The pace and practicality of decarbonization

There is a widely believed myth that replacing the use of fossil fuels largely by renewable forms of energy is, with a possible exception of nuclear power, critically dependent on the development of appropriate new technologies. Accordingly, it is held that decarbonizing straight away is particularly difficult and expensive. There was a time when this idea had an element of reality, but this is no longer the case. Unfortunately, belief in this myth is shared by those in positions of influence. This paper serves to document that this presumed reality no longer holds, although the misconception may have been based on fact in the past. Whilst the survey of the available technology offered concentrates on electricity supply, it also documents that manufacture of synthetic fuels via hydrogen obtained by electrolysis of water and CO₂ integrates smoothly with electricity grid stabilization as well as reducing the CO₂ content of the atmosphere. The likely price and cost development in the energy market is also reviewed. In addition the role of CCS, in practice mainly capture from the air and industrial processes other than power generation is reviewed against the background of the cost effective generation of electricity by harvesting renewable forms of energy.     

Pressing ahead

<正>Summarizing 2014 anunforgettableyear,Chinese President Xi Jinping in his live New Year speech underscores the need to continue reform and to advance the rule of law in 2015,comparing them toa bird's two wings.Reviewing the Chinese standardization work of the past year,so much happened in this field.We cannot unfold all in the lim-     

Bayesian computation: a statistical revolution

The 1990s saw a statistical revolution sparked predominantly by the phenomenal advances in computing technology from the early 1980s onwards. These advances enabled the development of powerful new computational tools, which reignited interest in a philosophy of statistics that had lain almost dormant since the turn of the century. In this paper we briefly review the historic and philosophical foundations of the two schools of statistical thought, before examining the implications of the reascendance of the Bayesian paradigm for both current and future statistical practice.     

Electromagnetic computing: the way ahead?

A personal view is presented of electromagnetic field computing from 1962 to 1988. The major achievements are listed with a summary of the current state of the art. A software computing environment is described that embodies the latest developments, with particular emphasis on mesh adaptive solutions controlled by error predictions. It is conjectured that new hardware developments on parallel and vector processing will make practical the computation of moving and coupled systems     

Valve fugitive emissions: The challenge ahead

The problem of controlling fugitive emissions from valves, particularly from stem seals, is acknowledged by the sealing industry, valve manufacturers and end users alike as one of the most important technical challenges facing them now that the replacement of asbestos is seals and gaskets reaches completion. The introduction of a new ISO standard on fugitive emissions from valves, due for circulation in its final draft form by the end of 1999, will focus attention on valve stem seal emissions as end users look to compliance with the standard. In this article, Suresh Kakaiya of the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) describes its independent test facility, developed for product certification and development with a view to meeting the new standard, and explains how this has highlighted some of the challenges ahead for the sealing industry.     

Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution

We are currently in the midst of a second quantum revolution. The first quantum revolution gave us new rules that govern physical reality. The second quantum revolution will take these rules and use them to develop new technologies. In this review we discuss the principles upon which quantum technology is based and the tools required to develop it. We discuss a number of examples of research programs that could deliver quantum technologies in coming decades including: quantum information technology, quantum electromechanical systems, coherent quantum electronics, quantum optics and coherent matter technology.     

Finite elements in CFD: What lies ahead

The current state of the art of Finite Element Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics is reviewed. The aim of this review is to point out what appear currently as the main shortcomings of Finite Element Methods, so as to concentrate the efforts to remove them. The analysis of flows using Finite Elements will only be successful if all steps involved in it are optimized. Therefore, I deem it necessary to describe explicit and implicit flow solvers, unstructured multigrid methods, adaptive refinement schemes, grid generation and graphics in 3-D, the effective use of supercomputer hardware and memory, as well as the combination of structured and unstructured grids.     

The Engineering Science of Industrial Engineering: A Viewpoint of the Industrial Engineering Curriculum

This paper outlines the scientific underpinnings of Industrial Engineering and proposes an approach to educating the Industrial Engineer based on this engineering science. The proposed definition of the “Industrial Engineering science” rests on the premise that IE is made up of three main functional areas: (1) production engineering, (2) operational science, and (3) ergonomics/human factors engineering. This paper outlines the various IE activities that fall into these three functional categories, and attempts to show the relationships of those areas to six underlying science bases; namely, (1) Industrial Engineering sciences, (2) general engineering sciences, (3) life sciences, (4) physical sciences, (5) behavioral and social sciences, and (6) mathematics.     

A finite element model for nonlinear shells of revolution

A finite element model for symmetrically loaded shells of revolution is described. The nonlinear geometric effects are accounted for by incrementing loads and iterating for equilibrium. The iteration process also allows for nonlinear materials. The shell model accounts for large strains, large rotations and shear deformation. Three example problems demonstrate the ability of this model to solve linear problems. Also, three example problems demonstrate the versatility and accuracy of this model for nonlinear problems. These nonlinear example problems are an axially loaded cylinder and an internally pressurized spherical shell that have large membrane strains, and a cylinder that deforms into a spherical shape, having large rotations.     

A non-linear theory of rotating shallow shells of revolution

Summary A non-linear theory for shallow shells of revolution is presented in this paper. While arriving at the differential equations, large deformations and small strains are taken into account. The solution of equations in the edge zones is based on the boundary layer theory. These boundary layer solutions, predominant in the narrow edge zones are superposed on the interior solutions, to obtain a complete solution of the problem. For the interior solution, linear and non-linear theories are worked out and it is found that the agreement between the two theories is good even when the ratio of the transverse displacement to the thickness of the shell is large.