Surface roughness measurement on machined surfaces using angular speckle correlation

Surface roughness is of great importance in fields, such as tribology, semiconductor technology and medicine. Stylus techniques, in which a stylus is drawn along the surface and the vertical movement of the stylus is recorded, have been used traditionally in measuring surface roughness. Non-contact methods, such as optical ones, have the advantage that they can be used for the in-process measurement of surface roughness. In this paper, results of the measurement of surface roughness using angular speckle-correlation on machined surfaces are presented. Surfaces of approximately 1.6 < R_a < 6.3 μm have been measured, the surfaces being classified in the same manner as when using a stylus instrument. ASC is a technique that also allows in-process measurement of the roughness of surfaces on machined surfaces. A new technique to achieve increased repeatability by using an angle detection unit is also presented in this paper.     

Relaxation versus cognitive therapies for dental fear--A psychophysiological approach.

By separating 127 adult dental-phobic patients according to fear etiology and psychophysiologic response style, the authors investigated the outcome of 2 dental fear treatments. Before and after either relaxation or cognitively oriented treatment, subjects were exposed to neutral and fear-relevant video sequences while the subjects' forehead muscle tension, heart rate, and skin conductance were recorded. Pre- to postintervention differences in self-reported dental fear, general fear, and trait anxiety were analyzed together with psychophysiological data. Both treatments resulted in a significant reduction of dental fear. Despite significant interaction effects of Treatment Modality × Psychophysiological Response Style, it could not be concluded that patients with different fear etiologies or response styles benefit differentially from the 2 treatments given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of molecular tilt angle on the SHG response of pyroelectric liquid crystal polymers

Second harmonic generation in novel pyroelectric liquid crystal polymers (PLCP) made from a series binary mixtures, was studied using 1100 nm as the fundamental wavelength. The PLCPs were prepared by photo-polymerization of binary mixtures of two monomers which exhibit a smectic C^* phase, A2c (4″-(R)-(−)-2-[(10-acrylo-yloxy)decyl]oxy-3-nitrophenyl 4-{4′-[(11-acryloyloxy)-undecyloxy]phenyl}benzoate) and Alb (4″-((R)-(+)-2-octyloxy)-3″-nitrophenyl 4-(4′-(11-acryloyloxy)undecyloxy)-phenyl)-benzoate). The highest d₁₆ and d₂₃ coefficients were found to be in the range 0.65–0.8 pm/V, and differed depending on the detailed preparation of the sample. All cases of polymers formed from the chiral smectic C* phase showed an SHG-signal with no external field present, indicating that polar order became fixed. The SHG-signal was found to increase with the tilt angle of the FLC molecules.     

Nuclear microscopy in biomedical analysis with special emphasis on clinical metal biology

Nuclear microscopy based upon developments in high energy ion beam techniques is by now an accepted technique in many fields of research. The advancements into the biomedical field have, however, been slower than expected. A major factor explaining this tendency is the availability of nuclear microscopy. This paper reviews briefly the biomedical work using nuclear microscopy that has been carried out since the 4^th International Conference on Nuclear Microprobe Technology and Applications held in Shanghai. Nuclear microscopy of isolated individual blood cells from patients adversely affected by metal exposure from dental amalgam has been performed both before and after removal of the metallic fillings. The elemental profile of blood cells was more or less normalised after treatment. Some of these results will be presented to illustrate a medical application. Results from bulk analysis by ICP-MS of erythrocytes and plasma before and after treatment will also be presented to illustrate the difference in information content between these two approaches as well as the need for complementary information in solving biomedical problems. As part of a larger study of acute porphyria, nuclear microscopy of blood cells was included among the 78 laboratory tests. The approach in this study was unbiased in the sense that no hypothesis was formulated as to which laboratory parameters would be the most explanatory for health or disease. Multivariate discriminant analysis was applied to the large amounts of data acquired. This approach led to the hypothesis that oxidative stress increased the synthesis of manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase in the mitochondria of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, explaining the increase of manganese in these cells. Antioxidant therapy was therefore applied to a couple of patients with porphyria, however, without clinical success.     

Wärmetransformatoren für die Chemische Industrie aus der Sicht des Anwenders

Absorption heat transformers for the chemical industry as seen from a user's point of view. Absorption heat transformers can transfer waste heat, that could not hitherto be reused, to a higher temperature level. This is of special interest for the chemical industry, where there is both waste heat available at temperatures below 100°C and a demand for heat at 120 to 150°C. Though absorption heat transformers are able to recycle only a part of the total waste heat, they only need a negligible amount of additional, expensive exergy. The present status of development and advantages and disadvantages of the concept are discussed from a user's point of view. In view of the present low price of energy, special attention is given to economic considerations.     

Wobbling in modern motorcycles

Serious personal injuries have been reported, caused by motorcycles which suddenly began to wobble when ridden at moderate to high speed. A random sample of 1043 owners of 1978–1982 model year motorcycles was interviewed concerning their experience of wobbling in 1982. The response rate was 95%. Wobbling was reported by 45% of the owners, 8% reported at least one incident of severe wobbling. This figure indicates that about 6000 riders in Sweden experienced severe wobbling during 1982. Wobbling increased proportionately both with the distance ridden and engine displacement and was highest among those riders who make heavy use of the engine's power. A statistically significant difference in wobbling was found between Japanese and other manufacturers. The reported average speed where wobbling occurred was 118 .     

Prediction of Pavement Response during Freezing and Thawing Using Finite Element Approach

Although elastic multilayer techniques for pavement analysis have become increasingly popular through advances in software and personal computers, the difficulties of such methods in representing dynamic loading, pavement geometry and nonlinear material response are widely recognized as significant. Particularly in cold regions, where pavement materials are subject to seasonal freezing and thawing, nonlinear material behavior cannot be accurately modeled with these methods. However, many of these difficulties can be overcome by using the finite element method. In this study, an initial attempt to implement a commercially available finite element code in an analysis procedure for pavements in seasonal frost areas is presented. The results, compared with data from an extensively instrumented test road, show that surface deflections and the relative change in pavement stiffness, indicated by the subgrade strength index, are predicted very accurately. Although a time lag between maximum measured and predicted surface deflection is observed during thawing, the procedure is found to be promising and further research is warranted.