Effect of Surface Characteristics on Compressive Stress and Leakage Rate in Gasketed Flanged Joints

The effect of surface characteristics on compressive stress and leakage rate in gasketed flanged joints is discussed qualitatively and quantitatively based on experimental verifications. The sensitivity of the sealing phenomenon to the sealing surface characteristics, gas pressure and stress level is presented. Sealing surfaces produced with grinding, turning and milling procedures of different roughness values were the subject of the tests with three types of gasket, namely, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), graphite, and spiral wound. The experimental results indicated that the roughness value Ra (average arithmetic height) has no effect on the sealing performance of the gasket, except for the ground type sealing surfaces. The platen (flange) surface forms were found to be the determining factor on the leakage rate and flow regime for gasketed flanged joints. It is shown that the surface characteristics have no effect on the leakage rate and on the gasket performance for the PTFE gasket at high stress levels. However, at low stress levels the rougher ground and milled sealing surfaces having radial channels on the surface produce larger leakage rates. The effect of surface characteristics, stress level, and gas pressure was more evident on the graphite and spiral wound gasket types, at both low and high stress levels. It is also shown that the leakage rate follows an exponential law as a factor of surface stress and gas pressure, for all sealing surface characteristics and gasket types. While there is little difference in the leakage rate for the PTFE gasket when the gasket stress level is increased by a factor of two, from S3 to S5, a substantial leakage rate reduction by a ratio of 17.5 times was observed for the graphite and spiral wound gaskets for most sealing surfaces. On the other hand, when increasing the helium gas pressure from 200 to 800 p.s.i., the leakage rate increased by 5 times for the PTFE, and up to10 times for the graphite and the spiral wound gaskets. It was determined that while molecular flow regimes can be achieved for the PTFE gasket for all sealing surfaces, the two other gasket types provided laminar flow under the same operating conditions.     

Prevalence of asthma and asthma-like symptoms in three French cities

BACKGROUND: This study is part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), which uses a common methodology in different areas throughout the world. This paper describes the prevalences of reported asthma, asthma-like symptoms and nasal allergies, their relationships to age group and sex, and the relationships of asthma-like symptoms to current asthma, in the general population aged 20-44 years of three French urban areas. METHODS: The study population of 2804 subjects in Grenoble, 3774 in Montpellier and 3152 in Paris (18th district), randomly selected from electoral rolls, answered a postal questionnaire (stage I of ECRHS). The response rates were 77.8%, 68.6% and 74.4%, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalences were approximately 14% for wheezing, 16% for chest tightness and 4.5% for nocturnal shortness of breath in the three areas. Asthma attacks in the last 12 months were reported by 2.7% of subjects in Grenoble, 3.5% of subjects in Montpellier and 4.0% of subjects in Paris (P = 0.02). For nasal allergies, the prevalences were 28.0%, 34.3% and 30.8%, respectively (P < 0.001). Asthma was inversely correlated to age (higher prevalence in the youngest) but was not related to sex. Neither age distribution nor sex ratio explained the differences between areas. Among the asthma-like symptoms, wheezing and nocturnal shortness of breath correlated strongly with asthma, chest tightness correlated moderately and nocturnal coughing correlated poorly. CONCLUSION: The prevalences observed were higher than expected from previous comparable French studies in young adults. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of a recent increase of asthma and allergies.     

Effect of thermal residual stresses on fatigue crack opening and propagation behavior in an Al/SiC p metal matrix composite

The effects of a thermal residual stress field on fatigue crack growth in a silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminum alloy have been measured. Stress fields were introduced into plates of material by means of a quench from a solution heat-treatment temperature. Measurements using neutron diffraction have shown that this introduces an approximately parabolic stress field into the plates, varying from compressive at the surfaces to tensile in the center. Long fatigue cracks were grown in specimens cut from as-quenched plates and in specimens which were given a stress-relieving overaging heat treatment prior to testing. Crack closure levels for these cracks were determined as a function of the position of the crack tip in the residual stress field, and these are shown to differ between as-quenched and stress-relieved samples. By monitoring the compliance of the specimens during fatigue cycling, the degree to which the residual stresses close the crack has been evaluated. formerly Research Student, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge formerly Lecturer, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Creep and Fatigue in Metal Matrix Composites” at the 1994 TMS/ASM Spring meeting, held February 28–March 3, 1994, in San Francisco, California, under the auspices of the Joint TMS-SMD/ASM-MSD Composite Materials Committee.     

PALAEOZOIC TECTONIC HISTORY OF SE TURKEY

A review of published data for the Palaeozoic of SE Turkey, together with facies distribution and palaeo-fault maps derived from regional field data, are used to interpret the Palaeozoic tectonic history of the region.
Intracratonic rifting events in the Early Cambrian and the Early Ordovician led to syn-rift deposition within fault-bounded basins. Marine transgressions across the region in the mid-Cambrian and mid-to-Late Ordovician were probably influenced by regional thermal subsidence after each rifting event, in addition to (glacio-)eustatic mechanisms. Marine transgressions in the Early Silurian and Early Carboniferous are thought to have been entirely eustatic in origin.
Poorly-constrained, Late Palaeozoic facies variations across the region can be related to uplift during the Caledonian and Hercynian orogenic episodes. Widespread tilting and erosion before the Cretaceous, which has removed much of the Late Palaeozoic record from this region, resulted from uplift at the edges of a major rift system which was initiated during the Triassic-to-Jurassic opening of the Southern Neotethys.     

Works of adhesion at the carbon fiber-liquid interface determined using a modified wetting technique

Works of adhesion W_SL between aqueous solutions with pH values in the range from 1 to 14 and carbon fibers from different sources, which were additionally treated in an inert atmosphere or in oxygen, were measured by use of a microbalance. These works of adhesion W_SL were found to show distinct stepwise dependencies on the pH value. The works of adhesion W_SL are attributed to dispersion interactions W_SL¹ and various acid-base interactions w_sl^ab—in the latter case between the acidic and basic surface groups of carbon and the various basic and acidic aqueous solutions.     

Comparison of capillary gas chromatographic method and automated spectrophotofluorometric methods for measuring content uniformity of conjugated oestrogens in pharmaceutical preparations

To measure the content uniformity of conjugated cestrogens tablets, the USP XXII monograph specifies a capillary gas chromatographic method. This involves separation of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of the various oestrogens found in a typical conjugated oestrogens tablet using a fused-silica 0V 225 bonded phase column. Hydrogen is used as the carrier gas with FID detection. A more rapid spectrophotofluorometric method of analysis has been developed in which the oestrogens are extracted from the dosage form into water, then transferred into organic solvent as the dicyclohexylamine complex. Fluorescence is developed by heating the solution of the complex in the presence of 70% sulphuric acid. The chemistry and detection are carried out using a segmented-flow analyser.The spectrophotofluorometric method is preferred as a routine control for content uniformity because considerable time is saved during sample preparation and analysis compared to gas chromatography. Coefficients of variation show that both methods produce acceptable results. These results fall well within the USP XXII [1] monograph, limits and also well within the tighter limits imposed by the USP XXII, section 905.     

Toward a theory of robust compensation for systems with unknownparasitics

The problem of designing a robust compensator based on a plant model with order uncertainty is considered. The uncertainty is characterized mathematically as a class of generalized singular perturbations of the plant. The case of static compensation is examined. A necessary and sufficient condition is established under which actual closed-loop behavior is close to that predicted by the plant model under sufficiently small singular perturbations. The condition is shown to be generic