Main drivers of the ECB financial accounts and ECB financial strength over the first 11 years

This paper analyses the main drivers of the ECB’s balance sheet and profit and loss account over the first 11 years of the ECB’s existence. Furthermore, the paper assesses the financial strength of the ECB. As monetary policy operations are normally conducted by national central banks under the impulse and instructions from the ECB, the Eurosystem balance sheet is the primary reference for the analysis of Eurosystem monetary policy operations. Three main drivers of the balance sheet and profit and loss account are identified. Firstly, financial market developments and portfolio management decisions imply changes in the value of the foreign reserve and own funds portfolios, which represent a substantial part of the balance sheet (with the share of own funds becoming increasingly larger over the period under review). At the same time, the profit and loss account depends to an important degree on interest income and expenses, realised gains and losses, and write-downs on these portfolios. Secondly, strong banknote demand has gradually increased the size of the balance sheet since the euro changeover in 2002. Banknotes in circulation also provide a strong base for seigniorage income, which is an important item of the profit and loss account. Thirdly, the liquidity-providing operations in foreign currency, which the Eurosystem has undertaken since 2007 in response to the fi nancial crisis, increased significantly the size of the ECB’s (and the Eurosystem’s) balance sheet. In terms of income and expenses, these operations were rather immaterial at the level of the ECB, although the income generated was substantial at the Eurosystem level. The ECB has remained financially strong over the 11-year period. Factors that support the financial position are strong legislative provisions on e.g. independence and income, the use of financial buffers, seigniorage as a reliable income source and an effective loss-coverage mechanism. JEL Classification: D21, D92, E22, E52central bank balance sheet, central banking, financial accounts, financial strength

Βελτιστοποίηση σχεδιασμού και ανάλυση μη συμβατικών συνδέσεων στεγάστρου σιδηροδρομικού σταθμού

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Δομοστατικός Σχεδιασμός και Ανάλυση των Κατασκευών

Main drivers of the ECB financial accounts and ECB financial strength over the first 11 years

This paper analyses the main drivers of the ECB’s balance sheet and profit and loss account over the first 11 years of the ECB’s existence. Furthermore, the paper assesses the financial strength of the ECB. As monetary policy operations are normally conducted by national central banks under the impulse and instructions from the ECB, the Eurosystem balance sheet is the primary reference for the analysis of Eurosystem monetary policy operations. Three main drivers of the balance sheet and profit and loss account are identified. Firstly, financial market developments and portfolio management decisions imply changes in the value of the foreign reserve and own funds portfolios, which represent a substantial part of the balance sheet (with the share of own funds becoming increasingly larger over the period under review). At the same time, the profit and loss account depends to an important degree on interest income and expenses, realised gains and losses, and write-downs on these portfolios. Secondly, strong banknote demand has gradually increased the size of the balance sheet since the euro changeover in 2002. Banknotes in circulation also provide a strong base for seigniorage income, which is an important item of the profit and loss account. Thirdly, the liquidity-providing operations in foreign currency, which the Eurosystem has undertaken since 2007 in response to the fi nancial crisis, increased significantly the size of the ECB’s (and the Eurosystem’s) balance sheet. In terms of income and expenses, these operations were rather immaterial at the level of the ECB, although the income generated was substantial at the Eurosystem level. The ECB has remained financially strong over the 11-year period. Factors that support the financial position are strong legislative provisions on e.g. independence and income, the use of financial buffers, seigniorage as a reliable income source and an effective loss-coverage mechanism

The strain fields present during the bending of ultra-high strength steels

Ultra high strength steels (UHSS) have an ultimate tensile strength of greater than 1GPa. Typically, their ambient temperature elongation is less than 10% and as a result, they are rarely used in stamping applications. However, the continuous demand for the weight reduction of structures built for the transport sector means that such materials are attractive because they can be used for parts with thinner cross-sections while maintaining required in-service performance. One way to overcome the ambient temperature ductility of these materials is to roll-form them, particularly with emerging flexible roll forming technology. Using numerically-controlled actuators, the rolls on each stand are designed with sufficient degrees of freedom to form parts that curve, vary in depth and width along their lengths. This makes flexibly roll-formed parts attractive to the transport, particularly the automotive, sector. Roll forming deforms a material through incremental, localised bending, which is known to suppress the necking response, resulting in deformations that are higher than in stretch deformation. Recent work, such as Le Maoût, Thuillier & Manach, Eng. Frac. Mech., Vol. 76, p.1202 (2009), focussed on the development of ductile fracture models to explain failure but their validation was limited to load displacement and surface strain data. This work aims to characterise the strain field during bending more comprehensively. Using the digital image correlation technique, the macroscopic strain distribution in UHSS in the thickness of the sheet and the strain partitioning in its microstructure is measured during bending. The data provides a detailed explanation of the strain distribution during bending

Revealing the mechanical and microstructural performance of multiphase steels during tensile, forming and flanging operations

The mechanical performance of Dual Phase (DP) and Complex Phase (CP) steels was investigated by SEM analysis, tensile testing, Forming Limit Curve investigation and flange formability testing. The alloys of interest were Dual Phase (DP) untempered, Dual Phase (DP) tempered and Complex Phase (CP) steels. Phase content analysis showed that the distribution of the ferrite and martensite phases was the same for the two DP alloys, but the grain size and condition (tempered/untempered) for the martensite islands was much different in the two alloys. In the tempered DP steel, the smaller grain size for the martensite and the tempering process resulted in increased elongation, more formability and ability to form a flange (flangeability). In CP steels the soft ferrite phase is replaced by harder bainite, yielding a bainitic-martensitic microstructure. Bainite reduced the total elongation of the alloy during tensile testing, reduced the formability (especially under plane strain conditions) of the alloy but improved the flangeability of the alloy. Under flanging conditions, CP steels deformed to higher strains, at tighter radii with minimum springback. Microstructural inspections at the outer radius of the flanged specimens revealed that in CP steels bainite deforms similarly to martensite, therefore the strain partitioning is smaller in CP steels in comparison to DP steels. Plastic deformation in CP steels upon flanging occurs with the formation of strong slip bands in both martensite and bainite. In contrast, the martensite and ferrite grains in DP steels deform quite differently leading to strong strain localisations. Void nucleation and cracking occurred at the martensite islands or within the soft ferrite phase next to the martensite islands. In CP steels no voids or damage was observed within the matrix. A special case study was done with a thicker and stronger alloy, a Martensitic 1400 steel to reveal the flangeability limits for advanced high strength steels. Neither cracks nor damage were observed visually on the flanged specimens. However SEM observations at the outer radius of the flanged samples revealed significant void growth at inclusion sites and cracks nucleating within the matrix adjacent to the inclusions.Publisher Statement: This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/)</p

The Bendability of Ultra High strength Steels

Automotive manufacturers have been reducing the weight of their vehicles to meet increasingly stringent environmental legislation that reflects public demand. A strategy is to use higher strength materials for parts with reduced cross-sections. However, such materials are less formable than traditional grades. The frequent result is increased processing and piece costs. 3D roll forming is a novel and flexible process: it is estimated that a quarter of the structure of a vehicle can be made with a single set of tooling. Unlike stamping, this process requires material with low work hardening rates. In this paper, we present results of ultra high strength steels that have low elongation in a tension but display high formability in bending through the suppression of the necking response.<br/

Saint Mamas’s martyrdom in the Life of Patriarch Tarasios (BHG 1698

Στη σειρά παραστάσεων μαρτυρίου, οι οποίες, υπό μορφή ρητορικής έκφρασης, συνθέτουν το εικονογραφικό πρόγραμμα που εντάσσει στον Βίο του πατριάρχη Ταρασίου (BHG 1698) ο συγγραφέας του, Ιγνάτιος Διάκονος, συμπεριλαμβάνεται εκείνη ενός μάρτυρα που πριν από το τέλος του φέρεται να βαδίζει χωρίς τα σπλάγχνα του. Με αφορμή την ταύτιση του μάρτυρα αυτού με τον άγιο Μάμαντα, εξετάζεται η εικονογράφησή του κατά τη βυζαντινή και μεταβυζαντινή περίοδο, ειδικότερα η απεικόνιση της σκηνής του μαρτυρίου του. Παράλληλα, αναλύεται η προοπτική, υπό την οποία ο Ιγνάτιος αναπλάθει ρητορικά το όλο εικονογραφικό πρόγραμμα στον συγκεκριμένο Βίο.One of the scenes of martyrdom that Ignatios the Deacon rhetorically records in the iconographic programme he describes in his Life of Patriarch Tarasios (BHG 1698) is of a martyr who performed “his funeral dance in public without entrails”. Identifying this unnamed figure with St Mamas gave the author the opportunity to rehearse the saint’s iconography in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods, with special focus on the depiction of his martyrdom. The personal perspective from which Ignatios viewed his task in rhetorically elaborating on this particular iconographic programme is also considered

The sex ratio of fetal deaths and its potential relation with the decline of sex ratio at birth in Greece

Many factors that affect teratogenesis and fetal death may vary from one region to another as well as in dif­ferent time periods. Our aim was to identify trends in the sex ratio of intrauterine fetal deaths, and its relationship with the secondary sex ratio (SSR) observed in our country. We reviewed the files of 276 consecutive autopsies performed during the last 16 years. 189 cases were spontaneous abortions and fetal deaths (SAs/FDs); 128 cases in total presented congenital malformations, out of which 87 were pregnancies terminated deliberately due to birth defects detected during the prenatal screening. In the total number of cases studied, 60.6% were male and 39.4% female. In the SAs/FDs group 62.71% were male, and 37.29% female or male to female ratio: 1.68. In the congenital malformations group 59.3% were male and 40.7% females. In addition 71.1% of the cases with intrauterine growth retardation were male and 28.9% female. SSR in Greece shows a trend to decline from 1960 to 2007. This downward tendency in SSR is greater between 1980-2007, (R2 = 0.229, ANOVA p = 0.028) and even more significant between 1980-1990 (R2 = 0.452, ANOVA p = 0.023). In conclusion, we have found a significant male preponderance in both the spontaneously aborted fetuses, and the fetuses with congenital malformations and/or intrauterine growth retardation. We suggest that this finding may be related to the decline in SSR observed during the last decades in Greece. Similar trends have been recently recorded in U.S.A., Japan and other westernalised countries, and have been attributed to greater prenatal vulnerability of the male fetus, especially at the earlier stages of gestation

Experimental and modelling study of fatigue crack initiation in an aluminium beam with a hole under 4-point bending

Slip band formation and crack initiation during cyclic fatigue were investigated by in-situ experiments and non-local CPFEM simulations systematically. Experimental techniques including EBSD, digital image correlation (DIC) and SEM have been used to obtain consistent grain orientations, local strains, as well as the locations where slip bands and micro-cracks form on the sample surface. The realistic microstructure based on the EBSD map has been generated and used for finite element modelling. An advanced non-local crystal plasticity model, which considers the isotropic and kinematic hardening of the plastic strain gradient, has been adopted. The simulation results match well the corresponding experimental results. It was found that total strain and averaged slip on all slip systems, combined with accumulated slip on specific slip planes help predict the location and orientation of slip bands and micro-crack initiation correctly. Furthermore, a fatigue indicating parameter based on competition between maximum slip and the total slip has been proposed to reproduce the experimental observations