LH-moment estimation for statistical analysis on the wave crest distributions of a deepwater spar platform model test

The design of fixed and compliant offshore platforms requires the reliable estimation of extreme values with small probabilities of exceedance based on an appropriate probability distribution. The Weibull distribution is commonly utilised for the statistical analysis of wave crests, including near-field wave run-ups. The parameters are estimated empirically from experimental or onsite measurements. In this paper, the data set of wave crests from a Spar model test was statistically analysed by using the method of LH-moments for parameter estimation of the Weibull distribution. The root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) and the error of LH-kurtosis were used to examine the goodness-of-fit. The results for the first four LH-moments, the estimated parameters, and the probability distributions showed that the level of the LH-moments has a significant influence. At higher levels, the estimation results gave a more focused representation of the upper part of the wave crest distributions, which indicates consistency with the intention of the method of LH-moments. The low tail RMSE values of less than 2.5% demonstrated that a Weibull distribution model estimated by using high-level LH-moments can accurately represent the probability distribution of large extreme wave crests for incident waves, wave run-ups, and moon pool waves. Goodness-of-fit test on the basis of comparison of sampling LH-kurtosis and theoretical LH-kurtosis was recommended as a procedure for selecting an optimum level

Hydrodynamic coefficients of oscillating flat plates at 0.15 ⩽ KC⩽ 3.15

This article presents an experimental investigation on the hydrodynamic coefficients of oscillating flat plates. The plates are forced to oscillate harmonically in still water. The range of Keulegan–Carpenter number (KC= 2 πa/ D, where a is the single amplitude of oscillation and D is the equivalent diameter of the plate) is 0.15 ⩽ KC⩽ 3.15. The hydrodynamic forces acting on the plates are measured and the hydrodynamic coefficients including added mass and damping coefficients are calculated using the Morison’s equation. The influences of the thickness ratio, shape, edge corner radius, perforation ratio and hole size on the hydrodynamic coefficients of a single plate are analyzed and presented. For the twin- and triplet-plate configurations, the spacing effects are also evaluated

Flow around an oscillating circular disk at low to moderate Reynolds numbers

Direct numerical simulations of the flow induced by a circular disk oscillating sinusoidally along its axis are performed. The aspect ratio of the disk is 10. The Reynolds number , based on the maximum speed and the diameter of the disk, is in the range of . The Keulegan-Carpenter number is in the range of . Five flow regimes are observed in the considered-space: (I) axisymmetric flow (AS), (II) planar symmetric flow in the low-region (PSL), (III) azimuthally rotating flow in the low-region (ARL), (IV) planar symmetric flow in the high-region (PSH) and (V) azimuthally rotating flow in the high-region (ARH). The critical boundaries between different flow regimes are identified based on the evolutions of the magnitude and direction of transverse force acting on the disk. For the non-axisymmetric flow regimes, the flow is one-sided with respect to the axis of the disk and is associated with a non-zero mean value of the transverse force acting on the disk

Crustal and Upper Mantle Structure Beneath the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau from Joint Analysis of Receiver Functions and Rayleigh Wave Dispersions

The crustal and upper mantle velocity structure in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is obtained from joint analysis of receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersions. The resulting velocity model reveals a close correlation between the thick (\u3e60 km) crust and the presence of an intracrustal low-velocity zone beneath the Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes as well as the northwestern Qilian orogen. However, the high Vp/Vs ratio of the crust is found only beneath the Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes. The crustal low velocity zone does not appear in the west Qinling and southeastern Qilian orogens, which have a relatively thin (∼50 km) crust, indicating that crustal channel flow is not the primary mechanism by which the northeastern Tibetan Plateau grows. A continuous low velocity zone from the mid-to-lower crust down to 160 km beneath the eastern Kunlun fault suggests an induced local mantle upwelling after partial detachment of the lithosphere

Flow around an inclined circular disk

Direct numerical simulations are performed for the uniform flow around an inclined circular disk. The diameter–thickness aspect ratio ( X=D/td) of the disk is 50 and the inclination angle (\alpha) is considered over the range of 0<6<80 deg, where \alpha=0 deg refers to the condition where the flow is normal to the disk. The Reynolds number (Re), based on the short axis of projection in the streamwise direction, is defined as Re=U_\inf D cos \alpha /\mu, where U_\inf is the velocity of the flow and \mu is the kinematic viscosity. Re is investigated over the range of 50 < Re < 300. In the considered Re–\alpha parametric space, five states are observed and denoted as: (I) steady state (SS); (II) periodic state (PS); (III) periodic state with a low frequency modulation (PSL); (IV) quasi-periodic state (QP) and (V) chaotic state (CS). Both Re and \alpha affect the bifurcation mechanism. The bifurcating sequence occurring at \alpha=0 deg is generally observed over the whole Re–\alpha space, although it is advanced at small \alpha and delayed at large \alpha. The advancement of thresholds for different states is due to the effects introduced by inclination, which tend to select the plane of symmetry for the wake in order to regulate the wake and intensify some flow features. Nevertheless, the bifurcations are still in the dominant position when leading a state without stable symmetry, i.e. the planar symmetry could not be recovered by small \alpha. These phenomena are further discussed with respect to the vortex shedding patterns behind the disk. Furthermore, for any fixed disk, the wake behaviour is only associated with that found in the steady vertical state of a freely falling disk. The fully coupled fluid–body system is fundamentally different from the fixed cases

The level effect and volatility effect of uncertainty shocks in China

Previous studies have assumed that the volatility of exogenous shocks is constant, which can only measure the level effects of uncertain shocks. This article introduces the time-varying volatility model into a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (D.S.G.E.) model and uses the third-order perturbation method to identify and decompose the level and volatility effects of uncertainty shocks. Based on the results of empirical research in China, the effect of volatility shocks is different from that of level shocks: the effect of level shocks is direct and positive, and its impact is larger, while the effect of volatility shocks is indirect and negative, and its impact is smaller. This article also finds that the impact of uncertainty shocks will lead to economic stagnation, inflation, and the stagflation effect

Fault location in a marine low speed two stroke diesel engine using the characteristic curves method

When a malfunction occurs in a marine main engine system, the impact of the anomaly will propagate through the system, affecting the performance of all relevant components in the system. The phenomenon of fault propagation in the system caused by induced factors can interfere with fault localization, making the latter a difficult task to solve. This paper aims at showing how the "characteristic curves method" is able to properly locate malfunctions also when more malfunctions appear simultaneously. To this end, starting from the working principle of each component of a real marine diesel engine system, comprehensive and reasonable thermal performance parameters are chosen to describe their characteristic curves and include them in a one-dimensional thermodynamic model. In particular, the model of a low-speed two stroke MAN 6S50 MC-C8.1 diesel engine is built using the AVL Boost software and obtaining errors lower than 5% between simulated values and test bench data. The behavior of the engine is simulated considering eight multi-fault concomitant phenomena. On this basis, the fault diagnosis method proposed in this paper is verified. The results show that this diagnosis method can effectively isolate the fault propagation phenomenon in the system and quantify the additional irreversibility caused by the Induced factors. The fault diagnosis index proposed in this paper can quickly locate the abnormal components

Effects of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus acidophilus on the performance, intestinal physical barrier function, and the expression of NOD-like receptors in weaned piglets

Lactobacillus supplementation is beneficial to the barrier function of the intestinal physical barrier in piglets. However, the mechanisms underlying this beneficial function remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus acidophilus on the performance, intestinal physical barrier functioning, and NOD-like receptors (NLRs) expression in weaned piglets. Sixteen weaned piglets were randomly allocated to two groups. The control group received a corn-soybean basal diet, while the treatment group received the same diet adding 0.1% L. acidophilus, for 14 days. As a result, dietary L. acidophilus supplementation was found to increase the average daily gain (ADG) (P < 0.05), reduced serum diamine oxidase (DAO) activity (P < 0.05), increased the mRNA expression and protein abundance of occludin in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.01), reduced the mRNA levels of NOD1 (P < 0.01), receptor interacting serine/threonine kinase 2 (RIPK2) (P < 0.05), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) (P < 0.01), NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) (P < 0.01), caspase-1 (P < 0.01), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) (P < 0.05) and IL-18 (P < 0.01) in the jejunum tissues of the weaned pigs. The expression of NLRP3 (P < 0.05), caspase-1 (P < 0.01), IL-1β (P < 0.05) and IL-18 (P < 0.05) was also reduced in the ileum tissues of the weaned pigs. These results showed that L. acidophilus supplementation improves the growth performance, enhances the intestinal physical barrier function, and inhibits the expression of NOD1 and NLRP3 signaling-pathway-related genes in jejunum and ileum tissues. They also suggest that L. acidophilus enhances the intestinal physical barrier functioning by inhibiting IL-1β and IL-18 pro-inflammatory cytokines via the NOD1/NLRP3 signaling pathway in weaned piglets