Generation of Gas Discharge Plasma by an Arc Source with a Cold Hollow Cathode

The results from a study of an arc plasma source with a cold hollow cathode are presented. The source generates plasma with a density of ∼10¹⁰ cm⁻³ in a volume of ∼0.2 m³ at discharge currents of up to 150 A, an arc discharge operating voltage of 30–40 V, and a low pressure of 0.1–1 Pa. The motion of the cathode spot in the crossed electric and magnetic fields inside the hollow cathode and the cathode’s special design make it possible to eliminate almost completely the penetration of the sputtered cathode material into the working vacuum chamber.__________Translated from Pribory i Tekhnika Eksperimenta, No. 3, 2005, pp. 62–66.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Schanin, Koval, Akhmadeev.     

Influence of generator load conditions on third-harmonic voltages in generator stator winding

The influence of changes in load conditions of the generator-transformer unit on the operating conditions of the 100% ground-fault protection of the generator stator winding based on the third-harmonic voltages was analyzed. The analyzed stator ground-fault protection system is by ratio of the voltages third harmonic in generator neutral and at the generator terminals. The third-harmonic voltages were determined on the base of the experimental tests (measurements) run in real conditions at changes in active and reactive load conditions of the generator. It was found that mainly the generator active load influences the voltage feeding the measuring element of ground-fault protection. Therefore, determining operating conditions of ground-fault protection the influence of the generator active and reactive load should be deeply considered. This can ensure the proper operation of the ground-fault protection based on the voltage third harmonics in the whole range of the changes in generator load. Considering the influence of changes in generator load on the third-harmonic voltages (feeding measuring element of the protection system) will allow eliminating irregular generator tripping as a result of unselective operation of these protections.     

Research on Marine Boiler＇s Pressurized Combustion and Heat Transfer

The effect of pressure on combustion and heat transfer is analyzed. The research is based on the basic combustion and heat transfer theorem. A correction for the heat calculation method for pressurized furnace is made on the basis of the normal pressure case. The correction takes the effect of pressurizing into account. The results show that the correction is reasonable and the method is applicable to combustion and heat transfer of the marine supercharged boiler.     

Hydrodynamics of marine current turbines

Various global studies have shown that marine currents have large potential as a predictable sustainable resource for commercial scale generation of electrical power. For successful exploitation of this resource, an understanding of the hydrodynamics of the marine current turbine is of primary importance. Although a lot can be learned from the technology transfer from wind turbines and ship propellers, there has been limited hydrodynamics research for this particular application. A methodology is presented for the hydrodynamic design of horizontal axis marine current turbines. Recent research has investigated the performance of suitable 2D section shapes both experimentally in a cavitation tunnel and with numerical simulations. A numerical model of a typical 3D rotor is used to demonstrate parametric variations of the design parameters and the use of alternative blade sections.     

Effect of sampling density on the measurement of stream condition indicators in two lowland Australian streams

There is widespread application of indicators to the assessment of environmental condition of streams. These indicators are intended for use by managers in making various comparative and absolute assessments and often have a role in resource allocation and performance assessment. Therefore, the problem of formally defining confidence in the results is important but difficult because the sampling strategies used are commonly based on a compromise between the requirements of statistical rigour and the pragmatic issues of access and resources. It is rare to see this compromise explicitly considered and consequently there is seldom quantification of the uncertainty that could affect the confidence a manager has in an indicator. In this paper, we present a method for quantitatively assessing the tradeoffs between sampling density and uncertainty in meeting various monitoring objectives. Assessments using judgement‐based representative reaches are shown to be unreliable; instead a sampling approach is recommended based on the random selection of measuring sites. A detailed dataset was collected along two streams in Victoria, Australia, and the effect of sampling density was assessed by subsampling from this dataset with precision related to the number of sites assessed per reach length and the intensity of the sampling at each site. The sampling scheme to achieve a given precision is shown to depend on the monitoring objective. In particular, three objectives were considered: (1) making a baseline assessment of current condition; (2) change detection; and (3) detection of a critical threshold in condition. Change detection is shown to be more demanding than assessing baseline condition with additional sampling effort required to achieve the same precision. Sampling to detect a critical threshold depends on nominating acceptable values of Type I and II error and the size of the effect to be detected. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

64-Mb/s data transmission beyond the relaxation oscillation frequency using monolithically integrated two laterally coupled diode lasers

In this letter, we demonstrate the possibility of using two monolithically integrated laterally coupled diode lasers for data transmission beyond the intrinsic relaxation oscillation frequency of semiconductor lasers. The resonance of the lateral modes of such structure provides a peak in the small signal modulation response of the device above the relaxation oscillation frequency of the intrinsic emitters that is studied in terms of relative intensity noise and phase noise to characterize this new, simple, and compact device. Optical transmission of a 64-Mb/s pseudorandom bit sequence signal using a microwave carrier over this resonance peak of the lateral modes above the relaxation oscillation is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.     

Stabilizing decentralized model predictive control of nonlinear systems

This note presents a stabilizing decentralized model predictive control (MPC) algorithm for nonlinear discrete time systems. No information is assumed to be exchanged between local control laws. The stability proof relies on the inclusion of a contractive constraint in the formulation of the MPC problem.     

Radioecological state of the territory and water area in Guba Andreev

The radioecological conditions which developed on the territory over the long operating time of the object of the naval fleet in Guba Andreev are described. The results of an analysis of the sources of the real and potential danger and measures to prevent dangerous effects for the environment and the workers at the time remediation work is performed are discussed. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 101, No. 1, pp. 49–55, July, 2006.     

Learning with belief levels

We study learning of predicate logics formulas from “elementary facts,” i.e. from the values of the predicates in the given model. Several models of learning are considered, but most of our attention is paid to learning with belief levels. We propose an axiom system which describes what we consider to be a human scientist's natural behavior when trying to explore these elementary facts. It is proved that no such system can be complete. However we believe that our axiom system is “practically” complete. Theorems presented in the paper in some sense confirm our hypothesis.