A mathematical model for acceleration phase of aerodynamically alleviated catamarans and minimizing the time needed to reach final speed

Racing catamarans use aerodynamic alleviation concept which in existing extreme ground effect significantly enhances the performance. Beside design measures, controlling strategies may be employed as convenient solutions to improve the performance and address concerns regarding poor stability in these crafts. Being of substantial importance for a racing catamaran to reach the final speed as soon as possible, this study attempts to find the optimal form of changing the drive angle (as control variable) to minimize its acceleration time. In this regard, a mathematical model is developed for forward acceleration phase of these catamarans based on empirical and theoretical methods. Then the formulation and solution algorithm for the time-optimal problem are described according to an indirect method. Results for a representative racing craft have been presented in uncontrolled and controlled conditions. Problem in controlled condition has been solved without and with a predefined constraint regarding stability margin. Optimal controlling of the drive angle without stability constraint during the acceleration results in 40 % reduction in time required to reach the speed of 110 kn and 14 % reduction in resistance at this speed in comparison to the uncontrolled case. Addition of the stability constraint changes optimal solution for drive angle and causes craft trim angle follow a decreasing trend at higher speeds.     

Do China Mainland and SARs Constitute an Optimal Currency Area?Evidence from Nonlinearity and Stationarity Behavior Testing on Real Exchange Rates

In this article, we use the unrestricted two-regime autoregressive threshold model to test both nonlinearity and stationarity of China’s real exchange rate against its Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARs). Our main finding is that China’s real exchange rate is neither linear nor stationary, indicating that the purchasing power parity does not hold between China Mainland and its two SARs, which implies, to certain extent, the three economies may not meet the condition of constituting an optimal currency area.     

Numerical investigation of characteristics of water-exit ventilated cavity collapse

The collapse of the ventilated cavitation occurring on a cylindrical vehicle during the water-exit is numerically researched. The numerical model employs the finite volume method to solve the multiphase Reynoldsaveraged Navier-Stokes (RNNS) equations and uses the volume of fluid (VOF) method to capture the free surface. A practical water wave environment that the vehicle usually encounters is reproduced in a numerical wave flume, so that the water wave’s effect on the cavity collapse flow regime is investigated. The main feature of the waterexit collapse of a ventilated cavity is studied under the wave-free condition. The result indicates that a collapsing ventilated cavity experiences two stages, in which the pattern of cavity evolution is different. In the early stage, the cavity undergoes a rapid shrinkage as a closed body. In the late stage, the cavity releases gas from the front due to the increase of the cavity pressure. The water wave effect is investigated at three typical wave phases: the wave crest, the wave trough and the wave node. Results show that when the vehicle is launched under the wave node, the cavity collapse regime remains fairly axisymmetric and is similar to the wave-free case. However, when the vehicle is launched under the wave crest and trough, the cavity evolution presents highly three-dimensional (3D) features. The results of predicted cavity size, pressure distributions and hydrodynamic forces at different wave phases show that the wave effect is relatively weak at the wave node but becomes apparent at the wave crest and trough.     

Drops in the bucket? A review of onshore responses to Somali piracy

That piracy needs to be addressed onshore is a widely shared assumption. While the majority of counter-piracy measures focus on the sea, a number of onshore counter-piracy initiatives have been launched. We can observe the seeds of an alternative land-based policy approach. One set of land-based programs aims at strengthening the legal and security state apparatus to better deter and punish pirates. The other set of programs aims at addressing local populations on regional, clan or village levels. Such projects aim at increasing surveillance, sensitizing populations for the consequences of piracy, and providing rehabilitation or alternative livelihood opportunities. In this article, I review the latter type of projects and discuss the promises and difficulties of addressing piracy by such measures. I discuss five major problems: knowledge problems, implementation problems, counterintuitive consequences, tensions towards other parts of counter-piracy strategy, and the securitization of aid.     

The implications of piracy on marine insurance: some considerations for the shipowner

A prominent feature of modern day piracy is the ransom that is demanded for the safe release of the ship, cargo and crew. The recent upsurge of this type of piracy, in areas of the world that are of strategic importance to the shipping industry, has created many challenges for shipowners, underwriters and the law relating to marine insurance. The aim of this paper is to examine how the marine insurance market is being affected by the threat of modern day piracy, and seeks to identify the options that are available for the recovery of a ransom payment by the shipowner. Moreover, this study aims to identify the legal issues that might prevent a shipowner from recovering a ransom payment under an insurance policy or from the other interests in a common adventure. The study establishes that a reasonably made ransom payment by the shipowner will amount to an extraordinary expense that is taken to minimise or avert a loss. Such an act can generally be recovered under the insurance policy as a sue and labour expense or from other interests in the common adventure as a general average expense. However, illegality, unseaworthiness and exemption clauses in a marine policy are identified as being legal issues that may prevent a shipowner from recovering the ransom payment. Some of these problems may be overcome if clauses are carefully drafted to specifically cater for modern day piracy in a marine insurance policy. Several inconsistencies may also be resolved by transferring the piracy peril to war risks cover. The shipowner’s duty is to respond to the changing circumstances, by ensuring that his vessel is sufficiently equipped and the crew is properly trained to resist a hijacking.     

Research of scalability of the belt-type sensor networks

For the large-scale application requirements of the belt-type networks, the mathematical modeling as well as quantitative analysis for the scalability of the network based on average path length is completed in this paper, and the theorem for the scale scalability of the belt-type networks is derived. The theorem provides a calculation formula for the upper limit of node scale theory of the belt-type networks and a calculation formula for the upper limit of single node load theory.     

Interaction of two-dimensional impulsively started airfoils

Continuous vortieity panels were used to model general unsteady inviscid, incompressible, two-dimensional flows. The geometry of the airfoil was approximated by series of short straight segments having endpoints that lie on the actual surface. A piecewise linear, continuous distribution of vorticity over the airfoil surface was used to generate disturbance flow. The no-penetration condition was imposed at the midpoint of each segment and at discrete times. The wake was simulated by a system of point vortices, which moved at local fluid velocity. At each time step, a new wake panel with uniform vortieity distribution was attached to the trailing edge, and the condition of constant circulation around the airfoil and wake was imposed. A new expression for Kutta condition was developed to study the interference effect between two impulsively started NACA0012 airfoils. The tandem arrangement was found to he the most effective to enhance the lift of the rear airfoil. The interference effect between tidal turbine blades was shown clearly.     

Internal Resonances for the Heave Roll and Pitch Modes of a Spar Platform Considering Wave and Vortex Exciting Loads in Heave Main Resonance

The objective of this paper is to study the nonlinear coupling internal resonance of the heave, roll, and pitch response performance of a spar platform when their frequencies are in the ratio of 2:1:1 under wave and vortex exciting loads. The three degree-of-freedom (DOF) nonlinear coupled equations are established by considering a time-varying wet surface with a first-order wave force in heave and pitch and a vortex-induced force in roll. The first-order steady-state response is solved using the multi-scale method in heave main resonance. The multiple solutions of the motion equations are discussed using the analytic method and a numerical simulation. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to test the influence of the damping and internal detuning parameter. The regions of multiple solutions are found, and the jump phenomenon exists with the changes of the wave excitation. The regions of multiple solutions depend on the values of damping and detuning parameter.     

A study of the cabotage policy in Nigeria from the prisms of ship acquisition and shipbuilding

It is trite that shipping is pivotal to the economic development of Nigeria. Aside from significantly contributing to the country’s revenue, shipping is an indispensable aspect of the oil and gas sector, the bastion of Nigeria’s economic, sociopolitical, and infrastructural development. Thus, active participation of Nigerians in the shipping subsector, as well as other sectors, is unassailable and imperative, culminating in the introduction of cabotage in Nigeria. The kernel of this paper is to critically analyse the cabotage regime in Nigeria from the lenses of ship acquisition and shipbuilding with a view to enhancing indigenous participation in coastal and inland waterway transport in the country. The author argues that inadequate funding and absence of investment are central in hampering ship acquisition and the development of shipbuilding capability, thereby undermining cabotage in Nigeria. This paper further asserts that the extant cabotage legal regime in Nigeria is fundamentally flawed due to the existence of waivers without safeguards to protect indigenous ship operators. Moreover, the waiver regime does not encourage technology transfer. The paper concludes by reiterating that adequate funds and investments in human and shipping infrastructural development and the amendment of the Cabotage Act to reflect the removal of surcharges and the inclusion of transfer of technology and other safeguards to the waivers are imperative in ensuring a proper and effective cabotage regime in Nigeria.     

Constrained nested logit model: formulation and estimation

A model of traveller behaviour should recognise the exogenous and endogenous factors that limit the choice set of users. These factors impose constraints on the decision maker, which constraints may be considered implicitly, as soft constraints imposing thresholds on the perception of changes in attribute values, or explicitly as hard constraints. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) To present a constrained nested logit-type choice model to cope with hard constraints. This model is derived from the entropy-maximizing framework. (2) To describe a general framework to deal with (dynamic) non-linear utilities. This approach is based on Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces. The resulting model allows the dynamic aspect and the constraints on the choice process to be represented simultaneously. A novel estimation procedure is introduced in which the utilities are viewed as the parameters of the proposed model instead of attribute weights as in the classical linear models. A discussion on over-specification of the proposed model is presented. This model is applied to a synthetic test problem and to a railway service choice problem in which users choose a service depending on the timetable, ticket price, travel time and seat availability (which imposes capacity constraints). Results show (1) the relevance of incorporating constraints into the choice models, (2) that the constrained models appear to be a better fit than the counterpart unconstrained choice models; and (3) the viability of the approach, in a real case study of railway services on the Madrid–Seville corridor (Spain).