Brno University of Technology

About: Brno University of Technology is a education organization based out in Brno, Czechia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Computer science & Fracture mechanics. The organization has 6339 authors who have published 15226 publications receiving 194088 citations. The organization is also known as: Vysoké učení technické v Brně & BUT.

Evolutionary Design of Arbitrarily Large Sorting Networks Using Development

Abstract: An evolutionary algorithm is combined with an application-specific developmental scheme in order to evolve efficient arbitrarily large sorting networks. First, a small sorting network (that we call the embryo) has to be prepared to solve the trivial instance of a problem. Then the evolved program (the constructor) is applied on the embryo to create a larger sorting network (solving a larger instance of the problem). Then the same constructor is used to create a new instance of the sorting network from the created larger sorting network and so on. The proposed approach allowed us to rediscover the conventional principle of insertion which is traditionally used for constructing large sorting networks. Furthermore, the principle was improved by means of the evolutionary technique. The evolved sorting networks exhibit a lower implementation cost and delay.

Two-stage master sintering curve applied to two-step sintering of oxide ceramics

Abstract: Tetragonal (3 mol% Y2O3) and two cubic zirconia (8 mol% Y2O3) as well as alumina green bodies were used for the construction of the Master Sintering Curve (MSC) created from sets of constant-rate-of-heating (CRH) sintering experiments. The activation energies calculated according to the MSC theory were 770 kJ/mol for Al2O3, 1270 kJ/mol for t-ZrO2, 620 kJ/mol and 750 kJ/mol for c-ZrO2. These values were verified by an alternative approach based on an analysis of the densification rate in the intermediate sintering stage. The MSCs established from the Two-Step Sintering (TSS) experiments showed at high densities a significant deflection from those constructed from the CRH experiments. This deflection was explained by lower sintering activation energy in the closed porosity stage. A new two-stage MSC model was developed to reflect the change in sintering activation energy and to describe TSS. The efficiency of TSS of four materials under investigation was correlated with their activation energies during the final sintering stage.

Political Risk, Institutions and Foreign Direct Investment: How Do They Relate in Various European Countries?

Abstract: This paper examines theoretically and empirically the extent to which the decision by foreign firms to invest in a group of countries is influenced by economic factors, as opposed to political risk and institutional performance. We consider the importance of these factors as drivers of foreign direct investment (FDI) for 32 European countries (subsequently divided into three pooled clusters) by means of panel regression techniques in two specifications over the 1995-2008 period. Our results suggest that risk and institutional factors considered in both static and dynamic perspectives significantly influence the behaviour of investors. Policies and institutions that vary widely between countries modify their decision-making, so that the purely economic factors have different statistical significance and impacts on the intensity of FDI, as was revealed by clustering countries into three groups according to levels of economic maturity. Additionally, not all factors of risk have an identical impact on FDI decisions in particular groups of countries. However, we find that as measures of political risk, monetary discipline, low regulation, effective government and good education prove to be highly significant for most country groupings. All of these measures reduce political risk and positively affect the level of FDI.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Flux-Controlled Memristor Emulator and Its Experimental Results

Abstract: A flux-controlled memristor emulator built with off-the-shelf electronic devices and based on a TiO2 model is presented in this article. The circuit proposed in this article uses the current mode approach based analog building blocks such as a second-generation current conveyor (CCII) and an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) as an active element with few passive elements. The circuit shows a clear fingerprint of an ideal memristor. The offered emulator circuit can be made to operate in incremental and decremental modes and functions well up to 26.3 MHz. Nonvolatility, Monte Carlo sampling, and corner analysis simulations are executed to verify the robustness of the circuit. The functional verification of the presented circuit is performed using the 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS parameter at a supply voltage of ±1.2 V. The experimental demonstration is carried out by making a prototype on a breadboard using ICs AD844AN and CA3080, which exhibits a good agreement with theoretical and simulation results. The layout of the circuit, which requires a total chip area of $75\times 70\,\,\mu \text{m}^{2}$ , is also created. Single/parallel combinations of a memristor, a high-pass filter, and a chaotic system are presented to demonstrate its application.