Second order Rossby-Haurwitz wave interactions

Rossby-Haurwitz waves are large sinuous oscillations in the atmosphere and oceans. These planetary waves owe their existence to the rotation and shape of the earth. They are an important wave type for large-scale meteorological processes as they are dominant in determining the patterns of weather in the middle latitudes. This thesis concerns the interactions of these Rossby-Haurwitz waves within the framework of the vorticity equation for nondivergent planetary flow at second order. O f particular interest is the potential for generating zonal flow, i.e., large-scale atmospheric flow th at occurs in an east-west direction. Examining interactions at first order we distinguish between nonresonant interactions and resonant interactions. Resonant interactions are interactions where two Rossby-Haurwitz waves can create a th ird Rossby-Haurwitz wave, which over time becomes as strong as the two primary waves. The necessary conditions for resonant interactions to occur are derived. I t is also shown th at zonal flow waves cannot be produced at this order. Examining second order interactions it is shown that zonal flow can now be generated by a mechanism that disappears in the ¡3—plane limit. This is the central result of the thesis. Zonal flow can be generated through the exchange of energy within a triad, and this occurs at second order. The amplitudes of the zonal flow terms are not affected until the second order equation. Detailed numerical results are presented underpinning the theoretical results

Who pays and who plays? Mapping the discourse of publicly funded instrumental music education in Ireland

Instrumental music education is provided as an extra-curricular activity on a fee-paying basis by a small number of Education and Training Boards, formerly Vocational Education Committees (ETB/VECs) through specialist instrumental Music Services. Although all citizens’ taxes fund the public music provision, participation in instrumental music during school-going years is predominantly accessed by middle class families. A series of semistructured interviews sought to access the perceptions and beliefs of instrumental music education practitioners (N=14) in seven publicly-funded music services in Ireland. Canonical dispositions were interrogated and emergent themes were coded and analysed in a process of Grounded theory. The study draws on Foucault’s conception of discourse as a lens with which to map professional practices, and utilises Bourdieu’s analysis of the reproduction of social advantage to examine cultural assumptions, which may serve to privilege middle-class cultural choice to the exclusion of other social groups. Study findings show that within the Music Services, aesthetic and pedagogic discourses of the 19th century Conservatory system exert a hegemonic influence over policy and practice. An enduring ‘examination culture’ located within the Western art music tradition determines pedagogy, musical genre, and assessment procedures. Ideologies of musical taste and value reinforce the more tangible boundaries of fee-payment and restricted availability as barriers to access. Practitioners are aware of a status duality whereby instrumental teachers working as visiting specialists in primary schools experience a conflict between specialist and generalist educational aims. Nevertheless, study participants consistently advocated siting the point of access to instrumental music education in the primary schools as the most equitable means of access to instrumental music education. This study addresses a ‘knowledge gap’ in the sociology of music education in Ireland. It provides a framework for rethinking instrumental music education as equitable in-school musical participation. The conclusions of the study suggest starting-points for further educational research and may provide key ‘prompts’ for curriculum planning

The Future of Music Schools:European Perspectives

Music education in Europe reflects the colorful diversity and rich tradition of the cultural identities of our continent. Within the music education landscape music schools are institutions specially focused on the practices of music-making. The First European Music School Symposium, which took place at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in October 2017, brought together more than 150 researchers and practitioners from twenty-five European countries. The two cooperating partners, European Music School Union and Austrian Conference of Music School Associations, ensured a lively exchange between research and practitioners. This post-symposium publication presents contributions from twenty-nine researchers from thirteen European countries and paints a multicolored picture of music schools in Europe

Investigation of the closed loop control of a pneumatic conveying system using tomographic imaging

The subject of pneumatic conveying of solids is a complex one. The flow regime present in a conveying system is dependent upon: the size and shape of the particles to be conveyed, the geometry and orientation of the conveying pipe, the relative densities of the solid and the conveying air. The variable parameters present are the velocity of the conveying air and the solids mass flow rate. The variation of these two factors dictates the presence of either dilute or dense phase flow. At Manchester Metropolitan University a pneumatic conveying system transporting polyethylene nibs, was used to investigate the implementation of a Proportional and Integral control system using a tomographic imaging system in the feedback loop. The aim of the investigative work was to achieve control of the air velocity and solids loading factor for the conveying system to maintain dilute phase flow at a prescribed level. The solids material conveyed was sensed using a PC based electrical tomographic imaging system and this was used to control the air velocity in the conveying system

Closed loop control of a pneumatic conveying system using tomographic imaging

The subject of pneumatic conveying of solids is a complex one. The flow regime present in a conveying system is dependent upon: the size and shape of the particles to be conveyed, the geometry and orientation of the conveying pipe, the relative densities of the solid and the conveying air. The variable parameters present are the velocity of the conveying air and the solids mass flow rate. The variation of these two factors dictates the presence of either dilute or dense phase flow. At Manchester Metropolitan University a pneumatic conveying system transporting polyethylene nibs, was used to investigate the implementation of a Proportional and Integral control system using a tomographic imaging system in the feedback loop. The aim of the investigative work was to achieve control of the air velocity and solids loading factor for the conveying system to maintain dilute phase flow at a prescribed level. The solids material conveyed was sensed using a PC based electrical tomographic imaging system and this was used to control the air velocity in the conveying system

Variable density flowmeter for loading road tankers using process tomography

Montell Carrington Limited produces polyethylene and polypropylene nibs, which are sold in bulk form to companies who use them to make products for the consumer market. The nibs are stored in 30 storage bunkers, each with a capacity of 500 tonnes. The external distribution of nibs is achieved using 40 tonne road tankers that are filled from each of the bunkers using gravity feed.Work has been undertaken at the Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Montell, to develop a Variable Density Flowmeter using Process Tomography that will enable the mass flow of nibs to be measured with an accuracy of ±2% and hence control the loading of the road tankers. The flowmeter (260mm diameter) was situated between the bunker discharge outlet valve and the tanker. Measurement of the density distribution across the pipe, using Process Tomography, enabled the mass flow into the road tankers to be determined. The Montell Process Tomography (MPT) system was a PC based system incorporating Texas Instruments C40 parallel processors and a 12 electrode capacitance measuring system with a driven axial shield. The capacitance detector was an AC bridge detection circuit working at 100kHz, a demodulator and a back projection algorithm were used to obtain the process images