Microstructure Evolution and Tensile Properties of a Selectively Laser Melted CoNi-Base Superalloy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - A high $$\gamma ^{\prime }$$ volume fraction CoNi-base superalloy with roughly equal amounts of cobalt and nickel was successfully processed through...     

Effects of a single dose of N-Acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (Melatonin) and resistance exercise on the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis in young males and females

Melatonin and resistance exercise alone have been shown to increase the levels of growth hormone (GH). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ingestion of a single dose of melatonin and heavy resistance exercise on serum GH, somatostatin (SST), and other hormones of the GH/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) axis. Physically active males (n = 30) and females (n = 30) were randomly assigned to ingest either a melatonin supplement at 0.5 mg or 5.0 mg, or 1.0 mg of dextrose placebo. After a baseline blood sample, participants ingested the supplement and underwent blood sampling every 15 min for 60 min, at which point they underwent a single bout of resistance exercise with the leg press for 7 sets of 7 reps at 85% 1-RM. After exercise, participants provided additional blood samples every 15 min for a total of 120 min. Serum free GH, SST, IGF-1, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3 were determined with ELISA. Data were evaluated as the peak pre- and post-exercise values subtracted from baseline and the delta values analyzed with separate three-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). In males, when compared to placebo, 5.0 mg melatonin caused GH to increase (p = 0.017) and SST to decrease prior to exercise (p = 0.031), whereas both 0.5 and 5.0 mg melatonin were greater than placebo after exercise (p = 0.045) and less than placebo for SST. No significant differences occurred for IGF-1; however, males were shown to have higher levels of IGFBP-1 independent of supplementation (p = 0.004). The 5.0 mg melatonin dose resulted in higher IGFBP-3 in males (p = 0.017). In conclusion, for males 5.0 mg melatonin appears to increase serum GH while concomitantly lowering SST levels; however, when combined with resistance exercise both melatonin doses positively impacts GH levels in a manner not entirely dependent on SST.     

INTEGRATING ALBEMARLE RESOLVE DESULFURIZATION TECHNOLOGY WITH NOVEL PETRO-CANADA PROCESS CONCEPTS IN COMMERCIAL FCCU OPERATIONS

The gasoline and distillate sulfur regulations promulgated throughout the world to reduce tail-pipe emissions are now strongly impacting refinery operations and investments. FCC gasoline is recognized as the principal contributor of sulfur to the gasoline pool and has become the focus for meeting the new specifications. The difficulty in removing sterically hindered sulfur species in the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) cycle oil drives up the hydrogen and investment costs for treating the distillates. Although installation of pre- and post-treatment facilities is planned by many refiners, other non-capital approaches such as undercutting are being evaluated to meet interim and future sulfur levels. Even when expensive treatment facilities are installed, operating costs can be lowered and the flexibility of the facility increased with improvements in the ability to remove sulfur in the FCCU. In this article, we detail Petro-Canada's experience in integrating Albemarle's RESOLVE sulfur reduction technology with a combination of innovative process ideas. These concepts include heavy naphtha recycle, coprocessing of hydrogen donor feeds, and recycle of light cycle oil (LCO) to a specially designed stripper reactor. Special attention is paid to the interaction of deep FCC feed hydrodesulfurization with the FCC performance. The results demonstrate that very low FCC gasoline sulfur levels can be achieved without significant capital investment through novel approaches to recycle, creative integration of cat feed hydrotreating unit (CFHTU)-FCCU designs and operations, and application of state-of-the-art sulfur reduction additive technology. An added benefit of the RESOLVE 950 sulfur reduction technology is the substantial elimination of sulfur oxides in the FCC flue gas. This has been observed in Petro-Canada operations and numerous other RESOLVE 950 applications around the world.     

Platinum-group metal cyclodextrin complexes and their use as command-cure catalysts in silicones

The Command-Cure concept is defined for a curable formulation as one with long work-like at ambient temperature and rapid cure time at elevated temperature. This concept is explored for a curable silicone system, cured via hydrosilylation. CODMCl₂ complexes (COD=1.5-cyclo-octadiene:M=Pt. Pd) are reacted with beta-cyclodextrin (-CD) to make 11 inclusion compounds,M=Pd.2;M=Pt.4. Compounds2 and4 were analyzed by¹H NMR and X-ray powder diffraction. Their catalytic ability was evaluated in a model system as well as a polymeric system that gels upon cure. Surprisingly, the Pd analog2 was a good command-cure catalyst whereas the guest compound CODPdCl₂,1, was not active in the hydrosilylation reaction. The Pt analog,4, was an effective command-cure catalyst while the corresponding guest. CODPtCl₂,3, was too active at low temperature in the hydrosilylation reaction. Additional Pt compounds and one Rh inclusion compound were evaluated as command cure catalysts. These inclusion compounds were: 11 -CD:[CODRhCl]₂,5: 11 -CD:CpPtMe₃,6 (Cp=cyclopentadienyl): 12 -CD:MeCpPtMe₃,7; 12 -CO:CODPtMe₂,8. The effectiveness of4 8 was evaluated in a number of silicone systems.     

Flow distribution in spiral mandrel dies

An analysis of flow of a power law fluid in a spiral mandrel die is presented. The analysis is applied to study the effect of various die design parameters on the flow distribution at the end of the spiral mandrel section. Three variables that have a very strong effect on the flow distribution are the number of grooves, the initial clearance, and the groove helix angle. The distribution is improved by increasing the number of grooves, by using a non-zero initial clearance, and a relatively small helix angle. Two more variables that have a significant effect on the flow distribution are the taper angle and the initial groove depth. The optimum taper angle was found to be between 1 and 3 degrees. The distribution uniformity improves with the initial groove depth, while the pressure drop reduces at the same time.     

Assessing the reliability of ordered categorical scales using kappa-type statistics

Methods for the analysis of reliability of ordered categorical scales are discussed, focussing on the limitation of the single summary-weighted kappa coefficients. A symmetric matrix of kappa-type coefficients is suggested as an alternative. The method is proposed as being suitable for ordinal scale where there is no underlying continuum. Their application is illustrated using two data sets from reliability studies. If, instead, distances between categories can be specified, a weighted mean of the matrix terms can be used as a summary measure. This is equal to a weighted kappa coefficient with squared weights, provided distances between adjacent categories are equal. When a study design corresponds to a one-way random effects model, estimates of precision of kappa-type coefficient, including the coefficients described here, can be obtained using the delta-method, bootstrap resampling by subjects or jack-knifing by subjects. In the case of interobserver reliability studies, where there may be systematic differences between observers, the investigator may wish to generalise to a population of observers and subjects. In this case, jack-knifing by observer and subject is suggested. Empirical comparisons are made between standard error estimates based on the delta-method, on jack-knifing by subjects and a two-way jack-knife by subjects and observers. The results suggest that standard errors based on the delta-method or jack-knifing by subject alone may be overly precise.     

The Cost of Environmental Constraints in Traffic Networks: Assessing the Loss of Optimality

Increasing numbers of hard environmental constraints are being imposed in urban traffic networks by authorities in an attempt to mitigate pollution caused by traffic. However, it is not trivial for authorities to assess the cost of imposing such hard environmental constraints. This leads to difficulties when setting the constraining values as well as implementing effective control measures. For that reason, quantifying the cost of imposing hard environmental constraints for a certain network becomes crucial. This paper first indicates that for a given network, such cost is not only related to the attribution of environmental constraints but also related to the considered control measures. Next, we present an assessment criterion that quantifies the loss of optimality under the control measures considered by introducing the environmental constraints. The criterion can be acquired by solving a bi-level programming problem with/without environmental constraints. A simple case study shows its practicability as well as the differences between this framework and other frameworks integrating the environmental aspects. This proposed framework is widely applicable when assessing the interaction of traffic and its environmental aspects.     

Categories of quantum and classical channels

We introduce a construction that turns a category of pure state spaces and operators into a category of observable algebras and superoperators. For example, it turns the category of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces into the category of finite-dimensional C*-algebras and completely positive maps. In particular, the new category contains both quantum and classical channels, providing elegant abstract notions of preparation and measurement. We also consider nonstandard models that can be used to investigate which notions from algebraic quantum information theory are operationally justifiable.     

A Dimension‐reduced Pressure Solver for Liquid Simulations

This work presents a method for efficiently simplifying the pressure projection step in a liquid simulation. We first devise a straightforward dimension reduction technique that dramatically reduces the cost of solving the pressure projection. Next, we introduce a novel change of basis that satisfies free‐surface boundary conditions exactly, regardless of the accuracy of the pressure solve. When combined, these ideas greatly reduce the computational complexity of the pressure solve without compromising free surface boundary conditions at the highest level of detail. Our techniques are easy to parallelize, and they effectively eliminate the computational bottleneck for large liquid simulations.