An Irregular Wave Maker of Active Absorption with VOF Method

A numerical irregular wave flume with active absorption of re-reflected waves is simulated by use of volume of fluid （VOF） method. An active ＇absorbing wave-maker based on linear wave theory is set on the left boundary of the wave flume. The progressive waves and the absorbing waves are generated simultaneously at the active wave generating-absorbing boundary. The absorbing waves are generated to eliminate the waves coming back to the generating boundary due to reflection from the outflow boundary and the structures. SIRW method proposed by Frigaard and Brorsen （1995） is used to separate the incident waves and reflected waves. The digital filters are designed based on the surface elevation signals of the two wave gauges. The corrected velocity of the wave-maker paddle is the output from the digital filter in real time. The numerical results of regular and irregular waves by the active absorbing-generating boundary are compared with the numerical results by the ordinary generating boundary to verify the performance of the active absorbing-generator boundary. The differences between the initial incident waves and the estimated incident waves are analyzed.

Research of an Active Tunable Vibration Absorber for Helicopter Vibration Control

Significant structural vibration is an undesirable characteristic in helicopter flight that leads to structural fatigue, poor ride quality for passengers and high acoustic signature. Previous Individual Blade Control (IBC) techniques to reduce these effects have been hindered by electromechanical limitations of piezoelectric actuators. The Smart Spring is an active tunable vibration absorber using IBC approach to adaptively alter the 'structural impedance' at the blade root. In this paper, a mathematical model was developed to predict the response under harmonic excitations. An adaptive notch algorithm was designed and implemented on a TMS320c40 DSP platform. Reference signal synthesis techniques were used to automatically track the shifts in the fundamental vibratory frequency due to variations in flight conditions. Closed-loop tests performed on the proof-of-concept hardware achieved significant vibration suppression at harmonic peaks as well as the broadband reduction in vibration. The investigation verified the capability of the Smart Spring to suppress multiple harmonic components in blade vibration through active impedance control.

Novel approach for active vibration control of a flexible missile

This paper investigates the feasibility of using an active dynamic vibration absorber(ADVA) for active vibration control of a flexible missile system through simulation.Based on the principles of a dynamic vibration absorber(DVA),a ring-type ADVA is first designed to attenuate the elastic vibration of the flexible missile,and the design of the active controller adopts the proportional-integral-derivative(PID)control algorithm.The motion equations of a flexible missile with an ADVA,which is subjected to follower thrust at its aft end,are derived using the Lagrangian approach.Taking the minimum of the root mean square(RMS) of the lateral displacement response of the center of mass as the objective function,a genetic algorithm(GA) is used to optimize the parameter of the DVA and PID controller.The numerical calculations show that the ADVA and DVA are effective in suppressing the vibration and provide approximately 41.2% and 17.6% improvement,respectively,compa red with the case of no DVA,The ADVA has better performance than the DVA,When the missile is subjected to follower thrust,the effect of vibration reduction is more effective than the case without follower thrust.It is feasible to reduce vibration and improve the stability of flexible missiles by means of the ADVA.

Improving GPP estimates by partitioning green APAR from total APAR in two deciduous forest sites

Non-photosynthetic components within a forest ecosystem account for a large proportion of the canopy but are not involved in photosynthesis.Therefore,the accuracy of gross primary production(GPP)estimates is expected to improve by removing these components.However,their infl uence in GPP estimations has not been quantitatively evaluated for deciduous forests.Several vegetation indices have been used recently to estimate the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by photosynthetic components(FAPAR_(green))for partitioning APAR green(photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by photosynthetic components).In this study,the enhanced vegetation index(EVI)estimated FAPAR_(green)and to separate the photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by photosynthetic components(APAR green)from total APAR observations(APAR_(total))at two deciduous forest sites.The eddy covariance-light use effi ciency(EC-LUE)algorithm was employed to evaluate the infl uence of non-photosynthetic components and to test the performance of APAR green in GPP estimation.The results show that the infl uence of non-photosynthetic components have a seasonal pattern at deciduous forest sites,large diff erences are observed with normalized root mean square error(RMSE*)values of APAR green-based GPP and APAR_(total)-based GPP between tower-based GPP during the early and end stages,while slight diff erences occurred during peak growth seasons.In addition,daily GPP estimation was significantly improved using the APAR green-based method,giving a higher coeffi cient of determination and lower normalized root mean square error against the GPP estimated by the APAR_(total)-based method.The results demonstrate the signifi cance of partitioning APAR green from APAR_(total)for accurate GPP estimation in deciduous forests.

Estimation of Net Primary Productivity of Terrestrial Vegetation in China by Remote Sensing

Among the many approaches for studying the net primary productivity (NPP), a new method by using remote sensing was introduced in this paper. With spectral information source (the visible band, near infrared band and thermal infrared band) of NOAA-AVHRR, we can get the relative index and parameters, which can be used for estimating NPP of terrestrial vegetation. By means of remote sensing, the estimation of biomass and NPP is mainly based on the models of light energy utilization. In other words, the biomass and NPP can be calculated from the relation among NPP, absorbed photosynthetical active radiation (APAR) and the rate (epsilon) of transformation of APAR to organic matter, thus: NPP = ( FPAR x PAR) x [epsilon * x sigma (T) x sigma (E) x sigma (S) x (1 - Y-m) x (1 - Y-g)]. Based upon remote sensing ( RS) and geographic information system (GIS), the NPP of terrestrial vegetation in China in every ten days was calculated, and the annual NPP was integrated. The result showed that the total NPP of terrestrial vegetation in China was 6.13 x 10(9) t C . a(-1) in 1990 and the maximum NPP was 1 812.9 g C/m(2). According to this result, the spatio-temporal distribution of NPP was analyzed. Comparing to the statistical models, the RS model, using area object other than point one, can better reflect the distribution of NPP, and match the geographic distribution of vegetation in China.

Tropical forest canopies and their relationships with climate and disturbance： results from a global dataset of consistent field-based measurements

Background： Canopy structure, defined by leaf area index （LAI）, fractional vegetation cover （FCover） and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation （fAPAR）, regulates a wide range of forest functions and ecosystem services. Spatially consistent field-measurements of canopy structure are however lacking, particularly for the tropics. Methods： Here, we introduce the Global LAI database： a global dataset of field-based canopy structure measurements spanning tropical forests in four continents （Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas）. We use these measurements to test for climate dependencies within and across continents, and to test for the potential of anthropogenic disturbance and forest protection to modulate those dependences. Results： Using data collected from 887 tropical forest plots, we show that maximum water deficit, defined across the most arid months of the year, is an important predictor of canopy structure, with all three canopy attributes declining significantly with increasing water deficit. Canopy attributes also increase with minimum temperature, and with the protection of forests according to both active （within protected areas） and passive measures （through topography）. Once protection and continent effects are accounted for, other anthropogenic measures （e.g. human population） do not improve the model. Conclusions： We conclude that canopy structure in the tropics is primarily a consequence of forest adaptation to the maximum water deficits historically experienced within a given region. Climate change, and in particular changes in drought regimes may thus affect forest structure and function, but forest protection may offer some resilience against this effect.

Preparation, Swelling and Antibacterial Behaviors of N-Succinyl Chitosan-g-Poly(Acrylic Acid-co-Acrylamide) Superabsorbent Hydrogels

Superabsorbent hydrogels were prepared successfully from N-succinyl chitosan grafted poly（acrylic acid-co-acrylamide）. The potassium persulfate（KPS）, N, N＇-methylenebisacrylamide（MBA） were used as the initiator and crosslinker, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM） were used to confirm the porous network structure of superabsorbent hydrogel. The effects of reaction parameters on the swelling behaviors of the superabsorbent hydrogels were investigated. The results indicated that water absorbency increased first, and then decreased gradually with the increase in the contents of monomer（AA＋AM）, KPS, MBA or acrylamide. The product had excellent water absorbency of 1375 g/g in distilled water and 83 g/g in 0.9wt% NaCl solution. Simultaneously, the superabsorbent hydrogels were p H sensitive. The antibacterial activities of the hydrogels against Escherichia coli（E. coli） were improved effectively because of polyamidoamine（PAMAM） dendrimer absorbed in the hydrogels.

Remote estimation of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation for a maize canopy in Northeast China

Aims accurate remote estimation of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation(fAPAR)is essential for the light use efficiency(LUE)models.Currently,one challenge for the LUE models is lack of knowledge about the relationship between fAPAR and the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI).Few studies have tested this relationship against field measurements and evaluated the accuracy of the remote estimation method.this study aimed to reveal the empirical relationship between NDVI and fAPAR and to improve algorithms for remote estimation of fAPAR.Methods to investigate the method of remote estimation of fAPAR seasonal dynamics,the CASA(Carnegie-ames-stanford approach)model and spectral vegetation indices(VIs)were used for in situ measure-ments of spectral reflectance and fAPAR during the growing season of a maize canopy in Northeast China.Important Findingsthe results showed that the fAPAR increased rapidly with the day of year during the vegetative stage,it remained relatively stable at the stage of reproduction,and finally decreased slowly during the senescence stage.In addition,fAPAR green[fAPAR_(green)=fAPAR_(green) -fAPAR_(green) LAI_(max))]showed clearer seasonal trends than fAPAR.the NDVI,red-edge NDVI,wide dynamic range vegetation index,red-edge position(REP)and REP with sentinel-2 bands derived from hyperspectral remote sensing data were all significantly positively related to fAPAR green during the entire growing season.In a comparison of the predictive performance of VIs for the whole growing season,REP was the most appropriate spectral index,and can be recommended for monitoring seasonal dynamics of fAPAR in a maize canopy.

Thermo-oxidative degradation of Nylon 1010 films:Colorimetric evaluation and its correlation with material properties

The thermo-oxidative aging behaviors of Nylon 1010 films were studied by various analytical methods,such as measuring the chromaticity,relative viscosity,carbonyl index,UV absorbance at 280 nm and elongation at break of the aged films.The thermo-oxidative aging plots of the results obtained via these various methods at different temperatures are subjected to the time-temperature superposition analysis,which are found to be well superposed.The b＊ values are used as X axis and the other results,i.e.,relative viscosity,carbonyl index,UV absorbance at 280 nm and elongation at break,are used as V axis,respectively.The relationship between the b values and the other results is obtained,from which we can derive the changes of physical and chemical properties at different b＊ values.Since the b＊ values can be quickly determined by using a portable spectrophotometer,the on-line evaluation of the thermo-oxidative aging of Nylon 1010 can be realized.