine production.

  11. The Oak Ridge Research Reactor: safety analysis: Volume 2, supplement 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hurt, S.S.

    1986-11-01

    The Oak Ridge Research Reactor Safety Analysis was last updated via ORNL-4169, Vol. 2, Supplement 1, in May of 1978. Since that date, several changes have been effected through the change-memo system described below. While these changes have involved the cooling system, the electrical system, and the reactor instrumentation and controls, they have not, for the most part, presented new or unreviewed safety questions. However, some of the changes have been based on questions or recommendations stemming from safety reviews or from reactor events at other sites. This paper discusses those changes which were judged to be safety related and which include revisions to the syphon-break system and changes related to seismic considerations which were very recently completed. The maximum hypothetical accident postulated in the original safety analysis requires dynamic containment and filtered flow for compliance with 10CFR100 limits at the site boundary

  12. Development of analytical code `ACCORD` for incore and plant dynamics of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takeda, Takeshi; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Itakura, Hirofumi

    1996-11-01

    Safety demonstration test of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor will be carried out to demonstrate excellent safety features of a next generation High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). Analytical code for incore and plant dynamics is necessary to assess the results of the safety demonstration test and to perform a design and safety analysis of the next generation HTGR. Existing analytical code for incore and plant dynamics of the HTGR can analyze behavior of plant system for only several thousand seconds after an event occurrence. Simulator on site can analyze only behavior of specific plant system. The `ACCORD` code has been, therefore, developed to analyze the incore and plant dynamics of the HTGR. The followings are the major characteristics of this code. (1) Plant system can be analyzed for over several thousand seconds after an event occurrence by modeling the heat capacity of the core. (2) Incore and plant dynamics of any plant system can be analyzed by rearranging packages which simulate plant system components one by one. (3) Thermal hydraulics for each component can be analyzed by separating heat transfer calculation for component from fluid flow calculation for helium and pressurized water systems. The validity of the `ACCORD` code including models for nuclear calculation, heat transfer and fluid flow calculation, control system and safety protection system, was confirmed through cross checks with other available codes. (author)

  13. Development of analytical code 'ACCORD' for incore and plant dynamics of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeda, Takeshi; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko; Itakura, Hirofumi.

    1996-11-01

    Safety demonstration test of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor will be carried out to demonstrate excellent safety features of a next generation High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). Analytical code for incore and plant dynamics is necessary to assess the results of the safety demonstration test and to perform a design and safety analysis of the next generation HTGR. Existing analytical code for incore and plant dynamics of the HTGR can analyze behavior of plant system for only several thousand seconds after an event occurrence. Simulator on site can analyze only behavior of specific plant system. The 'ACCORD' code has been, therefore, developed to analyze the incore and plant dynamics of the HTGR. The followings are the major characteristics of this code. (1) Plant system can be analyzed for over several thousand seconds after an event occurrence by modeling the heat capacity of the core. (2) Incore and plant dynamics of any plant system can be analyzed by rearranging packages which simulate plant system components one by one. (3) Thermal hydraulics for each component can be analyzed by separating heat transfer calculation for component from fluid flow calculation for helium and pressurized water systems. The validity of the 'ACCORD' code including models for nuclear calculation, heat transfer and fluid flow calculation, control system and safety protection system, was confirmed through cross checks with other available codes. (author)

  14. A triangulation approach to the identification of acute sector nurses' training needs for formal nurse practitioner status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, C; Hennessy, D

    1998-01-01

    The current confusion surrounding the definition and role function of the nurse practitioner (NP) has created a situation in which advanced clinical practice is delivered in a variety of ways and at many levels. Not surprisingly, this has led to difficulties in regulating educational provision for NPs. This study reports a survey of the perceptions of the role definitions and training needs of all nurses working at advanced clinical levels within an acute sector Trust. Although this concept is not a novel one in advanced nursing practice, the procedure adopted differed from previous studies in two fundamental ways: firstly, a unique training needs assessment instrument was used, which because of its validity and opacity, was capable of yielding a highly reliable data-base, comprising a prioritized profile of real training needs as opposed to the standard wish-list typically elicited. Secondly, it did not rely simply on the self-reported needs of the nurse sample, but also included the perceptions of the sample's immediate medical and managerial colleagues. In this way, a triangulation paradigm was adopted. The results indicated that overall, there was high agreement between the nurses and their managers, regarding both the definition of the NP role and the essential training requirements, with somewhat different opinions being offered by the medical staff. When the raw scores were standardized to correct for response bias, the data provided an operational definition of the role of the NP and a prioritized profile of training needs for nurses who wished to train to this level.

  15. Safety of nuclear ships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    Interest in the utilization of nuclear steam supply systems for merchant ships and icebreakers has recently increased considerably due to the sharp rise in oil prices and the continuing trend towards larger and faster merchant ships. Canada, for example, is considering construction of an icebreaker in the near future. On the other hand, an accident which could result in serious damage to or the sinking of a nuclear ship is potentially far more dangerous to the general public than a similar accident with a conventional ship. Therefore, it was very important to evaluate in an international forum the safety of nuclear ships in the light of our contemporary safety philosophy, taking into account the results of cumulative operating experience with nuclear ships in operation. The philosophy and safety requirement for land-based nuclear installations were outlined because of many common features for both land-based nuclear installations and nuclear ships. Nevertheless, essential specific safety requirements for nuclear ships must always be considered, and the work on safety problems for nuclear ships sponsored by the NEA was regarded as an important step towards developing an international code of practice by IMCO on the safety of nuclear merchant ships. One session was devoted to the quantitative assessment of nuclear ship safety. The probability technique of an accident risk assessment for nuclear power plants is well known and widely used. Its modification, to make it applicable to nuclear propelled merchant ships, was discussed in some papers. Mathematical models for describing various postulated accidents with nuclear ships were developed and reported by several speakers. Several papers discussed a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) with nuclear steam supply systems of nuclear ships and engineering design features to prevent a radioactive effluence after LOCA. Other types of postulated accidents with reactors and systems in static and dynamic conditions were also

  16. A Safety Resource Allocation Mechanism against Connection Fault for Vehicular Cloud Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianpeng Ye

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS becomes an important component of the smart city toward safer roads, better traffic control, and on-demand service by utilizing and processing the information collected from sensors of vehicles and road side infrastructure. In ITS, Vehicular Cloud Computing (VCC is a novel technology balancing the requirement of complex services and the limited capability of on-board computers. However, the behaviors of the vehicles in VCC are dynamic, random, and complex. Thus, one of the key safety issues is the frequent disconnections between the vehicle and the Vehicular Cloud (VC when this vehicle is computing for a service. More important, the connection fault will disturb seriously the normal services of VCC and impact the safety works of the transportation. In this paper, a safety resource allocation mechanism is proposed against connection fault in VCC by using a modified workflow with prediction capability. We firstly propose the probability model for the vehicle movement which satisfies the high dynamics and real-time requirements of VCC. And then we propose a Prediction-based Reliability Maximization Algorithm (PRMA to realize the safety resource allocation for VCC. The evaluation shows that our mechanism can improve the reliability and guarantee the real-time performance of the VCC.

  17. Public-private interactions in global food safety governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ching-Fu

    2014-01-01

    In response to an apparent decline in global food safety, numerous public and private regulatory initiatives have emerged to restore public confidence. This trend has been particularly marked by the growing influence of private regulators such as multinational food companies, supermarket chains and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who employ private standards, certification protocols, third-party auditing, and transnational contracting practices. This paper explores how the structure and processes of private food safety governance interact with traditional public governance regimes, focusing on Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) as a primary example of the former. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public regulation in the face of global problems, private governance in food safety has gradually replaced states' command-and-control regulation with more flexible, market-oriented mechanisms. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of constructive regime interaction instead of institutional boundary building to global food safety governance. Public and private ordering must each play a role as integral parts of a larger, dynamic and evolving governance complex.

  18. Evaluating the Dynamics of Agent-Environment Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-05-01

    a color sensor in the gripper, a radio transmitter/receiver for communication and data gathering, and an ultrasound /radio triangulation system for...Cooperative Mobile Robot Control’, Autonomous Robots 4(4), 387{403. Vaughan, R. T., Sty, K., Sukhatme, G. S. & Mataric, M. J. (2000), Whistling in the Dark...sensor in the gripper, a radio transmitter/receiver for communication and data gathering, and an ultrasound /radio triangu- lation system for

  19. Trial evaluations in comparison with the 1983 safety goals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riggs, R.; Sege, G.

    1985-06-01

    This report provides retrospective comparisons of selected generic regulatory actions to the 1983 NRC safety goals, which had been issued for evaluation during a two-year period. The issues covered are those analyzed by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) (assisted in some cases by the Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory). The issues include auxiliary feedwater reliability, pressurized thermal shock, power-operated relief valve isolation, asymmetric blowdown loads on PWR primary systems, pool dynamic loads for BWR containments, and steam generator tube rupture. Calculated core-melt frequencies, mortality risks, and cost-benefit ratios are compared with the corresponding safety-goal quantitative design objectives. Considerations that should influence interpretation of the comparisons are discussed. Comments are included on whether and how the safety goals may have helped in the regulatory decision process and on problems encountered

  20. Nuclear safety culture and nuclear safety supervision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chai Jianshe

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, the author reviews systematically and summarizes up the development process and stage characteristics of nuclear safety culture, analysis the connotation and characteristics of nuclear safety culture, sums up the achievements of our country's nuclear safety supervision, dissects the challenges and problems of nuclear safety supervision. This thesis focused on the relationship between nuclear safety culture and nuclear safety supervision, they are essential differences, but there is a close relationship. Nuclear safety supervision needs to introduce some concepts of nuclear safety culture, lays emphasis on humanistic care and improves its level and efficiency. Nuclear safety supervision authorities must strengthen nuclear safety culture training, conduct the development of nuclear safety culture, make sure that nuclear safety culture can play significant roles. (author)

  1. Safety balance: Analysis of safety systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delage, M.; Giroux, C.

    1990-12-01

    Safety analysis, and particularly analysis of exploitation of NPPs is constantly affected by EDF and by the safety authorities and their methodologies. Periodic safety reports ensure that important issues are not missed on daily basis, that incidents are identified and that relevant actions are undertaken. French safety analysis method consists of three principal steps. First type of safety balance is analyzed at the normal start-up phase for each unit including the final safety report. This enables analysis of behaviour of units ten years after their licensing. Second type is periodic operational safety analysis performed during a few years. Finally, the third step consists of safety analysis of the oldest units with the aim to improve the safety standards. The three steps of safety analysis are described in this presentation in detail with the aim to present the objectives and principles. Examples of most recent exercises are included in order to illustrate the importance of such analyses

  2. Numerical solutions of the aerosol general dynamic equation for nuclear reactor safety studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, J.W.

    1988-01-01

    Methods and approximations inherent in modeling of aerosol dynamics and evolution for nuclear reactor source term estimation have been investigated. Several aerosol evolution problems are considered to assess numerical methods of solving the aerosol dynamic equation. A new condensational growth model is constructed by generalizing Mason's formula to arbitrary particle sizes, and arbitrary accommodation of the condensing vapor and background gas at particle surface. Analytical solution is developed for the aerosol growth equation employing the new condensation model. The space-dependent aerosol dynamic equation is solved to assess implications of spatial homogenization of aerosol distributions. The results of our findings are as follows. The sectional method solving the aerosol dynamic equation is quite efficient in modeling of coagulation problems, but should be improved for simulation of strong condensation problems. The J-space transform method is accurate in modeling of condensation problems, but is very slow. For the situation considered, the new condensation model predicts slower aerosol growth than the corresponding isothermal model as well as Mason's model, the effect of partial accommodation is considerable on the particle evolution, and the effect of the energy accommodation coefficient is more pronounced than that of the mass accommodation coefficient. For the initial conditions considered, the space-dependent aerosol dynamics leads to results that are substantially different from those based on the spatially homogeneous aerosol dynamic equation

  3. A hybrid simulation approach for integrating safety behavior into construction planning: An earthmoving case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Yang Miang; Askar Ali, Mohamed Jawad

    2016-08-01

    One of the key challenges in improving construction safety and health is the management of safety behavior. From a system point of view, workers work unsafely due to system level issues such as poor safety culture, excessive production pressure, inadequate allocation of resources and time and lack of training. These systemic issues should be eradicated or minimized during planning. However, there is a lack of detailed planning tools to help managers assess the impact of their upstream decisions on worker safety behavior. Even though simulation had been used in construction planning, the review conducted in this study showed that construction safety management research had not been exploiting the potential of simulation techniques. Thus, a hybrid simulation framework is proposed to facilitate integration of safety management considerations into construction activity simulation. The hybrid framework consists of discrete event simulation (DES) as the core, but heterogeneous, interactive and intelligent (able to make decisions) agents replace traditional entities and resources. In addition, some of the cognitive processes and physiological aspects of agents are captured using system dynamics (SD) approach. The combination of DES, agent-based simulation (ABS) and SD allows a more "natural" representation of the complex dynamics in construction activities. The proposed hybrid framework was demonstrated using a hypothetical case study. In addition, due to the lack of application of factorial experiment approach in safety management simulation, the case study demonstrated sensitivity analysis and factorial experiment to guide future research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Fear patterns: a new approach to designing road safety advertisements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Algie, Jennifer; Rossiter, John R

    2010-01-01

    This research studies fear patterns within fear appeal anti-speeding television commercials. A pattern of fear is the sequence of fear arousal and fear reduction, if any, that is felt by the viewing audience when exposed to a fear appeal advertisement. Many road safety advertisers use fear appeals, such as "shock" advertising, that result in fear arousal, leaving the viewer feeling extremely tense. The moment-to-moment reactions of young drivers to 12 road safety commercials are gauged using a dynamic, temporal measure of fear. The fear patterns generated from each ad are analyzed and a new perspective on creating fear appeal road safety advertisements, with an emphasis on fear-relief, fear-partial relief, and fear-only patterns, is discussed.

  5. Risk-Based Predictive Maintenance for Safety-Critical Systems by Using Probabilistic Inference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianhua Xu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Risk-based maintenance (RBM aims to improve maintenance planning and decision making by reducing the probability and consequences of failure of equipment. A new predictive maintenance strategy that integrates dynamic evolution model and risk assessment is proposed which can be used to calculate the optimal maintenance time with minimal cost and safety constraints. The dynamic evolution model provides qualified risks by using probabilistic inference with bucket elimination and gives the prospective degradation trend of a complex system. Based on the degradation trend, an optimal maintenance time can be determined by minimizing the expected maintenance cost per time unit. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated and demonstrated by a collision accident of high-speed trains with obstacles in the presence of safety and cost constrains.

  6. Issues to improve the safety of 18K370 steam turbine operation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bzymek Grzegorz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the process of improving the safety and reliability of operation the 18K370 steam turbines Opole Power Plant since the first failure in 2010 [1], up to install the on-line monitoring system [2]. It shows how the units work and how to analyse the contol stage as a critical node in designing the turbine. Selected results of the analysis of the strength of CSD (Computational Solid Dynamic and the nature of the flow in different operating regimes - thanks to CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis have been included. We have also briefly discussed the way of lifecycle management of individual elements [2,3]. The presented actions could be considered satisfactory, and improve the safety of operating steam turbines of type 18K370.

  7. dynamic performance of research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abo elnor, A.G.M.

    2007-01-01

    this work studies the dynamic performance of material testing reactor (MTR), where the dynamic performance of any reactor reflects its safety behavior and it should enhance its intrinsic characteristics s ystem corrects itself internally without introducing external corrective action . the present work analyzes and studies the dynamic performance of mtr through the transfer function. the servo system parameters can be changed to fit the system demand. the servo system is an excellent approximation to some of the practical servo system currently use in reactor control system, and a quadratic form of this sort should closely approximate the behavior of almost any type of physical equipment which might be chosen to drive a control rod. proposed changes in servo system parameters could enhance the dynamic performance of the system , but the suitable parameters can be evaluated by using the automatic reactor power control system model

  8. Safety assessment document for the dynamic test complex (Building 836)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odell, B.N.; Pfeifer, H.E.

    1981-01-01

    A safety assessment was performed to determine if potential accidents at the 836 Complex at Site 300 could present undue hazards to the general public, personnel at Site 300, or have an adverse effect on the environment. The credible accidents that might have an effect on these facilities or have off-site consequences were considered. These were earthquake, extreme wind (including missiles), lightning, flood, criticality, high explosive (H) detonation that disperses uranium and beryllium, spontaneous oxidation of plutonium, explosions due to finely divided particles, and a fire

  9. Safety assessment document for the dynamic test complex (Building 836)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Odell, B.N.; Pfeifer, H.E.

    1981-11-24

    A safety assessment was performed to determine if potential accidents at the 836 Complex at Site 300 could present undue hazards to the general public, personnel at Site 300, or have an adverse effect on the environment. The credible accidents that might have an effect on these facilities or have off-site consequences were considered. These were earthquake, extreme wind (including missiles), lightning, flood, criticality, high explosive (H) detonation that disperses uranium and beryllium, spontaneous oxidation of plutonium, explosions due to finely divided particles, and a fire.

  10. Convection-diffusion effects in marathon race dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, E.; Espinosa-Paredes, G.; Alvarez-Ramirez, J.

    2014-01-01

    In the face of the recent terrorist attack event on the 2013 Boston Marathon, the increasing participation of recreational runners in large marathon races has imposed important logistical and safety issues for organizers and city authorities. An accurate understanding of the dynamics of the marathon pack along the race course can provide important insights for improving safety and performance of these events. On the other hand, marathon races can be seen as a model of pedestrian movement under confined conditions. This work used data of the 2011 Chicago Marathon event for modeling the dynamics of the marathon pack from the corral zone to the finish line. By considering the marathon pack as a set of particles moving along the race course, the dynamics are modeled as a convection-diffusion partial differential equation with position-dependent mean velocity and diffusion coefficient. A least-squares problem is posed and solved with optimization techniques for fitting field data from the 2011 Chicago Marathon. It was obtained that the mean pack velocity decreases while the diffusion coefficient increases with distance. This means that the dispersion rate of the initially compact marathon pack increases as the marathon race evolves along the race course.

  11. The design features and safety concepts of the nuclear heating reactor developed in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Wenxiang; Wang Dazhong

    1995-01-01

    Based on the specific conditions of the nuclear heat applications and the development objectives of the advanced reactors, the nuclear heating reactor (NHR) exploited in China has adhered to the new safety concepts and been designed with a number of advanced features, including the integrated arrangement, full power natural circulation capacity, self-pressurized performance, dynamically-hydraulic control rod drive and passive safety systems, so that higher standard of safety as well as simplification in the plant systems and improvement in economic viability has been achieved. This paper describes the special consideration in the design as well as the main design features and safety concepts of the NHR. Some experimental and analytical results are also presented to demonstrate the NHR safety features

  12. The Analysis of Loop Seal Purge Time for the KHNP Pressurizer Safety Valve Test Facility Using the GOTHIC Code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Young Ae; Kim, Chang Hyun; Kweon, Gab Joo; Park, Jong Woon [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-10-15

    The pressurizer safety valves (PSV) in Pressurized Water Reactors are required to provide the overpressure protection for the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) during the overpressure transients. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company (KHNP) plans to build the PSV test facility for the purpose of providing the PSV pop-up characteristics and the loop seal dynamics for the new safety analysis. When the pressurizer safety valve is mounted in a loop seal configuration, the valve must initially pass the loop seal water prior to popping open on steam. The loop seal in the upstream of PSV prevents leakage of hydrogen gas or steam through the safety valve seat. This paper studies on the loop seal clearing dynamics using GOTHIC-7.2a code to verify the effects of loop seal purge time on the reactor coolant system overpressure.

  13. Safety demonstration test (SR-1/S1C-1) plan of HTTR (Contract research)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Sakaba, Nariaki; Takada, Eiji; Tachibana, Yukio; Saito, Kenji; Furusawa, Takayuki; Sawa, Kazuhiro [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan). Oarai Research Establishment

    2003-03-01

    Safety demonstration tests in the HTTR (High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor) will be carried out in order to verify inherent safety features of the HTGR (High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor). The first phase of the safety demonstration tests includes the reactivity insertion test by the control rod withdrawal and the coolant flow reduction test by the circulator trip. In the second phase, accident simulation tests will be conducted. By comparison of their experimental and analytical results, the prediction capability of the safety evaluation codes such as the core and the plant dynamics codes will be improved and verified, which will contribute to establish the safety design and the safety evaluation technologies of the HTGRs. The results obtained through its safety demonstration tests will be also utilised for the establishment of the safety design guideline, the safety evaluation guideline, etc. This paper describes the test program of the overall safety demonstration tests and the test method, the test conditions and the results of the pre-test analysis of the reactivity insertion test and the partial gas circulator trip test planned in March 2003. (author)

  14. Safety margins in deterministic safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viktorov, A.

    2011-01-01

    The concept of safety margins has acquired certain prominence in the attempts to demonstrate quantitatively the level of the nuclear power plant safety by means of deterministic analysis, especially when considering impacts from plant ageing and discovery issues. A number of international or industry publications exist that discuss various applications and interpretations of safety margins. The objective of this presentation is to bring together and examine in some detail, from the regulatory point of view, the safety margins that relate to deterministic safety analysis. In this paper, definitions of various safety margins are presented and discussed along with the regulatory expectations for them. Interrelationships of analysis input and output parameters with corresponding limits are explored. It is shown that the overall safety margin is composed of several components each having different origins and potential uses; in particular, margins associated with analysis output parameters are contrasted with margins linked to the analysis input. While these are separate, it is possible to influence output margins through the analysis input, and analysis method. Preserving safety margins is tantamount to maintaining safety. At the same time, efficiency of operation requires optimization of safety margins taking into account various technical and regulatory considerations. For this, basic definitions and rules for safety margins must be first established. (author)

  15. Security for safety critical space borne systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legrand, Sue

    1987-01-01

    The Space Station contains safety critical computer software components in systems that can affect life and vital property. These components require a multilevel secure system that provides dynamic access control of the data and processes involved. A study is under way to define requirements for a security model providing access control through level B3 of the Orange Book. The model will be prototyped at NASA-Johnson Space Center.

  16. Simulation of crash tests for high impact levels of a new bridge safety barrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drozda, Jiří; Rotter, Tomáš

    2017-09-01

    The purpose is to show the opportunity of a non-linear dynamic impact simulation and to explain the possibility of using finite element method (FEM) for developing new designs of safety barriers. The main challenge is to determine the means to create and validate the finite element (FE) model. The results of accurate impact simulations can help to reduce necessary costs for developing of a new safety barrier. The introductory part deals with the creation of the FE model, which includes the newly-designed safety barrier and focuses on the application of an experimental modal analysis (EMA). The FE model has been created in ANSYS Workbench and is formed from shell and solid elements. The experimental modal analysis, which was performed on a real pattern, was employed for measuring the modal frequencies and shapes. After performing the EMA, the FE mesh was calibrated after comparing the measured modal frequencies with the calculated ones. The last part describes the process of the numerical non-linear dynamic impact simulation in LS-DYNA. This simulation was validated after comparing the measured ASI index with the calculated ones. The aim of the study is to improve professional public knowledge about dynamic non-linear impact simulations. This should ideally lead to safer, more accurate and profitable designs.

  17. Fall Protection Characteristics of Safety Belts and Human Impact Tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hino, Yasumichi; Ohdo, Katsutoshi; Takahashi, Hiroki

    2014-08-23

    Many fatal accidents due to falls from heights have occurred at construction sites not only in Japan but also in other countries. This study aims to determine the fall prevention performance of two types of safety belts: a body belt 1) , which has been used for more than 40 yr in the Japanese construction industry as a general type of safety equipment for fall accident prevention, and a full harness 2, 3) , which has been used in many other countries. To determine human tolerance for impact trauma, this study discusses features of safety belts with reference 4-9) to relevant studies in the medical science, automobile crash safety, and aircrew safety. For this purpose, simple drop tests were carried out in a virtual workplace to measure impact load, head acceleration, and posture in the experiments, the Hybrid-III pedestrian model 10) was used as a human dummy. Hybrid-III is typically employed in official automobile crash tests (New Car Assessment Program: NCAP) and is currently recognized as a model that faithfully reproduces dynamic responses. Experimental results shows that safety performance strongly depends on both the variety of safety belts used and the shock absorbers attached onto lanyards. These findings indicate that fall prevention equipment, such as safety belts, lanyards, and shock absorbers, must be improved to reduce impact injuries to the human head and body during falls.

  18. Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lesperance, Ann M.; Olson, Jarrod; Godinez, Melanie A.

    2010-08-31

    On March 10, 2010 the workshop titled Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety was held in Seattle, WA. The objective of this workshop was to showcase ways social media networking technologies can be used to support emergency management and public safety operations. The workshop highlighted the current state of social networking and where this dynamic engagement is heading, demonstrated some of the more commonly used technologies, highlighted case studies on how these tools have been used in a variety of jurisdictions and engaged the private sector on how these tools might serve as a conduit for two way communication between with the public sector to address regional recovery issues and decision making.

  19. A computational framework for cortical microtubule dynamics in realistically shaped plant cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bandan Chakrabortty

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Plant morphogenesis is strongly dependent on the directional growth and the subsequent oriented division of individual cells. It has been shown that the plant cortical microtubule array plays a key role in controlling both these processes. This ordered structure emerges as the collective result of stochastic interactions between large numbers of dynamic microtubules. To elucidate this complex self-organization process a number of analytical and computational approaches to study the dynamics of cortical microtubules have been proposed. To date, however, these models have been restricted to two dimensional planes or geometrically simple surfaces in three dimensions, which strongly limits their applicability as plant cells display a wide variety of shapes. This limitation is even more acute, as both local as well as global geometrical features of cells are expected to influence the overall organization of the array. Here we describe a framework for efficiently simulating microtubule dynamics on triangulated approximations of arbitrary three dimensional surfaces. This allows the study of microtubule array organization on realistic cell surfaces obtained by segmentation of microscopic images. We validate the framework against expected or known results for the spherical and cubical geometry. We then use it to systematically study the individual contributions of global geometry, cell-edge induced catastrophes and cell-face induced stability to array organization in a cuboidal geometry. Finally, we apply our framework to analyze the highly non-trivial geometry of leaf pavement cells of Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana and Hedera helix. We show that our simulations can predict multiple features of the microtubule array structure in these cells, revealing, among others, strong constraints on the orientation of division planes.

  20. A computational framework for cortical microtubule dynamics in realistically shaped plant cells

    KAUST Repository

    Chakrabortty, Bandan; Blilou, Ikram; Scheres, Ben; Mulder, Bela M.

    2018-01-01

    Plant morphogenesis is strongly dependent on the directional growth and the subsequent oriented division of individual cells. It has been shown that the plant cortical microtubule array plays a key role in controlling both these processes. This ordered structure emerges as the collective result of stochastic interactions between large numbers of dynamic microtubules. To elucidate this complex self-organization process a number of analytical and computational approaches to study the dynamics of cortical microtubules have been proposed. To date, however, these models have been restricted to two dimensional planes or geometrically simple surfaces in three dimensions, which strongly limits their applicability as plant cells display a wide variety of shapes. This limitation is even more acute, as both local as well as global geometrical features of cells are expected to influence the overall organization of the array. Here we describe a framework for efficiently simulating microtubule dynamics on triangulated approximations of arbitrary three dimensional surfaces. This allows the study of microtubule array organization on realistic cell surfaces obtained by segmentation of microscopic images. We validate the framework against expected or known results for the spherical and cubical geometry. We then use it to systematically study the individual contributions of global geometry, cell-edge induced catastrophes and cell-face induced stability to array organization in a cuboidal geometry. Finally, we apply our framework to analyze the highly non-trivial geometry of leaf pavement cells of Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana and Hedera helix. We show that our simulations can predict multiple features of the microtubule array structure in these cells, revealing, among others, strong constraints on the orientation of division planes.

  1. A computational framework for cortical microtubule dynamics in realistically shaped plant cells

    KAUST Repository

    Chakrabortty, Bandan

    2018-02-02

    Plant morphogenesis is strongly dependent on the directional growth and the subsequent oriented division of individual cells. It has been shown that the plant cortical microtubule array plays a key role in controlling both these processes. This ordered structure emerges as the collective result of stochastic interactions between large numbers of dynamic microtubules. To elucidate this complex self-organization process a number of analytical and computational approaches to study the dynamics of cortical microtubules have been proposed. To date, however, these models have been restricted to two dimensional planes or geometrically simple surfaces in three dimensions, which strongly limits their applicability as plant cells display a wide variety of shapes. This limitation is even more acute, as both local as well as global geometrical features of cells are expected to influence the overall organization of the array. Here we describe a framework for efficiently simulating microtubule dynamics on triangulated approximations of arbitrary three dimensional surfaces. This allows the study of microtubule array organization on realistic cell surfaces obtained by segmentation of microscopic images. We validate the framework against expected or known results for the spherical and cubical geometry. We then use it to systematically study the individual contributions of global geometry, cell-edge induced catastrophes and cell-face induced stability to array organization in a cuboidal geometry. Finally, we apply our framework to analyze the highly non-trivial geometry of leaf pavement cells of Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana and Hedera helix. We show that our simulations can predict multiple features of the microtubule array structure in these cells, revealing, among others, strong constraints on the orientation of division planes.

  2. Seismic safety of building structures of NPP Kozloduy III

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varbanov, G.I.; Kostov, M.K.; Stefanov, D.D.; Kaneva, A.D.

    2005-01-01

    In the proposed paper is presented a general summary of the analyses carried out to evaluate the dynamic behavior and to assess the seismic safety of some safety related building structures of NPP Kozloduy. The design seismic loads for the site of Kozloduy NPP has been reevaluated and increased during and after the construction of investigated Units 5 and 6. Deterministic and probabilistic approaches are applied to assess the seismic vulnerability of the investigated structures, taking into account the newly defined seismic excitations. The presented results show sufficient seismic safety for the studied critical structures and good efficiency of the seismic upgrading. The applicability of the investigated structures at sites with some higher seismic activities is discussed. The presented study is dealing mainly with the civil structures of the Reactor building, Turbine hall, Diesel Generator Station and Water Intake Structure. (authors)

  3. Experiment on safety software evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soubies, B.; Henry, J.Y.

    1994-06-01

    The licensing procedures process of nuclear plants includes compulsory steps which bring about a thorough exam of the commands control system. In this context the IPSN uses a tool called MALPAS to carry out an analysis of the quality of the software involved in safety control. The IPSN also try to obtain the automation of the generation of test games necessary for dynamical analysis. The MALPAS tool puts forward the particularities of programing which can influence the testability and the upholding of the studied software. (TEC). 4 refs

  4. High-speed railway bridge dynamic measurement based on GB-InSAR technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Miao; Ding, Ke-liang; Liu, Xianglei; Song, Zichao

    2015-12-01

    It is an important task to evaluate the safety during the life of bridges using the corresponding vibration parameters. With the advantages of non-contact and high accuracy, the new remote measurement technology of GB-InSAR is suitable to make dynamic measurement for bridges to acquire the vibration parameters. Three key technologies, including stepped frequency-continuous wave technique, synthetic aperture radar and interferometric measurement technique, are introduced in this paper. The GB-InSAR is applied for a high-speed railway bridge to measure of dynamic characteristics with the train passing which can be used to analyze the safety of the monitored bridge. The test results shown that it is an reliable non-contact technique for GB-InSAR to acquire the dynamic vibration parameter for the high-speed railway bridges.

  5. CAUSAL DYNAMICAL TRIANGULATIONS AND THE SEARCH FOR A THEORY OF QUANTUM GRAVITY

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambjørn, Jan; Görlich, Andrzej; Jurkiewicz, J.

    2013-01-01

    High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)......High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)...

  6. Flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ginsberg, T.; Jones, O.C.; Chen, J.C.

    1979-01-01

    Safety analyses of fast breeder reactors require understanding of the two-phase fluid dynamic and heat transfer characteristics of volume-heated boiling pool systems. Design of direct contact three-phase boilers, of practical interest in the chemical industries also requires understanding of the fundamental two-phase flow and heat transfer behavior of volume boiling systems. Several experiments have been recently reported relevant to the boundary heat-loss mechanisms of boiling pool systems. Considerably less is known about the two-phase fluid dynamic behavior of such systems. This paper describes an experimental investigation of the steady-state flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pool systems

  7. Design of safety mechanism for an industrial manipulator based on passive compliance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hwi Su; Park, Jung Jun; Song, Jae Bok; Kyung, Jin Ho

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, collision safety between humans and robots has drawn much attention since human-robot cooperation is increasingly needed in various fields. Since positioning accuracy and collision safety are both important, an industrial manipulator should maintain very high stiffness for positioning accuracy in a normal situation, but exhibit very low stiffness when subjected to a collision force greater than the tolerance for human injury. To satisfy these requirements, we proposed in our previous research a safety mechanism composed of a linear spring and a double-slider mechanism for a service robot with a small payload. We modified this device to meet more stringent requirements for an industrial manipulator which usually has a payload higher than a service robot. Several experiments on static and dynamic collisions showed high stiffness of the safety mechanism in response to an external torque that was less than a predetermined threshold torque, but low stiffness that enabled absorption of the collision force when the external torque exceeded the threshold. Thus, positioning accuracy and collision safety were improved using the proposed design. Furthermore, a new safety criterion is suggested to verify the collision safety of a manipulator that uses the proposed safety mechanism

  8. Facilitators and barriers of implementing enhanced recovery in colorectal surgery at a safety net hospital: A provider and patient perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alawadi, Zeinab M; Leal, Isabel; Phatak, Uma R; Flores-Gonzalez, Juan R; Holihan, Julie L; Karanjawala, Burzeen E; Millas, Stefanos G; Kao, Lillian S

    2016-03-01

    Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways are known to decrease complications and duration of stay in colorectal surgery patients. However, it is unclear whether an ERAS pathway would be feasible and effective at a safety-net hospital. The aim of this study was to identify local barriers and facilitators before the adoption of an ERAS pathway for patients undergoing colorectal operations at a safety-net hospital. Semistructured interviews were conducted to assess the perceived barriers and facilitators before ERAS adoption. Stratified purposive sampling was used. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using content analysis. Analytic and investigator triangulation were used to establish credibility. Interviewees included 8 anesthesiologists, 5 surgeons, 6 nurses, and 18 patients. Facilitators identified across the different medical professions were (1) feasibility and alignment with current practice, (2) standardization of care, (3) smallness of community, (4) good teamwork and communication, and (5) caring for patients. The barriers were (1) difficulty in adapting to change, (2) lack of coordination between different departments, (3) special needs of a highly comorbid and socioeconomically disadvantaged patient population, (4) limited resources, and (5) rotating residents. Facilitators identified by the patients were (1) welcoming a speedy recovery, (2) being well-cared for and satisfied with treatment, (3) adequate social support, (4) welcoming early mobilization, and (5) effective pain management. The barriers were (1) lack of quiet and private space, (2) need for more patient education and counseling, and (3) unforeseen complications. Although limited hospital resources are perceived as a barrier to ERAS implementation at a safety-net hospital, there is strong support for such pathways and multiple factors were identified that may facilitate change. Inclusion of patient perspectives is critical to identifying challenges and

  9. Dynamic Event Tree Analysis Through RAVEN

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    A. Alfonsi; C. Rabiti; D. Mandelli; J. Cogliati; R. A. Kinoshita; A. Naviglio

    2013-09-01

    Conventional Event-Tree (ET) based methodologies are extensively used as tools to perform reliability and safety assessment of complex and critical engineering systems. One of the disadvantages of these methods is that timing/sequencing of events and system dynamics is not explicitly accounted for in the analysis. In order to overcome these limitations several techniques, also know as Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (D-PRA), have been developed. Monte-Carlo (MC) and Dynamic Event Tree (DET) are two of the most widely used D-PRA methodologies to perform safety assessment of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). In the past two years, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed its own tool to perform Dynamic PRA: RAVEN (Reactor Analysis and Virtual control ENvironment). RAVEN has been designed in a high modular and pluggable way in order to enable easy integration of different programming languages (i.e., C++, Python) and coupling with other application including the ones based on the MOOSE framework, developed by INL as well. RAVEN performs two main tasks: 1) control logic driver for the new Thermo-Hydraulic code RELAP-7 and 2) post-processing tool. In the first task, RAVEN acts as a deterministic controller in which the set of control logic laws (user defined) monitors the RELAP-7 simulation and controls the activation of specific systems. Moreover, RAVEN also models stochastic events, such as components failures, and performs uncertainty quantification. Such stochastic modeling is employed by using both MC and DET algorithms. In the second task, RAVEN processes the large amount of data generated by RELAP-7 using data-mining based algorithms. This paper focuses on the first task and shows how it is possible to perform the analysis of dynamic stochastic systems using the newly developed RAVEN DET capability. As an example, the Dynamic PRA analysis, using Dynamic Event Tree, of a simplified pressurized water reactor for a Station Black-Out scenario is presented.

  10. System safety education focused on flight safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, E.

    1971-01-01

    The measures necessary for achieving higher levels of system safety are analyzed with an eye toward maintaining the combat capability of the Air Force. Several education courses were provided for personnel involved in safety management. Data include: (1) Flight Safety Officer Course, (2) Advanced Safety Program Management, (3) Fundamentals of System Safety, and (4) Quantitative Methods of Safety Analysis.

  11. Labor unions and safety climate: perceived union safety values and retail employee safety outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, Robert R; Martin, James E; Sears, Lindsay E

    2010-09-01

    Although trade unions have long been recognized as a critical advocate for employee safety and health, safety climate research has not paid much attention to the role unions play in workplace safety. We proposed a multiple constituency model of workplace safety which focused on three central safety stakeholders: top management, ones' immediate supervisor, and the labor union. Safety climate research focuses on management and supervisors as key stakeholders, but has not considered whether employee perceptions about the priority their union places on safety contributes contribute to safety outcomes. We addressed this gap in the literature by investigating unionized retail employee (N=535) perceptions about the extent to which their top management, immediate supervisors, and union valued safety. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that perceived union safety values could be distinguished from measures of safety training, workplace hazards, top management safety values, and supervisor values. Structural equation analyses indicated that union safety values influenced safety outcomes through its association with higher safety motivation, showing a similar effect as that of supervisor safety values. These findings highlight the need for further attention to union-focused measures related to workplace safety as well as further study of retail employees in general. We discuss the practical implications of our findings and identify several directions for future safety research. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Safety distance between underground natural gas and water pipeline facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohsin, R.; Majid, Z.A.; Yusof, M.Z.

    2014-01-01

    A leaking water pipe bursting high pressure water jet in the soil will create slurry erosion which will eventually erode the adjacent natural gas pipe, thus causing its failure. The standard 300 mm safety distance used to place natural gas pipe away from water pipeline facilities needs to be reviewed to consider accidental damage and provide safety cushion to the natural gas pipe. This paper presents a study on underground natural gas pipeline safety distance via experimental and numerical approaches. The pressure–distance characteristic curve obtained from this experimental study showed that the pressure was inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance. Experimental testing using water-to-water pipeline system environment was used to represent the worst case environment, and could be used as a guide to estimate appropriate safety distance. Dynamic pressures obtained from the experimental measurement and simulation prediction mutually agreed along the high-pressure water jetting path. From the experimental and simulation exercises, zero effect distance for water-to-water medium was obtained at an estimated horizontal distance at a minimum of 1500 mm, while for the water-to-sand medium, the distance was estimated at a minimum of 1200 mm. - Highlights: • Safe separation distance of underground natural gas pipes was determined. • Pressure curve is inversely proportional to separation distance. • Water-to-water system represents the worst case environment. • Measured dynamic pressures mutually agreed with simulation results. • Safe separation distance of more than 1200 mm should be applied

  13. Safety-related operator actions: methodology for developing criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozinsky, E.J.; Gray, L.H.; Beare, A.N.; Barks, D.B.; Gomer, F.E.

    1984-03-01

    This report presents a methodology for developing criteria for design evaluation of safety-related actions by nuclear power plant reactor operators, and identifies a supporting data base. It is the eleventh and final NUREG/CR Report on the Safety-Related Operator Actions Program, conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The operator performance data were developed from training simulator experiments involving operator responses to simulated scenarios of plant disturbances; from field data on events with similar scenarios; and from task analytic data. A conceptual model to integrate the data was developed and a computer simulation of the model was run, using the SAINT modeling language. Proposed is a quantitative predictive model of operator performance, the Operator Personnel Performance Simulation (OPPS) Model, driven by task requirements, information presentation, and system dynamics. The model output, a probability distribution of predicted time to correctly complete safety-related operator actions, provides data for objective evaluation of quantitative design criteria

  14. Linking Safety Analysis to Safety Requirements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kirsten Mark

    Software for safety critical systems must deal with the hazards identified by safety analysistechniques: Fault trees, event trees,and cause consequence diagrams can be interpreted as safety requirements and used in the design activity. We propose that the safety analysis and the system design use...

  15. Safety of Research Reactors. Safety Requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    The main objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to provide a basis for safety and a basis for safety assessment for all stages in the lifetime of a research reactor. Another objective is to establish requirements on aspects relating to regulatory control, the management of safety, site evaluation, design, operation and decommissioning. Technical and administrative requirements for the safety of research reactors are established in accordance with these objectives. This Safety Requirements publication is intended for use by organizations engaged in the site evaluation, design, manufacturing, construction, operation and decommissioning of research reactors as well as by regulatory bodies

  16. Light-water-reactor safety program. Quarterly progress report, April--June 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachs, R.G.; Kyger, J.A.

    1977-01-01

    The report summarizes work performed on the following water-reactor-safety problems: (1) loss-of-coolant accident research in heat transfer and fluid dynamics; (2) transient fuel response and fission-product release; (3) mechanical properties of zircaloy containing oxygen; and (4) steam-explosion studies

  17. Image matching for digital close-range stereo photogrammetry based on constraints of Delaunay triangulated network and epipolar-line

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, K.; Sheng, Y. H.; Li, Y. Q.; Han, B.; Liang, Ch.; Sha, W.

    2006-10-01

    In the field of digital photogrammetry and computer vision, the determination of conjugate points in a stereo image pair, referred to as "image matching," is the critical step to realize automatic surveying and recognition. Traditional matching methods encounter some problems in the digital close-range stereo photogrammetry, because the change of gray-scale or texture is not obvious in the close-range stereo images. The main shortcoming of traditional matching methods is that geometric information of matching points is not fully used, which will lead to wrong matching results in regions with poor texture. To fully use the geometry and gray-scale information, a new stereo image matching algorithm is proposed in this paper considering the characteristics of digital close-range photogrammetry. Compared with the traditional matching method, the new algorithm has three improvements on image matching. Firstly, shape factor, fuzzy maths and gray-scale projection are introduced into the design of synthetical matching measure. Secondly, the topology connecting relations of matching points in Delaunay triangulated network and epipolar-line are used to decide matching order and narrow the searching scope of conjugate point of the matching point. Lastly, the theory of parameter adjustment with constraint is introduced into least square image matching to carry out subpixel level matching under epipolar-line constraint. The new algorithm is applied to actual stereo images of a building taken by digital close-range photogrammetric system. The experimental result shows that the algorithm has a higher matching speed and matching accuracy than pyramid image matching algorithm based on gray-scale correlation.

  18. Dynamic Recognition of Driver’s Propensity Based on GPS Mobile Sensing Data and Privacy Protection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyuan Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Driver’s propensity is a dynamic measurement of driver’s emotional preference characteristics in driving process. It is a core parameter to compute driver’s intention and consciousness in safety driving assist system, especially in vehicle collision warning system. It is also an important influence factor to achieve the Driver-Vehicle-Environment Collaborative Wisdom and Control macroscopically. In this paper, dynamic recognition model of driver’s propensity based on support vector machine is established taking the vehicle safety controlled technology and respecting and protecting the driver’s privacy as precondition. The experiment roads travel time obtained through GPS is taken as the characteristic parameter. The sensing information of Driver-Vehicle-Environment was obtained through psychological questionnaire tests, real vehicle experiments, and virtual driving experiments, and the information is used for parameter calibration and validation of the model. Results show that the established recognition model of driver’s propensity is reasonable and feasible, which can achieve the dynamic recognition of driver’s propensity to some extent. The recognition model provides reference and theoretical basis for personalized vehicle active safety systems taking people as center especially for the vehicle safety technology based on the networking.

  19. Semiclassical universe from first principles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ambjørn, J.; Jurkiewicz, J.; Loll, R.

    2004-01-01

    Causal Dynamical Triangulations in four dimensions provide a backgroundindependent definition of the sum over space-time geometries in nonperturbative quantum gravity. We show that the macroscopic four-dimensional world which emerges in the Euclidean sector of this theory is a bounce which

  20. Keeping patients safe in healthcare organizations: a structuration theory of safety culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groves, Patricia S; Meisenbach, Rebecca J; Scott-Cawiezell, Jill

    2011-08-01

    This paper presents a discussion of the use of structuration theory to facilitate understanding and improvement of safety culture in healthcare organizations. Patient safety in healthcare organizations is an important problem worldwide. Safety culture has been proposed as a means to keep patients safe. However, lack of appropriate theory limits understanding and improvement of safety culture. The proposed structuration theory of safety culture was based on a critique of available English-language literature, resulting in literature published from 1983 to mid-2009. CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ABI/Inform and Google Scholar databases were searched using the following terms: nursing, safety, organizational culture and safety culture. When viewed through the lens of structuration theory, safety culture is a system involving both individual actions and organizational structures. Healthcare organization members, particularly nurses, share these values through communication and enact them in practice, (re)producing an organizational safety culture system that reciprocally constrains and enables the actions of the members in terms of patient safety. This structurational viewpoint illuminates multiple opportunities for safety culture improvement. Nurse leaders should be cognizant of competing value-based culture systems in the organization and attend to nursing agency and all forms of communication when attempting to create or strengthen a safety culture. Applying structuration theory to the concept of safety culture reveals a dynamic system of individual action and organizational structure constraining and enabling safety practice. Nurses are central to the (re)production of this safety culture system. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.