Effect of microporosity on tensile properties of as-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy

In the present study, the effect of microporosity on the tensile properties of as-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy was investigated through experimental observation and numerical prediction. The test specimens were fabricated by die-casting and gravity-casting. For gravity-casting, the inoculation and use of various metallic moulds were applied to obtain a wide range of microporosity. The deficiency of the interdendritic feeding of the liquid phase acted as a dominant mechanism on the formation of the micropores in the Mg?Al-alloys, rather than the evolution of hydrogen gas. Although tensile strength and elongation has a nonlinear and very intensive dependence upon microporosity, the yield strength appeared to have a linear relationship with microporosity. However, it was possible to quantitatively estimate the linear contribution of microporosity on the individual tensile property for a range of microporosity, which was below about 1%. The numerical prediction suggests that the effect of microporosity on fractured strength and elongation decreased as the strain hardening exponent increased. Furthermore, the shape and distribution of micropores may play a more dominant role than local plastic deformation on the tensile behavior of AZ91D alloy.     

A probabilistic method for the design of power grounding systems

An improved multivariable, probabilistic method for the safety analysis of power grounding systems is presented. The application of this method is demonstrated in four examples. The first three examples illustrate the practical evaluation of one new and two existing substation grounding grids when the substation is connected to an overhead distribution system. The fourth example ascertains the relative impact of a difference between the S curve of IEC Publication 479 and Dalziel's equation for the allowable body current used in ANSI/IEEE Std 80-1986 on the validity of an exposure model based on the requirements of Std 80. In this example, the statistical data on ground faults have been taken from actual system records. Further possible refinements of the exposure model are discussed     

Assessing students' plans for college.

Based on a contemporary cognitive-psychoanalytic theory (control-mastery theory; J. Weiss, H. Sampson, & Mount Zion Psychotherapy Research Group, 1986), this study proposed that college students have plans for college that consist of conscious and unconscious goals and obstructions to be overcome in meeting those goals. The construct of unconscious guilt was used to mediate the dual goals of autonomy and attachment. The idiographic plan-formulation method was adapted to derive plans for 12 sophomore women. Acceptable interjudge reliabilities and criterion validity were demonstrated, and several themes in the goals and obstructions were illustrated. Students worried more about mothers than about fathers, particularly when they perceived the mother as weak or needy. The potential of the method for generating inferences about unconscious process for normative development is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

β-Si3N4Whiskers Embedded in Oxynitride Glasses: Interfacial Microstructure

Interfacial microstructures in βP-Si₃N₄( w )-Si-Al-Y-O-N-glass systems were investigated by systematically varying the nitrogen content and the Al:Y ratio of the glass matrix. High-resolution and analytical transmission electron microscopy (HREM and AEM) studies revealed that the interfacial microstructure is a function of the glass composition. No interfacial phases were formed in glasses with low Al:Y ratios and in glasses with high Al:Y ratios and low nitrogen content, whereas epitaxial growth of an interfacial layer (100–200 μm thick) on the βP-Si₃N₄( w ) occurred in a glass matrix with high Al:Y ratio and high nitrogen content. The interfacial layer was identified to be a β'-SiAION phase. Interfaces containing the SiAION layer exhibited high debonding energy compared to Si₃N₄( w )–glass interfaces. HREM studies indicated that the lattice-mismatch strain in the SiAION layer was relieved by dislocation formation at the SiAION–Si₃N₄( w ) interface. The difference in interfacial debonding energy was, hence, attributed to the local atomic structure and bonding between the glass-β-Si₃N₄ and the glass–β'-SiAION phases. This observation was clear evidence of the strong influence of glass chemistry on the interfacial debonding behavior by altering the interfacial microstructure.     

Trenched‐Sinker LDMOSFET (TS‐LDMOS) Structure for 2 GHz Power Amplifiers

This paper proposes a new LDMOSFET structure with a trenched sinker for high‐power RF amplifiers. Using a low‐temperature, deep‐trench technology, we succeeded in drastically shrinking the sinker area to one‐third the size of the conventional diffusion‐type structure. The RF performance of the proposed device with a channel width of 5 mm showed a small signal gain of 16.5 dB and a maximum peak power of 32 dBm with a power‐added efficiency of 25% at 2 GHz. Furthermore, the trench sinker, which was applied to the guard ring to suppress coupling between inductors, showed an excellent blocking performance below ?40 dB at a frequency of up to 20 GHz. These results confirm that the proposed trenched sinker should be an effective technology both as a compact sinker for RF power devices and as a guard ring against coupling.     

Have it your way and mine: The theory of styles

Olsen is right to note what can be done with a good theory and the right machine. His particular theory, however, is not transferable to literary studies. If we need a new model, I would suggest that cognitive science can provide a few interesting ones. I have begun to do some work based on David Marr's VISION, in which he hypothesizes two levels of processing within the visual module. My speculation has been on the parallel existence of distinguishable levels of conceptual or language organization which would correspond to the viewer and object centered perspectives Marr describes for vision. I propose to explore the possibility that we may find here the model for the existence of stylistic individualism within overarching historical stylistic generalizations, and even more, that this may be what feminists are searching for when they try to resist being coopted by the masculine language of objectivity. Ellen Spolsky teaches English literature and literary theory and is the Director of the Lechter Institute for Literary Research at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Her latest book is Gaps in Nature: Literary Interpretation and the Modular Mind(SUNY Press, 1993).     

Preliminary Assessment of Contaminants in Soft Sediments of the Detroit River

Soft sediments from the Detroit River were analyzed for the USEPA priority pollutants to generally characterize contaminant distribution. Forty-three were detected. Highest heavy metal concentrations were found in the Trenton Channel and immediately downstream of Grosse Ile. They ranged from an area mean (N = 2) of 0.19 mg/kg mercury to 338.7 mg/kg zinc (dry weight). Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons ranged from 0.1 mg/kg to 38.8 mg/kg (mean, N = 2) with the highest levels near Grosse Ile. PCBs ranged from 0.015 mg/kg to 1.7 mg/kg (mean, N = 2). Organochlorine pesticides were not detected except for a trace of heptachlor in one sample. Sediment contamination in the Detroit River is widespread with higher concentrations on the U.S. side downstream of the Rouge River and in the Trenton Channel. The significance of these in-place pollutants to biota and as a source to Lake Erie is still unknown.     

Linking workplace and homeplace: Relations between the nature of adults' work and their parenting behaviors.

A total of 188 employed mothers and fathers and their 5–7 yr-old child participated in a study of the relations between the nature of adults' work and their parenting attitudes and behaviors (a line of research influenced by both socialization and stress perspectives). In general, positive features of work (i.e., complexity of work with people, challenge, and stimulation) tended to be associated with both self-report and observational measures of developmentally sound parenting (e.g., less harsh discipline, more warmth and responsiveness). Interaction effects indicated that gender of parent and child further condition these relations. Analyses partially support the interpretation that conditions of work influence parenting through their effect on mood but also suggest that certain conditions of work may directly socialize behavior in the parental role (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging free from negative stereotypes: Successful memory in China among the American deaf.

This study explores whether negative stereotypes about aging contribute to memory loss in old age. The research participants consisted of old and young Chinese hearing, American Deaf, and American hearing individuals. Members of the mainland Chinese and the American Deaf cultures were recruited on the basis of the belief that they would be less likely than hearing Americans to be exposed to and accept negative stereotypes about aging. The expected results were (1) an interaction in which the 3 groups of younger Ss would perform similarly on the memory tasks, whereas the older Deaf and older Chinese participants would outperform the older American hearing group and (2) a positive correlation between view toward aging and memory performance among the old Ss. The data supported both hypotheses. The results suggest that cultural beliefs about aging play a role in determining the degree of memory loss people experience in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)