Editorial: Triple Helix and innovation in Asia using scientometrics,webometrics, and informetrics

There is a burgeoning interest among academic scientists and policy-makers in the development and employment of TH (Triple Helix) and WSI (Webometrics, Scientometrics, and Informetrics) research methods. However, the international literature has not systematically examined TH and WSI approaches in an Asian context. Furthermore, previous literature published in international journals does not adequately address the social forces shaping TH development in Asia. Therefore, the purpose of this special issue is to bring researchers together to discuss university-industry-government (U-I-G) relations and innovation diffusion in Asia employing WSI alongside other methods.     

Performance Characteristics of Alpha-Particle Corona-Streamer Counter

Alpha-particle wire-plate corona counters in air can be operated either in the spark or in the corona-streamer modes. The streamer mode is preferred over the spark mode since it has the advantages of low dead time and the absence of electrode corrosion by sparking. An analysis of the alpha-particle corona-streamer counter is described. The alpha-particle triggered corona pulse characteristics (e.g., pulse shape, amplitude, repetition rate, etc.) are calculated. Not only the pulse characteristics but also the inception voltages of the corona-mode regime are determined. For each wire diameter, a transition gap length between corona and spark modes exists, which is termed ``critical gap length.' The counting rate characteristics have been obtained for wire diameters 0.05-0.1 mm. All the theoretical findings are confirmed by experiment.     

STARFIRE,a commercial tokamak power plant design

STARFIRE is a design for a conceptual commercial tokamak electrical power plant based on the deuterium/tritium/lithium fuel cycle. In addition to the goal of being technologically credible, the design incorporates safety and environmental considerations. STARFIRE is considered to be the tenth in a series of commercial fusion power plants.STARFIRE has a 7-m major radius reactor producing 1200 MW of net electrical power from 4000 MW of thermal power, with an average neutron wall load of 3.6 MW/m². The aspect ratio is 3.6 and a D-shaped plasma with a height-to-width ratio of 1.6 and average toroidal beta of 0.067 is used. The maximum magnetic field is 11T. Availability goals have been set at 85% for the reactor and 75% for the complete plant including the reactor.The major features for STARFIRE include a steady-state operating mode based on a continuous rf lower-hybrid current drive and auxiliary heating, solid tritium breeder material, pressurized water cooling, limiter/vacuum for impurity control, most superconducting EF coils outside the TF superconducting coils, fully remote maintenance, and a low-activation shield.     

Design of profiled taper roller bearings

Numerical solutions are given for the pressure distribution and footprint shape for a tapered roller. The effect of roller misalignment and its axial profile are investigated for a taper roller thrust bearing. A design procedure is described which indicates the value and whereabouts of the maximum pressure that will occur under equilibrium conditions     

The lubrication of roller bearings subjected to couples

Roller bearings are generally designed to carry mainly radial loads with additional bearings employed to carry any axial loads. Occasionally, limited space prevents the use of these additional bearings, so that the roller bearing itself must carry the axial load. This must be taken by flanges on both the inner and outer races. The effect on the rollers themselves is to modify the load distribution on their generator contact surfaces because the rollers are now subjected to a couple in addition to the radial load. A similar effect is produced if two flanged (or unflanged) roller bearings support a loaded shaft. As its ends are nominally direction fixed, the rollers must be subjected to terminal couples, thus causing a modification to the load distribution at the contact surfaces. The effect of such forces on the footprint shape and on the bearing lubrication is investigated.     

The Economic Value of Groundwater Irrigation for Food Security Under Climate Change: Implication of Representative Concentration Pathway Climate Scenarios

Sustainable management of groundwater resources to support food security under the potential effects of climate change is an emerging area of research and particularly relevant in the context of Small Island Developing States. Employing three regional downscaled Representative Connection Pathway (RCP 2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP 8.5) emission scenarios that have been linked to an economic evaluation framework, the potential impact of climate change on groundwater scarcity, economic value of groundwater irrigation, food security, and farming livelihoods is investigated. A nonlinear hydro-economic framework, which integrates groundwater hydrology, climate data, land use, economics and institutions, has been applied for the island of Barbados. Results indicate that climate change would intensify the dependency on groundwater irrigation overtime, modulated by climate intensity. The strength of climate change will boost the marginal value of groundwater irrigation, as food price will scale up, presenting negative impacts on food security and reducing farming livelihoods. The climate change would also result in higher cost of producing foods resulting from increased cost of pumping, mainly driven by the effect of meeting abstraction needs for domestic and municipal consumption. Our primary results show that for a small island, sustaining groundwater resources will be a challenging objective to achieve under severe climate change.     

Parameter Calibration of SWMM Model Based on Optimization Algorithm

For the challenge of parameter calibration in the process of SWMM (storm water management model) model application, we use particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Sequence Quadratic Programming (SQP) in combination to calibrate the parameters and get the optimal parameter combination in this research. Then, we compare and analyze the simulation result with the other two respectively using initial parameters and parameters obtained by PSO algorithm calibration alone. The result shows that the calibration result of PSO-SQP combined algorithm has the highest accuracy and shows highly consistent with the actual situation, which provides a scientific and effective new idea for parameter calibration of SWMM model, moreover, has practical guidance for flood control and disaster mitigation.     

An efficient ontology-based topic-specific article recommendation model for best-fit reviewers

Scientometrics - In general peer review is accredited as the vital and utmost cornerstone of the scientific publishing and research developments. Undeniably, the reviewers play a decisive role in...     

MCNPX Monte Carlo burnup simulations of the isotope correlation experiments in the NPP Obrigheim

This paper describes the simulation work of the Isotope Correlation Experiment (ICE) using the MCNPX Monte Carlo computer code package. The Monte Carlo simulation results are compared with the ICE-Experimental measurements for burnup up to 30 GWD/t. The comparison shows the good capabilities of the MCNPX computer code package for predicting the depletion of the uranium fuel and the buildup of the plutonium isotopes in a PWR thermal reactor. The Monte Carlo simulation results show also good agreements with the experimental data for calculating several long-lived and stable fission products. However, for the americium and curium actinides, it is difficult to judge the predication capabilities for these actinides due to the large uncertainties in the ICE-Experimental data. In the MCNPX numerical simulations, a pin cell model is utilized to simulate the fuel lattice of the nuclear power reactor. Temperature dependent libraries based on JEFF3.1 nuclear data files are utilized for the calculations. In addition, temperature dependent libraries based ENDF/B-VII nuclear data files are utilized and the obtained results are very close to the JEFF3.1 results, except for ∼10% differences in the prediction of the minor actinide isotopes buildup.