Assessment of hub status among Asian ports from a network perspective

This paper proposes a novel network-based hub port assessment (NHPA) model through explicit formulations of connectivity and cooperation indices. Such a model is useful for port operators and policy makers to evaluate the relative influences of various quality characteristics from which carriers base their port choices on and identify port partners. Key insights can be obtained for port authorities to improve their port infrastructures and operations to achieve a competitive and sustainable hub port status. Three comprehensive case studies are conducted to assess the current standings and potentials of major Asian ports within networks of major carriers.     

Do observations adequately resolve the natural variability of oceanic turbulence?

Especially in high Reynolds number, naturally-occurring flows, turbulence is a highly variable process. It is challenging to measure yet it is vital that we do so in order to quantify the internal transports of mass, nutrients, energy and momentum. Isolated turbulence profiles are difficult to interpret; systematic sampling and subsequent averaging are necessary. Confidence in our ability to properly sample turbulence arises from intergroup comparisons, comparisons with other methods to assess mixing coefficients and, most fundamentally, the constraints imposed by the governing fluid dynamics on both energy losses via viscous dissipation caused by turbulence and on the mixing that results from turbulence. Several examples in which fluid processes have been isolated from the full range of oceanic motions are reviewed in this light. These examples show how observationally-derived estimates of turbulence dissipation or mixing are consistent with larger scale constraints. The larger oceanographic problem of defining the full geographic variability of mixing remains.     

Concept for a risk based Navigation Decision Assistant

A concept for a risk based decision support system for navigation of ships that face degrading weather conditions and dangers of damages to a ship at its cargo is outlined. Similar systems exist in various forms, mostly as prototypes, and are based on different ideas of how decision parameters should be communicated to a master as improved basis for decision making. The paper advocates that it is possible to develop a system that systematically is built on risk assessment approaches with the intention of being applicable for a specific ship with a specific loading situation in a real-time environment. The concept is based on modern reliability methodology and relies on state-of-the-art hydrodynamics software and information sources relating to the environment. Based on the various consequences that may occur, the study suggests a selection of limit states and shows how they can be integrated in the decision support system described. The paper presents the risk based concept only while testing of the concept is still in progress.     

Measuring user benefits of changes in the transport system when traveler awareness is limited

This paper derives and illustrates measures for the ex ante evaluation of user benefits associated with improvements in the transport system. In contrast with conventional analyses, we assume that awareness among travelers of changes in the transport system is limited and grows over time. Specifically, we postulate that each day (trip) provides travelers with an opportunity to learn about changes that occurred recently in the transport system. This learning process may involve learning through direct experience and indirect learning through for example social networks or information provision. Our measure of user benefits incorporates the conventional logsum-measure as a special case (when full awareness is assumed) and has a closed form solution under reasonable error term assumptions. A numerical illustration provides a first sign of face validity. We derive and discuss a number of practical implications, and discuss possible model extensions.     

Fatigue analysis of butt welded AH36 steel joints: Thermographic Method and design S–N curve

The traditional methods of fatigue assessment of welded joints have some limitations, and are extremely time consuming. In order to overcome these difficulties, the Thermographic Method (TM), based on thermographic analyses, has been applied to predict the fatigue behaviour of butt welded joints, made of AH36 steel, largely used in shipbuilding. Experimental tests have been carried out to assess the fatigue capability in terms of S–N curves and fatigue limits. The predictions of the fatigue capability obtained resorting to the Thermographic Method show a good agreement with those derived from the traditional procedure. Moreover, the fatigue design recommendations were compared to the experimental data in order to analyse the reliability of the codes.     

Graph Trace Analysis and Generic Algorithms for Interdependent Reconfigurable System Design and Control

This paper discusses current research for development of model-based generic algorithms for design and control of reconfigurable interdependent systems. This work is based on extension of Graph Trace Analysis (GTA), which was originally developed in the 1990s for power distribution system design. Because of GTA's ability to combine and restructure analysis methodologies from a variety of problem domains, it is now being used for integrated power distribution and transmission system design, operations, and control. Over the last few years research has begun to formalize GTA into a multidiscipline approach that uses generic algorithms and a common model-based analysis framework. The paper provides an overview of the concepts used in GTA, and then discusses how GTA and generic algorithms can be used together for design and control of multidiscipline systems. This new approach includes decoupling component and system level equations, using iterators to structure iterative analysis that simplifies coordination of discrete events and also eliminates the need for large matrices, using composition to implement polymorphism and simplify data management, using dependency components to structure analysis across different systems types, and implementation of hot-swappable algorithms.     

Habitat characteristics as determinant of the structure and spatial distribution of epibenthic and demersal communities of Le Danois Bank (Cantabrian Sea, N. Spain)

The purpose of this paper is to detect and describe general trends in the spatial distribution of epibenthic and demersal communities of Le Danois Bank (El Cachucho) in relation to the environmental variables that characterize their habitat by means of multivariate ordination. Data were derived from two multidisciplinary surveys carried out in October 2003 and April 2004 included in the ECOMARG project. The surveys were focused on the study of the physical scenario, including both geological (seabed characterization from bathymetry and backscatter data) and hydrographic features, and the different compartments of the benthic fauna (endobenthic, epibenthic, suprabenthic and demersal communities). For the present study, epibenthos and demersal species were sampled using two different gears, a 3.5 m beam trawl and a Porcupine 39/52 type baca otter trawl respectively. The total species richness combining both samplers ascended to 221, including 71 species of fishes, 65 crustaceans, 35 molluscs, 29 echinoderms, 10 cnidarians and 5 sponges.Multivariate methods were used for the study of the characteristics of communities and habitats. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to calculate and visualize similarities between samples in terms of species composition. To assess the amount of variation of faunal densities related to a set of eight environmental variables, a redundancy analysis (RDA) was used. The set of environmental variables used were: depth, near-bottom temperature and salinity, sedimentary typology (dry weight percentages of coarse sands, medium and fine sands, silt and organic matter) and seafloor reflectivity. Using the spatial distribution of the ranges of depth and seafloor reflectivity that characterize the habitats of the faunal assemblages we defined the spatial distribution of the different communities.The multivariate analysis of 18 beam-trawl samples and 15 otter trawl samples showed the existence of 4 main assemblages associated with the more characteristic habitats of the area. The Callogorgia–Chimaera community live mainly in the areas at the top of the Bank (425–550 m depth), where the sediment coverage is lower and there exists a high presence of rocky outcrops. The Gryphus–Galeus community were found in the areas at the top of the Bank covered by medium and fine sand sediments with low organic matter content. The Phormosoma–Trachyrincus community live on the sedimentary terraces that characterize the Bank break (550–800 m) and the Pheronema–Deania community occupy all the deeper (800–1050 m) sedimentary grounds of the inner basin.     

不同类型逆变器功率损耗和输出电压品质的比较

重点对不同类型逆变器馈电的传动系统的功率损耗和输出电压品质进行了比较,逆变器类型包括采用dv/dt或正弦波滤波器的硬开关逆变器以及谐振或准谐振逆变器.谐振逆变器以ZCS谐振逆变器为代表,准谐振逆变器以直流环节采用高频变压器的ZVS准谐振逆变器为代表,给出了仿真和试验结果.在PSPICE环境下,模型仿真几乎全部使用实物.数字仿真时,采用异步电机和电缆组成的高频模型.实验测量是在现有逆变器实验模型上进行的,此模型专用于检测带有dv/dt(或正弦波)滤波器选件的逆变器功能.测量时使用了LEM Norma D6100功率分析仪和一台基于PC平台的功率分析仪,并采用多功能插件NI-Daq 6024E和在LabVIEW环境下开发的控制软件.     

Variability of the western Galician upwelling system (NW Spain) during an intensively sampled annual cycle. An EOF analysis approach

The key features of the western Galician shelf hydrography and dynamics are analyzed on a solid statistical and experimental basis. The results allowed us to gather together information dispersed in previous oceanographic works of the region. Empirical orthogonal functions analysis and a canonical correlation analysis were applied to a high-resolution dataset collected from 47 surveys done on a weekly frequency from May 2001 to May 2002. The main results of these analyses are summarized bellow. Salinity, temperature and the meridional component of the residual current are correlated with the relevant local forcings (the meridional coastal wind component and the continental run-off) and with a remote forcing (the meridional temperature gradient at latitude 37°N). About 80% of the salinity and temperature total variability over the shelf, and 37% of the residual meridional current total variability are explained by two EOFs for each variable. Up to 22% of the temperature total variability and 14% of the residual meridional current total variability is devoted to the set up of cross-shore gradients of the thermohaline properties caused by the wind-induced Ekman transport. Up to 11% and 10%, respectively, is related to the variability of the meridional temperature gradient at the Western Iberian Winter Front. About 30% of the temperature total variability can be explained by the development and erosion of the seasonal thermocline and by the seasonal variability of the thermohaline properties of the central waters. This thermocline presented unexpected low salinity values due to the trapping during spring and summer of the high continental inputs from the River Miño recorded in 2001. The low salinity plumes can be traced on the Galician shelf during almost all the annual cycle; they tend to be extended throughout the entire water column under downwelling conditions and concentrate in the surface layer when upwelling favourable winds blow. Our evidences point to the meridional temperature gradient acting as an important controlling factor of the central waters thermohaline properties and in the development and decay of the Iberian Poleward Current.     

Recent sedimentary study of the shelf of the Basque country

The Northern Iberian margin of the Spanish Basque country (provinces of Gipuzkoa and Viscaia) is characterized by a narrow continental platform, which receives inputs of riverine particulate matter from the numerous riverine systems located within the Basque country. This particulate matter is subsequently deposited within the Bay of Biscay, and Gouf de Capbreton [Frouin, R., Fiuza, A.F.G., Ambar, I., Boyd, T.J., 1990. Observations of a poleward surface current off the coasts of Portugal and Spain during winter. Journal of Geophysical Research 95 (C1), 679–691]. The main goal of this study is to establish a map of the surface sediment distribution of the Basque continental shelf and more specifically to map the muddy patch located at the eastern side of that continental shelf.Three oceanographic cruises were conducted in 2003 and 2004. From these campaigns 340 surface samples, 12 short cores and 3 gravity cores have been collected over the mid and outer shelf from depths ranging between 50 m and 150 m deep. 3 seismic profiles were obtained across the shelf mud patch using a Sparker device.Sediment grain-size analyses were performed by the classical physical method of sieving and use of settling columns. The POC (Particular Organic Carbon) amounts in sediment and water samples were determined using the Strickland and Parsons' method [Strickland, J.D.H., Parsons, T.R., 1972. Determination of particulate carbon. In : A practical handbook of seawater analysis. Fisheries ResearchBoard of Canada, Ottawa, pp. 207−211] as adapted by Etcheber [Etcheber, H., 1981. Comparaison des diverses méthodes d'évaluation des teneurs en matières en suspension et en carbone organique particulaire des eaux marines du plateau continental aquitain. Journal de Recherche Océanographique VI (2), 37−42]. Radioisotopic measurements (²¹⁰Pb_exc) were made using a semi-planar germanium detector coupled to a multichannel analyser. Radiographical analysis was performed with an X-ray equipment (SCOPIX®) coupled with a radioscopy instrumentation and processing unit.Firstly, a detailed sedimentological map of this shelf has been produced and secondly, geophysical surveys have precisely mapped the geometry of the main mud patch on the continental shelf. In the mud patch itself the rates of sedimentation are between 0.13 and 0.50 cm yr^− 1. The maximum rate of sedimentation is located in the central mud patch, whereas the minimum rate of deposition occurs close to the rocky outcrops. These results seem to be in agreement with the estimation of the total thickness of the mud patch revealed by seismic profiles. The central part corresponds to the maximum thickness of 7 m.Interpretations of the associated oceanic current forcing factors (current direction, wave fetch and wind directional modes) relating to the identified sediment depositional zones are also undertaken.