Description of colours in video displays

The natural colour system (NCS) is introduced against a background of other systems for the specification of colours. Certain features of the NCS make it particularly suited to describing the colours on a video display. It is concluded that three different systems may be required to describe the colours on a video display: technical, stimulus and perceptive systems.     

Hot metal flow in a blast furnace hearth – model tests

Very recent operation measurements and test bore holes made in solidified blast furnace hearths indicate the presence of a downward-arching, convex-shaped coke zone in blast furnace hearths. By means of model tests using a two-dimensional electric simulator that stands out against previously used models because of its easy handling, simulations were made of the effects of this convex-shaped coke zone base on hot metal flows in blast furnace hearths. It was possible to detect a hot metal flow that has a different path to those known so far in the hearth bath and runs radially along the periphery of the hearth bottom to the tap hole. This flow path occurs when the coke zone rests partially on the hearth bottom centre. It causes increased stress on the refractory lining at the junction between the hearth bottom and hearth wall and in the long run can lead to extensive disintegration of the lining in these areas. When a coke zone with a convex base floats in the hearth bath, compared with a flat base, it produces no appreciable changes in the hot metal flows. As further tests showed, it is only possible to a limited extent to directly influence the hot metal flows by applying such operational measures as longer tap holes and a lower bath level.     

Effects of on-demand versus fixed-interval schedules in the treatment of chronic pain with analgesic compounds.

The effects of fixed-interval and on-demand administration of analgesic medication in chronic pain patients were compared in a cross-over design. It was hypothesized that each analgesic schedule would have a different effect on subjective pain experience, mood experience, and physical activity. A fixed-interval analgesic schedule was found more effective than an on-demand analgesic schedule in reducing subjective pain and elevating mood. No differences were found between the two conditions on measures of physical activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Room temperature diffusion in polycrystalline materials: an experimental study of interdiffusion in AuCu alloys

Interdiffusion in the macroscopic volume of an Au28Cu72 alloy at 293 to 435 K is observed by means of the movement of a thin (∼ 1 nm) gold overlayer into the alloy during the time of annealing. The measured activation energy of 0.74±0.07 eV is attributed to the migration of mono and divacancies which predominantly takes place in the grain boundaries. The lateral movement of a ∼ 0.6 nm gold overlayer in a mechanically polished surface gives data on surface diffusion at around 330 K. Diffusion at room temperature in general is discussed. It is found that the diffusion coefficients exceed 10⁻²⁷m²sec⁻¹ and activation energies are in the 40 to 100 kJ mol⁻¹ range for low temperature diffusion in the macroscopic volume of most polycrystalline materials.     

Attachment, temperament, and adrenocortical activity in infancy: A study of psychoendocrine regulation.

Examined the relations among adrenocortical stress reactivity, infant emotional or proneness-to-distress temperament, and quality of attachment in 66 infants tested at 9 and at 13 months. Performed the Louisville Temperament Assessment at 9 months and conducted the Strange Situation at 13 months. Adrenocortical activity was not associated with attachment classifications. Emotional temperament at 9 months was strongly correlated with emotional temperament at 13 months. There was also evidence that at both ages infants who were more prone to distress experienced greater increases in adrenocortical activity during the laboratory tests. Significantly, however, although both the Louisville Temperament Assessment and the Strange Situation involve maternal separation (a potent stimulant of the adrenocortical system in nonhuman primate infants), we noted only small elevations in cortisol, and these elevations were significant only at 9 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unknown Element of Owning Costs—Impact of Residual Value

Residual value is a largely unknown element within the cost calculations for construction equipment that equipment managers are preparing. Traditional estimation methods fall short of capturing its actual nature over time in detail. In this paper we consider the current state of knowledge on residual value and on other cost elements for used heavy construction equipment as implemented in a spreadsheet tool for owning and operating cost calculation. The potential influence of the factor residual value on the total owning costs, and ultimately on total hourly rates, is examined for several different types of heavy equipment. Representative examples of cost calculations are used to perform a sensitivity analysis. Intuitive contour diagrams of the total hourly cost are introduced. The need for an extended examination of residual value of construction equipment is demonstrated using statistical tests. Residual value is found to have a statistically significant contribution to the total hourly cost.     

Metricon 2.0

The authors look at the recent Metricon 2.0 conference and discuss its highlights. In particular, the conference focused on the importance of metrics, especially as they apply to security.     

Modeling and simulation of adaptronic drilling tool axes as the basis of control design

Drilling bars with great overhang are used for the purpose of deep drilling. Vibrations of the drilling bar and changing cutting forces based on form and position errors of a pilot hole are interrupting influences within the manufacturing process. Therefore the Fraunhofer IPT is developing an intelligent adaptronic drilling tool which enables the use of different redundant adaptronic systems each consisting of piezoactuators, solid-state joints and sensors in order to improve the accuracy of the drilling process. This paper presents the physical state-space model of the static und dynamic behaviour of one adaptronic system as the basis for further control synthesis and describes a useful tool for the multidiscipline design of the system. The starting model parameters are calculated by FEM-simulation and are fitted to measured data by an optimisation-algorithm based on Newton’s method. By describing the piezoelectric hysteresis the linear model of the mechatronic transfer behaviour is extended to a nonlinear model, which is the starting point for complex control designs for adaptronic machine tools.     

Hydrogen and Yttria in Chromium: Influence on the High-Temperature Oxidation Kinetics in O2, Oxide-Growth Mechanisms and Scale Adherence

The effects of hydrogen and Y_2O_3 on high-temperature oxidation of Cr in 20 mbar O₂ have been studied at 900°C. Oxidation- and O₂-dissociation rates were determined from gas-phase measurements. Hydrogen in Cr leads to breakdown of the oxide scale. The oxide scale on Cr–1%Y₂O₃ charged with hydrogen for 4 hr (resulting in Cr–1%Y₂O₃ with approximately 10 ppm hydrogen) is adherent to the metal substrate. The oxidation rate is similar for Cr with 1 ppm hydrogen and Cr–1%Y₂O₃ with 1 ppm hydrogen, but significantly lower for 4-hr H-charged Cr–1%Y₂O₃. The oxidation rate of Cr–5%Fe–1%Y₂O₃–25 ppm H is also lower than the oxidation rate of Cr–5%Fe–1%Y₂O₃–1 ppm H. This indicates that unless hydrogen is present, there are virtually no effects of the addition of 1% Y₂O₃ to Cr. Using labeled oxygen, ^16,16O₂ and ^18,18O₂, was found that at 900°C the dissociation rate of O₂ is higher on Y₂O₃ than on Cr₂O₃. It is suggested that the well-known improvement of the oxidation resistance of Cr as an effect of additions of Y or Y₂O₃ is related to an increase in the dissociation rate of O₂ and that there is a synergetic effect in combining Y₂O₃ and hydrogen.     

Thermodynamic assessment of the Ni-Ga system

Phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of the Ni-Ga system are assessed based on the CALPHAD approach, using all available experimental data and applying appropriate thermodynamic models. The liquid phase and the Ni-based solid solution (Ni) are treated as disordered solutions. The thermodynamic behavior of the ordered intermetallic compounds with appreciable ranges of homogeneity, Ni₃Ga and NiGa, are described by a two-sublattice model, and the order-disorder transformation between Ni₃Ga and fcc-(Ni) is also explicitly considered in this work. The other five intermetallic compounds are treated as stoichiometric line compounds. The phase diagram and the thermodynamic properties calculated from the optimized model parameters are in good agreement with most of the experimental data.