Schäden durch kerbinduzierte Schwingbrüche

Failures by notch induced fatigue fractures Notches produce local stress concentrations and promote the formation of fatigue cracks. Characteristic types of notches as a result of design, manufacturing and operation are presented and remedial measures are discussed. Examples demonstrate the effect of different kinds of notches on various components.     

Speed reduction on through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The paper describes a program of experiments for speed reduction on 28 through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen. In the process, different measures of construction, design, and traffic control were examined to determine their usefulness to reduce speed and to improve road safety. The need for systematic evaluation of a catalogue of measures partly resulted in unsatisfactory design conceptions for the through roads. The evaluation of the effects of the program has been carried out by use of before-and-after-studies of large extent. The speed measurements show that a distinct speed reduction can be obtained only from selected physical improvements. Measures based on optical effects and traffic signs were found to have very little effect on vehicle speeds. Furthermore, in light of the relatively small number of accidents that occur on the selected facilities, it was not possible to establish the beneficial impact of each specific control measure with statistical certainty. However, the results of the experiment have had an influence on the current definition of new design standards for main urban streets in Germany.     

Uncertainty Matters: Computer Models at the Science–Policy Interface

The use of computer models offers a general and flexible framework that can help to deal with some of the complexities and difficulties associated with the development of water management plans as prescribed by the Water Framework Directive. However, despite the advantages modelling presents, the integration of information derived from models into policy is far away from being trivial or the norm. Part of the difficulties of this integration is rooted in the lack of confidence policy makers have on the incorporation of modelling information into policy formulation. In this paper we examine the reasons for this apparent lack of confidence and explore how some tools, presently in use, address this problem. We conclude that public confidence in models is highly dependent on the way uncertainties are addressed and suggest possible directions of action to improve the current situation. Four real case studies illustrate how computer models have been used in The Netherlands for carrying out management plans at regional and national scale. We suggest that the solution to integrate modelling information into policy formulation lies on both the modelling and the policy-making communities.     

Properties of feedback solitons in a single-mirror experiment

We report on the observation of localized states (LSs) in a single-mirror feedback system using sodium vapor as the nonlinear medium. By combining experimental results with simulations based on a microscopic model and with results of a linear stability analysis of the homogeneous state, we discuss the properties of the LSs, the mechanism of their formation, their domain of existence in parameter space, their interaction with the amplitude and phase gradient in the Gaussian beam of the driving laser, and the formation of "molecules" and "clusters" of LSs. We elucidate the dominant role of diffraction in the interaction of the LSs and discuss relations between the clusters of LSs and extended patterns.     

Beiträge zur Charakterisierung der schwefelhaltigen Glucoside des Rapssamens — Thermospray-Technik/Massenspektrometrie

About Sulfur Containing Glycosides of Rape Seeds – Analysis by Thermospray Technique/Mass Spectrometry The HPLC is the method of choise for the estimation of glucosinolates occurring in rape seeds. But in comparison to GC a disadvantage is that the HPLC fractions can't be analyzed by MS directly. Such possibility is opened now with the thermospray technique. It allows to introduce the HPLC fractions immediately into the mass spectrometer system. Based on the first application of this technique to glucosinolates published by Mellon et al. (1987) the fundamentals of the thermospray technique/mass spectrometry are presented, the experimental details are explained and the characteristic ions of the thermospray mass spectra of 12 glucosinolates (desulfo derivatives) are discussed. The analytical performance of the method is examined also.     

Cost effectiveness of decentralized energy supply systems taking solar and wind utilization plants into account

In this article, results are presented of annual simulations of a decentralized (regional) plant for the power and heat supply of a residential complex. This complex consists of four houses with 40 flats all in all. The annual power consumption of the complex is 157 MWh and the heat requirement is 325 MWh. The concrete dynamics of the energy demands over the year is taken into consideration. The energy supply system is composed of a power-controlled combined heat and power (CHP) plant (55 kW), a photovoltaic plant (PV array or PV plant) array for power generation as well as a field of solar thermal collectors with a short-term accumulator for water heating and a long-term accumulator for supplying heat for domestic heating purposes. Simulation results demonstrate that synergetic effects result from the combination of a CHP plant with wind power and PV plants of varying sizes, which have an effect on the cost effectiveness of the plant as a whole with the different dynamics of energy sources (wind and solar energies) and of the consumption of power and heat being the decisive factors. The power deficits of wind power and PV plants are compensated through the application of a natural gas-operated CHP plant. In almost all variants, the demand for fossil energy carriers is distinctly less than in conventional energy supply plants.     

Characterization of supported Pd-Pt catalysts by chemical probes

The temperature programmed (palladium) hydride decomposition appeared very effective method for diagnosing the extent of alloying in Pd-Pt/SiO₂ catalysts. Introduction of Pt to Pd catalysts moves the TPHD peak gradually towards lower temperatures and the shift in hydride decomposition peak is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of released hydrogen. The catalysts prepared the direct redox method showed much better alloy homogeneity than the samples prepared by coimpregnation. The results of probing with other techniques, i.e. catalytic probing with hydrodechlorination of CCl₂F₂ and XRD, were in line with TPHD data. The catalytic probing showed the presence of synergistic effect, a clear indication of Pd-Pt mixing. XRD data of post-reaction samples showed carbon incorporation into Pd-rich phase, whereas separate Pt-rich phase did not experience any bulk carbiding.