Bauhaus University, Weimar

About: Bauhaus University, Weimar is a education organization based out in Weimar, Thüringen, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Finite element method & Isogeometric analysis. The organization has 1421 authors who have published 2998 publications receiving 104454 citations. The organization is also known as: Bauhaus-Universität Weimar & Hochschule für Architektur und Bauwesen.

Tensile Strength of Compacted Clays

Abstract: The paper presents experimental results linking matric suction and tensile strength of compacted clays. Test results from a cohesive soil are presented and discussed with respect to the soil structure and the interaction of soil and water. It is assumed that two main groups of pores can be clearly identified in compacted clays; the pores between aggregates (interaggregate pores) and pores between particles (intraaggregate pores ). Based on a description of soil-water-interaction an expected behaviour, describing tensile strength as a function of matric suction, is derived and compared with the experimental results. The laboratory test results indicate that there is a strong correlation between the pore size distribution (assessed by interpretation of the soil water characteristic curve SWCC) and the tensile strength of compacted soils. Furthermore, the test results are compared by using micro-mechanical considerations of the interaction between the skeleton of unsaturated soils (interparticle contact force) and by using numerical calculations with an elastic relationship.

What Users Ask a Search Engine: Analyzing One Billion Russian Question Queries

Abstract: We analyze the question queries submitted to a large commercial web search engine to get insights about what people ask, and to better tailor the search results to the users' needs. Based on a dataset of about one billion question queries submitted during the year 2012, we investigate askers' querying behavior with the support of automatic query categorization. While the importance of question queries is likely to increase, at present they only make up 3-4% of the total search traffic. Since questions are such a small part of the query stream, and are more likely to be unique than shorter queries, click-through information is typically rather sparse. Thus, query categorization methods based on the categories of clicked web documents do not work well for questions. As an alternative, we propose a robust question query classification method that uses the labeled questions from a large community question answering platform (CQA) as a training set. The resulting classifier is then transferred to the web search questions. Even though questions on CQA platforms tend to be different to web search questions, our categorization method proves competitive with strong baselines with respect to classification accuracy. To show the scalability of our proposed method we apply the classifiers to about one billion question queries and discuss the trade-offs between performance and accuracy that different classification models offer.

Is "entanglement" always entangled?

Abstract: Entanglement, including `quantum entanglement', is a consequence of correlation between objects. When the objects are subunits of pairs which in turn are members of an ensemble described by a wavefunction, a correlation among the subunits induces the mysterious properties of `cat-states'. However, correlation between subsystems can be present in purely non-quantum sources, thereby entailing no unfathomable behaviour. Such entanglement arises whenever the so-called `qubit space' is not afflicted with Heisenberg uncertainty. It turns out that all optical experimental realizations of the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) Gedanken experiment in fact do not suffer Heisenberg uncertainty. Examples will be analysed and non-quantum models for some of these described. The consequences for experiments that were to test EPRs contention in the form of Bell's theorem are drawn: valid tests of EPR's hypothesis have yet to be done.

Challenge or Empower: Revisiting Argumentation Quality in a News Editorial Corpus

Abstract: News editorials are said to shape public opinion, which makes them a powerful tool and an important source of political argumentation. However, rarely do editorials change anyone’s stance on an issue completely, nor do they tend to argue explicitly (but rather follow a subtle rhetorical strategy). So, what does argumentation quality mean for editorials then? We develop the notion that an effective editorial challenges readers with opposing stance, and at the same time empowers the arguing skills of readers that share the editorial’s stance — or even challenges both sides. To study argumentation quality based on this notion, we introduce a new corpus with 1000 editorials from the New York Times, annotated for their perceived effect along with the annotators’ political orientations. Analyzing the corpus, we find that annotators with different orientation disagree on the effect significantly. While only 1% of all editorials changed anyone’s stance, more than 5% meet our notion. We conclude that our corpus serves as a suitable resource for studying the argumentation quality of news editorials.

Vulnerability assessment and damage description for R.C. frame structures following the EMS-98 principles

Abstract: Reinforced Concrete (R.C.) frame structures vary extremely in appearance, design and interaction of structural and non-structural elements. These and other aspects are responsible for the difficulties to present a simple procedure by maintaining the basic inherent assumption of a linear progression of the damage grade with the consecutive intensity grades. The paper takes up the recent state of vulnerability and damage assignment as well as experiences related to the behaviour of infill walls gathered from observations and analytical studies to reveal weak points in the related EMS-98 procedures. Such studies have indicated that the increase of the damage grade of R.C. structures is not always proportional to the increase of intensity grades. Further a proposal for an analytical damage grade definition comparable to the damage grade definition of the EMS-98 will be presented. Conclusions are related to the question: Is there a need to revise EMS-98 guidelines and basic tools? Different elements of information are considered: The World Housing Encyclopedia; the whole surveyed building stock of the test area of the city Antakya/Turkey; results of analytical studies referring to typical representatives of the building stock. There are no serious limits for applying EMS-98 at an international level. The EMS-98 provides an open system for the implementation of new structural systems. For this purpose, the basic assumptions, such as the increase of the damage grade with the severity of shaking have to be considered in relation to the behaviour and already assigned vulnerabilities of the other building types.