TY - JOUR A1 - Mehling, Simon A1 - Schnabel, Tobias A1 - Londong, Jörg T1 - Photocatalytic ozonation in an immersion rotary body reactor for the removal of micro-pollutants from the effluent of wastewater treatment plants JF - Water Science & Technology N2 - Carrier-bound titanium dioxide catalysts were used in a photocatalytic ozonation reactor for the degradation of micro-pollutants in real wastewater. A photocatalytic immersion rotary body reactor with a 36-cm disk diameter was used, and was irradiated using UV-A light-emitting diodes. The rotating disks were covered with catalysts based on stainless steel grids coated with titanium dioxide. The dosing of ozone was carried out through the liquid phase via an external enrichment and a supply system transverse to the flow direction. The influence of irradiation power and ozone dose on the degradation rate for photocatalytic ozonation was investigated. In addition, the performance of the individual processes photocatalysis and ozonation were studied. The degradation kinetics of the parent compounds were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. First-order kinetics were determined for photocatalysis and photocatalytic ozonation. A maximum reaction rate of the reactor was determined, which could be achieved by both photocatalysis and photocatalytic ozonation. At a dosage of 0.4 mg /mg DOC, the maximum reaction rate could be achieved using 75% of the irradiation power used for sole photocatalysis, allowing increases in the energetic efficiency of photocatalytic wastewater treatment processes. The process of photocatalytic ozonation is suitable to remove a wide spectrum of micro-pollutants from wastewater. KW - Abwasserreinigung KW - Fotokatalyse KW - Mikroverunreinigungen KW - anthropogenic micro-pollutants KW - photocatalysis KW - photocatalytic ozonation KW - wastewater treatment KW - titan dioxide Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20220209-45865 UR - https://iwaponline.com/wst/article/85/1/535/85800/Photocatalytic-ozonation-in-an-immersion-rotary VL - 2022 IS - volume 85, issue 1 SP - 535 EP - 548 PB - IWA Publishing CY - London ER - TY - THES A1 - Harirchian, Ehsan T1 - Improved Rapid Assessment of Earthquake Hazard Safety of Existing Buildings Using a Hierarchical Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Model N2 - Although it is impractical to avert subsequent natural disasters, advances in simulation science and seismological studies make it possible to lessen the catastrophic damage. There currently exists in many urban areas a large number of structures, which are prone to damage by earthquakes. These were constructed without the guidance of a national seismic code, either before it existed or before it was enforced. For instance, in Istanbul, Turkey, as a high seismic area, around 90% of buildings are substandard, which can be generalized into other earthquakeprone regions in Turkey. The reliability of this building stock resulting from earthquake-induced collapse is currently uncertain. Nonetheless, it is also not feasible to perform a detailed seismic vulnerability analysis on each building as a solution to the scenario, as it will be too complicated and expensive. This indicates the necessity of a reliable, rapid, and computationally easy method for seismic vulnerability assessment, commonly known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). In RVS methodology, an observational survey of buildings is performed, and according to the data collected during the visual inspection, a structural score is calculated without performing any structural calculations to determine the expected damage of a building and whether the building needs detailed assessment. Although this method might save time and resources due to the subjective/qualitative judgments of experts who performed the inspection, the evaluation process is dominated by vagueness and uncertainties, where the vagueness can be handled adequately through the fuzzy set theory but do not cover all sort of uncertainties due to its crisp membership functions. In this study, a novel method of rapid visual hazard safety assessment of buildings against earthquake is introduced in which an interval type-2 fuzzy logic system (IT2FLS) is used to cover uncertainties. In addition, the proposed method provides the possibility to evaluate the earthquake risk of the building by considering factors related to the building importance and exposure. A smartphone app prototype of the method has been introduced. For validation of the proposed method, two case studies have been selected, and the result of the analysis presents the robust efficiency of the proposed method. KW - Fuzzy-Logik KW - Erdbebensicherheit KW - Fuzzy logic KW - RC Buildings KW - Rapid Visual Assessment KW - Seismic Vulnerability KW - Uncertainty Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20210326-43963 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harirchian, Ehsan A1 - Kumari, Vandana A1 - Jadhav, Kirti A1 - Rasulzade, Shahla A1 - Lahmer, Tom A1 - Raj Das, Rohan T1 - A Synthesized Study Based on Machine Learning Approaches for Rapid Classifying Earthquake Damage Grades to RC Buildings JF - Applied Sciences N2 - A vast number of existing buildings were constructed before the development and enforcement of seismic design codes, which run into the risk of being severely damaged under the action of seismic excitations. This poses not only a threat to the life of people but also affects the socio-economic stability in the affected area. Therefore, it is necessary to assess such buildings’ present vulnerability to make an educated decision regarding risk mitigation by seismic strengthening techniques such as retrofitting. However, it is economically and timely manner not feasible to inspect, repair, and augment every old building on an urban scale. As a result, a reliable rapid screening methods, namely Rapid Visual Screening (RVS), have garnered increasing interest among researchers and decision-makers alike. In this study, the effectiveness of five different Machine Learning (ML) techniques in vulnerability prediction applications have been investigated. The damage data of four different earthquakes from Ecuador, Haiti, Nepal, and South Korea, have been utilized to train and test the developed models. Eight performance modifiers have been implemented as variables with a supervised ML. The investigations on this paper illustrate that the assessed vulnerability classes by ML techniques were very close to the actual damage levels observed in the buildings. KW - Maschinelles Lernen KW - Neuronales Netz KW - Machine learning KW - Building safety assessment KW - artificial neural networks KW - supervised learning KW - damaged buildings KW - rapid classification KW - OA-Publikationsfonds2021 Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20210818-44853 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7540 VL - 2021 IS - Volume 11, issue 16, article 7540 SP - 1 EP - 33 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Legatiuk, Dmitrii T1 - Mathematical Modelling by Help of Category Theory: Models and Relations between Them JF - mathematics N2 - The growing complexity of modern practical problems puts high demand on mathematical modelling. Given that various models can be used for modelling one physical phenomenon, the role of model comparison and model choice is becoming particularly important. Methods for model comparison and model choice typically used in practical applications nowadays are computationbased, and thus time consuming and computationally costly. Therefore, it is necessary to develop other approaches to working abstractly, i.e., without computations, with mathematical models. An abstract description of mathematical models can be achieved by the help of abstract mathematics, implying formalisation of models and relations between them. In this paper, a category theory-based approach to mathematical modelling is proposed. In this way, mathematical models are formalised in the language of categories, relations between the models are formally defined and several practically relevant properties are introduced on the level of categories. Finally, an illustrative example is presented, underlying how the category-theory based approach can be used in practice. Further, all constructions presented in this paper are also discussed from a modelling point of view by making explicit the link to concrete modelling scenarios. KW - Kategorientheorie KW - Modellierung KW - Modellierungsmethode KW - OA-Publikationsfonds2021 Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20210817-44844 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/9/16/1946?type=check_update&version=1 VL - 2021 IS - volume 9, issue 16, article 1946 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - THES A1 - List, Eik T1 - Design, Analysis, and Implementation of Symmetric-key (Authenticated) Ciphers N2 - Modern cryptography has become an often ubiquitous but essential part of our daily lives. Protocols for secure authentication and encryption protect our communication with various digital services, from private messaging, online shopping, to bank transactions or exchanging sensitive information. Those high-level protocols can naturally be only as secure as the authentication or encryption schemes underneath. Moreover, on a more detailed level, those schemes can also at best inherit the security of their underlying primitives. While widespread standards in modern symmetric-key cryptography, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), have shown to resist analysis until now, closer analysis and design of related primitives can deepen our understanding. The present thesis consists of two parts that portray six contributions: The first part considers block-cipher cryptanalysis of the round-reduced AES, the AES-based tweakable block cipher Kiasu-BC, and TNT. The second part studies the design, analysis, and implementation of provably secure authenticated encryption schemes. In general, cryptanalysis aims at finding distinguishable properties in the output distribution. Block ciphers are a core primitive of symmetric-key cryptography which are useful for the construction of various higher-level schemes, ranging from authentication, encryption, authenticated encryption up to integrity protection. Therefore, their analysis is crucial to secure cryptographic schemes at their lowest level. With rare exceptions, block-cipher cryptanalysis employs a systematic strategy of investigating known attack techniques. Modern proposals are expected to be evaluated against these techniques. The considerable effort for evaluation, however, demands efforts not only from the designers but also from external sources. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is one of the most widespread block ciphers nowadays. Therefore, it is naturally an interesting target for further analysis. Tweakable block ciphers augment the usual inputs of a secret key and a public plaintext by an additional public input called tweak. Among various proposals through the previous decade, this thesis identifies Kiasu-BC as a noteworthy attempt to construct a tweakable block cipher that is very close to the AES. Hence, its analysis intertwines closely with that of the AES and illustrates the impact of the tweak on its security best. Moreover, it revisits a generic tweakable block cipher Tweak-and-Tweak (TNT) and its instantiation based on the round-reduced AES. The first part investigates the security of the AES against several forms of differential cryptanalysis, developing distinguishers on four to six (out of ten) rounds of AES. For Kiasu-BC, it exploits the additional freedom in the tweak to develop two forms of differential-based attacks: rectangles and impossible differentials. The results on Kiasu-BC consider an additional round compared to attacks on the (untweaked) AES. The authors of TNT had provided an initial security analysis that still left a gap between provable guarantees and attacks. Our analysis conducts a considerable step towards closing this gap. For TNT-AES - an instantiation of TNT built upon the AES round function - this thesis further shows how to transform our distinguisher into a key-recovery attack. Many applications require the simultaneous authentication and encryption of transmitted data. Authenticated encryption (AE) schemes provide both properties. Modern AE schemes usually demand a unique public input called nonce that must not repeat. Though, this requirement cannot always be guaranteed in practice. As part of a remedy, misuse-resistant and robust AE tries to reduce the impact of occasional misuses. However, robust AE considers not only the potential reuse of nonces. Common authenticated encryption also demanded that the entire ciphertext would have to be buffered until the authentication tag has been successfully verified. In practice, this approach is difficult to ensure since the setting may lack the resources for buffering the messages. Moreover, robustness guarantees in the case of misuse are valuable features. The second part of this thesis proposes three authenticated encryption schemes: RIV, SIV-x, and DCT. RIV is robust against nonce misuse and the release of unverified plaintexts. Both SIV-x and DCT provide high security independent from nonce repetitions. As the core under SIV-x, this thesis revisits the proof of a highly secure parallel MAC, PMAC-x, revises its details, and proposes SIV-x as a highly secure authenticated encryption scheme. Finally, DCT is a generic approach to have n-bit secure deterministic AE but without the need of expanding the ciphertext-tag string by more than n bits more than the plaintext. From its first part, this thesis aims to extend the understanding of the (1) cryptanalysis of round-reduced AES, as well as the understanding of (2) AES-like tweakable block ciphers. From its second part, it demonstrates how to simply extend known approaches for (3) robust nonce-based as well as (4) highly secure deterministic authenticated encryption. N2 - Die moderne Kryptographie hat sich zu einem oft unsichtbaren aber essentiellen Teil unserer alltäglichen Kommunikation entwickelt. Protokolle für sichere Authentisierung und Verschlüsselung schützen uns als Gesellschaft in einer Vielzahl von Lebensbereichen, sei es in Nachrichten oder Online-Einkäufen, bis hin zum Schutz von Banktransaktionen oder behördlicher Kommunikation. In den meisten Fällen ist dabei die Sicherstellung von Authentizität und Verschlüsselung von entscheidender Bedeutung. Wie eine Kette ihre Stärke aus den einzelnen Gliedern bezieht, kann jedes kryptographisches Protokoll jedoch nur so sicher sein wie seine darunterliegenden Verfahren und Primitive. Mit den offenen Nominierungswettbewerben haben sich heutige Standards wie zum Beispiel der Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) für Blockchiffren oder der Galois/Counter Mode für authentisierte Verschlüsselung etabliert. Zudem haben sie durch vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnte an Analyse durch die kryptographische Forschergemeinschaft ein hohes Maß an Vertrauen erhalten. Insbesondere in der symmetrischen Kryptographie, die hohen Wert auf Effizienz der Verfahren legt, werden vorwiegend systematische Analysetechniken eingesetzt. Darum ist der Prozess der Verständnisentwicklung und -gewinnung nie abgeschlossen, sondern Bedarf neuer Blickwinkel und Ideen. Als die Kernkomponenten der täglichen Internetkommunikation sind dabei Blockchiffren und Verfahren zur authentisierten Verschlüsselung dabei von besonderem Interesse. Diese Dissertation gliedert sich in zwei Hauptteile die insgesamt sechs Beiträge beinhalten. Der erste Teil ist der Analyse von AES-basierten (tweakable) Blockchiffren gewidmet. Der zweite Teil stellt neue Konstruktionen für robuste authentisierte Verschlüsselung mit hohen Sicherheitsgarantien vor. Die Kryptanalyse versucht nicht-ideale Eigenschaften in den Ausgaben kryptographischer Systeme zu finden. Blockchiffren als wichtige Grundbausteine der symmetrischen Kryptographie sind hierbei von besonderem Interesse, da sie die Grundlage für die Konstruktion sicherer Verfahren für Authentisierung oder Verschlüsselung darstellen. Diese wiederum schützen in Protokollen in einer Vielzahl von Anwendungen uns in unserem Alltag. Die Analyse von Blockchiffren als Grundoperationen ist daher essentiell um die Sicherheit darauf aufbauender Verfahren verstehen zu können. Der AES ist wahrscheinlich die derzeit am weitesten verbreitete moderne Blockchiffre, was ihn allein bereits zum hochinteressanten Studienobjekt macht. Tweakable Blockchiffren ergänzen ihre klassischen Vorbilder um einen zusätzlichen öffentlichen Input, den Tweak, was insbesondere in der jüngeren Vergangenheit zu effizienteren oder sichereren Verfahren geführt hat. AES-basierte Konstruktionen versuchen von der Vielzahl der existierenden bekannten Eigenschaften des AES und seiner Effizienz zu profitieren. Die Rolle des Tweaks für die Sicherheit ist allerdings nicht völlig verstanden. Ihre Analyse ist daher von besonderem Interesse. Der erste Teil dieser Thesis stellt eine neue Sichtweise der differentiellen Analyse von vier bis sechs Runden AES vor. Im weiteren Verlauf betrachtet sie differentielle Angriffe auf Kiasu-BC, eine Tweakable Blockchiffre auf Basis des AES, die versucht, so nah wie möglich am Design des AES zu bleiben. Somit kann ihre Analyse die durch den Tweak hervorgerufenen Unterschiede genauer beleuchten als das bei dedizierten Konstruktion möglich wäre. Abschließend analysiert der erste Teil Tweak-and-Tweak (TNT), eine generische Transformation einer klassischen in eine tweakable Blockchiffre, sowie ihre Instanz TNT-AES. Durch einen besseren Sicherheitsbeweis von TNT schließt sie die Lücke (mit Ausnahme eines logarithmischen Faktors) zwischen ihrer vorher bewiesenen Sicherheit und bekannten Angriffen. Eine Vielzahl von Anwendungen für Authentisierung oder Verschlüsselung benötigen beide Eigenschaften simultan. Darum sind Verfahren für die Authentisierte Verschlüsselung (AE Schemes) aus dem täglichen Gebrauch nicht mehr wegzudenken. Bis vor einigen Jahren waren die Anforderungen an den Gebrauch von AE Schemes allerdings sehr restriktiv: Moderne AE Schemes erfordern in der Regel für jede zu verschlüsselnde Nachricht einen Input der sich nicht wiederholen darf, eine Nonce. Nonces sind allgemein akzeptiert und sinnvoll - ihre Einmaligkeit kann jedoch nicht über alle Anwendungsumgebungen hinweg garantiert werden. Für viele Konstruktionen bedeutet eine Verletzung der Anforderungen allerdings dass keinerlei Sicherheit mehr gewährleistet werden kann. Robuste AE Schemes wurden eingeführt um den Schaden möglichst auch im Fall von Nonce-Wiederholungen Sicherheit zu garantieren. Derartige Verfahren bedenken darüberhinaus auch den Fall, dass ungültige Klartexte unbeabsichtigt nach außen gelangen, was insbesondere in Umgebungen relevant ist, in denen sie nicht bis zur erfolgreichen Verifikation gespeichert werden können. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt drei blockchiffrenbasierte Verfahren für misuse-resiliente authentisierte Verschlüsselung vor: RIV, SIV-x und DCT. RIV bietet Robustheit gegen Nonce-Wiederholungen wie auch gegen die Fälle in denen Informationen über ungültige Entschlüsselungen nach außen gelangen. SIV-x und DCT bieten sehr hohe Sicherheitsgarantien ohne auf Nonces angewiesen zu sein, jeweils basierend auf tweakable Blockchiffren. Im ersten Teil möchte die vorliegende Arbeit zum Einen das Verständnis der differentiellen Sicherheit des rundenreduzierten AES hin zu Unterscheidungsangriffen mit extrem kleinen, aber dennoch signifikanten Differenzen ergänzen. Zum Anderen erweitert dieser Teil die Analyse AES-ähnlicher Tweakable Blockchiffren. Der zweite Teil ergänzt zum Einen mit RIV das Portfolio robuster authentisierter Verschlüsselungsverfahren und zeigt wie diese effizient implementiert werden können. Zum Anderen zeigt er mit SIV-x und DCT, wie deterministische authentisierte Verschlüsselung mit hohen Sicherheitsanforderungen mit zwei Iterationen von denen nur eine pseudozufällig sein muss realisiert werden können. KW - Kryptologie KW - Cryptography KW - Symmetric-key cryptography KW - Cryptanalysis KW - Provable security KW - Encryption Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211103-45235 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ren, Huilong A1 - Zhuang, Xiaoying A1 - Oterkus, Erkan A1 - Zhu, Hehua A1 - Rabczuk, Timon T1 - Nonlocal strong forms of thin plate, gradient elasticity, magneto-electro-elasticity and phase-field fracture by nonlocal operator method JF - Engineering with Computers N2 - The derivation of nonlocal strong forms for many physical problems remains cumbersome in traditional methods. In this paper, we apply the variational principle/weighted residual method based on nonlocal operator method for the derivation of nonlocal forms for elasticity, thin plate, gradient elasticity, electro-magneto-elasticity and phase-field fracture method. The nonlocal governing equations are expressed as an integral form on support and dual-support. The first example shows that the nonlocal elasticity has the same form as dual-horizon non-ordinary state-based peridynamics. The derivation is simple and general and it can convert efficiently many local physical models into their corresponding nonlocal forms. In addition, a criterion based on the instability of the nonlocal gradient is proposed for the fracture modelling in linear elasticity. Several numerical examples are presented to validate nonlocal elasticity and the nonlocal thin plate. KW - Bruchmechanik KW - Elastizität KW - Peridynamik KW - energy form KW - weak form KW - peridynamics KW - variational principle KW - explicit time integration Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211207-45388 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00366-021-01502-8 VL - 2021 SP - 1 EP - 22 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Alsaad, Hayder A1 - Völker, Conrad T1 - Qualitative evaluation of the flow supplied by personalized ventilation using schlieren imaging and thermography JF - Building and Environment N2 - Personalized ventilation (PV) is a mean of delivering conditioned outdoor air into the breathing zone of the occupants. This study aims to qualitatively investigate the personalized flows using two methods of visualization: (1) schlieren imaging using a large schlieren mirror and (2) thermography using an infrared camera. While the schlieren imaging was used to render the velocity and mass transport of the supplied flow, thermography was implemented to visualize the air temperature distribution induced by the PV. Both studies were conducted using a thermal manikin to simulate an occupant facing a PV outlet. As a reference, the flow supplied by an axial fan and a cased axial fan was visualized with the schlieren system as well and compared to the flow supplied by PV. Schlieren visualization results indicate that the steady, low-turbulence flow supplied by PV was able to penetrate the thermal convective boundary layer encasing the manikin's body, providing clean air for inhalation. Contrarily, the axial fan diffused the supplied air over a large target area with high turbulence intensity; it only disturbed the convective boundary layer rather than destroying it. The cased fan supplied a flow with a reduced target area which allowed supplying more air into the breathing zone compared to the fan. The results of thermography visualization showed that the supplied cool air from PV penetrated the corona-shaped thermal boundary layer. Furthermore, the supplied air cooled the surface temperature of the face, which indicates the large impact of PV on local thermal sensation and comfort. KW - Bildverarbeitung KW - Photothermische Methode KW - Visualisierung KW - Belüftung KW - Lüftungsanlage KW - Schlieren imaging KW - Thermography KW - Visualization KW - Personalized ventilation KW - Axial fan Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211008-45117 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132319306602?via%3Dihub N1 - This is the accepted manuscript of the article published by Elsevier in Building and Environment 167 (2020) 106450, which can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106450. VL - 2020 IS - Volume 167, article 106450 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - THES A1 - Weißker, Tim T1 - Group Navigation in Multi-User Virtual Reality N2 - Multi-user virtual reality systems enable collocated as well as distributed users to perform collaborative activities in immersive virtual environments. A common activity in this context is to move from one location to the next as a group to explore the environment together. The simplest solution to realize these multi-user navigation processes is to provide each participant with a technique for individual navigation. However, this approach entails some potentially undesirable consequences such as the execution of a similar navigation sequence by each participant, a regular need for coordination within the group, and, related to this, the risk of losing each other during the navigation process. To overcome these issues, this thesis performs research on group navigation techniques that move group members together through a virtual environment. The presented work was guided by four overarching research questions that address the quality requirements for group navigation techniques, the differences between collocated and distributed settings, the scalability of group navigation, and the suitability of individual and group navigation for various scenarios. This thesis approaches these questions by introducing a general conceptual framework as well as the specification of central requirements for the design of group navigation techniques. The design, implementation, and evaluation of corresponding group navigation techniques demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework. As a first step, this thesis presents ideas for the extension of the short-range teleportation metaphor, also termed jumping, for multiple users. It derives general quality requirements for the comprehensibility of the group jumping process and introduces a corresponding technique for two collocated users. The results of two user studies indicate that sickness symptoms are not affected by user roles during group jumping and confirm improved planning accuracy for the navigator, increased spatial awareness for the passenger, and reduced cognitive load for both user roles. Next, this thesis explores the design space of group navigation techniques in distributed virtual environments. It presents a conceptual framework to systematize the design decisions for group navigation techniques based on Tuckman's model of small-group development and introduces the idea of virtual formation adjustments as part of the navigation process. A quantitative user study demonstrates that the corresponding extension of Multi-Ray Jumping for distributed dyads leads to more efficient travel sequences and reduced workload. The results of a qualitative expert review confirm these findings and provide further insights regarding the complementarity of individual and group navigation in distributed virtual environments. Then, this thesis investigates the navigation of larger groups of distributed users in the context of guided museum tours and establishes three central requirements for (scalable) group navigation techniques. These should foster the awareness of ongoing navigation activities as well as facilitate the predictability of their consequences for all group members (Comprehensibility), assist the group with avoiding collisions in the virtual environment (Obstacle Avoidance), and support placing the group in a meaningful spatial formation for the joint observation and discussion of objects (View Optimization). The work suggests a new technique to address these requirements and reports on its evaluation in an initial usability study with groups of five to ten (partially simulated) users. The results indicate easy learnability for navigators and high comprehensibility for passengers. Moreover, they also provide valuable insights for the development of group navigation techniques for even larger groups. Finally, this thesis embeds the previous contributions in a comprehensive literature overview and emphasizes the need to study larger, more heterogeneous, and more diverse group compositions including the related social factors that affect group dynamics. In summary, the four major research contributions of this thesis are as follows: - the framing of group navigation as a specific instance of Tuckman's model of small-group development - the derivation of central requirements for effective group navigation techniques beyond common quality factors known from single-user navigation - the introduction of virtual formation adjustments during group navigation and their integration into concrete group navigation techniques - evidence that appropriate pre-travel information and virtual formation adjustments lead to more efficient travel sequences for groups and lower workloads for both navigators and passengers Overall, the research of this thesis confirms that group navigation techniques are a valuable addition to the portfolio of interaction techniques in multi-user virtual reality systems. The conceptual framework, the derived quality requirements, and the development of novel group navigation techniques provide effective guidance for application developers and inform future research in this area. N2 - Multi-User-Virtual-Reality-Systeme ermöglichen es lokalen und räumlich getrennten Benutzer*innen, kollaborative Aktivitäten in einer immersiven virtuellen Umgebung auszuüben. Eine grundlegende Aufgabe in diesem Zusammenhang ist die Navigation von einem Ort zum nächsten als Gruppe, um die Umgebung gemeinsam zu erkunden. Die einfachste Lösung zur Realisierung dieser Mehrbenutzer*innen-Navigationsprozesse besteht darin, jedem*jeder Teilnehmer*in eine Technik zur individuellen Navigation zur Verfügung zu stellen. Dieser Ansatz führt jedoch zu einigen potenziell unerwünschten Begleiterscheinungen, wie zum Beispiel der Ausführung einer ähnlichen Navigationssequenz durch jede*n Teilnehmer*in, einem regelmäßigen Koordinationsbedarf innerhalb der Gruppe und damit verbunden der Gefahr, sich während des Navigationsprozesses zu verlieren. Zur Überwindung dieser Problematiken erforscht die vorliegende Arbeit Gruppennavigationstechniken, die alle Gruppenmitglieder gemeinsam durch eine virtuelle Umgebung bewegen. Die vorgestellten Beiträge wurden von vier übergreifenden Forschungsfragen geleitet, welche sich mit Qualitätsanforderungen an Gruppennavigationstechniken, den Unterschieden zwischen lokaler und räumlich getrennter Teilnahme, der Skalierbarkeit von Gruppennavigation und der Eignung von Einzel- und Gruppennavigationstechniken für verschiedene Szenarien befassen. Die vorliegende Arbeit nähert sich diesen Fragen durch die Einführung eines allgemeinen konzeptionellen Frameworks sowie die Spezifikation zentraler Anforderungen an den Entwurf von Gruppennavigationstechniken. Die Entwicklung, Implementierung und Evaluation entsprechender Gruppennavigationstechniken demonstrieren die Anwendbarkeit des vorgeschlagenen Frameworks. In einem ersten Schritt stellt diese Arbeit Ideen zur Erweiterung der Teleportationsmetapher über kurze Distanzen, auch Jumping genannt, für mehrere Benutzer*innen vor. Sie leitet allgemeine Qualitätsanforderungen zur Verständlichkeit des Gruppen-Jumpings ab und präsentiert eine entsprechende Technik für zwei lokale Benutzer*innen. Die Ergebnisse zweier Benutzungsstudien zeigen keine Einflüsse des aktiven oder passiven Jumpings auf Symptome der Simulatorkrankheit und bestätigen eine erhöhte Planungsgenauigkeit für den*die Navigator*in, ein verbessertes räumliches Verständnis für den*die Passagier*in und eine reduzierte kognitive Belastung für beide Rollen. Danach untersucht diese Arbeit den Gestaltungsraum von Gruppennavigationstechniken in verteilten virtuellen Umgebungen. Basierend auf Tuckmans Modell der Kleingruppenentwicklung stellt sie ein konzeptionelles Framework zur Systematisierung der Designentscheidungen für Gruppennavigationstechniken vor und führt die Idee der virtuellen Formationsanpassungen als Teil des Navigationsprozesses ein. Eine quantitative Benutzungsstudie zeigt, dass eine entsprechende Erweiterung des Multi-Ray Jumpings für räumlich getrennte Dyaden zu effizienteren Navigationsabläufen und geringeren wahrgenommenen Arbeitslasten führt. Die Ergebnisse eines qualitativen Expert-Reviews bestätigen diese Erkenntnisse und liefern weitere Einsichten bezüglich der Komplementarität von Einzel- und Gruppennavigation in verteilten virtuellen Umgebungen. Anschließend untersucht diese Arbeit die Navigation größerer Gruppen räumlich getrennter Benutzer*innen im Kontext von Museumsführungen und stellt drei zentrale Anforderungen für (skalierbare) Gruppennavigationstechniken auf. Diese sollen das Bewusstsein für laufende Navigationsaktivitäten fördern sowie die Vorhersehbarkeit ihrer Konsequenzen für alle Gruppenmitglieder erleichtern (Verständlichkeit), der Gruppe bei der Vermeidung von Kollisionen in der virtuellen Umgebung assistieren (Hindernisvermeidung) und die Platzierung der Gruppe in einer sinnvollen räumlichen Formation für die gemeinsame Betrachtung und Diskussion von Objekten unterstützen (Blickoptimierung). Die Arbeit stellt eine neue Technik zur Adressierung dieser Anforderungen vor, welche in einer initialen Usability-Studie mit Gruppen von fünf bis zehn (teilweise simulierten) Benutzer*innen evaluiert wurde. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine einfache Erlernbarkeit für den*die Navigator*in und eine hohe Verständlichkeit für Passagier*innen. Darüber hinaus liefern sie wertvolle Erkenntnisse zur Entwicklung von Gruppennavigationstechniken für noch größere Gruppenstärken. Abschließend bettet diese Arbeit die bisherigen Beiträge in einen umfassenden Literaturüberblick ein und betont den Bedarf zukünftiger Forschungsarbeiten zu größeren, heterogeneren und diverseren Gruppenkompositionen. Dies beinhaltet ebenfalls die Betrachtung der damit verbundenen sozialen Faktoren sowie deren Einfluss auf die Gruppendynamik. Zusammengefasst lauten die vier wichtigsten Forschungsbeiträge dieser Arbeit wie folgt: - die Einordnung von Gruppennavigationsprozessen als spezifische Instanz von Tuckmans Modell der Kleingruppenentwicklung - die Ableitung zentraler Anforderungen an effektive Gruppennavigationstechniken zusätzlich zu aus Einzelnavigationskontexten bekannten Qualitätsfaktoren - die Einführung von virtuellen Formationsanpassungen als Teil der Gruppennavigation und deren Integration in konkrete Gruppennavigationstechniken - Nachweise, dass geeignet gewählte Vorschaumechanismen sowie virtuelle Formationsanpassungen zu effizienteren Navigationssequenzen für die Gruppe und geringeren wahrgenommenen Arbeitslasten für Navigator*innen und Passagier*innen führen Insgesamt bestätigen die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit, dass Gruppennavigationstechniken eine wertvolle Ergänzung zum Portfolio der Interaktionstechniken in Multi-User-Virtual-Reality-Systemen sind. Das konzeptionelle Framework, die abgeleiteten Qualitätsanforderungen und die Entwicklung entsprechender Gruppennavigationstechniken bilden eine relevante Wissensbasis für Anwendungsentwickler*innen und informieren zukünftige Forschung in diesem Gebiet. KW - Virtuelle Realität KW - Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation KW - Multi-User Virtual Reality KW - Group Navigation KW - Collaborative Virtual Environments KW - Human-Computer Interaction Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211124-45305 ER - TY - THES A1 - Berhe, Asgedom Haile T1 - Mitigating Risks of Corruption in Construction: A theoretical rationale for BIM adoption in Ethiopia N2 - This PhD thesis sets out to investigate the potentials of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to mitigate risks of corruption in the Ethiopian public construction sector. The wide-ranging capabilities and promises of BIM have led to the strong perception among researchers and practitioners that it is an indispensable technology. Consequently, it has become the frequent subject of science and research. Meanwhile, many countries, especially the developed ones, have committed themselves to applying the technology extensively. Increasing productivity is the most common and frequently cited reason for that. However, both technology developers and adopters are oblivious to the potentials of BIM in addressing critical challenges in the construction sector, such as corruption. This particularly would be significant in developing countries like Ethiopia, where its problems and effects are acute. Studies reveal that bribery and corruption have long pervaded the construction industry worldwide. The complex and fragmented nature of the sector provides an environment for corruption. The Ethiopian construction sector is not immune from this epidemic reality. In fact, it is regarded as one of the most vulnerable sectors owing to varying socio-economic and political factors. Since 2015, Ethiopia has started adopting BIM, yet without clear goals and strategies. As a result, the potential of BIM for combating concrete problems of the sector remains untapped. To this end, this dissertation does pioneering work by showing how collaboration and coordination features of the technology contribute to minimizing the opportunities for corruption. Tracing loopholes, otherwise, would remain complex and ineffective in the traditional documentation processes. Proceeding from this anticipation, this thesis brings up two primary questions: what are areas and risks of corruption in case of the Ethiopian public construction projects; and how could BIM be leveraged to mitigate these risks? To tackle these and other secondary questions, the research employs a mixed-method approach. The selected main research strategies are Survey, Grounded Theory (GT) and Archival Study. First, the author disseminates an online questionnaire among Ethiopian construction engineering professionals to pinpoint areas of vulnerability to corruption. 155 responses are compiled and scrutinized quantitatively. Then, a semi-structured in-depth interview is conducted with 20 senior professionals, primarily to comprehend opportunities for and risks of corruption in those identified highly vulnerable project stages and decision points. At the same time, open interviews (consultations) are held with 14 informants to be aware of state of the construction documentation, BIM and loopholes for corruption in the country. Consequently, these qualitative data are analyzed utilizing the principles of GT, heat/risk mapping and Social Network Analysis (SNA). The risk mapping assists the researcher in the course of prioritizing corruption risks; whilst through SNA, methodically, it is feasible to identify key actors/stakeholders in the corruption venture. Based on the generated research data, the author constructs a [substantive] grounded theory around the elements of corruption in the Ethiopian public construction sector. This theory, later, guides the subsequent strategic proposition of BIM. Finally, 85 public construction related cases are also analyzed systematically to substantiate and confirm previous findings. By ways of these multiple research endeavors that is based, first and foremost, on the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the author conveys a number of key findings. First, estimations, tender document preparation and evaluation, construction material as well as quality control and additional work orders are found to be the most vulnerable stages in the design, tendering and construction phases respectively. Second, middle management personnel of contractors and clients, aided by brokers, play most critical roles in corrupt transactions within the prevalent corruption network. Third, grand corruption persists in the sector, attributed to the fact that top management and higher officials entertain their overriding power, supported by the lack of project audits and accountability. Contrarily, individuals at operation level utilize intentional and unintentional 'errors’ as an opportunity for corruption. In light of these findings, two conceptual BIM-based risk mitigation strategies are prescribed: active and passive automation of project audits; and the monitoring of project information throughout projects’ value chain. These propositions are made in reliance on BIM’s present dimensional capabilities and the promises of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Moreover, BIM’s synchronous potentials with other technologies such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Radio Frequency technologies are topics which received a treatment. All these arguments form the basis for the main thesis of this dissertation, that BIM is able to mitigate corruption risks in the Ethiopian public construction sector. The discourse on the skepticisms about BIM that would stem from the complex nature of corruption and strategic as well as technological limitations of BIM is also illuminated and complemented by this work. Thus, the thesis uncovers possible research gaps and lays the foundation for further studies. KW - Building Information Modeling KW - Korruption KW - Risikomanagement KW - Äthiopien KW - Corruption KW - BIM KW - Risk management KW - Construction KW - Ethiopia Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211007-45175 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Alkam, Feras A1 - Lahmer, Tom T1 - A robust method of the status monitoring of catenary poles installed along high-speed electrified train tracks JF - Results in Engineering N2 - Electric trains are considered one of the most eco-friendly and safest means of transportation. Catenary poles are used worldwide to support overhead power lines for electric trains. The performance of the catenary poles has an extensive influence on the integrity of the train systems and, consequently, the connected human services. It became a must nowadays to develop SHM systems that provide the instantaneous status of catenary poles in- service, making the decision-making processes to keep or repair the damaged poles more feasible. This study develops a data-driven, model-free approach for status monitoring of cantilever structures, focusing on pre-stressed, spun-cast ultrahigh-strength concrete catenary poles installed along high-speed train tracks. The pro-posed approach evaluates multiple damage features in an unfied damage index, which leads to straightforward interpretation and comparison of the output. Besides, it distinguishes between multiple damage scenarios of the poles, either the ones caused by material degradation of the concrete or by the cracks that can be propagated during the life span of the given structure. Moreover, using a logistic function to classify the integrity of structure avoids the expensive learning step in the existing damage detection approaches, namely, using the modern machine and deep learning methods. The findings of this study look very promising when applied to other types of cantilever structures, such as the poles that support the power transmission lines, antenna masts, chimneys, and wind turbines. KW - Fahrleitung KW - Catenary poles KW - SHM KW - Model-free status monitoring KW - Sigmoid function KW - High-speed electric train KW - Schaden KW - OA-Publikationsfonds2021 Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20211011-45212 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123021000906?via%3Dihub VL - 2021 IS - volume 12, article 100289 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -