Ka Loko Dam Break

On March 14, 2006, the Ka Loko Dam broke on the North Shore of Kauai, Hawaii, sending millions of gallons of water downstream. Seven people were killed and dozens of homes and properties were damaged. Multiple parties faced liabilities for the disaster, including the owner of the dam, the State of Hawaii, and the County of Kauai. This paper aims to provide information regarding the history of the dam and a discussion of the case issues. The owner faces charges for the disaster because he allegedly filled an emergency spillway, although no direct observations of him doing so exist. The State of Hawaii came under scrutiny for the break because they failed to follow their own regulations regarding dam inspections. The state was also vulnerable because water originating on state lands was being diverted to the Ka Loko Reservoir at the time of the break. The County of Kauai was accountable because it did not properly manage illegal construction activities by the owner that probably led to the filling of the spillway. In November 2008, the owner was indicted on seven counts of manslaughter and one count of reckless endangerment. The owner, the State of Hawaii, and the County of Kauai faced two civil lawsuits leveled by families of the seven victims and by homeowners whose properties were damaged. The criminal trial against the owner was scheduled in April 2010, while the civil trials were settled on October 2009.     

Growth and surface topography of cadmium films

The growth of cadmium films deposited on amorphous glass substrate were studied using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The analysis of the experimental data showed a very high preferred orientation of the crystallites with the crystallographic c-axis normal to the substrate, indicating a layer type growth with high preferred orientation of the basal planes parallel to the substrate. The films obtained at room temperature were polycrystalline in nature with large grain size. Surface features were studied using SEM, indicating a larger crystallite size for films grown on a few atomic layers of titanium on glass substrate.     

Evaluation of pyrotechnic smoke for anti-infrared and anti-laser roles

This paper describes the experimental setup for evaluation of pyrotechnic smoke compositions for anti-laser and anti-infrared roles using the continuous wave 10.6 μm CO₂ laser (4 watt) and presents the results for a few pyrotechnic smoke compositions. The particle sizes of the aerosol from pyrotechnic smoke compositions were also determined using Quartz crystal Microbalance - Cascade Impactor. Two smoke compositions containing hexachloroethane, anthracene/naphthalenee, potassium perchlorate and magnesium powder showed more than 97% attenuation of CO₂ laser, whereas a composition containing zinc oxide, aluminium, iron oxide along with hexachlorocthane was least effective.     

Effect of arc-shaped vertical control plate on heat and mass transfer in uniform flow past an isothermally heated circular cylinder

The current work investigates the effect of an arc-shaped vertical control plate on the heat and mass transfer in uniform flow past an isothermally heated circular cylinder. The control plate is positioned downstream at various distances from the circular cylinder's surface. The governing equations are discretized by the higher order compact (HOC) finite difference scheme, and then this system of discretized equations is solved by using a bi-conjugate gradient stabilized iterative method for Prandtl number $Pr=0.7$, Reynolds number $Re=150$. To investigate the effect of an arc-shaped control plate on heat and mass transfer, we consider a range of nondimensional distances between the circular cylinder and the control plate, $0.5\le d∕R_0\le 8$, where $d$ is the control plate's distance and $R_0$ is the cylinder's radius. The exact timing and location of the bifurcation points are calculated by using topological aspect-based structural bifurcation analysis. Significant effects of various locations of the control plate on periodic wake and heat transfer are observed. It is found that the increasing distance of the control plate from the cylinder delays the occurrence of the structural bifurcation and shifts the bifurcation points upwards in the upper half and downwards in the lower half of the cylinder. Our study shows that the specific location of the control plate can fully suppress the vortex shedding. Time-averaged total Nusselt number can be drastically reduced by increasing the distance between the control plate and the cylinder. With proper positioning, the vertical control plate can lessen the time-averaged drag force by up to $22.5\%$ when compared to a cylinder without a control plate. Overall, this work presents many new phenomena that have not been reported before.     

High Energy Propellants for Advanced Gun Ammunition Based on RDX,GAP and TAGN Compositions

A number of gun propellant compositions based on RDX, GAP, TAGN and combinations thereof were formulated and studied with the aim to select the suitable composition for advanced gun ammunition in respect of processability and ballistic performance. Theoretical thermochemical properties of the compositions were computed using a ‘THERM’ programme and the ballistic performance was evaluated on the basis of closed vessel tests. In addition, sensitivity, thermal characterization, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the compositions were also determined for assessing the suitability for application. A composition containing 28% NC, 45% RDX, 20% TAGN, 6% GAP, 0.7% carbamite and 0.3% resorcinol was found to provide higher level of force constant at relatively lower flame temperature, reasonably good burning rate characteristics and mechanical properties.