Modelling multiple yacht sailing interactions between upwind sailing yachts

An approach for enhancing the realism of yacht fleet race simulations based on a lifting line method is developed. The wake of an upwind sailing yacht is represented as a single heeled horseshoe vortex and image system. At each time step, changes in vortex strength are convected into the wake as a pair of vortex line elements. These subsequently move in accordance with the local wind, the self-induced velocity and the velocity induced by the presence of the wakes of other yachts. In addition, the lifting line model has a model for the viscous wake due to the drag associated with the yacht and its sails superimposed on it. A synthesis of sail yacht wake representations based on detailed 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics calculations with wind tunnel test results is used to capture the initial strength of the combined main-jib vortex system and its vertical height. The implementation of the lifting line algorithm within Robo-Race, a real-time yacht race strategy analysis tool, is described. Two upwind race interaction case studies are presented, and these show that the newly implemented wake model makes an important contribution to enhancing the realism of the sailing simulation.     

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006—reflections on challenges for flag State implementation

This paper begins by providing a brief overview of the International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), noting that this Convention, often called the “Seafarers’ bill of rights”, seeks to achieve both social and labour rights (“decent work”) for seafarers and fair competition (achieving a level-playing field) for shipowners. It has been described as the “fourth pillar” of the international maritime regulatory regime complementing the major International Maritime Organization conventions. The paper provides a brief update on international efforts to achieve the 30/33 formula needed to bring the Convention into force [at present, the tonnage element, 33% has been achieved already with coverage now at 54% of the world fleet (by gross tonnage), with 18 ratifications]. It then explores challenges faced by flag States in connection with capacity to implement the ship inspection and certification system under the MLC, 2006 and other difficulties with respect to legal implementation by the flag States. The paper also comments on some challenges in connection with port State, coastal State and labour-supplying State responsibilities. The paper points out that the MLC, 2006 is a comprehensive code that covers diverse issues and a wider range of both ships and seafarers than previous conventions. It often requires interdepartmental cooperation to implement its requirements at the national level. The paper concludes that, despite the slower pace of ratification in some regions, largely because of the recent economic and other crises, it appears that many actors in the maritime sector are already actively engaged in MLC, 2006 implementation, often ahead of governments. The question is not “if” but “when” the formula will be achieved to allow the MLC, 2006 to enter into force.     

e-Navigation and situation-dependent manoeuvring assistance to enhance maritime emergency response

Safe ship handling in every situation and under all prevailing circumstances of ship status and the environment is a core element contributing to the safety of the maritime transportation system. Especially in case of emergencies, there is a need for quick, accurate and reliable information to manoeuvre a ship safely. This paper focusses on investigations into enhanced response to maritime emergencies by means of onboard manoeuvring support. The research and discussions are done exemplarily for person overboard (PoB) accidents. PoB is a typical situation for application of manoeuvring assistance and decision support, e.g. in order to return quickly to the position of the accident. Based on the analysis of selected accident case studies and existing solutions representing the technical state-of-the-art, shortcomings will be identified and discussed, and a potential approach for advanced manoeuvring support in the context of e-Navigation-based requirements will be introduced and discussed.     

Analytics: The real-world use of big data in financial services studying with judge system events

“Big data” which admittedly means many things to many people is no longer confined to the realm of technology. Today it is a business imperative and is providing solutions to long-standing business challenges for banking and financial markets companies around the world. Financial services firms are leveraging big data to transform their processes, their organizations and the entire industry. Since 2012, the term “big data” has frequently been mentioned and used to describe and define the huge amount of data in the information explosive era and to name related technological development and innovation. As to the police work, the coming of big data era is not only a challenge but also an opportunity. Police agencies should go with the tide of development to start with such aspects as work thinking, top design, public information sharing and application and talent provision so as to promote the new development and progress of police work. This paper expounds the practical effect and significance of police big data application by cases happened in some areas.     

On-line adaptive repetitive controller for power factor correction systems

When the fundamental frequency is shifting, it is hard for traditional repetitive controller to work at the resonant frequencies. In this paper, a novel adaptive repetitive controller for power factor correction systems is proposed to suppress the current harmonics. Through the controller, the shifting sampling times of the repetitive controller in a fundamental period can be obtained. Mathematical analysis, simulations and physical experiments have validated the effectiveness of the adaptive repetitive controller.     

Saliency motivated pulse coupled neural network for underwater laser image segmentation

The detection range of underwater laser imaging technology achieves 4—6 times of detection range of conventional camera in intervening water medium, which makes it very promising in oceanic research, deep sea exploration and robotic works. However, the special features in underwater laser images, such as speckle noise and non-uniform illumination, bring great difficulty for image segmentation. In this paper, a novel saliency motivated pulse coupled neural network(SM-PCNN) is proposed for underwater laser image segmentation. The pixel saliency is used as external stimulus of neurons. For improvement of convergence speed to optimal segmentation, a gradient descent method based on maximum two-dimensional Renyi entropy criterion is utilized to determine the dynamic threshold. On the basis of region contrast in each iteration step, the real object regions are effectively distinguished,and the robustness against speckle noise and non-uniform illumination is improved by region selection. The proposed method is compared with four other state-of-the-art methods which are watershed, fuzzy C-means, meanshift and normalized cut methods. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method to allow more accurate segmentation and higher robustness.     

Causality of future and spot grain prices between China and the US: Evidence from soybean and corn markets against the surging import pressure

As the boom of the world grain market phases out, the challenge for Chinese government has gradually moved from retarding grain exports to restraining imports. This study tries to examine the causalities of soybean and corn price movement among the United States (US) future market, Chinese domestic future market and Chinese spot markets. We find that the daily prices of all these three types of grains belong to I(1) series, and there are long-run integrations. Also Chinese soybean future prices adjust more quickly than its spot prices, while Chinese corn future prices adjust slower. This paper finds that the soybean price movement originates from the US future market, then passes through Chinese future market, and finally reaches Chinese spot market, while the corn price movement starts in Chinese spot market, then spreads to the future markets in both China and the US. Finally, this paper also provides some policy implications on how to release the pressure from the grain imports.     

Optimization design and experiment of the radio frequency transmission utilized in video capsule endoscope

In view of fuzzy and unstable images received in video capsule endoscopy, and the poor communication effect, an improved radio frequency (RF) transmission circuit module with low power consumption and helix antenna is designed to improve the performance of video transmission and to extend the working time of the capsule. Simulation and analysis of the circuits and antenna with HFSS12 and ADS2011 software are highlighted. Video capsule endoscope prototypes are made and evaluated to verify the feasibility of the proposed design. In vitro tests and animal experiments show that the results of the antenna tests basically meet the simulation, and the power consumption of RF circuit is 15.9mV. The video capsule endoscope works well with the receiver with multiple receiving antennas, and the working time is more than 9 h. It can realize the wireless transmission of the video data, and images received are clear and stable in comparison with the previous designs.     

Study of tunnel thruster performance and flow by quasi-steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation

A numerical approach based on the solution of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS) equations using the shear-stress transport(SST) turbulence model has been employed to investigate the hydrodynamic performance and flow of tunnel thrusters.The flow passages between adjacent blades are discretized with prismatic cells so that the boundary layer flow is resolved down to the viscous sub-layer.The hydrodynamic performances predicted by the quasi-steady approach agree well with the experimental data for three impellers covering a range of blade area and pitch.Through analysis of the flow field,the reason why the hub of impeller also contributes to thrust which can amount to 40%—60% of the impeller thrust,and the mechanism of the impeller inducing an axial force on the hull are elucidated.     

Modelling upgrading maintenance policy in the one-dimensional renewing warranty period

In the one-dimensional renewing warranty period, the quality of the spares for product is likely to be improved during the warranty period. Therefore, upgrading maintenance becomes more and more common. Then the manufacturers (customers) may have to decide whether or not to provide (buy) the warranty considering upgrading maintenance. This paper presents a mathematical model considering upgrading maintenance for products with multiple failure modes. Upgrading maintenance is taken into account with the assumption that the warranted item is upgraded one time during the warranty cycle. The upgrading maintenance is carried out, when the corrective maintenance is taken place. After upgrading maintenance, the high-quality spares are used to replace the failed item. In the numerical example, the results of the models are calculated. Monte Carlo simulation results are compared with the analytical results to demonstrate the correctness and efficiency of the proposed models considering upgrading maintenance.