Combating nuclear smuggling? Exploring drivers and challenges to detecting nuclear and radiological materials at maritime facilities

International concern over nuclear terrorism has grown during the past few decades. This has driven a broad spectrum of efforts to strengthen nuclear security globally, including the widespread adoption of radiation-detection technology for border monitoring. Detection systems are now deployed at strategic locations for the purported purpose of detecting and deterring the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials. However, despite considerable investment in this area, few studies have examined how these programs are implemented or the operational challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. This article seeks to address this with a focus on radiation-detection efforts at maritime facilities. Utilizing practitioner interviews and a survey, this article identifies the factors that influence the planning and use of these systems in this fast-moving environment. The results clearly demonstrate that the implementation of these systems varies significantly across different national and organizational contexts, resulting in a fragmented global nuclear-detection architecture, which arguably undermines efforts to detect trafficked nuclear-threat materials. Greater consideration should therefore be given to developing international standards and guidance, designing and adopting tools to support key parts of the alarm assessment process, and broader sharing of good practice.     

高层建筑消防给水系统设计

结合工程设计实践,以性能化设计为指引,按照经济合理、安全可靠的原则,从室外消火栓数量的确定、水泵接合器数量的确定、消防水池容积的确定、消防给水系统形式的选择几个方面探讨了消防给水系统的设计,以求更新设计理念,提高设计效益。     

装备维修中备件需求率的预计方法

通过研究装备维修过程中器件的固有可靠性和维修性,着重分析了影响维修器件需求率的主要因素.利用系统建模和仿真的方法,分别针对耗损类型器件和可修复类型器件建立了相应的需求数学模型,最后给出了维修备件需求率的预计方法.     

基于失供概率的弹药储备构成分析

弹药储备与失供问题是战时弹药供应决策的核心问题之一。以师规模的野战阵地防御战为例,运用弹药消耗模式仿真模型进行弹药储备量与失供概率关系定量分析,为合理确定弹药储备构成提供科学的辅助决策手段。     

战区弹药保障敏捷供应链优化模型及实现算法

针对现有的供需矛盾,在分析战区弹药保障供应链管理任务需求的基础上,初步构建了战区弹药保障敏捷供应链管理框架及运行机制,分析了战区弹药保障敏捷供应链的供需协同机制,重点对多级库存优化控制模型、多级弹药配送决策优化模型及实现算法进行了研究,提出了战区弹药保障敏捷供应链建设的具体对策。     

高层建筑消防给水系统存在问题探讨

高层建筑高度高、结构复杂、火灾蔓延途径多、人员疏散困难,发生火灾后如控制不及时,后果不堪设想。因此,对高层建筑防火设计的要求越来越严格,而消防给水则是最重要的一个部分。对高层建筑消防给水系统形式、室内外消火栓、水泵接合器的设置等几个方面问题进行了研究,希望能为从事此方面工作的人员提供借鉴。     

Sojourn times in G/M/1 fork‐join networks

We consider a processing network in which jobs arrive at a fork‐node according to a renewal process. Each job requires the completion of m tasks, which are instantaneously assigned by the fork‐node to m task‐processing nodes that operate like G/M/1 queueing stations. The job is completed when all of its m tasks are finished. The sojourn time (or response time) of a job in this G/M/1 fork‐join network is the total time it takes to complete the m tasks. Our main result is a closed‐form approximation of the sojourn‐time distribution of a job that arrives in equilibrium. This is obtained by the use of bounds, properties of D/M/1 and M/M/1 fork‐join networks, and exploratory simulations. Statistical tests show that our approximation distributions are good fits for the sojourn‐time distributions obtained from simulations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Analysis of supply contracts with commitments and flexibility

In this article we address an important class of supply contracts called the Rolling Horizon Flexibility (RHF) contracts. Under such a contract, at the beginning of the horizon a buyer has to commit requirements for components for each period into the future. Usually, a supplier provides limited flexibility to the buyer to adjust the current order and future commitments in a rolling horizon manner. We present a general model for a buyer's procurement decision under RHF contracts. We propose two heuristics and derive a lower bound. Numerically, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the heuristics for both stationary and non‐stationary demands. We show that the heuristics are easy to compute, and hence, amenable to practical implementation. We also propose two measures for the order process that allow us to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of RHF contracts in restricting the variability in the orders, and (b) measure the accuracy of advance information vis‐a‐vis the actual orders. Numerically we demonstrate that the order process variability decreases significantly as flexibility decreases without a dramatic increase in expected costs. Our numerical studies provide several other managerial insights for the buyer; for example, we provide insights into how much flexibility is sufficient, the value of additional flexibility, the effect of flexibility on customer satisfaction (as measured by fill rate), etc. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Think again – supplying war: reappraising military logistics and its centrality to strategy and war

This article argues that logistics constrains strategic opportunity while itself being heavily circumscribed by strategic and operational planning. With the academic literature all but ignoring the centrality of logistics to strategy and war, this article argues for a reappraisal of the critical role of military logistics, and posits that the study and conduct of war and strategy are incomplete at best or false at worst when they ignore this crucial component of the art of war. The article conceptualises the logistics–strategy nexus in a novel way, explores its contemporary manifestation in an age of uncertainty, and applies it to a detailed case study of UK operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.     

美军ASPEN1000DM净水装置对我军反渗透野营供水装备研究的启示

消化研究美军ASPEN1000DM反渗透净水装置,掌握了其技术性能参数和净水工艺流程,并对其先进性和不足之处进行综合评价。在此基础上,提出我军应从改进反渗透系统进水的预处理、增加装置能源的选择性、研制能量回收装置和优化反渗透净水装置的设计以及水质在线监测等方面加强反渗透净水装备的研制,以提高我军供水装备的水平。