A computational approach for fatigue crack propagation in ship structures under random sequence of clustered loading

The authors have developed a simulation program, CP-System, for multiple cracks propagating in a three-dimensional stiffened panel structure, where through-the-thickness crack propagation is formulated as a two-dimensional in-plane problem, and the crack propagation behavior is simulated by step-by-step finite element analyses. In order to evaluate the fatigue lives of marine structures accurately, it is necessary to take into account the load histories induced by sea waves, which may be composed of a random sequence of certain clustered loads with variable stress range. In the proposed crack growth model, the crack opening and closure behavior is simulated by using the modified strip yielding model, and the effective tensile plastic stress intensity range, ΔK _RP, is calculated by considering the contact of plastic wake along the crack surfaces. The adequacy of the proposed crack growth model is examined by comparison with fatigue tests under non-constant-amplitude loading. The usefulness of the developed method is demonstrated for a ship structural detail under certain simulated load sequences. It is shown that the fatigue crack growth of a ship structure is significantly retarded due to the load interaction effects, so that the conventional method for fatigue life assessment may predict a relatively conservative fatigue life of a structure.     

Numerical weight function method for the structural analysis of ships: a speedy direct calculation with condensed structural information

The weight function method was originally derived for crack problems to calculate stress intensity factors for arbitrary loading conditions. In this article, a numerical weight function method has been extended to formulate the structural response analyses of two-dimensional elasticity, plate-bending, and three-dimensional plate-structures by using the finite-element method. The solution procedure is based on the well-known Maxwell–Betti reciprocal theorem, which is applied to the original and properly defined auxiliary problems. The present numerical weight function may be considered as a finite-element version of a Green’s function in an integral equation solution scheme. Although ship structures are certainly analysed by the finite-element method in a practical design procedure, the weight function approach has not yet been realized. The method is very useful for the analysis of structures subjected to a vast range of loading conditions, because structural responses can simply be calculated by the inner product of the universal weight function and load vectors. The validity and convergence characteristics of the present method are investigated by two-dimensional elastic and plate-bending problems, respectively. Finally, the method is applied to the calculation of the response amplitude operator of a stress component at a critical structural detail of a double-hull tanker, and the speed and efficiency of the method are quantitatively discussed based on the practical results.     

Vehicle modeling with the exhaust system and experimental validation to investigate the exhaust vertical vibration characteristics excited by road surface inputs

An 8 degree-of-freedom (DOF) vehicle model is established to investigate the vertical vibration characteristics of an exhaust system excited by road surface inputs. The simplification of an exhaust system relevant to the vehicle model is discussed in detail, including the steps of exhaust modal analysis, definition of mass element, exhaust partitioning, parameter acquisition, and simplified exhaust validation. The vehicle model is developed based on a half-vehicle model, simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK, and validated by comparing the simulation and experiment on various road profiles. Results show that the vehicle model effectively represents the dynamics of the vehicle characteristic in vertical vibration.     

船舶辅机浮筏半主动非线性隔振系统振动特性分析

磁流变阻尼器因其低耗能、响应迅速等特点而被广泛应用。文章采用一种改进的Bingham模型对船舶辅机浮筏隔振装置中的非线性磁流变阻尼力进行建模。该模型简单且含滞后特性,便于理论分析。对建立的船舶辅机浮筏隔振系统的非线性动力学模型,通过平均法求解船舶辅机浮筏半主动隔振系统的理论解,并运用Matlab对理论解进行数值仿真验证。以力传递率作为评价指标,分析了磁流变阻尼器各参数对隔振效果的影响规律。研究结果可为非线性船舶辅机浮筏隔振系统的设计提供理论依据,从而能更有效地控制船舶辅机的振动。     

Exploring the impacts of road surface texture on tyre/road noise - A case study in Hong Kong

The impacts of road surface texture on tyre/road noise are explored by analysing field data applying fast Fourier transform technique to tyre/road noise spectrum analysis. The results indicate that the tyre/road noise can be higher at lower frequency bands but lower at higher bands. Cluster analysis on surface texture in terms of wavelength identified three cluster groups that centred at 1.32 mm, 3.65 mm, and 5.11 mm have different impacts on noise. The shorter wavelength group suppressed tyre/road noise, medium group aggravated it and the high wavelength group were outliers.     

The ratinality of conference pricing and output policies. Part 1 *

The general recession in the international economy and an increasing desire on the part of the developing countries to establish or expand their own national fleets has led to increased protectionism in international shipping. This paper discusses the various aspects of protectionism in the light of the UNCTAD code of conduct for liner and bulk shipping.     

A land‐use planning model for coastal zone management

Abstract

In this article we consider a linear programming model for assessing the aggregate impact of land‐use activities scattered over a large area on the resultant pollutant concentrations in coastal waters. The dispersion to coastal waters of the adverse environmental loads generated by the land uses is described by a set of transport coefficients that measure the attenuation of pollutants, such as industrial BOD, carried to the coast along surface drainage basins. Further dispersion in the waters caused by tidal action is then described by the simple procedure know as “pollution susceptibility.”; The model seeks to minimize the steady‐state concentrations of pollutants by establishing an optimal spatial configuration of residential, commercial, and industrial land uses. This configuration is constrained by a number of restrictions based on local and regional targets for growth and development. The methodology discussed in this article is intended to be useful to regional planners, and is based on a study conducted for the Long Island area.     

A Review of Whale-Watching and Whaling with Applications for the Caribbean

Whale-watching is a significant and growing tourism industry worldwide. Whaling has a long history and, although largely curtailed today, still occurs in a few countries around the world and in the Caribbean. Whaling has been labeled an incompatible activity with whale-watching because, in some cases, it reduces the number of whales available for use and changes whale behavior. Moreover, in some situations, whale-watching generates greater revenue than whaling, and whaling may detrimentally affect the larger tourism industry because of negative attitudes toward whaling by whale-watchers, other tourists, and host communities. This article examines the potential impacts of whaling on the whale-watching and tourism industries, and places these impacts in the Caribbean context. In doing so, the article outlines the history and current status of whale-watching in the Caribbean, outlines other potential constraints, and highlights the need for research about the impacts and roles of these industries. In the highly competitive global tourism industry, maintaining and nurturing a country's tourism image is critically important.     

Electromagnetic valve train for gasoline engine exhaust system

Electromagnetic valve train (EMVT) in camless engine offers large potential for both part load fuel economy and high load engine torque. However, it is more difficult to be applied on exhaust system than intake system. Because the gas pressure brings high demands for driving force, especially at high engine speed and full load. Based on the working characters of actuator, a method by increasing the transient currents in windings during valve’s opening motion is suggested to overcome the gas pressure. But this will cause more energy losses and heat. In order to make the EMVT used on exhaust system better, quantitative analysis is carried out against the additional power consumption caused by gas pressure under different conditions. Furthermore, an approach is introduced to define the optimal exhaust valve opening motion at full load conditions. It aims at making a better compromise between the engine power output and exhaust valves’ power consumption, thus both the efficiency of EMVT and engine performance are enhanced.     

Evaluation of driver satisfaction of travel information on variable message signs using fuzzy aggregation

Driver satisfaction regarding travel information provided by variable message signs (VMS), which are part of the Nam‐Mountain Tunnel ATIS, was evaluated using fuzzy aggregation. Application of fuzzy aggregation to analyze driver satisfaction allows one to represent the variability and complexity of human perception with great fidelity. A fuzzy weighted average using two sets of fuzzy membership functions was applied to evaluate individual satisfactions of delay and travel time information provided. Then, those individual satisfactions were aggregated to estimate the driver group's overall satisfaction. The evaluated overall satisfaction was 0.65 for delay information and 0.63 for travel time information. Through these results, it was found that users of the travel information provided by the VMS in the Nam‐Mountain Tunnel ATIS were somewhat satisfied with the service quality. Those overall satisfactions were compared with a conventional weighted average and traffic operational effects to demonstrate the usefulness of the developed fuzzy method.