1,721,084 research outputs found

    Automated damage detection of bridges sub-surface defects from infrared images using machine learning

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    According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), 46,052 of America's 616,087 bridges are rated “structurally deficient” and need urgent repairs. The detection of damages through conventional methods, such as visual inspection and hammer tests are expensive, time-consuming, and challenging to perform without interfering with traffic operations. In the last years, different Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques such as computer-vision-based crack detection, impact echo, ultrasonic surface waves, electrical resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, and infrared thermography (IRT) have been developed to inspect aging structures. Among all, IRT has shown the capabilities of detecting defects resulting in different temperature distribution. It can be useful to identify sub-surface damages as delamination and water infiltration, hardly detectable using other traditional methods. In this paper, an algorithm to automatically detect damages in bridges from IR images is proposed. The algorithm exploits the temperature difference between damaged and undamaged parts through machine learning and computer vision techniques to highlight the location of flaws in the structure. Laboratory experiments and real-world analysis on in-service bridges are described in this research to validate the proposed method's accuracy. This study aims to automate the damage detection phases on large-scale structures

    Combined infrared imaging and structure from motion approach for building thermal energy efficiency and damage assessment

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    In the United States, buildings' heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for approximately 40% of the global energy consumption, and contribute between 40% and 48% of the CO2 emissions. One of the largest causes for this type of energy consumption is heat loss. Energy loss can be attributed to inefficiency and sub-surface defects in the structure that reduce the thermal resistance and facilitate unwanted heat transmission within the environment. In recent years, infrared (IR) thermography has proven to be an excellent tool for detecting heat loss from a building envelope. At the same time, advancements in computer vision systems have enabled the use of Structure from Motion (SfM) as a photogrammetry technique. SfM is used for the generation of three-dimensional (3D) building information modeling (BIM). It has the potential to facilitate remote visual inspection of large-scale structures and infrastructure systems by creating virtual renderings. The results of an experiment performed on a lab-scale building using both IR and SfM techniques is analyzed. In particular, the accuracy of SfM in generating a 3D virtual rendering of a target object by using images acquired from a low-cost IR camera is discussed. IR images of a building are recorded and are used for reconstructing a digital model of the structure. The goal is to characterize the viability of SfM in detecting sub-surface defects that can yield to significant heat loss and reduce thermal efficiency in the façade of the building

    An industrial symbiosis simulation game: Evidence from the circular sustainable business development class

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    This study presents the industrial symbiosis (IS) business game developed in the “circular sustainable business development” (CSBD) class at the University of Twente. The game was designed by the instructors to allow students to experience the strategic business dynamics of IS. Spreading knowledge regarding IS dynamics is fundamental for fostering circular business development and equipping students, “the managers of tomorrow,” with the skills of circular economic thinking. In this paper, the rules of the IS business game are presented along with the game settings. Further, the results of the gameplay are presented and discussed from a dual perspective, that is, through the theoretical lenses provided by the IS literature and the intended learning outcomes. Overall, we aim to spread this experience and the related results to promote teaching activities focused on IS

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods
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