Combined effects of in-plane boundary conditions and stiffening on buckling of eccentrically stringer-stiffened cylindrical panels

Donnel type stability equations for buckling of stringer stiffened cylindrical panels under combined axial compression and hydrostatic pressure are solved by the displacement approach of [6], The solution is employed for a parametric study over a wide range of panel and stringer geometries to evaluate the combined influence of panel configurations and boundary conditions along the straight edges on the buckling behavior of the panel relative to a complete “counter” cylinder (i.e. a cylinder with identical skin and stiffener parameters).

The parametric studies reveal a “sensitivity” to the “weak in shear”, N_x = N_xφ = 0, along the straight edges, SS1 boundary conditions type where the panel buckling loads are always smaller than those predicted for a complete “counter” cylinder. In the case of “classical”, SS3 B.Cs., there always exist values of panel width, 2φ₀, for which ρ = 1, i.e. the panel buckling load equals that of the complete “counter” cylinder. For SS2 and SS4 B.Cs. types, the nature by which the panel critical load approaches that of the complete cylinder appears to be panel configuration dependent.

Utilization of panels for the experimental determination of a complete cylinder buckling load is found to be satisfactory for relatively very lightly and heavily stiffened panels, as well as for short panels, (L/R) = 0.2 and 0.5. Panels of moderate length and stiffening have to be debarred, since they lead to nonconservative buckling load predictions.     

Characterization of transition metal oxide ceramic material for continuous thermocouple and its use as NTC fire wire sensor

The ceramic powder prepared from the mixture of Mn₃O₄ and La₂O₃ have been characterized for NTC behavior and the same have been used as CT²C (continuous thermocouple) sensor in the form of a thin metal cable to detect over-heating. These materials have mega ohm resistance at room temperature and showed exponential drop in resistance with the rise in temperature over a temperature range of 100–400 °C. It has been observed that as the concentration of La₂O₃ increases from 0 to 10% the NTC behavior drops from (400–260 °C) ±10%. The material was pressed into pellets and sintered at 700 °C for 3 h resulting in good bonding strength. Electrical characterization of the material was done by measuring the resistance over a temperature range of 100–400 °C. The material showed reproducible NTC characteristics over the temperature range 400, 370, 340, 280, and 260 °C with decreasing thermistor constant values (B = 9588, 9210, 8500, 5170, 3330 K⁻¹) and activation energy (ΔE = 826, 794, 733, 445, 287 meV), respectively. The decrease in activation energy of the ceramic powder with increase in La₂O₃ concentration makes it possible to fabricate thermal sensors which can be used in different temperature ranges. The microstructure was studied using SEM and evidence of a sintered body with grain size around 1 μm was observed in the material. XRD analysis indicated the single-phase tetragonal structure of the ceramic material. The process of using this ceramic material for fabrication of 10 ft continuous fire wire sensor has been explained.     

A small gain theorem for linear stochastic systems

A well-known result in linear control theory is the so-called “small gain” theorem stating that if given two plants with transfer matrix functions T₁ and T₂ in H^∞ such that T₁ < γ and T₂ < 1/γ, when coupling T₂ to T₁ such that u₂ = y₁ and u₁ = y₂ one obtains an internally stable closed system. The aim of the present paper is to describe a corresponding result for stochastic systems with state-dependent white noise.     

Constrained multibody system dynamics an automated approach

The governing equations for constrained multibody systems are formulated in a manner suitable for their automated, numerical development and solution. Specifically, the “closed loop” problem of multibody chain systems is addressed.

The governing equations are developed by modifying dynamical equations obtained from Lagrange's form of d'Alembert's principle. This modification, which is based upon a solution of the constraint equations obtained through a “zero eigenvalues theorem,” is, in effect, a contraction of the dynamical equations.

It is observed that, for a system with n generalized coordinates and m constraint equations, the coefficients in the constraint equations may be viewed as “constraint vectors” in n-dimensional space. Then, in this setting the system itself is free to move in the n−m directions which are “orthogonal” to the constraint vectors.     

Amperometric biosensor for formic acid in air

The possibility of developing a simple, inexpensive and specific personal passive “real-time” air sampler incorporating a biosensor for formic acid was investigated. The sensor is based on the enzymatic reaction between formic acid and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) as a co-factor and Meldola's blue as mediator. An effective way to immobilise the enzyme, co-factor and Meldola's blue on screen-printed, disposable, electrodes was found to be in a mixture of glycerol and phosphate buffer covered with a gas-permeable membrane. Steady-state current was reached after 4–15 min and the limit of detection was calculated to be below 1 mg/m³. However, the response decreased by 50% after storage at −15°C for 1 day.     

Drill wear sensing and failure prediction for untended machining

Real-time control of drilling was carried out by measuring the thrust force and determining its gradient. Using a microcomputer-based feedback control system, experiments were carried out under different cutting conditions to test the effectiveness of the thrust force gradient in predicting failure. The system was able to predict failure due to excessive wear commonly encountered with 5 and 8 mm drills. With such drills, excessive weat at the outer corner led to an increase in the local temperature which in turn increased the wear. This led to very high temperatures (>600°C), causing local welding of the drill material to the peripheral surface of the hole being drilled. Furthermore, the high temperatures reduced the compressive yield strength of the drill material, causing sub-surface fracture to occur under the influence of the cutting loads. This cyclic phenomenon of “seizure” due to local welding and “release” due to shear fracture (i.e. “stick-slip”) caused sharp fluctuations in the thrust force under constant feed.

This paper discusses the effectiveness of the control system described above in predicting failure due to the excessive wear common to large drills. This system is also contrasted with another based on vibration measurements which has been successfully used to predict failure due to fracture common with small drills. This paper also presents other experimental sensor schemes in the literature. Finally, this paper proposes a framework for an “intelligent” machining process control system driven by multiple sensors, which would facilitate untended machining.     

Hydrolyzed colloid reaction (HCR) technique for phosphor powder preparation

Undoped and Eu³⁺, Ce³⁺ and Tb³⁺-doped YVO₄ YPO₄, LaPO₄ and YV_xP_1−xO₄ were prepared in H₂O by the recently introduced hydrolyzed colloid reaction (HCR) technique working at low temperature (<100°C) and atmospheric pressure. Two intermediate — partially hydrophobic — complex colloidal mixtures with metastable characteristics can transform into the stable orthovanadate–orthophosphate phase due to intensive hydrolysis. In contrast with the other low temperature reacting processes — like the sol-gel technique, which makes an amorphous structure — the HCR method can produce crystalline structures in nanometer size ranges. The reaction, morphology, incorporation of activators and different luminescent characteristics are surveyed in this letter-type paper selected from our previous results.     

Experimental numerical studies on a supercomputer of natural convection in an enclosure with localized heating

We present particle simulations of natural convection of a symmetrical, nonlinear, three-dimensional cavity flow problem. Qualitative studies are made in an enclosure with localized heating. The assumption is that particles interact locally by means of a compensating Lennard-Jones type force F, whose magnitude is given by −G/r^p + H/r^q.

In this formula, the parameters G, H, p, q depend upon the nature of the interacting particles and r is the distance between two particles. We also consider the system to be under the influence of gravity. Assuming that there are n particles, the equations relating position, velocity and acceleration at time t_k = kΔt, K = 0, 1, 2, …, are solved simultaneously using the “leap-frog” formulas. The basic formulas relating force and acceleration are Newton's dynamical equations F_i,k = m_ia_i,k, I = 1, 2, 3, …, n, where m_i is the mass of the ith particle.

Extensive and varied computations on a CRAY X - MP/24 are described and discussed, and comparisons are made with the results of others.     

A simple, moderately accurate, atmospheric correction algorithm for SeaWiFS

We present a simple modification to the standard coastal zone color scanner (CZCS) atmospheric correction algorithm for application to Sea-viewing-wide field-ofview-sensor (SeaWiFS). The modification reduces the error in the water-leaving reflectance using the standard algorithm by a factor of 2–6 when the aerosol behaves as predicted by the LOWTRAN-6 models. For many aerosol models likely to approximate aerosol properties over the oceans the error in the retrieved water-leaving reflectance is predicted to be < ± 0.002 at 443 nm for an aerosol load approximately 2 to 3 times that normally occurring in a maritime atmosphere. These errors in atmospheric correction lead to an error in the pigment concentration (C), retrieved using the blue-green ratio algorithm, of < 50% for more than 75% of the aerosol models tested, whenever the algorithm retrieves a “reasonable” pigment concentration, and when 0.1 ≤ C ≤ 1 mg / m³. This accuracy may be sufficient for some applications, for example, at-sea processing to guide ships to desirable sampling locations. An important feature of this algorithm is that, unlike more sophisticated and computational intensive algorithms, aerosol models are not required to effect the actual atmospheric correction. Investigators already having the CZCS algorithm implemented on an image processing system should be able to process SeaWiFS imagery by making very simple modifications to the code.     

High-performance solid-electrolyte SOx sensor using MgO-stabilized zirconia tube and Li2SO4---CaSO4---SiO2 auxiliary phase

Solid-electrolyte-based electrochemical SO_x sensors fabricated with MgO-stabilized zirconia and Li₂SO₄---CaSO₄---SiO₂ (4:4:2 in molar ratio) exhibit fairly good sensing characteristics for 2–200 ppm SO₂ in air at 600–750 °C, with the e.m.f. responses following the Nernst equation for the two-electron reduction of SO₂. The 90% response and 90% recovery times to 20 ppm SO₂ are 10 s and 7 min at 650 °C, and 10 s and 3 min at 700 °C, respectively. It is further found that the sensor exhibits excellent selectivity to SO_x in the coexistence of CO₂ and NO_x, and good long-term stability. The sensor is simple in structure, easy to prepare, and quite tough chemically and mechanically. These features should ensure practical use for this SO_x sensor.     

Thermodynamics of the cao-si02 system

In order to maintain consistency, analytical expressions for the free energy of mixing of phases should reproduce not only the phase diagrams but also the experimentally determined activities. Information on the partial molar free energies and the phase boundaries, in turn, can be used to estimate the free energy of formation of compounds.

An examination of thermochemical data in the CaO-SiO₂ system showed that ΔGδf values for -Ca₂Si0₄, which are stable at temperatures above 1710°K, are limited a maximum of 1800°K. The free energy of formation in a temperature range from about 1700 to 2400°K was estimated from the phase boundary and the activity of silica to be as follows:

2Ca0(s) + Si0₂(cristo.) = Ca2Si0₄() ΔG°f = −86303.50 − 34.338 Tjoules

An analytical expression for the free energy of mixing of the liquid phase was obtained for the entire composition range in the CaO-Si0₂ system. Confidence in the estimated G‡f for -Ca₂Si0₄ was demonstrated by good agreement of the calculated phase diagram and the experimentally determined activity of silica.     

Ceria-doped SnO2 sensor highly selective to ethanol in humid air

In our earlier study, we reported that at 300 °C, a 2.0 wt.% CeO₂-doped SnO₂ sensor is highly selective to ethanol in the presence of CO and CH₄ gases [F. Pourfayaz, A. Khodadadi, Y. Mortazavi, S.S. Mohajerzadeh, CeO₂ doped SnO₂ sensor selective to ethanol in presence of CO, LPG and CH₄, Sens. Actuators B 108 (2005) 172–176]. In the present investigation, we report the influence of ambient air humidity on the ethanol selective SnO₂ sensor doped with 2.0 wt.% CeO₂. Maximum response to ethanol occurs at 300 °C which decreases with the relative humidity. The relative humidity was changed from 0 to 80% for different ambient air temperatures of 30, 40 and 50 °C and the response of the sensor was monitored in a 250–450 °C temperature range. As the relative humidity in 50 °C air increased from 0 to 30%, a 15% reduction in the maximum response to ethanol was observed. A further increase in the relative humidity no longer reduced the response significantly. The presence of humidity improved the sensor response to both CO and CH₄ up to 350 °C after which the extent of improvement became smaller and at 450 °C was almost diminished. The sensor is shown to be quite selective to ethanol in the presence of humid air containing CO and CH₄. The selectivity passes a maximum at 300 °C; however it declines at higher operating temperatures.     

A comment on “L∞ optimal control of SISO continuous-time systems”

The paper “L_∞ optimal control of SISO continuous-time systems” by Wang and Sznaier (Wang & Sznaier (1997). Automatica, 33 (1), 85–90) studies the problem of designing a controller that optimally minimizes the peak absolute value of system output, due to a fixed input signal. With a newly defined function space A_∞, it was claimed that the set of all L_∞-bounded outputs could be parameterized and that the problem could be transformed to a minimal distance problem on L_∞ space. We believe, however, their formulation has essential flaws.     

On the large deviations approximation for the stationary distribution of skip-free regulated queueing networks

Large deviations papers like that of Ignatyuk et al. [Russ. Math. Surv. 49 (1994) 41–99] have shown that asymptotically, the stationary distribution of homogeneous regulated networks is of the form

with the coefficient being different in various “boundary influence domains” and also depending on some of these domains on n. In this paper, we focus on the case of constant exponents and on a subclass of networks we call “strongly skip-free” (which includes all Jackson and all two-dimensional skip-free networks). We conjecture that an asymptotic exponent is constant iff it corresponds to a large deviations escape path which progresses gradually (from the origin to the interior) through boundary facets whose dimension always increases by one. Solving the corresponding large deviations problem for our subclass of networks leads to a family of “local large deviation systems” (LLDSs) (for the constant exponents), which are expressed entirely in terms of the cumulant generating function of the network. In this paper, we show that at least for “strongly skip-free” Markovian networks with independent transition processes, the LLDS is closely related to some “local boundary equilibrium systems” (LESs) obtained by retaining from the equilibrium equations only those valid in neighborhoods of the boundary.

Since asymptotic results require typically only that the cumulant generating function is well-defined over an appropriate domain, it is natural to conjecture that these LLDSs will provide the asymptotic constant exponents regardless of any distributional assumptions made on the network.

Finally, we outline a practical recipe for combining the local approximations to produce a global large deviations approximation , with the coefficients K_j determined numerically.     

Relation-algebraic semantics

The first half is a tutorial on orderings, lattices, Boolean algebras, operators on Boolean algebras, Tarski's fixed point theorem, and relation algebras.

In the second half, elements of a complete relation algebra are used as “meanings” for program statements. The use of relation algebras for this purpose was pioneered by de Bakker and de Roever in [10–12]. For a class of programming languages with program schemes, single μ-recursion, while-statements, if-then-else, sequential composition, and nondeterministic choice, a definition of “correct interpretation” is given which properly reflects the intuitive (or operational) meanings of the program constructs. A correct interpretation includes for each program statement an element serving as “input/output relation” and a domain element specifying that statement's “domain of nontermination”. The derivative of Hitchcock and Park [17] is defined and a relation-algebraic version of the extension by de Bakker [8, 9] of the Hitchcock-Park theorem is proved. The predicate transformers wp_s(-) and wlp_s(-) are defined and shown to obey all the standard laws in [15]. The “law of the excluded miracle” is shown to hold for an entire language if it holds for that language's basic statements (assignment statements and so on). Determinism is defined and characterized for all the program constructs. A relation-algebraic version of the invariance theorem for while-statements is given. An alternative definition of intepretation, called “demonic”, is obtained by using “demonic union” in place of ordinary union, and “demonic composition” in place of ordinary relational composition. Such interpretations are shown to arise naturally from a special class of correct interpretations, and to obey the laws of wp_s(-).     

Characterization of protective coatings for planar automotive gas sensors

Alumina support material suitable for use as a planar automotive gas sensor support was coated in thin films of yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) and titania. The morphology, composition, thickness and homogeneity of the coating was measured. The coating was applied to the ‘green’ form of a tape cast alumina substrate which was subsequently fired at 1500 °C to produce the final form of the coated alumina. The YSZ coating gave a continuous 5 μm thick coating with no evidence of mixed oxide formation between the YSZ and the alumina substrate. XRD indicated a face centred cubic Y doped ZrO₂ or primitive tetragonal Zr_0.9Y_0.1O_1.95 phase. The titania coatings were much thinner (<1 μm) with signs of trace amounts of aluminium titanium oxide (Al₂TiO₅) as well as rutile titania in XRD. Spot analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a fairly regular titania coverage. Atomic force microscopy analysis showed a particle size of 1–3 μm for the YSZ coating and 0.5 μm for titania.     

A binary algorithm for solving n by n systems of integer equations

We discuss a “binary” algorithm for solving systems of linear equations with integer coefficients. So-called “binary” algorithms differ from ordinary ones in that there is no roundoff error, but only overflow, and the underlying analysis is p-adic analysis rather than conventional real analysis. The advantages of this algorithm are especially apparent when extremely large numbers are involved and no roundoff error can be tolerated.

VLSI implementation of this and other “binary” algorithms is very appealing because of the extreme regularity of the circuits involved.     

Quantum-chemical, NMR and X-ray diffraction studies on (+/-)-1-[3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenyl]-2-methylaminopropane

Time-averaged conformations of (±)-1-[3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenyl]-2-methylaminopropane hydrochloride (MDMA, “ecstasy”) in D₂O, and of its free base and trifluoroacetate in CDCl₃, were deduced from their ¹H NMR spectra and used to calculate their conformer distribution. Their rotational potential energy surface (PES) was calculated at the RHF/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP/cc-pVDZ and AM1 levels. Solvent effects were evaluated using the polarizable continuum model. The NMR and theoretical studies showed that, in the free base, the N-methyl group and the ring are preferentially trans. This preference is stronger in the salts and corresponds to the X-ray structure of the hydrochloride. However, the energy barriers separating these forms are very low. The X-ray diffraction crystal structures of the anhydrous salt and its monohydrate differed mainly in the trans or cis relationship of the N-methyl group to the -methyl, although these two forms interconvert freely in solution.