• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.671-690
• /
• 2004

A meshless method with novel variation of point collocation by finite mixture approximation is developed in this paper, termed the meshless finite mixture (MFM) method. It is based on the finite mixture theorem and consists of two or more existing meshless techniques for exploitation of their respective merits for the numerical solution of partial differential boundary value (PDBV) problems. In this representation, the classical reproducing kernel particle and differential quadrature techniques are mixed in a point collocation framework. The least-square method is used to optimize the value of the weight coefficient to construct the final finite mixture approximation with higher accuracy and numerical stability. In order to validate the developed MFM method, several one- and two-dimensional PDBV problems are studied with different mixed boundary conditions. From the numerical results, it is observed that the optimized MFM weight coefficient can improve significantly the numerical stability and accuracy of the newly developed MFM method for the various PDBV problems.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.451-456
• /
• 2018

The use of single component distribution to describe the irregular stand structure of degraded forest often lead to bias. Such biasness can be overcome by the application of finite mixture distribution. Therefore, in this study, finite mixture distribution was used to characterise the irregular stand structure of the Gmelina arborea plantation in Omo forest reserve. Thirty plots, ten each from the three stands established in 1984, 1990 and 2005 were used. The data were pooled per stand and fitted. Four finite mixture distributions including normal mixture, lognormal mixture, gamma mixture and Weibull mixture were considered. The method of maximum likelihood was used to fit the finite mixture distributions to the data. Model assessment was based on negative loglikelihood value ($-{\Lambda}{\Lambda}$), Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and root mean square error (RMSE). The results showed that the mixture distributions provide accurate and precise characterisation of the irregular diameter distribution of the degraded Gmelina arborea stands. The $-{\Lambda}{\Lambda}$, AIC, BIC and RMSE values ranged from -715.233 to -348.375, 703.926 to 1433.588, 718.598 to 1451.334 and 3.003 to 7.492, respectively. Their performances were relatively the same. This approach can be used to describe other irregular forest stand structures, especially the multi-species forest.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.1635-1656
• /
• 2023

In Bayesian multi-target tracking, the Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture (PMBM) filter is a state-of-the-art filter based on the methodology of random finite set which is a conjugate prior composed of Poisson point process (PPP) and multi-Bernoulli mixture (MBM). In order to improve the random finite set-based filter utilized in multi-target tracking of sensor scanning, this paper introduces the Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture filter into time-matching Bayesian filtering framework and derive a tractable and principled method, namely: the time-matching Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture (TM-PMBM) filter. We also provide the Gaussian mixture implementation of the TM-PMBM filter for linear-Gaussian dynamic and measurement models. Subsequently, we compare the performance of the TM-PMBM filter with other RFS filters based on time-matching method with different birth models under directional continuous scanning and out-of-order discontinuous scanning. The results of simulation demonstrate that the proposed filter not only can effectively reduce the influence of sampling time diversity, but also improve the estimated accuracy of target state along with cardinality.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.174-179
• /
• 2004

The effect of grain refinement on the plastic deformation behaviour of nanocrystalline metallic materials is investigated. A phase mixture model in which a single phase material is considered as an effectively two-phase one is discussed. A distinctive feature of the model is that grain boundaries are treated as a separate phase deforming by a diffusion mechanism. For the grain interior phase two concurrent mechanisms are considered: dislocation glide and mass transfer by diffusion. The proposed constitutive model was implemented into a finite element code (DEFORM) using a semicoupled approach. The finite element method was applied to simulating room temperature tensile deformation of Cu down to the nanoscale grain size in order to investigate the pre- and post-necking behaviour.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.1087-1105
• /
• 2016

Traffic load and volume is one of the most important physical quantities for bridge safety evaluation and maintenance strategies formulation. This paper aims to conduct the statistical analysis of traffic volume information and the multimodal modeling of gross vehicle weight (GVW) based on the monitoring data obtained from the weigh-in-motion (WIM) system instrumented on the arch Jiubao Bridge located in Hangzhou, China. A genetic algorithm (GA)-based mixture parameter estimation approach is developed for derivation of the unknown mixture parameters in mixed distribution models. The statistical analysis of one-year WIM data is firstly performed according to the vehicle type, single axle weight, and GVW. The probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the GVW data of selected vehicle types are then formulated by use of three kinds of finite mixed distributions (normal, lognormal and Weibull). The mixture parameters are determined by use of the proposed GA-based method. The results indicate that the stochastic properties of the GVW data acquired from the field-instrumented WIM sensors are effectively characterized by the method of finite mixture distributions in conjunction with the proposed GA-based mixture parameter identification algorithm. Moreover, it is revealed that the Weibull mixture distribution is relatively superior in modeling of the WIM data on the basis of the calculated Akaike's information criterion (AIC) values.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.401-416
• /
• 2008

The paper presents a methodology to model three-dimensional reinforced concrete members by means of embedded discontinuity elements based on the Continuum Strong Discontinuous Approach (CSDA). Mixture theory concepts are used to model reinforced concrete as a 3D composite material constituted of concrete with long fibers (rebars) bundles oriented in different directions embedded in it. The effects of the rebars are modeled by phenomenological constitutive models devised to reproduce the axial non-linear behavior, as well as the bond-slip and dowel action. The paper presents the constitutive models assumed for the components and the compatibility conditions chosen to constitute the composite. Numerical analyses of existing experimental reinforced concrete members are presented, illustrating the applicability of the proposed methodology.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.591-600
• /
• 2018

The probabilistic characterization of wind field characteristics is a significant task for fatigue reliability assessment of long-span railway bridges in wind-prone regions. In consideration of the effect of wind direction, the stochastic properties of wind field should be represented by a bivariate statistical model of wind speed and direction. This paper presents the construction of the bivariate model of wind speed and direction at the site of a railway arch bridge by use of the long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) data. The wind characteristics are derived by analyzing the real-time wind monitoring data, such as the mean wind speed and direction, turbulence intensity, turbulence integral scale, and power spectral density. A sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm-based finite mixture modeling method is proposed to formulate the joint distribution model of wind speed and direction. For the probability density function (PDF) of wind speed, a double-parameter Weibull distribution function is utilized, and a von Mises distribution function is applied to represent the PDF of wind direction. The SQP algorithm with multi-start points is used to estimate the parameters in the bivariate model, namely Weibull-von Mises mixture model. One-year wind monitoring data are selected to validate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling method. The optimal model is jointly evaluated by the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and coefficient of determination, $R^2$. The obtained results indicate that the proposed SQP algorithm-based finite mixture modeling method can effectively establish the bivariate model of wind speed and direction. The established bivariate model of wind speed and direction will facilitate the wind-induced fatigue reliability assessment of long-span bridges.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2015

PURPOSES: Evaluation of the wind speed effect on the temperature drop of an asphalt mixture during construction, by using the transient heat transfer theory and dominant convective heat transfer coefficient model. METHODS: Finite difference method (FDM) is used to solve the transient heat transfer difference equation numerically for various wind speeds and initial temperature conditions. The Blasius convective heat transfer coefficient model is adapted to account for the effect of wind speed in the temperature predictions of the asphalt mixture, and the Beaufort number is used to select a reasonable wind speed for the analysis. As a function of time and depth, the temperature of the pavement structure is predicted and analyzed for the given initial conditions. RESULTS : The effect of wind speed on the temperature drop of asphalt mixture is found to be significant. It seems that wind speed is another parameter to be accounted for in the construction specifications for obtaining a better quality of the asphalt mixture. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that wind speed has a significant effect on the temperature drop of the asphalt layer. Although additional field observations have to be made to reflect the effect of wind speed on the construction specifications, it appears that wind speed is a dominant variable to be considered, in addition to the atmospheric temperature.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.249-256
• /
• 1993

Numerical method is applied to predict the time variation behavior of flammable mixture formation in a two dimensional enclosure from the beginning of gas leak. Additionally experimental method is used to consider qualitative aspects. Characteristics of flammable mixture formation such as distribution of flow and fuel mass fraction at various locations in the enclosure are determined for the following parameters: the various locations of leak at the bottom and aspect ratio of the enclosure. In the case of gas leak with small leak velocity from the bottom of enclosure gravitational force affects the formation of flammable mixture. Aspect ratio of the enclosure also affects the formation of flammable mixture. The volume of the region of recirculating flow is dominant factor affecting the formation mixture.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.725-730
• /
• 2007

Gray-level histogram-based threshold selection methods such as Otsu's method, Huang and Wang's method, and etc. have been widely used for the threshold selection in image processing. They are simple and effective, but take too much time to determine the optimal multilevel threshold values as the number of thresholds are increased. In this paper, we measure correlation between gray-levels by using the Gaussian function and define a Gaussian-type finite mixture distribution which is combination of the Gaussian distribution function with the gray-level histogram, and propose a fast and effective threshold selection method using it. We show the effectiveness of the proposed through experimental results applied it to three images and the efficiency though comparison of the computational complexity of the proposed with that of Otsu's method.