Context. Cassandra is a NoSQL Database which handles large amount of data simultaneously and provides high availability for the data present. Compaction in Cassandra is a process of removing stale data and making data more available to the user. This thesis focusses on analyzing the impact of Cassandra compaction on Cassandra’s performance when running inside a Docker container. Objectives. In this thesis, we investigate the impact of Cassandra compaction on the database performance when it is used within a Docker based container platform. We further fine tune Cassandra’s compaction settings to arrive at a sub-optimal scenario which maximizes its performance while operating within a Docker. Methods. Literature review is performed to enlist different compaction related metrics and compaction related parameters which have an effect on Cassandra’s performance. Further, Experiments are conducted using different sets of mixed workload to estimate the impact of compaction over database performance when used within a Docker. Once these experiments are conducted, we modify compaction settings while operating under a write heavy workload and access database performance in each of these scenarios to identify a sub-optimal value of parameter for maximum database performance. Finally, we use these sub-optimal parameters to perform an experiment and access the database performance. Results. The Cassandra and Operating System related parameters and metrics which affect the Cassandra compaction are listed and their effect on Cassandra’s performance has been tested using some experiments. Based on these experiments, few sub-optimum values are proposed for the listed metrics. Conclusions. It can be concluded that, for better performance of Dockerized Cassandra, the proposed values for each of the parameters in the results (i.e. 5120 for Memtable_heap_size_in_mb, 24 for concurrent_compactors, 16 for compaction_throughput_mb_per_sec, 6 for Memtable_flush_writers and 0.14 for Memtable_cleaup _threshold) can be chosen separately but not the union of those proposed values (confirmed from the experiment performed). Also the metrics and parameters affecting Cassandra performance are listed in this thesis.

The research reported in this thesis is concerned with the flow of granular systems in response to penetration and compaction. The technique of Digital Speckle Radiography (DSR), which involves analysis of flash X-ray images, has been applied to measure the internal displacement fields within large opaque granular samples. Large samples are desirable as the measured displacements are more representative of the bulk. Current DICC algorithms were found to be unsuitable for analysis of X-ray images of large samples. The large contrast variations present in such X-ray images, due to the X-ray beam profile, sample geometry and the high X-ray absorbance of metal penetrators, are shown to cause significant errors in the calculated displacement fields. A study of image normalisation techniques was carried out, and the effect of each technique on the accuracy of the measured displacements was investigated. A new DICC algorithm for use in DSR was produced which includes image normalisation techniques to correct for uneven contrast in the images. This new DICC algorithm was shown to be far more effective at analysing X-ray images of large samples. This improved DSR technique was applied to measure the internal displacements within a large sample of sand during penetration by projectiles with different nose-shapes (flat, ogive-2 and hemispherical) and at different rates (1.5 mm/min to 200 m/s). The improved technique was found to provide high-resolution displacement data illustrating the response of the material. The dominant material response at low rates (1.5 mm/min) was found to be splitting of the material ahead of the projectile tip, followed by bulk reverse-flow of material towards the penetration face. At the higher rates (200 m/s), the dominant response was compaction of the material ahead of the projectile tip. The transition between the two regimes was found to occur between velocities of 5 and 19 m/s. The streamlined ogive-2 projectile nose-shape was shown to be the most effective for penetration, in that it caused less disruption of the material ahead of the projectile, lost less energy during the early stages of penetration in the dynamic experiments and more effectively split the material ahead of the projectile tip, a process which was shown to be important at all rates of penetration. The compaction properties of a particulate mixture and a granular material, including the effect of factors such as porosity, initial particle arrangement and force chain formation, were investigated. Samples which were conducive to the formation of force chains spanning the whole sample were discovered to have anomalously high strengths. Small amounts of added water were shown to increase the compactability, by lubricating the grain contact points, but larger amounts of water decreased the compactability.

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is commonly used as an explosive and as a fertilizer. In both roles it is provided as prills or pellets, approximately spherical and a few millimetres in diameter. The microstructures of several commercially-available AN compositions were investigated usingenvironmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and X-ray microtomography. Those intended for explosive use were found to bemore porous than those intended for fertilizer use. The pores in explosiveprills were also found to form a connected network. The elemental composition of pellets of mixed AN and dolomite was investigated using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX); the dolomite additivewas found to take the form of grains roughly 50 μm in size. The compaction behaviour of confined cylindrical beds of these prillsand pellets was studied at strain rates between 4 x 10-4 s-1 and 200 s-1. Quasi-static experiments were performed using a screw-driven instrumented press, while higher-rate experiments used a drop weight,instrumented with a line laser and load cell. The resistance of a bed to compaction was found to depend on the microstructure of its prills in most cases. Denser prills offered greater resistance to compaction. The exception to this rule was a pellet, rather than prill, formulation. Beds were also found to offer more resistance to compaction at higher strain rates. The Kawakita compaction model was found to agree well with the experimental data. A commercial fertilizer, not containing any AN, was assessed for use as an inert mock for AN prills and pellets. Prills of a suitable size for this purpose were found using EDX to consist of P2O5, with a coatingof unknown composition. They were supplied mixed with smaller K2CO3 and urea prills. The mixture was found to have comparablecompaction behaviour to AN compositions, indicating that it was useful as a mock for those compositions. In a plate impact experiment on a single layer of P2O5 prills, very little light was observed. Thisindicated that these prills were sufficiently inert for these purposes. The light produced by shocked granular ammonium nitrate beds and single prill layers was investigated using high-speed framing photography, photodiodes and gated visible-light spectroscopy. Framing photography of prill layers suggested that reaction in prill beds was dominatedby effects internal to prills. This was further supported by the similarity between photodiode recordings of prill beds and beds of inert prills containing a single reactive prills. Framing photography of drop weight experiments searching for a mechanism for initiation of reaction by interaction between prills found nothing. Decay of the light output of the beds suggested that in both granularand prill beds this light output was due to small regions heated to thousands of kelvin, which then cooled. Spectroscopic study confirmed this. These regions were found to reach a peak temperature of 6660 ± 20 K, well in excess of the approximately 2000 K predicted by a simple chemical model. Investigation of spectral lines observedduring this study indicated that the exothermic reaction that led to heating of these emitting regions involved NO.

Testing an integrated circuit once it has been manufactured is required in order to identify faulty and fault-free circuits. As the complexity of integrated circuits increases so does the difficulty of creating efficient and high quality tests that can detect a variety of defect types that can occur throughout the manufacturing process. Three issues facing manufacturing test are the power consumed during testing, addressing different types of fault, and test data volume. In regards to the power consumed during testing, abnormal switching activity, far above that seen by functional operation, may occur due to the testing technique of scan insertion. While scan insertion greatly simplifies test generation for sequential circuits, it may lead to excessive switching activity due to the loading and unloading of scan data and when the scan cells are updated using functional clocks. This can potentially damage the circuit due to excessive heat or inadvertently fail a good circuit due to current supply demands beyond design specifications. Stuck-at tests detect when lines are shorted to either the power supply or ground. Open faults are broken connections within the circuit. Some open faults may not be detected by tests generated for stuck-at faults. Therefore tests may need to be generated in order to detect these open faults. The voltage on the open node is determined by circuit parameters. Due to the feature size of the circuit it may not be possible to determine these circuit parameters, making it very difficult or impossible to generate tests for open faults. Automated test equipment is used to apply test stimuli and observing the output response. The output response is compared to the known fault-free response in order to determine if it is faulty or fault-free. Thus, automated test equipment must store the test stimuli and the fault-free responses in memory. With increased integrated circuit complexity, the number of inputs, outputs, and faults increase, increasing the overall data required for testing. Automated test equipment is very expensive, proportional to the memory required to store the test stimuli and fault-free output response. Simply replacing automated test equipment is not cost effective. These issues in the manufacturing test of integrated circuits are addressed in this dissertation. First, a method to reduce power consumption in circuits which incorporate data volume reduction techniques is proposed. Second, a test generation technique for open faults which does not require knowledge of circuit parameters is proposed. Third, a technique to further reduce output data volume in circuits which currently incorporate output response compaction techniques is proposed. Experimental results for the three techniques show their effectiveness.

China’s government invests in hydropower and explicitly in larger dams. An increasing share of such large dams is globally represented by the type Concrete Face Rockfill Dam (CFRD) due to its safe behaviour at a relatively low construction cost. China is however building them higher than has earlier been done and the lack of worldwide experience requires thorough studies on their behaviour. This report presents a study of the Cihaxia dam that is to be built in the river basin of Huang He, regarding the optimisation of an increased rockfill compaction and its final effects on the settlements of the concrete face. The settlements of a typical cross section of the Cihaxia dam are modelled with a Finite Element Method (FEM) program with varying values for a number of structural properties. The effect of each variation indicates what properties that will have the largest effect on the behaviour of the finished structure and points out where focus shall be laid when optimising the design of a high CFRD. The outcome of the FEM analysis shows the static comportment of the rockfill body and its concrete face at two stages, at the end of construction and after reservoir impoundment. The difference between the two provides data on what effects the water load would cause, which constitute the main displacements of the concrete slabs. It is evident from the obtained results that the most important of the studied parameters alongside with the level of compaction is the geometrical extension downwards and inwards of the zone subject to increased compaction. A higher degree of compaction will always produce a beneficial decrease of settlements but might not always be economically legitimate as costs rapidly increase with higher levels of compaction. An adequate level of a CFRD’s compaction increase can with advantage be determined by comparing different designs regarding the volumetric percentage to compact against the calculated decrease in slab deflection.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第17875号 / 工博第3784号 / 新制||工||1579(附属図書館) / 30695 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 松岡 俊文, 教授 大津 宏康, 准教授 村田 澄彦 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Cementitiously stabilized soils or soil-cement is a commonly used solution for highway subbase and base course construction, particularly in regions where higher quality soils and aggregates are limited. Even though the utilization of soil-cement as an engineered material has been around for over 70 years, there is still room for advancement with respect to characterizing the performance of these mixtures both in the laboratory and in the field. The first objective of this thesis was to examine the Mississippi Department of Transportation soil-cement database to determine current soil-cement practices in Mississippi. The second objective of this thesis was to develop thermal measurement techniques to characterize compacted cementitiously stabilized soils. Over 800 compacted specimens were prepared and tested to investigate the feasibility and usefulness of performing thermal measurements on soil-cement mixtures.

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INTRODUCTION: The compatibility of EndoSequence BC Sealer (BC Sealer; Brasseler USA, Savannah, GA) for warm vertical compaction has been questioned due to changing physical properties under higher temperature. The aim was to evaluate the effect of heating on the physical properties (flowability and radiopacity) of a new calcium-based root canal sealer (EndoSequence BC Sealer HiFlow [HiFlow]) in comparison with EndoSequence BC Sealer. METHODS: The flow, and radiopacity of the 2 sealers were measured according to ISO 6786/2012 at different temperatures. Forty real printed plastic teeth (incisor) were used to evaluate the flowability of the two Standard EndoSequence BC Sealer and HiFlow EndoSequence BC Sealer into the lateral and apical accessory canals. These evaluation was done with two obturation techniques including single cone and warm vertical condensation. RESULT: The mean flowability was ranging from 22.25 mm to 9.52 mm. The results indicate that there is a statistical difference between the flowability of the two calcium silicate based sealers under all three different temperatures (37˚C, 100˚C and 150˚C). Radiopacity was measured at two different temperatures including 21˚C and 100˚C. The mean gray value ranged from 213.55 to 202.25. Results showed that HiFlow is more radiopaque and there is a statistically significant difference at both temperatures. The results of single cone and warm vertical obturation techniques show that there is no significant difference between the flowability of the two calcium silicate based sealers into the lateral and apical accessory canals at 21°C and there is a significant difference at higher temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: HiFlow BC sealer had higher flow and was more radiopaque, especially at high temperatures, which are generated by the commonly used warm vertical compaction technique.