The suitability of visual taphonomic methods for digital photographs: An experimental approach with pig carcasses in a tropical climate

In the context of increased scrutiny of the methods in forensic sciences, it is essential to ensure that the approaches used in forensic taphonomy to measure decomposition and estimate the postmortem interval are underpinned by robust evidence-based data. Digital photographs are an important source of documentation in forensic taphonomic investigations but the suitability of the current approaches for photographs, rather than real-time remains, is poorly studied which can undermine accurate forensic conclusions. The present study aimed to investigate the suitability of 2D colour digital photographs for evaluating decomposition of exposed human analogues (Sus scrofa domesticus) in a tropical savanna environment (Hawaii), using two published scoring methods; Megyesi et al., 2005 and Keough et al., 2017. It was found that there were significant differences between the real-time and photograph decomposition scores when the Megyesi et al. method was used. However, the Keough et al. method applied to photographs reflected real-time decomposition more closely and thus appears more suitable to evaluate pig decomposition from 2D photographs. The findings indicate that the type of scoring method used has a significant impact on the ability to accurately evaluate the decomposition of exposed pig carcasses from photographs. It was further identified that photographic taphonomic analysis can reach high inter-observer reproducibility. These novel findings are of significant importance for the forensic sciences as they highlight the potential for high quality photograph coverage to provide useful complementary information for the forensic taphonomic investigation. New recommendations to develop robust transparent approaches adapted to photographs in forensic taphonomy are suggested based on these findings.     

某幼儿园特大火灾事故过程计算机模拟分析

本文针对典型幼儿园特大火灾事故的特点,应用火灾科学、系统安全理论、计算机模拟和可视化技术,通过合理设置火灾场景,利用FDS(Fire Dynamic Simulate)对火灾事故中明火产生以后的幼儿园室内火灾增长过程和火灾烟气蔓延进行了数值模拟,数值模拟结果与真实火灾事故基本情况一致,解释了火灾事故的某些特征属性。表明利用计算机模拟技术,对事故过程进行分析,可以动态地再现真实火灾场景,并为事故分析、风险评价、火灾原因调查提供直观、可靠的依据。     

火灾模拟有限元软件综述

近年来随着计算机技术的普及和计算速度的不断提高,有限元分析在工程设计中得到了越来越广泛的重视,已经成为解决复杂的工程分析计算问题的有效途径,其中FDS、ANSYS、FLUENT、PHOENICS、CFAST等软件被广泛应用于火灾模拟研究和工程应用中,本文通过对上述软件的功能、特点和应用等方面的详细介绍,纵观当今国际上CAE软件的发展情况,得出火灾模拟有限元分析软件未来将与CAD软件的无缝集成,具有更为强大的网格处理能力,由求解线性问题发展到求解非线性问题和由单一结构场求解发展到耦合场问题的求解.尤其是FDS场模拟火灾软件和cFAsT区域模拟软件亟需与CAD软件的无缝集成,这样才能更加有利于工程应用人员对火灾场景模型的建立.