On the propagation of a normal shock wave through a layer of incompressible porous material

A novel numerical formulation of the two-phase macroscopic balance equations governing the flow field in incompressible porous media is presented. The numerical model makes use of the Weighted Average Flux (WAF) method and Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) flux limiting techniques, and results in a second-order accurate scheme. A shock tube study was carried out to examine the interaction of a normal shock wave with a thin layer of porous, incompressible cellular ceramic foam. Particular attention was paid to the transmitted and reflected flow fields. The numerical model was used to simulate the experimental test cases, and their results compared with a view to validating the numerical model. A phenomenological model is proposed to explain the behaviour of the transmitted flow field

The management of academic workloads: improving practice in the sector

Final report of HEFCE projec

The management of academic workloads: full report on findings

The pressures on UK higher education (from explicit competition and growth in student numbers, to severe regulatory demands) are greater than ever, and have resulted in a steady increase in measures taken by universities to actively manage their finances and overall quality. These pressures are also likely to have impacted on staff and, indeed, recent large surveys in the sector have indicated that almost half of respondents find their workloads unmanageable. Against this background it would seem logical that the emphasis on institutional interventions to improve finance and quality, should be matched by similar attention given to the allocation of workloads to staff, and a focus on how best to utilise people’s time - the single biggest resource available within universities. Thus the aim of this piece of research was to focus on the processes and practices surrounding the allocation of staff workloads within higher education. Ten diverse organisations were selected for study: six universities in the UK, two overseas universities and two non higher education (but knowledge-intensive) organisations. In each, a crosssection of staff was selected, and in-depth interviews carried out. A total of 59 such interviews were carried out across the ten organisations. By identifying typical practices, as well as interesting alternatives, views on the various strengths and weaknesses of each of their workload allocation approaches was collated; and associated factors requiring attention identified. Through an extensive process of analysis, approaches which promoted more equitable loads for individuals, and which might provide synergies for institutions were also investigated

Comparisons between swing phase characteristics of race walkers and distance runners

The aim of this study was to analyze swing characteristics during race walking and to compare these with distance running. The rules of race walking demand that no visible flight time should occur and the stance leg must be straightened from initial contact to midstance. Previous research has not examined whether these rules also have an effect on swing and what consequences might arise. Ten male race walkers and ten male distance runners walked or ran respectively on an instrumented treadmill for 10 km with two in-dwelling force plates. Trials lasted 30 seconds and simultaneous 2D video data were recorded and digitized at 125 Hz. The moment of inertia of the thigh, shank, foot and whole lower limb was calculated using the parallel axis theorem. The distance runners were faster with longer strides, although cadence was not different. The race walkers had shorter swing times, longer contact times, and smaller maximum knee flexion angles (100° ± 6) than the distance runners (56° ± 6). The smaller knee flexion angles in race walkers meant they experienced greater swing leg moment of inertia than the distance runners but there were few associations in either group between knee flexion angle or moment of inertia with key performance parameters. Swing phase kinematics in race walking are restricted by the rules of the event and result in knee angular motions different from those in distance running, preventing race walkers from reaching the speeds attainable by distance runners

Dual boundary element method for axisymmetric crack analysis

In this paper a dual boundary element formulation is developed and applied to the evaluation of stress intensity factors in, and propagation of, axisymmetric cracks. The displacement and stress boundary integral equations are reviewed and the asymptotic behaviour of their singular and hypersingular kernels is discussed. The modified crack closure integral method is employed to evaluate the stress intensity factors. The combination of the dual formulation with this method requires the adoption of an interpolating function for stresses after the crack tip. Different functions are tested under a conservative criterion for the evaluation of the stress intensity factors. A crack propagation procedure is implemented using the maximum principal stress direction rule. The robustness of the technique is assessed through several examples where results are compared either to analytical ones or to BEM and FEM formulations

Promoting positive gender outcomes in higher education through active workload management

The Higher Education Funding Council funded report 'Promoting Positive Gender Outcomes in HE Through Active Workload Management' includes HEI case study interviews, surveys and workload data analysis to investigate the disparity between the genders in their careers. For example in 2010 although women made up 43% of the academic workforce when looking at the Professorial role only 18.7% were women. The report, through the field work and data analysis, uncovers a range of quite subtle factors that appear to be working together to create this imbalance and includes recommendations for better practice in workload allocation