7,892 research outputs found
Performance Evaluation of Distributed-Antenna Communications Systems Using Beam-Hopping
No full textDigital beamforming (DBF) techniques are capable of improving the performance of communications systems significantly. However, if the transmitted signals are conflicted with strong interference, especially, in the direction of the transmitted beams , these directional jamming signals will severely degrade the system performance. In order to efficiently mitigate the interference of the directional jammers, in this contribution a beam-hopping (BH) communications scheme is proposed. In the proposed BH communications scheme, only one pair of the beams is used for transmission and it hops from one to the next according to an assigned BH pattern. In this contribution a range of expressions in terms of the average SINR performance have been derived, when both the uplink and downlink are considered. The average SINR performance of the proposed BH scheme and that of the conventional single-beam (SB) as well as multiple-beam (MB) assisted beam-processing schemes have been investigated. Our analysis and results show that the proposed BH scheme is capable of efficiently combating the directional jamming, with the aid of utilizing the directional gain of the beams generated by both the transmitter and the receiver. Furthermore, the BH scheme is capable of reducing the intercept probability of the communications. Therefore, the proposed BH scheme is suitable for communications, when several distributed antenna arrays are available around a mobile
Punch-through of spudcan foundations in two-layer clay
No full textSpudcan punch-through failure continues to be a major cause of foundation failure of offshore jack-up rigs. The resulting damage to the rig can range from minor structural damage of its leg and jacking mechanism to complete loss of the rig. Most punch-through failures happen during the jacking up and preloading and in stratified soil profiles with a relatively thin layer of sand or stiff clay overlying a weaker layer. Punch-through causes a reduction in bearing resistance with depth, causing instability during the load-controlled jacking-up process. To reveal the failure mechanism during punch-through, model spudcan foundation tests have been conducted on a two-layer clay sample (strong over weak) in a drum centrifuge. Half-spudcan model tests were carried against a transparent window to visualise the soil flow mechanisms around the spudcan during penetration. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) analysis was used to track the soil particle movements and hence obtain precise details of the failure mechanisms. Full-spudcan tests were also conducted to measure the vertical load-penetration responses. The study shows that punch-through failure and associated softening response are directly linked to the relative thickness of the top clay layer to the foundation diameter, and also the strength ratio between the two soil layers. A punching failure through the upper layer was observed as shear zones developed from the spudcan rim down to the layer interface. A soil plug was carried down beneath the spudcan. The thickness of the soil plug was ∼80% of the initial top layer thickness, and the cavity formed above the spudcan remained open until the spudcan fully penetrated into the soft layer. Softening penetration resistance profiles were observed.</p
Limiting cavity depth for spudcan foundations penetrating clay
No full textCentrifuge model tests and unite element (FE) analysis have been conducted to study the penetration of spudcan foundations in uniform clay with nominally constant strength with depth. In particular, the transition between shallow penetration, with soil heaving to the ground surface, and deep penetration, with a localised flow-round mechanism, has been investigated. This transition governs the onset of back-flow and hence the depth of soil lying on the installed spudcan, which in turn influences the bearing capacity and also the potential for suction to develop and hence the uplift capacity and moment resistance of the foundation. The maximum cavity depth above the spudcan prior to any back-flow is therefore a critical issue for spudcan assessment in clay. In the centrifuge model tests, a half-spudcan model penetrating against a transparent window has been used to visualise the soil flow mechanisms around the spudcan during penetration. The formation of a cavity above the spudcan is revealed by both centrifuge modelling and FE analysis. It is found that there are three distinct penetration mechanisms during spudcan installation: during initial penetration, an open cavity is formed with vertical walls; with further penetration, soil flows partially around the spudcan into the cavity; during deep penetration, the spudcan is fully embedded and the soil flow mechanism is entirely localised. Over the wide range of normalised soil strengths explored, the soil back-flow in the second stage was shown to be due to a flow failure that was triggered by the spudcan penetration and not by wall failure, that is, the collapse of the vertical sides of the soil cavity. This observation is supported by FE analysis. The cavity depth due to flow failure is much shallower than the criterion for wall failure that is incorporated in current design guidelines. Instead, a new design chart and expression is suggested with the normalised cavity depth expressed as a function of the soil shear strength, normalised by the effective unit weight of the soil and the spudcan diameter.</p
On using Directional Information for Parameter Space Decomposition in Ellipse Detection
No full textIn this paper we use the parametric polar representation to extend the application of edge directional information from circle to ellipse extraction. As a result we obtain a mapping which decomposes the parameter space required for ellipse extraction into two independent sub-spaces and one final histogram accumulator. The mapping includes the tangent of the angle of the first and second directional derivatives. These tangents are computed by considering edge direction at two border points. We show that the use of gradient information for parameter space decomposition avoids the intensive point labelling imposed by geometric constraints used by other approaches
Large-scale patterns in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in very large aspect ratio cells
No full textLarge-scale patterns, which are well-known from the spiral defect chaos regime of thermal convection at Rayleigh numbers Ra 105. They are uncovered when the turbulent fields are averaged in time and turbulent fluctuations are thus removed. We apply the Boussinesq closure to calculate turbulent viscosities and diffusivities, respectively. The resulting turbulent Rayleigh number Ra_, that describes the convection of the mean patterns, is indeed in the spiral defect chaos range. Interestingly, the turbulent Prandtl numbers are smaller than one with 0:2 _ Pr_ _ 0:4 for Prandtl numbers 0:7 _ Pr _ 10. Finally, we demonstrate that these mean flow patterns are robust to an additional finite-amplitude side wall-forcing when the level of turbulent fluctuations in the flow is sufficiently high
Reynolds number effect on 3D turbulent offset jet reattaching to a free surface
No full textExperimental study was carried out to investigate the effect of Reynolds number on 3D offset jet reattaching to above free surface. Sharp edged square nozzle was used to produce the jets, and the measurements were performed at the following six different Reynolds numbers: 2300, 3700, 5100, 7900, 10300 and 11900. Detailed velocity measurements were made in the symmetry plane. From the PIV data, the mean velocity and turbulence statistics were obtained to study the effects of Reynolds number on the salient features of the jet flow. Preliminary results on streamwise mean velocity decay along the nozzle centerline, contours of streamwise mean velocity and Reynolds shear stress are presented herein
The Benefits of Being Economics Professor A (and not Z)
Full text linkAlphabetic name ordering on multi-authored academic papers, which is the convention in the economics discipline and various other disciplines, is to the advantage of people whose last name initials are placed early in the alphabet. As it turns out, Professor A, who has been a first author more often than Professor Z, will have published more articles and experienced afaster growth rate over the course of her career as a result of reputation and visibility. Moreover, authors know that name ordering matters and indeed take ordering seriously: Several characteristics of an author group composition determine the decision to deviate from the default alphabetic name order to a significant extent.performance measurement, incentives, economists, name ordering
<i>Entrenchment, wealth, power, and the constitution of democratic societies</i> by Paul Starr
No full textEntrenchment, Wealth, Power, and the Constitution of Democratic Societies, by Paul Starr, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 2019. 280 pages, hardcover.Why should we, as Management scholars and educators, care about a book on political diagnosis? The answer is twofold. First, the calibre of the author (Paul Starr), an awardee of both Bancroft and Pulitzer Prizes, a former policy advisor to the Clinton administration, and the author of The Transformation of American Medicine (1982), a book with a profound impact on American policy circles. Second, the core concept (entrenchment) of the book, and its potential to advance the process of institutional development, and the ways in which we can reform and change our institutions to better meet the current and pressing needs of the many, rather than preserve the unequal privileges of a few. In light of the geopolitical, social, and environmental pressures we see currently rising across the world (George, Howard-Grenville, Joshi & Tihanyi, 2016; Howard-Grenville, Buckle, Hoskins & George, 2014) there is no better time to examine whether and how we can address some of these grand challenges by reforming and improving our institutions
M.S. Kutorga and V.M. Vedrov: Conflict of Teacher and Student
No full textВ статье рассматривается конфликт между М.С. Куторгой и его учеником В.М. Ведровым. Исследуются причины конфликта, а также то влияние, которое он оказал на дальнейшую научную карьеру ученика. This article discusses the conflict between M.S. Kutorga and his student V.M. Vedrov. The author investigates the causes of the conflict and its impact on academic career V.M. Vedrov
Ultra-fast escape of a deformable jet-propelled body
No full textIn this work a cephalopod-like deformable body that fills an internal cavity with fluid and expels it to propel an escape manoeuvre, while undergoing a drastic external shape change through shrinking, is shown to employ viscous as well as mainly inviscid hydrodynamic mechanisms to power an impressively fast start. First, we show that recovery of added-mass energy enables a shrinking rocket in a dense inviscid flow to achieve greater escape speed than an identical rocket in a vacuum. Next, we extend the shrinking body results of Weymouth & Triantafyllou (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 702, 2012, pp. 470–487) to three-dimensional bodies and show that three hydrodynamic mechanisms must be combined to achieve rapid escape performance in a viscous fluid: added-mass energy recovery; flow separation elimination; and an optimized energy storage and recovery. In particular, we show that the mechanism of separation elimination achieved through rapid body shrinking, coordinated with the mechanism of recovering the initially imparted added-mass energy, is critical to achieving a high escape speed. Hence a flexible, collapsing body can be vastly superior to a rigid-shell jet-propelled body
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