Spectral and kinetic analysis of heterogeneous gas discharge plasma in the flow of an Al,H2O,and Ar mixture

Plasma excited by a longitudinal pulse-periodic discharge in a mixed flow of a buffer gas (Ar), oxidizer (H₂O), and aluminum dust is studied. The salient features of its kinetics are the atomic and molecular electronic channels of Al atom transformation, which were not taken into account earlier. They accelerate not only the oxidation process but also aluminum vaporization because the excitation and ionization energies are finally released on the surface of aluminum particles. This work is devoted to experimental and theoretical analysis of these channels.     

Sampling functions in nonuniform sampling of a periodic signal

Relations for sampling functions in nonuniform sampling of a trigonometric polynomial and its derivatives are obtained.     

Photo-induced transformations in amorphous chalcogenide nano-multilayers

Photo-stimulated interdiffusion in a-Se/As₂S₃ amorphous chalcogenide nano-multilayers (ANML) is known as a useful method for amplitude-phase optical relief formation besides the known amorphous–amorphous or amorphous–crystalline photo-induced structural transformations (PST) in homogeneous chalcogenide layers, but it has a relatively narrow sensitivity spectral range and small amplitude modulation. Experimental evidences of improvement of optical recording processes were obtained in Te-, Bi-, Sb-containing nano-layered structures based on As₂S₃ matrix. The influence of nano-structuring and combination of components on the sensitivity, type of the recorded relief is discussed.     

Supervisory fault‐tolerant control with mutual performance optimization

The problem of active fault‐tolerant control with reconfiguration mechanism for uncertain linear systems with external disturbances is addressed applying the supervisory control approach. A key feature of the proposed approach is establishment of a set of conditions providing mutual performance in the sense of taking into account the interaction of the fault detection, isolation, and accommodation subsystems in order to achieve global fault‐tolerance performance with guaranteed global stability. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated in an example of computer simulation for a flight system benchmark. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of tensile strength by the measured rock bending strength

The paper discusses the data of four-point bending strength for various rock types. Different nonlocal strength criteria are applied to the tensile strength assessments based on measuring the bending strength. The tensile strength calculated using a bar bending model under plastic deformation turns out to be the closest in value to the experimental strength.     

Spin versus fair speak in food labelling: A matter of taste?

The article sheds new light on sensory elements in legal cases concerning misleading food labelling. It presents the findings of a qualitative review of 821 cases on misleading food labelling registered in 2002–2007 by the Danish food authorities. The cases show that sensory tends to be backgrounded by other arguments more easily verbalized. A taxonomy of the sensory dimensions of the cases is set up and different sensory aspects are analyzed in order to establish to what the extent and how sensory variables can be integrated into experimental setups for testing the misleading potential of food naming and labelling solutions with a view to promoting “fair speak” principles for in-store food-to-consumer communication. The study is part of the cross-disciplinary research project “Spin or fair speak – when foods talk” which aims at providing new knowledge, tools, and experimental evidence for self-regulation, public control, and innovation in food naming and labelling.     

Energy conservation in rolling shop 1 at OAO ChMK

In rolling shop 1 at OAO ChMK, reconstruction of the pass-through furnaces associated with the 780, 300-2, and 240 bar mills, together with the introduction of automated fuel-consumption meters and other resource-conserving measures, has reduced fuel consumption by 12%, with some decrease in output. Information is presented regarding the structural changes associated with the use of thicker billet. Furnaces of the new design are promising in terms of improvements in performance and energy conservation.     

Measurement of the induced refractive index in a photothermorefractive glass by a liquid-cell shearing interferometer

A liquid-cell shearing interferometer was developed to measure refractive-index variations (delta n) in transparent materials. The cell was filled with a liquid having a matched refractive index. The achieved resolution was better than 1/1000 of a fringe shift and resulted in a delta n measurement sensitivity down to 10(-7) for 1-mm-thick samples. A refractive-index increment in photothermorefractive glass of up to 5 x 10(-6) was observed after UV exposure at 325 nm. A refractive-index decrement of up to 1 x 10(-3) was observed after thermal development of the exposed sample. It was proved that photothermorefractive glass obeys the reciprocity law; i.e., delta n depends on the UV dosage but does not depend on the irradiance.