Thermomechanical stress fields in high-temperature fibrous composites. I: Unidirectional laminates

This two-part paper presents a closed-form procedure for evaluation of estimates of local thermomechanical stress fields in two-phase fibrous composites and laminates. The first part is concerned with a unidirectional elastic laminate subjected to uniform mechanical loads and to uniform changes in temperature. Both phases are assumed to be elastic, with temperature-dependent moduli and expansion coefficients; the solution reflects the influence of thermomechanical interactions. Exact solutions are not possible for any real system, because the local geometry is not known in detail. Instead, estimates of the fields are found from a modified Mori-Tanaka approximation. Examples are presented for two SiC/Ti---Al---Nb composites. Local stresses of interest are found after cooling from fabrication to room temperature. The presence of local yielding, and the influence of coupling terms on the local stress magnitudes are examined. Extension of the results to laminated plates is presented in Part II (Dvorak, G.J., Chen, T. & Teply, J., Composites Science and Technology, 43 (1992) 359–368, this issue).     

A bench-scale study on biodegradation and volatilization of ethylbenzoate in aquifers

Experiments were conducted to investigate the fate of ethylbenzoate and soil microorganisms in shallow aquifers. Biodegradation and volatilization have been identified as the major mechanisms in attenuating ethylbenzoate in contaminated soils. The rate of volatilization was experimentally found to be limited by gas-phase diffusion. The parameters of an available model, i.e., the maximum specific growth rate and the saturation constant, have been estimated by fitting the model to the experimental data obtained with ethylbenzoate as the carbon source; the former was 0.49 h⁻¹, and the latter was 62 mg L⁻¹. Various facets of biodegradation, including the effects of mass-transfer resistance and initial distribution of microorganisms, have been numerically analyzed on the basis of the model.     

Phase equilibria of crude oils using the continuous thermodynamics approach

This paper deals with the application of continuous thermodynamics to light and heavy oil systems using the Peng- Robinson equation of state. The composition of the high molar mass components in a reservoir oil is described by a continuous distribution function of some characterizing quantity, e.g. molar mass or boiling temperature. Numerical Gaussian quadrature methods are used to generate pseudo-components and their mole fractions from distribution data. Several examples are presented for phase equilibria of solvent/crude oil systems. The results showed that semi-infinite distribution functions, such as the Γ function, cannot be applied to all cases, e.g. dew point calculations. The Gauss- Legendre quadrature method coupled with spline fitting worked best for heavy oil systems.     

Analysis of characteristic odors from human male axillae

A number of studies concerning the analysis of axillary odors have assumed that the characteristic odor produced in the axillae is due to volatile steroids and isovaleric acid. Organoleptic evaluation of Chromatographic eluants from axillary extracts was employed to isolate the region in the chromatogram where the characteristic odor eluted. The odor of the dissolved eluant was eliminated when it was treated with base, suggesting that acids make up the characteristic axillary odor. Subsequent extraction of the pH-adjusted axillary extract in conjunction with organoleptic evaluation of the Chromatographic eluant, preparative gas chromatography, and analysis by GC-MS as well as GC-FTIR showed the presence of a number of C₆ to C₁₁ straight-chain, branched, and unsaturated acids as important contributors to the axillary odor. The major odor component is (E)-3-methyl-2-hexenoic acid. Three homologous series of minor components are also important odor contributors; these consist of the terminally unsaturated acids, the 2-methyl-C₆ to -C₁₀ acids and the 4-ethyl-C₅ to -C₁₁ acids. These types of acids have not been reported previously as components of the human axillary secretions and have not been proposed previously as part of the principal odor components in this area.     

Conflicts in Africa as Compound Disasters: Complex Crises Requiring Comprehensive Responses

This paper reflects on African conflicts as compound disasters. A compound disaster is defined as an emergency situation with adverse consequences resulting from different, but related, disaster-agents (ICLA, 1996). In a natural disaster situation, for instance, an earthquake that is quickly followed by a fire outbreak, gas leakage, the disruption of water supply and the outbreak of water-borne diseases, would be regarded as a compound disaster. Similarly, armed conflicts trigger a chain of consequences. The focus of this paper is the complexity of the consequences and impact of conflicts in Africa. To a lesser extent, the paper looks at the complex causes of the conflicts themselves and, finally, examines challenges with regard to responses.     

Measles, polio and tetanus toxoid antibody levels in Gambian children aged 3 to 4 years following routine vaccination

A nation-wide cross-sectional survey of 816 children 3-4 years old was carried out in The Gambia between September 1990 and July 1991 to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies against 3 diseases included in the expanded programme on immunization: measles, poliomyelitis and tetanus. Among 689 children whose records were available, 94.5% were fully immunized. Measles vaccine was administered to 97% of the children and 91% of these had detectable antibodies at the time of the survey. Antibodies against type 1 and type 3 polioviruses, after up to 6 doses of oral polio vaccine, were present in 88.1% and 89.3% of the children respectively. Ninety-seven percent of the children who had received 4 doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine (DPT) and 91% of those who received 3 doses had detectable tetanus toxoid antibodies at the age of 3-4 years. This study shows that serological responses to EPI vaccines given in infancy persist at very satisfactory levels throughout early childhood.     

Interfacial effects of surface-active agents under zinc pressure leach conditions

Liquid sulfur-zinc sulfate solution interfacial tensions and liquid sulfur-zinc sulfate solution-zinc sulfide (marmatite) contact angles were measured in the absence and presence of surface-active agents. Interfacial tensions measured varied between 54 ± 1 mN/m in the surfactant-free system and 20 ± 1 mN/m in the presence of a surfactant. The liquid sulfur-zinc sulfide mineral-zinc sulfate solution contact angle varies between 80 ± 5 deg, in the absence of any surfactant, and 148 ± 5 deg, depending on the surfactant used. The surface-active agents were used as dispersants for sulfur in bench-scale zinc pressure-leaching experiments. The observed extent of zinc extraction depends on the surfactant and varies from 40 to 96 pct.     

Product Platform Identification and Development for Mass Customization

This paper is mainly concerned with the Identification of an embryonic product platform from a family of products whose composition, configuration and characteristics are represented by Attributed Graphs. The problem becomes that of identifying the largest isomorphic sub-graph with the highest similarity. An algorithm is proposed for solving this problem together with several novel concepts.