An introduction to hull design practices for deepwater floating structures

The concepts of floating structure plays a very important role in deepwater projects; and the design of the floating structure is one of the most important tasks in the project. The importance of the floating structure in offshore projects can be demonstrated in the following several areas： the substantial dynamic structure responses due to wave loading and current loading; the limited motion requirements of risers in deep water; and the increasing difficulty of installation for different components of the system. Three major technical aspects have to be considered, i.e. the strength of structure, the fatigue resistance capacity of the system, and local and global stability of the structure. This paper reviews the current design practice of floating structures, evaluates the main tasks during the design and associated major technical requirements, and addresses the major technical challenges encountered during the design. As a close-out of the paper, the authors discuss some potential future developments in the design of floating structures.

Practice and Exploration of Experiential Theme Landscape Design in Urban Historic Blocks: A Case Study of Shengjin Tower Folk Custom Historical Block in Nanchang

Urban historic blocks are an important part of urban public space,but urban public space pays far less attention to users’experience,and there is a lack of design problem of experiential theme landscape.The landscape design practice of Shengjin Tower Folk Custom Historical Block in Nanchang provides an attempt to explore the design problem of experiential theme landscape.In this paper,the results of the design practice were sorted out and summarized,and the specific conception of the experiential design of urban public space was discussed from three aspects of the experiential control design,spatial experience design and serial experience design of the historic block on the basis of elaborating the design concept,so as to provide inspiration and reference for similar urban historic block projects.

TLP hull structural design and analysis

Tension leg platform (TLP) has been one of the most favorite deep-water platform concepts for offshore oil and gas field exploration and development. As of now,a total of 24 TLPs have been installed worldwide with 3 more to be installed in the near future and 5 more under design. Most of these installations are in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Water depths for these TLP installations range from 150 m to 1 600 m. It is highly expected that China will have her first TLP designed,fabricated,and installed in the very near future. In order to satisfy the need for a unified hull structural design practice,this paper presents the design philosophy of a conventional TLP hull structure with emphases on critical structural components design and analysis methodologies.

Probabilistic fragility analysis:A tool for assessing design rules of RC buildings

In this work, fragility analysis is performed to assess two groups of reinforced concrete structures. The first group of structures is composed of buildings that implement three common design practices; namely, fully infilled, weak ground story and short columns. The three design practices are applied during the design process of a reinforced concrete building. The structures of the second group vary according to the value of the behavioral factors used to define the seismic forces as specified in design procedures. Most seismic design codes belong to the class of prescriptive procedures where if certain constraints are fulfilled, the structure is considered safe. Prescriptive design procedures express the ability of the structure to absorb energy through inelastic deformation using the behavior factor. The basic objective of this work is to assess both groups of structures with reference to the limit-state probability of exceedance. Thus, four limit state fragility curves are developed on the basis of nonlinear static analysis for both groups of structures. Moreover, the 95% confidence intervals of the fragility curves are also calculated, taking into account two types of random variables that influence structural capacity and seismic demand.

The Dialectical Relationship between "Changing" and "Unchanging" in GIS Practice Teaching in the Social Transition Period

New requirements have been proposed for GIS practice teaching in colleges and universities in response to the developmental changes of national and industrial sectors during the social transition.Meanwhile,the underlying core characteristics of GIS should remain unchanged in GIS teaching to ensure they serve as the inherent attributes distinguishing GIS from other disciplines.Therefore,the clarification of the dialectical relationship between “changing” and “unchanging” in GIS practice teaching becomes the primary issue to address in relevant teaching reform.To address this issue,the present study systematically analyzes the structural contradictions in GIS practice teaching in the social transition period,and then closely examines the dialectical relationship between “changing” and “unchanging” from the key aspects of educational philosophy,teaching content,teaching methodology,and teaching assessment.Next,using the course of “GIS Practice Design” at the Central South University as an example,the present study describes this university’s reform and inheritance in GIS practice teaching,aiming to provide reference for GIS practice teaching in other universities or majors.

Construction of Software Design and Programming Practice Course in Information and Communication Engineering

Innovation and entrepreneurship education is becoming one of the important goals of higher education in China.According to the requirements of the Ministry of Education to deepen the reform of innovation and entrepreneur-ship education in colleges and universities,we propose a core principle of“from basis to comprehensiveness,and then to innovation”to construct the software design and programming practice course in the information and communication engineering discipline.We have integrated specialized knowledge teaching with innovation and entrepreneurship training,implemented a series of experimental projects that integrate theory with practice,and explored mixed teaching methods and diversified examination methods.In this paper,details about software design and programming practice course construction are shown from aspects of teaching content,teaching methods,and examination methods.These course construction experiences will benefit teachers who engage in innovative practical courses in the information and communication engineering discipline.

高职高专设计基础精品课程建设的实践

精品课程建设在促进高职高专教学改革进程中处于核心地位,需要高瞻远瞩地思考运筹,踏踏实实服务每一课程要素,才能打造真正意义上的精品课程。"设计基础"是各艺术设计专业的基础课程,文章从教师队伍、教学内容、教学方法和手段建设、教材和实践建设等方面,介绍了高职高专"设计基础"精品课程建设的探索与课程实践。

Quasi-Solid-State Ion-Conducting Arrays Composite Electrolytes with Fast Ion Transport Vertical-Aligned Interfaces for All-Weather Practical Lithium-Metal Batteries

The rapid improvement in the gel polymer electrolytes(GPEs)with high ionic conductivity brought it closer to practical applications in solid-state Li-metal batteries.The combination of solvent and polymer enables quasi-liquid fast ion transport in the GPEs.However,different ion transport capacity between solvent and polymer will cause local nonuniform Li+distribution,leading to severe dendrite growth.In addition,the poor thermal stability of the solvent also limits the operating-temperature window of the electrolytes.Optimizing the ion transport environment and enhancing the thermal stability are two major challenges that hinder the application of GPEs.Here,a strategy by introducing ion-conducting arrays(ICA)is created by vertical-aligned montmorillonite into GPE.Rapid ion transport on the ICA was demonstrated by 6Li solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and synchrotron X-ray diffraction,combined with computer simulations to visualize the transport process.Compared with conventional randomly dispersed fillers,ICA provides continuous interfaces to regulate the ion transport environment and enhances the tolerance of GPEs to extreme temperatures.Therefore,GPE/ICA exhibits high room-temperature ionic conductivity(1.08 mS cm^(−1))and long-term stable Li deposition/stripping cycles(>1000 h).As a final proof,Li||GPE/ICA||LiFePO_(4) cells exhibit excellent cycle performance at wide temperature range(from 0 to 60°C),which shows a promising path toward all-weather practical solid-state batteries.

Engineering practice of seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures in China

The concepts of seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures emerged in the early 1970s.In China,the first seismic isolation structure was finished in 1993,and the first energy dissipation structure was built at about the same time.Up to 2007,China had more than 600 seismic isolation and about 100 energy dissipation building structures.In 2008,the huge Wenchuan earthquake hit the southwest of China,which triggered a bloom of new seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures.This paper presents the development history and representative applications of seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures in China,reviews the state-of-the-practice of Chinese design,and discusses the challenges in the future applications.Major findings are as follows:Basic design procedures are becoming standardized after more than ten years of experiences,which mainly involve determination of design earthquake forces,selection of ground motions,modeling and time-history analyses,and performance criteria.Nonlinear time-history analyses using multiple ground motions are the characteristic of the design of seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures.Regulations,standardization and quality control of devices,balance between performance and cost,comparison with real responses,and regular inspection are identified as the issues that should be improved to further promote the application of seismic isolation and energy dissipation structures in China.

Design response to rising sea levels in the Maldives:A study into aquatic architecture

Climate change and rising sea levels present immediate threats to humanity.However,the global catastrophe fails to generate sufficient action.Subject to total submergence within 80 years,this study undertakes an iterative design process seeking sustainable adaptation strategies for the coastal island nation of the Maldives,specifically,Male,its capital,which exists under a"state of alert"by order of government.Research methods include literature reviews,site analysis,mapping,and iterative design processes to develop an implementation framework strategy.Infrastructure concepts are presented as speculative images with context-specific spatial relationships and functions.Concepts do not intend to represent a conclusive prototype,rather,an ideation-a solution-based discourse among key audiences highlighting the need to act decisively and adaptively.