Synergy between theory and practice for ultra large container ships

In 2003 an accessibility study based on real-time simulations for the S-class container ships of Maersk Sealand was performed at Flanders Hydraulics Research in cooperation with all involved parties (public and port authorities, pilots, tug and shipping company). The regulation for the upstream and downstream navigation on the Western Scheldt did not accept the arrival of a ship with length over all greater than 340 m. The paper describes two main research studies executed to fill in the gap of knowledge about the manoeuvring behaviour of container ships in shallow and confined water: the accessibility of Ultra Large Container Ships with a maximum capacity of 14,000 TEU to the Western Scheldt and the accessibility of the Berendrecht Lock and Delwaide Dock located on the right bank of the port of Antwerp. An integrated simulation platform with mathematical models describing hydrodynamic (manoeuvrability, ship-bank and ship-ship interaction) and external (wind, current, tug assistance) forces and coupled ship manoeuvring simulators helped in evaluating the possibilities and limitations of head-on encounters, lock and turning manoeuvres. The combination of research and training has finally led to the arrival of the MSC Beatrice in April 2009. After a validation period of more than half a year, characterised by a constant adaptation of negotiated restrictions, a new regulation for the upstream and downstream navigation is being prepared

GEM Detectors for the CMS Endcap Muon System: status of three new detector stations

The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC, or Phase 2 LHC) will deliver proton-proton collisions at 5-7.5 times the nominal LHC luminosity, with an expected number of 140-200 pp-interactions per bunch crossing (Pile-up or PU). To maintain the performance of muon triggering and reconstruction under high background radiation, the forward part of the Muon spectrometer of the CMS experiment will be upgraded with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) and improved Resistive Plate Chambers (iRPC) detectors. A first GEM station (GE1/1) was installed during long-shutdown 2 (LS2, 2019-2021), a 2$^{\text{nd}}$ station (GE2/1) of Triple-GEM detectors will be installed in winter 2023-24 and 2024-25, while a new 6-layer station (ME0) will be installed in the third long shutdown (LS3, 2026-2028). GE11 is considered an early Phase 2 upgrade as it will reduce the $p_{T}$ threshold by combining GEM and Cathode Strip Chamber (CSC) hits in the forward muon system at twice the LHC design luminosity ($\mathcal{L} = 2 \cdot 10^{34}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, 50 PU). After a successful start of Run 3 in 2022, with almost 40 fb$^{-1}$ collected, the commissioning of the GE1/1 detector is nearly complete. Most chambers are operated stabily with an efficiency in excess of 95%, next being the demonstration of the combined CSC-GEM trigger in 2023. The lessons learnt with the first large-area GEM station have lead to improvements in detector and electronics design for the Phase 2 detectors GE2/1 and ME0. This proceeding will discuss the progress made since last MPGD Conference (MPGD 2019), discussing the commissioning and early performance of GE1/1; the design improvements and start of construction of GE2/1; and the R&D currently ongoing for ME0.Comment: The 7th International Conference on Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors, MPGD202

Synergy between theory and practice for Ultra Large Containerships sailing to the port of Antwerp

In 2003 an accessibility study based on real-time simulations for the S-class container ships of Maersk Sealand was performed at Flanders Hydraulics Research in cooperation with all involved parties (public and port authorities, pilots, tug and shipping company). The regulation for the upstream and downstream navigation on the Western Scheldt did not accept the arrival of a ship with length over all greater than 340 m.The paper describes two main research studies executed to fill in the gap of knowledge about the manoeuvring behaviour of container ships in shallow and confined water: the accessibility of Ultra Large Container Ships with a maximum capacity of 14,000 TEU to the Western Scheldt and the accessibility of the Berendrecht Lock and Delwaide Dock located on the right bank of the port of Antwerp. An integrated simulation platform with mathematical models describing hydrodynamic (manoeuvrability, ship-bank and ship-ship interaction) and external (wind, current, tug assistance) forces and coupled ship manoeuvring simulators helped in evaluating the possibilities and limitations of head-on encounters, lock and turning manoeuvres.The combination of research and training has finally led to the arrival of the MSC Beatrice in April 2009. After a validation period of more than half a year, characterised by a constant adaptation of negotiated restrictions, a new regulation for the upstream and downstream navigation is being prepared

A Novel Planar Antenna for CubeSats

The UHF radio amateur band situated around 436 MHz is a very popular radio band for CubeSat Communications. This band has around 14.5 dB lower path loss compared to the popular S-band due to the lower frequency. The longer wavelength accompanied with the UHF band results in antennas that are relatively big compared to the size of a CubeSat. To communicate in this band, CubeSats are therefore equipped with linear wire antennas in dipole or turnstile configuration. Compared to patch antennas which are used to communicate in the S-band, these linear wire antennas have the downside that they need a deployment mechanism. This deployment mechanism increases the risk of failure during the mission, and subsequently asks more attention during design, integration and testing of the CubeSat. Furthermore, this system adds extra mass to the CubeSat and it takes up space that could be used by other subsystems. A novel planar antenna is proposed in this paper that obviates the need for deployment and meets most of the communication requirements for a CubeSat. Key characteristics of the proposed antenna is a gain of 3.72 dBi with a bandwidth of 2.82 MHz