Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
1,405
result(s) for
"Herrmann, Michael"
Sort by:
Rediscovering Lenin : dialectics of revolution and metaphysics of domination
This volume rediscovers Lenin as a strategic socialist thinker through close examination of his collected works and correspondence. Brie opens with an analysis of Lenin's theoretical development between 1914 and 1917, in preparation for his critical decision to dissolve the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 in a struggle for power. This led from the dialectics of revolutionary practice and social analysis to a new understanding of socialism, which is compared and contrasted to the alternative Marxist ideas and conceptions of the state posited by Karl Kautsky and Rosa Luxemburg.
Book
Atmospheric Blocks Increase the Odds of Extreme Wildfire Danger at High Latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere
Recent years have seen severe wildfires in the Northern Hemisphere. This study statistically links atmospheric blocks to extreme fire weather (FDP99 ${\\text{FD}}_{\\mathit{P99}}$) and observed fires (OF) across seasons from 1979 to 2020. Based on co‐location and odds ratio statistics, we find that a substantial part of FDP99 ${\\text{FD}}_{\\mathit{P99}}$ co‐occurs with blocks. In areas where blocks occur regularly, blocks increase the odds of FDP99 ${\\text{FD}}_{\\mathit{P99}}$ by a factor of 4–5, with up to a 30‐fold increase locally. The link between blocks and FDP99 ${\\text{FD}}_{\\mathit{P99}}$ is stronger at latitudes north of 50° ^{\\circ}$N, but exhibits regional and seasonal variations. We also find a significant link between blocks and OF in the Arctic regions during summer. This study reveals new links between atmospheric blocks and wildfire danger.
Journal Article
Analysis of Onshore Synthetic Inertia and Primary Control Reserve Contributions of Alternating Current-Side Meshed Offshore Grids with Voltage-Source Converter and Diode Rectifier Unit High-Voltage Direct Current Connections
The increasing use of renewable energy sources in place of conventional generation units is leading to a reduction in onshore inertia and to the development of offshore wind park grids connected by multiple high-voltage direct current (HVDC) connections to the onshore alternating current (AC) grid. For AC-side meshed offshore grids with voltage-source converter (VSC) and diode rectifier unit (DRU) HVDC connections towards onshore grids, this study focuses on the energetic feasibility of synthetic inertia (SI) and primary control reserve (PCR) contributions triggered locally at the onshore converters of both connection types. To this end, the obstacles preventing contributions for VSC HVDC connections and the mechanisms allowing contributions for DRU HVDC connections are identified first. Based on these findings, the article proposes an enhancement of the offshore HVDC converter controls that is continuously active and allows locally triggered onshore contributions at all onshore HVDC converters of both connection types without using communication and requiring only minimal system knowledge. Additional simulations confirm that, although the enhancement is continuously active, the operational performance of the offshore HVDC converter controls for normal offshore grid operation and its robustness against offshore AC-side faults are not affected.
Journal Article
A qualitative evaluation and structural analysis of multiple and additive load cases for two-dimensional Multi-Material Topology Optimisation in Grasshopper using the Generalised SIMP method
In the physical world, it is common for Multiple Load Cases (MLC) to act on a body either simultaneously or at different points in time. While MLC has been widely addressed in the literature, it has been identified that MLC in 2D Multi-Material Topology Optimised (MMTO) examples using the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalisation (SIMP) method is understudied, with the majority of examples not evaluating their structural performance. It is also identified that there are currently no MLC-ready MMTO software tailored to Architects that can perform Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The current research investigates how MLC can be addressed within “Stag”, our newly developed MMTO plugin for Grasshopper, and how its results compare topologically to benchmark examples from the literature. Furthermore, an overlaying method (ALC) of individual load case results is compared to MLC. This study addresses the identified gap in the literature by evaluating and comparing the structural performance of Stag’s MMTO MLC and ALC results with those from the literature by performing FEA within the same platform using the Grasshopper plugin “Karamba3D”. It is found that Stag produces MMTO MLC results that have a similar topology and structural performance to the benchmark examples from the literature. While the ALC result surpasses the target volume fraction, it performs structurally better than the MLC result.
Journal Article
Multifactorial Evaluation of Spatial Suitability and Economic Viability of Light Green Bridges Using Remote Sensing Data and Spatial Urban Planning Criteria
Multi-faceted stresses of social, environmental, and economic nature are increasingly challenging the existence and sustainability of our societies. Cities in particular are disproportionately threatened by global issues such as climate change, urbanization, population growth, air pollution, etc. In addition, urban space is often too limited to effectively develop sustainable, nature-based solutions while accommodating growing populations. This research aims to provide new methodologies by proposing lightweight green bridges in inner-city areas as an effective land value capture mechanism. Geometry analysis was performed using geospatial and remote sensing data to provide geometrically feasible locations of green bridges. A multi-criteria decision analysis was applied to identify suitable locations for green bridges investigating Central European urban centers with a focus on German cities as representative examples. A cost-benefit analysis was performed to assess the economic feasibility using a case study. The results of the geometry analysis identified 3249 locations that were geometrically feasible to implement a green bridge in German cities. The sample locations from the geometry analysis were proved to be validated for their implementation potential. Multi-criteria decision analysis was used to select 287 sites that fall under the highest suitable class based on several criteria. The cost-benefit analysis of the case study showed that the market value of the property alone can easily outweigh the capital and maintenance costs of a green bridge, while the indirect (monetary) benefits of the green space continue to increase the overall value of the green bridge property including its neighborhood over time. Hence, we strongly recommend light green bridges as financially sustainable and nature-based solutions in cities worldwide.
Journal Article
The design, fabrication, and structural and embodied carbon analysis of the world’s first manufactured topologically optimised multi-metal I-beam
This research focuses on the design, fabrication, and structural and embodied carbon analysis of the world’s first topologically optimised multi-metal I-beam. Specifically, the beam under study is a European Parallel I-beam with a nominal height of 100 mm (commonly referred to as ‘IPE-100’), and the materials used are mild steel and tool steel. Topology Optimisation (TO) is performed using Altair’s OptiStruct software package, applying the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalty (SIMP) method. The multi-metal beam is fabricated using 3D printing, specifically Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), with a dual built-in metal wire feeder attached to a robotic arm. The beam is analysed both environmentally and structurally — the former focusing on an embodied carbon assessment of material extraction and component manufacturing, and the latter on four-point structural load testing. The fabrication method and analysis results are compared with those of the standard IPE-100 beam currently used in construction. Environmentally, the Multi-Material Topologically Optimised (MMTO) beam’s reduced mass results in lower carbon emissions compared with the standard IPE-100; however, due to the high emissions associated with its fabrication process, its overall carbon footprint is higher. Structurally, the MMTO beam can withstand a higher machine load than the standard IPE-100 before undergoing plastic deformation. This research is the result of an international, multidisciplinary collaboration between academia and industry across the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
Journal Article
Application of Copernicus Data for Climate-Relevant Urban Planning Using the Example of Water, Heat, and Vegetation
Specific climate adaptation and resilience measures can be efficiently designed and implemented at regional and local levels. Climate and environmental databases are critical for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and for efficiently planning and implementing appropriate adaptation measures. Available federated and distributed databases can serve as necessary starting points for municipalities to identify needs, prioritize resources, and allocate investments, taking into account often tight budget constraints. High-quality geospatial, climate, and environmental data are now broadly available and remote sensing data, e.g., Copernicus services, will be critical. There are forward-looking approaches to use these datasets to derive forecasts for optimizing urban planning processes for local governments. On the municipal level, however, the existing data have only been used to a limited extent. There are no adequate tools for urban planning with which remote sensing data can be merged and meaningfully combined with local data and further processed and applied in municipal planning and decision-making. Therefore, our project CoKLIMAx aims at the development of new digital products, advanced urban services, and procedures, such as the development of practical technical tools that capture different remote sensing and in-situ data sets for validation and further processing. CoKLIMAx will be used to develop a scalable toolbox for urban planning to increase climate resilience. Focus areas of the project will be water (e.g., soil sealing, stormwater drainage, retention, and flood protection), urban (micro)climate (e.g., heat islands and air flows), and vegetation (e.g., greening strategy, vegetation monitoring/vitality). To this end, new digital process structures will be embedded in local government to enable better policy decisions for the future.
Journal Article
Cross-Modal Distortion of Time Perception: Demerging the Effects of Observed and Performed Motion
Temporal information is often contained in multi-sensory stimuli, but it is currently unknown how the brain combines e.g. visual and auditory cues into a coherent percept of time. The existing studies of cross-modal time perception mainly support the \"modality appropriateness hypothesis\", i.e. the domination of auditory temporal cues over visual ones because of the higher precision of audition for time perception. However, these studies suffer from methodical problems and conflicting results. We introduce a novel experimental paradigm to examine cross-modal time perception by combining an auditory time perception task with a visually guided motor task, requiring participants to follow an elliptic movement on a screen with a robotic manipulandum. We find that subjective duration is distorted according to the speed of visually observed movement: The faster the visual motion, the longer the perceived duration. In contrast, the actual execution of the arm movement does not contribute to this effect, but impairs discrimination performance by dual-task interference. We also show that additional training of the motor task attenuates the interference, but does not affect the distortion of subjective duration. The study demonstrates direct influence of visual motion on auditory temporal representations, which is independent of attentional modulation. At the same time, it provides causal support for the notion that time perception and continuous motor timing rely on separate mechanisms, a proposal that was formerly supported by correlational evidence only. The results constitute a counterexample to the modality appropriateness hypothesis and are best explained by Bayesian integration of modality-specific temporal information into a centralized \"temporal hub\".
Journal Article
The DIAMOND Model: Deep Recurrent Neural Networks for Self-Organizing Robot Control
The proposed architecture applies the principle of predictive coding and deep learning in a brain-inspired approach to robotic sensorimotor control. It is composed of many layers each of which is a recurrent network. The component networks can be spontaneously active due to the homeokinetic learning rule, a principle that has been studied previously for the purpose of self-organised generation of behaviour. We present robotic simulations that illustrate the function of the network and show evidence that deeper networks enable more complex exploratory behaviour.
Journal Article
Describing Road Booming Noise with a Hybrid Simulation Model Using a Time Segmentation of the Excitation Load Approach
One of the most important goals in vehicle acoustics is to describe the NVH behavior of a vehicle at sound pressure level using simulation models at an early stage of development. Different simulation models and methods are used for this purpose. To balance the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods, it is important to combine the simulation models. For the virtual description of the road booming noise behavior of a vehicle passing a rough road, we use a multibody simulation model excited with the elevation profile of the road in the time domain. To calculate the sound pressure inside the vehicle, the internal chassis forces of the multibody simulation model are combined with a finite element body model including the air cavity inside the cabin. The methodology for combining the chassis forces and body transfer functions to calculate the sound pressure is first validated using test data and then applied to the simulation data. The correlation of the calculated sound pressure based on test data (ρ=0.96) and based on simulation data (ρ=0.90) compared to a microphone measurement is very high.
Journal Article