The fractal structure of a carbon deposit formed during graphite spraying in an electric arc

Experimental data obtained by atomic force microscopy showing that a carbon deposit formed during graphite spraying in an electric arc possesses a fractal structure. The deposit is composed of clusters with dimensions on the order of 1–5 nm. The surface and profile of the deposit exhibit a self-affine fractal structure. The fractal dimensions of the deposit surface and profile, as well as the Hurst index characterizing the self-affine fractal, are determined.     

Thermodesorption of samarium from oxidized tungsten surface

Thermodesorption of samarium (Sm) atoms and samarium oxide (SmO) molecules from samarium films deposited in vacuum onto tungsten substrates covered with thin (<1 nm thick) layers of tungsten oxides has been studied. It is established that samarium reduces tungsten from its oxides. The parameters of Sm and SmO desorption from an oxidized tungsten surface are determined.     

Navigation of a Mobile System with Parametrically Uncertain State Vector

Navigation of a mobile system with parametrically uncertain state vector is studied. The required navigation accuracy is attained through orientation control of the gyrostabilized platform and identification of the parameters of the model of the platform drift. A wide range of functionals that depend on the a posteriori distribution density can be used as the optimization criteria since the solution is general. In the numerical example, the Shannon criterion is used as the optimization criterion.     

A Study of Interspeaker Variability in Speaker Verification

We propose a new approach to the problem of estimating the hyperparameters which define the interspeaker variability model in joint factor analysis. We tested the proposed estimation technique on the NIST 2006 speaker recognition evaluation data and obtained 10%-15% reductions in error rates on the core condition and the extended data condition (as measured both by equal error rates and the NIST detection cost function). We show that when a large joint factor analysis model is trained in this way and tested on the core condition, the extended data condition and the cross-channel condition, it is capable of performing at least as well as fusions of multiple systems of other types. (The comparisons are based on the best results on these tasks that have been reported in the literature.) In the case of the cross-channel condition, a factor analysis model with 300 speaker factors and 200 channel factors can achieve equal error rates of less than 3.0%. This is a substantial improvement over the best results that have previously been reported on this task.     

Concept and salient design features of a high-temperature nuclear reactor with solid coolant

The salient features of using a solid substance to cool the core of a nuclear reactor and the associated advantages and limitations are examined. Conceptual proposals concerning the core design and the arrangement of the in-reactor space of a high-temperature nuclear reactor with a solid coolant are presented. Evaluated data and some results for a model reactor are presented. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 156–161, September, 2007.     

Computational materials: Multi-scale modeling and simulation of nanostructured materials

The paper provides details on the current approach to multi-scale modeling and simulation of advanced materials for structural applications. Examples are given that illustrate the suggested approaches to predicting the behavior and influencing the design of nanostructured materials such as high-performance polymers, composites, and nanotube-reinforced polymers. Primary simulation and measurement methods applicable to multi-scale modeling are outlined. Key challenges including verification and validation are highlighted and discussed.     

Assessment of the adequacy of a mathematical model for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis in a fixed-bed tube reactor with a cobalt catalyst

The adequacy of a model developed for the synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO and H₂ was assessed. It was found that the results calculated based on this model correspond to experimentally obtained data with a high degree of accuracy (the squared coefficient of correlation was higher than 0.97).