Goods transport in Etarea

Etarea is a planned satellite town for Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, located some 10 km from the outskirts of the capital. Its projected population of 135,000 will live in 13 residential areas, each of which will have its own retail centre in addition to the main retail centre.The plans for Etarea incorporate a unique approach to the related problems of the storage and distribution of goods within urban areas. All incoming goods will be delivered by road or rail, and possibly in the future by water, to a central storage complex. Goods for the retail trade are distributed from this central store by automated trains pulled by battery-powered trucks, each train having a capacity of 8.75 tons. The trains, which run in a network of underground tunnels, 2 \sX 2.5 meters in cross section, are guided by an optical sensing system. The underground network comprises 3 main routes with branches serving the individual centres. Secondary storage facilities are planned for each of the 14 retail centres where unit loads received from the main storage centre are subdivided for retail sale.One of the proposed methods of retail distribution provides for the fully automated delivery of goods from the retail centres direct to the consumer's household. This is accomplished by means of a pneumatic tube system similar to that used for handling cash in some large stores. Orders will be placed by dialling the code number assigned to the required item, given in a catalogue of available goods. Provided that the customer's account is in credit the order will be accepted and the goods automatically dispatched from the local centre; delivery is estimated to take between 2.5 and 11.5 minutes depending on the distance of the customer's house from the centre. The same system is utilised for the delivery of regular orders for such items as newspapers and magazines as well as for mail and for the the removal of household refuse. In addition to the automated system each retail centre will also have over-the-counter, self-service and slot machine facilities for the sale of goods.All proposals for goods storage and distribution planned for Etarea are based on existing technologies.     

Distributed support modelling for vertical track dynamic analysis

The finite length nature of rail-pad supports is characterised by a Timoshenko beam element formulation over an elastic foundation, giving rise to the distributed support element. The new element is integrated into a vertical track model, which is solved in frequency and time domain. The developed formulation is obtained by solving the governing equations of a Timoshenko beam for this particular case. The interaction between sleeper and rail via the elastic connection is considered in an analytical, compact and efficient way. The modelling technique results in realistic amplitudes of the ‘pinned–pinned’ vibration mode and, additionally, it leads to a smooth evolution of the contact force temporal response and to reduced amplitudes of the rail vertical oscillation, as compared to the results from concentrated support models. Simulations are performed for both parametric and sinusoidal roughness excitation. The model of support proposed here is compared with a previous finite length model developed by other authors, coming to the conclusion that the proposed model gives accurate results at a reduced computational cost.     

地震作用下框架-复合墙结构弹塑性内力计算

框架-复合墙结构是以框架和密肋复合剪力墙共同承担水平地震作用的新型组合式双重抗侧力体系,合理计算弹塑性阶段框架与复合墙的内力是决定大震下结构体系安全性能的关键问题之一.根据6榀典型密肋复合墙试验数据,建立了复合墙体指数式刚度退化模型,量化了墙体在各变形阶段的刚度退化系数.在对比复合墙与框架、混凝土墙、砌体墙刚度退化规律的基础上,分析了复合墙刚度退化对结构受力性能的影响,提出了弹塑性阶段框架-复合墙结构地震内力的实用计算方法,并通过具体算例讨论了结构内力的变化情况.研究结果表明：弹塑性阶段,框架与密肋复合墙刚度退化速度比值呈非线性关系,框架分担总地震剪力的比例增加,但其绝对剪力值增加幅度并不明显;考虑弹塑性阶段复合墙的刚度退化,更好地符合了地震下框架-复合墙结构的实际受力情况.     

热带海洋大气中的3004铝和∝铜的原电池反应(英文)

The galvanic corrosion behaviour of aluminium 3004-∝brass with different area ratios was studied in the tropical marine atmosphere at Tuticorin harbour over a period of 426 days. The area ratios, viz. A Aluminium:A∝ brass, studied were 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8. The galvanic corrosion behaviour of the metals was studied in terms of the relative increase in the corrosion rate of aluminium due to galvanic coupling with ∝ brass, the relative decrease in the corrosion rate of ∝ brass due to galvanic coupling with aluminium, and the susceptibility of aluminium to pitting owing to galvanic coupling with ∝ brass. The galvanic potential and galvanic current of the system were monitored. Pits of different dimensions ranging from mild etchings to perforations were experienced on the borders and the surfaces of the interface of aluminium in contact with ∝ brass. The corrosion products resulting from galvanic corrosion were analysed using XRD and the pitting on aluminium as a result of galvanic corrosion was highlighted in terms of pit depth, size and density of pit, using a high resolution microscope. The most favourable area ratio of aluminium-∝ brass in marine atmosphere in terms of gravimetric corrosion rate is 8:1 and the most unfavourable area ratio of aluminium-∝ brass is 1:4.     

Galvanic corrosion behaviour of HE 20 / MDN 138 & HE 20 / MDN 250 alloys in natural seawater

In view of their excellent mechanical properties, workability and heat treatment characteristics, MDN 138 & MDN 250 have been widely used in missile, rocket and aerospace industries. With light weight and high performance characteristics HE 20 aluminium alloy acts as an important material in defence and aerospace applications. The galvanic corrosion behaviour of the metal combinations HE 20 / MDN 138 and HE 20 / MDN 250, with 1:1 area ratio, has been studied in natural seawater using the open well facility of CECRI’s Offshore Platform at Tuticorin for a year. The open circuit potentials of MDN 138, MDN 250 and HE 20 of the individual metal, the mixed potential and galvanic current of the couples HE 20 / MDN 138 and HE 20 / MDN 250 were periodically monitored throughout the study period. The calcareous deposits on MDN 138 and MDN 250 were analysed using XRD. The results of the study reveal that that HE 20 has offered required amount of protection to MDN 138 & MDN 250.     

Modelling the investment decision of the entrepreneur in the tanker sector: choosing between a second-hand vessel and a newly built one

It is often the case that the investor in the shipping sector faces the dilemma of investing in a second-hand vessel or building a new one. This happens because an active second-hand market for almost all kinds of vessels exists. We argue that one of the prime considerations for the investment decision should not be the price of the vessel per se, second-hand (SH) or newly built (NP) but

• ?(a)?the relative price ratio (SH/NP) second-hand price over the new building price and

• ?(b)?the movement of this ratio.

We investigate the determinants of this ratio across different vessel sizes in the tanker sector and show that it can be used as an effective tool in investment decision as well as in asset appraisal.

We employ monthly data between 1995 and 2006 for four different ship sizes–VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax and Handysize–and implement an error correction model.

The investment decision depends on a number of risk and return variables as well as the perceived speed of adjustment of the price ratio to its equilibrium level.

Overall we claim that the cyclicality of the shipping sector together with expectations formed by the agents operating in it (the entrepreneur, the ship-owner and the broker), determine the movement of the ratio and hence the decision of the entrepreneur.     

Testing the Effects of Constraints on Climate Change–Friendly Behavior among Groups of Australian Residents

This study explores the relationship between Australian's attitudes toward climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). We hypothesize that general attitudes toward climate change, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intended and reported behavior, and that attitude negatively influences constraints on adopting ERB. The moderating effect of residential condition (urban vs. rural contexts) was tested across these hypothesized relationships. We randomly selected 200 individuals from eight regions: Five within 50 km of the GBR Coastline and three from the Statistical Metropolitan Areas in Australia. We yielded 1,623 surveys by telephone interviews. Findings confirm our hypotheses and suggest the most important predictor of intentions is perceived behavioral control. The two groups of respondents (urban vs. rural) illustrate different relationships. This study offers insight on how managers of the GBR can effectively shape residents' behavioral tendencies that minimize human impacts on the natural environment.     

Observations on colony formation by the cosmopolitan phytoplankton genus Phaeocystis

Few marine phytoplankton have heteromorphic life cycles and also often dominate the ecosystems in which they occur. The class Prymnesiophyceae contains a notable exception: the genus Phaeocystis includes three species that form gelatinous colonies but also occur within their ranges as solitary cells. Phaeocystis antarctica and P. pouchetii are exclusively high latitude taxa, and are notable for regionally tremendous blooms of the colony stage. P. globosa occurs circumglobally, yet its colony blooms primarily are confined to colder waters within its range. Three additional species are warm water forms that have been reported only as solitary cells or loose aggregations that bear little resemblance to the organized colonies of the other taxa. Interpretation of existing data indicates that resource availability (light, temperature and nutrients) by itself is not sufficient to explain this distinction between cold-water colony-forming taxa and warm water solitary cell taxa, nor why colony development in P. globosa is essentially a spatially restricted phenomenon within a much broader geographic range. Colony development by P. globosa in situ has been observed at temperatures ≥20 °C, but only rarely and generally under conditions of seasonally or anthropogenically elevated nutrient supply. Data presented here demonstrate colony development at 20–22 °C in natural plankton communities from oligotrophic waters that were pre-screened through 63 μm mesh (i.e. lacking mesozooplankton and large microzooplankton), but not in unscreened communities containing microzooplankton and >63 μm zooplankton. Reduction of colony proliferation at higher temperatures by mesozooplankton grazing remains as an intriguing possibility that is consistent with available evidence to help explain differences in latitudinal extent of in situ colony development. These data are interpreted within a theoretical framework regarding the potential advantages and disadvantages of the two life cycle stages.