DSDS 17
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This collection showcases outputs from the third Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium, hosted at STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon by Cranfield University in association with DSTL.
It is the only UK conference to provide research students and early career researchers in defence and security with an opportunity to present their work to a sector-wide audience.
Covering both technology and social sciences research, contributions include technical papers, a 3MT (three minute thesis) competition, digital images, posters and an installation competition. In addition, there are plenary talks from thought-leaders, as well as exhibition space for industry and other employers of defence and security researchers.Citation Cranfield University. (2017). 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium (DSDS17) in conjunction with DSTL and AWE: Symposium outputs (Version 13). CERES https://doi.org/10.17862/cranfield.rd.c.3924511.v13
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Browsing DSDS 17 by Type "Poster"
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Item Open Access A Standard European Tank? Technology Transfer and the Quest since 1945 for a Joint International Main Battle Tank within Europe and NATO(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:53) Cubbin, MikePoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.International cooperation in defence has long been a feature of diplomacy, and there are many theoretical advantages to both international technology transfer and standardisation within military alliances, from military organisation and logistics to political consolidation, and on to economic savings in both development and production. International collaboration in the defence industry has produced many successful weapon systems, from technologically advanced fighter aircraft to anti-tank missiles. Given the success of many joint defence projects such as the Tornado and Eurofighter aircraft, and the Roland and Brimstone missile systems, the question emerges as to why there have been no successful collaborative international main battle tank projects. The quest for a standard tank design within NATO began with the Franco-German ‘standard European tank’ project in 1956, and NATO countries have since made several further attempts towards a joint Main Battle Tank (MBT) design. At the time of writing there is talk of yet another potential joint European tank project, this time between France, Germany and possibly Poland. An important question that arises from the many works on armoured warfare, armoured vehicle technology and military technology transfer then is, why has NATO yet to agree and produce a standard tank despite several attempts since 1945? To date, there has been only one successful truly collaborative main battle tank design, and that was the Anglo-American Mark VIII ‘International’ in 1917.Item Open Access Considering Culture When Using Unexpected Questions in Detecting Deception(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 12:04) Tache, Irina; Warmelink, Lara; Taylor, Paul; Hope, LorrainePoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Researchers and practitioners must be careful not to interpret differences in how people respond to questions as indicative of deception without first considering cultural background. This research encourages discussion on how cultural backgrounds might best be considered to guide interviews. Asking unexpected questions during interviews is an effective method of detecting deception. However, most of the existing evidence for this comes from studies of people from individualist cultures (e.g., Sweden, UK). Studies of cultural norms and interpersonal beliefs suggests that what counts as unexpected may differ between individualist and collectivist cultures (e.g., China, Ukraine). Our study compared the responses of individualist and collectivist truth-tellers and liars to expected and unexpected questions. Second-language English-speaking participants (N = 120; 58 individualists; 61 liars) were interviewed, in English, about a future intention. They responded to three questions grouped into four types: expected by all cultures, unexpected by all, individualist-expected, collectivist-expected. These were derived from a pilot. Analyses were run on the language participants used, comparing liars and truth tellers as a function of culture and question expectedness. This study is the first to suggest that question expectancy may be culturally dependent. Moreover, we find that differences in language use, known to be indicators to deception (e.g. negations, pronoun use), were explained much better by cultural background. Whether someone is lying or not explains some of the differences in people’s language but is not meaningful when accounting for people’s cultural background.Item Open Access Do you trust me?(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:52) Field, MeganPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Automation of technology and systems across such domains as defence, nuclear, transportation and healthcare is forecast to increase dramatically in the coming decades, and with that, levels of automation (LOA) are set to change the role of operators.However, the shift from of working directly with and within a system to one characterised by supervision and (sometimes remote) surveillance, brings a range of human-centred issues and limitations. These issues are not solely focused on how the operator can cope with the huge amounts of real-time data and information; they also concern how individuals react and behave towards computerised teammates. This is especially critical in military environments, such as static and mobile Command and Control (C2) centres. These facilities must accurately and appropriately analyse, fuse and display considerable amounts of C3I (Communications, Command, Control and Intelligence) material. The ability to trust (or mistrust) a system is, therefore, vital for human safety and mission success.Nonetheless, human actions and behaviours are not formed in a ‘cognitive vacuum’ – they are influenced by the context of tasks, environments, prior experiences and memories. Trust formation with technology and automation is affected by many precedents, in a process similar to which humans endow others with levels of trust and confidence. These include prior knowledge, experiences with similar technology (or people) and how expectations, lack of transparency and failures can lead to mistrust.This research seeks to explore behaviours and attitudes of human operators, and how military culture shapes operator heuristics and naturalistic decision making. The qualitative inquiry will also probe whether these circumstances foster maladaptive behaviour which differs or deviate to those of civilian and defence personnel.Item Open Access Forensic Signatures of Nuclear Materials Processing(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 12:04) Thompson, NathanPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.The field of nuclear forensics has been noted of relevance in the effort to tackle illicit trafficking of nuclear material.1 Forensic signatures can be considered a 'fingerprint' of the material, obtained by analytical methods such as X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The forensic signatures obtained from characterising nuclear material may help to determine the origin and processing conditions of the sample. The aim of this project is to investigate how the physical and chemical characteristics of UO3 powder produced from aqueous reprocessing are affected by the processing route, conditions and impurities present. This will be used to develop a library of characteristic forensic signatures to aid in the discrimination of material from different sources.To date, work in this project has included the investigation of forensic signatures of studtite calcination products, whereby calcination products up to 1050 ˚C were characterised. Additionally, a screening investigation into the effect of a matrix of processing variables on UO3 signatures (from studtite intermediate) has been conducted.Item Open Access Light Weight Low Cost X-Band Antennas and Waveguide Components Using Electroplated 3D Printed Plastics(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 12:05) Wirth, Sebastian; Morrow, Ivor; Andre, Daniel; Finnis, MarkPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Low weight and low cost are attractive features in many antenna and waveguide applications including mobile communication, remote sensing and medical scenarios. Electroplating shaped three-dimensional printed plastic components to produce highly conductive surfaces is one advantageous approach. This research contributes to the newly developed design procedure, manufacture and measurements of a 3D printed microwave pyramidal horn antenna electoplated with a 40 um copper coating and a novel flat 3D printed Graded Refractive Index (GRIN) lens. The antenna, waveguide and lens are printed in two pieces, the lens is then attached to the horn antenna aperture to provide a highly collimated radiated beam. Measurements conducted at Cranfield University Antennas and Ground Based SAR (AGBSAR) laboratory on the antenna matching radiated fields and gain demonstrate the performance meets, and in some cases exceeds, that of a standard X-band milled aluminium horn antenna and waveguide but with significantly reduced weight and cost. When the lens is attached to the horn antenna aperture an increase in antenna radiated gain of 5dBi over a 200 MHz bandwidth at 10 GHz is demonstrated. The hybrid antenna-lens sensor is highly suitable for near-field ground penetrating radar imaging of buried landmines. We acknowledge the financial support of the Sir Bobby Charlton Charity "Find A Better Way".Item Open Access Near-Field Virtual Bandwidth Synthetic Aperture Radar Processing for Humanitarian Landmine Detection(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:56) Wirth, Sebastian; Morrow, Ivor; Andre, Daniel; Finnis, MarkPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.This research presents the first experimental demonstration of the Near-Field Virtual Bandwidth SAR (NFVB-SAR) imaging technique. NFVB-SAR is a newly developed sub-surface imaging technique which in contrast to traditional imaging techniques promises subsurface imaging of soils at ultra-high, centimetre-scale resolution using narrow bandwidth. We specifically exploit the differential interferometric SAR phase history of an electromagnetic wave within a drying soil volume to generate high resolution sub-surface mapping from the returned wave through the soil volume. Experiments were conducted at the Cranfield University Antennas and Ground Based SAR (AGBSAR) laboratory using a near-field full polarimetric data acquisition ground penetrating radar. Measurements were taken over a sandy soil containing a buried landmine while the moisture level was varied. - firstly during controlled water addition and then during an extended natural drying out period. As the sand volume dries, the real radar frequency is sequentially transported across a virtual bandwidth of virtual frequencies. The preliminary results demonstrate that even a moderate soil moisture change (SMC) can produce large virtual bandwidths; for e.g. an SMC change of 10% can provide 6cm vertical resolution at X-band. We acknowledge the financial support of the Sir Bobby Charlton Charity "Find A Better Way",10.17862/cranfield.rd.5585245.v1.Item Open Access Nitrocellulose and Nanomaterials: Graphene-based High Performance Propellants(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 12:04) Callaghan, CiaranPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.The superior strength, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of graphene has attracted significant attention from the Defence community, including the Ministry of Defence and the European Defence Agency. This PhD programme seeks to investigate the fundamental chemical interactions of graphene with nitrate esters in order to identify its suitability for future application in energetic materials. It is envisaged that this will be conducted by applying various spectroscopic (IR, RAMAN, NMR), thermal (DSC, TGA) and mechanical (DMA) techniques. Achieving such an understanding of this chemistry will not only fill gaps in the knowledge pertaining to currently used ballistic modifiers, but also provide exploitable data for future rocket and gunnery weapons developments.Item Open Access O-Antigen Biosynthesis: Hitting the Sweet Spot for a Q Fever Vaccine(Cranfield University, 2017-12-06 16:44) Cross, Alice; Roy, Sumita; Norville, Isobel; Rezjek, Martin; Ivanova, Irina; Nepogodiev, Sergey; Field, Rob; Prior, Joann; Hamer, NicholasPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a pathogen with a worldwide distribution. Biological material shed from ruminant infections contaminates dirt and dust, which can cause infection on inhalation. Humans generally present with flu-like symptoms, however, patients can develop life-changing maladies such as hepatitis, chronic fatigue, and endocarditis. Q fever was initially identified as a military problem when thousands were affected during WWI. More recently, Q fever has been recognised as a problem in UK troops returning from Afghanistan. C. burnetii is classified as a CDC category B bioterrorism agent, the second highest category, yet there is no Q fever vaccine licensed in the UK/EU/US. For C. burnetii, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the main determinant of virulence, and many of the most effective modern vaccines target such sugar structures. Furthermore, the sugars that comprise the C. burnetii LPS are highly unusual, making this the primary target for vaccine development. In order to facilitate production of a subunit vaccine, focus is on elucidating the pathways for biosynthesis of two very rare sugars, virenose and dihydrohydroxystreptose (DHHS). Therefore in addition to providing the basis for a novel Q fever vaccine, for livestock and humans, this project will highlight novel biochemistry.Item Open Access Shear Localisation During Deformation of Thermo-visco-plastic Materials(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 12:03) Timms, RobertPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.The mechanisms responsible for ignition of explosive materials in response to low energy stimuli, known as “insults" in the literature, are still not well understood. It is in general believed that explosive ignition is of thermal origin, with mechanical energy being converted into heat energy in localised regions, forming so-called “hot spots”. We investigate how an instability caused by thermal softening may give rise to localised plastic deformation which may lead to subsequent ignition. We consider the homogenous deformation of a material which exhibits strain hardening, strain-rate hardening and thermal softening behaviour. As the strain is increased the material enters into the plastic regime and hardening behaviour is observed, exacerbated by any material inhomogeneity. If the deformation takes place at a high enough strain-rate, there is insufficient time for the heat generated by plastic work to be conducted away, and the material subsequently exhibits thermal softening. Where the local softening dominates over the hardening, the material strength decreases, leading to regions of highly localised deformation. We exploit an idealised geometry, using asymptotic methods to obtain a reduced system of equations which govern the growth rate of the disturbances. Further, we discuss how the growth rate is affected by the constitutive properties of the material, and highlight how this instability may lead to localised reactions in a range of loading scenarios.Item Open Access Strategic Team Decision-Making during a Simulated Terrorist Attack(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:54) Brown, OlivaPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Decision-making during major incidents is full of uncertainty, requiring the rapid and coordinated response of the emergency services. The Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) establish overall responsibility for the response and determine the aims and prioritises within which lower level command will operate. This research was centred around the simulated response of three SCG’s, to a Marauding Terrorist Firearms Attack (MTFA) at a local shopping centre. Each SCG was staged at different time points following the attack, in order to capture the response and recovery phases of the emergency services. Each SCG had between 18-22 participants, drawing on 12 different agencies, including the blue-light services, the Military, NHS, Coroner’s office and local councils. The SCG’s were video-recorded to allow subsequent analysis of the team decision-making. In addition, an electronic questionnaire was distributed to capture individual perception of team performance. The video-recorded data will be analysed using the Event Analysis of Systematic Teamwork method to model the social, task and information networks during the simulated response. It is anticipated that this research will provide an unique insight into how strategic level decisions are made in response to a MTFA.Item Open Access Synthetic Aperture Radar for Through-Wall Detection and Imaging of Complex Vibrating Targets(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:56) Corbett, Brandon; Andre, Daniel; Muff, Darren; Morrow, Ivor; Finnis, MarkPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Low frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a proven solution for generating through-wall images, although obtaining a clear picture of the structure and contents of buildings has proven to be difficult. Whilst the effects created by moving objects within a SAR image have been investigated before, the complex effects moving objects have upon a SAR image when located behind a wall, are less known. This is especially the case when the motion of the object being imaged is of vibration and when multipath effects influence the artefacts produced within the SAR image. This occurs when the transmitted SAR microwaves reflect from other objects within the imaged scene, before being detected by the receive antenna. The research presented, investigates these complex SAR phenomena with multistatic radar geometries, using the Cranfield University Antennas and Ground Based SAR (AGBSAR) laboratory. This research is conducted in support of the Dstl Remote Intelligence of Building Interiors (RIBI) programme, and addresses the problem of the detection of running machinery within buildings, amongst other challenging scenarios.Item Open Access The Best Offense is Taking Out Cyber Proxies(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:59) Schuler Scott, Arianna; Kaminska, MonicaPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.It has been interesting to see Russia goading other states on the cyber offensive front, acting through 'proxies', people recruited online to carry out illegal operations. To date no state has overtly condemned attacks that are undoubtedly rooted in the dark web, a space where criminals operate behind a veneer of anonymity and privacy. A mixture of technical and non-technical backgrounds, we are working to understand how to approach informed policy making in this area. Taking down an online anonymous marketplace (such as Alphabay, Hansa which was recently seized) does not seem to reduce illegal action, but disruption and the erosion of trust in the system might. By targeting prominent criminals and reducing demand, we hope to add weight to the recommendations we can make as researchers, and work with those in the defence industry to get things done.Item Open Access Through the Looking Glass: Exploring the Relationship Between Nonverbal and Verbal Behaviour on Rapport and Dyadic Cooperation(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:55) Weiher, LynnPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.This research programme wishes to explore the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviour, rapport, and dyadic cooperation. Although researchers have long recognised the complementary roles that verbal and nonverbal behaviour play in interaction, we know little about how verbal and nonverbal mimicry co-occur, nor how these relate to the established outcomes of rapport (internal perception) or cooperation (external behaviour).In this study, dyads engage in short interview-style interactions where the interviewee has different goals (e.g., guilty vs. non-guilty knowledge, being cooperative vs. non-cooperative) to examine how these motivations effect not only nonverbal mimicry but also verbal and emotional mimicry.Item Open Access Towards Determining Wall Properties with Bistatic Radar(Cranfield University, 2017-12-14 11:01) Elgy, James; Andre, Daniel; Morrow, Ivor; Finnis, MarkPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.Remote sensing techniques to gather information about building structure and interiors are of significant interest for both military and civilian applications. Radar offers an attractive approach due its long-range, all-weather and non-destructive through-wall sensing nature. Radar however, is affected by the electrical properties of the medium the electromagnetic waves are passing through. For through-wall Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), this leads to a defocusing and a distortion of the resultant radar images due to the decrease in velocity and refraction of the radio waves. Compensation for this effect is possible if the properties of the medium are accounted for.This research contributes to the Remote Intelligence of Building Interiors (RIBI) project through use of multistatic measuring geometries and novel signal processing techniques to determine the thickness, refractive index and other electrical properties of walls, remotely, in both laboratory and realistic environments.We present experimental results, gathered at the Cranfield University Antennas and Ground-Based SAR (AGBSAR) laboratory to both validate our simulations and to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed method as a means of addressing some of the fundamental issues with through-wall radar remote sensing.Item Open Access Ultra Low Cost, Explosiveness Test(Cranfield University, 2017-11-15 11:56) Galante, Erick; Mai, Nathalie; Ladyman, Melissa; Gill, Philip; Temple, TraceyPoster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.To investigate the emissions from open burning of explosives we have burnt explosives (10 mg) in a sealed glass vial (10 cm3). As the reaction occurred inside the glass vial, it could be captured on high speed camera allowing the observation combustion reaction. The profile of gaseous emissions was later determined via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. The glass vials were placed into an aluminium block, which was heated with a gas flame until combustion was achieved. On average the heating cycle took 3-4 minutes before ignition of the explosive was observed.Interestingly, the combustion of 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) was very different to that observed for 3-Nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) and 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN). RDX did not burn when heated as observed with NTO and DNAN. We observed that the RDX partly sublimed and then partly thermally decomposed in the gaseous phase. Then the partially decomposed RDX vapour underwent a violent burning reaction. This burn to violent reaction occurred in the gaseous phase at temperatures as low as 270 ºC.Ultimately, we understand that a similar setup could be used for assessing sensitiveness and safety aspects of new explosives formulations.