Finite volume modelling of low speed structural impact problems

Two investigations are described in this thesis on the common theme of applying finite volume methods to simulate structural impact problems. The first investigation is the application of the Eulerian Finite Volume Method (EFVM) to simulate the low-speed impact of ductile materials. Simulation results are validated against experiment showing that it is possible to accurately predict crater deformation profiles over the low speed speed impact regime for different projectile and substrate materials. We demonstrate how the rate dependent Johnson-Cook plasticity model is crucial to ensure correspondence to experiment. The second investigation is concerned with the application of EFVM to simulate impact damage to thin polymeric coatings applied to the surface of metals. The aim of this work is to demonstrate how new simulation methods can help understand coating damage due stone impact. We simulate the debonding phenomenon of single layer coatings under impact by setting boundary conditions at the plate and paint interface. We show how EFVM can capture two limits of interface behaviour, sliding and separation 'slip' at one extreme and zero sliding 'welded' at the other. Results compare well to previously published experimental and simulation work, and our own finite element simulations in Abaqus. We also demonstrate how EFVM brings greater robustness and stability compared to FEM when modelling adhesive failure and higher energy impact penetration

From Codex to Computer

This volume emerged from the 2013 conference ‘Resurrecting the Book’, which the researcher conceived and organised to commemorate the opening of the Library of Birmingham. The ensuing publication concentrates on the materiality of the book and the timeframe deliberates on two key moments: the hand-press period when printing challenged the hegemony of manuscript production; and our own age when the arrival of the computer and the production of e-books similarly questions modi operandi. It is now a commonplace to maintain that the current technological revolution has many affinities with the upheaval that accompanied the advent of the printing press. This volume argues that the parallels, continuities and differences in the material form of the book and its production, dissemination and use at these two junctures are worth re-exploring because they are both more complex and nuanced than first appears. This volume looks, therefore, at important issues about the materiality of the book. Rather than suggest a confrontational relationship between manuscript, print and digital, it shows how different forms intersect and yet remain sui generis

Reflections on Jen Sandler and Renita Thedvall (eds.). 2017. Meeting Ethnography: Meetings as Key Technologies of Contemporary Governance, Development, and Resistance. New York: Routledge.

Readers’ Corner: Reflections on Jen Sandler and Renita Thedvall (eds.). 2017. Meeting Ethnography: Meetings as Key Technologies of Contemporary Governance, Development, and Resistance. New York: Routledge

Observations of Submesoscale Variability and Frontal Subduction within the Mesoscale Eddy Field of the Tasman Sea

Submesoscale lenses of water with anomalous hydrographic properties have previously been observed in the East Australian Current (EAC) system, embedded within the thermocline of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies. The waters within these lenses have high oxygen content and temperature–salinity properties that signify a surface origin. However, it is not known how these lenses form. This study presents field observations that provide insight into a possible generation mechanism via subduction at upper-ocean fronts. High-resolution hydrographic and velocity measurements of submesoscale activity were taken across a front between a mesoscale eddy dipole downstream of the EAC separation point. The front had O(1) Rossby number, strong vertical shear, and flow conducive to symmetric instability. Frontogenesis was measured in conjunction with subduction of an anticyclonic water parcel, indicative of intrathermocline eddy formation. Twenty-five years of satellite imagery reveals the existence of strong mesoscale strain coupled with strong temperature fronts in this region and indicates the conditions that led to frontal subduction observed here are a persistent feature. These processes impact the vertical export of tracers from the surface and dissipation of mesoscale kinetic energy, implicating their importance for understanding regional ocean circulation and biological productivity

Self-Conscious Emotions and the Right Fronto-Temporal and Right Temporal Parietal Junction

For more than two decades, research focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations has suggested a key role for specific regions in the regulation of self-conscious emotions. It is speculated that both the expression and the interpretation of self-conscious emotions are critical in humans for action planning and response, communication, learning, parenting, and most social encounters. Empathy, Guilt, Jealousy, Shame, and Pride are all categorized as self-conscious emotions, all of which are crucial components to one’s sense of self. There has been an abundance of evidence pointing to the right Fronto-Temporal involvement in the integration of cognitive processes underlying the expression of these emotions. Numerous regions within the right hemisphere have been identified including the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). In this review, we aim to investigate patient cases, in addition to clinical and non-clinical studies. We also aim to highlight these specific brain regions pivotal to the right hemispheric dominance observed in the neural correlates of such self-conscious emotions and provide the potential role that self-conscious emotions play in evolution

The roles of the zinc finger transcription factors XlnR, ClrA and ClrB in the breakdown of lignocellulose by Aspergillus niger

Genes encoding the key transcription factors (TF) XlnR, ClrA and ClrB were deleted from Aspergillus niger and the resulting strains were assessed for growth on glucose and wheat straw, transcription of genes encoding glycosyl hydrolases and saccharification activity. Growth of all mutant strains, based in straw on measurement of pH and assay of glucosamine, was impaired in relation to the wild type (WT) strain although deletion of clrA had less effect than deletion of xlnR or clrB. Release of sugars from wheat straw was also lowered when culture filtrates from TF deletion strains were compared with WT culture filtrates. Transcript levels of cbhA, eglC and xynA were measured in all strains in glucose and wheat straw media in batch culture with and without pH control. Transcript levels from cbhA and eglC were lowered in all mutant strains compared to WT although the impact of deleting clrA was not pronounced with expression of eglC and had no effect on xynA. The impact on transcription was not related to changes in pH. In addition to impaired growth on wheat straw, the ?xlnR strain was sensitive to oxidative stress and displayed cell wall defects in the glucose condition suggesting additional roles for XlnR. The characterisation of TFs, such as ClrB, provides new areas of improvement for industrial processes for production of second generation biofuels