ACQUIRING FOREIGN NUCLEAR ASSISTANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has laid out an ambitious plan to become the first Arab country to possess a civilian nuclear energy program. Central to that effort has been the Emirati government's ability to obtain foreign nuclear assistance. This article traces the UAE's strategies for overcoming the obstacles that stood in the way of nuclear suppliers providing assistance. It examines the approach taken by the UAE to assuage the safety and security concerns of nuclear suppliers, how the UAE leveraged its alliances with France and the United States to obtain their cooperation, and its strategies for engaging domestic interest groups in supplier states. The generalizable elements of the UAE's strategies are discussed and used to provide insight into the prospects for other Middle Eastern states' bids to obtain similar assistance. The article concludes with a discussion of the potentially transformative aspects of the strategies employed by the UAE in shaping other countries' pursuit of nuclear energy in the region.     

TURKEY'S NUCLEAR COMEBACK

As worries have grown about global warming and the sustainability and price of fossil fuels, the demand for nuclear energy has increased, and nuclear power is increasingly viewed as a reliable and clean resource. However, the so-called nuclear renaissance coincides with an international security environment in which the norms of nuclear nonproliferation seem to be eroding. Turkey, a non-nuclear weapon state, plans to generate nuclear power to meet future energy demands, but it is aware of and concerned with regional proliferation trends. Questions have also been raised regarding Ankara's rationale for using nuclear energy, as well as its potential motivations and capabilities regarding future proliferation. This article will provide an overview of Turkey's nuclear energy history and plans, as well as the proliferation-related questions that could arise; it will also look at the domestic debate on nuclear energy and Turkey's status as a non-nuclear weapon state.     

The Importance of Safeguards Culture

International safeguards is the system of measures put in place by the International Atomic Energy Agency and states to ensure nuclear programs remain dedicated to peaceful purposes. This international safeguards system consists of agreements, inspections, and evaluations that have never considered the safeguards culture of a state or facility. Neither a common definition nor an understanding of safeguards culture is internationally recognized. This article provides an analysis of the concept of safeguards culture and gauges its value to the international safeguards community. The authors explore distinctions among safeguards culture, safeguards compliance, and safeguards performance, and suggest possible indicators of safeguards culture and methods to promote a strong, positive safeguards culture.     

From the Editors

Israel's policy of military reprisals has never seemed to follow any consistent pattern of tit‐for‐tat. On the one hand, not every violent incident was answered with a counterattack. On the other hand, when Israel responded, frequently it employed an excessive amount of force, which was disproportional to the Arab provocation. This behavior has not been the consequence of a premeditated and rational strategy. Instead, it appears to have been the result of a political dispute between alternative approaches regarding the use of military force. The following research analyzes the development of this controversy and how these differences of opinion were resolved.     

某自行高炮虚拟训练系统设计及关键技术

结合自行式高炮装备的结构特点和训练需求,采用机理与外观相分离的设计思想,建立一种多节点、多任务的分布式仿真训练系统。以机理模型为设计核心,采用了客户/服务器模式的系统拓扑结构。介绍了复杂装备外观建模方法和交互技术以及基于MATLAB的机理模型构建和系统集成方法。     

移动式铁路油罐车清洗装置水循环使用与节能分析

装备节能研究对建设绿色节能型社会具有重要意义。对移动式铁路油罐车清洗装置中清洗管路和吸污管路的热损进行分析计算,提出了水掺混循环使用的节能清洗方案,对清洗工艺中的传热过程、水循环使用中水掺混比例进行了详尽的分析计算,并对节能效果进行了分析。结果表明,清洗管路系统热损较低,水掺混循环使用的节能效果明显。     

国家能源供给对军队后勤建设的影响研究

军队后勤建设离不开国家能源供给,军队能源储备、军事训练、国防工程、科研试验以及日常生活等方面均与国家能源供给有着密切的关系。探讨了国家能源供给对军队后勤建设的影响内容,分析了国家能源供给对军队后勤建设的影响,提出了确定国家能源供给对军队后勤建设影响的方法步骤。     

基于激光雷达的高炉回旋区深度探测研究

炼铁高炉回旋区深度的直接探测存在较大困难,提出了一种基于激光雷达的回旋区边缘探测方法。探测得到的回波信号存在较大噪声干扰,为提取边缘回波信号,首先对噪声特点进行分析,判明噪声包括白噪声和1/fγ非平稳随机噪声;由此采用多小波平移不变算法进行滤波处理;采用H ilbert-Huang变换对滤波后的信号进行处理,对其瞬时能量进行分析。由于回旋区边缘表现出较为强烈的局部能量,从能量谱中可较好地提取回旋区边缘信号。试验表明,采用激光雷达探测回旋区的深度,能较为真实地反映高炉回旋区的真实状态,其值较计算建模方法更可靠。进一步的研究可望得到回旋区的二维或三维形貌。     

基于背衬影响的水下声隐身夹芯复合材料结构设计

在考虑背衬影响的前提下,建立了3种典型水下声隐身夹芯复合材料的结构模型;从水声波动方程出发,推导了3种模型的传递矩阵、声反射系数和吸声系数,并通过试验验证了传递矩阵法的有效性;考虑吸声层厚度、密度、损耗因子、水层厚度等对声隐身性能的影响,应用数值方法对水下夹芯复合材料声隐身结构形式进行了设计,分析了各层材料参数对隐身结构反射系数和吸声系数的影响规律;在吸声层中附加了一层复合材料,有效地抑制了隐身结构的谐振峰,并研究了附加层的匹配位置,使隐身结构在不改变吸声层厚度的情况下获得了更好的声学性能.     

一种基于双基点复合物元法的装备维修保障系统评估方法

结合 TOPSIS 方法中双基点的概念,提出了一种基于双基点的复合物元评估方法.在对装备维修保障系统进行综合评价时,将几类保障系统作为物元事物,在确定理想物元和负理想物元的基础上,采用专家经验和熵权法相结合的方法确定各评价指标的权重系数,通过计算相对于双基点的关联度对评价对象进行排序.理论研究和实例分析表明,该方法便于扩展、易于计算机实现、推广性强,而且指标权系数采用主客观相结合的方法确定,更具有合理性.