The object of the present study is to investigate the influence of damping uncertainty and statistical correlation on the dynamic response of structures with random damping parameters in the neighbourhood of a resonant frequency. A Non-Linear Statistical model (NLSM) is successfully demonstrated to predict the probabilistic response of an industrial building structure with correlated random damping. A practical computational technique to generate first and second-order sensitivity derivatives is presented and the validity of the predicted statistical moments is checked by traditional Monte Carlo simulation. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the NLSM to estimate uncertainty propagation in structural dynamics. In addition, it is demonstrated that the uncertainty in damping indeed influences the system response with the effects being more pronounced for lightly damped structures, higher variability and higher statistical correlation of damping parameters.
In 2015 an important part of the official evaluation of Polish scientific journals was left to experts’ judgement. In this paper we try to establish which observable factors (with available data) are closely related to the outcome of experts’ evaluation of Polish journals in economic sciences. Using the multiple regression statistical model we show that only 5 variables (out of 17) significantly explain almost 50% of the empirical variance of the experts’ evaluation. The determinants of particular interest, not entering the formal criteria and not related to the impact on global science, are: the number of citations mainly in Polish journals and the affiliation with the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Cost estimation in the pre-design phase both for the contractor as well as the investor is an important aspect from the point of view of budget planning for a construction project. Constantly growing commercial market, especially the one of public utility constructions, makes the contractor, at the stage of development the design concept, initially estimate the cost of the facade, e.g. office buildings, commercial buildings, etc., which are most often implemented in the form of aluminum-glass facades or ventilated elevations. The valuation of facade systems is of an individual calculation nature, which makes the process complicated, time-consuming, and requiring a high cost estimation work. The authors suggest using a model for estimating the cost of facade systems with the use of statistical methods based on multiple and stepwise regression. The data base used to form statistical models is the result of quantitative-qualitative research of the design and cost documentation of completed public facilities. Basing on the obtained information, the factors that shape the costs of construction façade systems were identified; which then constitute the input variables to the suggested cost estimation models.
A description of the status of the art of experimental and theoretical investigations of local crystalline structures of tetrahedron ordered ternary and quaternary semiconducting alloys is presented. Experimental EXAFS data and FTIR analysis are summarized and analyzed using both the Rigid Network Cations theoretical model and the Strained-tetrahedra model. Internal preferences of ion pairs in ternary and quaternary alloys are discussed. Several ternary systems of different structures show ideal quasi-canonical Bernoulli distributions, while others are characterized by extreme preferences in which one, several or even all configurations are depressed or even lacking. The results demonstrate that the validity of the Bernoulli distribution is limited and not fulfilled in many systems. This article is an expanded version of the scientific reports presented at the International Conference on Semiconductor Nanostructures for Optoelectronics and Biosensors 2016 ICSeNOB2016, May 22–25, 2016, Rzeszow, Poland.