An articulated geometry for skid tractor AGVs

An articulated geometry which overcomes the problem of loss of traction in differentially steered skid tractor automatic guided vehicles is described.     

Surface charge accumulation and decay on a spacer stressed with DC voltages at atmospheric conditions

Contents Surface charge accumulation and its decay at a GIS spacer are studied at atmospheric conditions employing a two step-calibration method. The results show that the accumulation saturates within 30 minutes; the dominant mechanism of surface charge accumulation is the drift of charged particles via air, while that of the decay is surface conduction. The characteristics are similar at both polarities.

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Sättigungskonzentration und Abklingverhalten der Oberflächenladung an einem mit Gleichspannung beanspruchten Abstandshalter unter atmosphärischen Bedingungen

Übersicht Die Konzentration und das Abklingen von Oberflächenladungen an einem GIS Abstandshalter wurden unter atmosphärischen Bedingungen mit Hilfe eines zweistufigen Kalibrierungsverfahrens untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine Sättigung der Ladungskonzentration innerhalb von 30 Minuten. Als Hauptursache der Ladungskonzentration ist die Drift geladener Teilchen in Luft anzusehen, während das Abklingen auf die Oberflächenleitung zurückzuführen ist. Ähnliche Charakteristiken ergeben sich mit beiden Polaritäten.

     

Restricted proteolysis of legumin of broad beans: Effect on thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions and interaction with ficoll

Thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of both native and modified legumin of broad beans (Vicia faba L.) have been examined. A restricted trypsin-induced proteolysis was used to modify protein structure. Evaluation of protein affinity to ficoll in aqueous solutions showed that modified protein possessed higher hydrophilicity. Thermodynamic properties of diluted solutions were used to predict the phase behaviour in concentrated systems containing protein and ficoll. At specific concentrations of native legumin, the system can separate in two phases, whereas in the case of modified protein the single-phase behaviour of the system was predicted for any concentrations of both components. The experimental data obtained in concentrated systems confirmed predictions of thermodynamic analysis of diluted solutions.     

Smart help for operator performance

Our emphasis in this paper has been on the knowledge-based and cognitive issues pertinent for improved interactions between workers and manufacturing computer systems. We believe that these techniques are as necessary and applicable to manufacturing as to any other vocation, especially as the difference in collar color of shop people becomes less noticeable in their increasing role as knowledge workers.     

A systematic transition to flexible manufacturing

The transition from basic automation to flexible manufacturing is an expensive and tedious procedure. It requires meticulous planning and almost clairvoyant forecasting to insure that the initial flexibility obtained is sufficient to allow growth and expansion in the future. This paper will suggest a systematic and methodological approach to achieve optimal flexibility and describe the present results of its application to an ongoing system transformation.

Conclusions based on existing levels of completion are presented along with identification of critical and non critical flexibility requirements. The considerations and steps taken are summarized in a procedural format which may then be applied to a wide variety of system transformations.     

Intelligent structuring and exploration of digital music collections

In this paper we present a general approach to the automatic content-based organization and visualization of large digital music collections. The general methodology consists in extracting musically and perceptually relevant patterns (‘features’) from the given audio recordings (e.g., mp3 files), using topology-preserving data projection methods to map the entire music collection onto two-dimensional visualization planes (possibly in a hierarchical fashion), and using a new display metaphor (the ‘Islands of Music’) to display the inherent structure of the music collection to the user. It is shown how arbitrary meta-data can be integrated into the visualization process, and how similarity according to different viewpoints can be defined and exploited. The basic methodology is briefly described, three prototype systems are presented, and a general discussion of the practical application possibilities of such technologies is offered.     

Improving user security behaviour

Many organisations suspect that their internal security threat is more pressing than their external security threat. The internal threat is predominantly the result of poor user security behaviour. Yet, despite that, security awareness programmes often seem more likely to put users to sleep than to improve their behaviour. This article discusses the influences that affect a user's security behaviour and outlines how a well structured approach focused on improving behaviour could be an excellent way to take security slack out of an organisation and to achieve a high return for a modest, low-risk investment.     

Wasserstofffreie amorphe Kohlenstoffschichten ‐ abgeschieden durch plasmaaktivierte Hochratebedampfung

Hydrogen free amorphous carbon coatings ‐ deposited with plasma‐activated high‐rate evaporation By using the technology of the plasmaactivated electron beam evaporation we deposited hydrogen free amorphous carbon coatings with deposition rates of up to 100 μm/h. The results of the mechanical and tribological investigations show the potential of these layers for the use in case of wear resistance. Hardnesses of up to 16GPa were proved. The actual state of the characterisation of the coatings is described and the outlook onto possibilities of further optimisation is given.