The fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering is an established event in the academic calendar of doctoral students. It is held under the patronage of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib), one of the main international associations that disseminates knowledge about concrete and concrete structures. The 9th fib International PhD Symposium was held at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, from July 22 to 25, 2012.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Practical Aspects of Knowledge Management, PAKM 2006, held in Vienna, Austria in November/December 2006. The 29 revised full papers address all aspects of knowledge management and their role in next-generation business solutions in perspective to business and organization sciences, cognitive science, and computer science.

A comprehensive reference giving a thorough explanation of propagation mechanisms, channel characteristics results, measurement approaches and the modelling of channels Thoroughly covering channel characteristics and parameters, this book provides the knowledge needed to design various wireless systems, such as cellular communication systems, RFID and ad hoc wireless communication systems. It gives a detailed introduction to aspects of channels before presenting the novel estimation and modelling techniques which can be used to achieve accurate models. To systematically guide readers through the topic, the book is organised in three distinct parts. The first part covers the fundamentals of the characterization of propagation channels, including the conventional single-input single-output (SISO) propagation channel characterization as well as its extension to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cases. Part two focuses on channel measurements and channel data post-processing. Wideband channel measurements are introduced, including the equipment, technology and advantages and disadvantages of different data acquisition schemes. The channel parameter estimation methods are then presented, which include conventional spectral-based estimation, the specular-path-model based high-resolution method, and the newly derived power spectrum estimation methods. Measurement results are used to compare the performance of the different estimation methods. The third part gives a complete introduction to different modelling approaches. Among them, both scattering theoretical channel modelling and measurement-based channel modelling approaches are detailed. This part also approaches how to utilize these two modelling approaches to investigate wireless channels for conventional cellular systems and some new emerging communication systems. This three-part approach means the book caters for the requirements of the audiences at different levels, including readers needing introductory knowledge, engineers who are looking for more advanced understanding, and expert researchers in wireless system design as a reference. Presents technical explanations, illustrated with examples of the theory in practice Discusses results applied to 4G communication systems and other emerging communication systems, such as relay, CoMP, and vehicle-to-vehicle rapid time-variant channels Can be used as comprehensive tutorial for students or a complete reference for engineers in industry Includes selected illustrations in color Program downloads available for readers Companion website with program downloads for readers and presentation slides and solution manual for instructors Essential reading for Graduate students and researchers interested in the characteristics of propagation channel, or who work in areas related to physical layer architectures, air interfaces, navigation, and wireless sensing

This modern field of multi-agent systems has developed from two main lines of earlier research: its practitioners generally regard it as a form of distributed artificial intelligence, whereas some researchers have persistently advocated ideas from the field of artificial life. AI agents (and their designers) usually take the environment for agent interaction as granted. From the ALife perspective and for ALife agents, the environment for interaction is an active participant in agent dynamics, a first class member of the overall systems. This book originates from the First International Workshop on Environments for Multi-Agent Systems, E4MAS 2004, held in New York, NY, USA in July 2004 as a satellite workshop of AAMAS 2004. The 13 carefully selected reviewed and revised papers presented together with an introductory survey article of close to 50 pages are organized in topical sections on conceptual models, language for design and specification, simulation and environments, mediated coordination, and applications.

Since the 1970’s, an increasing amount of specialized research has focused on the problems created by instability of internal flow in hydroelectric power plants. However, progress in this field is hampered by the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, between fluid mechanics, structural mechanics and hydraulic transients. Flow-induced Pulsation and Vibration in Hydroelectric Machinery provides a compact guidebook explaining the many different underlying physical mechanisms and their possible effects. Typical phenomena are described to assist in the proper diagnosis of problems and various key strategies for solution are compared and considered with support from practical experience and real-life examples. The link between state-of the-art CFD computation and notorious practical problems is discussed and quantitative data is provided on normal levels of vibration and pulsation so realistic limits can be set for future projects. Current projects are also addressed as the possibilities and limitations of reduced-scale model tests for prediction of prototype performance are explained. Engineers and project planners struggling with the practical problems will find Flow-induced Pulsation and Vibration in Hydroelectric Machinery to be a comprehensive and convenient reference covering key topics and ideas across a range of relevant disciplines.