The Effect of Using Simulation Strategy in Developing English as a Foreign Language Speaking Skill

Speaking skill acquisition is a necessity for communication. However, speaking English as a foreign language is not as easy as speaking English as a first language since practice opportunities are limited. This study tried to find out a technique of reinforcement that can help students; who study English as a foreign language; develop their speaking skills. This study investigated the effect of using simulation strategy in developing EFL speaking skills, with the assistance of using a telegram channel "Oxford Bookworms Collection" for PDF books with an audio version, to stimulate pronunciation, intonation and enrich vocabulary. The researchers used a quantitative approach with an experimental design to conduct this study by involving 50 students divided into two groups. 25 students as a control group and 25 students as an experimental group; both groups were from level 3 who were learning Listening and Speaking-3 course, major English, at College of Science and Arts (Muhayil), King Khalid University. Pretest and posttest were used to collect data, results of the tests were analyzed using SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficient. The results revealed that using the simulation strategy helped the students of the experimental group to develop speaking skills and affected speaking micro-skills in terms of body language, fluency, pronunciation, intonation, grammar, and vocabulary usage positively. Moreover, students became motivated to speak spontaneously.

Determination of Thermomechanical Stresses in Elements of Vehicles’ Braking Systems

The main objective of the study was to develop a model and analyze the thermomechanical behavior of the hub material of the vehicle brake disk. The simulation strategy was based on the solution of the three-dimensional problem of the theory of elasticity for the case of effect of external loads and temperature fields on the metal structure element of the vehicle brakes. To solve this type of task of the theory of elasticity, the differential equations of the second order were used for the first time. Adaptation of the proposed model, completed in the article, has proved the correctness of use of these equations in modeling the thermomechanical processes with determination of stresses and displacements in unevenly heated rotary cylinders of the final length. The proposed method can be applied with high efficiency in stress strain state simulation of individual parts of vehicles.

A simulation strategy to determine the mechanical behaviour of cork-rubber composite pads for vibration isolation

The present work aimed to determine the performance of new cork-rubber composites, applying a modelling-based approach. The static and dynamic behaviour under compression of new composite isolation pads was determined using mathematical techniques. Linear regression was used to estimate apparent compression modulus and dynamic stiffness coefficient of compounds samples based on the effect of fillers, cork and other ingredients. Using the results obtained by regression models, finite element analysis (FEA) was applied to determine the behaviour of the same cork-rubber material but considering samples with different dimensions. The majority of the regression models presented R2 values above 90%. Also, a good agreement was found between the results obtained by the presented approach and previous experimental tests. Based on the developed methodology, the compression behaviour of new cork-rubber compounds can be accessed, improving product development stages.

Research on the Cross-Platform Co-Simulation Strategy of Power Systems Based on the Model-Segmentation Algorithm

In recent years, cross-platform co-simulation has become an important development direction of the real-time simulation of power systems. Model segmentation is at the core of the realization of cross-platform joint simulation and parallel real-time simulation of these systems. In essence, it is based on the deep application of a system-decoupling algorithm. In order to solve problems that a single interface cannot, it considers the data interaction of large- and small-step systems at the same time This paper proposes an improved joint-simulation strategy based on the model-segmentation method for the cross-platform joint-simulation technology of a large-scale, flexible direct-power grid sent by the wind farms of RT-lab and Hypersim. Firstly, by studying several common interface algorithms in the current project, the adaptability of different interface algorithms is analyzed. Secondly, the problem of high-frequency oscillation caused by the inductance-decoupling algorithm is improved, and an improved segmentation-model algorithm is proposed. Finally, according to the adaptability, each interface algorithm is applied to the wind-power-based, flexible direct-transmission, dual-platform simulation model that was built for this study. The simulation results verify the feasibility of the improved interface in system decoupling and platform interfacing, and indicate the significantly improved accuracy and stability of the system.

Fostering achievement and retention in basic science using simulation and demonstration strategies

The study investigated the better strategy to use in fostering achievement and retention in Basic Science considering simulation and demonstration strategies. The study also compared the achievement as well as the retention of female and male students in basic science when exposed to simulation strategy. The research region is Kogi State's Ankpa Education Zone. A multistage sampling strategy was used to choose 120 Basic II students from four schools in the research region. The study used a quasi-experimental design. Data were analyzed using means and standard deviations, while ANCOVA was utilized to test the hypotheses. The study's results indicated that students taught using the simulation technique achieved considerably better mean achievement and retention scores in Basic Science than students taught using the demonstration strategy. Additionally, no significant difference in mean achievement scores between male and female students taught utilizing the simulation teaching technique was discovered. The research demonstrates a substantial difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students in Basic Science who are taught utilizing a simulation technique. Following the findings, it was suggested that Science teachers should use simulation strategy for the teaching of various topics in Basic Science to improve students’ achievement in Basic Science.

Simulation of the plume of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster with SPIS

A three-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation strategy has been implemented to simulate the acceleration stage of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster (MEPT). The study has been performed with the open-source code Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software (SPIS). The tool has been copiously modified to simulate properly the dynamics of a magnetized plasma plume. A cross-validation of the methodology has been done with Starfish, a two-dimensional open-source PIC software. Two configurations have been compared: (i) in the absence of a magnetic field and (ii) in the presence of a magnetic field generated by a coil with maximum intensity of 300 G at the thruster outlet. The results show a reduction of the plume divergence angle, an increase of ion speed and an increase of the specific impulse in the presence of the magnetic nozzle. The simulations presented in this study are representative of the operative conditions of a 50 W MEPT. Nonetheless, the methodology adopted can be extended to handle the magnetized plasma plume of several other types of thrusters such as electron cyclotron resonance and applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters.

Geant4 simulation of the Tunka-Grande experiment

The Tunka-Grande array is part of a single experimental complex, which also includes the Tunka-133 and TAIGA-HiScORE (High Sensitivity COsmic Rays and gamma Explorer) wide-angle Cherenkov arrays, TAIGA-IACT array (Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope) and TAGA-MUON scintillation array. This complex is located in the Tunka Valley (Buryatia Republic, Russia), 50 km from Lake Baikal. It is designed to study the energy spectrum and the mass composition of charged cosmic rays in the energy range 100 TeV - 1000 PeV, to search for diffuse gamma rays above 100 TeV and to study local sources of gamma rays with energies above 30 TeV. This report outlines 3 key points. The first is the description of the Tunka-Grande scintillation array. The second one presents the computer simulation strategy of the Tunka Grande array based on the Geant4 software. The third one is devoted to the prospects for future research in the field of cosmic ray physics and gamma-ray astronomy using simulation results.

Compact Modeling of a 3.3 kV SiC MOSFET Power Module for Detailed Circuit-Level Electrothermal Simulations Including Parasitics

In this paper, an advanced electrothermal simulation strategy is applied to a 3.3 kV silicon carbide MOSFET power module. The approach is based on a full circuital representation of the module, where use is made of the thermal equivalent of the Ohm’s law. The individual transistors are described with subcircuits, while the dynamic power-temperature feedback is accounted for through an equivalent thermal network enriched with controlled sources enabling nonlinear thermal effects. A synchronous step-up DC-DC converter and a single-phase inverter, both incorporating the aforementioned power module, are simulated. Good accuracy was ensured by considering electromagnetic effects due to parasitics, which were experimentally extracted in a preliminary stage. Low CPU times are needed, and no convergence issues are encountered in spite of the high switching frequencies. The impact of some key parameters is effortlessly quantified. The analysis witnesses the efficiency and versatility of the approach, and suggests its adoption for design, analysis, and synthesis of high-frequency power converters in wide-band-gap semiconductor technology.

Understanding Impedance Response Characteristics of a Piezoelectric-Based Smart Interface Subjected to Functional Degradations

The functionality of piezoelectric devices is of significant importance in the electromechanical impedance (EMI)-based structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection. Despite the previous work, the EMI response characteristics of a degraded piezoelectric-based smart interface have not been sufficiently investigated due to the difficulty in making realistic functional defects via the experiment. To overcome this issue, we present a predictive simulation strategy to comprehensively investigate the EMI response characteristics of a smart interface subjected typical functional degradations. For that, a bolted steel girder connection is selected as a host structure to experimentally conduct EMI response measurement via the smart interface. Then, a finite element (FE) model corresponding to the experimental model is established and updated to reproduce the measured EMI response. By using the updated FE model, four common degradation types, including shear lag effect, transducer debonding, transducer breakage, and interface detaching are simulated and their effects on the EMI response are comprehensively analyzed. It is found that the interface detaching defect has significant impacts on the primary resonances of the EMI response and generates additional peaks with complex modal shapes. Also, the functional defects can result in distinctive EMI response characteristics, which are promising for assessing the functional condition of the smart interface.