“Science is Everywhere,but No One Knows It”: Assessing the Cultural Distance to Science of Rural South African Publics

ABSTRACT

In science communication, a prerequisite for reaching different parts of a society is to find out how these publics experience and interpret science. Since rural South African publics are perceived to exhibit a large cultural distance to science, the present exploratory study aimed to know in more detail how rural South Africans perceive and understand science in their local and social contexts. Theoretical notions on cultural distance and the methodological approach of segmentation studies were considered. Semi-structured interviews with rural South Africans were carried out in four towns (n?=?52) that differ with respect to having a large scientific installation in their vicinity, or not. Sensitively comparing local and social contexts helped identifying three different publics who differed regarding their perceptions of science; however, the large scientific installations only made a difference in perceptions for those publics who were generally less exposed to and less knowledgeable about science.     

Numerical simulation of small-scale pool fires of LNG

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been largely indicated as a promising alternative solution for the transportation and storage of natural gas. In the case of accidental release on the ground, a pool fire scenario may occur. Despite the relevance of this accident, due to its likelihood and potential to trigger domino effects, accurate analyses addressing the characterization of pool fires of LNG are still missing.In this work, the fire dynamic simulator (FDS) has been adopted for the evaluation of the effects of the released amount of fuel and its composition (methane, ethane, and propane), on the thermal and chemical properties of small-scale LNG pool fire. More specifically, the heat release rate, the burning rate, the flame height, and thermal radiation, at different initial conditions, have been evaluated for pool having diameter smaller than 10 m. Safety distances have been calculated for all the investigated conditions, as well.Results have also been compared with data and correlations retrieved from the current literature. The equation of Thomas seems to work properly for the definition of the height over diameter ratio of the LNG pool fire for all the mixture and the investigated diameters.The addition of ethane and propane significantly affects the obtained results, especially in terms of radiative thermal radiation peaks, thus indicating the inadequacy of the commonly adopted assumption of pure methane as single, surrogate species for the LNG mixture.     

近距煤层无煤柱协调开采布局研究与应用*

为了解决老母矿近距煤层的开采难题,通过理论分析并利用FLAC 3D数值模拟软件进行模拟,分析出煤层前后推进150 m是最合理的步距，侧向采动支撑压力在15~50 m内存在影响。基于这些理论数据，确定回采巷道的合理位置,进而确定以内错距离范围为30~60 m的内错式布置方式布置巷道和无煤柱协调开采布局，并进行井下工程应用。最后把无煤柱协调开采布局与双巷掘进开采布局对比，得出无煤柱协调开采布局的先进性和优势，研究结果可为同类条件下的工程应用提供借鉴。     

红外系统对点源目标作用距离的优化计算

作用距离是红外系统核心性能指标之一,受大气、背景等多方面因素的影响。针对传统作用距离计算方法存在的局限,综合考虑多个影响因素,提出了一种优化计算方法,首次精确计算了作用距离与实际距离之差的大气衰减值,并对计算方法进行了验证。结果表明,优化计算方法具有较好的计算精度,可用于红外系统性能预测和整体设计。     

喷涂车间卫生防护距离计算方法探讨

无组织废气排放对环境危害较大,目前,无组织废气排放的卫生防护距离的计算主要以国家标准方法(GB/T 13201-91)为主,但该方法存在一定的缺陷。以机械加工企业中常见的涂装车间无组织废气排放为研究对象,分别研究国家标准计算模式、线源扩散模式、面源扩散模式等三种不同的卫生防护距离计算方法,讨论不同卫生防护距离计算公式的差异,为企业选址和总图布置提供科学依据。     

长输管道穿越河流的环境影响及对策浅析

由于近年来施工机械及河流穿越技术的不断进步,对于各地区不同的气候和地质条件,各类长输管道穿越河流等特殊地段的施工方式日趋多样化,除工程成本及管线安全性外,也更多的考虑到了工程施工给周边环境带来的不良影响,如何在穿越地段选择合理的施工方式和污染防治措施已成为工程设计阶段的重要关注点,本文主要针对目前中国油气长输管道穿越河流段普遍采用的施工方式进行环境影响分析,并在此基础上提出相应污染防治措施。     

大气环境防护距离确定方法的改进

文章分析了大气环境防护距离的确定现状与存在的问题,针对模式估算可能产生的误差,对现行的大气环境防护距离确定方法提出了改进意见,并阐述了改进方法的可行性。     

爆炸冲击荷载对动物杀伤作用距离的试验研究

采用3 kg、5 kg和10 kg装药在自由场中爆炸,观察分析距炸点不同距离的家兔在爆炸冲击波下的伤亡情况.试验同时使用冲击波超压测量仪记录不同位置的冲击波超压.试验结果表明,在超压小于0.08×105 Pa时家兔基本安全,3 kg、5 kg、10 kg炸药爆炸时的安全距离分别为20 m、25 m、30 m.     

考虑驾驶员反应时间的车辆碰撞预警模型

为了保证车辆在行驶过程中的安全性,提出了一种考虑驾驶员反应时间的车辆碰撞预警模型,改进了传统模型中驾驶员反应时间定值化的缺点。首先,依据车辆的制动过程分析了驾驶员反应时间对制动距离的影响。其次,设计驾驶员反应时间的模糊推理算法,选取驾龄、疲劳强度和应变能力3个主要因素作为评价指标来计算反应时间。最后,采用分等级的预警策略建立考虑驾驶员反应时间的碰撞预警模型,并通过Carsim-Matlab/Simulink联合仿真与传统模型进行对比分析。结果表明,设计的预警模型可以对不同类型的驾驶员进行差异化碰撞预警,在30 km/h和80 km/h两种车速下实际停车距离与理论值的最大误差为8%。     

高速公路汽车追尾预警系统的开发研究

对高速公路汽车追尾预警系统进行了总体设计,把系统划分为主控单元、雷达测距单元、信息采集单元、显示-声光报警单元4个子系统。在分析汽车动力学基础上,提出了系统安全距离模型,并对各子系统进行了软、硬件设计。通过模拟试验和实际装车实验,验证了系统所要求的各种性能,雷达测距准确,系统报警及时有效.