The effect of welded boundaries on the response of rectangular hot-rolled mild steel plates subjected to localised blast loading

A series of experiments examining the effects of welded boundaries on the localised blast load response of mild steel plates is presented in this short communication. Two types of welding are examined, TIG and MIG welding. The welded boundary response is compared with clamped boundary and straight and chamfer machined boundary responses. The overall trend of midpoint deflection–thickness ratio versus dimensionless damage number for all the plates follows previously reported empirical trends. The tearing threshold (Mode II*) in terms of the damage number is lowest for the machined plates followed by the welded plates with the clamped plates having the highest resistance to tearing.     

Mixing and solid-liquid mass-transfer rates in a creusot-loire uddeholm vessel: A water model case study

The process of mixing and solid-liquid mass transfer in a one-fifth scale water model of a 100-ton Creusot-Loire Uddeholm (CLU) converter was investigated. The modified Froude number was used to relate gas flow rates between the model and its protoype. The influences of gas flow rate between 0.010 and 0.018 m³/s and bath height from 0.50 to 0.70 m on mixing time were examined. The results indicated that mixing time decreased with increasing gas flow rate and increased with increasing bath height. The mixing time results were evaluated in terms of specific energy input and the following correlation was proposed for estimating mixing times in the model CLU converter: T _mix=1.08Q ^−1.05 W ^0.35, where Q (m³/s) is the gas flow rate and W (tons) is the model bath weight. Solid-liquid mass-transfer rates from benzoic acid specimens immersed in the gas-agitated liquid phase were assessed by a weight loss measurement technique. The calculated mass-transfer coefficients were highest at the bath surface reaching a value of 6.40 × 10⁻⁵ m/s in the sprout region. Mass-transfer coefficients and turbulence parameters decreased with depth, reaching minimum values at the bottom of the vessel.     

AN improved method of optimization for electrical machines

Methods of optimizing the design of electrical machines are discussed. The augmented Lagrangian multiplier method is described, and an algorithm for this method is introduced. The method is compared with the more familiar exterior penalty function method using, as an example, the cost optimization of permanent magnetic variable-speed drive motors. The improved method is shown to be superior, both in its ability to reach an optimum consistently and in the number of required iterations     

Adjuvant chemotherapy in early breast cancer: optimal and suboptimal anthracycline-containing regimens

We hypothesized that the advantage of adjuvant anthracycline-containing regimens over the conventional CMF combination found by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group overview may depend on the 'additive' or 'substitutive' nature of the administration of anthracycline in the experimental arm. The aim of this study was to explore this hypothesis. By means of computerized and hand searches, we identified 21 published randomized trials comparing early breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapies with and without anthracycline, and divided them into those in which the use of anthracycline was substantially 'additive' or substantially 'substitutive'. The trial results were then judged 'positive' or 'negative' depending on whether they showed statistically significant differences in disease-free or overall survival in favor of the anthracycline-containing regimen. Anthracycline was substantially 'additive' in 14 trials, eight of which were 'positive', and substantially 'substitutive' in seven, all of which were 'negative': this difference is statistically significant (P = 0.018). In conclusion this trial classification, an attempt to test a very simple unifying concept with the aim of explaining the different results of trials involving the administration of anthracyclines in the adjuvant setting of early breast cancer, significantly correlated with patient outcome. It therefore seems that anthracycline-containing chemotherapeutic regimens can be considered optimal or suboptimal depending on whether or not they reflect the potential benefit offered by anthracycline administration.     

Sialons — Promising Refractory and Ceramic Materials

Available data on the chemical composition and structure of sialon phases are reviewed. Properties of the phases and their potential applications are discussed.     

Solid Solutions in the LnAlO3–CaTiO3 (Ln = Dy, Y, Lu) Systems

The phase equilibria in the LnAlO₃–CaTiO₃ (Ln = Dy, Y, Lu) systems are investigated and their phase diagrams are constructed for the first time. The thermal stability of the prepared solid solutions with a perovskite structure is studied.