Analyzing the dispersion of cargo vapors around a ship’s superstructure by means of wind tunnel experiments

In a previous study, it was found that cargo tank operations like cleaning and venting, lead to higher cargo vapor concentrations around the ship’s superstructure. Can wind tunnel experiments confirm these findings? Is there an improvement when using higher outlets at high velocities compared to lower outlets with a low outlet velocity? Is there a relation between relative wind speed and measured concentration? These questions were investigated in the Peutz wind tunnel. By using a tracer gas for the wind tunnel experiments, concentration coefficients have been calculated for various settings. The study shows that using high-velocity outlets is an efficient way to keep concentrations as low as possible. The only exception is for relative wind directions from the bow. In this last case using a manhole as ventilation outlet leads to lower concentrations. With increasing wind speeds the building downwash effect resulted in higher concentration coefficients near the main deck. This study confirms our on-board measurements and suggests the lowering of the ventilation inlet of the accommodation, so that the high-velocity outlet can be used safely at all times.     

The UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the maritime transport domain: the role and challenges of IMO and its stakeholders through a grounded theory perspective

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) officially adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together with 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) (UN, 2016). The attainment of the SDGs requires a strong commitment by all UN Member States, not least by the Member States at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This empirical research aims to identify the role and challenges of stakeholders at IMO, when implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda in the international maritime transport domain using a grounded theory approach. This paper describes the methodology and the analytical process undertaken and presents the main findings based on empirical data. The results are presented as a set of six propositions. The first proposition presents the phenomena engulfing Member States at IMO stemming out from lack of knowledge and policy incoherency on the 2030 Agenda at national level. The other five propositions suggest how these challenges could potentially be best alleviated through an IMO-led strategy on sustainable development within the context of the 2030 Agenda, supported by an appropriate governance structure that sees the introduction of strategic actors for coordinating the implementation of the SDGs at national level. With the support of a Task Force, and by also making use of the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), to create more awareness and ownership, the strategic actors could work towards balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development—the economic, the environmental, and the social dimensions—which were found to be imbalanced in the international maritime transport domain.     

A review of the effect of a／W ratio on fracture toughness （Ⅰ）—experimental investigation in EPFM

Many experimental investigations have previously been performed and recently done on different shipbuilding structural steels where the specimens size and crack depth/specimen width (a/W) were varied. A series of interesting results have been gained. It is worthwhile to have a review on the effect of a/W ratio on fracture toughness, and further theoretical analysis is necessary. In this paper, experimental work in elasticplastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) was discussed. Tests had been carried out on 10 kinds of strength steels. Results showed that J _i and δ₁ values increased with decreasing a/W when a/W<0.3 for three-point bend specimens and that shallow crack specimens which have less constrained flow field give markedly higher values of toughness than deeply notched specimens. However, for a/W>0.3, the toughness was found to be independent of a/W. Slip line field analysis shows that for shallow cracks, the hydrostatic stress is lower than that from standard deeply cracked bend specimen which develops a high level of crack tip constraint, provides a lower bound estimate of toughness, and will ensure an unduly conservative approach when applied to structure defects especially if initiation values of COD/J-integral are used.     

Simulators in bridge operations training and assessment: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis

This article presents a systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the use of simulators in maritime education and training (MET), with a focus on bridge operations during navigation training and assessment. The review found 34 articles published in a wide range of academic journals, displaying a global field of research consisting of three main disciplines: Maritime professionals (n = 15), Human factors (n = 13) and Education (n = 6). An important conclusion made after synthesising the results of the studies is that while the potential of using simulators in training and assessment are clear, little is known about which instructional practices would ensure valid and reliable results of simulator-based education. Since MET institutions train their students for one of the most safety-critical industries in the world, there is a need for empirical studies that explore the use of simulator-based training and assessment further to lay the foundation for an evidence-based educational practice.     

Analysis of ship drifting in a narrow channel using Automatic Identification System (AIS) data

With maritime transportation has played an important role in global economy development, ship traffic has become more congested. Therefore, ships navigate under risk conditions, and thus maritime accidents have occurred frequently. Especially, ship passing through a narrow channel is even more dangerous. Because, the ships are easy to be affected by external forces such as wind and currents that can cause ship drifts. Many latent risks are present during navigation. In order for the development of a sensible and appropriate traffic model for the safety and efficiency ship navigation, this study has focused on the actual ship behavior to understand the ship drift in the Kurushima Strait, Japan, which is one of the most dangerous routes in Japan. The analysis of ship behavior was carried out using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. As a result, the ships drift was understood in detail, and the latent risk was unveiled when ships pass through the narrow route. Moreover, the risk areas were obtained and visualized by the ship drift behavior analysis. The obtained results can be applied to ensure safe navigation and the development of an eco-friendly and economy efficient for ship navigation.     

SiMoCo: the viability of a prototype platform for a coastal monitoring system: a case study

Coastal zones are among the most productive areas in the world, offering a wide variety of valuable habitats and ecosystems services. Despite the low population density in the Brazilian coastal zone, their distribution is quite concentrated near some coastal cities and state capitals. This concentration places enormous pressure on coastal resources. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to present an overview on the current status of SiMoCo (Sistema de Monitoramento Costeiro, or Coastal Monitoring System in English) project as a possible early warning system that can be integrated to the Brazilian Coastal Management Information System. This prototype platform provides a real-time access to the composition, organization and simulation of planktonic communities. First, our results demonstrate such a system detecting a target dinoflagellate; second, we apply structural and functional indexes to compare and characterize the ecological networks from two different coastal areas. Conclusions are made about SiMoCo’s feasibility and its possible contribution to the decision-making process within integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) strategies.     

An improved modal strain energy method for damage detection in offshore platform structures

The development of robust damage detection methods for offshore structures is crucial to prevent catastrophes caused by structural failures. In this research, we developed an Improved Modal Strain Energy (IMSE) method for detecting damage in offshore platform structures based on a traditional modal strain energy method (the Stubbs index method). The most significant difference from the Stubbs index method was the application of modal frequencies. The goal was to improve the robustness of the traditional method. To demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed IMSE method, both numerical and experimental studies were conducted for different damage scenarios using a jacket platform structure. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the IMSE method in damage location when only limited, spatially incomplete, and noise-polluted modal data is available. Comparative studies showed that the IMSE index outperformed the Stubbs index and exhibited stronger robustness, confirming the superiority of the proposed approach.     

Effects of a classroom-based bridge resource management training on knowledge,attitudes, behaviour and performance of junior naval officers

This study asses the effectiveness of classroom-based bridge resource management (BRM) training for junior naval officers, in which general principles of human behaviour and performance in teams and under stress were conveyed. Although BRM training is recommended by the International Maritime Organization and is increasingly common in seafaring, very little is known about whether the adaptation of crew resource management (CRM) training from aviation to the maritime domain has been successful and what type of training is effective. A study with a quasi-experimental, two-factorial mixed design was conducted with BRM training as the between factor and time as the within factor. For 117 study participants, evaluation criteria were assessed on all levels as defined by Kirkpatrick (Train Dev J, 178–192 1979): subjective training evaluation, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour as well as performance while commanding a vessel during a real-world exercise. BRM participants showed better subjective training evaluations and more BRM-related knowledge than controls. Training did not produce differences between groups regarding BRM-related attitudes, the demonstration of non-technical skills or the overall success in the real-world exercise. Overall, BRM training effectiveness was rather low, which can most probably be attributed to the focus of training on generalizable knowledge, skills and attitudes at the expense of their specific application to the context of the real-world exercise. In the design of BRM and CRM training courses alike, the effective application of general principles to a given context must be defined, and the application must be emphasised during training delivery.     

A simple method to solve the network congestion for spitial architcture

Scheduling algorithm always plays an important role in the spatial architecture for the contradiction between the finite network bandwidth and the abundant execution resources. This article provides a simple method to solve the contention for network resource in one of the spatial architecture, i.e. the tera-op, reliable, intelligently adaptive processing system (TRIPS) processor. The method improves the performance of network by increasing the bypass bandwidth which can transmit the data in the internal of every execution unit, and converting the proportion of remote communication by the deep scheduling algorithm. The deeply optimized algorithm is realized to verify the validity of the method, and the performance increase 9% for floating point spec2000 benchmark is got.     

Substructuring technique for dynamics analysis of flexible beams with large deformation

In this paper, the substructuring technique is extended for the dynamics simulation of flexible beams with large deformation. The dynamics equation of a spatial straight beam undergoing large displacement and small deformation is deduced by using the Jourdain variation principle and the model synthesis method. The longitudinal shortening effect due to the transversal deformation is taken into consideration in the dynamics equation. In this way, the geometric stiffening effect, which is also called stress stiffening effect, is accounted for in the dynamics equation. The transfer equation of the flexible beam is obtained by assembling the dynamics equation and the kinematic relationship between the two connection points of the flexible beam. Treating a flexible beam with small deformation as a substructure, one can solve the dynamics of a flexible beam with large deformation by using the substructuring technique and the transfer matrix method. The dynamics simulation of a flexible beam with large deformation is carried out by using the proposed approach and the results are verified by comparing with those obtained from Abaqus software.