Course-keeping control of underactuated hovercraft

The course-keeping control of underactuated hovercraft with two aft propellers was considered. The control of the heading error and cross-track error was accomplished by the yaw torque merely in this case. The hovercraft dynamic model is nonlinear and underactuated. At first the Controllability of course-keeping control for hovercraft was proved, then a course-keeping control law was derived that keeps hovercraft heading constant as well as minimizes the lateral movement of hovercraft. The proposed law guarantees heading error and sway error all converge to zero exponentially. Simulation tests were carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control law. For further research, the disturbance influence would be considered in the dynamic equations.     

Image segmentation based on competitive learning

lmage segment is a primat.‘y step in image analysis of unexploded ordnance (UXO) detection by ground penetrating radar (GPR) sensor which is accompanied with a lot of noises and other elements that affect the recognition of real target size. In this paper we bring forward a new theory, that is, we look the weight sets as target vector sets which is the new cues in semi-automatic segmentation to form the final image segmentation. The experiment results show that the measure size of target with our method is much smaller than the size with other methods and close to the real size of target.     

Feasibility study for the application of air inflated membrane structure in China National Stadium

China National Stadium, also known as “Bird’s Nest”, is the main stadium of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, which has successfully held not only the Opening and the Closing ceremonies but also the track and field events. A new problem of rain preventing is brought out to improve the utilization of the Bird’s Nest after the Olympic Games. The scheme of installing an air inflated membrane at the opening of the steel structure is proposed in this paper to solve the rainproof problem of the Bird’s Nest. The form-finding and mechanical analyses of the air inflated membrane are carried out. Comparison between the mechanical performance and dynamical character before and after installing the air inflated membrane structure is given. To verify the analysis results, based on the practical structure of the Bird’s Nest, a test of a 1:20 model membrane is worked out.     

Casualty analysis of large tankers

This article presents detailed results of a comprehensive analysis of recorded accidents of large oil tankers (deadweight greater than 80 000 tonnes) occurring between 1978 and 2003. The analysis encompasses a thorough review of available raw accident data and their postprocessing in a way to produce appropriate statistics useful for the implementation of risk-based assessment methodologies. The processing of the captured data led to the identification of significant qualitative historical trends of tanker accidents and of quantitative characteristics of large tanker accidents, such as overall accident rates per ship-year. Data were also analyzed for all major accident categories separately, taking into account tanker ship size/type, the degree of accident severity, and the oil spill tonne rates per ship-year; this led to the identification of heavily polluted worldwide geographical areas as a result of large tanker accidents.     

Phase change analysis of an underwater glider propelled by the ocean＇s thermal energy

The phase change characteristic of the power source of an underwater glider propelled by the ocean＇s thermal energy is the key factor in glider attitude control. A numerical model has been established based on the enthalpy method to analyze the phase change heat transfer process under convective boundary conditions. Phase change is not an isothermal process, but one that occurs at a range of temperature. The total melting time of the material is very sensitive to the surrounding temperature. When the temperature of the surroundings decreases 8 degrees, the total melting time increases 1.8 times. But variations in surrounding temperature have little effect on the initial temperature of phase change, and the slope of the temperature time history curve remains the same. However, the temperature at which phase change is completed decreases significantly. Our research shows that the phase change process is also affected by container size, boundary conditions, and the power source＇s cross sectional area. Materials stored in 3 cylindrical containers with a diameter of 38ram needed the shortest phase change time. Our conclusions should be helpful in effective design of underwater glider power systems.     

The ISM Code and the ISPS Code: A critical legal analysis of two SOLAS regimes

Within the comprehensive body of law encompassed by the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS), there are two regimes that are topical and outstanding in the current maritime milieu. These are the international safety management and the international ship and port facility regimes, both characterized by two codes serving as the centre of gravity of each, namely, the ISM Code and the ISPS Code, respectively. In this article the concept of the code as a legal instrument is perused following which a critical legal analysis is carried out of the two above-mentioned Codes, including their backgrounds, the evolutionary process culminating into the regimes and their interrelationships. Several anomalies and inadequacies in the two regimes are identified but in the final analysis it is concluded that both instruments are salutary additions to the body of convention law generated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). They will undoubtedly influence the continuing development of international law in the field of maritime safety and security.     

The place of the ISPS Code in the legal international regime

The adoption of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) is the latest response of the international shipping community to the increasing threat posed by acts of terrorism at sea. The ACHILLE LAURO incident of 1985 showed that the traditional law against piracy was not adequate to deal with new types of unlawful acts against international shipping, especially those involving acts of terrorism. The 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention) and the technical and administrative measures adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of IMO in 1986 and 1996 attempted to develop a broader regime to deal with unlawful acts against international shipping.However, the events of September 11, 2001 showed that additional measures were still needed to prevent terrorist attacks against ships.     

From privilege to peril

This article addresses the growing concern over the diminishing legal rights and increasing responsibilities of those in command of ships today. A number of high-profile maritime accidents have focussed on the dilemma faced by shipmasters who appear to be held responsible for actions over which they have little or no control. This seems to indicate that the traditional privilege and honour associated with command appears to have become a risky burden. The article discusses the legal rights and responsibilities that shipmasters have today in terms of international maritime law and policy. Four case studies are utilized to illustrate the problem.     

The effect of plastic constraint on the initiation of ductile tears in shipbuilding structural steels

In this paper, the effect of plastic constraint on the initiation of ductile tears in four different shipbuilding structural steels has been experimentally studied by measuring the J-integral and crack opening displacement COD at initiation in three-point bend specimens with deep and shallow notches. Experimental results of seven groups of different strength alloy steels show that both Si and Ji values of ductile tear from the shallow crack specimens which have less constraint flow field are significantly higher than those of deeply notched specimens. Slip-line-field analysis shows that, for shallow crack, 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 structural defects, especially if initiation values of COD and J-integral are used.