Technology & Engineering - General

This Special Issue mainly concerns recent progress in the fields of building materials, structural mechanics, geotechnical engineering, and advanced materials and technology. Some of the studies in this Special Issue collate the latest achievements in cement and building materials research, building upon traditional research...

Digital image collection is increasing rapidly with the development of Internet and with the advent of highly sophisticated image capturing devices like sensors and digital cameras. Efficient image searching, browsing, and retrieval tools are required by the users for various image processing applications. Content...

In this day and age, mobile communication has become a ubiquitous part of the modern life and most likely covers all forms communication in the near future. The goal of this book is to provide a tutorial introduction to mobile communications by illustrating the...

Internal combustion engines are widely spread in our civilization. They are used in various areas spanning from energy production to transportation. At the moment most of them are ignited by spark plugs which are the dominating technology. However an increase in fuel efficiency and...

The 3D devices (laser scanners, stereo photogrammetry, ...) can provide comprehensive data on external anatomical parts of the human face, in a less invasive way for the patient than the CT scan. Those tools are currently being tested but, despite of the strong interest...

The quest for energy conservation by the manufacturers to reduce carbon footprint of the processes involved in food processing and preservation and the increasing consumers' demand for fresh-like quality foods have given rise to the development of emerging nonthermal processing technologies such as pulsed...

This book presents standard as well as novel face recognition methods. These methods utilize Principal Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Independent Component Analysis, Gabor Wavelets, Neural Networks, Hidden Markov Models, Graph Matching, etc. Emphasis is given to the popular Eigenfaces algorithm, which is presented...

Continuing to scale down the transistor size makes the adoption of high-k gate dielectrics and metal electrodes necessary. However, there are still a lot of problems with high-k transistors such as Fermi-level pinning (FLP), which affects flatband voltage （Vfb）and threshold voltages (Vth) directly. This...

Large networks of interconnected, independently actuated systems can be found these days in a broad spectrum of applications ranging from robotics and formation flight to civil engineering. The abundance and importance of these systems will continue to grow along with the necessity of avoiding...

Although glass was the only lens material for over 600 years, today plastic lenses used for prescription eyewear and sunglasses requiring high abrasion resistance and high quality optical properties have been developed. High index plastic lenses are a new lens category, having refractive index...

In this book an analytic treatment of Phase Noise in oscillators is given. Langevin equations for both white noise and flicker noise are analysed. The book starts with an introduction to the topic and introduces the reader to various models like LTI and LTV...

Wavelet analysis found to have a variety of applications. While other transforms such as the DCT may achieve a better compression ratio, their rule of zeroing small coefficients is applied evenly and globally while in wavelet analysis, the rule of zeroing can be applied...

Hyperspectral imaging is a powerful technique and has been used in a large number of applications. However, it generates massively large image data sets. Access and transport of these data sets will stress existing processing, storage and transmission capabilities. A new embedded, block-based, wavelet...

Liquid phase Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a developing alternative fuel system for engines which can provide the emission benefits of LPG and the power of a gasoline engine. LPG is traditionally used in the gas phase, but has limited power and emission benefits...

Laser generated ultrasound and air-coupled ultrasonic detectors are used to develop an inspection technique for the railroad industry. The Laser Air Hybrid Ultrasonic Technique (LAHUT) has the advantage of performing inspections without establishing contact with or the need to come close to the inspected...

Concerns over the indoor conditions have increased during recent years as a result of knowledge about indoor environmental quality on health, comfort and productivity of the workforce. The efficiency of the exhaust system is especially emphasised with a ventilated ceiling system where the exhaust...

Author: Jeffrey PostISBN-10: 3639086791ISBN-13: 9783639086799Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K.Language: EnglishPublished: 10/10/2008Pages: 128Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.40lbsSize: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.27d

Contemporary multimedia applications usually consist of compute in-tensive components which process and communicate large data streams. These applications are commonly mapped on multiprocessor architectures which can meet the high performance requirements by exploiting the parallelism between the computations of the components. To allow such...

We are today in the era of gigascale 2D and 3D integrated circuits. These microchips are typically considered to be "interconnect limited", with performance limited by signal, power, clock and thermal interconnect networks. Techniques to tackle this interconnect challenge are proposed and quantitatively evaluated...

When materials scientists in dentistry turn to use nanofiller in composites because of their superb properties, rather than microfiller in dental restorations, they are also facing a series of new challenges. This book reviews dental materials that are currently used in the industry. It...

Author: Ali Alavizadeh,Sudershan K. JetleyISBN-10: 3639060210ISBN-13: 9783639060218Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K.Language: EnglishPublished: 09/26/2008Pages: 148Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.46lbsSize: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.32d

Hyperbranched polymers together with dendrimers belong to the class of three-dimensional macromolecules called dendritic polymers. Due to their complex structure and specific properties, these polymers have attracted large scientific attention over the last twenty years. Although, hyperbranched polymers are randomly branched, have broad molar...

The photovoltaic industry has grown fast the recent years, but the price per watt has not jet reached grid parity. A further increase in solar cell efficiency is therefore needed. It is suggested in this work that the main quality problem in multicrystalline silicon...

Power system voltage stability is one of the challenging problems faced by the utilities. Innovative methods and solutions are required to evaluate the voltage stability of a power system and implement suitable strategies to enhance the robustness of the power system against voltage stability...

Suppressing field emission from metallic surfaces is always of high demand for getting the optimum performance of high-voltage vacuum devices. While on the other hand, electron field emission from nanostructures has attracted wide attention in vacuum micro/nano-electronics. This book describes both these aspects. The...

Author: Artur LewinskiISBN-10: 3639012992ISBN-13: 9783639012996Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K.Language: EnglishPublished: 05/08/2008Pages: 148Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.46lbsSize: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.32d

Metal-based thermal barrier coatings (MBTBCs) have been produced, using Induction plasma spraying (IPS) of nanostructured alloy powders. Important advances have been made over recent years to ceramic-based thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for internal combustion engines application, but they are not yet applied in mass...

Official Opening and Welcome.- 1. Advanced Technology and Technology Education.- Industry productivity improvement techniques for education: A reverse technology transfer?.- Learning through apprenticeship.- New didactical concepts through the application of Flexible Learning Systems.- 2. Aspects of Identifying Key Competencies.- Identifying key competencies in specific...

The author systematically introduces the notion of ontologies to the non-expert reader and demonstrates in detail how to apply this conceptual framework for improved intranet retrieval of corporate information and knowledge and for enhanced Internet-based electronic commerce. He also describes ontology languages (XML, RDF,...

These proceedings contain the papers presented at VisSym '01, the third Joint Visuali- zation Symposium of the Eurographics Association and the Technical Committee on Visualization and Graphics (TCVG) of the IEEE Computer Society. The symposium is being held from May 28 to May 30,...

The success of any activity and process depends fundamentally on the possibility of balancing (symmetry) needs and their satisfaction. That is, the ability to properly define a set of success indicators. The application of the developed new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods can be eliminated...

This book derives from the Special Issue of the Manufacturing Engineering Society (MES) that was launched as a Special Issue of the journal Materials. The 48 contributions, published in this book, explore the evolution of traditional manufacturing models toward the new requirements of the...

Dear Colleagues, Polymer biointerfaces are considered a suitable alternative to the improvement and development of numerous applications. The optimization of polymer surface properties can control several biological processes, such as cell adhesion, proliferation, viability, and enhanced extracellular matrix secretion functions at biointerfaces. This printed...

The presence of drops, bubbles, and particles affects the behavior and response of complex multiphase fluids. In many applications, these complex fluids have more than one non-Newtonian component, e.g., polymer melts, liquid crystals, and blood plasma. In fact, most fluids exhibit non-Newtonian behaviors, such...

Alternative and renewable energy sources already play a very decisive role in the development of human society, helping to fulfill increasing energy demands from both industrialized and underdeveloped countries, as well as economic needs, which must comply with a decarbonized economy, decreasing the energy...

The increasing complexity of infrastructures and densely built-up areas requires a proper registration of the legal status (private and public), which can only be provided to a limited extent by the existing 2D cadastral registrations. The registration of the legal status in complex 3D...

This Special Issue "Multi-Agent Systems" gathers original research articles reporting results on the steadily growing area of agent-oriented computing and multi-agent systems technologies. After more than 20 years of academic research on multi-agent systems (MASs), in fact, agent-oriented models and technologies have been promoted...

Information management is a common paradigm in modern decision-making. A wide range of decision-making techniques have been proposed in the literature to model complex business and engineering processes. In this Special Issue, 16 selected and peer-reviewed original research articles contribute to business information management...

Social cognition focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in social interactions. On the other hand, the term cognitive computing is generally used to refer to new...

A comprehensive overview of sensors technology is provided in specific leading areas. Researchers, engineers and professionals on industries can find advanced technologies, devices, insights and solutions for a broad range of applications, including: - Piezoelectric power transducers - Multisensory for veins detection for robotic-based...

Energy storage can provide numerous beneficial services and cost savings within the electricity grid, especially when facing future challenges like renewable and electric vehicle (EV) integration. Public bodies, private companies and individuals are deploying storage facilities for several purposes, including arbitrage, grid support, renewable...

This book provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art sensors technology in specific leading areas. Industrial researchers, engineers and professionals can find information on the most advanced technologies and developments, together with data processing. Further research covers specific devices and technologies that capture and distribute...

This Reprint focuses on the emerging concepts that allow for the design of reinforced concrete, including new or improved concrete material, as well as on the characterization of the properties of typical reinforced concrete structures. The author of this Reprint is an Assistant Professor...

A subsea pipeline (also known as an offshore pipeline or submarine pipeline) is a pipeline that is laid on the seabed or inside a specially constructed trench. The use of pipelines represents a reliable mode of transport of oil and gas. The prevention of...

This proceeding in MDPI is a selection of papers presented at the 9th International Conference on Time Series and Forecasting. The main topics of this conference focus on the analysis and foundations of time series (a time series can be defined as a collection...

Smart cities represent a great advance in terms of sustainability, energy efficiency and being able to respond to the needs of enterprises, institutions and inhabitants. In this sense, smart grids contribute to the development of smart cities in the field of electrical energy, including...

In this age of data-driven transformation, where the fusion of blockchain technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) is shaping the fabric of our digital society, the need for security and privacy has never been more important. This Special Issue delves into the intricate...

The bioeconomy-using renewable bio-resources from the soil and sea to produce food, materials and energy-supports the achievement of sustainable development goals. Its scope is very broad as it involves primary production sectors (agriculture) and sectors that use these resources (manufacture of food, beverages and...

Metamaterials and metasurfaces have recently attracted increasing attention due to their anomalous and largely flexible properties. Their performance mainly depends on their subwavelength separation and geometric parameters. Metamaterials comprise a class of artificial materials whose physical properties can be engineered to exhibit various desired...

The construction industry makes a significant contribution to the global economy. Effective management of construction projects is essential to ensuring timely completion that meets quality standards within a project's prescribed scope and budget. Furthermore, assuring sustainability is crucial to reducing the impact of construction...