Modelling and simulation of regeneration in AC traction propulsion system of electrified railway

This paper presents a robust model and its simulation to investigate the performance of an AC propulsion system in a rail vehicle for directly returning the regenerative braking power to the feeder substation of an AC traction network. This direct returning method can be an efficient approach for energy recovery if the regenerative braking is reliably applied. However, it is shown that this method can cause undesired voltage fluctuations if the regenerative braking regime or braking location of the rail vehicle change. The load torque on the traction motor (TM) is precisely modelled when pure electrical braking is applied. Different states of the direct torque controlled inverter are modelled when the TM regenerates. A circuit model for the utility grid, load impedances and the traction network is developed to evaluate the network receptivity against the regenerated power. The dynamics of the electromagnetic torque and the fluctuations of the DC-link voltage are investigated for two operational conditions: changes on the regenerative braking regime and changes on the rail vehicle braking location. The results justify how the DC-link voltage dramatically fluctuates with variations of the rail vehicle's operation conditions, whereas the electromagnetic torque is maintained on optimum rates.

A look-ahead road grade determination method for HEVs

This paper presents a look-ahead road grade determination method for use in energy management of hybrid electric vehicles. Data that is gathered from a digital map and vehicle sensors is used to predict the future road grade and longitudinal forces. The predicted information is employed to specify the near future traction force demand. A simulation is carried out using data associated with a 50 km section of a real highway for a typical vehicle. The results are presented and discussed.

Energy efficiency methods in electrified railways based on recovery of regenerated power

Various attempts have been made to minimise energy consumption of rail vehicles by means of regenerative power from electric braking of traction motors. This paper describes energy efficiency methods in electrified railways based on recovery of energy. Direct recovery methods that return regenerative power to electrified networks, and recovery methods based on energy storage systems are elaborated. The benefits of developing recovery methods and advantages of energy storage systems are discussed.

River flows and profit flows: the powerful logic driving local news

The importance of local news is gaining traction with industry and in journalism scholarship. But there is a need for careful analysis of what it means to be “local” and how we might theorise the role and place of news organisations and journalists who serve local audiences. This paper draws on three qualitative case studies of local newspapers serving small towns and cities in Australia to generate concepts that can be used to deepen understanding about this form of news. Our research highlights that to be local is practical and embodied. It requires individuals, groups, organisations or institution to be anchored in a particular locale and have in-depth understanding of that place that has developed over time. We extend the scholarship of Pierre Bourdieu to suggest this may be understood as local habitus—a powerful set of dispositions and practical logic developed within a place—that the small newspaper is inherently tied to. Reading a newspaper is part of one's local habitus while an individual who possesses it in the journalistic field may have a significant advantage in their day-to-day practices. We suggest this theoretical lens can offer rich insights into the future of local news production across the western world.

The impact of menu energy labelling across socioeconomic groups: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Menu energy labelling at point of purchase is gaining traction worldwide, yet the potential impact for different socioeconomic groups is unclear. We aimed to summarise evidence on the effectiveness of menu energy labelling by socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: A systematic search for papers published to September 2015 was conducted using terms for labelling, food outlets, and SEP. Quality of studies was assessed. Results were summarised across stages of an intervention logic pathway. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were identified. Of twelve studies reporting the effect of menu energy labelling in low SEP populations, six reported on purchase outcomes. All but one of these reported no positive effect of the policy for this population. Two of the five studies that compared purchase outcomes of menu labelling across SEP groups reported that the policy was effective overall. These two studies reported either a significant decline in fast food calories purchased from consumers in high (but not low) SEP neighbourhoods or a significantly greater decline in calories purchased among consumers visiting stores in higher SEP neighbourhoods post policy implementation. Few studies were rated as moderate to high quality. CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence describing the impact of menu energy labelling within or across SEP is limited in quantity and quality. Of the two studies that reported a positive benefit of menu energy labelling overall, both identified a greater effect on fast food purchases among consumers visiting stores in high compared to low SEP neighbourhoods. It is difficult to know whether the absence of effectiveness reported in low SEP populations represents a true lack of effectiveness or is a result of a more general lack of policy effectiveness or the limited quality of the reviewed studies.

Meet the phallic teacher: curriculum design and identity in a neoliberal imaginary

This paper introduces the concept of the phallic teacher, a spectral figure that needs to be negotiated in teachers’ everyday work and in school-based disciplinary communities of practice. Reporting the findings of a three year doctoral study completed in 2014, the paper looks closely at how English teachers design both curriculum and identity in an environment where feminist and poststructuralist work of the late 20th century seems to have lost traction.These observations are based on empirical research in a Victorian school, combined with autoethnographic writing and other materials connecting teachers’ and researchers’ lives to the broader cultural postfeminist debate. The paper makes room for an absent subject, the teacher, marginalised in neoliberal discourses of curriculum and critiques the masculinist hegemony of outcomes and standards-based education. This provides us with new ways to challenge increasingly dominant current paradigms and to conceptualise a different future in which the standpoints of teachers are privileged in curriculum theory and curricular innovation.

Rigid removable cover for dorsal wound protection and tube fixation in pigs

Objective To report the design and benefits of a rigid polyethylenecover ‘shell’ for the protection of dorsal torso wounds andtube fixation in pigs.

Methods Open C-shaped polyethylene shells were designed toprotect wounds and dressings on the dorsum of pigs used inresearch into negative pressure dressing-assisted wound healing.The shells were designed to resist trauma and contamination, tobe comfortable and expansible, and to facilitate tube fixation andmanagement. Strap fixation was optimised during experimentation. Efficacy was assessed by direct observation of dressing andwound protection, tube integrity and by macroscopic and microscopicassessments of wound healing.

Results The shells effectively protected the wounds againstblunt and sharp trauma, were simple to remove and reapply, were well tolerated and allowed for growth of the pigs. Circumferentia lneck straps attached by lateral straps to the shells provedcritical. There was no wound infection or inflammation underlyingthe shells. Porting tubing via mid-dorsal holes in the shells andaffixing the tubing just cranial to these holes prevented tubedamage and traction, permitted tube management from outsidethe cages and allowed the pigs to move freely without becomingentangled.

Conclusion These shells effectively protected dorsal skinwounds and dressings, prevented tube damage and facilitatedtube management in pigs. Similar systems may be useful forother production animals for wound management and for tubemanagement with negative pressure wound healing, drain tubesor the delivery of nutrition, fluids or medications.

Caution: deceased donor organ commercialism!

In the past 3 years there have been attempts to counter the international campaignagainst a market in organs from the living. In parallel to these attempts,support for a market in organs from the deceased has gained some traction. Inthis article we describe the various forms of this phenomenon, analyze itsimplications, and call upon policy makers to take steps to halt its progress.

Meet the phallic teacher: designing curriculum and identity in a neoliberal imaginary

This paper introduces the concept of the phallic teacher, a spectral figure negotiated in teachers’ everyday work and in school-based disciplinary communities of practice. Reporting the findings of a three year Australian doctoral study completed in 2014, the paper looks closely at how English teachers design both curriculum and identity in an environment where feminist and poststructuralist work of the late 20th century seems to have lost traction. These observations made here are based on empirical research in a Victorian school, combined with autoethnographic writing and other materials connecting teachers’ and researchers’ lives to the broader cultural postfeminist debate. The paper makes room for an absent subject, the teacher, marginalised in neoliberal discourses of curriculum and critiques the masculinist hegemony of outcomes and standards-based education. This provides us with new ways to challenge increasingly dominant current paradigms and to conceptualise a different future in which the standpoints of teachers are privileged in curriculum theory and curricular innovation.

Prediction of mode I delamination resistance of z-pinned laminates using the embedded finite element technique

A new finite modelling approach is presented to analyse the mode I delamination fracture toughness of z-pinned laminates using the computationally efficient embedded element technique. In the FE model,each z-pin is represented by a single one-dimensional truss element that is embedded within the laminate. Each truss is given the material, geometric and spatial properties associated with the global crackbridging traction response of a z-pin in the laminate; this simplification provides a computationally efficient and flexible model where pin elements are independent of the underlying structural mesh for thelaminate. The accuracy of the FE modelling approach is assessed using mode I interlaminar fracture toughness data for a carbon-epoxy laminate reinforced with z-pins made of copper, titanium or stainless steel. The model is able to predict with good accuracy the crack growth resistance curves and fracture toughness properties for the different types of z-pinned laminate.