An experimental study of elastohydrodynamics of towed flexible cylinders aided by video image processing

Experimental studies of the elastohydrodynamics of towed flexible cylinders aided by video image processing are reported. A scale model of a prototype hydrophone array has been designed, fabricated, and tested in a speed range of 1.0 to 4.5 m/sec. The experiments were conducted in a 67-m long towing tank. The instrumented flexible member, 12.7 mm in diameter and 13.55 m long, was fixed at the one end and free at the other and was slightly lighter than neutrally bouyant. Three tail drogue configurations were employed. An integral part of the physical model tests was the development and utilization of a microcomputer based video image processing system for model configuration reconstitution. Instability characteristics, tail acceleration spectral densities, lift force due to curvature, and drag coefficients are quantified and discussed.     

Feeding Habits of Ocinebrina edwardsi (Mollusca: Prosobranchia) a Common Mussel Drill of the Italian Coasts

Abstract. The shell-boring gastropod Ocinebrina edwardsi (PAYR.) lives associated with Mytilus galloprovincialis LMK on which it preys. Predation is preferentially directed towards small (< 15 mm long) mussels. The predation rate (number of mussels eaten per gastropod per day) for medium sized mussels (16–25 mm long) during a year ranges from 0.03 to 0.11. The predation rate is directly influenced by the sea-water temperature. Predation follows a seasonal cycle reaching a maximum in July and a minimum in January. O. edwardsi drills selectively the median anterior region of the mussel valve, close to the dorsal edge.     

Prediction of ocean waves based on the single-parameter growth equation of wind waves

A method for the prediction of ocean waves was developed on the basis of the single-parameter growth equation of wind waves, proposed byToba (1978) on the basis of similarity in growing wind waves. The applicability of the method to actual problems was tested by hindcasting the wave characteristics with the method, for two cases with differing time and space scales, one in Kii Channel Approach, Japan, and the other in the North Atlantic Ocean. The results showed that the present method can predict waves within an error of 1.3 m in wave heights, which ranged from 3 to 12 m.     

Treatment of Hydrodynamic Loading for Random Sea State

- In order to employ cost effective frequency domain analysis for off-shore structures treatment of hydrodynamic loading is essential. Drag and inertia dominated, resonating and antiresonating cases under random sea states are analyzed to highlight the implications and relative merits of four salient linearization techniques.     

Some soft mud properties' evaluation by acoustics

Mud is a complex mixture of water and solid particles and acoustics can help on its control. The mud layer, as an acoustic channel, is characterized by its propagation constant relating the wave frequency, the sound velocity, and the energy absorption. If the input acoustic pulse is known, it is feasible to easily characterize the mud layer as a low pass filter (absorption); if it is also possible to insonify the mud with sound of both low and high frequencies, the sound speed of the mud mixture can be evaluated, and the propagation constant is then known.