The Potential of the Synthetic Strigolactone Analogue GR24 for the Maintenance of Photosynthesis and Yield in Winter Wheat under Drought: Investigations on the Mechanisms of Action and Delivery Modes

Strigolactones (SLs) have been implicated in many plant biological and physiological processes, including the responses to abiotic stresses such as drought, in concert with other phytohormones. While it is now clear that exogenous SLs may help plants to survive in harsh environmental condition, the best, most effective protocols for treatment have not been defined yet, and the mechanisms of action are far from being fully understood. In the set of experiments reported here, we contrasted two application methods for treatment with a synthetic analog of SL, GR24. A number of morphometric, physiological and biochemical parameters were measured following foliar application of GR24 or application in the residual irrigation water in winter wheat plants under irrigated and drought stress conditions. Depending on the concentration and the method of GR24 application, differentiated photosynthesis and transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, antioxidant enzyme activities and yield in drought conditions were observed. We present evidence that different methods of GR24 application led to increased photosynthesis and yield under stress by a combination of drought tolerance and escape factors, which should be considered for future research exploring the potential of this new family of bioactive molecules for practical applications.

Capabilities and Applications of MACS Aerial Camera Systems for Environmental Research

<p><span><span>High resolution remote sensing under harsh environmental condition on special carriers requires instruments which are more flexible und more ruggedized than devices off the shelf. Particularly addressing environmental research in polar and high alpine regions, a family of cameras developed by the DLR is presented. The MACS systems are specifically made for the use on airborne platforms. Due to scalability, small sensors like single sensors on rugged fixed-wing UAVs can be realized. The configuration can be extended to RGB/NIR/TIR oblique viewing rigs with up to 5 coordinated cameras on manned aircraft. By processing such images, photogrammetric products like change detection, classification, elevation models and mapping mosaics are derived for regional areas. Further applications are the evaluation of algorithms in the field of AI for spaceborne imagery or the investigation of acquiring a particular combination of spectral bands.</span></span></p><p><span><span>These systems are able to deal with extreme illumination conditions and flight envelopes. Based on recent projects, the presentation shows examples and experiences, such as acquisition of the world’s highest glacier in Nepal, thermal infrared permafrost mapping of Ny Ålesund / Svalbard and sea ice measurements with a ground resolution of 3cm in the Fram Strait. Ideas for future sensors are indicated such as an UAV-based system with instant image transmission and a lightweight, high resolution sensor for stratospheric platforms.</span></span></p><p> </p>

CFD ANALYSIS ON VERTICAL MOTION OF A FULL-SCALE FLOATING JETTY

A floating jetty often experiences several vertical motions i.e., heave and pitch motion responses due to harsh environmental condition. This inherently makes discomfort to everyone during berthing on a floating; and even it potentially leads to loss of life due to falling down into the sea. A preliminary analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation is necessary to be conducted to ensure user’s safety. The CFD analysis focused on the interaction between wave motions and the floating jetty and its effects on the vertical motions. The vertical motions of floating jetty were quantified by the Response Amplitude Operators (RAO). Several effects due to variation of wavelength (λ/L) have been studied. The CFD results revealed that the lower wavelength (λ/L<2.25) resulted in the increase of the heave and pitch motion amplitudes proportionally. However, the subsequent increase of wavelength (2.25>λ/L) has given results to less heave and pitch motion amplitudes. In general, it is shown that the vertical motion characteristics of the floating jetty predominantly depend on wave properties.

Experimental Research on Improvement of Battery Reliability

The heat control and maintenance of batteries is essential for effective operation of UPS in harsh environmental condition since battery working reliability ,performance, durability and its economy is directly related to the environmental temperature and air flow around batteries .Therefore, ideally, batteries should be use within its comfortable temperature range to get its optimum performance. Compact design of Batteries in enclosed environments necessitates thermal management of the battery system for optimum life and performance. This invention proposes an efficient vapour compression refrigeration system to effectively cool the batteries and maintain optimum battery surface temperature of 25 °C for better performance and extended battery life at 40°C external ambient temperature. Moreover Silica gel based Solid desiccant wheel is used to absorb moisture from air so that condensation in the battery cabinet can be minimized .Computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer simulation was performed to devise a initial concept. Experimental validation of the prototype was made to verify simulation results and actual temperature distribution.

Extreme and Fatigue Analysis of a Dynamic Subsea Power Umbilical

This paper presents an analysis procedure and results of extreme loading effect and fatigue damage of a dynamic subsea power umbilical. The umbilical was proposed by Hengtong submarine power cable Co., Ltd intended for a FPSO in south China sea at a water depth of 400 m. The umbilical cross section consists of three copper conductor strands and two layers of steel amour wires. A pliant wave configuration is used to accommodate large offset of the FPSO in the harsh environmental condition. Orcaflex is used to verify the tension and curvature of the umbilical in extreme condition against the umbilical capacity curve. UFLEX is used to estimate the mechanical properties and local stress of the umbilical. Fatigue damage is estimated by using results from the global analysis and local stress analysis. The results show that the umbilical cross section design satisfices the acceptance criteria for both extreme and fatigue damage.

SEAKEEPING PREDICTION OF DEEP-V HIGH SPEED CATAMARAN USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS APPROACH

Seakeeping is the dynamic response of the ship in waves that may affect to passenger’s uncomfortability due to a harsh environmental condition. Therefore, an extensive assessment of seakeeping performance in the initial step of ship design is necessarily required. The authors here proposed to analyze the seakeeping performance of ‘deep-V’ high speed catamaran using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. Several effects of Froude number (Fr), wave-length (

Effect of combined hole configuration on film cooling with and without mist injection

Turbine blades operate under a harsh environmental condition, and the inlet temperature of gas turbines is increasing with requirement of high engine efficiency. Some cooling schemes are adopted to prevent these blades from the thermal erosion of the hot mainstream. Film cooling technology is used widely and effectively in gas turbines. The coolant air is suppressed to the wall by the main-stream after jetting out of the film hole. A new hole configuration is first pro-posed to improve the film cooling characteristics in this paper. Comparison be-tween a conventional cylindrical hole and a new combined hole is conducted by CFD, and effects of various blowing ratios and droplet sizes are also investigated. Results show that the combined hole configuration provides a wider coverage than that in the cylindrical hole configuration case at high blowing ratios (M = 1.0 and M = 1.5). In addition, the film cooling with mist injection also provides a significant enhancement on cooling performance especially for the combined hole case with a small droplet size (10?5 m).

The Transient Effect of Tendon Disconnection on the Global Motion of ETLP

This paper deals with a numerical study of the transient effect of tendon disconnection on global performance of ETLP for harsh environmental condition in GoM (Gulf of Mexico). Twelve tendons support the platform with twelve production TTRs and one drilling riser attached by hydro-pneumatic tensioner. Charm3D, a program for global motion analysis of multiple floating hulls coupled with risers/mooring lines, is made to be capable of modeling the tendon disconnection at both top and bottom connection. The study includes the break due to high tension at the top and the unlatch due to negative tension at the bottom. A sudden disconnection of one or more tendons causes the unbalance of force and moment of the total system, only to cause the transient motion and tension as well as the mean offset. The breakage and the unlatch also make the different effects. The transient responses and the mean offsets are compared and discussed in the viewpoint of the safety of the system.

Debonding Failure Mechanism of Basalt Fiber Sheet Bonded on Concrete

Among various types of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials, sheet-formed materials are commonly used for the strengthening of reinforced concrete structures. Basalt fiber sheet has shown a good durability to a harsh environmental condition comparing to other typical fiber sheets, such as glass and carbon fiber sheets [1]. This study investigates the debonding failure characteristics of the basalt fiber sheet for its application in the field. Fundamental mechanical characteristics were evaluated prior to the bond fracture test. Experimental variables include the number of fiber sheet layers, bonding length and bonding width. Debonding failure mode was typical at the bonded interface and the failure strength increased as the number of layer increased. From the results, the effective bond length and effective bond strength were calculated and compared with the literatures. It was also found that the debonding failure strength was a function of the bonding width rather than the bonding length. Based on the test data, an equation to calculate the effective bonding length and strength was suggested.