Abstract

Any measurement of poverty must specify a threshold and what this represents. Is it possible to avoid arbitrariness in the determination of these thresholds? Or are they totally subjective and depend on the observers values, prejudices and preferences? Or is poverty a real condition that causes suffering and exclusion from full participation in social life? This article argues that the meaning of adequate satisfaction of human needs is determined by social norms reflecting what society considers the minimum wellbeing to which all members should access. It proposes a methodology to identify these norms and emphasizes the process of their social structuring.

Abstract

Informing the users about their environment is of extreme importance for their full and independent functioning in the traffic system. Today’s development of technology provides the user the access to information about their environment by using the smartphone device at any moment if there is a defined applicative solution. For this, it is necessary to define the user’s environment according to the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) concept, which understands adequate technology of gathering, processing and distribution of information. This paper presents the proposal of the solution for informing the traffic network users about the environment for the defined group of users based on the beacon technology. The mentioned solution is based on the results of two separate studies about the needs of users who move along a part of the traffic network. The aim of the proposed solution is to provide the user with precise and real-time information and to raise the level of safety during movement. Document type: Article

Abstract

"jats:p"Various methodologies and tools applied to identification of vehicle and collision impact seek to present more and more accurate solutions to reproduce, restore, recreate and investigate the casualty. Modern computer technology and software provide the tools to solve specific problems developing mathematical modelling of complex mechanical systems involving vehicles and other objects in a road accident. Scientists generally utilize the Standard Test Method for Impact Testing calculating the energy of deformation of both vehicles, however, one of its limitations is the evaluation of the kinetic energy of the vehicles in post-collision taking into consideration vehicle rotation and linear displacement. To improve the analysis, dynamic traffic simulation is used, taking into account the variations in the coefficient of friction, suspension elasticity and damping. The proposed method is based on a system of two equations derived from two principles: the Principle of Conservation of Mechanical Energy and the Principle of Conservation of Momentum in the impact phase. The new approach is conducted on mathematical modelling and computer simulation of vehicle motion after the impact, wherefrom the linear and angular velocities are analysed. This is achieved by the numerical solution of the differential equations of motion of the cars after the impact, and the given initial conditions that satisfy the solution are used to solve the system of equations. The main findings of the study can be grouped as follows: 1) The positions of the vehicles prior to the moment of first impact and the post-impact orientation of velocity vectors are more precise. 2) The variability of the tire-road friction coefficient is taken into consideration. 3) The value of coefficient of restitution according to Newton’s theory of impact is unnecessarily determined. Document type: Article

Abstract

The current social and cultural environment requires museums to adopt new models of management that include the need to communicate effectively with diverse publics considered important for the development of their activity. The aim of this paper is assess the coherence between the importance assigned to strategic publics and the way museums communicate with them. The study was done on a wide sample (111 entities) of museums in Catalonia. The results indicate consistency with only a few groups, suggesting that museums are still in an early stage of adopting any new models, but a trend towards broadening the scope to include groups of interest other than museum visitors.

Abstract

A new alternative is presented for the estimation of modal mass, in order to scale the vibration modes obtained from operational modal analysis tests, using optimization techniques, in the frequency-independent proportional damping situation (structural or hysteretic), achieving optimal results even with the presence of a high level of noise in the signal.

After a brief exposition of the theoretical foundations, and the limitations in the current state of the art, the determination of modal parameters is analyzed in a coupled dynamic system, using optimization techniques.

To illustrate the procedure, two examples of application are presented: first, for the case of an elementary beam model of small dimensions; and then, to confirm the capacity of the proposed method to be applied to real civil structures, said capacity is illustrated by a numerical simulation, on a very slender bridge currently in service, and with a very complex internal geometry of its main beam.

Abstract

This work investigates the applicability of identification methods to the suspension parameters of a TGV multi-body model. The aim is to adjust the model to the real system by estimating the suspension parameters from measured vehicle response data. Due to the nonlinear behavior of the system the time-domain based model updating has been chosen. It requires the definition and minimization of a misfit function in the time domain describing the distance between model and measurement. The fastest convergence is obtained by the use of gradient methods requiring the calculation of the derivatives of the misfit function relative to every parameter. Since the calculation from finite differences is time consuming and less accurate the gradients are calculated from the adjoint method. The application to a simplified bogie model with known mathematical description allows the identification of its suspension parameters. The presence of local minima in the misfit function of the TGV model requires the use of global optimization methods. The simulated annealing and the genetic algorithm method give important reductions of the misfit function and improved parameter estimations. In following work this information could be used for further applications like the condition monitoring.; Ce travail étudie l’applicabilité des méthodes d’identification aux paramètres de la suspension d’un modèle multi-corps du TGV. L’objectif est de caler le modèle par rapport au système réel par une estimation des paramètres de la suspension en utilisant la réponse du véhicule mesuré. A cause du comportement nonlinéaire du système la méthode temporelle de recalage a été choisie. Elle nécessite la définition et minimisation d’une fonction coût qui décrit la distance entre le modèle et la mesure. La convergence la plus rapide est obtenue avec des méthodes gradient qui demandent le calcul des dérivés de la fonction coût par rapport á chaque paramètre de la suspension. Comme le calcul par des différences finis est coûteux et moins précis la méthode adjoint a été implémentée. L’application à un modèle simplifié d’un bogie avec une description mathématique connue permet d’identifier les paramètres de la suspension. La présence des minima locaux dans la fonction coût du modèle TGV nécessite l’utilisation des méthodes globales. Le recuit simulé et l’algorithme génétique donnent des réductions importantes de la fonction coût et des estimations pour les paramètres du modèle TGV. Dans des travaux ultérieurs, ces informations pourraient être utilisées pour d’autre application comme le « condition monitoring ».