Innovation processes within the healthcare industry: Determining critical success factors aligned to product strategies

The impact of differing product strategies on product innovation processes pursued by healthcare firms is discussed. The critical success factors aligned to product strategies are presented. A definite split between pioneering product strategies and late entrant product strategies is also recognised.

Can fundamental shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction research be relevant to inlet aerodynamics?

The important influence of shock waves on supersonic inlet performance has led to much time and effort being expended in the area of shock wave/boundary layer interaction research (SWBLI) and SWBLI control. In this short review, the impact of SWBLIs on supersonic inlet aerodynamic research is discussed and is contrasted with fundamental SWBLI research. Inlet research focussed on internal flow performance is reviewed, based on the salient results, conclusions, and the limitations of such work. The role of fundamental SWBLI research in relation to supersonic inlet research is considered, and the possible positive impact of improving the link between fundamental SWBLI research and inlet design is considered. A simple flow-field is discussed which is thought to be able to simulate at least some more of the flow physics found in a typical inlet. A brief review of real inlet parameters is then given to help determine appropriate fundamental experimental parameters such as incoming Mach number, incoming boundary-layer thickness and subsonic difiuser angle. Copyright © 2012 by N. Titchener, H. Babinsky, and E. Loth.

A canonical normal SBLI flow relevant to external compression inlets

The normal shock wave / boundary layer interaction (normal SBLI) is important to the operation and performance of a supersonic inlet, and the normal SBLI is particularly prominent in external compression inlets. To improve our understanding of such interactions, it is helpful to make use of fundamental flows which capture the main elements of inlets, without resorting to the level of complexity and system integration associated with full-geometry inlets. In this paper, several fundamental fiow-fleld configurations have been considered as possible test cases to represent the normal SBLI aspects found in typical external compression inlets, and it was found that the spillage-diffuser more closely retains the basic flow features of an external compression inlet than the other configurations. In particular, this flow-fleld allows the normal shock Mach number as well as the amount and rate of subsonic diffusion to be all held approximately constant mid independent of the application of flow control. In addition, a survey of several external compression inlets was conducted to quantify the flow and geometric parameters of the spillage-diffuser relevant to actual inlets. The results indicated that such a flow may be especially relevant if the terminal Mach number is about 1.3 to 1.4, the confinement parameter is around 10%, the width around twice or three times the height, and with the area expansion just downstream of the shock on the conservative side of the stall limit for incompressible diffusers. © 2013 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canonical normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction flows relevant to external compression inlets

The normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction is important to the operation and performance of a supersonic inlet, and the normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction is particularly prominent in external compression inlets. To improve understanding of such interactions, it is helpful to make use of fundamental flows that capture the main elements of inlets, without resorting to the level of complexity and system integration associated with full-geometry inlets. In this paper, several fundamental flowfield configurations have been considered as possible test cases to represent the normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction aspects found in typical external compression inlets, and it was found that the spillage diffuser more closely retains the basic flow features of an external compression inlet than the other configurations. In particular, this flowfield allows the normal shock Mach number as well as the amount and rate of subsonic diffusion to all be held approximately constant and independent of the application of flow control. In addition, a survey of several external compression inlets was conducted to quantify the flow and geometric parameters of the spillage diffuser relevant to actual inlets. The results indicated that such a flow may be especially relevant if the terminal Mach number is about 1.3 to 1.4, the confinement parameter is around 10%, and the width is around twice or three times the height. In addition, the area expansion downstream of the shock should be limited to the conservative side of incipient stall based on incompressible diffusers. Copyright © 2013 by the authors.

Factors affecting seismic response of submarine slopes

The response of submerged slopes on the continental shelf to seismic or storm loading has become an important element in the risk assessment for offshore structures and "local" tsunami hazards worldwide. The geological profile of these slopes typically includes normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated soft cohesive soils with layer thickness ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters. The factor of safety obtained from pseudo-static analyses is not always a useful measure for evaluating the slope response, since values less than one do not necessarily imply slope failure with large movements of the soil mass. This paper addresses the relative importance of different factors affecting the response of submerged slopes during seismic loading. The analyses use a dynamic finite element code which includes a constitutive law describing the anisotropic stress-strain-strength behavior of normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated clays. The model also incorporates anisotropic hardening to describe the effect of different shear strain and stress histories as well as bounding surface principles to provide realistic descriptions of the accumulation of the plastic strains and excess pore pressure during successive loading cycles. The paper presents results from parametric site response analyses on slope geometry and layering, soil material parameters, and input ground motion characteristics. The predicted maximum shear strains, permanent deformations, displacement time histories and maximum excess pore pressure development provide insight of slope performance during a seismic event. © 2006 Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.