High-temperature,high-pressure thermophysical measurements on liquid zinc

Wire-shaped zinc samples were resistively volume heated as part of a fast-capacitor discharge circuit. Time-resolved measurements with submicrosecond resolution of the current through the specimen, the voltage drop across it, and the thermal expansion of the specimen as a function of time allow determination of the enthalpy, electrical resistivity, and density at different temperatures up to superheated liquid states of zinc far above the normal boiling point. High static pressures, up to 3800 bar of the ambient medium water, were used. An estimate of the critical pressure for zinc is given by investigations of the stability of the sample with a framing CCD camera, taking pictures of different samples varying the ambient static pressure. The critical volume and the critical temperature are obtained by means of an extrapolation of measured data at different pressures.Paper presented at the Fourth International Workshop on Subsecond Thermophysics, June 27–29, 1995, Köln, Germany.     

Spectroscopic investigation of Nd ion in LiNbO3, MgO:LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 single crystals relevant for laser applications

The polarized absorption and luminescence properties of Nd³⁺ doped isostructural LiNbO₃, MgO:LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ nonlinear bulk single crystals are reported. Pump-probe experiments associated with the Judd-Ofelt approach are used to estimate two types of room temperature cross sections: polarized emission cross sections of the dominant ⁴F_3/2 → ⁴I_1//2 transition near 1085 and 1093 nm and polarized excited-state absorption cross sections in the same spectral domain and in the green spectral range corresponding to self frequency doubling. Self frequency-doubling results are also given in Nd:LiNbO₃ and Nd:MgO:LiNbO₃ versus sample temperature.     

Characterization of Failure Mechanisms of Duplex and Graded Thermal Barrier Coatings Exposed to Thermal Shock Test

The beginning of failure of a (ZrO2-7%Y2O3)/(Ni-22%Co-17%Cr-12.5%Al-0.6%Y) duplex andgraded coating systems on lnconel 617 and IN738LC in burner rig tests has been characterized.The test conditions are 40 s heating up to 75O℃ substrate temperature followed by 80 s aircooling. Failure is considered at the appearance of the first bright spot during heating period.Stresses due to thermal expansion mismatch strains on cooling are the probable cause of life-limiting in this conditions of testing.     

Microstructures of high-J c melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7−x /Ag superconductors

Silver has been previously added to the melt-textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x in order to increase the critical current density (J _c ) of these materials. However, the effect of this addition on theJ _c is presently unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of silver on both critical current density and the microstructure of the melt-textured YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x superconductors by means of X-ray diffraction, optical polarized microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TheJ _c of the MTG YBCO/Ag samples is more than 10⁴A/cm² under the 5 kOe magnetic field. It has been shown that as the concentration of silver increases, the fraction of the 211 phase dispersed within the 123 matrix decreases. Therefore, theJ _c slightly decreases. These results, together with the effect of the 211 phase, dislocations, and other structure defects on flux pinning, are described in this paper.     

Application of multilayer feedforward neural networks toprecipitation cell-top altitude estimation

The use of passive 118-GHz O₂ observations of rain cells for precipitation cell-top altitude estimation is demonstrated by using a multilayer feedforward neural network retrieval system. Rain cell observations at 118 GHz were compared with estimates of the cell-top altitude obtained by optical stereoscopy. The observations were made with 2-4-km horizontal spatial resolution by using the millimeter-wave temperature sounder (MTS) scanning spectrometer aboard the NASA ER-2 research aircraft during the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE) and the Cooperative Huntsville Meteorological Experiment (COHMEX) in 1986. The neural network estimator applied to MTS spectral differences between clouds, and nearby clear air yielded an rms discrepancy of 1.76 km for a combined cumulus, mature, and dissipating cell set and 1.44 km for the cumulus-only set. An improvement in rms discrepancy to 1.36 km was achieved by including additional MTS information on the absolute atmospheric temperature profile. An incremental method for training neural networks was developed that yielded robust results, despite the use of as few as 56 training spectra. Comparison of these results with a nonlinear statistical estimator shows that superior results can be obtained with a neural network retrieval system. Imagery of estimated cell-top altitudes was created from 118-GHz spectral imagery gathered from CAMEX, September through October 1993, and from cyclone Oliver, February 7, 1993     

38. Generalversammlung von CENELEC

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

On solving constrained optimization problems with neural networks:a penalty method approach

Deals with the use of neural networks to solve linear and nonlinear programming problems. The dynamics of these networks are analyzed. In particular, the dynamics of the canonical nonlinear programming circuit are analyzed. The circuit is shown to be a gradient system that seeks to minimize an unconstrained energy function that can be viewed as a penalty method approximation of the original problem. Next, the implementations that correspond to the dynamical canonical nonlinear programming circuit are examined. It is shown that the energy function that the system seeks to minimize is different than that of the canonical circuit, due to the saturation limits of op-amps in the circuit. It is also noted that this difference can cause the circuit to converge to a different state than the dynamical canonical circuit. To remedy this problem, a new circuit implementation is proposed.     

A case of macrocystic cervical neurinoma diagnosed by MRI with Gd-DTPA

The authors report a rare case of a large cystic cervical neurinoma. A 45-year-old female was admitted to our clinic because of motor weakness of the right upper extremity, numbness of the right fingers and right posterior cervical pain. Metrizamide CT myelography demonstrated the outline of a low density mass. MRI showed a mass revealing low signal intensity on T1-weighted image, high signal intensity on T2-weighted image and marginal enhancement on contrast image with Gd-DTPA. The mass which was diagnosed as cystic tumor, was located in the intradural extramedullary space between C4 to C5 segments. After C4 through C5 laminectomy, the tumor was found to originate from the C5 anterior motor root. The tumor consisted mostly of a cystic part with a very thin solid compartment beneath the capsule. Postoperative course of the patient was uneventful. Although spinal neurinoma is one of the most common spinal tumors, an almost completely degenerated large cystic spinal neurinoma is extremely rare. MRI with Gd-DTPA was useful for the diagnosis of the cystic neurinoma by clearly enhancing the margin of the tumor.