Parametric rolling prediction in irregular seas using combination of deterministic ship dynamics and probabilistic wave theory

In recent years there have been reports of serious accidents of parametric rolling for modern container ships and car carriers. For avoiding such accidents, a prediction method of parametric rolling in irregular seas is required. Since parametric rolling is practically non-ergodic, repetitions of numerical simulations or experiments could be not feasible to ascertain the behaviour. Therefore, in this paper, a method combining a stochastic approach with a deterministic approach in order to estimate the probabilistic index without such simple repetitions is developed. The ship's response in regular seas is estimated by solving an averaged system of the original 1-DoF roll model, and random waves necessary for occurrence of parametric rolling is achieved by using Longuet-Higgins’s or Kimura’s wave group theory. As a result, a fast and robust computation method of the probabilistic index is established. Finally, it is concluded that the proposed method is considered to be one of the useful tools for discussing the new IMO Intact Stability Code.     

AUV navigation around jacket structures II: map based path-planning and guidance

This paper proposes a path-planning and guidance strategy for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to perform detailed inspections of jacket structures such as the support legs of offshore platforms. Inspections of such structures are important for maintenance, security, and environmental assessment. These tasks can be carried out at a less cost by using AUVs than through conventional methods. The path-planning method generates a set of waypoints to facilitate the complete coverage of the surface of the target from a constant distance based on the given information about the configurations of both the target and the vehicle. The guidance method actually controls the vehicle such that it follows the waypoints, under the assumption that the position and attitude of the vehicle are being estimated in real time with adequate accuracy. By combining these methods with the localization method we had previously proposed (Maki et al., J Mar Sci Technol [1]) an AUV can perform a fully autonomous observation of jacket structures with prior knowledge of only their configuration. The performance of the method was verified though tank experiments using the AUV Tri-Dog 1. A simple model of a jacket was installed in a test tank, and the vehicle succeeded in inspecting the target.     

Prediction methods for the surf-riding threshold and the wave-blocking threshold based on Melnikov’s method

A ship operating in following and/or quartering seas may be susceptible to broaching-to preceded by the surf-riding phenomenon. Therefore, for the safety assessment of fast vessels such as destroyers and patrol craft, the estimation of the surf-riding condition is important. As shown by previous research, there are two boundaries for ship motion in following and quartering seas. These are the surf-riding threshold and wave-blocking threshold. In this study, the theoretical methods to estimate both boundaries are obtained by making use of Melnikov’s method. In order to validate the formulae, free-running model experiments are conducted in the towing tank. Comparisons between the results obtained from calculations and experiments show good agreement. It is concluded that the formulae based on Melnikov’s method could be applicable to the safety assessment of surface ships.     

Fundamental research on resistance reduction of surface combatants due to stern flaps

It is well known that a decrease in ship resistance may be achieved due to the installation of a stern flap. Therefore, so far, a considerable amount of research on stern flaps has been conducted. Previous research has demonstrated that the primary mechanism by which a stern appendage reduces resistance is a change in the pressure distribution over the aft body of the hull, and secondly through effects on the running attitude, near and far field wave generation, and local transom flow among other phenomena. However, the change in pressure distribution is influenced by the other components. Hence, there is still room for argument about the relative contribution of each component to the pressure distribution. Therefore, as the first step of the research, by conducting the model experiment in towing tank and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis, we examined the effect of running attitudes and wave making at the after portion of the hull on resistance reduction. As a result, it is concluded that a flap affects a change in the wave generated at the transom part and it could lead to a decrease in wave-making resistance.     

Melnikov integral formula for beam sea roll motion utilizing a non-Hamiltonian exact heteroclinic orbit

The chaos that appears in the ship roll equation in beam seas known as the escape equation has been intensively investigated because it is closely related to capsizing incidents. In particular, many applications of the Melnikov integral formula have been reported in the literature; however, in all the analytical works concerning the escape equation, the Melnikov integral is formulated utilizing a separatrix for the Hamiltonian part or a numerically obtained heteroclinic orbit for the non-Hamiltonian part of the original escape equation. To overcome such limitations, this article attempts to utilise an analytical expression for the non-Hamiltonian part. As a result, an analytical procedure is provided that makes use of a heteroclinic orbit of the non-Hamiltonian part within the framework of the Melnikov integral formula.     

DETECTION OF BCL-2 GENE MAJOR BREAKPOINTREGION REARRANGEMENT IN HUMAN B-CELL LYMPHOMAS

Thet(l4;18)chromosomaltranslocationsarerecognizedasacytogeneticabnormalityinB-celllymphomas,especiallyinfollicularlymphomas',>.Aputativeoncogeneonchromosome18bandq2ltermedB-cellleukemia-lymphoma-2(bcl-2)isjux-taposedtosegmentsoftheimmunog1obulin(Ig)heavy-chaingenelocatedonchromosome14bandq32.Bcl-2rearrangementsarecommonlyfoundinfollicularlymphomasintheAmericant2i.Howev-er,theconflictingresultsregardtoincidenceofthetranslocationinJapaneseB-ce1llymphomashasyieldedusingcytogeneticana1ysisandSo…     

Noncontact power supply for seafloor geodetic observing robot system

A new and effective seafloor geodetic observing robot network system, which consists of several submarine stations situated in regions susceptible to interplate earthquakes, has been proposed and is under construction in Japan. Each station, equipped with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) dock, is connected to a land facility by cables providing power and communication. Near the AUV dock, three or four seafloor reference stations will be set up for geodetic observations. In this system, a noncontact power supply is required for a battery-driven AUV to conduct observations for extended durations. A small, intelligent, efficient, high-power noncontact feed system of 400 W capacity with an inverting efficiency of 77% in salt water has been developed. It has been shown to be effective in a water tank experiment in which the noncontact power supply automatically fed power to an AUV for 3 days.     

Application of A* algorithm for real-time path re-planning of an unmanned surface vehicle avoiding underwater obstacles

This paper describes path re-planning techniques andunderwater obstacle avoidance for unmanned surface vehicle （USV）based on multi-beam forward looking sonar （FLS）. Near-optimalpaths in static and dynamic environments with underwaterobstacles are computed using a numerical solution procedure basedon an A algorithm. The USV is modeled with a circular shape in 2degrees of freedom （surge and yaw）. In this paper, two-dimensional（2-D） underwater obstacle avoidance and the robust real-time pathre-planning technique for actual USV using multi-beam FLS aredeveloped. Our real-time path re-planning algorithm has beentested to regenerate the optimal path for several updated frames inthe field of view of the sonar with a proper update frequency of theFLS. The performance of the proposed method was verifiedthrough simulations, and sea experiments. For simulations, theUSV model can avoid both a single stationary obstacle, multiplestationary obstacles and moving obstacles with the near-optimaltrajectory that are performed both in the vehicle and the worldreference frame. For sea experiments, the proposed method for anunderwater obstacle avoidance system is implemented with a USVtest platform. The actual USV is automatically controlled andsucceeded in its real-time avoidance against the stationary underseaobstacle in the field of view of the FLS together with the GlobalPositioning System （GPS） of the USV.     

Analytical formulae for predicting the surf-riding threshold for a ship in following seas

Making use of Melnikov’s method, a generalized formula for predicting the surf-riding threshold is developed as an extension to the applications of Kan and Spyrou. A new analytical formula for calculating the surf-riding threshold of a ship in following seas is also proposed in light of nonlinear dynamical system theory. By applying a continuous piecewise linear approximation to the wave-induced surge force, a heteroclinic bifurcation point is obtained analytically with an uncoupled surge equation. Results calculated using these formulae are presented, and they show good agreement with those obtained utilizing numerical bifurcation analysis. Further, it was confirmed that the surf-riding threshold obtained using the proposed formulae agrees reasonably well with that obtained experimentally for an unconventional vessel.     

AUV navigation around jacket structures I: relative localization based on multi-sensor fusion

Underwater jacket structures or support legs of on-water platforms, such as ports and oil rigs, need to be periodically inspected for maintenance, environmental monitoring, and security reasons. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can potentially make these tasks more inexpensive and reliable compared to conventional methods that involve the use of divers and remotely operated vehicles. This paper proposes a robust and practical self-localization method for an underwater vehicle navigating around jacket structures, where the performance of conventional acoustic positioning suffers from multipath degradation. The key idea is to stochastically update the vehicle??s horizontal position and heading relative to the structures using two types of perceptional sensors, sonar and camera, assuming that the configuration of the structure is known. The performance of the method was verified with tank experiments using a jacket mock-up and the AUV Tri-Dog 1.