Experimental Flow Investigation of a Truncated Ideal Contour Nozzle

Various tests showed a significant side load peak for low nozzle pressure ratios during engine start-up and shut down phase. DLR Lampoldshausen carried out tests to examine the flow field in a truncated ideal contour nozzle for low NPR. For NPR20 a slight concave shaped Mach disk was found. Its curvature is limited to the centre and its height trend correlates with measured side loads. A concave shaped Mach disk being responsible for re-attached flows at low NPR could be excluded. The experiments were accompanied by numerical simulations of the flow field on various pressure ratios with regards on the shock pattern. The predicted Mach disk shape compares well with the experiments

Still time to Reclaim The European Union Emissions Trading System for the European Tax Payer

The criteria proposed by the EU Commission to identify industries that will receive free emission permits in the third phase of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) are not restrictive enough. Evidence from interviews with almost 800 managers in Europe shows that most of the sectors entitled to free emission permits are not facing an increased risk of closure or relocation outside of the EU as a consequence of permit auctioning. Free permit allocation is therefore just a transfer of tax payers' money to industry without any additional social benefit. We propose a simple modification of the Commission's criteria for free permit allocation which could save European tax payers at least €7 billion annually.Environment

Europe's emissions trading scheme: taxpayers versus sthe industry lobby

The European Commission plans to tighten the greenhouse gas emissions targets in the Emissions Trading System. Ralf Martin and colleagues examine the likely impact on affected businesses, and conclude that industry is exploiting concerns about competitiveness to obtain free emission permits according to criteria that are too lax.industry, R&D, carbon policy, carbon trading

Impact of energy dissipation on interface shapes and on rates for dewetting from liquid substrates

We revisit the fundamental problem of liquid-liquid dewetting and perform a detailed comparison of theoretical predictions based on thin-film models with experimental measurements obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Specifically, we consider the dewetting of a liquid polystyrene (PS) layer from a liquid polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) layer, where the thicknesses and the viscosities of PS and PMMA layers are similar. The excellent agreement of experiment and theory reveals that dewetting rates for such systems follow no universal power law, in contrast to dewetting scenarios on solid substrates. Our new energetic approach allows to assess the physical importance of different contributions to the energy-dissipation mechanism, for which we analyze the local flow fields and the local dissipation rates.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Including widespread geometry formats in semantic graphs using RDF literals

The exchange of building data involves both geometric and non-geometric data. A promising Linked Data approach is to embed data from existing geometry formats inside Resource Description Framework (RDF) literals. Based on a study of relevant specifications and related work, this toolset-independent approach was found suitable for the exchange of geometric construction data. To implement the approach in practice, the File Ontology for Geometry formats (FOG) and accompanying modelling method is developed. In a proof-of-concept web application that uses FOG, is demonstrated how geometry descriptions of different existing formats are automatically recognised and parsed

Droplets on liquids and their long way into equilibrium

The morphological paths towards equilibrium droplets during the late stages of the dewetting process of a liquid film from a liquid substrate is investigated experimentally and theoretically. As liquids, short chained polystyrene (PS) and polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) are used, which can be considered as Newontian liquids well above their glass transition temperatures. Careful imaging of the PS/air interface of the droplets during equilibration by \emph{in situ} scanning force microscopy and the PS/PMMA interface after removal of the PS droplets reveal a surprisingly deep penetration of the PS droplets into the PMMA layer. Droplets of sufficiently small volumes develop the typical lens shape and were used to extract the ratio of the PS/air and PS/PMMA surface tensions and the contact angles by comparison to theoretical exact equilibrium solutions of the liquid/liquid system. Using these results in our dynamical thin-film model we find that before the droplets reach their equilibrium they undergo several intermediate stages each with a well-defined signature in shape. Moreover, the intermediate droplet shapes are independent of the details of the initial configuration, while the time scale they are reached depend strongly on the droplet volume. This is shown by the numerical solutions of the thin-film model and demonstrated by quantitative comparison to experimental results

The Impacts of the Climate Change Levy on Manufacturing: Evidence from Microdata

We estimate the impacts of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) on manufacturing plants using panel data from the UK production census. Our identification strategy builds on the comparison of outcomes between plants subject to the CCL and plants that were granted an 80% discount on the levy after joining a Climate Change Agreement (CCA). Exploiting exogenous variation in eligibility for CCA participation, we find that the CCL had a strong negative impact on energy intensity and electricity use. We cannot reject the hypothesis that the tax had no detrimental effects on economic performance and on plant exit.

Intuitive and Deliberative Decision-Making in Negotiations

This study departs from common conjecture by challenging the preference for deliberation or intuition, or both, in negotiations. In contrast to prior negotiation studies considering judgment precision, this study builds on underlying personality traits. Therefore, the findings are valid beyond the experimental context. This study conceptualizes and experimentally tests the impact of preference for intuitive and deliberate decision-making during negotiations in Chinese, German, and Polish cultures. Contrasting an emotional with a neutral setting, the paper evaluates the impact preference for intuition and deliberation have on negotiation outcome. The results challenge the frequent assumption made in negotiation analysis: Deliberative negotiators are superior

Breaking the Shackles of Poverty: How Bridging Ties Enable Subsistence Entrepreneurs to Upgrade their Businesses to a Prosperous Level

Subsistence entrepreneurs establish and run their business ventures under harsh economic and social conditions. These survival-driven businesses are impoverished and generate insufficient income for entrepreneurs and their families. Subsistence entrepreneurs can break this vicious poverty cycle by upscaling their ventures into more sustainable and profitable businesses. However, it is not clear what prevents these entrepreneurs from developing more prosperous and sustainable business ventures. This study fills the gap by investigating the effect of bridging social ties on subsistence businesses\u27 performance. Further, the study examines the impact of group identity, jealousy, gender, and power on subsistence entrepreneurs\u27 efforts to build bridging social ties. Empirical results are obtained using a quantitative methodology for analyzing a sample of 151 entrepreneurs living in an impoverished neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan. The findings show that bridging ties improve subsistence business ventures\u27 performance. The data evaluation demonstrates further that gender affects the building of social bridging ties. The results also highlight that group identity restricts bridging social ties but finds no negative impact of jealousy and power on bridging social ties

Some Have Other Crisis Concerns: Antecedents of Anxiety while Grocery Shopping

This study relates consumer behaviour with social disruption theory by identifying the antecedents of anxiety related to grocery shopping. Our research design integrates cognitive, behavioural, self-identity, emotional components in disruptive situations. This study presents a conceptual framework focusing on the cognitive and behavioural antecedents of anxiety relating to grocery shopping in disruptive situations. The conceptual model was validated by fitting a SEM with the FIMIX-PLS algorithm to 228 responses obtained an online questionnaire in Brazil and Germany. Two distinct segments of consumers—concerned and scared consumers—differing by their perceived vulnerability are identified. Concerned consumers are characterized by a strong relation of personal concerns to anxiety. The empirical contribution roots in the identification of two types of customers with respect to concerns and anxiety: (i) the concerned because of their situational awareness and (ii) those with more pressing problems. Thus, our study contributes to consumer behaviour and social disruption theory by clarifying and quantifying the impact of the antecedents of anxiety related to grocery shopping in crises. The resulting data from survey responses are cross-sectional, which means it cannot provide evidence of temporal sequence. Retailers benefit from actively shaping consumers’ emotional experiences through measures. The perceived consumers’ need for coping strategies to reduce their anxiety (e.g., shopping in less frequented stores) can thereby be eliminate