Measurement of three-phase transformer derating and reactive power demand under nonlinear loading conditions

The measurement of real and apparent power derating of three-phase transformers is important for transformers feeding nonlinear loads. This paper presents a new digital data-acquisition method for measuring derating and reactive power demand of three-phase transformers under full or partial load conditions. The accuracy requirements of the instruments employed (potential, current transformers, shunts, voltage dividers, optocouplers volt- and current meters) are addressed. Application examples demonstrate the usefulness of this new digital data-acquisition method.     

Military tobacco use: a synthesis of the literature on prevalence, factors related to use, and cessation interventions

Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable morbidity and premature death in the United States. As a result, military leaders are recognizing that tobacco can adversely affect military fitness levels, deployment readiness, and safety and can increase health care costs. Yet military members continue to use tobacco. Tobacco may be viewed as part of the military culture since military members have used tobacco for many decades for pleasure, comfort, and currency and as a morale booster. Most recently, the military has seen an increase in tobacco use among young military members. A number of research studies have examined the prevalence of tobacco and factors related to use in the military, and several have evaluated cessation and prevention interventions. This article provides a brief historical perspective of military tobacco use in the 20th century and a critical review of the literature published between 1991 and 2006 describing prevalence of tobacco use, factors influencing use, and cessation interventions in the military. Recommendations for future research and for interventions are provided.     

Enhanced Ruiz criterion for the evaluation of crack initiation in contact subjected to fretting fatigue

The fatigue-fretting damage parameter (FFDP) introduced by Ruiz is comprehensively discussed in this paper. Shortcomings and limitations of this criterion are presented resulting in a combined energetic-multiaxial enhancement (eFFDP). Specific frictional power was supposed to control the fretting damage and the critical plane approach is used to solve the multiaxial stress state in the fretting contact. The significance of the eFFDP is evaluated for the key–shaft–hub connection under combined torque and bend loading. Applying the analysis to recent fatigue tests, a comparison of stress and fretting parameters is made for different loading conditions including estimation of the fretting fatigue limit.     

Preparation of tungsten carbide porous sphere core wrapped by porous multiwall

Tungsten carbide porous sphere core wrapped by porous multiwall was prepared by spray drying sphere miniaturation—gas–solid reaction, used ammonium metatungstate as precursors, hydrogen and methane as reduction and carbonization atmosphere. The sample was characterized by SEM, XRD and BET, respectively. The SEM results show that the sample is constituted by two parts, a core with porosity and porous multiwall, and the wall is made up of a lot of nanoscale particles. The XRD results show that the crystal phase of the sample is tungsten carbide (WC) only, and the average size of the WC crystal estimated according to XRD data is around 14 nm. The BET specific area of the sample is 10.2834 m²/g.     

Multifunctional hydrogels that promote osteogenic hMSC differentiation through stimulation and sequestering of BMP2

The extracellular environment controls many cellular activities thereby linking external material cues to internal cell function. By better understanding these processes, synthetic extracellular material niches can be tailored to present cells with highly regulated physical and/or chemical cues that promote or suppress selected cell functions. Here, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels were functionalized with fluvastatin-releasing grafts and growth factor binding heparin domains to enable the dynamic exchange of information between the material and cells from the outside-in and inside-out (i.e., bidirectional signaling). By incorporating a fluvastatin-releasing graft and carefully controlling the dose and temporal release, materials were designed to promote bone morphogenic protein (BMP2) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) production by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). When the release of fluvastatin was controlled to occur over 2 weeks, BMP2 and ALP production was increased 2.2-fold and 1.7-fold, respectively, at day 28 compared to hMSCs cultured in the absence of fluvastatin. By introducing a heparin functionality into the gel to sequester and localize the hMSC-produced BMP2, the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs was further augmented over fluvastatin delivery alone. Osteopontin and core binding factor α1 gene expression was 6-fold and 4-fold greater for hMSCs exposed to fluvastatin in the presence of the heparin functionalities, respectively. These results demonstrate how multifunctional gels that interact with cells in a bidirectional manner can efficiently promote selected cell functions, such as the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs.     

Durability of polymeric glazing materials for solar applications

The economic viability of solar collector systems for domestic hot water (DHW) generation is strongly linked to the cost of such systems. Installation and hardware costs must be reduced by 50% to allow significant market penetration. An attractive approach to cost reduction is to replace glass and metal parts with less expensive, lighter weight polymeric components. Weight reduction decreases the cost of shipping, handling, and installation. The use of polymeric materials also allows the benefits and cost savings associated with well established manufacturing processes, along with savings associated with improved fastening, reduced part count, and overall assembly refinements. A key challenge is to maintain adequate system performance and assure requisite durability for extended lifetimes. Results of preliminary and ongoing screening tests for a large number of candidate polymeric glazing materials are presented. Based on these results, two specific glazings with moderate and poor weathering stability are selected to demonstrate how a service lifetime methodology can be applied to accurately predict the optical performance of these materials during in-service use. A summary is given for data obtained by outdoor exposure and indoor testing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high temperature modified polycarbonate copolymer (coPC) materials, and an initial risk analysis is given for the two materials. Screening tests and analyses for service lifetime prediction are discussed. A methodology that provides a way to derive correlations between degradation experienced by materials exposed to controlled accelerated laboratory exposure conditions and materials exposed to in-service conditions is given, and a validation is presented for the methodology based upon durability test results for PVC and coPC.     

Low thermal resistance high-speed top-emitting 980-nm VCSELs

Increasing copper plated heatsink radii from 0 to 4 /spl mu/m greater than the mesa in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) reduced the measured thermal resistance for a range of device sizes to values 50% lower than previously reported over a range of device sizes. For a 9-/spl mu/m diameter oxide aperture, the larger heatsink increases output power and bandwidth by 131% and 40%, respectively. The lasers exhibit a 3-dB modulation frequency bandwidth up to 9.8 GHz at 10.5 kA/cm/sup 2/. The functional dependence of thermal resistance on oxide aperture diameter indicates the importance of lateral heat flow to mesa sidewalls.     

Development of consumer probiotics for the US market

Curiosity about probiotic bacteria is high. This is not surprising given the rapid growth of the natural products market in the USA, which was 22% in 1995 (New Hope Natural Media, Boulder, CO). Although probiotic cultures are only one component of that market, this trend shows that consumers in the USA are increasingly taking a pro-active stance towards their health and are purchasing products not only to eliminate what is perceived as dietary negatives but to increase the levels of dietary positives (Wrick, 1995). This shift in consumer attitude bodes well for the development of the American probiotic market. This article describes the composition, promotion and labelling of probiotic-containing products, discusses attributes of commercial probiotic bacteria, and estimates the size of the probiotic market in the USA. This market information was obtained from several published (Anon, 1996a,b) and unpublished but commercially available (SPINS Information Services, San Francisco, CA and New Hope Natural Media, Boulder, CO) sources.     

A preprocessor for geotomographic imaging of irregular geometricscans

An algorithm that acts as a preprocessor to the straight ray algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) algorithm, for the purpose of dealing with nonrectangular scanning geometries, is described. The mathematics of ART in its elementary form is reviewed, showing how the discretization of the rectangular scanning space defines quantities in the projection matrix of the algorithm. A triangular discretization approach for the scanning space that allows nonrectangular or twisted plane geometries to be addressed is proposed, and the effect of this approach on the projection matrix is discussed. An algorithm for determining the projection matrix under these discretization conditions is described, followed by some commentary on its computer implementation. The performance of this preprocessor algorithm, working with standard ART, in reconstructing various synthetic images is demonstrated