The Dynamic Change in the Reliability Function Level in a Selected Fire Alarm System during a Fire.

This article discusses fundamental issues associated with the functional reliability of selected fire alarm systems (FASs) in operation during building fires. FASs operate under diverse external or internal natural environmental conditions, and the operational process of FAS should take into account the impacts of physical phenomena that occur during fires. Their operation is associated with the constant provision of reliability. FAS designers should also consider the system's reliability when developing fire control matrices, tables, algorithms, or scenarios. All functions arising from an FAS control matrix should be implemented with a permissible reliability level, RDPN(t), prior to, as well as during, a fire. This should be assigned to the controls saved in the fire alarm control unit (FCP). This article presents the process by which high temperatures generated during a fire impact the reliability of FAS functioning. It was developed considering selected critical paths for a specific scenario and the control matrix for an FAS. Such assumptions make it possible to determine the impact of various temperatures generated during a fire on the reliability of an FAS. To this end, the authors reviewed that the waveform of the R(t) function changes for a given FAS over time, Δt, and then determined the fitness paths. The critical paths are located within the fire detection and suppression activation process, using FAS or fixed extinguishing devices (FEDs), and the paths were modeled with acceptable and unacceptable technical states. The last section of this article defines a model and graph for the operational process of a selected FAS, the analysis of which enables conclusions to be drawn that can be employed in the design and implementation stages.

The Influence of Varying Atmospheric and Space Weather Conditions on the Accuracy of Position Determination.

Today's technological developments make it possible to use machines to perform specific tasks instead of humans. However, the challenge for such autonomous devices is to precisely move and navigate in constantly changing external environments. In this paper, the influence of varying weather conditions (air temperature, humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, type of satellite systems used/satellites visible, and solar activity) on the accuracy of position determination was analyzed. To reach the receiver, a satellite signal must travel a great distance and pass through all layers of the Earth's atmosphere, the variability of which causes errors and delays. Moreover, the weather conditions for receiving data from satellites are not always favorable. In order to investigate the impact of delays and errors on position determination, the measurements of the satellite signal were conducted, the motion trajectories were determined, and the standard deviations of these trajectories were compared. The results obtained show that it is possible to achieve high precision in determining the position, but varying conditions, such as solar flares or satellites' visibility, meant that not all measurements are able to achieve the required accuracy. The use of the absolute method of satellite signal measurements contributed to this to a large extent. To increase the accuracy of positioning by GNSS systems, it is first of all proposed to use a dual-frequency receiver that eliminates ionospheric refractions.

Analysis of Accuracy and Reliability of Different Types of GPS Receivers.

There are several known cases of positioning error, leading to serious consequences, sometimes also deadly. Therefore, obtaining accurate position data by means of GPS receivers is paramount. With this perspective, the aim of this study was to test the within-field accuracy of different types of GPS receivers, and to determine their reliability. A proprietary software was used to determine the positioning accuracy of nine different types of satellite receivers. In addition, their reliability was investigated, by including tests aimed at measuring their positioning accuracy in field conditions. Thus, it was possible to determine the probability that these GPS receivers can be in some states (reliability). The developed software solution could be used for further research on a wider group of the same types of satellite receivers. The results of this study could lead to draft a procedure for evaluating and selecting GPS receivers, based on their quality, prior to use. This could have a paramount importance for uses in special purpose vehicles or transport telematics systems.

Oral gingival delivery systems from chitosan blends with hydrophilic polymers.

Chitosan blends with hydrophilic polymers including polyvinylalcohol (PVA), polyethyleneoxide (PEO) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), were investigated as candidates for oral gingival delivery systems. The bioavailabilty conferred by the chitosan blend delivery systems, as concluded from dog studies, was shown to be comparable to that based on chitosan alone, especially for those blends involving high molecular weight hydrophilic polymers. Results from differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and tensile testing, indicated that the chitosan/PEO and chitosan/PVP blends showed evidence of miscibility in all blend ratios studied, while the chitosan/PVA blend only showed evidence of interaction for the (50:50) and (80:20) blends, but not for the (20:80) blend. However, even a phase separated system may show interesting and exploitable properties, as evidenced by the tensile testing data for the high molecular weight PVA blend (20:80). The study also indicated that chitosan blends were superior in other properties compared to chitosan alone. These included improved comfort and reduced irritation, ease of processing, improved film quality, improved flexibility, and enhanced dissolution. Blends of chitosan with different hydrophilic polymers could thus be promising candidates for formulation in oral mucosal delivery systems.