Effects of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) on CIE Documentary Standards for Radiometry,Photometry, and Colorimetry

The differences between ITS-90 and IPTS-68 above 1235 K are described. It is shown that none of the following CIE definitions or recommendations require revision because of the introduction of the ITS-90: International Lighting Vocabulary definitions; CIE Standard Illuminants A, D₆₅, other illuminants; and sources for realizing CIE Illuminants. The effect of the ITS-90 on previously calibrated sources for realizing CIE illuminants is negligibly small.²     

A URI-based approach for addressing fragments of media resources on the Web

To make media resources a prime citizen on the Web, we have to go beyond simply replicating digital media files. The Web is based on hyperlinks between Web resources, and that includes hyperlinking out of resources (e.g., from a word or an image within a Web page) as well as hyperlinking into resources (e.g., fragment URIs into Web pages). To turn video and audio into hypervideo and hyperaudio, we need to enable hyperlinking into and out of them. The W3C Media Fragments Working Group is taking on the challenge to further embrace W3C??s mission to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing a Media Fragment protocol and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web. The major contribution of this paper is the introduction of Media Fragments as a media-format independent, standard means of addressing media resources using URIs. Moreover, we explain how the HTTP protocol can be used and extended to serve Media Fragments and what the impact is for current Web-enabled media formats.     

Teleoperation to robotics at Langley Research Center

A popular conception of the evolution of remote manipulation is a progression from teleoperation to telerobotics and then to robotics. This is logical because in going from teleoperation to robotics there would appear to be a continuous decrease in manned workload, an increase in system complexity, and an increase in the amount of intelligence in the automated system. During the past 10 years NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has been involved in all three areas. The decision on which system is most suitable for a task depends not only on the task, but on the allocation of responsibility for intelligence or high level control. The operator may be responsible for all intelligence and control functions, they may be shared between the operator and the automated system, or they may be performed by an autonomous system. This paper discusses some of the experiences in each area in applications related to possible space tasks and some of the lessons learned.     

Solvent fractionation of petroleum pitch for mesophase formation

Petroleum pitch (Ashland A240) has been subjected to thermal treatment and solvent fractionation to produce refined pitches to be evaluated as impregnants for C-C composites. The solvent fractions were obtained by sequential Soxhlet extraction with solvents such as hexane, benzene, and pyridine. Thermal treatment to 408 °C produced a mesophase pitch (≈50% mesophase); an appreciable portion of the mesophase was soluble in strong solvents. There were substantial differences in chemical composition and in pyrolysis behaviour of the fractions. As the depth of fraction increased, the pyrolysis yield and bloating increased, and the microstructure of the coke became finer until glassy microconstituents were formed in the deepest fractions.     

Study of the Interfacial Reaction of Styrene/Maleic Anhydride Copolymerand (Amine)-Terminated Butadiene-Acrylonitrile Copolymer Using FTIR Imaging Techniques

The interfacial reaction between styrene/maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA) and amine-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (ATBA) was observed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) imaging spectroscopy. The anhydride and amine reacted to form an imide. Each component was detected using a characteristic wavenumber, which was 1601 cm -1 for SMA, 2237 cm -1 for ATBA, and 1701 cm -1 for the imide. FTIR images were taken as the reaction proceeded at 150, 160, 170, and 180°C. At low temperatures (150 and 160°C), diffusion-controlled kinetics were observed since interdiffusion between the reactants did not appear in the images. On the other hand, both the diffusion front and the reaction front are observed in the images at high reaction temperatures (170 and 180°C), which indicates that the kinetics became reaction-controlled rather than diffusion-controlled. Absorbance profiles were extracted from the images and used for the calculation of the extent of reaction. The data were analyzed using the Frederickson and Milner theory based on the assumption of diffusion-controlled kinetics, and this theory fit the low reaction temperature data.     

TBC experience in land- based gas turbines

This paper summarizes prior and on-going machine evaluations of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) for power generation, that is large industrial gas turbine applications. Rainbow testing of TBCs on turbine nozzles, shrouds, and buckets are described along with a test of combustor liners. General Electric Power Generation has conducted more than IS machine tests on TBC turbine nozzles with various coatings. TBC performance has been quite good, and additional testing, including TBCs on shrouds and buckets, is continuing. Included is a brief comparison of TBC requirements for power generation and aircraft turbines.     

Capturing crossings: Convex hulls of segment and plane intersections

We give a simple O(nlogn) algorithm to compute the convex hull of the (possibly Θ(n²)) intersection points in an arrangement of n line segments in the plane. We also show an arrangement of dn hyperplanes in d-dimensions whose arrangement has Θ(nd−1) intersection points on the convex hull.