Structural optimization approach for specially shaped composite tank in spacecrafts

This study proposes an optimized approach of designing in which a model specially shaped composite tank for spacecrafts is built by applying finite element analysis. The composite layers are preliminarily designed by combining quasi-network design method with numerical simulation, which determines the ratio between the angle and the thickness of layers as the initial value of the optimized design. By adopting an adaptive simulated annealing algorithm, the angles and the numbers of layers at each angle are optimized to minimize the weight of structure. Based on this, the stacking sequence of composite layers is formulated according to the number of layers in the optimized structure by applying the enumeration method and combining the general design parameters. Numerical simulation is finally adopted to calculate the buckling limit of tanks in different designing methods. This study takes a composite tank with a cone-shaped cylinder body as example, in which ellipsoid head section and outer wall plate are selected as the object to validate this method. The result shows that the quasi-network design method can improve the design quality of composite material layer in tanks with complex preliminarily loading conditions. The adaptive simulated annealing algorithm can reduce the initial design weight by 30%, which effectively probes the global optimal solution and optimizes the weight of structure. It can be therefore proved that, this optimization method is capable of designing and optimizing specially shaped composite tanks with complex loading conditions.

Sneak peek: Dance audience relationships during open rehearsals

Over the past decade there has been a surge of interest in behind-the-scenes events from mainstream dance companies and audiences alike. Online videos, open classes, open rehearsals, and backstage tours all provide insights for audiences about daily life in a dance company and how dance work is made. This article focuses on the use of open rehearsals in studio sites and investigates audience experience and relationship with dancers during these events. Applying Clare Dyson’s (2010) scales of audience engagement, I analyse two open rehearsal models that I observed as an audience participant in 2013: Friends Open Days with English National Ballet (London), and Inner Workings with Chunky Move (Melbourne). Through this analysis, open rehearsals emerge as an experience with elements reminiscent of both the traditional presentation paradigm and non-traditional presentation models. Elements such as close audience-dancer proximity, authenticity, and experiences in liminal sites, such as staircases and green rooms, present the possibility of new audience-dancer relationship within the mainstream dance company context.

Test-retest reliability of graph theory measures of structural brain connectivity

The human connectome has recently become a popular research topic in neuroscience, and many new algorithms have been applied to analyze brain networks. In particular, network topology measures from graph theory have been adapted to analyze network efficiency and 'small-world' properties. While there has been a surge in the number of papers examining connectivity through graph theory, questions remain about its test-retest reliability (TRT). In particular, the reproducibility of structural connectivity measures has not been assessed. We examined the TRT of global connectivity measures generated from graph theory analyses of 17 young adults who underwent two high-angular resolution diffusion (HARDI) scans approximately 3 months apart. Of the measures assessed, modularity had the highest TRT, and it was stable across a range of sparsities (a thresholding parameter used to define which network edges are retained). These reliability measures underline the need to develop network descriptors that are robust to acquisition parameters.

Introduction: Mapping the Contours of East Asian Commercial Law for the Asian Century

The centre of economic gravity in the new century is shifting to the East. Since 200 1, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asia's contribution to world economic growth has matched that of the United States and Europe combined, and, since 2006, has even exceeded it (IMF, 20 I I; Neumann and Arora, 20 II ). This surge is easy to explain: China has emerged as a global super-power; Japan remains the third-largest world economy, despite only recently emerging from over twenty years of economic stagnation (The Age, 2013); South Korea and the ' tiger ' economies of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have achieved high-level economic development through capital investment and technological innovation; and Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia have supplied riches in labour and resources to the regional economy (Macintyre and Naughton, 2005, p. 78). A growing middle class is lifting consumption. ‘Billions of Asians,' writes Mahbubani (2008, p. 3), 'are marching to modernity.’ This book examines scholarly interpretations for the role commercial law has played in East Asia's economic rise. At first blush, this might seem a daunting task. After all, as some theorists have argued, the East Asian experience is largely neglected in writings on Jaw generally and commercial law more broadly (Wolff, 20 12). This is because law, as a discipline, was largely forged in the prior European and American centuries; these 'Anglo-American moorings' ill-serve legal analysis in the new Asian Century (Cossman, 1997, p. 539).

Control of Ship Roll Motion

The undesirable effects of roll motion of ships (rocking about the longitudinal axis) became noticeable in the mid-nineteenth century when significant changes were introduced to the design of ships as a result of sails being replaced by steam engines and the arrangement being changed from broad to narrow hulls. The combination of these changes led to lower transverse stability (lower restoring moment for a given angle of roll) with the consequence of larger roll motion. The increase in roll motion and its effect on cargo and human performance lead to the development several control devices that aimed at reducing and controlling roll motion. The control devices most commonly used today are fin stabilizers, rudder, anti-roll tanks, and gyrostabilizers. The use of different types of actuators for control of ship roll motion has been amply demonstrated for over 100 years. Performance, however, can still fall short of expectations because of difficulties associated with control system design, which have proven to be far from trivial due to fundamental performance limitations and large variations of the spectral characteristics of wave-induced roll motion. This short article provides an overview of the fundamentals of control design for ship roll motion reduction. The overview is limited to the most common control devices.

Memory of past random wave conditions in submarine groundwater discharge

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an integral part of the hydrological cycle and represents an important aspect of land-ocean interactions. We used a numerical model to simulate flow and salt transport in a nearshore groundwater aquifer under varying wave conditions based on yearlong random wave data sets, including storm surge events. The results showed significant flow asymmetry with rapid response of influxes and retarded response of effluxes across the seabed to the irregular wave conditions. While a storm surge immediately intensified seawater influx to the aquifer, the subsequent return of intruded seawater to the sea, as part of an increased SGD, was gradual. Using functional data analysis, we revealed and quantified retarded, cumulative effects of past wave conditions on SGD including the fresh groundwater and recirculating seawater discharge components. The retardation was characterized well by a gamma distribution function regardless of wave conditions. The relationships between discharge rates and wave parameters were quantifiable by a regression model in a functional form independent of the actual irregular wave conditions. This statistical model provides a useful method for analyzing and predicting SGD from nearshore unconfined aquifers affected by random waves

Study of Pinna nobilis growth from inner record: How biased are posterior adductor muscle scars estimates?

Previous studies have shown that the external growth records of the posterior adductor muscle scar (PAMS) of the bivalve Pinna nobilis are incomplete and do not produce accurate age estimations. We have developed a new methodology to study age and growth using the inner record of the PAMS, which avoids the necessity of costly in situ shell measurements or isotopic studies. Using the inner record we identified the positions of PAMS previously obscured by nacre and estimated the number of missing records in adult specimens with strong abrasion of the calcite layer in the anterior portion of the shell. The study of the PAMS and inner record of two shells that were 6 years old when collected showed that only 2 and 3 PAMS were observed, while 6 inner records could be counted, thus confirming our working methodology. Growth parameters of a P. nobilis population located in Moraira, Spain (western Mediterranean) were estimated with the new methodology and compared to those obtained using PAMS data and in situ measurements. For the comparisons, we applied different models considering the data alternatively as length-at-age (LA) and tag-recapture (TR). Among every method we tested to fit the Von Bertalanffy growth model, we observed that LA data from inner record fitted to the model using non-linear mixed effects and the estimation of missing records using the calcite width was the most appropriate. The equation obtained with this method, L = 573*(1 - e(-0.16(t-0.02))), is very similar to that calculated previously from in situ measurements for the same population.

Undead yakuza: The Japanese zombie movie, cultural resonance and generic conventions

The zombie has long been regarded as a “fundamentally American creation” (Bishop 2010) and a western monster representing the fears and anxieties of Western society. Since the renaissance of the zombie movie in the early 2000s, a subsequent surge in international production has seen the release of movies from Norway, Cuba, Pakistan and Thailand to name a few. Although Japanese zombie movies have been far more visible for Western cult audiences than in mainstream markets, Japanese cinema has emerged as one of the more prolific producers of zombie films outside of Anglophone or Western European countries in recent years. Films such as Helldriver (2010), Zombie TV (2013), Versus (2000), Tokyo Zombie (2005), Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) and anime television series High School of the Dead (2010) have generated varying degrees of popularity and critical attention internationally. At first glance Japanese zombie films, with musical zombie interludes, undead yakuza henchmen and revenge-seeking yūrei zombies, appear fundamentally different to their Western counterparts. Yet, on closer examination, the Japanese zombie movie could be regarded as a hybrid and intertextual generic form drawing on syntactic conventions at the core of a universal zombie sub-genre established by Western filmmaking traditions, while also distilling culturally specific tropes unique to various Japanese horror cinema sub-genres. Most importantly, the Japanese zombie film extracts, emphasises and revises particular conventions and motifs common within Western zombie films that are particularly relevant to Japanese audiences. This chapter investigates the cultural resonance of key generic motifs identifiable in the Japanese zombie film. It establishes a production context and the influence of Japanese horror cinema on style and thematic concerns. It then examines the function of prominent narrative conventions, namely: the source, outbreak and spread of infection; mutation and the representation of the monster; and the inclusion of supernatural and religious motifs.

Innovations in Knowledge and Learning for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific

Competitive advantage in a knowledge economy is dependent on the ability to innovate and create new knowledge products and services, and to find innovative applications for them. Higher education institutions in Asia and the Pacific, modelled on industrial age thinking that demands excellence in routinized capacities, lack the ability to innovate and create new knowledge enterprises. The transition to a knowledge economy is affecting the purpose, content, pedagogy, and methodologies of higher education. Nontraditional stakeholders such as professional bodies, industry experts, think tanks, research institutes, and field experts/practitioners are now involved not only in planning but in providing higher education services. The traditional model of “knowledge versus skills” is no longer relevant. Higher education programs must consider lived experiences, contextual knowledge, and indigenous knowledge.

Assessing the significance of climate and community factors on urban water demand

Ensuring adequate water supply to urban areas is a challenging task due to factors such as rapid urban growth, increasing water demand and climate change. In developing a sustainable water supply system, it is important to identify the dominant water demand factors for any given water supply scheme. This paper applies principal components analysis to identify the factors that dominate residential water demand using the Blue Mountains Water Supply System in Australia as a case study. The results show that the influence of community intervention factors (e.g. use of water efficient appliances and rainwater tanks) on water demand are among the most significant. The result also confirmed that the community intervention programmes and water pricing policy together can play a noticeable role in reducing the overall water demand. On the other hand, the influence of rainfall on water demand is found to be very limited, while temperature shows some degree of correlation with water demand. The results of this study would help water authorities to plan for effective water demand management strategies and to develop a water demand forecasting model with appropriate climatic factors to achieve sustainable water resources management. The methodology developed in this paper can be adapted to other water supply systems to identify the influential factors in water demand modelling and to devise an effective demand management strategy.

Introduction

This paper conceptualises think tanks and edu-businesses in relation to education policy work in the Australian polity. It situates the enhanced influence of both in relation to the restructured state, which has lost some key capacities in relation to the generation of research and ideas for policy. This restructuring has been strongly influenced by the techniques of new public management, the auditing of education through national and international testing and new forms of network governance, which have opened up spaces for the increased influence of think tanks and edu-businesses across the policy cycle in education. We see here the workings of a ‘polycentric state’. The paper also considers changing concepts of ‘evidence’, ‘expertise’ and ‘influence’ in respect of the involvement of think tanks and edu-businesses in circulating policy ideas and affecting policy development in Australian education. This introduction to this special issue of The Australian Educational Researcher serves as a provocation to further research on this new policy scenario.

Mathematical modelling of rock-bed solar thermal storage tank

An important application of thermal storage is solar energy for power generation or process heating. Low temperature thermal storage in a packed rock bed is considered best option for thermal storage for solar drying applications. In this paper, mathematical formulations for conical and cylindrical rock bed storage tanks have been developed. The model equations are solved numerically for charging/discharging cycles. From the simulated results, it was observed that for the same aspect ratio between the diameter and the length of the thermal storages, the conical thermal storage had better performance. The temperature distribution was found to be more uniform in the truncated conical shape rock bed storage. Also, the pressure drop over long period of time in the conical thermal storage was lower than that of the cylindrical thermal storage. Hence, the amount of power required from a centrifugal fan was lower.