Charges and Fractal Properties of Nanoparticles — Combustion Products of Aluminum Agglomerates

The disperse, structural, and electrophysical characteristics of fine alumina produced by combustion of metal droplet agglomerates were studied experimentally. Data were obtained by transmission electron microscopy and video recording of aerosol particles moving in a homogeneous electric field. The aerosol particles are aggregates with sizes ranging from a fraction of a micrometer to a few micrometers and a fractal dimension of 1.60± 0.04 which consist of primary particles with sizes of a few to hundred nanometers. Most of the aggregates have electric charges, both positive and negative. The characteristic charge of the aggregates is equal to a few units of elementary charge. Some large aggregates rotate when the electric field polarity changes, i.e., they are dipoles.     

New directions in the area of modern energetic polymers: An overview

Energetic polymers containing nitro, nitrato, and azido groups release high energy during combustion and thereby increase the performance of the systems. A number of energetic polymers have been found suitable for use as binders in high-performance propellant and explosive formulations. This review describes the synthetic and application aspects of various modern energetic polymers for explosive formulations and propellants.     

Aqueous-enzymatic extraction of plum kernel oil

An aqueous-enzymatic extraction process of plum kernel oil was investigated on a laboratory scale, varying several processing parameters, with main emphasis on the oil yield. Efficient recovery of oil was related to three operations: pretreatment, enzymatic reaction and separation of oil. Maximum oil yield of about 70% (estimated by the Soxhlet method) was obtained at an enzyme concentration of 0.5%, extraction temperature of 45°C, pH 4.5, treatment time of 1 h and dilution ratio of 1:4. The aqueous-enzymatic extraction did not have any determining effect on the fatty acid composition, tocopherol composition, iodine value and saponification value. The free fatty acid content was higher, while the phosphatide content and peroxide value were lower in the oil extracted by the aqueous-enzymatic process as compared to the Soxhlet extracted samples.     

Modelling of shear strength of rockfills used for the construction of rockfill dams

This paper presents the results of examination of shear properties of rockfills used for the construction of rockfill dams. Based on the results of a large number of experiments, mathematical model of the shear strength of the rockfill was derived, as a function of normal stress, initial compaction and uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock material. Using this model it is possible to make a realistic assessment of the shear strength of a rockfill for the Preliminary Design. The experimental data used for modelling were obtained by direct shear tests performed in the majority at the “Jaroslav Cerni” Institute for Development of Water Resources in Belgrade, Serbia.     

Tolerating permanent and transient value faults

Transmission faults allow us to reason about permanent and transient value faults in a uniform way. However, all existing solutions to consensus in this model are either in the synchronous system, or require strong conditions for termination, that exclude the case where all messages of a process can be corrupted. In this paper we introduce eventual consistency in order to overcome this limitation. Eventual consistency denotes the existence of rounds in which processes receive the same set of messages. We show how eventually consistent rounds can be simulated from eventually synchronous rounds, and how eventually consistent rounds can be used to solve consensus. Depending on the nature and number of permanent and transient transmission faults, we obtain different conditions on $n$ , the number of processes, in order to solve consensus in our weak model.     

Software quality improvement: a model based on managing factors impacting software quality

Software quality is recognized as being very significant for achieving competitiveness in the software industry, so improvements in this area are gaining increasing importance. Software quality improvements can only be achieved by managing all of the factors that influence it. However, in a real business system, there are a great number of factors impacting software quality, while the processes are stochastic and resources are limited, so economic data should also be taken into consideration. This paper uses a Markov chain and proposes a systematic framework for modelling the stochastic processes of a quality management system and selection of the optimum set of factors impacting software quality. A methodology is presented for managing the factors that affect software quality with an illustrative hypothetical example for convenience of application of the proposed methodology.     

Design of a linear bulk superconductor magnet synchronous motor for electromagnetic aircraft launch systems

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) material in bulk form is used to design a linear synchronous motor for an electromagnetic aircraft launch system. The motor is designed without an iron core. Stator coils are placed in the air while the permanent magnets used in conventional design of linear permanent magnet synchronous motors are replaced by the HTS bulk magnets. The physical, operational, and equivalent circuit parameters of the linear motor with HTS bulk magnets are compared with those of a linear permanent magnet synchronous motor and linear induction motor designed for the same application. Results show that utilizing superconducting magnets is only superior at temperatures below 40 K.     

A study of gas and liquid distributions in structured packings

This study describes the gas and liquid distributions in a column with structured packings. The column is 0.5 m in diameter. It is equipped with a total of 1289 detectors in the top and bottom cross-sections. These detectors provide a detailed picture of the gas and liquid flows through elements of only 25 × 25 mm². The maldistribution in the gas bulk flow is negligible. Only the observed wall can contribute to malperformance. The gas flows in parallel to sheet orientation, thus introducing a radial transport. Together with the change in the orientation of subsequent packing elements, this results in good gas mixing. It was observed that the liquid wall flow rate decreases when the gas velocity exceeds 1.7 m/s. Up to the loading point, the maldistribution of the liquid is constant. Above this point, the equality of the distribution deteriorates rapidly, due to the occurrence of large-scale liquid segregation.