Decision Making Effectiveness in Wildfire Incident Management Teams

During large scale wildfires, suppression activities are carried out under the direction of an Incident Management Team (IMT). The aim of the research was to increase understanding of decision processes potentially related to IMT effectiveness. An IMT comprises four major functions: Command, Operations, Planning, and Logistics. Four methodologies were used to study IMT processes: computer simulation experiments; analyses of wildfire reports; interviews with IMT members; and cognitive ethnographic studies of IMTs. Three processes were important determinants of IMT effectiveness: information management and cognitive overload; matching component function goals to overall goals; and team metacognition to detect and counter task‐disruptive developments. These processes appear to be complex multi‐person analogues of individual Incident Command processes identified previously. The findings have implications for issues such as: creating IMTs; training IMTs; managing IMTs; and providing decision support to IMTs.     

黄土丘陵沟壑区王家沟流域水文特征分析

王家沟流域属暖温带大陆性季风气候,冬季严寒少雪,春季干燥多风,夏季酷热多雨,秋季温凉适中,雨热同季,当地常见暴雨历时大多在2h以下,这种短历时、大强度的暴雨最易引起水土流失。分析了流域治理前后径流泥沙的来源情况,为同类型小流域综合治理提供科学依据。     

A framework of virtual prototyping environment for the design and analysis of mechanical mechanism with clearance

Mechanical mechanisms with clearance abound in technological fields such as robotics, machine and steam turbine industry. The dynamic performance of these mechanisms in working condition can be achieved provided that the effects of the different on the mechanisms (such as mechanism dynamics, technological effects and thermal behaviour) are thoroughly understood. Virtual prototyping provides an integration of multi-domain dynamic simulation for the design and analysis process. In the current paper, a framework of virtual prototyping environment for the design and analysis of mechanical mechanism with clearance is presented. A case study with such a simulation strategy is studied for the optimum design and analysis of the technological parameter.     

薄板坯连铸连轧流程Ti微合金化高强钢开发与应用

在薄板坯连铸连轧流程上，经过对Ti微合金化技术研究，有效解决了Ti微合金化强度性能波动大的问题，开发出屈服强度450～700MPa高强钢。对试制钢组织性能和工业应用分析研究，表明该产品通板性能良好，通板强度差30MPa左右；成形性能良好，d=0时冷弯测试全部合格；同时还具有良好焊接性能，焊接后，强度波动较小，均在母材部位断开；试制钢显微组织为珠光体和铁素体，晶粒均匀细小，平均尺寸为4～8／μm；实物质量满足集装箱和汽车制造行业要求，具有广阔市场前景。     

Theoretical analysis of RAIM in the occurrence of simultaneous two-satellite faults

Most algorithms on receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) are under the assumption of a single-satellite fault, because there is an extremely small probability that significant simultaneous multiple-satellite faults may occur. However, after the implementation of the Galileo system in a few years, there will be more satellites in view for the user to utilise together with GPS satellites, and a combination of them will bring better performance for RAIM. On the other hand, with the help of wide area augmentation system and the use of dual-frequency operation, pseudo-range errors will be reduced greatly. Thus, tighter alert limits are required for RAIM, and formerly `small' errors should not be neglected. All of those factors make it necessary to consider simultaneous multiple-satellite faults. A detailed theoretical analysis of RAIM under the condition of two-satellite faults for both vertical and horizontal directions is presented. The characteristic/max slopes for every pair of satellites are then deduced in order to calculate the tighter vertical/horizontal protection level for RAIM     

Dynamic control of the permanent magnet-assisted reluctance synchronous machine

A digital signal processor-based control system for the permanent magnet-assisted reluctance synchronous machine, with the emphasis on dynamic performance, is proposed. A classical design approach is used to design the current and speed controllers for the machine. The stator current of the machine is controlled in such a way that the current angle in the dq synchronous reference frame is constant. The load-torque is estimated using a state space observer and compensation current based on the estimated load is used to improve the dynamic performance of the drive. The control system design is machine specific as it relies on data from finite-element analysis. Simulated and measured results on a 110-kW power level show that the resulting control system is stable and robust with good dynamic performance     

Re-examination of analytical models for microwave scattering from deciduous leaves

This paper presents an examination of classical scattering models for radar cross sections of deciduous leaves, such as the generalised Rayleigh-Gans (GRG) model and the physical optics (PO) model. The PO model employs the resistive sheet approximation in this study. The validity regions of the analytical models for microwave scattering from deciduous leaves are investigated by comparison with the precise numerical results of the method of moment. It was found that the GRG and PO models extend their validity regions for estimating the scattering amplitudes as the thickness of a lossy dielectric disk decreases. The GRG and PO models can be used alternatively for computing the scattering matrices of natural deciduous leaves at microwave frequencies regardless of the size of the leaves, because of the very small thickness of the leaves (0.2-0.4 mm)     

Bidirectional repeaterless transmission of 8 x 10 GE over 210 km of standard single mode fibre

Experimental results on error-free bidirectional transmission of 8times10 Gigabit Ethernet channels over 210 km of standard single mode fibre are presented here. Inexpensive XENPAKs transceivers, conventional unidirectional 1530-1560 nm (C-band) erbium-doped fibre amplifiers and fibre Bragg grating dispersion compensating modules have been used. The results are very promising, especially for operators of national research and educational networks     

The effect of interfacial energy and phase fraction on the particle shape and the dihedral angles in two-phase small particles containing a cusp-oriented interface; computational model

The equilibrium shape and dihedral angles at the solid–liquid–vapor tri-junctions of two-phase alloy small particles containing a cusp-oriented interface were modeled as a function of phase fraction, surface energy and the interfacial energy. The calculation was applied to different combinations of surface and/or interfacial energies to demonstrate the various possible particle shapes and dihedral angles that result for two-phase particles. The dihedral angles at the tri-junction vary with the phase fraction, due to the coupling between the relative amounts of each phase, interfacial energy relative to the two surface energies and the equilibrium conditions at the tri-junction. These features can be used to find the ratio of the interfacial energy to the surface energies of two-phase particles for any state of matter.     

The hydration of slag,part 1: reaction models for alkali-activated slag

Reaction models are proposed to quantify the hydration products and to determine the composition of C–S–H from alkali-activated slags (AAS). Products of the slag hydration are first summarized from observations in literature. The main hydration products include C–S–H, hydrotalcite, hydrogarnet, AFm phases (C₄AH₁₃ and C₂ASH₈) and ettringite. Then, three stoichiometric reaction models are established correlating the mineral composition of slag (the glass part) with the hydration products. Using the proposed models, quantities of hydration products and composition of C–S–H are determined. The models are validated with a number of experimental investigations reported in literature, yielding good agreement, i.e., these models can successfully predict the hydration reaction of AAS. The models are furthermore applied to calculate the retained water in the hydration products of AAS in different hydration states and a general hydration equation of AAS is derived. As an illustration to one of the model applications, chemical shrinkage of the AAS cement paste in different hydration states are predicted. The chemical shrinkage of AAS is shown to be remarkably higher than OPC. Furthermore, phase distribution in the hardened AAS paste and the porosity are calculated.