A Thickness Gauge for Ceramic Coatings

An instrument has been developed for the purpose of measuring the thickness of protective coatings of ceramic materials applied on nonmagnetic metal bases. This instrument provides a nondestructive method of measurement and can be used on metallic backings having a wide range of electrical conductivities. Also, the thickness measurement refers to a restricted area and is, therefore, applicable to curved surfaces. Although this instrument was developed primarily for the measurement of the thickness of ceramic coatings on turbine blades and other high-temperature parts of aircraft power plants, it should be generally useful in thickness measurements of paint, plastic, and other nonconducting films.     

Mechanical Properties of Magnesia Single Crystals Corn pression

Stress-strain curves of single crystals of magnesia compressed in the [100] direction are reported at temperatures from –196° to 1200°C.; curves are also shown for different rates of loading at room temperature. The crystals show considerable ductility at all temperatures and at room temperature can be deformed plastically about 6% before fracture at stresses which are about one-quarter of reported polycrystalline fracture strengths. The macroscopic yield drops apparently exponentially from an extrapolated value of 50,000 lb. per sq. in. at absolute zero to about 4500 lb. per sq. in. at temperatures of 900°C. and higher. Heat-treatment has an appreciable effect on the yield stress. The resistance of the material to deformation increases with the number of slip systems and bands activated because of the barriers to dislocation movements which occur at slip band intersections. At about 2 to 3% strain, stress concentrations begin to be relieved by small internal cracks which are not easily propagated. This effect is extensive before final macroscopic failure of the crystal occurs. Preliminary creep tests above the macroscopic yield stress and in the temperature range 800° to 1000°C. show large instantaneous plastic deformations followed by slow constant-rate creep.     

Parallel implementation of a class reasoner

Abstract

One method to overcome the notorious efficiency problems of logical reasoning algorithms in AI has been to combine a general-purpose reasoner with several special-purpose reasoners for commonly used subtasks. In this paper we are using Schubert's (Schubert et al. 1983, 1987) method of implementing a special-purpose class reasoner. We show that it is possible to replace Schubert's preorder number class tree by a preorder number list without loss of functionality. This form of the algorithm lends itself perfectly towards a parallel implementation,¹ and we describe design, coding and testing of such an implementation. Our algorithm is practically independent of the size of the class list, and even with several thousand nodes learning times are under a second and retrieval times are under 500 ms.     

Inducing malolactic fermentation in Chardonnay musts and wines using different strains of Oenococcus oeni

Malolactic fermentations (MLF) were induced in a commercially prepared Washington State Chardonnay must to evaluate the influence of timing of inoculation and pre-culture conditions of Oenococcus oeni strains MCW, EQ-54, and WS-8. The must (pH 3.62, 21.5°Brix) was divided into lots and inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain CY3079. Strains of O. oeni were pre-cultured by growing in diluted juice or by re-hydration of freeze-dried strains. Bacteria were inoculated into the musts before (Day 0) or after completion of the alcoholic fermentation (Day 22). Yeast populations exceeded 10⁷cfu/mL in all fermentations that proceeded to dryness. However, the viability of most strains of O. oeni quickly declined after inoculation regardless of the timing of inoculation or the strain used. MLF was induced in the wines inoculated with strains EQ-54 and WS-8 but not with MCW, and the rate depended on the time of inoculation. The method used to prepare bacterial starter cultures had no apparent influence on the completion of MLF. Values for volatile acidity were slightly higher (P< 0.05) in wines inoculated with O. oeni before alcoholic fermentation compared with those inoculated after alcoholic fermentation.     

BEYOND THE ECONOMIC CATALYST DEBATE: CAN PUBLIC CONSUMPTION BENEFITS JUSTIFY A MUNICIPAL STADIUM INVESTMENT?

ABSTRACT: A host of empirical studies have indicated that stadiums and arenas have no significant impact on metropolitan area income or employment. In light of this evidence, the continued proliferation of public investment in sports facilities begs the question: Is there some other justification for this spending, or are policymakers simply acting against the public interest (either irrationally, or in response to political‐economic influences)? A possibility that has not been fully explored is the notion that stadiums and teams generate tangible and intangible consumption benefits that could support some level of public investment. This research builds on a small foundation of literature that is moving discussion beyond the economic catalyst debate by providing an empirical measure of the consumption benefits that accrue to a region as the result of hosting a major league sports team. A contingent valuation survey is used to quantify the consumption benefits that would be associated with the relocation of a major league baseball team to Portland, Oregon. An empirical measure of the region's aggregate willingness to pay for the benefits associated with hosting a team is disaggregated into option and existence values, which can then be compared to any proposed level of public contribution to a new stadium. The findings indicate that consumption benefits would only support a capital investment of approximately $74 million; a figure far smaller than the typical stadium subsidy. The majority of projected benefits are associated with expected public goods and externalities, rather than anticipated attendance, indicating that an equitable financing plan should employ nonuser revenue sources. The level of projected benefits does not vary by locality within the metropolitan area, which argues for a regional cost‐sharing approach. The willingness of residents to pay for stadium construction is tempered by a concern about other pressing social needs in the Portland area and a reaction to the current tax climate.     

LANGUAGE THEORY: CONSENSUAL SELECTION OF DYNAMICS

Both representational and self organizing approaches to language avoid in different ways the concept of symbol We argue that representationalism denies the particular aspects of a subjects embodiment while the self organizing paradigm refuses to address the utility of the concept of symbol and its evolutionary relationship with an environment We call for an inclusive approach that considers the syntactic semantic and pragmatic aspects of language We further offer a mathematical structure defined in terms of fuzzy set and evidence theories as a model of linguistic categories under this inclusive framework     

Analysis and Design of a Viscous-Flow Cooler

A hot stream of a very viscous fluid, such as a polymer, may be cooled in a heal exchanger consisting of multiple parallel passages. However, if a quite uniform temperature distribution is desired in the exit stream, the fluid flowing through each of the passages must be cooled to very nearly the same temperature. An analytical treatment of heat transfer and pressure drop in viscous flow between parallel plates during cooling reveals the operating conditions and passage geometry required to achieve this goal. Solution of the equation obtained depends only on the physical properties of the fluid and the cooler geometry. Non-Newtonian behavior of the fluid is approximated by a power-law function. A unique type of heat exchanger was designed on the basis of this analysis.