Experimental Tests

In this study we demonstrate an approach to replacing validated selection tests to which job applicants may have prior access. This approach, labeled construct equivalence, allows for replacing valid tests currently in use with new, experimental tests that have been shown to measure the same constructs. We demonstrated the construct equivalence approach by collecting data from over 2,000 applicants for four different positions in a large petrochemical company. We investigated the equivalence of the experimental and the current tests by using correlational analyses, structural modeling, and analyses of hiring decisions. Results indicated that the experimental and current tests measure the same constructs and that replacing the current tests with the experimental tests would treat ethnic and sex subgroups consistently. Construct equivalence was shown to be a viable approach to test substitution.

The opportunities provided by the use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites for the seismic repair of reinforced concrete (RC) structures were assessed on a full-scale dual system subjected to pseudodynamic tests in the ELSA laboratory. The aim of the CFRP ...

Electricity metering plays a crucial role for all the commercial transactions on the energy market. Thus, an accurate evaluation of the performance of the electricity metering equipment is required not only in the reference operating conditions but also in the presence of disturbances affecting the power systems. As regards this matter, this paper analyzes the main aspects related to the

Information about the times of thermal breakthrough and subsequent rates of thermal drawdown in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is necessary for reservoir management, designing fracture stimulation and well drilling programs, and forecasting economic return. Thermal breakthrough in heterogeneous porous media can be estimated using conservative tracers and assumptions about heat transfer rates; however, tracers that undergo temperature-dependent changes can provide more detailed information about the thermal profile along the flow path through the reservoir. To be effectively applied, the thermal reaction rates of such temperature sensitive traces must be well characterized for the range of conditions that exist in geothermal systems. Reactive tracers proposed in the literature include benzoic and

... about geometrical sizes of the windings and electromagnetic characteristics of the transformeriron core. ... IEEE TRANSACI'IONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT, VOL. ... accurate unbiased evaluation of the time domain model parameters of two coupled inductors. ...

The common challenge of all aerospace advancements is greening the air transport. This led the recent research programs towards the study of 'metamorphic' wing structures, capable of adapting their geometry to the different conditions of flight. The development of morphing structures allows the reduction of drag and the increase of range, together with the growth of load control effectiveness. In this context, the European research project SARISTU addressed the physical integration of smart and morphing structural concepts, by implementing them on a true scale outer wing belonging to a CS-25 category aircraft finally tested in a large Wind Tunnel. In the framework of SARISTU project, the design of an Adaptive Trailing Edge Device was developed. The morphing skin concept consisted of a segmented skin, with aluminum and silicone foam strips covered by a protective silicone top-layer. A two-bay demonstrator was tested inside the Wind Tunnel at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Naples 'Federico II'; experimental analyses were performed in order to verify whether the silicone parts could show out of plane bumps induced by the aerodynamic loads occurring during the Wind Tunnel test campaign. A photogrammetric optic approach was adopted, in order to reach the aforementioned targets in a non-invasive way; such methodology was selected due the high resolution assured at a very low implementation costs. Obtained results allowed to confirm the demonstrator well done design and opened the doors to the next experimental test campaign performed in TsAGI Russian Wind Tunnel, on the outer wing equipped with a five-bay demonstrator of the Adaptive Trailing Edge Device. © 2017 IEEE.

In conventional sheet forming processes, such as stamping or drawing, significant contact phenomena take place between workpiece and die surfaces. Especially, relative motion and normal loads generate friction which influences some aspects of processes such as material flow, tools wear and life and total force needed to complete the process. In the current paper an experimental test campaign has been carried out using a large scale pin-on-disk device designed and realized by the Authors to investigate the influence of pressure, sliding velocity and temperature. The purpose is to test the developed device and to find which and how these parameters mostly affect friction. The pin-on-disk test consists of two specimens, a pin and a plate representing respectively die and workpiece, which are compressed by means of a known force and then moved one over the other. Compression and friction forces are sampled during the tests and the friction coefficient is estimated as the ratio of these two forces. The tested materials are H13 die steel on FeP04 and AZ31 sheets.

Modelling of existing reinforced concrete (r.c.) frames designed without specific seismic rules is a key problem for maintenance, structural upgrading and seismic assessment. In many European countries a very large percentage of reinforced concrete buildings are 40 years old, or even older; thus reinforcement consists of smooth rebars, since only in the 1970’s did early applications of deformed rebars appear. Technical literature on mechanical performances of anchored smooth rebars is non-comprehensive, mainly from the deformation standpoint, despite the relevance of this aspect to the response of critical regions, i.e. beam to column joints and column bases. In the present paper a series of experimental tests on smooth rebars are presented; they are aimed at describing in detail the force–slip relation for the bond mechanism for straight rebars and for anchoring end details, i.e. circular hooks with a 180∘ opening angle.

2 Vilnius University, Kaunas faculty, Muitinns g. 8, 44280 Kaunas 3 JSC Penkių kontinentų bankinns technologijos, Kalvarijų g. 143, Vilnius Abstract: In this paper two different methods are used to forecast the daily cash demand for automatic teller machines (ATM). The first method is based on flexible artificial neural network (ANN). The gener-alization properties of this ANN were improved using special adaptive regularization term. The second forecasting method employs the support vector regression (SPR) algorithm. Performed simulation studies and experimental tests showed tolerable forecasting capacities using the both proposed methods. Despite the today's overenthusiastic beliefs about the capabilities of SPR, our investigation showed however that for this application slightly better result can be achieved using forecasting method based on flexible ANN. At this stage the forecasting schema based on flexible ANN is in the implementing phase for intel-ligent cash management in...

The automation and control of polymerization reactors that operate in batches is quite a difficult task. The gel effect and the absence of a stable operational state are factors that determine the need for special control systems. In this study, a methodology is implemented for controlling the operation of a batch polymerization reactor, utilizing an adaptive controller of the type

As a step toward absolute calibration of optical tweezers, a first-principles theory of trapping forces with no adjustable parameters, corrected for spherical aberration, is experimentally tested. Employing two very different setups, we find generally very good agreement for the transverse trap stiffness as a function of microsphere radius for a broad range of radii, including the values employed in practice, and at different sample chamber depths. The domain of validity of the WKB (``geometrical optics'') approximation to the theory is verified. Theoretical predictions for the trapping threshold, peak position, depth variation, multiple equilibria, and ``jump'' effects are also confirmed.