O tratamento de fraturas umerais distais em aves impõe grande dificuldade, devido a córtices muito finas dos ossos A artrodese com fixador externo da articulação úmero-rádio-ulnar é inviável para aves que se pretende reintroduzir ao meio ambiente. Doze animais foram divididos em dois grupos: cirurgias bilaterais com anquilose de uma asa (asa estática) e manutenção da articulação da outra (asa dinâmica) (grupo 1), e cirurgia unilateral, com manutenção da função da articulação (asa dinâmica), sendo a outra controle (asa intacta) (grupo 2). Foram feitas avaliações clínicas, radiológicas, morfológicas do osso, histomorfométricas (de ambos os grupos) e de capacidade de vôo (grupo 2). A 6 semanas, todos os animais apresentavam fraturas consolidadas, com excessão de dois animais do grupo 1, que somente apresentaram consolidação das asas dinâmicas às 9 semanas e das estáticas às 12 semanas. Todos os animais do grupo 2 apresentaram capacidade de vôo adequada, antes de 13 semanas após a cirurgia. No grupo 1 o úmero da asa dinâmica representava 99,1% do comprimento do da asa estática, e no grupo 2, estes eram 99,5% em relação à asa intacta. A amplitude da asa, no grupo 2, demonstrou que a relação da asa dinâmica/intacta foi de 93%, e no grupo 1 a relação asa dinâmica/estática foi de 105%. O volume do osso intacto foi de aproximadamente 29% da área estudada, enquanto o da asa estática foi de 19% e das asas dinâmicas, de 22%. Houve diferença entre o número de osteoblástos das asas intactas e dinâmicas, porém não houve diferença entre as asas estáticas e intactas e entre as dinâmicas e as estáticas, e também não houve diferença do número de osteoclástos entre nenhum tipo de asa. A razão da superfície óssea pelo volume ósseo indica a quantidade de áreas de reabsorção. Não houve diferença entre as asas estática e dinâmica, porém houve diferença entre estas e os controles. O método proposto de técnica para fixação de fraturas umerais distais, sem a anquilose da articulação úmero-rádio-ulnar, demonstrou ser efetivo em manter o comprimento ósseo, a amplitude da asa e assim, garantindo a capacidade de vôo das aves tratadas, além de demonstrar ser equivalente histológicamente à técnica tradicional e mais estável de anquilose da articulação, para este tipo de fratura, e até mesmo, no período estudado, ser equivalente ao osso são, sendo um método adequado para a reparação de fraturas distais de úmero em aves quando se pretende a reabilitação destes animais. / The treatment of humeral distal fractures in birds is very difficult, because these bones are very brittle. Ankylosis of the humeral-radio-ulnar joint with an external fixator is unviable for birds intended for re-habilitation and reintroduction. Twelve animals were used and they were divided in two groups: bilateral surgeries, with ankylosis of one wing (static wing) and maintenance of the joint function of the other wing (dynamic wing) (group 1), and unilateral surgery, with maintenance of the joint function of the wing (dynamic wing), and the other was used as control group (intact wing) (group 2). Clinical, radiographic, morphologic and histomorphometric evaluations of the wings and bones (of both groups) and of evaluations of flight capacity (in group 2) were made. At 6 weeks, all animals had healed fractures, except two animals in group 1, that only presented consolidation of the dynamic wing at 9 weeks and the static wings at 12 weeks. All animals in group 2 were capable of flying before 13 weeks after surgery. In group 1, the humerus of the dynamic wing was 99.1% the length of that of the static wing, and in group 2, these were 99.5% compared to the intact wing. Wing amplitude, in group 2, showed a dynamic/ intact ratio of 93%, and in group 1 the dynamic/ static wing ratio was 105%. The volume of the intact bone was approximately 29% of the studied area, while in the static wing it was of 19% and in the dynamic wing, 22%. There was a difference in the number of osteoblasts of the intact and dynamic wings, but there was no difference between static and intact, and between dynamic and static wings, and also, there was no difference in the numbers of osteoclasts between any wings. The bone surface/ volume ratio indicates the amount of resorption areas. There was no significant difference between static and dynamic wings, but there was a difference between static and intact wings. The proposed method of distal humeral fracture fixation technique, without ankylosis of the humerus-radius-ulna joint, demonstrated being effective in keeping bone length, wing amplitude e therefore, guaranteeing flight capacity of the birds treated, as well as being histologically equivalent to the tradicional, more stable, joint ankylosis technique, for thise kind of fracture, and even, for the studied period, being equivalent to healthy bone, being an adequate method for fracture repair for this kind of fracture in birds, when one intends rehabilitation of these animals.

This is a project performed by me, Richard Præsto, student at Luleå University ofTechnology, with the intentions to suggest an improvement for the maintenancesystem of Volvo Construction Equipment’s articulated haulers. Today, themaintenance process consists of several different maintenance points and isperformed by maintenance technicians all over the world – but since the machinesneed to be taken out of production in order to receive maintenance, the processneeds to be quick. By researching documents, performing field studies and testingnew ideas, several different solutions were found and evaluated, to eventually befiltered down to one final concept. The final concept, which suggested animprovement of the engine oil and engine filter exchange processes, lived up to theexpectations by fulfilling the project goals and objectives. It was concluded that thesolution was a clear improvement and that it was also applicable to the whole rangeof the VCE machines.

Statistics show that unstable articulated vehicles pose a serious threat to the occupants driving them as well as the occupants of the vehicles around them. An articulated vehicle typically experiences three types of instability: snaking, jack-knifing and rollover. An articulated vehicle subjected to any of these instabilities can result in major accidents. It is also known that many individuals are unaware of how to properly tow or pack a loaded articulated vehicle. These individuals are, therefore, at a high risk of causing the vehicle system to become unstable. It can hence be confidently said that a method in which an articulated vehicle can stabilise itself is a worthy research question. The method that is implemented in this study is to create a control system, using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC), that has the capability of stabilising an articulated vehicle by applying torque vectoring to the trailer. In order for this control system to be applied, a nonlinear articulated vehicle MSC ADAMS model was constructed. The NMPC controller works by using a nonlinear explicit model to predict the future states of the vehicle and then finding the optimal left and right braking forces of the trailer by minimising the cost function using least squares minimisation. The cost function includes the towing vehicle yaw rate, trailer yaw rate and hitch angle and is minimised by minimising the error between the desired vehicle states and the actual states. It was found that the NMPC is capable of not only preventing instability but also causes the vehicle system to behave as if the trailer is unloaded. This conclusion means that this type of control system can be used on all types of articulated vehicles and shall ensure the safety of not only the vehicle occupants but other road users as well. Unfortunately, due to the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the experimental validation of the model had to be delayed significantly. It is for this reason that the experimental validation for the controller could not be done. / Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / SATC VDG UP / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / MEng (Mechanical Engineering) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this bachelor thesis was to discover how an articulated vehicle can park itself using a pre-defined parking path with a combination of ultrasonic sensors as well as a rotary angle sensor. The project was divided into two parts: constructing a small scale demonstrator and the software controlling the demonstrator. The demonstrator was constructed from offthe- shelf components and custom parts. The truck was designed based on a rear wheel driven truck with Ackermann steering. The localization of a parking spot and measuring other distances was done with ultrasonic sensors and the hitch angle was measured by a rotary angle sensor. The performance of the demonstrator was evaluated by measuring the trailers angle difference from the center line of the parking spot. The performance was deemed to be reasonably good with successful parkings in 8 out of 10 attempts. / Kandidatarbetet syftar till att undersöka hur ett ledat fordon kan parkera sig självt efter en förbestämd parkeringsrutt med en kombination av flera ultraljudssensorer samt en vinkelgivare. Projektet består av två delar; konstruktion av ett miniatyrfordon samt mjukvaran som styr fordonet. Fordonet tillverkades från butiksköpta komponenter och skräddarsydda delar. Lastbilens design var baserad på en bakhjulsdriven Ackermannstyrd lastbil. Identifieringen av en parkeringsplats samt avståndsmätning hanterades av ultraljudssensorer och hitch vinkeln mättes av en vinkelgivare. Miniatyrfordonets prestanda utvärderades genom att mäta släpets vinkelskillnad från centerlinjen av parkeringsplatsen. Prestandan ansågs att vara tillräckligt god med lyckade parkeringar i 8 av 10 tester.

Reverse engineering is the technique of gathering scientific knowledge about a part by physically examining it. In the computer aided manufacturing world this is referred to as Part to CAD conversion, where the geometry of physical objects are being captured as Digital 3-D CAD Data. This is vital not only to produce drawing of parts for which no CAD data exists, but also is frequently being used to produce better designs. The industry professionals to achieve this are frequently using Coordinate Measuring Machine [CMM] among other tools. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the versatility of portable CMM as a Reverse Engineering Tool through application experiments aimed at industrial and non-industrial solutions. The thesis also researches in to the feasibility of customization options through experimentations focused on reverse engineering. Focusing further on Reverse Engineering applications, some of the interesting digitizing and CAD techniques are demonstrated and compared.

In today’s complex landscape of embedded software systems, the robust integration testing need is more critical than ever. This bachelor’s thesis project delves into the integration testing of an articulated hauler dumping system for Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE). The study focuses on the architecture, functional and safety requirements and overall performance of the system. The complexity of modern construction machinery, driven by sophisticated Electronic Control Units (ECUs), demands precise coordination and flawless operation. Inaccuracies or failures in integrated ECUs can result in operational inefficiencies, safety risks, and substantial downtime costs. This paper offers valuable insights into a systematic approach designed to tackle these challenges head-on within the domain of articulated hauler dumping systems. Our exploration comprehensiveness employed diverse testing methodologies, encompassing scenario-based, boundary and stress testing, integration testing, and user interaction testing. This multifaceted approach enabled a thorough understanding of the system’s behavior, reliability, and responsiveness. The research aims to clarify the importance of comprehensive integration testing and its role in ensuring optimal performance, safety, and complex embedded systems efficiency. This study is a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and professionals navigating the complexities of embedded systems integration, offering actionable insights and strategies for achieving robustness and reliability in intricate machinery operations.

This thesis develops robotic skills for manipulating novel articulated objects. The degrees of freedom of an articulated object describe the relationship among its rigid bodies, and are often relevant to the object's intended function. Examples of everyday articulated objects include scissors, pliers, doors, door handles, books, and drawers. Autonomous manipulation of articulated objects is therefore a prerequisite for many robotic applications in our everyday environments. Already today, robots perform complex manipulation tasks, with impressive accuracy and speed, in controlled environments such as factory floors. An important characteristic of these environments is that they can be engineered to reduce or even eliminate perception. In contrast, in unstructured environments such as our homes and offices, perception is typically much more challenging. Indeed, manipulation in these unstructured environments remains largely unsolved. We therefore assume that to enable autonomous manipulation of objects in our everyday environments, robots must be able to acquire information about these objects, making as few assumption about the environment as possible. Acquiring information about the world from sensor data is a challenging problem. Because there is so much information that could be measured about the environment, considering all of it is impractical given current computational speeds. Instead, we propose to leverage our understanding of the task, in order to determine the relevant information. In our case, this information consists of the object's shape and kinematic structure. Perceiving this task-specific information is still challenging. This is because in order to understand the object's degrees of freedom, we must observe relative motion between its rigid bodies. And, as relative motion is not guaranteed to occur, this information may not be included in the sensor stream. The main contribution of this thesis is the design and implementation of a robotic system capable of perceiving and manipulating articulated objects. This system relies on Interactive Perception, an approach which exploits the synergies that arise when crossing the boundary between action and perception. In interactive perception, the emphasis of perception shifts from object appearance to object function. To enable the perception and manipulation of articulated objects, this thesis develops algorithms for perceiving the kinematic structure and shape of objects. The resulting perceptual capabilities are used within a relational reinforcement learning framework, enabling a robot to obtain general domain knowledge for manipulation. This composition enables our robot to reliably and efficiently manipulate novel articulated objects. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed robotic system, simulated and real-world experiments were conducted with a variety of everyday objects.

The paper discusses articulations of personality and communication structures in the lyric: who is speaking in a poem? What is the status of the person who speaks, or the one who is spoken about? Is it the author himself who is speaking, or is it someone else – an autonomous being, completely different and detached from the subject developed in the text? Who is addressed in and by a poem? It is made clear that conventional concepts of Stimmung (mood), Erlebnis (experience), and lyrisches Ich (the ›lyric I‹) should be set aside and the nature of lyric communication should be redetermined. For this purpose, a precise examination of the specific use of personal pronouns in poems is necessary, especially of the pronouns ›I‹, ›you‹ and ›we‹. The indistinct ›lyric I‹ should be substituted by the term ›articulated I‹. The poetic text as a whole is being structured by a superordinate entity, the Textsubjekt (›textual subject‹). Every speaking entity in a poem has a counterpart being addressed by it. Analyzing communication structures in poetry thus means first of all looking for an addressee who is constituted by the text. Only in a second step should we figure out if the address refers to the intended reader.

The effect of center of gravity (CG) height and lateral and longitudinal off-centering on high-speed roll stability of A-double tractor trailers with 28-ft and 33-ft straight-rail and drop-frame trailers is evaluated through simulation and track testing. The changes in CG position due to the type of trailer (straight-rail vs. drop-frame) and laterally and longitudinally off-centered loads are considered. The simulation results show that imbalanced trailer loading induces roll instability and increases the likelihood of trailer rollover. Additionally, for equal loading conditions, the drop-frame trailers exhibit better roll stability than straight-rail trailers because of the lower CG. The simulation evaluation of 28-ft A-doubles is complemented with track testing of 33-ft trailers in alike (Drop-Drop and Straight-Straight) and mixed (Drop-Straight and Straight-Drop) arrangements of front and rear trailers, for various steering maneuvers that represent highway driving, such as exit ramp, obstacle avoidance, etc. The test trailers include specially designed load frames for emulating a loaded trailer in various loading conditions, outriggers for preventing trailer rollover, and durability structures for withstanding the torsional and bending moments resulting from the tests. Various sensors, including GPS, LiDAR units, accelerometers, string pots, and pressure transducers, are used, along with an onboard data acquisition (DAQ) system, for collecting the necessary data for post-analysis. Analysis of the test data indicates that the Drop-Drop configuration exhibits higher roll stability than the Straight-Straight configuration. For mixed trailers, the Drop-Straight configuration exhibits higher roll stability in exit ramps, but lower obstacle avoidance stability. Equipping the trailers with a roll stability control (RSC) system improves roll stability in terms of increasing the rollover threshold speed and tolerating more aggressive lane change steering maneuvers for A-doubles in various conditions. The RSC performance increases further when the brake application is synchronized between the two trailers to account for any lateral dynamic delay that naturally occurs. A novel interconnected RSC system is proposed to eliminate the lag between the RSC modules with a new control logarithm. The proposed RSC system increases the trailers' roll stability by 16% when compared with independent RSC systems that are commonly used for A-doubles. / Doctor of Philosophy / Commercial trucks play an indispensable role in transporting goods in society. A large percentage of the goods that we use daily or are delivered to our homes are transported on the nation's highways. Most often, the average automobile driver notices the presence of trucks on highways, at times with a bit of disdain. The public's perception appears to be formed by the fact that accidents involving commercial trucks are more publicized because they can cause more property damage, injuries, or even fatalities. The primary thrust of this research is to make the nation's highways safer by offering a better understanding of the dynamics of trucks with double trailers that are operated with a higher frequency on public highways. The double trailer configuration is often favored because of its larger cargo capacity and high modularity. However, their roll dynamics are not as well understood as the conventional tractor-semitrailers. Understanding the dynamics of double-trailer trucks is undoubtedly the very first step toward preventing or reducing the traffic accidents caused by rollovers. This study provides detailed analysis of roll dynamics for double trailers with imbalanced payloads. It also evaluates the effect of different types of trailers, such as drop-frame trailers (those with a "belly" in the mid-section of the trailer) and straight-rail trailers (those without a "belly") on their rollover propensity. The commercialized RSC system is evaluated for its effectiveness on the double-trailer truck. The evaluations are based on over 1,000 sets of tests in highly controlled conditions at the Transportation Research Center (TRC), a special facility for vehicle dynamic assessment in East Liberty, Ohio. It is found that the rollover dynamics of trucks with double trailers can be improved by having an awareness of the most favorable trailer arrangements according to their types of trailers and type of steering (exit-ramp or obstacle avoidance). In addition, this study provides the analysis of the commercialized RSC system for its effectiveness on the double-trailer truck. Lastly, a novel RSC system is proposed to further improve the effectiveness of the original RSC system.

Some of the results of an extensive track testing program at the Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS) at Virginia Tech for evaluating the roll stability of commercial trucks with 33-ft A-double trailers are evaluated. The study includes straight-rail trailers with heavy and light loading conditions. Commercial trucks are more susceptible to rollovers than passenger cars because of their higher center of gravity relative to their track width. Multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles, such as A-doubles, are particularly prone to rollovers because of their articulation and rearward amplification. Electronic stability control (ESC) has been mandated by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSTA) for Class 8 trucks and busses since 2017. When detecting oversteer or understeer, ESC automatically activates the brakes at the correct side of the steer and/or drive axle(s) to regain steering stability. ESC, however, often cannot sense the likelihood of trailer rollover in multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles because of the articulation between the trailers and tractors. As a result of this, trailers are often equipped with roll stability control (RSC) systems to mitigate speed-induced rollovers. Sensing the trailer lateral acceleration, RSC activates the trailer brakes to reduce speed and lower the likelihood of rollover. However, a limited number of past studies have shown that the trailer roll angle may provide an earlier indication of a pending rollover than the lateral acceleration. This study intends to provide further analysis in this regard in an effort to improve the effectiveness of RSC systems for trailers. An extensive amount of data from track testing with a 33-ft A-double under heavy and light loading is evaluated. Particular attention is given to lateral accelerations and trailer roll angles prior to rollover and relative to RSC activation time. The study's results indicate that the trailer roll angle provides a slightly earlier indication of rollover than lateral acceleration during dynamic driving conditions, potentially resulting in a timelier activation of RSC. Of course, detecting the roll angle is often more challenging than lateral acceleration, which can be detected with an accelerometer. Additionally, the roll angle measurement may be subjected to errors and possibly unwanted RSC engagement. The study's results further indicate that the trailer-based RSC systems effectively mitigate rollovers in both quasi-steady-state and dynamic driving conditions. / Master of Science / Some of the results of an extensive track testing program at the Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS) at Virginia Tech for evaluating the roll stability of commercial trucks with 33-ft A-double trailers are evaluated. "33-ft A-doubles" commonly refer to a commercial truck that has a tractor with two trailers (in this case 33-ft in length) that are connected by an A-dolly. Their modularity and ease of connecting and disconnecting at various drop stations have made such commercial vehicles a common scene on U.S. highways due to the proliferation of e-commerce cargo. Compared to a single-unit or tractor semi-trailer combination, the double- or triple-trailer configurations offer several logistical benefits that make them more advantageous. The multi-trailer vehicles can carry more cargo per driver, lowering driver, fuel, and equipment costs significantly. There are, however, some challenges to operating multi-trailer articulated vehicles. On average, their accidents are more expensive than single-trailer or single-unit trucks. Additionally, they are more susceptible to rolling over and causing property damage, injuries, and at times fatalities. To reduce rollovers, systems with automated braking, called roll stability control (RSC), are often installed on the trailers. RSC applies the trailer brakes if it senses that the vehicle speed — the primary cause of most commercial vehicle accidents — exceeds the safe limit for negotiating a turn. In this study, we intend to evaluate the effectiveness of roll stability control (RSC) systems for reducing the likelihood of speed-induced rollovers. We will also explore ways of improving their performance. Namely, we will evaluate whether sensing the lateral acceleration of the trailer or its roll angle would provide a better means for timely activation of RSC. The study's results indicate that, although more challenging to measure, the trailer roll angle provides a slightly sooner indication of a pending rollover than lateral acceleration. The results also suggest that RSC systems vastly reduce the number of speed-induced rollovers in trucks with 33-ft A-double trailers under different trailer configurations and cargo weights.